Chapter 15:

Juna Killman lifted a shaky hand in a pathetic attempt to save herself from the wrath of the one and only, Elaine Chernoble. But even her telekinesis was powerless against the host of the moon's power. She knew from the pale blue markings on Elaine's body that were drawn by the moon goddess herself, she was in for a slow, painful death for all the crimes she had committed against the people of the supernatural world. And she was ready for it.

Opal Hale, on the other hand, was not. Her fear was rolling off of her in waves. Literally. You could see the waves of black fear that permeated from her and her pale, crying face. She felt her brother's death and she wanted to live long enough to exact her revenge, but she knew as she watched, frozen in time while Elaine Chernoble headed toward them in speeds unknown to man, she was not getting herself out of this and she would soon meet her brother and the other Elders in the Fields of Punishment.

Elaine stared at the two frozen figures, one with a face so full of fear and the other seemingly ready for death. She walked up to them, although she wasn't actually walking, more like really fast walking. She touched the center of Juna's forehead and closed her eyes. Since she seemed so ready for death, why not do the opposite? And so, she pulled Juna's powers from deep within her and watched as Juna crumpled to the ground, suddenly hit with the devastating weight of the crimes she had committed for which she will stand trial for as she spearheaded most, if not all, of the heinous plans of the Yule Council.

Then she made her way to Opal Hale. The empath. Since she so wanted to have others feel what she cannot control, why not drive her mad with the emotions she so desperately wants to give to others? She touched once again the center of her forehead and put within Opal a curse, one that no one will be able to break, not even the one who put it on her: no matter how hard she tries to send out her emotions, it will bounce back to her and she will experience the fear, the panic, the rage and the pain she has inflicted on others tenfold, until she begs for death, only to be denied it and put to trial for the pain she has caused.

After she was satisfied with her work, Elaine allowed the bubble of time to burst and she freed her two captives from their frozen shackles only for them to be hit with tidal wave after tidal wave of pain and distraught that it brought them to their knees and let out devastating screams and shrieks.

"The both of you will stand trial for all the crimes you have committed against the Paranormal community and you will be stripped of your honour, although you have already been stripped of that by your own doing, and your rights, thrust into the Underworld as the living and forced to live in the land of the dead, all of which will be the souls of those you have massacred. I'm sure a hefty amount of those feel much hate for the pair of you, seeing as you both have led many attacks against the different species of the the Paranormal. Warriors, take these two as prisoners and put them in the cellar," Elaine said, gesturing to anyone who were up to the task. She took two long pieces of vines and immediately they turned into glowing shackles that would be impossible to break and handed them to the warriors. "Use these," she said, "cuff them and make sure they never see the light of day. That is, until their trial, of course." And she waved them away.

Then she turned to the remaining wolves, who all shifted when she fixed her gaze on them. "My fellow wolves, I speak to you now as the host of the Moon Goddess and she has blessed upon me the task of ensuring that you will never be misled by people who have darker intentions and wish to cause you harm. Hear me and spread the word to your brethren. Make sure that this be heard even in the darkest corners of the Paranormal world. I give you my word to find you better leaders and that I will personally conduct a thorough investigation of all candidates brought to me.

For so long, the Yule Council has been led by countless rulers who have yet to be changed with views that go as far as the Stone Ages. But, now is a time to prosper and live amongst everyone in peace. This is a time of evolution, a time of change. But, for now, attend to your dead and we shall commence a proper burial for each one of them."

Elaine finished her speech and her markings stopped their glow and she made her way past the celebrating wolves to look for her mates. After a long day like this, she needed her mates.

Fortunately, they were on the same wavelength and bumped into each other. She caressed Scinece's face and planted a long kiss on her pale lips. Turning her head, she welcomed Lincoln's warm ones on hers and cherished in the feel of their warm bodies against hers, reminding her that they were okay. She led them to her tent, where Jim, Polly, Gina, Alaska, Alissa, Duke, Faust and Keller were waiting for them. They still had the blue aura around them.

"Is this permanent?" Duke asked when Elaine situated herself on the couch. She nodded, "It seems so. The aura is a blessing and is connected to my lifeline so for as long as I live, so shall anyone who wears the blessing of the Moon Goddess." Lincoln crawled on the couch and cuddled against Elaine's side, while Scinece lay on her lap, her face pressed against Elaine's neck.

