Makara Ch. 07

I was expecting the same blackness as before, but was instead greeted with a light glow, although I didn't see where it was coming from. Turning, I searched for the source, finding only a woman, skin as dark as night and hair as pale as the moon.

My breath caught as I realized I could only be looking at the Moon Goddess herself. She looked frail, fragile, almost weak. No, weak wasn't the right word, she still emanated power. She flashed me a friendly smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. Instead they were filled with exhaustion, and anger. I knew instinctively her rage wasn't meant for me and allowed my gaze to follow when she lifted her hand to point at something.

A beautiful stone pool presented itself before me. A pillar in the middle, carved to look like two wolves, supported a smaller bowl, running over with crystal clear water.

As I watched, the fountain began to run dry, the flow of water slowing to the slightest trickle before stopping completely. It allowed me a moment to admire the artwork of the carved wolves. With this closer look I could see the way the wolves were positioned, each baring their neck to the other.

One of the wolves was obviously bigger than the other, easily identifiable as an Alpha. Perhaps this other wolf was his mate? That might explain why they would submit to each other, but even that explanation didn't seem right. While most Luna's are relied on to support the Alpha, and will run the pack if the Alpha is away, they are still expected to submit to the Alpha's final say, should they choose to exercise it. I couldn't think of a situation where an Alpha would be required to submit to anyone.

Walking to the other side, I found the pillar also depicted the Moon Goddess, sitting peacefully on crossed legs, with her eyes closed. I reached out to run my fingers over the smooth stone, but it cracked under my touch. Frowning, I pulled my hand away.

The base of the fountain shook and groaned as it roared back to life, clear water once more over flowing the bowl at the top. I smiled at the sight, running my fingertips through the refreshing coolness of the stream.

My eyes closed as the constant beat of the water on my hand relaxed me. As I stood there, almost wishing I would never have to leave, the cool water turned warm, and gained a thickness that turned my stomach.

Opening my eyes, I jumped back as blood spilled over my hand. I cried out as the hard corner of a wooden table dug into my back, and turned to face it in shock. A woman, limbs barely as thick as the bones that supported them, sat on a tall stool by the table. She didn't seem to notice me.

Looking behind me, I could still see the fountain in the distance, Although much farther away than it was a moment ago. Its new scarlet appearance gave me a sense of foreboding.

The old lady's cackling drew my attention back to her. Her knotted hair hung past her shoulders, and the side of her face that I could see was sunken. She looked ill, as though some disease had crawled into her, stealing away any connection she may have had to beauty.

She poured over various old books as they bared their pages for her, offering the vast knowledge they were sure to contain. I tried to read over her shoulder, but couldn't make out the words, through the fancy lettering.

"You're almost done." I nearly hit the ceiling as she spoke, startling me.

Without looking, her hand reached out to absently tap a closed book beside her. I looked over at the book, unsure if she was talking to me and trying to figure out what was going on. I recognized the symbol on the cover, I had seen it before, but I couldn't place it.

"Soon," A distorted voice, distinctly male, but unrecognizable, said from behind me.

Turning to see who had spoken, I found no one, but was confronted with a stab of pain through my back and shoulders. As quickly as I had fallen into the hallucination, the agony pulled me right back out, and I was, once again, vaguely aware of my surroundings.

"I have as much right as you do. You know what that means," Atlar, I thought, spoke earnestly.

"Yeah, the meaning is hard to miss, you're not being very subtle," Cade replied. "But it's still no."

"Out! Both of you! Now!" Tal yelled at them. "She doesn't need to hear you guys arguing about whatever the hell it is you're arguing about."

As if her order was meant for me as well, blackness overtook me.

The back and forth was getting exhausting, and I sighed into the empty space of darkness before me. A small whine caught my attention. Spinning to look behind me, I saw the white wolf from my previous dreams, her pristine fur nearly glowing.

I reached out, hesitating when I remembered the searing pain I had endured the first time I stepped towards her. Deciding nothing could hurt worse than the shift itself, I lifted my hand to greet her.

She moved into my palm, allowing me to run my fingers through her soft fur. I smiled as she leaned into me when I scratched behind her ear.

She sat on her haunches, having seemingly had enough contact, pulling away from me. I watched her for a moment, before moving my gaze to stare at my hand, now looking like it had been tarred and feathered in blood and white fur.

