The Return of the Chosen

truth exposed

Back at the party

Zara just lay there staring at the ceiling, with her teary eyes. She still felt mesmerized by the sparkling lights. She took a deep breath trying to gather her thoughts, momentarily dazed. Her eyes blinked, coming into focus. She heard Naudia whimper. Your wolf always took the brunt of the pain. Amazed, she had survived a run-in with Catori. 'Naudia, you still with me?'

'That was intense as hell.' Naudia grunted. Had it not been for Zion, she most likely would be dead. He had come just in time. She had tried to be strong but there was not much fight left in her by the time he arrived. Tabatha and Chenoa were running their hands over her in an attempt to untangle whatever Catori had twisted up inside of her. She groaned as they ran their hands over her stomach and cried out. "Holy s**t!" she managed to choke out.

"Yeah you are one strong lady," Chenoa whispered, "A weaker wolf would have died or gone mad from the pain."

Now that the ordeal was over and she survived, she felt…numb. Tabatha helped her up into a sitting position and she searched the room for her mate. He was nowhere to be seen. He had left her. A knife to the heart, but what was she expecting? She couldn't blame him much, she had just ruined his fiancee's birthday/engagement party. The girls helped her up and it was awkwardly silent. Her sleeping with Quamir was now the elephant in the room. Zara felt the stares and the silence was loud as hell as she knew everyone was looking at her in disgust. She was now that girl. The girl that went against all the rules was the rebel. Vanessa and Kade whispered a few words to each other and went their separate ways. Vanessa did at least toss her a weak smile. Tabatha, Chastity, Zara, and Chenoa went in another direction. Tabatha was looking at her with sympathy, she had been that girl. She had walked in those shoes long before her. She wrapped an arm around Zara and helped her outside and to her truck.

Chenoa drove occasionally, looking back at Zara, in the rearview mirror, who seemed zoned out.

"Well," Chastity was the first to speak, "that went ….bad."

"Bad Chastity, I could think of a lot of descriptive words to explain that horror show and bad is putting it mildly." Chenoa said, annoyed.

"Okay, it was a train wreck, better?" Chastity asked,

Chenoa did not respond, instead, she asked, "How long have you been sleeping with Quamir?"

"Well, straight to the point, alpha." Tabatha laughed awkwardly.

"That's no one's business but ours," Zara said,

Chenoa shot her a look but was silent for a while. Suddenly, she whipped the car over to the side of the road and cut the engine off. Turning to face Zara, she said through clenched teeth, "Did you know before tonight that he was your mate?"

Tabatha's eyes grew huge. She looked at Zara for an answer herself. Zara could not have possibly known, she thought.

"No I did not know," Zara said, looking at Chenoa.

"I don't give a f**k that you have a special wolf, Zara, if I find out you came for my sister I will rip you and that b***h apart. I get that he is your mate, but if you knew we could have handled this better!" Chenoa practically growled.

"I said I didn't know," Zara said through clenched teeth.

"Noah, she said she didn't know," Chastity said to Chenoa. Chenoa gave her one more look of contempt before turning around and starting the truck again. 'I'd challenge her but, admittedly, it would not be an easy win.' Naudia, Zara's wolf said to her.

'I am not looking for another tangle with the Knight sisters, Naudia. She is just blowing off steam. At least I hope so. She is an Alpha but not mine. If she wants a piece of me she can get it.' Zara said to her wolf. She was no fool, she knew Chenoa had exceptional fighting skills, but so did she and she sure as hell would not make it an easy win, but in truth she wasn't trying to make her an enemy either. She had no reason to. She had a great respect for her, she was a bad ass and Zara idolized her, but she would never admit that to anyone but Tabatha. And she hadn't ever told her because she knew that Tabatha had a lot of mixed feelings about her. She kept her girl crush to herself.

"Amber is a miserable b***h, but that s**t you did is rotten," Chenoa said,

"Chenoa," Tabatha said,

"No, it needs to be said. It's one thing to screw around, hell we have all done that, no judgment there, but to a mated wolf in your own pack and then to watch the Shewolf suffer. That's another level of trifling," Chenoa said.

