Page 27 of Aching for His Mate (The Wolves of Luven #5)

“How on earth did you live here?” Iota complained as sweat dripped down his body in rivers.

“It’s not that bad! You should feel it in late summer. Now, that is hot. Early summer is nice. Perfect weather to sleep under the stars.” Domitia giggled as she walked beside him.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep until we are back in Luven.”

“You’ll be fine. I promise. There’s a nice breeze off the water once we get on the beach. You’ll be able to sleep there.”

Iota looked over the land in front of him. As a wolf who never envisioned leaving Wolf Territory, standing on a crowded street in Javel was never in his plan. But, new roads were going up all over Wolf Territory, and after a quick visit to his sister in Muchan, Iota and Domitia were going to try to find her mother.

It wasn’t going to be an easy feat. Javel was a huge city, and Domitia hadn’t seen her mother in seven years. She could have moved on, or worse, died. But, they were undeterred. Before leaving Luven, they decided they would look for her for two weeks, and if they could not find her, Domitia would leave a message at the harbor, in case her mother ever went looking for her again.

“Oh, there’s Tine! She had the best textiles but was an awful cheat. Her prices were never fair. She used to make me so mad because I could never afford anything she sold. I could save a half-year’s worth of wages and it would only buy me a single dress from her.” Domitia scrunched her nose. “Good to see she is still alive though.”

“Does it look the same?”

“A little. I can tell it’s Javel. But Javel never really stayed the same. Whenever I came back, there’d be new merchants to replace the old, new buildings to replace whatever had collapsed. It was always changing.”

There were so many people here—mostly human, but Iota noticed a few wolves in the mix. The streets were crowded, people pushed, and more than once, Iota put his arm up to block someone from knocking into Domitia.

“Now I know why you spent so much time on the water,” he remarked.

Domitia barked a laugh. “I didn’t mind the crowds after being at sea for months with no one but my shipmates to keep me company. Then I’d be starved for new conversation.”

“Where did your mother live?”

“A few blocks south of here, nearly on top of the beach very close to the docks. That’s where she would meet the families of those deceased at sea and make arrangements for funerals.”

“An interesting field your mother entered into.”

“She is good with grief. And people flock to her. You’ll see when you meet her.” Domitia wove her hand through his and held on tight.

His brave girl. When they discussed this trip, Iota brought up that if she never went, she wouldn’t know what happened to her mom, and her mom wouldn’t know what happened to her. Which might be easier for all of them. And even if she did go, she still might not know. Domitia had disappeared without a trace. Her mom could have convinced herself that her daughter had settled down with someone and started a family and couldn’t travel anymore.

This trip would up end a lot of comfortable norms.

But Domitia had insisted she had to try. Even if it meant finding out something horrible had happened, even if it meant cementing she would never know.

“This is the street she lived on,” Domitia said quietly as they turned the corner. “Only another block until we’ll be there.”

Iota pulled her to the side so the flow of people could make their way past them. “Are you ready? We can walk further if you need more time.”

Domitia shook her head. “I want to know. Now. I’ve been waiting for years. Longer than I ever thought I would have to.” She set her jaw in determination. Goddess, Iota loved this woman. “I’m ready to know, whatever happens.”

Iota leaned forward and kissed her softly. “Let’s go find out then.”

They walked on, Domitia’s grip becoming stronger by the minute. She moved like a woman on a mission.

“Here we are,” she said, stopping in front of a doorway. Iota wrapped his arm around her and squeezed.

They pushed through the door into a darkened room. The walls were lined with glass jars filled with sand, stones, colorful glinting pieces of rock. There was a small table surrounded by chairs in the center and a staircase in the back of the room leading upstairs.

“Mom?” Domitia called, loud enough that anyone upstairs would be able to hear her.

“Domitia!” A woman’s voice called back. “Domitia, you are back!”

Iota looked at his mate just as her mouth broke into a grin and her eyes shed their tears. Relief crashed over him. No one deserved happiness like his mate did.

“Okay, baby. Introduce me to your mom.”

*

Thank you so much for reading Iota and Domitia’s story!! I hope you fell in love with them as much as I did when writing them. I really loved writing this book, especially all the yummy food Domitia makes.

As an indie author, reviews really help readers find books! I’d be over the moon if you took the time to write one: