I was floating and falling.
Not being able to feel anything.
Darkness.
The feeling of the softest grass under my body.
Walking to the cliff.
Finding the white woman on the edge of the cliff.
I walked closer to the moon goddess in a huff, irritated as to why I was here again. These meetings annoyed the hell out of me, mainly because I never got the chance to turn around and walk away. I just couldn't ignore the goddess and go on my merry way. So, these talks were forced and out of my control and I hated not being in control.
"Why am I here again?" I asked and crossed my arms across my chest.
The moon goddess raised her eyebrows at my attitude. "Is there a problem?"
"If you haven't figured that out yet, I don't even know what to say." I rolled my eyes and sat down on the damp grass.
"You don't want to meet me and pass along my messages, is that correct?"
"Of course, I don't. You pass your messages through me which forces me to stay in contact with Harper, while we are still on shaky grounds. And I can't just walk away when I could help the whole pack by just passing your information. It would make me extremely selfish and their deaths would be on me. I don't want that. So, even when I want to walk away, I can't. Literally and figuratively."
"I see."
Irritation bubbled up inside me at her calm and serene composure. "Why did you choose to come to me anyway? Wouldn't it be easier to just visit some werewolf in their dreams? At least they won't resist you like I do. They would obey your every command and listen to everything that you have to say. I think that would have been a much better option."
"You want to know why I chose you specifically to be my messenger and why I didn't just visit some wolf who would have been more compliant to my wishes?"
"Exactly."
She looked away from me and had a faraway look in her eyes. "Aiden is dying right now."
I immediately sprang up from my seat on the ground. "What?"
"He had a knife stuck in his thigh. He's bleeding out and he has inhaled a lot of wolfsbane which has hindered his Wolf's healing. So, he is dying. If he doesn't get immediate help in the next few minutes, he will bleed out. His pulse is already weak and fluttering."
"You're kidding?" I asked, stunned. Where did this come from? "Aiden is dying as we speak?"
She nodded. "The only person who can help him right now is Harper. The rogue who escaped hurt Aiden but left Harper unscathed. Harper is lying one foot away from Aiden, his body filled with wolfsbane but in a way better condition."
"Why are you telling me this? Let me go so I can help him. Aiden can't die. Samantha would be devastated." I held my head in my hands as visions of Aiden's body filled my head.
"You going back won't matter, Zara. You can't save him, only Harper can."
"Hello?" A distorted voice rang out and my head whipped around to see who it was. "Do any of you know how to get out of these woods?" Whenever I came here to meet the goddess, I had always been alone. To hear someone else's voice here felt so unrealistic.
"Who's he?" I asked the goddess because I knew that if someone other than me was here right then, it was because the goddess wanted it. She controlled this spirit land and thus, she knew who this person was.
The moon goddess didn't say anything, just smiled pleasantly at me. I turned around to look at the figure making his way towards us and gasped as I recognized who he was. "Harper?"
"What is this place? Where am I?" He asked and I was too surprised to answer him. Just now I was complaining to the goddess that she called me to this weird spirit land to pass her messages while she could have just called any other wolf to do her bidding. And now, here was Harper, standing before me.
"Harper?" The moon goddess took in Harper's body carefully and smiled at him. I was way too confused to say anything. I could not even believe what was happening right in front of my eyes.
Harper was riveted to the goddess. He couldn't keep his eyes off of her. "Goddess", he spoke reverently and moved to bow down to her. The goddess made a motion to stop her and he immediately stopped, like clockwork. "I can't believe I am meeting you."
"How did you get here, Harper?" I wondered out loud. Surely, I must have something to do with the goddess but why now, all of a sudden?
"I have no idea. I was with Aiden and this rogue we had captured. Then I fainted because of the wolfsbane in the prison cell. What happened?" As soon as he said those words I remember what the goddess had said, that Aiden was dying and the only one who could save Aiden was Harper. But if Harper was here, I didn't want to think about what could happen to Aiden. I opened my mouth to say something when the goddess interrupted me.
