Bonus （Jasper POV）
It was unsettling to see the streets of my village running red with blood. When we'd gotten the news that our town was overrun by warring wolves we all rushed to get here but we were too late.
The war was won, but lives were lost.
I helped carry the dead to our sacred burial sight. Devran was gracious enough to allow the Red Moon Pack to collect their fallen people and bury them elsewhere away from here.
Those were our enemies but the people here are submitting their loyalty to us now, so they may bury their dead, but then the Red Moon Pack's name dies with them.
They’re Crescent wolves now.
I was relieved to know my family was safe and that Mira was safe. I heard she performed another miracle as she was the reason the battle ended. I’ll have to hug her ten times more in thanks.
We did lose men today though. Father’s to sons and daughters and husbands to weeping wives.
Of all the deaths the one I felt most was my friend Tommy who was in our group of friends. He died by the hand of the Red Moon wolves after fighting hard to defend his people.
The guards of the Western borders where the army overtook them also had men who were friends of my father.s Also people I grew up with.
It’s hard to lift these dead men and women to bring them to our burial site but we have to keep a brave face for our community. I’m Delta, I can’t break.
It was late into the night when all the wolves were gathered for our funeral of all the men who lost lives today. I should say, and women, because they fought bravely alongside them. Luckily only one was killed though and she’s here too.
An elder wolf is meant to recite prayers to help the wolves cross over to the other side where they'll join our ancestors in peace forever. Then Devran has to speak as Alpha and leader of this pack.
He has the hardest job because he will take the blame for this even when it isn’t his fault. I know my friend and because this occurred under his leadership he will take that as his own failure.
I looked around the crowd hoping Mira made it back in time for this but she had her own half of responsibilities to worry about.
I don’t want her to burn herself out but I know she has orders from her own type of Alpha. Mother Moon Goddess. I want to understand my best friend’s gifts but it is all a mystery to me so far.
I know she is an incredible woman, but I have always known that. It’s why I protected her from those rogue wolves and it’s why I brought her back here to us. I knew she was innocent, kind, and a blessing in and of itself.
The ceremony took most of the night. People grieved around the graves as we buried them while the moon was still out.
I started to notice a very nervous looking woman whose eyes kept shifting up to the sky then back down at Devran as if waiting for something.
I approached her because I needed to know why she was eyeing my Alpha. She was literally moving her weight from side to side on each leg almost like she was bouncing.
“What is it? Who are you?” I asked her.
She bowed her head and said, “I am from the Red Moon Pack. I have a message for you and your Alpha.” I furrowed my brows but called Devran and Diego over.
“Tell us” I nodded for her to continue. Her eyes shifted up to the sky again. “I can’t...not until sunrise,” she told us.
I figured this is obviously a mental wolf or something because she was jittery and making no sense. Devran didn’t drop it though.
“Why? Explain” his tone took on the edge of the Alpha. She blew out a heavy breath of air that made her cheeks puff out before shifting to looking at all three of us at once.
“Because our sacred lady told me it couldn’t be a minute sooner.”
I almost didn’t know who she meant until I heard Devran say, “Mira?” She nodded yes. Of course, they saw her Mystical powers today so she called her a sacred lady. Is she sacred? She kinda is.
“Jasper, where is Mira?” Devran turned to me. “Uh, I don’t know. I’ve been with you this whole time” I gave him the duh face. He looked back at the woman and I could see his patience was thin. It’s been a rough night for him.
“Why can’t you tell us now? What’s the difference?” He asked her. The woman had frizzy hair and paper lips and she kept huffing out of them and twirling at the ends of her frizz.
“Sacred timing” she answered.
Devran cracked his neck and said fine, waving her off. It would be about 15 minutes or so before official sunrise. He’d have to wait until then to receive this message.
It’s probably something stupid. Who knows how these Red Moon wolves are. They could be crazy or something.
-
Fifteen minutes went by quickly when I was busy dealing with the aftermath of this battle. I wasn’t here for it and I regret that. I wished I could’ve helped my people.
“It’s time,” the woman announced. All three of our heads snapped towards her at the same time. Even a few other wolves who were in the area. She started looking around at everyone which gained more attention.
“I have a message from our Sacred Lady Mira. She said in order to receive the blessings we had today there were sacrifices that had to be made. There is a balance in nature and this is one of them” she started, and I didn’t like the feeling in my gut suddenly.
Devran must have felt the same because he took a step closer to her in anticipation of something.
“The Red Moon and the Crescent Pack will successfully form as one. We'll have resources and thrive as a community even at such large numbers. Mira's blessed the crops and the soil and she's given us blessed water to regrow the burnt trees and build houses” she continued in the most dramatic fashion
possible.
“Tell us” Devran snarled. The woman looked up at him and swallowed hard. I clenched my fists and tried to center myself.
“Mira is gone” she finally spoke aloud.
Gasps could be heard all around and I felt like the floor was falling out from underneath me. A growl so loud ripped through the air and rattled the trees before I saw Devran lunge at this woman and hold her up by her clothes.
Diego and I had to rush over and pull him off.
“What the fuck do you mean she’s gone?! Answer me or I’ll rip your head off” he warned her. She cowared away but I touched her arm and nodded for her to continue.
I needed to hear everything. I’ll make sure she doesn’t leave.
“All she said was to warn you that the wolves who managed to escape from the battle will form into a rebel group and try to kill your people in their sleeps tonight.
