Chapter 6

I woke to the sound of voices mumbling downstairs. I got up and quickly showered and dressed. Satisfied I looked alright, I made way down the stairs. My foot had barely stopped on the bottom step when the voices silenced. I froze, not sure what to do.

Erik appeared from around the wall to the kitchen and dining area, where the family must have been seated. A grin grew on his face as his eyes raked over my body.

“Come on, kitten, we don’t bite.” He said without losing his grin.

I nodded and took a few steps forward, putting me right in front of him.

“At least not until you want us to.” He added in a hushed whisper that made my face heat.

I stepped into the kitchen and looked at the family sitting around the table. My mates where there, with a middle-aged woman who had kind, brown eyes, and brown hair. Sitting to her left were two very large middle-aged men, one of which had yellow eyes with gray hair. The other was brown haired and eyed, like the other two men on the woman’s right. Beside the last man was a female who looked to be in her early 20’s. She had brown hair, and yellow eyes.

“Good morning, you must be Astrid.” The woman said with a smile. “I’m Brodil, welcome to the family. My boys have waited so long for you.”

“I’m Bo.” said the man directly to Brodil’s left.

“I’m Skarde.” said the man with the yellow eyes.

“I’m Ulf.” Said the first man to the right.

“And I’m Harald, this is Hilda.” Said the last man who also gestured to the young woman beside him.

“You are the leaders of the territory, correct?” I asked, taking a seat as Rune placed a cup of coffee in front of me.

I smiled at him as he took his seat beside me.

“Yes.” Skarde answered for them.

“You don’t come from a territory, correct. You were a rogue?” Bo asked.

“Yes, I was raised human. I never knew there were territories or others like me until I met your sons.” I said, staring at my cup of coffee.

“Then the last few days must have been a shock.” Brodil said, softly.

“Yes, ma’am.” I replied.

“Please, call me Brodil, or Mom.” she said with a wave of her hand.

I nodded.

“We are still covering how pack life works. We’ve only gone over mates so far but planned on covering the rest this afternoon.” Frode said.

“Are you sure, you want to us to share what we know then, son?” Ulf asked.

“Yes, we can explain as we need to.” Frode replied.

“Well, then the cut and dry version is there’s a prophecy. A lot relies on your mating and actions to save shifters.” Skarde said, bluntly.

“What do you mean?” I asked, unable to keep the concern from my voice.

“Well, prophecy says that a leader pack to be would find an unfamiliar mate who was different. They would work to protect and save shifters from going extinct. Other supernatural beings and hunters would band together to eliminate us so they could rule the humans as slavers.” Skarde replied.

“How does us going extinct have to do with saving humans?” I asked confused as to where the connection would be.

“We protect the humans from rogues, and other supernaturals. Most want to live peacefully, but some want to use humans as slaves.” Sten said.

“So, we hunt them and protect humans. But humans don’t know we exist?” I asked.

“That is correct, and the way it has to stay.” Sten said. “Humans live blindly in a world where they are surrounded by monsters they don’t know about. If they did, they would panic and go on killing sprees. We help maintain balance and peace between humans and supernaturals. We handle the ones that don’t want to play by the rules, and let the good ones keep living peacefully. Bottom line-no one can see you shift outside the territory.”

I nodded my understanding.

“But how do we know the prophecy is speaking of us?” I asked.

“Because of you. You have old magic. Seers used to more common but were still rare. Today there are only a few left, including you. Plus, you weren’t raised as a shifter.” Ulf answered.

We sat in quiet for a few moments. I was processing what I’d heard, while the others watched me.

“So, if I ignore the bond shifters will be killed off and humans turned to slaves?” I asked, nervous of the answer.

“Yes.” Brodil answered.

“If I accept the bond, do I have to accept the…. prophecy?” I asked.

“No, but you would sentence us all to death.” Brodil said, a chill in her voice.

“I never asked for this.” I shot back before I even thought about how it would sound.

Ulf growled from his position by his mate.

“Astrid means no harm. She’s adjusting. She’ll mind her tone.” Frode said, sending a dark look my way.

I glared at him, angry at being talked about like I was child.

“It was nice meeting you. I apologize for any offense I’ve caused, but I need some time and space to process…everything.” I said with a wave of my hand.

