CHAPTER FOUR

I wake up to the sound of my door unlocking and being pushed open. I instantly sit up and realize the sun is setting, but I don’t dwell on it as my eyes train on the door as it opens to reveal Richfield walking in with a tray holding what I presume to be food. I watch as he balances the tray on one hand, and with the other flips the switch to flood the room with light. his rough and muscular features give an indication of the powerful experienced and well-trained enforcer he is, but beneath his rough exterior, he is a kind man who loves his family despite their many flaws. The only person who’s ever shown me any kindness or even come to my defence in this entire pack. I think originally, I’m supposed to call him dad, but after his wife vehemently refused to have any of that, there was no choice but to call them by their names; Richfield, Helena and Penelope, Oh and Mars, the girl they had to take in but don’t want. That’s the entire family.

“You’re awake.” He says as he walks in and sets the food down on the bed beside me.

“You woke me up.”

“Oh, I see. Sorry about that, but you need to eat. Helena said you hadn’t come downstairs all day, so you haven’t eaten, so I thought to bring you supper. You’ll need all the energy you can get, and it’s not just sleep, but also food.” I’ve already eaten, but he doesn’t need to know that, especially with my stomach suddenly growling as though I haven’t eaten all day. I just nod and pull the tray close to me and uncover it to find a hot plate of meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans, the generous serving make me look up at him questionably, not that I’m starved or anything, but why the extra?

“You need to eat a lot, and you haven’t eaten all day, that’s why.” I nod again.

“Thank you.” I say genuinely and dig in. The food is delicious and I soon clear my plate while he goes through my drawing pad silently.

“You’re done, that’s good.” I lean back on the bed and look at him, the fact that he is lingering means that he wants to say something. And I’m just waiting for him to get on with it and leave me to curl up and sleep again. “So, do you have any plans for tomorrow?”

“No, there’s no need to make any plans. It’s virtually a normal day except when the moon rises at night, I’ll shift. That’s all there is to do.”

“You don’t seem too excited for your birthday.”

“I thought you’d be excited to shift and meet your mate, I thought you’d be happy just because it’s your birthday, even. So why aren’t you more excited about it?”

“There’s nothing to be excited about Richfield, it’s just another day.” He sighs.

“Okay, okay fine. It’s your day, so you have the right to celebrate it as you see fit. I just...I just wanted to know how you were feeling, about the...about everything tomorrow. I know that I was scared when I was about to have my first shift, it’s the same for almost everyone I know, so if you want to talk about it, I’m here. I’ll be there tomorrow as will everyone, but if you need to talk about it, I’m here. And if you find your mate tomorrow, he will be there as well, I guess that could make you feel much better...”

“Unless he’s one of the people who had dedicated his life to make mine hell.” He is suddenly quiet, knowing that my words are true.

“Mars, I...”

“Whether I find my mate or not, once I shift, I’ll move out of your house or leave the pack completely. There’s no need for me to be here when I’m a full shifter, yes?” he doesn’t answer, he just looks guilty. Of course, that’s what he came to tell me, they want me gone, at least I’m sure his wife and daughter do, and they just heaped coals of pressure on him till he cracked and he’s come to give me the “bad news”. “Thank you though, you’ve been kind to me, and you’ve helped me when no one else would, so no matter what happens, thank you. I’m grateful.” He smiles at me, but it’s a sad smile.

“I wish I could have done than more for you, and I’m sorry I couldn’t do more for you.”

“Yeah,” that’s all I can say, because what else is there for me to say? He really could have done more, because even though he has treated me better than everyone else, he still allowed his wife and daughter and anyone higher than him, sometimes even just the masses, to push him into being less than kind or open or even fatherly with me. So yeah, he really could have done more, much more. We sat in an awkward silence, and when it seemed he couldn’t take it anymore? He cleared his throat and got up from where he was sitting next to me on the bed, taking the tray and dishes along with him.

“You can still stay until after the claiming ceremony. I mean that’s the turning point of everything, and then you’re free to leave with your mate or...or do whatever you want...they kind of are pack laws anyway.” I guess he’s right. Thats’s the reasonable thing to do, so that’s what I tell him I’ll do, but maybe, just maybe it’s not what I’ll do. He seems satisfied with my answer though, so starts to leave.

