Blue Moon Alpha

Midnight Phoenix

Caroline (Midnight Pheonix)

Groaning, Caroline turned her aching body to the side, reaching for her flashing phone. Equipped with a strobe light it alerted her when a call was coming in because she could not hear it.

Every part of her body hurt from a beating she had received the night before. The emergency room had told her that she had multiple broken ribs, a facial fracture, and countless contusions and lacerations. They had thought it a miracle that she was able to stand, let alone stagger into the hospital under her own power. Knowing that shifter blood made her bones slightly denser than normal humans, she understood their shock.

Somehow, one of the low-level slavers that she had been tracking had been able to trace her signal. She only survived because they were looking for a shifter, not a deaf human. That had not prevented them from taking out their frustration on her before they left.

Caroline had been born more human than shifter, the child of two half-shifters. When she was a child, the others in the pack would make fun of her for smelling like a human. By the time she hit the age of shifting, no one expected her to have a wolf, but that did not stop the torture. By the time she was eighteen, she had been hospitalized multiple times and lived in constant fear. As shifters, they often forget that without a wolf, she would not heal the way they did and that she could be injured more easily, and while she heals faster than a true human, it's nothing compared to a full shifter. The worst abuse came from the Alpha’s son.

A few years older than her, he had always supported those who made her life harder, but things got worse when he discovered that she was his mate. Before, the attacks were straightforward physical blows and pranks gone wrong. Later they became vicious, cruel attempts to get rid of her permanently. When he finally won the battle with his wolf and had come to reject her, she struggled to respond. Having always wanted her mate as a way to connect with her whole community, she was heartbroken but not surprised to discover his desire to reject her. For this reason, she had hesitated, and he had attacked. After the day he had gone too far, leaving her permanently deaf at eighteen, she had escaped into the human world.

Having always been talented at computers and focused on her education at school, Caroline had managed to get into one of the most prestigious human universities and studied computer science. Once her studies were complete, she became one of the world's most sought-after cybersecurity experts. On rare occasions, a member of the shifter council would reach out, and she was happy to help so long as she never had to set foot on their land. She may physically be a human but her shifter blood made it nearly impossible to disconnect completely. She was a community creature. To protect herself, she ensured they did not know her true identity, which she intended to keep private at all costs.

Having had such a difficult childhood, she was always looking for ways to stand up for the person who could not stand up for themselves. This resulted in her looking into the worst people in the world, shifters, and humans alike. Unfortunately for her, they had started looking for her in return, and she had been found last night.

When she lifted the phone to look at the display, her heart froze for a moment. The display read “King Dmitri.” She knew for a fact that this could not be who was calling her as her contact on the council had told her he had died months ago, his granddaughter taking her place as Queen of the lycans. She wondered if this was a trick. All recent contact with the council or lycan royals came from the council directly. She had not given the new King and Queen her contact number, still unsure if they could be trusted.

She hit the accept button on the phone but did not speak. Watching the display intently, she tried to stay as quiet as possible.

“Midnight Pheonix? This is King Marcus.” Caroline's breath caught in her throat at the words on the display. He must be calling from the private line she had set up for the King. Not wanting any of the shifters that hired her to know about her disability, she used voice-to-text software to transition calls to text. Because of her age, when she lost her hearing, she retained the ability to speak in such a manner that her hearing loss was not evident.

“King Marcus, it's good to hear from you.” Speaking into the microphone, she knew that her voice modulation software would disguise the age and gender markers in her voice.

Watching the display blink, words began to form.

“Thank you for taking my call. I have a situation that needs your expertise, but it is sensitive in nature, and I do not want to involve the council yet. Is there any way that you are free for the next few weeks? We have multiple encrypted drives that the brightest minds at Luna have failed to break.”

Even in pain, the words made Caroline smile. She was intrigued when she learned that the new King was the shifter behind Luna, the only shifter-owned and operated software company. Most of the wolves she had known were old-fashioned and preferred to avoid computers. She had quietly watched the development of the company and secretly dreamed of working there. While she had shifter blood, she knew that she would never be accepted as one, and only shifters worked for Luna. “King, I am honored that you thought of me, but you know that I do not do on-site work. If you want to send me one of the drives, I can provide you with a secure mailing address.”

Even as she said the words, she thought about her evening visitors. There was a distinct possibility that they would be back. If they weren't she was sure she was being followed and her drop locations might be compromised.

“Unfortunately, this material has the potential to be too volatile to leave our hands. We cannot risk it. What would it take to get you to come here? I can provide you with a private workspace, and you are welcome to stay at the palace with me and my family.”

She hesitated. Having been raised in a pack, she missed it more than words could say, but at the same time, she knew that there was no way she would be safe there. Knowing her current situation, she realized that the answer was right in front of her. “King, is Luna still running out of the Blue Moon Pack?”

The delay in his response was so long that she almost thought he had disconnected the call. Watching the display with bated breath, her heart raced as she saw the flashing that indicated speaking begin. She understood his shock at her question, as the location of the shifter computer company was a closely guarded secret to most, but then again, she was not most people.

“It is, and from what I know of you, I will not insult us both by asking how you know that. The Alpha, Jackson, is their lead programmer and has the labs built under the pack house. Why do you ask?”

Not for the first time, she desperately wished she could hear the inflection and pace of the King's voice. So much communication was lost using the voice-to-text system.

“I'm open to the idea of working on this project but would need reassurance that I would be safe within the pack walls, even from pack members themselves. Having been raised in a pack environment, I understand how protective they can be against outsiders.”

“You have my personal guarantee that you will be welcomed and safe within the Blue Moon Pack grounds. Over the past years, the pack has become a sanctuary for all those who need help accepting all shifters into their midst. Alpha Jackson would never allow someone under his protection to face persecution or attack.”

Caroline mulled over the King's words. If she could believe them, this would be the perfect solution to her problem. She could make progress in breaking the encryption of the files stored at Luna, while being protected from those that hunted her until she was able to figure out a plan of action. Remembering how the pack had treated her and what had happened at the hands of the Alpha's son, she feared the idea of voluntarily re-entering that environment and doubted that she would ever be safe.

“A group of supernaturals is following me, I would need safe passage. Also, I would ask you always to keep this phone available. If at any point I feel unsafe, I would expect your guarantee that I would be able to be escorted off the pack grounds, no questions asked.” Caroline held her breath, waiting for the response.

When the words showed up on her screen, the air rushed from her lungs in a wave. “Where are you located? I will arrange pickup immediately.”

Knowing that once these words left her mouth, there would be no going back, she spoke again. “Lorraine, North Dakoda.”

The reply was instantaneous. “We will be at the Naked Moose tomorrow at eight PM if that is acceptable to you. Sorry, my wife is overly excited at the prospect of visiting the place she thinks of as home.”

Reading the odd words, Caroline realized that they must both be present. A sudden thought came to mind, but she quickly dismissed it. There was no way that the Queen of all shifters knew about her work at the Quiet Moon Sanctuary. No one could. The man who had run the sanctuary had disappeared and burned down a while back.

“I will be there. I know what you look like, but I will call you as I walk in so you can recognize me and have this phone on you.” Terrified of the decision she had just made, she quickly disconnected the call.

What had she done?