Song: midnight city lofi by The Jazz Hop Café

There was no need for the Witches to hunt us down and kill the remaining wolves chosen by the stars. Shit, I was two seconds away from doing that myself.

I agreed to keep my distance with Leo just in case I needed to sacrifice him by the end of our journey. Cool. No problem. No problem at all.

Why he thought it was a good idea to tease me with his dark gazes when I wasn't looking was beyond me. Surely he was smart enough to know how Mate bonds worked here, right? I could feel his heated eyes on me as if his fingers were grazing my skin themselves.

If he didn't stop eye fucking me soon, I was gonna beat the shit out of him. My hormones were all over the place right now and I wasn't too keen on adding horny to that growing list.

In addition, I was almost 95% certain that Flora and Pride would be hooking up come nightfall. Whatever. They could go and get their own room of isolation for all I cared.

Reign couldn't be bothered to look up from his book to pitch in an idea every once in a while. But, he got a pass since the book he happened to be so invested in was Pride and Prejudice by the clever Elf, Jane Austen.

And let's not forget Sky. Lovely Sky, who held more tension with her half brother than I did with powdered donuts. Powdered donuts were one of my few weaknesses.

But I digressed.

"Can we please focus here?" I yelled. Pride and Flora stopped flirting. Irritation written over their equally flushed faces. It was becoming difficult to resist throwing them out and leaving them to fuck.

"On what?" The annoyed she-wolf asked. "It's not like there's a rush to do anything. Pride threw the Witches off our trail. We can afford one day of relaxing and getting to know each other."

Flora's hooded hazel eyes gave an approving sweep over Pride's body. Call me a prude if you'd like. But there were more important things to discuss than getting to know each other. At least, not in the manner she was not so subtly hinting at.

"I agree." Oh, of course Pride would agree. He'd been scheming on how to get away with her since Leo and I got back from the beach twenty minutes ago.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I tucked myself behind the old wooden desk and waved the pair off. "Just, go then. Do whatever you want but don't draw attention to yourselves."

They were gone before I'd even opened my journal.

Typical Pride.

He'd done well recently in terms of staying on track and being mindful of the prophecies. But throw in an easy she-wolf with zero inhibitions and it was like he was back to being his same old shameful self.

As I opened my journal to a new page, I paused at the newest addition. Creased notebook paper was taped over my pretty stationary. The dirty sheet now covered a blank page of soft pink roses with sharp green thorns. At the sight of the hidden floral art, I was reminded of Leo's pink lips. I wondered if they too were as soft and gentle as a rose petal. Perhaps they were...

Not that I'd be finding out anytime soon.

Let's keep our distance.

Our agreement pricked me as sharply as those figurative thorns ever could. But I didn't let it show. My expression remained stoic even as my heart continued to sing out for what it could not have.

Even so, there was a silver lining to our situation.

We hadn't Marked each other yet.

Locking eyes for the first time was the first step in the Mate process. That was the moment both heartbeats synced as one forevermore. Only death could stop the bonded pair from sharing the same song. The second step in the Mate process was Marking. It was when both wolves bit each other on the sweet spots of their necks. This created a telepathic bond as well as a stronger emotional link between them. Lastly came marriage.

Judging by the predicament we were caught in, the last two steps wouldn't be fulfilled for a long time. If ever.

Slamming the dirty paper back down, I hid the damned roses from my sight and scanned the newest addition. It was the Prophecy of Hope rewritten with notes lining the right side in red. Brown splotches covered the top right corner and I leaned forward to take a whiff.

Black coffee and a hint of creamer.

Fantastic.

Someone taped their coffee stained thought process into my pretty journal. Why couldn't they have copied it instead?

The bottom right hand of the sheet caught my attention and I placed my attention there. R.C.S. They were initials.

Flattening out the paper, I read through the pretty handwriting. It was well thought out with some good points. Nonetheless, my stomach dropped once I read the last three lines.

If we fail then Venus has to sacrifice Leo. Perhaps his death? Maybe a breaking of the bond?

"Reign, is this yours?"

The tan wolf held up a finger as he continued to read. A full minute passed by before he bookmarked the page he left off on and set his dark gaze on me. The enjoyment lingering in his dark brown eyes faded. Shifting his octagon shaped glasses up his small nose, he raised a quizzical brow and nodded.

"R.C.S.?"

