Two Alphas, One Mate

Diana

“Diana.”

“Diana.”

“DIANA!”

His screams.

It was the same screams from the night before. I couldn’t get them out of my head.

I gasped for air, but I couldn’t breathe.

My throat was so tight, and no amount of oxygen could get in no matter how hard I tried.

“Ah!” My hands were holding my chest steady as I whipped myself straight from my bed. I patted onto my chest frantically. I was breathing, I wasn’t paralyzed… I was…I was…

I was home…

“Di! What’s wrong?” Damian bolted up from the covers, blanketing me with his bare arms.

“Oh…” I looked over to him, his eyes were heavy, but his body was pulsating from the adrenaline, “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No, don’t be sorry,” He pulled me in tighter, “Why are you so cold? Are you sure your ok? Never be sorry for waking me up.”

I watched the covered window, “What time is it?” My feet almost reached to the floor, but Damian immediately pulled me back into bed.

“It’s ok Di, they’re sleeping. Besides, you need to rest.” He gently placed me back down on the pillow. “And when they wake up, I’ll feed them. Just rest now. You’ve barely slept all week.”

I placed my hand on the nape of his neck and smiled, “I’m so lucky to have you.”

“No, it’s the other way around.” He leaned in and softly kissed me, “I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

…

A mother’s love is everlasting, like the imperishable sun.

“It’s a nice touch,” I placed my hand on Damian’s shoulder as we watched his mother’s grave plaque on the forest bed.

His hand hovered near her name, then grazed down to the new inscription at the bottom.

Loved by two sons….

“I’ve been in so much denial over the years, hate literally consumed my mind, and now, he’s finally back together with her.” He looked over to the plaque next to Soyra’s. It felt so surreal seeing it in person.

Alpha Holden of Crimson pack, son of Luna Soyra…

“Your mother would be proud,” I breathed in heavily as I reminisced about my own family, all lacking proper burial sites.

Suddenly, there was a small rustle from the bushes that caught my attention.

It was a small white rabbit, curiously venturing closer to us. The rabbit’s black eyes were tracking the floor, while its whiskers flickered in the air.

Damian curiously raised his eyebrows and looked to me. “What’s it doing?”

“Don’t be afraid little guy,” I put my hand out to encourage the rabbit to come closer.

“Hm, strange.”

I kept my hand steady as the warmth of its fur grazed my fingertips, “He’s friendly, that’s all…”

“It goes against a rabbit’s instinct.” Damian put his hand near mine, mimicking the same steady movement, but as soon as his hand came near the rabbit, it quickly retreated back into the bushes. “We are it’s natural predator.”

“Ever since I brought you and your brother back… I’ve been feeling different. More connected.”

“More connected to rabbits?”

I chuckled lightly and nudged his arm, “No…To the forests, well, so I think. I’m not entirely sure.”

“Are you having visions again?”

“No.” I lied.

I couldn’t let Damian constantly worry about me. We had more responsibility now, and the last thing I wanted was for him to over analyze my visions. Fenrir pack was expanding faster then we can almost handle, the missions were piling up for our warriors, and there was a mountain of tasks that needed to be done to get our security up to par to keep up with our expansion and the growing threat of the city.

Damian was overworked, but he would never admit it.

“You’re hardly slept since Adam told us about your mother, are you sure you’re telling me everything?”

“I don’t want to think about it Damian. I’m scared of what it may mean.”

“I’ll always be here for you,” He took hold of my hand and squeezed, “You have always known you had power, but you just don’t fully understand it yet. We will figure it out, together.”

“What if I hurt someone? Someone that I love…”

“You’re a healer Di.” He kissed my cheek and brought his eyes back to mine, “You would never do that.”

“I’m more then just a healer… I am growing stronger,” I placed my hand back out, then out of the bush, re-emerged the white rabbit.

Damian’s eyes widened as he closely stared at the rabbit running towards us. “Wow… And could your mom?”

I gently picked up the furry rodent. “Do this?” I raised the rabbit up to my face and placed my other hand over top of its body, showcasing the lack of fear the rabbit now possessed.

Damian swallowed hard, “Yes… That.”

“I’m not sure. She kept a lot to herself, and my father was paranoid. He was so scared someone would come along and take her away. Now, I understand why he was like that.”

