I knew I would be injured after taking on a dozen or so guards. I had no idea I would end up in limbo. I am in a strangely dreamy state. One where you know it’s not real and yet it’s too vivid to wake up from. I also know it’s a dream because standing in front of me is Azalea. The Azalea I remembered anyway, the petite stunner with olive skin and brown eyes. That stunning, deep green mermaid style dress she wore the night we were mated. Goddess she sparkled that night. I could remember how I madly grabbed her to me, our first kiss, everything just fitting together so perfectly. She smiled at me, the way she had done that night too, so soft and gentle, a little dimple forming in one cheek. I turned around and realised I was in a ballroom with her. The White Forest Pack ballroom to be precise, with its wooden floors and white walls. I kept trying to communicate with Kohl but there was nothing. The silence was terrifying. For over ten years his constant calm guidance and now the l

It felt like falling for the longest time. Floating through a blackness. Halo was there with me, distantly keeping me calm and focused as she looked after Ivan and Kohl. I seemed to land back on the earth and fluttered my eyes. I didn’t have time to think as before I could even make a sound Ivan was on me. Like a puppy. His body scooped me to him, covering me in kisses, praise and reprimands for being so foolish. “Cherish, you shouldn’t have risked yourself like that,” he said whilst holding me close to him, fervently kissing my cheeks, waking me from whatever world I’d been travelling in the most delightful way. “I’m meant to look after you, you silly mouse, you silly thing.” “Ivan,” raising my hand to cup his cheek and smile. “We’re here. We danced, was that real?” “It was, your lilac dress,” he whispered, “your gorgeous hair curled up and we danced together.” “And Azalea?” “Gone, permanently, her mark has been erased from my body. I don’t know if the rejection didn't work or

That sleep was the final recovery I needed. I felt fully alive, tingling with pent up energy after doing nothing but eating and resting for so many days. My pulse was quickening, my thoughts racing with ideas, all of them naughty and involving Ivan. When Ivans hands trailing softly over my naked skin, his surprise at realising I had woken up before him and stripped off was exquisite. Not knowing where his hand would gently brush next made those fireworks extra sensitive. It took everything I had not to make a noise. To just enjoy his roaming. Rolling over my legs parted and I could feel how wet I'd become just through his touches. As his clothes hit the floor with a soft flump I sat up and shuffled away, vanishing from his sight in the dark. "Hey, where are you going?" he called softly, as I heard him leaning back onto the bed, the squashy mattress absorbing his huge body. It was my turn to delicately touch him in the dark. First I trailed a finger up his shins making him grunt.

As much as I am floating on air right now about Ivan there is an awful lot to be done before the Full Moon and our Ceremony. Huge trunks have arrived with jewels, clothing, gold and stacks of paper and pens. Everyone needs recording, every person's declaration will eventually need logging so we can keep a record of families, mates and social change. Everytime I think of Ivan my mark tingles. It is like having a little piece of him with me at all times, warming my soul and making Halo whoop for joy. I wondered why I was lingering around the kitchen and then realised they were peeling apples, even my subconscious craves him at all times. However, everywhere I turn I see more tasks stacking up. How many people have ever started a pack from scratch before, it’s going to be impossible. Luckily nearly everyone is coming to us. The population of the south all want to be part of this first inaugural festival. The town square is never going to be big enough for the thousands that are going t

Thank the heavens for Cherish because my mind has just been blown. Did I, or did I not just see an entire tree emerge out of a well, growing and expanding to the size of an ancient, centuries old landmark? I'm meant to know what's going on but I'm as dumbstruck as every tiny child gasping and pointing, not quite daring to touch the tree. I have never seen such a demonstration of the Moon Goddess, it has never been refrred to in any of the history books. It was beyond breathtaking. I may need to question every single person here to make sure I haven’t hallucinated the whole thing. As Cherish clears her throat my eyes are drawn to her. In her deep emerald green gown, her hair plaited and twisted into an intricately regal style. She kept insisting I had changed, grown more stately in my manner but she didn’t realise she had done the same. Our mate-bond could have suffered as we both rapidly evolve into these new roles but we have stuck together, kept close and honest and here we are.