As I race down the winding road, my heart pounds in the nest of my chest, and I can feel the wolf's eyes boring into me from behind.
Its presence is palpable, a dark force that seems to be drawing closer with each passing moment.
I grasp the steering wheel in a death grip, my knuckles turning white as I try to keep my focus on the treacherous path ahead.
But no matter how hard I try, I can’t shake the feeling that the wolf is gaining on me, its breath hot on my neck. I know that I must keep moving, to keep driving forward no matter what, or risk being consumed by the terror that is closing in around me.
“What the fuck is going on!” I scream out loud, gripping the steering wheel tightly as the car starts to swerve at the speed it is going. “Just leave me alone! I help your kind, damn you…” On the verge of tears, I suddenly wish I had listened to my mother and applied at the hospital that was solely for humans.
Me being defiant and trying to prove to my mother that I’m in control of my future doesn’t sound so appealing after all.
As I approach the stop sign at the bustling intersection, my heart races with fear.
I glance up in the rearview mirror and see the massive wolf hot on my trail, its powerful legs propelling it forward as it leaps over any obstacles in its path.
The enormity of it all sends shivers down my spine. Fast. The figure that now stands behind me is a haunting sight; intimidating.
After looking to my right, left, then right again, I close my eyes and put my trust in the unknown as I speed through the intersection.
Holding my breath, I feel the weight of the unknown pressing down on me. The surrounding air grows thick with an eerie stillness as if the very atmosphere is holding its breath alongside me.
“I’m so going to hell…” I murmur, fighting against my fear to keep my eyes wide open.
Crossing past the intersection safely, I make a right turn at the next street, which leads to an underground tunnel that is fully lit and my mother’s house. It would be quicker for me to go back to my apartment, but the thought of me having to run up four flights of stairs makes me feel petrified.
I exit the tunnel, keeping my foot planted on the accelerator, swerving to make a sharp right as I pull into my mothers’ driveway. Slamming on the brakes, I kill the engine, and as I grab the handle, I scream.
The howl of the wolf echoes through the night as it chases me relentlessly. Suddenly, the wolf leaps out of the shadows, its eyes glowing with an otherworldly light. With a sickening thud, it collides with my car, sending it tumbling through the air before crashing to the ground on its side.
“MUM!!!” I cry out, trying to release my seatbelt.
The wolf snarls, circling the car like a predator preparing himself to devour his prey. The front light on the doorstep switches on, followed by the door being yanked open to reveal my mother adorned in the Harry Potter dressing gown I had brought for her last Christmas.
“Mum, oh my gawd, mum… no, get back inside the house!” I scream at the top of my lungs, still trying to get out of the vehicle.
As the wolf’s attention shifts toward my mother, I frantically yank on my seatbelt, cursing, and sigh with relief when I’m released from its clutches.
I kick the jammed door open and crawl across the shattered glass; wincing in pain as the sharp shards pierce my flesh.
“You stay away from my mother, you dirty mutt!” I growl, suppressing the fear that still clings to me.
My mother raises her hand with the palm facing upward, and a gusty breeze encircles the wolf, preventing it from approaching her further as it struggles to maintain its balance.
I stand motionless, speechless, and almost breathless as my mother closes her eyes for a heartbeat, and when she opens them again, they are no longer green.
Her irises are a vibrant violet hue with silver flecks.
My mother isn’t human. She is a witch, just like Blaze had said.
My mother thrusts her other hand out, tearing the front bumper clean off my car, and swipes her hand towards the wolf, making a tight fist with her hand. I gasp, unable to tear my gaze away from the wolf as the bumper wraps around the wolf’s thick neck like a vice, and it begins to crush the bones in his neck. When the pressure becomes too much, the wolf’s head explodes, sending fur, blood, brains, and parts of its skull soaring through the air.
I open my mouth to scream as my mother looks at me, and she touches her index finger to her lips, stealing my voice; Nothing but silence breaks free from my lips.
“Can you walk, child?” My eyes grow wide as her voice enters my head and her lips don’t move.
My gaze wanders from my mother to the dead wolf splattered across the ground.
“Luna! Can you walk?” Her voice enters my head once more, but this time with great urgency.
Nodding my head, I move one foot in front of the other on autopilot and shuffle towards my mothers’ waiting arms as her eyes feverishly search through the darkness. The second I reach her side, she pulls me into her embrace, muttering incoherently as her hands run up and down the sides of my body.
Gradually, the pain and unease that accompanies the fear in my chest vanishes. My mother then drags me inside the house behind her, making sure to use all the locks on the door she had personally installed herself roughly five months ago. She jams a wooden chair under the door handle for extra precaution.
In a daze, as my body still feels weak, I stand in the centre of the living room and I glare at my mother. Her eyes glisten under the light with a purple hue that I have never seen before and her hair… it was grey when I left for work hours ago, but it's now pure silver.
