"We do not want to invade the privacy of your pack in these circumstances, Malina."
The words came slow through the phone while the wind outside had been agressive since the morning. The clouds were reaching above our territory for another rainy night.
I wondered if the Lycans would even care to come.
My gaze would randomly fall on Alpha Rucus' statue. The wind would blow on my face and I would remember, that I had started to hate him secretly.
Our Great Ancestor didn't think of how Nathan would suffer, how my Misty and Pete would suffer.
He didn't.
He was just standing there, watching and doing nothing.
Neither did he warn my Misty of her fate nor guided my Pete in these chaos.
I looked away the from the statue and focused on Anne's voice. The mere mention of her name would boil my blood since the night she had threatened to hurt Kate.
I didn't wish to receive the call when Kate had been crying the whole day on my shoulder. Our hearts had been at edge at seeing Keira's health deteriorating by every minute. A pregnant mother didn't deserve to go through this.
But Alyssa was sitting right beside me on the couch, quickly catching her mother's name on the screen.
"We prayed whole night for Eva and the whole of your brave family. I have been wanting to come and visit everyone. How has been Thomas? Is he healed already?"
She didn't know about Keira's wound.
We could rely on Alyssa. I personally could trust her after seeing her spending whole night staying beside Kate, watching over her with me while being worried sick for her own mate. My Thomas was fortunate.
"I wish to come myself and take back Eva home. We are proud of her."
With her arrival, would come more questions about the whole plan. But would things even be hidden if the miracle actually had happened. The packs would have already known that the Lycans were manipulated successfully in bringing the cure for that poison.
Poison.
The intensity of its effect in the blood grew because of the lack of exchange of mates from the both sides. The blood needed to be diluted. But it had gone strong during these centuries of isolation.
Must I look for some dark magic that would make that border visible to me, and I would pull that rope of a curse with all my might and burn it— I wished.
But the reality was out of my control. Out of my hands. A failure of a mother I was.
I couldn't protect my pups.
Eva and Thomas narrated their experiences of the last night during the hours Stephen and Ivan worked on potions and treatments to buy us more time to protect Keira.
My heart was a mashed mess. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I couldn't believe that my little Misty didn't choose to give up and tried to make most of the chance bravely.
"Did. . . Did they find Misty?"
The news would have reached them if that had happened. We would have been celebrating.
I wondered how her mate managed to lure her into love this quickly.
The heat hadn't come this early to me especially after Frankie had revealed Gilbert's deeds to me. The wolf inside me took time in loosening herself into desires.
Kate too didn't go this early. She wasn't so easy to please. Robert had to woo her all the time.
Our Eva had heat a fortnight after the ceremonies. But only after she turned twenty. Yet it was still not this quick.
"They couldn't bring her back," I said while blinking the tears away. My tone was straight clearly showing how I could not even dare believe in miracles. It was already impossible.
Anne's silence was thick through the phone. "He mated her?"
I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them only to twitch my lips in frustration. "Who knows, Anne? Only the Goddess. My poor daughter went into her heat and the crossing is not possible then." A faint broke out from me.
Anne stayed silent, giving no wild reactions which was unlikely of her. She was the one who wouldn't miss this chance to use her sharp words. I expected fake sympathy or blunt advice about accepting this fate.
"I am a mother, Malina. I know how you feel. Must you think she has fallen for her mate, if the heat came. And that is only good news. At least we know that her mate managed to melt her heart so soon. Don't we?" She said quietly. "Barbaric or not. Moon Goddess gave us mates only to practice love, recieve love. If Eva and Leo could come together and dive into such deep trust on each other. Lycan or not, Misty's mate would be no exception."
I took a long breathe and remembered young Savina's face, calling me her Aunt. Young Alvena who was always known as the brilliant pup among the mystics. Stephen never shared his thoughts about missing Valeria all these years. I wondered if he had truly moved on that sorrow. Poor little Chelsea had bravely crossed the border and helped so much.
But it was different with Misty. She wasn't trained, never taught about the Lycans and their horrors. She was a human, had no sharp senses like us. She was vulnerable there.
It was different for her.
"Come, Anne. Come and take Eva back to Leo," I mumbled while wiping my cheeks and breathing hard.
My gaze fell back on the Alpha Rucus' statue randomly. The curtains would blow in the sight because of the wind and cover and uncover him.
"She said that she wouldn't leave. . ." Anne didn't know about Keira's health. So, I stopped myself from revealing it. She could come here and get to know about it herself. I felt too tired to continue the conversation. ". . . Until everyone's healed. We will never be healed, Anne."
The Lycans might never show up. Like Thomas told how Alpha family had gotten Misty and didn't need more brides for a heir technically.
"Alyssa will be happy to see you too."
