While a storm was at it's peak, and the rivers were going wild, the trees snapping and clouds were covering all the stars, deep into the forest, lost in the dark was a cabin. While from the outside it would appear to be abandoned in this night of full darkness, destiny was unraveling itself. Throw the hall, in a small room, with nothing but candlelight a baby was being born.Only thing to be heard were muffled screams and the sound of shoes stamping on the wooden floor, the woman managed to remove the rag from her mouth and cried out, "I can't do it anymore! Help me!" She pleaded with the midwife. The midwife glanced at the woman standing nearby, who simply shook her head and sat down on the bed. With a stern expression, she turned to the woman in agony and said, "You got yourself into this mess, now you have to get yourself out of it." But then, the midwife's demeanor softened slightly as she got up from the bed and reassured the woman, "Just one more push, a big one, and it will be over." One of the assistants grabbed the woman's hands for support as she mustered all her strength to push. Amidst the growls and cries of pain that filled the room, a moment of relief washed over the woman. However, her relief quickly turned into panic when she realized the baby wasn't crying. She tried to get up, but she was roughly pushed back down and held by the woman. In a cold voice, the woman said, "It's better this way.”
"No, no please let me see it" The woman pleaded as she was held down. " Forget it, it is done."
"You can save it, you have magic, please." She pleaded more and more as she was looking at the midwife wrapping the baby into a sheet before ruffly pulled back to face the cold old woman. "I know I can, but I won't do it. You know the rules, it would have been killed anyway because our laws forbid an abomination like that to live, not only that but you too would be dead, do you understand me.!" The woman started to cry, even more, she knew the risk from the start, she know the laws she was breaking. A witch that mates with a werewolf doesn't get disowned, shamed, or thrown out from the coven. She gets a death sentence. " Let me hold it once, just once.." She pleaded. " No. " The woman responded before turning to the midwife.
"Take it out, deep into the forest and leave it there, then come back to fix her. We have to get back before they do." As the midwife put her cloak on she disappeared with the baby in her arms as all it was left behind were screams and cries. Now deep into the forest, the midwife hurried as she was no longer in the territory, scared to be discovered she left the baby by the tree and fled fast not looking back, not feeling remorse, after all, she only cared about getting her pay. And there it was. Lying in the darkness, left in the storm but soon enough the clouds in the sky parted and the moon shined over the baby as a figure of a woman appeared from thin air, materializing from nothing and kneeling before the baby.
"My poor child," she said before taking it into her arms. " For you, my dear, I have other plans." She waved her hand over the baby's head,shining bright white light over it and suddenly the baby started crying and it opened its eyes. "Yes my beautiful girl, cry, they will find you soon." She then put the baby down and vanished as the sound of people coming was getting louder. "Careful we are near the border." A man said. "I hear something, come on..." She said as she came to see the baby. "Oh, my Goddess."
She said as the man put down his weapon and took the baby into its arms. "Candice let's get it inside, it will freeze here." Candice took his weapon from the floor. "I can't believe someone would do this Derek, werewolves don't leave their pubs around just like that." Derek snuggled the baby under his jacket to keep it warm. "She is a werewolf, I can sense it." The rain started to pour harder again. "Let go, we need to get inside," Candice said as she followed Derek back to the house.
22 years later
Kaya's point of view
Pulling in our driveway, I could already smell Mom's freshly baked cookies. I never know just how much I miss them until I come back from a trip. As I hoped out of my jeep, dad come out from the house.
"The runaway pub has returned," Dad said as he came to me embracing me in a warm hug.
"I didn't run away, I had a job to do," I said as I pulled out from his arms. I went in the back to take my bag out.
"We really don't like you going through the border, into the human world."
I took a deep breath before looking at dad again.
"There is nothing they can do to me even if they tried, and besides some common ground we must have since we do use the same money and we take the privilege of their technology, not to mention your love for football."
"Yes, but that doesn't mean I like my daughter hunting their worst." He said while takeing my bag from me.
"It's a job, and one very well paid. I'm a bounty hunter, when they can't find someone I do it for them, You and I know I have abilities they can’t compare to, I'm a natural tracker and I can heal. Plus as I said it's well paid."
"What is taking you so long, lunch is getting cold." Suddenly we heard a voice from the door.
"Mom!." I said as I ran to her and hugged her tightly.
"What is that I smell, is it blood?" She said.
"It's nothing, it's healed. Just a graze, nothing more." She just looked at my dad.
" That's it, Derek, this was the last time, we are not letting her leave again even if we have to chain her up."
"Ok, let's not go to the extremes here," I said.
