MATED TO THE ALPHA AND HIS BETA - Season 5 Episode 63

A rush of intense emotion stabbed into me like a thousand tiny blades slicing me all over. My flesh stung and crawled like I was being bitten by ants. I’d opened myself empathically when my fathers started speaking, and this fierce influx of emotions rose and rose without stopping.

I’d been standing in the back of the stage, off to the side where nobody could see me. Earlier, I’d quieted the shouting man who’d been trying to rile up the crowd, but I could see now that had been the wrong choice.

I’d thought I was easing his worries, but all I’d done was give room for him to feel stifled without knowing why, and that nameless feeling had pushed his anxiety even higher. The people around him had sensed it, reacted to it, and now, they were all starting to feel it…which meant so was I.

How could I blame the people of this pack for being afraid of what they didn’t know? How could I ask them to understand what I, myself, could barely begin to comprehend? I was unlike anything they’d ever known.

Celestial.

Most of them probably had never even heard of such a creature. They’d been lied to for so long, and they hadn’t even been fully informed that there was an entire world beyond wolves, vampires, and witches. How could we expect them to simply change everything they’d been taught? To accept the existence of other supernatural beings without questions or worries? They were terrified of the rumors, but the reality was going to shock them even more. My heart went out to each individual pack member who was struggling.

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As I heard my fathers addressing the crowd, another thousand—no, a hundred thousand small blades raked at me like the slices from a hundred thousand claws. I drew in a shaking breath and stood up straight. I needed to draw strength from the Moon Goddess.

I had to close myself down from the full force of all their feelings, or else they were going to…well, not destroy me. But hurt me quite badly. I narrowed myself to only the broadest and most general overview of the crowd instead of each individual. Anxiety, tension, concern, fear. There was also some self-satisfaction as people convinced themselves they’d been right all along not to trust anyone in charge.

This pack needed comfort. Reassurance. They needed the truth.

If only I knew what to tell them!

My family wanted to protect me because they still thought of me as a child. They probably always would. I loved my fathers and my mother for that unconditional love and support, but the Moon Goddess had shown me in a vision that being a Celestial was not meant to be a dirty little secret.

I’d reached out to her again this morning, but there’d been no clear answer. I knew I had to accept that. I might be a Celestial, and I might be able to harness all the supernatural gifts that existed, but that didn’t make me a goddess.

I heard the accusations being thrown around, and again, my heart went out to all the scared people of the pack. My fathers were trying to defend me, but of course, just about everything the crowd was shouting was true, at least in some measure.

Nothing could be gained by hiding away. I just wished I had some clearer help to guide me. Back in Brightsky, with a mission, my goals had been easy to figure out. My visions from the Moon Goddess had been consistent. Reliable.

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For one moment, I felt very, very alone.

My feelings of isolation and abandonment faded within a few seconds. The Moon Goddess would let me know when I was needed, and what I should do. She had never led me astray or let me down in the past.

My faith in her was complete.

If only the pack could feel that same comforting weight, that utter confidence that came along with the knowledge that someone was watching over them. Protecting them the way my parents wanted to protect me…

Ah! There it was! My confidence that I didn’t need a specific vision to guide me.

Whether it came from the Moon Goddess or from somewhere deep inside myself, because I was a Celestial, or because I was an adult, I couldn’t be sure. What I did understand was that this pack belonged to me.

I was the daughter of not one, but two Alphas. My lineage was strong. Powerful. I carried their strength inside of me, and it had nothing to do with being a Celestial.

I was a Constantine.

My people needed to trust me, and how could they put their faith in me if I was no more than a myth or a rumor? They were scared of what they didn’t understand, so I needed to help them understand me.

To know me.

I stepped out of the shadows, and into the light.