by Leia Stone
“So,” Diya smiled. “When’s the mating ceremony?”
Maya elbowed Diya in the side as Kai groaned. “We are taking it slow, Diya.”
Diya put her hands up. “Okay, okay. I’m just saying my big brother is the first out of thirteen siblings to find his mate. Mom is dying to plan a wedding here.”
Maya lightly smacked the back of Diya’s head and she frowned.
“You are the first of your siblings to find your mate?” I turned to Kai, shocked. He smiled nervously. “I told you it was rare. Don’t mind my sister. She is bored and likes to interfere.”
Diya stuck her tongue out.
Maya cleared her throat. “So, Aurora, how do you like Mount Hood?”
I smiled at the graceful change in topic. “I love it. It’s so beautiful here. How is the weather in Delhi? If I remember correctly it’s quite pleasant this time of year.”
His mother raised her eyebrows. “You’ve been to Delhi?”
“Yes, Ma’am. For six months last year.”
His mother and Diya both shared a smile. We all talked easily for the next hour. Diya kept taking jabs at Kai and teasing him. I could tell he adored her. She was the princess in the family. I noticed his father didn’t join the call. We signed off and I gave a huge sigh of relief.
Kai laughed. “Were they that bad?”
I smiled easily. “No, I’m just nervous. I want them to like me.”
He leaned forward. “They will love you, like I do.”
My heart started beating fast and Kai kissed me gently.
“All right, are you ready for your first pack training session? I can’t have an out of shape second,” he teased.
I stood up and glared at him. “Out of shape. Oh, really?”
The pack walked a short distance to another member’s house. We went down into the basement that had been converted into a large gym. A boxing ring stood at the far corner and the rest of the floor was covered in padded mats and free weights. The walls were lined with mirrors.
I had changed into tight yoga pants and a sports bra. I pulled my hair up into a high bun. I was tempted to wear my black belt but thought better of it. Better to surprise them. I had been studying mixed martial arts since I was twelve.
Kai shouted to the group. “Pair up with your partners and start defense techniques. Aurora, you partner with Emma.”
Oh my God, he seriously didn’t understand what I meant when I said I ran self-defense classes on the weekend. He thought I was weak. No offense to Emma but I was stronger than her. “No,” I told the room loudly, “I want to partner with you.”
I pulled myself into South Paw fighting position and saw Kai’s eyebrows rise. The pack started whistling and clapping. “Fight, fight, fight.”
Kai shrugged and stepped forward in a relaxed position as the pack made a circle around us. Kai nodded and I nodded back. I delivered a front kick to the chest, pushing him back and knocking some wind out of him. He stumbled backward and everyone started hollering. Kai rubbed his chest. “Aurora, I get it. You have some fighting skill but I don’t want to hurt you.”
I ran at him and launched a flying side kick aimed square at his chin. He did a quick shuffle to the left, ducking and avoiding my move. He immediately started to sway to his right and left.
“Okay,” he said and I recognized the moves as Capoeira. It was a Brazilian from of fighting I was less familiar with. In one swift move he did a front flip and delivered a kick inches from my head. I jumped back as fast as I could to get out of the way but stumbled and landed on my back. Someone in the pack started to chuckle, but immediately quieted when I shot right back up with a perfectly executed kick-up.
Kai was grinning. The pack had abandoned any idea of pairing off. They were cheering us on. Kai charged me again and tried sweeping my feet, but I was quick enough to jump over his leg. We traded several shots for the next couple of minutes. I managed to dodge a few of his barrage of kicks and checked the rest. There was undeniable beauty in the perfection of his technique and fluid motion, but that didn't distract from the pain in my shins and arms that I was trying hard to conceal.
