by Leia Stone
My mouth hung open. “So I’m going to meet your family?”
“Yes, they will be here tomorrow,” he stated calmly like it wasn’t a big deal.
“Tomorrow!” I sat up. “I need to unpack my room. It’s a mess.”
Kai laughed. “It’s fine. No one will go in there. You sleep in my room anyway. They can stay in one of the other four bedrooms.”
I started walking to my room. “If you think I’m staying in your room with your mother here, you are crazy. Help me unpack,” I added.
He groaned getting up. “Aurora, we’re mates. They expect some hanky panky to be going on.”
I grinned at the words ‘hanky panky’ but then let my face grow serious. “No, you only get to make a first impression once. Help me unpack and move all of my stuff out of your room.”
He frowned but followed me into my room.
After unpacking, I spent the night snuggled with Kai in his bed but swore I wouldn’t do so with his family here. The next morning we were making breakfast when Emma knocked at the door.
“Hey.” I answered the door and saw an ornate gold-lined paper in her hand.
“Special delivery,” Emma said and came inside handing the paper to Kai.
He glanced at the paper and nodded.
“So?” I offered.
“It’s from Shamus. Sadie has set a date for her mating ceremony. Our pack is invited but we don’t have to go.” He was trying not to show any emotion, but I gathered that wouldn’t be the greatest political decision.
“Don’t both packs usually go to a mating ceremony when two wolves from separate packs marry?” I queried.
“They do,” Kai said after a long pause.
“But it’s understandable if they don’t attend when the old pack’s Alpha dated the bride for six years and has a new mate,” Emma threw out there.
“Six years!” I shouted louder than I intended.
“Emma.” Kai growled. Emma looked down at her feet mumbling an apology.
“Jesus,” I continued, “that’s a mini marriage.”
“Six years to a werewolf isn’t a long time,” Kai offered.
“Which reminds me,” I pointed my finger at Kai, “how old are you? How does this aging thing work in the werewolf world?” A six-year relationship was a big deal. No wonder Sadie left the pack. Her wolf had found her mate but did her human side still love Kai? I brushed off the thought.
Kai grinned, seeming to enjoy the change in topic. “I’m quite old in werewolf standards, over two hundred years old. My mother, father, and I are some of the oldest werewolves around today. We have survived because my father quickly became Alpha after his change and built a strong pack in Delhi. Then my mother was able to bear children. Having thirteen protective children in a large pack will keep you from getting killed in a fight.”
Two hundred years! Two centuries. Whoa. I was dating an old guy who looked like he was in his late twenties.
Emma stepped forward. “We don’t know much of werewolf aging, but it seems that you age normally until about twenty or twenty-five years old. Then your aging stops until you meet your mate. Once you are mated, you age together, but very, very slowly. It might take fifty years for you to look ten years older.
My mind was reeling. “You stop aging until you are mated?”
Emma nodded. “We think it has something to do with fertility. Some of us never find our mates, but if we are lucky enough then it can take a very long time. A werewolf can only have so many children before becoming sterile. We go through menopause just like humans.”
“But we don’t die of old age?” I queried.
Kai shared a look with Emma. “The few wolves old enough for us to test that theory on have asked their pack to kill them. It seems that after so many hundreds of years alive they just crave an end,” Kai told me.
“That’s horrible,” I said. I was unsettled by the whole idea.
“My parents were in their forties when they were changed, so they look about fifty today. Since they mated, they have aged only about ten years in the two hundred they have been wolves. Some seem to age faster. We just don’t know.”
I shook my head. Wow. I looked again at the pretty wedding invite.
“We will go to the wedding and support Sadie.” I hadn’t meant to say it so final, like a command.
Kai tilted his head to the side at my words and raised his eyebrows. “As you wish.”
Maybe being mates really did make us equal.
