*Trigger warning. Violent and somewhat gory.*
Liam's trailer home is too small for us all to fit, so we stay outside. We all stand around a pit he dragged from the back of his home. The sun is gone now and the only light we have comes from the moon and the fire that Liam lit in the pit. Crickets chirp in the night, keeping the woods lively as light bugs fly around. Looking up at the sky, where the stars shine so visibly and bright, it makes me homesick. I miss being able to lay in the grass and stare up at the starry sky where they twinkled and winked at me.
"Goddess," Liam breathes after Elijah finishes telling him just what's been happening. "That's damn impossible. She can't be the moon goddess reincarnated. The girl has no damn wolf."
"Neither do you," Alexei mumbles from my side. She woke up shortly after I revealed my mark to Liam. Rory is still laid in the car and he's going to be our next topic of conversation.
"Hey," Liam warns, raising a threatening eyebrow to which Alexei grins. Surprisingly, the two get on well. "All I'm saying is that I think this is something else. Not no moon goddess."
I can just barely make out Elijah rolling his eyes. "Just because you don't believe in her doesn't mean she's not real."
Elijah's words strike me as all. In the history of anything, I've never heard of any wolves not believing the moon goddess was real. A pulling in my body is leading me to believe that his religious status has to do with his lack of a wolf. Standing next to him, I can feel something more. He's not strictly human. Something is still lingering in his soul and I'm inclined to believe that it may be his beastly counterpart.
"That's not it." Liam shakes his head, lifting a bottle of beer to his lips. "She's... I just think she's more than a damn moon goddess. It doesn't make sense that a wolfless she-wolf would be reincarnated as the moon goddess."
"Maybe her wolf is dormant?" Oggy suggests from his place across from me. "Sometimes, it happens."
"Maybe," Liam mumbles, rubbing his thick bearded chin. The guy is burly, just like Elijah. His hair is an unkempt mess, yet it seems to suit the jeans and t-shirt he wears. Tattoos line his arm, creating a sleeve of black ink. It pulls together the harsh persona he carries with himself until he opens his mouth. Then he's a kind guy, proving that looks don't make characters.
"Let's get back to the task at hand," Alexei says, her tone growing serious. Her arm around me tenses slightly and I rub her back to keep her calm. "We need a plan because it won't be long before they realize we're here. Since Cal has become part of this, Ameri and every other vampire in our cover knows. They'll know that he's AWOL."
I nod my head and take after her. "The same with you guys. I may have never had the bond properly, but I know packs feel losses. They'll be coming after us soon and we don't have the numbers."
I think about the merging of vampires and werewolves. Ameri's coven and my pack. There will be hundreds of them against fourteen of us. It'll be no trouble for them to overpower us and take us all out. What we need to do is rely on stealth. Being able to sneak past them without any notice is our best bet.
"I can see them," I gasp, raising a hand as if I'm in school. "I just need to sleep and I can see them. This time I'll be able to get more of their plans and I can see if Timothy has changed up the border patrols."
"What the hell are you talking about, girl?" Liam raises an eyebrow. "Uh, it seems a bit obvious for you to be there, no? And what's this about sleeping?"
They don't know about how I can dream myself places. Not hesitating, I burst into the explanation of what happens. Excitement leaks from my words with every bit that I reveal. My voice grows higher and higher as I lose my breath, putting me in the persona of a child. Before when I did this, we didn't have support. Now... Now I have a pack to call my own.
"I just need to sleep," I finish, smiling at each male. I can tell they're skeptical about what I've just told them, but that doesn't deter me. Looking at Alexei, I wait for her encouragement.
She confirms my claims with a nod. "Sophia-Grace is special. She can do things and I trust her to do this."
They share looks between each other before each of them drop their heads in submission. This sign shows me they trust me too.
Liam leads me into his trailer, graciously providing his bed for me to lay in. Alexei still flanks my side, her hold on me firm and loving. As my back hits the mattress, I sigh at the impact. Despite the added firmness, it's nice to lay on a bed, even if it's not my own. It doesn't help that Liam's room isn't my safe little cottage back at the pack grounds. It lacks the warmth and coziness, instead being more clinical. Walls remain bare and there's not a speck of dirt around, not even one dirty sock to litter the floor. It's almost like this is just a showroom instead of where he sleeps.
When Liam walks out, I turn my gaze to Alexei. It hurts that even now, we don't actually know each other. This situation has ruined the pre-mating process. There's been no time for me to ask what she likes to do in her free time or how she likes her steak cooked. All I know is the bond and that she's here. She's been here.
"Will we ever get our moment?" I whisper, lifting a hand to touch her soft cheek.
Alexei turns her head to press a kiss to my palm. Her lips linger there before she pulls my hand away to hold it in her own. "Of course. This is just a bump in our road."
Tears well in my eyes. Talking about this with my mate hurts. She's one of the only ones who I can confide in and trust with my heart. Can she feel how scared I am? How worried I am about Rory? Doubts continue to plague my mind on whether I'm strong enough to lead my own pack even with two beautiful mates by my side.
"Hey," Alexei hushes me, leaning down and pressing her forehead to mine. "We'll get through this, Sophia-Grace. I promise you, even if it's the last thing I do. I will make sure you and Rory are safe."
The past day has been just terrible, longer than that really. To hear her include Rory in this promise only makes me love her more. With everything Cytherea has done, I should have never doubted that my two other mates would understand each other. They're connected to each other just as much as I am with them individually.
