What She Deserved

CHAPTER SEVEN

ROSE

I waited until everyone was sitting down. Xander let Callie sit on his chair at his desk while he leaned on it with his arms crossed. Helena and Jake sat in the chairs in front of the desk while Mike and my mate sat at a nearby round table and I stayed standing.

“Is there something wrong, Rose?” Helena asked slowly, breaking the silence. She was looking at me with a guarded look on her face but by her posture, I knew she was nervous.

I nodded my head and then shook it and then sighed, “there are some things I haven’t told you. Some important things but I didn’t know they were important until this morning that I woke up.”

Everyone remained silent and Callie nodded her head and motioned for me to continue. “When I turned fifteen, I realized that, somehow, I could feel when bad things were about to happen. A week before my pack was attacked, I couldn’t get up from my bed because all I felt was nausea and anxiety. And when Callie arrived at the Blood Moon Pack, I got that same feeling again. But now, as I am nearing my eighteenth birthday, those feelings have turned into visions.

Today I had a vision, of the future. The Moon Goddess came to me and explained that I had to develop my abilities to find out who posed a threat to our pack so that we can stop them. That’s why I need to go to Morgana, for her to teach me.” As I finished, there were all kinds of expressions in my friends’ faces, from shock, to fear and others like Evan, Callie, and Helena looked relaxed.

“Hold on, hold on. What do you mean you need to go?” Evan asked, suddenly getting up from his chair. I should’ve probably talked to him first, I thought to myself and my wolf nodded her head in my mind.

“It’s my duty,” I said nonchalantly and his eyed widened. I could tell his wolf wasn’t liking what I was saying.

“Wait, before we get ahead of ourselves. Evan, please try to calm down your wolf, it’s making mine nervous. Rose, what kind of visions have you seen?” Xander asked as he stood up and looked directly at me. His light-colored eyes seemed to pierce into my soul.

“I-“ my voice broke and I cleared my throat, “I had visions, of running with Evan in a dark forest, a black fog followed us and in the end, we died. The black fog not only killed us; it also destroyed the forest. Then today, I had a different vision, I was standing by a waterfall and at first, it was okay but as the scene changed, it dried out and the forest with it, as if there were some force there keeping everything around us alive.” As I spoked about the waterfall, I saw Callie stiffen instantly and Mike turned to look at her slightly but Xander made no comment or gave a sign that he had been affected.

“Something told me that waterfall was important, so I did the first thing I thought off, I ran back to the mansion,” I recalled, and everyone looked at me expectantly. “When I got to the mansion, the garden was dead, there was nothing left and as I got inside, I saw our pack lying on the ground, dead. Everyone was dead. I thought there had been survivors in the bunker in the tunnel. Helena’s body was at the entrance.”

Jake’s loud growl filled the room and his eyes lit up. He quickly reached for Helena and pulled her to him, to calm his wolf.

“Jake, calm down,” Xander ordered and Jake’s wolf slowly submitted.

“There were no survivors, the bunker had been breached and… that’s when the Moon Goddess appeared and explained everything to me. She said I had to go to Morgana to prevent those future scenarios,” I finished talking and there was silence in the room.

“You’re not going alone,” Evan said after a moment. He stood up and quickly moved to stand beside me.

“Evan-“ I began but was interrupted. But not by my mate.

“He’s right, Rose. You cannot go alone. The pack’s strength relies on its numbers. Morgana is a friend to our pack but who knows if she can protect you against this unknown enemy. You are part of this pack and I won’t put you in danger,” Xander said confidently, it was clear that there was no room for negotiation.

“Evan is an important part of this pack, of this kingdom. You need him. I will go with Rose,” Callie said quickly, getting to her feet and looking directly at her mate. Xander looked at her in disbelief and his fist tightened with so much force that his hands began to turn white.

Xander’s wolf growled menacingly and everyone in the room winced, all but Callie. She was his equal. She stared at him right in the eye without flinching. “No Callie, you are the Luna of this pack,” Xander said, his jaw tight.

Callie crossed her arms, “yes, I am. And it won’t do any good if I stay here twiddling my thumbs. Besides, Helena will come with us.” As soon as she said it, Jake was growling as well, and his hold tightened around his mate.

Helena rolled her eyes but didn’t fight him, if she did, we would have a protective male wolf growling in the office.

“Unlike you, I think we would be safer with Morgana. Not to mention that Goddess forbid, if something were to happen to either of us, one would be okay to fight and to rule,” Callie continued softly, she gently cupped her mate’s cheek and stared deeply into his eyes.

