chapters 8

Luna Aria's POV

“Eric, you can’t be serious?” I spin around the room watching him as he paces the floor. “You know I can’t produce an heir, we’ve been over this.” Over the last eighteen years, he has pushed for me to have a child, but I have told him over and over that I am not able to.

When I visited the coven to have them hide Leo, I also had them place a spell on me that would prevent me from getting pregnant again. I never want to produce an heir to that monster. But as Eric loses his grip, he is becoming more and more agitated with the fact that he is childless. He has taken many mistresses over the years, but even that has not produced a child. I believe he's infertile, but he refuses to have that checked. Instead, he is insisting that I go for testing. I’m in my early forties, but female werewolves are known for having pups well into our seventies, our life spans far exceed those of humans, but there is no possible way I’ll ever provide him an heir.

“I’ve set up the appointment for you already, you go in this afternoon. I brought in a specialist and they will look at you again. I require an heir and it is your duty to give me one!” He shouts at me and I stare at him in disbelief.

“Eric, I’m not going to let you do this. I won’t go through a bunch of testing. Maybe YOU are the one who should be getting tested!” I shout, but I instantly regret it. He turns around and comes at me, raising his hand and hitting me with such force that it drops me to the ground and knocks me out.

When I awake I’m lying on a hospital gurney with my legs spread, propped up, and secured.

“What the fuck!?” I awkwardly bring my legs down and stagger off of the bed as a tall skinny woman in a pencil skirt and lab coat walks in.

“Please, please calm down,” she says in a thick European accent. “Luna Aria, I am doctor Mader. Your husband reach--”

“Where are my clothes? You and Alpha Eric have no right to dictate what happens to me or to my body.” I yell, enraged.

The doctor hands me my clothes and as I’m getting dressed Eric walks in and I see her move toward him. They definitely know each other, but I have no idea how. The way she is looking at him makes me believe that they have definitely been more than just acquaintances.

“Well, doctor?” he asks and she picks up a chart.

“She seems to be fertile, her reproductive system is intact, and given that she has given birth before I see no issues.”

I stare in complete shock. “You performed an exam on me without my consent? I can’t believe this. You had no right! You are insane!!”

“There must be some mistake, Aria has never had a child,” Eric states, but the doctor shakes her head in disagreement.

“No, she definitely has. The cervix doesn’t lie. She carried a child and had a natural birth. You can see in the images here,” she points to an image and then to another one. “This is what the cervix would look like if she never had a child. This is hers.”

I start to panic. My Leo. If he finds him he will kill him.

“Did you have a child?” Eric approaches me, his voice low and menacing. “DID YOU HAVE A CHILD?” He pushes me up against the wall and pins me there.

“Alpha Eric, please.” The doctor tries to intervene but he pushes her away from him.

“Who is the father, Aria?” He presses harder against my windpipe and I start to cry. With gasping breath, I respond.

“You’ll never find him.” I manage to get out, and I watch as Eric suddenly realizes that the real heir, Augusta’s son, exists. It is his worst nightmare.

A heartbeat passes and Eric picks me up and tosses me over his shoulder and drags me out of the hospital and through the pack grounds to the dungeons. He throws me into one of the cells and gives the guards strict instructions to keep me locked up until he comes back.

“Eric, you will never find him, ever!” I scream through the bars as he storms off and lets out a terrifying growl into the night.

Elise's POV

The tunnels aren’t so bad. Sure, they’re dark and filthy, and the stench within them is overpowering, but Lily easily navigates back to our pack lands, and once there she gives me back control and I head straight for Sammi’s house. I go to the back and find her with her little brother playing trucks in the sandbox.

“Hey.” Sammi turns around jumps from the sand and runs over. “There’s some real shit going down. Some Alpha from the south was found, almost dead.” She says quickly.

“What? Who?” This is serious, it explains why my parents were out of sorts.

“Wait, first things first. Is he the one?” Sammi smiles and I beam a smile back at her.

“He is. Sammi, he is the most gorgeous boy I have ever seen. Lily is already in love.” I hug myself and Sammi squeals in delight.

“I can’t believe you found him! What on earth is he doing in human territory though?” she asks, and I don’t have a good answer.