Family
I paced the house wearing foot marks into the carpet. Kai went to pick up his family from the airport and I stayed back. Kai didn’t think it was wise for me to be in such a public place since I was being hunted by vampires and witches. I had unpacked my room and cleaned the kitchen. All of the things I hadn’t unpacked yet or that I wanted to sell, were in the garage. It felt weird to be living with my boyfriend. That’s a huge step in a relationship that you usually make after a year or more of dating. I had known Kai a few weeks. I face palmed my forehead. What was I doing? I was so in love. Common sense flew out the window!
Just thinking of Kai made my stomach flutter. I told him I loved him already? Oh my God, and he said it back. It was like I hadn’t just gotten the Lycan virus and turned into a werewolf. I got some lovesick mating virus and all of my logic and normal tendency to push guys away went out the window!
I heard a car door shut. They’re here! I felt sick. Trent was probably as nervous as I was. He had Skyped with Diya the night before, but they still didn’t know each other very well. We told Trent we would let Diya settle in and then we would call him over.
I could hear voices at the door and Kai’s key was in the lock. Oh God, I was going to be sick. Why was I so nervous? I was only meeting my 200-year-old mate’s mother and only sister. Didn’t he say something about a brother coming, too? The door began to open and I panicked. I ran down the hall and into the bathroom.
I shut the bathroom door and ran the water. I looked into the mirror and smoothed my blonde hair. I was wearing light make up and had my pearl earrings on. I decided on dark blue skinny jeans and a bright teal, long sleeve sweater. Why was I so nervous? I had met my other boyfriends’ parents before. ‘Because he is your mate. You love him,’ my inner wolf whispered to me. She was right. I did love him. I was nervous because I cared. This was a serious relationship and I wanted his family to like me. I wanted them to love me. I didn’t have a big family.
I let my inner wolf take over. She sent a calm feeling through my system. Her instinct was to be dominant. To show his family that I was worthy of their approval but that I did not need it. I looked in the mirror and saw my golden yellow wolf eyes looking back at me. I deserved Kai, we deserved each other. I hoped his family liked me but if not, oh well. I took a deep breath and my wolf faded. I turned off the water and left the bathroom.
Kai was in the kitchen making tea. His mother wore a deep red sari and had gold bangles on. His sister wore jeans and an Indian top. She had a jeweled bindi on her forehead. A twenty-year-old-looking young man stood behind Kai looking over his shoulder. This must be his brother Jai.
Jai frowned. “You’re putting too much ginger in.”
Kai groaned. “You haven’t changed a bit. Still trying to boss me around in the kitchen.”
“Well, if you knew how to make proper Indian tea then I wouldn’t have to,” Jai retorted.
I cleared my throat and everyone turned. “Hello, I’m Aurora.”
Kai’s mother, Maya, stood and clasped her hands together. “You are more beautiful in person,” she exclaimed, barely meeting my eyes. She was submissive.
Diya jumped up and ran over to me, giving me a brief hug. “Hello, sister.”
I stood there silently for a moment, unsure of what to say. I wasn’t expecting a warm welcome.
“Let her breathe, Diya,” Jai told her with a mild Indian accent.
Kai smiled at me. “Would you like some Chai?” After six months spent in India, I knew better
than to turn down an offer of Chai.
“Sure.” I nodded as Diya pulled me over to the table.
“This is so cool. Kai and I finding our mates at the same time,” Diya exclaimed.
I took a deep breath in through my nostrils. They smelled of foreign wolves but they also smelled familiar, friendly.
“How are you adjusting, dear? It’s a lot to take in,” his mother asked me. The way she looked at me, with such a caring gaze, made me drop my guard a little.
“Oh. Well, I’m just doing my best,” I offered. His mother’s brow pinched together.
“Being changed and then finding out you are second in the pack and then meeting your mate. It’s a lot,” his mother probed further.
I felt my throat tighten. What the hell. I hadn’t planned on this.
“Ma.” Kai growled lightly and brought over a tray with steaming cups of Chai.
His mother broke her gaze and shrugged. “Sorry, dear. I can’t help what I feel. It overwhelms me.”
I looked at him confused. Jai stepped forward. “My mother is a changed wolf, so her gift is that she can feel emotions. She was also a psychologist for a couple of decades in the 60s. It makes for an intrusive combo. You can’t keep anything from her. She will shrink you until every last emotion has been turned to peace.”
