Moon Forest Pack-----Zoey

13

Alpha Thomas's Point of View

"Please excuse him," the woman said as she looked at me.

"Who the hell are you and what the hell is going on?" I asked. Xavier was on his knees, hands on his head and his father by his side. My mate's stress was coming through the mate bond, causing my wolf to become worried about her.

"Your pack is not going to be harmed while we are here. I can promise that, but for now I need Marko to see to the child and we must talk. Khalil is not good with his words," the woman said with a welcoming smile on her face.

I linked my beta and said, 'Bring the child and her family to my office. I do not want these people wondering around the pack. Also, have the warriors lock down the boards and have everyone stay indoors.'

'Yes alpha.' My beta began to walk away.

"My beta is grabbing the child and her parents. He will bring them to my office. I would like to talk to you."

"Of course. You want answers."

Once everyone but my beta and the girl's family, I looked at the sea of people in the room and was thankful I had decided against the office. The conference room held everyone comfortably.

"What the hell is going on?" A council member said.

"Enough. This is my pack."

Before I could get another word in, the women stood up and said, "My name is Amber and Khalil's mate. The men with us are his top warriors."

"Well Amber, you are not welcome here," a council member said, causing Amber to raise an eyebrow.

"Looks to me like you do not belong here. You are not the alpha nor do you own this land."

The council member growled and Amber showed her teeth.

"Enough." I yelled. "This is my pack and Khalil and his men have gone to help my niece."

"An abomination," another council member said.

"She is not an abomination but something you would rather not understand. She has been given a mate and, from the sounds and looks of it, he wants her."

The member stood up with glowing eyes. "She is not pure and a danger. Look what she brought to this pack. Danger."

"No one was hurt. The only person who has been hurt is Zoey. She saved the pups." Xavier said with sadness in his voice.

"Khalil will bring her back safely," Amber said.

"How do you know?"

"Because Zoey is his daughter. He has been protecting her for years and he will not stop searching for her until his last breath."

Xavier nodded his head and looked down. Losing Zoey and not being able to be there to rescue her has taken its toll on him so quickly. Their bond must be strong considering they haven't spent much time together.

"How is it possible he is her father?" My mate asked.

Amber looked at Cindy and said, "Khalil and I have been mated together for over three hundred years even though we are both much older than that. We got into a big fight one hundred years ago and separated. During that time, I fell in love with a human but he never wanted to be turned. He died about the time Zoey was conceived. I was filled with so much grief that I began killing everyone that crossed my path. Khalil had to come and get me. I tried to attack Zoey's mother and Khalil had to send her away. He kept her close by though, but out of my reach. Having a vampire in the state that I was in was dangerous for everyone. Khalil was there every step of the way for Zoey's mother during her pregnancy. He was there the day she was born, but then he changed."

Sixteen Years ago (Amber's Point of View)

Hank and I had just finished sparing in the gym and I began to walk towards the kitchen. Khalil believes that if I focused on something other than my grief then my blood lust would go away, but he was wrong. All I could think about was inflicting pain on those around me and draining every last ounce of blood out of everyone. Jared was gone and my heart hurt so badly.

As I was walking, those around me were whispering but what stopped me was the sound of a child crying. I ran towards the sound. I knew Khalil was expecting his child, something I had wanted with Jared.

When I reached his office, the sight in front of me broke my heart even more. Khalil was sitting on the floor with the child cradled in his arms and tears streaming down his face. I had never seen him like this before, not even when I walked away.

"Khalil, what happened?" I asked as I approached, but he bore his teeth at me.

"She died,"

"Who? The baby's mother?" I asked.

"Yes. Get away, Amber. If you harm her, I will kill you."

The blood lust I had moments ago was gone and my wicked thoughts were gone. Khalil and I tried for a child for years but it never happened. Even Jared and I couldn't have one, but Khalil, he was able to, which meant one thing, but I couldn't bring myself to think about it or say it.

"I will not harm her, Khalil. I want to hold her and love her. She only has us now."

Khalil looked at me with red eyes. "Why?"

"Because I have always wanted a child, a family. That is why we separated, but clearly we know why now. I will never replace her mother or the love you two had for each other, but I will be there for the two of you."

Khalil nodded and stood up. The pain on his face was present but I knew he knew what I meant.

Khalil was very protective of the child and wouldn't allow me near her without him present. The love we once had for each other was gone, but we were both grieving.

It took Khalil six months to trust me enough to be alone with Zoey and when she turned two, that is when everything changed. We were attacked by shadow phages. They nearly got Zoey but Khalil and his men fought hard to protect her and our people. A month later, we were attacked again and this time it was the acari they nearly got Zoey and we knew. They could sense the magic in her even though she was not of the age to attract those beings. So Khalil and I made the hardest choice ever. We had to send her away.

One of his trusted friends and warriors would take Zoey and raise her as his own. A witch we had known for years had come to our aid. We needed to protect Zoey from the other beings of the world so she put a protection spell on her. We set them up in a decent home and made it seem like Zoey was a normal kid with a normal life. We watched from afar. She always knew who Khalil was.