Amira

"I don't get how this is a good idea," Caine stands a few feet in front of me, a look of panic on his face.

"You were the reason her powers came out in the first place. It's only reasonable to use you as the test subject," Alpha Daniel crossed his arms with an amused look on his face. He stands next to me and faces Caine as well and Caine glares at his comment.

"Plus, I believe the saying is... payback is a bitch," I joke and Caine switches his glare from Daniel to me. I can hear Daniel's light chuckle next to me.

"Alright, Amira. We'll start easy. All you have to do is focus on Caine and think about things that make you angry. Channel all your emotion and try to send it towards him." I nod and look back to Caine. He cowers away and his whole body tenses as I stare at him.

He didn't tell you about being mates. He didn't tell you about being mates.

I sigh and give up when nothing happens, dropping my gaze to the ground. Caine lets out a huff of relief and I glare up at him.

"Here, let me help you. Just focus on being angry," Daniel puts a hand on my shoulder and I glare back to Caine. I can feel energy flow from Daniel's hand to my shoulder and through my body. Caine screams and crumples to the ground on all fours.

"Oh, you so owe me for this, babe," he snarls through his clenched jaw and Daniel removes his hand from my shoulder, but Caine is still in pain.

"Okay, that's enough." I switch my gaze from Caine to the ground at Daniel's words and his painful groaning stops. I look back up as he pushes himself up to his knees, his breathing heavy.

"See? You can do it. With a little bit of practice, you'll have it flawless. Now," Alpha Daniel walks over behind Caine, who now has his hands on his hips, still trying to catch his breath. Daniel places his hands on Caine's shoulders. "let's move on to another one of your skills." Without any warning he elongates his teeth and sinks his canines into Caine's shoulder. Caine snarls in pain and his own teeth instantly grow as his eyes go dark. My eyes widen in shock.

Caine whips his body around and tries to lunge at Daniel, but Daniel lays a hand flat out in front of him and suppresses him, another talent of his.

"Why did you do that?!" I scream at Daniel over Caine's growls as I watch blood drip from Caine's shoulder.

"Because you're going to heal him." My eyes widen and Caine's growling suddenly stops. He turns his head towards me and stares into my eyes.

"I can't do that," I gulp.

"Yes, you can," Daniel walks over to me and pulls me closer to Caine, who is still kneeling on the ground. "Place your hand over his heart, and dig down into your own. Think about how much you care for him."

"You need to help me," I look to Daniel, but he shakes his head.

"No, you can do this. Just trust yourself." I gulp again and look back to Caine. I kneel in front of him, his gaze not breaking away from mine. He gives me an encouraging nod.

I lightly place my hand flat on his chest and his breathing hitches. I hold his intense gaze and, for the first time since I've met him, I see more than just lust in his eyes. I see something more. Maybe it's appreciation. Or maybe, maybe it's love.

He moves his gaze to his shoulder and I follow. The wound is gone and he meets my eyes again with a smile. For a split second, I think he's about to kiss me. And the scariest part is, I would let him.

"See? You're strong, Amira," Daniel's voice breaks us from our trance and I look up at him. With a smile, I accept his hand as he helps me up. Caine stands up shortly after.

"Do you know what else she can do?" Caine asks curiously.

"I don't know if she has the skill for them yet, but I know what abilities she possesses."

"What are they?" I ask him.

"Healing, like you just proved you are capable of. Inflicting pain or sickness, which you also just proved, prophecy, and the ability to remove senses, create illusions, and create a force field." My eyes widen, not knowing my abilities.

"Can I learn them?" I ask excitedly. Daniel chuckles at my impatience.

"Amira, I think you need a break. You don't want to exhaust yourself," I hear Caine's voice behind me and my smile fades.

"He's right, Amira. We'll do more tomorrow," Daniel adds to my disappointment.

"Fine," I stubbornly huff, "I guess it is getting late." I walk upstairs and into my room, about to change into something more comfy. A minute after entering the room, I feel two arms wrap around my waist and Caine's scent fills my nose as he buries his nose in my neck. I sigh, kind of irritated.

"My hot mate and her sexy, bad ass talents. I got lucky," I can feel his smirk on my neck.

"Caine..." I put my hands on his arms to push them off of me, but his hold tightens.

"Amira," I can hear the seriousness in his voice and instead of pushing his arms off of me, I turn around.

"What?"

"You know what just happened out there, right?" his icy blue eyes pierce pleadingly into mine.

"Daniel helped me with my talents," I push away from him and walk to the dresser to pick out some comfier clothes.

"No, you know what I'm talking about," I glance back to him and see the serious look in his eyes.

"Caine, I-"

"Am I seriously not getting anything from you? Do you not care about me at all?" I've never known that this part of Caine could even exist.

"And you do me?"

"Damn it, Amira!" he runs his hands through his hair in a frustrated manner. His sudden outburst causes my eyes to sting, and I feel them fill up with tears.

"Stop yelling at me!" his gaze snaps to mine and when he sees my state, the look in his eyes instantly goes gentle.

