The Myth of Midnight (A Bit of Time Series: Book 1)

Annabell's POV "Get to the safe room, Anna! Go with your mother. Now!" My father yelled to me. The boarder alarms were blaring through the speakers that are set up all throughout our pack lands. Someone, a lot of someones, must have just crossed the boarders. We have to be under attack, it's the only explanation for Mike, our head patrolman to sound the alarms. I watch as he snatches open our front door and shifts into his wolf. He takes off our of my sight as I turn to my mother. She grabs my arm and pulls me towards the basement steps. "Come on Annie, hurry. We need to get in the safe room so we can try to pull up the video feed surrounding the pack house. Then we can see what's going on." my mother states as we rush down the last few steps. As far as I know, we've never been under attack before, but the pack my mother came from was when she was younger. So my father had alarms at the boarder lines, cameras surrounding the pack house and down our main roads in town, and a safe room in the basement of the pack house installed soon after he found out he was mated to my mom. I used to think he was just a paranoid alpha, or that maybe he done it to make my mother feel more comfortable, but whatever his reasons were, in this moment I was grateful he did. "Get the video feed pulled up on those screens while I lock us in." My mother commands. "Yes ma'am " I reply as I walk to the side of our safe room that has screens covering one wall. I hit the power button for the monitors and watch as each screen loads the live video feed. "Oh no" i hear my mother whisper to herself. Each screen that loads, the worse it looks. Our grounds are in utter chaos. I watch as warrior after warrior falls at the hands of our attackers. I look at her out the corner of my eye. I can tell that she is scanning each monitor quickly but closely, trying to catch a glimpse of my father. My eyes travel back to the feed, and I spot our beta if wolf form, facing off against 3 others. I can't seem to look away. He is lethal as he jumps on the one closest to him, a black wolf with sharp k9s who is snarling at him. Atleast, it looks like he is. We may have live video footage, but there is no sound. I silently cheer him on as I watch him latch onto the black wolf's throat and snatching his head to the side, effectively breaking its neck. He drops the wolf and moves on to get the next one, but two of our warriors had already jumped in to help him, killing the other two wolves around him. I finally move on to scan the other screens. We watch on as one by one, our pack members are taken out. "Where is dad? I haven't seen him yet" I ask out loud, not really expecting an answer. Suddenly, a blur of dark brown moving across the screens on the top catches my attention. There he is. I spot my father and 3 other warriors making their way to the town square, taking out wolf after wolf as they go. They make it look effortless. I point at the screen to draw my mother's attention to it, and we continue to watch in complete silence. Father and his warriors clear a path straight to, what looks like the leader of this invasion. I assume it's the leader because the wolf is huge, and obviously deadly. Our warriors are all around him, jumping at him in groups of three and four at a time. I can see my father has almost made it to them. He is covered in dirt and blood, and I can see that he has claw marks covering him. His fur is matted and there is a huge gash going down the side of his face. His ear looks like it could fall off from it, and it reaches all the way down to below his jaw, barely reaching his throat. But he is a strong alpha. It shows as he keeps cutting down his enemies. The video cuts off out of nowhere, and each screen turns to static. "No!" my mother exclaims. "What happened? There shouldn't be a way for anyone to shut off the cameras from anywhere but here!" She is frantic as she pushes button after button on the monitors control panels. When nothing she does brings back up the feed, she stops. She turns to me with a look of determination on her face. "Mother, no. Father told us to stay here." I tell her, already knowing that she was thinking of going out there to fight. "My dear sweet Annabell, you know I cannot do that. I am Luna. I have to help my people, and most of all, I cannot sit here not knowing what is happening to my mate." I knew that was her plan. I can feel the tears as they make their way down my face. She looks over at me with heartbreak in her eyes. "I love you, my beautiful girl. But I have to go out there. You'll be safe in here. Do not open that door for any reason." She tells me, and she uses her thumb to wipe away the tears on my cheek. "Your father and I, along with Beta Evan, have the code to get I here. When this is over, we will come for you. Until then, stay put." "Yes mother" I reply with a sob. She pulls me into her arms and holds me tight. I can't help but to feel as if this is the last time I will ever get to hold her. She let's go and steps towards the door, using the locking mechanism to get the door open. She gives me one last look before stepping out the door. It closes behind her, and when I hear it locking back in place, I fall to my knees and cry. I don't know how long I stayed like that, but I finally was able to pull myself up and get back to my feet. I start pacing the length of the safe room, praying to the Moon Goddess that my parents make it back to me in one piece. I may be a grown woman, but I will always need my parents. I've practically worn a path into the metal floor of the room, knowing I've paced back and forth at least 500 times. Just when I decided I couldn't stand it anymore and turn to open the door, I felt it. My hand was almost touching the panel to unlock the door when the worst pain of