* * * Max’s POV * * * After the pack meeting, I meet with the council members to proceed with my father's questioning. I walk slowly, my feet feeling weighed down. I thought I’d gotten rid of him out of my life for good. I had thought I was free of his influence and the way he makes me feel. And now, here I am walking towards him. I’m 23 years old, yet I feel like my 10-year-old self. Fearing his judgement and punishment. “Max, you’re not your father. Your father doesn’t determine who you are. In fact, I’m surprised he even helped conceive you, there isn’t one ounce of him visible in you,” Fred says kindly, his hand patting my back.“Remember your place, councilman Fred,” councilman Peter says.“I remember it very well, but until we enter the room we aren’t on official business. So for now, I’m able to comfort a friend,” Fred snaps back.“He has a point, councilman Peter. There’s no resemblance, which is odd given that Robert is from an established Alpha line. Alpha Max, are you sur
* * * David’s POV * * *It’s been about a month since I’ve had control of this body, occasionally Charles’s conscience will reappear and I will pay the sisters another visit. It’s worked well, but I’m still miserable. The pack keep avoiding me. Despite knowing I have control, they can’t help their reactions to this body. And honestly, I can’t blame them, I even recoil from the reflection in the mirror. I’ve patiently waited for the sisters to find a solution, but I’m coming to the end of my tether, I’m isolated and alone despite being in a large pack. I need a way out of this torment.I’ve been building up the courage to ask Alpha Max to allow me to die, when Eve arrives to me to tell me they have an option if I’m willing. She tells me about John and Jack. John is nowhere to be found after his brain was hit by a silver bullet, and now Jack is fading away too. Without a host, a wolf can’t stay. I will be the host conscience and Jack could potentially be my wolf. I finally have hope, a
* * * Eve’s POV * * * I can hardly believe that they have done it. There had been a huge bang and the candles had burst into purple smoke. The whole garden was filled with smoke, yet there was a powerful aura buzzing in the air. I know that Selene is here in the garden with us. Is she going to give us her blessing? “You fuckers. You will pay for this,” Charles sits up and glares at us, through the smoke. Rising to his feet, he lunges forwards as though he’s preparing to shift. Nothing happens and he hits the floor, his face landing in the dirt. I barely have time to react, Jasper has almost flown across the garden and punches Charles so hard that he’s unconscious. “I will take him to the cell and chain him up,” he says, and throws Charles over his shoulder and leaves. I’m surprised that his hit knocked Charles out. Does that mean he’s without a wolf? Does that mean he’s now human? I haven’t given much thought to what will happen to Charles without a wolf. I gasp when I see John s
* * * Eve’s POV * * *The elderly lady is still embracing my Mama, stroking her hair with tears running down her face and murmuring reassuring words to her. Telling her everything is OK now, that she is here and isn’t leaving her again. Whoever she is, she’s very dear to my Mama, who continues to rest on her knees and cry. “Mama, what’s happening?” I ask her, stepping closer towards her. Ready to protect her if I need to, but I have a feeling that everything is as it should be and there’s no threat here.“Evelyn. Is that really you?” The elderly woman asks me.Taken aback that she knows my given name, I cautiously step back, assessing her and what threat she could pose to myself and my pack. “I’m Evelyn Rose Jones, Alpha of the New Moon pack. I go by Alpha Eve. Who are you?” I ask her. “My dear, I’m a friend of Katie’s. I’m the Alpha of Katie’s pack. I received your letter from Alpha Paul, and I just knew I had to come. That you have been found. I’m your Grandmother Tabitha and the
* * * Max’s POV * * * I hold Eve as soon as I enter our home, and despite the calming influence of the mate bond, her emotions are still erratic. I cradle her to my chest, as her mother and grandmother sit in an embrace. It has been a lot for them all to take in. Eve has fallen to sleep, clutching my shirt, it won’t hurt to let her have a few hours of sleep. It’s still very early, and she certainly deserves it. Perhaps it will help her mind to process her family reunion. “How about you ladies, take the spare room for a few hours and I’ll let Eve rest in bed for a while before we begin our day. I’ll have breakfast brought for us,” I tell the ladies.“Thank you, Alpha Max, I like you. I’ll take you up on your offer, I’m beat from the journey here,” Tabby answers me.“We’ll make sure that you have your own accommodation, we are in the process of building more cabins, to enable all pack members to have a home,” I say as I stand from the chair with Eve in my arms. Carrying her up the s
* * * Eve’s POV * * * The cage doors continue to rise, while the wolves inside snap and snarl at the bars, while frothing at the mouth. This isn’t as we had planned, we were meant to kill them off one at a time while they were held within their cages. This will be a fight to the death. We have to make sure that we send them home to the Moon Goddess, no matter the cost. They can’t be allowed to leave this sanctuary. I see the moment they realise we’re there, their eyes lock onto us and their hackles rise as their snapping and snarling intensifies.“OK, everyone. This isn’t as planned, but I have an idea. Keep them distracted and hold their attention. Joe can strike them with lightning, and I will use my fire against them. If you’re able to get a clean kill shot, move in and straight back out. Work together and do not play the hero,” I instruct my group, while also mind-linking the other groups. There have to be at least 30 rabid wolves, just as Arthur had said, kept within cages so
* * * Max’s POV * * *The silent strength I receive just from her holding my hand, is all that’s going to keep me going now.Send me to war, send me to fight genetically modified crazed wolves and I’m fine. Nerves of steel. But ask me to walk towards where my mother is potentially buried. I could curl up and cry. I could sit in a corner rocking while repeatedly hitting my head against a wall. What if she’s not there? What if she’s there? What if she’s really dead? I need Eve’s strength more than I can express. And I greedily take every ounce of strength she offers me. We walk at a steady pace away from the nature reserve, the pack discussing the fight and the challenges they had faced within their quadrant. The rabid wolves had been extremely difficult to kill, and it had taken teamwork to take them down. “Will we be holding a funeral for our fallen pack members?” Keith asks.“Of course. It’s the least we can do for any pack member. Any fallen pack member will be honoured in their
* * * Eve’s POV * * * The walk home is slow, and a sadness fills the air around us. Not only have we lost two of our pack members, but Max has also lost his mother. Despite it being years ago, finding her now makes it fresh and raw for him. He doesn’t say it, but I know that he was hoping that she would be alive after all these years, just as my mother had been.Five of our pack members have volunteered to help Max carry the makeshift coffin, while the wizards work continuously to maintain the illusion that they’re carrying a sofa. I walk beside Max, quietly loaning him some strength to get through this walk. I can feel his swirling emotions through the bond, rage, sadness, anxiety, anger, sorrow, loneliness and grief. I feel powerless and useless, all I can do is to be there for him. The beauty of the nature around us has lost its majestic appeal. We’re just going through the motions. Each of us wondering how a world so beautiful can be so messed up. Are living beings just programm
* * * 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