1. The Blessing

The howling of the wolves filled the dark corners of the room. The greyish veils which had tugged the moonlight away were now swinging in the heavy gales that entered the room in the midst of screams and blood. The bed Emily was lying on was drenched and soaked in her own dried blood. She wasn't dead, not yet. She was fighting for the little life in her, she who hadn't been born yet and Emily wanted the little soul to have a life.

"Luna you have to push!" The maid encouraged Emily and she did her best to not swoon over into darkness. She'd come a long way and she wasn't going to give up soon. This child was everything to her, to her mate. She recalled of her handsome mate who cherished her in the dreadful whiles but even his thoughts weren't enough to get the dizziness out of her head. She wished deeply he was here but she knew it was for the best that he wasn't.

'He must stop them from hurting her, he must.' She thought as she gave a last push with all her might. A loud scream erupted from her throat, one that had all the maids look worked up from worry and anxiety. There was too much blood to clean, too much pain to deal with and too much sorrow to grieve. The tension filled the room as a tiny vivacious life sprang from the body of luna Emily. A little life was born.

"She's here! The princess is here!" The maid screamed who held the baby soaked in blood in her hands. She separated the baby from her mother's womb and placed her gently on the cushion in another maid's observance. She was swift to steal a look of her luna who was quickly healing back.

 Emily looked tired and exhausted from the birth pain she'd just endured but a gleaming smile was slowly making its way onto her beautiful face.

"Give her to me." She ordered the highest ranked maid who was currently holding her baby.

There was fear and slight hesitance in the maid's eyes as she struggled to hand the baby to Emily and Emily was quick to notice her hesitance for her claws began to elongate and her fangs were swift to show up. Emily hadn't this temper two days ago but a lot had changed in the course of these two days. She was no longer the little wolf she used to be. She was a mother, a luna and a very dangerous wolf with a bad temper. She had her mate's blood in her now.

She threatened the maid with a snarl and the maid quickly handed the baby to Emily. The moment Emily's lap held the weight of a tiny life, her anger died down as if it was never there. For a while as she held her baby and hugged her more dearly than life itself, it had gone quiet, too quiet. Trouble was written evidently on every maid's face as they stared at the mother and daughter. They knew the answer, they had a good hunch but saying it out loud would mean selling their souls to the devil. Emily had to find out on her own and every maid agreed to the same. They couldn't risk telling her that her child was . . .

"No. S-She c-can't be . . . I was too careful—she can't be dead!" A very terrifying growl erupted from her chest as her inner wolf cried in agony. She was right, she was too careful while her pregnancy. Her child couldn't be dead, she was too careful.

Emily kept on repeating the words in her head as she fought the urge to tear the room into half. She was a mother holding her tiny child. She hoped that she'd be alive even when her inner wolf had given up every hope and was slowly taking over Emily. If she didn't get her child back she would not just tear the room, she would tear the whole world into half. She was determined as she cried and endeavored several ways to make her child cry, or at least move a bit so she could know what to expect.

Nothing happened. No sound came from her little body or even the slightest budge. It was awfully silent until loud thuds neared the room. The maids swiftly backed away—not from fear but because they knew who that person was and they knew it was their time to leave now whilst the alpha and luna would grieve the loss of their yet another child.

The doors didn't open, they were blasted back by a force erupted from two gigantic hands as a man of almost eight feet stood at the doorstep of Emily's room. She didn't bother to look at him, she knew who it was at the door and she was also aware that it wouldn't change anything for her. Her child was gone and she would never come back.

The alpha neared his mate in soft and careful steps, almost stealthily to not make his presence yet known but it was too late. He was draped in a pool of thick scarlet and black substance that changed his edible scent to a disgusting one. He'd sensed his child when he was in the battle and he didn't waste a moment when he figured a twisting feeling in his gut. It was his bloodline and he could feel the emotion of his each and every child without much effort. And he felt the life drawing out of him when he was closing in on his enemy, ready to slice him in two though he stopped and ran back to his palace, where his mate was giving birth to his heir.

He saw the lifeless body in Emily's hands and the dried tears on her cheeks. She wasn't crying, not anymore. She had done too much of that in the past few days. The alpha put his arm around her and hugged both the amazing women in his life, one who was struggling and one who was already free from all the restraints that were meant to put on her.

"She's gone." Emily's words weren't a question; they formed a statement as she blankly looked at her lifeless daughter. She thought of all the years she had ahead of her and how it was taken away from her in the blink of an eye.

"I know." The alpha responded softly in Emily's ears and hugged her even closer. He lay a kiss on her head and spared a glance to their daughter as well.

