Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future

Kas's POV

Things have been so uncomfortable since the fire. At first | thought it had to do with being in a different

packhouse and everyone being in closer quarters than we are used to, but | think it's more than that.

Bronx is like a man possessed. He has moments where he is very sweet like he always has been, but

it's few and far between. He’s generally grumpy and rude to everyone, even me. That's if | even see

him. People scurry away when they see him coming, hoping to avoid his wrath. He spends long hours

at MasonCo and when he isn't there, he spends his time with Milo locked in the conference room.

Most nights he doesn't get back to our apartment until the early hours of the morning. | pretend to be

asleep but | can feel the bed sag when he gets in. He always wraps his arms around me and deeply

breathes in my scent. | hear him whisper how much he loves me and how much he misses me. The

gross smell of cigarettes mixes in with his coffee and dark chocolate scent more and more every night.

And | don't know how he manages to do it but he gets up at five a.m. to train with the rest of the

warriors. Leaving my on my own.

Lenora is hardly around because she is busy securing international contracts for the security company,

while Ashley is also busy with work and dealing with pack matters. | offer to help her every day, but she

politely declines, telling me she doesn't have time to explain how to do everything and usually rushes

away giving me an apologetic smile. Ashley does get me a laptop though, which is arelief. | don't have

to worry about bugging her to print things out for me anymore. Everyone is stressed out and no matter

what | try to do to help, I'm in the way or ignored. | almost feel like people are avoiding me. Even Mrs.

Miller tells me the kitchen in the old packhouse is too small for me to be in there while she and her staff

are working. She is so busy, | can’t even get her to sit down between meals to discuss food for the

wedding reception. So, | stay out of the way. |

don't want to add to her stress. | will figure it out myself. That is what the internet and all those bridal

magazines are for, | guess.

Delilah and | spend time in a much smaller kitchen off the ballroom, perfecting the recipes for our

bakery. Well, if it ever actually happens. The one time | brought it up to Bronx, he said 'not now, Kas'

and rushed away to meet up with Milo. | mean Delilah is great and other than Lex, she’s my best friend

but she has a mate of her own and she can't be there every second of the day. | try not to complain, but

| think she can tell I'm feeling down. | don't let on how much the way | am being treated by everyone is

really bothering me. | don't want to guilt her into spending more time with me.

Lex on the other hand is super excited about getting married. She’s been helping me with wedding

planning. | know that sounds weird, the wolf in my head is my wedding planner, but honestly, she has

good taste and she has helped me with it in previous lives. Today, for example, | don't want to feel like

lam in everyone's way, so she and | are going to look through websites for food option ideas for the

reception. | call Delilah to let her know I’m going to focus on wedding planning and | won't be able to

meet up with her. She sounds tentative but as always, she is understanding.

"Don't forget to call the dress boutique and make an appointment!" Lex reminds me.

Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇt

"Oh, good call!"

| flip my binder with ideas and notes to the page with the bridal shop number. The woman on the phone

is so nice. She makes my appointment for tomorrow afternoon. They're going to be slow because it's

Valentine's day. I'm sure Bronx will be working, so he won't even notice, but I'll still have plenty of time

to make a romantic dinner for him. | sent him a text message about it. Hopefully, he remembers.

| hang up the phone and hear a drip of water in the sink.

Sink? Don't be stupid, Kas. The sink is down the hall. The drips are from the leaky pipes splashing

against the dungeon floor. I'm on my knees and Ryan is holding my face, getting ready to smash my

eyes out of my head. Oh Goddess no! Please, please don't let him blind me! The pressure of his

thumbs against my lower eyelids is so painful, | cry out in pain and grab his hands.

No. That was the past. I'm in the dress shop. Wow. What a weird, terrible memory to have while I'm

trying on wedding dresses. It felt so real, | think to myself. | shake it off. Now is not the time for that kind

of crap.

| look in the mirror to see myself wearing the most beautiful white dress. The sales lady has me stand

on alittle platform in front of a huge mirror. She was right, it looks much better on me than it does on the

hanger. They turn the main lights down and turn little spotlights directly on me. It makes the beading on

the dress sparkle and shine. This is it, this is the dress. | can feel tears of joy prick the corners of my

eyes.

| see movement coming from behind me through the mirror. It is coming from outside the large bay

window. As | turn around to see what caused the movement, the entire window shatters and a giant

gray wolf with piercing gray eyes comes crashing through. Everyone in the store starts screaming and

running. I'm planted to the spot in shock. The wolf grabs a human running away by the neck and rips

their throat out. Blood spatters everywhere defiling the beautiful white dresses on the walls. He grabs

another person and rips their arm off with a sickly sound, sending blood everywhere, then snaps their

neck. »

| hitch up the dress and try to get it off so| can shift into Lex and run. The woman who was helping me

is now crawling on the floor trying to get away but the wolf grabs her and tears her head clean off while

looking me straight in the eye.

