Here in Heaven

Chapter 5

There was a gentle breeze blowing in off the water. It was the perfect day for a trip to the beach. The sun was shining down, the light reflecting off the surface of the water. Roman sat at the edge of a rocky outcropping. He leaned back on his elbows, his legs outstretched. The waves gently washed over his feet as he stared out over the water. His blonde hair was still damp from his earlier swim and he lifted one hand to rake it back out of his face.

This was Roman’s favorite stretch of shoreline. The area was rough and full of slippery rocks, so humans tended to avoid it. They usually stuck to sandy areas that were easier to navigate. He could hear the soft hum of them down the beach. Their small children squealed as they chased the gulls and each other up and down the beach. There was a radio playing classic rock.

Up near one of the beach houses, Roman could smell people grilling steaks and burgers. The aroma made his stomach grumble. He hadn’t eaten since early that morning and even then he had only had a banana and a glass of water. He’d had no appetite for months now. He tried to eat. But everything just seemed to turn to sand once he had it in his mouth. He lost his appetite completely after the night of Rose’s birthday party.

Roman tried not to think about Rose. But her memory lingered everywhere. Even here on the beach. They used to come here together. His paddle board looked sad, leaning against the edge of the rocks alone. Without her matching one beside it. If Roman squinted just right he could almost see her sitting on the rocks beside him. Her tan arms wrapped around her legs. The breeze lifting little tendrils of her sun bleached hair that had escaped from her braid. Her musical laugh filling the air around them.

No matter how hard he tried, the events that happened the night of her party kept playing over and over again in his mind. Like a video he couldn’t turn off. Roman talked his mother into throwing Rose an elaborate party at the pack house. It wasn’t a hard sell. His mother lived to throw parties. And she loved Rose. Everyone did. Rose was just that kind of girl. Her smile lit up the room. Roman loved her as long as he could remember. And she loved him back. Everyone, including his mother, had just naturally assumed that they would turn out to be mates.

The eve of Rose’s eighteenth birthday, Roman counted down the minutes until midnight. His room was filled with pink roses and candles. He wanted everything to be perfect for Rose. His future Luna. His queen. Both of them saved themselves. And the moment it struck midnight, Roman envisioned sweeping her away to his room and finally consummating their love. He had their entire lives planned out in his mind. They would have a whole litter of pups. Or maybe only one. Whatever Rose wanted really would have been fine with him. His only goal in life was to make her blissfully happy.

Roman’s mother pulled out all the stops for the party. The entire pack and most of the members of the neighboring pack was invited. There were giant white tents outside filled with lanterns and pink candles. And of course, there was an excessive amount of food. With the speed of their metabolism, wolves ate double to triple the amount that humans did. The cake was truly majestic. More like a wedding cake than a birthday cake. It was four layers tall and covered in pearly white frosting with a waterfall of pink flowers cascading down the front.

Rose wore a long pink party dress. Roman wore white pants and a pink shirt. So that they could match. There were pink flowers pinned into her hair. The floral aroma of them mingled with Rose’s unique scent drove him absolutely crazy. Midnight took forever to come. But in a weird way, it also seemed like it came too fast. All the pups were running around with sparklers. Roman and Rose’s closest friends gathered around them, counting down to midnight together. Rose had a glass of sparkling juice in her hand. Mikey and Drew already had their shirts off in anticipation of a group run. Most wolves felt compelled to shift and run the moment they turned eighteen. The first transformation always went easier if they shifted with a group. And even easier if the wolf was lucky enough to shift with their mate.

Rose’s face was lit up with excitement as they counted down the final seconds like it was New Year's Eve instead of just a regular Thursday in April. At midnight her eyes lit up as the power of her wolf filled her. Rose immediately began to sniff the air. She turned towards Roman, taking in a deep breath. He waited for his own wolf to come to the surface and claim her. But it never happened. Rose turned away from him, following her nose. Then she ran for the buffet table. At first, Roman laughed, thinking she was going for food. But it wasn’t a midnight snack she was after. It was her mate. The shaggy young wolf was an omega from the visiting pack. He wasn’t even invited to the party. He was part of the catering staff. Rose threw herself into the young man’s arms. His eyes went black as his wolf pushed to the surface the moment he smelled her.

It took Roman a moment to process what he saw. The other wolf had Rose in his arms and they were kissing. The flute of sparkling juice that she handed him before she took off running was still in his hand. Roman dropped it, the glass landing softly in the grass at his feet. He was sure his friends were offering him their condolences but he couldn’t hear them. Rose was not his mate. But Roman and his wolf still shared one mind. Riff could feel the intense pain of his human counterpart. And to both man and wolf it felt as if their hearts were being ripped beating from their chests. Roman’s friends jumped back as his hands became claws. White fur sprouted where his skin had been only moments before. His fancy party clothes lay shredded on the ground near the discarded champagne flute. Riff sprinted for the woods. Away from Rose. And away from her mate, who had done nothing to deserve the anger that Roman wished to direct at him. He stopped at the edge of the clearing and let out a pitiful howl.