“I’m not sure. Lily can sense his wolf, but she says she can’t reach him. I’m going to go back to visit him again tomorrow and see if I can pry some more. He has gone to school in the human territory his entire life. He was abandoned there from what he says.” I fill Sammi in on the rest of the details when my phone starts buzzing again.

“Hi, mom. ... Okay, I’ll head home,” I reply and shove my phone back in my pocket. “I have to go, I’ll find out about the rogue thing and call you!”

“You better! All of the Alphas and their Betas are meeting in the dining hall. It sounds serious!” She calls to me as I jump in the car and head home. I pull into the parking garage and take the elevator to the ground floor and I pass the dining hall, hesitating briefly wishing I could hear what’s going on.

“Hey, kiddo, you’re just in time.” My mom is getting ready to go into the room.

“What’s going on?” I can sense that whatever they are talking about in there has to do with why my parents looked so worried this morning. “Can I come in? I am the next queen you know.” I smile up at her and to my complete surprise, she opens the door and has me follow her in, and whispers in my ear.

“This is serious, Elise. You need to listen carefully, as the future ruler of this pack and territory, you need to understand what is happening.”

I have never been invited to a council meeting before, so I know that whatever is happening, it’s important. I sit in the back of the room and my mother takes her place beside my father at the head of the table.

“I’ve asked Princess Elise to join us. I am going to ask that she see to Alpha Jonathan when he recovers.” She says and the proceedings begin.

“Alpha Eric is abusing his power. We all know that over the last several years he has gotten more violent in his handling of issues in the South, but he is starting to forcefully take over southern packs. We found Alpha Jonathan in the woods. Naked, bound and left to die. Luckily our warriors found him as he was being torn to pieces by rogues, and they were able to get him to the hospital. He informed us that Alpha Eric kidnapped him, murdered his beta in front of him, and then had him dropped up here.”

Gasps were heard around the room.

“He’s just a boy, isn’t he? His father just died in a car accident. The poor child.” One of the men said, and the rest chimed in with concern for him.

“He feels that he let down his pack by giving up control to Alpha Eric before he left. But, Queen Luna Aria gave him a message.” My father stands and scratches his head before he continues.

“It seems that Luna Aria had a child, Augusta’s child.”

More gasps from the council emerged and my father had to quiet down the chatter to continue.

“Yes, I know, I am surprised as well. She gave birth to a boy in secrecy and turned to one of the covens for help. They took him and hid him away, no one knows where. He is all but a ghost, and we know that the coven that took him will not come forward. It would break their code of secrecy. This boy is the rightful heir to the South and is their Alpha and King. Not Eric. Aria hid him because she knew that it was certain death if Eric found out.”

“How old would he be?” Asked one member.

“Seventeen or Eighteen we are guessing.” My mother answers.

“He could be anywhere! Do we know anything else?” Asks another.

“He was given the name Leo.”

My eyes fly open and I stare at my father in shock.

“Aria told Jonathan that the baby had curly black hair and mesmerizing eyes. One green and one blue, eyes not of this world. Almost electric.” My father answers and my heart stops completely.

The voices are now muted in the distance as I try and process the fact that I know where he is. Not only do I know, but I’m also his mate. I feel like I’m going to throw up as I sit t

'Elise, you need to pay attention, our mate is in trouble. Get control of yourself'. Lily chastises me and it brings me back and I listen intently.

“If Eric finds out, he will kill him. We need to find him. Eric has also talked of taking over nearby human cities as well.” My father sits back down and another of the council speaks.

“I have heard rumors from my sister in the south. There have been several disappearances from human territory. All young girls between the ages of eighteen to twenty-two. He may have already started to disrupt them.”

I can’t believe what I’m hearing. This is all too unreal. I struggle with what I should say or do, but I think it’s best to stay quiet in front of the council.

“Have we had any contact with the southern Dens or Covens? The Faye?” Beta Lucas asks and no one answers.

“That’s odd. We would normally have heard from them. Something isn’t right. We need to send a scout to the south. I hate to ask this of the council, but would you all consider staying another night? I would like to call an extended council meeting tomorrow with the others in our lands. I’ll reach out to Odette and have her help organize.”

