She’s Back: Revenge of The Exiled Luna

Chapter Two: Scars

Ella’s POV

I still remember the first time I met him…

In the hopeless stretch of the night, as the flames lick and devour every house in our pack. I hear the menacing laughs of the enemy packs who just ransacked our home and our people.

“Burn everything! Kill everyone! I want the Ember pack completely obliterated before the sun rises!”

My hands are shaking as I watch Gein, the Alpha of the Hexbone pack, order his men to set everything ablaze. The desperate cries of my pack mates play in my ears like the worst kind of nightmare.

“Alpha Gein! Look what we found!”

Two men drag a body across the dirt and throw him forward.

My father.

They force him onto his knees in front of Gein, his clothes torn and soaked with blood. His head hangs low for a second, but then he lifts it with what little strength he has left. Even like this, there is still something in his eyes that refuses to bow.

“Look at this,” one of the men laughs as he grips my father’s hair and jerks his head back. “This is the Alpha of Ember? I thought you people had pride.”

“He looks more like a stray dog!”

Gein’s men spew insults at my father and snickering as they do.

My father spits blood onto the ground and forces himself upright.

“My name is Darius Stone,” he growls, his voice rough but steady. “And you will regret stepping foot into my territory.”

Gein’s thunderous laughter cuts through the chaos around us. He arrogantly crouches in front of my father like he is inspecting a bug beneath his shoe.

“Regret?” Gein echoes, tilting his head. “You still think you have the right to talk like that?”

My father angrily lunges at him, his hand almost reaches Gein’s throat before the men behind him yank him back with force. They slam him to the ground and pin his arms behind him.

“Let go of me!” my father growls.

Gein spits at my father’s face before diving his boot into my his stomach.

“Agghhh—!” The impact forces the air out of him. He chokes as his body folds, blood spilling from his mouth as he coughs against the dirt.

No!

I almost scream.

But my mom’s hand clamps over my mouth before the sound escapes. We are hidden beneath the collapsed remains of a storage cart, half-burned wood forming a cover above us.

“Stay quiet,” she hisses against my ear, her voice trembling despite her effort to stay calm. “Ella, don’t make a sound. They will hear you.”

I nod against her hand, but tears blur my vision as I watch what is happening in front of me.

They drag my father upright again just so Gein can hit him once more. Each strike lands harder than the last. Each one makes my chest tighten until it feels like I can’t breathe.

Stop… please stop!

My father stops fighting after a while. Not because he wants to, but because his body is giving out. He slumps forward, held up only by the men gripping his arms.

Gein circles him like he is deciding what to do with him next.

“Pathetic. I expected more from Ember.”

He stops in front of my father and crouches again, grabbing his chin to force him to look up.

“Tell me something, Darius. Should I kill you now, or should I take my time and find your family first?”

My heart slams against my ribs.

“Maybe I drag them here,” Gein adds, his lips curling. “Maybe I make you watch while they beg. That sounds more entertaining.”

“P-Please… Leave them out of this. You’ve done enough. Take the territory if you want it, but leave my family alone.”

Watching my formidable father reduced in a state of begging is like torture. He shouldn’t be like this. Darius Stone is brave. He’s strong. He’s an Alpha through and through!

But now, he’s swallowing his pride as the Alpha of Ember pack just to beg for our safety.

Gein shakes his head in utter disgust.

“This is the problem with weak Alphas. You think you can bargain your way out of a war you already lost. You see, Darius—this is our world. The strong take what they want, and the weak lose everything. You failed your pack, and you failed your blood. And because of that…”

My body runs cold when he reaches into his coat and pulls out a gun.

“Everything you love will be erased. That is the price of being weak.”

No… no. NO!

“There should only be one dominant pack in Harrison,” Gein says as he raises the weapon and points it at my father’s head. “And it won’t be yours.”

My mother trembles and her hand loosens over my mouth. That is all it takes for a broken sound to escape. Gein’s men sharply turn their heads toward us.

“Who’s that?!”

But even that does not stop Gein as he pulls the trigger. My father’s body falls limp to the ground.

“NOOO!” I scream in horror.

I gasp as Gein’s men charge at us and my mother cries out and shoves me aside.

“RUN, ELLA! RUN AWAY FROM HERE! I’LL FEND THEM OFF!”

She shifts into her wolf form and throws herself at them.

I hesitate and my feet refuse to move until she turns on me with a low growl that cuts through everything and tells me to go. I run but some of Gein’s men manage to slip past my mom and chase after me.

My legs strain as I run as fast as I can, but flames and smoke choke the path and leave me nowhere to go.

“Run, kid! If we catch you, you’re dead!”

Dread floods my gut and I force myself to the limit. With nowhere else to run, I make my way into a burning house because it is the only opening left. The structure is already falling apart and something collapses before I can make it through, slamming into my face and sending me to the ground as pain hits hard enough to make my vision blur.

I cry as the flames sear my skin.

It hurts… it hurts so much.

I just want to lay there and cry but I know I’ll die if I do, so I push through the debris and drag myself out the other side before the fire can trap me inside.

I make it into the forest and keep going until my body gives out. I try to get up but I can’t, and my vision starts to fade as the strength leaves my body.

Footsteps approach and stop in front of me, and I force my eyes open just enough to see a boy standing there.

“You’re hurt,” he says as he drops down beside me, his voice steady despite everything. “Can you hear me?”

I try to answer, but nothing comes out, and my body feels too heavy to move.

He reaches out and lifts my shoulder with care, his grip firm enough to hold me up.

“It’s alright,” he says as he leans closer to inspect my burned face. “You’re safe now. I’ve got you.”

His voice was like the sound of an angel… a savior.

My savior has a name and it’s Alden Blackwood.

