Saving His Nymph Mate

Chapter 11- Nymph

“Watch your footing, Brandon.” Wyatt told a fifteen-year-old boy a few feet in front of him, hammering a new shingle on the roof.

“This is dumb Alpha. We only broke a few. Why do we have to fix all of them?” Brandon moaned.

Wyatt answered him, “consequences. You don’t always get to choose the consequences of your actions. Sledding down the roof into the pool has consequences.”

The other three boys snickered at the mention of their scheme. He shot a look at his younger brother with a warning glance. His brother grinned back and turned to fix another shingle. Wyatt suppressed a laugh of his own. It was a dangerous thing to do, but he couldn’t help laughing, thinking about their ridiculous plan. But he had his younger brother to blame for that, him being the one who concocted the plan. He was sure he was never that difficult, but he didn't know what his mother would say.

Another fifteen minutes later, and with lots of complaining, they climbed down the ladder and put all the tools back in the shed. Once the shed was securely locked, the boys dispersed into the woods. Ryder hung back.

“Are you going inside now?” Ryder asked with a mischievous grin.

“Yes, why?” He searched his brother’s face for answers.

Ryder quickly responded, “nothing, good luck.” He hit his brother’s arm and ran away to catch up with his friends.

Wyatt watched the boys until they were gone. Shaking off his brother’s weird behavior, he made his way towards the door, wondering what they would do next. He could hear the growls and taunting barks of the boys nearby. He walked along the path towards the house, enjoying the warm summer air.

As he got close to the house, he immediately sensed something. He sensed her. Wyatt stopped. He smelled her- wet grass and sunshine. Then he felt her. She was just inside the kitchen and he knew it. His wolf instantly became restless, aching for his mate. Wyatt spent the last week trying to tame his wolf’s desires, telling himself over and over that she didn’t want him. But as always, he couldn’t convince himself of that.

His mind immediately went back to the night after their fight in the forest. He remembered feeling her pain. Once wolves found their mate, they become connected. They could feel their powerful emotions. Wyatt felt those emotions that morning. At 4:30 am, he awakened with an overwhelming sorrow. He knew it wasn’t from him, but from his mate. He could feel her pain. It was deeply rooted. He felt it grow out of a hole within. At that moment, he wanted to find her; he wanted to hold her and comfort her. Wyatt wanted to bundle that pain and insert his own light to fill in that space.

Soon, that memory was filled with fear. Fear of what would happen if his pack found out she was his mate? He wondered how they would react to her existence. His pack was never known for its friendliness. Especially since she wasn’t a wolf, they’d probably kill her. He had to protect her.

A lemon smell brought him back to reality and away from that mounting fear. He took a breath and set his face. Determined not to let her see she was his weakness, but a powerful alpha. The alpha opened the back-screen door.

“It sure smells good in here.” He couldn’t help grinning as his eyes immediately landed on her. Candace’s hair was pulled into a messy bun, with little strands of hair falling out. She wore black sweats with a bright pink t-shirt. Wyatt was certain if his wolf were out now, it would drool over her beautiful figure leaning against the counter in his home. Seeing Candace in his home made Wyatt’s heart pound. She belonged there. She belonged with him.

He noticed she was stiff, and she had not turned around at his entrance. Hoping she still wasn’t upset with him, he walked further in and she turned her head to follow his every move. He walked over to his mother and put his arm around her.

“Now, if you aren’t making your famous lemon bars, you are absolutely the best cook around.” He kissed his mom lightly on the cheek. Candace’s mouth slackened with surprise. Wyatt could see her mind racing, and he enjoyed this moment of catching her off guard. He felt her battling with an emotion. The moment passed, and she plastered a small smile on her face when his mom hit him gently on the chest.

“Oh Wyatt, please, we have a guest.” She gestured to Candace.

Candace stood up straighter; she betrayed uncertainty about how to act or if they should acknowledge that they knew each other. His mom saw the immediate awkwardness and looked at them. When Candace looked down at her shoes nervously, Wyatt winked at his mom.

She must have got the hint. Immediately she said, “Wyatt, why don’t you show our guest around the place while the lemon bars finish up?” Mrs. Blackard looked at Candace and smiled softly.

“Absolutely. Candace.” He paused until she looked into his eyes. They were wide and blue. Wyatt saw much in them. She was independent and strong, but she held a hint of uncertainty that made him feel like she needed him. His wolf wanted to grab her and wrap her in his arms to protect her and to squash all the uncertainty from her eyes about him. Wyatt took a breath. Don’t scare her off. Let’s keep this relaxed.

