Chapter 16

**Amelia**


The elders wolf opens his mind to me and as goddess it seems I don’t need to be a part of his pack to hear him. He recites the directions and I relay them to Owen. Once we know where we’re going, I let myself relax for a moment and glance out of the window. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen this area, but this time feels...different. Permanent, I guess. Even knowing all that will need to happen before I can officially call this home, it feels right.

“What troubles you my beautiful mate?” Alexander purrs in my ear from the back seat.

My eyes close and I let the feeling of him being close wash over me and my whole body relaxes. It feels like it’s the first time I’ve taken a real breath in way too long.

“Nothing for now, but there’s a lot that will need my attention soon enough.” I tell him.

That reminder has me opening my eyes and ready to do some very intense mental gymnastics, but Alexander leans closer and leaves a kiss on the area of my neck that meets my shoulder. I shudder form the reminder of him sinking his teeth into me last night. Then he’s brushing his fingers along my neck and through my hair messaging my head. It feels amazing and I relax again.

“You are taking too much on already. We still have time before we arrive at granddad wolf’s secret hide away. So, relax a bit and we can worry about everything once we get there.” He whispers.

Owen snorts. “I’d like to see you call the elder that to his face. He’d snap at you with his old man wolf teeth.”

I laugh and shake my head. These guys are already becoming chummy just like they always did. Once Owen’s got used to the idea of sharing his mate, he always accepted Alexander as part of us. It’s a trait about him that I respect and cherish. He’s perfect.

‘No one is truly perfect.’ Anaya reminds me.

‘Stop reading my thoughts.’ I say to her.
‘Stop thinking so loudly.’ She says back making me smile. ‘Besides I prefer to listen in on your inner monologues more than Owen’s whiny wolf.’

‘I don’t sense him much yet.’ I admit.

‘You have bonded but it won’t be fully complete until you are fully yourself. Right now, there is a lot of you still locked away. Once you transform everything will lock fully into place.’ She explains.

‘So, we didn’t need to mate on our first night together?’ I think it could have waited.

‘No, but it doesn’t hurt to have that part of things out of the way. The bonding is done between your human side first and the wolves accept each other in a different way. Since you have yet to combine the white wolves, the goddess wolf and I together you are fractured in a way.’

‘How come I can hear the elder then?’ I ask.

‘He is a very powerful wolf and one who possesses the ability to communicate with far greater power than other wolves. I’m impressed by him. He is very much like you. His wolf is very old and wise, but mostly quiet. It doesn’t try to communicate with me much.’ She says.

‘That seems rude.’ I point out.

‘Not at all. As I said he is an old wolf and does not see the need to communicate through his human form. It is not necessary and allows there to be a respectable distance between the human and wolf.’

‘Why do you talk to me so much then?’ I ask trying to sound annoyed.

‘Because you are young still and don’t know very much. When you have understood your place among your kind you won’t need me.’

My chest aches at the idea of her distancing herself from me.

‘I don’t want that.’ I tell her honestly.

‘It is a choice made by both of us and I must admit…I enjoy our talks even if they are immature and silly.’

I want to be offended but she’s an old wolf and I’m sure she never expected to be sent into someone like me.

‘Does Owen’s wolf bother you that much?’

There is a moment of silence when I wonder if she’s decided to impart that distancing into action.

‘No. He’s sweet. I am not used to such a thing, so I find it odd. He wants to please us and make us happy, which is more than mates offered long ago. Bonding was a need not a love match for sometime.’

‘The goddess didn’t seem the type to pair wolves who weren’t compatible.’ I say but I never saw her pairing anyone before.

‘I think over time she understood the need for a connection more than compatibility, but in the beginning love and affection were less necessary than survival. She paired wolves together that would be strong enough to keep our kind alive.’ She sounds almost sad.

‘So other mates you had…you didn’t care for them?’

‘I can say that the way Owen’s wolf reacts to me…it’s not like anything I’ve experienced before. But he is so young and full of excitement and I’m not like that.’

I see…She thinks she’s too old and mature for him, so they have nothing in common.

‘Why not forget about all that and enjoy his attention?’ I offer as advice.

‘It may not be possible for me to fully grasp-‘
‘Stop over thinking and connect with him.’ I end our conversation there and hear a sound come from Owen.

I look at him and his face flushes. “Sorry. Umm…my wolf uh…”

I smirk. There you go Anaya, get your man.

“How does all that work? You having another being inside you?” Alexander asks. “It sounds more like a mental illness.”

“It’s more like having a friend hanging around all the time, only the friend sees and feels things that you don’t notice. They are all about instinct, but the human side brings that into balance. We are symbiotic.” Owen tries to explain.

“And what you hear a voice one day and it doesn’t freak you out?”

“No, you feel complete.”

Alexander sits back and musses over that. I look over at Owen and smile. He’s very handsome but he also has this energy around him that I love. It’s like joy and strength all wrapped into one. He’s sweet but also authoritative, and I like the way it all comes together. When he glances my way again, I don’t feel embarrassed or look away after being caught watching him. He smirks and reaches for my hand. I smile when he slips his hand under mine and links our fingers together. Anya says his wolf is like a silly love-struck pup, and I can’t wait to feel him fully.

A low purring sound comes from Owen’s chest and he huffs out a laugh.

“Everything okay over there?” I ask teasingly.

He shakes his head. “Your wolf is a minx. She’s making mine flustered.”

‘Anaya what are you doing to him?’ I ask my wolf.
‘I was simply acknowledging him. He is so eager for attention that now that I accept it, he’s gone mad.’ She says sounding startled herself.

‘What’s with the purring?’ I ask her.

‘I complimented him.’ She says and I bite back a laugh.

These wolves are going to be real characters when we shift together for the first time.

We drive a little while in comfortable silence, so comfortable in fact that I fall sleep. There is a quick moment of darkness and then a bright light. Panic shoots through me when I think I’m back in that room with the fates again, but one look around and everything looks different. Instead, there is a blossoming tree in the center of a white room. On the edge of the small curb circling, it is Elena. I walk over and sit beside her.

She smiles at me. “Hello again.”

“Hi. I thought you were gone forever.” I say.

“I will be once you have merged, but I wanted to share one more thing with you. All of my memories. There have been times when I have made mistakes and I want you to know everything before you finish your transition and take your place. Darkness and light coexist in a delicate balance which means even the purest intensions could result in a dark outcome. Do you understand?”

I nod.

“Good. Let’s begin.” She reaches out and places a single dainty finger in the center of my forehead and I’m hit with an influx of information too fast to comprehend.

And then it stops. Elena gives me a soft smile and stands.

“Be better than I was. Learn from my mistakes and become the goddess you were meant to be.” She turns and walks a few feet away before disappearing.

I’m woken up by someone gently shaking me. “Amelia? We’re here.” Owen says softly.

My door is open and he’s crouching next to my seat. I look past him and see what looks like we’re in the middle of nowhere. This is it?

“Have faith my goddess.” The elder says as if he can hear my thoughts.

Where did he come from? I think I’m still out of it.

“Come with me.” The elder says.

Owen stands and steps aside to allow me to take the elder’s hand. He tugs me along to a collection of mountains and we stop at a cave opening with a symbol of the moon cycle on it.

“Here is where you will emerge.”