The Rising Moon Pack

Chapter 19

Kate POV

It didn’t take me long before I had reached the place I wanted to be. The clearing was beautiful in the July heat, wildflowers grew and ivy tumbled down and hung from the rocks on the hillside. It was peaceful, and I breathed deeply listening to the sounds of the birds. I caught the whiff of a scent my body recognised, and the hairs on my neck stood up. My wolf, Zoe, tensed inside my head, unable to determine what was about to happen.

I looked around, searching for the origin of the scent, and found Maria curled up under an oak tree, crying her heart out.

“Maria? What are you doing here?” I asked her, concerned.

Her whole body stiffened, and when she turned to face me I saw her eyes were shining a bright silver. This wasn’t my daughter I saw. This was the face of a child I had betrayed.

“What am I doing here?” She snarled at me. “What are you doing here, Kate? You didn’t die here. This is not your place.” She spat.

“You’re right.” I stammered. “This isn’t my place.”

“Then what are you doing here, traitor?” She stood, and her tiny body suddenly seemed taller than ever before. She towered over me, and I shrank back a little, scared of what she may do. She began circling me, snarling quietly to herself, and I felt my heart begin to beat uncontrollably.

“I visit here a lot.” I told her. “I come here to think about you. To honour your memory.”

My words only angered her more, Maria’s fiery red curls standing on end, her eyes narrowed.

“To honour my memory?” She roared. “You call lying about my death, forgetting my existence, honouring my f*****g MEMORY?!” She screamed, hands balled into fists. “You wouldn’t know honour if it slapped you in the face, Kate. You don’t deserve to be anyone’s Luna.”

She was right. My actions had been selfish, I had thought only of my own needs and not hers. I hadn’t thought about the possibility she could ever come back, I hadn’t considered how the truth would hurt Harry. I made a mistake and I deserved to pay for it. I burst into tears and crashed down to the floor. I scraped my knees on a rock but I didn’t care. I’d hurt the child I loved deeply, and I sacrificed her to save my own. I hated myself more than she ever could, and I wouldn’t ever forgive myself.

Maria POV

After I bolted from the gardens, I let Bella guide me. I knew she would take me somewhere safe, and I found myself running north. She guided me through trees and rocks, all the time mumbling to herself in anger. I couldn’t work out where the hatred was coming from,but I had no energy to fight her either. We ran and ran until we eventually reached a clearing, and came to a stop.

“What are we doing here?” I asked her.

“You wanted somewhere to come where we wouldn’t be found, right? Well this is that place.” She answered.

“Where are we?” I asked her.

“This is where I died.” She told me, honestly. I could hear the pain in her voice, and I wished now more than ever that I could hug her one last time.

“I’m sorry, Bells.” I said quietly. “What do you remember about that day?”

Bella POV

*flashback*

It was a crisp August evening, and I had just come in from pack training. Maria was in the kitchen helping Mrs Davies with some crazy looking chocolate cake, and my dad was in his office with Uncle Ben. I was about to head upstairs to take a shower, when I received a text from Aunt Kate.

“I’m up in my office. Can you come up here quickly,please?” She asked, and I smiled.

Aunt Kate had become kind of like an adopted mom to me after my mom died when I was 3. My dad wasn’t always available to take care of me, because as our pack Beta, He was always busy. His job revolved around pack protection, so he was always working with the head trainers to train our warriors. I didn’t mind too much, because I knew he still loved me.

I knocked on Aunt Kate’s office door, and waited for a moment before I heard her sweet voice answer.

“Come in, Bella.” She called me, and I opened up the door and went inside.

“Hello, Bella.” She greeted me as I shut the door gently behind me.

“Hey, Aunt Kate. You wanted to see me?” I asked.

“Yes, I did. You’re due to turn 18 soon, aren’t you?” She asked me.

“Yes ma’am. I turn 18 in 2 weeks.” I answered, smiling.

“Ah yes, I have it written down somewhere.” She replied. “Well, that means tonight you can join the patrols.” She said, smiling.

“Patrols?” I asked, confused. “What for?”

