The High Priestess card indicates that now is the time to trust your instincts and go with your gut feeling. Pay attention to your dreams and the signs and symbols the universe is sending you.

"Take a deep breath… Take a deep fucking breath…"

Emma was locked inside that small bathroom for forty minutes at least. Mate. She had a mate. Addison had told her mating bonds were rare among werewolves and they only happened for a specific reason. So why was this happening to her? She didn't even have the intention of remaining a werewolf.

She unlocked the door and spied through the crack. Sarah was still asleep. It'd be a matter of time until she woke up, and noticing Emma's absence, she'd definitely investigate her whereabouts.

She'd have to invent an excuse of why she was hyperventilating. A good excuse.

Emma carefully opened the door. Sarah didn't wake up. She had time to find and collect all her clothes spread around the floor.

"Your mate is your partner for life."

While she got dressed, Emma observed that girl. The way her chest moved as she breathed. The way a strand of her light blonde hair fell gracefully over her face. Those perfect long leashes.

That heat started growing in her abdominal area all over again.

"Damn it."

Amnesia. She could fake amnesia. In case Sarah woke up while she was still in the entertainment room, she could pretend she didn't remember how she got there in first place.

"Emma?" She was finishing wearing her shoes when she heard her name. Oh, shit! Even her own name sounded better coming from that goddamn voice.

"Hey, I was…"

'Just do it. Make it sound like the previous night didn't mean nothing at all. Make her sound like she's nothing special.'

'Don't ruin it. Don't fucking ruin it.'

It was like two voices were in an argument inside Emma's head. Only one could be the winner. Only one could be in charge of the next words. She prayed it would be the right one.

"I was going to get us some coffee in the kitchen," she smiled.

"Okay, I'm going to get dressed."

Emma could've taken the opportunity to run away. Sarah would be waiting for her and she'd never come back. That would certainly make her hate her. That would certainly make her look like a bitch.

She didn't do that. She couldn't do that.

When she returned, the girl was already dressed.

"There was a machine, but I didn't know which one to get…" Emma handed her one of the cups she was holding. "I just picked randomly."

Maybe she had gotten it wrong. Maybe she had picked one Sarah hated. Or one she was intolerant to. Because if her intuition was right, her suspicions would be confirmed.

"And you got that absolutely right," the girl grinned, taking a sip from the cup. "My favorite."

Fuck!

"So… it was a hell of a night, huh?" Sarah spoke, breaking that uncomfortable silence hanging between them.

The comment made Emma remember all the kinky and dirty details about their night together. Sarah's mouth against hers. Their tongues moving together in a perfect sync. The warmth of her skin. The blonde's hands all over her body. Her mouth going lower and lower…

Emma almost choked on her coffee.

"You can say so," she felt her cheeks burning. The morning after was never so difficult before.

"Damn, we even missed the vampire orgy."

"Looks like we did."

"I better get out of here as soon as I finish. It'll be strange if they find out I'm still here. Spending the night definitely wasn't on the contract."

The party went until late hours of night. Most of the people in the manor were still asleep. What made it easier for Emma to help Sarah to sneak out and follow to her car.

"So," Sarah hesitated before getting into the car. She looked down, making puppy dog eyes that Emma wouldn't be able to resist. "I really enjoyed spending time with you yesterday. Can I have your number?"

"Sure," Emma grabbed her phone and typed her own number in the agenda. "I… I enjoyed spending time with you too."

Sarah grinned and placed one final quick kiss on her lips, leaving Emma paralyzed by that intense new sensation.

"I need to talk to you and it's urgent," Emma erupted through the manor's doors, grabbed Addison by the shoulder and dragged her to an empty room.

"What have you done now?" The woman, who appeared to have just woken up, was clearly annoyed by her unexpected and sudden act. "Seriously Mountebank, you should start writing a book - 100 Ways Lycanthropy Can Go Wrong: A Guide For Werewolf Newbies."

"It's not funny! It wasn't my damn fault."

"Please, tell me you didn't infect someone or anything like that."

"It was worse than that."

"Okay… I'm starting to be very concerned now."

Mating bond. Two simple words. Two simple words Emma couldn't say aloud. Saying them aloud would make them look more real, more solid. It would make it actually exist in the Universe. With long pauses to breathe, she told Addison everything.

"Oh my god, this is why you disappeared at the party," Addison finally relaxed, smirking mischievously. "You were… smashing some girl in the entertainment room."

"You told me to socialize," Emma excused, angry and embarrassed. She prayed no one else had listened to that last part. "I was socializing ."

"Okay… who was she? Anyone from the pack?"

"No, the photographer. Sarah Bryce."

