~ A M E L I A ~It was so much clearer this time. My dream. Maybe with the absence of the dream involving Adryan attacking me, my mind had free rein to focus on my other dreams. But that only left me with more questions.I could almost smell my surroundings, the glorious food wafting through the air, so luxurious I practically could taste the spices in my mouth.But that wasn’t what was drawing me in; it was something else. Someone, or something, is calling me. Begging for me to find them, or it?Looking down at myself, I was in a beautiful floor-length silver gown, it was so long that it trailed behind me as I walked down the dark corridors of this… place. Where was I?It was bigger than the Shaw manor but equally as beautiful, with a similar decor of both antiques and modernised additions to a home, blended in a way to looked beautifully tasteful. I, myself, had no idea where I was going. Yet my dream self certainly seemed like I did. Passing through the corridor, going deep, de
~ A M E L I A ~The girls weren’t even listening to me about my encounter with Cato. As brief as it may have been, it was too peculiar. He seemed completely fine until he bumped into me, and then, all of a sudden, he was jumpy and speechless. He looked at me like he’d seen a ghost.What happened between him and the Alpha? I couldn’t help but think about his mate, Diana. The lady I’d encountered only two days ago who mistook me for her best friend… could that have been my mother? Moon Goddess, if you’re listening, please don’t let that be my only lead. I need something, anything, to give me answers. I have to find them both. Dead or alive, either way, I have to know who they were. Our facials were complete, and Sammy and Kaylee were sitting, waiting to finish their hair. It was so amusing to see how invested people were in this masquerade ball; it just made me even more excited to see what it was all about. Since I didn’t want much done to my hair, I opted to have it curled and a
~ A M E L I A ~The drive to the castle felt like the longest journey of my entire life. It was the excitement for me; this was an event that had happened every year for centuries in the pack, and I finally got to experience it. Everything around me seemed to slow down, which only made my anticipation of getting to the castle more and more tiresome. Driving on a dirt path through the forest, I noticed certain trees wrapped with lights. I assumed they were in place for when it became too dark, as the night sky took over, to light up the pathway for those coming and going, but then I realised almost everyone could see in the dark with their werewolf abilities. So, the likely reasoning was that it was for decoration. Gabriel was right when he told me that no expense would be spared when it came to the glitz, glamour, and luxury of the masquerade ball. We weren’t even at the castle yet, and I could tell the effort that was put in, from the lights to the sign guiding towards the castle t
~ A M E L I A ~Instantly, a waft of all the beautiful canapes blessed my nostrils and soothed my anxiety. I looked over to my friends, who were already hugging each other, giggling and chatting away with each other. Somehow, at that moment, I felt like an outsider, like I didn’t belong in their world and like I was a fraud. Hudson had pulled away from his hug with Sammy, smiling his usual beautiful and glorious smile. Where is Amelia? I read from his lips.My heart fluttered as his head turned in my direction. Before our gazes could meet, I scurried away towards the beautiful scents consuming my nostrils, sliding my mask over my face. Scanning the table, my eyes indulged in a stunning array of colours and shapes of the small canapes. Roasted cherry tomato and basil bruschetta, smoked salmon blinis with creme fraiche and chives, rock melon wrapped in Parma ham, rocket, and roast beef with soy-sesame dressing. I picked up a bruschetta and savoured the crunchiness and garlicky aroma
~ A M E L I A ~At first, it was barely a whisper, barely audible, like a soft breeze brushing against my skin, brushing against my soul. I’d tried to ignore it, but it seemed like the more I wanted to ignore it, the louder it became. ‘Amelia?’ Hudson’s smile fell flat. ‘What is it? What’s wrong?’ Come to me…This voice—no, this feeling—it was calling to me, summoning me. I could feel its magic hovering over my skin as if dragging a feather over me, sending a chill through, teasing me, pulling me on an invisible string to guide me. But where? It was nothing and everything all at the same time. Positive and negative. Empty and full. A void.I felt like I was in a trance as I stared into nothingness. A gentle hand held my chin, lifting softly, ‘Amelia?’Blinking a couple of times to pull myself back to reality, ‘What… what happened?’ My gaze finally met his again.Hudson’s eyes were glazed with concern. ‘You… Your eyes…’ he cupped his hands over my face, examining me so intensely
~ A M E L I A ~A chill took over the room. I stepped back, my breathing becoming weighted again, ‘Gabe…’Gabriel’s brow twitched up, ‘So, you came looking for it too…?’Peering at his crossed arms, he held my notebook in one hand. My brows furrowed, ‘You’re the one who took my notebook?’‘I had my reasons,’ he replied, stepping towards me slowly. Then I felt the rune behind me calling to me again to get inside. Tugging that invisible string roughly. Quickly, I turned around and went to grab the door handle, but my speed was nothing against an Alpha-son. I couldn’t wait to have my full wolf abilities to give me a better chance.Gabriel was beside me in a flash, gripping my wrist and preventing me from grabbing the handle. He pushed me towards the wall and pinned me there, still holding my wrist tightly against the wall, ‘I can’t let you do that, Amelia.’Locking eyes with him, I swallowed the lump in my throat, ‘Gabriel, let me go.’Gabriel’s head tilted, ‘What’s wrong? You look li
~ A M E L I A ~As we exited the hallway, Gabriel looked back at me and gave me a sympathetic smile, ‘I’m sorry for being intense back there. My father—’ he paused for a moment and sighed, ‘My father trained my brother and me to be… a little too rough.’Tilting my head to the side, I puffed out a half-laugh. ‘What?’I giggled, ‘I always knew you and Everett were tough guys. I mean, you both look intimidating as hell, but you’ve never scared me until you put on that act in there.’ Gabriel shrugged, ‘Sometimes I play the role of Alpha-son too well,’ he rolled his eyes and offered me his elbow, ‘Shall we?’Looping my arm through his, I smiled, ‘Let’s go.’As he ushered me back towards the ball, I couldn’t help but look back at the door concealing the hallway to the mysterious rune-engraved door. The pull I once felt from it seemed to be withering away. Maybe Gabriel was right in that the magic was tricking me…Arriving back at the ballroom, Gabriel and I loosened our grip on one anothe
~ A M E L I A ~He’s tricking you. My mind echoed. He wants to hurt you. He’s being nice to pull you in.Shaking my head, I scurried away from the dance floor and over to the bar for a drink. My inner thoughts were spiralling and spiralling. I needed to dull them away. The bartender handed me a glass of champagne before I could even ask for one. I thanked them and walked away before hiding myself in a little corner and watching the beauty of the ball as I polished the drink all in one go. Ew! The champagne tasted weird. Almost… vinegary with a weird bitter aftertaste. I stared at the flute, confused. Did they give me an expired champagne? I should tell them.‘It’s not you,’ I turned rapidly, startled, only to be presented by Luna Yurena in front of me, ‘it’s a special brand of champagne. Tastes a bit funky at first, but you get used to it,’ she smiled innocently. Here, have another,’ she handed me another she was conveniently holding. ‘Luna Yurena,’ I bowed my head, ‘My apologies,
~ 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