The She-Wolf’s Mate (Book 2 She-Wolf Series)

Samantha

I stood in the kitchen, already feeling the effects of being separated from Ivar. A dull headache pulsed just behind my eyes and the heaviness in my chest started to build.

I hated that even after a night spent as intimately as we did, nothing between us was resolved. He still expected me to leave everything and go with him to another country.

Why couldn’t he understand?

Just as I turned to ignite the stove, there was a light knock on the front door. I stilled.

I hadn’t heard anyone approach, and I had specifically told Michael to lock down the gate. I cautiously approached the front door, sniffing the air for clues. There was a scent that I couldn’t place, and it definitely wasn’t werewolf or human. Still, I didn’t know who or what it could be.

Ivar would probably kill me for opening the door to a possible threat without alerting him.

That thought had me turning the handle. As the door swung open, I was met with the face of a kind-looking young woman. At first glance, I couldn’t place her, but after a moment I realized she looked similar to the woman photographed with Ivar months earlier except that her hair and eyes were colored differently.

“You must be Ivar’s sister,” I said, giving her a light smile.

She was tall, maybe about five foot, eight inches, and slender with long legs. Her hair was as dark as midnight, falling in soft waves down her shoulders and back. Her eyes almost seemed to glow, a trait I had come to associate with witches. However, unlike Katrina and the others I met, Trinity’s eyes lacked bright color. Hers were a stoney gray, and felt like they could see straight to my soul.

In contrast, her skin held a creamy hue and she wore a pink crop top under jean-short overalls. Rings with different gemstones glittered from almost every finger and chunky earring hung from her ears. Her current garb made it difficult to imagine her as the sister to the great and powerful werewolf king.

“Yeah,” she said, then looked around. “Uh, hang on.”

Before I could react, she grabbed hold of my wrist and I felt the earth shift underneath my feet. In the next moment, I was looking out over a rocky cliff by what appeared to be the ocean.

“What the fuck?!” I exclaimed.

I vaguely remembered Ivar mentioning his sister could teleport.

“Sorry,” Trinity winced. “I think we need some girl talk and I didn’t want the oaf interrupting.”

I gaped at her.

“Let’s start over,” she said, wiping her hand on her shorts before reaching out to me. “Trinity Blackfang, sister to the king.”

I shook her hand. “Samantha Paulson. Alpha of the Redclaw Pack,” I said, blandly.

“Oh, yes Alpha Paulson,” she winked. “I know all about you. Sorry about all this.” She waved her hands around us. “Desperate times and all. I figured my brother was probably continuing to fuck it all up, so I thought I might be able to assist him.”

“Trinity, it’s very kind of you to try and help us out, but I’m not sure there’s much you can do,” I told her. “We both have different duties. I’m not sure either of us are willing to budge.”

“So you’re going to reject him then?” she asked, seriously.

The familiar pain at the mention of rejecting my mate seared through my chest. I fought to keep my breathing even.

“Thought not,” Trinity stated, coolly.

“Is that even a viable option?” I asked, my voice coming out somewhat squeaky.

“It is,” she said, her eyes staring into mine to watch for a reaction. “But you would both have to agree to it.”

Pain gripped me further at the thought. The constant, dull headache I felt turned sharp, and the tightness in my chest made taking a deep breath difficult.

Trinity reached out and placed her hand over mine. Warmth radiated up my arm, dimming the stabbing sensation I had been feeling.

“What was that?” I asked.

“A little bit of healing magic,” she explained, spinning one of her rings. She gestured to a patch of dead grass next to her. “I siphoned some energy.”

When I gave her a confused look, she said, “I’m a dark witch, Alpha Paulson.”

My blood froze in my veins. Very little was known about dark witches. They had been allied with the “other side” during the last supernatural war that ended in Ivar being king.

“I know what you’re thinking,” she said, holding up her hands. “Well not actually what you’re thinking, thinking, but you know. Contrary to popular belief, dark witches are born. It’s not like a choice to use dark magic or because I’m evil or something. It’s about how and what energy I channel.”

“Okay,” I said carefully. “So how do you channel energy then?”

She gave me a small smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Then said, “There’s a few ways. Like you just saw, I can pull it from other living things. I can also use the power within myself, but obviously that can be limiting.”

She looked down and started picking at the dirt with a stick. I could tell the conversation made her somewhat uncomfortable, but she brought me here because she wanted to talk so I let her continue.

“Others have always feared us because of it. We were thought of as monsters because I can tug at any life force and turn that energy into something else. Opposite dark witches are light witches, of course. They draw their energy from light itself. Light is energy whereas darkness is the absence of that energy. That’s why I have to draw from other sources.

“Both light and dark witches have the potential to be both good or evil depending on how they use their power, but obviously the power a dark witch uses is more dangerous. When we're young, we have to learn how to siphon power carefully or we can kill the source accidentally. Unfortunately, some have made the conscious choice to take the lives of others in pursuit of their own endeavors.”

