2. Rain
An old alarm clock that I keep on the coffee table usually wakes me up around 5 AM. I am so used to getting up so early that sometimes I wake up before the alarm goes off. Today is one of those days. There are a few minutes left until it is 5 in the morning, and I lay awake on the mattress listening to the rain falling outside. It is funny how my name is also Rain. I don’t even know if it was raining when I was born or if my mother or father liked how it sounded and decided to name me that. It is kinda ironic; I’ve never liked the rain, not since I am the one that has to spend the entire day on my knees, cleaning the floors. Sure, there are mops, but the one I had broke months ago, and a new one is yet to be purchased.
When the alarm lets me know it is time to get up, I reluctantly turn it off. For once, I want to stay longer in bed and read or draw. Soon I will be able to do that and much more. There are only three weeks left until my birthday, and I am counting down the days.
I kick the quilt to the side and get up. Since my room is basically the old laundry room, some water pipes are along the walls, and I use them to hang my clothes. I grab a towel and clean clothes and head to the half bathroom I was given to use.
Since half bathrooms don’t have showers, I had to improvise when it comes to getting clean so I’ve installed a hose to the sink. The water is cold most of the time. If I am extra lucky, it can be lukewarm, but not today. I grit my teeth and take a quick cold-as-the-North Pole shower before I get dressed, tie my hair in a ponytail, and head to the kitchen.
The Packhouse is quiet at this time in the morning. Well, not really, since werewolves have better hearing than humans, and I can hear babies crying, mothers shushing them… the squeaking of beds…. A pack rarely has secrets. Over time, I learned how to tune it out, and now I can barely hear the sounds made by the others.
After I leave the kitchen and the dining room ready for breakfast, I start cleaning the floors. Rain always brings mud, and children that run outside or jump into puddles.
It is past noon when the grey clouds finally disappear, giving way to a bright July sun. I am on the first floor, cleaning the windows, when someone stops behind me. I don’t need to smell his scent to know who he is—Jordan. By now, I probably recognize everyone by the sound of their steps.
“What is it?” I ask.
Tomorrow is a big day for him, I guess. He turns twenty-two, an age at which many Alphas are already mated. Maybe he wants the packhouse spotless for when the unmated females arrive. I really hope one of them carries the scent that will make his wolf want to court her. It is the first sign that lets a male know his mate is close, but only when they touch, skin on skin, will they know for sure if the Goddess linked their souls for eternity. There are times when, if the male has been looking for his mate for years, the wolf will pick a scent that he likes in the hopes that they will find the one. Jordan hasn’t been waiting for that long, but the pack’s current Luna—Jordan’s mom—is sick, and the pressure on him to find his mate is immense.
Sometimes when a mate dies, the Goddess will give them another mate. Rejected mates are rare, and they are almost never granted another mate, as the link that ties their souls together almost never disappears. It is only weakened.
I think it is like a slap in the face to the Goddess to refuse the one she made for you.
“To have a word with you,” Jordan tells me.
He… what?
Jordan doesn’t speak; he… demands.
I turn around to face him. My sketchbook is in his hands, a scowl on his face—or at least that’s what Safia lets me know. A cigarette is behind his right ear, and I bet it won’t take long before he lights it and starts smoking.
“I have looked at your drawings,” he starts saying after a few moments of silence. “They are not bad, but neither are they good. The one of Titan is terrible though, so I threw it where it belongs, in the garbage.”
Does this asshole have any idea how much work I put into drawing Titan? Not only did I have to spy on him one night when he was running, but I also had to remember all the details perfectly. While I can’t see human faces, I have no problem with animals.
I don’t understand Safia’s crazy obsession with Titan. I really wish she would have chosen another wolf. Not someone from this pack. Apart from Jordan’s bullying and the way everyone treats me… there are other things that have… happened to me.
“May I have them back?” I ask, hoping I can go back to cleaning the windows. I still have a thousand things to do today. “And my backpack?”
Jordan puts the cigarette in his mouth, takes a lighter, and lights it. He takes a few puffs while looking at me. At least, that’s what I think he is doing. Safia is watching him attentively. Is she obsessed with him now too? I hope not.
After letting ashes fall on the freshly scrubbed floor, Jordan says, “Meet me by the waterfall at 9 PM.”
The waterfall is in the forest, about twenty minutes away from the pack. Jordan knows I can’t possibly make it on time.
“The one close to the other pack?” I ask, wanting to be sure we are talking about the same place.
“You know another waterfall within the pack’s territory?” he asks like I am stupid.
Not that I would know since I have never been able to run across the entire territory. The pack resides in Romania, in Baciu Forest, and old magic protects this place. It is kind of like how in Harry Potter, where anyone that dares to enter the famous Baciu Forest will not only never find us, but strange phenomena can happen around them. Things that will make them think twice before setting foot in our territory. It is the same for any place where paranormal creatures live.
I shrug. “The farthest I have been is at the waterfall,” I say to Jordan. “I can’t make it at 9 PM. I doubt I will finish everything that I have to do by 10 PM.”
He looks at my hands, which are callused from all the years of hard work. “Nine-thirty then. Not a minute later.”
