- Everything about you is becoming faint -
- Now I'll call you a memory -

~

The packs first official announcement of their new Luna was when she was in danger.

The packs first visual introduction to their new Luna was when Cortez carried her out of the Crystal Lake pack house in his arms.

Everyone looked on with curiosity and worry. Sophie was small, they all noted. She looked young. Some had heard about her from those who had briefly met her and they were still surprised when they finally saw her. Their curiosity never dimmed, even as Cortez made his way to his room in the pack house. Everyone followed and crowded the hallway behind him.

They all threw out as many questions as possible.

"Is she really human?"

"One of the warriors said she's in high school, is that true?"

"Is she really only seventeen?"

"How long have you known her?"

"Does she love you?"

"Did she really get bit?"

"Will she even make it? She's so small."

"Are you sure she's our Luna?"

Cortez didn't answer a single question as he carried Sophie to his king bed, hearing Jeremiah close the door behind them. The questions died down to simple murmurs as everyone waited patiently in the halls.

They wanted to see their Luna. They wanted to make sure she was okay. They wanted to meet her. The pack had been without a Luna for so long, this was unfortunate circumstances for them to finally meet her. They were worried.

Cortez knelt beside his bed and cupped Sophie's small hand in his, caressing her arm with his free hand. Weakly, Cortez let his head gently fall to meet her knuckles. He hated that he let this happen to her. Cortez should've gotten there sooner, relentlessly fought to get her away from Gabriel, or even ran at the first sight of Gabriel in the parking lot.

There was so much he regretted.

He wished he could do it all over again.

Because now, there was a chance that she'd be gone forever.

"Don't forgive me this time." Cortez whispered as he lifted his head and pressed a kiss on her knuckles. He stared at his unconscious mate as tears pricked at his eyes. "I've killed you. Such failure this severe is unforgivable."

Jeremiah let his head fall at his Alpha's tragic claims and broken voice. The room was silent besides the murmuring seeping in from the hallway. Jeremiah mind linked his pack and warned them to give the Alpha some peace and quiet. That alone convinced everyone that they would no longer have a Luna.

They knew, her time here was limited. The rumors of her being young, small, and weak were true. If they weren't, it would've been obvious that she would make it through this.

Cortez listened intently to Sophie's heart as she laid lifeless before him. It was worrisomely slow, barely keeping her alive. Her breathing was calm but each breath filled and released torturously slow. Cortez could feel hot tears roll down his cheeks but he didn't bother to wipe them away. He could feel her leaving him. It was the worse feeling that had ever run through his body. He felt just as lifeless, just as weak.

For hours, Cortez sat beside Sophie and quietly pleaded for her life. He muttered prayers to the moon goddess over and over again as he held and caressed Sophie's hand. He hated that this was the longest he had ever touched her. Had they really wasted all that time together?

Cortez only went to her when she called. He should've been with her every chance he got. Days passed, a few times turning into weeks, and he just waited in the distance. It made Cortez feel so stupid.

He wanted more time with her.

Hours passed and Cortez simply stared. He examined every single, long eyelash that sat on Sophie's cheekbones. He noticed the gold and shimmery eyeshadow and it made him happy for a moment. She chose their first date to sparkle more than usual. He adored her for that.

His hand fell found her leg and he let it glide over her skin. Not sexually. Cortez just wanted to touch her, feel her skin, remember the tingles he felt when they touched. They had wasted so much time before so he wanted to make sure he could do these things before she left him.

Before it was too late.

But Sophie's skin was cold. Cortez hurried to pull the blanket on his bed over her. She wasn't wearing much, just the skin tight dress, so it made sense that she wasn't warm. Not to mention, all the life was draining from her body. Her pale complexion easily gave that away. She looked sickly. Because she was.

Jeremiah had left at some point but Cortez didn't notice. Watching his Alpha plead for his mates life made Jeremiah ache to see his own mate. The thought of being in his Alpha's position was too painful. He needed to see his mate.

Delilah was happy to have Jeremiah in her arms but it made her even more worried for Sophie. What kind of condition was she in for Jeremiah to be clinging to her like his life depended on it? Delilah could partially feel it just as the rest of the pack could.

