Sera’s POVThe Still Moon Pack, Werewoods, NorrwickThe dreaded day is finally here. The day I appear before the Alphas and the Council as Alpha of the Still Moon Pack. Lots of people would like to see me fail my first appearance. Many await an opening to swoop in and claim my Pack for themselves.Glancing at my outfit in the mirror makes me wonder if I am making the right choice. I am wearing a casual black top and grey pants. I aim for a relaxed, effortless look; this outfit should do the trick. My green eyes reflect through the mirror, and I wonder how I would survive the scrutiny of everyone. Today is the mating festival, and I must appear before everyone as the Alpha of my Pack.I exit my room to go downstairs for my meal and meet Millie, my Beta, on my way down. “Morning, Millie.” I smile, taking a seat at the table.“Good morning, you mean?” She stares at me in disapproval, arms akimbo.“There is nothing good about mornings, especially not today of all days,” I said, groaning a
Sera’s POVMating Grounds, WerewoodsI turn to find Alpha Lucian and his men watching us with disdain. He is the major Alpha opposing my position as Alpha. Lucian has eyes on my pack and hopes to add it to his ever-expanding territory. He has been challenging weaker alphas and taking over their territory. He is the Alpha with the largest territory.“Are you also here to find a mate, Alpha?” He had a frown on his face.His men all burst into laughter. They are his usual crew, and he takes them everywhere he goes. Their job is to boost his prestige and intimidate others whenever appropriate. I roll my eyes at the thought.“What’s with this dreary outfit? Are you still in mourning?” He eyes my outfit in distaste.My plain clothes must look lame to such an over-the-top individual. He dresses in grand attire that announces his presence at every event. My outfit must look like rags in his eyes.I ignore him and wait for Millie to pack the van properly. She comes down, and we proceed to the
Sera’s POVMating Grounds, WerewoodsAs we venture deeper into the woods, everywhere becomes silent. Suddenly, a branch breaks behind us, and we turn to look. Lucian appears from behind an immense tree, a smug look on his face. His sidekicks appear one after the other and surround us in an ambush.“I promised to make you my mate, didn’t I? Well, I am here to fulfill that promise,” Lucian said. He had a benevolent smile as if he was doing me a favor, but he just wanted my pack to boost his ego further and enlarge his pack.“A woman need not be an Alpha. Just sit pretty as my Luna and let me take over.” He had a condescending look on his face. “Or I could just kill you and take over your pack.” His gaze changed, and he looked menacing.Amary stared at Lucian in disdain, a bored look on her face. I had seen her fight only once, and that was enough to tell her prowess in battle. I had been strong since I was a pup, even before I could shift. Although Marc was the older twin and male alpha
Draco’s POVSilva Moon Pack, WerewoodsI am running in the woods, the evening breeze brushing against my fur, when I smell a sweet scent of lilac drifting from afar. Beautiful singing accompanies the delicious scent, and I approach in anticipation as unspeakable joy wells in me.My wolf, Noble, wags his tail excitedly as we get closer to the scent. I turned the corner, and the sight before me took my breath away. My wolf howls in recognition, “Mate!” She turns around, and her face is blurry—my mate's face. Yes, I don’t recognize my mate.I open my eyes and look around my room in the pack house. I had been having the same dream every night since the mating hunt. As I rise and pull the drapes, letting light fill the room, my mind wanders back to the events of that day.As a powerful Alpha in the Werewoods and a respected member of the Shifter’s Council, I can skip the mating hunt. I’ve done that for five years, but this time is different. I’d intended to skip the hunt, but Elder Derek,
Sera’s POVStill Moon PackI stare at myself in the mirror as I brush my teeth. It had been three weeks since I ran away from my mate, and I still couldn’t get him off my mind. Thoughts of him occupy my head day and night. The tantalizing scent of wood and musk follows me as I attend to my pack duties. It is my mate’s scent, the mate I abandoned.I shook my head to steer those thoughts away.I had more important things to do today than to be plagued with thoughts of my mate. A mate I
Sera’s POV “Alpha, the new members are here.” Miles mind linked me from the pack’s border, disrupting my thoughts. Moving to my closet, I pick out a sleeveless brown top and black shorts appropriate for carrying out pack duties. I move to the mirror by my bedside and ruffle my hair with my hand. My medium-length, thick, chestnut brown hair was always unruly. I brush it into a temporary shape and head down for my meal. I arrive at the table just as the pack’s cook, Cindy, comes out of the kitchen with my meal in her hands. Cindy has been the pack’s cook for as long as I can remember. She watched Marc and me grow up; she is like my mother. “You are up. I was about to look for you in your room. Everyone else has had their meal except you.” Cindy places a plate of bacon and eggs with a cheese sandwich on the table.
