Mythical Mates

Seven

Brielle grumbled to herself as she stumbled through the thickets. Why was Angela being so unreasonable? She understood her concern for the pack, she was scared too, but fear wasn't going to save anyone. At the very least they needed to figure out a plan instead of just rushing in blindly. Her throat felt dry again. She’d forgotten the path back to Phyn’s hut, but assumed she’d wind up there anyway if she wandered around. She could hear the stream of water in the distance. There was a small cliff in her way. She dug her feet in the grooves and started to climb. Her back ached as she lifted herself. This would have been far easier to do in wolf form, but she wasn’t sure if Cora was well enough to shift just yet. Pain shot through her arms as the rocks stabbed and scraped her palms. When she finally made it to the top, she saw blood leaking from the cuts on her hands. In the clearing, she could see a small waterfall. The glowing mushrooms gave her light as she made her way through the trees. Fireflies danced on the leaves as curious squirrels watched her approach. The water was clear, reflecting moonlight as it passed through the smooth rocks at the bottom. Small fish traveled down the stream, brushing carelessly past her cupped hands as she dipped them in to take a drink. The water was heaven as it slid down her parched throat. Across the river was a herd of deer taking a stroll along the edge of the trees. One was a small fawn, white with brown spots, that eagerly jumped and skipped across the slippery rocks. One of his legs slipped, but before he could fall in, his mother caught him, nudging him away with her head. The white stag Bri had seen earlier nuzzled his head against his mate’s. Brie’s heart ached. She missed her family. She wondered if they were worried about her, if they were out looking for her right now. As the doe licked and touched her mate’s nose, Brie thought of Everett. She felt ashamed for thinking of him at a time like this. The image of him and Hailey sent daggers through her heart. She agreed to let him go, but that didn’t stop the pain. It hurt even more knowing she could have saved him had she only shown up a little sooner. Had she ran after him when he strayed from the group, she could have been there to help him. Now Hailey was doomed to feel the same loss she had, though Hailey’s would be far worse. If only she had been a better friend. No, if only she had been more focused on becoming a better leader instead of feuding with Angela, maybe she could have helped prevent all of this. The deer looked up as the clouds parted. Brie followed and gazed upon the silvery moon that hung above them. Like a diamond, its light rained down on her as the stars shimmered in its shadow. Brie could hear Cora howling in the back of her mind so she opened her mouth to join her.

“Beautiful isn’t it?”

Brie jumped, unaware that she wasn’t alone apart from the animals. Phyn stood naked in the river, the water up to his hips, expanding in gentle waves. Bri blushed and stumbled back. “H-How long have you been there?” she asked, trying not to stare directly at him. Her cheeks flushed harder when she realized she’d probably just drank his bathwater. He didn’t respond to her question, instead he held his hands up as though he were waiting for something to fall into them. He closed his eyes and basked in the light. Brie couldn’t help staring as his pale skin shimmered under the light as the water droplets cascaded down his body.

“She says you are foolish.” Phyn translated.

“What? Who?”

“The goddess.” he replied, his face expressionless.

“You can…you can talk to her?” Brie asked cautiously.

“Something like that. She does most of the talking. I simply listen.”

Brie looked up at the moon. “Why does she think of me as foolish?”

“Because you think yourself capable of changing fate even when she can not. You are not to blame for the paths others take and shouldn’t guilt yourself for failing to stop them.”

“Are you joking right now?”

“I do not lie, especially whilst in her presence. She demands I only ever speak the truth.” his eyes opened and landed on hers. She blushed and looked away. Phyn made his way to the edge of the water and held out his hand. “Care to join me?”

Brie backed away, heeding Angela’s warning not to trust him so easily. “I-I think I’m good. I showered earlier.”

“That is not true. You were asleep earlier.”

Brie had forgotten that three days had been stripped away from her. It seemed like only an hour ago, she was fighting with Angela in her room. Slowly, she turned her head and sniffed her hair. She was definitely in need of a wash. Reluctantly, she crept to the edge of the river. “C-Could you not look?” he stared at her for a moment longer before turning away. Slowly, Brie inched out of the gown he had given her. She dipped her foot in to test the water. It was cool, but not freezing. She slipped into the water, shivering as the tiny fish swam past her legs. The rocks were smooth against the souls of her feet. The water rested below her belly button so she crossed her arms to hide her chest. She didn’t know why she was feeling so self conscious. Pack members saw each other nude all the time when shifting. Most of them didn’t stare or show interest if you weren’t their mate so it was never really an issue. Was it weird because he wasn’t part of her pack? His arms rested at his side, his eyes to the sky. “Is she saying something new?” his brows furrow.

