“Thank you so much for visiting,” Diya said as she escorted us to my car.
“No need to thank me. I should do more.”
“This is enough. You have a life.” She told me with an understanding tone.
We got to the car, and while Zion opened the door and got in, I turned to her. “I pray all goes well for you. I want you to be happy with your baby.” I pulled her in for a quick hug.
She waved us off, and I looked forward to visiting again.
Driving home took forty-five minutes. I did a mental calculation of my time. Including traffic jams, it would take an hour and thirty minutes to reach the house.
“Mommy, sleep!” Zion yelled, and I glanced back to see his weary eyes.
I strapped him into the back seat and made sure it was comfortable. That way, he could easily do that without stressing himself if he wanted to sleep.
“Okay, Zion.” I beamed at him, knowing he’d be asleep in no time. After thirty minutes of driving, the empty fuel tank icon popped up on the front screen, and I took the turn to the next fuel station I came across. I got down and fueled my truck before moving into the station to pay for it. Doing that took three minutes, but since Zion was already asleep, I did not worry. I thank the attendant at the station store before returning to my car.
I slowed down on my steps as I saw a figure lurking around my car. I calmed my raging mind and its many questions and approached. The closer I got, the more defined the figure became, and I realized it was a woman. With her face turned away, I couldn’t make out anything but her curly brunette hair. I couldn’t let my guard down because my son was sleeping in the car, where this strange woman was lurking.
I hurried over to my car and spoke when I got there. “Can I help you?”
She turned around, and her eyes met mine. She had green eyes, flawless skin, a high cheekbone, and a defined jawline.
She looked familiar, but I couldn’t place her until she spoke.
“I don’t think so. I am Nicole Kent, Luna of the New Age Pack.”
With her introduction, I realized who she was. She was once Aaron’s mate, the one he told me had lied to him just to ruin his life and hasten the demise that came along with his inevitable fate.
My guards suddenly shut up to a very high degree. If this woman was everything Aaron said she was, she could cause chaos just for the sake of causing it. She would want to hurt Aaron, and what better way to do that than by harming Zion and me?
Why was she back here? According to Aaron, he ended things with her and banished her from his pack, never to return. They were over and had nothing in common anymore, but it seemed she was back now.
She stretched her hand out for a shake, but I didn’t take it. I just stared at her. She withdrew her hand and flashed a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I guess you’ve heard about me,” she said, her voice coming out sweet and harmless. If only that were true.
“What do you want?” I demanded, not wanting to beat around the bush.
“I don’t know what Aaron told you, but I am not the villain here.”
“I never said you were. I just don’t appreciate you lurking around my car when you know damn well you’re a stranger.” I spoke with caution despite being angry.
“Yes, I am a stranger, but I am also the closest friend you need right now. Aaron Hart isn’t who you think he is,” she answered.
“And I am supposed to believe a word you say? For all I know, you’re the bad one.”
“If I were this monster he has made me out to be, I would have moved to snuff the life out of your son.” She turned to look at Zion, who was still fast asleep, and my heart doubled a beat at her words, knowing danger was closer than ever.
She then turned back to me and said, “But because that’s not who I am, I did no such thing.”
“Stay away from me and my son.”
I walked away from her to the driver’s seat, and I pulled the door open. “Say hello to Aaron for me, then. Tell him his Luna is back and sends her regards.” She said that, and I closed the door.
I drove off at a faster speed than I had ever driven my car, and when I got home, I unstrapped Zion, carried him into my arms, and took us inside. I laid him in bed, and he was still sleeping, so I let him be.
“You stayed out longer than you used to. What happened?” Aaron asked from across the door of Zion’s room. My heartbeat doubled, and I turned to him.
He must have seen something in my eyes because his eyes grew concerned, and he stepped over to me.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, his gaze not wavering as he beheld me.
I bit my lips and tried to look away, but he didn’t let me until I spoke. “Nicole.”
The single words that left my mouth turned his expression from one of concern to fury. His eyes brewed with a dark shade of red, and I hadn’t seen this much anger in him before, and it terrified me.
“What did she do to you?” he asked, his hoarse voice sending chills through me.