"Sounds like judgment to me," Zara snapped,

"Yeah come on guys, it's been a rough night, let's not come for each other's throats." Tabatha said, "Zara is suffering. I know that pain-"

"It's excruciating!" Chastity said, cutting Tabatha off, "It feels like your heart is being ripped out and set on fire!" Chastity said, beating her chest, "betrayal is like a slow death. Zara, I like you. Don't get me wrong, but I'm with Noah. It was f****d up. However, if anyone deserved it, it was Amber." she then mumbled. Chenoa shot her a look and Chastity shrugged her shoulders.

Tabatha said nothing to defend Zara after that. She knew this would go badly and had warned Zara when she first mentioned her attraction to Quamir. She had prayed it never came to this. She would never kick her while she was down and say I told you so, but she had warned her and now she knew her friendship with Catori was forever changed. Zara was her person. Catori would never want Zara around and she was not like Chastity. She was always down for her girls, so she would never abandon one friend for another. Her chest ached now for the past and the way things used to be. She guessed it was time to accept that things would never be the same.

Zara just stared out the window replaying tonight's events over and over. Worse than the pain was knowing Amaralus walked out on her. What did this mean, she thought? Did he not find me worthy enough to be his mate? She had made a hell of a first impression. "Has Catori ever read any of you?" Zara asked. No one replied, so she relaxed back into her seat. Being read was a b***h she concluded. She felt exposed and vulnerable, and seeing things about herself from another perspective made her feel violated. Catori thought she was detached, broken. She did not say this but she felt it. She thought this over. Why was it so easy for her to watch Amber's pain and not care? It was almost sadistic now that she thought it over. This made her sad because now she saw something about herself that she did not like. Although on the outside she wore a stony face, on the inside she cried. She wanted her mom more than anything.

Mystic Moon

Zion was mentally exhausted. It was late when he sat in his office and got the mindlink from border control, 'Zion Alpha Amaralus Grey of the Eclipse Moon Pack wishes to have a meeting with you.'

Zion took a sip, 'escort him in.'

Minutes later, Amaralus came into his office and had a seat without an invitation. Zion looked over at the Alpha and chuckled, "You look as f****d up as me."

Amaralus looked at him and then the bottle in his hand. Zion nodded and slid a glass over to him and the bottle of whiskey.

"Is she okay?" Amaralus asked after pouring a glass and taking a sip.

"She went back to the sea." Zion said, looking at the Alpha. He took another swig and looked back at Zion, "so my mate is part of your pack?"

Zion rubbed the hair on his chin, "So Zara is your mate?"

Amaralus nodded, and laughed "This has been quite an eventful evening."

"That it has," Zion agreed, taking a huge swallow.

"Not at all as I had anticipated," Amaralus said, nodding to the whiskey bottle. Zion nodded and he poured him another glass.

"And this Quamir, is he also a member of your pack, may I inquire?" Amaralus gave Zion a sinister look, not bothering to hide his reasoning for asking the question.

Zion looked at the Alpha confused, "No, he has his own pack. Why do you ask?"

"Catori said Zara was not worthy, she mentioned that she was carrying on an affair with Quamir." Amaralus noticed the strained look on the Alpha's face.

"I just wanted an idea of what I was up against," Amaralus admitted, Zion swirled the whiskey in his glass as he took his words in. The smile that came creeping across his face could only be described as disturbing.

"Quamir is mated to my cousin, Amber." Zion said, recognizing a look of recognition when he mentioned her name.

"Amber, I know Amber." He said simply and then followed up with, "Why would he do that to her? She is spunky and beautiful. I thought she would be a fine mate," Amaralus said,

"Quamir does not know our ways. He was raised by humans, then locked in a cage by his brother. He apparently does not appreciate the mate the Goddess has blessed him with." Zion felt sick to the stomach as his anger began to bubble deep within the pit of his stomach. Czar, had begun to pace. He felt extremely disrespected and could taste his blood on his tongue already.

