Lycan's unexpected mate

Eased unease

Carson

I wake up lying in my room with a cold cloth on my forehead. I have been feeling unwell since late morning but it was still bearable until after lunch. My headache was gradually growing all day and it culminated when I was in my office discussing solutions for winter with David, Daniel and Amy. I recall my breathing got laboured then and I broke in a cold sweat. I tried to keep up with the discussion, nodding and writing down notes. Zeus was unable to help me any more, claiming that he had already been taking off the worst of it. I believed him without question because he had never lied to me before.

I focused on David who was presenting how the werewolves are coping with lower temperatures. Well, I tried to, because Zeus suddenly whined: 'Our Mate . . .'

I sighed, which actually prompted David to explain something more in a seemingly soothing tone. I turned to Zeus quickly: 'Zeus, I know you miss her as much as I do but . . .'

He immediately turned his head and explained: 'No, our Mate is in danger.'

I blinked in shock, realising that maybe that was why I was suffering so much all day. I didn't pay attention to my surroundings, pushed my chair back and got up fast. My vision suffered a blow when suddenly all I could see was a tiny circle, otherwise, everything went black. I remember David called at me. I don't know what it was, but I am sure I had to black out because the next thing I knew I was lying on the ground with all three of my direct second-in-commands above me. I was sluggish and all moves seemed in slow motion for me. Daniel touched my forehead and I could see a flicker of light. Then he said something like: "Relax, Carson." and I was out again. And now I am here.

I stir some more and look around. The cold from the cloth is pleasant and I don't suffer from the headache anymore. I am in a half-lying, half-sitting position and there isn't anyone with me. I notice a glass of water on my bedside table and I carefully lift my hand to grasp it. My muscles obey flawlessly but my position doesn't allow me to drink. Therefore I put the glass back and sit more upright. Then I finally bring the glass to my lips and take a few gulps. I don't finish the glass but return it on the table.

I feel better now so I decide to check on Zeus before doing anything else. 'Zeus?' I ask in our mind space.

'Still here,' comes his tired reply. 'I couldn't imagine ever feeling like this. And to imagine you would have lost it much sooner without me . . .'

'Understood. And thank you,' I say with all the love I feel for my wolf. Then I remember something he told me in the meeting room. 'What did you mean by saying that Atalanta was in danger?'

'Oh.' He inhales in surprise and then explains: 'Well, I felt somehow that she was threatened. I mean, I rather felt Diana than her but all day they were in a very stressful situation and they were scared. And when I spoke to you, the situation changed for the worse somehow so I was unable to keep it away from you. I'm sorry.'

I rub his head and respond calmly: 'It's fine. You sound exhausted so you had to do a lot for me to function.'

'You have no idea,' he whispers with a sigh.

I hug him and decide to change the topic completely. 'Zeus, do you think we can call Atalanta? To find out how she's doing and what is going on?'

Zeus curls up next to my legs. 'Better write a message. Although she seems fine now, she may not answer her phone.'

I smile and caress his fur gently. 'You're right. Take some rest and I'll tell you everything once you wake up.'

With that I let him sleep and leave our mind space. I am still alone in the room but I hear a creak coming from the door. I close my eyes and pretend to be still asleep. But I wonder how I would defend myself if it were an enemy with Zeus fast asleep. I don't know if I would be able to change into my wolf form at all. I sniff the air carefully and realise that it's only Daniel. Thankfully.

He walks to me and says: "I know you've woken up, Carson."

I open my eyes and look at him sheepishly. "Sorry, bad habit."

Daniel shakes his head. "How are you feeling?" he asks casually but his eyes are roaming over my body.

I lift my shoulders in circles and stretch my neck. "A little stiff but much better than when I was lying down by that table," I attempt to joke but he keeps frowning.

"Have you tried something hard?" Daniel asks out of the blue.

"Excuse me?" I don't understand him at all. What hard thing is he talking about?

