Book 1: Chapter 39

Aelia went into the kitchen and started up the coffee maker. Sam moved next to her, taking out everything she would need for the coffee. All three of us were quiet until the pot was made and three mugs were passed around. I looked at the time and it was almost four a.m. Sipping my coffee, I sighed and placed it down on the counter.

“What now?”

Aelia took another sip as she leaned against the kitchen counter. “Keep an eye on him. Touching madness like that can leave a lasting effect sometimes. He’ll need to have his family close for a while. There is also a chance he might hole himself up for a little. It’s okay but eventually he needs to come out. Otherwise it will be impossible next time to help him.”

I nodded. “Will he know you’re Aelia?”

She shrugged. “It’s hard to tell. Most of the time, that kind of feral, you don’t remember much of what happened. But I’ve seen stranger things with mate bonds before. He might view it as a dream. Something weird that happened and there might be an inking but I honestly don’t know.”

“What did you mean by his real mate?” Sam asked, coming around the island and sitting in one of the chairs.

Her smirk made me smile as her eyes sparkled. “You caught that did you?”

He nodded but she didn’t reply at first. Her hand came up, touching something invisible in the air. I sat up straight, knowing exactly what she was looking at. She was seeing the strands of fate that connected us to our fated mates.

“Sam, do you know about the strings of fate?”

He scoffed. “Of course I know. Every wolf knows. It’s our connection to our mates.”

“Ever since I was born, I have been able to see them; the connections between people. When I was little it was overwhelming, seeing so many lines connecting places I didn’t even know. I could even see my own connection. Everyone around me, I could see exactly where their threads would lead and if I followed them, at the other end would be their mate.”

Sam looked at her incredulously and he looked over at me. I sighed. “Our father found out about her power because it was more than just seeing the lines. She had the ability to break and build connections as well. He started to keep her away from the light of day. Tried using her, using her power to punish or fix wolves that he didn’t like.”

Sam’s eyes went wide as he realized we weren’t joking. “So you really are Silas’ dead sister. Or…I guess missing sister.” He paused, his brow furrowing. “But how do you see the lines?”

Aelia seemed to take in Sam before speaking. “There are three colors of connections. The two prominent ones are white and red.”

“Red being for fated?” Sam asked, now genuinely interested.

I smiled, once he was given something he didn’t have a lot of information on, suddenly he was a little kid asking a million questions. For once, I was glad it wasn’t aimed at me but I wondered how well Aelia would take it.

“Correct. Red is the fated mates. Some connections you can actually see are broken and some continue on that leads to their other half.”

“What do you mean broken?”

Aelia took a sip off coffee. “So, when a fated mate dies, that connection never truly goes away. It gets broken. The end looks as though its withered away. Or been burned. It’s hard to describe but you can tell. Sometimes that person will be granted a second fated mate, usually to another mate who has also lost a fated mate as well. You would be surprised how many actually have lost their mate without them knowing, never meeting them.”

“That’s…so sad…” Sam took a drink of his coffee, holding his mug with two hands. “So what’s white? Family?”

“No, white is chosen. When two people come together and choose one another, there is still a connection that is formed. That color is white. A white is always connected to another person but never will you see a broken white. If your chosen mate dies, there is no remnants of that connection left.”

Sam tapped the mug. “I don’t know if that is worse or better.”

“As a kid I always thought it was worse but now, I don’t think so. Since they aren’t our fated, their chosen mate isn’t engraved on their heart, isn’t a piece of their soul. Even if you’ve never met your mate and they die, apart of your soul goes with them.”

Sam nodded solemnly. His eyes narrowed and then he looked up. “You said there were three colors?”

Aelia was quiet for a long time this time. She took multiple sips of her coffee, even refilling it. Her eyes looked unfocused into the room but I wondered if she was looking at the connections in front of her.

“The other color is gold.”

“Gold? Isn’t that like royalty or something?”

Aelia shook her head. “No. It’s something stronger than even fated mates. If you can image…” Shaking her head, she pulled out a couple of the drawers until she found sticky pad and a pen.

Leaning over the island, she stared to draw. First there was a few lines, wisping together, whereas the second line looked like a braid. Turning it around for Sam, his eyes sparkled.

“A regular connection, both red and white look kind of like this top one. Like threads blowing in the breeze. It’s not a single thread but a bunch of small thin lines looking like a single line.” She pointed to the second drawing. “The gold color looks like this. A braided silk cord, connecting two people.” Leaning back, she grabbed her mug again. “It’s stronger, more durable, and nothing can mess with it. Not even my power.”

