“No. Nonononono. No. I’m sorry but this is just too much! I can’t take any more of this. As a matter of fact, you’ll need to come back tomorrow. I have officially reached my limit of insanity for one day and am no longer available to entertain such ridiculous things.” She looked at him completely serious. She actually expected for him to leave? 

“Mara this is a matter that has already been settled by fate. You are mine and I am yours. This is the way of it.” Ander said it so matter-of-factly as if this was something that should be obvious to her. 

“Well I hate to break it to ya but you got the wrong girl. I’m not a wolf! How could I be your mate?” Hmmm. She was more sheltered than he realized.

“Most of the time wolves mate with other wolves, yes. But it is not unheard of for us to find mates in other species, especially Alphas. Before the walls, it was very beneficial to have ties to other communities as well as offspring that will have the combined strengths of both the parents.” This reminded him she still had not told him what she was and for the life of him he couldn’t place her scent as any of the creatures he knew of.

She looked to her father for confirmation. “Is that true?” she could hardly believe what was going on. It was as if she was trapped in a wigged-out dream and could not wake up. She had started to grab onto the armrest of the couch so hard she could feel her nails going through it. 

“What he says is true. When you go to the Taabe you will see for yourself.” So there were other beings in Awenasa who were not Lycan? It had never occurred to her that might be possible. She’d always just assumed since she was the only different one in her village it was the same elsewhere. 

“Besides,” her father continued, “Even if you were not his mate, which if he says you are, you are. You know how sacred we hold matehood and would never lie about such things. But even if you weren’t, you should still go with him.” Mara turned to her father in utter confusion.

“Your mother and I have not told you everything about that night we found you in the woods.” Now, this caught Ander’s attention as well.

“We did not simply find you but were given you by Alpha Tristan. We came across him while on our run and-” 

“You said she was only twenty-two,” Ander interrupted him.  

“Aye, she was an infant when we first met her twenty-two years ago, not even weaned off of her mother's milk, which is why your brother gave her to us. My wife had just given birth to our other daughter Dakota and would be able to feed her.” 

Ander was growing on edge but she couldn’t determine why. She knew Alpha Tristan was his brother, perhaps he was pissed he had taken Mara here. Maybe, if what they said was true about there being members of other species in the Tabbe, then perhaps her birth parents were there! Maybe she didn’t have to escape Awenasa to find answers after all. 

The only drawback was she would have to go with looney tunes over here who somehow got it into his head that she was his mate. She knew how matehood worked with the wolves, even though she’d never witnessed it herself. All the wolves here were already mated before she was born. The unmated ones hadn’t found their mates yet so she’d never seen first hand how it went down.

The couples here were madly in love and the perfect match in every way. When asked they’d told her they just instantly knew they were meant for each other. The men doted on their women. The women made their men stronger, highlighting their best traits and minimizing their weaknesses. They were always together and united in every front. The complete opposite of her experience with Ander so far. 

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Which at this point didn’t matter. This was the most information she had gotten from her father about that night ever. She didn’t want Ander to jeopardize this and scare her father from sharing more. “What exactly did he say to you and mom that night? Did he say who I was or who my birth parents were? Or… what I am?” 

Ah, so she didn’t even know what she was. That explains her reaction in the woods. This couldn’t be more terrible. Without knowing her species he wouldn’t know what her weaknesses are, who her natural enemies are, how to protect her and what kind of care she would need. Another puzzle added to the list of things needing to be solved.

“No. He was wounded and not in a good state. He handed you over to us and told me you were the key to everything. That we needed to protect you with our lives. He said that one day a man would come for you and that I would know who he was when he came. Then he disappeared.” Her father reached his hand over to give hers a little squeeze.

“The only clue we had to your identity was your swaddling blanket. The name Mara was sewn into the fabrics. So that’s what we began to call you. Inside was the silk handkerchief that we gave you on your birthday a few years ago.” The one Ander still had tucked into his pocket.      

 “I am told that my brother left Awenasa over eighty-seven years ago and no one in the Taabe has seen him since. Yet you say he met you, in this remote village, twenty-two years ago and delivered Mara here. How do you know it was him?” So that’s why he was growing upset. Did he think her father was lying?

“He is the King Alpha, or was, my wolf recognized him as such.” So his brother was up to something. And whatever it was it had to do with what was happening now. His brother had brought his mate here. Could he have known who she was at the time? He needed the stability of his mate now more than ever. If she was a wolf she would know that. 

He wanted to be patient with her, he did. And though it wasn’t her fault that she did not understand the urgency they were under, it didn’t change the fact that they needed to act fast while they still had the upper hand. 

As of now, few knew of his rising, but that wouldn’t last long. They were protected from their enemies in the outside world for now, but he didn’t know how long that would last. And no amount of shield would protect them from the enemies within. 

If he was the Returned Alpha, then the finding of his mate meant he was now at his prime. This was the strongest he would ever be. He would raise the Lycan army and eradicate the demons once and for all. However, he would not be able to do that until he knew his mate was secure in his kingdom. Without his brother here and so many rivals vying for power, he would never be able to leave her. 

He had always thought his mate would be a strong, proud, stalwart force that would fight to the death to protect their family and kingdom if he fell first. But this female was tiny. She looked as if she might break if just hugged too tightly. He feared he'd never be able to attend to anything else because protecting her would require everything in him. How had she survived this long amongst rowdy and rough wolves who constantly wrestled and roughhoused? And worse would his people accept her as their queen and honor their heirs? The Lycan revered strength and power. She looked so fragile and weak.

“Do you not feed her?” It angered him, the thought of his mate needing, but at the same time gave him hope. Maybe with the proper nutrition and care, he could make her grow strong and deadly, like him. 

“Of course we do!” her father said defensively. “ She … she’s just not like us in that regard.” He must have sensed what he was getting at because he added, “We’ve never been able to get her to eat much. When she was little we were so concerned with her size we had to force her, but she would just throw it up, especially the meat. As time went on it was clear she just didn’t need the same things as us and she was still healthy. She eats very little, more like humans.” 

Wow seriously? He was disappointed that she was short? Just more proof she was not his mate. If she was then everything about her would please him.  Why should it bother her though? If it did it was only because she was vain and wanted everyone to approve of her, not because she cared what this asshole thought. 

Now was the time for her to focus. She needed to get to the Taabe and he would probably want to go after his brother. She could use this to her advantage, she didn’t technically need him to get to Awenasa. Ryker or the other merchants would be arriving in the next few days, she could convince one of them to let her ride along, or stowaway if need be.  Ander turned from her father to face her. 

“Mara there are things at play here that you do not understand. Time is of the essence. I believe these are the times the prophecy foretold. The last thing I want is for you to be unhappy, but this is bigger than just you or me. You are coming with me to the Taabe whether you want to or not. You are my mate whether you accept it or not. What your father has said indicates my brother is aware of this as well and I need to find him urgently.” 

As much as he just insulted her, this was the most respect he had talked to her with since they’d met. She wasn’t selfish, if this really was the prophecy at work then she didn’t want to stand in the way of the Lycan victory. But continuing to play into his mate fantasy would be doing more harm than good. She was not his mate, one hundred percent, no doubts about it.

For something as epic as this, he would need the strength of his destined mate. She felt sorry for whoever was unfortunate enough to get stuck with his chauvinistic relic. Then again his mate supposedly would be the one to smooth out those rough edges. All the best to her, whoever she was.