The Return of the Chosen

choices

Hurt Me So Good

Jasmine Sullivan

Mystic Moon

Tabatha went on and on about how horrible today had been. She spent almost two hours crying about how Catori had acted like she barely knew her. "I mean I looked into her eyes and they were so cold. I don't think she is the same, something is different."

"Tabatha, I think she needs time to adjust to all the changes she has a lot to take on with work, she is a mom, and Zion and Leilani. I'm sure she is on edge." Richard said to her.

"Yes, but we were so close and I felt like a stranger to her. Was I wrong? Should I not have said anything? She had Blaine on a chain so I could feel BJ'S humiliation."

Richard wrapped an arm around her and pulled her to him. "Tabby, you came on really strong. You were in mama mode. Grrr claws out." Richard teased Tabatha, laughing, "She wouldn't want anyone hurting her pups." Tabatha said in her defense.

Richard sighed as he looked up at her yawning, "Are we okay?" She asked him as she sat up. He pulled her back down, "it's been a long day. Tomorrow we head back to Silver Crescent to start working on rebuilding. Let's get some rest."

"Do you think Zion will be okay?" She said, sliding out of bed as if something was calling her and, sure enough, she saw Zion heading toward the River. 'He has lost everything Cat, his parents are gone.'

'He has his mate.' Catori responded. Tabatha didn't think she actually would, 'Yes but she is not you.'

'Go to sleep Tabatha,' Catori sounded annoyed to Tabatha.

'I'm sorry Cat, I should not have approached you the way I did. It's just that BJ looked so crushed.' Tabatha tried explaining.

'Good night, Tabatha,' Catori coldly replied.

'Okay, but if his mate is so important, why is he headed to the lake? Goodnight Cat, I hope you two work it out.' Tabatha sighed.

Catori tossed and turned for a while, but it was not Kreis that made her sleepless, it was Zion now. Why could she not shake him? She had to get this mark off her neck. She went dragging her feet outside and stared at Blaine as he lay in a fetal position, "Tabatha is messy as f**k!" She said to him. He did not respond, "can you believe she tried me?"

Blaine was tired of her abuse so he chose to ignore her this time. When he said nothing she huffed and went to lie back down. She had taken a short nap earlier next to him. As soon as she woke up, she punched him in the face, breaking his nose. His f*****g face pissed her off, and she took her pillow back. After all, it was his fault she was about to suffer through the heat without her mate watching them with another. After another twenty minutes of no sleep, she went and took a hot shower. Her heart ached for her Lycan, 'Azira, this is hell.'

Azira whimpered in agreement as Catori dried off. She slid a nightgown on and laid back down. She wasn't even sure when she fell asleep. She woke up looking at the sky. Clear blue, littered with stars. Suddenly, people started falling from the sky. What the hell! She started panicking as she heard the screaming, and felt fear. It gripped her until she saw him, "Earth," then she realized what was happening. Her baby was having a nightmare. Mundora came from the ground and she stood in front of him. As soon as he saw her, he wet himself. "Earth," she whispered as he turned to look at him. Pain gripped her heart.

"Mommy, I'm scared." He said to her,

She held her finger up. "Wait here," she looked at Mundora. She waved her hand and she froze. Catori waved her hand and now Mundora was bright as a rainbow with multiple colors. She made a few adjustments and now the beast was a carousel ride. Catori walked back looking at her smiling son, "Not so scary now hmmm."

Earth hugged her and she watched as all the children he interacted with were pulled into his dream. "Aunty!" Catori turned to see a little girl running at her with open arms. "Dora?" She knelt down catching the little girl as she dove into her arms. "Oh my Goddess, look at you, sweetheart." She said, kissing her.

"I knew you would come back," Dora said. "Look," she proudly held up the necklace she had gotten her from Ameria so long ago.

"It's beautiful on you, sweetheart." Catori smiled,

"Thank you, auntie, you knew it would be, didn't you?" Dora said and Catori gave a huge hug, instant love.

