Mating bond, markings and what not. They all seemed like a horrible joke turned reality to me. This whole thing felt like a ridiculous tale and yet it was true, my own reality. If Nat was a werewolf then does that mean Justin and the others were the same. If that turned out to be true, then I've been dancing with the wolves all along.
"Which is why I've invited him over tomorrow so you both can talk and figure out what to do", Aunt Maia finished gently. "You called him over?" I asked in shock. "Yes I did and your mom knows about it", she responded agreeably. "She's also in support so don't try any funny business young lady. Remember we're doing this for you."
I wanted so badly to say something in defiance but the look on her face had me thinking twice. I had no issues with Xander coming over. Matter of fact, I missed him but I also know I don't want to be left at anyone's mercy. What if he found out the truth about my identity and still denied me, I mean there were others he could mate right? Instead of the novice who's got no clue about his world and his people.
What if he walks away from me again like he did the last time, because I'm not what he's looking for in a mate. I can't possibly defend myself against a wolf. I only had the upper hand when dealing with humans before, because I was a super human but I now I was a baby or pup in a world of raw and untamed wolves.
"What if he rejects me?" I asked quietly. It was the major question that bugged me deep down. "He would never do that", she replied fiercely. "Some wolves or lycans can be silly enough to reject the person chosen for them by the goddess but someone like Xander would never even think about it."
"How can you be sure of that?" I questioned disbelievingly. "Because I know him", she countered. I waited for her to explain what she meant by her answer but all I got was a small smile before she held my hands in hers and squeezed them comfortingly. She stood up next and walked out of the kitchen leaving me and my thoughts a completely frenzied mess.
I spent the whole of Saturday going through as much info as I could get from the few books Aunt Maia was able to get me. It was a way of preparing myself for my time with Xander tomorrow and it also served to take my mind off the doubts swirling within it. By the end of the day I was so tired, sleep came before I called for it, dulling my senses into a dreamless rest.
Sunday came too fast and our weekly Sunday routine of teeth brushing, running, some more exercises in the gym and then breakfast rolled by. Keeping myself still was a new experience in control for me and soon enough I was encouraging myself to see just how long I could hold onto that control. Wolf training 101 in session people.
After breakfast my mom had a little chat with me, I'm guessing Aunt Maia insisted or else she wouldn't have dared it. It's like we're cool talking about mundane things but you take a step into the supernatural and boom, my mom is gone. I did understand her though since I knew we were alike in more ways than one, thank skies for that.
She still blames herself for how my life turned out. I won't pretend and say that thought never did cross my mind, but it was gone as fast as it came. She had lost a lot too. From great job opportunities to a stable relationship. Since Lucas died she hadn't attempted another relationship, since she blamed herself for his death and didn't want to make another person go through that.
The most important reason though, why I could never blame her was because she never abandoned me. She knew there was a possibility that things might turn out like this but she never left me to live a good life on her own. Though she struggles to relate, her love for me is present in everything she has done and continues to do.
Which is why when she started talking about the intensity of having a mate and that which comes after-the mating-I was able to brave through it all no matter how uncomfortably I cringed throughout. My one joy though she was feeling the same way, like I said we have a lot in common, awkward dealings being one of them.
By lunch time, the control I had managed to exercise had dwindled into zilch. Jittery as hell, I barely managed to seat myself on a dining chair when we all heard the doorbell. You know that moment in a horror movie when crippling realization comes upon everyone in the room like 'this is the end', yeah that was how we all reacted.
Everyone froze up for a second or two and then we heard the doorbell again. Aunt Maia recovered quickly, moving gracefully to get the door while every other person except me shifted on their seats to try and recover quickly. I on the other hand, whooo, I had this short-lived moment of peace and then every nerve in my body proceeded to have a wild party. So much for wolf training 101.
I didn't need to turn to know who had walked in. If I thought I was aware of him before, hmm, now I was over aware of him. His scent was stronger and it was divine, the smell of pine and the freshness of the earth after rain coupled with his aftershave, a scent designed to mess with my head and then my body reacted weirdly. I felt tingly all over as if the nerves partying had started a small fire in my body and his nearness was adding fuel to it flame.
