Apollyon

00 - in which a mother cries

Birth is the epicentre of
women's power

Hushed tones of whispers decorate the master bedroom as another screeching scream throws its way out of Luna Samantha's vocal cords. A deep crimson covers her whole body as an undeniable sheen of sweat makes her glow in the light of the moon. It is nearly sunrise but all of the seven moons of Ifraia are still protruding from the palette of colours in the sky.

As another painful contraction rips through Samantha, Alpha Ernest grips her hand, not only to ease her but to try to calm himself down. His Sammie had been through four miscarriages and two still births, they both couldn't bear the loss of another child. He feels her pain with her and she feels his and together they create a disaster waiting to happen.

"Just one more push, Luna! I can see their head!" Doctor Gillian cries out and Samantha throws her head back onto the pillow, a series of tears running down her face. Against the pain, she pushes one more time in exasperation and screams as she gives birth to her child. For a moment, the people in the room are silent as Doctor Gillian picks up the baby in hesitation. It is then tat Samantha and Ernest hear the greatest and most painful sound of their lives.

Their baby crying.

Ernest and Sammie begin to cry together as smiles over take their faces. Doctor Gillian and several nurses quickly clear the baby's airway and bathe it before wrapping it in a soft lemon blanket as she hands the baby to Samantha.

"Congratulations Alpha and Luna, you have a beautiful baby girl." Doctor Gilliam announces softly and a burst of joy fills the pack link, making everyone in the pack lands to cheer as they realise their leaders finally have a living child.

"Has she opened her eyes yet?" Samantha asks eagerly to Doctor Gillian.

"Not yet Luna, but I'm sure that she'll take after both of you with your blue eyes." She explains and Ernest stands up and wraps his arms around her.

"Thank you, Gillian, for delivering my beautiful baby girl." Ernest whispers as he hugs her and hesitantly, Gillian hugs him back and relishes in his touch.

It was no secret among the pack members that Gillian and and Ernest used to be the most loved up couple in the pack. Neither of them had met their mates and they was positive that when they turned twenty years old, they would be able to finally mate. However, when Ernest turned twenty, they were both heartbroken but still carried on their relationship in secret. Then, Samantha arrived.

She was just an ordinary ranked wolf with an impeccable talent to make people happy and so when Ernest first came across her and found out that she was his mate, he was enraptured by her and still is. However, Gillian despised her and as time went on, she began to like Samantha but spit pure hatred at Ernest and her being mates.

In Gillian's eyes, her and Ernest should be together but she swallows her anger  and sadness every time she sees them and greets them with a smile. Now, she hates that child. When Ernest let her out of the warm embrace, she stares at the perfect couple in disgust as they fawn over their new born. Then, Samantha gasps.

"Oh my, Ernest look at her eyes!" Sammie begs her mate as she is intoxciated by the pair of golden eyes staring back at her.

"Wow." Ernest whispers out as he reaches his hand out and gently strokes his daughter's face.

"Alpha, Luna, is everything okay?" Gillian asks with concern in her voice. In all honestly, she doesn't care about the baby, just that Ernest will be destroyed if anything happens to her.

"Gillian!" Sammie exclaims excitedly although she lowers her tone as her daughter wriggles in her arms. "Come look at her eyes." Samantha motions that Gillian steps forward and hesitantly, she does. Slowly, she reaches the side of the bed where Samantha is lying and the gasps and throws her hands up to her mouth as she stares at the girl's eyes.

They're gold, Gillian thinks to herself, shocked to the core. Instantly, the Sanctuary of Flowers pops into her head because wolves who have unnatural eye colours go there. This is mainly due to the fact that those with eyes that are abnormal can see much more than the average wolf, such as a larger variety of colours, particles that others cannot see and more. Biting her tongue, Gillian decides to hold back on that information.

"She's so beautiful," Gillian admits. She may not like the child because she's a symbol of what could have been hers, but she cannot deny her alluring eyes. "Have you decided on a name?"

"Lilly, we're going to call her Lilly." Ernest announces with a grin on his face and Sammie's grin reflects her mate's.

"That's such a beautiful name! I'll go and get the birth certificate for you whilst you meet Lilly." Gillian says with a smile and she hastily leaves the room to fetch the birth certificate.

🌻

After she handed the two new parents their birth certificate for Lilly, Gillian left to go to her house. After she has had a shower, she sits down exhausted on the couch and lies her head on a cushion. As she looks to the left of her, she notices the brightly coloured violet flower that is painted on her wall. She painted it after Ernest gave it to her on her 19th birthday, before Samantha came into the mix.

Then, Gillian remembers what she first thought about the Sanctuary of Flowers. What if she could somehow notify the elders that Lilly is here? No, then they would know that she did it.

For four hours, Gillian sat in her living room thinking about an elaborate plan on how to get Lilly away from Ernest and Samantha. If Gillian couldn't be happy, then they certainly should not.

First, she would get a private and anonymous message to the hostile rouges living outside the borders which notifies them of the birth and weak state of the pack. Then, they would attack and whilst the pack is in a state of panic, she will go into their home and steal Lilly whilst Ernest is out fighting. Lilly would then be taken to Sanctuary of Flowers under the false name of Lilith Laurel and left there. Since they had no direct contact with the outside world, no one would ever know where Alpha Ernest and Luna Samantha's daughter went.

That's exactly what she did.