“What did your father say to you?”

Jake was startled by the abrupt question and he looked up to find his mother already waiting for him in his room or rather pacing impatiently around his room.

“Nothing.” He tried to think of a much more believable answer that wasn’t the truth because he had no intention of telling her what his father had just told him so he said the first thing that he thought of. “Just men stuff, you know alpha stuff.”

His mother snorted, “Alpha stuff, of course. You don't have to lie to me, just tell me you don't want me to know.”

“Okay. I don't want you to know.” Jake shrugged.

“Why? You always tell me everything? Or was it about the blind girl?”

Jake felt that was one question he could answer truthfully since his dad never spoke about Ciara so he did. “No, we didn't even talk about Ciara.”

“Ciara?” His mother pronounced the name as though the letters themselves were enough to poison her tongue. “When did you start calling the blind girl Ciara?”

Jake sighed wishing he could avoid telling his mother the truth about Ciara being his true mate but he knew she was the only one who could advise him on what to do with his best interests at heart. He knew that if he asked his father, his answer would be the same any time of the day. He would advise that, regardless of the consequences, Jake should hold fast to his true mate.

Jake couldn't hold in his second sigh as he decided to just bite the bullet and ask his mother for advice. “Mum I don't want you to freak out or anything but I have something really important I want to ask you.”

“What is it? Is it something you and your dad spoke about?” His mother was watching him just like he suspected a mother eagle would watch her only baby eagle.

“How would you feel if I told you that I found my true mate?”

“That would be fantastic...though it depends...”

Jake perked up and hope sparked in his heart. “On what?”

“On her pack, her status in the pack and all that?”

If Jake’s hope was a balloon, it immediately deflated. His mother was talking about status and pack when Ciara was just an ordinary human.

“You don't think I'll approve of her?” His mother asked.

“I know you'll never approve of her.” Jake mumbled.

“Well if it’s that Vanessa girl, you can certainly do a lot better. Serena, on the other hand, is a great...”

“Mum...my true mate is Ciara.”

“What?” His mother's shock was obvious and if her mouth dropped any closer to the ground, cockroaches would be able to enter it.

She suddenly started shaking her head and laughing. “No you're kidding right...very funny.”

Jake didn't bother replying her rhetorical question rather he allowed his silence to speak for itself.

“Ciara...the blind human is your true mate? Jacob I think lust has gone to your head but I won't let you make such a mistake...if you want to sleep with the blind girl, go ahead, but it'll be after I'm dead and buried that you will mate with that creature.”

“Mother! It’s not just me okay...sure I think she’s beautiful but it’s beyond that, her scent is heaven and I feel my wolf connect with me like never before when I'm near her.”

“Well you can start disconnecting again Jake because nothing on this earth will ever allow me permit you to mate with that blind bat.” His mother whispered with fury glinting in her eyes.

“Mum! Stop insulting her.” Jake said this with a growl assisted by his wolf.

His mother stepped back obviously taken aback, she looked very hurt as she turned away from him. “So you meet a beautiful girl and all of a sudden you're growling at your mother?”

“Mum, I didn't mean it that way...that wasn't only me; it was I and my wolf.”

“Listen to me, Jake, do you remember the Brandit Pack? They dissolved and became refugees because their alpha mated with a human and other packs started attacking them from far and near...Do you want that to happen to this pack?”

“No but...”

His mother interrupted him, “No buts Jacob...listen, this is what you're going to do...you're going to suggest in the next conference meeting that the blind...that Ciara be given as the human sacrifice...”

“No way, mum...I can't do that.”

“Look at it this way...The moon goddess has blessed you with a way out, the vampires requested for a human sacrifice just when you discovered that you have a human for a true mate...that can't be coincidence, can it?”

“But the same moon goddess gave her to me as my true mate...”

“She made a mistake...no one is perfect, don't ruin your life, son...this is the only way out.”

“But...”

Jake's mother shushed him then enclosed him in an embrace. “I know how you feel son but this is the best way...the only way.”

The white part of Jake’s eyes was lined with red when he withdrew from his mother's embrace. “You're right mum, it’s the only way but how are we going to get the other council elders to agree?” He agreed.

“Leave that to me son...rest a little uh?”

With those parting words, Jake's mother walked out of his room humming. Jake flung himself to his bed and although he knew his mother's advice was right, he felt really hollow as though he was about to be empty forever and he was fighting tears when he hadn't cried since he was 10. How had the fates made such a mistake as to give him a beautiful, blind girl as a mate?

