Chapter Eleven: An Unexpected Death

We lay in bed together, having blocked everyone out. Mateo had already given Orion and Valentine their instructions for the day. As our Betas, they were in charge for the day. He wasn’t kidding when he said that we aren’t going anywhere and that I would be resting today- not that a lot of resting had been done anyway. Pregnancy hormones are the strangest things.

“Babe?” I called him. He was absentmindedly running his fingers across my bare stomach.

“Hmm?” he replied.

“Do you think that everything will be fine at Litmus?” I asked warily. My thoughts were becoming heavier with worry by the second.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m just as worried as you are, if not more. I know you’re worried about the spell and everything else, but I’m more worried about the impact that everything will have on the baby more than anything. I’m confident in your abilities, so they’re the last things on my mind. I just wish that both of your health would be guaranteed,” he said.

I was instantly touched.

Mateo has shown me that while I thought I had changed him, I had only changed him around me. Outside our room, despite the fact that he was laughing and smiling more, he was still the tough and feared Alpha everyone knows and respects.

In other words, he was still him.

Remembering how we found out about my pregnancy made me smile. We were still on the boat at the time, and we’d just woken up on the Friday morning. We were content with just being in each other’s arms, until he started randomly sniffing the air. Obviously being me, I thought he’d lost his marbles, but it turned out he could smell my scent change.

Wanting to be sure about his suspicions, we got dressed and headed back to land. As soon as we were on the deck, Chase was waiting for us. Since Alphas can link each other, Mateo had already linked Chase and asked him to wait for us there. Panicked and as clueless as I was, Chase and I listened as Mateo demanded that we be taken to the pack’s doctor.

He looked like a mad man, so I didn’t blame Chase’s wariness.

Anyway, we got to the pack doctor who confirmed Mateo’s suspicion, even though it wasn’t tested. Chase and his pack doctor became the first two people besides us to find out. The amount of joy, disbelief and love in my mate’s eyes is what makes me smile though. At that moment, he was at his most vulnerable state.

For the second time since I’ve known him, Mateo cried.

Thinking back to the memory brought warmth to my heart and abdomen. I looked into his eyes and found myself drowning in the pure love there. He only becomes this way when it’s just the two of us.

Outside, despite our pack knowing about the curse being broken (or so we hope for now), he’s still the cold and closed off Alpha. He fears that showing me affection will only put me in danger, which I guess I understand.

Right now, the only people who know that we’re engaged and that I’m pregnant are Chase, his pack doctor, Domitius, Balthazar, Mark, Max, Orion and Boris. We couldn’t hide it from the other six, so we agreed that they would be the only ones to know for now.

“I want to train,” I whispered.

“No,” he said, deadpan.

“Come on babe! I can’t just sit like a potato this entire time. I want to train and beat you,” I smirked.

He sighed. “You can train and beat me after the baby’s born.”

“So you know I’m going to beat you?” I giggled.

He shrugged, that deadly smirk on his face. “Eh, I was only letting you think so.”

“You evil mate! I’m serious though babe. I want to train,” I pouted.

He shook his head. “Pouting isn’t going to work this time, June, not when it’s not just you in the picture.”

“But how else are you going to explain my sudden standstill? How are you going to explain why I’m not doing anything a Luna should be doing?” I whined. He only smirked in return.

I would be forced to come out with the news.

I glared at him. “Oh, you’re despicable!”

“I only want the pack to know that their future heir is coming,” he pouted.

I sighed. “Damn you Mateo! Can’t you let me train one more time before we do any announcing?”

“Baby doll, it isn’t happening, so you may as well forget about it,” he said sternly. I knew then that there was no arguing with him about this.

“Fine, but we’re not announcing the pregnancy,” I retaliated.

“They’re going to pick up the scent anyway,” he chuckled.

“Not if I hide it,” I smirked. His eyes widened.

“You can do that?” he asked. I merely responded by doing it.

“Unbelievable!” he mumbled. I turned him onto his back and straddled him.

“What did you expect when you have a powerful mate?” I asked, kissing down his neck.

“True,” he groaned as I bit down on one of his sensitive spots.

“I’m worried babe, but I also know that I can get through anything for as long as you’re with me,” I murmured on his skin. I was rewarded with the shiver that struck through him.

“And I’ll always be there! I promise that I will try my hardest not to let you down as my mate June,” he said seriously, making me look him in his hazel orbs.

“And I promise to always put you and our baby first,” I smiled before kissing him. Before we could go any further, my link was nudged. Surprised at who was linking me, I let them in.

“Are you alone?” he asked.

“I’m supposed to be resting, and since I’m pregnant, I’m going to let you figure that one out,” I replied. Mateo knew I was linking someone and instead proceeded to get me hot and bothered.

