3

“Ohh ok. Where to begin. Well, do you know where your mother and I are actually from? No? Ok, well we are from a town about 10 hours from here. It’s called Haven Creek. It’s a beautiful place surrounded by the woods. It’s a small town with people always moving through there.Your mama’s pack was hidden in the thickest part of the woods, far away from everyone in the town, kind of out of site out of mind. Human’s don’t know it is there, I wasn’t supposed to know either. I came to Haven Creek when I was 18. Your grandparents and I were fighting all the time. It was my fault, I was hiding a secret from them and it was making everything tense. I chose to leave. But I found myself in Haven Creek and it didn’t take long for me to realize it was where I was supposed to be,” he looked out the window as he spoke, as if he was seeing the memory play out in front of him. I glanced at the clock. 1 minute.

“What was your secret?” I asked as he put his blinker on and started moving toward the next exit to get off the highway.

“Well. I’m getting to that in a minute. But as far as Haven Creek goes, your mama was born into that pack. The pack was called Haven Moon. This is where your grandparents still live.” He looked at me as he said this, knowing it would be news.

“So she lied,” I said, recalling my mother telling me her family, her parents, were dead and we were alone.

“Yes, she did. And again, she had her reasons.”

I shook my head in disbelief. “Keep going.”

He nodded and kept talking as we made our way turning onto a road, then another, then another until we reached a long straight one that he settled onto. The timer was now counting up instead of down and it read +2 minutes.

“Your mom and I met one night at the restaurant I was working at. I served her table, she was gorgeous, young and full of life. We talked all night and… into the morning. I woke up that morning next to her, just as beautiful sleeping soundly. I knew we couldn’t be anything more than that, but laying next to her I didn’t care. We spent sporatic nights together. She thought I didn’t know what she was, she still doesn’t know that I know. But the more days we spent together the more I was drawn to her. I loved her. Even though I knew she could never truly love me back. Until the day she came to me with a pregnancy test in hand. She was scared, but so excited. She wanted the baby, but she knew that she couldn’t stay where she was and have it. She couldn’t have my baby and live to face her pack.”

“Why not?”

“Because somewhere out there she had a mate. And she lived in fear that she would find him and he wouldn’t want her because she had a fling and a baby with a human bartender.”

“So mates are real?”

“Yes, they are. And I am not your mother’s. That is why we didn’t work out. We tried, especially for you once you were born, but when she looked at me, I wasn’t the love of her life. Wolves feel a pull to their mate, they need them. And I could never fill that void. So I left, but I stayed close because I couldn’t bear to be away from you.”

“Mates are destined? That’s what mom told me. I have a better half out there who would save my soul.”

“Yes, in some sense of those words. They were destined for you. I’ve seen people find their mates. Wolves can have humans for mates, and people I knew in town were mates of the pack. That is one of the reasons I knew about the werewolves and your mom’s pack.”

“What is the other reason?” I asked noticing his lip twitch slightly and his hand run through his hair. This is it, I thought. This is the biggest secret. He hasn’t hesitated until now.

“Your mom isn’t the only one who lied, honey… I’m not human.”

“But…. you’re not a wolf. I can smell you, you smell human.”

“I know that, I am physically human. But, I am also.. not. I’m what is called an elemental.”

“Which is…” I asked, prodding him on because I was still lost.

“I, um, well, I can control one of the four elements. Specifically, I can control Fire.”

I watched him carefully, I watched his ticks and watched for signs of lying. His heart rate was steady, he seemed stressed but not from telling a lie.

“I’m listening,” I said finally.

Instead of speaking, he raised his hand between us and a small smile formed. I watched as his eyes began to glow a soft orange. Then a soft blaze caught the corner of my eye. I looked down and saw a fireball forming in his palm. It was small, controlled and so beautiful. I felt a gasp leave my lips as I truly understood what was happening.

“Ok…” I studdered out. “So elemental huh?”

He retreated his fireball and his eyes returned to normal hazel and his smile grew as he looked at me.

“I’ve waited forever to be able to tell you. Truly, I’ve wanted to all your life. And I actually planned to wait a little longer until you turned 18. Because this is only half of my secret. The other half, will be harder to grasp. I have reason to believe that you, are also an elemental.”

“Um, wouldn’t I know? Wouldn’t I be able to… do that?”

“No, you wouldn’t. Because elementals cannot control the elements until you are 18. So, uh. That’s a good place to explain I guess. So there are only four elementals alive at once, one per element. When an elemental dies, then another takes their place. Each element searches for a soul that has the traits that embody what that element stands for. I’ve been an elemental since I was 18. It was the secret I was keeping from my parents that led me to leave. I couldn’t tell them and it broke me apart. See there are some out there who hunt the elementals, feel their power is too great and they shouldn’t live. We are always in hiding. The water elemental died, when you were just one. I was with you, at the park, when it happened. I felt a part of my heart break and I knew what it stood for. I fell to my knees and grabbed my heart. You walked over to me and grabbed my hand. You were so small, so tiny. I kept my eyes closed trying to get through the pain and then I felt it. Rain. All at once it was pouring on us, and as I looked around, I realized it was raining on only us. I looked to you and you were crying because I was, you were confused why I was sad, but your sadness came down from the clouds. And it was then that I realized your previously brown eyes were shining blue. I scooped you up and kissed you and as fast as it came, the rain left and your eyes changed back, except this time to a hazel blue where they settled to forever. Your elemental powers weren’t suppressed until you were 3, then they went into hiding. Your mother never knew, and I never told a soul. The other two elementals still search for the missing water elemental. But I am 100% sure it is you.”