Chapter five

The outside world felt exactly the same as the city of Arden. I don't know what I was expecting? The air to feel different? The only difference was the sheer adrenaline that ran through my veins. I felt like running and yelling as we walked quietly through the trees. I began to see the outline of the city and my eyes caught the bright glimmer of lights.

"Oh my god, it's so pretty." I mumbled as we finally reached the edge of the forest and the entire town spread out before us. I saw the entry sign for the city of Littlewood. But beyond that was what made me stop in my tracks and just stare. That moment felt utterly surreal. I could feel the crisp night air in my lungs as clouds of my breath waved through the air. The town was filled with Christmas decorations, there were lights strung up everywhere, on the edge of buildings and wrapped around lampposts. In the center of the city there was a large tree, wrapped in more lights with silver decorations glimmering under the silken sky. It took my breath away.

"Is it everything you expected?" Esmerelda whispered to me and I numbly nodded. Finn leaned towards me, bumping his shoulder into mine.

"Cmon," he gestured for us to follow him and we did so, through the cobblestone streets of Littlewood. It was dry, but the pavements were covered in a fresh layer of snow and it left footprints behind as we walked. There were people walking around the town. It wasn't hectic but there were enough to make it seem busy. It was almost overwhelming, blending into a crowd where nobody knew you, to go completely unnoticed.

We walked along the streets, stopping at stalls here and there. I saw a colorful blur of something called cotton candy that Esmerelda promised we'd stop for before the end of the night. They had little pastries and cakes, different types of hot drinks and food. There were also stalls for jewelry, hats, bags and more.

"Here." Finn stopped suddenly, pulling some human money out of his pocket. "These are amazing." I looked up at the stand that sold chocolate crépes, whatever they were. But soon I found out as I downed the goody goodness.

"Thank you for convincing me to come tonight." I whispered to Esmerelda as she gave me a bright smile back, just as high on the atmosphere at I was. The human world was magical.

"Watch, the wolves are starting to come in." Finn whispered over to me and I noticed people coming into the town together, laughing and talking together as they walked around the stalls. Just as they came in, the town children headed towards the center of the town and began to set up to sing some Christmas songs.

"Can we go listen?" I pleaded and Finn laughed, nodding his head.

"After we can go on the big wheel?" He suggested and I followed his gaze towards the spinning wheel in the sky, craning my neck up.

"Wait, we go up in that thing?" I asked frantically and he took one look at my face and burst out laughing. Esmerelda joined in and we stood for a second, simply enjoying each other's company for a second before the music filled the air. I looked toward the bright young faces and smiled, relaxed.

-/-

"You're actually serious, oh my god." I said suddenly as we waited in like to go up in the big wheel. I watched in complete disbelief as the huge object lit brightly under the dark sky and kept spinning around.

"Don't tell me you're actually scared of this." Esme laughed and I turned to her suddenly.

"Look at it. Even the trees of Arden don't reach that height." I said and Finn wrapped his arm around my shoulders smiling tenderly.

-/-

Alpha Isaac's p.o.v

The second I stepped through the town's gate I stopped in my tracks, my entire body freezing. I could feel the shock and joy race through my mind and body and I almost wanted to race through the town like a madman to chase the scent of wild lilac and morning grass. I knew exactly what that scent meant, after four years of searching for it, I longed for nothing more than my mate.

I had been a bit hesitant coming down today as I normally skipped the festivities, but my beta warned me that they had increasing sightings of vampires around the border of the city and it left me feeling unnerved so I came just Incase any guests decided to make an unannounced visit. Humans knew of the existent of werewolves and vampires. However in this town, wolves and humans had a good relationship. We protected the town and they accepted us as part of the community with open arms. As the alpha of one of the biggest packs in the country, I couldn't ask more anymore.

In the entirety of the country, there were only 10 packs. All alphas were either handed down the title by their father or chosen by the high council. Within those ten packs, were about two hundred sub packs that littered the country. They each had alpha's in charge of them but ultimately they reported to the ten main alphas of the county and I was proudly one of those ten. I had been waiting for my mate since the age of eighteen when most wolves find their other half, I was currently twenty two and had been around the entire country searching for her, only to find her in my own town. I longed to go find her at that very second but I tried to remain calm, reminding myself that it would happen naturally.

My beta, Allen turned to me, his eyes lit up in confusion.

"You okay man?"

My wolf growled in my head, commanding me to rip through the town until I had my mate safety in my arms. I ignored him, simply responding. "I don't want to scare her away you moron. I can't risk this."

