Her Fated Mate

Chapter Eighteen

Mikica ran towards them, tail wagging uncontrollably. 

She chuckled in her mind and bumped heads with the young she-wolf. Mikica wiggled around Kian and her, whining with excitement and licking beneath their chins. Kian returned a lick to Mikica's nose and she sneezed. Then, Mikica crouched as if to play and Kian mirrored her. She watched in amusement as they bound around a few trees. 

Mikica's six wolves appeared out of the forest and she assumed they had all been out for a run. She knew Fox was around somewhere, though maybe he had already headed home. He had said he would begin training with Mikica and the first step would be shifting. Regardless, they weren't far from home, she and Kian were just on their way home from the Tallika pack. 

It had been an interesting visit. She loved Kian's Nan and she promised to visit more often. The rogue disturbance had been completely random and unplanned but she found herself relieved that the threat to the outer packs was eliminated. She could call the warriors she had sent to the outer packs home. Even if harmless, Mick made her realize that she needed to arrange another meeting with the Council, but that could be done within a day. 

She bumped shoulders with Cross and he gave an irritated nip. She growled low in her throat and he growled right back. Thane barreled into her side, almost knocking her over and she began to tussle with him. She was aware of Lake bounding around them in large circles and Ever chasing him. Arch joined the chase between Kian and Mikica. Skeet laid in the snow a few feet away, licking at his paws. She knew he didn't like the snowballs that formed in between his toes. 

Finally, when they were all panting for breath, they stood in a semi-circle. It would have been an odd sight to anyone on the outside, nine wolves randomly standing in the middle of the forest, but she took the moment to admire her closest family. They had really grown together. Along with Remi and Lee, over the past year they had made changes and explored each others differences. 

Of course, they would fight sometimes and they would have disagreements, but it wasn't a wild secret because every family had them. Mikica's six wolves had been a complete surprise and she had to admit, their story was utterly unique. She heard of the day when Mikica found them in the snow, though nobody knew what happened to their mother. She assumed it was a human attack but she could never be sure. 

Let alone the fact that Mikica was brave enough to raise six wolves on her own. Werewolves, at that. Granted, they had never shifted and they were more prone to their animal side now, but it didn't change their genetic code. She could only imagine how terrified Mikica had been of wolves and it took extreme courage to do as she did. She often found herself inexplainably proud of her cousin. 

Suddenly, Mikica broke the circle they had formed and bound over. In a low whine, Mikica tried to speak through her eyes and body language. She tilted her head, Mikica looked at Cross and back at her. Finally, she understood. Fox must had figured she wanted to witness the special moment and he wasn't wrong. In a swift second, she was in her human form. The cold of the snow hardly bothered her, she stood tall. 

"It will be easier in human form." She instructed. 

After a series of groans, Mikica shifted a little quicker than before, then panted, "Will it hurt?"

She shook her head, "No, its a simple mindlink. It will feel natural after you've done it." 

"Okay, show me."

 "I have to form a link with you and then you can expand to each other them individually," She tilted her head towards the six wolves, "You can do a group link once you've learned to keep a wall up. If not, you'll get overwhelmed with voices in your head." 

"What a literal term for madness," Mikica commented and then cleared her throat, "Okay, joking aside." 

She gently sent a prod to Mikica's mind. She watched her cousin's reaction. First, it was a gasp and then it was curiosity. She mentally pressed a little harder and said, "Don't fight, just let it happen." 

Mikica took a deep breath, "Its so weird." 

"You'll get used to it." 

Finally, she found a weakness in the wall of Mikica's mind and formed the mindlink. It was the longest she had ever taken to form a link with someone but she didn't want to overwhelm Mikica. She knew that if felt like an invasion of the mind and it was a scary thought to someone who believed they were human for their entire life. Turns out, the Moon Goddess loved to surprise. 

'Can you hear me?' She asked. 

Shock overtook Mikica's features, then she stuttered, "Uh, yeah." 

'Respond in your mind,' She instructed, 'Just think it and send it to me.' 

Silence followed and then ever so slowly, she heard Mikica's voice, 'I like pickles?' 

'Is that all you think?' She asked, amused. 

'I didn't know what else to say!' Mikica defended herself, 'This is literally amazing!' 

'Good, now focus on Cross. Imagine sending a thought to him.' 

She watched Mikica take a deep breath and turn to face Cross. He had been laying in the snow but he pushed himself into a seated position when Mikica turned her attention to him. Cross waited with a twitch of his ears and then he stilled. Mikica froze, too. Their breath seemed stolen and they stared at each other with wide eyes. 

She could only imagine what the six wolves sounded like. She had never formed a mindlink with them, nor had anyone else, and it didn't seem like they wanted to. They communicated perfectly well with their body language but in that moment, she realized that the mindlink between Mikica and them was now a beautiful secret. Something utterly special that was only meant for them. 

Before she knew it, tears were streaming down Mikica's face. A sob tore through Mikica and then she ran forward to wrap her arms around Cross. For once, in all of the days Cross had been a Grinch, he seemed to embrace the hug and didn't bite in retaliation. It was a strange sight, she had to be honest, Cross always seemed to tease Mikica the most and she knew it was because he cared the most. 

No matter how cold Cross attempted to be, he had the biggest heart. She could witness first hand to that. When Mikica finally released Cross, she watched the cycle continue through the rest of the wolves. Skeet glued himself to Mikica's side and Lake grew more hyper. Thane gave a lazy roll in the snow and Ever wiggled his entire body. Arch chased his tail and then Mikica shifted back into wolf form. 

She could only imagine what it was like to hear the voice of someone she had spent a lot of time with. After months of silence, it would be nothing short of a miracle. Mikica never seemed to stop bouncing in joy nor wagging her tail the entire trek back home. Kian walked by her side, their fur brushing, and they watched Mikica play with the six wolves. 

Once they arrived home, she paused outside for just a moment. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and the warming breeze ruffled her fur. She could never be more thankful for the life she had. She had spent a lot of blood and pain to achieve what she had. She had been broken, her family broken, and yet it was a journey to redemption. 

She smiled to herself and trotted inside after the others.

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Surprise update? 

First two days for my second semester of college haven't been bad, I don't have a ton of homework yet so that's why I ended up writing this. 

Once again, my characters tell their own stories. 

Which book from Her Destiny Series is your absolute favorite and why?