"Without forgiveness, there is no future." - Desmund Tutu

"Vivian? Is everything okay?"

My mind had travelled somewhere afar, finding it difficult to process the news that was handed out to me but his voice brought me back to the present. Those metal, grey eyes desperately searched mine… waiting.

"It was Jonathan. A letter just came... from the Lycan Committee."

Saying it out aloud somehow made it sound even more real.

Ethan’s entire demeanour changed as soon as those words escaped my lips. Those glittering eyes turned cold - worry flashing in them. His body visibly stiffened, and his fists clenched.

He opened his mouth to reply but no words came out. It was as if the revelation had knocked every wisp of air from his lungs - his heavy eyelids were a fraction too slow to blink, the irises too stationary.

Neither of us expected this.

The fear was gaining in on me, an uneasy feeling settled deep in my stomach. I tried to take a deep breath - to release some of the tension, to relax my brain which on full alert and firing hundreds of unhelpful thoughts at once – but to no avail.

The truth couldn’t be avoided.

We stood there for a minute, silently looking at each other, processing the gravity of the situation - of our future. What could this letter possibly mean?

"I am sorry," I began when I realised he wasn't going to speak any time soon, "I need to go back and see what is in the letter. We can continue this some other time if you'd like?"

His soft gaze was abruptly replaced with a glare, and my chest tightened at the intensity of it, "Are you serious?" he scowled, "Do you seriously think I'll leave you when a letter by the Lycans was delivered at your doorstep?" He walked closer to me, his tall height towering over mine like a huge tree, "They're here," his dark and hoarse voice sending chills down my spine, "and I am not leaving you."

It wasn't a request, it was a statement. The tone of his voice and the heat behind his eyes were the only message I needed. He was going to come with me, no matter what.

Along with our future, the future of our packs were also at a risk which meant as an Alpha, he equally deserved to see what the letter held.

There was no point in arguing, it would only serve to be a waste of time and we were already short on it, especially since we had no idea what the enemies were planning.

However, one thing was clear; we were together in this.

I nodded his way, and then began to walk in the direction of my office where our future awaited, sealed behind an envelope.

----

The letter was sitting on my desk, in the full sunlight which was pouring in from the office window.

"It was brought here five minutes ago," Jonathan informed, his eyes trained on the letter just like ours were.

We stared at it as if something would jump right out of it.

"Who brought it?"

"Ashlee. She was walking towards the pack-house after the training ended when an arrow darted right past her, missing her by an inch. The letter was tied to it."

"Did she see who it was?" Ethan questioned and Jonathan just shook his head.

My eyes darkened as I felt my wolf surfacing. She was furious. "So you're telling me someone entered my territory, almost killed my pack member just to deliver a letter and no one saw who it was?"

My wolf’s Alpha instincts were in full drive, she couldn’t believe that even after tightening up the security around the borders, someone managed to enter her pack without her permission and almost killed one of her pack member. This was outrageous!

Sensing that my wolf has taken over my senses, Jonathan's head automatically bowed down in response, "Alpha, the patrol guards were on their respective positions, and they swore on the Goddess that no one entered or left the pack since you left. Chief Andrew is checking the cameras and doing his rounds to see if we can find any evidence because he believes the culprit is either still inside the pack or knows a secret passage as there is no way someone could escape him or his guards."

My blood boiled at the information being conveyed to me, "I want the person found by the end of the day - alive." I commanded and he respectfully bowed his head in agreement.

Ethan was silently looking at me with an unreadable expression on his face. I ignored him and walked forward to observe the letter. The envelope had no crease lines and was properly sealed by red wax. Upon further inspection, I noticed the same symbol on the wax as the one of the golden pin and the one we found in the book. Just beneath it was a stamp which read "The Lycan Committee".

Unable to control myself any longer, I reached out to grab the letter but was stopped when a firm hand grasped my elbow.

At the sudden contact, I felt sparks erupt all over my skin.

Sparks?

His wolf was suppressed... so how was this possible?

Surprised, I immediately turned around to find Ethan staring at the place where we were making physical contact. Sensing my eyes on him, he looked up.

My eyes were silently carrying the unspoken question – what is happening?

He didn't respond back, instead he closed his eyes for a few, brief seconds and when he reopened them, they were different - distant and cold - as if he had just released himself from a magical trance. He shifted his head towards Jonathan, his right hand still not loosening the firm grip on my elbow.

"Has it been tested?"

Tested? What is he saying?

That's when it dawned on me - he didn't want me to touch the envelope in fear that it might be laced with something dangerous.

His concern for my safety and his protective nature filled me with warmth which rose from deep within my chest and enveloped every single cell of my body. It was a strange, unknown feeling. It scared me but I welcomed it nonetheless, feeling drawn towards it but at the same time, wanting to pull back.

“Get yourself together, now is not the time to have these kinds of thoughts, human.” My wolf scolded me, bringing my attention back to the task at hand.

He released my elbow as soon as Jonathan confirmed but stood protectively behind me as I slowly turned the letter. My full name was perfectly written in cursive in the centre of the envelope. Taking a deep breath, I broke the seal and uncovered the letter enclosed inside.

"The Lycan Committee has much pleasure in inviting the Alpha of North-Moon Pack, Vivian Alejandro, to attend a ball in celebration of her crowning as the female Alpha.

To be held on: 20th of June, 2020

At: Luna Ball Room

A five-course meal shall be served in the Lycanthrope Hall. A more detailed program with the details would soon follow this letter.

We wish to see you there."

Ethan grabbed my hands, which I realised were shaking.

A ball... in my celebration?

Alpha of the North-Moon Pack. They knew I was the Alpha. They knew.

