Ariella
A look around turns into a whole day of digging in snow and turning the hold upside down, all to try find any kind of clue to who this man is. But after wasting almost the whole day, it appears that we won't be getting anything from our surroundings. We followed the tracks through the woods until they disappeared. The heavy snowfall covered their tracks from about five miles, and without my mom here to use her extended range of sense of smell, or her ability of tracking through the ground, we admit defeat and finally head back to Canada.
I was hoping we'd get back early Saturday, but no such luck. We don’t get back to Montreal until late evening because our flight had to be delayed. I feel like this is my karma for making Davonyé wait so long to hear from me. And now that I wanna see him so badly, everything is long.
We all head home while Xara is taken to the holds to sleep off mom’s blood. Dad goes straight to see mom while everyone else makes their way to their rooms. Aunt Cecile and Uncle Dee are still staying with me, but we’re all exhausted so we go back to mine to get some sleep.
I take a quick shower and then get into bed. I unlock my phone and start typing out a message to Davonyé.
Just got home. I'm hoping I can get away tomorrow. I will...
***
“Wake up, princess,” dad says as he shakes my arm.
I sit up in bed and feel disorientated as hell. Last night was the first time I've slept in a bed all week. My phone is still in my hand, too, which means I probably didn't send that text to Davonyé.
Just got home. I'm hoping I can get away tomorrow. I willnnnnjjjjjjjmmmm
Well, that definitely wasn’t sent.
Fuck.
I look up at dad as he gets up off my bed. “What’s wrong?”
“Don't start worrying like your mother. I just came to see if you wanted to come to the hold with me? That ware should be waking up soon.”
I nod my head. “Yeah, I would like to,” I say through a yawn. I wanna know what the hell is going on. “Have I got time to get a quick shower?”
“You do. Demetrius is making food for everyone. We'll leave in about an hour.”
“Okay.”
He leaves my room and then returns to the main house. As much as I wanna know what that ware has to say, I also feel annoyed because this is just more of a delay to seeing Davonyé. I dreamt of him again last night…
I send him a quick message.
I miss you.
After I shower, I brush my hair and tie it up into a ponytail. I wear jeans and a sweater. This whole dressing without worrying about the weather is liberating as hell.
Davonyé hasn’t replied, so I message Harmony.
Hey girl. As you know, we’re back. I have to go to one of the holds today. Will message u later and we can talk?
She replies quickly. Bihhh, make sure. I need to talk to you.
Is it bad? About me?
No and no. About me. I can come over later when you get back.
Kl.
I feel relieved that it’s nothing to do with me, but I’m intrigued as hell to know what she wants to talk to me about so bad. I take one last look in the mirror at myself and shake my head at the white hair covering almost the whole top of my head. I keep forgetting about this hair…
Mom’s in the kitchen with the rest of the family when I get to the main house. I hug her before I sit down to eat. “Any twinges yet?” I ask. I’m definitely more excited about the baby coming now. I actually side with mom and think it will be a boy this time.
“Just the usual,” she says and then yawns.
“When do you think he or she will come?”
“Could be any day from Tuesday.” She rubs her belly and smiles at me.
“Eeeek! I feel excited.” I clap my hands together. “I hope you have another one soon. Don’t leave it so long. Maybe three months.”
She frowns. “Why?”
“Because… I would’ve loved a sibling to grow up with. I mean, I know I had Harmony, and I understand why you had only me for the longest time, but it would be good for the baby to have a sibling close in age.”
“Sweetheart, I never knew you felt that way.”
“You ain’t gonna get any complaints from me,” dad says as he comes into the kitchen.
“It’s nothing bad, mom. It just would’ve been nice, that’s all. Anyway…” I better change the subject before mom starts dwelling on what I’ve just said. “…Do you think Aura will come to the birth this time?”
“I have no idea. Maybe you—” She stops talking and I know it’s because she was just about to out my magic to the rest of the family.