The pack house was deafeningly quiet, everyone mourning their sick Luna and heartbroken Alpha. The air was still and atmosphere dark and gloomy. It was the worse night anyone could ever remember in the pack house in a long time.

Midway through the night, Delilah laid awake beside Jeremiah. They both stared at each other in silence. Jeremiah reached towards his mate and gently pet her hair, admiring the simple fact that he got to touch her and stare into her eyes.

In the midst of the silence, Delilah suddenly jumped up and out of bed. Jeremiah also perked up and watched his mate with confusion as she pinned her hair up.

"Where are you going?" Jeremiah frantically threw the blankets off of himself to follow Delilah out of their room.

"If she was going to die, she would've by now." Delilah declared, almost angrily, as she marched down the dark hallways of the pack house.

"What are you saying, babe?" Jeremiah asked as he followed close behind his fast moving mate.

"She's young, she's skinny, she's weak. There is no way that virus would've lasted this long in her body without killing her. Since it has lasted this long, she must be turning."

"We don't know that, Delilah." Jeremiah muttered. Delilah easily ignored him and reached for the Alpha's bedroom door. Before she could even touch the doorknob, Jeremiah caught her shirt and pulled her back to him. "Don't go in there barking your theories like you do. He's already stressed enough. Just let him say goodbye to her in peace."

"She's not dying, Jeremiah." Delilah whispered. "She wouldn't've lasted this long. It's been hours. If she's going to wake up, we should take the proper procedures to make sure it goes smoothly."

"And you know what to do after a human's body accepts the virus? Do you know rare it is that a human survives the virus? And as small as Sophie is, her odds are basically cut in half." Jeremiah retorted coldly.

"I actually do know. After you told me Cortez was bringing her to the pack house and she had been bitten, I asked the pack doctor all about turning procedures, just in case. I know what to do if her body accepted the virus."

Jeremiah stared blankly at his mate. He was at a lost for words. He had nothing else to retort to keep Delilah out of the Alpha's room. Jeremiah wanted Sophie to accept the virus just as much as anyone else but realistically, it just didn't happen all that often. Even when it did happen and humans were successfully turned into werewolves, they mentally suffered.

If Sophie turned, she'd never be the same.

"I want you to help if you know how, babe." Jeremiah cupped Delilah's face in his hand as he frowned. "But if you go in there, the Alpha's gonna rip your throat out. And if he hurts you, I'm gonna wanna hurt him and then we're both dead."

Delilah chuckled and shook her head. "That's not gonna happen. I'm gonna help her. She's going to be fine."

Jeremiah was hesitant but finally gave in. He dropped his hands and gestured for Delilah for continue on her mission to save Sophie. In the blink of an eye, Delilah swung the door open and was trotting shamelessly into the Alpha's bedroom. Jeremiah nervously followed and watched as the Alpha stiffened. A low growl started in his chest and grew louder with anger as Delilah walked around the room as she pleased.

"You're gonna need to clean yourself up if she wakes up. She's gonna have a heart attack if the first thing she sees is your chin covered in blood like an animal." Delilah spoke casually as she waltzed into Cortez's bathroom.

"Wakes up?" Cortez turned to Jeremiah, a flash of gold passing through his eyes. He was visibly seething. "Get her the fuck out of here."

Jeremiah shook his head and watched Delilah walk back into the room. She stood beside the Alpha and gestured a damp, warm rag towards him. Cortez simply stared at Delilah in a mixture of shock and anger. This was the first time since they returned that Delilah met the Alpha face to face. After hours of stress and sadness, bags formed under his eyes and his face hung low on his skull.

He looked sickly.

Cortez didn't want Delilah filling him with false hope and dancing around like Sophie would be up and wake any minute now. He wanted to quietly sit with his mate and enjoy his last moments with her. But the longer he stared at her, the more he could feel that hope building in his chest. He wanted to reject the feeling and think realistically but he couldn't help it.

It was his mate.

He would have hope until the end of time.

"She would've passed by now if the virus was too much for her." Delilah stated matter-of-factly. "There is a strong possibility that her body is accepting the virus and if that's the case, we should be prepared for when she wakes up."

"Listen to her heartbeat, Delilah. Does it sound like she's waking up any time soon?" Cortez seethed as he snatched the warm rag out of Delilah's hand.

