Chapter 76

~Eliana~

I was sure that I had truly and sincerely forgiven Alistair for all he did, and it was a beautiful sight to behold every time I saw the way he looked at Ian, and admired the bond they now shared, even though they hadn’t known each other for that long.

I was now open to letting both of them see each other, and I didn’t mind dropping Ian off at his place, since all he wanted to do these days was eat his father’s perfect meal unlike mine, and play video games with him.

Carrie had told me that she would have been jealous had she been in my shoes, but I had laughed, telling her that there’s nothing to be jealous about. I had had him to myself for six years, and it was only right that I allowed Alistair to try to make up for all the lost years, in which he hadn’t been a part of Ian’s life.

At least, now, Ian could also have childish discussions with his classmates about how he spent time with his father, and the things his father did for him. He was like every other child now, but apparently, things were not satisfying for him, as he showed when he decided to come to where I was sitting at the city mall, which Alistair had decided to take us to, since it was the weekend, and he didn’t have to go to work, neither did Ian have to go to school.

“Mum, mum,” Ian called, skipping to where I sat.

“Yes, what is it?” I asked.

“Can’t you forgive dad?” He asked.

Although I didn’t mind the fact that he now seemed to be close with Alistair, I was never going to fully get used to him calling Alistair his dad. The first time that had happened had been a week ago, on a Wednesday, but I still couldn’t accept it. I never knew why he had suddenly called him dad, or who had told him to, but as long as he was happy, I didn’t really mind it at all.

“And who told you that I haven’t forgiven him yet?” I retorted, with a small smile.

“Nobody. Every other kid at school lives together with both of their parents, but I’m the only exception,” He said.

Now, I could see where he was coming from. “I’m pretty sure not everyone in your school lives with both of their parents, considering the fact that there’s a high rate of divorce these days. However, I understand your desire, and I’m truly sorry, but your father and I have some past that we can’t just put behind us. We can’t ever live under the same roof, but I can promise you that I’d make sure you see him whenever you want to,” I told him.

He sighed, then forced a smile. “I don’t know the past you can’t put behind you, but I trust your judgement,” Ian said.

“Thanks for trusting my judgement, my love,” I said, and pinched his cheeks mildly, which made him chuckle.

Alistair arrived from the Ice cream counter where they had been, with a tray containing plates of ice cream of three different flavours, and he set it down on the table, after which he turned to glare at Ian, jokingly.

“You betrayed me by just leaving the counter without informing me first. I was scared for a second that you may have gotten lost, before I saw you and your mum,” He said, placing his hands on his waist, like an angry granny.

“I’m sorry, dad,” He said, wearing a pout.

“My pack would call you a traitor for what you just did,” He said.

“Crimson moon pack, is it?” Ian asked, beaming excitedly.

“Why are you smiling? I’m scolding you,” Alistair said.

“You don’t seem like you are. Dad, when can I finally get to meet my pack?” He asked.

I didn’t even know he knew the name of Alistair’s pack, neither did I know that he had probably promised him that he was going to meet members of the Pack. It could only mean that they had discussed about it before now, and I was slowly starting to feel a little bit jealous, especially since Ian hadn’t informed me about it.

“You’d get to meet them soon, I promise,” Alistair replied.

“That’s what you always say. I just want to meet them, is that a bad thing? You said that there are others like me, and that I’ll be treated like a prince over there since I’m the Alpha’s son,” Ian said.

“You’ll get to meet them, okay? I’m working on something, and soon, I’ll take you to meet your people. Until then, please, try to bear with me,” Alistair said.

“Okay,” Ian said, with his shoulders drooped.

“How about you go to the kids section over there? You can play so many funny games with kids of your age,” I said, trying to raise his spirits.

“Really, mum?” He asked, beaming with happiness.

I nodded my head, in the affirmative. “Yes, really,” I affirmed.

“If you experience any kind of trouble, just say the name of my Pack. I’ll hear you,” Alistair said.

“Okay, dad. I’m off,” He said, picking up his ice cream, which was already starting to melt.

“Don’t go yet. Alistair, give him some money. He’s going to have to pay to participate in any of the games,” I said.

