Esmerelda and Finn stood unsure as what to do. They had been living with the wolves for the past 24 hours, both refusing to return without Aurora. The alpha seemed sensible enough and treated them with respect, setting them up in lavish rooms in the pack house. Esmerelda was only too thankful that they hadn't been placed in a cell and treated with hostility.
The door opened, the large heavy oak groaning sigh protect as the old wood slid over the marred wooden floors. Isaac stepped into the room and Esmerelda couldn't help but notice the bags under his eyes.
He nodded at the two strangers in his office. His beta followed him in as he quietly shut the door.
"I'm sorry for calling you here." He said stiffly as he walked around to the front of the cluttered desk, running his hand through his wild curls. "I think it's time we had a talk."
Esmerelda stayed silent while Finn was the one who stood up and voiced his thoughts. She was still gauging the alpha, trying to suss out his personality and traits.
"Have you found her? Or any leads?"
The alpha gave him a tired and defeated look, but there was an underlying anger lying behind them.
"No." His answer was abrupt and stark, causing Finn to grow silent. Esmerelda could sense that Aurora was still alive, call it intuition, or something stronger that connected them, she just knew.
"Even if you do find her," Esmerelda started, "What do you plan to do with her? I don't understand the weird fascination you have with her."
Truth be told, Esmerelda knew very little about mates. She knew it consisted of some sort of bond formed between werewolves, but was confused as to how Aurora was pulled into it.
"She's my mate."
Esmerelda looked up at him blankly. He sighed slowly. "Do you have any idea what that is?"
"I have a small grasp on it. But I don't fully comprehend it."
Isaac nodded, contemplating in his head how to explain this to someone. "A mate bond is sacred to my kind. It's a bond formed a wolf and their chosen mate, chosen for them by the moon goddess. Aurora is my mate, the other half of my soul. Without her, I'll eventually die. Without her, I feel empty and incomplete and that won't fade until I find her ."
Esmerelda took in the information before scoffing.
"And you've decided that this gives you some kind of ownership of her?"
Isaac's eyes grew hard. "I never aspired to own her. I few her as my equal. All I plan to do is keep her protected. If you've never felt the mate bond, you wouldn't understand what it is. To part with me would be damaging to her also now that we've met."
Esmerelda put her hand up. "This sounds like absolute bullshit."
"Would you rather she died?" Isaac snapped, his voice laced with venom and anger that pierced through the room. Logically, it probably would not kill her to leave him as it would do to him, but it would have a permanent effect. But the mere thought of her leaving him caused him such inexplicable pain that it caused him to lash out and be irrational.
"I know it's a little difficult to understand Esmerelda. But he speaks the truth. The mate bond is... remarkable. I think you should consider that being with him would benefit her more than being without him."
Isaac turned his eyes on the male, narrowing in confusion and Skepticism. The way he spoke of the bond was almost as if he had experience with it. Finn in turn, grinned at the alpha.
"I suppose I might mention that I'm mated to one of your pack members. That's why I'm here, to look for her. She disappeared two weeks ago. But now everything is all over the place with Aurora going missing also."
Isaac raised an eyebrow.
"You're mates to which member of my pack?"
Finn looked straight ahead, his bright eyes locking with the dark grey of the alpha's.
"Lily."
-/-
I had pretty much determined with Lily's help that our chances of escaping were pretty slim. Not that security was tight but even if we did manage to escape, if we travelled on foot then it wouldn't be long until we were caught. The vampires were very observant also, they were used to humans trying to sneak away. It's more so that we don't get any privacy or chance to escape rather than very strict security. We have a set routine. Breakfast is at nine and we spend that hour with our 'master,' after we're to retire to our rooms until one, until we're retrieved for lunch.
The only time we're permitted to be out of our rooms and are allowed mingle is between 5 and 6, in the common room, where the vampires can keep an eye on us. After dinner, we're either taken away by our 'masters' or sent back to our rooms. So most of my time was taken up by learning every nook and cranny of the room, down to the little cracks in the wall behind the large cupboard.
I sighed deeply, falling back on the bed. It was my third day here and I hadn't thought of anything. I'd been trying to formulate plans in my head but I hadn't enough information gathered to have anything substantial to form a plan around. Cavin seemed okay for the time being and I was fully aware that it wouldn't last forever and I would have to try and escape before he decided I was settled in.
