Months turn into years as Colter realizes that he likes the human college experience. He decides to stay, having lost all hope of finding his mate. He’s in his senior year, when he finally comes across his mate. Only to his surprise, she is the complete opposite of what he had hoped she would be. She’s Human This is a first for Colter. He has never heard of a wolf being mated to a human before. What does this make him? Weak? What should he do about it? Tell his father? Keep it a secret? Or…get rid of her? Losing her father was a blow that both Aurelia and her mother barely survived. While eventually Charlene starts to try and pick up the pieces of their life for the sake of her daughter, Aaurelia, Who was once full of life has sank into a deep depression that Caused her to Shrink away from life. Even deciding not to Continue college. When they moved, things didn't change much. Then she met Colter Sloan. She didn't understand the concept of their bond but she knew that it made her feel less alone. Unfortunately, she didn't have much time to enjoy it before Colter callously rejects her. Unable to cope Aurelia packs up and leaves, not just college but her mother as well to try and start over. It isn't until she learns of her mother's illness that Aurelia returns home after 3 years to care for her. But she's changed, and when she finally runs into a now-engaged Colter Sloan again, the Alpha sees it. Aurelia sparks Colter Sloan's desire in a way that he has never experienced before. The question is...can he prove to Aurelia that he is worth a second chance?
View MoreCentral Washington University. This was the college that I was meant to go to. Was it the best college or worst? To be honest, I wasn’t sure. I didn’t care. Although the place looked positively expensive. Then again, what college or university didn’t?
None of that mattered to me, truth be told. I no longer even wanted to attend any university. Not since dad. Nevertheless, this wasn’t just about what I wanted. It was about starting over. Me and mom.
I was trying to be as agreeable as I possibly could. After all, I wasn’t the only one that was grieving. I wasn’t the only one who had to readjust to life. I just wanted to be agreeable. For mom. But….it wasn’t easy.
My stomach churned with anxiety I got this nagging sense; a sense of something almost calling to me. I was feeling retraction and attraction to that building at the same time. Frustrating? the word didn’t cover how I was feeling.
‘He’s here…’
Now I was talking to myself, hallucinating random words. He’s here? What does that even mean? And who is he to begin with? This day was starting off overwhelming. I wasn’t looking forward to the rest of it.
“Honey?”
Mom’s voice ringing through my ear reminded me that I wasn’t alone. I turned to her, thankful to be temporarily distracted from my intrusive thoughts.
The only thing that I could offer at the moment was a smile though, one that wasn’t good enough, apparently, to alleviate my mom’s concern.
“Sweetie, area you sure that you’re okay? You know, you don’t have to start today. We could just go home and try again tomorrow. I know this can be overwhelming. Starting over like this and-”
“Mom, I’ll be fine. I’d rather get this first day thing over with anyway.”
She nodded at me with a small smile, one racked with concern.
‘He’s here!’ that voice sprouted once more, this time louder than the last.
I was looking dead in my mother’s mouth, and she hardly parted her lips. It had to be me. I was losing it.
Still I ask, “Did you say something?”
“I asked if you wanted to try this again tomorrow, you said no.” I realized then, as her brow furrowed worry. “Honey, you’re not looking so good. Maybe we should-”
“Mom, I…I’m fine. We can’t put this off forever.”
‘We have to go to him! We cannot wait!’
“Go to who? What are you talking about?” I hissed frustratedly before I could think better of it, only garnering more weariness from mom.
“Honey, I didn’t say anything about anyone. What is going on with you?” She segued into further conversation but by this point, I was too worried about what I was hearing to actually pay attention to it.
It was hard to reciprocate this conversation when I had this voice saying nonsensical things in my mind already.
“Honey, are you listening to me?”
I sighed, “Yes, mom, I am,” I lied. “There’s just a lot on my mind.”
“Just another reason that you should start fresh tomorrow.”
“It won’t help. I’ll just go home, all the while dreading having to do it all again the next day,” I told her as I continued to look out of the window. “It’s just first day jitters. I’ll be fine, mom.”
When I finally met her stare again, I put on the bravest face I could muster. Then, knowing that she would not just simply leave it at that, I quickly changed the subject to something just as important as my wellbeing.
Hers.
“Are you okay?” I asked her.
We’d only lost dad merely five months ago. The wound of his death was still fresh. Where I had to mourn him as a father, mom had to mourn him as a husband and best friend. He was everything to her. And his death was almost too much to bear.
It was too hard to stay in Oregon after losing him. In that house. Mom wanted to move, and to be honest, I didn’t hate the idea. In fact, as far as I was concerned, we should have moved farther away than what he had. I was curious as to why mom had decided to move to Washington. Sure, it was close to Oregon, but so was Idaho, or Nevada. Maybe, it was just a choice, but my gut feeling told me that it wasn’t. There was a connection to this place for my mother, one that she obviously wasn’t ready to share.
“This is a new start.” She took a deep breath.
“It is.” I agreed, passing a fleetingly nervous glance back at the University before quickly trying to reverse my attention to my mother. “For both of us.”
