Matefinder (13 page)

                ‘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?”

                I nodded.

                “It means, My Beloved.”

                My heart picked up and I glanced at Kai. As
if he sensed me watching, he looked up from chopping veggies and held my gaze.
I blew him an air kiss and he smiled then motioned his head to my room. I
rolled my eyes. Such a guy!

                Dinner was amazing; the food had so much
flavor. I think I impressed his family by eating the Indian food with my hands
and talking about my time in Delhi.

                “I miss India, mostly for its shopping.”

                Diya smiled nodding with approval. “Ahhh… so
you like to shop? My kind of girl.”

                Jai put his hand out stopping Diya from
talking further.

                “Can we please just take one second to talk
about how amazing it was when Aurora ripped that vamps head off to save mom?”
Jai stated.

                I froze. Kai’s mom kicked Jai under the
table. Jai looked at me. “What? Was that her first kill?”

                I sat there frozen. Flashes of my father
lying on the kitchen floor, blood dripping out of his stomach.

                “My first kill as a werewolf, yes.”

                Kai met my eyes and seemed sad.

                “Oh,” Jai said.

                Kai spoke gruffly. “She has been a werewolf
for a week. You think she’s racked up a bunch of kills?”

                “Sorry, bro.” Jai looked at his plate. I felt
bad for him. He was just trying to be nice.

                “I was kind of a badass, wasn’t I?” I asked
the table.

                Jai smiled and Diya nodded. “You were.”  Jai
exclaimed.

                “What are you going to do about the Portland
Alpha sending three vampires to capture your mate?” his mother asked casually. There
was no hint of submissiveness in her voice. This woman could be deadly if she
wanted to be.

                Kai lightly dabbed his mouth with a cloth.
“I’m going to kill him.” Kai stared right at me as I involuntarily spat water
out of my mouth.

                “What!” I shouted and stood.

                 Kai stood and his nostrils flared. We locked
eyes.
Challenge
.

                “No! You almost died when you fought him
last.” I held his gaze.

                “No?” He shouted, staring back. I could feel
the hair rising on my arms. Sweat broke out on my upper lip.

                “How long do you think she can hold his
gaze?” Jai asked as his mother swatted his head and shushed him.

                “Aurora, you are MINE. If someone thinks they
can take you from me, there is only one response they deserve. Death.”

                My breath was ragged now and even Kai looked
strained. What was I doing?

I broke his gaze and stared at my feet. “I don’t want you
hurt like that. Not ever again.” I sounded defeated, like a little girl.       

                Everyone at the table was deadly silent. I
collapsed back into my chair dreading the thought of ever seeing him hurt like
that again. Kai walked over and picked me up, carrying me to my room. He
struggled to open the door as I laid my head on his chest. Tears fell down my
cheek. When we got inside, he dropped me on the bed. He curled up next me and
kissed my forehead.

                “Believe it or not, I am a good fighter. I
have been around so long because I have survived many, many fights. Fights of
dominance, fights for territory, fights for Alpha status and whatever else. I
can and will fight for my mate. If he sent vampires once, he will do it again.
He is known for running a dirty pack. I have heard recent rumors that his
unmated women are treated like sex toys and his men fight to the death over
dominance. They all live in poverty and steal from humans. I would be doing the
world a favor.”

                I sighed. He was right.

                “So you’re just going to barge in there and
kill him? Won’t they smell you coming?” I ask.

                “They will smell me coming. If I were to
barge in there in a rage, I would be torn apart by his pack. I’m going to
request a meeting and then I’m going to challenge him for Alpha status of his
pack. It’s the only way to insure a clean fight. It’s a fight to the death and
no one can intervene.”

                “So, if you are tearing their Alpha apart, no
one can jump in?” I queried.

                “Correct. Pack law will make sure. My pack
would report it and a werewolf from the council would come dispose of the
person who intervened.”

                Dispose of? Geez.

                “What if he is about to kill you? You expect
me to stand there and watch you die?”

                I twirled my hair around my finger in a
nervous gesture. He grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips. “I’m not going
to die. I have too much to live for now.”

                I left the room and said goodnight to his family.
They all acted like we hadn’t just gotten in a big dominance fight. Maybe it
was common in werewolf culture. I went to the bathroom to get ready for bed. I
was coming out of the bathroom when I noticed Kai in my bed.

