The Next Day
1170 Words
Andrea
I wake up the next day feeling like I've been hit by a bat. Maybe it was all of the crying and dehydration. I also think that my wolf is suffering. Being banished from a pack and only having our mother's wolf to communicate with has been hard on her. Now having a mate that is unsure about us is just another gut punch for her. I was hoping that we would find our mate and that things would be easier for her. But no such luck for us. I remind myself that we're both strong and will get through this. We also have all of our fellow guardians to communicate with. The Moon Goddess did provide and didn't leave us genuinely alone.
I get off the air mattress and head to the kitchen to make some coffee. This cabin is cute. Quaint even. It reminds me of a fairytale cottage.
"How do you feel this morning?" asks Amber through the mind link. Probably so that we can give Alice some more time to sleep.
"I have a headache, and my wolf isn't talking to me."
"You and your wolf have been through a lot. Being banished hurts, and now the uncertainty with your mate, my wolf is whimpering for her. Maybe we should let them run together. That way, she is reminded that she has six other sisters who love her."
I nod, and we head outside to shift. The early morning is misty and beautiful in this vast forest.
We both shift, and I see Amber's sizeable white wolf. All of us Guardians are white wolves with golden eyes, but Amber is massive in size. The only wolf I've seen that matches her in size is her mate, Eric.
We both start to run, and my wolf lets out another lonely howl. I can feel our wolves talking to each other, and I let them comfort each other.
"Our mates are important, but you aren't alone, little Siren. You've trained yourself to survive without a pack, but now you must let us help you. You're making yourself and your human sick." says Annabelle, Andrea's wolf.
"I know that I'm not, but I was hoping that the Moon Goddess would have mercy on me and give me a stable mate. Instead, I spent years alone, except for my mother. I spent years protecting my human from rogue male wolves that wanted to take advantage of our banishment. I never got to be a pup. I had to be strong." replies my wolf Siren with a whimper.
"The Moon Goddess also gave you sisters to help you. She knew what was coming and what would need to be done to protect her children. She wouldn't give you more than you can handle, little one. You're strong, and we're here. Your mate didn't reject you yet. He is just a man without a wolf to guide him to you. Give the young god time. Don't give up. You've gone through worse alone, but now you'll be able to go through this with help."
We continue to run through the forest until we reach a coast and the sky's colors start to change. I feel a wolf approaching us.
"You two could have woken me up," says Alice with a yawn.
"Have you met yourself in the early morning?" replies Amber in a cheeky tone.
I laugh with her.
"...what do I do now?"
"You and your mate need to get to know each other. Finding this wizard is important, and training is important, but you two need to get to know each other. So we will help you balance that." said Amber.
"Have you two gone on a date or spent a whole day together?" asks Alice
"Sort of, I guess no, not a real date and never a whole day. Cole has responsibilities in the underworld, and I was sort of left by myself."
"Let's go back and fix that. You two are relieved of any training or wizard tracking for the day. You can borrow a car and go into town. Go get coffee, just the two of you." said Alice with an air of finality.
I take a deep breath, feeling nervous and embarrassed by my behavior. I've fought rogues as a pup. I fought a war at age eighteen and ran from a bit of rejection. I'm a bit nervous to head back now, but I'm not a coward, and I will deal with this head-on.
We all shift and carry our clothes in our mouths. It's still very early in the morning, and there aren't many wolves awake yet. So all three of us get back and shift behind the tree line.
We head inside, and as soon as I walk in, I find Cole walking up to me. His ordinarily perfect hair is disheveled. It looks like he has run his hands through it more than once.
"Hey," I say.
"Hey, can we talk?" he says back.
I nod, and we head outside.
"Eric talked to me. I'm so sorry for hurting you. That wasn't my intention. I was afraid that I would f*ck this up." He says this very quickly, and I realize that this is the first time I've seen Cole nervous. He usually is very cool, calm, and confident.
"I didn't know what I was saying. Or to what extent this concept of mates means to you? I thought that finding a way to break the blood bond would be the best thing for you. You could live on earth with your sisters. But I understand why that would hurt you."
"By mates, we mean soul mates. You're our person. Our wolves' favorite person. We're complete until we meet our mate. Then our whole world changes. Breaking the blood bond and rejecting each other would kill my wolf or at the very least make us very sick."
Cole nods before continuing.
"I understand and will try to do better and be better. Tell me what you need from a mate, and I'll do my best to do it. We're in this together. I don't want to cause any more harm than I already have. Can we start over?"
"Yes, I'd like that."
"Hi, my name is Cole," he says while sticking out his hand like we're being reintroduced.
I giggle,
"Hi, my name is Andrea," I replied.
He takes my hand and, instead of shaking it, takes it to his lips and kisses me on my knuckles.
"Nice to meet you, Andrea. I think you're beautiful, and I'd like to take you on a date." as he says this, he snaps his fingers, and sunflowers come out of nowhere.
"These are for you."
I take them, and I can feel myself blushing.
"Thank you for the flowers, Cole...but I'll have to think about that date.
I watch his face fall.
"What? What did I do…."
I laugh and put him out of his misery.
"I'm kidding!!!! Let's go on a date."
- Writer
