Ariella
I step out into the backyard, but I don't stop here, I keep walking into the woods.
I can't get the look of horror on Davonyé’s face out of my mind. He didn't say much, but I can just imagine what else he was thinking. Mom said he could go. She's seen him, so no matter what happens now, I have to trust that it will all work itself out in the end.
But when will be the end of this and the beginning of us? When will we be together properly? As boyfriend and girlfriend, as mates? Maybe as husband and wife?
My happiness seems so far away right now…
“Ariella,” Aura says softly, appearing beside me.
“Hey, Aura.”
I keep walking and she walks beside me.
“I am sorry that your revelation did not go to your expectation.”
I shrug. “It is what it is. Mom and dad will come looking for me soon,” I say, basically saying that we don't have long.
“I know. I just wanted to inform you that I will come to you tomorrow, for your change.”
I nod. I had a feeling she might.
“You can choose to have use of your magic tomorrow, or… I can delay it, until you are ready. I did not know if you preferred to delay it until after you have mastered your werewolf abilities. But whatever you decide, the choice is yours.”
“That's probably a good idea, but I'll think about it.”
“Good. Because of your parents’ sense of smell, I will watch your change from afar, but I will be with you, so please, do not think that you are alone.” I stop walking and turn to face her. Her eyes swirl black. “I have to go,” she hurries, and then disappears.
“Thank you,” I whisper, hoping she’s heard me.
I continue walking and soon hear the running footsteps of my parents approaching. They appear beside me and we all walk in silence.
What am I going to do without Davonyé? He didn't even ask any questions. Nothing about why we feel the way we do about each other, nothing about what being a werewolf entails or anything.
Because he didn’t accept what he saw, and more importantly, he didn’t accept me.
“Has he gone?” I ask them.
“Yeah,” dad answers.
I nod. Perfect...
Mom holds my hand, and then dad does.
“What did you see, mom?”
“Him, changed.”
“And...”
“Nothing else.”
“Did you see me?”
“No, sweetheart. Not you.”
I sigh, and so does she. I know it saddens her that she's never seen me. She worries a lot, especially because she's already lost one child. I think she's so desperate to have visions of me for confirmation that I am in her future and alive.
I consider telling her about the magic, but I don't.
I stop walking and release their hands so I can turn to face them. “Well, you've seen him in my future, so I guess all is not lost,” I say light-heartedly.
“We're sorry,” dad says, “but it went better than most.”
“Yeah, least he didn't scream like a little bitch,” mom jokes.
I smile at that and then so do my parents. “That's true.”
“It will work out. You know it will, but hopefully it won't be as tough for you as it was for us,” dad says before he hugs me.
God, I hope not, too.
***
I sit at the bay window in my room. This room backs onto the backyard, which is nice because the view is so much better than in my old one which used to look out at the front of the house.
When I was younger, Harmony and I used to try to see each other from our houses and flash our bedroom lights on and off. We used to think we could see each other sometimes, but then we realised as we grew older that it was just a stray headlight that would blink through the trees at the perfect time.
Harmony was the only friend I had for so long. I hope mom doesn’t wait so long to have another kid after my baby brother or sister is born this time. I would have loved a sibling growing up through my younger years. It’s not that I don’t appreciate having my parents all to myself, I just think it would have made me more sociable if I had another person in the house to grow and play with.
I pick up my cell to text Harmony. I know she won’t be missing me; she has her pick of people to turn to when we don’t talk, but dad is right, family is family, and even though some of us are scattered over different continents, we’re still close because of what they all went through before I was born.
They’ll be coming here after my change, too, so I don’t need an atmosphere with Harmony.
Hey, how are you? I text her.
She comes online and starts typing. Her classes have finished for the day.
Good. U?
Yeah. Sorry for snapping the other day. Change and all that. Shit is real.
No worries. You at home?
Yeah.
I’ll come see you.
Okay.
I know she’s gonna wanna talk about Davonyé; that’s why she’s coming over. Am I gonna tell her? Will she dare to ask?
Yeah, I know she’ll ask about it. She seems to have figured it out, anyways. I wonder what Carisse has told her about Davonyé’s behaviour for her to have realised. I also wanna know why her and Carisse are all of a sudden so close, too.
I try to push the thoughts of Davonyé out of my mind while I have a quick shower and then get dressed into a black maxi-dress, but it's hard. He's my mate, my one true love in this life, and I need and want him in it. Mates are best together, so now I'm feeling emotionally damaged.
