Chapter 19 - Lila

Pacing the eerily quiet town square, I gnaw on my nails as the howls of our wolves grow fainter, more distant.

They're leaving the borders, crossing far beyond Rock Creek. I have no idea what's going on out there, except that my brother is in danger.

I witnessed the look of terror in Flynn's wolf eyes, and I knew that he was panicking for Miles's sake. The same panic that floods me now, unsettling every inch of my being, as I pray to the Moon Goddess to bring my brother back safely.

A pang of emptiness grips my chest, bringing me to my knees as tears flow, and I stare at the moon, that emptiness, a dark abyss of fear that consumes my being and has me clasping trembling fingers in front of my face.

“Please…” I whimper. “Let them be safe…”

My heartfelt prayers supersede any desire to remain angry right now. Flynn didn't tell me only because he didn't want me to panic. Because up until tonight, he'd been afraid of what it meant for us to be mated.

Fated mates.

It's wildly unbelievable, the term coined by the Blood Moon Pack only reserved for the first-born son of the Alpha and Luna.

I've read all about the idea of fated mates in the Grime. Historically, only Finch Lycoan would have been blessed with such a sacred gift from the Moon Goddess.

How is it that I, just a lowly Omega wolf, turned out to be the second son's fated mate? I want to pinch myself to wake up from this perfect dream. But right now, things aren't perfect in the pack.

Flynn has a lot to deal with. Burdens that he doesn't have to bear on his own now that he has me. I get it now. Perhaps I was never meant to receive a wolf, only because I'm meant to serve the Alpha and show him that he doesn't need to lead the pack with strict rules.

A harbinger of change. I'd like to think that my wolf-less life has a greater purpose. The relentless ways of the Blood Moon Pack will change with me.

I can feel it in my bones, as prominently as the surge of electromagnetic awareness that pulses from the scent gland in my neck and courses through my veins. The heightened sensitivity pulsates in my fingertips, causing me to lift my hands and stare at my palms in wonder.

Something is happening inside me, fusing every nerve fiber with an ethereal force that has me questioning my entire existence. Gasping, I look up toward the mountains, seeing images of Flynn's face etched into memory coming to life before my eyes.

“Fated mate…” a faint inner voice calls out, the soft tendrils of a familiar tone calling out to me and giving me the strength to rise to my feet.

My hands curl into fists at my sides, my shoulders squaring as my chest fills with pride, unlike anything I've ever felt before. Even when I switched my feelings off as a defense mechanism to guard my heart and remain numb to the ill treatment I faced, I never felt this kind of strength. It pulses from my heart as if the force has broken free from chains thanks to the fated mate bond that Flynn and I share now.

What's going on?

I frown, the resistance keeping the force lodged in my chest where it begs to be released. It's like I'm holding on to a restriction that keeps me frozen in place, chains that are ready to break and set me free.

“Flynn,” I call out in the deafening silence, knowing he's too far away to hear me, out there saving my brother from the rogues. Still, my heart persists with its urgent beat, the sound of ringing in my eardrums sourced from the energy inside my chest.

The energy rises inside me, traveling beneath the skin of my forearms like a persistent itch. I start scraping my nails on my flesh, feeling like I want to crawl out of my own skin.

“Goddess…” I breathe, terrified when the energetic force visibly pulses in hues of blue over my arms. All I can do is hold them out, watching the translucent emergence of energy wrapping its majestic talons over my arms. Though I'm afraid, the whiffs of blue smoke that encompass my arms are warm and inviting, and I let out the breath I'd been holding without realizing it.

“ Lila…”

I look up with a frown when I hear Flynn's voice, but the town square still remains empty, with only a distant howl filling the air.

Pressing my eyelids shut, I whimper. “Flynn…I need you…” I whisper with yearning tugging my heartstrings.

I have no idea what's going on with me. Absentmindedly, I clasp a hand over the left side of my neck where Flynn's teeth had sunk in earlier tonight, feeling the pulse of energy around the circle where he'd marked me. Gulping, my eyelids spring open the second I hear the earth being crushed under a large paw, and I just know that he's coming back.

The sense of knowing propels me forward as I run toward the woods, where I hear the leaves crackling under Flynn's steps. I know it's him, coming toward me. I don't have to think about it or try to make sense of it.

I just know.

“Flynn!” I cry out, leaping over boulders with the prowess of lightning feet that I've never had before. I've never run as fast as I am now, running toward my mate.

“ Lila!” he responds, but his voice is only in my mind. I would have believed that his voice rang out from somewhere inside the vast forest, echoing from the tree trunks, if not for witnessing him rushing toward me in wolf form.

I collapse with the realization that I've just connected to Flynn's mind link, my knees crashing on the ground with my palms flat on the earth in front of me. Flynn's dark wolf emerges from the shadows, his amber eyes glowing with worry as he shifts and grabs my shoulders with human hands.

“Lila?! What's going on?!”

