Taboo: Her Married Mate

Chapter Four: The Red Thread

Aurora, frozen, began to feel queasy. “Last night?” She asked. Already knowing what he could be bringing up.

“Yes, last night, and you know damn well what I’m talking about. You have been weird with me all morning. Not to mention my wolf and I both know what happened last night. That dream was as real as this conversation is now. Every touch, every thought, every shared breath.

It has been a while since I felt like that with anyone, and it is definitely the first time I have ever felt that connected to a person in my entire life… and my late wife, rest her soul, was my mate. But you… you are something different, this connection is different.” Charles’ voice was very calm as he spoke.

“Look Rore, have you ever heard of The Red Thread? And, I am not talking about the invisible thread that we have been taught about through our pack's history and lore that connects our wolf spirits to each other and gives us our mates, but in some instances, very rare instances, some wolves find their red thread, and they can have these instances of shared dreaming, or mutual dreaming, and meshed thinking. It is a form of telepathy between two souls, where their thoughts and feelings or both project themselves between the wolves that share a red thread. In some cases, a red thread connection is only found in second matches. It’s rare and has not happened in the Onyx pack in centuries, especially when one half of the red thread hasn’t even transitioned. Which could only mean…” Charles fell silent. He was standing up at this point, pacing along the table as Aurora watched silently.

“Unless what Charles?” Aurora knew what he was going to say but asked anyway. Charles walked back towards her and sat down.

“Unless Aurora,” he said, cupping her face with his right hand. “You are my mate, my red thread, my twin flame.”

Aurora stood up without responding. She walked away from Charles, leaving him at the table in the kitchen. Grabbing her backpack by the front door, she walked out the front door and headed down the long driveway towards home. She wanted to believe every word Charles said, but it all scared her too much. It was all too overwhelming.

“Rore, stop, we have to talk about this,” Charles said, coming after her. Aurora could feel her pace quickening. She did not have it in her to talk about any of this. Her whole life she had always thought the idea of love and finding a mate would take her away from being her own self, and now here she is… cosmically connected in more ways than an average wolf gets after finding their match.

“Aurora, please, this isn't the first dream”, Charles said. Aurora stopped and turned around.

“Look as much as I believe you. This can not be. You and I cannot be. You are my best friend’s stepfather. You are married, you are the brother of the alpha. I am just an omega trying to become my own person. I do not want to be tied down. I do not want marriage. I do not want pups. I never wanted any of that until I got to live for myself! Until you, I didn’t have to think about any of this and here you are, completely clouding my every thought and decision I have ever had! And all for what? "One or two dreams that we may or may not have both had?" Aurora had to catch her breath.

"Charles, I am going to go home, and you are not going to follow me. Tonight is my best friend’s party. We will not discuss this any further. In a few days' time, I will transition and get my wolf spirit. And if you're right about this red thread crap then you can reject me. Or I will be rejecting you.” Aurora turned on her heels and walked away. She could feel the tears swelling up in her eyes. The lump in her throat was getting thicker.

Why did she say any of that? It had all just come rushing out, she was so angry, she was scared.

Before Aurora could process any of the words she had said to Charles, she had reached the front doorstep of her home. Putting her key into the door, she let out a long sigh. The tears came streaming down her face, pouring. She was unable to hold them back any longer.

Unlocking the door and going inside, Aurora dropped her bag and headed up towards her room. She could hear her mom down the hall opening up her bedroom door.

“Aurora? Dear, is that you? I was not expecting you home until tomorrow,” she said. “Is everything okay?”

Not letting her mother see her face, Aurora turned her head into her doorway.

“I am good mom, everything is fine… um, after Annie’s transition, she found her mate. They are currently spending some time together, so I figured I would come home. I am going to go get some rest before tonight. If that is all right,” Aurora said, closing her door before her mom could answer back to her.

Why was she so angry? Aurora could not understand what had happened. Or why did it happen so fast and so suddenly?

Yesterday she was able to witness the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her life. Her best friend transitioned from the human she had known from the moment they meant, into a werewolf, a beautiful creature of nature, one of the purest gifts to receive from the ancestors. And today she finds out she is tied cosmically to a married man.

Pushing the tears aside, Aurora sat on her bed and grabbed her laptop. She had some research to do. She was going to find out exactly what this thread business was, what shared dreaming was and how it would affect her when she rejects Charles.

Charles could not believe he had just let Aurora walk away. Was she really going to reject him?

He knew he could never reject her. So, if that were what she really wanted, she would have to do it herself.

And if she did, could Charles handle the pain of rejection? Especially the rejection of his twin flame.

A severed red thread, from stories he had heard as a young boy, could be almost deathly.

His wolf was saddened by the thought of rejection. Not even the thought of his wife's deception hurt him this much. Charles had the idea she and Marcus were seeing each other, but seeing it first-hand made it real. After his shared dream with Aurora, though he felt less pained, Charles needed to clear his mind.

Heading to the end of the house towards the back patio, Charles began removing his clothes.

Naked and outside, Charles stretched his body, feeling his muscles get warm under the sunlight.

Charles was ready to let go. His wolf was ready to run.

On all fours, before he could finish a full exhale, his wolf was free. The earth was cool beneath his paws, the sunlight was warm in his fur.

The smell of their mate was growing stronger. In a few days' time, Aurora would transition, but she did not want to be theirs. Trying to ignore the smell, they dug their paws deeper into the ground and fled into the thick tree lining.

Their run was long and peaceful.

Charles’ wolf had taken him to the waterfall he would go to as a boy with his brother.

“This would not have been a problem if you had just taken your rightful place in the pack”, Charles' wolf thought. Charles ignored him. He just wanted to listen to the falls. “Ignore me then” his wolf was not happy. Running back towards the house, Charles and his wolf made a stop at Aurora’s home. Sitting in the trees, they sat with their snouts in the air, taking in the scent of their future mate. Charles and his wolf could hear Aurora in her room. The temptation to go up there and rip off her clothes overcame his wolf. If her scent was already doing this to him before her transition, what would happen to him afterward?

Charles knew this would not be a good time to bother her. After breakfast, he had said enough, and the last thing he wanted was to scare her away completely. She asked him to leave her alone, so he was going to do just that.

Looking up at Aurora’s window one last time before heading out, Charles’s wolf caught sight of Aurora looking out. Letting out a small howl, Charles left. It was time to head home and prepare for the torture he’d have to endure later tonight.

Being in the same room as his flame and not being able to touch her was going to be torture.