Mishaps and Wolves (OLD VERSION)

Chapter 36 - Epiphanies Tingle

Chapter 36 - Epiphanies Tingle

Marissa and Roman headed back to his office, leaving Cinna in her room to compose herself before she headed back to her rooms here in the Pack House.

On the way up, Marissa finally built up the courage to ask the question that had been rattling around her head. "What's a mate?"

Roman seemed to choke on air before he sputtered out an awkward explanation, "Um...a mate is the term we use for our soul mate. The person that completes us and makes us feel whole. You aren't lost, you never feel upset and you never face anything alone. They are our saviours and without out them, we wouldn't be free. When you see them, and meet them for the first time, you instantly know. The saying 'love at first sight' is literally talking about the bond that is created when two mates first touch."

Marissa's heart hammered at the explanation. Although he'd started off hesitant, his voice had continued on and had bellied emotions that she wished she had confidence in. With her, the idea of having someone that stood by you during the storms and held you as you fell asleep to keep you safe...it sounded like a dream. But she didn't think that love was in the cards for her. She'd lost the ability to reach out to people when the one person any girl needed had walked out of the door and had never looked back.

"From the sound of it, you must have had those feelings before," she said, a little saddened at the thought.

"Uh, no. That's just what my mother once told he," he said, blushing as he ran a hand through his hair. He looked a little odd, the way he was acting, but it was probably an awkward conversation for him.

She shrugged it off and said, "Well, I wish you luck for when you find her."

They reached his office and went inside. She went over straight to the laptop that she'd left by the sofa and opened it up to what she'd been searching before. She'd thought she'd remembered something that could have helped them sneak the shifters in.

"It's not going to be sunset for a while, and we still haven't got a workable plan to get the orb back," Roman said, looking out of the window.

Marissa looked up at him, "What's the story behind this orb. I know you said that it was important and was a gift, but that never really explained it."

Roma sighed and sat down on the other sofa, "The orb was a originally a gift to one of the biggest shifter packs on this continent. When that pack broke down after the assassination of their alpha, a group of shifters took the orb and the largest group that they could trust and moved. The orb was a family heirloom but my father passed it to me when I left his pack."

Marissa felt her heart skip a beat for a moment. "Why did you leave his pack?" she asked hesitantly, not sure if this topic was a sore one for him.

He shrugged his shoulders and leaned back against the sofa, "If I had stayed, I would have caused problems for my father."

"Why?"

Roman shut his eyes, "Because despite me being younger, I was the stronger Alpha. If I had stayed with my family, I would have had to fight my father to be the true Alpha of our pack. And a fight doesn't stop when one person says mercy."

Marissa felt her heart tear. He'd given up his family, his blood, to save them. A selfless act like that gave her a new insight into who Roman truly was. Before all she had been able to see was an Alpha with a torrent of emotions on his sleeve and a caring side towards his pack. Now...he was much more. He was the gallant hero who left to save his family and despite the fact that it tore his heart out, as she could see from the way he refused to go into much detail, he still continued on and built a family and a home for others who were lost in the world.

Thoughts of his selfless act made her think on her mother leaving. When she'd left, she'd just told Marissa's father that she didn't love him anymore. But, and it could have been a possibility what if she had left to spare them? She could remember small things about her mother, but one thing she vividly remembered was how her mother always fought to look her best at ever moment. The same could be said of her daughter.

What if her mother had found out news that would have destroyed her image? Would that have been enough for her to leave her husband and seven year old daughter?

Marissa let out an inner sigh, banishing those questions that she'd asked herself over the course of her life and still not found an answer for. Thoughts like those only lead to more heart ache and headaches.

"That's it, I can't think any more." She sighed distractedly, closing the laptop screen. She rubbed at her eyes before standing up and pacing around the room. Her eyes were caught by the tapestry that taken her breath away the first time she saw it. As she looked at its intricate design, a thought began in the back of her mind. It grew and bloomed until an outrageous idea took root in her mind and she smiled.

Looking at Roman, she told him, "I have a plan."