A Werewolf Fantasy

Devon could tell that Erin was very nervous about his announcement and he couldn't blame her for feeling that way, not after how he freaked her out this morning at the gallery and even called her by a name she obviously couldn't know was hers. In fairness to him though, he had been caught off-guard by the sight of her. He'd thought that his trip to the past had been merely a dream and not a real depiction of his previous life, but now he knew better.

Resisting the urge to look at Erin, he looked straight ahead and began his speech. "Thank you for the flattering welcome, Chief," Devon began. "And thank you to every clan member here for accepting me into your midst. At least, I hope that I'm welcome."

"Of course, you are, son," said Dame Black, the head of the Black pack. "We are one big happy family here, and you are now one of us."

"Can we skip to the good part already?" asked Darren White, head of the White pack. "Who is your mate?"

Erin felt her stomach tighten in anxiety. 'Please, don't say my name. Please, don't say my name,' she thought nervously.

"I will get to that soon, but let me give a quick background about myself first," said Devon. "You may not know, but I am related to Eli Grey, a clan member in Moose Creek."

"We know Eli. His wife, Mirabel, took care of Eric when he was injured last year," said Aubrey Brown, and she rubbed her muzzle against her husband's affectionately.

"I'm glad to hear it," said Devon. "Well, I got orphaned at a young age and Eli and his wife took me in. I lived with them until I left to go to art school in Vermont, and after graduation, I never looked back. I went wherever my art took me, and the rest, as they say, is history."

"Hear, hear," Gary said encouragingly.

"And about my mate... I did mention that to the Chief this morning because I was excited about finally finding my lifelong companion. However, I now realize that announcing her identity tonight may not be such a great idea after all." There was a murmur of disappointment among the werewolves who had been eagerly awaiting Devon's announcement. There is nothing more exciting than a surprise mating ceremony during a Full Moon Feast, and it was one of the high points of these quarterly gatherings.

"I know you are all disappointed," Devon continued. "But I don't want my mate to feel ambushed. I think she needs some time to warm up to me first and get used to the idea of having me as her mate." Erin quietly let out a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, she thought, as her taut muscles began to relax.

"There you have it. No mate announcement tonight," said Gary dully, unable to hide his disappointment. "And on that note, I say we move on to the next item on the agenda, werewolf news. Over to you, Byron."

The clan press secretary, Byron Golden, stepped forward to take his place in front of the others to give an update on what's been happening in their human lives, career achievements, new developments in the clan, and other important announcements. When he was done with his briefing, all the werewolves gathered together and let out the customary seven howls to the full moon in honor of their first ancestor, Vak Smallchief. With the Feast officially declared open, everyone dispersed to carry on with the festivities of the night; eating, drinking, and mingling.

"It's good to see you again," said Devon, when he got to where Erin stood alone.

"I can't say the same for you," she said, half-joking. "What stopped you from announcing your mate tonight?"

"Wouldn't you have hated me for putting you on the spot like that?"

Erin sighed. "I would have despised you because I don't even understand why you're so convinced that I am your mate. Am I not supposed to have at least an inkling about it in my psyche too? Isn't that how this whole mate discovery thing works?"

Devon appeared to shrug. "Maybe, but there are no rules to how werewolf mates are supposed to discover each other. You probably won't believe me if I told you how I discovered that you are my mate."

"Try me," she said. It was a challenge and an opportunity for him to prove to her that he hadn't indeed lost his mind and that what he was saying was true and not just something he made up with his overactive imagination. "Have you ever heard of the dream stone?"

"That shiny pebble Farida showed me at the gallery? Yeah, I've seen it and I've heard the cute little tale you created about it. Was it the stone that told you that I am your mate?"

He could hear the amusement in her voice and he didn't blame her at all. He too had been skeptical about the legend of the dream stone until that night five years ago, when he'd finally decided to test it and see if the wild tales surrounding the unremarkable stone were true.

"That stone has been in my family since the time of Vak Smallchief. It originally belonged to his wife Olna Raven, the daughter of the powerful shaman who mated Vak with a pure breed Luna. As you already know, that alliance created the lineage of werewolves that we all belong to. The stone is said to be a combination of moon dust, earth, and water. It can tell you of the past or the future, depending on which one you seek clarity for."

Erin let out a breath. "Do you really believe all of that?"

"I didn't until I put the stone to the test and it turned out to be true. Would you like to give it a go too?"

"Why not?" said Erin without hesitation. Her new boss was obviously convinced that his made-up story was real, and as much as she found it all so ridiculously funny, she felt inclined to humor him this once and play along with his little game. "In that case, I'll let you have the dream stone tomorrow and then I will tell you how to use it," said Devon with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Oh, it comes with instructions too?" Erin asked, trying not to laugh at this point.

"More or less,” replied Devon, unfazed by Erin's doubtfulness. "Now let's join the others in the festivity before they start wondering if you are my mystery mate."

She laughed. "Mystery mate, huh? I like the sound of that."