The Spellbound Heart

Chapter 6

when i opened my eyes i knew i was back in my dream forest. I could hear the insects around me and the owels hooting in the night. but it didnt seem the same a the night i found the stream. There was a dirt path leading further into the woods. i decided to follow it i seemed to be safe inside my own dream so why not.? following it i seemed to actually be leaving out of the woods instead of traveling deeper in. i came to a split and off to the right of that split i saw a small cottege all by itself with smoke coming from the chimney. it didnt seem strange but familiar almost like the vision i had earlier. i got closer trying to inspect it when a small framed girl came bursting out of the door baraling towards me. i tried bracing myself because she was running so fast i knew she'd run me over but she didnt instead she went straight through me like i was a ghost. "lily!" a voice screamed from behind me. i whipped my head around relieved that someone could see me until she responded instead. "NO!, i dont want to leave to join another pack! this is where grandma was. she wouldnt want me to leave" the little girl screamed with tears in her eyes. "and she wouldnt want you moping around either your almost 10 years old it will be time soon and staying here will only hold you back" the tall man in the door shouted back at the little girl his voice deep and husky. he was very tall with a muscular build with a scar across his left eye down to his neck. He went to chase after the girl but she was fast. before he could make it off the porch she disappeared into the forest behind me, rubbing her face dry of the tears that were pouring down. i turned back to where the man was now standing with his hands on his hips watching the direction the girl ran. "goddess your just like your mama, as stubborn as the moon" he said shaking his head turning back toward the cottege before disappearimg inside. I followed the direction the girl went until i found myself back at the clearing i started at. figuring i was in my own dream i willed myself to go to her squeezing my eyes shut trying to put myself wherever she was. When i opened them i was at the stream again, the girl was sitting on a rock just off the edge of the stream crying so hard her face was red. "hey, are you ok" i tried to talk to her but it didnt work i guess if she couldnt see me she probably could hear me either. "grandma why did you have to leave me, i hate it here. i dont want to go to another pack and i dont want to find a mate!" the girl starring at the moon screaming her heart out. i couldnt help but feel bad but there was nothing i could do to help her. I decided on walking away rather than standing staring at a small child who couldnt even see me. "butterfly you alright?" as i turned around to walk into the forest shalom's voice broke into my sleep like an alarm. when i came to i could feel my face was wet. "you were crying in your sleep and whimpering" he said wiping the tears from my eyes. "I'm sorry i should've just went home" he said blaming himself. "no shalom please i just had a bad dream, what time is it" i asked with blurry vision looking for the clock on the wall. "its 3:30am" he said bringing his phone into my line of sight. "ugh i feel like crap and my breath taste's like bourbon." slipping from underneath the blanket to get a glass of water. i actually had a good sleep next to him minus the alcohol that kicked my ass and i kind of didnt want him to go. "if its alright with you id like to stay, i enjoyed cuddling with you." he smiled as if reading my mind. Handing him the glass of water i led the way upstairs into my bedroom. slipping into bed before scooting over so he could get in. "I usually sleep with my shirt off because i sweat like a pig, but if your not comfortable with that ill sweat" he tried hiding the worry on his face afraid that the wrong words or movement would send me crawling up the wall. "its fine you can take it off" i said laying down but still facing him. he got under the covers scooting his body close to mine. i hadn't  noticed earlier but he smells nice like jazmine and eucalyptus. "can i-" i stopped not sure how to ask if i could just kiss him. looking up into his eyes they were beautiful deep brown like warm chocolate it made me feel calm, and safe. i leaned up to kiss him gently before pulling back a little, in response he kissed me at first small timid pecks and then passionate  deep kisses that took my breath, rubbing his fingers in my hair. i think we went on like that for 10 minutes before we finally came up for air. he didn't say anything he just smiled, pulled me closer and closed his eyes. He is by far the sweetest guy ive ever met and im glad that the incident yesterday didnt change anything i feel like id be missing out if it had. i slept soundly through the night like a baby in a basket. shockingly he doesnt snore. i woke up minutes before him and watched him sleep. the breath from his nose was cool and smelled amazing. it was weird but that combined with his shallow breaths were comforting i felt like i could lay there all day. "were you watching me sleep?" his voice cracked and raspy from sleeping. "a little, your even more beautiful when your