A voice spoke up behind them, startling the girls. Emma whipped around quickly, bearing her teeth and letting out a deep growl at the intruder. Belle bolted up at the sound, looking around for the danger. Ruby simply smiled.
"Oh hush yourself pup. I'm no more a threat to you than that pillow there." Granny stated, gesturing to the out-dated decorative pillow on the chair in the corner. "And besides, given everything I just heard, you are going to want me here to explain some things to you."
Granny moved over to the previously indicated chair, taking a seat, and placing said pillow behind her back. "The three of you may want to get comfortable. This may take while to go through." Holding up a hand, Granny interrupted whatever Belle was about to say. "And before you start Belle, I know what you want, and it looks like we may have no choice soon enough. So you will stay too. But keep quiet until the end, because although you may already know a lot about werewolves, you don't know everything yet."
Belle blushed and looked down at being called out on her eagerness to remain. "Now get comfortable." All three women began resituating themselves quickly, eager to find out what was going on that had the older woman so serious, even for her.
After all three women were comfortable on the bed Granny took notice of their positions, with a small smile. "First, I want you to look at how you are right now. Don't over think things, just look at how you just arranged yourselves. I will explain everything in a moment, but it's important you realize what's already started to happen."
Looking at each other, the girls noted their positions, and how intimate they appeared to be without thought. Ruby was still seated at the head of the bed, with her legs over Belles lower back and around Emma's body, who had moved to sit beside Belle. Belle was lying on her stomach between the two women, under Ruby's legs, with an arm over Emma's knee. Emma was seated beside Belle, and arm resting on her back, and with one of Ruby's feet in her lap, the other resting comfortably against her rear. They were a tangled mess of limbs, but were all very comfortable.
"Although it is normal for packs to be close physically, the way that you three moved into this position so quickly, with one of you still being human, one having been just bitten, and one having never really lived in a pack before, says there is something more than considering each other pack mates." Granny stated without preamble. All three women blushed deeply, but none shifted from their positions. Emma had again begun to draw random patterns, this time on Ruby's leg, and Belle's back.
"Ruby, both by birthright, and right of challenge, is an Alpha. Normally this would mean you, Emma, and when you have changed, Belle, would defer to her. Instinctually you wouldn't want to upset her, would follow her directions unless you strongly disagreed with them, and would want to take care of each other. You wouldn't be able to look her in the eye for long when she was upset with you, and would feel guilty for whatever you did wrong. That is the normal behaviour for new and young wolves in a pack. But this isn't the case with you three though." All three women looked at Granny slightly confused.
"Last night Ruby, when I arrived, you made Emma upset when you spoke about Henry. When she was upset, you couldn't look at her, you kept looking at the ground. Emma, you took a very dominating stance, and didn't hesitate to stand up to Ruby. When Emma opened the cell, Ruby immediately nuzzled your jaw, apologizing for upsetting her." Granny recounted to the women. Belle looked over her shoulder at Ruby, who was blushing furiously, avoiding eye contact. "The grin on your face when she hugged you and forgave you, I thought you would start wagging a tail even though the moon had gone down." Granny teased, making Ruby blush even more.
"Then today, about the thoughts I heard Emma mention. They are possessive, not only over Belle, but you as well, Ruby. That is unusual, as wolves only tend to become possessive over a few select things. Their pups, their territory, and…" Granny left off, waiting for the women to catch on to where this was going.
"Their mates." Belle breathed out. "They are very possessive over their mates. Often resorting to violence when they feel their mates are in danger, or if someone is disrespecting their bond, usually due to lust."
Replaying her actions and thoughts earlier in the diner, Emma sat with her jaw hanging open at the implication. Ruby had stiffened thinking of what she too had seen, and feeling the stirrings or a foreign emotion she couldn't name.
"But mates have to be wolves as well. We don't form a mate bond with humans. And we know Belle is my True Love. Blue confirmed it with Fairy Dust after we found out about Gold's spell on Belle." Ruby said, becoming increasingly frantic as she continued. "It's not possible!"
Belle had yet to move, still staring at Granny in shock. She knew that wolves could have True Loves, without being mated to the human, and that it was just as strong of a bond. 'Could it be?' Belle remembered something then, a rare book she had read in Gold's library on wolves. 'Something about magic users, the wolf curse, mates and Alpha's? Damn it, what was that passage!' It came to her suddenly, and she was stunned at the realization of what Granny was implying.
"Are you talking about the Prophecy of the White Wolf?!" Belle locked eyes with Granny, who was surprised she knew of that particular Prophecy. Belle heard Ruby gasp behind her, but made no move to break eye contact with the elder. If she was right, it would change everything, for all of them.
"Yes. That is exactly what I am thinking is happening here. It makes sense. How quickly she began showing symptoms, the traits she is already showing, the instinctual reactions to Ruby, to you, to threats. And she is already a magic user, a White magic user at that. That and she has been called Saviour in Prophecy before." Granny finished, nodding sagely to Belle, who sat with wondering eyes.
"Umm, hi. Still in the room here, and very, very lost. Want to clarify things a bit for me, please?" Emma stated looking between all three other women. Ruby was frozen in place, staring blankly at her grandmother and Belle, while Belle and Granny seemed to be having a silent conversation only they were privy to. "What Prophesy is this, and how do I fit in this one?"
