~ A M E L I A ~
As I watched Everett walk away, my line of vision was immediately taken over by Hudson speeding over to me.
‘Are you alright?’ Hudson said, cupping my face in his hands, ‘You looked so upset at one point, I was—’
‘I’m okay,’ I choked out, gripping his wrists, ‘I’m okay…’
Hudson dropped his hands from my face and took hold of mine, taking me away from the dance floor and away from the crowds. We stood on the edge of the festivities, on the borderline of the forest, ‘What did he say to you?’
Dropping my head, I couldn’t look at Hudson without wanting to just fall apart.
Don’t cry. You can not cry.
I had felt ready to tell Sammy, not everything, but enough to make her feel like she knew me. And, if all went well, I’d tell the rest of the group, including Hudson. Now Everett knows and if anyone else f
~ E V E R E T T ~A roar of hysteria boomed through the village. Murmurs of worry pulsed throughout the crowd and echoed through the forest as I dashed back to the village centre. Elders on their knees praying to the Moon Goddess, parents consoling their children who were meant to have their first shift this month, and others in the villages, screaming, crying and raging for answers. The moon had definitely hit the peak of the sky, yet we’re not shifting. I tried to summon the shift, hoping that, if we weren’t forced into shifting, it could have meant we’d gained full control back somehow, but alas, that wasn’t the case. We cannot shift. The curse was still in place, but it had changed.Why? My mother was being wrapped back in her shawl by her handmaiden, Gladis. Her face was pale, full of shock and betrayal.‘Mum,’ I called, buttoning up my shirt as I rushed over to her, ‘what the hell is going on?’She held her hand on her chest, trying to steady her staggering breath, ‘I don’t kn
~ A M E L I A ~None of us went home that night. Apart from Gabriel, who promised to join us later, we all went back to the diner to mull over the madness of the night. Sammy had wedged herself in the corner of the booth, leaning against the window and hugging her knees. Silent. She’s not said a word since we’d arrived. Kaylee was sitting at the end of the booth, by Sammy’s feet, and Hudson was sitting opposite Sammy. I strolled over, carefully, handing coffees to everyone before taking my seat next to Hudson. He put his arm around me and squeezed me closer, ‘Are you okay?’ he whispered. Gripping onto my mug, my breathing was shaky, ‘No,’ the hot mug almost burned my hands, but I had to feel something other than the current despair, ‘I feel… lost.’Looking up at Sammy, who was still hugging her knees, and refusing the coffee Kaylee was trying to get her to drink, I couldn’t help but feel even sadder for her. She was so excited about tonight, and it was taken away from her.Why?
~ A M E L I A ~I awoke in a state of panic, almost screaming.That seemed to be how I woke up every day. The nightmares kept coming, and they’d gotten worse day by day.Panting and scanning my surroundings, I placed my hand around my throat and sighed in relief, realising a wolf wasn’t attacking me.It’s always the same bloody dream.Dripping with sweat, again. These nightmares were taking over too much. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a good night’s rest. ‘Please don’t be super early,’ I begged towards the ceiling before looking down at my clock.7 am…Ugh, I only slept
~ A M E L I A ~Luna Yurena held her hand out to the table, ‘Please, sit my child,’ she said as she took a seat herself.As I took my seat, I could feel my palms become sweaty, ‘Thank you for the invitation to your home, Luna Yurena, it’s very beautiful.’‘Thank you, child,’ she elegantly gestured towards one of the staff members, a server, standing not too far away, who hastened forward and picked up the cloche, revealing a variety of sandwiches, cakes and other divine-looking treats. My stomach jolted with excitement. ‘Please,’ she pointed to the food, ‘help yourself and enjoy all the treats our chef made for today.’Slowly and as gracefully as I could, I picked up a couple of the sandwiches and placed them on my plate.I felt like a fish out of water. I
~ A M E L I A ~Walking into school the next day, the sombre energy still lingered from the night of the full moon. I’d managed to distract myself so much the day before during the afternoon tea with the Luna that I’d almost forgotten the trauma the entire pack was dealing with.It wasn’t until later in the day, when I’d gotten to science class, that everyone had become somewhat more lively.‘Hey Gabriel,’ I said, sitting in my assigned seat next to him, ‘You’re here early.’He smiled, ’Just super excited for class today,’ he said sarcastically.I rolled my eyes and laughed, placing my notebook on the table and opening it.Gabriel yanked th
~ A M E L I A ~As I approached the field, Everett had his back facing towards me.Searching for ammo, I saw a crate of footballs nearby. I grabbed one and lobbed it with all my enraged strength towards him.Hitting perfectly on the bullseye I envisioned on the back of his head, he paused briefly before standing straight and turning around confused, which not too long turned to annoyance when he saw my face. His brows dropped, ‘What the hell was that for?’I bolted over to him as fast as I could and pushed my palms into his chest, ‘How could you?’ I yelled, ‘You promised!’ Balling my hands into fists, I plunged for his chest again.He barely even recoiled from my raging thrust
~ A M E L I A ~The next day, school was a blur.I couldn’t have been more glad that it was a Friday.Word spread like wildfire about my parents being human, along with so many other false rumours to go along with it. I didn’t care to defend myself against people who clearly didn’t care about me. All that mattered was my friends were still there for me and believed me.That didn’t stop the paining feeling I’d get every time I realised I was still hiding fine details from them: My birth father, E, being dead; the unknown whereabouts of my birth mother, and whether she was alive or dead; the amulet around my neck with the sole purpose to protect my mind from magical dangers that were lurking. Too many details whirling in my mind that I couldn’t share with any of them. Not just beca
~ E V E R E T T ~Afternoons in the manor were my favourite.With my mother and father busy with their responsibilities in the pack and my siblings at school, I could enjoy the manor all to myself in complete peace.Today, I decided to enjoy the spring sun and sit outside with a book. Well, it was a journal from a former Alpha years ago. I found it fascinating to read stories of past Alphas. It always made me wonder what my stories would be as the Alpha leader.Skipping through the pages of Alpha Idris’ journal, I came across an interesting passage he had written…------------------------------I had that same dream again.The moon, radiant as always in the sky, the beautiful glow of silver we all know and admire when the night is awake.But then, it wa
~ 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