We lay on Ethan's bed, face to face, within touching distance but not touching. It looked like neither of us had any plans of going to sleep at night because even though we had "gone to bed", we hadn't slept yet.
I hadn't given much thought about accepting Ethan's offer about sleeping, I had just placed my hand into his, and low-key I was glad I did. A week ago, I definitely wouldn't have felt comfortable lying with another man in his bed but I didn't feel uncomfortable or strange right now.
It didn't feel the same as lying with Harper, it just felt different. A very good difference.
"So, why did you punch Adam when you met him the first time?" I asked and laughed as I mentally pictured him punching Adam.
He laughed with me and casually ran his hand through his messy bed hair. "After I came to know that rogues were involved in my mate's disappearance, my hate for them grew. I couldn't handle being with them at first. So, when I was introduced to Adam at a random college party by a friend, I grew furious. He instantly knew that I was a wolf too. He hadn't found Emily then. Anyway, in my misplaced rage, I punched him."
I eyed him as he told me about their past. It was weird how good friends they were now. "It's ironical, though. You became the very thing you hated, a rogue."
"Yeah, I know." He chuckled and looked into my eyes.
"How did you become friends then?" I hastily asked, afraid and uneasy because of the possible growing tension between us.
"Well, we kept running into each other at different places and I thought it wasn't wise to punch every time I saw him. So, we called a truce. Then he found your sister and moved into this apartment. We started running into each other more and we gradually became friends. Though, it wasn't until I told him that Emily could mark him too that we became the best of buds."
I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion because I remembered I meant to ask how a human mate marks a werewolf. No one in Harper's pack had mentioned any such thing and I thought it was impossible to do so. "I thought a human couldn't mark his/her werewolf mate?" This was the first time I had seen something like this.
"Yeah, it's not something everyone knows but when marking is done by both the mates, the mate bond becomes stronger and reliable."
"How is it even possible? I mean, werewolves have sharp canines, which explains how they'll be able to pierce human skin but humans don't have that."
Ethan chuckled. "If the werewolf mate marks their human mate on a full moon night, then for the next seven full moon nights, the human mate can get the ability to mark their werewolf counterpart. To get this ability, the werewolf mate has to bite and pierce their mark on the human mate in the middle of mating, which leads to the elongation of the human mate temporarily. These elongated canines last for several hours and are magical. They can only be changed once in a lifetime and the human can then mark their werewolf mate."
Wow, this was too much information. How had I never heard of it? Did Harper not know about this? Otherwise, I’m sure he would have told me because who wouldn't want to be marked by their mate in return?
"How do you know all this stuff? I mean, I don't think my friends even know about this." I stated as I took in the information he had just spewed out. I subconsciously stored it in some part of my brain where I knew I would be able to access it at some later date.
Ethan looked away for a minute as if he was recollecting some thoughts. "I told you that I was going to be the alpha of the Domi Hills pack, right?" I nodded, I remembered him telling me that.
"See, I don't know if you know this but there are special wolves on each of the six hospitable continents. They are believed to be the direct descendants of the moon goddess, which explains why their fur is completely white."
My eyes widened in surprise. He was talking about white wolves. I just didn't know the white wolves; I was mated to one of them but he didn't know that yet. I didn't interrupt him though, eager for all the information he was giving me.
He must have taken my surprise another way because he just laughed. "In ancient times, the white wolves were crowned kings of the continents and ruled over very large stretches of lands and their most trustworthy companions were their scroll keepers. These scroll keepers were magical in their way because they not only were in charge of the royal library but also retained a large amount of information about magic and nature. They were like these huge bodies of knowledge and they knew almost everything and could retain any information in their mind they deemed was necessary. They also acted as the king's advisors and were their closest companions. Slowly, the idea of kingdoms became outdated and people revolted to have more freedom. This change was inevitable because there couldn't be kings still when the humans were forming their government. So, anyway, the white wolves decided to resolve the kingdoms and monarchy and established packs, with the hierarchy that we see today, with the condition that all the other packs would report back to the white alphas, thus indirectly making them alphas of alphas. When the white alphas set up their packs, they ordered their scroll keepers to go to the farthest land possible and set up their packs, so that the alphas could still see over their subjects. All the werewolves worshipped the white alphas and obeyed all the rules set by them. Over time, the descendants of the white alphas lost contact with the descendants of the scroll keepers. So, centuries later, the white alphas are still considered as the alphas of alphas while the packs of scroll keepers faded away in legend."
