From Maiden to Mother (Book 2 of the Northern Territories Series)

Chapter 4

From Maiden to Mother

Chapter 4

Kara’s POV

Jayce keeps a firm grip on my hand, eyeing the wolves that walk near us.

“What’s his name?”, he asks. I can tell he is linking.

“Alpha Nikolai Cobran.” We get to the car and he opens the passenger door for me. I hop in and he closes it, running around to the drivers side and jumping in. He starts the car and pulls to the front for Rayne.

“Are you okay, Princess? Did he hurt you?”, he asks.

“No, he didn’t hurt me. I tried to leave and he yanked me back into the seat and growled at me, so I messaged you. I don’t know, it just felt so off when he was talking to me, like his aura didn’t match his words. It freaked me out.”, I tried to explain to Jayce.

“Hey, it’s okay, Princess. You call us if you feel like someone looked at you too long, we will come. Always call us, we don’t mind at all.”, he tells me.

“Why are we in Ivy’s car?”, I ask.

Jayce grins, “Rayne called Shane and had him shimmer him to their car so he could drive over to get us. We know you don’t like being carried. The boys have a play date with Rosalyn tomorrow anyway, she’ll just take it back then.”

Rayne comes out and climbs in behind me. I see Nikolai come to the parking lot as Jayce pulls away.

Rayne asks, “Are you alright, Princess?”

I smile to him, “I’m fine. I appreciate you coming for me.”, I tell him.

He squeezes my shoulder, “Always, Princess. Always.”, he sits back in his seat.

He and Jayce are probably linking. Jayce clenches his jaw when he links.

We get to the coven and Tania is outside. She opens my door and yanks me out to hug her. I wrap my arms around her. I tell her everything that happened and how his aura looked to me. The twins stood there listening.

“Sounds like you made a good choice. You’re right, you have no idea who was there with him. I’m glad your pride didn’t lead you to try to fight him alone.”, Tania tells me, smoothing my hair.

“How did you feel about him?”, Tania turns and asks her mates.

“I don’t know, Goddess. He seemed like he might have been an okay guy, but I’m not great with auras yet. I’ll say his words and his body language didn’t match. I felt like he would’ve tried to take me if he thought he could’ve. I can’t blame him though. I’d fight the man that had the balls to yank you away from me.”, Jayce answers.

She nods and looks to Rayne, “He said he was confused by Kara’s reaction to him, but I got the feeling he knew exactly when he pushed too far. He is intimidated by us, for sure. I didn’t feel like he wanted to challenge me, but I wasn’t the one that snatched Kara either.”, Rayne says.

Tania nods, “Well, alright. He is not allowed in the coven for now. We will revisit it when Kara feels better about it.”, Tania tells them. They both nod.

“Agreed, beautiful.”, Rayne says.

They head to their rooms and I go upstairs messaging Zeira and Scarlett, letting them know what happened so they wouldn’t be looking for me.

Clay’s POV

It’s 6am, I’m going to message Kara, but she doesn’t get up until 7-8am. I’m checking the reports I had sent to me on the Cobrans and Renaldis. My phone vibrates and I pull it from my pocket. It’s Rayne?

“Clay", I answer.

“Rayne. Kara met her mate last night. He cornered her and scared her. She messaged Tania and we got to her, she’s fine. Kara doesn’t know if he was just being too aggressive with her because of his excitement or if he’s a bad guy. I'm checking him out, when I find that a dear old friend of mine has been investigating him for a little while now. Tell me all you know about Nikolai Cobran.”, he says.

I can’t contain the growl that escapes me, “I’ll send you what I have. He is in his early 90s, he is the Greenwood Pack Alpha, the Beta is also lycan wolf, Stryder Renaldi. Alpha comes back clean, but Beta has more than a handful of s****l assault and rape charges. He is absorbing smaller packs around him and the alphas of larger ones in the area think he is preparing for war. I’m not sure that’s the case. I think he is just power seeking, so far everything he has done is legal. Council is still keeping an eye on him though. I’m filtering through information, but I’ll let you know what I come up with.”, I answer as I start attaching documents and reports to an email I’m forwarding to Rayne. I usually wouldn’t share information like this, but Kara is mine. I have to help them protect her if this guy is going to hurt her.

