“Just breathe. Feel your blood pulse, alpha.”

A strange voice beckoned behind him. Logan felt something push beneath his skin. He didn’t feel like himself at all. There was a fog around him, something blocking his normal train of thought. What is going on?

The voice continued. “Don’t ask questions. All will be revealed in time.”

Logan felt it, the blood pulsing in his veins. He glanced down at his arms and clenched his fists. The feeling was warm and unifying, not at all disconcerting. For once, he felt truly strong in mind and body.

He felt it coursing through him. The sharp movements. The cold sweat, running down his forehead. All of it led to some finality. He couldn’t put the puzzle together in his head… yet.

The voice continued, as if reading from a strict set of instructions. “There you are. You must remember now, surely.”

The voice hit Logan like a soft smack on the ass. It jolted him into an upright position of strength and sheer power. But as he held his arms out, flexing, he could not longer remember who he was. Not anymore, at least. Not in this realm.

He could normally do anything. But right now, it was clear that whatever power he felt was totally fleeting. A bright light had formed above him. The air started to spin, until the foggy ether had split apart into a large doorway.

Logan looked up at the entrance, squinting his eyes and shielding his face with his palms. There it was, the void within the golden realm. He was shocked it existed. He read the literature, but never thought it was real.

“I can’t believe it,” Logan murdered. “It’s impossible. The golden realm was separated from Frisky Pines. I was there. I felt it.”

But the voice only grew stronger, and met his ears with force. A great goddess walked in front of his path, revealing whom the voice was coming from in the first place.

Her laughter pissed him off. After all, she was ruining his beauty sleep. Logan knew this was important, so he listened intently to what she had to say.

“You knew it was coming. Didn’t you?” she asked him.

Logan could only shake his head and roll back his lips, revealing a set of sharp teeth. “You don’t own me, Astra.”

Now he remembered how he got here, how he had been coming here for a while now. Her laughter continued and he felt his blood boil with fire. He had been forced in a feedback loop of information. Important information.

How could he be so foolish to keep coming back here? He could have stayed in the Pines, with his own people. He could have stayed at home with his omega, choosing to live a normal life. Instead, he kept returning here, as if the fates had brought him here in the first place.

“That bitch,” he thought to himself. She was always muddying the world he tried so desperately to inhabit. Back home, he was happy. Well, maybe not truly happy. But he was calm, at least. Besides, he would figure things out. He just needed time to grow.

Here, he was nothing. Her sole purpose was to cause him chaos and frustration. At least, that’s how it was beginning to feel. If she really wanted to bring him any good, she would tell him why he was here in the first place.

“Please. Stop it with your babbling thoughts. They’re no good here,” she says.

As she moved closer to him, his eyes fixated on her glowing aura. Her auburn, brown hair flowed beneath her. Her hips rocked forward as she made her way toward him. With a faint smile on her face, she reached out and touched his chin.

The sight and touch immediately enraged Logan. Her scent offended the alpha’s inner being. Her displays were becoming more and more of a disgusting show.

Her eyes lit up, brown with hints of pine green. “You’ll never be the alpha you were destined to be.”

“Be quiet,” Logan said.

The smile on her face only grew. Her fingers squeezed his cheeks now. “Or will you prove me wrong?”

Logan immediately tried to shift into his bear form, but came out empty handed. He let out a roar so loud that the realm shook from its foundations. Even still, there was no change in him. He was as weak as he had ever been and Astra was taking advantage of her time.

Logan could do what only seemed appropriate. He mocked back, laughing arrogantly. “So, we’re at another standstill, eh? How many times must we do this?”

This question clearly threw her off guard. This was Astra’s weakness. Her inability to let go of the cycle was the downfall of her own world, and she knew this. Though it had taken Logan a moment to realize where he had been taken to, it would take an eternity for her to realize her own self-created joke.

She was a goddess, yes. But she was a fool, racing against the obvious end. The idea of time always felt like a prison back in the material realm. Here, Astra begged for it. She would never know what it feels like to experience age.

