Chapter 25

Sonja stood looking at the man everyone was suddenly telling her she was supposed to mate with. She’d completely rejected the idea of mating with anyone not of her choosing, but something about the memories that were coming to her in bits and pieces told her that perhaps she had chosen him a long time ago. He’d looked up as soon as she stepped into his line of vision and for several minutes, they’d just stared at each other. Finally, she walked over and sat down next to him, not close enough to touch, but close enough that she wanted to. He looked at her with those sexy blue eyes and waited patiently for her to speak.

“I remember… things.”

He smiled. “That’s great. What do you remember?”

She looked down at her hands in her lap and said, “I remember Alpha Papa and Alpha Mamma. I remember how much they loved me and Jordan and how happy we used to be.”

When she didn’t say anything else, he asked her, “Is this the first time you’ve remembered them?”

She shook her head. “No, I’ve always had memories of them, but they were sketchy and kind of foggy. Today I remembered the entire day leading up to…” She sucked in a shaky breath and when she let it out, the tears she had been holding onto all day broke loose and began to spill down her cheeks. “I miss them so much.” Declan cautiously moved closer to her and put his arm around her. She laid her head on his chest, and he held her while she cried. “I remember being with Jordan, picking berries and then hearing her call out to them over and over. Lennox and Sable were suddenly there, and we were taken to Willow, and after that, it was like they wanted us to forget our lives before they existed. But they did exist. I remember turning and running with my sister…” she pushed against him gently, so she could sit up and she looked at his face. “And you… I remember you and Asher, running and playing with us in the fields.” He reached down and cupped her face.

“Those memories are rightfully yours, and no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t take them away from you forever.” Declan smiled. He was glad that she remembered her family, that she remembered her heritage, but most of all, he was glad that she remembered him.

“They made us believe they were the good guys. We were unfaithful to our own kind, feared them, hated them for fourteen years. They cheated us out of our childhood—all of us. Even you and Asher were cheated out of yours.” Sonja felt bad. She couldn’t tell exactly why, but she almost felt guilty for the situation. Maybe it was because of her bloodline, the same heritage that Declan was so happy, she could recall, but the crushing weight of it all bore down on her.

Declan nodded. “They took our mother,” he leaned down and gently swiped his lips across hers and said, “And they tried to take our future.”

She pulled back slightly. She could see the raw desire in his eyes, and she wondered if he could see it in hers too. She felt it; it was a deep ache in the center of her core. She wanted this man and she no longer doubted that he was her mate but she still remembered things, and she was still a little frightened of it all. She put her small hand on the side of his face and said, “I can feel it when I’m around you, Declan. I always knew that was how it was supposed to be although I wasn’t sure what it would feel like. I felt it last night when you carried me out of that house. As frightened and confused as I was, I felt that connection. I’m not going to keep fighting it, Declan but I need a little time to get used to it all.” He reached up and covered her hand with his.

“Take all the time you need. I’ve thought about you every day since that awful day fourteen years ago. But, I never once considered not waiting for you. Take the time to get accustomed to your memories, and when you’re ready, I will be here.” Declan wanted to be sure Sonja was ready before anything came from this. She needed to be comfortable; it was only then that he would be.

She used the hand on his face to pull him down towards her and pressed her lips to his. His lips were so warm and soft. She let her lips part and felt his tongue slide seductively into her mouth. He kissed her possessively. She was his, and he was leaving no question about it. She felt his hand slide down to her waist, and she was re-thinking what she’d said about needing time until she heard her sister’s voice.

“Sonja!” She and Declan pulled apart slowly, and he looked into her eyes and grinned before letting her turn towards her sister. “You’re…”

Jordan seemed to be at a loss for what to call it. Sonja grinned and said, “Kissing my mate?” Jordan squealed and flung herself across the room towards her sister. They embraced, and Sonja whispered, “Thank you for saving me.”

“You’re my sister— my blood. I will always be there for you.”

