Chosen by the Fates

The Misunderstanding

Sol~

I have had several centuries to learn the art of punctuality, and yet tonight of all nights I am late. I was waylaid by a pack meeting, unable to check my phone or depart any sooner. My wolf growls at me, but the feeling is mixed with the excitement of arrival at the Rise and Grind when I see Aisling sitting down in the same recliner where I met her. 

My heart does a flip, and my wolf eagerly pushes at me to join her. I sit back in my expensive leather seats, instead. I take this moment just to admire her while my senses aren't overwhelmed and driving me crazy by her proximity. 

My wolf whines impatiently. I breathe out a sigh, opening my car door to join her. Even in the fresh snowfall outside her scent hits me. Every part of me grows hot and hard, my heart races. My wolf pulls us toward her. I focus on the cold air, letting it calm the heat and ease the tension in my body before opening the door.

Her scent is such a strange and perfect mix of honey, vanilla, sage, and a million other delicious things to me. It fills the warm coffee shop. I apologize to her for being late, and when she leans close to joke with me, my wolf can barely take the feeling of her hot breath in the air between us. Every part of my body is aware of how her heartbeat picks up, the heat that rises in her, her eyes trailing down from mine to admire the rest of me. My wolf revels in it. It's all I can do to fight off my wolf's need to touch her in any way she will let me.

By the grace of the fates, Aisling takes a step back. That small space is enough for me to catch my breath and reign my wolf in. As she leads the way to the coffee counter, I become aware that one of three men standing in the far corner is watching her. My wolf growls, suddenly on edge. She seems unaware at first, but I observe cautiously. Are they a threat?  My wolf begrudgingly releases its focus on her scent, and we carefully sniff at the air. Human. 

I cross my arms and think. Aisling seems to have noticed them, and he looks away from her. My wolf is pleased with that, refocusing on her. I listen carefully to what they are saying. Their conversation is too soft for human ears at this distance, but I am a wolf. 

"Do you think it is her?" This from the man wearing the sunglasses.

"Well she said it was a date." The man wearing a designer hat suggests.

"She doesn't look like anyone I've seen before." The man in the sunglasses replies.

My wolf and I are both confused by that. How is it these men who can afford designer clothing and some sort of ... assistant? I eye the fourth man in a suit and on his phone near them. How is it that they don't know who they are looking for at this small local coffee shop? It must be some sort of misunderstanding.

Aisling draws my attention, and my wolf's, back to her easily and I tune out the strange conversation happening in the corner. They look more like entertainers and don't seem to be anyone she knows. She returns to her seat to wait for me as I order a coffee. While waiting, my wolf snaps my attention back to the conversation. 

"There's only one way to find out." The man with bleached white hair in a scarf says.

I turn to look when the coffee girl, blushing, says "Sir, I've got your black coffee for you." She is already reaching out to hand the cup to me, trying to be helpful. I glance between the cup and the man approaching Aisling. My wolf feels unsettled by it. I realize it's faster to take my coffee than to ask the coffee girl to wait, and I do so with a distracted 'thank you.'

All I catch is "-your date?" followed by Aisling's uncomfortable stammering. My wolf's hackles rise at that, and before I can center myself, a soft growl escapes me. What is his intention with this? An unfamiliar feeling rises in me, twisting a knife in my gut and drawing out a possessive sense of rage from my wolf. Is this jealousy?  

My coffee cup, thankfully, clanks at the same moment, masking the growl. Aisling's eyes find mine when she realizes I am there. Her eyes seem to be pleading with me. That's all it takes for my wolf to calm and for me to be filled with the overwhelming need to reassure her. 

My wolf is still wary of whatever game these strangers are up to, but I offer a smile and reply meant to reassure her. "Yes. If the lady wishes to consider this as such, I am her date." My wolf registers how her body reacts to my words with pleasure.

"I mean no disrespect. We are new here and simply looking for someone." The man smiles politely, but his eyes lock on Aisling and begins studying her with more interest than my wolf will allow. More than that, Aisling clearly doesn't know these men, and is confused about their interest in her. My wolf likes that even less. 

I think fast. I had offered to take her to dinner before, which now is looking like a better opportunity for us to have some time together than whatever this situations is. The cost of two drinks here are meaningless to me, there would be another day for us to lounge together here. I carefully set my cup down, and then gently take hers and do the same with it. When I reach out to take her hand in mine, shocks of electricity course through anywhere her skin makes contact with mine. Her hand is small and soft in comparison to mine. My wolf purrs within me, wanting more physical contact with her. 

"If you will excuse us, we actually have dinner plans and should be going." I keep my tone polite. I look to Aisling, checking to see her thoughts on the matter. 

She looks down to our untouched drinks, then back to me. Her gaze conveys a sense of certainty.  

"I'd like that." That's all the permission I need. I pull gently at her hand, and she effortlessly moves toward me. My wolf whines at that, wanting to close the distance between us. However, I am more interested in putting some distance between Aisling and these men. My wolf begrudgingly approves of that plan. 

I open the door for her when the man with the sunglasses grabs her wrist. The way he looks at her, the way her whole body reacts to his touch... Suddenly jealousy surges through me once more, my wolf's hackles rise and one singular word is growled through every cell of our being. 

Mine. 

My wolf is snarling within me, ready for a fight. I don't even hear what the man says to her through my initial surge of emotion. But as it turns out, my little Aisling can fight her own battles. She jerks her hand away and lays into him. My wolf slowly calms, jealousy turning to amusement as she faces off with him.