It took all my effort to stop my hand from shaking at the sight. I balled my fist and dropped it to my side, hoping to make sure the wolf was okay. Instead, Emery kneeled in her place. All the color had drained from her and she swayed precariously.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

She gripped at her stomach, blood pouring down her chin and sputtering from her mouth when she tried to respond.

I jerked awake, finally breaking through the barrier keeping me from consciousness. My eyes flew open and I sat up as quickly as I could, tears already flowing, and sobs racking my whole body.

"Shhh, it's okay, Makara. You're alright," Silas' voice soothed me, and I managed to take a deep breath to stop my body from shaking.

I could see I was laying on the couch, and from the way Silas softly brushed my arms, I could tell he was behind me. His right leg stretched out beside mine, pressed into the plush cushion of the back of the couch. His left was bent to my other side, foot resting on the floor. I realized absently that I must have been leaning on him.

"You're alright," he repeated, pulling back gently on my shoulders. "Lean back. The pain is over now, Makara, you need rest. You must be exhausted."

His calming tone helped me get myself back together. I really was exhausted, and the prospect of unencumbered sleep was so enticing, I couldn't resist allowing him to pull me against his chest. Almost immediately, I sank into the first truly empty sleep since I came to the hotel.

Blinking my eyes open, I felt fantastically renewed, and stretched the stiffness from my muscles. Propping myself up on my elbows, my attention settled on Silas, sat rigidly in the big arm chair across from me, his head leaning back and eyes closed. Watching him brought a smile to my face as his chest rose and fell with the gentle slowness of sleep.

As if on cue, he seemed to startle himself awake, coughing slightly to clear his dry throat.

"Morning," I greeted him quietly.

"Actually," he started, inspecting his wrist for the time, squinting to clear his tired fog. "It's quite late into the evening."

"Really?" I was surprised by his revelation. "It was barely afternoon when I left the meeting, I must have been out for a long time."

"Makara," he spoke my name delicately, leaning over to rest his elbows on his knees. "Your wolf pushed your shift for nearly twelve hours, and afterwards, you rested for almost double that."

Too shocked to speak, I simply stared at him. That was much longer than usual. Most shifts only lasted two to three hours. Even the strongest of wolves didn't typically push for more than six. Twelve hours was unheard of. If the shift was so long, it only made sense the rest period would be longer as well.

"So what does that mean? Why am I so different?" I didn't really expect Silas to know, but catching my slightly worried tone, he answered me anyway. I shifted to make room as he came to sit beside me on the couch.

"It means you're incredible. More so than we already knew." I flushed red at his compliment and he brushed my cheek with his thumb, a shiver running through me at his proximity. "The strength you would have needed to endure that...you're truly impressive, Makara."

I didn't know what to say, so we sat quietly, comfortably, until Silas broke the silence.

"Have you met her yet?"

I shook my head, knowing he was asking about my wolf.

"Not really. I think I might have seen her while I was unconscious, but it was only for a second, and she didn't speak to me." Because I had seen her before my shift, I didn't even know if the white wolf was mine, or if I simply conjured her in my mind.

"Well, give her some time. She'll be tired as well."

I smiled at him. I had been a little worried that I hadn't felt her yet, both nervous and excited for what it would be like when I finally did, but Silas' words were able to comfort me. It made sense, her mind, if not her body, needed rest as much as mine did.

"Are you hungry?" He asked me. "I could have Tracey bring something up."

"Tracey? Not Emery?" A painful flash of memory invaded me as I mentioned her name, the image of her blood dripping from her mouth still fresh.

"No. Not Emery. Never again will it be Emery."

My stomach sank as I tried to understand the meaning of his words. I didn't care for her, but his statement was ominous. Had Emery been the next victim to go missing? Is that why I saw her? Seeing the panic written on my face, Silas took pity on me and explained.

"I banished her."

"You what?"

"I banished her," he repeated before elaborating. "Bridger and I discovered she was the one who let Rodan into the suite the night he defiled you." I shifted awkwardly in my seat as his tone made the disgust that he felt very clear.

"Wow." I knew she didn't like me, even saw me as a threat to her precious attempts at seizing power through seduction, but this seemed a little drastic. Regardless of what Rodan had told her to get her to open the door, she still had no way of knowing his intentions.

