The Return of the Chosen

Put it in the past

Figures-Jessie Reyez

Silver Crescent

"Oh, you're welcome. Anything I can do to make you feel at home." Breanna said cheerfully,

"Oh, can you make Chenoa like me," Tabatha said jokingly.

"Are you kidding? Chenoa always has a stick up her ass." Breanna snorted. Tabatha's eyes grew big and they both stared at each other in silence, then burst into laughter. After that, they chatted freely and seemed to get along well. "Chenoa is okay but she can be short, but after a while, I learned about her. It's just her way. She has a resting b***h face. She is not very approachable. I thought she hated me too and then one day she showed up at my doorstep with a shitload of baby stuff. I watched her sip her wine as I went through the stuff and she loosened up. You just have to give her time. She has a lot of burdens and she wears them on her face. If you watch her closely you will see she is often very sad. Her patience is not very long either. I honestly think she gets along better with guys because they're less emotional." Breanna explained, "I guess what I'm saying is give her a chance."

Tabatha nodded. She didn't bother telling her she had given her numerous chances and, at this point, could care less whether she liked her or not as long as she was able to stay.

"Have you seen the statue the Chosen gifted Chenoa with?" Breanna asked,

"No,"

"Oh you have got to see this, I've heard people say she weeps," Breanna said with excitement.

"The statue?"

"Yes, real tears." Breanna said, "Come I will show you." The rumor is it is Akoshka in human form, but others that saw her say it is not." Breanna led her to the garden, which was beautiful. When they came to stand before the statue, Tabatha froze, "Holy f*****g s**t!"

"What?" Breanna said as Tabatha walked up to it, running her finger across its face.

"Ophelia," Tabatha stood before the statue.

"That name seems to suit her. Was she a goddess or something?" Breanna asked.

"Or something, " Tabatha mumbled as she stared at her in awe.

"Oh crap, I promised the omegas I'd help with lunch. Do you think you can find your way back?" Breanna asked.

"Oh yeah sure." Tabatha said, distracted, "Um okay, " Breanna wanted to say more, but Tabatha seemed completely focused on the Statue. She turned and had only gone a few feet when Tabatha yelled, "Breanna same time tomorrow?"

"Yes, yes, of course, I'd love that," Breanna admitted, Tabatha waved at her as she walked away.

"Well, well, well, isn't payback a b***h?" Tabatha laughed. "At least you're not dead, Catori has changed big time. She is parading Blaine around on a leash like a dog and you are being s**t on by birds." Tabatha shrugged, "how do you feel now Ophelia?" Tabatha asked and she watched as tears rolled down her cheeks. "Well, I think everyone feels like that now." She looked at her and was amazed that even as a statue she was still pretty. "I still hate you even as a statue. I can't find it in my heart to forgive you." She spat on her face. "You have really hardened my heart. I will never forgive you for trying to kill my son." She hissed, "I hope you burn in hell." Tabatha walked away, calling out to her kids to follow.

Kevin had offered his services to Zion to help tomorrow to reestablish Mystic Moon's borders; they had already had two reported Vargis attacks. The problem was Chenoa was nowhere to be found, which was not like her. At least not for this long. And Chastity had lost the Book of Thai during the fall; it had vanished, so now everyone was trying to build to protect as much of their territory as they could. Kevin was the Beta, so he did not feel comfortable just leaving, but he felt like he was going to have to, which meant he would have to have a conversation with Richard. They avoided each other as much as possible. Today he found Richard on top of the roof of the conference hall he built single-handedly. He had to admit the bastard was a hell of a carpenter. Silver Crescent had a lot of help because they were bigger, having taken on half of Mystic Moon, it took no time at all to get it back up and running and you could tell the difference in the building Richard completed versus the one that was done by the pack as a whole. His had more of a sophisticated look to it." Kevin noticed a flock of women pretending to be busy close by. "Richard, I got ya cold water." A woman named Keisha called up to him, Kevin noticed how her breasts looked like they were served up on a platter and her cleavage was so low you could all but see her n*****s, which happened to be hard. Richard kept hammering away, "and I thought you might be hungry so I bought you some meatloaf." Another woman named Holly called out to him. Her dress was so short it barely covered her ass. "Oh Richard, I made my mama's homemade coconut pie. The best in Silver Crescent, alpha even says so. It tastes better than anything a fairy could whip up." Unique was the most dangerous of all because she dressed more modestly than the other two in little Susie's homemaker's dresses and had a soft, pretty voice that occasionally gave Kevin a hard-on. She was like that hot school teacher you wanted to bang when you were a kid. She wore glasses but moved so seductively. You had to watch her because she could reel you in without you knowing it.