"Let's go eat, for now, I'm starving." Said dad.
"You always are." Mom and I said at the same time causing us all to laugh as we walked into the house.
"Where are Jack and Sofia?" I asked.
"They should be here any minute now,Sofia is just finishing at the bakery,and Jack..." Mom paused.
"And Jack?" I asked.
"Jack was selected to train in the manor, he made council." Said dad.
"What, no but he wants to be a doctor, not someone who..."
"It's an honor to be chosen... to serve the future Alpha." Said mom with a level of despair.
"My brother is meant for more,his dream is to help his kind, you know that. You know that since you bought him that microscope when he was eight."
"We know." Dad said as he patted my shoulder. "But as your mother said, this is an honor and Jack gladly accepted to serve the new Alpha as a part of his council, when the time comes."
"Does that mean he doesn't live here any more?"
"Don't worry sis, I can smell mom's cookies from miles away." Jack said as he came through the door.
"Jack!!"
"Hey sis." He gave me a hug.
"And so the favorite daughter has returned." Said Sofia, We all turned to look at her, and started to laugh. She was covered in flour from head to toe,her usual blonde hair now white and the fact that she mostly wore black did not help.
"Very funny you guys, may I remind you Jack that I am your twin not her."
"Sofia." Mom said. "Why don't you go change so we can have lunch, in peace."
"Not hungry." She said as she walked out and ran upstairs.
"She is 24, how long does she mean to act like 16 for ?" Jack said it in a humorous tone.
"And you are 24 and act like 44, maybe it is something changing in our DNA, some doctor should do some research on it."
"Just because I made council doesn't mean my life is over, it just made a slight turn that's all."
"You always have to be such an optimist Jack." I said. "Let me go wash my hand and I'l be down in a minute." I grabbed my bag and ran upstairs, even though Sofia and I shared the room I knocked on the door before going inside.
"Why do you bother knocking when I can hear you coming?" She said.
"I don't know, out of respect for your privacy,you are my big sister."
I said as I sat down on my bed on the opposite side of her.
"Since you changed, why don't you come down so we can have lunch together, I want to know what's new."
"There is nothing new here Kaya, nothing ever happened here. That's why you go to the city anyways." Sofia said as she brushed her blond hair. My sister was a looker,her gray eyes looked spectacular behind long black lashes. You could cut yourself on her cheekbones, not to mention her perfect complexion and full pink lips. Jack shared his eyes and blond hair with her,but his face had softer lines and his lips a bit thinner. I on the other hand had dark brown hair, I wasn't tan but still not as fair skinned like Sofia and Jack. My eyes are green and my lips naturally tinted red. Apparently I resembled dad's grandmother.
"I have something for you,when I saw it I immediately thought of you." I took out of my bag a small box and gave it to her. When she opened it, I couldn't really read her face.
"The earrings are made with moonstone.At least that was what the woman told me.I don't know if that's true but they go perfectly with your eyes." She took them out of the box and put them on her ears.
"How do they look?" She asked me.
"Perfect.They were made for you."
She got up and went to look at herself in the mirror, I could hear her heart pounding in her chest.
"Sofia, what is going on?"
She stayed silent for a second longer before...
"Mira found her soulmate today." Ohh that.
"She is 19, and she found her and yet here I am 24 and still nothing." I hate the pressure our society is putting on werewolf to find our soulmates, It's not like we have any control over it.
"Hey, there is nothing to worry about, Jack dosn't have a soulmate yet and neither do I."
"Maybe we are cursed." She said making me laugh.
"Trust me Sofia, we are too boring to be cursed. Now let's go eat, I'm starving." I said as I took her hand and dragged her downstairs with me.
As we were having lunch and I was surrounded by my family which I love and miss,in the back of my mind I was thinking about the next time I will leave them. I never said this to anyone but being here on the pack territory is suffocating me. It's always been that way. And when I go to the human word, it doesn't get better but it's like the search helps me block that feeling, and it distracts my wolf Safire.Just as I felt relaxed,my head resting on dad's shoulder, Safire called to me in my mind.
"We have company." She said at the same time a knock wah heard on the door. Jack got up and went to open the door.
It was, as I liked to call them, "the royal guards" aka the werewolfs who worked closely to the Alphas family.
"I said I would come back by the end of the day." Jack said.
"We are not here for you Jack." A man in a black suit said before taking a step inside and looking his eyes with me he said. "Our Luna would love a word with you, Kaya."
