Mark of the Goddess

Chapter 3 - The Meeting of the Mark

Tesla’s Pov

I had told L.J. to go to the meeting without me. I couldn’t do it, I just couldn’t. I would never reject my mate. I hated to admit it, but I was more than afraid. I was afraid of his rejection. Of the pain that would follow that rejection. Skald and Tally were obviously giving me the silent treatment. I grumbled as I kept my distance from the Pride house. 

Are you two seriously mad at me? I growled through the pack link. Neither of them spoke or even looked at me. I huffed irritably. I looked in the direction of the Pride house. The same direction they were looking at. I turned my head away. Thinking to myself for a moment. Maybe, just maybe they could tell me who he was and what they thought of him after meeting him. Maybe I could have a chance, but I can’t afford to hold my breath on that. 

Go. I spoke softly through the pack link again. They both looked up at me. 

Just. Go. My voice is more sad than anything else. They deserved so much better from their supposed alpha. 

Moon. Skald spoke as he rubbed his head under my cheek. I took a step away from him. I looked him in his eyes. He looked conflicted. The same for Tally. I guess they didn’t want to leave my side but at the same time I knew they really wanted to go see who my mate is. I nudged them both. Reassuring them that it was ok to leave my side. They both looked at each other before breaking out into a run towards the Pride house. I knew that L.J. would protect them if anything were to happen. If anything, he’d be the one able to tell everyone who they were and whatever else he knew about them, in relation to me. As my two best friends vanished from my sight, I turned and went into the forest. 

I needed to clear my head and figure out how to approach my newly found mate. How will he react upon seeing my disfigured mark? Would he truly accept me? Will it be a repeat of the first time?

L.J.’s POV

As I approached the doors of the Pride house, Skald and Tally ran up beside me. I turned to look around for Tesla, but I didn’t see her. For her to send Skald and Tally, meant that she was either curious about her new mate or she was wanting to be alone. I don’t like the fact that she’s alone. Knowing her she’s going to go on patrol. With the events that happened this morning, I was a bit unsettled. Father will be furious, but I’m hoping he’ll understand why she disobeyed him. Afterall, she is not obligated to obey someone that is not her true alpha. If it were possible, Father would’ve made the Pride bond with her, but it only works for other lions, just as the Pack bonds only work for wolves. 

I made my way into the conference room. Startled at the fact that a man to my right suddenly rose to his feet. He looked at me in confusion. Good looking man. He was seated closest to the door. He has chestnut colored skin. His hair is dark brown with a few dirty blonde highlights. His eyes were voids of gold and silver. I raised my brow at him as Skald and Tally began to jump up onto him. They both nuzzled his face and he stumbled at the sudden intrusion of his space. 

“Skald! Tally!” I called them, but they didn’t listen. Only person they ever listened to was Tesla. So I walked over and grabbed their scruffs, pulling them down off of this man. “I do apologize, sir. They tend to not listen to me,” I apologized to this man. 

"Whose dogs are these?” The man asked. A smile slowly curling on his face as he leaned down to pet them. I looked around the room at my Father. He looked unimpressed and a bit disappointed. Everyone else was keeping their distance from Skald and Tally. Most were-beasts don’t have pets. Usually when they did it was under certain circumstances and were usually ones of the same species. Give or take. 

“Uh, they belong to my sister,” I said as I brought my attention back to this man. He froze for a second as if he was realizing something. 

“I apologize everyone. It seems my daughter decided to send you pets and not bring herself,” my Father spoke. I turned to him and saw he was now standing. I directed his attention to me. He gave me that fake smile that he always held in front of guests. “I will be excusing myself for a moment. I would like to have a word with my son.” I sighed. My Father made his way past the guests on my left and gave me a glare as he motioned me to go out of the room. I left the room first. Skald and Tally are still attached to that man. I have never seen their tails wag as much as they did now. Father exited the room with me and closed the doors. He brought me a few feet away from the doors. 

“Where is she?” His voice was irritated and disappointed. I sighed at him.

“Dad, she's afraid. You know that. She told me that she can’t handle being broken again,” I told him honestly. Father rubbed at his beard and turned away from me, trying to think on what to do I suppose. 

“Judging by the way Skald and Tally were reacting to Alpha Eldwin. It’s possible that he is her mate, but we can’t know for sure until she makes her presence known,” Father spoke mostly to himself. He often does that when he’s running through his game plans. 

