MELIA POV
Maisie and I were making our way to the coven house when we saw Nana coming down the steps.
Right before we reached her, mom walked right past us towards her.
“I’m sorry my girls, but your mom and I need a private moment. But everything is alright, go enjoy your party.” Nana grabbed hold of our mom’s arm and they disappeared.
“What was that all about, Mia? Have you seen dad this evening? Shouldn’t he be here?” Maisie rambled more to herself than to me.
“You’re the calm older sister Mace, I need you to stay that way before shit has a chance to hit the fan,” I grabbed both of her shoulders to steady her.
“Did someone request to see their father?” My dad’s voice came booming from behind us.
“Daddy!” He pulled us all into a bear hug.
“Sorry, I’m late to your party girls but I had a mandatory last-minute meeting with the elders and the other coven leaders.” He released us.
“Is everything okay?” Maisie asked with worry in her voice.
“Yes, baby girl. But I do need to talk to your mother. Have you seen her? Her mind-link is closed off to me.”
Maisie and I just looked at one another, not sure what to say.
“Melia.” My dad warned me.
I let out a breath, cocked my head to the side, and looked up at our father.
“An Alpha was here and mom shimmered him away, and then when she came back Nana shimmered her away there, so I’m not exactly sure where they are at, at this point.”
“An Alpha?” My dad almost growled.
His eyes fluttered back and we knew he was trying to mind-link our mother.
When he opened his eyes, he tried to smile “it’s okay girls. I found her. Go enjoy your party.”
We could sense his tension as he made his way toward the coven house.
“Why was he here, Athena? What have you done?” Esme snapped at me.
“Mother, I haven’t done anything! He was at the border. What was I supposed to do?”
“I have already bent too many rules for you little girl. Far more than I ever wanted to,” Esme warned.
“I have split myself in two for you and this coven, mother! What more do you want from me?” I snapped back.
“Watch your tone, Athena! Remember who you’re speaking to. I may be your mother, but I’m also your elder.”
“We both know you should have had more control when you first met that man!”
Before I could say anything else, Baine came booming through the door of my office.
“Athena, is everything okay? The girls said something about an Alpha?”
I didn’t have the heart to look up into my husband’s eyes.
He wrapped me up in a hug and pulled me close.
Esme shimmered away without another word.
“Is there anything we haven’t tried, Athena? Anything we haven’t thought of yet?” my husband pleaded.
“No! I have tried everything, I have asked anyone who would listen and there is no way we can stop it.” I cried out as tears ran down my face.
“What have I done, Baine? I can’t believe I have cursed us and our girls in this way.”
“Don’t cry honey, we will figure it out. Just wait and see, it will all work out.” He rocked me in his arms.
But we both knew that there was nothing either one of us could do to stop what was coming.
We had three days.
What was I going to do with that girl?
Even after all this time, she was still in love with that mutt.
I wish I could have killed him years ago, but after the peace treaty, it wasn’t an option.
Baine has been such an amazing man and he has taken such good care of all my girls, why can’t Athena just be satisfied?
I just didn’t understand.
I shook my head trying to get rid of my thoughts as I looked at my daughter cradled in her husband’s arms.
I sighed to myself.
I knew she loved Baine and she had just made a mistake when she was still a young girl when it came to the Alpha. But now her whole family will have to shoulder not only the burden and shame but the betrayal of the coven that we have kept hidden for so many years.
I knew we shouldn't have hidden the truth, but if I'm being honest, humiliation is the least of our worries.
How could I enjoy our party with so many unanswered questions swirling around in my head?
Then there's Maisie.
Maisie had this crazy worried face on and she kept touching my face and forehead.
And who is Alpha August and why was he here? Today of all days.
And his eyes, why did his eyes look so . .
Before I could finish my thought, Margot and Roxy intertwined their arms into mine and Maisie's arms.
Roxy looked at me and smiled “Where the heck have you two been? You’re missing all the fun at your own damn party.”
"Shit, Mia, are you okay? You're burning up." Roxy looked up at me with the same worried face that Maisie had.
"Maybe you should go see the . ."
“Let’s dance.” Margot chirped, cutting Roxy off mid-sentence as she twirled around like a ballerina.
When Margot looked up at me, my jaw dropped and I could feel my eyes pop out of my head.
“What is it? Is there something on my dress or something in my teeth?” Margot scanned herself with her hands.
