THE FAE LUNA'S SECOND CHANCE

"You don't matter and you could never amount to anything even if you tried, you worthless child" she screamed while crying and pointing her finger at me. "I'll kill you just like you killed my sister you witch!" Another crash. A loud bang.

I was getting tired of this already so I took a deep breath and picked up my phone and the knife I had pried off the hands of my aunt a few minutes ago. "That's right, leave like your father left you" she bawled out. Okay ouch, that one kind of hurt. I slammed the door behind me, wincing at the sound that made my head hurt and put on my tennis shoes. I guess I was sleeping in the park again.

The small park across the creek is my favourite place in Ravensvale. It was about a 45 minutes walk from the house but I didn't mind, it was the only place at which I found true peace these past few years so I started my journey.

The night unfolded slowly, leaving a carefree sheen over the forest that spread out at a distance. It's been years since I began to walk this path worn by both time and the echoes of forgotten stories. I heard my light steps echo, carrying the weight of contemplation and despair as the moon hung low, a silent witness to the pain I had within.

Moonlight filtered through the leaves, casting a beautiful glow over the old tall trees making me smile. Mum was so obsessed with the moon, she would call me "my moonlight" every now and then. The town behind me seemed to fade away, and the field embraced me with its wide mysterious arms.

I sighted a figure seated on a log a few steps away from me with his head hung low making me chuckle slightly under my breath. That guy probably has it worse than me.

I took a deep breath as the familiar scent of the woods hit me, my peace, my serenity. I felt an almost negligible shift in the air-a ripple of electricity in the environment that disappeared as soon as I felt it.

I continued on the path passing by the figure. "You're trespassing," a voice that sounded with a low rumble, echoed through the clearing. I was surprised that my footsteps were heard by the man who appeared to be sleeping when I passed. I turned to face him only to be met with a large human frame right in front of me. Raising my head I gazed at him with a courage that hid my mortal fragility.

"As are you," I retorted, my gaze meeting his with an intensity and audacity that only an ignorant mind could have. He looked taken aback for a brief moment but quickly recovered as a smirk graced his lips. Is he really smirking at me?? Bipolar much?

"Last I checked, this land was out of boundaries to humans, what are you doing wandering this far? His voice had an air of authority to it that nearly brought me to my knees. "Humans? What are you, a Unicorn?" I scoffed out in disbelief. "Do I look human to you?" He asked, tilting his head to the side with an amused look.

"Well yes, you look as human as humans can get" I answered with slight irritation.

"Look again chica, I'm no human" This is not even the night for me to play games with a strange and clearly bipolar person.

"Alright then, I'll be on my way, I'm off to take my depressing walk like I was doing" I said with a fake salute spinning on my heels to continue my path.

"I don't even have time for this" I muttered under my breath taking deep breaths along the way.

This time, I felt him before I saw him appear beside me, "that's no way to say goodbye to a new friend"

"Friend?" I asked, raising a brow in his direction.

"Well, yes, or are you scared?" He asked with a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Forgive my manners, I'm Elias, Elias Donovan and it's my pleasure to meet you" he said with outstretched arms for a handshake.

"Emerald Aliphronsto, Emma for short and no, I see no reason to be" he had a very firm grip and a warm palm. "Well then Emma, do you mind if I join you, I promise I won't be a bother." We fell into sync quite quickly as he reduced his strides to match mine.

It was quiet and calm for a few minutes, he looked to me like someone with a lot of responsibilities he would rather run away from. Maybe he got a girl pregnant....or two girls? I chuckled within myself.

I was starting to feel dizzy and my breaths got uneven. Stopping in my tracks I brought my hand to the side of my head only to feel something sticky, blood?

"What the actual...?"

"Emma, are you okay?" I heard a few steps ahead of me just before I lost my balance and fell to the ground.

I thought I heard what sounded like a growl as a pair of red orbs flashed from among the trees just before my eyes shut close.

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"I already told you she's fine Alpha, she only passed out because she had lost a lot of blood and had not eaten, in a few minutes, she should be up" a shushed voice said. Who the hell is that? I looked around to find the source of the conversation but I couldn't see anything. I tried standing up but a sudden wave of pain washed over me and forced my eyes open.

"Elias" I breathed out on sighting a familiar face. He had one woman with him, in her late thirties or so. I looked out the window to see that the sun was up and I panicked.

"I have to go, my aunt must have been worried sick" I said dashing up in a frenzy despite my sore muscles and ran out the door. I looked back to see him at the door frame watching me leave with confusion etched on his face just before I took a turn at the end of the street. I wonder if we'll meet again.

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You just know the stench of rich assholes when you smell them - cold, clean, then of course you can't miss the mix of cologne that's threatening to choke the life out of you.

