WitchWolf - When Two Worlds Collide

Chapter 1

It was my twenty-first birthday. Hello 21. I wish my mom and dad were here.

I had a wonderful childhood; the best a kid could have. Demetria was the woman who raised me and made sure I had a good upbringing. She taught me everything I should know. I did not know my parents; they died 21 years ago. Today they were adding my mom’s pentacles to my pendant. It is part of our culture, you could say. Demetria gave me a rose gold chain with a flat rose gold pendant when I was younger. On the front, it has a moon and three small stones. A purple amethyst, which represents the healing crystal of the body, mind, and spirit. The second stone is an aquamarine, the light blue gemstone used for calming, soothing, and cleansing. The third is a labradorite, the stone of the night. It has a rainbow-like quality that makes it an excellent crystal for use in magical workings at night.

On the back of my pendant, there were two stars in memory of my parents.

Three stones were added to my pendant today. The first was an emerald, which stirs the soul; symbolising renewal, growth, hope, and the future. It promotes contentment and loyalty, and protects you from unfaithfulness. The second stone was a sapphire; a symbol of power, strength, kindness, and wise judgement. The last stone was a garnet, a rich burgundy-red colour that is named the ‘stone of commitment’. It is a stone of devotion, honour, love, and passion. It increases one’s sexual appetite and sensuality and helps you live according to your heart’s desires. Well, that pentacle sure had me wondering.

We were celebrating my birthday in Dudleytown where I grew up. It is a ridiculously small town, but it was enough for me. Well, it was the only place I knew, to be honest. So, here is the spin to my story, I am a witch. But I was not just any witch, I was a hybrid; half-witch half-werewolf, the first of my kind, making me not-so-popular around town.

People were friendly, but I knew they did not know what to think of me. They did not really want to find out what or who I really was, and that was horrible. So, I did not really have any friends; it was just me, Demetria, and Althea the pack healer. Althea was Demetria's friend, who helped me with my training and understanding my powers. I felt more ‘witchy’ than ‘wolfy’. Maybe it was because I barely shifted to let my wolf run free. I could not even remember the last time I went to the pack. Demetria said it was important to stay connected to both halves of me and be around my kind, but it was hard when they always appeared to be afraid. Maybe if I could just go somewhere else where people did not know what I was, it would make it easier. Anyway, the pack was not far from Dudleytown, it was in the forest close by. It was called the Dark Entry Forest . . . Weird, I know. I was in the Silver Wolf Pack, aptly named after all the alphas with white fur that shines silver in the moonlight. My dad was one of them, I have been told, and so am I. Long, silky fur covered my wolf’s body and I had icy-blue eyes. I was beautiful. If only I let her out more; the feeling of running like nothing can get to you, wind in your fur, dirt on your paws, no rules, no worries; just you and the run. It was the best feeling in the world. If only I had someone to run with.

After cake and tea, and finally getting my upgraded pendant back, Demetria and I stopped at the Dark Entry Forest to visit Althea.

She had phoned Demetria earlier and asked if we could come by. She wanted to give me a present and needed Demetria’s help with a spell or something. I was happy to see Althea, but I was uncomfortable. It would be the first time we went to the pack house, and I would be surrounded by the glaring eyes of wolves I had never seen before.

I could almost feel their eyes piercing through me. Maybe I should give them a show, freak them out, and then have a pleasant laugh. Demetria would kill me, well, if she could.

We walked through the forest talking and laughing, then out of nowhere, Demetria said: ‘I think it's time you move back here,’. My jaw dropped. ‘What! I don't want to stay here; the wolves hate me.’

‘No, they don't,’ she replied.

‘Yes, they do,’ I snapped. ‘I could tell by the way they look at me – like I'm going to devour their children or something.’

She chuckled, ‘My sweet Aloisa, they just don't know you, because you never want to come here and be part of them.’

‘Well, how could I? They killed my parents because they didn’t want to accept change.’

Demetria's face filled with sorrow.

‘I'm sorry. I didn’t mean to. I, I just . . .’

She stopped and looked at me, opening her arms. ‘I understand how you feel, but things have changed now . . . all because of your mom and dad. Aloisa, this is your pack and I think it's time you return to it.’

‘You don't have to be Luna now, but let them see you can be your father’s daughter and let them get to know you.’

I closed my eyes while we embraced. I felt so out of place here, but I loved my wolf and because I did not let her out, it made me weaker. Perhaps she was right; perhaps I should take a chance. ‘Will you stay here too?’ I asked.

‘Of course I’ll stay here,’ Althea reassured me.

I hugged her.

Chapter 2

After a long walk, we reached the pack house entrance, where we were greeted by two big buff men. They knew Demetria, but they did not know me. Well, of course, they did not know me because I had never travelled this deep into the forest before or met anyone of them. Demetria greeted the men with a warm smile and introduced me as Aloisa Bullara, Luna of the Silver Pack. The Guards were stunned and so was I.

Why would she say that? I am no Luna! Well, technically I am . . . But I do not even know if I can do this. Sure, I agreed to stay here but to be Luna? Hmm . . . Nope.

The guards looked at me and then back to Demetria. She smiled and said, ‘Your Luna has returned, and if you don't believe me, ask Alpha Peter, who is standing in during her absence.’

‘Alpha Peter?’ I was standing there with a weak smile. I clearly looked like an idiot, with confusion written all over my face.

‘No, we believe you, we just didn't expect her today,’ the one guard managed to utter. They moved out of the way and let us through.

‘What was that?’ I whispered to Demetria.

‘What was what dear?’ she replied. ‘Luna? Alpha Peter?’ She smiled at me. She was always so good to me; her smile always made me feel like I belonged . . .

‘It was the truth, wasn’t it? You are the Luna, and we shall handle all the other details once we are settled in.’

It felt like they planned all this.

Demetria stopped and turned towards me. ‘Aloisa, I have been telling you, you need to pay more attention to your wolf's side, but you never do. So, if this is the only way to help you reach your true strength, then I am here all the way. You will see it's not as bad as you make it out to be in that pretty little head of yours.’ She briefly placed her hand on my cheek before continuing down the path.

I was freaking out; my hands were sweating, my heart beating fast. Why was I so nervous?

We reached the front yard, which had a building towering over it; it looked more like a castle than a house. It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. It had three floors. People were walking all over and to my surprise not many people even noticed us – and by us, I mean me. To the side of this big house were smaller houses on the same property. The forest was dense and water gushed along the steeply inclined rocky terrain. It sits in the shadow of three separate mountains: Bald Mountain, Woodbury Mountain, and The Colt’s Foot Triplets. Because of the dense and tall woods, the forest had been given the name ‘Dark Entry Forest’. The land is not officially located in a Connecticut state forest, but sits on private land near the Mohawk State Forest and Mohawk Trail.

It truly was a breathtaking view. Demetria was looking at me as I took it all in. I felt something I never felt before but could not put a name to it. She asked me if I was okay. I said yes, and she gave me a reassuring smile. We walked to Althea's house, which was to the far-left side of the beautiful log-and-stone castle.

When we arrived, Althea was making potions in one of her rooms. She had a three-bedroom house, but only used one of them as a bedroom. The second one was used to make potions and the third one looked like a doctor's office, where she treated patients.

It had an open plan: kitchen, dining room, and living room. The living room area had chandeliers with big crystals hanging from the roof. It also had a fireplace. It looked stylish but homey. It was a simple, yet beautifully balanced living space. The house was made from logs and stone like the big pack house. All the smaller houses on the property looked like her house, resembling the pack house architecture.

She greeted us warmly and gave me a big hug, wishing me a happy birthday. She stepped back and held a finger up to her chin, looking around the living area. ‘Where did I put it?’ she asked in a soft voice. I watched as she picked up a small wrapped present and handed it to me. ‘Happy birthday, Aloisa, and welcome back. I am so happy that you agreed to stay.’ I looked at Demetria and she smiled softly.

I knew this sounded precontrived, but I just let it go.

‘Aren’t you going to open it?’ Althea asked. I sat on the soft, brownish sofa and unwrapped my present. It was a new iPhone. I needed a new phone since mine accidentally fell into a fountain two weeks ago.

‘Thank you, Althea, how did you know I needed a new phone?’

‘I asked Demetria, and she told me what happened to your old phone and that she was upgrading your pendant with your mother’s pentacles. I knew that a new phone would be perfect.’ She laughed as she told me the story. I was so lucky to have these two wonderful women in my life. It made me wonder if my mother was anything like them. She had to be; they were her life-long friends.

I asked without thinking, ‘What was my mom like?’

Demetria and Althea came and sat beside me. ‘Your mother was the kindest, sweetest person I ever knew. She was beautiful and smart, just like you,’ Althea said.

Demetria's eyes welled up as my own tears trickled down my cheek. ‘I miss her, but I don't even know her,’ I said softly, looking at my new pendant with her three stones shining alongside mine.

‘This was my dad’s pack and I also don't know him. Now this is going to be my pack someday; I don't know what to do, or where to start. Being here makes everything so real. Maybe that is why I never wanted to come here.’ I wiped a tear from my face as another fell to the ground.

‘If you are anything like your father, which I know you are, I know you will be a great, vigorous leader, and with your mother’s kind heart you will be fair. Aloisa, you are one of a kind, and I am proud of you and so are your parents.’ Demetria said, holding my hand.

We hugged and wiped our tears, while Althea made us some strong tea, and soon we were laughing and all the hurt and wonder was set to rest, for a while at least . . .

Chapter 3

After tea and catching up, Demetria looked at me and said, ‘My dear, we have to go to the pack house to settle in.’ I hugged Althea and thanked her again for my phone and turned to Demetria. We started our walk back to the pack house. I asked, ‘Why are we staying in the pack house?’

She replied, ‘Well, you will stay in your parents’ room if you want to. Being the Luna, it’s also safer for you in the pack house.’

‘Where will you stay?’ I asked.

‘I will be just a few doors down.’

She meant that I would have to stay alone in a room – my parents’ room? I did not want to make a big deal of it, so I simply nodded and smiled.

‘You will be fine, I promise. Alpha Peter had your room prepared and cleaned. No one used that room, until now. It is like new, but with a few things from your parents we thought you would like,’ she said calmly.

‘Thank you,’ I replied.

‘Whatever for, dear?’

‘For everything; for being here with me, for helping me. For everything.’ I did not know what I would have done without Demetria and Althea.

‘You are welcome, sweet child, but I will do it again. You are a blessing to all of us.’

We reached the pack house, and now it was lit up and looked even more spectacular than before.

