Cornelia put her hand over her wide-open mouth. "Yasmin found her soulmate." The voice was not loud, but the room was silent, so everyone heard it.
Evanora looked like she was about to pass out, so Talia moved closer to Cornelia to ask, "Witches also have mates?"
"Every creature has a soulmate. No one was made to walk alone.", Cornelia responded. "We are children of nature, and we are in tune with the energies so when we meet our other half, we know he is the one. However, Yasmin can feel it more than most of us because she has the blood of a werewolf…"
"Cornelia!", Evanora hissed a warning for the priestess to stop talking and Cornelia closed her mouth so quickly that her teeth chattered.
It took Talia a moment to process this information. Everyone called Evanora by her title, but Yasmin addressed her as 'mother'. Was Evanora Yasmin's biological mother? And if Yasmin has a blood of a werewolf, does that mean her father was a werewolf? Evanora and a werewolf!?
But… everyone they met so far was female. Was it possible that Evanora's lover was a werewolf and they separated when the portal was closed? That would explain Evanora's bitterness at the mentioning of werewolves and the portal but… that happened ages ago. How old was Evanora? How old was Yasmin?
Or maybe there were more portals or Yasmin's father was nearby, and Talia allowed her imagination to see the clues when there were none.
Talia realized that she was looking at her sister-in-law. And then she remembered the deal Axel agreed to pay for in Talia's stead.
Will this impact the deal they made to dispel black runes from Damon?
A mate for a mate. What could that mean? Talia couldn't believe that Axel just jumped into that without clarifying it. It was vague and open to interpretation.
Talia hoped that Evanora won't try to separate Axel from his mate because that would hurt Yasmin also, and it was obvious that Evanora was fond of the girl.
Talia was lost in her thoughts, and she looked up in time to see Yasmin grabbing Axel's hand and yanking him toward the door. He followed as possessed.
"You are NOT allowed to couple!", Evanora shouted after them. "Did you hear me!?"
Priestesses giggled as Yasmin completely ignored her. Oh, they were going to do the naughty, definitely.
"If you bite her, I will break you!", Evanora exclaimed and cursed under her breath when the door closed behind Axel.
Talia was glad that Evanora didn't do anything extreme to prevent Axel to be with his mate, even though the High Priestess was visibly upset.
"He will not mistreat her.", Talia said to Axel's defense. "Axel is a good man. He kept himself pure for his mate."
Evanora cringed at this last part. Did Talia need to mention purity?
"It will be alright. Soulmates are made for each other. He is exactly what Yasmin needs, and she is what he was looking for.", Cornelia said while putting her arms around Evanora who was still glaring at the closed door, but her expression softened after Cornelia's words.
Seeing that Evanora calmed down a bit, Cornelia turned to the other priestesses in the room. "Yasmin was blessed to find her other half and we should celebrate. This is the first time in more than a century that our sister found a soulmate!"
Priestesses exploded in cheers and high-pitched noises.
Talia blinked. Did Cornelia say, more than a century? She took a mental note to stop guessing people's age based on appearances.
One priestess sneaked close to Talia to ask, "Are there more males from where you came from?"
Talia nodded. "Yes. I will bring more next time if Evanora allows it. Or you can go back with me and try your luck in finding a mate."
"Stop tempting them!", Evanora hissed, and turned to priestesses who were looking at Talia with sparkles in their eyes, "We have work to do. Cornelia, divide work between potions and spells."
"What about the celebration?", a voice was heard from the back.
Evanora looked at eager faces directed her way, and she gave in. "We will have a fest tomorrow at sunset."
Talia smiled a little as this was a sign that Evanora might give Axel some hard time, but she won't stand between Axel and his mate.
It was a reason to celebrate.
Talia remembered Alpha Isaac and Alpha Sophia. Would they be upset that they will miss this occasion? Probably. But then… that duo did so much wrong, maybe this will be their punishment or at least part of it.
She saw that priestesses were leaving the study, and Cassandra was sticking close to Cornelia while ignoring Talia's presence.
Talia turned to ask Evanora, "Can I help somehow?"
"Not at this point.", Evanora said. "I'm sure you are tired. Someone will escort you to a room and we will send you food. Take a few hours to rest."
"Thank you.", Talia responded. She was not tired nor hungry. She really wanted to keep busy knowing that the moment she finds solitude, Damon will come to her mind, but she didn't want to be in the way either.
Axel had no idea how he found himself in the room that was filled with a sensually sweet feminine scent with nutmeg undertones. Jasmine.
He remembered that he was trying to hide his presence in the corner. The study was full of nearly naked females that were shuffling and sometimes coming dangerously close to him with their scents mixing and muddling his mind.
But then he heard a melodious voice a second before the exotic scent of Jasmine reached him, gentle yet overpowering everything else.
The world faded, leaving only him and the blue-eyed beauty in front of him, and then he heard a voice in his head, "Mate".
Axel couldn't believe that was happening. He was familiar with every unmated female in the Midnight Guardians pack, and he traveled far and wide with the hope to meet his mate, and he never imagined that she would be in a different realm, a place he didn't know about until one day ago.
When their hands touched, an electric current zapped through his arm, catching him by surprise, and confirming that this was real. He found his mate, and she was stunning.
Blonde hair ending at her shoulders framed her exquisite face and even though she was nearly naked, he ended up staring into her light blue eyes that were curious and emotional, and there was an animalistic element he couldn't put his finger on. Perfect.
Did she say her name was Yasmin?
Such an appropriate name for a girl that smells of Jasmine and looks like a delicate white flower. His flower.
She grabbed his hand and he followed obediently, not caring where she was leading him because even if she was going to a raging volcano, he would accompany her willingly.
And here they were. Not in a volcano, but in a room. Just the two of them.
Yasmin was standing half a step from him and observing his expression with sparkles in her eyes and… that was it.
Was he supposed to do something now? Axel was not sure.
He decided to look around.
There was a sitting area in the corner with two chairs on each side of a low table, a desk with another chair, and then there was a bed. He swallowed hard.
Axel knew how this should go. They should get to know each other over dinner and a movie before they progress to kissing and other stuff, but there was no restaurant and definitely no movie theatre and the fact that she was technically naked was not helping him think.
You can see Yasmin's pic in the comments.