my life started traveling down my body. "No!" I screamed, as I hit my knees again. My body was on fire, it felt like I was dying. It's the familial bond all wolves share with their parents and children, connecting them to each other the moment they are born. I was feeling it snap, severing it from one of my parents. Begging the moon Goddess for it not to be real, but knowing my father has fallen. Before I could try to move, or even take a breath, I felt a second snap. My mother. I lean back on my heels and turn my head to the roof and let out a scream so loud it shakes the ground "AHHHHHHH-" I wake with a gasp, sitting up covered in sweat. It takes me a moment to regain my barings. Where am I? i think to myself. The cave we found, remember? It was just a dream Anna, take a deep breath. My wolf, Val, responds in my mind. Oh, right. Is all i say back. I look around the cave I'm in, I'm laying on the hard rock floor. I stand up and stretch, trying to ease some of the tension from my muscles. It's been a little over a month since my pack was attacked. A little over a month since I felt the death of my mother and father. I have woken up from the same dream every night since. I know I must have blacked out after feeling our bonds snap, and I'm not sure how I survived. But that dream is all I can remember from that day. I can only remember flashes of myself stumbling through the woods, in human and in wolf form, for almost two weeks after. I'm not sure where we are now, or how far I've made it from my pack lands. Or what's left of them. I just know I have to keep moving. I fear for the attackers to come back for me. I won't let them find me. So I keep moving. The day I woke up with a clear head and was able to think straight, which was almost 3 weeks ago, Val told me that she took over and hid me in the back of our mind after the attack. She didn't want me to see what happened. And no matter how much I ask her, she refuses to tell me what she saw when she led us out of the safe room. All she would tell me is that our pack was no more and that we had to keep moving. She claims that we'll know when it's safe to stop. I let her take over control of my human form sometimes, it's easier that way. Sometimes I let my consciousness rest, and sometimes I just sit and watch. But either way, she doesn't try to block me from seeing, hearing, or feeling anything she does. Not unless she has too. That's only happened one time since I took back over though. Start gathering our things, Annie. We've almost made it to our destination. Val comments. I don't ask questions, knowing she won't, or maybe can't, tell me how she knows any of these things. So i just get up and grab my bag, digging out the last of our granola bars and bottled water. I'm sure she packed us this bag before leaving the pack house. I eat the granola, and down a third of the water before I start loading my things back into the backpack. I make sure to roll my blanket up tight, so I can strap it to the top when it's ready. Bending down beside my makeshift fire pit, I grab up my hunting knife my father gifted me for my 13th birthday. I remember being so excited when I unwrapped it. The sheath is genuine leather, with an outline of off white and dark blue sewn around it, and a beautiful turquoise stone set perfectly at the tip. I pull the blade from the sheath to test the sharpness, in case I need to sharpen it again before I set out again. The metal shines so perfect that I can see my reflection in the blade. The hilt of the knife was handcrafted by my mother, and my father said he spent almost a whole week in the blacksmiths workshop, creating the blade and assembling it himself when my mother was finished carving the hilt. She had started working on it half way through her pregnancy with me, from what they told me. it was beautiful. She had carved intricate swirls, in-between beautiful flowers covering the edges of it. The head of a wolf, mid howl, sat at the top, closest to the blade. At the bottom sat three moons, side by side. The first one was a waxing crescent moon followed by a full moon and a waning crescent moon completing it. She had told me that she wasn't sure why she had carved that onto the knife that was made for me, nor was she sure what it meant, but that she just knew she had to do it, and that one day, when I eventually had a daughter of my own, I was to pass it on to her in her thirteenth year as well. So I always made sure to take care of it, keeping it in the best condition possible. I put the blade back in its sheath and straped it to my thigh. I had commissioned a garter belt made of the same leather as the sheath for I when I was 17. That was almost 3 years ago. After I made sure my knife was back in place, I gathered up the rest of my things, not that I had much, and stored them in my backpack. It was only some utensils and a pot for my food, a tool to use in place of a lighter to start my fires, a roll of twine that I had used to tie the sticks together that I gathered so I could make a teepee of sorts for my fire, my blanket, and an extra set of clothes. I kept my bottle of scent masking spray in the bag at all times, unless I was using it. I tried not to use it often, since I had no idea how long I would be out on my own for. I don't know where Val got it from, I don't think I want to know, but I'm glad she got it. I've had to use it a handful of times while hiding from rogues that I've crossed paths with. Rogues are exiled werewolves that no longer belong to a pack. They have either been banished from their packs, or have chose to leave on their own. You can always smell whether a wolf is a rogue or not. They have a distinct scent mixed in with their natural scent. Nobody knows why losing a pack bond changes your scent, or even how it changes it, we just know that it's the will of the