I pick at the bowl of meat in front of me at the island and hear Harmony’s Escalade pull up at the front of the house. If I had woken up sooner for food, Davonyé would probably still be here. We'd most likely have been getting it in as much as possible before he had to leave in a couple hours. Now, I don't know when I'll be able to have him again. Even if we make up, I can't risk hurting him. I mean, what if I gripped his dick too hard? Or worse…
I hear the front door and then Harmony is soon sitting across the island from me.
“How that shit taste?” she asks.
I look up at her. She’s had her nails and hair done. She looks good.
“Better than you’d think. Gettin’ boring now, though.”
“I bet. Bet you’ve lost weight, though, eating all that protein.”
She’s tryin’ to lighten the mood. “I ain’t noticed.”
She’s quiet for a minute. “You seem different.”
I roll my eyes. “Just spit it out Har’.”
“He’s your mate, isn’t he?”
And there it is. I nod.
She sighs. “I’m sorry for giving you a hard time about it.”
My eyes widen at that. Not once has she ever apologised for something.
“How long have you known?”
“A while.”
“Does he know?”
“He knows he likes me.” I’m not going into any more detail than that.
“Is he gonna break up with Carisse?”
Ugh… Carisse. “Fuck knows. That’s up to him. She’s his girlfriend.” It hurts saying that.
“She knows somethin’s up with him. He’s making excuses not to mess with her, and apparently, that’s one thing he never says no to.”
Yeah, I don’t doubt that at all.
“What you gonna do?”
I push the empty bloodstained bowl away from me. “Focus on gettin’ through my birthday without killing anyone. After that? Fuck knows. I got more important things to worry about right now.”
Who am I tryin’ to kid? Davonyé is the most important thing I have to worry about right now, and he always will be.
“Anyways, how did you figure it out?” I ask, wanting to know.
“Well, obviously it started with the looks you were giving each other at my party. And then little things Carisse was saying. But the thing that really made things click was when Davonyé dropped Carisse at mine on Monday. I think he got your number out of my iPhone.”
“What?” So that’s where he got my number from…
“Yeah. After he left, I unlocked my cell and your number was on the screen. He’s clever, I’ll give him that.”
Sneaky more like. “You and Carisse are getting on well. I hope she don’t blame you in the mess when it all comes to blows.”
She shrugs. “We’re family, Ella. I know what I said at the party, but you two being mates changes everything. Neither of you can help these feelings you have for one another, even I know that. It’s just a fucked-up situation. But in a way, you gotta be grateful for her, too. If they weren’t together then he wouldn’t be here, and you wouldn’t have met him yet.”
That’s true.
“I’d hate to be in your situation right now.”
“Thanks. I’m hating it, too.” I suddenly remember what she said to Davonyé. “He told me what you said, Har’, and I don’t appreciate you involving yourself in this.”
“I didn’t say anything about what we are. I just gave him some friendly advice.”
“Well, don’t. Shit is complicated enough. Be friends with Carisse by all means but leave Davonyé to me.”
She holds her hands up. “I won’t say another word to him.”
“Good.”
She gives me a sympathetic smile. “How you feeling about tomorrow?”
I shrug. “I’ve been distracted so ain’t thought much about it. I’m a little nervous, though.”
“I’d be shittin’ myself,” she gushes. “Hell, I’m shittin’ myself for you.”
“That ain’t helping.”
She looks guilty. “Sorry.”
I smile and shake my head. “What’s with all these apologies? What have you done with the real Harmony?”
“Bitch, shut up.”
“Oh, look, there she is. I knew you weren’t that far away.”
“Girl, have you heard any more about the fighting in Alaska? Mom and dad have been talkin’ about it non-stop. They’re thinkin’ about going out there but mom don’t wanna miss Aunt Abriya givin’ birth.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard bits and pieces. I know dad’s hesitant to leave mom with her being so close to her due date. That’s the thing with mom being pregnant. Beta Alpha’s wanna get brave when mom and dad ain’t around to assert their dominance over them.”
“Well, I doubt your mom’s gonna wanna leave the baby so soon, so your dad’s gonna have to make a visit by himself to deal with it. I heard wares are scared for their lives out there.”
“I know. Mom’s been upset about it, too.”
“I bet. Maybe she’ll let you go with your dad after your change. Give you some experience with dealing with that shit.”
“Maybe. I’d kinda like to help out. Be nice to take some of the stress away from her.”
“Right. You lookin’ forward to seeing Uncle Dee and Aunt Cecile?”
“Yeah.” They’re my favourites. “I’ve missed Aunt Cecile and her crazy ass.”
