I didn't know where I was. Only recognized darkness around me and felt a warmth within me that was completely new and unknown to me.
My blood flowed faster through my veins, my heart was pounding harder and my skin felt different than I remembered.
Where was I?
This had to be a dream because the last thing I remembered was falling asleep in Reahlyn's arms. But now I was completely alone here and only recognized black until the moon made its way through the clouds and gave me a view of a large meadow.
It looked exactly like our meadow, only there were no huts here. Basically there was nothing here except the gloomy forest around me.
I was supposed to be panicking, screaming, or feeling scared... but none of that happened.
I accepted my condition without giving any further thought to the logic behind it, and then looked down to realize I was only wearing white pajamas, which felt super fluffy against my body. My senses seemed more keen...
Then my eyes fell on my feet, which were standing barefoot in the grass, and I suddenly realized that I should actually be cold. So it really had to be a dream or at least a dream-like state that had brought me to this place.
Curious, I glanced up at the sky again, where the full moon was beaming towards me, until I jumped violently when I suddenly heard the cracking of a branch in the forest next to me...
But although I was frightened by the noise, my fear immediately disappeared again and curiously I walked a few steps between the trees, further and further until I came to a beautiful tall tree that was easy to see despite the darkness.
"Hey, Love."
A cold shiver ran down my spine and, wide-eyed, I turned to the side to suddenly see him before me, as if nothing had ever happened.
His white shirt fitted his body perfectly and slowly he walked towards me to hug me tightly.
I closed my eyes, felt his breath on my neck, his touch on my back and perceived his smell more intensely than ever.
Could this really be a dream?
"Esteban," I breathed tears in my eyes and reluctantly pulled away to take a closer look...
"Thank you for the letter," he smiled, then preceded me to the tree to run his hand over it.
Only now did I realize that the initials A&E were carved there.
"Is this real?" I asked uncertainly, stepping right next to him while his gaze still seemed to be fixed on the tree.
"No," he then replied, turning to face me. "You were bitten by an alpha, love... your subconscious is ready to say goodbye."
"What do you mean by farewell?" I wanted to know and was suddenly terribly afraid of forgetting him completely.
"I'm dead, and yet you still love me. Once your transformation is complete, I'm still dead, the difference will be that your love for me will then be in the past."
His words came across to me clearly and distinctly, but somehow I didn't want to believe all of it. I couldn't imagine it all.
"So it's like Reahlyn described it?" I asked him. "Because of the bite, my love for him becomes even stronger and I'm no longer able to feel anything for others?"
He just nodded in agreement and I couldn't help but stare at his face in silence for a long time. This was really a farewell and I wanted to keep him in good memory just as he was smiling in front of me. The dark eyes, the jet black hair...
"You're sure to be a one-of-a-kind Luna. I've seen it before. Your concern for other people, your sense of justice, your putting yourself on the back burner... you'll be the perfect companion for Reahlyn."
I looked up at him wistfully and he immediately avoided my gaze and looked back at the scratched initials.
"I am happy now and everything has turned out as fate intended."
He turned his back to me and was about to take a step into the woods when I held him back by his shirt.
"Are you leaving?" I asked sadly and he turned to me with a smile on his lips to give me a gentle kiss on my hand.
"Yes," he breathed, eyeing me one last time. "Your daughter is going to be beautiful, love."
"How do you know?"
He winked and grinned, then disappeared into the darkness as quickly as he'd appeared.
I realized that this was all just an illusion of my subconscious, but it felt totally real to me, which is why a few tears ran down my cheeks while at the same time I smiled to myself and stared into the darkness.
I felt nothing but happiness, thinking that he was happy too, and I was already looking forward to waking up from that state and giving my full devotion to Reahlyn.
The longing for him grew more and more and while I ran back to the meadow, the sky slowly darkened again. I heard soft voices in the wind, spun in circles several times and suddenly recognized his, only somehow darker and more menacing.
His wolf was calling me and I didn't waste a second running in the direction the voice was calling me from.
May we unite for eternity...
"Farewell..."