Moon Goddess. Some rogues are worse than others though. Living without a pack is never easy. Wolves are social creatures. We need our pack to keep us sane, and happy. A rogue wolf has the potential to go feral, but not all of them did. Just the ones that had completely given up in life. They just couldn't bring theirselves to care about anything anymore. Expect for the fact that they didn't want to die. Those rogues carried a scent like no other. It would smell like bile, death, like evil. If evil had a scent, that is. It was those rogues I'd mask my scent from. Usually though, if I was close enough to another wolf to smell them, then I was close enough to avoid them. After I had everything packed up and ready to go, I looked around the cave one more time. I had spent the last few nights here so I wanted to make sure I left nothing behind and had cleaned up after myself. This cave was the only place I had felt safe and comfortable enough to stay for longer than one night. And if, for some reason, I needed a safe haven and had to leave wherever this mysterious destination Val was leading me to, I wanted to have this place to come back to. It was big enough for me to be able to stand up straight in, my fingertips brushing across the roof of it when i held my arms up, and it was wide enough that I had been able to sleep further into it than right by the mouth. The mouth of the cave was big enough to crouch down and crawl through but small enough that it wasn't easily detectable. Hell, I had almost missed it the day I came across it. Plus, it's far enough up on the side of a mountain that I didn't have to worry about anyone sneaking up on me. I would've heard anyone trying to climb up here. I chuckled to myself as I thought about my own climb to the cave, I was sweaty, exhausted, and cut up on my hands, legs, and arms by the time I made it in here the first time. I made my way to the mouth of the cave and started the climb back down. It wasn't that far down, but it was definitely tricky. If I fell, I know I'd live, but Val would have to work extra hard to heal me. We heal way faster than humans thanks to our wolves, but the worse the injury, the more energy it took out of them. Yeah, so maybe you should, I don't know, pay attention to what the hell you're doing so we don't fall? Val snapped at me. I realized then, that I was more in my head than in the climb. I had almost placed my foot in the wrong spot, which would have caused me to fall since that spot was a chunk of rock that was definitely looking like it would crumble. I apologized to Val and just let her take control. She would have to lead us to our destination anyways. So I just took a backseat in our mind and decided to rest. Rise and shine sleeping beauty, it's your turn. Have fun and good luck. Was all Val said to me before she shoved me to the forefront of consciousness. Last thing I heard from her was a suspicious chuckle before she closed herself off to me completely. I looked around and noticed it was starting to get darker out, must be close to evening time. Damn we had walked the whole day. I was standing close to a treeline. I mean, I was surrounded by trees, but you could tell the ones in front of me were more spaced out than the ones I had just walked through. With a shrug I went to step forward. "Don't take another step, rogue" a voice called put with a snear. "Doesn't smell like a rogue, Brad." came another voice. "Doesn't smell like she's not a rogue either so shut it. You know the rules." the one called Brad said. I had stopped where I was when I first heard them, but I couldn't see them yet. They didn't sound that far away, but they didn't sound close either. That damn wolf just threw me to the, well um wolves. I chuckled to myself, how ironic. I could smell them from where I stood, I could also smell the boarder of what I'm assuming is their pack lands. It had to be not even 100 feet from me. I'm assuming this is our destination, since I knew Val wouldn't leave me to fend for myself otherwise. So I decided to try my luck and see if they could help me. "My name is Annabell," I called out to them "I have been traveling for quite a while to get here. I am the daughter of Alpha James and Luna Cynthia of the Blue moon pack. We were attacked about a month ago. I was the only surviver." I watched as the two wolves who I assume patrol this side of the boarder come into view. They stopped about 100 feet from me, so I was right. That is where their boarder line was. "Please, I ask your alpha for sanctuary." "Blue moon pack? You are a long way from home little girly" Brad stated, he must be in charge on this patrol. "I don't remember us having an alliance, or even ever meeting anyone from Blue moon. Why did you come here, specifically?" I could tell they were suspicious of me, which I understood. It does seem suspicious. So I decided to be honest, I mean, there has to be a reason Val brought us here, right? Wherever here is. "Honestly, warrior, it was my wolf. She has been leading me to a destination for weeks now. I didn't even know where we were going. She just told me that I would know when I arrived that I was where I am suppose to be." I answered the man. "And is this where you're supposed to be, miss?" The second man questioned. "I think so. It feels like it is. And my wolf has blocked herself off from me, she would never do that unless this was my destination. So I assume it is. But I'm not even sure where 'here' is. May I ask the name of this pack? And if I may be so forward, I would like to ask to speak with your Alpha as well. Please." I held my breath after I finished talking. I pray to the Moon Goddess that these warriors believe me and aren't going to end up just killing me where I stand. As some packs don't care who you are or what you need, if you come to their boarder and they