Maya swatted Jai. “Oh, stop it! I can’t help it. I was just trying to get to know her. I’m sorry if I intruded, Aurora.”
I smiled lightly. “That’s okay. I know what it’s like to not be able to turn your gift off.” I sipped my Chai slowly.
The entire table was silent for a moment and then Kai cleared his throat. Only Jai looked confused.
“Well, Diya, I’m sure you are dying to meet Trent. Let’s all take a run.” Kai motioned us outside.
‘My family is here. Let’s go for a run,’ Kai sent to the pack.
Trent and Diya shared a nervous hug and a little small talk before joining the pack in the open area in front of the house. Akash ran to his mother and gave her a big hug. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed his forehead, which he promptly wiped off. We all kept our eyes at the ground as we undressed and shifted. As usual, Kai and I shifted first. I shook my fur and rolled in the soft grass as Kai nuzzled me. A few moments later, I turned my attention to the pack and saw Trent and Diya rolling on the ground playing. They were mates. Exact opposite markings. The third couple I had brought together. I had a purpose in life, a good purpose. I brought families together; I helped people find love. A huge weight I had been carrying lifted off my chest. This gift was a blessing more than it was a curse.
I turned to find Kai’s mother staring at me as if she sensed my release of emotion. She trotted over and nudged me lightly with her snout. After a small yip, she took off into the forest. Kai and I took off after her, feeling the thrill of the chase. The pack followed. We all ran down our usual path, howling and yipping. I felt so free when I ran, like nothing in the world could bother me. We were making our way down the back side of the mountain when I smelled something…off. It was like a foreign wolf smelled but not. Before I could ask Kai about it, he ran to my side. His mother, who had been leading the pack, stopped dead and howled deep and long.
‘Vampires. Pack formation. Protect Aurora and my family,’ Kai sent out to the pack. With that command, the pack made a circle around me, his mother, Jai, and Diya. Akash didn’t come into the circle but joined in protecting us. Three vampires dropped from the trees above and stood ten feet from us. I bared my teeth and growled. They didn’t smell friendly and I had a bad feeling about this. There were two men and one woman. They were impossibly pale and cruel looking with sunken in cheeks, yet beautiful features.
“Hello, Alpha.” The male vampire moved fifty feet to his right in a matter of seconds as the female moved behind the circle just as fast. Holy shit, they were fast! They were now surrounding us.
“We are here on an investigative mission into your newly changed female. The Portland Alpha says she smells quite unique. Let us meet with her and no one gets hurt.”
I thought I had seen Kai at his fastest before, but I hadn’t. The speed at which he moved, was akin to the vampires. He lunged forward and clamped his jaws down on the vampire’s neck tearing out his throat. Before I had time to express my shock, the second vampire was gliding up into the air and landed inside the circle right in front of Jai, Diya, Maya, and me.
The third vampire was fighting Devon and a few other wolves. The vampire Kai had injured was still alive and had his arms around Kai, squeezing so hard I could hear ribs breaking. Anna darted towards the vampire and ripped Kai away from him with the force of The Hulk. She jumped up on her hind legs and pushed the vampire back with her front paws sending him flying backward. I guess we knew what Anna’s new power was, extreme strength. Kai looked at Anna with surprise and they went after the vampire.
The vampire in the middle of the circle lunged for Kai’s mom. She was a submissive. Diya and Jai were both less dominant than me. I could feel it. I had an overwhelming urge to protect them all. Being dominant didn’t mean you were physically the strongest. I knew that. But it did mean I had to try to protect them. This must be what Kai feels like all the time for the entire pack. I threw myself on the vampires back and knocked her to the ground. She whipped out a thin silver chain and had my paws bound before I could think to deflect her. I gave her a wolfish grin. I was immune to silver for whatever reason. When the silver didn’t burn me or begin to make me weak, I saw fear flash in her eyes. Jai lunged for her and had one of her wrists in his mouth as Diya went for her other hand pinning her down. I yanked my paws and tore the silver chain apart.
