19. The Blessed Bond

**MAEVE**

Xander, his brother, Blaize, and I trudged through the clearing of the forest area. There was a beautiful, sparse canopy above our heads and faint silver moonlight streamed down in an iridescent way. The more we walked; the darkness gained prominence.
It was becoming humanely impossible to have a clear vision ahead, and I had to tighten my hold over Xander’s hand as a guide. Both he and his brother walked through the path as if they had travelled a hundred times before.
“Umm…so how does it exactly works?” I asked, breaking the silence from the soft susurration of branches that felt heavy in our ears.
“You would know,” came Xander’s inadequate reply.
The blackness around me was starting to get thicker and nurtured a sense of claustrophobia. The woodland was stretched for unbroken miles, and I wondered how Prescott has hidden this place for so long.
“That’s precisely my question,” I huffed, rolling my eyes heavenward. “How?”
The narrow path, which was made uneven by the knotted roots that crossed it, branched at intervals. The topography was so intricate that I would have probably lost myself with a map.
Xander looked over his shoulder, sparing a glance my way before looking ahead.
“The Moon Goddess binds the soul of one mate with the other until the fate claims any one of them,” he elaborated without expressions. “So, the minds are linked in our true form, i.e. our wolves can communicate even from afar. But you will just have to touch my wolf and he would know.”
That easy, huh?
But a different kind of fear shot through me. I was no expert as an occult professor, but the transformation from a human form to an animal could indeed have some kind of chemical altercation in the body.
Or maybe I read Frankenstein way too many times as a child.
“Will you…still be you?” I hesitated and groped for a few appropriate words inside my head. “I mean, what if your brain alters and you won’t recognize me?” It was a possibility.
Xander shook his head confidently. “My human brain can forget, but my wolf won’t ever make that mistake. He can never forget you,” he said with such conviction that I felt compelled to believe him.
“Okay.”
“We are here,” Blaize’s gruff voice rang out, cutting through the thick darkness of the night. “I don’t think humans ever lurk around in this place, so we are good.”
I looked around and came up with nothing significant, other than the same dark forest, semi-clearing and a partially obscured moon above us. But we were pretty far into the woods already.
Xander stalked around a bit, a few paces away from us while Blaize lightly grabbed my arm to maneuverer my position. “Step back.”
“Why?” I asked cluelessly until my gaze moved to Xander, who started to take off his clothes.
“Okay. That’s convenient…” I mumbled, not realizing that he would brazenly be stripping down to his birthday suit. “Oh, oh, my god!”
I quickly turned around and slapped a hand over my eyes. Not that his nakedness was absolutely prominent, but the semi-silhouette was sufficiently embarrassing.
And for God’s sake, his brother was standing just beside me.
He chuckled as if getting naked was the most natural thing in the world. “Have you never seen a man naked?”
As a nurse practitioner, I did see a lot of naked people. Just not in the middle of a forest.
Sucking in a shaky breath, I titled my chin cheekily. “I am not going to dignify that with a response.”
And just then, a loud howl ripped through the air and instinctively, I turned around. Xander has already exploded out of his skin and was transforming into a vicious wolf. The brown of his fur shimmered under the moonlight as I watched in mixed dread and amazement.
A host of goosebumps raised along my skin and a shiver passed through me.
“Oh, god,” Starry Eyes, I whispered incredulously, wondering if I would ever get over this image.
“Relax, he won’t bite,” Blaize said, cutting into my thoughts. “At least, not now.”
“I am crazy. I always knew I am crazy, but this?” I wanted to laugh and cry at the same time. “This is the ultimate level of craziness.”
The wolf…I mean, Xander…he finally turned his head our way and snarled lowly. His did not need to bare his canines because I was already trembling a little. No amount of soothing words would exactly feel comforting at the moment.
“C’mon,” Blaize nudged the blades of my shoulder, giving a light push. “Touch him.”
As if to confirm, the wolf growled a little yet made no move.
With the slowest step possible, I cautiously made my way towards the animal and chanced to lift a hand to touch him. It immediately stalked closer, desiring the contact of my skin. And the moment I felt him, my fingers sinking into the silken softness of his fur, something ticked.
*“I know you can hear me.”*
A voice played in my head, and I huffed a small laugh.
“That’s not possible,” I mumbled. There was no way he could communicate with me by a mere touch. It was ridiculous. Or was it?
*“Tell me a secret,” the voice rang out again. “Something that you haven’t shared with anyone else.”*
My heart strung so hard, I almost forgot to breathe. My visions were the biggest secret of all, but I did not know if I was ready to reveal so much. Much less, I was already grappling to wrap my head around this whole ‘mate’ thing.
“I…I have none,” I murmured, shaking my head at the same time.
*“Then tell me your biggest fear. What’s that one thing that makes you afraid?” he insisted. “Trust in me, Maeve. I will protect you, no matter what.”* My fingers fisted the luxe softness of his mane as my eyes closed in denial. The depth of assurance in his voice was like a lullaby, and as if I were a tired child, I was slowly falling into the hypnosis of it.
A soft growl rented the air, and the beast moved under my fingers.
“Loneliness,” I breathed out, almost inaudible. “I am afraid to be alone all the time.”
It was closest to the truth I could ever get. I have been so different my entire life that I failed to fit into the idea or the life of anyone else. Afraid that they would judge me or misunderstand me to the level that I never wanted to indulge in any long-term relationship at all. The notion of baring my heart and soul was scary.
And here I was.
Life has a funny way to make things turn around for me.
*“You don’t have to be alone anymore,” he assured*—his voice soul-stirring and soothing.
I chuckled, bringing my lips closer to his neck. “Thank you.”
The fur trickled over my skin, and whatever little fear I held in my heart evaporated into the darkness of the night. The experience was other-worldly. *“Come with me,” he implored. “I want to show you something.”*
When I finally retreated my fingers, I remembered about Blaize. My head immediately snapped back, looking for him in the dark. “Where...where did your brother go?”
*“Blaize is somewhere around.”* The wolf moved his head around slowly, scanning the place. *“Don’t worry about him. Come.”*
The wolf walked before me as I padded a little further into the darkness until a small clearing came into view. And it was only then I notice the picturesque.
“...wow.,” I breathed. “What is this place?” I mused.
There was a beautiful lake, and in the twilight, the surface appeared as smooth as black glass. The still water caught the softest ripples caused by the wind, and the beaming moonlight caught its movement.
Xander’s wolf moved closer to the bank and settled down. When his head turned, I followed his suit and claimed the place beside him with a brush of touch. But it seemed like it wasn’t enough though.
*“Sit closer to me,” he beckoned. “My wolf wants his mate.”*
Freed from every inhibition in the world, I leaned against his body and absorbed the breath-taking view. It was the most serene moment of my life, far away from the blazing noise of the people and the madness of my vision. There was no pain or suffering to witness, and for the first time, I realized that heaven could be on the earth itself.
“I have never seen anything so beautiful,” I mumbled. “Thank you.”
A growl rippled within him in answer. Smiling, I ruffled his neck and turned my gaze back to the sight before me. All I wanted was to take this moment and preserve it back into a tangible form.
*I was truly…moonstruck.*

***Sorry for the last upload; there was some issues with the conncetion. Hope you liked reading Chapter 19. Do you think Maeve with finally cave, now that she has seen and felt the blessed bond?***