"Something doesn't feel right about this," I mumbled more to myself than anything, but he still heard me with his heightened sense of hearing.
"I don't feel that way," he quickly retorted.
I released a sigh of frustration, because I really didn't know how to explain what I was feeling, nor did I want to. Instead, I walked away from him and continued looking at the suite. Kyle followed right behind me everywhere I went, but he didn't say anything else. Not that I minded him being quiet.
After I finished checking out the whole suite, he finally talked again and sheepishly asked, "What would you like for dinner, and don't hold back. It's your birthday, so pick anything you want."
I thought about it for a second, then I smiled as I replied, "I want steak and a baked potato."
"What else do you want with it?" he curiously asked.
"Nothing. I wouldn't be able to fit any more than that in my small stomach," I timidly answered as I patted my belly.
He furrowed his eyebrows, as he gave me an odd look, then he shrugged his shoulders and replied, "Okay, mate. Steak and potatoes it is."
While Kyle cooked us dinner, I walked around and gazed at the pictures and wall hangings a little closer. However, since it was a quick dinner to cook, Kyle was calling for me in no time. I joined him at the dining table right away, then we ate our dinner in silence.
Kyle kept glancing at me, but I couldn't tell what emotion he was feeling at that moment. He was doing a good job of masking what he was feeling, and that made me feel even more uneasy. As soon as we finished eating, Kyle put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, then he grabbed my hand and led me to the couch.
After he sat down, he pulled me down onto his lap, then he curiously asked, "What would you like to do for the rest of the evening?"
"I just want to relax and talk. There is a lot that I don't know about you," I nonchalantly responded.
"What would you like to know?" he immediately asked.
"Everything," I stated in all seriousness.
Kyle chuckled before he started telling me the important details of his life. While I sat on his lap and listened to him talk, he trailed his fingertips up and down my arm. After just a few minutes, I couldn't stop thinking about the sparks that were tingling where his fingertips touched.
It wasn't long before my body relaxed against his, and the uneasiness I was previously feeling went away. That was also when I started to feel the exhaustion settle into my bones.
I was so comfortable leaning against Kyle, that I could feel myself slowly drifting toward sleep, and that's when I heard him timidly ask, "Alana, are you ready for me to mark you yet?"
I glanced up at him through my sleepy eyes and drowsily mumbled in my half asleep state of mind, "Sure."
Kyle POV
I couldn't believe the Moon Goddess gave me Alana as my mate. I wasn't sure if her body would be able to handle me marking her, much less the everyday stresses of being a Luna. When we reached the top of the stairs, and she was having trouble catching her breath, I knew right then that she wouldn't be able to handle being my Luna.
I also knew that I had to do something about it, but I wasn't sure what. I couldn't fathom the thought of her becoming anybody else's mate, but I also didn't want to keep her around and watch her slowly die. If I was going to have to watch my mate die in front of me, then I wanted it to happen right away, before I got too attached to having her around.
In fact, I needed it to happen before we marked each other, because if it happened after we were fully marked and mated, the breaking of the mate bond would be a lot more painful. However, if I could talk her into letting me mark her, I could use that opportunity to end her life right then and there. If I did, I wouldn't have to worry about what to do with her any longer.
Unfortunately, when I asked if I could mark her, she was quick to shoot down the idea. I wasn't sure how long it would take to talk her into letting me, so I decided to be really nice and cook her whatever she wanted for her birthday dinner.
Surprisingly, she didn't want much, so it didn't take me long at all to cook the steak and baked potatoes she requested. While we ate the dinner, neither of us talked at all, but we kept stealing glances at each other. I made sure to keep my emotions hidden, but I could see the weariness swirling in her pretty gray eyes.
After we finished eating and I cleaned up the mess from dinner, we sat together on the couch for a little while. It felt nice to have her sitting on my lap, and the sparks that flowed between us when our skin made contact felt downright amazing.
When I asked what she wanted to do for the rest of the evening, she just wanted to relax and learn more about me, so I bored her nearly to death with all of the boring details of my life. After awhile of me talking, I finally felt her body finally relax against me. For just a second, I thought about keeping her around, because it felt so nice to have her in my arms.
However, the darker side of me wasn't having it. As soon as she reached that point of being half asleep and half awake, I timidly asked, "Alana, are you ready for me to mark you yet?"
She glanced up at me through sleepy eyes and drowsily mumbled in her half asleep state of mind, "Sure."
Instantly, I felt my lips curve up to form a wide smile, as my canines elongated, then I dipped my head down to the curve of her thin neck and took in a deep inhale of her sweet and intoxicating scent. I knew I would miss smelling her heavenly scent, but I had to do what was best for my pack, which was to not have a weak Luna.
After a few seconds of enjoying her scent, I bit into the side of her neck and severed her coronary artery. When I pulled my canines away from her throat and glanced up at Alana's gray eyes, I saw sheer terror in them, then she started gasping and making gurgling sounds, as she struggled to breathe.