"Oh, dear. You aren't supposed to be here, Harper." The goddess shook her head and I watched as Harper became entranced by her fluid moments. His eyes became wide, his face in a trance and his mouth wide open as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing. I nodded emphatically at the goddess's words because that's exactly what I wanted to say. Harper had to go soon so he could save Aiden.
"No. I'm exactly where I should be." Harper said, in awe of the goddess, his eyes not drifting from the goddess's enchanted form.
"No, you don't understand. Aiden is dying." I stepped forward and took hold of Harper's muscled forearm and shook him to bring him out of his trance. Without even looking at me, he jerked his arm away, making me stumble back. He couldn't take his eyes off the goddess and I had the sudden urge to scream in his face so that I could bring him back to reality.
"I don't care. I'm exactly where I want to be. I want to stay here forever. I want to be with the goddess. My wolf wants to stay with the moon goddess. Nothing else matters." Harper sounded like a robot, saying things that I thought he could never speak. The Harper I knew would die for his best friend. He seemed so far away that I just wanted him to bring back to his usual self.
"You don't understand, Harper. If you spend another minute here, Aiden will die. He's bleeding out." I took two steps towards him. My voice reached a fever pitch as to gain Harper's attention but he seemed so mesmerized by the goddess that I knew nothing I was saying mattered to him.
"Zara, if Aiden dies, he gets to come here and be with the goddess. If my staying here longer assures his death, he will thank me one day because he will get to be with the moon goddess. I know this is what he wants. He will thank me for letting him die because then, he will finally be with his one true goddess." Harper rambled, without taking a small breath and I gaped at him. How could he even say that? It was clear that Harper wasn't in his right mind. This spirit world was doing something to him. If he were himself, he would never have said something so gibberish and stupid.
I would have to try my best to bring him back to his senses. "What are you doing? You have to go back, Harper. Aiden is dying." I stepped in his view of the goddess and put each of my hands on his face and made him look at me. His unshaven cheeks tickled my palms and his eyes looked so haunted but I knew that I couldn't let him go. Harper couldn't understand the gravity of the situation right now but I could. I didn't want to panic right now but settle the matter with a good head on my shoulders. "You need to go back, Harper. Please."
Harper placed his hands over mine and squeezed them gently. "I don't want to, Zara. Aiden would understand."
I couldn't help myself; I slapped him as hard as I could, hoping to get some sense into his brain. I was beginning to realize that nothing I said was making any difference, Harper was dead set to stay here. Panic settled in my mind, knowing that if I couldn't convince Harper to go, Aiden would die and Harper would never be able to live with this guilt. My heart broke for Samantha who stood so close to losing her mate and tears poured out of my eyes at my helplessness. "Harper, please. Go back to Aiden. He needs you. He will die."
"I, I, don't want to." Harper declared with a blank face as if he was chanting the slogan of a cult, he was part of.
"Harper." The moong goddess calmly called out to him and he immediately snapped to attention. Anger bubbled up inside me with how calm the goddess was being.
"Yes, goddess." Harper walked towards the goddess and went down on his knees in subjugation. "I am yours." I clamped my hand over my mouth, horrified at what I was seeing.
"Son, you can't stay here. You need to go back." The goddess calmly stated and Harper's face twisted in pain. I glanced gratefully at the goddess. If anyone had the power to send Harper to send him back to the land of common sense, it would be her. It had to be.
Tears leaked from Harper's face and I stared at him in absolute surprise. How could his devotion to the goddess be so absolute that everything and everyone else he loved disappeared from his mind? "B-but I, I want to stay with you."
The goddess leaned forward and swept a caressing hand down my cheek. "I know you don't but it's not your time. Not now. But soon. We will see each other very soon. When it's finally your time." I watched the scene unfold in stunning awe, amazed at how Harper was acting.
He opened his mouth to protest, but she flicked her wrist. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and slipped into unconsciousness, while his body fell in the damp grass.
