Bloodlines: Fated Mates (Book 6 Of The Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 14

The voices were still there, talking quietly. One was soft and high pitched, while the other was deep but warm and soothing. A man and a woman. The thought of one of them being a man made her nervous.

She hadn't ever really been around men that much. She'd avoided them as much as possible when she had left the house, slightly afraid of their large figures. They were.. different. But there'd been one who had come to the house the last few years Marcie had been alive. He stopped by weekly.

She'd been a bit drawn to him, though she wasn't sure why. Her wolf was very curious about him. He was young and good looking, though she'd never really fully laid eyes on him. Everytime he'd came, she'd peek out the window to see if it was him, then she'd hide herself away, a bit afraid of him. Sage had wanted to meet him; she was drawn to his wolf, but she wasn't about to let that happen. It had annoyed Sage to no end.

He'd come once a week to check on Marcie, which she actually thought was really sweet of him. He'd stay long enough to have a cup of coffee with her and find out if she needed anything. If she did, it always came to the house. It didn't matter what it was; he'd make sure Marcie got it. Once when the dishwasher had broken, a new one had come. If things needed repaired he'd make sure they were fixed. She'd appreciated him for that, but she'd still avoided him at all costs.

She'd noticed that Marcie never spoke of her and she never said his name. When he left, Marcie didn't talk about him. If Marcie didn't want to talk about something, she'd grow tight lipped and not say a word not matter how hard you tried to get it from her. Their guest seemed to know that and he never pushed her.

The question now though was, where was she, and was she in any danger? Sage didn't seem to think so. Instead she was perfectly content to lay there with her eyes closed and rest. As though she didn't have a care in the world. Like those voices.

She focused in on the conversation they were having, feeling nervous. Were they discussing her? They were close by, and didn't seem bothered that she was right there by them. Just a wolf laying on a bed.

"Are you hungry?" the female voice asked.

"Starving," said the male voice. She liked his voice. It was very soothing and she wouldn't mind listening to him talk all day.

"Nick's headed back. He and Aria just had a discussion with Ian about everything. Aria and Ian are going to his parents house to talk to them. I'm going to meet up with Nick and get us some food. I'm starving as well," the female voice said.

"Okay, I'll stay here with her," the male voice responded.

She wondered if the her he was referring to was actually her.

She heard the sound of a door opening and closing and then the room grew quiet. She could still smell that scent strongly. It grew stronger and suddenly she felt something on her head or rather Sage's head. A touch, soft and gentle stroking her, accompanied by a strange sensation. Tingles. Maybe Sage was right? Maybe this man was their mate? Their soul mate?

She was torn between not moving and pulling her head away from his touch, but again, she wasn't in control, and for the first time in a very long time, she wished she was. But Sage was perfectly content to lay there and let this strange man touch her and pet her head.

But suddenly, she felt calm and relaxed at his touch. Like he wasn't going to harm her; she could trust him. Everything would be okay. It was almost like he was calming her down, but that couldn't happen. She scoffed. 'Why are you letting him pet us?' she asked Sage.

'Its Mate. He won't hurt us,' Sage reassured her.

'You don't know that,' she protested.

'Yes I do.'

She huffed, annoyed with her wolf's stubbornness.

"I know you're awake, little wolf. I know you're probably scared and that's okay. The world is a scary place. But you're safe here. No one is going to hurt you. I won't let them."

She could almost believe him, even over Sage. His voice was so soothing and comforting. Could she trust him? Probably not but Sage seemed to think yes and before she had any say in the matter, Sage was opening her eyes.

She met a pair of blue ones and a word ricocheted through her mind. Mate. She felt almost dizzy for a moment as they stared up at him. He was beautiful with his golden hair and strong face. He had a bit of hair on his face but it made him look more handsome. She felt drawn to him much more so than she had to the man who had visited Marcie.

This was him. Her soul mate. Her other half. The one she was meant to be with. The one who would protect her. Marcie was smart; she knew a lot, and right now she was going to have to trust that Marcie had been right about this too.

He smiled at her and it was like her world had suddenly lit up. She felt safe around him though she had no reason to. Was Marcie really right?

'He won't hurt us,' Sage reassured her.

'How do you know?'

'Because he's our mate, the other half of us. The one we will always be with. He is our destiny, our fated. We can trust him.'

She wasn't sure whether to believe Sage or not, but her instincts and Marcie told her that her wolf was right.

She had nowhere to go anyway except back to the life she had been leading, which was no life at all. Back out to the wild. She didn't want to do that, didn't want to face more winters out there trying to survive. Eventually, they wouldn't. Eventually they'd freeze or starve to death. They'd barely survived this last winter.

"My name is Matthew. Most people call me Matt. I don't know if you remember what happened to you, but you tangled with a bear. You're okay. Now you're fully healed, which I'm sure you're aware of. You're at Columbia pack in their hospital. We've just been waiting for you to wake up. Are you able to shift?" he asked her.

Shift. How long had it been since she'd last been human? She wasn't even sure. Much too long. She was probably going to fall flat on her face. She'd been on four legs for a long time.

"I know it seems scary but I'd really like to be able to talk to you and you talk to me. And I'd love to see you. You're a beautiful wolf, but I'd love to see the woman who is hidden away."

She really loved his voice. It was so comforting and relaxing. It made her want to trust him. She hadn't felt that way since Marcie. 'What do you think?' Sage?'

'I think we should shift. I've been in control for a very long time. While I've enjoyed it, It isn't supposed to be that way. I've done it to protect us, to keep us safe but it's time you took back over. You know I'll still be here.'

'I'm nervous.'

'Don't be. You ran the show for years. You've got this and I've got you and now we have Mate and he will protect us.'

Sage relinquished control to her and she found herself at the forefront for the first time in a very long time. She hesitated for a long moment, feeling nervous about even shifting again.

'You can do it.'

At her wolf's encouragement, she visualized herself as a human and suddenly she was shifting back to that form. She hadn't seen it in a very long time.