“I got it. You keep me updated on what you learn about him and I’ll do the same. Farewell.”, he tells me.

I disconnect the call and stand from my desk, trying not to break anything in my office.

Goddess, you really are something, you know that? We are most certainly not friends anymore.

I walk down the stairs and head for the training room. I train like hell , swinging with all I have, trying to burn this feeling off. It isn’t working. I want to kill Nikolai Cobran. What the hell did he do to scare her?

I go upstairs to my office and pull the footage from the arena. I can see them, but can't hear them. I watch her drop him on his face when he lunges for her and I smile. Aside from that, I don’t see what has her running from him. Then he touches her face, I see her shy away slightly. He tries to kiss her anyway and she stands. That's the moment, he forces her back into the seat. I can see he is growling at her by his sneer and I’m ready to lose my mind. I pull out my phone. It’s 8am now. I message her.

Clay- Babe, will you talk to me about what scared you?

Kara- I don’t know, best friend. I can’t explain it. His words and aura didn’t match. I got up to leave and he growled and yanked me back into the seat. Rayne and Jayce were my first plan to get out of there peacefully. He may have just been struggling, wolves are impulsive when they’re excited. I don’t know what I think.

Clay- That’s alright, Princess. You’re okay? He didn’t hurt you?

Kara- No, I’m okay. I don’t think he wanted to hurt me. I just wasn’t sure he would let me leave.

Clay- Alright. I love you, sweetheart. You let me know if you need me.

Kara- You’re so sweet, best friend. I love you too. Will you train with me the next couple days? Rayne and Jayce have meetings today and tomorrow. Tania has the boys. With my challenge at the end of the week, I really can't afford to miss days.

Clay- You can come to me whenever works for you or I can come out there after 6pm. What do you want to do, babe?

Kara- I’ll come to you.

Clay- Very well, Princess.

I set my phone on my desk and finish the footage. I’m impressed when the wolf only slightly backs down to Jayce growling in his face. I can tell he is intimidated by Jayce, so he’s brave, not stupid. Jayce steps back, but keeps a hold of Kara. Then Rayne shows up and steps in front of Kara.

The pup is growling at Rayne. This is definitely a man struggling for control. Impulse has him wanting to possess her, she is his mate. The man sees she’s scared and is trying to resist the impulse. Doesn’t mean she’s wrong for feeling the way she does, just that he may not be as bad as he was making her feel he was. I get how that could’ve been confusing for her.

I forward the video to Rayne, then I get back to my reports. I check my phone and I have a message from Leander.

Leander- It appears Trevor Cobran was persuaded by Nikolai to pass the reigns. Nikolai felt he was ready and Trevor felt having that responsibility would help him mature more. Nikolai doesn’t appear to be a bad Alpha. He is a hard ass and has a tendency to sample the females in and around his pack. A bit of an inconsiderate lover, maybe? Dean spoke with a she-wolf today at a diner in town, claims she is to be his Luna, Leanne Holston.

Clay- Keep me updated.

I link Kieran, “I need a quick dig on Leanne Holston of Greenwood.”, as I put my phone on my desk and return to reports.

“On it, boss.”, he confirms.

Nikolai’s POV

“So, you put me on quite a few people last night. This is what I have for you this morning.”, Stryder says, taking a drink of his coffee as he opens the file. We are in my room waiting for room service to bring up breakfast. “Jacabian Rayne and Marcellus Jayce Osmond are 500 years old. They’ve been active Council Warriors since they were young teens. They became the top Enforcers within a year of earning the rank and served as Enforcers for 4 centuries, under Head Clay directly. They move as one on the battlefield and are among the most powerful lycan wolves known to exist, rivaling Head Clay himself. They were soon to be Councilmen when they met their mate, Mother Tania Starlit, a pure fire Enchantress. Not that they needed to be any more powerful, but they can and are known to use their mates element at will. They left Council and are now Consorts of Black Hearthstone, they have twin sons, but no one has seen them since they were newborns or knows their names. They never leave the coven, they are 2 years old. Your mate, Kara Rosalyn Morningstar, is Tania’s late sister’s child. She is scheduled to challenge as Mother this Saturday. She became the youngest Maiden ever recorded at 47 years old. Now, at 64, she will be the youngest Mother. She is an Enchantress, also a pure fire elemental, and highly sought after. Fae rumor that any child of your mate’s blood would be incredibly powerful. She has had a mate once before, a lycan bear, named Kevin Richards. Head Councilman Clay killed him, no one knows why.”