"Oh Mountebank, really? Among so many werewolves, your mate is a human?"

"You said we cannot choose, right? It happened. If I had a choice, it wouldn't have happened. At all ."

Emma started feeling impatient, agitated. An unfamiliar shiver ran through the back of her neck. She paced around the room, attempting to relieve some of that tension.

"She's cute though. Anyways, let's set the date," Addison said. "Spring is a good time for your union ritual."

"What?!" Emma shouted, in shock. "N-No! I-I…"

"Relax, I'm joking. We don't even know for sure if she's your mate. Maybe you're just too attracted to the girl. Or too impressed by the ritual you witnessed yesterday."

"And what if I'm not? What if she's actually my mate?"

"It's not that deep, yet," Addison explained. "At this stage, the bond isn't completely settled between you two. Only partially, as you and her already… consummated it."

"How does it become permanent?" If there was a way Emma could avoid it, she definitely would. A mating bond was something she couldn't deal with in that moment. She had to focus on breaking her curse.

"You have to claim her. Bite her in the spot between her neck and her shoulder."

"Good. All I have to do then is avoid her as much as I can."

"Good luck with that. If she's truly your mate, she'll be constantly pulled back to your life."

It'd be a painful thing to do, but Emma would reject every call, every text message Sarah could eventually send her. She'd ghost her. She'd just disappear and pretend they never met.

That night would be just a memory. A fucking good memory.

Emma didn't have any panic attacks in a long time. They ceased after that night at Hackett's Quarry became more and more distant. When it started that morning, she blamed it on facing something completely new and possibly life-changing. Sarah could be her mate. What now? What exactly did it mean? She was on her way to Aurelia's cabin to obtain some answers. The Elder would be able to confirm her suspicions. But was she ready to know? She felt a knot in her stomach. A terrible sensation that made her feel extremely nauseous.

She needed to speak to someone. Someone fully human, like Jenna or Benjamin. Someone who knew her well and could look at the whole situation in an unbiased form. Without thinking twice, she grabbed her bag and prepared to leave, writing a note telling Addison she wasn't feeling well to stay and wait for the Full Moon to transform with the pack.

It didn't get any better once Emma was on the road, driving back home. In fact, it was getting worse. A heaviness in her chest, mixed with her werewolf senses acting stronger than ever. It was like her inhumane side was trying to send her a message. Alert her of something she was unable to see or distinguish. There was a danger lurking around, but she didn't know where or who.

She stopped by the side of the road, trying to understand what was happening. Going against her nature wasn't working well until now. She decided to do what she learned recently, with Aurelia and the others. She decided to connect and listen to her werewolf side.

Her heightened senses were pretty much active now. Everything around her seemed more intense, more vivid. Emma walked around for a while, searching for whatever it was trying to show her.

She inhaled deeply. A strange smell filled her nose. Blood. She followed in the direction of that smell, that was becoming stronger at every step.

Apparently, a car had gone off the road and crashed against a tree. Emma approached, realizing she recognized that car.

"Sarah!" She screamed, running faster than she ever assumed it was possible.

The next couple of hours were a blur. Just like that night at Hackett's Quarry, it took a while for Emma to come back to her senses and process what happened.

Sarah was still conscious when she made it to the car. Only a little confused and dizzy. There was a small, bleeding cut on her forehead that indicated she had hit her head in the collision.

"How did you manage to get her out of the wreckage?" A police officer asked later in the hospital.

"I… I don't know," she told. "I just… acted by impulse."

By impulse wasn't exactly the truth. Her enhanced strength had done that, once she realized she needed to get Sarah out of the car. Her right leg was stuck in a very damaged area of the vehicle and she was losing too much blood from a deep, extensive wound. Emma managed to set her free and carefully moved her outside, applying pressure to the injury and making sure the girl remained conscious until the ambulance arrived.

"She was very lucky," the police officer concluded, after taking Emma's report. "Your immediate help saved her life."

In the ambulance, she already started feeling guilty about her plans. In front of her, Sarah looked weak and pale. The girl still tried to keep her eyes open. Through their bond, Emma would look inside them and feel how scared she was. She reached for her hand, assuring her everything would be alright.

She didn't have any more news since they arrived at the hospital. They told her they could only give information to family members.

Over three hours had passed. That long wait, mixed with Emma's werewolf side becoming more active due to the incoming Full Moon, were making her very irritated. She had already yelled at a couple of nurses and the receptionist, threatening to expose the hospital on the internet for refusing to provide information about someone she cared for.

"Fuck, I'm being a bitch," Emma exhaled in front of the mirror as she washed her face. Her clothes were a mess. She had blood and dirt all over.