The same eyes!
She had the same eyes as the Alpha. We all three have the same icy silver-green in our eyes. How could I not see that before now?
“Sorry Margot, you just caught me off guard,” I assured her.
She slapped me on my arm before crossing her arms over her chest and pouting.
I need to talk to my mom. Was he a relative? Witches didn’t have wolf relatives.
Did they?
I knew we had alliances and treaties in place with some of the neighboring wolf packs that our ancestors put in place generations ago after the Scarlet Blood War.
We even went to elementary school with wolves and not just wolves but many species that were able to blend in with the human race.
In school, we all called ourselves the hidden race, as an inside joke of sorts.
I knew that none of the wolves at school had talked about having different species join their pack and something like that is never heard of in a coven.
It’s honestly not heard of in any wolf packs, witches, or vampire covens. The elders that rule over the witch covens won’t even hear about the integration of species and no one wants to be in a vampire coven if they get to have a choice.
Wolf packs, on the other hand, are very strong and ridiculously loyal, so I could see the appeal of joining one of them. Not to mention that wolves are some of the best fighters amongst the hidden race. They don’t have magic to fall back on, so they are not only physically massive, but they are extremely skilled assassins. Most of the world’s most notorious assassins are wolves, vampires, or some type of hybrid.
I was pretty close to a she-wolf in elementary school named Nikita. My Lolita didn’t approve, but something drew me to her. I considered her my best friend, well before I met Roxy, of course. Nikki, my sisters, and I were all thick as thieves in school. We met at our school’s tee-ball tryouts and we played on the team for five years together. I hadn’t seen her since we moved back to the coven, almost six years ago. Occasionally, we still texted and posted on one another’s socials, but it was nothing like when we were in school together.
Now that I think about it, she was also from the Mangata Wolf pack.
Before I could lose myself in any more worry, Nana appeared next to us.
“Come on, my porcelain princesses, it’s time for your initiation.”
The initiation, how could I have forgotten about the goddess forsaking initiation!!
MELIA POV Nana reached her hand out to us and we each grabbed her arm. She snapped her fingers and all of our dresses were gone, replaced by a thin piece of black hand-sewn cloth that didn't leave much to the imagination. If we had not practiced for the ceremony the whole last year, I would have been embarrassed to walk out in front of our coven in such a minuscule amount of clothing. Unfortunately, it's a tradition and it is something everyone in the coven had to do when they either turned eighteen or when they joined the coven. Nana started herding us towards the pavilion where the elders and the inner court members from both ours and other covens were gathered. As we reached them, Nana cleared her throat. "I apologize for the delay, it will only be a few more moments." The elders nodded their heads. Nana's eyes fluttered back to open her mindlink. A couple of minutes after her eyes opened back up, mom shimmered herself and dad to the pavilion. Mom looked over at my sist
ATHENA POV"Please, everyone calm down. We all know the essence of our ancestors do not make mistakes. I understand we are confused by the essence color surrounding the girls, but it could be as simple as the girls marrying another coven's upcoming high priest. So please, let's not panic. We will figure this out, there is no need to worry."I had to say something to calm the members of my coven. Even though I knew what I was saying was logical and it seemed to comfort people, I know there was a far more complicated meaning behind my girl's essence color."MOM, DAD, NANA!" Margot screamed hysterically.I turned towards her and when my eyes finally reached her, my heart dropped to the pit of my stomach.I immediately shimmered to my girls."Melia honey, what's wrong?""She passed out and I couldn't get her to wake back up, she was mind-thinking to someone about her wolf," Maisie said frantically."Her what?" Baine questioned Maisie. "That's what I heard her say. I only heard the end of
ATHENA POV "Do you think the girls are awake yet? It's going to be a long day, maybe we should let them sleep in?" I questioned myself more than Baine. "Procrastination won't save you, baby. It's time!" I rolled my eyes at my husband. He kissed me on the forehead as he pulled me off our bed and then swatted me on the butt as he pushed me out of our bedroom door. I crossed my eyes at him and he stuck his tongue out at me before I took off toward the girls' rooms. I love that man. I'll never understand how he can make me smile and feel like everything is going to be just fine on one of the worst days of my life. As I opened the door to Melia's room I was not prepared for what I had seen. "Leporem" I whispered. My camera appeared in my hand and I snapped a couple of pictures of my beautiful girls. This was a memory I wanted to keep forever. Maisie was hanging off the edge of the bed, Melia was hanging on to Maisie for dear life, Margot was all sprawled out with her head resting
