Chapter 24

“Moon,” I repeated, soaking in the information. If Moon was my familiar, it meant there was no doubt about my heritage. “Why are you able to reach me now if you haven’t been successful for years?”

“Your powers are growing stronger, even though you’ve been suppressing them,” Moon explained. “If you let them emerge, there will be more you’ll be able to do than ever before.”

“But how do I do that? I didn’t even know I had powers. I don’t know how to control them.” I thought about when I shifted when being attacked. I hadn’t even known what happened.

“Unfortunately, I can’t help you with that. I can’t get your powers to emerge, or else we would have been speaking years ago. That mut has been keeping me at bay, trying to protect you.” Moon glanced over at Shadow.

I moved over to Shadow and kneeled next to her. She was still unconscious. “Shadow is not a mut,” I said defensively. Shadow had been there for me ever since she emerged. I stroked her head. “Shadow, wake up.”

“She’s okay,” Moon assured. She sauntered over to us and sat on the other side of Shadow. “I just needed a chance to speak with you one on one. Besides, she doesn’t know what she is talking about, trying to say Mark is our mate.”

“Mark is our mate,” I said quickly. “And wasn’t this a little overboard?”

“Jori is our soul mate,” Moon said. “And you have suppressed me for too long. It required drastic measures. You need me now more than ever. Your life is in danger, and you won’t get out of this alive without me.”

“Do you know who is trying to kill me?”

“Adira? Adira? Wake up.”

I heard Mark’s voice and looked around, but I didn’t see him. “Mark?”

Moon purred and started rubbing against my leg. “The one trying to kill us is the one who stands to lose the most.”

I looked back to Moon. “What do you mean by that? Can’t you stop being cryptic for once?”

Moon stopped and looked at me. “I can’t tell you what we don’t already know.” She pressed her head against my hand. “Please pick Jori. For my sake.”

I opened my mouth to say something, but Moon and Shadow disappeared. Everything went dark again, and this time when I opened my eyes, I was back in the game room. I felt pretty disoriented. It didn’t feel like I was waking up from sleep. It was more like being transported from a different location.

“Adira? Are you okay?”

I blinked a few times and then rubbed my eyes. I sat up, and Mark was sitting next to me with his eyebrows furrowed. There was no one else in the room, and the lights were dimmed.

“How long have you been here?” I stretched my neck, feeling a little sore from falling asleep on the couch.

Mark smiled sheepishly. “A little while. I was heading back to my room when I saw you sleeping here. I didn’t want to leave you by yourself like that. I was just going to let you sleep, but then you seemed distressed. I can go if you-”

My eyes widened with realization. “It all makes sense now. The pull in different directions. Feeling like an internal battle going on.”

“What are you talking about?” Mark c****d his head.

I turned to face Mark directly. “I’m part sorceress. Sorcerers have familiars, similar to how werewolves have their wolves. Werewolves have mates, but sorcerers have soul mates. That’s why I have two. Moon said that Jori is our soul mate, but you’re my mate.”

Mark seemed uneasy with the conversation. “Who is Moon?”

“My familiar,” I said. I stopped, looking at the confused look on Mark’s face. Was I just spouting nonsense? “Sorry. I just had a weird… dream? Maybe. I’m not sure if it was a dream really. But things make more sense now. At least to me. I don’t know if I’m confusing you more. Sorry.”

“Take a deep breath, Adira,” Mark said. He reached his hand out to me and then thought better of it.

When Mark said my name, it made me freeze. Something about his deep voice saying my name churned something deep inside of me. I took a deep breath and felt a little better.

“Good. I will admit that I don’t fully understand everything you were saying, but if you feel better about it, I’m glad.” Mark smiled at me, but then his smile slowly faded. “I should probably leave you be.”

My hand grabbed Mark’s arm before I could even think. “You don’t have to go.”

“Until we figure out who is trying to kill you, I think it’s best if I stay back. I don’t want to cause you any more turmoil than I already have.” Mark tried to stand up, but I kept my grip on him firmly.

“Don’t back off. I know I said I don’t want to make a decision yet, and that’s still the case, but don’t go. Don’t leave me. Fight for me,” I pleaded. “Please.”