I slowly awoke from my fitful sleep. My pounding head hurt and I was so incredibly hot that I immediately pushed the thick blanket off my body and gasped for air.
"Reahlyn?" I croaked exhaustedly and then winced slightly when a female voice suddenly answered.
"Love, you're awake," I heard Amy. "I'll get Reahlyn."
I widened my eyes and looked at the bottom corner of the bed where I saw the blonde sitting with a book. She got up quickly and gave me a fleeting smile before she quickly disappeared through the door.
I carefully sat down on the edge of the bed, grabbed my pounding heart and suddenly my dream came back to me. I was still totally overwhelmed by him, because despite everything, it still felt like it was all real.
It took quite a while before I could think straight again and finally got up because Reahlyn was still not with me. Why was it taking so long?
I grabbed my sneakers and was just about to grab my black, thick jacket when we realized that I no longer felt the cold at all.
I looked down at my white pajamas in amazement, clung to my slightly arched abdomen for a moment and then put my hands on them with a smile...
A girl...
With my eyes closed, I recalled everything. Esteban was happy, I was happy, and this little girl would make my life perfect, even if it already was. I really couldn't ask for more from life.
Tears of joy rolled down my cheeks as I breathed deeply in and out several times to savor the moment.
The demons had disappeared into the darkness and where I had been afraid that they would take me down with them, now there was only joy and love.
Esteban had paved the way for me to be happy and Reahlyn would be with me on this journey to the end.
Eager to tell him all this, I then opened the cabin door to glance up at the gray sky before looking to the side of the meadow where our new home was being built.
Then it struck me immediately...
The colors, no matter how far away they appeared, were sharper, more colorful and I was amazed at the distance from which I could see everything well. Then these intense smells around me. Everything smelled like it was being held in front of my nose. I had the feeling that I could smell the sky myself and that's how I was able to identify Reahlyn precisely from this overflow of scents and automatically moved in the direction from which this magical smell wafted.
I saw him from afar, standing behind the big hut while Justin next to him was busy doing something at the window.
My steps became faster and faster, his smell more and more intense and as I got closer and closer to him, he turned around to me and gave me his beaming smile that encouraged me to run the last meters.
"My little one," he grinned and I happily jumped into his arms, immediately laying my lips on his. The love I felt for him was no longer just a feeling. She had changed. She was within my reach and every fiber of my being, every thought, no matter how small, and every heartbeat under my chest showed me how much I wanted him and that nothing would ever come between us again.
"Ich hab-"
When I reluctantly pulled away from his lips and looked deep into his light blue eyes, I wanted to tell him about Esteban, but I cut myself off. I realized that it was my goodbye, not his, and I let that secret sink in deep my subconscious without ever telling anyone about it.
"What's the matter with you?" he asked smiling and lowered me carefully to examine me curiously.
"I missed you," I smiled at him and felt my heart pounding like crazy when he gently put his hand on my cheek and looked at me lovingly.
"And I'm glad you're feeling better. Such a mark can be very exhausting," he breathed and then kissed my forehead, whereupon a thought came to me.
"Can I actually transform now?" I asked excitedly to Reahlyn, but it was Justin who turned to me, laughing.
"Certainly not pregnant," he grinned and I just nodded sadly. I had to wait for better or worse, but anticipation is known to be the greatest of all joys.
"As soon as the baby arrives, I'll show you how it works," Reahlyn encouraged, then pointed to the campfire behind me. "By the way, you have visitors."
Irritated, I turned around and said Benjamin at the campfire, who was sitting on Willy's lap. I immediately smiled stupidly to myself and just as I was about to start running, my mate held my hand back to demand a tender kiss from me, which I was only too happy to return, while my knees went weak again from the heat his lips...
"I love you," he breathed into my mouth and I immediately sank into the kiss even more passionately. I would have preferred to attack him on the spot and that's when I realized how much he had really been attached to me from the first second...
This connection between us was really something special and I was hardly able to break away from him, even if I had a permanent grin on my lips afterwards, which would certainly never disappear again.
"And I love you."
end