Filed To Story: In the Shadow of the Past Luna (Lily & James)
“James, please do not misunderstand. James, this is
Luke keeps trying to reestablish our link so he can tell me something, but I am too overwhelmed by the mate bond and the feelings of relief. I have spent so many nights grieving for Stephanie and praying that the Moon Goddess would somehow find a way to return her to me. And now, after six years, here she is.
I do not know how it is possible, but we never found Stephanie’s body. So maybe she survived somehow? Maybe she was kidnapped? And now she has escaped and come back? Maybe she was hurt and lost her memories? The guilt starts to hit me hard. Could Stephanie have been alive all this time?
Could she have been waiting and praying for me to come and save her?
Being on her own, or being kidnapped and escaping, could definitely explain some of the differences in her appearance. It would also explain the confusion and uncertainty I see in her eyes.
Oh, I just hope she will forgive me. I will explain everything to her. I will make this right.
“James, please,”
Luke cuts in again. “Please listen to me. Do not ruin things with our mate!!”
“I am not going to ruin anything. Luke. Look at her. She wants us. She is happy to see us. The mate bond is s powerful. She will forgive us for not looking for her. We had every reason to believe she was dead. I’ve got this. You know how much I love her. How much I have always loved her.”
“James, I
I cut the link with Luke. I need to concentrate. I cannot afford to make a mistake, especially if I expect Stephanie to forgive us for not looking for her. The mate bond is already messing with my mind. I feel like I am in a trance.
I continue to move towards her. Finally, I am within a couple of feet of her.
I reach out and touch her cheek, and she responds. I feel the sparks running from my hand up and down my arm…. and directly to my cock. The werewolves who have told me about the mate bond and the sparks did not do them justice. These are magical and all-absorbing. How could my parents seriously expect me to have given these up in favor of chosen mate?
“You are back!!! Oh, I cannot believe that you are back!!! How long have I hoped and prayed that you would come back! And… you are my mate!”
I whisper to her, the weight of her being back hitting me hard. I am so scared that if I close my eyes, this will turn out to be just a dream.
“You are so beautiful. How it is possible for you to become so much more beautiful than before?”
I ask her. Stephanie was a knock-out before, but the Stephanie of six years ago cannot compete with the
Stephanie of today.
I pull Stephanie into a hug and bury my face in her neck. Her scent is overwhelming me. It is all I can d to prevent myself from marking her, right here and now.
Luke once again tries to talk to me in the link, but I respond back angrily. “You will have your time with
Stella, I promise. Just let me have this time with Stephanie, please!”
I then cut the link again.
Stephanie tells me that I smell like vanilla and coffee beans, which makes me smile. The combination of our scents is perfect. Absolutely perfect. As though it was always meant to be. When we complete the mating and marking process, our blended scents will be the envy of all.
I feel Stephanie run her fingers through my hair. Goddess, how I have missed this. Goddess, how I have missed her.
I stand up to look at her again, reassuring myself that she is still here and this is not a dream. That is when I notice that she is a little bit taller than she was before. That is odd… typically werewolves reach their full height by age 18. But, then again, I do not know what has happened to her in the past six years.
I suddenly start to worry. Is she hurt? I spin her around so that I can examine her. There are definitely subtle changes in her, but nothing bad. Every change that I see is a good one.
I can tell that she is worried that I do not like what I am seeing, so I immediately try to reassure her. It is not hard to do so; the she-wolf in front of me is absolutely perfect. I compliment her on her hair, and I beg her to never leave me again.
I can tell that she wants to talk, but I am not ready to talk about anything serious yet. I just want to enjoy. this moment and be with my mate. I find myself getting lost in Stephanie’s eyes, which I notice are the same bright green color as those of the Little Brat. That seems strange, but I tell myself that she must just be wearing colored contacts. 1
I then give my permission to do what I have wanted to do since I first realized it was her. I kiss her.
of Oh, Goddess. This is the best kiss that I have ever had. How can one she-wolf kiss this well? A part me begins to feel jealous… or worried… or both. Have other males kissed her in the past six years?
Stephanie quickly reassures me that this is her first kiss in six years, and I relax. This must just be the mate bond at work. I smile, and then I decide to let her see a little bit of the possessive side of me. She always liked that in the past.
“It had better be your first kiss in six years. I cannot bear the thought of anyone else touching what is mine. And you, Stephanie Brogan, are mine. All mine.”
Instead of smiling and nestling up to me like she would have in the past, her face drops.
“I am not Stephanie, James. I am Lily.”
And that is the moment in which I felt my world crashing down all around me.
(Lily POV)
“I am not Stephanie, James. I am Lily.”
James immediately lets go of me. He looks at me in confusion, and then takes several steps back. He begins to pace. I can tell that he is angry. From his facial expressions, I suspect that he is also talking to his wolf.
As I watch him pace back and forth, Rose is quiet. Too quiet.
I feel my heart slowly start to break into a million pieces. I am hurting both for Rose and for myself. I should have listened to that tiny voice in my head that said something was not right. Rose may have been blinded by the mate bond, but that is the nature of being a wolf. I, on the other hand, should have been able to see it. James does not love me. James could never love me.
After several minutes, James spins around and faces me again. His face is serious and determined.
This is not funny, Stephanie,”
James says quietly. “You have been gone for six years. You do not know what I have gone through without you. This is not the time for jokes. Stop pretending to be the Little
Brat.”
I take a deep breath. I cannot believe that for the second time in 12 hours, I have to convince someone that I am who I say that I am. And this time, it is my own mate.
“I am not joking, James,”
I say softly, as I try desperately to keep the pain out of my voice. “Look at me. I am Lily, not Stephanie.”
“NO!!! You are lying!”
James responds, suddenly angry again. “STOP LYING TO ME, STEPHANIE! You look nothing like Lily. The Little Brat is ugly. She has acne. She is flat-chested. She has glasses. She is at least six inches shorter than you are. You. Are. Not. Lily.”
His words are harsh. They feel like stakes being driven through my heart. I never realized that he saw me as ugly before. Annoying, yes. Ugly? No.
I take another deep breath. I do not want him to see how hurt I am.
“You are describing 14-year-old me, James. You are not describing 20-year-old me. I have grown up.”
James runs both of his hands down his face. “How? How can Lily Brogan be my mate? It is not possible!”
I say nothing. I have the same question.
“ANSWER ME, D&MMIT!!!”
“What do you want me to say, James?”
“Tell me how this happened! Tell me how you of all people are my second-chance mate! You do not even have a wolf!!!”
Again, I say nothing. What can I possibly say? I do not have any of the answers.
Suddenly James walks towards me again. This time, instead of love, I see nothing but anger and hatred in his eyes. “Did you plan this?”
he asks me accusingly. His face is so close to mine that I can feel his he talks.
pita
“Did you kill off Stephanie just so that you could have me for yourself? Have you been obsessed with me all these years?”
“What are you talking about?”
I ask in disbelief.
“You kissed me. YOU KISSED ME, LILY. I did not know who you were, but you knew who I was and you still kissed me! Your sister’s mate!!!
You know, I never could figure out what your motive was for killing off Stephanie all those years ago. But I guess now I know! You killed her so that you could take me from her!!!”
Ok, that is it. Forget being hurt. Now I am angry.
“You know nothing,”
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?