Chapter 40
After Jasper left the hospital I figured Devran would too. He didn’t.
“You don’t have to feel obligated to keep me company. I’m not afraid to be alone” I told him. He just looked at me long and hard which made me squirm.
“What?” I finally had to ask.
“How long have you known you are a Mystic? Did you know this before I rejected you?” He asked me outright. I snorted. “No, I didn’t know then” I shook my head. He just continued to study me.
“I told you I wasn’t a weakness to your pack. I guess I proved myself right. None of you gave me a chance but it’s alright because I understand now the power I have” I held my head up high and proud.
“We could have never guessed something like this” he ran his hand down his jaw which made a sound against his stubble.
“Doesn’t matter anymore” I told him. Again we just looked at each other.
“It would have been a factor that changed things, Mira.” He sounded frustrated like I wasn’t understanding why he brought this up. I understood just fine.
“I’m glad it happened this way. You would’ve only wanted me for what I could give you and your pack. You wouldn’t care about Mira the person. At least now I know where I stand with you.”
He stood up and paced the end of my bed.
“You acted like that was an easy decision. It didn’t matter how I did or did not feel about Mira the person. I had to put my Pack first” he defended himself like a broken record.
“Why are we talking about this? What does this have to do with our current circumstances. So you found out I was a Mystic, fine, okay, now what?” I slapped the bed in frustration.
He paused at the end of my bed and his large firm chest was visibly rising and falling.
“I broke our bond. Whatever the Moon Goddess wanted of our union is ruined” his jaw was tight but he wasn’t mad at me, he was mad at himself.
“You aren’t going to use me. Had we been in a relationship I would consider this something I share but this is my gift and I will choose when and where I use it.
You can’t just reject me and have a new mate but still expect me to be by your side like some pet” I shook my head and looked away from him.
“You’re always going to hold this against me, aren’t you? You haven’t once looked at it from my side of things. A human would have been harmful to the pack. There are no records of such a bond because the supernatural and natural should never mix.
"Now that we understand you are supernatural, yes, it would’ve worked out. But you can’t blame me, Mira, for not wanting to chance it when I'm responsible for hundreds of people!” He shouted at me for no good reason.
“Why are you yelling at me!” I yelled back.
When someone from the hall popped their head in to see what the commotion was about he snapped his jaws at them and in his alpha voice he told them all to mind their business and slammed the door closed.
“I’m just frustrated” he lowered his voice. “Why?” I asked him. He looked at me like I had seven heads for not understanding why.
“Because I don’t view things from your side of it or because you regret rejecting me?” I asked the obvious question. He clenched and unclenched his jaw but he didn’t answer me.
“The elders will wanna see you when you get released from the hospital and are rested enough to join us for a pack meeting” his tone went straight back to business. I nodded okay because I figured this would happen.
Devran left the end of my bed and walked up to where Jasper’s leftover seat was. Instead of sitting on the chair he sat at the edge of the mattress and looked at me.
From this close every beautiful feature on that man’s face is perfectly visible. I had to look away.
“We never got to talk about what happened between us that night” he brought up something I thought he wanted to ignore. He'd avoided me after our little drunken sleep over but now he wants to talk about it?
“We were drunk. We didn’t even c-continue it. Nothing to say about it” I looked down at my lap because I felt my hot cheeks. With two fingers he tipped my chin up so I was forced to look at him.
For a second his eyes dropped down to my lips. My heart rate spiked and I’m connected to a monitor so that was definitely noticeable which is totally embarrassing.
“I wanted to follow through with it” he admitted. That shifted the air in the room and our eyes lingered on one another’s. I saw his jaw pressed and his nostrils flare when we were interrupted.
“Doc here” the woman who has been overseeing my care came walking in, oblivious to the moment she had just interrupted.
What did he mean he wanted to follow through with it? Did he wanna have sex with me or something? I told him I was a virgin though.
“I’m coming to bring you in for some blood work if that’s okay?” She asked me, or her Alpha, I actually don’t know. Either way, Devran stood up and dismissed himself.
Was Dev just saying he wanted to continue our hook up because I’m now something of value to him? I was inferior trash to him before this. I won’t forget the harsh words he told me before realizing I am a Mystic.
I won’t let him trick me into believing he wants me just so he can fix what he broke and keep a Mystic in his pocket for his own personal use. Everyone will be looking at me differently now and I don’t think I like that idea anymore.
-
When I returned home in the morning it was Gran who came to check me out. She wanted to see how I was but also talk to me about how our little shared secret was out of the bag.
I had her come over to the cottage for tea.
“Don’t let none of these men bully you into anything. They underestimated you and it’s their loss” the strong elder-wolf held her chin up high. I loved that she was rallying behind me on this.
Even against her own son, grandson, and the council.
“I wanted to be one of the first to say thank you for what you did for this pack and this forest. You saved a lot of people and a lot of trees and woodland creatures. I wish I'd seen it with my own eyes. Most of us do.
It sounds incredible what you pulled off” she turned serious and took my hand in her thinned wrinkled one.
