Chapter 71 - Mind Over Matter

As we drove to the temple at the break of dawn, I watched the sky fill with an orange and pink glow. I didn’t get a wink of sleep as all the information Max had given us last night lingered in my thoughts.

I couldn’t believe Vince was involved in all this as well. Rocky had once explained that Vince didn’t show signs of being a wolf, but that didn’t mean he didn’t know about the supernatural world. After all, his family was still highly ranked and deeply involved in the werewolf world. But the biggest question was, how did Vince come in contact with Josh? And what were the consequences of the lie Vince had told to keep me somewhat alive? Taylor had just seen Vince, and she said he looked fine, although he had ignored any question Taylor had asked.

Then there was the biggest elephant in the room, Josh Whitlock.

Now that was a name that I was still trying to digest. How could someone have so much hate for a family that he had happily sold his body to the devil to take revenge? I, too, had bad taste in my mouth when I spoke about them, but I had no intention to wipe them off the face of the Earth. However, what Josh was doing was barbaric.

I felt a warmth on my thighs and looked down to find Blake’s hand gently squeezing my thigh.

“We’re here, Angel.” Blake’s voice pulled me out of my trance.

I looked up at Blake. His face was filled with concern and exhaustion. Blake hadn’t slept all night either. I knew he was just as worried as I was. We were putting our trust in someone who we knew couldn’t be trusted.

But what choice did we have?

I gave Blake a tight smile. “Let’s go get this over with then.”

Blake nodded and tried to smile.

We got out of the car, and I looked around, taking in the gorgeous atmosphere.

The temple sat in the middle of Huntly’s greenery, far from the public eye. It was a huge olden structure that resembled a cathedral. The enormous cathedral windows with colorful stained glass, the massive mahogany french doors paired with the ivy crawling along with the building.

The more I looked at the building, the more it amazed me.

Blake wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close. His tight grip around me was possessive, and I could feel the tension radiating off him.

Blake pulled me along with him, and my numb body let him. I didn’t know what would happen, but the fear of things going wrong made me super anxious.

My eyes adjusted to the dim lighting as we walked into the temple. The whole building was one big room. Dark red curtains covered the bottom windows while the top stained glass let the light pour in. Candles were burning around the room, adding to the ambiance.

At the far end of the room hung a picture with candles and flowers decorated around it. It looked like a shrine, but I couldn’t recognize the person in the picture.

“Hecate, Goddess of Magic and Spells. The temple was created as a place to worship her and her abilities” Klaus’s voice echoed through the room.

I turned to find him and the rest of The Coven members emerging from a door off to the side of the room.

Klaus strolled over and stopped before Blake and me.

“King Cooper. Luna Rosy,” he bowed, and so did the rest of The Coven.

“Morning, team.” Blake bowed back.

“How are you feeling this morning, Luna?” Mia asked.

“I’m okay, thanks for asking. A little nervous about all this,” I replied honestly.

“Don’t be nervous, sweetheart. I promise I won’t bite” Max’s voice rang through the room.

We all looked towards the door as Max casually strolled in.

He was dressed in a pair of gray sweatpants and a white vest. Even though I knew Max and Blake were twins, their similarity was uncanny. Blake, too was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a white vest. If it weren’t for their different hairstyles, you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference between them.

“I see you’re copying my style, brother” Max smirked, his eyes scanning Blake’s appearance.

Blake rolled his eyes, “Can we please get a move on with this? The clock is ticking.”

Max nodded and walked towards the wall that had the shrine of Hecate.

It was only then that I noticed a large red rug on the floor with a little pillow at one end.

“I couldn’t find any extra candles anywhere. Do you guys have any spares?” Max looked towards The Coven members.

“How many do you need?” Kendyl spoke first. She looked a little shocked after she spoke.

Max smirked, “12, please.”

Kendyl nodded and walked back towards the door they had come out of.

“Rosy, come here,” Max called out.

My anxiety was rising, and it was getting harder to breathe.

“Breathe, Angel. I’m right here,” Blake whispered, rubbing my back gently.

I looked up at him; his face mirrored the panic and fear on my face.

