* * * Max’s POV * * *I hadn’t expected the words that came out of David’s mouth. Eve’s mother is alive? I can’t help but wonder how and what physical and mental state she will be in. What has Alpha Charles done to her, these past 10 years?My shock is short-lived as Eve gasps and then falls to the side, her body limp and falling from her chair. Instinct has me jumping from my chair, breaking her fall and taking her limp and tiny frame in my arms. Once I have Eve safely in my arms, cradled against my chest, I’m able to process what he has said, “What do you mean her mother isn’t dead? And what do you mean her fate is worse than that?” I ask him, wondering if we can save her mother. Can I give my mate her mother back? A mother’s love can heal even the deepest of wounds. I should know, I’ve longed for it since I was eight years old, nothing has soothed my pain, like a hug from my mother had. “He knew of her gift, he ... ahhh... took her. He has his own private ... no ... prison within
* * * Eve’s POV * * *I can’t believe it; I had seen what I thought was the emaciated and dead body of my mother laid on the cot within the cell. And then, she’s not dead. I stand immobile, completely shocked, staring at the scene before me. I’m certain that my mouth is gaping open, my jaw dropped and staring like a deer in the headlights. Before me, Alpha Reece has my mama in his arms, rocking her, stroking her hair, and thanking the Moon Goddess for blessing him. What has seriously just happened? Alpha Reece is my mama’s second chance mate, and she is his fated mate. The shock of hearing her quiet whisper of “My mate”.Then seeing Alpha Reece run into the room, responding with his own, “My mate. The Moon Goddess blesses me, I can’t believe I’ve found my mate. Thank you, mighty Selene, I will cherish her and care for her as she deserves,” he speaks gently and the way he moves her hair from her face so tenderly. I haven’t had time to process it. Never mind my shock at finding out tha
* * * Eve’s POV * * *I’m still in shock that Max has put the fate of his pack in my hands. But it doesn’t sit right for me. After living in the Mountain View pack and seeing how Charles had run the pack, I don’t believe in a dictatorship. Not for something like this, this will affect so many people’s lives. I tell him that it should be the New Moon pack that should decide and that we should have a pack meeting and put it to a vote. And now here we are, awaiting his pack to arrive. There will be the remaining 38 members arriving within the next two hours. What impresses me is the fact that he doesn’t order them to come. He and Damian simply put out a group message informing them that a lot has happened, and they need an urgent pack meeting, here at the Mountain View pack. All his pack had responded that they will drop what they are doing, some will be here within the hour. Others within two hours. His pack respects him, and I’m fascinated that he’s never had to use an Alpha command,
* * * Max's POV * * *If I’m honest with myself, I’m a little scared. My nerves are totally shot. I know that we’d planned for eventually running a large pack, but that was 10 - 15 years away. Not right now and to have it thrust upon us in this way. What if I fail my current pack members? What if I fail the new pack members? What if I turn out like my father? Walking to the meeting room with Damian leading the way and holding Eve’s hand, I can’t stop thinking about her poor mother. Ten years in the dark, alone, grieving for her mate and not knowing if her daughter is alive. Ten years without shifting, her skin must be crawling, I know if I don’t let Nate shift for even a week, my skin itches as though he’s trying to burst free. She spent ten years locked away without any support to work through her grief. I’m about to enter our borrowed meeting room. It’s actually Charles’s private dining hall. But it’s perfect for the meeting, with my pack being so small. I feel Eve pull back as I’
* * * Eve’s POV * * *“I Evelyn Rose Jones, denounce the Mountain View pack as my pack and pledge my allegiance to the New Moon pack. I promise to serve my Alpha and pack to the best of my abilities, putting the needs of the pack above my own,” I promise as I Natalie my palm and take my pledge. Of course nothing happens when I denounce the Mountain View pack, because I was never pledged here. However, as I finish my vows, I feel a band loosening around my mind as the awareness of the New Moon pack members enters my mind.‘Thank you, my mate’. A voice speaks to me.‘Max?’‘Of course. You did amazingly well. Thank you for being first’, he says. ‘Not a problem,’ I reply as I take a seat and prepare to patiently wait for them to pledge the Mountain View pack into the New MoonPack. I don’t know what I had been expecting, but after observing the first fifty members pledging, it’s become rather tedious and boring. I feel bad for Max, Damian, and Jasper. Having to continuously repeat thems
* * * Max’s POV * * *‘Alpha, we have visitors,’ a voice calls in my head. Can I seriously not get a break? Can’t I just live in peace with my mate? Even for a little while. ‘Everyone, we have unexpected visitors. Warriors, please adopt your usual positions for now. Jasper, Damian, Jessica, Jason, and John come with me to the gate. Everyone else, please make your way home and stay inside.’ I instruct my pack. And lead the way to the pack entrance gate. I can’t help but repeat Darius’s words in my mind, to watch my back and my borders. But I can’t help but feel that the visitors mean no harm. Why else would they approach the main gate without causing alarm? It feels good pushing Nate and feeling his muscles flex and stretch as they work. We train often and practice various scenarios, but nothing can beat first-hand experience. Often, I train with Jasper. I’d like to be able to say I beat him often, but more often than not, by the time I hear him coming, I’m on my arse. He pushes us