I ain’t sure when I’m gonna see her again now anyways. Unless I ask for my magic sooner which I’m seriously thinkin’ about doing… “How’s it been having the seven here, then?” I ask, covering her slip-up.
She smiles. “Amazing.” She looks towards the garden where they all are. “I wish they didn’t have to go.”
“How long are they staying for?”
She sighs and suddenly looks sad. “Tomorr—”
“Until after the baby’s born,” Dad says, cutting mom off.
“What?” she asks in surprise.
“I’ve asked them to stay. That’s alright, isn’t it?” He walks over to mom from the stove.
Mom’s eyes well-up with tears. “It’s more than okay. Thank you, baby.”
Dad leans down to kiss her forehead. “You know I’d do anything to see you smile.”
“Oh, God, Dad, I swear you are the most thoughtful person ever.”
“He is,” mom says as she stares up at him.
“Ugh…” I just want this shit of my own.
“Maybe I’ll breed your Aunt Cecile,” Uncle Demetrius says randomly. He’s sitting opposite mom and me with Aunt Cecile beside him.
“Oh, thanks, boo, you are soooo damn romantic,” she sings sarcastically before slapping his arm.
He just smiles harder. “You knew what I was like when we first met. Don’t go complaining now.”
She shakes her head but smiles. As much as he drives her mad, she loves him more. You can tell. It’s always written all over her face. “I actually wouldn’t mind a miniature James of my own,” she says quietly.
“Really?” Demetrius asks, turning to face her.
She smiles at him. “Yeah.”
They kiss and I feel like we’ve just witnessed some big moment between the two of them. Fuck knows what it was, but I can feel it was important.
***
Davonyé messaged me back on my way to the hold. He’s at work until midnight, but he said he’d come over after if I’m still awake. I feel bad because it’s only just after midday now and I’m tired already. These last few days have been draining and no way have I had enough sleep.
It doesn’t help that I see Davonyé clear as crystal every time I close my eyes, either.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact dad’s involving me in ware business and showing me the ropes, and maybe having me around brings him the comfort that mom usually does, who knows, but it’s hard to focus on anything when I feel a constant throbbing between my thighs and a longing in my chest for my mate. I want to know what he’s doing, how he is, and I want to find out what he’s really like, too.
He’s become the most important person in my life.
“You ready?” dad asks, snapping me out of my thoughts. He’s stopped the car at the end of a dirt track.
“Yep.”
We’re at my parents’ third werewolf hold in Canada. The largest of them all. It’s located two hours north of our house and houses six-hundred wares. It’s literally huge. There’s farmland above it, too, to hide what’s going on underneath.
“Remember, you’re a ware now, Princess. The smell down here is gonna be a lot for you.”
I remember how it was when we got to Alaska... The smell of wares was so strong… “Thanks for reminding me.”
“We’ll try make this quick, alright? I know you’ve got other things you wanna be doing right now.”
Yeah, Davonyé… I wonder what his dick tastes like?
I gasp, shocked at where my thoughts just went so fast. I can feel the warmth in my cheeks from blushing like mad.
“Come on,” dad says, rolling his eyes, but then he smiles as he gets out of the car. There’s only me, dad, Uncle Dee, Uncle Quis, Dante, both my grandads, and Denda here this time. Denda is one of my mother’s ‘seven’ closest wares who fought against the Odinia’s with her and dad in the war. He’s family.
We follow dad across the field to a manhole. As soon as he lifts it off we hear the loud chattering of the inhabitants. There are a lot of entrances and exits to this hold, and the wares who live here come and go as they please. The farmhouses and barns over in the distance hide the cars and bikes for people to use whenever they want. And when the weather is warmer, a lot of the people come up top to enjoy the sun.
We jump down inside, one after the other. This hold is lighter and airier than the others, but the smell of wares is seriously overwhelming. I cough as my senses adjust, and I hear the others chuckle.
