Chapter 9 Her awakening begins

Stella's POV

My heart pounded in my ears as I left his side. Why do I keep seeing him everywhere I go? Was rejecting me not enough.

I stood still for a moment, my back against the wall, my heart panting, and pounding. Because even here, even now, I could still feel it. I could still feel his presence in the sitting room and it unsettled me. Unravelled me even.

I waited until I heard the door slam shut and the sound of his engine starting. I didn't move until he had driven away. His grandmother's voice rang out, calling for her son but she was met with silence. I heard her sigh, before speaking. "Why is Alexander always this stubborn? Why can't he just tell me what's bothering him instead of storming off like someone that is being haunted like a ghost?"

I moved immediately, grabbing a nearby vacuum cleaner to get rid of the broken shards of glasses before she got hurt.

"I can help with that." I spoke quickly as I saw her.

"Oh Stella, you don't need to bother yourself with this. I can handle it or send for one of the help."

"No. Please allow me." My voice was soft as I gently collected the broken pieces from her. She smiled. A small smile but it was enough to warm my heart. Enough to convince me that she was nothing like her grandson.

Her voice drew me out of my thoughts. "Stella, you look... lost. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah..." I replied but my voice sounded faraway. "I'll be done in a second." I packed the instrument I was using to clean earlier and put it away.

"Come Stella. We were just getting to know ourselves before my rude grandson interrupted."

I returned shortly, and she gestured at me. "Sit child. Tell me about yourself."

Unsure of what to do, or say, I sat down beside her. "Tell me everything Stella. Don't hold back. Who are you? Who are your parents? Where did you come from?"

"Well. I am a basic nobody."

"Really?" Grandma Calum raised an eyebrow, picking up a crochet piece she was weaving earlier.

"Yes. I grew up in an orphanage, and I've lived all my life as an orphan. I've never met my parents and I know nothing about them but I can vividly remember only one detail. They left me in a blanket that smelled like cedar and rain." My voice had dropped now, sounding sadder than I'd intended, but I continued anyway.

"I moved out of the orphanage and got my own place at the age of nineteen and I've been working multiple jobs just to keep myself afloat. The most recent was at a night club where I met your son."

"You've met my son? I thought you denied meeting him earlier." She looked at me sternly.

"Yes," I replied, visibly ashamed of myself. "I did that out of convenience. Because he was the same man I felt strongly connected to. The same person I've been seeing in my dreams. The same person that rejected me immediately reacted to his touch. So... I'm sorry I lied but I just couldn't admit to knowing the person that rejected me before he even knew me. His rejection landed me in the hospital."

"Really? And did I hear you say something about seeing him in your dreams? Tell me about your strange dreams Stella. Tell me everything and please be truthful."

"I've been dreaming of him since I was eighteen." I started. "The same man came to me every night claiming and marking me. Making sweet love to me makes me feel safe and deeply connected to him."

She raised her eyebrows, but listened intently, paying full attention to every word that I said.

"I always look forward to seeing him again every night, because with him I can totally submit myself and allow him to do with my body as he pleases. I don't always see his face but I know it strongly in my heart that what we share is real. Our feelings for each other are genuine."

"Does anything happen when you wake up from sleep?" Grandma Elara probed further.

"Umm yes. I wake up soaked with sweat, my pussy wet and the feel of his hands on my skin, as if he was just there with me in my bedroom.

She nodded slowly, understanding written on her face. "And do you know what these dreams mean Stella?" she asked like a wise old sage.

"I don't." The admission was raw. There was no need pretending I understood any of it. "I don't understand why it keeps happening. Even when I try to stop it, I can't. He always comes, and I cannot say no to him."

"That's because he's your fated mate."

"Fate mate? You mean soul mate right?"

"No." Her tone was soft but serious, like she was about to say something grim. "Humans have soul mates but werewolves have what we call a fated mate, destined to be yours by the moon goddess.

I almost laughed. Werewolves? I and Naomi had argued that a thousand times and even though everything looks supernatural, I still didn't believe that it was real.

As if she read my thoughts, the next thing she said addressed them. "The werewolves are real Stella. Don't make the mistake of doubting it. You might even be one of them."

"One of them?" I asked, shocked.

"Stella, different worlds exist outside what humans can see. There are those who are born witches, with the witch blood flowing in their veins. They can perform dark magic, heal the sick, and concert charms or spells for different reasons. The werewolves which is the world I belong to are humans born with the instincts of a wolf. They transform into a wolf in the full moon because we are being driven, our energy force is powered by the moon. Our instincts are that of the flesh, we mark our mates to connect them to ourselves but..." she paused as if for effect. "I think you belong to both worlds."

"Wait! What?"

"Let me show you what I mean." Mrs Elara said, getting up casually. "I am a white wolf." Before she finished talking, she transformed into a huge ethereal wolf. Her furs were pure white, with tiny streaks of blue lining up her furs. Big blue eyes that shone in the room making me tremble at her alpha aura.

She transformed back to human before I would start shaking and continued speaking as if she was giving me a lecture. "While you," she pulled out a huge book from the table, bringing out an old photo from the middle.

She handed me the picture and my jaw dropped. The person in the picture looked exactly like me only that she was older. Like me in the future. She ignored my shock and continued with her teaching. "Or people like you who dream of love before they meet it are half wolf and half witch."

"So you mean-"

"Yes. Stella, your dreams are not random. They are memories, and the man in them, whether you know him or not, is your true mate chosen by the Moon. Your souls have already been bonded even before meeting."

Everything came flashing back in that moment. The pull, the connection, my reaction to his presence. Alexander is my mate. And I am a part wolf.

"It's Alexander." I whispered, low and unsteady but she heard it.

"You can't be so sure, child. If you're his mate and he rejected you as he said, that means Alexander is a big fool. And I didn't raise a fool.

For the first time, I was scared to go to bed that night. Because I knew he would come again in my dreams, to touch me in all the places that makes me feel alive.

And I didn't know how to face him.