I turned on my heel and moved to the door when a growl sounded from behind me.

“Astrid, we aren’t finished talking.” Erik said.

“Then you can fill me in, when I get back.” I said, stepping outside onto the porch and shutting the door behind me.

I’d barely made it to the tree line when I felt a presence behind me. Figuring it was one of my mates I kept walking. A few moments later I realized the shifter wasn’t going to let me be, so I turned around to face them. Hilda stood behind me, frozen in place when I looked at her.

“I wanted to talk with you.” She said softly.

I slumped onto fallen tree trunk and looked back to her. She took a few hesitant steps and sat beside me.

“My parents aren’t used to be challenged. They have been the leaders for so long they forget what it’s like to be new to the pack and pack life. Mother is also very protective of us. So, when you protested the prophecy and your place in it, she saw it as a threat to us. I’m not making excuses or justifying their actions, but letting you know where they stand. I guess, trying to get you to see their side as the leaders and protectors of the territory.” Hilda said quietly.

I nodded but didn’t say anything.

“Were you really raised a human?” She asked after a few moments of silence.

“Yes.” I answered.

“How did your parents not know?” She asked, confusion marring her pretty face.

“My parents died when I was very young. I was raised by foster parents. Some were decent, but most only wanted the perks of having foster children. They never really cared about us. It was easy to hide.” I said, trying to stay vague.

“What about your first shift?”

“Well, I guess you can say they knew.” I said.

“Knew? Past tense.” She stated.

“Yes, my shifting caused their death. I was standing too close when I shifted and, well, I didn’t shift again until the next full moon. I never shifted except on full moons when the pull was too strong to deny.” I said, staring at our footprints in the snow.

“Well, I should head back. One of my brothers just entered the woods, and my parents are waiting for me to leave. I hope we’ll get to talk again soon. I hope my parents didn’t scare you off. My mates want to meet you, so hopefully we’ll see each other soon. I think after the shock wears off, you’ll fit in just fine.” She said, standing up.

I looked up to see Erik leaning against a tree, waiting for us to finish our discussion. I stood up as he approached me. He nodded and smiled to his sister as they passed each other.

“That’s why you froze in the car when we asked about your childhood. You have a dark past.” He said, bringing his hand up to cup my cheek.

I only nodded, not meeting his eyes.

“Frode is mad, isn’t he?” I asked quietly.

“Yes, kitten, but you’ll soon learn Frode is some level of angry-even on a good day. We should have gone over the pack hierarchy, and etiquette before we talked with our mom and dads. We didn’t think, and that’s on us. So, some of his anger is at us-not just you.” He said, removing his hand from my cheek and taking my hand.

I’d noticed that when my mates touched me it made my skin hum, and my magic come forward. I was growing to like it.

“I didn’t mean to offend anyone, I guess I’m still reeling from the past few days. I mean my world has been turned completely upside down in the last three days. I met you, left my home and career, learned I had not one person that was meant for me but four. And then today we learned that the entire human and shifter population needs us to survive. I just…”

“Hey, I know. So do my brothers. But you aren’t alone. We’ll face it together, one day at a time. We’ll help you learn your magic and control over your wolf. We’ll face it together.” Erik said, stopping my rambling. “Come, the others are waiting, we’ll go over some of what we should have told you and then take the rest of the day and be lazy.” He said pulling me back towards the cabin.

I nodded and took a step but then came to a sudden stop when a pain shot through my head. Erik looked at me, panic on his face, and then another blinding pain shot through my head. I dropped to my knees, holding my head. Flashes of images pulsed through my mind. A lake with a boat. A pretty girl. Blood smeared on docks. A symbol. As quickly as the pain started it ebbed back away, leaving me panting on my hands and knees.

“Astrid, are you alright?” Erik asked as he reached for me, he sounded out of breath also.

“Yea. Yea, I’m fine.” I said, taking a deep breath.

Footsteps on snow grew closer, and I looked up to see my other three mates running towards us.

“What happened?” Frode growled, dropping to his knees beside me.

His hands ran over my body looking for wounds.

“I’m fine, I just had a vision.” I said, brushing his hands away.

I looked up to see four concerned faces looking at me. My vision locked on Erik, a question on the tip of my tongue. He only nodded, having known what I was going to ask. He’d seen it too.