After a second of hesitation, Candace agreed. “As long as you show me where the sledding off the roof happened in case, I later decide to try out this new activity.” She smiled up at Wyatt, and he couldn’t help but smile while he felt his wolf inside bouncing with excitement.

“Of course.” He bent his head low and whispered, “My Queen.” She glanced up at him, and he saw her eyes flash with an emotion he didn’t know how to identify. It was like a summer day, and for a moment, a cloud casted over, causing it to dim until the cloud moved on.

“But first let me tell my father where I am at, so he knows.” Candace turned and walked away towards the back stairs.

Wyatt turned to his mother. “Her father is here?” He immediately felt like he was on trial.

His mother beamed. “Her father is fixing your computer. He is our provider. He called yesterday, informing your father of the need to upgrade his security.”

“I didn’t know he did that for us.”

Jocelyn Blackard shook her head in amazement. “I didn’t know either. It was always John who came over, but apparently he is one of Mr. Wood’s employees.” She glanced towards the stairs. “So that’s your mate?”

Wyatt crossed his arms. “She sure is.”

His mother touched his arm, and he dropped them. “Wyatt, you better be careful with her. Are you going to tell her?” Her voice was full of warning.

He immediately started shaking his head, knowing she was referring to the note they found in the book. “No, at least not yet.”

“She deserves to know.”

“From the little I know of her, I know she is stubborn and doesn’t trust me. If I tell her now, she will push me away, and I can’t protect her that way.” Wyatt stated his words with finality.

“Wyatt…” her mother began, her expression crunched in worry.

Wyatt grabbed her hands and tried for a better tone. “I need her to learn to trust me.”

His mother nodded her head and the worried lines disappeared. “Then be open to her. Have you thought about how you will introduce her to the pack?” She tilted her head to one side, watching her son.

“No, I am still working on…” he stopped short of hearing her come down the stairs. His mother gestured with her head for him to go. He grinned and met Candace at the bottom of the steps. Wyatt had a variety of emotions intermingle. He pushed back the information on the note and the pack’s acceptance of his mate. Wyatt wanted to enjoy being with Candace, the vivacious, strong-willed woman in front of him.

They walked outside into the bright sunshine and Wyatt closed his eyes, feeling the warmth penetrate him. His wolf also sighed to be outside; however, his wolf was restless and excited about being with his mate. This made Wyatt nervous and excited, since wolf and man's emotions intermingled. When he opened his eyes, he saw Candace smiling at him. Seeing her smile made his heart jump. He quickly wondered why she was smiling at him when their past encounters held little.

She must have read his thoughts because she quickly said, “I feel the same way every time I am outside in the forest.”

His wolf was pleased at her response, drooling over her, and so was Wyatt. They stepped onto the trail that circled the house and the garden. Candace beside him tensed up and tugged on her sleeves.

“What’s the matter?” Concern evident in his tone. It surprised him to hear it.

She bit her lower lip and he could see the debate on her face. They held each other's eyes while she looked at him. Doubt and uncertainty clouded her eyes. He hoped desperately that whatever battle she was facing inside, he would win. After another moment, her face relaxed.

“Everything,” she whispered.

He felt a low grumble inside from his wolf, wanting to protect, wanting to shield his mate. Wyatt tried to cover it with a cough.

“What do you mean?”

She turned on her heels and headed straight through the fence into the forest. Wyatt turned and had to stretch his stride to catch up with her. Wyatt felt a bit frustrated. Was she running away again? However, once in the forest, he found her waiting for him. It replaced his frustration with curiosity. Her white tattoos around her face became prevalent and her skin looked darker. He walked to her side, and she grabbed his arm. His skin warmed at her touch. She kicked off her shoes and slid off her socks while holding onto him.

The moment her bare foot touched the ground, a transformation came over her. Her skin turned a hint of green and it seemed to glow. Her eyes became brighter and her tattoos seemed to gleam in the sun. The surrounding forest appeared to have awakened to her presence. Everything seemed brighter, greener, and alive. The very earth seemed to respond to her presence. Wyatt watched with amazement at her transformation. He looked around the forest and then back at her. This time, her smile reached her eyes, and it captivated Wyatt.

“Wyatt, let’s start over a bit. This is who I am.” She gestured to herself.

