The Innocent Luna

Chapter 1: Mia

13 Years Earlier:

The whole forest was on fire and so was the pack. The day seemed like any other spring day with flowers blooming and birds chirping. The night came and the moon rose to showcase the Goddess’s children. Then, the smell of burning wood came, then the screams rose above the flames and the smoke rose above the screams. Smoke rose around me as I ran through the woods. I could hear the howls of those trying to escape the fire. Only the Moon Goddess knows what caused this to happen. I found my mother in the woods.

“Hold my hand dear, and run really fast. Just like daddy has been training you to do.” My mother says as we run. She is carrying my little sister in her arms and is pregnant with my baby brother: the future Alpha of our pack. She is pretty far along. I remember her and my father talking about him coming soon.

I speed up and try to keep pace with her as the fire spreads faster and faster around us. The coughing starts, and my eyes burn from the smoke. Soon the whole forest will be destroyed. I just hope we can make it out of this safely.

Someone picks me up from behind, and I scream. “Shhh, it’s okay, baby girl. It’s just daddy. Lizzy, we need to keep heading west. I’ve already contacted Alpha Alex about the whole situation. Are you doing okay to keep going?”

“I am okay, love. Come on girls, let's keep going.” My mother says. They both take off running while holding us girls to their chests, trying to protect us from the smoke and flames that are nipping at their heels. We still hear the screams of those unable to make it out of the fire. I start smelling burning flesh, and I bury my face into my father’s chest.

Suddenly my mother screams and collapses.

“Lizzy!” My father screams. He places me on my feet, and we run back to my mother and sister. “Lizzy, what’s wrong? Did you twist your ankle? Talk to me!”

“No,” She breathes as she screams out in pain again. Then the smell of fresh blood hits my nose, and we all hear a gush of water, “My water just broke, Gunner.” My dad is kneeling next to her. He looks at me and my sister.

“Mia, take Milly’s hand. Stay as close to me as you can. We aren’t far from the meadow where we are going to meet Alpha Alex. Less than a mile to go, girls.”

I grab my sister’s hand and drag her behind me. I look back to make sure she is keeping up when I see the flames nipping at her heels. I pull on her arm faster and forget to pay attention to my feet. Ten more steps and we will be safe. I can see Alpha Alex and his sons. They were my friends that I play with all the time. Suddenly I step wrong, a snapping sound rings out through the silence as my scream follows. I fall to the ground hard and so does Milly.

“Mia!” screams one of the twins. I don’t pay attention to which one as the tears flow down my cheeks. Milly is crying but won't budge. I feel her little fingers clutching my arm. She is shaking me hard trying to get me to move, but I can’t. The pain is just too much for me to handle. I have broken my ankle.

Suddenly, her fingers are gone, and I feel someone picking me up. I look up and see Alpha Alex has me in his arms and my father has Milly. “Gunner, I have Mia. We need to get back to the trucks and get out of here.”

“I know Alex. We have to get Lizzy to your infirmary now! Her water broke and I am not sure how much time we have left.” Alpha Alex grunts, and they both take off running to the trucks with us pressed to their chests. We break the tree line, and I hear my mother scream out in pain.

“Mommy!” Milly and I both scream. We are both terrified of what is going on. Alpha Alex, his twin sons, Marcus and Matthew, and my father climb into the bed of the truck with my mother. She is panting hard and has tears streaming down her face.

“It’s okay, love. We have the girls.” My father whispers to her. She nods her head as another contraction hits her, and she screams. I cover my ears as she squeezes her eyes shut from the pain.

“Let’s go!” My father yells and beats on the roof of the truck. They speed off as the firefighters and fire trucks from Alpha Alex’s pack stay behind to protect the border from the flames. It takes us 10 minutes to make it to the pack hospital from the meadow. At this point we are split up as my mother is wheeled off to a delivery room and I am wheeled into a treatment room to help with my broken ankle. Alpha Alex and the twins come with me while Milly goes with my father and mother.

“Alpha,” Says the doctor as he comes in and looks at me with a warm smile. “What happened to our friend?”

“She fell in the woods while running from the fire, Dr. Maddox. We think she broke her ankle in the process. Is there any way we can hurry? Her mother is about to deliver her baby brother very soon.”

“Of course! Just a couple of questions for our little friend first. What is your name dear?"

“I’m Mia,” I sniffle as he smiles down at me.

“Good job. How old are you, Mia?”

“Four. I will be five soon though.” He chuckles at me.

“Is that so? When is your birthday, big girl? Oh, my last question for you is a pretty hard one: are you ready for it?” I nod my head. “Good, now, what is your favorite color?”

I giggle at him. “That’s not a hard question. My favorite color is blue, and my birthday is in two days.” I hold up two fingers to show him. He laughs at me and nods his head while reaching behind him to pull something out of a cabinet.

“That's a good answer, Mia. I just needed to know what color to make your cast for your ankle.” He pulls out the casting material and gets to work. Five minutes later I have a cast on my ankle and Alpha Alex, Marcus, and Matthew are walking me out of the treatment room.

We find the waiting area for the delivery rooms and we sit down with my father and Milly. “How is everything going, Gunner?” Alpha Alex asks my dad.

He shakes his head, “I’m not sure. They keep telling me everything is fine, but my wolf and the bond are both suggesting otherwise. I have never felt like this during one of our deliveries. I’m worried.”

Suddenly, we hear a baby’s cry, and out comes a nurse holding a tiny bundle in her arms.

“Congratulations Alpha Gunner. Your heir is finally here.” The nurse hands the tiny bundle to my father as tears well up in his eyes. He sits down between me and Milly and shows us the tiny baby in his arms.

“Mia, Milly, I want you both to meet your baby brother, Maxwell. We will call him Max for short.” We both nod with smiles on our faces. The baby coos and stares at me. He takes my finger in his small hand, and I can’t help but smile even bigger.

Out of nowhere, we hear our mother scream out scaring Max, Milly and me. Alpha Alex rushes forward and pulls Max from my dad’s arms as he takes off running to the delivery room.

“SHE'S GONE!” he screams as he slams the doors open and breaks them off their hinges. There, in the delivery room, I see my mother’s lifeless body as the blood pools from between her legs. Her gray eyes fixed on me with an unblinking stare. Her face pale and her chest unmoving…