Devi: Matefinder Book 2

by Leia Stone

  “He’s pack now. He’s okay, but he needs to stay with us for a while. You can stay on the edge of our property,” I told Kaden.

  He nodded. “Thank you. Thank you all.”

  Anna was in human form and talking to the enforcers.

  Max left and reappeared in the doorway and tossed Kaden and me clothes.

  The enforcer came back inside the barn. “The council will overturn the sentencing as long as he stays with a pack and doesn’t go rogue again.”

  “I’ll make sure of it,” Kaden told the enforcer. Chase walked slowly to Kaden’s legs and lay at his feet. Kaden patted his rib cage. “It’s going to be okay now.”

  Every time I brought together a mated couple, I felt a rightness within my soul. It was my life’s purpose.

  Alexa

  Adrian had just left after retrieving the Alpha blood sample I promised him from Kai. The pack was in the basement training on how to kill vampires; Kai wanted us to start going out on missions and protecting the public. I tightened my grip on the silver stake and taunted Trent, my sparring partner. My cell phone buzzed on the floor mat with a text.

  -Meet at that place?- It was Dr. T., Dr. Tavern worked for RAIDOS, the secret government branch of humans that studied supernaturals. A few months ago, I had made an alliance with them. I still wasn’t sure they could be trusted. Dr. Tavern didn’t always seem to follow their orders. She went out of her way to warn me of things and so I was pretty sure that I could at least trust her.

  ‘Dr. Tavern texted me. I’m meeting her at the falls,’ I told Kai from across the room and met his gaze.

  ‘I’m coming.’ He told Max something before grabbing his t-shirt and slipping it over his head.

  ‘Dang, I hate it when you put clothes on,’ I teased.

  He grinned at me. ‘Likewise.’

  Kai and I walked out of the house and to the car. He wore a tight black cotton t-shirt and blue jeans. His hair was dark and wild. He looked me up and down. I had my long blonde hair down. It hung halfway down my back. Kai pulled my arm, stopping me. He grabbed the engagement ring that hung from a silver chain on my neck. He was careful not to touch the silver chain, as it would burn him. My witch powers made me immune.

  “Two months,” he stated and then kissed me.

  “Two months,” I echoed.

  I heard approaching footsteps and turned to see Emma running over to us.

  “Are you going into town?” she asked urgently.

  “What’s wrong?” Kai was in front of her in an instant looking at her belly. He was always worried about her.

  “I have a crazy craving for Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland,” she stated.

  I busted out laughing and Kai sighed.

  “You scared me. I thought the baby was hurt.” Kai exclaimed.

  “No, the baby is hungry. Can you get an assorted dozen? Devon is at work and I’m not allowed to leave alone.” Her pale heart-shaped face pleaded with Kai.

  “No, you’re not. Yes, we will bring them back for you.” He patted her belly. “Hold tight, little one. You will have doughnuts within a few hours.”

  I smiled. Was there anything sexier than a sensitive guy that liked babies and pregnant bellies, but could also kill a man with his bare hands? I don’t think so.

  ***

  We pulled our car up to the entrance of Multnomah Falls. Multnomah Falls was a beautiful public tourist spot in-between Portland and Mount Hood. We had set it up as a meeting place if we ever needed to meet. I had visited the falls dozens of times as a kid. I had hiked the area with my mom and Drake. My throat tightened at the thought of my twin brother. Losing him was the hardest thing in my life. Sylvia had told me Matefinders were always female and always born in a set of twins. The boy twin was her protector. Drake had pulled me from the raging creek to save me from drowning, but in turn had been swept up and drowned. My father started drinking and became abusive after that.

  “Aurora? Where are you?” Kai was peering at me with curiosity.

  “Sorry. Issues,” I muttered.

  He smiled and held my hand as we began hiking up the trail to the falls. It was an easy hike and we passed by a ton of tourists taking pictures. Just before we reached the top, we heard her.

  “Psst!” Dr. Tavern was on a park bench in a small pull out just off the trail. We walked over and she wordlessly began leading us away into a thick part of the trees. We followed her, but my guard was up. She was acting sneaky. I wondered if we were being followed. Once she had led us far enough away, she turned to face us. There was a bruise under her right eye. She had dyed her hair from blonde to jet black.

  “Oh my God, Dr. Tavern. Are you okay?” I knew the signs. I saw them on my own mother’s face growing up. Dr. Tavern was a victim of abuse. She was on the run. She pushed a red button on a disc-shaped tracker. It was some type of signal scrambler. I had seen her use it before.

  She touched her cheek lightly. “Please, call me Alexa.” Her voice was raw, like she had been crying.

  I looked at Kai. His eyes were yellow. “Who did it?” Kai had infused the power of the Alpha into his voice. It would be hard even for a human not to answer him truthfully.