I circled to the left to buy some time. Kai approached the cupboard in the wall. Just when I thought he was going to call an end to the sparring session, he grabbed a Bo, a traditional ninja staff from the cabinet and threw it at me. He grabbed one for himself and charged at me. He ran as fast in human form as he did in wolf form. I would have to try that some time. I ran at him and attacked first with a precise swing at his head that he blocked with his Bo. We faced off and I spun my stick in my left dominant hand. I had many hours of practice with weapons. I charged him giving my loudest battle cry. I brought my stick up and then he blocked it on the way down. We exchanged blows and you could hear the clack, clack of the sticks hitting. He tried a jab at my abdomen, that I read early enough, and I was able to rotate away catching his staff between mine and my body.
Sweat shown on both of our skin. I hated to admit it, but I got the feeling Kai was going easy on me. This enraged me more. I feigned right and Kai took the bait. I quickly changed course and struck my stick out while pulling his stick up high into the air and out of his hands. I smiled and relaxed a little just as his leg shot out lightening quick and kicked my legs out from under me. I fell backwards as he pushed his way on top of me and held my stick lightly against my throat.
“I win,” he said softly as some of the pack cheered and some booed. Then he kissed me gently and rolled off me.
“How long have you been training?” I asked him loudly, panting.
A sly grin crept over his face. “Over a century.”
I tried to mask my shock at his age. “Well, I have only been training ten years. Give me more time and I will beat you.” I stated with a grin. Over 100 years? How old was he? Note to self: learn more about werewolf aging.
He smiled, appraising me, and tipped his head to one of the more dominant wolves. Trent was his name. I remembered him talking to my mother at the barbeque. He was a nice guy originally from California. “Trent, you spar with Aurora. Don’t go easy. Emma, you are with Anna.”
I nodded, thinking Trent was a worthy sparring partner. He was packed full of muscle and had a long reach. Max and Kai partnered up and everyone began sparring with the Bo staff. After a few minutes of sparring, I swept my stick out and Trent tripped backwards and slammed onto the padded ground. I stuck my hand out to help him up. “Nice move,” he told me as he grabbed my hand. The second our skin touched, I was pulled into a vision.
Kai’s sister Diya was crying, her mother was rubbing her back.
“Please, Papa! Let me go. I don’t want to stay in Delhi. I love him. I want to join Kai’s pack and live with Trent in the States.”
An older man with salt and pepper hair, who was the spitting image of Kai, approached Diya with a stern face. “You are my only daughter. I am happy you have found your mate but I will not permit you to leave. Kai is a strong Alpha but he is not strict enough to do what needs to be done for the good of the pack. His pack is emotional and weak. They cannot protect you like I can. They are not big enough.”
Diya stood defiantly and stared into her father’s eyes, and her mother looked at the floor in a submissive gesture. “Don’t make me go rouge. I want this, daddy. I’m asking for your blessing, but I will go without it.” She held her chin high and her father gritted his teeth.
He looked to his mate. “Why couldn’t you bare me a submissive daughter instead of this dominant princess I see before me?” His tone was light; he sounded defeated.
Diya softened. “You will allow it? A pack transfer?”
He sighed. “I will talk to Kai about transferring your brother, Jai, along with you. Kai’s pack is small. If a war broke out he wouldn’t have enough numbers to fight larger packs. I’ll transfer you both. Trent needs to start video conferencing us. I need to get to know this guy better.” He growled.
Diya flew across the room and hugged her father as her mother smile
d.
“Kai has never been concerned with being Alpha of a big pack,” Diya stated.
“Well it’s time he started.”
Diya went to leave the room and her father stopped her. “The wedding will be in India. That’s not up for discussion. You’re my only daughter and I want a traditional ceremony.”
She nodded and left.
***
I came out of the vision and the pack was standing around me. Kai’s eyes were yellow but he patiently stroked my hair and waited for me to come out of it. I sat up quickly, but then grabbed my head as a wave of dizziness hit me.
‘What happened?’ Kai asked me privately.
I looked into his eyes nervously. ‘I found Trent’s mate,’ I told him.
He smiled looking at Trent.
“It’s your sister,” I said aloud. Kai looked shocked. “My little sister! No, there must be a mistake. She’s too young.”
