Chapter 24

“Cierra, what are you doing here?” I spluttered in shock, glancing over at Xavier. He shrugged back apologetically.

“Matthew came here for an important meeting with Xavier, and I decided to tag along since I heard all about what has happened to you. I think we need to have a long chat, don’t you?” Cierra replied stiffly, crossing her arms across her chest.

Her eyes flicked over to Hannah, and I could see Cierra eyeing her up and down. “Who’s this?” Cierra asked, nodding her head in Hannah’s direction.

“Cierra, meet Hannah, Hannah meet Cierra,” I stuttered.

I glanced over at Hannah, who was standing there, eying up Cierra suspiciously. “Cierra is my best childhood friend,” I explained, biting my lip nervously.

“Best friend!” Hannah snapped, clearly annoyed. “I thought I was your best friend!”

“You both are!” I sighed, rubbing my forehead in my hand. “Look I haven’t seen Cierra in weeks. We need a good catch up okay. I’ll find you later, yeah?” I glanced nervously at Hannah, who was still eyeballing Cierra.

“Sure, whatever,” she muttered, still not lifting her steely gaze from Cierra’s sight, before marching irritably up the stairs towards her room.

“Sorry about that,” I apologized to Cierra. “Hannah can be a little….”

“Jealous?” Cierra snapped crossly, glaring back up the stairs.

“I’d say over-friendly,” I laughed. “Come on, and you said I needed friends while I lived here and Hannah is my friend, an incredibly good friend indeed. But no one will ever replace you!” I exclaimed. “Come on, let’s go to the bar outside, grab a drink, and we can have a long chat. We’ve got a lot to catch up on!”

I grabbed Cierra’s arm and pulled her gently towards the bar area, walking briskly past Xavier, Rachel, and Matthew, who were all stood there, gaping in shock at the confrontation that just took place in front of them.

Shaking my head, I pulled Cierra out into the brilliant sunlight and towards the well-stocked bar. Cierra plopped herself down into a large comfortable armchair and watched me walk behind the bar and grab two glasses off the shelf. I noisily scooped some ice out of a black bucket into both glasses, before squirting vodka over the ice and topping up the glass with ice-cold cola straight from the pump. I carried both glasses back over to Cierra, handed her one and plopped down in an adjacent armchair facing her. I slurped some of my drink and sighed blissfully.

This was the life. A glass of vodka and coke in the sun, with the best friend.

“Well?”

A voice snapped loudly, making me jump. I looked over at Cierra, who was resting her glass on her lap and staring at me intently.

“What do you want to hear Cierra?” I snapped back irritably. “That I’m here, having the time of my life at this massive old house, falling in love with the Alpha and making a ton of babies?” I continued sarcastically.

Cierra leant forward and banged her glass down on the table crossly.

“Don’t start Leah. So far, from what I’ve been told, you almost got yourself raped, got beaten up and ended up losing so much blood, that you ended up in a coma for two weeks in the hospital. Only to come out and a week later, get kidnapped to some underground bunker in the middle of the woods, sexually assaulted and beaten, yet again, and nearly killed!” she spat, not pausing for breath.

“Aren’t you even trying to defend yourself. Why hasn’t your wolf protected you? That’s what she is there for!” Cierra snapped angrily, glaring at me. “It’s like you almost wanted to be the damsel in distress!”

“Don’t you dare even go there!” I shouted angrily, glaring at who I thought was my best mate. “Do you think I wanted to be beaten, raped and almost killed,” I spat back angrily.

“And for your information, after I nearly got raped, I lost my wolf. She still hasn’t come back! Ever heard of Wolf Blackout Syndrome? No, I don’t think you have, have you!” I retorted, angrily, before also slamming my glass on the table and getting up to leave.

I glared over at Cierra who was sitting there, mouth wide open in shock, before shaking her head.

“No, I haven’t heard of this Blackout Syndrome. Leah, sit down. Please tell me how you are feeling. What is this Blackout Syndrome? I want to help you!” she cried.

Shaking my head, I reluctantly sat down and glared across at Cierra.

“Blackout syndrome is when something so traumatising and scary happens to you, that your wolf runs off, deep into your subconscious and hides, to protect itself. It will only come back when she feels ready. So that’s why I couldn’t protect myself. I am wolfless now, okay!” I snapped.

