Filed to story: Rylee the Orphan Luna Novel
“Jason and his father just went to Silver Lake to scope out the area, and …” he paused and looked at me, his facial expression full of concern. “… It’s gone, Wyatt.”
“What do you mean it’s gone, Dad?”
“There is a gaping hole in the foundation. Whatever lair Eric and his family had used to remain hidden is gone. All that’s left is a giant sinkhole. Eric is gone, and so are the captives.” “That’s not possible!”
“It gets worse,” my mother revealed. “I spoke with the Lunas of the other packs, and they were attacked as well. They, too, lost members. Thankfully, their death tolls weren’t nearly as large as ours, but they still suffered losses, nonetheless. What we noticed, however, was that pack members who were taken are ones that carry rank.”
“Can you elaborate on that?” I asked her.
“All of the packs did a headcount after they were attacked, and they found that only pack members that carry a rank, or are directly tied to someone with rank, were taken. In our case, your sister, Rylee, Zoe, Victor, Owen, Lisa, and Darius.” “Wait, Aunt Zoe? But Milan said that…”
“Zoe never made it to the bunker. Felix said they had gotten separated in the midst of all the chaos, and now they can’t find her. A pack member later mentioned that Zoe was picked up by a twister and taken.”
“F**k.”
“Luna Milly, Alpha Ramsey’s mate, said that their 16-year-old son was taken as well as their Beta’s niece, who is only 12. Luna Rowena, Alpha Matthew’s mate, said that their Gamma’s mate was taken and their pack doctor, who is her brother-in-law. Her sister’s husband,” my mother explained. “All of the packs had a bare minimum of three people taken.” “What the hell is Eric trying to do!?” I exclaimed.
“None of this would have happened had you not just sat around and made stupid plans instead of taking action, Wyatt!” my father yelled at me. “I trained you better than this. But in the last couple of years, you’ve become weak and soft!” “Me!? You’re the one who told me to never jump the gun. To always have a plan of action! To never kill out of revenge or cold blood! That it’s not what an Alpha does!”
“I also told you that an Alpha needs to know when to make the tough decision to end a life if it means saving the lives of others! I never told you to use dark magic to do your job for you! I never told you to second guess your mate day in and day out. I also told you to listen to your ranked members. Kendrick and Jason are your Beta and Gamma for a reason! They’re supposed to help you run this pack! But you’ve been ignoring them more and more, and you’re even dismissing them as if their opinions no longer matter! Since when did you ever see me disregard Dylan or Felix!?”
“What’s worse is that you’re always dismissing Rylee as well!” my mother added in. “Rylee came to me saying that you wanted her to give herself to Ash!”
“You what!?” My father exclaimed.
“Are you out of your mind, Wyatt!? What the hell were you thinking!?”
“Rylee was so hellbent on trying to kill them! To go after them! I just wanted her to be included in all of this!” I defended. “Rylee even agreed to it!”
“Wyatt, your heart may have been in the right place, but your head wasn’t. Rylee is pregnant! And she may have agreed to it, but she had her doubts. That’s why she came to me. Because she felt that she couldn’t go to you,” she insisted. “What? What do you mean she can’t come to me! We fixed our bond! Our bond is stronger than ever! If it weren’t, we wouldn’t be expecting right now!”
“Your bond as werewolves may have been fixed, but your bond as Alpha and Luna is still in shambles,” my father argued back. “Wyatt, remember what I told you when Rylee first came here, and we first found out what she was?”
“To be there for her. To be her foundation. To support her. Treat her as an equal,” I responded.
“Exactly. Have you done any of that? I mean, whole-heartedly been there for her? Been her foundation? Supported her? Treated her as an equal?” he questioned. I was taken aback by his accusation.
“Of course, I have!”
“Are you sure about that?”
“What are you insinuating, Dad!?”
“I’m not insinuating anything, son. I’m merely stating a fact. It’s something your mother started to notice after it was revealed what Rylee had seen the day of Chad’s scheduled Alpha ceremony. Ever since she had that vision, you have not been treating Rylee like an equal. You’ve been treating her like a child. You say you trust her and support her, yet you stopped her from killing Eric and his family. All this would have been done had you just let her do what needed to be done.”
“Dad, I was only stopping her from becoming like Eric!”
