The Dormant: The 5 Goddesses

Episode 12: Sparring Lessons

~Charly~

As soon as the detectives left, I decided against going to the mall as the girls previously asked. Honestly, I was tired, the voice in my head hadn't stopped, and I was getting worried about it.

"Are you sure?" Danielle asked, her eyebrows wrinkling with confusion.

I firmly nodded and smiled at her, trying to make her and Pops ease up. They were protective, those two. Something happened last week that I remember, and mixed that with my decline in mental health, everything felt wrong like my body was getting hijacked by another force. I had given myself many headaches trying to recall the night we sneaked into Camp North.

"Well, if you change your mind, call us, and we'll meet you out front," Poppy shrugged and lingered in front of my door. I kissed them goodbye and shooed them away.

All I wanted was a hot shower and a movie. I stepped into my room and decided to get my outfit ready for tomorrow. Suddenly, the woman's voice resonated in my head. "Your mate would love anything you wear."

It had been hard lately to shut it off, and the medications weren't helping, if they ever did at all. So, I ignored it as I had been doing for the past three days. I stood in front of my closet and took out some outfits. First, I tried on a black sports bra and yoga pants. I turned to look in the mirror, shaking my head at the sight of myself. I took everything off and tried on black shorts and a white sports bra.

I studied myself in the mirror, thinking about how I looked. I remember Noah's voice whispering in my ear the last time I saw him. Goosebumps formed on my skin at the memory of his hot breath whispering in my ear. I wanted him to feel excited when he saw me. I was staring in the mirror, remembering his scent of rosewood campfire, and imagining him touching my skin, my neck, my...

"You look amazing."

My eyes snapped open when I heard his voice as clear as day. It couldn't be right, I told myself when I heard it again. "It is. I can see you've been thinking of me."

I was stunned and thought back, "How many voices do I have in my head? And I know this is my subconscious, but you sound very similar to..."

It answered me right back. "Noah? Do me a favor, gorgeous, remind yourself of what happened when the cops came by, please?"

I started laughing maniacally and answered, "Sure, why not? It's not like I'm helping in my own delirium!" I remembered the detectives' conversation, my hands on my hips while glancing up. Noah's subconscious voice came back. This couldn't be right, this right here was when I knew s**t was really wrong on so many levels. I should speak with my parents about it.

"Good girl. Now, back to topic. You look amazing. If I had you in front of me..."

I shook my head, not letting it finish. "You are a very sick voice, and I've got an ego! Who knew all these years of feeling inadequate? Now a voice sounding like the man I like is eye-f*****g me. Or am I eye-f*****g myself? Definitely, something is eye-f*****g me."

"I am eye-f*****g you, though we should call it something better. Now, who is the sick one calling it like that before she knows me better?" I threw my hands up in the air, not believing what I heard, and tried to shut that voice out like I did with the woman's. I heard a growl from subconscious Noah.

I laughed at the voice. "Did you just growl at me?" I was stunned when a second voice appeared, seething at the growling sounds. "Did he just growl at you?" The woman's voice resonated, making me close my eyes in frustration. "Oh perfect, now I have three voices in my head, and two are fighting."

I shook my head, staring at the mirror, now lost in my thoughts. The woman's voice answered me, "Call me Bastet, Catalina..."

Taking deep breaths, I tried to control the voices. "Okay, first, if you want me to keep answering you, stop calling me Catalina. If you want me to address you, then use my name, Charlotte. Second, can the other voice hear you?" I tapped my foot on the floor, my arms wrapped around my chest.

It soon replied, "The voice is your mate, and he can sense me. No, the only one who can talk with me is you, Charlotte."

"Charly!" Noah's voice yelled in my head, making me jump. "Are you okay? I am feeling your confusion. What's wrong, princess?"

I lost it. Thinking, well, if I can't get rid of the voices, I might as well join them, I proceeded to answer him. "I have voices in my head. One of them is the man I would like to give my first time to and have been totally aching to see again because just the thought of him is enough to sleep happy at night. The same one that now I hear in my head, confessing things that I don't even tell my friends."

I was exasperated and answered as truthfully as possible, thinking, well, it's in my head, what harm could it do? When the voice came back, "My name is Noah Alexander Solvermond, leader of Camp North. Solvermond spelled without an 'e' at the end. Many people tend to write it wrong, you included. I see you've written my name in your English notebook. Why don't you try Google?"

As quickly as possible, I grabbed my phone and wrote his name. I tapped the first page, with the surname Solvermond spelled without an 'e'. There was a photo of a younger Noah with his parents... something my subconscious wouldn't know.