Jenna arrived shortly after she left the bathroom. She helped her to calm down while they sat in the cafeteria to talk. Benjamin had gone to the road to get back his truck. Emma didn't even consider that when she entered the ambulance. She'd have to apologize to him later.

"What does it even mean, Jenna?" Emma had barely touched her sandwich. She didn't feel like eating. And it wasn't even because of the usual sickness she felt before the transformation. She was worried about Sarah's health and whatever was going on between them. "I slept with a girl and now… I'm married to her?"

"Okay, it does sound deep and serious," her roommate admitted. "And even a little bit scary. But have you thought it could be a good thing for you? I mean, she sounds like a nice person."

"She is, definitely. But how is it going to be when she finds out I'm a…" she lowered her voice, " werewolf ? She'll find out at some point."

"Maybe she'll just accept it, who knows? Not everyone is like Abigail."

"Yes, but even if she does. I still could kill her by accident. I could seriously injure her someday. I'd never forgive myself."

"I think you're freaking out, okay? One step at once. First, she needs to heal from this accident. And then, you can start thinking about the future."

This last part was also one of Emma's biggest concerns. What if something had gone wrong? What if Sarah's injuries were more serious than they seemed?

"She's going to be okay, right?" She asked, feeling a little bit anxious all over again. "I… I still want to find out if she's really my mate. And why she is my mate. Addison said there's always a purpose."

"I'm sure you will," Jenna reached for her hand, squeezing it tightly.

It didn't take much longer for the news to arrive. Emma was sitting in the waiting room, checking the clock at every minute. Soon she'd have to go home and start to prepare the basement for her transformation. She lamented not taking the herbs Aurelia told her that could make it less painful. All that stress would definitely make it even harder.

"Emma?" An unknown man came in her direction. "Emma Mountebank?"

"Yes," she stood up, apprehensive. "That's me."

"Douglas Bryce. I'm Sarah's father."

The man extended his hand. Emma shook it.

"How is she doing? They wouldn't inform me, only family members."

"Sarah had a minor head trauma and went through a small surgery on her leg. She's resting now."

Emma let out a relieved sigh. The man sat down by her side. She could tell he was very distressed too.

"They told me you saved her life. I can't thank you enough."

It was the first time Emma really appreciated having a werewolf side. If it wasn't for her special abilities, she wouldn't have been able to know about the accident or get Sarah out of the wreckage.

"Sarah hadn't told me yet. About you," the man opened a small smile.

"Oh, I…" Emma remembered she had to tell the paramedics she was close to Sarah, in order to be in the ambulance. From all the words the came to her mind in that moment, she picked the most awkward. She told them she was Sarah's girlfriend . "I mean, we just…"

"I know this is kinda embarrassing and that we're meeting under the worst circumstances, Emma. But I'm glad to know Sarah has a girlfriend. I was very worried when she moved to New York. I feared she'd feel too lonely and depressed."

She couldn't tell him the truth. Not in that moment. Not when he was under so much stress already. She just smiled back and said:

"Your daughter is a lovely girl. I'm glad we've met."

In the morning after the transformation, Emma didn't spend hours under the shower crying and feeling sorry for herself, like she usually did every Full Moon. She took a quick shower, got dressed and sat down with her roommates to have breakfast. There was something else she had to do. She had to go back to the hospital to know if Sarah was okay.

"What was wrong with you last night?" Benjamin asked. "You were more agitated than usual. I had to use a tranquilizer dart. I was afraid you'd break free from the chains."

"I don't know," Emma told. "It was probably due to stress. I also didn't have much time to prepare yesterday."

However, there were flashes in her memory. Flashes of her werewolf side deepest desires. It wanted to get out. There was somewhere else where it wanted to be. Someone it longed to protect.

"Fuck…" she mumbled.

Before going to the hospital, Emma stopped by the flower shop. She bought a small vase of daisies to lighten up Sarah's mood. She also picked a cute 'get well soon' card.

She met the girl's father in the hospital's reception, when he was about to go out to get something to eat. He informed her Sarah was a little agitated that night and had to be given some medication to sleep. She had woken up already, back to her usual self.

Emma took a look inside the room and found her watching something on TV - a documentary about The Big Foot, she noticed. She let out a small laugh.

"Hey there," she announced herself. "I came to check how you're doing."

"W-Who are you?" Sarah narrowed her eyes, staring at her confused.

"Uhhh… Emma? From the wedding? Pool game?"

"I… I kinda remember a wedding, but what happened in this pool game?" Emma noticed a small smile in the corners of her mouth. "Would you mind refreshing my memory?"

