Chapter 5

RIFTAN POV

The woods whooshed passed me with motion blur, the air stayed glued to the tips of my fur as I zoomed through tree drunks and further into the woods.

Y lungs felt lighter, and the bloody rosey scent was less concentrated.

Paws hit the dirt violently as I ran further and further from the source of my torment, and deeper into the bliss of solitude.

I arrived at the meadow and stopped, then turned to look back at the brightly lit castle protruding from behind the dense forest. My breathing came out in pants and my heart thumped harder and stronger.

“You made it, Alpha.” A smooth voice called out from the darkness, peeling my gaze from the trees and into the shadows.

I stood on my hunches and shifted back to my human form, then huffed harder.

I was damn glad I decided to take that run. Heavens knew I was going to lose it if I hadn’t. All because of that smart-mouthed pretty-faced bambolina who was currently soaking in my tub, and in my castle.

A lean lady emerged from the dark carrying some swim shorts, then handed them to me before walking back to where she had appeared from.

“I need an explanation, Grace.” I thundered as I stepped into the pants and jogged to where she disappeared. A few feet down the dirt road was a small hut, deeply hidden in the woods and far from prying eyes.

“I was under the impression you would come knocking on my door, soon.” She didn’t turn to address me, just opened the door and walked into the hut.

I bowed lower since I was taller than the hut itself, then sat down on the goat’s skin laid in front of what looked like an altar.

Grace took her place before it and started lighting up the candles that brought light to the forsaken place. I may have kept her by my side for fewer reasons, but this place made chills run down my spine.

“So you knew?” I furrowed my brows at her, causing a small smirk to curl on the corner of her lips.

“I did.” She said plainly before blowing a puff of breath onto the match stick, causing the small flame to die instantly and smoke to furl.

I glared harder at her, hoping she would explain further what the hell she meant by that.

“The prophecy said I had to find the Giborim.”

“Correct.” She deadpanned while picking a small wooden bowl and began mixing whatever green shit was in there.

“But it didn’t mention anything about the Giborim being wolfless, and my mate.” Had I known, I wouldn’t have been so rattled out of my mind and gone crazy over the simple fact that I was tied to her by the mate bond.

“Your destinies are intertwined, Alpha Hawk. And yes, we all know you don’t really fan the idea of having a mate, but you and Eden are the two sides of one coin. Eden is the other. Unless you want her to fall into the wrong hands and bring doom to your pack, your land, and your people, I suggest you start thinking of your actions.” She looked me straight in the eye while saying this, and a low growl rippled from my throat.

I was expecting her to burst out laughing and claim it was a joke. But she didn’t. Instead, she continued stirring whatever was in the bowl while ignoring my existence.

“Maybe you got your theory mixed. Maybe the mate part belonged to someone else’s future and not mine. Or else you would have told me.” That made sense right?

I mean that was the only plausible explanation.

