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CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

ZURI

“You’re glowing,” Sapphire hummed with a big smile on her face.

I had finally gotten out of bed with Stone three hours ago, and now, I aided Sapphire with some pack duties. She glanced over my shoulder at Stone, who was helping James with something.

“You both completed the mate bond?! Gah, I’m so happy for you!”

My lips curled into a small smile, and I bit back a giggle. “Last night.”

“Finally!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together. “James and I made a bet that it would happen within a week, especially after last night. We can’t wait for you to have pups running around the pack!”

“We need to take care of Derrit before we even think about that,” I said.

But secretly, I was super excited to have pups with Stone. While I had completely loathed the man when I first met him, after completing the mate bond with him last night, something had switched inside me.

I wanted to be pregnant by him yesterday .

Now, it wasn’t a Moon Goddess thing. It was something I wanted. He had made me believe that we could have a functional, nontoxic family together and that I could be a great mother to our kids.

For years, I’d feared that my pups would get bullied like I had.

But if my pups got bullied, Stone would take care of them. Even more than that, Stone would teach our children how to speak up and stand up for themselves, like he had with me. Because he knew what it felt like to be bullied too.

“Oh, come on,” she cheered, leaning closer to me. “You can break the rules.”

“If I have a baby now, Derrit will hurt it. And I refuse to let him hurt Stone with our pup.”

Suddenly, she became quiet. “It could be years.”

“What?”

“It could be years before you have a pup then,” she whispered, glancing down at the dirt between us and wrapping her arms around her thin body. “We’ve been fighting Derrit for a long, long time, Zuri.”

A frown crossed my lips, and I dropped my gaze too. My stomach twisted and turned, a soft voice drifting through my ear. For a moment, I thought it was Derrit’s, but then the Moon Goddess appeared behind Sapphire.

“It won’t take that long,” the Moon Goddess said. “You’ll be pregnant before the week’s end.”

“I’m not putting our pup in danger,” I said through my mind to her because I didn’t want Sapphire to think I was crazy and talking to myself.

I hadn’t discussed my relationship with the Moon Goddess in detail with everyone. It had taken a lot of courage to mention it to the girls yesterday.

“You need to have this pup, Zuri. It’s essential,” she replied.

“Essential?” I repeated, disbelief and annoyance rushing through my veins. “How?”

The Moon Goddess stepped into Sapphire’s body, her ghost making Sapphire’s skin glow. “You must have this baby,” she repeated. “You must have this baby soon. It’s the only way you’ll defeat Derrit.”

“If you know how we’re going to defeat him, why can’t you just tell me?!” I shouted.

Suddenly, Sapphire’s glowing skin disappeared, and she stood in front of me with wide eyes. “Are you okay?” she asked, brow furrowed. She glanced over her shoulder to see empty woods behind us.

My cheeks warmed at my outburst. “Y-yes, I’m fine.”

I tightened my hands into fists next to my sides and gritted my teeth.

The next time I saw the Moon Goddess, it’d better be while I was alone so I could actually talk to her—or more like scream at her.

If she knew how this was all going to end—or more specifically what I needed to do to end this war for good—then why couldn’t she tell me?

This was madness!

“Your eyes are glowing again,” Sapphire said. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

After blinking a handful of times, I watched the brightness fade in Sapphire’s pupils. And then I collapsed against a tree, running my hands across my face because I was so freaking tired of not knowing what was going on with me.

“I’m fine, but thank you.”

She grabbed my hand. “I should bring you back to Alpha Stone.”

“No,” I reassured, pulling back. “I’m fine. Really.”

While she went to grab my hand again, she stopped inches from my wrist and then pulled her hand away. “Who were you talking to just now?” She glanced over her shoulder again. “Is someone here? Derrit?”

“No,” I said, my stomach turning. “It’s the Moon Goddess.”

Her eyes widened. “The Moon Goddess?! She is here?”

“Was.”

“Really?!”

My lips curled into a small smile. “Yes.”

“What did she say?”

I swallowed hard and stared at Stone making his way through the forest to us. He must’ve heard my outburst at Sapphire, which would’ve never happened if the Moon Goddess had just been honest with me for once.

“Hmm?” Sapphire said.

“She said that I have to get pregnant,” I whispered. “For us to win the war.”

“How will that help us win the war?” she asked.

“Beats me.”

After sniffing the air, Sapphire glanced over her shoulder at Alpha Stone walking toward us with James. Then, she moved closer to me and grasped my hand. “If that’s what she said, then you have to do it.”

“But … if I get pregnant …”

Derrit would do everything in his power to hurt the baby and me.

“Please, Zuri,” Sapphire pleaded. “Derrit almost got my mate killed yesterday. If he keeps this up, then he will eventually wipe this entire pack out. He will hurt our alpha if he forces Alpha Stone or you to kill another one of his packmates. Once you break down the mind …”

“Dark magic is easier to perform on someone.”