Accalia's POV
The tunnels took us through the mountains and ended up near the forest.
Liam came to a stop, lifted his muzzle, and sniffed the air. I did the same, just ensuring that we weren't walking into an ambush.
I suddenly wondered why I was following Liam so blindly. He never told us why we were coming here... or what he wanted to do...
I turned my gaze to Nova, but she was standing next to Roger, relaxed.
Why was she so blindly trusting Roger..? She didn't know him from a bar of soap...
"Because he is her mate..." Lidia said.
"Still..." I said, "she shouldn't trust so blindly... she could get hurt..."
Liam started running again and I followed him down into the forest. The sound of crickets and other small insects and animals could be heard for miles around us, but not a single wolf's scent lingered in the air.
Odd, I thought, on a full moon night, most wolves would be out moon bathing or hunting...
The group before me looked unconcerned about the unnerving silence and pushed forward.
Liam and Roger took on a comfortable jog, and we could easily keep up. After about a mile or so, Liam slowed down and started walking to the outskirts of the forest.
What the hell is he doing?
Liam indicated to Roger that we would exit the forest here, and I silently followed behind him.
As we exited the forest, the mountains stood all proud before us. Liam pushed forward, heading toward the cliff. He came to a stop, walked to a nearby tree, and shifted back. Nova and I did the same, followed by Roger.
"Why are we here?" I asked Nova as we got dressed, hoping that she would know the answer.
"According to Roger, Liam found his mate two years ago..." she said, "tonight will be her shifting ceremony..."
I scrunched my eyebrows together confused, "does she know he is her mate?"
"I guess so... I am not sure what happened between them," she answered, "but Liam just wanted to witness her shifting and say goodbye..."
Goodbye... did he reject her?
I shook the grey thought off and walked with Nova toward the edge, then took a sitting position between the boulders and rocks to hide us away from prying eyes.
One thing that I noticed was that we were not too far up in the mountain and had taken a spot near a cliff ...
My gaze moved over the area down below, finding a big wide clearing hidden in between the mountains.
A small stage was set up in the center and people were slowly heading toward the stage.
A man, I assumed to be the Alpha, and around his thirties got onto the stage and started with the introduction.
My mind raced to my first shift.
I was alone and vulnerable when I took my first shift. I didn't have the luxury of having my pack to safeguard me.
Lidia made her presence known before I took shape, and she made me wander deep into the forest, where she found a small creek.
I didn't think much of the creek, it was pretty, just like any other, my attention was on my lost brother...
Dean and I would have shifted together that night if he was still alive, and the pain of being apart from my brother was heavy on my heart.
My attention snapped back to the group before me, and I recognized Queen Luna Elizabeth and her mate, King Alpha Alexander, standing in the clearing.
At first, I was surprised to see them, but yet, most packs invited the Royals and the Council to attend... that means my father should be down there too...
I moved my gaze searching for my father, but instead, I found him...
My stomach turned over and my heart suddenly pounded incredibly fast in my throat... I swallowed hard, feeling my body visibly shaking...
I found him...
I f*cking found the bastard!
Adrenaline rushed through my veins. I was ready to take this son of a b*tch down, there and then.
A growl escaped my lips, as my anger boiled over.
"What the f*ck are you doing?" Liam growled at me, irritated.
"That's him!" I hissed, pointing my finger toward Dustin.
"Who?" Roger asked, confused.
"That one!" I yelled and flew upward. I was ready... I was so ready to rip him to shreds.
"Accalia get down, you are going to give our positions away," Liam growled.
Is he f*cking kidding me?
Doesn't he know how long I have searched for him?
I left my pack and family to find this son of a b*tch!
I gave Liam one more look... and weighed my options.
I couldn't let this opportunity pass... there was no way Liam would be able to stop me.
I shifted mid-air, ripped my clothes to shreds, and shot forward...
Roger jumped in front of me, trying to stop me, yet I was faster and smarter than him and quickly by-stepped him... that was until I was brought down hard to the ground by an invisible force.
F*ck!
Lidia whimpered in pain as Liam forced me to shift back to human.
"Let me go!" I screamed at the top of my lungs.
I need to get to him! I need to kill him... I need to make him suffer like he made me suffer...
"Not until you have calmed down," Liam hissed furiously a couple of feet from me. Worry crossed his eyes, but I ignored it as I struggled against his magical hold.
"Accalia, if I were you, I would bring my volume down!" Roger whisper-yelled at me, "besides, you made a deal to behave coming with us..."
Liam knelt next to me.
"I will only release you when you have calmed down," he said, and lifted his head to watch the proceedings below, "you will never make it to whoever you are looking for this way... in any case, at this moment you need to think of your pack rather than revenge. If you die now, your pack will have no future..."
"Let me go," I screamed with so much hatred inside me.
Can't he see that I am hurting inside? Doesn't he understand?
He shook his head but kept his composure.
"Maybe after Nerina's shifting, I will do so. Until then, be quiet!" He snapped his fingers, locking my lips together.
