Chapter 117

117 Mending Fences

Tia.

Stacy and I contacted a lot of women. I was amazed to find the amount of women groups in Woodclaw.

There was a slew of underground female warrior groups, mostly filled with academy dropouts. They

knew Stacy, and they loved her. It was amazing to see this side of her. She was happy to be around

them and on good terms with most of them. Thinking about everything, I had nothing against Stacy until I

found out that she was the one that forced Alpha Aesop to arrange the marriage between Luke and me.

Thinking of it, it ended up being a blessing. Stacy was just annoying to the people in the house.

“This will be the last stop for the day,” Stacy said, knocking on a door in a small neighbourhood

downtown. A middle-aged woman opened the door and squealed excitedly when she saw Stacy.

“Oliva!” Stacy squealed back, and they hugged and kissed each other’s cheeks. The woman noticed me

and greeted me with respect. “Luna Tia, welcome to my home,” she said, ushering us in, and I smiled

and thanked her.

The house was small and modest, but it was neat.

“How have you been?” Olivia asked Stacy, offering us seats.

Sitting down, Stacy smiled at me. ‘Luna Tia, this is Olivia. She is my friend from Dome. She moved here

when I came to work for Alpha Aesop as Luke‘s caregiver.” She said and then turned to Olivia, who was

surprised at what she had told me. “Don‘t worry, Olivia; she knows everything.” She said, and Olivia

sighed with relief. “About Regan?” Olivia asked, and she nodded. “About Monica too,” Stacy added, and

Oliva smiled at me.

“Oh, bless you, Luna. Stacy and I have been through a lot there. It is a blessing for Stacy to finally have

someone to open up to,” she said. I smiled back, not knowing what to say because it wasn‘t like Stacy

opened up to me about anything. Things happened that caused the secret to being out.

“They all know. Monica told them.” Stacy said, and Olivia shook her head, a bit disappointed to find out

Monica had exposed her mother.

“It was good; now Stacy won’t have to deal with Regan alone,” I said and took a sip of my tea. Olivia

smiled at me and nodded with gratitude.

“Hope the tea is to your liking, Luna. I have nothing fancy here, but it is good for you and the baby,” she

said, “Camomile is good for the nerves. It helps you relax,” she said, smiling, and I smiled back

Stacy cleared her throat and looked at her friend, then smiled.

11 Mending Fences

“Olivia, we need warriors,” Stacys said, getting straight to the point, and Olivia frowned at her. “I have

gotten Amanda, Renee and Susy‘s group to join us. You are the last underground women‘s fight club

leader yet to be on board.” Stacy said, and Olivia looked at me, a bit uncomfortable. Stacy placed her

hand on my lap and smiled at Olivia.

“Luna Tia is a warrior too. She graduated from the academy as Gamma for Caleb‘s set.” Stacy said

proudly, and the woman raised her eyebrow. I could understand her shock. Women were never

successful at the academy. No matter how hard they tried, the system was rigged against us. I had it

tough there, too, but I was too determined to fail. It was because they did not want women in the ranks,

and the military was made like that. The underground fight clubs were how women coped with their

fighting desires. “Wonderful, Luna Tia. You broke the glass roof. You will be the first woman in the ranks,

you know?” she said, and I nodded and smiled.

“But I am not in the ranks anymore. I am Luna now,” I said, and Olivia nodded.

“Notwithstanding, you beat them,” she said proudly, and I smiled at her because she was right. I did beat

them. I beat them all except for Kirk, who bested me because of his physical strength. “So, what do you

want us to do?” She asked, and Stacy looked at me. “We need warriors for defence. Most of the military

from other packs have deserted us and joined forces with Luis Moon. We need all the help we can get to

increase our military strength. I have procured weapons, but we will need people to use them,” I said to

her, and she looked at me carefully. It was apparent she was processing her thought. I did not know if

she would be inclined to help us. It was easy to persuade the other women. All I had to promise was an

opportunity to practice their skills without consequence, and they were on board. Something told me it

would take more than that to convince Olivia to join.

“Alpha Aesop treated my friend horribly; why should I help him?” She asked, and I looked at Stacy.

“We have made our peace,” Stacy said, and Olivia frowned at her.

“I can‘t believe you are willing to forgive him like that, after how he treated you. He treated you like shit.

