~ A M E L I A ~
The following Monday, I couldn’t have been more delighted to go to school. I needed a distraction away from my spiralling thoughts.
He’s mated.
The guy I liked, the guy I cared for, the guy I was developing strong feelings for, he was mated.
Hudson is mated.
We are not a destined couple…
During the party, I was barely even concerned about it, but once I was sober and thinking about it over the weekend, I realised how much it hurt to know the truth.
Unless the Moon Goddess had decided he could have another mate and I happened to be that mate, but Hudson said that was incredibly rare to happen. So I shouldn’t get my hopes up.
~ A M E L I A ~‘Ugh, this outfit sucks! I’m changing,’ Sammy whined, rummaging through her overnight bag.Kaylee, who was sitting in front of my full-length mirror, applying her mascara, turned around and frowned, ‘How many outfits did you bring?’ I’d invited the girls to come over to mine and get ready for our first night out clubbing together, extending the invitation for them to sleep over too if they felt like it, but I had a feeling they’d end up venturing off with their boyfriends.Sammy sighed, pressing her fists onto her hips as she hunted through her clothes pile on my bedroom floor, ‘Six outfits, why?’Kaylee and I laughed.‘Oh, come on! Everyone knows the first outfit always sucks, then you got
~ A M E L I A ~‘The others are already inside, I think Sammy and Theo were grabbing our usual table,’ said Gabriel, still gripping my shoulder.Entering the club, all eyes immediately darted towards us, towards me.My already heated cheeks burned more with a red hue. I hated all this attention.Kaylee walked over; her eyes dropped, locking on Gabriel’s hand on my shoulder before looking back at me. A knot twisted in my chest, I hoped she didn’t think anything was going on between Gabriel and me apart from a genuine friendship.I leant in towards Hudson to indicate that even more.She looked over to Gabriel and smiled softly, ‘Shall we?’Gabriel’s grip on me dis
~ A M E L I A ~Everett’s piercing silver eyes were looking right through me. His fiery gaze made me feel like I would just melt onto the floor.‘What? Why?’ My brows furrowed as I frowned, but then I pushed a faint smug smile, ‘Don’t tell me you’re against underage drinking? It’s okay, I’m 18 in…’ I counted on my fingers sluggishly, the alcohol was hitting me now, ‘two months! Oh, and a day.’He moved his face closer, and seriousness was painted all over him, ‘I’ve had a strange feeling all day like something bad was going to happen, then I see you here and that feeling has intensified.’I scoffed, ‘Everett, I promise I’m here to have fun, not to cause trouble like you always think.’Looking deep into my eyes, his face softened, ‘I didn’t say you wer
~ A M E L I A ~Eager to get out of the washroom, I faintly smiled and shook Betty’s hand, ‘Nice to meet you, it seems like you already know who I am.’ I shrugged, ‘Amelia. Hi.’Betty held a simpering smile, that coldness echoed through her eyes and entire body. She analysed me from head to toe, which only made me feel more awkward about the encounter. Turning her head to the side slightly, indicating her communication to her blonde friend, but her eyes stayed locked on mine, ‘What do you think, Ella?’The blonde, Ella, eyed me up and down, just as Betty did, ‘I don’t see it,’ she said in a condescending tone. Another innocent face hiding her true colours.‘No,’ Betty scoffed, ‘neither do I.’ She crossed her arms and gazed at me with narrow eyes,
~ A M E L I A ~I was crying.My head was pressed on my arms, which were resting on my knees as I was balled up in the corner of the room.‘Amelia, why are you crying?’ My dad’s voice echoed in the empty room.Looking up at him, my pre-teen eyes glazed with a thousand tears, my voice staggering trying to steady my breath, ‘Th-th-they shoved m-me a-and kicked m-me…’Dad, kneeling in front of me, huffed a suppressed chuckle, shaking his head, ‘Oh, sweetie, that’s what they do during these fights.’Shaking my head, ‘I-I don’t w-want to d-do it any m-more…’He frowned, ‘Really?’&nb
~ A M E L I A ~After dropping off Gabriel and Kaylee, then Sammy and Theo, the whole cab ride home, Hudson remained silent, staring out the window the entire time. We finally made it to my cottage and walked down the pathway, still hushed.I couldn’t take it anymore, I wanted to break the silence, but I had no idea what to say.As we arrived at the door, Hudson turned to face me, ‘Are you okay?’A nod, ‘I’m fine…’ I said in a questioning tone, wondering why he was being so weird.He tucked my hair behind my ear and smiled faintly, ‘You should rest,’ he said before planting a kiss on my forehead and stepping back, ‘I’ll come get you in the morning before we head for the diner.’As I watched him
~ A M E L I A ~I knew I could speak for all my friends when I said that we were all grateful to have the first and second period free. It was put in place for revision in the lead-up to our final exams, but we took it as an excuse to go out clubbing on a Thursday night. What a wild night it turned out to be.The plan was to have breakfast at the diner before heading to school together. Hudson and I were already running very late, and as tempted as we were to be even later… we were both starving. So I quickly got myself together and we headed to the diner.As soon as we entered, a random group of people cheered and whistled at me.‘It’s the girl that stood up to Betty!’ One of them called.That made a bunch of other people in the diner turn and star
~ E V E R E T T ~The morning air was much cooler than usual. It had rained for a couple of hours last night, but a few hours of sun had already dried up the ground, leaving the only evidence of rain in the refreshing, crisp air. Taking in a deep breath, filling my lungs with the chilled air, and enjoying the view of the lake. It was one of my favourite places to be. In the distance, I could hear steps approaching. Amelia.I could tell it was her immediately, not only because no one else ever comes to this side of the forest, and not even from the sound of her steps, but from her scent. A scent that was ingrained into my mind— floral and citrusy. Elegance and beauty with a twist and tang, it was a fitting scent for her. ‘You know,’ Amelia said in a subtle huff, ‘you could’ve just told me to pack my bag for a hike instead of sneaking a note into my pocket like a creep.’ A faint smirk peaked on one side of my mouth, I turned to face her, my arms crossed as I leaned against a tree, ‘
~ 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