by A. M Martin
“What did he say?” Nick asks swinging his legs.
“Told Avery she’s an empath and we’re shifters.” Jeff sighs taking a seat making sure to kick Cam in the legs. Who yelps, crawling out the other side of the table.
My eyebrows go up at that, “How she take it?”
“She thinks we’re all crazy.”
I gulp the rest of my beer. I feel restless, that run did me no good. What I need is to be beside my mate’s side.
“What now?” Aden leans against the wall, watching Jeff intently.
“I don’t know. I really don’t know. Max screwed this whole thing up.” Jeff rumbles.
“How do we even know she made the transition?” I ask popping another beer open.
Jeff eyes the bottle in my hand, “We don’t but knowing Max he didn’t let it happen.”
“It could have happened anyways. She’s been around Max her whole life that alone should have triggered it.” Nick hops off the counter.
“No. Not if Max never shifted around her.” Jeff says.
“He could hold the shift off for fifteen years?” Aden asks.
“Yeah. Max is a stubborn ass.” Jeff chuckles.
My eyes narrow on Cam, “You told her she’s an empath. What makes you think that?”
Cam’s face turns red as he pulls on his shirt, “I don’t know. Just a feeling.”
“What kind of feeling?” Nick watches a fidgeting Cam.
“I don’t know. A feeling.” Cam mumbles sliding closer to Aden.
They all watch Cam.
“I don’t know.” He yells throwing his arms up.
They're all quite for a while. I think and think. How am I going to get close to Avery? How am I going to bring some life back into her cold eyes? My hand squeezes around the almost empty beer. This is not how the mate bond is supposed to work. None of this is working out how it's supposed too.
“I’m going to bed,” Jeff states leaving the room.
I look up, my heart beating painfully in my chest, “How is she?”
Cam’s face softens, “She seems fine. No different from before.”
That’s not what I wanted to hear. Don’t get me wrong, I mean I’m happy that she’s fine, but I want her to want me the way I want her. The bond took so what’s the problem? Why is she not accepting me?
Aden scoffs, “That girl is far from fine. Can’t you tell something is messed up with her.”
My teeth lengthen at the insults Aden is saying about Avery. My skin ripples.
“She is cold.” Nick mumbles.
“Empty,” Cam says.
“She’s like a freaking robot.” Aden snaps.
I toss my beer into the trash and leave the kitchen. If I stay, I’ll be ripping out Aden’s throat.
So, what if Avery is cold, empty and like a robot? Wouldn’t any other person be if they went through what she did? I don’t care what she’s like only that she is mine. Mine to love, to hold and protect. Eventually, I’ll get her to the same level that I am on. Time. I just need to give her time no matter how much I despise it.
Avery
It’s been a week since I came out of my three-day comatose state. Three days was all it took for my crazy life to flip once more. Life loves throwing punches my way.
I stop and slip off my shoes, sitting down on the dock. A sigh escapes me as my feet hit the fresh water of the lake. I swing my legs back and forth causing the water to ripple out away from my moving feet.
I’ve learned a lot in the last seven days. I don’t want to believe them but how can I not when I’ve seen or heard things, and some of the stuff they’ve told me are all things that belong in a movie or books.
My eyes close as I tip my head back letting the sun shine down on my face, soaking in its warmth. My pale skin could use the vitamin D.
I still can’t comprehend the fact that the man that raised me. The man I believed to be my father is my uncle and not only that, but his twin sister is my mother.
That’s not the strangest thing I’ve learned this past couple of days either.
My whole family is composed of werewolves. Yeah, a werewolf. People able to change into a wolf. Maybe I shouldn’t say werewolves they find it offensive and their eyes seem to take on a yellow glow whenever I call them that. They call themselves shifters or people of the moon.
I snort kicking my feet again. People of the moon. A storybook if I’ve ever heard one.
They’re able to shift into a wolf when they come into the transition at age fifteen, but there’s a catch. For a wolf to change or transition, they must be around others of their kind at age fifteen and on. Some are known to make the transition in days. Others take weeks sometimes months. Being around their own kind jolts the process into starting.