“Yes, so we make the best of it. Right?”
“Yeah, we make the best of it.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
After a long goodbye, mom and I parted ways. I stood there and watched her small sedan pull off into the distance.
When her car finally disappeared, I stayed there a moment longer, soaking in the realization that sooner than later, I’d be officially stepping into another life.
“Maybe, I’ll run into when I go in,” I chuckled uneasily to myself. I was trying my hardest not to put too much stock into the fact that I had suddenly started hearing voices.
‘We will!’’ said the voice.
I exhaled and started walking stressfully forward. “This is not real. You-voice, are not real…Or…well, maybe you are but you’re just me, and…”
‘Mate!’
I just knew that someone else heard that voice! But when I looked around, there was no evidence of it. I had begun to gather a few stares my way, however, as I was starting to look hella paranoid.
“Chill, Aure, just chill.” I walked forward and made my way toward the school.
When I pushed open the doors and stepped foot across the threshold, an odd occurrence happened.
I should have been overwhelmed and the knots in my stomach should have gotten worse. They didn’t.
Those knots turned into butterflies.
I felt…okay. And the feeling was so…sudden, that there was no way that it could be considered natural.
“Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth, Aure,” I murmured to myself. It was a good thing that my anxiety had temporarily subsided.
Still though, I couldn’t help but question it.
‘He’s here…mate!’ That voice screamed in my head.
It was so loud and yet silent; it made me dizzy. I stopped immediately, holding my hand to my forehead, in hopes that maybe it would settle my discombobulated mind.
“What’s that smell?” I murmured as I started to get a whiff of something. The scent was extremely powerful, but not in bad way. “What is going on with you today?” I stressfully asked myself as if I would know the answer.
I took another troubled step forward and immediately was met with a brick wall. “Ow!” I stumbled back and reached out reflexively. Oh…oh, not a brick wall at all.
“Hey!” he exclaimed deeply, his arm wrapped around me to, I assume, assure my safety. “You should really…” his words slowed down. “Watch…where…you’re going.”
Why was he talking like that? And more importantly…why was he staring at me that way? The most important question, however, was why did I feel like I knew this guy?
None of these questions, I knew the answer to. What I did know, was that there was something about this guy, that couldn’t shake. Something about him that made me feel whole even in just laying eyes on him in that moment.
Then in a guttural growl, I heard that voice again! Louder than I had ever heard before….
‘Mate!’
The silence stretched, thick and heavy, as everyone settled into the living room. The scent of the Moors, musky and potent, lingered, a stark reminder of the intrusion.I watched the Alpha of the Moors, Mason, as he moved with an almost predatory grace, his eyes never quite leaving my mother. And when they did, it was only to give me a once-over."So," Connor Sloan began, breaking the unspoken tension between us, "perhaps we can begin by understanding the purpose of your visit, Alpha Mason? As I understand it, there was some urgency to this meeting."Mason inclined his head slightly towards Connor, a flicker of something unreadable in his gaze. "Indeed, Alpha Sloan. My purpose is quite simple. It has come to our attention that Luna Charis, and her daughter, Aurelia, are… alive." He paused, letting the words hang in the air. "And that Aurelia is the direct heir to the Moors’ seat."Charis, though pale, sat upright, her eyes sharp. "We made our reasons for leaving the Moors quite
-AURE POV-The scent of the Moors hung heavy in the air. I’d never been there before, but I imagined that the scent was painfully similar to the Alpha and his minions. Their essence, it was musky and potent, mingling with the familiar scent of home. It wasn’t a terrible odor, but the scent still gave me unease. It gave me an unease because ultimately, their being here was an invasion, a violation of our space, and it made my wolf snarl deep within me. The Alpha of the Moors stood in the center of my living room, a tall, broad figure that seemed to command the very air around him. Even in the warm lamplight, his face remained mostly obscured in shadow, adding to his aura of intimidating power. To his right stood Josephine, her features sharp and clear, and perfect, a tight smile plastered on her face. Beside her was another male, equally tall and imposing, his arms crossed over his chest, his gaze sweeping over us with cool assessment. I sensed that he wasn’t far from the high com
-AURELIA-The hours crawled by, each one thick with a tension that clung to the air, making it hard to breathe. It was this weird mix of dread and anticipation, like waiting for a storm to break, but you didn't know if it would be a drizzle or a hurricane. A strange hum vibrated beneath every word spoken, every movement made.I moved with a restless energy, checking on Mom. I had even made sure that every window was locked (even though I knew it wouldn't matter against them but at least I’d have a heads up if someone tried to sneak up from behind.) The small and seemingly insignificant preparations all helped to create some semblance of order in the chaos brewing inside me. But even my frantic activity couldn't distract me from the scene unfolding in the living room.Connor Sloan, the Alpha of their pack, had Mom cornered in a deep conversation. "Cornered" might be too harsh, but he definitely had her full attention. And she most certainly had his. His voice, a low rumble that seem
