Mated

Thirty-Five

"I hear Sephiran has returned. Today marks exactly one year since his banishment. His brother, our Chancellor, seems to have welcomed him back with open arms. Do you believe it? Do you believe him changed Diana? Why—Why What if he still wants him, the Chancellor of Jehiva and—and the race of the Hunters, dead? We've lived in peace my entire life...I was never able to grasp his motives. Sephiran wasn't born a werewolf, must I remind you our role in this, and he chose to become Rogue and deviate from Garrison's pack and roam freely as you and I do. He will never understand the value of our Treaty." Mary stood before me, poised and proper as I sat in the warm embrace of the golden hour sunlight filtering inside. Her hands were folded in front of her atop her fluffy black skirts.

Diana—I sighed, rubbing her—my swollen belly. I tried to rise from my sit among the plush velvet throws on the love couch. But I had sat for so long I practically molded a permanent fold in the furniture with my added weight of my pregnancy. Mary hurried to my side offering her hand and she helped me onto my feet then released me to pull the strands of my dark hair that had fallen in front of me back over my shoulders.

"Sephiran thrives off of control. Control is power to him and even though Garrison wouldn't allow it, he was obsessed with removing the control the Hunters have. I don't think he is anymore. Too long has passed since his last attempt on their leader's life. He has likely found some other law he despises that is taking up his time now. Even as his half-brother and our Chancellor, Garrison would never permit his return if Sephiran was still a threat to the existence of our species. Mel and I wouldn't be welcoming our first child into this world if it wasn't going to be safe for him or her."

"I believed it safe too. But that was before his return."

"You need not worry, darling. I guarantee something else will occupy his corrupted mind by end of day." I said matter-of-factly, hoping I sounded as sure as I wanted to feel. But this news had stirred awake an unsettlement that was determined to shatter my peace.

Mary moved to stand directly in front me. Her blue eyes reflected the level of alarm I myself felt. "I will secure a place safe for the baby just incase—incase something were to ever go awry. My goddaughter will not fall victim to the destruction of Alansburg. The Norbury-Piercing bloodline—an Alpha bloodline thanks to Mel, will live on even if it is the last one standing."

I chuckled and smiled at her. "And what of it if I deliver a boy?"

"Charlize or Charlie will survive it. The Piercing line will live for generations more," Mary affirmed, offering me a sad smile.

I don't know how long I was out but when I felt myself coming to, I was no longer bouncing around in the back of the van and was welcomed by ear-ringing silence. Every fiber of my body thrummed with consistent shock waves of aches. My foot was resting at an awkward angle. My head hung forward and my chin was settled on my chest. I groaned quietly, rolling my neck and blinking my eyes open. It took a few tries to keep them pried wide due to the horrible throbbing at the center of my face. I tensed in the chair I slowly realized I was tied down to and my hands curled to fists on the metallic arms of it.

My muscles clenched at the sight in front of me. At the sight of the box in front of me. My heart raced as I took in my surroundings. I was inside a mausoleum. The ancient structure towered over me and was lit with tall candles inside dusty, cracked lanterns on the walls. The ground was covered in stems of dead flowers and brush that had made their way inside. The walls and pillars were cracked and aged and covered in dried out, brown vines. The only thing that wasn't touched and remained frighteningly unweathered was the gleaming cherry stained, silver-trimmed oak coffin in front of me. There was some sort of stained glass at the center of the coffin and it blinked beneath the moonlight seeping through the windows and candlelight.