My mouth ran dry and my tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth. I didn't try to speak, I couldn't. Somehow a part of me had expected this, while the rest of me sat in total shock.
"Dawn, look at me," his voice echoed in my ears. I continued to stare at my lap.
"Dawn," he said. I felt soft fingertips brush my jaw and push my head up gently, allowing me to see Hayden kneeling in front of me. "Say something."
"I... Why didn't you tell me before?"
"Because then I would've had to tell you everything, and I didn't think you were ready for it," he said softly, staring into my eyes.
"But I... I could have..."
"I'm sorry. I needed you to like me, otherwise you would've pushed me away."
I moved away from his hand, "How do you know that?"
"Because you've been forcing me to go out with Caitlyn," he chuckled, making me blush ashamedly. "Who," he added, "I really don't like."
"That's my best friend you're talking about," I pointed out.
"To be honest, I don't care. I only care about you."
"I, um..." I took a deep breath. "What does this mean?"
"It means that I'll love you forever, and make you happy for the rest of my life," he smiled. Hurt flashed in his eyes suddenly, "That is, if you want me."
I frowned sadly, "It's not that I don't want you, Hayden, it's just complicated. I can't just fall in love with you that easily."
He smirked, "Oh really?"
"What?" I asked, frowning.
He leaned forward and his lips brushed my ear, sending goosebumps exploding down my skin. "I think you already are," he whispered. My cheeks flushed beetroot.
"N-no," I insisted.
"Yes," he nodded.
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes. "
"No."
"No," he mimicked.
"Yes," I blurted without realising, making him burst out laughing and grin, his face inches away from mine.
"Told you," he sang.
I reached forwards and lightly slapped his cheek, "No."
"Well then, I'll just have to make you," he grinned and scooped me up quickly, dashing upstairs. I struggled and protested but couldn't help but giggle as he sprinted down the hallway, laughing like a maniac. He stopped at a door and kicked it open, walking backwards so I couldn't see where we were.
"Hayden," I warned. I tried to look around but with the lights turned off and Hayden trying to shield me from seeing anything, I sighed and admitted defeat.
"Just put me down," I demanded.
"Ooh, using the Alpha tone. Sorry, but I'm only allowed to use that voice. Until we're mated, of course." He said it so casually, my jaw dropped.
"What are you talking about?" I asked, marvelling at how Hayden was still holding me even though we weren't moving.
"I'm the soon-to-be Alpha of this pack, Dawn. My dad's the Alpha right now, but when I turn eighteen I become Alpha."
"Alpha? Pack?"
"The Alpha is the leader of the whole packâ the pack is the community over which we rule. There are a loads of packs all over the world, and each pack has an Alpha. The Alpha gene is genetic, so there is only one Alpha family per pack," he explained. "And when we mate, you will become Luna." Luna. The word written on the drawing.
"Is the Luna the female leader?" I asked inquisitively.
He grinned, "Now you're getting it."
"Um, Hayden, what do you mean by 'when we mate'?"
Despite the darkness in the room, and my position in his arms, I looked up at him to see blush on his cheeks, illuminated by the light spilling in from the corridor.
"Um... That means, you know...sex." My eyes grew wide and I squirmed uncomfortably in his grip.
"That's not going to happen," I said shakily.
A confident look overtook his features, casting a smirk on his lips. "Oh yes it will," he whispered.
"Fine then, think that. You're just going to have to find out the hard way."
"The 'hard' way, definitely," he laughed. I rolled my eyes at his immaturity.
"Can you put me down now?"
"You know you love it."
"Hayden, seriously."
"But I've swooped you off your feet!" he whined childishly. I sighed exasperatedly and tried to move, but his grip tighten and he hoisted me closer to him.
"No," he growled, his eyes glinting. I stopped wriggling in surprise. Whoa. He saw my expression and his eyes softened. "Sorry, my wolf wants you closeâ and so do I."
"Why are we in a dark room and why won't you put me down?" I cried out.
He laughed, "Oops, I got distracted. Um, well, when you accept me as your mate and I mark you, you...um... Well..."
"What?" I said, narrowing my eyes.
"You'll have to move in here. Pack rules. You'll be the almost-Luna."
I gasped, "What?! I'm only sixteen! You think my parents would agree to that? And what the hell do you mean by, 'when I mark you'?!"
He remained calm, like he'd expected my reaction. "Don't worry about your family. Truthfully, the moving in thing just means that you have to sleep here and spend most of your free time here. You can just go to your bedroom in the evening at your house and your parents will think you're asleep, then I'll come and get you from your window and bring you here."