“Right! Well, I just got a message from Mama Deo. You need to go to The Vaulsino before Friday. She’s heard of plans for the room to move,” Balthazar informed me. I was shocked to hear about Mama Deo, and even more shocked at the fact that I knew who she was.

“Move? Is that possible?” I asked. Mateo noticed my tense position and pulled back, soothingly rubbing my arms and stomach.

“It’s possible. The Vaulsino moves itself four times a year to avoid any evil being able to penetrate it,” he explained.

“I don’t understand,” I admitted.

“It takes five months to be able to infect The Vaulsino, but obviously if it moves every three months, that guarantees that it can’t be penetrated,” he replied.

“So it’s been penetrated before?” I picked up.

“Yes, and it took years to cleanse it from the evil before it was spelled,” he responded.

“Okay, so I need to go before it disappears?” I asked.

“Yes! When it disappears, we won’t know where it is,” he replied.

“I thought you said it was in Rome,” I remembered.

“It originated from Rome, and that’s where it is right now, but like I said, it moves, so we need to act quickly,” he explained.

“Well, I don’t know how long I’ll be in Litmus for,” I pointed out.

“Don’t worry about Litmus. I’ll find a valid excuse for Mateo to get you out of there and we’ll go to Rome together,” he said.

“By together, I assume Boris is tagging along?” I giggled.

“Like he’d stay behind,” he chuckled.

“Well, I’m okay with the plan for as long as you can convince Mateo that I’ll be safe with whatever excuse you come up with,” I replied.

He kicked into father mode. “Don’t worry yourself about it pumpkin. Are you feeling okay?”

“I’m on top of the world,” I giggled.

“I don’t even want to think about the implications of that statement, and so I won’t torture myself like that. Clearly you’re in good hands, so I won’t question that either. I guess I’ll just leave you to it,” he grumbled. That had me laughing.

“I love you dad,” I giggled once more.

“I love you too, pumpkin,” he chuckled before our link was closed.

“Who was that?” Mateo asked, before kissing my stomach. He’s very attached to it now that it hosts his heir.

“It was my dad. He was just checking in with me,” I replied. He looked utterly confused.

“Your dad?” he asked.

“Balthazar,” I shed some knowledge.

“You adopted him?” he asked, not bothering to mask his surprise.

“Yeah! I can’t say I know when I officially did, but I just realized that he’s more of a dad to me than I could ever ask for,” I explained.

“How did he react?” he asked, curiosity dripping from his question.

“He was surprised, but he accepted it almost immediately. He even had tears in his eyes,” I smiled in remembrance. Something flashed in my mate’s eyes, but it was gone as soon as it came.

“Well, that was nice of you,” he commented.

I frowned. “Nice?”

He laughed. “I’m honestly not sure what to say.”

“And you chose nice?” I teased.

“I think you know where I was headed,” he said indifferently.

“I don’t think I do,” I taunted.

He shrugged. “That’s not my problem.”

“There are some scary sides to you, my mate,” I commented.

He raised an eyebrow. “Scary?”

I nodded. “Uh huh.”

“Scary how?” he questioned.

“I don’t know,” I said as I shrugged, hoping he’d catch on to what I just did.

“Did you just say something confusing just to get back at me?” he said with a ghost of a smile.

He got it.

“I don’t even know what we’re talking about anymore. I think the sex fumes are getting to us,” I commented. He burst out laughing, his laughter reverberating throughout the room.

It’s honestly such a beautiful sound.

“Sex fumes? What goes on in that head of yours baby doll?” he asked, rather breathlessly. He was even crying from how hard he laughed.

“It’s true! I’m pretty sure our room reeks of it! I’m just thankful to the heavens that you had the good sense of getting this room soundproofed,” I blushed. I was on my back faster than I could blink, with him hovering over me.

“I love hearing you scream my name,” his voice dropped an octave, serenading me with a husky baritone that had me blushing beet red.

“We are not doing this, Diego,” I emitted a breathy moan when he touched the right places. My use of his second name only made his eyes darker, until I was facing orbs of inky black.

“Say my name again,” he demanded. While on any other day I would’ve responded, I froze.

There was something off about his voice.

“What?” I dumbly retorted.

“Say, my name, again,” he growled out.

Even the growl was different!

I pushed him off of me and put him on his back, faster than he could react. There was something very wrong looking about him as well. The veins on his neck were turning green and purple and his skin was turning blue. He looked like he was in pain.

His eyes turned back to normal, but the pain was still there. I could read the SOS signal in his eyes clearly as he struggled to breathe. I started shaking in panic when I realized that something serious was happening to him. When I reached out to touch one of the veins, he hissed, before his eyes closed. When he opened them again, they’d rolled backwards and I screamed.

He stopped breathing.

His heart stopped beating.

