a promise & a new life

“Promise me, Hailey, that you won’t let anything happen to my pup…. Pro… promise me that yo.. you will keep him safe until hi…. His father comes to find him…. Promise me.” The dying she-wolf pleaded to her best friend while holding her swollen belly, where a life was about to come out.

“I… I promise you, Ava…. I promise me… I will take care of him like my own pup… no one will be able to find him or to hurt him… I … I promise… just hold on for a little longer… you will be alright… he will be alright.” Hailey promised her in a choked tone, holding Ava’s hand tightly as if she was scared that Ava would vanish into thin air if she loosened her grip on her hand.

Ava smiled faintly, her eyelashes started dropping, making Hailey panic to death.

“Nononono, Ava… don’t sleep… don’t sleep…. Do something.” Hailey screamed in panic while looking at the female doctor who was trying to deliver the baby, but Ava’s condition was worsening the situation. Ava was injured badly and had lost so much blood that they couldn’t go for a C-section, but she had no strength in her body either to push the baby out of her body.

“One more push, Ava…. You can do it… you made it to be here in this state…. You …. You can do it to deliver your baby safely…. One last time…. Push, Ava…. Push… I .. I can see his head.” The doctor urged Ava in a panicked and desperate tone.

“Yeah… yeah… one last time… push, Ava… for the sake of your pup…. Gather all your strength and push… push, Ava.” Hailey screamed at her best friend, who was now on the brink of death.

Ava was now breathing shallowly, but she needed to bring her pup safely in this world. He is her only hope who can avenge them and their pack. “One last time, Ava… let’s do this for our pup.” Her wolf urged her in an exhausted tone, still determined to make one last attempt.

Ava took a deep breath, gathered all her last strength with the help of her wolf, and pushed harder. “AAAAHhhhhhhhhh.” She screamed at the top of her lungs while pushing her pup out of her body harder than all the time.

“Ava.” Hailey screamed in horror as soon as Ava’s lifeless body went limp in her embrace. At the same time, a meek cry of a baby filled the room too.

The doctor pressed the almost cold body of the pup to her chest while looking at his dead mother lying in front of her through tearful eyes. The nurses also sobbed aloud, covering their mouths with their hands to muffle their cries.

The door of the room burst open, and Alpha Lucifer barged in with a horrified expression on his face. At the same time, a nurse covered Ava’s body with a sheet. Hailey was now holding Ava’s body tightly in her embrace while crying her heart out.

Lucifer was now rooted in his spot while processing what had just happened. His eyes darted to Hailey, Ava, and the crying baby in the doctor’s embrace. He was completely drenched in blood, as he had just finished the battle outside.

“She is gone, Lucifer… she left us… she left us, Lucifer… she left us.” Hailey wailed aloud while looking at Lucifer through tears.

The pup’s miserable cry pulled Lucifer out of his daze after some time. The doctor slowly approached Lucifer and stopped at a distance from him. He raised his hands towards the doctor to take the pup. The doctor slowly put the tiny frame of the crying pup in his large hands.

“No one will talk about what happened today here. The whole pack will keep this incident buried deep inside their minds. From now on, I forbid everyone to mention Ava Orion and anything related to the Moon Shadow Pack.” He announced through the mind-link to everyone while looking at the crying pup in his hands through tears.

“From now on… this is your pack, and we are your parents, pup…. You will be known as the member of the Dark Moon Pack until your father comes here.” He said to the pup in a choked tone. Hailey continued crying while looking at Lucifer through tears. She knew it was the best that they could do for this pup, and she was also determined to fulfill her promise to her best friend…. Her Ava.

19 years later:-

“Damn it, Maddie. You have to be careful during sparring not to hit so hard. You are not fighting enemies.” Lucas, one of the warriors sparring with Madeline, groaned in pain while lying on the ground on his stomach. His whole body was screaming in pain after being beaten by Maddie in sparring.

“I am sorry, Lucas. Next time, I will be careful.” Madeline replied to him in a teasing tone, and he glared at her. “Next time… when I will be alive till then… then you will be careful.” He spat angrily but groaned in pain again as he moved his upper body furiously.

“O goddess… give me a hand now, will you?” He yelled while looking at Madeline angrily. She chuckled while wiping the sweat on her neck but raised her hand towards Lucas. Others didn’t pay attention to their bantering, as this was a common occurrence for them.

Although Madeline looked fragile with her small frame of 5 feet 5 inches and a doll-like, innocent, and cute face, she was fierce and cruel when it came to duels. She could easily bring down a full-grown wolf of almost five times more than her size and weight.

“Maddie…. Alpha is asking you to come to his office.” Someone yelled when Lucas was about to stand up after grabbing Madeline’s hand. “O shi*.” She cursed and immediately yanked her hand from Lucas’s grip, causing him to lose his balance again, and he fell on the ground on his butt, wincing in pain again.

Madeline didn’t pay attention to him and sprinted towards the pack house. She forgot that they were about to leave for Royal Pack for the annual ball with the alpha couple. The future alpha and her brother were still in the Royal Academy, finishing their training, leaving her to fulfill all their duties until they come back.

She continued running at a fast pace until she reached the alpha’s office on the second floor of the pack house and barged in while opening the door with a bang.

“I am sorry… I am late… I am sorry.” She yelled while panting heavily. It was almost a fifteen-minute run for her from the training ground to the packhouse, but she covered it in less than 10 minutes.

“Are you sure that I am the right person to apologize to, Maddie…. Because I am sure that my forgiveness will change nothing.” Lucifer remarked sarcastically at her apology.

She slumped on the chair in front of him on the other side of the table. Lucifer sighed helplessly while feeling pity for her. “Is there any way to avoid the storm?” she asked him while giving her a pitiful look, sprawling her upper body at the top of the table.

Lucifer gave her a sympathetic look without uttering a word. She felt remorseful. She was doomed because she forgot that she was supposed to go shopping with Luna Hailey this evening to buy an evening gown for the ball.

"You .... you can s.. say th.. that you asked me to go to ... to the training ground for ... for some urgent training session." She asked him while forming an excuse for why she forgot.

Lucifer's sympathetic expression immediately changed into a horrific one. "You want me to face the wrath of that lady tiger to save you?" he asked her while yelling in panic, and Madeline immediately bobbed her head furiously while looking at her innocently.

"Nope.... a big no.... this is your mess... solve it by yourself." He immediately refused while moving his head in the other direction, completely avoiding her pitiful gaze because he knew that he would melt in a few seconds if he continued looking at her.

"Please, Alpha," she still pleaded, trying to appear as pitiful as she could. Lucifer was about to refuse once again when he straightened his back.

The next second, the door burst open again, making Lucifer feel pity for the door. "Madeline Summers..... you still have the audacity to ask him to cover you." The powerful voice of Luna Hailey shook the whole office, making them almost jump out on their seats in fright. Madeline gulped hard while craning her neck towards Luna Hailey, who was now standing right at the door, fuming in anger, her hands resting on her hips, a clear indication of a volcanic eruption at any time soon.