Crossing Paths With The White Wolf

Kassia

POV

Nat put her hand on my stomach and I held my breath as she closed her eyes to use her gift. I hadn't thought about having children at all. I never thought myself to be good mother material, but when Gonzalo asked me if I wanted children, I hadn't had to think twice about the answer. I wanted to have his babies. I wanted a life with Gonzalo and everything that that entailed. But was this the right time?

Nat opened her eyes and backed up. "I'm sorry Kassie. You're not pregnant right now." I was surprised at the depth of disappointment I felt at her words. I did my best to smile and nod at her. "Thank you for checking Nat," I said.

"We'll let the others know and give you two a few moments," Helios said and they left.

Once the door clicked shut, I felt the stinging in my eyes as Gonzalo tsk'd and pulled me on his lap. "I don't know why I'm this gutted," I said, trying to keep my s**t together, "Twenty minutes ago, children were the last thing on my mind. Why does this hurt Lalo?" I sniffled.

"Because having a child with you will be the greatest adventure we could ever ask for. It's OK to be sad Kassie. I'm sad too, but we will get our chance to be parents. I know we will." We held each other for a bit before we got up and showered.

The next few days were spent strategizing, organizing, and training for Glasgow. Two days before we were due to leave, Gonzalo and I drove over to the hospital in Phoenix where we met with the specialists the council had sent. I was surprised that they were not all actual doctors, they had sent a witch and a shaman among them to see if they could see anything science would miss. We had a consultation and spent most of the night taking scans, blood tests, and a hell of a lot of tests.

Gonzalo was hopeful they would have answers by the time we got back, but I didn't want to get my hopes up again. This wasn't my first rodeo.

Celeste had a big sit-down dinner the night before we left and she insisted that we attend with our mates. I was born a vampire, so the smells of dinner didn't bother me, but after a while, even I was wishing I could taste it with the way everyone was reacting to her food while I sipped my blood from the special wine glasses they provided for Adrien and me. We had a final meeting afterward as Alpha Markus and Celeste were going to be in charge of Guardian Moon while Helios and Nat came with us. As everyone was exiting, Celeste called us back.

"Helios asked me if Kara knew anything about what is happening with your seizures." She said. Gonzalo, Helios, and Nat came back into the room and closed the door. "I think you should speak with Kara." She said as she sat down again. I looked nervously at Gonzalo and he nodded. I sat across from her and Celeste's eyes turned black. "Hi, Kassie. It's lovely to meet you officially. I'm Kara."

"Hi, Kara. You wanted to speak with me?" I said nervously.

"Ah yes. I hope you know I fought my sister for this information. I'm very fond of Gonzalo and I want to see him happy, but my sister is very cryptic. She won't let me tell you everything. She just keeps lecturing me about interfering too much and upsetting the balance and personal growth. Some things you have to figure out on your own." She rolls her eyes and everyone chuckles. "Anyways, I begged and begged and she finally let me tell you a few things. Are you ready?" "Yes please," I said as I squeezed Gonzalo's hand.

"You have a few decisions coming up. The choices you make will determine your future, but there is a happily ever after waiting for you if you make the right ones. Trust his love for you and the family you've made. I've told Dario this part already, but Gonzalo shouldn't mark you. You need to wait for the full moon. It will make things easier as she'll be able to shield you from the pain; the rest will be up to you." She looked like she was done, before she added, "Oh, one more thing. Adrien is your child. He was always meant to be your child. Your decisions will affect him as much as they will affect you. You are connected, much like my brother is connected to his warriors. Your destinies are intertwined." Her eyes went back to their normal blue. "That's all she's allowed to say. I hope it helps you." Celeste said and reached out to squeeze the hand that Gonzalo wasn't holding. At her touch, I felt a pull around my abdomen and I found myself in a very familiar place that had haunted my nightmares for many years after my capture. "What is this?" Gonzalo asked.

"A memory. I'm sorry Kassie. I can't control when it happens. We are supposed to see something here. Do you know where we are?" She asked as Alpha Markus stepped forward next to her.

"Yes, this is where I was taken," I said as I saw myself walking towards the bar. This was a moment I had wished I could change many times. A few minutes later, I see myself stumbling out of the bar. I don't remember any of this. The last thing I remember is sitting at the bar. As I got around the bar, a black van pulled up from a corner and 4 men started shouting instructions.

"That's the one. Grab her."

Someone tried to grab me and even in my drugged state, I twisted his arm and flipped him over. I kept trying to stumble forward but one of the other men came up and swung at me, making my head hit the wall.

"Don't f*****g kill her. We paid a lot of money for a royal. Grab her. She's barely conscious." The leader yelled. I finally passed out and they took me into the van.

"So it's true? Karissa sold me?" I asked, feeling the betrayal I hadn't wanted to feel since we saw the emails. "I knew they hated me but this..."

