Selena POV:
I woke up to the shrill sound of the home phone ringing in the wee hours of the morning. The sun had not yet broken the horizon and seeing that Duncan’s phone remained cold on the bedside table, I knew I had to pick it up.
He must have been exhausted after spending a day and a half with a half-catatonic me. He stirred as I scooted off the bed and I had to reassure him that I was okay and for him to rest before I made my way to the phone.
When I pulled it to my ears, I felt a yawn overcome me.
“Good morning, Selena. Come to the greenhouse for another lesson with me in Life element. We need to get you up to par.”
I wasn’t surprised at the voice of Lamont on the other side.
“Two sessions in a day?” I asked, just in case.
“Practicing the ritual is different from a lesson in Life magic. You are so tired because you don’t have a good grasp of your element. Once you learn how t
Selena POV:“Sorry that I laughed,” she said, placing her palms on either side of my face when she saw my startled expression. “Lamont is high strung. He doesn’t like people who challenge his authority and he will live in someone else’s pack. The one he needs to teach is the alpha female. He doesn’t mean bad… mostly, but he can come across as overbearing. Neither of his parents really wanted him, so he tried very hard to be the best in whatever he was doing.Unfortunately, that overachieving tendency has spilled into the rest of his life, making him an unbearable ass. Don’t take it personally.” She paused. “As for feeling like you are failing… we all go through that. You have to calm yourself and keep trying. Center yourself and try again until you get it right.”“But… the pack…”“The pack is okay. Duncan has seen a lot worse during his father’s
Duncan POV:The month slipped into the next with little difference, except for the days becoming shorter and the leaves on the trees showing seasonal decay. The days were monotonous but tense. Every morning, Selena woke up for lessons, the two of us went to training for the pups, and then practiced with the ritual against the magic eater. It kept all of our schedules full. It sometimes felt like there was not a moment to breathe with the amount of work we had to accomplish between the two of us. Selena continued to work with Lamont and not everything went smoothly, but she seemed to take advice to her heart and kept trying until she excelled at every lesson. I could see she had gained some level of reluctant respect from Lamont for her perseverance. Eventually, they started to have more civil conversations rather than heated confrontations. Witches called on by Lamont started to come over on the weekends to participate in learning the ritual as they would be p
Selena POV:I trudged behind him obediently, the memory of the pain still fresh in my mind. In this state, I could sense Duncan better. One with my instincts, I felt the need to draw closer to him unintentionally.By then, the woods were quiet. I had felt distrustful of it since I heard of the magic eater. Most of the pack was sleeping and not many animals lived near our territory. I guess a pack of werewolves could be somewhat intimidating. It made you wonder what it could be in the woods that made a werewolf feel unsettled. How powerful would that be? I had run after him for about four or five miles when I saw Duncan stop in front of me. ‘Do you feel better?’ he asked me. I wiggled around, not knowing how to move. ‘I think so,’ I told him hesitantly. ‘I don’t think I am used to moving like this. It’s so odd,’ I admitted. He chuckled as he crouched. He was considerably bigger than me. So much bigg
Selena POV:The next morning, I woke up to find myself entwined with Duncan. Our limbs were a tangled mess. It was hard to tell where one of us began and the other ended. I was slowly learning that Duncan was a close contact sleeper. I was also learning that I liked it. A lot. When I was in his arms, I felt safe, protected, and at ease. “You’re awake,” Duncan said softly. I turned to see he was watching me. His eyes filled with softness. “We better get going. I have arranged the run to happen before breakfast and no one wants to keep a bunch of hungry wolves waiting.” My stomach clenched with panic. I didn’t think the run would take place as soon as I opened my eyes. “I, uh, I am not sure I want to go. I don’t feel so good this morning.” My lie was pitiful at best. I could have said I was tired but Duncan knew that was not the case. Even my injuries were healing surprisingly fast. “Selena,&rdq
Selena POV:A week had passed since then and practice was still as hard as always. Runs with the pack were invigorating and so much fun. I had gotten used to being protected and feeling cherished. It was one of the days as I cooked that Duncan ran into the house with a frown. “What’s wrong?” I asked immediately, feeling him watching me anxiously. I turned to look at him, putting the spatula down.He hesitated for a moment. “A couple of wolves have been checking out the parameter of the pack,” he said quietly. “They are not rogues, then. Why would wolves move away from their pack land and come to another one… in a group?” I asked slowly, to myself. “It might be the magic eater influencing everyone,” he said silently. “I just got the call. Do you want to check it out?” he asked. I thought about it for a moment. “I am cooking right now. Are they nearby?” I
Selena POV:I raised my hand to stop him from talking. “Firstly, pack members are treated a certain way and I wasn’t. Therefore, I have no ties to you. Secondly, you forced the young, unmated women in your pack to go into heat and hunted them down. That is against moral bounds. You also forced a half-breed who was not of age and tried to use her as a pleasure station.” I didn’t want to say it in front of Duncan, but I had to. “I am sure the council would be ready to hear my side of the story. Considering that I am mated to the Alpha of the Blue Moon Pack, I am automatically a member of this pack. You have no jurisdiction over me. If you wish to try me for killing that slimy beta of yours, you can ask the council and the witch coven. I would be happy to comply with any demands you have.”“Witch coven…” he whispered to himself. I felt Duncan curl his arm around my shoulder in a show of support. I didn’t
Selena POV:Ruth wasn’t as puzzled as we were with the situation. In her opinion, she had found her mate and she didn’t need to think about it. And I understood. She wasn’t obligated to defer her mating because of pack business that Duncan and I were supposed to take care of. I commended her for her stand. As Duncan and I thought about what to do, we received notice a few days later that Ruth’s family would celebrate the mating. Once Duncan announced it to me, I was filled with mixed reactions. “Wouldn’t they get a honeymoon period? You know, to get used to the bond before the celebration?” I asked. He smirked. A flash of mischief came through our bond. “A honeymoon? Is that what we had?” he teased, taking a strand of my hair and playfully wrapping it around his fingers.I blushed, wishing that I had used another word. His smirk grew wider and he gave in to a full laugh. He leaned into me and
Selena POV:Meredith’s house was filled with most of the adults in the pack who would be participating in the rituals. Archer, Brandon, and the other wolf were there as well. I didn’t know why they needed to be there, but they looked worse than anyone else in the room. People were standing in groups, talking quietly, most of them standing near Lamont and the huge map on the dining table that now included another red circle and date in the area that I seemed to know. I stare at the mark from my seat next to Meredith. It felt like it was mocking me for feeling happiness just an hour before. All the witches, wolves, animals, and vegetation in the area had been eradicated. Did they get a chance to perform the ritual or did they fail?Would we ever find out?A body blocked my view and I blinked rapidly to switch focus to the person in front of me, bringing me back to the present. I looked up to see Argon standing over us with two cups of w