*Shawn*“I thought I’d take it upon myself to run this council meeting.” Elder Luka stands tall and imposing, their eyes roving over everyone else from the seat beside mine. I’m sitting in the head seat, the one reserved for the Alpha. Usually, it would seem like a place of authority. But now, it’s more of a hot seat. But knowing Elder Luka’s fondness for Vanessa does make me feel more positive about the whole thing. My eyes immediately go to Henley, who’s sulking at the far end of the table. I resist the urge to smirk. “These matters are not foreign to us. However, we do find ourselves in a rather unique predicament where the shifter who might become our Luna is a foreigner to us. Her circumstances are definitely the first of its sort that Ashborne has seen,” they continue. “That, I believe, does require some extra consideration.”I wait my turn to speak, which will come at the end of their line of questioning. I keep myself calm, trying not to let my uneas
*Vanessa*It’s dusk by the time Aaron and Amara finish their date and make their way back to Ashborne. Having already started working on the crafting of the mating token, I decided to sit just outside and wait for them to get back. I don’t want to fling myself at them and bombard them with questions, knowing how important it is for them to spend as much time just enjoying each other as possible, but I can’t help the surge of curiosity and excitement I feel. I’m dying to know how everything went. One good sign though, is what happens when I first spot them. They’re walking together, close enough for their arms to brush as they walk, and from what I can see of their body language, they move with a sort of relaxed demeanor that can only happen when things have been going well. They’re far enough away for them not to see me when Aaron tugs on Amara’s hand to bring her to a gentle stop before drawing her in for a kiss. I’m glad they can’t hear the absolutely chi
*Vanessa*I don’t recognize the girl in the mirror. She has my dark hair, set loose in dark curls that reach the middle of my back and plaited in some parts with pretty little white flowers. Her skin is flush with nervousness, but this time, there’s an excitement that overpowers it. The biggest thing that makes her hard for me to recognize is the feeling of pure joy and contentment it shows on her face.My face.It’s an expression I’ve come to wear very often.“Dahlia, I swear to the Goddess, if you lost the veil…” Amara warns, sounding as distraught as if it were her mating ceremony. She’s been buzzing around me the entire day, insisting I do nothing but get myself ready. Dahlia looks contrite. “No, I put it in a very safe spot, okay? I just … happened to forget where said safe spot was and then there was no time to look. But don’t panic! I have a plan.”Amara looks very much as though she is panicking. There’s practically steam coming out of her ears. I chuckle, putti
*Vanessa*I don’t recognize the girl in the mirror.She has my dark hair, bound up in a bridal half-up, half-down style, accented by crystal pins. Her skin is flush with nervousness. But the biggest thing that makes her hard for me to recognize, is the look of pure excitement on her face.My face.It’s not an expression I wear very often.Around me, some of the female shifters who volunteered to help me get ready are talking amongst themselves about the coming mating ceremony. We’re not exactly friends but we are neighbors, and in this pack, that’s the closest any of us will get.I look over my reflection in the mirror. I wanted something simple, a dress that would be an accessory to the main thing: the pendant around my neck. My mating-token. Analogous to what humans would use as engagement rings, the pendant was Trent’s gift to me once we discovered we were fated mates – his promise to me that this day was going to come.“Almost time,” says K
*Vanessa*When I wake again, I’m lying in a bed in a place I don’t recognize with a strange woman tending to my bruises. When she sees I’m awake, she places a hand on my arm, as though to steady me. “Don’t panic. I’m a medic, my name is Amara. Our Alpha brought you in and you’re lucky he did.” At first, her words don’t register. It takes her repeating herself before the wall I built against my emotions comes crumbling down as the realization hits me: Trent tried to kill me.“Do you remember what happened to you?” The way she asks the question, I know that I must look at least a fraction as bad as I feel. As though her words inflame the gashes on my body, the pain rebounds so badly that I groan and she quickly administers pain meds which dull the agony somewhat. “I know you’re in pain, but I need to know. Do you remember what happened to you?” she repeats. I know it’s most likely to check for any head trauma and I manage to croak out, “Yes.” Trent’s attack flashes in
*Shawn*“You know, one of the perks of being Alpha is that you can choose where and even if you still want to do patrol runs.” Aaron’s voice is slightly breathless, betraying just how seriously he’s been taking his training lately: as in, not at all. “Seriously, Shawn, if we’re going to be running around this stretch of the woods, can’t we just do it in our wolf forms instead?”I click my tongue. Of course, he’d suggest that. Our wolf forms have significantly more endurance than our human ones. But I needed this run. I needed to rediscover my limits and push myself past what I thought I could handle. The terrain running through this unclaimed area just outside of our pack territory provides just the sort of rocky ground, steep inclines, and lack of shelter from the sun overhead to do just that. I brought Aaron with me because I know that he’s been slacking and needs the challenge. And honestly, he’s one of the few people I like just a little bit more than my own solitud
*Vanessa*I jerk up, my back soaked with sweat as the nightmare bleeds into my new reality, and for a second, I’m not sure where I am. Then Amara’s at my side, patting my shoulder.“It’s alright. The sedatives are starting to wear off. What’s your current pain level?” she asks, her keen brown eyes observing me carefully.“Huh?” I ask, still too muddled to understand what she’s asking.“As in, say, one being a flick against the temple and ten being flayed alive with a wolfbane knife?” she repeats.I blink. “Uh … maybe being shoved off the top of a cliff?”“Okay, so like a solid six then. Is it necessary for any additional meds?” She turns to head out, but I shake my head in refusal.“No, that’s okay. I’m still in pain, but I really don’t want any more drugs in my system.” I need to keep a cool head. Regardless of Shawn’s seeming friendliness, this is still unfamiliar territory and I’m not a part of this pack. The last thing I need is for my sense
*Vanessa*I tell myself that it must just be the excitement of the night’s celebration, and the foolish happiness I feel at having been invited to this dinner that has made me skittish and stupid. There must be a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why Elder Luka seemed to vanish without a trace. Never mind that the territory is small and that the square is even smaller. Never mind that it shouldn’t technically make sense for them to have disappeared the way they did. Yep, there must be a logical reason that my still-muddied brain just can’t quite comprehend yet. Regardless, their words play in my head over and over again until I have them memorized. 'The fated mate bond is not the be-all and end-all of your journey, Vanessa. You can still be happy. You deserve to be happy.'Those words challenge everything I thought I knew about fated mates and even the Goddess herself. I’d held onto the belief that finding a mate would mean finding a family for as long