I had never felt so complete in my entire life. I could feel the connection with Sion flowing through me and it was amazing. The loneliness I ALWAYS felt… wasn’t there. It was as if he wiped it away. I felt his arms squeezing around me and I opened my eyes to meet with his. His hazel eyes were shining back at me, and he had a content smile on his face.
I wish we could just stay cloaked in the cave. Selfishly, I wish I could just keep him here to myself. I was worried about what was coming next. What if I couldn’t help the Chance pack? What would this mean for them? Sion couldn’t sit back and watch his pack get manipulated and destroyed. I couldn’t see him go through that type of pain. Which meant I had to succeed.
I lifted my hand up tracing my fingers over his cheek. He closed his eyes under my touch and let out a sigh of contentment. He leaned forward, brushing his lips over my forehead.
“I love you.” He whispered out, nestling his nose into my hair. I closed my eyes and tried to absorb this moment. I knew this was the moment we had to leave and go back to the others. I could tell by his reluctant sigh and how his fingers gripped into me he knew this too. “We need to head back.”
There it was, the ending of our magical moment. Sion was right though, there was too much going on. As much as I wanted to live here in his embrace, we couldn’t.
I made a small hum in acknowledgement as he rolled out of my arms. He pulled his bottoms on and then I also reached for my clothing. He grabbed them out of my hand and then kissed the mark on my neck.
“Let me…” He said in his baritone voice. If I thought it was intimate taking clothes off, this was on another level. He slowly slid each clothing article back on, making sure he left sweet delicate kisses on my skin. This was the best way to get dressed.
His hands were now resting on my hips and my hands were sprawled over his bare chest. It was still surreal that this man was mine. Not only was he mine… but he was perfect.
“Sion—” I started to say when the cave pool behind us made a splashing sound. Before I knew it, I was behind Sion, and I heard his menacing heart-stopping snarl echo off the cave walls. My breath caught as I stared at a creature I had never seen before. It was like a large water hound or otter… maybe a mix? It was about seven-foot-long and was the size of a werewolf. And it had me in its sights.
It let out an eerie high-pitched whistle sound as Sion tried to step more in front of me. Crazy man. As if I would just hide behind his back.
“Clover, stay back.” Sion said in a concerned tone when I tried to step forward. He held his hand out protectively and the creature let out a low insidious growl. I could hear the sound of hooves trumpeting our way and then Demetri leaped into the cave followed by the other three men.
I watched as Demetri let out a sigh of relief and relaxed. “Odell! Knock your shit off.”
The creature looked at him and then it began to transform. Rich brown hair flowed, and I was soon looking into deep green eyes. It was a beautiful woman, wearing a tan crop top revealing her mid-section and black shorts.
“Who is he!” The woman shouted and pointed her finger at Sion.
“That is Clover’s mate.” Demetri sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Damn.it Odell, I told you to wait until I returned. I haven’t had time to explain to you yet.”
“What the heck are you?!” Conner snorted as the woman turned a sharp gaze on him.
“This is Odell. She is a dobhar, which is a water hound. They belong to the fairy kingdom and are considered a dark fairy. It is all a bit complicated… but Odell is Clover’s pally. A pally is what most would refer to as a familiar.” Demetri sighed and let out a small groan. He rubbed the back of his neck and clicked his tongue. “It’s complicated, but basically a deal was made and Odell agreed to watch over Clover. This was when she was just a baby before everything was turned upside down. And when Clover went to the Sulfur pack, Odell remained with me. She could hardly go there with Clover without being killed.”
“Oh… well I don’t need a pally. Odell, you are free to do as you please.” I shrugged and watched a sweet expression reach her face. Something I didn’t know she could make.
“This bond can’t be severed. I’m your best friend for life!” Odell said proudly.
“Honestly, dobhars are vicious creatures. She will make a great protector and you need protection, Clover.” Demetri looked up at Sion, looking for his acceptance over Odell. There was no way Sion was going to allow it.