The white wolves and the scroll keepers? Wow! This seemed like some ancient legend or something. It was really interesting to know about the history of the werewolves like this. I looked at Ethan as he started to speak again.
"I come from the pack of the scroll keepers." He paused as if waiting to let that sink in. "As the first-born son, I am the legendary scroll keeper to the present white alpha of this continent, who must have taken over his alpha position by now."
I gulped uneasily. He was talking about the white wolf on this continent, which meant that he was talking about Harper. I didn't tell him that, though, I was going to let him speak now and going to tell him everything later.
"So, anyway I have all the ancient knowledge that the normal werewolves don't have about rituals and terms which have long been forgotten. I would have regained my full potential as the scroll keeper if I had taken over the position as the alpha of my pack but that didn't happen."
I knew which circumstances he was talking about, the depressing death of this mate, which led him to leave the pack and move across the country.
"The firstborn of the scroll keepers always take an oath, which demands to always help the current white wolf of our time, if he ever needs help. To this day, we still believe the white wolves to be our superiors, like every other pack, and live to serve them. I need not be the alpha of my pack to stay true to my oath."
I eyed him carefully and processed all the information he gave me. I gasped as a revelation shook me. "You coming here wasn't a coincidence, wasn't it?"
Ethan looked surprised for a minute as if he didn't expect this question. I was a little surprised because I didn't expect myself to deduce this from everything that he had told me.
"No, I didn't come to this part of the country on a whim, Zara. I came here because this was the closest, I could get to the pack of the white wolf, without being murdered for being a rogue. I had a feeling I would be needed to come good on my oath, so I came here."
My breathing grew shallow for a few minutes as I finally understood what he meant. He believed that something big would happen which would lead him to stay true to his oath. Was something big coming? Was Harper in danger?
I opened my mouth to say something but before I could utter a single word, Ethan, who had been eyeing me cautiously spoke. "You know the white wolves, don't you?"
"Yes", I whispered. I had no idea if I could trust Ethan to tell him that I was mated to Harper, the white wolf of his time, to whom he had sworn to serve, as he says. Everything he could have told me could be complete bullshit and I wouldn't even know where I could double-check it. So, instead, I told him what I could, keeping the whole truth from him. "I live there. My family lives there."
"Oh!" Ethan said, breaking the intense eye contact with me, and looked around his dorm room before sighing.
"Ethan, can I ask you something?" I asked tentatively.
His eyes softened as he looked at me and nodded gently.
"I told you I came here because I had a nightmare, right?" I asked as the images of my horrible nightmare flashed behind my eyes.
He nodded again, sensing the change in my mood. "I don't ever want to feel that way. That helpless." I choked and even though I thought I was done with crying for the night, a tear slid down my cheek.
Ethan pulled me close to him and put his arms around me. I put my head on his chest and cried silently. His hand went up and down my back to calm me down and I had no idea why I had become so emotional all of a sudden.
I leaned back a little to look Ethan in his eyes and said what I wanted to say to him all along. "Promise me you'll teach me how to fight. I need to learn because I never want to feel that way again."
Ethan held me right in his arms. "I will help you. I promise." He knew how I felt, he knew that I wouldn't feel comfortable anywhere if I didn't have the confidence that I was safe. I couldn't possibly have someone attached to me at all times so needed to learn how to fight if I wanted the guts to walk down the road by myself.
And maybe, these skills would come in handy some other way too.