*

“All in favor of offering the blind girl as the human sacrifice to the vampires raise your hands please.”

The room was silent as the Chief council elder counted the raised hands and wrote it in a book which was passed to Jake's father. Jake couldn't risk a glance in his father's direction because he knew that the disappointment on his face would be too much for him to bear.

Everyone was obviously waiting for his father to read the results which was obviously in favor of Ciara being offered as the human sacrifice but his father didn't say a word for the next few minutes. The silence was what made Jake look up in his father's direction and he watched as his father who was glaring at his mother, passed the result to his beta, Tyler's father to announce.

“The major votes support Ciara being offered as the human sacrifice tomorrow evening.”

“Meeting dismissed.”

Jake bowed his head then walked as fast as he could out of the conference room in order to avoid his father calling him back to tell him how disappointed he was.

He felt like visiting Ciara again but he just couldn't bring himself to because he felt like as though the shame of standing in her presence after practically selling her to vampires in exchange for peace would eat him up inside-out. He decided to just go to bed early and he ended up dreaming of Ciara yelling at him for abandoning her.

The next morning, he woke up so restless that he decided to go for a run in his wolf form. After walking a few miles away from the pack house and into the forest, Jake tore off his clothes and changed to his wolf form, then he abandoned himself to his wolf letting it take control.

When he came back to himself, he was by the lake licking the blood of a fawn-baby deer-off his paws and staring at the eaten carcass of the fawn with no memory of how or when he caught or ate the fawn.

He tumbled into the lake and washed himself especially his mouth of all traces of the fawn knowing that in his human form, the taste or smell of blood was unpalatable.

He ran back home when he realized that it was already early afternoon since the sun was shining very brightly. After wearing clothes, he walked straight to the attic to find Ciara but instead he found one of the pack women cleaning out the room.

“Where is Ciara?” Jake asked.

“The blind girl? The luna had her taken to one of the cells in the basement.” One of the pack women answered.

“Wait a minute, did you just say my mum sent her to the cells?”

“Yes.” The woman regarded him for a moment then went back to her cleaning.

Jake didn't even bother saying thanks as he ran out of the room and down to the basement. What he saw on the way was enough to make him feel the urge to kill someone.

*

When Ciara woke up in the morning, she was surprised to feel someone stroking her hair. She held the hand stroking her hair and felt the skin and immediately recognized the owner. “Vanessa?”

“Yes?”

“Why are you stroking my hair?”

“Nothing...I just feel bad...really bad that I never treated you right. I behaved like a spoilt child when I was asked to take care of you as my only chore in the pack house meanwhile others had to wash toilets, clean rooms and all other dirty chores...yet I complained and I was sometimes so mean to you.”

Ciara could only express her shock at Vanessa's regretful tone in one way. “Huh?”

“I'm sorry...it’s just that I was so jealous because you are so beautiful even though you're blind...Please tell me you forgive me.”

“I forgive you and now we can become friends right?”

“I wish.” Vanessa sighed again. “Come on, it’s time for a long soak in the bathtub.”

Ciara got more and more confused with every passing minute as Vanessa helped her bath without the usual insults and helped her dress up.

“I have to go now...Goodbye Ciara.” Vanessa said and before Ciara could ask why she was saying goodbye in that mournful tone, she heard the door close behind her.

Ciara didn't know when she fell asleep but she woke up to feel herself being heaped like a sack of potatoes on someone's shoulders.

“Let me go!” She yelled as she hit the person's back with her weak fists.

“God it feels like she's tickling me, Elvis.” The kidnapper said, alerting Ciara to the fact that she had two kidnappers.

“Why are you kidnapping me? There will be no one to pay my ransom.”

“Ransom?” The other kidnapper scoffed. Then the two burst into laughter as the first one dropped Ciara down on the floor roughly.

Ciara began crawling in the opposite direction of their laughter even though she didn't know where she was going, she wanted to be as far away from them as possible.

“Help!” She yelled over and over again while crawling till she hit the wall with her head.

“Wow that was funny...like watching a blind rat run around in its cage.”

“Yeah...Come here hussy...” The second kidnapper mocked making clicking sounds with his hands.

“James? Elvis? What the hell are you doing?” A voice boomed in the hallway. A voice that could only belong to the man who stole Ciara's first kiss.

Edited: January 25, 2019