"Our Luna would love a word with you, Kaya." Said the man as my mom and dad stood up from the table while Jack placed himself between the man and me. "What is this in regards to?" Asked Jack. "It's a private matter, Miss Kaya let's get going." "I'll come with you." Jack said. "That won't be necessary, it was instructed for her to come alone." Jack and dad were about to protest but I cut them off. "It's fine,I'll be back in no time." Right? I thought to myself as I slipped my phone in my back pocket.As I was going I squeezed my parents hands. As I came outside I saw 3 big black SUV cars, our royals really liked to travel in stile. "Over here, Miss Kaya." The man said as he oped the door for me.I don't like when people take away my control. "Thats ok, I'll follow you in my jeep." The man simply closed the door and looked at the other man before getting in the car. Seeing the mark on their necks, the hanging half moon I suspected they were mind linking eachother.That was the p
"My soulmate."I'm sorry what?"W..Wh...What?" Is all I managed to say. To say I was shocked was an understatement.But he just keeped looking at me like I was miracle happening before his eyes,his hands holding my face so tenderly."You are my soulmate." Atlas said again."Hello, earth to Kaya!" Yelled Saf in my mind knocking me back to my senses.This is not happening, he's lying.I don't feel anything. If he were truly my soulmate I would feel the bond."Yeah nice try buddy."I said as I moved his hands from my face and took a step back. His hands fell to his sides , confusion all over his face."You don't feel this?" He asked me."Look, your little trick could work on a human but obviously not on a she wolf.""This is not a trick." He says as he tries to touch my hand again but I take another step back. To that I hear him growl."Hey girl this round is on you." Said the girl as she passed me a cocktail."All rounds are on me." Atlas said as he waved to the bartender.The girls seemed
"We should really stop at the bakery first, you are starving," Saf said as my stomach growled."You are right besides, Mom and Dad are already there. Knowing them, this particular assignment has them worried."As I arrived I went in through the backdoor. The radio as always was blasting the music. Eye of the tiger. Dad's favorite.I grabbed the chocolate croissant from the tray when I realized most of the trays here were full. And that is odd, with our sales dad normally runs up and down exchanging trays. "I hear something," Saf said.I moved further in, the office door was slightly ajar. Jace was in there with Dad."Have you heard from her?" Jack asked."I'm sure she's alright Jack." "I should have gone with her.""Jack the order was clear, she had to go alone." Dad insisted."Screw that." Jack cursed."It's getting harder for you to control it, isn't it?" Dad said as he put his hand on his shoulder. Jack just looked at his feet clenching his fists."You know it's impossible my boy
As Safire got to the lake she laid down next to a big tree and let Kaya take control over her body and mind."You really needed that run didn't you Saf?" I say as I stretch my bones."We both needed it." Saf said as I pulled the clothes from the backpack and started dressing."So what is our plan, we can't hide forever they are going to trace us eventually?""I need answers, but I also need time to take this in." I say as I sit down under the tree."I can sense you are angry, but it doesn't make you love them any less." "Of course I'm angry, they lied to me my whole life. And yes I know what you are going to say, they love me like their own but that is not in discussion here. Trust is." I say with frustration."And the fact that Jake loves you." Saf so kindly reminded me."Don't ok, just don't go there.""I told you he gave me a weird vibe."Saf hummed in my head."He is my brother, I will never be able to see him as anything else. Honestly, I dont know how to even look at him anymor
"What is it with you?" I asked Saf because I could feel her getting more and more jumpy in my head."Nothing, I just wonder how is this conversation gonna go down."Uhh I so do not need this right now."I mean you did drugged your future Alpha, not to mention our soulmate."I don't know how I feel about the fact that Saf already accepted Atlas's wolf as her soulmate, it can't be. Not while I don't feel the same for Atlas. She maybe hasn't said it out loud but I can feel it, the closer we are to him the more excited she gets."I would appreciate it if you could calm down so that I at least have my thoughts in order." I say as the car pulls over. When I got out of the car Jeffery was waiting for me once again."Miss Knight, we were awaiting you. Please follow me."Jeffrey said as he proceeded to walk in front of me. He led me into their office once again where I saw our Luna Victoria standing by the window. As I stepped in Jeffrey closed the door behind me."Miss Knight, I have to say I di
"Jeffrey, lead the way." The room they gave me was similar to the one I saw Atlas had. Big, spaces, but the decor was more oriented towards a woman. I put in the closet the little clothes I had in my backpack and after that, I had nothing but time on my hands."Let's go explore the mansion, we have nothing better to do." I tell Saf as I see her waiting by the door."Don't tell me you are waiting for him." I say as I walk over to her."No, I'm trying to figure out who are those two outside the door." Saf said as she allowed me to open the door.Sure enough, as I opened the door I was greeted by two men who seemed to be guarding my room."Can I help you?" I ask."Miss Kaya, our Luna instructed us to be at your service" What they meant was she instructed them to follow me around in case I try to leave."Fine, then one of you go and fetch me something to eat. I'm starving." I say as I close the door in annoyance."Saf, we need to find a way to get out of here.""Good luck with that, this
