Nicolas POV
It was way after 9 pm when Ronan and I got back home. The guards quickly spotted us, greeted us,
opened the gates, and Ronan drove inside.
A mile further down, Ronan took the turn that led to my private home.
“I am glad that’s over,” Ronan said as he brought the SUV to a stop in the parking area.
“I agree,” I replied and unbuckled my seat belt.
“I am hoping that, now that Alpha Noah has no right to Luna Zara, you will bring our new Luna
home,” Ronan said, searching my gaze.
A smile grew on my lips; I knew it wasn’t a question, yet I felt I needed to answer him. The pack
members have been waiting for a new Luna and an heir.
“I intend to discuss that with Luna Zara tonight,” I answered.
Ronan’s eyes lit up, and he smiled. I opened the passenger door, got out, and waited for Ronan to
drive off.
As soon as he was out of sight, I headed toward the front door.
“I wonder if Zara is still awake,” Ray said. He was excited to share the news with her.
I shifted my gaze to the top floor, searching for her allocated bedroom.
I found it easily, her bedroom light glowing against the dark night. She had left the balcony door
open, allowing me to easily eavesdrop and determine if she was awake.
I closed my eyes and concentrated, hoping to find a clue, but all I could hear was the curtains moving
in the wind.
I froze in my tracks; an unnerving feeling ran down my back. I could feel my blood draining from my
body.
Did something happen to her?
Did they take her?
Did Alpha Noah use the meeting as a diversion to kidnap her?
Something inside me snapped, and I charged forward, almost running the door out of its hinges. Like
a madman, I ascended the stairs and sprinted down the hallway towards her room.
I was panting out of breath when I got to her door, and I hesitated to enter.
What if she is not there?
Or worse, she is dead.
I lifted my nose to the air, taking a whiff and searching for any traces of blood.
“Nothing!” I growled, grabbing the door handle and pushing it open.
Inside everything was lovely and clean. Only Zara’s and Mariana’s scent lingered in the air.
I narrowed my eyes in suspicion.
The Mariana family has been part of the pack for centuries. Would Mariana…
“She wouldn’t betray you!” Ray roared. “There must be some other explanation!”
I quickly followed the scent of the two women and found myself in the living room. My gaze snapped
toward the doors heading out to the gardens.
“Mariana wouldn’t dare take Zara outside…” I sneered. “She knows the gardens are sacred!”
“I have bad news for you,” Ray chirped. “They headed down to the water….”
I didn’t give Ray a chance to complete his thoughts. I shifted and ran down the path after Zara’s
scent.
The road down to the waterfall wasn’t a very long one; I could hear the roaring waterfall close by.
I internally sighed.
Isabella and I used to come here often in our early years-the only years we spent together. Now it
was just a heartbreaking reminder of her.
I shook the depressing thought of and ran faster. My only concern now was Zara’s safety.
Ray suddenly grabbed control and brought us to a slower pace.
“Do you hear that?” He asked, shifting his ears in the direction of the sound.
“It sounds like a couple of women talking,” I replied after a moment. They didn’t sound too far off,
but they seemed to be in deep discussion.
“One of them sounds like Zara,” Ray chirped happily, swaying his tail in excitement. “I wonder what
they are busy doing.”
“I don’t know,” I growled. Anger suddenly erupted within me. If Mariana were the one who brought
Zara here, I would have her head. She is aware that I forbade anyone from wandering through my
gardens.
I pushed forward, fuming. I picked up my pace once more. Around the next bend I would have an
open view of the waterfall, and hopefully I would be able to see the women.
However, before I could reach the end, a blinding white light flashed through the forest. Unable to
maintain my balance, I collided with a massive tree, shattering it in two.
“What the hell was that?” Ray exclaimed. Ray gasped wide-eyed as he pulled himself back on his
feet. He shook his head; he seemed to be a bit disoriented from the fall. Or was it because of the
white light flash?
“Whatever it was,” I replied, feeling a shiver run down my spine. “The surrounding magic was
incredible!”
Did one of the Gemini witches cross the border to visit Zara?
Were they searching for her?
Or was there another reason why they would come?
“I hope Zara is fine,” Ray said, interrupting my thoughts. He started shaking the debris and dirt from
his fur and then leaped over the tree stump heading back to the path. “That wasn’t normal.”
Was anything normal in my life?
“We better go see what’s going on,” I order. “Before word gets out about the light , alert the whole
pack. I don’t want any warriors running around here.”
Ray nodded and cautiously started running down the path again.
As the waterfall emerged, a colossal volume of pristine water cascaded down from above. Though
not the highest or largest waterfall in the area, it was the most secluded and beautiful.
Huge forest trees surrounded the waterfall, and exotic plants grew all around the edges.
Ray lifted his muzzle to the air, taking a whiff of the forest scent mixed with the exotic plants.
I internally sighed, feeling the anger fade inside me. This was once my happy place, and strangely
enough, it still soothed my worry.
“Over there,” Ray said, pointing his nose in the direction of two wolves standing on a huge flat rock
near the waterfall.
“Who in the world is standing next to her?” I muttered under my breath. Zara was standing with an
enormous dark gray wolf next to her.
“It’s a she-wolf,” Ray commented.
Her size is easily compared to a Beta-rank wolf, but she could easily be mistaken for an Alpha-wolf.
The wolf, with her deep sapphire-colored blue eyes, seemed to possess the ability to see into your
most profound secrets.
I gasped, recognizing the distinctive markings on her. Despite her belonging to my pack, the
Midnight Moon Pack, her scent has never left an imprint on my memory.
“Evening, Alpha,” the familiar elderly woman’s voice echoed through my mind.
“Mariana?” I gasped out loud, getting closer. There must be some mistake-Mariana’s family is
cursed. Her line hasn’t been able to shift for thousands of years.
“Yes, Alpha?” She replied, her gaze shifting toward me. “It’s me.”
“How on earth….” I replied.
“Luna Zara found a way to break the curse,” she said.
Ray shifted back, but before I could ask any more questions, Zara’s eyes rolled over, and her legs
gave way under her.
Did she just kill herself by saving Mariana?
****