Beloved

Prequel

"Michelle, grab Gaia, baby. Get our pup and run."

Gaia stilled hearing her father's calm voice. He was tense, but his rumbling baritone was steady as though he was asking about the weather.

She had seen her parents shift before, of course. From as far back as she could remember she knew her parents in their wolf forms. She had frolicked with them in this meadow by the river where they often enjoyed an afternoon together, eating and playing. She had felt safe, protected, loved, and happy.

But she had never seen her parents like this. Angry. Scared. Her mother was frantic, but her father was eerily calm.

It frightened her.

Years later she would remember how both her parent's eyes glazed over for the brief moment it took to alert the alpha. Burned into her memory was the sharp edges of her father's features just before he shifted in a vain effort to protect his mate and pup from 5 rogues. And he did. Just long enough for his mate to choose a direction with their pup. Just long enough for his head to be ripped from his shoulders as the nearest patrol arrived.

Witness to the entire scene playing out behind her mother as she was carried, Gaia screamed for her father's gruesome death at the same moment she was plunged in the cold rushing water, her mother having leapt them into the river to escape the rogues. Mother and daughter were later found washed ashore downriver from the waterfall, both suffering injuries, shock and hypothermia.

They were taken to the River Valley hospital, a werewolf owned, funded and operated community hospital in the neutral territory between neighboring packs. They spent a bit more than a week in the hospital healing from their injuries, and then sent home.

In that time, Gaia's mother's mother, grandma Bianchi, packed them both up and moved them to live with her. They'd visited Grandma's restaurant several times as a family, and Gaia had spent a couple of summers with her grandmother more recently, but she would be in a new school, in a new territory, with new people, and a new alpha and luna.

Seven year old Gaia had just witnessed her father's brutal death, and survived her own personal near death experience, waking up in the hospital in a room shared by her mother, who may not survive the loss of her mate.

Gaia feared losing her mother. She was grateful for the presence of her grandmother, but hated leaving her mother during the day, fearing Michelle would give up and die when she wasn't there. She feared not being there to make sure her mother took care of herself.

Her mother wore loss as a shroud, and often spent her days curled in her bed. She blamed herself for the deaths of both her mate, and their unborn pup. He was successful at landing the perfect job fresh out of graduation, and she would be able to attend classes soon, but had just learned she was going to give her daughter a much wanted sibling.

She'd just wanted a fun family outing before school began, and a fun way to share the news of a sweet addition to their family. It had been so beautifully perfect. Until it was terrifying.

Michelle allowed her mother and daughter to coax her to bathe, and dress, and sit at the table to eat, complying woodenly. After the first month she could be coaxed to set foot outdoors, but didn't want to leave the house. Any visitors would have to come to grandma Bianchi's, and by tradition, the first visitor should be the luna.

The luna made her visit after the second week of Gaia and Michelle's move.

"Michelle, Gaia, we have guests," Gaia's grandmother called up the stairs.

Gaia patted her mother's arm and coaxed her to get out of bed, glad she'd talked her mother into taking a shower earlier, so a quick tweak to settle her clothes and she was presentable.

Gaia preceded her mother down the stairs, slowing her descent as the guests came in to view.

A stunningly beautiful woman, dark hair swept smoothly in a chignon, intense gaze above high cheekbones that landed on the wide-eyed young girl staring at her. Her mouth softened and spread in a smile that lit up her eyes at the sight of Gaia. She gestured for the girl to step forward and smiled warmly up at Michelle.

"You must be Gaia Miller! I'm Luna Arianna Black." The beautiful woman had her arm around the shoulder of a bored young boy sharing her striking features standing beside her, "I hear you'll be in third grade this year. You might be in class with my son, Dante."

Gaia blinked at the boy, beautiful as his mother, eyes firmly cast down, thrusting a stuffed toy at her, muttering, "Here, this is for you." Behind him his mother was already greeting Michelle. They'd been friends in high school.

Gaia felt the boy's hold withdraw from the toy the moment she touched it and she fumbled to keep it from dropping to the floor. That would have been rude.

"Thank you." Once in her hands she saw it was a moose in bright red overalls. She followed the adults into the living room, and sat where she could keep an eye on her mother.

"My mother got it for you," Dante muttered, following her.

Gaia silently named her new stuffed toy Mr. Saltypants while the boy stared at the walls until grandma served the adults coffee, with milk and cookies for the children.Then she sat at the table nibbling on a cookie with her new best friend Mr. Saltypants, with the alpha boy sitting across from her.

He was bouncing his heel on a chair rung. Arms crossed. Silent. Brooding. Sighing, "Finally," when it was evident his mother was prepared to leave.

His loss.

Her grandma's cookies were scrumptious. She'd had three.