He walked into the dining area and stopped for a few seconds before making his way to join us. I hadn't realized the setup of the seating arrangement till he took a seat beside me on my left. Normally, Aunt Maia sat beside me with my mom and Adam at the head of the table. Today though, she sat opposite me and my crazy nerves hadn't let me realize that it was a deliberate move on her part. Dang!!!
Lunch was great, such a lovely time. Aunt Maia and Adam made small talk and Xander politely joined them a few times. My mom on the other hand was as uncomfortable as I was. Sometimes, I truly wonder how she had been able to make it as an actress, the woman couldn't pretend for shit. Or maybe that was only when it concerned me.
When lunch was finally over, I breathed a quiet sigh of relief and my mom did the opposite. Aunt Maia gave her a questioning gaze and she swiftly lied and said she had over eaten. Aunt Maia didn't believe her and neither did I. My mom and Adam excused themselves shortly after to go check on a project she was working on in the city.
After kissing her goodbye, I could no longer avoid the elephant in the room and Aunt Maia, God bless her twisted mind, was not the best person to lead into a conversation. She was brutal and would just get right into it, no preface necessary.
I sat back down at the head of the table this time, creating a bit of distance between Xander and I while trying to think of how to start this ridiculous conversation. Before I could even open my mouth to say a word, Aunt Maia piped in and I knew instantly this would be pure torture for me.
"Xander, forgive my manners", she began straightaway, "But what do you think of Asha?" In all my years of living, I have never brought a dude home to meet my family and say 'this is my boyfriend ma'. In this moment though, I knew what those girls must have felt when their parents were doing the Q&A's game with their boyfriend.
Without missing a beat, I interrupted Xander before he could form a reply, "Uh… we'll be in my room". I definitely didn't want to know what else she had to say and so I quickly stood up, pulling him behind me while racing to my room, all while desperately trying to ignore the new rush of tingles I felt from our joined hands.
We made it up the stairs and I was about to close the door to my room when I heard Aunt Maia laughing loudly downstairs, she wanted me to hear it. Damn it Asha, you got played again, I scolded mentally. I just willingly walked into that one with my eyes open.
The second I closed the door, I felt it, the change in the atmosphere. It was like I just walked into a war zone or a super charged arena. I turned back gently and found Xander staring at me, his hands in the front pockets of his blue jeans. His white t-shirt flexing every time he moved his hands and those eyes, grey eyes that had darkened considerably to look like a stormy sky. Boy is it really about to rain a storm in here.
The thought of sitting anywhere close to the bed made me uncomfortable, since my mom had told me the pull was so strong, mating could happen right away. You'd think with that kind of warning I would think twice about bringing him to my bedroom, but no my brain has been on holiday all day.
I walked to the window seat and sat by the end of the seat leaving enough room for Xander and space between us. He moved wordlessly and sat at the other end and I almost breathed loudly in relief. The space was not all that, but it would have to do.
We sat like that for a while, listening to each other breathing, the wind whistling gently through the open window, trying but failing to clear out the tension in the super charged room. I kept thinking of the best place to start having this talk and nothing came up in my head, my brain had gone on a sabbatical without my permission.
"Why do you forsake me at times like this", I asked my brain. "What do you mean by that?" Xander asked softly. "You heard me?" I asked incredulously. "Yes I did." Know that feeling when your brain's not working well and your mouth suddenly decides to get sharp, yup that's me.
"Oh I wasn't talking to you", my mouth said. "Then who were you talking to?" He queried curiously. "I'm the only one here". "That's okay, I was talking to my brain", my mouth replied. He looked at me once then twice and asked gently, "You were talking to your brain? Are you sure?" "Damn right I'm sure", my mouth said. "Who else could I be talking to in the space that exists here", my hand proceeded to point at my head.