  “One of the guys at RAIDOS. We’ve been dating a while. Things are changing there; he’s not who I thought he was. Anyway, I’m here to warn you. They have gotten word of your wedding. They are scared of the vampires who have been increasing attacks on humans. They’re killing them, draining them of blood, not just feeding from them.” Alexa pulled a blood-soaked shirt from her bag. “Can you smell this? Tell me if it’s vampire?”

  Kai took it, but not before lightly squeezing her hand.

  Kai brought it to his nose and smelled. Then he growled.

  “Vampire. Where did you get this?” he asked.

  “A nightclub downtown. It’s called Pearl. There was a ‘gang fight’ there last night. Was all over the news. Last time I checked, gangs didn’t drain people of blood.”

  I sucked in a breath. “And then again at Safe Haven. These vampires are really pissing me off.”

  Alexa nodded. “I wondered if Safe Haven was also vampires. Look, I’ve left RAIDOS. I’m hiding out at a friend’s cabin in Sandy. I’ll be safe there. Things have changed and I don’t think you should trust RAIDOS anymore. They no longer want to align with the werewolves. You say that you protect humans, but they aren’t seeing it. They want to make sure Aurora doesn’t become fertile and aid the vampires in creating children. I’m pretty sure they will stop at nothing to see that happen.”

  Fur rippled on Kai’s skin. He was having a hard time holding onto his humanity. God, couldn’t a girl just marry the man of her dreams and live a happy life!

  “Well, I guess we won’t be inviting them to the wedding,” I told her, trying to lighten the mood.

  She smiled weakly.

  “Come home with us. We can protect you,” Kai told her.

  “No, they are still watching you. They have drones all over your mountain. They would find me there and I can’t protect myself like you can. I’m just a human.”

  Kai sighed.

  “You’re sure you are safe at your friends?” I asked her.

  She nodded. “She has gone to Europe for three months and RAIDOS doesn’t know of my friendship with her.”

  “Okay, well I want you to check in with me every few days,” Kai told her. A female in need of protection was all it took for Kai to take them in and treat them like pack.

  Alexa nodded and pulled her hood over her hair. “Something big needs to happen, otherwise you won’t make it to your wedding day.” The look she gave me sent chills down my arms. She hit the red button on her device and then jogged away. The backpack on her back looked heavy. A light rain began to fall.

  “Voodoo doughnuts, anyone?” Humor was always my default in tense situations. Kai had a sinister look in his eye. He was mostly silent for the rest of the day.

  ***

  A light knock at the door woke me up. I looked over to Kai’s
side of the bed. Empty.

  “Come in.” I inhaled through my nostrils. Diya, my soon to be sister-in-law.

  She opened the door quickly and then ran toward the bed.

  “You’re not supposed to tell anyone for a while, but I can’t keep it in!” she shouted.

  I rubbed my eyes and put my hair in a big bun.

  “What?”

  “I’m pregnant!” she shrieked.

  Oh. My. God. That was fast. First Emma, now her. Werewolves were serious about their pregnancies.

  “Congratulations!” I hugged her and then moved into the bathroom to brush my teeth.

  “Werewolves don’t waste anytime marrying their mates or getting pregnant, huh?” I pondered aloud.

  “Aurora, you grew up in the human world. I grew up with my mother telling me every single day that our race was dying out and the only good thing I could do for the world would be to find my mate and have children.”

  Wow, if Kai thought we were having a baby right away, he was crazy. I loved kids, but I wasn’t ready to be a mother yet. I was more like the cool aunt.

  “Diya, do they make werewolf birth control?”

  Her eyes widened. “You don’t want kids? Does my brother know?”

  I threw my hands up. “I didn’t say that I don’t want kids, but I’m not a baby factory. So I don’t want to get pregnant the month after we are married. No offense. We are in the middle of a vampire war. You know.”

  “All the more reason to increase our numbers,” Diya added smugly.

  I placed a hand on her shoulder. “You will be a great mother. I will too, one day. I’m really happy for you. So, werewolf birth control?” I prodded.

  She shook her head. “No, our bodies metabolize it too fast.”

  “So …”

  “Condoms.” She stated.

  Oh. Right. Duh. Diya was a mid-wife and would be delivering Emma’s baby. She pretty much knew it all when it came to making babies. She had told me that werewolf deliveries were rough. In an emergency, a C-section couldn’t be done because our bodies healed too fast and would close around the baby. Sometimes the mothers died of blood loss from the baby shifting in the womb and ripping the placenta. I was hoping Emma’s birth would go smoothly.

  I shook my head of those thoughts.

  “You okay?” she asked.

  I sighed. “Just thinking about Emma. I mean, Kai told me about what happened to Max’s wife, so it’s hard not to think about it.” Max, Kai’s best friend and previous second in command had lost his wife and baby in labor years ago.

  Diya looked down, lost in thought. “Labor is hard and dangerous, even for a human. But I’m going to do everything I can to help Emma. It’s horrible what happened to Max. I can’t imagine losing my mate like that. Then to live the rest of my life alone, knowing they were gone.”

