The Broken Luna

Chapter One

Blood. Fire. Screaming. 

I couldn't see anything. All around me stunk of silver. I couldn't find him, i needed to find him. I could feel in my chest  that he needed me. He was injured and I needed to get to him. 

Smoke blurred my vision and I felt the silver in the air as i tried to breathe. I coughed and tried to move. I coughed and tried to call for help. 

Then it hit me. The blinding pain that meant I was alone. 

"James!" i sat up screaming. I was covered in sweat, my heart racing and my mind spinning. I looked around in a panic, trying to focus on something, anything to calm me down. On the night stand next to the bed was my wedding picture, me all dressed up and James at my side. 

"Jesus," I breathed running my hand down my face. 

"Evie?" a soft voice whispered outside my door. "Are you alright?" My door opened slowly and my Beta stuck his head into my room. 

"I'm okay Marc," I said as I saw him. He was a few years older than me, twenty three with dark hair and dark eyes. He was James' best friend and now he was my Beta, helping me run this pack. 

"Just another nightmare." 

"Do you want me to get the doctor?" I checked the clock on the wall and saw it was almost five. I shook my head silently and pushed back my hair with a trembling hand. "Do you wanna talk about work?" 

"Yes please," i said managing a smirk. 

"Meet you in your office in twenty?" I nodded and he left the room once again. I waited till my body stopped shaking to get up and get ready to face the day. 

I changed into a pair of jeans and an old tank top shrugging on one of James' old jackets before heading into the bathroom. I brushed my teeth looking anywhere but at my own reflection. Once I cleaned myself up I brushed my long red hair and braided it to the side letting the strands fall as they pleased. 

I touched my cheek feeling where the four claw mark scars sat. I turned away from the counter refusing to look at myself in the mirror. I pulled on my boots and grabbed my phone before leaving my house. The Alpha House was settled in the middle of a small clearing, giving us the privacy that we needed.  

The Pack House was centered in the middle of the pack, it held my office, the doctors, the kitchen, the main food hall, punishment cells, and spare rooms for anyone who needs them. Many of the rooms were filled with new pups or visitors from the other packs. That's where I was headed. 

I walked into my office on the second floor and Marc was already there waiting. There was a cup of coffee on the desk waiting and Marc had a white button down shirt for me to wear meaning I had conference calls today. 

"Three conference calls, two meetings and we still have to plan our trip to the Western Pack by the end of the week," Marc said offering me my shirt. "There is plenty of coffee in the pot and a fresh cup on your desk." 

"I could kiss you Marc," I smiled moving behind my desk as I shrugged on my shirt. 

"I don't think Tony would appreciate it." I shrugged and sat in my chair taking a sip of the hot coffee that was in front of me. I breathed it in happily and settled into the chair for the day, knowing it was going to be a long one. 

"Let's start with the visit to the Western Pack." 

We talked for hours about the statistics of the visit and what was going to be needed and done. All we had to do now was to call and confirm our date of tomorrow and be on our way. Next came the video conferences with other packs before a thirty minute break where I could change before my next two meetings. I changed my jeans in for a black pencil skirt and my boots for a pair of heels. 

I had a quick lunch before my meetings and after that I called and confirmed the visit. I sighed and slouched in my chair yawning. Marc looked at me with a chuckle and nodded sitting in his chair across from me. 

"You look exhausted, maybe you should sleep," Marc suggested. 

"I will do my best," i smiled. My cheek started aching as i felt the temperature drop in the room once again. "This things giving me a headache." 

"We have a doctor for this kind of thing Evie." 

I nodded but then shook my head. "I'm fine Marc." 

"Evolet." Saying my full name meant that he was serious and I had to look up at him. "James wouldn't have wanted this. He would have wanted you to take care of yourself. It's been almost a year... Please." 

He was pleading. His eyes begging me to stop being stubborn and let myself see the doctor. I swallowed hard and blinked before looking up at him. 

"I- I" I wanted to argue but i knew he was right. Marc knew him as well as I did and he would want this. "I'll get something to help me sleep, but- it's gonna take time for me to be where I was." 

"You're still there, I see it in you every day- every damn day. The fight in you, the strength and the fire that burned so damn brightly in you before is still there, just dimmed behind grief. It'll come back when it's ready and it will be okay. I'm not rushing you, but by god you need to sleep. James would have strangled me by now if he could for letting you get this bad." 

I smiled a bit and wiped my face. He was right on all accounts and I couldn't help but tear up at the thought. Soon enough my tears turned into laughter and I was shaking with it. 

"James would have kicked both our asses by now," I giggled with Marc. "Had us pined to the ground before noon." 

Marc was laughing as hard as I was, tears streaming down both of our faces. "God I miss him." I smiled and nodded in agreement. "Want me to walk with you to the doc?" 

"Yes please." 

I shut everything down and grabbed my phone for the night. Marc and I walked arm and arm to see the doc. I told him my symptoms and he gave me something to help me sleep. Marc walked me back to my room in the Alpha house, practically tucked me in that night. 

I took my medicine and for the first time in months... I slept without a nightmare.