I watched blankly as the casket lowered into the ground, Ben’s grasp on my hand had long turned it numb, and the world around me was a blur. Neither the pitiful looks nor tearful condolences of pack members and friends received any acknowledgement.
Looking at the headstone to the right dated exactly a year prior, the picture somehow looked complete, they were back together, and not even death held the power to do them part.
“He was an important member of this pack, we shall all miss him dearly. I am very sorry for your loss.” Lady Agatha caressed my cheek softly, giving me a soft smile before moving on to Ben.
To them it was simply a loss, to us, our whole world had shifted and no matter how hard I tried, it seemed as if my future had vanished right before my eyes- I didn’t know how to live a life without my parents.
“Sophia, it’s time…” Luna Yasmin’s soft voice broke through my haze.
“O- Okay.” I glanced at her briefly, but my eyes wouldn’t leave the scene before me.
“We’ll give you a few minutes, we’ll be waiting in the car, okay?” she offered generously and despite my brain shouting at me not to take advantage of her kindness, my heart kept my legs firmly in place, “Ben, why don’t you join Alpha Oliver and me in the car and give your sister a moment to say goodbye?”
“Pinky promise,” Ben whispered to himself and turned to Luna Yasmin, letting go of my hand as he did. The loss was like a bucket of cold water over me and an involuntary shiver ran down my spine making me want to grab hold of him again, but before I could their, fading footsteps met my ears.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t there to say goodbye to both of you, I’m sorry I wasn’t a better daughter, but I promise I’ll be a better sister. I’ll make you both proud. Goodbye Mum, goodbye, Dad.”
The promise rang in my head alongside an unspoken one, the day I return will be the day I’ve fulfilled my promise.
***
Jerking up into a sitting position, I brought my hand up to my chest to stop my heart from beating from my chest and shivered as cold sweat dripped down my back. The image of the dark forest and red eyes surrounding me was still vivid in my mind as I looked around the unfamiliar room of the pack house.
Alpha Oliver and Luna Yasmin went out of their way to make sure Ben and I got rooms beside each other and I really appreciated it, but it wasn’t home and just as I sat there with my head on my knees, it occurred to me- this was my life now.
A low knock sounded on the door making me gasp, who could be up at this time of night? I knew wolves were nocturnal, but since our human side is more dominant we have evolved into more diurnal creatures.
“Who- who is it?” I swallowed, hoping I was only dreaming when the door pushed open slowly.
“Sissy?” Ben’s small voice caused me to sigh in relief.
“Ben? Come here, why are you awake at this time?” I beckoned him towards the bed and pushed the comforter away for him to climb in. It was a tight fit with us side by side in the twin bed, but having him close brought me comfort.
“I couldn’t sleep,” he mumbled, shuffling into my side.
“That’s okay buddy, I couldn’t sleep either.”
“Do you think they’ll meet wherever they are?” the question made my heart pang with sadness, but the answer to that was something I knew with certainty.
“Yeah, wherever they are they’re definitely together.” I wasn’t sure how I knew, but the feeling swirled inside of me. Wherever they were, they are happy to be reunited.
“Don’t worry Sissy, we are together too, I’ll take care of you.” my heart slowed for a second, his voice held so much conviction that I had no doubt he would do any and everything in his power to do just that.
“We’ll take care of each other, Buddy.” I dropped a kiss on his head and laid my head against the headboard, there was no way I was getting any sleep tonight, but there was no reason he shouldn’t. Ben’s soft snores reached my ears only moments later and I chuckled soundlessly, I always envied how quickly he could fall asleep.
The sound of crickets and an owl hooting in the distance kept me company as I replayed the week’s dreams- or nightmares in my mind like a movie. Looking around the room illuminated by the full moon shining through the window, I spotted my sketchbook perched on the nightstand and glanced back at Ben who was fast asleep against my side before reaching for the book.