Delilah listened for a moment. Sophie's heartbeat was slow. She reached towards Sophie's head, ignoring the Alpha's growl. She rested the back of her hand against Sophie's forehead before she finally made her decision.

Removing her hand, she then placed the second rag in her hand on Sophie's head. That one was much colder than the one she handed to Cortez.

"She's burning up. If she was dying, that wouldn't be the case. Sooner than later, she's going to get so hot that she'll be coated in sweat. She'll wake up in a daze and the first thing she'll do is vomit everything in her stomach. Which means, I need a small trash can and some water." Delilah turned to Jeremiah, flashing him a smile. "Would you, please?"

Jeremiah looked from his mate to the Alpha, who shot him a deadly glare. Reluctantly, Jeremiah exited the room and rushed off to retrieved what Delilah had asked of him.

Cortez grabbed Sophie's arm to feel her skin. She wasn't cold like she was a couple hours ago. But wasn't that just because he put a blanket over her? Cortez wasn't sure if he should accept the hope seeping in or reject it. It was making him confused. It was stressing him out and, at this point, he had already reached the maximum level of stress that he could handle.

The Alpha stood to his full height and glared down at Delilah with so much anger radiating off of him. Delilah tried not to appear effected but he was still her Alpha. She couldn't help but feel the urge to obey his commands. And right now, he was silently threatening her to leave before he got a little too angry for his own good.

"If she's going to go, I want her to go peacefully." Cortez spoke through gritted teeth. "I don't need you running around while I'm trying to grieve, Delilah.

"Don't worry, Alpha. I am completely confident that Sophie will wake up. If she does not, you can punish me however you'd like." Delilah confessed.

Cortez's eyes narrowed as he studied Delilah. He wanted to punish her now. He wanted to kick her out of his room and then out of the pack. Maybe even throw her in a dungeon. But there was a part of him that couldn't deny the fact that he wanted to help Sophie as well. Of course, he did. He was just scared of putting in all the effort and then failing. He couldn't bare to continue to fail her.

"You're going to save her?" Cortez's voice was much softer than before, catching Delilah's attention.

"No." Delilah blinked. "Only she can save herself at this point. The battle is between her and the virus. I simply know how to make her feel comfortable once she awakens."

"That's good enough." Cortez huffed and returned to the side of his bed. He carefully cleaned the dried blood off his chin, like Delilah told him to.

Delilah was relieved that Cortez had finally given in.

Still, he was extremely on edge as the bed was suddenly surrounded by people. There was Jeremiah, Delilah, and two pack doctors. All of them were talking and discussing different turning scenarios. The doctors kept reaching for Sophie and every time they did, Cortez would growl. He wanted to protect her. He wanted to be the only one allowed to touch her. She was his and his alone.

Just as Delilah had claimed, a thin layer of sweat started to coat Sophie's body. Delilah soaked the rag again to make the water even colder than before. Cortez whispered prayers over and over again as he stared at his mate. He held her hand tightly in his, kissing her knuckles, her palm, and peppering kisses over her forearm again and again.

As the sun peaked over the horizon, Sophie's heart began to race. It was a sudden turn in pace. She was no longer calm and still, she was sweating profusely and hyperventilating. A spark of panic instantly set off in Cortez.

"What's happening to her? Is her body rejecting it?" Cortez anxiously asked. Sophie's heart raced faster and her breathing stuttered and shook from it's own, impossibly fast pace.

"No. No, it's not." One of the doctors marveled in awe. Seeing a human in the midst of a transition was so rare that neither doctor had ever witnessed it. Witnessed them surviving, at least.

"Hey, Gorgeous, calm down." Cortez cooed as he reassuringly rubbed Sophie's hot skin. "You're gonna be okay. I'm right here."

Everyone watched on, silently, but with so much worry. Cortez continued showering her in kisses and touching her skin. He hoped his love would coach her awake. He wanted her to know that he was here, right beside her. But watching her suffer like this was emotionally exhausting. It pained him to see her like this.

Delilah looked between Cortez and Sophie, having a strong feeling in her chest that Sophie would be back any minute now. This seemed to make sense to her. Her body was finally waking up, it would only be a moment before her brain did. Delilah could even see Sophie's feet and fingers start to twitch. This isn't what it looked like when someone was slowly dying.