I smiled and thanked her. She hasn’t changed a bit. I hope the rest of the community follows suit.
“You possess a lot of power if you were able to do what you did but you see now that your body is what will be sacrificed if you overuse your gifts. Be careful, okay honey?”
I nodded okay because I definitely got to see and feel exactly what’ll happen if I try to move rain and air at the magnitude that I had. It was survival instincts though.
I saw all the people I care about being thrown into danger and people were getting hurt. I panicked, but that’s what came out of me.
I have to go to the sacred circle and give thanks to the Moon Goddess for her guidance because I think she made me cry to show me that I could bring forth rain. I have no other logical explanation for breaking down in tears at that moment.
I want to make an offering to the Goddess in thanks and show her my respect and loyalty to her. I wasn’t a believer of a higher power before being here and meeting the wolves who are so loyal to this Goddess, but now I am.
I have adopted the beliefs of the Werewolf people.
Once Gran left the cottage I knew where I wanted to go next. They told me to rest and drink plenty of fluids but I slept for three days or was passed out, whatever. Now I knew I needed to go do what I felt I needed to do.
I walked down to Taza, the woman who makes her own handcrafted jewelry and sells her pieces at the market every month.
She has what she calls a she-shed that is her own mini workplace in the shape and size of a shed. Her doors are usually kept open so you can see her there if you look in the yard of her cottage where it's kept.
“Taza?” I called out to her.
“Back here” I heard the woman’s voice.
She was in a long flowy maxi dress and her hair was clipped up like it usually is so she can wear her dangly earrings. She had glasses seated at the brim of her nose which I guess she uses when she works.
“Mira! Oh, I’m so glad you’re feeling better” she hopped off her stool once she realized it was me who was coming into her yard. She gave me a warm embrace which was nice.
I think I was feeling overwhelmed because I'm not used to anyone caring about me. Like ever. I’ve never ever had anyone check up on me for anything. I could be sick as a dog and my mother was always oblivious to it all.
“I’ve come here to ask you something. Do you sell moonstones just on their own as crystals?” I asked her. “Sure” she nodded. “Great, how much for one about this big” I showed her my palm.
“Is this for you?” She asked me. “Yes, well, no. It’s for the Moon Goddess” I explained.
“To give thanks” she pieced it together easily. “I’ll tell you what. This one is free as a thanks to both you and our Goddess for protecting us and saving our homes and our forest” she told me.
My eyes went wide. “No, no. I’m willing to pay. I know it’s hard to come across precious stones” I shook my head at her.
“Mira, hun, you’re literally a walking miracle. Please, let this be my offering to you” she said before rushing into her shed to find the stone she was looking for.
I gasped when I saw the polished almost soap shaped stone. “Oh Taza” I was speechless. She placed it in my palm and smiled at me.
“Mira, you are a glorious thing” she told me, before releasing my hand and letting me go. I looked at the stone the whole way home because of how pretty it was.
When I got home I wrote a note to the Moon Goddess and I grabbed a bowl, some beautiful lavender and rosemary and grabbed a candle and lighter.
I will burn them in the bowl and send it’s smoke up into the universe. It’s how some make their offering to their deities.
I packed a small bag and took off to the woods where my pink trail still showed me how to get to and from the sacred circle. Once I got there I walked to the altar and lit the other candles.
Then set my bowl down, my own candle, my beautiful herbs, and my note. I burned the tip of the paper until everything lit with fire and the remnants burned as I watched. I placed the moonstone on the altar amongst the other candles.
I sat down and meditated as I do and I was in a peaceful state.
When I heard twigs breaking I opened my eyes and beyond the circle of trees was a family of deer. They stood there as though they had been watching me meditate.
They looked beautiful and I smiled at the sight of them. We acknowledged each other but didn’t bother one another as we all carried on with what each of us were doing.
They were grazing for food. The way the sun rays came through the slits of the trees looked enchanting against its forest creatures.
When I began to meditate again an image of myself in the burnt portion of the forest surfaced in my mind. I was walking around placing my palm on burnt trees and whispering things.
I looked sad for this scorched earth and I was dropping seedlings on the ground and doing other things that weren’t too clear to me as I lost the image.
I found it curious but I knew I should probably go visit that area once it is for sure that everything has cooled down. The ashes remain hot for a while.
When my offering had completely burned I buried it’s ashes in the dirt to properly dispose of the remnants then I packed my things and headed back to the village.
The moonstone will be staying there. I trust no one will steal it. If they try I hope they get stung by a bug and leave the offering alone.
I should’ve known I couldn’t disappear for a few hours without people looking for me. I was just reaching the clearing close to our village when Mel and Jasper popped up.
“UGH, there you are! We’ve been looking for you” she huffed in annoyance. “Sorry, I had things to do” I accepted the hug she gave me. It’s the first time she is seeing me outside of the hospital.
“Things to do?! Two seconds after recovering you have business to tend to?” Jasper scoffed at my answer. I laughed but didn’t further explain.