We entered the main hall. It was unbelievable: chandeliers, flowers, beautiful furniture; and it all looked hand made. I had no words for what I was seeing. There was a tree trunk in the centre of the floor that seemed to somehow support the second floor. Stairs on both sides curved to the upper levels. People were coming and going, and all of them were so friendly. I followed Demetria as she moved through the big door behind the tree trunk. It looked like a living room space, but five times bigger; I have never seen one this big before. People were sitting on sofas watching TV; others were just talking. Demetria walked past them all, through yet another two enormous doors. This room looked like a dining room. It had round tables with blood-red tablecloths and wooden chairs. A few people were having dinner. Demetria turned to me and asked me if I was hungry. I answered that I was starving. I suppose being a wolf comes with an appetite. She pulled out a chair at one of the empty tables and told me to sit down. I sat down at the table and watched her disappear through another set of doors.

After a few minutes, she returned with two plates. She put my plate in front of me and took a seat next to me. ‘I hope this is okay, it's all that they had left.’

‘Yes, thank you,’ I replied. On my plate were two big slices of beef, sweet carrots, and rice with gravy. It smelled delicious, so we immediately dug in. I wanted to ask her a few questions that had bothered me since we arrived.

‘Who is Alpha Peter and why have you never mentioned him before?’

She placed her fork and knife gently on the plate and swallowed the portion she chewed on. ‘He is the Alpha of the Dark Wood Pack. Your Father and Alpha Peter were best friends. Your father asked him to watch over his pack until . . .’ she paused. ‘Until you were ready to take over.’

‘He left his pack to be here?’ I asked.

‘No, dear. He moved his pack here. He is going to step down soon, and then his son Griffin will take over. Hopefully, by that time you will be ready to lead your own pack.’

It stunned me. That was not what I expected. This day turned out to be very different from what I expected it to be.

‘When you're done, I'll take you to your room so that we can get some rest. Tomorrow will be a busy day. I’ll also have to leave you for a bit. I need to go and pack our things and arrange for them to be moved here.’

I swallowed my last bite and placed my cutlery on my plate. I stood to take my plate to the kitchen.

Demetria said, ‘Follow me,’ and led me to the kitchen and then back to the main hall.

This was an unexpected day, and I could feel exhaustion taking hold of me. We took the right-wing stairs to the third floor and turned left at the top of the stairs. My parents’ room was right at the end of the hall. Well, I guess I would have to get used to it as my room. Demetria said good night and headed six doors down to the right. At least she was not that far from me.

Oh, come on Aloisa, you are not a baby.

I opened the door and like the rest of this castle, this room was perfect: Wooden furniture, dressing table, a desk, chairs, a sofa, and a TV. It also had a big walk-in closet with my own bathroom, a king-size bed with a beautiful handmade base and nets covering the sides of the bed. It was so clean and well put together. I was too tired to explore the room any further. I fell onto the bed, and before I knew it, I was fast asleep.

The following morning there was a knock on my door. For a moment I forgot where I was; it took me a few seconds to remember. I opened the door and saw Demetria standing there. ‘Did you sleep all right, dear?’

‘Yes, thank you. I slept like a baby.’

‘Well, that’s wonderful. I have to leave soon but thought we could eat breakfast before I go. I also want to introduce you to Alpha Peter.’

‘But I don't have any clean clothes.’

‘Don’t worry,’ Demetria said, holding a small bag out to me. ‘There you go, all the things you need are in there. I’ll meet you in an hour.’

‘How? Actually, I'm not even going to ask.’ I took the bag and hugged her thankfully. I went to the bed and emptied the bag: Soap, shampoo, toothbrush, dryer, towel, perfume, clothes, and shoes – everything I needed to make myself look decent. After a long hot shower, I dried my long brown hair. I then put on my jeans and shirt and completed my look with my favourite Adidas sneakers. I finished just before Demetria knocked on the door.

Demetria and I went downstairs to the dining area. There were a lot more people than the night before. We went to the table at the back with all sorts of breakfast treats. We each dished up and went to sit at a nearby table.

‘So, after breakfast, I'm going to introduce you to the Alpha, and then Althea will meet us in the main hall to take you on a tour before I go.’

I nodded in agreement while chewing on a delicious pancake.

After breakfast, we went to the second floor and knocked on the first door to the right. There was a commotion in the room. ‘Enter,’ a deep masculine voice said. Demetria opened the door, and I immediately started to freak out.

‘Alpha Peter,’ Demetria said, ‘I hope we are not interrupting? I just wanted to introduce you to Aloisa Bullara, Luna of Silver Pack.’ I could feel my heart bursting out of my chest.

‘Please come in. Aloisa, we are so thrilled that you are finally here. My wife and daughter had errands to run in town, but as soon as they return, I would love for them to meet you.’

He was so friendly, and for his age, quite a looker. Something about him made me relax a little.

Then everything went downhill.

‘Aloisa, I want you to meet my son, Griffin.’

I did not even realise there was anybody else in the office until he mentioned it. I turned my head toward the moving silhouette and, BOOM, my wolf was on fire!

Chapter 4

My stomach was turning, my heart was going to jump out of my chest and my knees, well . . . I begged myself not to fall. What the hell was happening?

Griffin moved closer and out of the pale shadow. ‘Hello. Nice to meet you.’

Pull yourself together, woman.

‘Nice to meet you, too,’ I managed to utter.

He looked at me for a second, then turned to his dad, ‘If that’s all, I'll take my leave.’

Alpha Peter replied, ‘Yes, for now. We will continue later.’ My attention was stuck on this tall, gorgeous, Greek god of a guy, standing with his back to me. He had brownish, spiky hair. His eyes were golden-brown, with a jawline that could make Batman’s jawline look like jelly. Oh my word!

‘Aloisa, Aloisa.’

I snapped out of my dreamland.

‘Yes?’ I answered. It was Demetria.

‘I need to go. Will you be okay finding your way to the main hall?’

‘Yes Demetria. See you soon.’

Demetria greeted Alpha Peter and left me with him.

‘Aloisa, how was your first day back? I hope everyone treated you well?’

‘My first day was a bit overwhelming. I didn't really meet anyone, but I am incredibly grateful for what you are doing for the pack.’

He looked at me and said, ‘You look so much like her. Your mother, I mean. I can see your father in you, too. Aloisa, you will be a great Luna. I know everything is new and strange, because you don't know it all. But with time you will reach your full potential and make your pack proud. You are unique and your parents died protecting you. I'm so sorry to cut this short but I have a meeting to attend. I hope to see you ‘round.’

‘Yes. Thank you for making time to see me, Alpha Peter.’

‘Please call me Peter.’

I stood and nodded while making my way to the door. I went down the stairs to the main hall to meet Althea.

‘There you are,’ I heard a voice behind me.

I turned to see Althea walking toward me. ‘Sorry, I was just with Peter. A genuinely nice man, I have to say.’

Althea nodded in agreement and took me by the arm. ‘We should get going, there is a lot to see.’

Althea showed me the entire property: From the training yard to the gym, from the swimming pool to the entertainment room. She showed me where some pack members lived on the property. We talked about all the ranks and what all ranks stood for. As we made our way back to the pack house for lunch, my wolf started to burn up again. Althea noticed something was wrong and asked me if I was okay. I did not really know what to say as I did not even know what was happening, and then I saw him. That gorgeous, tall, muscular guy about ten feet away from me. As soon as I spotted him, he turned around and looked straight into my eyes.

‘Aloisa, are you okay? You don't look that good.’ I heard Althea say.

At that instant, he turned around and walked away with an older man and the moment my eyes broke free, my wolf cried out in pain and I started feeling rage building up in me.

‘Aloisa!’ Althea said in a concerned tone.

I snapped, ‘What!’

Althea looked at me. She was clearly confused. ‘Are you okay?’

‘Yes! I'm fine, can we just go?’

We arrived at the pack house, and I wanted to tell Althea that I wanted to be alone. But that would mean something was wrong and I did not have a good reason for just wanting to break something. So, I simply said to Althea that I was tired and just wanted to lie down for a bit. Althea wanted to say something, but I quickly turned and headed to my room.

I opened the door and collapsed onto the bed, trying to make sense of this feeling and why I was so mad. It was the first time ever that I could recall getting this mad. What was happening to me and why would it not go away?

I lay on the bed, trying to take my mind off this bursting feeling and my sulking wolf.

Then I saw a picture on the bedstand. Why did I not see this last night? It was a picture of my mom and dad. I felt a lump in my throat. Tears filled my eyes. Why my parents? Why did I have to be different? But then Peter’s words came back to me: ‘They died protecting you.’ What did he mean? How did they die? Through my teary eyes, I kept staring at the picture. I looked like my mom. We had the same long brown wavy hair; we looked about the same weight and height (a whopping 1,7 metres). My dad was big and strong; built like a fighter. He was bald with a silver beard. He had deep icy-blue eyes, like mine. They looked so happy, and that made me cry even more. It was so unfair. They were ripped away from me, I would never really know them. I fell asleep clutching my parents’ picture to my chest.

A knock on the door woke me, still holding my parent's picture. I put the picture back on the bedside table and made my way to answer the door. I opened the door and saw Demetria standing in front of me. We were the same height; she was about fifty years of age with long, dark-blonde hair and green eyes. She was beautiful and the most loving and caring person I knew.

She looked at me and opened her arms. I immediately fell into her hug and started to sob again. ‘Dear, what's wrong?’ She asked. We went inside the room and sat on the sofa.

‘I don't know what's wrong with me. I'm sad, and I'm angry, and I'm afraid. I have no idea what to do or where to start. I feel closer to my parents being here, but I have more questions than ever.’ I took a breath. Demetria barely said a word; just listened as I raved on and on.

‘Maybe I don't belong here; maybe I need to go away to just find myself without everybody having expectations of me. I don't enjoy feeling this way, Demetria. I feel like a baby and I hate it.’ I wept while Demetria wiped the tears from my face.

After a while, Demetria started to talk. ‘Aloisa, I can't tell you what to do. You need to find out who you are, and you need to find your balance. I will always be here for you and if there is anything you need to know, just ask.’

I hugged Demetria. We talked for a while and then Demetria looked at me with probing eyes.

‘Aloisa, are you sure nothing happened today? There is something about your energy, but I can't make sense of it. Maybe your wolf is blocking me. Aloisa, did anything happen today?’ Demetria asked.

‘Nothing I can recall. Maybe it was only a lot of new things in a short time. ‘

Demetria nodded, but I was not sure she agreed with me. Well, I did not know what was happening to me. All I knew, was that I was done with being afraid and done with being weak. I was the hybrid daughter of Hafthor Bullara, Alpha of Silver Wolf Pack, and Rhea Bullara, Witch of the Coven of the Silver Flock. I would make them proud.

Chapter 5

It was a week since my ‘episode’ and I had been trying to be better and to learn as much as possible. I promised myself that I was no longer going to be a weak little girl. I was a hybrid – first of my kind, and it was time to embrace it. My parents died to give me a chance in life and I was not going to make them regret it.

