A Violent Love - Werewolf/Vampire

Chapter 36 - Camping (RC)

3 weeks later

Arabella found herself in the forest again, bare-foot and naked. Her nose picked up on a familiar scent - Katherine. She moved gracefully, without a sound, from the shadows to the moonlight. 

This time, Arabella was not afraid. She watched as Katherine put down her hood, greeting Ara with a smile. Ara nodded in response, "It's been awhile, Katherine."

The witch stepped closer towards her, one hand outstretched. In her palm, a small gold pin - the Black Crescent emblem. It was passed down from generations of alphas before my father, before it was handed to him. He kept it carefully, locked away in a safe only he knew the password to, only taking it out to wear on the most special of occasions. 

"I thought this would be a special touch, something for you to cherish and remember him by." Katherine said, placing the pin in Arabella's hands.

"Thank you," Arabella said softly, rubbing her thumb against the details of the pin. 

"It is also to remind you, that this is real." Katherine spoke again, "You may not remember everything when you wake up tomorrow, but this is not a dream."

Ara furrowed her brows in confusion, "I don't understand. Explain everything to me, please. Why am I here Katherine?"

"In time, you will understand everything. The past 100 years of war and fighting does not matter, only what happens in the next few months. And then, when you are ready, everything will end."

"Me? Why me?"

"Arabella, you will die to live again. You will die for all of us, and you will live for all of us. Do not fear. We know everything - that you are cursed with the godless son of death as your mate. This will be your test that will determine the fate of the world as we know it."

Ara felt her body shudder at Katherine's words, her mind trying to process each sentence. 

"I must leave now, and you must return." Katherine turned on her heel, walking into the forest where she came.

"Wait! I don't understand, what test?" Ara tried to chase after Katherine, but finds her feet rooted to the ground. And then, darkness.

________________________________________________________________

Arabella gasps, her eyes shooting wide open. It is already bright outside, the open window blows the curtains gently as Arabella stirs to her side. Her body is aching and her throat dry. As she tries to reach out for the glass of water on her nightstand, she finds her palm clasped tightly, and in it the gold pin. It was real. 

"Test..." Ara mumbles to herself quietly, what the red-haired witch said only left her with more questions instead of answers. 

She pushed the thoughts to the back of her head, she had to start getting ready  for the camping trip that Nathaniel had planned. Over the last three weeks, things between the two of them had been looking up. He was making a clear effort, he would spend as much time as he could with her, amidst his busy schedule. 

She supposed it was always going to be like that between them, hot one second and cold the next. As much as she hated to admit it, she loved him fiercely, and she knew he felt the same. For Arabella there was a certain security in that, knowing that she had little family left. After all, the love between mates was unconditional - although theirs was far more complicated than just that.

There was an unavoidable feeling of guilt every time she was around him, knowing how her father would have hated to see her with someone like him. But her wolf needed him, and Ara needed him too. She knew one day, she would have to find a way to get back to her pack, but for now - she just wanted to have what any other werewolf girl had, a mate to call her own.