Chapter 47

Katla

A couple hours later, Damien, Clarissa, Rolf, and I took the elevator to the top of the building, walked up a short flight of stairs, and exited through a rooftop door. In the center of a large red “H” surrounded by a circle was a machine with long spinning blades that shot from the top of it, and smaller vertical ones at the end where it narrowed into a tail like a shark. The larger body had windows and two men sat in the front, waiting and talking to one another,

“Are you ok?” Damien asked.

“Yes? No? I’m not sure,” I answered honestly. “I know we need to go North. I know that’s where I’ll get my answers.”

Damien took my hands and pressed my mother’s necklace into them. “Katla, you will get you answers, and I will be by your side while we find them together and reclaim your pack.” I looked up at him and he pulled me against his chest.

The Moonstone seemed different, less dull and more polished. It had an energy that I hadn’t noticed before, and for the first time in my life, I felt it calling me to put it on. I took each end in my hands and began to fumble with the clasp behind my neck. “Let me help,” Damien said, circling behind me and taking the delicate golden strands in his large hands. He fastened it behind my neck and where the teardrop shape stone sat, a warmth began spreading through my chest and radiating somewhere deep in me.

We walked up to the waiting machine that would carry us to Silverburn. It was sleek black with flecks of glitter that shimmered in the afternoon sun and the Silverburn crest was a deep, dark purple with silver details. Another woman and man escorted us up to the helicopter- a word I had learned earlier in the day after watching some videos about them with Damien- and helped us ascend the step then closed the door behind us.

There were six black plush leather chairs with purple trim, each with headphones nearby and a console between them. Drinks were waiting for us and I was told there were more snacks and beverages inside a hidden compartment in each. Clarissa and Rolf sat opposite Damien and me, and following what they were doing, I put the headphones over my ears and clipped the harness around my waist and across my chest.

Clarissa smiled in excitement. She told me earlier that she had not yet been to the “Wilds,” what the humans called the Pack Lands, and that she had always wanted to go. It was her first time in a helicopter, too, but she had grown up seeing them. The thought that we could just fly like birds to wherever we wanted was crazy.

Damien reached out and held my hand. I looked at him and I couldn’t quite read his expression, but it was something between curiosity and concern. I smiled back, trying to reassure him that I was ok, even though I wasn’t quite believing that I was.

“Welcome abroad,” a voice called over the headphones. “Our flight time today is approximately two and half hours to Silverburn Manor helipad, but if weather permits, we will be circling the Silverburn territory for an aerial view before descending for our first-timers.” Damien smiled at me.

The pilot continued, “We expect clear flying conditions with some of the usual turbulence at the Northern barrier. The weather at our destination is cool and partially cloudy with a chance of an evening dusting of snow. There are blankets located under your seats if you should feel cold at any point as we travel North. If there is anything else we can do to make your flight more comfortable, please let us know.”

“The blankets are new,” Rolf said over the headphones. “We have a couple of Southies with thin blood, but something tells me one of you will like the weather more than the other.” He nudged Clarissa and mouthed, “Sorry, it’s not you.”

“How cold will it be exactly?” she asked.

Damien and Rolf looked at each other, laughed, and both said, “Cold.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered though,” Damien reassured. “It’s been a very long time since a human has come North, but we tried to think of everything we could to help you be comfortable. Oh, best not call Silverburn territory ‘Wilds’ though, some may take offense.”

“Noted,” she replied. “Thank you all for allowing me to join you. I know the circumstances are unusual.”

“It’s our pleasure to host you,” Rolf jumped in. “I’m Alpha Damien’s right hand in the pack, as you know. If you need anything, please let me know. I want to make sure you’re taken care of as well as you take care of us in the human lands.”

If I didn’t know better, I would have thought that he had a thing for Clarissa. But it was strictly forbidden for humans and wolves to be mated. Fucking was one thing, a relationship was another. “Alpha Damien…should I use that instead of Mr. Silverburn?” Clarissa asked.

“In packs, we all share a last name,” I finally spoke. “It’s how we identify with the pack we belong, and it shows clear loyalty. If you say ‘Mr. Silverburn,’ you’d be talking about half the pack. Alpha lets everyone know exactly who you are talking about.”

“So, you’re Beta Rolf?” Clarissa asked and Rolf nodded. “But, what about you Katla? You’re the only Iceclaw there, so who are you?” I opened my mouth to speak, then closed it. I wasn’t sure what to say.

Damien squeezed my hand and looked at me. In a moment of sheer vulnerability, I reached out to him through our mind link, “I don’t know who I am.”

“Who do you feel like you are?”

“I don’t know. I was Alpha in Waiting of Iceclaw. I am your betrothed and mate. I am, maybe, the Moon Goddess’ heiress and promised princess?” I questioned touching the glittering moonstone that was warm and beginning to glow as we traveled North. It’s like it knew it was going home at long last.

“Katla, you’re all of those things,” he told me back. “And so much more.”

“But how should I be introduced to the pack?” I asked back.

“I’ll let you decide, but can I make a suggestion until you’re comfortable with your title?”

“Ok?”

“I would be honored if you would allow me to introduce you as my Luna and mate,” he looked deep into my eyes, and I felt Aurelia’s contentment with that. Actually, it was more than contentment, it was as if she was stepping into a role that she had never contemplated, but now desperately wanted. Something that she knew wouldn’t be on offer to her so she put the thought aside, but now she wanted it. Damien’s wolf felt the pull, too.

“Our wolves seem to like that idea,” I said back to him. “I will be introduced as Luna, but please promise me that I won’t be caged, and once I can be Alpha of Iceclaw, then it can be mine.”

“Katla, of course. I would never seek to take that or any other destined course from my mate,” he reassured. I believed him,

“You’re doing it again,” Clarissa said after a few minutes. “The mind talk thing?”

“Oh, you better get used to that,” said Rolf. “But we’ll try our best to make sure you’re not accidentally left out.”

“It’s fine,” she said. “Just interesting.” The helicopter began to shake as we reached the shimmering barrier. I grabbed Damien’s arm and he held on to me.

“It’ll be over soon. Just the barrier turbulence.” I looked at Clarissa who was gripping her chair as her knuckles turned white. Rolf reached over and put his hand on her shoulder then smiled at her. She looked at him, and it was like she was seeing him for the first time.

The helicopter settled in the sky and I felt Aurelia properly awaken and flash behind my eyes for the first time in days. It felt good, like a missing part of me was restored. “Whoa,” Clarissa breathed. “What is that feeling? And your eyes, all of them.”

“Our wolves are fully awake,” Damien said matter of factly. “They are quieter in the human lands. There is old magic in the pack lands that just isn’t where you are. The barrier separates us. The energy you feel is the energy of the Moon Goddess who watches over our realms.”

All of a sudden, the moonstone began so shimmer, casting a starry pattern on the black interior of the helicopter. My skin began to shimmer like the stone and the starry pattern that was cast around was pulled back and painted across my skin like I was the stone itself. A power seeped into my veins stronger than I experienced the night before. The glittering patten began to arrange themselves into glowing tattoos of the ancient language I had seen in my dream and then were absorbed into my skin as quickly as they had appeared.

I looked up, and all eyes we on me. Rolf’s mouth hung open, and Damien wore a look of awestruck pride. Clarissa broke the silence, “What was that?”

We all looked at each other, and a voice that wasn’t mine answered.