Chloe's POV
"Becs?" I whisper the quiet house. There's no response. I frown and head outside. I find Beca on the back deck rocking Luna. Her gaze is fixed on the moon. She's been a bit off for the past few weeks. I can't figure out what it is and I'm assuming its because of our new hectic life with an infant. "Hey babe. What are you doing up?" I ask her. Her eyes snap to mine and she seems to come out of her trance. She gives me a forced smile and shrugs. "The two of us couldn't sleep. I thought some fresh air would help." She says looking down at Luna who is laying comfortably on her chest. Luna's eyes are fixed on the bright moon.
I'm amazed how much she has grown in just a few short weeks. We just celebrated her one month. It feels like just yesterday I went into labor. Luna finally looks towards me as I approach. "You two haven't been sleeping very well lately." I comment as I sit next to Beca. She looks back towards the ocean and moon. "I know. I just... okay about a month ago I had this crazy dream." She says quietly.
"What about?" I ask her. She frowns and looks away. I place my hand on her thigh and send out a calming pheromone. It clearly works because Luna let's out a little yawn and her eyes close. "I saw my mother." She says quietly. I'm surprised to hear that. Beca never talks about her mother. All I really know about her is that she died in some sort of accident, but I know Becs cared deeply for her. "She... she told me to discover the truth. And that I can save us all. I don't get what it meant. There was another woman there... I don't know. Chloe it felt so real. I can't stop thinking about it. What if it wasn't a dream?" She says letting out a deep sigh. She bites her lip and looks at Luna.
"Do lycans believe in afterlife?" I ask. I really don't know much about her beliefs. Another topic I never got to learn about. Things were a bit to crazy and I never got to bring it up. "We believe in greek mythology. Artemis created the lycans and she's really the one we follow instead of Zeus." She says as she gently rocks Luna. She falls asleep and Beca sighs. We take her back to her crib and go back to our room.
"Have you ever heard of something like that ever happening before?" I ask as we lay back in bed. "I've heard old tales but nothing in the past few centuries. It just seemed too real. And the other girl... I don't know. Something about her..." She trails off, completely lost in thought. I give her a few seconds before I speak up. "Maybe you should talk to Stella. She knows the most about our kind. And she has been able to travel around the world. Maybe she's heard of something like this." I say as I intertwine our hands.
"Yeah... I should. I really didn't want to worry anyone but I can't stop thinking about it. If it was a warning then we need to take is seriously." She says looking at me. "You know I'm by your side no matter what." I say kissing her cheek. She smiles and turns to kiss me. "Well yeah, I kind of figured that." She says with a smirk. The whole mood changes as we engage in a make out session. I know we are both a bit flustered. We haven't been able to fool around since Luna was born. And its really starting to take a toll on both of us.
Beca flips us over and starts to kiss down my neck. I rip off her shirt but then a cry from next door stops us both. "I think she is doing this on purpose." Beca mutters as she jumps out of bed. She throws on a tank top and darts out the door. She comes back with Luna in her arms and sets her down between us.
"What's wrong with my little girl?" I ask as I kiss her belly. Luna kicks and looks at me. "I'm convinced she wants to be an only child. That's why she keeps interrupting us." Beca says shaking her head. Luna did have a thing for interrupting us when we tried to have adult time. I chuckle and watch Luna's tiny hand wrap around Beca's finger. Beca smiles and plays with her while I watch. "She really is a good mix of us. Even her hair." Beca comments playing with Luna's hair. It looks brunette but in the light its a reddish color, closer to auburn. Luna makes a cooing noise and kicks her legs. Beca chuckles and sits over our baby, kissing all over her making Luna coo and kick more.
"Whose my baby? You are!" Beca say as she kisses Luna's belly. I watch with a big smile. Luna lets out a yawn which Beca mimics. "Now your tired again? Me too." Beca says as she settles next to Luna. In seconds they are both peacefully sleeping again. I wait to make sure Beca is in a deep sleep before getting up and putting Luna back in her crib. I rejoin Beca in bed but I only sleep for a few hours. I keep thinking about the conversation I had with Beca. She seems genuinely concerned about this dream, not much concerns her so it must be pretty serious. I head to the back porch and think back on everything.
"What are you doing up?" I spin around and see Emily holding a bowl of cereal. "Just thinking. What are you doing up?" I question back. She smirks and shrugs. "I like to watch the sunrise. And I was hungry." She says as she swallows another spoonful. She pats the spot next to her and I join her. "Did Beca and Stacie tell you about their spiritual beliefs growing up?" I ask after a few seconds. Emily glances at me before nodding. "Well yeah. I mean, they don't seem like it but they are faithful to Artemis. Once you get to know the lycan culture better you will see all the subtle things they do in her honor." Emily says with a shrug and taking another mouthful of cereal.
