Chapter 9

Flora’s P.O.V

I held the pendant in my hands two hours after I had found it and I couldn’t find it in me to let it go.

I had taken a long, hot shower and was now dressed in a night gown in white as I sat on top of my soft, comfortable bed and looked at the pendant with unbroken focus, as if it could simply start talking and give me all the answers I was hoping for.

The dream I had when I was unconscious…was it even a dream or was it a memory? If it was a memory…then why didn’t I remember more? Why didn’t I remember the face of the person who gave me this necklace?

A heart shaped pendant symbolized love, right?

I had a lover in my past? Was it someone I truly loved? Was it someone I couldn’t live without? Was it my mate?

Were the speculations really true? Daphne and Emma had told me after I had woken up that there were a lot of speculations about my past. That a lot of rumors were going around that I lost my memory because my mate died and I couldn’t handle the shock. Could those rumors be actually true? Because when I looked at the necklace, all I felt was a sense of longing in my heart that I couldn’t explain.

But if this necklace was given to me by someone I loved…how did the rogue Alpha have it? And why did I feel like he was concerned when I had fallen over in pain? What was my connection to the rogue Alpha? Why did it react different towards me? Was it because I was a healer? But Ricky was getting ready to attack me anyway…

I pressed my hand to my temples to ease the throbbing. There were so many questions and yet, little to no answers. The more I thought about it, the more my headache increased, so I got off my bed and placed the pendant securely inside a drawer so no one else could find it.

I went to stand in front of the huge floor to ceiling glass windows in my room and watched the crescent moon bring the night to life. It was past two in the morning and something told me, the new soldiers were still celebrating. I couldn’t hear them from inside my room but I could see the bright lights from the quarters below.

Since I was a healer, I was considered above the rank of soldiers and I was given a luxury room, just like all high ranking soldiers as well as the older Lunar Maidens. I had a large king sized canopy bed, my own private bath and a closet. My room itself was large but I didn’t have many decorations here like the rest of the maidens. I simply had a few live plants that I took care of to keep me calm. Daphne often told me that the room was wasted on me and if she had it then she would decorate it much better. Courtesy of her, I did have a beautiful mural of the Lindersay Castle on one wall and it awed me with her painting skills every time I saw it. Maybe I should tell her to paint another for me? I did have a lot of empty stone walls-

A moment outside caught my attention and I turned my head to look out past the castle walls and into the forests beyond…and met wolf gold eyes.

*

*

“Did you sleep well last night?” Emma asked, placing another piece of apple on my plate with the help of her chopsticks.

“Not really.” I didn’t want to lie to them but how could I tell them the truth without scaring them?

How do I tell my best friends that I saw the rogue Alpha last night, right outside the castle gates where there was maximum security and yet…no one had seen him? Had it all been a hallucination? My over-tired brain playing tricks on me? Or had I actually seen the gold eyes of the red wolf that had saved me from Ricky and given me a pendant that was somehow connected to my past.

I had hardly been able to sleep a wink last night because at first, I had seen the red wolf and then…just when a guard had been approaching, he had disappeared. I hadn’t been able to see him after that but I had this feeling that I had been watched from afar. I had stood for hours in front of my window for another glimpse of the wolf; my own wolf restless inside me. I had waited until my legs ached and I could no longer keep my eyes open. I don’t remember when I had fallen asleep on my bed but this morning, I had woken up to Daphne nearly breaking down my door because of worry.

Now, Emma gave me a sad smile as Daphne stuck to my side, making sure I was eating all of my breakfast, even though I told her that I had no appetite.

“You’re not skipping any more meals on my watch.” Had been her strict jurisdiction.

So I had opted mostly for fruits and a sandwich and some fresh juices, nothing too heavy on the stomach. It was a good thing that Lunar Maidens were permitted meats and other normal foods that we liked because we were wolves and no wolf could go without meats.

After breakfast, we all went to our rooms to change and look pretty because the initiation ceremony was about to happen at the ceremonial hall today at noon and all Lunar Maidens had to be present. As per our rules, all gowns were white but rather than the flowy material that we wore daily, Ezra had chosen different patterned dresses for us. Some had laces and others had ruffles and ribbons. Each dress was chosen according to the personality of the person wearing it.

My gown was somewhat formfitting with lace sleeves and a jeweled broach at the sweetheart neckline. It was absolutely beautiful and it uplifted my mood immediately. I braided my hair down my back and pinned in a few white flowers behind one ear because it was an occasion and I wanted to look pretty.

When I met up with Daphne at the ceremonial hall a few minutes later, she was wearing a dress very similar to mine except her whole bodice was made of lace. She had put a floral tiara around her head as accessory and Emma was in a white kimono with silver designs. Almost everyone looked completely different and gorgeous.

However, the most beautiful person in the room were still Malachi and Ezra. Malachi wore a white jacket with gold designs, white pants and black boots. His long white hair was pulled back into a braid and he looked no less handsome for it. Ezra was wearing a white gown with small crystals all over that sparkled in the light. Her only accessories were golden bracelets on each arm. They looked like the perfect couple, except…they weren’t mates; hence they couldn’t be a couple.

And then, exactly at noon, when the sun was high in the sky, the doors to the hall were opened and the soldiers started coming in.

Four maidens stood by the door to sprinkle holy water and to provide each of them with the garlands that we had made yesterday morning.

Yesterday…

My mind blanked for a few moments as yesterday’s events came rushing back. The blood…the sacrifices…

I intertwined my fingers together to stop myself from panicking when a voice caught my attention.

“Alpha Malachi.” A man spoke from the centre of all the recruits. He was tall, almost as tall as Malachi. He had a warm, dusky skin tone and grey eyes that looked a lighter shade of blue in the candle lights. He wore a dark blue suit and pants with a grey shirt underneath and his midnight black hair was gelled back to perfection.

“Andre Saltzman.” Malachi gave him a warm welcome and shook his hand with a genuine smile. “I’m so glad your unit responded so quickly to our call.”

“It’ll be a pleasure working for you, Alpha.” Andre gave a slight bow and it told me that he was the current leader of the recruits. That made him close to a beta in ranking.

Several giggles and hushed whispers sounded and I knew some of the maidens were swooning over the troop men, hoping to find their mates. But only the lucky ones found their mates here.

As if hearing my thoughts, Andre Saltzman turned to face in my direction, my eyes meeting his- an instant later in a gaze that felt very personal.

And then I heard a word I never thought I would hear in my life.

“Mate.”