Devon could tell that Erin was very nervous about his announcement and he couldn’t blame her for feeling that way, not after how he freaked her out this morning at the gallery and even called her by a name she obviously couldn’t know was hers. In fairness to him though, he had been caught off-guard by the sight of her. He’d thought that his trip to the past had been merely a dream and not a real depiction of his previous life, but now he knew better.
Resisting the urge to look at Erin, he looked straight ahead and began his speech. “Thank you for the flattering welcome, Chief,” Devon began. “And thank you to every clan member here for accepting me into your midst. At least, I hope that I’m welcome.”
“Of course, you are, son,” said Dame Black, the head of the Black pack. “We are one big happy family here, and you are now one of us.”
“Can we skip to the good part already?” Asked Darren White, head of the White pack. “Who is your mate?”
Erin felt her stomach tighten in anxiety. Please, don’t say my name. Please, don’t say my name, she thought nervously.
“I will get to that soon, but let me give a quick background about myself first,” said Devon. “You may not know, but I am related to Eli Grey, a clan member in Moose Creek.”
“We know Eli. His wife, Mirabel, took care of Eric when he was injured last year,” said Aubrey Brown, and she rubbed her muzzle against her husband’s affectionately.
“I’m glad to hear it,” said Devon. “Well, I got orphaned at a young age and Eli and his wife took me in. I lived with them until I left to go to art school in Vermont, and after graduation, I never looked back. I went wherever my art took me, and the rest, as they say, is history.”
“Hear, hear,” Gary said encouragingly.
“And about my mate… I did mention that to the Chief this morning because I was excited about finally finding my lifelong companion. However, I now realize that announcing her identity tonight may not be such a great idea after all.”
There was a murmur of disappointment among the werewolves who had been eagerly awaiting Devon’s announcement. There is nothing more exciting than a surprise mating ceremony during a Full Moon Feast, and it was one of the high points of these quarterly gatherings.
“I know you are all disappointed,” Devon continued. “But I don’t want my mate to feel ambushed. I think she needs some time to warm up to me first and get used to the idea of having me as her mate.”
Erin quietly let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, she thought, as her taut muscles began to relax.
“There you have it. No mate announcement tonight,” said Gary dully, unable to hide his disappointment. “And on that note, I say we move on to the next item on the agenda, werewolf news. Over to you, Byron.”
The clan press secretary, Byron Golden, stepped forward to take his place in front of the others to give an update on what’s been happening in their human lives, career achievements, new developments in the clan, and other important announcements. When he was done with his briefing, all the werewolves gathered together and let out the customary seven howls to the full moon in honor of their first ancestor, Vak Smallchief. With the Feast officially declared open, everyone dispersed to carry on with the festivities of the night; eating, drinking, and mingling.
“It’s good to see you again,” said Devon, when he got to where Erin stood alone.
“I can’t say the same for you,” she said, half-joking. “What stopped you from announcing your mate tonight?”
“Wouldn’t you have hated me for putting you on the spot like that?”
Erin sighed. “I would have despised you because I don’t even understand why you’re so convinced that I am your mate. Am I not supposed to have at least an inkling about it in my psyche too? Isn’t that how this whole mate discovery thing works?”
Devon appeared to shrug. “Maybe, but there are no rules to how werewolf mates are supposed to discover each other. You probably won’t believe me if I told you how I discovered that you are my mate.”
“Try me,” she said. It was a challenge and an opportunity for him to prove to her that he hadn’t indeed lost his mind and that what he was saying was true and not just something he made up with his overactive imagination.
“Have you ever heard of the dream stone?”
“That shiny pebble Farida showed me at the gallery? Yeah, I’ve seen it and I’ve heard the cute little tale you created about it. Was it the stone that told you that I am your mate?”
He could hear the amusement in her voice and he didn’t blame her at all. He too had been skeptical about the legend of the dream stone until that night five years ago, when he’d finally decided to test it and see if the wild tales surrounding the unremarkable stone were true.
“That stone has been in my family since the time of Vak Smallchief. It originally belonged to his wife Olna Raven, the daughter of the powerful shaman who mated Vak with a pure breed Luna. As you already know, that alliance created the lineage of werewolves that we all belong to. The stone is said to be a combination of moon dust, earth, and water. It can tell you of the past or the future, depending on which one you seek clarity for.”
Erin let out a breath. “Do you really believe all of that?”
“I didn’t until I put the stone to the test and it turned out to be true. Would you like to give it a go too?”
“Why not?” Said Erin without hesitation. Her new boss is obviously convinced that his made-up story was real, and as much as she found it all so ridiculously funny, she felt inclined to humor him this once and play along with his little game.
“In that case, I’ll let you have the dream stone tomorrow and then I will tell you how to use it,” said Devon with a twinkle in his eyes.
“Oh, it comes with instructions too?” Erin asked, trying not to laugh at this point.
“More or less,” replied Devon, unfazed by Erin’s doubtfulness. “Now let’s join the others in the festivity before they start wondering if you are my mystery mate.”
She laughed. “Mystery mate, huh? I like the sound of that.”