I think about what she said as she looks back towards the ocean. The sun is coming up, lighting the sky in different shades of pink. "I guess I need to learn more. I want to understand, I mean it is a major part of my life now." I mutter. Emily nods and smiles. "I have a few books Mom gave me. They are filled with stories and tales about lycans. You can read them." She says as she eats more cereal. "That would be great. Thanks." I tell her. She smiles and we watch the sun coming up again. Its so peaceful with the ocean breeze.
Stacie joins us a bit later with Aubrey. We laugh and catch up on the craziness thats been happening. Luna wakes up and I quickly get her so she doesn't wake Beca up. I know she is lacking on sleep and I want to give her more time. "There she is! Hi Luna!" Emily says as I prepare a bottle. We sit on the couch and Anna finally makes an appearance dressed in her work clothes. "Alright, I'm off for another day!" She says with a bright smile. Emily rushes over to her and hugs her.
"You look great babe! You have another two hours though right? She asks giving Anna a quick kiss. Anna nods and starts making her lunch for work as Stella enters. "Good morning babes." She says as she grabs food. We start to eat and Stacie steals Luna away. A few minutes later Beca finally wakes up, she actually looks well rested for once. "There's my baby wolf!" Beca says stealing Luna back from Stacie. Stacie pouts and Luna kicks excitably while Beca plants kisses all over her face.
Beca notices Stella and frowns. She looks at me and I nod at her. She should share her dream, even if its a false alarm. She looks at Luna then back up. "So there is something we need to talk about." Beca says as she sits on the couch, Luna bouncing in her arms. Everyone hurriedly gathers around. "So last month I had... maybe a dream? I don't know." She takes a breath to collect her thoughts then continues.
"It was my mother. She gave me a warning. She said I need to discover the truth to save us all. I... it seemed so real. I didn't want to worry anyone but maybe we should look into it." Beca says glancing around the room. Everyone is tense and looking around. "I think this is real. We don't receive messages from beyond for nothing. If it was your mother then it must be very important." Stella says. Beca bites her lip and looks at Luna. "I don't even know where to start. Discover the truth? The truth about what? It could literally be anything." Beca says with a frown. Stella stands up and looks at us.
"We start at the beginning. We need to research everything known about our kind and Beca. With our super speed we should be able to get a lot of work done." Stella says confidently. We all nod in agreement. Beca and Stella break us into teams. I hit the books with Emily and Beca while Aubrey, Stacie, and Stella take the internet. Anna heads off to work and Luna is sleeping happily on Beca's chest. Beca is biting her lip reading some old looking journal. I focus on my own book about greek mythology. We had to study everything. It was hard to know what exactly we are looking for though.
I start to read about Artemis. Emily mentioned that she was worshipped by them. This book seems promising.
Artemis is said to have created her own breed of supernatural creatures to help her protect the wildlife she loved so much. She called her creatures lycans, or more commonly known as werewolves. She even made herself one. Artemis loved her creation and entrusts them so keep the wildness in the world. She dooms those who harm her precious creations and gave the lycans advantages so they can thrive.
I flip the page and see a large sketch of the girl. "Wow she is beautiful." I mutter looking at the picture of the strong huntress. She stands tall holding her bow in the forrest. Her eyes look silver in the picture. Beca walks over and freezes. Everyone can sense her panic and glances at her. Even Luna starts to whine in her arms.
"Who... who is that?" Beca asks with a shakey voice. I glance down at the picture then back to her. She is visibly pale. "Um Artemis?" I reply, I have no idea why this picture seems to scare her so much. "Becs what's wrong?" I ask standing next to her. Its no use, her gaze is fixed on the drawing. "There was another part of my dream I didn't mention. At the end a girl came. She... she said she loves me. Chloe it was her. I... that's exactly what she looked like." Beca says looking like she may pass out. Aubrey takes the now crying Luna from her arms. I put my hand on her back while the others gather around to see this photo.
"This changes everything." Stella says with wide eyes. Beca's gaze snaps towards her while Stella takes the book and reads the page. "I've never heard of the Gods directly speaking to one of us. If she was there... then this must be bigger then we thought." Stella starts zooming around the room, grabbing every book involving Artemis and legends about her. "Why do you think she came to you specifically?" I ask Beca who shrugs. Stella skids to a stop and tilts her head to the side.