My heart began to pound, and I felt my breath getting caught in my throat. It felt as if someone was trying to choke me. The horror of them knowing about my identity completely paralysed me.

Instinctively, I glanced up and met his warm eyes. There was a promise hidden behind his stormy gaze. A promise that no matter what, he would always be there for me, that he will always protect me. When I had visibly calmed down, he squeezed my hands and then took the letter from my hands to read for himself.

I closed my eyes and took a few minutes to gather myself together as Ethan continued to read the letter, "Jonathan, immediately summon a meeting with all the Alphas and the Rogue leader. It is an emergency."

As soon as he left the room, I turned around and stared pointedly at Ethan. After five long minutes, he finally looked up from the letter, which I am sure he must've read about ten times by now. Who even takes that long to read a small letter?

“Maybe he can’t read? After all, he did sacrifice a considerable amount of lessons to stalk us in high school. I can’t blame him though... I mean have you looked at us?” My wolf offered.

It was beyond me how my easily and swiftly my wolf could change her moods. Just a few minutes ago she was fuming and scolding me for getting distracted and now...

"What?” Ethan questioned, confusion taking over his face.

I crossed my arms and raised one of my eyebrows in retaliation, “Are you serious?”

He placed the letter back on the table, then proceeded to cross his arms and raise one of his eyebrows at me.

He was copying me.

I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at him, "Didn't you feel sparks when you touched me? How is that possible?"

The corner of his mouth tugged up which instantly made him look younger than he was. He thrust his right arm forward and pulled up his sleeve. There was a bright red mark encircling his wrist.

My legs involuntarily took me forward. How was this possible? I saw the silver on his wrists with my own two eyes... so where did it go? My gaze flickered to check his other arm. Noticing my attention had travelled to the other arm, he brought that forward too and pulled the sleeve up. This one had the silver bracelet.

"I removed one of the silver bracelets on the night of Zack’s funeral when I... um... kind of sneaked into your pack to see you."

My eyes widened in alarm, "You what!?"

He nonchalantly shrugged, trying his hardest to not grin, "I was desperate to see you. I had spent countless days and nights in search of you so don't blame me for sneaking in when I found out you had finally returned." He smiled, "I wanted to know that you were safe and that maybe, just maybe I had a chance and you'll come back to us and we'll be a whole once more, and the only way to do that safely, and without getting caught, was by sneaking into your pack.

"I knew you weren't at your best, especially after finding about Zack's murder, your Father's health and becoming the new Alpha - you had a lot on your plate. And I was right. That night... you were hurting terribly...."

His eyes feverishly took me in, “A month without you, in the company of the silver made me realise that I was subjected to the worst pain of my life. Then I felt your heat, and thought to myself, no – feeling you surrounded in pain was the worst. But I was proven wrong once more, all of this was nothing compared to seeing you that day... in pain, seeing you hurting over the loss of your family. I was outside your window, and you were crying... I couldn't do anything. It was... It was unbearable for me, I just couldn't leave you like that.

"You were restless, Aiden told me that you hadn't had a good night's rest in what seemed like forever, and you weren’t eating properly. It was torturous for me, to see that you were unknowingly killing yourself. I knew I had to help you, even if it meant putting my own self at risk,” he grabbed both of my hands and pulled me a little closer to him, “To us, there was just you. You came first and you always will. So right there and then, without caring about the consequences, I decided to take it off, in hopes that my wolf’s touch might help you calm down.”

My mind trailed back to the night of the funeral. I recalled shrugging off the feeling that someone was outside my window and how just as I gave into sleep, I felt that soft, tingling sensation.

I thought I was imagining it all but no– it was real.

He came.

And also the time when we met after the crowning, on the balcony... I felt the sparks.

"Ever since that day, I stopped wearing silver on my right wrist. There weren't any adverse effects, surprisingly. I kept the red mark covered with a scarf which-"

"-which you offered me the day I visited your pack," I completed after connecting the dots.

He nodded, "At first, I was worried because the doctor said it was a risky move. My wolf might use this opportunity to shift involuntarily after being suppressed for so long and might even manage to completely take over this time. Or worse, he won't connect with me at all and refuse to do anything. But fortunately for me, he did answer. Ever since that night, he seems calm. I can't fully feel him because I am still wearing silver, but I feel his presence somewhere in there.”

My heart ached at his reply, "There is no chance of you taking all of the silver offf unless you mark me?"

"Yeah... and even if there was, I don’t think we can risk it."

He was in constant pain. The guilt was like gasoline to my guts. It was eating and pestering me and I could do nothing to undo it.

"I'm fine, Vivian. Don’t worry,” he passed me a sweet smile, “Even though a part of me does feel glad that you at least care enough to worry about me... Hmm, we might be moving somewhere after all," The boyish grin he was trying so hard to suppress finally took over his entire face, reminding me of his carefree school days.

Goddess, he truly was a work of art.

I ignored the flutter in my stomach and pointed to the envelope which was resting on the desk, "So what about this now?"

His facial expressions changed back to the dark and cold one, "I am caught between a rock and a hard place,” he scratched the back of his neck, “Going to the ball would be dangerous because we don't know what tricks the Lycans have up their sleeves but not going is also dangerous because then they'll know for sure you are the one."

"This is incredibly frustrating." I groaned loudly and ran my fingers through my hair. Feeling a bit dizzy, I decided to sit on my chair.

I looked at Ethan who was just staring at me with an expression akin to awe.

"What?"

He flashed me a grin, "Nothing, just that you look-“

He was interrupted when the door opened, and in entered the last person we both expected.

Oh Goddess, I had forgotten about him...

"What the fuvk is he doing here?" Ethan yelled, full of rage as he stared directly in the eyes of Elliot.