by Reders, E. M
What?
After that, the conversation had quickly moved away from bonding to moving Kaia to the packhouse and the protection she would need there. The whole time my father, Ryan and the Crone talked, my wolf was howling inside me, urging me to go to her. He desperately wanted to be near her, to rub his fur up against her soft flesh, to dig his claws into her waist, his teeth into her neck as we claimed her, took her as our own, our mate. But she didn't want that. She didn't want to complete the bond, to mate. Somehow I needed to make her change her mind. Make her see that we were always meant to be together.
But were we? I had thought so once, but then she’d changed and the girl she had become had not been the one I had slowly been falling in love with.
Why was that? Why had she changed, pushed me away like she did? Maybe now that she was moving to the packhouse and we were going to be together most of the time, or all of the time if I had it my way, I could finally find out what had happened.
“So that’s settled,” my father announced, rising to his feet. “Kaia will be moved to the packhouse tonight. Grace, if you would call the girl, I would like to get there before the sun rises.”
~
Kaia
“Come on, you seriously don't want to get all hot and naked with that hunk of a wolf?” Dyanna asked, sprawled across the bed, her eyes following me back and forth. Since coming upstairs, all I had done was wear a path into the carpet from my pacing across the small bedroom.
There had to be something I could do, some way to stop the bond that had started to form. Yes, the bond wouldn’t be complete until he claimed me, until we performed the bonding spell during the ultimate, intimate act, but the bond had already begun to form and it would only continue to pull us closer and closer together until that act happened.
“No.”
“Really? Because from what I know about you and how you feel about this whole protector gig, you wouldn't have freaked out like that if you didn't have feelings for him already. What the hell happened between you two?”
“Remind me again why I keep you around?”
“Because you need someone to talk some sense into you,” she said with a smile. “He's the reason, isn't he? He's the reason you pushed everyone away. Does he know how you feel about him?”
“Of course not! And you’re not to say anything either. Dyanna, what am I going to do? Why did the ritual have to choose him, doom him as I am doomed? It’s not fair.”
“Life is never fair, Kaia.”
~
I had thought that we would be travelling to the packhouse by magic, Grace or Dyanna taking us there, or even by car would have been nice. But I never expected this.
“Don’t worry, Kaia, just keep a tight hold around my neck. I won’t let you fall. I promise.”
I was flanked by two large wolves, the Alpha and Beta already having transformed, Ethan about to do the same. Was he going to strip here, in front of me? I knew they couldn’t take their clothes with them when they transformed, but at that moment, I so wished that they could.
Sensing my unease, a small smile pulled at his lips. “I’ll be right back,” he said, walking over to the trees and disappearing behind them. A moment later a large wolf exited the dark shadows of the trees and came towards me.
He was magnificent. His fur was black, streaked with the same shades of grey as his hair was when in human form, his eyes almost pure amber except for a small ring of grey that showed me Ethan was still in there. Trotting up beside me, he stood, waiting for me to climb up onto his back. He was so large, his head coming up to my shoulder. Looking over at his father, I realised that he was actually larger than the Alpha.
Strange, wasn’t the Alpha usually the largest of the pack?
Nudging me with his head to get my attention as I continued to stand there, I sighed. “Okay, okay. Still a bossy bastard, I see,” I joked as I struggled to climb up, his body shaking as if laughing at my words. Eventually, I found myself situated on his back, my hands clasped around his neck. “I'm ready.”
With that we were off, speeding through the trees, the only sound that of the wind flying passed my ears and of heavy paws hitting the hard ground. It was like nothing I had ever experienced before, almost like flying.
When I was younger and I had just learned of my powers I remember thinking, why couldn’t I have been given one of the other powers? Maybe water or fire? But in the end, I had decided that if I could have chosen which element I would control, I would have picked Air. It was said that the witch with the power of Air would be able to fly, to soar through the sky unaided. Now that was a power I had always envied… until now.
It seemed like only minutes before we were racing out of the forest and stopping in front of the large manor that was the packhouse. I had seen it many times in my life but never this close up, and never had I stepped foot in it. Now I would be living there.
What the hell had I gotten myself into?
Sliding down off of Ethan’s back, I watched as the three wolves vanished back into the trees for a moment before walking back out on two legs, pairs of jeans riding low on their hips, their drool-worthy chests on display.
What was it with Werewolves and having stomachs like washing boards?
“We have shifted away from you this time, but will not continue to do so. It is something that you will have to get used to, Kaia, but I understand that it will take time,” Alpha Edwards said, moving passed me to enter the building. “Ethan, I will leave Kaia in your capable hands. I will meet with you both in my office in a few hours’ time, once you have had time to rest, so we can discuss protection details.”
With the Alpha and Beta gone, I suddenly didn't know what to do, what to say. Hell, this was awkward. “So, mmm...” I stuttered, looking nervously over at Ethan. “What now?”
“Now we get you settled in.”
