I let out a sigh of instant relief. I slowly stood to my feet as Sion shifted back to his human self. A moment of overwhelming shock and happiness consumed me. I ran to him, and his arms engulfed me. He held me tight as I breathed in his wonderful scent.
“Are you alright?” I managed to ask right before his lips covered mine. His tongue thrust into my mouth possessively as he held my head. The mate sparks and tingles ignited through my body. The response from me was practically involuntary. It was as if my body was heeding his primal call accepting it as our own… and it was my own. I wanted more. I forgot there were others around. It was just Sion and his welcoming tongue that was attacking my own. I didn’t have the willpower to pull away but somehow, he did. I panted against him as I watched his hazel eyes. He looked over the stained bandages, and I watched as his eyes began to water.
“I promised I wouldn’t let anything happen to you…” His voice was quivering as his hand traced over one of the bandages on my arm. I could see his bottom lip tremble and I couldn’t bear it. I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck bringing his lips to mine again. The electricity burned as the shocks rippled throughout my body. It was intense. It was real. This man… was mine.
It was not nearly as powerful with Denny. This magnifying force between us was almost terrifying. I could easily get lost in him. I felt like all of my senses disappeared and my only focus was him. This time I managed to pull away as I cupped his cheeks in my hands.
“Sion, things are going to happen to me. You can’t stop life from happening. But you can be by my side during it. Besides, I am an amazing fighter.” I bit my bottom lip as I smiled up at him.
“She is an incredible fighter. It was ten Seekers against us, and she took down two of them. If it wasn’t for her…” Kai stopped, and Sion nodded his head his eyes glued to mine. I could see the question burning in Sion’s eyes. I had gotten my wolf. He was waiting for me to say what he knew all along.
“So… are you going to explain why this mate pull is a lot more intense with you?” I asked and watched as his lips curled up. He leaned down pressing his forehead against mine. Every touch sent crazy tingles through my body.
“Do any of you guys suddenly feel like this mine became smaller?” Logan chuckled. Wait a minute? Was this the place they planned to go all along?
“Is this where we were supposed to meet up?” I asked as I looked up at Sion. He kept his arms around me and rubbed my lower back. Da.mn his touch was intoxicating.
“I was on my way here when I ran into the others. I was panicked when I didn’t see you with them. They explained what happened and we tracked you here. Right where we planned to meet up from the very beginning. I guess the mine we used to play in as kids wasn’t just our mine.” Sion looked behind me at Demetri.
“Well come on in and sit down. We need to wait out the onslaught out there. They are after Clover, you know?” Demetri’s words barely left his mouth and Sion’s eyes grew dark. I felt his body tense as he pulled me closer to him.
“They can’t have her,” Sion growled and Demetri laughed.
“No, they can’t.”
“Guys this is Demetri… he is my cousin.” I could see the shocked look in Sion’s eyes as Demetri chimed in behind me.
“I am also her beta.”
“So you are part…” Conner started to say as Demetri nodded his head.
“My mother was a werewolf. She was the alpha’s sister.”
“Your father didn’t pull the plow; he was the plow. He put your mom on all fours and—” Logan began to say, and I shook my head, yelling at him.
“Gods, Logan, we don’t need to hear this?!” Some things didn’t need explained.
“It’s not the only way—” Demetri started, and I gave him a mortified look.
“So, what happened with those undead creatures? The voidless?” I had to steer this conversation.
“We were joined in battle by some elves and fairies.” Kai looked over at Demetri. “Why is the fairy realm aiding us?”
“We must keep Clover out of the demon’s grasp. Honestly this all came at a bad time because the fairies are dealing with troubles of their own right now. So, we won’t have their royals to back us up.” I watched as the others went and sat down near the fire. Sion held me in his arms, and I looked up at him.
“I’m sorry for everything that happened. I’m sorry for my pack—”
“Sion, it isn’t your pack’s fault. They are being manipulated. Demetri said I can help them… somehow.” I looked back as Demetri nodded his head over at Sion to come over and sit.
“There is a lot to talk about.”
Sion kept me flush against his body as we walked over to the fire. As he sat down, he pulled me into his lap. He needed my touch and honestly, I did too. On a crazy level. Which reminded me Sion never answered my question. I would need to remember to ask him again about our mate bond. I felt his nose brush down to my neck sending a wild shudder through my body. It was insane the urges I was now having. I wanted his mark. I didn’t feel this need with Denny but with Sion I did. I could almost envision it. I leaned my head to the side and swear I felt his canines slightly graze my neck. A moment later they were gone, and his head was now resting on top of mine. His fingers dug into me slightly which was the only sign of his restraint.
