ELIANA.SIX YEARS LATER. My eyes settled on the untamed flames of the bonfire and even with the warmth that emitted from it, it was still a cold night in the mountains of Tuscany, where I’d stayed for the last six years. There was a rumble in the skies above me, preceded by a bolt of lightning that struck the earth. The breeze was cold against my skin, grazing through my hair which swayed left and right. I folded my arms with a jacket over my shoulders. Until the rain started to pour, I wouldn’t go back into my tent, I resolved in my head. It had rained heavily here each night for the past week. And although it was hard to believe the Tuscany mountains were a real place, they really were.I had to see for myself when I stumbled here one random day six years ago after journeying halfway across the earth in search of a home. There wasn’t one quite as welcoming as here. But the weather said otherwise.Of course, I had found ways to cope but still, on some days when the harsh winds wou
ELIANA.“Eliana…”“Are you there?” My Grandmother asked and a loud sob rang through my ears from over the phone. Heartbroken, terrified and soul-shattering. I could hear the pain in her fragile cracking voice.And soon, tears started to form in my eyes. I stopped in my tracks on my way down the hill and Elijah was right beside me. It took a moment for me to fully grapple with what she was saying and even longer for me to say anything back. I just…I was just so confused.“I don’t understand” I softly whispered. “Your father is sick, Eliana” I’d heard her the first time but that was only one of the many things that raced through my mind at that moment. “No, how are you even…how are you talking to me right now?” I asked. “I thought you were dead, Grandma.”“All those years, they told me—“ “Eliana” She interrupted, her voice was just as I remembered. “I wasn’t dead, your father only kept me away. It was what Sienna wanted. She’d brainwashed him for all those years” She added and I pushe
ELIANA.The bumpy roads caused my shoulders to sway back and forth, gnashing against the sides of the truck. I was in the back, alongside all the other travelers after we alighted from the train that brought us into New Orleans. I knew my way from there.Squatting in the back of the truck with a helmet around my head and blanket wrapped around both Elijah and myself, we finally arrived at the town’s market. Oakland was not so far from here but to get across to it, I needed to go through Tombsdale.The scent of the ever-dark and eerie town sent a shiver up my spine and Elijah jerked forward immediately after the truck came to a halt. The driver alighted and opened the back for us to come down.“Come on,” I held around my son’s shoulders, holding him up so he didn’t fall. His eyes were obviously still blurry as he’d just woken up and the sun was merciless in its shining from above the horizon. I couldn’t remember the last time I saw a morning as bright as this. Tuscany could be hot but
ELIANA.“Grandma!” I immediately threw myself into her arms as soon as I walked into the cabin doors. She was strapped to her wheelchair but her arms were still strong enough to wrap around me. Tears welled up in my eyes before they came running down my cheeks.I never thought I’d see her again and even after hearing her on the phone, it was nothing compared to actually seeing her—holding her. And I sobbed onto her shoulders. “Eliana” She sang softly from her lips. “Oh Grandma” I heaved and there was no emotion quite like this. As Adams stood at the door with Elijah, it took me more than a moment to fully gather myself together. And when after I stood, my eyes were stillwet with tears. They fell to her and so were her own. “I…” I stuttered. “I can’t believe this.”“Me neither” She echoed, intertwining her fingers with mine. I darted my eyes around the wooden cabin. It was warm and cozy in here although it was a structure at the furthermost outskirts of Oakland. This was a place I
ELIANA.It was well into the dead of night when the car came to a halt. I gazed outside my windows to see people flood through the Villa’s entrance. They were dressed extravagantly in the brightest colors, even some wearing masks. That sort of thing wasn’t unusual in werewolf ball parties.In fact—I looked to Adam who had driven me here.“I told you.” He heaved. “You were right!” Braiding the rope of my mask through my hair, I balanced it upon the bridge of my nose and a scoff escaped my lips. Only then was I ready to alight and he came down too.We walked up the sidewalk before I turned to the side again.“This is the perfect disguise.”We made our way up the steps, gliding through the bodies of Pack Members scattered around the pub and it wasn’t until we entered through the door that Adams and I came to a halt. Looking around, it wasn’t any more quieter inside here. The air was filled with the intoxicating blend of laughter, clinking glasses, and the faint melodies of a live jazz ba
ELIANA.“Shit!” I cussed, immediately throwing myself to the ground as I crawled behind the table, making my way into the curtains that split halfway across the room. I was panting heavily from my lips although I tried my best to be silent. The door was left open for a while.Someone had walked in.My heart pounded against my chest as I clutched my lips with my hands. I heard the sound of approaching footsteps move even closer and terror creeped into my eyes. I remained as still as a sculpture as a shadow drew across the room, heading toward my father.It was when I peeked a second time that I saw her.“Nora?” A soft gasp escaped my lips. She walked right to him with her face buried into a book in her hands. But she halted when she got to my dad’s table—our dad’s table. The thing is after my mum died, Sienna bore two more children for my father—one was Jaxon, and the other, about twenty years old now was Nora.She could be quite invisible in the Pack, usually just throwing her complet