~
The place was like Doctor Who's Tardis. Yes, it looked big from the outside, but inside it was truly massive. I would need a map just to find my way back to the front door. Every hallway, every staircase looked the same to me, all dark wood and painted walls. Every once in a while, a painting hung on the wall of some old Alpha from the past, but that was all that broke the similarity between floors. And it was so quiet. I had expected a house full of Werewolves to be noisy, but there wasn’t a sound.
“Where is everyone?” I asked as we arrived on yet another floor. Was it the fourth or the fifth?
“Asleep, though it won’t be long until some of the females get up to start preparing for breakfast.”
Stopping at a door which looked exactly like the other hundreds we had passed on the way up, he looked at me, a little worry in his eyes and a nervous vibe flowing through the bond. “This is where you'll be sleeping,” he informed me, opening the door to let me enter before him.
Again the room was larger than I had expected it to be. A huge queen sized bed took up a large portion of space, matching oak furniture and a large plush brown leather sofa took up the rest of the room, along with one of the biggest TV’s I had ever seen. It was amazing, and weirdly enough, exactly to my taste. But as I looked round the room, taking it all in, I began to notice other things that on first glance I hadn’t noticed before. A book left open on the bedside table. A dirty football dumped in the corner of the room. The wardrobe door slightly ajar due to the clothes dumped in the bottom of it. And that’s when it hit me. Spinning around to face him, anger and horror at what I knew was happening, what they expected me to do. “This is your room, isn’t it?”
“Yes.” Regret in his eyes. “Listen, Kaia…”
“No, you listen. This is not happening. I'm not completing the bond, so you need to find me another room to stay in until I leave.”
“Leave?”
“Yes, leave…die. It’s the same damn thing anyway.”
Taking a small step towards me. “Listen, Kaia. I know you’re not happy about the spell picking me as your protector, and I know there is not a chance in he
ll that the bond will ever be completed, but it did choose me and I will protect you as best I can, even without the full bond in place. You’ll take my room, I’ll find somewhere else to sleep, but I won’t be far away if you need me.” Moving around the room, he quickly grabbed a few items of clothing, stopping by the bed to pick up the book from the bedside table, before heading to the door. Just as he was about to close it behind him, he looked straight at me, straight into my eyes as if looking for something in them. Shaking his head, apparently not finding what he was searching for, he said, “I never forgot you, Kaia. Never forgot how close we were. You were my escape, my safe haven. I just hope that one day you will tell me what I did wrong. Why you pushed me away.”
Closing the door behind him, I felt like I had been punched in the gut, my insides churning. What he did wrong? “You didn’t do anything wrong, Ethan,” I whispered into the silence that surrounded me. “That’s the problem.”
Chapter Eight
~
Ethan
Why did I say that? Why did I have to let her see how much she affected me?
Walking down the hall a little, I knocked on Zak’s door. Hopefully he wouldn’t be too out of it to let me in. The guy slept like the dead at times.
“Look who it is,” he said with a grin, opening the door. “The latest member of the club whipped.” Over the past few years, a few of our friends had left to join other packs after meeting their truemates, we always referred to them as members of the whipped club. His eyes were alight with mirth until he got a better look at my face and sensed the frustration and pain radiating from my wolf. “Shit man, what’s wrong? Don’t you like her or something? Is she a minger?”
Sitting down on the edge of his bed, running my hands through my hair, I realised that there was no reason to lie anymore. And hell, I needed some advice.
“No, she’s beautiful… She always has been.”
“Has been? So you know her?”
Nodding. “You remember back when we were young and I used to disappear a lot?”
“Yeah, we always thought you had some female you were sneaking off to see.”
“Well I was, just this female was no wolf. I fell for Kaia big time, but I was afraid of what the pack would think about me wanting to be with a witch, so I never made a move, just kept things platonic. Then, just as I’d finally had enough with all the lies and planned on asking her out anyway, she changed. In a matter of months, she went from being this sweet, beautiful girl, to being a cruel, angry bitch.”
“Kaia? Started a fight with a different group each week Kaia? Broke into the pack lockers and booby-trapped it with flea spray Kaia?” His eyes were wide with shock.
Well, he definitely remembered her. “That’s the one.”
“Shit, man.”
“Now she’s in trouble and needs protecting and I'm the one that’s meant to do it, but she won’t let me. You should have seen her face, Zak. The moment she saw it was me that had been picked she broke down, started crying and screaming. I just don’t know what to do.”
“If she doesn’t want protecting, I don’t think there is much you can do, mate,” he said in sympathy, slapping me on the back as he walked past and dived back under the covers. “Now as much as I love our heart to hearts, I need to get some sleep in before I begin my punishment for getting laid the other night. Thanks for that by the way.”
Getting up, I made my way over to the futon in the corner. “Mind if I sleep here? Kaia’s in my room… and well, she doesn’t really want me near her.”
“Sure, man. But if you start snoring, you’re out.”
~
Kaia
I hardly slept at all, just tossed and turned for what felt like hours before a soft knocking on the door woke me from the brief troubled sleep that I had finally fallen into.
