My Lycan Mate of Suicide Forest

This memory that seemed like a lifetime ago was only a few months old.

She walked into the bathroom toward the ghost of her mate and studied him, a smile blooming on her face. He was so worried for her—she could see it in the tension that lined his forehead and his eyes, pulling at those handsome features and making them more intense, more angular. His hair and beard were longer than they were now since Greta had been insisting he remain more groomed in his appearance. August chuckled softly thinking of that first time she saw them bickering in the treehouse over it—that morning before they left to go before the council.

This Graeme in front of her looked wild—straight from a life in the woods. His dark eyes that looked resistant to whatever pull she unknowingly had on him at the time. But despite whatever reservations he had about having a mate, he had chosen to save her that night from death or Eliade, and she was so grateful that he did. Who knows what would have become of her that night without him.

"How can I leave you now when you have given me so much?" she whispered and extended her hand to touch the bristly bearded cheek of this apparition. When she did, he vanished right before her eyes along with the entire bathroom scene.

She looked around at the darkness that was left. It was hard to believe that had occurred here.

Holding the shawl tightly around herself, she walked back out and continued down the hallway to the last room. She stood there, looking at the closed door warily. She knew what memory awaited her in this room.

When she opened the door, the room was bright like it was morning rather than the evening of Samhain. She saw herself sleeping under the quilt Greta had described as being a healing quilt that many hands had made together. Greta said it was powerful. August hadn't seen the quilt since and had all but forgotten about it until now. What had become of it? Maybe it was stained with Marius' blood, never to be used again for its healing purpose.

She walked in, looking around at the room, and that's when she saw him in the corner. The Graeme of this time who was watching over her resting in bed. He looked tired. She wondered just how much sleep her mate had lost during those first weeks after he found her.

The love and gratitude for him burned so brightly now, filling her up. She walked over and crouched down in front of him.

"I am so happy you gave us a chance, Graeme Hallowell. You have brought me more joy in these past few weeks than I could have ever imagined. Even if this was all the time that we have—even if I fail in this task before me now and I… I don't see you again," she swallowed with the difficulty of that thought, "this was enough joy to fill a lifetime."

She kissed the air where his cheek would be, imagining the coarse texture under her lips, and smiled as she drew back from him. He was a male like no other that she had known. How blessed was she? And then unbelievably, the ghost of him smiled—revealing that dimple under his beard that she loved so much. It had to be a coincidence that he smiled at that exact moment, right?

At that moment, her crow cawed, drawing her attention to the window as the ghostly scene dissolved around her. What she just experienced may have only been a vision of what had happened in the past, but somehow it made her feel better. Her and Graeme had overcome so much already. She was certain that this next part of their story would be no different. She didn't know the details of all that would happen, but she would meet her mate again when it was done. Nothing could separate them permanently. Not even an ancient vampire whose name dared not be spoken.

August rose from the floor with renewed hope. She was ready to face this Zagan.

She walked to the window where her crow waited and saw that it held something shiny in its mouth. A chain of some sort.

"Is this for me?" she asked, reaching her hand out to what it was offering her.

When it dropped the chain in her hand, she recognized the medallion Graeme had worn around his neck tonight. It was the abstract depiction of the raven and sun.

"Is he okay?" she asked, a frown ruffling her brows as she looked back to the crow who had retrieved the necklace for her. It simply stared back at her as if it either hadn't heard the question or else thought it was a stupid one. "Right," she said, looking back down at the silver medallion in her hand and rubbing her thumb over the raised texture of its surface. "If he were not okay, I would know. Thank you for bringing this to me."

She slid the necklace over her head and allowed the medallion to fall on her chest where she reached up and grasped it in her hand. Graeme must have shifted into his wolf and lost this in the process. That meant he was aware of the threat, and that meant that she had to hurry before he got himself killed trying to save her.

She hurried to the closet, sliding the doors open in hopes of finding something warmer and more appropriate to wear other than this tattered, highly revealing dress. Thankfully there was an assortment of clothes tucked within it for whomever ended up here. She quickly changed out of the gown and into a teeshirt, sweatshirt, and some joggers. There was even socks and a pair of hiking boots that were only a little larger than her actual size. It wasn't fashionable by any means, but it felt so much better. And she was finally warm.

Tucking Graeme's necklace under her sweatshirt and turning the ring he had given her around on her finger, she took a deep breath and—after one final lingering look at the room—turned to leave.. It was time to summon a vampire.