~ A M E L I A ~Moon Goddess, all I asked for was a break. Just one. One night of blissful sleep. Please.I was too deep into this. It was the same as always. The beautiful scent of food surrounded me, an ultimate blend of spices so strong I could practically taste them on my tongue. But I knew that wasn’t the purpose of this dream. I knew what was calling to me. Everett would be furious if he knew the state of the dreams I had and how worse they had gotten. Maybe it was a blessing in disguise that we didn’t share a bed and that my room was on the opposite end of the Cabin. Looking down at myself, I was once again in a beautiful floor-length silver gown, it was so long that it trailed behind me as I walked down the dark corridors of the castle. The Shaws’ castle. If this was a vision or some variant of a vision, it made sense that I wasn’t wearing the dress from the masquerade ball. But I still didn’t understand what this dream was trying to tell me.I could notice all the detail
~ A M E L I A ~It was early. Too early. I wasn’t entirely sure how long I had been up for or if I had even gotten many hours of sleep—I was too afraid to fall into another nightmare and disturb Everett. He wouldn’t have cared, he was so kind and caring like that. He would’ve happily held me close and hummed that same soothing lullaby to me again until I fell asleep, but that didn’t stop me from wanting him to have a blissful night of sleep. He was still holding me so close, gripping tightly enough as if he were trying not to release me, as if he were to lessen his grip even the slightest, he’d lose me. The problem with that was, deep down, I don’t think I would ever want to leave his side if he let me go. When he was trying to claim me as his on the full moon, there was a large part of me that didn’t want to say no, that just wanted to give in. Something deep within myself was trying to convince me it wasn’t wrong, that I wouldn’t miss my mate if I were with Everett. That small in
The tradition of who became the next Alpha in a werewolf pack had always been the same. The firstborn child of the current Alpha leader will be the next reigning heir. They will be the future Alpha of the pack to rule, guide and strengthen the pack to become greater and stronger. All packs have always followed this tradition, and it is one of their most sacred laws. However, since the dawn of time, the firstborn heir has always been male…So, what would happen if the next heir were born female?Long ago, when time was still young and new. When the dawn of werewolves was a prominent element on Mother Earth, in the dense heart of the Shadowpine pack, where the moonlight danced and radiated with magical whispers across the forest where the pack’s home lay, a phenomenon occurred that would forever alter werewolf history, that would alter the future for werewolves. For the first time in the existence of werewolves, the title of Alpha was destined to be passed to a woman. Esmeray Stormbo
~ A M E L I A ~A female Alpha.I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It was such a beautiful story. No wonder it was Everett’s favourite book. He liked things outside of the normality that he was used to. The Silver Moon pack had its own beauty in itself, the tradition and care that went into sustaining a pack that has existed for centuries, but it was, in many ways, still living in the past. Deep down, I felt that was why Everett was so drawn to me when we first met.I had a unique outlook on life compared to him and the people of the pack. After all, I grew up with humans. However, some people in the human world still have their heads stuck in the past, too, trying to control and contain those who just wish to live freely and happily. Part of me hated how the book was entirely fictional. Female wolves are just as powerful as male wolves. Why couldn’t a female be Alpha? There had to be some magical element for all firstborns to descend from the Alpha leader to be male. Unless… no,
~ E V E R E T T ~What the hell was I thinking?This was a terrible idea, but I couldn’t resist. I couldn’t let her suffer another nightmare, not alone. The sound of Amelia’s screams still echoed in my ears from the night prior, the pain in her eyes as she was trapped between the dream and reality, and whatever fucked up dark magic that tainted her skin to give her those horrific burns. Temporarily, thankfully. Knowing she was safe and making sure I could be there for her immediately if she needed me was also putting her at a huge risk. Having her next to me, sleeping soundly and blissfully, she was at peace. Little did she know that’s what made the urges worse… Wrap your hand around her throat.Suffocate her.Break her neck.End her.It was getting out of hand, all these thoughts. I could push them away and distract my mind enough not to go through with them, but I would be lying if I said I had no fear at all that one day I would see it through. That I would end up hurting her, s
~ A M E L I A ~No, it couldn’t be. It had to be a coincidence. What were the chances he did this on purpose?What were the chances he did this by accident?Everett took a step closer to me and opened his mouth to speak, but my immediate reaction of stepping back had silenced him and made him freeze in place. ‘Amelia—’I held my hand up, forcing him to stop again. My stomach churned, and my knees felt weak. I felt like I was about to collapse. It doesn’t make sense. None of it makes sense. Opening the book again, I had to reread what I just read. I had to know if what I read was even real…------------------------------The love that Zev had for Aruna was unlike any other love he’d ever experienced in his life. Yes, he loved his parents, and despite their constant conflicts, he also loved his little brother. He also loved hiking, video games, and chocolate cake. The breeze of a summer evening, and the promise of a new day. The list of things he loved was endless. He also loved hi