“None of this explains why you have the powers, or is the accident connected to your mother’s abilities?”

I continued stroking the rabbits head with my fingertips, “It wasn’t an accident. It was attempted murder, but it doesn’t matter anymore, it’s all in the past.”

Damian had a point. The story Adam told us after we escaped the hospital had relevance to my powers, but what was the use of digging deeper when we had so much more to focus on here, with our family, our pack, and now our home under more threats then ever before.

“Maybe you are meant to do something with it. She passed on the powers to you, and not your brother. Aren’t you curious why?”

“I’m going to do what my father and mother did for years, try my best to keep it a secret. The pack knows, but I want to keep it that way.”

Damian sighed heavily, “That may change over time Di…There is never a guarantee.”

I felt my throat tightening up at the thought of what happened so many years ago. I never met my grandfather, and I wasn’t alive when it happened, but now that I am a mother, I couldn’t imagine in a million years doing what he did.

“How could my grandfather do that to my mother? Believe in strangers, allowing them to perform that sacrificial ritual, or whatever they want to call it… What they almost did to her… Makes me sick to my stomach.”

I couldn’t sleep for two days straight after Adam revealed that story to us. He kept it secret after my father confided to him that night of the fire, and the crazy part about the story was that Holden wasn’t the one to make the first move that night.

It was my father who tried to kill him after he stated the true purpose of his visit.

Holden always wanted me, but he had no idea of the true origin of my power, and typical stubborn Holden refused to back down and listen. As a result, my father lost control, and my brother witnessed everything.

My father was only trying to protect me, and he was going to eventually tell me, but it was too late, and now I was piecing everything together, the origin story of my mother and her powers.

My grandfather was sucked into a religious cult, with crazy ideologies and religious practices. They claimed that they could speak to the Moon Goddess directly through disciples that contained Alpha blood.

They wanted my grandfather’s first born, my mother, to perform a ritual so he could connect with the Moon Goddess. He thought it would strengthen his pack if he had direct access to her. He believed he would become powerful with her knowledge and wisdom, and possibly her strength.

He had no idea it was for sacrifice, and my mother almost died that day as a result. How she survived the sacrifice will always remain a mystery, but ever since that day, she had exhibited powers such as mine. Healing was the only thing I’ve ever witnessed, but she hardly put it to use. There was no reason for her to use it because our pack lived peacefully for so long. Her only focus was to raise us and be there for her family.

“She lived through it Di. She got through and survived, just like you.”

“How could they try to sacrifice a child to a god that may not exist?”

“What god? You mean the moon goddess?”

“No…Lycrith, god of the Lycans, or god of Darkness to others... The cult tricked my grandfather in believing it was her, but it was never her, it was Lycrith that they worshipped. They believed that one day Lycans will return back from extinction, ruling over wolves and humanity alike. ” I looked down to the rabbit and stroked my hand across its soft head one last time before gently placing it on the ground.

“Lycans died out long ago. Besides, I saw her myself, the Moon Goddess, and so did Holden.”

“You both died and came back. I’m not sure if even the moon goddess would give me powers to do that. Holden thought he knew what I was, but I don’t think he truly understands, neither do I. I wish my parents were alive so they could explain more to me, but its going to have to be something I discover on my own.”

“Everything up until this point has been a miracle, you can’t say that. Why would Lycrith pretend to be the Moon Goddess, and give you the powers to use at your free will? You’re a good person Di, you would never use your powers in evil ways.”

I felt a chill down my spine as I thought of the dark demonic images of Lycrith. His grotesque, rotten face filled my dreams constantly, and I was always trying to wash him away from my mind. “I try not to think about it.”

Damian shrugged his arms in denial and nodded his head, “We don’t know definitively what it is…”

“We need to accept the fact that my powers are sourced from evil. You still don’t fully understand who Lycrith is Damian, not many people do. Lycrith is a Lycan, trying to bring his kind back to humanity. He pretends he is something that he is not, and when I brought you back, I think I brought a piece of him with me.”

“You are you. You made the decision to bring us back, you heal, and you have power’s that only you control, not something else.”

“You may be right, but just knowing that... I have too much to lose.”

He firmly gripped my hand, “And I’ll be there beside you every step of the way.”

“Thanks hun.”