He looked as if he didn't know what to do with me for a few seconds and then he smiled and started laughing. I felt a little irritated by that. His laugh was definitely something I wanted to hear all the time but I couldn't fully absorb the joy I felt about that when I was miffed that he was laughing at me.
"Now why are you laughing?" I asked irritatingly. He didn't reply for a while and just kept laughing before he then saw the look on my face and calmed down. "I didn't mean to offend you", he said apologetically though I doubted he was really sorry. "It's just, the look on your face when you say something as strange as that is to die for." I couldn't come up with an answer to that so I let it go.
"Will you finally talk to me now", he asked seriously after a moment. The way he said it made me realize he knew I had been stalling. "I never said I wasn't going to talk to you", I replied astutely. He didn't say a word, just looked at me like 'get on with it'. I tried to get on with it but still couldn't do it and then my brain decided to visit me while on sabbatical with a ridiculous idea.
"Let's play twenty questions?" I asked happily. To say he was shocked was an understatement. "Why twenty questions?" He asked skeptically. I would say the same if I were in his shoes and so I decided to just come out with the truth. "I can't start this conversation any other way", I said frankly. "I've tried and this game seems like my best bet, if not you'll be laughing at all the craziness I can conjure up in a day." He hesitated before giving in with a small sigh.
Beyond happy to finally get this show on the road I started the game. "I'll go first. What did you mean when you said the word mate to me in school the other day?" he inhaled sharply and then quietly breathed out, his hand running through his silky hair. If he thought I was going to start soft, he'd be shocked.
"It just happened", he said deliberately. "I didn't mean for the word to come out like that." I waited for more and when nothing came, nudged him with my hands in a gesture of 'carry on'. He simply smiled and said, "I can't tell you more until I know more. My turn". Dang! Asha-0 Xander-1.
"What are you?" He asked precisely. Here I thought I was the brutal one, I thought to myself and then smiled when I recalled the order of his questions in the vision expose I had of him. "First I'd like to know who and what you are exactly, and since you don't look like you're ready to answer that yet I'll ask the rest and you decide where to start answering from. Second what is your purpose in this school, third where did you come from? That should be enough for now". This should be fun.
"Let me guess", I replied smugly. "After the 'what', then comes the 'who', 'purpose' and 'where', am I right?" He struggled to answer while I just stared at him with a smile dancing on my lips. He shrugged and gave a small nod in reply.
"Since I'm feeling all kinds of nice right now", I started with a wave of my hand. "I'll do you a bonus and answer all four of them for two questions simultaneously for my next turn." He agreed with another nod and with a smirk, I gave him his answers.
As for the 'who', I believe you already know that, I am Asha D. Carter. The 'what' well, let's just say I'm still figuring that out and because you refused to give me complete answers earlier, I'll do the same. Then my 'purpose', wow, no matter how many times I think about it the feeling is still the same, like I'm being interviewed for a life mag. I only came to this town because my mom chose it and it's not like I could be someplace else. Finally the 'where' I came from part, even I don't know that."
He was unhappy with my answers, I knew that and if he reacted the same way he did in my vision, this shit would be over soon. Deep down, he knew what I knew, no one wanted to spill first. Aunt Maia may have known him a long time ago but I didn't and the fact that he couldn't trust me enough to give me something, simply means I won't do the same.
"My turn", I said with a smile. "First question, answer the first half of yours I answered just now". The smile he gave me told me he knew I was giving him one more chance to fix this trust thing between us. I didn't have a problem telling him the truth since Aunt Maia already said he was one of them and I trusted him to a certain extent but I wanted to know that he trusted me too even if it's just a little.
"As for the 'who' he said with a genuine smile. I think you already know this one, I am Xander Storm. The 'what' that's the easy part, I am a supernatural creature most humans think are stuff of folklore. Your turn"
"Second question", I replied gently. "I want a straight forward answer this time Xander", he smiled at that. "Who am I to you?" the look of warmth that took over his face when he replied made my heart pound. "You're my mate."