Devi: Matefinder Book 2 Page 14

  I embraced her. “Alexa, you’re pack now. Family. Kai and I wanted that the second we met you at the waterfall. I’m sorry it had to happen in a bloody and freaky way, but I’m glad to have you. What you did was smart. I would have done the same.”

  The instinct to become strong and survive drove humans to great lengths. We could all relate to that.

  She smiled. “Thank you.”

  I nodded. “Now, first things first. Where were you born?” I did not want another showdown with some Alpha fighting for Alexa on my wedding day.

  “Japan. Military brat. Why?”

  I sighed in relief. “Long story.”

  ‘I wonder if I have a mate. I wonder if she knows who it is.’

  Whoa. I was hearing her thoughts, just like Kai heard mine in the beginning.

  She cleared her throat.

  “Sorry. I’m going to teach you to keep me out of your every thought. It’s the one thing I wished Kai would have taught me right away.” Everyone deserved privacy.

  I walked her through the guided imagery, she buried our strong connection, just beneath the surface. I could still feel her a little more strongly than the rest of the pack, but not her every thought. I guess because I was the one who changed her, we were closer than the others. Interesting.

  “And for the record, I don’t know who your mate is, but if I do you will be the first to know.” I smiled.

  She laughed and her cheeks reddened. “Thanks.”

  Anna peeked her head around the corner. “Are you going to help her shift? Can I come?”

  The color suddenly fell from Alexa’s face and I placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

  “Yes, Anna, you may come. You might need to catch Alexa if she faints.”

  We laughed.

  We all stood in Anna’s backyard, stark naked.

  Alexa had her arms covering her breasts, legs crossed.

  “All right,” I began, “first things first. We are always naked and it’s not a big deal. I have seen everyone in this pack naked and they have seen me. So you will just need to get over it. We either look at the ground while shifting or at their face. Got it?”

  Alexa laughed and dropped her arms, looking at my face.

  “Got it.”

  Next, I described how to shift. It came easier to me than others because of the gift I shared with Kai.

  “So, when you are ready, just take in a deep breath and let your wolf out.”

  I had also explained that because she was a changed wolf, when she shifted, her power would manifest as well. Either right away or sometime soon.

  Alexa swallowed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Her fingers shifted first. I could hear the bones cracking. Red hot pain shot through our pack bond.

  “Ow,” she said.

  I winced. “Yeah, first time is the worst.”

  Then her arms, torso, and legs shifted. She dropped on all fours, panting, until lastly her face turned into a beautiful wolf. She was grey with a unique pattern of white spots. Her belly lurched and I knew what was coming. Akash had warned me that most wolves threw up after their first shift.

  After throwing up, she looked up at me. I shifted instantly and met her eyes.

  ‘We can all talk while in wolf form,’ I told her.

  She gave me a wolfish grin. ‘Cool.’

  ‘You feel okay?’ I asked.

  She nodded.

  Anna shifted beside us and nudged my shoulder. ‘Tag, you’re it!’ She took off running. I decided to be nice and took off after her at half of my fastest speed. I turned back and saw that Alexa was hot on my trail. I let out a yip and Alexa returned it with a big wolf howl. Anna howled back.

  I led the girls to a small path that went to our house. I had promised Emma that I wouldn’t look at the back yard she was decorating, so we went around the front. A bunch of electrical DJ equipment had been unloaded and lay on the front porch. Kai assured me everyone involved with wedding set up was a wolf or apart of the supernatural community, so I wasn’t worried about being spotted by humans. As we neared the equipment and made our way to the front door, Alexa’s paws started glowing blue.

  ‘What the?’ She looked at me scared. The DJ equipment suddenly boomed to life! It was deafening. I whined. Alexa’s paws stopped glowing and the noise stopped.

  Anna looked at the speakers and approached me. ‘It’s not plugged in.’

  I nodded. I could see that.

  Alexa was shaking and whining.

  ‘It’s okay,’ I told her. ‘It’s your gift, just calm down.’

  ‘Try to control it.’ Anna indicated the speakers and turntables.

  Alexa closed her eyes and steadied her breathing. Her paws glowed and the music

  blared out again.

  ‘Softer,’ I told her, wincing.

  She breathed deeply and the music quieted to a manageable sound.

  ‘That’s awesome,’ Anna commented.

  I gave a wolfish grin. ‘Well, I’m not gonna lie, that’s a pretty damn cool power. I’m jealous.’

  Alexa looked shocked. ‘This will take some getting used to.’

  Emma poked her head out the front door. “What’s all this noise? Aurora, we’re waiting for you! Come on, girls, quit messing around. It’s wedding day!” She shrieked. Then she looked at Alexa. “Oh, Alexa, welcome to the pack. Your wolf is beautiful. Now come on!” I wasn’t sure how I felt about pregnant Emma. She was kind of all over the place and intense.

