Ezra helped me meld the scattered pieces of myself. He gave me some new ones from himself that he would never ask back, and I forged some from who we were together.
I had the hardest trouble sorting the pieces of what I used to be, what I was now, and what I could have been.
I spent so much time trying to mold a persona, so much time perfecting it; when it was gone, it was both freeing and terrifying.
Because I did not expect to have to learn who I was underneath it, the raw, confused, jumbled bits that were left of me.
And I could not mesh them together.
Was there a part of me that wanted to kill? It was an instinct now to start plotting the deaths of all the Alphas who said no to me during the challenge.
I couldn’t understand if that was an instinct part of me or something I learned, that I created, or maybe someone else created in me.
It was a jarring and difficult thing to try to piece yourself together from fragments, and I would only wish it on my enemies.
Because it left me hollow, frustrated, and confused.
But I knew a few things, and I clung to them. I made them the steel rods of my backbone, and I tried to build out from them.
I knew Ezra, and I knew he would be there to help lead our pack. I knew Blood Moon was mine and it always had been, but reclaiming it gave me a further tie.
I knew I would protect rather than harm. Unless necessary. And then… well then, I could and would revel in it.
The rest of me would come back, or I would make it from shards and chips of things along the way.
I might never be entirely whole, but I could patch myself up enough to make sense of myself—I hoped.
_____
Amelia was a savior of sorts. She kept things running with The Omegas and the packhouse, ensuring there was enough food to feed everyone.
A note came not long after we started clearing the place out I received a note.
The story of your bravery has reached us. If you are willing, I will send a construction company down to assist you at no charge.
Another heir claiming back their pack, Isla of Silver Moon Stone
My first instinct was to deny the help, but Ezra insisted that I accept. He told me I would do the same, and I would have if I had those resources, but accepting help with nothing in return felt wrong.
There wasn’t much heavy construction either way, at least with the foundation. The bones of the packhouse stayed strong. Even with that unsettling magic Miles had formed, the carnage of that fateful day, and the windows and doors left open, most of the damage had been superficial.
But while they were there, Ezra asked about everything internally; I wasn’t sure of the exact terminology to be updated to modern standards.
I was showing Amelia the new kitchen she helped design, the first thing that was fully renovated.
The stones were dark but the windows were made larger, ample space, and new industrial appliances were stationed around the large room.
“Do you think you can work with this?” I asked Amelia.
“Oh yes, I do.” She clasped her hands together and spun around. “It’s even better than I imagined.”
“Good.” I beamed at her, still overjoyed she agreed to stay on as lead Omega here.
“Is my office near here, too?” she asked.
I paused a the door. “If you would like,” I told her. “I haven’t figured that out yet, but it can be arranged.”
“I’ll make sure to keep it unlocked if you need… if you need anything.” She winked at me, and it stilled my heart.
I closed the door with clammy hands.
She knew…? To some extent, she knew.
____
The packlands had been ready before I was ready to let everyone in.
I was hesitant—scared.
Worried the new memories would erase the old, that too much would change. But I knew once I got past the strangeness of it all, once the people the would fill the halls were no longer strangers, the new memories would live beside the old.
So, the day came when the pack was moving, my pack was moving, to Blood Moon permanently. I was incredibly nervous even though every single one of them had proven uself in re-building. This was not new territory for them but welcoming them officially…
I did not know if it was the truth or my own emotions projecting on the lands but they not only were brought back to their original splendor but flourished further.
The trees grew thicker together, the new spring leaves already thick. The grass was emerald green, and the gardens we had planted took hold immediately. I made sure to plant a separate garden for silent juniper if I ever needed it.
I checked myself in the mirror for what felt like the hundredth time, frowning at an invisible wrinkle. I breathed through my nose, placing my mother's tiara on my head, this time not as an heir but as an Alpha.
“Alpha,” my mate rumbled, reaching a hand out to me. He looked striking in his black shirt and pants, but I much preferred him in his mercenary attire.
It struck me I could not fathom the real world with him, the world outside of the bubble I was confined to, the one he helped me escape from.
