AURELIA~~The ceremony for Dakota ended three hours ago and everyone who attended should be asleep by now, resting up to get enough energy for the twins’ party which would be starting by noon today. However, I was unable to sleep. Katie and Kyle were sleeping in my bed, unaware of the small party they would be having. Although that kind of party Susanna and I were able to plan wasn’t what I envisioned for my babies’ sixth birthday, It would have to do. But that wasn’t what bothered me. What keeps me up is the fact that despite my effort to get back into the Seer realm and get more clarification, I’ve failed. The visions have been hunting my soul for the past three days and even though I tried to hide my worries, It was becoming obvious to Mia Lu and the others that I had no intention of telling them what I saw and how it would affect the pack at large. “Have you stopped to consider that perhaps you need to sleep well and eat just as well to succeed?” Inara grumbled within me.
ALPHA RAIDEN~~“You are fucking crazy, Jeremy.”How I wished those words were mine but Otis beat me to calling Jeremy what he is– A crazy but highly observant man. He must have been observing everyone in this pack to ensure the survival of his kind all these years for him to have noticed that Otis and I were gone. “Susanna wouldn’t have made it easy for him to notice but he did regardless.” Even my wolf agreed with me.Susanna chimed with relief, “Oh, look. There they are. You were just being loud for nothing.” Jeremy’s face twisted into a frown and I knew he couldn’t believe his eyes. Truth was, we would have executed the plan and made Jeremy look like a foolish and crazy man who was obsessed with me if my mom wasn’t standing behind me.Yes, she followed Otis and me here because she didn’t want to miss the twins’ birthday and she was also excited about seeing Mia Lu again. Apparently, they used to know each other. “Well, you are not completely crazy, Jeremy. You were partially
AURELIA~~“Happy Birthday!”This is the ritual. It has been for the past six years. I gather people the twins are familiar with and wait outside my bedroom door, In Tristan’s pack it was a mini apartment but here in the hidden pack, it was a wooden hut. Yet the ritual remains the same. We waited for Katie and Kyle to come out of the hut together, as I knew they would, and blurted those two words with bright smiles, warm hearts, and all the energy we could summon. However, unlike their previous birthdays, I wasn’t alone at the front of the familiar crowd. Raiden was with me and we stood side by side with outstretched arms. Katie ran into my arms and Kyle went to Raiden their faces reflecting their joy. Also, Iris who had tears in her eyes, stood behind me, her voice being the loudest as we collectively sang for Katie and Kyle. Iris could have passed for the happiest person today if Katie wasn’t squealing… Loudly.“It’s our birthday?” Kyle couldn’t believe it as he grinned from ea
ALPHA RAIDEN~~I enjoyed every second with Katie and Kyle. I bathed them and brought out my first set of gifts which was a light blue ball gown for Katie and a nice brown two-piece for Kyle. My Mom helped me pick out these gifts and the twins loved it.“You look like a real princess, Katie,” Kyle exclaimed, placing his small hands over his mouth as he stared at his sister who was teaching me how to style her hair the way she likes it.Katie pouted, “I want to be a strong warrior instead but I can be a princess for today.” I quickly chirped in for clarity's sake, “Who says you can’t be both, darling? You can be the strongest Warrior Princess in the realm. It’s okay to love dresses even as a warrior, baby.”Katie’s eyes twinkled, “Really? I thought warriors couldn’t be princesses. Tristan used to–” “Princesses can be warriors and you are my princess, baby.” I cut in before she could say any other word about Tristan. He shouldn’t be brought up today. Not on my watch.“Alpha Princess
AURELIA~~Gosh, I tried. I tried not to lose it on my kids’ big day but I couldn’t help it not when Raiden didn’t understand what he was doing and those he understood, he chose to manipulate me in those areas.“But she has been wanting one and I’ll provide a personal trainer who will help her train and keep her safe at all times.” Raiden defended himself. But that wasn’t enough. To be honest, the sword he planned to give Katie wasn’t the main problem, and gifting Kyle a personal library was thoughtful but how could he try to manipulate me while at it? That was what pissed me off. “I understand that you wanted to make the day special and I’m grateful that you are here with us–” “You don’t seem like it, Aurelia. I have to tiptoe around you all the time because I know you will explode in my face just like you are doing now even though all I did was present gifts to our kids on our behalf–” “You are manipulating me, Raiden!” I snapped as he was already pointing fingers at me. Rai
ALPHA RAIDEN~~The white wolves still feasted on the resources I brought from my pack for the next five days. The hunters were relieved and everyone could relax. Everyone but Aurelia and I, of course. The mother of my kids has been doing what she knew how to do best– Pretend like I wasn’t in her life. Aurelia has been avoiding me and that wasn’t new but what was new was how she had gradually become paler and she seemed to be avoiding everyone aside from the twins. It was almost as if her skin color was fading along with that of her hair. How I wished she would talk to me. But at least Katie and Kyle were talking to me and my mom was making herself at home with the white wolves. She looked more alive now and I couldn’t be more grateful–Fuck that. I could be more grateful If Aurelia would just meet my eyes or talk to me and let me in. She was driving me crazy.“Perhaps you shouldn’t have asked to kiss her,” Lex grumbled, watching Aurelia through my eyes as she followed Mia Lu a