F*cccck!
Why the hell did I trust him? He is now standing in my way of taking my revenge!
"Calm down Accalia," Lidia said as she came closer to me.
"Why should I? He is keeping me from my destiny!" I whimpered.
"He is not..." she argued, "he is saving you..."
"I don't believe..." I argued, "look at what he has done!"
"Accalia, have a look," she said, "all the most powerful royal wolves are down below... you, we will never make it close to Dustin..."
"But?"
She shook her head, "you wanted to find him, now you did. Now you can plan your revenge properly..."
Nova placed a piece of clothing over me, and by the smell of the clothes, I knew it was hers.
I guess Roger gave her his.
"Thank you," I mind-linked her, and she gave me a nod of the head in return.
"Are you feeling better?" Nova whispered after a while, she had lifted my head onto her lap and was quietly playing with my hair while humming some unknown melody.
"Yeah, thanks..." I replied through the mind link. Nova had taken the anger right out of me...
How did she do that?
I shook off the thought as soon as the howl from the opposite from the mountains came, and I turned my eyes toward the skies, seeing the moon...
I guess the girl below will take her shift now...
Minutes later, the sound of bones breaking echoed through the silent night, and a few seconds later, a wolf howled the most heartbreaking howl I ever heard.
"What's happening," I mind-linked Nova.
"The girl's wolf is down on her tummy, I'm not sure what's wrong with her, she sounds like she is in pain..." she answered and turned her head toward Roger.
Nova tried to get Roger's attention, but he was too occupied with what he saw below.
F*ck, I internally growled, I should have waited, at least then I could have seen what was happening...
The second felt like minutes, and minutes like hours. The whimpering of a wolf in agony was the only sound hearable from below.
I closed my eyes and imagined how I would confront Dustin.
Should I play a cat-and-mouse game, and drive him insane? Or should I seduce him, and then kill him..?
Would he still remember me..?
I sighed, maybe I should just go in for the kill... I have already lost everything, living in prison is the least of my worries...
Nova gasped, and my eyes snapped open, seeing a white ray of light being forced into the sky.
What the f*ck..?
The invisible force around me dropped and Liam flew past me with the speed of light, shifting in his run.
Then Roger passed us, hot on Liam's tail.
"What's going on?" I asked, confused.
"I don't know... One minute... the... the girl whimpered in agony, the next there was a bright light," Nova said, shaken.
I pushed myself upright and helped Nova to her feet.
Liam was standing a couple of feet from the ceremony circle, anxious...
"Come one, I want to see what happened," I said to Nova, and she followed me down the cliff.
It didn't take us long to reach the bottom, and we silently walked toward the group.
Liam turned his head toward Roger, and his eyes pleaded.
"I guess we are after all attending the ceremony," I joked, but Nova didn't find it funny.
She had become quiet, even a bit anxious. I shot her behavior off, believing that it was because of all the ranked wolves together.
Liam's wolf moved forward and carefully walked between the group, sniffing and listening.
Are they dead?
When he reached the center, he found the girl and shifted back. He hovered over her quiet body before he picked her up and cradled her in his chest.
"She is in pain...." Nova said, explaining Liam's sudden behavior.
His mate is in pain..? We followed him here to watch him comfort his mate.
Seriously? Why?
That was when the most intoxicating scent of sandalwood hit my nose, and I froze on my spot...
"Mate!" Lidia yelled excitedly, fighting for control.
"F*ck no!" I whimpered in shock, "I-I-I am not ready... we can't find our mate now!"
Lidia didn't want any of it and she forced me to follow the mouthwatering scent...
I froze as soon as I found out who the intoxicated scent came from.
I couldn't believe my eyes and I held my breath. I could feel my heart skipping a beat, and my world being flung upside down...
"No... this can't be happening..." I whispered as my gaze moved over his perfect features...
The boy I once knew had outgrown his boyish appearance, and his body was toned and strong...
He looks like an angel underneath the moonlight.
"No!" I growled upset, and stalked forward, "there is no way..!"
Yet my anger died out as soon as I came close enough...
Lidia howled excitedly as Dustin's scent enveloped us... but I ignored her excitement...
This boy was my fated mate... yet he killed my brother in cold blood...
What was the Moon Goddess playing at? Haven't I been hurt by this boy enough?
I shook my head, as anger started to flare up in me again... but yet again, his scent soothed the anger right out of me...
"Lidia, this is the boy who killed my brother..." I sneered, but even my sneer sounded weak...
"Maybe he tried to protect you..." Lidia argued.
I shook my head, "No! I don't believe that..."
"Accalia?" Nova called and gestured for me to come. They wanted to leave.
I gave her a nod of the head and turned my attention back to Dustin...
I knelt next to Dustin's perfect body and touched his face, but before I even thought it through, the words I never thought I would ever use, flew from my lips...
"I, Accalia Grey, future Luna of the Blue Moon Pack, hereby reject you, Dustin Wolfgang, as my mate..."
****