A Christmas Wish

INTRO Dawn gazed down fondly at the delicate glass bauble in her hand. It was her most treasured possession. There were small snowflakes etched into the clear glass, and an intricate glass snowflake was suspended inside. It was beautiful. She thought about when Michael had given it to her. It was on their first Christmas together as a married couple. He had told her that it was a symbol of the beauty and fragility of life and that if something so fragile could survive and stay just as beautiful year after year, then so could their love. He had chosen a snowflake as every single one is unique, as is every love. His words had touched her deeply. they had meant so much to her. It had hung proudly on their tree every year since. She smiled, thinking of all the wonderful christmases they had shared and all the christmases still to come. She dreamed of one day passing that bauble down to her own child and them to theirs. She hoped that this simple, beautiful symbol of the love that she and Michael shared would be passed down for generations. Dawn thought about the day that Michael had proposed to her, how she had felt as though all her dreams had come true. Michael was still just the heir to the Blood Moon pack back then. The Blood Moon pack was one of the biggest packs in the entire region. Dawn had grown up in a smaller neighbouring pack, the Blue Moon pack. She was the third child of Alpha Daniel and Luna Delilah Reynolds. She had not been planned, unlike her siblings. Dawn had watched as her brother David had been trained to one day take over as Alpha. Her sister had met and left with her mate at the age of eighteen. Daisy was the Luna of the Full Moon pack now, with two beautiful children of her own. Dawn was six years younger than Daisy and seven years younger than David. Their age gap had meant that their always a distance between them. Her parents had never really mistreated her, but she had never really felt wanted by them either. They had thought that their family was complete and perfect as it was. She knew this as they had told her so. David had always enjoyed reminding her that she was surplus to requirements. Dawn had spent her entire life trying to fit in, but never quite managing it. Dawn’s parents had actually seemed proud when they had announced their engagement. It was the first time that she had ever seen them look at her like that. David had actually snorted in amusement when he heard the news. He had said that it wouldn’t last because she wasn’t Michael’s true mate. It was true that Michael wasn’t her mate in the way that werewolves usually mated, but she felt that he was her soulmate, her other half. She loved him from the moment that she met him. His warm smile always made her heart skip a beat. So what that the Moon Goddess hadn't chosen him for her. So what that they weren't bound by fate. Their love was true, and they had chosen it themselves. Michael had changed her entire life. He had always made her feel wanted. Michael's parents had accepted her as his girlfriend, but when he told them that he planned to marry Dawn, they had objected at first. They wanted their son to find his true mate, but Michael had insisted that Dawn was going to be his wife. She remembered how he had told them that he loved her and that she was the only woman that he would ever want by his side. Dawn felt the same way about him. They had married in a small but beautiful ceremony and been blissfully happy ever since, though they hadn’t yet been blessed with a child. Michael had taken over as the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack two years ago, and Dawn had naturally been named his Luna. She still sometimes woke afraid that her life with Michael was just a wonderful dream. Afraid that it would be snatched away from her by the daylight. She would feel relief to find that he was right there lying beside her. Michael had saved her from a miserable and lonely existence and showed her what it was to be loved. She always described her life as being like a fairytale. Michael was away at the moment visiting with the Alpha of the Waning Moon pack. They were ironing out the details of an alliance that was being set up between the two packs. Dawn wanted to get their quarters fully decorated before he arrived home. Christmas was their favourite time of the year. He wasn't due back until tomorrow, and Dawn was missing him like crazy. Rather than hang the bauble on the tree, she decided to just hold it for a little while and enjoy her memories of those wonderful moments. It made her feel close to Michael even though he wasn't there. Dawn stood there for a while in front of the big, green evergreen, decorated tastefully. She breathed in the scent of the freshly chopped tree and smiled. Life was good. She doubted that there was anything that could bring her down right now.