"What's the point? And you didn't answer my question about 'marking'."
He looked uncomfortable, "I'm sorry, Dawn, it's a pack rule. And The Marking is when I... When I bite you. It'll tie our souls together and make us a little emotional until we mate."
My jaw hit the floor. "When you bite me?! Are you serious?"
"It won't hurt, trust me- in fact, it will be the second-best thing you'll ever feel," he assured me.
"Oh really? And what's the first-best thing I'll ever feel?"
"Mating with me," he said simply. I sighed in frustration. I was going to slap him in a minute.
"I told you, that's not happening."
"Whatever you say, baby."
My heart stopped at 'baby'. I felt like we were already in a relationship, and I hadn't agreed to anything yet.
I cleared my throat. "Um, where do you bite me?" I asked quietly, taken aback at his nickname for me. His shifted me in his arms so he could trail his fingers down my jawline to my neck, just above my collarbone and next to my shoulder. Heat flashed through my body when he touched a certain spot. He noticed my reaction, and a smile graced his lips.
"See, your body wants me, even if your mind doesn't."
"I never said my mind doesn't want you. I'm not ready for this, I wasn't prepared for anything of it," I said, shaking my head.
"I know, Dawn, and I'm not expecting you to throw yourself at me when you've only just found out.
But anyway, since you're moving in, you deserve the best," he announced.
We moved over to a light switch, and he flicked it on, before finally resting my feet on the ground. I immediately spun around to see what was in the room, and gasped when I did. Tiny tears formed in my eyes.
Before me was a huge bedroom, decorated beautifully. A king-sized plush white-framed bed stood at the furthest left hand wall, with two bedside tables on either of it and wallpaper, depicting a forest mural, coating the entire wall behind it. To the right of the bed, was a door, leading toâ from what I could see âan en-suite bathroom. To the right of the door was a white love seat with red and green pillows, and a small light brown, wooden coffee table in front of it; a flat screen TV was mounted on the wall in front of the coffee table. A set of double doors to the right of the TV told me that it was a walk-in closet, and that wall ended then cornered off in my direction to create a large extra corner of the room directly in front of me. On the floor in that corner lay a huge black mat, a long table standing on top of it, boasting two long drawers underneath each other just below the surface of the table, which had a clay jar of paint brushes on it with a lamp, jar of pencils and a paint tray beside it.
Every wall in the room was a light forest green, with the exception of the wall behind the bed and the wall directly in front of me. The table sat to the right of the wall, leaving the entire white wall clear of any furniture apart from a large easel and chair just in front of it, on top of the mat. In a trance, I drifted over to that corner, and opened the top drawer in the desk, revealing it to be split in half inside: the left side of the drawer housed more coloured pastels and chalks than I knew existed, and on the right were a collection of different coloured paint tubes, including watercolours, oils, acrylics, caseins, and temperas. I even noticed varnish in the corner of the drawer, making my heart leap even more than it already had. Dazed and dreamy, I opened the second drawer, which revealed another split layout. On the left were three professional sketchbooks, and beside them were thick poster papers of various sizes. On the right of the drawer was a tray filled with tools; toothpicks, wrapped charcoal sticks, sponges, wire, glitter, string, yarn, glue, painters tape, scissors, foam brushes, rulers, crepe paper, tissue paper, tracing paper, printing ink, and styrofoam boards leaped out at me, filling my mind with ecstasy. I was in heaven.
Wiping my tears away, I closed the drawer and walked over to the bed, noticing a fluffy white rug in front of it, and beautiful blue and grey sheets tucked on the bed. The pillows were light and feathery, but thick all the same. Beside it, at the wall with the door to the hallway at the end, was an elegant wooden desk, where I could already see schoolbooks sitting. Next I looked at the bathroom, loving the beauty of the marble bowl-sink and jacuzzi bath, with a shower cubicle beside it. Immersed in such luxury, I wondered if the shiny white toilet even had a heated seat. I padded towards the double doors opposite the bathroom door, needing to see what was inside. As soon as I swung the doors open, I had to lean against the wall to stop my knees from buckling. The marble floors and white cabinets either side of me stunned my jaw open and I took in the various clothes and shoes and handbags in the specially-made cabinets on the right wall. On the left wall, men's clothes and shoes stood out to me. A beautiful red rug lay in the middle of the room, underneath a glossy table stacked high with makeup and jewellery, along with men's watches and belts. Shock still consumed me as I stepped unwillingly out of the closet, back into the living room section of the bedroom. The mounted TV was curved slightly, showing me how modern it was. The coffee table held up a vase of forget-me-nots, my favourite flower. Beneath the coffee table lay a luxury green, fluffy rug that called to me with its softness, but couldn't even compete with the comfort of the love seat.