“I’ll just...I’ll leave you to rest now, and I’ll be sure to see you in the morning. Have a good night, Mars.” I nod in acknowledgement, and he walks out and leaves me alone once again.

I grab my drawing pad and open it to my unfinished painting and sigh. This day just keeps dropping from bad to worse, and at this rate, I don’t even want to think about anything that could happen tomorrow, because it could be a whole can of ugly worms that I don’t want to see at all. If only I could sleep the day away tomorrow just to avoid it, but even I know that’s not possible, so I trade my shorts for joggers and pull on some sneakers, then I go to the window of my room and thank God for the oak tree standing proudly behind my window with some of its branches extending towards my room. I hold my hair up in a pencil bun, hold my drawing pad between my lips and bite down on it just for extra security and then climb out of the window and onto the branches, then climb down from there. I quite remember Richfield telling me, the first day I got here and I was given this room, that this room would have been Penelope’s, but she didn’t like the tree right outside her window and so wanted a different room, she got what she wanted, and I got what I wanted too, because when she decided later on, that she wanted a tree house from that same tree; my tree, I put my little six year old foot down and said no, and it was a battle, but a battle I won because Richfield stood behind me on that one, and Helena didn’t want the hassle of a tree house that will be forgotten sooner or later. I smile in nostalgia as I walk across the lawn with my drawing pad now in my hand, and make my way towards the forest trees.

Ever since I was taken to the river where I was found as a baby, I’ve always found solace there, going back time and time again, and tonight is no different. After the long walk, I find myself surrounded by familiar thickets and trees, and despite the chill of the night air, I feel a warmth that only this place seems to bring. I walk the familiar path until I’m soon faced by my river, its surrounding trees and the moonlight shining so bright you’d think it’s daytime. I settle down at the river bank, pull out my pencil from my hair and get to work finishing my willow tree.

I work at it for hours until it’s near perfect, then I yawn and stretch, ready to get up and head back to the house when I feel a shift in the air. Something prickles under my skin and my heart races. I look around and find I’m alone, but I can feel eyes on me, I know I’m not alone. And whoever it is, they mean something, something important...or something dangerous. I go on high alert and spin around trying to find who’s there. Despite my alarm though, a foreign feeling in my chest finds comfort and a sense of rightness in this unknown presence and I honestly don’t like it.

My nerve endings all seem to come alive and tingle when someone steps through the shadows and into the moonlight and I’m soon facing King. I see him and want nothing more than to run into his arms and stay there. I don’t like the distance between us and want it gone as my legs move on their own accord towards him. I don’t see anything but him, and I definitely don’t want anything but him. He’s mine and I want him now. My long and purposeful strides eat up the distance quickly as I can’t get to him fast enough, but as I get close to him, close enough to get a whiff of his heavenly woodsy scent, he rears back away from me, and it hurts. Something twists in my chest painfully and I look up at him with what I’m sure are hurt eyes. But it’s in that moment that my mind catches up with all these foreign and overwhelming emotions and horror overtakes my features, horror that mirrors his own.

“Y-you’re my mate.” The words said by me are naturally supposed to be uttered in excitement, but coming from me, it sounds like an unexpected death sentence, and rightly so.

“Fuck! Shit! This can’t...it’s not possible!” King tugs on his hair in frustration and begins to pace and mutter to himself.

“You knew? You knew all this time and didn’t think to say anything?” at my accusation, he glares at me.

“I knew?! If I fucking knew this shit would have happened, I won’t be dating your sister in the first place!” he yells at me and that thing in my chest twists again but I swallow it down and yell at him too.

“She’s not my freaking sister! She’s nothing to me!” he pauses at my outburst, running a hand down his face and taking a breath.

“Okay, I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you, I’m just...it’s just so much right now.”

“I know, I understand.” I sit back down but he keeps standing.

“How is this even possible? I mean...I know it’s possible, I just didn’t think it would be you.”

“Well, we have Aria to thank for that, no wonder she was apologizing to me. But my birthday is tomorrow, not today...so how come I... we...” I trail off not knowing how to complete that sentence.

