Prologue
The midnight air was cool and crisp as I stood in the garden outside the pack house. I take a moment to stop and smell the roses I know cliché. Suddenly, Mrs. Dowers, the head chef comes running to the packhouse, frantic. I follow her inside and she says her daughter was taken by the pack Luna around 6 that evening and she still had yet to return. That seemed very odd. In a matter of 10 minutes, the pack house is now filled with several concerned parents with the same story. I looked around at everyone confused as to why the Luna would take the kids. I can say she has been acting differently.
I slowly and discreetly slip out the back door and I take off running into the woods trying to get a head start on trying to find her and the children. I can hear the panicked howl of wolves as they take off running, starting their search. I decided to take to the skies. I find a clearing and my eyes flash neon purple as my body breaks and reforms in the shape of a dragon. My talons dug into the earth and my dark purple-reddish body blended well into the night sky. I push up and circle the pack grounds. Our grounds are extensive, imagine Yellowstone National Park, it’s massive.
I fly roughly 250 miles away when I see a faint light from below in a clearing. I land in a clearing roughly 5 miles away and I materialize clothes since I shredded them when I shifted the first time. I slowly walk to the clearing and I can hear a faint chanting. When I make it to the tree line I can see all the children laying in a large circle. I see the Luna standing in the middle of the circle with her back to me. I try to get the attention of the kids closer to me. No one is looking at me so I slowly make my way into the clearing and I notice all the kids... are dead... no! My head snaps up at the Luna. Killing children is a new low!
“LUNA MALEFICENT!? WHAT DID YOU DO!?” I scream tears falling down my face. Maleficent looks at me and her face curls into a smile.
“Anya, dear child, I deserve Hades’ power. Evil is the only real way to live.” Maleficent looks back to the sky and closes her eyes. She continues to chant. The children start to levitate and I look around quickly but do the only thing I can think of.
As I look around I see the warriors surrounding the clearing and the Alpha looks at his wife, his second chance mate, in a circle with the bodies of his pack’s future. He looks furious as he anchors down to pounce. That’s when I lunged and tackled Maleficent as the Alpha lunged over us. Maleficent and I hit the ground hard as the Alpha shifted back and looked at the massacre under him.
“Maleficent! What did you do?” Alpha Elijah asked, slowly picking up the daughter of a pack member. “We could have figured this out!”
“It’s too late Elijah! Hades’ power will be mine! I had his child, it’s rightfully mine!” Maleficent cackles. I hold her my eyes wide as Alpha Elijah looks at me, his eyes going wide. I didn’t want this to happen.
Maleficent looks back at me and gives me a wink as she vaporizes in front of my eyes and materializes in front of Alpha Elijah. Thunder boomed over us as the lightning started dancing above us before hitting Maleficent square in the chest. Just as sudden as the lightning struck it stopped and Maleficent dropped to her knees holding her chest and breathing heavily. She slowly stands up and calls her staff to her and as she rotates her staff above her head it starts to dissolve in her hands. Elijah looks at his former wife with disdain and hatred. He looks at me with pity and sorrow.
“What!? Why didn’t it work!?” Maleficent yells horrifying panic in her eyes. She looks at me with a manic look and lunges for me. When we both hit the ground Maleficent tries to claw at me and I push her harder away from me kicking her across the clearing. She stands up quickly, “I, Maleficent... The evilest of them all, I will finally have the power I deserve!” With that final proclamation, she disappeared in a cloud of green smoke.
Near the bodies of the children was a book with papers hanging out of it. I walked over and grabbed the pages reading over them. It was a spell to claim the powers of the Gods. My eyes widened as I read what was supposed to happen and I realized she was missing one key item. Hades Ember. Hades Ember is the most powerful crystal in the world. It is said to harness the powers of the Underworld and only Hades or his children can wield the crystal. As long as she doesn’t get the crystal she can’t complete her task. I look up at Alpha Elijah who is looking at me with a mix of emotions, At some moments I see pity and sorrow because I didn’t choose for my mom to be an evil lunatic but I can also see the pain and disdain for the horrors my mother has caused. I look around the clearing, at the mess my mother has caused, the pain, the grief. I stand slowly clenching the pages in my hands tightly, slowly spinning watching as mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, all mourn the loss we all feel tonight. Not just the loss of our future, but the loss of our packs Luna. The one who was supposed to care for us. I look at Alpha Elijah and I give him one nod. A nod to say that I will stop my mother. Even if that means I have to kill her.