"Well, I don't know what you werewolves take when you want to get high but when I had Sue check on you, she claimed you had withdrawal symptoms. And miraculously, your condition has gotten much better as soon as you got into your room," Daniel states matter-of-factly. "So what is it?"

I gasp for breath. Withdrawal symptoms?! But . . . But I haven't mated to Atalanta, yet. I shouldn't be influenced so much, should I? I only felt our connection and the potential danger she was in.

Daniel sits down next to me and looks at me firmly. "Carson, I know you are under a lot of stress because we have more people than we can manage. But there are different means than taking . . ."

I stop him immediately in horror: "I'm not taking anything, Daniel. I swear."

He sighs and rubs his chin in thought. "So someone is trying to drug you then. That's even worse."

I shake my head in disbelief. I find it hard to believe that Daniel is so concerned about my well-being. But, on the other hand, I am the one keeping our group safe and sound, and Daniel is my Governor. He should probably know the same thing as David. And Amy is the last person who must find out sooner or later.

"Daniel," I address him carefully. When he looks at me, I inhale deeply and admit: "I may . . . have found my Mate."

He stares at me for a second and I can see the emotions in his face clearly. The first is a surprise, followed by joy, probably for me. Then the realisation hits and he frowns deeply, settling for being upset and downcast. He clears his throat and asks: "May have found?"

I cast my eyes away from him and keep silent. I mean, I haven't prepared what to tell him in the first place. Atalanta has also been secretive when speaking to me in Amanda's restaurant so there isn't much I know about her.

Daniel touches my hand. "Did she reject you?" he asks suddenly with sympathy. "You will surely find a better match, don't worry."

I chuckle ruefully. "She didn't reject me, Daniel," I admit. I realise that it sounds as if I had rejected her myself so I continue immediately: "I met her after taking the scent-covering potion so she doesn't know I'm her Mate. But I know it."

From the corner of my eye, I notice how Daniel turns his head. However, I can't say the reason. He breathes in and out. "At least it's this case. You do realise that she will find out next time you see her, don't you?"

I rub the back of my head. "Well, she didn't as I took the potion again. But others were a little concerned."

I take all my courage and look straight at Daniel. He has his eyes closed with his left hand covering a part of his face. Now that I say it aloud, it sounds crazy even to my own ears. But she is way above my league so she would probably reject me on the spot.

"What the hell? What were you thinking? You werewolves can't deny the mate bond for long. That would be sacrilege!" Daniel wonders aloud and opens his eyes to look me in the eyes. I feel at a disadvantage lying on the bed, but I would have to tell him anyway so that's that. Before I can answer, he adds: "Is she so dangerous?"

I turn my head no but don't respond. I hope she isn't dangerous for me but she belongs to Silent Heights Pack and this particular pack are fighters protecting our Royal Pack. So they have to be dangerous, deadly even.

Daniel snaps his fingers in front of me and I blink at him in surprise. "Earth to Carson," he says. I pull a face at him and he probably repeats his question: "Who is she then?"

I take a deep breath and say everything so fast that it seems like one long word. "She'sthefutureLunaofSilentHeights."

Daniel blinks a few times before reacting with a slow command: "Say it again."

I close my eyes and repeat the statement more slowly. "Tali is the future Luna of the Royal Guardian Pack."

Daniel starts coughing and I guess he has inhaled some saliva. I prepare to hit him in the back when he raises his hand to hint me that it's not necessary. He calms down but keeps trembling a little as he says in thought: "Now I see why you didn't let Tali know. But I don't know whether to pity you or to congratulate you."

I chuckle unhappily. "Neither do I. She is surely going to reject me once she finds out." Then I realise something and push my hand under my pillow. The locket is still in its place and I pull it out. "Daniel, do you think you can make the scent-covering potion person-specific?"

Daniel looks at me warily, his face getting whiter than it should be. "Maybe," he drawls.