"Reign Christian Silverweaver," his husky voice replied flatly. The crooked nature of which his thin black frames rested on his button nose was almost laughable. I'd only known him for a day and I could already tell he was the type of person to keep everything in line with the way he saw fit.

His black slacks and black collared polo shirt weren't exactly suitable for warm weather. But he wore them anyway. He hadn't brought much with him besides six of the best classics. Five of which were neatly tucked away on top of the wooden dresser in chronological order. And his toiletries were all perfectly lined up in the order he used them in.

He took up less space than his half sister who'd decided to pack half her wardrobe and bring every body wash she owned. The idea of packing light seemed to only be understood by one of them.

"Pride showed us the journal when you and Leo left," he continued. "I figured I'd add that so we can keep everything we know in one place. Is that ok?"

An emotion besides boredom, mindfulness, filled his brooding stare. Not liking at all the way my mind thought Leo's hot chocolate eyes were better, I pinched my leg hard. Clearly I needed to train my mind on how to be less aware of every little thing that reminded me of Leo's appearance.

"It's ok." I smiled at the bored wolf and motioned him over. Reign placed his copy of Pride and Prejudice between The Imaginary Invalid and The Princess of Cleves. Pulling a chair beside me, he sat straight up. "Let's go through it together. Maybe if we discuss it, we can piece together more of what the prophecy entails."

Sky slipped out of the room and I sighed as I watched her go. I was hoping to do this as a group. Six minds brainstorming together was far more beneficial than one. Now, there were only three.

Reign, Leo, and myself.

I cleared my throat and finally met the burning gaze observing my every move. "Can you join us, please?"

Leo stalked forward, not once letting his gaze leave mine. I forced myself to sit up straighter and maintain a steady level of breathing. With my expression neutral and unbothered, I quieted the thrumming of my heart. I ignored the way his tight white shirt clung to his toned body. I didn't acknowledge the ogling of his hot chocolate eyes. Nor did I react to his strong presence coming closer.

I simply thanked the Alpha for obliging and read the first stanza aloud. After no one said anything, I shifted the journal so they could see and said, "Bring forth the Seven Stars. This part has me worried the most."

It was a lie. The part I was worried about the most was how I was being asked to sacrifice my Mate for the good of my race.

"We lost Jack and like Reign wrote, that has to have some type of impact on the things we need to do," I sighed. Flipping back to the third part, I reread Jack's role as Loathes Light. "Jack represented the third star which would try to keep us in the dark."

Leaning back in my chair I analyzed the page of Connections next to it and asked, "Did either of you know him?"

"Not directly," Leo answered. "But the Whitemoon's are distant relatives of mine. I think we're cousins somehow."

I added the new information to the growing list.

"How do you think losing Jack will change things?" I asked.

"All seven of us were chosen for a reason," Reign answered. "I like to think all seven of us contribute something unique to the people we have to find and unite. With that in mind, I don't think we're going to figure out how important he was until we actually start searching."

We skipped the second stanza that said we were doomed if we failed and read the third one. "So if we go with Reign's theory that the Eight Orbs are planets, then it should look something like this."

I turned to a page with no lines and made a quick list.

"That can't be right," I murmured. "There are nine planets. So shouldn't there be Nine Orbs to find?"

"Not necessarily." Reign plucked out my red pen and put a line through Pluto. "Witches don't consider Pluto to be a planet. Maybe that's why it's only eight."

Damn it. We needed Pride here with us to shed more light on Witches and their ways.

Pride.

Come back.

I'll be back soon.

Pride-

He closed off our Pack bond.

This little bitch.

So pussy was more important than the survival of our race?!

I scolded myself for getting blindsided by Pride's few decent traits lately and bit my lip. I should've known better. "Eight Orbs, eight planets-"

"Eight Gods," Leo interrupted. His eyes lingered on my silver hair for a brief moment. Taking the journal and pen from me, he wrote notes off to the slide of each planet. At the sight of Leo's mistakes, Reign took the black pen from him and rectified the incorrect information. As I read their added notes, I wondered if it was important to have the Gods secondary names there as well...

Going against my better judgement, I pulled out a magenta hued pen and wrote the secondary names. Only certain wolves were privy of knowing these names so I hoped it was ok for me to do this.

"So the legends are true," Reign mused. Leaning forward, he took a silver strand of my hair and let it slip through his fingers like silk. I didn't miss the quick flash of jealousy flashing over Leo's eyes. "Wolves with silver hair are descended from the Moon Goddess."