“Clover’s mother was a powerful sheya. She was the highest ranking sheya with her raw talent. Because of this, she had a target on her back. Shortly after she gave birth to Clover, the demons ended up putting a controlling object in her eye. It is called nembrant glass. It was very rare since it could only be made by a nycrops… which is why they have a nycrops under their control once again. Anyways, this glass was able to control Clover’s mother. It was their only means to control her. A sheya can’t be enchanted and are immune to most magic.” Demetri was looking at me as I stayed close against Sion’s chest.
“Your mother couldn’t fight it off... she tried but failed. They made her take control of the pack but not your father. He tried to help bring her back. In the end he was given a drink that allowed her to control him as well.”
“The Dark War was the beginning of a twisted experiment. Some of the most powerful sheya one by one fell under the demon’s control. By using your mother as a catalyst, she could control others. Your mother could control the masses. The Chaos pack was a throw away experiment to see how well it would work. The only thing they misjudged was the mate pull. When your father was killed, it broke their control over your mother. And then she ended up being a casualty in the war against the other packs.”
“My parents were both killed, and you were taken away by the Sulfur pack. I was only five years old. I went to live with my grandfather, aunts and uncles with the centaurs. I would periodically come and check on you. That day you spotted me I was actually on my way to the Sulfur pack to check on you. Anyways…” He sighed and got back on track.
“The Dark war was planned to happen at the same time as the Demon War so that the Alpha King’s head would be turned in a different direction. Because they didn’t want to alert the fairies of what was being planned.”
“My grandfather, Drake, was sent word by a fairy messenger about the nycrops. She is a creature that we can not handle. It would take someone as powerful as a fairy guardian to destroy her. She isn’t our focus. But we can help your pack…”
“Clover, little by little, your sheya powers have begun to grow. You are at a point now where you have two powers colliding for dominance. You are a born luna of the Chaos pack and the daughter of a high sheya priestess. The first thing we have to do is get you sorted out. Then we will help you with your powers. Your abilities are stronger than the drinks and injections. Those effects have nothing on you.” I sat there quietly listening to him. I had to save the Chance pack. I felt like there was a lot of pressure on my shoulders and I had no clue what to do.
“This is why they want you now. They must have been secretly screening and searching for sheyas… though I am not sure how they knew. But if they are working with the nycrops she would have easily set up something.” I bit my inner lip. ‘Call me Bree’ was working with Meryl, a nycrops, she must have set something up in those holding cells… the red lights. That was how she knew I was part sheya.
“How long will this take? We can’t just leave things like they are.” Conner said and I watched as Demetri frowned.
“I don’t know. But you don’t have a choice. You don’t want to fight against your own pack. The problem is… you will need help. When the time comes Clover will need help. There might not be a choice but to fight against them…” Demetri looked up at Sion. “The Alpha King and Lycan Prince are busy… but the lycan princess is still in the Diamond pack. We may need to reach out to her.” My mouth dropped. The Diamond pack? The lycan prince and princess were in the Diamond pack? The Alpha King Wyatt’s pack. My mind was just blown right there.
“Is the Alpha King a lycan?” I asked and watched as Demetri shook his head.
“No, and the lycan prince and princess haven’t been made public knowledge. I only brought it up since there are a couple of lycans here.”
“Well… there is a story about my family and the lycan princess. It’s been passed down from generation to generation. It was my direct ancestor, Shaun Faust, that betrayed the lycan’s. He was the princess's chosen mate. It was his fault all lycan’s ceased to exist. He and the goddess or demon Eris… whatever she is now. Shaun is blamed for betrayal but there is another side to the story. Shaun fell madly in love with the lycan princess and wanted her as his mate. It was around this time his brother met a deity named Eris, the Goddess of Chaos. His identical twin brother, Shane, was infatuated with Eris, but he could see she was manipulating him. Shaun overheard her plotting against the lycan royals, and he thought he could play the bad guy to protect Diana.”
“He became engaged to the lycan princess for himself, but he told Eris it was for her plan. Eris was romantically interested in Shaun, and this made his brother Shane angry. Shane acted as Shaun and when to steal the royal scepter from the lycan king. He betrayed his kind and cursed our line. It was my bloodline that caused all of this…” I looked up at Sion. This was something I never knew but I guess I wouldn’t. I didn’t even know lycans were still a thing. “
Demetri was quiet for a moment, then let out a sigh. “I understand what you are saying, but we may need the lycan princess’ help. Besides, her mate is a great guy. I have met him several times. He isn’t the type to hold over your head something one of your ancestors did. I think she will be the same.” I agreed with Demetri. I don’t see how you can blame someone else for another’s mistake. I guess some people are like that, but it isn’t practical.