sleeping" i grinned. "i could lay here all day" he sighed. "i mean we could technically i dont have to go to work today." i noted hoping i could convince him. "i need to go home and change, i told you i sweat like a pig" he laughed. "how about this ill go home and change and on my way back ill grab some drinks and some movies from the deals downtown, and you can grab snacks." i nodded in agreement trying to keep from jumping up and down. grabbing his things and heading out to do what he said he left leaving me in thought. But before i could daydream i felt a pain in the back of my head. "please hear me" i heard a voice just barely sound in my ears. "what the hell, whos there!" i panicked looking around my room "holy crap you can hear me! i did it i finally did it!". i started laughing to myself, im finally going crazy, ive cracked i thought to myself. "no idiot! its me your wolf alex!" i knew i shouldnt have drank again last night what was i thinking i cried. theres a wolf in my head now for christs sake. "im not just a voice in your head!" the voice yelled. "could you lower your tone, whatever you are. "fine then humor me, if im just a voice then im just you right?" the voice questioned. "go to a mirror" it demanded. "no this is crazy im not listening to my own crazy thoughts!" i began walking towards my front door. "Stop" the voice rang through my ears this time forcing my body to come to a stop. "what the hell" i started to worry i was beginning to think something was really wrong. "just go to a mirror please" the voice begged in my ear. Why not i shrugged to myself going to the mirror that hangs above the coffee table leaning in starring at myself. all of a sudden one of my eyes turned red. brighter than blood and i felt like pressure had been released from my head. "still think your going crazy?" the voice said mockingly. "yes actually I'm seeing things and now I'm talking to myself" i spat back. i felt a weird sensation coming from my gums before i noticed my canines were longer and sharp. "what the fuck!" i jumped back "what's happening to me! oh my gosh I'm gonna die" i yelled terrified of what to do. "your not gonna die, just listen" the voice replied trying to calm me down. "my name is Alex im your wolf you ninny! your name is Lily alabaster, and you were born to Abraham and Samantha alabaster, your mom died giving birth to you and your grandma helped your dad raise you" i cut the voice off to protest. "yea right my dads name is.... is.." i stopped myself when i realized i didn't remember my dads name or my mom. "im getting to that, your memories have been locked away by a mage and Shes cast a spell on you" i cut off again. " wait, wait wolves and mages? what kind of fairytale is this" i said beginning to get pissed off and frustrated at the realization that i cant remember anything from the year before or even before that. i started feeling anxiety well up inside me and tears form in my eyes. "ok, ok wait" the voice said softly. "lets try something. maybe it'll make this a bit easier. close your eyes and let me talk to you in here" i scrunched my brows. "in my head? the voice in my head wants to talk to me in my head?" i said wondering what psych ward would take me in. "yes just trust me close your eyes."..after a few seconds i closed my eyes. for a while there was nothing just pitch black behind my eyelids. then i felt cool like i was outside after the rain. when i could see a white beast coming into my view walking steadily. sensing my fear it began to speak "its ok its just me, im alex... this feels weird having to reintroduce me to you all over again." she said in a sighed voice. "again?" i asked far too confused to wonder how i conjured up a beast this size off thouhts alone. she went on to explain to me where i came from the fact that i was a wolf and apparently unmated at that, that i had a curse brought on by a mage who is somehow pissed at me because someone in my family killed her son before i was even thought of and she's now out to get revenge on them, oh and I was born with a twin who died during birth and somehow I have her wolf too. And that Alex is mostly in control and that her name is Aziya and she's mated already. "Wait mated how!?" I asked very concerned and a bit disgusted. "Not how you think, Aziya gained control one day, shifted and mated with another wolf so technically she is the only one of us who has a mate. I sat down unsure how to take any of this in im partially willing to accept the fact that I've gone insane but the rest of what she's said seems to have some merit to it.. I can't remember anything from before this year. "Look I know this is a lot to take in but right now I need you to get it together" she said bringing me out of my thoughts. "Id be able to prove it to you even more but I can't shift fully into a wolf" she sounded a bit upset about that. "Why not?" Even though I wasn't sure what was happening I felt a bit disappointed I couldn't become a wolf at will but some prissy furbag inside of me can. "Every first born daughter in our family cannot fully shift until she finds a mate. We were born first therefore we can't shift unmated. Grandma used to call it a blessing. She never found her mate, not exactly like she was looking