Chapter 2

“Wake up, we’ve landed.” A man’s voice whispered in my ear.

“Hummm.” I grumble back to him, snuggling myself into the pillow. A very hard lumpy pillow. Goddess, did someone put a brink in the damn pillow? My eyes flutter open sleepily, it was only when I see a man’s face staring down at me a smug smile on his face that I register where I am. Sitting up with a start I look around myself and all the other passengers collecting their belongings and vacating the plane.

I look back to the smug looking man next to me. My cheeks heating in embarrassment. I look down at his shoulder which I spent most of the flight sleeping against only to find a very wet patch where I had drooled.

I wipe my chin hastily which only seemed to make the stranger smirk harder.

“I’m so sorry, you should have woken me sooner.” By now I’m sure my whole face had gone scarlet with embarrassment.

“It’s no problem doll.” He replies before giving me a wink and standing from his seat. He lifts his arms above his head to retrieve his bag from the overhead bin. Offering me a view of his midsection. He most definitely did it on purpose, he was toned, painfully so. And a sexy snail trail that disappeared into the top of his jeans teased me.

“Like what you see?” He spoke up again, his tone suggesting a deeper meaning as he caught my stare.

“Hah, you wish Mr.” I sit back into my chair, groaning inwardly at my wantonness, and cross my arms over my chest waiting for him to finish getting his things so I could get off the plane. Looking out of my little window at the grey sky and tarmac of the runway. There was a fine drizzle coming down which just made everything seem dim and depressing. “Welcome to the UK!” I tell myself brightly.

“Shame.” The man said with another smirk before disappearing down the aisle. My eyes follow his back in mock disgust. OK I fell asleep on your shoulder, doesn’t mean I want to jump into bed with you! Ergh, what an asshole.

I pull myself up from my chair. Grabbing my small carry on case from the overhead bin and follow the few remaining passengers off of the plane.

The one good thing about being one of the last off of the plane is that my suitcase was waiting for me on the baggage carousel as I entered baggage reclaim.

I quickly managed to get through “nothing to declare” and headed for the taxi rank. I was just about step outside when I was literally barrelled down and knocked off of my feet.

“OH MY GODDESS ROSIE!” someone screamed in my ear whilst pinning me to the floor in a massive bear hug.

“Steph?” I try to get up but found that I could not move under her weight. “Goddess, Steph you’re crushing me.”

“Oh sorry.” She says with a grimace as she climbs off of me and offer her hand to help me up. Pulling me back up my feet I look at the girl in front of me.

“It is so great to see you Steph!” My smile broke into the widest smile as I pull her into another hug.

“I can’t believe you are actually here. And to stay! We are going to have so much fun!” she squeals. “Where are your bags? Is this it? Goddess I would have had to pack at least four more of these bad boys if I was moving halfway across the world.” She grabs my modest suitcase before pulling it and me towards a door that says “EXIT".

“I’m hardly a high maintenance kind of girl Steph, as you know.” I roll my eyes at her.

“Yes, all too well. Has your hair ever seen a brush recently?” She asks her eyebrow cocked up and a large spoonful of sarcasm dripping from her mouth.

I push her shoulder in jest. Goddess, I have missed this. Of course, Jace and I had always had fun together. But not like this, I felt carefree, like nothing could possibly get me down.

“Come on, the cars this way.” She walks forward with me trailing behind. “You picked the best time to be here by the way.”

“Really, why’s that?”  

“Tomorrow is the start of the Eclipse festival!” steps voice rising with excitement. “It’s going to be awesome. And don’t think for one minute you are getting out if anything. Your apart of this pack now. And that means you have to join in. That includes me doing your hair and makeup! Eeek! Don’t worry I have already picked you out a killer dress.” She looks back winking at me, her eyes sparkling with anticipation.

Me, I was groaning inwardly. I had just travelled 10 hours to get away from being sent to every stupid function to find my mate, what I didn’t want right now was to find myself going to another one. But choosing to say nothing, I just smile as brightly as I can and try to embrace her excitement. After all this time would be different. I wasn’t going in the hopes that “he" might be there. I was going because I was starting a new life, in a new pack.

“What’s the Eclipse Festival?” I ask.

