by Leia Stone
I felt tears spring in my eyes. Kai whined. ‘I did love her, like she was my own sister. Melissa is your mate,’ Kai agreed with him.
All right, time to get this shit out in the open.
‘Except Melissa is now Tara reincarnated. Werewolves do only mate once in a lifetime. But if that mate dies and the other lives, the soulmate reincarnates and they find each other again,’ I told him, bracing myself for his response.
‘It’s true,’ Kai added quickly backing me up. Finally!
Max leapt off of Kai and panted heavily. His look was venomous; he was beyond pissed. I felt something pulling on the pack bonds.
‘Max, no!’ Kai shouted.
‘What’s happening?’ I questioned.
‘Brother, no,’ Kai said one final time and winced as Max howled in pain.
Max limped off into the distance as I sat there stunned. Tara lay with her tail between her legs.
‘He’s forced a break in the bond. He’s rogue now.’ Kai stated emotionless as he watched his best friend walk away.
Tara suddenly ran off in the opposite direction as Max. Shamus took off after her, slowly changing his form as he ran.
I whined and went to get near Kai.
‘I told you it would break him! I told you!’ Kai shouted at me and ran off into the woods to follow Max. I was left with a horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I shifted quickly and grabbed my clothes as the tears spilled down my cheeks.
Raj approached me as I pushed past him and into the house. “Aurora, dominant wolves have strong emotions. It will be okay.”
I nodded and shut the door, running down the hall and into the room where I kept Luna. She greeted me by purring and rubbing up against my leg. I grabbed her and headed for the small walk-in closet. I dressed quickly and shut myself inside, lying down on the floor with her on my chest. I dozed off.
Begin
A little while later, I was awoken by the smell of food. My mouth watered. We never got to eat at the diner. It was pitch black outside. I left Luna inside her room and went out into the kitchen. Kai’s mom was cooking homemade Indian food.
“It smells amazing in here.”
Diya, Jai, Akash, and Raj were sitting at the kitchen table talking excitedly. Raj wore a huge grin and Akash was patting Diya’s belly.
“My only daughter is pregnant! We are going to celebrate,” Raj told me.
Jai rolled his eyes behind his father and I smiled weakly.
Maya left a simmering pot on the stove and came over to me. She kept her voice low. “Kai came while you were sleeping, said to tell you he was sorry for getting upset. He went to help Shamus find Tara.”
“What do you mean? Tara is lost? Shamus was right behind her?”
Maya nodded. “Tara is a changed wolf. Her gift is similar to a chameleon. She can blend in with her surroundings. She can stay hidden for weeks if she wants to.”
Oh no. “Max?” I was afraid to ask.
Maya looked sad. “Kai and Max have been best friends a long time. I don’t think this will break that.”
“Okay, but did Kai catch up to him? What happened? How long was I asleep?”
Maya gave me a sad look. “Max is still rogue, he asked Kai to leave him alone. You were asleep only a half hour or so.”
Dammit! Max was Kai’s best man. He had to be at our wedding. It wasn’t going to feel right if he wasn’t there.
“Well, you guys enjoy your celebration dinner. I’m going to go see Sylvia about something,” I lied.
Maya looked at me with concern. “On the night before your wedding?”
I nodded and left before she could interrogate me or pick up on my emotions. Her gift of reading people would work against me. I grabbed my pendulum and car keys and got in my car.
I wasn’t going to Sylvia’s. I drove my car a few minutes away from the cluster of pack houses and pulled over. I opened the glove box and pulled out a map of the state of Oregon. I positioned my pendulum over the map and took a cleansing breath. Finder spells were simple and I had already done a few with Sylvia.
“Spirit, our friend Max has run away. Show me his location, so I may find him today.” I was impressed at how easy the rhyming thing came to me. The pendulum was swinging wildly and then quickly stilled over an area. Sandy Ridge Cemetery.
Okay. …
I put the car in drive and made my way there.
I got lost twice but finally found it. Sandy Ridge Cemetery was across from a large family farm. It was a wide open flat land with clumps of trees that I could barely make out in the dark night. Being at a cemetery in the dark was totally creepy, but I could make out Max’s human form. I locked the car and approached him with caution. He was naked save for a torn pair of jean shorts that he must have swiped from the farm next door. His back was to me and he was bent over a gravestone.
I didn’t try to sneak up on him. I walked loudly, my feet crunching on the rocks to give him warning. He would have smelled me already. It killed me that he smelled rogue. No! He was ours.
“I would rather have lived my entire life alone than to have met her and had her taken away like she was.” His voice sounded hollow.
I was close enough to touch him. I looked down at the stone. There was an adult wolf and a small wolf cub engraved on the head stone, a light shown on the writing. Melissa McAlister. Mother, Mate, Best friend. Underneath that said, Infant, loved and lost too soon.
