Blood and Silver: First Bite

Jackson’s Arms

Jackson swooped Abigail into his arms and sat down, pulling her onto his lap. She felt giddy and confused, and instinctively nestled her head into his neck.

She pulled away for a second.

‘What’s going on? Why do I feel like this? What is a “mate”?’ She said, before her body betrayed her again and leaned back into Jackson. It felt like an out of body experience, and her mind and body were fighting for control.

‘She can’t be! She’s surely Blood Crescent! And she knows nothing of our ways!’ Protested Mr Howard. Jackson glared at him, never removing his arms from around Abigail.

Serena put her hand on Mr Howard’s arm, trying to calm him.

‘It had to be someone, my love.’ She said soothingly. ‘Our clan is dying. There have been no girls born in 20 years. They wouldn’t have been fated to each other without a reason!’ She continued.

Jackson nuzzled his face into Abigail’s hair and inhaled deeply.

‘Even if she is of Blood Crescent, she’s not one of them. There’s goodness in her.’ He said, squeezing her a little tighter. ‘Perhaps this is how the curse is lifted.’

Mr Howard sighed, and the flash of an idea shine in his eyes.

‘We need a witch! A witch can tell us!’ He suddenly said.

‘Sweetheart, Hazel was the last witch loyal to our clan, and she died over a decade ago. We don’t know that we can trust the others.’ She said, looking downhearted.

Abigail perked up slightly. ‘My great aunt’s name was Hazel.’ She said in a daze.

‘Hazel Morrigan?’ Asked Serena incredulously.

‘Yes.’ Said Abigail. ‘My mother said her parents changed our surname from Morrigan to Moore, I don’t know why though.’

‘Get her mother here, now!’ Growled Jackson.

‘Yes Alpha!’ Said Mr Howard, obediently.

‘She has to work, Jack!’ Said Abigail, still confused and not quite understanding the situation. He gently stroked her face.

‘Howard, call Lennox directly and tell him that I have requested Ms Moore’s presence. Tell him she should still be paid for the time missed.’ He instructed, and Mr Howard nodded, heading to the next room to make the call.

‘I had a feeling it was you, but I wasn’t sure.’ He finally said to Abigail. ‘I went to visit an old mystic after I’d found you, that’s why I was gone for a week. I need to find out who bit you, someone was marking you as part of their pack, and they would only have done that if they sensed their bloodline in you.’ He said.

This was not helping with Abigail’s confusion. She should have been scared, but being in Jackson’s arms made her feel safe and she never wanted to leave.

Serena, sensing her confusion, sat in the chair in front of Jackson and Abigail and leaned in, speaking gently to Abigail.

‘I will help you to understand everything. Right now though, you should rest with your mate. Finding your fated mate takes a lot out of you, especially when you haven’t trained for the moment your whole life. Everything will be okay, honey. Jackson and I will look after you.’ She said, and Abigail felt her eyes closing as she drifted to sleep in Jackson’s arms.

Jackson looked over at Mr Howard disapprovingly.

‘You didn’t think to flag that she was staying in Hazel Morrigan’s old house? You didn’t think that there was maybe something to that?’ He growled.

‘I’m sorry Alpha, it never crossed my mind. Her mother is from out of town, they aren’t like us. I didn’t see anything worth reporting!’ He said, his voice faltering. Serena held on to him, comforting her husband.

‘She was bitten! You know we only bite to mark a pack or a mate. It was in the forest where Blood Crescent roams at night, they wouldn’t have bitten her if they didn’t sense their bloodline!’ He roared.

‘To be fair, Alpha, you didn’t advise me of the bite. If I’d known I would’ve kept a closer eye on her and done more reconnaissance!’ Mr Howard said defensively. He instantly forgot his choice of words when he saw the anger in his Alpha’s eyes.

Serena instinctively shielded her husband.

‘I went to meet with the high council to confirm my suspicions.’ Jackson stated.

‘I am the Alpha, and have no obligation to you! But you are supposed to be the Guardian, and you have not been doing your job!’ He jumped up, placing Abigail on the sofa in the back of the office, and flew towards Mr Howard, pinning him against the wall.

Serena growled. ‘Leave him alone, he had no way of knowing! This was completely unexpected and he didn’t have the experience to deal with this!’ She said.

Jackson calmed and set Mr Howard down. ‘I’m sorry, Serena.’ He said. ‘You are a strong mate to your husband. I can’t help but feel that the wrong person was given the Guardian role.’

Mr Howard’s face showed his disappointment, and he walked over to his wife, and leaned his forehead against hers.

‘No Peter!’ She said, her eyes brimming with tears. ‘It’s meant to be you!’

Mr a Howard shook his head, and Jackson’s eyes glowed as Serena felt the power transfer to her.

‘Serena Howard, you are now the Guardian of Silver Moon Pack.’ Jackson announced. Serena went down on one knee.

‘I promise to serve you until my dying day.’ She pledged.

Jackson nodded. ‘Howard!’ He said sharply.

‘You have been loyal to my father and I, and for that I am grateful. You are welcome to remain in the pack as the pack Omega.’

Mr Howard blinked away a tear and nodded. ‘Thank you Alpha.’ He said. ‘I am sorry for disappointing you, but I am grateful that you have allowed me the privilege of remaining in the pack.’

Omega was the lowest rank in the pack. Not only had Mr Howard lost his status as pack guardian, but he would have to give up his job as school principal. The younger members of the pack who attended the school would not respect the directives of an Omega, which would make the job impossible to do.

Mr Howard, however, was grateful that a demotion was the only fate he had suffered. Truthfully, he had become lax in his duties and not followed up on thing that he should’ve. He had felt that there was no reason to. Their last witch had died a decade ago, the Blood Crescent’s witch had been awol for 18 years, and Jackson living on the border between their territories meant that there had been no infiltration by any member of the Blood Crescent pack in years.

Another Alpha may have had him killed, or banished him from the pack, forcing him to become a Rogue, but he was given the opportunity to stay with the pack and stay with his mate, for which he felt filled with gratitude.

The group was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door, and Laura burst in frantically.