Gonzalo's hand squeezed mine and he moved to hug me before we were pulled forward again. We were in the lab room I dream quite often. I grip Gonzalo's hand as I watch as I cursed the doctor. I flinch as he inserts the serum. I expect to see myself writhing in agony but freeze as I see someone appear at my side. The woman is beautiful. Her bronze skin and long black hair are perfect. She looks sad, and in pain as she caresses my hair and I see my arm begin to twitch when the burning begins.

"I'm sorry, this is the only way to save you." She whispers and the words resonate with familiarity in my head. She bends down and kisses my forehead and I see a glow begin to spread through my forehead. My back arches and I scream before she disappears and I collapse.

The doctor, unaware of the presence of the woman, checks me over before he says "Pity, I thought that formula would work," as he calls over two orderly who carry me out of the room.

I feel the tug in my abdomen and I'm pulled forward and back into the present. Celeste is holding a hand to her mouth, her eyes watering. "Oh Kassie. I'm sorry that happened to you."

Gonzalo pulls me out of my chair and into his arms, but I'm just numb. "Who was that woman?" I asked.

"That was our moon goddess, Selene." Alpha Markus said from where he now stood behind Celeste, trying to comfort her.

"What does it mean? What did she do to me?" I ask. Why would she hurt me?

"I don't know but she said it would be the only way to save you," Gonzalo said, trying to comfort me.

"Why me?" I asked him.

"Because you are important," Celeste said.

"What did you guys see?" Helios finally asked. We all turned to where he and Nat were still standing near the door.

"What they did to Kassie." Alpha Markus said and he began explaining everything we saw. I was grateful because I still couldn't make sense of what we saw. Gonzalo sat down and put me in his lap as he kept kissing my temple and rubbing his hands on my arms, giving little comforting squeezes. When Alpha Markus finished retelling the memories I saw, the entire room was quiet.

"Will Kara not tell us what happened now? What my sister did to her?" Helios asked Celeste. Celeste shook her head no. Helios sighed, "So then we can do nothing but wait until the full moon. That's in two weeks. Will you two be OK to hold off on marking until then?" Helios asked.

"Yes. We'll be fine. Dario and I both know it's important. We won't lose control," Gonzalo said as he kissed my temple again.

"OK. I guess we keep going and searching for answers. We leave tomorrow. Hopefully, we can figure out what was in the serum in a few days." He said as he looked at me with worry in his eyes.

Twenty hours later, we were all sitting in a jet on our way to England. Gonzalo hasn't let me out of his sight. I woke up three times from nightmares to find him staring at me as if I would disappear. He looked exhausted and had finally fallen asleep, an hour into the flight but he had my hand firmly grasped between both of his. Adrien came over and sat across from us.

"Is he OK?" He asked as he looked at Gonzalo's tight grip on my hand.

"I am not sure. He says he's fine, but every time I try to do something on my own, he gets a little frantic."

"He's scared to lose you," Adrien said.

"I'm not going anywhere?" I questioned.

"A part of him knows that, but after everything you saw and found out yesterday, your increasing symptoms, and your history together. Can you blame him?" He asked quietly.

I sighed. "How can I get him past it?"

"You can't. That's his demon to deal with. You'll just have to wait until he deals with it," he said while looking down at my sleeping mate with sympathy.

I nod at him, still looking at Gonzalo's sleeping face. I turn back to Adrien. "How are you doing?"

He smiled mischievously, "I've got my own wolf who doesn't want to let me out of his sight. Especially after finding out that my fate is somehow linked to yours."

"Sorry," I said sheepishly.

He shook his head, "You know my fate was linked to yours since the day you saved me. Even if it weren't, I would follow you to the ends of hell if you asked me to. You're my Snow White."All text © NôvelD(r)a'ma.Org.

I gave a little sniffle. I've been pretty emotional since I found out Karissa sold me to the lab. Yes, I know what happened to me was done to me, but I never thought I was specifically targeted, much less to see confirmation my sister had sold me. I always thought I was in the wrong place and wrong time. To find out that she hated me enough to want this for me, and that knowledge cut deep.

"What's wrong Kassie?" Gonzalo's sleepy and concerned voice came from the side as he sat up and looked around for a threat. "She's getting all mushy because I said something nice. Go back to sleep." Adrien ordered.

Gonzalo grunted, grabbed my hand again, and laid back down. "Don't make my mate cry, Adrien." He said with a yawn.

Elias came over and sat next to Adrien, who decided it was a good time for a nap. I got to know Elias over the next few hours before we too, decided to nap. I was shaken awake a few hours later by Nat. "The window. The sun is rising." She pointed.

I nodded gratefully and pulled mine and Adrien's window. I heard a few more blinds close and realized everyone was closing their windows for our protection. I smiled gratefully at them and the expression was returned. Even Isidro seemed to have come around. I laid back down and went back to napping.