A faint sigh of relief was heard.
"I am coming for Eva and Thomas more than Alyssa, Malina. My daughter is safe and content under your watch, I know."
The sound of loud footsteps came from the street. I walked ahead immediately to lean over the window and check.
Robert, Thomas, Nirvan and Pete were running towards the ground where Gilbert and Iago were already present. Stephen had already returned to his house to watch over Keira with Ivan.
A sudden enthusiasm filled the veins of my legs.
If the existence of Thomas and Alyssa as mates had changed Anne's heart. Could Misty's presence change the relation between Lycans and us? Between the packs of Rucussa and Ronyn?
The answer was unknown.
"Misty is with her mate and Moon Goddess is pleased, Malina. These tough times won't last."
But Anne's desire to make her daughter a Luna would, forever.
I couldn't help but sigh.
"Alpha Rucus didn't have brothers with brides so he bit a human to run his legacy. But Pete has younger brothers, Malina. Even if the border doesn't fall, it won't change the fate of your pack. You will still have heirs."
The wind was now running harshly across my ear. I could hear distant footsteps. The trees were swaying. The leaves were making so much noise.
"The border must fall, Anne. This century, or the next or the next after next. It shall fall soon, Anne." I told her with the utmost belief.
The words came out through gritted teeth as I hung up the phone and threw it on the bed.
Running towards the door, my eyes caught the family photo from the Ceremony and Misty was there too.
A human.
She was happy, smiling and fearless among so many familiar and foreign wolves.
That's how she was meant to live!
The Lycans needed to know.
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The males were all standing behind Pete in a small crowd, facing the front line of forest from where the Lycans must have arrived.
No one had spoken. The nature was doing its trick.
The wind was splashing faint drops from all side.
This must be the first time they had arrived in the daylight and not to recieve a bride.
From this far, the scents were not so rich. But I knew that they were two.
The fragrance of the flower must have lost in this harsh wind, I wanted to believe. Because if they hadn't brought it, hell would break loose.
It won't be just the young females getting saved from going there. It would be getting inside the territory again and reaching for the flower ourselves. Because Keira couldn't die. That brave pup couldn't be martyred so easily.
No. No more sacrificing their lives for the cruel border.
"Alpha Pete." The familiar voice boomed all around.
I looked up at the sky. The clouds were grey and outlined by the silver.
The rain was not even rain. Just the drops bringing out the fresh thick of smell of forests' soil.
Pete was in no patience to greet him back. But the Lycan Alpha would always find it amusing to irk my pup. He wasn't this way with Gilbert. As if Pete being younger here was a factor to decide the treatment.
"The flower?" Pete asked calmly yet loudly.
My gaze caught the blue jeep parked far towards the right near the border. It had entered the territory at the dawn, crushed, without glasses and doors, holding Misty's faint smile that would now wash off by the droplets.
"Wouldn't you want to know if your little sister is recovering well from the harsh adventure she did last night, Alpha Pete?"
My heart squeezed in uncertainty.
The wind covered my face with the hair flying in force. Instead of the cold, my cheeks were burning from the fury that was rising inside me.
"Or how affected your mate have been from your presence in the territory?"
My fists clenched and the beast inside rolled in restlessness.
"Your sister is not the only one into the heat now, Alpha Pete."
I gasped.
Oh God!
I took a step ahead and then the other in alert. I could see Gilbert walking closer to Pete, Nirvan getting alarmed and Thomas going nearer to the border.
Pete's mate was in heat and the mere information could make his beast mad enough to cross the border in extreme concern.
My pace increased and the expected happened.
"Pete!" Robert and Gilbert grabbed my pup immediately before he could make a dash. Iago came from the front, pushing him inside our territory.
But Pete in anger was an uncontrollable wildest beast.
A growl escaped me the moment I reached them and I wasn't stopping just there.
I crossed the border.
"Malina!" Gilbert's growl echoed around followed by the thick silence that erupted as the males were now distracted.
The movements of struggle and frustration behind me stopped as I stood straight in front of the two tall men, dressed up in a different attire that they would usually wear.
Instead of the traditional furs and feathers, they were dressed in breeches and balloon-sleeved shirts. The boots were high and the kohl was striking out the mesmerizing blue and amber orbs of theirs.
Amber!
A wave rushed through my heart.
Thomas had described Misty's mate to me. Tall, tanned and handsome. Lush eyes and long hair upto the shoulders. His beard was not as long as of the Alpha. The shape of their noses and face matched enough to sign that they were real brothers.
This one was young yet seemed older than Pete for sure. The Alpha was chubbier but this one had jawline.
His lips parted at observing my face. As if he knew that I was the mother.
"You are her mate. Aren't you?" The words escaped my mouth without a thought.
