He looked down at his dagger and then up at the moon. “Because of the balance. You have the gift of finding mates for your kind. But you also have the gift of giving fertility to female vampires. It’s in your blood. Literally. If a female vampire drinks your blood, she could mate with a male vampire and have a vampire child.” He sighed, resigned.

I stumbled over Kai’s frozen body and began panting on the grass.

“And they know this? The vampires?” I shuddered. The thought of small children acting like those deadly vampires in the woods made me sick. The Shaman helped me stand.

“Their queen knows and she will stop at nothing to make you her blood slave. Good luck, Aurora. Spirit has equipped you with all that you need to fight for the Light but there is also Darkness inside of you. You must embrace all of your powers to become who you truly are.”

I stared into his seemingly endless eyes and saw something flicker and an image take shape. I saw a flash of an image of Sylvia putting her hands on my head and mist pouring out of my body. I also saw the image of my father putting a cigarette out on the palm of my hand when I was 9. I shuttered. Maybe there was Darkness inside of me. Thinking of the abuse I endured ignited a ball of rage inside of me.

“I can’t hold time much longer,” he told me. He pulled a black apache tear from his satchel. “If you need my council, just bury this in the earth. I am here as your guide and I owe a debt to your people.” He nodded and walked up to the front.

I sat down in shock just as the people started moving and talking again. They all looked around confused and took in a deep breath. Kai grabbed my arm. “You smell like magic.”

I sighed. “I will tell you later. This is Sadie’s day.”

Kai and some of the more dominant wolves looked at the Shaman with suspicion but didn’t confront him. Something told me they knew that wouldn’t be a good idea. If he could stop time, who knew what else he was capable of?

I zoned out as the music played and people began walking the aisle. The balance. Werewolves were here to protect humans? It seemed right. The thought of the human race or the werewolf race going extinct sent chills down my spine. A world run by vampire and human blood slaves was a horrible thought. Vampire children was an even more horrible thought. So I was sent here to restore the balance between the different species? I looked at Kai. Life just got way more complicated.

The music changed and I turned my head. Sadie had begun her walk down the aisle and looked breathtaking. Her hair was pulled back to show her strong face. She had light make up on to showcase her natural beauty. A thin white silk dress clung to her muscular body. She held Kai’s gaze for a few seconds as she walked by and my heart spiked with jealousy. Kai pulled my hand on top of his and stroked my palm with his thumb. I took a deep breath. ‘You’re Mine,’ Kai told me, ‘And I am yours.’

I relaxed into the chair. Sadie met Brett at the end of the altar. Nahuel began fanning smoke around the pair as they held hands facing each other. Nahuel then tied a blue silk ribbon to Sadie’s left wrist. “This represents your human half.” He did the same on Brett’s wrist. Then he tied a white silk ribbon to both of their right wrists. “This represents your wolf.” Just then, both of their eyes shown yellow.

“Werewolves are courageous, strong, loyal, and successful at hunting. Werewolves are in fact so loyal that they mate for life. If lucky enough to find their mate, it will be the only one they ever have.” Nahuel projected his voice to the crowd.

Kai laced his fingers through mine.

“You come to me as two parts in one body, human and wolf. You come as two souls with one purpose. To be mated for life. To start a family if you choose.”

Nahuel’s face took on a relaxed expression as his eyes clouded over turning white. “This pairing is blessed by Spirit.” As Sadie and Brett held hands, Nahuel began to braid the four strings together. “I join your souls as one. May you have no secrets from one another. I join your souls as one. May you protect one another until death. I join your souls as one. May you respect each other as equals, regardless of pack rank. I join your souls as one. May fertility be bestowed upon your family. I join your souls as one. May you love each other for the rest of your long, long lives. It is done, so be it.” The braid was complete and the entire altar was coated in fine mist. Sadie and Brett stared into each other’s eyes and silent tears began to fall on their cheeks.

It was a beautiful moment to witness.

Kai leaned in to whisper in my ear. “They say during the mating ceremony that Spirit shows you everything about your mate, so there are no secrets. Your past, your faults, your strengths. It is said to bring the couple even closer together and is what bonds them for life. It’s ten times what you felt when you first looked at me as a wolf.”

A tear sprung up in my eye. It was beautiful. I remembered what I was shown when I first realized Kai was my mate. To see more, I couldn’t imagine. What Nahuel had said and the tears falling down Sadie’s cheeks. It was all so beautiful. I turned and looked into Kai’s eyes. ‘I love you.’ Something else passed between us in that look and he smiled so big that all of his teeth showed.

The entire ride home consisted of Kai and me arguing in my head. I think his mother knew what was going on because I could see her staring at us in the rear view mirror.

Kai was pestering me to tell him more about why he smelled magic on me and suspected the Shaman of something. I kept telling him we would talk about it when we got home and I didn’t want to give him details in front of his family.