With only the guidance of my memory and the moonlit night I put the pencil to paper hoping to make sense of the images in my mind and by the time the sky turned golden, pages and pages of drawings filled the book and when Ben shuffled beside me, I was finishing up my last drawing.
“Sissy?” The old nickname brought a smile to my face, his voice was still hoarse from sleep and his eyes blinked to get used to the light.
“Hey Buddy, did you sleep okay?” With his mouth wide open in a yawn he nodded and I chuckled.
“Just don’t swallow me.” Ben rolled his eyes at my joke and glanced at the unfinished drawing.
“That’s cool. I’m going to brush my teeth now.” Before I could react he was out the door, leaving me gaping after him, I’ll never get used to that kid’s energy. The clock on my nightstand suddenly blared my alarm chime, indicating it was time to get ready for school so instead of finishing my drawing I shut the book and climbed out of bed.
***
Walking through the hallway at school, I tried hard to hide my face from all the prying eyes and with every step, I regretted not taking Luna Yasmin’s offer to take the week off, why are high schoolers so nosy?
Taking a seat in math class, I had no desire to learn about Euclidean geometry and without even realising it, my mind wandered. Thoughts of simpler times when I’d sit in the clearing sketching flowers knowing my mum and dad hunted in the forest nearby, how I wish I could take a walk back in time.
“Sophia, is my lesson boring you?” I snapped from my reverie when the class broke out into snickers.
“I’m sorry Miss Black.” I looked down at my notebook, feeling my cheeks heat up.
“Pity party for one, everybody,” Bolton commented making the whole class laugh and I sunk further into my embarrassment.
“Settle down all of you and Sophia, pay attention in my class or don’t bother coming.” She cocked a sarcastic eyebrow at me. She was not being any more of a b*tch than I was used to, but as the class echoed ‘ooh’ under their breaths, I felt my eyes well with tears and before I could stop myself I flew from my seat and only came to a stop when I was panting before the bathroom mirrors.
The school was never easy for the “ghostly loner” I was, but somehow it found a way to get worse and I didn’t know how I would survive it without either of my parents to turn to, because even despite dad’s anger and resentment the past few months, at least I had something to focus on.
Now I was all alone.
Please let me know what you think about the story so far in a Review! -Love Author Kajal PS: Flashbacks are indicated by "~~~" and time skips are indicated by "***"
TWO MONTHS LATER Climbing off the car, I swallowed deeply, the pack house in front of me was almost two times the size of the one back home and I felt my palms sweat. When Luna Yasmin proposed the idea of moving to America for a while, I agreed very hesitantly, after all, we were at her mercy, but the last thing I expected was to be brought to one of the biggest, most notorious packs in werewolf history. Stories of Alpha Allison’s victory over the rogue uprising spread far and wide, she was a legend. After our pack had been devastated by the rogue attacks that took place five years ago, none of us ever expected that we would recover from that, but after a trip to the Blue Moon pack, Luna Yasmin returned to Gwydir with her mate and born Alpha in tow, ready to fix what was broken and our fate was restored. “Oliver, Yasmin, welcome back!” A handsome young man approached us with a wide smile on his face. “Jacob it’s very good to see you both!” Alpha Oliver embraced the man while h
The sky was a deep shade of blue littered with thousands of glowing stars and the evening breeze was cool against my skin as I sat in the bay window of the Alpha House. The day Alpha Allison was discharged from the infirmary, she insisted that Ben and I move into the Alpha house, citing that she needed help with Dominic and I was powerless to disagree. There was a low rumble that emanated from the living room downstairs, which was followed by the smell of popcorn. Everything around me was peaceful and at some point in my life the smell of popcorn would have me racing down the stairs, but the peace inside me didn’t match the world around me and that alone froze my muscles in place. “Sophia?” A soft knock on my bedroom door startled me, I didn’t even hear someone coming up the stairs. “Alpha Allison, I’m sorry I didn’t hear you coming.” I hurriedly pulled the door open, worried that she might scold me for locking it, but she only chuckled. “Not to worry dear, all the rooms in the