Shit.

| stumble backwards off the platform. Fuck it. I'll find another dress.

"Lex! Shift! Screw the dress!" | yell at her. "That wolf is too close! Hold on, Kas! | need to stop time but

it's gonna be draining," she whimpers.

"What are you waiting for?! DO IT NOW!"

In an instant, the chaos stops. Just long enough for me to shift but Lex can't hold the energy we need

to shift and stop time simultaniously, so everything starts moving as soon as our four paws are on the

ground. The wolf was already in mid-air, landing directly on top of us, teeth painfully tearing into the

back of our neck. Lex howls painfully.

"Kas? KAS! Baby, please! Come on, look at me!" Bronx is on his knees, shaking me. "Bronx?" | can

feel tears falling down my face but | don't know when | started crying.

"Baby, I've been trying to snap you out of that vision for twenty minutes. Are you alright?” He caresses

my face while feeling my forehead, looking into my eyes.

"l-it was awful." | can't help myself, | start sobbing and fall into his arms. It’s the first time I've seen him

in days.

"It's gonna be okay, Kas,” he soothes me as he kisses my forehead, “but | do need you to tell me

before you forget. Can you do that for me?"

| recall everything | can remember from the vision while Bronx sits patiently and listens. That's right.

Patient. Who is this guy and what did he do with my grumpy mate?

"There was so much blood, Bronx," | feel my voice hitch.

"Alright, when are you supposed to try on dresses? How much time before this is supposed to

happen?" he looks at me with

concern.

"Tomorrow afternoon.”

"Okay. Call in the morning and reschedule. Make an appointment for next week, so | can have extra

security to go with you."

| nod, feeling very defeated. I'm about to ask him why he’s home in the middle of the day when | look

around and see it's dark out.

| look at him confused, "What time is it?" "After midnight. When James told Marco that you canceled

plans with Delilah and had not left the apartment all day, Marco decided to report it as suspicious to

me."

"After midnight?"

| pick up my phone. Twelve thirty-seven a.m. Sure enough, | had called the dress boutique at one-

fifteen in the afternoon.

"Bronx, I've been-"

‘Shh, | don't want you to think about it anymore tonight. Let's get you to sleep," he says as he stands

me up.

"Me? What about you?"

"| have to get back to the conference room. Milo and | are working."

"But, Bronx-"

"Now Kas,-" he dismisses me.

"Don't ‘now Kas' me. You've basically disappeared for over a month. | never see you anymore," | could

feel anger licking at my insides when he interrupts me, “And the only reason you came home after

midnight instead of after three in the morning is because no one saw me all day? Well, aren't | a lucky

girl?"

"Kas, I-,” his face is turning red from the neck up. | can’t tell if he’s angry or embarrassed and | don't

care. Let him yell if he’s mad or apologize if he’s embarrassed. It would be the most he has talked to

me in days. But he just stops as if he doesn't know what to say. "| won't be that easily dismissed, Bronx

Mason. | understand your work is important, but what about me? Am | not important? If | don't matter,

then why am | even here, going through the motions?” | feel myself becoming more and more

hysterical. A purple aura is starting to surround me.

“I'm not allowed to get a job, no one will let me help around the packhouse, everyone is too busy to

teach me anything, and my mate doesn't even want to spend time with me. I'm lonely, Bronx. | feel like

a ghost around this place. No one sees me and when they do see me, they practically run the other

direction. At least at Silver Moon, people would yell at me that | was doing a shitty job or go out of their

way to hit me," | scream and stomp my foot. :

Hot tears run down my face. Lex is angry and trying to push to the surface. | don't want to yell at him. |

don't want to be mad. | just want my mate back.

"I'm sorry, Baby," his voice was quiet. He can't even look at me. He looks down at his hands in his lap.

| throw my hands in the air, then turn and go to the bedroom, slamming the door behind me. He doesn't

follow. | hear a little shuffling, a muffled phone call, then the apartment door gently opens and closes.

| cry myself to sleep. In the morning, | see Bronx had not even come to bed. | go to the living room and

see a pillow and folded blanket next to the sofa.

My heart sinks, he doesn't even want to be in the same bed as me anymore. He didn't even say

goodbye this morning. Even when he was only in bed two or three hours a night, he was still waking

me up to say goodbye. | guess my temper tantrum stopped him from wanting to do that too.

| fucked up.

Happy fucking Valentine's day.