she wanted to live somewhat normal life her wolf came when she was of age but she was never shifted fully but her wolf seemed fine with it. And she never told us why or how to change it, she was also the only one who knew about Aziya" "fuck" I exclaimed. "This is a lot I feel like I'm going to wake up soon and this will be just a crazy ass dream and none of this will be true. "Yea but you'd still have lost a chunk of memory." I groaned in frustration. "Damn I forgot about Shalom! What am I gonna do now?" Just as I began to panic I heard a knock on my door. "Hey butterfly" he smiled as I opened the door. "Who is this?" Alex said in my head. "Shalom" before I thought about it I responded. "Yea?" He said confused. "I mean come in of course my mind went blank." I chuckled nervously. "You don't have to reply to me out loud, but who is this" she asked again more persistent. "I just told you his name is Shalom." I said this time inside of my head. "Mate" she said excitedly. "No, no he's human he can't be our mate according to what you said he has to be a wolf." I said trying to brush off her words. "Oh he's all wolf" she said flirtatiously. "Your kidding!" I held in my laughter. "Are you alright? You keep staring off" Shalom said stepping into my view. "Yea I-" I took a step back when I looked up and realized his eyes were a vibrant bright blue as if the sunlight had been shining directly into his eyes. "Shalom?" I said nervously. "Mate!" A low growl escaped his mouth but it didn't sound like Shalom. "Uhm what the hell was that" I asked Alex. "His wolf senses me.. told you" I could tell she was smirking with an I told you so face. "Just as quick as his eyes turned they went back to normal. "Lily?" He questioned. "How" he looked almost as shocked as me. "I could be asking you that" I looked at him with a similar expression. "How didn't I know" he asked but I could tell he wasn't talking to me. "He's talking to his wolf, I need to talk to him" she exclaimed almost leaping out of my skin. "Ok fine but if shit gets weird your going back" I said "how do you-" before I could ask how was I supposed to let her talk I felt myself or rather my conscious be pulled back and I got the feeling that I was now in the passenger seat. "Can you let your wolf come talk to me?" She said shakily. "Uhm I don't know if that's a good idea" he replied. "Why wouldn't it be? He's my mate our mate! I should be able to talk to him". She spat. "Well the thing is I barely was able to hold him back before." I remember his eyes turning blue before that must've been his wolf, I thought it may just have been something that just happens. "If I let him out he's going to want to mark you so you'll have to shift. Now!" He exclaimed waiting for Alex to shift into her wolf form. "I-we can't." She rolled her eyes. "Why not?" He started but she cut him off. "Long story short we can't shift until after we're mated. Some family blood crap. "Oh." He said pivoting on the back of his heels towards the kitchen retrieving the alcohol in my cabinet. "I'm gonna let you take over, since he can't safely let his wolf out we're gonna have to figure out something else but if he tries to mark you let me handle it I can heal faster than you so we won't hurt us too bad" she said before I felt myself present again fully in my whole body. "I'll take some of that." I nodded to the bottle of bourbon Shalom had in his hand. "Well this is..." he trailed off in thought im guessing talking to his wolf. "What's his name?" I said trying to lighten the mood and make this less weird. "Harlou " he replied taking a sip from the bottle. "This is not what I thought I'd be coming back too, I knew I was overly attracted to you for some reason but I didn't know why and this asshole wouldn't tell me why he kept wanting to jump out of my skin" running his fingers through his hair I could see his muscles flex as he did. "Nasty" Alex shot in my head. "Would you stop that! I'm not-just stop it ok?" I snapped. Alex chuckled in amusement. It's kind of weird having someone else know what your thinking when no one else does. Walking over to Shalom I went behind him into the bottom cabinet retrieving a fifth of some vodka I had stashed away for hard times. Cracking it open I downed about half before i saw Shalom looking at me with a funny expression on his face "ugh that was nasty.. and hot". I laughed wiping some vodka from my chin. "You.. ok", "my whole life just got turned upside down in the matter of seconds I just went from being human to part wolf, oh and also cursed, and I have memory loss from said curse. So no I don't think I'm ok, but I suppose I'll manage". I said forcing myself to drink the rest of the vodka without throwing it back up. The night went on with me and Alex shifting between conversations trying to explain to Shalom what's happened from each of our points of view. I saw his eyes flash blue and a low growl escape his chest when Alex told him about Aziya and her mate. But relief washed over his face when she explained what happened. By the time we got everything out I was beginning to feel hot from the alcohol I drank. Without realizing what I was doing I removed my pajama pants leaving only my tiny pink underwear I was wearing and the pajama