Tommy POV
Darkness surrounds me, while loneliness engulfs me. However, the pounding of footsteps in the distance means I’m not alone. My heartbeat quickens as I turn away from the noise while my feet shuffle forward.
A thick fog surrounds me, and I can’t see anything.
What is going on? Where am I?
The heavy footsteps now echo in my ears as my feet hurry to get away. The only thing I know is to run the opposite direction from whoever is coming towards me.
No. I thought this part of my life was over.
I need to get away.
A sinister laughter slices through the air as my breath hitches.
No. Not again.
Panic rushes through me while my eyes dart everywhere, trying to find a little glimmer of light or something to tell me which direction to go. But like my past, there is nothing.
“Freak!”
“You’re a mistake!”
“I can’t believe the moon goddess made something like you!”
My heart races as memories, which I thought I had buried deep within me, resurface. The same disgust in the words spoken in those memories is here now with these new insults.
My feet move faster as the footsteps draw near.
I can’t let them catch me. Never again.
“Reject! You can’t run from us! We are going to fix the moon goddess’ mistake. Once and for all.”
The hatred oozing from the words has my heart racing even faster.
NO!
I pull together all my energy and run as quick as I can. However, no matter how fast my feet move, the thundering of footsteps behind me never stops. Instead of pulling away from them, they get closer.
As I slow only slightly for my eyes to dart from side to side, a finger grazes across my back. My heart skips a beat while a wave of fear quickly engulfs me.
This can’t be happening. I’m in a safe place now. They aren’t supposed to be able to get me now.
Another finger slides across my back and sends a cold shiver throughout my entire body. However, I can’t stop. Nothing good ever happens when I stop running.
Another sinister laugh cuts through my haze as a hand suddenly grabs the back of my shirt.
NO! NOT AGAIN!! NEVER AGAIN!
My eyes whip open as I bolt upright in bed. My arms wave frantically in the air, trying to fight off people who aren’t there anymore.
Tears stream down my face as I scream, “No! Stay away from me! I’m not a mistake!”
Finn rushes into the room. “Tommy! You are alright. I’m right here.”
He grabs my hand as I continue to wave them in the air. Instantly, the dark haze around me clears, and I finally realize no one is after me. It is only a terrible nightmare.
My heart races in my chest as if it is going to jump out any second, while a sense of calmness slowly washes over me. Finn’s soft, soothing voice fills my ears. “Tommy, you are alright. No one is going to get you here. You are safe with me and with this pack. You don’t have to worry anymore.”
As he climbs onto the bed and sits next to me, I wrap arms around him as a waterfall of tears takes over my face and sobs rip from my throat.
When will this end?
I can’t ask Finn to be around me all the time. I’m pushing my luck already. Two years is too long, but what else can I do? I’ve tried everything, but nothing else seems to work but Finn’s touch.
***
Wyatt POV
I take a deep breath as I look into the bedroom and watch Tommy cry in Finn’s arms. It has been a few months since Tommy has had such a bad nightmare like this. However, Tommy isn’t any closer to resolving his issues and defeating his past demons than he was when we first found him and saved his life. Back then, Kane and I healed his body, but Finn was the only one who could temporarily chase away his past and the various things haunting him.
Kane walks up beside me and whispers, “Tommy having another bad dream?”
I nod and wrap my arm around his waist. “Yeah. I wish we had the ability to heal his mind, but we don’t.”
He leans his head against my shoulder. “I wish the same thing, but at least we have Finn. He can’t heal Tommy’s mind, but he can calm him down. They are eighteen now and could find their mates any day. Maybe when the two of them find their mates, it will help them heal and finally put their past demons behind them.”
I kiss the top of his head. “I hope you are right. However, I have a feeling that they won’t be able to find their mates until they tackle their past. Only then can they freely accept their mates.”
He sighs. “What did the Supreme Elder say? Did she give you any insight about them?”
I shake my head. “No. She didn’t give me anything more than what you have just said. They need to defeat their own hidden monsters before they can find their mates. She didn’t give any timeframe either of how long it will be before the two will find their mates.”
This is one of those times when I wish she would stop with her riddles and give me the information straight without her usual guessing games.
My mate snuggles in tighter against me as he wraps his arms around me. “Well, they are going to be starting college soon. Maybe getting out and mingling with others their age will help them to overcome their past. You know every little step helps.”
Again, I nod. “I know, but this is such an extreme case. I don’t know what it will take to break through for both of them. Only time will tell.”
In addition to time, my many prayers to the moon goddess will hopefully help, too. But if there is something I can do, I’m doing it. I know my mate is doing it, too.
Silently, I also hope and pray that when they do finally find their mates, their mates don’t do anything stupid. I don’t know if Tommy and Finn can handle something like that, especially Tommy. He might just completely break if his mate would do something silly. For the sake of his health and our pack’s sanity, I pray his mate doesn’t reject him.