“Wait, that was Alpha Eldwin of the Misty Mountain Pack?” I asked for confirmation. Father nodded. 

“Yes. If she avoids him, he may think that she is rejecting him.”

“But she’s not. She’s just afraid,” I said in a yelled whisper. “Dad, I’ve never seen that woman back out of anything, but this is something she’s truly afraid of. If it is like the werewolf history says, she will die if she is rejected for the second time and it won't be a peaceful death.” Father nodded. 

“After the meeting, we will have a chat with Alpha Eldwin and his pack. Let’s not waste anymore time. Knowing Tesla, she’ll go find a hiding place and we won’t be able to find her for days.” That was one thing we can agree to. I wasn’t too worried before, but now I was. She’s possibly mated to an Alpha. If he rejects her, this will be the most painful experience of her life. If she survives it.

Eldwin’s POV

I watched as my mate’s brother and Lionel entered the room once again. Why was she not here? Where is she? These two dogs, Skald and Tally. They smell like her but slightly different. So does her brother. They were just recently with her. I felt my blood begin to boil at the fact that they were hiding her from me. Then again, they might not be. They might just be protecting her. Why would they protect her from her own mate? Is this a lion thing? Before I knew it everyone began speaking about why they were here. As everyone discussed their Varg and infected sightings, I couldn’t help but stay deep in my thoughts. When it came to my turn, I had a hard time recounting the Cryptid sightings.

“We’ve had more Cryptid sightings around my territory recently. Mostly lower forms of them, but slowly more powerful ones have begun to surface. Mostly Wendigos. We had a Troll almost destroy the waterfall just inside my packs’ borders,” I spoke with a confident voice. At least I hope that’s how it sounded to everyone else. Everyone whispered softly to each other for a moment. I caught myself petting one of my mate's guard dog’s at my side, with her head resting on my lap. While the other stood proudly by her. For some reason, it made me feel more at ease. It was odd. Werewolves didn’t normally have pets. For my mate to have two isn't unheard of but is slightly surprising. 

“Lionel Junior,” Lionel spoke. Lionel Junior. So that’s the name of my mate’s adopted brother. Lionel Junior stood a bit straighter as he took a step forward.

“Yes, I have been walking these borders since I was very young,” His voice confident and composed. He looked a lot like his father as he stood there. However, I didn’t feel as threatened by him as I thought I would have. “We have taken down more than a hundred Varg within the past week. They are starting to show signs of strategic planning. They’ve shown us that early this morning.” What?! Was she attacked?!

“What mah son means, Is dat our daugh’er alone took down more dan a hundred dis week alone. On her own,” Amana spoke proudly. It was a fake gesture but at least she was trying. I already hated her. Lionel, however, I wasn’t sure what his intentions were. “When our lionesses reached her. Dey would only be left wid da bodies. She’s truly remarkable.” I watched Lionel Junior as she spoke. He was looking at his mother with disgust. His reaction was enough to tell me that he had a rocky relationship with his mother. Well, I assumed he did. 

“Umm… Yes. Anyway, they ambushed us. Fifteen of them, at least,” L.J. spoke up as he leaned against the table. Whispers began to spring between the leaders and their acquaintances. “When my father told me to have my sister check the borders, we made sure we were extra cautious this time. Something didn’t feel right. We followed their trail to the northwest portion of our borders. Tesla sent Tally,” L.J. said as he nodded at the dog at my left side, “to get the nearest lioness patrol. We were lucky that they came when they did. They had planned it all out.”

Your mate is f*****g badass. You lucky bastard. Alex’s voice filled my head. I smirked with pride at his packlink remark. I couldn’t help but sit up, proudly. The thought of my mate being capable of doing such damage against our enemies, made me want to meet and see her even more.

“Maybe it is just the Vargs using the infected as distractions? We haven’t seen any form of a coordinated attack on my borders. Then again, these are Crytids. They only care about food and souls,” I said as I looked around the room at the other leaders. 

“If these creatures are at our borders, what are they trying to accomplish?!” Barnaby grumbled as he leaned his elbows on the table. “From that description alone, it sounds like the Vargs are the ones planning out these attacks.”

“They are more than likely trying to find weaknesses. We’ve had both Vargs and Infected at our doorsteps,” Nascha said with sad elegance. “I have lost a lot of my flock to the jaws of the infected. We are currently working on a cure for it. However, we are far from close to cracking the code.” Everyone fell silent.

