~James POV~
She loved me, she finally said it. I felt like a kid. My heart had never felt this complete.
"I have loved you since the first time I saw you, and I will love you for as long as we breathe and after that, I will love you still. Always." I looked into her eyes as I made a confession of my own, one that I will keep forever. My mate, my love, my Luna.
A tear rolled down Averys' cheek and I kissed It away, I saw the happiness in her eyes. Just when I thought that everything was perfect, a pit of guilt started building up in my core. She didn't know the truth, the truth about the marriage, if there was any time to tell, now was it.
"Avery, there is something I need to tell you." I saw the uncertainty in her eyes. She was so used to hearing only bad news. This time, it was no different. She was frightened.
"It's about why we must get married." I closed my eyes not able to look at her, I then turned and looked at the lake instead, so as not to turn back on what I've started to say.
"When your parents made the deal to sell you, they wanted to make it certain that the deal went through. Therefore, they asked for a lock spell." I could see Avery through my peripheral vision. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she was paying close attention.
"A lock spell is a spell where if the contract isn't held up to what the deal says, both parties will suffer. If we don't get married-" I paused, not able to continue, not able to even think of the fact that she would die, I would die too but that seemed minuscule in comparison to losing her.
"If we don't get married, what will happen?" Avery asked as she laid her hand on my arm, bringing me comfort.
"We will both die." She removed her hand and her mouth was open. She tried to speak but nothing came out. I looked at her, she was panicking. I grabbed her hand in mine and cupped her face with the other.
"Hey, Avery, you need to breathe alright?" She nodded her head and started taking quick, short breaths.
"Slower, breath slower." And so she did, she started taking long, deep breaths and closed her eyes. She removed her hand from mine, the second time she does that and for some reason, it's really agitating. She dragged her hands over her face, and then placed them beside her on the blanket.
She bit her bottom lip and looked up at me. Her eyes were big and doe-like. All I wanted to do was tell her that it's going to be okay but I couldn't.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked as she let out a breath.
"I couldn't, I mean I didn't want you to marry me to save my soul."
"Are you really that dumb!" She yelled and I looked at her in shock for scolding me.
"Of course I'd marry you to save your life you dumbass. You've threatened me on several occasions to save mine, you've threatened others and, hell, you kidnapped me and locked me up in a place full of creatures just for the marriage to gothrough!"
"Could you stop yelling at me, woman?" Avery was now standing up and flinging her arms around as she yelled. I thought she would be upset, not mad.
"When do we have to get married?" She asked me as she took her place back on the blanket.
"Before you turn nineteen."
"That's only a few months away?" She gasped and I nodded my head.
"Yeah I know, but listen I'm gonna talk to a witch I know. I'll see if there is any way around this, until then, let's just enjoy every moment we get together." Something changed in Avery's eyes the second I said those last words. What was she holding back? Her jaw ticked as if she wasbiting together to fight back something. Or to keep herself fom saying something.
"Yes, let's do that." She snuggled in close to me, and took my arm, wrapping it around herself, the gesture alone was cute as fuck. But what aren't you telling me?
We were looking out on the lake, and every time I looked down on Avery she seemed so far away."
~Avery's POV~
I felt it every time his gaze was at me, the heat warmed my entire body, his touch filled me with life and his eyes made me forget reality.
But you can't live in a fantasy forever, and if I continued looking into his eyes I would never be able to do what I had to in order to keep him safe. To keep everyone safe.
"Hey. James?"
"Yes, love?"
"What's you're most fondest memory?"
He took some time to think about my question. I didn't know where I was going with this, but wherever it was, I guess I was hoping it would bring him joy.
"I was twelve. I was walking home from school with Alex. On our way we took a detour to see the warriors fight. We didn't realize how long we had been there, looking at them in awe, until my parents came out searching for us. Amber was fourteen at the time. When she came up to us, Alex was trying to act tough, like the warriors, so he tried attacking her. However, my sister was older and had trained a fair share. She beat him to the curb, not too violently of course.
My parents came and we just sort of played tuff together, fighting, learning, laughing, and then they took us out to the village for dinner, and that night we sat up late as hell just watching a bunch of movies together." When he explained it there was of course pain in his voice, but the love in the memory tramped the pain of the loss.
"Why do you ask?" I shrugged and looked up at him.
"No reason, I just want you to think of the good times whenever things get rough. Think of the love and the happiness, and just know that everything will be okay." He looked at me and I believe I saw his eyes brimming with unshed tears.
Baby, everything is going to be okay.
"Why does it sound like something bad is going to happen?"
"Something bad will always happen. Life isn't a dance on roses, especially for a werewolf I have noticed. But in the end, they have this way of just working out for the better." I placed a kiss on his cheek and saw the smile I so longed for.
===
Chapter 74
~Alex POV~
My brother and Avery were out on their date. Before they left when me and Avery made eye contact I could have sworn that I saw guilt in them. Earlier when we were talking on the bench outside, it did truly sound like she was saying goodbye.
I was in my room, I was changing so that I could hit the field for some practice before going to eat. But I was detoured when a subconscious need nagged within to find my sister.
I walked to her room and knocked on her door. But when I was about to knock again Amber swung the door open and looked at me knowingly. I wasn't the only one.
She let me in and I sat down on the four-seat couch she had by the wall, facing her TV.
Amber came and sat beside me, pulling her legs up under her and draped a blanket over us.
"Have you been noticing anything strange going on with Avery?" I asked her and she looked at me and then down at the floor.
"I mean, yeah I guess she was acting kind of weird today. She declared her love and thanked me for everything but I didn't really give it much thought."
"She did that to me too earlier, and she looked on verge of tears but I couldn't make out what it was. Do you think she's leaving?" Amber's head turned to me quickly, but she didn't look convinced.
"Honestly, Alex, I just think that she's been through a lot lately. She's so young and she was tossed into this fucked up situation and this unfamiliar world and on top of that she's had a wizard bunkering in her head. I don't think she's leaving, I just think she's lost."
"It's just, by the way she was speaking it sounded like a goodbye, not a cry for help." I was certain that Avery knew what she was doing, in one day she had made time to hang out with Amber, myself, and my brother. There was only laughter and happiness like she wanted one last moment with each of us. But when I explained that to my sister, she still wasn't convinced, and I hoped for everyone's sake that she was right. Because if she left, I along with everyone else would be heartbroken and my brother would tear down this entire country to find her. We would loose our Luna.
Even though Avery wasn't officially Luna, she somehow had that connection with almost everyone.
She was respected and loved.
"Don't worry too much, brother. Avery just needs some time to come to terms with everything that has happened, and she needs time to adjust. Not many people would still stand strong after what she's gone through. She's my sister. I would never let anything happen to her and neither would you and especially not James. She's protected and she knows that. Go get some rest, I think it will do you good."
None of us would let anything happen to her but perhaps that's the problem. I thought to myself.