don't know you, they give orders to kill on sight. I watch as Brad looks to the other wolf and says "Nate, mindlink the alpha and let him know about this situation." I watch as Nate's eyes glaze over, indicating that he was mindlinking their Alpha. Mindlinking is kind of like having telepathy, in a way. When you become a part of a pack, there is a ritual that takes place that gives you the ability to mindlink with the rest of the wolves in that pack. Only on one on one though, unless you're the alpha. An alpha can send out pack wide mindlinks. "Okay miss, follow me. I'm told to take you to our Beta who is waiting in town for you. He will escort you to the pack house." Nate said to me. I let out the breath I was holding and sent a thank you to the Moon Goddess. I started following Nate. I could feel the slight change of energy as I crossed over their boarder. Val? What was that? She didn't respond. Ugh, stubborn wolf. "Welcome to Crystal Cove pack, little girlie" exclaimed Brad from somewhere behind me. I shouted a thank you over my shoulder and kept walking. Soon we made it to the edge of their woods, I could see houses spotting in the near distance. They were nice looking, nothing fancy though. Each had a decent sized yards. Must be for their kids and such. I could see some people in their yards or on their porch as they stopped to look at me and Nate, they were curious it seemed. "We are a large pack, but we don't have many unexpected visitors, miss." Nate explained, he must have seen how uncomfortable I was starting to look. "And we don't ever have visitors who come in the pack from any other point than the front gate" "My apologies, I would have went to the front gate if I knew. But I had let my wolf have full control, and she led me to you." I told him. "You're able to give your wolf full control over your human form?" He seemed genuinely surprised. "Yeah," I started "is that not something everyone is able to do?" "No ma'am " he stated quietly. "Oh" was all I said in response. We walked the rest of the way in silence. After another 10 minutes or so, I started to see storefronts in front of us. We must be getting close to where their Beta is waiting. I was right, after passing just a few shops, we came upon a man who was standing with his back against the wall of a coffee shop. He had his arms crossed, but he was facing towards us. More like, he was facing me. He watched me the whole way down the street. Right as we stepped up closer to him, he pushed off the wall. "Beta Jake, this is" Nate started to introduce us, but stopped when he realized he forgot my name. I'll throw the man a life raft I guess, he was kind of sweet. "Hello Beta Jake, my name is Annabell Trice. Daughter of Alpha James and Luna Cynthia Trice of Blue moon pack" I told him as I brought my hand out to shake his. "Nice to meet you ma'am. If you will, please follow me." He replied, shaking my hand before turning on his heel and starting forward. I started to follow but stopped and looked over my shoulder, calling out to Nate "Thank you for your help Nate, I really appreciate it. Enjoy the rest of your patrol shift!" Then I continued to follow Beta Jake. When i caught up with him, I caught a slight smile and saw him nod his head to himself out the corner of my eye. Guess he approves of your acknowledgment with their warrior Val said in my mind. Nice of you to join the party. Thanks for throwing me over the cliff back there asshole I said back to her. I heard her chuckle as I continued you could have atleast gave a b***h a warning of something ya know. I know, but where's the fun in that? she asked me. Goddess, she can be a petty b***h some times. You love my petty ass though she remarked before going to lay down in her corner of our mind. I just shook my head, chuckling to myself. "Something funny, Miss. Trice?" asked Beta Jake. I looked over at him with a smile "no, sir. Just my wolf being a smart ass." "Ah. Understood. Hunt, my wolf, can be the same way at times" he told me with a laugh. I gotta admit, I thought he was hot leaning against the coffee shop, but damn when he laughs, that smile could drop panties. Val lifted her head at that thought. I felt her come forward, not enough to show that she was watching and making my eyes change colors, but enough to where she could see everything I saw. She says it feels like she's watching TV when she does this. It's a new development. She just learned that she could do it about two weeks ago. I thought it was neat. Before long, we came close to an elegantly built brick house. It was pretty large, but not obnoxiously so. If I had to guess, it was maybe 5 stories high. "Wow" I whispered to myself. Beta Jake stopped and looked at me. I stopped and looked at the house. It had a porch that stretched across the entire length of the front wall, disappearing around the side. The entire thing was covered. I could see wicker furniture spaced out on it for sitting areas. Some chairs were empty, but a few held some curious wolves. The steps leading up to the porch were wide, making it easy for atleast 4 or 5 people to walk up side by side, comfortably. Or atleast 2 or 3 people in wolf forms. Which is convenient, because sometimes, it's a need. There were flower beds lining the front of the porch, following down in front of the house, disappearing around the side, just as it's wooden companion does. So many beautiful plants were growing there. I knew nothing about gardening, but I knew it wasn't the easiest to do. Whoever planted these definitely had a Hella good green thumb. There were flowers of every shade of every color. I've never even seen some of the flowers that were growing there. It was amazing to see. Don't get me wrong, my mother had a small garden that she tended to behind our pack house, but it was nothing even close to what they had here.