Something’s Missing 🌶🌶🌶

Selena

It was cold. Not the kind of cold you feel when a comet passes by in the sky, but the kind of cold that burns like the heart of a supernova. Every part of me screamed against the dry air. The beautiful colors of green and red that I used to see every hour were now just a mix of gray and black. This didn’t feel like my home, Astria, but there was something vaguely familiar about it. The emptiness. The harshness. The...pain. That’s what it was. Pain. A feeling I hadn’t experienced since the last time I was on Earth. But that couldn’t be. It had been ages.

“My Goddess, what have they done to you?”

“Are you hurt, your grace?”

Two voices I recognized echoed through the emptiness. I held onto their shaky tones and tried to pull myself back to consciousness. My body ached as I fought my way through the darkness. After what felt like forever, the world around me started to come into focus.

Two pairs of worried eyes stared down at me. Fear was clear in their bright blue eyes.

~Theodore and Isabelle?~

The twins’ pale faces shone brightly against the darkness behind them.

“My... My children…” I said, trying to catch my breath. “What...what brought you here to Astria?”

They looked at each other with fear.

“My Goddess,” Isabelle said, confused. “We didn’t come to Astria.”

“You...have been cast out.” Theodore added, his voice heavy.

My heart sank as I remembered everything. Matheius and his betrayal. The horrible realization hit me. I had been overthrown. Stripped of my divinity. Forced into mortality. I looked around at the black stone walls covered in mold and moss. They seemed to reflect the despair I felt. My heart ached at the thought of being back in such filth, the complete opposite of my Eden. Going from my beautiful garden back to this was a nightmare.

Isabelle screamed and jumped into her brother’s arms.

“What is it?” I asked.

But the words that came out didn’t sound like me. They felt rough and harsh.

“What is this?” I asked again, my voice even more strained.

As I tried to get up, I felt my bones shake weakly, as if all my strength had left me. Theodore knelt down and carefully helped me up. His young face was filled with horror.

“Will one of you please say something?”

As I stood up, a strand of hair fell in front of my eyes. But it didn’t look like my hair. Instead of a bright silver-white, it was a dull gray. I reached behind my head and grabbed another lock of hair. It was the same dull gray. But that wasn’t the only thing that was wrong. My fingers looked thin and frail. The nails were chipped and yellow.

~What is going on?!~

Then, I saw the reflection of an old woman in a puddle on the ground. I screamed at her horrible gaze. She seemed to mirror me as I backed away, her eyes moving with mine. Then I realized the horrible truth. The old woman in the water…was me.

I walked over to the puddle and stared down into it. All signs of the youth I had maintained for so long were gone. The only thing left of my old self was the sparkle in my silver eyes.

“What’s happening to her?” Theodore asked, scared.

“The realm of Astria has protected me from the effects of time,” I said, understanding the truth. “Now that I’ve been cast into the mortal world and no longer have the moonstone, all those years I’ve avoided are catching up quickly.”

“But that means…” Isabelle started, her voice shaking.

I interrupted her, not wanting her to say the horrible truth.

“My death is coming, unless we can undo what’s been done.”

“But who in the mortal realm can help restore divinity?!” Theodore asked, panicking. “Only a God can give such status!”

“Then we must find the only God that still walks among men,” I said.

Theodore and Isabelle looked at each other and said together, “Quinn.”

Jaxon

The sky was a blood-red color, glowing with an unnatural evil over the destroyed countryside. This land, once full of life and fertility, was now just fields of burned trees, dead grass, and charred bodies. The fighting werewolves had turned our home into a graveyard. A monument to destruction. A tribute to the crazy lust for power of Anthony, Jodie, and their followers. It was a horrible sight as Quinn and I walked home, defeated by our failure to stop Matheius. To stop the sudden disappearance of Theodore and Isabelle.

I kept my arm around Quinn’s shoulder, trying to stay calm and steady. But I wasn’t much comfort. We both felt hopeless. In fact, that seemed to be the only thing connecting us in this valley of ashes. The bond we shared seemed to be the only thing left after our fight with Matheius.

But Quinn was weak. I watched her struggle with each step. Matheius had used her for her power and left her drained. I offered to carry her, but she refused.

In the distance, the painful moans of countless wounded werewolves echoed through the hills.

“What is that?” Quinn asked, her voice filled with sadness.

“Must be what’s left of Anthony’s army. The remnants of our pack,” I said, a sigh escaping my lips.