~ A M E L I A ~‘You hated me the second I arrived in this pack, you didn’t care for me at all. You made me train with you. You watched from afar as your dickhead friends tried to hurt and sexually abuse me. You wanted to and still want to hurt me, even now…’ I chuckled, realising how stupid I must be to allow myself to be so close to someone like this. ‘How are you saying that I have stolen your heart?’Stroking my cheek gently, Everett spoke slowly, ‘There’s a fine line between hatred and…’ he cleared his throat, avoiding the word, ‘Yeah… Sure, I didn’t like you when you first arrived, but you also drew me in. You know this already; I’ve told you about that before.’ He sighed, ‘The more I was around you, the more I got to really know you, the more time I craved being around you. For a long time, I was in denial about it; hell, even Betty noticed your hold on me before I had fully come to terms with it. That pissed me off so much I got so drunk that night, and the words just came out
~ A M E L I A ~The drive home was deathly silent. It wasn’t that we had nothing to say to each other, but that we had said too much to each other. What once was something casual and seemingly harmless that we shared was now something… Messy. It was all so messy. I was getting too tired of it all. As Everett parked his car, I stared into the forest where my cottage was hidden. My life didn’t seem real—living alone in a pack of werewolves, trying to find out more about my birth parents and who I am, and a curse preventing the pack from being who they truly are. So much…too much has happened these past few months. What a wild ride it’s been. Everett sighed. I couldn’t look at him. I knew why he was sighing; we both knew what was happening. ‘Thanks for the ride back,’ I sniffled and pushed myself out of the car, grabbing my bags and rushing to my home. ‘Amelia,’ Everett called out. I could sense he was close behind me. Squeezing my eyes shut, trying to stop the tears from formi
~ E V E R E T T ~‘What the hell is going on?’ I asked in a panic as the candle flame began to burn more aggressively, melting the wax representing Amelia’s life force that much faster.Sybil watched the candle in amazement. ‘Her journey through the spirit world has been far too impactful on her body. She’s too weak.’‘No,’ I cooed as I looked back at the small amount of wax that remained of the candle. Squeezing Amelia’s hand, I looked at her and hoped she could hear me in her state of unconsciousness, ‘Listen to me. You are not dying, do you hear me? It’s not your time. It’s not your—‘The room became eerily chilled as the candle flame was snuffed out. I refused to turn around to confirm, hearing Sybil’s saddened sigh was confirmation enough. ‘No… Amelia,’ I cupped a hand on her cheek, ‘wake up. Wake up!’‘Alpha-son, she’s gone.’ Sybil stood and lowered her head, staring at the ground. She also looked heartbroken by this loss. Stepping away from Amelia and towards Sybil, I snapped,
~ A M E L I A ~Panic surged through me. My father’s demise… it was at the hands of his best friend? The Moon Goddess brought us to the time of the battle. As she did, all the magic it took to travel through time was taking a huge toll on my spiritual body. I collapsed to the ground and whimpered, ‘What’s happening to me?’Kneeling beside me, the Moon Goddess helped me up, ‘You don’t have much time, we need to send you back very soon.’I groaned, feeling myself lose the connection and hold I had still back in the land of the living, I couldn’t feel warmth… I couldn’t feel anything. ‘How much longer do I have?’‘Enough time to see this last glimpse into the past.’Holding myself up with all my remaining strength, I watched as the events played out. My father and his best friend were standing head to head under the starry night sky. Many members of the pack, especially the council members, were bearing witness to the fight, awaiting to see who would triumph. ‘Are you sure you want to
~ A M E L I A ~‘What happened after that? How did Draven become Alpha?’The Moon Goddess had brought me back to her moonflower garden, her hand on my back rubbing back and forth soothing me, ‘My dear, you’ve witnessed a lot, are you sure you don’t want to take a break?’I shook my head, ‘I don’t have time for a break! You said yourself that I’ve got a limited amount of time left back in the human world, I can’t waste it.’She nodded, ‘I know, but I can sense your pain and suffering, and things only get darker from here…’Swallowing thickly, I stood tall, ‘Show me.’‘Very well.’~ ~ ~ Following the events of the hospital fire, the next day was sombre. It wasn’t just the families who were directly involved in the fire who were grieving, it was the entire pack. They were all traumatised and scared for what was to come. The funerals for the newborns were held all together, the Alpha and Luna ensured that they were all treated with equal respect and care during the entire process, as we
