Selena
As my pregnancy progressed, a quiet unease began to settle over the pack. Silas, ever the vigilant Alpha, grew even more protective. Patrols were doubled, warriors trained relentlessly, and protective spells were cast around the borders of our territory.
Silas and I knew the threat we faced came from the vampires. Virgil’s mate, whom I had killed, had ignited the tension between us. Clever and calculating, the vampires used rogues to launch relentless attacks on our pack.
“No one will harm you or our child,” Silas assured me one evening, his warm, steady hand holding mine. His hazel eyes gleamed with fierce determination, but behind them, I caught a glimpse of the worry he tried so hard to conceal.
I nodded, trusting him, but the sense of foreboding gnawing at my heart was impossible to ignore.
The night before, everything fell apart, our space was eerily quiet. Too quiet. I stared out of the bedroom window, watching the low-hanging moon cast haunting shadows over the trees. Silas had left earlier to oversee the night patrol, promising to return before midnight.
My hand rested protectively on my growing belly, feeling the gentle stirrings of life within. Our child. A new hope for the pack. Yet, the weight of the world seemed to press down on my shoulders.
When Silas returned, his expression was tense. “The protective wards are holding, but there’s… something out there,” he said in a low voice. “I can’t explain it. A presence. It feels like they’re testing our defenses.”
“Who?” I whispered, though I already knew the answer.
“Death Sanguines,” he replied, his jaw tightening.
I tried to remain calm, but the name sent chills down my spine. The vampire coven had haunted my dreams. Led by a force so dark it seemed to thrive on destruction, they were a constant shadow looming over us.
At dawn, chaos erupted. The morning peace was shattered by screams and the clashing of weapons. I woke with a start, heart pounding, as the distant sounds of battle echoed through the air.
Silas burst into the room moments later, his expression grim. “They’ve breached the perimeter. Stay here-don’t move!”
“No!” I protested, gripping his arm. “I can’t just-”
“Selena,” he interrupted, his voice firm but tinged with desperation. “Please. For our child.”
His words hit me like a blow, and I reluctantly nodded. Silas kissed my forehead before rushing out, his form shifting into his wolf as he disappeared into the chaos outside the door.
I paced the room, every instinct screaming at me to fight or flee, but I knew I was vulnerable. The strength I once wielded had waned with my pregnancy, and our child’s safety was more important than my pride.
Hours passed like an eternity. The sounds of battle grew louder, then quieter, then louder again, until finally, a crushing silence blanketed the space. My heart raced as I pressed my ear to the door, straining to hear anything-anything.
Then they came.
The door exploded inward, wood splinters flying in all directions. I stumbled back, instinctively shielding my belly. Two rogue wolves had broken through, and behind them entered three figures-Death Sanguines. Their crimson eyes burned with malice.
“Well, well,” one of them sneered, a wicked smile curling on his lips. “The Moon Goddess herself.”
I stood tall, refusing to show fear. “You will not touch my child,” I said, my voice steady despite the terror gripping my heart.
Another vampire chuckled darkly. “Oh, we’re not here for the child. Not yet.”
Before they could approach, a furious roar shattered the air. Silas. He charged into the room like a force of nature, claws outstretched, eyes blazing with unrestrained rage.
“Run!” he commanded through the mind-link in his wolf form, his voice carrying an undeniable authority.
Tears blurred my vision as I turned and fled, my heartbreak with every step. I didn’t want to leave him, but I knew he was right. I couldn’t fight-not like this.
I ran through the forest, the sounds of Silas’s snarls and the battle echoing behind me. I didn’t need to look back to know what was happening. He was fighting for his life-and mine.
Minutes turned into what felt like hours as I stumbled through the dense woods, my breath ragged and my body trembling. Every step was agony, but I refused to stop. My child’s life depended on me.
Finally, I found refuge in a secluded cabin hidden deep in the forest. It was small and unassuming, surrounded by towering trees that seemed to shield it from the outside world.
Inside, I collapsed onto the wooden floor, my body wracked with sobs. Silas. My heart ached as though pierced by a thousand blades, knowing he was gone. I felt it-the moment his life was extinguished, like a candle snuffed out by the wind.
But there was no time to grieve. The vampires would come for me, and when they did, I had to be ready. Summoning every ounce of strength I had left, I began weaving a shield-a barrier of light and energy to cloak the cabin from their senses.
I steeled my resolve, even as my body protested. My strength was waning, and my pregnancy weighed heavily on me. But I pressed on, my hands trembling as the shield took shape.
“You will be safe,” I whispered to my unborn child. “I will keep you safe.”
The shield shimmered faintly, then faded from sight. I collapsed to the floor, utterly drained but resolute. The cabin was now hidden, its presence cloaked even from the most skilled trackers.
As the sun set, casting golden light through the cabin’s cracks, I lay on the bed, my hand resting on my swollen belly. The forest outside was eerily silent, its stillness a stark contrast to the chaos I had just fled.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as I whispered a prayer to the moon, to Silas, to anyone who might hear.
“Your father was the bravest soul I have ever known,” I murmured to the life growing inside me. “And I will make sure you know his story. His love. His sacrifice.”
Though the future was uncertain, one thing was clear: I would do whatever it took to protect my child. For Silas. For the pack. For the flicker of hope that still burned, fragile but steadfast, in the darkness.
And as I drifted into a restless sleep, the forest seemed to hold its breath, mourning the fallen Alpha who had fought to the end to protect the Moon Goddess and her unborn child.