Crazy, right? My life is turning into a lousy movie or how that stripped cat so put it, ‘We’re all mad here.' That seems right for this family.
Something good came from all of this. Those colored ribbons I see. The emotions I felt from others that I locked away. It turns out I’m not crazy. I’m an Empath.
From what I was told an Empath could feel people’s emotions. That’s it. Just feel what others are feeling. A dumb superpower. Here’s the thing, I can see emotions and lock out my own. Not something an Empath is supposed to be able to do. Would that make me a super empath?
I kick my feet splashing warm water on my legs. When Jeff asked me if I could sense the other's emotions I said no. He nodded his head and said it would be doubtful that I may be an empath, with the Blackwell line being pure-blooded and all. That was until he married Shelly and they had Lilly, mixing up the bloodline in the process.
He thinks not going through the transition turned me into something different. Little does he know how different I am.
After he had explained my lineage, I thought it wise to deny I could do anything knowing I’m even more different than they are.
He looked disappointed when I said I don’t feel people’s emotions and when I missed the transitional period. It’s not uncommon. I’m what the others refer to as a dud. Where I missed my transition or in the case of an empath showing no signs of empathy. It’s unheard of in pure-blood lines, but then again no one knows who my birth father is.
He could be the missing link to why I am the way I am. Why I didn’t transition or show signs of it in the beginning. Why am I a super empath? He’s an unknown making the outcome of my abilities unknown.
I’ve been careful now more than ever. I don’t want to slip up like that day in the woods. I don’t want anyone to know I’m an empath and I’ve locked away all the feelings or know I can feel Camron sometimes. I don’t want them to know about the ribbons or how the black ones that day on the beach called to me in a primal way. Which I still don’t understand. I’ve never craved the ribbons before. Never hungered for them like that. So many things to figure out.
They questioned me a million times, but my lips stayed sealed. I have an inkling if they know I’m halfway like them my days of feeling nothing, being hollow is over.
My hands come up, rubbing my arms as a buzzing feeling on my skin takes over. Kayden’s near. The others are probably close by too.
Kayden, he’s been an oddball from the moment I saw him, always staring at me with this look. Now it’s on a whole other level. He seems to be always around or hanging back in the shadows watching me with this hunger that doesn’t quite seem human. Like a predator shines behind his green eyes. Lurking. Waiting. Watching for a chance to pounce.
I look out across the smooth lake as the sound of footsteps bounces to my ears. I should’ve known better than leave my room. After my three-day blackout, I’ve stayed in my room enjoying my solitude.
This lake has some pull on me like a siren. Always lurking in the back of my mind. Calling out to me. It’s the only good thing I have in my life. This muddy body of water. Plus, the memories from the lake are something I’d like to remember.
Fishing and swimming. Just being lazy out on the dock.
Peaceful things.
“Hi, Ya Avery,” Camron says excitedly as he plops down beside me at the end of the dock. He’s always so hyper, full of life. Things I’m sorely lacking.
I look at him. He’s cute in a boyish kind of way with his warm brown eyes and dimples that are always out.
“Aden come sit.” Camron waves his hand, childlike.
Aden grumbles coming to sit down cross-legged on the other side of Camron.
Those two couldn’t be more different in looks and personality. I’m told opposites attract, though.
“How are you processing everything?” Cam leans out a smile on his face.
My eyes flicker between Camron’s sweet face and Aden’s stiff back, “How long have you and Aden been together?”
I watch as Camron eyes widen and a nervousness flutters through me from him.
My hands tighten on the dock edge.
Aden snarls getting up and stomping his way back to the beach. I watch him go. His steps are angry and hard. His head shakes like he’s talking to himself. I still don’t like him. Something about the way he looks at me like I’m chock-full of secrets.
Which I am. So many secrets yet it’s still not his business or concern to try and figure them out.
