"Whoa!" exclaimed Reika as she slowly drove up the dirt driveway.
"Who's the hunk talking to dad?" She asked as she briefly looked over to her sister.
"I don't know, no one ever comes to visit us. Could it be a relative?" Tala asked. Both women looked at the attractive guy who was currently standing on their porch talking with Rick. Tala suddenly felt her heart begin to race.
"Oh gods, I seriously hope not." Reika giggled in embarrassment.
"Just keep your eyes on the road." Tala laughed.
As their truck crept closer to the house, Tala could feel something inside her stirring. A cold tingling sensation was spreading through her veins, throughout her limbs and all over her body. The closer they got, the more intense the feelings became, spreading to her heart and making it pump faster and stronger. Tala couldn't take her eyes off the mysterious newcomer.
"Hi, let me help you with those." Luke offered running over to Reika who had taken on more grocery bags than she could handle.
"Thank you, mister . . . ?"
"Girls this is Luke, his mother and father are dear friends of the family. He and his friends will be staying with us for a few days. So be polite and from now on, stay away from the barn." Rick instructed them but looked mainly at Tala. She was always in there inventing new gadgets and surprising her dad and family with them.
The presence of Luke behind Tala was giving her goosebumps as they made their way into the kitchen. She was too nervous to turn around and instead headed straight to the refrigerator.
"Luke, this is my youngest Reika and this is my middle daughter Tala." Reika shyly waves before putting the spices away in the cupboard.
Tala was putting away groceries into the fridge but reluctantly stopped for a moment to say hello to the attractive stranger.
"Hi, it's a pleasure to meet you." She smiled softly and extended her hand gracefully to shake his.
Luke takes it and instantly feels tingles and heat erupt through his whole body. He hesitates for a brief moment.
"The pleasure is mine miss." He replies, quickly regaining his composure.
Kneeling his head down to kiss her hand. He looks up to see her beautiful amber brown eyes looking at him with curiosity. They were almost hypnotizing to him. They could both instantly feel it, the want, the need, the chemistry radiating between them.
Suddenly Lycus, Luke's inner wolf, began whimpering. Crying out in sadness. 'What's wrong?' He mentally asked him but his wolf was becoming too loud and obnoxious. The noise was making it hard for him to control himself. Lycus is never this loud, what's going on? He thought to himself.
"I apologize but will you all excuse me for a moment?" Luke asked them with a charming smile that showed the hint of dimples before rushing outside and towards the barn. He was in desperate need of some fresh air.
Barley a moment after he walked away, Tala was doubled over in pain with one hand holding her stomach. While the other one was holding onto the kitchen island to balance herself.
"What's going on, what's wrong?" Rick asked his daughter after she started groaning. Worry tugging at his heart.
"I don't know, something doesn't feel right. It feels like my insides are being torn apart." Tala groaned.
"Diana?!" Rick hollered frantically. She was folding clothes in the washroom. Lost in thought. Reminiscing over the events of earlier. "Diana?!" Rick hollered again finally snapping her out of her day dream. She could hear the panic in his voice.
"Yes?" She answered as she rushed to the kitchen. Her heart sank when she seen Tala hunched over.
"Will you please take Tala up to her room and keep an eye on her." He asked her as soon as she entered.
"I'll call Aunt Tia after I get her settled into bed." Diana replied to her father.
Tia was like an aunt to the girls but also a very skilled doctor. Her specialty was working with a range of different supernatural patients.
"I'll help get her upstairs before I start dinner." Reika added.
"She might just be hungry." Both girls wrap their arms around Tala and help her up the stairs.
As soon as all of the girls were up the stairs Rick pulled out his cell phone and made a call.
"You need to get here now." He pleaded with the person on the other end of the phone.
"I'm trying, I've been dodging rogues left and right. They are everywhere. I'll be there soon though." The person promised.
"Make it sooner, there's something wrong with Tala." Worry staining his husky voice.
"What's wrong with Tala?!" the voice demanded with a matching worried tone.
"Just get here soon and be careful, Zeev and Gela's son is here. I don't think they know anything but still . . . be careful. I . . ." The line went dead before he could finish. He put his phone away and sat at the kitchen table, lost in his thoughts.