“I see,” I said, cautiously.

Trinity nodded then changed the subject.

“I didn’t really come here to talk about myself, though. My brother is a somewhat difficult being.”

I snorted.

“Difficult is a nice way to put it.”

She grinned. “Be that as it may, I would argue he is who he was forced to become - maybe who fate needed him to be. Ivar and I are half-siblings. We shared the same father, Harald. He was the alpha of Ivar’s pack. He and Ivar’s mother were mated, and led their people.

“Ivar’s mother died very unexpectedly, but initially the cause was a mystery. Ivar was young. I’m not sure he has any clear memories of her, but I imagine the loss would have been devastating for him. More devastating was the fact that our father very quickly started a relationship with my mother, a dark witch.

“Back then, inter-species breeding was rare. For a mated and widowed werewolf to so quickly start a relationship with a witch was unheard of. No one knew where my mother, Tatiana, had come from or how the two had gotten together, but she soon became pregnant with me. It was clear that something had shifted inside Harald. He had been a kind and generous leader, but after he brought Tatiana into the picture he was cruel.

“Harald killed many of the males who would have stood against him. He slaughtered husbands and fathers, even young boys he feared would grow into disloyal pack members. With Tatiana at his side he started challenging other alpha’s and assuming their packs as well, continuing the process, until only his most trusted remained.

“After that, he and Tatiana started thinking bigger. They made plans to take control of the factions of different species as well. In particular, Tatiana wanted to eliminate all light witches and others formed by light magic.”

“What does that mean?” I asked. “‘Others formed by light magic’?”

“Every supernatural creature is formed of either light or dark magic. Some species have members that are one or the other - like witches. Werewolves are all dark magic based. Fairies would be an example of a light magic species.”

“Oh,” was my only response. Clearly, I still had a lot to learn.

“Don’t feel bad,” Trinity gave me a sympathetic smile. “A lot of this has been lost to time and some of it we kept out of the history books. It was easier that way.”

I nodded and she continued.

“Ivar and I saw what was happening. Any time he tried to speak up, his father’s cruelty became focused on him. It was terrible. I healed him secretly on numerous occasions before his first shift.

“After he met his wolf, we knew we had to do something. With the power each of us had, we thought that we could stop him. Rankor, even when Ivar was newly shifted, was a beast few could match. Harald feared him, although he wouldn’t admit it.

“My mother assumed I shared her thirst for power and control, so she schooled me rigorously in magic. I trained hard. Not to help her, but so that I could take her life when the time came.

“Finally, Ivar challenged his father mere months after he turned sixteen. As you can guess, he was successful and became the leader of his pack in Harald’s place. He quickly formed an alliance with the light witches.

“We incorrectly assumed that would be enough to dissuade Tatiana and the other dark witches from trying to take more power. We were wrong. Instead, more treaties were drawn among the supernatural creatures, and battle lines were established.”

She paused, her gaze out across the water seemingly a million miles away.

“At seventeen, Ivar led his people to war. He was victorious, but at a great cost. Even after all was said and done, the dark witches still standing refused to concede. Ivar made the decision -“

She choked on her words before swallowing quickly and closing her eyes to continue.

“Ivar made the decision to eliminate the threat completely. He would get rid of all dark witches. He and I set about hunting them down. Each one was given the option: either have their magic bound so that they couldn’t use it, or be executed.

“Tatiana was the last standing. She confirmed our suspicions that she had taken over Harald’s mind in order to serve her purpose. The somewhat surprising twist was that she had also killed Ivar’s mother. He didn’t give her the option of surrender before taking her head.

“It sounds terrible, of course. It’s hard to explain now the atrocities the dark witches were inflicting on people to justify their genocide. The light witches didn't have the power to defeat them, and the other creatures were being slaughtered even after the war was over. Not to mention the humans they treated as poorly as animals. It was awful.”

“So,” I asked, carefully. “What about you then?”

She took a deep breath. “Ivar needed my power to defeat the dark witch’s magic. I was - I am - his last family member and his closest ally. When we had taken out the last one, the light witches called to have me executed or imprisoned, even after I stood with them against my people. Ivar would have none of it and another war almost broke out.

“The witches thought only Ivar’s pack would follow his leadership and defend my life, but it was quickly realized all werewolves would follow Ivar. They had initially wanted to make him alpha to all packs, but the logistics and needs of so many couldn’t be managed by one. Wolves need strong leadership and a close connection by nature. Eventually the alphas voted to make him their king, the one they would all answer to when called upon.

“The light witches were left with the decision to either accept Ivar’s rule, or face another war. Obviously, they chose the former. It became fortunate for them when a light witch gave birth to a dark witch years later. Dark witch genetics are mostly dormant but over the years a few have been born. I’ve been tasked with binding the magic of each one.”

“I’m sorry,” I said. “That has to be difficult.”

“It’s lonely,” she admitted. “Less so since I found Aidan.”