                “What are you doing in here?” I whispered.

                He pouted. “Come on, we’re mates. My mother
doesn’t care.”

                I put my hand out. “We are mates but we are
not yet mated. So no. You need to leave. I don’t want them thinking bad of me.”

                Kai looked hurt but brushed it off. “I
forgot, I’m just your boyfriend,” he said before shutting the door.

                I sighed. Great. I lay down and tried to
sleep but it was hard. I tossed and turned thinking of the vampires, of being
hunted, of my argument with Kai. I thought of Sylvia saying I had witch powers
that she could activate. Finally I turned to look at the clock, 1 am. God, I
really needed sleep. I chewed on my bottom lip, making a decision. I opened my
door slowly and peeked out. All clear. I crept down the hall to Kai’s room. The
second I turned the handle, he sat up quickly and stared at the door. His hair
was ruffled and he looked adorable. He smiled. “What took you so long?”

                I grinned, shut the door, and climbed into
bed with him. The second his arms closed around me, my mind shut off and I
slept.

                The next morning was a mandatory weekly pack
barbeque. Even the wolves that lived on the edge of our territory drove in for
the event. I took time to get to know each wolf. Sammy was fifteen and our
youngest wolf; he was best friends with Akash. Besides Emma, Anna, and I, there
was only one other female and she was unmated. Her name was Oksana and she was
Ukrainian. She lived on the edge of our territory with her boyfriend Dominic
who was also in our pack but they weren’t mates.

                Diya and Trent were really getting along
well. You could see the romance budding between them and she looked genuinely
happy. Trent looked head over heels in love with her already. He looked at her
a certain way; his look said he adored her. It reminded me of the way Kai
looked at me.

                After we had eaten, Kai cleared his throat.
“As you all know we had some vampires trespass on our territory and try to take
one of our pack members. This deed cannot go unpunished!” He roared the last
sentence letting some of his Alpha power leak through. The pack roared their
approval.

                “We know the Portland pack is behind this and
so I have decided to challenge Dane for Alpha status of his pack and take over
his territory.”

                You could hear a pin drop. No one said
anything but the more submissive wolves looked scared and the dominant wolves
looked proud.

                “I know merging our pack with new members
will be hard at first. If you are currently fourth in the pack, you might be
eighth after we merge. I have never been a wolf seeking out a big pack or a
large territory. Dane runs a dirty pack as you all have heard. When I kill him
and take over, some of his pack mates won’t want to stay under my command. Some
will be relieved. I will run this new pack the same way I always have. Minimal
fights, respect, and you will all still be family to me.”

                I could see the packs facial expressions
change. They trusted Kai. They would do anything for him.

                “Aurora is special,” Kai finished. “A bigger
pack and more territory also means we can better protect her against future
enemies. The three vampires who came for her will not be the last. She has a
beautiful gift that has already seen three of our pack members mated. Soon we
will have small pups running around this mountain. There will be weddings. This
pack will grow, but not because we are after numbers, because we want to grow
as a family.”

                Everyone clapped, and I felt tears in my
eyes. It had been weird not to see any children around. It would be nice to see
families grow.

                The next morning Kai and I were silent over
breakfast with his family. He had called Dane and requested a pack to pack
meeting about the territory violation with the vampires. 

                “Do you think he knows what you are
planning?” I finally asked out loud.

                “Yes, he will be ready to fight,” Kai
answered.

                I swallowed hard. Kai’s mother put a hand
over mine. “Do you know why my son didn’t stay in Delhi under my husband’s
authority?”

                “A little bit,” I confessed.

                Kai cut her a look but she dismissed it. “Kai
is more dominant than my husband. He could have fought him and taken charge of
the entire New Delhi pack. He would have won, his father knows that. He will
win this fight tomorrow and any other after that.”

                I admired her confidence in Kai, but I was
tempted to ask her if she knew about Dane’s silver teeth. I thought better of
it. If support was what he needed, I could do that.

                “I know,” I told her and looked at Kai with a
forced smile. I just hoped she was right.

                It took six cars but we all drove out to the
Portland pack’s meeting place.  Emma and Devon stayed back to keep a presence
in our territory.