I could see Xander was weighing his chances of winning this battle against her. Xander may be firm but Callie was stubborn, and she had made her choice.

“Callie needs to come, the Moon Goddess said she also has some abilities to train,” I spoke without thinking twice. Everyone turned to me with wide eyes, and then to Callie.

“What?” she said incredulously.

I shrugged, “that’s the only thing she told me. She said your gifts would appear with time.” Callie’s expression remained bewildered.

It was Helena who broke the silence, “well then. That settles it, I am going to.” Jake growled and this time his mate did push his arms away. “I am a Royal Guardian, Jake. Wherever the Queen goes, I go.”

“What about Clarisse?” Jake growled out and Helena flinched. He had touched a sensitive subject.

“She will be here with you. She will be safe with the rest of the pack. We won’t be gone long, it’s just a reassurance, a way for us to know what we’re dealing with,” Helena said, choosing her words carefully. She felt ripped in two by her duties as a Royal Guardian and as a mother.

“Jake, remember, if Callie dies, I die. And if I die, you do too. That will be worse for Clarisse,” Helena said as she sat back down on her mate’s lap and stared into his eyes. Jake remained silent for a minute, pondering her argument until he let out a deep sigh and his shoulders crumbled in defeat.

“Okay, but you come back to us, please,” Jake said softly, and Helena nodded and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

I looked over at Callie and Xander who were leaning on each other. It was obvious Xander was going to let her go. Now the only male who needed to agree was my mate.

I turned to Evan and looked into his eyes. “I need to do this, love. I am not asking for permission. It’s my duty to protect the pack, as well.” My words made him flinch, but he finally nodded and pulled me into his arms to embrace me tightly.

Someone cleared their throat and all eyes turned to Mike. “Yes, in other news, I think the ladies should leave at once. The forest is already starting to wither, we don’t know how much time we have. We have already installed security cameras just like the Queen ordered and we will keep an eye out from here.”

Everyone nodded their heads in understanding but stiffened at the idea of leaving so soon.

“I don’t know how long we’ll be gone but I’d like to leave with at least a backpack of clothes,” Callie said with a shrug. “I am going to head to my room to pack, I recommend you do the same.” Then she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

Helena, Mike, and Jake were the ones who left afterward, and then there was only Evan, Xander, and me. “I’ll go pack too. I think we should leave before it gets dark. You know where Morgana is, right?” I asked suddenly feeling nervous about leaving.

Xander nodded his head, “don’t worry, Morgana isn’t very far away, and we’ll take you to the airport before sunset.” I nodded my head and bowed slightly before leaving the room. I sighed, suddenly feeling defeated, and walked slowly back to my chambers. My headache was gone but now I felt my nerves beginning to make me nauseous.

…

I had packed enough clothes to be away for a week. My list was next to my backpack and I only needed to get my toothbrush and brush to be ready to go.

When I exited the bathroom, I stopped short when I saw my mate sitting on our bed, looking defeated. He saw me looking and quickly masked it with a kind smile. “Hey, I brought you lunch since you haven’t eaten since yesterday and you must be starving,” he said holding up a plate of food.

Instantly, my stomach growled, and I made my way to the bed. “Thank you.” I placed a kiss on his forehead and sat down next to him while we ate. He had also brought a plate for himself.

“It takes a lot of strength from me to keep myself from tying you to this bed, so you don’t leave,” Evan said suddenly and I sighed. I leaned my head on his shoulder and rubbed his back.

“Everything will be fine. It’ll only be for a while,” I said calmly, trying to soothe his mind.

“For how long?” he asked nervously, and I shook my head.

“I don’t know. As long as it takes,” and for some reason, I had a feeling that wouldn’t be soon.

We finished our meals in silence, enjoying each other’s company and when we were done, he kissed me passionately. “Stay,” he whispered in my ear, making me shiver. His wolf was calling out to mine, wanting me close, wanting me by his side.

“I can’t,” I whispered back and continued kissing him softly. It broke my heart to say those words, the last thing I wanted was to make him vulnerable but he was needed here and I knew we would see each other again, my vision was proof of that.

The kiss was desperate, it was filled with longing and despair. We hadn’t been separated since the last war and now that things were looking dark, we were going to be in different places again. Who knew for how long. What mattered was the present. This. Our time together.

We didn’t stop. This was going to be our last time alone together for a while. And I would miss him terribly. I just needed to feel him close to me before I left. And he needed me just as much.