Anna is surrounded by wolves snapping and snarling at her. Then the largest one shifts into his human form. His aura gives off immense power. He must be an Alpha. ‘Anna, you have broken the law, along with my son, who is no longer Alpha,’ he tells her.
He must be my grandfather Alpha Cal!
Anna gasps, ‘What have you done to him?’ she cries.
Alpha Cal laughs, ‘My impotent son is locked up in the dungeon indefinitely, where he will be punished regularly.’
‘You’re a monster!’ she yells at him.
‘How do you plead, Anna Glint?’ he asks her.
‘Being in love should not be a crime! You are defying your own Moon Goddess, objecting to her choosing me as your sons’ mate!’ she shouts.
‘The Moon Goddess would never curse the werewolf breed by assigning a witch as one of our mates! You have obviously bewitched my son!’ he says.
‘I love Levi! And he loves me! The Moon Goddess wants us to be together! I never bewitched him!’ she cries.
‘You have been sentenced to death for breaking the law and bewitching my son! Burn her!’ he yells at the mob of werewolves.
They grab her arms, forcing them behind her back as tears roll down her face.
I cry as I follow them as they drag her away until they reach a wooden post with hundreds of people waiting.
They tie her to the wooden post while Alpha Cal takes a fire-lit torch from a bystander and stands in front of my mother.
‘Any last words, Witch?’ he asks.
My mother glares into his eyes, ‘I, Anna Glint of the Healers Coven, curse you, Alpha Cal, for my death shall be avenged by your own bloodline. The day you see my face again is the day you will die!’ she shouts, then looks beyond his shoulder and stares directly into my eyes.
‘Mother?’ I tremble. she smiles and nods. Alpha Cal turns to look at what my mother is staring at, but he sees nothing, ‘What are you staring at? There is no one there!’ he yells.
I realise only my mother can see me. I’m a ghost to everyone else.
‘Mother!’ I yell as I run toward her.
Alpha Cal throws the torch at her feet. The fire erupts into a large column of flame. My mother screams in pain as the fire engulfs her. I scream and cry, witnessing my mother’s horrible fate. Suddenly my mother’s screams stop. I fall to my knees in front of her ashes and cry.
Alpha Cal starts laughing. I stand, wipe my tears away, and turn to face my grandfather. His laugh is dark, sending a quiver down my spine.
‘I will avenge my mother if it’s the last thing I do!’ I shout in his face, even though I know he can’t see or hear me.
I run back toward the lake. The only place I ever felt safe. I hear the baby crying as I approach. A few people gather around the baby.
‘It’s been abandoned?’ a woman says.
‘Well, pick it up. Alpha will decide what to do with it,’ another says.
I follow them into the pack house. They approach Alpha Tate’s father. Seeing Alpha Tate so young at four or five years old is strange.
‘What’s this?’ he asks.
‘We heard cries and found it on the border by the woods.’
The alpha grunts, ‘I can smell its wolf, so it’s not a human,’ he says.
He looks toward an elderly woman sweeping the floor, ‘Our current slave will probably drop dead in the next few years. Perhaps this baby can take her place,’ he shrugs.
‘Who’s going to look after her in the meantime?’ A pack member asks.
‘Give her to the current slave. The baby can be her problem!’ he grunts.
The old lady takes the baby and leaves the room. I remember her, but very vaguely. She died just before I turned five years old, and that’s when I had to do all the pack house chores by myself instead of with her.
That was also when the beatings began that I had to endure. I went to follow the old lady but suddenly began to whirl up in the air by an invisible force again.
I close my eyes as I feel dizzy, then open them to see I’m back under the tree. I had just witnessed my mother’s death and when I had been found. I lie back on the grass staring into the distant sky in shock. The sun is setting.
I force myself to walk back to the castle in a zombie-like trance.
An hour passes, and I haven’t reached the castle yet as I remain in human form and haven’t shifted into my wolf. Alpha Maximus and others are in front of me and by my side, trying to talk to me. Alpha Maximus waves his hands in my face.
It’s not until Alpha Maximus cups my face in his hands and kisses my lips. That brings me back to reality. The kiss sends sparks flying throughout my body.
I gasp as our lips part and gaze up at Alpha Maximus. He is relieved I’ve snapped out of the trance.
‘Hope, we’ve been searching for you for hours. Did something happen? You were in some kind of trance. You couldn’t see us or hear us,’ he says.
I blink a few times, realising what I must do, ‘Maximus… I need you to take me to the Dark Moon pack.’.
‘What! Are you insane, Hope?’ he shouts.
‘There’s something I need to do,’ I say to him calmly.
‘What do you need to do that’s so important that I need to endanger your life by taking you to the Dark Moon pack?’ he asks.
I manage to say one word before I black out in his arms, ‘Kill,’ I say, falling into his arms and slipping into darkness.
Alpha Maximus is by my side as I wake up in our chambers.
‘Hope you have to let me in. You have to tell me what is going on,’ he pleads
‘Do you love me, Maximus?’ I whisper
‘Of course, I love you, Hope! I would die for you! I would do anything for you,’ he answers.
‘Even if I’m not what you think I am?’ I say.
‘Hope…you are my mate, and that is all that matters,’ he says.
I wrap my arms around him and nuzzle my face into his chest.
‘Maximus… I love you too, no matter what,’ I say to him.
‘No matter what,’ he says back.
He kisses my forehead and sweeps my hair from my face tenderly, and then runs his fingers down my neck. They rest on the ruby heart I wear. ‘I’ve never seen this before.’
I grip my hand over his holding the heart, ‘It belonged to my parents,’ I tell him.
Alpha Maximus looks at me confused, ‘I thought you didn’t know who your parents were. I thought you were found as a baby in the woods?’ he says.
‘I just found out who my parents are, Maximus. It’s important you take me to the Dark Moon pack as soon as possible,’ I say with urgency.
‘Who are your parents? What has the Dark Moon pack got to do with your parents?’ he asks.
‘There is something I need to tell you!’ I say to him
Suddenly my mind flashes back to my mother being burned alive. My body suddenly feels as though I’m the one who is being burned. I begin to scream in pain.
‘Maximus! It hurts! Please stop the fire, stop the fire! Don’t let him kill me!’ I scream.
‘Hope, what’s wrong? I’m not going to let anything happen to you! Who do you think is going to kill you?’ he asks.
‘My grandfather…Alpha Cal,’ I say before erupting into screams of pain again.
