I am Sam

ASLAN

I’m standing before her, and my soul is trembling as she looks up at me, those eyes, breathtaking. Swallowing hard, I’ve never felt this way, so vulnerable at the hands of a woman before. I run the back of my hand down her arm until I reach her hand, lacing her fingers with mine; I suddenly feel like I can’t breathe,

“Please, stay.” Gulping, the lump in my throat just doesn’t seem to want to go down, “I can give you more than he can; I can give you the world.” I watch as she swallows hard, her brows knitting together as her tiny frame tenses, and I know what’s coming before she even parts her lips to speak the words,

“Aslan, you deserve someone who can return your love in the exact same way, but that person isn’t me. I don’t want the world; all I want, all I’ve ever wanted, is Wolf.” Hearing those words feels like a sword being driven right through my heart, and as much as I want to deny her what she wants, I can’t. I couldn’t deny this woman anything, even if it broke my heart.

“I will never stop hoping you will change your mind and come back to me, my sweetest Sasha.” Pulling her to me, I’m suddenly scared of letting go. How strange it is that this breathtaking goddess could tame me so instantly. I will hold on to this moment, with her, for the rest of my life.

“You coming?” Atlas says, becoming me with a nudge of his head. Pulling away from Aslan, I turn my head to look back at Atlas, and then my brows furrow when I notice Liam; he’s gone back to Eris’s body, crouched down on the ground beside her, and I can’t help swallowing a lump.

“Just give me a second,” I murmur as I start to make my way over to him until I’m beside him. Crouching down, I gently place my hand against his shoulder; looking over past him, Lana is right there, her hand resting against that shoulder; I give her a knowing nod, and she does the same. Tilting my head towards Liam so I can get a better look at his face, I let out a breath I was holding,

“Liam,” His entire body is tense as he keeps his eyes fixed on Eris, “You saved my life; I’m so sorry... I,” But he cuts me off when he sighs, shaking his head in response,

“You don’t have to say it; I know who she was; I guess, in some way, I just always held on to the hope that one day she would change.” Gulping, the pain in his voice almost crushes me,

“I wish I could stay longer,” I whisper, sighing. He shakes his head with a smirk,

"You need to go." He whispers.

"Liam..."

“Bye, Sasha.” He breathes. Swallowing the already lump in my throat, my brows furrow as I wipe away a stray tear,

“Bye, Liam.”

Rising to walk away, I suddenly hear Lana gasp, spinning back around; my eyes widen in surprise when I notice a black raven perched on Lana’s shoulder; what the... “That’s Vanya’s raven,” I retort. I would recognize that white spot on its head anywhere.

Aslan appears beside me, his brows furrowing in response. There’s something in its beak; it’s a shiny red stone. Lana’s eyes widen when she turns to call to her brother,

“Aslan, it’s the firestone.” Lana takes the stone from the raven, who suddenly flies away as quickly as it appeared. Holding it up to Aslan, she smiles. Aslan takes the stone from her, holding it up to inspect it when he smirks; turning around, Asher is right beside him, his jaw slack as his brows furrow; he’s staring at the stone in Aslan’s hand like it’s a mirage. Holding it out to Asher; Aslan smiles,

“This is rightfully yours, Asher.” Gulping, Asher stretches his hand towards it, and I notice his hand shaking as he finally takes it.

Gasping, a loud gush of energy suddenly explodes from Asher. His eyes swirl with deep red as he finally screams out, the impact of the powerful energy knocking him to his knees. The moment the energy simmers, the red wave fades; Atlas still looks down at the stone as short pants have his chest rising and falling.

“Asher?” The moment I say his name, he slowly lifts his head up to me, and when our eyes lock, I gasp as my jaw drops, “Asher, your eyes.” And Asher steps up to me, having me cup his cheek in astonishment, "They aren’t black anymore. Asher, the curse, it’s been broken.” And his smile only widens, and so does mine. His eyes are the most interesting shade of green. I embrace him in a hug, and it’s like everyone else engulfs us both; Atlas, Noah, Circen and Miera. What started off as the most terrifying day has turned into the best day I could have ever asked for.