The hurt surged in my chest again.

My people had left me.

Rejected my leadership.

Chose a fear-spreading tyrant over me.

And walked themselves into their own end.

I should’ve felt betrayed, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I had somehow let them down.

“How did I let this happen?” I asked. “How did I fail my people so badly?”

Quinn gently touched my cheek and looked into my eyes.

“You were trying to protect them, like a good Alpha should.”

“Yeah, look how well that turned out,” I said, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. “And now it’s too late to fix anything.”

Quinn sighed.

“We just saw heaven crumble right in front of us. We survived one of the biggest attacks in our pack’s history.

“We’re still standing after one of the most powerful werewolves in the world tried to tear us apart. If we’ve shown anything, it’s that it’s never too late for us.”

She gave me a small smile.

I couldn’t help but be amazed at her optimism.

Even standing in the middle of the worst destruction I’d ever seen, she made me feel like not everything was lost.

And that as long as she and I were together, it never would be.

I kissed her cheek, and we continued our journey back to the Pack House.

When we reached the battered outer walls of the old castle, my heart sank.

My childhood home, once reaching proudly towards the sky, was now just a pile of rubble, its towers brought down by a tyrant.

Quinn and I navigated through the heaps of fallen stone to the arched entrance, only to find the large iron doors missing from their hinges.

As we entered the fortress, I noticed that much of the rich history that once filled its stone halls was gone.

Armor suits, tapestries of my ancestors, and valuable ceramics depicting moments in werewolf history had all been cleared out, probably the work of looters.

“Quinn? Jax?”

We looked up to see Sky standing at the bannister, looking down at us in surprise.

“Sky!” Quinn exclaimed.

Zara quickly appeared from behind Sky, their jaws dropping at the sight of us.

They ran down the stairs and wrapped us in tight hugs.

“We were so worried about you!” Zara said.

“Where’s Alex?” I asked, needing to know that my Beta was safe.

“He’s out gathering food for dinner. Hopefully he brings back enough for both of you. What happened with Matheius?”

Quinn and I exchanged a look and let out a sigh.

“Matheius ascended to Astria.”

“Wait—what?” Sky asked.

I nodded. “It’s terrible. He overthrew the Moon Goddess. We failed. I’m so sorry.”

Sky and Zara gasped, their faces filled with fear.

But they didn’t say anything.

What could they say?

“Quinn!” a voice called from upstairs.

We all looked up to see Harper leaning against the railing.

Sky quickly ran up the stairs and took our fallen friend by the arms, guiding her towards us.

“Harp! Are you—are you alive?” I asked, confused.

“Not quite,” Harper admitted softly.

“She’s alive enough for me,” Sky said defiantly.

I realized that this was the same magic that had briefly brought Katherine back. She'd appeared earlier when I was trying to cast a protective charm.

I was worried about what consequences might come, but Quinn looked so happy to see Harper that I didn’t want to ruin this moment.

My mate rushed to the weak-kneed warrior and hugged her.

A single tear rolled down her cheek.

“It’s so good to see you home,” I said.

“Thanks, Quinn,” she said, patting her on the back.

“Really good to see you, Harp,” I said.

She nodded at me in acknowledgement.

“So,” she said, as business-like as ever, “you said that Matheius has taken control of Astria; there’s no telling what he might do. We have to be on our guard.”

“What can we do?” asked Zara. “We can’t fight a god! We barely survived against a demigod!”

“Well…we’re all still in one piece,” Sky interjected optimistically. “The sky is still above the Earth. The world isn’t completely engulfed in flames.”

“Matheius doesn’t want to destroy the world,” Harper said. “He wants to rule it.”

“That’s true,” Quinn interjected, “and like my aunt, Matheius is a master manipulator. He won’t show off his powers. He’ll be subtle.”

“Then what are we supposed to do?” Zara yelled, her frustration growing.

“Wait,” I said.

Everyone took a moment to consider my simple advice.

“It’s all we can do,” I continued, “we need to know what kind of game he's playing before we retaliate.”

“Let’s just hope whatever his first move is doesn’t make a counterattack impossible,” said Harper seriously.

And I certainly hoped so too.

Quinn

The night was quiet.

Something about this old bedroom felt different than the last time I'd slept here with Jax.

I felt it almost as soon as we stepped inside after saying goodnight to the others.

Something was missing, and it wasn’t just the few stones knocked out of the wall.

It was a sense of comfort.