Cierra looked at me sadly. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay,” I sniffed. “Now you know, so please stop with the judgy remarks.”

“I’m not judging you. I’m worried about you!” Cierra protested. “How did you end up in the basement with Tom, anyway?” she continued.

“We went on a date night, and Xavier turned up, so we both ran away with Xavier chasing us. I followed Tom down into the basement, which is where he lived. He locked me in so I couldn’t escape, and he attacked me!” I began.

“Turns out, it was Tom’s plan all along. He wanted revenge on Xavier for him making Tom an omega. When he realised that Xavier had chosen me and that I had chosen Tom, it was the perfect set up,” I explained, closing my eyes and reliving every painful detail.

“Okay, I get that bit, so what happened next? How did he even get that close to you again, to be able to knock you out and kidnap you?” Cierra’s voice continued inquisitively.

I snapped my eyes back open and glanced over at Cierra, who was sipping her drink slowly.

“Xavier banished Tom back to the Valley of the Outcasts, which my Dad and a couple of the Warriors took him to. Tom killed the guards and escaped. He made his way back to me, but the stench of his drinking and fags helped masked his scent, so he was able to slip past the Warriors that were protecting the boundary lines.”

“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry,” Cierra sobbed, reaching over, and grabbing my hand.

I squeezed her hand gently before looking over at her.

“It’s okay. What’s happened has happened. Tom’s dead now, so I’m moving on with my life. Or trying to,” I announced loudly.

“So, what about Xavier?” Cierra queried.

“What about him?” I teased, feeling my heart flutter at the sound of his name.

“Well, are you going to accept his bond and get to know him?” she pressed on.

“We are taking it slow and taking it day by day. I’m not ready to get close to another man just yet. We spent the night together, in my room, but nothing happened!” I went on, finishing my drink in one gulp.

I glimpsed over at Cierra’s neck and saw a small white crescent moon tattooed on her neck. “I see that Matthew has finally sunk his teeth into you,” I chuckled.

Cierra blushed a bright shade of crimson before gently touching her neck. “Yes, he has, and I’ve completed the Bonding ceremony. Meet the Whitemoon Clan’s newest Luna!” she gushed, grinning excitedly.

Before I could say another word, a voice coughed out. “Ahem!”

We looked up to see Xavier and Matthew walking slowly towards us. “Afternoon ladies. Cierra, Matthew is ready to leave now,” Xavier stated clearly.

Nodding, Cierra placed her glass on the table before turning to me. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

Looking over at Matthew, I saw him looking intently at me. “Nice to finally meet you,” Matthew said, holding out his hand.

Gingerly I took his hand and gently shook it.

“No wolf Xavier?” Matthew implored, glancing back at Xavier.

“She has temporarily lost her wolf. We hope that she will be back soon though,” Xavier remarked.

Matthew looked back at me before looking back at Xavier. “A wolfless Luna is no Luna at all. You know that!” he stressed.

Xavier looked briefly annoyed before holding his head up high and replying loudly in a warning tone, “Wolfless or not. Leah is my Luna. Instead of worrying about my Luna, maybe you should concentrate on yours!”

He stared down at Matthew who bowed his head in respect before holding his hand out to Cierra, who gently took it in hers and stood beside her Mate.

“I’ll see you soon okay babe?” she squeaked, smiling broadly at me, then glancing nervously at Xavier.

“Looking forward to it!” I responded happily.

I placed my glass on the table beside Cierra’s and stood up, following Xavier and Matthew back into the lobby and out onto the doorstep to where a waiting car stood. Matthew and Xavier briefly shook hands and exchanged a few inaudible words before Matthew climbed into the back of the car. I grabbed Cierra and hugged her tightly.

“I miss you,” I whispered, quietly into her ear, holding back the tears.

“I miss you too, babe!” she sobbed, before planting a quick peck on my cheek and tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. “Just look after yourself, please!” she begged. “And find that wolf of yours!” she smiled sadly, before following her Mate into the car.

Xavier slammed the door shut behind her and the car loudly sped off in a cloud of dust back down the drive, taking my best friend away from me once again.