Olivia Blake
The moment Caleb left, fear flooded my mind. I understood why he left, but it didn't stop me from holding our baby closer beneath the covers. Both Krissy and our son stayed sleeping on me as I watched the sun rise through the cloudy window pane just beyond the bed.
It was the same bed we'd mated on, and I'd thought of Caleb many times that night with a flush to my cheeks. He thought it'd been because of the fire he'd kept hot with fresh split wood but some of it could be contributed to my naughty thoughts of my mate. On the same bed where he'd made me the Luna of Silvermoon, I'd also birthed our son.
I was the Alpha's mate, the mother to his son, and Luna of Silvermoon.
I'd come to love that title quite recently and even more so when I looked down to the dozing pup on my chest. The moments after his birth would forever stay with me. Caleb's pride had seeped into the crevasses of my soul. No longer did I want to question his authority or push him past his limits, even for fun like I'd often found entertainment in doing. He'd been the only one to save me, the only one to stop Jackson, and the only constant that hadn't ever given up on me.
Being the lost cause had always been the excuse I'd been placed under. The... Olivia doesn't take anything serious. Don't mind her... girl. He'd been worthy of so much more in a mate, yet Caleb had believed in me, put up with me even. A shot in the dark, they probably said. Fate had put us together and Caleb's determination had kept us there.
My heart swelled as I cradled the baby boy in my arms. I studied the curvature of his nose and mouth, the dark hair that fuzzed his head. I saw so much of Caleb in him, it made me smile – made my commitment to my mate solidify into forever.
A loud banging on the door made my eyes rise with my heart rate.
It happened again.
“Olivia!”
It wasn't Caleb.
I stayed quiet while looking around me for a place to hide. The small cabin would not provide anything of the sort.
“Olivia, we're coming in. It's Silvermoon.”
I shut my eyes and held my breath when the door was thrown back. It couldn't be my pack. Caleb wouldn't have sent them without him.
Their boots on old wood boards shuffled about and I sunk into the bedding, holding the children closer.
“Look. He wasn't lying...” One of them muttered.
I opened an eye to look across the cabin through the sheer privacy curtain around me, where three males stood at the open door.
“Olivia.” The male in the middle approached the curtain. “We've come to get you.”
“Where's Caleb?”
“You need to get out of the bed. There's a car for you just down the trail. Here.” He pulled the curtain aside and put a bag on the bed. “Winter clothes.”
Krissy lifted her head when the thump of the bag on the bed woke her. “Olivia!” She crawled under the blankets and tucked herself against me.
“Where's Caleb?” I repeated the question.
The male rolled his eyes. “We don't have all day, Olivia.” I knew this wolf, I know I did – I just couldn't place his name. He was a patrol member but the rest wasn't coming to me.
“Where is my mate!” I demanded.
He growled at me and it made my eyes widen in surprise. That's not how I was supposed to be treated. “Your mate is no longer the Alpha and that means, you're no longer Luna. Now, we're giving you a fair chance here because you're Silvermoon-born. We'll take you to your parents.”
The fear ripped right through me. This couldn't have been happening. “What did you do to Caleb!”
“I didn't do anything.” He hissed. “Your mate did this to himself.” His hand lifted in the direction of the others and motioned them over. “Take the pup she's holding...”
One male approached, grabbed the curtain, and ripped it down from the ceiling.
“No!” I grabbed both children tightly and Krissy started to sob. “You don't get to touch them!”
The male at the end of the bed stared at me. “Then get moving, female, and no more questions.”
I should have been crying by now but something stopped me. “Let me change.”
They all eyed each other and walked towards the door.“You have five minutes!” The slam shook the walls and a light dust fell around the babies and I.
The thought of trying to flee shifted did cross my mind. I grabbed the bag at the end of the bed and started to rip it apart to see what was inside. It had fresh clothes for Krissy and I - even the baby. Caleb must have had something to do with that. He'd told them what I needed and they'd provided.
I got the children dressed first, deciding running wouldn't work this time. I had to return with the patrol members to Silvermoon and find out what was going on – praying my mate was still alive.
“Where are we going, Olivia?” Krissy sobbed as I pulled a warm little sweater over her head.
“Back to Silvermoon.” I pulled on a pair of jeans and wool socks, tucking the large shirt into my waist line as I did.
“Where's Uncle Caleb?”
“He's... ok.” I breathed as I found a small onesie for my pup. The baby squawked when I did away with the cloth diaper and fastened a new one around him. I made sure they were both wrapped warmly, not to have a chance at being exposed to the cold and walked out onto the porch of the cabin.
The three waiting males turned to me.
“Got a bit of sense about you at least.” The male that seemed to be the higher ranking walked down the steps and led the way to the trail. Krissy hung onto my coat as I had to use both my arms to carry the newborn. The trail wasn't easy to navigate on human legs and I started to feel the pain of the birth getting to me. I paused when it got too much.
“Hurry up!” One of the males barked.
I sucked up the pain and trudged forward. Something bad had happened. I knew it. I felt it. I just really prayed he wasn't dead. Nothing could kill Caleb, I'd witnessed his strength over and over.
I watched the male in charge as he blazed the trail for us in the deep snow. He glanced back at us. “Keep up!” His brown wispy hair swept over his receding hairline. I knew him then. He was an older pack male, my father often invited him over for poker nights. When I was younger, he used to try to tickle me in passing. His name was Bryon and if this wolf had been promoted, it meant things had without a doubt gone sour since our leave from Silvermoon.
I clutched the pup to my chest and quickened the pace. I was starting to feel the cold through the tight jeans, and Krissy was shivering at my side. I was thankful to see the end of the trail when a black truck came into view that I knew very well. It was Caleb's truck.