I tapped my fingers on the wooden desk, giving them a small nod in response. The legend of wolves with silver hair being descended from the Moon Goddess was an old one. Many didn't believe it. They thought the story was used to explain the anomaly of Werewolves born with silver hair. Little did they know, the story was true.

The Brightdoom, Lightseeker, and Glowingstone families were the only remaining descendants. It was for that very reason why I carried Mother's last name and not Father's. Descendants of the Moon Goddess always continued to bear the legacy of the family name.

The only reason no one knew this was because many didn't believe the Moon Goddess and Werewolf God had children. Normal wolves had no idea that the immortal pair actually had five pups of their own. Two of their bloodlines went extinct long ago. Leaving the Brightdoom's, Lightseeker's, and Glowingstone's to remain.

"Growing up, Mother told me stories of the Moon Goddess and her siblings," I explained. "Their names, what they were like... Little things that only family would know."

Mother never talked about Grandma. But she always made sure I knew of the Gods and Goddesses I was descended from. It was humbling to know that I came from a strong bloodline. But I was never one to need to brag about it.

"No one outside of our family is supposed to know of their other names." Raising a brow, I let my snippy tone do the rest of the talking for me.

"We won't tell anyone," Reign sighed. His grumpy cat attitude was back and I bit my lip to keep from laughing. The poor thing looked so offended by my empty threats. "But you having a connection to the Moon Goddess might help us out."

"How?"

"Find the Eight Orbs where hope was first lost," Reign recited. "For only they can bring back what is now gone. There's no locations mentioned or anything. Maybe there's a story you've heard that can guide us in the right direction?"

Was there? Most of the stories I remembered were about the Moon Goddess and her husband. The birth of their firstborn son, Lycan, and my direct ancestor. There were a few tales of her favorite brother, Solis, the Sun God. But the stories about her siblings were always scarce. The only one I could think of that had little relevance was very vague. Passing it down by word of mouth must've diluted it over time.

"I remember hearing about them having a falling out." I dragged my pen absentmindedly over the desk. It's pointed tip left faint black circles behind while I tried and failed to remember more. "I don't know. There was some kind of fight and then they supposedly never spoke again afterwards?"

But that couldn't have been right. Surely siblings couldn't go an entire immortal lifetime not speaking to each other. Right?

"For only they can bring back what is now gone." Reign frowned, his lips pursing into a thin pink line. Shoving his hands into his pressed slacks, he made his way to the coffee pot and poured himself another cup. He drank it hot and black with a splash of creamer. No traces of being bothered by the bitter aftertaste lingered on his face. "Maybe it's hope?"

"Hope?" Leo repeated. "Like the title? I guess that makes sense. The Prophecy of Lost Hope needs us to find hope."

Growing giddy at the progress, I turned to a fresh page and started taking notes. "Ok, but where was hope first lost?"

"Do you know where they had that fight?" Leo asked. His thick fingers hovered near my hand but he didn't touch me. But then again, he didn't need to touch me. I felt the weight of his enticing presence just by his breathing alone.

"No," I shook my head. "My family mostly carried the stories of the Moon Goddess and her Mate. The only ones that might remember that would be..."

Ah, more secrets to unveil.

Leo's arched brow lifted at my delay. "Would be...?"

"The Lightseeker's," I replied. "Relatives of mine from the New York Pack. Mother always said that out of all the five families, they knew the most about our roots. If anyone knows where the fight might've taken place, it would be them."

Ignoring my five families comment, Reign passed a full cup to Leo and asked me if I wanted some. Crinkling my nose, I politely rejected his offer. I never liked coffee or its taste. Honestly speaking, I was more of a tea person.

Jasmine with a little bit of milk and sugar was my preferred hot drink.

"We need to go to New York as soon as possible," I decided. The boys agreed and I breathed a little easier. Having some control back was proving to be beneficial for me. I was no longer floundering or relying on others for answers. My bruised pride was slowly patching itself up the longer I led this discussion.

It felt good to lead again.

"Seek the Two Stars where their bond was first broken," I read. After last night, I had a better idea of what this was referring to. "I think they're talking about a Mate bond. And I think I have an idea of who."

It had taken a night of tossing and turning to finally connect some dots. "Sky can tell us more about it. But do you remember the reason why her Pack was cursed to be more animal than human?"

