The Mute Mate

"Sally, come on. Come run with me,” a familiar voice called out, floating through the air. I turned my head, finding no one around in the field. All I saw was a few trees scattered about and a lake to the right of me.

“Where are you?” I called out, a small pout forming on my face.

“I’m right here silly,” I scrunched up my face, not understanding at all.

“Here … where?”

She giggled, her laughter filling the air. “Go look in the lake. Then for sure you’ll see me.”

I did as she said, walking over to the calm waters before I took a peek, expecting to just find my reflection. However, a beautiful wolf stared right back at me, her face pulled back into a grin. I could only stare at her in awe, her beautiful coat and eyes captivating. Her coat was … indescribable. By common sense, her fur should have been grey. However, that wouldn’t give the color the justice it deserved. It looked more like … glitter. Silver glitter. And her eyes. They shone brightly, twinkling almost as bright as her fur. It was staring at the ocean at noon, with the sun reflecting off the blue waters. All in all, it was just so beautiful.

The wolf chuckled, startling me as I yelped, jumping back from the waters.

“Relax. I’m not going to hurt you.”

Hesitantly, I crawled back to my spot, seeing her once more. “There. Now we can look at each othe while we talk.”

“Wh-Who are you?” I asked, tilting my head to the side.

“I’m Aiyana, silly.”

I stared at her with wide eyes. This beautiful creature … was my wolf? “You’re so beautiful,” I said, a grin covering my face.

She grinned back at me, her lips stretching over her sharp teeth. “Thank you dear. But I didn’t come here just to hear you tell me how beautiful I am.”

“What?” I asked, confusion probably evident on my face.

“I came to warn you. The time for your first shift is fast approaching. You may not know it yet, but you’re a powerful girl. Much more powerful than any alpha or elder.” I sat down in shock, her words replaying over in my head.

“S-so … what? What does that mean?”

“It means,” she continued, her face turning serious. “That people are going to be after you. Bad people, good people, even people you thought you could trust. Believe me when I say that it will be difficult for you once you shift and people find out about you.”

“But .. what makes me so special?”

She stayed quiet, her eyes never meeting mine. “…It’s not my place to tell you yet. For now, the less you know, the better. Right now, I’m hoping that no one knows of who we are, but with that warning I told you to tell your father, some people might be getting suspicious of things. So just to be on the safe side, I want you to only shift when you’re alone … or you’re in trouble.”

“But … what about-“

“Your first shift?” I nodded my head. My first shift was supposed to be the hardest, which is why most people tend to shift after they meet their mate. Obviously, that doesn’t apply to most people, but having your mate there can help with the pain tremendously.

She sighed. “I know we can trust him.” Instantly, Jett’s face filled my mind and a small smile formed on my lips. But I quickly shook it off, smiling at Aiyana sheepishly as she sent a stern look over to me before she broke out into giggles. “Don’t be ashamed to be happy with him, Sally. But remember, I trust him, but you must trust him enough to shift with him there. I cannot tell you whether or not you should trust him or not, but if, for any reason, you don’t trust him, don’t shift in front of him and find someone you can trust full-heartedly.” Even with the blank face, I could still see how much it pained her to even talk about not trusting her mate. So I nodded, but blinked as darkness started to fill the area.

“Aiyana?” I questioned, no longer being able to see her as it got darker and darker.

“It’s fine, Sally. It’s just time to get up. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Wait. Aiyana!”

My eyes flew open as I quickly sat up, scanning the room I was in. Jett seemed to have left already, his side of the bed already cold. However, I did notice my bags stacked in the corner of one of the rooms. I glanced at the clock, its red lights flashing 9:38. I sighed, pulling myself out of my bed and into the bathroom. The dream I knew was anything but normal, but I didn’t know what to make of it yet. I suppose I’ll just wait till I know more about it. Like Aiyana said, we’ll talk soon. I stopped as I stared at the mirror.

Thinking back on the dream, I was able to talk. I smiled, remembering how easy it was for me to communicate with my wolf, not having to waste time writing things down or having to play charades with her. But as I raised my hand to my throat, attempting to create words, only strangled noises came from me, sounding like I was choking on something. I sighed, disappointment filling me as I turned away from my reflection, getting ready for the day ahead of me.

I left the bedroom dressed in a simple blouse paired with a pair of jeans, my hair just thrown in a bun. My earlier attempt at talking had depressed me more than I thought as I just didn’t really seem to care how I looked at the moment. As I reached the bottom of the stairs, I bumped into something, causing me to freak out slightly as I began to fall. But someone grabbed my arm, quickly pulling me to their chest. I blushed, looking up to look at Jett, who just had an eyebrow raised at me.

“Good morning to you too, sweetheart. Did you sleep well?” I nodded my head, smiling as he brushed his lips against my cheek.

“That’s good. Are you hungry? I was just going to make breakfast as soon as I brought the last of your things up.” It was then I noticed that he carried a bag with one hand while another laid on the ground, it’s contents spilled on the floor. He looked down at the fallen bag and laughed as I just smiled at him.

“Sorry, I guess I dropped it when I went to catch you.” I waved it off, giving him a peck on the cheek before I went to collect my items again, stuffing it in my bag. But I picked up a small box and I stared at it. When did I…

Suddenly, memories of my brother giving this to me before I left filled my mind as I saw his messy scrawl spelling out his name on the box and I mentally slapped my forehead. I can’t believe I forgot to open it.

“What’s wrong?”

I shook my head, showing him the box. “Oh, it’s from your brother, right?” I nodded my head as I stood up, staring at the box curiously.

“Here, give me your bag. I’ll take it to our room and you can open that, okay?” I hesitated, causing him to laugh as he took my bag. “Don’t look so worried. I offered because I want to do it for you. I’ll meet you in the kitchen and then we can eat, okay?” I nodded my head, smiling as he pecked my forehead before he began his journey upstairs. I smiled, watching as he disappeared at the top of the stairs before I went to the kitchen, sitting down at the table before I opened the box, tears filling my eyes as I saw what was in it.

There laid a gold locket, a small blue gem in the middle as silver designs swirled around the stone. Opening the locket, my tears fill harder as I traced my finger around the locket. My brother placed a picture of our entire family on one side while the other side held a picture of me, my brother and Kevin smiling goofily at the camera. Closing it, turned it over, looking at the scripted words etched very tiny on the back.

No matter the distance between us, we’re still family and our love will always be strong.

That smile refused to leave my lips as I quickly fastened the necklace around my neck, it’s weight on my chest slightly comforting.

“Hungry?”

I jumped as I turned my head to look at Jett, how smiled at me before his gaze shifted to the locket, his eyes softening slightly. I smiled, waving him over, quickly showing him the pictures inside. He smiled at me, pecking my cheek. “You’re lucky to have a brother like him.” I nodded my head, knowing how true that was.