After That Day

MAX

It had been two months since they took Estella away.

People often say time flies, but I felt every single day of her absence. I tried not to count, but I couldn’t help myself.

From day one, I knew where they had taken her. My father and Uncle Brian made sure they knew her whereabouts and the progress of the search for her family.

The cops weren’t exactly sharing that information, but Uncle Brian has a way of getting things done, even in the human world.

I knew where she was.

I could feel her sadness and loneliness, even from a distance. I wanted to be there for her, to hold her like I did on her last night with us, but I couldn’t.

It would only confuse her...and me...

We had to tell her she was going away for a little while. My father was the one who broke the news.

My mother, despite her initial reservations, had grown fond of Estella and couldn’t keep her emotions in check. And me...

I was heartbroken, but I knew I had to let her go, at least for now.

My wolf, who I tried my best to keep in check, was furious. He wanted to take her and hide her away where no one could find them.

He was on the brink of driving me insane.

Unlike me, he was eager to find his soulmate, and he wasn’t willing to be apart from her.

He blamed me, saying I didn’t love Estella enough, or at all. That’s why I could let her be taken away.

I tried to reason with him, but he wouldn’t listen. He stopped talking to me altogether, which was honestly a relief.

He was right, though. I didn’t love Estella. Not yet. Love takes time.

And she’s too young to trigger the mate attraction. At least for me. My wolf, on the other hand, is a different story.

It would be wrong if she did trigger it. But there’s something about her... I was happier when she was around.

She was with us for only three days. She’s been gone for two months, and I still miss her. Not just my wolf. Me.

The night my dad spoke to her, she didn’t show any emotion. She seemed calm and understanding.

She asked me to take her to bed, and then she asked me to stay with her. I politely declined.

“I’ll come to you then,” she said simply.

“It’s not about where you are, pup.”

“Then what?”

“I’m an adult, and you’re a child.”

“I’ll be six in October. I’m not a baby,” she said seriously.

“You’re a little older than a baby,” I teased. “But still, I’m much older than you, and it’s not right for me to sleep next to you.

“But I can tell you a nice story if you like, and I’ll stay here until you fall asleep.”

She agreed, and I did as I promised. When she fell asleep, I left, leaving a small light on in case she was scared of the dark.

A lot of kids are, especially after a traumatic event.

In the middle of the night, she came to me. I thought she had a nightmare, but…

“I told you I’d come to you,” she said with a shy smile.

I should have taken her back to my room and put her to bed. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. I just smiled back, picked her up, and held her close.

She rested her head on my chest, and I heard her take a deep breath.

“You smell nice,” she whispered just before she fell asleep.

When they came for her the next morning, I wasn’t there. I couldn’t bear to watch them take her away.

As soon as my mother took her to get ready, I left, shifted, and ran as far as I could.

A coward? Absolutely. I’d never been one before, but there’s a first time for everything.

When I came back, she was long gone. Patrick tried to reach me through mind-link, but I blocked him. I didn’t want to talk to anyone for days.

I even skipped my training for the first week after Estella left. My wolf was still mad at me, and he occasionally surfaced just to insult me.

Eventually, though it didn’t hurt any less, I had to pull myself together for my best friend.

While I was isolating myself, Patrick was preparing to take his place as the new alpha of our pack, introducing his beautiful luna.

I had to be there for him, like he tried to be there for me.

PATRICK

Anxious.

Excited.

Scared.

In love.

Worried.

In love…

Madly in love…

That’s how I felt. These past two months had been a whirlwind.

The meeting with Eva’s family went incredibly well, and I quickly became her brother’s favorite.

This made me happy, especially since Eva was close to her little brother Caleb, who was set to become the alpha of their pack someday.

His affection was a surprise, considering Eva had warned me he might be hostile.

Our parents were thrilled with this turn of events, as our packs had always been friendly, even though we weren’t official allies.

The only downside was the pressure to mate and mark each other.

Our dads and our wolves were pushing for it, but we weren’t ready.

It wasn’t that we didn’t want to have sex. Believe me, it was a miracle we hadn’t already.

It was just that everything was moving so fast, and we needed to slow down. To get to know each other first. Like normal people.

We had a human side, after all, and we were only eighteen. We wanted to be normal. Or as normal as we could be.

I can’t explain it, but normal for our kind is to jump right in and get to know each other later.

