My Second Chance
#38 The Start Of Something New

Ryder's P.O.V

“I'm here." I announced as I stepped into the ward that Drew was in.She looked up, her eyes meeting mine. "So soon?" She asked smoothlyand hopped down from the bed, her feet landing gracefully, notmaking a sound. I controlled my uneven breathing. She looked out ofthe window and into the dark sky. "Hmm... you finished the first andsecond at 6:22. The last task is left." Drew turned back to me, herunique eyes boring into mine. I don't know how she tells the time bylooking at the sky and I don’t want to know. All I want is Sapphire back."Let's go. I'll follow you. Let's see where you lead me to." Drew saidcarelessly as she examined her hand, fire dancing from fingertip tofingertip.

"It doesn't bother you, does it?" I demanded angrily, feeling my bloodboil. "Bother what?" Drew challenged, although I knew that she knewwhat I was talking about. "You don't feel nervous or scared? If I make amistake, Sapphire's going to die." I snapped. "So?" She asked cooly,sparing me a glance as she went back to her fingers. "It doesn't botheryou? At all? You are a part of her. She is a part of you. You fell nothingto all of this?" I waved my hand to gesture at my surroundings. "So youwant me to feel something for this?" Drew raised an eyebrow. "Yes." Isaid exasperated. "So what would change if I did care? That's right,nothing. So why don't you stop bothering me and just let me follow thedemon rulebook?" Drew snapped, her eyes darkening a shade. "Demonrulebook?" I raised an eyebrow in curiosity as her face visibly paled,turning into a lighter shade of pink. She hurriedly walked towards thedoor. "Come on, let's go. You don't have all day." She said hurriedly."Tell me Drew. Tell me about the demon rulebook.” I crossed my arms."You don't want Sapphire dead, do you? Let's go." She rushed out. Thecorner of my lips quirked up when I realized I had the upper hand.Drew didn't want Sapphire to die. She was just using my fear to coverup her own fear. If Sapphire died, she wouldn't exist. She would benothing. She'd fade to nothing.

"Tell me about it." I emphasized on each word, a smug smile making itsway up my face. "No. There are rules I need to follow.” She snapped,glaring heatedly at me. "You know I have the upper hand Drew, face it."I smirked, enjoying the moment too much. "Look here lover boy.Sapphire and Gwen might have feelings for you, going mushywhenever you're near, but don't you fucking think you affect me thesame way cause you as hell well don't. So don't frikin tell me what to doand let's just go." Drew snarled, emotions rolling off her. But it wasn'tanger I sensed, no... it was exasperation. She was practically beggingme to leave the matter alone. I cocked my head to the right. Why wouldalmighty demon Drew would be scared? She had mentioned thedemon rulebook. It must be something inside that scares her.Somekind of punishment for the people who don't comply with therules and regulations. Drew was still staring at me, but the exasperationclearer than day in her eyes now. "You can't spill it, can you? Itssomekind of secret between demons.” I stated. She shrugged. But thefact that she didn't deny it confirmed my suspicion. I pressed my lipsinto a firm line, debating whether to keep pressing the matter.

"Fine. Let's go. The faster I get Sapphire back, the faster I don't have toface you." I muttered and followed her out, keeping a maximumdistance between us.

I felt everybody widening their eyes and scrambling away when Drewand me approached. Mum visibly paled, although I had no idea why.Alec, Cole and Sapphire's girlfriends stared in horror at what their friendbecame. Pack members freezed at the sight of her demonic state, notdaring to utter a word... or breathe. We could even hear the windpassing through us.

Drew ignored them and turned to me. "Well? The last task. Aren't yougoing to take me there?" Drew snapped. "Someone's PMSing." Imuttered. A fireball landed near my feet the following second, makingme yelp in surprise. I stomp on the fire making it extinguish before thewhole lawn lits up. I glared at her when I succeeded, but all she did waslook at with an eyebrow raised. "Done muttering to yourself?" Shedidn't wait for a responce and snapped, "good." Whimpers cameoccasionally from the younger members. I grumbled under my breath."Let's go." I muttered and stomped into the forest, her on my tail."Here?" Drew asked. Was it just me or did her voice waver. Must be you,Jay shrugged and I gave him a glare. I wasn't in my best mood rightnow. "Yeah, here." I mumbled, scratching the back of my head. Shelooked around anxiously. "But there's nothing here.” She protested,fidgeting around. It seemed as though Drew was... nervous. "Just wait." Ibreathed out as I saw a tiny hint of light in the sky. The sun was rising. Itugged on her hand, which felt abnormally warm. Like really warm."Don't touch me.” She snapped, pulling her hand away. "There. If thisisn't the place that will bring her back, I'll be completely helpless.” Imurmered, pointing to the visible R love S.

She turned to me slowly, meeting my gaze. Then, she surprised me bybreaking into a large grin.

Not her signature smirks or eerie grins that says I'm a serial killer andimma stalk you kind of grins... but a real and genuine one.

"You did it! Omg, I thought you wouldn't succeed!” She squealed andthrew herself into my arms. "Err..." I patted her back awkwardly, notknowing what to do. She let go of me and looked at me seriously,happiness still illuminating her face, making it look more... redder.

"You were right." She simply stated. "What?" I cocked my head a little tothe right. "Gosh you're slow. Why does Sapphire even love you?" Shemuttered under her breath and I gaped at her. "Hey!" I protestedindignantly. She sighed and continued. "There's this mission assignedto any inner demons. To see if a guy is worth it. I mean, if guys did payattention to small detials of their relationship, it means a lot. It alreadymeans that he is ready to spend his life with her." I opened my mouthto protest, but after thinking, I couldn't not agree with her. "Demons...Half demons are rare. Really rare. It isn't like, hey, I wanna see a demon,let's go to the zoo! These unusual hybrids, they haven't existed incenturies. And if one exists, she needs to replace someone capable ofprotecting her.” Drew sighed, twirling her glossy hair on her indexfinger. "Protect? Man, she's even more capable of protecting herself." Irolled my eyes. Her fingers closed around my arm, making my eyessnap back to hers quickly. "Do you know, how many people would killto have the name “demon slayer’? In case you didn't know, demons arehunted. If other packs knew about her, or even other supernaturals, doyou know how much chaos it would cause? People would fight eachother first and then, they'll hunt Sapphire down.” She growled lowly,the temperature of her hands increasing dramatically. She removed herhands before I got burned.

I gulped. Let's just say Drew can be scary when she wants to.

"This while thing is still sexist." I grumbled. Why was it that males weretested and females weren't? Drew smirked. Great, her smirks are back.Because I totally missed them. "While you went through thosechallenges, Sapphire had one of her own. Much more harder thanyours." She stated seriously. "Did she pass? What will happen if shedoesn't? If she does pass, does it mean I'll see her again?" I asked, panicand fear taking over my body all at once. " Slow down with thequestions mister. First, its a miracle she passed. I myself am surprised.Second, if she doesn't pass, she won't come back. Third, I've justanswered that in the second question.” She said, counting her fingersas she answered my questions dutifully. So... she's safe right?" I askedslowly. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. “I'll just returnSapphire to you now and let you see for yourself. And by the way, Iwasn't joking when I said her soul burns with every minute I take over.”She muttered and my eyes widened. She was serious?! Jay yelped. "Yes,I'm serious. Now stay back.” She ordered, authority ringing from hervoice. She can totally read Jay’ mind. Cool. "Thanks Drew." I whispered,taking steps back, my eyes not leaving her. She smiled a little. "You're agreat man, Ryder. Take good care of her.” She answered before closingher eyes.

All at once, the red flew off her skin as if it was painted on. Sapphire'sskin slowly turned to their original tan. The red slowly turned into a ballof soft red light and disappeared into her forehead. I smiled in relieve.Drew was back to where she belonged, in Sapphire's head. The strandsof black hair slowly turned into the blonde I had missed so much, allthe way to it's ends. A small red trident tatoo appeared onto the skinjust above her chest, clearly visible as it shimmered in the sunlight. Thegirl in front of me exhaled loudly and slowly opened her eyes. Thisebeautiful striking blue was finally back and I couldn't help the tearsswelling in my eyes. My beautiful angel was back. I stared at her whileshe stared back at me. A clear message in her eyes : its finally over. Iopened my arms invitingly as she threw herself into my embrace. "Imissed you." I whispered softly against her hair, deeply inhaling heraddictive scent. I couldn't describe the feelings that washed over me allat once when I touched her.

She didn't answer but roughly connected our lips together. I smiledagainst her lips as she kissed me roughly, being the dominant. I nippedat her lip and she opened her mouth, giving me a turn for domination. Ilet my tongue freely roam her sweet mouth which I had missed somuch. "I love you." She muttered breathlessly when we pulled apart."The feeling's mutual." I grinned, happy to finally see her again. Hereyes travelled back down to my lips and I saw the lust in her eyes.Without another word, I connected our lips once again.

Sapphire's P.O.V

I feel trapped. I looked around to see where I was. A room. A room withno windows or anything to amuse me. A room where red swirls of firedanced off the walls

"Drew?" I called out. My voice echoed in the room, whispering myquestion over and over again. "Gwen?" I tried. The same echoes repliedme, indicating I was alone.

The only thing there was in this room, other than me, was a smallwooden chair placed right in the middle of the room. "Ryder?" I askedwhispered. Hope dying inside me when nothing happened. I felt panicrising in me. "Okay, breathe Sapphire breathe.” I murmered to myself,hoping that it would bring my emotions down a hitch. "Gwen, are youthere?" I tried again. Gwen must be in here. Drew had taken over me, sothere goes my demon. But where was my wolf?

I don't know how long have past or what the time was. I sat on thechair, still hoping some miracle could happen. I've tried to talk to Ryderthrough our mate bond, but it seems Drew was stronger than I thought.My eyes swept over the room once more, hoping to replace somethingthat could get me out of here. Beads of sweat were trailing down myforehead. My hair was wet with sweat. Breathing was getting harderand harder by every second, air around me heating up. I feel myselfburning up as every minute goes by, as if fire was surrounding me. Theswirls of red fire from the walls were getting bigger and bolder. If Ididn't know better, I couldve sworn they were reaching out for me.

As the room heated up, I felt my eyes closing, tiredness washing overme, threatening to take me to a deep slumber.

And that was what it did.

Wake up... wake up... Something whispered softly, tugging me out ofsleep. "Ryder?" I mumbled, my eyes still closed. Instead, I got zeroresponse. I fluttered my eyes open, hoping to see I was in Ryder and I'sroom. Or maybe just somewhere in the pack house. But of course, fatehates me.

Instead, what I noticed was that a mirror was hanging on the wall at theright side of the room. A mirror with a gold frame and encrusteddiamonds. I could hear faint laughter and happiness radiating from it.Out of curiosity, I stepped towards it. And what I saw took my breathaway. Because in that mirror, I saw a perfect life. I saw my mother, onlyolder, sitting on a rocking chair in a beautiful orchid garden. It hasalways been her favourite flower. I saw her watching two small childrenrunning around as they shouted with glee. Then, I saw Ryder. An exactreplica of how he looked when we first met. His beautiful eyes that heldheavy sadness snapped to mine. And all at once, my mother and thetwo children looked up at me. I felt embarassment cloud me. Ishouldn't even be spying on them. I stared at the two children. Theylooked... they looked just like me and Ryder! Mini versions of me andRyder. I sucked in a breath. That's when I understood, they were mychildren. This mirror leads to a perfect life. A life I've always wanted.They beckoned to me, asking me to join them. I felt hope flutter in me. Icould be united with my mother. I could have the perfect life, that'swhat everyone wishes for right? My children could have a grandmotherand I could live in that flawless land. I took a large step forward, aninvisible force pulling me to a never ending happiness. I could just feeldancing with joy as I felt the blast of happiness that hit me. That's whenI felt something shimmering behind me. I turned to see another mirror.A plain mirror, hanging to the left side of the room. I gulped.Something in there was something that would pull me away from myhappy ending. From my to be perfect life. I walked slowly to the mirror.I composed myself and daringly stared into the flat piece of glass,willing it to do its worst.

And believe me, it did.

I saw chaos. I saw reality.

