Chapter 86

It feels like I’ve woken up from the deepest sleep of my life—except I don’t remember dreaming. At the same time, it’s like I just dozed off for a few minutes and somehow missed something monumental. My eyes flutter open, and I blink. Once. Twice. A dozen times. Because surely, *surely*, my vision is playing tricks on me.  
But no.  
Everything is… *alive*. More real than it has any right to be. Colors burst around me, impossibly vivid, as if the world just got an upgrade while I was out. The air itself seems humming against my skin. And then—wow. The scent. A sweet, intoxicating fragrance drifts in from the open window, wrapping around me. Flowers. The garden outside. Have they always smelled *this* sublime? Because if so, I want to have a word with my past self for not appreciating it sooner. My senses are sharp, as always, but the unusual smell of the garden flowers invades them.  
I glance around and realize that I know this place. *My* room. Same walls, same furniture, same everything. And yet, it all feels... different. Like I’ve been dropped into a high-definition version. The soft breeze from the window brushes against my skin, and I *feel* it, really feel it.
Wait. 
What the hell? 
I fucking *feel* it!
A sudden surge of energy jolts through me, and I sit up so fast that I nearly startle myself. My gaze sweeps across the room, landing on my sister. Vi’s slouched in one of the armchairs, head tipped back against the cushion. I squint at her. It’s warm outside. So why is Vi wrapped up in a long-sleeved turtleneck like she’s preparing for a hazardous snowstorm?  
For the first time in my life I feel good. Because for the first time, I feel alive. Like the air I’m breathing feels fresher. As though my head is *clear* and my body light. 
Seemingly sensing my gaze on her, my sister wakes up, and with a smile on her face, she runs to me. “Ian!” Vi jumps onto the bed and hugs me tightly. “Oh, my Goddess! We were all so worried!”
I hug her back, trying to focus on what happened before I blacked out. Without realizing it, I find myself saying, “The witch lifted the curse!”
My sister lets go of me and sits on the bed across from me. “Yes. She did it!” With a sigh, she faces me. “You should look worse.” Before I can say *thank you for pointing that out! I only just had a fucking curse ripped from my body and soul—no big deal!* She goes on, “But then, you were out for two whole months.” 
“What?” I ask, wide-eyed. “What happened?” I whip my head around, expecting danger to appear at any second.
“After she broke the curse, something next to me started to catch fire, and for a brief stupid moment, I looked at it. The witch took advantage of it and fled with her daughter. When I ran to her, she fled in one of the directions that neither Kane nor Christine could reach her.” Her lips curl. “Josh’s wolf was about to stop her, but she attacked him first. He was pretty injured, Ian... He was unconscious for almost two days. But he’s better now. I tried to go after the witch with Christine and Kane, but she simply disappeared with the little girl. We couldn’t even track the smell or noise to where she had gone. I don’t know, but I guess she should have had some escape route already just in case something like that happened.” Vi lets out a string of curses. “I’m sorry,Ian. I should have been more careful when she was lifting the curse.” She looks at her joined hands in her lap. “You were unconscious, and Josh was injured. We were too far into the woods to call for backup, so I decided to get you out of there as quickly as possible.”
“You did good, Vi. There’s nothing to apologize for,” I assure her. “Is Josh okay?”
“Yeah, he’s better now, but even after he woke up, his wounds took a while to heal. That bitch is powerful, Ian. I hope we never cross paths with her ever again!”
“I’m glad you and no one else got hurt.” 
Fuck, she could have killed my sister while I was unconscious. 
“Don’t even start blaming yourself, Ian. Everyone knew what they were getting into, and they’re all safe and sound,” my sister says, looking at me with a frown. Then she smiles. “I just mindlinked Mom and Dad. They’re on their way. Ever since we got you here, they’ve been with you. All the time. Well, when it’s not them, it’s me. Sometimes, we even eat here with you.” 
A huge smile flickers across my face. But then, the sudden thought of Little Dove almost extinguishes it.
Where are we now?

