Chapter 1 - Delilah
“You're gonna give birth in two days…” I murmur as I stare blankly at Luna Cecelia, my vision blurring with foggy images of a clinic room that's filled with the distinct bleats of a baby's first cries. A powerful baby, obviously, as it roars with the ferocity only a true-blooded alpha can possess. He is, after all, Alpha Dominic's pup, and the prowess of his alpha nature is evident in his cries.
I know the birth is in two days by the moon cycle, its sharp rays penetrating the slits of the blinds at the window in a slant that alerts me of the full moon.
When I snap out of the vision, I'm met with Cecelia's shocked gasp, her brows knitted as she cups a hand on her belly.
“Two days, huh…?” Cecelia chuckles nervously, glancing at the ripe belly she cradles before lifting her eyes to her mate, her lips forming a crooked smile. “It's about damn time.”
Dominic remains skeptical as he frowns at me warily, even as he places a hand on his mate's belly. “Did you just…” His voice cuts off when he cocks his head to one side. “Did you just have one of those witchy visions?”
“Yeah, I did,” I shrug nonchalantly, latching my lips over a metal straw and slurping on punch to hydrate my dry throat—a natural result of a sudden vision.
“Are you still a skeptic, Dom?” Nicholas, one of our friends from black ops, turns and casually slings an arm over Dominic's shoulder, his grin twinkling in his green eyes as he stares at me. “He still doesn't believe the witchy stuff.”
“It's not that I don't believe it!” Dominic exclaims defensively. “I just don't understand it, that's all.”
“Logistics, right?” Cecelia giggles as she shakes her head. “I swear it's the reason he couldn't accept our fated mate bond until the Moon Goddess shoved it down his throat. Was he like this in black ops, too?”
“He was insufferable!” I chuckle wryly, my lips hovering between amusement and a grimace when I notice the way the couple exchanges glances—Dominic's heatedly defensive, Cecelia's playful. “If it didn't add up on paper, Dominic Rivera was the only one who questioned it. But I saved their asses enough times to hope that he'd believe in all the ‘woo-woo’ stuff,” I say with air quotations.
“Hey! You called it that, not me,” Dominic sneers playfully.
“Well, sounds like you don't need to make sense of it,” Nicholas chimes in. “You're about to become a dad, and you'd better start preparing.”
“Oh, I've been preparing ever since I found out Cece is pregnant,” Dominic boasts with a lifted chin as he slides an arm across his mate's shoulders, a protective gesture, pride swelling his chest. “I believe it's our little pup who's hesitant to meet the world.”
Hearing Dominic speak about his growing family fills my heart with warmth. Out of everyone in our squad, he was always the grumpiest, but he cared deeply about his friends and ensured our safety, even if he maintained a cold outer shell. I knew it was just a mask he wore to stay focused while we completed missions that could get us killed if we weren't careful.
When the team learned that I was a witch—well, part witch, since I have wolf-shifting abilities too—Dominic was one of the members who remained skeptical, along with Sean and Tyler, who didn't understand it. As time went on, and we formedcloser bonds, they'd become more accepting of my unique abilities, especially because the other three members of the team were more supportive.
Nicholas thought it was hot, while Emily, the healer who joined the squad as a medic from Sean's pack, understood it because of her background using herbs and plant medicines to heal werewolves. She always believed that it took more than just the earth's riches to cure a wolf shifter; there was an underlying mysticism that echoed from her palms like a gift bestowed on her to serve her people.
Then, there's Hunter, who quietly showed support by agreeing with everything I said, everything I saw, until there was one vision he denied.
One thing he couldn't accept that broke me apart.
I gulp hard, not wanting to dwell on the thought of the one member of our team I haven't seen since we retired three months ago.
It's enough that we're attending Tyler and Arianna's mating ceremony in Portland, and I'm forced to chug down the sweetness oozing all around us. From witnessing Tyler and his mate exchange vows on the stage to watching Dominic fawn over his pregnant mate, I'm on the verge of throwing up, swallowing the bile rising in my throat.
My only consolation is being away from Scarborough, where my father, the alpha of the highly esteemed Shadow Fang Pack, stops at nothing to remind me that my fate isn't in the Moon Goddess's hands, like Dominic’s and Tyler’s. My fate lies in his ultimate decision, picking a suitable mate for me, since I'm already twenty-six and haven't found my fated mate.
At least, that's what they believe. I can't tell them that I found him, experienced the best days of my life with him, and then lost him all before I returned from black ops.
I continue sipping on my drink, silently praying for a moment of respite from the thoughts gnawing on my conscience. Seeing my friends mated with their fated counterparts only churns my insides because it's a luxury I can never have, one that I've been denied.
Just as I slurp the last bit of my drink, the awkward sound explodes through the air and causes Nicholas to chuckle and leave Dominic’s side as he waltzes over to me.
“Hm…” Nicholas purrs as he saunters over coolly. “Weddings, huh. Doesn't it feel like peer pressure?”
“Peer pressure?!” I scoff. “Hardly! You don't see me jumping at the opportunity to snag a mate.”
Nicholas smirks as he slinks an arm across my shoulders, pointedly ogling me, dragging his eyes down the dress hugging my body like a second skin, and whistling salaciously.
“That's ‘cause you're still waiting for me, aren't you, little kitten,” Nicholas simpers and proceeds to reach out a finger toward my jaw, but I swat his wrist and make a gagging sound as I step out of his reach.
“Yuck, Nicholas!” I groan, and Nicholas chuckles. “I wouldn't want you if you were the last werewolf on earth!”