"No, Amira, I just.." he walks over to me and grabs my hands, but I pull them away. "I've never had to deal with feelings like this before. I don't know what to do or how to act... you're growing on me faster than what I'm ready for. I don't know what to do. I'm sorry."

When I don't look at him, I hear him sigh and walk away. Just as he reaches the door, I speak.

"Where are you going?" he freezes and looks over his shoulder.

"For a run. Don't worry, I'll ask Daniel for a different room tonight," and with that, he leaves and closes the door behind him.

**************************

Caine

The wind rips through my black fur, but the calming power that it normally provides isn't working. My damn wolf keeps letting my emotions get in the way.

I growl and shake my head as I increase my pace. Shifting in Alpha Daniel's territory probably isn't the smartest thing for me to do, but I was going to lose control. If I wasn't so far from Brayden, I would mind link him right now; he'd know what to do.

Just when I don't think I can run any faster, I find myself running out of room and skid to a stop on the top of a rocky cliff that overlooks the ocean.

Gazing out into the ocean, I throw my head back and howl.

****************************

Amira

I lift my head from the papers about Tyson when I hear a howl. I know who it belongs to, and I feel my heart clench in pain.

I can feel everything he's feeling. He poured all of his emotion into that howl. His pain and loneliness, his frustration.

I groan, throw the papers on the bed, and fall backwards into the silky sheets. After a few minutes of sitting there with my thoughts, I decide to seek Alpha Daniel's help.

If I were home I would go to Jade or Brayden, but I'm not home, and a phone call to Jade would be pointless. Brayden is probably busy.

I walk down the long hall trying not to get lost as I find Daniel's office. Finally, I hear his voice behind a door and lightly knock on the thick mahogany door.

"Come on in," I hear his voice from the other side. When I push the door open and stick my head in, he motions for me to take a seat.

"Yes, that would be perfect, thank you," he is talking to someone on the phone. "Alright, sounds great. Thank you, Pekelo. I'll see you in two days." He hangs up and turns to me, "what can I help you with, Amira?"

"I just need some advice, I guess. I'm sorry if this is a bad time."

"No, it's perfectly all right, I was just talking to one of my friends from the islands. He has a hotel and I was just booking some rooms for us. So what do you need to talk to me about?" I hesitate, trying to put a sentence together in my head.

"It's about Caine..." he leans back in understanding.

"I heard him," he said, "so what do you need my advice for?"

"I just... as a little kid, my parents always told me stories of the instant love they had when they first met. About how one day when I find my mate I would feel the same way. And I know I care for Caine, that much I can tell, but I don't know if I can get myself to the loving part. I'm sure I will someday, but what if he never does?"

"You're scared," Alpha Daniel leans forward onto his elbows, "it's normal to be scared, Amira. Committing yourself to a mate is a lifelong decision, but it's one you won't regret making."

"It's just-" I hesitate and look down at my hands, "Caine isn't one to love someone else. I guess I'm not either. I mean, he's showing all of these emotions, but he doesn't know what he wants. And I still hate him for what he did and how he does things." It comes out as barely a squeak.

"Caine is just used to hiding his emotions. His whole life has been filled with hate, he hasn't let himself love at all. There's more to him than what you see. The man he portrays himself to be is to protect his pack. He's an Alpha now, his pack comes first, even before his Luna. Just give him some time, he'll figure out what he wants, and he'll open up to you. As for you, I think you need to put what he did into perspective. Like you said, he didn't know what he wanted and guess what, he's scared, too. Love is a scary thing, Amira. It's only a tweak away from hate, but a mates love always comes through, if you give it the time to emerge."

I look up at Daniel and see a gentle smile on his face, his silver eyes piercing into mine.

"The Moon Goddess paired you two for a reason, you'll learn to love each other. You'll love who he is, everything he does, you'll love him."

"Alpha Daniel?"

"Yes?"

"How did it feel? Being rejected?" I realize the question is a bit personal, and I kind of regret asking it. Daniel sighs.

"Being rejected by the one who is supposed to love you, who you gave your whole heart to the first time you saw her..." he looks out the window next to his desk, "it's a pain I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy." Silence fills the room and I feel bad for bringing up this memory of his again.

"But," he looks towards me again, "I believe it happened for a reason." I raise my eyebrows quizzically.

"Why give you a mate just for her to be the wrong one?" He shrugs at my question.

"Maybe it was a challenge for me to surpass. Maybe she went down a road that no longer made her the mate I needed. Maybe I was the one to go down the wrong road, or maybe I went down the right one. Our destinies may be preplanned, but we decide our future ourselves. I'll get another mate, the one who was meant to be all along. I just have to be patient enough to wait for her." He holds his hands across his abdomen and leans back with a small smile. "I think you should go talk to Caine."

I nod and stand up, "Thank you, Daniel." He smiles and I walk towards the door.

"And Amira," I turn back to him, my hand on the cold door handle, "just remember to give Caine a chance."