For a whole hour, my life stood still. I was immobile beside him, my eyes not believing what they were seeing, clutching the sheet to me. He’d turned ice cold and blue and more of the veins had popped up and changed color. Dread settled in me. This wasn’t happening; couldn’t be happening.

It was all a sick joke and he was going to get up.

When the second hour went and he was still unmoving, the first sob racked through me. I didn’t even register the arms that wrapped themselves around me minutes later.

“What the hell?” I heard Boris gasp.

“Pumpkin, what happened?” Balthazar tried to soothe me. On any other day, I would’ve made a joke about how sex killed my mate, but I couldn’t get that thought processed.

My mate was dead.

“He just died,” I whispered hoarsely.

“Does anyone else know about this? We felt your emotions drop and got here immediately,” Balthazar explained.

The pack!

I immediately thought about them and how they could feel my emotions. Did they feel their Alpha’s death too? From that question alone, I registered the numbing migraine I had as they all tried to link me at once. It was only then that I realized that Marissa spelled any entrance from anyone into the room.

I guess Balthazar and Boris found a way around it.

“I haven’t told anyone else. I refuse to believe it, so I blocked everyone out,” I sniffed.

“He’s gone, June,” Boris said sadly.

“HE CAN’T BE!” I shouted, my tears never ceasing.

“Calm down pumpkin. We’re going to figure this out. I don’t believe that he’s dead either. He looks highly poisoned though,” Balthazar commented.

“Can you tell what it is?” I asked him.

“It looks like the works of a very ancient herb that was banned from ever being put into use. It kills ninety seven percent of the time. Whoever did this wants Mateo dead, but the question is why?” he replied.

“That’s an obvious one, considering how many enemies my best friend has,” Domitius’ voice floated in the room. I guess my dad called him.

“He’s got a point. With the amount of enemies that Mateo has, this could’ve been done by anyone,” Boris commented.

I looked to Balthazar desperately. “What do we do now?”

He turned to Domitius. “Did you get it?”

“My mother wants you to fetch it yourself. She said you should bring a sample of his blood with you, as well as Juniper,” Domitius replied.

Only then did it hit me.

Domitius is Leona’s son.

“Took you long enough to figure that out,” Boris winked.

“Is he coming with?” I asked, in reference to Boris.

“Well, she doesn’t remember anything about their time together, and last I checked, they were at peace, so yes, he’s coming along. We need to move now if we hope to save Mateo in time,” Balthazar replied.

“Let me get appropriately dressed,” I said.

“And keep the spell up on the room,” Boris added as I got up to walk to my closet with the sheet around me.

I nodded. “Got it!”

“He’s going to be okay pumpkin,” Balthazar said as he suddenly hugged me, careful not to drop the sheet.

“He’s got no choice,” I whispered before going to change.

Since I was meeting the Queen of Vampires, I settled for a simple white dress with matching pumps. I took a quick shower before getting dressed. I curled my hair simply and applied a little make up to hide the fact that I’d been crying. When I stepped out of the closet, Balthazar had already collected a sample of Mateo’s blood. The three of them were waiting for me.

“Aren’t you just a vision,” Boris smiled. I instantly remembered Monte Carlo.

“You said the same thing in Monte Carlo,” I said with a small smile. I wasn’t sure if I was meant to be smiling or mourning, although I refused to let myself succumb to the latter.

Boris chuckled at the memory. “I remember.”

“Well, let’s get going. The faster we get there, the faster we can help your mate,” Balthazar said.

Domitius held my hand since I didn’t know where we were going. It took seconds before we were standing in a magnificent room. We were surrounded by gold and white, with hints of red dancing around the room. It smelled like lavender and the intricate designs had me completely enthralled, to the point where I hadn’t noticed other presences in the room.

“She’s absolutely stunning,” a soothing voice said, bringing me out of my reverie.

That’s when I saw her.

Long onyx hair that probably reached her thighs framed a pale and yet immaculate face. Blood red lips curled into a dazzling smile. Her slender figure was dressed in a gold dress that matched her just as golden eyes.

I had never seen anyone more beautiful in my life.

“June, meet my mother, Queen Leona Stanislavski. Ma, meet Juniper Evigan, Mateo’s mate. I take it you’re familiar with Balthazar and Boris,” Domitius introduced.

THAT’S HIS MOTHER?

She’s breathtakingly beautiful!

“Thank you,” she sent me a warm smile.

Did she just read my mind?

“Yes I did,” she nodded.

“That’s cool,” I whispered. I was feeling a little out of place, considering my dead mate back home. I don’t even know where the Vampire Royal Castle is.

Balthazar hugged her. “Leona, always a pleasure!”

She glared at Boris and Balthazar. “It’s been a while, you two!”

Yep, she definitely doesn’t remember ‘Leopold’.

Boris sighed. “You know how it is with us Leona. We visit whenever we’re free, and with what’s going on right now, we’re definitely not free.”