"We'll all be safe," I tell her, determined to prove that statement right. "We can't be anything less."
Alexei smiles before she lifts her head and presses a kiss to my forehead. Her lips are warm and soft and I want nothing more than to taste her lips on mine.
"Sleep, now. I'll be here when you wake up."
Blowing out a breath, I wiggle around, trying to relax into the mattress. It doesn't take long for me to feel the familiar haziness of sleep as I imagine the confines of my father's old office. An abyss forms and the darkness behind my lids darkens even more as the light fades from outside. Everything disappears the further I fall into unconsciousness.
In no time, I'm opening my eyes to the office at the pack house. A disaster of a room is what I'm greeted with. The desk has a hole in it the size of a fist. Papers lay in crumpled messes on the floor. A black paperweight lays broken on the ground, and from the looks of the door, I'd say the weight was hurled at it. The bookshelf remains in a perfect place while books are scattered on the floor. Some are ripped apart and some bent out of shape. Various scratches and dents line the wall with a hole to match in some places. It's a mess that causes my blood to run cold.
I head for the door and pull it open. The packhouse is eerily quiet, something that doesn't normally happen. My pace is slow as I make my way to the main area of the large home. The office is on the second floor, so the stairs led me down. At the top, blood spots the step. Clenching my jaw, I tumble down, nearly tripping over my feet from my quick movements.
Unlike the office, the rest of the pack house seems intact. The only thing is the lack of people up and about. Laughter doesn't fill the air from pups chasing each other around. Females aren't gossiping or tending to babies as normal. There's no talk of training or attack formations. It's all just quiet.
Outside is going to be my best bet unless they all decided to take a trip. The front yard is deserted to where not even a toy lay. Rounding on my feet, I pace past the living room, through the kitchen, and out the back door. It's there that I find a disturbing sight.
Children cower in the arms of their mothers while men stand with their heads bent in submission. Standing at the same podium—where the ceremony took place—is Timothy and none other than his chosen beta, David. Timothy is unrecognizable with his extended canines and hairy face. His eyes are red and I can just make out white bubbling in the corners of his mouth. In his grasp, stands David. Blood sprouts from his wounds as Timothy's claws dig into his human flesh.
"You pledge your loyalty to me!" he yells, baring his teeth to his beta then to the members of my pack. "Me."
Cries echo through the forest from the pups. Their stand-in alpha's booming voice is too much for their little ears. The evilness, the malice, it's something they never experienced with my father. Mothers and fathers keep tight holds on each other and their children. The remaining warriors of our pack stand, waiting to protect or serve, depending on what happens.
"I will not be made a fool of or questioned," Timothy growls. He turns away from the crowd to face the beta he's holding onto. "I am the alpha!"
Everything happens too fast. One minutes there's whimpers of fear, the next there are cries of horror that fill the air. David's body slumps to the ground, his hand clutching at his neck. Blood spurts from between his fingers as he tries to apply pressure to the wound. Gurgling, David crashes from his knees to his side. With one hand still clutched to his neck, he reaches the other out, looking for help that won't come. Like a light losing its power, David's life force fades. His eyes glaze over and his hand drops from his neck.
Timothy faces the crowd again. He flexes his muscles and growls, asserting his dominance loud and clear. Blood covers the bottom of his face, his beastly teeth tinted to match. The gray shirt he wears is now stained with David's blood, soaking the fabric and causing bits to stick to his skin. No longer is he the Timothy I grew up with. Now he's a monster who's emerging from the shell of a power hungry coward.
My chest twinges, seeing a member of my pack parish, two members of my pack. Because, despite a new pack having formed, this one is still mine. Timothy may have been a terrible human, but no one deserves to turn rogue willingly or not. He's no longer the man he was, that side of him is dead and gone. And my pack... I'm still their alpha and they need me.
A vortex sucks me up, sending me flying through blackness. The scenery disappears, everyone going with it. Soaring through time and two different locations, my eyes remain open. This is a first. Every other time I've done this, I fell asleep before waking up. But now, I see only darkness as I fly through time and back into my body.
Whiteness replaces the dark in a flash. The walls of the trailer are the first things I see before I land my eyes on my unconscious body. Alexei lays next to me, her arm thrown around my waist. She looks different, more put together than the last I saw her. Even her clothing is different from before. Nevertheless, I don't focus on her. Instead, I walk to my body and reach a hand out. Golden light glows, and from the lack of reaction from Alexei, it's something only I can see. A force tugs me as I'm sucked into my own body quickly and forcefully.
It takes seconds for me to pop awake after my soul has rejoined my body. I pant, my chest heaving hard and fast. Alexei's arm falls off of me as I sit up and struggle to catch my breath.
"How long was I gone?" I ask her, turning to shove myself into her chest once she's sitting up. "I need to know."
"A week," she answers, wrapping her arms around me.
My heart constricts painfully, and the wind gets knocked out of my chest. A rock is lodged in my throat, bobbing up and down. Nausea is unwillingly welcomed in the back of my throat with each spasm my stomach gives. "We need to go, we need to go now."
"What's happening, Sophia-Grace?" Alexei asks, but I ignore her question and stand to my feet. "Tell me what you saw."
But I can't. Not when my heart begins aching, the feeling renewing each second. One, two, three. I count each time the pain starts anew.
Ten deaths. That's how many times my heart twinges in my chest.