Mated To A Ghost

"Don't confront them. Not this night, Dad." Little Sera advises her Dad, Jason.

Jason scoffs, "That's why I'm a wolf. I have night vision. I'll let them know I'm indeed a Beta."

He pulls her in for a hug, and kisses her forehead, "I promise, I'll be back."

The name of the pack house rings in Sera's head. "Velvet Shadows Pack."

"Smile for me." Jason stoops, rubbing her cheeks. Sera forces a smile, and shrugs her shoulders.

"Be safe!" She hollers before he is out of sight.

No sooner had he left here than the fight started; Sera hides at a corner, as she watches Jason fight. A pack of wolves attacked her mum and killed her - as though that wasn't enough, her body was served to the vampires mainly for blood sucking benefits.

Jason is on the winning side - which entertains Sera. She winks at him, "defend my mum."

Once she says that, a different being joins the fight. Sera rubs her eyes, running towards her dad.

"Vampire! Dad, watch out!" She screams as her brother emerges from the other direction, to save Jason.

"I'm sorry, you're a bit too late." The vampire snarls, looking at Sera and Dylan, her brother.

"Werewolves, retreat." The vampire commands, kicking Jason to the floor, pointing a dagger to his throat.

"We have no business with you. Get off him." One of the werewolves who was attacking Jason, confronts the vampire.

Sera's breath seizes as ideas keep flowing into her head, prompting her to take a decision - but no, she is hesitant. The vampire is the most dangerous being, except for demons and maybe, Ghosts.

"Sera!" Dylan controls her.

"Don't move. They'll help us." He whispers to her.

"I was only helping you. Step back." The vampire warns the Werewolves - they bow accordingly.

"Now. Go."

The werewolves whine and swiftly depart, the leaves rustling to confirm their honest take-off.

Like a whirlwind, the vampire darts into the darker side of the pack house, leaving Sera and Dylan in shock.

Sera screams, "Leave me!!!"

"What do you want to do?" Dylan attacks her. "Do you even have your wolf activated?"

"I-I don't care!" Sera retorts, her voice breaking. "Dad's all I got. Af-After the vamp took my mum, all he could do was…"

"You're not only in this, okay?" Dylan deadpans, walking away from her.

"Where the hell are you going to?" Sera questions. "To report to the Alpha, maybe? The one who doesn't care about his subjects?"

Dylan stops in his track, and turns to look at her.

"I'm going to find Dad." He informs. Before Sera could say a word, he vanishes in thin air. His wolf had been activated before now, and he could employ his wolf's speed even without shifting yet.

Sera stares at nothingness, wondering the disaster the previous few minutes has brought to her. She walks slowly towards the direction of the vampire but she notices a different shadow, indicating a figure behind her.

"Who's that?" She gently asks, not looking back.

A low growl erupts from behind her. She squints her eyes, attempting to discern the source without turning back. Left to guess, she contemplates it might be a rogue.

"Go home now." A soft masculine voice speaks. She's convinced to look back now.

"I thought there was a stranger here. So I came to check up." He speaks again.

"It's Logan?" Sera asks to confirm.

He pulls her in for a hug.

"Did anything bad happen?"

She shakes her head, "no."

"I'll like to be back inside the pack. Come on in, you need to be safe." Logan, the official security wolf for the pack, welcomes her back into the pack house.

"Did something bad happen?" Logan asks once more, suspicion in his tone.

"Nothing, Logan! Nothing bad." She repeats and rushes to her room without looking back.

Chuckling, she creaks her door open and tiptoes inside. Before she can shut it, Logan is at the door.

She gasps, glaring at him.

"Wondering how fast?" Logan asks, shutting the door himself and leaning his back against it.

"If nothing really happened, then where's Jason?"

Sera stammers, "Ermm…he's fine. He's…like, okay."

"The pack noticed that he's not in the pack house at the moment." Logan retorts, whispering cunningly to her. "... where did he go to?"

Sera rises to her feet, fully aware of the repercussions that befall a Beta who departs from the pack house without prior notification.

"I assure you, it is not as it appears!"

