Crossing Paths With The White Wolf

Kassia POV

I woke up in a strange place. My hand instantly went under my pillow as I looked for my karambit, only to find it empty. I looked around the room in alarm and saw that I was alone. I slowed my breathing and tried to remember where I was. His face flashed into my mind. Gonzalo! How was he alive? My sister....f**k. Karissa lied to me. If I didn't already f*****g detest her and everything she stood for, I would have at this moment. How was I so gullible to take her at her word? I should have fought harder. The answer came to me easily. Because you were weak and easily broken back then.

So many questions floated through my head and I felt my hand shaking. I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths. How did Gonzalo end up in a pack in Arizona? There was so much hurt and rage in his eyes. It hurt my heart to see it directed at me, but for there to be hate, there had to be love? Right? I can't blame him for being angry at what happened. Even if he hadn't died, I had seen the way that they were beating him before Karissa's guards had dragged me with her. I had refused to run away with him, too concerned about my parents hunting us down and what life on the run would be like. I had grown up a princess and with that, came many comforts. I had been scared of not being able to survive outside of that shelter. I had come to my senses an hour later. An hour too late. By the time I acted, it had been too late.

I flopped back down onto the bed. How much of the love he had for me 200 years ago did he still feel? Could I nurture whatever flicker of love he may still have for me again? If I begged him for his forgiveness, would he listen? I wasn't the same person he fell in love with. I was damaged in more ways than one. I got up and looked around at the room. I found my phone on the bedside table. I flickered the screen on. It was 4pm. It looked like I'd slept for almost 4 days. It was too early to leave this room right now. I didn't know what was on the other side of the door and I wasn't willing to chance a hallway window.

I stood and turned on the light, pleased to find my bags on the side of the room by a door I hoped was a closet. I had a couple of hours before I could leave and explore, so I may as well unpack. I was going to be here for a while after all. I froze slightly as I realized that Gonzalo may be someone important to the pack to be waiting for me along with the Alpha. What if he convinced them to send me back? No, I would convince them to let me stay. I had a few aces up my sleeve.

By the time I finished putting my clothes away, I had made up my mind. I would ask for another chance. If he got to know the new me and he didn't feel what he once felt, I would leave. Back to the original plan I had, then at least I'd know I tried. When I get to the end of my clothes, there's only two things left in the luggage bag. I grab Adrien's box and put it on top of the dresser to give to him later, then I grab my poor excuse for a box, and take it over to the night stand. I grab the ring out of the Tupperware and caress it as I get lost in my memories. I reread the letter again and then put both gently back into their baggie and into the Tupperware. I put it into the top drawer and grab my phone.

Me: Are you awake?

Adrien: Unfortunately. Glad to see you're awake. The nosebleeds are getting worse.

I winced. I know that, but there's nothing I can do about it.

Me: Where are you? I'm afraid to leave the room during the daylight.

Adrien: On our way back from Omaha. We've got about 5 hours left to the drive.

Adrien: They basically closed off half a wing for us. There should be a mini fridge next to the couch with blood bags. There's a common area across from your room. All the windows have inside shutters and I made sure it was all closed in case you woke up. Hmm. That was really thoughtful of them actually. I wanted to ask him about Gonzalo, but to do that, I would have to explain to him who he was and that was a conversation I was not going to have over text.

Me: How did the mission go? Sorry I missed it.

Adrien: No casualties on our side other than one of the rescued shifters not making it. We are bringing about 12 rescued shifters back. Sadly, we found another 5 dead in the morgue, along with two dead vampires. *sad emoji* Me: Geeze that's a lot.

Adrien: Bigger than the last one. Snow white do I have stories of knights in shining armor. I really like it here. These wolves are nice and HOT.

I laughed at that.

Me: I've got a few for you. I'm going to go explore around a little. Let me know when you're almost here.

Adrien: *Kissy face*

Adrien: I have a laptop in my room, next to yours. There are lots of movies in there if you get bored.

I got up from bed and went over to find the mini fridge. I thought about how he didn't ask me what happened when I arrived. I wasn't too surprised though. Adrien had an amazing ability of knowing when it wasn't the right time. He also knew I kept secrets from him that were too painful for me to talk about.

I was reading a book on the couch I found on a random shelf when I heard a light knock on the door and the door pushed open without waiting too long for an answer. A beautiful tall woman with kind blue eyes walked in. She had long curly hair and she smiled brightly at me when she saw me.

"You're awake! We were starting to get worried. Adrien said you would only sleep for a day or two." She said, and then stopped talking when she saw my karambit in my hand. I blushed and put down the knife.

"I'm sorry. I woke up in a weird place and you startled me." I told her.

She nodded at me, "I am Celeste, Luna of the Crescent Moon Pack."

I scrunched my face in confusion, "I thought the pack I was staying at was called Guardian Moon."

"It is. This is the Guardian Moon Packhouse. Crescent Moon is just next door. Alpha Helios is my brother and my mate is Alpha Markus. They are both away raiding the lab in Omaha. I am stepping in while they are away and the Blue Moon Pack is lending some warriors to make sure the Packhouses aren't left unprotected." She explained.