It was all Ethan’s fault. What he had said before he left, the way he had looked at me, the sadness I could feel coming from him. All of it conjoined had left my mind in a spin. And the fact that I was in his bed didn't help one bit. With every breath I took his scent assaulted my nose. That amazing earthy scent. But even though I could smell his essence, the fact that he wasn’t there was playing heavy on my mind. I missed him. We had only been partially bonded for a few hours, but already I couldn’t bear to be apart from him. I was in so much trouble.
Ethan’s voice came through the door as I quickly untangled myself from the sheets. “Kaia, you wake? My father wants to speak with us.”
“Hold on a minute.” Once I was decent and had made a quick trip to the attached bathroom, I exited to find him leaning against the wall opposite the door, looking as hot as ever in his jeans and a black t-shirt. The anxiety I had felt at being away from him eased some, but it didn’t disappear completely.
As we walked down the hall I felt compelled to say something; the silence between us deafening. “So… where did you sleep?”
Sighing, as if relieved that I had broken the silence, he said, “Zak’s room is just down the hall. I slept on his futon.”
Okay, I felt even worse now about kicking him out of his room. “Sorry,” I mumbled.
“For what?” he asked, glancing at me in confusion as if the bitch he thought I was would never utter the word ‘sorry.’
Everything. I’m sorry for everything. “For you having to sleep on a futon, I know they’re not exactly comfortable.” When my mother had had enough of dealing with me, before I went to train with Grace, she’d sent me to my great aunt’s, where I had been forced to sleep on what must have been the oldest futon in the universe. I swear my back was still suffering from it all these years later.
Arriving at the Alpha’s office, Ethan knocked lightly, pushing the door open and allowing me to enter first when our entrance was granted.
“Kaia, Ethan, please take a seat,” Alpha Edwards greeted us with a smile. “We have a lot to discuss before an announcement is made to the pack. So let’s get down to business.”
And so we did. Everything was discussed down to the finest detail. The spells my Coven were to place around and on pack lands, though he was adamant that no spell was to be cast on the house itself. What information the pack would be privy to, and what information would be kept from them – for the time being at least. I agreed with everything, until the end when we got on to the topic of sleeping arrangements.
“I'm not sharing a room with him,” I informed the Alpha, my voice not sounding as strong as I had hoped for.
“I disagree, Kaia. You may have decided that you do not plan on completing the bond between you and my son, and I cannot force you to do so. But, I will insist that you two are together at all times, even during the night. In the instances that Ethan cannot be with you, like during his punishment for what occurred the other night, you will have guards stationed to you. You may not like it, but that is the way it is going to be. If you decide to complete the bond with my son, then the guards will obviously be pulled. But you must understand, that as far as I see it, Ethan is your protector now, bond or no bond, and he will be with you every damn minute, day and night that he possibly can.”
Fuck. How was I meant to deny the pull of the bond now? The more time we spent together, the harder it would be to keep him at a distance. Didn’t Alpha Edwards understand that I was just trying to protect his son from the painful death that was no doubt heading his way now that he was tied to me? And guards? Being followed around by a bunch of male wolves that would probably hate me?
“That is all I have to say on the matter. Now, let’s go make the announcement to the pack, shall we?”
~
Ethan
There wasn’t a room big enough to hold the whole pack, so everyone had gathered in the courtyard outside. The sun was beating down heavily, making me sweat more than I already was out of pure nerves. How would the pack take the announcement that I had been picked as protector to a witch? Would they be mad that their future Alpha Female wasn’t a wolf? Because that’s what she was after all. No matter
what she thought, Kaia had just become the future Alpha Female to a pack of Werewolves.
Demanding everyone’s attention, my father stepped up onto the raised platform at the centre of the courtyard, myself and Kaia following shortly behind as he had ordered. I was used to being up here with my father, facing the pack, but I could tell that Kaia was uncomfortable when questioning eyes turned to look at her. I could hear the whispered questions being asked around the Pack.
‘What’s going on?’
‘Who is that?’
‘What the fuck is she doing here?’
I'm guessing that last comment came from someone that remembered Kaia from her days at school with us. Her behaviour in the past was definitely not going to help the situation of her acceptance.
A snarl ripped from my father’s throat and the pack quieted in an instant. “As you already know, the unmated males of our pack attended a Wiccan ritual last night. At that ritual, one of our own was chosen… My son.” The pack broke with decorum; gasps of shock were quickly followed by shouts for answers, as everyone began asking questions. My father gave them a few moments before he demanded their silence and respect. “Kaia is a witch of great power, and, due to that power, is in great need of our protection. As mate to my son, she is entitled to the protection of the pack and I expect her to get it. Over the next few days, Madam Grace and some of her people will be placing magical wards around our lands. While this is being done to help protect Kaia from the evil that hunts her, it will also strengthen our boarders and in turn, help better protect us all. Now, I for one welcome Kaia to our pack, and anyone that has a problem with it can either get used to it… or leave.”
I’d never expected my father to say that. I knew that he would expect them to follow his lead and accept Kaia, but I never thought he would openly tell them that if they did not like it, that they should leave. Not once in my entire life had someone left the pack. I hoped, for Kaia’s sake, that no one did. I knew her well enough to know that she would feel guilty for it if they did… or at least, the old Kaia would.
