Claiming My Wolf
Chapter 54

~~Sadie’s PoV~~

Micah looks at me in surprise when I ask the woman who she is, but I don’t understand his confusion. It’s a perfectly reasonable question considering she just showed up out of nowhere and knows my name. And why is she talking about my wolf? I thought I didn’t get a wolf until I turn 18, though I confess I still don’t fully understand how it all works.

The woman doesn’t answer me right away. She smiles at Micah instead. “Micah, would you give me and Sadie a moment to speak alone?”

She knows his name too, but he doesn’t seem bothered by that fact. He immediately gets to his feet, not even asking me if I want to be left alone with this stranger. “Of course,” he tells her, bowing his head slightly. “But please tell me if there’s any way I can help.”

“I will.”

He gives me a quick smile too before leaving the room, and I’m more confused than ever, not just about this unexpected visitor, but about everything that just happened between Micah and me too.

The k**s was really nice, actually. A lot better than the k**s he gave me outside my house at least. He’s being open and honest with me about how he feels, and I really appreciate that. I know he was hurt to replace me and Logan together that way, but he didn’t lash out or get angry with me. He just stated his case plainly and asked me to think about it. And thinking about it, there are a lot of things I like about Micah. He’s brave and loyal and funny, and I’d have to be blind not to replace him attractive physically.

If it weren’t for the way I feel about Logan, I could imagine being with Micah, I really could. But Logan is still there, or at least the hope of him is. But even though he’d been ready to give me more tonight, I know that Micah has a point about the long term. If Logan and I aren’t mates, will he still want to be with me? I can’t be sure, and that breaks my heart a little bit.

I wish there was a way to combine all their best features into one person, and that would be my dream guy, no question. But that’s hardly fair to either of them.

Anyway, it’s not the time for thinking about that now, so I push all that aside to focus on the woman in front of me, who comes and sits down on the couch beside me now in the seat that Micah just left.

“This is not how I hoped we would meet,” she says, her elegant voice almost like music. “I’m very sorry about your parents.”

“Who are you?” I repeat, getting frustrated that she won’t just answer me. How does she know me and how does she know about my parents?

She looks amused by the question. “My name is Selene, but most people simply call me the Moon Goddess.”

My eyes widen as I look at her again. The pale grow surrounding her does seem unworldly, but I’m still not even sure I believe in goddesses. How could there be one sitting on the couch next to me?

“Why are you here?” I blurt out.

“I’m here because you are my vessel,” she explains. “There are hundreds of thousands of vessels in the werewolf world. The number of wolves continues to multiply, which is a great blessing. But I cannot be everywhere at once, which is my power has been delegated.”

“But why are you here now?” I ask, still not understanding.

“I’m here because of the danger you’re in,” she says with sorrow in her eyes. “I didn’t know anything had happened to the other vessels until your wolf called to me.”

Again with the wolf. “I don’t have a wolf,” I tell her. “At least not yet.”

A small smile crosses her face. “That’s not quite true. She is in you, she just has not revealed herself to you yet. But she has been a part of you since the day you were born.”

“So she can talk to you, but not to me?” I still don’t understand.

“In a way,” she says. “She has been praying to me, asking for my help, and somehow it broke through all the other millions of prayers that come to me every day. I heard her clearly, and so I’m here to help. Why don’t you tell me exactly what’s going on?”

I suppose I can do that. So I tell her everything, all about Logan’s mother and sister and how they died, about my own parents and about everything that had happened since I got to the pack, all of the mate mix-up and the people trying to kill me. Every last part of it.

When I finally finish, she nods her head in understanding. “It hurts me when any of my children behave the way that Beta Aldric has,” she tells me, and I believe her. I can hear the sorrow in her voice.

“So you can stop him?” I ask.

But she shakes her head. “I can’t directly interfere. Just as there are rules that govern your world, Sadie, there are laws that restrict me too. I have to trust my children to sort things out themselves, using their own free will.”

Free will? I’m surprised when she uses those words. “But you determine who they are going to love,” I point out. “Isn’t that interfering?”

“That’s not what I do,” she corrects me gently. “I make it so you can recognize the person who is right for you. Your souls are made for each other, I just place the markers to help you replace each other. It’s not random. Each mate is still individually chosen based on each wolf’s personality and needs. Sometimes I get it wrong, but not often.”

“So if you can’t interfere, then why are you here?” It doesn’t make sense to me.

“I’ve come to establish you fully as my vessel. I will bring your wolf forward now, tonight, so that you can receive my power, and then the mate situation will be fixed. You will still need to defeat the Beta on your own, but once you have your wolf, you can communicate with the pack and tell them what you know. You’ll also be able to defend yourself better, should the need arise. It should all be a help to you.”

That does sound helpful. It’s better than nothing anyway. But am I really ready to become a full werewolf tonight? There’s still so much I don’t know, even without taking the whole vessel business into consideration.

As if she’s read my thoughts, Selene leans closer to me, looking straight into my eyes. “So what do you think, Sadie? Are you ready to claim your wolf?”