"You'll have to find someone else to have your little feud with."

I glared at him as he chuckled, having successfully distracted me from the shock of Emery's actions.

"And you'll have to find someone else to bend over for you."

I regretted the words the instant they left my mouth and wished desperately that I could take them back. He leaned in to me, close enough for our cheeks to touch as he spoke softly into my ear.

"I'm working on that."

I swallowed hard and tried to control my body's reaction, scenting for the first time, my own arousal in the air.

He backed off, standing up and walking towards the door.

"Follow me."

"Right now?"

"Yes."

"Why? Where are we going?"

He ignored me, but I found him waiting for me in the hallway when I finally got there. A quick ride in the elevator brought us to the main floor, and I nearly had to run to follow his long strides out the door.

There was a slight drizzle of rain, the droplets of water just large enough to send the scent of wet earth into the air. My new heightened senses picked it up easily, I had never smelled anything like it.

Turning my attention upwards, I found even the sky had a scent. Or maybe it was the rain itself, or the trees that stretched tall on the other side of the clearing. It didn't matter what it was, only that it was incredible.

At first I had silently questioned why Silas would bring me outside in the middle of the night, thinking that whatever he had to show me could wait until a more reasonable time. But after experiencing it for myself, I didn't want to wait another minute.

I stepped onto the grass, opened up my arms and inhaled deeply, not caring how the rain soaked through my shirt, chilling the skin underneath.

Silas came over to stand behind me.

"I wanted to be the first to show you this. When I first shifted, the scent I loved the most was the fresh air, nature. It never fails to give me peace. It looks like it does the same for you." He chuckled.

"It's absolutely breathtaking. I feel so much more open to the world."

"You've only just scratched the surface. Scent is the easiest of your new senses to master, but also one of the most powerful. If you lost all your other senses, you could still have a complete picture of your environment based on the way it smells. Hearing is the same, but takes more practice."

I turned to look at Silas, my attention pulled away from nature by the passion in his words. It was obvious this was important to him, and as I watched him take it all in, I felt lucky that he had shared it with me.

The rain started to pick up and I shivered as it claimed the last dry inch of my clothing. Silas ushered me inside, insisting I would have plenty of time to enjoy nature later.

"I'm going to change, and then make some tea to warm us up," Silas told me before heading off towards his bedroom.

I hurried into my own room, anxious to get out of my wet clothes. Stripping them off, I quickly realized that the air was nearly as cold on my damp skin as the soaked fabric had been. I slipped into a warm pair of track pants and looked around for my sweater. Spotting the sleeve sticking out of my laundry hamper, I moved to pull it out, nearly gagging as the scent of old sweat wafted up from the basket. My new sense of smell wasn't always a good thing, there was no way I could wear that.

Instead, I put on my warmest, clean t-shirt and left my room hugging my cold arms tightly to my chest. Wandering into the kitchen, I found a bare chested Silas, filling a kettle for the tea, as promised.

"Cold?" He asked me when he noticed me.

"Frozen."

"Don't you have a sweater?"

"It sort of...stinks," I responded, red faced and annoyed that I had only thought to bring one from the estate. He chuckled, putting the kettle on the stove and turning on the flame.

"Don't worry, even the bad smells don't bother you as much once you get used to them."

"Can't wait," I moved closer to the stove, warming my hands up by the heat it provided. Silas disappeared somewhere behind me, and I turned just in time to see him slip out of the room. I knew he would be back, there were two mugs with tea bags sitting on the counter, so I continued to enjoy the warmth of the flame, although it did little to heat my arms or body.

Silas came back just as the kettle started to whistle, tossing me a large ball of fabric as he encouraged me to step out of his way with a wave of his hands.

"Put this on, it should keep you warm."

I unraveled the sweater, tugging it over my head as Silas poured boiling water into each of the mugs. It was much too big for me, but it was cozy, and it smelled like him. It was a good smell, I decided, inhaling the scent deeply.

When I turned back to him, he held his arms out, wrapping them around me. Tentatively, I moved into his grasp, letting him rub at my back and arms to generate heat. My arms were lodged between my chest and his, but I didn't mind.

