Zeus

• XLII •

Recap: Aurora finds Ryder to basically ask what is his problem. He answers, saying he feels as if something is off about her but he can't put his finger on it. Confused, Aurora tries to understand him but starts to feel threatened. She becomes so upset that her body temperature rises and her eyes change color. Zeus and Rebecca arrive, and Aurora faints. Over time, Aurora starts to go back to normal, but Zeus suspects she has a wolf gene. The next day, Aurora realizes she's in love with Zeus but is afraid to tell him because she isn't sure he loves her back. Zeus decides to talk to Ryder.

I apologize for the long awaited update. School, work, and basketball took a lot of my time during the months of January and February. But now that basketball season is over, I should have more time to update for y'all. (Fingers crossed) Enjoy the chapter! - May

After talking to Zeus in the cabin's bed, we get dressed in our clothes and finally leave the bedroom. Outside the bedroom, Rebecca walks around the living room, eyeing the deer heads nailed to the wall, and Ryder sips at a drink. Ryder sets his cup down on the kitchen counter when he and Zeus lock gazes.

Zeus releases my hand he was holding and steps forward. "We need to talk," Zeus announces out loud, focusing his attention on Ryder.

Zeus' best friend, his right-hand man, nods in agreement. "A run?" Ryder asks, and Zeus agrees.

Zeus kisses the top of my head before leaving the cabin with Ryder behind him. The cold outside sweeps into the cabin as the door opens then closes. I'm left with Rebecca, who watched the entire encounter of her son and Ryder with calm, calculated eyes.

I turn on my heel. "What'd you think will happen?" I walk into the living room and sit down on the couch, watching Rebecca as she continues to pace around the living room.

Rebecca—her long dark hair, tan skin, and kind smile—turns away from an oil painting of the pack's woods and faintly smile at me. To everyone, to myself even, Rebecca gives a presence of calmness. She's the perfect image of a mother—intelligent, gentle, and understanding.

I wait for an answer, but Rebecca says nothing, making me worry about any--and every--situation.

Will Ryder and Zeus argue and fight? Or will the two keep a distance between themselves and talk like grown adults? I picture Zeus coming back to this cabin. Covered in blood, clothes ripped to pieces, and a blank expression on his face. I picture Ryder in the snow, unconscious, bleeding.

"Aurora," I'm pulled away from my grueling thoughts. "Did you know that I was never born into this pack?" Rebecca asks while her back now faces me.

My brows furrow together, and I realize that I always assumed Rebecca was born in the Golden Stone Pack. "No, actually, I believed you lived here."

Chuckling under her breath, Rebecca turns away from the oil painting and faces me, a happy expression on her clear face. Why does she look happy, I think.

"I lived up north in Montana with a small, growing pack, which struggled to get by. I was eighteen, almost nineteen, when Lincoln went with his father—Zeus' Grandpa—to visit my pack family. To see what needed to be fixed or changed.

"For days, my body couldn't be still. I was antsy and sensitive to everything and everyone around. All because my wolf knew Lincoln was closer to me. When Lincoln and his father ran past my territory line, all my plans and dreams changed, Aurora. Everything revolved around Lincoln, and Lincoln only. Our personalities clicked, we mated, and we spent every minute we could with each other until he had to leave. Until he asked me to go home with him.

"I said goodbye to my family, friends, and pack traditions. The moment I met you, Aurora, I knew how you felt. You felt confused, torn away from your family and everything you only knew; but you have grown so much. You have more growing ahead of you, though, which will be hard. But I simply wanted you to know this because I see myself in you.