The Hybrid’s Second Chance
Chapter 57

Julianna's

POV

In the blink of an eye, we went from looking at Dianna in the woods, to looking at an airplane hangar. The world around me was spinning, and I felt like I was going to pass out. "Whoa," I said, stumbling sideways slightly. Alex caught me before my legs completely went out.

"I should have warned you; the first-time teleporting gives you quite the head rush."

"You could say that," Sofia said, trying not to vomit.

"I think I can wait a while before doing that again," I told her. Taking a couple of deep breaths, I focused on Cornelia. "I just realized you haven't brought any of your things." "Well, all my spell books will now belong to Dianna, and usually when someone is banished, they aren't allowed to take anything with them but the clothes on their backs." "We pretty much did the same thing to Logan," Sofia reminded me. She wasn't wrong about that.

"I can conjure up anything that I need, and a lot of the spells I have memorized."

"We have many books on witchcraft that you're welcome to," Alex told her.

"Thank you, Alpha Alexander."

"You can call me Alexander, you're family after all." It was sweet to hear him call Cornelia family and how accepting of her he was. "Let's get on the plane and back to the pack. We still have our elder's council to deal with." "They're coming to decide your mother's fate?" Cornelia asked, following us towards the plane.

"Yes, I thought with the conflict of interest it was best they decide how to punish my mother."

"I'm sure it was hard being betrayed by someone you love," she said.

"It was, I knew her stance on wolves, but never thought she would take it to the level she did." We all took seats on the plane around a small four-person table.

"Alpha, Luna," our pilot, Colby said, coming into the cabin. "Who have you brought with you?"

"This is Cornelia Sullivan, Luna Julianna's birth mother," Alex told him.

"It's very nice to meet you," he said, shaking her hand.

"Are we ready to take off?"

"Yes, Alpha. We can be off the ground in a matter of minutes." He went back into the cockpit, and Alex turned his attention back to Cornelia.

"Listen," she said to both of us. "I want to tell you about everything that happened and why I did what I did. I'm sure you're angry with me and have a lot of questions."

"I really don't know if I'm angry or not. I just feel confused, but I'd love to listen to what you have to say."

"Okay, I want to start at the beginning because I don't know how much you know."

"I know about the war between your coven and the wolf pack and why they put the laws in place keeping you apart. We found a book that spoke about it."

"So, then you know what a betrayal to my coven it was when I found out my mate was the Alpha of the Evergreen pack, Joshua. I wanted to reject him and forget he existed, but you know how difficult that is when the mate bond is involved. We saw each other in secret, his pack wasn't too far away from my coven. They moved into the area after we did. The elders knew about them but never thought our paths would cross. Your father and I saw each other in secret when we could but we never marked each other. I got pregnant not long after we met, and I was terrified. Hiding my pregnancy was difficult but not impossible. Once you were born, Dianna helped me hide you from the rest of the coven. I loved you so much the moment I held you in my arms for the first time. I knew I would do whatever it took to keep you safe. After a few years, as you got older and more powerful, it became clear hiding you was getting complicated. Getting a child to hide and stay quiet isn't an easy task. Finally, your father and I realized we needed to give you up for your safety. He originally wanted to take you into his pack, but that would lead to questions about who you were and where you came from.

I was also worried word would get back to my coven because the pack was close, and someone might take an opportunity to snitch. I thought it was better to find a pack that was miles and miles away and send you there. We should have done more research, but I was so scared the elders were getting suspicious. I set you outside October Moon's borders and helped guide Marvin to you."

"How did you guide him to me?"

"I astral projected myself to him and whispered in his ear. I have the power to compel people to do things. Not force them but nudge them in the right direction. Once he found you, I went back to my coven and tried to forget and tell myself you were safe. I got curious about how you were doing about six months later and couldn't stop myself. I projected myself to you and saw that monster of an Alpha screaming at you along with his son. It broke my heart to see you treated that way, but I didn't want to take you away from Sandra. She loved you so much already, and I was worried no one else would take you.

Every so often I would check in on you, I would let your father know how you were doing, but then, when you were mated to Logan, I knew I had to do something. I watched him refuse to accept your rejection, and that's when I knew I couldn't let your life continue the way it was. I went to Marvin and asked him to help you escape, to do anything to help you. He agreed and took you out on the Alpha's orders to kill you. You know what happened after that, and the plan did not go as expected. When you collapsed under that tree, I begged you to keep going. Healing isn't something I'm able to do, so all I could do was compel you forward. When I realized you were close to the Lycan pack, I found Alexander and helped guide him to you like I did with Marvin. That's when I finally thought you were safe and going to be okay. I let Marvin and Sandra know you were safe, but Logan had other ideas. I'm so sorry about making that potion, he threatened to have you killed and said if I teleported to you, he would have the people you were with kill you on the spot. I got the idea of changing the potion when I got back to my coven. I knew I was breaking the law at this point, but it no longer mattered to me. After I told you both what was happening, I thought my involvement was going to be over. All I intended to do was watch until you were safe, but when that she-wolf had the knife to your throat, I had to act."

"I'm very glad you did act," Alex told her. "I thought I was going to lose my mate when Alexis put that knife to her."

"I understand if you can't forgive me for letting you endure that torture for fifteen years, I don't deserve your forgiveness." Cornelia looked down at her hands as her voice cracked.

"She looks so sad," Sofia remarked.

"I know," I said. "How do I tell her how I'm feeling right now?"

"Just tell her the truth, that's all you can do."

"Cornelia, all I can do is be honest with you. I'm very thankful for you helping me escape October Moon and guiding me to Alex. I don't know if you need to be forgiven or not yet. I understand why you did what you did, and part of me doesn't blame you. But part of me needs time to process everything."

"I hear that and take all the time you need. I'm happy we have this time now to get to know each other, and I'd be happy to teach you magic if you'd like."

"I'd love that, maybe after my Luna ceremony we can start." I looked at Alex who was smiling down at me with admiration and love.

"What?" I asked him. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I just love the kind of person you are. How kind, considerate, and compassionate you are. You're going to make an amazing Luna and Queen." I smiled back at him, not knowing how to respond to his wonderful compliment.

"Maybe one day, I can take you to meet your father," Cornelia said. "Is that something you'd like to do?"

"Yeah, I think so. As long as he wants to meet me."

"Of course, he does! He loves you just as much as I do. Plus, you have half siblings."

"I do?"

"Yes, after he and I rejected each other finally, he took a chosen mate, and they had two daughters together. They're 13 and 11 now."

"Wow, I don't know what to think about that."

"I know this is a lot to take in at once, so don't feel any pressure like you have to get to know them."

"Does my father's chosen mate know about you and me?"

"She does, he told her before they got together, and she agreed never to say anything to anyone about us." We spent the rest of the flight talking about our lives. Cornelia seemed to know a lot about me, after having looked in on me for fifteen years. Alex told her about our pack and made plans to have a house constructed for her with a garden to grow the herbs she needed for potions.

"I mind linked Hannah and Elijah to fill them in on what's happening. Hannah already has a guest room in the pack house being made up as we speak," Alex told me.

"Thank you."

"Our mate is always one step ahead of us," Sofia purred. Soon we were touching down and got ready to head to the pack house. I wasn't sure how the rest of the pack was going to react to having a witch as the newest member, but that was a fight for another day. The elder's council were waiting for us in less than two days. That was the fight we needed to concentrate on now.