Chapter 18

Camille~

Lia suddenly falls and I gasp, running towards her but this guy, Jackson she said his name was, catches her before she can hit the ground. I growl at him, not liking his hands on her. I don't trust him. You should never trust a vampire, I learned that the hard way. She passes out in his arms with a smile on her face, although I'm not sure how genuine it is. My wolf growls and it takes everything in me not to run back into that building and rip both Lucas and that bitch to shreds. I can't believe him! After everything Lia has done and after she told him what she is he goes and does this, seriously? What is wrong with him?!

I run my fingers through my hair and groan in frustration. I have no idea what to do. I'm the future queen beta of the werewolves, I shouldn't be this indecisive. Jackson clears his throat, pulling me back down to earth. I send him a death glare. I trust Lia's judgment because she's never been wrong before but it doesn't mean I have to be nice to the guy. "We should get Amelia home, I don't think she'd want to wake up here after whatever happened, happened." I send him a nod. He's right, she wouldn't want to wake up here, "Speaking of which, what did happen?" I hesitate before telling him everything Lia told me. She obviously trusts the guy so she wouldn't mind him knowing. At first, it seems as if he already knows the story but as soon as I move on to what Lucas and that girl did to her his eyes start glowing blood red and his fangs show. His entire body shakes with anger and I can tell he's at the end of his rope, "How dare he?! I should kill him for it!" I grab his arm before he gets a chance to move. As much as I agree with him our first priority is getting Lia home, not killing Lucas.

He sends me a glare and tries to shake me off but I tighten my hold on him, "Firstly, did you forget you have Lia wrapped in your arms? How were you planning on attacking him while holding her? Secondly, Lia is our first priority, I don't trust you but she does so I'll tolerate your existence till whatever is happening is over. Lucas is an asshole but he's her mate and she wouldn't want us to hurt him so let's take a breath and focus on getting her home where she won't have to wake up surrounded by a bad memory." he grimaces, taking it all in and after a tense moment he nods and I release my grip.

We walk to my car in tense silence. He keeps his eyes ahead while occasionally checking to see if Lia's okay. The way he looks at her, I can tell there's more to the story than him being just an old friend. Friends don't look at each other like that, not with that much love and admiration. My eyes go wide as I realize that, Jackson is in love with Lia. I decide to keep my thoughts to myself for now, at least until we get in the car.

We stop at my car, a midnight blue Mercedes-Benz CLS 450, and I open the backdoor, motioning him to lay her down on the backseat. He hesitates and I notice how his grip on her tightens although it doesn't even seem like he realized what he did. I give him an annoyed look and sigh, "Look, just put her down in the backseat, she'll be way more comfortable laying down than she will in your arms the entire ride to her place." his gaze hardens but he does what he's told regardless. We both climb in the front, me in the driver's seat with him in the passenger seat. He gazes back at her and again I see that look in his eyes, a look of longing. I turn on the engine and pull out of the parking lot speeding down the road. Every minute spent here is a minute my patience wears thinner and I get closer to killing him. I think about it for a moment. Lia wouldn't want to go home either, she hates that place. Waking up at home would be almost as bad as waking up back at school. An idea strikes me and I immediately change my course, taking a sharp right towards the bridge.

The turn catches Jackson off-guard and he braces himself against the consol, "Where exactly are you going? Lia's house is the other way." I give him a duh look. "We're not going to her house. If you know Lia, and by the looks of it I'm sure you do, then you know she hates going to her house as much as she hates being at that school. Her mother is apparently in Europe for a meeting with Lumeria, the witch queen-" I take another sharp left and speed up, driving well over the speed limit," Which means that the pack is exactly where we should take her, no Lucas, no school and no mother."

***

We decide to ditch the car at my place in town. With jackass, I mean Jackson here being a vampire and me being a werewolf, we were so much faster on foot. I step out of the car, a few drops of rain falling on me the second I do. It doesn't bother me though, werewolves have a higher body temperature than humans. I turn towards the car to take Lia out and have her ride on my back, there's no way she's traveling with him. I look in the backseat to find her gone while jackass on the other side of the car stands with her in his arms and gives me a smirk before taking off into the woods. I growl in frustration, "Freaking vampires!" I run towards the edge of the woods, a steep decline, marking the end of the human world. I jump and shift midair into my golden brown wolf. I don't waste a second before I take off running in the same direction Jackson did, not liking the thought of him alone with an unconscious Lia. My paws dig into the dirt as I growl at the memories invading my thoughts. You should never trust a vampire and you should never let them see you when you're weak because they'll just find a way to use that weakness against you.

