Chapter 11: Secrets

Ruby and Jade had tried talking Nora out of it. Sneaking into the pack house was difficult enough, and if she were caught, the consequences could be severe. But they relented and told her that she'd be able to get in after midnight. There was a small opening in the change of the guards, a ninety second window. If she was fast enough, she'd be able to sneak in and be unseen. The atrium itself had no security cameras, as it was open to the public. The rest of the pack house was heavily monitored.

"You have to be out before dawn. Like, you have to," Jade had urged.

"Every morning, right at sunrise, a sweep of the entire pack house is done. You can't be caught. Or seen by anyone," Ruby added.

"Right, I understand. How's Dante?" Nora's asked, her heart fluttering just from saying his name.

"Miserable," they said.

"He's losing his mind, honestly. I think it's why Dad took us out for vacation."

"Losing his mind?" Nora clutched the phone tighter. "What do you mean?"

"To mark you. Once a wolf finds their mate, they are insatiable for them," Jade said.

"You said that before," Nora said.

"You aren't listening. He is insatiable. For you. To have you," Ruby hinted. Nora felt her face grow hot.

"Oh," she stammered. "Um…"

"I won't say anything else," Ruby said.

"Being around him right now is bad enough," Jade added. "But if something doesn't happen soon, he'll do something he regrets."

"With Leah," Ruby finished.

The thought of Dante and Leah together in any capacity sent a flash of anger through Nora. The intensity of it surprised her.

"I, um… well, I can't say I don't feel that, but I don't think I feel it as intensely as he does," Nora whined.

"Because you’re fighting it," they huffed. "Hurry up and go. We'll talk more later."

Nora enchanted an old Halloween cloak with a concealment spell. It was one of the first she had ever learned. While it wouldn't make something completely invisible, it did make it just a little harder to find. She covered herself in the cloak and hurried towards the pack house.

Under the light of the near full moon, the building looked larger. She could feel the power coming off the werewolves in waves. The full moon was when they were strongest. It seemed that all Supernaturals had some affinity for the full moon. Humans , too, were affected by it.

Even with her concealment spell, Nora waited for her chance to sneak inside. It was 12:30 AM when her chance was right.

A different guard from the one she had encountered earlier waited at the gate. He looked at his watch and proceeded to walk around to the other side of the building. It would take exactly 90 seconds before the next guard took his place. Nora dashed inside and through the atrium, feeling a cold chill as the portrait of Alpha Roman watched her. Just as the next set of guards had taken their place, Nora snuck into the pack house's library.

The scent of dust and old books hit her, like a beacon calling her home. The walls were lined, floor to ceiling, with massive bookcases, crammed with untouched pages.

"What secrets could be waiting for me here?" Nora whispered. She didn't have much time. "How do I pick one?" She was lost among an ocean of pages begging to be read. She let her finger graze the books' spines as she drifted passed them.

'Noorrraaa…' a distant whisper called to her. 'Nooorrrraaa…' She was transported to her dreams, the ones she had before cutting her hair. Her gaze seemed to fixate on a particular book. It didn't stand out among the grand hardcover tomes. It was crammed into a small corner and was dustier than all the rest. Nora pulled it from the shelf, and the whispering stopped. It seemed to breathe in her hands.

"Kai is right," Nora said, fear and excitement creeping into her heart. "I am getting in too deep." However, that didn't stop her. The book had no name on its cover. It appeared to be a journal of some kind. With shaking hands, Nora opened it, afraid of what she might find.

'Artem, the first werewolf, was once just a wolf. He fell in love with the Moon Goddess and asked her to grant him a form with which he could be with her. The Moon Goddess saw his devotion and turned him into a man. Thus, the Moon Goddess made the first werewolf.'

Nora closed the book. 'This is it!' she squealed internally. 'This is what I've been looking for!' She took out her phone, and began taking photos of the pages, and scribbling notes in her journal. She opened the book again to a different page.

'To ease Artem's loneliness when she could not be with him, the Moon Goddess gave the power to shift to all the other wolves in the land. Artem was their leader. The Moon Goddess bestowed him with the title of Alpha. As another gift for their loyalty, the Moon Goddess also blessed them with promised mates. The one soul who would be their perfect match in every way.

'Others also sought favor with the Moon Goddess. Humans followed her phases and worshipped her. To them, she granted her knowledge of the stars and nature, and taught them the secrets of Magic. These people, she called Witches .'

Nora flipped to another section of the book, her hands shaking with anticipation.

'To know the great love she had alongside Artem, the Moon Goddess gifted werewolves with their souls' other half. A mate. They would know no greater devotion than that of their mate.'

Nora slammed the book shut, her heart pounding furiously. Her mind swirled with questions, but her answers were on the horizon. She knew she couldn't leave that book there. It was coming with her. She stuffed it in her backpack and made her escape. She was running back to her apartment when she bumped into someone.

"Well, well, well," a voice said. Nora picked herself off the floor and looked up. 'Oh, Goddess. Why now?' she thought. "If it isn't Rapunzel, The Mouse of Starling Library."

Nora cringed at both her horrible nicknames. She'd had some run-ins with Leah in the past. None of them good. For some reason, Leah seemed to have a particular hatred of her.

"Hello, Leah." Nora tried to sound cordial. But she found it difficult. Leah was, after all, one of the barriers keeping her and Dante apart. "Lovely night, isn't it?"

"It was." Leah looked Nora up and down. "Not anymore. Whatever could you be doing out at this hour?"

"I could ask the same of you," Nora spat, finding it hard to keep up the niceties.

"Well, that none of your business."

"So why is it your business why I'm out?"

Leah scowled at her, a flash of true wrath in her brown eyes.

"Because you, stupid little bitch." Leah stepped closer to her. "I know what's going on between you and my fiance." Leah reached over and fisted Nora's shirt.

"Nothing is going between us," Nora lied.

"Oh, so you think I'm stupid," Leah laughed. "I saw you both in the alleyway the night of his party."

Nora felt the blood drain from her face.

"And I know you're the stupid wh*re that danced with him at prom. He was my date that night. You've been trying to take him from me since the beginning."

"I…" Nora stammered. "I didn't know who he was then."

"Well now you do. Here's something else you're going to know," Leah pulled Nora close to her, their faces inches apart. "If you so much as look at him, I will destroy you."

Nora's blood boiled in her veins. Something snapped in her mind at being treated in such a manner.

"You can't hurt me," she seethed. "I'm a witch, and you’re just a human."

Leah shoved Nora to the ground.

"Try me, bitch. Try me and you'll find out how powerful 'just a human' can be. Stay away from Dante. He's mine. This is your last warning. I find out that you see him again, and you'll regret it. Both of you."

"Do you love him?" Nora asked, picking herself up from the ground. Leah's eyes widened with rage. She slapped Nora hard across the face.

"Do you?" Leah's voice was a deadly whisper. Nora was stunned. Before she could answer, Leah nodded. "That's what I thought."

Leah walked off, her heels echoing on the cobblestones. Nora's encounter with Leah only served to add more fuel to the fire. Leah knew something. There were forces at play, much larger than Nora could imagine.