Chapter 40

Bella POV:

Sunlight cascaded through the leaves of the trees and down onto where Sam and I were curled up on the forest floor. The gentle rays gleamed off of Sam's black fur as it slipped between my fingers. I absentmindedly continued to run my fingers through the soft coat as I thought about the day ahead of us.

We'd read in the journals that we were to drink the tea that many of his ancestors, who had also been spirit warriors, drank. It was said to induce visions and I was nervous. Between my nightmares, and the true supernatural world that I lived in, I was afraid of what I might see.

I desperately clung to the warmth and peace of the morning in spite of the nerves that had begun to settle in the pit of my stomach.

The journals also said that these visions would change mated couples forever. I had absolutely no doubts about Sam or us, but I also wasn't sure if I was ready for everything to change yet either. We were in a really good place. I'd finally accepted the imprint, or lack thereof, and so the only true drama was with Emily and of course the deranged vampire after me.

Sam let out a wolfish groan and began to move, causing me to stop my fingers in his fur and pull away from him. I was dwarfed by his sheer size as he stood and I ought to be frightened, but this was my Sam. I had no fear of the giant beast beside me whatsoever. He leaned down towards me and nuzzled his dark snout into my hair and along my neck. He huffed, then swiped a long lick over my mating mark.

"Gross!" I giggled, gently swatting him away. He pulled back from me, smiling with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, which only caused me to laugh harder.

Sam's wolf nudged me with his muzzle then until I got the message and stood. Then, before I could even begin to think about what he wanted from me, he was gone. I looked around and huffed with a little more attitude. This attitude I'd recently found in me was definitely something that came with Sam only, and I tucked the thought away for later.

"Good morning, beautiful." Sam's voice was a little hoarse from lack of use as he made his way out of the thicket and came to stand at my side.

"Morning," I sighed when he pulled me into his arms. Being in his protective arms always felt like coming home, and my nerves from my line of thinking this morning disappeared as I just allowed myself to be held by him.

"That's better," Sam said in his gruff voice again. "I could feel your nerves, you were driving me mad," he added with a glint of humor in his eyes.

"Don't I always drive you mad?" I tried to pout, but couldn't keep the smile off my face as I looked up at his handsome face.

"Always," was his whispered reply just before his hands took purchase on either side of my jaw and lifted my face so that he could press perfectly delicious kisses on my lips. He continued to whisper to me between kisses, his voice slowly lowering to nearly a growl. "You drive me mad with lust… with worry over you… with love… with admiration. I love you so much, my mate."

I was speechless, I just pulled him into me, my eyes uncharacteristically tearing up with all the emotions that were coursing through me. This man was everything I could have ever hoped for, and more. I wound my arms tightly around his narrow waist and crushed myself to him as closely as I could.

We stood there, kissing for what felt like a perfect forever, our need for each other tangible. Slowly, but surely we wound down, knowing that we were here at A-ka-lat for a reason, and despite my nerves beginning to stir once again, it was time to continue our journey.

"We will start. You rekindle the fire, and I will run down to get the rest of our things. We should eat something before we have the tea. There are more journals to read, personal accounts and such, we can start with those as the tea brews." Sam's voice took on that air of authority I was accustomed to hearing from him. I had to set aside the more primal feelings that came alive in me at hearing him speak to me in such a commanding way. He smirked, despite himself, and the look in his smouldering eyes told me that my reaction to him did not go unnoticed.

"Well, get to it then," I shooed him and laughed a little. He let out a chuckle but made his way, then disappeared down the steep stairs that led him back down to our canoe and supplies. My expression settled in a gentle smile as my warm thoughts towards that man continued to filter through my mind.

I set to work, looking for more fallen wood, trying to pick what at least seemed dry-ish. I didn't go back to our makeshift camp until my arms were packed with wood and my gate had become something of a waddle because of the awkward shapes and lengths of the logs. Thankfully, Sam hadn't quite made it back yet when I walked up, so he couldn't poke fun at my struggle.

Once all the logs were laid out, I stacked some up in a circle, pointing them towards the sky in a cone shape. The unused wood was stacked to the side for future use. I then went back into the woods to collect some kindling to get the fire started, and I allowed my mind to drift once again, humming tunelessly as I went about my task.

This time Sam was there when I got back to the camp. He looked up as he heard me approach, but didn't say anything, just focused on the fish he was hanging on a rope. I shook my head, realizing that was what had taken him so long, he'd caught some fish for us.

Red hot flames grew, eating the tinder, then licked it's way up the thicker logs. It was quiet and peaceful on the small island today. The only sounds that could be heard were the seemingly distant, gentle waves, little chirps from birds, and the popping from the still somewhat damp wood being dried by the heat of the fire.