Curious and desperate, I kept looking at him for a response. But no words came out from him.
It was him!
My mouth opened in fascination and I took another look of him from head toe. He must be in his late twenties. My Misty was so young. A little pup.
He had seen more life than her and knew her innocence now that he had marked her. He was aware of her fears, powers, her deepest secrets and memories that even she herself couldn't remember. But did he care? Did he have emotions?
Eva had told me how Misty seemed comfortable with him before she showed herself. Was it an act? It couldn't be after Misty actually went into heat. He really managed to bring out her desires and love that she hadn't felt in her not so many years of life.
"You have had a pup even before you met my Misty," I spoke out slowly. "Without a bond. Not the pup that came out from your mate. I have had that kind of pup too. Misty."
I could hear the little gulp he took. The Adam's apple moved slightly.
He was not looking away from me, listening carefully. But I didn't know if he cared. Stephen said that he did. Otherwise, Misty would have been mated already.
But I didn't know if she was mated now. Eva told me about the screams that they all heard when he surely marked her. But what happened after that?
"How is my daughter?" I choked out, clearing my throat immediately to sound firm. "How is she? Has she healed? Is the heat same for a human as it is for us wolves? Or does it trouble her more? Have you mated her already? You know that her human body needs more care?"
A tear slipped from my eye so quickly.
The Alpha was looking ahead towards the males and scenery behind me.
The amber eyes were holding my gaze, hiding so many things about my daughter from me.
He didn't even smell of Misty about which I didn't know if I should be grateful.
"She accepted your pup!" I raised my voice a little. "My mate didn't. She suffered the fate and didn't let your pup suffer the same. The golden heart that she owns is now yours to win! No, you won't break it. You won't force your will upon her. She is kind, innocent, might throw tantrums but only because she is now caged with you all. Lycan or not, you will not be angry or upset with her. I dare you."
The males behind me took a step ahead because my finger pointed straight at the heart of my daughter's mate in warning.
"Because if you do, I will take her away from you, I swear. You know what it means. She grew up with love, with her grandmother, in luxury. She has dreams. She doesn't know the horrors or histories of us wolves and Lycans. There is a whole human world out there for her to explore. But the Goddess gave her to you in the end. She snatch her from her grandmother, from us and now My Misty has love left only for you. If you don't cherish her with all your heart—" I growled lowly.
"So many brides crossed the border and we never saw them. But it won't be same with Misty. She wasn't told that she will have a mate too. She wasn't taught about our world. She was clueless! She suffered a betrayal and she chose to forgive the betrayer." I said while another tear slipped.
The mate blinked.
"Such a soul do not deserve to cry. Invite us when she misses us. We will come to lift her spirits. Come to the border and we will mingle like a family. Things can change. History doesn't have to repeat. These unfavourable rules doesn't have to be followed. Her clothes, the food she loved here, her belongings— take them. But do not break her hopes."
The young Lycan didn't move an inch while his brother spoke out sternly. "We didn't come here to take anything. We came here to give, Luna."
My jaws clenched.
His hand went down in his pocket and brought out a silk pouch that he threw at Nirvan all of a sudden.
He caught it with ease.
"Four petals in warm water. Wash the wound with it. Two drops to drinks every night. The poison will fade away within a week," said the Alpha while looking behind me towards the males, mainly looking at Pete. "If you come uninvited again, there won't be any flower. Only your corpses full of poison will be thrown across the border."
The Alpha looked like he was about to turn around.
"Invite me, then." Pete said out loud. He walked ahead, crossing the border to my horror and stood beside me. "Invite us."
The Alpha gave us a keen look as if we looked like fools to him.
"You want to hear it from my mouth, Alpha Pete. Your mate will waste no breath in marking you and there will be no going back."
Both our confidence melted off within a second. The realisation hit hard.
If Pete's wild mate could reach here through the long and rough path from all the way back home. These males couldn't control her. She had found her chance to give a sign at every time.
She won't back away if Pete himself would be there where they all live.
The border really was stopping us from even thinking of living together in harmony. One way or another, Pete had to abandon either his pack or his mate. Just like Alpha Rucus.
Silence followed.
Thomas suggested more. "I already have a mate. Pete will stay here but we, mated ones, can come to meet her."
Lycan Alpha seemed amused and equally stern. "Our land is not a place you come to and leave by your choice. You returned to your home because we let you."
My lips parted and eyes narrowed in distaste.
The Alpha seemed clever and mysterious. His sharp eyes squinted slightly on Pete as he added, "Everything happens on my land in my knowledge. Nothing is hidden from me."
He looked at me and my throat dried from the warning in his eyes. "Goddess blessed you with the border. You had the time to stop your daughter from entering my territory. But you failed and now, she lives under my reign. None of Rucus' descendants are welcomed in my territory, for this is what Severa wishes. If you do, there will be disruption. You will regret stepping in."