Logan dons a smug expression on his countenance, "The Alpha has summoned you."

Sera's anxiety transforms into sheer astonishment once she hears that. "What did I do?"

"Questioning the authority of the Alpha can lead to grievous punishment, it's certain that you're aware." He reminds, and leaves the room.

Sera breathes shakily once he moves out of the room.

"I got this." She reassures herself as she exits the room. But once outside, her outlook shifts. "I can't follow the Alpha's orders. I have to go against them."

As she turns around, out of nowhere, security guards grab her.

No words. Just a straight way to the Alpha.

"She's here." They say, and exit the Alpha's chamber, leaving the Alpha and his personal Beta alone with Sera.

"Sera Moonshade." Alpha Regulus calls. "We made our rules clear when appointing Jason as a beta, didn't we?"

She nods her head affirmatively.

"Now that Jason has violated the rules, we won't pardon him for any reason." He asserts.

"Sera…" He moves towards her. "It has always been my dream to see you shift into your wolf and make me proud, but it seems reverse is the case now."

Sera looks deeply into his eyes as a tear drops down her cheek, "how do you mean?"

Regulus chuckles, "Oh. Cry baby. We're not moved by emotions because what? They cloud judgment. We follow our head, not heart."

"Cyprus, expel her from the pack!" He orders as Beta Cyprus approaches with an air of fury.

"Damn, Alpha!" Sera raises her voice, seeking the Alpha's attention. "...my father was never a bad man. How could I suffer for something I didn't do?"

"Sera Moonshade, leave the pack house with your father." He repeats. "I won't say this again. Cyprus?"

Cyprus seizes her, but she attempts to free herself.

Her tension lessens when she recalls Dylan's promise to find their father.

"We'll bring him back!" Sera tells the Alpha.

"We?"

"I'll bring him back. Myself." She asserts again.

"Useless words from an underage wolf. Let there be no more statements from you. The law is harsh, but it is the law." He declares as Cyprus storms out of the room with Sera, handing her over to several other security wolves.

They escort her out of the pack house, delivering a stern warning, "If you set foot here again, you're gone."

The name of the pack house slowly etches itself into her memory, prompting her to silently vow a return—a comeback.

She shakes her head, tears streaming from her eyes as the harsh reality sets in; she has lost her mum, dad, and now, can't find Dylan, her only brother. She wishes she could shift into her wolf form now and search for him, but at seventeen years old, she is unable.

Not wanting to think about it further, she runs away from the front of the pack house, straight down the bush. It starts to look like an exercise, especially now that someone stops her. A person different from the last person she saw. Someone with a smile on his face.

"Whoa!" He laughs as he grabs her arm to stop her. "You almost walked right into me."

"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry." She replies, catching a whiff of his appealing scent.

"No worries." He smiles. "Are you heading somewhere?"

"Not really..." She trails off, avoiding looking in the direction of her old pack house.

"Hey, I'm Mane by the way. Want to come over to my place for a bit?" He asks abruptly. Sera's bewildered expression reveals how taken aback she is by the forward invitation.

"Um, no thanks." She manages a polite smile. "I'm Sera Moonshade."

"Nice to meet you, Sera."

"Can we play over there, at the field, maybe?" He requests. He squints his eyes, expecting the offer to be turned down to his own disadvantage.

"Let's go." Sera agrees. He holds her hands and leads her to the field.

After being on the field for a few minutes, she hesitantly agrees to go with Mane to his pack house.

She stops abruptly as a worrying thought crosses her mind: "What if his place is just like Jason's?"

"Hey, what's the name of your pack anyway?" She asks, pulling away from him.

"Come on, don't stress. You'll see when we get there." Mane replies casually.

"Just tell me now. Are you trying to trick me and get me killed or something?" She demands, raising her voice in frustration.

"Did anything bad happen?" Mane asks, his question reminding her of Logan's frequent concern.

"Just tell me what's going on or..." She turns to leave. "I'm going back home."

"Wait!" He calls after her. "It's the Midnight Echo Pack."

She returns with a slight smile. "Thank you for telling me."

Still uncertain what awaits her, she follows him to the pack house.