The Risen

Lost and Found

Calder's POV

  When our eyes met, I still couldn't believe she was real. I had spent so long waiting, fighting with myself. I had been alone on this earth for a little over 200 years, quite literally alone for 50 of those years, when I decided to hide away at my grandfathers old barn house and distance myself from my pack. 

  I just couldn't face my pack anymore, they could no longer find their mates and it was all my fault. Surely the moon goddess had punished me for my blood lust against witch kind, that led to their extinction. Shortly after, all my pack members no longer could find their mates. I knew I may never get another chance but I didn't think it was just to punish the pack for a decision I had made. 

  Before the extinction of witch kind,  I would pray to the moon goddess and feel like she was listening, she  was looking out for me, but when the war against the witches ended, I just felt an immense emptiness, like I had been abandoned by her. Even my tremendous wolf strength had long been lost. Her blessings, her love for me, gone, like the countless lives I had taken. 

Following the death of my family I had become ravenous, blood thirsty, ruthless. I killed so many generations of family, taken away countless history with the burning of spell books and text. I raged a war that led to an extinction of a whole species over the love I had for my beloved mate, Marcela and our two little ones. I thought their extinction would bring my family justice and I'd feel better. I became crazed and brought my pack, the Risen Pack, down with me. 

We were given that name by my ancestors  for our brute strength and power that we once had over other packs, having been one of the strongest packs in the world. Now, because of me, we were the laughing stock of werewolf kind, many jokingly calling us the Fallen Pack or worse, the Moonless pack for we must've been the most despised pack of the moon goddess. 

When my pack would visit other packs looking for their mates, not one of our members would find their mates, and when we became a disgraced pack, the other packs would pray that no one in their pack would have to be mated to a disgraced pack member of mine. 

It stung. With time, my pack, who had backed me up in my decision to rage war on the witches became depressed, many took their own lives as the years went on and they couldn't find their other halves. Others became angry and blamed me for the curse placed upon us all. Some tried to move to other packs but no one wanted anything to do with any old pack members of mine, believing it would curse their pack as well. We were stuck together. 

I was ashamed, I didn't have any self control and had cost my pack everything. I left my beta and little brother Erick as Acting Alpha in my place at the pack house on pack lands and retreated to my grandfathers farmhouse 2 hours away. Erick would call me from time to time to update me on what was going on with the pack and for decision making. Unfortunately I had cost him his mate too, but unlike the rest of the pack who blamed me immensely, he didn't. 

He always told me that though I was his Alpha, he made his own decisions and if this was his punishment for the lives he had took so be it. I still blame myself for the loss of his better half. I always thought he was the epitome of strength for taking responsibility for what he had done, for a long time I just couldn't. 

I blamed the witches, I wallowed in my self pity and cursed all witch kind whenever I could. I even cursed the moon goddess for not seeing my reason, for not understanding my anguish, for not listening to my prayers. However, the faces of the little ones we had thrown into fiery pits long ago and their mothers horrified faces still etched in my memory, hauntingly so, really. 

Coming to this farmhouse, I gave up really. I understood and continue to understand that what I did was a sin against the moon goddess. Coming after women and children was especially looked down upon, no matter the species.

 I accepted my fate and wouldn't take my life, out of respect to the moon goddess and her wishes. I stopped praying to her, not wanting to bother her with my selfish needs and had come to terms with the fact that I would spend the rest of my days alone. 

  Then she came into my life, like a ray of light. A second chance I was not worthy of. When I heard the soft knock at the door, my wolf who I had long since lost contact with was on high alert. Odd I thought at first, but a pleasant surprise. When I opened the door she started to speak so fast I almost didn't realize what she was saying , I smelled a scent that made me quite literally drop to my knees, not realizing what I was walking into. 

  She smelled of the finest champagne with apple and honey. When our eyes met I felt instantly beside my self and could not contain my emotions. It had been so long. Her eyes were so mesmerizing, her aura seemed so pure, so divine, almost holy. I excused my self for the awkwardness and she comforted me like something I haven't felt in an eternity. 

No one ever consoled me, every werewolf knows my story and no one has any empathy for me whatsoever. I deserved my punishment and more for what I had done. At first everyone was understanding of my anger seeing as I had lost my mate and both my children in one fell swoop, but as the war waged on they asked me countless times to stop and I just couldn't, all I could see was red. 