"Emma, that sexy girl from the vlogs you used to watch," she decided to play along. "The one you definitely had a crush on."

Sarah was controlling herself to not laugh.

"Vlogs? Never watched them."

"You totally did. I checked my old subscribers and you were like 'platinum VIP member' ."

"Liar!" The girl finally broke into laughs. "I didn't do that."

"You don't play pranks on the queen of pranks, baby," Emma teased.

"Come on, I was doing my best amnesia performance. How did you not fall?"

"I'm an actress, remember?"

Emma sat down on an armchair, right next to the hospital bed. She placed the flowers near Sarah's bed.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. "You got me really worried yesterday."

"I'm okay. The doctors said that if you hadn't found me so quickly, I'd be a goner. I was losing too much blood."

"I'm glad I did."

They barely knew each other, but Emma couldn't even imagine losing her. That thought alone caused her feelings she couldn't even describe yet.

"Uhhh… Emma? I have something to tell you. It's kinda embarrassing," Sarah turned off the TV for them to chat. "My dad thinks you're my girlfriend. I tried to explain it's not like that but he was not convinced."

"Oh, this is my fault," Emma admitted, blushing a little. "I… I had to lie to the paramedics to be in the ambulance with you. They probably told him."

"Well, you're so screwed now. He'll never leave you alone. He'll consider you part of the family and invite you to spend Thanksgiving with us."

Mr. Bryce raised Sarah alone for five years, Emma learned. Her biological mother had abandoned them soon after she was born. He eventually remarried Sarah's step-mother, with whom he had two other daughters. But he was still very protective of her.

Emma didn't know where things would go from there. If she and Sarah would only be friends or if she'd actually become her girlfriend someday, but she decided to let Mr. Bryce think his daughter was happy and safe by her side anyways.

"Why don't you make any more videos?" Sarah changed the subject. "You were good at it."

"It's complicated," Emma told. It wasn't really because of the nasty comments. They were long gone now. The problem was that she couldn't find her personality again after becoming a werewolf. "Going through something traumatic, it takes a part of you. A part of me kinda died two years ago and unfortunately it was the part that was good at making videos."

"It's not dead. It's still there inside you somewhere. You just need to find her again."

"Do you think?"

"You were pretty much like the girl from the videos the night we met."

Sarah was in hospital for another two days. Emma dropped by to visit her on many occasions. She couldn't help acting a little protective. The more she tried to stay away, the more her instincts would remind her of everything that could go wrong. She needed to make sure Sarah was being properly treated. Another evidence their bond was actually real.

"Emma? I need to talk to you," Mr. Bryce was waiting for her when she arrived that morning.

"What happened?" A hint of concern made her chest automatically tighten.

"Sarah is getting discharged. As you know, we live in a small town, near Philadelphia and the doctors didn't recommend her to travel yet."

Emma let out a relieved sigh as he continued to speak.

"She also can't be alone in her apartment yet, even if she's convinced she can. Would you mind if she stayed with you for a few days?"

That was the chance she needed to explore their bond. If Sarah was her mate, it had a purpose. And if that purpose was to help her to break the curse, she had to find out.

"And we're home," Emma opened the door of the studio apartment, helping Sarah to get in and accommodate herself on the couch. Due to her curious nature, the girl took a lot of time scanning the whole place with her eyes.

"Before I forget," she opened her purse, grabbing Sarah's professional camera she retrieved from the damaged car. "I took it to be repaired."

"My camera," Sarah was genuinely excited. "Thank you, but let me pay for that. Please. The whole accident was my fault."

"You said you saw someone standing on the road."

"A hallucination, probably."

Emma's mind quickly went back to Eliza. She was going against the woman's desire for revenge. How far would she be willing to go to punish her too? If that girl was truly Emma's mate, her death would cause her unimaginable pain. And pain would certainly trigger a very dark side of her werewolf form. A side that could easily hurt people.

"I'm sorry about that," Sarah spoke. "I mean, we just met. There was that whole misunderstanding with my dad and now I'm staying in your apartment."

"It's okay," Emma assured her with a smile. "It'll be good to have you around."

Sarah would be sleeping in her bedroom. Emma decided to sleep on the couch, to prevent any close physical contact that could turn into… consummating their bond once again.

"Thank god the wedding pictures are still here. I'd be screwed if they were gone."

Emma sat down by her side on the couch to see the pictures. Sarah was a talented photographer. She managed to capture perfectly the feelings between groom and bride in the moment of their union.

"And this one is a personal favorite," the picture showed Emma distracted in front of the lake. She hadn't even noticed when it was taken. "A little editing and it'll be a masterpiece."

