* * * Eve’s POV * * ** * * Three Weeks Later * * * The last three weeks have passed in a blur; sometimes, it feels like you will miss out on life if you blink. Becca and Damian have lost themselves in a sleep-deprived state, so we babysat for a few nights to allow them to sleep. I have no idea how they do it. The babies are not in sync at all; they take it in turns to wake and cry. Efficiently tag-teaming against us. But they’re so adorable and watching Max coo and sing to them hurts my ovaries. In a good way, of course. There’s something so special about watching a big man dote upon babies that makes him instantly more attractive and desirable. Every time I watch him with the babies, I fall more in love with him and indescribably desire to have him. When Becca and Damian collect the babies, I pounce. At first, it had caught him by surprise, but once he realises how much I crave him after seeing him with them, he volunteers for more babysitting duties. Our days have been spent sor
* * * Eve’s POV * * * “Bobby, is that you?” My grandmother asks as she steps forwards.“Older, wiser and more handsome. But yes, I’m Bobby Coulson. Although people tend to call me Robert these days,” a man speaks.I watch, fascinated, as my grandmother runs forward and throws herself into the arms of this man standing before me. “Are the rest of the pack here?” She asks him. “I’m afraid not. We were travelling back to our ancestral home and made a stop here. This is the Sea View pack; they were kind enough to offer us shelter after we had fled. I met my mate here and decided to stay; the others continued travelling. Some met their mate and went to their pack; others joined the pack at our ancestral home,” Bobby answers.“It’s so good to see you. How many made it out? Do you think they are all still there?” My grandmother asks in wonder.“I have everyone’s numbers. After the attack, we sent a small group to where we had been living. Everyone chose to come to France; we thought we had
* * * Eve’s POV * * * I have barely gotten over the seagull trauma; if I’m honest, I’m in a bit of a mood over it. If those humans hadn’t been there or if they were aware of us, I would’ve totally cooked the pesky sky pirates and saved my sausage roll. I’ve been bested by a feathery devil with a brain the size of a walnut.We’ve spent time with the Royal pack members who have arrived; they aren’t able to tell us much more than we already know. But it’s been a pleasant evening. We lay cosy in bed with the window cracked open, allowing the sea breeze air to fill the room.Something about the scent of the sea air makes me feel sleepy, and I don’t remember falling asleep. I’m comfortable in my deep slumber, vaguely aware of Max’s arm draped over my waist. “INTRUDERS!” a voice rings out, startling me from my sleep and almost giving me a heart attack. “It’s a tannoy. Come, we need to help them. Out the window,” Max says quickly as he rushes to the window.“Out the window?” I repeat, alm
* * * Eve’s POV * * * My brain stutters for a moment, and my eyes take in more light than I expected as they open wide in shock; every part of me goes on pause while my thoughts catch up. It’s like a lightbulb moment, the realisation of what my help has done. How will Sarah react? The whole thing is quite unbelievable, shocking, really. My mind is sent reeling, unable to understand or process what has happened. I look away, then look back at her. How could I have done this? ‘Are you sure?’ I ask Cora as I come to my senses. ‘90% sure. Shall I try to reach out to Chloe?’ She answers me.‘Yes. We need to be 100% certain’. I tell her. Feeling Cora push her consciousness forward and probe around the recesses of Sarah’s mind is surreal. We have become so in tune with one another that I’m beginning to feel her actions more clearly. ‘Who is that?’ A voice speaks out to Cora as she finds an entry point.‘Please don’t be alarmed; I’m the Moon Goddess’s daughter, Cora. Do you know how you
* * * Eve’s POV * * *Cradling the sweet young girl close to my chest, I watch amused as Sarah rushes up the stairs to the packhouse in a trance-like state and claims him as her mate. I laugh as his eyes pop wide in shock, and as he tries to process what is happening. He’s rooted to the spot and if it’s at all possible, he appears even paler than usual. How can this be? ‘Mother has a plan’, Cora tells me. ‘Has this match ever been made before?’ I ask her.‘I can’t recall, but it’s happened for a reason,’ she tells me.“Will you accept the bond?” Sarah asks him. When her declaration has gone unanswered. “Do you know what I am?” He asks her, looking nervous and shifting from foot to foot. It saddens me to think that he places his worth on his race. “You are mine to love and cherish,” she tells him.“I’m a vampire, does that not bother you?” He asks her.“Not unless you don’t like dogs,” she laughs nervously. “You’re a vampire and I’m a new werewolf and a mother. Will you accept me
* * * Eve’s POV * * * Paul is staring at me, his eyes wide that he is so included in this meeting and decision-making. I have come to really like Paul, he’s humble, caring and will do anything for his pack. “What decision is that?” Paul asks me.While speaking with the Alphas, I have rethought about my position here at New Moon and it has hit me that New Moon hasn’t been in my vision of the future, confirming where my thoughts have been taking me. Staying at New Moon isn’t what is planned for me. “In my vision, I was never meant to lead a single pack, I’m responsible for all packs and races. The gifted and I are to be impartial peacekeepers. That is the only way to keep things fair. For that to happen, New Moon needs an Alpha that will uphold our values and lead them fairly, honestly and with strength. If Max chooses to follow me on this journey, I would like that person to be you,” I tell him. Everybody in the room looks at Max, awaiting his answer. “There’s no choice to make. I c
* * * Jasper’s POV * * * There are still 45 minutes until the pack meeting, and I’ve decided to tell Sarah what I’ve found out. I find her sitting by the park watching Theia play. “Hi, you,” I say as I appear by her side and then laugh as I catch her and stop her from falling from the bench. It will take her some time to get used to how quickly I move. “Hi. Is everything OK?” She asks me. “I have some news to share with you,” I tell her and hold out my hand to her.She smiles as she takes my hand, and I can almost feel my dead unbeating heart restart. I lead her to the lake; it’s quiet here and calming. “I think I know who you really are,” I begin.“Jasper, I’ve always known who I am. I’m my own person, and Bobby and Nancy shaped me into the woman I am today,” she smiles as she speaks of her parents.“What I mean to say is, I think I know where you come from and what’s in your blood,” I say. I know these are the right words as her eyes widen. “But what if I don’t want to know?” S
* * * Jasper’s POV * * * Once Damian has entered Benedict onto the security system, we enter the pack through the gates and bid Damian good night. “So, what name shall I actually call you?” I ask him.“I prefer Alexander, so I would like to stick to that unless we are performing official duties,” Alexander tells me.“Very well. Are you coming back to mine? I will wake Sarah up and introduce you. I have so many questions: where is Sarah’s mother? Where has she been? How do you feel about being a grandpa? Why did Sarah’s power activate when I said her full name? …” I begin my tirade of questions.“Woah, Jasper, slow down. Her mother has remained hidden to protect Athena. She is currently working in a small pharmaceutical shop in a little human village. It works for her as she still feels like she is helping people. We create her a new identity every five years and move villages. We simply attract too much attention when together, although that doesn’t matter now. We can be together in
* * * 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