The Rising Moon Pack

Chapter 35

Kate POV

I had lost track of time, down here in the dungeons. There were no windows underground, so there was no way of counting the hours. The guards had long been instructed not to speak to me, and they all obeyed their alpha. Every few hours I was brought food and water, but I longed for a shower and some fresh clothes.

I had tried linking Ben, but I felt that there was a block up, possibly because of the cell I was detained in, but also maybe because he was blocking me out. I hadn’t seen Jase, or Maria since I was detained, and my heart ached. All I had ever done was for my children. I hoped that one day they would see that, but I had a feeling they wouldn’t understand.

The sound of feet coming down the dungeon steps reached me, and I listened intently. One set of heavy, clunky footsteps, and one set of light, tip tappy footsteps. I held my breathe hopefully as I listened to them get closer and closer.

“f**k, MARIA!” I heard Jase shout as he tripped over the last remaining step.

“I’ve got it!” She shouted, and a green light lit up the dark and dingy hallway.

I stepped back in surprise. Telekinesis? But that was a protection orb I saw, not just any old orb. I sat down, shocked by what I had seen. I had never known any other Emerald wolf to produce a protection orb so easily. I stood quickly and composed myself as I heard their steps get closer, hoping that they were going to let me free.

The walked into the room, Jase first, and my stomach rumbled. I could smell they had brought lunch, and I was starving. Maria followed him, looking around the room intently. We locked eyes, and for a moment hers glowed. She was sizing me up, and trying to work out if I was a threat. I couldn’t blame her; I didn’t even know myself anymore.

“Why are you here?” I asked them, quietly. I pressed up against the bars and reached my hand out towards them. My skin burned as it made contact with the silver, but I didn’t care. I just wanted contact with my babies.

Maria watched me cautiously, standing way back from the bars, out of my reach.

“Is she safe to approach?” She asked Forest,who was standing guard.

“Perfectly safe.” He answered. “This whole room has dampeners to stop her from using her powers.”

“So I won’t be able to use mine either.” She answered. “Well, that’s handy. At least we can’t kill each other.” She laughed.

I stared at her, shocked. “I would never harm you, Maria.”

“No?” She answered. “I know what you did to Bella, mom. And I know why, we both do. So let’s not play pretend, okay? From here on out, you need to be honest with us.” She told me, firmly.

My blood ran cold. How did she know? She had to be bluffing. I cleared my throat nervously, and stepped back from the bars.

“Why are you here?” I repeated again, quietly.

“We’re here to have lunch. It can’t be nice being down here all alone.” This time Jase answered me,a hint of sorrow in his voice.

“It’s not nice.” I answered. “But it’s what I deserve.” I sat back on the bed, staring at the floor. I wasn’t chained, but I may as well have been. I felt trapped, I couldn’t go or do anything, I couldn’t even go for a run. My wolf hadn’t been let out in so long, and she had long ago stopped speaking to me. I had been hoping it was because of the dampeners, but I knew deep down it was because of what I had done.

I heard the sound of metal on metal as Forest unlocked the door to my cell, and watched silently as Jase brought a foldaway table and two folded chairs in, resting the tray of food on a bench a few meters away. I pulled my body back right against the wall, hugging my knees up to my chin, avoiding contact with him. I didn’t want him to think I was a threat to him, he was my eldest child and I loved him greatly. Maria had chosen to wait outside the cell, until it was all set up. She picked up the tray and brought it inside. She placed the tray down on the table, and offered me a mug, with tea inside.

“It won’t hurt you.” She said, smiling softly. “It’s just tea.”

I took the cup from her gratefully, my hands shaking slightly. My finger tips grazed hers lightly, and I felt a spark pass between us. A reconnection, of the emerald bond.

“What was that?” She asked me, confused.

“It was the emerald bond.” I told her, smiling sadly. “If you ever meet another emerald wolf, you’ll feel that spark with them too. It’s what binds us as our own little pack.”

Maria began unpacking the tray as I talked, taking plastic domes off of the top of the food plates. The smell of roast beef filled the air and my mouth watered. Jase began passing our cutlery as Maria took a seat directly opposite me, and he sat to my right hand side.

“Lock us in.” She instructed Forest, who looked confused at the request.

“Are you sure?” He asked.

“Yes, do it. She might not be a danger to us right now, but she poses a danger the moment she gets her powers back. She needs to be here where she is safe.” She told him.

“What makes you think that I’m not safe, out there?” I asked her.

“That’s an easy one.” She told me, pulling her plate closer to her as she picked up her knife and fork. “To put it simply, mom,I believe your powers corrupted you. That’s the only way I could believe that you would willingly commit murder not once, but twice.” She stated calmly, cutting into her beef.

I looked at Jase, who was quietly cutting up his vegetables.