"Thank you for saving the world, auntie," Dora said, as another little girl joined her. Catori stared at her and the little girl stared back. Finally, she said, "Thank you auntie for sending me home."

"She is not your aunt, she is my aunt!" Dora yelled at the little girl, "who told you she was your aunt?"

"She did." The girl said, looking at Catori. It seemed vague to Catori, "When I died she was there."

"Summer," Catori said, smiling at her now with recognition.

Now another thought crossed her mind. She was told long ago that Summer was Elijah's, fated mate. Although Blaine had the DNA of Aphena and Heron, it was still weird to think of their kids being mated. It seemed wrong, weird.

"You're welcome, honey," Catori said. Dora did not look happy as she stood mean-mugging Summer. Summer seemed unbothered as she walked to Catori and hugged her. Catori picked her up as she had Dora and gave her a big hug. 'Be nice Dora, my heart is big enough for you and all the children of the world. You will always be my special girl.'

Catori put Summer down as she ran to join the other kids, dragging Dora with her. Catori spotted Elijah, who stood back away from the others, rubbing his eyes and crying, "what's wrong?"

"Sleepy." He whined.

"Back to bed, you go." She took his hand, only turning to see Zion. He looked confused.

"Where are we?" He asked.

"Earth had a nightmare. He must have pulled you into it." Catori tried to leave the dream and realized she could not.

"What's wrong," Zion asked and she looked confused.

"That's not possible," Catori said, looking back toward Earth.

"What?" Zion asked.

"I can't leave." She reached for her neck, "f**k!"

"It's not that serious, Catori just wake him up." Zion walked up to Earth and went to shake him, but the ground began to shake.

"Zion, no don't wake him." Catori looked around and saw a transport vehicle and turned it into a bed. She lay Elijah down. "He is cranky when you wake him."

Zion nodded, "always has been that way."

"Sorry I missed it." She turned and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" He called out.

"If I'm stuck here I might as well check it out." She walked until she came to the pack house. She stood staring at it awhile. Zion came to stand beside her, "what are you thinking?"

She shook her head and turned away, not responding. She continued walking. She walked toward the waterfall. Seeing the rock, she spent hours sitting and talking about Zion as Noah talked about Michael. It seemed like a lifetime ago. Memories began flooding her mind. She again reached for her necklace. "I have to get out of this dream."

"Is it so terrible being here with me?" He looked at her sadly, "guess you are wishing it was Kreis. You seemed to have enjoyed your time with him today."

"Could have enjoyed it more," she said to him. Zion inhaled sharply, looking at her, "Why are you so cruel now Catori?"

"I am cruel." She laughed, "well you have nothing to worry about. Once the mark is removed, we can go our separate ways." She said to him.

"You think it will be that easy?" He asked.

"Why wouldn't it? I will be single and you will be free." She hissed.

"I never asked for freedom, Catori!" He said to her, "You didn't ask for me either!" She yelled at him, turning to walk away. He grabbed her, pulling her to him, "Quit walking away from me" he growled.

"Let me go!" She yelled at him. She went to walk away when she felt herself being lifted.