MELIA POV I’m glad I'm not the first one to speak. Even if I knew it was what my sisters were expecting of me. My head was spinning and my brain was running wild with unanswered questions, but when I finally opened my mouth to speak, nothing came out. Biologically, Lily and Vera aren't my sisters, but in all other respects, they were as much my sisters as Maisie, Margot, and Kira. Even though all this information was hard to wrap my head around, I'm glad mom decided to share it with all of us because I really need my sisters right now. Vera was the first of us to speak up and it was like she was reading my thoughts. Vera looked down at her hands and when she lifted her head back up to look at us, she had a grin on her face. “From birth, I was raised as your girl's sister, it was like our moms were sister wives from the very beginning. I don’t think we have ever spent more than a day apart from one another.” “I know Aunt Athena isn’t my mother, but after my mom and Aunt Rosalie
ATHENA POV“Baine, where could she have run off to?”“We will find her, honey. All of the warriors are out looking for her now.”“It’s been five hours since she left the coven house. The rogue activity has been at an all-time high for the last couple of months, they could kill her!”“Athena!” My husband grabbed my shoulders, holding me in place.“That is very far from the truth and you know it! Our girls may be young but they are fighters, they have trained their whole lives to protect themselves.”“Don’t you dare snap at me!” I pushed myself out of my husband’s grip.“My child is missing and the only thing you have to say is that she can take care of herself!”“I’m sorry to tell you buddy boy, but training to fight and fighting are two completely separate things!”Baine rubbed his face and took a deep breath before he spoke.“Yes, honey, I know and I’m sorry, but I’m just as scared for her as you but worrying to death isn’t helping either one of us.”I knew he was right, but I would n
MELIA POVI opened my mindlink."Roxy, can you hear me?""Melia, where are you?""Rox, I'm at the corner of the territory next to the standing stones. Will you please come and get me? I'm beat!""I'm on my way."I closed my mindlink as I waited for Roxy to come and save my ass."Mia."Without any questions, Roxy pulled my arm around her neck and helped me to her cottage. "Lightning or Thunder?" Roxy questioned."Lightening"Roxy smirked but said nothing."Lay down for a little bit and I'll get Abuela's broom."I couldn't help but chuckle."Shut it, you know it helps." Roxy raised her eyebrows at me as she walked back into the room with her Nana’s old handmade broom.Roxy started shuffling around the room, sweeping forcefully. As she kicked up a mass amount of energy in my direction, it shimmered and sparkled in the setting sun's light that was shining through the window.I couldn't help but belly laugh at her as all the energy literally swept her up off her feet."Alright, alright, t
MELIA POVSpending a night with Roxy cleared my head. I had to go home to face my mother at some point or she would hunt me down and drag me home.But what exactly was I to say to her?I couldn’t believe she would hide something like that from us.I get what she did was forbidden, but to bind our wolves so that she could keep us in the dark just pissed me off.She was the one that chose to do things that she knew were wrong and I could even forgive her for that, but to wait until we were eighteen then and say "Oh, yeah, by the way, you're a werewolf and you have to be Luna to some strange man's pack" that was supposedly our biological father was just so messed up on a dozen different levels.I could always run away or refuse to do any of what they are asking.I wasn't exactly sure what the consequences of that would be, but I am now an adult and I refuse to let anyone make any more decisions for me!I sighed and let out a breath I hadn't even realized I was holding. On the other hand,
MELIA POVI couldn't breathe, something was clawing at my neck and face.I sat straight up in bed, feeling for any claw marks on my neck. What a terrifying dream I had been having. I hated feeling like I couldn't breathe like I was being suffocated or drowned."Please moon goddess don't let me go out that way!"I let out a yawn and stretched before I threw my covers off and got to my feet. I looked down at myself.Why was I wearing day clothes? Where were my pj's?I looked around my room and nothing seemed to be out of place, so I decided to get ready for the day.As I walked towards my bathroom, I walked past my window and I didn't see any light trying to escape from underneath my curtains. Wait a second, was it dark outside?I started to panic.Something was wrong.I turned on my heels, moving towards my bedroom door. I had to find my mom.The door was locked.What in the hell was going on here? I was really starting to freak out, pounding on my door."Hello, what the hell is go