An Unexpected Mate

Chapter 9 - Sacrifice

Lily hears herself let out a loud groan as she rolls out of bed. Her head pounding, she wonders just how much she drank last night. Scenes flash through her head as she tries to tease apart what is reality and what was her drunk imagination - drinking and dancing and the ridiculous dive bar, a stolen kiss, being chased through the woods by wolves, stumbling home, Steve in bed, ... then her mind flashes back to the wolves, or were they werewolves?!?!? 

Groaning again as she hears the chorus of "moms" from down the hall. Looking over, she sees that Steve is still passed out with absolutely no intention of even pretending to hear the kids and help out. This reminds Lily why she hates going out - she is always the one that needs to get up and take care of the kids as Steve sleeps in again, even though he spent the night watching TV on the couch. Going through the calendar in her head as she takes some aspirin and tums (...the joys of age), he has to leave for work on Monday...he really should be staying home longer to spend time with her and the kids. Lily wonders how long she can keep up this level of work, both jobs and at home. What is she going to do when the kids are out of school for the summer? 

As Lily finishes up with making lunch, she finally hears Steve moving around. Although he gets up, all he manages is to move to the couch ask about lunch. She notices that he ignores the kids asking to play and instead turns on the game and zones out. Lily starts her new deep breathing exercises to keep from getting too frustrated. She could always say something, but that never seems to work out the way she hopes.

Later that evening, Lily is sitting at her computer prepping for Mondays class when she looks out to the woods behind her house. Blinking a few times and shaking her head, she still sees a wolf at the edge of the yard, a wolf with a stare that she senses that she knows. Going through a litany in her head, she knows she is not drunk this time, but is she going crazy? Has the depression, anxiety and stress finally caused her to truly loose her mind and start seeing things, imagining things? Trying to turn back to her work and forget the image burned into her mind, inner turmoil persists.

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Braxton tenses in his wolf form as he senses Lily's gaze. Looking at her house, he begs her to come out, trying to link and feel her, pull her towards him. When he had gone for a run in his wolf form a few hours ago, he had no intention of coming into town or stalking his red haired mate. Really, all he felt was the need to run, but the next thing he knew he was pacing just outside the clearing around Lily's house. He had watched the movements of her family like the stalker he was becoming. The mate bond is there, he could not resist the pull even as he tried to talk himself out of becoming a creep. It was stronger with the kiss...he could feel it...he could sense her and sense that she was feeling the pull.

As he continues to watch the window, he notices that Lily has left her office space. Trying to glance at multiple windows to find her, Brax hears a door opening. Lily gets in her car and drives down the street a bit and stops. Brax follows along, coming out of the woods to meet her after changing back into his human form and donning some workout pants.

Lily gazes on in confusion. Braxton takes the moment to try and explain what he is and what a mate bond is...stumbling a bit along the way.

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"Lily." Braxton pulls in a long, steadying breath before continuing. "Lily, the pull you feel to me is called a mate bond by my culture. We are born werewolves. A series of genetic mutations, which we see as a blessing from the Moon Goddess, allows us to shift between human and wolf form. While the easiest time to do this is at full moons, adult weres are also able to shift most any time."