"Whoa, I loved it. It looks awesome."

"The model definitely made it better."

When Sarah was in the hospital, there were doctors and nurses passing by all the time. There was also the presence of her father. There were obstacles between them. Nothing would happen around so many people.

It was different now they were alone. All the feelings Emma felt back at the wedding, from the moment she had laid her eyes on Sarah, returned. That heat started growing in her stomach all over again as they were in silence, staring into each other's eyes.

That whole tension was interrupted by someone knocking at the door.

"Look, I have visitors already," Sarah joked, dismissing whatever was hanging in the air between them.

"Looks like you do," Emma stood up, recomposing herself too. "I wasn't expecting anyone."

When she opened the door, Laura and Kaitlyn immediately entered, not giving her any time to explain the situation.

"Girls' night?" Laura said, noticing her shock. "Don't tell me you've forgotten?"

"We want to know everything about the were…" before Kaitlyn could finish, Emma made a silence gesture and indicated Sarah on the couch, " wedding ? Ohmygod, this is why you disappeared."

"Uhhhh… girls, this is Sarah," Emma felt her cheeks were on fire. "She's staying with us for a while. Until she recovers from a car accident."

The girls introduced themselves to Sarah. They talked for a few minutes, before Sarah went to the bedroom with the excuse she was still feeling a little tired. Emma knew she decided to give her some privacy to talk to her friends.

When they were finally alone, she told Laura and Kaitlyn about the party and about her possible bond with Sarah, lowering her voice as much as possible to prevent the girl from hearing anything from the bedroom.

"And are the myths true?" Laura wanted to know when she finished. She had that look on her face.

"What myths?" Emma asked. She took a long sip of her drink, knowing what was about to come.

"About the sex, obviously. They say it's pretty intense between werewolves and their mates."

"It was…" Emma took a long breathe, "life-ruiningly good. Five stars. Would totally do it again."

"And what will you do from now on?" Kaitlyn asked.

"Nothing. I can't risk giving in to the temptation and make the bond permanent."

"You're living under the same roof. It's like fire near gasoline."

"It won't happen again," she told. Deep down she was a little bit insecure about that. "I'll find out why she's my mate and then I'm breaking the curse. And this bond too. I don't want to be tied to someone for the rest of my life yet."

When the girls left, Emma went to her bedroom to check on Sarah. The girl was picking a movie to watch on TV. She was editing some of the pictures she took at the wedding when she started feeling a little dizzy.

"I'm sorry," Emma said. "I forgot to tell my friends our weekly meeting was cancelled."

"It's is okay. Don't mind me here," Sarah told. "It's your apartment after all."

"Are you feeling better now?"

"Yes, I think I'm still a little weak."

Emma lay down by her side on the bed. It wouldn't hurt to be Sarah's company for a while. They picked a comedy to watch, but she could barely pay attention to the movie. Sarah's fragrance filled her nose every time she took a breath. Her heart started racing inside her chest. Her muscles became tense. They hadn't been so close since that night in the manor.

"Nothing is going to happen," she told herself mentally. "She's weak and fragile."

It helped her to come back to her senses and enjoy the moment.

It didn't take too long for Sarah to fall asleep. Emma carefully left the bed and turned off the TV. They could finish watching the movie on another occasion. She started arranging the couch to sleep too.

"Are you sure you're going to sleep there?" Benjamin asked before going to his bedroom. "You can stay in my bed if you want. I can sleep on the floor."

"I'm fine," Emma told. "Really."

But then, she had been staring at the ceiling for hours, without being able to get any sleep. Her brain was still trying to process everything that happened in the last few days.

"Emma?"

She got pulled back to reality by Sarah's voice calling for her. The girl was standing in the living room, her blue eyes wide in panic.

"Hey," Emma stood up, helping her to walk. "what happened? Are you feeling okay?"

"I rarely remember my dreams," Sarah sat down by her side on the couch, "but I was having a nightmare."

"You must be a little traumatized because of the accident. I struggle with nightmares too, since…"

"Hackett's Quarry?"

Emma nodded. They hadn't talked about that subject yet. At some point, everyone she met would ask about it. With Sarah, it was being different. She could tell she was respecting her time. Waiting for her to decide to bring up what happened that night.

And she truly appreciated that.

"The nightmare I was having. It was about you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you were running away from someone. It was completely dark, except for the moonlight. And then, you got shot."

"It was just a nightmare," Emma placed her arm around Sarah's shoulder bringing her closer to her body. The blonde rested her head on her chest.

"There was something else. A voice. It said you should stop, because you're going to get hurt. And it wasn't a threat, it was more like a warning."