Anastasia

"Anastasia!" Amelia comes walking in with a blue envelope dangling from her hand, "this came in the mail. It's addressed to you."

"A letter?" Ralph frowns over his lunch, "we still do that kind of thing?"

"Who's it from?" Kierren perks up from where he sits at the head of the dinner table.

Amelia turns the envelope and squints, "says here it's from Santa - hey!" she squeals when I snatch it from her fingers and quickly dart back to my seat where I hide it on my lap.

"Jeez, woman!" she complains as she sits down at the table, "why so secretive?"

I pray my cheeks aren't as flushed as I feel. I've been waiting for a week for this letter to arrive, and almost when I thought it would never come, here it is.

Everyone around the table seems to eye me with suspicion, but I maintain that this was strictly confidential. Ralph stares at me as if I'm gone crazy, and Amelia seems hurt that I wouldn't tell her who it's from.

"Don't forget your training at five," Ralph reminds me just as I'm about to head back to my room.

"Wouldn't miss it for the world. You'll be there, right Kierren?"

"Oh, of course, I will be. So will Amelia."

Amelia catches up with me in the corridor, a light spring in her step. "So, what are you wearing for training?"

"Ah, you're following me so you can find out who the letter is from."

"Why would you think that?"

"Because, Am," I chuckle at her mock-disbelieving eyes, "why would I need clothes when I'm training my wolf?"

"Ana!" she shrieks as I'm about to close my bedroom door behind me.

"No."

I shut the door with a firm click, and hear the way she fumes outside, stamping her feet to the ground. I know she'll get over it soon enough. Gosh! She reminds me way too much of Gisele.

I clutch the envelope in my hand, lightly bouncing on my bed as I deliberate if now's a good time to open it. I have my first training session today, and I don't know if whatever is inside the envelope will serve to distract me or just encourage me to work harder.

I don't want to disappoint anyone, especially my father who seems to have blind faith in me only because I am a child of his. But I'm nothing like Ralph, who is almost set to become the Alpha so that Kierren can step down into retirement.

I hold the envelope up, turning it over and over in my hands, reading his name on one side, and reading mine on the other. For a while, I thought he wouldn't go through with the promise we made to each other. No calls or texts to give each other space while we worked on the things to improve ourselves. For me, it's learning how to stop blaming myself for what happened to Gisele, so that he and I could move on together.

So we agreed to exchange letters instead. I leave the envelope down, biting my lip as I stare at it only to pick it up again. I can't wait. I'm dying to know what he's said in his first letter to me.

Carefully taking the letter out, I unfold it and begin reading.

[Anastasia,

Hi. I'm not sure how this works. I've never written a letter before, lol. Oh, I don't think I was supposed to use that, but I can't say "laugh out loud", can I?

I wouldn't be surprised if you're upset with me. It's been eating me up inside, not writing to you sooner. But I wanted to show you that I respected your wanting space. I understand. I think it's good for us, although I miss you immensely.

There are some changes coming for us here at Blood Moon. Nothing serious, but I'll write again when it's taken off. I know it's something that will make you happy.

I'm sorry. I'm talking too much. This is definitely better than a text. I feel like there's so much I can pen to this paper, but you might get bored.

Write to me soon, okay? I want to know how you're doing, what you're doing…

Now, imagine me pouting when you read this: I miss you.

Yours,

Jacob.]

Hmmm… I sigh as I do exactly as he says - imagining him pouting, begging for attention, for his needs to be taken care of. It's so Jacob, that I find myself feeling sore in the heart because honestly, I miss him way too much.

I fold the letter back into the envelope and hide it behind my pillow. I'd write to him as soon as I got back from training.

~

'Like this,' Ralph speaks to my mind, demonstrating how I should hold my stance when I'm preparing to attack. This type of training I'm going under is to protect myself against other wolves.

Both Kierren and Ralph had been surprised to learn that I had successfully taken down six rogues without any prior training. It was, of course, the Alpha blood that pushed through and allowed me to fight them. But still, I needed to train to fine-tune and hone those natural skills.

According to Ralph, I have the gift of inflicting pain with the slightest touch. That would explain why my rather weaker wolf was able to take down those skilled rogues. Subconsciously, I was wielding that gift, even if I barely knew how to use it or that I had it at all.

'Use your mind, Anastasia,' Ralph urges me, 'you can control your gift only if you use your mind. Imagine I'm your attacker,' he stalks forward, his muzzle pointed to the ground, 'You're a much smaller wolf and the only way you'll defeat me is if you use the power to hurt me.'

I nod my head slowly, gulping as I catch the eyes that watch us in the clearing. Today is important, and Kierren invited all the pack members to spectate my first training session.

Hurt him. It's not like I want to. And Ralph has been nothing but kind to me. But there's determination set in his eyes as if he's preparing for what's to come.

I inhale long and hard, then set my paws into motion, my eyes set on my target. He swiftly dodges my attacks, and when he lays a few of his own, I'm able to match his nimbleness. Dodge here, dodge there, and next thing I take him by surprise. I launch myself forward and strike him in the side. He mewls in pain and falls to the ground.

