by Jordan Deen
“You know this isn’t a battle you’ll win. Even if you defeat us, there will be others. Sophie, and the rest of Half Moon, will not stop until they have destroyed her.”
“That is a chance we are willing to take.” Michael stepped forward, asserting his authority to Robert. Technically, Robert and Liam were bloodline Amanas, and as such, I’d be their leader, but it wasn’t like that mattered to them. They were their own rogue band of Amanas, poised to take over Half Moon themselves, if they could destroy me. They were just another power hungry group, out for their own personal advancement. The battle had nothing to do with witches or prophecy; it was about control.
With both packs at an impasse, they stood there—like gargoyles poised to attack. The first one to move was one of the traitors; a medium sized werewolf with bronzed amber eyes and dark patches of black in his gray coat. In three swift strides, he bounded towards Brea with full force. Catch, easily two times bigger than him, stood in his path and stopped the dwarfed wolf like a block wall. The gray wolf’s body tossed like a discarded tissue to the ground; his legs twitched and convulsed from the blow.
Robert motioned to his right and Liam to his left, werewolves on each side advanced forward while the Amanas held their ground, letting the enemy come to them. Brea, Nicole, and Lucia quickly transformed and met the attackers head on. At first, I didn’t think the girls had a chance with the gross discrepancy of their size compared to their opponents, but the girls were petite and fast, something their adversaries hadn’t prepared for.
Liam and Robert rushed towards the fray with their remaining reinforcements. As they rushed through the lights of the truck, Brandon and Michael advanced forward, expectant of the battle.
Only Bailey and I remained, her nervous eyes peering into my angry almond slits. If she were a wolf, I’d take her on myself. But I was trapped in the truck with no way of getting the door open with my paws. Unwittingly, I hadn’t thought ahead of how I’d get out of the truck. And if I shifted back now, I’d be vulnerable again. So, I didn’t. I waited to see what would happen next, because if I did get the chance to be free, I wanted to be able to run far away from here and never look back.
Fur and blood littered the ground near the woods. The wolves rolled and twisted over one another, smashing the vegetation beneath them. My need to be out of the truck grew. It overwhelmed all my common sense and forced me to dig at the doors, the windows, and the seats—anything to be freed. What good did it do me being a werewolf when I couldn’t even join the fight?
When Brea’s battle came close to the truck, I bayed and howled at her, hoping she understood I was trapped. She gave me a silent look of understanding and continued biting and crunching at the skin and limbs of a large black wolf.
Catch, now freed from another wolf, grabbed the scruff of Brea’s attacker and nonchalantly tossed him towards another enemy werewolf that attacked Thomas. Michael and Liam rolled in a dangerous dance of bared teeth and tangled limbs. Robert circled Brandon, inspecting him for any weakness he could exploit to take down my mate. That would never happen because Brandon’s only weakness was me—and he knew I was safe, at least, for now.
Brea rushed toward the truck in human form to free me. “Are you alright?” she asked, fully knowing I couldn’t answer; I dug at the door instead letting my impatience show in my efforts. She needed to turn me loose and quick.
Brea cut her eyes to Bailey and started to step her way causing Bailey to rush into the woods on the opposite side of the road. “Can you unlock the door?” Brea asked when she tried the door handle without any luck. My paws were not made for pushing buttons, so it took several swipes at the small rectangle until it activated the door lock. Brea swung my prison door wide and I quickly sprung from the truck. Brea wrapped her arms around my neck as I tried to steady my weight onto my four-instead-of-two legs.
“I’m so glad you are okay!” She tightened her arms around my ribs to bury her face into my fur. “We have to get you out of here.” Leaving was the last thing running through my mind. Seeing Brandon trapped like Robert’s prey killed me. I couldn’t handle the thought of leaving him again—not knowing if he where okay would be the last straw of my already frazzled mind. Our bond was strong, and without it, I’d be nothing. It finally made sense why others had died from the sickness. The thought of losing Brandon would be like the shell of my body continuing on without all my vital organs. I lived, I breathed, and I existed— only for him.
