Blood moon

Chapter 63. Retreat

Both brothers stood in complete silence, thinking of all the times they had slept with her. Hunter remembers that when he met her she was in her ovulation period, he was almost sure it was his, he had been living with her practically every day since they had met, he had a high chance of being the father.

Harley thinks about what they had been going through between the office and last night, there was a remote possibility that it was his, plus for the goddess a couple of hours of pregnancy would be as clear as having the nine months, he had no idea what it would be like for her now to live through this kind of tragedy kidnapped, he had to get her out of wherever she was.

Harold Halland and the older lady understood the trouble they were in, they had two wolves willing to kill each other for the human woman, plus she held the future of the pack in her hands, the child of one of the two alphas, as things stood they would not hurt her, but they kidnapped her until the baby was born, so they could manipulate the whole pack, which threatened everyone's survival.

They had to find the woman.

—My lady, my goddess, I don't want to show you my arrogance, I just want to point out the good things my father has done for us and for the herd, I know it's nothing for you, but I ask you to have mercy on a man who has given himself completely to the herd, even soon he will retire— Harley couldn't help sounding blunt, even he knew it.

—Retreat? No, boy, you can't fool me, he will only relinquish command because you have threatened him, but you are very naive if you think he won't try to control you using other means— the small woman's gaze drifted to Hunter, she seemed to have a soft spot for him.

The little werewolf didn't seem to be able to even look at her, he was afraid of what would happen, he only remembered the fear that his beloved felt, he wondered if she was alive or not, if he was capable of harming a pregnant woman, it would be worse with the people of his village, the man had to be eliminated as soon as possible.

—My Goddess, lady of the werewolves, it is an honour to meet you— the older woman dared to say —my grandmother has told me many stories about you, I am grateful that you gave me the honour of meeting you, at least to be in your presence, I know I am nobody to you but I am honoured.

The Goddess turned her gaze towards her.

—Little one, I have heard your prayers, your strong devotion was one of the reasons why I did not leave this pack, you have always been faithful to me, stand up— the woman did not hesitate to do so, then the woman put her hand on her head, she could see all the physical pains that the older woman had, how sometimes she had problems to remember things, but her heart remained faithful to the pack, then the Goddess decided to help her a little.

Her eyes were filling with a new life, they had what she had lost from years of exposure to life, the pain in her bones was completely gone, her body felt full of renewed energy, even her face looked clearer, as if she had been rejuvenated.

Tears flowed from the woman, she knelt down again, and cried out in a low voice.

—Oh Goddess, our Goddess, forgive me, for I do not deserve your benevolence— she repeated again and again through her tears, she felt she was being given a second chance.

—My child, you don't have to cry, I have given you some energy, so you can lead the new generations of werewolves to worship my figure, I don't want them to forget where they come from and who can take away everything they have— the last part was a warning to the Halland men.

Hunter as best he could had gotten to his feet, he had nearly three heads on the woman, she was very petite she seemed to have the body of a girl from his perspective, she turned to look at him, she reached out her hand to place it on his cheek, giving him a deep look, as if she knew his every thought.

—You can run to her, I will lead you to her, but you will have to promise me that you will give your life for the manda if you have to— she said, making him salivate, he felt crushed by the idea. He understood that he was asking her not to leave the Halland pack, he would have to stay even though his brother had been with his wife, even though the fight they had had atoned for his guilt, the pain could still be felt in his heart.

—The pack will always be the most important thing to me— he exclaimed in a sincere tone —but if it is my child in her womb, I want to give my life for that child, even if it is selfish of me. It is not fair, nor rational, although it is my instinct— I did not want to challenge her or make her feel angry, but I wanted to be as honest as I could.

—I know what you're saying, I appreciate your candour, but that baby, that makes her part of the herd, you'll have to bring her into the family home—The Goddess had made concessions without being married because the werewolf was honouring his promise to love her under any circumstances, besides that now the blood of a future werewolf was running through her blood, one that would have a future superior to that of any of her parents, he would be so powerful that at birth his pupils were so intense red that they looked like flames.

—Thank you my lady— the werewolf tried to bend down, to lower one of his knees to the ground, his body protested the movement, he felt stunned by the situation, but he wished to pay tribute to her in some way, because she was being very generous.

—You have a great future Hunter, don't let anyone take it away from you— the woman put a finger on his forehead showing him the way from the forest to a family restaurant, in the back was the culvert that will lead him to the tunnel the closest way to find the woman, she even showed him clearly the face of George Garroway who was not there.

As soon as he left the atmosphere felt extremely cold, as if a frost was approaching.

—My priestess, go give the good news of my appearance to the werewolves of the pack and announce that the child in the body of the human Andrea Smith will be the one to lead them when the time comes— the woman had some hesitation, she felt that something bad would happen to Harold and Harley, but she dared not say anything, she was lucky to even be breathing the same air as a true Goddess, she would not hesitate to keep listening to her.

—Yes, my dear lady— the woman practically ran towards the family's main property.

—As for you two— the Goddess commented dismissively —I don't know what I should do with you both, Harold your sins were excommunicated with death in the old time, but we don't meet in the old time. Whereas your son, Harley, the proud eldest son who had a privileged life, who believes he made many sacrifices to occupy his position...you are both too arrogant, even now.

The sound of lightning striking about ten metres away startled them. The woman wasn't messing around, Harold thought, she was contemplating disappearing them, she considered them undesirable to lead the pack, though the real question was why Hunter, the boy was rebellious and never seemed to listen to anyone, he did whatever he wanted, but the woman wanted him, his father couldn't understand it.

—When he was a boy, Hunter prayed for me, asked me for guidance and advice, came to train at this lake, cried when he lost, when you beat him almost to death, begged me to make him as strong as his older brother, looked to me for guidance— the thoughts came to her making her feel very sad.

—It's unfair— the words came out of Harley's mouth without her being able to stop them —You speak of Hunter as if he were a poor victim and make us the victimizers. He could have run away, he could have not fought and told on dad, but he chose to stay, after he came of age, he's still here. I never chose to be born first, I never chose to be the best at what I did, not the privileges that came with it, why should I be punished for that? that arrogance was what bothered her the most.

—You never know when to shut up, do you? You think you've always been right— the werewolf had tried to get up, but with a thought the goddess made him kneel with his head bent down with a pressure that made his bones feel like they were about to explode —You're right, you never decided any of that, and yet you never thought about anyone else but yourself, did you ever wonder what your friends or your brother felt? You thought you were the strongest, even when many of your friends held back when they fought, you are the first born male of the leader, how could they hurt you, you have no idea how many fights you were destined to lose.

It took Harley Halland's breath away, he had no idea if what he was saying was true or not. But it was a fact that she was real, the pain in his bones was very real, she would gain nothing by lying to him, so it had to be true, she lived in a bubble because of the privilege she had, even with the weight she had on her men, she had done all these things to let him know he was nothing more than a spoiled child who was not ready to make the sacrifices necessary to reign.

—The worst thing is that your father knew about it, always did and never dared to say it— Harold Halland felt that the woman hated him and wished him dead, although she hadn't mentioned the reason, he thought he knew her, he had been with several werewolves over the years, using his position as alpha, those women couldn't have mates after being with the leader and he didn't see them again after a few nights.