Chapter 19 : Finding Her Truest Mate

*Mae* June's words stuck like a force in Mae's head. Suddenly, she felt like she had everything she needed, and nothing was going to stop her. It took all her willpower not to sprint out of the small town toward Henry. April, however, did not look as confident or convinced. "Are you sure it's Henry and that you are doing the right thing?" April asked as they came closer to the fork in the road. "April, I know it seems scary, and I know you're worried for me, but I promise I know what I'm doing. It's all going to be okay. I don't think I've ever felt more certain of anything," Mae answered. She wasn't sure if April fully believed her, but she posed no more questions, so Mae didn't continue. Mae forced herself to stop when they reached the fork, though her legs were still itching for her to run. She leaned forward quickly and hugged her sister close to her. "Please take care of Father. Do whatever you need to to help keep him calm and off the warpath," Mae whispered in her sister's ear. April pulled back but not out of Mae's arms. She looked at her older sister with fear and concern. "Where are you going?" she demanded. Mae kissed April's forehead lightly. "Please don't worry, I promise, there isn't a need to worry unless Father truly loses it and heads off to war before we can stop him. I'm going to go talk to Henry. I'm going to tell him what needs to be done. The sooner we can mate and activate my powers, the sooner we can fix all this and get back to peace," Mae answered. "I believe in you, Mae, completely. I always have. I don't want to stop you from doing what you need to do to activate your magic and set things right. I'm just afraid. I don't want you dying like Mom because you think it is Henry, and you are wrong," April whispered. Her voice broke a little, and she lowered her head. Mae pulled her back in for a tight hug. She tried to memorize the feeling of her sister's arms around her and the soft whimper of her tears on Mae's shoulder. "I know how scary this all must seem. I wish I could explain how I know. I wish I could help you feel what I feel, but I promise you, I know in my soul, in my heart. My wolf can feel it. Henry is my truest mate. I'm going to go talk to him and start the journey to set things right," Mae soothed. April pulled away, slightly nodding. "Okay. You go to Henry, and I'll take care of everything at home until you come back." Mae smiled and started to head off toward the Mountain Pack when her sister called after her. Mae turned around quickly. "You will come back, right?" April questioned with a new sound of tears in her voice. Mae smiled again. "Of course!" April nodded before walking off. Mae turned back to her path with new determination. Nothing was stopping her now, and she let her feet fly from underneath her as she ran full force toward the Mountain Pack, toward Henry. She could barely feel her legs as she sprinted toward her destination. The sun had just barely started its lazy descent in the sky when Mae reached the edge of the borders. They had upped their patrol around the perimeter–no doubt in response to her father's hasty actions and threats. Mae couldn't help but roll her eyes in irritation at her father. Mae had no idea if the guards would actually let her in or not. She wondered if she should skip it altogether and just try to break in. She didn't want to continue to do things the wrong way; she didn't want to continue to do things in the shadows. She had to try to find a form of peace. Hopefully, Alpha Frederick had made no commands to have her barred from the land. Mae gathered up her courage and straightened her shoulders. She marched with as much confidence as she could muster toward the guards at the front gate. "I'm here to see Henry. We have important business to discuss," Mae stated flatly. "Do you have an appointment or an escort?" the man asked, not moving from his position. "No, I'm alone, and he's not expecting me, but he'll want to see me." "Forgive me, miss, but we are under strict orders not to let anyone from the Forest Pack through without an appointment or trusted escort." "It's alright, Percy. You can let her through," came a soft and familiar voice behind the guards. Mae couldn't help but feel a sense of warmth followed quickly by sorrow when she locked eyes with Alpha Frederick. The guards wasted no time in letting Mae through. "Come, my dear, I'll take you to him." Alpha Frederick held out an arm for her which she took with no hesitation. He started casually walking with her toward the center house. "Alpha, please, I want to apologize for my father's recent behavior. He's completely out of line. Please know my sister and I are doing all we can to help him see reason. In fact, that's part of why I'm here..." Alpha Frederick patted Mae's hand lightly and smiled while keeping his eyes forward. "Thank you. You've always been such a sweet girl. It made me so pleased to see how happy you made my son. I think that's part of what makes this so much harder. I always feared one day war would happen between your father's pack and ours, and I hoped your love might be the one thing to stop it...." His voice trailed off as they reached