“So, it’s true?” I murmur while I continue to gauge her appearance and come to terms with the truth that she cursed the fallen pack and everything that Jaymie had said earlier in the operating room is true.
I'm meant to be their savior.
I'm meant to be a…. Moon Witch.
Has my entire existence been a lie?
My mother crosses the room, closing the distance between us, and she places her fingers on the sides of my temples—her nails piercing my flesh.
“Forgive me child, but I need to see what you have seen,” she mutters, and suddenly pain disperses across my skull, causing my eyeballs to roll in the back of my head.
Her gasps filled with alarm, shock, and uncertainty encase me, “No, it cannot be…” She breathes out in fear, “I was so careful… two mates… an alpha and his beta… your source of energy….”
Hot tears sear my cheeks as they glide down my face, and blood-curdling screams are torn from my throat as flashes of what I have just seen and been through flicker in my mind like a movie reel.
“Stop… please… it hurts…” I whimper, paralyzed by the crippling agony my mother is bestowing upon me.
I don’t know how much longer my mother had me in her clutches before the front door busts open, and the pain she is subjecting me to disappears.
A cold breeze whips past me and I sense myself helplessly collapsing to the ground.
A familiar scent fills my nostrils, followed by a murderous growl that makes me dizzy with desire and unexpected solace; I feel safe and my heart begins to beat in a slow rhythmic melody.
Large arms catch me before my body collides with the ground, lifting me flush off the ground and crushing me against a warm wall of muscle. “You dare inflict pain on our mate with magic that you used to curse our pack!”
“Bl… Blaze?” I mumble, raising my hand to cup his face which expresses nothing but the fierce rage that is solely directed toward my mother.
“Please… please don’t hurt her.” I plea, feeling the soul-crushing hatred he harbors toward her.
“We should kill them both, so we can move forward with our lives, Blaze,” Saffron sneers in a murderous tone that strikes my heart with his cruel words.
“No!” My mother screams at the top of her voice, “It cannot be… But how? I placed a cloaking spell on her presence, so you would never feel the pull towards her,” my mother's voice is a whisper away from sounding hysterical.
Blazes grasp tightens around my body, “It seems that the Moon Goddess has chosen her side and is a firm believer in fate.” With a low growl, he advances toward my mother, his eyes glowing with an otherworldly intensity.
I shudder as a chill runs down my spine, feeling as though I am caught in the midst of a supernatural battle beyond my comprehension.
“Your daughter is ours. We will own her. Mark her and if she runs, we will chase her down and punish her. Is that clear enough for you, witch?” Saffrons’ voice is barely audible as if some unseen force is constricting his throat. As if every emotion is being ripped from his chest and forced out into the open. Like he is being compelled to reveal his thoughts that are meant to remain hidden. “She will bear the first female pup that will break the curse in our pack and end with your demise.”
“Your daughter is ours. We will own her. Mark her and if she runs, we will chase her down and punish her. Is that clear enough for you, witch? She will bear the first female pup that will break the curse in our pack and end with your demise.” The words leave my mouth on their own accord as I continue to pin my mates’ mother, our enemy, to the wall.My heart races with adrenaline as I glare at the witch. Suspended mid-air, her feet dangle as if she's a puppet on strings. Her eyes, piercing and bright, seem to bore into my very soul as if she's trying to extract it from within me. I can see the desperation in her gaze as she struggles to draw in enough air to fill her starving lungs. My wolf prowls in the dark, growling fiercely as he bares his canines, eager to sink them into the witch’s neck. “Let me out, so I can tear her limb from limb…” He snarls savagely.Almost tempted to grant him his wish, I stop when the darkness around us seems to thicken as if it's alive and feeding off t
As soon as I feel Saffrons' absence, I trail behind Luna and follow her into the kitchen. She stands on her tiptoes and reaches up to open the top cupboard. Her fingers fumble around until they find the smooth surface of a tall glass. Carefully, she pulls it down, cradling it in her hands as she turns to the sink. The cool water rushes out of the faucet and into the glass, filling it halfway.She bustles around the kitchen and I can't help but watch her every move. Leaning against the fridge, I fold my arms across my bare chest and take in the sight of her. Her movements are graceful, yet purposeful.Abruptly, she spins on her heel with a sudden jolt of fear shooting through her body when her gaze lands on me. The glass of water in her hand slips from her grasp, descending toward the floor. Without hesitation, I jump forward and reach her just in time, lifting her into my arms before the glass hits the ground.When the glass collides with the ground, it shatters, and water with