All I wanted to do was pull him by his beard and tear him in shreds.
He could not dare stop a mother from visiting her pup when it was completely harmless.
But before I could utter a word of threat, Gilbert took the chance to disappoint me once again.
"There will be no stepping in," said my mate who would still stick by the rules and not care about a change. "There will be no disrupting spirits of your pack, Alpha Kingston. Everything will be the way it has always been before. You will arrive the next fourth night of ceremony and we will meet again. . ."
My eyes closed and a tear fell.
"With the eligible brides."
Why, Gilbert? Why?
"Because you completed your part by bringing the flower. There will only be peace and greed to please Moon Goddess. Nothing less or more," said the male I would never really understand completely.
The Lycan Alpha looked composed now.
I shook my head in hopelessness.
He passed Pete a mocking glance as if he was fully entertained with this visit. He stepped back.
The younger brother blinked, still looking at me. I tried to tell myself that he was maybe passing a message. That maybe, he wanted to say that he was fortunate to have my daughter. That he understood how different and precious she was.
Misty felt the guilt of hurting him before trying to leave. What magic he did to her? I was curious. I wanted to know if it was something genuine and not brainwashing my daughter's mind.
But no words were spoken. It was always the Alpha talking.
They would try their best at not revealing anything more than what was necessary.
My heart started shrinking as they started to turn around.
My lips trembled while the weight started leaving me. My shoulders started sulking and wrapped his arm around my back, pulling me to him.
"Take care of my daughter," I cried while looking in the mate's eyes.
I looked at the Alpha. "Pete's mate, tell her that we care!" I shouted loud and felt like my head would burst from such defeat from the rules of Goddess.
The Alpha didn't even blink and turned around fully. His brother mirrored his actions and both started walking inside the forest.
The rain turned a little heavier.
We were getting drenched. But the canopy of forest branches were protecting them.
Sobs escaped from me when their retreating figure disappeared into the dark.
Pete breathed hard while looking at the way, questioning himself, fighting the urges to run away and look for his mate. Poor her, she would have to suffer it alone. Who knew if she would be taken care of by her family or not?
Iago and Gilbert reached us, parting us away and taking us back to the Southern territory.
Pete didn't fight them. He had turned numb. He looked defeated.
His bloodshot eyes were showing his control. It wasn't even control anymore. It was something dead inside him.
It scared me.
Even if Misty had forgiven him, I knew that he had not forgiven himself.
My own heart couldn't stay upset with him anymore when I had seen him breaking traditions to bring her back. I knew that half the petals would be given to Eva for Leo's healing.
"Come," said Gilbert, holding my wrist. My offended gaze accompanied with tears made him pass me an unaffected look.
The one that he would give at being confident about his actions.
"If you don't want her to lose her hopes and dreams, you shouldn't alert the Lycans about our arrivals." He said, looking at me with exhaustion in his eyes. "You don't want more Lycans patrolling at the border."
I looked away and noticed Nirvan reaching the houses with the pouch in his hand. Pete was behind him only. Robert had already disappeared.
Iago and Thomas stayed to listen to Gilbert's words that weren't making sense to me anymore.
I wanted to see my daughter.
"The path must be clear. For the human pup or Pete's mate. Or Severa's ashes."
The thunder ran across the sky.
A sudden silence erupted in my chest which was filled with havoc seconds ago.
The rain had cleared off the scents of the Lycans.
"Misty had announced it all clear," Thomas said while letting out a laugh in mockery. "She had given up. If she couldn't cross the border, she didn't have to find any solution and risk her life. I would be grateful if she won't do anything about it. She won't. You didn't see her face when she hugged Pete, good bye. She was broken."
I sniffled softly and started walking away from them.
"I don't believe it," said Gilbert while walking beside me.
Thomas followed. "You just say it to keep mother sane. It was easy to get in because they are less in numbers. There were barely two-three Lycans patrolling around the whole border that night and only Eva fought one. Neither Misty nor Pete's mate can cross the border without dying. What are you even talking about, father? Pete tries to dominate the conversation with the Lycan while you talk to him as if you are drinking buddies. We all know that Misty didn't lie—"
"You couldn't hear her heartbeats through the thunder and growls! She was scared, in heat, and in trauma!" Gilbert stressed the words.
"You have found an excuse to hide your guilt of not treating Misty right while she was here, father. Now, you don't want us meeting her for possibility of lesser security? You are just like that Lycan Alpha, afraid of making changes." Thomas huffed bitterly and ran ahead of us.
Iago and I kept walking silently.
But Gilbert had stopped in the rain, getting drenched, hiding his nonexistent tears of disappointing his own mate and pups.
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