Chapter 12

Everybody's faces were shocked. For a moment, nobody said anything. They all just stood there looking at Maria and the person who stood in front of them (supposedly her aunt). Maria's aunt stood up and brushed herself down before she looked at Maria. She reached for her arm, but Maria quickly pulled away and looked at her aunt. "Why are you here?" asked Maria with her voice a little shaky. "My pack isn't far from here. Please come so I can explain myself and give you all a place to stay for tonight."         "That would be lovely. Lead the way." Responded Riley. Maria's aunt nodded and ushered them all to follow her. "What's your name and which pack are you apart of?" Yasmine asked. "My name is Anna and I am the luna of the Silver Moon pack." Yasmine smiled at Anna and whispered into Enzo's ear, "That is a very big and powerful pack. That could help us in the war if Maria says anything to them." Enzo slightly nodded and looked at Maria. She was walking and looking down at the floor. She hadn't said anything the whole walk back from where she found her aunt and she looked deep in thought. Her nose was scrunched up in anger and deep thought, while her fists were clenched tightly shut. Blood started to drip from her hands as the squeezed even harder and her nails turned into claws. She was angry, frustrated and annoyed, but Enzo didn't know why. He couldn't understand why she would be so angry that after all this time; she found her aunt and knew that someone in her family was still alive. Nothing made sense to him, but he knew he had to do something before someone else noticed. Enzo walked up to Maria and wrapped his arms around her shoulder. He whispered in her ear, "Put the claws away, little wolf. Someone will see other than me." Maria's body tensed when he put his arm around her, but then started to relax and her hands stopped bleeding. She breathed out and closed her eyes before opening them again and whispered back, "Thank you." They walked back together in silence while the others kept asking questions to Anna. Every now and then, Anna looked over at Maria to try and see an ounce of emotion, but there was nothing. Her face and eyes were blank. Although, when Maria caught Anna looking at her, her face filled with anger and made her aunt quickly turn away. After a while of walking, Maria and the others reached the Silver Moon pack house. It was a giant white mansion with hundreds of windows and millions of flowers around it. The moon shined down on it, giving the house a silver glow to it. There were a few wolves around the house, making sure no intruders got inside. All of the wolves were different colours and sizes, but they all looked like they could fight well, as they all had some scars on them.

They walked closer and growled until they saw Anna. Then, they backed away and watched. Maria and Chris were about to enter the house until three wolves jumped in front of them and stopped them in their tracks. "Oh, I forgot to mention. Only wolves can enter so no vampires or witches. Though I don't know why they stopped you Maria." Said Anna. Maria smirked and then said, "That's because I'm not just part wolf." Maria kneeled down and looked at the floor. The other wolves started to growl as she got lower and lower. Suddenly, they all just stopped as Maria raised her head. Her eyes were glowing red and the wind around them started to get faster and stronger. Leaves started to swirl in a hurricane shape at either side of Chris and Maria. Soon, the three wolves backed away and cowered in fear. Maria stood up and her eyes resumed back to normal. "Chris is coming in and so am I. I don't care if you agree or like it." They both stepped in the house and walked past Anna. Everyone else followed after them and Anna showed them through the house (there alpha wasn't kidnapped by Salice as they weren't an original pack). They saw a few other wolves throughout the pack house and Anna brought them into a living room with another man inside. He was tall and muscular. You could feel the power and strength radiating off of him, but Maria didn't care. To show that she wasn't afraid, she sat down onto the coach and folded her arms to show she wasn't scared. The others joined her and Anna sat with the man. "My name is Jordan and I am the alpha of this pack. Why are you in my territory?"               "Before we get into that," replied Maria, "I want to know how you are alive, Anna. I thought you died along with the rest of my family and pack, so why didn't you?" Jordan whispered something in Anna's ear and she nodded. Maria already knew that is was about her and who she was, although she didn't care. Maria wanted answers and she was going to get them one way or another. Tapping her fingers one the arm rest, Maria showed she was running out of patience. Anna sighed and said, "Before the attack, your father was having a meeting with the other packs to discuss Salice. One of those packs was the Silver Moon pack. Me and your mother was included in that meeting and that's when I found out that Jordan was my mate. When you meet your mate, you know it's them straight away." She grabbed Jordan's hand and smiled before carrying on talking, "I told your parents and they were over the moon for me. They were so happy that they let me go and live with him and become the luna of this pack. Then, a few weeks later, I heard that the Black River pack was attacked. The next morning, me and a few other wolves went to see if anyone else was alive, but all there was were burnt bodies. I soon heard you were still alive and we searched and searched, but found nothing. There was no sign of you anywhere. Eventually, I gave up looking and accepted the truth that you were ... dead." Anna stopped and looked at Maria to see her reaction. Maria looked out of the window and the room was filled with silence. "I think we should show you to your rooms. We will continue talking tomorrow. Please, follow me." Everyone got up and started to walk out of the room. Anna grabbed Maria's hand, but she pulled away and said, "Don't touch me." Anna was then left alone in the room with her head in her hands.