* * * Eve’s POV * * *This is the first time in so many years that I’ve gone to bed with hope in my heart. My world has changed dramatically in such a short space of time and now we are blessed to be able to change the world of those here in the new New Moon pack. Here, with my mate, I will begin the Moon Goddess’s work. First, I must heal, train to become strong, rebuild this pack and make allies. I fall asleep quickly. A deep and dreamless sleep, probably due to a combination of the last couple of days' events, lack of sleep and the extremely soft and comfy mattress I’m laid on. I’m startled awake by the sound of tormented screams. I race from my bed to find the sound coming from Max’s room. I open the door to find he’s thrashing in bed, eyes closed and screaming. I try to rush forwards to soothe him, but Cora stops my movement. ‘Stop, you can’t startle him awake, he could lash out’. She tells me. While Cora is speaking to me, the sound of the front door being kicked down reaches
* * * Max’s POV * * *Seeing the pups' faces the morning after we had spent the night putting together play equipment had made the sleepless night worth it. The pure joy on their faces when their parents had brought them to the packhouse, and they saw that their usual playing green contained everything they had asked for. That’s what being an Alpha is all about. The last couple of days have been boring and uneventful. Much of my time has been spent inspecting every house and the land, while Damian has looked at the finances and businesses of the pack. There’s a lot of work that needs doing and now I find myself having to retype the to-do list in order of priority. I hope the pack understand that I’m not placing one family above another, and it’s purely based on living standards. The boundary walls and security are the top priority. I can’t take Darius’s final words lightly. We’ve created a 24-hour patrol schedule, with increased bodies. And work on the walls has already begun. We’re
* * * Nellie’s POV * * *From the punch to the erosion of self-esteem over time, domestic abuse can either come fast or act as a dimmer switch. Nellie was ashamed that she had never gotten out of her situation. It had almost killed her on several occasions. She was an emotionally dependent sort and had never been on her own before. But once you have kids, they are your priority. They have to be. You try to get out and make a new life, a better one, and become their role model. If you don't want your kids to put up with the same... neither can you... otherwise they most likely will... because people often subconsciously seek what they grew up with, even if it's harmful. That is why she had tried to escape over the years and that is why she had written for help from her parents. There were nights when she knew Max would lie in his bed listening to the sound of fighting. Her, his mother would shout and cry, begging to be released from this living hell, his father would begin laying int
* * * Max Aged Three * * * If Nellie was a house, it was built out of love, and the floor is her faith in who she is. Robert’s cynicism ate away at the walls and hit the floor until one day it cracked. The perfect house everyone knew and loved, fell completely. Recovery was the biggest challenge she had ever achieved, and only possible because she loved her son, the community and nature. She worked to rebuild her house, a brick at a time; she put in new floors and polished them to a homely brown. There are times she still finds that there is a brick missing here and there, or perhaps the floor needs bringing back to a shine, but she made it. She was determined to make it for her son.She had tried reaching out to her family and to Harrison. But to no avail, so far. But she wouldn’t give up. Once Max was down for his nap, she found her writing journal and began writing again.‘Mama and Papa,It’s been just over three years since I last saw your faces, and almost three years since I’v
* * * Nellie Aged 13 * * * “But Dad, what if I get bullied at the new school too? Please keep me home. Teach me here.” Nellie whined. “Sweetheart, you have to go to school. King Arthur promised that the teachers would look out for you here,” her father reassured her. “But what if they do bully me?” she fretted. “Then we go to speak to the King; it will be fine, I promise,” her father soothed her. It was her first day at the Lycan High School that resided within the Lycan kingdom. She had spent all night tossing and turning, wondering if the Lycans there would accept her. The last two years at her previous school had been miserable. The school was mixed with humans and Lycans. The humans were unaware that creatures of fantasy existed and shared their classrooms and halls. She had not bonded with the humans, and the Lycans had ridiculed her and kept calling her a dog, which was their way of insulting werewolves. It hadn’t bothered her to be called a dog; what bothered her was that