"Kassie. We're here, muñeca." Gonzalo's voice woke me up.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"4 pm local time. Nat's got some clothes for you and Adrien." He said as he helped me up. Adrien was already walking towards the back of the plane, which had a private room. I took the thick clothing from Nat and popped in after Adrien.

"The perks of being a vampire. We get to sweat for a few hours until we get to the hotel." He said with mock cheer.

"Could be worse. Armand put me on 3 layovers in coach on the way here." I reminded him.

"Ew, you're right. These guys treat us pretty nice."

"Yeah, they seem to accept us don't they?" I said thoughtfully.

"You had doubts?" he asked.

"Just used to the opposite. You know how everyone treats us." I shrugged, hoping he would drop it before I got emotional again. With the bond growing and Gonzalo's current over-protectiveness, I half expected Gonzalo to rip through the door if he felt me get upset. "Those assholes were dumb. Half of them didn't even know why they had to treat us like s**t, they just did." He said as he pulled on his gloves.

I shrugged again as I put my hoodie on and gloves. I hated this as much as he did. It was the biggest inconvenience of being a vampire. Death by sun. Gonzalo and Elias were waiting for us outside the door. The rest had already disembarked.

"The door to our vehicle is open. The car is tinted so you should be able to remove the hood inside and the AC is on full blast. We're only a couple of hours from sunset," Gonzalo informed us as he led us towards the open door.

We got to the hotel fine. The biggest struggle was getting up the stairs without people looking at us weirdly. Once we were in the suites, I was able to breathe. Tonight was going to be ours. Tomorrow we would go to the lab.

We decided to take a bath to freshen up. "I have a surprise for you." He said as he sat behind me in the tub.

"Oh?" I whispered as I leaned into his touch as his hands roamed my body.

"It's your birthday in two weeks. So I'm taking you out as an early birthday present." He said as he kissed my neck.

"Where?" I managed to moan.

"You'll see. Adrien helped me pick out an outfit. It's in my suitcase." His hands roam my body until they cup my breasts, tweaking the n*****s, making the fire pool in my lower abdomen. "f**k Kassie, I can smell your arousal. We need to stop. We have to be there in an hour." He groaned.

I pouted when he stopped his ministrations on my breasts and he chuckled. "You can do whatever you want to me after...If you have energy." He challenged as he pinched my a*s to get me out of the tub.

He handed me a garment bag and said he would get ready in the other room. I opened it up and was thoroughly confused. He was expecting me to wear this? Was Adrien playing a joke? I sighed, I grabbed the pants and slipped them on. They were black pleather bell bottoms? I put the shirt on and noticed there was no bra. As I slipped on the top, I started looking for more buttons but they seemed to stop below the b****t bone. I went over to the mirror. I looked like I was right out of the 1970s.

"Gonzalo? Are you sure this is the right outfit?" I called.

"Yes. It will make sense later. Just humor me." He shouted back.

I took another look into the mirror and sighed. At least it was night, maybe people wouldn't notice. I finished getting ready and went out into the suite. Gonzalo was sitting on the couch. I narrowed my eyes at him. "How come you look normal and I look like I'm out of the 1970s?" I said as I took in his black slacks and maroon button-up. I tried not to lick my lips at the way the sleeves tightened at the biceps. My man looked good.

"You're the birthday girl. You get a special outfit." He chuckled as he spoke but I could his eyes darkening as he took in my figure. His eyes met mine after I'd checked him out as he stood up and he smirked. "Like what you see?"

I smiled, "I would pay to see you in some bell bottoms. Probably makes your a*s look magnificent."

"Still does baby. If you're good, you can ask Theo for some pictures. He's the one that keeps all that stuff." He wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oooh really? Maybe that will be my birthday gift" I laughed.

He gave me a light jacket to wear over the outfit and we headed out of the hotel. A few blocks down, we reached our destination at the Edinburg Playhouse. As I took in the crowd and read the marquee, I started getting excited. "No way! How did you know?" I clutched his arm excitedly. He laughed, "Adrien told me you liked him. When we were looking for a place to take you on a date, we found this and thought it would be perfect."

"I f*****g love you!" I squealed as we got in line and I took off the jacket. We got inside and found our way to our seats. After about 20 minutes, the lights dimmed and I find myself on the edge of my seat. The chords begin strumming and the singer comes on stage. Lord Almighty

I feel my temperature rising

Higher, higher

It's burning through to my soul

The spotlight comes on and the Elvis impersonator is illuminated. I can't help the giddy squeal that left my lips. I always wanted to see Elvis when he was alive, but he never made a tour to Europe, and I wasn't allowed in the New World. I had watched every recording I could get my hands off and still listened to his songs on Spotify when I ran. I could feel Gonzalo's lazy circles in the small of my back as I moved to the rhythm in my seat. I looked over at him and he wasn't paying attention to the show. He was staring at me with a big smile on his face. I grabbed his face and kissed him before I returned my attention to the show. This was definitely worth the outfit.