Ch. 6 - Changes

Kiera POV

As sleep enveloped me, my mind drifted between the realms of dreams and deep slumber. Darkness seeped into my thoughts, signaling the onset of a long night filled with vivid night terrors.

A blurry vision of a little girl in a red dress with red bows pranced before me, her voice muffled and hands waving for me to follow. I stepped carefully, knowing I was in a dream, but not why or how I knew.

"You're being foolish, Aunty. I thought more of you."

"Who are you?" I asked nervously.

"That is not important. The question is, who are you?'"

"I don't understand. Tell me, why am I here?"

"Because you wished to escape, to understand."

"That doesn't make sense."

"Nothing rarely does." The little girl giggled demonically. She was adorable, but creepy. "You are being fooled, and deep down, you know it." Her words left an uneasiness inside me.

A dark voice called for me. My head spun, searching for who it came from. "Kiera!" He called again.

"Jackson?" I asked, recognizing his tone, but it was filled with foreboding growls.

"Kiera!" He shouted this time in anger, and I jumped back, knocking into the little girl.

"Don't go to him, he doesn't love you. Stay with me!" The little girl pleaded, and I shook my head no at her. I had to find my husband and wake up from this dream.

"I never thought you to be so weak." The little girl looked disappointed in me. I looked back at her, confused, and then she just vanished. The field I was in whirled then faded, and I found myself back in my bed.

My eyes suddenly opened, and a wave of fear and confusion riddled my body as I breathed heavily. My eyes focused on the room around me, and relief settled into my bones.

It was just a dream, another vivid dream that made no sense. Since I was a little girl, these nightmares of twists and turns plagued me, leaving me a mess when I woke. I tried to remember them, make sense of the chaos, but they always faded into fragments.

I often dreamt of a man, one that claimed to be my son. He held such malice in his eyes and I was terrified of him. There was a little girl, who always called me Aunty, but looked nothing like me or my husband. Lastly, several males, all Alphas, and all trying to own my soul. I couldn't recall their faces, just their eyes, bright green and filled with both evil and love.

A raspy voice spoke beside me, making me jump. "Sweetheart, are you okay?"

I glanced over at my husband, his shirtless, robust frame laid half-asleep in our bed. "Just a bad dream, Jackson," I reassured him, but I was still a bit shaking.

"Bad dream?" He inquired, sitting up and wrapping an arm around my waist. Slowly, he pulled me down, enfolding me in his strong embrace.

"Yeah. I'm okay, perfect, actually." I nestled into his chest, allowing his warmth to replace the cold shivers from my nightmare—the images fading from my memory.

"You've been having these dreams a lot recently."

"It's just a bad dream and nothing more. I've always had them," I replied, although the truth was, my dreams have seemed more like reality the past few months as if I was living two lives.

My husband's arms tightened around me, and he planted a soft kiss on my head. "I'll be right here to chase them away with you.

As I soaked up the love and warmth he gave me, our alarms began to blare out. "Jackson, we're under attack," I said in fear, body tensing.

"I'm sure it's just a few rogues lurking around our borders. We are fine, sweetheart." He whispered, and then his lips began dancing over my skin. I loved how he made me feel.

"We need to meet the council. Something happened out there." I said, pushing his chest back and removing his lips from my neck.

My eyes scanned over my husband. He looked different, happy, and more powerful. Jackson leaned back to my neck, kissing my mark and sending shivers down my body. I didn't want to leave this bed, but we had responsibilities.

"I want you every second, Kiera. You make it impossible to leave you." He kept kissing me, hands beginning to roam over my body, and I felt his arousal heightening.

"I'm yours, and I'll always be yours. We need to go for now; then we can return to bed."

He smiled at me, "Mmm, I want you pregnant. I want a son as powerful as you." His eyes gleamed at me, and I saw something unfamiliar in them. He never looked at me like this, like I was his possession.

I smiled at my husband, letting his need to create our own family wash over any fears that lingered inside me. I did want it too, but for some reason, in this moment, it sent fear through my body.

Jackson sensed my tension, his eyes looking curiously over me. I never told him about the dark and eerie nightmares that plagued my nights. Like most others, he knew I had these night terrors, just not any details.

"Let's get dressed so we can quickly get undressed." Jackson gave me one more kiss, taking a moment to savor our connection, and then he pulled me from the bed. I shook off any lingering doubts and concentrated only on my husband.