'Ralph! Are you alright?!'

His voice shudders inside my head, 'y-yeah. I'm good. Fuck! It feels like I've been struck by lightning!'

The voice inside my head titters with triumph, and while I bask in the glory of successfully using my powers, I don't notice that he's on his feet again until he knocks me over.

'Don't ever lose sight of your enemy, Anastasia,' I hear Kierren's firm voice as he enters the circle where we train. 'Get up and fight me.'

'Alpha, I can't fight you,' I tell him as I get back up, wincing from the slight ache of Ralph's blow.

'You can't hurt me.'

'Dad -'

'Trust me, son.'

Ralph shakes his head as he walks away, leaving my wolf and Kierren's in the sparring ring. I'm hesitant to fight him, but as he leans forward and snarls at me, I know that he would show no mercy. And I shouldn't either.

I'm careful to keep my eyes on him, bearing in mind his word of advice. Don't take my eyes off my enemy.

He begins to circle me, baring his brilliant white canines as if he's ready to rip my head off. I turn on my heels as he rounds me, keeping all my focus on figuring out when he'll attack.

Round and round, like a staring contest, but I know at any given moment he'll lunge towards me. I use all my senses to calculate his next move, and it's the sound of his back paw digging into the soil that alerts me that he was preparing to attack.

He leaps through the air, his mighty Alpha wolf soaring towards me. But I'm one step ahead, already having calculated how far his tall legs would take him. I don't need to dodge. I just have to bend down so that he flies right past me.

Aha! He wasn't expecting that, and stumbles off his feet. I use the opportunity to haul myself forward, and I knock him all the way to the ground with my head.

He's on his side, and I hear his chuckle inside my head. 'Very good, Ana. But you didn't use your powers.'

'I didn't need to, Alpha.'

'That, my child, is very true.'

~

After washing off and dressing inside the cabin, I step out into the warmth of a Summer night, smiling as I hug my chest and inhale long and deep.

The Moon Valley members have gone out to hunt tonight, with Ralph leading them. I don't join them because Kierren and I have already hunted the night before when he told me more about the history of the pack.

We're unlike other wolves. The gifts we have are a result of our lineage from Demeter. Half-wolf and half-witch, she had the ability to shape-shift and wield the powers that only a witch could employ.

My gift of pain infliction is what explains how I was so numb to my own pain. I could wield it any way I liked, and the level of pain I felt was only what I wanted myself to feel. It sounds so complex, but I know with the right guidance here at the Moon Valley Tribe, I would soon be able to unlock the full extent of my ability.

I'm walking around the cabin when I hear a cough come from behind. I make my way to the back to see Kierren sitting on a bench and staring into the sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" he nods towards the moon.

"It sure is," I join him on the bench, "I heard you coughing, is everything alright?"

Kierren chuckles and puts a hand to his chest. "You knocked the wind out of me back there, kid."

"Oh, I'm so sorry I -"

He puts a hand up to stop me and shakes his head. "I'm kidding. I'm actually quite proud of what I saw today. It's no wonder you survived the rogues. Are you sure you never had training before?"

"No, but I used to watch the Alpha train before he took over."

"Jacob, you mean?"

I look down and bite my tongue. "Yes."

"He's important to you, isn't he?"

I can't believe the conversation is going this way, and I can't help but wonder if Kierren knows more than he's letting on. He must have sensed something between us - after all, he slyly left us alone that day and didn't come back for hours.

"Well, he was my Alpha. The Alpha of the pack I was in."

"Oh, you don't have to pretend like he isn't more to you, Anastasia. I know when two people are in love."

I let it sink in for a moment, realizing that maybe Kierren is inclined to notice things like this. After all, he and my mother may not have been fated, but they were madly in love back then.

"Would you ever go back there?"

It's a question I've been asking myself ever since we came back from meeting him that day. And honestly, I haven't found an answer yet.

"I don't know," I shrug, "a part of me wants to go back, and the other part says not to. I don't know what to expect."

"Don't have any expectations, Ana. It will only lead to disappointment."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"I don't mean it like that," Kierren sighs and turns towards me, "I mean you should just go with your heart and go with the flow of things, or you'll live to regret it. I've seen the way he looks at you, Ana, and I know it's love."

"But is love enough?"

"I've told you the story about your mother and me. And I loved her very much. If I had known she was pregnant at the time, I would have done more to stop my father. I loved my fated mate Cassidy, but it was never as strong as the love I felt for your mother. And every day since she was exiled, I was unhappy. I had it all planned out, you know. I was waiting for the perfect chance to tell my parents, and our sneaking around got us in trouble. Too many expectations led to disappointment, and I lived to regret it each day of my life."

"Are you saying I should go back?"

Kierren reaches over and takes my hand. "No. I'm telling you to go with your heart. Only you know what you feel inside, and no one can tell you what to do. But just so you know, your home will always be here, with Ralph and I, no matter what decisions you make.