Finding Her Fated Mate

CHAPTER 5

　　The clan press secretary, Byron Golden, stepped forward to take his place in front of the others to give an update on what's been happening in their human lives, career achievements, new developments in the clan, and other important announcements. When he was done with his briefing, all the werewolves gathered together and let out the customary seven howls to the full moon in honor of their first ancestor, Vak Smallchief. With the Feast officially declared open, everyone dispersed to carry on with the festivities of the night; eating, drinking, and mingling.

　　"It's good to see you again," said Devon, when he got to where Erin stood alone.

　　"I can't say the same for you," she said, half-joking. "What stopped you from announcing your mate tonight?"

　　"Wouldn't you have hated me for putting you on the spot like that?"

　　Erin sighed. "I would have despised you because I don't even understand why you're so convinced that I am your mate. Am I not supposed to have at least an inkling about it in my psyche too? Isn't that how this whole mate discovery thing works?"

　　Devon appeared to shrug. "Maybe, but there are no rules to how werewolf mates are supposed to discover each other. You probably won't believe me if I told you how I discovered that you are my mate."

　　"Try me," she said. It was a challenge and an opportunity for him to prove to her that he hadn't indeed lost his mind and that what he was saying was true and not just something he made up with his overactive imagination.

　　"Have you ever heard of the dream stone?"

　　"That shiny pebble Farida showed me at the gallery? Yeah, I've seen it and I've heard the cute little tale you created about it. Was it the stone that told you that I am your mate?"

　　He could hear the amusement in her voice and he didn't blame her at all. He too had been skeptical about the legend of the dream stone until that night five years ago, when he'd finally decided to test it and see if the wild tales surrounding the unremarkable stone were true.

　　"That stone has been in my family since the time of Vak Smallchief. It originally belonged to his wife Olna Raven, the daughter of the powerful shaman who mated Vak with a pure breed Luna. As you already know, that alliance created the lineage of werewolves that we all belong to. The stone is said to be a combination of moon dust, earth, and water. It can tell you of the past or the future, depending on which one you seek clarity for."

　　Erin let out a breath. "Do you really believe all of that?"

　　"I didn't until I put the stone to the test and it turned out to be true. Would you like to give it a go too?"

　　"Why not?" Said Erin without hesitation. Her new boss is obviously convinced that his made-up story was real, and as much as she found it all so ridiculously funny, she felt inclined to humor him this once and play along with his little game.

　　"In that case, I'll let you have the dream stone tomorrow and then I will tell you how to use it," said Devon with a twinkle in his eyes.

　　"Oh, it comes with instructions too?" Erin asked, trying not to laugh at this point.

　　"More or less," replied Devon, unfazed by Erin's doubtfulness. "Now let's join the others in the festivity before they start wondering if you are my mystery mate."

　　She laughed. "Mystery mate, huh? I like the sound of that."

　　Work seemed like a blur to Erin the next day because she spent the entire day looking forward to the moment when Devon would present her with the so-called dream stone with its supposed time travel powers.

　　Any normal person would have brushed off Devon's wild tales about a powerful stone with supernatural powers, but being the curious person that she was, Erin couldn't resist the opportunity to explore a new adventure, even an unbelievable one.

　　Plus, there was the issue of Devon claiming to be her mate even though he was a complete stranger and they had never met before. Was that how it's supposed to be? Shouldn't her mate be someone she already knew? Weren't they supposed to automatically fall in love or something?

　　At that last thought, Erin cringed a little. She had always found the whole falling in love thing a bit creepy because she was an independent woman, and the thought of having someone in her life whom she couldn't live without made her nervous.

　　That was why she'd been content with her relationship with Mike had been perfect – they had both liked each other deeply but when it was finally time to part ways, she didn't feel emotionally crushed or heartbroken. Being single again after a long-term relationship had felt odd at first, but now she had grown used to her new status eventually.

　　Imagine how hard it would have been to carry on with her life if she had been in love with her ex. She would have been miserable for months before finally recovering enough to face reality. She would have pined for Mike and wept while looking at old photos of them together. She would have struggled to move on with her life after months of mourning the loss of her lover. Who wanted to live that? Certainly not her.

　　But then again, she wasn't completely averse to the possibility of falling in love with the right guy. She just didn't want to have to fight battles first to get that love, like her cousin, Ryan, did before he finally ‘won' his beautiful African wife, Farrah. Nor did she want to go through the torture of navigating real-life obstacle courses before getting rewarded with love, as it happened between her brother, Eric, and his wife, Aubrey.