top with blue jays i never got to change out of. "Those are cute" Shalom laughed to himself his eyes almost flittering with excitement. I stuck my tongue out at him playfully. But I could feel the heat deep inside me and I knew it wasn't just me it was Alex too I literally felt like a dog in heat now with her everything felt more intense. Where I just had fantasies about him I wanted him more than I've wanted anything. I think he could tell. "What's that smell" I asked Alex I could smell something sweet but I didn't know where it was coming from I didn't have anything in the oven. "That would be you" she laughed. "What do you mean it's me, I dont" I stopped looking at Shalom his eyes burning a bright blue. "It's your arousal" she shouted in my head. "You have to calm down think of something that doesn't turn you on. He can smell that now so you should dial it back!" She said worried. I tried thinking of anything. Before I could smell the fragrance a little more faint it didn't completely dissipate but it wasn't as strong. As I did I could see Shalom gain back control of his wolf. "Why does your wolf take over randomly?" I asked him. I didn't have that problem with Alex she seemed to either talk to me in my head or she'd ask before coming forward. "I do mostly. But we've tried searching for our mate for years, he felt a connection with you but never understood why since he couldn't sense your wolf and he was growing anxious so to have her-you in front of us after all this time... he's a little excited and it's hard to hold that back if you know what I mean." He explained. "My body feels wobbly I get that and all but could you help me to bed?" I said practically falling over. He helped me upstairs to my room tucking me under the covers. I underestimated just how tipsy I was because I fell asleep right after I got under my covers. This time I didn't dream of the forest I didn't dream of anything I just opened my eyes and it was pitch black but I could tell I was in my bed in my room. But I couldn't feel Shalom next to me. Remembering I was in my underwear I felt my face heat and turn red. I could hear Alex laughing in my head. "I've got to get used to this." I rolled my eyes to her amusement. I got up to brush my teeth when I could hear someone talking downstairs. It was Shalom. "She's been our mate the whole time! You could feel it and you said nothing to me! What if we would've hurt her that night? Then what!? we would've ruined everything! You can't be that careless" I could hear him but I didn't hear anyone responding. "He's talking to Harlou" Alex responded. "How can you tell?" I said walking to the bathroom, as I started brushing my teeth she explained. "It's almost like that feeling you get when someone cuts the tv on in another room that's the feeling I get when he's present when he's talking. It's what I felt when he first came in." She said. "Then how do you know he's our mate? Is that the same feeling?", "no that feeling is about the same as the one you get when you start imagining what Shalom could do to you" she laughed. "ALEX!" I spat. "You know what I'm not asking you anything else." It felt weird having someone in my head but it also felt good having someone that could understand me. Going downstairs to check on Shalom I could smell something on the stove. Looking at the clock it was midnight. "Sorry I tapped out on you. I think I tried to numb all the hundreds of feelings I felt from all of this and didn't know what else to do." I said clasping his hand. "It's fine, I made you something to eat I figured you'd be up soon. And me and Harlou wanted to apologize." He responded pointing to the kitchen to the pots on the stove. "For what?" I said going over to the food he made my favorite. Late night breakfast. Pancakes, bacon, eggs, and chopped bananas with honey. "The other night. I lost control a bit because of Harlou. I would never hurt you and neither would he but he could sense you were our mate the whole time and wasn't thinking clearly. I've been there and I wouldn't want you do go through that as well." He said. I took a bite of bacon. Then went over to grab his hand and stand him up to face me. "And you didn't hurt me. Please don't beat yourself up about it." Pulling him into the kitchen so i could be closer to the food while we talked. "I wouldn't ever have imagined in a million years anything like this happening. To me of all people but I'm indifferent about it." I sighed eating some egg and pancake. "If I can be honest in the back of my mind I always wished you were like me so we could be together but I gave up hope finding a mate a long time ago. So I just figured if I could be here with you in any way I could that'd be enough for me... that's why when I saw you with that asshole it pissed me off." He clenched his fists. Before he could relish on the thought, I pulled him into me catching him before he fell over from trying to avoid slamming into me. I grabbed his face and kissed him. After a moment he kissed me back hungrily. Exploring my mouth with his tongue, I could hear a low growl coming from his chest and I knew harlou was present. It startled me a little but I couldn't help but be aroused. I could smell it in the air and I knew he did too.