Sera’s POVI open my eyes and find myself in the pack’s hospital. Hyde, the pack doctor, is talking to Millie and the others. They all had solemn expressions on their faces. I guess my long hours of overwork had finally caught up to me.“Guys, what’s going on?” I sit up, holding my head.“You tell us. Doc said you are with pup…”My face paled as Millie’s voice faded away. I am in shock at what I heard. I am with what?I can’t believe what I just heard. No, it couldn’t be true; I shake my head in denial. My face is deathly white, and my hands tremble as I hug myself. A familiar feeling of dread settled in my belly, at home there. I thought I had left the incident behind, buried in the past. I have to face the consequences. They’re unavoidable.I am pregnant with a child from a mating I ran away from, A mate I cannot recognize.“Sera, are you e
Sera’s POVThe more I’d loved Dylan, the more his betrayal had hurt me. This pack is full of wounded shifters, broken by the betrayal of one of our own. We protect ourselves from strangers, particularly alphas who might seek to seize control of the pack. My new mate serves as a threat to the pack.I had vowed to protect this pack as its Alpha, but I don’t know if I can keep it.The Shifters Council might assign the pack to another alpha or my mate as its leader. Then, the pack would be easy prey to anyone with bad intentions. My face went pale at the thought; I clenched my fist so tight it hurt. We had to keep this situation under wraps for as long as possible.I woke up the next morning feeling very weak. My head pounds heavily, and I feel sick in my guts. I have a lot of pack matters to attend to, and I can’t afford to laze around. I struggled to sit up as Hyde came in, holding several papers wit
Sera’s POVI remained in a daze as the pack collected the bodies of dead pack members and arranged for their burial.They were buried two days later in the woods, which was home to all shifters.We shifters are the most happy and fulfilled when racing in the woods in our wolf form and one with nature. Therefore, dead shifters were buried right in the woods, which was a gift from the moon goddess, Selene.The ceremony was held at night, with the uninjured pack members in wolf form as a sign of respect to the dead.The Still Moon Pack was going to bury its Alpha that night, and the woods filled with mournful howls.Sometimes during the wee hours of the morning, after remaining clear-eyed throughout the past two nights and not sleeping a wink, my tired body had given in and I’d finally fallen into fitful sleep.I’d woken up to find my claws gone and my eyes back to normal. I’d unknowingly left my half-shifted state.Now, I stood at the edge of the woods, watching as the large procession
Sera’s POV My conversation with Draco at the pack’s office once Millie and Miles had left about the new name of the pack remained at the forefront of my mind as I went around the pack for the rest of the day.Even spending time with the twins and hearing about Ruby’s latest adventures had done nothing to purge my mind of such thoughts.Though we hadn’t been able to come up with a suitable name for the pack, Draco had helped me realise the importance of picking a suitable name for the new pack.We’d keep it on hold for now and focus on getting the packs to accept the new situation and learn to accommodate each other.Which was why I was up even earlier than usual this morning. I lay awake in bed, staring up at the ceiling above my head, lost in thoughts.The window by the right of my queen-sized bed remained open throughout the night, and the tree just beyond the window swayed in the gentle morning air.I sighed as thoughts of today’s meeting streamed into my mind just as the wheels
Sera’s POVMiles and I turned to look at Draco.“I already arranged things with my Beta, Sebastian, back in the pack. They should be on their way soon. That end is all settled,” Draco announced with a smile.“Wait, on their way? You mean your entire pack members?” Millie glanced at him in horror while I threw him a murderous look.The intensity of my glare could have buried him alive, if possible.All his talk of coming to inform me about his plans before the Council summons situation was just bullshit.I swore under my breath.He’d intended to do things his way, regardless of my opinion.My look must have been telling of my state of mind, because a sudden strange voice sounded in the sea of my subconscious.A strange, familiar yet unfamiliar voice.“Of course, I care about and respect your opinion, my heart. I was just very determined to do nothing else but convince you.”I stilled in shock at the strangely familiar voice in my head.It was unmistakably Draco’s voice in my head.The
Sera’s POV “How is that even possible?” Millie looked like she’d just heard the most ridiculous joke in history, and I didn’t blame her for that. I gave Draco, the author of the most ridiculous idea in history, an accusing glance. But he just shrugged, without a care in the world. “That has never happened in the history of the Werewoods. Besides, both packs would find it difficult to adjust to the new systems and faces,” Miles said, in contemplation of said ridiculous idea. Millie watched him in disbelief that he would even contemplate how to achieve such an idea. “Have you forgotten that Sera and Draco are alphas in their own right? And that each pack has its leadership?” Millie sounded unconvinced that such an idea could ever work, and once again, I couldn’t blame her. I’d passed through this stage of doubting the idea, and watching her was like watching myself. It was Draco who answered her this time. “Both packs would continue to operate with the previous leadership whil
Sera’s POV“We are almost at the pack’s borders, Alpha.”Steve, the pack enforcer who’d taken driver duties for the trip, said through the mind link, just as we neared the pack’s borders.I glanced up in surprise at the sudden appearance of his voice in my head, only to meet his stare through the rearview mirror.He had a contemplative gleam as he glanced from me to Draco, who sat beside me.He sure had a sharp nose, seeing as he’d noticed.I understood his words. The enforcers would have to return to their border duties, ignorant of the meeting’s outcome, once we reached the pack borders.“Don’t worry, Steve. I’d call for a meeting to discuss the outcome once we are ready,” I returned through the mind link.The journey back was fraught with a palpable tension, Draco’s presence only exacerbating it. I could feel Miles and the others watching us, hoping to get hints of the situation from our body language.It didn’t help that only Miles knew about the relationship between Draco and me.