Richard quit hammering, "Pie did I hear pie?" Richard called out.

"You sure did now get your big handsome self down here and take a bite." She said, batting her eyes up at him. Kevin shook his head because he knew it was a setup. He remembered when Unique had her eyes set on him, but Breanna had stopped that before he could even bother to do so. Jacoby said she got up real early one morning and met the woman in the kitchen and told her if she caught her anywhere near me she would stick her claws in one of her fake breasts and deflate it so everyone could see how artificial she really was. Unique ran so fast Jacobi said it wasn't anything but dust flying after he blinked. Richard dug right into that pie and Kevin watched as Holly rubbed his sweaty brow. "Such a hard worker. You gotta eat properly in this heat." Holly said giggling, "bet you're real good at eating." She said slyly, licking her lips, "Don't look like you're missing any meals." She said, rubbing Richard's arm.

"Yes and stay hydrated." Keisha leaned in, pressing the bottle of water to his lips, "That's right sugar lick that all up." She said, purposely rubbing her breast against his chest. Richard stepped back as he said, "You ladies are awfully nice." Richard said, poor sap did not have a clue, Kevin thought.

"Hey Richard, can I have a minute?" Unique saw Kevin and damn near tripped trying to get out of dodge. The other women scattered too. Kevin assumed word had gotten around. "Zion asked me to come to Mystic to help secure the borders. I have not seen Noah and she does not answer me. So can you keep an eye on the pack tomorrow?"

"Sure no problem, should we be worried about Noah?" Richard asked.

"I'm gonna see if Zion can reach Catori to reach out to her. I'll keep ya posted." Kevin said. He stood there awkwardly for a moment and Richard knew there was something more he wanted to say. Kevin thought it over and decided not to warn him. He would learn to watch his own back as he had."

'Only you had Jacobi.' his wolf said to him. Jacobi, Kevin thought he missed him dearly.

'He would not hear me anyway.' Kevin walked away.

Kreis Mountain

Chenoa woke to women entering the room chattering. "What are we going to do with her hair?" One of the women said as Chenoa sat upright leaning against the wall. She must have fallen asleep at some point. She felt so defeated and she pulled her knees to her chest. The ache in her chest was so deep, she felt betrayed.

"You're still wearing the same clothes. Get up and shower," she snapped her fingers at Chenoa.

"If you touch me I will break your f*****g neck," Chenoa said calmly,

"So you will not play nice, fine. Edgar, the beast is misbehaving!" Chenoa stood as Edgar entered the room. As he approached her she grabbed the chair and broke it over his head. And took the broken leg, stabbing him in the heart. Two more men came rushing into the room and fought with all her might and although she was a great fighter, the two men eventually pinned her. The man from earlier, who was Kreis' brother, came in placing a knee to her neck as he tightened the noose around her neck, "I see you have not learned your lesson yet." He held so much hate and animosity toward her yet she had never met this man before.

Kreis Mountain

Kreis knew that Chenoa was upset due to being forced into marriage, but the energy that went through him this time was different. He fell to his knees, 'My love' he called out to Chenoa,

'He's killing me!' Chenoa screamed as fear gripped her.

"Let's teach this one a lesson." One of the men laughed at Kreis, brother's words as he went and locked the door. clearing the table he took his hand sweeping the beauty products on the floor.