“Anything for you my Luna.” He sighed and we both turned our attention back to the graves.

Minutes passed as we watched their names, and thankfully, the chat about my mother’s past slowly dissipated through the sounds of the wind blowing through the thick brush of the forests.

It was peaceful, and for once, I felt closure watching Holden’s grave site, knowing that he is in a better place now, with his mother that he tried so desperately to get back.

“Alpha?” Adam’s voice emerged from the treeline. He was accompanied with Hippolyta. They were dressed in their warrior gear, and they were panting out of breath.

Damian released my hand and cleared his throat, “Yes?”

“We have a breach at our border, probably nothing, but we were going to run out and check it out.” Adam looked over Damian’s shoulder to me.

“You ok?” He mind linked to me.

“Yes, just saying goodbye…” I replied.

“I’ll come with you,” Damian gave an affirmative nod to them and started dusting off his pants.

“Hope to see you soon on another girls night Luna? Missed you the last time.” There was concern in Hippolyta’s face as she watched me hover near the graves. It was obvious to everyone around me I wasn’t myself for the past week.

“Yes, sorry I missed the other night, I’ve been so tired lately, I’m practically a zombie…”

“That’s what motherhood will do to you.” She winked and turned back to Adam, “We ready to move out now? Loki and Eric are already on their way.”

Their voices faded away as they continued speaking. I couldn’t take my eyes off of Holden’s grave. There were pins and needles piercing through my heart. I thought this was goodbye, but it didn’t feel real.

Alpha Holden of Crimson Pack.

Memories will fade, but redemption is everlasting.

I chose the writing, it was short, but it was what I wanted to remember him by. Not the horrible things, but the ending.

Damian’s hand came onto my shoulder, snapping me out of my brief trance, “Go back to the house Di, I’ll meet you there. Breach is probably a bunch of human kids again. Looks like Elysium city is expanding closer to our territory...”

“You want to run with us instead Diana? Looks like you can let off some steam.” Hippolyta could obviously tell I was emotional, and on a regular day, I loved to take a run, especially when it was for security duty, but I didn’t have the strength today. I had too much on my mind.

“No, I gotta get back to the house.”

“Maybe another time then,” she replied.

Damian kissed the top of my head, “I’m close by if you need anything, I better go.”

I looked back down at the grave site and sighed, “Yea… I know.”

He cupped his hand under my chin, “You sure you’re ok? I don’t need to go.” He glanced over to my brother speaking subtly to Hippolyta, “Adam has been making my Alpha duties easy for me these past few weeks.”

“No I’m fine, go, I’ll join you next time.” I lightly smiled and placed my hand on his.

“Alright sexy momma, hope you have energy for later…”

I smirked and crossed my arms against my chest, “Energy for what?”

“Oh…” He turned away and started to jog towards to Adam and Hippolyta, “You’ll see.”

“You tease.”

He laughed as he caught up with the Adam and Hippolyta, “I should say the same thing about you!”

I smiled as I watched them disappear through the thick bush. Sometimes I felt as if I was being a real downer in this pack, but Damian always found a way to lighten my mood in one way or another. I wasn’t always like this, but I suppose that was what motherhood would do to your emotions.

I looked up at the grassy incline to get back to the house. I was tired, it almost felt like the house was a million miles away.

I took a deep breath in, “You can do this Diana.” I was encouraging myself to start walking back because I was tired, and not only from the babies, but from the visions that were getting more intense in my delirious state. A nap was the perfect solution, and hopefully will give me enough energy to last the rest of the day.

I was a few paces away from the grave plaques, and the hill leading back to the house was steps away. I paused and looked up to the sun peeking through the trees. By now the morning fog was cleared away and most of the clouds were evaporating. It was almost as if I lost my warmth of being a wolf. The doctor said there was nothing wrong with me, but I wasn’t the same. A werewolf’s temperature was always hot, and now, I was ice cold.

I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes for a moment to bask in the peacefulness of the warm sun.

“You know Diana, I thought I would get a bigger tombstone then this…” A familiar voice pierced through my ears.

Was I dreaming?

His voice was deep, and grizzly, but instantly recognizable.

This couldn’t be. This was impossible.

I whipped myself around, eyes piercing forward like I was looking at a ghost.

I gasped as I held my hand over my mouth, “Holden?”