Six years ago, my former soulmate told me "Love fades, mine has". Five and a half years ago, I had my baby girl, Anastasia Victoria Mazur Belikov Hathaway. Five years ago, I sacrificed myself to save a few of the La Push wolf pack when they came upon Strigoi, and didn't check their back.
But I didn't die. As my Dhampir body died, I changed into a giant wolf, and gave my daughter to the pack to be raised.
I had to give up my baby, because when my Dhampir body died, I lost the ability to shift back. Worse, I was not part of the La Push pack, so I could not communicate with others. The only reason my baby knows her name is because her birth certificate was in my backpack. She knows nothing of her father Dimitri, Lissa, or St. Vlad's.
The pack calls me The Loner, but when I watch my baby, Stasia calls me Red. Red Wolfe.
As I patrolled, I pointed my snout in the direction of Anastasia. My fur was white, with red and black streaks that move across my pelt when I fight, hence the nickname Red Wolfe, as that is what the other wolves see first, but now it was still, signifying that no Strigoi were near, I did not feel threatened, and I was not fighting.
Noises behind me made me stop, and turn around. It was Sam and Stasia, checking on me.
"Mommy? Red? Have any red-eyed monsters come this way? Are you okay?" Stasia felt concern for me, despite only being five, and always asked if I was okay.
I nodded, and woofed slightly to Sam, signally that all was fine.
"Loner, umm, Red, we need to talk."Sam walked out of Stasia's hearing, and waved for me to follow him. "Red, I know you weren't completely human when you rescued Seth and Leah from the Strigoi , and we have now received a summons from the Moroi queen. She says she has heard that we have a young Dhampir with us, and she wants to meet us. She also says that she has heard of our legends, and would like the know if they are real, which basically means she wants us to protect the Moroi. And there is one more thing..." He began to stutter slowly.
I gave him a glare, and he began to speak again.
"This was delivered by a Dhampir called Guardian Petrov, and she said that the wolf with "unusual patterns" on her coat, also known as you, was expected to come, and she also remarked on how much Stasia looked like two guardians she used to know. I told her that the father died fighting the Strigoi, and the mother had lost the ability to shift back because of grief. She left soon after, but not before taking a photo of her. I'm sorry Red, but we couldn't stop her without arousing suspicion, so she has pictures of the pack and Stasia." He said this quickly, backing off slowly. I had attacked pack members before for pissing me off, and he was wary of me.
However, that's not what held my attention. The only thought I could hold onto was that Alberta had pictures of my daughter, and Stasia looks exactly like me, but with Dimitri's hair and eyes. Those pictures would be going back to the Guardian Council, and they would know immediately who Stasia's parents were. Shit. Major Shit.