“Ah yes! Do you have the blood?” she asked. Balthazar handed her the container with my fiancé’s blood.

“How long ago did he die?” a new voice joined us.

I looked behind the Queen to see a short woman with a tall man beside her. She’s got raven hair with traces of gray in it; an indication of her age. She was wearing a multi-colored robe. The man beside her was wearing a cloak and he’s got white hair and a white beard. They were standing by a table with a small pot brewing where they were.

“Uhm, about two hours ago,” I replied.

“Come here, child,” the woman said.

I did as told and approached her. She took my hand and did the unthinkable - she sliced my palm. I screamed when she pressed her fingers into my palm, my blood gushing and dripping into the pot.

The smoke coming out of the pot changed color, which was enough to make me forget about my pain. The man signaled to the Queen, who then stepped up with Mateo’s blood.

The man poured my mate’s blood into the pot as well, and we watched the smoke change color again. I was given a cloth to put around my hand while it healed itself. I wasn’t sure about what was going on as I watched the short woman chant a whole lot of things in a language that sounded a lot like gibberish. Soon, the smoke turned black and the woman, the man, the Queen and Balthazar all shared a grim expression, making me numb to the toes.

This couldn’t be good.

“Pumpkin...” Balthazar trailed off speechlessly. The regret in his eyes gave me the answer to my dread.

“No,” I whispered as the waterworks started again.

“Child, you can save him, but you’d have to give him up,” the man told me. That had my interest.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

I’d do anything to save him right now.

“He means that you can save your mate, but you would have to leave him after that. Juniper, you were paired with Mateo for a great purpose, and it’s time that you take up the responsibility of fulfilling that purpose,” the short woman explained.

I’d have to leave Mateo?

I wasn’t too sure about how I felt about that.

“How would that work?” I instead asked.

“You know of what you are, correct?” the man asked. I nodded.

“Well, your witch has the power to save your mate, so should you choose to, she’ll know what to do. Once he is saved, you will have three days with him before his memory of you and your time at his territory will be wiped from his memory. That is when you will have to leave on your venture for the truth. Your first destination would obviously be The Vaulsino. From then on, everything else will happen to lead you to the truth. This will not be a safe or easy venture, and it is all up to you to decide whether or not it’s worth it,” the woman explained.

“And if I don’t?” I asked lowly.

“He dies and this ends right now. You need to understand that saving your mate means you get to uncover the truth about him and his family, as well as unlocking the key points to defeating Odessa,” the man told me.

This was all too much for me.

Of course I wanted to save Mateo, but could I really bring him back at the risk of having to give him up? We have so much that we want to do, and now in order for us to have even the slightest bit of hope of doing that, I have to leave him and hope to the gods that we somehow end up together again.

“I’m pregnant,” I was reduced to a tearful whisper.

“Balthazar and Boris will take care of you child, but you cannot save your mate and stay with him. When he loses his memory of you, you may not tell him who you are, and neither can you stay at Vistas. If you fail, he will die and this time you will not be able to bring him back. Right now he’s hanging onto a very thin thread that only you can bring him back from. You will unfortunately have to raise his heir by yourself until fate deems fit. We are sorry that it has come down to this,” the woman said regretfully.

I wanted to die then.

I wanted to scream, to cry, to kill someone - anything to take away the pain that was searing through my heart. I knew that I would choose to save him, but the sacrifice that came with that decision made me want to cry out to the heavens for being so cruel to me.

“What do I have to do?” my voice strained.

The next few minutes involved the slicing of my palm again, except this time, Marissa pushed forward and said the spell given to her by Balthazar. I found out that he couldn’t perform the spell for me because he’s not a full Naturalist witch.

As soon as the spell was done, I felt something in me change. Well, I wasn’t sure whether it was a change or not, but it definitely felt foreign. It was a strange feeling honestly. It felt like I’d just lost a part of myself. When no one was looking, I reached up to touch my shoulder. I still had Mateo’s mark there.

Was that meant to happen?

Was it meant to stay there? I just assumed that our mate bond would be broken by this spell, but I guess I was wrong. Something in me told me not to reveal this fact. Something told me it would be important down the line and I was going to trust my instincts on this one.

“Are you okay?” Boris was the one to ask me.

I ran into his open arms and cried. Of the people in the room, I was sure that only he understood what I was feeling. He held me tightly as I cried onto his chest. No-one in the room said anything else as my sobs echoed throughout. It was awkward, but I was too drowned in my sadness to register anything else.

“He’ll be waking up in an hour. I’m pretty sure you’d like to spend as much time with him as possible,” Leona smiled sadly, approaching me warily. I just nodded silently.

“Will you be okay to teleport yourself?” Domitius asked me. I shook my head.

