Chapter 392


    Chapter 392: Questions Answered


    Cora


    My eyes sh open as I gasp, fascinated and thrilled at the having finally, finally


    met my wolf – who has been here all along –


    My mother smiles warmly at me, but when I turn to Roger I only see shock on


    his face as he stares at me with wide eyes.


    “Can you – can you sense her?” I ask, thrilled and curious.


    “Um, yeah, Cora,” he says, looking me up and down in fascinated shock. ” Can’t


    you feel mine?”


    And I feel my wolf turn then, looking for him, and suddenly – frankly, like a p


    in the face I feel Roger’s wolf standing right there on the other side of our bond,


    which snaps instantly into ce –


    I gasp, and my knees go literally weak at the sudden intensity of it –


    Roger’s up in an instant, catching me in his arms before I can fall to the ground


    because… Because it feel like gravity shifts, suddenly, and what used to be


    down is now sideways, and at the center of everything now….


    …is Roger.


    “Hey,” Roger says, anxious, looking down at me as I stare up into his face, as


    my shy wolfes forward to tap her nose hesitantly against his across our


    mating bond.


    Roger’s wolf gives a great bay of joy and leaps forward, making my wolf skitter


    back a step. But he doesn’t stop, closing the distance instantly and nuzzling his


    body against her, nipping yfully at her shoulder, burying his nose deep in her


    fur –


    Property of N?)(velDr(a)ma.Org.


    My poor new wolf shies again for a moment – not from fear just…just because


    it’s all so new – and I feel Roger’s wolf respond, prancing around her with joy


    and letting her know with his bodynguage that he’s thrilled she’s here –


    And that he’s ready, whenever she is, to y. I can’t help the tears that pour


    from my eyes at this, as Rogerughs and hugs me close, as I…adjust myself,


    as best I can, to everything.


    I give myself a few moments to cling to my mate my mate, my fated mate,


    because I know it to be true now in a deep, physical way – before I remember,


    of course, that my mother is here.


    And that we’re being incredibly rude. Slowly, even though I don’t want to at all I


    push Roger away from me just slightly and turn back from her.


    “I’m sorry,” I say, wiping the tears from my face with the back of my hand. “I’m


    just -”


    “It’s all right, daughter,” she says, smiling up at me from her ce in her chair. “It


    does me good to see you so happy.”


    And then, holding Roger’s hand tightly as we move back to our chairs, I do my


    very best to pull myself together.


    “So,” I say, hesitating, “um, does this mean that I’ll be able to take Roger’s


    mark?”


    “Yes,” the Goddess says, nodding. “It may take your human body longer to heal


    from it,” she adds, giving a little shrug, “but your sister can help with that. And it


    will do you no harm.”


    “Will other humans?” I ask curiously, thinking suddenly of the vision we had of


    little baby Rafe, all grown up and finding his true love in a human girl. ” Could


    they take a mark, if they wanted one?”


    “They could,” my mother says with a smile, “though…they might not find the joy


    in it, as wolves do. Your wolf, though, Cora, will crave it. She probably already


    does.”


    And inside me I feel the truth of it as wwolf steps closer to Roger’s tall my wolf’s


    side, pressing herself against him and looking up into his face. I grin, knowing


    that my mother is right, not needing to confirm.


    Oh geeze, I think to myself, a little chagrined but unable to stop smiling. It is


    going to be…quite a struggle, trying to convince Roger not to give me his mark


    the moment we step out of this temple But, as much as I want it, I also want it to


    be special. Knowing my mate, he’ll want to sink his teeth into me in the back of


    that RV – if not before but…. no. I want something more than that.


    Quite suddenly, though, another question crops up in my mind. “Does this


    mean…um,” I hesitate, also trying to find the words. “Will I be able to shift? Into


    my wolf?”


    “I’m sorry, my darling,” my mother says quietly, shaking her head. “Your spirit is


    that of a wolf, but your body is still human. It is incapable of the shift.”


    A little shudder of disappointment runs through me, but it’s short lived. I’ve


    already received so, so much more than I had hoped from this visit.


    “What about the baby?” Roger asks, interrupting my train of thought with a very


    important question. I perk up, curious, and am tickled to find that my wolf perks


    up too, her emotions reflecting my own. “Will the baby be able to shift?”


    Roger does his best to hide his anxiety on this point, but I can see it in him as I


    look at his tense face. Roger wants, very badly, to be able to bond with his child


    on this point – as he did with his own parents.


    “As you are the father of Cora’s child, Roger,” my mother says, a phrasing which


    I’m thrilled actually also answers questions for me that this is my child, and that


    no dark god was involved in some kind of strange impregnation scenario, as I


    had once feared “the child’s body is not entirely human, as Cora’s is. Your


    children’s experiences with their bodies and their wolves may be unique, but


    yes,” she says, beginning to smile, they will be able to transform, as you can.”


    A huge sigh – almost a groan – of relief falls from Roger’s mouth as he hangs


    his head, his shoulders shaking with the intensity of it. I smile widely at my mate


    as he looks down at the floor with his eyes squeezed shut, trying to pull himself


    together – I’m just so pleased that he’ll be able to have this connection with his


    children, a connection he so deeply wants.


    He looks up at me then, apology all over his face – “Cora,” he whispers, and I


    can see that he feels guilty, “I know it seems – I mean, I will love our children no


    matter what – but I just – ”


    “It’s all right,” I say, reaching for his hand, which he gives me. “I get it,” I say,


    nodding and smiling. My wolf nudges his with her nose yfully, happy. “I really


    do.”


    My mate exhales a sigh of relief and then we turn our attention back to my


    mother, though…honestly, I’m so happy that I feel guilty asking her for more.


    “You two have a beautiful future ahead of you,” she says quietly. “It will bring me


    much joy to see it unfold.” And then, to my great sadness, she stands up. “My


    time runs short. Is there anything else I can answer for you, before I go?”


    “Please,” I say, leaning forward on my chair and hesitating because…well,


    because it feels selfish. She smiles at me, though, inviting me to ask.


    Still, I bite my lip. “E’s gift,” I say, the wordsing out in a rush. “It can …it


    can do such wonderful things in this world. I want to to do more of that, to heal


    people, as she does. I know that she’s passed the gift to me before but – could


    you possibly – could I…”


    And then I run out of words because… it feels just so, so terrible to ask for such


    an incredible gift, which should be freely given. I hang my head, ashamed.


    But to my shock, my motherughs, and suddenly I feel her fingertips under my


    chin, turning my face up to hers.” You have your own gift, Cora,” she says


    quietly, “already within you.”