Under The Blood Moon

Hidden In Plain Sight

**Flashback**

8 years ago

Iris

"Happy birthday Elle; blow out your candles, my angel."

Elle blew out her birthday candles with a big smile on her face; it was her tenth birthday, and her parents held the most amazing birthday carnival-themed party for her.

Elle was in the bouncy house with Talia, Arie, and Liam when she felt a strange sensation in her head, just like she had earlier this morning when she woke. Elle rubbed the sides of her temples in hope of getting some relief, but the pain wouldn't go away. As the day went on, the pain got worse.

It was now time to cut the cake, and Elle could not see or even hear what was happening around her. All of the voices seemed so far away. All she could feel was a tugging in her head that wouldn’t go away. It hurt to open her eyes; she tried to signal to her friends that something was wrong, but they were too busy bouncing to notice.

She tried hard to open her eyes so that she could look for her parents, but even the natural sunlight seemed like the light of a thousand suns. She felt moisture under her nose; it ran down to her lips and into her mouth; it was then filled with a strong metallic taste; she reached up to touch the liquid only to realize that it was blood. She was bleeding from her nose; what started off as a light trickle became faster. She started feeling weak, everything started to spin, and then it got dark. Elle collapsed in the bouncy house.

Elle woke up in her bed, lying in her mom's arms; her mom was singing the lullaby she always sang to her when she was sick. She slowly opened her eyes, and to her surprise, her headache was gone. Her mom was so relieved, and her father rushed over to her side. Looking around, she saw Mrs.Rose and her parents' private doctor. Dr. Washington had a smile on his face and breathed a sigh of relief. “You give us quite a scare there, Elle.” He then looked over to her parents and gave them instructions on how to treat future headaches. Unfortunately, it was decided that day that Elle would have to take medication for the rest of her life to prevent these crippling headaches in the future.

She has taken her pills every day since that day, but she has been hiding a secret from everyone, including her parents. The night after her tenth birthday, after Elle was tucked into bed. The headache came back with a vengeance. She wanted to cry out for her parents, but she didn't want them to worry; seeing the look on her parent's faces after yesterday made her heartbreak that they were so worried about her.

Instead, Elle slowly and painfully made her way over to the drawer where her pills were located. Each step getting harder and harder to take. Eventually, she made it to the drawer and scrambled through blurred vision, trying to open up the pill bottle. She pulled out the tiny pill and looked around frantically for something to wash it down with. To her dismay, there was none. This means she would have to walk to the bathroom to drink from the tap.

When she finally made it to the sink, she looked at herself. Her disheveled figure leaned on the sink for support. She was drenched in sweat, and her pupils were purple with a white ring around the outside of them. Elle's eyes widened like saucers; she quickly rubbed them, hoping that it was just her imagination. Maybe the headaches had finally driven her mad! She blinked a few times, taking a shaking breath, and she opened her eyes again to see it still glowing but even brighter. And then she heard a voice.

It was faint, but she could make out what they were saying. "Hello, Elle," the voice said. She looked around frantically; she was losing her mind. Her eyes grew even wider. Not only was she seeing things but hearing them too. Without hesitation, she grabbed not one but two pills and greedily swallowed them. She sat on the bathroom floor with her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth. She was too scared to check her eyes again. She sat like this for an hour until she fell asleep on the bathroom floor.

The next morning she awoke in her bed; she couldn't recall how she got there. She slowly sat up at the edge of the bed, checking to see if the severe pain was still present. Thankfully it was not. She stood up nervously and headed over to the mirror. This was the moment of truth; she looked up and saw her usual hazel-colored eyes and breathed a sigh of relief.

Elle knew that if she told her parents or Dr. Washington about voices and purple and white eyes, they would send her straight to a crazy house. She had to hide this, and so she did. Whenever the pain started, or the voices started, she would take two pills, one in the morning and one at night, that usually worked best. No one knew her little secret, and Elle vowed to keep it that way.

**End Of Flashback**

**Present Day**

After hearing Mrs. Rose's devastating words, I couldn't think straight. It felt as if all of the air had been sucked out of my lungs. My parents were dead! How? Why? Who could have done this? All of these questions swirled around my head. I couldn't control my emotions; it was getting harder to hear and see. I could see Mrs. Rose's lips were moving, but I couldn't hear a word she said. Instead, I couldn’t breathe, and the pain in my head came back tenfold. I started hearing the voice again.

This time it was forcing me to listen. I tried desperately to get air into my lungs, but to no avail; it felt as if I was suffocating. My pills! I needed my pills. I searched desperately in my bag for them. I always took them with me, but they weren’t there. Where were they? Then I remembered I switched my bag out to match my dress. I must have left them in the house. That means they were gone, just like everything else in my home.

