Alex paces the ground back and forth, fretting. ‘She should have been here by now,’ he says with worry.
‘I’m sure Bella is fine,’ Alpha Maximus reassures him.
Alex’s phone rings, ‘What do you mean? I’m on my way!’ he says, hanging up.
His breathing is heavy as he grips his head with his hands.
What’s wrong? What has happened?’ I ask.
‘Sally said that Bella is bleeding badly. She thinks something is wrong,’ he says.
‘Where are they?’ I ask.
They are just outside our territory,’ he says. He then races inside to get doctor Matlin and back outside, shifting into his wolf.
‘I’m coming with you!’ I say to him.
We shift and follow Alex through the fields and the trees until we see a car parked on the side of the road. We can hear Bella screaming in pain. Doctor Matlin approaches the back seat where Bella is. Sally is holding her hand, reassuring her.
‘She needs to start pushing. The baby needs to come out now,’ Doctor Matlin says.
‘Bella, you can do this. Just breathe in and push. Okay? in three two one, breathe, now PUSH!’ Sally guides Bella.
We all encourage Bella to push and keep pushing. Finally, after her fourth push, we hear the baby cry. Doctor Matlin wraps the baby in a blanket, handing it over to Alex so he can stop Bella from bleeding.
A big smile is on Alex’s face as he holds the baby and rocks.
Alpha Maximus and I approach him, ‘Congratulations, Alex,’ we say to him.
Alex is speechless, staring down at the sweet little bundle.
‘So, is it a boy or a girl?’ I ask.
‘I’m not sure,’ he laughs. He opens the blanket to check. ‘It’s a boy! It’s a boy!’ he says happily.
We’re so happy for him. Then Doctor Matlin walks over to us, ‘I’m so sorry, Alex.’ he whispers.
‘Don’t you mean congratulations?’ Alex says with confusion.
‘Bella is gone, I’m sorry, but she didn’t survive the birth,’ he says sadly.
We all freeze, and our faces become pale, ‘No! No!’ he yells. He hands the baby to Alpha Maximus and rushes into the car.
Sally is crying. Alex leans over Bella and cries into her chest. I approach the car. I go from feeling great sadness to now feeling great determination.
I lean over Bella, placing my hands over her. My hands emit a glow, and my eyes are glimmering silver.
A few minutes go by, and nothing seems to have happened, ‘Hope…Hope! I’m sorry, but she’s gone,’ Sally says.
I burst into tears and kneel on the ground.
‘I’m so sorry, Alex,’ I say to him.
Alpha Maximus hands the baby over to Sally and then wraps his arms around me. Alex sits on the ground, crying into his hands.
‘Why is everyone crying?’ Bella asks.
We all turn and gasp. Then, we all stand, run to Bella and hug her, crying.
‘We thought you were dead,’ Sally says to her.
‘Hope must have saved you!’ Doctor Matlin says.
Bella is confused, but she takes her baby from Sally and smiles.
‘It’s a little boy, Bella!’ Alex says to her.
‘A little boy! He is so beautiful,’ she says, gushing over him.
‘Let’s get you all back to the pack house so you and the baby can rest,’ Alpha Maximus says.
We help Bella and the baby back to the pack house safely.
‘Wow! You live in a castle?’ Sally says in amazement. It’s the first time Sally has been to the Blood Moon packhouse.
‘Yes, this is the pack house,’ I reply.
‘This is so cool!’ she squeals.
Nathan opens the door as he sees us approaching. His eyes lock with Sally’s, ‘MATE!’ he says. Nathan looks at Sally hungrily.
‘Um…what?’ Sally says in confusion. Nathan runs up to her, lifts her over his shoulder, and runs back into the pack house.
Sally is giggling her head off, ‘Um…hello? What’s going on? Who is this cute guy? Why is he running up the stairs with meeeee!’ she says.
We watch them disappear up the stairs.
We all burst out laughing. Then, Beth comes running up to Bella and the baby, ‘Oh, he is gorgeous!’ she says.
‘Do you know what his name will be?’ I ask Bella.
‘We are going to name him Billy, after Alex’s Father’, she smiles.
‘How about you, Billy and Alex, rest in your room for a while?’ Alpha Maximus says to them. Alex and Bella take the baby upstairs to their chambers.
‘Chaos wants to go for a run. I’m sure he would love for Storm to join us?’ Alpha Maximus says.
‘Yes! Let’s go!’ I say and shift into my wolf.
Chaos chases me through the fields, and then we spend some time play fighting. Chaos keeps letting me win.
We shift back into our human forms and lay in the field of long grass. I then straddle myself onto Alpha Maximus with a mischievous look.
Alpha Maximus covers my body in sweet kisses, making me giggle. I cup his face, ‘Maximus. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I never want to leave your side,’ I say to him.
‘ I will never leave your side. You have captured my heart and tamed my Lycan, something I never thought was possible. I never want to go a day without you by my side, either. To do so would be a silver dagger to my heart,’ he says.
‘I love you, Maximus,’ I whisper.
‘I love you too,’ he says and leans in to kiss me.
We make love and then make our way home to the packhouse.
‘Last one home is a rotten egg!’ I shout, shifting into my wolf and running.
Alpha Maximus shifts into his Lycan again and chases me. Alpha Maximus leaps and pounces on me as we reach the front steps. We end up playfighting again.
Pack members gather around to see the commotion, only to find Storm holding Chaos down, nipping and snarling playfully.
Everyone laughs and smiles. We shift and race upstairs to our chambers, laughing.