“We’re not together together.” Camron stutters, his eyes tracking Aden across the sandy beach and into the dense woods. “We have an em-bond.” He mutters.
My eyes glue themselves to his face, waiting for him to explain what an em-bond is. He shifts back and forth letting out a sigh.
“I’m an Empath and Aden is a wolf.”
No wonder he snarls so much. I raise my eyebrows, waiting.
"This is so hard to explain." Cam looks out towards the calm lake, chewing on his bottom lip, “A male shifter needs an Empath bond. I don’t know if Jeff told you or not, but when they hit a certain age, their wolf starts to take over a little more each day. It's like the human part slowly gets consumed by the wolf. Leaving well, only the wolf and their basic predator instinct."
He lets out a breath and looks at me, serious for once, “Empaths are critical to a male wolf's survival. We share our human emotions with them; it helps ground them, push back on the wolf to an extent."
I kick my feet, “You and Aden are bonded. What does that mean?”
“Well,” Cam scratches his head, “We’re connected. Aden can always feel what I feel. Be human. It keeps his wolf from taking over when he can feel my emotions. It grounds him to his human side, but it’s more than that." He shrugs, “They also help us. Some empaths feel more than others. Their bonded wolf can pull that out of them. Their bodies can handle it better than our body’s can."
Interesting, I wonder if that’s why I can see the ethereal ribbons. Is that my body telling me to pull at their emotions? Nah, that doesn’t make any sense. The only ribbons I’ve seen is from Cam and Jeff. Cam is an empath, so I’m not meant to be his em-bond, and Jeff is my uncle. I don’t think the universe is that cruel. That wolf on the beach, I saw his too. I shift and scoot forward as I feel Kayden moving close. What if?
My head snaps toward Camron, “How do you know if you have an em-bond to someone?"
He looks at me strangely, “You just know."
My eyes narrow on him. That’s not good enough. Are the tingles I get from Kayden being near me, ‘my knowing.'
"How about I tell you about Aden and me." Camron smiles, and I give him nod.
"I came to visit Aunt Shelly and stumbled upon Aden and Nick arguing close to the house. This would be the first time I had met Aden before he kept to himself a lot. Anyways the closer I got to them the more I felt from Aden. Well, it was more the wolf than the person. I got a feeling of Nick being the prey. Of wanting to hunt. Taste blood. It was all coming from Aden, and I had this need to help him. No human feelings were coming towards me, like anger or hate. So, I pushed my emotions towards him. It took a while, but he eventually calmed down, reigned in his wolf and accepted the bond." Camron lets out a laugh, “Aden then snarled at me and took off. And ever since then you can’t find one of us without the other close by."
"Aden still seems really touchy."
Or should I say wolfly? Is that even a word?
"Well yeah, it will take him a couple of years to get back to being somewhat human. Aden was twenty-five. The rage was already starting to take over. Little by little he was losing himself to his wolf."
Huh. Camron’s just full of information. I didn’t know any of this. Em-bonds. The Rage, which sounds like a bad movie. Aden doesn’t look anywhere near twenty-five. He looks like he’s hitting twenty. Do they age differently from ordinary people?
But what about Kayden and me. Nothing Cam said explains what’s been going on between us. That’s what has my thoughts going crazy. Could Kayden make me feel? I feel my face clench up. I don’t want that. To feel.
"Is that the only kind of bond,” I ask not looking at him. I feel his excitement, and that bothers me.
"No there’s the life mate bond." Cam gushes, waving his hands in the air.
"And?"
"I’ve never experienced it and never will, being an empath and all. Only wolves form the life mate bond with other wolves, and few have. It’s rare. They say each person feels something different, but the wolf always knows. Why do you feel something?" Camron leans out to the side trying to catch my gaze.
I ignore him, looking at the calm water. Yeah, I feel something alright. From day one, Kayden’s muscle tensing tingles. Is that the life mate bond? No that doesn’t make sense only wolves feel it. All though I have pure-blood, I’ve shown no signs of being a wolf. Just an empath with strange powers. Is it considered powers? Who knows. All of this is starting to make my head hurt.
