Chapter 2: Shaayna
I sat in the pack graveyard, looking at the gravestones in front of me, reminiscing the moments that I had shared with them.
"Luca Romano, 1972- 2007" and "Ayaana DeLuca, 1973- 2007" read the gravestones.
The granite gravestones somehow managed to look regal amongst the other ones in the graveyard, as though even death couldn't conceal the powerful aura that they had exhibited when they were alive. And how could their power have been concealed? They were alphas after all, alphas of one of the largest packs in the country- the Dark Moon pack. Respected by those who sided with them and feared by those who dared to cross them, the alphas ruled their pack with a strength and determination. The alphas loved each other with all that they had and I, was the proof of that love- their child.
As the only child of my parents, I had always had their undivided love and concern. My cousin, Maya and I had always been close and after the demise of her mother when she was merely three, my parents became her legal guardians and she came to live with us. Contrary to most sibling relationships, Maya and I never really had a lot of sibling rivalry going on between us. We completely adored and loved each other and had an extremely warm relationship. My maternal grandparents had been the ones to look after us whilst our parents were working. Our grandpa, or as we like to call him, 'Gramps', would always pick us up from school and we would spend the rest of the evening at our grandparents' until either mom or dad came to pick us up on their way back home. My granny, Nadia DeLuca, was an extremely strict but a totally badass woman. Gramps claimed that she had an Italian temper despite not having even a single drop of Italian blood in her. My grandparents had met during their college days and my grandmother had at first objected to their bond despite having felt it since her Arabic parents didn't condone interracial relationships. But eventually, she had given in and they had eloped to start a life together.
The love that my parents and grandparents shared made me crave that kind of relationship with someone too. Of course, I knew that the mate bond didn't always guarantee that powerful a love but I could only hope that I was lucky enough. I had never known my paternal grandparents- my paternal grandmother had died early on in my dad's life and from what I knew about my grandfather, he was a tyrant whom my father had overthrown to get the position of alpha in his pack, which was previously called 'Dark Shadows' before he merged packs with my mother.
"Shaayna," cried out my best friend, Sean, stomping through the grass as he found me exactly where he knew he would- in front of my parents' gravestones. He sat down next to me, neither of us uttering a word as he wrapped a hand around me, squeezing my shoulder in consolation and understanding. He knew how emotional this day made me for it was the day that my parents had passed away ten years ago under mysterious circumstances. Even though the local police as well as my cousin who's the current alpha of our pack declared it to be an accident, I could smell foul play. But investigating the death of alphas needed written permission from either the current alpha of the same pack or the alpha of the rival pack, both of which were clearly out of question since my cousin didn't seem too keen on the idea and the alpha of the rival pack, Alpha Rivera…. well, he was a jerk.
It had not always been so. During my grandfather as well as my father's time as alpha, the Dark Moon pack, the Moonstone pack, our rival pack and the New Moon pack, the pack Sean belongs to and is the current alpha of, were part of a trinity. The alphas- Alpha Adrian, my grandfather, Alpha Ryder, Sean's grandfather and Alpha Nathan, the then alpha of the Moonstone pack, used to be the best of friends. It had in fact been Alpha Ryder and Alpha Nathan who had aided my grandparents in eloping. But then the invasions happened. This had been before I was born so I'd only heard of what had happened in stories that my mom had told me. I was a night of celebration when the Rivera's had attacked. The Rivera family were previously a bunch of rouge wolves, banished from their pack. It took some time for reinforcements to arrive but the damage had already been done. Alpha Rivera's father had ruthlessly slaughtered Alpha Nathan and his entire family and declared himself to be the alpha of the Moonstone pack which had now been left without an alpha or an heir to the position.
Gramps had been devastated at the news of his best friend's death and so, when my parents passed away a couple of years later, it was like he felt that same pain all over again but with a greater intensity this time. It left him shattered. He refused to leave his room for almost a month after that and had a really hard time dealing with their deaths. He refused to acknowledge it as the truth for almost a week after and even now, at times, we could see the pain in his eyes when his tough exterior would crack sometimes. I was 14 when they passed and thus not legally old enough to have taken over the pack. So, the alpha position was passed to the next of kin, my cousin Zachary who was 20 and thus old enough to take over. He had arrived the day after the demise of my parents and had immediately performed the necessary ceremony to crown him alpha. We rarely saw him after that. He requested for his own living arrangements and avoided socializing with us barring the times when he would call on me to help him with certain pack affairs.
The relationship between the Moonstone pack and the Dark Moon pack had already deteriorated significantly by then but the first thing that Zachary did after becoming alpha, was pass written orders classifying the Moonstone pack and the Dark Moon pack to be enemies of each other. The orders clearly stated:
1. All trade between the packs was supposed to be ceased.
2. Members found to be intermingling with the other pack, would be charged with treason
3. If found on enemy grounds without official reasons, the wolf was to be executed
4. In case one found their mates in the rival pack, they would have to sever ties with their pack if they chose to be with their mates
Surprisingly enough, Alpha Rivera had agreed to it too. Ever since then, the tensions between the two packs had been at an all time high. Many of our members had accidentally encroached into the Moonstone pack grounds and were never seen again. Since then, Zachary monitored the movements of his pack members to the best of his abilities and border patrols were doubled. All precautions were taken to ensure the safety of our pack members.
After all, who knew how low Alpha Rivera could have stooped!
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone