The Blood Moon Twins
Chapter 96

HARPER

The sorcerers were having a large banquet tonight in honor of something. I hadn't paid much attention to what was going on, other than the fact that it was a large gathering with lots of food. There was a large bonfire in the middle of the open space Remy had been practicing in before. Food was placed on a long row of tables for people to serve themselves.

It felt like it should be a party with laughter and smiles. There was some of that, but the sorcerers kept glancing at our group with nervous looks. We had a couple of guards following us around still, and I felt like our presence made the others nervous. I wondered how often guests arrived here and how long it took to get accustomed to this group. They seemed extremely weary of outsiders.

"Are you going to get something to eat?" Luna Adira asked.

The others had already gotten their food, and we found a corner to sit in to enjoy ourselves. I would've rather stayed in our little room than attempt to socialize, but everyone else wanted to go, and I figured going with them was better than sitting all by myself. There would be less time to get lost in thoughts that way.

"I'm not hungry." I hadn't been hungry much these days. I knew I had lost weight, but my appetite had barely been there.

I had been wondering if it had been worth coming on this trip with everyone else. It had been nice to get away from everything that reminded me of Caulder, but it didn't stop him from constantly being on my mind. Everyone said it wasn't my fault that Winslow took Caulder, but that night was constantly replaying in my head. I couldn't shake away the guilt, knowing Caulder was only gone because he was trying to protect me.

"Are you sure?" Remy asked, a frown imprinting on her face. She was cuddled up with Blade, and even though I knew Caulder being missing was hard on her, too, she was still able to smile with Blade by her side. I was happy for her, but I was also jealous. "Actually, maybe I will get something." Even though I wasn't hungry, I knew they would continue to worry about me if I didn't grab something.

I started walking towards the table, and I could feel the eyes of everyone around me baring into me, and it made me want to disappear. It was like they had never seen a werewolf girl before. I paused, looking around. Maybe that was it. Maybe they hadn't seen a werewolf before. I wouldn't have known any sorcerers if it weren't for Caulder and Remy, and Blade was the first vampire I had met. Perhaps I was some sort of spectacle to them.

I tried to keep my head down and not worry about the eyes glued to me. Part of me wished they would just approach me and ask me any questions they had, but I also wasn't sure if I had the social energy for that.

As I was about to grab my food, a different scent hit my nose. There was something about this scent that was sweet and somehow familiar. I couldn't place what it was, though, because there were too many people and too much food diluting my senses. Pulling my hand back, I walked away from the crowd, trying to figure out where that familiar smell was coming from. As I walked away from the crowd, the scent grew stronger and more familiar. I could hear the footsteps of a sorcerer following me, and I was sure it was just one of the guards keeping an eye on me.

Something stirred inside of me the farther away I got from the crowd. Now that there was nothing else hindering my sense of smell, I realized why it smelled so familiar. My heart raced at the thought. It was impossible. I shouldn't be smelling him here. It made no

sense.

Yet my feet quickened their pace, and my lungs took shallow breaths. My eyes searched for the source of that wonderful scent as my heart raced with excitement and fear. If I was wrong, it would crush me. I moved faster and faster, desperate to figure out what was triggering this. Was it a trick? Was I so lonely that I was hallucinating him?

There was no one else around the small village as I practically ran through it. All of the residents were either at the bonfire, or they were doing their patrol to protect this place. It made the rest of the area feel like a ghost town.

I was in a full sprint now, unsure of where I was going. I let my nose lead the way, trusting my instincts. It smelled just like him. He had to be here. I didn't care about how or why. I just needed to see him.

I turned the corner, and the smell completely overwhelmed me. I skidded to a stop when I saw a figure standing down the path between the little houses, staring directly at me. He had the right hair color and body shape. His dark eyes flickered in the dark light of the sky, and he looked just like Caulder. He was too far away for me to confirm it, but everything in my body screamed that this was my Caulder.

But I couldn't get my body to move.

This didn't feel real. He had to be a hallucination, but he smelled real. He looked real. If I just moved forward and closed the distance between us, I could touch him and confirm that this wasn't just some trick. My legs felt like they wouldn't work out of fear. After getting my hopes up, I knew I would be crushed if this wasn't Caulder, so I wanted to stay suspended for just a moment longer.

-

CAULDER

I moved slowly because I didn't want anyone to hear me and because my body wouldn't allow me to move any faster. It was quieter than I had expected. I had even been prepared for a guard to be stationed outside of the place I was locked in, but no one had been there. I guess they didn't replace me to be that much of a threat. Or maybe they were counting on my magic still being depleted.

I stuck to the shadows as much as possible to make sure I stayed concealed. As far as I knew, sorcerers didn't have enhanced eyesight at night like werewolves did, so even if someone came looking for me, I'd have a decent chance of staying hidden as long as I stayed out of sight.

There were rows and rows of buildings, which told me there was a decent amount of people living in this settlement. It made it even more surprising that no one was around here. I didn't worry too much about it, though, knowing I just needed to take advantage of the fact that no one was around. I listened closely for any noises as I moved from building to building, making sure no one snuck up on me.

sense.

Something stirred inside of me the farther away I got from the crowd. Now that there was nothing else hindering my sense of smell, I realized why it smelled so familiar. My heart raced at the thought. It was impossible. I shouldn't be smelling him here. It made no I turned a corner, and the sound of footsteps heading straight towards me made my body flinch. I was about to hurry into the shadows to the best of my ability, but a sweet scent hit my nose. It was faint, but it was unmistakably Harper's scent. This made no sense. Why would she be here? Did they kidnap her after somehow replaceing out who I was? No, I hadn't told them any details about myself. Except that I was part werewolf. They could have found my pack based on that information and taken her.

Or maybe this wasn't real.

But then the footsteps rushed towards me, and she turned the corner. She stopped the moment she lay eyes on me, and I had never seen a more beautiful sight. I didn't know how or why she was here, but she was here. We stared at each other for a moment, both of us in disbelief.

I couldn't wait a second more, and I started limping towards her. "Harper," I whispered, my voice cracking at the sight of her.

That one word was enough to make her lunge into action. She bolted towards me, throwing her arms around me the second she was close enough. I lost my balance, and we both ended up tumbling to the ground. Her chest was heaving up and down, and I could hear quiet sobs escape her lips as she clung to me for dear life.

I held onto her just as tightly, inhaling her scent and forgetting about the rest of the world for a few seconds.

"It's really you," she hiccuped, burying her head into my chest. "It's really you."

My hands shook as I held my mate in my arms. It felt like the missing piece of me was finally back in its place. I didn't want to question how or why this was happening. I just wanted to hold her in my arms and never let go of her.

"It's really me," I whispered back, the tears spilling out of my eyes. All of the pain I had been through suddenly seemed like so much less as I held her in my arms. I closed my eyes tight, praying to the Moon Goddess that this wasn't some dream I was on the verge of waking up from.

Harper pulled away from me, and her blue eyes glistened under the moonlight. She held my face and looked at me as if she was trying to memorize every inch of me.

"I missed you so much," she said, more tears spilling from her eyes. "I thought I might never see you again."

"I told you I would fight my way back to you." I readjusted us with what little strength I had in me and grabbed the back of her head.

I pulled Harper into a kiss, and sparks spread throughout my body. This was really Harper. She smelled and tasted just like her, and I couldn't get enough. My hands wandered over all of her body, needing as much of her as possible. She gripped my shirt tightly, holding onto me for dear life.

"Don't leave me again," she whispered when we finally stopped to catch our breaths. "Please don't leave me again."

I pulled her back into me, snuggling my face in the crook of her neck. "I'm not going anywhere. I can't leave you again. I love you too much."