So Clay has been in the picture with her for a while. “Did you find out who ‘Best Friend’ is?”, I ask.

He shakes his head, “She has several close friends. Most are lycan wolves or fae. She has a couple Enchantress friends, but they seem to just go places together and split up. More like a safety net for each other than friends.”, he answers.

“Did you get a chance to look into Head Councilman Clay?”.

Stryder finishes his coffee. “Magnus Arielle Clay is 990 years old. He has been the unchallenged Head of Council for 403 years. He has had contact with Black Hearthstone for approximately 180 years, but it was in passing until a war with Scarlet Light Coven, 2 and a half years ago. That’s when the Osmond twins were assigned to the Mother and Maiden of Black Hearthstone. Clay has been seen places with Kara, they always seem close. The only 3 major and subsequent events I’ve found between them; 1. As I said before, Clay killed Kara’s mate, but neither have ever answered why; 2. Clay blood eagled a fae royal, named Ezekiel Campton, on Black Hearthstone’s behalf; 3. Black Hearthstone has a peace treaty with Council.”

I nod, “Thanks, Stryder. That’s all good information.”, I tell him. I look at the time. It’s 9am, surely she would be awake by now. I didn’t want to annoy her by waking her, so I’ve waited to be sure.

Nikolai- Hey, it’s Nikolai. How are you this morning?

Kara- I’m good, how are you?

Nikolai- Much better now that I’m talking to you.

Kara- Tell me about you, Nik

Nikolai- I’m the Alpha of Greenwood, currently. Here on Council business. I was headed home today, but I met this gorgeous girl so I’m sticking around for a while.

Kara- Is that so? She must feel pretty special

Nikolai- Oh, she sure should. She’s my whole world. Ready to sell off a large pack I’ve worked really hard for just to stay with her.

Kara- You should really hold off on that if she hasn’t expressed that same level of interest.

Nikolai- She will. I just got overzealous and scared her, I have to try again. Hoping she will let me come hang out with her today. Think she would be more comfortable if her uncles hung out too?

Kara- She might be okay with that, but it would have to be like a quick lunch thing. Life’s busy during the week.

Nikolai- Lunch is perfect. Where?

Kara- Athena's, 12:15

Nikolai- I’ll be there, gorgeous.

“She has agreed to go to lunch with me, though I think one or both of her Uncles are coming.”, I tell Stryder as he hands me the tray from the room service cart. I just have to figure out how to get her away from them to spend more time with her.

I’m sitting in Athena's waiting for Kara. I see a large SUV pull up and one of the twins hop out. He comes around and opens both the front and the rear passenger doors. My gorgeous mate, and a hot little blonde, hop out and the twin interlaces his fingers with the blonde, bringing her hand to his lips. That must be Tania. He walks both women up to the restaurant and holds the door for them to pass him. He steps in behind the blonde and rests his hand on her lower back as they approach me, I stand.

Kara sits in the booth across from me and slides in, I had hoped she’d sit next to me. Tania sits next to her. “Slide over in front of your mate, you don’t get to have lunch with mine, pup.”, the twin says, smirking at me.

His mate giggles and I smile back, sliding into the seat in front of Kara. Her knees brush mine under the table.

“Which one are you?”, I ask him.

He smiles and says, “Which one do you think I am?”

Tania leans forward and swats him. He acts like she injured his shoulder. “Jayce, stop it!”, she giggles at him. I smile, this guy has this little witch wrapped around his finger. She thinks he hung the damn moon. “I’m Tania, this is Jayce. Rayne couldn’t make it.”, she says politely.

I smile and offer my hand to her, “I’m Nikolai Cobran, ma’am.”, I say as she accepts my hand.

I grin at Kara, “Let’s try again, gorgeous. Nikolai Cobran", I reintroduce myself and offer my hand.

She smiles and takes it, “Kara Morningstar.”, she replies. I kiss her hand and release her so she doesn’t get nervous.