Two curses broken, who could ask for anything more, right?

~

Standing beside Atlas, I give him a questioning look,

“You sure about this?” Smirking with a grin, he shakes his head,

“It’s a hell of a lot quicker this way to get back to Aeonian than walking,”

“Couldn’t we just use a portal?” I retort. Rolling his eyes, he sighs,

“You’ll be fine.”

Sighing, I step back from him to allow him some space; I’m staring up at him in absolute awe when he begins to shift into his dragon. His dragon is gigantic. Charcoal grey in color.

When he turns his large head to look at me, I notice his eyes, blue, like sapphires. Nudging me with his head, I giggle; he’s beautiful.

He lowers his head, a clear indication for me to climb on; I still can’t believe he talked me into this, but he’s right; this is going to be way faster getting us back to Aeonian; there are a few matters that need to be sorted out before I can finally go home.

Noah, Circen and Miera have all shifted into their dragons; Asher is catching a ride with Miera. The moment Atlas takes off, the only way to describe the feeling would be mind-blowing. Yeah, well, it is for me anyways; you would have to actually get on the back of a dragon to experience it to truly understand how out of this world this is. The air is swooshing past my face; Atlas’s wings are so broad as they move up and down at a steady pace, a low rumble vibrating through his body. I’ve never felt so alive and free. I feel like a bird in the sky; my wolf is practically panting like a puppy inside of me, her tongue hanging out her mouth; it seems she likes flying too.

~

Standing side by side with Circe, Noah, Miera and Asher. We're all watching this monumental moment as it happens; have you ever cried and smiled so hard that both those polar opposite emotions just morph into something you can’t explain, other than to say, I’m so filled with pride as I watch Atlas getting inducted as the new King of Aeonian.

With Ronan dead, it was just the obvious next step for Atlas to take over; Aeonian can’t be without a King. Everyone from near and far have come to witness this event, all except Caleb and Vanya; the absence of my best friend stings and only makes me want to cry when I think about how much I already miss him.

Queen Fae, Aslan, Lana and Liam are here too, even though it’s been three days since we fought in the Unseelie realm; it’s clear he’s still hurting as he keeps his eyes lowered to the floor. I wish I could help him to hurt less, but as I look up at Lana, her eyes lock with mine, and we both give each other a knowing smile and nod. Liam is in the best hands he could ever be in with Lana.

Once the induction is all done, Atlas comes up to me and grabs me around my waist as he swings me around; he’s smiling like a treasured cat as he looks down at me. I can’t help chuckling at how silly he’s being; I love seeing him this way, like somehow, a heavy weight of darkness that once hung over his head is now gone, it died along with Ronan.

Clearing my throat, I tilt my head up to him with a grin,

“Your majesty,” I say jokingly as I lower myself into a curtsy, which only has him smirking as he pulls me back into his arms,

“Don’t ever do that again,” He scoffs jokingly, “I’m the same guy I was before I became King, and that will never change.”

"Good to know." I wink with a wide smile.

~

Well, what can I say? The next day things were already settling into a new form of normality around Aeonian, if you can call it that. Things are different around here now; less heavy and way more fun; even the staff have smiles on their faces. For the first time ever.

Atlas is already an excellent King, and I know that once he finds his mate, the missing piece to the puzzle will finally be complete.

Holding the dream catcher Caleb gave me up as I run my finger tips over it one last time before packing it in my bag, I breath it in, smiling. I shake my head; it smells just like him.

I lift my backpack up as I throw it over my shoulder, giving the large room I’ve spent the last four months in one last look; I let out a heavy sigh when I think of all the good times and not-so-good times spent here. Smirking, I shake my head as I shut the door behind me; time to go home.

Heading down the corridor, I round the corner when I freeze in my tracks, blinking in surprise, my jaw goes slack.