As Blaze relinquishes his grip on my wrist, I hasten towards my mother, bending over her delicate frame to place a tender kiss on her forehead.A rebel tear slides down my cheek and splashes across her porcelain skin.“I’m sorry, ma, but I have to go with them. If I don’t, I’m afraid they will do something crazy, like kill you, and then me. I love you, and I wish you had been honest with me from the start because I have no idea what’s real and what’s not.” I whisper, wiping her hair out of her face as I look down at her and take a mental snap of her sleeping form. “I love you…” I sob, as I turn away from her.“Don’t allow them into your heart, my child. The second you do, it will all be over.”I look down at my hand as my mother holds on to it in a death grip that surprises the hell out of me, preventing me from walking away from her.“Wh…what?” I breathe out, lifting my gaze to search her face.“Lock your heart up and throw the key away, child. You are the descendant of a powerful Mo
As we drive through the woods, entering the clearing to our pack land, the sun is beginning to descend, casting bright hues to stain the horizon. We have been driving for hours, only making a pit stop here and there to get food or take a toilet break. Glimpsing in the rearview mirror, I cast a quick peek at Luna before I return my gaze to the front. She looks so peaceful, and angelic looking as she continues to sleep. The gentle cadence of her breath, punctuated by the occasional murmur, spurs me on to remain vigilant - to get her as far away from her mother as quickly as I can. She may not see it; I know Saffron sure as hell doesn’t, but she is our future. She is going to save our pack, and together we will break the curse bestowed upon us all. Just by Luna coming here of her own will, shows me that she is nothing like her evil mother. She has sacrificed everything to save our pack line, knowing that she will forever belong to us and that the life she once had, no longer
I jump out of the Ute, the door slamming shut behind me with a resounding thud. My fingers drum irritably against the bottom of my packet of cigarettes, a familiar ritual that always calms my nerves. And right now, my nerves feel like they are shot with restlessness.I whack the bottom of my packet against the palm of my hand while I look out into the crowd that continues to form around Blaze. He's taken it upon himself to courageously explain everything that has taken place in our absence.Like, the death of our Alpha.The finding of our mate, with the shocking discovery that she is our enemy and somehow, destined to be our saving grace. All rolled up into one curvacious being with a sharp tongue that stings like a silver whip, laced with spikes and wolfsbane. Not to mention that our mate's mother was the witch that damned us all to hell. How we fought spellbound wolves and still have one gagged and tied up in the cargo of the Ute for Lily to punish herself. Oh, and not forg
“Careful, darling,” Saffron hisses, gripping the roof of the Ute above my head. “I just might let you.”Licking my lips, I reel in my escaping breath as every fibre in my body hums.What the fuck was that?I have never felt pleasure that intensely before.As much as my mind wishes to royally screw Saffron over, my body craves to jump him and allow him to do whatever he pleases with me. Sexually.This is insane. I’ve known him for less than twenty-four hours, and I feel this magnetic pull towards him that has my heart racing fiercely in my ear canals.This pull toward him is a desperate need I can’t seem to control. It’s overwhelming, making me crave his touch.Straightening my spine, I press my forehead against his. “What was that?” I ask breathlessly, hating how close he is to me—reminding me of the pleasure that was currently surging through me.One corner of his mouth curls upward. “You like pain, darling, and I have a feeling that you and I are going to get along very well. I now
I do my best to keep my feet rooted in the ground. The expression on Lunas’ face is making my wolf inflamed. He is clawing at my chest, and I have to grit my teeth to hold him back. Because the moment I set him free. There is no telling what he may do to Lily. “Lily…” I snarl with a homicidal expression. “You have less than thirty seconds to remove yourself from our mate before we release our wolf onto you,” I warn her in a strained tone, feeling my veins pulse beneath the layers of skin on my body. “One more second, Blaze. I promise.” She whimpers. I know she can see everything that transpired at the hospital through Lunas' eyes, and part of me hopes she finds some solace through Lunas’ vision. “Please…” Luna sobs in a hushed tone that is filled with agony. “It hurts…” “Lily! Release her. Now!” I use my alpha voice, as I can feel the last ounce of control I have slipping through my fingers. A loud howl disperses across the clearing as it travels with the wind. Saffron has s
ONE WEEK EARLIER:As the dead leaves billow around my paws, they caress me with affection while I stand tall at the edge of the cliff with my head tipped back. Mist blankets the horizon like smoke contaminating the climate. This place right here, on the edge of the cliff that looks down at the river is my safe haven. A secret place I come to when I need to escape the pack; when things become too unbearable to face head-on.For some unknown reason, I feel a connection to the Earth. But as I continue to gaze up at the moon, I cannot ignore the surge of heat that thrums through my veins and weaves through the dark fur across my spine.But that sensation quickly vanishes, just as promptly as it appeared when the sound of Lily screaming tears through the still night. It threatens to burst every blood vessel in the branches of my pounding heart.I wish I could take your pain away, my dear strong sister…Her torment and agony are undeniable as it travels with the wind, and it takes everyt