Sera’s POVI watched as the elders left one after the other with their entourage while ignoring Draco’s inquisitive eyes on my person.I’d thought it through.Elder Selene was right. With my current state, every single day of being pregnant means the likelihood of being able to shift reduces, because as my pregnancy advances, the weaker I’d get.I sighed, feeling helpless.Female shifters usually carried their pups for just 8 months before giving birth. With me almost 3 months gone, being unable to shift would put my life and that of my pup and the entire pack in danger.From this point of view, this arrangement came just when I needed it. Besides, it was on the condition of a three-month probation.That was something I could always use to my advantage.I’d decided.But I was avoiding Draco now because I didn’t want to have the difficult conversation of why I’d hidden the pregnancy from him.As if on cue, he walked over and came to a stop beside me just as the last elder - Selene exit
Present day…“Yes, Elders. I am carrying a pup and I can’t shift because of my pregnancy.”A voice emanated from inside the council hall.I paused mid-stride, in shock at the strikingly familiar voice of my mate.Sera’s resigned voice registered in my head, but I couldn’t process the words she’d altered.The words swarmed around in my head while I stood there in a daze, unmoving.Sera was carrying our pup, the fruit of our union, and evidence of our bond.I shook my head in disbelief as boundless joy filled my heart.My wolf howled in joy, and I knew he wanted so badly to let loose and run unhindered in the woods where he’d found home.But I frowned as I realized Sera had never intended to tell me about my pup. Vivid memories of my time in the Still Moon Pack told me all there was to know. My mate had known about the pup all along, but refused to tell me.Her unusual weakness and the fact that she’d been fighting off wolves while in human form should have been odd to me, but the impe
Draco’s POVTwo days earlier…“Alpha, you have a message from the Council.”I had just settled into the chair behind the desk at the pack office and was about to dive into the pile of files on my desk when Bruno burst in through the office doors with a letter.I glanced up in confusion, wondering what the Council was up to. It was barely past a week since the pack tour wrapped up and they’d come knocking again.“What does it say?” I asked, distracted by the pile of files before me.“It’s a sealed letter,” Bruno said, showing the seal to me.“Must be another summon. Put it away. I’ll attend to it later.”“Alright, Alpha. Seb said to tell you he has begun the arrangements for the move and asked that I confirm the date with you.”At the pack meeting the other day, I suggested we move to the Still Moon Pack, shocking the pack leadership.But, they had quickly come around after I tabled the moon advantages of the move to them. Which was why plans were in place for the move, even when I had
Sera’s POV“In your grand plans, who is going to be the Alpha of this great pack? You know that two alphas cannot handle one pack, right?”I couldn’t keep the sarcasm out of my voice.The Elder all turned to look at Draco, waiting for his response.This question was a tricky one, which was difficult to solve.On one hand, Draco, as a male shifter and acknowledged as the strongest Alpha in the Werewoods, can not be asked to relinquish power to me.It was damned near impossible.As it stood, a majority of the elders on the Council would elect for Draco to assume full authority over the pack.Because I was new, inexperienced and a female.My eyes narrowed as I clenched my fist fight.“Our mate is wonderful, yeah. But, no one, not even someone I like, could Walt in and take what’s mine,” Amary’s voice echoed through my mind, as domineering as ever.For once, I was thankful that we were on the same page.My eyes must have been glowing, for Draco watched me in silence, his attention directe