Once we arrived in the conference room we were met with respectful bows. "Alpha, Luna," the council members greeted us.

Approaching with a devious smile, Alpha Marcus addressed us, "Alpha Jackson, you look well-rested."

"I am. I feel more powerful than ever," Jackson declared, his arm securing my waist.

I smiled while leaning into him. He did seem more alive today. I knew he still had to be suffer from rejecting his fated, but he hid it well. We needed to be at our strongest, especially now.

"I bet." Marcus winked at him, then gave me a cold glare with his dark blue eyes.

"Let's get started," Jackson announced as we all took a seat.

"The Dark Wolves have been dangerously close to our territory for at least a month, somehow invading our detection. In the last 24 hours, they've advanced another twenty miles closer, some right at our borders," Alpha Marcus shared in the meeting, delivering updates that left me uneasy. Something about it all didn't make sense though.

"The night of our party, that wasn't the Dark Wolves." I blurted out as the men spoke of battle plans and tactics. We had more than one threat, and we needed to be prepared for it all.

"Why do you say that?" Jackson looked curiously at me, and I swore I saw a hint of fear in his eyes. With everything that happened with his fated mate, we hadn't spoken about what happened to me that night. Honestly, I wanted to forget my encounter with the black wolf.

"After the explosion went off, I ran out to the old pack house..." As I spoke, Jackson interrupted me with a dark growl.

"Why would you put yourself in danger?" He snarled at me, his eyes flicking with black specks. His wolf wanted to reprimand me, but he knew that wouldn't end well if Athena came forward.

"Because we aren't cowards that run and hide like others." My eyes heated, Athena momentarily taking over as I spoke. I had forgiven Jackson about that night, but she obviously hadn't.

"Athena!" Jackson's wolf warned. I closed my eyes and took a long, deep breath.

'We are not starting a fight, Athena. Calm yourself, now!' I demanded of her. She growled darkly at me, displeased I so easily forgave.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, taking another moment to gather myself. "Some of the Second Lunas were out by the old pack house. Enemy wolves were close by, and I couldn't leave them for death. Athena would never allow that." I turned to Jackson, praying he understood that I had a feral beast inside me, too. One that was powerful and righteous.

"What happened?" Another member of the council asked.

"Three wolves encircled them while a few others lurked in the nearby woods. Andy and I tried to protect the women, but were outnumbered and overpowered."

"Then how did you survive?" Alpha Marcus looked at me, curiosity clear in his tone.

"The Alpha of the Dark Wolves saved me," I said, swallowing hard. Is that really what happened?

"The Alpha?" Jackson questioned, doubt evident in his words.

"Yes, I could sense his power and the darkness in his growls." I looked to Jackson. His body tensed with hands now in fists.

"Did you speak to this Alpha?" Jackson asked with a tight jaw. It was apparent jealousy was consuming him.

"No. He was there for a few seconds in his wolf form. He killed every single enemy surrounding us, then just left."

"Why wasn't this reported?" Marcus demanded of me to answer him. I looked to Jackson, unsure what to say. The truth was that despite the danger my pack was in, my thoughts were consumed by the perceived betrayal of my husband.

"It's over now." Jackson quickly added, his anger still lingering, but I knew he understood why I had forgotten to update the council of my encounter with our greatest enemy.

"Whether they saved your Luna or not, they are our enemy. The Dark Wolves are too close. We should attempt to bring the remaining packs from the South here," Marcus suggested, he and Jackson exchanging long glances with each other. There was something they knew but weren't telling the rest of us.

Despite my reluctance to agree, Marcus was right. The more numbers we had, the better our chances were of winning this war.

"We'd have to start clearing more land for them. We're already over capacity, and the Second Lunas are making everyone's life hell with all the fighting," I added to address both the lack of space and the growing issues from the members we have already taken in.

"Jackson, you should head to the Green Forest pack as soon as possible. We need to gather whatever armies are left for a strong front to the North," Marcus directed towards Jackson.

I closed my eyes, knowing exactly where this conversation was going. My husband would be leaving, and I didn't want to let him go. It was only one night I thought I lost him, but it felt like months, and I just got him back.

I glanced at Jackson, and he flashed me his sexy smile. Leaning in, he placed a kiss over my mark. "I won't be gone long, sweetheart. We will always be together." He promised, voice deep with confidence. I believed in my Alpha and would put my desires aside to finally bring peace to our pack.