“It’s almost one in the morning, so it is your birthday.” He sits beside me on the grass. “Happy birthday, Mars. I’m sorry it’s starting like this and will probably go downhill from here, but happy birthday either way.” I smile at him.

“Thanks, and yeah, it is going to go downhill from here. I’m sure of that.” We sit in silence for sometime and just try to make sense of the whole situation. A few minutes in, he picks up my drawing pad from the floor and starts flipping through it.

“Is it just me or do you draw trees more than anything else?” I chuckle and take the pad from him.

“I do, sue me.” He laughs and lays back on the grass.

“This is crazy, and it’s only going to get crazier because...”

“We can hide it for the mean time, no one will have to know.” I cut him off with what I think will be the perfect temporary solution while we wrap our heads around it.

“It doesn’t work that way, Mars. When you shift tonight, everyone will know because your wolf will come to me.” He turns to face me from where he is laying back on the grass, and there’s no denying that King is handsome, really handsome. From his straight brown hair to his light brown eyes in the moonlight is just bad for my heart, and his lips, they make me want to lean down and kiss him, but...logically, we’re not ready for that. And years of playing soccer plus his shifter genes has done wonders for his physique, drool worthy wonders. He looks just like the golden boys in all those high school romance movies that Penelope seems to be obsessed with. Well technically, he is the school and pack’s golden boy, so looking the part is just a bonus for him.

“But you can maybe not come there. Stay in your room or something, or I don’t know, go to a different pack today, we have all day. The shift will happen tonight under the moon, so you have enough time to...”

“That’s not possible and you know it. I have no reason to be away from the pack today and unannounced. That will be suspicious, and you’re underestimating the power of a bond. How do you think I was able to find you tonight, huh?”

“This is a nightmare.” I groan and lay back on the grass beside him. “What are we going to do?”

“Maybe we should stop fretting and let things play out. No one is going to take this easily, especially not Penn. And I’d much rather have a few moments of peace before shit hits the fan later today.” I agree with him, because that sounds much better than fretting now and fretting later as well. We lay side by side and stare up into the sky because staring at each other when we’re this close and alone doesn’t seem like the best option we have right now, no need to get too close now when everything’s still so overwhelming.

“Why d’you think Aria paired us up?” I ask and he turns to look at me, but my eyes are still dedicated to the sky.

“Aria? Who’s that?”

“The moon goddess, who else? Unless she gives everyone a different name when she meets them.”

“The moon goddess?” I roll my eyes at his confused tone.

“Yes, the moon goddess. She doesn’t talk to only you alphas, you know. She talks to everybody including the reject.” He sits up and my eyes follow his movement in confusion.

“Mars, what are you talking about? The moon goddess, is a goddess. She doesn’t talk to anyone anywhere no matter their position.” I go to call him out on it, but his expression and serious tone make me pause.

“No, that’s not true. Aria talks to everyone. She was in my room today...sorry, yesterday. And we’ve been talking for as long as I can remember. She talks to me and she talks to everyone as well. The moon goddess talks to us. She has an annoying habit of just showing up and disappearing when she pleases, always dressed in white, shiny black hair, really gorgeous looking woman who shouldn’t look so young considering she’s older that any wolf shifter to ever exist.” I go on and on hoping to jog his memory or something. But I know he’s speaking the truth from the way he looks at me, not like I’m crazy, but like this is all so new to him.

“Mars...”

“But...but what if she talks to everyone else but maybe not you?” he scoffs

“I have friends, I have a girlfriend, my parents...you think I wouldn’t now if she’s talking to everyone else?” I sit up too, panicked. “Mars...”

“I’m not crazy, I promise. I really speak to her, all the time. I... I don’t know how to prove it to you, but I do, I always have, I...” he cuts off my rant.

“I believe you. If you say you talk to the moon goddess, Aria. I believe you, but maybe we should make sure that it’s really her, can we do that?”

I gulp, not believing that he believes me. For all I know, he’s going to leave me here and go and tell the rest of the pack how crazy I am. I break into a cold sweat. Looks like shit might hit the fan much sooner than expected.