The first place I want to see is the kitchen. For me, the best part of a house is the kitchen. Why? Because magic happens in the kitchen. And since Erix is nowhere to be found, I'll tour myself. Coming to the bottom of the stairs, I tried to remember which way the kitchen was in this enormous house. It was last night when Erix showed me the way, but now, even in my more conscious state, I couldn't remember. I was tired last night to even keep the kitchen's location in my mind. Looking to my left and then right, I decided to go to my right, the exact opposite way we went last night to meet the pack. The kitchen would be on the other side of the house and needed a bigger space than any other room, especially in this kind of house. I knew I was right when I passed by a few familiar doors. I remember passing Erix's spacious office on the way to it. I took a moment to stop and look in now that I could study it better. The dark wood interior gave it a look of importance and elegance

"Isabelle's not exactly my pack mate, but her mother and twin sister were," Erix told me while walking. "She and Carmela were the product of a one-night stand if you can call it that. Their mother, our omega, took the twins, and later on, Isabelle moved out of the pack and went with her biological father," he said.I watch him closely, studying every reaction his face shows. "Isabelle and I were friends when we were kids. She's smart, strong-headed, and mischievous. But when Isabelle went with his father, she became prim and proper. She changed, maybe because of her stepmother. And when I saw her one time in the camp, I knew Isabelle was my mate, but she was already with Killian and madly in love.To summarize, she rejected me even if she felt the pull. She told me she couldn't see me as her partner but as a friend. Though I begged her to come home with me, she never looked at me," Erix said. "Do you still want her to be your luna if Killian will let her go one day?" I asked him. E

After learning of Erix's history, I find myself in the kitchen. I couldn't fathom how much pain Erix had to carry on himself. Having a mate would have lessened that burden if only he had one, and he was accepted, but to no avail; Isabelle rejected him. What kind of a mate leaves her fated pair into a mess? My stomach grumbled and warned me to eat soon or I would suffer later. Not feeling like cooking, I grabbed an apple from the bowl I saw sitting on the counter and sat next to a pretty blond girl who looked like she was working on something that looked like college homework. I remembered her face from last night. But I couldn't remember her name. She smiled at me when she caught me looking at her. I felt bad staring."Hi, Rain," she said, making me feel even worse for not remembering her name. "I'm Yelan, remember?" I felt relieved when she mentioned her name. "Right, of course. How are you?" She looked down at her homework and groaned. "I'm fine, but this calculus homework is

Somewhere in my mind, I knew it was merely a dream, but I couldn't find my way back to reality. I was lost in my mind, with no one to bring me out of my suffering. "He rejects us!" my wolf whispered. "Our mate chose another mate over us." My wolf whimpered at the new realization. And I wished for anything I could to console her, But I was just as broken as her. I felt weak and sick. I had to grab the table to keep my balance. Killian became concerned but didn't move to help me. "He married Isabelle behind our back! He lied to us!" My wolf screamed and showed how broken she was. "Without him, we are nothing, Rain. Let's end our suffering; let's end it right now! "Rain."No. Killian left me! He left me for another mate. I grabbed my chest. I-I… just…I can't. It hurts so much!"Rain!" Someone was shaking me vigorously. Leave me alone! You left me. You broke me! Just go!"Rain, you have to wake up. It's just a dream," I felt disoriented. Who was talking? Where was that voice com

My eyes shifted to Erix who was standing above me with a grave expression on his face. He only looked at me briefly before making eye contact with Lucas. "It's the dream," he answered. Recognition passed through Lucas. He looked back at me with sympathy. "So that's it," he mumbled. "Can you give her something for it?" Erix asked though he already told me before, there was only one thing that could help me. The doctor looked despondent and sighed. "I'm afraid not. I can prescribe some strong sleeping pills but due to our body running warmer than normal, it would burn off before the night is over.""Then what do you suggest?" I asked hoping he had another solution. "Well, it's not going to completely cure you of your dreams, but it will keep the pain out of them. They won't be able to get to you anymore.""The claim," I said, already knowing what he would say. Lucas nodded. "Yes, the claim." "You helped Erix with this didn't you?" I asked him. He gave me a sympathetic look befor