Children of the Goddesses (completed)

You're not my Mate

Laila’s POV

            Why isn’t she getting any better? Maybe we need a witch healer? 

            Voices echoed in my head as I struggled to lift my eyelids but this time was different. I could hear everything around me clearly but I was simply too tired to move any part of my body. The Gamma’s voice was there all the time and it warmed my heart knowing that he had probably never left my side since I had gotten shot. My mind knew that it was wrong to feel this way about him but my body was simply too tired, and I guessed it was fine to allow myself this guilty pleasure until I was well again. 

            If I didn’t know how s**t you were with words, I would have called you a prick, Ethan! Now don’t sass me and just trust our pack doctor. The vampire’s vitals are fine. She probably just needs some time to heal and get her strength back. 

            An unfamiliar angry male voice got my attention and I wished that I could just be well again right now. I wanted to tell the Gamma that I was fine so that he’d stop worrying. The last thing that I wanted was for him to be worried about nothing or to become a burden to him. We were so close to the Tahoe Coven now and soon, we’d go our separate ways. That thought made my heart clenched painfully and it became physically difficult to breathe. 

            What’s happening?! Why is her pulse suddenly skyrocketing? I mean no offense, Doc, but..she’s important to me. 

            The frantic pleas of the Gamma was quickly followed by a warm touch on my right arm. A powerful surge of energy rushed through my body and in an instant, without even trying, my eyes flew open. My surroundings were dimly lit and I blinked a few times before my vision sharpened, only to wish that it hadn’t. A she-wolf was standing on my left side holding a stethoscope placed on my chest, listening intently to my heart, while the Gamma stood on my right side, his hands on my upper right arm while his eyes were fixated on mine. I could feel myself turning bright red as my eyes met those warm honey brown eyes, and my arms shot up to cover my half exposed chest as I realized where the stethoscope was. 

            “Laila? Can you hear me? I’m Dr. Heil and I’m here to help you,” explained the bespectacled she-wolf on my left as she removed the stethoscope from my chest and gave me some of my personal space back. I quickly pulled the blanket up to cover my half exposed chest before eyeing the Gamma nervously from the corner of my eyes. 

            Dr. Heil cleared her throat and looked at the Gamma hesitantly. “Could you give us 30 minutes? I just need to do some basic checks and then she’s all yours.”

            Her words made me want to dig a hole and hide myself in there forever. I had no idea why the Gamma was showing me so much concern but I dismissed any wild thoughts that I had about us quickly. He was a taken man and I had one job, get to the Tahoe Coven and figure out this mess with Brenna. Before I was shot, I heard clearly that one of the snipers had shouted at the rest to “Get her” and who this her was, was clear as crystal. It could only be me but why would they be after me? Were they after female vampires, just like the Moon Goddess had tried to warn me through my mother? 

            A growl startled me and snapped me out of my thoughts, even as the pressure on my arm increased to the point where it was almost painful. “I won’t leave her,” warned the Gamma through gritted teeth. 

            “Don’t be a jerk, Ethan. Let the Doc do her job,” scolded a bored voice, the same voice that was angry just a while ago. I craned my neck slightly and saw a man, a werewolf, leaning against the door frame lazily. He was slightly taller than the Gamma and had a crew cut. His face was a little chubbier and he had light grey eyes but those were the only differences that I could see between him and the Gamma. My brows knitted together in confusion as my eyes darted between them. 

            A light chuckle broke the awkward silence as the werewolf approached us and reached out to free my arm from the Gamma’s grip, earning another growl from the Gamma. “Woah, easy boy, now let the Doc do her job and we’ll wait outside or you’d prefer to waste more time and who knows, maybe Laila’s hurting. What do you say, Cousin?” 

            The Gamma gave me one last worried glance before leaving begrudgingly with the werewolf. “Laila?” Dr. Heil looked at me, her eyes asking for permission and I nodded after I was sure that the werewolves were gone. 

            “You’re on the mend, Laila. Everything looks good and the gunshot wound wasn’t too deep, so you got pretty lucky there. From what I know, vampires heal slightly faster than humans so I’d say, take it easy for the next few weeks and after two months, you should be good as new. Be careful about keeping the wound clean though. Infections can get nasty and you don’t want that.” 