“We’ve all been there,” Uncle Quis says sympathetically, slapping me on the back. “Don’t try to breathe through your mouth, though, cuz you’ll have the taste of wares in there for days.”
I cringe and they all laugh.
“Very funny.”
“Sire,” Lonnie says to my father as he appears from down the first hall. He’s in charge of this hold. He quickly bows his head and then looks back up. “The woman woke around an hour ago.”
“How is she?”
“Hungry.”
“She will be. Make sure she has enough food to sustain her,” dad says as we follow him down the corridor.
I know dad didn’t really want to give her mom’s blood, but her injuries were too bad to just use on the visible ones. Mom’s blood doesn’t have to be ingested to work; it can also be used directly on wounds, but you need more of just a vial’s worth for that.
We enter a small room that’s well lit by one of the light tunnels above. Xara looks up at us from the table in the corner of the room and then kneels. I can sense she’s scared.
“Sovereign,” she says to the floor.
“You can rise, Xara,” dad says as we walk closer, and she gets back on her feet.
“Thank you. Thank you for saving me,” she gushes. She looks a hell of a lot better now. She’s beautiful.
“You’re welcome,” he replies. He motions for her to sit back down and then we all take a seat at the table with her. “Please. Tell us what happened to you.”
“Where am I now?” she asks nervously.
“In a hold in Canada. You’re safe here. Please, don’t worry.”
She sighs in relief. “Okay. What would you like to know?”
“Firstly, what happened before we arrived?”
“Maximus received a message saying that the enemy were coming to attack us. He ordered everyone to pack their things so we could move location.”
“And do you know where that is?”
“No. I only just recently joined his pack, and I only did because my friend asked me to. She recently changed, and I was worried about her after everything she was telling me.”
“Like what?” dad asks.
“Well, she didn’t know that you and Abriya existed for one. I tried to tell her, but she wouldn’t believe it. She said that they had to protect wares and that they were fighting for us all. I tried to tell her that this seemed like some kind of cult, but it was like she was brainwashed.”
“So do any of the wares in Maximus’ pack know about us?”
“Not many.”
“And how many wares are in the pack?”
“I don’t know. A lot, though. Hundreds. More come every day. A lot of them are scared. They don’t know what’s happening to them. I think they’re just grabbing any old human and changing them, because they all seem new.”
Dad nods his head but remains calm. He must be freaking out inside, though, and I can’t imagine what mom must be thinking. “So what is his plan?”
“To keep growing his numbers and then to attack the ones that killed his family.”
“His family?”
“Yes. Apparently, a family in Canada killed all of his family and intend to kill all other wares. Your names were not mentioned but I believe that you’re the ones he refers to.”
“But surely he knows he’ll fail?” Grandad Victorio asks her.
She shakes her head. “I do not know, but he has weapons that can really hurt a werewolf. Like some tranquilliser thing.”
I watch as my family members all look between each other. She must be talking about the same tranquilliser that Samson’s men hit mom with before they went to war. It basically renders a ware immobile so they can only hear and nothing else.
It’s not good.
He must want to use it on my parents, but more specifically, on my mom so she can’t howl to make them submit.
“And who was his family?” dad asks her.
“I’m sorry, but I do not know.”
“Why were you attacked?”
“Those of us that knew about you, defied him. We took our chance to tell the others that there are already Alpha’s that exist and that this was their chance to get free, but they turned against us and Maximus ordered us killed before they left.” She starts getting emotional. “He made the order just like that. That’s when I knew for sure that he is just pure evil. He must be stopped. You have to save my friend.”
“We will,” dad says softly. “We will put an end to this.”
“Thank you.”
“Do you have any family to go home to?”
She shakes her head. “No. No one.”
“You are more than welcome to stay here as long as you want.”
She wipes the stray tears from her face and her dark eyes light up. “Thank you.”
“We will leave you with Lonnie. If you remember anything that might help, please, let him know.”
“I will. And thank you again.”