  Emma left the door open and I looked at Anna and Alexa indicating they should follow.

  All of the pack females from India, Seattle, and our pack, were in the house. There was a henna artist and she was doing designs on the women’s hands. I had told Kai’s mother I wanted to be married in a red sari. I was excited to be honoring his culture. I was getting a traditional henna party!

  I weaved in and out of the crowd to my room and quickly changed. After I came out I spotted Tara. She waved. I waved back. She seemed okay, she was chatting with another one of the Indian pack girls. I was glad to see she had been found. I also spotted Sadie, Kai’s ex-girlfriend, who was now in the Seattle pack. Awkward.

  “Welcome to your Mehndi party.” Maya gestured opening her arms. She was dressed in full Indian garb. She stuck a bindi on my forehead and gave me a hug.

  I smiled. “Thank you so much.” She sat me down on the couch and had two artists work on me at the same time. One was at my feet and the other, my arms. They were drawing intricate designs, elephants, and peacock feathers.

  After a while, Tara came to sit with me.

  “Hey,” she said, looking at her henna design.

  I wasn’t sure what to talk about. Pretend yesterday didn’t happen or ask if she was okay.

  “I’m sorry for what happened. I feel like it’s all my fault.” I told her genuinely.

  She shook her head. “I’m so glad you told me. I would be living my life in India for God knows how long if you hadn’t.”

  I nodded. “So … You’re okay?”

  She smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “Max asked me out to coffee after the henna party. Then he asked if we wanted to go to the wedding reception tonight … together. Like a … date.”

  Her eyes lit up and I smiled. Starting slow, that was good. “That’s great!”

  Tara nodded. “So, we’re going to get to know each other. I will stay in Seattle for a while and just see what happens.” She looked a little sad at the thought.

  I knew all about taking it slow. When Kai first told me we were mates and destined to be married and have kids, I was terrified. I wanted to progress slowly: boyfriend, fiancé, THEN marriage. After what Max had been through, it seemed like a good move for them.

  “Have fun on your date.” I winked at her and squeezed her hand.

  The moment our skin touched, I was pulled into a vision. Tara was dressed in a beautiful, long white satin wedding gown, grinning ear to ear. Max stood proud at the end of the aisle, Kai right next to h
im. I scanned her bridesmaids and the crowd. Where was I? Why wasn’t I there? The vision dissolved.

  “Aurora?” She shook me.

  I cleared my throat. “Oh, I’m sorry, what did you say?” Mist hovered around me.

  She was looking at me with concern. “I said, I will let you know how the date goes.”

  I nodded. “I’m sure it will be fine.” I had learned to trust my visions. Tara and Max were well on their way to getting married, but why wasn’t I there?

  An hour later, the henna artists were done with me and moved on to the others. The henna was starting to dry a burnt maroon color. The designs were intricate and beautiful. Emma waddled over holding her belly. Her face looked alarmed, but she was trying to hide it. I stood up quickly, careful not to mess up the designs on my arms that were still drying.

  “What’s wrong?” I whispered.

  She flicked her head outside and began walking away. I followed her, my heart hammering in my chest. I tuned into Kai’s energy. He seemed mad and confused. I could smell him, he was close. I walked outside and Emma stopped me on the porch.

  “Kai is right behind this bush. I don’t want him to see you yet, but he needs to talk.”

  I looked at the bush and could see him through the leaves. “What’s wrong?”

  Kai sighed. “The wolves protecting our perimeter have given me some distressing information.”

  I felt dread sink into my stomach. “Spit it out! What happened?”

  “Well, RAIDOS showed up on foot, deep in the woods, intending to stop the wedding, I’m sure.”

  Well, I guess that was to be expected.

  “And … the vampires stopped them. Killed some of them. Sent the rest running.” Kai sighed.

  “What!” I shrieked. Oh my God. The vampires were so invested in us having the mating ceremony so that I would become fertile and then Layla could have evil spawn children, that they were protecting my wedding!

  “Kai, that’s–”

  “I know. It feels like we are doing what they want.” He seemed unsure. Oh my God, he was having second thoughts. Sadness overwhelmed me.

  “You don’t want to …” I started. I guess I understood.

  The bush rattled and Kai leapt out from behind it and approached me. “What? Are you crazy? No.”

  I laughed. “Emma’s gonna kill you.”

  He looked at my hands and feet, then at my lips. “You look beautiful and I’m marrying you today. You will be my wife for the rest of my life here on Earth and every life after that.” He pulled my body close to his and tenderly stroked my cheek. I felt my throat tighten with emotion.