I groaned internally as I recalled the sensations I had experienced moments ago, the feeling of falling and floating at the same time, not being able to feel anything, and finally the soft texture of the grass underneath my skin.I knew where I was and I knew who I was going to meet but the catch was that I had not wanted to meet this person, if you could even call it that, since the last time I saw her.I had no idea what kick she gets by calling me into her magical land again and again but I wanted these unexplained and frustrating visits to stop once and for all. Was that so hard for her to understand? I thought I made it clear the last time we met. I thought she must have got the memo by now.I laid down on my back and waited for this dream to pass. I closed my eyes and focused on waking up because I didn't want to stay in this fantasy land for another minute."Hello, Zara! Long time no see." A soothing voice reached my ears and I groaned out loud. I wasn't going to hide my annoy
~ Harper’s POV ~I frowned at the map laid out in front of me. The map depicted the large area of this pack, with the boundary highlighted and various important landmarks marked with an appropriate color. This map was the most updated version of our pack grounds and was made by a skilled cartographer who had been richly awarded for his efforts.Dad had called a meeting with the high-ranked wolves and some of his most trustworthy fighters. The room was filled with fifteen people, my parents, the old and new beta couple and the rest were fierce and loyal warriors.This meeting was called due to the alarming presence of the group of rogues who had murdered Elijah, left a creepy note, and attacked me. One of the wolves had detected the presence of rogues near the southwest border which caused an uneasiness in the rest of the pack.It was confirmed after investigation that there were indeed rogues sniffing around in that area. We had detected so many different smells which didn't belong to
~ Harper’s POV ~ It has been a week since Katelyn was delivered and everyone has settled into a routine after the shock and pleasure subsided.Mom suffered through severe blood loss during the C-section so she hasn't yet been discharged from the hospital. Dad took up the responsibility of taking care of his mate, staying in the hospital, making sure she was taking her meds and not surprising us by coding or something. You could easily see that he wasn't satisfied or relieved even when the doctors told him that she was finally out of the woods three days ago. He has been vigilant in taking care of his mate and I couldn't be prouder and understanding for him. Seeing his mate like that, bleeding profusely, clutching her pregnant belly must have been traumatizing for him. If it had been Zara, I don't know what I would have done, or how lost I would have felt. These days, I feel my thoughts running back to her more and more and they feel like a welcome distraction because, in the absence
~ Harper’s POV ~I checked out my red polo shirt, paired with black jeans and black combat boots. I had dressed somewhat similarly to Aiden's birthday party, which felt like a really long time ago.So much has changed since then. I had dressed up that day, as cringe-worthy as those sounds, for Zara because I knew exactly how I needed to dress up to turn her on. I loved how she made moony eyes at me whenever I was dressed up like this but her favorite color on me was black. Now, I was getting dressed up for the celebratory party for my sister's birth. I honestly never thought I would be a big brother ever, and I was sure neither did my parents. Katelyn was a miracle bestowed upon us by the moon goddess and I was forever thankful to her for that.Then, I was madly in love with Zara. At least, that hasn't changed yet and I didn't think it could ever change. She was with me then but she wasn't with me now. Now I had a very pregnant baby mama, a newly mated best friend and beta couple, a
~ Harper’s POV ~A sharp pain was slicing my hear and my wolf whimpered as he took in the blood-soaked body of our dad, with an arrow lodged in the junction of his neck and shoulder.I didn't want to imagine the kind of pain my mom must be feeling right now, considering mates could feel each other's pain. I clenched my eyes for a second to dissolve the world around me. I didn't want panic to overwhelm me, I needed to be in my wits because I would rather die than make my mom mate less and leave my newborn sister without a father.Gathering my wits, I quickly shifted back into my human form. I covered the remaining distance between me and my father's wolf and crouched down to take a look at me.My wolf whimpered again as I saw the condition of his wolf and I clenched my fists to stop from having a breakdown. Pack protocol stated that immediately after every attack, the non-wounded men and women would look after the wounded wolves left on the battlefield. So, I knew there would still be
It has been two weeks since I saw the moon goddess in my sleep and told me that she told me that the sacred race of white wolves was going to finally end, that the reproductive problems they were having with their mates were a result of a carefully put-together plan of slowing them down. It has also been two weeks since I have analyzed and over-analyzed everything she had told me. She had indirectly told me that Harper getting Natalie pregnant was part of a bigger plan, something which I wouldn't be able to comprehend. But instead of satisfying me, she had just left me with more questions. Honestly, I wasn't even surprised at this point. She always did that and it didn't matter to her that I found it frustrating or confusing.I just wanted to what Harper getting pregnant meant. Was she just a means to an end? Was she just acting as a surrogate so the pack could have an alpha after Harper, so the alpha line could continue? Or was she much more than that?Did Harper have sex with her
"His name is Harper," I whispered, my eyes glued to the roof of the gym. My clothes were wet from the heavy workout session and were sticking to my skin. It was very uncomfortable and my nerves were somewhat frazzled because of our make-out session a few minutes ago. "What?" Ethan enquired, turning his head to look at me.I felt his eyes boring into the side of my skull but I didn't have the strength to look into Ethan's eyes and tell him something I ought to have told him a long time ago.Silence enveloped us and I fought the tension inside my body. Was it right to talk about Harper? How much should I tell him? Should I tell him that my mate is the white wolf? If I told him everything, would it also change the way he saw me?"Harper is your mate." He confirmed and I nodded, still not turning to look at him."Our relationship has always been rocky from the start. I think it was bound to fail." I sadly chuckled, missing Harper and Sharing the feeling of missing him at the same time."