“Listen here, Riftan. The reason why I decided to stay at your pack and do your bidding was because of the Giborim. Nothing else. Should the world know of her existence, then we are dead. All of us. But if you do you play your cards right, and do what is expected of you, then we will all live for centuries without the past repeating itself.”

~~~

EDEN POV

The evening came to with the whole pack hous-, I meant to say pack castle- bustling. Everyone was up and about with the news of the arrival of their soon-to-be Luna, and their curiosity was burning the stone walls thin. it was impossible to try to sit down and just exist without hearing murmurs and whispers from every open crack of the room I was shown to.

Wolfless or not, I still had the strong senses of any other werewolf (probably because I had a wolf, it's just that it was shy and refused to come out), and it gutted me to hear the scorns and grim disapproval in their words.

I get that they were expecting a Luna from their pack, or any other strong pack, not some bargained grain that was exchanged for strong warriors of Blood Moon. Some of those people out there lost a husband, a brother, a son... All because some weak pack from the north needed saving. And in exchange, they got a wolfless Luna totally unworthy of their ever-mighty alpha.

And that wasn't all. The whole evening, not even once did Riftan stop by to check how I was doing, or if I'd settled in nice and well.

I wanted to believe that the major part of it was because I forced his hand into agreeing to the whole thing, but still, he was being a jerk-arse, and for no apparent reason at that.

And I wasn't going to take part in his twisted vendetta.

But sitting in an empty guest bathroom, alone with nothing but my thoughts to accompany me, I found myself wishing I had taken him up on the offer.

I'd be back in Crescent Island where I was accepted, cherished...loved! Despite all of my shortcomings.

Not here where I was clearly an unwanted guest.

And all of that wasn't even the rest of my worries.

My mind was scattered on the floor with all sorts of questions. For all I knew, every pack had its own traditions, rules, and little laws that governed the whole pack. And here, I wasn’t even sure where to start, what to do, or which step to take, seeing how everyone lived together in a giant castle. I kind of feel like I needed a manual of sorts or an instruction book that would fill me in on the do’s and don’ts of the whole pack.

I mean, did they eat together? Or did everyone fend for themselves?

Back in the Crescent Island pack, we only gathered to eat together on special occasions. And instead of a giant arsed castle, we lived in small houses - 3 bedrooms -, while the alpha’s house was a nice double-story with 6 bedrooms. And that was it.

All the extravagance, well, we didn't see the need for it.

"Eden?" a familiar voice called out from behind the white door.

"You can come in, Serena," I responded blowing the white foam off my hands, then raised my leg from beneath the water and scrubbed it clean.

The door was pushed open, and in came Serena in her usual black skirt and white shirt, coupled with black shiny ballerinas and a tight bun. At 38, she served a good ‘mom for all’ look and I couldn’t even imagine her wearing anything but.

That was her signature look.

“The dinner is about to commence. We need to get you dressed up.” Her eyes lingered on my half-emerged body before fixating on my eyes.

“And you need to stop your obsession with bubbles. We aren’t in Crescent Island Pack anymore.” She scowled with a playful glee in her voice, but my mind was too occupied to even register the words she said.

“Serena…” I commenced, and the mood shifted from playful to tense. “How does it feel to be rejected by your mate?” The words fled my mouth way quicker than I expected, and trepidation leaked inside of me.

I chanced a glance at her to a soured expression on her beautiful face.

“Ser, I didn’t….”

“It’s okay, you know. We can talk about that. Besides…” She closed the small gap between the door and the tub, then stretched her hand out.

I stared at it before grasping it firmly and using it to pull myself up into the standing position.

“It’s been 20 years. I have long moved from that.” Maybe she was trying to convince herself, but I could make out a tinge of sadness in her voice. She may accepted what had happened, but the pain of it all was still etched deep inside of her, and anyone with a heart to care and eyes to see would notice that.

“We don’t have to talk about it if you…”

“Don’t be silly.” She swatted my arm and walked to the side wall where a stack of white towels was folded neatly.

“ I am serious, Serena. I don’t want to open old wounds.” I insisted, hoping we would forget what I had said. We were both ready and miserable enough, and there was really no need to bring u[p about the old ghosts that would only drive the knife deeper.

“Eden, they ARE old wounds. And that there makes it okay to talk about it.” She returned to hand me the towel, a gentle smile on her face.

A defeated sigh escaped me as I wrapped my naked body with it, then stepped out of the tub and out of the bathroom. She came walking behind me and started working on the black suit bag that lay sprawled on the bed.

“Who brought that?” I was compelled to ask, considering I didn't hear anyone knock while I was bathing.

"The Alpha himself," Serena responded without looking up and unzipping the bag. She struggled with it before pulling out a black sequinned dress that had to reach my upper thigh with an asymmetric neckline.

"That's pretty" I commented from where I stood, creaming my body.

"It is nice. Maybe he's not such an arse," she added up causing a small smile on my lips.

"Or maybe, he thought I needed something sparkly and short to try to blend in with the rest of his blonde bambolinas. And that would make him a world's world-class a-hole." Serena discarded the small black box in her hands and threw her head back with laughter. The rich, homey sound boomed around the walls, forcing my smile to broaden.

"Careful there. These walls have ears. And they can talk too." I made a zip-up motion across my mouth, causing her to shake in disbelief.

She took the box and opened it, then blew out a whistle before looking at me through his lashes.

"What is it?" my curiosity spiked, and I walked to where she stood by the bed. Peeking from her shoulder, my eyes widened at the sight of finely cut diamonds molded into two tear-drop earnings

"You think they are real?" the words came out clipped, something resembling shock solidified and settling right in my throat.

"I may not know Alpha Hawk well, but I bet he wouldn't lift his Luna and mate fake diamonds." she tilted the box, causing the precious stones to glisten under the assault of light fluorescence.

"I don't see why he'd gift his soon-to-be rejected mate real diamonds," I argued, and the both of us snorted a good laugh.

"Or maybe he won't reject you"