Chapter 27
New chapter up so soon because I was feeling the creative juices. The support and love that I got from my last chapter legitimately made me so unbelievably happy.
I love you all so so much, you don't even understand how much each vote and comment and read actually means to me.
So thank you, a lot.
XOXOXO
-Jor
"I'm a werewolf," he began, and I snorted.
"No fucking duh, asshole, I could clearly see that when you fucking shifted into a gosh-damned wolf before my eyes!"
The muscle in his jaw ticked and I snapped my mouth shut, glaring at him when he said, "shut the fuck up and listen to me, dammit."
"I'm a werewolf. My whole family is filled with werewolves," his hands shifted to rest in his lap, no longer so tense.
"We moved to Georgia from the West because we were being hunted for our fur. Since then, we have established ourselves quite contentedly in Savannah.
"Recently," he cursed, looking up toward the ceiling, "recently we have had, umm, some very very large complications, among them, rouge werewolves teaming with hunters that are attempting to break apart the Werewolf Union."
A giggle erupted from my throat, "the Werewolf Union?"
Ev looked pointedly into my eyes and said, "yes. It's a large, almost government, that is comprised of the several packs, our pack being called the Midnight Indigos."
I interrupted him, "Why that name?"
He grinned at me, "Our pack reaches its full strength at Midnight, on the new moon, and our symbol is the indigo because it is the plant that only our pack can ingest without dying from its poison."
"So what would happen if I ate it?" I asked, curiously.
"You would die, unless," Evan dashingly smiled at me, "we mate. If we mate, then you have some werewolf capabilities, and it will only make you sick. It would not kill you."
Feeling the heat of his gaze, I averted my eyes, focusing on the patterned comforter, asking, "What does mate mean? Is that like a term of endearment or something?"
Evan scooted closer to me, tipping my chin up to look at him, "A mating bond is a blessed bond forged when every werewolf is born. Immediately after a wolf is born, he or she is blessed by being forced to eat the poison of the pack, in our case Indigo, while being simultaneously dipped into still, blessed forest water."
"What makes the forest water blessed?"
"The moon has shined upon the water for an entire moon cycle without being disrupted by any wildlife or plant life other than the wolves of that pack. If the blessed water is disrupted, havoc befalls that pack until another entire moon cycle has passed."
I analyzed the panes of his face, noting the bagged under eyes and the stressed lines etched all over.
"So, when you were born, the moon blessed you with a mating bond? How does it know who to choose, who to form the bond with? How do you know when you found your mate?"
His chest rumbled in a laugh, and I became caught up in that timbre as if it were my own personal symphony.
"After I was dipped in the blessed water, a ray of moonlight was cast upon me and my portion of the bond was formed. When the moon shined upon my perfect match, my mate, the bond was complete. That mate, happens to be you.
"As far as how one knows they have found their mate," he leaned in close to me, his scent washing over me, "there's an incessant tug to be with that person, to hold them and cherish them, there's an overprotective need to keep them from harm, and it's almost as if a door was opened, senses were cleared, and a new way of looking at the world washed over them. It's as if one can finally see the world and its center is their mate."
A silence fell over us, and I felt the need to whisper my next question, "Do you feel that way about me?"
" I feel that and so much more. This past week has been agony, not being able to see you, hold you, smell you, kiss you."
"Ev, what's been going on that you haven't been telling me? If I'm so important to you, then why have your pack members attacked me? Why are girls dying?"
He growled in frustration, his jaw ticking in rage. "It's not a pack killing those girls and it wasn't any of my pack members that attacked you. It's these fucking rogues; they know that if they attack innocents, we will hunt them, and hunting them brings them closer to killing us."
"Why do they want you dead?"
"Some of them have lost their minds, usually because they have lost their mates, some of them are on a quest for power and hope to gain it by destroying the powerful packs, and others are simply malicious, and get off by hurting others."
"What happened to the man that attacked me?"
Evan flashed me a dangerous, unloving smile at the thought of the rogue who hurt me.|
"I tore him into little shreds and tore his meat from his bones, with his innards ripped out, waiting there for vultures to dine at their next meal."
A shocked gasp left my mouth yet it wasn't fear that flashed through my body and any panic I had felt dissipated with his next comment.
"No one touches my mate. Ever."