                As we pulled up to meet the Portland pack in
the large open park area, I started feeling nervous. What if Kai was gravely
injured like the last time? What if someone in our pack tried to fight him
injured for Alpha status. Kai parked the car and leaned across the seat to grab
my face. His mother, sister, and two brothers were in the back of the SUV,
watching.

                “I love you and I will be fine.” He gave me a
passionate but chaste kiss and exited the car. I took a deep breath and got out
of the car as well. We all walked in human form to the group of people standing
in the meadow. I caught a whiff of cigar and after shave.
Foreign Wolf.
Dane’s
pack was quite large. Twice the size of ours. The women were skinny and looked
broken. They clung the men in fear and it made me sick. Dane stepped forward.
“To what do we owe the pleasure of being able to gaze upon your delicious new
female werewolf?” He licked his silver teeth and gave me a stare that made my
blood run cold. I stared back tilting my chin up. If Kai didn’t kill this guy
maybe I would!

                Kai clenched his jaw but otherwise didn’t
show that the comment bothered him. “I challenge you, Dane Hurst, for Alpha
status to your pack and all of your territory. You sent three vampires after my
mate, and you run a dirty pack. If I don’t get rid of you, then the council
will, eventually.”

                Dane began unbuttoning his shirt as if he
expected this. “Challenge accepted.”

His second in command handed him a blue glass bottle and he
began to chug the contents. “Silver water,” Dane told us all.

                Bastard. I put my game face on and walked
over to Kai who was undressing. The two packs made a wide circle.

                “Kick his ass. He looked at me like I was a
piece of meat, and his females look half-starved and scared,” I told Kai.

                Kai grinned. “Gladly.” He shifted lightning
fast and threw himself onto Dane’s half shifted back. Dane was curled in a ball
protecting his jugular with his hands until he could fully shift. Kai wasted no
time chewing the back of his neck, ripping chunks of flesh. Oh God, this was
hard to watch, but I couldn’t look away. I backed out of the circle and found
myself between Diya and Kai’s mother. Dane had fully shifted and now threw Kai
off of his back with a brutal force. Kai landed hard. I heard the cracking of
bones and the breath leave his lungs. I put my hand over my mouth. Kai’s mom
pulled my hand down from my face and held it tight. She leaned in and whispered.
“I’ve seen my husband through many fights. They are only as strong as we let
them be. If you cry out or he risks a glance at you and you are anything but
strong and fierce, he may make a mistake that could cost him his life.”

                At her words, I held my head high and masked
my fear. Sure enough, Kai got up and risked a half a second glance my way
before charging Dane. He kept going for the throat and tearing chunks away.
Each time Dane tried to bite him, Kai would quickly dash the other way. He was
freaky fast, but I could tell the silver was getting to him. I was pretty sure
that when Kai bit Dane and got his blood into his mouth, the liquid silver was
getting into Kai’s system. You could see that Kai’s pace slowed and his
movements were less coordinated.

                Then, Kai made a mistake. He didn’t get away
quick enough and Dane clamped his jaws around Kai’s left shoulder and closed
down. He didn’t let go. Kai tried to shake him off but couldn’t.

                 Next to Diya I heard Max swear. “He is going
to try to weaken him with silver poisoning. If only he had your immunity,
Aurora.”

                Kai’s mother whipped her head towards me.
“You have silver immunity?”

                I nodded. “Yes, but I don’t know why.”

                “Who cares why? Quickly, open your mate bond,”
she instructed me.

                “My what?” I couldn’t take my eyes off Kai. I
made up my mind. If he looked like he was going to die, I was going to
intervene. Damn the council. Let them come after me. I didn’t want to live in a
world where he didn’t exist.

                Kai’s mother grabbed the side of my face and
stared at me with glowing yellow eyes. “Open your mind to Kai NOW! Mates can
share powers! It would be stronger if you had gone through the mating ceremony,
but even without that your bond will give him enough to strengthen him. He can
win this fight!”

                My heart leaped at her words. I immediately
was reminded of the glowing ball in the woods that I buried. I ran to the spot
in my mind that I had buried it and saw a faint glow under the dirt. I dug it
up and threw the ball into the air. It burst into a million twinkling stars and
covered my body like a fine mist. Like Magic. Kai’s mother whispered in my ear
as my eyes stayed closed.