“He would? Why do kids have to pay before playing games?” Alistair asked, bringing out his wallet from his pocket.

“They have to maintain the place, not so? Besides, they’d also need to pay the workers that work there,” I replied.

“That’s true,” He reasoned, then gave Ian some money, and asked him to come back for more if he needed it.

“Thank you,” Ian said, and skipped to the Kids section at the city mall, which Alistair had decided to take us to today.

“You’re going to let him play with strangers?” Alistair asked, as soon as Ian was out of sight.

“Didn’t you get to play with kids you didn’t know at his age whenever you went to a city mall?” I retorted.

“Actually, no. My parents were way too strict and overprotective. I guess that is the reason I don’t have a lot of friends till this day,” Alistair said.

“Oh, I’m sorry about that. I sincerely had no idea,” I told him.

“It’s fine. That’s why I had no idea that they actually had to pay in order to play. Do you think these games area for kids make a lot of money? There are so many kids around,” He noted, looking around.

“Of course, they make a lot of money. Why do you ask?” I asked.

“Maybe I could start a mall as well,” He said.

I chuckled. “You’re always business-oriented, not so? Tell me, if you open a mall, it is going to be called ‘Duke Mall’, right?” I inquired.

He nodded his head. “Of course. What else do you think it’s going to be called?” He retorted, wearing a smile.

“I had no idea, honestly,” I said.

“I’ll talk to Garrett, and see what he thinks of the idea,” He said.

“In years to come, the only products everyone will be using is going to be connected to your family in one way or another,” I said.

“Our family,” He corrected.

I chuckled. “I’m family? Interesting. If you truly considered me as your family, you’d have informed me that you were planning on snatching my son away from me,” I said.

“What? I never planned to do that,” He said, looking really shocked.

“If you never planned on doing that, how come I never knew you had it in mind to take him to meet your fellow werewolves?” I asked, trying to be discreet as I possibly could.

He rolled his eyes, and heaved a sigh. “I’m sorry about that, I thought he must have told you,” Alistair said.

“Well, he didn’t, and I shouldn’t even be hearing it from him. I should have heard it directly from you,” I said.

“Again, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think it was important, since I am not planning on taking him to meet them anytime soon,” Alistair said.

“Wait. So, you have been lying to him?” I inquired.

He shook his head. “It’s not like that,” He objected.

“How is it like then? You never should have brought up the topic, especially since you had no intention on taking him to meet his fellow werewolves anytime soon. Don’t you know he’s just a little child? As soon as you tell him about something or someplace, all he’ll keep demanding for is to go there,” I explained.

“Actually, I had it in mind to take him anytime he wanted, after informing you, of course, at the time I had informed him about it. However, things changed...”

“What changed?” I asked, interrupting his sentence.

“I was getting to that. I didn’t want to tell you this before, but my Pack is facing a threat,” He said.

“What?”

“At first, I met a Banshee...You know what that is, right?” He asked.

I eyed him. “You do realise you’re speaking to a scriptwriter for Supernatural fiction, right?” I fired back at him.

A chuckle escaped from his mouth. “Okay, I get it. So, as I was saying, I met with a Banshee, who predicted that supernatural creatures are all going to be threatened with a group of people who want to erase us from this earth. I didn’t believe her prediction at first, until the witch, Katherine, prophesied that danger is going to befall us,” He explained.

I seemed to understand the reason for the predictions and prophecies, and I knew that it was because of my disowned family, and could only heave a deep and thoughtful sigh. “I see,” I said, drumming my fingers on the table, in a calculative manner.

“You see? I can sense that you know exactly what I am talking about. Tell me, what do you know about this?” He asked.

I cleared my throat. “You have to forgive me for not telling you this earlier, but my relatives are back in town, and they’re preparing to start a war against supernatural creatures,” I told him.

“What?” He asked, with his eyes almost popping out of his sockets.

“They came to our house to mock us, and invite us to join in their fight,” I said.

“And what did your family say?” He asked.

“Of course, we refused to join them,” I said.

