The Luna Gypsy

Chapter 4

4 months after Amelia’s death…

Hayden POV

I’m currently walking through the pack territory making sure no one has any issues, since losing Amelia helping out members of the pack and having a more hands-on approach seems to help dull the pain slightly, it keeps my mind from replaying that moment over and over. I get closer to the park and can hear children playing. The sound of their giggles actually makes me smile for a brief moment.

“Alpha Hayden. Come play with us.”

A small girl called Isla shouts. Her long, light brown curly hair bounces as she swings through the air. A small boy is behind her, pushing her on the swing. Seeing these precious gifts only makes the realization hit harder and deeper in my heart. I will never get to push my own child on a swing and hear their cheerful laughter. I won’t get to hear a mini version of me or Amelia calling me Daddy. I won’t get to experience any of the milestones that comes with a child, not now or ever.

“Hey, buddy. Do you want me to take over? You can get on and I will push you both.” The boy's eyes light up. He stops pushing Isla and jumps on the swing next to her.

“Thank you, Alpha.” He says.

I push them both at the same time and enjoy the sounds of their squeals of delight. I have to stop though. The pain that I get quite often is currently branching across my back. Strangely, it’s the same every time. It feels like someone is whipping me relentlessly. I grind my teeth together and push through the pain. Listening to the children's laughter helps distract from it.

“Let’s play pirates. Alpha, you are the pirate, and me and Harry have to hide and you have to find us.”

Isla says as she runs away fast.

“Arrgghh.”

I try my best pirate impression. I can hear Isla and Harry giggling at me. I walk around looking everywhere pretending I don’t know where they are. I make sure to walk past the slide they are hiding under so they can see me. I even rest against it talking to myself about where I think they could be. I circle around again, quietly this time. Getting closer to them, I hear them shushing each other and giggling. I jump quietly onto the top of the slide and wait for a few moments before jumping down and shouting “Gotcha” making them both sćrėam and scramble out of the hiding place under the slide. They run toward me, jumping up and crashing into my chest, tackling me to the floor. I tickle them, making them laugh when the stench of rogues hits me.

I stop and stand up, pushing the children behind me. The smell is coming from the forest in front of me. I turn around and look at the children so they know I’m serious.

I place a hand on Harry’s shoulder and give it a reassuring squeeze and gently rub Isla’s arm so she doesn’t get scared. Their little eyes are big and round, and Isla’s bottom lip is quivering.

“Listen, I need you both to run as fast as you can to the pack house. Don’t look back and don’t stop. Do you understand me?”

The children nodded their heads at me before taking off. Harry held Isla’s hand, helping her along. Thank the goddess that they’re wolves and have some speed.

*Rogues at the park on the west side.*

I send to my warriors as I’m shifting into my wolf. The first rogue comes from the trees. His fur is matted and filthy. He snarls as a second wolf comes from behind, followed by a third. They all leap into the air just as Zak shows up, hitting one of the rogues on their side and sending it crashing into the other two making them all tumble to the ground, landing on top of each other.

*Perfect timing* I say.

Zak turns to me and lowers his head before leaping onto the back of one of the rogues that just got back up. The rogues try to circle me so I leap into action. Grabbing the nearest rogue by its neck, I dig my teeth in and flick my head, snapping its neck instantly. I let go of its neck, letting the body drop to the floor. The rogue shifts into a man that I know from somewhere but can’t place. Zak throws the rogue he is fighting against a tree before slashing across its neck and cutting its throat. That wolf drops to the ground and changes back into another man.

*Get this one alive.* I say to Zak.

Zak shifts back into his human form as I stalk toward the rogue, snarling and snapping my teeth together. This rogue isn’t scruffy looking at all.

“This can end in one of two ways. One, I let the Alpha rip you limb from limb, or two, you surrender and we don’t kill you.”

The wolf shifts back into his human form. He’s big for a rogue. He looks healthy and well looked after, unlike most rogues. He is clean and well-groomed. Rogues are known for being lone creatures who have nothing and no one. That’s why I’m willing to take them into the pack, no one should be alone. I know all too well how that feels.

“And what’s to stop you from killing me once I surrender?”

I shift back now.

“Because we are wolves of our word. If you surrender, no one will harm you.” I say.

“And what about the Alpha?”

“Alpha Hayden gave you his word.”