"Now thats a great question. Why Beca?" She says stepping closer to Beca. "Because Beca is Alpha?" Emily offers. Stella shakes her head. "Anna is an Alpha too and nothing happened to her. We need to figure out why Artemis would come to Beca and Beca alone." Stella says scratching her chin. "Didn't you say in your journals that people looked at you different?" I question. Both Stacie and Stella look at me.
"That's right. I never knew why she was so important to our kind but... its like everyone knew she was powerful. But why?" Stella questions. We split up to read again. Beca picks up a book from a box thats so old it looks like it might fall apart in her hands. "Holy shit. Is this..." She blows some dust off the book and smiles. I walk up next to her and glance at the old journals. I pick them and read the names on the front. Warren, Thomas, Jane, and Luke. Beca's family. Beca is holding one that says Emily. She gently wipes the cover off. "How?" I question. Beca keeps her eyes on the book. "I retrieved them after they died. We promised each other. I never opened any of them, it hurt too much. I didn't even know Stacie brought them to this house." She mutters.
"I knew they were important, I stopped at our base house and for some reason it seemed like a good idea to grab them." Stacie says with a shrug. She looks at another box which says Conrads and her smile drops. Stella walks up behind her and puts her hand on her shoulder. "I miss them too." Stella says pulling Stacie in for a hug.
I turn back to Beca who carefully opens the journal. She smiles seeing her mother's hand writing. I decide to give her a moment as I find another book to read. Emily is keeping Luna distracted while Stacie and Stella read through their old family journals. Aubrey is still busy searching the internet. After about another hour of reading Beca's heart rate picks up. I scoot closer to her but it gets worse. Something is making her upset. "No... this can't be right." She says quickly standing and running her hand through her hair. She continues to read and starts breathing rapidly. Then she slams the book closed. She has tears in her eyes and looks very unsteady.
I'm at her side in a second rubbing her back. The distress pheromones coming off of her are overwhelming, suffocating the whole room. "I can- I can't breath." She manages to get out looking at me panicked. "She's having a panic attack." Stacie quickly says. She runs in front of her and grabs Beca's face. "Focus on counting. 1,2,3." Stacie says. Beca struggles to breath and get the numbers out. Once she manages to Stacie smiles and nods. "Now 3,2,1." Stacie says. Beca is able to repeat the numbers easier this time. They keep going until Beca's breathing is closer too normal.
"What did you find out?" Stella asks. Beca looks away from us. "I... I..." She looks panicked again. "I need to go. I need to shift and clear my head. I need to think about if... this is possible." She quickly says, already stripping off her shirt. She grabs my head and kisses it. "I promise I'll be back by tomorrow evening at the latest." She whispers before turning to Luna and kissing her head. "Be good baby wolf." She says. She squeezes Emily's shoulder before sprinting out the back door. No one knows what to do for several seconds.
"What the fuck did she find out!?" Stella finally yells running to the old journal. She starts to skim through the book. Her face drops at one point but she keeps reading. We can see the shock across her face after a few pages. "Holy shit, this can't be true. No way." She says slamming the book shut. We all stare at her waiting to hear what the hell is going on. "What is it?" Emily asks nearly bouncing in her seat.
"Is it possible?" She whispers getting lost in thought. "Is what possible?" Emily asks as she rocks Luna. Wow... actually... it makes sense." Stella whispers to herself. "What makes sense?" Emily asks leaning closer to Stella. "This... this changes everything." Stella mutters. "What changes everything?" Emily asks holding Luna closer to her. Anna enters and looks at us all concerned. "Why is everyone so uneasy? Where is Beca?" She asks. No one responds as we watch Stella get lost in thought. "I always knew she was different. Hell we can all sense her power. That's why she was so much stronger then the others. How she was able to survive... I can't believe I didn't figure it out." Stella says with a half smile.
"Please freaking tell us already! The suspense is unbearable!" Emily yells. Stella looks at each of us. "Beca... she isn't... Warren Mitchell is not her father." Stella says shaking her head. Everyone gasps and looks at each other. "So this whole time, her true parent was hidden." Stella says carefully. "Wait what? How could she not be a Mitchell? Luke would have told me." Anna says shaking her head. "No one knew. Not even her father." Stella says carefully. Anna looks at us confused.
"Then who is? I mean... where do we come from?" Anna asks. Stella bites her lip and looks away. "Okay... according to the journal... Beca's mom fell for someone she couldn't. That no one could." She says carefully. We all nod eager to finally learn the truth.
"Beca's Mom fell for Artemis, the goddess herself. Beca's true parent is her. And its the real cause of her mother's death and the reason the lycans almost died out."