"Don't freak out," he said as soon as I was about to.

"Okay, I believe you," I said out loud, trying to remain as calm as possible, my hands clenching and unclenching at my sides. Now I was hallucinating, this couldn't be real. "Now can you please tell me why you are in my head?!"

Closing my eyes, I screamed, while he answered, "You invited me in. You were thinking about me, and I guess I was somewhat curious to hear your thoughts."

That got me angry. "Do you think I would invite you while remembering all of that stuff?"

I started unconsciously thinking about how he looked at me and how it turned me on when I felt him against my skin.

"You are doing it again. I like it when you think about me this way."

Then Bastet's voice came back. "I like him."

I screamed into my mind, trying to get them out, while putting my hands up. "I now take back any invitations to cult leaders and weird women. My mind is closed for the moment." I hope perhaps if I did this they would stop.

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~Danielle~

"Charly, eyes on the road!" I screamed at my friend as she swerved on our way to Camp North. Poppy was in the backseat, giving us her best impression of a human pinball.

"You are going to tell me right now what's got into you, young lady?" I said, trying to use a mom's voice. My hands shook as I felt Charly driving wasn't such a good idea. The girl wasn't even wearing her glasses. I liked to live with a little bit of danger, but this right here was too much. She looked at me and then glanced at Poppy in the rearview mirror.

"Yesterday, I had a fight with three voices in my head," Charly said. Poppy's face popped up, and I just stared at her dumbfounded and said, "Well, that sounds like a not enjoyable threesome."

Poppy scooted to the middle between us and looked at her. "Have you taken your medication? What do these voices sound like?"

I quickly added, my finger pointed at her, "Are you going out on a killing spree?" Poppy shot a murderous glance at me, and I raised my hands in defeat. Then she looked back at Charly, questioning, "What about the pills? Aren't they working?"

Gulping air, Charly answered, "The pills haven't been working since last week, but now the voices are getting stronger. Even weirder, one of the voices is Noah." She started to blush and bite her lower lip.

"So, one of your subconscious voices is Noah. Well, that makes sense if you like him; it's not that weird," Poppy stated.

"Well, that's the odd part. I was writing his name with an 'e' at the end, but his name is written without it," Charly tried explaining, grabbing the steering wheel with both hands.

"And that's weird because...?" I asked, giving her a side look. Yes, she was a feather away from going coockoo. We could work with this as we always did and we would find a solution. Perhaps she just needed new medication.

"The voice told me,” she simply said and shrugged her shoulders. We were getting to the village entrance, so I grabbed her head and screamed in her ear. Maybe in this crazy world, perhaps she did hear him. It was weird as f**k what she was saying, so it was time for a little experiment. "If Noah Solvermond, cult leader of Camp North, is in this car with us hearing this conversation, please, when we get there, have his friend Liam tell Poppy over here, she looks fantastic when she tries to twerk."

They both looked at me as if I was crazy. I let her head go and put my hands up. "Hey, Charly, if you got this incredible power, we need to milk it."

"Okay, girls, please, nothing about this. The last thing I want is for him to think I am a crazy psycho," she said as we approached the main house. Finally, parking her car and glancing back at Poppy, we both nodded at her.

I stepped out of the car and exited the main house entrance. There, we were greeted by Ben. "Charly, Poppy, Danielle, we were waiting for you girls. Let me take you to the gym so we can get started. I decided to join you girls today, so there would be enough sparring partners."

We started following the sexy hunk, damn he had a great ass, towards the training area. We entered the gym, the building we were hiding behind the first night we came here. Ben opened the door and let us in while walking away and sitting down on some benches. Charly and Noah locked eyes the moment she stepped inside. He smiled at her, and she blushed. I sat next to Ben, sighing at the scene in front of me.

"Young love," I mumbled.

Groaning, he agreed. "Tell me about it." I glanced at him, separating my torso from his and lifting my eyebrows. He looked at me and did the same. He had the most incredible hazel eyes, surrounded by such thick dark lashes, he had a small scar on one of his eyebrows, a straight nose, and a mouth that if he smiled could melt any panties away. All of that was on a bone structure that could cut a diamond.

Then, the moment of truth, Liam came out, clapping his hands as we all surrounded him, waiting for directions. I glanced at Poppy, she looked at Charly. We three stared at him in expectation. Smiling, he opened his mouth, saying, "Well, girls, I am happy you could join us today. Our other club members are doing their drills in another area because they are a bit more experienced. We decided your first class needed to be a crash course so you could get on the same level as them." He finished speaking, then grinned again, and I felt cheated and deflated. I was genuinely hoping the mind-reading thing was a real thing.