While he has the sketches with him and could give them to me right now, I agree to meet with him by the waterfall. Reluctantly. “At 9:30 PM,” I confirm the time.
Jordan takes a few more puffs of his cigarette, letting the ash fall by my feet, before turning on his heels and walking away, leaving a trail of smoke and mud behind him.
Fucking asshole!
After I clean the mess made by Jordan, I return to the windows.
Once the windows are clean, I make sure the guest rooms are ready for when the females start to arrive. If one of them is to be Jordan’s mate, I pray she is nothing like the current Luna.
Luna Maria is…. She hates me, with ALL her being. Not sure why. She rarely leaves her room, and almost every day, she has tea with my aunt, Karen. Of course, they make me serve it so that they can ridicule me, among other things.
When it is dinner time, I am called to the kitchen. For once, I hope that Mrs. Marian will take pity on me and give me food without having me beg for it. Boy, am I wrong.
“You see this tray?” she asks in her high-pitched voice while pointing at the island in the middle of the kitchen. A tray with a teapot, two cups, muffins, and other sweets is next to a beautifully decorated five-tier cake—probably for Jordan’s birthday. “Take it to Luna Maria’s room.”
I prepare myself mentally, pick up the tray, and then leave the kitchen.
Luna Maria’s room is on the second floor of the Packhouse. I climb the stairs with care, not wanting to trip. The scent of sour lemons lingers around the entire second floor, and for a moment, my hands tremble. Swallowing the knot in my throat and with my heart pounding in my chest, I walk fast.
There are monsters lurking inside the Packhouse.
I reach the room of Luna Maria safely and knock on the door. When I hear ‘Come in,’ I do just that.
Luna Maria and Aunt Karen are sitting at the table on the balcony. It is their favorite place to gossip. I go to them and put the tray in the middle of the table. Aunt Karen looks like she just swallowed a fly. Maybe she did the moment she saw a pair of teenagers fooling around behind some bushes. Imagine the scandal.
Luna Maria waits for me to prepare the tea as she likes. The disease she is suffering from—a curse better said—spreads throughout the body, slowly killing a werewolf. It had been created by the Black Witches many generations ago -when they allied with the demons to conquer not only the werewolves but the fae and the berserkers as well. The disease was supposed to kill the three species, but it only affected the werewolves.
We call it the Blight, and so far, no one can stop it. Not even the Black Witches, at least that’s what they claim. We don’t even know how someone gets it. Not from direct contact with someone infected, at least.
Black spots cover a great part of Luna Maria’s body, causing her not only terrible pain but stopping her from doing her duty as the Luna of the pack, leaving her mate, Alpha Ben, fully responsible for everything. Lately, he has been spending most of his time in his office. Not that I am complaining. He can rot in there, for all I care.
I put a cup in front of Luna Maria, together with her favorite sweets, then I do the same for my aunt.
“Wait here until we are finished,” Luna Maria sneers at me.
Of course, she would ask that of me. While I am not sick, my fingers are as boney as hers, but from a different cause. I am not sure how much I weigh, but I am underweight for my age, short too, compared to other werewolves.
Aunt Karen and Luna Maria talk about the pack -about how I am a curse to everyone, and how Luna Maria probably got sick because of me, while eating as slowly as they can. I stand there by the table, looking at the walnut tree. I imagine I am perched on a branch, drawing. I ignore the hollow in my stomach that reminds me that I haven’t eaten in… days and wait for them to finish mocking me.
“I hope Ruth finds her mate soon. I’ve heard that the King of the Sun Kingdom in Spain has four sons; two of them have yet to find the ones fated to them. I was thinking of going to Madrid this year, but your condition is getting worse,” Aunt Karen says.
Luna Maria sips from her tea. “I think you deserve a vacation after working hard to raise your daughter all by yourself after your mate left you. I will talk to Ben and see what can be done.”
Aunt Karen smiled like she had won the lottery. She always has a way of obtaining what she wants, although I am not sure if there is going to be money for the vacation. If I had any money, I would give it to Aunt Karen to take Ruth away from the pack, even for just a few days. It would be heaven without her here.
“The princess of the Oak Realm from Bulgaria is arriving tomorrow. Maybe she will be Jordan’s mate,” Aunt Karen changes the subject.
He wishes!
“Yes, her dad and Ben went to the same University together. Between you and me, I don’t really like King Dobrin very much.”
“Why is that?” Aunt Karen asks.
Here goes the gossip.
Luna Maria turns her head in my direction, and Safia lets me know that the Luna is glaring at me before replying to my aunt, “He had a son outside the mating bond. He is one of the leaders of the Feral Rogues. Conrad is his name if I am not mistaken. He usually bands together with Caleb Black and terrorizes packs all over Romania.”
Caleb Black is a name whispered in fear by many. Maybe because where the Cosaci Vampires appear to drink from humans, werewolves, or other species, he is also there.
They keep talking until the sun sets before letting me leave.
Not only will I be late to meet with Jordan, but I am sure there is no more food left in the kitchen.