I had been busy the past week, but promised to have tea with Althea and Demetria later in the day.

I met Alpha Peter’s wife, Melia, and their daughter, Mira. They were genuinely nice; in fact, I could see myself being friends with Mira. She had long, dark-brown hair and was 18 years old. She had brown eyes and was smaller than I. Mira had an extremely outgoing personality and I felt more energetic when we were together. Since Demetria was helping Althea in the health centre, I had mainly been hanging out with Mira and also with Silver Pack Beta, Alex. He was about 45, tall, and muscular. He had a wife and two children. His wife, Abby, was such a sweet lady. To my surprise Demetria was right; maybe I was just too scared that people would not accept me. I felt more at home here than ever. Peter and Griffin were out of town on Alpha business. I still could not get around my mixed feelings for Griffin. Just before they left, I ran into Griffin at the gym. He looked so good all covered in sweat, but as soon as he saw me, he bolted like I had a disease. Well, I could not make them all accept me and, clearly, he thought I were an abomination. I just could not figure out why my wolf got so upset and why my witchy side wanted to burn everything down. I really needed to talk to these two . . . I giggled at my thoughts. Alex had helped me to learn a lot. Since Peter had his own Beta, I got Alex to teach me everything I needed to know. Alex said I was born to do this. We talked about boosting my ego. Luna was actually not too much to handle, but all the meetings and discussions and alliances sometimes made my head spin. Alex said it was like being a parent to 50 plus children. At least he had a sense of humour.

After gym today, I headed back to my room to freshen up to meet Demetria and Althea. I barely saw them those days, so I was glad that we could meet for tea. After tea, I went back to training. I did not have a lot of wolf experience since I never had anyone to help me to train and I was too stubborn to come here before.

I went upstairs to my room and took a shower to soothe my aching muscles. Alex had no mercy when it came to training. I had so many bruises that I looked like a Smurf, well a purple one at least. Being a hybrid, I healed much faster than the rest of my pack. My senses were also more heightened than theirs. I could run faster; my sense of smell was stronger, my hearing was also much better. It was like I were a super werewolf. With the right amount of training, I would be able to defend myself in wolf form; not just with magic . . . Not that I ever needed to, but one never knows.

After showering, I put on a light blue, strappy summer dress with silver sandals. I put my hair up in a messy bun and put my pendant on. Sometimes it felt like this thing was not working – especially with all my PMS these days.

As I arrived at the dining room, I saw that Demetria and Althea were already at the table. I took a seat at the table. We talked and drank tea and caught up on the week’s events. It was so nice to take a break and just to talk. I felt so relaxed, so happy in that moment. Then it started again.

I felt my heart racing, my breathing getting heavier, and I could feel myself searching the room.

There he was, the man who made me lose my sanity. What was he doing here? He was not supposed to be back until the next day. I had tried my best to avoid him at all costs since we clearly could not stand each other. I tried my best to keep my composure and not let anybody notice my racing pulses. I continued talking and laughing and fortunately I managed to stay focused. I could feel his eyes on me, but I did not dare look at him, as I knew it would just make everything worse.

I pretended not to notice him and continued our conversation. Demetria said something about my dress and that I looked pretty wearing it.

At that moment, I heard an ‘Urgh’ sound that definitely did not come from any of us. ‘Typical women.’ It was Griffin's voice, clearly, and I looked at him, but his attention was not on us. He was facing his sister who was seated across from him. Mira was sitting with her back to me. I could feel the rage building in me.

What was his problem? If he did not accept me, fine, but don't be an ass. Stay out of our conversation, you asshole.

I heard small clattering sounds coming from the table and I looked down to see the cutlery moving on the table, my pendant glowing. Althea took my hand and whispered something. Everything stopped. No one saw any of this, except the three of us. Both Demetria’s and Althea's eyes were glued to mine, searching for answers.

‘What just happened?’ Demetria asked in a very low voice.

‘I think it's time to take this party to my place, ladies,’ Althea said, looking around. Of course, it was not safe to talk here; everyone here had super hearing. If they wanted to listen in on our conversation, like that dog who was three tables away from us, it would be easy. We gracefully stood up and made our way to Althea's house.

When we reached Althea's house, I was still not sure what happened a few minutes before. All I knew was that I wanted to smack that idiot in the face and tell him to get some manners.

‘Aloisa, are you okay, child?’ Althea asked me, taking both my hands in hers.

‘I think so,’ I replied.

‘What just happened?’ Demetria asked again.

‘I'm sorry I didn't mean to do that. I was just so angry at that idiot listening in on our conversation. I mean it's fine. He really doesn't have to like me, but to be that rude. Who the hell does he think he is?’

Althea and Demetria looked at each other and then back to me. I was still babbling on how mad he made me, pacing up and down. My pendant started to light up again.

‘Aloisa, calm down dear. Who are you talking about?’ Demetria asked.

‘Griffin,’ I hissed between my teeth.

They both looked at me for a while, with no expression on their faces, till I asked, ‘What?’

‘You want to tell me that you nearly destroyed the dining room because Griffin listened in on our conversation and that made you this mad?’ Althea asked.

Well, if she put it that way, it sounded weird. But still. ‘Yes, and his unwanted comment,’ I answered.

‘Is it the first time this happened?’ Demetria asked.

I replied, ‘Yes, the first time he was this rude. Usually, he bolts the moment he sees me.’

‘Okay but is this the first time you got this mad at him?’ Demetria asked again.

‘Well yes . . . and no. I get mad at him every time I see him! But today was the first time my pendant lit up, and well, the dining room,’ I looked down.

Althea asked, ‘Aloisa, does your heart start beating faster when you see him or when you're near him?’

‘Yes . . .’

‘Does your wolf get sad when he leaves?’

‘Yes. What’s wrong with me?’

Demetria and Althea started laughing, and I was totally lost.

‘Aloisa, you have found your mate,’ Demetria said with a warm smile.

‘My what?’

‘We weren't sure how it would happen with you, because you are a hybrid and even íf it would happen. I felt something that day in your room but wasn’t sure what it was. Everything makes sense now. Oh, this is so wonderful!’

‘Excuse me! I don’t see any wonder in this. And are you two losing your crystals?’ I asked incredulously. ‘I can’t stand the guy and clearly, he can’t stand me. Now you're saying we are mates. I can't believe this, this is bonkers!’

Althea came closer and said, ‘The two of you are just being stubborn. Beating about the bush won’t make this go away. It makes sense that it would be him.’

‘Why?’

‘Did we tell you how your parents died?’

‘Yes, but very vaguely.’

‘Come sit down. I think we need to have this long-overdue conversation.’

Chapter 6

Althea’s point of view.

‘In 1988 your father met your mother in the forest. At first it wasn’t a date. In those years, no supernatural creature was allowed to love another supernatural creature, except their own kind.

‘But your mother fell head over heels for your father. I know because she told me. I told her that she was crazy and that nothing could ever come of it.

‘Your mother was a dreamer, and also a believer in love at first sight. She went to the same spot every day, hoping that he would come again, but he never did. Your father was the Alpha, and knew it would not be taken well by his pack if he broke the pack rules.

‘So, after a few weeks, your mother stopped going to “their spot” and accepted the fact that she would never see him again. One night your mother went down to the river, and there your father was, sitting on a rock, looking over the river and in the distance. He saw her, and that was the first time they spoke to each other. That spot became their new meeting spot, and with the weeks passing by they just fell deeper and deeper in love.

‘One day your father told your mother that he was going to change the rules and that in his opinion the rule that supernatural creatures of a certain kind may not love one of a different kind should have never been a rule because you can’t put limitations on love. He told her that he couldn’t go on one more day without her and asked her to marry him. I never saw your mother so happy in all my time on this earth.

‘Of course, she said yes. Your father went back and had a meeting with a view of discarding that rule. For weeks the wolves were unhappy with your father's decision. A few wolves left your father's pack and went rogue or joined another pack. The coven booted your mother when they heard of this “madness”, but she didn't care. They didn't care; they had each other.

‘After six months they got married and the wolves even accepted your mother.

‘We had a spot by the river where we would meet and talk; your father would even join us at times.

‘All was starting to turn to normal, then your mother told Demetria and me one day that if anything should ever happen to her and she was with child, that we would make sure the child would be looked after and that we had to make sure the child would be taught properly if he or she was a witch.

‘Of course, we agreed but were worried about where all this came from. But she never talked about it after that one day. It was 1989, March 21, when a few werewolves forced their way into the pack house and entered with one intention, to kill your mother and father. It was the worst day, but also a day of blessings.

‘All the wolves in the Silver Pack at that time were defending your mother as much as they defended your father. Demetria and I loved your mother and father, and when we heard about this brutal attack, we came to help and no one in the Silver Pack was against us. We fought side by side, but they were strong and got to your mother and bit her, your father felt your mother slipping away and in that moment of vulnerability, he was overpowered and injured badly. After the rogues left your parents for dead, they ran away and never returned.

‘Demetria and I went to your mother and tried everything we could to help her. Your father, barely able to walk, sat down with your mother. With your mother's last breath, she told your father that he was going to be a father and that she was sorry she hadn’t told him before. She told him she had heard of all the threats that he had received over the months, and in fear of someone finding out about you, she put a hiding spell on her pregnancy. After this news, she passed away peacefully. Your father was torn in two. They sent word to Alpha Peter, who arrived too late, but not too late for your father's dying wish.

Alpha Peter arrived seconds before your mother passed away, and your dad told him what your mother had said. Demetria and I delivered you and you were the most beautiful baby any of us had ever seen. Your father held you and spoke to your mother as if she were still there with him. He told her how beautiful you were and that you were a little of both of them. We could feel your magic and your dad could feel the wolf and that is how we knew that a new beginning had just been set in motion.

‘Your father turned to Alpha Peter and made him promise to stop this war between creatures and to protect you, and that Demetria and I had to teach you the covens’ way until you were ready and until it was safe for you to return to the pack as Luna.

‘Alpha Peter promised to do what your father asked, and minutes later your father died while holding you in his arms. You see, your father's wounds were severe, and the loss of your mother, the love of his life, his mate, made it all just too much to come back from.

‘Alpha Peter gave your mother and father a proper burial and every werewolf and witch was invited. From that day on an old rule was rewritten on both sides – that all creatures are the same with unique powers, but the same beating heart.

‘I stayed behind and helped the wounded, and that is how I ended up at the pack house. Demetria took you to town and raised you as her own. I would try to visit as often as I could. No one knew about you until you reached the age of 18. Alpha Peter also came and visited you. He brought you your mother's pendant after the burial so that you had something of her. He also made sure no one touched your parents’ room until you came back.

‘Griffin was about three years old when you were born. He always wanted to go with his father to visit you. Griffin adored you from the first moment he saw you, and I think that is where the bond began. Alpha Peter stopped visiting you when his children got too big, and for your own safety.

