Song: Lily's Theme loop by Patrick Bennett

The last time I dreamed I was upon the cliff in Delaware everything was dark and dreary. The wind was cold and the roaring water was a pit less blue. Even the tall trees and surrounding foliage stood with an abyss-like stature. Everything was so sad and cold where the Moon Goddess married her Mate all those eons ago.

But now, the atmosphere was brighter.

The color of the sea was like the color of the clear sky. There was no moon shining its loving gaze on me. Instead, the bright sun finally emerged from the inky chasm, bathing me in warm light and sunshine. The only jet-black hues touching this charming landscape were of the rocks below. Gentle waves kissed the sand smooth time and time again while I watched from above.

Unlike before I wasn't dressed in a long dress, silky to the touch. This time I wore one of Leo's baggy sweaters. The heavy maroon fabric hugged my skin and I buried my face in the sleeves. A choked sob fell from my lips as his scent of Old Spice and lavender invaded my senses. I ached to cry but it hurt so much that I couldn't cry.

All I had now were the memories of him falling through Pride's portal to only the Gods knew where. Even then, the tears didn't come. No matter how much my heart cried a song of despair, my eyes couldn't reciprocate any heartbreak in return.

I was lost.

It was the enchanting aura of a godly presence that pulled me out of my pity party. Goosebumps trailed up my exposed thighs. I turned around, not caring at all that my mask of Luna perfection was shattered in the wake of Leo's absence.

"Hello," the unknown man greeted me. "It's nice to finally meet you, Venus."

The black eyed man softened his gaze, smiling at me with his goofy gap toothed grin. I felt a tug in my gut as I analyzed his laidback style of dark sweats and a white shirt. Like me he was barefoot, digging his large toes into the blades of grass coming up to our ankles.

"Who are you?"

He smiled, tugging his shirt up so I could see the crescent moon branded into his caramel skin. A soft breeze carried his scent of cedar and oak to where I stood. He smelled just like his Mate and it made my heart tremble even harder.

"Alpha."

"That's me," his warm voice chuckled. It was rough, nothing like Luna's silky tone. Where she was fair, he was colored. Where her eyes were bright, his were a black chasm. Where her hair was silver and long, his was obsidian and short with curls. He opposed her in almost every way but one.

Alpha felt as warm and safe as his Mate did.

"I'm very happy I finally got to meet you. You have no idea how proud I am of you and your friends." Alpha's warm presence washed over me, reminding me of Father. I felt my throat tighten as the loss of everything finally pushed down on my trembling shoulders. The image of my ancestor blurred as unshed tears swam over my eyes. "Venus, come here."

I didn't waste any time as I ran forward and flung myself into his arms. Alpha held me tightly just like Father did when I was a pup and the damn broke free.

I cried for my Pack and everyone we lost the longer this war went on. I cried for Jack and the young pup who's tiny sock I found from what seemed like a lifetime ago. I cried for Fergus and Catherine who died far too soon. I cried for Pride and I cried for Sky. I even cried for the coldness in Reign's dying eyes. I cried for my mother that was farther than my heart could take. I cried for my father whose arms I was pretending to be in right now.

But most of all?

I cried for the loss of Leo who I never even got to tell how much I was falling in love with him. I cried for our lazy mornings and active nights. I cried for our casual intimacy and his words that wormed their way into my growing heart. I cried for the future I desperately wanted to have with our two pups. I cried because I had a sick feeling that when I woke up, Rowena would murder us and I'd never see my only love again.

"I lost him," I sobbed. "I lost him."

"No." Alpha brushed his fingers through my hair, holding me tighter than before. "You saved him. You're always saving people, Venus. I adore you for that. You're one of my favorite descendants for how big your heart is."

I sniffed into his chest, choking on sobs that wouldn't stop racking my body. I'd never cried so hard in my entire life. I'd never fallen apart with no hope of being able to put myself together again. Was this true heartbreak? Was this what it felt like to finally give up? Perhaps it was.

Perhaps it was.

"But you know what?" Alpha cupped my cheeks, continuing to wipe away the tears that never stopped falling. "It's time for you to save yourself, Venus. If you want to get back to Leo, you're going to have to be strong and save yourself."

"How?" I asked. My voice came out in a hoarse whisper, weak and strained. "Where's the Moon Goddess to guide me when I need her? Why can't I feel her presence? What can I do to fight the stars if she's not here to help me?"

What could I do to fight the stars when reincarnations proved that Leo and I never stood a chance at happiness? Where was the hope now that she nor Leo now walked beside me? What was I to do now that I was alone?

"When you all destroyed the Eight Orbs you reunited Luna with her siblings," Alpha said. "A unity that hasn't been felt in centuries exists today because you six persevered through it all. She's been in conference with all eight of them plus Solis trying to mend their torn bond."

The taller man wiped the last of my tears, forcing me to see logic through my time of turmoil.

"Seek the Two Stars where their bond was first broken. For only they can repair what is now torn," he recited. "Catherine and Fergus were the first pair of interracial Mate's to ever exist. When Luna, my sister Venus, and I decided to bring them together we faced a lot of backlash. Both sides of our families didn't want it but we made them Mates anyway."

"The torn bond wasn't just of the Hybrids born from Werewolves and magick," I whispered. "It was within the Gods as well."

"Yes." A proud smile overcame his face as he wiped the last of my tears away. "My family is hardheaded, so our talks are taking a lot longer. But Luna's making progress on her side, Venus. She's reconnecting with her family, reinforcing the unity that was torn all those years ago."

"What does that mean then?" Furrowing my brows, I raised my drying gaze to meet his once more. "Does that mean you'll step in and stop the war? You and all the other Gods?"

I waited with rising hope. Rising hope that died out like a flickering flame when Alpha shook his head no.

