Chapter 132 Reborn

(Hope POV)

"Come on, climb up. We can not waste time. The Blood Moon is now high in the sky." Opal nudges me again with her snout. She was already in a lying position to help me reach and climb on top of her. I climbed up and held onto her neck. I had a strange feeling she was going play another one of her stunts like she did when she made me jump off that damn cliff.

"You, my dear, need energy. When was the last time you had the moonlight shine on you?"

"Six months ago, Opal. Since we got back from France."

"Wolves get their strength from the moon and you darling, if you want to live on, your soul must be strong. Now hold on!" I knew it, she was going to act like that cow in the nursery rhyme and jump over the moon.

"I am not a cow and I'm not going to jump over the moon, Hope. Let's go!" Opal makes a leap for it, exiting the OR into the hallway of the hospital.

Opal sprinted through the hospital with me on top of her. I had to bend my body forward so I wouldn't hit the ceiling. I noticed time had slowed all around us. I heard the tick tock of the clock that went tick without being followed by a tock.

Opal barged through the exit of the hospital and ran outside into the cold. I was surprised that the cold wind didn't bother me instead I relished the feel of the cold air on my face and the wind in my hair. I raised my arms above my head, happy to be free once again.

Opal ran through the town, sprinting so carefree and wild. It has been a long while since she did such a thing and I knew she was just as happy as me to be out in the open. I hugged her neck and felt the movement of her body, watched her legs stretch out across the icy pavement, as I breathed in the fresh air. It was a glorious feeling just to be alive and alive I was.

Opal entered Dark Moon territory, but she did not go towards the Ulrich Mansion. Instead she took a turn that would lead us to the creek that separates the Dark Moon territory from Crescent Moon. She sped up as we approached the creek and jumped over it in one fell swoop, entering Crescent Moon.

However, she didn't go to the direction of my mansion. She went to the field where the apple trees stood, trotted past them, to a clearing where a small pond was glistening under the Blood Moon.

Odd, I have never seen this pond. I have gone through the property, forwards, backwards, and maybe even sideways, but I have never seen this pond. The Blood Moon casted an unearthly glow unto the pond. It actually reminded me of the fires of hell.

Opal stopped in front of the pond and laid down so I could get off of her. I looked up into the sky and saw the Eclipse. It was so beautiful yet so eerie. It was a wondrous thing to witness.

I walked over to the pond and looked in it. It was like I was watching a biography about my life. I saw Adella kissing me and telling me she loved me so much before laying me down in the bassinet. I stood and watched as Aunt Cecilia saved me, took the locket and jumped out of a window. I also saw how she and her mate left me at the red farmhouse with white shutters and how the stormy weather instantly disappeared.

I watched my mom pick me up from the front porch where Aunt Cecilia left me and saw how the moon shone on me when she named me Hope. I saw the happiness in her eyes when she first placed me in her arms. I saw how my dad embraced her as tears of joy flowed down her cheeks. Finally, she was given a family. In her eyes, we were complete.

I watched the days when I grew up, the times my father and I would go fishing and would come home without a fish in the ice chest because I couldn't bear to kill them. The times I tinkered with his beat up old truck trying to get it to start. The time I fell down off my bike and my dad carried me inside and put some medicine on my boo-boo. I saw the time my mother worried when I told her about the voice in my head, how she prayed fervently to God, hoping it was just a phase and it would disappear.

And then I watched all the times I sat on our fence just watching the sunset. How one of those sunsets brought me to Alexander. I saw our whirlwind courtship, our wedding and our mating ceremony. I saw the look Alexander would always give me, of longing and of love and how he would always kiss me on top of my head.

The pond showed me how difficult it was for Alexander these past six months. He would lie awake watching me sleep. The Shadow never wanted him to touch my body for fear Alexander may sense something wrong. I saw the tears in his eyes not knowing what he had done wrong to be treated that way. I even saw him say to himself in the bathroom that it was okay to see my green eyes even if he knew I was angry. He just couldn't stand seeing my eyes so dull and lifeless, like I had given up on living, on us, on everyone.

I watched how every night my mother would go down on her knees and pray to God and the Moon Goddess for help and guidance. She knew something was wrong with me, but she was scared to know what was really wrong with me. She prayed someone would come along and help me so, I can become a good mother when my babies are born. She also would lay awake at night, dreading the worst.

My father, as much as he could, acted strong because he knew if he fell apart, my mother would fall apart. He would quietly watch me as I sat beside him watching the sunset, my favorite time of day. He also prayed to any God or Goddess that was out there...he prayed he'd get his Hope back.

Then I saw Arthur. I saw him beat himself up with regret. He left his family and every time he saw my golden eyes, he felt remorse. He could have been the better wolf, but he let his hate eat him inside. If he had just gone back to be with his sister, maybe none of this would have happened. He had too many "what ifs" and it plagued his mind every night before he went to bed. My grandfather was imprisoned in his own guilt. It was a sad thing to watch.

The pond suddenly rippled into waves. It seemed  it had forwarded to the future. Alexander had white in his dark hair, his face wrinkled into a constant frown, gone was the sparkle in his dark blue eyes. I saw my children all grown up, saying hello to him, and he smiled at them, but the smile never quite reached his eyes. His sorrow was there to see, even the children knew he mourned for me and would continue to mourn until his death.

The territory was not the same. It looked like Alexander had fell into difficult times. He no longer worked. He just sat there on our balcony watching the sky like I loved to do. And he would just sit there until night had fallen and the moon was high in the sky. My daughter would enter the room, long after he had fallen asleep, and place a blanket on him then try to clean up his mess. I could see the guilt in her eyes wishing I was still alive and the pain, anger and frustration in her young face, knowing her father did not keep his promise to take care of them.

"Alexander would not do that. He couldn't. He wouldn't fall apart. He's a strong Alpha. This future can not be right." I glanced at Opal who was also peering down at the pond.

"This is the future without Hope." Opal howled to the Blood Moon, letting out her sorrow, pity, and regret.

"But I made Alexander promise me. He promised me he would take care of our children. He wouldn't squander the future away just because I am gone." It's not possible. This wasn't Alexander.

"Yet that is what he did. He stopped living. The territory is in ruins, your children live in despair and what was once a strong pack throughout generations, gone."

"How can I fix this, Opal? I am dead." This was the second time too. I don't think I had anymore chances to live.

"You have a decision to make, Hope. You can go with the Moon Goddess or you can be reborn here at this very spot where Adella gave birth to you. The Blood Moon is a powerful force. Yes, it is a sign of chaos and destruction, but it is also a symbol of change and rebirth."

"I wish to be reborn again. I can't leave Alexander and my children. I can't bear leaving them, knowing my life could have changed their future." If I will be given another opportunity, I will take it.

"Remember Hope, for the greater good." Opal stands up and pushes me into the pond. She jumps right after me, both of us sinking into the water. I continuously sink down into the dark, cold, murky water, astonished that something so small could be so deep. I held my breath as long as I could, until I found myself on the verge of drowning. I flap my legs and arms so I could swim up, but Opal pushes me further down with her powerful legs. My body starts to convulse due to the lack of oxygen. Now, I felt I was truly dying. I glanced up at Opal, her betrayal in my eyes, then everything slowly turned to dark.

I had drowned.