Other werewolves looked on in horror as my pack and I killed every last witch on earth. I had become a monster, I still am a monster..I am unworthy of this chance. But I'll be damned if I don't at least try.

 I wish I had taken better care of myself and the inside of the barn, it was up to date but a complete mess. Dishes piled, shelves filled with dust and clothes and other heaps of garbage all around. I asked her if she could please wait for me on the porch as I hurriedly tried to clean.

I cleaned as much as I could in 5 minutes and apologized for the mess. She joked about her current appearance and it made the whole situation more light-hearted and endearing. She was mesmerizing, alluring and her name, though she smelled human seemed goddess given. With all my time on earth I became familiar with the history of our kind and name giving. 

Her name meant she was the lioness of the goddess and I can not tell you her aura did not embody just that. As I led her inside, my nerves were exploding. Will she accept me? Will she reject me once she learns the truth?  I swallowed hard and started perspiring. I had known of her for not even 5 minutes and I already knew that if I lost her it would kill me. 

My inner wolf Demetrius howled in delight, all we could think in unison was mate, mate, mate, mate. Endless chanting in my head, it was a wonder I could even speak. I dropped her backpack in the living room and said "You can have a seat wherever you'd like". It was an open floor plan, so from the kitchen I could still see her.

 I was filling up a glass of water and she sat on the corner of  my black sectional couch and seemed to melt into its fluffy cushions. However, she still looked around anxiously, still aware of her surroundings. Just her being here was giving my soul and my wolf so much peace. I brought the tall glass of cold water to her and sat down on my brown, leather, lazy boy arm chair next to her corner of the sectional as to not scare her off. 

Though I was dying to sit closer to her, this would have to do. I watched as she tried to slowly drink the water and then started to hastily drink it as if she hadn't had a thing to drink in days. As she gasped for breathe after finishing her cup of water  and wiped away the water residue off her face I asked her if she would like another cup. She nodded eagerly, and so I did as she wished and she inhaled that cup of water, same as the last. 

"Thank you so much for that, I didn't realize how thirsty I was" she said. I studied her face for a minute and she blushed profusely. I couldn't help but share her sentiment I was feeling very overwhelmed by my emotions as well and I was very well aware of my current appearance.

Hesitantly I asked her, "How old are you? What brings you to town, do you have family here? There's not another house for miles and I can't say I've seen you in town. I promise you I would've noticed." 

She looked at me a bit strangely, and replied "I'm 26 years old. I actually don't live in town.. I am a drifter of sorts. I actually got lost after my GPS started to malfunction and happened to spot your farmhouse near by when my car started smoking. Listen let me just be upfront with you." Arieles pressed her hands together firmly, "I have very little money left and I think my car is done for. If I could just be pointed in the direction of town or even if you could spare me a bus ticket out of here I 'd greatly appreciate it. I don't want to put you out of your way". She said as she looked up into my eyes. She looked so concerned and I was worried for her safety. 

"I'm sorry if I am being too forward, but you sound like you could use a place to stay and my pickup truck is parked in the back, I am sure I can tow your car to my property. Why don't you stay with me, at least for the night. I have a guest room across the hall with its own bath room. You could wash up, eat and we could figure things out in the morning, seeing as the sun is going down". I gave her my best innocent smile,as not to scare her, she looked a bit hesitant. 

"You'd do that for me?" She said looking down. "Of course!" I perked up. "Anyway, town is like an hour  drive away, 3 hours by foot. By the time we get to the train station the last bus would've already left. I wouldn't want to leave such a nice girl like you out there by yourself. I promise you it's not out of my way at all and would be a great honor." This had to work, I just found her! Or rather she had just found me I couldn't lose her, not now. 

She looked at me, surely gagging my intentions. I can tell she was guarded and prayed that one day she'd open up to me and me to her. 

"Umm.. okay. But I will pay you back for this! I really just need some time to regroup and figure out what I'm doing . One night would be great. It's been a long road." 

"Tell me about it" I said. She chuckled, though she had no idea what I was talking about. She was a mystery I was all too eager to unravel. 

For the first time in a long time I looked up and closed my eyes. I praised the moon goddess for my second chance mate, that I was unworthy of and promised her that one day I would be worthy.