"Put me down!" She screamed as he carried her toward the water. She screamed as he tossed her in the water, "Being hot in the ass today! I think you need a cool down." Zion said, Catori screamed, growling at him. As she rose up from the water soaked. Zion's eyes darkened with lust. Now her nightgown dripping wet left nothing to the imagination. It clung to her curves and was completely see-through, so the fact that she had nothing under it did not help. He stalked toward her like a lion stalking his prey. "Zion Black, don't you dare come near me you animal" she snapped, but he ignored her, grabbing the front of her gown, he ripped it off her and she pulled away as she listened to it tear. "Oh, you arrogant asshole, if you think for a second I am having s*x with you you are crazy!" She said, pushing at him, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her to him and she immediately felt the sparks go rushing through her body. He grabbed a handful of her hair, "Cat are you going to give it to me now," he growled in her ear. He bent down sucking on her mating spot. At that moment, she felt her insides turn to mush as his hands began to explore, 'Azira help' Catori whispered, but in turn, she heard a moan from her wolf as Zion's fingers found her opening and he started working his magic. She grabbed him as she felt her knees weaken, "Damn you wet, Kitten." Catori's head was spinning. She tried one last time to pull away, but Zion let out a possessive growl. Lifting her up, he fumbled with his belt buckle. She heard his pants fall. He teased her, sliding her slit up and the length of his c**k. When he rubbed his throbbing manhood against her dripping wet opening, Catori lost it. As she pushed down on his hard c**k, her legs began to shake. And Zion began to make guttural grunts as he worked his hips until he was as deep as he could go. Catori's moans sent him into overdrive and he began to drive his c**k into her, hard and fast. She could do nothing but wrap her arms around his neck and hold on as he grabbed her hips, slamming them down, he dug his nails into her ass, squeezing so hard she was sure to have bruises. He carried her out of the water, placing her in the grass underneath him. He had one hand holding one leg as his other held the other spread eagle. She screamed as he did push-ups inside her, drilling her hard. She tried pushing at his chest but there was no use. He was more animal than man and he had lost complete control. And she could not move as he held each of her ankles by her head so he had full access to her goodies. "sweet sweet p***y Cat" he kept saying as he stroked her over and over again until she reached multi-orgasms. She could feel him release but still, he acted like a starving man. He did not let her go. When he did release her legs, he grabbed her waist and held her in place. He took her n*****s in his mouth, sucking and biting at them. He would get excited again and start pounding away again, "Zion," Catori moaned as she could do nothing but squirm underneath him. Zion refused to move, "Yes baby say it's mine" he whispered, driving her mad as he sucked on her mating spot. He groaned, rolling over. He pulled her on top of him. He gripped her ass as she bounced on him, tossing her head back. He slapped her ass, lifting her up. He grabbed her face, pulled her to him, took her lips, he kissed her so sweetly. "I love you, baby. I love you Cat."

"Zion oooooh Zion," she called out right before he sunk his teeth into her mating mark. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head.

"Mine" he whispered as Catori fell into total, complete bliss.

Listeria

Catori woke the next morning and immediately noticed the soreness between her legs. She rolled over groaning at the thought of what had happened last night. 'Azira!' she called out to her wolf.

'Sorry I could not resist him, I tried, I really did.' Azira whimpered.

Catori could not be mad at Azira; she had been trying her best not to communicate with Czar as much as she was with Zion. In truth, it was a sneak attack. She had been pulled into a dream by Earth and she had no control, it seemed he did. She would have to discuss that with her mother.

'Catori, does this mean he will send the hangman packing?'Azira asked not bothering to hide her excitement.

'The hangman, why do you call her that?'

'b***h, looks like a stick figure, seriously.' Azira huffed and Catori burst into laughter. She forgot how funny her wolf could be.

'I'm serious, Catori, of all the women he could have picked as a mate he picked her. She is not even a special wolf. It's insulting!'

'I agree, but I also admit that being with him always feels right. I just hope he figures it out before it is too late. Because once I am done, I am done.'

As if on cue, Zion mind linked her, 'Morning Kitten, I was wondering if you would like to join Leilani and me for breakfast,' Zion asked her sounding jolly as hell to Catori.

'For what?' Catori snorted as she frowned with a look of disgust. She ignored the stabbing feeling in her heart.

'To get to know each other. If we are going to make this work, we should spend time together. So everyone knows each other's expectations.'

Catori laughed, she knew getting excited would be a mistake because Zion was still on the same bullshit.

'Zion, I don't need to get to know your mate because she is your mate. Nothing has changed, Zion.' Catori snapped at him.

'Catori, we made love last night and I know you felt like I did!'

