"Hannah, change back for me, " Maddox begged her. She didn't refuse, she just..... barely had it in her to do so.

Four days...

It's been 4 days since she found out the truth about who she really was.

And...for four whole days, she had been in wolf form. For four whole days, she hadn't eaten. And for four whole days, he hadn't spoken to his mate.

He was at a loss of what to do.

They argued over her as she ignored them. She just laid there on the rug in the far corner of their bedroom.

The first night he reached for her to touch her, she whined, and he watched her pull away physically. He felt sad and alone; he needed her. The only thing he knew to do was to be close to her for however long it took for her to recover from this. So,  he removed his clothes and joined her on the rug in wolf form too.

The 2nd day her 'father' returned and begged to talk to her, but she just as quick retreated more into her wolf and was mentally absent...Even for Maddox.

On the third day, Michael appeared before her, and she just about took his whole finger off when he dared touch her.
A shocked Maddox, in his Alpha voice, chastised her and demanded that she change. But that only worsened everything, that she took off and didn't return until the Archangel had left.

On the 4th day, Maddox stood with a sandwich on a plate in his hand angrily facing an irate father that demanded to see his daughter.

"I wouldn't recommend it unless you want to lose a limb or your face; she doesn't want to be bothered. She doesn't want to see you."

"Why do you encourage this behavior. We are her kin?" Michael paced.

Maddox scoffed. "You really want to go there right now. You practically raised her as a stranger. Now all of a sudden, she possesses this ability, and you're running in fear, and you're trying to take her from me."

He watched Micheal stop pacing.

"You didn't think I noticed the look on your faces when she changed. You looked as if you were about to shit yourselves."

"I am surprised you do not feel the same way, human. That you do not fear your mate or fear for her safety," He faced Maddox.

"I don't fear her because she is my mate, and she will never hurt me, and I will always protect her."

Michael scoffed and turned away.

"Understand Maddox. We know you can keep her safe. But that is not enough, " Uriel spoke from the corner he had been standing in; observing them.

"What do you mean?" Maddox frowned.

"She needs the protection of those that can handle the type of danger she will face. If Hannah falls into the wrong hands, it can be catastrophic for us all, " Raphael said.

Michael and Maddox held his gaze.

"Explain, " Maddox demanded.

"She is the child of a powerful deity and an Archangel," He swallowed. "She is powerful to some and...lethal to others."

"She is revered as she is feared. Some will use her to defeat good and others evil." Uriel added.

"She doesn't know, does she?" Maddox frowned at them.

They answered with silent, nervous gazes.

"So...piss her off, and she can just do away with both good and evil, right?" He scoffed.

"She is a ticking time bomb as you humans put it, " Uriel stepped closer.

"No, she is my mate. Ticking time bomb or not, she is mine." He stepped closer. He could feel Koda pacing at the surface.

"I don't see why we waste our time with him. Just take her, and we leave, "  Michael shouted in frustration.

"You do that, and you kill them both, " a  feminine voice broke the chaos beginning to form in the room.

They turned to face her.

Immediately Maddox's eyes changed, and Koda knelt. The woman, short in stature demanded respect with her presence as she removed the hood from her head.

"As well as every wolf in this pack." She said softly.

Iridescent blue eyes softened as she looked at the pure white wolf sleeping on the rug in the distance before looking at Maddox.

"I feel the fates chose your mate well, " she smiled. Her sparkling eyes filled with triumph, landed on Raphael, Michael and then Uriel who stood behind them.

"Goddess Gaia?" Maddox weakly stumbled back.

She slowly approached him. Her gaze warmly lifted to his. Admiration and love brushed over him. Confused as ever he shook his head and lowered his gaze.  But she wouldn't let him.

"I have watched over you since birth. You have grown into the Alpha I dreamt you would become, " she smiled caressing his jaw.

"I don't understand." His jaw clenched his eyes slowly glowed to match hers.

He could feel their familiarity coursing through his veins.

"What are you doing here?" Michael asked. The tension between them climbed as she settled her fox-like eyes on him.

