Prologue: The Pink Moon Of Awakening
~WILLOW~
"Mates."
Can words describe my emotions right now?
Overflowing sensations rushed through my body. Thrumming power sealed my stated word as the backs of my palms cooled from the intense heat.
My disbelief forced me to lower my eyes to them once more; the sight of thick circles that displayed a symbolic image in the middle resonated with purpose.
The image on my left almost reminded me of a painting. The interior design of the mark projected a forest of color that emphasized the reds, pinks, greens, and blues. It was a forest in the grand peak of spring with flowers blossoming everywhere and the slight hint of the full moon in one corner, with the other circular force of an orange and golden glow representing the sun.
What stood out was the large droplet in the middle of the spring oasis. The interior of the red-filled dot portrayed a wolf that howled upward. It immediately gave off Neo vibes, with the blood having some sort of representation of his abilities I'd yet to unravel.
My gaze drifting to my right hand, I took in the second piece of artwork that was far darker in theme than the left. This one had a similar landscape but it was as if the image represented the hollows of winter: the distant trees were painted with white specks of snow, and the full moon hovered right in the middle of the sky that was decorated with stars.
Snowflakes fell downward, while a mist of shadows hovered around what would have been a paradise to view in real life. In the middle was the very symbol of the necklace I wore at this moment: the onyx symbol of a wolf with fangs protruding downward to emphasize their sharp appearance.
Only, in this vivid tattoo, the eyes on the wolf were a striking silver with black irises, and there was a hint of black mist in the silver parts that only maintained the theme of shadows portrayed in this symbolic imagery.
There was no doubt in my mind that it was Onyx's mark, and the thought made me realize two important things.
Rodriguez was definitely not Neo's last name...and Charm was definitely not Onyx’s.
My mind was already a whirlwind of emotion with brief memories of my past. I couldn't dare venture into the unknowns of these bonds and juggle the solidification of this bond with our pack.
I'm a wolf. No...I'm more than that. I'm...royalty.
It all felt like too much, and yet I couldn't let it debilitate me. All eyes were on me after I'd committed something I shouldn't have. I'd taken it upon myself to end things - to die by my own hands instead of allowing fate to steal me from this world when the time was right.
Mother Moon helped me see through the years of pain and neglect I'd buried within myself, and instead of punishment, she rewarded me with life.
Rewarded me with this renewed purpose to live and achieve what I've earned for all my life.
I may have been spared from punishment from our Creator, but I wasn't sure how things would go down between me and my Alpha, let alone how my packmates would react to my impulsive suicide.
It felt a bit shameful the longer I thought about it, but my wolf wouldn't let my human tendencies get in the way at the moment. This was my shining moment to prove I wasn't a weak, female human.
This is my time to rise up and prove that I’m what I've always wished to be: one of them.
I rose at the thought, my shaking legs cooperating with my desire to stand once more. Regardless of my nakedness, I didn't allow a speck of shame to form upon my focused face.
My eyes were still flickering between Neo and Onyx, but eventually, they remained on Onyx, knowing damn well he'd be the first to react amongst my frozen pack members.
Our connection grew in that instant, and I endured the rise of emotions that was rather overwhelming. Unlike his expression, which went from shocked to a blank mystery, his internal emotions were a whirlwind mix of anger, happiness, lust, and immense relief.
He was mad that I'd taken my own life, happy that I'd somehow survived it, desired to fuck me senseless, and relieved that his belief in Mother Moon was beyond accurate. After all the years of him promising that Mother Moon would know exactly what he wanted in his mate, he somehow was rewarded with exactly that.
She rewarded him with me, after years of suffering, years of dedication to my safety while he surely worked on himself in those times of internal desolation. I couldn't decipher what type of wolf Onyx was, but it had to be related to the shadows, which explained so much when it came to his abilities.
He was the first to move, and with a step, he became but a blur of black and appeared in front of me with a blink. That would have freaked everyone out if they weren't still processing the whole 'Willow De Luca is alive, a wolf shifter, and has not one but two mates' part of this confrontation, but now that he was in my personal space, I wanted to collapse in his arms and get lost in his mesmerizing scent that wrapped around me.
His presence brought a level of safety that surpassed the usual feeling I felt with Onyx. I always felt safe from everyone else but him - obviously - but now, I knew within the depths of my soul that Onyx would never hurt me to the extent of suffering.
He'd punish me the way he knew how, through vigorous sex that put me right in my place and rendered me helpless to his skillful cock, but nothing more. Even back when he was forced to do what he did under his wolf's control, it wasn't his intention to do such a thing, and I'd never use it against him.
The thought made me frown as I realized something.
"You still blame yourself for that?" My question was beyond random, and it took Onyx off guard as he regarded me with a questioning look until he suddenly clicked into what I was referring to. He couldn't hide the hint of pain that flickered through his expression fast enough, but it didn't matter; I saw it with my own eyes.
It was the feeling of heavy regret he still carried over it that was all over me.
"I never blamed you for that. Let go of it. It's the past, one that means nothing with the history we've built. Pain deserves to be temporary, not an ongoing cycle of regrets and worries."
He said nothing, but the slight nod told me he understood what I was saying. I felt rather out of place for speaking as if I were some sort of Alpha at that moment, but it had to be said here and now, so we could finally move on from it.
When the silence grew, it was his turn to take the lead, and he took a final step that forced me to look further up to meet his intense eyes. He was fighting the pulsating lust that was growing by the second as we fought against the great desire to say 'fuck it' and get lost in the joyous passion begging for our undivided attention after awakening our mate bond.
As much as I wanted to do that, we had other things to worry about, and that meant confronting the elephant in the room.
"You're in big fucking trouble, Sugar," he practically seethed, and his eyes pulsed with his wolf energy that only made a big, fat smile form on my lips.
"I know, mate." My response was all that was needed to make this reality settle in. My poor, bulky fucker was struggling hard to not let tears fill his eyes as they grew glassy at my words, but he must not have been able to stand not having me in his arms because he embraced me a second later.
"Now you're really an addiction I can't be cured from," he muttered into my flesh as he held me tightly.
"As if you wanted a cure," I mumbled right back and giggled. "You'd lose your lucidity if I wasn't there to keep you sane."