Understanding, he took my hand and teleported me back to my room. I realized that I hadn’t even thanked anyone for helping me, but I was suddenly too numb to speak. Balthazar and Boris followed behind, and surprisingly, so did Leona, the short woman and the tall man.

They’d all come along.

My eyes turned to our bed and Mateo’s veins were disappearing. The color was returning to him again, as his tanned skin began to make an appearance. I was relieved to see his chest moving up and down steadily, to hear his heart beating rhythmically. I allowed myself that brief moment of happiness as I watched the life come back to my mate.

When he looked fully like himself, just deep in sleep, the sadness crept its way back in. I wanted to cry, but I knew that he’d be up soon, and he’d ask a million questions if he saw me in tears.

I’ve been through a lot in my life, that’s no secret, but I’ve never had to face anything as hard and as painful as this. I only had three days left with my mate before he would forget all about my existence. I would go back to being that girl he knows about from his enemy’s land; his enemy’s daughter.

It damn near broke me to think that there would be a possibility of him hating me once he found out that Juniper Evigan is actually still alive. With no memory of what he and I share, he will chalk me off to being as evil as my parents and will probably not even spare me a second thought.

I almost regretted saving him, but I couldn’t bring myself to be that selfish. Too many people depend on him and I can’t take him away from them with the knowledge that I had the power to do something.

“Pumpkin, are you going to be okay?” Balthazar asked me. I looked at him with pained eyes.

“I don’t know,” I croaked in admission.

“Well, you have us to turn to, should you need to,” Leona said, surprising me.

I sighed sadly. “Thank you all for helping me with this.”

“Well, you should really thank Mama Deo and Merlin,” Boris gave me a small smile.

I turned to the short woman. “Mama Deo?”

“Yes child,” she smiled in return.

“You’re the pack healer right? You disappeared when I got here,” I remembered Orion mentioning.

“That’s right! Your arrival was an indication to me that it was time to get into action. Merlin arrived to take me away and we’ve been preparing for this day since. As I’ve explained, your mating to Mateo is all in the name of a greater purpose, and this is where it all begins. I know that it’s unfair of everyone to expect you to save them while giving up the one person most dear to you, but I can assure you that they will be grateful when all of this is over,” she explained.

“Will we ever get to be together again?” I asked.

“We can’t say we know child. Fate is a very unpredictable thing and the tables could turn at any given moment. We need you to keep the faith and belief in yourself. Perhaps fate has a reward for you at the end of everything,” Merlin was the one to reply.

“That’s if I live through it,” I mumbled bitterly.

“You’re going to live through it pumpkin! We’ll be there with you the whole way,” Balthazar said passionately.

“Well, I say we all leave and give her some space to breathe,” Leona suggested. I was grateful since I was beginning to feel a little suffocated.

“Alright! Just call on us when you need us and we’ll be there,” Merlin told me before he, Mama Deo, Leona and Domitius left.

Boris hugged me. “We’re going to be with you the whole way, kiddo.”

“What about Mark?” I asked.

“We’ll set him up somewhere since Mateo won’t remember him either,” Balthazar said.

“So he won’t remember you guys either?” I asked. They nodded.

“The rest of your friends here will remember us, but we’ll have to tell them not to say anything. Don’t worry yourself about anything or anyone. All you need to worry about is your mate and spending these three days with him,” Balthazar explained. I got out of Boris’ arms and into his.

“Everything will be okay pumpkin. We will fight to not only win this battle, but to get you your mate back,” he said with strength in his voice.

“I know, Dad,” I sighed, burying my face in his chest. The scent of flowers hit me and offered me the temporary solace that I needed.

“I love you guys,” I whispered.

“We love you too, kiddo! We’ll see you at Litmus. We’ll tell Orion that you guys have to be there for the inauguration and to stop the spell. After that, you come straight back here. It will be easier and will cause less confusion for Mateo once his memory is wiped,” Boris explained.

I sighed. “So, we’re still going to Litmus then?”

Balthazar nodded. “It only makes sense, since that’s what is on schedule as far as this Mateo knows.”

“Alright! I’m still going as Marissa right?” I asked. They both nodded before Mateo groaned behind me.

“We’ll see you kiddo!” Boris said. They both kissed different sides of my forehead before they were gone.

I disappeared into the closet and quickly stripped off my clothes since the last time Mateo saw me, I was butt naked. I sauntered back into the room to find him leaning against the headboard, his hands clutching his head. It hurt me more than I anticipated seeing him like this. I got onto the bed and grabbed his hands, kissing the insides of his palms.

“You’re here,” he whispered, looking very confused.

I scowled. “Where did you think I was?”

“I thought you were gone. I had the weirdest dream, June. One minute we were happy together, and the next, you were gone from me. I couldn’t remember you, and I watched myself live life without you. I was a shell of myself and no matter how much I shouted and tried, I couldn’t get through to myself or my soul. It was horrible,” he said before pulling me into his arms.