"I have been trying to find a way to get rid of my brother for years and you have made it so easy. Kill you and he dies." He laughed as he pulled the noose tighter, passing it off to another man, "Hold it, Booker!" He said, yanking her pants down. Chenoa could not scream because she could not breathe. She tried shifting but could not. 'It's wolfsbane, Noah' Anika was screaming in her mind as she struggled to fight against the pain. Chenona felt her legs being pried apart. "Hold her damn legs, you should be honored. I want to touch you beast!" He spat out. She felt his skin against hers. Oh, my goddess, this is happening, she thought. After all the years of being a slave and the threat of being raped by the rogue king, she was now about to be taken by a ruthless dragon lord. She heard him say "don't worry boys we will all get a turn," Chenoa felt herself about to black out, she saw a bright light and an image of a woman flashed before her, "Mommy" she whispered as she felt her mother stroking her cheek. She smiled as warmth covered her body. She inhaled deeply, blinking as her mother faded away. She looked around as her cloudy vision cleared. She inhaled sharply as she saw Catori standing before her covered in blood. Kreis's brother was still alive. Chenoa rolled off the table onto the floor, landing in a puddle of blood. She looked at the dead bodies around her, she suddenly became aware of the wetness between her legs. She had been violated. She started screaming hysterically. Catori turned to look at her, just as Kreis burst inside the room, he charged his brother as he shifted into his dragon. 'Azira,' Catori whispered. Azira pushed through and the two dragons busted the rock as they fought over the body of his brother until he was ripped apart. Kreis grabbed his neck and took it off, consuming his body. Chenoah watched Catori's dragon and Kreis' dragon huddle as they stared at each other. She could tell they were conflicted. Azira took off flying and they soared in the skies together. Catori was at peace; she had missed the feeling of soaring through the skies. She looked back and saw Chenoa watching. Kreis looked back at his mate and flew to her while Catori continued to soar. She used to dream of having him beside her and now the one time they were able to fly together, these were the circumstances.

"Your brother raped my sister!" Catori said as Chenoa lay on the floor in a near comatose state.

"Catori, I nearly died too. I'm sorry, maybe this world is too dangerous for her. She can't win against dragons and there will always be threats." He sighed "How am I to run a kingdom and protect her at the same time? I keep her, we die, I release her, we die."

Catori could not really speak about it because he was right either way. As long as they were mated, she would be in danger and as long.

"What am I to do?" He asked,

"Protect her, keep her by your side at all times when she is here, and I will protect her when she is on earth," Catori said simply.

"He touched her," Kreis growled,

"Will you see her any differently?" Catori asked,

"No, she is my love," Kreis said, offended she thought so little of him.

"Good because I am going to do something, and I need you on board," Catori said to him,

"What are you going to do?" He asked as she walked over to her. Staring at her sister, she touched her head, staring into her eyes. Combing the memories until she found them today. She felt bad but she began to alter her memory, taking the moment she was raped. Calling out to Anika, she took the memories from her too, when she released her. Chenoa looked at her confused, then grabbed her in a hug. She began to weep, "I didn't think you would come," she cried. Catori's heart softened and she felt deeply ashamed. She saw the many times her sister had imagined her return. Chenoa had an ache that she had fought against, trying not to be consumed by grief and she had shut her out. She felt horrible as she held her crying. She was not being fair to her and she knew it, "Cat, I'm sorry," she cried.

Chenoa was never good at this part, but she always shared that softer side with her. She had left her hanging. Now she held her back and cried into her shoulder. Chenoa held her face, "forgive me sister please," Chenoa begged her,

"No," Catori said, "forgive me."

"Noah, your bath water is ready," Kreis said to her.

She nodded at him, "Will you stay?"

"No, I have work to do," Catori said, but Chenoa grabbed her hand, "It's okay I will return to see you soon, I promise Noah."

Chenoa nodded and Kreis led her to the bathroom, helping her undress. He noticed the bruising between her legs. Chenoa did not seem to notice at all, still thrilled about the long-awaited reunion she shared with her sister. She slid in the warm water, closing her eyes. "I will be right back, my love," he said to her, closing the door behind him.

"What did you do to her?" Kreis asked Catori,

"I stole the memory from her and her wolf. She will never have to know this happened. She appears hard as stone but inside she-"

"Catori, I know my mate, thank you." He said, brushing her hair behind her ear. He wanted to kiss her, but he did not. He had to let her go. She gave him a weak smile and leaning forward she kissed his cheek. She turned to walk away and he slapped her ass. She turned, cutting her eyes at him. "Old habits die hard," he chuckled. She shook her head, shifting as she took flight. It has been one long day, she thought taking flight.

She felt the change in the atmosphere, her life had been spinning out of control since her return. Only because she wanted things no longer available to her. She had to woman up and accept that some things not even she could fix. She landed back in Mystic and found Zion standing by the river, "Don't do it Cat," he begged her,.

"I have to baby, I'm sorry. I Catori Knight, a former member of the Silver Crescent moon, protector, and mother of Earth, reject you Zion Black, as my Mate," Catori felt her bond break. Zion looked at her. He was so hurt but he had set so much of this in motion. He thought of the pain she suffered from his betrayal. Still, she was willing if only he could let Leilani go, and he wanted to with every ounce of his being, but he could not have her death on his hands. "I, Zion Black of Mystic Moon, accept your rejection." Catori's eyes welled with tears and they walked to each other embracing, "This is not the end I will have you again." Zion said to her,

"Not in this lifetime, Zion Black, I move forward not backward. You had your chance and you blew it. I love you but this is goodbye."

