Fighting For My Mate: Blood Moon

Chapter 16

Pete POV

     Christa had called me to try and get together again to finish our conversation that was interrupted when Eli’s father escaped. If I’m honest, I was a little relieved our conversation was disrupted. With the look on her and Eli’s faces and the way my heart was thundering, I knew it was really serious. So, I’ve been doing my best to put it off by making excuses as to why I can’t meet up with her, but I know I can’t keep this up. I’m going to have to face whatever it is head-on. I just don’t know if I can handle it right now. With everything that’s been happening, the stress just keeps building.

     My relationship with Monika has been rocky for the first time since we met, and she's been on edge lately. Something is going on with her, but she won’t tell me what it is, and we’ve never kept anything from each other. My wolf has been agitated with her as well, and he has never been like that with her. I need to find out what is going on with Monika. I decided to have a warrior follow her to see if he can find out what she’s hiding from me.  I just hope that whatever it is, we can work it out.

**Monika**

     After searching all this time, I finally found a powerful shaman who can help me. He has kept himself hidden for 100’s of years, and he is almost impossible to find if he doesn't want to be. Luckily, I was able to find someone who knew him, and he took an interest in what I had come here for, so he has sent for me after a week of searching! 

    I meet at a place his contact had told me to meet at. I stand around looking at every face that passes me by, wondering if it's the person I’m supposed to be meeting? 

“This is so stupid. How am I supposed to know who is picking me up?” I mumble under my breath as I continue looking around. As I turn back to face the crowd, a man is suddenly standing in front of me, staring at me. I didn’t even hear him come up behind me, even with my supernatural hearing. He stands at least at 6 feet tall, his body his thin and lean, and he wears nothing but a piece of cloth on his privates, showing off all of his dark ashy skin, with tribal paint on his face and different parts of his body, as he stands tall holding a stick taller than he is with a sharp metal weapon attached to it. He gives me the creeps as he looks at me with his cold dead eyes. Without saying a word, he turns around and begins walking. Realizing that this is the person they sent, I quickly take off after him and follow him through a treacherous, lush forest, leading up a mountain. The higher we get the less trees and lush foliage there is, and it quickly becomes rocky, with the trails becoming more and more narrow and dangerous. 

     After walking for 3 hours, without saying a word to me, we finally come up on the side of a mountain. The man moves a giant rock aside that blends in with the mountain to reveal a hidden cave and leads me into the dark, damp cavern. I can’t help but get chills walking through. I can feel that the mountain is surrounded by ancient magic. I can feel the tingling in the air. The man takes me deeper only to come upon a series of tunnels deep within the cave. If you didn’t know where you were going, you would indeed get lost and die in this labyrinth. I continue to follow the man closely, making sure this scenario wouldn’t happen to me. I’m positive if I got lost that no one would even blink an eye, let alone search for me.

     After about an hour of walking through the cave, we come upon a room with giant wooden doors. The man knocks in a particular pattern, and slowly the heavy door creaks open. It opens up to a beautiful space filled with African antiques and luxurious furniture. It was warm and comfortable, and it was huge. You could never guess that such a dark, chilly, gloomy cave could suddenly morph into a luxurious castle. The living space was open to the kitchen so that you could see everything in the area. You could see that it then splits into other rooms; I'm assuming them to be bedrooms. The man that I followed pointed to one of the couches as if wanting me to take a seat, and so I did. He stood next to me with his weapon standing straight up as he stood as still as a statue. 

     After sitting for what felt like forever in silence, the Shaman finally comes out of one of the rooms. He had a friendly smile on his face, but his eyes are pure white; I can’t help but wonder if he can see or not; he walks in as if he can see me perfectly fine. He is a short, chunky man also with dark skin, but he has long white hair flowing down his back. He was the complete opposite of what the man I had spent hours with was like. I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief that the Shaman didn’t have the same mannerisms as his guard here. 

“My dear, you finally made it!” He says with a joyful laugh. I stand up from my seat to greet him when his guard quickly lowers his weapon, pointing it at me. 

“nou, laat ons nie ons gas bang maak nie.” 

*In Afrikaans- Now, now, let’s not frighten the guest.

     The Shaman says to the guard. He slowly pulls back his staff and once again stands as still as a statue. I swiftly shake off the standoff from a second ago and quickly reach my hand out to shake the Shaman master’s hand with a smile of my own. 

“I’m sorry about that, dear. You can never be too careful these days.” He says with serious intent in his eyes as if he is warning me, yet he still has a smile on his face. I nod my head in understanding. 

“Of course!” 

“Now, tell me, why have you been searching for me?” He asks as he leans forward, clasping his hands together, intrigued by why I have come to him.