I could see the pain in Mark’s eyes as he stared at me. “Adira, do you even know what you’re asking me? If I start fighting for you, I won’t be able to stop. Ever.”

I stood up so I could look closer at Mark. “Fight for me.”

That was enough for Mark to break down his barriers. His hand snaked around the back of my head, and he pulled me in, kissing me like he was going to lose me. I could feel his passion and his desperation as his lips moved with mine. I never wanted to let go of that moment, but Mark stopped himself before he went too far.

He pressed his forehead against mine. “I won’t stop fighting for you. I promise you that.”

I pulled back from Mark, my heart racing. I wanted more of him, but there was a small voice in my head, telling me I was betraying Jori. It was Moon’s voice. I couldn’t hear her like I could with Shadow, but I simply knew what she was feeling. I smiled at Mark, longing for this all to be over so I could move on, but something told me it wouldn’t be that simple. Moon was a part of me just as much as Shadow was, and while I hardly knew her at all, she wouldn’t be going anywhere. I wouldn’t let it happen. I wanted to get to know her and every part of myself.

“I promise I will do my best to figure this out. Just give me a little time,” I said, staring into Mark’s eyes. It was easy to get lost there.

Mark nodded in acknowledgement. “You should get to bed. It’s late and you have a big day tomorrow, birthday girl.”

I frowned at the thought. “Don’t remind me.”

“Not a fan of your birthday?” Mark asked.

I shook my head. “Not really.”

“That explains why you didn’t tell me your birthday was coming up. I could’ve planned something for you,” Mark said.

I chewed on my cheek a little. “I was hoping the topic wouldn’t come up. My birthday brings up some negative feelings.” I looked at the ground, feeling embarrassed.

Mark grabbed my chin and had me look at him again. “You deserve happy memories on your birthday. I want to change that for you.” Mark leaned forward and kissed my forehead, making me blush. “Have a good night, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Sweet dreams, Mark.”

The sun woke me up the next morning, and my body felt completely heavy. I had spent a good portion of the night tossing and turning. It had felt weird sleeping in a bed by myself. I didn’t like that feeling. I had only slept in Mark’s bed a handful of nights, but it was enough to make me miss the feeling of the warmth of another person.

I got out of bed and stretched before finding an outfit for the day. I felt oddly excited at the idea of a party for me tonight. It had been a long time since I had a party for myself like that, and part of me missed the rush of energy from people dancing and socializing. I wasn’t sure how big or extravagant the party would be, especially since I knew very few people at the pack house. I couldn’t imagine strangers wanting to join the celebration of me.

When I went downstairs, I was shocked at the hustling around the house. People were everywhere, carrying things in and out of the house. I snuck around the people, trying my best not to get in anyone’s way or get run over by the large objects being transported. My eyes were wide as I watched the chaotic procession march on. What on earth was happening?

I decided to follow a man who was carrying something that almost looked like a colosseum. He went into the backyard, where I found even more chaos. There were so many objects and bundled up light strings, and in the center of it all was Scythe, barking orders at people. Percy was by his side, but he was simply checking things on a clipboard.

I weaved in and out of people to make my way over to Scythe. I stood next to him, and he still hadn’t noticed my presence.

“What is this chaos?” I asked, a laugh slipping into my voice. “This can’t be for my birthday party.”

Scythe’s eyes widened when he saw me. “No! No! No! The birthday can’t be here during the preparations!”

Percy shook his head. “It’s all a mess right now anyway. It’s going to look nothing like this when we are done.”

“Still! It’ll ruin the surprise,” Scythe whined. “Adira, go back inside and don’t come out here again until I specifically give you permission.”

“This is too much Scythe. You are going overboard. I would be fine with just a small dinner, or nothing at all.” I looked around at the madness of people dropping items off while others were detangling lights or setting things up. There was no going back from this point, and I knew that despite my protests.

“I don’t want any complaints from you, missy. Now shoo and let me do my work.” Scythe shooed me away with his hands.

I sighed and started going back inside. There was no way this was just going to be a small get-together.