CHAPTER 54
A year and a half later!
"Everybody sure is going crazy!" Quade spoke with amusement, and laughed at some kids who were fooling around.
"Why wouldn't they! It's Blue Moon!"
Quade and Connor were as usual, rounding the pack, taking in the lively atmosphere filled with cheerful laughter and giggles.
It had been over a year since the last time the pack was attacked and since then, even if the healing was slow things had changed for the better. Now, the pack knew that there was no crazy person after their kind, and thirsting for their blood.
With Seth gone, many of the pack's tensions were also non-existent. Though, that war had not brought good things for everybody.
Where Quade and Ansel were now deeply in love and living their life, things weren't the same for others. For Connor, he had lost his mate, who wasn't actually his mate. He also lost the one boy he thought he genuinely loved- Brandel.
Just after the war ended, Brandel packed his bags and left for the life he had been living before he fell for Connor. He did not ask questions, and nor did he seek the answers for them, as he just wanted to get away from the one man who broke him apart.
The same went for Mateo. Not soon after Seth was taken away, he too was called by the Lord no one knew about, and since that day, Mateo's whereabouts were unknown. But this time, Quade knew why his father had to leave and he decided to wait for not just his return, but also for his mother's.
It was the Blue Moon again.
It had been exactly two years since Ansel became a wolf, and not one day had passed since then, when he did not think of the talk he had with the Moon Goddess. No one knew that Ansel had met with her. He refused to tell anyone anything, even Quade for that matter.
And because he did not tell anyone about that fateful meeting, no one knew that once again, after two years, they would have to say their goodbyes.
"What are you thinking so deeply about?" Quade whispered as he slipped his arms through his mate's slim waist and sighed in content. Ansel too slumped back into his mate's presence and groaned deeply.
When he had met the Moon Goddess, Ansel had not thought much of what she asked off him in return, but now, after two years of being loved, being able to love and sharing the warmth for each passing second of the day, Ansel was scared.
And as the moon turned more blue, so did Ansel's fear.
He was not ready to go, to leave everything he had built, behind. Yet, all he could do was live in the few moments he was left with; cherish them as much as he could before it would be too late.
"It's time to go!" Quade mumbled in his neck and breathed the calming scent of his mate. The past two years had been a blessing for Quade, and he didn't forget to thank the Goddess for that. But for the past few months, he knew there was something troubling his mate.
Ansel would seldom get lost in his thoughts, and almost every night Quade would quietly hear him weep, unable to do anything. And as the days went by, the more silent Ansel got.
There was something that was eating him away, yet Quade was powerless to do anything. So, he hoped that on this Blue Moon, he would gift Ansel the heart of the Goddess. He hoped that his love would be enough for Ansel to feel safe, and things would go back to how they were.
Soon everybody was next to the Moon Lake, which was just like every time, glistening in the showers of moon's bright light.
Ansel was sitting besides the lake and staring deeply at it.
"The time has come hasn't it," he sighed and looked up at the moon in an attempt to stop the tears from falling down. He held his breadth and counted to calm himself and once he was sure that his eyes were no more filled with his regrets and fears, he stood up.
"Mom, Dad"
Ansel met with everyone one by one and stayed with them for a few minutes before he went onto meeting someone else. Though, each time his heart begged him to stay and just sit and bask in the happiness around him.
But he could hear her voice. He could hear the small whimpers of his wolf, who had gone silent months back. Alpha's time with him was limited and Ansel knew that it was a debt that he had to pay to the Moon Goddess, sooner or later.
Now that he had bid his farewell, Ansel finally made his way towards one man, who was silently waiting for this day to pass by.
"What's up?" He asked.
"Nothing much..." Connor trailed off, but his eyes never left the mates who were dancing and laughing together. A few moments of silence passed by and Connor sighed before looking at his friend.
"What brought you here?" He finally asked.
"What do you mean?
"Go to your mate..."
"I will..."
And another silence fell.
Ansel's heart was heavy. He knew that if he took even one look at his mate, then he would break down, so he stayed away from him. He could see that Quade was looking for him, yet for the first time since they had become mates, Ansel was scared of being near him.
As he was lost in his thoughts, he could see Quade approaching him, but before he could do anything, his mate was right next to him, grinning fondly.
"I was looking for you!"
Ansel could not say anything. His throat was burning with the pain and in that moment all he could muster up was a hum and a smile.
"I want to give you something!" Quade excitedly mentioned and started pulling him towards the lake.
'Ah! The time has come...' Ansel thought to himself and finally the first tear rolled down his cheek.
But before he could reach the lake and be gone forever, Ansel turned around to look Connor in the eyes and whispered-
"Take care of him for me!"
And within seconds he was standing right at the edge of the lake. He looked at his mate one last time, and all the memories just played like a movie in front of his eyes.
The first time he saw Quade; the first time he realized that he was in love with him; the day he was rejected by the Moon Goddess; the day he met Brandel; the day he met Alen; the day he came back to the pack; the night he met Moon Goddess; all the times he played around with Alpha; the two years worth of memories of being mates with Quade.
"Shall we go?" Quade muttered and his eyes shone with nothing but love for the younger boy standing beside him.
"We shall!" Ansel mumbled and both the mates jumped into the river.
Where Quade had jumped to retrieve the heart of the Goddess for the love of his life, Ansel had jumped to finally fulfill the promise he had made exactly two years ago.
Both the mates could see each other under water, but the distance just kept on increasing between them, and when it was time for them to come back, only one made it.
As soon as Quade resurfaced, he jumped back on the land and turned back, hurrying to put his clothes on. He looked around in urgency and searched for the face he was dying to see.
Quade was sure he had found the most beautiful stone in the lake. It was pure red in color, none like others that had been found and he was eager to show it to his mate, but as moments passed, and realization set in, his heart began beating faster.
"Where is Ansel?" He asked no one in particular. No one could answer and all they could do was look at the river which had swallowed Ansel moments ago.
"He hasn't come back yet," Connor spoke and his tone held worry.
"What do you mean he hasn't come back? It's been more than ten minutes, it doesn't..."
Pain shot from his heart and Quade fell down on the ground, clutching the red stone he had found, he gasped for some air to be able to relieve himself of the pain he was feeling.
"What is..." he gasped, but he could feel nothing.
Yet, as soon as the pain has enveloped him, it vanished; like it was not even there to begin with.
Just like his mate.
Quade could hear the howls surrounding him, but all he could do in that moment was clutch to the stone in his hand, until that too became too hard for him and he finally lost all strength.
The last thing Quade could see or hear was the sweet voice of his mate, and the heat from the stone in his palms, and with that, once again-
The redcoat pack lost its Alpha and Luna.
....................