“What? You mean a cold-blooded killer?” my mom retorted. I looked at her in shock. “Don’t be so surprised, Wyatt. Your clone said that to her face!” “What?”
“Wyatt, clone or not, that thing was you in a sense, and it said things to Rylee that were awful and foul. It’s one thing to say that you don’t want her to kill because you don’t want her hands to be stained with the life of another, but to call her cold-blooded and a murderer in one sentence?” my mother said accusingly to me with full-on disappointment in her tone.
“But I would never …”
“You may have never said it to her face, but at some point, those were your thoughts. Or have you forgotten that thing was made up from your DNA and your memories?” my father enunciated. I gulped, knowing that they were right.
“Wyatt, just admit that you’re jealous of Rylee,” my mother told me flat out.
“What? I’m not…” I stopped mid-sentence when I saw the look she gave me.
“You’re not? Then why won’t you let her be herself? Why not tell the entire supernatural world who your mate is?” she questioned.
“If your mother were even half as powerful as Rylee, I would shout to the world who she is. I would be proud to brag about her,” my father gloated. “Even if doing so would put her life in danger?!” I shot back.
“I wouldn’t have to worry about that. She would have already proven that she is more than capable of taking care of herself. You forget, other than William and the moon goddess, Rylee is one of the most powerful werewolves to exist in this century, if not the most powerful. And you keep trying to cage her up and hide her away. Open your eyes, Wyatt! She’s no longer the slave you had to rescue from Halfmoon. Think about it; your children are going to be just as powerful as her. You can’t hide them from the world. You can’t protect them from the dangers that their kind will face for the rest of our lives. What you can do, rather, what you’re supposed to do is support them, cherish them, and be there for them. But don’t hide them, and don’t be jealous of them. You are an Alpha, and being an Alpha comes with one of the deadliest of sins-pride.” I took in a sharp breath.
“Your hidden jealousy is why you were susceptible to Layla’s mind games two and half years ago. Had you just embraced what and who Rylee is, that never would have happened to you,” my mother declared. “Even though you say you fixed your bond with Rylee, it doesn’t change the fact that you still hold resentment that she is more powerful than you. You were proud of her in the beginning, but slowly, I started to notice the small things every time she came into another power. She would be excited and go to you because of it. Even though you smiled on the outside, I could see the turmoil in your eyes. Not only were you afraid of the fact that she was continuingly getting stronger and stronger, but you were also envious.” “Being jealous of your mate is nothing to be ashamed of, Wyatt,” my father said, almost as if he could read my mind. “We all get jealous of our mates in some way, shape, or form, but don’t use that as an excuse to resent them or hinder them.”
“I was jealous of Lizzy,” my mother admitted. “The pack loved her while they feared me. I hated that I couldn’t be personable the way she was with everyone. But I had to remember that as the Luna, I wouldn’t always be able to be friendly with pack members. I was in the same position as your father. I had to lead the pack alongside him, and that also meant getting hate from people. Lizzy, on the other hand, was a natural at just making everyone feel loved and included. Her death was the biggest blow this pack ever had. But I never once resented her for it. That’s why I was able to tell her how much I envied her but could remain her friend at the same time. But your jealousy of Rylee’s powers is toxic, and no matter how much you say you love her and are proud of her, the fact of the matter is, your jealousy is why you refuse to let her harness her full powers.” I closed my eyes and bowed my head in utter shame. I always thought that I was able to hide that I was, in fact, jealous of Rylee and her powers. I was proud to have her as a mate, but I also wanted to keep it a secret how powerful she really could be.
“Goddess, how could I have been so immature and stupid?”
“You’re a man. It comes naturally,” my mother mocked. My father and I both looked at her, stunned. “Oh, don’t even give me those looks. You both know it’s the truth.” My dad and I exchanged glances at each other and scoffed at how brutally honest my mom could actually be.
“How do I fix this?” I finally asked after being completely humbled.
“You need to get your head out of your a*s like I said before and go find your mate, young man!” my mother scolded me.
“How am I supposed to find her!? You said it yourself that Eric’s lair at Silver Lake is gone!”
“Wyatt Valencia, stop being a stupid little boy and think like a man! You’re an Alpha and a werewolf at that! Start acting like one and use your senses, you dimwit!” she said, smacking me across the head.
“Ow!”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?