Lia~

Darkness

That's all I see when I look around me. I'm surrounded by absolute nothingness. I'm floating through a dark void for as far as I can see but somehow I'm completely calm.

"Hello, Amelia" a voice booms through the darkness, and suddenly my feet touch solid ground. I stumble and look around me, it looks like I'm in some sort of temple made entirely of white stones. My feet move at their own accord, taking me inside the beautiful temple. The inside is decorated with golden symbols, some look familiar while others look old, older than any symbols I've ever seen. One symbol, in particular, catches my eye, a silver crescent moon with a wolf sitting on its edge, surrounded by glittering golden stars. My eyes widen and I gasp from realization. I bow down on one knee, finally realizing who the melodious voice belonged to.

"Mother goddess." I show my respect and expose my neck in submission to my creator. The moon goddess appears before me in a whirl of silver smoke. I dare look at her and when I do I gasp. She's beautiful, porcelain skin, glowing silver eyes, long flowing black hair, and dressed in the purest of white fabric draped over her form. She smiles at me and lifts her delicate hand, urging me to stand.

"My daughter, how you have grown. I am so proud of the young woman you have become." I smile at her, the pride evident on my face. She smiles back but it turns into a grimace all too soon. "You are my daughter that is why you are here. Heed my warning, prepare yourself for the events about to take place, you will need to use all your strengths if you hope to succeed." I give her a questioning look and she continues, "You are fulfilling your destiny, written out long before your birth before the first wolves walked this earth."

"Mother I do not understand."

She smiles at me warmly but I can see how serious this matter is, "You will in time. As a goddess, I cannot interfere with the destinies of my creation but I wish you luck. Now go forth and remember, not everything is as it seems."

I don't get a chance to respond. I'm sucked back into the darkness but this time I can hear something. The faint sound of beeping draws me back to consciousness, along with the distinct sound of Cammie and Jackson arguing.

"I thought you muts knew what you were doing!" that would be Jackson.

"And I thought you bloodsuckers could mind your own business!" and that would be Camille.

"Mind my business? It's been 6 days, Camille, and she is yet to wake up! You said that doctor knew what she was doing yet Lia is still passed out after 6 days!" wait, 6 days? I've been passed out for 6 days?

Wow, time must fly in the spirit world, or wherever the hell I was.

I try opening my eyes but the blinding light forces me to close them again. I groan and turn off all the lights with the flick of my hand. I hear gasps before both sides of the bed dips and I'm surrounded by the smell of a worried beta and an even more worried vampire. I try opening my eyes again and I'm met with both of their worried stares. I try to sit up and instantly grimace when pain shoots through my stomach. Jackson is by my side before Cammie can even get up. He helps me sit up straight after finding a comfortable position to stay in. I open my mouth to speak and instead end up coughing at how dry my throat is. Cammie hands me a glass of water and I drink it greedily, finishing the entire glass in 3 long gulps. I wipe my mouth and sigh, the memories of the previous day, or I guess week, all coming back to me, one painful moment at a time. They both stare at me and open their mouths to speak but I raise my hand and stop them both in their tracks, "Yes I'm fine, no I don't know what happened, no you cannot kill Lucas and I'm feeling way better." they both let out a sigh of relief before frowning at the same time.

"What do you mean we can't kill him?" they shoot each other a look and I stifle a laugh. The happiness however is short-lived because the reality of the situation sinks in. My mate cheated on me because he knew what I was and hated me for it, or maybe he never wanted me in the first place. He told me to leave and I should've listened instead of running back to him. My wolf growls at how pathetic I sound. I can tell this is affecting her even more than it affects me but as an alpha wolf, and a queen for that matter, she and I both have responsibilities beyond ourselves and it's time that we acknowledge that. I square my shoulders and raise my head. I'm the future queen of this pack and the entire wolf species. They all rely on me to take care of them and that is exactly what I am going to do. My emotions will be put aside for as long as needed.

I turn to Cammie and give her a determined look. She straightens up immediately, sensing my true alpha aura come forward. I throw the blanket off me and get up, I've been in bed way too long anyway. "I won't be returning to Richmond." they both give me an incredulous look but I silence them with a glare, "From here on I will remain at the pack, I will stay here and take over as Alpha Queen and I will do it today. Camille let Henry know that there's been a change of plans and inform the beta and my mother as well. You will return to Richmond and tie up any loose ends within a week then you as well as Henry will return to help plan the Alpha ceremony where I will be crowned queen and Henry will become king." I walk out of the room, passed both of their shocked faces, but I knew I'd made the right decision. There was nothing left for me in Richmond and it was time for me to become queen. This was my destiny and no one escapes destiny.