“Aidan is your mate?” I asked, surprised.

“Not my mate,” she clarified. “But we have been together for about 300 years.”

“Oh,” I said. “Can you not be mated in the werewolf sense then?” Before I quickly added, “I’m sorry if that’s too personal. You don’t have to explain.”

“It’s okay, Sam,” she said, shaking her head. “I won’t have children and I know Aidan wants them.”

“You said you ‘won’t’ rather than you can’t,” I noticed.

She nodded. “If I had a daughter, most likely she would be a dark witch. I don’t know if I have it in me to bind her power, and I won’t put Ivar in the position to make me. It’s harder for werewolves to procreate when they aren’t mated. Not impossible of course. We can both probably point out some examples, but it's less common. And if Aidan were to one day find someone he wanted to have a family with, I wouldn’t want him to pass that by because he was tied to me.”

“You’ve been together 300 years,” I said, bemused. “Do you really think he’s going to change his mind?”

She laughed. “You’re already sounding like my brother,” she teased. “But no, I hope he doesn’t. I won’t rule out the possibility though.”

“Thank you for sharing so much with me,” I told her after a moment.

“Sister, there’s a thousand years worth of drama,” she said, ruefully. “That’s just the origin story.”

Now, we both laughed.

“You should know this last year has been one of his hardest,” she said after a another brief silence. “And for Ivar, that’s saying something. He comes off as pretty closed off. I imagine he’s had to be to survive, but I know he feels things deeply. I know that what he feels for you is powerful.”

“I wonder if it’s love, though,” I mused aloud.

Trinity fixed me with her bewitching eyes as she spoke, “After what I’ve told you, do you think Ivar would know love when he found it? We have watched almost everyone we care for die, Alpha. Living as long as we have, it’s as much a curse as it is a blessing. At some point Ivar just decided it was easier to keep others at a distance.

“He chose his duty over his emotions his entire life. On top of that, he has controlled most situations just by the nature of who and what he is. You’re the first person to truly challenge or defy him. I think it scares the shit out of him.”

“It’s not about me defying him, Trinity,” I argued. “I’m trying to protect my son from having to grow up so quickly.”

“Look, I understand your reasoning, but you need to realize there’s bigger things at play,” she said, firmly.

“I understand that Ivar has an image or whatever to maintain, but if that’s more important to him than my son, I don’t know that I can entertain the idea of a long term relationship,” I said.

“What are you talking about?” she asked, clearly confused.

“Ivar said he can’t move to the Redclaw Pack territory because he doesn’t want to be viewed as submitting to a woman,” I explained.

Trinity scoffed. “That’s not the reason he can’t move,” she said but didn’t elaborate.

“Okay, so what’s the reason?”

Trinity became very serious.

“Ivar is magically bound not to tell anyone other than his mate or children about why his headquarters is where it is,” she said and it sounded ominous.

“Okay…” I trailed off. When she didn’t offer anymore information, I asked, “Are you also magically bound not to tell anyone?”

She bit her lip. “No. I was a part of completing the spell. However, I did give my word not to speak of it and I would like to keep it. Just know Ivar would probably move heaven and earth to be with you if he could. Unfortunately, he can’t.”

I stayed quiet. It was hard to imagine Ivar doing anything inconvenient for himself in order to be with me. The man I had experienced was cold and calculating. It seemed like he would possess and control me rather than have a relationship built on love and trust.

“So… how powerful are you then?” I asked after listening to the waves crash for several minutes.

“Dark witches less powerful than me caused mass-casualty volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, and floods single-handedly,” she said, staring over the water. “The light witches are right to fear me.”

I nodded. She seemed like such a gentle person, but the haunted look in her eyes told me there was more to her than her soft exterior. Power seemed to radiate from her very essence. Unlike Ivar, hers felt like a warm blanket rather than a cold stone wall.

She sighed. “Ivar’s probably about ready to wring my neck,” she said but she didn’t sound apologetic or afraid.

“I didn’t really think about what he would be walking into,” I pondered. “It probably looks like I just disappeared.”

“In a way, we sort of did,” Trinity joked. “Sorry about kidnapping you.”

I laughed. “I’ve actually been through something similar,” I told her. “You were a lot nicer about it.”

Trinity stood and wiped the dirt off her hands. I followed her lead.

“You’ll have to tell me about it some time,” she said, “Let’s get you home before big bro razes the earth to find you.”

She grabbed my wrist gently. The ground fell out beneath my feet before I was standing on my front porch again.

Almost as soon as I gathered my bearings, a shout erupted from inside the house, “Trinity! What the fuck?”

“Yeesh,” Trinity grimaced. “That’s my cue. Sorry to leave you with that.” She gestured towards the door where I could hear Ivar’s stomping growing closer. “But he’ll handle it better coming from you.”

“I doubt that,” I muttered as she blinked out of existence.

Suddenly, the front door flew open and I looked up at the scowling face of the werewolf king.