** Skip ahead 2 years ** I toss my bag and textbooks on the table and then glance around. Tommy stops just a little distance from our usual spot in the cafeteria, but he isn’t looking at the food line. Instead, he is looking around at the swarm of students who are eating, while a few are studying. He jumps slightly as the noise from the bustling students hits him. He may be taller than me now, but his scared eyes are still the same ones I saw the first time he looked at me in the hospital all those years ago. No matter how much we train and work to improve and strengthen our bodies, his past is still on full display through his eyes. I know what he is looking for. I don’t have to use my ability and read his mind. I sigh and walk up beside him. As fear flashes across his face, I playfully nudging his arm. “Hey. What do you want for lunch? It is my turn to buy.” He blinks a couple of ti
Mike POV “Beta Malcolm! Can you come here?” My words have a slight edge to them as my beta’s calm voice drifts into my office while he talks to someone in the hallway near my door. As I stare at the doorway, my finger lightly taps one of the many piles of paperwork on my desk. What is taking him so long? After a few moments, Malcolm rushes into my office and stops in front of my desk. “Alpha Mike, did you need something?” I sigh and motion for him to take a seat. “I need you to tell me where you are at in finding me a suitable beta. I would love to keep you on, but I know you are supposed to be in retirement right now. I don’t want to keep delaying it for too long. You deserve to enjoy your life.” A heaviness washes over me as I stare across the desk at the older man. If things could have been different, he wouldn’t be sitting here right now. Instead,
I stare out the side window of the car and blankly watch the scenery flash by. My heart aches from earlier watching Tommy and Finn in the university’s cafeteria with their friends.I’m happy they have made a few friends in college, but they are both still really quiet and reserved. However, I know it isn’t easy after what both of them have gone through. To say that Tommy and Finn have had a rough life is an understatement. I can’t think of what else can happen to them to make things harder on them than they already are. Well, there is one. That is the one thing that has me on edge nowadays.Ben taps the steering wheel and sighs. “Stop worrying about them. Tommy and Finn are adults now. We can’t keep them under our wing forever. Plus, we have our own babies to take care of now.”I sigh. “I know, but I can’t help it. It is my Lu
Faces. Everywhere where I look, there are faces.My heartbeat quickens. They are too close….They glare at me with the familiar look of hatred, while they scream nonstop with words laced in venom….My mouth dries and my body trembles as fear washes over me.The crowd leans in around me and sneers while they hiss.“Freak!”“Just die!”“Disgusting!”They hurl their insults at me from every direction. Unfortunately, no matter what I do, I can’t get away. They have me surrounded.As I coward down in the middle, I silently pray. Someone, please, make them stop.BAM!Before I know what is happening, pain shoots through my whole body as punches and kicks land from every direction randomly land across my body. Besides the pain, a wave of panic slams hard into me, too.Instinct
Finn POVTommy is finally getting back to normal. It has been a couple of weeks since his terrible nightmare, and luckily, he hasn’t had another one. Well, I haven’t left his side since he had the nightmare, so he hasn’t had the chance to have another one.I’ve also talked with the elders, along with the Supreme Elder, hoping to find some kind of solution for him. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to come up with anything. Of course, the Supreme Elder only gave me another riddle, but I haven’t been able to figure it out, either. So, it isn’t any help.Through the years, I have been getting really good at her riddles, but this one has me stumped. How do the stars being aligned help me to figure out what to do?Ugh….I wish this was something Kane could just put his hands on Tommy and heal him. Unfortunately, Kane can only heal ph
Kane POV It feels weird to step into my parent’s house. I can’t really describe it, but if I have to, it is almost like a previous life or something. I smile as my mother rushes out of the house. “Kane! You are here with the kids!” My father is right behind her with a big grin. I’m not sure what he told Mike so he can be here, but I’m happy whatever his excuse is. My parents are one of the fortunate people who have their own home, instead of living at the pack house. Granted, the pack house here isn’t nearly as big as the mansion at Sun Moon pack, so a good number of families live in a house instead of the pack house. However, usually those families are wealthy or have a high rank, like my father. I smile as I get out of the car. “Mom! Dad!” My mother rushes to me and engulfs me in a hug. “Kane. I’m so glad you are here. How long can you stay
I don’t know what is happening lately. My head is still spinning after the phone call I got from Beta Malcolm yesterday. How in the world did they even get my name or know about me? I’m sure that there isn’t some grand list somewhere of all the werewolves, including rogues, in the world. That would be crazy.So many people, including rogues, died during the great war. I understand, from what Dee has told me, Alpha Mike’s beta was killed in the war, along with a lot of others from her pack. The previous beta stayed on as Alpha Mike’s beta, but Beta Malcolm wants to retire.With only a few people to pick from in his own pack, he is looking everywhere for someone to replace Beta Malcolm.I’m still not sure how they got my name, though.After talking with Beta Malcolm, I agreed to go to meet him next week after my classes are done. He said it isn’t a formal intervi
Ben POV I bite my lower lip, trying to keep myself from laughing. The look of confusion swirling around in Dee and Shane’s eyes as I talk to them through the mind link is priceless. A small part of me hopes I’m not shocking them too much, though. For a while, Kane and I have thought that it was time to tell Dee and Shane the truth. Actually, to be completely honest, it is way past time to tell them, but if we left this up to Tommy and Finn, they probably would keep putting it off. Doing it this way, we get the added intention of showing the other werewolves here that the group is protected by us. While linking with everyone at the table, I continue on. “With them being male omegas, they actually live with Wyatt and Kane to keep them safe from everyone else, especially when they go into heat.” I glance quickly at the two young omegas, who now have a pink dusting across their cheeks while they lower t