A sense of familiarity.

There was no moon tonight.

Only darkness.

Jax and I had tried for hours to find a comfortable position in bed, but nothing felt right.

So we slept back to back, facing away from each other.

It should’ve felt wrong.

But when I thought about it, the only thing that felt wrong was sleeping next to him in the first place.

I couldn’t understand why, though.

Just hours ago, I wanted nothing more than to be as close to him as possible.

I fell asleep in the discomfort of this new desire.

***

I woke up the next morning with a start.

Jax was up, his gaze fixed on me, worry etched all over his face.

Something felt wrong—like a piece in the puzzle of my existence was missing.

~What could it be?~

A gasp escaped my lips as the realization hit me.

~Our mating bond.~

~It’s not there.~

~It’s broken.~

~I’m certain.~

~But how?~

“Jax,” I called out.

“Quinn,” he responded.

We looked at each other, our eyes wide with fear, too scared to make a move or utter a word.

I had to break our gaze when I noticed the absence of the electric connection that I had grown so used to.

Jax held me by the shoulders, forcing me to meet his eyes again.

“Quinn, no matter what, we’re family. We need to stay strong for the pack,” he said.

I nodded. “Yes, we’re family.”

I reached out to him. “I love you, Quinn. It’s always been you and me, no matter what.”

His words echoed in my ears, but they felt strange and unfamiliar.

He had confessed his love for me countless times, in countless ways. I had never doubted him.

~But now…~

It was difficult to pinpoint the exact change that had occurred now that our mating bond was undeniably gone.

I was still drawn to him, of course.

His eyes still sparkled. His hair still cascaded, thick and shiny down his neck. His muscles still strained against his tight T-shirt as he reached out to me.

~So what’s different?~

~What’s missing?~

I pressed myself against him, holding him in the tightest embrace I could manage.

And then it dawned on me.

My relationship with Jax was like a dish cooked with all the right ingredients—but without any salt.

The mating bond ~was~ the salt that amplified and intensified every aspect of our relationship.

It was the secret ingredient.

The ~I-can’t-help-falling-in-love-with-you.~

With the mating bond, our relationship went beyond my conscious mind. I truly ~couldn’t help falling in love with him.~

And now, the enchantment was broken. The magic was gone.

I wanted to berate myself.

I had taken our bond for granted when we had it. I had never taken the time to fully appreciate the gift of being completely, utterly, foolishly in love.

When I was trapped in the time loop, all I wanted was to escape it. Now I wished I could relive that day endlessly to savor that special connection; so that I could look Jax in the eye and tell him:

“Maybe I won’t feel this way tomorrow, or next year, or the next minute, but right now, in this moment, my heart is entirely and completely yours.”

But, despite the change, the longer we held each other, the more I started to relax into his touch again.

And Jax was right. While we may not have been mated in this moment, we needed to stand together and try to keep our sanity long enough to defeat Matheius.

I lifted my face from his chest and moved it toward his.

I looked him in the eyes again, this time with more confidence.

~You’re still Jax…~

~You’re still my love.~

I kissed him, gently. Once, and then again.

He was stiff at first, but then his lips began to soften.

And soon enough, as he ran his hand down my back toward my ass, I could feel myself start to get wet.

When he squeezed my backside, the wetness increased.

At the end of the day, whether we’re mated or not, sex is still—well—~amazing.~

We continued, our desire escalating.

I moaned as he laid me down on our bed and his hardness found my slit through our clothes. He rubbed against me as I moved my hips against his, my tongue against his tongue.

I ran my fingers along his waist, just above his belt. I quickly undid it and freed his cock into my hands.

He took control now, pushing me further into the bed as he guided his penis to my entrance.

“We might not be mates, but you still get wet for me, huh?” he said, sending shivers down my spine.

“And you still get hard for me.”

“So fucking hard for you.”

“I’m so fucking wet.”

With that, he thrust into me and—

~WOAH!~

For a brief moment, like a flicker of light in a blackout, I felt the faintest hint of the mating pull. It lasted just for a second and then it was gone. But when I looked at Jax, I knew that he had felt it too.

“Keep going,” I said and pressed my lips into his neck.

He kept thrusting inside me, harder and harder as I moaned. But as quickly as the spark had appeared, it was gone again, stealing away the most precious feeling in the world.

~Damn you, Matheius.~

He had succeeded in gaining power and had made his first move.

~A strike at our hearts.~