DENVER.I couldn’t believe she was the one standing in front of me. At the start of the ball, I could swear I caught a glimpse of her and a whiff of her vanilla scent in the air. She captured my attention amidst the tens of thousands of people in the crowd.But I shook my head confidently—it couldn’t be her.Perhaps she had been infused deep into my mind that I was now seeing her where she wasn’t, scenting her when she had disappeared for six years now. I remember pushing a hard lump down my throat, forcing her out of my head like it was even possible.For the past six years, Eliana was all I could about.Some days, I was filled with worry about where she even was. Being a rogue was no easy feat, especially with an Omega like herself. She hadn’t been out in the world and it scared me. On other days, I was filled with regret that the other night ended the way it did.And there was a possibility that I would never see her again. The thing was, I didn’t realize how much Eliana did for
ELIANA.Grief came in the morning. The sun was barely out and gloom hung above like clouds of darkness. The air was humid with a little moisture in the atmosphere from last night’s rain. I leaned against the car, praying and hoping it was all a dream but alas, it wasn’t.It happened.Holding Adam’s lifeless body in my hands, or what was left of it—that happened. The bloody gore, the million thoughts racing through my mind. “You have to call for help, Denver!” I remembered chanting and my voice echoed back to me the next morning like a hangover. “Call someone!”“It’s over, he’s gone.” Denver had replied as the rain beat into us, carrying the flood that flowed from Adam’s mauled body down the road. I had never seen anything quite like it. My first initial thought was that an animal did it but the bites into his neck narrowed it down to a wolf.But from the looks of it, it was not an ordinary wolf. That image kept on replaying in my head over and over through the night. I hadn’t slept
ELIANA."The baby's coming now""The baby's coming now, Denver" I screamed through my teeth, reaching to grasp his hands from the wheeling bed. "I have to go call Thelma to tell the nurses to prepare the birthing room" He replied. Tears welled up in my eyes as I gasped. "Don't leave, Denver." "I'll be right back. I'll be right back, Eliana. I promise." He scrambled through the doors as fast as he could and I heard the echoes of his footsteps draw further away. But just after him, the door opened."Nora" I lifted my eyes to face her. "What's going on? I heard screaming—" She walked into the room before letting out a gasp. "No, Eliana!" Shock filled her eyes as her lips parted with a smile. I reached for her hands and I nodded. "Yes" I muttered, biting into my lips to try and curtail the pain. But really, it was so searing that my eyes rolled to the back of my head. "Ahh!" I yelled as yet another contraction rippled through me. Nora was panicking as I jolted back and forth the bed b
ELIANA.FOUR MONTHS LATER."I'm the luckiest man alive to be here a second time. Those were the first words that he said the last time he was standing here” Cory looked up from the paper in his hands. Though in a wheelchair, his road to recovery was beyond impressive.That he was even here, among us on this special day meant a lot—especially to Denver. I could tell by the way his eyes looked around the adorned hall. He stood there in his stormy grey suit, just as it was the day we got married. It fit him so perfectly that I was jealous. Today, we decided to renew our vows, something to remember the day that really changed everything. The day that we sealed the deal forever and I first called Denver my husband. I looked to Cory at that moment and the tears stung the back of my eyes. Oh how I wanted the day to be perfect, and by perfect, I meant exactly how it was months ago. But in that moment, I realized that wasn’t possible. It couldn’t be like that anymore.For starters, I could
ELIANA.A knock on the door drifted my attention. As I sat in front of the mirror, I couldn't pretend that my heart didn't drop at that moment. I turned around and then Thelma walked in. There was an unsettling look across her face when our eyes that I suddenly stood, Denver beside me. "Alpha Eliana," She pursed her lips. "Someone is here to see you."Silence immediately pierced the air with the thought of Aurora dashing across my mind but then she cleared her throat. "It's—" Thelma paused, darting her eyes between Denver and me. "It's Nathaniel.". She muttered. And at that moment, I swallowed a hard lump down my throat. Denver reached to squeeze my hands. "Nathaniel" I mumbled in disbelief. "He said he really wants to see you" My eyes met Denver's in a lock as I slowly nodded. "It's okay" I whispered. "I'll see him. I'll see him.""You sure?" Denver asked. I forced a smile to my lips."He's my brother, after everything, he still is" My eyes fell from his hands as Denver cleared h
