Matefinder (12 page)

                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.

                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.