Chapter 8

A week had passed since Maria and the others attacked the Rose coven and it was getting closer to Christmas. Riley hadn't been spending as much time with Maria as she would have wanted and Maria, Freya and Chris had been talking about the next attack they were going to do. After everything that had happened, Riley still didn't know if she could trust Maria and she was starting to doubt herself on whether Maria was a good person. Over the last week, Riley had been spending time with her family and running in her wolf form in the snow. She loved running through the trees and rolling around in the snow and so did the rest of the pack. On the other hand, Enzo didn't do much of that. Instead, he was being trained harder to be the best alpha he could be and trained how to fight day and night. Over at the mountain, Maria was standing and looking out at the view. The snow fell gently on her straight black hair and stood out like the stars in the night sky. She could see the wolves from the Red Moon pack playing and training in their wolf forms. They looked happy and Maria couldn't help, but feel a little bit jealous. She knew deep down that she would never have anything like that ever again and she wished her parents were standing beside her and telling her that everything was going to be alright. She took a deep breath in and closed her eyes. She imagined what they would look like now and what they would be telling her to do. Then, Maria opened her eyes and looked out at the pack before her and started to wonder whether she could trust them with everything she knew. "What are you thinking about?" Maria turned around to see Freya and Chris sitting beside the fire and warming their hands up by the fire. "Do you think I should trust Riley's pack? If I'm being honest, I don't think Riley trusts me like she did before, especially now that she saw what I did." Chris shook his head and said, "If your thinking about telling Riley about the final part about the plan then don't. She won't let you go through with it and then she will tell her entire pack. You must keep that between us or everything we have built will be lost." Maria walked over to them and sat by the fire. She knew they were right and then she looked over at the cave. Since Riley had given her the book, Maria hadn't picked it up or looked inside. "When me and Riley went to put the blood rose with the rest of the objects, she gave me a book about my pack. It showed who were alive and dead."               "Have you looked at it since then?" Freya asked. Maria shook her head and replied, "No. it won't help us. I know that my entire pack is dead." Freya looked down to the ground and didn't say another word. She wanted to persuade Maria to read the book and find out more about her family: it may bring her closure, but she knew that when Maria wanted something, no one could change her mind. The three of them talked and talked for ages, until it was finally morning and the snow carried on falling.

Maria walked to school and the snow fell onto her dark black hair that was tied in a bun. Her grey boots made a crunching sound whenever she walked on the snow and her tight jeans gripped to her legs. The white jacket and white scarf was one of the only things that kept her warm. She entered the school and walked straight to her locker to get her books. She could hear people talking all around her and for some reason she felt on edge like something bad was going to happen. Maria's thoughts and worries got interrupted by a very happy Riley that looked like an Eskimo. "You do know that this is America and not the North Pole." Chuckled Maria. Riley hit Maria's arm gently and started to laugh as well. "What are you doing this Christmas?" Maria looked at Riley in confusion and carried and getting her books. "What do you mean? It's just like every other day."                           "It's so not. It's a day where you spend time with your family and eat all the chocolate you possibly can before being sick and having a great time." Maria stopped and looked at Riley. She took a deep breath in and closed her locker before turning to Riley. "That's only if you have family to spend it with. All I'm going to be doing is what I do is take a long run and plan my next attack on the next coven." Riley looked at Maria, realising what she had just said. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that." Maria nodded her head and Riley looked closely at Maria's expression. As usual, she showed no emotion and acted like what Riley had just said meant nothing to her. Riley couldn't help, but wonder why Maria showed no emotion and why she had her wall built up so high that no one could even break through. As the day went by, Riley couldn't help, but think about Maria spending Christmas al alone and felt sorry for her. Enzo was sitting next to Riley in one of his lessons and he asked, "What's on your mind?" "I was just thinking about how Maria is going to be spending Christmas all alone." Enzo didn't think of that until now and he knew the guilt that Riley was feeling. Quickly, Enzo thought of something and told Riley what he thought. She agreed and a smile spread across her face. It was now lunch and Riley went up to Maria and sat next to her. The smile was still on her face and Maria kept looking at her uncomfortably. "Why are you smiling like a psychopath at me?" Riley's smile dropped and she said in a annoyed tone, "Way to ruin my mood. Anyway me and Enzo had an amazing idea. You can spend Christmas and Christmas eve with me and the others." Maria looked at Riley. She couldn't tell if she was