Fall of the Luna (completed)

Witches and Wolves

Kayla’s POV

              The most beautiful clear blue eyes stared into mine as if they were trying to pierce my soul. I was enchanted by them and without a second thought, I chased after the deer as it took off into the forest. The leaves rustled and the cool breeze caressed my face as I ran as quickly as my two legs could carry me. I needed to shift to keep up but as soon as I focused on my wolf form, a thick mist clouded the forest even as the sunlight flooded my surroundings.

              I woke up gasping for air, breathless from the chase in the forest. The bright sunlight filling the room made me grimace and I lifted my hand to shield my eyes. I dreamed that dream again and like every night in the past month, I woke up when I tried to shift. A zap in my tummy brought me out of my thoughts and I smiled as I placed a hand on my belly. Yes, little one, next time Mummy should probably remember not to shift in the dream. In response, I felt another zap as my baby kicked in my tummy again. Today, my little miracle will be 2 months old and Thiago had mentioned my pregnancy should be stable after 2 months. My heart brimmed with hope as I thought about having my own little bundle of joy. It was the only thing that kept me going in the past month and I’ve been focusing all my energy on the life growing within me, that I haven’t really given much thought to my current situation and the future.

              Since Jake had kidnapped me, I have not stepped out of the second floor of this penthouse. Most of the time, I was alone on this floor and twice a day, a girl would come up to bring me food. I’ve also seen Thiago a few times for check-ups to make sure my baby was alright. To say that I was shocked when I saw Thiago would be an understatement and in the beginning, I was hesitant to accept his help at all. After all, he was Jake’s cousin and also a TA at my school while I was a student there. This reeks too much of foul play and I refused to believe that it was a coincidence. However, I can’t deny that the story Thiago told me sounded very believable. Apparently, his mother had left the Moon Lake Pack to join her mate in our neighbouring pack, the Black Mountain Pack. Initially, he had some contact with the family of his mother, but after his mother passed away when he was very young, and his father had taken a chosen mate, Thiago lost contact with them. It wasn’t until last year that he saw his cousin again.

              If indeed Thiago was telling the truth, then I could only say that fate had played a cruel joke on me or perhaps I’m just a very bad judge of character. My mate didn’t choose me when my life was on the line and my friend helped my crazy ex to kidnap me. I could feel a heaviness in my chest as these thoughts consumed me and I knew that I needed to get my emotions in check. I wouldn’t allow anything to harm my baby, not even the dark thoughts that creep into my mind when I least expect them. “Madam, I’ve brought you some lunch. You should eat before Dr. Wald comes for your check-up.” Aldrnari’s cheerful tone caught onto me and I smiled at the red-haired girl, who has been my sole companion for the past month. Not that I wasn’t grateful to the Moon Goddess for that and maybe even a tiny part of me was grateful to Jake for not showing his face in front of me after I stabbed his hand in an attempt to end my own misery.

              I couldn’t help but notice that Aldrnari seemed to be especially cheerful today, just like the last time when Thiago was scheduled to visit me. My feelings were mixed about Thiago and his role in all of these, but I’ve grown fond of this young girl and I didn’t want her to follow in my footsteps. “Don’t worry about me, Madam. I can protect myself.” Aldrnari winked at me as she set down a tray on my bedside table. I frowned but quickly dismissed those thoughts. My wolf has been dormant since that night, to protect my fragile pup according to Thiago, and without her, I had no access to any of my powers. I could smell that Aldrnari wasn’t one of us, and even if she were, I’ve never heard of another gifted wolf who could read the thoughts of others like I could. What if she was.. Panic gripped my heart and horrible memories of fighting for my life in a blazing forest flooded back to me.

              “Hey, hey, hey, calm down. I’m not like her. Don’t be afraid, Madam,” Aldrnari assured me and placed her hand over mine. I flinched out of reflex and immediately felt guilty as hurt flashed across her eyes briefly. She sighed and was quiet for a moment, her brows knitted together. Finally, she looked at me with certainty in her eyes as if she had just made an important decision. “I’m going to tell you a story, Madam, and maybe after that you’d understand.” I nodded hesitantly, reminding myself that this girl has been nothing but kind to me since we’ve met.

              “I’m a witch but not like Martha was. She was so consumed by vengeance that she had betrayed her own kind. You see, in the beginning, witches and werewolves lived in harmony. We are both children of the Moon Goddess and we all draw power from the moon. In fact, legend has it that the first witch and werewolf were siblings, both created at the same time by the Goddess herself. We called the first witch and her descendants our High Priestess because they were the only ones who could speak directly with the Goddess. They were also the only ones who had control over all the elements, while the rest of us only have control over fire. My Granny told me that in those days, witch covens and werewolf packs were even able to live together on the same lands but everything changed when more and more humans came to North America. The humans plundered the land for their benefit and covens were determined to protect the land gifted to us by the Goddess. Sadly, the werewolves didn’t see things the same way. They saw how the humans were prospering and wanted the same for their packs. As the number of conflicts grew and resources became even more scarce, the powerful packs banded together to betray the covens and weaker packs who didn’t agree were decimated.”

              Aldrnari’s eyes were clouded by grief and I squeezed her hand without realizing it. She smiled sadly at me and continued. “The packs knew that there was no way that they could beat the covens in a fair fight, so they formed an alliance with the humans. The children of the Moon Goddess are not allowed to harm humans and they made use of that to destroy the covens. Witches were burned to death by the humans for practicing witchcraft. It was an ironic way to die seeing how we’re supposed to be able to control fire. Some covens decided to fight and broke the holy rule, which was how the first vampires were made. When a human is killed by a child of the Moon Goddess, he turns into a vampire and thirsts for our blood until we drive a stake through his heart. Very few covens and witches survived and those who did, had to either hide or submit to the packs.”