Brendon's POV:
I remember the last day I saw her...
Aaliyah.
The excitement my soul mate radiated when she explained she was going with Luke to buy baby clothes. My first love and my first soul mate. She, was the perfect Luna. She was pregnant with my son. She wasn't along enough for us to know the gender... but every alpha wants a son for their first born. We agreed to go ahead and assume its gender. The reports of her death hit me hard that very same night. I lost my luna and beta because- for a long time... I thought it was just a freak accident. It was raining that day, after all. A vampire's scent would have been washed away. So of course... I never suspected it was Lamia all along. Two years ago, Beta Luke and Luna Aaliyah of pack Scarlet Nightwalkers lost their lives. The reports said the vehicle was going too fast... swerved to avoid presumably a car and went into a lake. If there was another car they tried to avoid, it left the scene of the crime. All this time, it was Lamia that gave orders to kill them.
My father Diego, momma Yvette, and my sister Artemis were there by my side when I found out the news. My father explained I could wait to choose the next Luna... but right away I was ordered to pick the next beta. That's when I picked Emmett. Because, he was my cute younger cousin. His family never were betas. But, because we lost Luke... there wasn't a better choice. Luke's father was my father's beta... But, Emmett's father was my father's younger brother. So, if I died... Emmett could be alpha. So, what better way to train him then to force him to be my beta?
In two years, I was really preparing Emmett to be my replacement.
I wanted to die and be with Aaliyah.
Run with her and Luke once more.
Deep down... I didn't think I could ever find a replacement Luna.
That was until that selfish bastard mated with a male wolf, Nolan Elias Felisus. He tricked us all into believing they were really mated. If I was smart enough to catch onto his lies... Maybe Vivienne wouldn't have gotten so hurt at the beginning. Maybe I could have saved, Emmett. Emmett was old enough to know who his mate was. If he mated to Cole... that meant I would never be able to leave the pack in the hands of a doomed relationship. They couldn't breed a next alpha for the pack. His selfish desires to have Cole instead of Vivienne... was disgusting.
That left me with... one thing left to do...
I had to find someone respectable to mate with. Someone that was possibly desperate... enough... Someone maybe rejected... someone who experienced severed ties in the same way I did. Because I could never steal a mate from someone else. I respected mate-ship too much. Everyone deserves true love.
So, when Artemis traveled to another pack with our parents... I decided to look for someone I could give my pack to. I felt like I was cheating on Aaliyah when I looked at other females.
But, to be honest... I was following Vivienne the night we first met.
I had eyes on her the whole night of the party. From the minute she parked her car.
I had been in the parking lot trying to clear bad thoughts from my head. I saw her uneasiness. She was nervous. I had been curious about the scent of her emotions. I wondered, if it was because she was unmated or because she was new to the whole... wolf side.
That night I had been tempted to find a Luna once again. It was perfect timing. Wolves were coming back home from college and I figured some relationships had been severed. I heard talk about some finding mates to outside the pack and severing them to respect me, their alpha. They couldn't leave me or the pack. Not even for love. I had heard a few females doing so, and it angered me that night.
How could those girls give up love for pack duties?
I had only concluded it was because they were omegas.... too weak in the spirit of the wolf to notice their own fates calling for them to leave this dead- end pack.
Vivienne didn't seem like one of those girls I heard rumors about.
She was much different.
In fact she wasn't like any girl I knew in the pack. She wasn't even like her sister, Naomi. I met Naomi through Emmett and Nolan's relationship. Naomi was Nolan's twin. The two had similar delicate features on their face. Naomi a blonde, while Nolan, a dark brown- almost black haired. Beautiful ice blue eyes. I couldn't believe, Vivienne was related to them. But, her scent attracted me to it. I heard through Nolan's loud mouth that his older siblings were returning from graduating... and I wanted to meet them both. Nolan's fat mouth told me they were both single.
Vivienne's red hair and green eyes were like from a story. She resembled Alpha Fang's red wolf story. Even in wolf form, she was like a fire. Her speed was hard to keep up with in the woods. She was born to lead. I knew it the moment I followed her into the woods. Her hormones letting out an attraction at the same time.
Vivienne was impressive because she transformed later in life then most wolves. Her transformation didn't happen until she went away to college. This was always talked about with the elders. They discussed bets on when she would transform or if she would. Her father once said to them, his daughter was going to be the strongest warrior they ever saw.