"I'm Kassie. Nice to meet you." I was surprised she gave me all of this information willingly.

"I know. I'm sorry I startled you. I've been checking on you to make sure you were still doing OK. Is there anything I can get you?"

I shook my head, "I am OK. Thank you. I found the mini-fridge." I gestured to the empty tumbler.

"Can I ask you a question?" She asked me. I nodded at her. "How long have you been having those seizures? What's causing them?"

I looked away, not wanting to talk about it but not wanting to lie to her. She seems so nice and everything in my body tells me I can trust her, so I pick something in between, "I don't know. I've been trying to figure that out for over 20 years but not a single doctor can figure it out."

She pursed her lips in thought or maybe because she could tell there was more to it, but she didn't say anything. I saw her eyes glaze over before she stood up. "They will be back in a few hours. I have to go get things ready for them. I'm sorry to keep things short. I'm sure we'll have more time to talk." She walked over to the door and before she left she turned to look at me. "I hope you manage to work things out."

I was taken aback by her words, wondering if she knew about Gonzalo, and then decided she must be speaking about the seizures, so I went to the next room to grab Adrien's laptop. I hadn't meant to pry, but in the middle of his desktop was a single folder labeled Guardian Moon Friends. I knew Adrien. He was a big softy. He often said he liked to take pictures of when he's in a good place, because it helps him when he's in a dark place. I hesitated before opening it and decided I would ask. I hate when my privacy is invaded without my permission.

Me: Can I look at the folder labeled Guardian Moon Friends? I want to get a gauge of the people here.

Adrien: Knock yourself out. Molti bell'uomo (Many Handsome Men) *sweaty face emoji* *fire emoji* *fire emoji*

I opened the folder and started looking through the pictures as I sorted the pictures by date and started at the top. At first it was just a picture of the packgrounds. It was a habit I'd made him adopt when I took him on as an apprentice. Go somewhere with a view and take pictures so you can study and memorize your surroundings. You never know when you have to run or hide. I was glad to see he was still doing the basics when I wasn't with him.

There was a gap of a few days from those first pictures before he appeared to have decided this was worth being one of his "good places" and the pictures started taking a more friendly, personal quality. The first ones were weird angles and I had a feeling that he had been sneaking them. There were some of people hanging out in a living area, playing poker. There were a couple of videos of the werewolves training and I recognized Theo and Sebastian sparring, being guided by a younger looking werewolf. There was another video of Alpha Helios and another werewolf sparring. Based on the size of them both, I think the other must be another Alpha. Their speed and strength were impressive. I clicked the next one and my eyes widened in surprise. I put the video in full screen mode and paused it.

It's another training video, but what grabbed my undivided attention was the man facing the camera. My sweet Lalo. It's the same beautiful smile on his face. The same kind eyes. But holy s**t, I had been too shocked that night to notice the changes. The Gonzalo I knew was fit and strong, but he wasn't....this. His body was a work of art. His shoulders look wider than I remember. His arms bulging and those abs....his abs had never looked this defined before. The flood lights were shining on his copper skin. How I used to love to put my hand on his chest, loved the contrast of my pale skin against his copper chest. He was always so beyond handsome to me. He was simply beautiful. I pressed play and I turned on the volume. I hear him bantering with his sparring partner. Someone he called Gillian before they started sparring. His skills were impressive, his body twisted, parried and attacked as if this was second nature to him. I couldn't help chuckling at how flustered he got when Adrien started cat-calling him, causing him to lose the spar. By the date, I could tell this must be one of the first times Adrien had done this. Most people become immune to his commentary eventually. But Adrien had always had that effect on most people. It was one reason I had saved him all those years ago. His eternal optimism and easy-going nature was a light in a world full of darkness.

The video ended and I watched it a few more times, just to hear Gonzalo laugh again and again. I went through the rest of the photos and I realized how close he and Adrien had gotten. It warmed my heart. I always thought Gonzalo would have loved him and I was right. There was photo after photo of Gonzalo with others and Adrien. He was always smiling in the pictures. Then I noticed something and I went through them all again to check again. The pictures where Gonzalo wasn't part of the main picture or even aware that he was being photographed, he had this faraway look in his eyes, looking at nothing in the distance or he would be looking down at his wrists. A sadness in his features. What was making you sad, my love? I wondered.

I shut down the laptop and went under the covers. I held my shaking hand and I took some deep breaths while I let the tears come. I needed to get everything out now before they got here. I needed to convince them to let me stay. It was the first part of my plan. I lay in bed thinking about how to best approach this. I had known Gonzalo 200 years ago. I needed to find a way to get to know him and for him to get to know me so that we could see if these new versions of ourselves were still capable of loving each other. I took the ring out of the nightstand and put it on for a moment. I didn't know what was going to happen in the next few weeks, but I felt like I was given a second chance to redo my worst regret and I was not going to waste it.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.

I woke up a bit later to my phone pinging with a single message.

Adrien: We're about an hour away.

Time to put my plan in action.