Ethan's words kept rolling in my head every time my brain was free to actively think about something. I was going crazy about all the arguments I was having with myself in my head.It had been two days since I had told Ethan the selective truth about Harper while lying on a gym mat. Not the best of places, but still, it was better than nothing. These past two days I have been busy writing am essay which was due to be submitted today. Granted the teacher had assigned this essay three weeks ago but I had just gotten around to doing it. All this drama had started affecting my academic life and I hated it. I had always kept my grades up because I knew it was one of the many ways, I could be independent and take care of myself in the way I wanted to do. I have always had ambitions and boy trouble was the last thing I would let get into the way of that. I had already shifted schools mid-year; I wasn't about to ignore my studies.It was time I set my priorities straight and the number one
Bonus Chapter: Natalie's POVI knew something was wrong when I didn't get my period for two months. I never had a smooth cycle so I wasn't troubled when they didn't happen the first time but their absence in the second consecutive month got me worried. My body had undergone certain changes I knew weren't normal and I was worrying myself to death, thinking about some kind of deadly disease that would kill me in a few months. Even though I knew that my immunity system was way better than a normal human's, I couldn't help but entertain such thoughts. I didn't tell anyone of my concerns as I didn't want anyone to worry because of my baseless concerns. Nonetheless, I booked the first possible appointment with the pack gynaecologist. I had prepared myself for everything, a tumour in my ovary, internal hemorrhaging of my uterus that would result in an immediate hysterectomy, or even breast cancer which would again lead to a complete mammectomy. But as I sat in front of the doctor and she ex
Bonus Chapter: Ethan's POVWhen you grow up as a werewolf, all you ever hear is the word 'mate', because people around you can't stop talking about them. Some elders talk about mates with a dazed but happy look in their eyes and you can easily tell how much they love their mates. When young people talked to mates, you could practically feel their longing and the love they had for their mates. When teenagers talk about mates, you can feel their desperation to find their mates and be one with them. Rejections in my pack were extremely rare and every werewolf lived happily ever after with their fated mates. There were no doubts, no questions asked because your mate could be the exact fit of your soul, your second half, and the one who you are supposed to live as long as you live. Growing up and watching my parents and pack members, this is all I had watched and learned, that a mate was for you to love, hold and protect till the end of your days. When you're brought up like that, the ide
EPILOGUE 3: HARPER'S POV (TEN YEARS LATER)It was three years ago when Mason was first teased by a classmate about the unusual arrangement of his parents. I had always known that as he was growing up, he became especially attuned to the fact that the way his family lived wasn't exactly normal by usual standards. There were so many unusual factors that they were bound to seem different to him and I wasn't exactly prepared for how Mason was coping with how different his family seemed to be from any other family in the pack. As the future alpha, it was essential to be a part of the pack because other people were often intimidated by the power you had and by the power you would have in the future. My father always taught me to be a part of the pack but always remember that you could never essentially be a part of the pack. And this is exactly what I had taught Mason to do; I had asked him to play with all the other wolf kids but always remember that in the future, he will be responsible
Epilogue 2: Zara's POVI could feel everyone's eyes on me, which instantly made me nervous. I hated feeling this way but I wasn't sure I could help it. I hated being the centre of attention and walking down an aisle and standing in front of all the pack members to take part in the Luna ceremony was exactly that, being the centre of attention. Harper had told me that since I was the true luna of the pack, the ceremony would be a little different and I wasn't sure how that would affect me as I hadn't exactly attended Natalie's ceremony. I weakly smiled at all the pack members assembled in the pack grounds and started walking down the aisle towards the raised stage at the front of the pack. I was barefoot to pay homage to the natural aspect of the pack and to respect the raw nature of the wolves. The grass was soft beneath my feet and I immediately compared the softness to the grass in the spirit world where I used to meet the moon goddess. Harper had instructed me to not look around an