“Me, too. It will be nice to have the whole family here for the next few weeks. It’s been ages.”
“Yeah, it has.”
“Alright, well, I better go. Mom, dad, and me are goin’ for dinner later, and mom wants to go get some pampering in before we meet dad in Montreal.”
“Where you goin?”
“Theatre, and then Mariana’s. We're staying at the James’, too, and I've got my own suite. I'm thinkin’ of asking Demus if he wanna come over.”
“Demus from school?”
“Yeah. We’ve kinda been talking.” She blushes and I give her a look.
“You like him?”
“Girl have you seen him? What's not to like?”
I guess... “Do you think—”
“I don't know, but I like him more than most guys so I guess we'll see. I reckon I'll know once we do it.”
I roll my eyes. “It's not all about the sex.”
She snorts. “That’s what virgin’s say.”
I get up from the island. “Goodbye, Harmony. I'll try not to eat you when I see you Saturday.”
She laughs. “Is there anything you really want for your birthday?”
I put the bowl in the dishwasher and then turn around to face her. “Maybe a nice candle set or something. No more jewellery. I got way too much as it is.”
“Oooh, okay, I've seen some really nice sets. I'll hook you up.”
“Thanks.”
She comes over to hug me. “I'm glad we're talking again, Ella. You're my best friend and I love you.”
I hold her tight. “I love you, too. And we're good, alright? I'll see you Saturday when I wake up a new woman.”
She lets me go. “Yeah, and a badass.”
I smile. She has no idea.
***
I get a couple hours sleep but it’s broken, so I feel more tired than rested. I pick at my broccoli while I eat dinner with my parents. They talk about the unrest in Alaska so this time I pay attention to all the details.
It sounds bad. Someone’s on a power trip and needs to be put in their place. Dad’s thinking about taking a quick trip up there, but I can see he’s torn over leaving mom. They decide that they’ll talk about what to do once the rest of the family arrive tomorrow. I feel bad for them. I never really understood the pressures they were under to keep warekind under control, but now my change is almost here, I’m starting to feel that pressure myself.
I guess because soon, all wares will be my responsibility, too.
“You got any last-minute questions about tomorrow?” Mom asks, disturbing my thoughts.
I shake my head. “Nah, I don’t think so. You still think I’ll be out for two days?”
“Yep. About that.”
“You nervous?” dad asks.
“Not too much.”
“You manage to sort things out with Harmony?”
“Yeah. She apologised and everything. Can you believe it?”
“She’s gotta grow up some time,” Mom comments. “She loves you like a sister. Sisters argue, apparently…”
“I guess. But we’re friends again so at least that’s one less thing to worry about.”
They both nod thoughtfully.
“You heard from him?” Dad asks cautiously.
I give him a week smile. “Nope. Not a word.”
“You want me to beat his ass?”
“Dad!” I laugh.
“What? He might be all hench and shit, but you know I can take him out.”
“And me,” mom chimes in.
“Mom, you’re pregnant. You ain’t beating no one’s ass.”
“Hey, I still got my strength, baby girl.”
“I know, but no, I don’t want any of you to beat his ass. He was freaked out, that’s all. I’m sure once he calms down…” What? He’ll do what? Come running back?
“It will be okay,” mom says. “I can feel it.”
“Yeah.”
I disappear to my room to get ready for bed. Tomorrow is the day I become second in command to my parents over all wares... I also become an Elder, and with that comes an even greater responsibility. I don’t know too much about what it will involve yet, but I know I’m gonna be able to do some amazing things, even visit other worlds.
I know about the kratius where vampires reside, but what if there are more worlds that Aura hasn’t told us about? If she was able to create the world then what other things has she been able to do?
And to think, I’ll soon have that same power hiding inside of me.
But as exciting as that is, the fact remains that my mate is estranged from me.
I check my cell for the millionth time, but I still haven't heard a thing from Davonyé. I wanna text him but I know he'll be with Carisse now and that makes me furious with anger. I scream into the darkness of my room and then feel an overwhelming sadness sweep over me. I feel like I'm emotionally suffering because of the uncertainty between us.
Last night, things were so different, so amazing. I explored his body and he explored mine. He made me feel so many things that I’ve never experienced before. But now, everything seems so hopeless. This shit is tormenting me and I can't do a damn thing about it.
I lie in bed and stare at the ceiling as the tears pool in my eyes. What if he never accepts me? What if he ends up being changed by force and he ends up hating me forever?
‘Shhh, Ariella,’ I hear Aura inside my head. ‘Sleep now, for you need your strength.’