Chapter 2

DAYA POV

           After quickly patching things up with Ophelia and Andre, I made my way over to the training fields. My friend Sage was already warming up and waiting for me. We make eye contact from across the field, and she shoots her hand up in the air and starts waving me over, like I’ve never been here before. She’s always been so outgoing and bubbly- a necessary balance to my quiet and serious demeanor.

            “Get over here girl! Last day of training before you leave me all alone!” Sage exclaims. She always had a flare for being dramatic, but she cracks me up. She automatically puts me in a good mood and helps ease my anxiety about this move I am making tomorrow morning. “Did you go for a run this morning?!” She asks me, with her big blue eyes practically bugging out of her head. I laughed and nodded my head as I walked up to her and the rest of our crew on the field.

            “You know me too well, Sage. I love morning runs before the sun is up. And now I’m a little tired, so you may have a chance at beating me when we spar.” I shot back at her, giving her a wink as a tossed my ponytail over my shoulder. The rest of our friends started to laugh as they stretched and warmed up for the session.

            “And like the diamond you are, that cut me deep, girl.” Sage replies with a smirk. As she clutches her chest. She and I always enjoy teasing one another and joking about who the better fighter is. Deep down, we both know I would out fight her any day. Despite our obvious size differences- I’m a half-foot taller than Sage- but what she lacks in size, she makes up for in speed and strength. I’m also of Alpha blood, but nobody at this pack knows about my background. Andre and Ophelia made it very clear to discourage me from talking about who my father was and my home pack. Everyone here believes that I am a cousin of Andre and Ophelia, and that I lost my parents during the plague, which isn’t a complete lie.

           Sage was one of my first friends here. I was the awkward new girl who moved here during the peak of the plague. I was distraught from losing my mother, being separated from my sisters and father. I didn’t know who to trust. Sage sat next to me my first day of school here and immediately started talking to me about unicorns being real. I didn’t even spare her a glance, but she kept talking for a solid 3 minutes about the possibility of unicorns being real.

          “I’m just saying that nobody believes werewolves are real, yet here we are, walking amongst the human world. And there are vampires, witches, and fae, and who knows what else out there. So, you’re gonna tell me that just because no one has seen a unicorn that they don’t exist?!” That’s what 12-year-old Sage said to me. Staring at me with her big blue eyes, not blinking, waiting for me to respond. Her wavy brown hair was held back in braid. I laughed. I hadn’t allowed myself to laugh in weeks up until that moment. I turned my attention to Sage and shrugged my shoulders.

         “I guess, following that logic, unicorns most certainly are real.” I responded to her while starting to write my notes for our first class of the day.

         “Thank you! Finally, someone who is open-minded. If there are unicorns out there, I wouldn’t mind having one for a mate. I bet they are super majestic and beautiful in human form.” She said dreamily. I stiffened at her comment and looked at her puzzled.

          “You still want a fated mate even after all that’s been happening?” I questioned her with disbelief and shock in my voice. And Sage being Sage, said the most Sage-thing she could say in that moment 12 years ago.

          “The plague only affects werewolves. It won’t affect me and my unicorn mate.” She smiled the brightest smile and winked at me. Again, I couldn’t help but laugh. And since that moment, me and Sage have been great friends. She helps me not take life too seriously, and to see the positives when possible.

          And this girl has managed to stay positive regardless of what has happened to her. She lost her father from the plague and her mother did not die from his death. No, instead, she slowly lost touch with reality and forgot who Sage was. Sage acted as her mother’s nurse and caregiver for years, until her mother ultimately died when Sage was 19. It was heartbreaking, but Sage was smiling at her mother’s funeral. Smiling! The girl just lost her last family member, leaving her alone, and she was smiling. I sat next to her during the memorial and couldn’t help myself when I leaned over, grabbing her hand and whispered to her,

         “It’s okay to cry, Sage. You just lost your mother. That is a painful experience for anyone.” Sage turned to me and stared into my light brown eyes with her big blue eyes. She blinked a couple times and still, her eyes were not shedding tears.