Even though Brea pulled at my neck, I fought free and rushed at Robert. The new stability in my legs delivered me directly to his back in less than four strides. He fell flat to the ground in a bone-crushing heap; his muzzle and chin forced to the earth under the weight of my forward momentum. I spun, and then, rolled to the front of him, my head faced his.
We were nose to nose, the wind knocked out of both of us from my surprise attack. Robert started to rise and I answered his call by standing first and snarling my fierce canines at him. He growled and clenched his sharp teeth hiding under his black fur-lined jowls. When Robert snorted hot breath from his muzzle, I didn’t back away or cower. With my head held high, and my shoulders prone for battle, he lunged at me and missed. Brandon pushed me away from the crushing force of the attack. Robert landed on him and they tumbled over and over—a twisted mass of bodies, tails, and paws. Their coats, so similar in color, looked like they blended into one gigantic wolf.
Brea, Catch, and Emile joined my side as some of the enemy wolves retreated into the woods. Liam lay in a pile on the ground twenty feet away. Michael’s attention turned to the fight between his former friend and his son. Once pack members turned enemies. They tousled each other’s thick coat and blood dripped from a gash in Robert’s shoulder making a slick, sopping pool under them.
We watched, wondering when Michael would intervene, but he didn’t. He allowed the two their space to fight out their differences. Then, we heard the truck lurch forward on the road. Brandon and Robert stopped fighting to focus on the noise. Safely behind the wheel, Bailey had gotten the truck into gear and was heading down the mountain road. Liam’s body was gone. He had escaped. Robert took advantage of the distraction and scrambled from the ground, ran towards the truck, and leapt into the bed.
We stood there—a cohesive unit—watching the truck carrying our enemies to safety. I longed to run after them and exact my revenge on Bailey for making my life miserable, and for turning her back on me when I needed her. But, looking at the blood soaked fur of my mate, my future-in-laws, and my best friend, I knew this fight was nowhere near over. They may have gotten away, but the battle would rage again.
We needed a strategy for the next time we came face-to-face with them. They wouldn’t accept defeat or allow Brandon and I be together— let alone let me lead the Amanas. Liam had taken Matt and was determined to burn me at the stake for being a witch. Both facts stressed the urgency of finding Galena or Alaina’s books even more. If we had any chance of winning Half Moon Council once and for all, we’d need their backing. Plus, if we couldn’t find Matt, I’d have to find a way to save Lily. The weight of her life in my hands weighed down on my shoulders harder than my own impending death. She couldn’t die, but we didn’t have much time to figure things out.
Each of us shifted into human form and helped the injured Amanas to their feet. Some had broken bones, others were bloodied, and some were just bruised. But all were alive, and for that, we were thankful.
Brea and I helped Nicole, Lucia, and Britney tend to Dillon, Christian, and Trevor’s wounds. Emile and Brandon inspected a large cut across Michael’s leg. Most of the Amanas were injured. All the mates hugged several times and comforted each other. It wasn’t until the chaos stilled that I noticed Alex wasn’t amongst us.
“Where’s Alex?” I asked Brandon, touching a cut on his brow, and hugging his war-ravaged body. As soon as we could, I’d fog his head and surround his body with the comfort of Haventon… my gift to him for being the partner I needed him to be.
“He fell back at camp. Liam bested him,” Brandon said and held me tight, ignoring his own pain, while trying to send calming thoughts through me. Alex was dead and Liam was responsible. That gave me one more reason to hunt him down and kill him. “Serena stayed with him, but she didn’t think there was much she could do. I’m sorry.” If anyone could fix him, it was Serena. Alex had fought alongside Brandon to keep me safe, any one of the Amanas had to respect that. I could feel that Brandon did, especially since he comforted me and didn’t get upset that I mourned Alex’s death.
Back at camp, most of the buildings and structures were ruined; including the almost completed cabin Brandon was making for us. Michael and Emile’s cabin was destroyed too. We’d have to move… again. That was the last thing I wanted, but we had no choice. Oregon was no longer secure for any of us; we’d be sitting ducks if we’d stayed. And if the werewolf community worked like Brea said it did, word of our mêlée had probably already spread.
