Matefinder (10 page)

                I shook my head. “I think I just saw the
future; my future, our future.” I turned to Emma.

                “My wedding.”

“Your wedding!” She screamed, then
smiled.

“Yeah… Don’t tell Kai. I saw you
pregnant again so it must be soon,” I told her. She motioned to zip her lips,
but smiled.

I hugged Emma and she headed home. I
thought I would sneak in the house and just glide into bed without having to
talk to Kai about my running off after the drama with Sylvia. I was halfway through
the living room when Kai stood up from the couch and scared me.

I jumped back. “Jesus!”

“Nope, just me,” he said putting his
hands up.

“Very funny,” I muttered.

He crossed the room quickly and
wrapped me in his arms. “I held Sylvia hostage until she told me everything.
I’m so sorry, Aurora. For the first time in my life I feel powerless. I wish I
could take the pain away for you.”

My throat tightened. Kai was a good
man. Despite his huge and dominating appearance, he was so soft inside, so
lovable. If we were going to have any future together he deserved the truth.
“If I didn’t want children would you still want to be my mate?”

His eyebrows pinched before he smiled
slightly. “First of all, I am your mate whether you want kids or eat meat or
like the same music as I do. We ARE mates. There is no changing that. Secondly,
I have always wanted children. I want to be a father, but if you don’t want
children then what can I do? I want you and I won’t force you.” He pulled me
back and looked into my eyes. In that moment I blurted out the stupidest thing.
I didn’t even think.

“I love you,” I admitted then slapped
my hand over my mouth. Wasn’t the guy supposed to say that first? I had never
said I love you before. I’d had boyfriends, but I never let them get close
enough for love. Being in love meant you could get hurt.

A huge grin broke out onto his face.

“God, I’ve been waiting to hear that
from you my whole life.” He scooped me up and started walking me to the
bedroom, kissing my neck. I smiled. Okay, maybe saying I love you wasn’t that
bad.

I was being nudged awake. I opened my
eyes groggily to see Kai. He was freshly showered and was wearing a red silk
Indian t-shirt with a smudge of ash on his forehead. I looked at him confused.

“What’s up?” I asked groggily.

Kai looked nervous. “Well, remember
how I told you that I told my parents about you? My mom and sister have been
bugging me to talk to you and today is Diwali. It’s a special holiday in India.
We always video chat on Diwali so…”

I knew what Diwali was from my six
months in India. I sat up so fast I almost smacked his head. “How long do I
have to get ready?”

He grinned. “Twenty minutes.”

I leapt off the bed and flew into the
shower. After quickly applying light make-up and blow drying my long blonde
hair, I went into my room. It was stacked full of the moving boxes my mom had
brought. Where was my box of stuff I brought back from India? I tore open the
tops of the boxes. Books, no. My boxing gloves, no. Regular clothes, no. A
knock at the door. 

“Aurora? It’s time to call them,” Kai
told me.

“Be right there!” I screamed as I
tore open another box. The sight of my red silk Indian top and bangles made me
smile. I threw the top on over skinny jeans and put a stack of red and gold
bangles on each wrist. The top was adorned with gold thread and was a gift from
the host family I had stayed with. I threw open the door and took in Kai’s
shocked expression.

“Too much? Trying too hard to impress
them? I’ll go change.” I went to turn around and he caught my elbow.

“Don’t you dare! You look amazing.”
He spun me around and kissed me deeply.

We sat in front of Kai’s computer and
I nervously played with my bangles. The video chat icon started ringing and I
swallowed hard. Kai smiled at me and clicked the green accept button.

The screen came alive with an image
of a beautiful woman,  Kai’s mother, and a younger version of her sitting
beside her. They both wore Indian clothing and jeweled bindis on their foreheads.

His mother scanned my outfit and
smiled warmly. “Hello, Aurora, I’m Maya. It’s so nice to meet you. We have
heard so much about you,” his mother said. His sister who looked to be in her
early twenties waved. “Hi, I’m Diya.”

“Hello,” I croaked nervously. What
had he told them about me?

“Namaste Ma, Happy Diwali.” Kai put
his hands together in prayer and nodded.

“Happy Diwali Bete,” she replied.

“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 smiled.

“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.”