Fate Mate

Chapter 43

I awoke in a haze.

White smoke settled in the air around me, almost like I'd been placed in the center of a cloud. But I couldn't have been in a cloud. My feet were planted firmly on the ground, and I became hyper-aware of the sensation of sand beneath my toes.

My toes. I can wiggle my toes? I blinked down at my bare feet, planted firmly in moist sand. I commanded my ten digits to curl into the grain, and they obeyed. I had control over my body.... I had died, but I still had some semblance of control.

I blinked again, and sensation slowly returned to the rest of my body. The sound of running water reached my ears, like a mountain stream flowed calmly nearby. I lifted my gaze, aware of a soft white fabric that now hung loosely around my body, and my eyes simultaneously adjusted to the white haze that cloaked this strange world.

I was in a forest-- a forest not so different from the one that filled the Black Lupis Pack territory. The familiar scent of pine washed over me. Nolan?

I craned my neck in search of my mate-- the source of that delicious scent-- but, of course, Nolan wasn't here. I only saw row after row of evergreen trees. The trees closed around me, lining the little brook that trickled only paces away. I dared to take a step closer to the stream, dipping my toes into the icy cold water. A ray of sunshine somehow managed to evade the pine branches, warming my bare shoulders. Beautiful.

"So this is the afterlife?" I mused, not entirely sure if the words even left my lips. I felt disoriented, but also... peaceful.

"I hope you're not disappointed."

If I hadn't already been dead, my heart might have stopped beating. But this strange voice was gentle and warm, like its source was smiling down at me.

I spun around to catch a glimpse of the ethereal female voice, and a woman entered from the tree-line. She wore a shimmering gown of white, and her chestnut brown hair cascaded down her shoulders like the ripples of the stream below my feet. Her skin glowed with unearthly radiance. An angel sent to guide me through the afterlife, I decided.

I gaped at the woman for several long moments before my eyes fell to her chest, where a little bundle of white silk rested in her arms. Only then did I realize that she cradled an infant, swaddled in exquisite silk, against her breast, and I knew who had come to greet me. Not an angel, but...

"Sarah," I whispered, breathless. The smile on her lips grew, and I knew that I was correct.

"Charlotte," Nolan's first mate answered, and her voice was the most beautiful thing I'd ever heard. She stepped closer, navigating the soft forest floor with ease.

"So I am dead, then?" I couldn't stop the shake in my voice.

Sarah nodded. "Was this not part of your plan?"

I shook my head. "It was, but..."

I trailed off. This had been part of the plan, but saying the words out loud made the situation real. I was dead. And if Angelina's resurrection spell didn't work...

Sarah seemed to understand my thoughts-- my worries-- and nodded. "It was very brave of you, Charlotte. You're a good Luna."

I might have blushed if blood still coursed through my veins. Instead, I lowered my gaze and shook my head. "I'm the reason the hybrids attacked us in the first place. I should have turned myself over to them before..."

Before Sophia. Before anyone lost their life fighting for me. I couldn't meet Sarah's eyes, not as guilt ripped my insides to shreds. Prophecy be damned, I was to blame for all of the death. Even if Angelina's spell worked, how could I return to the world of the living and face everyone? How could I justify my survival over anyone else's?