Dragana POV
After my events in the bathtub, I realized I had to come up with the plan to find Alpha King his mate, as quickly as possible.. The situation I was in was no longer sustainable. I could not go living like this – and I most definitely could not allow him to capture me as his breeder. Despite my obvious reaction and attraction to Roman, I rationalized that it was fantasy and my biological body response .As a virgin, untouched by a man, it was not unnatural that after 25 years of celibacy a man’s touch could get me excited or that I would seek to masturbate and envision things I rationalized. Reality was and is that I did not want to be used and treated as trash or a breeder by anyone. The reality was that Roman needed an heir which only left me with the one option – find his mate find him his fated Queen Luna and be done with it. You have a little girl’s crush I said to myself, and you are a lonely, horny little girl, I said to myself. “Are you sure of that?” the voice said. “Yes I absolutely am – there is nothing there for me – I am not his fated mate and you know how that would turn out for me – you know that I could not keep the child, and then if the Queen Luna appears, I would have to give up my child to both of them.. Who knows if even I would survive – would he want the kid to look for me when he or she came of age? Would he simply kill me after I have completed my “duty”?”.. Shivers run down my spine and the voice was silent. She did not argue with me, did not argue the point of any kind. I did not know if she agreed with me or simply thought that the conversation on this is futile. In either case, I knew I had to put all my focus, all my magic and all my ability into finding him his fated mate – finding him happiness and purpose so that I can have mine.
I tucked in my bed with books and my spells, looking over anything that may help.. I already had an idea as to how to approach this, but it needed careful preparation, fasting and certain days of the month when moon was full were likely to be more productive. Witches bowed to the Moon Goodes as well, and we drew our power from her too. My bed was my sacred space.. A lot of times this is where most of my best work came from.. Something about it as almost being cocooned, the warmth of pillows and blankets around, magic of old spells and books.. it transcended lines and opened views I did not realize were invisible at times..
Sitting there however, I simply felt exhausted. My hands going over old pages, hundreds of years old, surprisingly in good condition. The touch of them, the old languages written in them and symbols always gave me sense of belonging.. I was happy. Happy, but tired.. Not a second later, as I drifted into deep sleep all went dark..
She was there… I seen her before in my dreams.. A gorgeous white wolf with green eyes and beautiful features.. I never knew her name even though she was in my dreams ever since I can remember.. At first sometimes, but in last few years her presence was with me every night I dreamed.. Often symbolic, sometimes our encounters turned into interactions and stories.. In looniness of my captivity and isolation within the pack, the white wolf was my refuge, my friend. I often cherished nights as it would meant I could sleep and dream.
Tonight we met at the clearing, known one, actually one close to the lake house of the pack. In the dream she was guiding me into the forest behind the main house.. I simply followed, wondering what is happening as the dreams with her have not always been like this.. As we moved deeper into the trees, I noticed different colors, images and smells started appearing.. This was not just woods, this was not just a dream - this was something else..
I heard them before I could see them.. Two wolf cubs, snuggled and playing together at the same time, a boy and a girl.. Somehow, I knew them… I tried to go closer but somehow they did not see me, as if the world of their own.. She kissed on them lovingly and then continued prancing about.. Flowers of red and white were everywhere.. Gorgeous smell of roses, intoxicating peonies.. And a strong smell of sandalwood and vanilla coming from a left side.. As I turned I saw the gorgeous silver wolf standing above on the meadow… The white wolf pranced up to him, and touched his head, snuggling.. The realization dawned on me – they were mates..
Sound of door pounding woke me up.. Waking up groggy I was happy for my friend.. She showed me her mate and her children – her family.