The rogue snorts, making me look at him, then Zak. He’s not talking about me, he's talking about the Alpha that helped Randall. I step forward just as the man drops to the floor. He sćrėams out like he’s in agonizing pain. His face is red and his veins look large on his face. They stick out abnormally, making him look like something used to frighten kids on Halloween.

“What do we do?” Zak shouts, running towards him.

“I don’t know.”

The man drops to the floor, his body twists into an unnatural shape before the sound of his bones cracking rings loudly in my ears. Not just one bone snapping but all his bones together at the same time. He is like a skin bag full of bones on the floor.

“It’s the Alpha that helped Randall. He’s the fücker that has been organizing the rogue attacks,” Zak growls.

We have been getting attacked by rogues more and more. It is becoming a weekly thing now. Anger bubbles inside of me thinking that the Alpha who betrayed his own kind is still out there and he is still targeting my pack.

“I want all the warriors for a briefing in the morning before we train. I want this mother fücker caught.”

I stormed off as the rage took over. Rage comes easily to me now that my light is gone. I shift into my wolf and let out a heart-shattering howl before dashing off into the trees, getting lost in the forest.

After a few hours, I make my way back to the pack house. I shift and walk inside naked. I don’t care if I’m seen, but it’s late now, so I know everyone will be asleep.

As I make my way up the stairs and I smell her. Jasmine and spearmint drift through the small cracks in the door, making my mind buzz with excitement. I slowly push it open and see Amelia looking at the pictures on the wall. Her eyes were big in amazement.

“I wanted to make sure you were ok.”

She turns to look at me, her eyes go wide and her cheeks red. She turns back around fast so she’s facing the wall now.

“You need to stop doing that.”

She sounded flustered, her breathing became fast and her heart was beating fiercely in her chest. I couldn’t hold back the large grin from sweeping across my face. I grab some shorts and pull them up and stand behind her. I can smell her even more now. It’s intoxicating, and it makes me wild.

“I’m sorry, there I’m dressed now,” I whisper, making her shudder at my proximity.

She turns back around with her eyes closed, she peeks out of one before opening them both.

“I.. I just wanted to make sure that everything was ok. I felt how mad you were earlier,” she stutters.

“We keep getting attacked by rogues.”

She walks past me, her arm brushing against my chest, sending tingles throughout my body. I close my eyes, relishing the feeling.

“Are you the big and powerful Alpha?” She asks me, her eyes firmly on mine.

“No. I’m not powerful. I'm lost.”

It was true I am lost without Amelia. I feel like every day is a constant struggle. I feel myself drowning, the water rushes over my head making it hard to breathe but I never drown, I spend my days struggling to stay above the water finding it harder and harder each day, wishing that the waves would just consume me and drag me down to the murky depths but they never do. I stay stranded in the turbulent ocean with no signs of salvation.

“I wish I could help you. I’ve been here far too long now. I have to go. Please don't lose hope.”

I watch as she closes her eyes, and she disappears. She closed her eyes before she disappeared. That is what she did when she would travel back to her body when she astral projected anywhere. I shake my head of the wishful thinking and walk into the bathroom to shower before I try to sleep.

•••

Zak is pacing the office floor, infuriated that we still have no idea who this Alpha is.

“Whoever the witch is, this Alpha has working for him is extremely powerful.”

“Mom said she’s never seen power like that before,” Nolan said.

He was also pacing the room. My floor is going to have a huge hole in it soon.

“Nolan, see if the elders have any idea who could be helping this Alpha. If they're as powerful as your mom says, they must have an idea. Zak, do we know anyone else that might be able to help us with this?”

Nolan nodded his head before leaving Zak to pace the floor alone.

“What about the gypsies?” He asked, turning to me fast.

“Nina said the leader has a cell phone, so maybe we can send her a message or call her and see if they can help.”

I took a moment to think about it. The Seraphic clan are supposed to be all-powerful and blessed but it was Amelia who was blessed not them and they didn’t seem to be that powerful when we had the ceremony for Lyn and Esmeralda. I shook my head.

“They’re recluses. They don’t have a clue what is going on in the world beyond their own. Plus, we have Nina and she doesn’t have a clue what we can do to figure out who this Alpha is, and she was trained by the best Seraphic clan had to offer.”

I saw Zak’s shoulders slump. He threw himself onto the sofa dramatically reminding me of Amelia.