"If only he knew you have nowhere to go." Saf mocked me as she sat by my side. "Oh shut up." I say out loud and Atlas looks at me surprised. "Not you, I was talking to Saf." Which made me question can he only see her or can he now also hear what we were talking about. "You can't hear what she is saying, can you?" I ask. "No, I can see her but I don't hear anything. I hope you can't hear Sky." I was able to see him but so far I haven't heard him speak to me. "It's because I speak to you in your head, I have a voice inside you." Saf explains. "Well, that is good, at least I don't have to worry about that." I mind link her back. "You didn't answer me, if I tell them to leave you alone will you stay or are you going to escape?" Atlas asks again. And truth be told where would I go right now, I can't go home. I want answers but first I need time to get all of my thoughts in order before facing the people I called family my whole life. The whole situation with Jake is weird, he is s
"Dont you think you are forgetting something?" Saf asks as I frantically pack up my backpack. My friend is missing and I have to go find her because if I don't who will? Her mother is in another country and even if she makes a missing persons report how fast will the police jump onto a case of a missing Mexican girl who despite paying taxes is still not a rightful American citizen?"What could I be missing, there is not much to take," I tell Saf as I point to the now empty shelves. "You need to talk to Atlas. You promised you would tell him if you had intentions of leaving." I know she is right, but there is a big chance he will not let me go and I can't risk getting stopped. Thalia needs me."Saf, this is Thalia we are talking about. I need to find her. I can't risk him not letting me go." The real question now is how am I going to get out of this place when there is a guard on every possible corner of this house? If nothing else, they do take security seriously."You promised." Saf
"I dont know what to do. I lost control over everything in my life." I say to Thaila and she gives me a side look. "At least you are still you. I can't say the same." But am I still me? Lately, I think I dont even know myself. I feel lost, even more so now that Cole is back. This is not how I imagined our reunion at all. And then there is Atlas, even if I dont feel the same thing he feels for me that doesn't mean I want to hurt him. "I think we talked enough about me," I say as I push the plate away and rest my hand on the table. "There is something important I need to discuss with you." Thaila sets her plate aside and sits straight up in her chair. "You dragged it out enough, Kaya. Just go straight to the point." Actually, I was looking forward to dragging it out but I guess here it goes. "The full moon is about to happen and you are going to shift, quite painfully but dont worry you are going to make it. We are sure of it." I would have tried and put it out a bit more gently but
"This will be interesting," Saf says as it seems she is amused with the situation while I stare at Cole's surprised eyes. "Your soulmate?" Cole asks as he takes a step back. I dont know how to interpret his shock, maybe... maybe he cares... about me. "Yes, and soon your future Luna." This can't be happening, not now. Not now that he is finally back. "Congratulations on finding your soulmate, I hoped that by coming back to the pack territory I would have found mine as well." Cole looked at me, it seemed like his eyes wanted to tell me so many things. "The pack's territory is big and now that you are back you'll have nothing but time to find her," Atlas says, his behavior toward Cole is cold and he insists on keeping my hand in his. "Yes, well... We'll see what happens. If you excuse me, Luna is waiting for me." Cole slightly bows his head but his eyes find mine as he raises his eyebrows before heading into the living room. I take my hand out of Atlas's hold and he looks at me long
"Who is Cole?" Thalia asks. I must have said his name out loud. Cole is here, I can't believe he is actually here. It's been years since I last saw him but there was no doubt it was him. I would recognize that man anywhere. "Cole... Cole is an old friend of mine." This is technically not a lie, we were always just friends. His father worked at the hospital where Jake and I used to volunteer. That's where I met him, and there is where I fell in love with him. We would spend entire days together, and he would make me laugh all the time. Cole is now twenty-five and since he was twenty-one he got the order to go into the human world and take over the position of the CEO of one of the Alpha's most profitable companies. It was a high honor that he couldn't possibly turn down. The day he had to leave the pack was the day he gave me this necklace, he made me promise I would never take it off and I haven't. I promised it to him but I swore it to myself. I was nineteen then, it seemed reasonab