being serious, but she soon figured out that she was. Maria opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. "I'm not letting you say no either so I will go to your home at around 5:30pm tonight." The bell rang and Riley left Maria. She wished she didn't have to go and could just be left alone, but she didn't have the strength to argue with her. Soon the school day was over and Maria went back to her home to get changed and she left to go to the gym. She had been training for over 30 minutes before she saw Brian in the corner of her eyes. She looked around, but Enzo wasn't with him. Maria walked over to him and said "Hey." Brian turned to look at Maria and asked, "What are you doing at the gym?" Maria chuckled and quickly said, "Same thing as you." For a while, the two of them didn't speak, but Brian kept thinking about why Maria wanted to be so strong and feel so powerful. "Why do you train so much? Whenever I'm here, I always see you train or whenever someone else is here." Maria placed the weights she was lifting on the ground and answered, "I want to be strong and be able to protect myself. Just like why you want to be so strong." Brian nodded and then explained, "I don't think it matters how strong you are. I know for a fact that Enzo won't let anything happen to you." Maria frowned in confusion for a few seconds before quickly going back to her normal expression. "Why do you think that? It's not like he likes me or anything." Brian about choked on the water he was drinking and looked at Maria to see that she was serious. "I think that you are wrong. I have never seen him act like he does around you. He wasn't even like this around Sara. All I know is that when he is around you, he forgets everything that is worrying him and he is actually happy. Maybe he does like you and maybe he doesn't, but it's about whether you like him as well," Brian put his hand on Marias shoulder, "Just think about it." Brian walked out of the gym and left Maria to think about what he had said. Maria also felt happy and calm around Enzo, but she hadn't known what it was like to be loved in years. She was afraid of what this would mean for her and Enzo. After another hour or two, Maria walked back to her home and started to get ready and pack a few things. Riley shouted from the bottom of the mountain for Maria to come down. Maria took a deep breath in and slowly climbed down the mountain.

After a while of walking, the two of them reached the Red moon pack house. There were no wolves running around or playing in the snow and everything was quiet. They entered the house and went straight to Riley's room. They were both exhausted and Riley fell asleep straight away. Maria lied awake in bed thin king of what she was doing. Normally, she wouldn't trust packs and now she is staying in a pack house for two days. The worry of being found out or something going wrong started to enter her mind and she couldn't help but think that something bad was going to happen. Eventually, Maria fell asleep. It was soon the next day and Maria woke up to find that Riley wasn't in her room. Maria sat up and started to walk out of the room. She was only wearing shorts and a crop top and looked as pale as a ghost. Maria wondered around the house for a few minutes until she ran into Mark. "What are you doing?" Maria folded her arms to show she wasn't scared and she responded "I was looking for Riley. You don't know where she is by any chance, do you?" Mark raised his head a little and shook his head. Maria was about to walk past Mark, but he stepped in front of her, stopping her from moving. Maria looked up and starred at him angrily. "I suggest you move otherwise I'll move you myself." Mark didn't move and neither did Maria. Then, both Yasmin and Riley shouted their names and they both turned to see them both standing behind them. Yasmin looked at Mark angrily and Mark quickly looked down at the floor. A devil-ish smirk spread across Maria's face. Noticing the smirk, Riley said, "I suggest you get changed Maria because we are going to watch a movie before dinner." The smile faded from Maria's face as she let out a groan and turned away. Riley let out a laugh and said to her dad, "I hope you were being nice to her." Riley walked away and left Yasmin and Mark to talk. You could hear the shouting from down the hall and Riley smiled and chuckled to herself. After a few minutes, Maria was ready and wore her black jacket, white top and some grey leggings. She wondered around the house, trying to find the living room. She saw Enzo and he said, "You're looking for the living room to watch the movie, aren't you?" Maria nodded and asked, "Can you show me where it is? I've been looking for ages." Enzo let out a laugh and gestured her to follow. They soon entered a room that had three sofas, four armchairs and a huge TV that hung on the wall. There was a Christmas tree in the corner and had all sorts of lights and decorations surrounding it. It also had presents already under the tree. Maria sat next to Riley and Enzo and she could see that Sara was angry that Enzo didn't sit next to her. Maria winked at her and that only made Sara angrier. For a few hours, they all watched Christmas films and had a great time, but Maria was having trouble in enjoying herself. She couldn't shake off this feeling that something was wrong and Enzo noticed. He didn't ask any questions, but looked out for her. Then it was time for dinner and everyone went into the dining room and sat around the fire. While Maria was looking around, she saw that Elenor was sitting at the far end of the table. Elenor