‘I know this is not what you wanted to hear, but it's important that you heard the entire story about your parents. I hope you can find it helpful in your own life story.’

Chapter 7

Tears were rolling down my face, it felt like I could not breathe. I had to get out of here; and I had to go now. I shot up and in a swift movement, I jumped out of the door. My dress was ripped from my body, revealing the white fur covering it. I heard Demetria call after me, but I had to leave. I had never before ran so fast. I passed people who were staring at me. I did not care, all I wanted to do was to run and get away from all this pain and heartache. I kept running, tears streaming from my eyes. I passed Alex, whom I was supposed to meet for training, in the training yard. I did not stop, I just ran, and ran, and ran on until I was deep in the forest. I started to slow down when I saw the river ahead. Could this be my parents’ spot? I slowly went closer and looked around. It was a beautiful landscape. So peaceful . . . breathtaking. A big rock caught my eye; it was against the stream, but high enough to look out over it all. I knew this had to be the spot. I jumped on the rock and I howled, trying to get rid of all the hurt. I howled out again in pain. Collapsing on the rock I just lay there crying, this is all I had left; a rock where they made memories of which I could never be a part.

I heard something moving between the trees and lifted my head. I heard a small howl and then a big black wolf appeared out of the forest. I jumped to my feet, not sure what to do, and then the black wolf stopped. He had golden eyes; they were mesmerising. I saw the wolf putting something down on the ground. He kept staring at me, but I was not sure what he wanted or if I had the energy to move. He picked the parcel up again and slowly came closer to me; all I could do was look at him. He placed the parcel down again at the bottom of the rock and backed away. I slowly moved to the edge to see clothes. I looked up again, and the wolf was moving in behind a tree and a few moments later he reappeared, dressed. Griffin? You had to be kidding! What was he doing here?

‘Will you get dressed so that I can take you back; it's not safe out here alone for a girl.’

Fuck you Griffin, I thought while showing my teeth.

‘Calm down, Princess. I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that you're alone, and it's not safe or wise to be alone in the forest,’ he explained.

I did not have the energy or the willpower to fight anyone at that instant. I jumped off the rock and picked up the clothes and moved in behind a tree. I changed back to human form and got dressed. They were not my clothes; they were too big, but at least I could adjust the sweatpants.

I came out from behind the tree to see Griffin still standing where he was before I left to change.

‘You okay?’ he asked.

‘I'm fine, and what does it mean to you anyway?’ I snapped. My wolf growled at me with dislike.

‘Demetria asked me to check on you.’

‘Well, I'm fine. I just need to be alone.’

‘It doesn’t sound like you’re okay; every wolf in the forest could hear your howls.’

‘Well, thank you for the clothes; you can go now. I’ll help myself back, but I'm not ready to go yet.’ I could feel rage building up in me and since I was not in a very stable place, this might not end well.

‘I can’t leave you here alone like I said it's not sa . . .’

I snapped at him before he could finish the sentence. ‘I'm very capable of protecting myself,’ and with one bend of my hand, I snapped a tree branch next to him in half.

‘You can go,’ I said while I climbed back onto the rock.

‘For goodness’ sake, woman.’

I looked at him, but he was not even looking at me.

‘Will you stop doing that; it's very annoying.’ I scowled at him.

‘What?’ he asked, surprised.

‘You do know I can hear what you’re whispering, also when you're eavesdropping and making rude comments.’

He looked at me, ‘You heard that?’

‘Yes, I did, and that was rude, and what you just said now was rude too. I don't have the time for this, I had to listen to how my parents died, and how . . . Never mind, I actually don't have the energy to do this dance, so please just let me be.’

‘It explains the howls, I . . . I mean, everyone felt that. I'm sorry about your parents and I'm sorry that you have to go through this.’

I looked at him in disbelief, ‘For almost two weeks you have been a complete asshole, and now you want to be this nice, charming guy? Screw you!’ My wolf began growling at me again.

He laughed, ‘Charming?’

Of course, that is the only part he heard. ‘If I leave with you, could you please keep your mouth and mind shut?’

‘I could, but I don't know if I want to.’

My eyes turned wolf and I could feel I was about to snap his neck.

‘Okay, okay, damn,’ he said, waving his hands in the air.

I climbed off the rock and we started making our way back.

I did not realize how far I had run. We walked for almost an hour before we reached the pack house.

He kept quiet for that hour, and my wolf was happy that he was there, but not happy with me. When we stepped into the main hall, I went upstairs to my room; I was so tired I felt like I had not slept for days. When I got to my room, I jumped into the shower. I stood there for a few minutes, soaking up everything that had just happened.

I climbed out of the shower and put on some pajamas. I just melted into the bed; my eyes found the picture on the bedside table. Pain shot through my body. My heart broke into a thousand pieces learning about my parents, and my head was spinning around. Could he be my mate?

Chapter 8

Griffin's POV

Dad and I returned from our meeting a day early. Mira asked me to meet with her as soon as I returned, as she wanted to talk about my birthday party which was coming up soon. I told her that I did not want a party, but knew it was useless to try and talk Mira out of something.

We arrived at the pack house and all I could think about was the ‘hybrid’ and if I would see her the day. Oh, how she made me feel. The first day I saw her in dad’s office . . . she was so beautiful. Those piercing blue eyes, and her deep dimples when she smiled, her long wavy brown hair, and she smelled amazing. Fuck! This girl would make me lose my mind. Before we left, I saw her in the gym, which nearly gave me a heart attack. She had a body like a goddess and was even more beautiful dripping with sweat. I had to leave before I did something and she probably would have snapped me in half or torched me alive, who knows. I could not really read her. I could not tell if she felt what I was feeling, and I did not want to scare the poor girl away.

I went to my room, which was in the west wing, on the third floor. I took a shower and tried to prepare myself for all Mira’s crazy ideas. I still did not know why I was meeting her.

I went downstairs to the dining room and saw Mira sitting at the back. I walked closer and she turned around. ‘Brother, you made it,’ she said smiling.

‘Did I have a choice in the matter?’ I replied.

‘Well . . . no,’ she laughed.

I took a seat across from her and saw all the books and notes in front of her.

What did I get myself into?

‘What is all this Mira?’

‘They’re my ideas dummy, for your party!’

‘Gee whizz, Mira! It's only a birthday party, not a wedding.’

‘Well, this place could do with a party and why not go big? You are soon to be Alpha and who knows, maybe meet someone special soon, too,’ she winked.

‘Oh, don't be silly Mira. You really need to stop watching all these romantic movies on TV,’ I said, annoyed.

‘You should stop being such a prude, you're not turning 80.’

I immediately regretted coming to this torturous meeting. It was worse than sitting through a meeting for four hours, trying to convince my dad and the elders that I was ready to be Alpha.

I was so annoyed with all in front of me that I needed to take a break. I stood and told Mira I was going to get coffee. I asked her if I could get her something and she replied, ‘Juice, please.’

I went to the kitchen and made myself some coffee. We had staff to do the cooking and cleaning and serving, but I needed the time away from ‘Miss Mira’.

After I had made my coffee and poured her some juice, I returned to the dining room and sat down in my seat.

As I was about to tell Mira what I think of all this nonsense, I spotted the hybrid. My wolf was pouncing and whistling like a hound dog. I was searching for her eyes, but she did not even notice me.

I eavesdropped on her conversation, which was about Alex training her and how ‘funny’ he was. Demetria said she looked pretty in the dress she was wearing. Rolling my eyes, an ‘urgh,‘ escaped my mouth, disgusted by how impressed she was with Alex, who was so funny. ‘Typical woman,’ I whispered to myself while looking at Mira who was still mumbling on about the party. I again focused on Mira, who was now looking at me like she was waiting for an answer.

‘So, do you think Dad would mind Griffin?’

‘About what?’ I replied, confused.

‘Having the masquerade ball here? It would be so exciting, don't you think?’

‘Now you wonder what I think?’ I looked at Mira.

Mira was sitting with her back to the hybrid. We were about three tables away from them. I saw the hybrid, Demetria, and Althea stood and walked out of the dining room. Something was wrong, I could feel it.

‘Earth to Griffin. Hello, I'm waiting?’ I almost forgot about Mira.

‘I don't know. I’ll talk to him and tell you when I know.’

‘Thank you, Griffin. Glad to see you on board.’

I could not believe what I got myself into and that because my focus was on something else. Thank you, Hybrid.

I finished my coffee and then went to Dad’s office for a few things. After an hour or so, Dad and I were finished, and he thought Mira’s ‘ball’ idea was brilliant. I could not wait to tell her the wonderful news. This was going to be a disaster. On my way down, I saw people’s attention shifting to something outside. I walked toward the main doors but could not see anything, then Demetria came running in, almost running me over.

‘What’s going on?’ I asked.

‘Aloisa; she ran! I don't know where to. She’s in wolf form; I won’t be able to catch up with her!’ she replied with tears streaming down her face.

I bolted upstairs to my room to get clothes and then ran out of the door. When I reached the forest line, I undressed and changed into my wolf form. I picked up the two clothing parcels in my mouth and ran. I was trying to find her wolf form but saw nothing. It was as if she were blocking me. I was running, trying to focus as hard as I could when I heard the most painful howl I had ever heard.

‘Aloisa!’ Panic filled me, when I heard another howl.

‘Please let her be okay! Please! Please!’ I saw the river ahead and as soon as I reached it, I saw her on a big rock. She was looking at me like she knew I would be there.

She was a big snow-white wolf with those icy blue eyes. She was just as breathtakingly beautiful in her wolf form . . . and she was safe.

She jumped up on her paws, still looking at me. I dropped the parcels in front of me. I could not get through to her; I could not tell her it was okay. I thought that maybe if she could hear me, so I softly answered her howls. I looked deep into her eyes, trying to tell her it was me and that I was there to help.

But that did not seem to work. Picking up the parcels, I slowly moved towards her. I dropped her parcel at the bottom of the rock and crawled away. She moved to the edge to see what it was. I went to the nearest tree to shift back to human form and got dressed. I came out behind the tree so that she could see that it was only me and that she was safe.

‘Will you get dressed so that I can take you back? It's not safe out here alone for a girl,’ I told her. Shit, why did I say girl? She gave me the pearlies.

Yip, I deserved that.

‘Calm down Princess, I didn't mean to offend you. It's just that you're alone, and it's not safe or wise to be alone,’ I tried to explain. What the hell was wrong with me? Princess? Ugh.

She jumped off the rock and took the clothes and moved in behind a tree. Thank goodness, maybe she hadn’t heard my thoughts After a few seconds, she reappeared. My clothes were way too big for her, but at least it covered everything.

‘You okay?’ I asked.

‘I'm fine, and what does it mean to you anyway?’ she snapped. She clearly did not like me.