I gazed into her eyes and watched them get even duller by the second, and there was no missing the betrayal that swirled in those dull gray eyes of hers. The last gurgling sound I heard her make was the most horrible, and I knew I would never be able to get it out of my head.
I was filled with regret right away, but I knew there wasn't anything I could do about it at that point. A few seconds later, I felt our mate bond break, and it was hands down the worst pain I had ever felt. It was also what caused me to start sobbing, as I held Alana's lifeless body in my arms.
Chapter 4
Alana Becomes Celeste
Alana POV
I never for a second thought my own mate was the one I needed to fear the most, but that was unfortunately the case. I couldn't believe it when I felt his canines rip through my coronary artery.
I was instantly gripped with sheer terror, as I struggled to breathe, but my attempts were in vain. When Kyle severed my artery, he also punctured my wind pipe, and my lungs started to quickly filling with blood.
My first thought was that I couldn't die yet. Not only did I still need to get revenge on Julie, but now I felt an overwhelming desire to get revenge on Kyle, too.
After that thought crossed my mind, Lance floated into it. He was the only one I wanted to see on my birthday, but that would never happen again, because of Kyle's awful betrayal.
As I continued to struggle for air, I could hear the gurgling in my chest getting worse and louder. I glared at Kyle one last time, as I felt the tears of betrayal slip from the corner of my eyes, then everything went black.
All I could see was darkness for the longest time, then I saw a bright light that looked far in the distance. Slowly, the light got closer, then after a few more minutes, I noticed it was a woman walking toward me, but not just any woman.
She must have been the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on. Her hair was so blonde, that it looked almost white, and she had the most vibrant turquoise eyes that were filled with warmth and love. When she smiled at me, her whole face lit up, and her smile was downright infectious.
Once the beautiful woman was standing directly in front of me, she curiously asked, "Alana, do you know why I brought you here?
"
Her voice was so soft and melodic, that I felt like just hearing her speak put me in a trance or something. It took me a few seconds to register her question, then I furrowed my eyebrows and warily asked, "Is it because my horrible mate killed me?"
"Yes, my child. That is why you are here," she solemnly replied.
"Who are you, and what happens next?" I asked with curiosity.
She giggled and it instantly brought another smile to my face. When she was done giggling, she grabbed both of my hands, then she gazed into my eyes and responded, "Alana, I am the Moon Goddess. I brought you to the place in between the world of the living and the world of the dead. Now, I must ask... Are you ready to go to the world of the dead?"
"Not really, but it was the inevitable due to my heart condition," I dejectedly mumbled.
"My child, I have an opportunity for you, but there will be a
stipulation to you getting the chance to stay alive," she coyly stated
with a little twinkle in her eyes.
"How would that even be possible? Not only that, what's the point, when I will be dead soon anyway?" I retorted in frustration.
"No, you won't, because you won't be living as Alana the werewolf anymore. If I keep you alive, you will become Celeste the werecat," she cheerfully informed me.
I stared at her in a momentary state of shock, then I warily asked, "How is that even possible. Wouldn't I need to have werecat blood for you to do that?"
"You do," she calmly remarked.
"No, I don't," I immediately retorted a little defiantly.
"My child, a long, long time ago, when there wasn't any animosity between the two species, one of your werewolf ancestors mated with a werecat. However, you have such a small amount of the werecat blood, that you weren't able to inherit the werecat traits," she explained with a smile playing on her full, pink lips.
"Okay. What's the stipulation?" I warily asked.
The Moon Goddess took a deep breath, then she nervously explained, "If I allow you to live as a werecat, I will expect you to find a way to end the upcoming war between the werewolves and werecats. I cannot allow my species to keep killing those from the werecat species. This foolishness needs to stop."
"How am I supposed to do that?" I asked in dismay.
"You will need to get close to Kyle and either convince him to end the war, or find a way to take over the Great Forest Pack and end the war yourself," she nonchalantly answered.
"He will never let a werecat get close to him," I stated in all
seriousness.
"Oh, my child, he won't be able to deny the pull of the mate bond that the two of you will still share," she replied with a sly smirk on her face.
I huffed at that statement before I retorted in exasperation, "Did you forget? He already killed me! His mate!"
"I know, dear, but as a werecat, you will have an undeniable beauty, not to mention, pheromones that you can use in your favor," she informed me.
"I don't want him for a mate," I whined in defiance.
"You don't have to take him as your mate. You are also mated to a werecat. Speaking of your werecat mate, he is the only one that you can confide in about who you were before you became Celeste," the Moon Goddess stated with a serious look on her face.
"Speaking of Celeste, how am I going to become her?" I curiously asked.
"Well, I am going to take you back in time, seven years prior. That is when Celeste had an accident and died. I am going to transfer your soul into her body, so you will come back as Celeste. Your werecat soul will dominate in her werecat body, but you will have all of your memories, and none of hers," she explained with a triumphant smile on her face.
"Won't the other werecats know that she isn't the same person, when I don't act anything like her?" I nervously asked.
"No. When you wake up, you will simply say you don't remember who you are or anything else. They will tell you who they are, and you will be free to act like yourself, but you won't act like you do now. You must remember, you will be a werecat, and they are very confident, strong and agile," she informed me.