Amaralus thought that was funny coming from Zion, but he chose to keep that to himself.

"Do you have his contact information? I would like to make my position clear to him." Amaralus stated,

"And what position is that?" Zion asked. Amaralus gave him a menacing look, "that any future contact with my mate is forbidden and if he wishes to pursue the matter in the future I will declare war."

Zion looked at the Alpha as much as he hated to admit it. He liked the man. He would have handled matters the same way with Catori had the situation not differed.

"Alpha Black, now that the tables have turned I need to know if you will be calling your goons off?" He stared Zion directly in the eye. He wanted Zion to know that he was fully aware that it was him that had interfered in his personal affairs.

"I have no further issue with you, Alpha Grey. As far as I am concerned, the issue is dead." Zion said,

"So you admit that you were trying to sabotage my business?" The Alpha asked Zion, just wanting confirmation.

"Absolutely, and I had every intention of killing you tonight as well." Zion glared at the Alpha.

"I figured as much as I was prepared." Amaralus smirked,

"Well, now that things seemed to go your way, shall we settle this with an honorable handshake or will blood be spilled?" Amaralus asked.

The men stared at each other, sizing each other up, but Zion knew how to choose his battles. His father always taught him your warriors and pack would give their lives to protect him. Your job is to protect them and not put them in the position where they had to. His pride made him want to tangle with the Alpha, but he knew it was not fair to his pack and, since whatever he had with Catori was over, there was no need to pursue the personal vendetta.

Amaralus wanted to show the Lycan that he was not your average wolf, but he was no fool. He was well aware of who Zion was; his reputation flourished before and after the Chosen. He recalled hearing about how he had gone on a mad rampage and started hunting and attacking Vargas, alone! From his understanding, the Lycan was blowing off steam. No one wanted to tangle with a mad man. He was no coward, but he was no fool either. "Water under the bridge," Zion said,

"Water under the bridge," Amaralus repeated. The men shook hands.

'Zara, where are you?' Zion asked,

'I just pulled in.' Zara replied,

'My office.' he said flatly.

Zara felt sick to her stomach as the reality of her situation sat on her chest. She had worked so hard for her position. Now. Because of her actions, she could end up stripped of her rank and mateless. She entered Zion's office with her head held high. Zion looked at her with disappointment. Then she saw Amaralus Grey, her mate. Her heart fluttered as she looked at the handsome alpha, 'He came for us Naudia!'

'Or to reject us,' Naudia pointed out the possibility. Zara sucked in a breath at the thought.

"Zara, you have met Amaralus Grey, he has come to take you home. Before you go, I will need you to return some items that belong to the pack." Zion looked at her with cold eyes. She handed him the keys. Her face still stung from Catori's claw marks. She slid the keys to the truck across the table. Zion looked at her and sent a mind-link to Kade as Cameron peeked inside. "Just a moment." Zara left the room as Kade came in a few seconds later. Having a seat, he awkwardly looked between the two men. Cameron came in and stood back, observing he said nothing. When Zara returned, she placed her uniform on Zion's desk. "Your badge," Zion said,

Zara looked at Zion. "Can I keep it?"

"No Zara, I was informed tonight that you have been sleeping with my cousin's mate. Now I know you and Amber have had your differences, but we are not human Zara. What you did could have killed her. If you wanted him so badly, you should have challenged her for her mate. I would have honored that. I never liked the weasel anyway. Amber would have felt the pain but she would have recovered. You did not do this the honorable way. You acted like a yellow belly, a coward, a snake. Where was your dignity?" Zion stood staring her in the eye. "I created an entire unit for you. You stood, and looked me in the eye and thanked me, knowing the whole time you were sleeping with Quamir." Zion paused and looked at her, "for how long?"

"I do not owe-"

Zion slammed his fist on his desk so hard the wood cracked, "The hell you don't!" Zion gave her a fierce look, "you put my family member in the hospital, she almost died!"