“I’ve come because you are the only one powerful enough to help me. You see, I have been giving my mate a potion that makes him and his wolf believe we are actually mates, but for some reason, the potions have not been as effective, and I don't understand why. We have been together for five years, going on six with no issues. I need to find out why and what I can do to keep my mate.” For a moment, he just sits there quietly, not saying anything. After a moment, he finally speaks up,

“Hmmm, I see. This is very interesting indeed. If I am going to help you, then I need to know why you are keeping this man as your mate when his true mate is out there, and if I agree, you must return the favor whenever I shall need it. Do you agree to these terms?”

“Yes, anything!”

“Then please, tell me why this is so important to you.” I nod my head and take a deep breath.

“My mate is extraordinary and has powers that not even he knows about. He is meant to lead his own pack as Alpha. I want to help him realize his power and take control of our pack and build the pack into the most extensive pack in North America, with me leading as Luna. We will be unstoppable at that point. If we are successful, we could join allies, and I could return any favor you ask of me tenfold!”

“I see. What makes you think that you are supposed to be the one by his side? Doesn’t your Moon Goddess assign mates to be perfect for every reason? What makes you better than his true mate? And what makes you think this is what fate has in store? I have been around for a very long time. Long enough to know that you can not manipulate fate. Even if you try, fate has a funny way of being able to restore balance, and sometimes it’s the person who is messing with fate that ends up hurt in the end. So, you see, if I help you, I risk making fate very angry, and that could come back to me. That means whatever I ask of you could very well mean giving up your entire life to me if I so, please.

“Of course, I understand. You are correct that the Moon Goddess creates our mates to fit our needs in every aspect, but his true mate will never be able to help him realize his true potential. I am a born leader, and I know who Pete really is. I am the only one who knows how to help him.”

“What makes you so sure that his true mate won’t be able to do the same?”

“Because Shaman, I have been predestined to be with Pete and help him lead with his full potential.”

“And who told you this?”

“A powerful witch who had seen my future with Pete. She told me that only I could release his full potential in both his power and leadership.” As I say this, the Shaman stands up, walks over, and stands at a podium with a book sat opened in a stand. He just stands there staring at it with his hands behind his back. 

“I will help you, but it will cost you greatly in the future.”

“Thank you so much, Shaman.” 

“Now, the reason why the potions are no longer effective is because he has met his true mate.”

“What? But when? I don’t understand?” 

“As I said, Fate has a funny way of restoring balance.” He says in a chuckle. 

“The potion can’t be effective because his true mate's wolf has recognized his wolf as her mate. Fortunately for you, his wolf hasn’t recognized hers as his mate, so he is still connected to your wolf. But it won’t be that way for long. As soon as his wolf recognizes his true mate, that connection will snap.”

“But we’re already mated; we’ve marked each other.”

“Yes, and that will help in your case if he does acknowledge his true mate, but you won’t have much time to restore your connection and take back your mate.”

“How will I do that?” 

“You will need to kill his true mate, and make him drink a special potion I will give to you. Only then will you be permanently tied to each other as mates.” He says as he reaches into a cabinet with weird-looking bottles of every size, shape, and color. He grabs one and comes back to hand it over to me.

“Beware, if you don’t kill his mate before giving him this potion, then both your bonds will be broken forever, and he will die.” I take the bottle from him and gently tuck it into my bag as the guard leads me out. Before I leave, I quickly turn to ask:

“How will I know when it’s time to return the favor?” A wicked smile grows on the Shaman's face.

“Don’t worry; you’ll just know!” He says as he lets out a scary cackle. I can’t help the chill that runs up and down my spine. As I leave the cave, I think about who could possibly be Pete’s, true mate.

     I think I have an idea of who it might be, but I need to be sure. I can’t afford any screw-ups, or it’ll be his life on the line. I need to get back to him as soon as possible.

**Pete**

     After finishing up with training, I decided to stop by to see Christa and find out what she wanted to tell me. I think she said she had something going on tonight, but I’m hoping that whatever it was is over by now since it’s late. 

     As I take the elevator to the top where she stays, my wolf can’t stop pacing around in my head. All I can do is shake it off. My wolf has been acting weird for a few days now, so all I can do is shove it away for later. When I get to the door, I can hear giggling. Right, when I’m about to knock, the door flies open, and the physical therapist that had worked with Christa was standing right in front of me. Her eyes flew up to me and grew wide as she realized who I was. The next thing I know is I’m growling, “mate,” and shoving her against the wall as my fangs elongate, piercing the skin on her neck and claimed her as my mate. I pull back from her, looking into her eyes as they glaze over, and I can see the moment her wolf accepts my claim on her as her mate. She looks into my panicked eyes, and I look over at Christa, who is in her Zoey form, as her face goes pale. I’m in a state of sheer panic and confusion as I hear her alarmed voice whisper, “Uh oh.”…