I decide to take the shot anyway. If it were possible to create this potion, Tyche wouldn't be so guarded around me and she could learn to trust me, too. "You see," I start while opening the locket with the strand of Tali's hair, "I have her hair. I know that you always add a little bit of blood from two different werewolves than me. So I thought that maybe . . ."

He sighs in despair. "Yes, that's true. The hair should be enough but I don't know if I'm powerful enough to make it person-specific on someone of her origin."

I can see that this thought terrifies him but I can't find out why. And his statement doesn't make any sense. "Look, if it doesn't last for four hours, it's okay. I will minimise the contact with her," I offer, although I sound more devastated than I intended the sentence to be.

Daniel looks at me gravely. "I will do my best, however, person-specific potions last much longer than four hours. Usually, they last two to three days. But with Tali's background, it will surely be shorter." He rubs his chin and adds: "And you have to promise to me that you will only take the potion once every four days."

"But . . ." I protest.

He silences me immediately. "No buts. The negative consequences of taking this type of potion can result in fatal damage to your internal organs. If you want to survive it, do obey me."

I gulp. I have had no idea that a simple potion like this can be deadly. But the side effects should be eliminated if taken responsibly and I am willing to take the chances if I can spend more time with Atalanta.

"I swear," I answer to Daniel solemnly. Then I finally ask about the strange statement. "What do you mean by Tali's origin anyway?"

Daniel freezes for a second like a deer caught in the headlights. "Hmm, I thought you knew?" he starts lamely. I wait for him to continue so he wets his lips and explains: "David has taught us about it during our lessons to learn about different species. I told you more about Sorcerers and Amy presented the case of Vampires."

I recall these meetings so I nod at Daniel affirmatively. "I know. I was the one starting them. But I don't remember hearing about the heritage thing." I take off the cloth on my forehead and keep it in my hand.

Daniel swallows uneasily and says: "Your Tali is a blessed wolf. Her great-great-great ancestors were the mighty Ly-Lycans."

I frown deeply and argue back: "Lycans are a myth. A fairy tale for small children to believe in."

Daniel cuts my talking ruthlessly. "They were very real. Once. They fought in the war with Great Darkness among all other races although they weren't numerous." Daniel's eyes show great sorrow as he adds: "Almost all of them perished during the final battle and those few who survived went into hiding because of what they had been through. The last recorded Lycan was a hybrid and he died in Ancient Greece in around 400 BC."

I gape at him. I have never heard about this war or anything. And how could the Lycans have been real?! I rub my forehead. "Damnit," I swear silently. Then I wonder more loudly: "So, you think it won't work?"

Daniel shrugs. "I'll try," he answers truthfully and moves his hand to me. I put half of Atalanta's hair in his hand and he closes his palm. "I'll do some reading on how to enhance the potion but I don't promise anything. And you should probably let someone else try it first if you really need to hide the Mate bond."

With that, Daniel leaves the room but his steps are uncertain. It's probably still too surprising for him. I sigh, close the locket with the rest of her hair and put it back in its place. Then I open my bedside table and pull out my old mobile phone. I turn it on and type in a text message for Atalanta.

Atalanta

Thankfully, my mother doesn't need anything special except for setting name tags so I am done quite soon. She doesn't ask me to do anything else so I linger in the area for a few minutes, trying to remember where each Alpha and Luna belong. Then I return to my room and look around, almost expecting to see another letter from Carson. When I find none, I plop down on my bed unhappily.

Diana chuckles in my mind. 'It's only been two days. Do give him some more time.'

'That's easier said than done,' I retort. 'And I worry he is in danger after what happened outside of the meeting room.'

She licks my mental face. 'I'm sure he's fine,' she tries to calm me down. 'And even if something really happened to him, we can't contact him on our own.'

I think about it and snap my fingers repeatedly. 'Evans. Evans surely knows how to contact him. I need to get that information from him.'

'But you are meeting them after dinner,' Diana reminds me.

I sigh and collapse on my back. 'Diana, I know it sounds crazy but I need Carson. I miss him a lot.'