**

A week had gone by, and Sonja slowly acclimated to her new and rightful life. The others in the village welcomed her home heartily, and some of them left gifts for her on their doorstep. She spent time with her sister and her grandmother, and she spent even more time with Declan. He showed her around the village and took her out into the woods and showed her their lands. When they were alone one day walking through a meadow, she asked him to change for her. She watched as he stripped off his clothes. She’d seen him without them already, but being alone with him in private, was almost more than her raging libido could take. His body was sculpted, every muscle taut and perfectly shaped. His maleness was unmistakable and sometimes late at night Sonja wondered if it would even be possible for him to fit inside of her. Regardless, she tingled when she thought about it, and she found herself wet and her temperature high.

She’d seen Jordan change now quite a few times, but as she watched Declan changing that day in the meadow, she experienced something she never had before. Something deep down inside of her awoke and boiled to the surface. It was something powerful, and it urgently wanted to be released. It was her inner animal and after she’d watched his transformation and the huge Black Panther with the blue eyes walk over and rub himself against her. The only thing she could think about was mating with him. He was the most incredible creature she’d ever seen, and she wanted nothing more than to be his mate and bear his cubs.

That had been three days ago, and now as Cyprus, Declan and Asher sat around the table with Sage and Erza, discussing the plan to go back to Anchorage, Jordan and Sonja sat not far off with their grandmother, listening to her regale them with stories of when their father was young. Sonja had to work hard to keep her mind on what her grandmother was saying. She could smell Declan’s masculine scent from where she sat and each time he glanced over at her she felt an electric shock course through her body. She shivered and focused her attention back to her grandmother as she told her story.

“Your father was born an Alpha. From the time he was little, be it his friends or his family or the villagers, they collected around him, trying to get close to the boy who would someday be their leader. He commanded with authority, but also with compassion and respect. His pack adored him, and when he was old enough to take over as Alpha, and he chose your mother to mate with, everyone in the village was ecstatic. At the mating ceremony, thousands of Kodiak’s turned out, and it was the grandest celebration that the island had ever seen. It went on for three days, even after the newly mated couple had gone off to run and play in the wilderness together alone for a couple of days before returning home to the responsibility of leading the pack.”

“How long were they mated before they had us?” Jordan asked her.

“Two years into their mating you were born, Jordan.”

“I delivered you,” Erza said from her seat at the table. Jordan looked over at her and smiled. She stopped to give Asher a look that told him she was dying to frolic with him underneath the moon again tonight as they had the three nights previously. Turning her attention to Erza, she asked, “Was my father disappointed that I was a girl?”

“Of course not,” she said. “I wrapped you in skins, and then I carried you out where almost the entire village was waiting. I announced your arrival and the whole village cheered. They brought gifts to your parent’s door day after day until your father told them your family had enough and would like to share their blessings with others. That began a tradition of taking food and whatever extra the villagers had and gave them to one another. Especially if you knew someone who needed it, rather than exchanging gifts on holidays. It was such a happy time for your parents…both of them. Then they became doubly blessed because Sonja was born a year later.

During the years prior, Atticus had forged a strong friendship with another born leader—Cyprus Slater. Cyprus had two young boys, and the families became the best of friends. Atticus made Cyprus his second in command.” She chuckled and looked over at Asher.

“What?” Jordan asked her.

“I was just thinking of the first time that Asher looked into the crib and saw you lying there. You were looking up at him with those beautiful eyes, and he looked at Cyprus and said, “Papa, is this, my mate?” Your father’s looked at each other, surprised and then they laughed and Atticus said, “When she’s much older, Asher.”

Asher, only five at the time had nodded and said, “I’ll look after her forever, and when we’re older, she will be my mate, and we’ll look after each other from this life to the next.”

Mamma Crone’s old eyes were tearing up as she said, “He knew— even then.” Jordan felt a shudder as she thought about it. To be a part of that kind of all-consuming love was something she would have never experienced if it was up to Lennox and Jude. They still needed to pay, and she was growing tired of waiting for it to happen.