~ A M E L I A ~It began to rain. First a trickle, then a complete downpour. The Alpha and Luna looked out to the rain, a perfect resemblance of their sorrow, and knew that they had no more time to waste. They had to say their final goodbyes to their daughter and commence with their plan before people became aware. When they had finally said their goodbyes, Kali had come to terms that she would not be the one to venture out to take their daughter to the person they’d hope would be the one and only person they could entrust to take her outside of the pack and to her new human family. In her state of only recently giving birth, her werewolf healing was depleting her energy, plus her sudden disappearance from the fire would raise suspicions. They had to take their next steps carefully and mindfully.Enzo sent Kali back to the hospital, where she would have to act as though she had lost her baby in that fire, along with all the other mothers who lost their babies. Such a foul and disgus
~ A M E L I A ~They arrived back at Rieka Manor, successfully unseen by anyone else. Enzo placed Kali gently on their bed and began to pace up and down the room, muttering to himself. ‘Enzo,’ she was almost hyperventilating, ‘my love, please talk to me! What is going on?’ Kali spoke quietly, trying not to awaken their baby, who had finally fallen asleep soundly, but concern was laced throughout her voice.Yet he didn’t stop pacing, deep in his thoughts, ‘It can’t be them… They wouldn’t… They couldn’t betray us like that!’‘Who?’He shook his head, ’No, no, no!’ He slammed his fist against the wall, shaking the entire room, ‘These bastards,’ he muttered through gritted teeth before sitting next to his mate and wrapping his arms around her, embracing the love of his life and their newborn daughter.‘My love, my Alpha,’ Kali continued to cry silently, ‘Please. Talk to me.’Enzo looked at his mate, holding her face softly as he wiped away her tears with his thumb, ‘My radiant Luna…’ he
~ A M E L I A ~Devastated was an understatement for how I felt, but I was not surprised at all. Those men had been stuck in traditions for so long they were blind to the facts that were right in front of them. That women wanted to show their strength and power, to prove that they are equally as powerful as they are. Yet these men just have to prove themselves to be the best. The Moon Goddess took me later in the day. The sun was slowly going down, dimming the light sky and introducing us to the upcoming night. We walked down the long hallways of the hospital, and the sterile aroma of my surroundings was hard to ignore. We finally made it to the private room that was dedicated to my birth mother, Kali. She was in her hospital bed, sitting up while holding her baby girl, me. With one finger, she bounced my small hand up and down until I clasped my tiny fist around her finger. ‘I can already sense that you’re a strong one, aren’t you, little wolf?’ Kali smiled. Even after giving bir
~ A M E L I A ~My expression faded. That was not going to be easy to get used to, but I nodded and followed her towards my birth parents’ manor. ‘Most of the pack is slumbering away, nursing their hangovers or resting in whichever ways they seem fit,’ the Moon Goddess informed me as we walked through the manor grounds and phased through the door to enter the home. ‘However, Alpha Enzo knew the importance of caring for the pack, and always prioritised his duties before anything else. So, as his mate rested in the hospital and was learning to nurse you, he was back to his duties. They were still recovering from a recent conflict they encountered with another enemy pack. I believe you’re already aware of some people of the Shadow pack?’I nodded as we phased through another set of doors. Inside the room was a grand table. Sitting around it were men, mostly middle-aged but some older and some younger, but a handful of them I recognised from the present day in the Silver Moon pack. It wa
~ A M E L I A ~A wave of dizziness hit me as I reopened my eyes and took in my surroundings. The Moon Goddess and I were no longer in her garden of moon flowers, but deep within a forest. It was so familiar, yet different all at once. In the distance was a gentle glow emitting from lanterns.‘Where are we?’ I asked.The Moon Goddess linked her arm with mine, holding me close to her, ‘We’re in the village of the Silver Moon pack…’ she began walking me towards the lights, where noise and music began to tickle my ears, ‘…18 years ago.’I froze in place and looked at her, ‘Before I was born?’She nodded, ‘In fact, the day I brought you back to is your birthday.’Drawing my gaze back towards where the noise grew, it sounded like there was a huge celebration going on. This was it, this was finally the time I was going to learn everything. I was going to learn the truth and finally be able to understand who I am. But, for some reason, I could not move.‘Are you sure you want to do this?’ T
~ A M E L I A ~It was so cold and dark…Where am I? What is going on?My eyes slowly peeled open, feeling the weight of my drowsiness, meeting the night sky above me. There was not a star to be seen, which was unusual for the Silver Moon pack. No matter where you are, you’d always be able to see stars at night. It was one of my favourite things about the pack. Scanning my surroundings briefly without moving my head, there were trees all around me. How did I end up in the forest? Where was I last? Pushing myself to sit up slowly, my head felt heavy as I tried to recall what happened. Everett had told me to come see him… The Alpha ambushed me… pain… so much pain…My lip quivered as I examined and patted down my entire body, but there wasn’t a cut to be seen.Am I dreaming? What the hell is going on?A rustle behind me caught my attention. Twirling onto all fours and pushing myself to stand, I felt too alert and concerned for what was out there. ‘Who’s there?’ I said sharply. No re