Matefinder (7 page)

“I’m happy for Sadie, and if she
wants to join Seattle pack I will grant it.”  He shut the door. Okay, didn’t
exactly answer my question. I needed to find out more about Sadie from Emma. I
was starting to recognize something else about my newly
changed
self,
something I never had before. Jealousy.

God, being a werewolf was so
political! Because we pissed off the Portland pack recently, we were denied
access to travel through Portland to Seattle, which just meant we had to take
some different freeways. Sadie was rubbing her hands on her legs nervously.  I
was staring out the window at the beautiful green scenery when I felt a
tingling sensation in my head. I tried to ignore it, but Kai could sense
something.

“Aurora?” he asked from the driver seat
next to me.

                Before I could answer, a vision slammed into
me. Sylvia was standing over a large oak table littered with small bottles and
crushed powders, a tall and very pale man in a grey silk suit stood beside her.
The man’s eyes began to glow violet.

“Tell me what you know of a person called
the Matefinder. Where is she?” His voice was trancelike. Sylvia shook her head
and frowned. A fine mist leaked from her skin like a protective bubble.

“How dare you try to use compulsion
on me! I’m a High Priestess!” She clutched a medallion on her chest. “You are
here to pay a blood debt. Pay and then be on your way!”

                Anger flared in the man’s face, but he
extended his wrist to pay the debt.

I was suddenly aware of Kai growling in
front of my face. The car had been pulled over and Sadie was peeking from the
back seat at me, while Kai hovered over my face.

“Aurora!” He shook me.

“I’m here, I’m fine,” I shouted.

He sat back. “I’ll never get used to
this. You go all zombie on me and I can’t reach your mind. I don’t like this.
What happened?”

I chewed a nail. “Do vampires have
purple eyes when they are using compulsion?” I queried.

Kai’s eyes went yellow. “Yes, they
do. Please tell me you are not having visions of vampires doing compulsion on
you!” he roared.

“Wow, so vampires are real.” I
pondered with a mixture of excitement and fear.

“Aurora, what happened?” Kai pushed
again.

I quickly explained, but didn’t give
him details, and had to talk him out of driving over to Sylvia’s.

“This day is about Sadie. She is
going to meet her mate. Meeting with Sylvia can wait.”

***

Apparently the Seattle Alpha and Kai
went way back. They used to be in the same pack together in New Mexico. When we
entered a large grassy park, I could see the space needle peeking out in the
background, just like my vision. A man and a woman stood near a picnic table
with a large group of people further back in the grassy area playing soccer.

“Shamus!” Kai embraced the large man
with a red, shaggy beard.

“Kai! My brother.” Shamus returned the
hug.  “You didn’t say much over the phone, just that this visit involved a
possible mate for one of my wolves. All of my guys are in a frenzy with
excitement.”

“Well, it’s a long story, but my
newly
changed
mate, Aurora, had to see a witch about something. Sadie
was there, and the witch did a palm reading for Sadie and said her mate might
be in the Seattle pack.”

He doesn’t trust him? I thought.

‘I trust Shamus with my life, but not
his mate,’
Kai told
me.

Interesting.

Shamus stepped towards me and
extended his hand. “You must be Aurora. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” He smiled
genuinely and I was careful to make only the briefest of eye contact. I took
his hand. “A friend of Kai’s is a friend of mine.”

Shamus’ mate stepped forward and shook
my hand. “I’m Petra.” She had an air of snobbery and wore expensive jewelry and
too much make up. I had my guard up after what Kai had told me.

‘She’s power hungry and money hungry,
but she’s not a horrible person,’
Kai said in my mind.

“Nice to meet you, Petra.” I held her
gaze a little longer than polite and turned to Sadie.

“It’s good to see you both again,”
Sadie greeted them.

Shamus smiled warmly at Sadie. “I
would be one proud Alpha if one of my boys was your mate, Sadie. This is
exciting. Should I have my boys shift and we can see what happens?”

That’s how it was in my dream.

“Yes,” Kai said, and nodded to Sadie
who began to undress and shift. All of the men on the soccer field began to
undress and I cleared my throat, looking at my shoes.

“You will get used to it,” Petra told
me, winking. After a minute of hearing snapping bones and growls, Sadie stood a
few feet ahead of us, facing the approaching wolves. She was a beautiful
reddish wolf with small black spots and sleek fur. We stood in human form, as
well as the women and their mated partners on the field. I noticed there were
only three mated couples and one child, to the twenty or so single males
trotting towards Sadie. My eyes were scanning the wolves one by one, but before
I could get halfway through the approaching pack, I heard Shamus shout out in
joy.

