Milly.


    I’m sitting beside my mate, Charles, on a log across the fire from my sons and new daughter-inw. It’s her first shift tonight, and I remember every first shift in the pack since I first became Luna. It’s customary for the Alpha and Luna to be present for your first shift in our pack; it shows support and unity. This is a very special shift, though, as it’s our new Luna’s first shift tonight, and she needs all the support she can get. I love Evelina so much already. She shows such strength and courage, but also with the biggest heart. She is a natural leader and will be a great Luna in my ce with my sons by her side. I check my watch for the millionth time tonight, wanting everything to go as nned. We’ve already exined how a shift will work and what’s to be expected; now we’re left to wait. With only a few more minutes until midnight, we’re all waiting, ready and prepared to help.


    “Ready, my darling?” Charles asks, squeezing my hand as we stand up.


    “What a perfectst shift for us to help guide.” I smile up at him. The next first shifts willnd on the new Alphas and Luna. It’s a beautiful circle. When the clock strikes twelve, I watch as sweat beads on Evelina’s forehead, and she hunches over in pain.


    “Here we go, darling. You’re going to feel a lot of pain before a beautiful release. Don’t fight it, just let it happen. Breathe, darling, just breathe.” I coax her softly, kneeling in front of her as she drops to her knees with a pained whimper. I’m busy pushing hair behind her ears and rubbing her pack when Charles tries to get my attention.


    “Milly…darling…” I continue helping Evelina, shushing and cooing endearments.


    “Milly!”


    “Ahhh!” Xavier’s cry has me turning my head, and I see all four of my sons on their hands and knees, sweating, whimpering in pain.


    “What the…” I look around the Alpha Kings, who are just as confused as I am.


    “They look like they’re shifting…” Alpha King Mchi says in bewilderment.


    “But they’ve already shifted, many years ago.” I turn to my husband. “Charles, what is happening?!”


    “I don’t know, darling… I don’t…” The warmth from the fire seems to increase, and I find myself needing to step away from it. Charles wraps an arm around me, and we all start walking backwards, not being able to stand the heat anymore. We’re about 30 meters away now. I can barely see my children, but I can hear their cries getting louder and louder, and all I want is to run back there and help them. Are they burning? What is happening?


    “Arghhhhhh!!!!!!!!


    “Ahhhhhhh!!!!!”


    “FUCCCCKKKK!”


    All I can hear now is their cries, and I try to move forward, but Charles wraps both his arms around me, holding me in ce.


    “Let me go! That’s my babies!”


    “I know, darling, I know! I’m sorry. It’s going to be okay. Shhhh.”


    “There is nothing we can do for them now.” Alpha King Julius says softly as he ces his hand on my shoulder and calms me with his powers. The emotional pain might be gone, but I still want nothing more than to go to my children. The next thing I know, the fire reaches well beyond the tree tops, and we’re all shielding our eyes from the brightness. I hear five distinct howls before everything goes deathly silent and the fire returns to normal. I instantly notice the overwhelming heat is gone, and I run forward as fast as I can with the others. When we reach the bonfire, my babies are gone, Evelina is gone. They’re just…gone. Nothing but burnt grass surrounds the fire. I fall to my knees and cry.


    Evelina


    The pain from the shift is excruciating. I swear I’m actually on fire as I hear and feel my bones break, pop, and shift into apletely different structure. Something is wrong. I can feel something is wrong. I can hear somewhere beyond my own self that something is wrong, but I can’t open my eyes. Over my own screams, I think I can hear my mates as well. I can feel their pain. Why are they in pain? I’m not sure if it’s minutes or hours, but that fire I feel inside of me explodes, and I hear a howl. Wait no…I’m howling, along with my mates, I think, and then, it’s gone. For a split second, it feels like I’m falling off a cliff. You know that feeling when you’re in a dream and you think you’re falling, your heart drops, and then you wake up to find you didn’t fall at all? Well, I’m not sure if this is a dream or not, but I think I’ve just woken up…in hell.


    I stay as still as possible, willing my heart beat to slow as I stare ahead of me. I’ve read about these creatures in books, but I’ve never seen one in real life before. Four massive hell hounds stand in front of me. They’re bigger than any wolf I’ve ever seen before. Easily twice the size of an Alpha wolf, and their fur is as ck as coal, with embers of fire throughout. Their teeth look sharp as fuck, and their eyes glow red, like little mes dance beyond their irises. Around them, it looks like a dark forest, with not even a moon in the sky to bring any light. No, the only lightes from them. The forest, although it is dark, looks like the colour has been mostly sucked from…this ce. The trees give off an eerie feeling, with long, dead branches devoid of life. The ground is nothing but broken stones and rock. I have no idea where the fuck I am, or what the fuck I am supposed to do now.


    *Well, fucking finally. Hello Evalina, I am Layah, your hellhound. * A voice sounds in my head.


    I’m sorry…my fucking what now? I think back.


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