I could see Talia and Arie frantically trying to get my attention, but I couldn’t hear them. The pounding in my head got louder and louder. The voice got louder. “Stop fighting this, Elle; let me in. I am a part of you as much as you are me.” Why is this happening? The secret I tried to hide all of these years is about to be revealed. I felt the liquid running down my nose and realized what it was. Mrs. Rose’s eyes widened in shock as she looked at me. She grabbed my hand along with Talia and Arie's. I saw a bright light and felt as if I was floating, and then it all went dark.

*****

I awoke with a gasp. I sat up in bed and tried to make sense of my unfamiliar surroundings. I was in some sort of a hospital. I heard the beeping of machines and saw an IV in my arm. Where was I? What is this place? I need to get out of here. I needed to find my friends Talia and Arie. Where was Mrs. Rose? I yanked the IV out of my arm and it started to bleed s**t, I mumbled. I looked around for something to apply pressure. I figured the pillow case would just have to do. When I finally got the pillowcase off of the pillow to wrap it around my wound, the wound was gone. I looked at my arm in shock. What the hell is going on? Am I really losing my mind? I needed to get out of here.

I need to find my friends. As I walked towards the door, I heard voices. I listened as they walked by. “Can you believe that she is actually alive?.” “I can’t believe they managed to hide her for so many years.” “I just hope that having her here doesn’t cause problems for us.” Their voices faded down the hallway, and I waited a bit until the coast was clear. I then opened the door and headed down the empty hallway. As I turned the corner, I ran into Mrs. Rose, Talia, and Arie.

I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding. I hugged Mrs. Rose and my two best friends. I looked at their faces and could tell that something was terribly wrong.

Mrs.Rose

“Elle, what are you doing out of bed?” “Let’s get you back to the room.” Where are we? I asked Mr.Rose. “Come on back to the room, and I will explain everything.”

We walked back in silence. Talia and Arie looked like they were having internal battles, and I knew by the look on their faces that whatever Mrs. Rose had to tell me it was not going to be good.

Mr.Rose

All of your parents were at the house tonight when the fire started. They didn't just stop by to see you off to prom. They stopped by because of something much bigger. They knew that they would be coming, and they wanted to keep you guys safe. What they didn't know was what they were up against. There is no easy way to tell you this, but that fire was started on purpose. The reason is to destroy our pack and to get Elle.

Elle

My eyes widened in shock. The fire started because of me. My parents were dead because of me. My best friend's parents are dead because of me. It was all my fault! I looked over at Arie and Talia. Arie was in tears, and Talia had an unreadable expression on her face. Will they ever forgive me? Before I could say anything else, Mrs. Rose continued.

Mrs.Rose

I know you are probably wondering what I mean when I say pack; well, you ladies are a part of the sapphire pack. Not just a part of the sapphire pack but the heirs to the sapphire pack. Elle, you are the daughter of the alpha and luna of our pack. This means that you are now the official alpha of the Sapphire pack. Talia, you are the beta's daughter, so now you are the beta of the sapphire pack, and Arie, you are the gamma's daughter, so now you are officially the gamma of the sapphire pack.

Elle

We all looked at Mrs. Rose with a look of confusion. Pack? Alpha? Beta? Gamma? What in the world is she rambling on about? I have read enough fantasy books to know that these were the rankings of werewolf packs, but that wasn’t real; we are humans.

Talia

Mrs. Rose, I love you, I do, but I think the smoke from the fire did something to your brain. Did it cause memory loss? Or is it dementia? That's it; it has to be dementia because of your age! Have you lost your f*cking mind? What the f**k do you mean by all of this? My parents are dead, and now you are telling me this s**t. What am I supposed to do with this information? Why didn’t we stay at the house and call the police? Where the f**k are we anyway? I don’t even remember how I got here. You better start talking right now, or else I will lose my s**t.

Arie

Usually, I don’t agree with Talia, but I actually do this time; start talking, you old coot or so help me, God.

Elle

Arie and Talia kept bickering, and I could see the look of defeat on Mrs. Rose's face. Mrs. Rose was the only one who could answer all of our unanswered questions, and berating her was not going to get us anywhere. Their constant bickering was driving me crazy, and the next thing you know, I was telling both of them to shut up in the loudest tone I’ve ever used in my life. I don’t know where it came from, but it shut them both up without any back talk. They looked like they wanted to say something, but for some reason, they couldn’t. I looked over at Mrs. Rose and nodded for her to continue.