         “Why would I be sad today when my mother is finally with my dad- her true love and soulmate. She has spent 10 years losing herself after losing him. And now, they are finally together again with the Moon Goddess. My mother is no longer in pain. And I no longer have to watch her suffer.” Sage said calmly and softly, turning her head to listen to the kind words different pack members had to say about her mother. “You had it easy Daya. You lost your parents quickly. I know it hurts you every day to not have them with you. But you knew you lost them the day you lost them. I woke up every day for 10 years wondering when it would be my mother’s day to die. Ten years wishing for her to be gone and free of pain. Knowing that I no longer have to wonder and worry… today is the happiest day of my life.” Sage explained to me in a quiet tone, but I could hear the tremor in her voice. I could tell she was grieving at the loss of her mother, but her words made sense. Sage has a way of seeing things and explaining things in a way that I never could. It was in that moment, at her mother’s funeral that I promised to always stay by her side. And now I am flooded with guilt as I snap back to the present moment and realize I am leaving her tomorrow morning.

        "You want to do a couple warm-up laps before we start this session?” I asked her, with my hands on my hips. She jumps up, wipes her butt so it’s not covered in leaves and dirt. She stares up at me with her token smile and bright blue eyes, she adjusts her trademark braid, gives me two thumbs up and says,

       “Let’s go chica! Gives me a couple laps to convince you to stay here with me.”

       “What are we, chopped liver?!” Our friend Drew calls out as we begin our warm-up laps.

        “You know how we roll, Drew!” Sage yells back to him as she turns around and jogs backwards. “Chicks before dicks!!” She turns back around, and we both start laughing while we continue our run. Drew and the rest of our fighting team- Scott, Aldo, and Devon, follow behind us, grumbling in frustration about Sage’s comment.

        Two hours later, we wrapped up our training session. We practiced defensive maneuvers in human form, then shifted into our wolves to practice fighting multiple opponents at one time. I love being in my wolf form, she is a beautiful black wolf, like my hair color, with golden eyes. She is a little bigger than most other she-wolves, and that’s because of my alpha blood. Again, I don’t tell anyone I’m of alpha blood in an effort to avoid answering questions and even worse, being a potential target as a chosen mate by Alpha Otto. Most alphas will take chosen mates from high-ranking bloodlines, if possible, to produce strong heirs. It’s old fashioned and makes us she-wolves seem like some sort of trophy. I detest this mindset. All the other she-wolves within the Eclipse Pack were waiting for Alpha Otto to pick a chosen mate, hoping he would choose one of them. I’m sure he will soon. But it won’t be me because I’ll be long gone by the time the next full moon comes around. We can only claim a chosen mate under a full moon. I vaguely remember being told fated mates can accept and complete the bond at any time. But again, that’s a thing of fairy tales.

     “So, explain to me one more time why you’re going all the way across the country to be a warrior when you are an amazing warrior here.” Sage pulls me from my thoughts as we wrap up our training session- our last training session. I slump down against the exterior wall of the gym next to our training fields. Sage knows I’m leaving for New York to be a warrior for a pack out there, but she doesn’t know the full story behind this decision. She can’t. No one can.

     “This pack in New York was asking for experienced female warriors to help train the she-wolves in their pack. It seemed like a good opportunity for me to get a change of scenery and some cool experience as well.” I replied. Which isn’t a lie. I saw a posting on an online job board. When I inquired, I learned this pack, The Running River Pack, is in fact in part of the territory that used to be my father’s. After bringing this to the attention to my sisters, we started to do some digging. My sister Amy, who has a knack for digging up pack histories, found that our father’s territory is currently occupied by five individual packs. Thus began the seedling of my plan.

     “Oh, that is a cool opportunity for you, Dye! You’ve done a great job here as an instructor for the newly shifted wolves. It will just suck to lose you. You’re such a pivotal part of our team and the Eclipse Pack.” Our friend Devon chimed in. He is such a nice guy. One of those guys who never gets angry, but somehow, when he is in fighting mode, or actual combat, a switch flips and he is all animalistic aggression.

