There are mates, and then there are mates ;) by JH (i am malala young readers edition .txt) 📕

he’s as wolf as I am. Besides we needed to stick together once I informed them about the task I wanted to get started on, I had a feeling that Damien was being a lot more understanding then the others would be.


Eventually we moved into the ‘living room’ it was probably the cosiest room in the house thing, I still don’t know what to call it.
“So I started looking through my prophecies and I’ve come to the conclusion that the apocalypse is coming.” There short and simple, now bring on the chaos.
“We know.” they said in unison, their faces weirdly calm with a hint of humour.
“…Wait how do you know?”
“That’s what the council meeting was about, Oz told us on the way here… The great apocalypse is coming and we shall be brought together through the chosen ones…They ones chosen by the heads of each coven that is.”
“WHAT!” I screamed, they can’t do that! Can they?
“Calm down honey, we know how strongly you wanted to help but that’s the way its always been, our heroes are nominated.”
“But they can’t choose the chosen ones. They’re not supposed to be chosen by an immortal more of the eternal, they’re supposed to be chosen by god!” I don’t know why for the life of me I felt so offended that they had tried to take control of a situation which is supposed to led by faith.
“I know, I know…what else is it you wanted to tell us you made it sound as if there was more?”
“There is. The bloody council doesn’t know everything! They don’t get freakin visions sent to them do they? No the all mighty council ain’t got nothing on me!” I was still shouting but they looked at me calmly waiting for me to continue so I coughed and did so…
“I made this prophecy about who the keys are, I mean I don’t know exactly who they are but pieces fit, I know which race and Damien is helping me find the best time and place to bring them together. The councils chosen won’t work, they’re merely puppets, like the knights of the round table wouldn’t have been half as good if they weren’t led by king Arthur.”
^AND FED KNOWLEDGE BY THE LADY OF THE LAKE^ inputted Damien, his wolf grinning directly at me and I laughed.
“Yes and the lady of the lake I suppose had her place too.” Oz was looking between me and Damien and suddenly a growl ripped through him and he lunged at Damien.
Damien yelped and tried to escape but Oz was already in wolf form and was pushing his sharp teeth into Damiens all too vulnerable hind leg. I screamed and a pain tore straight through me.
“OZ What the hell are you doing!” I felt power surge up in me, the urge to protect Damien from this violence, a voice booming in my head ‘HE IS PACK, OURS WE MUST REPAY AND PROTECT’. My hands were tingling with power, storm clouds gathering above the house, thunder rolling over us emphasising the tension that was in the air. The guys were stuck, frozen by the inability to attack their alpha again and help their cousin. I was free though, I let my hands roll forward pushing power through them. The power was visible as a blue sheen and as it hit Oz and Damien they shifted back into human forms. I’d never forced a change into human before, you can never force the wolf out of the person only let it be released, your not supposed to be able to do it to an alpha or anything else but a race of your own. Oz still had his, now human, teeth in Damiens leg which was now rapidly loosing blood, the tears through the flesh for some reason not healing.
I bulleted towards Oz and glared at him. “Release him now!” He continued to bite down until I physically lifted him off of Damien. Damien looked at me thankfully, at some point Oz had dug his claws into Damiens stomach as blood was pouring from their too, it swelled up from Damiens mouth and stained his lips as he tried to gurgle something. Tears were pouring down my face as I turned to Oz in disgust, my mate did this to him. An act of such violence and cruelty came from something that I had willingly given a part of my soul. What caused such a response? I was confused and my soul ached as I watched Damien struggle to spit the blood from his mouth. “Shhh Damien don’t feel the pain.” I cooed at him like he was a baby and I dismissed the rest of them from the room, forbidding Oz from even attempting to connect with me until I was done here…until it was all finished.
Oz left, the blood of my newest friend still smeared around the mouth I once found kissable.
I’ve never produced so many tears in my life, I must have spilt as much tears as he did blood. No. No I couldn’t have.
Damiens blood had now soaked into my shoes and jeans, they’d have to be binned once this was over. I wished so much that I could heal Damien but I was never given that power, bitterness filled my mouth. A very small part of me was aware of the pain my own body was in, the rest felt Damiens pain that I had shielded him from, he always broadcasted so loudly.
He continued to gurgle for the next few minutes, his eyes gradually getting more fearful as he realised I had no power for this to be fixed. ^Please Tara, there’s a way…you know there is.^ I didn’t have a clue what he was talking/thinking about. I looked at him in what must have shown my confusion, his face looked blury but then I realised they were my tears, dammit I was still crying! ^I knew it from the moment I met you, you’re not just anyone Tara. Oz is your mate but your mine…my soul is shifter…^ Even his thoughts were laboured and paused with each haggered breath. ^I couldn’t bind my soul to someone who…isn’t a shifter too…I waited for so long for you to shift into something…else…I studied your family tree…trying to figure out how…I couldn’t find anything…but I know it. My soul…knows…you^ I saw the strength in his eyes, the secret he was hiding from me. The way he used to lurk around me and watch me each time I shifted as if he was hoping for something different. I knew he believed it, I wanted to believe him, I wanted to save him. If I was his mate I could heal him but I couldn’t be anything else but a wolf, he said it himself I had no shifters in my family.
‘Trust yourself Tara allow your body to mould itself, let it prove to you what your mind could not.’ a new voice introduced itself into my head, it was as if I had suddenly gained a new conscience although the voice sounded pretty male to me. In fact I turned around to see if someone new had entered the room. I trusted this voice, I had a habit of trusting odd voices that popped into my head. I shut my eyes and felt Damien hold onto my hand. My body suddenly got very cold and I felt myself peel away, first from my clothes and then from my skin.
I could see in my mind this path on it was the symbol of the wolf helix (the symbol we use for god) and the shifter cross I looked at the cross and stepped towards it. Animals burst in my mind but one was more prominent then most it was a golden eagle. As I looked at it my body moulded into its image and I saw it smiling. Then I was smiling through it, looking down at a boy who now was not only bleeding but oddly enough smiling. In this form I felt my body drawn to him. I hopped towards him, feeling the tapping of my talons against the hard floor. My new feathered wings spread out as I reached him and by instinct I wrapped them around him, sharing my warmth, my strength my healing ability. I felt a part of me seep into him and gradually I felt him get better, his wounds healed over and blood vanished from his face. A smile and look of utter peace replaced the tiredness that was there moments before. I could feel Oz in the corner of my consciousness and this reminded me of who I was, I’m still Tara but now I have two mates. I have my soul split twice and though I am mad at Oz I still love him and though my relationship is different with Damien I love him to.
For now I let my body shift back, not caring to manifest clothes I lay down next to Damien simply inhaled his scent knowing that he was marked by me and I was marked by him. Shifters would know I was his and Wolves would know I was Oz’s to those who didn’t know who I was on my own they would never understand. I barley did.