He continued speaking while pointing to the mat in front of us. "Now to begin, Danielle, Ben, can you come to the middle? Danielle, if someone comes from behind and decides to grab you like that. Ben, if you could?" Ben came from behind me and held my waist tightly.

My skin went to a stop, not quite sure of what it was that I was feeling. I shook the sensation away, stomping on Ben's foot, doing a hard turn around, and putting my knee hard on his groin. He immediately fell to the floor, panting.

"Danny!!" Both Charly and Poppy screamed. Noah came behind Charly with a grin and stated, "Don't worry, girls, he can take it, can't you, Ben?" Ben kneeled and gave a thumbs-up while looking down. Then he glanced up at me, grinned, yes, a panty melting smirk on order, and nodded his head.

Liam stared at me, shaking his head, then again started talking. "That was good, Ben. Now, if we try this again?" Before I knew it, Ben had stood up and his hands were holding my waist again.

Liam tapped Ben's shoulder. "Okay, wait for my command and try doing your technique again, Danny."

I felt Ben breathing in my ear, and then he hissed, "So you want to play rough, huh?" The second Liam said go, he passed his leg under my own, turning me on my back and pinning me to the floor. I lay there looking into his hazel eyes, panting. He grinned, which made me scowl, before standing up. He offered his hand and pulled me back.

"Good, next time someone does that..." Liam was now demonstrating using Poppy. Poppy shifted uncomfortably with the size difference between them. Liam was probably 6,8 and little Poppy wouldn't even reach his chest. "You need to feel the weight of your attacker, like this, and jump. Don't be afraid to use his weight to counterbalance." He made a motion to Poppy to neutralize him. Poppy tried to tackle the giant man but soon gave up, raised a hand, and said, "I'm not good at this, I am done. I can't even do a run, and you are pairing me with him?" She pointed at the giant. We all laughed, looking at the petite teen dragging her feet and sitting down on the mat's edge.

Liam next had Charly and Noah try the move instead. "Go!" He said, slapping the training mat. Charly counterweighted beautifully, sending Noah to the floor, but he grabbed her hand and pulled her down with him. She ended up on top of him, both laughing.

An hour passed, and Poppy had already given up and was sitting down talking to Liam. Charly and Noah were on the other side practicing moves in private, and I was in an all-out war with Ben. This was supposed to be a defense class and I took no soul prisoner. He was going down.

Though the stubborn man wasn't holding back his blows, and neither did I, or at least that's what I told myself as I ended up on the floor for the tenth time, out of breath and hurting everywhere. I saw his lips slightly curving and realized that, yes, I was attracted to him, the man did it for me. Tough luck because I was still ready to kick his ass. I stood up again, shaking my arms, ready to give him another kick, when Liam stopped us, and Noah came asking if we wanted any lunch.

Poppy's face lit up, and she grabbed Liam's arm, saying, "Food, yes, where?" We finally started walking to the main house. As we entered, we could smell the food coming from the kitchen. They had cheesy lasagna, garlic bread, and salad. We stepped into the kitchen. Ben opened the fridge and tossed me a Gatorade, which I immediately caught, opened, and started gulping down.

Poppy had made her way to the food, serving herself a plate the size of herself. She sat down to eat. We all stared at her in awe. She shrugged her arms, stating, "I am a developing adult and in need of carbs."

By the end of the afternoon, we were all in the living room, and Charly and Noah were holding hands. I sat beside Ben staring at them flirt. "Young love," I sighed. He replied while biting his lower lip and nodding his head. "Tell me about it." I parted my torso from him the same way I did in the morning, raising my eyebrows and looking straight at him. He did the same. I grinned and slapped his arm.

We were about to go. Charly and I were sitting outside talking, and I mentioned, "See Charly, there was no mind-reading. No, Poppy is an amazing twerker. Hey, if they were mind-readers, they would know all about the hots I have for Adam Sandler." She tilted her head and put her hands up. "What the F Danny?" I shrugged my shoulders and licked and bit my lips. "Something about floppy dad types, they are so yummy." I moaned, kissing the tips of my fingers. The guys came out to say goodbye and set the next training date. Liam kissed Poppy's cheek, whispering something that made her blush.