“Please remember one thing. I would rather be consumed by death than be separated from you.” I cupped Blake’s face.

“And I would never let anything wrong happen to you. Klaus and the rest of The Coven are here. Max may be strong, but he is nothing before all six of them. Don’t worry.” Blake cupped my face and pulled me forward, leaning his forehead against mine.

“Oh, hello. I’m standing right here. You two act as if I’m going to kill Rosy during this ritual. How many times must I explain that I’m here to help not react to more drama.” Max scolded.

“I wish I could believe you, Max. After that one dreadful night, you have given me no reason to believe anything you say or do. So many chances I gave you to rectify the mistakes made, but every time, you burnt me even more. Tell me why I should believe you now?” Blake growled.

“Because you and I want to keep the same girl alive. Our aim is to defeat the person that wants to kill the girl we love. I know it’s a hard pill to swallow, but we knew about the twin bond and that one day there was a chance we would have to share a mate. I don’t blame Rosy for only wanting to be with you. I have made some bad choices, and maybe I don’t deserve her love. At the end of the day, she is my mate too, and I will do everything in my power to keep her alive. Even if that means going against an ancient deadly spirit.”

Max’s words echoed through the room. Was he making this up just to win our trust, or was he being sincere? Something about his tone and expression made me want to believe him. I tried to put the thought of betrayal behind me and move forward.

I wriggled out of Blake’s arms and went towards Max.

“Klaus,” I called out while staring up at Max.

I felt a presence next to me.

“If he tries anything funny, I want you to stop the ritual and let me die. I will choose death over succumbing to whatever feelings he might push upon my werewolf.” I kept staring at Max as I spoke.

A smirk formed on his face as he looked down at me, his eyes scanning my face.

“Sweetheart, have a little faith in me, will you?”

“Faith, Trust, Respect. All things you have to earn. So far, you haven’t. You want me to have faith, earn it!” I sneered, stabbing my index finger into Max’s chest.

The two of us stood there staring at each other—anger bubbling in me.

“Luna,” Klaus cleared his throat.

I snapped out of my rage and looked around. All eyes were on us. Kendyl was standing in the background with a box in her hands.

Blake had a sullen look lingering in his features. His usually confident posture was replaced with a rigid, tensed one.

“Let’s get started, please,” I growled, turning towards the red rug on the floor.

Max took the box from Kendyl and placed the candles around the rug. He lit the candles as he went.

“Take your jumper off and lay down. Get comfortable.” Max commended.

I took a deep breath in and did as Max asked. Once I lay down, I could see the carvings and paintings on the wooden ceiling. It was like the carvings and paintings you find inside caves, the kind that told stories and described history.

Max sat down on the floor next to me and pulled his vest off.

He definitely had a killer body.

“Is that necessary?” Blake growled.

“Fuck up, will you,” Max growled, rolling his eyes.

Klaus sat on the floor opposite Max. He had two white candles in his hands that he lit up and placed next to him on opposite sides.

“Ready when you are” Klaus gave Max a tight smile.

I know he was only being nice to Max for my sake. Blake had explained Klaus’s dislike for Max last night. Max’s betrayal of trust followed him everywhere he went, which is what happened between him and Klaus. Apparently, The Coven’s teachings and training were sacred, and Max exploited them.

“Thank you. All I need is for you to keep the wolf spirit calm while I talk to her explain the situation. They can get very feral, and in Rosy’s case, a wolf spirit that’s been dormant for 29 years, I can’t imagine how angry she will be.” Max explained, leaning over to light up some incense sticks.

“I will do the best I can. Protecting Luna’s life is our duty. The rest of the team is here to provide backup as well.”

The rest of The Coven members stepped forward and stood in line behind Klaus.

“Rosy, you will lose some sensation. Don’t panic, okay. You need to stay calm and go with the flow. Don’t fight the pull, please. The more you fight, the harder it will be for me to connect with your spirit.”

I nodded in understanding.

“Close your eyes and take a deep breath in,” Max whispered.

“Repeat after me, suscitare spiritual”

I did as Max asked.