Asher has Miera pinned up against the wall kissing the life out of her, and I suddenly don’t know where to look or go,

“Uh, um. I... um...” My words fumbling, which only has Asher turning his head towards me and chuckling in response,

“You okay?” He asks with a teasing smirk. Nodding, I smile nervously,

“Yeah, all good.” Okay, I was not expecting these two to hook up. Slowly looking up at them, Asher’s eyes are back on Miera’s,

“I’ll be back soon, I promise.” He murmurs before claiming her lips again, and I so wish I could just sneak past them without them noticing, but that’s not going to happen, so I stand there drowning in how awkward it feels, when Atlas suddenly rounds the corner and calls out to me,

“Are you coming? We need to go.” His voice, a welcoming escape from what I’ve just been having to endure for the past twenty seconds. He grabs my wrist and starts pulling me along with him, and he’s not even surprised to see Asher and Miera sucking faces; wait, am I the only one who didn’t know they hooked up? Damn.

Saying goodbye is never easy; it downright sucks, actually. Holding onto Circe, the tears won’t stop falling; we’re both crying and chuckling like a couple of goofballs.

“I’m going to miss you,” She squeaks, and I nod in response,

“Me too, but I’ll come back and visit,” I promise her,

“You better; I’ll hold you to it.” She sniffs. Noah is the next one to engulf me in a tight hug, and I sink into his warm hug like a teddy bear because he is and always has been a real teddy bear. Looking up at him; he ruffles his hand through my hair, messing it up. Narrowing my eyes playfully, I huff as I straighten my hair; shaking my head at him, I smile, and he does the same.

“So we might be having a party in your room at the end of the month; you gonna come?” Scoffing, I roll my eyes at him,

“I haven’t even left yet, and you already want me to come back,”

“Of course.” He teases, “You’re part of us now,” And those words suddenly have a pang of emotions flooding right through me as I hug him again.

"I'm gonna miss you," I whisper.

"Yeah, gonna miss you too." He whispers.

Walking away from Aeonian towards the witch’s forest, I turn back one last time to wave at my friends. Atlas and Asher have decided to come back with me; Asher wants to meet Wolf, and Atlas wants to ensure I’m safe before leaving and returning to Aeonian.

Protective brother much?

I love it, though.

The moment we get to the place it all began, the large portal in the witch's forest; I sigh as I stare at it. I hate portals, even still.

Atlas suddenly grabs my wrists and chant some words, and just like that, the wolf cuffs suddenly un-clip themselves and fall into his hands. My eyes widen in surprise as I smile, rubbing my wrists I give him a suspicious look.

"So tell me again why you couldn't have take these blasted things off before?" Smirking he scoffs,

"Let's think about it, you going into heat without these cuffs on, would have turned into a whole different kind of crazy, now wouldn't it?" Nodding, I give him a knowing smirk,

"Yeah, I guess so."

~

Stepping through the portal on to the other side, I have to steady myself; I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that rollercoaster feeling as my stomach churns in response. “Urgh.”

Taking a deep breath, I suddenly straighten up, taking in my surroundings; I smile, instantly recognizing the buildings in the distance.

Erebus.

I freeze when my eyes slowly move across from where I’m standing. My heart skips a beat as tiny prickles begin running up and down my spine; my throat instantly goes dry the moment my eyes lock with his,

“Wolf.” I breathe his name like prayer as it leaves my lips.

He’s standing a few feet from me, looking utterly dumbstruck as he clutches onto a pile of chopped wood while staring at me.

“Sasha,” He breathes my name in disbelief, almost like he thinks he’s looking at a ghost. A shudder instantly runs through my body as my wolf shimmers behind my eyes.

I can feel everything crackling around us like static electricity wanting to pull me to him, and him back to me. As I take a step towards him, he does the same; but then, his brows suddenly furrow when he stops.

