Unwanted

Near Dallas, Texas

Teegan’s P.O.V.

We pull up to the pack house of our next stop. It’s supposed to be a safe place that takes in orphaned pups, but it appears to be something else when we get here. There are many people around, but they won’t meet our eyes as we get off the bus. Joel and I try to approach a couple, but they run away as though they’re scared.

“What’s going on here?” I whisper to him. The fear I feel coming from the people in the pack is almost suffocating.

“I don’t know, but we need to find someone to talk to.” He replies. The others in our group stay close to us as we head to the packhouse. A large man walks out just as we’re about to go up the steps.

“What the fuck do you want?” He yells at us. This is not at all what we were expecting from this pack. It was supposed to be one of the good ones.

“I’m Prince Joel, and we’re here on behalf of the Silver Moon pack. We understand there may be a couple of pups here who were kidnapped from Silver Moon.” Joel tightens his grip on my hand as the large man sneers at us.

“What are you accusing me of? We didn’t kidnap any pups.” What’s odd is I don’t feel threatened by him. He almost seems like he’s afraid of something. It can’t be us; we just got here.

“No, we’re not accusing you. We were told you may have taken in orphaned pups after they were rescued.” Joel explains. The man’s expression softens slightly, and then he looks all around.

“Is this some sort of trick?” He asks, calmer than he was before. Joel and I look at each other in confusion.

“I don’t understand what you mean. Is something wrong?” Joel pulls me to take a few steps toward the man. The man nods before speaking.

“Yes. Come inside so I can explain.” Our entire group, including the guards, follows the man inside the packhouse. When the door is shut behind him, a woman runs to his side, putting her arms around him.

“Please don’t hurt us.” She says in fear.

“We’re not here to hurt anyone. What’s going on? What’s making you and your pack so scared?” Joel says. A few people come out from hiding places, looking at us as though they’re unsure if they can trust us.

“I’m the crowned prince Logan, and this is my mate Emily. We’ll be king and queen when my parents step down. Please tell us if something is going on that we should know about.” Logan and Emily step forward to stand next to us, and everyone in the house seems to sigh in relief.

“We thought they had come back to kill us like they threatened.” The man says before sitting down in a large chair. The woman and a little boy sit on his lap.

“What’s your name, and who said they were going to kill you?” I ask as Joel and I sit with Logan and Emily on the couch across from them.

“I’m Alpha Seth, and this is my Luna Emira and our three-year-old pup Chase. About a month ago, a pack that’s larger than ours attacked us. They took some of our unmated females and killed several of our warriors. They said if we told anyone or tried to attack them, they would kill us all. When you pulled up and we saw how many of you there were, we thought you were from that pack.” Seth sighs, and I feel sorry for him. The stress and fear of not being able to protect his pack must be overwhelming.

“Do you know the name of the pack who attacked you?” Logan asks.

“Are you going to tell them that we told you? If you do, they’ll kill us.” Seth asks, holding Emira and Chase tight.

“No. We’re going to go kick their asses. We’re lycans, but we’re not the strongest ones in our group. We have a secret weapon.” Logan responds, and everyone in our group turns to look at Petra. Her face turns slightly red.

“Are you a witch?” Emira asks, studying Petra.

“No. I’m a werewolf from the Mystic Moonlighters pack. We have magic. Watch this.” Petra starts glowing a sparkly gold. The room suddenly has what appears to be stars falling all around us. The pups come out and run around, trying to catch them as they laugh. Seth and Emira smile as Chase joins them and starts giggling. “This was just an example. I have caused every pack member in other packs to feel excruciating pain. I can put them to sleep or make them freeze in place. It all depends on what I feel is appropriate.”

“That’s truly incredible. I would have loved to have you here when they attacked. Their pack is the Dark Tails. They’re about thirty minutes from here.” Seth answers, still watching Petra. I can’t blame him. She amazes me every day with the magic she’s able to do. It’s hard to believe it was hiding in her all this time, and all she needed was her mate to release it.

“We’ll go there next. Do you still have the two orphaned pups? We’d like to verify they’re from Silver Moon.” Joel asks, getting back on the reason we’re here.

“Yes. We took them in a few months ago. They were terrified when we first got them, but they’ve adjusted well. They didn’t want to use the names the pack they were with called them, so they chose their own names. Lily and Rose. They’re in their room if you want to follow me. Maybe only a couple of you should come. Too many at once may upset them.” Emira kisses Seth and then stands up. I stand and take Petra’s hand. She’s going to be the luna of Silver Moon, so it’s best they start a bond with her now.

“We’ll go,” I tell the others. Joel and Anton are both hesitant, but I shake my head. They need to trust us. Besides, I have Petra by my side, and she’s the most powerful person I know. What could go wrong?

Emira leads the two of us up the stairs to the second floor. When we get to one of the rooms with a closed door, she knocks softly before opening it. When we go inside, I see two small pups around the age of five sitting on a beanbag in the corner, looking at books. As soon as they see Petra and I, they look frightened.

“Please don’t be afraid. We’re here to help you.” I tell them softly. The blonde pup puts her arms around the other pup with red hair.

“How do we know you’re not here to do bad things?” The blonde pup asks, looking from us to Emira.

“Lily, they’re not going to hurt you and Rose. They have good news for you. They know where your parents are.” Emira smiles, and the two girls look at us with wide eyes.

“Really? You know where our real mommy’s and daddy’s are?” Lily asks. She and Rose stand up and walk over to us, holding hands. Petra and I squat down so we’re at their eye level.

“Yes, I believe we do. We will have them come here so they can talk to you. Then, if you want, you can go to the Silver Moon pack. Petra is going to be the luna of the pack.” I tell them. Their eyes light up.

“You came all the way here just to find us?” Rose asks shyly.

“Yes, we did,” I reply. The two girls throw their arms around me and then do the same with Petra.

“Thank you. We didn’t think our mommy’s and daddy’s wanted us.” Lily says excitedly.

“We’re going to have someone come and do some tests so they can make sure we know who your parents are, okay?” Petra tells them. They nod and clap their hands before hugging each other.

Petra and I stand up and leave the room. Emira stays with the girls as we begin to head downstairs to the other. Just as we’re almost to the bottom, I feel like I’m suffocating. I start coughing, and so does Petra. What’s going on? I hear Joel calling for me, but I can’t move. I fall to the ground as everything goes black.