Only little time had passed and it was still night. Some people were already asleep, but not Maria. She was looking out into the night sky and the moon was still shining brightly. Millions of questions were running through her mind and emotions were clouding her judgement. Maria didn't know what to do or whether she could trust this pack and her aunt. "For somebody who hasn't seen her aunt in years, you sure don't look happy to see her." Maria looked to her left to see Enzo stood there, looking out into the night sky too. "I don't know if she can be trusted or how I am meant to act around her. I haven't been near family in years and she has been hiding this whole time all because of the fear of Salice." "Of course she is afraid of Salice. Everyone is." Enzo paused and then continued, "But not you. You can look Salice straight in the face and not blink an eye. You're not afraid to fight her or to strike up against her. No. you're different. You're a survivor, a warrior and a fighter. If they don't like who you are, then they are missing out on someone amazing." A smile spread on Maria's face, but soon faded as she explained, "I can still hear their screams and the looks on their faces when they were dying. I can never forget it. One of the reasons why I am not afraid of Salice is because she went through hell just like me. She went through hell and came out being the queen of it. That's why I am not afraid of her. She survived through so much, but she won't survive me. Not after what she's done." Walking away, Enzo was left alone in the cold, buried in his own thoughts. He didn't know what Maria was thinking, but he knew it wasn't going to end well for anyone. Out of the darkness, Chris stepped forward, with blood around his mouth. "It's deer. You don't have to worry." Enzo raised his head and asked, "What do you need from me?" "I need you to look after Maria. I need you to be there for her when she needs you most, even though she will never admit that." Enzo looked puzzled at where this was coming from and didn't understand exactly what he meant. "Why? Where are you going?" Chris walked up to Enzo. "I'm not going to be there for Maria all the time. Sometimes I will be looking after my own people or I might just die one of these days. I don't know, but I need to make sure that Maria is safe." Enzo nodded and asked, "What does she need to be safe from? Salice isn't really a threat to her. What else is a threat to her?" "Herself! There's darkness inside of Maria and one of theses' days, she's going to explode. All of that anger, pain and darkness that is inside her will explode and god help us when it does. She trusts you, Enzo. She will never admit that she likes you, but trust me when I say she does. You bring out a side of her that I have never seen before. Come on, its late and we better be getting some rest." Enzo followed Chris inside and wondered what will happen when Maria does explode and how powerful this darkness inside her will be. In one of the rooms, someone was being sick and it sounded like Maria. Both Chris and Enzo opened the door to see that Maria was coughing up blood and she looked as pale as a ghost! Chris looked sad while Enzo looked shocked and worried. Chris slowly closed the door and said to Enzo, "Don't tell anyone about this. Do you hear me? I find out that you said this to anyone and that includes Maria; I will make sure you regret it." Chris walked off, leaving Enzo with lots of questions.