This was good.

As unpleasant it was to watch, it was good.

"You didn't even clean up nicely, Alpha." Delilah huffed as she grabbed an extra wet rag and waltz over to him. She wiped off some blood left on his neck and shoulders. "You don't want her to wake up terrified because you're covered in blood."

Cortez tolerated Delilah cleaning him up for a couple seconds before he jerked away and groaned in annoyance. His eyes were glued to Sophie the entire time.

When Sophie opened her eyes for the first time, he wanted to be the first thing she saw. He didn't want to miss the moment she opened those beautiful emerald orbs that he loved staring into so much. Once he caught sight of them, he promised himself to never look away ever again.

The sun slowly inched up and over the horizon, little by little. Sophie's twitching fingers and toes grew more aggressive until her legs started to kick. Cortez perked up in surprise and watched her fuss like a child. A moment later, moans and groans started to erupt from her throat. Cortez eyes filled with a sparkle as he waited for her to wake up.

She was doing it. She was coming to.

He could feel the power festering inside her because it was festering inside him. They were more connected than ever before.

But suddenly, everything stopped.

Sophie went limp, her breathing halting and her heart beat nonexistent. Cortez felt his world crash around him. She didn't make it? That was it? She was gone? Had Cortez just watched her fight for hours just to see her die? That couldn't be true.

But, as if someone had flipped a switch, Sophie sat upright with a desperate gasp for air. Before she could do anything, she leant towards Cortez and vomited over the side of the bed. Cortez held her up so she didn't tip off the side of the bed and internally thanked Jeremiah for placing the trash can where he did.

The room was silent as Sophie continued to vomit over and over again. Glancing at those in the room, Cortez could see the amount of joy and relief washing through their eyes.

She was awake. She was sick, but she was awake. Cortez couldn't be happier. Just a couple hours ago, he was convinced that he was losing her. Actually, half a minute ago, he was convinced he had lost her. There was nothing he could say that would express how happy he was.

"Careful, Gorgeous." Cortez smiled as he tucked her hair behind her ear to see her face. He reached towards his nightstand and grabbed the glass of water that was waiting for her. "Here, Sophie. You need water."

Sophie perked up and snatched the glass from Cortez, tipping the glass back and gulping down the water like her life depended on it. Cortez smiled with pride as he watched his little mate recover. She was moving, drinking. She was awake. He couldn't have been happier. He wasn't at all surprised that she woke up with the sunrise. She was his light. She was the definition of a ray of sunshine.

"How are you feeling, Gorgeous?" Cortez asked as she drank the last of what was in the glass.

Sophie lazily dropped the glass into her lap and looked around the room. There were two stranger staring at her like she had just did an impressive back flip. Along with Jeremiah and Delilah, who were smiling contently at her. Sophie turned to Cortez, who was knelt beside the bed she was sat on. His dark eyes were filled with so much joy and love but he looked so tired and sickly.

"Where am I?" Sophie grumbled sleepily as she ran her hand through her hair, stopping midway to scratch her scalp.

"You're home." Cortez proudly answered.

Sophie looked around once more, running her hand over Cortez's bed. "No... This isn't mine."

"It is now."

"No. This isn't my house." Sophie turned to the window. Sunlight poured into the room and outside the window, Sophie noticed just how many trees there were. Her eyes widened as her mouth parted. "This is your house."

"Yes, Angel." Cortez laughed. He grabbed Sophie's hand, pulling her attention back to him. Cortez stared lovingly at his mate and planted a kiss on her hand like he had a million times. "But what's mine is now yours. Stay here. With me."

"Stay?" Sophie breathed as she tried to process what he was saying. "Stay? I can't stay.. My grandfath.."

And suddenly, it all hit her.

When she left the house, she told her grandfather that she was going out with Delilah. She had lied. She went on a date with Cortez. They, then, met some scary men in the parking lot that beat up Cortez and then one of them kidnapped her. She got handcuffed to a stripper pole while he told her about the existence of werewolves. Cortez was a werewolf.

And worse of all, the man that kidnapped her, bit her.

Sophie's eyes fell reluctantly to her right arm. She instantly spotted the bite mark, two puncture holes and then small, red crescent-like shapes where his other teeth had bitten down. The wound was slightly swollen and absolutely terrifying to look at.