I stood up slowly. “She’s the same age as me!”
He sighed. Trent looked at both of us, confused. “Are you okay, Aurora? What’s going on?”
I smiled at Trent. “I found your mate.”
Young Love
After two hours of Kai grilling Trent on how he would treat his sister, how many kids they would have, where they would live, when they would have their mating ceremony and 100 other things, Kai called his sister. I could hear excited screaming on the other end of the phone. Kai and I talked before he made the call and agreed to tell his mother, father, and sister about my Matefinder abilities. Although he didn’t have the best relationship with his father, he said he could be trusted. His father took mating and werewolf species growth very seriously. Kai said if something ever happened to him, that his father would protect me. I didn’t even want to think about the prospect of something happening to Kai.
After a few minutes on the phone, Kai’s voice changed. “Hello, Papa.” His voice took on a serious tone and he put the phone on speaker, looking at me and putting a finger to his mouth for me to keep quiet.
“Are you sure this boy is Diya’s true mate? We have had prospects before but nothing worked out.”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
A heavy sigh. “How can you be sure? Her markings are unique. His wolf may just look similar but not be a match. Is he even good enough for her?” his father asked.
“He is a good wolf, dominant, loyal, successful and smart. He will be a good match for Diya.”
“Son, I don’t understand how you can be so sure this is Diya’s mate. I don’t have time for tricks. Mating needs to be taken seriously, especially when my only daughter is involved. How exactly are you sure this boy is your sister’s mate?”
Kai chewed at his bottom lip.
“To answer that question, I would like to enact Alpha Secretum. I have information to share with you that is about one of my wolves. If this information is shared with another pack it could threaten the growth of our species.”
My mouth hung open. We hadn’t talked about this. I guess he didn’t fully trust his father. I didn’t know what Alpha Secretum was but the hairs on my arms were standing up.
“You want to enact Alpha Secretum? This must be serious for you not to trust me in open conversation. Fine, I swear on my pack magic that I will not share the following information outside of my pack.”
“Not good enough, Papa. You must not share it outside of telling your mate and Diya.”
I could feel his father’s rage on the other side of the phone.
“You always loved to enact your power, Kai. Just remember that’s a trait you got from me. Fine! I swear on my pack magic that I will not share the following information outside of telling my only daughter, Diya, and my mate, Maya.”
Kai nodded. “Aurora, my new mate, is the Matefinder. She has successfully paired two mate couples already. Sadie transferred to Seattle pack and Jake has found his mate. She had a vision when sparring with Trent. Diya and Trent are mates, she is sure.”
I saw a fine mist creep out of the phone and wrap around the words coming out of Kai’s mouth. Magic. That must be Alpha Secretum, a pack magic that was keeping his words secret. I wonder what would happen if his father broke the oath.
There was silence for a long time. “I’ve heard stories of…but,” he seemed at a loss for words, “this is incredible. Do you know what this could mean for our species, for reproduction?”
Kai gritted his teeth. “Aurora won’t be used as a tool to grow our species. Talk to Diya about what you want to do next and get ahold of me. Goodbye, Papa.” And he hung up.
We sat in silence for a moment. “So, your dad seems like an interesting guy,” I joked.
Kai laughed and then changed the subject. “Let’s go on a date.”
I smiled. “Are you asking or telling me?” I teased.
He pulled me in close and brushed my hair away from my forehead. “Alphas don’t ask.”
I wore a little black dress, red ballet flats, and bright red lipstick. We decided on a small Indian food restaurant that Kai apparently owned. One of the pack members managed it.
Kai was surprised that I knew what to order and that I could handle spicy food. He couldn’t keep his eyes off me all night and I liked how it made me feel.
“Tell me about your family,” I said taking a bite of the lentils and rice.
Kai smiled. “Well, my Dada, which is my father’s father, was a vegetarian like you. He was the nicest man you ever met. He loved animals.”