"The stars may not believe in free will, but we do," he replied. I focused on the slight bend in his wide nose to keep myself from crying again. I didn't want to crumble now that my tears had finally dried. "Our emotions influence our creations, yes. But in the end it all comes down to you guys. You all have the will to develop your own beliefs and follow your own hearts that's free from the issues of the Gods."

Meaning that unlike the stars, they didn't like to play games like this. They could guide us, help pick us up whenever we fell, but the choice to continue on was our own. This was our world to mold into the environment we wanted to live in.

Long ago, the Gods felt slighted when Alpha and Luna created Mates. The power of the Werewolf race grew. Leaving no room for equality until everyone wanted a piece of the action. Mage was the first to take that leap. She was the first one to work extra hard to make her magickal creatures more and more powerful as time passed by.

What once started out as a competition to make the most powerful creation became a grudge match. Steeped in racial supremacy and prejudice. Then came slavery, divisions, and the hatred of Hybrids.

Our story became warped not by the Gods but by our own free will.

We did this so only we could fix it now.

The Oracle was right in her words regarding the stars. They knew that the only way we'd learn was to make the lesson so painful that we'd never forget it again. This war, these prophecies, that was our lesson.

This was our chance to make right the past and safeguard our future.

A dull buzzing filled my head and the surrounding landscape started to fade away. Panic overcame Alpha's face as he cursed underneath his breath. "You're waking up. Our time is almost through."

Rowena's throaty whisper seeped into my dreams and I shrank within Leo's sweater. His scent, my Gods, this would be the last time I smelled his scent for a while.

"Listen to me." Alpha yanked my chin and forced me to meet his stern eyes. The world around us faded but he never allowed me to look anywhere else. "What's coming will be extremely difficult for you to witness. The second star claims you so your generosity will be your weakness. You need to be careful, Venus. Be wise with who you let your heart bleed for."

The ground beneath my feet gave way and I fell with my arms stretched out. Alpha watched me fall with pride lining his youthful features.

You're smart Venus, you can do this. You can save yourself, the Werewolf God whispered within my mind. I closed my eyes and succumbed to the tether pulling me out of my dream world. Remember: Be wary of the lion that you mistake for a lamb. For it will be the very last mistake you may ever make.

I opened my eyes to the darkness but I wasn't afraid.

The basement I resided in was dingy with a disgusting moldy smell hanging in the air. Silver chains kept me bolted to the wall. I swallowed the scream of agony creeping over me as the poison burned my bare skin. I was weak from the silver chains and growing weaker the longer they remained on. The silver collar choking my neck kept my breaths short and unstable.

Silver chains meant no Pack bond. No Pack bond meant no connection to Pride. Alpha was right. I would have to save myself.

When I looked up Flora was kneeling before me. Dressed in a white dress like me, she too sported a snug collar and restraints. The only difference was that her chains kept her locked to two tall columns of pure silver.

Flora's hard and resilient eyes bore into me and she smiled weakly. "Don't worry. I can take it," she muttered.

"Take what?"

At that moment Rowena stepped out of the shadows with a silver whip in hand. Her bold green eyes were framed with red eyeshadow. Accentuating the psychotic fire flaming within them. Smiling her red lipped smile, Rowena dragged her fingers over her plain white dress. It was the same spaghetti strapped dress Flora and I were forced to wear and I grew curious about that.

Rowena was the type of person that wanted people to know just how beneath her they really were. I could tell judging by the way she carried herself. She thought herself above us. So with a pathetic mentality like that, why would she go so far as to wear the same lowly attire us mutts did?

It didn't make any sense.

"Good morning, little lamb," her soft voice coaxed. "I hope you had a good sleep. I would be quite amiss if you were too sleepy to enjoy the show."

I glared at her through hooded eyes, not allowing her the pleasure of my voice.

"Not going to speak? Well, that's alright. You don't need to." The silver whip ran through Rowena's slender fingers as she circled Flora. I watched her bare feet walk past me, wanting nothing more than to reach out and snap her head back by her red braid. "All you need to do is watch while Miss Flora Woods receives a reminder of where mutts belong in this world. Beneath me."

Rowena pushed Flora's brown hair over her shoulder. I pulled at my chains, already knowing what was to come.

"I can take it," Flora said again. Tightening her grip on the chains holding her hands up, Flora nodded at me with a look of pure determination. "Don't worry, Venus. I can take it."

Rowena chuckled before leaning down to whisper, "Your ancestors said the same thing. And you know what? We broke them too."

Flora bit her lip harshly, not making a sound as the whip cracked against her skin. The scent of iron filled the room as her blood stained the silver whip crimson red.

"You'll break," Rowena promised. "Never before has a wolf not broken under the sting of this whip. You two won't be any different."

The whip snapped back and sharp blades emerged. Droplets of blood stained the cold grey canvas with drops of taken life. Rowena reared back and unleashed her fury onto Flora tenfold.

"I can take it."

CRACK!

"You can take it," I whispered.

CRACK!

"I can take it."

CRACK!

"You can take it."

CRACK!

"Venus?"

CRACK!

"Yes?"

CRACK!

"Venus, don't look away," Flora mumbled. Her eyes glazed over with tears she never let fall. I tugged on my restraints, groaning quietly at the scorching fire shooting up and down my arms. I got as close to her as I could and comforted her with my nearby presence. It was pathetic but it was all I had to offer.

CRACK!

"I won't look away," I swore.

CRACK!

We stared into each other's eyes as she endured the weight of the whip and I waited for my turn to come.

CRACK!

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QOTD: What are your thoughts on Alpha now that you've met him? Do you think Venus will be able to take his advice and save herself and Flora? Can Flora and Venus take it? Or will they fall to the whip like so many others have?