the front steps. "He's in his room." Mae felt terrible. She had so much more she wanted to say. She wanted to tell him she had found a way to make things right, but there wasn't time for that now. Mae didn't bother knocking. Instead, she pushed open the door and followed the all-too-familiar path to Henry's bedroom. His door was shut, and the room seemed noiseless. Carefully, Mae slid the door open and peered inside to see Henry sleeping on the bed. His shirt was half pulled up around his waist, revealing the tight curvature of his abdomenal muscles. A burning inside of her started to grow. She slipped inside, quietly shutting the door behind her before crawling on the bed and wrapping herself up in Henry's unconscious body. Mae felt she could lay like this forever. But she had a purpose, a reason for being here beyond her simple desires. She kept his arm around her while propping herself up on her elbows. Mae leaned down and started kissing Henry's face while whispering his name. Slowly, he started to open his eyes. "Mae…" "Hi," she whispered back. Henry pushed himself up, and Mae adjusted to give him space. He pulled her in close and pressed his mouth against hers. His musky taste filled her up and left her head spinning a little with delight. "You're back quicker than I expected." Mae took a moment to gather herself again. Henry's taste and touch were almost too intoxicating for her to focus. "I saw my grandmother and talked to her. She said we wouldn't need her magic because I have magic," Mae started. Henry's eyes widened. "What?" "I know, I was surprised too, but it makes sense. All the women on my mother's side for generations have been magical. She said to activate and access my magic I need… I need to...." Mae wasn't sure why the words were caught. This was what she wanted more than anything after all. "You need to what, Mae?" Henry prodded. "I need to be marked by my truest mate," she whispered. Mae could feel herself blushing as she thought about it. It brought her a bit of comfort to see Henry blushing as well. Of course, this was what they wanted, but knowing the moment was here was a different matter. "So, um," Henry started, swallowing hard, "we… mate, and then your powers just turn on?" "I guess so. She said I would feel them and understand once they awoke within me. She said once that happens, I should come back, and she will train me in how to use them and connect with them," Mae answered. "Alright, so now we just… need to have the marking ceremony," Henry replied. Mae smiled and nodded. She could feel herself shaking a bit. She wasn't sure if it was nervousness or anticipation. Henry's face was still flushed, but he reached out a hand and pushed her hair out of her face. "I can't believe after all this I get to do this with you." "I know." Henry reached out a hand and pulled Mae closer to him before leaning down and kissing her neck, his hands grazing all over her body. The door swung open abruptly, causing Mae and Henry to instantly jump back from one another. Mae breathed a quick sigh of relief when she saw that it was Circe. She looked a bit crazed and like her face hadn't had a day without tears in far too long. "Circe, are you okay?" Mae couldn't help but ask. Henry glanced at Mae and then back at Circe with a grumble. "What are you doing here?" "I saw Mae come in. I figured she came up here. Please, I just want a chance to apologize. I'm sure you're just as angry as Henry, and if you don't ever want to speak to me again, I understand, but Mae, I am so, so sorry. I never meant to hurt you or cause so much trouble here. I'm so sorry you're all in this mess because of me," Circe started. The tears fell down clearly familiar paths on her reddened cheeks. It was true Mae had been furious and disheartened when she learned the truth, but the stronger part of her still couldn't help but sympathize with Circe. She just couldn't bring herself to continue to hold this mistake against Circe. Mae knew that it would do nothing but add more pain. "I'm sure Samuel never wants to talk to me again, but maybe if I could someday earn your forgiveness, I could earn his," Circe added, creating a different level of confusion in Mae. "What? What about Samuel?" Mae questioned. Circe glanced at Henry. Mae looked at him now too, seeing that he was still staring at Circe with contempt. "I actually didn't tell her about that," Henry admitted. "Tell me about what?" "When you came by with Samuel, Circe felt that he was her truest mate. That's why she had such a sudden change of heart," Henry answered, his words dripping with disdain. Mae sighed. Mae stood up and went over to Circe, taking her hands in her own. "There's no way to avoid Samuel knowing the truth of what happened. But I won't say anything negative about you or do anything that might turn him against you, I promise. I forgive you for what you've done. Just please make me a promise, Circe." Mae kept her voice as soothing as she could. "Of course, anything," Circe replied eagerly. "Please be more careful in the future. Your choices have deeper consequences than you realize," Mae requested. Circe nodded before lowering her head and letting a new rush of tears wash through.