"She asked that you be prepared and defend yourselves. She said those same wolves will have stolen her away from here because she is too powerful and could end the battle like she had today.
"They will steal her tonight because she will be too weak from all she did for us today. She is the sacrifice. Our community will thrive but she had to sacrifice herself” she finally explained everything.
Again it felt like the ground was falling out from under me. Everything began to move in slow motion.
People cried out or gasped at the news. Someone rushed to my side and held my arm but I couldn’t see who because everything was moving so slowly and so much started to happen at once.
Devran growled the loudest he ever has.
With his claws he slashed a tree almost straight through its trunk. He was shaking with rage and shouted, “WHERE IS SHE” but the woman cried out that she didn’t know. That she was only meant to deliver the message.
His breath was heaving and his eyes darted around wildly.
“Who was the last to see her? Where is she?” He asked again but to the crowd. “The sacred circle” someone called out.
That’s when I finally snapped out of that shock and Devran and I both started running at full speed up the mountain to the sacred circle.
A few others followed, like my brother Declan, Mel, and Nealin. I don’t care who else was behind them I just know we were all running full speed to try and stop this prophecy from happening.
Mira knew all this beforehand and she still went through with it. Why the hell would she do that?
A pain ripped through my insides in a way that made me howl out loud. Others howled with me in pain.
When we made it to the sacred circle no one was there but an obvious struggle was laid out before us. There were claw and foot marks on the ground like there was a scuffle before she was dragged away.
The candles on the altar were all knocked down. Black wax had spilt over the Moonstone offering and covered it as if a bad omen.
Devran whirled around trying to find her scent the same way I was but they covered their tracks and no matter which way we all started running we couldn’t find a trail at all.
Devran grabbed at his hair and I’ve never actually see him openly panic before. It’s a rare sight to have an Alpha just have a complete meltdown.
He started flipped logs and boulders out of his way and growling and screaming at everyone.
“YOU BETTER FUCKING FIND HER. SHE ISN’T SARIFICING HER LIFE FOR YOU FUCKING RED MOON WOLVES. I’LL KILL ALL OF YOU IF SHE DIES FOR YOU!!!”
I was trembling with worry and fear and anguish.
Not my Mira, please. Not her as the sacrifice for our Pack to survive and thrive. It shouldn’t be her, but the Moon Goddess obviously asked this of her.
I cursed the Goddess even on her own sacred ground. “What do you want from her?! Why are you doing this?” I called up to the skies.
Again I felt a hand on me and my head snapped in its direction. Nealin had his hand on my shoulder as he was trying to silently comfort me.
I couldn’t even push him off. I was falling apart with the idea of Mira being gone forever.
She told me she loved me because she knew that was the last time she would see me. How could she do this to us?
I wanted to go back in time and clutch her back to my chest and not let her go up into these woods. I sent her off to her death without knowing.
“FucK” I cursed and turned to Nealin. He hugged me and I let him. I let him because I was afraid I couldn’t stand without the support of his body beside mine.
“You’ll find her. We’ll figure this out” he told me.
“If the Moon Goddess wanted this, can we even change it?! She planned this! All of it! Why?!” I shouted but not at him, it was at the Goddess for her cruelty.
My brother was beside Nealin trying to get a handle on me and nobody questioned why a man was hugging me because people were hugging each other. It’s normal while mourning.
Or during tragedy.
Devran came over to me and grabbed Diego also. His breathing was uneven as he said, “We will form search parties and split up in different directions. There has to be a trail leading somewhere.
"The rest of our men wait in the village for those mother fuckers who think they’ll be sneaking up on our sleeping people. Kill all of them except one or two and torture them until they tell us where she is.”
Melanie came running over and pushed at Devran.
“Why did you let her come up here?! What did she say to you in the house before you left?! I know you were with her! I saw you!”
I tried stepping in the way when I saw Dev’s eyes shift fully black which is one step away from red. He’ll wolf out if that’s true and if he switched too hard he’d be an even bigger and worse problem.
He’ll kill the whole Red Moon pack with his own jaws.
“She didn’t say anything! She said...” Devran got quiet and I could see he was thinking. “She said tomorrow will be too late. In her speech, what did she say about tomorrow is too late??”
He whirled around to see who remembered.
“She said all this needed to be done tonight because tomorrow would be too late. Clearly she knew she wouldn’t be here tomorrow...today” Melanie repeated what our best friend had said in some speech I wasn’t here for.
“Alpha, we need a plan. I volunteer to set the grid coordinations for each search party and split our people evenly. We want some of our strongest men here if we want to ambush the warrior wolves on their way over.
"And Alpha I think you and Jasper should stay here and try to get the men to confess where she is while Diego leads the search parties with Declan and myself” Nealin stepped into his role as lead strategist and interrupted all of us.
“Boys, let’s go to my office. I want to start now. No waiting” Devran called to us all before bounding down the mountain side. I looked at Nealin in silent thanks.
“I want to be a part of the search though” I told Nealin on the way down. He looked hesitant and when people were far enough away I whispered asking him why.
“Because I don’t want you in harm’s way...just...just stay here and control Devran because you’re usually the only one that can” he told me. My heart did a stupid fluttery thing.
“I don’t want you in harm’s way either” I whispered to him. His cheeks tinted pink and he got all bashful about it. I smirked but continued down the mountain.
I won’t let Mira get killed.