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Learn your place - Chapter Ten

Caoimhe’s POV:

The warmth from the hearth hit my face with full force as its vibrant embers caught me off guard, it held my attention and ignited something deep within my soul, I barely noticed as Odin gently released me and placed me down on the hardwood floor. I stood there confused for a moment as the unusually warmed floor seeped into the soles of my feet and began to warm me from the inside out. The only warmth I had felt up to that point was from the warmth of my mate’s arms as he held me to him, I never thought that other things within this world could hold such a relevant feeling.

“Who is she?” A sudden voice asked from the couch as a brown mob of hair suddenly surfaced from the front of the sofa.

A woman raised her head from the armrest of the sofa and turned to look over at us as Ure approached me from behind with a snow-white throw blanket within his arms. I hadn’t noticed the moment he had pulled his youngest sister from his leg and had grabbed a blanket. I looked up at him curiously as he draped the blanket over my shoulders causing the fine material to hide my once exposed body parts. The fabric appeared fine with shimmering threads of silver and gold that would otherwise be invisible to the naked eye, there was something about it that appeared welcoming and familiar as memories of similar threads appeared within the very recesses of my mind. I clung to the soft fabric as I reveled in its familiarity and gazed at the new figure as she arose from the sofa and chose to walk around it instead of climbing over the back as I'rie had done.

She appeared a few years younger then both Ure and Odin and yet there was an air of maturity about her, something that both Odin and Ure seemed to lack.

She gives off a warm and welcoming feeling, I thought to myself as I took in the young woman’s appearance.

My gaze lingered upon her as I took in her familiar curly hair that resembled that of I’rie’s only she had brown curls instead of a sandy blonde. Her hair was in a mess as if it hadn’t been managed yet with a loose curl hanging over her left eye as she looked me over curiously.

“She’s a stray,” Ure said with amusement as he smirked at the woman.

Who is she? I wanted to ask only I couldn’t yet find the words to form on my tongue.

My lungs felt airless as my words remained locked within my throat, my eyes narrowed on her petite frame as I parted my lips slightly wanting to speak aloud only, I knew all too well that no voice would possess me. I desperately looked up to Odin with a pleading look in my eyes as he pulled me into him protectively. I couldn’t be sure as to why I couldn’t speak nor did I know how to, my head began to spin the more I focused on the simple issue of forming words.

“I can see that,” The woman stated with a gentle smile.

“Odin pulled her out of the Dead Sea,” Essen said dryly as she appeared from behind an archway.

She looked annoyed as she barely glanced towards me as she folded her arms together and leaned against the archway that leads to another room. My gaze shifted from Essen to the spot just behind her as my curiosity continued to grow, I had never been within a dwelling that held the presence of so many lives all at once. All I had known was the cold abyss where nothing, but my soul existed where it awaited to be awakened by my mate.

“Don’t start,” Odin growled at Essen as he pressed a hand into the middle of my back and urged me to step forward and walk past the hostile woman who reeked of my mate.

I hate her, I decided darkly as I glared at Essen as we brushed past her.

She would be lucky if I decided to allow her to live.

I wrinkled my nose in protest at Essen as she shifted her foot and placed it before me just as I was about to pass her, I looked down a moment too late just as my ankle caught her foot causing me to trip and clumsily topple forward. Odin’s hand soon left my back as I slowly felt my body weight shift as time seemed to slow from around me, I watched in horror as the ground slowly approached me. The throw blanket shifted from around me as time seemed to speed up once more, Odin acted quickly as he wrapped his arms from around my waist just moments before my face collided with the ground.

“Essen!” Ure shouted angrily as he ran towards us with his green eyes widening with horror as Odin once again pulled me into his arms.

"Get her the hell out of here!" Odin growled as he sneered at Essen with his canines bore at her,

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Essen demanded angrily now as Odin took a step away from her as he held me close to him.

“Ure!” Odin shouted annoyed now as his temples began to pulsate as he glared at the woman who reeked of his scent.

“Yes Alpha,” Ure said as he bowed his head slightly to Odin.

“Don’t you fucking touch me, Ure!" Essen demanded just as Ure reached out to take her wrist within his hand.

“Essen…” Ure said apologetically.

“I am your Luna; you aren’t allowed to lay a finger on me!” Essen stated smugly as she withheld her hand from Ure.

“You aren’t anything of the sort and you will never be my Luna at this rate!” Odin sneered as he shifted his gaze towards Ure causing the air to feel heavy.

Odin held an unmistakable power over those who surrounded him, a power that I had known all too well as something similar was held locked deep within me in the darkest crevices of my mind. Ure swallowed nervously as he roughly grasped Essen’s wrist as she stood there in stunned silence and took that moment to drag her away.

"Let me go, Ure!" Essen screamed at him as she attempted to pull away from him.

Ure easily pulled her towards the front door and threw it open causing the now aggressive cold to enter the once warm house as Ure threw Essen outside and soon followed her out as he slammed the door shut behind them. My heart seemed to drop the moment the door slammed shut, it was at that moment that I realized just how quickly Odin’s heart had been racing as adrenalin coursed through his veins. I could sense something within him shifting as he held his breath with the veins in his neck protruding.

He’s about to shift, I realized after a moment.

The young girl's names I'rie was nowhere in sight now as she had taken off into hiding the moment Odin had raised his voice as if her instincts had told her to run.

“Immoenne, take her and get her some clothes,” Odin instructed as he barely looked towards the woman who had been standing on the other side of the room with fear in her eyes.

“Y-yes Alpha,” Immoenne said after a moment with her voice breaking the silence.

Odin released me from his arms once again as he left me standing within the arched doorway feeling nothing but surprise as I sensed my enraged mate slowly shifting with each passing moment. Something bad was about to happen, both Immoenne and I could sense it as Odin finally left us and stormed out the front door. He slammed the door harshly from behind him with the motion causing the walls to shake.

She is in danger, I thought to myself with a slight smirk.

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