Black Moon Rising

Chapter 10

Selene POV

I can not believe just how feral and untamed my people have become since I last visited. It hurt my heart to see Carter and his pack seek refuge in a place that has, in turn, treated them so poorly. I wanted nothing more than to shred every single person who had a hand in this, but I knew I could not. I must allow Jasmine to prove herself and I must allow Carter to support her through it. They had not yet mated, and he needed to prove himself to her as well.

I stared down at the man at the top of the stairs, watching as he crouched low to attack. Carter mentioned the man’s name in my mind. In one fluid motion I shifted into my wolf, watching as Stephan’s eyes became wide and full of fear.

I am unlike any regular wolf. I am my wolf, and my wolf is me, and I know I am a beautiful, yet terrifying sight. My wolf form has white eyes like my human form, but the pupils are lined with a thin black line. My nose and nails look like pearls while my fur is pure white with an iridescent sheen. But what I actually look like varies from person to person depending on their deepest fear.

Stephan’s wolf pushed forward, and he immediately bared his belly in submission. There was a thundering of feet barreling down the stairs as the rest of the warriors finally caught up with him. They stopped, taking in the scene before them, their jaws slack in disbelief. Finally, their eyes met mine, their wolves pushed forward and they, too, bared their bellies in submission.

“Goddess,” they said in unison, their voices full of fear and admiration.

“I need your help. Your Alpha has taken a woman and hidden her somewhere within your pack walls. Find her. Help free her.”

“Yes, Goddess.”

With that, I shifted back, giving Carter control of his body once more. I knew that they would follow my instructions and I needed to get back to my home for the council meeting. It seems that Sebastian has called upon the Star Goddess to step in with the issue of Jasmine and Carter. This is not how I wanted to spend my day, but this is one matter I am unwilling to let go unattended.

I closed my eyes, allowing a mist to fully consume my body. A few seconds later, I opened them to the forest I call home. Wolves were running around everywhere, excited to have me home once more. Pups were falling over each other in their effort to catch a glimpse of me, nipping at each other’s ears and tails. I smiled at them, taking a moment to watch them play, before their mothers grabbed them by the scruff of their necks and carried them towards home.

I looked up at the sky, noticing that the sun was setting and it was almost twilight. The meeting will start soon. I rushed towards the packhouse. The building came into view and my heart immediately felt content. Of all the places in the world, my packhouse was my favorite place to be.

The building itself could challenge the intricacy and extravagance of the Palace of Versaille. It is three stories tall and the face went on in each direction further than the eye could see. I can not tell you how many rooms it had, as the number fluctuated daily depending on the number of wolves that came and went. This is what humans would refer to as ‘heaven’, but my people are not confined to living within its walls. Some wolves choose to live in the forest with their mates once they join them here, others choose to be reincarnated back to Earth, usually because they had not found fulfillment in their previous lives and wanted to try again.

I walked the halls, smiling and nodding at each passerby as I made my way to the stairs. The meeting hall is on the second floor, away from the hustle and bustle of pack life downstairs. The second floor is one of my favorites. The walls are draped with a thick gold fabric that is woven with jewels. Giant vases filled with roses lined the hallway, the air thick with their scent. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, bathing the hall in light at night, while floor to ceiling windows brightened it during the day. The floors were covered with thick, cream-colored carpet.

I slipped off my shoes, my toes digging into the plush carpet and I sighed with content. Regardless of how lavish my home is, I still enjoy the simplicity of being barefoot once I am up here. The carpet between my toes is heaven. Maintaining the poise and sophistication of being a goddess is exhausting, but this part of the house is where I can get comfortable. And comfortable I will need to be to deal with the witch goddess.

I sighed heavily and continued my walk down the hall, stopping in front of a set of solid gold doors. I took a deep breath before pushing the doors open, making eye contact with the small group of people inside.

“Selene, the girl must die,” the Star Goddess said, wasting no time getting straight to the point.

I sighed again, and turned to look at her. “Hecate, can a woman get settled in before we just dive into issues that are not even issues in the first place? I just got home.”

Hecate rolled her eyes. “You may have just got home, but we have all been waiting around for you for hours.”

“Oh, please. Let’s cut the dramatics, Catie,” I said, lowering myself on a sofa and curling my feet under me. “Sebastian has created an unnecessary s**t storm, and I have been stuck trying to clean up his mess. If you stopped encouraging him based off of the false knowledge that ‘the girl must die,’ this would not be happening.”

“Surely you do not think that she can continue to live? Neither of us can predict what will happen to her, with the power that she possesses. It is not natural! And a hybrid,” she said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. “This has never been heard of. We must stomp it out before everyone starts getting the idea that this is normal!” She stared at me in disbelief.

I opened my mouth to speak but was interrupted by a voice from the corner of the room.

“Have you paid no attention to the happenings in the human world? Perhaps if you paid more attention to what is going on around you, and less time being concerned with only yourself, you would know where that mind set leads,” the Vampiress stared at Hecate venomously.

Hecate stared back, fury lining her features. “How dare you insinuate that I am too self-absorbed to know what is going on around us! I see everything, the same as you all, I know-“

“Know what?” The Vampiress asked, cutting her off. “You have been so focused on this war that Sebastian and his hunters have been so eager to start for centuries, that you have absolutely not been paying attention! The persecution of the supernatural did not end with Salem, Hecate! Nor were we ever supposed to be turning the conflict in on each other! You have stood by and watched the s*******r of vampires and werewolves alike yet have done nothing to stop it! It is clear to us all that you think more highly of the lives of witches and warlocks than the rest of us.” She was screaming now. “ You are not the person we should be taking any advice from and if it were up to me, you would be replaced as a God.”

The rest of us stood there, stunned. The Vampiress was a woman of few words, so this outburst was completely out of character for her. It also made her words carry that much more weight.

“She is right, you know,” I said pointedly. “Even before Salem, the persecution of “different” has always been there. g******e. The human h*******t. The segregation of ‘colored’ humans. Where does it end? What more do you want to take from us all?”

I stared at Hecate with fire in my eyes. “Is it not enough that you have taken my mate from me? If you continue these senseless killings, war will inevitably ensue. I don’t know about you, but I have seen enough death to last for eternity. Why do you refuse to take responsibility for the havoc that you have created?” I stood up and walked over to Hecate, standing nose to nose. “You have been murdering my people for thousands of years. Our ancient laws have tied my hands even when I wanted nothing more than to rip you from limb to limb. But your prejudice has been misguided. The people you have hunted all these centuries are not hybrid wolves.”

Hecate looked at me in confusion. “Your mate? What are you talking about?”

“You didn’t know? Endymion was my mate,” I seethed. “I created him to compliment me perfectly and you slaughtered him. He had unimaginable power, not because he was a hybrid witch, but because he was a god. These hybrids you have given your people permission to hunt were nothing more than Endymion’s descendants.

“You are right, though. Finally, after all this time, you have finally gotten one thing right. The first true hybrid wolf is out there. But it is not Jasmine. Jasmine is Endymion’s descendant and she has the power that I had destined for him. She has the power of a god and, if she so chooses, she has the power to wipe witches and warlocks from the face of this planet. So, hear me, Hecate. Should you so much as think of hurting one of my people again, it will be war. Hurt one of my people and I promise you that I will dredge up fire from the depths of hell and burn down everything you hold dear… and then I will burn you with it.”