He and the rest of his pack who came as reinforcements brought me into Blackwood territory—the Bloodmoon pack. Alpha Adrian Blackwood takes me in after Alden saves me.

“Your father was a dear friend of mine, Ella. I’m sorry for what happened to him,” Alpha Adrian tells me three days after I am rescued. “If only the news reached us sooner, we would have come faster. Those Hexbone bastards deserved what they got for what they did to your pack.”

Alpha Adrian shakes his head as he stares out the clinic window.

“We have wiped them out so they will not trouble you again. Unfortunately, we found no other survivors. Only you.”

The words break something in me and I start to cry.

“You will stay with us as our ward from now on. Rest as long as you need. This is your home now. Welcome to the Bloodmoon pack, Ella.”

It’s hard to find a reason to keep living when everything I love is gone. But what does that make me if I refuse to go on? My parents gave their lives so I could survive.

I can’t throw that away. So, I choose to be grateful and continue on living no matter how hard it is.

“I heard my dad already spoke with you, Ella.” Alden Blackwood comes by the clinic a week after I am taken in.

He gives me a small smile as he peels an apple.

“I’m really sorry about what happened to your parents. And your pack.”

“It’s not your fault,” I say, my voice rough.

“I know. But it’s not something a kid like you should have to go through.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “You look like a kid yourself.”

Alden lets out a quiet laugh and hands me a slice of apple. I take it.

“I’m at least five or six years older than you.”

“That still makes you a kid.”

He exhales a quiet laugh and rubs the back of his neck. “Okay… fair. I walked into that one.”

I take a bite of the apple.

“It’s good, right?” he says after a second. “I’ve been practicing. Messed up the first three. Nearly took my own finger off trying to look impressive.”

A small smile slips out before I can stop it.

His grin widens when he sees it. “There it is. First one I’ve seen.”

I look away and take another bite.

“I know my dad already told you this,” he says, a little softer now, “but the Bloodmoon pack is your home now. It’s going to take time, I get that. But… I hope you’ll feel safe here. And maybe, someday, at peace.”

I didn’t say it that time, but I also had the same wish in my heart.

Years pass and I turn seventeen. Ten years since that night.

I sit in the pack library, tucked into a corner while reading alone. Alden finds me there.

“What are you doing here alone?”

“I just want to avoid them.”

“Who?” Alden frowns.

“Everyone.”

He sits on the floor next to me and tilts his head. “Why?”

I chew on my bottom lips. For a moment, I am hesitant to answer the question. But his curious blue eyes make it hard for me to play mute.

“Well, I’m…” I sigh. “I never really got close to anyone here. I mean, I really tried but I guess people are not keen on being friends with me.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Look at my face, Alden.”

He stares at me and c***s his brows as if I’m not making any sense.

I groan and point at the scar on my face.

“The burn scar cuts across the left side near my eye and people notice it and talk.” I shrug. “It’s not like I can blame them. I know my scar is unsightly.”

Alden looks at me for a long time. Then he reaches out and strokes the scar on my face.

“There is nothing unsightly about it,” he murmurs.

My heart stutters.

“A scar is not enough to cover something so beautiful.”

“Beautiful?” I repeat, my lips trembling.

He smiles like it is nothing.

“What are you reading?”

I sheepishly close the book. “Reading.”

He c***s a brow while peeking through the book I’m holding.

“Reading what exactly?”

“Just random books.” I shrug and shyly show him the one I picked today. “This one is about classification of werewolves.”

“Oh. Interesting. What does it say?”

He curiously inches closer and scans the contents of the book.

I bite my lips, trying to stop myself from smiling. I’m not sure if he’s really interested in the book I’m reading or if he's just trying to make me feel better. Either way, I am glad he’s here.

“It says here that the wolves that we acquire are classified according to their strengths. The black wolf… one of the rare kinds and one of the strongest as well. The only werewolves who acquire black wolves are those who have direct Lycan blood.”

Alden nods, listening intently.

“Come to think of it, you have a black wolf, right?” I ask while flipping through the pages.

Alden smiles. “Yes. My wolf’s name is Noir. He can be a little s**t sometimes.” He pauses for a bit and briefly closes his eyes as if he’s talking to his wolf. “But he’s very reliable.”

The Blackwoods are one of the ancient werewolf families who have descended from the legendary Lycans. No wonder Alden acquired a black wolf.

I proceed to read him aloud the other contents of the book. Other types of wolves are the brown, sable, copper, tan—these are the common types. And above all these, the rarest type of wolf is known as the white wolf.

“It is said that anyone who possesses a white wolf will have unparalleled strength, something comparable to the legendary black wolf and the Lycans.”

“Hmm…” Alden traces the illustration of the white wolf. “If a black wolf is legendary, then the white wolf is considered mythical. I haven’t heard of anyone acquiring this particular wolf in years.”

We continue to chat about wolves and stuff. Before I know it, we manage to finish the whole book.

After that, time keeps moving, but nothing really changes inside me. I still feel like I don’t belong anywhere. But Alden Blackwood keeps showing up like light in a place that never had any.

I know it is stupid. A silly little crush on Bloodmoon’s heir, the next in line to be Alpha is something I shouldn’t feel. But how can I stop my young heart from wanting him? Especially when he’s the only one who sees me beyond my scars.

At eighteen, the night before my Mate Bond awakens, I stand in front of a mirror. I look at my scar and force myself to breathe through it for the first time.

Maybe he can accept it too. Maybe he can accept me too. I close my eyes and burn his handsome face in my mind.

I am no longer in that memory when I open my eyes.

Moonlight spills through the window of the guest room in Bloodmoon territory as I stand there in silence. My reflection fades into the glass while I stare out at the same light that has followed me for years. I lift my hand and touch the scar on my face.

Foolish me.