  Well … That reminded me of Tara. I had a vision at Diya’s wedding that Max had a new mate, Tara. One of Diya’s friends.

  “Diya, have you ever heard of someone having two mates?” I asked her.

  Diya laughed and rummaged through my make-up. “That’s ridiculous, Aurora. Even more ridiculous coming from the Matefinder.”

  “I mean, what if your mate died?”

  “Then you live the rest of your life alone,” she said with certainty.

  I frowned. “You don’t think Spirit would bless you with another mate?”

  Diya stopped what she was doing and came closer to me. “What’s going on with you? You don’t want kids right away, you’re talking about having two mates. Are you and Kai okay?”

  I sighed and ran a brush through my long hair. “Kai and I are fine. He knows I don’t want kids right away. I’m just doing a lot of thinking lately. Destiny, mates, reincarnation. Do you believe in reincarnation?” What Gretchen and Sylvia had said got me thinking.

  Diya smiled and applied some lip gloss. “Aurora, I’m Indian, my people practically invented reincarnation.”

  I smiled back. “It sounds nice. You get another chance to come back and I dunno … do stuff you didn’t do right before.”

  “Yeah, it sounds nice, for the humans that reincarnate. My people don’t say anything about werewolves reincarnating.” Diya laughed.

  Okay. Clearly I wasn’t going to get into some deep soulful conversation with Diya. Instead, I let her do my make-up and talk about babies. But it was a nice idea. There was this girl Becky in grade school that I had made fun of for always having a snotty nose. Maybe if I reincarnated, I could be nice to her in the next life. I liked the idea of righting my wrongs.

  I smelled Kai before I saw him. Given that Diya was doing my make-up, I probably looked like a prostitute.

  “Whoa,” Kai said when he walked into the bathroom and saw me.

  Yep, prostitute. “What’s up?” I asked.

  “Kaden and Chase have settled into a property on our borders. The distance from the pack is good for Kaden, but being in the pack is good for Chase.”

  I smiled. “Good job, Alpha.”

  “I’m pregnant,” Diya blurted out. Crap, I forgot about her news. She probably wanted some alone time with her brother.

  “Diya! So soon? Okay. No, I’m happy but … yeah that makes me think about how you got pregnant and … yuck. But congrats!” he said awkwardly.

  “Gee thanks, brother.” Diya stood and Kai hugged her.

  “I’m happy, I am. You will be well protected and provided for.”

  “I know that, Kai.” Diya kissed his cheek. “Spend some time with your mate. She is asking me crazy questions about reincarnation and stuff. She needs a guru.”

  I spit my tongue out at her as she left.

  “Reincarnation?” Kai raised his eyebrows.

  “Yeah, just pondering life.” I stood and kissed his cheek. It left a red lipstick mark. “I’ve got healing affinity training at Sylvia’s. I’ll catch you later?”

  Kai caught my gaze. “In India we believe couples that marry stay together for at least seven lifetimes. Hopefully this is our first and we have six more to look forward to.”

  He was trying to make me feel better. He didn’t want me to feel weird for asking about reincarnation. God, I loved him.

  “That sounds nice.” I smiled.

  “Have fun at witch class. Tonight we spy on some vampires.”

  I took a glance in the mirror. Yep, prostitute make up.

  Luna

  Gretchen was at Sylvia’s when I got there. They were arguing inside as I walked up. My werewolf ears picked up on the tail end of it.

  “Well then, why don’t we test her and find out? She deserves to know, so she can prepare,” Gretchen said.

  “Shhh, I feel her!” Sylvia hushed her.

  Okay, awkward. I knocked.

  “Come in, dear,” Sylvia said sweetly. She felt like family to me. I knew she was trying to protect me and as much as I loved living in denial, maybe I needed to find out more about this Devi thing.

  I walked in and was surprised by a small white kitten. It was sitting on a pillow on Gretchen’s lap. It purred when it saw me.

  “Oh my god! She is so cute!” The kitten leapt off of the pillow and trotted over to me. I picked her up. Her fur was so soft. She had one blue eye and one green.

  “She is yours,” Gretchen stated.

  “What? Mine? I love her!” I let her nuzzle my neck. Holding a kitten seemed to take all of my worries away.

  “First lesson of today: animals have the power to heal. Cats add energy to a home and assist in healings. Luna is a descendant of my greatest healing cat, Venus. She will serve you well.”

  Would Kai care if I brought a cat home? No. Probably not.

  “Thank you so much,” I told her.

  There was silence lingering in the air. Sylvia was rolling the fringe of a pillow in her fingers.

  “So, I heard what you guys said about testing me for the Devi thing.”

  Sylvia sighed. “I figured you did.”

  “So what kind of test is there, to s
ee if I am one? If I am, what does it mean?” Was I really going down this road?

  “It would explain why you are so powerful. Matefinder, witch with two affinities, werewolf and witch simultaneously,” Sylvia offered. “The test is not to be taken lightly. It’s a Native American ritual that goes back for generations. Your friend Nahuel could help you.”