“She weeps.”

“What for?”

“Her children. The other wolves who are lost, locked away in a restless slumber.”

“The rogues…” Brie guessed. “Does she know what caused this? Does she know who’s at fault.” he went quiet. “Phyn?”

“The goddess knows all, but that does not mean she is open to share.”

“Why not?!” Brie questioned. “Wolves have died from this…this…sickness. Does she not care that more will follow?”

“You shouldn’t speak ill of her decisions. It is not she who sets the rules of fate.” he said, watching her now.

“The goddess is who we look upon for guidance. Surely she wouldn’t want to doom the entire werewolf race for a set of rules.”

“Fate is not something you can simply meddle with. Fate is the destination that all roads lead to. It is not up to her to change that.”

“If it’ll happen no matter what, what would telling us change?”

“Fate only assures that we get there, our actions are what determines how.” his eyes followed a butterfly that fluttered over their heads. “If death is the ending of every journey, what we do is what determines how fast or how slow we reach it.” They watched the butterfly rest on a leaf. Within seconds the leaf curled up revealing itself to be a fly trap. He looked back at her. “The goddess is most merciful. If she does not wish to say something it is probably to prevent the worst possible outcome. I will respect her wishes.”

“Why does she speak to you and no one else?” Brie asked, not entirely believing that he could truly speak to her.

“Perhaps no one else has stopped to listen.” he said flatly.

Brie hesitated as she walked closer to him. He remained still, his eyes closed again. “I wish to listen.” she said. His eyes fell to hers and she fought the urge to shy away. “Will you teach me?” He didn’t say anything, just stared at her. Slowly he reached his hand out and gently pulled something from her hair. For a brief second, Brie caught a whiff of lavender and vanilla. The scent swept through her nose, sending warmth down her spine. Her eyes fluttered dreamily as she tried to breathe more of it in. However, just as it had come, it had run away with the wind. She could feel Cora purring in the back of her mind. “What was that?” she asked Cora. Cora didn’t respond which was odd. Phyn had pulled away the petal of a moon lily.

“If you truly wish to learn, you should first cleanse yourself. Your mind is only as filthy as you feel.”

“You think I’m filthy?” She asked.

“Do you?” was his rebuttal.

She frowned and turned away from him. “Fine, but I’m not going to get too clean without any soap. Do you-” she jumped when she felt a hand gently touch her arm. The smell returned.

“It is not your body that needs cleansing.” he stepped away making his way toward the deeper part of the river. “Swim with me.” he didn’t wait for a responds before diving under the water.

Brie hesitated, looking around nervously as though someone may be watching. She imagined what Angela would say if she saw what they were doing. Maybe she should leave and focus on recovering like they’d agreed. She made her way to the edge to retrieve her gown, but looked back at the sparking water. The biggest part of the lake was shielded by a curtain of vines and flowers. She looked back up at the moon as the rays of light pointed down the riverbed. She pushed her doubts to the back of her mind and swam out to the deep end. The water grew colder as it traveled up to her neck. She dove under the water and followed after Phyn. The water was dark and blurry so she couldn’t see much. She could feel herself sinking so she kicked her legs. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t reach the surface. Panic set in. She was running out of oxygen. She pushed with her arms, but the water only seemed to drag her down deeper. Her lungs ached, trying to force her to breathe. Water filled her throat and her vision began to blur. In the distance, she could see something bright swimming toward her. A hand pulled her upward. She coughed and gagged as her head broke the surface. Phyn held onto her, keeping her afloat. “S-Something’s down there.” she coughed. “It wouldn’t…let me come up.”

“Nothing is down there.” Phyn reassured her.

“What are you talking about? I almost drowned. No matter how much I kicked, I couldn’t pull myself up. There’s something in this water, I know it.”

“Look around…”

Brie turned and surveyed the small lake. They weren’t very far away from the shallow stream they started at. The wooded area was silent apart from the quiet chirpings of the birds. The tall trees swayed gently in the breeze and the moon was as bright as ever. When she looked down, she could see that they weren’t very deep either. If Phyn were to stand flat on the ground, his head would only be a few inches below the water. It confused her. She couldn’t even see or feel the bottom a moment ago. It felt like she’d been sinking in a bottomless pit. “I-I don’t understand.” she searched his eyes for answers.

“You were pretending to not be able to swim.”

“Excuse me?” she asked defensively. “I was not. I was kicking so much. Did you not see that before you grabbed me?”

“I saw you dive in and sit at the bottom. You were not moving so I grabbed you.”

“You’re joking right?”

“I do not lie.”

She scoffed. There was no way he was being serious. She looked at his arm that continued to hold onto her. She tugged, but he did not release her.