Mrs.Rose

I understand that this is hard to believe. I get it, but I am telling the truth. You are all the heirs of the Sapphire pack; think about it. Does it not seem strange that we all live in one large community? The main house, which is Elle’s parent's house, is always busy; there are many people who actually stay at the house from time to time. We are all close-knit and do not mingle much with the outside world. Everything goes through your Mom and Dad; just think about that for a second.

Have you ever wondered why all of the men that worked for your parents are taller, stronger, and more attractive than the average person? Why you and Talia can’t get drunk from regular alcohol? Why can't people resist your beauty? Why are they willing to bow at your feet? It’s because of who you are. All of you.

Talia

So let me get this straight: Are you saying that we are werewolves?

Aerie

Wait, if the reason why they can’t get drunk is that they are werewolves, why was I at death's door just a few hours ago? Am I not a wolf also?

Mrs. Rose

Well, you see, our pack doesn’t only consist of wolves; some of us are hybrids. This is the reason why we live in the human realm. Hybrids are not accepted by full-blooded creatures. Your parents were the only pack who welcomed hybrids with open arms.

Talia

So, that means that we are not just wolves but also part human?

Mrs.Rose

Yes and no, you are not just wolves. Arie, your father is the gamma wolf from the sapphire pack, and your mom is part human and part Encantado; this is why you got so drunk after drinking. Your human side could not handle the alcohol. Talia, you are not only part wolf but also part werebear. Your father is the beta wolf from the sapphire pack, and your mother is a werebear. This is why you can't control your anger sometimes and why you can drink alcohol like a fish without getting drunk. Elle, you are part wolf but also part fairy; your father is the alpha of the sapphire pack, and your mom is a fairy.

Elle

I sucked in a deep breath. I didn't want to believe what Mrs. Rose was saying. It was just all too much, but I had to be honest with myself. I thought about all of the unusual things that have been happening to me over the years. The enhanced hearing, the headaches, the voices, the purple eyes. I wasn’t crazy this whole time; it wasn’t all in my head. But the one thing that I wanted to know is why, why did our parents lie to us, why didn’t they tell us about this part of ourselves? Why did they lie to us? Why didn’t they tell us what we were and who we were? I asked Mrs. Rose. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes.

Mrs. Rose

They didn’t tell you because they were scared. They moved from the sapphire pack in South America years ago because it became too dangerous to raise hybrid children there. They moved to California amongst humans and decided to hide what they were so that you can live normal happy lives. They never told you because they didn’t want you accidentally using your gifts on anyone or accidentally exposing who we were to humans.

Talia

I still don’t believe it. Besides my inability to get drunk, I have no special abilities that you speak of. Yes, I am better at sports and way stronger and faster than the average high school girl; I have no wolf nor a freaking bear.

Mrs. Rose

That is because I have been suppressing them for years. I have been suppressing your other halves so that you don’t accidentally shift. It has worked wonders for the two of you. She pointed to Talia and Arie. You, my dear Elle, are special. I believe you got your wolf at the age of 10, though I couldn’t be sure because you never had any other episodes after then. But tonight, before I took you guys away from the fire, I saw it. I saw it in your eyes; your wolf is more powerful than ever, and it cannot be suppressed. The pills that we gave you on your birthday were a special formula made by myself and Dr. Washington. We needed to hide you from them and to make sure that no one knew you existed. That, along with my cloaking magic, worked but only until you became eighteen. That’s why I gave you the necklace in hopes that it would keep you hidden after your birthday.

Elle

I tried to wrap my mind around all of this. It was very difficult to accept. Just a few hours ago, life was perfect. I had the most amazing parents and the happiest life. I had a boyfriend who I thought I loved. Along with one of the best birthdays and nights of my life. It all came to an abrupt halt, and now my life is a living hell. I caught my boyfriend cheating on me, I lost my parents and my home, and now I am finding out that my whole life has been an utterly complete lie. Not only am I not a human, but I am an alpha of a pack I never even knew existed. I am also a fairy, and there are people after me. My whole life was a lie, and now I'm probably going to die. Who is after me, and why do they want me? I asked Mrs. Rose.

Mrs.Rose

I know for a fact that the faerie kingdom wants you, but if others find out, they will want you also, including traffickers.

Elle

I just don't get it. Why me? What is so special about me that they are willing to kill my loved ones and destroy my home.

Mrs.Rose

Because Elle, you are no ordinary fairy; you are the daughter of the fairy princess and the descendant of one of the first Alpha wolves. You may possess powers like no other before you. You may very well be the most powerful hybrid ever born.