I watched his body for several seconds as numerous questions entered my mind. "What do you mean that you will see him soon when his time comes?" I glared at the goddess who didn't even look the least bit surprised by my line of questioning.
"Exactly what I meant." She said without a hint of emotion in her voice.
"Are you saying that he's going to die?" I whispered, afraid even to utter the words out loud.
"That's not the question I'm going to answer today but I believe I answered the one you asked me today."
I didn't care what other questions I asked her today. I just wanted to know what she meant when she said that she would see Harper soon when his time came. That could only mean one thing, couldn't it?
"You asked me why I didn't pass my information through a wolf who would be eager to do my bidding. The reason is that once their wolf set their eyes on me, they forget all of their earthly attachments and want to stay with me forever. Even Harper, who is one of the strongest wolves alive acted like he wanted to give everything up just so he could stay here. He forgot every reason he had to live and that is exactly why I can't meet up with a wolf. That's one of the reasons why I chose you to be Harper's mate. That's why I chose you to be the bearer of my messages."
A tear rolled down my cheek. "What did you mean when you said that you would see him soon when his time comes?"
"Exactly what I meant, Zara. The next time I see him will be the perfect time because he will have the perfect stronghold and will want to go back to his life. The next time, he would be glad to see me but he wouldn't want to stay here."
"What does that even mean?" Nothing she said made any sense.
"You don't need to understand anything. Right now, you need to go to Samantha so she can get through a difficult time. Also, Harper won't remember meeting me in this spirit realm. So, I suggest you don't mention it to his sanity."
Before I could say anything, I woke up in my bed, sunlight barely streaking through the window.
I woke up gasping from my dream. I couldn't believe what had just happened. Never before had the goddess given such a direct answer to any of my questions. She liked to talk in euphemisms and riddles which has always annoyed me. But something had changed last night. I had asked her a question and she had gone out of her way to give me the answer I required. With proof.Bringing Harper into the spirit world had been the last thing I had expected her to do. I couldn't have even considered it a possibility but now that I had seen Harper go crazy as soon as he set his eyes on the moon goddess, I knew that she was right. Bringing werewolves in the spirit world was a risky move that no one could afford. The wolves would go crazy, eager to shirk all of their earthly attachments and responsibilities and offer themselves to serve the goddess. Last night, I had to watch Harper as he descended into madness to serve the goddess. He forgot everyone he loved to stay in the spirit world and serve
Hugging Harper felt so good. It felt right and felt like home. I could fool myself all I wanted, but the truth was that I loved him. I loved him so much that it scared me senseless. Living someone somehow gave them the power to hurt you and with everything going on, I just didn't know what to do. I just knew that it was high time I sort out my mind and decide what I wanted to do. Harper had gone through enough and he didn't deserve me stringing him along and he didn't deserve to see me parade another man in front of him. Which meant that I had to clear things up with both Ethan and Harper. I missed the feel of Harper's body against mine, there was no doubt about it. His high werewolf metabolism made his body so warm; it always made me want to snuggle up to him and stay in the crook of his body forever. Harper leaned back and regarded me with a soft smile. He tucked a strand of my hair, which had fallen from my messy bun, delicately behind my ear. His sweet action made my body tingl
My eyes subconsciously kept drifting to my right side to look at Ethan as he drove his car. I was sitting in the passenger seat, it was 5 p.m. and we were driving to the pack house so that we could attend our training session. I, for one, couldn't stop fidgeting in my seat because I was so excited about training with the whole pack. It would be the first time that everyone would see that I wasn't just a helpless human. I could look after myself in case a full-grown werewolf attacked me. I would be bragging but I knew that I had got pretty good at hand-to-hand combat and all the other skills Ethan had taught me. He even said so himself. My stamina had increased and so did my strength. I was practically bouncing in my seat because I wanted the pack to respect me and this was as good a chance I was going to get. There was also another reason for my being so restless that I couldn't sit still in my seat. Somehow, in the short time that I had come back, I had gained a new clarity about