            I heaved a sigh of relief at what Dr. Heil said before an idea popped into my mind. “Would it be ok for me to walk?” 

            “Take it easy includes staying off your feet, little one,” chuckled the doctor. “But if you really wanted to, you’d walk fine. You’re a vampire, not human. We supernatural beings have a much higher endurance level for pain.” 

            I thanked the doctor again before she left and started brainstorming on how I could sneak outside during daylight hours to test out my idea. Based on the experiments that I had done so far, if I assumed correctly, the sun was somehow giving me energy or magic, just something, and it was enhancing my supernatural abilities. If that was indeed the case, then perhaps the sun could also speed up my healing. 

Ethan’s POV

            “What is wrong with you, Ethan?” 

            Avoiding the questioning gaze of my cousin, I sank into the couch in the adjoined living room and felt my high strung emotions finally relax for the first time in two days. Since Laila was shot in the early morning hours yesterday, Gower and I had been on edge, worried about our mate despite knowing that she was going to survive the wound. 

            “Look, Ethan, I’m not dumb, ok. We might not have grown up together but Mum made us spend every single summer vacation together and the Ethan I know, he’s not like this,” my cousin said matter-of-factly as he pointed at me from head to toe. “You’re s**t with words, we all know that, but you’re not impulsive, and you would never act so rashly because of someone that you’d just known for a few days. Who is she, Ethan? And don’t bullshit me with, oh a vampire that my Alpha tasked me to send to the West Coast.” 

            I hated my cousin’s guts sometimes but I knew he was right. I wasn’t acting like myself and it was becoming obvious to everyone, well everyone except Laila. After the incident with the human hunters, all warriors including Dillon were careful not to get too close to Laila, respecting my protective claim on her, and Betti had begun to distance herself from me after fetching my cousin and the doctor to the motel. 

            “She’s my mate, ok, Jove. It’s killing me that I couldn’t protect her and I don’t know what to do about all of this. I have a chosen mate that I now need to break things off with. Goddess knows how thankful I am that Betti and I haven’t actually gone through the Claiming Ceremony so our bond isn’t cemented and we have not mated nor have I marked her. But this thankfulness alone makes me such a massive jerk. How am I supposed to say something so cruel to someone who has done nothing but been there for me throughout my life?” 

            The shock on my cousin’s face was quickly replaced by sympathy as he patted me gently on the back before sitting himself down next to me. “Look, I’m sorry if I was pushy but I’m glad I was. You should have told me earlier and I could have helped you. Don’t forget that my mate, your charming cousin-in-law is a witch and we were mated before things were cool between witches and werewolves. Heck, I’m the Romeo who survived and got the girl! So let me give you a piece of advice, don’t drag your feet. The Goddess doesn’t make mistakes. If this vampire is your mate, then you need to break things off with Betts. She’s a great girl but great isn’t enough. She wasn’t the one that the Goddess made for you, Ethan.” 

            “You’re right,” I sighed. No matter what happened with Laila, I needed to break things off with Betti as soon as possible to be fair to her.

            “Good luck, Cousin!” Jove’s shout of encouragement only served to make me more nervous as I made my way to Betti’s motel room around the corner at the end of the hall. Wiping my wet palms on my pants, I took a deep breath before ringing the bell as I stood before Betti’s door. 

            “Hey you, you look tired. Come on in, I’ll run you a bath,” said Betti gently as she took a step back to let me in. I nodded uncomfortably, and entered the room, turning around to face her the moment the door was closed.

            “Betti, we need to talk,” I said firmly while holding her gaze. Before she could put in a word, I continued hurriedly, wanting to get everything off my chest and not allow anything to change my mind at the last minute. “I’m sorry but I can’t go ahead with the Claiming Ceremony. I can’t be your chosen mate and I’m very sorry for the way things turned out, but I need you to know that you’re a great girl. We’re just not right for each other. We’re not the other half of each others’ souls. You’re not my fated mate, and I’m not yours.”