“How about we all take a break and get refreshments?” Lionel finally said, breaking the silence. 

~~

“Alright, let us discuss a few things,” Lionel spoke as he rose from his seat after the other leaders left the room. I also rose from my seat. My body became stiff after sitting in this chair. Lionel placed his hands behind his back and looked over at me. “Alpha Eldwin.” I nodded to him. “Are you my daughter’s new mate?” I looked at him, slightly stunned. I didn’t know how to really respond. How did he know?

“Alpha Eldwin?” Lionel Junior’s voice came to my ears. I looked at him. Lionel Junior was looking at me with hope and patience. Much different than how his father looked at me. I sighed. 

“Yes. How did you know?” I finally spoke. 

“Skald and Tally. They have never reacted in such a way with anyone else other than my daughter,” Lionel spoke as he motioned his head towards the two dogs. I looked down at them. They were watching me with wagging tails. Begging to be petted again. I couldn’t help but chuckle as I nodded my head. 

“Let me tell you something about my daughter,” Lionel said as he walked around to the other side of the table, facing me. He looked me in the eyes. “My daughter’s name is Tesla Silverblood.” Silverblood?! As in THE Silverblood?! He was watching my reaction. 

“You better not be joking, old man!” Armond almost snarled. Lionel looked at him without changing his expression. 

“No. I am completely serious, boy,” He said nonchalantly. A Silverblood? That can’t be possible. “Tesla is nothing like the stories of the Silverblood pack. I have done my research.” I couldn’t help but glare at Lionel. I didn’t care what pack Tesla had come from. She is MY mate. No one else’s. If she risked her life over and over again for the sake of lions then it was obvious that she wasn’t anything like the rest of that damn pack. 

“She has been a great asset to us. I have seen her almost completely broken once. I will not let that happen again,” Lionel said as his eyes wandered. I could tell that he had genuine feelings for her. Like a real father would. “Now, I know you have questions about how a Silverblood wolf has come to be in my territory. Well, when she was fourteen, we got word of a lone wolf hunting and killing lower forms of Vargs. Just small ones here and there. This piqued my interest. I decided to investigate with my son to prepare him for these kinds of situations. She evaded us for quite some time. Two years to be exact. Which put our lionesses into some distress.” I was shaking. I needed more answers. “Look at it from our point of view. A lone wolf, from gods knows where, hunting and killing Vargs at our borders. We didn’t know what to expect.” Lionel walked back around to his desired seat.

 “Once we found her, it was apparent that she was not in a pack. Her wounds were barely healing and she was at death’s door. The only thing I could see were two pups guarding her like they were werewolves as well. Not fearing death as their… Alpha bled.” Lionel motioned towards the two dogs. They looked uncomfortable. It was like they were reliving the memory as it was spoken. Suddenly they looked towards the door. I raised a brow at them. I hadn’t smelled Tesla’s amazing scent, as it was already fading from the room since Lionel Junior, Skald and Tally had entered the room. 

“It makes sense that she would survive so long. Even though she was technically not in a true wolf pack, these two obviously helped in some way to keep her from completely going into madness. Going Varg,” Thomas growled out. 

“Yes. We were just as surprised. Since my son was smaller than I was, I allowed him to investigate her first. We didn’t want to kill her. We wanted information. It was obvious that she was not healing properly. Considering she was fighting Vargs and infected on our borders, I hope you understand our cautious approach,” Lionel spoke as he adjusted his suit. “Once Lionel Junior was able to console her in his human form, she collapsed. We thought she had died right then and there. We checked her over and we had a very wonderful surprise after she shifted.” How is her being injured a surprise? 

Lionel pulled out a device similar to the one that one of the lionesses tried to hand to me. He clicked it and it buzzed. Shortly after a woman entered. 

“Yes, Pride father,” she spoke as she bowed her head to him. 

“Bring me the file please,” He said as he looked up at her. I looked at her as well. She nodded and exited the room. We waited in silence for what felt like hours, when really it was a few minutes. She walked through the center of the table and placed the file in front of Lionel. Not once did she look up at him. She must’ve been an omega equivalent in the lion pride. Looking back at Lionel, I watched him open the file and pull out a few pages. He slid them towards me. What I saw made me gasp. 

 “Now, to answer all your questions at once. That is the famed mark that all species know. To you wolves, It’s known as The Mark of Gaia.”

~~