This was our own place.
I stood at the top of the packhouse steps, facing an expectant crowd on a full moon. I had the recovered chalice in my hand and a dagger made by Ezra’s brothers to take the place of the ceremonial dagger we had lost.
I knew it would work. I knew my blood was the power that we needed to unite us, no matter what drew it.
“This is a bit unconventional,” Ezra started with a plastered grin that I wanted to laugh at. “There probably has not been such a shifting of packs, so we will all ask you to take your oath and then line up to join the pack.” Ezra slipped his hand around my waist.
“After, please file around the side of the packhouse,” Nolan said, his voice unwavering.
I had to admit he was good at his job; he was really good at it. He turned into someone new, but I was still wary of the bite of resentment he might have for me that even he might be unaware of.
But Aksala trusted his wolf, and I trusted her.
“When you get your bearings, and settled initially we would be honored for you to join us for a night of celebration,” Ezra said, his velvet voice surrounded the pack and his smile was made of the stars.
He removed his hand from my waist and grasped mine in his.
I did not know the official words, but I did not need them.
“I am honored to have each and every one of you stand with me, with our pack, reborn of the blood of those willing to help in our darkest time, those willing to seek truth and defend it even when it is hard, those willing to leave everything they know to seek what they feel is right. It is a sacrifice that will never go unnoticed, but now, we join as one.”
I took a shaky breath, looking at those I had collected. The trees behind them stood tall in the darkness. The protective mist was back and clung to their trunks, protecting our lands further.
“Do you vow to protect your pack members as your family?”
“We do,” the crowd responded as one, and then there was silence.
“Do you vow to uphold the new path we create together, the mix of ancient and modern, new and old?” I asked.
“We do.”
“Do you vow to stand up for what is right even if it might be against your own pack, your own blood, to help preserve good?” I asked.
A pause, these were not the words, not the tradition to vow to put your Alpha and Luna above all else.
These were new, these were mine, these were ours.
“We do!” they finally chanted, louder than before.
I smiled at them all, filled with pride. Ezra and I walked hand in hand down the steps to welcome our pack officially.
“I vow to protect each of you with my own blood,” I told them, cutting my palm in a deep slice.
Ezra cut his and we clasped hands, a drop of our shared blood dropped first into the empty chalice and Ezra closed his eyes a soft smile danced across his lips.
“I’m home,” he said.
One by one, they came up, Ezra placed a thin slice in their palm, and we joined hands; our blood joined and fell into the chalice of my ancestors.
I was uniting them and their histories to my line and the pack that came before them with my blood. I welcomed them one by one, both a ceremony and a new start.
With each drop, I felt the ties connect as if weaving us together, them and me, their family and mine until it mixed in a burst of tangled lines that eventually settled themselves together.
Ezra’s brothers came last. I found there were fifteen in total, and five besides Ezra chose to join Blood Moon officially, but I did not know how many of those would stay here long after we got settled. Even though they would belong here they still had freedom.
His other brother’s promised their loyalty, and I understood them not wanting to give formal ties to another so soon after they fought for their freedom. It was a terrifying thing giving another power over you, no matter the gain.
Ezra bristled next to me. I could feel his pride and warmth as I welcomed his brothers, the others standing still behind them.
When I was done I felt drained, weak. Ezra’s strong arms were around me, holding me steady, holding me to him. The moon was hazy, covered in a film of deep red. I smiled.
Blood Moon Rising - Aksala said reverently.
“You’ve done too much, love,” he murmured into my hair. “Given too much.”
I would pay any price for my pack. And if it was blood that they demanded, I would pay it; I had paid it.
Blood Moon had a new meaning to me now. It was not just a name created to instill fear, to show how formidable we were, but it was a name that suited us.
Blood held history, it held love, it held stories. Our pack, now more than ever, was woven of blood from many new packs, many new lines. They all lived on through me.
The Blood debt to my pack was paid by my enemies, by me, and by the others who joined me.
The debt was paid. Blood Moon would survive. I would survive.
The End.