‘Demetria asked me to check on you.’

‘Well, I'm fine, I just need to be alone. ‘

‘Doesn’t sound like you're okay. Every wolf in the forest could hear those howls.’

I could, and they nearly broke me.

‘Well, thanks for the clothes, but I'm not ready to go yet.’

Darn, she is stubborn.

‘I can’t leave you alone and like I said it's not . . .’ She interrupted me before I could finish my sentence, ‘I'm very capable of protecting myself.’

She lifted her hand and bent it slightly and the next thing I knew, the branch next to my head snapped in two.

Note to self: do not piss her off.

She continued, ‘You can go.’ while she climbed back onto the rock.

I closed my eyes and hissed between my teeth in a very low voice, ‘For goodness sake woman.’

All I'm trying to do is help you and to keep you safe. Why do you hate me so much?

‘Will you stop doing that! It's very annoying!’

‘What?’

‘You do know I can hear what you're whispering, AND when you're eavesdropping AND making rude comments.’

Fuck.

I looked at her. ‘You heard that?’

‘Yes, I did, and that was rude, and what you just said now was rude too. I don't have the time for this. I had to listen to how my parents died, and how . . . never mind, I actually don't have the energy to do this dance, so please just let me be.’

I felt sorry for her and I wanted to hold her, smell her hair; just be with her.

‘That explains the howls, I . . . I mean everyone felt that.’

I felt it more than I should have. This woman was driving me crazy.

‘I'm sorry about your parents and I'm sorry you have to go through this.’

She looked at me, but not in a good way. ‘For almost two weeks you have been a complete asshole, and now you want to be this nice, charming guy. Screw you!’

I chuckled, ‘Charming?’ She thinks I am charming; a charming asshole.

‘If I leave with you, could you please keep your mouth and mind shut?’

‘I could, but I don't know if I want to,’ I teased.

She stared at me with her wolf's eyes.

Warning! Do not piss her off, buddy.

Waving my hands in the air I said, ‘Okay, okay, damn.’

She climbed off the rock and walked past me. We started making our way back to the pack house.

The wind was blowing softly, forcing her scent into my nostrils. Damn! This was going to be a long walk back. Even when she was upset, she was the most beautiful creature I had ever seen. I remember her as a little girl, always so friendly and her laugh; boy oh boy . . . that laugh could move planets, never mind mountains. I wanted to talk to her just to hear her voice, even if it meant her biting my head off. But I decided to let it go. She was dealing with a lot and I did not enjoy seeing her like this. It was brutal and it made my wolf furious.

After about an hour, we finally reached the pack house. We entered the main hall and before I could say anything, she went up the stairs. A part of me wanted to go after her, and as tempting as it was, I turned and walked out the door.

Chapter 9

I woke up slowly. To my surprise, no one woke me. Maybe they just had enough of all my drama. ĺ had had enough of all this drama. I had the worst headache; probably from the buckets of tears I shed, but I got up and opened the curtains. It was a beautiful day, and I needed to punch something; to get rid of all this built-up anger.

Then I got my phone and texted, ‘Hi Alex, can you help me with my training today? I need to punch something! LOL.’ I placed the phone on the desk and went to my closet. I put on some black tights and a grey tank top with my running shoes. I then fastened my hair in a ponytail and checked my phone before heading downstairs. There were two messages from Alex.

Text 1: ‘Good morning, Luna. Are you okay? Heard what happened yesterday. Yes, we can punch anything and everything you want today. LOL.’

Text 2: ‘Be at the training yard at 11:00.’

Sweet, that gave me enough time to go for a run and breakfast. Maybe I should see Demetria and Althea today. I sent a text to Demetria telling her everything was fine and that I was really sorry about yesterday. I told her that if they had time, we should go to dinner together. She immediately replied: ‘Glad you are feeling better, dear, and that sounds wonderful. See you later.’

I put my phone back on the desk and went downstairs. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, Mira came through the doors. ‘Hi Aloisa, how are you?’ she asked, concern written all over her face.

Well, I guess I asked for this question after my dramatic exit yesterday.

‘Hey, Mira. I'm fine, thanks. I just have a lot going on right now. Do you know where I can find some painkillers? My head is killing me.’

‘I have some for you; it's in my room. Please follow me.’

I followed her to her room. She went into the bathroom and came out with some pills.

‘You can have these, I have some more.’ she said, handing me a few.

‘Thank you.’

I was about to leave when she said, ‘Did you hear about the masquerade ball next weekend?’

‘No, I didn't. Why is there a ball?’

‘It's Griffin's birthday party. I had to force him to do something, so I went all out. It does not thrill him, but what the hell.’

‘Oh, that’s nice. I hope you guys have a blast.’ I turned around to leave when Mira stopped me.

‘You’re not coming?’

‘I? No. I'm not a party person.’

‘But you must come. You're the Luna, and it would look bad if the Silver Pack's Luna is not at the party. You don't have to stay long; just a few hours,’ she said very convincingly.

‘But I have nothing to wear and I don't have a mask.’

‘Neither do I, so let's go shopping this weekend.’

Money was no problem for me. I had more than enough in my account since I inherited all my parents’ assets. I just was no big spender, and did not enjoy shopping as much as normal girls my age would. Mira was looking at me, waiting for an answer.

She probably had a good point; as Luna I cannot hide in my room. ‘Yes, let's have a girls’ day out this weekend.’

Mira shouted joyfully. ‘Whoop whoop! I can’t wait! This is going to be the best party ever and WE are going to look the best.’

I laughed as Mira made funny dance moves.

I was waiting for Mira in the hallway when Griffin came out of his room. My wolf did her happy dance, and I wanted to hide. He was wearing a tracksuit, probably with the same intention I had, but since he was going, I would be staying.

‘Griffin!’ Mira called out beside me. ‘Aloisa is coming to your ball, isn’t that great?’ she smiled.

‘You are?’ he asked, looking at me.

I could feel my knees tremble again. ‘Well, if it's okay. I don't want to . . .’

‘Yes, it's fine. I mean it's nothing major.’ he said, interrupting me.

‘Okay then. Thanks for the invite.’ What am I doing? Small talk!

‘You're welcome, Aloisa,’ Mira said before Griffin could respond.

‘Griffin, are you going for a run? Aloisa can join you.’

‘No,’ I blurted out, ‘I was on my way to the gym and I should get going. Thank you again, I’ll see you this weekend. Bye.’ I basically ran down the stairs and out the door. My heart was pounding, and I had no idea what to do or what to say to Griffin.

He was still an ass, but there was something different about him since yesterday. Maybe he just felt sorry for me. Great, my mate, if he even were my mate, felt sorry for me. This remained in my mind while working out in the gym. After my workout, I went to the dining room for breakfast, scanning the place before I sat down. I could not keep avoiding him. Eventually we would have to talk or something. My wolf was jumping up and down, wanting this sooner rather than later. So, I had my breakfast and then got ready for my next workout.

I was doing well, I actually kicked Alex’ butt a few times. ‘Nice Aloisa, keep it up,’ Alex encouraged me. He pushed me away to jump on me, but I quickly moved left and then turned and jumped on his back, giving him the death grip. I was feeling so powerful.

‘Again.’

As I watched him closely to plan my attack, my wolf suddenly went nuts, and boom on the floor I went.

Alex laughed, ‘What happened?’

Clearly, I knew what was happening. I could feel my wolf crying out to him. I could not see him, but I could feel him watching me. ‘I'm sorry, I don't know.’ Lame excuse, but what else was I supposed to say? As Alex helped me up, I dusted myself off.

‘Well, you did a good job today. Same time tomorrow?’

‘Yes, that’s perfect.’ Alex left.

I could still feel his eyes on me but had no idea where he was. I was on my way to my room to take a much-needed shower. Just as I approached the pack house, a voice spoke from behind me. ‘You are good, so maybe you can look after yourself, Hybrid,’ Griffin said.

I turned around and walked towards him, looking at him, I replied, ‘Maybe you should join the fight instead of spying.’

‘Are you sure you want to tango with me?’ he said in a low, husky voice.

Dang! My throat went dry and my heart was beating like never before.

‘Oh yes, bring it on.’ I turned around and continued walking to the pack house.

‘Tomorrow I’ll train you, Hybrid. Gym. 9 am,’ he called after me.

‘Fine, let's see what you have without spying and eavesdropping, Wolf.’

‘Oh, you have no idea,’ he whispered under his breath.

I turned around, whispering back, ‘I heard that,’ with a cheeky smile on my face, and then went inside the pack house.

Chapter 10

I woke up to the morning sunlight shining warmly on my face. Today was my training session with Griffin, and my wolf was already wearing her sexy shoes. I did not know what to expect, because I was not sure what was happening between me and Griffin, and that scared me a bit because I was not used to all these strange emotions.

What if I got angry again? What if I burnt down something or maybe hurt him? Imagine the headline ‘Silver Pack Luna snapped Alpha to be’. I giggled.

Oh, my word!

I picked up my phone to look at the time, only to find out that I had less than an hour to get ready to meet Griffin in the gym. I decided to skip the shower and take one when I had finished sweating.

I went to my closet, not sure what to wear. My wolf cried to me to take out the red one. I bought blood red tights with a very well fitted red crop top that had straps crossing around my waist, but I had never actually worn it before. Since I was in a very good mood today, why not? I got dressed, put my hair in a messy bun, and headed out the door to the dining room.

When I entered the dining room, I went to the breakfast table, grabbed an apple and a water bottle, and headed out to the gym.

I could feel my heart start to race and my stomach turning, I could not let him see me like this. He would think I was a schoolgirl with a crush. Was I? I mean, did I have a crush? This was all so confusing to me. My wolf could not wait, and made no secret of her desires, so maybe it was my wolf that was making me this nervous and confused. All I knew, was that this feeling was getting way worse and I needed to get a grip on it and calm my crazy she-wolf.

Luckily, I was early, so I started to warm up before the training would start. I was halfway through my warm-up session when I felt those burning eyes on me. I did not want him to see me rattled and searching for him, so I just continued with what I was doing.

I could hear him behind me, and I could also hear him breathing heavily. Maybe he just got back from a run. I stood up and turned around. ‘Good morning,’ I said, trying to maintain my composure.

‘Morning,’ Griffin said while looking my body up and down. The way he looked at me made my entire body burn and feelings came to the surface that I had no idea existed. I could swear my wolf said, ‘I knew that garment would come in handy someday.’ I blushed. I finally knew what the garnet in my pentacle was all about. Griffin finally met my eyes.

‘Everything okay?’ was the only thing I could get out of my parched mouth.

‘Oh yes,’ Griffin replied with a strange look on his face.

I could feel my legs going numb, but I replied, ‘Shall we get started, wolf?’