Normally, being this close to him, I would be filled with tension. But, surprisingly, Silas kept his hands restricted to above my waist, and never tried to gain access to my front. The embrace was nothing but comfortable, and I quickly found myself leaning into him, resting my head on his chest.

I started to feel a tingling in my arms and pulled them out of their confined space. As I was still borrowing Silas' body heat, I didn't want to pull away completely and they settled absently in the most agreeable position they could find, one wrapped around his back, and the other hung loosely at his hip.

It occurred to me that his attempt to provide heat was now, more or less, a hug. I might have been bothered if this had happened at another time, but at the moment I was content in his arms.

"Better?"

"Yes," I replied quietly. "Thank you."

Neither of us pulled back, or let the other go. We stayed there, standing entwined in the kitchen for a few minutes that felt like hours.

I was getting sleepy, and a yawn stretched my lips. Wait. I lifted my head, confused. I hadn't yawned, so why did it feel like I had? A rush of excitement flooded me, as I realized what was happening. It forced me to take a step back, placing an invisible barrier between Silas and I that wasn't previously there.

A wide grin split my face as I could feel another consciousness start to emerge. It was still groggy, and not nearly coherent enough to have a conversation with, but I could tell that it was rapidly gaining awareness.

"Is she finished resting?" Silas questioned, noticing my change in demeanor and quickly guessing the reason.

I nodded, making no attempt to hide my enthusiasm. He smiled back at me.

"I'll leave you to your wolf then."

Opening his arms, he released me from his tight embrace. He tipped my head up towards his with a finger under my chin, lightly touching his lips to mine. It was charged with raw sensuality, but he kept that well at bay and on the surface it was sweet and I returned the kiss with the same gentleness he had offered me. Then, as quickly as his lips had made contact, they were gone, and Silas was on his way out of the kitchen, a mug of tea grasped firmly in his hand.

I wrapped myself tighter in his sweater as the cold creeped back in now that I was alone. I touched a finger to my lips, still tingling slightly. I felt weak, unsure of what to do or how to feel. There had been a softness to our night, an innocence that seemed to leave us both vulnerable, and I caught myself wondering if Silas had planned it that way.

I didn't have much time to muse on the thought as a mental prod caught my attention. My wolf was awake!

•°~~****~~°•

I laid back on my bed, picking up my phone, once again staring at the text from Rodan.

"I want to make sure you're okay. I've been waiting for you to wake up so I can see you before I leave."

It was a simple message, on the surface. But after everything that had happened it was heavy with implications. Did Rodan truly care enough about me to be concerned? Or was he still just trying to convince me to go home with him?

A swirl of feelings pushed through me and I sighed. I was still getting used to my wolf's way of communicating, but it was difficult to pick out the meaning of any combination of emotions and images she sent to me.

"This would be easier if you could just speak to me," I thought to her.

She twitched her ears, growling low in her throat. Her teeth remained hidden though, she wasn't threatening me, simply expressing her discontent with my statement.

"What? I'm not wrong."

Within the confines of my mind, she flicked her tail at me. Sassy little thing.

An unmistakable feeling of hers washed over me. Guilt. I knew she felt bad we couldn't speak to each other the way other pairings were able to. The pairing of wolf to human was supposed to give the wolves the ability to speak our language, which made communication easy, even when the compact headspace made it difficult. But, for some reason, she couldn't, and neither of us knew why.

She could push her influence, making me feel emotions and small sensations, even hear or see things, and while she could understand everything I said, she was unable to respond in kind. It could be hard to decipher what she was trying to say, or to separate her emotions from mine. But if I looked deep enough, there was a distinct difference between them. It was definitely going to take some getting used to.

"Don't feel bad, sweet girl, we'll figure out our own language."

She closed her eyes, pushing her head forward as if to nuzzle me. I had come to understand that this meant she was happy. She had managed to get a few things across to me. Already, I knew she felt our bond as fiercely as I did, even having just met. She had been with me my whole life, dormant, but watching, like a guardian angel. She knew everything about me, what it was like growing up without a mother, the way my father had always coddled me and the pain of losing him despite that. She knew what had transpired since his passing, about my move to the hotel, even my strange dreams and the sexual feelings I had for the Alphas, Cade and Atlar. But she was just as confused by them as I was. She didn't seem to have any insight into the disappearances either.