After that, Roman stayed in wolf form for almost a week. It was almost unheard of to stay shifted for that long. If one stayed in wolf form too long, there was a danger of going feral. Of losing the human part of yourself, leaving behind only the wolf. Roman’s father eventually hunted him down and forced him to shift back. His face was beet red with the force he had to put behind his alpha command. Roman finally shifted back and cried in his father’s arms like he was no more than a toddler. When he got back to the packhouse he showered and then immediately went looking for Rose. But she already packed her things and left. Off to her new pack and new life. Roman hoped it would be a happy one. He still loved her after all.

When we find our true mate you will know. And she will make that swan look like a crow.

Roman laughed through his tears as he responded through the mind link to his wolf. Wow Riff, you’re a poet and you didn’t even know it.

Wolves couldn’t technically laugh. But Roman had a clear picture of Riff in his mind. He was a massive solid white wolf. And currently he was sitting back on his haunches with his pink tongue lolling out the side of his mouth looking quite pleased with himself. He had made his human laugh and that’s clearly what Riff had intended with his silly commentary.

I’ve got the best idea.

Roman smiled as he linked back, asking Riff what his idea was.

How about instead of crying on this beach, we start looking for our mate. Our TRUE mate. The only reason the moon goddess would have denied us Rose is if she had something much better in store for us. Let’s hunt for her!

Roman smiled again. Riff always loved to hunt. For anything. But Roman had to admit that the idea of looking for his true mate was appealing. But the problem with finding his mate was Roman didn’t know where to start looking. He was only nineteen. So there was a chance his mate hadn’t even gotten her wolf yet. It might take him years to find her.

Mate has her wolf.

Roman didn’t question his wolf. He didn’t know how Riff just sometimes knew things. And he wasn’t even sure if Riff knew how and why he knew things. But Riff had never been wrong before. Roman trusted him.

“Hey Cujo!”

Roman turned towards the voice, though from the nickname he already knew who the owner of it was. His friend Marcus was slowly picking his way over the slippery rocks. The young man’s dark skin stood out in contrast against his white shirt. He slipped and nearly fell in the water twice before Roman leaped up and moved to steady the other man, leading him out to the large flat rock where Roman had been sunning himself all afternoon.

Marcus was Roman’s only close friend that wasn’t a wolf. He was a werebear. Or half werebear to be precise. His mother was a bear that married a human and lived in human territory. While this was unusual for a wolf to do, it was common for bears. There were not as many werebears and they tended to be more solitary. They didn’t group together in packs or covens like other supernaturals. Werebears lived in small family groups, blending in among the humans.

Bears were larger and stronger than the wolves. Especially once they were fully mature. But wolves were faster and more agile. Roman and Marcus had proved this many times in the sparring ring.

“How’d you know I was here?,” Roman asked as he stuck his feet back in the cool water.

“Mikey texted me,” Marcus admitted, “...Your dad is worried about you.” Marcus hesitated for a moment. Then he put a friendly hand on Roman’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I’m worried about you too, man.”

Roman nodded in understanding before he turned back to stare out over the water again. He knew everyone was worried about him. And truth be told, he had given them plenty of reason to worry. He had been shirking his duties to his pack. Acting crazy. None of it was intentional. He was just blinded by his own sorrow. Now that the cloud of depression was finally lifting, he could see how his actions were hurting the people he loved most.

“I think I want to start looking for my mate,” Roman said quietly.

Marcus leaped up onto his feet, nearly drowning himself for the third time in the process.

“Hell f*****g yes!,” he bear roared out over the water.

A few humans down the beach turned in their direction, looking to see what the commotion was about. Marcus started dancing in place, pumping his hips forward and then swinging his arms back and forth across his giant frame in a terrible version of some silly tick tock dance. After waving at some human girls in bikinis that were looking at the two men with casual interest, he grabbed Roman and dragged the other man to his feet. Then he started trying to make Roman dance along with him, nearly sending both of them down into the water. Roman laughed so hard he finally bent forward, clutching his ribs.

When he finally gained control over himself, Marcus reached into the back pocket of his shorts and pulled out an envelope. He handed the item to Roman, gesturing for him to open it. The inside of the envelope was lined with a shiny black and the card he pulled out was the same color. It was an invitation to a party, written out in gold lettering.

“It’s the perfect place for you to look for your mate!,” Marcus announced.

Roman read the looping script twice, convinced that he must have read it wrong the first time. Either that or Marcus had gone stark raving totally out of his gourd crazy.

“Marcus!,” Roman said, thinking that calling the other man by name would force him back into reality, “This is an invitation to Julianna Darko’s birthday party! Have you gone crazy! We can’t just stroll into the Midnight Shadow mansion!”

Roman’s reaction only made Marcus laugh harder.

“I can!,” he insisted, “I was INVITED!” Once Marcus got control of his laughter he added, “...well technically my mom was invited. You know she has that uncle or cousin or something that’s on the council in some other state. And those sneaky haints will never miss out on an opportunity to ass kiss the council.”

Roman just shook his head. There was no way he was going onto Midnight Shadow territory. Not now. Not ever. Not only could he get himself and Marcus killed. Tensions were already running high between the two groups and even something as small and silly as this had the potential to start a full on war between them. He wasn’t going and he wasn’t going to let Marcus go either. But then his wolf spoke up again.

We are going to that party and we are going to find our mate.