A wave of panic washed through Sophie as tears pooled in her eyes. "Cortez.." She softly cried. "What did he do to me?"

Cortez hurried to sit on the bed and reach for Sophie, gently cupping her face and wiping the tears away as quickly as they fell. "It's hard to explain, Sophie. I will explain everything, I promise. Just know, you're alright now. I'm here with you. I will always be here."

Sophie's eyes fell on those behind Cortez. Delilah sat in Jeremiah's lap and rested her head on his as she watched their exchange. The other two strangers made mental notes of the situation and everything that Sophie said and did. There wasn't much record of humans surviving the transformation so they needed to pay extra close attention for study purposes. The fact that Sophie made it was astonishing.

The doctors immediate assumption was that she made it because she was meant to be Luna. There was a strength, a level of power, within her that came out to save her. But so far, she hadn't shown any signs of being turned. She hadn't shifted, no fangs, claws, or glowing eyes just yet. They wondered when Cortez and Sophie would be done talking so they could examine her.

"You're a werewolf." Sophie whispered.

"Yes." Cortez confirmed confidently. Coming out as a supernatural creature was the least of his worries at the moment. That was the easy part to get out of the way.

"You're an Alpha."

Cortez smiled. "Yes."

"And they're.." Sophie's voice trailed off as she stared at Delilah and Jeremiah.

"Yes. They're werewolves. They're here to take care of you and protect you, Sophie."

"The man that bit me. He was a werewolf."

"... Yes." Cortez's joy faded. He worried that Sophie was going to ask questions about the bite but he really had no other option but to answer those questions.

"Why did he bite me?" Sophie's finally met Cortez's. He could spot the sincerity and fear in her eyes as she stared.

Cortez dropped his hands from her face and also, shamefully, his gaze. He didn't know how she would retrieve the news but more likely than not, she'd be upset. She was terrified of wolves. Why would be excited to be turned into one? Cortez wanted to explain everything as clearly and as honestly as possible after being so vague and lying to her before.

"When a werewolf bites a human, the virus in our saliva enters the bloodstream. This virus spreads through the body and one of two things can happen." Cortez paused and met Sophie's stare again. "Either, the virus takes over and destroys the human's body when it fails to accept the virus. Or... That human gets turned into a werewolf when the body accepts the virus. Gabriel bit you because he didn't believe you would survive the virus. He wanted to take you away from me."

Sophie processed the explanation with a nervous gulp. "And I.."

"Your body.." Cortez gently corrected. "Accepted the virus."

Sophie's eyelids fluttered as another round of tears fell over her cheeks. She dropped her head into her hands and slipped into quiet sobs. Cortez's heart clenched painfully in his chest. He didn't hesitate to grab Sophie and pull her into his arms. Cortez began softly petting Sophie's hair and quietly coaching her to calm down.

He didn't think she'd be happy about it but he still hated seeing her cry. He felt guilty. This was his fault.

"I'm so sorry, Sophie. I should've protected you like I promised. I failed you. This is all my fault." Cortez confessed to her for the first time since she woke up but for the thousandths time since she was bit.

"I wanna go home." Sophie tried to gather herself as she pushed away from Cortez's chest. He still held on to her as she wiped away her tears and snot. "I want to go home right now. I want to see my grandfather. I don't want to be here."

Cortez's heart fell to his stomach at her sudden persistence. "Wait, Sophie.. You can't yet. There is still so much I have to explain to you."

"Not to mention," One of the doctors reluctantly spoke up. Sophie turned and frowned at the stranger as he looked from her to Cortez. "We don't know how she's going to take to her wolf. It's better if she doesn't go to school or interact with her grandfather just yet."

"But!" It was Delilah's turn to butt in. "I promised Sophie's grandfather that she'd be home by noon."

Sophie broke away from Cortez and climbed off the bed. "Then that's it. I'm going home. I'm not a werewolf. You're not a werewolf. I was never bitten. Werewolves don't exist. This will all go away once I.."

As Sophie rambled on, Cortez caught her arm and spun her back against his chest. She almost forgot how much taller he was than her. "Sophie, listen to me. You're going to shift at some point. You can't do it at school and you can't do it around your grandfather. You're going to start changing. Noises will get louder, light will get brighter, temperature will feel more drastic, smells will be amplified. You will stop being human soon and you can't be around people when that starts happening."