“Gather what you can,” Michael commanded to everyone, and then, turned to Brea and me, “Go check on Serena and Lily.”
Brandon stood at the steps to the home we were to share, a look of complete dismay on his face. Our future lay amongst the wooden rubble, along with the TV’s and electronics he bought to make me happy.
“It’s just stuff,” I whispered and pressed my face to the soft curvature of his spine. Thoughts of Haventon and the ease of lying with him without a possession in the world flooded my thoughts to his. We didn’t need anything as long as we were together, and he needed to know that. “Home is wherever we are… together.” The words echoed through my head and reminded me of a conversation I had with Lily when she tried to convince me there’d come a day when I couldn’t breathe without him. That day had come, and surprisingly, I felt completely at peace with it. “Let’s go get Lily. She needs to know we are safe, and we are going to focus on finding Matt.”
Brea, Catch, Brandon, and I trudged through the darkened woods. My kit, and the pieces of paper I found, waited in my waistband to be revealed to Serena. Finally, I was ready to share all the information I knew. I’d give her Emma’s book, and together, we’d forge an alliance—one focused on trust and honesty—loyalty and understanding. She would teach me like Alaina taught her all those years ago. I’d grow and embrace the two-sided coin that was my heritage; one side powered by the wolf and the other dictated by my witch ancestry.
“You’re here!” Lily screamed and jumped from the table in the middle of Serena’s sitting area. Micah, Travis, and everyone else jumped to their feet when we walked through the door. They surrounded a makeshift cot in the corner of the main hall. Alex’s crumpled and bruised body rested on the bed; his feet dangled off the end by at least six inches. His normally smooth, defined face and bare chest were covered in bruises and cuts.
Lily rushed to my side, but I couldn’t take my eyes off my once almost-lover. Brandon reached out and pulled Lily to his side, allowing me to cross the room and look over Alex’s still body. Liam would pay for this.
“He’s not dead.” Serena walked into the main hall with a ceramic bowl in her hand. A wave of relief washed over me. A strong black licorice smell filled the room as she grounded seeds and oils to a paste in the bowl. “He’s hurt, badly, but he’ll live.” He was breathing so light I couldn’t even tell. “I’ll cover his wounds with this, but it would be better if he had his mate.” The pasty, sticky mixture reminded me of the night I met Serena and she nursed the now-scared wounds on my back. I didn’t envy Alex for what she was about to do. At least Brandon took me to Haventon to heal and escape the pain, but Alex didn’t have that.
“Alex?” Brea asked with a perplexed look on her face as she joined my side.
“Do you know him?” I asked defensively and she took her hand in mine.
“I’ve never met him.” She pulled her shirt over her shoulder to show a well-rounded birthmark. Alex had the same one on his upper shoulder. She ran the tips of her fingers over the mark and burst into tears. Catch tried to grab her away from Alex, but he couldn’t. She wrapped herself tightly around Alex while I stood there, confused by what she was implying.
“What’s wrong with her?” Brandon asked, now trying to help Catch untangle Brea from Alex’s comatose body.
She kicked and clawed at the both of them, fighting to get free, when she finally screamed, “He’s my brother. Stop. Let me go!”
I stumbled backwards. Serena’s bowl hit the ground and shattered into a thousand little landmines.
“That’s impossible,” Serena whispered and looked at Alex like he would phenomenally wake up and disagree with her. Alex didn’t move, not even with the increase of voices in the room.
“What’s going on?” Michael and Emile came in and surveyed each of our staggered faces.
“Alex is Brea’s brother,” Brandon said with a hint of jealousy and anger in his tone. This changed nothing, but it explained a few things. Why Sophie bewitched him, why he didn’t smell, why I felt safe with him, and why my connection with him continued on long after the enchantment was over. If he hadn’t been stolen, and I hadn’t been stolen, he would’ve been like a brother to me, considering how close our mothers were and how close Brea and I were.
“Looks like he’s coming with us.” Michael looked at Brandon, knowing the next few months would be an adjustment for everyone. But the way I saw it, the pack just strengthened by one more member. “Time to go,” he said to everyone and ordered Trevor and Dillon to carry Alex back to the waiting trucks. All our lives fit into the beds of eight trucks, two vans, and one SUV.