A silence fell over the both of us, and I knew what I had to do.
"Evan I," stumbling over my words, I tired to form an articulate thought. "I'm sorry for calling you the things I did. I understand why you had to lie to me, it's not something easily believable. I understand if..." A hiccup left my mouth as I became increasingly emotional, "I understand if you want to take a break. I s-said some a-a-wful things to you."
"Shh, shhh, shh," he cooed into my ear, pulling me into his arms, being gently on my side because of the stitches, "let's just pretend that it didn't happen. I know why you felt that way. And babe," he tilted my mouth up, just barely a breadth away from his, "I couldn't stay away from you, even if I wanted to."
Then he covered my mouth with his and the world was perfect once again.
..................................................................................
"How long will it take before I'm healed, do you think?" I asked Evan, as we both exited the room, a terrible pain blooming in my head and side simultaneously.
"I'm not sure, probably about two weeks or so," he said gruffly, holding my hand tightly in his as we walked down a long hallway.
This house was a bit smaller than my own, but as we left through the front door, I gasped in amazement.
It was its own city, its own suburb. There were houses next to houses, all bustling with activity.
"I'm guessing this is where you live?" my voice came out garbled in amazement.
"yeah. The place where we all found you was just the outer banks of our land. We have over 100 miles, most of it stretching far behind us. There are several roads leading from here that are meant to confuse any hunters about our location. We have the place warded pretty nicely too."
"Oh."
Evan seemed more at ease as he took in the bright sunshine and felt the breeze, his hair blew into his face, but he simply ignored it as he brought my hand to his lips in a soft kiss.
The middle aged man from before approached us, with Grandma trailing closely at his heels.
Evan gave a deferential tip of his head and then said, "this is our leader, Alpha Ax and our healer, Granny Jean."
I stiffened as Ax began to speak, "Conri, have you seen your father?"
"Not yet today sir, I was going to take Addy home and then come back here to help with patrol."
Ax looked down at me and smiled a bit, "I'm guessing you've calmed down since your episode this morning?"
I blushed and tried to look away, but Ax quickly spoke again, "you know, you were way more conversational when you were talking to us the other day. You were surrounded by wolves yet you talked more then than you are currently."
My eyes pierced into his fiercely as I bit out, "You weren't as intimidating then. You were just some stupid wolves. Now that I know you're basically a superhuman, I feel less inclined to open my mouth."
Ax let out a deep bellowing laugh and then sobered, directly addressing Evan.
"It isn't safe to take her back to her house. Until we can find the man the rouge was hunting with, she will not be protected. Once they get a scent, they don't stop until they have exterminated it."
"There's no way her Mom would let her stay here. Her mother barely tolerates me."
I bit my lip and interjected, "you could just say I'm on a mission trip."
They both looked sharply at me and I continued.
"When we were in Oregon, as things in my life went to hell, I found solace in volunteer work, spent a lot of time doing cleanups and building homes."
"That's perfect," Ax said, "I'll have Orion give a call to your Mom to inform her about your desire to volunteer and about the 'trip' information. Make sure you talk with her tonight. Pack your bags, I expect you back here no later than midnight."
"Yes sir," I quietly mumbled, grateful when he finally left along with Granny Jean.
"Where will I be staying?"
"Usually," Evan grinned down at me, his eyes flashing suggestively, "new mates can go to one of the empty cabins, that way they aren't so loud for everyone to hear. Although I'm not sure we will have that problem, a cabin is already being set up for us, that way there will be no questions about whether I have claimed you."
My brows furrowed, "why is it so important that people know I've been claimed?"
A huge sigh escaped Evan's body, and his muscles tensed as he saw a group of guys passing by.
"Werewolves are very territorial and possessive. Since we haven't yet fully mated, your scent isn't mixed with mine and therefore, other males think you're available for taking."
"What if I want to be available for taking by other males?" I asked suggestively, just to piss him off.
A growl erupted from his throat as he picked me up gently and inhaled my scent in the crook of my neck, fiercely whispering in my ear, "Don't tempt you, miss, I have no problem taking you tonight."
Soon enough, I latched onto his shirt and pulled him into my lips, trying to hide how scared I was about everything that was going on, trying to hide my fear for his safety, for my safety, trying to conceal just how much I truly wanted him.