But with Eva, we were on the same page. We wanted to take things slow.

We decided to go through with the ceremony for my appointment as alpha and introduce Eva as the new luna, to honor tradition and make our parents happy. It was a way to show my pack that I, their new alpha, would provide stability.

The ceremony was scheduled for today, and I needed Max there with me. I’d tried to reach him over and over since Estella was taken, but he’d shut me out.

I understood he needed some time alone, but I was used to sharing everything, good or bad, with my best friend.

It hurt that I couldn’t ease his pain and share my joy with him.

So, last night, I went to him. We talked, and I knew that even though his mate couldn’t be with him, he wasn’t bitter that I’d found mine without any issues.

On this important day, apart from Eva, who was a source of joy, Max was my strength.

He’d set aside his own grief and was there for me, smiling and filling me with positive energy through his presence and the jokes he shared through the mind-link.

My entire pack was there for me that day.

I took Eva’s hand, and we walked together to greet my pack. As soon as they saw her, they gasped at her beauty.

I’d recently heard a rumor that the females from her mother’s side were direct descendants of the Moon Goddess. I hadn’t confirmed it with her.

When I’m with her, it’s the last thing on my mind. But considering her unique beauty, it could very well be true.

My pack was captivated by Eva’s smile and her gentle aura.

As she squeezed my hand, I knew she was nervous too, so I simply squeezed back and gave her a wink.

We couldn’t mind-link until we were mated, so that was the best I could do.

My speech went like this: “From this day forth, I will be your alpha, and this beautiful girl by my side, Eva, will be your luna.

“May the Moon Goddess help us all because despite our rigorous training, we have no idea what we’re supposed to do!”

They all burst out laughing, but I wasn’t really joking. I was trained, yes. But theory is different from action, and being a good alpha isn’t easy.

It requires hard work, and I was willing to do it, but there was no guarantee of success.

When the ceremony ended, and we moved to the garden for the barbecue, I introduced Eva to every member of the pack. Seeing how she interacted with them, I knew she would be an exceptional luna.

My happiness would be complete if I wasn’t worried about Max. He’d smiled throughout the ceremony and was still smiling, but it seemed forced.

“I’ll go talk to him,” Eva whispered to me.

“No, let him be. I don’t think he wants to talk about it,” I said, trying to dissuade her.

“Oh, but I do,” she replied, smiling softly. With a wink, she left me standing there, puzzled.

MAX

When I saw Patrick’s mate approaching, I tried to keep smiling. I hadn’t seen or spoken to her since our first awkward meeting, and even then, she’d given me a strange vibe.

Nothing bad, just odd, as if she knew more than she was letting on…

Judging by the look of sympathy in her eyes, I was sure Patrick had already told her everything about Estella and me.

Mates share everything, after all. They never keep secrets, which is how couples should be.

“Hello, Max!” she greeted me, grinning. “Would you like to take a stroll with me?”

“Are your luna duties tiring you already?” I joked.

“No, but I feel a little overwhelmed, to be honest. It would do me some good to be a little isolated right now.”

“With me?” I raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

“Yes,” she confirmed, gently taking my hand and leading me to follow her.

“It would be rude if both Patrick and I were missing.

“And to be honest, we find it hard to keep our hands to ourselves, so until we decide to fully mate, we try not to stay alone with each other too much.”

I nodded in understanding.

“I’ve heard that the bond tends to mess you up in that department. Still, if I were you, I wouldn’t seek the company of a guy like me. If you ask around, my reputation isn’t very good.”

“Quite the contrary, dear cousin. Your reputation with the unmated ladies of the pack is pretty good. They swoon over you, and they will keep it going on for years,” she assured me.

“So, aren’t you afraid for your reputation? You’re not marked yet.”

“Max, Patrick trusts you. I trust you. Above everything else, you’re loyal.”

We were now standing in a very secluded spot of the garden that vaguely reminded me of the one where we had caught her and Patrick making out.

The difference was that there was a stone bench on which she gestured for me to sit. As she sat beside me, it dawned on me.

“You didn’t want to get out of there for a while,” I stated. “You wanted to get me alone.”

“You’re very smart. I’ve been looking for a chance to talk to you alone since your mate left.”

I knew it! I fucking knew it. I felt my body stiffen and tried to get up, but Eva held me in my place with a surprisingly firm grip.

