~ A M E L I A ~‘Th… That’s not possible,’ I spoke in hushed tones.Everett’s eyes remained soft as he scanned my entire face. The corner of his mouth peaked into a smirk, it looked unlike his usual self-absorbed aura, but I couldn’t pinpoint exactly what was so different, ‘It’s not entirely impossible,’ he moved a stray hair out of my face and twirled his finger through my ponytail, ‘and I had a feeling you could do it.’Withdrawing one of my hands from Everett’s chest, I rubbed my head, ‘How did you know I could?’‘I’ve been observing you since you arrived in the pack. The way you behaved at the party in the woods, when we first fought, your body’s sudden reaction to wolfsbane… so many things about you triggered this feeling in my gut, telling me you were strong. Stronger than you realise.’I
~ A M E L I A ~My body ached.As I stood by my locker, shuffling through all my books to find my notebook for science, each and every fibre of my body was screaming in agony.Damn, Everett and his stupid intense training.‘So…’ Sammy appeared at my side, leaning against the lockers, ‘I heard you had an eventful last few days.’I dropped my head back, glaring at the ceiling in frustration, and sighed, ‘Who told you?’‘Kaylee, who heard from Gabriel. The better question is, why didn’t you tell me?’ She grabbed my shoulder, making me look at her.Shrugging and shaking my head, ‘I was ashamed, Everett brings out a side of me I don’t like. He m
~ A M E L I A ~It seemed like the closer we got to the next full moon, the weirder guys around me would get. I’m blaming the moon, but honestly, I had no idea if it was. The next full moon was about two weeks away, so there was no way people were feeling charged by the moon’s power yet. But I couldn’t think of any other reason to reason why almost every guy I encountered would behave weirdly around me.And it didn’t make any sense.They’re either super aroused or super protective.Ugh… men.Sitting in the canteen for lunchtime, I was poking my sandwich. Once again, I had no appetite. My mind was too full of questions to be concerned about filling my belly with sustenance.Not only was I concerned about my family mys
~ A M E L I A ~Friday, at last!I was so excited all week that my friends were coming over and about what other things I was hoping to follow after the party… with Hudson.Biting my lip thinking about our brief moment of intimacy on my front porch earlier this week, I had to cover my mouth to stop myself from blushing and going crazy in a spiral of thoughts.Sammy shut her locker, ‘Okay, so Kaylee and I are going to go grab some bits, then head to yours right after— are you blushing?’Wide-eyed, ‘No!’ I shifted closer towards my locker.She giggled, ‘What are you thinking about? Or should I say who?’Glaring back at her, ‘Shut up,’ I laughed and went back to rummaging through my locker, &ls
~ A M E L I A ~Though I said that I didn’t care for some magical bond to determine who I should or shouldn’t be with, part of me thought, well, hoped, that Hudson would’ve been my mate. Our connection and attraction to one another was so strong, I assumed it must have been that.I couldn’t have been more wrong.My heart ached, my stomach churned the few drinks I had consumed already, and I feared they would try to force their way out.Stepping back, Hudson sighed, ‘I’m sorry, this isn’t how I wanted to tell you,’ he sat on the edge of my bed and put his head in his hands.I stayed leaning against my door, my hands behind my back and my eyes full of tears begging to fall, ‘This… this was the secret you were keepin
~ A M E L I A ~Squeezing Hudson’s hand tighter, I spoke through gritted teeth, ‘What the hell is he doing here?’Hudson shrugged, his eyes throwing daggers towards Everett, ‘The Alpha-Son does whatever he damn pleases,’ he looked around, ‘looks like the party has become even bigger since we’ve been gone.’He was right. I couldn’t even count how many people were in my home. It was a total disaster.Stepping forward, I saw people that didn’t even go to our school, they had to be Everett’s friends. Andrew and Leo, his two best friends, were in the living room by the sofa where two girls sat. I didn’t recognise them, but they were laughing away with Andrew and Leo, so they all had to be friends.‘I’m going to check where the others are, I’ll be right back,’ Hudson kissed my ch
~ A M E L I A ~My heart was beating so hard, I feared it would jump out of my chest.Pushing all the bravery I had in me just five minutes prior, ‘What the hell are you doing in my room?’ I looked at the letter, then back to Everett.He shrugged, ‘You gave poor instructions for the bathroom.’Grinding my teeth, ‘So you came upstairs and went through my stuff?’‘I stepped on the letter, and it was open when I picked it up,’ he retaliated in defence. Stupid excuse. ‘Who’s “E”?’ He asked again, glaring down at the letter then darting his eyes back up to me holding a smirk, ‘I know fully well it doesn’t stand for Everett.’I stormed over towards him, ‘Give me t
~ A M E L I A ~The next day, the last thing I wanted to do was to train with Everett, but I knew if I didn’t go he’d hunt me down and make my day a living hell. So I went and made sure not to be late. Waiting by the lake at our usual spot, I was sitting on the ground, hugging my knees, watching the stillness of the lake, trying to reflect that stillness into myself. Yet, all I could reflect on was the events of last night. Hudson’s secret finally being revealed; he and I got intimate, but not able to go further because of Everett; Andrew preying on me like I’m some trophy to achieve; and Everett firing up my rage like he always managed to do. I wish his words and actions didn’t affect me as much as they did. It didn’t make sense why though. ‘I didn’t expect to see you here before me,’ Everett’s voice called in the distance. I could hear his footsteps inching closer towards me.Keeping my back facing him and my eyes on the lake, I sighed, ‘Well, I know you too well now. I knew yo
~ 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