An arm locked around my waist and pulled me gently back into a chest, knocking me out of my daze.
"This is our room," Hayden murmured into my ear, nuzzling my neck. I could hear the pride in his voice when he said 'our'.
"It's... I can't believe..." I was lost for words. A thought occurred to me, "Did you put this together?"
"Mmm-hmm..." he hummed, burying his face into my hair. "I left the wall over there white so you can paint a mural on it."
"Thank you, I've never had so much freedom with my art."
"I wanted to make our room special."
"Hayden, how did you know?"
"Know what?" he said distractedly, playing with a lock of my hair.
"Know what my favourite flower is, and what size shoe and clothes I am, and what to buy me for my art...?" I said dreamily.
"I noticed you always stopping to look at the forget-me-nots in the forest on the path to your street whenever I walk you home. You left your jumper here one time so I checked the size, and you have the same size feet as my mum because you borrowed her shoes that time we went out for a walk and you soaked your feet in a puddle," he replied, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
"And the artist's equipment?" I asked.
"Easy, I just went to that specialist shop nearby."
"Brushstroke? The store that's an hour and a half away?"
"Yeah."
I smiled to myself at his thoughtfulness, but gasped when I thought of something. "So all that stuff in the closet is mine?"
"Yup."
"But it must've been so expensive! This whole room must have cost a fortune, not to mention my art corner," I exclaimed.
He chuckled, "Dawn, don't worry, we have more money than you think."
"How? Where does the money come from?"
"Mum's a full-time Luna and helps out at the nursery, so she doesn't earn any money from that. But Dad owns a big companyâ we have a lot of family money as well," he replied. My eyebrows shot up in surprise. I didn't know Harvey had his own business.
"What kind of company?" I questioned.
"You know that big bank near all the shops?"
"Yeah...?"
"He owns a chain of those all over London and East Anglia."
"I had no idea you have so much money."
"Yup- and the best thing is, it's a family business, so I take over as CEO when I turn eighteen."
"Alpha and CEO? That's a lot of responsibility," I frowned.
He shrugged, "I'll be fine. I've been preparing myself for it for the last few years." I nodded. Hayden tightened his grip on me suddenly. "Tell me that you accept me," he growled.
"Hayden, I..."
"Please don't reject me, Dawn," he whimpered. My eyes widened. You could do that?
"I don't reject you Hayden," I said firmly, knowing that if I did, it would tear him apart. I could sense the desperation in his voice when he begged me to accept him.
"Then why don't you accept me?" he quietly whined into my neck.
"...I...do accept you," murmured. I considered everything that he had done for me, how he'd looked at me before I'd found out about him being a werewolf. And I knew that, deep inside, I was denying how I beginning to feel about him. Caitlyn's attraction to him helped me understand that.
At my words, his arms tightened impossibly around my waist and squeezed me to his chest. I could feel his heavy breathing, his racing heart, his adoration. He planted chaste kisses all over my cheek and spun me around, making me cry out in laughter.
"You really accept me?" he asked softly, as if it had been his imagination.
I paused. "Yes. But don't take that as a declaration of my feelings, because it's not. Let's just take it slow and see how it goes."
I felt his smile against my neck, "Mine."
"Hmm?" I asked him, not processing what he said.
"You're finally mine," he whispered in my ear, sending shivers cascading down my back. He turned me around to face him, beaming down at me. I pressed my face into his chest and smiled, blushing a little bit. When I looked up at him, we made eye contact and electricity shocked through me in waves. Was it because I had accepted him that I felt this way? His beautiful hazel eyes emitted love, and suddenly his lips were on mine. My arms wrapped around his neck and he pressed me closer to him, holding my waist as if I were a lifeline. I melted into the kiss, a frenzy of sensations tingling in my veins as he massaged my tongue with his. I couldn't get enough of him, even though I knew I was kissing my best friend, but he felt like more than that now.
So much more.
He pulled away to kiss down my jaw, then down my neck. His mouth reached the spot where a raging fire burned, a fire only his touch could light. The softness of his lips abruptly gave way to something else, something sharper. I gasped and pushed him away, withering at the devastated look that crossed his face.