“I don’t want to talk about Estella, Eva. She’s gone. They took her back to her world. As soon as they find her uncle, she’ll have a family again.”

I tried not to sound resentful, but it was hard.

“Max, you miss her. It’s not bad to admit it. For those who know you, it’s obvious anyway.”

“Eva, I don’t mean to be offensive,” I said, trying hard to contain my rising irritation, “but you don’t know shit about me.

“Patrick must have told you a couple of things because of that stupid mate bond—”

“Patrick didn’t say a thing,” she interrupted, raising her voice slightly just to get my attention.

“He didn’t tell me anything,” she repeated. “He didn’t have to. As soon as I saw the girl with you, I knew you were the ones my aunt had talked about.”

“Your aunt?”

She smiled at me, and I instantly knew.

“Your aunt is the Moon Goddess,” I said, trying to wrap my head around it.

“Yeah, she is. And because of that, the women in our family have some unique abilities. Mostly, we can see bits and pieces of the future—other people’s futures, that is.

“I can’t say for sure about my mom, but I can’t see much of my own future. Maybe that’s a good thing.

“But I’ve seen glimpses of your future, Max. And I can tell you this much—Estella is definitely in it.”

“I already told your aunt I can’t keep her,” I said, my voice rough. “She’s just a kid. A human kid.”

“She is. And I can understand why you’re hesitant. But it’s your destiny to be with her. You can’t escape it.”

I scoffed at her words.

“Destiny changes with every choice we make, Eva,” I said, my expression flat.

“Our entire culture is built on the idea of fate and destined mates. We’re told we won’t be complete until we find our other half, and once we do, we have to give in to the pull without even getting to know the other person first.

“From the time I was a kid, I’ve been told not to doubt the bond, not to deny it. And I think that’s bullshit. Complete bullshit.

“You could know someone your whole life, hate them even, and then you turn eighteen and find out they’re your mate.

“And just like that, you’re supposed to fall in love with them, no questions asked, and live happily ever after.

“I’m a werewolf, which is already messed up because I’m not supposed to exist. But I refuse to fall in love with a six-year-old girl because of some stupid bond my beast has with her.

“It’s wrong. It’s disgusting. If I’m going to have a life partner, it’s going to be because of feelings that develop naturally as I get to know them.

“I won’t have love or attraction forced on me, and I won’t force anyone else to feel them either.”

I’d gotten up halfway through my rant and was now pacing, running a hand through my hair every so often.

To say I was upset would be an understatement. I’d just spilled all my thoughts about our world, and even though my wolf was growling in my head, I didn’t regret a single word.

I was born into a crazy world, sure. But did I have to agree with its rules? Hell no.

I turned to look at Eva, who hadn’t interrupted me once. She was looking at me with a soft expression, a gentle smile on her face.

“Patrick and I are taking things slow because we want to get to know each other,” she said.

“Most people just dive right in, but I think I understand where you’re coming from.

“I can’t say for sure if I would have fallen for Patrick if we were humans, but I like to think I would. I’ve never really thought about it before now.”

“How could you?” I scoffed. “They filled your head with dreams of mating.”

“That’s how it’s done, yeah,” she agreed. “You’re a strange one, Max Kinsky.”

“Didn’t your aunt warn you?”

She shook her head.

“She never does. And she usually doesn’t share information about her pairings.”

“Why’d she share this time?”

“Estella is your second chance. She’s worried you’ll reject her.

“She could have mentioned that you’re not a typical werewolf, that your human side is stronger, but it’s okay. I think you’re refreshing.”

“Thanks, but like I said, I can’t do this to myself. Life is supposed to be fun. I can’t be tied down. Especially not in the mess your aunt’s thrown me into.”

“You’re right about that. But from what I’ve seen, Estella isn’t having much fun at the orphanage.”

“That was a low blow, Eva,” I muttered.

“I’m sorry, Max,” she said, her expression turning sad. “I didn’t mean to hurt you more. I know that bond or not, you care about the kid.”

I didn’t say anything. If I denied it, she’d call me out on my lie.

“I care about her too. Maybe because my little brother is about her age.” She sighed.

“Orphanages are terrible places. I don’t know why humans even consider putting kids in there,” I said.

“I don’t know either. But trust me, Max, that kid is having a tough time there. More than she deserves.”