Something So Unexpected

Chapter 13

Jamie’s POV

The cyclone of questions kept swirling in my mind, the mental chaos not allowing me to think straight. Jillian here would be more comfortable than the nurse, who was now sitting at the corner of my bed. My eyes darted around the room as I tried to make sense of the entire situation.

I don’t know how long I sat like that before the door burst open and Jillian walked in. She made eye contact with me and rushed to my side, embracing me in a hug. With Jillian now present, the nurse took it as her cue to leave, scurrying out of the room that was becoming increasingly more cramped.

“Oh, my sweet Jamie, you’re ok. What happened?” she asked, her eyes raking over my body trying to find my injuries that led me to this hospital bed.

“I was leaving my date and I passed out. Aiden was worried about me and waned to seek medical intervention to make sure I was okay.” I replied, glossing over some of the more unbelievable details of the night.

“What made you pass out? Was it the hot air balloon?” she asked, glancing over at Aiden pointedly and shooting him a glare.

“No, it as after that. We were attacked by some wolves and I freaked out,” I said, still reserving details and not completely sure how to put into words the events that happened leading up to my stay in this hospital room.

Aiden looked at me, seemingly trying to figure out if I was going to give more details, but I shook my head silently. Jillian caught this silent and subtle exchange, looking from him to me for details.

“What am I missing here?” she said, point blank. Jillian always was a straight shooter, not being afraid to ask the tough questions.

“The wolves that attacked us weren’t ordinary wolves. They were werewolves,” Aiden decided to respond, much to my relief.

Jillian furrowed her eyebrows and stared at him. “Is this a joke?” she said, with a slight laughter to her voice. Aiden and I shared a glance, my eyes returning to my sister, whose eyes were open wide in bewilderment.

“I saw it myself.” I said, supporting his story.

“Saw what, exactly? Wolves?”

Aiden jumped in again, “Saw me transform. I’m a werewolf too.”

Jillian got up with a start, uncovering me. “C’mon, let’s get out of here. Car’s outside.”

Even though Jillian was no longer talking to Aiden, he added, “So are you two.”

I looked as Jillian to try gauge her response. Eyes wide, she did not believe what was going on. I can’t blame her. I wouldn’t believe it either, had I not seen Aiden shift into that thing. His name is Hunter. He is our mate. I shook my head to get that voice out of my head.

“I know it sounds unbelievable,” Aiden said. “I don’t know the extent of it, but if I were to guess, you’re half human and half wolf. I couldn’t sense you as wolves at first. Dr. Michaels thinks it was a spell that was placed on you guys. Even now, Jillian, you smell human.”

“Because I AM human, you dimwit,” she shot back.

“Haven’t you ever had a voice in your head that had foreign thoughts- ones that didn’t seem your own?” He asked. I bit my lip, guilty at this fact.

“Everyone has an inner voice. It’s called thinking- you should try it sometime.” Jillian always lashed out when she got frustrated with not understanding something. And this was definitely frustrating her.

“I… I have thoughts like that. The voice doesn’t even sound like my own,” I admitted. Jillian looked at me in surprise.

“It’s possible that meeting your mate allowed your wolf to wake up or become alert or whatever it is that happened. Honestly, we should try to contact a light witch if we’re truly looking for answers,” Aiden answered, trying to be helpful and find solutions. He looked down for a moment, then back at me. “Her name is Ember, isn’t it?”

My eyes opened wide in shock, but more concerning is the fact that I purred, content that he said that name. What. The. Hell. I remember the voice telling me the name Ember, but I never told him that. “How did you know?” Jillian looked from him to me, her head swiveling in shock. If it weren’t such a serious conversation, I would have burst out laughing at the comical movements she was making.

“I… uhh… Somehow Hunter, my wolf, was communicating with your wolf,” he answered sheepishly.

“Wait, wait, wait. Hold up just one minute. We need to backtrack. You said her wolf woke up when she found her mate? What’s a mate?” Jillian asked, catching something that I must have missed.

“How do I explain this simply? Umm, a mate is someone who is made for the other person. It’s kind of like a soul mate, but so much more. The moon goddess plays match maker, in a way, assigning people together who would be most fitting. It’s more than a compatibility test though. Mates are someone that you cannot live without. You’ll feel a natural pull towards that person.”

I glanced over at him, anticipating my sister’s next question. Call it twin intuition, but I knew what was coming next. “And you said she found her mate? Who is that?”

Aiden looked down, seemingly having difficulty maintaining eye contact with us for a moment. I held my breathe waiting for his reply. Recalling Ember’s words, I already knew the answer.

“It’s me,” he said, finality in his voice.

“So you were just planning on keeping her here then? She has a life! A family!” Jillian was getting worked up again, her protective instincts rising up.

“No! I just… I knew that I needed to date her to spend time with her so she could fall in love with me. She had to feel the pull to me too,” he said, more like a question. He was looking at me expectantly, waiting for my confirmation.

“I… I’m attracted to you, yes. You’re very handsome and funny and I like you a lot. But I can’t do this with you. I can’t just stay here, my life planned out by some higher being,” I said, this room suddenly feeling smaller by the minute.

“Jamie, we can work this out, I-”

“She said no,” Jillian cut him off, finality in her voice.

“I can help you get answers to the questions you didn’t know you had.” My heart perked up at this. Our lives had so many question marks. Could he really help get us answers? I know exactly where I wanted to start. Am I really a wolf?