Sleeping was a disaster. My body knew to shut off, that I was exhausted beyond comprehension, but my mind drifted in an out constantly. It started with childhood memories. How loved I was as a pup, before I had turned. Before they knew how small I was. Insignificant. Nothing to be proud of. Then I drifted to how I wanted nothing more than to please my father. My parents. Begging my mother to just look at me with some pride in her eyes. Anything other than the constant look of contempt she showed me. She might have smiled a lot, but it was never genuine. Never the same as other mothers smiling at their daughters. After a while I settled on my most prized memories, leaving all the bad ones behind. Sleep overs with Mikaela. Reading sessions at our local library where we would stay for hours on end. The smile she had only for me. How with one decision I brought down hell upon us, the freedom we loved exploring together now a distant memory. If we were forced to mate into different packs
As a child, I always dreamed of what my future would be. Mated, living in a home with several pups. Our garden would be tended to every day, flowers of all colours blooming in the afternoon sunlight. My parents would be having brunch with us every Sunday after I had bathed the kids. Father would joke around with my mate. Mother would touch my already growing belly. Child number five on the way. Everything would feel like a dream. Perfect. I was content, happy even, with the life granted to me. My mate would take over as Beta once Jasper stepped up to being Alpha. Or my mate was an Alpha. His new pack adored me. I adored and comforted them. A model Luna to the pack that took her in so lovingly.Through this entire dream, vampires and the discord between us and them didn't exist. Didn't appear anywhere in the story. Our people were happy. I was happy in a role dictated by our society. Then I grew up. Grew older and colder as the years flew by. Gone was the little girl who dream
Words failed me. Every inch of my soul told me that this man was my mate. Pieces finally fell into place. Pieces I didn't exactly wanted to know, but had to face. Julian was a king and all I had been was a source of power. An invigorating snack. Even if our necklaces belonged together, there was still a piece missing. Another part of me refused to believe it was Mikaela. It couldn't be. I refused to drag her any deeper into a mess I had made. I was breathless by the time I finally rushed into Mika's house. Her parents were away for some business, leaving us alone.She stood in front of her stove, stirring some sauce, when her eyes flashed towards me. Worry hooked into her features as she stepped towards me. I slowly walked forward and flung my arms around her waist, shoving my head between her breasts. Mikaela smoothed down my hair in relaxing strokes, but didn't push me to speak. Her presence alone calmed me more than any deliberation about this situation would. If Julian ha
We had gotten out safely. The only wolves harmed were the two I had let collapse to the ground. Neither had stirred as we stepped over them and ran for the trees. Adrenaline had ravaged my body. I may have rebelled against my father in the past, but this was on a whole different level. There was no going back from here. Father would have my blood for breakfast if he ever found me. Treason. That's what I had committed and would most likely pay with my blood, or life. Whichever came quickest to him. By now the pack would be up in arms, searching for us in every little corner they could think of. To face them now would break me completely. After all the torment they had put me through, they were still my pack. The people I had grown up with. Some part of me, however deep down, still wanted to be a part of them. A part of a family.Morning rays slowly crept up the sky as we finally reached the town skirts. Julian refused that I turn, in case of someone spotting us on their early
Hours had flitted by in the blink of an eye. Our drive had been filled with music and off key singing. Julian pointed out several of his favourite places along the way. Vineyards with the best wine. Ranches with the prettiest horses. Some of the best beaches, with sand whiter than my teeth. We had driven alongside the ocean for most of our trip. In our pack, we rarely had the luxury of visiting a beach, even when we stayed a few kilometres from the closest one. Our elders believed wolves were made for forests, not waves, but Jasper had taken Sophie and I once, just when he had gotten his license. It felt like a life time ago. Julian and I had dropped into something resembling normalcy. The cruel night had almost been completely forgotten. I would show him the songs I loved and he would tell me about his musical talents. I hadn't mentioned that Richard had also informed me of his painting habits.We were just inside the borders to the Western Cape when Julian pulled off to the
Even with exhaustion numbing my brain, I could barely sleep. I had tossed and turned the entire night. The soft mattress curved under my weight, fitting my body perfectly. No penny was spared when they had decorated this place for me. Even the pillows grooved into my neck. I still couldn't sleep. So many thoughts ran through my mind. None of them were even remotely comforting. Mikaela was a pressing problem. If my father had decided to take his angry out on her because he couldn't punish me, I would never forgive myself. She didn't need any more problems in her life. She couldn't handle any more problems. I turned again in bed, the cool satin grazing my skin. Moonlight fluttered onto the carpet through the slits in my curtains. It would have been a beautiful night to go for a run. Scarping the urge to go outside, I groaned and covered my head with an arm. It was always like this. I could rarely ever sleep comfortably when so many issues w
Julian had run into a store on the outskirts of town. After giving him my sizes and a vague description of what I would wear, he headed off on his little mission. I was still in my clothes from yesterday, blood stains now dried. His solution to the problem? Buy me something to wear for the day and head out to a mall for some actual shopping. I had protested at the idea of walking around looking as if I had painted with someone's blood. Julian had agreed and off we were. I hadn't allowed myself to think of the situation we were in. There was no news from my pack, not that Julian would tell me if something had happened. All he wanted was for us to have a normal day. Get to know each other. Whether we were mates or not, I would be stuck around him from this point on. Julian had promised that my future would change, regardless of the status of our pendants.I waited for close to an hour, getting restless. Julian couldn't possibly take that long to find me some jeans and a shirt.
We had walked around for a good few minutes before we stumbled upon the food court. People ambled around from fast food restaurant to fast food restaurant. Julian had settled on a nice looking café in the far back of all the take-out places, pressing his hand into my lower back to herd me towards it. Women of all shapes, sizes and colours watched us closely. Some undressed Julian, their gazes stripping off what he wore. I hadn't missed the sneers or whispers as they watched me, either. None of them hid their disdain about who hung on his arm.All of that didn't matter, as the realization that I was starving hit me. My stomach rumbled a bit too loudly, but Julian kept walking. He either chose to ignore it, or hadn't heard. Food was delicious. Ever since I was a child, I had loved to cook and eat. Mother would then throw me onto crash diets like the gospel. Food had been a comfort when I couldn't find Mikaela for comfort. When I wasn't allowed even the smallest freedom b
I had slept peacefully that night. No dreams tormented me. No faces drifted in front of my eyes. Julian had brought us home and we had parted ways. I had gotten myself a new phone on the way back, explaining that I might not have wanted to be found, but that I wasn't going to live in the dark ages. My room was already cleaned, the clothes we brought standing on my dresser. Maids would come and pack those away, Julian had informed me and headed to somewhere in the house. I had set up the new phone and quickly drifted off to sleep. So much excitement had happened during the last few days. My body finally realized I would crash if it hadn't succumbed to the deep tendrils of sleep. The house was silent when I had woken up just before dawn. My footsteps echoed across the floors as I padded towards the kitchen. More food had been brought in for me yesterday, cupboards over flowing with snacks of all variety. Lillian had most probably stocked everything, as no one else knew what so