AURELIA~~The weight of the world crashed into me. My chest rose and fell in a way that made my chest hurt. My eyes stung but soon became blurry and the solid floor shifted underneath my feet. I was tired. I was drained of spiritual and physical energy but didn't know when to stop… when to stop trying to see more than the goddess had already revealed to me.Emotionally, I was drained and It was not surprising when I felt myself falling backward. In fact, I embraced the feeling and let myself go for the first time since I unlocked my powers as a Seer. “Aurelia!” Raiden. He screamed but that didn’t stop my body from crashing into a body of water that I knew was the purifying lake not just because I had been standing closer to it but because Its perfect temperature embraced me and it felt like I was home, once again. “Hey. I’m here.” Raiden muttered to me as he gathered my body in his arms, joining me in the lake. “You are alright.” It was hard to tell if he was reassuring hims
AURELIA~~“He’s right. Moving into Dark Moon Pack will protect everyone and we can learn to become even more powerful physically.” I voiced in support of Raiden. I knew he was stunned by the way his body tensed behind me. He didn’t expect me to back him up, not after I called him a manipulator the last time he mentioned returning to his pack.“So we are supposed to trust him with the lives of our people?” I rolled my eyes and everyone else in the hut groaned, shutting Jeremy up. Mia Lu sighed as she started speaking our minds, “For once, Jeremy can you just stop? Alpha Raiden just tried to expatiate the same point you were making and he suggested a solution but you are against him? I know your intentions are pure, child but this negativity you hold in your chest has to go.” Jeremy grumbled but he didn’t dare make a comeback. Mia Lu shook her head before looking at Raiden and me. She sighed, “We appreciate your offer, Alpha Raiden and we will have a meeting to decide if we woul
ALPHA RAIDEN~~The number of times I had blinked since I woke up beside Aurelia was countless and even as I exited the bathroom in a robe, I still kept blinking just so I could be sure that this wasn’t another sick game. That this scene where Aurelia was guiding my weak steps and my kids were jumping in our bedroom wasn’t some sick game that my mind was playing again just to torture me like it has been doing since the very day I felt Aurelia’s energy zapping through my dead veins and mending my crushed heart… bring me back to life. I was conscious of that moment and everyone that came after. I was conscious but I couldn’t open my eyes. I did lose track of time but it felt like I had been trapped for eternity and not eighty days. Also, I couldn’t feel much or hear much. Not even Aurelia even though she must have been spending time with me. That scared me so much that I stopped fighting my own mind and my consciousness was shoved into the darkest pit that existed there. I coul
AURELIA~~Due to the fear in my heart, I couldn’t sleep deeply but when I did it didn’t last up to an hour. I jolted into a sitting position and as soon as I realized that it was morning, I turned around to wake Raiden up. I thought to myself, “He has had enough sleep.”However, Raiden wasn’t in bed when I turned to wake him up. I can boldly say that today was the first time I smiled despite waking up to an empty bed. This is the first time I was happy that Raiden left me in bed after what I would define as an intimate night. Because his absence told me that truly, he was awake. Unless I was still dreaming–“It’s not a dream, Baby. I’m awake.” Raiden’s voice sent sparks through my body as it bounced off my mind, assuring me that this moment and every feeling that came with it, was very real.I got off the bed and threw on the first flimsy gown that I saw as I asked him, “Where are you?” Gosh, I couldn’t wait to see our babies' reaction when they see their daddy, and neither co
AURELIA~~A loud cry escaped my lips as my body and mind woke up. Or so I thought. I recalled crying to bed and I understood why that happened but nothing prepared me for the kind of cry that slipped past my lips as my eyes fluttered open, taking in the darkness in the room. It wasn’t morning yet. My body stiffened as I considered the possibility of this being a dream.But as soon as that thought crossed my mind, I felt the sensation that made me cry in the first place. I felt it again. In the same spot and just as prominent as the previous one. Rather than cry this time, my breath hitched and raw pleasure traveled up my spine, leaving me panting like I had been swimming laps in the longest pool in the realm. Was there even a pool–My thoughts, mind, body, soul, and spirit froze at that moment as realization hit my core, dragging me into reality as my eyes adjusted to the dark room. Inara resurfaced in my mind and uttered one word I thought I would never hear her say again… I m
