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Chapter 7- Mate?

“Where did she go?” I realized I had tightened my grip on Clay’s hand. I hope he wasn’t going to just leave like that.

He smirked at me. “Don’t worry Grace. I will be right beside you.”

For just meeting him, I knew I could trust him with my life. My heart fluttered and I felt like I could just stay in this moment. He led me into the water and even though we were in the water we were completely dry. I looked up at him as he gave me a wink. Suddenly the water shot up above us and whirled around us. Next thing I knew we were on dry land overlooking a large field where little houses were set up everywhere.

“How? What just?” Realizing I was much too intelligent to be forming such stupid fragmented sentences. Clay laughed.

“There is good magic too Grace. That barrier keeps our home safe from intrusion.” Clay stated. I just took a deep breath and looked back at where we came from.

“Bout time.” Rose said. “Let’s head into town and take you home.” I still was unsure of what was going on and how to deal with everything. I now knew that I was the golden wolf. Dark witches killed my parents. My best friend was a wolf shifter. Still so many questions remained.

I followed Rose and Clay, still holding my hand, into town. People looked at Rose and Clay with a look of respect. While they looked at me and nodded their greetings.

“These people all act like your royalty or something.” I said as a joke. Rose and Clay just laughed.

Rose was the one who replied, “We are! My dad and Mom are the Alpha and the Luna of the pack. Meaning they are like the king and queen around here.”

“Wait what!?” I blurted and stopped where I was. “King and Queen? And you are taking me to them!”

“Grace. It will be ok. They are going to love you. They have watched you grow up your whole life. You may not know them but them know you.” Clay looked me in the eyes and my body relaxed instantly.

“Okay.” I said hesitantly. We continued walking. At the end of the pathway was a mansion. It could have been considered a castle. It looked slightly out of place among the farmland fields and little cottages, but it was beautiful. It looked like the old castles you would see in pictures of Ireland or Scotland. It was majestic among the scenery.

I saw their parents from a distance at the entrance of the castle. I went to pull away my hand from Clay’s, but he held onto tighter. Letting me know he was there. I still needed to sort my way through my feelings for him. It felt like I had known him so much longer than just a few hours.

His parents smiled at me. They looked at our hands and smiled even bigger with an almost knowing look. I did not understand what it meant but Clay nodded as if he understood perfectly.

“Oh Gracie! It is so nice to see you again. I am so glad you are here!” Clay’s mother greeted me warmly in a tight hug. She was absolutely beautiful. Her olive skin shining in the sunlight. She was short like Rose but perfectly proportioned. She looked fit and her age seemed endless.

“Gracie. It is so good to see you back at the pack. I am sorry it is under these circumstances.” Clay’s dad looked at me and nodded. His blue eyes were darker than his children. He had pale skin and dark hair. He looked like a wall of a man. Strong and muscular. This couple was like the Greek gods. No wonder their children were beautiful.

“Thank you…” I stammered. I was not sure what to call them.

“Oh honey, you can call us Oliver and Sarah.” Sarah, Clay’s mother told me. It seemed much to casual looking at them and knowing they were the king and queen but I did not want to seem rude.

Thank you, Oliver and Sarah. It is nice to meet you again.” I finished.

“You must have so many questions. Clay and Rose informed me that they filled you in on some of the big stuff already.” I looked at her wondering how she knew when we just now arrived.

Rose leaned over to me, “Wolf families can talk with their minds. We call it mind linking.” Rose winked and then went back to facing her parents and giving them a hug. “Yea Mom, we tried our best but I think you all need to fill her in on some stuff. And Clay still has a BIG thing to tell her.” I look at Clay, he seemed to be blushing, but I was unsure why. He cleared his throat and gave his sister a little playful nudge.

“Clay?” I said, pleading with him to not tell me any more secrets.

“How about a walk in the garden? Just to clear your head for a bit and to process everything clearly.” Sarah said to me.