Epilogue: Zara's POVA blush immediately coated my cheeks as I slowly woke up from my deep slumber. The bed felt too cosy and I couldn't help but snuggle against Harper's body. His amazing body heat and the tingles that danced all over my skin whenever we touched made me let out a deep, sleepy moan. I felt Harper stir beside me and felt his arm settle on my bare hip, eliciting a heady warmth to settle deep in my belly. His thumb gently caressed my hip bone and I moved closer to him, determined to have as much skin contact as possible and leave no space between us. Harper's scent surrounded me, which brought an involuntary sleepy smile to my face. Even with my eyes closed, I could picture Harper's slightly upturned nose as he slept. It was too hard to resist his adorable expressions so most of the time, I didn't even try. My head rested on his shoulder and my face settled in the crook of his neck. Without needing to open my eyes, I leaned forward and planted an open-mouthed kiss on Ha
I thought about it for so many months, because the act of being marked by Harper seemed final. It felt like a full stop and in a way, it was final, an end. I knew the meaning of being marked even before I had decided to go away when I had learned of Natalie's pregnancy. I had asked him to mark me so many months ago and he had refused. It seemed so long ago, Aiden's birthday party when he found out that Samantha was his mate. So much has happened since then, things that have made me value the most precious things in life, let go of grudges, and the importance of relationships. After all, I have been through, I believe I have grown as a person. Not just me either, I know that all of us, Harper, Natalie, Samantha, and Aiden have grown up and matured in a way that most eighteen-year-olds don't. Well, Natalie is nineteen years old and so is Harper, as of today. So, I want to stress the fact that the decision to mate with Harper wasn't a light one even though I know most people wouldn't s
I think what the moon goddess said somehow helped me get over Ethan's death. I was still wrung and grieving about him for weeks, don't get me wrong but thinking about how must be at peace somehow made it easy to bear his loss. If I were to believe the goddess' words, Ethan wasn't happy in his life and was lost because he had no apparent purpose. I like to think that he got the release he so desperately wanted and needed. Even after knowing all this, I still couldn't cope with the fact that I won't be seeing him every day. He had been my source of comfort and strength for so long, he was someone I could lean on. He had begun to understand me in ways I'd never thought possible. And his absence felt left like a big void and I wasn't sure I could fill it. I didn't know if it was possible to fill it. When Harper told me that Ethan wouldn't be getting a funeral like the pack members because he was a rogue, I had been so infuriated. I knew that what Harper was saying was a part of who he w
~ Harper’s POV~"You do realize that to break the bond between us, either one of us will have to complete the mating process and mark our mates," I remarked and watched as Natalie nodded her head in acknowledgment. We had just gotten back after performing the final rites of the pack warriors who had lost their lives from the battle with the rogues. Needless to say, we needed some time to regain our bearings before we mingled with the rest of the world. I had done it before when my father was fighting for his life and I still found it jarring to my being, to perform the final rites of the werewolves who lose their lives. I couldn't imagine how Natalie must be feeling as it was her first time dealing with this ceremony. And hopefully, the last time. "I know," she said and we didn't speak for a few moments. I sincerely hoped that it would get easier with time, performing this ritual. It certainly hurt more when I knew that the pack members were paying for the mistakes my father committe
When I came to my senses, I immediately knew that Harper wasn't in the bed with me. I had lost consciousness when I was engulfed in his body heat, with his arms wrapped around me. The loss of his presence was so pronounced that I didn't want to open my eyes. It felt like he was the only reason I wasn't emotionally breaking down right now. A very big part of me wanted to be near him right now and the fact that he wasn't here with me disappointed me a lot. Even in my dreams, I had expected him to be here with me, helping me get over my loss. I wanted to never open my eyes and I was glad the room was shrouded in darkness. My neck prickled in awareness and I became aware of someone sitting in the room and even though, the threat of the rogues was over, I suddenly felt unsafe. "I know you are awake, Zara." I recognized that voice and the fear immediately abated. I opened my eyes and got up in a seating position. I leaned against the headboard and regarded the figure of the soft figure of