-Aurelia-The days crawled by, each tick of the clock a hammer-like blow to my gradually fraying nerves. Colter’s warning, though begrudgingly acknowledged, echoed in my head, a constant, and irritating reminder of his unwanted foresight. And…a tinge of concern.“At least he told me, I muttered under my breath, a tiny concession in the face of my simmering resentment.Mom, bless her, tried to soothe my anxiety, her voice a gentle balm against the coming storm raging within me.“Aurelia, sweetheart, you must project confidence. You are a Disperser, a very powerful wolf, and a strong young woman. A daughter of two extremely powerful lines. Show them who you are.” Her words, though comforting, did little to quell the gnawing fear that coiled in the pit of my gut.I spent hours pacing, rehearsing scenarios, preparing for the worst. After listening to the stories of hostility and judgment-the shunning of those that were abnormal within the Moors from mom, I wasn’t very confident that this
-Colter-Ever since my heated conversation with Josephine, my mind was ill at ease. I’d kept some pack members checking patrolling around the territory-including the more human-populated areas.I had hoped that Josephine wouldn’t show up at Aurelia and her mother’s residence without telling me. But to be honest, I couldn’t be sure. “Any news?” I asked as Madison approached. She shook her head. “No, fortunately not. At least for now.”“Good,” I said. My next question was one of reluctance, but one that I needed to know nonetheless. I swallowed my pride and parted my lips to ask.“I haven’t seen her since I visited her last week, Colt,” she said. “And she hasn’t been using our territory to release her wolf.”She already knew what I wanted to know. I took a deep breath, silently hoping that she was okay.Then an odd sensation enveloped me. A sense of a familiar nearness. “Madison, did…did Aurelia say something about…about coming here?”Before she could answer, the loud and resonating so
-Aurelia-The air in the house felt thick, heavy with the unspoken. Josephine's words, "His line is not dead," echoed in my mind, a chilling pronouncement that sent shivers down my spine.I’d been out on a ride that day in an attempt to free my mind of the weariness I’d begun to feel as the days went by. “To have them both coming to our home on the same night. Seph, this can’t be good, can it?”I could hear my and feel my wolf’s weighted concern as she heavy sigh resonated from her in the back of my mind. That was all the response that I needed at this point.Once I hit a fork in the road, I turned around and took the drive back home. It was close to mom’s tea time.When I pulled up, I noticed a jeep in the yard. I pulled my helmet off and quickly headed to the vehicle. It was empty.“She must be in there already.” I knew who it was by the scent that surrounded the vehicle. I pressed forward to the house without as much concern as before and unlocked the door. “Ma?”“Yes, dear. In t
-JOSEPHINE-He sat in his seat, staring at me. I was glad that we were the only two present in my father’s office. This was information of a sensitive nature after all. “I am so glad to see you have returned home once again, love,” he said to me. “Or at least I would be,” he then added.I tried to feign confusion at first. “You’re not happy to see me?” I asked him.He chuckled with only slight amusement before he said, “Oh, I am always happy to see you, Jose. You are, after all, the only daughter that I have-my only child, and the heir to my seat.”I offered a small, incomplete smile. The word heir seemed to carry a bitter taste in my mouth of late. I was sure that after the conversation that I was soon to have with him, he’d feel the same.“However,” my father finally continued, pulling me out of my reverie. “Twice in one week, five in the course of two,” he said adding up my visits in total from this week to the last. “Even you could understand the sudden concern. And the fact that
-Colter-I sat in the darkness. As I heard the click of the lock echoing in the silent room, I knew that Josephine had finally returned from her midnight excursion.She closed the door behind her, and leaned against the solid wood, letting out a breath-one harsh and long. It was almost as if she hadn’t realized that she’d been holding it in this whole time.Something was clearly on her mind, I, at this point, couldn’t bring myself to care. I knew where she’d been. I could smell it on her.My visit to Aurelia’s house, seeing her mother as she was-it left me with a knot of unease in my stomach, a feeling I couldn’t quite place.“Where have you been?” I asked as soon as she turned from the door. Josephine didn’t answer immediately. Instead, she began to remove her jacket, her movements slow and deliberate. “Josephine!” I snapped. “Answer me!”She expelled a harsh sigh before saying, “The same place you’ve been, my love.” Her words were nonchalant, boarding on dismissive, as her eyes avo
-Aure-The click of the lock echoed in the silent house as I closed the door behind Colter. Leaning against the solid wood, I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding. Why did he have to be so… decent tonight? So respectful to my mother? It was so infuriating. Hating him was significantly easy for me after what he’d done. And letting him go was only made easier because of his betrayal as well.Sure, there was something lingering. Something that I couldn’t place or understand. I could only assume that every wolf who had to deal with the turmoil of rejection had to deal with such troubles.Then he had to go on and be…decent-respectful, not only to me but my mother as well. Didn't he realize the mess he was making, dragging us back into a world we'd fought so hard to escape? That I had been waiting for years to escape. And yet… that lingering glance, that question about how I was feeling…it was like a tiny ember refusing to be extinguished. A stupid, foolish ember that thr
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