The Alpha's Lost Mate [Completed]

Chapter Thirteen: The Convene

** Pronunciation guide at the end of the chapter **

Later that evening we made our way down the long, winding path towards the far-end of the beach, out of sight of the village nestled on the clifftops above the farmhouse. The sun was getting ready to set, and Jamie's hand clung tightly to mine, guiding me over the bumpy path with ease. Everything was bathed in a golden glow, from the jagged edges of the clifftops to the gentle sparkles in the breaking waves. The sand on the beach below us mimicked the waves, catching my eye, and I stumbled to a very ungraceful stop, watching in awe.

"They're called shifting sands," Osian told me, stopping next to us. "The way the bay is shaped occasionally makes the wind hit the beach at just the right angle. Looks like the sand is dancing, huh?"

"It's beautiful," I breathed, and he smiled at me.

"There's a lot of beautiful things happening tonight. Come, we don't want to miss the sunset," he said gently, guiding us back towards the path.

The end of the path curved around the bay until the village was completely out of sight and revealed a huge bonfire, surrounded by about 100 people. Kids ran freely, chasing the shifting sand, dancing with it. Teenagers hung back, talking amongst themselves and adults sat cross-legged on the beach, on large rocks or logs. Their sounds were muted, joyful but respectfully quiet, and silence fell the moment Osian stepped onto the sand and made his way to the front. Jamie and I hung back, he leaned against the rocks surrounding the steps down to the beach and positioned me in front of him so he could wrap his arms around me and keep me warm in the cool evening breeze. Derek and Conner stayed at our side, and Owain stood on the steps just above us.

"Good evening, Rhossili pack, and let us again extend a welcome to our guests Alpha Jamie and Luna Gracie from the Keswick pack. Thank you all for being here to convene tonight. Convening with the Moon Goddess is, as always, an honor, but please take a moment to remember that for those of us experiencing it for the first time this can be a surreal and life-changing experience. Treat each other with kindness, with patience," Alpha Osian warned, his voice darkening ever so slightly as he stepped aside, taking a seat on the log that had been left empty for him.

A young woman stepped into his place; her face lit by the fire in a million shades of orange. Her impossibly long hair was twisted into an array of braids and knots the same shade of white as the sand beneath her.

"That's Myfanwy," Owain whispered as he leaned down the steps. "She's the lead witch from the Three Cliffs Coven a few miles away. She'll be working with you in the next few weeks, don't be scared, just keep your mind wide open."

Jamie stroked my arm with his thumb, his actions echoing Owain's comforting tone and I began to wonder what I'd gotten myself into.

Just as the sun dipped fully below the waves on the horizon and shrouded us in dusk, Myfanwy began chanting quietly. I didn't recognize the language, but her lilting accent and gently pitched words drew me into a trance almost instantly. I was so captured by her words that it took me a second too long to notice the figure rising from the flames. Jamie tightened his grip on me, pulling me impossibly close to him.

Mind wide open! I reminded myself sternly. This was important to my pack, I had to give it a chance even if it terrified me.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Osian watching me and remembered that Wolves had impeccable hearing and that he could probably hear my heart racing from over there, but I couldn't take my eyes off her.

She began as smoke taking form, but over a few seconds she solidified and floated above the fire. Her long Grecian dress remained the same colour, shifting in shades along with the smoke surrounding her and the sands beneath her. Her skin was pale, the colour of the moon she took her name from and her hair was as white as you could imagine. She turned slowly, continuously, taking in every member of the Rhossili pack before her, until she got to me and stopped. She looked up and stared straight into my eyes, and a flood of memories came back to me.

It took me a moment to realize they were not real. There was a tinge of pink around the edges of everything I could see happening, thousands of encounters with the woman before me as she took on thousands of forms. Every dream, I realized. She had been in every dream since the moment I was born. She had traversed foreign planets with me when I was four, she'd been on stage with me when I collected a Nobel prize at ten, consoled me through bullying when I was fourteen. They weren't my memories, they weren't real, but for the first time a door to my life had been opened.

I could feel tears spilling from my eyes and my breaths getting heavier as she stepped out from the fire and slowly made her way towards me. Before I knew what was happening, Jamie had roughly pushed me behind him and Derek, Conner and even Owain had taken a step forward. Even Osian had risen from his seat and was stood ready to move. The woman smiled.

"Do not be alarmed," she called in a soothing, accent-less voice. "I see your magic is already at work here, dear Gracie."

"W-what magic?" I stuttered. Jamie turned around, stepping aside just enough to allow her through. His eyes were full of confusion he couldn't express, but I was still unable to take my eyes off her.

She laughed, so gently. "All will be explained, do not fear. Come, Gracie, we must talk."

She reached her hand out and I cautiously reached out to take it. I felt a rush of wind, and finally managed to catch Jamie's eye as he disappeared. I gasped, snatching my hand away from her and reaching desperately towards where he was. Everyone was gone, the beach was empty other than the faint whisper of smoke from the remains of the fire. She placed her hand on my shoulder, and a cool sensation ran up my arm, soothing me instantly.

"Do not fear, my child, you will be returned to them shortly," she said, smiling at me and gesturing for me to take a seat on the rocks. They should have been cold, but they were comfortably warm.

"What-what the Hell is happening?" I asked. The air around me rippled, it was blurry on the edges and gently dusted in pink. This was a dream, but I wasn't asleep.

"Not quite a dream, dear one," she said, and I gasped. "Very much like a dream, you are quite used to seeing me in your dreams, there is nothing to fear."

I looked up at her, finally, and noticed that she had returned to her normal colour. Her skin was blushed with gentle hues, still pale, but more human. Her hair was several shades darker; her eyes glimmering blue and her dress was beige. She was considerably less scary than in her smoky form, I decided, and she laughed, clearly sensing my thoughts.

"Grace, I am sure you must be very confused, but I am here to explain everything to you," she insisted, taking my hands in hers.

"Can you give me my memories back?" I asked, wiping the tears from my eyes.

"No," she said sadly. "But seeing me has opened the door to your dreams, your subconscious, and I can tell you how to use that to find your memories yourself."

"Okay," I sniffed. "How?"

"Patience, my child. We should start, I think, at the very beginning," she said.

And we did.

She told me she had made me. Created me in her own image, from a tiny piece of her soul. She told me she had instilled all the wolf communities' values into me, through creation and through teaching in my dreams. She told me the way the magic she gave me at creation works, under the surface and out of my control, to attract wolf males to me, to make them respect me, protect me. She told me my magic had the ability to weaken wolves, just enough that the years of martial arts training she had pushed me towards could make us equals in a fight. She told me I was created not just for her, but for Jamie, and that together we were destined for inconceivably big things. She told me that she had faith in us, and that I should go back to him and keep my mind wide open. So, I did.

** Pronunciation Guide **
Myfanwy: Muh-van-wee