He took my hand, and I held my breath at the connection. He gently led me through the corridors. The corridor was dark as the candles weren't lit but we carried on. Soon he stopped and pulled the ribbon from my hair, watching as it fell back into a bob.
"Do you trust me?" He whispered as he stood behind me, just stopping short of putting the ribbon over my eyes.
I nodded hesitantly and he covered my eyes with the ribbon. It wasn't completely blinding but it worked. I heard a door click and his hand fell back into mine. I let him pull me into the room and the door shut again. He led me further in before moving things around. I heard curtains being drawn and a window being opened followed by a breeze rushing over my body.
I felt him behind me, his chest against my back as he undid the ribbon. It fell to the floor and my eyes could not believe what they were seeing. I looked around at a massive floor-to-ceiling library. Books littered every shelf with categories carved into the wood. Sliding ladders were on each part and there were so many books, tables were covered in them. I laughed a little and looked at Poseidon who was looking right at me.
"It's absolutely beautiful." I was taken aback and began to look around at the books. Some were in English, but many were in other languages. Some were fiction but others told stories of wolves, witches, werewolves, elves, and all sorts of creatures. I found myself almost running from bookshelf to bookshelf to look at every book.
Poseidon was watching me, leaning against a bookshelf with his arms crossed over his chest. As I looked at him, I noticed the plaque over a shelf.
'Autumn's library'
I put down a book I was carrying and walked closer to it.
"Iris had it built for you when you were 7. She had no idea if you would ever see it and kept it a secret from everyone. Except me." He grinned as I gave him a look.
"To be fair to her, she tried. But I liked trouble at that age."
"Nothing has changed." Iris was stood by the door. "You will never listen to me, will you?" She sighed and I laughed when he smirked, but his smile vanished when he saw Iris's gaze.
"It's truly amazing, thank you. How did you know I liked books?"
She began to explain how my mother and she wrote letters to each other as I was growing up, so she always knew what I was up to. Things had changed over time and the letters stopped coming. That's why the box appeared to me on the mountaintop.
"If I couldn't talk to your mother, I had to talk to you instead."
"Why did she never tell me any of this? This is such a huge part of my life and I never got to choose to be part of it."
"Parents are not perfect, Autumn. I asked her to tell you, but I wasn't going to go against her wishes of keeping it a secret. She had her reasons. That's all I know." I sighed and turned back to the book I was looking at.
It was a big, bright-coloured book on 'The History of Titans'. I found an armchair by the window and curled up placing the book on my lap and began to read it.
"Let's leave her to read, Poseidon." He followed her out and I was alone.
I read the book and skimmed through the pages trying to find anything about mates inside of it. I was jealous of what Ruby had, regretfully and wished to not be alone.
'Normal werewolves know their mates as soon as they see them once they come of age. For titans, however, it is more difficult. As the human and wolf parts are separate, the only way a titan will meet their mate is when their two parts are closest together. This is during a full moon. It is proper practice to have a mating ceremony every full moon to allow all wolves to find their mates from different packs at the same time.'
I wondered if they still did that and put the book down. I found the fantasy section, picked up my favourite series of books, and began drowning myself in their poetry.
I hadn't noticed I had fallen asleep until my best friend decided that in her misplaced wisdom she was going to whisper as to not wake me up.
"You know you can't whisper, Ruby." I groaned pushing a book off my lap and turning to see her with Matt.
"Yeah, well you're up now. We are going swimming and I thought you'd like to join so hurry up and we will meet you outside the castle." She strutted off with Matt following behind her. I laughed and stood up stretching before putting back the books I had begun to read. Picking up the brightly-coloured book, I walked to Iris's office.
I gently knocked on the door and heard someone else's voice. I stepped away from the door and waited in the corridor for them to be done.
After a short time, a tall man wearing all black stepped out. He gave me an odd look then straightened his suit and walked down the corridor. Confused, I stepped into the office to see Iris with papers in front of her.
"Is everything alright?" I asked her and she nodded gesturing me to sit down.
"Yes, of course. He is a very grumpy man, always has been. Now you look like you are here for business."
"Yes. Well, I was doing some reading last night, as you know, and came across this." I lifted the book to the page and put it down in front of her.
"Ah, the mating ritual. We haven't held one of those in years."
"I would like to hold one on the next full moon if that's possible. I would arrange it all myself and organize it and host and whatever else I would have to do."
"If this is what you want, Autumn, it can be arranged. Let me see." She turned in her chair to a calendar and began flicking through the weeks until she found the date of the next full moon.
"You have a week. I think that is enough time."
"Thank you, auntie." I smiled and picked up the book, carrying it back to the library a little giddy.
I watched as Iris's face lit up slightly when I called her auntie, and I was glad it made her so happy. I did feel like I was home which meant she was family.
After changing into a light blue bikini and throwing on a beach top, I raced down to meet the others. A large group had formed including the girls from the bathroom. They were quick to compliment my hair and my clothes as we made our way to the lake.
This time, I walked down the hill to the edge of the pool. I laid down my towel and sat down. out of curiosity, I looked up to where I was standing last night and realized how easily I could have been seen. And I was.
The day was filled with games and swimming, chatting to people our age about random things. Few were mated and the majority weren't.
"So, you don't have a mate, Autumn?" One asked as we sat on the pool edge. I shook my head explaining I could only meet them on a full moon.
"That's sick!" One replied and he was instantly shoved into the lake. We laughed and the day wound down.
Matt began cooking on the fire as I sat on my towel with another girl.
"Who wears black again?" I asked her as we discussed the colours.
"You only wear black if you're in the guard. Father and son run it together and they are not to be messed with. But Poseidon is a lot nicer than his father."
I must have run into his father coming out of Iris's office.
We ate and played more games until the night settled in. Many returned to their houses and Ruby and Matt returned to their room. I stayed and watched the moonlight dance on the water.
"Do you prefer to be alone?" A husky voice made me jump.
"I like the silence." I replied as he came and sat beside me. He hummed and laid back, one of his arms behind me.
We sat together enjoying each other's company. I watched the steady movement of the lake and found myself leaning into his chest. He didn't pull away but instead shuffled slightly closer.
I turned to look at him and he caught my eyes. We stayed there, seemingly entranced by one another until a voice made him move. He quickly stood up pulling me with him until we were hidden slightly inside a cave.
"Where is that boy?" A stern voice yelled. Men replied telling him they didn't know, and they marched off.
I hadn't realized how close we were until I tried to pull myself away.
"Who was that?" he shook his head and sighed.
"My father. He isn't happy with how I have been... behaving recently."
"Behaving?" I questioned.
He looked at me and lifted one hand from my back to my chin, pulling my head upwards. He brought his head closer until our lips were so close to one another.
I sucked in a breath as he pressed his lips against mine. They were soft and sweet. He then pulled away and walked out of the cave, leaving me starstruck by his boldness.
Just before he disappeared, he whispered, "That behaviour."
I stood in the cave tracing my lips with my finger before walking slowly up to the castle.
Making it into my room, I saw Nightingale fast asleep by the window and snuggled down next to her falling asleep in her warmth.
AN: vote and comment.
Do you like the library?
What do you think of Autumn and Poseidon's first kiss?