My Lycan Mate of Suicide Forest

"Okay, I hear you. Yes, we should be able to go get our stuff and not be worried. But I'm going to call on some of our friends to see if they are available to meet us," Greta said. "Is that okay?"

"Of course," August smiled.

Greta and Sam had brought the Jeep back when they left to get supplies from their house the first time. At that point, August was unconscious and Graeme was watching over her. They were shocked to return and find the opposite to be true. Greta chuckled now remembering it.

"What's so funny?" August looked over at her from the passenger's side.

"Just thinking about how Sam and I came back to find you awake like nothing had happened and Graeme passed out like sleeping beauty on the bed next to you," she laughed.

"He was so peaceful, wasn't he?" August laughed along with her.

"You know, we talk about how his mate mark has helped you with the accelerated healing and everything, but I think your mark has done just as much for him," Greta said thoughtfully.

"You think so?" August tilted her head to the side in thought.

"He was in that place of yours with your guardian, and I imagine what was happening was a kind of healing. A different kind of healing that the physical, perhaps, but still healing," Greta explained. "He seemed more controlled when he awoke. That's what he needs. I can see that."

August sighed. "If I can offer him even a small measure of the help that he has given me, then that will make me happy."

"Oh, you have. There is no question, August," Greta replied. "He returned with you. You were the only one who could have brought him back to us. But that's just the beginning… I can't believe he has embodied the Alpha and is really positioning himself to take control. It was something he said he would never do. Whatever happened when he left, whatever he found out from Penelope… and then returning to find you in trouble…"

"And you," August reminded her.

"That triggered something. You are a gift to all of us," Greta looked at her as she drove through the woods to the treehouse. "You healed me," she added softly, as if to herself.

August didn't reply to it. It was an ability she didn't fully understand, and she didn't think it was something she could take credit for. It was more like she had opened herself as a conduit for the healing that came from elsewhere.

"It was the Moon Mother," August whispered. "Not me."

When they arrived at the treehouse, Vera and Liv were waiting at the base of the stairs to greet them.

"Hey, so you two are going to be roomies?" Vera smiled and gave them both hugs as Liv did after her.

"It looks that way," Greta replied. "At least for the time being until things are a little more settled."

"That sounds fun. You should have us over for sleepovers. We can kick the boys out," Vera winked.

"What all are we moving out?" Liv asked once they were up in the main living area looking around.

"It doesn't have to be a lot. Just the art stuff and some clothes, I guess," August shrugged. A wave of sadness rolled over her as she wondered whether or not they would be back. This was their place where they were alone. Where she was birthed into this new world for the first time.

Graeme had sat next to her for weeks, waiting for her to awake. He had held her in that pool and kissed her for the first time while she was sitting on this table and made her more meals here than she could count. They had made love for the first time in that bed.

August looked around the treehouse, seeing the ghost of those memories they had made together play out as if they were happening before her eyes. It had been such a short time, but in many ways it had felt like a lifetime already. She had grown attached to this insanely high treehouse with the endless steps and the reliable, solid tree at its center.

When the memory of Marius showing up here threatened to break through the door of those recollections, she finally turned away. They could always come back. Maybe at some point, it would make sense to stay here with him again.

Or maybe the honeymoon up in the treehouse was over. Graeme would be needed in the pack house now more days than not. It was time to take on the responsibility that was needed of both of them. Living closer to the pack house would make more sense than being this far away.

Living in Graeme's childhood home had so many more advantages as well. They were so close to Sylvia's house, to the market, to her shop—to everything. This was the next step forward. It was a good thing.

But as she watched her new lycan friends walking out the door carrying some of the things she had come to recognize as her own, August couldn't help but feel the melancholy of a transition from one phase of her life into another.

Greta, Liv, and Vera had all gone down the steps for a final time, and August was doing one last sweep to make sure nothing essential was left. They could always come back, she knew, but if multiple people were required as extra security for awhile, who knew when that would be feasible.

A crow on the deck outside caught her attention. It was tilting its head her way, and she smiled. Was this the crow—her crow—from the place with the trees? She was about to walk outside to greet it properly when there was a knock on the door.

A knock? It wasn't Greta or the other two girls if they were knocking. She gave the crow a curious glance as if it would know the answer before walking to answer the door.

Sage and an unfamiliar young woman were waiting for her on the other side.

"Sage! It is so good to see you again," August smiled. "And to see that you are okay after everything."

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I can't believe how great PS votes are going! Within one day, we made it to 80 PS votes, so we just need a bit more and then to maintain it over the course of a week, starting today (Sun is the first day of the WN week when PS votes go back to 0). I think we can do it by the end of Jan! LMSF is ranked in the 300s right now, so we're getting there! Thank you so much for voting for our lycan and his mate! <3