HIS UNEXPECTED MATE

Luna Cindy's bare feet barely touched the earth before leaping off again. Covered in sweat and blood, she ran deep into the woods, her arm gripping her tender abdomen, tears streaming down her cheeks...

"I have to keep running; I have to get them away from her," she whispered, her eyes glancing around, her breath hard. She could hear the sound made by the horses of her pursuers, their footsteps crashing through the bushes, their voices and howls echoing through the air...

"Find her and bring me that cursed child!" the head warrior commanded.

Luna Cindy's heart sank, and her eyes widened as she stumbled and almost lost her balance. Her legs trembled beneath her; she struggled to regain her balance and strength, but her legs felt weak and rooted to the spot...

She immediately stood up to run, but the head warrior sped towards her and grabbed her. She sighed and closed her eyes as the realization hit her: it was game over, and the warriors of the Lunaria pack would never spare her life.Not after what her husband did...

"I'll only ask you once!!!!..." The head warrior snapped, but she kept quiet...

"Where is she?" he yelled...

"I thought you said you would only ask once," Luna Cindy chuckled...

"Search the entire woods and bring me that child!!!!" he roared...

"You will never find her!!!!!" she laughed and spat in the face of the head warrior, a defiant glint in her eyes...

"Enough, woman!" A slap landed on her face...

"You will bear the consequences of your husband's actions..."

"Why don't you kill me? You have destroyed my pack and killed my people!" she cried...

"Your greedy husband should have thought of that before waging a war..."

"Bring her along!!!!" the head warrior said and mounted his horse and rode away...

As Luna Cindy was being dragged away, silence settled over the forest. Unknown to her, a warrior was sent out to search for the child, the woods trembling as the warriors searched the woods...

Moments later, a group of hunters stumbled upon the child wrapped in the finest animal fur and lying beside their tents...

"What in the world...?" one of the hunters yelled, staring at the baby.

"What do we do?" the second hunter asked.

"She looks healthy and tender," the third hunter said.

"This is insane!!!!!" the first hunter exclaimed.

"Yeah, man!!!!! Who the fuck leaves a baby alone in these dangerous woods?"

"Is there any paper or something?" the third hunter asked, and his friends gave him a confused look.

"I've seen it happen in a movie before; check, you might find a paper or clue!"

"I'm not doing that, man," the first hunter snapped, taking three steps back.

"Me neither!!!!" the second hunter said.

The third hunter chuckled and took a step closer to the baby.

"Hey, man!!!!" the first hunter pulled him back.

"It's fine, bro..." he muttered and carried the baby. "It's a girl..."

This is messed up, man... What are we supposed to do with a mysterious baby in the middle of the woods?

"We can keep her," the third hunter said, already playing with the baby.

His friends exchanged bewildered glances.

"We?!!!"

"No!!!!!" Billy, the third hunter, scoffed and threw the baby up. She giggled, showing off her pink gums, her eyes locked onto the hunter's, and for a brief moment, the world paused, just the two of them staring at each other. The baby's eyes went shut, and she fell asleep.

"Are you being serious, man?" the second hunter asked, and he nodded.

"Sarah and I have always wanted a child. I guess the Almighty sent her to make up for our years of being childless," he sighed, rocking the child.

"You don't know what you're getting yourself into, man... That child might be more than you can handle..."

"Nah!!! I believe she's a gift from God!!!"

"You're telling a non-believer about God?" the second hunter chuckled.

"I'm an atheist, not a non-believer!!"

"Both are the same thing," the second hunter said.

"Nah!!!!!... I simply do not believe in the existence of God."

"You might be putting yourself and Sarah in danger. You can't keep that child."

"You can drop her with the cops," the first hunter said, but suddenly paused. "Did you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" the first hunter whispered.

"Sounds like footsteps," the third hunter whispered back.

"I have heard weird tales about a strange being that dwells deep in the woods."

"I think coming here was a bad idea. We need to leave, like, immediately," the first hunter said as the sounds of the footsteps drew nearer.

"What about the child?"

"Are you nuts, man? A lost baby in the woods, and you think it's a miracle from God?"

"Calm down, dude. We will settle this after we find our way out of these cursed woods," the second hunter said.

"Keep that cursed child away from me," he snapped and walked away.

"You don't have to do this, man," the second hunter said.

The third hunter scoffed and went in the opposite direction, carrying the child...

★NEW YORK CITY★ 10 PM...

Mr. Billy walked through the front door, laying the sleeping baby on the couch, and immediately called out to his wife...

"Honey!!!!! Can you come down for a minute?" But he got no reply...

He called again, rubbing his hands together, and walked through the back door to the kitchen, then back to the sitting room. "Where could she have gone?" he muttered to himself...

He went upstairs and almost tripped over the outstretched legs of his wife, who was sitting on the floor, her back to the wall and her head buried in her hands...

"Oh!!!!! I'm sorry, honey. I have been calling you; I didn't realize you were here," he said, crying again. He sighed and pulled her up...

Mrs. Billy looked up, shaking back her black hair. She was young and attractive, probably in her late twenties...

"I'm fine!!!!" she muttered, forcing a smile. "You're home early today," she smiled...

"I have a surprise for you," he winked and covered her eyes, leading her to the sitting room...

"What's this all about?" Sarah laughed...

"We are here!!!!" Billy whispered and uncovered her eyes...

Sarah gasped. "A baby? Her eyes... How did!!!... Where!!!!?... What's happening?" She rushed her words...

"Calm down, darling..." Billy held her shoulder. "Who is she, Billy? Is she one of your mistress's children?" Sarah snapped, her voice laced with pain and sorrow...

"That's enough, Sarah!!!!" Billy snapped back. "I'll not have you insult me over one little mistake I made years ago..."

"One little mistake?" Sarah yelled and broke down in tears. "Now it's all making sense why you were never bothered about my inability to bear you children..."

"I'm sorry, Sarah," he pleaded. "I didn't mean to yell at you, and this child, she isn't mine!!!!!"

"Are you telling me the truth?" Sarah mumbled, her eyes reddened from crying.

Every single word... Billy smiled in relief. "Then who is she?" Billy took a deep breath and began explaining how they stumbled upon the child wrapped up and left near their tents...

"Poor child!" Sarah muttered, taking the child. "Can we keep her?" She smiled and touched the baby's cheek...

Billy nodded and pulled Sarah and the baby into a tight hug...

Later that same day, Billy drifted off to sleep. He found himself at the exact spot where the little baby was found, with a mysterious lady who had piercing blue eyes and blood dripping down her legs...

"She shall be called Iridessa," she whispered...

"Who are you?" Billy asked, but the mysterious lady smiled at him and vanished into thin air...

Billy woke up, feeling tense and uneasy...

"Iridessa!" Billy muttered as he stood up and walked towards Sarah and the baby...

"We will name her Iridessa!" he proclaimed...

"Iridessa?" Sarah repeated, and the baby giggled...

Billy took her from Sarah and lifted her up...

""IRIDESSA," he called her!!!!!

Immediately, thunder and lightning struck...