Beta Artemis POVAs we sat by the willowy tree in the ever-encompassing darkness, I started to feel…. Well… different, would be the best explanation. There was something here… Something an eye could not see, something that devoured your very soul. Emir whimpered, and this was strange – my wolf was a warrior, unfazed by anything. Roman was chewing on his food, looking at me strangely, his eyes flickering between him and Caleb, something happening, something he did not share. “Can you reach Caleb?”, I asked Emir and the definite answer was no. Our wolves could not communicate to one another and that was a huge red flag! I did not know what was happening. The darkness around us started moving and through the shadows I heard her voice… Faint at first, but then I felt her. I felt her calling to me, I felt her presence, her scent, her ever-present light… I opened my eyes, and there she stood before me, my beautiful Dragana, smiling at me, in flesh.It had only been moments since we left the
Roman POVWe sat down in the darkness that enveloped us. It was not like anything we had ever seen, it was permeating, ever dark, ever shadowy. It almost all felt unreal, as if we stepped into a realm unseen, something made of the darkness itself. Although I was initially reluctant to have Art join me, I was grateful for his presence, for his stoic aura and his support. Still chewing on a piece of beef jerky, I set up a temporary camp. We had moved far, and I knew we did not have a lot of time, but I needed to talk to him. Events back home did not allow us a conversation, and I needed to speak to the only other man Dragana loved. I needed to come up with a plan. Just in case. Just in case I did not make it out of here, I needed to know that he would love her as she deserved to be loved. In truth, I already knew that, but somehow, my heart was heavy, and I simply needed my friend.I knew he was restless seeing the dark waters. In truth. I was too; however, I did not want to admit it. I
Artemis POV When Dragana opened up the portal, I did not know what to expect. I knew we were going into a treacherous situation – by all accounts. What I read about the Yamuna River, coupled with what King Solomon said, did not look promising or encouraging. Surely, we were walking into danger, but none of that mattered. I loved her. I loved her with every breath I took and would gladly lay my life down for her, as I would for Roman. My connection to him was different, but there was love in my heart for him too, love, loyalty and friendship that only came from years of shared life like we had. We live in a strange world, one that to humans, at least most, would be incomprehensible. When I was young, I thought about their ways, the way they love, the way they live. I wondered what my life would be if I were born a human. I observed them, read about them, and thought to myself. Imagine having to work so hard, continuously on the verge of injury or death, struggling for most hours of you
Dragana POV“Regina Dominum???? You are not the Luna Queen yet, Alice!!!” I heard a strong booming voice of Alpha King Jonathan as strong as a command almost, his eyes piercing and blazing at her. I could tell he was none the more pleased with her invoking the ancient rite. “My son has not marked you, nor mated you from what I can tell from your scent… You do smell… well.. different… in some way, that I must admit… But you do not smell of my blood!!! You do not smell of Spieta line!!” he now all but growled, his hazel eyes turning almost crimson. I had never seen him that mad, nor did I know that his eyes had such a deadly hue to it. He looked quite intimidating, in fact.“Ah… ah.. no matter old timer”, Alice snickered.. “Roman and I will be mated and marked in no time, as soon as he is back from whatever idiotic and self-serving trip this betrayer, this murderer sent him to. In fact, how do we know that she is not planning to overtake the pack itself???? She must have sent Roman to h
Dragana POVGamma Aldar’s wife, Rose, looked bewildered and her face was a river of tears. A petite brunette with beautiful, amber-colored eyes, she held his body as if it were a baby, her sobs piercing my very soul. I knew they were fated mates, and I knew they had children. In fact, I remember delivering one of their sons many years ago, a chubby blonde boy with his mother’s eyes. I could not imagine or fathom the pain she was going through, and my heart went out to her. I was still in shock that somehow the dead man’s hand had the piece of my dress, covered in blood, but that was not my main concern. It should have been.“IT WAS HER!!!! SHE KILLED HIM!”, came the screeching voice of Alice, storming with purpose from a corner of the circle, her eyes flaming with fury, her hand outstretched and pointed at me. Everybody’s eyes turned toward me, confused and insecure, doubt in their eyes, yet nobody said anything. Rose lifted her eyes up to me, puffy and red, looking between me and Ali
Dragana POVMy aunt and her husband excused themselves to go meet with their children. It was just yesterday that they all arrived, and I was excited about meeting my relatives. I understood most favored a witch gene, although a couple of them were hybrids, so we had a lot to discuss. Fluttering emotions were overcoming me every time I thought of them. Having a family also made me feel stronger, and an anchor if you will, albeit a little insecure. For somebody who did not even know I had a family, I now swam in family relationships, magic, lovers and everything in between. My whole world had been tossed upside down and I was still adjusting to it.My great-grandfather, the sage of old times, looked at me with tenderness. “My sweet child…. A new day, a new dawn is coming into your life… The question you need to ask yourself, is are you going to allow it to control you… Or will you step up and control it?”, he asked, as we made way toward the packhouse. My stomach was grumbling, and I o