Chapter 1
I looked at the vampire mother and child and my breath caught in my chest. I had always been told of them, but had never seen one in person before. They had a allure to them that would seem unnatural, though no one would question it as they would become bewitched by their ethereal beauty. Judging by the breathtaking woman in front of me, I understand the draw.
After centuries at war with each other, vampires and werewolves had called a truce almost three hundred years ago. Both side’s populations were dwindling from the constant deaths and humans had reached an all time high of hunting us down. We came to realize that by putting an end to our squabbling, we could both thrive and stop the common enemies we shared. We learned to respect each other and while I would not call us close friends, we honored each race’s boundaries.
I watched closely as Dimitri turned direction and led her onto our pack lands. Dimitri, my mate was Alpha of the Eclipse pack, making me the Luna. With my position in the pack, I decided to join them. Dimitri and I made eye contact as I fell in stride beside him, inching closer than normal to his shoulder. He cocked an eyebrow at me noticing my actions, but said no words.
It’s not that I did not trust my mate, but my wolf was jealous of her long legs and flawless skin. She had perfect wavy black hair that flowed down her back, not a stray hair in sight. When I looked over at her, I felt as if I myself could go weak at the knees from the entrancing look in her eyes... Feeling the effects she had on me, I felt like I needed to present my claim on Dimitri. I could see the corner of his mouth tilt up ever so slightly as the realization hit him.
Each pack member froze and watched as we walked up to the pack house. Like me, most of them likely had never seen a vampire in person. Only the experienced warriors had a knowing look on their faces. They looked more surprised that she was here rather than that of her existence.
We entered the grand log cabin style pack house and made our way up the stairs to Dimitri’s office. Gamma Alec was already waiting when we arrived. Beta Jason, who followed soon after us, closed the door behind him, joining the rest of us as we found our seats among the chairs and sofa placed around the room. Dimitri sat on the loveseat along one wall allowing me to sit close to him, making the physical contact my wolf demanded at the moment.
Dimitri spoke first, “This is my Luna, Sonja.” He patted my leg with his hand, resting it on top of my thigh when he was done. “My Beta Jason,” he used his thumb to point to the chair to his right. “And my Gamma Alec.” He pointed across with his index finger to Alec.
“You informed me at our boundary a little of why you are here. Please start at the beginning so that my pack mates can have the whole story.”
“My name is Miroslava, but I go by Mira now. This is my son Garridan. We have come to you for help. I am friends with Luna Eva of the Moonfall Pack. I believe she is your sister, Alpha Dimitri?”
“She is. How have you two become friends?”
“I had befriended her when my beloved, Blazh, and I lived in the town nearest to their pack. I was with child at the time and she took pity on my long pregnancy. She knew that it is hard for us to stay in one place when we are with child as we are pregnant for two years. She offered a place within her pack so that we would not have to keep moving around. Around six months before Garridan was born, Blazh decided that it was time for us to move on. He had wanted the birth to be a private affair between the two of us, celebrating the addition to our own family on our own. Though we were thankful for their welcoming nature, we could not hide out there forever.”
“What type of help do you need from us?”
“Luna Eva had told me how your pack was powerful and that you hired out your services. I find myself in need of those services now. I am willing to pay whatever your fee is.”
“You still have not told us what it is you are requesting from us?”
Mira looked at the window and I could see the glimmer of a tear in her eye. She wiped her eye not allowing it to free itself when she looked back at us. “Just over a month ago, we were attacked in our home. They came during late morning. I was feeding Garridan when I heard our backdoor being kicked in. Brazh went flying out of our bedroom and rushed to where the noise had came from. There was a flurry of sounds that came from that room. I heard all sorts of growls, sounding like several types of animals. .”
The pain on her face was unbearable to take in as she continued sharing with us, “Brazh called out to me to run. I ran down the hall to the bedrooms. I tore open the window in Garridan’snursery and took off. We flew over our back fence and I used my speed to run us to safety. I heard someone chasing me but I did not dare looking back. I was afraid I would trip or run into something. We never use our speed out in the open in fear that a human will see us, but it was all that I could do to protect my son.”
“We had always had a back up plan wherever we moved just in case we had to separate. I followed the plan we had set up when we first arrived in Oregon. I made my way up the coast until I reached a small motel on the other side of the Washington border. I waited for weeks, but Brazh never came.”
She took a moment. I could see her struggling. “I went to look for him. When I went back to our house, I…I found him. He never made it out. He had been torn apart. I knew I had to get out of there so I took off. Whoever attacked us must have been watching the house because I realized that I was being followed. I dumped my car in the forest and ran as fast as I could making it to the California border. That is when I remembered Luna Eva telling me that the Eclipse pack was in northern California too. I took it as a sign and found my way here.”
“Do you have any idea who was following you?” Jason asked her.
“They were in a black SUV They followed us all of the way out of the city. They were not being secretive. I could tell they were large. Based on their size and their scent, I believe that they were shifters, but I could not be sure. Their smell was… off.”
“Why come to shifters if they were the ones following you?” Dimitri chimed in.
“I trust Luna Eva. She had nothing but good things to say about you. I hoped that I could trust you.”
Garridan chatted away as he played with his mother’s hair. His deep onyx eyes watched us as if he could read our souls. “We will need to verify your story. It should only take a couple of days. Give all the necessary information to Beta Jason. You can stay here until then. Luna Sonja will set you up in a room here at the pack house. Until we can assess the situation, I ask that you remain within the pack house.”
“Thank you.”