“M-Miles…?” I stammer, relegating this strange feeling to the concern I have for my brother.

“He's safe,” Flynn nods as he gathers me into his arms. “I found him, Lila. I found him thanks to you.”

Quivering uncontrollably in Flynn's arms, I look up with a frown. “M-me?”

He nods, but the relief isn't enough to let the intense surge of power subside. On the contrary, it only burns more, and my limbs begin to feel like they're not attached to my body anymore.

“The fated mate bond,” he begins. “It's given me powers, Lila. Powers beyond my wildest dreams.”

“I—”

I choke, the only feeling left in my body the constriction of my throat, as if I'm about to stop breathing. Laying limply in Flynn's arms, I tremble with worry.

“Something's wrong,” Flynn panics, lifting me by the shoulders and gasping when he realizes that my body has turned limp. “Lila?!”

“I don't know what's happening,” I wail, eyes flitting to the glowing aura of blue spread out across my arms. “Look…”

Flynn's eyes follow mine, and another gasp of shock escapes him. He lifts my arm to inspect how my flesh pebbles with goosebumps the size of marbles.

“ Miles! Where are you?!” he calls through a mind link—one that I can suddenly hear. I'm not going insane, because his lips don't move when he stares into my face.

Even though I'm not moving, my limbs begin to quake. My entire body shakes in Flynn's arms, his embrace loosening around me.

“Flynn? Flynn, what's happening to me?” I cry, snapping my head in the direction of my legs that stretch out, my joints cracking as silky fine hairs ripple across my flesh. He lays my head down and crouches over me, cradling my cheeks with both hands.

“It's happening, Lila,” he says calmly.

My frown deepens as my ribs break free from a cage. The sound of snapping bones is all I can hear. Even if it isn't painful, it's scary. I have no idea what's going on with me.

“Shh,” Flynn urges, staring deeply into my eyes as his lips toy with a warm smile. “Just remain calm. Allow it to take control.”

“I'm dying, Flynn!”

“You're not dying,” he chuckles, much to my dismay. How can he be so calm right now?

“Your wolf is finally emerging,” he says coolly, pressing a kiss on my forehead as he takes my hand and folds it into both of his. “I'm right here. I'm not leaving your side,” he solemnly swears with a gentle kiss on my hand. “Just breathe. You're gonna be fine.”

With Flynn's reassuring words of encouragement, I close my eyes and take a deep breath, the air flowing down my lungs and filling my body with a sense of calmness. Behind my eyelids, I see a valley of rich greenery, the cascading ebbs and flows of nature's waves carved in the ground.

The scene moves in my vision, brightened by the sun's warm rays that seem to kiss my cheeks. The embankment of the flowing river is on the horizon, a stream of cool water flowing between my toes when I glance down.

I exhale languidly, the vision becoming clearer with every second that passes. The sweet sound of a child's laughter rings out and draws my attention to the right, where across the rocks, a dark-haired boy not older than five skips and giggles and calls out to his father.

“Right behind you, son!” Flynn calls out to the boy, and he enters the frame lugging a picnic basket. He glances behind him with a warm smile on his face and stretches out his hand. “Come on, my love…” he chuckles. “Our son is besting us on these hills.”

That's when I enter the vivid vision, a hand cradling the bottom of my ripe belly as I giggle and reach for Flynn's hand. My hair billows out behind me in long waves, and it's evident that the vision is of the future.

At least five years from now.

That only means one thing…

I'm already pregnant.

The realization has me snapping my eyes open, my vision instantly adapting to the night as every star in the sky becomes brighter, illuminated by what I've learned. It's the stepping stone of my surrender, completely allowing my inner wolf to burst free from the confines of my inability to see my own power. Now, that power rips through me with no resistance, my limbs distending and morphing into the more powerful arms of a wolf.

Soft fur spreads out across my body, my fingertips tingling with the sensation of strength from my very core. While I transform for the first time, my body turns to lift me onto my paws that stand firmly on the ground, soft pads absorbing the energy of the earth until I finally lift my wolf head and howl at the sky. It's liberating to finally open up wolf lungs that have never been used before.

I look down to find Flynn in front of me, a cocky smirk curling his lips and indenting his cheeks, magnifying the faint dimple in the right corner of his mouth. It's like I'm seeing him for the first time in my life—not as Flynn Lycoan, the Alpha's son who used to bully me, but as Alpha Flynn Lycoan, my mate, and the father of the life whose tiny heartbeat I can feel beating in my belly as it grows inside me.

“Beautiful…” Flynn breathes in awe as he shifts on the spot and stares into my eyes with the golden depths of his wolf.

That's when I see my reflection for the first time in my new wolf form. A reflection so unique and new, it overwhelms me and suddenly, my head feels too light.

“ Lila…?” Flynn's voice enters my mind telepathically, but it's not enough to keep me grounded as my eyes roll to the back of my head and everything fades to black.