I sat back on my heels and admired my handiwork for a moment, then stood to get some food to cook. When I got to where the cooler rested in the shade by Sam, he was patting salt on the fish after cutting down the lean meat. A small squeamish shiver ran down my spine as I looked at the guts that were left over. I tried to hide my reaction since this was a fish, the guts could be a whole lot worse, and if Sam noticed my shiver, he didn't say anything about it thankfully.

I assumed the fish wouldn't really be ready until later on, so I grabbed some eggs from the cooler and a mini travel pan from one of the bags. I made quick work of frying the eggs and by the time Sam had returned from cleaning up, they were ready to be eaten.

"The sun is higher now, you need to put on some sunscreen," Sam said when we were done eating and we'd cleaned up our small mess. It wasn't hot out, but the parts of my pale skin that were visible were fodder to the sun's intensity. I just nodded and did what I was told as Sam set up the tent that we'd neglected to put up the night before out of sheer exhaustion.

Once the sunscreen had found its way to every bit of exposed skin possible, and the tent was standing sturdily, I began to brew the ceremonial tea.

There was a heavy quiet while Sam lounged beside me as I finished up. I reached into the large duffle and dug out two metal thermoses. Almost silently, I poured tea into each thermos, then gently passed one to my mate.

Still without saying a word, we carried on a conversation with just a look, then sipped from our cups.

Before this moment, I had imagined every cliche television scene, and assumed the tea would be awful. That wasn't the case though, the liquid went down smooth. It was slightly bitter but it wasn't too bad and in fact, I wanted more.

"Well that was easier than I thought it would be," I finally broke the silence that had been drifting between us.

"Speak for yourself!" Sam choked out, "that shit was disgusting."

All of the wolves were like bottomless pits when it came to food and drink. Sam was no exception to this rule, so I couldn't hold back the giggle at finding out that there was something out there that even he couldn't stomach.

"So… what now?" I asked when a silence stretched between us once again. I'd read the journals, but still, this was such a different experience than I'd ever thought would happen to me that I just felt I needed his guidance and reassurance.

"We just wait now," he responded. He leaned back onto his elbows in a more relaxed position and I scooted and settled in close to him.

We spent the better part of the day just talking lightly and enjoying our time alone together. It seemed rare for us to find time just the two of us without the pack hanging around or calling.

The whole afternoon passed this way, in gentle bliss. I started to wonder if the elixir would have any effect at all.

Just as soon as I really began to believe that there would be no effect, no vision at all, a dizziness barrelled towards me and hit me with the force of a logging truck. The trees spun and the colors in our campfire danced. The hot flames reached out to me, beckoning me to dance with them.

Somewhere, deep in my conscious mind, I knew that the fire had not split into many living creatures reminiscent of beautiful sprites. Logically, I knew that they were not holding hands and that they were not singing an unsettling, yet enchanting song. Despite this, I stood and clasped hands with the two nearest to me, one on either side.

We skipped in circles around the fire that was now much larger than I had remembered. I marveled at the fact that my hands were not burned, but were instead just receiving a warm pulse. I was lost to the energy swarming in the air, exhilarated by it and curious of it. I found that it was difficult to focus on any one thing.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, I felt intense eyes on me. I followed the feeling and locked my sights on the heated, dark gaze of my wolf, no longer struggling to focus.

Sam made no attempt to break the eye contact and he stayed entirely still, just observing me from where he'd been sitting the whole time. I kept my attention on him as I continued to dance and skip for him as I never had before.

"Come." I heard a whisper through the wind, just the faintest of breaths.

"Come." I heard once again, only slightly louder and more insistent. It was enough that my wolf now looked past me to see from where the whisper had come.

"Come." I heard for the third time. I looked back and saw nothing but the dark woods behind me. I turned to my wolf and he gave me a silent nod, letting me know that I could follow the voice summoning me.

"You must go! You will see. You will be safe," the fire sprites sang to me. Their voices were soft and child-like. The way their voices layered, as if in unison but with a strange echo, was eerie, but equally beautiful.

I dropped their hands then, and crept my way into the shadow-filled forest before me, a whisper still carrying through the wind.

"Come," it said.

Author's Note:

Sooooo... there is not much that I can say to explain why it has literally been six months since I've updated. I am so sorry! I went back to work, which I have been doing a lot of overtime and it's draining. Also, the state of the world is rather draining. I wanted to make this a happy and positive space, and I still want it to be, but also, I get it if you are struggling to feel positive these days. I know that it has kept me fairly uninspired in general, which is why it has been hard to update, but I promise, I will not give up on this story. I won't quit on you guys!

In better news, I got married :) The wedding was different than we planned because we morally felt that we couldn't gather everyone we had planned together given the pandemic, but it was beautiful and I couldn't be happier about this part of my life :)

Whether it is to vent or to share some good news, what is new with you all? How are you doing? I hope everyone is staying healthy and well.

Thank you to everyone who has reviewed! I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart, I just don't individually respond because I have zero filter and would excitedly spoil the whole plot to you lol

You all are the best and there will be more soon!

Happy Reading!

-Dahlia