My heart and my world shattered. How cruel could fate be? It basically showed him what was coming, except this time he wouldn’t be able to shout at himself. He would really forget about me and go back to being a shell of himself. I didn’t hold back my tears as I cried on his chest.

He tilted my chin to look at him. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

His hazel eyes were filled with that vulnerability again, and it took everything in me not to completely break down into a puddle of despair. How am I expected to just leave him behind like he isn’t everything to me?

“It’s nothing! I guess it’s just the pregnancy hormones and the thought of ever being without you,” I partially lied. He kissed me so softly that I would’ve sworn I kissed a cloud.

“I’m not going anywhere, baby doll,” he smiled.

Baby doll...

In three days’ time, I will never get to hear him say those two words to me. It never registered to me just how much of an effect they have on me, how special they make me feel. I honestly wanted to stay in this moment for the rest of my life.

“I will never get used to this,” he murmured against my hair, probably referring to my random crying.

“Babe?” I croaked.

“Yes, baby doll?” he replied.

“What are we going to name our baby?” I asked him.

I NEEDED to know since there was a big chance our baby would be born without him there.

“If we have a boy, we could name him Cesaro Mateo Santiago. If we have a girl, we could name her Ceria Selena Santiago,” he smiled. My heart warmed at the second suggestion.

“You want to name our daughter after my grandmother?” I whispered.

“You wouldn’t be in my arms if it wasn’t for your grandmother, baby doll. She made you who you are today and I think it’s only fair that we honor her,” he said, wiping away my tears. I reached up to kiss him deeply.

“I love you, so much,” I said in-between kisses.

“I love you too baby doll, probably even more than you do,” he teased.

I smiled on his lips. “I highly doubt it.”

He wiggled his eyebrows. “I could show you?”

“Later! We’ve been cooped up in here the whole day. Let’s go for a run. We’ll be back in time for dinner and for you to make your announcement before you can deliver on your display of affection,” I suggested.

“Is it safe for you to shift?” he questioned.

“For now it is. Only when I get to my second trimester will it then be dangerous to,” I relayed the information told to me by my wolf.

“And how long are you going to be pregnant for?” he asked.

“Half the time, so roughly four months and a few weeks,” I replied.

“I can’t wait,” he beamed. I forced myself to be excited as well.

If only he knew.

We took a joint shower that was miraculously innocent, before changing into sports gear. I could hear everyone chatting downstairs, although I could detect the confusion in the air, especially when they all saw Mateo looking as healthy as ever. Their thoughts were conveyed to me and I shrugged.

Probably putting it down to having a powerful Alpha, none of them questioned anything, my friends included.

Max shot me a look and I shot him one right back; signaling that I’d tell him later. My brother looked just as concerned, so I sent him a small smile to tell him that I was okay, even though I was really seconds from a breakdown. Mark, being the intelligent person he is, picked up my lie but sent me a just as fake smile in return with the promise of later.

Mateo and I got outside and went to undress behind some trees before shifting. Zeus always takes my breath away honestly, and from the look in his eyes, I could tell that Star had him having the same reaction. They circled each other, just taking each other in. Star then nuzzled his neck, and they purred in contentment. It’s a beautiful thing being like this with our mate.

A beautiful thing I’ve had to give up.

Pushing those thoughts away from my mind, we took off in a sprint towards the lake. The sun was setting in the distance as we whizzed through the trees. It wasn’t long before Mateo and Zeus were running beside us. We both weren’t running at full speed, but rather for the fun of it.

It was exhilarating watching everything flash past us. The mirage of the different sceneries and colors was extraordinary. We ran until we reached the lake. We went to have a drink, until Star decided to push Zeus into the water. It was hilarious watching the massive wolf faceplant the surface of the lake.

He got up and growled before the water war ensued. Both wolves were completely soaked just minutes later before we decided to just lay on the grass and watch the sunset. Once again, Star was nestled against Zeus, not that I was complaining. Even Marissa seemed content.

“Baby doll, are you okay?” Mateo linked me.

“I’m fine babe! It’s just these hormones driving me nuts. I’ve never experienced so many at the same time,” I joked.

“Well, I guess I can see how that can be life changing,” he chuckled. I was glad for the lighter mood. The more I stayed away from my feelings, the better.

“This place is beautiful,” I commented as we stared out at the lake. It was shimmering as the sparkles danced with the disappearing sunlight.

“It is, but I have an even more breathtaking sight right here,” he replied with Zeus giving me a wolfy grin.

“So cheesy,” Star was the one to giggle.

“A little cheesiness never killed anyone. It’s good for you every now and then,” they both chuckled. It sounded strange since Zeus’ voice is slightly deeper.