“I want Clover protected and safe. I won’t deny her from protecting my mate.” Sion answered and I inwardly groaned. He turned to look at me with a smile that quickly faded. “Of course… I should really talk with Clover over it.” He tried to quickly recover after seeing my face.
“How did you become my pally?” I asked, looking into the woman’s green eyes.
“Your mother chose me to protect you.”
I bit my inner lip and took in a deep breath. My mother. I felt like I couldn’t deny having her around. I didn’t know anything about a pally, but I could always use a friend. In a way, she was a connection to someone I never got to know. I’d like to learn more about dobhars and other types of fairies. Especially now that I know I belong to the fairy kingdom. I have lived my whole life in the pack. While I knew about other supernatural creatures, I rarely saw them.
“Did Demetri tell you about your mother?” Odell asked and I nodded my head.
“Yes, he told me she was like a high priestess. A powerful Sheya.” I watched as Odell shot him an irritated look.
“What is that all about?!” Odell hissed.
“It’s the truth.” Demetri said, defending himself.
“That’s like saying a wolf is a dog.” Odell clicked her tongue as Demetri gave her a look of warning.
“Odell…”
“Forget it, Demetri! Why are you tiptoeing around this?” I watched as Odell stopped and then looked at the officers of the Chance pack. “Oh… I see. You don’t trust them with her secret.”
“Now wait a minute… I trust them and—” I started to say, but Demetri shook his head.
“It’s not them that I don’t trust. The thing is, we don’t know if they are completely in the clear. For all we know, one of them could have nembrant glass in their eye and we are being spied upon. Which is why we need to start training your powers immediately. You’ll be able to detect it. And I am hoping you… well let’s not get ahead of ourselves. First, we train.” Demetri looked over at Odell who sighed but kept quiet. I looked up at Sion and then the other three officers. The idea that one of them could be under Dr. Snydes’ control was terrifying. I felt Sion’s arm wrap around my waist, pulling me into his front.
“She never put anything in my eye or injected my body with anything.” Sion rested his head on top of mine.
“Well you wouldn’t admit it if you were under mind control,” Odell said bluntly, not reading the room. Sion was trying to comfort me, and Odell was completely unaware of that fact.
“How hard is the training? I don’t want her in danger.” I looked up at Sion and his eyes met with mine. “Nothing is more important than you.”
“I would never put her in danger,” Demetri said indignantly. It was quiet for a few moments before Logan finally spoke up.
“So, you are officially our luna now.” Logan said with a smirk as he eyed the mark on my neck. “But what is that?” He then pointed at the star mark on Sion’s temple.
“Oh yeah! I want to see it!” Sion said excitedly, pulling me with him as he rushed to the pool of water. He reached his hand up tracing around it with a big smile on his face.
“That would be her sheya’s mark. Each sheya have their own unique mark they place upon their mate. The mark symbolizes something about them as a sheya.” Demetri said, and I turned to look at him.
“What does a star mark mean?” I asked and watched as Odell curled her lips up folding her arms across her chest. I watched as Demetri nodded his head and sighed.
“We will tell you more soon.” Demetri glared at Odell, who rolled her eyes at him.
“You have a lot of power, Clover. As a sheya, you are born with the power to communicate. You can easily reach other’s minds regardless if they are a pack member or not. As you grow older, more powers will begin to unlock. This starts around the age of 20. Your powers are finally waking up. And in time we will tell you more about yourself. There… happy?!” Odell glared at Demetri, who looked like he was about to bust. “Don’t have a cow. I wasn’t going to say anything. Just the basics she should know.”
“Odell…” Demetri said in a warning tone.
“You have no authority over me, Tree Tree.” Odell gave him a poisonous smile and Demetri growled… GROWLED! Seeing a centaur growl with the sound of a wolf was pretty incredible… which had me thinking.