“What the fück are we going to do?” He asked, all the pep gone from his voice.

“Go and spend some time with Harper. She’s been doing a great job as beta female and she deserves some quality time with you. So go and have some fun.”

Zak looked at me and I could see the debate going on in his head.

“Zak, please make the most of the time you have with her.”

He stood up and walked towards me, pulling me into a hug.

“I love you, brother.”

He said before pulling away and leaving the room quickly.

KNOCK KNOCK.

“Come in.”

I knew it was Mason. He has been dropping in on me every day since Amelia’s death. She made him promise to watch out for me and he is keeping it. No matter how much I try to get rid of him, he will not break the last promise he made to his daughter, and that fills my heart with sadness. I will admit that talking with Mason actually soothes me. He of all people knows exactly what I’m feeling. How empty and dead I feel inside. He used tracking down Silas as a distraction from the pain. I’m using this fücking Alpha and shredding him limb from limb.

“You want to grab a beer?” He asked, poking his head through the door.

“Sure.”

I closed the laptop and locked the office before I left.

Mason pulls up outside of the bar I bought just before I met Amelia. It feels like someone is sitting on my chest and I’m finding it hard to breathe. Every time I try to suck the air into my lungs, the pressure on my chest gets heavier, restricting me more and more. He pats my back and climbs out, leaving me for a moment.

I climb out of the car and look up at the sign, taking a deep breath. I walk inside and my heart beats painfully. I can see her weaving her way through the crowds, I can hear her laughter bouncing off the walls, and I can see her standing behind the counter serving drinks.

“I invited some others,”

Mason was waiting by the entrance for me. I looked over to where he was looking and made my way over.

“Sit down son, I ordered you a beer.”

My Dad was patting the spot beside him. As I sat down, I felt a strong smack on my back from my dad who was patting it in a comforting way, the way only a dad can do. A waitress walks over with a tray of beers, bowing her head before strolling away through the crowd. Alex sat with Nolan and Mason sat with Zak and Milo. I looked around at the group of men, feeling normal for once.

“Here’s to Amelia.”

My Dad began, raising his glass. I looked at him, tears welling in my eyes.

“Amelia.” Everyone else said.

Mason wiped at his eye and Milo looked down at the table as Zak looked straight ahead. The guilt started to build up, eating away inside of me.

“I’m sorry.”

All eyes snapped to me, waiting for an explanation. I have lost count of how many times I have apologized for Amelia’s death. It didn’t matter what anyone said to me. Her death was my fault.

“She should be the one sitting here. Not me. For that, I am truly sorry. I will find everyone who helped Randall and kill them.”

Zak raised his glass in the air, followed by Milo, Mason, Nolan, Alex, and then my dad.

“To the painful death of that motherfücking Alpha.” Zak sneered.

•••

The whole morning was spent going over theories of who this Alpha could be and we still weren't any closer to getting him. Zak has been questioning rogues that we have captured and nothing. It always comes to a dead end, literally. Nolan said the elders were useless; they didn’t have a fücking clue who this Alpha was and who could be helping him.

Chloe and Nina have used all the resources we have trying to reverse this spell, but Chloe has told me that only the witch who cast it can reverse it, which means we’re screwed. And I’ve had my best trackers out scouring every inch of that warehouse and surrounding area, but it’s clean, not a speck of evidence that can help us find out who he is.

I stand looking out of the window at the world, wondering if the Alpha is close by. Is he hiding in the forest watching us right now? The rage that I’m feeling right now is infallible. I can hear Zak’s phone vibrating in his pocket. He pulls it out before walking out of the room.

“Hi.”

Her voice makes me spin around, her beautiful face smiling back at me, calming my mood instantly. I look back at the door, wondering if Zak will be back soon. I don’t give a shít though.

“You look beautiful.”

Her smile lights up the room. She walks across, closing the distance between us and throws herself into my arms. She feels so real. Her hand reaches up and pulls my head down lower, her lips press against mine, and the world spins. I can finally see the color and light. Her tongue pushes against my lips and I allow her all the access she wants. I pull her closer to my body as a growl slips from the back of my throat at how amazing this feels right now. I push her up against the window I was looking out of, trapping her in place. I feel her hand sliding through my hair, gripping onto it and pulling slightly.

“W..what the fück!” Zak stammers from the door.

This is when I wish the earth would swallow me whole. Zak is going to think I’ve completely lost it, well I have, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Zak.. I can explain.”