She turned away, shifting into her dragon, and she took flight. Zion watched as his heart disappeared from his sight.

The next day

Zara, Janine, and River stood outside the packhouse laughing as they played with the kids. Watching them run around, Shannara sat back under a tree reading a book. Observing everyone else's lives was a favorite pastime. A few of the females walked past her and rolled their eyes her way. She never had girlfriends. The few she did have only hung around her because she was the alpha's sister.

It never bothered her though, because she had Jamal, but now he was gone.

And she was left with a mate with two children. She hated kids. Her own nephews despised her. They had chased her with worms, placed bugs in her drink, and done any and everything to make her miserable. The boys lived to terrorize her. She missed Xavier; he was the best. He was her best friend and brother and, yes, he spoiled her rotten, so she could be a bit of a terror because no was something she simply was not accustomed to hearing. He would never tolerate the boy's behavior, even though Janora brushed it off, saying, oh Shannara, kids will be kids. She knew her ways could be annoying to most, so she stuck to herself. Today she wished she was different. She wished she was…normal. As she watched how easily Zara and Janine got along as they played with Rivers' kids. They seemed to enjoy each other's company. His kids seemed a lot more well-mannered than most she encountered. Their ball came rolling over, bumping into her shoes and his daughter came running over, but instead of grabbing the ball she sort of rolled over on it. Stopping once, she flopped down on the ground and looked up at Shannara. "How do you make yourself so pretty?" She asked,

Shannara blushed, "um I wear makeup,"

"Can I wear makeup too?"

"Are you kidding, you're already adorable without it," Shannara said, admiring the little girl's features. She had the hugest big brown eyes and full thick lashes.

"I wear makeup to try and be as pretty as you," Shannara said.

"For real? Stop playing," she said, crossing her arms. Shannara laughed as the child looked at her doubtfully.

"I'm serious, no jokes," Shannara said and the girl smiled, showing a few missing teeth.

"Thank you." The child said, running off with the ball. 'Well, that was not so terribly bad.' Shannara said to her wolf.

She looked at River and checked her watch. Their time together was always awkward. He never spent time alone with her. She was usually the third wheel. Janine and Zara were always around and they did all the talking. He never included the kids either. Today was no different. Zara took both their hands and off they went while he and Janine waited for her to join them. She walked over and neither bothered acknowledging her. Today was different because a guy joined them introducing himself as Thomas, Janine's brother.

"Shannara, I met your brother once at a conference I attended with the Alpha. He was nice sorry about your loss " Thomas said,

"Thank you," Shannara looked at him, "You kind of remind me of Jamal."

"Who is Jamal?" Thomas asked.

"My mate, well he would have been," Shannara said,

"I lost my mate to the fall too," Thomas gave her a knowing look.

"I didn't lose him in the fall, Vargis killed him, he died protecting me." Shannara looked away as she thought about Jamal.

"How long did you date?" Thomas asked.

"I can't remember there not being an us," Shannara replied sadly.

"Shannara, would you like to get ice cream and maybe hang out by the falls?" Thomas asked.

Shannara looked at him batting her thick lashes. Before she could reply, River said, "That would be a solid no."

Everyone turned to look at him, "River just let them go." Janine nudged his arm. River looked at Janine and smiled, "Excuse us a moment." he said, grabbing Shannara's arm, "Look," he said, staring at her with his piercing eyes, "see you have made it painfully obvious you do not wish to be a mate, I can accept that. I can accept you do not wish to know me or my kids. I can accept that you think very low of me, but I can not accept disrespect. I will not accept disrespect." He looked at her sighing, "Thomas is a very nice guy. If you wish to date him, that's fine, but please wait until Zion allows us to break this bond before you start weighing your options. I don't think that is too much to ask."

Shannara places her hands on her hips, "An is that what you're doing with Janine? Weighing your options."

"Well, I have to admit that since I found out about you I have been toying with the notion of settling down. A mate would be nice to have. Still, I respect our …. Situation and will continue to until our bond is broken."

"So you have not slept with her?" Shannara asked,

"A gentleman never tells Shannara, but if you must know, I have not." River looked back at her and was surprised to see a smile on her face. He frowned. She walked over to Thomas, leaving him standing there, "Thomas, I will not be free to date for some time. I am sorry, but I would love to be friends."