"Are you and Aden life mates?" I ask watching the sun shift across the water.
"NO." Camron gasps. "Empaths don’t mate with wolves. We kind of like fill in until the wolf finds his mate, then the bond gets turned one-sided. The Empath can no longer feel the wolf or be connected to that shifter, but the bond is still there in a sense. When the emotions get too much for our weaker bodies to handle, the shifter can pull those feelings out of the Empath."
"How are Jeff and Shelly together? She’s an empath, and Jeff’s a wolf."
"Gosh, this is so hard to explain. Growing up around here you would have just known this stuff." He huffs out, kicking his legs. "Jeff lost his mate in an accident when they were in their teens. It’s not like she was the only one he could be with. At the time, it was because well the wolf won’t let you be with anyone other than your mate, but both Jeff and his wolf picked Shelly when he met her in their late twenties, and well the rest is history." Camron says grinning.
"So, wolves can be with someone else if their mates die and Empaths are tossed to the curb when the wolf they have a bond with finds their mate."
That is barbaric. Who would want to get tossed out like trash?
"I won’t get tossed aside like trash Avery." Camron says, upset with me, “I will always be a part of Aden’s life when and if he finds his mate. We will still have a bond like brothers, and we will still have the em-bond, it will just be a little bit different is all."
“I can’t be a mate, but can form em-bonds and get tossed to the side," I mumble to myself.
I don’t like either outcome. It sounds so animalistic. And I don’t want any part of it. Maybe the tingles are the em-bond trying to tell me ‘Hey right here.' I shake my head. I don’t want that.
A harsh breath of air leaves my lungs as the tingles get stronger to the point I’m no longer able to make them seem imaginary. They buzz and sizzle across my skin, seeming to go into my body. Making me warm and needy for something.
I grind my teeth and stand up. I see Camron jerks back with my sudden movement. I strip off my tank and shimmy out of my shorts.
Camron gasps as I jump off the deck. I do a perfect dive, slicing smoothly into the refreshing water, never making a splash. I cut through the water like a fish as the tingles become
muted.
I’ve missed this, slicing through the water. When the dance season ended, swimming began. I was never really any good being on the swim team, but I loved the water. The weightless feeling it brought me. The muted sounds of the cheering crowd. The thrill of the race.
My chest burns needing air. I slowly rise from the water taking in full gulps of air. My nose hovers above the water line as I look to the shore. My eyes are locking with a pair of familiar green ones on a majestic chocolate wolf, standing with the same proud stance.
“Kayden.”
It’s barely a whisper, but I know he heard me. His eyes flash a sickly yellow. His ears flicked back. I watch, my arms waving in the water keeping me afloat as the wolf disappears into the tree line.
Kayden
I move silently through the trees, keeping far enough away from Avery. I don’t want her to feel me so near quite yet, but I still need to be close, just in case she needs me.
My thick paws sink into the soft soil, Avery’s winter scent overpowering the forest smells. I sneeze. My mighty head is shaking. A low growl builds in my chest.
I want to go to her more than anything in the world. It’s taking all my willpower not to. I want to rub on her like a common dog. Marking Avery with my scent, like warning bells to other males to stay away. A quiet growl comes out at my ridiculous line of thought. This girl is driving me crazy. Or is it the uncompleted bond making me want strange things. I shake my head, a snort coming from my snout.
It’s killing me. This bond between us and her not knowing it. Not wanting my touch or anything to do with me. This isn’t the way the bond is supposed to work.
I move closer to the tree line watching Avery sitting on the dock. Her feet are dangling in the water.
Pride and excitement fill my chest. As my keen eyes take in her small hands rubbing her arms.
She can still feel me.
A worry I didn’t know has lifted away like a light breeze. Maybe I can start talking to her now instead of staring at her like a stalker. Which is how I feel, an intruder in her life. I need to try and form some type of relationship with Avery. Take it slow. Completing the bond being the desired result.