“How did you know?” I asked her, my voice lowered.

Maria shrugged. “Emeera told me.”

My mouth dropped open in shock.

“Are you gonna eat that?” Maria asked, pointing to my food. “Mrs Davies worked super hard on it.”

I picked up my knife and fork and set to work, cutting my beef into small chunks as I thought about what Maria had just said. If she had spoken to Emeera, then there was a good chance she knew everything there was to know. There would be no way of lying my way out of this, I would be cast out or killed.

“May as well be honest, mom. Like I said. I’ll definitely know about it if you’re not.” She told me, cheerfully.

“Why are you so calm?” I asked her suddenly, suspicious.

“I’m not. Inside, I’m angry, and I hate you, and I can’t believe we’re related in the slightest.” She told me without hesitation. “But I also realise that I can’t change what you’ve already done, only heal the devastation you have caused. And in order for me to do that, I need to understand things from your point of view. How can the woman who raised me be the epitome of all that is wrong in our lives?” She asked, scooping mashed potato onto her fork before putting it in her mouth. “What went so wrong for you that you had to do these horrific things?”

I swallowed again, nervous.

“I was afraid.” I admitted.

“Of what?” Jase asked.

“Of who I was.” I answered quietly.

“Why?” He asked again.

I stood to my feet, turning away from them both.

“When I was young, I was not the nicest of people.” I admitted. “I was shallow, and selfish, and weak. I was abandoned as a baby, and raised in a pack orphanage. I had no one to care for me, or teach me how to be a good person. I moved from pillar to post, until I found Emeera. She told me that I was an emerald wolf,like you. But she also told me that I was destined to be a goddess, and one of great power. It scared me, going from being a nobody to becoming someone super important overnight. I didn’t want that responsibility, I wasn’t right for that job. But Emeera told me there was no other way to get rid of my powers besides passing them down to my children. I was just turned 18, and I hadn’t yet met my mate. I asked her to take my powers, as the mother of all emerald wolves I thought she would help me but she refused, and I had no other choice. I left my pack and searched for the elders, I needed an outside point of view. It took me months, but I tracked down an elder named Josiah. He confirmed that what Emeera had told me was right; that I could only pass down my gifts not get rid of them completely. But this time he told me something more. He said that I would only produce an heir to my powers if I was mated to an alpha. Despite being raised in orphanage, I was an alpha by blood, something very few people knew.”

“So what, you just barged your way over here to mate the first single alpha you found?” Jase asked, disgusted.

“No, actually.” I answered. “I was on my way back to my pack, from visiting Josiah, when I found my mate. He was patrolling in the woods.”

“Uncle Harry.” Maria breathed, and I nodded, tears in my eyes.

“Yes. Well, naturally, Harry brought me back here. It wasn’t till we got here that I found he was a Beta, and I began to panic. Ben at the time was unmated, unmarked, so I began by wiping everyone’s memories and altering them slightly to make them believe that it was Ben who had found me.”I answered, my voice practically a whisper.

“Mom, sit down.” Maria commanded me, and I turned back to face them. She had a sadness in her eyes that I hadn’t expected; I had expected anger and hatred.

I sat back on my bed and fidgeted uncomfortably, wrapping my hair tightly around my finger and pulling it.

“You really did all this because you were scared of your destiny?” She asked me softly.

“Yes.” I choked out, nodding. Tears began to fall, and Jase reached out his hand to stroke mine.

“What happened next?” He asked gently.

“Well , things went smoothly at first.” I replied. “We were happy together, and I was named Luna. I hated it at first, but eventually I got used to it and began to do okay in the role. We got married within a year, then shortly after that you were born, Jase. And I was relieved, I could pass my powers on and be done with the emerald wolves. But that didn’t go to plan. Emeera visited me, telling me she knew what I had done, and warned me that it would come at a price. She warned me that every bad choice I made using my powers weakened my bond with my emerald sisters. I asked her how I could hand down my gifts, and she told me I couldn’t. I tried to ask why, but she wouldn’t tell me.”

“So then what? How did this all happen?” Maria asked me.

“So, I went back to Josiah, I asked him why I couldn’t hand them down and he told me it was simple; boys couldn’t harness the powers. He told me that Jase would be a smarter and stronger alpha than your average alpha, but simply put, he wasn’t a goddess. He told me that I would have to have a girl to hand my powers down. I asked him about Emeera’s warning, that everything came at a price. He told me that every time I chose darkness, a price needed to be paid. He told me to be careful.” I told them both. They both looked up at me, mesmerised by my story.

“So then what?” Jase responded.