His jaw clenches as his eyes drift straight past me; turning my head, I’m suddenly looking directly at Atlas as he comes to stand beside me with a big smile on his face as he looks from me to Wolf and back at me again. But Atlas’s smile suddenly falls when he looks back at Wolf, who is now staring hard at him, narrowing his eyes at Atlas; Wolf clenches his jaw; my jaw drops in response as my head swings back towards Wolf, and I’m about to say something, of course, he doesn’t know Atlas and I are twins, but before I can say a word, a woman suddenly appears beside him. Blinking back the shock on my face, my brows furrow in response.

She’s got a bright smile, her long blonde hair bouncing in her ponytail as her crystal blue eyes look from Wolf to me, to Atlas and Asher, and back at Wolf again. I recognize her; she’s the same girl from the mirror. Lowering my eyes to what she’s holding in her arms, I suddenly forget how to breathe. A baby, a boy. And I’m swallowing down the lump in my throat as my eyes fly back up to Wolf.

“Wolf, who are your friends?” She chirps excitedly. Wolf’s eyes lock with mine as he narrows them, his nostrils flaring as he grinds his teeth before dropping the pile of wood on the ground,

“Nobody.” He grumbles before spinning around and storming off. I’m left standing there feeling like I’ve just been punched in the gut, my heart dropping into a bottomless dark hole. Tears shimmer behind my eyes when I lower them to the ground; he’s moved on; he has a child. I’m too late.

I can't breathe.

Atlas comes and rests his hand against my shoulder, which only has my entire body tensing in response instead of relaxing into him like I usually do. How could I have been so stupid, expecting that he would still be waiting for me after all this time? I mean, I realized the moment that the curse was broken and I wasn’t the one dead on the floor that he must have moved on, but, I mean, she’s standing right here and very much alive, so who died then, it doesn’t make any sense.

“Um, that was awkward, anyway; I apologize for our alpha’s manners; he’s not normally that grumpy. I’m Jessie; it’s nice to meet you.” And my eyes suddenly narrow on her as I look up and see her bright smile as she extends her hand to me to shake.

Grinding my teeth, I scoff as I shake my head before marching straight past her,

“Excuse me, Jamie,” I grumble, she furrow’s her brows as her hand drops, and she turns towards me, watching me as I continue marching off towards the pack house,

“Um, it’s Jessie,” She corrects me, and I can’t help rolling my eyes in response,

“Whatever,” I mumble, and I faintly hear Atlas as he says,

“Sorry, Jessie, is it. She’s had a rough day; she doesn’t like portals much; it’s nice to meet you, I’m Atlas, and this is Asher.”

Great. Now Atlas and Asher are making friends with the enemy, I think as I taste bile rising in my throat.

Atlas finds me sitting on the edge of my bed in my old room; I’m aimlessly staring at my giant fluffy bunny rabbit still sitting on the floor in the corner where I last left it.

Atlas slowly comes and kneels before me as he places his arms across my thighs before plopping his head down onto his arms; his eyes drift up to mine, and he gives me a sympathetic smile,

“So that’s Jessie, huh?” Nodding, I quickly wipe away at a stray tear as I sniff back my emotions,

“I thought when I came back that... I thought what I saw in that mirror might have been wrong, but, it wasn’t wrong, he’s moved on with someone else, and they have a child together.”

My voice suddenly breaks as I begin sobbing; Atlas instantly gets up as he pulls me into his arms, and hugs me tight.

“Shh, it’s going to be alright, you’ll see.” He whispers reassuringly. Shaking my head, I pull back as I look up at him through tear-streaked eyes,

“It’s never going to be alright, Atlas. He’s moved on; he has a child with someone else." I'm suddenly sobbing as my chest aches with the pain of losing the only man I will ever love. "Please, let’s just leave and go back to Aeonian; I can’t be here; I- I just can’t.” I whimper as I shake my head. Holding me tightly to his warm chest, Atlas sighs,

“Okay, Sash, whatever you want.”

THE END

Thank you for reading I am Sam - Book Two in the Luna Moon Chronicles, the story continues with I am Ultima - Book Three in the Chronicles.