Tears rolled down my cheeks. “Max, listen. I’m so sorry. Just forget about what I said. Come home. I won’t have this wedding without you there. We don’t ever have to talk about Tara again.”
He turned to face me. His eyes were glossy and red. His expression looked lost. Max was a big, strong, guy. To see him crying was hard.
“I can’t forget.” He stated plainly.
I sighed. “I can’t help what I see, my visions.”
He nodded. “I know, and you know what’s crazy?”
“What?” I asked cautiously.
“Tara smells like goddamn vanilla and mint,” he admitted throwing his hands up and kicking the dirt.
My heart raced. Did that mean he believed me?
“Well, maybe you could use that smell to find her,” I joked.
Concern etched into his face. “Find her?”
“Oh, yeah. She went missing after the–”
Max ran his trembling hands through his hair. “Shamus should be able to find her.”
“Yeah,” I agreed, “except that she has some chameleon power and can stay hidden as long as she wants.” An unmated female on the loose was not good.
Max took one long look at the grave stone. He caressed the etched wolves.
“Let’s go. I’ll help you find her.” He walked to my car.
I looked at the grave stone and then to Max walking away. If the tables were turned and it was Kai … I couldn’t imagine.
Max and I pulled up to the house ready to help the hunting party find Tara. Instead we found Raj and Alexa. Her hands were tied behind her back. She was face down on the steps of our front porch. The porch light cast eerie shadows of their figures on the house. I threw the car in park and burst out of it.
“Cut her loose right now, Raj! She’s a friend,” I screamed.
Raj looked at me with a dominating gaze. “She’s a human that was sneaking on to the property at ten o’clock at night. She said she is ex RAIDOS and knows of our kind. Was I supposed it invite her in for Chai?” His voice was firm. I shifted my hand into a werewolf paw and clawed her binds loose, helping her up.
I faced my soon-to-be father-in-law. “She’s a friend of the pack and the reason your daughter now has silver immunity. I’m second in command which means I’m in charge while Kai is away.” I loved him, but he could be a pain in the ass sometimes.
He shrugged. “I was unaware of the human friends you keep.”
Alexa looked at me, rubbing her wrists. “They found me, I barely got away. I can’t protect myself like this. I’m sorr
y. I don’t see how there is any other way.” She gestured to her body. Her hands and voice shook.
I could see her arm was bleeding at the shoulder. Bullet wound.
“Protect yourself like what? Get the pack doctor!” I shouted at Max, who took off running. Raj backed away a few steps and watched us from across the porch. Well, I guess he was letting me handle it. Thanks for the help.
“Like a human. I want to be a werewolf. You offered me protection, but I want to be pack.” She held her chin high even though she looked terrified.
My mouth dropped open in shock at her request. Raj answered before I could.
“As a member of the werewolf council, I can assure you that you will never be pack. We don’t change humans for fun, like the vampires do. We only do it to save lives. That’s how it works.” His voice could cut glass.
It was true. It sucked for her, but it was true.
“It’s true, I’m sorry,” I told her.
She nodded as her lip quivered. “I thought you might say that.” With one quick move, she reached underneath her shirt and brandished a small sharp kitchen knife. What was she doing? I tried to grab her arm, but she was too quick. She slashed at her throat making a four-inch gash across her neck that oozed blood.
“Save me,” she gurgled.
Oh. My. God. I stood there in shock; my eyes wide, my hands frozen.
Raj spoke rapidly in Hindi and started shifting into his werewolf form.
“I can’t change fast enough! She will bleed out.” Raj’s bones cracked. Oh My God. There was so much blood. I shook my head. I didn’t know the first thing about how to change a human into a werewolf! I knew they needed to be near death and needed to be bit. I also knew that I could change my shape faster than Raj, faster than any wolf I knew, save for Kai. Without much thought or planning, I shifted form and lunged for Alexa’s arm, biting down hard. She wailed and the blood in her throat gurgled.
“Again!” Raj yelled behind me.
Alexa collapsed and I bit her leg.
“Hold her leg in your mouth,” Raj told me. I did as he asked. My wolf had taken over.
“Changing a human isn’t just about the bite. It’s about the bond too. You must tie her to you as an Alpha would tie a pack member. Find her essence, bind it to yours. Will her to live. Whether she lives or dies isn’t just up to her, it’s how strong you are too. Be strong.”
I held her leg in my mouth. I tasted her coppery blood. I closed my eyes and imagined myself in the serene woods of my mind. A faint wispy light was snaking through the trees around me. Alexa. I lunged at the wispy light and clamped down on it with my jaws. I imagined my light, bright and big and thick like a rope. I imagined Alexa and my light braiding together, becoming pack. Where her light was weak, I was strong. I gave her my strength.
“That’s it! You got it. She’s healing,” I heard Raj whisper.
