Hours went by in a flurry of blurred faces and hazy conversations. Clarisse was still in disbelief, questioning which reality was real – the one where she died or the one that she was in at the moment. Her eyes darted towards the clock, anxious of what would happen next.
“My Silver Moon, you look like you have a lot going on in your head,” Declan whispered in her ears. “Perhaps you want to talk about it?”
“Ugh,” she moaned in exasperation, “I don’t know, Declan. Everything seems like déjà vu to me right now.”
Her husband sat beside her as the two of them watched their pack having fun on the dance floor. She scooted close to him, feeling the reassuring warmth of his body touch her skin. Clarisse released another long sigh, and Declan could only frown.
“You are making me nervous,” he said, “Tell me, did I do something wrong?”
Clarisse jerked at her mate’s question. Did he? She wasn’t entirely sure if what she saw was only a figment of her imagination.
‘But I most certainly felt I died – or at least was dying – back then,’ she thought at the back of her mind.
Does she tell him about it?
“Declan, please be honest with me,” she finally spoke after a long moment of silence.
“Yes?”
Clarisse turned to look him in the eyes and stared at the man she loved for so long, “When the time comes you meet your Fated Mate, what will happen to me?”
‘Would you leave me, or still choose me to be by your side?’ she added at the back of her mind. ‘Would you still choose me, or would you throw me away?’
The words that tumbled out her mouth were light, yet the blow that it hit Declan seemed to be comparable to being sucker punched. Why was she asking that all of a sudden? They hadn’t actually had any opportunity to speak of it before, but now that it was brought up…
The air around the couple turned heavy with the question that floated about. Declan didn’t answer his wife’s question immediately, and Clarisse’s heart felt heavier with each second that he stalled. Was his answer what she dreaded to hear all along?
“Alpha Declan,” someone called his attention.
Both Clarisse and Declan turned their heads to see the pack’s Beta, Lowell, approach them with a serious face. He leaned down to whisper into Declan’s ears, but Clarisse stopped him with a raised hand. He took the signal as an indication that he need not exclude the Luna from his report.
“Alpha, there is something urgent that you need to see,” Lowell said in a low voice.
“Is it really something that the Alpha should be bothered with?” Clarisse questioned the Beta, “You and the others should attend to it yourselves. The Alpha needs to take a break, even for just one night’s celebration.”
“But Luna—” Lowell started to argue, but was immediately cut off when Declan stood up.
“There will be no need for arguments,” the Alpha tried to mediate, “If Beta thinks I should attend to something, then I will trust his intuition as much as I agree with Luna’s sentiments.”
Clarisse stood up as well. Her brows were knitted into a tight bridge at the very middle. Declan was about to leave with Lowell when she grabbed him by his wrist.
“?”
“Don’t go,” Clarisse asked him, “Please, just for once, let the others do your work for you?”
Declan shook his head and with his other hand, he touched his wife’s concerned face, “I won’t take long, I promise.”
He kissed her forehead and without saying another word, turned to follow Lowell’s quick footsteps. Clarisse couldn’t help but feel like she was living her worst nightmare for the second time around. Her head whipped up, and she realized something…
Perhaps she really did die back then, and was now mysteriously brought back to the past. But how? And most importantly, why?
Her mind finally recovered from the shock and immediately took control of her body. With a single step forward, Clarisse hurriedly followed Declan as they went outside. Each step and breath she took felt familiar, but the heavy feeling in her heart was something new from before.
‘If only things would turn out different this time around…’
Light and quick footsteps brought them towards the far end of the manor gates. Several pack members were already there, seemingly encircling something. The winds blew softly, and Clarisse couldn’t help but hold her breath as a familiar stench invaded her nose once more.
“No…” she gasped.
Declan leaned forward towards the center of the men, crouching lower to inspect what they seemingly were wary of. A slight grunt later, Clarisse saw her husband carry the woman with the golden hair. The very same woman who would turn out to be his Fated Mate as they will discover soon enough.
Her existence seemed to be inevitable even if they turned back time, to say the least.
“Declan, what are you doing?” she asked him as he was about to return to the manor.
“I am taking care of this injured woman, my Silver Moon,” he blandly replied. “She needs immediate medical attention.”
“Alpha Declan!” Clarisse shrieked, “Do we even know the identity of this woman? This might as well be a spy, or worse, an assassin sent by the enemies!”
Once was enough for Clarisse. She didn’t want what happened to her to repeat itself – not when she already knew it was going to happen one way or another. She will not let the woman into the pack.
Clarisse couldn’t believe how stupid Declan could be to be helping someone who randomly stumbles into their pack’s territory. How did she even slip past security? Why was she injured in the first place?
There were many things that were still left unclear even when she knew the future.
“Clarisse, she needs help,” Declan said, his voice clear and much distinct now, “I will not deny help when I am very much capable of doing so. She will be staying for the night.”
The Alpha stepped forward, and without even batting an eye, walked past his wife. Clarisse was left dumbfounded with Declan’s actions. Did he just disregard her warnings?
Her husband’s words swirled inside Clarisse’s head. Why did things seem different, yet still vaguely the same before she died? What was it she was missing?
‘How can I convince him to get rid of that woman?!’ she thought at the back of her mind.
Declan was adamant whenever he believed what he’d be doing was for the best. No matter how much convincing the council or Clarisse did, he wouldn’t back down for a bit. Not even a silver bullet can stop him.
Hope was completely driven out of Clarisse. The rest of the men who followed Declan into the manor vanished behind closed doors, and Clarisse was left alone in the dark of the night. She raised her head up, and watched the night sky seemingly turn darker.
‘I can’t change anything,’ she thought.
“Sister?”
Clarisse’s train of thoughts suddenly halted with the sound of Brielle’s voice calling her from behind. She turned to see her sister’s face peeking from the manor’s doors, her brows raised in concern. With just that, Clarisse’s resolve returned to her.
With a quick turn, she took quick steps towards the manor and slammed open the doors. All attention darted towards the Luna, but Clarisse’s eyes were only on one person. She took in a deep breath and then called out.
“Alpha Declan, as the Luna of this pack, I hereby implore you to get rid of that woman who might as well be the enemy dressed in an injured sheep’s clothing.”