My body jerked as I shot up in my bed, the sound of a baby’s cries suddenly fading away as I surveyed the dark, empty room. Sighing aloud, I threw the covers off my body and placed my feet on the cool floor, there was no way I’d fall asleep after that. Pulling on the door handle, I opened it a little more and a familiar sound reached my ears, I could hear Alpha Allison softly cooing at the restless baby downstairs and another pair of footsteps I assumed belonged to Alpha Devin which made me freeze with the door wide open. Baby Dominic’s cries sounded tired, I didn’t even realize when I’d stepped out of the room and onto the staircase till Alpha Allison’s pacing figure came into view. Her shoulders were sagging and her steps were sluggish, I could see the exhaustion written all over her face when Alpha Devin approached her, holding a bottle of milk. I watched silently as she tried feeding him, but the attempt only seemed to make him more irritable and his cries got louder, making
Fear gripped me as I looked around the darkened forest. The cool breeze that blew left a trail of goosebumps on my skin and the shadows of the tall trees felt like they were closing in on me. In the distance, an owl hooted which only added to the eeriness of my surroundings. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand how I got there, the last memory I had was watching reruns of a random TV show after Dominic’s welcome ceremony. A rustling nearby kicked my heartbeat up a notch and once again I surveyed the area, hoping to spot something even remotely familiar, but the Moon Shadow pack was new to me, I’d only been here a week and apart from the drive from the airport, I hadn’t stepped foot in the forest. The rustling grew louder and my head whipped around for any indication that I wasn’t alone when suddenly a figure pounced from the bushes, eliciting a high-pitched scream from my throat before I watched the red-eyed rabbit hop off into the darkness, as far away from me as it could g
Trekking back to the packhouse with a young boy clutching my hand was not the way I planned to spend the early hours of Saturday morning, but as the sun rose in the sky and the scars on his malnourished body became visible, I scratched any item from my non-existent to-do list. “We’re almost at the infirmary, Allison has the team waiting for us to check him out.” Alpha Devin informed after a few good kilometres of walking and the treeline came into view, revealing the buildings of the pack. “Sophia! Are you okay?!” Alpha Allison engulfed me in a tight hug before letting go to examine my body for any sign of injury, which apart from a few small scratches, I was free of, “I was so worried!” she smoothed her hands over my face and looked at me with a deep frown. “I’m sorry I worried you, I’ll-” I looked around at the curious eyes which wouldn’t seem to leave us and dropped my gaze to the hand clutching mine, “I’ll explain later, he needs medical attention first.” As if she only then
Footsteps outside my door shocked me from my trance, my eyes shot up just as Alpha Allison pushed open the door to peek inside. “Hey, are you busy?” She questioned, scanning the room. “No, it’s- it’s okay.” Glancing back down at the sketchbook my heart skipped a beat, I quickly shut the book and shoved it off my lap. “May I?” She pointed to the space beside me at the bay window and I nodded quickly, scooting over to give her more room. “Did- did you speak to him?” I wrung my hands together and resisted the urge to tap my foot, the suspense was nearly killing me. “I did.” She raised an eyebrow at my antics, “His name is Jasper Queen, he’s a wanderer.” A shiver ran through my body at the name. “How did he find us?” Questions were running rampant through my head, but somehow I was able to get one out. “He claims he saw the boy in a vision, he says he’s been trying to find him for months.” Alpha Allison frowned thoughtfully. “What’s going on, Sophia?” Her voice held confusion
“We have decided that it would be best if Jasper remains close by while we figure out the reason for these visions and dreams you are having. He has taken up temporary residence in the main pack house.” Alpha Allison’s explanation came as more of a surprise to me than seeing him outside the infirmary, but when I made no acknowledgement her face grew worried, “Is everything okay, Sophia? You have been really quiet since yesterday afternoon?” Memories of our encounter in the forest replayed in my head and my heart squeezed painfully, that seemed to be all it did these days. “I’m fine, I was just tired.” I lied, plastering a smile on my face to reassure her and though her eyebrows knitted she returned my smile. “We’ll get to the bottom of this, Sophia. I promise.” She laid a hand on my shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze, the concern on her face made me feel bad for lying to her. “Good morning Jasper, I’d like you to meet Sophia Hastings, I’m sure you remember her from yesterday
