*Arealla*"He's just stressed right now. I'm sure he knows what you meant. I'm going to go speak to him," Liana told me, as she followed her brother out the door.She pulled the door closed behind her, and I heard her call her brother's name.And then, just like that, I was alone in this entire mess.I wasn't as sure about Marcus understanding my words as Liana was. And I knew that there was a big problem here that needed to be fixed.And there was only one way to solve this entire situation.I had to speak to Jason.He was the one leading the insurgency. The wolves gathered around him and relied on his knowledge of me, and the fact that he had brought me into the pack, to base their claim that I should not be trusted.If they could convince the rest of the pack of what they thought, that I was the culprit or the one causing all the mayhem and chaos in the pack, then it put Marcus in a very difficult situation.And I couldn't really imagine the true depth of that.B
*Arealla*I watched as Jason left with more than just a little dejection inside of me. I had really wanted this to work; I had hoped that it would work.And more than that, I now knew that there were not many other options that I had.I took a deep breath. I wouldn't let this get me down. I needed to focus and rethink in order to get to a solution. So, with that resolve in mind, I turned and headed back to the room.For the first time, I took a look around me. And I really began to see the place that I had been brought to.I stopped thinking of me being here as me coming here, I began to think of it as if I had been brought–by fate, the universe… maybe even by the Moon Goddess.I had no idea any longer. But just by thinking about it that way, it made all the difference to me. I didn't feel like I had made some monumental mistake, not any longer. I well and truly felt like I was where I was supposed to be. I had no idea why, but I was here. And I needed to accept it anywa
*Arealla*'A very powerful Luna,' the wolf inside of me spoke.And her voice sounded so familiar. It was the same voice that came to me in thought, sometimes. Though I had always just assumed that it was my own thoughts.Now I knew differently. It sounded like me, but it also sounded not like me.I stared down at Marcus, wanting to focus on anything other than what was happening in my own mind. Without any kind of warning, Marcus rushed at me, cupping his hands on either side of my face. And then I felt his lips press against mine.And then I punched him square across the jaw.He staggered back. And for a moment, I almost didn't register what that meant.I had punched him. And instead of my hand being broken, he had gone reeling.I flexed my fingers, there was a bit of a sting, but nothing was broken. And I had punched him hard enough that there should be some kind of damage.'No,' my thoughts answered me. 'We're as strong as he is now. He is our mate.'The thoug
*Arealla*I stared at the empty space that he had left, but there really was nothing that I could do about it. He was gone. He had just upped and left. And I could probably follow him if I wanted, but did I really want that?Did I really want to face more rejection?It wasn't like I had expected him to declare undying love for me, but I had expected a little bit more emotion than what he had just given me. I had just given him my body, for crying out loud.But I didn't have the energy to do anything. I wanted to cry, but I couldn't bring myself to do that. I couldn't even manage to sit up in bed.I brought my hand in front of my face. It was perfectly normal now. When did that happen? I tried to think of the claws, but I couldn't bring them out. I didn't try very hard, I was on the brink of sleep. And soon, I couldn't even work out what I was thinking any longer. My thoughts were just a jumble of pictures and feelings, and anything coherent was beyond me.And then there
*Arealla*My fears turned out to be well placed. Even though I had half-shifted last night with Marcus, nothing we did seemed to make it come back out now."Okay, stop," Liana said, staring at my face with an incredulous expression. "That just looks terrible."I dropped the stance that I'd been holding, not even sure what I was trying to do myself. It had worked with emotion last night, but obviously that couldn't be the key every single time. I'd seen wolves just transform without having to go through some intense crisis for each transformation.But whatever the key was, I just wasn't getting it. We spent hours trying different techniques, but I was getting more and more frustrated as we didnt get very far."You could try talking to your wolf," Liana suggested hopefully. "Maybe she can help you."I wasn't so sure. She hadn't come out last night because I'd been talking to her. She had spoken to me because I had unlocked it.But still. I was at my wits end, and I was read
*Arealla*I didn't wait for Marcus to react. I turned away from him.And I turned to the Moon Goddess.This was not about me and him. This had to do with Marcus, yes, but it wasn't all about him.This was about me, really. And the gifts that I had been given from the Moon Goddess. I wouldn't tie this to just him, not the experience and not the ability. I had become perfectly content with living in this world as myself, with being a part of this pack.And none of it had been for him.I would not make this about him now.I reached my hands out in front of me. I felt the moonlight on my skin. I had no idea how that was possible, but I felt it as surely as I felt the wind.It was a light sensation, a warmth and coolness at once. And I felt it seep into me, through my skin, through every pore on my body.And I felt the Moon Goddess guide me in this. I felt her voice whisper to me on the winds. I felt her calmness and her energy. I felt every bit of it flowing through me.
*Arealla*Leaving the pack lands was harder than I thought it would be.Marcus accompanied me right to the edge. And even when we reached there, he seemed to linger. This was hard for him, too. But I had been prepared for that. I hadn't been prepared for how hard it would be for me.I felt a pull to the lands that I was walking away from. I felt a pull to the wolves that I was leaving. Marcus explained to me that I wouldn't go mental like the Luna he told me about, because he hadn't sealed our bond yet, he hadn't marked me nor did I mark him. This gave me some peace of mind.A part of me felt like even the moon would be different once I left here.The Moon Goddess was strange. I could feel her influence over me. I could feel the need to transform greater under the full moon, but it was just a gentle whispering. A suggestion that was near a temptation. But it was nothing overpowering, like in all the stories.Something told me that whispering would be gone once I left the pa
*Arealla*We walked away from the house. As soon as we left, we were hit with the scent of the Red Timber wolves again, but it didn't bother us so much this time. We were already on our way out, and there was only so much that we could do.They hadn't officially claimed this territory, so they couldn't really fight us.Soon, we reached the car, and then we were driving back to the pack lands. It wasn't far, and with my mind busy thinking of everything Lucille told me, we reached the place where the cars were kept without me noticing the time. It made so much more sense to me now.It was hard to hear everything over the roar of the engines, over the tires on the asphalt. It was just so much better once the cars were kept at a distance from the pack homes. I hadn't even realized it until we had gotten back to the pack lands.But the city had been noisy. And it interfered with more than just the sense of smell.We parked the car and got out. And I felt an almost immediate sen