"Yeah." Reign's bored expression soured at the mention of his half sister. Sipping on his steaming coffee, his eyes remained glued to the dark drink. "The Alpha tried to possess the Luna. By doing so he went against the Mate bond and the entire Pack was cursed for not stepping in to help their Luna."

"But why are they called the Two Stars?" Leo asked. Taking his plump bottom lip between his teeth, he chewed on the tempting-

No.

Stop it, Venus!

Ignoring his sinful smirk, I continued to record in my journal as if nothing was wrong.

"I forget what it was," Reign yawned. His eyes became glassy as he poured himself a third cup of coffee. "But I think their names came from constellations. Sirius and Cassiopeia? Something like that."

I yawned at the sight of his yawn. Which then triggered Leo's yawn. All three of us were yawning like tired pups waking up from their afternoon naps. Shaking my head, I forced myself to read the next line and pushed down the urge to yawn again.

"For only they can repair what is now torn." Simple. That was the broken Mate bond. It was the one and only stain on the history of soulmates so of course it needed to be rectified. "My question is, how do we have them fix everything if they're dead?"

Silence.

No one had any clue how to tackle that one.

Not one to be deterred, I skipped it and moved on to the last task. "Unite the Two Lovers before the Winter Equinox. For only they can spare Venus from what is now at cost."

This was the line that I was the most eager to dissect. Unfortunately, it was also the one line I had no idea of who we needed to look for. Two Lovers was far too vague to pinpoint anything in Werewolf history or lore.

"I don't know who the Two Lovers could be," I admitted. "But the Winter Equinox is my birthday."

"Yeah, about that," Reign interrupted. He pushed the falling frames back up his nose and fixed me with an unreadable stare. "You're not 21 yet. How'd you begin your bond with Leo?"

"I don't know," I replied. Raising a brow, Reign looked to Leo who shrugged his broad shoulders in response. "We really don't know how that happened."

Reign took in the sight of us. His gaze fell to our hands separated by mere centimeters and I reluctantly pulled away from Leo's warmth. I hadn't even noticed him get so close to me.

"Keeping you two from furthering your Mate bond is going to be difficult," he murmured. His bored expression returned as he eyed his books with a forlorn gaze.

Irritation curled within me at the reminder that I couldn't be with my Mate the way I wanted to. I lashed out before I could stop myself. "Yeah. I imagine it'll be as difficult as making sure you don't fall to Sky while Flora watches."

Leo's thumb grazed my pinky and my rising anger crumbled. Not even a spark of negativity clung to my conflicted insides. My eyes shot to our touching skin and the yearning returned tenfold.

Reign chuckled and plucked another book from his small collection. Opening the doors to the balcony, he turned to us with empty eyes and said, "You leave that to me. But a word of advice? Doing things like that will only make it hurt more when you lose him."

When you lose him.

It wasn't even if you lose him. But when.

"How can you say that?" I snapped. "After everything we just discussed, we're one step closer to completing the tasks."

And not making any unnecessary sacrifices.

"Maybe." Reign sighed, pushing up his falling glasses once more. "But before anything becomes fact, all we have right now are theories."

The glass door closed behind him. I watched through my red crowded vision as he nonchalantly sipped from his coffee and read. Leo moved away, taking with him his warmth and soothing presence.

"He's right-"

"Don't," I whispered. "Just, don't."

I knew that we couldn't be together the way we wanted to. But it didn't make it any easier to hear Leo remind me of it every chance he got.

Not sparing Leo another glance, I shut the journal and slipped on my dirty sneakers. Colors blurred as I left the room and walked aimlessly in the streets. Keeping my head ducked, I made myself small and didn't draw any attention to myself.

I hated how weak I was being right now. But I couldn't help it. None of my training to take over my Pack had prepared me for something like this.

Somehow I ended up back at the beach. Sand filled my shoes and water seeped into the thin white fabric. Looking up at the cliff where my ancestors were said to have been married, my eyes glossed over.

I didn't cry.

I didn't cry even though my frustration asked me to. I didn't cry even though my anger yelled at me to. I didn't cry even though my suffering begged me to.

I didn't cry.

But I did finally understand how painful it was to feel the first cracking of a breaking heart.

🌙

Vote and/or Comment if you enjoyed this part!

🌙

QOTD: What are your thoughts on their theories. And do you agree with Reign?