The Ever Wolf

(Nadia) Chapter 5: The Bloodline

A hand touches my face. I stir and my eyes flutter open. The man jumps back in shock.

I sit up and am soon overcome by a coughing fit. I scratch my rose and my hand comes away red. My hand? My nose? I jump off the bed and run to the mirror on the wall. I touch my face and run my hands across my skin. My eyes look back at me. My hair is the same and so are my eyes. How is this even possible?

"Ahem." The male says. He continues to speak but softly this time. "What is going on?" Everything comes flooding back at the speed of light. The day when I first saw him. That time I saved his baby sister. And last night. Last night! That's right! It was the blood moon. The full moon broke the spell. Yesterday was the 300th anniversary. The first time in 300 years that another blood moon happened on May 3rd.

"Rozen?" I ask. His face crumples in confusion. "How do you know my name?" He questions. "Because I've been watching you." He stares at me in disbelief. "Why?" Is he serious? "You're my mate and you're moon cursed just like me." I wait for a response but am simply greeted by silence.

"Rozen?" I whisper. "Yes?" I turn around and look at him. "You know what I mean, don't you?" He shakes his head. I sigh. "It means that you were born on a blood moon and received a great amount of power. Enough power to kill everything in your path." I lower my voice so low that I'm suprised he heard it. "You're both cursed and blessed-" I pause "-just like me."

"How do you know all this?" He asks. "Because I've been called a monster my whole life and I wanted to know why. I've read ancient scrolls and inscriptions. I kept going until I knew what I was. What we are." I say leaving out who and what I was.

I look away guiltily. He can't know everything. I'd scare him away. In my 500 some odd years a mate was all I ever wanted. But now? Now I was afraid. Afraid I'd drag him through the mud and ruin his life. Afraid he'll reject me. Afraid that he'll get killed. Afraid he'll end up just like me.

Rozen touches my shoulder. "Let's talk about this later." He says. "Right now I just want to know who my mate is." He stares deep into my eyes and I finally look back in his.

His green eyes glow warmly. I look more closely and see golden flecks in them. I study the rest of him. His blond hair and his tan skin. It's then that I notice he's shirtless. My eyes travel down. I just can't help it. I look at his sculpted chest and arms and am thoroughly impressed. I can't believe he's mine. No. I remove that thought from my head. He can't ever be mine. I know that but it still feels like a stab to the heart.

"No." I say steadily. He winces and makes a pained face. "What do you mean?" I shake my head. "It wasn't supposed to be like this. I can't bring you into this." He's dumbfounded. I hated hurting him but he had to know. He had to know that we could never be mates. I had to let him go.

"I'm sorry Rozen- but I have to let you go." His face darkens. "You can't leave. You're my mate." I look away. "There's something you need to understand Rozen. We're not normal mates. I know it's terrible but I can't be with you. I've been hunted my whole life Rozen and I need to keep running. Unless you can run with me for eternity- we won't work."

He briskly walks up to me and slides his fingers through my hair. He grabs the back of head and pulls me into a savage kiss. I can't help but resond. I grab fistfulls of his hair and wrap my leg around his waist. He slams me against the wall, running his hands up and down my body. He lifts my hands above my head and pins them against the wall. He starts kissing my neck and I moan. No. This is wrong. I can't do this. I shove him off.

He stares at me breathless. My heart flutters. Stop. Just stop. You're a fool. You don't even know him Nadia. When he finds out who you are he'll turn you over to them. I start to pace back and forth and Rozen watches me intently.

"You're over thinking this." He finally says. I bite my lip and think for a moment. What should I do? I take a deep breath and decide to tell him everything. It was foolish but if anyone could help me it would be him.

"I'm going to trust you." I say warily. He simply nods. "My name is Nadia Petrova. I'm from the Starlight pack. I was born in 1501 and I'm moon cursed. All 9 of my brothers were too. On the night of a blood moon I took my own life. All 9 of my brothers died too because we had bound our blood. For 200 years we were unstoppable. We lead armies and conquered the North. One day my 4 eldest brothers turned on me. They tried to kill me. I fled to the Wastelands. But only after they bound me into my wolf form. Up until last night I was stuck like that. I think the spell breaking had something to do with you. Now the thing is- I have to stop my remaining brothers. Their armies are destroying everthing in their paths. You have to believe me on this."