He started chanting those words, and I followed his lead. It wasn’t long before I could feel my limbs going numb. I tried to wiggle my toes and fingers, but I couldn’t feel them at all. Soon the rest of my body started going numb, and I could feel unconsciousness consuming me.

I let go of the urge to fight the sleep and gave into the foggy darkness looming.

I don’t know how long the darkness had consumed me, but suddenly a bright light lit up my eyes. I blinked a few times only to realize I was awake. How was that possible? We had just started the ritual; Max couldn’t have finished that fast.

“Rosy..” a voice came from behind me.

I turned to find Max dressed in a white toga-like outfit. I couldn’t figure out if he was glowing or it was just the lighting.

“White really suits you,” he smirked.

*What?*

I looked down to find I was wearing a similar outfit to him. However, my hair was open and hung over my shoulders.

“Where are we?” I asked, looking around.

All I could see was the brightness that surrounded us.

“Your subconscious.” Max started to walk towards me. “I didn’t realize getting into your subconscious was going to be so easy. Normally there is a little bit of resistance as a person needs time to accept the thought of a random person perusing their mind, but you just let me in like I wasn’t a stranger trying to rob you.”

“Is that a bad thing?” I swallowed loudly. Was there something wrong with me?

“No, it’s not a bad thing. It just means that you trust me more than you’d like to admit. You know I won’t hurt you, and we’re happy to let me in.”

Shit! I knew a part of me did trust him, but I hadn’t realized how dominant that part was.

“Don’t get too happy about that. Why am I here exactly? I thought you were meant to talk to my wolf spirit” I quickly changed the topic.

His ego was big enough; it didn’t need to be fueled anymore.

“Well, since it was so easy for me to get in, I tried something different. For the first time, I was able to pull the person into their subconscious. Usually, it takes months of practice and building trust between the mage and person. Pulling someone into their own subconscious is tricky. Your standing here tells me exactly how much trust you have for me, and honestly, I’m in awe. Although, I would like to know why you hid it? Why pretend you don’t trust me? Why make it sound like you hate me?” Max was standing right in front of me.

He reached out with one hand and cupped my face.

I closed my eyes and waited for nausea and disgust to course through my body, but it never happened.

“You haven’t finished your mating with Blake, yet therefore you aren’t connected to him mentally, just physically.”

My eyes flew open, and I quickly adjusted to the face right in front of me. A smirk lingered on his face. His smirk churned my guts.

He knew I wasn’t mentally connected to Blake...

“I’ve already told you, I don’t hate you. Hate is a strong word,” I whispered.

“Then why do you treat me like a villain in front of everyone. You obviously trust me. So what’s the problem?” Max pressed. His hand squeezed the side of my face.

“You are the problem, Max!” I yelled and pushed him back.

“I honestly didn’t realize how much I trusted you until now. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew you wouldn’t hurt me. But Max, if I told you that out loud, you would go out of your way to rub it into Blake’s face. To force me to feel things for you, I know I never will. If you had let me process my feelings without repercussions, maybe I would have been on your side, but at every corner, you stood with a reason for me not to accept my feelings.”

Max took a step back and glared at me. Pain flashed across his handsome features.

“Why are you forcing the girl to have feelings she doesn’t have? Feelings you aren’t even sure of,” a voice echoed through the brightness.

We both looked around to find the owner of the voice.

Suddenly fog surrounded us, and the brightness started to dim. Within seconds we were engulfed in pitch-black darkness.

I felt Max wrap his arm around my waist and pull me closer to him.

I could feel the thick fog on my skin.

“I determine love between destined mates. You can’t force it, and I will not let you force it” the voice boomed again.

A bright ray of light in the shape of a female torso shone through the darkness, cutting the fog.

The light moved towards us, and soon she was right before us.

She was breathtaking. Her beautiful curves were wrapped in the same toga-like outfit Max and I was wearing. Long dark silky hair fell flat against her back—moon-like glowing pupils scanning Max and me.

“Don’t be scared. I mean you no harm. Let me introduce myself. My name is Selene,” the beautiful lady spoke softly.

Max gasped, and his arms around me tightened.

“I’m the Moon Goddess” Selene flashed a big smile.