"Are you sure I will be able to do this?" I asked with uncertainty.
"My child, this was always the plan for you, from the day you were born. I knew right away, that you were the one to fulfill this destiny. That is why I paired you with Kyle," she nonchalantly replied.
"Okay, Moon Goddess. I will try my best to end this stupid war. I never understood the point in all of this fighting anyway," I stated with a shrug of my shoulders.
Instantly, she flashed me a wide smile, then she enthusiastically replied, "My dear, I am most pleased to hear that. Now close your eyes and let me handle the rest."
I did as I was instructed, then I waited for the Moon Goddess to do her thing. A second later, she started chanting something in a different language.
I felt like I had been standing there with my eyes closed for an eternity, then I stopped hearing her chant. The sound of her melodic voice was replaced by the beeping sound of a heart monitoring machine.
Celeste POV
When I attempted to open my eyes, I felt like it was an impossible feat to complete. My eyelids felt so heavy, I couldn't get them to open no matter how hard I tried.
Suddenly, I heard a slightly familiar voice say, "Please, Celeste. I can't lose one of my only friends. You have to wake up for me."
I couldn't place a face to the voice, but I knew there was something about it that I recognized. The urge to see the person's face was what gave me the strength to finally force my eyelids to slowly flutter open.
Of course, I had to snap them back shut right away, because the bright lights were too much. After that, I blinked my eyes a few times, then I looked around the hospital room. I saw several faces that I didn't recognize, then my eyes landed on a face that looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn't place where I knew that face from at first.
A woman with long burgundy hair and light green eyes was the first to notice I was awake. She ran straight to my side, then she gushed, "My sweet girl, you came back to us. I can't believe it."
"W-who a-are y-you," I croaked out, and she immediately gasped.
The kid with the familiar face handed me a cup with water, which I gladly accepted and chugged down in one drink. A second later, the woman kindly murmured, "Sweetie, I'm your mum."
A few seconds later, a guy with dark blond hair and sapphire colored eyes walked up behind her and jovially stated, "And I am your father. Do you remember me?"
I flashed them both a small smile, then I sheepishly asked, "Who am I?"
My mum patted my hand and replied, "You are our daughter, Celeste Lola Carlisle. You are an eleven year old werecat, and you are a member of the Midnight Pack."
As soon as she said 'Midnight Pack,' my eyes snapped to the boy with the familiar face. I gazed into his stunning ocean blue eyes, then I leaned closer to him and sniffed his scent. My nostrils filled with the amazing orange and cocoa scent that I had wanted to smell again for so long, except now we were both younger, and I was a werecat.
After I took one long inhale of that amazing scent, I threw my arms around the boy, as I happily squealed, "Lance, I remember you. I have missed you so much."
When I pulled away from him, his eyes were filled with confusion, however he had a goofy grin plastered on his face. He cocked his head to the side, then he warily asked, "How can you remember me, but not your parents?"
I shrugged my shoulders, then I nonchalantly replied, "I have no clue." After that, I reached up and touched his midnight black hair that had a blue tint to it.
Instantly, his cheeks turned a light shade of red, as he worriedly asked, "How are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling just fine. Why?" I quickly replied.
"Because you almost died," he breathed out in exasperation.
"Whatever happened is in the past now. I feel great. In fact, I feel better than I have ever felt in my life, and that's saying a lot," I peppily remarked while beaming
a genuine smile at him.
Lance chuckled at me, then he affectionately replied, "I'm glad you're okay, Celeste. I was so worried about you."
I grabbed his hand and squeezed it, then I glanced over at my new werecat parents and asked, "When can we go home?"
"The doctor wants to keep you here overnight for observation. If you are doing good in the morning, they will discharge you," my mum quickly informed me.
"Okay. Can Lance stay and hang out with me?" I asked with an innocent smile on my face.
"Of course, honey," my mum replied with a smile.
Lance and I immediately started talking about random stuff. I had to let him lead the conversation, since I had no clue what he was talking about most of the time, but he didn't seem to mind. He blamed it on the concussion I had endured.
It was nice to be spending time with him again. He was still just as sweet as I remembered him being, and he gave me a lot of details about Celeste's life up to that point.
Apparently, they had grown up as neighbors and bestfriends, and I was ecstatic about that. I also learned that I had another bestfriend named Lynzee, and I couldn't wait to hang out with her.
Chapter 5
Celeste's Childhood Home
What happened to Alana, when the Moon Goddess sent her back to seven years earlier as Celeste the werecat?
Kyle POV
I felt like it had been hours since I carried Alana to the nurse's office. I didn't understand why she was so thin and lightweight, but I had done nothing but worry since I left her there.
It was getting late in the afternoon, when the telephone on the teacher's desk started ringing. I shushed the rest of the pups around me, then I attempted to listen to the conversation the teacher was having. Unfortunately, I couldn't hear what was being said, because they were talking in such hushed voices.
Revenge : His Mysterious Werecat Page 3