A Tale Between Two Species

Mated

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"The Moon Goddess?" Katee said with a raised eyebrow.

Dr Moore regarded her with impatience. "Yes, the power of the Moon Goddess is unparalleled, and though the Jevoch family could only harness but a tiny fraction of it, they had the power to form spiritual bonds. The Alpha of the Royal Pack thought it would be useful, for it gave lycans the ability to enter arranged matings and build a family with someone other than their predestined mates."

"And that's what he was trying to do for the Grimm Pack?" Seraph asked.

Moore nodded. "Obviously, he had been paid a huge sum of money in addition to being accepted into the pack."

"But how did the ritual end with Rhiannon and Liam being mates? Wasn't it intended for that other girl to be mated to him?" Seraph asked with confusion.

Liam looked thoughtful and then his eyes widened. "Rhiannon had been wounded right before she came for me. When blood meets blood, remember?" He looked at Rhiannon's bandaged arm.

Rhiannon had a look of realization. "Of course. And since we were already true mates anyway, the power of the Moon Goddess couldn't merge our souls anymore than they were. It must've caused our auras to merge as well."

"Is that even possible, Irra?" Katee looked bewildered.

"That does sound like a reasonable explanation. I wish I could get more insight on this, but alas, I am blind to auras," Dr Moore said with disappointment.

Rhiannon looked at her hand and the tinge of purple that surrounded it. Experimentally, she touched Liam's shoulder. The purple color that surrounded their individual forms combined and wrapped around them both, glowing a deep purple that thrummed with energy. Rhiannon immediately felt more powerful.

"Woah, do you feel that?" Liam asked her as he also felt the power surge through his veins.

Katee gasped. "Your auras! They've--"

"--combined," Seraph finished, with an amazed look on her face.

Dr Moore moved in closer and scrutinized them, squinting his eyes at something he could not see. "Is it normal for mated leions to have a combined aura?"

"No, not at all," Katee said, though she wasn't really paying attention to his words.

Rhiannon felt uncomfortable at their piercing stares. She pulled back her hand and their auras separated, the purple tinge lightening.

"It could be, that along with your natural bond, the Moon Goddess intensified it by merging your auras into one," Dr Moore suggested.

"It only combines when there's contact. When we touch, I feel like a whole pool of energy has just opened up to me," Rhiannon told Liam.

"Do you think you could harness my--our aura as one?" Liam pondered.

"It could be possible, but you'd feel the lag in energy as well," she said hesitantly.

Seraph looked thoughtful. "It could be dangerous. When a creature dies, it's aura dissipates. If one of you were killed while your aura is combined, the other could just as easily die too."

Rhiannon glanced at Liam, afraid that they had scared him away from her. She became extremely conscious of the fact that Liam was making no move to touch her.

"I couldn't do that to you," Rhiannon forced herself to say.

Liam surprised her by grabbing her hand, sending sparks of electricity up her arm. She was also aware of the amount of energy she just gained.