One year earlier…
[Someone wants to see you, Alpha Matthieu]
The wolf with black fur mixed with light brown spoke to the black wolf in front of him. The wolf’s head lowered to await the Alpha’s orders about his guests.
[Yes, send them in!] said the Alpha.
Two pale-skinned men stepped into the room that was more like a garden, as it was roofless and dominated by blue Iris flowers on each side. The full moon reflected in Alpha’s eyes, who had turned to face his two guests. The Alpha had already shifted into human form and wore a robe provided by the middle-aged woman in uniform behind him.
“Bonsoir, Alpha Matthieu.”
“Can I count on you?” I asked straightforwardly with a haughty face.
“Of course, Alpha Matthieu. We are trained to accomplish missions without being tracked and leave no trace,” said the man with the bulbous nose.
“Your mission is to kill Alpha Christian; the Luna is a plus, and I’ll give you a bonus. I’ve been baiting him by asking them for favours against the new vampires. He is not a powerful fighting wolf, but he has strong intuition; you can attack him when he is caught off guard. Is that enough information for you?” asked the Alpha with an emphasised sentence.
“The information is complete enough, Alpha.”
“You can leave now!” said Matthieu firmly.
The two men left the room and passed by a beautiful, dark-haired woman who was walking towards the room they had just left. The woman smiled faintly at both of them and walked back haughtily towards the Alpha.
“Are they the Elite Hunters that Mikael is proud of?” asked the woman.
“Yes. I recruited them both to launch my mission and also to avenge you, Ginette.”
“I can’t wait for Christian’s death. His rejection is seared into my heart. I will never be at peace as long as he is alive, Matthieu!” said Ginette passionately.
“Calm down, dear. Les Grondeurs Lupins will never be underestimated again. I’ll make it happen for you, my Luna, and I’ll be the Supreme Alpha!” Matthieu said it no less passionately.
*
Present time…
“I swear, I told you everything; please don’t kill me!”
Christian still couldn’t believe the man sitting tied to the chair in front of him. His eyes stared wide at the man. He was furious at the fact that Alpha Matthieu had betrayed him.
Chris had already surmised that all this betrayal was aimed at the next Supreme Alpha. He had refused to duel with several Alphas from other packs for the position of Supreme Alpha. Chris only wanted to focus on the future of Red Crescent Moon, as per his promise to the Moon Goddess that he should keep Future Luna from being hunted by vampires.
Chris did not expect his enemy to be nearby. His mind was distracted by Alpha Matthieu’s alibi, asking for his help to fight the new uncontrolled vampires in France.
“Is Mikael implicated in this?” asked Chris as he set his jaw.
“No, Lord Mikael doesn’t know anything about our mission to kill you. The wolf killed by Ancel was sacrificed by Alpha Matthieu to support his plan. Can I be free already?” The man asked then.
“It’s not that easy. My mood hasn’t improved yet,” Chris replied briefly.
Hearing Chris’s original words, Eva burst into laughter. Eva, who heard the conversation between them, thought about doing the same thing as Chris. Vampires are cunning creatures; they always took advantage of every occurrence involving the three most dominant kinds of supernatural creatures in this realm. Eva felt that Chris had done the right thing by restraining one of the Elite Hunters.
“I’m thirsty.” the man said.
“If you want to keep him, you should find a blood supply for him, Chris,” Eva suggested.
“He can drink animal blood.”
“Please have mercy on me; I was just following Ancel; I never hurt you, werewolf.”
“Fucking shit, you’re hassling me; I’ll get blood for a leech like you,” cursed Chris, who instantly transformed into a wolf and ran to the door to get out of Eva’s house.
“You’re lucky, vampire. Chris still has his usual wisdom, even though you guys tried to kill him. Think about that. If you were dealing with his father, your head would already be in Mikael’s place without your body.” Eva teased.
Meanwhile, at the Red Crescent Moon pack house, Hope was sitting on the edge of her bed when Edith walked into her room. As Edith approached her, she saw tears falling down her cheeks.
“I miss Chris so much,” she said softly.
Edith took Hope’s hand and gently caressed her back. Edith could feel Hope’s sadness. Losing a loved one was not easy for anyone.
“I don’t even know where his body is. I can’t pay my last respects to her.”
Edith recalled her encounter with her mother when she was in Veela mode yesterday. Her mother had her soul stored in the pendant currently around her neck. Edith thought there might be a way to communicate with the spirits of dead beings.
Edith could probably discuss this with Seth. He must know something about this. Edith wanted to do something for Hope so that her mother-in-law could be happy. Indeed, Edith would feel devastated if Seth left her.
Edith had wanted to invite Hope to attend Jadden and Claire’s ritual, but she didn’t because she saw Hope’s sad state. Edith assumed that she might be reminded of Seth’s father because of this ritual.
“Is it about to start, Luna?” asked Hope as she wiped her tears and looked away from the photo in her hand to Edith beside her.
“Yes, but if you can’t be there, that’s fine; I can understand,” said Edith.
“No, it’s an important event for us werewolves, and I haven’t turned into a wolf since Chris’ death.” A smile broke out on her face.
Hope got out of bed and instantly shifted into a brown-furred wolf, exactly like the colour of Seth’s fur, except her wolf body was smaller than the he-wolf Edith had already seen.
For a while, Edith watched Hope stay where she was, standing on all fours. Her brown eyes looked blank and instantly became normal again. Edith heard Hope howl loudly, which was immediately greeted by all the wolves in the pack house.
Edith had no idea what they were talking about. She couldn’t mind-link with Seth because he wasn’t a wolf, even though he was her Luna. She watched Hope’s movements as she wagged her tail and, in the next second, ran out of the room.
Edith followed her by running out, and she could still see Hope’s wolf body heading towards the pack house exit. Edith held a ritual for Jadden and Claire in the backyard, but why did Hope run out of the house?