AURELIA~~“Why can’t we spend the night here at home, Mama?” Kyle asked with an attitude that he definitely got from his sister.“Yes, mom. Why do we have to spend the night at grandma’s? I want to stay here with you and Dad.” Katie backed up her brother. Iris who was standing behind the twins placed one hand on her heart, “Ouch. Grandma has feelings, you know?”Together, they muttered an apology to Iris who stared at them with the same love she had in her eyes the first time she saw them. Despite Raiden’s state, Iris had maintained her confident aura. Although we all knew she was struggling, she didn’t let it consume her like I once did. I gazed at my kids, thinking of a better and less 18+-rated explanation– something that doesn’t say “I’ll be having sex with your daddy tonight in hopes of waking him up so we can all live happily ever after.”I eventually settled for telling a white lie to protect my kids' innocence. I told them, “Grandma miss having you guys over for the night
AURELIA~~Today makes it eighty days since the war and eighty days since I failed to wake Raiden up. Today also made it five days since I found a way to stop blaming myself for Raiden’s condition. I had gotten to the stage where I accepted and affirmed that I did all I could to save him and his beating heart was evidence. Heck, I gave him more than half of my own soul and didn’t recover for weeks after the war. Heck, he was the one choosing not to wake up and I was so over blaming myself. “Say something, Lori,” Iris stated, urging Lori who had come into the house to examine Raiden after I cleaned his body and dressed him up.I had given the responsibility of examining Raiden to Lori. After all, at some point, I thought he wasn’t waking up because I was doing something wrong. Lori sighed, her gaze shifting from me to Iris and then to the other people in the room– Andrew, Susanna, Tamia, Seth, Otis, Benji, Jeremy, and Pheobe. She looked at every one of us before she chimed, “This
AURELIA~~“I thought we would take it all out on him?” Inara etched into my mind as I slowly made my way home after seeing Tristan. She was referring to the anger still very much alive within me. “You have so much left. I suggest we visit the witch tonight–” I stunned myself and Inara when I said, “I think I’d rather stay at home with my family tonight.” Usually, or more accurately, most nights, I visit Larisa’s cell and our at my anger on her. But I didn’t have the will to hear her cry tonight, not that she has suddenly become less deserving of torture but my kids deserve to see me before going to bed tonight. They deserve their mama.“They do, don’t they?” Inara affirmed sadly. I knew my wolf was worried I would break down when I saw Raiden just lying in bed again but I was determined to be with Katie and Kyle even if that meant I had to stare at Raiden– evidence of my failure. A part of my consciousness pumped these words into my mind, “Doesn’t Raiden deserve to feel your p
ALPHA TRISTAN~~“You should take your leave.” The he-wolf who smelled like a strong gamma seethed at me. “She doesn’t want to see you.”Although I had been standing by the border of Dark Moon Pack for hours, I intended to remain there until I got to see Aurelia. “C’mon, Gamma Seth. You know we mean no harm.” Louis, who had officially resumed his duties as my Beta after I was reinstalled as Alpha, said to the strong Gamma. “This is a peaceful visit.”I simply listened as my Beta negotiated with the Gamma, feeling more like Louis was the Alpha. I would be lying if I said I haven’t felt useless these past few days. After regaining consciousness, I found out that Louis had become more influential, not only in my pack. Obviously. “Your ego is bruised?” Dolf mocked me. But his assumptions weren’t exactly the case. I just couldn’t wait to get back my strength and become myself again. “This isn’t about your intention, Beta Louis. It’s about my Alpha and Luna's wishes.” The Gamma answere
AURELIA~~Perhaps it was anger or hate, I couldn’t tell. Or maybe it was both. I was angry that Tristan was back to his feet even though I permitted Lori to send some Mender to Black Fur Pack to help him after Beta Louis took the oath, signed the peace treaty, and pleaded for help. I was so angry that my mate had to fall and Tristan got to rise again even though he didn’t deserve it.And for the hate, it was simple– I hated Tristan.Although my hate for Larisa was greater, Tristan wasn’t far from being another Larisa to me–“Talking about that bitch. She has had enough peace, don’t you think? It’s time we pay her another visit.” Inara snarled into my mind, fueling the hatred in my heart. My wolf had taken a hobby in tearing Larisa apart since she had become our prisoner– one that I wasn’t ready to kill just yet. Each time we pay her a visit in her cell, we torture her until death flashes before her eyes, leave her to healers to heal her, and return to start the process all over
AURELIA~~Life was different now. Before the war, I simply trained to get better and increase our chances of winning, but now, I am the leader of two packs and have more duties than I could have imagined. Life was different but one thing remained constant– my life was difficult.“Are you with me, Luna?” Andrew’s voice called me out of my self-pitying thoughts. I blinked rapidly, composing myself despite my desire to just go home, be with my kids, and–“Do you want to take the day off? I can handle the pack affairs while you recuperate.” Andrew offered and Seth who was sitting on the chair beside him nodded in agreement.But to be honest, I have rested enough. It’s been two months after the war and while a lot still needed to be fixed, the pack was recovering better than I thought it would, thanks to the help I have gotten from both sides– White Shade and Dark Moon.Andrew and Seth have been helping with Dark Moon’s affair and the elders of the White Wolves have been very helpful