Wyatt understood what she was doing. She was opening up and becoming vulnerable to him.

“Do you want to walk? We each can ask our questions.” He gestured to the trail that led deeper into the forest. Candace followed close behind.

“So, Candace, what were you talking about earlier, before we went into the woods?”

“It was hard to be that close to the woods and not be among them. They talk to me; everything talks to me. It can be overwhelming when I am not in this form.” Her voice held no emotion, and she kept her eyes averted.

“Why haven’t I ever seen your kind before?” He was asking himself that question ever since he learned of their existence.

“You see us, just in our human form. Every nymph has a human form except they can’t leave the forest. I can, however. In this form, no human can see us unless we make it known, but we aren’t supposed to be seen by anyone. It’s like a rule held for many, many generations.”

Candace glanced up at him. Wyatt struggled to keep his attention on the topic and not on her and her beauty. Among the trees, she was radiant. He ignored his wolf and kept going on with the conversation.

“How come I can see you?”

She turned her head and looked back into the forest, “because you are not fully human, are you? Perhaps it has something to do with being my pragma….” She looked down at her hands as she nervously rubbed her fingers and continued, “you can find me so easily.”

Wyatt never considered the fact that he may not be fully human. He always thought that it was man and wolf together. Two separate beings embodied into one spirit. But maybe he and his wolf are more connected than he realized. They persuade each other’s thoughts, feelings, actions, and they work well together. He shook his head slightly; he wanted more answers. His wolf had other ideas, and Wyatt continued to ignore him to stay focused.

“What does pragma mean?” Wyatt stopped and looked at her.

Candace blushed and dipped her head. “Pragma is Greek for enduring love. It’s a symbol for a nymph. It means that whomever the nymph’s fated love is, they are so connected that their love can cross any boundaries, it can cross time. I guess it is pretty similar to me being your mate.”

Wyatt’s wolf became almost uncontainable at the mention of her calling him her mate. He was ready to kiss her right there in the forest. She looked up at him and he swallowed hard. Wyatt abruptly took several steps away to get himself under control, and it frustrated his wolf.

“So, how did you get this power?” He started down the path again.

Candace looked at him with confusion written on her face. She got into step with him and said, “it is a birthright. My mother gave it to me before she died.” Sorrow filled her voice, and her face scrunched together.

Candace slowed her steps and looked down at the dirt. He could sense that this was a difficult subject. His mind went back to that early morning at 4:30, when he felt her emotions. The deep loss. He wondered if those emotions were rooted in the loss of her mother. He thought again about the note in the book and decided he needed to pursue this more than her mother’s death, especially if she wasn’t ready to get into deep personal emotions yet.

“With all the power you have, aren’t you afraid of someone hurting you for it?” He kept his eyes on the trail.

She paused for a moment, and he could tell that she was debating again. After a while she responded, “yes, I am. All nymphs have power and we can all be captured, even me. Once taken, our wardens can use our powers to their will. That is why it’s important we stay hidden.”

An ounce of fear touched her voice from thinking about it. Wyatt got the feeling she didn’t want to discuss it and didn’t like to think of such possibilities. But he needed answers.

“So, someone can just come up and grab you, imprision you?” He glanced in her direction.

He felt her eyes on him, but he didn’t look. He didn’t want to give up his courage in this conversation or feel guilty about the hidden motives behind it.

“No, it’s not that simple. A human prison would cause me to be in my human form and my powers would be protected inside me. They couldn’t grab me because it would be easy to escape. They have to contain the nymph in their most vulnerable state.” She shook at her words and Wyatt felt like he had stepped beyond bounds. But this was valuable information, and he pushed himself to keep going. He needed to know how to protect her.

“What is your most vulnerable state?” He asked deliberately, slowly.

She jerked herself around in front of him. Her eyes turned a dark blue, a thunderstorm in her blue sky. He understood his mistake immediately. They weren’t close enough, there wasn’t enough trust between them.

“Why do you want to know? So, you can trap me? So, you can use me in your Wolf War? Is that why you cared to know things about me? This was a mistake.” She closed herself off. Anger and malice dripped from her words.

Wyatt could see the imaginary brick after brick form between them. She was closing herself off from him and he did not know where the sledgehammer was to break them apart again.

His wolf growled at him deep inside with disappointment and anger at hurting their mate. As he stared at her, a deep hurt crept up inside of him and he intuitively knew it was her dominant feeling that consumed them. Betrayal.