"The Prophesy of the White Wolf is part of the history of werewolves. According to our history, there was a magic user who became a wolf thousands of generations ago. They were stronger, faster, and more powerful than any Wolf before it, a True Alpha. They united the packs and brought peace to the wolves at last, after years of wars. They, and their family after them, founded and ruled the Kingdom of the Wolves for 1000 generations. They prospered, and wolves lived in peace they had never known before. When the last of the line of the White Wolf fell, the kingdom fell, and the wolves returned to their separate ways and squabbling. It was foretold that there would come another wolf, The White Wolf, who would be the Saviour of the wolves, and refound the Kingdom on the wolves, after 1000 generations or suffering. The Saviour of the Wolves would have magic, White magic, as well as a few other things. They would not be born a wolf, but would have the curse thrust upon them. They would be of royal birth, but never ruled. They would also have an unusual bonding mate." Granny replied.
"Well, it wasn't so much about their bond mate, as their, um…mates?" Ruby squeaked out, finally joining the conversation.
"Mates? As in, more than one?" Emma said. "You think because… that I'm… that we…"
"Yes. The only other was we can test the theory, is to check for the mark. If you are The White Wolf, it should have formed by now, given that you are already showing behaviours." Granny stated succinctly. "Here, this is what it will look like." Handing the paper over, Emma saw the symbol she had drawn. It looked like four pointed, long black claw marks, the top one having another small line extending from the side like the mark of a fifth claw that had run into the other.
"Um, where is this supposed to show up? On my body? Because I haven't seen anything like that anywhere." Emma stated, turning her arms and hands over looking for the mark.
"It should be on your ribs, close to your heart." Belle replied. "The legend said every wolf of the White Wolf line would carry this mark close to their heart, to show they could never be parted from their mates."
"So having more than one mate was a normal thing for the White Wolf line?" Standing, Emma stripped off her shirt, and began looking for the mark. Granny smirked at Emma's behaviour, as both Ruby and Belle' s faces heated with their blushes. "I don't see anything, do you?" Emma continued to search herself, oblivious to the eyes of the other two women roving her figure.
"Stop." Ruby called. Emma froze, and waited for Ruby to elaborate. Hopping off the bed, Ruby walked over to Emma, and lifted her hands above her head. "What? Do you see it?" Emma asked, impatient for answers.
"Do you trust me?" Ruby asked, keeping her eyes on Emma. She nodded, and Ruby stepped around behind her. "Just remember, we are all girls here, so it nothing we haven't seen before." Ruby stated, before she unclasped Emma's bra, hoping the breathless quality wasn't noticed in her voice. It was.
Moving back around to the front, Ruby shifted the bra slightly up, so as not to bare Emma to the room, but enough to show the black mark that she had spotted. Ruby had seen a small bit of it when Emma had twisted and her bra had shifted.
Gently tracing it with her fingers, Ruby noted it looked like the mark started on her side, and moved towards the heart, tapering off to jagged points.
Emma's breathing hitched at the gentle touch. She quickly moved away from the caress, and over to the mirror in the room to see the mark for herself, as Ruby returned to the bed to hold Belle. "Well, I guess that settles that then. I am another Saviour, of the wolf variety this time." Emma stated with a shrug of her shoulders and a small laugh. "The four lines are representing the claw marks from a wolf, right?" She asked, not seeing the look shared between Belle and Ruby. Both were scared of the reaction of the other to the news they were about to share.
All eyes in the room turned to Granny, who had sat quietly in the chair in the corner with a knowing smirk on her face. "Not quite. As you know, wolves, both regular and magical, mate for life. As you know, The White Wolf has more than one. You do, in fact, have three. Each line of the mark represents a mate, with the top line representing yourself, and reminding you to always know that without them, you are less."
"Hold up, back up for a second there. So, I am this White Wolf, born to save the wolves, yadda yadda yadda. But I have not only one mate, but three?! And you think Ruby and Belle are each one of those mates?! Who is the fourth?!" Emma began ranting. She had started to feel a fever again, and had started to sweat as her agitation grew. "Do you know who she is? You must or you wouldn't be telling me. Where is she?! You will not keep us from what is ours!" Snarling, Emma eyed Granny, the yellow glow having returned to her eyes. Belle and Ruby were beyond shocked, both at Emma's acceptance, and the fact that she was becoming so aggressive towards Granny.
"Whoa. Clam yourself pup, you will scare your mates." Granny calmly stated, gesturing towards Belle and Ruby.
Upon seeing their worried eyes, Emma immediately blanched and moved to the bed. Nuzzling first Belle, and then Ruby, Emma wiggled her way under both of their legs, and lay on her stomach, a look of pure regret on her face. "Sorry. I'm sorry. Oh god, I am so sorry. I don't know why I got so worked up there. Sorry for snapping at you too Granny."
"It's fine. You are probably hungry, and it's getting close to moon rise. I'm surprised you calmed down as quickly as you did." Granny called as she stood and moved to the door of the room. "I'm going to go make some dinner for us all, while the three of you talk for a bit. I know you will need to sort a few things out amongst yourselves." Stopping at the door, she made a point to lock gazes with Emma. "You won't turn tonight. But you are going to feel out of sorts. Your temper will flare, you will be restless, and you will have other… urges that will need to be addressed. I expect you to control them, and yourself." Looking again to Ruby and Belle, Granny continued. "Not to mention, the three of you need to discuss Belle being bitten as well. I suspect that you can both transfer the curse when the moon is up tonight, but only one of you needs to bite her. That needs to be settled as soon as possible, or things could get more complicated than they already are." Closing the door behind her, Granny left the three women to begin figuring out their new situation, and how they would fit together.