I rush down the stairs and put the tray in the kitchen sink before heading to my room to change my clothes, not wanting to smell like sweat, and rush to the waterfall.
Jordan sits on a rock, my backpack next to him.
“You are late,” he tells me.
‘Next time, tell your mother to drink her tea faster, and I will be on time,’ I think to myself.
“What did you just say?” he growls and gets down from where he is sitting.
Fuck. Don’t tell me I said that out loud.
Jordan comes towards me. Scared that he would do something to me, I walk backward until my back hits a tree. He stops in front of me and puts his right hand next to my head against the tree trunk.
“Nothing,” I whimper.
He brings his left hand to my cheek and brushes his thumb over my skin, making me shiver.
“Stay still; you have some dust on your face,” he says.
It has been so long since someone touched me with… kindness I forgot how it feels. I usually hate being touched by males, but Jordan doesn’t make me feel icky.
Why?
His orange and tobacco scent tickles my nose, and when he dips his head, his warm breath dances on my skin. Why is he so close to me?
“Much better. I can see your freckles now.” His voice is low. What is happening? Jordan is never nice to me. I have freckles? “You don’t need to be scared of me.”
I try to push him away, but he grabs my hands and keeps them over his chest.
“Let me go.” My voice trembles, and the air seems to have disappeared.
“I can feel how distraught you are,” he growls.
No shit, Einstein. Alphas are supposed to be attuned to Omegas.
“Breathe,” he orders me, using his Alpha voice.
I try to take a gulp of air, and I might look like a fish on land, but I don’t care. Jordan orders me a few more times to relax and breathe, but it doesn’t seem to work. Only when Safia blocks my fear air rushes to my lungs.
“What happened?” he asks when I am better.
“You caused me to have a panic attack,” I let him know.
He sighs. “Is this because of how I used to treat you?”
“Used to?” I scoff.
“Yes, used to, as in past tense. I realized how wrong I was for treating a member of my pack like shit.”
I blink. “Do you have a split personality or something?”
He laughs before walking to where my backpack is and picking it up.
“Did you eat something today?” he asks as he unzips it. I shake my head, and he pulls out a sandwich. “Peanut butter and jelly,” he says as he extends his hand to me.
I am not sure if I should take it. “Is it poisoned?” I ask.
He laughs again. “No.”
I take a few steps forward and snatch it from him and take a big bite. “This is so good,” I moan with my mouth full.
He stands there, observing me, while I finish the food before handing me another one. “When I take over the pack, things will change. Starting with you.”
I freeze with my mouth open as I am about to nibble on the second sandwich. “What do you mean?” I ask, afraid.
He waits for me to finish eating before giving me a bottle of water. “I will let you know once I have everything figured out.”
I drink some water.
“Oh.” I look at the sky; a New Moon is rising above the forest. “May I go now?”
“Don’t you want your stuff back?”
“You know I do.”
Jordan looks at me for a few minutes, making me uncomfortable. Safia tells me he appears to be thinking.
“I want to try something,” he finally says.
I narrow my eyes. “Try what?”
“A kiss.”
I open my mouth a few times, but no sound comes out.
“A kiss?” I squeak so loudly that from a nearby tree, an owl hoots annoyed.
Jordan nods and moves in front of me. When his palms cup my face, I flinch.
So this is what it’s about. Every male is the same, thinking that relationships are transactional. Not that there’s something between Jordan and me. He won’t even be my Alpha.
“I don’t want this,” I let him know.
He either ignores me or doesn’t hear what I told him, for he says, “Have the lips of another touched yours?”
“No,” I reply. “I have saved it for my mate.”
I try to pull away from him, but my eyes go wide as his mouth claims mine in a rough kiss. He licks my lips, and before I understand what is happening, his tongue spears inside my mouth.
Even if he stole my first kiss, I don’t find myself mad about it. I actually like it.
Tentatively I return the kiss, trying to mimic his movements. When his tongue moves around mine, I do the same.
When he breaks the kiss, we are both breathing hard. “You taste like….” he murmurs while running his thumb over my bottom lip. “Can we meet again? Not tomorrow, but after my birthday?” he asks. “Same time?”
No.
“Yes?” I breathe.
He smirks. Fortunately, Safia is still letting me know Jordan’s expressions. “See you tomorrow,” he says before giving me a peck and removing his hands from my face. "Around the pack," he adds.
I grab my backpack, shove the bottle of water inside, and run back to the Packhouse. My lips are tingling, and my heart is drumming in my chest.
Why did I let him kiss me? And why did I like it so much that I agreed to meet with him again?
When I fall asleep, I still think about it.
Soon after I fall asleep, I start dreaming. And it is the same dream I had ever since I was little.
I am in a room made of stone. A throne is in the middle of the room, and on it sits a woman with long golden hair. She wears a white dress.
She looks at me and starts talking.
“Fire and Ice. Ice and Fire. Two elements that are not compatible. Two elements that should not love each other. But it is only when Ice burns for Fire and Fire melts for Ice, that they will become Alpha and Luna Supreme. For it is their combined power that can seal the portal that connects the two worlds. They will fight the Demon King and send him back to his realm."