* * * Eve’s POV * * * The guard sounds nervous, and the men holding the weapons are shaking like leaves in a tree on a stormy day. I can feel Max’s tension building as his frustration increases. The vein at his temple is pulsating, and his jaw is tense. When he asks Jasper and me to deal with it, I’m only too happy to oblige. Our gifts can prevent the weapons from being used and stop a fight. It’s worth using them to keep the peace. I catch Jasper’s gaze and understand what his eyes are telling me, he wants me to take those on the left of us, and he will handle those to the right. We adjust our stances ever so slightly so that we stand back-to-back. His eyes turn black, and he raises his hands. I can feel a slight chill in the air as the shadows answer his call. Black tendrils begin seeping from the ground beneath us and from the trees. The Blood Eclipse warriors are unaware of their presence as they stand and wait for us to make our move. It's time. Summoning the comforting heat
* * * Eve’s POV * * *We are on our way home, and my stomach rumbles, letting me know I’m hungry. I glance at the dashboard's LED clock; it’s teatime, and it’s been about ten hours since I last ate. The burnt orange sun is setting, cascading jets of orange and red light across the darkening sky as it makes way for the moon. Tonight is a half-moon, but it’s just as beautiful as the full moon we worship. The heavens have opened, and the rain is pouring down. The wind pushes on the car to no avail. We are going forwards, and nothing but a blessed tragedy can change that. The tires make their monotonous hiss over the rain-washed roads, and the air that makes its way through the filters is meadow sweet. All around, through these tinted windows, are fields. Inside this tin box destined for the horizon, the world outside continues like some choreographed dance without the soul it should have. When did the world become so full of hate? Is there none that can hold up a brave hand and say stop
* * * Eve’s POV * * ** * * Four Weeks Later * * * The Blood Eclipse pack members have settled in well at New Moon; the pups have made fast friends with our young ones. It has gotten me thinking that we really need to make a move on turning the packhouse into a school. I have spoken to the ranked members about it, and they are on board; we will also allow pups from other nearby packs to attend the school. And offer a residential stay for those further afield.There is a buzz about the pack as people have come together to discuss where they can help rebuild the Blood Eclipse pack and complete the building works at New Moon. It will be rather cramped for the next year or two, but we will achieve our goal. The council have also donated a generous amount of funds at our disposal for the rebuilding.The guard Stephen has led the search parties; as they went to find those who had left the Blood Eclipse pack, but he has been unable to find any of his former pack members. At the same time, a
* * * Max’s POV * * *Waking up is a transition from the world of dreams into the day, so it’s good to take a little time. For then, I may ponder the messages of my dreams, weave them into the truth of my life, and feel ready to greet the day. I have been sleeping throughout my life until she came along; now, even in my dreams, I’m waking up to her song. As my dreams linger, dancing in the way that dreams do, I rise to the light of the new day. My feet are ready for the ground, for whatever comes my way. The sound of the shower running catches my attention, and I realise that Eve is already awake and preparing for the day. ‘Today, we could meet your birth father; he has to be a better man than Robert,’ Nate tells me. ‘I agree, but it doesn’t stop the pit in my stomach from growing; I feel anxious’, I tell him truthfully. ‘Go be with our mate for a little while; clear your mind by losing yourself within her. Then the day can begin with calmness and love’, he says. I’ve noticed a cha
* * * Eve’s POV * * * The man who has taken the lead of their group appears to be an older gentleman; I would say he is maybe 60 years old. He has a powerful aura around him; I know he has definitely been a ranked Lycan back in his day. He also has an air of arrogance to him, believing we are lesser creatures because we aren’t Lycan. I have stood quietly watching the exchange between him and Max, my dislike for him increasing with every word he speaks. He’s condescending and rude; he has given a subtle hand movement that I would have missed if I hadn’t been staring at him so intently. I notice that his men have enclosed the circle around us ever so slightly. The man has asked Max to shift to prove that he is half Lycan; there’s a brief moment when he steps forward threateningly towards Max. That’s enough for me; I won’t allow him to threaten my mate. I summon the fire from within and make a barrier between Max and this man. When the wall of fire appears, the man jumps back. A look
* * * Eve’s POV * * * I can feel Max becoming overwhelmed, and while I’m positive that Harrison didn’t run from Max, it still feels like abandonment to Max. Arthur seems to sense the atmosphere changing and offers to give us a tour of the packhouse. I kindly accept and drag Max along for the walk. The distraction will be good for him; he is drifting away again, his body an empty shell. We follow Arthur around the packhouse and listen as he tells us about Max’s heritage and the various pieces of furniture. One-piece had been carved from an oak tree in Sweden and gifted as a wedding gift for Max’s great-great-great-grandfather. They are able to trace their ancestry back to the very first wolves; they are descendants of the first Lycan Dante. There’s a room dedicated to the Lycan royal family; portraits and photographs of the past Kings and Queens are hanging on the wall, and a small plaque is engraved with their name, lifespan and ruling span. Family photographs are such a window in
* * * Max’s POV * * * Yesterday, I was shocked to have a biological family. I’ve wandered alone, always on the side-line watching the families of my pack bond. I’ve created my pack to be family orientated and have my mate. But something about having a parent and grandparent who share your blood makes you feel whole. Meeting Harrison and Arthur, my pops and grandpops, is already life-changing for me. I can share my visions with them, and I feel they will accept me. For the first time in my life, I have male family members who accept who I am. I have lost my mother and found my father. It’s sadness and happiness together in a confusing swirl of emotions. My sadness, fear, love... they are simply birds flying around my head. At first, in knowing this, I feel alone and isolated in my mind. But, after a time, I know it means I’m in control. The sad memories only exist in my head; they are like movies I can refuse to play, so the "sadness bird" flies away. My fear is nothing at all, les
* * * Eve’s POV * * * Harrison’s Jessica’s mate: I didn’t see it coming. I forget she’s 16 years older than me, at 35. Or 15 years? I don't know when her birthday is. Harrison will have been 18 when Nellie gave birth to Max, which means he’s around 41 years old. I don’t want to lose Jessica, she has become one of my best friends, and I rely on her a little too much. But I’m over the moon that she has finally found her mate. How will Harrison feel about it? Lycans choose their mates, and he has just found out that the woman he has spent his life loving is dead. “Hi. I’m Harrison; I’m guessing you are the head trainer, Jessica,” Harrison says politely as he introduces himself.“Don’t you feel the pull? Do you feel the bond?” Jessica asks him, beginning to look worried. “I feel something, but Lycans don’t feel the mate bond. Please sit with us for lunch, and then perhaps we can spend some time together if you wish?” He answers her.“Why would I be fated to somebody who can’t feel the
* * * 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