DAMIEN
I got into the driver's seat and sighed before turning and looking at Guinevere. I placed my hand on her chin, forcing her to look at me.
"Stephanie means nothing to me. She was a means to an end. I thought my family was cursed to never have mates after what happened with my father. I needed a mate by my 25th birthday; Stephanie was there. She is the Gamma's daughter, so she already held a pretty high rank with the pack, and I knew she would be able to handle the responsibilities of being Luna. What Stephanie and I have... had. What we had was just sex. What we have, Gwynn, it's different. I don't think I can find that with anyone else."
Guinevere stared at me, looking like she wanted to say something, but my phone started ringing. Shit, it was Alex. I had to answer it. I put him on Bluetooth.
"Hey Alex, you're on Bluetooth."
"Damien, I'm sorry to cut your visit short with the Lunar Moon pack, but you need to head to the Silent Forest pack ASAP. I have two plane tickets waiting for you at the airport terminal."
"My meeting with Elder Derek isn't scheduled until next week. Is something wrong?"
"I'm not sure, Damien; Elder Derek just said you needed to meet him there as soon as possible."
I looked over at Guinevere before responding to Alex. "Okay, we will be at the airport within the hour."
"Oh, and Damien, one more thing," Alex said, "Derek knows about you and Gwynn."
My heart started racing, and my breath quickened. How did he know? I hadn't told anyone.
"How?" I growled at Alex.
"I'm not sure. He said he saw it in a vision."
After getting the flight details from Alex, I disconnected the call and looked over at Guinevere. She still seemed upset. I went to reach for her hand.
"Just forget about it, Damien." She spat at me, positioning her body towards the passenger side window.
I sighed out of exasperation but decided to give her space. I put the SUV in gear and headed toward the airport.
GUINEVERE
I was angry at myself for falling for Damien, knowing that this bond we had wouldn't last. I was angry that Damien would have Stephanie to fall back on, but I would be left with no one. I didn't mean to yell at Damien about Stephanie. I didn't want to show him I cared. And then he went and said those stupid words. That what he and Stephanie had was just sex. I couldn't help but think that all Damien and I had was also just sex.
He was going to tell me something else, but the call from Alex interrupted him. And once again, I was reminded that this was a business trip; that was it. Damien and I were looking for a way to destroy our connection. He'd go back to being Alpha, and I would go back to being me. Except for this time, I had a plan. Once our bond was broken, I would return to the Lunar Moon pack and stay with Rose. After his call with Alex, Damien tried to resume our early conversation, but my mind was set. I wouldn't allow myself to fall anymore for Damien Valencia. Our love affair was doomed from the start.
"Just forget about it, Damien," I hissed at him turning my body away so he couldn't see the tears forming in my eyes. I felt Damien's hand linger on mine before he took it away and started the SUV heading towards the airport.
'Way to go," Sabrina whined at me, 'now our mate thinks we hate him because of his past.'
Instead, I choose to ignore Sabrina, staring out the window and watching the trees pass us by. I felt my eyes grow heavy, and I slowly drifted off to sleep.
I opened my eyes, and I was again in the clearing that Damien took me to the first time I shifted. Standing right in front of me was the moon goddess. She had a concerned look on her face.
"You have not completed the mating process with Damien yet?"
"No, we haven't. And we aren't going to."
"Guinevere," the moon goddess said, stepping towards me. "Do you remember the last time we met here?"
"No, I don't," I said, confused.
The only time I had ever been in the clearing was when Damien and I shifted.
"Oh, Dear," mumbled the moon goddess. "Even here in the spirit of the Earth realm, you're unsafe. Jupiter can still fog your memory. You won't remember anything when you wake up. What should I do."
The moon goddess seemed to be talking to herself as she paced back and forth and tapped on her chin. "I don't want to take this choice from you, Guinevere, but it seems I have no choice in the matter. Jupiter has forced my hand. You will mark Damien, and he will do the same to you; it's the only way to unleash your full power. Without it, you'll be doomed. You will likely blame him for this until your full memory comes back. Which should be relatively soon after the mating process."
"Wait a minute," I said, making the moon goddess pause, "Why do I have to mark Damien, and why do I need to unleash my powers?"
The moon goddess smiled at me, but I could see the sadness in her eyes.
"Jupiter is a man I never loved, but I was betrothed to him. I ended my betrothal and fell in love with a man named Wolfe. However, Wolfe and I were destined not to end up together, but I never lost my love for him.
As a gift, my father created the werewolf, part human to represent the love a father has for his daughter, and part wolf to represent the children that Wolfe and I never had. The werewolf originally were creatures who preferred the night because I was the Moon Goddess.
Jupiter has never forgiven me for breaking our betrothed and has set out on a mission to destroy every single last one of my children. He wants to break me the way I broke him. Jupiter is the God of War.
Only you, my child, can stop him. And Sabrina's full powers cannot be unleashed without bearing Leo's mark. Leo, so cleverly named after the Lion in the skies, will gift Sabrina the strength of a Lion.
Unfortunately, you, however, will not remember any of this conversation. I am so sorry to cause you pain, Guinevere, but it is necessary."
The moon goddess started to blur from my vision as I was woken up to Damien calling my name and shaking my shoulder. "Gwynn, we're here." We'd arrived at the airport, and I had once again woken up with a sense of doom but unable to recall what I had dreamed about.