* * * Eve’s POV * * * When I left the institute, I’d made my way to the packhouse reception and asked a very stern librarian looking woman for Natalie as instructed. Natalie is the head Omega; the position has gone to her head. She acts as though she’s a ranked wolf. Not an Omega who is either ignored or insulted by the rest of the pack. Natalie is an older woman, although her wolf genes would fool a human. She has auburn hair that’s always tied in a ponytail, so tightly that it appears to give her an instant face lift. Her chestnut brown eyes are cold, and years of arduous work has left her with a slim but toned body. If she didn’t have her wolf genes, I dare say she would have callouses on her hands. She has been a packhouse Omega almost her whole life, the longest serving packhouse Omega. As such, she has been promoted to head Omega. Basically, she makes sure all the jobs are completed. A role that has gone to her head. She avoids work as much as was possible.Natalie assigns me t
* * * Eve's POV * * * “Attention everybody” commands Alpha Charles, “I have called you here this morning to inform you that we will be hosting an inter-pack meeting for the council. N……” Alpha Charles stops due to the excited whispers within the crowd. “SILENCE” he orders, using his Alpha command. The noise instantly dies down; all the wolves are forced to submit to his command. It’s strange, I’ve no such feeling to submit. I force myself to lower my head, as the others have. “No more interruptions or there will be punishments. Now, as I was saying, we will be playing host to an inter-pack meeting for the council. I received a call this morning informing me that the meeting is urgent, and our guests will be arriving on Saturday, two days from now. They will be here for three days. As you can appreciate, this is short notice, so there will be extra jobs to be completed. Nobody will be spared additional duties, our reputation is on the line”, Alpha Charles explains and takes a brief
* * * Eve's POV * * * I quickly make my way back to the kitchen to find Becca has been working extremely hard, the kitchen is spotless, pots washed and in their rightful place, shelves and cupboard fronts are clean, canisters organised, recipe sheets lay on the counter ready to be referred to. How much easier duties must be when you are able to use your wolf abilities. I knock on the door. “Hi Becca, it’s only me. How are we looking for ingredients? Will we be able to impress the Alpha and land a permanent gig?” I ask her. Despite doing this at Cora’s request and just because we apparently need to be seen by the visiting Alphas and Council Men, I’m excited to have a change in my duties. Anything is better than scrubbing toilets and washing urine from the floor.“Hi Eve. I’ve gone through all the food storage areas and have planned a menu, if I may go through it with you?” Becca asks for permission. This is strange, nobody asks my permission, I think to myself. “Of course, please do
* * * Eve's POV * * * I’m a young girl, maybe five years old. I’m sitting on a man's knee, and he’s reading me the Wizard of Oz. I giggle as he sings in a squeaky voice “follow the yellow road, follow the yellow brick road. Follow. Follow. Follow the yellow brick road,” I’m happy. The scene begins to blur and then I’m in a pool. There’s a party going on around me. The birthday banners say, ‘Happy 6th Birthday’. There’s music and laughter all around. There are children and adults playing games. A man walks out with a cake, its candles lit. Everyone turns to me and begins to sing Happy Birthday. I know him, this man is my Papa. He looks at me like I’m the most special girl in the world. He loves me. Just as I spot my mother, the scene again begins to blur.I’m walking down a dim corridor holding my Papa’s hand. “Now that you are six and clever enough to understand, it’s time we visit the special library,” he says. “Does it have more fairy-tales, Papa?” I ask him, eager for more stori
* * * Eve's POV * * * I’m laid comfortably in the land of nod, slightly aware of something pushing at my mind. Feeling the familiar mind presence of Aunt Dorothy. My brave, very brave Aunt Dorothy; shouldering this secret for so many years, watching over me as best she can. Not even having her own mate to turn to for support. I lower the barrier to my mind and let her in, while greeting her: ‘Good morning, Aunt Dorothy’. ‘How are you this morning? Did your memories return?’ She asks.‘Yes, they returned, Cora had told me that there are more to come. But that she will filter them for me, so that I don’t become overwhelmed. To be honest, I have mixed emotions right now. I’m happy that I can now remember my parents and how loved I was. I’m angry at Alpha Charles, angry at his lies and that he killed my people. And for what? To be an arranged mate for his son? Becca helped me through it. Do you know her? Can she be trusted?’ I answer honestly.‘I know sweetheart, I’m so deeply sorry tha
* * * Max’s POV * * ** * two days ago * *We’re up shit creek without a paddle, without a doubt. We’ve close to absolutely nothing. To be fair to us, we had less than absolutely nothing when we first started out. So, I guess we’ve gotten somewhere in the brief time we’ve been together. But that doesn’t help me now as I sit looking at our finances. ‘Beta, please come here’, I ask. ‘On my way Alpha’, he responds.“Come in” I say tiredly when there are three knocks on my door. My Beta walks in, takes a look at my office desk and gives me a sympathetic smile. We’ve been friends for 12 years; we met at the Nights Watch. We don’t wish for our roles to come between our friendship. So, we use our titles only for any negative official business.“Tell me truthfully, Beta, do you think it was a fool's movement to try to set up this pack?” I ask him, feeling weary.“No Alpha. We all knew this would be difficult when we signed up for it. We were all made rogues, only you have the natural abilit
* * * Eve’s POV * * *It’s been an extremely busy day, ensuring all preparations are made for our guests' stay this weekend.The shopping delivery had arrived after the evening meal, so Becca and I had put that away after washing the pots and deep cleaning the kitchen. We tried on our new uniforms to make sure that they fit. They did. Alpha Charles had spent a considerable amount of money to maintain the pretence that all is well in the pack and that all pack members were well looked after.Not to mention that Alpha Charles had kept all the Omegas back after the evening meal to inform us that it was all hands-on deck. That all Omegas would wake at 4am for a final deep clean of the pack house, with Becca and I breaking off at 6am to prepare breakfast. We were told that we must not put our new uniforms on until after breakfast service. This was to make sure they were clean for when the guests arrive. To say we are extremely tired as we finally make our way back to our room is an unders
* * * Max’s POV * * * Last night’s meeting went very well, a general consensus amongst those who had attended. I feel such an idiot to have been so blind to the suffering of my pack. How self-centred am I to think it was only myself who has suffered with nightmares and struggled to accept what had been done. I feel it has brought the pack even closer if that’s at all possible. We had shared what haunts us, what we still struggle with daily and how it consumes us if we let it. I genuinely believe these meetings will help us begin to heal. The meeting had dragged up more memories than I cared to remember. Resulting in a more graphic nightmare, thanks to my pack members memories. But I had found it easier to accept although I couldn’t get back to sleep. The reassuring comfort of my pack, reminding me that we were in fact children. Forced into doing those things. I had actually awoken this morning feeling hopeful that together we can overcome our past. I had sent the councilman a text
* * * 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