Upstairs the girls were getting settled around Tala who was now sitting in her bed. Her knees and arms cradling the pillow she was holding against her chest. Reika grabbed another pillow and laid at the foot of the bed while Diana sat perched at Tala's side.
"What happened down there? Are you alright?" Diana asked with the same worried tone that had been staining her voice since the break in.
"I don't really know, It started in the truck as we were pulling in. I began feeling tingly and lightheaded. For a second, I thought I was having a heart attack because of the way it made my heart act. It didn't hurt at first. It actually kind of tickled a little." Tala smiled softly remembering how it felt. "When we made it to the kitchen it just kept getting stronger. After Luke left it had suddenly began getting worse until finally it felt like something inside me was being ripped open from the inside out. It hurt worse than any pain I've ever felt." Tala explained.
"See Reika?! I told you she wasn't ready yet. She's barley off of bed rest and needs more time. Going into town was too much on her fragile body." Diana scolded.
"Diana chill. I'm fine, it was probably me getting carsick or something. Probably hungry like Reika said. Plus I begged her to take me so be mad at me, not her." Tala defended. The last thing she wanted is for them to be even more overprotected or be bickering over her.
"But it's gone now?" Reika asked with furrowed brows. She could tell Reika felt guilty which tugged at Tala's heart.
"Yes, the pain is gone." Tala said with a faint smile, but it still felt like something inside of her wasn't right. Like there's something in her that was breaking but if she said that, they'd never stop worrying.
"I'm glad to hear it!" Reika said brightening up a little bit.
Tala bites her lip for a moment before speaking.
"I know this is going to sound crazy but it started as soon as I seen Luke. . . I felt tingles all over my body when we noticed him talking to dad outside. Then it intensified when we locked eyes in the kitchen, to the point that it became painful. As soon as our skin touched it felt like something was setting my insides on fire and tearing me apart." Tala told them playing with a strand of hair.
"Like a mate bond . . ." Diana said suddenly.
'But that couldn't happen Tala's human, she could never feel their wolves mate bond. Even if a wolf bonded with her, she wouldn't feel anything. Especially pain. There's never pain in bonding, just overwhelming euphoria.' Diana thought to herself.
"What's a mate bond?" Tala asked. Diana cursed at herself for being so careless with her words.
"It's a silly way of saying love at first sight or soul mates." Reika quickly answered.
"Love at first sight?" Tala laughs "soul mates? Now that is silly."
"It is not silly!" Diana exclaimed defensively. "Those who get to experience it are the luckiest of them all. To truly click and bond. . . You can stare at each other and it's as if your souls are dancing together . . . It's beautiful." She sighs holding her hands up to her heart.
"How would you know?" Reika laughed throwing the pillow she was propped up on at her. Missing her completely and landing on the floor.
"Maybe stick with cooking Rei." Tala laughed.
"how would you know so much about it?" she asked turning to Diana skeptically.
"Because. . ." Diana started
"it happened to me." She got off the bed to stare out the window. She stared off towards the barn.
"When?" Tala and Reika said at the same time still laughing.
"While you guys were at the store." Diana answered quietly.
"What? With who? Luke?" Reika asked in a more serious tone. Tala's heart stung at the thought of someone else having Luke's heart. The jealousy and sadness caught her off guard.
"No, his name is Baddy. He is my mate . . . I mean soulmate." Diana answered turning towards her sisters with a bright goofy smile.
"You're crazy and what kind of name is Baddy." Tala laughed throwing the pillow she was holding at her big sister.
"A noble one!" She told her as she picked up the pillows and placed them neatly back on the bed. "It's a nickname for Baddulf which means fighting wolf. It's a name that's been passed down in his family."
"Fighting wolf? So, what's this fighting wolf do?" Tala asked.
"He's a warrior in the kings army, a general actually." Diana said proudly. Even thinking of him now gave her butterflies. He was so magnificent in her eyes.
"I need to go make dinner." Reika said abruptly before hurrying off. Reika knew that her sister had found her mate. It was an instant connection that cannot be undone. It would only hurt both of them if they were kept apart. Which means she would leave to be with him. She'll leave just like mom did. It's not like she could stay when her mate had such an important job. Reika's heart hurt at the thought of losing yet another person she loved.
"You think Reika is okay?" Tala asked concerned.