Zara sniffed, trying to fight the tears, but at last they began to flow "I'm sorry it was before the fall. It just happened he wanted to run away, but I wanted to be with the Elite more than I wanted to be his Luna, so I broke it off. I tried Zion. I swear I did. I rejected him and-"

"Rejected! You let him mark you?" Zion asked, laughing. Zara nodded shamefully. "So for a period of time my cousin unknowingly shared a mate?" he asked, appalled.

Zara just nodded, "Wow" he cleared his throat. "You had better be glad your mate came for you, Zara and your mother did not live to see your dishonor this day." He looked at her with disappointment. "Kade," he said, handing him Zara's badge, "tomorrow you will be named the first officer of the Elite. I want Zara's name removed from the plaque and new pictures taken. Add her name to the history books. I want people to know about her disgrace. Amaralus, please take your mate. Good riddance, after all this time, you have proven to be no greater than the bullies you wished to escape."

Zara stood silently as tears rolled down her cheek. She could feel Amaralus staring at her but was too embarrassed to meet his gaze. "I have a few more items I need to get." She finally choked out in barely a whisper. Zion looked at Amaralus because he was not offering any assistance. "Antonia, Allison help Luna with her things and meet me in the car."

Kade jumped and so did Cameron as two figures appeared, one beside Zion and one next to Amaralus. Zion did not flinch, "Good night Alpha Black" Amaralus said as he walked out of Zion's office.

"Holy s**t" Kade whispered, "did you know they were here?"

"No, the entire time the son-of-a-b***h had me by the throat." Zion sighed,

'We should kill him,' Czar said,

'Yes we should, but we shook on it. What is a man with no honor?' Zion asked his wolf,

'A man with a mate,' Czar huffed and faded away, leaving Zion speechless.

The ride back to the packhouse was quiet and awkward. Zara's mom used to always tell her first impressions were everything. Amaralus' first impression had been less than desirable. First, she ruined his engagement and then, second, he found out that she had slept with another woman's mate. Last but not least, he saw her lose her rank and pretty much get kicked out of her pack. She was not like other girls, she never pretended to be. She didn't dream of being a Luna, and now, though she wondered how it never crossed her mind. She had a special wolf. Of course, she would be mated to an Alpha. She stole a glance at him and felt butterflies in her stomach. He was ruggedly handsome and he was hers. She didn't give a damn if it was the Chosen or some other Shewolf. No way was she walking away without a fight. "I'm not a w***e," she said in a mouse-like tone,

Amaralus heard her but still asked, "what?"

"I said I am not a w***e. He was the only one." She said,

"I didn't call you a whore." He said flatly. He had beautiful eyes and it felt like he was staring into her soul. He had not even touched her, yet she knew somewhere inside she would die for him. The mate bond was …intense. He made her feel naked, vulnerable, so she looked away. He reached over and grabbed her chin and turned her back to him. "Is it over?"

Her forehead wrinkled at the question and the sparks stole her breath away.

"Should I not be asking you that?" A tear rolled down her cheek, he winced. Drawing his hand away from her, he said bitterly, "I thought that was obvious."

They rode the rest of the way in silence. When they arrived at his pack she went to reach for her belongings. "They will carry your things." Amaralus spoke, his voice sending shivers down her spine.

She nodded and followed him inside. The packhouse had a cozy feel. It was much smaller than the Mystics' Moons. She was led to a room toward the back. There was a hallway there with several rooms. He pushed the door open and said, "This will do for now until I make other arrangements."

"I won't be staying with you?" She asked, looking at him. He looked her up and down and she blushed. Especially when she looked up, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her cheek and chin had three nasty, puffy scars that looked to be oozing. Her eyes were puffy from where she had rubbed them to avoid crying. She looked a hot mess as her mascara had smeared from crying in Zion's office when her rank had been snatched away and her reputation blemished for life. The pack she had longed to escape had actually become a home and the people had grown on her. She had disappointed Zion. This hurt her most because he had looked out for her after hearing about her home life. She never felt like by f*****g over Amber. She was also screwing over Zion too.

