The Magic of the Full Moon

Chapter 5

The party had wound down to only a few people left in the garden. Amelia had tried to help clean up and was promptly told she was not allowed to work after what Nick's parents had done. After Ethan and Gwen had been escorted out of Obsidian, everyone had calmed down and enjoyed the party. Having them removed from the area had given everyone yet another reason to celebrate.

As Amelia sat on the mossy ground, leaning against one of the trees in the garden, she was enveloped in the aroma of irises. She turned to see Aunt Freya and Edward strolling toward her. They were smiling and waved to her when she saw them. Freya was carrying an enormous bouquet of irises of all colors and ferns.

"These are for you, sweetheart," Freya told her as they sat down on either side of her.

"Thank you so much. They are beautiful, and since they aren't in season, I'm guessing a little magic was needed for them," Amelia giggled.

"Yes, it was. But a magical young lady deserves some magical flowers," Freya said with a wink.

"Happy Birthday, Lia," Edward told her as he bumped her shoulder with his. "We heard that these flowers were not the only magical thing to make an appearance today."

Amelia let out a giggle and replied, "That is true. It was eventful and not in the way I had hoped. I expected something like a fireball fight or Blueberry creating his normal mischief and chaos. Not those two jerks announcing I would be the Alpha of Dark Moon whether I wanted it or not. Then, putting down Damian and Darla because they are not pure werewolves? That made me furious," Amelia huffed. "Part of me wishes Aggie hadn't shown up, and Kevin would have been able to keep his word about ending those two where they stood."

"Aggie told us," Freya said. "Emma mind linked with Drake as soon as they started talking. Bless Aggie for showing some restraint because that could not have been easy. I know she wanted to rip them apart and was ready to do it. I only wish I could have seen them when she took them back to the house where they were staying and dropped them out of the sky. If you ask me, it should have been much higher and maybe off a cliff."

Amelia laughed as she took her phone from her pocket, "Oh, you can see that! Thanks to Kevin's security cameras that he has hidden everywhere, it was captured, and we can watch their crash landing over and over."

She opened the video on her phone and held it where the three of them could watch. Kevin had put it in a loop when he sent it to everyone. This allowed them to watch as many times as they wanted without interruptions. After the third time, Edward was belly laughing, and Freya was lying on the ground laughing as she tried to catch her breath.

"Oh, that Aggie," Freya gasped as she wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. "I have to remember to check on her tomorrow around noon. As soon as the kids were alright, she zapped Drake home to spend quality time with those two fey dragons she took home all those years ago. Then she popped over to our cottage. She wanted to have a drink and vent, but I think she forgot that she's a witch, not a wolf or a dragon. We had to call Drake to carry her home. She was drunk as a skunk and still ranting about what Ethan and Gwen had done."

"Forget about their plans for me. I am so mad at what they said about Damian and Darla. They are both smart, funny, and completely amazing. I can't understand why their grandparents would say anything like that," Amelia fumed.

"Do you plan to spend some time with them before they return to Dark Moon?" Edward asked.

"Of course. They will be here for over a week because Dad and Nick are working on something with another company as a big collaboration, and it is spring break. Tomorrow, all of us kids plan to spend the afternoon together and probably part of the evening, too," Amelia answered with a smile. "Then the next day, we hope to split the time with all the grandparents so we can shift and run or fly or both." Amelia's smile faltered as she said the last words.

Edward took her hand and squeezed it affectionately as he spoke. "Amelia, sweet girl, your brothers and sisters are not less because they are a mix of werewolf and other things, and you are not less because you are only a werewolf. We are all who we are for a reason. You are a brilliant, kind, compassionate, amazingly talented, beautiful young woman, and we are proud of you for who you are. I can feel how conflicted you are right now. Trust yourself. You know what is right for you, and everyone who loves you will support your decision, no matter what it is."

"Well… aren't you sappy and sentimental tonight," Freya grinned at Edward.

"That wine we had with Aggie might be affecting me more than I thought," Edward chuckled. "Freya, my love, why don't you help me home so I don't get lost along the way?"

"Little chance of that, but I will walk you home anyway," Freya laughed.

Amelia quickly stood and helped the older wolves up from where they sat on the ground. She hugged them and thanked them again for the birthday wishes and flowers. Amelia couldn't help but hope to have the love they have one day. She smelled the flowers as she went over to where her mom was helping Lucy put away the last of the food. Amelia watched her mom slap her dad's hand as he tried to sneak bites after it was ready to be put away.

"Did you have a nice visit with Freya and Edward?" Tyson asked his daughter as he kissed her on the head.

"I did," Amelia replied. "Would it be OK if I went for a walk? I know it's dark and late, but I really need a little time alone where it is quiet. Lily and I both need it."

"Just don't go too far, and make sure to take your phone with you in case something happens," Tyson told her.

"I'll put your flowers in water for you. If you are out for long, please check in with us and do not block the link so we can find you if something does happen," Olivia told her daughter.

"I won't be, but I will, and I won't," Amelia laughed as she gave the bouquet of irises to her mom. "And I promise to be careful." She kissed her mom and dad on the cheeks and hurried off into the dark to be alone.

-

Amelia was quite a distance from her house as she continued to walk along a well-worn trail in the forest. She and her wolf, Lily, had worn the path over the years as they went to and from their favorite spot in all of Obsidian. She had been coming to it for as long as she could remember, frequently alone.

Obsidian was one of the safest places anyone could live, so her parents had let her explore on her own from a young age, or at least that is what they said. She knew that was not true. Someone was always nearby watching her to make sure that she was alright, and if she happened to fall or get hurt, help would be there in an instant. Yet, they would never interfere with what she was doing or internally make themselves known. Even when they were being protective, her mom and dad still wanted her to feel she had all the freedom in the world. She could never thank them enough for that.

Amelia smiled as the sound of water trickling over rocks reached her ears. She had finally made it to her favorite place. She stepped forward and inhaled the aroma of the spring bubbling out of the hillside and the ferns surrounding it that were beginning to wake up from winter. The spring formed a small pool that became a babbling brook filled with life. Seeing the little minnows dart about always made her happy. During the summer, the air would be filled with a rainbow of dragonflies and damselflies buzzing about, and the butterflies always flocked to the wildflowers that bloomed along the stream banks. The thought made her excited for warmer weather to arrive.

She took her usual spot under a massive alder that grew near the spring. On the opposite side of the water grew an ancient willow. She watched the willow branches sway gracefully in the light breeze that had begun to blow. She needed this. She needed to connect with the earth. Freya had told her that feeling was strong because of the fairy blood she carried from her ancestor many generations before her. She, her mother, and her cousin Ben had it the strongest. However, Logan and Everly possessed it and were still discovering the full abilities of their magic.

Amelia slipped off her shoes and socks and sat wiggling her toes in the soft ground of the forest. Her wolf had finally laid down in her mind, calm but alert because of where they were. She closed her eyes and took in everything around her. She let her mind wander as she listened to the sounds of nature around her. That was until the sharp nap of a twig breaking jerked her and her wolf back to being alert and on edge. Who or what was watching them was downwind, so they could not be detected. Amelia could only make out the silhouette of a hulking shadow under the trees nearby.