"Gina, if you don't mind---" she was cut off by, "Yes, Alpha. Also, may I request dinner with you and Alaska and your mates? I want you to meet my mate," Gina said, excitement clearly heard in her voice. Elaine grinned and nodded. "I look forward to it. Tell me when and where and I'll bring your most embarassing stories to the table." At this, the group let out a hearty laugh while Gina mock-glared at Elaine before bursting into laughter herself.

This is what Scinece wanted. Just her mates, her family and her friends having great fun.

Lincoln started playing with Elaine's hair, making her just a little bit sleepy. But she caught up with the conversations in the room and later as the day turned to dusk, they changed into formal clothes and made their way to the edge of the pack territory to bury the dead.

Elaine dropped to her knees as Jay's casket was lowered to the ground and she sobbed in her hands, guilt creeping its way to the darkest corners of her mind, taking root in her heart. Why didn't she pay attention? Maybe if she did, she could've stopped Kylie and saved Jay. Maybe if she had stopped Kylie or the Yule Council before, so many wolves would have been spared.

Lincoln wrapped an arm around her shoulders and said, "this isn't your fault. It's the Yule Council's. They were the ones who ordered our death, they sent wolves here with the intent to kill us. It's all on them, El, don't ever blame yourself for something you can't control."

Scinece sat down next to Elaine and gripped her hand, sending warmth and peace of mind through her. "It will all be alright, Elaine. We're here for you and you know we'll stand by you," she stated before planting a kiss on her forehead. Lincoln wiped her tears away and pulled her into a tight embrace.

-*-*-

Days later, they found themselves inside Jim's house, patiently waiting for the mouthwatering steaks and mashed potatoes that Polly and Lincoln were preparing in the kitchen. Elaine had made herself comfortable in the loveseat, laying down with her head on Scinece's lap, feeling content as her mate ran her fingers through her hair.

Elaine watched as Scinece conversed with her father and she couldn't stop herself from taking the hand caressing her hair and pressed it against her lips, peppering small kisses along the back of her smooth, pale hand. Scinece blushed, resembling a tomato which Elaine just found straight-up adorable. Scinece looked down at Elaine and smiled, and Elaine was blessed with an image of an angel.

There was a knock and Jim made to move towards the front door. Elaine sat up, but didn't let go of Scinece's hand and said, "That must be Gina with her mate and Alaska." And she was right. As soon as the door opened, Alaska stepped through first and stood next to Elaine after giving Jim a paper bag containing two bottles of wine, even though alcohol didn't affect werewolves that much. Gina stepped through and shook hands with Jim and pulled along a tall, Asian man with almond-shaped eyes, a mass of curly, purple hair and lean stature, with just the right amount of muscle, not too lanky and not too skinny.

Elaine nodded at Gina and then noticed two small bites on the side of her neck, ones that are identical to the ones on her mate's neck. Elaine wiggled her eyebrows at Gina when she caught her eye, causing her to blush and Elaine to laugh. When the couple made their way to the living room where they were, Gina announced, "Alpha, everyone, this is my mate, Parker Young, he and his family were just recently inducted into the pack, a couple of days before we came to the pack. Parker, that's Elaine, you already know Alaska. Next to Elaine is Scinece, that's her mate. That there is Jim, Scinece's dad. Polly is still is in the kitchen and Alpha's other mate, Lincoln, is with her."

Everyone waved as Gina pointed to every one in the room and Parker flashed them a dazzling grin. "Hello, everyone. It's an honor to meet you all. Gina has spoken highly of all of you," he said simply and Gina looked up at him, stars seeming to twinkle in her eyes as she took in Parker. It was adorable to see as Gina was never one to show her emotions, but this was a nice change.

Polly soon appeared at the kitchen doorway, wearing a red, frilly apron and wiping her hands. "Can someone set up the table? Just a couple of minutes and all your stomachs will be filled," she announced, winking before she disappeared back into the kitchen. Elaine and Jim immediately stood, not wanting to wait any longer to taste Polly's delicious cooking. The pair rushed into the dining room, pushing each other along the way. "Stop playing around!" Polly shouted from the kitchen, causing the people in the living room to burst into laughter.

While Elaine and Jim fixed the table, Lincoln walked out of the kitchen to put down the pan of mashed potatoes in the center of the table. But as Lincoln was pulling his hand away, he grazed the hot pan and the heat of the pan momentarily stunned him and he hissed. Elaine was by his side in seconds, already taking his injured hand and pulling him into the kitchen and turning the tap on to run across Lincoln's hand.

Scinece followed them into the kitchen, her hands already glowing with the intent to heal any scald he might have gotten. Elaine, noticing this, turned off the tap and gently wiped his hand with a paper towel, making sure the rough texture didn't further bother his reddening skin.

