Lorn and Selene found the other couple sitting in the middle of the forest while they rested from their run. They were sitting on a blanket, and there was a basket of food in the middle. While the two of them shifted behind a tree and clothed themselves with the ones they had carried with them in a duffle bag, Katia had called to them, laughing, "It is about time you two found us. We were beginning to think you found something better to do."
"Why ever would you think that, sister?" Selene asked smirking. Nathan had a feeling Selene was making her and Lorn's earlier conversation louder than it needed to be. The two sisters seemed to egg each other on with their jokes and pranks. He had a feeling that his and Alpha Lorn's life would never be dull. Watching as the other couple joined them, he noticed that Selene and Katia gravitated towards one another. Yet they each gravitated toward their mate also. It was strange the twin bond and the mate bond coexisted together. He wondered how they were going to handle it when it was time to be Alpha and Luna of their perspective packs.
"Titi, how did you get all of this food here in your wolf forms?" Selene asked her sister as she eyed the sandwiches, salads, tea, chips, and slices of blueberry pie. Nathan watched his mate smile as she licked some mayonnaise from her potato salad off her lips, and he immediately had to squirm to adjust his misbehaving member. He saw his mate notice his movements and blush but did not miss the sparkle in her eyes.
Finally, she answered her sister, "Nathan had it secretly packed into this basket and carried it along with our clothing while we ran." Her smile deepened as she remembered his laughter when she threw her answer to his question at him and took off. She thought she had gotten the upper hand on him and would get to the clearing before he did. That did not happen. He had everything sitting in a corner of the porch and took a shortcut to beat her here. She imagined the surprised chuff she gave when she arrived and found him already shifted back with everything set up and waiting for her. He had chuckled the whole time she was dressing and telling her that it was a good effort.
Lorn was impressed with Nathan's romantic efforts for his mate and thought maybe the two would work things out. After all, it was not Katia shrieking at her mate this morning. If he had known better he would swear that his own mate had set him up this morning with her little performance of undressing and dressing right in front of him. She claims there is no reason for modesty if you have lived as a goddess who is also a werewolf for as long as she has. She informed him that as he got to know the others from the god's realm, he would learn that clothing is mostly optional amongst them. They do wear clothing when it is called for she explained to him.
He noticed the girls whispering to one another and wondered what they were talking about. Nathan had Katia tucked into his side as he did Selene, but they were close enough to keep the conversation from them. He quipped to Nathan, "We are left out again."
Nathan shrugged and retorted, "I have a feeling it will be like this a lot around these two. Thank the goddess; they cannot mind link one another. We would be forgotten altogether."
Two sets of eyes swung to them, and Selene remarked, "You are quite welcome, brother-in-law, but why do you think we cannot mind link one another?"
Nathan looked surpised at the question as he answered, "You can link with each other?"
"Yes, Nathan, Selene, and I are the original first pack. We have been able to link with one another since before birth. It is a trait found in children who are multiples at birth, and we thought it would be a good trait for the wolf species. It comes in handy when you cannot speak or do not want others to hear your conversation." Katia said in her soft voice. Nathan still wished he could have been there to keep her safe and maybe stop Alpha Thomas.
"Nathan, I had not used my voice much in ages, so it really did not matter. I spoke mostly through mind linking from a very young age and at the time Thomas ripped my throat out, I had known that I would probably not survive once the shift happened and Aza attacked him." His mate was trying to assure him. "Besides although he did not know at the time, Lorn took care of Thomas. He will never hurt another person. I just wish we could convince Zor to take another chance with a different human. He is such a strong wolf and would make a good Alpha." She finished.
Nathan just put it all together when she said, "That is why Zor refused to leave your side? He was Thomas' wolf? I knew I recognized that wolf I just could not figure out how I knew him."
Selene decided to speak for her sister a bit so Katia could rest her voice, "Yes, Zor fought Thomas all the way from the moment he became sick with whatever illness he had. Sometimes, he could stop him, and other times, when Thomas was enraged enough, Zor could not control him."
Lorn interrupted, "I am starting to agree with you, Nathan. Something is not right with all that has happened. Maybe Uranus had more to do with the events up until now than we thought. But enough of this talk. We are here now and Uranus is not. What were you girls whispering about?"
Nathan groaned, "Do you really need to ask Lorn? You know they were whispering about this new prophecy you have brought information about." As he finished, he lifted Katia into his lap, needing to feel her against him and inhale her scent. Lorn had done the same with Selene. However, the two men made sure to keep close enough to the other so the girls could touch one another when the need arose.
"Ah, yes, the new prophecy my mother and her friend showed us after we accidentally found the hidden rooms of the gods." Lorn teased them.
Katia and Selene both sat straight and leaned forward as Katia did what amounted to a shriek for her, "Really, you found it? You found the gods room? It was your pack it was entrusted to?"
Lorn was laughing as he hauled Selene back some so she did not fall out of his lap, "Actually, my mother and her special friend knew where it was. They have been the guardians of the rooms for years. It was only when we stumbled upon the trap door, and other things came to light that Mama took us back there. She then told the story of how she met her best friend/sister and showed us the rooms. Which is where the prophecy was. They not only guarded the gods' rooms but the prophecy also."
"Your mother is a formidable wolf, and I will be honored to be her daughter-in-law," Selene praised.
Lorn grinned, "Sweetheart, my mother may be formidable like you say, but you are a goddess, and she is going to be gushing all over you. She will be thanking you for accepting us as your pack and asking you to perform a miracle, I fear."
Selene promised, "Katia and I will give her whatever is in our power to do so."
Lorn groaned, "Do not let her hear you say that."
The four of them laughed and then Katia brought them back to the topic at hand, "So, about this new prophecy, what is it?"
Nathan tickled her while he answered, "It says that mates who worry about prophecies and try to find out what it is before everyone else will be tickled until she forgets about said prophecy."
Lorn apparently agreed because Selene was wiggling, trying to get away from her mate, and shrieking like a banshee. Katia was doing the same thing, and the men were unmerciful. They refused to stop the tickling until both women agreed to wait for the big meeting to find out what the prophecy was about. The two couples stayed there all day talking, laughing, teasing, and learning about each other. As evening approached, the men cleaned and packed everything, they gave the girls a head start back to the cabins.As they were leaving, Katia looked back over her shoulder; Nathan reassured her, "We will be right behind you. You are safe, I promise."
"Odd, Selene does the same thing, and it is sudden. Out of nowhere, she will look unsure and scared. Once I reassure her she is fine." Lorn puzzled.
"Doc said this would happen. He said that it is hard for them to process that they are safe, and nothing is going to happen to take that away. His advice was to reassure them and to keep showing them they are safe," Nathan explained to Lorn. Nathan added, "I think that is the reason for them to need to be near one another so much. They soothe each other's fears."
Nodding his head to indicate he understood, Lorn said, "We are going to have to figure out some kind of living arrangement that pleases them and lets us oversee our packs."
Nathan agreed, but his gut told him that they would not have to work hard to find the answer. "Lorn, something is telling me that the answer will be shown to us eventually."
Lorn responded, "I have that same feeling. Let's go find out what our girls are doing. Knowing them, they probably are cooking up some kind of prank to pull on us."