“You feel alright, Princess?”, Jayce asks after ordering his and Tania’s drinks. What is he talking about? Is she sick?

Kara studies me, then replies, “I think so.”

He smiles and turns to me. “I’m going to have lunch with my beautiful mate. We’re going to sit in that booth there.”, he gestures to the booth across the aisle from us. “We’ll let you talk and do your thing, but she’s not leaving here with you. She leaves with me. Are we good?”, he asks.

I nod, “Absolutely. That’s perfect, thanks.” At least I’m getting a little alone time with her. He can still hear everything, but he isn’t rubbing shoulders with me.

He smiles and stands, taking Tania’s hand as she stands, “What do you want to eat, Goddess?”, he asks her as he seats her at the table across from us.

“They’re cute together.”, I say smiling at Kara.

She smiles brightly back, “They really are.”

I make small talk with her. Making sure I’m asking plenty of questions and answering hers. I don’t scent her fear this time, so I’m doing better. In my defense, she doesn’t smell like Clay today either. She laughs when I joke with her.

When she sits forward, I can see down her crop top and she is wearing a black sports bra. Is she working out after this? She takes a sip of her coffee and her text tone goes off. She has her phone out on the table and I see the message pop up on the notification. If it isn’t ‘Best Friend'

Best Friend-That’s fine with me, sweetheart. Let me know when you’re here, I’ll meet you on the field.

I take a drink of my coffee so she doesn’t notice that I’ve looked down at her phone. She picks her phone up and types something and sets it back down. She is answering my questions about coven hierarchy when the phone goes off again.

Best Friend- I love you too, Princess.

Who the hell is best friend? I can’t get a read on them. Are they male or female and why the hell are they meeting in a field?

“So, where are you headed after this?”, I ask her.

She finishes the bite she is chewing and takes a drink, “Council. I’m training there today. I have to prep for my challenges.”

I nod taking another bite of my steak. “What sort of challenges are they?”, I ask.

She sighs, “The 7 devils, or 7 deadly sins. They use sprites to see inside you and take your fears or struggles, placing them into each category. You have to face each one and defeat it. Some require power to complete, others require tasks. There is a timer, you’re allowed 20 minutes per devil.”

I’m surprised. My mate isn’t a big girl, she is petite and adorable. They make her fight? “You’re going to physically fight things?”, I ask.

She smiles, “If that is my challenge, Nikolai, yes.”

I raise my brows, “So... you’re going to train to fight some demons on Saturday?”, I ask.

She giggles, “I doubt it is demons, witches do not fear them. Demons typically have little interest in us, therefore are not something we fear. I don’t really know what will be there, Nikolai. I’m not a sprite, I can’t say what they will see. I train all the time anyway. It’s really not that big of a deal.”

Jayce and Tania have finished eating and Jayce pays before moving back into the seat beside me. I look at him, “You charge me up for talking to her at a fight, but you let her fight demons in a magical maze?”, I ask.

He chuckles and Tania and Kara giggle.

“I don’t ‘let’ her do anything. She does whatever she’s going to do. I just make myself available for when I’m needed. Besides, she’s our little beautiful bad ass. I bet she could take you.”, he laughs.

I smile at her, “So that’s why she is training at Council?” Jayce sits back and winks at Tania. She blushes and his grin grows.

“She usually trains with Rayne, Tania, and I. There are few people that can face her power without being injured. Some of them are at Council.”, he answers. Never taking his eyes off his mate.

“Could I watch you train?”, I ask Kara.

She shakes her head, “I have no authority to allow you access in Council.”, she answers.

“Maybe next time you’re training with your uncles?”, I ask.

She looks at Jayce and he nods. “Maybe.”, she says sweetly.

“Well, we need to get moved along, Princess. I’m going to wait by the car for you.”, he tells her, then looks to me, “You’ll have her right out?”

I nod and smile to him, “Of course.” He stands and takes Tania’s hand, walking back to the front with her. He seats her in the passenger seat and leans against her open door. She smiles so lovingly at him and keeps laughing. He isn’t near as intimidating with her around.

I pay our bill and I offer Kara my hand when she exits the booth. She takes it hesitantly.

“May I kiss you, Kara? One kiss, I won’t be aggressive or grab ahold of you.”, I ask her.