A sly smile hinted against Logan’s face. “I will have my say, Astra. You know this.”

In this moment, a ray of heather-green light disturbed both of them. The fates, those who held council had made their mark. “Sure you will. You talk enough as it is.”

The three women sat around a small pit of smoke. One reached into her satchel, pulled out a rat’s tail and threw it in. The one in the middle did all of the talking. Strangely enough, Logan felt obligated to show them more respect than Astra.

Logan sighed, knowing exactly what was about to happen. He was going to wake up, just like usual. Whenever the fates came into his sight, he knew time would rear its ugly head at him. Sure, he wanted to wake up. But if he wasn’t going to receive any new information, it meant he would have to endure this all over again.

“This is bullshit,” he said, feeling ashamed of his powerless struggle.

“I would expect you to say something like that.” The center fate was quicker than ever. Logan turned around, but she was already there, waiting for his movement.

She continued with her boring speech. “While I am here, I demand a fair share of respect. I am royalty, and wish to be addressed as such. Surely you understand all the favors our council has lent your way.”

Logan nodded his head, confidently. He knew and did respect them for their service. Without them, the world would be nothing. He slowly bent down on one knee.

The princess moved forward, with a strange elegance of magic tied to her. Soon enough, all three of them were standing together, tall and vibrant. Logan knew this was just another puzzle piece to the overall game.

They made up for the whole sphere. Without them, there would be no order to the Frisky Pines. Logan understood it full well, and it pissed him off to no end. At the end of the day, he didn’t have time for any this “magic shit,” as he liked to call it. There were more important things to take care of, like getting back to his mate.

“I will honor our bond.” The woman’s eyes were glossed over. Her pupils were silvery and milky. He noticed that she was blind, but could see a great deal more than him. Logan was a great being, sure to fulfill his role. She had faith in him, even if he did say stupid things.

Logan turned back to the goddess, gritting his teeth. He noticed a strange glimmer bounding her ankles, but wasn’t sure what it meant. Was she being held captive here too? He couldn’t dwell on that thought for too long. He didn’t want to feel empathy for someone so controlling.

He snarled. “As for you, goddess. The games your kind has been playing need to end. Frisky Pines has been toyed with for far too long. I’m here to put an end to this and I will succeed, even if it means losing everything.”

The princess simply held up her thin finger and smiled. “Be gone. You are not needed yet.”

Logan disappeared moments later, snarling forward into miraculous dust.

The goddess met the princess with a strange alliance. “What do you need of me, woman? We’ve both done our jobs, it seems. You can let me go now, can’t you?”

The floating woman smiled, but shook her head. “You’ve woken him from his slumber. Now, it is up to him. But in order for him to fulfill his destiny, he will need to find the Brotherhood. Can you usher the call for me? You will be freed when he uncovers the missing pieces.”

“I will do this one favor for you.” The goddess walked through the grove in front of her. A cliff formed on the other side of the sphere. She moved forward until she stood at the very edge.

Just as she raised her arms in the air, a gigantic wave formed over their heads. The fates could hardly contain their excitement.

Then, the goddess began chanting in a dark, earthly tone. After she was done, the wave calmed itself.

“What have you done? You’re not going back on your word, are you? You’ll never escape if you do.” The princess was confused, for she had never seen magic like this before.

The goddess knelt down in front of the princess. “Raise your arrow to the heavens. And fire with force and intent. It will push the group in the right direction.”

The princess was not quite satisfied with taking orders, but she did what she was told. With one fell-stroke, her golden arrow pushed through the void. A crack of lightning was shown above, but quickly vanished.

Both of them looked at each other with worry. The princess spoke in hushed tones. “I can only hope this works. For your sake.”

The goddess nodded, but with an air of melancholy. “Yes. But it will be the end of the connection between both realms. I fear that Frisky Pines will be stuck somewhere in the middle.”

The princess let out a loud cackle. “That is where you’re wrong. There is no end. And what is the middle, but the bond between both realms?” Her question befuddled the goddess. “I must go. You will see me again when the time is right. Goodbye, old friend.”