'Zion, we f****d last night! That is all! I am sorry everything I said still stands. I'm going back to work today and when I return in six days you will remove the mark from my neck.' Catori was fuming again. He had taken an opportunity to make things right to try and force his mate on her.

'CATORI QUIT PLAYING WITH ME! YOU ARE MY MATE AND I WILL NEVER LET YOU GO!' Zion growled, he did not see how she could feel this way after what they shared last night.

'BUT BABY, YOU DID THAT THE MOMENT YOU TOOK HER, THE MOMENT YOU CLAIMED HER, YOU GAVE ME UP. IF YOU, EVER IN A MILLION YEARS, THOUGHT I WOULD ACCEPT THIS ARRANGEMENT IT LETS ME KNOW YOU NEVER KNEW ME ANYWAY. I AM THE f*****g CHOSEN AND YOU WANT ME AND HER. NEVER! AND THE SOONER YOU ACCEPT IT THE BETTER BECAUSE WHAT YOU DON'T WANT ME TO DO ZION IS GET PISSED OFF AND TAKE THE CHOICE I HAVE GIVEN YOU AWAY.'

'WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?'

'KEEP f*****g PLAYING WITH ME AND YOU WILL FIND OUT!' She cut the link and stood fuming. Catori was so aggravated she decided she did not want to deal with wolves at all, so she decided to throw herself into her work, starting with the humans.

One hour later

Zion sat at his desk listening to Janora as she made her proposal. Janora was explaining that her boys were entirely too young to take on the Alpha responsibility as of now, so she wanted to merge packs until her sons were old enough to run a pack and she wanted Zion to train them. Zion was trying to focus but his mind kept wandering back to Catori. He was not letting her go and she was insane if she thought he would.

"Alpha, what do you think?" Janora asked,

"Janora, I had a great deal of respect for Alpha Xavier. Of course, I will assist you in any way that I can." Zion said, and Janora let out a sigh of relief. She knew Zion would be fair, a lot of Alphas would have wanted half her land or would have forced her to be their Luna. River tapped on the door and Zion waved at him. He tossed a stack of papers on the Zion desk when he suddenly stiffened, looked at Janora, and sniffed the air. Zion knew that look. As River approached Jonara he sniffed her and she stiffened. River snatched the decorative scarf that she used to cover her hair.

"Who do you share this scarf with?" He demanded to know. Janora glared at him and River growled at her. "My little sister-in-law and she does not want you as a mate!"

"And how would you know that?" River snapped at her.

"Because she sniffed you out five years ago and decided once she saw you were PREGNANT! You would not be a suitable mate. She has absolutely no desire to mate with you." You could hear the animosity in her voice. River frowned but said,

"That's fine but I am entitled to a formal rejection, it's Wolven law." River said flatly, "If you could call her so we can get this over with, I'd appreciate it." Janora rolled her eyes at him, her eyes clouding over. Twenty minutes passed and a knock came on the door. River stared in awe as the most exquisite female he had ever seen walked in. She could only be compared to a goddess to him. "Good morning Shannara," Zion said to her.

"Morning Alpha." She said, never looking in Rivers' direction.

"I understand you wish to sever your bond with River," Zion stated.

"Correct!" she said sharply.

"I think it would be best. Shannara is certainly a Luna material and River is…just not suitable," Janora said.

River was not offended. He had been warned multiple times that his womanizing could catch up with him and so here they were.

"Shannara, you agree?" Zion asked.

"I do." She quickly chimed in.

"Very well, let's get this done." River began,

"Wait River!" Zion said, and everyone turned to look at him,

"For starters, I resent your remark, Janora. River may not be an alpha but nor is he a lowly wolf. He is and has been my war general for years and, before that, advised me on strategy as a pup. Now true, his relationship decisions have been poor, but if you haven't noticed, there is a great shortage of, alpha's and I think we all would fall short if we were judged by our past indiscretions." Zion went on to say, "Normally, I do not intervene in cases like this, but in this case, I order you both to spend an hour together at least three days a week for the next month. If you still wish to reject each other after that, then I will not intervene."

