Another situation is Lukas. We have a constant flirty banter and we get along so well. I know he's interested in me. Izzy has said as much but I don't want to start something with him when my fate has been promised to someone else. It wouldn't be fair on Lukas and I'm not ready to reveal to the pack my darkest secret. He’s such a decent guy and I can see why my Dad made him Beta. He’s hard working and dedicated to helping everyone. He doesn’t pull rank and treats everyone in the pack equally. Nothing is too much trouble and he knows so much about Yellowstone and how to run the ranch. He spends a lot of his time with Caleb. They mostly train. Sparring and the like. Lukas seems like the teacher and gives Caleb pointers for improvement.
The pack are a very tight unit that runs like a well-oiled machine. Perfectly in sync with each other in a way that I’ve not yet been able to understand. They’ve been a family long before I came along and have been through a lot together. Suffered together in ways I can only imagine and that has formed an unbreakable bond between them all. My mum is just as much a part of it since she lived with them for years before Hades attacked. They have all been welcoming and amazing but I still can’t help but feel like the newbie. I know that part of it isbecause I’m not opening myself up to them completely. If they knew my secret then they would hate me and that makes it hard to let my guard down. Izzy has been great from the beginning and out of everyone I’m closest to her but sometimes I just need my best friend.
Cassey and I talk nearly every day. Sometimes on phone calls that go on for hours or quick texts throughout the day. We’re hoping for her to come visit once College has finished in June, but that’s still such a long way away. I can’t wait for her to see the ranch and go on rides for hours into the forest. She says her and Christian are still going strong and I’m so happy for her. Part of me is jealous of the normal life she has. Nothing is mapped out or decided for her. She can love who she wants and can go and do whatever she feels like. Whereas I’m stuck.
I love being a nymph and the power that it gives me but I don’t feel free. I can’t leave the pack because I’m their only protection and as for a love life…There’s just no point. Not that I can meet anyone anyway. With Alistair waiting to spring from a hole in the ground at any moment what future can I really have with anyone else? He’d probably eat them out of spite. So, that leaves me in my Yellowstone bubble waiting for inevitable things out of my control to happen and turn my world upside down.
That’s why I love riding so much. Daphne and I spend the afternoons and sometimes the evenings going where ever the wind takes us. The freedom of going somewhere unexplored. The mountain range is so vast here that we always find somewhere or something new. No matter where we end up the forest guides us home. Today we rode north for about 3 hours before we stopped for a drink and something to eat. I don’t need to tie her up because I know she won’t leave my side. She lowers herself down and I sit against her side as we both munch on some apples that I brought. Her ears are relaxed but twitch at nearby sounds. Comfortable but always alert. I open myself tothe feel of the forest and there's tranquillity. Untouched and as pure as it comes.
The low rumble of unfathomable power that is the super volcano is a consistent presence. The sheer magnitude of force that lies sleeping beneath the ground is apocalyptic. That’ll be my Hail Mary should Hades come. Mum could never channel that much power before her body gave out and she collapsed unconscious, or worse. I just hope I can withstand it long enough.
After a half hour rest I walk alongside Daphne for a while as we wander through a new part of the wood. The trees grow taller and the thickness of the canopy blocks the blue sky overhead. There’s no path or track. The ground is covered in a thick carpet of moss scattered with white flowers. A small stream trickles to our left. It’s quiet and I realise there is no bird song. No animals at all actually. Daphne snorts beside me and I feel her send me a warning. I don’t feel unease but it’s so quiet. Like this place is forbidden to walk through. I stop and look around at the stillness surrounding us. Not even a breeze. Daphne stomps at the ground, ears twitching and eyes scanning intently.
“Easy girl.” I soothe as I stroke her cheek.
Another snort is my only response.
“Come one. It’s getting late.” I say and begin to turn back.