‘Only if you are ready, Hybrid?’ Griffin replied.

I nodded. I usually was offended when people would call me hybrid, but when he said it, it made me and my wolf purr. I quickly turned around and made my way to the open floor. I could still feel his eyes on me. If only I could read his mind, I would know why he was looking at me like that. Maybe it was the red outfit, and that made me swing my hips a bit.

Oh my gosh! Aloisa, behave yourself! What the hell has gotten into me.

My wolf cheered in approval.

‘God damn,’ I heard in an exceptionally low pitch and knew it was Griffin. I stopped and as I put my water bottle on the floor, I turned around to find him looking at my ass. I should have been upset, but instead I felt the heat burning in me and that made me feel sexy. I smiled at him. Griffin realised I caught him red-handed.

‘Are we going to do this or are you going to look at my ass all day?’ I asked.

‘Hmm . . . yes, hmm, what has Alex taught you so far?’

‘Well, you should know since you're the one spying on my training sessions.’

‘It was only that one time, and I wasn’t spying. I was just looking. You're making progress, I mean.’

Am I the cause for his mumbling?

That made me feel even more in control, and I loved it.

‘If you say so.’ I smiled while looking at the floor, getting ready in one of my attack positions.

I could feel the atmosphere changing and in a split second I was on the floor with Griffin on top of me. Before I could react, Griffin said, ‘Yes, I say so, and never take your eyes off the enemy.’

‘Are you my enemy?’

‘No, but today I am.’

‘You sure you want to be my enemy?’

‘Hybrid, I’ll be whatever it takes, just to have you in this position,’ he laughed.

I could feel myself burning up, not from rage but my desire for this man. I needed it to stop; I needed to go before I did something stupid. We both got up and I wanted to make up a lame excuse to leave but before I could, Griffin asked, ‘Scared already?’

At that moment a little rage got hold of me and I jumped onto him. The swift movement got him by surprise, and I knocked his feet right out from under him. ‘Never get a big head, Wolf,’ I said, acting cocky.

He started laughing, and that made me laugh, too.

What was this man doing to me? Could he really be my mate and did he feel the same?

I could not tell, but he drove me insane. We played around more than we did actual training like Alex and I usually do. I had a few moments, but he was the winner.

He came straight towards me and I quickly sidestepped him, trying to knock him down, but before I could plan my next move, he pinned me against the wall. Inches away from my lips, he softly said, ‘Got you.’ At that moment I could barely focus. My wolf went totally wild. My eyes drifted to his lips and back to his eyes, which were burning into mine. He opened his mouth to say something, but before I knew what was happening, I was kissing him, and he was kissing me. Everything faded at that moment; everything felt so right. I could feel him and his wolf; my wolf was on cloud nine. Then I heard voices and pulled away.

‘I'm sorry. I shouldn’t have done that,’ I tried explaining.

‘Don't be! I've wanted to do that from the moment I saw you in this damn red temptation of an outfit.’

I blushed. ‘I have to go,’ I said, trying to move away from him. ‘Or you could stay.’

‘I can't; I have plans with Mira,’ I said, moving towards the back exit.

Griffin grabbed me by the waist, pulling me back against him. He whispered in my ear in a low, soft voice, ‘Or you could stay and make plans with me.’

My heart was beating so fast and all I could think of was his heavy breathing against me. That made me want to turn around and kiss him again, but I could not. All these feelings were just too much. I did not even know the guy; not well enough anyway.

‘I can’t, I'm sorry,’ I said softly, trying to sound calm, even though my entire body yearned for him.

‘Well then, Hybrid. Until next time and then I won’t let you go this easily.’

I closed my eyes and bit my lip. Oh, my word. I was going to lose control with this man. He slowly let go of his grip and I bolted for the door.

Chapter 11

I entered the pack house’s main hall, out of breath, and on high alert. I almost ran up the stairs to my room. As I closed the bedroom door behind me, all I could think of was his lips, his perfect, warm lips. Yes! I was so into this guy and yes, that was my first kiss. Oh, my word! My first kiss was with Griffin. Everything was spinning and my hormones were out of control. My wolf was incredibly pleased with me; she had been waiting for a little action. I could not believe I kissed him. What if he pushed me away, or worse? But he did not. He did not push me away; in fact he wanted more, he wanted me. I fell on the bed, trying to calm down. This had to mean something; maybe he had feelings for me too. I could feel it when we were kissing, he wanted it as much as I did. A smile appeared on my face and I felt like a schoolgirl. My phone beeped next to me. I picked up the phone and saw Mira's message on the screen.

‘Hi Aloisa, hope you had a great day so far? See you soon for our girls’ day out.’ If she only knew! Or did she know? Did he tell her? Well, she would definitely tell me if he did and would also have a thousand questions!

I jumped through the shower and got dressed. While drying my hair, my phone beeped again. I picked up the phone, only to see an unknown number.

I opened the message. ‘Thank you for today, Hybrid. It turned out to be a very satisfying training session. Griffin.’

What? Where did he get my number? I replied, ‘Yes it was quite a day. Where did you get my number?’

I did not have to wait long for him to reply.

‘I have my way of getting the things I want.’

I replied, ‘I’m not a “thing”, if that is what you are referring to.’ I was done and almost out the door when I saw my phone flashing. I picked up the phone and saw two messages. Both were from Griffin.

Text 1: ‘Not what I meant, Hybrid. I was just saying that I have ways to get or find out things like numbers.’

Text 2: ‘Sorry. If I trespassed, I’ll delete your number.’

I texted, ‘I didn’t ask you to delete my number. I just wasn't sure where you got it, since I didn't give it to you. Sorry if I was rude,’ and sent it.

I was about to put my phone in my bag when a beep came through.

‘Thank goodness, ’cause I really didn't want to delete your number.’ I smiled and headed out the door to Mira's room. When I reached Mira's room, I knocked and she opened the door. ‘Please come in, I'm so sorry. I’m running late and it’s all Griffin’s fault. He wanted to go through his party list, which is strange,’ she said. ‘Anyway, I just want to freshen up. Ten minutes, I promise!’ she said.

I laughed, ‘No problem at all. I'll wait downstairs.’

‘No, please, you can wait here. I won't be that long.’

I nodded.

‘So, this is how he got my number or checked if I really had plans with Mira,’ I thought.

I took my phone out of my handbag and typed. ‘So, checking up on me again or using your sister to get my number? Bad wolf.’ Within seconds he was typing.

‘Little Hybrid, I would never do that. Why would you even think such things of me?’

I smiled and replied, ‘Maybe because Mira just told me she was running late, because of you wanting to go through your party list, which we all know you were not that excited about.’

He replied, ‘Well yes, and that is the only thing I did, and maybe I just saw your number and thought it would be wise to have a hybrid on my contact list.’ This guy was unbelievable; always landing on his feet.

I replied, ‘Fine if you say so.’

‘Yes, I say so. Have fun; Mira can be a handful.’

I read Griffin’s last message and put my phone back in my bag. He seemed to be so nice and caring. I could get used to him being like this. I saw flashes of him close to me, his smell, his lips, his chest so firm. I got lost in that vision when Mira appeared, saying, ‘I'm ready. Let's go, girl.’

We arrived in town and Mira was already super excited and wanted to try on every dress she could find. The town was small and did not have a wide variety to choose from, but Mira knew exactly where to go. We entered a wedding shop with enormous windows.

‘Mira, what are we doing here?’ I asked, confused.

Mira smiled, ‘They have the best dresses here; trust me.’

We entered the shop, and the saleslady came and greeted us at the door. ‘Who is the lucky lady today?’

Mira laughed, ‘No, no, we want to see ball dresses and masks if you have any.’

The saleslady winked and told us to follow her. We went through a big arch with draped curtains into another bigger room. In this room there were chairs to one side and a little stage to the other to show off your dress or to look at yourself in the enormous mirror in front of it. There were also rows and rows of dresses, from cocktail to wedding dresses on rails fastened to the walls. On the other side of the room, on shelves fastened to the walls, were accessories like crowns, gloves, masks, and many more.

The lady showed us to the chairs and sat next to us. ‘What are you two ladies looking for?’

Mira had an entire list at hand. I had no idea; I only wore a nice dress once in my life, for my prom, given to me by Demetria.

‘Aloisa, what would you like?’ Mira asked me.

‘Well, to be honest, I have no idea. It's the first time I am shopping for a ball gown.’

Mira looked at me in disbelief. ‘Are you serious?’

‘Yes, why would I lie?’

‘Well, then we shall find you the most beautiful dress in this shop.’

I smiled and hugged Mira; she was always so nice to me and she really was a genuine friend.

The saleslady left and returned with a few options for me and a few for Mira. After a few hours of trying on which felt like hundreds of dresses, we left the shop with our ball gowns and masks. We made a few stops for shoes and jewels and a few girly things and then headed home. As I placed all my bags on my bedroom floor, I fell on the bed, exhausted. I could not believe people like doing this every day. I checked my phone before going into shower. There were four texts.

Text 1: ‘Hi dear, it would be lovely to have dinner tonight at Althea's house if you have time. Let me know. Love you.’ It was from Demetria.

Text 2: ‘Hope you two are having fun while I'm stuck in meetings all day. Please be safe.’ This one was from Griffin.

Text 3: ‘How did your training go with Griffin? Let me know if you're keen on training tomorrow.’ This was from Alex.

Text 4: ‘Can't wait till next weekend. We are going to look amazing.’ It was from Mira.

I replied to Demetria saying that dinner would be lovely and asked if she could just send me the time. I told Alex that the next day at 10 am was fine. I obviously did not tell him what happened in training with Griffin. To Mira I texted, ‘Yes we are going to look great!’ I also thanked her for taking me with her and helping me with everything. Lastly, I responded to Griffin: ‘We are back, and I am drained. Your sister knows what she is doing! I hope this will be the last event for a while; searching for dresses can be brutal on one’s energy. LOL.’ I put my phone on the bed and prepared for dinner with the most precious ladies in my life.

Chapter 12

Griffins POV

Today was the agreed upon training day with the hybrid, and I could hardly contain my excitement. This girl was driving me crazy and had me doing things I never thought I would ever do. I felt so insecure because I could not read her. She was so different from the others; she was remarkable and I felt more and more drawn to her every day. I wish I knew if she was feeling the same way. Yesterday I could swear I felt something for a moment while we were talking about today’s training, but I was not sure and it was driving me crazy. Hopefully, I would find out today if she had feelings for me. I did not want to make the first move and scare her away. I would not survive that. What was happening to me? I knew she was my mate; I could feel it, but I did not know how it worked with a hybrid. I went to my closet and got dressed. I could not wait to see what she was going to wear. Whatever it was, she was going to look incredible in it.

Griffin, get a hold of yourself.