looked at Maria and soon the fear entered her eyes again. Maria wondered if she could see into the future, but her thoughts were interrupted by Enzo nudging her leg. She looked at him and he nodded his head at his parents. "I'm sorry I didn't quite hear what you said." Mark frowned angrily and then said, "I was wondering why you weren't spending time with your family. I'm sure you would like to spend your time with them at Christmas." The room fell silent and all eyes turned onto Maria. Maria smiled and then said, "If I'm being honest, I don't think it is any of your business so stay out of it." Everyone stayed silent. No one said a word and Maria was just staring at Mark with anger all over her face. Suddenly, someone held her hand under the table and squeezed it tightly. Maria looked and saw that it was Enzo holding it. Instantly, Maria calmed down and relaxed again. Riley whispered something into Brian's ear and they both nodded at each other. Maria didn't trust what Riley had said, but soon forgot about it when the food was brought out. They had roast dinner, giant turkeys, vegetables and all sort of food and drinks. Maria's face lit up and she dug in. She looked like a wild animal, but Maria didn't care as this was probably the best thing she had eaten in years. Enzo held her hand for the rest of the dinner and laughed at everything she did and said. They both had a great time and people around the table started to notice how well they were getting on. Yasmin kept looking at Enzo and Maria and she soon realised what was happening and for her, everything made sense. Soon the diner was over and Maria left to go and get some fresh air. Before Enzo could leave, Yasmin shouted him from behind and said, "I want to talk to you." Enzo turned around and looked at his mother. "I saw how you were looking at Maria," Yasmin explained, "You like her." Enzo laughed and laughed and chuckled, "Me? I don't like Maria. We're just really close." Yasmine folded her arms and stared at her son. She didn't move a muscle and eventually, Enzo caved in and said, "I might like her a little bit, but it doesn't matter." Yasmin smiled and said, "I knew it. Listen, if you're happy, then I'm happy and if she makes you happy then tell her. From what I saw, she feels the same way." Enzo was left stunned. He didn't think that Maria liked him and he would never admit it to anyone (apart from his mother). "Don't tell anyone." Enzo left the room and Yasmin chuckled to herself as she followed. Maria was outside and she sat on the steps of the patio. She kept taking in deep breaths over and over again, but was soon struggling to breath. Everything started to come back to her, like the time she was happy and when she had her parents with her and when she was enjoying her life and when she had nothing to worry about. They all came back and it was like it was suffocating her. She closed her eyes and heard someone sit next to her. She opened her eyes and saw a little boy. He looked no more than six years old and had dark green eyes, his blonde hair was messy and he wore a white short with baggy blue jeans. "What's wrong? You look sad." Maria asked. She could see that his eyes were sore and red from crying. Another tear fell from his eyes and he said, "Mommy and daddy are arguing and I think it's about me." Another tear started to fall down his cheek and soon he just couldn't stop. Maria didn't know what to do in these situations and for a while she just sat there. Out of the corner of the patio, Yasmin and Enzo were watching and looking at what was happening. Mark approached behind them and Yasmin put her finger to her lips to tell him to be quiet and watch. The three of them watched what Maria was doing. Maria wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly. The tears soon began to slow down and Maria explained, "I don't know who your parents are, but I am certain they weren't falling out about you. What's your name?" "Tom. My name is Tom. What's yours?" The boy pulled away from the hug and looked at Maria. "My name is Maria. Now, Tom I need you to know that they aren't angry at you and I'm sure they were just discussing what movie to watch or who brought you the better present." "Thank you for listening, Maria. You're the best." Tom gave her a hug again and then said to her, "You would be a great mum." He pulled away and ran inside the house. Maria was shocked. She had never thought about having kids and she was scared to think of being a mother. She froze for a while and kept replaying the same thing the boy said over and over again in her mind. After a while, Maria stood up and walked inside the house as well. Mark, Yasmin and Enzo was left in shock and didn't say a word to each other. Enzo then spoke up, "Now you see that she is a great girl that has been through a lot of horrible things in her life. Try to be nice." Enzo walked away and left his parents to talk. Enzo couldn't believe what he had saw and thought about what the kid said. For the first time, Enzo saw fear in Maria's eyes and he didn't know what he could do to help. After a while, the sky grew dark and the snow began to fall harder and everyone went to sleep. Maria decided to sleep on the sofa and woke up to a horrible feeling in the middle of the night. She rushed to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet. She was sat there for a while and then saw she was coughing up blood! Maria knew what this meant and her plan to defeat Salice had to speed up. After a while of being in the bathroom, puking and coughing up blood, it eventually stopped and Maria went back to sleep on the sofa.