“This is the secondary pack house which was actually built for the Full Moon pack after the rogue attack devastated their old one before Alpha Allison and Alpha Devin got married.” I rambled despite knowing he wasn’t the least bit interested, being around him made me nervous. That and I simply needed something to keep my focus on so my eyes wouldn’t stray to his tanned muscles bulging under the Californian sun. “That’s enough!” Jasper threw his hands in the air, finally growing fed up with my ranting which made me sigh in relief, “You’ve shown me the pack, I’m leaving now.” He didn’t wait for me to speak, instead, he took off into the trees and within seconds he was out of sight. “Great job, Sophia, not only do you annoy him, you nearly bored him to death too.” I berated myself, I didn’t know what I was thinking when I insisted he see the pack. I sighed in resignation. “Don’t blame yourself, he looked like a hardass.” The voice appeared suddenly, startling me which made the girl
Jasper dragged me through the forest in the direction of the clearing. “Jas, slow down!” I cried as I giggled uncontrollably, hopping over fallen branches and dodging low branches. “We have to get there before the sun sets!” He proclaimed and all I could do was shake my head. The sun was still quite high in the sky since it was only three in the afternoon. Arriving at the clearing I gasped when my eyes landed on the checkered picnic blanket set up at the base of the large rock. “We’re a bit too big to fit up there anymore.” He pointed to the rock with a grin. “You did all this for me?” My heart melted into a puddle and tears pooled in my eyes. “Of course I did- Baby, why are you crying?” Don’t you like it, we can go somewhere else. I’m sorry, please don’t cry. I’m sorry.” Jasper gathered me in his arms and stroked my hair as I tried to get my emotions under control. “No! No, I love it, I’m just a little emotional, that’s it.” I hiccupped, taking a step back s he could see the sm
I stood awkwardly beside the tiny sofa where Jasper’s large form took up most of the space. Halle and Nathan had welcomed us in when we arrived at their door, but I the tension in our presence was palpable. “How do you feel?” Nathan asked suddenly. “Fine, I guess,” Jasper answered curtly, accepting the cup of coffee Halle offered him. “Have your memories returned?” Nathan shifted uncomfortably in his seat, glancing at me from the corner of his eye. “Some of them. Why are you holed up in this tiny cottage in the middle of nowhere when you have a whole pack house and several guest houses nearby everything? Surely it isn’t easy getting around the forest with that thing.” Jasper motioned to the wheelchair. Nathan’s eyes turned to me with confusion, I could see the question in his eyes. “He doesn’t know,” I stated, not looking at Jasper when his eyes turned to me. “Doesn’t know what?” Jasper narrowed his eyes as he glanced between us. “The pack wants nothing to do with me.” N
“What?” I asked shakily. “I remember your voice.” He stared at me with startled eyes, “I heard you, Sophia.” He scrambled off the bed and shuffled towards me. Jasper took my hands in his, “I heard you asking me to fight.” Jasper ran a hand through his hair while I just stood there, shell-shocked. “Ho- How? You were unconscious.” I croaked, my throat felt like it was closing up. “I don’t know. I don’t know how.” He shook his head gravely. “Do you remember anything else?” I asked hesitantly and Jasper’s eyebrows knitted in concentration. “I- I think I saw you, but it feels like a dream. You were walking towards me- dressed in a purple vest that hugged your figure, and you had a duffle bag over your shoulder. You smiled at me.” He had a faraway look in his eyes and his hands squeezed mine as he recalled the memory. “That was just before-” “-I was stabbed in the back.” He completed my sentence and looked at me with startled eyes. “Do you-?” I couldn't even get the words out,
Jasper sucked in a deep breath when we entered the pack house. It was still early which meant the grounds were practically empty when we made our way over there, but inside, pack members hustled and bustled around getting ready for the day.“I’m right here. Just tell me when you want to leave and we’re out of here.” I squeezed his hand in mine.Jasper had taken the news of his true identity quite well, I knew it was because he hardly understood what his position meant or what he meant to the pack. It’s been a week since he crashed my inauguration ceremony and we’ve made good progress, today was the first day he’d be around so many pack members at once and so far he was doing great as he greeted everyone we passed with a kind smile.