“Isn’t most of India vegetarian? I thought it was a religious thing?” I had found it so easy to eat vegetarian in India.
“They are. The humans, at least,” Kai offered.
“So tell me a story about your Dada.”
Kai pondered for a moment and then started laughing. “Well, when I was a young human boy, I was walking with my grandfather to another village. We were with a group of cows we owned, to sell them as milking cows. A man ahead of us had a small metal cage stuffed full with chickens. There was not one inch of space for the chickens to breathe. Some were bent at such an odd angle their feet and wings were broken.”
“Oh, God.”
“The second my Dada saw the man dragging the cage along the road with the chickens scraping along the ground, he screamed, “Stop!’”
Kai went on. “My grandfather stormed the man and ripped the string from his hand, taking the cage. The guy was furious with my grandfather and asked him what he thought he was doing. My grandfather told him that it was cruel to carry the chickens like this, to cause them pain. The guy actually laughed. He told my grandfather they were going to the slaughter house to be sold for meat anyway, so what did it matter. My grandfather told the man that one day he too would die, but he wouldn’t want to be tortured beforehand.”
I smiled. After a moment of silence, I poked him. “So, what happened to the chickens?”
Kai seemed to be off in his head, but he focused on me. “He traded them for all of the money in his pocket, and the watch my grandmother had gotten him. We weren’t a wealthy family. It was every luxury we had.”
“Whoa.” I sat back. Would I have done the same?
“We took them out of the cage and brought them home. We splinted their legs and wings and gave them all names. They squawked around the yard for years.” Kai smiled. I smiled, too. I liked stories with happy endings.
After dinner we went home to watch a movie. I changed into yoga pants and a loose long-sleeved t-shirt. Right before Kai was about to play the movie, he looked at me with the remote in his hand. “I don’t want to keep secrets from you.”
My heart started beating fast. That’s not exactly a sentence I like to hear.
“Okay, so don’t.”
“After you ran off with Emma and I questioned Sylvia, she told me that now that she has her memories back she remembered something else. Something she didn’t show you.”
I paused, waiting.
“After you were turned human as a baby, Sylvia also put a blanket over your na
tural witch magic. That blanket is still there and she will remove it and teach you magic if you want.” He toyed with the remote, chewing his cheek.
“Oh. More powers, more weird stuff happening to me without my control? Not now, maybe later, but not now,” I assured him. I think we all needed a break from my issues. No way was I adding anymore to my plate.
He sighed in relief. I guess Kai wasn’t a huge fan of me being part witch.
The next day we toured the top two properties we had picked out for Safe Haven. Kai told me price wasn’t an issue and so I picked the old high school property. The gymnasium would be perfect for training sessions and the cafeteria could feed a lot of families. We could stock the classrooms with bunk beds and turn them into apartments for families in crisis.
Next we met with a contractor to plan out what construction needed to be done to the property and how many beds to order. Then Kai had us meet with a marketing firm and had promotional materials printed up for Safe Haven. He also purchased a billboard and hired one of the pack members to oversee the daily tasks of running the facility. We were going to be able to help so many families. After calling local businesses for Safe Haven donations, we collapsed onto the couch.
Kai stared at me seemingly in deep thought. “What?” I prodded.
“You are the ultimate package: beautiful, smart, strong AND a good person. How did I get so lucky?”
I grinned. “Good karma I guess.”
Before he could respond his cell phone rang. Kai looked at the caller ID. “My father.” He groaned.
“Hello, Papa.” Kai was very formal with his father. I also noticed that he didn’t tone down his dominance with his father like he did with me. He didn’t treat his father as an equal. His father pushed and he pushed back.
“I will keep them safe, you know that,” he said through gritted teeth.
His father said something else and Kai’s nostrils flared. “Fine.” He hung up.
I looked at him with raised eyebrows.
“My mother and Diya will be flying out here to meet Trent. My father will be sending my eldest brother, Jai, along for protection because apparently my pack isn’t big enough to protect anyone.” He groaned.