DIANA'S POV
"Sarah, what the..? You're supposed to be on your honeymoon!"
I smacked my lips, staring at the sweat glistening on my body. My clothes had been swapped for a large white polo shirt that barely covered my thighs.
The windows were slightly open, letting the morning sun spill in, warming my skin with gentle light.
Sarah's head popped around the door, her grin so wide it made me narrow my eyes.
"Sleeping beauty! How can you sleep through the whole day and make us worry?" She stepped fully into the room, hands on her hips. "We were scared someone from the Crescent Pack got you or worse, that Elijah kidnapped you."
I blinked, stunned. Did she just say… the whole day?
"Yup. Well, not literally the whole day, but way past bedtime." She dashed back toward the kitchen, her voice booming behind her. "Go take a bath, you stink and come eat steak and gravy when you're done!"
I stared at the window again. Damn it, it wasn't the morning sun. It was the evening sun. How? I only remembered falling into my dream because the heat had been so intense… how had the whole day slipped by?
I moved to the bedside table and picked up my phone. The screen made me blink.
Aj, [five missed calls].
Sarah, [twenty missed calls]. Twenty!
"Damn. You all must be so worried," I whispered to myself, but Sarah appeared at my side in an instant. Did she flash-run here?
"Yep. That's why I had to leave my sulking husband to rescue my friend. But it turns out she was just enjoying her beauty sleep," Sarah said, grinning like she wasn't even bothered she'd come to check on me. I felt guilty for dragging her here.
Should I tell her? About the heat? About Alexis? She could have an idea. Sarah reads more werewolf history books than anyone I know—maybe she could help.
Instead, I shoved off the sheets and stood, trying to intimidate her with my height. She was beside me in seconds, hands running over my face, checking my temperature.
She liked doing that, making sure I hadn't caught a flu since I didn't have the healing ability yet, especially with my dormant wolf stirring inside me.
"I called it off," I said with a sigh, picking up my toothpaste from the mirror stand. My eyes were tired, and my jagged white hair stuck out in every direction, waving around me like wild strands caught in a storm.
"Called off what?" Sarah asked, barely blinking, going through my cupboard, found my toothbrush and handed it to me.. then returned to finding something I don't know, all I heard were clinking sounds of jewelries..
"The fake engagement. With Aj."
Her eyes shot up, but instead of looking at me, she stared at my reflection in the mirror. Wide eyes, one brow raised, waiting for me to explain, but I didn't and so she just stared. And stared. And stared.
"I can't help it, Sarah. I was worried about Aj."
"Worried?" She folded her arms across her chest, frowning. "I don't see why you would be worried."
"His parents are beginning to ask about marriage," I said, dropping the toothbrush with a heavy sigh. "I can't keep lying to them."
She nodded, then added, "But there isn't a loss, you know. You two could just make it real."
I sighed again. "We're just friends, Sarah. Like me and you."
Sarah shook her head. "Ah… or does this have to do with Elijah?"
The moment she mentioned his name, my shoulders tensed. Especially since he had been here last night, and I still hadn't told her. A low growl rumbled in my stomach—only I and my wolf could hear it. I quickly masked it with a sweet smile, turning back to Sarah.
Her emerald green eyes stayed locked on me, calm but probing. Somehow, she was one of the few people aside from Aj who could read me without a single word leaving my lips.
"Okay, Di. You're going to tell me about Elijah?" Sarah crossed her arms, brow creased. Then her eyes widened and a gasp slipped from her lips. "Or… did something happen between you two?"
I looked away. My eyes had probably betrayed me, dilated a million times, and of course, Sarah being Sarah, noticed.
"No way!" she exclaimed.
"Yes," I whispered, a sigh escaping as my shoulders slumped. I turned to the mirror, staring at myself, at scattered white hair, sleepy bags under my eyes. Had I been crying in my dreams too? Should I tell her about the dream with Elijah?
"I couldn't… the bond is still strong, Sarah. I couldn't control myself."
I couldn't even bear to look at her, but Sarah was beside me in seconds, squeezing my shoulder gently.
"What do I do?" I whispered. "What if I can't resist it the next time I see him?"
Sarah stayed quiet, only squeezing my shoulders.
The silence stretched on, broken only by the soft murmur of wind through the curtains. Then Sarah spoke.
"During the mating ceremony, you can actually pray to the goddess to grant you your heart's desire."
I squeezed my eyes shut. Of course I knew about it, but I had avoided everyone from my childhood. Still, Sarah was right. I had to summon the courage to go this time. It was our peak, the moment the goddess granted prayers.
But a prayer had to match the truth in one's heart. If I prayed for the bond to be broken, I had to mean it completely. That left me with only one choice.
"You're right." My eyes narrowed at my reflection. "Avoiding this won't do. It hasn't changed anything in the past five years. Facing it will."
"So does this mean...?"
"Yeah", I squeezed my eyes shut, this is wrong, completing wrong to anywhere near Elijah, anywhere near the family that maltreated me.. but I have to find a way to stop it, to stop this bound and only the goddess can grant me this.
"Diana", Sarah squeezed my shoulder and said the rest words in a whisper, "I pray the goddess grant you your heart desires"