I looked down, scolding myself. I needed to get a grip fast, because certain parts were growing and the beast inside me wanted to go wild already. This was not going to work; I needed a shower, an ice-cold one. With a bit of luck, it would make my wolf brain freeze.

After a long, long cold shower everything went back to normal and I headed for the gym. I could smell her scent and that made my brain defrost a bit.

God damn, don't blow this Griffin.

I entered the gym and made a left turn to the open area.

Holy moly.

My brain freeze was gone. I was now in need of a fire hose.

There she was, busy warming up in blood-red thighs and a crop top hugging all the curves of her body. I watched her as she warmed up, following every bend and stretch. All I could do before moving closer was try to breathe, so that I did not take her right there and then.

The closer I got, the harder I became and the harder it was to control my urge. As I reached her, she got up, turned around, and said, ‘Good morning.’

Breathing became too difficult.

Calm down.

I just had to continue to remind myself to calm down.

‘Morning,’ was the only thing I could get out as I looked her up and down, imagining myself ripping the clothes off that perfect body and wrapping her around me. I had to stop before I lost all control. My eyes met hers finally.

‘Everything okay?’ she asked.

‘OH YES!’ I replied like a dumb horny ass.

What the hell, Griffin?

‘Shall we get started, Wolf?’ Why did everything she say, turn me on more? How could I possibly be even more turned on?

‘Only if you're ready, Hybrid,’ I said, wanting to do much more than training.

She nodded and started making her way to the open floor.

I quickly tried to hide the colossal disaster in my pants when my eyes saw her perfectly rounded ass. That was it. I was in BIG trouble right now. I tried to break free from that perfect view in front of me, but then she swung her hips, and a soft ‘God damn,’ escaped my lips. She turned around while my eyes stayed glued to her ass. I was probably drooling, too.

I realised she just caught me red-handed. She was certainly going to break my neck or pop out my eyeballs.

Please, just don't look down or I’ll lose ‘my buddy’ too.

‘Are we going to do this or are you going to look at my ass all day?’

Act normal!

‘Hmm . . . yes, hmm; what has Alex taught you so far?’

‘Well, you should know since you're the one spying on my training sessions.’

‘It was only one time, and I wasn’t spying. I was just looking. You’re making progress, I mean.’

What the hell, am I mumbling?

‘If you say so,’ she smiled as she got into an attacking position.

She was busy toying with me. I could not take it anymore. In one swift movement, I wiped her off her feet and pinned her down to the ground, my body on top of hers. ‘Yes, I say so, and never take your eyes off the enemy.’

‘Are you my enemy?’

‘No, but today I am.’

‘You sure you want to be my enemy?’

This girl was asking for it and at this point, I could not be held responsible for my actions. ‘Hybrid, I'll be whatever it takes, just to have you in this position,’ I said with a smirk, knowing what I really wanted.

We got up and I moved backwards, thinking that it might be better. And then it looked like she wanted to bolt. ‘Scared already?’ I joked. Out of nowhere, she came flying towards me, making me land flat on my ass with my feet in the air.

‘Never get a big head, Wolf.’ She said mockingly.

I could not hold it in anymore and started laughing out loudly; then she started laughing too. We continued to tease each other and played more than we trained. It was so much fun. She was fun. I could not recall ever being this happy and relaxed and turned on all at the same time. Of course, I was still winning, though. She looked at me as she was getting ready to attack me again. In another swift movement, I forced her up against the wall. This time we were only inches from each other, too close for my comfort. I was frozen. I did not want to move. I was looking at her and I wanted to tell her that I had fallen hard for her and that I did not want to scare her off, but that I needed to tell her because I could not read her like the rest of the pack. Before I got a word out, she kissed me. Everything inside me was on fire. I kissed her back like it would be the last time. I could feel myself losing control. I needed her now . . . and then she pulled away.

No! Don't do that! You are killing me, Hybrid.

‘I'm sorry. I shouldn't have,’ she explained.

No, no, no, no, don't be sorry! Don't be sorry.

‘Don't be! I wanted to do that since I saw you in this damn red temptation of an outfit this morning.’

‘I need to go,’ she said as she tried to get out from under me.

‘Or you could stay,’ I did not want her to leave.

Please don't go.

I wanted to stay with her, and I wanted to kiss her again and again.

‘I can't, I have plans with Mira,’ she said, heading for the door.

I grabbed her around the waist, pulled her up against me, and put my mouth against her ear, ‘Or you could stay and make plans with me.’ I had so many plans with her and all I wanted to do is to turn her around and kiss her until our lips went numb.

‘I can't. I'm sorry.’

I could feel that she wanted to go, and I did not want to force her, so I pulled myself together as best I could and said, ‘Well then, Hybrid, until next time, and then I won’t let you go this easily.’

I loosened my grip and she stood there in my arms. I almost thought she was going to stay. I wished she would, but then she left, leaving me there yearning for her; a heartbroken wolf.

I headed up to my room with all these emotions. My heart felt empty and my wolf was swearing at me for letting her go. There was nothing I could do and that made me powerless. I did not like it at all. Why was this so damn complicated? Did she feel the same? She kissed me. Or was it just in the heat of the moment? I did not really pay much attention to where I was going until I bumped into Mira.

‘Griffin, what the hell? Watch where you are going before you hurt someone!’

‘Sorry.’

‘What’s wrong with you?’

‘Nothing, I just have a lot on my mind.’ I did have a lot on my mind, and it was all about hér. She was making me lose control. I needed to talk to her; I needed to know if she felt the same. But how?

‘Mira, I need to look at the guest list.’

‘The whát?’

‘The guest list for my party, I want to see who has RSVP’d.’

‘Griffin, I don't have time for this. I'm meeting Aloisa soon; we have plans.’

So I have been told, but I needed her number and this would be the easiest way I could think of to get her number without asking or explaining why I wanted it. ‘It won’t take long. You have been on my back for how long to get excited about this party, and now that I am, you don't want to inform me which guests accepted. It's fine. Forget it. Forget the party too. Have fun today, Mira.’ I was forcing her to give in.

‘Fine, but can we do this quickly, please? You know you're such a bully sometimes.’

After that she showed me the list and just like I know my sister, all the details were on the list, with numbers. I scanned through them for Aloisa’s name and her number. As soon as I saved her number on my phone, and without my sister expecting anything, I said thank you and left. I got to my room and opened the Messenger app, added her number, and looked at the empty screen.

‘Now what?’ mumbled my wolf. He was right . . . I could not just text, ‘Hi there, thanks for everything, and P.S. I think you are my mate and was wondering if you felt it too?’

So, I just wrote, ‘Thank you for today, Hybrid. It turned out to be a very satisfying training session. Griffin.’

Chapter 13

I could not believe the week was over. I was meeting Mira at the hair salon at 3 pm for the ball tonight. I was pretty excited about dressing up and wearing my dress and yes . . . to see Griffin.

Things between me and Griffin were looking kind of great. We chatted a lot this week; even had coffee together. He did not look like he wanted to run away from me anymore. I was beginning to think that maybe this could work between us. I wanted to tell Griffin how I felt tonight if I did not freak out. I wanted to be with him and I could see myself genuinely care for this man. Thinking about him made me so happy. Mira said he would also be named Alpha tonight, so this ball really was going to be special and I was excited to be there. I just hoped that by the end of the evening I would have the guy as well.

I asked Alex to take the day off. I did not want to be all bruised up or stiff for tonight’s ball. I had trained the whole week and was improving every day. I had also been learning a lot about being Luna. Maybe in a few more weeks I would be able to take back my pack or even run it with Griffin. The thought gave me butterflies. I really did not want to do anything today until it was time to get ready. It was a beautiful day and it felt like forever since I felt this good without worrying or feeling scared or like an outcast. I could not feel more at home. I got up and prepared for breakfast.

I wondered if I would see Griffin before the party. He was really busy this past week, with all the last preparations of becoming Alpha and dealing with Mira and her crazy party plans. He still made time for a quick chat during the day with me, though. I headed downstairs to the dining room to find it packed with people. I almost forgot that more people would be here today. Some of them would want to meet me too, since some of them did not even know I existed, but I did not want to take this moment away from Griffin. I would just keep a low profile. I preferred it that way anyway.

I saw Mira and her mother at one of the tables. They were seated with a few other people I had never seen before. I headed to the breakfast table, grabbed a plate, and sat down at one of the empty tables to eat. I barely started when Demetria came and sat beside me.

‘Hello dear. How are you?’

‘Hello. I'm good, thank you. How have you been?’ With all my training and learning, I barely got to see Demetria and Althea.

‘I'm good. Just missing you a lot, but I know that you are very busy learning as much as you can, and I can see how you have progressed. I am very proud of you, Aloisa, and I know that your parents would have been too.’

I hugged her. I was proud of myself too. I had overcome a lot in the past few months. I did not feel like that lonely, sad girl anymore. I felt in control of my life for the first time in a long time.

‘Are you excited about tonight? I know that you are going to look stunning. I can't wait to see the dress.’

I was in love with my dress. It was not as revealing as Mira’s dress, though. It showed more than I was used to, but it was perfect and made me feel spectacular. It was a one-shoulder, figure-hugging, floor-length mermaid dress made of a deep red silk with intricate lace details. The shoulder was made of lace which extended into a low cleavage that went down to my waist. My sides were covered only in the lace, leaving my entire back exposed. The bodice was embellished with more lace and gems, which wrapped around my waist and hips. The skirt was made of sheer silk, with extra layers of silk at the back for a train. This dress accentuated my curves; it was made for me. I also bought a sophisticated brocade lace mask that was decorated with matching red gems. Wearing it made me feel so mysterious. It sure was not something I would have picked for myself, but I was glad Mira did, because I felt incredible in that dress.

My shoes were dark red velvet high heels. I did not want to wear any jewels, but decided to go for timeless, teardrop blood-red earrings because my hair was going to be pulled up with curls hanging loose here and there. I had a few things to do before our appointment. The time ticked away and before I knew it, it was time to meet Mira.

After we had our hair done, it was time for makeup. I went for a reddish smokey-eye with blood-red lips. I looked so different, so all grown up. We got dressed in my room; it was bigger than Mira’s room and we wanted to help each other. The complete process of doing hair, make-up, and dress-up, was a new experience for me, but it surely was fun. I truly felt and looked like a goddess.

We headed downstairs to the ball. Music was playing, women with beautiful dresses walked around and everyone was wearing a mask, making it a little trickier to recognise one another. I found myself searching but found nothing. He was not here. I spotted Demetria, though, and told Mira I would be right back.

I went to Demetria and Althea and when they saw me, Demetria got teary-eyed, making me emotional, too.

‘Don't cry . . . Why are you crying, Demetria?’

‘You are just all grown up and so beautiful. I knew you would, but you look so much like your mom right now it makes me emotional.’

‘Thank you, Demetria.’