A few hours later, Maria was waked up by Tom and Riley shouting, "ITS CHRISTMAS!" Maria sat up and her eyes went out of focus for a short while. Maria sat up and her eyes went out of focus for a short while. She looked around her to see that everyone was in the room. Riley and Tom raced to the presents, Yasmin and Mark laughed and sat on the armchair together and Enzo sat next to me. "You alright? You don't look so good." Maria nodded and looked at Riley and Tom opening presents and smiling. As much as Maria wanted to enjoy herself, she just couldn't. Snapping out of her thoughts, Enzo gave her a present. "Open it." Maria looked at Enzo and opened the present. Inside, was a silver bracelet with her name on and all sorts of colours and shapes of beads. "I didn't know what you liked so I just got one with you name on. Merry Christmas." Maria smiled and placed it around her wrist. "Thank you. I love it." Enzo smiled and watched the others open their presents. After opening the presents, they all had something to eat. Maria was gathered with everyone in the living room and more people started to come in. The laughter and talking got louder and the more the people came in the room, the more crowded it got. Everything was going in slow motion for Maria and she couldn't hear what people were saying to her. All that was on her mind was Salice. Maria stood up and walked out of the room. She got changed and packed her things. Just as she was about to leave, Riley called out from behind her and asked, "Where are you going?" "I have something I need to do and I needed to get away from there. Too many wolves for me. Thank you and have a good Christmas." Before Riley could say anything else, Maria walked away and left as the snow slowly fell down onto the ground.

Maria was sat on a park bench and was thinking about what her parents would be doing if they were alive. She wondered what they would say and at that moment, she needed their advice. Two people joined her on the bench. It was Freya and Chris. "What did you call us for? I thought you were spending time with Riley and her pack. Maria sighed and said, "I was, but I couldn't stay there any longer. Everywhere I looked, people were laughing and smiling and it just hurt. It hurt for me to see something that I would never have. I'm happy that they have a family there for them, but I just couldn't be there any longer," Maria paused for a while and then carried on talking, "I also started to cough up blood and I think we all know what that means." Freya and Chris looked at Maria with concerned looks. They all remained silent for a while until Freya said, "What can we do to help?" "I need you to find information about the Emerald coven and to find out if they have any events happening. If any coven is going to help us take down Salice, then it's them," Maria turned to face Chris and explained, "Chris, I need you to ask any vampires if they can slow this part of the curse progress down and to see if they know anything about where Salice is hiding." Maria stood up and looked at her two friends. "I'm going to see if I can smell Salice's scent in a few days when I am at my strongest and try and stay... alive. Merry Christmas guys." Maria walked away and left the other two to think of what they were going to do and how. Millions of questions were going through her mind and although she didn't show it, different emotions were filing up inside. She only wanted to be in one place and that was with her parents.

After a while of running through trees and snow, Maria reached a graveyard with gravestones and flowers. It was dark and cold and the snow fell gracefully on the graves. Maria walked over to two of the gravestones and crouched down on the floor. She touched each gravestone with one hand and moved her fingers in the shapes of the letters. One of them said, 'Sam Rivers. A loving partner, father and brother.' And the other said, 'Sophia Rivers. A loving partner, mother and sister.' Maria closed her eyes and pictured them standing beside her, but she knew it was just her imagination. "Hello mom and dad. I know I haven't been here in a long time, but I just couldn't bring myself to come here, knowing that your gone and not coming back. Its Christmas here and I wish you were here with me and it's actually snowing which has never happened on Christmas for as long as I can remember." Maria let out a quiet chuckle and a tear fell from her eyes. Quickly wiping it away, she carried on talking, "I met someone who's a wolf. Her names Riley. She's such a lovely girl and I know you would have loved her mum. On the other, I also met a boy called Enzo, whose Riley's brother, and I know that dad would be threatening to kill him. I could really use your boy advice mum." Maria stopped for a while and closed her eyes once again. "I promise you that Salice will pay for what she has done and I will make sure that this doesn't happen to any other packs or families. I miss you so so much, but I'll see you soon." Maria stood up and walked away without giving a second look back. All that filled her eyes were rage and Salice wouldn't know what hit her when she came. After a while of walking and climbing, Maria returned home and waved her hand to start a fire. She went into the cave and grabbed the book that Riley had given her. She sat down by the fire and opened the book. She flipped through the pages and reading everything she saw. She find out that she got her wolf size from her great grandfather who was one of the most powerful alpha's that ever lived. Then, she came to her auntie's page and something shocked her. Like the other profiles and pictures, they had a red cross on to show that they were dead. Instead, her auntie didn't have a cross. Maria's auntie was still alive!