“Ok.” I still felt a bit like everyone was keeping something big from me, but I was not sure what it could be. So many big bombs had already been dropped on me today.

“I will take you.” Clay said. Guiding me with his hand that he still had not let go of, he seemed rather protective of me, and I was not complaining.

It felt good to feel so safe after today. I followed him silently to the garden that was just around the corner. It was beautiful. There were roses hanging on arbors and tulips everywhere. The colors were so vibrant. I stopped to smell a bright pink daisy and caught Clay staring at me. He pulled me into him. I could feel myself pressed up against him. Again, it felt so right and then I remembered what they told me.

“The golden wolf and her mate.” I repeated to myself in a whispered breath. Clay seemed to let out a protective growl.

“You’re my mate, aren’t you?” I look at him. He is staring at me right into my eyes, but his stare seems to go deep into my soul.

“I am. I did not want to freak you out. But not touching you when I can sense your uneasiness was so difficult. Then when I held your hand, I could not let go.” Clay tilted my head up so that I was looking at his eyes.

“How do you know that I am your mate?” I ask. I just felt a pull that I could not ignore. What did he feel?

“Well, you smell amazing.” I giggled not really thinking about my smell. But then also thinking in the back of my mind somewhere buried deep that Clay smelled like coffee and cinnamon. “Also, my wolf instantly knew you were our mate when you looked me in the eyes.”

“Really? Alex likes me then?” I ask sheepishly.

“Oh more than you know. I am trying very hard to keep him at bay for you.” Clay said in a way that made all the dirty thoughts from earlier come back. Images of him naked above me and my nails digging into his skin flashed. I saw his eyes go dark as I continued to think about all the ways I had read about men pleasing women.

Wondering how well Clay would probably please me.

He growled then. “Wolves smell… everything Gracie. They can pick up on your fear, pride and,” he lowered his voice into my ear, “arousal.”

“Oh.” I said, blushing terribly. I had been caught and did not even know it. I would have to do a better job of hiding that. “Tell me about this mate bond. You told me the legend and that no wolf should be alone but what does that mean for you and me?”

Clay took in a deep breath and sighed loudly. I could tell he was trying to think of exactly the right thing to say. “When wolves find each other, they choose whether to accept the mate bond or reject it. It is very painful to be rejected because it is the other half of your soul saying they do not want you.”

I gasp, “How terrible. Why would people do that?”

“Well sometimes they find someone else and mate with them before they found their goddess given mate. Or they are just cruel.” Clay states. “Wolves live for about 300 or so years. To go throughout life alone would be terrible. So people just mate instead of waiting.”

“300 or so years? That is a very long time.” I said shocked by the amount of time.

“Yes. People stop aging a bit in there prime around 30 and then start aging again in there 250s. The mate bond was made to be very very strong to stand the test of time. Once fully mated it is hard to even be separated from your mate.” This was so interesting to me.

“What do you mean fully mated?” Clay took a deep breath again. It was like a tell for him when he had to tell me something I may not want to hear. All of this so far sounded fine by me. I get to be with this man forever. Sign me up!

“If you notice on wolves, they have markings on their necks. Right where the shoulder and neck meet.” He bends and licks and nips me right where he is talking about. I moan against my will. “Well to be fully mated you bite your mate there. Since we are shifters it heals right up, but “

“You bite each other?” For some reason even though it sounded weird it also sounded completely intoxicating.

“Yes.” He states trying to gauge my response. “From what I have heard it does not hurt and if you time it right it can bring immense pleasure.” He sounds like he is trying to talk me into it. My only concern is that I have no wolf.

“If my parents were wolves why am I not a wolf?” I ask changing topics but not on purpose, simply because I am curious how someone with no wolf could be mated to someone who is. Also, how am I suppose to be the ‘golden wolf’ for the wolves with no wolf?

“I am actually not sure. It may be a good question for my parents. How are you feeling about all this mate stuff?” He looks at me again.

I couldn’t help it. I reached up on my tip toes and pressed my lips gently against his.

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