Morana

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"Oh my goddess! What's happened to you!" Alejo exclaimed as soon as I came into the living room and pulled me into a hug.

It wasn't until then that I realized how I had to look to him. I had been burned, had blood come out of my mouth, nose, and eyes, as well as been rammed by a sword. Though my physical body was all normal, there had to be signs of what had happened. Like that I probably had a lot of blood stains.

"I'm all fine," I ensured him, while I closed my eyes and leaned into his arms.

"You don't look like it. You're covered in blood!"

"I promise, I'm fine. And the coven will leave us be."

He held onto me for a while longer before letting go. I thought he would kiss me or something like that, and he did, but what he kissed was my hair.

"Your natural color is beautiful," he murmured against it.

"What?"

I pulled forward a lock of my hair, and sure enough, it was blonde.

"How did it turn blonde?" he asked next.

I bit my lip, knowing the truth would upset him. But I also didn't want to hide anything from him, so we sat down on the couch and I told him everything that had happened at the coven.

Except for the last bit with Marianela. I just felt certain she wouldn't want me to tell and that Alejo wouldn't be open to hear that she had expressed concern for him.

It took some time for Alejo to calm after I had told him. But when he did, the chaoticness of the day finally settled. All was good. We were free to live our lives together as we saw fit.

I remembered how Alejo had been certain we would end the day together on the couch, watching a movie, while I had been certain things would turn out bad. In a way, I guessed we had both been right. It had been the absolute worst day of my life, but the end was calm, peaceful, and happy.

We stayed at the apartment for a few days, but we knew we couldn't do that in the long run and neither of us wanted to. But those few days of calmness and bliss were well needed before we dealt with anything again.

It was the day after Christmas when we packed everything together. Apparently, Alejo had spent time preparing for where to move during those days without me knowing. So in the evening, he teleported all our things before we sat down in Rick's car, since teleporting Leramidon still didn't feel like a good idea.

"Can't believe you're finally moving from here," Rick said as we drove away from the apartment.

"Was about time," Alejo answered vaguely. We both sat in the backseat. I leaned against him while he had an arm around me.

"Want to tell me what finally made you decide?" Rick asked when Alejo didn't elaborate.

I felt Alejo's slight worry. He had explained to me that, now that we were mated, we would be able to feel each other's emotions and as the bond grew stronger, even be able to communicate with each other using our thoughts. Only we already could communicate with each other through our minds.

I had been doing the dishes when we had noticed.

"She's so fucking sexy. I want to rip off her clothes," I had heard him say. Only when I had turned and responded, he had been completely confused because he had only thought it.

From what Alejo had said, the mind reading part came along when the bond was strong enough. I guessed that considering all we had been through before we had even known we were mates, the fact that we had chosen each other without the mate bond, meant that our relationship already was strong enough for it.

"You can tell him," I therefore sent to Alejo through my mind when I felt his worry at Rick's question. Then I closed my eyes to just listen to Alejo's voice as he told Rick. I didn't pay attention to exactly what he said, I had no particular desire to relive that day in any shape or form. But listening to Alejo's voice was peaceful and calming.

The trip was long. We drove for several hours before stopping to sleep for the night. I had been half-asleep during the car ride, so it wasn't until we stepped out of it that I was faced with Rick's reaction to what Alejo had told him.

"Necromancer, huh?" he said.

"Yeah," I answered and wondered what would come next, because the slight cress between his eyebrows made him look somewhat fearful.

"Well, did not expect that. But I'm calling told-you-so on the dead mate bond." He gave me a wide grin and shoved me slightly. I smiled back.

The next day we drove throughout the whole the day. The weather changed outside the window as we drove. From the rather boring winter California offered, to nature clad in snow. I had never lived that far north and wasn't used to the amount of snow we went past. But it gave me a childish happiness and excitement. I knew I would want to spend our first day in our new home playing in the snow.

Towards the evening, I was half-asleep again, but got woken up by Alejo nudging me.

"We're here," he whispered.

I looked out, and it looked like a place taken out of a fairytale. It probably wouldn't have if it hadn't been winter and night, but in that moment, it did.

