Chapter 19
Lyra sat in one of the porch chans after dinner, reading through one of her mom’s journals She had finished the one about Donovan’s pregnancy, determining nothing other than how the tear continued to make her sick until she eventually stopped writing.
But Lyra knew how that story ended.
This journal was from far earlier, starting around the time she met Lyle. The first entry had been about their encounter in the coffee shop, going very similar to how Lyle had described it. Except there were a couple things that caught Lyra’s attention.
I met the most incredible guy today. I was just getting my usual chai at the cafe and in walked the most handsome guy I had ever laid eyes on. Dark hair, dark eyes, tall, muscles for days. God. I just about jumped him right there. I saw him as soon as he walked in. His aura was bright and yellow, my favorite. When he saw me, I could see the instant connection, a beautiful lilac just like
love.
I’ve never believed in love at first sight, but this man is enough to change that. He came right over and started talking to me. His name is Lyle. He said he lives about an hour away but visits quite frequently for work. There was something off though. Almost like he has a second aura just under the surface. It makes me wonder if he’s actually human or something else.
Lyra frowned. What was all the talk about auras and colors, what was that? Lyra knew that some humans liked to claim they could see auras, but Mary wrote about them as though they were fact. It came up again later, when she wrote about Lyle telling her the truth.
Lyle came to visit again. He introduced me to his boss, Christian. Christian seemed nice though his aura is a little muddy. He also had that second aura just like Lyle. After Christian left, Lyle had a purple and teal haze to him, so I knew he was nervous about something. Then he just drops the biggest bombshell. Turns out, he’s a werewolf. I’ve never met a werewolf before, which explains why I didn’t figure it out sooner. That second aura? It’s his wolf’s. Christian, who is actually his alpha, has it too.
Lyle then goes on to tell me that werewolves have fated mates, given to them by their Moon Goddess and Lyle is positive that I am his mate. All his words were golden when they came out, so I know he was telling the truth. Though Lyle said that apparently mates can tell when the others are lying.
I can’t believe we’re mates. But I guess it explains this instant connection I have with him. When he’s gone, I ache to see him. When I’m around him I feel so calm and safe.
Since he was honest with me, I decided to be honest with him and tell him about what I can do.
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Chapter 19
475 Ports
He was amazed to say the least. He said he had heard of people like me before, but thought we had long since disappeared. He asked if he could talk to his alpha about it. I wasn’t sure about it, but he said he would need his alpha’s permission for me to come live with him. He also said that Christian is one of his closest friends as well.
I don’t know how to feel about going to live in a pack of werewolves, but Lyle makes it sound so nice. He says everyone will make me feel like I’m at home, and honestly, that’s what I really need.
The crunch of gravel drew Lyra’s gaze. Jake hopped out of the car, striding easily up to where she sat on the porch. He smiled broadly when he saw her, a smile she couldn’t help but return as her heart rate kicked up a notch.
“What are you doing?” he said, kissing her cheek before he dropped into the chair beside her.
“Reading some of my mom’s old journals.” She held up the book in her hands to show him.” I’m reading about how she found out about my dad being a werewolf.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Did she take it well?”
Lyra nodded. “She seemed to be aware of the supernatural before he told her, so she doesn’t seem too shocked. But there’s some strange stuff in here.”
“Like?”
“Auras and seeing gold glowing words and colored hazes that represent people’s emotions. It’s really strange. Have you ever heard of anything like that?”
Jake shook his head, his eyebrows pinching slightly. “Has your dad ever mentioned anything about that?”
“Nothing.” Lyra closed the journal. “He always acted like she was just a regular human. But apparently your dad knew about it too. She said that my dad wanted to tell Alpha Christian because they were close friends.”
Jake rubbed his chin. “Our dads were close friends?” He frowned. “I knew my dad felt obligated to look after your family, but he’s never mentioned that Lyle was or is his friend.”
“My dad never said anything like that either. When Alpha Christian came over it was always kind of stilted and awkward. I would have never called them friends.”
He shrugged. “Probably hard to stay friends when one left the other’s newborn out to die.”
“True.”
“Have you asked your dad about it?”