“It’s Brett!”

He looked at me and Kai. “He joined
my pack two summers ago. Was a lone wolf, broke away from an aggressive pack in
Texas. He is such a good guy. They will make a great pair.”

I turned to Kai and saw him swallow
hard. I had forgotten for a minute that this was his ex-girlfriend. Sadie
approached Brett’s wolf and he jogged up to her and put his front paws flat
with his rear up in the air and yipped. He reminded me of a dog asking to play
with his owner. Sadie pounced on him and they rolled a few times before running
off into the park. I knew what they felt. Total trust.

Shamus sighed. “Young love.”

Petra spoke next. “Will you want
Brett to transfer to your pack or–”

Kai shook off his thoughts. “No.
Sadie and I have spoken, and in the event she found her mate today, she told me
she wishes to transfer to Seattle pack. She has my blessing.”

Shamus put his hand on Kai’s
shoulder. “Trusting me with Sadie, with a mated female were and her future pups
is an honor. I will make sure she is well protected and provided for.”

Kai nodded. “I knew you would friend.
That’s why I was happy to oblige her request. I just hope you have a spot for a
dominant female who thinks she should be your next second in command.”

We all shared a laugh at that.

A while later, Sadie and Brett
changed into human form and got dressed. Brett was told that Sadie would be
joining his pack.

He approached Kai and extended his
hand. “Thank you for allowing Sadie to join my pack. I will take care of her.”

Kai shook his hand briskly and
nodded.

Shamus, Petra and Brett started
walking away. I moved to go to the car and give him and Sadie privacy to say
goodbye. Kai grabbed my hand to stop me.

“Breaking pack bonds needs a witness
from the pack, as my second, it’s your job to witness,” Kai told me.

“Oh, okay.” I stood there frozen. My
vision didn’t play this part.

Sadie lifted her shirt to expose her belly.
Her eyes ran up and down Kai’s body. It was as if she was taking one last look
of what she would never have. I had to suppress a growl.

“I’m sorry, but this will hurt,” Kai
told her and she nodded.

Kai undressed quickly and changed
into wolf form. He paused for a second and then lunged at Sadie’s abdomen,
digging his teeth into her side. She whimpered a little, but didn’t scream. Now
I know why Brett walked away. He wouldn’t have been able to see this. Kai
pulled his jaws out of her stomach, and with her blood in his mouth he howled.
It was the longest and most haunting howl I had ever heard. ‘
Sadie, you are
no longer a member of Mt. Hood pack. I cast you out.’
Somehow I knew that
he had sent this mental message to all of Mt. Hood pack. ‘
I cast you out. I
cast you out. I cast you out.’
I felt something tug at my chest and then it
was gone. Sadie was gone. She smelled like a foreign wolf to me now. A single
tear rolled down her cheek. Kai changed into human shape and Sadie began to walk
away. When she looked back at Kai, it was the look from my vision. It was
goodbye.

                It was done. Kai let Sadie go and Sadie found
her mate. My second vision had come true.

The drive home was silent,
introspective, at least for twenty minutes.

“So tell me more about your vision
with the vampire,” Kai queried with one hand on my hand and the other on the
wheel.

“Tell me how to keep you out of my
thoughts,” I countered.

“Aurora.” He growled.

“I’m serious! I feel invaded. I get
in a horrible accident and you save my life. I wake up to find out I’m a mons—a
werewolf and I have a mate. But my mate is also my Alpha, so he is inside my
head all the time! I’m also a Matefinder and so I’m hunted and I have visions.
Please Kai, I need a break.” I whimpered, not planning on breaking down and
exploding on him like that.

Kai pulled the car over and took my
face in his hands. I stared into his yellow eyes.

“Why is your wolf out?” I asked him
trying to change the subject.

“Because you aren’t happy and he is
upset about it.” Kai closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened
them, his warm chocolate eyes stared back at me. He kissed my forehead. “You
are right. You deserve a break. Close your eyes and think of a safe place
within nature.”

“What? I don’t need calming
techniques. I feel fine,” I assured him.

He growled softly. “I’m teaching you
how to close me out of your every thought.”

“Oh.” I closed my eyes quickly and
thought of the creek my twin brother and I used to play at, but that was no
good because he drowned there and that was no longer a safe place. I thought of
the woods that backed up to Kai’s house. I thought of my first run as a wolf,
the bits of bark that crunched underneath my paws, the smell of cedar and Kai.
That was peace now. That was my home.

“Stay there,” Kai whispered. “Now
imagine my energy as a bright ball of light sitting next to you.”