Dante-

Direct descendant of the only werewolf/vampire hybrid line, a lineage that had been sprung from a peace treaty marriage that ended the last war between two of the supernatural species over five centuries before the present day. A werewolf alpha prince and the vampire king's favorite daughter. By all that was natural, that distant relative shouldn't have existed. Vampires are created, not born, and werewolves by the Goddess' design only produce young with true fated or second chance mates.

But that child was born. He grew up to rule as King of werewolves. He met his mate and she bore him three sons and five daughters. As per custom of the day, sons inherited land, daughters granted allies.

The eldest son stayed in the Black Forest, ancestral home of the royal family, eventually shouldering the mantle of King after his father stepped down. The other two brothers moved away to found their own territories, one north to Highlands, while the youngest sailed across the ocean to America, eventually founding what would come to be known as the seven moons region located in the old growth forests of the northwest coastline. They managed to keep their existence largely hidden, mingling with the indigenous humans as required, but cordoning off large swathes of land for themselves long before human colonizer expeditions and wars expanded westward.

The royal and northern european royal lines had since died out, giving way to the creation of the council of elders. The council kept apprised of the affairs of individual packs, granting assistance where required. They also met with dignitaries of the fey, the Wicca, and the other shifter species.

Dante's parents, Alpha Florian and Luna Arianna, were conscripted to the council early, which meant they were rarely home. Like now.

"We're sorry we can't make your birthday, sweetheart, but we'll be home soon. Your mother and father love you very much, my big alpha boy."

Dante lay spread-eagle on the bed in the Gamma's guest room he occupied more frequently than his own. His mind replaying in his mind the parting words of his mother during their most recent call, letting the numbness deepen, hoping he'd soon feel nothing. He didn't want to feel the emptiness of them, his parents. That punched in the gut, just threw up, hollowed out, sadness of missing the people he treasured most in his entire world.

They should be here, they'd promised! He would be turning eight in a few days. They should be here for his birthday! They should be here raising him.

But, the council needed them. And they'd left to answer that call. They'd only returned long enough to welcome the new pack members. That sad girl and her mother.

It's not fair! The council shouldn't need them more than their own pup! His parents should have refused!

Da-a-a-nte! Come outside! Damian's here! Come play!"

The perky voice of his future Gamma's twin calling his name shattered through his gloomy spiral. An anchor to life in his emotional maelstrom. He snatched it and held on for all he was worth.

Fiery haired Angelica was the prettiest girl he'd ever seen, and the only one who had ever seen him weak. She'd comforted him, and never told anyone of his tears when he missed his parents. She would make a perfect Luna someday.

Right now she was apparently downstairs with her brother, and his best friend from around the neighboring packs had just been dropped off.

Dante blinked and slowly rose from the bed, shuffling to the bathroom to check his face before setting out of the spare room of the Gamma house to meet with the other children. He was the future alpha of the only hybrid line. Only his luna was allowed to see him weak.

_____

Gaia

Grandma Bianchi took her young granddaughter to the restaurant most days until she found a neighbor who could watch her. She taught the young girl everything she knew in the kitchen, promising her recipes as a mating gift to the little girl.

When school started in the fall, Gaia was expected to go to the restaurant on weekends rather than stay home. Her grandma knew she'd spend all her time with her mother, and didn't think it was healthy for either of them. So Gaia went to the restaurant, and sat with her books at a table in the back if she had homework, and learned her grandmother's recipes and kitchen secrets when she didn't have school.

Since her grandmother's restaurant was at the border near the convergence of three pack's lands and a human city, most patrons to her grandmother's restaurant and bakery were human, but occasionally wolves of neighboring packs would stop in.

Gaia would politely nod at everyone, but mostly kept to herself. Her grandmother didn't want her interacting much with the humans or wolves she didn't know.

Gaia sometimes saw children she attended school with come into the restaurant with their families, and she'd smile and greet them. Some of the children would join her while they waited for their food, but of the ranked families only the Alpha and Beta adults acknowledged her.


Michelle spent a year and some months grieving, but one afternoon remembered the dream she had for herself and realized she could still achieve her dream, and raise her daughter, so she took steps to crawl out of her shell. She took on waitressing at the restaurant to help her aging mother and bond with her pup, and raise money to put herself through school.

When Gaia was twelve, she and her mother were at the restaurant, preparing to leave when a human shooter opened fire in the parking lot, killing 7, injuring 15. Grandma numbered among the dead, Gaia's mother was one of the severely injured.

Gaia doesn't remember if she screamed. But her throat was raw, and the skin of her cheeks were tight with dried tears when a pack paramedic draped a blanket across her shoulder. She stayed with Darla's family until her mother was released from the hospital.

A month later, Gaia silently wept in a corner chair in an office conference room watching her mother sell the restaurant. They would be able to keep the house, and her mother would be able to attend school with just a part time job, but that was small comfort for the fresh holes in her heart.