“Sweetheart, you’re weeks away from turning 18, which means you could find your mate.” She told me. “ You’re the daughter of a Beta, so the chances of you finding a mate of the same rank is high.”

“What?” I asked again.

Aunt Kate sighed, as she sat on her desk, hands folded over her knee.

“Sweetheart, a Beta Male’s job is to organise patrol rotations, training rotations, pack runs.” She began. “ A Beta female supports him in those roles. She too helps with the patrols, organising pack runs, organising training.” She told me.

“Oh… right. Got ya.” I answered her, nodding slowly. “So what do I do?” I asked.

“You can start by running the northern border. Matt will be running the eastern border, and Jamie is on southern. Lana is running western.” She told me. “You keep in line of our territory and check for any breaches. There will be patrols going on inland, throughout the sections. Your job is to do the border run, make sure the fences are undamaged and nothing suspicious is going on. Once you’ve run the border once, you turn and run the same way back, meaning you’ll have run the northern border twice. How does that sound?” She asked me.

“Fairly simple.” I answered, shrugging. “What time do I start?” I asked her.

“9.30.” She told me, looking at her watch. “ Meet the others out front, they’ll be getting ready to set off soon.”

“I’ll see you later!” I waved as I bounced out of her office. I was secretly excited, I had never run the border before. Young wolves aren’t often allowed near the border until they were over 18, because until then we’re pretty much unable to defend ourselves from attackers. It was nice to know that Aunt Kate trusted me so much for this task, and running along the same route twice seemed a fairly simple task.

I met the others out front, and smiled shyly at Matt. He was super handsome, blonde hair, brown eyes, and tall. He smiled at me, and welcomed me to the team.

“Hey, Bella! It’s nice to see you.” He said warmly.

“Great to be here.” I answered, smiling.

After a brief discussion of what we were doing, we all set out on our individual patrols. I ran to the northern border, and began to jog the territory line. It was such a beautiful summer evening, and I could smell the trees and flowers as I passed by. Each one was a blessing to the senses, and I felt incredibly lucky to be experiencing it all. As I jogged, I thought about what Aunt Kate had said to me about finding a mate. I thought about the possibility I could become a beta female, and I laughed to myself. I couldn’t see myself as a Beta, not with how unorganised I was.

I reached a clearing and stopped to take a breath. It was beautiful here, ivy climbed the hillside and beautiful flowers bloomed. It was breathtaking, and I leaned against an oak tree, taking it all in. As I looked around in awe, my thoughts were interrupted by a deep, throaty chuckle. My blood ran cold, and I sniffed the air, desperate to find any hint of this mystery person.

“Who’s there?!” I called out. “You’re trespassing!”

“Well, well, look who we have here.” A deep, male voice echoed around me. “If it isn’t the alpha’s daughter.”

What? I wasn’t an alphas daughter?

“Show yourself!” I demanded.

“Very well, Alpha.” The voice answered.

A plume of purple smoke appeared and filled the clearing, snaking around the flowers, killing each one it touched. It was a dark, mysterious evil that I didn’t trust. I wanted to call out for help, but I couldn’t move.

A tall, thin man appeared from the fog and stood before me, inches away. His red bloodshot eyes glinted menacingly as he reached out towards me. I took a step back and found myself pressed against solid oak, unable to escape.

“W-who are you?” I stammered.

“That’s for me to know, and you never to find out.” He told me, lifting his slender, clawed finger to stroke my face.

“Take one last look around, Alpha.” He told me.

“I’m not an Alpha.” I told him.

“What?” He seemed surprised. “Then why do I detect Alpha blood within you?”

“I don’t know.” I answered, truthfully. “I’m not an alpha.”

“That’s a shame.” He said. “What a waste.”

He raised his hand into the air and I screamed. His claws extended and his eyes flashed as he sunk his hand into my chest, violently ripping out my beating heart.

My body fell to the floor, my blood caressing the flowers. The tall man vanished, and I lay alone on the forest floor, dying.

My world went black, and I ceased to exist.

*End flashback*