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< Chapter 19
+2% Points
She shook her head. “No. I just read that, so I haven’t had a chance.” She stared away for a moment, thinking.
“Have you thought about shifting?” Jake asked after a minute.
Lyra sighed. “You’re not going to let that go, are you?”
He smirked. “Nope.”
“I’m scared,” she whispered. “What if I can’t do it? What if Juno’s too weak to make the shift happen? What if it…” She looked away, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. “What if it hurts too much?”
“Hey, listen.” Jake grabbed her hand, squeezing it and sending soothing tingles up her arm. ” I’ll stay with you the whole time. Having your mate there will help make the shift smoother. And it will hurt, there’s no way to prevent that. But I’ll be there and the pain will get better as you get used to shifting again.”
She swallowed, unable to meet his eyes. Juno quietly pleaded with her to shift, reassuring Lyra that she could make the shift happen. But for the first time in years, Lyra felt truly weak.
“Come on,” Jake said, standing. He still had her hand and he tugged her to her feet. “Dreading it isn’t going to make it better. You just need to get it over with. Prove to yourself that you can do it. Once it’s over, it won’t seem that bad.”
Lyra hesitated, her feet refusing to move. Jake gave her a gentle tug and when she didn’t move, he released a heavy sigh. He stepped in front of her and used his free hand to tilt her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze.
His eyes glittered in the sunlight, different shades of green, like hundreds of living gems. He leaned close, his breath ghosting over her face.
“It will be ok,” he whispered. “Just trust me, please.”
Finally she relented, giving a jerky nod. He rewarded her with one of his beautiful smiles, his hair dropping over his eyes just slightly. Before she could do anything else, he turned, pulling her along with him.
They walked in silence, Lyra feeling like she was being led to her execution. Jake squeezed her hand as they walked as though he feared she might bolt at any moment. To be fair, she did think about it, roughly seventeen times, before they arrived at a small clearing.
“This looks like a good spot,” Jake said, releasing her hand as he turned to face her.
She looked around. Birds were singing softly in the trees, the sounds of animals moving through the underbrush. With a sigh she nodded.
Chapter 19
“Alright
“You’ll want to take off your clothes before you start.”
Lyra blinked, her face turning red. Jake said it so matter–of–factly, like stripping in front of a man that she realistically didn’t know that well was normal. She crossed her arms across her chest, looking away.
Jake chuckled. “Are you embarrassed?” He took a step closer, grabbing her chin to force her gaze to his. “Look, it’s part of being a werewolf. I’m not going to do anything. If you shift with your clothes on, you’ll shred them and then you will have nothing to wear when you shift back, Either way, I’m going to end up seeing you naked.”
She frowned, “I know that, it’s just that… it feels… I don’t know…” She searched around for the right word, “… intimate, I guess,”
“Surely you saw plenty of people naked when you were first shifting?”
“Well, yeah, but it’s not that way in the human world. Nudity is more taboo. I guess I just got used to it.”
“Well, get unused to it.” Jake smirked. “Would it help if I got naked too?”
Now her face burned. The thought of him being naked made heat race through her and settle low in her belly.
“Admit it,” Jake teased. “You’re dying to see what I’m packing.”
“Goddess,” she half–laughed, pushing him away. “You think pretty highly of yourself.”
“Well, yeah,” he chuckled. “I’ve never had any complaints. All have left very satisfied with my performance.”
A low rumble of jealousy rolled through her at the thought of him with other women, clearly loud enough for him to hear given his wide grin.
“I’m sure you’ve kept plenty of human boys entertained,” he said lightly.
Lyra’s face had to be on fire now. She wouldn’t be surprised if smoke was curling out of her hairline from all the humiliation.
Jake blinked, his smile slipping. “Wait… have you not…”
She turned away. “No one in this pack was ever going to touch me,” she muttered, her voice tight. “And I was never interested in any humans. Most were turned off by my scars anyway.” “So you’ve never had s*x?” He sounded stunned.
Chapter 38
“No,” she spat, turning to face him, “I haven’t. Is that what you want to fear?
His eyes darkened. “Actually… I like that more than I expected”
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