Hours later I heard Oz scratching at the door but I flicked my wrist is his direction and told him briefly “Not yet…We need time…” He whimpered forbidden from entering a room in his own house by something with more mysterious authority then his own. I turned to Damien and pressed my lips to his temple.
“How did you know? What does this make me?”
He smiled as he said “A little of mine. You’re a shifter but not to a great degree, its like I can feel you completely I’ve given you all I have as your mate. You aren’t a whole wolf and your not a whole shifter so you don’t mate in the same way. Your not like me, I have the ability to shift into a ‘true wolf’ but my soul is one of a shifters I’m temperamental and like to spend more time in different shapes then in wolf or human. I’m guessing you’re the same with Oz, you can stay free from your mate and choose when you need him?” He was playing with my hair as he was telling me this and I felt safer then I had in a while. What he was saying felt true my soul accepted it and thus my mind and body did, and to be honest I was kind of excited to try flying with wings. I had to wonder though, if my family was my family then how did I become part shifter? Is this all I am or am I more? Eventually the questions became all too much and I got up, forming clothes around me I pulled Damien up from the floor and told him that we needed to find and explain to Oz and then we needed to carry on with the quest, now that I knew that there was more then meets the eye I was determined to find others who were as equally tied up in the mysteries of the world.

When we found Oz he was in wolf form, licking his paws clean. When I first came in he staggered towards me pining then when Damien appeared before me he retreated back into the corner, his head tilted to the side as he inspected Damiens flawless face.
He sniffed the air and then bared his teeth. I stood in front of Damien protectively and looking at Oz I said four words.
“We Need to Talk”

Chapter 11- For once, a pleasant