We were right back where we began: homeless and on the move again; running from those determined to destroy me, and anyone else that stood in their way. We raced away from our tattered camp, armed with my mother’s spell book, Serena’s books, and very little provisions.
The next few months we’d spend desperately searching for two powerful witches’ books, Lily’s stolen werewolf mate, and a peaceful balance between the werewolf world and the witch world. Plus, I’d have to learn how to shift without magic, master the spells in my mother’s journal, and figure out how to be the perfect werewolf soul mate.
The two halves of my heritage would have to calmly co-exist if we had any chance of bringing peace to the Half Moon Council and the Werewolf world. It was going to be a struggle, but with my mate at my side, new friends, and my mother’s gentle guidance, I was ready to face the unknown head on.
Lacey’s Journal
Page 1
Serena insisted I start this, now that Brandon and I have bonded. Our union ceremony won’t be until next year and, of course, not until we find a permanent home. I’m slowly learning Lamanic. I’ve also started reading Serena’s journal… again. Now that I know she is my grandmother, every word seems more—vital. I’ve decided to read Emma’s journal after Serena’s. Reading Emma’s first would be taking history out of order. So, first comes the werewolves, and then, the witches. I need both anyway to figure out where we go now that we’ve fled Oregon and are on our way to Baja. Brea’s parents are taking us in, or, part of us, for a while. Serena and Michael decided it would be best to split up the group. Brandon and I stayed with Michael, Emile and Serena. Brea, Catch, and Alex have taken Lily in another group to meet up with us in Baja. It’s better we don’t travel in a large group, anyway. Although, it’s strange, I can sense her and Brea. Serena said it’s because my powers are growing, but I still can’t shift on my own. That disappointment greets me every day. While Brandon is supportive, I know he’d prefer a mate that could shift on her own and he deserves that.
Since I’m not sure really what to write in this thing (and I refuse to write about the color of my first sheets), I’ll write what I have learned so far:
The Mares are in charge of the Half Moon Council, but they won’t be for long.
The Arlets are currently the second in command and they helped Alex. We aren’t sure if they are with us, or against us.
Robert and
Liam… well, they took off. Bailey went with them. Her parents are devastated and Michael thinks they will defect from our group soon. There will be no love lost there with me—they see me as competition, not a leader.
Alex: even though he came with us, he desperately wants to find his cousins Brent and Kayla. He is not sure if they are truly related to him, or if they were stolen too.
We haven’t found Alaina or Galena’s journals, and currently, we have no leads.
We are heading to Baja, but along the way, Serena is finding as many witches in hiding that we can. Her logic? Any witch backing is better than no witch backing. We are now on our way to the Lune Coven that resides in Santa Monica. Supposedly, they are a cursed group of witches looking for a cure of their own.
For me, the next step is to finish the journals, the Half Moon Book, and start on the book of mates. Serena has added Bailey and Liam’s bonding too it, against Michael’s wishes, but like it or not, they are still Amanas. Rogue or not.
And that brings me to another topic: MATES.
I haven’t started reading through the entire Book of Mates, and I’m only slightly aware of who the people are that we will be staying with. So, this is just what I know… so far—
My family:
Serena and Josef (Werewolves)– Paternal Grandparents
Alaina (Witch)—Maternal Grandmother. Spouse: unknown
Gregory (Werewolf) and Emma (Witch)—My parents.
Michael (Werewolf) and Emile (Werewolf)—my future in-laws and pack leaders
Thomas (Werewolf) and Ava (Werewolf/Emile’s Sis)—Second in command
Will (Werewolf/Michael’s Brother/Micah & Taylor’s dad) and Sharon (Werewolf)
Brandon (Werewolf) and Me (Werewolf/Witch)
My Friends:
Brea (Werewolf) and Catch (Werewolf)—my best friend/guardian and her mate
Lily (non-transformed Werewolf) and Matt (Missing/Werewolf—Brandon’s BFF)
