SIX

LIANI

  It was now just one day till the Royal Ball and I felt really weird. I’ve been having hot and cold flashes all day, my head is pounding and I have tremors all throughout my arms and legs. My mom said it could have something to do with my powers. But I thought that was weird as she said I wouldn’t get them till I met my mate. “I think we’ll meet him tomorrow,” Iris says. “Really?” I say excitedly. I’ve seen how my mom and dad were and the love that they have for each other. Even in death, it’s something that is unbreakable. I’ve always wanted that for myself. I wonder what my mate will be like. I thought to myself. 

“I hope he’s sexy!” Iris jokes. “And even if he isn't, it's who the moon goddess has blessed us with,” I say, smiling just thinking about my future mate. I spent the next 30 minutes getting ready as Sydney, Aella, Luna Alora, my mom and I are all going gown shopping for the Royal Ball tomorrow. We’re going to the mall that’s about 45 minutes out of town. I'm so excited but also nervous! I get to see new people and of course a new place, but with me feeling sick, I just don't want anything bad to happen.  

When we arrived at the mall I was shocked at how big it was. It was like I was a Martian experiencing Earth for the first time or something. I was the one that was having the hardest time finding a gown. My mom and Luna Alora found theirs quickly. Aella had tried on a few and it's between this purple and blue mermaid dress. Sydney had decided on this short pink halter dress with fur at the bottom. But, I haven't even narrowed it down to three dresses. I’ve never been one to have a huge fashion sense. I mean, I never left the pack lands. Everyone who saw me, saw me on my good days, bad days, days where I didn't brush my hair, and days where I decided I would look good in baggy jeans and a halter top. The only makeup I wore was lipgloss and mascara. I had those days when I watched makeup tutorials, but I always looked like a clown afterward so I gave up on makeup altogether. 

After about 30 more minutes of searching, I found this long halter dress. It was tan and it fit me like a glove. It hugged my body in all the right places and had a slit up the leg. It was a bit sheer but hid everything I didn't want anyone except my mate to see. The eagerness I felt while shopping in a foreign town was exhilarating. Until it wasn't. 

A lot of people stared at us while we shopped. At first, we all shrugged it off, but there was one particular guy who just gave me and everyone else the creeps. He often looked at me with disdain. As if I was an abomination and I could tell that he was a wolf. He was about six foot three with a strong muscular build, blonde hair, and green eyes with a scar right down his right eye. He would've been nicer to look at if his face wasn’t scrunched up in disgust. But aside from that look of disgust, I can see another emotion in his eyes. It was curiosity.  Every time we went into a different store, he was there, just lurking and observing. Iris was on edge and it became extremely nerve-wracking that he was there everywhere we turned. 

Aella and Sydney picked up on this too and were ready to go home. I think my mom and Luna Alora were tired from all the different stores we went to, so they were ready to go as well. When we were walking back to the car we heard someone yell “HEY!” We all turned around at once to see what the commotion was about just to find out that he was talking to us. “DON'T YOU EVER COME BACK HERE” he yelled. “What the hell?” Iris says. “Excuse me?” Luna Alora says. “YOU HEARD ME, LADY! YOU, YOUR FRIENDS, AND THAT THING” he says pointing at me. “DON'T EVER COME BACK HERE!” “Or what?” I ask. He spits at my feet. “You should’ve never been born,” he says. I can hear the hate in his voice. 

I  wince at his words but try not to let it show. A part of me felt bad that someone could hold this much hate in their heart for someone they didn’t even know. For a long time, I felt like something was wrong with me. Thinking back I was hidden from the world and not allowed to go anywhere. His words were hurtful. “If you come back over this way, you will not make it out,” he says before stomping away angrily. I feel myself letting out a breath that I didn't know I was holding in. Aella and Sydney grab both sides of my arms and try to reassure me that the man was just crazy and that he didn’t know me, but I knew that he knew that I was different. 

When we made it back home, I was exhausted. I couldn’t fathom even the smell of food as it made me want to throw up, so I went upstairs and went to sleep.

MAYA

 Jacoby appeared before me in his spirit form with a worried look on his face. “Is she going to be alright? Did you experience these symptoms when you were coming of age and when you met me?” he asks. “Breathe Jacoby,” I say. “Baby, I’m already dead. Nothing can happen to me. I’m just worried about our little girl.” He says. I wince at the fact that he really is dead and not ever coming back to me, but, I find it strange that he still stresses as he would if he was in his human form. 

 It's normal for a person’s soul to linger if they’re still stuck in the human realm. If they feel guilty or won't move on. But, Jacoby wasn’t stuck. He has made it clear that he’s seen the other side and that’s often where he watches us from, so why does it feel like he’s still tethered here? I can still feel his essence. I thought to myself. “She’s going to be fine,” I say. “She’s the first of her kind. There are a lot of things we don't know, but I know that I also experience some of those symptoms. Not to this degree, but I can feel that she’ll be alright. The sense of knowing I have- she going to be fine.” I say. 

 “Good,” Jacoby says. “Goddess, I can’t believe she’ll be twenty-one tomorrow,” I say sadly. “It pains me to know that soon she’ll find her mate and eventually have to leave the pack.” “How the hell do you know that her mate isn't here in the pack?” Jacoby says. Another thing I found strange. When Jacoby crossed over, I knew that he was in our soul family. He would have known who Liani’s mate was. I didn’t realize I was staring at his spirit until he says “what? Do I have something on my face?” I smile at him. “Goddess, why did you have to take him from me?”