Mates

"Charon! Helena!" Felicia greeted as they stepped into the house, throwing her arms around them and pulling them into a hug. Which was quite a feat seeing as how short her arms were compared to Charon's large form was.

"Felicia," Charon answered with a quick kiss to her soft cheek then pulled back and hurried away, leaving the two women alone.

"I thought you would be at the bakery by now," Helena commented as the shorter woman led her up the stairs.

"This is far more important than kneading dough, Helena." She giggled in response as she ushered the purple-eyed woman into her bedroom then shut the door behind them.

Helena allowed herself to be led to her bed and sat down, obediently, with growing confusion and impatience.

She needed time that she did not have to figure out what the change in timeline would be and plan how to maneuver so she hoped the older woman did not take offense when she asked her to leave.

"Felicia..." She trailed off, feeling like her tongue was held down by weights.

Felicia surveyed her seated form, mutely, with penetrative amber eyes then nodded to herself and walked to her closet before Helena could put herself together.

"An event like this doesn't usually happen twice so it has to be as special as possible the first time, if the Goddess permits." She ranted, passionately as she picked through the closet, examining each piece of clothing with a critical eye.

"What are we talking about?" She questioned while rubbing her head tiredly, choosing to bear what was happening and hoping it would end soon.

"This isn't the first time we've hosted the meeting and it certainly won't be the last." She pointed out to the older woman as she stretched and flexed her sore muscles.

"It isn't but..."

A knock interrupted her and Felicia perked up, leaving behind her rummaging to answer the door.

Her father walked in with a baby pink box in hand and twinkle in his blue eyes that roused her curiousity.

"What's going on?" She demanded with growing trepidation as he made his way to the bed and took a seat beside her.

"This belonged to your mother." He revealed instead of responding to her questioning, his fingers tracing the rough textile covering the box.

Felicia cooed, looking on with teary eyes like she always did when Helena and Charon's mother was brought up.

He hesitated for a second that made her frown then popped open the box with a soft 'click', revealing the contents of it.

On top of the soft pillowy surface, rested a pair of purple crystal earrings in the shape of a heart. It looked a bit childish, like something a teenager would wear but possessed a shine that she didn't see in most diamonds.

"It's beautiful," she whispered as she traced the smooth surface with reverence, almost forgetting her curiosity. "But why give it to me now?"

"I know how much you have always wanted this and I realised that your eagerness for our pack to host the meeting came from something more than a want to break out of your shell."

"It did?" Helena asked with growing confusion while eyeing the blue-eyed man, strangely.

He reached out and gently stroke her cheek, a hazy look in his eyes. "Your mother wore them the day we met and I would love for you to be wearing them when you meet your mate.

"My mate," she repeated as realisation dawned on her and tried her hardest not to cringe or do anything strange.

He nodded in agreement, an enthusiastic smile of his lips.

Helena couldn't blame her father for being so excited because, once upon a time, she had desperately longed for someone to love and cherish her as much as he had her mother and she had always been vocal about it.

But, a tragic past life and millions of sorrows caused by her mate later, she was not as naive as past Helena had been.

No matter how painful it was, Helena had accepted that someone like her will never have a mate who loves and cares for her and she had made her peace with it when she burned to ashes.

"A lot of werewolves will be in attendance and I think... No, I know one of them will be your mate." Tristan declared an emotion she couldn't understand swimming, in his eyes

"Okay." She agreed with a tight smile, resigned to her fate and ready to comfort him when things don't turn out the way he planned. "So, Felicia is here..."

"To help you look your best, dearie." The older woman answered with a sad yet cheerful smile.

"It's not every day a young woman finds her mate and a once in a lifetime event like this should be honoured." Felicia recited with renewed passion, her amber-coloured eyes twinkling with joy.

"How can you be so sure I'll find him tomorrow?" She asked both shifters with a curious tilt of her head, feeling equal parts touched and amused by what was happening.

"Call it Father's intuition," he responded with a playful shrug then placed a kiss on the crown of her head and rose to his feet.

"I'll give you two room to work but if you need any help don't be afraid to call." He said in parting and exited the room.

Helena turned to an excited Felicia who immediately set to work in making her perfect, feeling rotten that she was not brave enough to explain why what they hoped for will never happen.

Maybe someday she would tell them everything but it couldn't be today, tomorrow or even a week from now. The stakes were too high and she couldn't end the game before it had even begun.

As she stripped out of her clothes and allowed herself to be ushered into the bathroom, Helena idly wondered how her father would react when he finds out the kind of man Rigel is.