'She's truly a beauty.' He thought as a momentary smile crept up to his face with grieving tears in his eyes. They both looked like a hopeless couple.

Howls were breaking one after the other outside and they're all pleading for help from their alpha. They're losing but the both of them didn't move a muscle as hopelessness filled their eyes and gradually the will to live began to fade from their souls.

That was when a lightning struck in the sky. The gales that had disrupted the silence of the room before were now creating a havoc around the dark corners. Nothing was stable no more and every cloth and curtain was hovering around the room in such a manner that would make one to believe that they'd gain a mind of their own.

And then it all came to a halt as if their mind had been stolen away from them and they stilled like the ground itself. Everything in the room stilled to an unbelievable extent. The alpha and his mate, they weren't moving. It was dead silent across the giant bedroom until a glow of light scattered on the balcony. It was a glow capable of making anyone squint or lose their vision as it gathered into one powerful figure. The figure took the shape of a gleaming, slim, blue woman as it advanced towards the bed in the room.

As she went a path of light followed in her steps imprinting the perfect bare soles of the woman on the floor. Her hair was silky silver and the locks were floating in the air as if they're swimming in water. Her eyes were a shade of perfect clear blue sky and her entire body glistened with a spark of moonlight that would bounce on the ocean waves. She was a walking goddess, she was the Moon Goddess.

She elevated the baby in her arms and perched a little kiss on her head. The next moment the silence of the room was taken over by a series of little, humble cries. The little girl opened her eyes and the woman met with a pair of pitch-black eyes. The sight of her made her smile as a naïve rictus formed on the baby's lips.

"There are hardships in your life little wolf, hope you'll be able to survive them." And she pecked on the baby's little cheeks as she returned the child back into her mother's arms. She turned back giving the couple a last glance and at the sight of them, a small smile appeared on her face. She didn't wait any longer and scattered into small pieces of glowing dust and flew above as if thousands of tiny fireflies were flying away together.

The motion came alive in the room just as in the little child's body. The windows were flapping because of the wind and the curtains were flying with utter freedom. There was a slight tear streaming down Emily's eyes as shock filled her when the cries of a little woman flourished a satisfactory bliss in the room. The alpha quickly got up as utter amazement filled his senses and he stared at his beautiful daughter.

"Emily." He whispered. Emily was far too happy to pay him attention and hugged her dear life closely to her bosom. She would never let any harm come her way again.

A disturbing howl broke at a near distance and the alpha knew what it meant. It was his beta screaming for help. There was no escaping this and determination laced both of their eyes as they exchanged glances among each other. They're coming for her daughter, his enemies. And Emily wouldn't let that happen at any cost.

"I'm taking her back." She stated with complete fortitude. Alpha couldn't deny that he was scared. If Emily went back he'd lose his mate forever and probably his child as well.

"Stay." His tone came out as a plea.

"I will come back." Emily's eyes held the same pain she perceived in her mate's. It was like she was looking herself in the mirror, his every pain and hurt was her own but her daughter came first.

"I need to protect her and you need to protect your people. Do not forget that I have another child back at home." She elucidated and even though his mate understood the gravity of the situation, the wolf inside him wasn't okay with this.

"If he so much as hurt a hair on either one of your heads, I will show him what hell looks like." His wolf growled as another tear dropped down from Emily's eyes. His mate was serious, he'd lost too much and he wouldn't lose his family to his enemies as well. He'd fight till the end for them.

"Goodbye." He didn't respond to Emily's greeting. He knew he'd see her again; he had a feeling telling him that she would always be his and no one else's. She belonged to him and his wolf but for now he had to let her go, for her sake.

She turned back with tears, holding her daughter close to her bosom and cried. She couldn't break now, it was too risky, and she needed to get out of there first. She would run and never look back, it was the easiest way to go on from here. She would do anything to save her pup, even if it meant to leave her mate behind.

She perched the baby down into a small basket made out of bamboo sticks, knitted nicely and elegantly. She made sure to cover the child with a warm blanket as the baby cried softly and then fell asleep. Emily was ready, ready to leave.

"Selene!" She turned back at the call of her mate and looked at him, confused. "Name her Selene, the blessing of Moon Goddess. Give her all the love you can, love her for both of us." She nodded with a warm smile that clenched around the alpha's heart. He'd miss it and this woman.

She turned back and shifted to her wolf form. Her clothes tore off her body and a big grey wolf was leaning against the basket. She took the small basket in which the baby was kept between her fangs and began to run. Just like she'd decided, she didn't look back—not even when a sorrowful growl escaped from her mate's wolf. He was going to lose his senses and became the beast he was before he'd met her. But it was all to keep her safe, their daughter would be safe.