“Well. A few months went by, and your aunt Lacey turned 18. It was at that point that she felt the pull for Ben, so naturally I had to wipe her memory and replace it with memories of Harry. I couldn’t risk her breaking the hold I had on him. Shortly after this happened, I discovered I was pregnant again. I went to Josiah, terrified. I begged him to tell me what the price I would have to pay would be, and this time he told me a life for a life. I had tampered with my fate to gain a life I never should have had, so I would have to pay with a life. I tried to offer my own, but he told me it didn’t work like that. He explained that I would have to sacrifice the life of my first born daughter.” I wiped the tears from my face, feeling full of shame.

“You had to sacrifice Bella.” Maria said quietly.

I nodded. “Yes. Although at first, I didn’t know she was a girl, so we were thrilled to be pregnant. It wasn’t until 3 months in that we found out she was female, and I knew then that I would have to try my hardest to protect her. I thought the best way to do that would be to wipe everyone’s memory again, and give Bella to Lacey and Harry. I thought that if everyone believed she was the betas daughter that she would be safe,but I was wrong.” I sobbed, my chest feeling like it was on fire.

“So how did Lacey die?” Maria asked me, and I felt the guilt rush to the surface.

“So, around the time you girls were 3, Lacey began having nightmares. The doctor tried to medicate her for them,but it didn’t help. We were having lunch one day, when she began to talk about them to me. I recognised what she was talking about, and realised she was actually having repressed memories. I began to panic, and asked Emeera to help. She refused, telling me that she’s not allowed to tamper with people’s fates. She warned me that my bad decisions had led to cracks between myself and my sisters, and my powers were beginning to lose affect on people. I left and went in search of Josiah, asking him for help. He said there was nothing he could do,that if I was destined to be caught then I would be. But I couldn’t bare for that to happen.” I paused.

“So you killed her?” Jase asked me.

“No, not exactly.” I answered, ashamed.

“So what did you do?” He asked.

“I asked for the help from a dark witch.” I whispered.

“You did what?” Maria and Jase shouted simultaneously.

“Yes. It wasn’t my proudest moment but I was young, and desperate. I needed guidance, and Emeera and Josiah were unable to help me.” I answered. My food had long ago gone cold, sat virtually untouched on my plate. I picked up my mug, relieved to find my tea was still warm. I nursed it in my hands, shivering.

“What did she do,mom?” Maria asked me, directly.

I sighed.

“She staged an attack on the pack using magic, then she killed Lacey. I hadn’t asked her to kill Lacey, only help me completely wipe her memories. But apparently Lacey fought hard, and there was no other way out. Morgana ended her life right there in the forest, and I was too late to stop it.”

“What price did you pay?!” Maria yelled. “WHAT PRICE DID YOU PAY, KATE?”

One look at her eyes and I knew I was staring into the eyes of Bella.

“Blood donation.” I told her, my voice shaking. “I gave her some of my blood.”

“So you’re even now?” She calmly asked me.

“Yes.” I told her, looking her in the eye.

“So… do you know who killed Bella?” She asked directly.

I took a deep breathe.

“No.” I admitted. “All I know, is that he is known as The Collector. He collects people’s magical debts. And mine was a life for a life. The life of the first born daughter, for the life of being able to produce daughters like her, able to harness all of the emerald powers, and take my place as an Emerald goddess.”

My stomach growled loudly as Maria and Jase stood to their feet. Jase began packing away their empty plates onto the tray, and Maria folded their chairs.

“Eat.” She told me. “You’ll need your strength for the handover ceremony this weekend.”

I looked down at my hands and realised that they were shaking. I took my plate from the table and set it down on my bed gently, allowing them to pack up the table. Forest unlocked the door to let them out, before locking me back in.

“Will I see you again before then?” I asked them both hopefully.

“Maybe.” Maria said, not looking me in the eye. “ We need to speak to Dad, uncle Harry and Jake first.”

“Maria. Please tell Bella I’m sorry.” I begged her, tears rushing to my eyes. “ I would never have done this had I known this would be the result. I made a lot of stupid decisions, but that doesn’t change the fact that I loved Bella and Lacey, I loved your father and Harry. You were my family. I would give anything to go back and fix this.” I pleaded.

“Really?” She stopped, looking me in the eye. “So when the time comes, you’ll hand over your powers willingly?” She asked.

“Yes, I swear!” I told her nodding furiously.

“Good. I never wanted to hurt you, mom.” She told me softly, sadness in her eyes. “But it’s not just me you’ve hurt. I can’t protect you forever.”

“I know, baby. When the time comes, I’ll accept my punishment, whatever it may be I promise you.” I answered, tears splashing down my face.

“Even death?” She asked, pain in her eyes.

“Even death.” I confirmed.

I watched as my words registered in her mind, then she turned and left the dungeon, Jase following closely behind. I turned back to my food and ate silently, before handing my plate through the bars to Forest. He took them grimly, turning his back on me the moment he set them down. I climbed into my bed, and before I knew it I had drifted off to sleep.