Diana nuzzles my mental legs and admits: 'I miss Zeus and Carson, too. I spoke with Zeus in the restaurant and he's funny and witty. I like his personality and I also like Carson, so I know how you feel.'

I look at the watch only to see that I have about an hour before I should start preparing for dinner. Johann is with Flora in my grandparents' care away from the palace so I can't pick him up and spend time with him. I wonder how to kill time when my phone buzzes with a text message. I purse my lips and fish the phone from my pocket. I don't have the number saved so I inhale deeply and open the message. My eyes sting with tears as I read the signature at the end of the message. Carson. Carson has finally written to me and I have his phone number!

I wipe my eyes and return to the beginning to read the whole text. "Atalanta, I hope you have given me the right number. How have you been? I could feel your distress all day and it makes me worried. Please answer asap. Carson."

I smile unhappily. The amia bond is really strong between us for him to feel how I feel from so far away. And maybe something has happened to him, too, for me to suffer from a panic attack. I should find out what he has been up to as well. I contemplate writing to him or calling directly. I gain some time by saving Carson's number but then I have to decide. I'm surprised Diana doesn't comment on my inner turmoil but then I'm dialling Carson's number without realising that I have pushed the button.

Four or five long beeps resound in my room before the call is answered. "Hello?" comes a soft male voice. He sounds partly choked and uncertain.

"Carson?" I asked. "Carson Gillion?"

"Yes, that . . . that's me," he answers nervously.

Suddenly, I realise that I don't know what to tell him. I mean, somewhere in the back of my mind, I have presumably thought that he wouldn't answer. I have nothing to say for a moment so he asks worriedly: "Tali, are you all right? Speak to me, please."

"I'm still here, Carson," I answer faintly. "I just . . ."

"Yeah," he interrupts calmly. "I know what you mean."

My voice stops in my throat. He what? I have no idea myself what I meant to say. I cough shortly and try to start anew so that the silence doesn't stretch between us uncomfortably. "Carson, I'm so sorry to have you worry." I inhale and continue: "Today we have had a huge Alpha meeting and I'm helping Luna Queen and . . ."

"Wow," Carson breathes in surprise. "This is a lot of responsibility. I don't wonder that you felt in danger."

"In danger?" I whisper more to myself than go anyone else. "Oh my, you think of how I went to the afternoon meeting with my father, right?"

"With your father?" he questions in a weak voice without really understanding what I'm talking about.

I realise that I may have disclosed my true identity so I hide the truth immediately: "Yes, my father went to the Alpha meeting with Alpha King and others and he took me with him because I have been to many of the rogue attacks."

I push myself further up the bed and put my head on a pillow. I find it astonishing that I feel more relaxed than ten minutes ago despite what we are talking about. And I'm only speaking to a stranger. Carson isn't my friend or anything as of yet. We've met only twice!

"This makes sense. I hope it all went well?" Carson prods and I'm willing to tell him how terrified I was. So strange.

"Well, some Alphas were difficult, one even wants to eradicate werewolf rogues. Would you believe that?" I sigh exasperatedly.

Carson doesn't speak but I can hear his breathing clearly. Then he offers: "Many packs are afraid of rogues because of the few who are real criminals. But the others . . ." He pauses and a strange sound comes through the phone. I can't distinguish it but my hairs stand up in goosebumps.

"About that . . ." I say firmly, "Can I meet you and your group like we have agreed?"

Carson stutters: "O-of course. Wh-when?"

"How about we meet on Friday evening and I stay till Sunday?" I suggest in a voice that doesn't allow negotiation.

"Alright, OK, we can arrange that," Carson replies in submission. "It's just that the housing isn't very good."

"I've been to war zones, Carson. I can sleep by the campfire with only a thin blanket and still survive," I calm him down.

His muttered response shocks me: "You won't be much better off in our place, either."

I keep wondering how the heck they are surviving the winter. It's already cold outside and soon the snow will appear. I should probably take some things with me but I need to learn more about their group from Evans. Urgently.