There were small houses, no skyscrapers or even houses that looked to be apartment buildings. The roads also looked small, and it made it seem to be a town built to walk in, not drive. There was lots of snow that glittered in the light cast by fairy lights that hung in trees, circled porches, and dressed streetlamps. We drove past a playground. Children played in it, though the late hour. A hill had been made from snow and they sledded down it over and over while laughing in excitement.

"It's beautiful," I said.

Alejo had only told me a little about the place beforehand. It was where Rick and his family lived, a small town in Colorado that had been made specifically for shifters that had nowhere to turn. In time, some other magical creatures had also moved there, but the vast majority were still shifters.

It was a place of safety for all outcasts and organized as a community. Alejo had said that most shifters lived in packs, but that this town was organized in a different way. In packs, there was one leader. But in the community, they had decided to create a council instead that together made decisions.

"Straight to your new place?" Rick asked.

"Is Howard awake?" Alejo answered the question.

"He shouldn't be. But it wouldn't surprise me if he is."

"Let's drop off Leramidon quickly, then we can go see him," I said before Alejo had time to ask me if it was okay if we did. I knew very well how much Alejo wanted to go and see Howard, Rick's uncle, and truth was, I wanted to meet him and the rest of Rick's family a lot as well.

So we went to our new home for a quick moment. It was a cute little house in the middle of town. Just one floor, but bigger than the apartment. Big enough for my mind to drift momentarily to a future when it wouldn't just be me and Alejo.

When Leramidon was settled in his aquarium, we got going again. The house Rick took us to was much bigger than ours and more to the outskirts of the town. As we drove, I felt Alejo's nervousness increase steadily. He had his eyes fixated on the outside world. I took his hand and gave it a light squeeze. He turned to me and I smiled.

"I'm here," I told him through our thoughts to reassure him.

He gave me half a smile in return and kissed my forehead.

We arrived and got out of the car. Walked the path that had been shoveled up to the door. Rick opened it and we stepped inside.

Almost immediately, a man was at the door. He looked to be about forty years old, and I assumed it was Rick's father, Martin. They looked alike at least. Both reminded me of teddy bears.

Martin's face broke into a smile at the sight of Alejo and completely bypassed his son to hug him.

"It's been far too long," he said softly, but his voice had a similar booming quality to it as Rick's had.

"It really has," Alejo answered, and I felt his nervousness subside.

"And this has to be Morana," Martin said and let go of Alejo to shake my hand. Then he quickly ushered us further in.

He brought us to the living room, and it became clear the house truly was a family home. For starters, there were markings on the door frame from the hallway to the living room, telling how tall both Rick and his siblings had been at different ages. Then all possible spaces in the living room had picture frames. Some with the whole family, some with only specific individuals.

There was a fireplace in the room that was lit and close to it, on an armchair, sat a man whose beard and hair had both turned white and he had a lot of wrinkles on his face, especially around the eyes and mouth. If Rick and Martin reminded me of teddy bears, then Harold made me think of Santa Claus.

"You look just the same," Harold said as we entered.

"Well, I can't really say the same," Alejo answered before taking quick strides forward while the man stood up. When Alejo had reached him, they hugged.

I hung back a bit, let them have a moment together. Alejo really hadn't talked much about Harold, only told me of a few stories from his youth. But as I watched them, it was clear this was his true family. They easily fell into conversation, as if it was only yesterday since they last spoke. It was natural and effortless, like a family should be.

"It's weird to think they grew up together," Rick said by my side with a frown.

"No, it isn't. It's obvious just by watching them," I contradicted him.

When I spoke, Harold turned his face to me and smiled widely. I took it as my cue to step forward.

"You really did find yourself a beautiful mate," Harold said when I reached them.

"Yes, I definitely did," Alejo agreed and placed an arm around my waist.

"Morana," I said to introduce myself and held out my hand.

Harold laughed lightly before pulling me in for a hug. "Handshakes are too formal. This is a proper greeting," he said.

We only stayed for about half an hour. It was late after all. Rick offered to drive us back, but we declined it. Said we wanted to walk after having been in the car for so long.

It was a decision I somewhat regretted as soon as we got outside. The clothes I wore was definitely not made for the Colorado winter. But at the same time, the snow was beautiful to walk through. And it was nice to have a chance, in the quiet of the night, to better check out the town. Our new home.