🖤 V O T E & COMMENT 🖤
"Oh, my Goddess!" Everleigh exclaims, gushing and grinning at me from ear to ear. Quickly, the news was travelling that I was pregnant.
Paxton and I didn't want to keep it a secret —I was already three months pregnant, and would only be growing at a faster rate. Details to the public did not need to be disclosed, however, we felt it was dutiful to let our pack know about the baby on the way.
Our pack was our family.
"I know," I gushed back to my friend. Everleigh and I were taking a walk outside, enjoying the crisp air of our territory. I wanted to have a private moment with one of my closest friends in this world. I still could not believe this was all happening, myself! Everything was so unexpected but I am quickly recognizing it for the blessing it is.
"Have you thought of a name yet? Oh— Paxton needs to help you with names! and socks! Baby socks! Have you bought any socks? Never mind that, I'll buy them!" Everleigh wistfully rambles on about my baby, and their future socks while I stare at her with a bemused expression.
Hearing enough after a few minutes of constant baby gushing, I quickly silence her. "Everleigh! Enough," I chuckle and put my hands up to stop her. She clamps her mouth shut instantly, grinning.
"I'm just so happy for you," she replies. "I've been feeling like I won't be having that with my mate... ever." I look to one of my dearest friends with empathy, although I know I can't truly understand how she feels. I never thought I would have a mate in the first place.
"I'm sure he's out there," I offer lightly. We continue to walk side by side.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm shouting to the void that is our mate bond," Everleigh whispers. "I have never gotten a response."
I snort.
"Of course you wouldn't! You haven't even met each other, Everleigh. But I think you will, someday. Isn't that what happens? Fate allows you to stumble alongside one another in your lifetimes, at some point?" I was genuinely wondering.
"Not exactly. And... I'm pretty sure it's Destiny who is in charge of that, not 'fate', Theia." Everleigh jokes and puts her fingers up in quotation marks when she says 'fate'. "However, mates are not always in one another's lives. Although we are destined to be together, sometimes tragedies happen."
We stop walking as I turn to fully face her. "Tragedies?" I swallow, thinking the worst. "Like what?"
"Like if the son-of-a-bitch has already married someone else!" Everleigh scowls, and loops her arm under my own. She tugs me along and we continue our brisk walk outdoors.
"What if he did? What if he doesn't come for you?" I ask her, and then immediately regret even opening my mouth. Here we were, discussing my mate and baby and she has yet to find her own.
She didn't seem to mind —this was what friends were here for— asking the tough questions you have yet to face on your own.
"Then I will find someone else, Theia. I can hope every day that my prince comes and swoops me off my feet from my tower... or, I can be my own prince. I can go find my own prince. Maybe some poor wolf needs his own saviour. I sure as hell don't need saving."
I was slightly stunned. In the time I have known Everleigh, I had always thought she wanted her mate more than anything else in the world. Maybe she doesn't want her mate; she just wants to experience love.
And from what she is saying, she already holds the deepest and most pristine kind of love anyone in the world can hold —self love.
She appreciates herself and everything she has to offer, and I wished more girls I knew were like that.
"No you definitely do not need to be saved. Whoever ends up with you is going to be really lucky, whoever he is. Mate or not," I tell her in complete honestly. With her strawberry blonde hair and brown eyes, she was not only gorgeous on the inside as she was on the outside as well.
"Thank you, Theia." We briefly look into each others eyes, not needing words to fill the short silence. Some things don't need to be said when they are felt. "Now, let's get down to business. I know we aren't out here to talk about our love lives and your pup. What's our next move?"
She knew me too well.
"I still need my spies to show me that they are capable of infiltrating the lower sectors of the territory," I start. I glance around, making sure no one else hears me discussing such matters with Everleigh. Besides, with her wolf hearing, she would let me know otherwise.
"You know they are. They're ready!" She lightly exclaims. "You've stirred something in this pack, Theia. Change is coming."
I slightly straighten, and hold my chin highly. "Okay, then I need you to relay to them a message —It's time to start."
~
Days passed in a blur. And then, weeks.
Three weeks, to be precise.
However, there was a lot of change that occurred in this time. My dear friend Everleigh had said that change was coming, and boy did it ever! Not only was I growing heavily myself (thanks to my magic baby bump), operation give-women-back-basic-rights was heavily undergo within my pack.
Paxton still did not know; however, I had a feeling that that would also change very shortly in time to come.
At the moment, I was standing in front of my three spies. My team.
Or as Everleigh liked to call it, the Dream Team.
I hated the name. We were not making dreams come true for women of this pack; these are basic rights they deserve within my territory.
"What the fuck happened?" I seethe, looking at the three of them. I don't typically swear, but I didn't know what else to do at this moment; I was so mad. Currently, I was looking at Gaia, Iris and Orion. More specifically, I was staring at the dead woman currently in Gaia's arms.
Blood was seeping from the woman's neck, and I could see tendons and dark blotches of red crawling its way down the length of her body. Her shirt —once of an innocent white colour— was stained of a vibrate blood red.
"Luna, I don't feel so well." Iris says, her face a ghostly white. My eyes shoot to hers as she falls unconscious, toppling to the floor. I look to her twin.
Orion vomits.
"Someone better explain what went wrong, so horribly, now!" I shout, slamming my foot on the ground. We were in the dungeon of my pack; I wasn't sure what else to call it. It was underground and not used unless dire need. If I had not been so stunned at this moment I may have mused over the fact that this is where I first encountered my mate.
