Children of the Goddesses (completed)

Secrets

Laila’s POV

            I felt lightheaded from the ride that my heart just took this morning and I couldn’t believe that I was still lying in the arms of my mate as the sun began to set outside. Mate. This was a word that held no meaning for me until this morning. Vampires were created with dark magic by witches hell bent on killing werewolves. We were not children of the Moon Goddess and never in the history of our existence had we heard of any vampires having a fated mate. After all, this was a gift that the Moon Goddess bestowed only on her children, but the warm embrace that I was lying in proved everything that I had ever known to be wrong. 

            The attraction that I felt towards Ethan from the very first time that I laid my eyes on him, or even when I was unconscious, was because of the bond between fated mates. The warmth and sparks of pleasure triggered by his touch, his fresh minty scent and the tugging on my heart when I thought about him; none of it was a simple attraction towards a good looking guy. Ethan explained that it was the magic of our bond and that was how you’d know that someone is your fated mate. He knew it from the day that I was rescued at sea and since then, he had been torn between his chosen mate and me. I couldn’t blame him for deciding to take on a chosen mate. From what I had learned during my time spent with werewolves at the Tahoe Coven previously, most werewolves shifted for the first time on their 16th birthday and when your wolf awakens, you would be able to find your fated mate. To not have found the other half of your soul 9 years after your first shift must be absolutely heartbreaking and I couldn’t even imagine what it felt like to not have something that everyone else was blessed with. To feel like you were forgotten and knowing that you might never experience the love between fated mates. 

            I pressed my face against Ethan’s chest and made a silent promist to the Moon Goddess that I would cherish the mate that She had given me with everything that I had, and I thanked her for giving me an honorable man as my fated mate. Ethan had told me about Betti’s fated mate after explaining his decision to take a chosen mate, and my heart felt even heavier, knowing that in some way, my existence took away Betti’s second chance at happiness. But I was no saint and despite griefing for Betti’s plight, it would never stop me from pursuing my own happiness, especially when it was a gift from the Moon Goddess herself. Ethan also shared with me many details of his life, making me feel even more protective of him. He told me about the death of his parents, which happened when he was a young pup. His parents were both Gammas of their pack, and were tasked with the winter defense preparations against vampire attacks. Unfortunately, during one particularly hard winter, they were caught in a storm while preparing the coastal defenses and drowned. He knew that their deaths were an accident but nevertheless, it was especially bitter for me to know that the death of my mate’s parents was related to my kind. 

            The pain of losing a parent was like being pushed off a boat suddenly. The sudden onslaught of pain from the cold waters caught you unprepared and you hurt not just from the impact of being thrown into the waters, but also from the sense of helplessness from losing an anchor in your life. You struggled to breathe because you weren’t prepared for this and at times, you would feel like you had no strength left to struggle another day. Some would survive after a long struggle but with permanent scars and some would give in to despair and be forever lost at sea. I knew how it felt like to lose a parent at a young age but at least I still had Father and Lovis. Ethan had no one and on that day, he lost his entire world. 

            “What’s troubling that pretty head of yours?” 

            A deep husky voice brought me back to the present and I looked up to gaze into my favorite pair of eyes. “How do you know I’m troubled?” 

            “It’s what mates do, silly girl. I can feel your emotions, faintly, but I feel them. Normally, you’d feel your mate’s emotions after you had mated but I guess the bond works differently between us. My cousin did tell me that the bond between different supernatural beings worked a little differently and no one could really say how it works.” Ethan’s serious tone turned playful after his explanation as he pressed his forehead against mine and his breath brushed against my skin as he teased, “we could mate and find out more.” 

            I blinked blankly at his words, not trusting my voice to answer him as a mixture of desire and embarrassment overwhelmed me. I was 18 based on the calendar but I lost two years of my life in that strange coma after the Battle at Wallace Bay. How could I explain to Ethan that in my heart, I still felt like a 16 year old and that I had never been in love before? Even at base camp, the only information that I had learned about what males and females could do was from the bits and pieces that I managed to get out of Lovis. Female vampires were never assigned mates since we couldn’t produce the kind of offspring expected by Lady Lae, so we were never taught about our sexuality. It was as if our existence was only for fighting Lady Lae’s battles. 

            “Hey, I was just joking,” Ethan said gently as his fingers caressed my face. “If you’re not ready, we won’t do anything that you’re not comfortable with, alright? I’ve waited 25 years for you before giving up at the last minute to take a chosen mate, and I won’t make the same mistake again. This time, I’ll wait for as long as you need me to wait.” 