“Well duh, it’s the celebration of the Lunar Eclipse.” She looks at me like this should be obvious. And I suppose it was if I thought about it. To be honest I hadn’t really been paying too much attention to the moon’s cycles recently, it’s not like it affects me. Most mated she wolves literally revolve around the moon cycle. A full moon being the period where a she-wolf goes into her haze, or heat as some call it. When she is most fertile. She will become a sex mad beast ravaging her partner. Not that the men complain much. Still, it’s not something I have ever been a part of, so I haven’t given it much thought.

“Sounds like fun! Can’t wait to be surrounded by hundreds of horny wolves.” I reply sarcastically as I can”

“Oh hush!” Steph nudges me gently in the shoulder laughing. “It’s not all about sex, there will be stories and a massive bonfire. And tomorrow night there will be a massive party in the woods to celebrate the Eclipse. It will be fun.” She stops beside a bright red Freelander and pulls a key from her pocket. “Plus, this year is extra special because the Eclipse is falling on Mabon.”

“Please tell me your pack hasn’t turned into pagans since I was last here?” I say with a groan.

Steph burst into a fit of giggles as she lifts my suitcase into the boot of the car. “Goddess no, but it is the start of the Autumn Equinox, which is supposed to bring great change. Pretty fitting for you, no?” she lifts her brow and slams the boot shut before walking around to the driver’s seat. “Jump in, lets get out of here.” Smiling at me, we hop into the car, and she pulls out of the car park.

The journey from the airport to The New Forest was about 3 hours. Most of the time we passed catching up with each other. It turns out that Steph’s younger sister Riley was mated to a Beta in a northern pack last year, which meant that she and her brother were the last left at home now. Her brother Drake had taken over as Alpha just after I left 2 years ago, having found his mate. I asked how it made her feel, seeing as she lost Marcus, her mate, her family now finding mates of their own. It must have brought up painful memories of his loss. But she was determined to be happy for her family. Never dwelling too long on Marcus. I let the subject go.

She asked about how Jace was getting on with running the pack, about my niece and my parents. It felt good to talk to someone different who understood.

The time soon past, and before long the trees started to thicken as we headed further into the new forest. We passed through several little villages. All the perfect Chocolate box houses that England are so well known for. And then it came into view, my most favourite scene ever.

“Stop the car Steph, I want to get out.” Steph pulls to the side of the road and the car draws to a stop. I step out of the car. The air was still thick with drizzle, and I wrapped my arms around myself against the September chill. The promise if Autumn just around the corner.

In front of me sat the sprawling outer wall of the old Bailey, the last surviving part of the Castle Black. In its centre was a few crumbling stone walls where the castle would have once sat proud and strong. A deep moat ran around the perimeter.

The Eclipse pack no longer lived within the wall of Castle Black, but it was still used on occasions such as weddings and other ceremonies. I suspected that the Eclipse Festival tomorrow night will be held here. Most of the ground with the walls had been taken over by shrubs and grass from lack of use. Regardless of the run-down state it was still breath-taking.

Castle Black was one of the main reasons I loved the Eclipse pack so much. When I was last here, I would come and sit in amongst the bushes and just listen to the sounds all around me. A sense of peace filled me as I listened to the breeze rustling through the shrubs about me or around the stone walls. Birds tweeting in the sky above me, or in their nests they had created amongst the cracks in the stones.

My favourite part about the Castle, was a stone I found buried in the earth under a large oak tree by the northern wall. The initials A.W.B + R.S were carved into the old stone. I always daydreamed about who those people were. I was sure that they must have loved each other very much to immortalise themselves in stone. The fact that one of them held my initials only romanticised the daydream even more in my mind. What it would be like to love someone so much. A feeling if wistfulness passed through me. As I look across at the stones in front of me, the wind blowing from behind me I can’t help but feel a little sad. Sad that the Castle has been lost, sad for the people that once occupied it. Sad that it I’ll never have the chance to know the lovers who carved the stone.

“Rosalie" A shiver ran up my spine.

“Humm?” I turn to look at Steph who is currently stood leaning against the car door, phone in hand texting someone. She looked up in question.

“I didn’t say anything?”

“I swear you just said my name.” I look about to see if there was someone else in the area that perhaps had called out to me.

“Umm nope, not me.” Steph raised a brow looking at me like have gone mad. I felt like I had gone mad. “Common we ought to get back. Mum and Dad are so looking forward to seeing you again.”

She pulls her door open and jumps back in her car. I follow after her, still looking around bewildered. I could have sworn someone said my name. I shrugged my shoulders and got into the car with Steph, before she pulled back onto the road and carried on our journey to the Eclipse Pack.