“Babe, what is your view of a ‘perfect life’?” I asked curiously.

He sighed. “That’s easy! I see myself here with you like this, except we’ll be watching our kids play in the water. There would be no looming evil or anything of a sort. We would be stress free.”

“And do you think we’ll ever get that kind of life?” I asked.

“At the moment, I can’t say, but I can say that I definitely hope, dream and wish that we do. I would die a happy man having been granted that much happiness,” he replied.

I sighed. “Well, that makes two of us.”

“You’d die a man?” he teased.

“Screw you!” I giggled.

The warm air around us helped us get dry pretty quickly and soon the sky had darkened. Knowing our pack members and their failure to keep time, we stayed there even in the dark, enjoying each other’s company.

When the time came, we got up and ran back to the pack house. We changed into our clothes and headed up to our room to shower. I realized then that it was my third shower in six hours, but I wasn’t going to bring anything up.

We got ready and dressed. I was dressed in a flowy summer dress and matching flat pumps, while Mateo got dressed in a pair of cargo shorts and a T-shirt with sandals. He looked like he belonged somewhere on a beach. I was about to question his laid back attitude and dress sense, when I realized that unlike me, he was actually happy right now, and rightfully so, I guess.

“Am I still not allowed to announce the pregnancy?” he pouted.

That struck me!

He couldn’t announce the pregnancy now more than ever. I needed the pack members to not have hope like that since I would be leaving. It would be better off if they didn’t know, so that they don’t bring it up when their Alpha suddenly doesn’t remember that he had a mate to begin with.

“You’re not allowed to tell them, babe. I want them to be happy seeing my swollen belly,” I smiled. It crushed me to have to lie like that.

“Talk about a delayed surprise,” he chuckled.

“But a surprise nonetheless,” I pointed out.

“True! Okay, so I’m only allowed to announce our engagement?” he asked, just to be sure.

“You’ve got it,” I nodded. I didn’t expect him to pull me in by the waist.

“You really are the most beautiful creature I’ve ever laid my eyes on, and I can’t believe that you’re all mine,” he mumbled on my neck. Despite wanting to moan at the inferno he’d ignited, I also wanted to scream - to tell him to shut up and not break my heart any further.

But I couldn’t.

“Well, believe it because my heart will never belong to anyone else but you, no matter what happens from this point onwards,” I said, my helplessness seeping through. He pulled back, a frown on his face.

“What are you talking about June? You sound like you’re leaving me,” he ended with a whisper.

“I would never leave you,” I lied.

Willingly, is what I wanted to add.

Horror took over his features. “You’re lying to me.”

“I’m not lying to you. Why would I have any reason to leave you? You’re my soul mate Mateo, my fiancé and the father of my baby. If anything, you’re stuck with me, buddy,” I smiled. This time, it was a genuine smile that I apparently miraculously mastered.

“I believe you, baby doll. I’m sorry for doubting you,” he said before kissing me.

You have every reason to, I thought to myself as a lone tear escaped during our kiss.

“I don’t think you’ll have tears left after the pregnancy at the rate that you’re going,” he teased.

“Shut up! I’m just happy and overwhelmed,” I huffed, my hand laying on my stomach.

He knelt in front of me ever so slowly. The look in his eyes was a heated one, but it was also very intense. It was filled with love and fear at the same time. I had to catch my breath when he lifted my dress up.

Thinking with my dirty mind, I tried to stop him, but he simply swatted my hand. He raised my dress until it was just under my bra. His face was now parallel to my stomach and I could feel his warm breath from how close he was.

“Hello baby or babies,” he whispered. My heart skipped a beat.

And, as you would’ve probably guessed, my flood gates opened.

“Babies?” I asked.

“We didn’t get an ultrasound, so we could be having more than one for all we know,” he said, looking up at me.

“Would you like that?” I asked nervously. He turned back to my stomach.

“More than anything,” he whispered. I ran my hand through his smooth hair and smiled at him when he looked up. He returned the smile before turning back to my stomach.

“As daddy was saying; I want you to know that your parents love you more than you can ever imagine. If anything happens, always remember that. I love your mother so much, and I thought she’d be the only person that fate would ever allow me to love, but it would seem that fate agrees that I deserve this after everything I’ve been through. You guys are my treasures and I would never trade you for the world. I will spend the rest of my life loving and protecting you. I will raise you to be a responsible child or children. I will try to be the best father I can be, even though I’m not promising that you’ll always like me. Right now, just do me a favor and take it easy on your mom. Ease up on the crying, unless if that’s you just decreasing your own crying for your childhood days; then in that case, let her cry like a waterfall. It guarantees that you won’t cry as much as a baby or babies,” he chuckled, making me laugh as I wiped away my tears.

“I love you so much and I can’t wait until I hold you in my arms,” he whispered before kissing my stomach.

