Fuck!!!! I'm Having The Alpha Princess's Baby.

I watched as Aunty Sali arranged her bags, stuffing the last of her things into the worn fabric. She was leaving, heading back to Blackwood. She had been taking care of Pali ever since that incident in the woods, staying by his side and fussing over him like he was a child. She really was a caring aunt. Even if I don’t like her because of her nonstop blabbering, I have to admit she has the warmth of a caring mother.

I stood by the shop entrance, leaning against the frame and staring out at the street when she tapped me on the shoulder. I looked at her, and then, without warning, she reached out and pulled me into a tight hug.

Wow. That was completely unexpected. I stood there stiffly for a second before my arms finally moved to pat her back.

"I can’t believe you are that little baby girl from years ago. You really are grown up," she said when she finally pulled away. Her eyes were shiny, looking at me with a pride I didn’t quite understand. I don’t remember seeing her even once during my childhood, but I just smiled and nodded, trying to act like I understood exactly what she was talking about.

She reached up and touched my face, her fingers calloused but gentle. "Now I see the resemblance of Maye. She was such a sweet and kind child. I can’t believe you happen to be her descendant. That woman loved you until her very dying breath."

My heart stopped for a beat. Was she talking about my mom?

"You knew my mom?" I asked, my voice coming out a little breathless. I stepped closer, needing to hear more.

"Of course. Everyone in Blackwood knows about Maye, the were-witch who gave birth to..."

"Okay, Auntie, your shop in Blackwood is not going to open on its own. I’m sure your customers are waiting for you," Uncle PP interrupted, stepping between us suddenly.

"I’m just telling her how beautiful she was. Don’t you see Maye’s resemblance in her?" Sali protested, trying to look around him at me.

"I know, I know. She looks like Aunty Maye. Even you used to say I look like my mama. Everyone looks like their parents," he said, his voice flat and dismissive. He took her arm, guiding her firmly toward the already waiting cab idling at the curb.

She entered the car, and they waved a final goodbye through the glass. When Uncle PP turned back toward the shop, he saw my face and realized immediately that I wasn’t having it.

What the fuck? Doesn’t he understand what he just did? That old woman was finally talking about my mother, giving me pieces of a story I’ve never heard, and he just cut her off. He stopped her from saying the one thing I’ve been dying to know.

I opened my mouth to demand an explanation, to ask him about what just happened, but he didn’t give me the chance. Instead, he reached into his pocket, shoved a few chocolate bars into my hand, and told me to go feed Kali. Then, he pointed a finger at the floor and told me to clean the already cleaned shop.

He really is trying to avoid my questions. He’s running away from the truth. Let’s see how long that will last, because I’m not letting this go. If no one is going to tell me what I want to hear, after visiting Blackjack I am going to Blackwood to meet that old woman, no one will interrupt our discussion.

After work, Malo and I headed to the convenience store. We grabbed a table in the back. I was busy tearing into a turkey club sandwich, the hunger from my work place finally hitting me, while he, as always, had a box of donuts sitting in front of him.

"Do you know anything about my mom?" I asked him, looking up from my sandwich.

Malo chewed slowly, thinking it over. "I have never seen your mom before, Faye. We became friends when we were maybe 3 or 4? But I heard she was not from here. People said she got married to some normal wolf here in Oakland. She had Paye first, then you. You told me yourself she died when you were two. I remember that clearly."

"Today I heard her name from Uncle PP’s aunt. Maye. She said my mom was a were-witch," I said, leaning over the table.

Malo stopped with a donut halfway to his mouth. "If your mom was a were-witch, does that mean you are half were-witch? Like, can you cast spells and do psychic things?"

"I don’t know. I have only ever shapeshifted every full moon like everyone else. I have never summoned fire or chanted spells in my life. I can mix some basic potions... tracking potions, healing potions. I even know how to make moon water. But I feel like I am a different kind of species. I just don’t know which one yet."

"The Moon Wolf," Malo said, his voice dropping low. "Heads up, I heard the tribal wolves that worshipped the Hija Dela Luna have gone extinct."

I froze, the sandwich halfway to my mouth. "What?"

"The book in the Petrova library, the one with the same title... stated that the snow wolf, or whatever it’s called, came from that tribe twice, about 1,500 years ago. I checked online, searching for the location. It was a northern village called Gummysnow. There was a massive massacre there 30 years ago. A group of Alphas from all different packs worked together and killed every single person in that village. They were trying to prevent the reincarnation of that wolf thing."

"What the fuck? Alphas working together? That’s fucked up. Why would they do that?" I said, feeling a chill run down my spine despite the warmth of the store.

"I heard they were scared of the wolf," Malo said simply.

"Where the fuck are you getting all your information?" 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

"Online. I do my research, Faye. How do you think I was able to find the Beast Morphs in the first place? Research. I gather all the information I see on the internet and compare it with what is written in the book. People post a lot of secrets online if you know where to look. And I also joined Beam’s IT club in school. She is the info geek for Princess, and honestly, I want to steal that spot from her."

"No need. Just be the info geek for our group. Keep finding out more about the village. As for me, I am going to find someone who actually has information about the Moon Wolf," I said.

"Who? Where?" Malo asked, looking curious.

"Yuki and I are planning to go to the Free City to meet up with a were-witch who knows a lot about the Moon Wolf," I said.

"Am I coming?"

"No. Yuki said it’s just me and her. The were-witch is a picky kind of person, apparently, so only the two of us are going. I am not even taking Princess."

Malo frowned, looking worried. "Okay. Just... don’t trust were-witches, Faye. They are the most dangerous people of our kind. You never know what they’re really thinking."

"Don’t worry. I trust Yuki. She is nice to me. She is not someone who is ever going to let someone harm me," I assured him as we continued eating.

Just when we were starting to relax and enjoy the food, the sound of tires screeching and shouting broke out in the parking lot. It grabbed our attention immediately, and we both looked. Two bikers with their helmets still on were attacking someone near a parked car. The person tried to fight back, defending themselves with their arms up, but one of the bikers brought out a heavy crowbar.

In the blink of an eye, they beat the person down. We heard the sickening sound of a bone crack. It was a clean break.

Immediately, they hopped back on their bikes and drove off into the night, the engines roaring.

When we realized it was Beam lying on the asphalt, we bolted to help her. We took her to the hospital immediately, her face pale and her arm hanging at a weird angle. After some X-rays, the doctor said she wouldn’t be able to heal for days, even with her wolf blood.

That means she was definitely not going to be fighting Yuki on Monday.

The spot was open. Someone else was going to have to take her place in that cage.