I was about to say something and defend my friend's honor, but as I was about to speak, Ben grabbed my waist, spun me around, and stared directly into my eyes while whispering. "Adam Sandler, exciting choice. Someday you will tell me all about it." He flicked my nose with the tip of his finger. Then, he opened the car door, carefully sat me on the passenger side, closed the door, and waved goodbye. We started driving, and Charly spoke feeling vindicated. "See, I told you he could mind-read me." I glanced back through the rearview mirror. The three men were laughing their asses off. This was certainly a new development, relief and then dread. If Charlotte was crazy, we could have worked with that but this, this was a whole new can of unknown.

~Noah~

After my run with Liam and Ben, I went to prepare the gym for the girls. I stood there and watched my she-wolves sparring today and realized it wouldn't be fair to pair the girls up with them.

“They'd get whipped!” Ben sat beside me, a stern mask on his face. As my Beta, he oversaw everything pack-related, from warriors' training to acting as the interim Alpha when I wasn't around. I laughed, knowing it was true. With a few nods, the she-wolves finished their training and, bowing their heads and muttering Alpha and Beta, they left the gym.

Liam was nearby, kickboxing a bag with intense focus. “Easy with them, Liam. They’re teenagers,” I called out, my eyes following his punches.

I felt a sudden strain in my chest and immediately sought out my mate. Our connection was incredible, for something so newly formed. “Charly, where are you? What happened?” I sent through our mind-link.

“Oh, you again, hello, mind voice that may or may not be Noah. How is your morning going?” Her skeptical tone made me smile.

“Well, I have a couple of fighters here ready to kick your butts. How long until you get here?” I replied.

“In a minute or so. I got them prepared.” She sent me a memory of her and the girls talking about us. “Babe, you know they are not going to believe you, right?” I chuckled as she showed me an image of Danielle asking Liam to say Poppy was a great twerker.

I had to share this with Ben and Liam. Liam shook his head, muttering, “Teenagers.” Ben, with his signature stoic face, glanced back at Liam, a small grin appearing as he went to fetch the girls. “The joke’s on you, Ben. I’m pairing you with Danielle,” I teased. Liam laughed out loud. “He deserves it, see if he likes it.”

“We are here.” “They are here.” Ben and Charly’s mind-links overlapped. My grin stretched from ear to ear. Finally, I would be able to touch her, see her, feel her. I jumped down from the workout bench and waited for her to walk inside the gym.

I saw my Luna enter, her eyes searching for me. When she found me, her unusual eyes looked at me from head to toe. I entered her mind, seeing her lust for me, just as I was taking in her whole self. She wore black shorts that made her long legs look endless and a red long-sleeved shirt that clung to her figure, leaving her neck—soon to bear my mark—exposed. Her sweet mocha scent enveloped me, and it took all my willpower not to grab her and claim her right then and there.

“Hi.” She timidly said through the mind-link.

“Hi.” I shot back, winking at her, letting her know she wasn’t going mad. Her eyes widened as she realized all the things she had said were heard by me.

She turned the same color as her shirt. f**k! Charlotte was such a cutie when embarrassed. I bit my lower lip, running a hand through my hair. “Shall we start? Oh, by the way, the twerking thing, do you still want it?” I teased through the mind-link.

Charly answered back. “Wait, not yet. Let me figure this out a bit before those two freak out.”

I smiled, nodding. “Good call, sexy.”

“Liam, hold off on the twerking stuff for now,” I linked to Liam, who shook his head and started the class. He began teaching, asking Danielle and Ben to the middle of the mat, a vengeful smile playing on his lips.

“So, you thought I couldn’t handle the more advanced class?” Charly raised an eyebrow while mind-linking.

“Yes, honestly, I didn’t think you could, but hey, I’m here. You can hit me.” I smiled as she watched Danielle take Ben down with a well-placed kick on his balls. “Danny!” the smile fell as she screamed, stepping forward.

“Forgive her, please. I promise, I'll talk to her.” She was now mind-linking with such ease, like the natural wolf she was. Ben mind-linked to Liam, “Asshole.” Liam chuckled. “See, I told you those girls are demons and that's their signature move.” While they both looked at Danielle, who stood watching them both.

“So, do you always look this beautiful, or is it just in your gym clothes?” I asked Charly, scanning her body beside me.

“Shh, I’m trying to concentrate.” She shushed me, her face focused on what Liam was saying. Oh, I was totally going to make her pay for that.

“Li, my turn,” I mind-linked. Liam asked Charly and me to the middle. He showed her the movement while I positioned myself behind her, grabbing her waist, her hair just beneath my nose. Her skin touched mine, and I knew she was already mine, even if she didn’t know it yet.

