Chapter 37
Annabelle’s PoV
What happened? Was my first thought as I groggily sat up and rubbed my forehead with the heel of my hand, trying to ease the pounding behind my eyes the was threatening to slit my head open. How had I managed to get here?
I was currently sitting cross legged in a field, with more fields attached to this on, stretching out as far as the eye could see, and the sound of a river rushing not too far in the distance. Wildflowers bloomed everywhere, breaking up the see of rolling green hills with splashes of red, yellow and violet. The place was almost picturesque, peaceful, and I instantly knew I was no longer in Alpha Matthews territory. Granted I hadn’t had the privilege of seeing much of his land during my imprisonment, but the feeling I had, the feeling of utter relaxation, was something I knew I would never feel when in his near vicinity.
“Hello my child” a soft voice spoke behind me, breaking the silence of the scene around me.
I jumped, not realising that I wasn’t alone in this tranquil paradise, before turning around with wide eyes, coming face to face with a woman who was standing a few feet behind me. I couldn’t stop myself from staring at her beauty. She didn’t have one particular face that she stuck to, instead it was as if she shifted from one body to another, constantly changing her appearance from face to face.
The one thing that did remain constant though were her eyes, glowing bright with a translucent quality to them as they stared into my own.
She wore a white maxi dress, similar to the one I had been forced to wear for the ceremony, and she had a soft aura about her that just made me instantly relax when in her presence. I knew exactly who she was without her having to tell me. Only a goddess could look the way she did.
“How am I... where am I... how did you...” I whispered as I continued to stare at her in awe. I was unable to finish the first question before the next one came tumbling out of my mouth.
The moon goddess chuckled slightly, obviously amused at my fumbling words as I continued to stare wide eyed at her.
“Relax” she soothed as she held her hand up. “One question at a time” she softly spoke as she leant down before making herself comfortable on the ground, amongst the wildflowers and the tall grass. She looked completely at home here, as if she was at one with the nature around her, and I frowned at the slight pang of jealousy I felt towards her. She looked so relaxed and at peace with herself, even when everything around her was in the midst of being destroyed with just a simple spell from an old witch.
“Where am I?” I whispered, darting my head from left to right to see if I could find any landmarks to clue me in on where she had taken me.
“We are in your head my child, the link that you and I share make it possible for me to appear when necessary” she explained.
I nodded my head, frowning slightly as I started fiddling with the grass beneath my feet. There was so much I wanted to ask her, so many questions that I wanted to demand an answer for. Like how could she leave me in a house like the Leftens when she knew where I was and what I was being forced to go through? How could she leave my parents to fend for themselves against Alpha Parker when she was the reason why they were taking and held captive in the first place? But most importantly why, out of everyone in the world, did she choose my family and me in particular to be her messenger? I was, after all, damaged goods.
“I chose your family line because I could see the type of characteristics you all held and knew the type of people you’d all become. Your mother, grandmother and even great grandmother were all extremely kind-hearted people who would not take the power bestowed upon them for granted. They were also very strong willed, just like you, and I knew that you and your family would not crumble under the extreme pressures of becoming my messenger. That kind of combination, being so strong and yet so kind, is extremely rare in a wolf. It is a combination that should be worshiped and cared for”.
I stared at her in bewilderment, at both the words she had uttered and the fact that she had answered a question that I had never openly spoken.
“We are in your head my dear, of course I can hear what you’re thinking. All your thoughts and feelings are broadcasted to me as if you had said them allowed” she explained.
Pink tinged my cheeks as I thought about the other questions that I’d had racing through my mind.
The Goddess’ face turned sombre, understanding my embarrassment as to why I had all of a sudden turned shy. “I am deeply sorry that you had to experience everything that you have gone through dear one” she said as she placed her hand on mine, a warm glow making its way up my arm at the contact. “Interfering with people’s will is something that I cannot do, as much as I would sometimes like to” she explained.
“What Alpha Parker and Alpha Matthew did, as awful as it was, was something that I could not stop. It takes a considerable amount of energy, on both my part and my hosts, to interfere in someone’s life. It was a type of energy that neither you nor your mother possessed because of the mistreatment you had endured at the hands of others. If I were to interfere back then the likely hood of your survival would have been slim to none” She said, a sad look in her translucent eyes.
I thought about her words and her reasons as to why she could not get involved with my life and sighed. As much as I would have loved to get angry at her for not helping me it was neither her job nor her responsibility to help me every time I got into trouble. What I had gone through was painful and something I would never bestow on another, but it was something that made me who I was. I was a firm believer in everything happening for a reason, so if me having to live most of my life in an abusive home was what brought me to my family and my mate then I would gladly go through it all again in a heartbeat.
I sighed as a sudden weight was lifted from my shoulders, the realisation that I had finally accepted what had happened to me and was no longer feeling anger or hurt from my time at the Leftens.
“Am I dead?” I suddenly whispered, suddenly feeling like the revelation I’d just had was something you’d only feel when in the blissful state of nothingness.
“No you are not dead my child” she chuckled, “I have placed you into a deep sleep so that we could have our little conversation. Do not worry, your mate is protecting your body for now, but we mustn’t take much long, the witch very is strong”.
My heart rate quickened at the thought of Jax being in trouble and I instantly tensed up. There was no way I was allowing Jax to get hurt because of me. He had done so much for me in the short time that we had known each other, I feel like it was now my turn to do the same for him. “So what did you want to talk to me about?”
“The ceremony that that witch performed on you” she explained as she continued to stare into my eyes, her gaze unwavering as she stared into my own.
My heart rate increased, if that was even possible, as she brought up my possible broken bond with Jax. Was it gone? Was I now destined to be Matthews mate for the rest of my life?
“W-What about it?” I stuttered, struggling to get the question out for fear of the answer I would get.
As if sensing my nerves, the Moon Goddess smiled at me, a kind smile, before her glow instantly increased making me feel more relaxed.
“Do you wish for me to break your new bond for you?” She asked. Just as I was about to scream yes at her, questioning why she was even asking me that question, she held her hand up to silence me. “Please be clear with all the options I am offering you my child. Yes, I can break your bond with Alpha Matthew, if you would like me to, and I can fix your mate bond with Alpha Jax, but I could also simply sever both mate bonds for you entirely.”
I looked at her in shock, not understanding why I wouldn’t want her to mend my bond with Jax. He was the most amazing person I had ever met and he deserved to be happy with his mate, the person he’s been waiting his whole life for.
“I will happily form a new mate bond for Jax with a different wolf if you wish to remain mateless” the Moon Goddess explained.
I was just about to tell her to fix my mate bond with Jax, not being able to even stomach the thought of watching him being happy with someone else, when my brain finally clicked. Now I understood what she was asking me. I would never be left alone, if word got out that I had a direct line to the Moon Goddess, that I was her messenger, people would never leave us alone. There would always be a Matthew or a Parker waiting in the wings to ruin everything that we had spent so long trying to build.
Could I put Jax though all of that? The pain of losing your mate and having them kidnapped over and over again? And what about his family and pack? Wouldn’t they get fed up of rescuing me? I already nearly cost them their Beta, could I really ask them to live in constant fear of losing their Luna?
My parents face’s then flashed through my mind. That could very well be us in the future. Could I live with myself if I knew that I was the reason for Jax’s pain for all those years in capture?
All these thoughts came flooding through my mind but then one face popped out amongst the chaos, a face that instantly made my choice ten times easier.
“Okay” I whispered as I looked the Moon Goddess in the eye “I’ve made my decision”.
Yey another one done!