‘It feels good to see my pack happy and relaxed for a change. I’m so used to them being afraid of me all these years,’ Alpha Maximus says to me, ‘I’m so grateful to the Moon Goddes that I found you,’ he says and holds me in his arms.
‘Hope, could you hold Billy for me?’ Bella asks.
‘Of course!’ I reply.
He is such a cute baby.
Sally and Nathan walk down the stairs holding hands, joining us for breakfast, Sally’s cheeks are flushed, and she is giddy.
‘Good morning, Sally,’ I grin.
She smiles back, ‘Good morning Hope, I mean Luna,’
We giggle, ‘Did you sleep well?’ I ask her, trying not to laugh.
She bites her bottom lip, looks at Nathan next to her, and blushes again. ‘Yes, I slept very well,’ she smirks.
Alpha Maximus laughs, ‘Yes, the whole pack house could hear how well you two slept through the night,’ He says, giving a wink at Nathan.
Everyone bursts out laughing.
‘What are our plans today?’ I ask Alpha Maximus.
‘I’ll be organising meetings with the remainder of the wolf packs to organise peace treaties. So I would like you to focus on settling in and finding your way around the packhouse. Seeing as it’s a castle, it’s easy to become lost. Nathan can give you and Sally a tour together,’ he says.
‘Really?’ Sally says, ‘Well, seeing as you are Nathan’s mate, it’s only expected that you move into the packhouse with us,’ he says to her.
‘Oh, I couldn’t. I wouldn’t want to intrude?’ she says.
‘It’s tradition and how wolf packs work. But, we also insist, don’t we, Hope?’ he says to me.
I smile and nod, ‘Of course! It would mean a lot to Nathan and us to have you reside with us,’ I say to her as I rock Billy in my arms.
Sally squeals, ‘I can’t believe I’m going to live here in a castle!’ she says, jumping up and down.
Nathan kisses her hand, ‘Shall we drive you home to pack your things today?’ Nathan asks Sally.
‘Yes, we can head there later today and be back by the end of the week,’ she smiles.
I pass Billy to Beth.
Sally and I walk with Nathan as he gives us a grand tour of the castle. Two hours later, we are still exploring, ‘This place has no end,’ I laugh.
‘It does eventually,’ Nathan laughs.
‘I’m going to go to the kitchen for a drink of tea,’ I say, feeling parched.
‘Do you want me to show you the way back?’ he asks.
‘I think I’ll be fine,’ I reply.
I skip along humming, admiring the intricate paintings and antiques along the way. I swear the kitchen is this way. Maybe I took a wrong turn? Great. I’m lost. I scan the area, figuring out which passage I should take. Then I noticed a dark hole in a corner. As I approach, I see stone steps going down.
It’s too dark to see anything, but I want to know what is down there. I keep my hand against the wall to guide me along.
Once I reach the bottom of the stairs, I see a small light in the distance. I walk toward the light, keeping my hand on the wall.
The light is coming from the moon. I look up to see a stone missing from the ceiling. I watch the moon in admiration for a moment leaning against the wall, only for it to make a creaking sound. The wall pushes open, revealing a hidden room. There’s a wall of shelves on the left filled with scrolls. There’s a table against the wall in the middle of the room with old books and an unlit candle. I can see a box of matches beside the books. The wall on the right has a red velvet curtain in the centre with bookshelves on either side that have bottles of different coloured liquids and jars with unknown items inside.
Taking a match, I light the candle. I look around slowly and take everything in and place the candle down. My fingers glide over the front cover of a book, ‘History of Witches,’ I read out loud.
I open the book and peer down at a list of names with birth dates and town of birth. I flick through the pages until the last name on the list starts to glow, ‘Anna Glint. Healer’s Coven,’ I read.
A sudden breeze makes me turn and face the red velvet curtain.
I step closer and reach out to pull the curtain across. I’m stunned and in awe as I stare at a portrait of a woman with the same white hair and blue eyes as me. She hugs a very light grey wolf in the portrait. Kayla mentioned this woman. This must be the werewolf she fell in love with. A sense of familiarity arises within me like I had met them before. I study the picture closer, the way they are looking into each other’s eyes.
The grey, almost silver wolf is huge and proud looking. You can see the love and admiration in his eyes. The woman looks just like me. I run my fingers gently across her cheek. ‘Could she be my mother? And the wolf, my father?’
If Anna Glint is a witch from the Healers coven and she is my mother, then that would explain my healing ability. It would also mean I’m a half-witch and half-wolf.
If my mother’s name is here, perhaps my father’s name is somewhere in this room as well? But why is it here in the Blood Moon Pack? I unravel some of the scrolls, hoping to find more information. I don’t read anything useful on the scrolls, so I walk over to the bookshelves and move jars aside. I look through the books, and something falls from one of them. I look down at the small shiny object. It’s a necklace with a heart-shaped ruby.
It’s beautiful. I unclip the clasp at the end of the chain and link it back around my neck. The ruby heart sits beautifully, nestled on my chest. I hold it and close my eyes, feeling a strange but loving connection.
As I open my eyes, I notice a note on the ground that must have also fallen out with the pendant. I pick it up and read it.
Anna, my love
They can try and keep us apart, but love will always conquer
You are my heart, and I gift it to you now and forever,
Eternally yours
Alpha Levi of the Dark Moon Pack.
This pendant must symbolise his love for her. I hold it again close to my heart as tears drip down my cheeks. What happened to them? Where are they? My father is an Alpha.
I hear my name, ‘Hope…Hope!’ I hear. Alpha Maximus is looking for me. I have been gone for hours.