"Well, I had my bedroom specially designed for Cat. It was going to be a surprise. I think it would be appropriate if I had it redone to suit…you." Amaralus said,

"Can I see it? Would that be awkward?" She asked. He shrugged and walked off, so she followed him.

They walked around to the other side of the packhouse and this side had fewer rooms. One side of the hallway was for visitors and the other side had one room the length of the hallway, which was Amaralus'. When he opened the door, Zara was taken aback. For a moment she thought they had stepped outside, but no Amaralus had taken the outside and took it inside. Trees and an entire f*****g pond were in the middle of the bedroom. The ceilings were ridiculously tall and glass. "The trees are not real, they are specially made to appear that way. The water is freshwater though there are pipes pumping it from the lake. You see, I wanted to be as close to her as possible and when she worked she was always in pain. So I thought she would be able to soak and still be close to me."

Zara was amazed it was clear her mate was truly in love with Catori. She wasn't surprised by this, but she would be lying if she said she was not a bit jealous. "She would have loved this. It's so thoughtful and beautiful. I um I'm sorry we met under these circumstances. I wish it could have been different."

Amaralus did not respond, he was torn, his wolf was excited about finding their true mate. He, however, still felt Catori was their perfect match, or did he? He wasn't sure if it was just guilt. "It's been a long night."

"Oh, of course," Zara said, hurrying to the door. She quickly closed it behind her. He could sense her anxiety. He felt bad and part of him wanted to go to her and comfort her, but the other half was lost at sea.

Later that night

'Amaralus' Catori whispered in his ear later that night. He opened his eyes to find her sitting Indian-style on the bed next to him. He immediately grabbed her, kissing her. "Cat, I'm so sorry I never meant to hurt you."

Catori laughed, "Amaralus, you are so sweet. You don't have to apologize. I came to apologize to you. I reacted terribly to the news. I didn't mean to hurt you."

"Catori, are you serious it was a f****d up situation?" Amaralus whispered,

She laughed and he joined in, always captivated by her smile. "I mean, like what the hell?" She laughed and he pulled her near, sniffing her hair. "I will miss you." He held her face in both hands, looking her in the eyes. He repeated, "I will miss you."

"I know I will miss you too, but I'm happy for you," Catori said honestly,

"How could you possibly be happy for me?" He could not believe her.

"Are you kidding? Amaralus, you found your mate " She touched his face, "there is no greater gift. And you have got a great girl."

"Who are you?" He chuckled, "you almost killed her."

"This is true but I was hurt. I wanted this so bad." Tears rolled down her cheeks and he pulled her closer.

"I love what you did to the room. It's perfect." She smiled at him.

"I am glad you like it." He had put a lot of thought into every detail.

"I love it. Amaralus don't judge Zara too harshly. One mistake should not define the person." She explained.

"She seems ….cold." he admitted.

"Yeah, well, believe it or not, she was a late bloomer and, well, you know how cruel kids can be. I combed her mind and she was getting it at home and at school. I think she has detached a little. Trauma has a strange effect on people. I just hope she will open up enough to be a great Luna. I'm sure once she feels like she belongs here she will flourish." Catori patted his leg, "Just give her time. She really is a great asset. Her wolf, Naudia, is fearless. Even Azira took a liking to her and Azira didn't care for many."

"What will you do now, Cat? Will you continue to look for another mate?"

"No, if someone comes along, so be it, but I think I want mine back." Catori sighed, "he is mine and it's time I accepted it."

"And his mate?"

"I am his mate, period."

Amaralus nodded as he observed her, "Then I wish you all the best."

"Thank you Amaralus."

He sniffed the air and looked at her. "I quit taking the pills the other night, I thought they would no longer be needed." She admitted,

Amaralus groaned as if he was in physical pain, "You should go now Cat."

Catori gave him a sad smile but she understood. He did not want to hurt his new mate. She leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Treat her well."

They held each other a moment and then she was gone.