* * * Eve’s POV * * ** * * One Month Later * * * The final decision has been made. Max and I will accept the offer of the Gods and transcend into Demigods. We will live as immortals for an eternity, setting up the academy and keeping the peace. We’ve travelled with the gifted; Cherokee and Isla, Joe, Jasper and Sarah and little Theia, who will be approved to transcend. Our ceremony will be held in a few weeks. We will transcend and become Demigods. After that, we will only be able to visit our loved ones during the solstice. Otherwise, the only entry to Earth permitted is on a peacekeeping mission. I find myself thankful that the Moon Goddess had delayed us having children. I wouldn’t be able to accept this path if it meant only seeing my blood twice a year. It’s been a peaceful car journey and has only taken us an hour. The Gods will meet us within the castle to show us how the portal works. As we approach, the castle looks to be in ruins. Magnificent. But ruins all the same. The
* * * Eve’s POV * * * Zeus walks away from me to turn his attention to the hunters. “You humans will listen to me. I didn’t create your lives, to be disrespected by you. You will stop your violence and hunting and learn to live in peace,” his voice bellows across the battleground. Half of the humans drop their weapons and kneel before the God who granted them life. This is an historical day, and I’m certain it’ll be spoken about for generations to come. “And if we chose not to?” A hunter challenges.“Amos Clark, I would have predicted a life of peace for you after your upbringing. Seeing daily violence from the customers of your crackhead mother. Your life changed for the better when your mother was fated to be the second chance mate of Beta Thomas of the Blue Ridge pack. He helped her to be free of the drugs and to become the mother you needed. He gave you a home, an education and a family, and yet here you are openly killing the kind that saved you,” Zeus says knowingly.“That fi
* * * Eve’s POV * * ** * * The Final Decision * * *My heart shatters, my soul is crumbling, and I feel empty while floating in the abyss. There’s a hole in my chest, and I want to die. I want to end my existence so that I can reunite with him again. It was never meant to be him; the Moon Goddess said we would have lots of babies. She lied. The biochemical impact and bodily stress of heartache is an actual injury that one never truly recovers from. I will never recover from this injury and loss. “My child, I did not lie to you,” a voice filled with sadness rings out around the darkness. “You said we would have children. YOU LIED,” I cry. I know she’s the almighty and our object of worship, but right now, I hate her. She chose Max’s fate; she planned to cause me this pain.“No. Max deviated from his predestined path. That’s something I’ve never seen before. He was never meant to die.”“Please just kill me. I don’t want to live in a world without him.”“My dear, you don’t need to liv
* * * Eve’s POV * * * * * * Six Months Later * * * We’ve spent a month up in Scotland at Alpha Darius’s pack. The hunters have been picking off lone wolves, wolves who have wandered beyond the boundary line and any wolves or vampires they come across. Their weapons are designed for one purpose only, to kill. They have been uninterested in peace talks, despite the prime minister and local authorities being involved too. There is very little the human world can do to help. These hunters live off the grid and are funded by businessmen and women with very deep pockets. Occasionally, we have been able to find evidence of those rich people funding the hunts and the government has stepped in to arrest them. The trouble is they seem to multiply, for every head we cut off, two more will take its place. We’ve had several battles with these hunters, we’ve managed to avoid losing lives but there have been a few close calls and injuries sustained. They have remembered which of us have gifts an
* * * Eve’s POV * * * * * * 12 Months Later * * *“Tea, please,” I call through to the kitchen, after Max has asked me what I’d like to drink. He’s been my rock over the last year, I don’t think I could have survived and done it without him. Well, I could have, but it would’ve been harder. And truthfully, I don’t want to be apart from him. “Some things are only true if you believe they are. Take for example the trojan horse in Greek mythology. Those who believe that others of different ethnicities or faiths are as the Trojans in the wooden horse, waiting for their time to take over society in a bloody massacre, treating those others with suspicion, contempt and prejudice. As that group (or groups) increasingly have less to lose, they form groups for social protection and to challenge the order that suppresses and abuses them. Thus the fear and cold hearted emotional indifference causes the problem. After this point there is continuing consolidation of groups who arm themselves for c
* * * Eve’s POV * * * Horror—the crisis is here. The Beta has created and unleashed rabid wolves within the pack. We all hold a defensive position—half-crouched, our arms extended slightly. They are coming for us. ‘Why?’ I think to myself, wondering why he would do this. The words come through my mind in a snarl that’s louder than I expected. Too loud. ‘I’ve got him. He’s in the armoury,’ Cora growls as she passes this information on to me and the group I’m with. ‘It means that it’s far too late to sneak around now. Most of us need to take on the wolves, and a small group needs to stop the Beta before it’s too late,’ Alpha Paul growls as he assesses the movements of the rabid wolf. Alpha Paul’s body shifts, only infinitesimally, but it tells me where to look. I stare at the black shadows of the Hospital doorway. It’s like having my nightmares walk forward to greet me. Six wolves emerge, eyeing up their prey. My heart beats furiously, loudly, as if to make their target more obvio