"She's here." I said calmly and Allen stopped in his tracks, his disbelieving eyes meeting mine and I saw the joy racing through them.

"Our Luna?" I nodded and his reaction was to start whooping and racing around the town like a madman. I simply closed my eyes, relishing in the feeling of her being here somewhere, so close to being found. I opened my eyes, the dark grey cutting through the night air. My pack moved around me joyfully, news spreading that their Luna was somewhere in the town.

I followed the scent carefully, seeing that it led towards me the Ferris wheel.

-/-

Finn handed the man the money and slowly I got into the small compartment, feeling uneasy as it swayed beneath my feet. I quickly hurried to the seat as Esme jumped in after me, causing the entire thing to shake as she bounced over the seat carelessly.

"Don't be scared Aurora. This is the least scary night of evening if anything." She laughed as her eyes reflected the lights of the Ferris wheel. I smiled softly as the compartment began to move slowly. After a sharp intake of breath and a moment of panic, I began to calm down. I saw the world beneath us become smaller and smaller and blend into one big landscape, a huge mesh of colour.

"Wow, it's beautiful." I said slowly, looking down at the rest of the world. My eyes wandered around to the other carts, before I stopped in my tracks and I saw bright golden eyes staring back me. He was three carts down from me, but I could tell from where I was that he was without a doubt the most attractive man I'd ever laid eyes on. I felt calm watching him as I couldn't be sure he even noticed me with the distance between us. He was a werewolf, I could tell by his golden glowing eyes. He had short down brown curls that framed a face chiseled to perfection. I sighed deeply, wondering what it would feel like under my hands. I was lost in my own little world until Esmerelda spoke.

"Aurora? That wolf is staring at you very intensely." She whispered quietly beside me and Finn looked up quickly, his eyes hard.

"After this, you guys gotta go." He said hardly and I nodded, crestfallen. I wasn't sure if I was sad to leave this magical night or to leave those haunting golden eyes. I fought the desire to turn and look for the mystery man again. It would probably just my own vivid imagination built up from all the romance novels I cherished. Things like that didn't happen in real life.

"What the fuck." Finn spat out, as he craned his head out of the cart. I turned to see what all the commotion was and stopped suddenly in my tracks. Just as my eyes met the scene, the screams started. I saw a vampire sink his teeth into his victim as all chaos broke loose down on the ground. Vampires flooded the city and began attacking people left and right.

"Just our luck to come in the middle of a vampire attack." Finn sighed, his eyes hard and frightened. We were nearing the ground and my blood froze in my body as I saw the horror to its full extent. The white snow was stained with blood as people screamed and fled to try and escape the vampires. There were about ten of then all together. One by one wolves started to shift and attack them.

"Don't look." Finn said as he went to cover my eyes.

"End of the road guys." The ticket man said, his eyes filled with fear as the cart came to a stop.

"Dude you must be joking, can you not send us up again?" Esmerelda pleaded and the man looked back the scene once more, nodding as he sent us up again. I breathed deeply as we began to move but my relief was short-lived.

"Now, where do you think you're going?" I saw an ashes face and red eyes come from the man just as our cart lifted off the ground. The vampire snapped the mans neck and I let out a shriek, willing the cart to move faster, away from the ground.

The vampire grin at us, showing his fangs. "I can't let two beauties get away now, can I?" He flicked the switch on the cart and we stopped moving, suspending just off the ground.

He grabbed the side of our cart and lifted himself into it. I shrieked as he made a move to grab me. Finn intervened and the vampire hit him, sending him over the railing and onto the ground below.

I watched him tumble over, shock and anger building up in my stomach. His slimy hands moved to grab me and I kicked my leg out, kicking him frantically and Esmerelda did the same from her end.

"You're going to have to do a little more than kick me loves." He laughed just as a body launched himself into the cart, taking the vampire by surprise as he moved quickly and in seconds he had the vampires neck in his hands and he snapped it. He grabbed the limp body and threw it from the cart, to where it was mauled by wolves down below, as Finn stood to a side, looking confused and worried.

I felt warm arms wrap around me and in my confused and frozen state I snuggled into the warmth, confused by whether I wanted to cry or laugh. I was overtaken by the scent of cinnamon and the forest but I was still in shock from the attack that I cherished it, moving closer to the mystery man, who growled in approval and nuzzled into my neck, breathing deeply and then he said one word that sent a million tiny little shocks through my body.

"Mate."

-/-

Slightly long chapter this time! I hoped you guys enjoyed. The story is beginning to pick up now! Please vote if you liked this chapter 🙏