"Yeah, you know how she is about cooking, probably just wants to get started. You should rest until dinner. I'll bring you up a plate." She smoothed out Tala's blanket for her "Let me know if you need anything ok?"
"Thank you Diana." Tala said as she nestled in bed. "I look forward to meeting Baddy, he sounds wonderful." She continued. Diana's face lit up to Tala's kind words.
*Luke's POV*
Luke was as white as a ghost when he reached the barn. 'What the hell had just happened in there?' he asked himself.
"Hey man, you don't look so good. I think you should sit down." Blaidd greeted him. Luke obliged and sat down on the couch next to Baddy.
"I don't feel so good." He answered honestly.
"If it's about what happened," Baddy closed his eyes for a moment before he continued "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. The mate bond is so much stronger than I realized. . . Even now I have to fight my wolf from taking over and going to her." Baddy tells them.
"What did it feel like when it happened?" Blaidd asked looking up at Baddy almost childlike. Baddy looked over to his alpha to ensure it was ok for him to continue, Luke motions for him to go ahead. He still needed a moment and was curious himself. It would definitely help him understand the situation they were in better.
"It started when I was on the side of the house. I felt tingles all over my body starting from my chest and they kept getting more and more intense the closer I got to her. As soon as our eyes connected our wolves began to dance with each other. It was like a blindfold being taken off. In that moment all I wanted, all I needed was her. When we touched, it was like a fire erupted through our bodies and our need intensified. It was raw, intense, until this numb nuts walked in on us." Baddy looked at Blaidd who put up his hands in defense.
"Hey now, you guys were on the floor in the middle of the washroom. If it wasn't me, it was going to be someone else." They all laughed.
"Hold on guys, let me see who this is." Luke sighed as he pulled out his ringing cell phone.
"Shit, it's my mom. I better take this."
"Hey mom." He answered as soon as he stepped outside.
"Hello dear, so tell me who bonded, was it finally Blaidd?" Gela asked her son excitedly. Luke shook his head, of course she knows. As Luna she can feel all the love, pain, and fear from everyone in our pack. She was so kind but also so damn nosey.
"Actually, it was Baddy." Luke laughed.
"Baddulf? Really? My skills must be getting rusty. Good for him!" she said with glee "I look forward to meeting our new family member when you all return. Now tell me, what has you feeling so angsty?" she asks him.
Luke took in a deep breath and just as he was about to begin explaining, he noticed Tala staring out her bedroom window at him. Her windows faced the front of the barn.
"It's nothing mom, just eager to get back home." he pauses for a moment looking back at Tala who was now closing her curtains,
"I do have a question though." He said while trying to form his racing thoughts into a singular question.
"Can wolves feel a mate bond with humans?"
"Simply put, no."
"So, a human wouldn't be able to cause any sort of tingling or pain? Do you know why a wolf might . . . I don't know, like whimper or something when they are near another person, wolf or human."
"Absolutely not, if anything they can feel infatuation for each other, but the bond is for wolves. To mate with a human is frowned upon for a reason. Only another wolf can understand the pack and mate bond. Our wolves sense things we can't. Usually when our wolves are whimpering it means there's darkness we can't see or that our mates or cubs are in danger. Why? What's going on down there? Why do you want to know all this?" Gela was becoming anxious and worried.
"No reason, I was just curious, silly stories we heard on the road. Anyway, I got to go but I'll talk to you again soon." Luke hung up before she could even say goodbye. He leaned against the front of the barn and stared at her now closed window. He stood there for a while before heading back inside the barn.
"My love?" Gela asked her mate Zeev as she placed the phone back in its cradle on her nightstand.
"Yes?"
"Didn't you say Alarick took in a human pet?"
"You mean adopted a human daughter? Yes. That's what Blaidd's update said."
"Zeev, we need to get down there now. There's something wrong." She told him calmly.
"I'm sure he's fine dove, don't worry." he told her as he continued reading his book.
"Zeev, there's something wrong, I feel it and we need to leave."
When he finally looked up from his book to look at his beautiful mate, he could instantly tell by the color change of her eyes that she was serious. Her eyes, normally a beautiful grayish blue were now cloudy gray like a storm was brewing. Worry written all over her face. She looked at him with her mind already made up.
"I'll make the arrangements." He told her as he closed his book and set it on his nightstand.
Without further question he made plans to leave right after breakfast the next morning.