Twisted Mate

***** Screams sound out in the night, echoing through her mind. She blinks, trying to make the sound stop. The sound shakes her to the core, when will this night end? Smoke fills her vison as she looks around her, who would do this to them she wonders. Cottages are going up in flames all around her; some people are running to the safety of the forest while others cling to their loved ones, screaming out in pain. Ahh, the screams, please just make it stop! *****   Elizabeth’s POV                 I wake with a start, jumping slightly as an owl calls out in the distance. I had the nightmare again, the same one I have been having for the last five years. It is always the same, I watch that night replay over and over in my mind. The only difference comes from how long I manage to sleep during the nightmare.   It is not that I want to forget my family; I just wanted to sleep peacefully for one night. Was that too much to ask? One night to close my eyes and drift in the quiet and peaceful nothingness that dreams should be.                 I glanced at the pocket watch that lay open on my end table; it was the only thing I had left of my father. It is a beautiful gold watch, on the front is a crystal moon with a wolf made of gold and silver intertwined howling at the moon. I love this piece of my father; I will always cherish it with all of my heart.   My family lost just about everything that night, but the most painful blow was the loss of my father, my little brother, and my infant sister. They were only 6 and 2 months old, and like me, they had a whole life ahead of them. Theirs were just ones that were cut painfully short. My mother had escaped with me, but she never fully recovered from that night. Who would? I did not blame her for being so sad; I just miss my mother sometimes. The mother that she used to be.                 *11:35pm*               I sighed; I had only been asleep for a few hours; I seemed to get less as time went on. Pushing myself up and out of bed, I wandered over to the window. Gazing out over the clear night sky, I reminded myself that those screams are just memories. The fires no longer burn, families have mourned their loved ones, the pack had started to move forward.   For the most part, we rebuilt the pack as it was before that night, although the pack house was rebuilt entirely differently. When we began the plans to rebuild, my mother had a panic attack over the idea of sleeping in a room just like the one she shared with my father but was not the same room. It was just easier to rebuild with the future in mind instead of the past.                 I was only 10 at the time of the tragedy. As the eldest child of Alpha Benjamin and Luna Adelaide, I was destined to take over as Alpha, but 10 was too young. Most did not take over until their 16th birthday when their wolf came forward for the first time, and some waited until they were 18 to take on the responsibility. My father's Beta Gabriel agreed to take over the pack until my 16th birthday, but not a moment longer.   Like everyone else, he lost someone that night; two someone’s really. His mate had been days away from delivering their first child when the fire descended upon them. I still remember her, she was always so happy, they both were. Now Gabriel was a shell of the man he once was; he spent most of his time angry. He never took it out on the pack, but you could always see the pain in his eyes.                 I continued to gaze out my window, time slowly ticking bye. I let the breath I had been holding finally escape my lips. I felt the start of the new day in my heart; I was finally 16. My time had come to step onto the path of my destiny.