"You don't want me?" he whimpered.
My hand reached out and caressed his, "Of course I want you, Hayden. You just can't mark me yet. I'm not ready to move in so soon," I pleaded. He nodded understandingly.
"I can wait," he whispered into my hair, cuddling me. A knock at the open door jolted us apart.
Jackie stood in the doorway, grinning madly. "So, he told you?"
I nodded, blushing.
"Come with me, sweetheart, we have a lot to talk about. And it'll get you away from the testosterone," she chuckled, holding her hand out to me. I frowned, not wanting to leave Hayden, when I noticed the 'testosterone' she was talking about. Hayden blushed and tried to adjust his jeans, so I laughed and made my way towards Jackie.
"Mine," Hayden growled softly with sad eyes, gripping my wrist so I wouldn't leave.
I pushed his chest gently and rolled my eyes with a smile. "Stop being so clingy and be a big boy," I teased affectionately. He released my hand and folded his arms, watching me walk out with Jackie.
She led me downstairs into the kitchen, where she promptly made us some tea and sat down at the counter beside me.
"So, how soon can I expect grandkids?"
I almost spat out my tea. "Jackie! I'm only sixteen!" I exclaimed.
She laughed, "I know, I know, I'm only teasing." I relaxed and sipped from my cup. "Did Hayden tell you everything?" she inquired.
"I don't know, I think so," I replied.
"Did he tell you about Ash and Sydney?"
"What are you talking about?"
"I guess he only told you the parts involving you and him. So Ash just turned ten, and in our family, that's a big number."
"Why?"
"I'll have to explain the family history first. Have you heard of the Bubonic Plague?"
"Yeah, we studied it at school. It was a rat disease."
"That's where you're wrong. The 'official' cause of the Black Death was something to do with rats arriving on trading ships. The truth is, rats didn't cause the disease, wolves did. A high percentage of the population weren't compatible with wolf DNA, so they died gruesome deaths. But about fifteen percent of people were compatible, and when they contracted the disease, they shifted into a wolf. Then another problem came around: if they were really young, their bodies wouldn't handle the shift and they would die. But if their bodies could handle the shift, they became Wolf Shifters.
"Whatever age our ancestor shifted at is the age that each descendent of that person shifts at. The Hunter family ancestor was a little boy named Richard. He shifted at ten years old, and now his bloodline do too. Ash just turned ten, so he just experienced his first shift.
When you shift for the first time, your body becomes half wolf. Your wolf side appears in your mind and becomes kind of like your best friend, or so I've been told. Remember, I'm a human, so I can only tell you what I've been told by Harvey. When you receive these wolf qualities, fate steps in. You then have the ability to detect your mate. Ash just found his, andâ"
"And it's Sid, isn't it?" I interrupted. Jackie nodded yes. I exhaled slowly, trying to comprehend how both of us sisters could be mates to two werewolf brothers.
"There's something else," Jackie continued. "Just after the Plague had passed, a bear disease went around, causing the same thingâ this time, taking place in the foresty areas of Canada and the US âexcept this time, if people weren't compatible with bear DNA, the didn't die, and continued to live on unharmed. Soon after this disease passed, something huge happened. One of the womenâ a Wolf Shifter âwas, in a way, possessed. Something contacted the Wolf Shifter population through her, using her as a vessel. Something calling itself 'Artemis'."
"A Greek goddess?"
"The goddess of the hunt, nature and birth, yes. Wolf Shifters learn a lot about her during their education. Anyway, Through this woman, Artemis predicted a future eventâ she made a prophecy. It was written down and has been handed down over the years to each Alpha family, but the whole Wolf Shifter world knows about it. Truthfully, everyone thinks it's ridiculous, and the human mates in our communities don't really know too much about it. But now..."
"Now what? What's changed?" I questioned, but instead of answering me, Jackie beckoned me to follow. She led me into the living room, where she unhooked a painting and brought it away from the wall, towards me. Fumbling with the back of the frame, her hand emerged holding a piece of crumpled paper. She handed it to me motioning for me to read it. I unfolded the paper and scanned it carefully, almost memorising every word. The short verse hit me hard, making me wonder if it had some truth to it.
"Jackie... This thing with Sid and I being mated to your sons... It's never happened before, has it?"
"No, Dawn, it hasn't."
"Does that mean that the Prophecy is coming true?" Her gaze answered my question. I looked at the paper once again, my heart thumping in my chest.
If this was true, I was in deep trouble.