-One year later-

So much had changed since that first clunky drive up the mountainside to Haven.

The falling snow, the blind corners, all the things that obscured my view as I gripped the steering wheel in fear, wondering what I was doing and where I was going.

I remember singing along to Landslide, quite ironically, as I felt completely lost and ill-prepared to handle the seasons of my life as I slowly drove through the treacherous and unforgiving terrain.

Looking back, I honestly didn't think I had a grip on the direction my life was taking. I had gotten in the car that day with nothing left. All I had was a broken relationship, an unfinished degree, and an old bag of clothes to my name.

I left everything I knew behind, knowing that I was searching for something but without knowing quite what it was.

And then everything shifted.

If I had pictured my future back then, I would in no way have imagined to be sitting where I am now.

A bad ass bitch that wouldn't take shit from anyone.

A leader.

A Luna.

Sitting back on the deck as I swirled my afternoon pick me up, I gazed out into the falling sun.

I was once a human girl who yearned for a place in the world. Who felt misunderstood, misplaced and alone.

I had always felt like I was on the outside. Staring through a window pane as others played out their happy and fulfilled lives on the other side where I just couldn't quite touch. It had always felt so out of reach.

But hindsight was a wonderful thing because now I knew there was a reason for that. I had been grasping for something that wasn't meant for me. I was fighting to be something I wasn't, rather than accepting who I was.

I was different.

I always had been.

And it took coming to Haven to realise it and more importantly, be proud of it.

I remember the first night at Full Moon. The vibration in the air had me hypnotised. It drew me in. Everyone, everyone was just like me... different. Except the difference back then was that they were unapologetically so.

And the difference now, was that so was I.

I might have been a hybrid. I might have been an impossibility, but what I really was, was just a girl looking to fit in and find her place in the world.

And now I had.

After Phelan had marked me and brought me back home, I waited about a month before I mustered the courage to open the laptop and view what was on the USB stick.

I kept avoiding it as I wasn't quite ready and instead I poured my focus into the future instead of the past.

The days were glorious.

I spent my time in a hazed love bubble with Phelan, bonding and getting to really know him, and he I.

Of course, like any relationship, there were quirks and kinks to work through. But he was my mate, and I loved him.

One of the hardest things to get used to though, was the mind-link. Having someone telepathically check in with throughout the day asking things like, 'what are you wearing...' proved a little distracting. That said, I more than dished back comments of equal measure, saving them for when I knew he was in important meetings and could do nothing but sit and squirm.

I was a bit of a bitch like that.

After our little honeymoon phase, I was finally introduced to the pack as their Luna. We'd had a massive gathering at Full Moon rather than the pack house, as we thought it rather fitting considering it was where I'd first met most of them anyway.

We were a small pack, but we were full of good people. And we all worked hard to create a place to feel safe, loved and live meaningful lives.

And although I'd been so insecure about the pack's acceptance of me, my concerns had proven fruitless. They welcomed me. They didn't see me as some half-breed, some mutation... they saw me as a chance to bring a new zest of life to Haven. New ideas and perspectives from my human experience proved useful, the pack excited, for example, to have internet connectivity, much to Phelan's dismay.

But the thing that still left me in awe the most was learning to shift into my wolf. The first few times were the hardest. Learning to do it at will took practise... Your bones broke and readjusted, and all the sensations hit you at once as you viewed the world from an entirely new lens.

Phelan was always there, my guide and my protector. He would shift with me and take me for runs through the forest, exploring secret paths and hidden corners of the woods where I became acquainted with the other side of me that laid dormant for so long.

We'd howl at the moon... we'd yip and we'd play for hours. He had taught me to hunt too. How to eye the prey from a distance and wait for just the right moment before taking it down.

To feel the scent of spruce hit my nostrils and the tender soil beneath my paws was an act of transcendental bliss.

Me... the city girl who once lived off iced coffee and Netflix, had become at one with the wild. It brought me to life. I became whole, as if everything I had been missing had been found despite it all being within me all along.

I never wanted to go back.

And that wasn't the only change. I had found my faith. Never had I felt a true connection to any religion before this. But the Moon Goddess? She was real, and she was my guide and my strength.

In moments of sadness, I looked to her. I felt her touch and I felt her comfort. I understood how the pack viewed her as sacred, and how everything we did followed her cycle. The cycle of the seasons... of life... of death... of birth.

Everything was interconnected and there were no coincidences.

For where the Moon had given me light, it was Phelan who had given me the stars and made me shine.

Placing my glass down, I decided to head back inside. It was getting a little late and I knew that Phelan would be home from training soon.

Closing the sliding doors, I headed upstairs into the bedroom. One by one I pulled out my earrings, placing them in my jewellery box on the bookshelf before pulling out the bottom drawer of it, which housed my most sentimental of belongings.

Gently picking it up as if it were the most fragile thing in the world, I held it against my chest as I walked over to the bed.

Propping the pillows up behind me, I sunk into the blankets and opened it before me.

A smile curved its way across my face as I unfolded the pages and held them in my hands. The paper was beginning to crinkle, the ink fading and the paper wearing from over use.

But the words were as clear as the day I printed it from the laptop.

I even swore I heard his voice as I read them, bringing him to life even if just for the small moments I longed to hear him again... and again and again...

Little Edie,

I think back to when you were so small that I held you in my arms... and having seen the woman you've become, was like seeing you for the first time all over again.

You radiate such strength, courage and determination that I have no fear for your future.

How I wish I could have watch you grow. I missed it all Edie, and I am so sorry. I am sorry for the times you felt alone. The times you felt unloved. The times you wondered if you'd find your place.

But despite the pain, I could never take back the chance of giving you a safe, and happy life.

I knew that you had your mate out there. I knew that Phelan would mean to you, what your mother meant to me, and I wanted you to have experience that kind of love for yourself.

I guess you're probably wondering how you came to be? Or wondering if I have hidden the secrets to your hybridity? The answer is this... there is no secret. There is no science.

Despite my years researching and trying to find the answers, I missed the one that was always right in front of me. It was, and only ever was, simply love.

You were born out of love, and you continue to be loved. There is no other explanation. There is no way to recreate your design, because you were designed perfectly to be one thing, and one thing only; yourself.

You deserve the world Edie. I have always watched over you from afar, and it is my promise to you that I will continue to do so.

Please know I am at peace with how everything unfolded. I am with my mate now, and you are with yours... look out to the night sky and take comfort in knowing we will always be proudly watching over you.

All my love,

Dad.

Wiping the tear that ran down my cheek, I folded the letter and placed it carefully back into my jewellery box just like many times before.

Walking over, I pulled back the curtain and stepped out into the night. The air was crisp, the Moon was high and the stars were bright and I knew that somehow, in some way he could hear me...

"Love you Dad and thank you for everything."

- End -