I felt the warmth spread from him, to my stomach, to my heart. It was such a breathtaking experience that I wouldn’t have believed it if someone told me that they went through it. It was magical, and from the look on his face, it wasn’t hard to tell that Mateo had felt it.

He stood up and grabbed my face before kissing me fiercely. It was almost as though he knew that this would be one of our last special moments, and yet I was confident that he couldn’t know. To him, this was probably just one of those moments that he was sure would build up to many more.

My skin tingled as I felt his emotions rush through me with the force of a tsunami. It was incredible, and I had no doubt that my lips were swollen by the time we pulled apart.

“True love will triumph in the end...” he trailed off.

“Which may or may not be a lie...” I added.

“But if it is a lie...” he smiled.

“It’s the most beautiful lie we have,” I finished off before kissing him again.

We had just said a quote from John Green. We stumbled upon it a few days ago when we were browsing the internet. It hit us both in the same way since it’s one of those quotes that just speaks to us. We decided then that it was our quote - the one quote we would always remember each other by.

“I love you, Mateo,” I breathed when we pulled apart.

“I love you too, Juniper,” he smiled.

After one last peck, and after we both looked appropriate enough for the public eye, he grabbed my hand and led me downstairs. For a moment, I’d even forgotten that he was actually dead for a good two or so hours earlier. We made outside to find that the pack had arranged for tables to be set out there. It wasn’t like when we have our barbeques, but this was an actual dinner.

I love these people.

They all beamed when they noticed us and greetings went all around. We mingled with everyone for a bit since the ladies weren’t ready with the food yet. We didn’t mind it one bit and we found ourselves actually enjoying our time with everyone. I was laughing with some ladies when my leg was tapped. I looked down to find little Rose there.

I’d honestly forgotten all about her.

She hugged me when I squatted to her level. “Luna June!”

“Hey Rose! How are you?” I asked her.

“I’m lonely, but I’m okay,” she said sadly.

My heart broke for her.

“I’m so sorry Rose,” I said as I hugged her. No little girl should have to live the way she does.

“It’s okay Luna June! I know that I’m alone for a big reason,” she smiled. The amount of wisdom in that statement alone knocked the wind out of me and I suddenly had an idea that could get me in trouble down the line.

“Well that’s true! How about I give you a really big task?” I asked. She nodded eagerly and I whispered it in her ear. It was quite long, but I knew I had her full attention.

“Really?” her eyes widened in sadness, happiness, disbelief and excitement all at once.

“Really!” I replied, nodding. She ambushed me in another hug.

“I promise I won’t let you down, Mommy,” she whispered in my ear.

“I know you won’t baby!” I said before I kissed her cheek. The music around us was loud enough that no one could’ve possibly heard us.

She ran off and I was left to talk to everyone else before the food was brought out. Everyone got seated, and after a short thanksgiving prayer from Sam, we all dug in. The ladies really outdid themselves with this meal. It had me happy as all the flavors danced on my tongue. Mateo seemed to be in the same heaven and we even finished our food before everyone else. He dished up seconds for us, which I happily ate.

When I wanted thirds, the pack members all looked at me in amusement and the ladies who had cooked all had pride gleaming in their eyes at their Luna having loved what they had prepared. Mateo looked just as happy as everyone else, while Max, Mark and Orion held knowing looks.

I was eating for more than one.

Chatter between everyone carried on as I learned more about my pack mates. When the time came, Mateo got up and got everyone’s attention. What you have to love about werewolves is that we rarely need any microphones. The whole pack can hear you just from shouting.

“I’d like to thank you all for coming and especially the ladies who prepared dinner. Clearly your Luna enjoyed it more than anyone else,” he teased, eliciting laughs from everyone while I blushed.

“As you all know, there’s a curse on my family’s name and so we never thought that we’d live to see a rightful Luna any time soon. When I mated with Juniper, it came as a shock to us all, and we’re still living in disbelief. But, we’re not going to let it stop us from living, and so, I decided that I wanted her in every way. I took the step and proposed, and well, she agreed,” he smiled, looking down at me.

Everyone broke into loud cheers and I took down the invisibility shield I’d used to hide the ring from sight. It’s a beautiful ring, honestly. The rock is huge and it’s a square diamond with smaller diamonds around it, on a white gold band.

They all gasped when they saw it, and the cheering got even louder; to the point where the vibrations were traveling through the ground.

The amount of happiness floating around was enough to bring tears to my eyes. Most of them chalked it down to me being emotional, but it was more than that. I love these people, and leaving them would be the hardest thing I’ll ever do in my life. My eyes found Mateo and I couldn’t help but just drink him in, etching every corner of him to my memory. He flashed me a worried look but I shook my head to let him know that I was okay.

Even if I wasn’t even close to being okay.