I lean against the door, arms crossed, a smile tugging at my lips.

The fates have chosen well.

***

Aisling~

"Delphi?"  The man asks me, leaning closer. He seems confident enough to grab me, but uncertain enough to still phrase whatever he's saying to me as a question. Why does that word sound so familiar?

I yank my hand away from his, glaring at him. I don't care who he is, he's lucky he hadn't tried grabbing a girl like Tiffa that way. She would have decked him.

"Excuse me?" My voice is sharp with indignation. His two friends hover behind him, apparently curious at what is now transpiring between us. He looks taken aback at my reaction. 

"You can't just go around grabbing at strange women." I frown at him. How does he not know better? It's the 21st century for god's sake!

"I'm sorry, you look like someone I know..." He seems caught off balance and unsure of himself now. Good.

"Well you shouldn't be grabbing women you do know that way either." I scold him.

At that a strange emotion flashes across his gorgeous features, his eyes are feverishly bright against his dark hair. His jaw works as he seems to bite back an angry reply. His white haired friend steps up, then, and speaks apologetically. "We have reason to believe they may not recognize us, but this is where they last told us they would be." He smiles warmly, and my own indignant anger settles some at his words.

I look between them and sigh, "Well I guess I can tell you aren't from here." I glance behind them and see that the fourth man in the suit has looked up from his phone. He is watching us, clearly worried. "Listen, I'm sorry for your friend, maybe I can help you look for them later?"

The blonde man's eyebrow arches as he considers my words. "What do you propose then?" The other two men have backed off a little. The man who had grabbed me is posturing pridefully and still looks frustrated with me. The man in the hat remains quiet, keeping back and watching everything.

"Well first, my name is Aisling..." I wait, giving them the opportunity to introduce themselves. They glance at one another and nod, but don't offer their names. The man who had grabbed me has narrowed his eyes, studying my features once more. "That means..." I interrupt him, “Yes, yes, it means vision...And you are?..." I can't believe I have to ask outright. "Dream." He comments under his breath, ignoring my question.

His white haired friend suddenly smirks, "Well this is my brother Ashleigh." He nods at the man who grabbed my wrist, and who was staring at me now in disbelief. "That's our brother Cian," He then gestures at the quiet one. "And I am Sionainn."

"Your really don't know who we are?" Ashleigh asks, looking me over.

His gaze suddenly makes me uncomfortable, and my heart twists. "No, why should I?" I retort, still angry that he had the nerve to grab me.

"Because we are pretty well known musicians." Sionainn interrupts, glaring at his brother.

"I don't really follow famous people, I'm sorry." My tone makes it clear that the last is just a figure of speech and not an actual apology.

Ashleigh holds out his hand expectantly. I glance between his bright eyes and his hand, making it completely obvious that I have no clue or interest in guessing what he is asking for.

"Your phone." He mutters.

I raise an eyebrow and huff, but then realize I can't very well help them if we don't exchange contact information. I roll my eyes and sigh. "Fine, but no more grabbing strange women, got it?" I am half joking as I pull out my phone. He scoffs indignantly.

I catch Sionainn holding back a laugh in my peripheral vision, and find myself smirking as well. I unceremoniously hand Ashleigh my phone. He puts in a number, then hands the phone back. "Now you text us." His voice is clipped, and it sounds a little like a demand. I glare at him. "I promise not to grab any more strange ladies..." I arch an eyebrow at him, "...Or abuse the fact that you've shared your number with us-"

"-We appreciate your help, thank you so much, Aisling." Sionainn cuts in again. I smile warmly at him. He gets it.

Ashleigh darts a glare at Sionainn as I send a text.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date to go on." I glance back to see Sol had both closed the door to keep the cold out, and was leaning languidly against it, arms crossed. He is watching me with an amused smile, and a swirl of emotions I don't recognize behind his eyes. The look stirs something within me. I smile at the men, "I'll text you tomorrow, have a good evening and enjoy the city." 

With that Sol opens the door for me once more, and we leave.

***

Ashleigh~

I watch her go, my heart twisting as anger rises in me. Her words echo in my head, "No, why should I?" A scowl draws my lips taught. I feel Sionainn's warm hand on my shoulder and I shrug it off.

"It may not even be her..." His voice is soft, his gaze on me gentle.

"But her name..." I speak through clenched teeth.

"...Could be a coincidence." Sionainn offers, but he doesn't even sound convinced by his own argument.

"We don't live in worlds of coincidence." My fists are clenched and all I can think is that I need something to fight. But I know better than to enter the dreaming in this emotional state.

"Is it really possible for them to not remember anything at all?" Cian's voice is quiet with contemplation.

"Just the thought of them stuck here, living out some meaningless solitary life until -" I can't bear the end of that thought. They would die. They would die here of old age.  Lucids are meant to be eternal. Rage roils in me.

"We can't be sure of anything as of yet. Let us take the evening to rest and explore. Aisling said she would text us tomorrow, we can find out more then, aye?" Sionainn, as always, is the voice of reason.

We both nod at him. 

Our manager seems relieved that nothing transpired beyond an argument with Aisling over my rash actions. He calls the van driver that has been hired to chauffer us around the city during our vacation here. 

It's not her. I repeat to myself, but it does little to calm my nerves.

It is going to be a long night.