He might not have been physically abusive like Regan, but words hurt too. I was there for most of it. I

remember how he kicked you out several times while you were pregnant with Caleb. Maybe you should

just walk away,” Olivia said to Stacy, and I was a bit annoyed at her because Stacy wasn‘t a saint either.

“I deserved some of it, Olivia, and you know it. I wasn’t a saint either.” Stacy said to her, and Olivia

looked away.

“Luis is an evil man, Olivia. He is like Regan, maybe worse,” Stacy said to her and Olivia’s eyes widened.

Stacy moved closer to her and spoke. “If we get him, we might get Regan too,” she said, and Olivia’s

eyes darkened a bit. I did not know if it was against us or for us. “If you say so, Stacy, then I am on

board. Any man doing what Tom Regan Adhit did is a scumbag and should not be allowed to win. I saw

the broadcast, and I am willing to join in the

fight with the one hundred and twenty members of my club.” She said, and I now understood why she

was important. She had the highest number of female fighters.

“Great!” I said, smiling and thanked her. We will be gathering at the second military Base of the

headquarters. We will tell you the time, and I will allot ranks to everyone for the fun of it,” I said, and she

beamed at me.

Olivia and Stacy caught up on events, but Stacy kept some things from her to our benefit. We finally left

Olivia‘s home and headed back to the mansion.

“Tia, I am glad we could do this together,” Stacy said when we got to the mansion. She pleaded with me

to join her in the breakfast lounge for tea and snacks. I wondered how much tea these women would

pump into me, but I decided to oblige. After the tea and snacks were served, the Norman left. We had

laid off all the workers and told them we would rehire them when the issue with Luis was settled. So they

would not grumble; we told them we were doing it for their protection because we did would go, and we

did not want them caught in the middle. It worked like magic, and most of them thanked us gracefully and

left. Four of them insisted on remaining, saying they would not mind at all. We suspected they were

Regan‘s spies and still sent them away, thanking them for their loyalty and courage.

Putting down her mug, Stacy touched my hand on the table.

“I am so so sorry, Tia. I am sorry for everything. I am sorry I tore Caleb and you apart. I broke his heart,

and I broke yours too. I am sorry for all I did to you in the mansion. I regret everything. I was jealous and

frustrated and lashed out at the wrong person. I was trying to get him with Kimberly to get money to pay

Regan. It was stupid and heartless of me. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me, Tia.” she said

with tears streaming down her face.

Stacy hurt the three of us, Caleb, Luke and me. It is a miracle that we could make it work. It took a lot for

Caleb to move on, and if it weren‘t for the love Luke showered on me, I might not have gotten over

Caleb, and this would have still been a mess. I was also grateful for Luke because he was best for me at

the end of the day, and I have never loved anyone the way I love Luke.

“It‘s okay, Stacy,” I said, smiling at her,” Knowing all that you went through, you needed an outlet. I was

mad at first and lost all my respect for you, but I was grateful. Luke and I wouldn‘t be together if it weren’t

for you. Caleb loved me, honestly, but I was infatuated with him. My infatuation was intense, but I had to

fall in love to understand the difference between the two. “I said to her, and she wiped away her tears. “I

am glad we had this talk. Know that all is forgiven and forgotten; we can start afresh.” I said, and she

looked away a bit.

“I am glad you have forgiven me. Now my heart will be at peace when I move away from here, “She said,

and I frowned at her. I honestly thought she and Aesop had solved things between them. I guess I was

wrong. “Move? Why move?” I asked her, and she smiled at me.

“I might not want to remain here any more, Tia. This house holds so many painful memories of Aesop

and me. Half I caused, and the other half was on him. I do not know, and I am not

sure yet. Aesop is not saying anything; honestly, I do not want to be the pathetic woman I used to be. I

have sold all my expensive clothes and things. I have some money with me. Now that Regan is going to

be dealt with, I might return to Dome and start a foundation for women like Olivia and myself. Many of us

live in bondage in Dome and Cleeve, having a man lord over us and use us for business while we

languish. It is a sad sight. I want to go back there and save them. Not all of them will run into someone

like Aesop and become luna. The goddess blessed me; it is time for me to help my clan.” she said, and I

knew deep down that she would not stay even if Aesop should ask her. She wasn‘t a gold digger, after

all. She was just looking for safety and peace.