‘You’re welcome, dear. Now go and have fun and we will be here if you need us.’

I turned around and headed back to Mira, who was already chatting to a few guys.

I had to give it to Mira. She did an excellent job with the party. Everything was perfect; the only thing missing was Griffin.

Mira turned to me and introduced me to the young gentlemen. They were from the Mountain Wolf Pack. They were family friends and seemed genuinely nice, but all I wanted was to find Griffin. I was longing for him and my wolf wanted him. Tonight was the night I would tell Griffin how I felt. I really did not want to wait any longer. It quickly became more crowded, making it almost impossible to find someone, and then I sensed him. I could feel him but did not know where he was. Our eyes met and everyone disappeared; it was only the two of us. We made our way to each other.

‘God, you look absolutely breathtaking, and I'm finding it very hard to breathe right now.’

I smiled, feeling myself blush. ‘You do look good yourself, Wolf.’

‘Aloisa, I need to talk to you. It's important.’

‘Griffin, I need to talk to you too.’

‘I need to go now, my dad will be making the announcement anytime now and I still have to greet the elders, but as soon as all this is over, I will come and find you.’

I smiled and replied, ‘No problem. Good luck, and congratulations.’

He looked at me for a moment, smiled, and walked away. Now all I could think about is what he wanted to talk about.

Chapter 14

My head was spinning. What did Griffin want to talk about that was so important? Everyone was taking their seats as the ceremony was about to start. I was seated with Demetria, Althea, Alex, his wife Abby, and Mike, Alex's friend. Alpha Peter started the ceremony with a few announcements. He talked about the long journey of his reign and that it was a privilege to have worked alongside one another, not just as friends, but family. He gave a beautiful heart-moving speech and then he called Griffin to his side to complete the ceremony and named Griffin as the new Dark Wood Pack Alpha and everyone in the Dark Wood Pack was ecstatic to have a new Alpha.

It made me wonder if my pack would be as excited if they had me as their Luna and if I would be a great Luna to my pack. I had to say, for the first time I felt like I could do this and . . . that I wanted to do it. It felt like my life was finally meaning something and that maybe I could have someone with whom I could spend this life. I could not wait to tell him how I felt, because I was so sure he felt it too. I watched as Alpha Peter introduced Griffin as the new pack Alpha and all the Dark Wood wolves kneeled before their new Alpha and so did the Silver Pack, as I was not yet named their Luna. They still obeyed Peter, and I guess now Griffin.

It was a whole twisted story. but at least everyone was on the same page. If everything played out as I planned, my ceremony would be three weeks from now. So, I had to learn and train as much as possible every day so that I could give my pack everything they deserved, and more.

Griffin took his place next to his dad, and the pack were cheering and clapping hands. Mira was the loudest, I heard her screaming above everyone else; she was a goofball, but she loved her brother to death.

Griffin started to thank everyone, and our eyes met yet again, and I knew I was in love with this man. When we were together, it felt like nothing and no one else mattered. It took me a while to figure out what all this was about, but it was easy: I fell for Griffin and I needed him in my life.

Griffin started to talk, and I did not pay too much attention to what he said, only the way his mouth moved, which made me think of our first kiss and then about all the other kisses we would still have. He was so handsome in his jet-black suit with a black button-up shirt and a blood-red tie. Funny, we both ended up choosing red outfits.

After all the speeches, Mira went to the microphone and congratulated her brother on finally being Alpha, and then she wished him a happy birthday and concluded by telling everyone that it was time to party. On that note, she signalled the band, and they started playing the music. People started to make their way to the dance floor, and some people made their way to Griffin and Peter to pay respects.

I was talking and laughing with some people around me as Griffin was busy and was going to be a while by the look of the line that was in front of him.

After an hour, the new Alpha seemed to have done his work for the night and was trying to make his way to me, but then his mother grabbed him by the arm and walked with him to the dinner tables. He looked at me with ‘I'm sorry’ eyes and I smiled, realising that getting to him would not be easy tonight.

After dinner, I had had enough. I had to go find him or I might never get the chance to tell him how I felt, and I really wanted to know what he wanted to tell me. I excused myself from the table and started to scan the crowd, but I could not see nor feel him. There were too many people and it made it difficult. I saw Mira and the moment she spotted me she ran to me.

‘Aloisa, I'm so glad you're here. Dance with me.’

‘I'm not a dancer, but I am looking for Griffin. Have you seen him?’

‘He was here with my mom, and then my dad took him away. Why, what’s wrong?’

I did not want to tell her before I spoke to Griffin, but this party and everything happening were starting to get on my nerves. Could a girl not get a break?

Something made me realise I left Griffin's present in my room, and I wanted to give it to him personally. It was a pen set made of dark wood, with wolves engraved into the wood. I thought it was the perfect gift; unique and special. At the bottom of the case was engraved: To a successful start on your new journey, Hybrid.

I told Mira and Demetria that if Griffin came looking for me, they should tell him to meet me at the training yard. It was probably the only quiet place we could use and was not too far from the party venue.

I went to my room to take Griffin's gift and typed a message to Griffin asking him where he was. In a second, he replied, ‘On my way to the training yard.’

‘I’ll be there soon; I just need to fetch something,’ I texted.

‘I’ll be waiting, I really need to talk to you, and I want to do it in person.’

I took the gift and headed out the door. I went down the stairs towards the main hall exit and suddenly my nerves were shot; I needed to think my so-called ‘love speech’ over before I made a fool of myself. I was turning around the pack house when I felt him. I took a deep breath and thought to myself that this was it; it was now or never. Then I heard a woman's voice. I slowly made my way to the training yard when I saw the most shocking thing I had ever seen. The pain shot through my entire body, making everything hurt and almost impossible to breathe. In an instant, tears filled my eyes, and my legs could hardly hold me up. I turned around and ran as fast as I could, back to my room. I took off my dress, brushed my hair, and washed off my make-up. I felt so stupid, so broken, and in so much pain. I put on my pajamas and just crawled into bed. I wanted this night to be our night, the first of many, but now it ended up in the most painful night. How could I not have expected this? How could he do that? How could I get it all so wrong? Tears were rolling down my face and I simply just lay there with my face buried in a pillow, hugging another pillow, and just cried till I fell asleep.

Chapter 15

I woke up to the sound of banging on my door. My eyes were swollen, and I had a throbbing headache from all the crying.

‘Go away!’ I called while pulling the blanket over my head.

‘Aloisa, please talk to me. What’s wrong?’

‘Griffin please, I don't want to talk to you; just go away!’ It went silent after a moment. I started crying again. My heart was broken. The moment I felt or thought that everything was okay, it all went down the drain. I was falling back to sleep when there was a soft knock on the door.

‘Aloisa, dear, please open the door. It's only me. Let's talk sweetheart.’ Demetria was trying to convince me to let her in, but I did not want to talk to anyone. I did not want to see anyone or be seen by anyone. I just wanted to lie here and die. Everything hurt – crying, breathing, thinking – all of it. But Demetria did not give up. In fact, she said, ‘I'm coming in,’ and with a quick spell, she opened the door.

First, I was mad and then when I saw her standing there looking at me with open arms, all I wanted to do, was to go to her and hug her and sob.

‘My sweet Aloisa, what happened? Why are you so down? Come sit here with me and let’s talk.’

‘I hate him, I hate him so much,’ tears streamed down my face.

‘Why do you hate him?’

‘I had it all wrong, I thought he felt it too, but no! He wanted to tell me that he didn't feel the way I did. But before he did, I saw him kissing another girl!’ Saying it out loud hurt so much I couldn't breathe.

‘My sweet Aloisa, are you sure? This doesn’t sound like Griffin.’

‘Yes, I saw it with my own eyes, and then I couldn't bear it anymore and came back to my room and I never want to see him again. I don't want to see anyone. I feel like a fool. I really need to get away from here right now. Please, Demetria. Please help me get away from here.’

I could see Demetria thinking. I could also see the pain in her eyes, and then she jumped up.

‘I have an idea. We can go to the Mountain Pack. I have a friend there that would let us stay there. We can tell the Alpha that you are still in training and need to work on some Alpha/Luna business and you would like different perspectives on different matters.’

I looked at Demetria, taking it all in. Then I wiped away my tears and said, ‘That sounds perfect.’

‘I’ll make all the preparations and then we can leave as soon as we have the go-ahead.’

‘Thank you, I don't know what I would have done without you.’

‘You're welcome. I told you that I'm here for you and that I care for you like my own Aloisa. Now start packing and jump into the shower and get my sweet girl back out of that dark place she's drowning in. We are going on a small holiday, but we’re making it sound like a business trip,’ she winked at me and I smiled and nodded in agreement.

Demetria left the room and in between the broken, ‘I can't wait to leave this room, this house . . . HIM!’ I jumped into the shower, trying to pull myself together. Afterwards, I started to pack. This could be fun. or not . . . but this is what I needed right now, to forget about him and focus on my pack so that he could leave, and that I never had to see him again – him AND his skank.

My phone was buzzing nonstop, He was sending me messages every minute and I kept deleting them. I was done; I blocked him because he was driving me crazy and seeing a message or missing a call from him was breaking me.

My phone rang, and I picked it up, ‘Demetria, is everything sorted? ‘

‘Yes, and the good news is, we are leaving in an hour.’

I was so relieved I could not put it into words. ‘I’ll be ready in 30 minutes; I’ll meet you at the car.’

‘Okay dear, see you soon.’

I ended the call and finished packing.

All packed and ready to go, I sent a message to Alex telling him that I would be back soon. I added that I needed to go do some Luna business and that I was taking Demetria with me. I also asked him to please let the Alpha know about my absence and that I did not know how long I would be gone. I started making my way out of my room, when my phone beeped. It was Alex.

‘Is everything okay, Aloisa? I wish you a successful trip and that you will return soon and safely. I will inform the Alpha. Please remember I have your back; you are my Alpha and you can count on me. I'll always be here if you need anything.’

It brought tears to my eyes, but I had to leave. I could not stay here and face that bastard. I just wrote, ‘Thank you. I appreciate you all and everything is fine, no need to worry. See you soon.’

I continued to the car and luckily no one really paid much attention to me. That was great because I did not really want to explain myself at that moment; I just wanted to leave this hurt behind.

Demetria and I packed our belongings into the car, and we drove off.

My phone beeped. It was Alex, ‘Aloisa, I spoke to Griffin and he seems upset about your departure. Is there something I need to know? Is everything okay?’

‘Alex, Griffin is just upset because he is Griffin; I wanted to say asshole. Don't worry about me. Everything is perfectly fine.’

I looked up from my phone and in the corner of my eye, I saw Griffin in the rearview mirror standing in the middle of the road, holding his head. Thank God I missed that interaction. I put my phone down and embraced the journey ahead.