🐺 🐺 🐺

Fresh out of a long, blissful shower, I barely have time to appreciate feeling awake again before something else hits me. The hunger of the two months that I’ve been sleeping hits me with full force, making me consider gnawing on the furniture around me if I don’t eat immediately.
That’s why I make a beeline for the kitchen, my stomach leading the charge. But the second I step out of my bedroom and descend the stairs, I come to a screeching halt.  
Well, fuck. This is unexpected.  
‘Is it?’ my wolf smugly asks. ‘Really?’
The two massive living rooms connected to the staircase are packed—and not with just anyone. She-wolves. Dozens of them. Dressed to the nines in gowns that look like they’re going to a gala.
The moment they notice me approaching, all heads turn my way, and suddenly. Their expressions shimmer with hope, their eyes locked on me.  
I scan the room. I can’t see my father in the sea of unmated females, but he mindlinks me, ‘Lucky bastard, they’re all here to see if any of them are your fated mate.’
Mom, for sure, must have told everyone that my curse was broken.
Then I find Dad. Near the entrance to the kitchen, arms crossed, looking every bit as smug as he sounds in my mind. Mom stands beside him, deep in conversation with Maggie, seemingly unbothered by the high-stakes beauty pageant happening in the packhouse living rooms.  
A little bit confused and overwhelmed but committed to my pack members, I take a deep breath and make my way down the stairs. When I reach the last three steps, I raise my voice just enough to be heard by everyone. “Thank you all for being here. I can feel and appreciate how happy you are about my recovery.”  
A wave of huge smiles spreads through the crowd.
I can tell by the auras of some of them that they are not happy when my eyes rest on them and they immediately realize they won’t be the Blackmoon’s Luna.
My gaze flickers over a few faces where forced enthusiasm doesn’t quite mask the flicker of disappointment as they also realize just from a single glance that they aren’t my fated mate. 
Some radiate frustration, others barely contain their sadness. 
Yet, beneath it all, one thing is clear. I open a smile. Because the sense of genuine joy that their Alpha has woken up and well is unanimous.
‘Not all unmated females are here, son,’ Mom mindlinks me. I can sense her happiness in her voice. 
I can’t believe I can dare to look at someone who isn’t present here right now and be able to really meet my fated mate because nothing can stand in the way of finding my Luna now.
Where is she?

🐺 🐺 🐺

“Ethan!” I turn at the voice to see my best friend jogging toward me, grinning like an idiot. He comes to a stop and then he crashes into me, wrapping me in a bone-crushing hug and slapping my back so hard I wince. I almost miss not feeling any touch. “Sorry,” Josh mumbles, though he doesn’t sound that sorry.  
I grin at him. “It’s fine. I know you’re always looking for an excuse to get your hands on me.” 
He shoves me away with a loud laugh. “You wish.” 
“Oh, come on, Josh. We both know you were secretly hoping I’d be your fated mate,” I tease.
Josh grins, the kind of shit-eating grin that signals nothing good is about to leave his mouth. “Funny, because I distinctly remember catching you looking at my fated mate like you wanted to trade places with her.” 
I let out a loud, barking laugh. “Please. Put yourself together, Josh. Don't cry now that the Moon Goddess didn’t pair us.” 
Across the kitchen, Maggie says, also laughing, “Honestly, it was probably for the best!”
Josh and I both burst into laughter. 
After saying goodbye to the unmated she-wolves who showed up, I headed straight to the kitchen. I’m pretty sure some of them left precisely because they heard the hungry sounds coming from my stomach.
Josh walks towards Maggie as I sit on the chair. Then, immediately, a plate fills my field of vision. I waste no time and dive for it, snatching it out of Vi’s hands before my sister can blink. Two buttery toasts and three eggs are gone before Vi sits down in front of me with her own plate. Not as filled as mine, though.
“Everything tastes so fucking good!” I say between bites.
“Mom made it all,” Vi says. I left Mom and Dad in the living room to continue socializing with the people who’d stopped by to see how I was doing.
I shove a huge bite of pancake in my mouth so I wouldn’t ask where Little Dove is. Part of me is upset that she hasn’t even bothered to come over, not even to check if I’m okay. 
I feel my sister watching me eat, probably spotting my frown.
Suddenly, the delicious food seems to lose its flavor in my mouth. Something is wrong.
Little Dove is the kindest and most caring person I know.
I put down the fork and swallow hard. Lifting my head, I look straight at my sister. “Where is she, Vi?”