Going for this event was certainly not the best idea but it's not like I had a choice. Every 6 months, a bunch of CEOs, multi million dollar business owners alongside their pompous wives gather together in one building to brag about their achievements so far. At least that's my idea of it. 'The King's Man Ball' they call it. The only reason I'm here is because my boss asked me to join as a plus one. I'd rather be counting the number of rice grains in a sack than be here.

"I'm pretty sure that cutlery has nothing to do with whatever is on your mind" I heard a familiar voice from behind me. It was then I realized that I had been gripping the fork in my hand a little too tightly. Elias? I haven't seen him since we first met at the clearing last week.

"And who's to say it's completely innocent?" I retorted with a slight smirk turning to face the owner of the voice.

"If it isn't, please tamper justice with mercy milady" he mocked.

"So.... Fancy seeing you here Emma, which one of these men do you belong to?" "Excuse me? Do I look like an item to you?" I asked with irritation evident in my voice.

I saw panic evident in his eyes as he fumbled on his words to explain what he meant but I walked away before he could.

I glanced above my shoulder to see him already engaged in a conversation with two men clad in black suits but was looking my way.

It shouldn't surprise me that he has the same mindset with most of the egotistic men present here, taking women as some sort of item that they would parade around with. Stupid me just went ahead to expect that he was different when I hadn't even been given a reason to.

I didn't really know many people in this city, I've been staying here for 19 years and made just a friend in my sophomore year of high school who I don't speak to anymore. It was just I and my mum for the early years of my life, but she had a major complication in her vital organs while giving birth to me and she never healed from it. It killed her eventually a few years ago and then I moved to stay with my aunt Elise, my mother's twin sister. Unfortunately for me, she's an abusive alcoholic who would rather spend all her money from work on beer whenever she can, than spend it on my education.

Whenever she had a rough day at work, she would come back home wasted, lash out and say a bunch of crazy stuff or in extreme cases, hit me. According to aunt Elise, my mum got knocked up by this guy she met at the bar who wanted nothing to do with me. They still saw each other a few times during the period leading to her death but I never met him.

It didn't take long before I started being referred to as the bastard girl that killed her mother, and that just made high school torture for me. My mum and my aunt were identical twins, with the resemblance so striking that only the colour of their eyes could distinguish them back then. You can only imagine the heartache I feel looking straight at someone who's causing me the most pain and looks just like the person I love the most.

I heard someone clear their throat nearby, "what's a pretty girl like you doing away from most of the folks in the party?" There was an evident snarl in his voice, you couldn't miss it.

I took a moment to scan my environment through my side view only to realise that in my reverie, I had somehow strayed toward a narrow corridor on the far end of the building. I'm on my own then.

I plastered a big fake smile on my face turning around to meet the owner of the voice. "I was getting bored and decided to come out for some air, any particular reason you're here?" I asked, feeling the side of my upper thigh for my switchblade. Hopefully I don't have to use this. "I followed you, actually". Stalker much, I scoffed in my head keeping the fake smile on. He had taken a couple of steps closer now and I could hear his breathing and heartbeat. I've always had really heightened senses but I try to block them out else everything just becomes clouded in my head in public.

"Now that we're here, would you like to have some fun?" he asked, licking his lips. He had now stepped out to a well lit area and I could see his face. He could have passed for a good looking man if he didn't have this maniac look in his red eyes right now. I could clearly see his member poking out from the crease in his pants. He was horny and he wasn't going to take no for an answer.

He held my wrists together and put them behind me, I tried to wriggle them free but his grip was too tight. "Either you stay still so we can both enjoy this or you keep struggling and only I would enjoy it" he threatened, tightening his grip on me.

"Come on sweet cheeks, I can take you for the ride of your life you know" he was so close to me now that I could literally taste the alcohol in his breath. Before I knew it, I was backed up to the wall by now and he pressed his groin into my stomach. He started trailing sloppy irritating kisses down my neck while holding my wrists together behind me. Bile rose up to my throat and I forced it down with a hard swallow.

I wasn't going to get out of this with force or by struggling so I pushed back on his groin with a fake seductive look on my face. I saw surprise flash through his face before he matched it up with a smirk. "I knew you were going to be into this from the moment I saw your tight ass slither away in that red dress," he said, closing his eyes and groaning.

I rolled my eyes, "you weren't wrong" I said, flipping him so he was backed up to the wall instead of me. "I am so into it" I sounded digging my blade deep into his thigh and pulling it out with force. He screamed in a foreign language with blood pooling down to the floor while I backed away from him, "you'll pay for that, bitch" he all but growled out.

I looked around in a frenzy to see if anyone saw that before dashing away and falling back into the party.

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"Wake up moonlight, wakey wakey" I heard from my sleep.

Moonlight? Only mum calls me that. I peeled my eyes open only to be met with a blank white space. "Mum?" I called out, squinting my eyes to see into the distance.