He doesn’t even look at me, he looks past me to the empty space behind me and the window.

“Where is she?” He shouts, he walks over to me and I can see the anger and confusion on his face. I’m just as confused as him. He pushes me to the side as if I’m hiding something.

“What?” I ask.

“Where. Is. My. Sister?”

He talks slowly as if I’m stupid or don’t speak English.

“You saw her?” I ask, not believing him.

My head tilts to the side as if I’m finding this really hard to understand. The door swings open and crashes into the wall, making a hole where the handle hit it. Milo and Mason burst into the room.

“I smell her.”

“Me too.”

All three look at me now, waiting.

“You saw her?” I ask Zak.

My voice goes higher as I speak from the shock of what is going on right now. Zak nods his head slowly. He knows I’m struggling to wrap my head around this.

“And you can all smell her?”

All three nod their heads.

“So I wasn’t imagining it. She was really here.”

I have to sit down because I’m about to fall down. My head is spinning right now.

“I thought I smelt her a couple of times but just thought you had some of her clothing out or something,” Zak says.

“So that means.”

Milo almost shouts. She’s not dead. She was real. She was out there somewhere.

“She’s alive!” I say as hope flourishes inside of me.

This hope is different from what I feel each morning when I first wake up.

This hope feels real.

“How can that be?” Milo says as he sits down on the sofa next to me, running his hands through his auburn hair, his eyes wide.

“I just thought the moon goddess was blessing me. Or I had completely lost the fücking plot. You really saw her?”

I asked Zak again to make sure it was really happening.

“Yes, I saw you and her kissing.” He says, pacing the room once again.

“Where is she then?” Mason asks.

That’s a very good question.

“I don’t know. I thought I was hallucinating, so I didn’t ask.”

I run my hands through my hair, completely perplexed at the situation. My mate is alive, and she is out there somewhere and I will do whatever I can to find her. The hope blooms into determination and urgency.

“Milo, get Nina in here. Zak, can you get Chloe? Mason, you call Katalina. Let’s find Amelia and bring her home.”

All three men ran from the room. It reminded me of when I was little and would watch cartoons, and the character would run away leaving a dust shape of themselves behind. That’s what those three looked like just then.

I stand up and start to pace the floor. My hands run through my hair as I replay everything. Every conversation I’ve had with Amelia since she’s been gone, playing over and over in my head. It all makes sense now, why she looked at me like I was insane, why I can feel her emotions, why I refused to believe she was dead.

It’s because I knew deep deep down she wasn’t.

I really was still feeling her through our bond.

She really wasn’t dead. She had been out there all this time and I didn’t know. Anger welled in my chest at the thought of her out there alone.

“ARRHH!!!.”

I flip the desk upside down in a fury. This is the 9th desk I’ve broken at my home office. For some reason, I always seem to be next to my desk when I feel unimaginable anger and pain.

“We will find her and bring her back.”

My mom’s voice came from the doorway. I drop down to my knees, still not believing it.

“Do you think she’s really alive, Mom?”

She walked over and took my head in her hands, lifting my face up to look at hers.

“Yes, I do.”

Hearing how confident my mom sounded filled me with confidence.

“Where do we begin?” I asked.

“I don’t know, my handsome boy. Maybe Chloe or Nina might be able to help.”

Chloe burst into the office, followed by Alex and Nolan. They all looked at me and I nodded my head. Chloe’s eyes filled with tears. She pulled something out of her pocket and walked over to the globe in the corner of the room. It was a large crystal. It was a beautiful green with patches of purple and blue running through it with a pearly sheen as it glinted in the light. It was attached to a long silver chain. Chloe spun the globe and held the pendant above it. It started to swing from side to side, slowly at first, but gained momentum, getting faster and faster. Chloe was chanting under her breath.

“Vires ultra ostende mihi unam vere quaerere.” Over and over.

The pendant started to spin. It swung out, so it was making a circle bigger than the globe now. A strange chill filled the room as the wind made the window burst open, sending all the papers that were scattered around on the floor into the air. The sound of paper rustling and the wind howling got louder. The wind stopped suddenly and Chloe dropped to the floor along with the papers. Alex rushed over, picking her up, the crystal pendant still in her hand.

“I can’t find her. The magic is too strong. It's the same the Rogue Alpha uses.”