~ A M E L I A ~The following day was colder than usual, not that it bothered us werewolves, but it was the perfect excuse to have the hood of my hoodie up to conceal my face, mainly the remnants of my red and tear-stained eyes. I couldn’t recall when I stopped crying last night; all I knew was that it was so late that I just passed out on my bed from exhaustion. All I managed to do was shower and make myself somewhat presentable for the day. If not for my rapid werewolf healing, I probably would look a lot worse. A strong stroke of nausea hit me as I turned the corner and plodded towards my locker, where I once loved the location. It was the same location where my friend’s lockers were, allowing us that much more time to hang out and chat in between classes, but now I hated it because it meant I would have to encounter them once again. Another encounter which likely wouldn’t be pretty. Yet, some foolish feeling inside me still had hope. I hoped that they would give me a chance to
~ A M E L I A ~It was only the middle of the week, and I could already confirm that it sucked entirely. With the full moon only two days away and all our emotions being heightened, my friend’s annoyance and hatred towards me were heightened, just as my gloominess and guilt were, too.I had made my way home immediately after school. I didn’t even bother trying with my friends; if they want distance, then that is exactly what I’ll give them. There were more important things I needed to worry about. A light knock on my door disrupted my attention from reading over one of the journals Everett had given me. Immediately, I knew it was him. I could smell him approaching my home, ‘Doors open,’ I called. Opening the door and striding inside, ‘You know, you shouldn’t leave your door unlocked for anyone to enter,’ Everett locked the door behind him and slid his jacket off, already making himself at home, ‘What if someone knew you did that and barged right in?’ ‘I guess they’ll take me away a
~ A M E L I A ~‘Maybe… Maybe the former Alpha wanted privacy for his family after the loss of his heir,’ he breathed, stroking my cheek with his thumb, trying to soothe me. Furrowing my brows and frowning, ‘What I don’t understand is how none of the older generations have slipped out the name of the Alpha before your father.’ Everett hummed, ‘I think I have an answer for that.’ I blinked again and again, gripping the bottom of his T-shirt as I waited for him to continue. Everett sighed, ‘My father is loyal but also bitter. If he and the former Alpha were as close as I think they were, maybe my father was so distraught when they died that he commanded the pack, or those who knew the former Alpha, to not ever speak his name again.’‘And if he used the Alpha’s Roar,’ my shoulders dropped, ‘then they would have to obey no matter what.’Resting his forehead against mine, Everett shut his eyes and spoke in a feathered, hushed tone, ‘I could speak to him,’ his hand moving to the back of m
~ A M E L I A ~Grey clouds were scattered across the sky; they had been all day, and as the day went on, they appeared to become darker and darker, almost like smoke. A chill in the air brushed against my skin, though it didn’t physically bother me, and my growing endurance to strong weathering conditions didn’t prevent me from being able to feel the changes around me. I could feel a strong pang in my chest throbbing and a humming sensation tickling in my throat, almost like I had a desire to scream or cry out loud for no apparent reason that I could think of.The ritual of school ending early on the day of the full moon became second nature to me—hand in all necessary work to teachers before midday, and then you’re free to do whatever you please until the evening’s event. Even though everyone knew those over 18 wouldn’t shift, the entire pack still had hope. I wished I still had hope, but things were too bleak. I truly couldn’t see there being any progress for the pack. Everett and
~ A M E L I A ~On my way home, I realised I had quite a few things I needed to pick up from various stores. Worried that I would forget about the items I needed until that one moment when I needed them, I decided to pop into the stores, and then I would head home. It may have taken me longer than I intended to, but after a couple of hours, I managed to pick up all the items I needed and a snack to keep me satisfied until dinner. I hadn’t realised how late it had gotten; the sky was covered in a blanket of grey clouds, but the brightness of the full moon was peeking through. It was high in the sky but not alarmingly high, not yet. Pulling my umbrella out of my bag to shelter myself from the drizzle, however, within seconds, it was like the skies had opened up the heavens. The gentle rain became almost like a hurricane only after I took a few steps forward. Buckets and buckets of rain poured down, drenching everything around me. All the more reason to get home. I thought to myself
~ A M E L I A ~Stepping back as he moved towards me, I knew the risk I was putting myself in but I didn’t quite care.‘You’re playing a dangerous game, darling.’ He took another step forward.That time, I didn’t step back in response, ‘You won’t hurt me.’A playful smirk grew on his face, ‘Only in the ways you’d find pleasurable.’‘Prick,’ I hissed, narrowing my eyes at him, but a soft smile was growing no matter how much I tried to hide it, and I knew Everett noticed. One final step closer, and he was towering over me. We both were still soaked from head to toe. Everett’s hair was almost fully shielding his eyes as the water dripped down his flawless complexion. His eyes, silver and radiant like the moon itself, were powerful enough to still be seen through the darkness of his locks.Biting down on my lip, I almost forgot to breathe as Everett closed the gap between us and cupped my face in his hands. ‘I should go…’ he cooed as he scanned my face slowly like he was trying to memor
~ A M E L I A ~My body felt sore yet alive at the same time. Last night was the wildest night I had ever experienced. We were like animals—well, I suppose for the first time, I felt the animalistic side of me. Barely taking a break for a minute before we desperately needed each other’s touch again. I think we ended up having sex in almost every room and every inch of this house, everywhere, but still not in a bed. It was—The smell of something delicious cooking downstairs caught my attention. Forcing my eyes open, I stretched and leaned forward to sit up, cracking my neck as I scanned my surroundings. My bedroom, when did I end up here? The last thing I remembered was Everett and I on the sofa, talking into the early hours of the morning. I think the moon had set, and we were still up talking about anything and everything. It got to the point that I didn’t even care what we were talking about, I just wanted to hear his voice and have him close, feeling his warmth. How I went from d
~ A M E L I A ~It took a lot of convincing on Everett’s part, but he wore me down, and I said yes to going on a trip away. Part of me knew I would say yes, I wanted to scream it to him and jump into his arms when he first suggested it, but I was so distraught from our conversation that I couldn’t be happy, not really. I couldn’t be happy knowing that I was going to lose someone who became so important to me, someone who, without meaning to, became my rock. When I lost hope, when I lost everyone around me, he was there. He was always there. Him convincing me became stronger when he promised we would focus most of the weekend on researching to break the curse and find my parents. Unless he had something of use hiding wherever he was taking me, I didn’t know what a change of location would do to help us. Aside from us getting more time together. Ev demanded that I have my bags packed and ready with me at school since he planned to take me straight after I finished for the day. He had
~ 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