Chapter 11
Lily POV
It was that dream again.
The sun shone brightly on the well-cut lawn in front of the Packhouse at Golden Moon Pack.
I could see Vanessa and my father on the lawn, with bright smiles on their faces occasionally they would laugh, their laughter creating a hollow deep in my heart. They were playing baseball. Even though father was teaching her, he seemed patient.
A far cry from the kind of man he used to be when he teaches me and that is if he agrees to teach me. He was always busy when it was my turn. My heart swelled with longing as I approached them, hoping to join in their laughter… hoping we could become one big, happy family.
But as I drew near and they spotted me, the laughter on their lips ceased abruptly. My father and my sister – Vanessa turned to me, their eyes cold as they stared at me with disdain.
“What are you doing here?” My dad asked, his voice devoid of any warmth.
“I just want to join in the game. I love playing baseball or you can teach me, Dad. Please I begged.
Vanessa sneered, tossing her hair “You don’t belong here anymore, Lily. You’re not one of us and you’ve never been p>
Hurt and confusion washed over me. I opened my mouth to protest, to plead for understanding but no words came out. As I struggled to find my voice, with my father and sister laughing wildly, and their heads thrown backwards, the scene around me began to shift and blur.
Suddenly, I found myself in a different part of the pack house – my mother’s old studio. The room was bathed in a soft light coming from the French windows. Standing by one of the windows was a figure I recognized instantly, despite never having met her in life.
“Mom?” I whispered; my voice barely audible.
The woman turned and my breath caught in my throat. Where my mother’s face should have been, there was only a blank, space. I couldn’t see her face yet somehow; I knew it was her.
“Mom, what happened to you?” I asked moving closer to her, not afraid that she was headless. “Mom, please,” I called out again trying to reach her. “I need you p>
But every time I moved closer, my mother seemed to drift further away. Frustration and grief welled up inside me as I realized the cruel trick my mind was playing. This has got to be a dream but why did it seem so real? I’d never known my mother in life; So how could I possibly know what she looked like?
The story my father had always maintained, excluding all the ones he tells me whenever he’s drunk and takes out his anger on me was that my mother had died of a mysterious illness shortly after giving birth to me. Other times, it would be that I was handed over to his mate by some strange man and I was the reason she had died.
There were many versions of what had happened to my mother and who she might be but no one had offered to show me even a picture of her. No one could tell me in exact words what she looked like or anything about her personality. But today, I was going to find out.
I pursued after the headless woman – if only I could hold on to her, perhaps, I could force her to answer my questions. But as I made one last desperate attempt to reach her retreating form, a loud jarring noise woke me.
I opened my eyes, my heart racing wildly and my clothes wet with sweat. For a moment, I was disoriented, struggling to remember where I was. Finally, the cramped interior of my battered car reminded me of everything that had happened so far. I had parked inside a bush, just a little distance away from the path and had covered my vehicle with grasses and leaves, hoping my camouflage would work.
It was in keeping awake that I must have slept off. I hid a yawn at the back of my hand, trying to understand the dream I just had when a movement outside the car caught my attention. I froze and turned towards the side window, only to let out a piercing scream as I found myself face-to-face with a stranger.
A woman was bending in front of the driver’s window, her face blank in the darkness, illuminated only by the faint streak of dawn filtering through the trees. My heart hammered in my chest as I stared at her, trying to gauge whether she was a threat or not.
But the woman seemed unfazed by my reaction. She reached into her pocket and a few minutes later, she produced a flashlight which she shone on herself as if she wanted me to get a proper look at her.
The light made me squint but it also made me see the stranger clearly. She was beautiful, with long golden hair and sharp, intelligent eyes. She had a regal aura and a quiet confidence that told me she was powerful. The woman rapped at my window again gesturing for me to come out of the car, her expression remained neutral but kind.
I hesitated, my instincts fighting between curiosity at the woman and also caution that she might be bait sent by those rogue wolves or even the big black wolf to get me into a spot where they could easily pick me off.
After a moment’s deliberation, I decided to roll down the window almost halfway – wide enough for me to hear what she wanted to say and still protect myself if she tried anything funny.
“Who are you?” I asked, trying to hide the fear in my voice. “What do you want p>
The woman’s lips curved into a small smile. “My name is Celeste,” she said her voice melodic and soothing. “And I’m here to help you, Lily p>
My eyes widened in surprise. “How do you know my name p>
Instead of answering directly, Celeste held out her hand. To my amazement, one of the birds that had been following me from earlier yesterday swooped down from a nearby tree, landing gracefully on Celeste’s outstretched finger.
A few seconds later, about a dozen birds flew to where she was and kept circling above her head, while others rested on her shoulders.
“You I breathed, pointing a finger at her “You were the one helping me? With the birds p>
She nodded, gently stroking the bird’s feather. “I have a special connection with nature,” she explained “The winds told me you were in danger as soon as you walked into my territory, so I sent the birds to keep an eye on you p>
My mind raced, trying to process this new information. I was not used to people helping me for free. “But why? Why would you help me? You don’t even know me p>
A flicker of something – amusement? Sympathy? – passed across Celeste’s face. “I know you more than you might think, Lily. And there’s someone else who wants to know you better as well p>
I tensed, my earlier fear returning. “What do you mean? Who p>
I knew no one except my family and certainly no other Alpha except my father.
“The Alpha!” Celeste said simply “He wants to meet with you p>