She searches my eyes for a second then she nods. I smile and lean in slowly. I put my lips to hers and nip her bottom lip, she opens and I taste her sweet mouth. The bond sends tingles through my chest and makes me want to take more, but I know that will screw everything up. This has to be her way for a little while. I pull back and she smiles at me. I smile back and run the pad of my thumb over her lips. “So sweet, gorgeous.”, I tell her.

She blushes and turns from me to head out the door. I get out in front of her and open it. She smiles and passes me, we walk together to Jayce’s SUV.

He turns to us as we come out. He opens Kara’s door and holds it until she hops in. “I’ll text you.”, she says.

I wave and nod to Tania and Jayce, “It was nice to meet you Mother, and to see you again Consort.” Jayce smiles, closing Kara’s door.

“Goodbye Nikolai.”, Tania turns into her seat and Jayce closes her door.

“I haven’t decided what I think about you yet, Nikolai. I was more pleased by your second impression than your first though. Maybe we will meet again. Farewell.”, he replies before rounding the SUV and climbing in next to his mate.

They drive off and I send a message to Stryder.

Nikolai- Get to Council and watch the fields for my mate. Live feed it to me, don’t be obvious. She’s meeting best friend there and I want to know who it is.

Kara’s POV

I’m not sure how I feel about Nikolai. He was sweet and not at all scary today. Maybe it really was just him struggling with impulses yesterday.

We pull up at the Council gates and I send a message to Clay. By the time we pull up to the fields, I see Clay coming up to the SUV,

“Bye, I appreciate you playing chaperone at lunch.”, I tell Tania and Jayce.

“No problem, Princess. I had fun.”, Tania replies.

Clay opens my door and offers me his hand, I accept it and slide out, turning to grab my bo staff. He shuts my door and Tania rolls her window down. “We can pick you up in a couple hours or Clay can drive you home. Which works for you guys?”, she asks.

“I’ll bring her home.”, he replies.

We walk out onto the field and Clay howls at me teasingly when I pull my crop top and skirt off, exposing my athletic shorts and sports bra. I chuckle at him and spin my bo staff as I turn toward him. He starts backing onto the field, pulling his shirt off and throwing it on the bench with my clothes.

“Offense or Defense, Princess”, he asks me teasingly. I come at him quick and hard. He dodges, jumping out of my reach and grabbing for my staff. I pull back and bring the other end up forcing him to jump back away from me or get hit in the abdomen. “Oh, that was sneaky, babe.”, he grins as he starts circling me.

Clay comes at me, grabbing for my thigh and I step back and come around, hitting his shoulder with the staff, then moving to hit his jaw. He catches the staff and yanks me to him, spinning me into his chest and trapping me against him with the staff. “Don’t get over excited when you land a good hit. You quit watching my hands.”, he warns before releasing me.

I nod and reposition myself. I come at him again, swinging high and when he dodges, I kick him in the ribs and jump back away from him. “Good girl.”, Clay says as he moves to circle me. I get several more good hits on Clay and he catches me and pulls me in more often than I get him.

“Princess, you do not want to be in my reach. I’m bigger and stronger. No matter how much power you fire into me, if I get a hold of you it is game over. You keep moving in WAY too close. Keep me back, babe.”, he says as he moves in on me again.

I focus on staying out of his reach and keep moving. “That’s much better. Why don’t we stop and get a drink?”, he says. I nod and we walk back to the bench.

“If I focus on keeping you out of reach, I stay stuck on defense and that makes me nervous.”, I tell him, digging through his bag.

“Me getting a hold of you should be what makes you nervous, sweetheart. Every time I’ve grabbed you, you came in too close without watching me. You had a plan, but you moved too soon.”, he tells me. I take one of his hand towels and a bottle of water. I drink about half of my water and watch him drink the rest of his. He throws the bottle into his bag on the bench. “More or cool down, Princess?”, he asks me.

I look at my phone. I’ve already taken up 3 hours of his time. I also have a message from Nikolai, but I’ll read it later. “I’m going to stretch and meditate for a minute, best friend.”, he nods and sits down on the bench. He always watches me stretch and meditate. I’ve never told him not to because he is always quiet and he doesn’t move or distract me. He stays completely still.