“Was it because Sion and Conner were lycans that the drinks didn’t work on them? They refused the injections, but she still slipped stuff in their drinks. There was a time it worked on Logan too until Clover came.” Kai watched as Demetri nodded his head.
“The injections would have worked on them but not the drink form. Clover has a raw power she doesn’t even realize emits from her body. It is this power that protected Logan. It is this same power that can help the rest of the pack once she learns how to control it.”
I was having a moment of information overload. I couldn’t think of anything anymore… especially now. Demetri was now talking to Conner, but I wasn’t paying attention to any of it. I was enjoying the sweet tingles and delicious scent of my mate. How was Sion able to hold me all night without acting on these impulses? It made me love him even more. How could I focus with these strong urges seizing me?
He left his pack in order to stay with me. That is something I didn’t think any alpha could ever do. Even without knowing his pack was under control, he was willing to do this. It wasn’t even something he seemed to hesitate over. Sion was a gift to me. He was the mate I was supposed to have in order to heal my emotionally neglected wounds. I wasn’t second to Sion… I was first.
My mind began to wander to my parents. I was relieved to know my father and mother weren’t bad people. It hurt that everyone thought the Chaos pack was evil. They were all killed because of demons. I can’t imagine the heartbreak for my parents. My father knew his mate was being controlled and then my mother…
I felt my chest constricted as I thought about how she must have felt. When she finally snapped out of it because my father had been killed. She would know everything she had caused and done. She must have been in so much pain. I wish I could have gotten to know them. I wonder how much different things would have been for me if I had been able to grow up in the Chaos pack.
I never knew my parents, but I was sad for what could have been. At least I had Sion now. I don’t know what a family is like. I don’t know how to be a mom… but I’ll have him to help me. I leaned my head against his chest and let myself feel the bond that connected us. We still had a long way to go. We have just started out together and already have a major problem to overcome. At least we would have each other.
I felt Sion’s head lean down towards my ear and his hot breath tickled my skin.
“Let’s go for a walk.” He whispered almost inaudibly in my ear. I pursed my lips and nodded my head. He lifted my body to my feet as he stood up as well. The others glanced up at him and he nodded down the dark pathway. “We are going for a walk.” The others nodded their heads as Sion’s arms wrapped around my waist. He escorted me down the far tunnel.
We quietly walked next to one another. Neither one of us said anything. I glanced around the dark rocky path. There were several other openings that would branch off from the main trial. I never realized that mines were this deep and big.
“The mine taps into an underground cave.” Sion finally said and I turned my head to look at him. His face was looking forward as he navigated through the path. We had been walking for a while before the sound of trickling water hit my ears. The path in front of us forked off in three different directions. He led us to the far right path. I could smell the moisture in the air and could even feel the dampness on my skin.
The tunnel finally opened up revealing a blue glowing wide-open cavern. I stared at it in awe. The stone walls were glowing blue and there was a pool of water glowing blue. Then what fascinated me the most were the fireflies lighting up everywhere. Why were there fireflies in this cave?
“It’s a magical moss that creates the glowing effect. The fireflies are attracted to this moss. This place was always special to me. I could always find peace here. I told myself… when I found my mate, I would bring her here.” I turned my head to look at him as he smiled down at me. He was smiling but I could see the pain in his eyes. He left his pack… his father’s pack. He was hurting. I didn’t want him to pretend with me. It was okay for him to hurt.
I stepped into his chest and wrapped my arms around him. “I’m here Sion. It’s okay… you don’t have to act around me. I know you are in pain. You can share your burden with me.” I felt him grip into me as his cheek rested on top of my head.
“I want to protect you and keep you safe. I have waited for this moment for so long. And now my pack is in danger and the burden of saving them is being put on my mates’ shoulders. I’m terrified, Clover. I can’t lose you. Kai filled me in on everything. I already lost my parents and close pack members because of that bit.ch. I can’t lose you too.” I could hear the pain in his voice. The thing is… I understood it. Only for me it was with him. Sion was all I had. I was worried I would lose him as well. “I can’t burden you with this.” He whispered out and I stepped back so that I could look at him.
“You aren’t burdening me with this Sion. That is my home too. They are also my pack. I am their luna and I am going to save them.” His hand reached up to touch my cheek and I closed my eyes as I reacted to the sweet tingles it brought. It was so intense.
“And you love me…”
My eyes fluttered open to his hazel eyes glued onto me. A sweet smile rested on his face. I had forgotten that I told him I loved him and then fled from his side. I smiled and nodded my head.
“I love you Sion.” I listened to his low growl as his head came to rest against mine.
“Mine.” He growled as the jolts of electricity sparked over my body. It was almost too much. Which reminded me…
“So, about our bond… are you going to explain why it is different with you?”