            My heart raced as the gentleness and thoughtfulness of Ethan’s words made me feel all warm and soft inside, but the more gentle and thoughtful he was, the more afraid I became. I was keeping a huge secret from him and I knew that I should confess my origins to him. Yet, I was so fearful that he wouldn’t believe me or that he wouldn’t want me anymore after that. 

            Please help me, Goddess, please hear my prayers like Mother said you would.

            I prayed desperately to the Goddess of the werewolves and witches, and the Goddess that Mother believed in, hoping against hope that they would help me out of this mess. My anxious heart calmed down and then fluttered with joy as my mate kissed my nose lightly before leaning in and gently pressing his lips against mine. The gentleness was swiftly replaced by an intensity driven by desire as his lips parted mine, sending me into a dizzy swaying world of pleasure. 

            “You can kiss me back, you know,” whispered Ethan teasingly as he pulled back from our kiss. The amusement in his eyes made me feel self-conscious and I could feel my cheeks heating up as I explained myself shyly. 

            “I’ve never kissed anyone before.” 

            The scent of fresh mint was overpowering as my mate leaned in again and my heart sped up once more as I closed my eyes in anticipation. Like the warm morning sun, the touch of his lips made me blossom like a morning glory as a surge of love and desire not belonging to me washed over me. For the first time, I could feel my mate’s emotions in my heart as if they were my own. 

            “I think I love you, Laila,” Ethan said in a shaky voice while our lips were just inches away from each other and in that moment, I felt whole, and it was a strangely wonderful feeling because I didn’t realize until this very moment that I had been missing the other half of my soul my entire life. 

Ethan’s POV

            My head was still up there in cloud nine from everything that happened yesterday. I couldn’t believe that I had found my fated mate and not only was she perfect, she reciprocated my feelings. I had no idea how but I could feel her emotions as clearly as they were mine, as if we were mated and I had marked her as mine. The only minor imperfection was how careful Laila was when we kissed but it warmed my heart to know that she already cared so much for me. 

            Hate to say this, but I TOLD YOU SO!! 

            I rolled my eyes at Gower’s snickering and headed back to our room after leaving Dillon and Corin’s room. Laila had insisted that she was well enough to travel tonight but I wasn’t convinced. It would be uncomfortable in the car with limited opportunities to stretch her legs, not to mention, every bump on the road would cause her wound to hurt, and there was no way that I would allow my mate to suffer. That cunning little girl made me an offer that I couldn’t reject though. She dropped the idea that the sooner we could get to the Tahoe Coven, the sooner we could figure out how the mate bond would work between us, surely the witches would be able to help us. It was an enticing thought and this was why I discussed and agreed with the brothers to prepare to resume our trip tonight. 

            Ethan, could you come over for a minute? I need help to bring the tents to the cars. Corin just mind-linked me that we’d be hitting the road once the sun sets. 

            I contemplated asking one of the warriors to help Betti after everything that had happened between us. She’d probably need some time to process everything and the last thing that I wanted was to make forgetting our decision to be mated to each other more difficult. At the same time, I didn’t want to be a jerk and just disappeared completely even when she asked for my help. In the end, I found myself ringing the bell at her door while Gower whined at me to keep my distance from all females other than our mate. 

            “Hey Betti,” I tried to say as naturally as I could, forcing myself to smile at the tired looking she-wolf in front of me. The dark circles under Betti’s eyes weighed heavily on my mind and I felt sorry for putting her through this mess.

            “Come on in,” she said in her usual gentle voice as she smiled at me like I hadn’t just broken things off with her the day before yesterday. 

            The bright sunlight filled up the room and I spotted the tents lying beside the windows. Without waiting for Betti to say anything, I headed over to the five bags of equipment and was about to sling them over my shoulders when a familiar face caught my eye. Her dark blue eyes sparkled under the bright sunlight and a satisfied smile lit up her beautiful face as she tilted her head up to bask in the sun. 

            “Is something wrong, Ethan?” Betti’s question snapped me out of my thoughts as I quickly picked up the five bags and passed one to her when I was far enough from the window. 

            “Walk with me, will you? The bags are a little heavy,” I said sheepishly and luckily, Betti didn’t question my lousy excuse before trailing after me, and I was thankful despite everything that she hadn’t seen what I had seen.