It was finally morning and everyone was in the dining room having breakfast. There were some people from the pack and there were Maria and her friends. "Now it's time for you to explain why you were in my territory." No body spoke, but Maria looked at Enzo to make him know that this was a conversation, alpha to alpha. "We didn't know we were in your territory, but if you must know, we were recruiting." "Recruiting? For what?" asked Anna in a confused tone. Enzo scrunched his forehead in confusion as well, but carried on talking, "We were recruiting people to fight against Salice. We have got the warriors on our side, soon going to try and get a witch coven on our side and then vampires." Jordan and Anna both looked shocked. "How did you manage to get the warriors on your side? Nobody knows where they are." Enzo looked at Maria and so did everyone else. Maria looked up from her plate. She rolled her eyes and explained, "I used to be a part of the warriors. You missed out on a lot while you were having a happy life, auntie." Anna looked down at the table and no one said a word. "Now the important question. This one's for you, Jordan." Jordan looked at Maria and was a little startled at how Maria had the nerve to talk to him like that. "You have also got a choice. You can either fight against Salice with me or not fight at all. That means I will see you as an enemy and I won't be afraid to kill you and your pack. Now choose." The room fell silent and Jordan looked at Maria in anger. "Fine, we will help you." Anna said. Showing that she also wanted revenge, Anna looked up from the table and at Maria. Maria raised her head slightly and the doors of the room swung open. Two kids ran into the room and sat on Jordan and Anna's lap. "Mother, who are these people?" That was something one of the kids said to Anna, but Maria couldn't hear anything else. She just kept staring at the kid that was sat on Anna's knee. They looked so much alike and she just knew they were her children. Knowing that while Maria was suffering, Anna was having a happy family, made Maria feel so much pain and anger. It was like nothing she had ever felt before. "Maria? Is everything OK?" Everyone turned to look at Maria. She didn't respond. Enzo went to grab her hand, but she quickly got out of her chair and ran out of the room. People were shouting after her, but she couldn't hear what they were saying. The only thing Maria could hear were the screams of her pack and their faces as they died. Maria couldn't bear the pain and her anger for Anna only grew stronger by the second. While Maria was suffering and going through hell, Anna got the happy family she wanted and forgot all about her other family. She was never a part of the Black River packs: they don't give up. Instead, they keep on fighting and that was what Maria was doing, but eventually she was going to break. That time was now. She ran and ran until she got to a waterfall. After a while of searching, Anna, Enzo, Riley and Chris found her clutching her ears near the cliff of the waterfall. Anna stepped forward, but quickly stopped as Maria let out a loud and ear-deafening scream. The ground began to shake uncontrollably and started to crack open. Lava spat out and the rocks began to float a few metres of the ground. The sky grew dark, thunder and lightning appeared and hit the ground with a great force. Everything went into chaos. "What's happening?" shouted Riley. "Maria is losing control over her powers. Whatever happened in there just made her snap." Enzo looked back at Maria who was still clutching her ears. She looked like she was in so much pain and this must have been what Chris meant by the darkness taking over. Slowly but steadily, Enzo took a step closer to Maria. Dodging his way of any lava and lightning bolts, Enzo eventually made his way to Maria. She turned to look at him and he wrapped his arms around her body. For a while, she stood there but then she hugged him back and buried her face into his chest. She fell to her knees and Enzo went with her- still holding onto to Maria. She began to cry and everything that was happening stopped. The earth stopped shaking, the sky went back to normal and the lighting stopped. The only thing you could hear were Maria crying into Enzo's chest. Enzo turned to the others and mouthed, "Go. Get ready to leave. We will be with you soon." The others nodded and left. Enzo whispered in her ear, "Your going to be okay, little wolf." Maria and Enzo stayed like that for what seemed like forever. Soon, Maria stopped crying and stood up. They both made their way back to the pack house to see that everyone else was waiting for them. Maria looked up and saw Anna waiting near the others. She walked over to Anna and punched her in the face. She instantly fell to the ground and other wolves started to growl at Maria, but she didn't care. In that moment, all she could see was red and all she could feel towards Anna was anger. "If I ever see your face again, I will kill you! You are no aunt to me and you are no River family member either. Have a nice time with your new family." A tear rolled down Anna's cheek as Maria walked away and sat into a car that the Silver Moon pack provided for them. Everyone was left in shock and confusion as to what Maria had done. "Thank you for letting us stay here and thank you for helping us. You are helping thousands of people stay alive by fighting against Salice. You know where the Red Moon pack house is so I hope to see you there in 5 days." Yasmine explained. They all got in the car and drove off. No one spoke and Maria just kept looking out of the window. Everything was about to change.

