Lupus Paulo

Quinn

I poured everything I had into this kiss. It was our last, so why hold back? Time seemed to slow down, not just in a poetic sense, but as if we were bending the universe to our will. As our lips met, he stirred from his unconscious state. The way he kissed me back told me he was no longer wild. He was my Jax again. My wonderful—

~Oh my Goddess!~

~I can feel it!~

~The mating bond!~

With this kiss, shared in the Astral plane, my connection with Jax was reignited. I was sure of it. It sparked deep within me. That feeling I had missed so much was coursing through me again. I pulled him closer as he clung to my back, our bodies pressing, melting into each other. We didn’t need the mating mandate. He was mine. I was his. For this brief moment, I forgot all about Matheius. I even forgot that I was on the brink of death. I was wrapped in a blanket of pure, perfect love.

But then I heard him—Matheius—crying out in rage. Confusion. And then pain. I pulled away from Jax’s lips. To my surprise, an iridescent forcefield surrounded us. It wasn’t just a feeling. The power of our love had been our greatest protection. And Matheius’ downfall. I watched in awe as the powerful hex he cast rebounded off our forcefield and spiraled back towards him. His eyes met mine, and for the first time, his look of vengeance was replaced with pure, unadulterated fear. The hex boomeranged back to him and hit him square in the stomach. His eyes widened, and his flesh burned bright red. And then, right before my eyes, Matheius was obliterated into dust.

When the dust settled, the moonstone crashed down onto the ground where he had been standing moments before. I ran over to it and picked it up, slipping the chain around my neck. A sudden, all-encompassing warmth overtook me.

Jax stood up and stared at me, mouth agape. “Q…Quinn,” he stammered, “You’re…glowing.”

“Glowing?” I asked, looking down at my hands. “Holy shit!” I exclaimed loudly. He was right, my hands were glowing like stars in the night sky.

Jaxon

~This has to be a dream. It must be a dream.~

~Or maybe I’ve died and ascended to the heavens.~

That was the only explanation for the glowing vision before me. I had never seen such pure beauty. Her perfectly draped robes, flowing hair, and that face. It was a monument to beauty. Every feature was in perfect harmony with the others. In its perfection, there was such warm familiarity.

The luminous woman ran towards me and leapt into my arms, hugging me tighter than she ever had before. I grabbed her face and kissed her again. Our faces stayed locked for what felt like hours as we reacquainted ourselves with each other and all the scintillating sensations we had missed. It was such sweet satisfaction. As though a long-denied urge had been satisfied. Our mating bond had definitely returned without the mandate being restored. It was a true miracle.

She held up an iridescent bauble that hung around her neck. “We did it,” she said. “That means…that means you’re…”

“Yes. For now, you are mated to the Moon Goddess,” she said with a coy wink. I couldn’t believe my ears. “And I know exactly what my first order of business will be.”

Anthony

~ Shadow Moon Pack House? Why am I back here? ~

I stood on a patch of dead grass, curiously looking at the crumbling castle I ruled. But I couldn’t understand why. For the life of me…I couldn’t remember how I’d gotten there. And I certainly had no idea why I would have come back. I stood there, searching my mind for the last memory I had. It felt as though I had been asleep for weeks. Suddenly, it came to me. The fight between me and Melanie. How one moment everything seemed fine, and the next, we were at each other’s throats. In fact, I could still feel the pain of her violent bite in my neck. But somehow, I was alive.

Something else was different, too. Like some kind of flame burning in my chest. It fired my heart and made it beat faster and more frantically. My heart’s frantic beat set off some sort of signal in my brain. It indicated that something was missing. Not something…

~Someone.~

My someone.

~Melanie!~

That was it! My mate. I needed her. My body ached to have her near me in a way that it hadn’t in recent memory. If I didn’t find her soon, I thought I might burst. I closed my eyes and turned my snout into the air, trying to pick up her scent. It was very faint, but it was there. With an impassioned howl, I turned on my haunches and raced after my mate’s scent.