     “Yea. I figured I’m not tied down to anything here. I mean, my cousins just told me they are taking chosen mates at the next full moon. And our pack hasn’t had any issues with nearby packs. I think Alpha Otto has done great work over the last few years in securing alliances with most of the neighboring packs in this region. So there isn’t as much of a need for me to stay if we aren’t actively in war. It sounded like this Running River Pack are constantly fending off threats from rogue wolves, and potentially neighboring packs.” I explained to my friends and teammates. They all seemed satisfied with that answer. Again, it’s not a total lie. The representative I spoke to from the Running River Pack explained to me the sudden increase of threats that they are struggling to stave off. And they have not had she-wolves trained to fight. That surprised me. It sounded like this pack was living in the Dark Ages. How can they not have any trained female warriors?!

      “Well, I’m still not happy about my sister from another mister leaving me with this gross group of guys. But I know how much you enjoy teaching and training. I won’t stand in your way. Just promise me we will talk regularly. And let me know when I can visit! I’ve never left this pack and wouldn’t mind a change of scenery either.” Sage said excitedly. I giggled at her request, but I won’t be inviting her until I have completed my mission of infiltrating the Running River Pack, challenging their alpha, defeating him, and taking back part of my father’s territory. My sisters think this plan is crazy. But I have been training for half of my life for this day, and an opportunity finally comes along. I no longer believe in fate, but I think the Moon Goddess is finally throwing me a bone. This is an opportunity I cannot overlook.

       “Haha, I don’t know how much you’d like the Catskill region, Sage. It’s January and I hear it is horribly cold and snowy there. I know we get our fair share of winter here, but I’m told it’s just different out there. Plus, their pack seems a little old-fashioned. You would run circles around all those wolves and knock them on their asses with your spunky and independent nature.” I said to Sage. This only made her smile more.

       “Oh imagine, Daya! You and me, in the Catskills and we find two hunky werewolves to take as chosen mates? And we choose them on the same full moon. I can see it now!” Sage says, looking up to some empty space beside us, her arms spreading wide as if she is showing me a picture in some invisible mirror. I can’t help but laugh at her.

       “Yea, does that mean you both are going to complete the mate bonds next to each other? That’d be hot. I’d pay to see you girls mating and marking your chosen mates together. Not sure how your future, hypothetical chosen mates will feel about that,” said Scott, the cruder and more immature member of our friend group. Me and Sage wrinkle our noses at the thought he just said that we cannot unhear.

        “First off- gross, Scott. Remind me to swat you behind the head to try and knock some sense into that thick skull of yours. Secondly- Sage, you know I’m not interested in taking a chosen mate.” I replied curtly, wanting to put an end to this mate discussion.

        “Oh come on Daya. I know you say that, but you may meet someone someday that changes your mind. Fated mates no longer exist for a reason. Perhaps the Moon Goddess wanted us to be able to choose who we love and spend our lives with. Or maybe she was just getting tired of playing match maker for all of us.” Sage almost pleading with me to reconsider my stance on taking a chosen mate. This isn’t our first time having this conversation. I easily become frustrated discussing this topic and use it as my exit strategy.

       “Okay team. I have a few last-minute errands to run before I go home this evening. I’m really going to miss you all- even you, Scott.” Everyone in the group chuckles, and Aldo and Devon pat Scott on his shoulders. “I don’t think I’ll ever find friends as great as all of you. And if things go well for me out in the Running River Pack, maybe I’ll be able to invite you all for a visit in the future. Until then, keep up the good training and remember I’m just a call or text away- preferably text, haha.” I said with a chuckle, trying to lighten the somber mood overtaking our group. I glanced at Sage, and she let out a sigh, but quickly nodded and put on her token smile. This girl never lets herself stay down for long. I will definitely miss her the most, but I need to do this. I need to try and take back what my family lost. And I’m about 24 hours away from making my way to the Running River Pack, which sits on the Western part of my father’s former territory- the Veritas Pack.

        I packed up my gym bag and took one last look around the training fields that have become some form of home for me. Any bad day I’ve had the last 12 years, I was able to let out my frustrations on this field. This soil is enriched with my sweat, blood, and tears. A piece of me will always remain here, but my heart is back home- my true home. I know my sisters think I’m crazy for doing this. I also know that if I need them, they will not hesitate to help me in my mission.

        We are the 5 Stone sisters. The daughters of Alpha Bronson Stone and Luna Kavah Stone. I will ensure my parents’ legacy is not forgotten or lost. I cannot trust fate to make things right in the world anymore. It is up to me to make my own destiny.