“You must clear your mind to swim or you will be too heavy. Do not sit at the bottom.”

She frowned and pushed away from him. The second his hand released her, she could feel the tug of the water. She kicked and waved her arms, but it felt like she was swimming with a coat full of rocks. Unable to keep her head afloat, she was forced to take a deep breath before sinking underneath. Bubbles escaped her lips as she tried to scream. She kicked, and moved her hands trying to feel for a string or rope attached to her. She couldn’t see anything but darkness. She sank deeper and deeper, unable to see the moon’s light. Her lungs began to burn as water was forced in. Again, she saw a bright light before someone grabbed her and pulled her to the surface. She heaved and coughed up the water that had entered her lungs.

“Are you alright?” Phyn asked.

“Take me back to shore.” When he didn’t answer, she glared at him and squeezed his arm. “Take me back, now!” Without protest, he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her back to the shallow end. When her feet landed on the smooth rocks, she pushed away from him and ran to retrieve her gown. Phyn stared at her emotionlessly, watching her throw the gown over her head. It angered her how unbothered he looked. It was as though he didn’t care that his prank had nearly killed her. Maybe Angela was right. She shouldn’t have trusted him so easily. “I’ll be taking your bed again tonight…But we are leaving tomorrow morning. Got it?!” Phyn's mouth twitched downward as he nodded and turned away from her. She didn’t look back as she ran away. She cursed herself for being so stupid. She’d trusted him, gone into the water alone with him and he’d made a fool of her. She should count herself lucky to have gotten away when she did. He was clearly lying about not lying so he was likely lying about talking to the moon goddess. She was such a fool to have considered even an ounce of what he was telling her to be true. He was a sham, a crook, a psycho even. She’ll give her body one more night to heal and she and Angela would leave at first light. Though she was angry, her chest ached. Her eyes watered and she blinked the tears away. For a moment she had fooled herself to believe that for a moment she’d felt something for him. For a moment, her heart had raced and she smelled something so beautiful. For a moment, she had believed he was her mate. Surely that was false and she had mistaken it. Hailey said the feeling would intoxicate you. She never said it could come and go as it pleased. They were surrounded by beautiful flowers. She must have been picking up scents from them. That would make more sense. She pushed her way through the thicket and stumbled into a familiar road. She could see Phyn’s home lit up by all the colorful mushrooms. She pushed through the cellar door and entered the hut.

“Oh, you’ve returned.” Koda said. “I thought you would have stayed outside with your friend. At least then the lord could have his bed back.” he noticed her dirty gown and the water droplets dripping from her hair. “Heavens, did you go rolling around in a swamp? I thought you people would be civilized. You’ll risk your wounds getting infected. Go change immediately.” Brie rolled her eyes and walked past him. “My word! Fine, if you’re going to insist on being so rude, you can dress your own wounds. I refuse to cater to an unrefined brat like you.” he turned and scurried out of the hut.

Brie didn’t care. The less they bothered her the better. She roamed through the hut searching for a clean gown. She found clean ones sitting in a trunk near Phyn’s office. She searched around for clean bandages and towels. There was a pale of water sitting on the nightstand of Phyn’s room from earlier so she dipped the clean towel in and washed her face. She eased her way out of the soiled gown and touched around for her wounds. She stopped shockingly as she couldn’t find a single wound on her body. There were plenty an hour ago. She twisted and turned, but there wasn’t a single scratch or bruise on her sides nor her hands. Even her back didn’t sting. Wolves heal fast, but not this fast. Confused, she wiped herself down anyway and dried off. She pulled the fresh gown over her head and sat on the bed. She thought back to Phyn. She wasn’t sure, but in a way he looked sad when she ran off. She touched her arm, remembering how gently he had held her. She blushed as she remembered how beautiful his skin glowed under the moonlight. She had wanted to touch him to see if he was truly as smooth as he looked. His cherry colored lips had twitched and she found herself craving to see them smile. Better yet, she wanted to see if they were as tasty as they looked. She hit herself with the pillow, screaming her frustrations into it. She cursed herself over and over again. She should be worrying about her pack. Now was not the time to be crushing over a stone-faced stranger. She closed her eyes tight. She wanted to sleep, to dream and disappear. She wanted the sun to rise so they could leave and return to their home. She wanted to see that her parents were okay and that everything had been handled while they were away. She tossed and turned, unable to slip into slumber. After 30 minutes without sleep, she sat up and looked back at the massive bookcase over her head. Reading was always a good way to fall asleep. She read each title. Most of them were old and worn out, written by authors who were long gone. She was about to give up her search when she read a familiar title. The Unfortunate Tale Of Fenrisulfr.