Chapter 8

Aiden POV

“I can’t believe you just implied she is a witch, you know she is a wolf, we have seen her in wolf form”

Ronan was incredibly unimpressed with me, but what did he expect? She just filled the kettle with water and lit the fire with a flick of her wrist. Granted, I hadn’t responded well, but she had just used actual magic.

“Yes, like the magic she used to get us here. You are a damn fool at times Aiden.”

Ronan was right. I could be a real idiot at times. I had no idea the impact my idiotic ways were about to have though.

“Ok… I believe you’ve heard of the Moon Goddess?”

That question caught my attention. Of course, I had heard of the Mood Goddess. She was the mother of all wolves. The Goddess who we served and who blessed us with our wolf-forms and our mates. And she was asking if I’d heard of her?

“Oh, she’s been mentioned here and there…” I couldn’t help but tease sarcastically. The look on her face told me this didn’t impress her.

“Well…” she continued, ignoring my quips with more grace than I deserved. “She is my Mother.”

“She is all of our mother, we are werewolves…”

She rolled her eyes. I sensed at this point I needed to do a little less talking and a little more listening.

“I’m sorry love, I won’t interrupt you again. I’m listening…”

The frustration lifted from her beautiful features as her face softened and she looked at me gratefully.

“She is not my mother in the sense that she is yours. She is not my goddess, she is my mother. As in, she who gave birth to me…”

“Say something” Ronan snapped from my mind as I stared at her in disbelief.

“What do I say to that? She just told me that she’s the daughter of the Moon Goddess! I don’t know what’s worse. That she said it, or that I believe her!”

“Of course, you believe her, she is our mate. She would not lie to us.”

Wolves were such simple creatures. Unwaveringly loyal to the mate bond. Ronan was already committed to her, body and mind. There was nothing she could say or do to sway him. The blessing or curse of our human side is our suspicious nature. Although I was drawn to her in a way I had no way of describing, my trust was not as blind as my wolf’s. I knew nothing about her, and I needed to understand far more before I could give myself over to the mate bond. Despite every bone in my body urging me to stop this conversation in its tracks and claim her mouth with mine.

“You don’t believe me, do you?” She asked, a hint of hurt in her voice.

“No… I mean yes, I do believe you. I think that’s the problem. Shit. I’m sorry. This is… a lot.”

She took a step toward me and for some reason, I took a step back. Idiot. She looked pained at my reaction and I felt like an arse. There was much I didn’t know about her, but I knew I was in no danger.

“This was a mistake… I should go…”

Before I could make a move to stop her she was gone. She had disappeared right before my eyes. Shit.

“Now you’ve done it…”

“Yes, thank you Ronan for your keen observation… How about instead of sarcasm, you offer me something useful, like, I don’t know, a solution on how the hell we find her?”

“Our mate is the daughter of a Goddess, skilled in ancient magic. Do you think it’s going to be easy to find her, especially if she doesn’t want to be found?”

“Well let’s hope there is part of her, even if it’s just the wolf part, that does want to be found. Come on wolf, let’s find our mate…”

Ronan growled with approval as we made our way out of the cabin. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Her scent was faint, but it was there…

If I wasn’t certain before, the second she disappeared, I knew it. She was mine. And I was hers, and this would be the last time I would ever make her feel like she needed to run from me….