After I recovered from the little moment between Atlas and me I was on my way back to the room when I saw Thaila in the hallway studying the paintings on the walls. "Hey, did you find anything interesting?" I ask. "Yeah, why do you guys have so many paintings of the little red riding hood?" Thaila asks as she points to the wall. "That is not Little Red Riding Hood. It's the Moon Goddess." Thalia shakes her head in disagreement. "My mother told me the story about a million times, that is exactly how she appeared in the pictures." The story isn't entirely how it was written down, but then again what story is? The best proof of that is the many different versions written by people with different perspectives. It heavily depends on the narrator."Not everything is what it appears to be. The little red as you call it was once a human and her cloak was white. The story that we know is that she was a woman who couldn't have children, and for that, she was unmarried and later outcasted
"A blessed wolf?" I have never heard of that, but then again the latest events have proven to me that I need to brush up on my history. "You know how when a werewolf is born it doesn't have a wolf, it takes years after to gain it. It's because it becomes attached to the person's soul and becomes an extension of one's being. In the case of your friend, her soul is now the extended part of the wolf within." Samuel tries to clarify but all of this is so new that it takes me a minute to wrap my head around it. "So she will be okay? She will be able to turn and live her life like the rest of the werewolves?" I ask and the conflicted look on Samuels's face tells me that the story doesn't quite end there. "If... If she manages to get her gift under control, maybe." Gift? Why do I feel like it's gonna be one of those gifts that dont come with the receipt and you can't even exchange it for something better? "What kind of a gift are we talking about?" Atlas asks as he leans over the table t
"But she seems ok. You should have seen her today, there is not a scratch on her." I thought the worst had passed, I was confident that everything would be alright. That is what I promised her. "Her body healed, yes. But once the full moon starts and the shift begins her bones are going to break... without a wolf..." Atlas had a hard time saying the words but I knew what he was implying."Without a wolf, all that is going to be left of her is a sack of crushed bones." And everything we did up until now would be worthless, none of us can give her a wolf. To make matters worse, the full moon is tomorrow. "Wolfy, I really wish I could do something about it, but right now the only thing we can do is hope and pray that the Moon Goddess finds her worthy." The Moon Goddess, she already saved her once. Why would she do that if she would want to let her die by the full moon? No, Thaila will be alright, I refuse to believe otherwise."How did you come to that information?" I ask Atlas. Maybe h
When I left the bathroom the breakfast was already delivered but Thaila was out on the balcony talking to her mother. I could hear her mother's joy all the way to where I was standing, after all, her daughter was safe. I wasn't about to interrupt her, the breakfast can wait and I can use this time to go and find Atlas. When I got out of the room I noticed something strange happening outside the windows, all the royal guards were assembled in front of the mansion. Were they here to make sure I could leave, it wouldn't surprise me that Luna put stronger measures to retain me this time. Or... they were waiting for someone."Are you looking for someone, Wolfy?" Atlas asks as he appears from behind. I dont know how he manages to sneak up on me so many times. I turn around and give him a full look at the outfit, it seems he approves."I see I managed to get the right size." So he did pick it out."And the right cup size," I add just to be funny and it seems he gets it. Atlas is wearing his
I heard a knock on the door and my initial thought was what do people have against sleep in this house but when I saw it was almost eleven a.m. I figured that my exhaustion got the better of me. The last time I slept in so late I was still in school. Thalia was already sitting in bed as I rubbed my eyes while the sun came through the window. "Who is it?" I ask as I cover my legs with the blanket. "It's Jeffrey. May I come in?" What is it now? Does the Luna need me again? She can't very well yell at me in front of Atlas so maybe she wants to do it in private now. "Yes, Jeffrey. Come in." The door swiftly opens and Jeffrey strolls in with maids carrying shopping bags and boxes and placing them on the couch and the little table on the side. "What is all of this?" I ask. "Master Atlas ordered we get both you and Miss Thaila some new clothes and anything else you might need. If there is anything you might not like just say the word and our staff will exchange it." Atlas told them to g
"That is not what they looked like before," Thaila says as I turn my gaze to her. I'm not saying she has a reason to lie, and given everything that has happened, she could simply be confused. "What is happening in here?" We all turn to the door where we see our Luna with Jeffrey standing close by. This is the first time she sets her eyes on Thaila, and she doesn't look pleased. "Nothing mother, go back to sleep," Atlas says as he stands in front of me as Thalia comes to stand by my side. "I was trying to do that when my sleep got interrupted by your friend here. And is that a cat in my house?" She asks as she turns to look at Jeffrey who simply looks at the floor. "I allowed it," Atlas spoke while making sure to make it clear that no matter what came my way he was ready to block it. "I see." Luna said as she looked at her son and then at me. Maybe she was regretting her decision to force me to stay here, especially with an unexpected guest. Yet no matter the price, she would do