I opened my eyes and released her leg from my jaws. Her neck had sealed. She was horribly pale, white as a sheet, but she was breathing shallow, unconscious. Diya, Maya, and Jai were all in the doorway peering out.
Raj sighed. “You could be an Alpha one day, Aurora.”
‘What’s wrong? What the hell is going on? I smell death.’ Kai was close.
‘Alexa tried to kill herself. I just changed her.’
‘You what? I’m coming.’
Raj lifted Alexa’s unconscious body and carried her into the house. I shifted and put on my clothes.
Max came running with the pack doctor.
He saw all of the blood on the porch and raised his eyebrows.
“She tried to kill herself, I changed her.” I told them.
Max looked shocked. “Will she survive?”
I shrugged. I could feel her life force energy, beating alongside me.
“I think so. I don’t know. I’ve never done this before.”
Kai ran at us from the thick bushes. He was human and wearing a pair of sweatpants and no shirt. He slowed his pace when he saw Max.
“Did you find Tara?” Max asked him.
Kai looked at me with confusion. No doubt he was wondering why Max was back and concerned about Tara.
“No, but Shamus says she is close by. He can feel it.”
Max shifted and ran off into the woods.
Kai looked at me.
“I found him at Melissa’s grave. He is at peace with things now.” Or at least I think he is.
Kai sighed. “I’m sorry I got upset with you.”
I nodded. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I pushed the truth on Max.”
He pulled me in for a hug but saw that I was covered in sticky blood so he kissed my forehead instead. “How in the hell did you change Alexa?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Your dad helped me.”
He looked at the blood surrounding the porch. “She’s smart. She knew what had to be done for us to agree to change her. Let’s hope she survives.”
“Her neck has already begun healing,” I added.
He nodded. “That is just the lycanthrope virus’ beginning effects. Her body will now attempt to destroy the virus, destroying itself in the process. She will have to fight to live, just like you did.”
I sighed. “Not exactly how I envisioned the day before my wedding going.” I gestured to the blood.
Kai rolled his head side to side, stretching his neck. He looked stressed and exhausted.
“You bound her energy to you, like an Alpha would,” he commented. “I can feel it.”
I didn’t know what to say. “Is that bad?”
Kai smirked. “No, it’s not bad. It’s interesting. We are quite the pair.” He pulled me close to him.
“Now, go and shower and let’s get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.” He told me and I laughed.
‘If your parents weren’t here, I would invite you in with me. You know, to save water.’ I winked.
His eyes roamed over my body. ‘Mine.’
I rolled my eyes and walked inside to shower. Tomorrow, I became Kai’s wife.
Big Day
I awoke to a note on my pillow.
Good morning, my bride-to-be,
Emma has pulled me from my own bed and told me I can’t see you the entire day. Not until the wedding. She’s pregnant, so I don’t want to piss her off. Call me if you need me. I will be at Devon’s. Alexa survived and is doing well. She is resting at Anna’s, but I was wondering if you wanted to help her with her first shift? You changed her and her wolf will feel more comfortable with you there, not me. We can establish her place in the pack and go for a pack run tomorrow.
Love,
Me
Alexa! I had almost forgotten. I searched the pack bonds and smiled when I felt her energy there. She was good, she was pack. She survived.
A knock came at the door.
“Are you up?” It was Emma.
“Yep.”
She came in and pulled a strange face. “Did you fall asleep with wet hair? It looks awful.”
My hands flew to my hair which was matted on one side. “Oh, yeah.”
Emma raised one eyebrow.
I laughed. “Shut up. Let me shower, then I need to see Alexa and then you can make me over or whatever.”
Emma nodded. “We will all be waiting when you get back.”
After I showered, I headed over to Anna’s. She and Jake had settled in well on the mountain. It was crazy to see Anna and remember how she was when I met her. The cancer had eaten away at her body. She was hairless and frail and barely with life. Over time, she had become lean and strong and had a nickname within the pack. Hulk. Anna’s gift had manifested after her change. She was super strong, like lift a car with one hand strong. It didn’t matter if she was in human or wolf form. She was badass.
I knocked at the door. It slowly opened. Alexa stood there, a faint red mark shown on her neck where she had cut herself. Her head was down, eyes on my feet. She looked vulnerable.
“Alexa.” I remembered that feeling. Not knowing what to do, where yo
u stood, how you were going to live this life.
She made eye contact with me for a moment and I saw guilt there. Then she quickly looked at my nose. She knew the rules.
“I’m sorry, Aurora, I didn’t know any other way. I shouldn’t have put you through that. The day before your wedding. I’m so sorry.” Her lip shook. We were bonded. More so than anyone else in the pack. Save for Kai. I could feel her emotions, hear her thoughts. She had no other option, desperate to survive, she had chosen hastily. RAIDOS was bigger and more powerful than I had originally thought. Sifting through her thoughts, I saw that they had private and government investors, they had done science experiments that had been going on for decades.