Not Dead Yet

~Drake~

I must truly be losing my mind! First I see silver eyes in the vast darkness, then the darkness turns into grass and sky, a picnic basket with food appears out of nowhere, and now a voice is telling me to eat. Shit, hell is certainly an interesting place. It finds all kinds of way to mindfuck you. I can't say that I'm surprised to end up in hell though because I have probably killed a lot of people. It was mostly unintentional, but a life is a life. I hang my head a bit in deep contemplation.

"So you aren't hungry then?" There goes that voice again. I have to admit it is ethereal; something I'd imagine you'd hear in heaven daily. The voice has a calming effect that is making me feel at home. Isn't that sad, feeling at home in hell.

"The impact that hell is having on me is enough to not need whatever poison is in that food," I comment without lifting my head. The voice laughs. It is such a melodious sound. I feel a shadow descend upon me and I'm compelled to look up. My breath catches in my throat at the sight before me. A woman is looking down on me and she is breathtaking. She has translucent skin; it's like it is there, but it isn't there. She has shimmering white hair that goes down to her feet. Her face is flawless and she is wearing a peasant style dress that is silver. It goes past her feet and has long flowing sleeves. I don't move and I can't speak.

"Just breathe. I'm used to this reaction," she chuckles. I struggle but finally take a breath and the woman takes a seat next to me. I turn to look at her and there is something in her eyes that I can't make out.

"Wh….who are you? You seem out of place here." She looks around at the landscape and up at the sky.

"Really? You think so?" She looks at me. "I always thought I was made for this place." She has a gentle smile on her face. I shake my head.

"You were made for hell?" I shrug my shoulders. "If you say so." This causes the woman to laugh. It would figure that my broken mind would conjure up a broken person for me to talk to. I turn to the pond and breathe a bit. "You still haven't told me who you are, though I think I have an idea."

"Oh do you? And who do you think I am?" I turn to look at her.

"I've realized that this place plays tricks on you. For some reason, I've conjured you up. I'd imagine, to have someone to keep me company." Her eyebrow raises at this.

"Oh? And where are we exactly?" I shrug my shoulders.

"Hell it seems like." The woman turns her head away from me, but her laugh is unmistakable. "What's so funny?"

"You are Drake." She knows my name? Well, if she is of my mind of course she should know my name. Duh, Drake. I shake my head to myself. I nod in agreement. "I've been watching you for a while now."

"Isn't it kind of hard not to have been watching me since you came from my mind?" The woman laughs heartily. I'm confused as to what I said that is so funny.

"Your mind didn't conjure me up. Do you not know who I am? Do you not know of the Moon Goddess?" The Moon Goddess....that sounds familiar. I try to think back to everything I have experienced in my life in an attempt to jog my memory.

"Aren't....aren't you the maker of werewolves?" I question looking at her.

"Yes, you can put it that way. They are my children." I knew that was familiar. I remember hearing about the Goddess during my stay at the pack. I asked who the Goddess was and why she was so important. The explanation I was given made me think about Jesus and God. Similar ideals in some ways.

"Wait. If you are the Moon Goddess, why are you here talking to me?" The Goddess pulls her knees up and places her head on them, looking at me.

"As I said, I've been watching you for some time now. I knew you would be a good fit for Janessa, though I'm sad you had to go through all you have."

"Life isn't always rainbows and roses, right?" I choose not to dwell on my dark past. I survived and I tried to help many others get away.

"True." The Goddess turns her head to look out towards the pond. "Did you honestly think you would win against an Alpha wolf?" Damn, she saw that. It wasn't my finest hour I must admit. I start to laugh.

"Hell no, I didn't." I laugh even harder and the Goddess joins in. I laugh until my stomach hurts, then I take a few deep breaths to calm down. "I love Janessa and I had to do my best to care for her. I knew it was a losing battle for me, but what was my alternative? I probably should have been dead a long time ago, so dying this way was no big deal. At least I got to meet Janessa and experience that love." I tentatively reach out and touch her arm. "Thank you for that." We are both silent for some time taking in the sights around us. "If you can, can you send Janessa someone who will love her completely? Since I'm gone, I want to make sure she is loved and taken care of for the rest of her life." She laughs a bit at this, but I can't imagine what's so funny.

"You seem to have some thoughts in your head that aren't accurate. First, you are not in hell. We are actually talking in your subconsciousness. I am able to reach people here when needed. Which brings me to the second point...you aren't dead." I swear all oxygen left my lungs. I'm not dead? I'm still alive?

"So...you mean that I'm still alive?" The Goddess nods and pats my back.

"You are simply not aware of your world...a coma as they call it. I decided to take this time to come talk to you. I always knew you would be perfect for Janessa. Your childhood just added to my belief. Then, as an adult, you went and you saved so many of my children."

"What do you mean?"

"Many of those children you saved over the years were my children. I'm forever grateful for what you have done for them and you didn't even have to. So I wanted to offer you a choice." She turns towards me and holds my hands between both of hers. "You can choose to leave this world. I know you have had a hard time and you could take this time to let go. Your body doesn't have long, but I'm sure that isn't a surprise." I nod in agreement. I figured that I would die and I was prepared for it. I have done what I set out to do and got to meet Janessa. That is a successful life. "You can let go of this life or you can accept my gift to you."

"What gift would that be?" I hear rustling behind me and when I turn to look, I notice a pair of silver eyes. Those are the same eyes I saw before. "I've seen those eyes before."

"Yes, I know you have. Those eyes were meant to lead you here to me." The rustling continues and the body attached to the eyes comes into view. It is a huge wolf, black fur with highlights of dark blue. "This is my gift to you. For all that good you have done for my children, I want to present you with a wolf. He needs a home and I thought that you would be a good fit. His name is Nexus and he is an Alpha." Nexus walks up to me and bows his head down. I reach out and touch his fur. It is so soft and Nexus is so warm.

"So you can bring me back with a wolf?"

"If you like….the choice is yours."

~Jasper~

Last night was rough. It was hard to control my anger. How dare she spend the night crying over that pathetic human while in my bed. If that bastard isn't dead by now, he sure as hell better be today. I should see what the status is with that. I pull out my phone and send a text to Samantha: 'Is he dead yet?' There is a knock on my door which I don't answer because the door is open. I watch Tasha walk in the room. "How's my daughter?"

"Do you really care?" I've figured out that Tasha doesn't really care for her child as a mother should. I'm not really sure why that is, but it is something I want to keep an eye on.

"Why wouldn't I care? She is my child and I want to make sure that she is everything you need." I roll my eyes. I'm really not in the mood for Tasha's foolishness. My phone pings: 'I haven't made it there yet. I have some business to take care of.' Seriously?! Samantha made it sound like she was chomping at the bit to get him and now she is taking her time?! My phone pings again: 'I should be there tomorrow. Just leave him for me.' I shake my head. Luckily I left a warrior to guard the cabin. I don't believe that the human will be able to make it out, but one can not be too careful.

Tasha taps her nails on my desk to get my attention. I look at her then close my eyes. I really just want this all to be over. I want to get the ceremony completed and know that the human is dead so we can move on. If she hasn't killed him by the time the ceremony is over, I will do it myself. Tasha clears her throat. I open my eyes and shake my head. I stand up and walk out of my office. I need to see my Luna.