‘Decapitation or a stake through the heart.’ I heard Emma say into my mind. Jai and Diya were pinning her down for me to finish her off. The vampire tried to fling them off but two full grown werewolves were too much for her. Could I kill a vampire? Could I decapitate someone? The answer came from deep within me. The new me. If it meant I was protecting my pack, my family, then yes. I crouched on my hind legs but just before I was about to pounce, the vampire jumped high up in the air with Jai and Diya still hanging from her hands and came down hard, slamming them both on the ground. They let go of her and whimpered. Then the vampire reached out and took a handful of Kai’s mother’s fur in her hand and started pulling. Kai’s mom whimpered and growled trying to bite the vampire.
That was it. That was all I needed to see, to know what I was capable of. I was a vegetarian, I was a do-gooder but I was also a werewolf and in that moment I knew, I was a murderer. I sprung back and leapt at the vampire, baring my teeth, and came down on her chest knocking her back. Before she could push me off, I lunged for her neck and bit down hard while thrusting my body into a roll and using the momentum to pull her head clean off. Her body turned to ash before my eyes. The head in my mouth disintegrated leaving behind a black chalky ash that tasted of death. My heart was hammering in my chest. It all happened so fast I wasn’t sure it was over.
I ran to Kai’s mother and she stared at me with wide eyes. Then she lowered her head in thanks and nuzzled me. I felt like I was being watched. I turned to see Kai and the pack staring at me. All the vampires were dead. Three distinct piles of ash lay on the ground. Kai was the first one to tilt his head back and howl. We all followed. Someone had tried to take one of ours, to harm us. This was our land, our family, our pack. We would protect what was ours. We ran back to the house slowly, reflecting on what happened. Twice Kai had asked me if I was okay and both times I assured him I was. I didn’t really have a choice. I had to be okay. This was my life now. I was hunted. I was a hunter. I just didn’t want those I loved to get hurt. I was starting to see the rationale in my birth mother’s choices for my life.
When we got back, I shifted quickly and ran inside before any of the rest of the pack was done shifting. Kai tried to follow me but I shook my head. I needed a break. I needed a shower. I could still taste the ash on my tongue. I let the water beat on my back. So the Portland
Alpha was behind this attack? He smelled something different about me. That I was part witch? That I was the Matefinder? How would he even know that? Unless legend said the Matefinder was part witch. Was this the last time vampires or anyone would come for me? Not likely. I could run away. The second the thought was out, my heart protested. I couldn’t leave Kai. I loved him. But I also wanted to protect those I loved.
‘Don’t worry. I can feel your struggle raging inside my head. Anyone who comes for you will meet the same fate as those vampires. You are safe,’ Kai told me.
‘I don’t care about my safety, I care about yours,’ I replied to him.
‘As long as you are with me, I will be fine. The only way I can get hurt, is if something happens to you,’ he stated.
I sighed and turned off the tap. I dried off, brushed my teeth, and changed my clothes. When I came out into the kitchen I expected some big awkward talk about the vampire fight. Instead, some Indian dance music was on and Diya was dancing with her mother. They were laughing. Trent and Jai were talking quietly while watching them, and Kai was cooking. I stood there unsure of what to do. Kai’s mom spotted me. “Aurora! Come dance with us.”
I smiled, and shouted over the music. “You will have to teach me. I’m not much of a dancer.”
Maya pulled me into the living room and motioned her hands in a pattern while shaking her hip and dropping her shoulder. I tried to follow what she did and Diya busted up laughing. “Oh my God, you’re horrible!” she teased.
This made me laugh, and Jai smacked his forehead. “Watch out, Gori Girl trying to Bollywood dance.”
“Hey!” I shouted at him, chucking a couch pillow his way and joining him and Trent on the couch. “What’s a Gori Girl?” I asked Jai.
He nudged me with his elbow. “White girl.”
I stuck my tongue out at him. I had another question. “What does Meri Pyari mean?”
Jai grinned and looked towards Kai in the kitchen. “Did he call you that?”