The community hall glowed and sparkled in night's darkness, the tiny lights lining the walls and dripping down the ceiling in cascades, giving it a magical feel.

As every member of Lumen Lunae was a shifter, heating was nonexistent and Helena -who was stood on the stage with other high-ranking members of the pack- was left to suffer the cold night air that poured in from the large windows.

The soft cardigan Felicia had made her wear did little to keep away the cold but she was thankfully sandwiched between her father and brother who radiated enough heat to stop her fingers from turning blue.

Their guests had begun arriving when the sunset cast an orange glow on the ground and, as tradition, a communal dinner was taking place to honour their arrival and allow for socialisation.

The entrance of the hall grew noisy, informing them of their guest's arrival but Helena was too distracted by her predicament.

Heat, almost as intense as the one she had felt in her last moments, spread from the crown of her head to the tip of her toes, her breathing growing laboured.

"Strange how quickly the weather changed," Helena commented, breathlessly, as she began to fan her sweaty face with her hand, her cardigan worsening the heat.

"What are you talking about? The temperature hasn't changed," Charon argued, turning to stare at her sweaty form as if she had lost her mind.

"Then why am I sweating so much?" She gasped, her fingers shakily undoing the large buttons then clumsily tugged it off and held it away from her body like it was on fire.

"ArE yoU aLrIght?" Charon asked in a distorted voice and Helena blinked at his blurry figure, trying to make sense of what was happening.

"Wha-, you-, I don't-," she stuttered, dumbly, her head growing fuzzy and tongue feeling impossibly heavy.

A commotion started somewhere in the crowd but Helena paid it no mind as she closed her eyes and tapped into the purple ball of light inside of her, calling on it to try and fix what was happening.

"My powers," she whispered as her eyes popped open, the glow that should have been there, absent.

"It's not working." She informed her brother who was staring at something on their right with hard eyes and a tense clench of his jaw.

"Charon?" She called out to the taller man in a small voice.

A loud, spine-tingling growl echoed loudly in the now quiet hall and Helena followed her brothers gaze to the stage's steps where the sound came from.

A large man with glowing silver eyes slowly stalked towards her, the werewolves on the stage making way for him. Helena felt like she had been doused with cold water at the feeling of a familiar tingling sensation.

"No," she whispered as her senses dulled and focused only on the man approaching her with quick, determined steps.

Charon growled with bared fangs and her father held onto the younger werewolf but Helena only had eyes for the silver-eyed man.

"This can't possible," she rasped as she stumbled back, the tingling in her hands quickly spreading to the rest of her body.

"Why?" Came the question, his deep rumbling voice, a song that froze her on the spot as he came to a stop in front of her.

Helena shook her head, unconsciously relaxing when the towering man leaned down to her neck and nuzzled his nose into the sensitive skin.

He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her into him and Helena's brain turned to mush, all protests dying on her tongue.

"Congratulations, Helena." Said her excited father who was still holding onto his growling son, snapping her out of her trance. "I had a feeling..."

His voice faded away as her panicked thoughts spiralled out of control.

The man holding her sensed her growing discomfort and pulled his head out of her neck to fix his silver gaze on her hyperventilating form.

"Relax," he whispered and while Helena was very tempted to obey, she couldn't stop herself.

"This isn't possible," she denied, stubbornly, while avoiding making eye contact with his rather beautiful eyes. "You aren't my mate and you can't be mate because..." She shook her head and his hold on her tightened.

"Because?" He urged, his voice growing tense.

"Rigel... he," she turned to look at him and flinched at the sight of dangerous glowing eyes and lips pulled back to reveal sharp fangs.

"I have to go." Helena insisted as she began struggling, desperately.

"You need to calm down, Helena," her father tried to reason with her but the brunette woman ignored him.

"I need to leave," she croaked and stumbled when the man who claimed to be her mate suddenly released her from his hold.

Helena's vision swam and she gasped, breathlessly, feeling like she was breathing too much yet too little air.

She couldn't remember her meeting with Rigel being this intense and she refused to acknowledge what the difference could mean.

"Who is Rigel and what does he have to do with our mateship?" The silver-eyed man questioned with a dangerous glint in his eyes, his hands clenched at his sides like he was stopping himself from reaching out and grabbing her.

Helena blinked, mutely, not knowing how to explain the situation without sounding like she had lost her mind.

The ground beneath her grew soft and before she could react, Helena found herself falling, the shocked and alarmed expression on the silver-eyed man's face, the last thing she saw as she was swallowed up by the hole.