ELIANA.THE PRESENT DAY. My eyes fluttered open to the fluorescent lights and it took a while for me to adjust to it but when I did, the first person I saw was Denver. He took a seat right next to me on my bed, running his hands through my hair.His eyes met my half-open ones as I struggled to sit up. Looking around, he wasn't the only person there. My Nana was too and my Dad. And there was something intense about the searing silence around us."What happened?" My head rang with a migraine as I sat up. Denver caressed my face. "You're okay" He whispered. The hairs across my arm remained stiff and my memory was a blur. But that was seconds before it hit me."Nathaniel" I muttered, looking over my shoulders. "Where is he?" His last words flooded back to me and my stomach tied into a knot. "I remember" I whispered to Denver. "It's him. He's Boy—all this time, it has been him" I said and he hefted out something in his hands.It was my Mother's journal and it was open."It opened, Eliana"
ELIANA.“Eliana!” Denver called as I brushed past his shoulders. For a moment, his hands slipped through mine but he was unable to grasp me backward. Something about my last words has struck him like a blow. He was riled up while I, on the other hand was manic.Everything had come down to this—the moment I realized my mother had indeed found a way to break the Hybrid Curse and even though I knew the risks, I was still willing to take them. Because just like her, I think I don’t want to be a Hybrid anymore and I don’t want Elijah nor the baby when she’s grown to have to face these difficult choices.Having to constantly look over your shoulders, spending your whole life waiting for the next shoe to drop because as long as you’re this, there’s always going to be something and I was just done. But most of all, I sought a way to protect my kids.No one would understand that, I resolved. Not even Denver.“Are you out of your mind?!” His voice broke, echoing through the halls as he paced ri
ELIANA."He's gone!" I burst through the doors, grasping the attention of both my Grandmother and my Dad. The latter especially who had an arch between his brows as he turned around.I clenched my fist with an unwavering amount of anxiety and panic and Denver sauntered in right next to me. "Nathaniel seems to have escaped his dungeon" He reiterated and the guards by command stepped forward."He's not in here, the windows were left open with fur laying all around and bloody paw prints on the floor" I told my Dad. "He may have left the Pack—" "Well, he's not going anywhere far" He seemed confident as he stood up from his chair. His Beta Phil mounted a stance next to him."Relax, when he was unconscious, it was your Grandmother's idea to put a tracker on him" Dad said and I let out a sigh, partially from relief. "You put a tracker on him?" I asked as Phil reached for a phone laying on the table. My Dad collected it before inching closer to Denver and I."I mean your brother has been missi
ELIANA.My husband and I strutted into the woods that evening. The sun had almost disappeared from the skies, leaving a gloomy dark atmosphere hanging around us. I kicked my limbs forward, clinging to the earth with my hands and moving further in the direction of Nathaniel’s scent.There was a faint presence in the air that belonged to him. The tracker had led us here but a smudge of his blood enabled me to do a locator spell that pinpointed exactly where he was. And when we had gotten closer to the edge of the hills, Denver and I finally came to a halt.I breathed out through my snout and mouth, throwing a look over my silver fur back to him. We looked around, everywhere seemed empty and lonely but undoubtedly, this was where the scent had led us.We communicated with our eyes when suddenly, there was a snap sound from a distance, like a twig broken by someone’s foot. I faced my back against Denver’s as we navigated our surroundings. My claws shot into the ground as I glistened my f
ELIANA.Walking back into my room felt strange.I couldn’t help the million thoughts that raced through my mind. I closed the door behind me as a gust of wind blew into my face. I stuck my fingers into my hair, sniffling my nose as well and then my eyes met Denver for a second. I retired to the edge of the bed where I sat.I hadn’t felt this dispirited and just down in a really long time. Was the weight of a decision I was still yet to make or was it finding out Nathaniel was with the Witches—that my own brother sided against me.I couldn’t even blame him. You know it felt like I shouldn’t have been mad. Aurora was right, Nate had been running his entire life, he was only trying to save himself and besides we’d just met. But he was taken away before we even had any chance at rekindling whatever sibling bond we shared. He still thought I was the reason for our mother’s death.That she chose me or whatever the full-blood Witches had brainwashed him into believing. But none of that was t
ELIANA.As soon as I closed the door behind me, I paused to heave in a deep breath through my lips. The winds were gentle against my face and for a moment, I ran my fingers through my hair. It took a lot more to dry the tears in my eyes but I didn’t move until I had done that. Kicking my feet forward, I headed up to Ivan’s room. I knew he was just slightly away from above my chambers when suddenly, the gust of that familiar scent filled my nose.Almost like a slap in my face, his presence was pungent. Unmistakably haunting. I stopped in my tracks with my heart falling into my stomach. I knew it was him even before I turned around.And that only cemented my assumptions. “Nathaniel” I echoed. He had a lot of balls showing up tonight but he really was standing opposite me. I stared at him with disbelief and he was still with his hands rooted in his pocket. There were blood stains across his temples and his clothes appeared rumpled and drenched. “What are you doing here?” I questioned
ELIANA.“Are you going to be okay, Ivan?”I broke the silence in the room. He was seated by the edge of his bed and I was in the chair right opposite him. When he lifted his gaze to me, a light scoff escaped his lips. Most of what he was feeling to be honest was disbelief, but there was also the heartbreak. In a way, by walking away, my brother had broken both our hearts but I couldn’t even pretend to understand what Ivan was going through. At that moment at least. Because there was a point in my life where I had to watch the man I loved walk away with another woman too, right in front of me. It was clear Ivan loved Nathaniel, or at least he felt something which was why he was that hurt, even though his eyes said otherwise, I could tell. “There’s really nothing more that I can do” He replied me. I sat forward.“He chose to walk away, all I have to do now is move on and continue living my life just as I was before I met him six months ago” Ivan added.“You don’t have to do that, Iv
ELIANA.“Mommy!”As soon as I opened the door, Elijah abandoned his legos to run into my arms. He came with such a force that almost knocked me over but I held around him, a chuckle escaping my lips.“Mommy” He called again in a sing-song voice and I whispered into his ears. “Oh my sweet boy, Elijah” His arms wrapped around my neck before he pulled away. I straightened my knees to look up at my Grandma and when our eyes met, she flashed a tender smile at me.“He’s been asking for you.” When she was close, she did whisper and I nodded, clenching the blanket around me. “I’m here now” I replied Nana. For a moment, her eyes fell to my stomach and I knew exactly what was going through her mind before she even said it. “I’ll tell him soon” I said and a heavy exhale escaped from my Grandmother’s lips. Her eyes were burdened with the weight of every word unsaid.But at that moment, she just squeezed my hands and looked deeply into my eyes. “I’ll see you later” Nana whispered. I sniffled ligh
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