* * * 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
* * * Eve’s POV * * * Harrison has spent almost 40 hours in the Hospital, being subjected to various tests. Luckily, there are no signs of ill effects. Jessica has barely left his side, too afraid that he may do something else that’s idiotic. The Doctors and Nurses have also scolded him, much to his amusement. He laughs when they stutter and excuse themselves when they find out he’s the Lycan king.Yesterday, once they were sure that he was OK, they took observations and his height and weight to figure out the dose of Wolfsbane he will need. The council members have visited to ask if he wishes to postpone, which he vehemently declines. I can’t help but wonder why the Moon Goddess chose now to speak to Harrison; perhaps she’s worried that he will reject his second chance at happiness. I try to picture her job's difficulty, watching over the hundreds and thousands of wolves worldwide. It must be difficult to match two souls at birth without knowing what will come their way. Two souls
* * * Eve’s POV * * * * * Six Months Later * * The New Moon pack has grown tremendously. It’s become its own town in the countryside. Amid the chattering trees, amid the cheer of laughing meadows, lives the country town. The country town is a hug of houses amid green pastures. In this expanse of green, there are more hues than anyone has ever named, yet here they are for any eye to see. The land rolls as it always has, as if it feels that time and space are one thing, that it moves through the ages as much as to the horizon. Over it is laid a path that branches through the open landscape, and as I begin to walk, there is a frisson of joy for all the choices to come, each one laden with discoveries. The pack has managed to build this town without imposing on the natural beauty of the countryside. There is a structure to the streets and buildings that house our hundreds of members. We were about to start work on the old derelict Blood Eclipse pack. However, its members have all begge
* * * Eve’s POV * * * Life has been strangely quiet and peaceful over the last two weeks. The most noteworthy events are the birth of Becca’s and Damian’s pups and the upcoming rugby match. It’s been a blissful slice of heaven, and I can certainly get used to it. Max has asked to take me on a first date, something that he has been unable to do with all the craziness that has happened. You’ve surely seen those photographs where the background is blurred, and the only part in focus is the person pictured. That’s him on our first date. Every other detail of the place blurs as every part of me focuses on every aspect of him. All I remember about the date is how much I feel loved by him and how much I love him. I’ve woken up this morning to find Max has already gone to the office to meet with Paul before our departure. When I reach for him, I find a piece of paper folded on his pillow. I now sit drinking my coffee, holding that same piece of paper. Rereading the poem, he has written to
* * * Eve’s POV * * * There are an infinite number of ways to be a man, as I suppose there are an endless number of ways to be a woman. For all, personality traits exist in both. Yet this man in front of me has both empathy and a very masculine form of strength and love. He’s divine. I don’t know how else to say it. But it has been so effortless to fall in love with every part of who he is, and there’s no reverse gear. I’m hopelessly and irrevocably in love with him, and I thank my lucky stars every day that the Moon Goddess blessed me with his soul and this bond. Whatever the decision I have to make, my answer will always be him. I know within my core that my life will feel empty without him and choosing a life without him will never be a possibility. I hope the Moon Goddess understands this. ‘Mother knows how precious the bond is; she created it. And she would never ask you to choose’, Cora tells me firmly. ‘I agree; I just wish she would share her full vision with me and tell
* * * 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