“Go!” Liam said, hitting the mat. I was too distracted by her scent. With a swift movement, she had me on the ground. I grabbed her hand and pulled her down with me, her chest on mine, her face inches from mine.

“One more move like that, and I won’t play fair,” I whispered, looking deep into her eyes.

“Bring it on, Cult Leader,” Charly challenged, and we both laughed, her body relaxing as she grew more comfortable with me.

We tried some more moves and then went to a corner to practice as we mind-linked. Charlotte asked, “So tell me, what is this? And why is it happening? Why can we do this?”

I thought for a moment. “Well, I prefer telling you out loud, but it has something to do with your genetics. Tell me, your parents, can they do this?”

She shook her head, then shrugged. “No, well, I don’t know. I’m adopted, so I don’t remember my biological parents.”

“Well, that makes sense. Usually, children with your genetics are sent to camps like this to learn how to use their power.” Her eyes widened, all the colors in them more vivid. “So, this place is like X-Men. Are you Professor Xavier?”

I laughed, making a move and tumbling her to the ground. “Geek.”

She stood up, smiling, then asked, “So if I have this power and others like me can do this, can I talk like this with them? For example, Liam or Ben.”

“Why would you want to mind-link Liam or Ben? You have me.” I pouted playfully.

She blushed, trying again. “No, I mean, can I talk with them too, like I do with you? I want to know how the power works.”

I smiled, wanting to kiss her forehead. “I’ll explain it better later, but no, the bond we share is stronger than with others. Someday, after you become part of the camp, you will be able to speak with them, but I am the only one you will be able to talk to like this. Am I enough?”

She gave me a sweet smile, making my heart skip a beat. “If you were my sidekick and I could only share this with you, I would be more than happy.” I kissed her forehead before gently pushing her onto her back and landing on top of her. “Okay, not like that, not yet. Behave, Noah.” She scowled playfully.

My self-control was reaching its limits, and my wolf howled non-stop for us to mate. I needed a rest to gather myself. “Liam, let’s have lunch,” I said.

We walked down the pathway to the packhouse, and before I knew it, I was holding her hand. I looked down, smiling, feeling happy with the contact. We entered the kitchen and sat down at the table. They were no longer “the girls” to us. They were Poppy, Danielle, and the most beautiful Luna in the world, Charlotte—they were pack members.

“So, guys, do you think those two can keep the secret?” I asked. Ben mind-linked as he passed a Gatorade to Danielle. “Yes, Noah, in fact, this one could pass as a she-wolf.”

“Liam, what do you say?” I mind-linked my Gamma, who was looking dumbfounded at Poppy’s lasagna plate. “This one eats more than you, me, and Ben together.”

I laughed, grabbing Charlotte’s hand, and kissing her knuckles. I was thrilled and could have stayed like this forever. I watched Ben and Danielle, unsure if they were flirting or hating each other, and Liam treating Poppy like his little sister.

I stared at Charlotte and asked out loud, “Charlotte, would you like to go for dinner tonight? I’ll pick you up about eight?”

“Ummm... I would, but my parents.” She smiled, then frowned.

Caressing her cheek with the back of my knuckles, I whispered in her ear. “I’ll be happy to meet them.”

She smiled, leaning towards me about to kiss me but controlling herself. “Yes.” She nodded, adding, “Let’s do this, Cult Leader.”

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Charlotte shot an image of her friends talking about the mind-link as they were about to go. Without asking, I mind-linked it to the guys. “Are you ready? Shock them,” I said to my Beta and Gamma. They said goodbye. Liam whispered to Poppy how well she twerked. Ben held Danielle in his arms and told her something about the conversation she was currently having with Charlotte. Stunned out of their minds, my two friends placed them inside the car.

Charlotte started to drive as Poppy and Danielle began to freak out. We started laughing. “So, what’s the deal with Danielle?” After they were gone, I asked my Beta, looking at him with concern, knowing he had been really close to the girl all day—maybe too close. “You realize she’s human. Wolf laws say it is forbidden.” I raised my eyebrow at him, knowing my Beta would never defy pack laws. It was not part of his values if there was one person that was a rule follower, that would be him.

“I know, it’s just my wolf. He gets restless with her beside me. I don’t know if I want to compete with her or kiss her.” He shrugged, shuffling on his spot, unsure of whatever he was feeling. “Let’s go. I have a date tonight, and I am meeting my in-laws.” I patted his shoulder and walked inside the packhouse.

.