"Oh okay that's fine," he said "I'll see you around."

"Yes, you will." Shannara agreed as she watched him walk away. She turned to Janine, "I don't need a chaperone, and nor does River. Until our bond is broken I'd appreciate it if you backed off." Shannara said to her,

"Why? You don't even like his kids. What man would take you seriously? You should find someone that feels the same as you about kids and that's not River or Thomas." Janine sneered at her.

Shannara just stared at her because she was right, but she was still drawn to him and had no desire to see her drooling over his every word, "He will be all yours soon enough. For now, can you back off?"

"And if I don't?" Janine asked,

Shannara rolled her eyes, this was ridiculous to her. She had never met females so aggressive. 'Mama always said you have to fight fire with fire.' her wolf reminded her.

'you're right Sissy!' and with that Shannara did something she had never done before, she balled up her fist and sucker punched Janine just as Xavier had taught her. River's mouth dropped open. He had never expected her to hit Janine. In fact, he was not expecting any of this. Janine grabbed her and the next thing River knew the girls were rolling around in the dirt. River grabbed Shannara as Zion approached, grabbing Janine, "Ladies, ladies, calm down!"

"I will rip you to pieces," Janine growled,

"Bring it on b***h!" Shannara growled back. River picked her up, tossing her over his shoulder. "Sorry Zion, Janine, we will discuss this later,"

"No, you won't! No, you won't!" Shannara screamed over his shoulder as he carried her off. River could not believe this crazy lady. He walked into his room, tossing her on his bed.

"You wanna tell me what that was," he said, kicking off his shoes.

"SHE CHALLENGED ME! ALL I ASKED HER TO DO WAS BACK OFF!" Shannara huffed, crossing her arms. She pouted like a child. As he pulled his shirt over his head, "She only asked you a question, Shannara, and you socked her."

"Well…" she suddenly realized he was nearly naked,

"Well what?" He said, grabbing her leg, he pulled her to him. Sliding off her shoes, "Uh whaaaa,"

River leaned in to capture her lips as his hand wasted no time reaching between her legs. Shannara grabbed his hand, holding it in place as he worked his fingers. She did not want him to stop. In fact, if he did, she might have tried to strangle him. He used the weight of his body, pushing her back, "Did you really think you would get away with wearing this little number around me? As he slid one of the spaghetti straps down her arm, exposing her petite frame and small breast. A mouthful, he thought, as he began to nibble. Shannara nearly lost her mind, the wicked combination of his full soft lips on her breast and his fingers teasing her c**t was maddening, "I'm going to take you now," he said, Shannara had absolutely no idea what that meant, where they were going but she wanted a front row seat. He captured both her hands with his over her head, positioned himself, and gave a gentle thrust. Shannara let out a small whimper as he did it again, but this time going a little deeper. He moved very slowly and gently until she adjusted to him. He wanted to be a little more aggressive but he didn't want to hurt her and he had battled this moment over and over in his mind. He could not resist though he had to have her, and seeing her go at it with Janine was the straw that broke the camel's back. He took his time and she began to moan softly, wrapping her legs around his waist. He sucked on her neck and the sound that came from her was driving him insane, he was struggling not to explode in her. "Oh goddess," when he felt her muscles tighten and she called out his name,

"River, what's happening?" Shannar screamed as an explosive surge of warmth exploded within her, carrying her to heights of ecstasy she had never experienced.

"Damn it," he stroked her harder until she called out in pleasure. As soon as he felt her relax, he pulled out, spilling his seed on the sheets.

Breathing heavily, he rolled over staring at the ceiling. He knew she would be pissed once reality kicked in. He had done a pretty shitty thing. To his surprise, she curled up next to him and whispered, "Can we do it again and maybe that thing where you um…" Shannara's cheeks reddened,

"Oh, you like being tasted," River asked as she bashfully shook her head,

"Come," he said, "lucky for you I have quite the appetite." He positioned her on his face and held her hips. Teaching her how to roll and rock so that she achieved maximum pleasure. Shannara shamelessly rode his face over and over again. And when she could take no more, he lay her back on the bed and took her again. He exhausted her and once she lay sleeping he sat back watching her. He had no idea what he was doing with her, but he knew he couldn't quit. Even as she slept he crawled atop her and entered her again, and even in her sleep, she moaned in pleasure. He knew then he was never letting her go, she had better just learn to live with it because, as far as he was concerned. She was already a marked woman.