Sophie felt a ball of anger build inside her at Cortez's nonsensical babbling. She struggled out of his grip and pushed him away. "I am not a werewolf! Whatever virus you put in me, it didn't work! I will not turn into a wolf! And as for you and all the others.."

Everyone was silent as Sophie looked around. Her next words were predictable but nobody wanted to hear them. Cortez could already feel himself grow with frustration and sadness. He nearly lost her. He nearly went insane with the thought of losing her. There was no way he was going to let her storm out of here like she planned on doing.

She was a wolf now. She was a Luna. She was his mate. She couldn't escape those things.

"I don't want to be around any of you." Sophie shot. Her eyes locked with Cortez's as her fists balled at her sides. "Stay away from me, Cortez."

And with that, Sophie turned on her bare heels and trotted out of the room. He listened to her feet smack against the wooden floors as she marched through the house. Everyone watched the level of anger within Cortez rise as he stood as stiff as a board. When he couldn't handle it anymore, he bolted out of the room and chased after Sophie.

The small brunette trotted down the staircase that led to the foyer. Cortez's house seemed just as big as the house that Gabriel dragged her into. She wondered if Cortez has a creepy dark room with a stripper pole in it. Were all wolves perverts? Did they all kidnap humans? Could she get out of here any faster than she was?

"Sophie!" Cortez yelled after the brunette as she marched barefoot into the woods. Sophie ignored him. Cortez suddenly jumped in front of Sophie's path and completely towered over her. "You are a wolf, Sophie! Not only that, you are my mate and the Luna of this pack."

"I don't know what any of that means, Cortez!"

"Which is why you have to let me explain it to you! You can't just up and walk away. You have responsibilities." Cortez stated firmly.

"Responsibilities? I didn't ask for any responsibilities, Cortez! I didn't ask to be turned into a wolf!"

"You had responsibilities before you were a wolf." Cortez calmly stated. Sophie didn't argue back this time, simply waiting for him to continue. "Whether you turned into a wolf or stayed human you're whole life, you are still the Luna of this pack. You are the female Alpha. The wolves inside that pack are yours. And as my mate, you are mine. We are binded together, for life, by the Moon Goddess' choosing."

Sophie blinked, trying to decipher Cortez's claims. He sounded like he was speaking a whole different language.

"You have responsibilities as the Luna of this pack and you are bound to me as my soulmate. Those existed before you were a wolf. But now that you are one, you have a responsibility to take care of your own wolf and keep her hidden from humans." Cortez calmly finished, explaining what he could as best as he could.

"Her?" Sophie blurted in confusion.

Cortez groaned with frustration and ran his hands over his face. He was so exhausted. It would really be nice if Sophie cooperated. "Come home, Sophie. Let me explain this all to you in a way that you can understand."

Sophie shook her head and turned on her heels again. She started over tree roots and rocks, listening to Cortez follow close behind her. "That is not my home. You are not my mate. I am not a Luna and definitely not a wolf."

Cortez tried to catch Sophie but every time he reached for her, she jerked away from him. He couldn't stop her, as much and as desperately as he tried. It was too late by the time Sophie reached her house. She hated how close his house was to hers. It was literally in the middle of the woods and all she had to do was walk straight through to her house. It made sense why he came from the woods all the time now.

"At least!" Cortez blurted as he stopped at her porch, Sophie's hand already on the doorknob of her front door. She didn't turn back but took a moment to listen to him. "Be careful. If you feel sick, come to me. If your heightened senses kick in, come to me. If you feel your wolf, get away from people and come to me. No matter what, I will always be here and you can always come to me."

Sophie slowly turned the doorknob and slipped into her house. She closed the door behind her and leant back against it, letting her head fall with a heavy sigh. Daisy was the first to trot down the stairs and greet her and her grandfathers voice yelling from his bedroom was second. It was so early that he hadn't even gotten downstairs yet. Luckily for her, she was home before her afternoon curfew without even knowing it.

Sophie was simply relieved to be home. She wanted to see her grandfather, stuff her face with food, take a bath, and go to bed. A lot had happened in the last twenty four hours. She wasn't even a hundred percent confident that it was all real.