Chapter 13 Chapter 13
The silence was deafening.
Erin’s mouth had fallen wide open from all that Suki had dropped on her. Her gaze shifted between Suki’s eyes, which were streaming with tears.
“Please,” Suki palmed her face, wiping away the tears as more continued to dampen her face, “say something.”
Blinking the shocked expression off her face, Erin sucked in a deep breath, “Two mates…” She cleared her throat, trying to piece together how on Earth this was even possible. “You feel the pull with them both, at the same time?”
Suki nodded.
Erin rubbed her temple, “And… you have feelings for both of them?”
She sighed. That was a question Suki didn’t want to answer, mainly because she couldn’t – she didn’t know the answer herself.
“I have no idea what to suggest. This has never been discussed in any of my studies.” Pushing herself to stand, Erin paced back and forth in the little pocket of the forest the two had confined themselves to. She crossed her arms, freeing her hand to pat her chin as she processed her thoughts. “It’s either so rare that they don’t bother teaching us – which I doubt, considering they want us prepared for literally anything – or it’s something that has never occurred before because it’s physically impossible to happen.”
Throwing her head back against the tree trunk she leaned against, Suki draped her arms over her knees. “It’s clearly not impossible.”
“Right, sorry, you know what I meant,” Erin’s tone softened sympathetically, unaware of how to comfort her friend. “I’ll have to check our archives in the library tomorrow, maybe read up on my history and check some of my ancestors’ old journals. Worst case scenario, I could speak to some elder witches to see if they know any ancient stories about–”
“No!” She shot to her feet in a panic. “You can’t tell, you promised you wouldn’t tell.”
Erin held her hands up in defence to settle Suki. “Yes, I know I did, but I’m out of my element here. I have no idea how I am supposed to help you on this.”
Suki exhaled loudly, “Why would this happen to me? Why would the Moon Goddess do this to me? Am I being punished? I’ve always done what I was told, never done anything outside the rules, and I’ve sworn to be the perfect Beta’s daughter just as my parents wanted me to be.”
“The Moon Goddess would never punish you, Suki.”
“It feels like I’m being punished,” she grunted, resting her hand on a tree, trying to steady her mind. “Is it a test?”
Erin hummed, “Well, it’s not out of the ordinary for a werewolf to go through some kind of anomaly if there is some kind of progressive journey they are meant to go on. That being said, it’s usually something a lot tamer – a physical change on your body like your hair colour changing, or something more common like visions or nightmares.” She shook her head, “Two mates are–”
“Don’t say impossible again, please.”
“Sorry,” Erin hesitated.
In any other circumstance, she would know how to comfort her friend. Yet that was her issue; she didn’t know whether to be a protector or a friend. A protector would report the issue and get to the bottom of it, even if it risked her wolf’s livelihood. A friend would be there for her in whichever way she wished to accept help.
“Hey,” she smiled softly, placing a hand on Suki’s shoulder, “wipe away those tears. You and I are going to go back to the festival and enjoy it, just the two of us.”
Suki sniffled, “R-Really?”
She nodded, “You deserve a girls’ night, how about it?” Finally, a smile broke free on Suki’s face. “That’s the spirit!” Erin cheered, fixing Suki’s hair and patting away the tear stains from her face. After making Suki look and feel more presentable, she took her hand and led her back to the festivities.
✧ ✧ ✧
By the time the festival was over, Suki had almost entirely forgotten about her troubles. The crowds of people had disappeared, and clean-up would commence in the morning. Only a few people lingered – youthful teens, couples, and friends, all living in their own little bubbles, not wasting away a single second.
“I haven’t stayed at the festival until it closed for years,” she exclaimed, giggling. “I’ve had the best time, Erin, thank you so much for keeping me distracted.”
Wrapping an arm around her shoulder as she chowed down on a candy apple, “Any time, but next time we should get more of these – oh! – and churros, and those shrimp tacos we got earlier, I could eat those tacos all over again.”
Suki tittered, “You have a wolf’s appetite.” She laughed even more as Erin pressed her fists to her hips and held a mighty proud pose.
The fluttering sense of someone approaching her made her laugh fizzle away. She turned her head to her left and saw a shadowy figure approaching her – Brendan, she realised as her eyes adjusted. A determined expression on his face.
Another sensation hit her, the tugging of an invisible string that she knew immediately was her bond. Turning her head to the right, she saw, in the opposing direction, Reynard making his way to her. At first, a smile painted across his face until he noticed her frown, which he then mirrored with concern in his eyes.
She backed up.
“Are you okay?” Erin asked.
Heat. Passion. Hunger. Part of her craved them, wanted their touch, wanted them to relieve the tension that was building in her. But there was another part of her that knew the more she let it continue, the more risk they would be in to get caught. Chilling. Uncertainty. Mystery.
A feeling of wanting to scream, cry and throw up was all building in her. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her hands quivering as she balled them into fists, trying to steady her mind. She couldn’t deal with her emotions, not right now. She needed to escape.
Suki looked back and forth at the approaching men. “I… I have to go. I can’t think straight.”
“I’ll come with you–”
“No. I… I have to go.” The golden hue in her hazel eyes broke free as she looked at her friend, trying to keep herself connected to her calmness.
Erin spotted the small change of colour in her eyes and realised what she was saying and stepped aside, “Go.”
Within the milliseconds of Erin’s final word, Suki sped into the depths of the forest. She was always praised for how fast she was, even before she had gained her full power, and because of that, she knew she would earn a decent amount of space between her two mates.
Of course, they’ll come after her. They’re drawn to her as much as she is to them, but even so, she needed space, just for a moment. Just one moment to allow nature to calm her and become one with it.
She traced her hands along her sides and rubbed the fabric of her dress between her fingers as she focused on her breathing. Inhale deeply, exhale slowly. Inhale through the nostrils, exhale through the mouth.
A calm mind was always best, especially in the early stages of shifting. Though her father had her train with a professional, making her shift over and over and over until the pain of it was almost non-existent, she still wanted a clear head.
Dropping to her knees, she placed her hands on her lap and closed her eyes, willing the shift to manifest and take over. Her eyes reopened, the golden flecks of her hazel eyes practically glowing as she felt her muscles contract and expand. She groaned as all her bones went stiff, but exhaled a loud sigh of relief as they began to crack and reform into the essential shape.
She slammed her hands onto the ground, nails digging into the dirt as they turned to claws, and the beautiful white fur growing rapidly over her wolf form, glistening under the moonlight as she pulled herself up on her paws and stretched her neck up to release a much-needed howl to the sky.
Feeling more connected to Mother Nature and her wolf, Suki’s senses were at their peak in her wolf state. She should smell exactly how far away her mates were. Pushing the thought of them aside, she locked into her power and ran further into the depths of the forest.