With my eyes still closed, I was looking
around the forest in my mind’s eye and a glowing orb appeared next to my wolf.

“Good. Now bury the glowing ball,
bury my essence. Not too deep, just under the surface. We will still be able to
communicate through pack bonds and eventually through our mate bond. But this
will make it so I won’t get your every thought unless you intend it. I will
just pick up moods and emotions or sense when you are in danger.”

I imagined my wolf digging a hole and
nudged the orb into the hole with my nose, burying it loosely with dirt. I
opened my eyes slowly, seeing Kai staring at me from across the car. God, he
was so sexy.

“Did you get that thought?” I tried.

He shook his head.

‘You are sexy
.’ I sent to him. A huge grin broke
out onto his face.

“Whoa, it worked!” I said excitedly.

Kai grabbed my face and gave me a
passionate kiss that warmed my belly.

“Now tell me more about that vision.”
He prodded.

“Ugh!” I growled and told him about
the vampire who met with Sylvia and how he seemed interested in finding me.

“So a vampire tried to use compulsion
on Sylvia to give up your location?”

I chewed a fingernail. “Yes.”

Kai’s eyes went yellow and his nails
grew to points. I could see patches of fur rippling along his arms as he tried
to fight the change.

“Kai?” I was scared.

“If the bloodsuckers think they can
have you, they have another thing coming. You’re mine. Mine to protect.” He was
breathing rapidly. He slammed his fist into the steering wheel making the car
horn honk.

I placed a hand on his arm. “Calm
down, you’re scaring me.”

His fingernails immediately went
human short, the fur turned to skin and his eyes went brown. “Aurora, I’m so
sorry. I would never hurt you. I was mad at the bloodsuckers. Not you. Never
you.” He reached out for my face and I flinched. I don’t know why I did; too
many years of getting hit when my dad was pissed off. The remote ran out of
batteries, smack Aurora. My mother burnt dinner, punch Aurora. He was drunk and
bored, put a cigarette out on Aurora’s neck. I rubbed the scar at the back of
my neck.

I shivered thinking of the memories
while Kai shrank back, hurt. I grabbed his hand. “I have issues, okay?” was all
I could offer at the moment.

He stroked my hand with his thumb.
“Okay.”

He started the car and we drove the
rest of the trip in silence.

We got a call from the pack about
halfway home, telling us that Sylvia was waiting for us at Kai’s house.

As we drove up the long tree-lined
driveway to Kai’s, I still couldn’t fathom how much money this land had cost
him. He must own half the mountain. The pack lived in twenty separate houses
all within a few miles of each other. He owned every single one of them. “So,
my mother will be coming by tomorrow to meet you. I think I should know a little
bit more about how you became so… financially comfortable,” I added politely.

He smiled. “I am a very, very old
wolf, Aurora. I have had hundreds of years to amass this wealth. I have a
bachelor’s degree in Engineering, a  master’s degree in Finance, and I even
went to medical school. I’ve tried my hand at day trading on the stock market.
I dabbled in real estate and I own some franchises.”

My mind was trying to fathom all of
this information when I smelled something weird. I inhaled deeply.

“Witches have a distinct smell, as do
vampires. As you learn more about your wolf, your sense of smell will improve,”
Kai offered, parking the car.

“Do you trust Sylvia?” I probed. She
seemed nice enough to me.

“I don’t trust witches. That being
said, I have known Sylvia for a long time and she has never given me cause not
to trust her. When it comes to your safety, I trust no one outside this pack.” He
got out of the car and gestured for me to do the same.

                I unlocked my seatbelt and scrambled to catch
up with him.

“That smell; that witch smell. Do I
smell like that? She said I was part witch.”

                Kai stared into my eyes. “You smell amazing,
but yes, you have smelled faintly of witch since I found you at the accident. I
knew you weren’t full blooded because your blood didn’t taste like witch, but
there was something about your blood that had me puzzled. You weren’t
completely human. It’s not possible though, so I put it to the back of my mind.
Now I’m not so sure.”

I recoiled at the thought. My whole
life I thought I was human but then Kai turned me into a werewolf. Maybe I was
destined to be supernatural all along. “What puzzled you about my blood?” I was
curious.

We had entered the house and were
outside his office. “You know when you go to take a sip of water and you
realize you have grabbed your friend’s glass of Sprite instead? The fizz shocks
your tongue and you weren’t prepared for it. That is your blood.”

With that, he opened his office door
where Sylvia was waiting. My blood tasted like Sprite? Gross.

