His Special Mate

Lola Pov

It was time for us to leave. We packed all of our belongings, including some of the jewelry and crystals our dad gifted us. They wanted to throw us a feast before we left, so we made our way to the middle of the village to meet up with everyone.

After the feast, we went around telling everyone goodbye. We went into our aunt's room to say bye, and she was already at the entrance waiting for us.

"I'm very happy that you girls came to visit. I know you've already received your powers, and I hope you use them wisely," she said. I looked over to Taijah, who shrugged her shoulders.

"How do you know that we have our powers?" I asked. We had never told anyone besides each other, so it didn't make sense to me that she already knew.

"I'm a seer," she told us with the biggest smile on her face. "I knew someone was supposed to come here and make a change. I just didn't know it would be you girls; I guess the spirits didn't want me to know." She embraced us in a hug before giving us a few herbs and flower seeds to take with us. "Plant them as soon as you get home," she said before pushing us out of her shelter.

Our father waited for us at the entrance of the jet to say goodbye. "The other passengers are on the jet. They're still in their shackles, but I'd prefer you leave them on until you get home." He gave a sad grin and continued, "I enjoyed my visit with you girls. I know you will do a great job forging us back together. I hope I can see you again before I leave my body." He embraced us in a hug and then kissed us on the forehead before pulling away.

"You will see us again, Baba, I promise." Tears fell down my cheeks as I made my way into the jet. I waved to our dad until he was no longer visible. I turned to the shifters that sat behind us and began asking questions to get more answers.

"Do any of you remember where you came from?" All of them shook their heads. "We still have a home to offer you, but I wanted to know if you remembered anything. Like your home, your name, your age, something," I said. They all looked at each other and shook their heads again.

"We have names that we gave to each other," the man told us.

"Okay, and what are they?" I asked.

"This is Maggie, June, and I'm Theo." I gave them all a soft smile. "Well, I'm Lola and this is my sister Taijah."

Since we had a long flight home, we spent that time learning about their stay with our father and telling them about ourselves. Every now and then, the gamma, who we now know as Alex, spoke with the shifters about what to expect and more details about their pack.

We made it back to the pack house. It was night here and freezing cold compared to where we had just come from. Alex took Taijah and me to the boys, while another gamma took June, Theo, and Maggie to a different quarter to get comfortable. I was excited to see Caine; I hadn't talked to him since we left. I decided to text the scheduler at my job to let her know that I had a family emergency and wouldn't be returning until next week. I was exhausted and pretty sure I looked it, with my bonnet covering my matted fro, black leggings, brown pullover, and my now cream Nike Waffle Ones.

We walked to the door of Caine's quarters, and the door instantly swung open. Caine stood in the entrance in nothing but his sweats. He scooped me up and carried me to what I assumed was his room. He placed me on the bed and started taking my shoes off for me.

"I missed you," he told me, then stood up and plopped onto the bed, pulling me closer to him.

"I missed you too," I said, placing a small kiss on his chest. He let out a low growl. I smiled and started drawing circles on his chest.

"I have so much to tell you, but I want to wait until you've got some rest," he said. I nodded in agreement.

I woke up next to Caine snoring. That boy sounded like somebody's old engine trying to start up. I grinned and got up to use the bathroom and take a shower. I was glad they brought my suitcase up; my hair was in need of a good wash. I was happy to be back, but I couldn't help but feel bad about leaving my dad behind. I knew where he was, was his home, but we had missed so much of each other's lives already, and I didn't want to miss more. I wrapped my hair up in a cotton t-shirt and got out of the shower. After drying off and moisturizing my body, I started styling my coils into a sleek bun with my edges swooped, then got dressed. I wore a sage green spaghetti strap sundress that cupped my girls perfectly and clung tight to my curves. I paired it with tan sandals and cute brown and gold jewelry.

The room was empty when I walked out, so I decided to go looking for Caine. When I opened the door, I heard talking and laughter and trailed the sound into what I assumed was the dining room. Everyone was seated at the table, including Maggie and June but not Theo. I smiled and greeted everyone while making my way to the seat beside Caine. Caine fixed me a plate with pancakes, bacon, eggs, and fruits, then set it in front of me.

"Good morning, beautiful. You smell and look amazing," he said, placing a kiss on my cheek. I smiled at him. I began to eat and watched as everyone around me indulged in conversation.

Mace and Taijah left to grab Theo and show them around while Caine and I stayed behind to talk.

"So, what happened once I left?" I asked him. He gave me a small smile and caught me up.

"Basically, my mother and Doc were mates. They found out once my mom moved into my dad's quarters and visited Doc. They got to know each other and then fell deeper in love. They planned to kill my father and me to take over the pack. They planned it for a while and finally got my dad alone and forged a plan. We found some emails and papers in Doc's chambers leading to my father's death. Things went wrong with their plan, and they drugged him and sold him off. My uncle and the other counselors sentenced them to death and got in contact with a friend of theirs to see if she could help them track my father if he is alive. I don't know if he's alive or dead," he explained, looking at me with a sad grin.

I pulled him in for a hug and played with his hair as we continued talking.

"I'm happy you were finally told the truth. I understand that it still doesn't make the pain go away, and I want you to know that I'm here for you, always." He pulled back from my hug, picked me up, then placed me on his lap like I weighed nothing. He gave me a big smile and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

"Tell me about your trip. I see that it was successful," he said.

"Yes, it was. We met more family and had plenty of feasts," I told him, giggling. "But seriously, though, we connected with the spirits and gained our powers. I'm a healer. My father didn't know that we had gained our powers already; he thought that we still needed to perform the ritual. The spirits told us to go along with it so we could right the wrongs. At the time, I didn't know what they meant, but when my father brought out the sacrifice, which was the only male shifter we brought, Taijah and I stopped it and informed our father why the spirits brought us to him. We told him that we'd bring the shifters with us and to stop using them as sacrifices and to tell any other tribe around to stop because we're stronger together." He looked at me and smiled big.

"It sounds like you accomplished a lot. I'm proud of you." I smiled and leaned into his chest.

"I have to go back to my uncle's to see what information he has. Would you like to go with me? I would love for him to meet my mate." I stood up and waited for him to do the same.

"Of course." I told him, placing my hand in his.