Fire flicked around the frame as I saw war between packs going on. Isaw Clover fighting off another shifter furiously. My heart contractedwhen I felt her energy weakening as she fought on. I closed my eyesand breathed in deeply. No, I wasn't going to let that horrible thing pullme away from the life I want. I opened my eyes but soon wished I stillhad them closed. I saw Willow and Bella being surrounded my shiftersof another pack. They were all in wolf form, baring their teeth andsnarling, preparing to attack. I let out a whimper, covering my eyes withthe palms of my hands.

The mirror was just trying to keep me from happiness. It was going tobring me back to reality.

I stumbled backwards with my eyes closed. I wasn't going to let themirror get the better of me. I couldn't. I thought of the beautiful andenchanting gold mirror where happiness was waiting for me. Withouthesitation, I turned and ran. Away from the plain mirror that reflectedreality and chaos. I deserved happiness. After all I've been through, Ideserved at least that.

I smiled as the feeling of peace washed over me when I saw my motheropening her hands for a welcoming hug. I sighed in relieve and steppedforward. I put a foot through the mirror. It shimmered as my leg wentthrough, acting as a portal. I felt a warm breeze blow onto my foot. Ilooked up to see Ryder grinning. But... there was something wrong. Hewas grinning. A little too perfectly. He seldom smiles.

I frowned.

But a yell brought me spinning immediately to the plain old mirror inpanic.

"Ryder!" I gasped as a shifter plunged a silver knife straight down at mymates heart. "Alec! Cole! Safe him, please!" I screamed as my heartcontracted at the thought that Ryder being hurt. Cole and Alec kneeleddown beside him, a helpless look on their face.

"Please..." I whispered-gasped and my hands tightened against themirror's frame as I fell to my knees. "Please." I whispered as I saw Rydertrying to get up, but was too weak. I stood up, wanting to jump into themirror to help. But as I turned to the perfect mirror hesitatingly, I knewthat it was just reflecting something unrealistic. Something you only seein fairytales. Something that wasn't meant for real life. That's when Iknew. Life would always have it's up and downs. There was no suchthing as perfection. Nothing was perfect. And at that, my choice wasclear.

"Nothing's perfect. There is no such thing as a perfect life. And Ryderwouldn't be Ryder without his flaws. And I wouldn't change anythingfor that. I love him because of his imperfections. So stop trying to pullme in." I grounded out to the golden mirror.

As in on que, the mirror shattered into glass shards... turning into mistand then to nothing. I stood there staring at the empty spot where themirror used to occupy. Did I make the right choice? Did I choose what Ireally wanted?

No time for that. I have to go save Ryder. Right choice or not doesn'tmatter now. With that, I took a deep breath and jumped into the mirror.The plain old mirror that reflects reality.

I felt sunlight illuminating my face, making it hard to open my eyes. Iforced them open, wincing as the sunlight shone directly into my eyes.The first thing I saw was a familiar figure. The second thing I noticedwas the intoxicating scent I smelled. Third, my eyes adjusted and I sawmy mate standing there. We stared at each other, comprehending thesituation. It was finally over. When it finally occured us that I was back,he opened his arms invitingly. I didn't wait for another moment as Ithrew myself into his broad chest. My arms wounded themselvesaround his waist as I took in a breathfull of his scent.

"I missed you." He whispered against my hair. I pulled back, my eyes fullwith tears. I didn't answer. I couldn't. There was this lump in my throatthat forbids me from talking. I connected our lips quickly and roughly.He seemed to be taken by surprise. But as he recovered, he startedkissing me back. His tongue delved past my lips, exploring my mouth,leaving no spot alone.

"I love you." I summarised all I felt in that moment into three words. Hegrinned happily. "The feeling’s mutual.” He mused. My eyes travelledback to his swollen lips. I thought of the two children that I saw in thegolden mirror, wondering if that could be my future with Ryder. Myeyes flicked back to his. His eyes had darkened. Lust swirleddangerously in them.

Before anything else could be exchanged, he connected our lips oncemore.

And that's when I knew, that I had made the right choice.

Because this was all I've ever wanted.

And this all... was the start of something new.