Mara's Point of View

Eighteen and a Half Years Ago

One by one, I felt the devastating loss of every member of my pack, their lives extinguished by a vicious attack. All of them. Every single one of them. My world shattered into three hundred and sixty-eight pieces exactly.

"Mara! You must go straight to Mitchell and Alana. They will protect you," were the last words I heard from my beloved mate David as he mind-linked me.

"David!" I screamed back at him across the mental void. "David! Why have you left us?"

My mate David …, my Alpha …, my love …, had fallen too, leaving me with a grief that cut deeper than any physical wound. The pain was unbearable, but I couldn't surrender to it. Not yet. Not with our unborn daughter relying on me for survival.

Our entire pack was wiped out within an hour of them attacking. Rogues, from what I had managed to hear from the mind-links before it all went silent.

What if I had not been out of the pack that day for a routine doctor's appointment? David had a lot of work to do, so I went by myself. Once I had been to the doctor, I stayed and got my nails done. It was a wonderful afternoon that turned to hell.

Now, I was packless and without a mate. I couldn't return and follow him to his death because I carried our unborn daughter. There would be time for that later, once she was born and grown up. Until then, I would write down as much as I could in journals so she would have something to read once I was gone.

Mitchell's Point of View

"Alpha Mitchell, a pregnant she-wolf, is at the gate. She says you know her, and she is asking to see you and the Luna. She says her name is Mara. Shall I let her in?" mind-linked one of the gate guards.

"Mara? Here now? Yes, bring her up to the packhouse now," I replied to him.

"Alana? Can you meet me in my office? Mara is here," I asked my Luna mate.

"Mara is here? What does she want?" Alana answered.

"I don't know, but it must be serious since she didn't use any titles with the guards."

"I'll come down soon."

Alana, my mate and Luna had just conceived again, and we were expecting a daughter. She was only two months behind Mara.

I found it strange that the guard only said Mara and not her title of Luna. Luna Mara and Alpha David ruled the Silver Wolf Pack. It was also odd that he was not accompanying her either. Their pack and ours, the Black Wolf Pack, were allies. Our lands were close, though it would take an hour to drive from one packhouse to the other. Still, we spent time with each other and considered them close friends. 

When we discovered that Mara was pregnant with a girl, we discussed the possibility of mating our son. We had an eight-year-old son who would take over the leadership of Alpha from me. Sometimes, packs bonded themselves to another pack by choice mates, especially if their fated mates didn't show.

By the time Alana had come downstairs to my office, Mara had arrived with the guard. She appeared exhausted. I could see it in her eyes; her unusual violet eyes were dull and almost grey. Despite being heavily pregnant, she shouldn't have looked this bad. Mara had a haunted look about her and had obviously been crying.

"Mara dear," said Alana, "what on earth has happened?"

"David is gone! The pack … They're all dead … Every single one of them is dead … I felt them all. I heard some of the mind-links say it was Rogues, but … I don't think they were … I just have a suspicion that it was another pack using rogues that attacked us."

"We can discuss that later. Thank the Goddess, you made it," I said. I was absolutely shocked. The Silver Wolf Pack had contained at least 350 wolves. While it wasn't a large pack, it was rich. David was a shrewd businessman and had amassed a fair fortune. Although it couldn't compare to the Black Wolf Pack in size or wealth, it was still of note.

"If I weren't carrying Adriana, I would have gone and died with David. I will join him when Adriana reaches 18 years of age."

"Why didn't you call us?" I asked. "We would have come straight away. Our warriors could have stopped the slaughter."

"By the time I was able to get here, it was all over. It was a sneak attack. They cut off pack communication and took out the guards. From what I can tell, our warriors were outnumbered and overpowered. The only reason I am alive is that I was at an appointment in town. I didn't even take a guard because usually there wasn't a need."

I could feel the despair coming off Mara and was thankful that my mate was safe. To lose one's mate was effectively a death sentence. I was sure that Mara hadn't returned to be by David's side because she was pregnant and needed to keep her daughter safe.

"Well, at least you and your daughter-to-be are safe," said Alana. "We need to prepare you a room. You can stay here with us. Once you have rested, we can discuss what you want to do."

Alana took Mara upstairs and put her into one of our guest suites. She stayed in a different room than she had previously stayed with David because it would have been cruel to have a constant reminder of him. 

I also arranged for the pack doctor to come up and check on her. Most wolves are fine during their pregnancy, but Mara has been through hell. She would have felt the link to every member of her pack as they died. The pain and anguish could have killed her, and it might also have had a severe effect on the unborn pup. It would be best to get her checked out as soon as possible.

Mara's child most likely carried the Alpha gene, and they were rare. Hence, it was imperative that her baby survived to adulthood. Once she mated and had her own pups, she would hopefully continue the Alpha gene for another generation. 

It didn't always work like that, but usually, an Alpha mated and produced the next generation of Alphas. The next were those who were Beta, followed by unranked Wolf-Shifters. At the bottom were Omegas. They didn't have wolves but still had some genetic links to us. They weren't exactly human, as their senses were heightened. They also healed faster than humans, but not as quickly as those with wolves. Often, if a Wolf-Shifter mated with a human, their offspring would be an Omega.

The following morning, Mara came and joined our family for breakfast. After breakfast, we talked about why she didn't think it was just a rogue attack. David had been investigating some recent skirmishes, and all signs pointed to them being pack members, not rogues. However, there wasn't any way to prove this.

"I want to talk to you about settling here if you will have me," Mara said. "I am happy to give up my rank and declare my allegiance to you until my daughter becomes an adult. After that, we could discuss what will happen. What do you think?"

"I have no problem with you staying here," I stated, "but your eyes are rather unique. Someone is bound to notice and say something. After all, you are not a stranger here."

"I could wear colour contacts easily enough. I often used them when I didn't want to stand out. If Adriana has my eyes, I can easily home-school her. No one would think it strange if I lived in the Omega quarter. Not all of them go to school, do they?"

"Surely you wouldn't want to live with the Omegas!" Alana said. "While we look after them, they are rankless, less than the unranked wolves."

"I know," I stated, having devised a plan. "If you live in the Omega area, I will set you up so you don't have to work. Raise Adriana and, if necessary, home-school her. We will keep you both hidden and safe."

"You don't have to set me up," Mara responded. "I still have access to our accounts. They might have destroyed the pack, but they didn't get any of the monetary wealth. I will have enough to live on and also leave Adriana comfortable."

"If that is what you want to do? Fine," Alana said, "You will always be our friend and can call on us if you need us."