VALERIE
I thought what I was going through in the Silverstone Moon Pack was bad, but my problems were nothing compared to theirs. Theirs are the worst. I thought I had the worst life in this world, but what they have gone through is something I would never wish on any one! Looking at them, I seriously admire them for being so strong after what they have been through.
"Ever since then, we have been running around in different Pack territories. If a Pack wolf suspects our presence, we leave their territory immediately," Zelia explains. That would enlightened me to why she was so protective of Evie when she saw me with her. She gets up and stretches her arms, Evie and I following soon after.
"So Valerie, it's obvious you have no place to stay, so where are you going now?" Evie asks.
"I thought about finding the city and then catching a bus. What about you guys?" I ask them.
"We were about to leave this town and go to Silverstone Moon Pack," Evie tells me calmly.
I freeze on the spot in horror and she starts laughing at my reaction, and that's when I quickly understand that it is a joke. A very bad one I must say!
"Chill, we already passed that territory yesterday and we have no intentions of returning there," she says and then gives me a wink.
"You can come with us," Zelia suggests. I don't know how to reply to that, so I remain standing on the spot, my mouth agape in speechlessness. Evie squeals excitedly and hugs me tightly. I don't know what to say or do about that either. These two complete strangers, who I have only just met, are already accepting me as one of their own. I hug Evie back slowly and Zelia join us for a group hug. It feels like we are long-lost friends!
After parting from our group hug, we all search for my back Pack that I had dropped on the sand. Evie continues to ask me every question possible about my old Pack. Yes, definitely my old Pack now. I'm officially a member of the "awesome threesome" Pack now. A certain Evie Trisha Donald holds the position as the Alpha, Valerie Dorah Victor as the Beta, and Zelia Caren Donald is the third-in-command, the Top Warrior!
Even without asking, I am told everything about Zelia and Evie. Zelia is eighteen while Evie is fifteen. They work in different places, doing menisl jobs to survive. They even tell me information like their wolves colours, which by the way are black for the two of them!
"The colours of wolves are often black, brown, red, grey...'and White'." Zelia informs us.
"Oh, come on Zelia, it's a stupid myth," Evie says, looking at her sister in disbelief.
"No, the White wolf will arrive soon. When the time is right," Zelia replies while looking ahead.
"Only the ancestor of that Blue Moon Pack's Alpha was a white wolf," Evie replies in irritation.
"You'll see soon," Zelia replies wryly. She bends down and picks up my backpack from the sand at her feet. Has it been lying here all this time?
"Let's go to the hotel and gather our belongings so as to leave this territory as soon as possible!" Zelia commands strictly.
"Hey, I'm your Alpha!" Evie snaps at her sister.
I walk towards the water and I look at the moon which is still present in the morning sky. If this was what the Moon Goddess has chosen for me, then I am more than content.
"Not again!" Evie yells and pulls me away from the water before I can jump back in like she thinks I will!
***
SEVERAL MONTHS LATER.
"Here's your change ma'am," I tell the elderly lady politely and hand her back her change. She smiles at me sincerely and I hand it over to her.
It has been six months now..... Six good months ever since I met Zelia and Evie and joined them in a Pack of three. Both are the best thing I could have ever asked for. I love my life now, as it is. Of course, we have to constantly change locations and territories so that none of the Packs catch us, but upon reaching the Millenium Moon Pack's territory, we are able to stop and settle down in that one place, and we've been here for the last three months. It is far enough away from both the territories of the Silverstone and Riverside Moon Packs, so we all feel safe staying here. We have all grown tired of running. Zelia requested the Alpha of the Millenium Moon Pack for permission to stay in his Pack territory and he granted it. We've been here ever since.
Evie and I are studying in the local convent school that offers free education to destitute girls and after school, I work in a local Eatery while Evie works at a library. With how great of a librarian she is, I wouldn't be surprised if one day she owns her own library! Zelia, both our legal guardian, works full time at a boutique to earn some money for our survival!
Like I said earlier, I love my life. There are financial problems, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying everything else I now have. We have to live in a place worse than the garage I was forced to live in before in my old Pack, but it is still a home.
Zelia is very protective of me. She keeps telling me that she knows one day I will shift and she has even started training me for it. We are more than a Pack...we were family.
Evie is the baby of our little family. Apparently, she found my name too big to pronounce and gave me the nickname "Val" which I love to bits. In my old Pack, no one has ever called me using the short form of my name.
Suddenly, the whole Eatery goes silent. I suddenly wonder what might be going on for a moment, until I see a guy standing in the doorway. He's wearing dark jeans, a black shirt, and a black thick leather jacket over it that matches his jet black hair.
He enters the now quiet Eatery, taking only three steps before pausing and quickly looking around. Everyone in the Eatery is looking at him with curious eyes, and he is staring at one person after the other. It is like he is searching for someone. His stare is quite intimidating!
When his eyes meet mine, I see that his they wear a nice olive green. He is really handsome to look at and I rove over his toned body appreciatively. He eyes me critically, studying for something, but I have no idea what. I really don't appreciate something in his stare so I lower my gaze, looking anywhere but at him. The way he looks at me is setting off every danger signal in my head and putting them on high alert. Okay, he is really handsome, but I can feel he is dangerous too....very dangerous!
I can feel him still staring at me,his eyes boring into my skin and I don't like it. I get irritated by his stare and raise my lashes, staring right back. I don't want to back down as soon as I meet his gaze. I start to grit my teeth when he doesn't look away and I noticed him clench his jaw. I am angry and I feel my whole body shaking with it. I am not going to back down and neither is he. I have no idea where this sudden courage I feel came from, but I am going to make sure I use it effectively.
Suddenly, he looks away and turned his back on me, quickly leaving the Eatery. Once he is out of sight, the alarms in my head turn off and I am able to relax. I don't know who this dangerous looking guy is, but I definitely don't like or trust him.
Checking my watch, I realise that it is already 7pm. It is around the time Evie always comes to meet me here. That's our routine, both Zelia and Evie come to the Eatery at night for dinner, then we all head back to our single room flat from here. Zelia always arrives after Evie at around 7:30pm.
I wait ten minutes for Evie to show up, then give up waiting and head towards the library. Upon arrival, I stand frozen in place when I see two men holding Evie and trying to force her into a car.
After a moment, my mind gets over the shock and I start running towards her, shouting in fear, "Evie!"
One of the men notices me and he looks up. His eyes are pitch black, the colour of a shifter. He gives me a wicked smirk and hurries to sit inside the car after Evie and his buddy.
They are gone before I can reach them and save her. I turn on my heel and race to the nearby payphone on the side of the road to call Zelia. I look up and see that she is running towards the studio with speed that is not humanly possible.
"Zelia!" I call out to her.
She looks at me, and then she stands in front of me a moment later. "Which way did they go?" she asks, not even out of breath from her run. It doesn't take me much time to realise that Zelia already knows what has happened from Evie communicating through their Pack's link to her.
I point in the direction that the car has been driven off in and she gives me a nod. "The time has come, let's go. I would like to take you there with me!" she says firmly.
I don't understand what she means, but before I can ask her to explain, she grabs my hands and starts running towards the woods, dragging me along with her.
When we are far enough away from the road that no one would be able to see us, she strips down and hands me her clothes. She then shifts into her black wolf a moment later. I climb onto her back and she starts running with her supernatural speed towards the north. It occurs to me not long after we started north, that to reach the Riverside Moon Pack we would have to cross through Silverstone Moon Pack's territory. That has me shit scared and worried. I hate the memories of that damn Pack!