"That is not your concern, Angel, " she clenched her jaw before looking at his brothers.

Koda began to howl.

She gazed up at the muscular Alpha and reached for his arm.
"Walk with me, " she urged, dismissing the Archangels in the room.

He hesitated then slowly he followed her as she led them out into the hall all the way down the steps where lingering pack members dropped to their knees.

He felt all of them in his head. Questions, excitement, fear, and humbleness was all over.

They made it to the clearing and stopped. She observed the wooded area before speaking.
"By the look on your face, I want to assure you that I am not here to harm you." She smiled and looked up to him.

She sighed and began to walk slowly and speak. He followed in silence listening.

"Many centuries ago, I was told that the existence of shapeshifters would be in peril." She stopped to face him.
"But I was never told how or when."

"The fates tend to give information sparingly," She laughed softly.

She turned to look at the trees.
"It was around that time, although forbidden, I met a human," She smiled.

His throat felt tight as he looked down at the Goddess that made his emotions jump.

"A human?" He frowned.

She smiled with a nod then turned away from him and continued to speak.

"We had a child, and she grew and had her own....and so forth, " she said.

She chuckled lightly as he frowned even more with confusion.  She inched closer and gently took his hand.

The gesture alone had Koda anxiously pacing and whining.

"Maddox, " she said softly.

He stilled. His heart pummeled rapidly in his chest.

" I am here to tell you that...." She gazed up at him warmly.

"You are my descendant."

He stiffened.

"I am what humans would call, your great, great, great....grandmothers once removed?" She glanced up at him with a peevish, questioning smile.

"Many... great-grandmothers, " he murmured in shock.

"Yes, " she smiled at him.

"Why haven't I been told?"

"Well, only a few knew but generations passed and the secret died away."

"You see, you're the first male of our bloodline, " she said proudly.

Koda preened with pride finally standing straight.

"How is that possible?" He shook his head.

She sighed then paused. "Until you, we had very few males to carry on our bloodline. And that posed as a threat for our kind with many feuding packs."

"I...i'm confused, " he tried to grapple with her comment.

"As you know we are a proud and stubborn species, " she shook her head. "A species where the males are sovereign. And with that you have females that are just as stubborn if not fearful. So...mating was scarce. Therefore, packs grew smaller, weaker and were prone to horrible attacks from other shape-shifters....vampires even. And, the fates saw this. So they proposed a solution."

He waited for her to continue.

"To preserve our kind,  The celestial court needed balance and order but were reluctant to do anything. They simply don't meddle in our troubles. Therefore, on our pleas we needed someone just as powerful to help and the fates intervened." She sadly smiled.

"I never imagined they would take advantage of the chaos that was happening in the celestial realm. That they would manipulate such an outcome that would place Artemis in Raphaels path. But they did. And it was too late. They fell in love. From that union, "A being of mixed race , that will bring many to their knees, would be born," as the fates cryptically put it." 

"Hannah?"

She nodded.

"But why, Hannah? She is an angel. Pure and sweet. She wouldn't harm a fly, " he frowned, shaking his head warily.

"She is much more than that other than naive and trusting, she is strong and powerful from the two bloodlines. But, she can be easily persuaded. She is a Foundling that hasn't experienced evil in its true form. If she ends up in the wrong hands...." She shook her head sadly.

"If she is so vulnerable, then why did those assholes toss her out as if she were nothing." He shook furiously.

She chuckled and placed her hand on his chest, trying to calm him.
"She saw you. She was determined to find the male that intrigued her. Nothing would have held her back," She sighed then turned away.

"You were predestined to meet eventually, sooner or later. And when you did....I blessed your union."

He frowned. "The soul bond?"

She smiled to herself dreamily.
"Yes, " she said, "The perfect union, unique in every way."

"Why is it important for us to be mates like this?"

"For what's to come,"She looked up to him.

"In due time you will know," She looked down. "For now, protect her and love her."

He frowned as she stepped back and began to glow slowly, then she became transparent. Her last words drifted to his mind.

"She is going to need you more than anything when the time comes."

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