I shook my head. “Nothing. She said to say hello to you for her and also to tell you your Luna is back and send her regards.” I answered.
This wasn’t the only thing she told me, but I felt this was the most important. For all I know, she lied about the others.
“Did she see Zion?” He let go of my face, his attention moving to our sleeping son for a second before returning to me.
I nodded. “Yes, she did. She said she didn’t come for him and also said she wasn’t the villain; she only came for you.”
“I don’t know which she does better, lying or manipulation. She was aiming to send a message to tell us she was back. I know her return also means the return of the New Age pack. The ritual we embarked on weeks ago must have signalled all the wise ones in every pack. They have drawn their theories, some better than others.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Ivan told me if the rituals were true, we wouldn’t be the only ones to know. The wise ones in other packs will study the change in seasons and times and know something massive is about to take place. If the wise ones can interpret the signs correctly, they will feed them back to their Alphas and Lunas, and in no time, there will be an uprising. I didn’t know they would deduce it this fast. Breaking the curse of power would not only save my life but also seal my position as the strongest alpha werewolf in all of creation. Not everyone wants that.”
“What does that mean?” My voice quivered as I spoke.
He didn’t cover it up. He spoke with an honest tone when he said, “It means a war is coming, and you’re now trapped in the middle of it.”
I tried to sleep that night, but I couldn’t. I wanted to close my eyes, but every time I did, the events of the day plagued my mind. When I embarked on finding a way out of Aaron’s curse, I didn’t know a lot would be at stake, and now I couldn’t stop thinking about what I had unleashed. Breaking the curse was a good thing, but I wondered what the consequences would be. Today I realized how vulnerable I and Zion were in all of this. We were still humans, the most feeble ones. I knew we’d be the first to get hurt in this war Aaron has spoken about.
There was a lot to think about Lionel, Diya, Greg, her family, and Tatiana. These people were now caught at a crossroads because of my involvement with Aaron Hart.
Guilt ate me up from the inside out, and in choosing Aaron, I had left them vulnerable. I had to ask myself if this was worth it. I wouldn’t say Nicole had gotten to me, but she had told me Aaron wasn’t who I thought he was, and that had also contributed to my unending thoughts.
I wanted to live a normal and quiet life, but normal wasn’t for me anymore.
The bedroom door slowly cracked open, and I saw Aaron standing beside it. He had stepped out earlier and said something about the study, but I was too lost in thought to hear what he said then. “You’re not yet asleep.”
I sighed and shook my head. “I am not. I can’t sleep.”
He shut the door and strode towards the bed. He took his seat when he was beside me and took my hands in his for a squeeze. “I’m sorry.”
I shook my head, but I couldn’t say this wasn’t his fault because it was all entwined with me being with him.
“I was so scared for Zion. She could have harmed him if she so wanted to.” I told him, the memories of her lurking around my car, replaying in my head.
“She can’t harm Zion,” he said with a confident tone that made me raise a brow.
“And why is that?”
“Because Zion hails from the strongest bloodline, my bloodline. He is also innocent, and laying her hands on him would bring the wrath of the moon goddess on her, and no werewolf wants that.”
It was a relief to know that Zion was safe, but there were others at stake.
“She said you aren’t who you say you are. What does that mean?” I said it with a small voice and folded my arms across my chest.
“Nicole said that?”
I nodded. “She did today, and I don’t know what she meant. Is there something I need to know?”
He looked almost as clueless as I was, and he either told the truth or was good at pretending. “If there was something, I would have told you. If there is something I know about Nicole, it is that she lies and causes confusion wherever she goes. She had done that to me and my brothers in the past. Thank the goddess. I knew my brothers better.”
Aaron had never lied to me, and I wanted to place my trust in him rather than the vicious Luna called Nicole.
I leaned in and kissed his lips. “I believe you,” I mumbled into the kiss while deepening it. I took hold of his hands, placing them on my chest, and applied pressure to them, telling him what to do. He took the cue and applied pressure, making me moan. If I could get myself to stop thinking about everything that happened today, then maybe I could find sleep easier.