Sylvia sat across from Kai. Her neck
was adorned with necklaces of blue stones with gold flecks. I leaned against
the wall as Kai waited for her to speak.

She quirked a smile. “We are meeting
all too often for your liking I’m sure, but there is a matter to discuss.”

I stepped forward. “The vampires are
after me.”

Sylvia’s face showed genuine
surprise. So she must not have been aware that I had a vision of her. That told
me two things. One, that her powers weren’t limitless and two, that she could
be trusted. She didn’t have to come warn me.

“You have the gift of a seer?” She
asked me puzzled.

                I shrugged.

Kai cleared his throat. “What do the
blood suckers want with a werewolf Matefinder?”

Sylvia leaned forward staring Kai
directly in the eyes. “What do the vampires always want?”

“Blood?” I offered.

Kai nodded his head to her. “Money.”

She smiled. “Someone is paying big
bucks to get the info on your mate, and I’m guessing I’m not the only witch
that has been asked.”

Kai muttered a curse word. “But I’ll
bet you are the only one refusing to give her location.”

“Hold on,” I intervened. “Only Sylvia
and the pack know what I am. Who cares if some other witch asked about me?”

Kai rubbed his palms on his jeans in
a nervous gesture I had come to recognize, and nodded to Sylvia.

Sylvia stood and crossed the room,
resting a hand on my arm. “Witches can do spells to reveal an object or
person’s whereabouts. Finder spells are the easiest ones to learn. I did my
first finder spell when I was six years old.”

My stomach dropped. The room was
silent and I began to feel claustrophobic.

“So, anyone who pays a witch to do a
finder spell, can get to me?” I swallowed hard.

“They are probably searching for you
right now, dear.”

Kai stood up. “Don’t scare her!” he
roared at Sylvia, and she backed away from me. My heart started hammering in my
chest.

Sylvia put her hands up and faced
down Kai. “Calm down, Alpha. I haven’t come all this way to deliver bad news! I
have a vested interest in protecting Aurora. I have placed a protection bubble
over Mt. Hood. Anyone scrying this way won’t pinpoint her location. It won’t
last forever, but it will confuse lower witches. Only a High Priest or Priestess
could break my protection spell and only after many tries. They won’t be
looking for a werewolf under the protection of a witch. It won’t make sense to
them at first.”

Kai adjusted his posture. “You have a
vested interest in my mate? Why?”

Sylvia sighed. “Because she is a Whiteraven.
She’s a descendant of my coven. She smelled part witch and I was curious. I
stole a piece of her hair last time I was here and did a descendent spell. She
is a witch of my coven. Therefore, I offer her my protection.”

Kai looked at me. “And that’s why I
don’t like witches!”

Could my life get any more
complicated? Before I could comment, Kai walked to the door and opened it.

“Aurora WAS part witch. Now she’s a werewolf
and she’s mine to protect, not yours. Thank you for the protection spell, but
we won’t need your help any longer. You may leave.”

“Wait.” I stood quickly. “I found out
a few days ago that my mom isn’t my real mom and my real mother is dead. Now I
find out I’m related to Sylvia’s coven and you want to throw her out?”

Kai’s eyes went yellow but I stood my
ground. “No, I get to say what happens to my life. I want to get to know
Sylvia. I want to know more about witches and I want her to come to the
barbeque tomorrow to meet my mom.”

Sylvia smiled. “I’d love to.” Then
she looked to Kai asking permission with her eyes.

Kai threw his hands in the air. “See
you tomorrow, then.”

Sylvia smiled and nodded her head to
me. She was getting ready to leave when Kai’s voice sounded from behind me.
“Sylvia?”

She turned looking slightly afraid.
“Hmmm?”

“If you ever steal one of Aurora’s
hairs again, you and I will have a serious problem.”

Sylvia pursed her lips, turned away
and left.

Kai turned to me. “Has anyone ever
told you that you’re not very good at taking orders.”

I backed him into his chair and
straddled him. “Yes, every man that has ever tried to order me around has told
me that.” I leaned in tentatively and kissed him. I really loved kissing him.
He never went too far and I felt in control. I felt safe with him.

“Do you want to know the secret to
getting me to follow orders?” I pulled at his bottom lip.

He groaned. “Yes.”

“Stop giving them.” I lifted myself
off of him and walked to the door giving a flirty look over my shoulder before
leaving.

His eyes were yellow but there was a
smile on his face.

***

I knocked lightly on Anna’s door. It
was my door really, but it was her room for the time being. I wasn’t exactly
complaining about sharing a room with Kai.

“Come in,” a bright voice answered on
the other side.