And where he threw water in my face.
"We did what you asked," Orion begins. "Everything was accordingly to plan."
"Every day we were at the lower sectors. We whispered about change to come —about life for these women that held no fear of retribution. We talked about their freedom of mobility and the basic rights the women deserve." Gaia panted, dropping the dead women's body to the floor of the dungeon. She toppled loosely and her limbs went sprawling down with her body; a shard thud made me wince. "The people agreed. Mostly women, but men too. Over the past three weeks, we had accumulated enough people to start a peaceful protest in this pack."
"And?" I asked, my voice wavering.
"Why do you think we're here?" Iris demanded, getting up after fanning herself. She had passed out only briefly, most likely from the stress. Maybe the dead body played a factor too.
"I-I need a chance to think," I grip my hair in my hands in frustration, turning and looking at all walls of the dungeon. My eyes dance to the lifeless body and instinctively I reach for my own growing womb.
"Luna, it's crazy out there! The protests —t-they were peaceful, I swear. We incited no violence at all. But then The Guards came!" Orion shuddered.
"The Guards?" I practically shouted in repeat. This was not happening. My mates own 'Dream Team' and protective force were the ones fighting back on the peaceful protest!
And there is only one person who would have ordered that.
Paxton.
"What did you see out there?" I asked, rubbing my belly soothingly. It was so much bigger now.
"Did you not see anything?" Iris asked me, frantically. "There are fires! There's fighting! People are in wolf form right now charging at one another. People are being injured!" We all glance to the dead body on the floor quickly. "It's damn near civil pack war."
"This wasn't supposed to happen."
"No shit," Orion muttered. Gaia smacked him on the back of the head for the disrespect but I shrugged it off. I needed to be out there. Almost every instinct in my body was telling me to haul ass —to get out of the dungeon and fight back against The Guards. Instead, I was stuck down here.
Courtesy of Everleigh. Speaking of her, where was she? I pondered quickly. She must be out there where everything was crazy.
The last thing she told me was, "Baby mama, you're staying down here where it's safe until I get you. Or one of them let you out, which they have clear instruction not to."
Good thing I had a habit of not listening.
"I'm going out there," I tell the three of them sternly. "Why did you bring her down here?" I ask softly, referring to the lifeless pack member and woman lying on the ground.
"We thought we could save her in time," Gaia mutters bitterly. "I thought the werewolf healing would speed it up. Turns out a claw mark to the throat is as deadly as one would think."
The words made my blood boil.
I was getting out of here —come hell or high water. And to be clear, I was the hell and the high water.
There would be no more deaths; intentional or not. Did The Guards even know this woman died under their so-called "protection"? Once a member of The Guard has resorted to violence, that means they have failed at their job.
Violence is never the answer.
We came into this with peaceful intentions; women deserve these rights. It was a justified cause and a worthy one.
I wasn't going to back down.
Not against The Guard, and not against my own damn mate. Pregnant or not, I was a force not to be reckoned with.
The fight isn't over.
I storm up the steps of the dungeon, unfortunately, and unforgettably retracing steps of a place I wish I did not know. This is a soulless place; a dark one. Somewhere I did not like to be, but a safe one right now.
With one hand, I grip onto the heavy iron door and open it with a grunt. My other hand was on my belly, feeling a light kick. Baby wants some action too.
"Luna, please don't go!" Iris shouts from behind her. Following in tow was her twin brother, and the group's seemingly leader, Gaia. They all held similar expressions on their faces; they did not want their Luna in danger.
I'm sure if they tried to keep me here they would be able to. Gaia was the top warrior of her class; she could track and kill anything faster than those among her age group. The twins —Iris and Orion— were a coupled weapon. Together, they worked best.
No, it did not come down to if the three of them could keep me here. I knew they could. It came down to respect. They respected me enough to let me choose which battle I fought.
Over the past three weeks, as I was growing bigger every day with my baby, I was also growing the relationships in my life.
Everleigh and I had never been closer; not only did we constantly talk about my baby coming into the world shortly, but we also talked pack tactics. We had recruited the Dream Team —ugh— and so far everything had been going to plan. We would meet up in secret locations, discussing the day's events and tasks each of them had completed.
How did everything turn so bad, so quickly?
"I'm going to talk to your Alpha," I told the three of them, looking each of them into their battered faces and eyes. "I'm going to fix this. There will be no more secrets."
"We're coming with you," Iris spoke, shaking me slightly. She was usually the timid one, but over the course of the past few weeks, I've noticed she was more outspoken and confident. My heart swelled.
"I won't stop you from coming with me, but I can't promise you won't face my mate's wrath..." I told them lightly. "But I won't allow him to punish you — that is not something you need to worry about. He has The Guards, and I have you."
"That's definitely not the same thing," Gaia says.
"You're just as valuable to me," I tell her. I look to Iris and Orion as well. "If not more. I haven't ever heard of a member of The Guard fighting for women's rights within this pack. I have never seen such young, enthusiastic and deadly warriors, unlike you guys. Don't ever discredit yourself, because you have and will accomplish great things."
I suddenly recalled my sister, Destiny, almost saying the same words to me.
"Now let's go," I say once more and step through the threshold of the door, not expecting to see what was in front of my eyes once I emerged from that dark place under the ground.