Prologue
Cries of a pregnant woman fill the halls of an enormous mansion. She grips her swollen belly as another wave of forceful contractions hits her. The woman calls for her husband and hears the echo of his boots in the hall. He burst through the door to find his wife gripping their bed post for dear life.
“What’s wrong, my love?” He says with furrowed brows.
“It’s time.” She says, gripping her enormous belly.
“Are you sure? You aren’t due for another month.”
“I am one hundred percent sure! My water just fucking broke!”
Without waiting for his reply, she waddles her way to the door of their spacious master bedroom. The man runs to help her. At the bottom of the stairs, another wave of contractions arrives, and her knees buckle. The man tightens his hold on her as he tries to help keep her from hitting the floor.
“Are you alright?” He asks, rubbing small circles on her back.
“No, I am not fucking alright. Your child is currently trying to rip my vagina in half!” She says, scrunching her face up.
Her attitude causes him to wince as he helps her out of the house and into a black SUV with a fresh wax and tinted windows. Once he has her situated, he rushes back inside the house to grab the hospital bag, diaper bag, and their two-year-old son. It takes the man several minutes to decipher the safety belts on the car seat. Once the child’s buckled, he gives him a high five before making a beeline for the driver’s seat. Just as he is clicking his own safety belt into place, another contraction hits his wife, prompting him to drive.
Cautious of the dense trees, he speeds down the narrow road before pulling up to the pack hospital. Before he can release his safety belt, nurses arrive with a wheelchair, ready to help extract her from the car. The man and his son stay close behind as the nurses escort them through the double doors. A short elevator ride takes them up to the already prepared alpha suite. The nurses set everything up from the heart monitor to the tiniest of tools that they will need to deliver the Alpha’s second son.
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After a brief wait, the doctor, a short stature, thin, black-haired, caramel skinned woman with brown eyes, enters the room greeting the expecting family.
“How are you feeling, Luna?” She asks with a slight bow.
“Like my vagina is being ripped apart. Get him out of me now.” She says in a sharp tone.
“Okay Luna, I need to examine you and see how dilated you are.” The doctor says, as she pulls on a pair of sterile latex gloves.
The woman nods, giving her permission to continue, and the doctor positions herself on a stool between the stirrups. She lifts the drape covering her luna’s privates before gently inserting her fingers into the woman’s vagina.
“Good news you’re eight centimeters, so we shouldn’t have to wait much longer to push. Your labor appears to be moving along quickly.”
Once finished with the exam, she removes her gloves and washes her hands. With a small bow towards the Alpha, she excuses herself from the room. He acknowledges her sign of respect while lowering himself into a chair beside his wife. The two-year-old stumbles over to his father and raises his arms up, babbling incoherently. The man picks him up and places him in his lap without removing his eyes from the nurses who monitor his Luna’s vitals and his baby. Less than an hour later, the doctor returns to check the expectant woman’s progress.
“Alright, you’re ten centimeters. With your next contraction, we are going to push.”
“Oh, my goddess, finally! Get this child out of me.”
Not long after, her next contraction arrives and the doctor moves into action.
“On the count of three, I want you to give me a big push. Ready, one, two, three, push!”
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The sound of a newborn’s cry fills the air as the doctor lays the baby on the chest of the exhausted Luna. The Alpha may be in awe of his wife, but that doesn’t stop him from sensing the nervous energy the doctor gives off. He excuses himself, strides over to the doctor, and gestures for her to follow him outside.
“What’s the matter, doctor?” He says, with furrowed brows.
“Alpha, your child is a girl.”
“What! Impossible! Lunas cannot bear female offspring.”
“I know, sir, but I am one hundred percent sure that baby is a girl. I know it doesn’t happen, but it did. We should keep this under wraps. It’ll draw the attention of other packs. And I definitely don’t mean the good kind.” She says, swallowing the lump forming in her throat.
With clenched fists, he walks back into the room, finding his wife has discovered the gender of their child. Her eyes are alight and a soft smile graces her lips instead of the confused look he expected.
“Faye Marie Ryker.” The Alpha’s wife says without taking her eyes off her sleeping angel.
“What?”
“That is what we should name her.”
As his wife lays the little one in his arms, she opens her eyes and his heart completely melts at the sight of the sea-foam green eyes that match his own.
“Faye Marie Ryker.” He says with finality as he smiles down at his daughter.
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Two years later........
“Where the hell is my daughter!!” The Alpha says as he slams clenched fists on his desk.
“Alpha, we are not sure. The children were playing outside at the daycare when the rouges attacked. Now she is nowhere to be found.” The Beta says, rubbing his neck.
The Alpha charges him, grabs him by the throat, and slams him into the wall.
“Send out a search party immediately. I swear to Goddess if you don’t find her, I will have your head!”
“Yes Alpha.”
Day after day, search parties scour the territory and adjacent land. The interrogation and execution of rogues proves unsuccessful. Lead after lead has led to dead ends, with dwindling hope of finding the Alpha’s daughter. Severe depression plagues the Luna, and she cannot care for herself, let alone their four-year-old son. The Alpha’s obsession with finding his missing daughter has caused conditions within the pack to deteriorate. Worry for their beloved alpha grows as they watch him descend into insanity. Pack members pray to the moon goddess for the safe return of the Alpha family’s daughter and the future of their once thriving home. However; it’s not long before things spiral out of control and the Alpha snaps. He kills his Beta, which officially starts the reign of terror that gives the Silvermoon pack its reputation as being the most cruel pack in the country.