"Alpha. He had a baby," Shannara hissed.

"Yes, he did. And he is a wonderful father." Zion said.

"I will be your mate if she doesn't." They all looked back to see Janine at the door, "Sorry I didn't mean to interrupt but you said to come to your office this morning and the door was open. I didn't mean to eavesdrop." Janine said to Zion.

"It's fine Janine, where is your brother?"

"He is on his way to Alpha," Janine said, looking at River. Zion had to admit she was a beautiful girl too. River always had a way with the ladies, even Cat, used to tease him and call him pretty. This is why he tried drilling into him at a young age the importance of the mate bond. He knew his temptation would be great.

"Very well, I think we are done here. We can discuss this later again Janora." She nodded, standing to go as Shannara still stood with her arms defiantly crossed, staring as Janine came in. She walked right over to River and planted a kiss on his cheek. "River, I was wondering if you would like to go for a walk later. Maybe you could show me around your territory." Janine said, batting her eyes at River.

"Great idea! Actually, I will have Leilani organize that. We have a lot of new members and that would be a great idea." Zion said, volunteering River.

"Great!"Janine said, smiling at River. She shot a look in Shannara's direction. Shannara looked unbothered as she spun around and left. River looked at Zion 'Really'

'Trust me, there is a method to my madness.

"Janine, have a seat." Zion instructed her as Thomas tapped on the door.

"Thomas come in," Zion waved him in.

Thomas gave Zion a firm handshake, "have a sit."

He looked at them both, "I would like to offer my condolences on the loss of your sister. Also, I have the most recent numbers from the council." Janine grabbed her brother's arm, bracing herself. They had lost everyone. There, Luna, Alpha, parents a sibling, and Thomas lost his mate. Now Zion had to take away their last remaining hope. "Unfortunately, as of today, there are no remaining survivors from your pack."

Janine burst into tears and Thomas wrapped his arms around her. As he too let his tears fall. Every member has perished. "I would like to extend an offer from Mystic Moon to you. We will accept you here." Zion felt like a b***h, because their tears were affecting him. "Everyone has lost so much." He looked over at the picture on his desk. He felt the pain of his own parents' loss, "I lost my parents too. I keep waiting for my mother to knock on the door and ask if all is well. My father asking how I plan to pull this fiasco back together." He cleared his throat, "anyways um we could definitely use you, Thomas. My men died with honor, a great number of them, so I have more women than men. I need wolves to start reestablishing the borders and warriors. Everything is peaceful now, but you better believe territory wars will begin soon. It will not be easy. My men train hard and I will not be easy on you." Zion gave Thomas a serious nod and Thomas shook his hand.

"Training starts tomorrow morning. I hope to see you there."

As they left his office, Zion asked River, "What do you think?"

"I think at a time like this there is a position for everyone," River said.

Zion looked at River, he had matured a lot. He was no longer a boy but a young man. "I meant what I said, River, you have come a long way."

"Zion I f****d Akoshka, I f****d the hell out of her," River admitted, "Shannara is beautiful but she deserves better than me." He confessed.

"I disagree." Zion said, "I have seen your wisdom, determination, and fight, little brother. She has a great mate. Furthermore, in truth, she was not bad on the eyes at all." Zion said, leaving out the fact that he and Chandler had a run-in with her as well.

'She was not bad on the eyes at all,' Czar agreed. River laughed as he held his head down, looking up at Zion as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Why do I have a feeling winning her over is going to be like a trip through hell?"

Zion kicked his feet up, crossing his arms, "Join the club!"

One of the Omegas knocked, placing another letter on his desk from the council for Catori. The council seemed eager to contact her.

Which could only mean she was ignoring them as well.

Zara stood next to Shannara and several other females as River approached. "My goddess, that man can wear some jeans," Janine said as River approached. He stopped as a group of elderly women stopped to throw questions at him. "He is a sweetheart too," Zara said, "and has the most brilliant mind."