Quinn

With the mating bond restored for all wolves on Earth, a feeling of deep, inner peace filled me. Matheius’ ultimate wrong had been righted at last. I held Jax’s hand as we watched mates around the world reuniting in bliss and harmony; as wolves who had become feral regained their humanity once more. I turned to Jax: “There's just one more thing to do.” He nodded at me knowingly as I gripped the moonstone tightly with both hands. With the all-seeing vision of the Moon Goddess, I turned my attention to the Shadow Moon Pack. I paused briefly, watching in glee as Alex and Zara stared at each other and realized what I had known for some time. They embraced and kissed, confirming their matehood. Giggling, Jax and I averted our eyes before we saw them consummate it.

At last, I saw her. Selena, the real Moon Goddess, who’d been on earth so long she’d turned into a statue of herself.

With the moonstone’s power coursing through me, I broke Selena’s stone shell and, bit by bit, she started to come back to life.

As her skin regained its flexibility, she stretched her limbs, like a newborn baby just out of the womb.

Then she tilted her face to the sky and smiled.

“Quinn, my child,” she said, “thank you.”

At my signal, she started to float up, up, up, disappearing into the swirl of colors I was getting used to.

In no time, the Moon Goddess was back in Astria and standing in front of me.

She walked towards me with her arms wide open and pulled me into a tight hug. “You’ve made me so proud, my Quinn. And you too, sweet Jax. Thanks to you, the universe is balanced again.”

“We did it all for you,” I told her. “You’re the only true leader this world needs.”

I won’t lie, I liked wearing this necklace, and how it made me shine like a full moon, but I took it off my neck and gave it back to its rightful owner.

I loved seeing the joy on Selena’s face as she held her most precious possession again.

“How can I ever thank you, my child?” she asked me.

“I don’t need anything,” I said honestly. “You’ve already given me the best gift. My mate, and the knowledge that love wins over everything.”

I held Jax’s hand. He squeezed mine three times.

“Are you ready to go home then?” she asked. “Just say the word, and I’ll take you and your loved ones back to the Shadow Moon Pack. Your friends will be so happy to see you.”

“Yes,” I said, but then I remembered something. “What will happen to Harper’s ghost?” I asked her. “Can’t you bring her back to life?”

“I’m afraid not,” Selena said sadly.

“That’s beyond my power. In time, I’m sure she’ll choose to come back to Astria where she belongs. But she’ll watch over all of you forever. Sky will have her own guardian angel.”

I smiled at the thought. If anyone deserved a guardian angel, it was Sky.

Then I remembered another question that had been bothering me for a while. This might be my last chance to ask.

“Selena,” I said, “before I go, can you tell me one more thing?”

“Anything for you, my dear,” she said warmly.

“What is ~Lupus Paulo~?” I asked.

“Ah,” she said lightly. “The question you should be asking is ‘~who~ is Lupus Paulo?'”

“It’s a person?” I was really curious now.

She nodded elegantly. “Many centuries ago, I got a prophecy that has given me hope, even in the darkest times. The prophecy spoke of the great savior of werewolves, born out of pure and perfect love.”

She looked at me intently now, her gaze so intense it startled me.

“Quinn,” she said, placing her hand on my stomach. “Lupus Paulo is inside you now.”

I put my hand over hers, shocked, not able to understand what she was saying. “Do you—you mean—am I...”

I looked at Jax, who also seemed like his world had just been turned upside down.

“You’re pregnant, Quinn. By defeating Matheius, you both brought Lupus Paulo into the world. Everyone will know your name, and his.”

In that moment, I thought I felt a tiny movement in my stomach—the first sign of this little life that would surely change our lives forever.

I had a million more questions, but there was no time for answers as Selena touched the moonstone and sent us—the three of us—home.

^End of Book 3^