I looked at her, surprised. “How many of these have you seen?”

“Out of all my traveling all over the world? Three. I’ve only seen three gold threads.”

Sam whistled. “Those must be really rare.”

She nodded. “They are. But there is always an issue with them.”

Both Sam and I quirked up an eyebrow at her and she laughed. Shaking her head, her smile fell slightly.

“At least one person with the golden connection has a fated connection as well.”

My eyes widened and my hands slipped off my mug. The coffee spilled over the top of it and Sam rose into action, grabbing paper towels and cleaning up as I leaned back.

“Sorry.” I mumbled.

Sam sighed at me and shook his head. He sat back down but Aelia leaned over and filled his cup of coffee. Even putting in the exact amount of sugar and cream he always put in his coffee. His mind was still wrapping around the information though that he didn’t even notice, only mumbling thank you.

“So what do you think the gold connections mean? Second chance mates?” I asked her.

She shook her head. “No. Second chance mates happen after a connection is lost. Gold connections, at least as far as I have seen, are connected to someone who has another fated mate, not a removed fated mate. Well…” She sighed. “It’s more complicated than that. But a second chance mate is always fated. A gold connection is something you’re born with. It’s always with you.”

“What if the other person with the gold is connected to…dies?” Sam asked.

Aelia shrugged. “I’ve only see three. None of which have had their other die before, so I wouldn’t know. It’s possible that it’s a one chance thing. That if their connection to the other is broken, it would be like the white and disappear completely.”

“But would the gold override the fated connection?”

Aelia closed her eyes. “No. It’s…they…” She sighed. “Either one or both mates who have the connection, their fated red mate needs to die in order for them to gain access to gold connection.”

Sam coughed as he took a sip of coffee. “So if someone wanted this.” He tapped the braided drawing. “Something that looks like it surpasses even the fated mates. That it might be some kind of love that is crazy deep and explosive, their fated mate has to die in order for them to gain access to that?”

Aelia nodded sadly. Her eyes followed an invisible line up until her head stopped in the direction of Nate’s bedroom. My eyes widened.

“Nate has a gold connection.”

Aelia smiled. “Yes. I’m Nate’s fated mate but he has a golden connection as well.”

“So when you die he will have access to that crazy kind of connection?” As soon as it left Sam’s mouth, he flushed pink.

I growled at him. “Fuck Sam, that’s the most insensitive thing you’ve ever said.”

“I know! I’m sorry! I didn’t…I…”

Aelia threw her head back and laughed. It was full and her smile was bright. For a moment, she reminded me of when she wore her favorite purple dress and would laugh as Nate and I surrounded her with bubbles. The memory brought a smile to my face.

“I appreciate it actually, Sam. It’s nice when someone gets so ingrained in the technical they forget about the human aspect of it. Don’t worry. I’ve accepted where I am.” She paused for a moment. “Honestly, I wondered if I was being selfish. That by me living this long, I’ve held him from his true mate. It’s sad to think about, but I think sometimes I’m allow to be a little selfish to want to spend more time with the people I love.”

Her eyes met mine and I smiled at her. She still hadn’t put the crystal back and the sense of our bond, her being my sister, was strong. It hammered in my heart and I almost thought it would shake my mug of coffee.

“I have a question, not necessarily related to but still is.”

“Ask away.”

Sam chewed on the side of his mouth before he glanced at me for a moment. “Have you ever seen anyone without a connection, fated, chosen, or golden?”

Aelia looked up at the ceiling, thinking about his question. To her it must have been innocent but with his glances over to me, I knew it was anything but.

“So. I’ll answer it this way. I have never seen a wolf without some kind of connection. I have never seen a vampire without some kind of connection. Humans aren’t normally ones that have fated mates unless they are mated to someone supernatural. They have the largest population of chosen connections. Fey are the same as vampires and wolves. Though, their connections are weird. Don’t ask me to explain it. I think even if I had a fey in front of me I wouldn’t be able to explain it.” She chuckled and so did Sam.

My mug now shook. For so long I assumed I didn’t have a fated. That I was destined to never move forward but with what she said, no wolf had never not had a connection. My heart lept and sank at the same time. How old was I going to have to be to find my mate? How far did I have to look?

“Sil, you okay?” I looked up at Aelia and shook my head.