"Thirsty much?" Shannara mumbled. Zara turned around to glare at her, "Excuse me?" Zara said.

Shannara just looked her up and down, "I'm just saying you girls act as if you've never seen a cute guy before."

"Cute," another cute blond said, laughing, "what do the guys look like in your pack? Puppies are cute." She laughed.

"River fine as hell." All the girls joined in with her laughter. Shannara did not think they were funny and she also knew she pissed the Shewolf off with the gorgeous eyes because she was not laughing either.

"Hello ladies, this is Ms. Bethel and Ms. Allison. They will be joining us today, so we are going to take a slow and easy pace." River said, smiling.

"Can we not just do separate runs? I wanna get this over with." Shannara said in a really nasty tone.

"Oh dear, we did impose, we can certainly take it another day. Then we can have you all to ourselves," Ms. Bethel squeezed his cheeks.

"Absolutely not, Ms. Bethel, it's no bother at all. At Mystic Moon, we have great respect for our older members and the contributions and sacrifices they have made. After all, at one point, you were the warriors and border patrol as well." River said, "Now if Shannara does not like the present company she is welcome to take a tour with me alone at a later date." All the girls at that point turned to look at Shannara fully expecting her to take him up on the offer just to be alone with him.

"Of course, not my apologies," Shannara said, glaring at River.

'What the hell is her problem?' Zara mind linked River.

'She is my mate,' River groaned. 'Never thought my mate would be an entitled brat.'

Zara laughed aloud, 'you're shitting me!'

'Nope, not at all.' Zara looked at Shannara and Shannara rolled her eyes. She knew damn well they were talking about her and she refused to let them get under her skin.

River was a great tour guide and he had the gift of gab. He pointed out the different places where battles had occurred and the strategies used. "Now before we go, I have to say after this point we must stay close. Vargis have been spotted. Luckily, we have Zara. She is a Monarch Wolf. The first of her kind in hundreds of years, almost as rare as the Chosen. Zara has exceptional abilities and one is the ability to smell the Vargis when they are miles away. Her smell is three times more heightened than the average wolf. Zara blushed as River went on and on about her until she said, 'Ok River, ok, they got it I'm special," she waved her hand. "Enough of that."

"Sounds like someone is smitten," Ms. Allison pointed out the elbowing River. River blushed now. He would be lying if he said he never thought about it, but it wasn't like that. Zara was really cool. She was one of those few females that did not get bored with him when they realized what a nerd he actually was. "It's not like that, I am just a man that recognizes the beauty in all of the beings the goddess creates. I'm sure there is something about all of you

That I would find extraordinary. For instance, Janine has incredible strength. She has lost so much, as I know we all have, but her ability to still rise up and push forward is amazing. I also know she is a wonderful care giver because I saw how she cared for her brother and sister. Speaking of caregivers, Ms. Allison worked for the council for years. She was a nurse, you have to be extraordinary to land a gig like that. Ms. Bethel," River winked at the older woman and she nearly exploded with excitement, "I was one of the first female warriors. At a time when females were used more for breeding than anything. My wolf was a badass. She reminds me a lot of Zara, fierce." She giggled with joy. Her laughter was contagious and even Shannara laughed along with her.

They continued to walk a bit as River continued pointing things out, "s**t how did they get so close so fast? Vargis and it's a herd. Back back back now!" Zara growled.

"Shift into your wolves now and go now" River yelled at them. The girls quickly all started shifting. All but Shannara, she froze up, "Shift!" Zara yelled at her. Shannara turned to run, then fell over a rock, twisting her ankle. She screamed, "Seriously," Zara growled at her, "You just alerted them we are here."

Flash Back

"What is that there?" Shanara asked,

"A bear, I think, why is it moving like that?" her boyfriend Jamal pointed out,

"I don't know, maybe it has rabies," Shannara said as the beast stood on its feet charging at them. The blood, so much blood...