“Ardere…” I reached out shakily, glancing between his troubled eyes and reddened fingers. Ardere’s eyes met mine and for a moment he just stared as I took hesitant steps closer while I felt like my heart would beat out of my chest. “Stop! What are you doing, you could get hurt!” Nathan’s voice travelled through the crowd and Ardere’s eyes widened. He went to pull away, but before his hand was out of reach, I threaded my fingers through his and held on tight. “He wouldn’t hurt me,” I whispered, squeezing his hand in mine as pleasurable tingles spread up my arm from his touch. “My Jasper wouldn’t hurt me.” My vision swam with tears as the truth hit me square in the face. It was him, if there was any doubt before, there wasn’t now. “Jasper?” He questioned shakily. “Yes, it’s you, it’s really you.” I choked on a sob, the relief that spread through my body warmed my heart and for the first time in three months, I smiled a genuine smile, watery but genuine. “I- uh…” He trailed off an
The pack buzzed with excitement as the three of us climbed the stairs, everyone was whispering about the bulky man who walked behind me with confidence radiating from his being.Marcel and Jason took their places behind me as I stood at the podium, “Good evening High Tiders.” I grinned widely. “First, I’d like to thank you all for taking the time to be here tonight. We’ve faced some tough times as a pack, but I’d like to think this is the beginning of a new era.” I looked around at the hopeful faces that stared back at me, pausing a little when I caught sight of Nathan and Halle seated right at the back.“With that, I’d like you all to meet Marcel Miller.” I motioned to him when he stepped up beside me and nodded at the crowd before him, “Marcel was a warri
“Okay, I’ve made sure no one will come back here to clean or look for me today. You can watch TV and play around with my tablet while I’m gone, use the time to try and figure out some of the things you don’t remember, but don’t make a lot of noise please, I don’t want anyone poking around here.” I motioned around the house.“I’ll be back late today, there’s food in the fridge, you can heat it up in the microwave.” I pointed to the appliance behind me and turned back to look him dead in the eye, “You have to stay here, okay? Under no circumstances can anyone find out you’re here, so please just stay hidden and if you hear anything, hide. You can use the tablet to call me on this number if you need something, my number is stored on there.” I tapped the screen where I’d typed out instructions on how to make
“You can wear these for now.” My jaw clenched as I handed him some of Jasper’s clothes.“Thank you.” He took them from me, his fingers brushing mine in the process and without thinking I snatched away my hand like he burned me and his eyes flashed with hurt.“I’m sorry.” I looked down, holding my hand to my chest.“It’s okay.” He flashed me a tight smile and for a moment an awkward silence fell between us.“I’ve uh- been thinking, we need to find you a name, at least till we figure out who you are.” I cringed a little at my own word, hoping he didn’t see how awkward I felt.
My heart thudded wildly in my chest as Selene’s utterance registered in my mind.“Wh- who are you?” I swallowed thickly, reaching behind me to steady myself on the boulder.“I’m sorry for following you, I didn’t mean to scare you.” His soothing baritone voice sent shivers down my spine and tears gathered in my eyes without warning.“No, this can’t be real, I must be dreaming.” I shook my head vigorously and stumbled back into the rock before I spun around and took off in the direction of the High Tide pack.‘This can’t be happening. It’s just a dream.’ I repeated