Work seemed like a blur to Erin the next day because she spent the entire day looking forward to the moment when Devon would present her with the so-called dream stone with its supposed time travel powers.Any normal person would have brushed off Devon’s wild tales about a powerful stone with supernatural powers, but being the curious person that she was, Erin couldn’t resist the opportunity to explore a new adventure, even an unbelievable one. Plus, there was the issue of Devon claiming to be her mate even though he was a complete stranger and they had never met before. Was that how it’s supposed to be? Shouldn’t her mate be someone she already knew? Weren’t they supposed to automatically fall in love or something?At that last thought, Erin cringed a little. She had always found the whole falling in love thing a bit creepy because she was an independent woman, and the thought of having someone in her life whom she couldn’t live wit
“May I come in?” She asked when she reached the doorway.Devon looked up sharply as if stunned to know that there was someone else in the building with him at this time. “Oh, hi, Erin,” he said a bit absently. “Please, come in.”As she walked into the wide office, he stood up to greet her. “Good to see you again, Erin,” he said with a grin. “I completely forgot about our meeting.”“It’s not exactly a meeting,” she said self-consciously. “Just me coming to get some instructions on how to use the oh-so-powerful dream stone.”Devon chuckled and propped a hip on the edge of his desk. “I was even more skeptical about it when I first heard of it a few years ago. My cousin, Eli, had been in possession of it before then, but he’d never been curious enough to find out if the stone was what legends claimed it to be or not. I, on the other hand, decided to humor mys
Morning came faster than Erin had expected. It seemed as if she’d only closed her eyes for two seconds last night and when she opened them, it was morning. Yes, she’d had a dreamless sleep and now she was awake, feeling refreshed and ready to go to work and gloat at Devon about how she’d known all along that his stupid dream stone was nothing but an ordinary pebble that he’d probably picked up at a riverbank somewhere and transformed it into something special with his fake story about werewolf legends. What a tall glass of horseshit. And to think that she’d nearly fallen for it. Ha!With an unusual burst of energy, Erin sat up in bed and threw back the covers, but the moment her feet hit the floor, she knew something was wrong. Her energy levels immediately dropped down to zero as soon as she looked at her feet and saw them encased in a pair of primitive leather booties instead of the soft woolen socks she’d worn to bed last night. The tan
The man blinked and then his look of surprise was replaced with annoyance. “What do you mean? Is this a time to jest?”“I’m not jesting!” Erin snapped, equally annoyed. “I’m legit confused and I don’t even know where I am, or what this place is, or what the heck is going on here.”“Why do you speak so strangely?” Asked the man, mystified. “Are you unwell?”Erin let out a sigh of exasperation. For all his good looks, this man had nothing to offer in the way of intelligence. But… what if it wasn’t his fault that he didn’t understand her? What if the dream stone had truly transported her back in time and now she was in her past life just as she had thought about before she fell asleep last night? Could that explain her sudden understanding of the Athabascan language?No way! She thought, rejecting the possibility. Time travel wasn’t possible – forget
Her mother came into the room shortly after Danshak’s departure. Erin still hadn’t recovered from the shocking turn of events in the last couple of minutes since she woke up. Either someone was playing a cruel joke on her, or she was developing some sort of mental problem. Or she was truly in a different dimension, even though that was most likely impossible.“How are you, my dear child?” Her mother asked. In this era, Bernice Brown had waist-length hair, dressed in leather and fur clothing with a woolen quilt thrown around her shoulders. She even looked younger here than she did in the future, that is, if this was really the past.“Here, drink this. It will make you feel better,” she said and offered Erin a bowl of broth that didn’t smell so good.“Um, thank you, but I’m fine,” said Erin, trying not to wrinkle her nose at the unattractive smell wafting out of the bowl.Her mother smiled. “
Erin thought for a moment before speaking again. “Do I love Danshak?”“Well, from your behavior towards him since your betrothal, it does not seem as if you do. You have spoken harshly about him many times, but I believe that with time, you might grow to love him. Danshak is a good man and a strong werewolf, you are lucky to have him as your mate.”“He doesn’t seem to be fond of me either.”“I know, and that can change when both of you get to know more about one another,” said her mother, optimistically.“But if we don’t like each other, why did we agree to be mated?”“Well, that decision was not up to either of you. Your father saw an opportunity to become a member of Vak’s family and he took it. He may not be next in line to become the supreme leader after Vak is dead, but he has secured our family a spot in the ruling clan. There is no higher position for a werew
Erin thought for a moment before speaking again. “Do I love Danshak?” “Well, from your behavior towards him since your betrothal, it does not seem as if you do. You have spoken harshly about him many times, but I believe that with time, you might grow to love him. Danshak is a good man and a strong werewolf, you are lucky to have him as your mate.” “He doesn’t seem to be fond of me either.” “I know, and that can change when both of you get to know more about one another,” said her mother, optimistically. “But if we don’t like each other, why did we agree to be mated?” “Well, that decision was not up to either of you. Your father saw an opportunity to become a member of Vak’s family and he took it. He may not be next in line to become the supreme leader after Vak is dead, but he has secured our family a spot in the ruling clan. There is no higher position for a werewolf to attain than that.” This piece of information seemed even extra s
It was midday when her eyes finally fluttered open and she regained her consciousness. She could guess what time it was by the position of the sun, even though she couldn’t fathom how she knew that fact.“She is awake,” whispered a female voice beside Erin. She turned her head and came face to face with a younger version of her present-day/future sister-in-law, Aubrey Silver.“Aubrey, is that you?” Asked Erin.“Who do you speak of? You know that is not my name,” said the Aubrey lookalike. “Have you still not recovered?”“Don’t trouble her, Abna,” said Erin’s mother. She sat at the edge of the bed and placed a warm hand on her daughter’s forehead in a universal gesture of manually checking body temperature. “You do not have a fever, thank the gods. Your sister will go fetch you a bowl of food for you to eat. Perhaps it was hunger that made you faint.”Her