After a while of driving, they all returned home and everyone was happy to see them. They all got out of the car and hugged some people they cared about. Sara ran to Enzo and hugged him tightly. Although, Enzo just pushed her off and said, "Don't touch me." Enzo walked back inside and Maria and Riley closely followed. They both went to join Freya and Elenor to discuss what had happened. After telling them everything, Freya said, "Why would you trust David after he made you kill 'him'?" Maria sighed, but got interrupted by Enzo, "Who's this 'him' person?" "He was the person who Maria loved and she killed him." Everyone had jaw dropped and Freya looked furious. "Enough about that. We can talk more about it later. For now, we need to make sure no one that means harm to us can get inside and make sure we are protected. Anyone got a plan?" Nobody said anything and they all looked at each other for help. "Of course I have to come up with the clever plans." Maria stormed out of the room with anger boiling up inside of her once again. She didn't know what was going on with her, but she didn't care. Everyone watched as she walked outside and to the border of the tree line. She knelt down and placed her hand on the ground, slowly. She closed her eyes and muttered some words under her breath over and over again. Soon, a green barricade went off the ground and continued to go up and over the house. It looked like a dome was covering it and when it all joined together, a green flash appeared. She stood up and walked over to Enzo to say, "That is a protection barrier and it will kill anyone who wants to hurt anyone in this pack." Enzo nodded and told everyone to go inside. Maria was walking towards the house until Enzo said, "Not you." She turned around and asked, "What do you want?" "Tell me more about this person in the fighting pit. I want to know about him." Maria walked forward and sighed. She closed her eyes and said, "His name was Leon. After what happened to my pack, I joined the warriors and he taught me everything I needed to know. He taught me how to fight, how to show no emotion and how to use my magic. He made me feel like I had a home. He was my home. Eventually, we got closer and soon we couldn't deny that we liked each other. We dated for a few months and soon I fell in love like a stupid little girl, but nothing good lasts forever. David didn't like that we were in love so he decided to stop it by making us fight each other to the death. He persuaded me to do it, but I knew I was the better fighter and that's what got him killed. I killed the man I loved!" Maria didn't say anything, but just walked back inside the house. "I'm sorry." Shouted Enzo, hoping that Maria could hear.

Maria walked into the dining room where Freya was. She walked over and said, "We have been accepted into the Emerald Coven ball, so go get your dress. It's happening tomorrow." Maria rolled her eyes as she walked towards the door. Just as she was about to leave, she said, "Oh and Freya. Things are about to change around here." With that, Maria walked out of the house. Freya knew exactly what she meant by that. She knew that she was going to become the monster she had tried so hard not to become. She was going to give herself to the darkness. Maria walked through the forest and up the mountain until she reached her cave. She went inside and waved her hand to light a fire around the top of the walls, so she could see what she was doing. In the corner of the cave, there was a black off-the-shoulder Sherri Hill Military Ball dress that was long and elegant. It belonged to her mother and only wore it for important occasions. Maria folded the dress and carried it down the mountain. She was about to walk towards the pack house until she heard voices in the distance hat sounded very familiar. Maria followed the voices and when she reached them, she hid behind a bush. It was Salice and Sara! "Why do you want to help me take down Maria? What's in it for you?" Maria wasn't surprised that Sara would help Salice. She always knew there was something bad about Sara. Maria took out her phone and started to video what was happening so she had proof to give the others. "I want Maria gone for good. Enzo is my mate and she is stealing him from me. I am meant to be luna of the Red Moon pack. Not her." "So you want to take Maria down all because of a boy? Just because you are jealous." Sara nodded and waited for Salice to respond. "Fine. You can help me by telling me exactly what goes on and everyone who is helping them. Tell me by tomorrow and meet me here. Tell no one." Maria ran out of the bush and into the forest so they didn't see her there. As Maria was running towards the pack house, she knew exactly what she had to do. Maria knew was that to make sure no one was in danger, she had to be ruthless and cold-hearted.