I haven’t seen Odette in over a year. She is of royal blood within the vampire territories and has ruled the dens as my father has ruled the packs. I know this is serious if the others are being contacted.

'Leo is in trouble. Our mate is in terrible danger, Elise. We must protect him.' Lily is pacing with worry in my mind and I feel the same way. It dawns on me now that he has no idea who, and quite possibly what, he is.

Leo's POV

I watch Elise leave and I have no idea what just happened, but I am attracted to her more than I have ever been to any other girl. When she is out of sight I instantly miss her and I want her back beside me. It makes no sense.

'It is because she is our mate. Leo, you must acknowledge me. Let me out.'

The voice is back, killing any kind of enjoyment that I just had. I can’t very well start dating a girl if I’m going insane. The voice has gotten so much louder lately and I really think I need to seek professional help, which I can’t afford, so I head to the pawn shop and seek out Frank.

“Hey kid, there’s chili on the stove if you’re hungry.” Frank walks to the front of the store to turn the open sign off and I take a peek at the chili he made. I’m fairly certain he just opened a can and dumped it in along with some cut-up hot dogs, but I’ll eat it. It looks amazing, and I’m starving. My appetite has been out of control lately.

“You closing early today Frank?” I ask as I cram a giant spoonful of the chili into my mouth.

“Yeah. I’m not in the mood for people’s shit today, I’m gonna just sit in the back, drink this swill, and smoke until I pass out.” He waves a bottle of something at me and then offers me some.

“Na, but if it’s okay can I talk to you for a minute?” I ask and watch him plop down in his filthy lazy boy chair and I sit down on an equally dingy couch.

“Of course.” He looks at me and raises an eyebrow.

“Frank, I - um, well - do you ever hear voices, Frank?” There I asked it.

“Voices, what kind of voices?” He lights his cigar and takes a giant puff.

“Like voices that talk to you, like they are having a conversation with you.” I sit on the edge of the couch waiting eagerly for his answer.

“Well, I can’t say that I have. Do you hear voices?” He asks and I nod. “Do these voices tell you to kill anyone or do anything stupid? Do they talk about the devil or how you need to sacrifice good old Frank to appease the underworld?”

“No, no nothing like that.” I shake my head and chuckle.

“Then I wouldn’t worry about it,” he says.

“Frank, I feel like I’m going crazy though. The voice is talking to me more and more, talking nonsense things.” I try and explain.

“What kind of things,” he asks and pours another glass of whatever it is he’s drinking.

“It tells me that it’s my other half. That I need to let him out. Today, I met a girl, and the voice told me that she was my mate for Christ's sake.” I could swear for a moment that Frank looks interested, he sits up in his chair and he looks like he is thinking about it. But the look comes and goes quickly, and he relaxes back down.

“You’re fine kid. Sometimes we make up a voice to help guide us. Like if you’re lonely and shit. You’ve been alone a long time Leo, probably nothin’. Now, go finish eating before it gets cold.”

"I'm serious, I really think there's something wrong with me." I say and Frank tries to reassure me that it's probably just a phase. We talk for a while, until Frank passes out in his chair. I look at my watch and realize I need to go check in at the shit house before it get's too late.

Frank's POV

I pretend not to notice Leo leaving as he quietly sneaks out the back door, thinkin' I’m asleep. He’s left his backpack which tells me that he’ll be back later tonight, he just has check-in at the group home. My heart breaks for the kid. I’ve watched over him for several years now at the request of my coven, and I’ve grown attached to him. I’ve watched him struggle and seen the terrible loneliness that he carries. My coven told me what he is, but nothing more. But the voices he hears are his wolf, I'm sure of it. I grab my phone and make a call.

“He just left. Elenora, it’s time to tell him...yes, I’m sure... I’ve been watching over this kid just like you asked me to, and I haven't gotten involved in his life, I've stayed neutral, but you told me to call when I thought it was time, well I’m tellin’ ya it’s time! His wolf is talking to him, the poor kid has enough problems and now he thinks he’s going crazy......when he turns eighteen he is going to shift whether he knows what’s going on or not......Don’t cry, I know this isn’t the life you hoped for him......okay, I’ll keep an eye on him and my mouth shut for a little longer, but Elenora you should know, I think he may have found his mate.”