I smelt her before I heard her voice, "my beautiful baby girl", she said from behind me, making me spin around so fast that a crack could be heard from my neck. My mum always smelt like cookies and coffee. She ran a small breakfast cafe for the first few years of my life before it got shut down and I used to think her smell was from being at the shop so long. But even after it got shut down, it was always the same comforting smell she had.

"Mum", I breathed out running to hug her but she put an arm out to stop me.

"Baby girl, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you all the things you needed to know before I left this world. I'm sorry that you're going to be dealing with all this from now without anybody to guide you through it." She said with teary eyes.

What in the world is she talking about? I'm sure the confusion I currently felt was obvious on my face. I opened my mouth to ask when she cut me off again.

"You will meet someone soon, someone who will protect you at all costs, who will care for you and make sure you don't explore this world alone." "You have a destiny that appears greater than you but you have no reason to be afraid, people have been placed around you to help you fulfill this destiny."

"I love you my moonlight and I would always be watching over you" she ended.

I woke up to the familiar stench of my old room and sweat dripping down my face to my neck. This was the first time I dreamt about her since her funeral, why was I seeing her now? And what was she on about?

I walked towards my wardrobe and stared at my reflection in the mirror. I have grown to look so much like her now. Sliding down the wall opposite the mirror, my thoughts wandered around.

The confusion I felt slowly faded into anger. Why hadn't she appeared in my dream all this while? All that talk about watching over me, where was she when her twin sister hit me? Where was she when her twin sister spent my tuition fees on alcohol and new jewelry? Where was she when I had to forfeit my plans on going to college because I couldn't afford it and the person who had been 'taking care of me' since her death said I was no longer her responsibility? Where was she when I missed her so much and the pain in my heart was almost too much to bear?

At this point I was a crying hot mess and the mascara I had on from last night's shift must have smeared down my cheek.

I glanced at the mirror to see how bad I looked when my right eye suddenly glowed. Dread filled my insides as my reflection winked at me.

What??

Elias' POV

It wasn't the first time I had seen her, but it was certainly the first time I spoke to her by the clearing. Being accustomed to the submissive gazes of my pack members, I found myself captivated by the defiance in her eyes born out of ignorance. I chuckled remembering the fire in her green orbs at the party. She had such beautiful dull eyes that seemed to tug at your deepest emotions.

"I am of the notion that the rogues found are from a bigger group with a motive. They infiltrated, without causing harm or stealing any of the precious items, and when they were caught they stayed silent, till this very moment, Alpha. This group must have bigger plans and we have to do all it takes to find them and remove the threat" Alpha Trent's resounding voice broke me out of my reverie.

Alpha Trent is the Alpha of Blackwood pack, the only pack sharing borders with mine. It is towards the East while to the west is the Goddess' Sea that spreads out for thousands of kilometers. We were currently having a meeting to discuss the recent happenings in the pack.

"They both looked weak, vulnerable like they had been traveling for ages. These pups were probably casted out of their packs, I don't believe there is any need to waste resources on looking for what does not exist. We are still actively searching for the Beta's daughter who went missing a few weeks back, we don't need the soldiers divided." My Delta, Roman said.

I had not been paying attention to the first half of the conversation but I knew enough to respond. "And if you are wrong, Roman? If the three wolves in the dungeon are actually a part of a bigger threat then what?"

"We lose members of the packs? Because you don't want the attention of your soldiers to be divided?" I asked, cocking my head in his direction.

"N-n-no Alpha, that's not what I meant" he stammered with his head hung low.

"Of all people, I do not expect such a suggestion from you Roman, you know the extent of risk that is going to put on this pack as well as the whole empire" I said my voice sounding calm.

"Especially now that there is no hope for an heir to the empire", my uncle, Adam, said with venom laced in his voice from the end of the table.

There was pin drop silence amongst us as everyone knew he had just said something he shouldn't have said. I clenched my teeth so hard that my jaw began to hurt before clearing my throat to speak.

"I want an extensive questioning to begin on all three of them that crossed pack border, when it gets to torture, you know who to call. Excuse me" I stood up walking to my study when Roman tried to follow me but I stopped him.

Just as I got to the door of my chambers I caught a glimpse of the asshole who just brought up my Luna.

"I stayed quiet at the meeting because of your rank and the respect I have for you as my father's elder brother but that should be the last time you ever disrespect me again" I growled holding my arm against his throat to a wall. I saw defiance in his eyes so I pressed further as my wolf struggled to surface. "Do you understand Adam?"

He bared his neck to me in submission, "yes Alpha".

"Alpha Elias" I heard a panicked voice call out to me from a few steps away. "Is there a problem?" I released him, turning my attention to the guard that approached me.

"My apologies Alpha, but the three rogues were just found dead in their cells."

What??

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