Selena POV:
The surrounding area was completely shrouded in a gloomy mist as the sun decided to hide behind the masses of grey clouds the next day. It was as if the weather was privy to my thoughts and mimicked them for the world to see.
I had felt unease after the phone conversation Duncan had telling us to meet at the location of the trap. The feeling had followed me through the rest of the evening and throughout the day as I trained. Along with the uneasiness, an odd certainty had taken up space within me. I suddenly knew my purpose of being in this place, being mated to Duncan. It seemed like I was living a strange destiny with people I have known for a very short but crucial period of time. I was connected to them by some twist of fate or the plans of a higher power, in their opinion.
But this knowledge was making my head spin, making me wish I was elsewhere.Was it wrong of me to wish this and want to be removed from the responsibility? The expecta
Selena POV:Entering through the narrow opening of the cave was treacherous. The ground was slick with wet rocks and plant life and the lighting was extremely poor. The ranger was a few steps in front of me with the flashlight that gave off just enough light to guide us along the dark passageway, but it didn’t show every nuance that could be a potential concussion risk. I put my hands on either side of me as I moved along the tunnel. I felt tingles of charged Earth energy along my fingertips as they grazed the damp, smooth texture of the rock walls. It was getting stronger with each step I took. I could hear voices talking up ahead. Coming through the bend in the path, a crevice of light appeared a few steps ahead of us. Seconds later, we passed through another opening to our right and stepped into a huge cave. I stopped in amazement a few feet inside the doorway. I was conscious of the others standing at the center of the room, but my eyes were drawn to
Selena POV:“Let’s go out,” Argon said finally to the group, giving no apology for the private conversation, and turned towards the exit. Lamont gave me a quick look that showed that he was displeased. Some of the others had the same expression but there was no malice behind theirs, more of perplexity. Yes, I had made a mess. Duncan wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me close to him. I placed my cheek against his chest, stiffening myself against letting his emotions, most likely expressing disappointment in my actions. I was disappointed in my actions. Could I not get anything right these days? Should I even be counted on to work with magic?“Shit,” I whispered against Duncan’s jacket, fisting the material in my hands. “Stop it. Stop thinking like that,” he said smoothly, gently rubbing his hand up and down my back. “I messed it up again,” I muttered.&ld
Selena POV:As we approached the others, I noticed that the smaller groups were now standing together. Duncan and Neo stood a few steps away from the rest, waiting for Meredith and me to join them. When Duncan took my hand in his, he leaned down to whisper in my ear, inquiring about my conversation with Meredith. I was too mortified to say anything as I felt like all eyes were watching me. I shook my head at him saying ‘later’ and left it at that.He ran a finger down the side of my face, through the blush that took residence the moment the words were out of his mouth. It was his silent way of saying he knew something was up and wasn’t going to let it drop. Damn this observant man. “Everyone, if I could have your attention, please!” Lamont raised his voice over the others. The circle of people quieted. All eyes were on Lamont, while Argon was on one side of him. “The majority of people needed for the protectio
Selena POV:I woke up to the shrill sound of the home phone ringing in the wee hours of the morning. The sun had not yet broken the horizon and seeing that Duncan’s phone remained cold on the bedside table, I knew I had to pick it up. He must have been exhausted after spending a day and a half with a half-catatonic me. He stirred as I scooted off the bed and I had to reassure him that I was okay and for him to rest before I made my way to the phone. When I pulled it to my ears, I felt a yawn overcome me. “Good morning, Selena. Come to the greenhouse for another lesson with me in Life element. We need to get you up to par.”I wasn’t surprised at the voice of Lamont on the other side. “Two sessions in a day?” I asked, just in case. “Practicing the ritual is different from a lesson in Life magic. You are so tired because you don’t have a good grasp of your element. Once you learn how t
Selena POV:“Sorry that I laughed,” she said, placing her palms on either side of my face when she saw my startled expression. “Lamont is high strung. He doesn’t like people who challenge his authority and he will live in someone else’s pack. The one he needs to teach is the alpha female. He doesn’t mean bad… mostly, but he can come across as overbearing. Neither of his parents really wanted him, so he tried very hard to be the best in whatever he was doing.Unfortunately, that overachieving tendency has spilled into the rest of his life, making him an unbearable ass. Don’t take it personally.” She paused. “As for feeling like you are failing… we all go through that. You have to calm yourself and keep trying. Center yourself and try again until you get it right.”“But… the pack…”“The pack is okay. Duncan has seen a lot worse during his father’s
Duncan POV:The month slipped into the next with little difference, except for the days becoming shorter and the leaves on the trees showing seasonal decay. The days were monotonous but tense. Every morning, Selena woke up for lessons, the two of us went to training for the pups, and then practiced with the ritual against the magic eater. It kept all of our schedules full. It sometimes felt like there was not a moment to breathe with the amount of work we had to accomplish between the two of us. Selena continued to work with Lamont and not everything went smoothly, but she seemed to take advice to her heart and kept trying until she excelled at every lesson. I could see she had gained some level of reluctant respect from Lamont for her perseverance. Eventually, they started to have more civil conversations rather than heated confrontations. Witches called on by Lamont started to come over on the weekends to participate in learning the ritual as they would be p
Selena POV:I trudged behind him obediently, the memory of the pain still fresh in my mind. In this state, I could sense Duncan better. One with my instincts, I felt the need to draw closer to him unintentionally.By then, the woods were quiet. I had felt distrustful of it since I heard of the magic eater. Most of the pack was sleeping and not many animals lived near our territory. I guess a pack of werewolves could be somewhat intimidating. It made you wonder what it could be in the woods that made a werewolf feel unsettled. How powerful would that be? I had run after him for about four or five miles when I saw Duncan stop in front of me. ‘Do you feel better?’ he asked me. I wiggled around, not knowing how to move. ‘I think so,’ I told him hesitantly. ‘I don’t think I am used to moving like this. It’s so odd,’ I admitted. He chuckled as he crouched. He was considerably bigger than me. So much bigg
Selena POV:The next morning, I woke up to find myself entwined with Duncan. Our limbs were a tangled mess. It was hard to tell where one of us began and the other ended. I was slowly learning that Duncan was a close contact sleeper. I was also learning that I liked it. A lot. When I was in his arms, I felt safe, protected, and at ease. “You’re awake,” Duncan said softly. I turned to see he was watching me. His eyes filled with softness. “We better get going. I have arranged the run to happen before breakfast and no one wants to keep a bunch of hungry wolves waiting.” My stomach clenched with panic. I didn’t think the run would take place as soon as I opened my eyes. “I, uh, I am not sure I want to go. I don’t feel so good this morning.” My lie was pitiful at best. I could have said I was tired but Duncan knew that was not the case. Even my injuries were healing surprisingly fast. “Selena,&rdq