“Is there a wolf in there too?” I asked.
“Well actually…” Demetri said and then cleared his throat. “This is my wolf form. I am not the first mix between a wolf and a centaur. I am the first to have fur like this but… this isn’t my permanent form. This is my shifted form.” My lips parted in shock. What just a minute… he shifted into that? Sure enough, right in front of my eyes, he shifted back into a human. He had no shirt on but, thank the heavens, he had shorts on. So wait… a centaur shifter? That’s a thing?
“I’m not exactly sure why I turned out like this.” Demetri chuckled as if he read my mine. I am still trying to decide if he can do that. “Usually the wolf is dormant until a shift or they don’t get a wolf. I was born looking like a human, so they thought I would just be a wolf shifter. When I first shifted… to say there was a lot of shock would be an understatement. My grandfather, Drake, figured there was more to it. He suspects the moon goddess planned it this way. So that I could have the speed and strength of a centaur but be able to shift and live as a human shifter with you when that time came.” His eyes were on mine. “I’m your beta, Clover. From here on out I’ll be by your side.”
Odell clicked her tongue. “So what rank does that make me?”
“You’re her pally, you don’t get a rank!” Demetri snapped at her. It was clear these two had some tension between them and it seemed like I was the cause of it… perfect.
“I’ll be Clover’s Gamma.” Kai suddenly spoke up making everyone turn to look at him. “I am only whole again because of Clover. I hope that isn’t offensive. You know how much you mean to me Sion. It’s just… what happened to me… I can’t let happen to you. It’s important for me to protect our luna… I need this.” I glanced up at Sion as he smiled.
“That is perfect actually. I need someone I can trust unconditionally watching out for Clover. No offense to you two…” Sion looked over at Demetri and Odell, “but I know Kai and trust him.” He then looked down at me. “Are you okay with this? I can personally vouch for Kai.”
“I trust Kai… but I don’t know if I like the idea of there being two sets of officers.” I felt like this created a type of division. Shouldn’t the loyalties be to both the luna and alpha? Each one having their own officers seemed to be creating unnecessary division.
“I know what you are thinking…” Demetri began to say. Of course he did, being the mind reader he is. “It isn’t meant to be divisive. It actually helps in a moment of crisis. Instead of being conflicted about who to protect or worried that the other isn’t protected, the officers already know. They will protect both the luna and alpha, but if there is a moment when they are separated, there is protection for both. I will also offer my vow of obedience to the alpha when I become part of your pack. There are times you two won’t be together. And during those moments, instead of leaving the beta or gamma, you each have your own officers.”
“I don’t want to take officers away from Sion.” I didn’t like the idea of poaching someone away from the man I love. I want him protected too.
“I like this idea, Clover.” Sion’s eyes met with mine. “It is actually really smart and I am surprised other packs haven’t incorporated this. The luna and the alpha should have their own officers. Combined together as one when together but know who they are in charge of protecting when apart. I want Kai with you. He is my next strongest warrior, just in case I can’t be there to protect you…” I watched as he pursed his lips. The time would probably come soon. We had to reclaim the Chance pack. Sion may not be able to remain constantly by my side. Still, Kai was his delta.
“What about your delta?” I watched as Sion shrugged.
“For now, the position will be empty. Who knows… I think just having a beta and gamma is fine. I really don’t see a need to take on another officer. Especially between all four of our officers and your pally.”
“Are you sure?” I asked Kai and watched as a smile spread over his lips.
“Yes, I am meant to protect Sion’s luna.”
“Kai, bind yourself to Clover as her gamma. We don’t need an official ceremony.” Sion gently squeezed my shoulder. “She is already my luna. We just need to reclaim our pack.”
“Speaking of pack…” Demetri said as he rubbed the back of his neck again. Oh my gosh! Was he going to tell me the Chaos pack was still around? I could barely breathe as I waited for him to speak. I felt like this was going to have a big impact on my life.