Plans

RORY

In the morning, Everett listens to me for hours in his office, asking question after question to try to understand everything, then he spends hours researching it all.

Now it’s time to face the music. Everyone in the pack knows that something happened—that I somehow died and came back to life. Lucius still doesn’t believe my story, whereas Ace is actually entranced by it.

I think it’s because of what happened in rogue territory. It makes sense to him. Although how? I have no clue. It doesn’t even make sense to me.

Everett gathers the pack and the other ally packs together down in the meeting hall, and hand in hand we walk in, my body trembling nervously and still in a dull ache after being stabbed yesterday.

It’s packed in there, with a thick layer of dominance and confusion in the room. The Alphas all eye me with puzzled and shocked expressions.

Having waited for answers all day, and with tonight being a harvest moon, all the wolves are anxious and wary.

“My Luna Aurora and I need the help of all of you. Along with being targeted by the Alpha of her old pack and his allied packs, Luna Aurora is also being targeted by a vengeful goddess named Nemesis,” Everett declares.

This doesn’t clear up any confusion whatsoever; if anything, it increases it.

Before Everett can say anything else, a couple of guard wolves barrel into the room frantically, and all attention turns to them.

“Alpha, there’s something outside that you need to see,” one of them states, leading all of us out like the world is about to end.

But then we all understand when we see her. Who is she now? I’ve already met enough unearthly creatures—including myself—to last me a lifetime.

Dealing with the fact that my parents are divine beings is incredibly difficult, especially when I’ve thought of myself as a weak, clumsy human for all of my life.

“Who are you?” Everett asks for all of us.

When her eyes meet mine, she smiles gently and her eyes then flicker to my and Everett’s intertwined hands.

“I’m Selene,” she announces.

“The moon goddess,” I mutter in amazement, stepping closer as I feel a sense of familiarity with her. She is my kin, I suppose.

“That’s right, Aurora. I heard what happened with Nemesis. She hurt you—almost killed you—although I have tried hard to prevent that. But she is incredibly relentless.

“The only way to make her stop is to defeat her,” she explains, drifting toward me and Everett.

But Everett pushes me behind him protectively, narrowing his eyes at her.

“It’s okay, Alpha Everett. I mean your Luna no harm. On the contrary, I wish to help.”

“Why?” I ask in a small voice. “Why have you helped me? With the rogues and everything? Nemesis said you were like my aunt. I don’t know what that means.”

“I’m a distant aunt. I’m very old, Aurora. I’ve been around for billions of years, but we are related. I helped your mother give birth to you. Do you know what Aurora means?”

I shake my head.

“It means ‘dawn.’ When your mother looked at you, she knew you were a light-bringer, a life-bringer. Which also fits your abilities, to give life.

“When you were taken, your mother wept constantly for days, until Nemesis came for her too. So I vowed I would look for you and keep you safe—for her, and for you.

“When I located you, I realized Nemesis put you on Earth so she could kill you with her powers from above. But she can’t kill you unless she does it physically herself.

“I knew that she could only get you in rogue territory or if you died,” she reveals.

“Listen to me, Aurora, because I can’t stay here long for the same reason that she doesn’t want to kill you here. For a goddess to walk on Earth, she has a human form.

“It decreases her powers and also it makes her mortal. So I made the rogues subconsciously protect you because Nemesis doesn’t want to get killed before she gets to you.

“But if she gets you alone, she may come to Earth. And then she’s mortal.”

What she’s saying is that if I’m used as bait to lure her to Earth, we can trap and kill her.

That sounds like a plan—a dangerous one that I’m not sure Everett would go for, but it’s a good one, and the only way we’ll be safe.

“I have to go, Aurora. But I’ll see you soon.” She turns to Everett and gives him a hard look.

“I mated you two together because you were born for each other. A powerful, protective Alpha and a young cursed goddess in need of protection. So protect her,” she states firmly before completely vanishing into thin air.

“What the hell just happened?” Alpha Bruce murmurs, staring at where Selene once was.

The moon goddess was here, on Earth, to give us advice. She knew my mother. My birth mother.

I always thought my parents gave me up, just left me in the woods, but I know better, and I can no longer blame them for having never known them. It was Nemesis’s fault.

Like it’s her fault that I will never get to meet my mother now. She’s dead. It doesn’t matter though. I have Everett and my mama is still missing.

So I need to go through with this plan to make sure that Everett doesn’t get hurt, that none of the pack will get hurt protecting me and keeping me alive.

“I know what you’re thinking, Aurora, and the answer is no,” Everett states, turning around to face me with a strict expression on his face.

“It’s the only way, Everett,” I reply. “And Selene told us that’s what should be done.”

“There are plenty of ways. And the ones I like are the ones that involve you staying completely out of harm’s way.”

“If I’m out of harm’s way, she’s not going to come. And if I die again, I won’t be able to get away this time.”

“I can’t risk you getting hurt, little one,” he whispers, pressing his lips to mine.

“I’m confused right now,” Alpha Bruce says, snapping us out of our trances. “Luna Aurora is a goddess?”

“Yes, our Luna is a goddess,” Ace replies, joining my side. “And we just met the moon goddess, the goddess we pray to all the time.”

“Wow,” Alpha Bruce mutters, laughing a little in shock. “I shouldn’t be surprised with what I saw yesterday. Coming back from the dead.”

“We need to know if we have all of your support,” Everett announces to the many onlooking wolves.

And specifically to the seven Alphas, whose support we may need to defeat Nemesis, and to definitely get rid of Nick and Victoria.

They killed me. Again. There weren’t even going to be any consequences for them before they killed me for the second time. I don’t know why they did.

Perhaps it was the pressure from the other Alphas, since I was used as an example to make laws against killing humans.

“My Luna and I have found ourselves with enemies everywhere now, some not even of this world.

“We need your help, but what just happened now, it gives you insight into what we’re up against, and if you’re not prepared to fight, that’s fine.”

“My pack will fight with Shadow Blood. Our alliance doesn’t just extend to convenience. We are allies and friends and we’ll help,” Alpha Bruce declares, shaking Everett’s hand and nodding to me in respect.

“So will we,” Alpha Connor states in agreement, shaking Everett’s hand and nodding to me in the same way.

Then the other Alphas follow suit, still a little shocked by the recent display, but all agreeing that we should fight together.

Most of the wolves go for a run around the territory in the full moon tonight, knowing that tomorrow, we’ll begin making plans.

Everett doesn’t want to go along with Selene’s, so I’ll let them rack their brains for another plan. When they don’t find another option, the only one left will be Selene’s.

Everett walks with me back to our room, and we get into bed, me resting on him with his arms caging me in, our legs tangled together.

“I’ll keep you safe, little one. I promise,” he whispers.

“Please don’t promise that. I don’t want to see you hurt because of me,” I reply.

“You can’t stop me, Aurora. I can’t let anything happen to you, I just can’t. And I’ll get hurt a thousand times just so you can be safe.”

I know. That’s what I’m scared of. If it comes down to me or him, he will sacrifice himself for me.

When a furious knock comes at the door, it breaks us out of our alone time and Everett growls at the interruption. Nevertheless, he goes to answer it and is met by two guard wolves dragging three bodies across the floor.

“Alpha, these humans were lurking in our territory,” one of the wolves declares.

“Oh, fuck me,” Everett grumbles.

I peek over his shoulders and have the exact same reaction.

Eddie, Jax, and Oliver.

What the hell?