It's funny... but when I chased her through the woods the night we first met...
I wanted to agree with her father that second.
Vivienne outran me.
Me an alpha.
And, she was a known late bloomer. She was the most interesting woman I ever met.
That's how my feelings for Emmett began to shift. How could I ever think about leaving my pack in his hands? He couldn't even see how such a great woman she was. The perfect wolf. It's like the moon blessed her to become a woman fit to be a Luna.
Vivienne, to my knowledge was unmated.
I followed her that night. From the very beginning of the parking lot.
I once asked Emmett if he met her. Vivienne's name was always on her sibling's mouths. Because she was doing so well in college. Her name was on my list of possible Luna's.
"She's nothing to brag about," his words would scowl out. "She's nothing compared to my Cole." My Cole, he used those possessive words. Was his wolf eating away at him angrily? I tried to press him a few more times after that. Each time I was shot down. The question begging avoided. He didn't like to talk about her.
I should have known then.
Vivienne was unmated and the daughter of a respectable doctor, Romona Felisus and lead border control's one and only, Calix Faang. Vivienne's parents alone would be enough to make me want to sweep her off her feet. I loved respectable parents. Her whole family was famous in the pack. Her three older brothers were well- loved. Niall, Calcifer, and Innath. They were one of a kind...
So when I locked eyes on Vivienne...
I wanted her from the start.
I planned to introduce myself to her before stalking her into those woods... But, lets face it... The woods were a better place to keep my pack out of my mating business. I watched her whole break- up with Emmett. The harsh and heart breaking- rejection.
How could Emmett pick someone over his own destiny? If he had just gave in and mated to her, I could be dead and happy with the one I love. Emmett would be in my place dealing with Lamia and protecting Vivienne.
They never gave each other a chance!
Emmett let her just slip away.
Of course, I wanted her even more.
I never felt a selfish desire to force myself on someone.
I should have never been so straight-forward with her.
I stole Emmett's spot in her life. I took fate into my own hands.
I took some of my anger out on her at the beginning. I should have never took advantage of her broken heart. I had no rights... to selfishly convince her to desire me. And, I am so sorry for that. Maybe if I had not intervened... would Emmett had came to his senses and tried to fix things with Vivienne?
Maybe... if he didn't go to Lamia's... things might not be like this. Lamia might not be so torn on destroying Vivienne. But, Lamia would still be using Niall to spy on my pack. Things happened like this so my pack could have a fair fight. My pack will survive somehow through this. I just don't know if I can continue... to provide Vivienne with what she needs.
We could have had a family. But, Lamia stopped me once again at happiness. She won, she brought me to this breaking point. Her soldier tore a gap through me and I'm not sure I can repair it.
I'm this close to death.
I'm this close to Aaliyah.
Can I choose Vivienne over Aaliyah?
I'm this close...
My eyes landed on the darkness around me. Where was I, exactly? I think I was somewhere beyond but between. I was there between the pack territory of Luna, the moon goddess and back in my subconscious awareness.
"To make a choice?" I asked softly. This was all I could come up with. I know it's been longer then the promised three hours, that man gave me. This has lead me to this... I have two choices now. Should I stay with Vivienne a little longer? Or, go to where I belong... beside my beloved in the after life.
I can't lie. I do love Vivienne now. But, is my love for her enough to choose her over Aaliyah? Vivienne wasn't what Emmett described her as... she had turned out to be much more. A fine companion. Someone I could live out my life with, to protect. Someone I could leave a pack to. She wasn't born to be a leader... but she could grow to be one.
"Don't you think you've protected her long enough?" I heard Aaliyah's sweet voice ask me. "Give in and come home to me." I could smell Aaliyah's faint scent. Is it wrong of me to want one more over the other now? "We can be together again." But... this is still my decision to make. If I die, can I know Vivienne will be okay without me?
"I can't rest easy unless I know she's okay," I said quickly. This is what I want. "I'm sorry Aaliyah... I'm responsible for her now. I made a vow when I marked her. You'll have to forgive me. She shouldn't have to deal with Lamia alone."
"Don't expect forgiveness."
Aaliyah's familiar scent left my surroundings. It was the only thing I had in the darkness.