I had decided that if I could get a message to Isaac, I would. I'd much rather be in his arms right now. I felt a shiver of anticipation run down my spine as I remembered his dark stormy eyes and the way my heart sped up when I was around him. Suddenly I felt giddy. In Arden, I'd never experienced those kind of feelings except in the books I'd gotten from the human world. Now that I had an actual experience, it both excited and terrified me. I couldn't resist that my heart yearned for Isaac, a man I'd only met and that scared me tremendously. But I wanted to see where that feeling would bring me, if the mate bond was as magical and amazing as it's supposed to be, should I really be running from it?
But at the same time, I had so many questions. What if he was as insanely possessive as the books claimed? I couldn't possibly put up with someone who was that overbearing on my life. Nymphs are creatures of freedom, that kind of reign on my life would suffocate me. And I had to realize that I'd never be able to return to Arden, or see my father. My old life would be left in the dust. I remember the wild fields of heather and lavender as I basked in the summer sun with Esmerelda and Finn and suddenly I was hit by a wave of nostalgia. I missed home, I missed the things that brought me warmth and familiarity. I missed my father's blueberry pancakes and Ferrah helping us wrap tinsel around our Christmas tree and Alice dropping by almond tarts. I missed the little pigeon who would sit on my window every morning and I'd tell him about my mornings, as he tweeted back in consideration.
Some nymphs were blessed with the power to speak to animals, not all, but it was something I inherited from my mother. Esmerelda was always so jealous when I spoke to the wild doe in the forests and asked them where the fresh berries were growing. I smiled tenderly, missing those memories more than anything in the world.
Suddenly an idea struck me, could I not get a bird to deliver a note? If I managed to get outside and get close enough to one to carry it. It was still risky though, it might not make it to Isaac's territory and I wasn't sure I even knew where to tell it to fly. How did I get to Isaac's territory from here?
The door opened softly and Lily stuck her head in.
"It's 6."
Over the last three days, I had gotten to know Lily a bit better too. I hadn't asked her much as I didn't want her to feel as if I was snooping. But I needed to know if she knew where the town was.
"Lily, do you know where the Littlewood pack is situated?"
Her eyes narrowed, turning hard and I felt I might of hit a sore spot. Could she of possibly come from that pack?
"Why?" She asked slowly and I looked away.
"I have an idea, I know a way to get a message there. The alpha of the pack will come to retrieve us."
She raised an eyebrow skeptically. "And why exactly would the alpha of my pack come to save you?"
I grinned sheepishly at her. "I'm mated to him."
Her eyes almost popped from the sockets and immediately she was bowing. "Luna, my deepest apologies, I was unaware."
I stood quickly. "Please don't treat me any differently. Anyway, I know how to get them a note. I just need to get outside."
She nodded slowly. "Not impossible but what exactly do you plan to do?"
I thought for a second. Did I want to trust her with my secret? No. I couldn't trust her yet.
"Trust me, I know what I'm doing."
She eyed me skeptically. "Fine, but only because I'm desperate. I've a mate I want to get back to soon. I'm afraid he's going to do something stupid like come to find me."
Finn crossed my mind and I laughed it off, "what's his name?"
But then she completely shocked me.
"Finn."
Could it be? What were the chances? If she was the girl Finn was talking about, there was a fair chance that she already knew about the existence of nymphs because Finn couldn't keep his mouth shut. If that were the case, it would completely change the dynamics of the situation. I might not trust her but I fate and most importantly, I trusted Finn. It might be a naive outlook but sometimes you had to play into fate's hands and let the universe do its job. Now I just had to suss out the situation.
"Is Finn a werewolf in the pack?"
She looked up, surprised. "No, he's uhhh human."
I raised an eyebrow, wanting to laugh. I still had an inkling of a doubt but i had a gut feeling that this was the same Finn I knew.
"Lily." I said quietly, in a whisper and I motioned for her to close the door. She narrowed her eyes at me skeptically.
"Did Finn come from the forest?"
Her eyes widened as she struggled to find the words.
"From a little city called-"
"Arden." She finished as realization dawned on her face and she went as white as a sheet.
"Oh my god. You're one of them. No, holy shit. You're Aurora. Oh Jesus. You're One if his best friends. What the bloody hell are you doing here?"
I smiled softly, relief flooding my body. Weirdly enough, knowing that Lily knows Finn made me feel more grounded and confident.
"It's a long story."