I opened the door and tried to mask
my shock. Her face had filled in and she looked like she gained at least fifteen
pounds. She looked healthy. Her cheeks were rosy and her hair was already a
couple of inches long. She had a cute red clip pulling some hair away from her
face. She looked beautiful. Jake sat at her bedside and they were both leaning
over a photo album and smiling.

Jake looked up when he saw me. “Hi,
Aurora. She is taking things pretty well, considering. I’ll give you two a
moment to talk.”

After Jake left the room I sat down
and nervously picked at my jeans. I didn’t have a formal plan of what I wanted
to say to her, I just wanted to make sure she was okay. Let her know that I
knew how she felt. She started the conversation for me.

“Jake tells me you were hit by a car.
That Kai, who is our Alpha,
changed
you and then you found out you were
mates. How romantic.” She smiled.

“Romantic is one word for it. Scary,
intimidating, horrifying, shocking AND romantic is more like it.” I smiled and
we both shared a laugh.

“Jake tells me that we’re mates, too.
I’m not sure what that really means but I think he’s a good guy and he is
pretty hot, too,” she offered with a smile.

I wanted to set her mind at ease.
“Well, you haven’t done your first shift yet, so once you fully let your wolf
out, you will feel what it’s like to find your mate. It’s pretty incredible and
I’m sure if you ask Jake to take it slow, he will.”

“I just escaped death. The last thing
I want to do is take things slow. I’m ready to live my life.” She reached out,
grabbed my hand and squeezed. A tear rolled down her cheek. “Thank you for
finding me and for letting Kai
change
me.  I was in so much pain, so
defeated. I wanted to fight for my life but the doctors kept telling me to give
up. I feel so strong now. I have so much hope for the future.”

My throat swelled up and I was
overcome with sudden emotion. I never attributed my Matefinding gift as a good
thing but maybe it was. In this case it was. I thought of Sadie and how happy
she must be to have moved on to another pack and settled with her mate. I made up
my mind to be a Matefinder, to fully embrace this gift no matter what. Bringing
soul mates together and starting families is something I could do for the rest
of my life with no regrets.

                “You’re welcome.” I returned the squeeze to
her hand.

That afternoon, Anna ran with the
pack for the first time. You could see the instant bond her wolf had with
Jake’s wolf. They nuzzled and nipped and ran around like total love crazy
goofballs. Because Anna was a
changed
wolf, she was told she would have
a special power when she shifted. She hadn’t discovered her power yet. Kai said
it might take a few shifts or a certain situation to bring it about.

Right before the run, Anna’s place in
the pack was tested. She was fifth from the top; a very dominant female. Kai
was pleased because she was a good replacement for Sadie. Kai was worried that
someone might come to claim her but no one from her home state of Montana had
even tried.

I was becoming more aware of the pack
bonds when I was in wolf form. Kai told me that as his second and eventually
when we were mated, I would have access to power through the pack bonds. I
began to open myself to each member and the energy that they brought to the
pack. I sifted through the bonds and felt for Emma. She was such a sweet and naïve
energy. She served the pack well with her submissive peaceful energy. I felt
for Akash. He was such a young and bubbly spirit. I sensed future dominance in
him. He may become an Alpha of his own one day. I silently sifted through the
pack members, getting to know each of their energy signatures.

That night we had a huge bonfire in
the backyard. Emma, Anna, and I sat together and talked while Kai handed out
food. He was an amazing cook. His Indian heritage showed in his food. He made
me a chickpea masala burger that left me drooling for a second helping.

“I have something to discuss,” Kai
shouted over everyone. The pack quieted.

“Aurora has chosen to stay in contact
with her family and friends.”

There was a murmur amongst the
wolves. I felt my cheeks redden. “And I support it,” he shouted, and everyone
quieted again.

“Tomorrow, Aurora’s mother will be
visiting her under the pretense that Aurora has come to live with me as her
boyfriend. To explain the presence of all of you, Aurora has told her mother I
run an alcoholic rehabilitation facility.”

The collective laughing was hard to
ignore. Max stopped chugging his beer mid swallow.

“Also, Aurora is the owner of a non-profit
company called Safe Haven. It’s a domestic violence shelter for women and
children. They teach self-defense classes as well.”

The pack was now looking at me with
respect. Some of the more submissive members tilted their heads to me.

“Her main office is in Portland which
will now be staffed by humans so we don’t start a territory war. We will
purchase a second location in Gresham on the border of our territory. From now
on, I ask that the pack members volunteer at the Gresham location on a rotation
schedule. This is important to Aurora and to me.”

The pack raised their glasses.
“Cheers!” called Devon.