Polly asked, just as Scinece placed her hand on top of Lincoln's, "Are you okay, Lincoln?" He nodded, Scinece's healing already numbing the skin and spreading a cool feeling throughout his hand. When she finished, Elaine placed a kiss on his hand and grinned up at him, "There. A kiss for the booboo." Then she rose up and placed a kiss on his lips and pulled back. "And a kiss for my boo." She smirked at his blushing face before pulling him and Scinece out the kitchen and practically threw them to the couch declaring that, "no more work for the both of you. Jim and I will fix up anything else."

Lincoln and Scinece just beamed at their beautiful mate as she turned around and went into the kitchen. She's amazing, they both thought. Scinece chuckled at the sudden rush of embarassment and love that came from Elaine while Lincoln laughed because they knew she had heard them.

Gina's mate spoke up and they turned their heads to meet his gaze, "So, the both of you have powers? That's so cool! How do they work? Can you do that with anyone? Or is it just with your mate?"

"Yes, we do have powers. I have telepathic abilities and I can use it to find anyone by taking a peek into their minds. And, yes, we can use our abilities with other people," Lincoln answered mentally, sending the reply to Parker, whose eyes gleamed in excitement. He honestly looked like a kid in Christmas. Gina laughed at Parker's reaction while Alaska gave a small smile. "I have empathic and healing abilities, which helps in dealing with patients and breaking up fights in the pack. There were a lot of those when Kylie was Head Warrior, but thankfully they were all resolved," Scinece said. Lincoln wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulders and grinned, saying, "That's why Alpha Faust titled her Peacemaker."

Scinece suddenly turned to Alaska and Gina and said, "Oh, I have something to tell you both that I wasn't able to because of all the things happening. Thank you."

Alaska raised an eyebrow at this and replied, "For what?" Scinece continued, "For being there for Elaine and keeping her safe all these years. She told us how you both have saved her butt more times than she wants to admit. So thank you for keeping our mate safe and keeping her company." Then she stood up and gave a hug to both of them and a peck on the cheek.

Gina looked away, bashful and Alaska's response was shocking to everyone. She blushed. When everyone stared at her, she coughed to cover up her embarassment and hid behind her hair. "It was my job, Ms. Scinece. There's no need to thank me," came a meek response from behind the curtain of brunette hair.

Elaine, Jim and Polly then chose that time to enter, announcing that dinner was ready. Then they looked at each other before glaring playfully when it didn't come out as synched as when they were secretly practicing in the kitchen. Even though, everyone else could hear it because, you know, werewolf hearing and all that. The occupants of the living room all laughed at their childishness before standing and heading into the dining room.

Elaine noticed the red flush on Alaska's cheeks and raised an eyebrow, catching her delta's eyes. Instead of a verbal response, her cheeks reddened further. Elaine chuckled at this before giving Alaska a tight hug and pulled her into the dining room where the room was filled with hilarious stories, embarrassing moments of Gina as promised for her mate, and it was an overall amazing night with the hidden promise of more times like these to come.

-*-*-

But then again, a story isn't complete without the next antagonist sneaking up on the happy family. Of course, there needs to be a sequel. The mysterious background of our dear delta, Alaska, has yet to be solved. Elaine said that she was found half-dead, left presumably by rogues, to die. But where did Alaska really come from? And how did she come to meet such a gruesome fate? While Moon Stone and Nameless spent their night with their loved ones, a light grey wolf was making its way to the packs. Why?

What kind of author would I be if I prematurely revealed this? A bad one, because then what would be the point of writing the next book? And besides, we have yet to know the identity of the mysterious man from Elaine's past that still haunts her.

Alaska sat there with her family, watching the hilarious moments pass. Contentment passing through her veins as her Alpha laughed and joined in on the conversations being passed around the table; as her best friend, Gina, smiled happily with her mate, Parker by her side; as Scinece and Lincoln interacted with Elaine, giving her the happiness not even a pack can fulfill; as she watched Polly and Jim, the two people she had come to think of as her parents when they wordlessly took her in and practically adopted her and giving her the love and acceptance that was always missing from her being. Her missing memories had never become a problem after she joined Nameless, after seeing that she could make better ones with everyone that was currently at the table. Of course, she was still curious about her past, but why bother with the past when she could look forward to the future?

I'm so sorry, Alaska, but your past is about to catch up to you. And you might not be ready for what it may bring.

Ready or not, I'm coming for you, Nameless Delta Alaska.

See y'all in the next installment of the "SCARS" series, "Delta".