The back door was opened by the one male that had yet to sneer or bark at me. of course, he was much younger than the other two. “Luna...” His voice was a whisper as he helped me into the truck.
“Thanks.” I pulled Krissy inside the familiar smelling vehicle. The child reached under the passenger seat to her elbow and pulled out a toy. “Squishy!” her eyes brightened upon the discovery.
My heart sunk in my chest, meeting the bottom pit of my stomach with it's despair.
“See you back there.” Bryon slammed the driver's side door as he waved off the two other wolves, who shifted and ran out of view.
The question hung on the tip of my tongue as the truck bounced down the road. When I couldn't hold it in any longer it burst out of my mouth. “Is he alive?”
Bryon glanced at me in the rearview mirror. “For now.”
It wasn't the best answer but it meant Caleb still lived.
“Your mate is the single reason why we shouldn't allow Alphas to choose their replacements. Needs to go back to the old way of things...” he muttered about his last sentence and I knew what he spoke about. The old school way for a pack to get a new Alpha was the barbaric overthrowing of that male in a fight to the death.
“Oh my god...” I breathed, now I got it. “You've challenged him.”
“No, get it right, the whole pack has.”
“But why...” My voice cracked in the emotion. “He's a good Alpha.”
“He risked the pack for what... a she-wolf and her pup?” Bryon snorted. “You should feel angry too, he risked your life as well.”
“He didn't know. They played him.”
“Outsiders need to go through a background check. He voided that check on Lara. I've seen the paperwork. She never would have passed our regulations. He plays God.”
“It's his niece, he was just trying to protect her.”
Bryon's eyes flashed in the mirror to Krissy as she played with her toy. “She's a minor with slaughtered parents. An orphan. We'll have to deal with that issue as well now.”
I growled. “She'll stay with me.”
“The point is,” Bryon pulled the truck up to the gates of Silvermoon. “Your mate is a sorry excuse for an Alpha. I can't wait to see him die during the matches.”
I hugged my baby close and looked away from Bryon with tears. When the truck pulled into the territory, I kept my mouth shut and my eyes on the pup. He bounced his cheek when I kissed him. Things had gone from amazing to awful in a point of a second and I still hadn't quite made sense of it.
The vehicle pulled into a driveway and stopped so hard I had to put my foot out to not be thrown forward. I looked up to see my parent's house just beyond the bumper of the truck. Their old little house, with it's overgrown bushes and unpruned willow tree was a welcomed sight.
Bryon jumped out and opened the door for me. I made sure to slip more against the vehicle and away from him but he took my chin in a quick moment. “Maybe once this is all done, you'll see the value in being with a more... mature male.”
My eyes burned fire at the thought. “I don't think so--”
“Perhaps you should be more grateful, Olivia. I did approve your return to Silvermoon and the allowance of the pups.”
“I want to see my mate.” I demanded as the front door of the house opened.
His lifted hand hesitated from reaching out to touch a lock of my dark hair blowing in the wind. “You won't get the clearance. He's Silvermoon's prisoner now.”
“Olivia!”
Bryon stepped back when my mother came running for me. He smiled warmly at my parents, like he hadn't just had his grimy hands all over me.
“Mom...” I let her hug me and buried my face in her shoulder. The pup pouted in my arms.
“Oh!” My mom parted from me and looked down at my son. “What a beautiful baby...”
Bryon cleared his throat. “Perhaps it's best to get the pups inside and out of the cold.”
I glared at him. Suddenly he cared about them. No, lying weasel of an excuse for a man...
“Yes, yes!” My mother hurried us inside as my father walked past to say thank you to Bryon. What a service he'd done, so deserving of all the praise. I rolled my eyes as I looked away from the scene.
“Where's this?” Krissy asked as my mother took off her coat.
I looked down at the little girl. “This is where I grew up. There's some toys up in my room if you want to go see.”
“Oo!” Krissy nodded and I pointed in the direction for her to go. She dashed up the stairs and I took a moment to watch her disappear into the safety of my childhood home.
“We've heard everything.” My mother said, as she took the baby to hold while I stripped my coat. “It's unbelievable. There was a vote late last night, the pack decided Bryon would be in charge till Johnathan is recovered. Hopefully, in time for the Alpha challenge.”
I turned to face her, my coat clutched in my arms. “John's alive?”
“Yes, he survived the attack.”
“Oh, thank God!” My lungs felt like they may collapse. I gasped for a bit of breath in the shock. “Where is he? Can you take me to him?”
My mother blinked at me in surprise.
“I need to see Caleb. I know John will approve that.”
She shook her head while patting the pup's back. “You don't want to go into the cells, Olivia, they're... horrible.”
“I don't care, I want to see my mate.” The clench in my jaw made a headache bud across my temple.
The front door opened and my father stepped inside, brushing off the frigid cold. “So glad you are safe now, Liv.”
I couldn't waste one more moment on small talk. “Dad, take me to Johnathan.”
“The Beta?” He lifted his brow in surprise, then shook his head. Another no. “Only higher ranks are approved to see him, at the moment--”
“I'm the fucking Luna!” I exploded from not being able to deal with this run around any longer.
My father sighed and took my shoulder. “No, Liv, you're not anymore.”
It was one thing to hear that from Bryon but a whole other to hear it from my father. If he didn't believe I was the true Luna anymore, then no one did. I sucked back the sob building and took my pup out of my mother's arms to head toward my room.
“Are you hungry?” My mother called but I didn't answer as I shut my bedroom door. Krissy continued playing contently on the floor with a bunch of random toys she'd pulled from the corners of my room and perhaps, my overfilled closet. I sat down on the bed of frilly pink sheets and looked around me. I'd come so far, grown up so much, and to be back in my kid bedroom as just another pack member, was a blow I couldn't take.
I had to get to Johnathan and I would figure out a way to make it happen.