ELIANA.To my Eliana.From Nana. Those words would echo for so long to come. I remember the moment I first held the letter in my hands. My chapped dirt-filled fingernails clinging to the piece of paper with almost as much curiosity as devastation.The grief still hit, like a storm against my face, a sour taste in the back of my throat. The grief was there. But in that moment, I remembered Denver’s words. In this moment too.As I walked towards her coffin which laid open in the center of the fire. The air was gloomy with ash and the warm golden hue illuminated the tears that filled the eyes of everyone that had gathered here—for her funeral. Nana. Just like my Mum, just like Adam—it was a rite.Whenever one of us died, they were to be buried the next day. And my Nana had found a place right next to my Mum. I halted right next to her coffin even though earlier, I had no idea I would be able to do this.I threw a look back at Denver who had paused some meters behind. To allow me a mome
ELIANA. My knees grazed the ground upon where my Grandmother laid and the crown of my head rested upon her chest. Frail, still and quiet. It was the kind of silence that was deafening, that evoked the river of tears streaming down my face. The kind that echoed over and over that my whole world had crumbled, right in front of me—right in my hands. And I held onto Nana's garment, as if maybe I could grasp tightly enough, I may be able to bring her back. But my powers had never felt further from me. Each spell that escaped from my lips was like an echo from an empty vessel. The words didn't form, the winds didn't move. I was no longer a Witch, no longer a Hybrid.Now, those words would've meant the world to me at any moment besides this but right now, right now it was just too much. I cried, right on top of her, I cried until my chest started to ache and my throat was sore and my eyes could no longer bring any more tears.I cried because I had lost the one person that I had—that I thou
ELIANA.The full moon rose that night.At about 3 AM, it had hit its apex. The winds coursed through my hair as I gripped my Grandma’s hands. I could still hear her, even with my eyes closed. Her incantations, her magic.For that moment though, I was taken by the night, bathed in ghostly light. The shadows of Denver and my father, and Ivan, all waiting for things to go south so that they stepped in. I had assured them I had the spell under control but of course they wouldn’t believe me.This was the most powerful type of magic there was, one that I had never done before. One that had never been successful before. But I stood there, beneath the silvery moonlight, clinching onto hope and the enchantment that flowed from my Nana’s lips.I could do it, I reassured myself. I could be something. I could be different and that was the one thing that kept echoing in my head.The fact that I could actually be happy, happy with Denver and my two kids. No one after us, just peace. Don’t we all de
NANA ABIGAIL.For the most of my life, I think I’ve been a horrible person.The mere fact that I was born a witch proved exactly that. I was a traitor, a manipulator, a liar. A liar.A liar.But I wasn’t always like this. We weren’t always like this. Cursed. I was also once a little girl with an older sister she looked up to like a god. A mother that was the best there could have been. I had a family who loved and would do anything for each other.We were Witches. For the longest time, we journeyed across the earth to find ourselves a home. Then we found the haven in Oakland. The people were happy, everyone was happy with my father. He had led us to safety, he had cared for us, all the Witches.We were the happiest we could have ever been. But then the Werewolves came, they too had found a home in Oakland. The town itself, wasn’t always like this. Nestled in the hills and forest, it was a town away from mortal eyes. Its cobblestone streets were laced with enchantment. We had made thi
ELIANA. "Tonight is the night of the full moon."Denver’s voice hit my ears softly as I rolled onto him. I fluttered my eyes open to the little sunlight that poured in through the curtained windows. I couldn’t help but groan tiredly even after the nap I had just taken.It had been the busiest morning, from helping Denver’s entire Pack settle in to preparing for the spell tonight, fyi I didn’t need a reminder because only then did I feel the tension weave through me. And I was barely even awake. My hands wrapped around Denver as I laid on his chest.There was this comfort that came from hearing his heartbeat and being that close to his skin. Perhaps, he knew which was why he stayed still. I felt his hands wrap around my waist too.A deep sigh escaped my lips.I ended up lifting my gaze to him and I caught him already staring down at me. “Ugh please don’t remind me” I groaned softly. “It’s almost like I should just stay here forever” I whispered. Denver’s palms weaved into my clothing
ELIANA.“I regret to inform you that Cory suffered a fall inside the building, and on top of that was almost crushed by some of the debris that had fallen” The doctor explained with a piece of paper in his hands. His eyes fell to Thelma especially whose hands held up her chin in a tragic manner.The remnant of all the tears she had cried clung desperately to her lashes and at that moment, a hard lump slipped down her throat.“With a fall like that and everything that happened, it’s not uncommon to be presented with some signs of head trauma which would explain his partial loss of memory and inability to do the things he was once doing.”I folded my arms across my chest, dashing a glare at Denver. His face was filled with unease and an emotion I couldn’t quite decipher. Like every word that came out of the doctor’s mouth was a thorn poking him in his chest. I saw the way he looked at Cory laying there.That was his best friend. His person. His brother when Blake wasn’t. And he was jus