“What the hell is wrong with those people? Why are they after us? We didn’t create ourselves, did we? Why don’t they want us to be a part of existence?” He wondered aloud.

I shrugged. “They’re just insane, and I’m ashamed that we share the same blood. My cousin, Santana, is the one who killed that Banshee you spoke off, and they’re quite convinced that there are a lot of werewolves and other supernatural beings in Los Angeles, which they must get rid off. They’re scared that you all will one day rule humans, and they want to stop that before it ever happens. If you ask me though, I’d say that they are being unreasonably paranoid,” I said.

“They sure are. For centuries, we’ve existed without revealing our identity to human beings, and we have never tried to take over them. We’ve enjoyed our peace, and we don’t even mind the fact that people see us as mere fictional tales. Why do they want to wake up sleeping lions? How would they even know who is a werewolf and who isn’t?” He asked.

“They recently discovered a potion, which helps one recognise werewolves and other supernatural beings, even in their human form,” I explained.

He heaved a sigh. “Oh, wow. That’s just great,” He muttered.

“I’m sorry about that. I wish there was something I could do to change things, but my hands are kind of tied,” I apologised.

“You don’t need to be sorry about anything. At least, I now know who my enemies are, and I’ll try to come up with the perfect strategy to get them off our backs for good,” He told me, giving me a small smile.

“I’m glad I could be of help,” I said, wearing a warm smile.

“Well, at least, now, you know the reason I just can’t take Ian to see his people just yet. I don’t want him to be there when danger strikes. Once I’ve defeated my enemies, and I’m sure it’s safe for our kind again, I’m going to introduce him to everyone. I hope that’s okay with you, princess,” He said, with a smirk playing around his lips.

My heart skipped, as he called me a princess, just the same way he used to years ago. It had been so long since I had heard it, and although it gave me a soothing feeling, I wanted to reprimand him harshly for bringing up the past, but before I could say anything, Ian showed up to interrupt our conversation.

“Mum, dad, see what I won,” He said, jumping up and down in excitement, as he showed off a white and blue Teddy bear, which had been the prize he had obviously gotten.

“It’s so cute,” I said, wearing a smile as I touched its furry body.

“I know, right? Dad, what do you think?” He asked.

“I think it’s beautiful. Um... Ian. You know what I thought you about sensing things?” He asked, with his mind seeming to be focused on something else other than Ian’s new Teddy bear.

“Yes, dad,” He replied.

“What can you sense?” Alistair asked, looking around, with a suspicious look on his face.

Ian thought for a while, and shut his eyes, then opened them a few seconds later.

I was curious to know what he sensed, and to see it he was actually learning how to use his abilities.

“There is sincere happiness and excitement within our circle, but outside of our circle, I feel like we are being watched,” Ian said.

“Watched?” I asked, then looked to Alistair for confirmation.

“He’s right, Eliana. I thought someone was staring at me the other day, and I wanted to be sure that I wasn’t making assumptions today,” Alistair said.

“Oh my goodness. Is this something we should be worried about?” I asked.

“It’s only being twice. There’ll be a problem if it happens for the third time, so, let’s wait to see if it happens again before we start getting worried or panicking,” He said.

“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about,” Ian said, with a cheerful smile, as he squeezed my hands, reassuringly.

“Good job, Ian. Soon, you’d be able to feel and just sense things without even having to close your eyes,” Alistair told him.

“Thanks, dad. If I really did a good job, please, give me more money to play other games. I spent all my money on the game I used to win this Teddy bear,” He said.

“Ian!” I called.

“It’s fine. He has earned it,” Alistair said, giving him some money, which Ian collected from him, without any hesitation.

“Thank you. Mum, please, hold the Teddy bear for me, while I’m away. It’s a female, so, you should take care of her as if she’s the daughter you never had. Her name is Audrey,” He said, placing the Teddy bear on my laps, before running off.

“The daughter I never had,” I said, looking at it.

Alistair burst into a fit of laughter, and I joined him in laughing heartily, forgetting about the problems of our lives that seemed to never end. Being with him now was just like old times, or perhaps, even better, and I had to admit it inasmuch as I hated to do that.