  The screen door opened and Emma came out. “Kai! You’re breaking tradition! Get out of here.”

  Kai faked a scared expression. “Gotta go.” He kissed me quickly.

  ‘I’ll take care of everything. I just wanted you to know what was going on and I wanted to hear your voice.’

  I smiled.

  Kai was walking away when he turned to look back at me. “I can’t believe I’m marrying a witch.”

  I playfully gave him the middle finger. Emma slapped my hand. “Aurora,” she scolded. “Come on, you have to get ready.”

  Can’t argue with a pregnant woman.

  I Do

  Ouch. My hair was being pulled up tightly in a cascade of curls. There were four attendants working on my wedding makeover. I raised my arms up so the ladies could wrap my sari. Emma finished brushing some lipstick on me with a small brush. I blotted my lips. She started tearing up.

  “What’s wrong?” I reached out to touch her. My henna had dried and been washed off and a deep, dark reddish print was in its place. Red and white glass bangles clinked on my wrist.

  “You’re so beautiful, weddings are so beautiful. I think I’m a little sensitive because of the pregnancy hormones, but I’m really glad you came into our pack and we became such good friends. You’re like a sister. I love you.” She sniffled.

  “Emma! Stop or I will cry.” I gave her a long hug, careful of her belly sticking out. When I pulled away Emma was smiling and wiping her face.

  There was a faint knock at the door. Raj poked his head in. “May I speak with you?” he asked.

  I nodded. Everyone left me and I was alone with my father-in-law-to-be.

  He looked me up and down and smiled. “You look like a true Indian bride.”

  I smiled. Raj and I had an understanding. He acted like a big, tough Alpha and I knew better. He was a loyal, loving father and a good man. We had a good relationship.

  He looked nervous and cleared his throat. “I wanted to ask you something.”

  Uh-oh. He wasn’t going to try to change my mind about marrying Kai, was he? I knew it was asking for trouble from the vampires, but I thought he understood that we deserved our happiness. I thought he agreed that no one else should dictate our life.

  “I know your father wasn’t a nice man. You don’t seem to have been treated properly from any man in your life, aside from my son.”

  Okay … Where was this going?

  He wiped his hands on his shirt. “Aurora, may I escort you down the aisle and give you away to marry my son?”

  Oh. Then all my emotions broke loose. His words, his voice, it was too much. I cried and laughed at the same time. “What did I do to deserve to marry into this family?” I asked him.

  He opened his arms for a hug and I could see that his eyes looked misty as well. I embraced him. He cleared his throat and stood taller.

  He pulled back and looked into my eyes. “What did we do to deserve you?”

  I could hear footsteps running down the hall. The door burst open; it was Devon. “Plan B, sir! They brought the helicopters.”

  Raj nodded and held tightly to my hand, whisking me down the hallway and into our garage. He jumped into Kai’s Audi as Diya, Emma, and Maya burst through the door behind us.

  “What’s going on? What’s plan B?” I screamed. Kai always had his plans and I knew nothing about them! I jumped into the passenger seat trying not to rip my Sari. The girls piled into the back.

  Raj hit the garage clicker and the door began to open. “Kai didn’t want you to worry. We have a second wedding location set up in the event that this happened.”

  “What!” Emma screamed from the back seat. “I’ve been decorating this one all day.”

  I reached back and squeezed her hand. “I’ll see it later, Em. I’m sure it’s beautiful.”

  Now I was pissed. How dare they try to ruin my wedding! To get involved in my personal life. Fur began breaking out onto my arms. Raj took a side glance at me. “You have a right to be angry. Hold on.” He put the car in reverse and flew out of the garage spinning the wheels.

  He sped down our private drive and onto the pavement, making a left onto the main road, then eased over into the left lane. White snowflakes began to fall from the sky. I smiled.

  “Papa, just a reminder, in America they drive on the right side of the road,” Diya told him.

  “Oh, right.” He swerved over and Emma screamed. I suppressed a giggle. I could hear helicopter blades in the distance flying toward our house.

  “Tristan and Izzy have decided to renew their vows. RAIDOS is in for a surprise when they don’t find you at the altar,” Raj said with a grin.

  I opened my mouth in shock. “That’s genius!”

  Raj nodded. “I thought of it.”

  “Well, at least someone will enjoy my decorations,” Emma said bitterly.

  He slowed the car down. There was some type of check point up ahead.

  “It’s our pack, dear,” Maya told me.

  As we neared, there was another stopped car trying to come up the mountain. Raj rolled down the window and I could hear one of the other wolves asking the woman in the stopped car something.

  “Military exercise up ahead, ma’am. I need to see your ID with address to prove you live in the area.”