It all happened so fast, that I barely had any time to blink. I stood stunned in the backyard, while everyone started getting up from their bowed positions. Murmurs and whispers started in the crowd and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I tried to make my way through the throngs of werewolves to reach Ethan but when I reached the place where I had last seen him bowing down to Harper, I saw no one. Great, it looked like he had taken off too!I could feel everyone's blatant stares at the back of my neck, their fingers pointing at me, and I could already imagine that by now everyone in the pack must have known what happened between me and Ethan. I sighed and slightly conscious of everyone's eyes on me, walked into the pack house and out towards Ethan's car. I had picked up Ethan's car keys on my way out of the pack house and I knew it would kill him to know that I had driven his car. I couldn't care less about that right now. I got in the car and sat in the car for a while.How had ev
I closed the door behind me and turned around to face Ethan. He made my room look small, his overbearing and muscular physique looked out of place in my room. "I know what you're going to say, Zara." He said and sat down on my bed. "You do?" I asked and whirled my chair to sit in front of him. He looked calm and totally in control of his thoughts. I didn't know what he was feeling. I didn't know what he was thinking. I wanted to know about both. Desperately. "I do. I'm just waiting for you to say something." He pointedly said and waited for me to say something. I opened my mouth to tell him what I had decided but no words came out. He rolled his eyes and bent to unlace his boots. He was getting comfortable, great.I clenched my eyes shut and disposed of every contradictory argument. "It's about, Harper." I sighed, hoping he would magically catch on to what I was trying to say. He sighed and laughed at me. "Okay, let me make this easy for you. You don't want to hurt my feelings and
My brain wasn't working fast enough to understand what had happened here. My eyes grew wide and kept flitting from one point to another. Honestly, with all the mess around me, it was hard to focus on one point. I took a few steps inside the room and stretched my hand to turn on the light switch of the room. The room lit up in a bright white light and it became clear that the damage was much serious.Someone had come into this room and upturned everything here. Probably they were searching for something, some important document that the alpha of the pack would have maybe.I closed the door behind me and looked at the time it would take to get everything back in order. I sighed and waded my way through the mess towards the bathroom to see if it was as messy as the bedroom. The shower curtain was on the floor and so were Harper's toiletries. I was glad that I wasn't going to be the one to clean up all this. Before I could turn around, a hand grabbed my mid-section from behind. I opene
~ Harper’s POV ~ I knew that I was the one who told Zara that I was going to wait for her. I remembered how close I was to kissing her when I had said that she could take some time away from me, even be with that rogue Ethan if that's what she wanted. If that's what she needed. I wanted to show her that I was in the long haul and that I would do anything for her.But that doesn't mean that it didn't hurt every time I saw them together. It's like a piercing kind of pain that starts in my chest and then travels down my torso until it becomes a pool of heat in my stomach. And if I'm not capitalizing enough, it hurts like hell. I hadn't planned to introduce my son to Harper in the way I had. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision. I had been told that Zara was in the hospital, sitting with Samantha in Aiden's room and I couldn't help but walk in that direction, I just couldn't wait to see her. I hadn't expected that Zara would be in the same room as Natalie but again she surprised me with
~ Harper’s POV ~Call it a gut feeling but I knew the exact moment Zara reached the pack house. The awareness began as a slow tingling sensation that spread slowly to my fingertips, which itched to touch her. I was sitting in my office when I sensed her in front of the pack house, which could only mean one thing, the mate bond was getting stronger. I could feel it getting stronger, maybe the silver Zara was wearing wasn't as effective anymore. Before I knew what I was doing, I was bounding down the steps as fast as I could to see her. It didn't matter that I had only seen and talked to her a couple of hours ago, I just wanted to be where she was. I stopped in my tracks when I reached the landing of the pack house and stared at the car Zara was sitting in. With that rogue Ethan. I could see they were looking at each other and it made me uncomfortable, like I was intruding on a private moment and my wolf hated the feeling. They were staring intently into each other's eyes, not talki
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