Breathe (Mates Saga #1) *Wattys2015*

Chapter 27

After sobbing for a while, I stood and set Luce in her crib and mind-linked the mate of the Beta, Crystal Deja, asking her to watch over Luce. She came immediately and nodded.

"Of course I'll take care of your pup, Luna," Crystal said respectfully, and I smiled at her.

"Is your mate forcing you to stay out of the fighting, too?" I asked before I left, and Crystal nodded.

"Yes, he is," she said. "He said that I have to take care of you and make sure that you don't join the fighting."

I rolled my eyes. "Will's verdict?" I asked, and she nodded.

"Yes, it was the Alpha's decision," Crystal said, and I took a deep breath, thinking quickly on the spot.

"I'll make you a deal," I offered, and her eyes narrowed.

"What deal?" she asked me, and I smiled warmly at her.

"I'll stay out of the fighting, but I have to do something. Will you watch Luce for me for that time?" I asked, and Crystal's eyes widened.

"Oh," she uttered simply, and I giggled.

"I would never put you in that position," I told her truthfully, and she beamed at me.

"Of course, Luna," she said, bowing respectfully. "I would be more than happy to take care of your pup."

I smiled at her one last time then walked out of the room.

  'What now? I did what you wanted,' I told my wolf, and she let out a bark that I identified as laughter.

  'Go to the library,' she told me, pacing back and forth in our mind. 'Look for any book on cursed werewolves.'

  'Is that what he is?' I asked, making a bee-line for the library.

  'I can almost guarantee that before Preston stole the powers of that witch, she cursed him. There's a way to defeat cursed werewolves, but I can't remember it,' my wolf explained, and I scowled.

  'You 'can't remember'?' I asked scornfully, and she huffed.

  'I might have learned it, but most likely I didn't. So don't blame me for not knowing it,'she said, sniffing - obviously offended. 'At least I gave you a lead. Now there's someway that you can defeat Preston. And you don't even have to fight!'

  'We don't know that yet,' I reminded her, and she pouted at me, going to sit in the farthest corner of our mind.

  'I'm not talking to you!' she called to me, and I smirked.

  'You are right now,' I told her, walking into the library that was void of any wolf; it was as if no one ever came here, which I wouldn't doubt. Not many wolves liked libraries.

  'No, I'm not!' my wolf said huffily, and I giggled, going to look for books on cursed werewolves.

~ ~ ~

After a while of searching the library, I did find a couple of books about cursed werewolves. I was pouring over them, reading each line and then some in the hopes of discovering the secret to defeating Preston. That was when the Beta, Houston Deja, walked into the room. He seemed surprised that his Luna would be in the library, but he wasn't at all disrespectful when asking about it.

"I'm doing some research," I told him simply before returning to the books.

"It wouldn't happen to be on cursed werewolves, would it?" Houston asked me, sitting next to me.

I looked up at him and arched an eyebrow. "And how do you figure that?" I asked, hiding my surprise beneath a facade of disinterest.

"It says so on the book you're looking at," he said, pointing at the book that I was reading.

I laughed quietly at my mistake. "So it does," I said, and he smiled warmly at me.

"So it does," he repeated, and I returned to the book.

Houston remained in silence for a little bit before he cleared his throat. "Uh, Luna?" he asked, and I turned to him.

"Yes, Houston?" I asked, and he bit his lip.

"Why are you researching cursed werewolves?" Houston asked after a moment of silence.

I tapped my finger against my lips. "It's a secret," I told him, smirking.

"A secret from the Alpha, too?" he asked, and I looked down.

"Yeah, but only until I find what I'm looking for. Once I find it, I'll tell him," I explained, and Houston blinked.

"Oh," he said, his mouth shaping into a little 'O'.

I chuckled. "Yeah," I said, nodding. "I promise I'll tell Will. I couldn't ever keep secrets from him, you know? He's my mate."

"What about now?" Will asked - no, more like hissed. "What about right now?"

I looked over at him, my eyes wide.

"Oh, now you're guilty," he snarled. "Keeping secrets from me, doing research on cursed werewolves. Trying to curse me, then?"

My eyes widened even further. "No!" I exclaimed. "I love you, Will!"

"Are you sure?" he asked, sneering at me. "I wish that you had just stayed with Preston; I don't want you around."

With that, he stalked off, and a tear slid down my cheek.

Houston rushed to my side. "I'm sure he didn't mean it," he assured me, albeit shakily and unsure. "He's just angry. He'll come back and apologize. I'm sure of it."

I stood abruptly. "Whatever," I said, holding back my tears. "I don't even care. I should've just rejected him when I had the chance. Now I'm forever hitched to them. Ugh, I'm leaving."

 'I can't believe he said that,' my wolf said, her eyes wide.

 'Neither can I, but I'm leaving,' I said, and she nodded.

 'I agree. Let's go.'

I ripped into wolf form and took off, past Will who was walking back slowly. He whipped around to look at what had passed him, and once he saw it was me, he shouted after me, but I didn't bother to listen. All that was audible in my ears was the sound of my heart breaking.