That’s when I feel it. A pull telling me to turn around. Like a tendril through the still air inviting me further in. I look up at Daphne and she’s staring in the same direction that I feel the tug. It doesn’t feel bad natured, but old and patient. I take a step towards it and Daphne is on my heal. We follow the mossy ground to a curtain of leaves. Pushing them apart I see an enormous oak tree. It’s trunk at least 50 feet in circumference. It’s ancient and haggard looking like a hunch backed old lady. Some of the branches stoop low to the ground like the tree can no longer hold them up high and proud. The stream flowsaround its base and the sun comes through its branches like a halo. She looks beautiful. Like she’s been here for all eternity and watched the world grow for centuries. I don’t know what makes me think it’s a lady but it just seems to feel right.
The life that pulses from her is bright and happy but also worn and tired. Like she has seen the best and worst of the world and now she is weighed down by it. I go to her and she feels safe and warm like a mothers embrace. Reaching the base of her trunk I reach out my hand to touch her.
Instantly I see countless images flashing through my mind. None of them make sense and the noise from them overwhelms me. My mind can’t fathom what it’s seeing and hearing and it makes me want to scream. Gradually they slow down and that’s when I start to see flashes of familiar faces. Penny, Caleb, the pack, my mum and dad. They’re younger and carefree. Laughing together with other people, werewolves that I don’t recognise but feel a connection too. A man stood embracing my father who is unmistakably Seth. The resemblance between him and Lukas is jarring. Then the pictures darken to night and I see Alistair flanked by other vampires, running through the trees. Some are jumping across the branches overhead. I hear howls of anger and screams of agony. Blood and fur and fangs. Then fire. Blinding fire that ravages everything. The house is surrounded by debris and flames. Through the smoke I see my mums lifeless body being carried on the back of a sandy brown wolf. Seth. Lukas is beside him also in wolf form. The only difference is his face is lighter although blood coats his maw. They’re running quickly and quietly through the trees. Then they stop dead as a black, roiling darkness surrounds them.
The two wolves stand back to back looking for a way through, but there isn’t one. A figure emerges from the dark. Alistair. Eyes black as night and blood dripping from hismouth onto his black shirt. His relaxed walk only adds to his intimidation. Blood drips from his hands and the shadows coil around him like snakes poised to strike.
“Give her to me.” His voice that I’ve heard so often holds an emptiness that chills me.
Seth and Lukas growl and bare their teeth in response. Crouching ready to attack.
“You really think you stand a chance against me? Stupid mutts.” He laughs as he releases a tendril of darkness towards Lukas. It wraps around his throat and forces its way into his mouth, nose, eyes and ears. He’s lifted onto his hind legs as he wines and chokes. Seth can only look on in horror as his son drowns on liquid obsidian.
Alistair doesn’t make a sound as he beckons back the darkness and leaves Lukas to collapse on the ground. Seth howls and wines in despair as he stares at his child’s lifeless body.
“This is your last chance dog. Give her to me.”
Seth looks between Lukas and Alistair. Weighing his options as my mum stirs on his back. She props herself up and slides off of him. Her legs go to buckle but she steadies herself. Her hand going to her stomach. Alistair notices and tilts his head to the side listening. His eyes widen for a fraction of a second before he goes back to his original confidant, bored posture.
“Gwen is it?” He says. “My father is waiting for you.”
“He’s going to be waiting quite a while.” She bites back as she unleashes what’s left of her power at him. Wind blows and wood goes hurtling through the air pointed and sharp like stakes.
Alistair lifts his arm and a wall of blue flame forms in front of him turning the projectiles to ash.
It was only a distraction though for as the wall of flame turns to smoke and vanishes, mum and Seth are nowhere to be seen.
“Yes, I expect he will.” Alistair mutters to himself as he glances down at Lukas whose chest rises and falls.
A vampire. A woman in her mid 20’s with long, crimson hair leaps down into the clearing.
“Are you going after them or shall I?”
“I will. You can put that one with the other prisoners.” He orders as he walks away.
“I’m not your lackey.” She snarls.
Alistair is in front of her in a flash with his hand around her throat.
