Chapter 21

Tristan’s POV

It’s my mother? Why was I so nervous to ring her then? Sitting on the edge of the large double bed in my temporary room, I stare at my phone. I knew I needed to make the call. I had called my mother thousands of times about important things, so it was foreign to me why this time was bothering me more than the others.

Stephanie Bryden was the sister to the Alpha of the Sun Valley pack; she was an imposing person. I even feared her, and I was her son. She was the kind of person you did not want to upset or get on the wrong side of. And if you did find yourself on the wrong side, you better do everything you can to get back on the right side of her quickly.

“Just hurry up and get this done; you’re making it worse on yourself”, I try to coach myself.

My hands shook as I slid my finger across the screen, unlocking my phone; it took me a few tries as my hands were sweaty. Once I found my mother’s number, I pressed the call button instantly, giving myself no time to back out again. Hurrying, I slam my phone to my ear a little too hard. Dragging ragged breaths into my lungs, I frantically try to calm down. I couldn’t let my mother know I was scared. She would know I was failing if she did.

“Hello,” her stern voice clips across the phone line.

“Mother, how are you! “I say with a fake cheery voice.

“Don’t play nice with me, Tristan; I already know you’re totally incompetent at completing the one simple task your uncle set for you” she sounded annoyed and bored at the same time. It never failed to amaze me how I could cause two polar opposite emotions in my mother all at once.

“Mother, I’m not failing; I just haven’t fully completed my task yet.” I stammer

“What do you mean you haven’t finished it. I took matters into my own hands and sorted this one for you, Tristan, knowing all too well it wasn’t something someone as dim-witted as you could pull off,” she snapped, hissing down the line at her son.

“It was you!” I couldn’t believe my mother was the one to blame for Ayla’s attack! Worse than that, she felt the need to step in and do this for me, that she believed I couldn’t handle this task myself. She wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t something I wanted to do, but at the end of the day, I was lined up to be the next Alpha of the Sun Valley pack after my uncle…. that is, unless I get challenged.

“Of course, it was me! Who else did you think could kill the girl so quickly?” his mother sounded way too smug.

“She’s not dead, mother” I already knew she was going to explode over this before the words left my lips.

“WHAT! I left her for dead; there was no way anyone would have come back from that, not without help anyway,” she paused, “and I know I left her on her own there was no one around.”

“One of those Chase oafs carried her out of the forest. She was unconscious and badly hurt, but she was alive and breathing still,” I told her. I felt an odd sense of satisfaction over my mother’s failure.

“I have to go; I’ll be in touch once I have spoken to Marcus. This isn’t over, Tristan. You still have to play your part. Don’t let me down,” she barked at me before abruptly ending the call.

This whole situation didn’t sit well with me. I tugged my fingers through my auburn hair, finally noticing that it could do with a cut. I probably looked a mess now, but I had way too many things on my mind to worry about. I have yet to meet the other representatives properly, and I have my mother on my case, too. What is so wrong with this Ayla girl anyway. Yes, I get it, the prophecy and all, but honestly, She’s so small and quiet. I don’t see her as any kind of threat.

“Oh well, better play nice with the locals and see what I can learn today.”

Archers POV

The words had only just left my lips when I felt a sharp pain across the back of my head.

“Ugh, what was that for” I rub my head where Axel’s hand had wacked me…hard.

“Show some damn respect, brother”, he hissed at me even though he hadn’t taken his eyes off Aleena.

“S-sorry”, I stammer and feel my cheeks flush. Thankfully the elven woman was smiling at me. I was too nervous to glance at Michael. He had warned us about being respectful beforehand, so I only have myself to blame. I couldn’t help it, though. The words just kind of fell out of my mouth before I had time to stop them. It’s not every day you come face to face with a mythical creature.

“Not to worry”, Aleena’s musical voice filled the space between us. “So, tell me, what do I owe the pleasure of your company,” she asked us.

I was going to answer, but the words just wouldn’t leave my lips. I could feel my mouth open and close, but nothing came out. I must have looked like a right idiot, like a fish out of water. Aleena found it funny as she started to laugh. What made it worse was I heard Alpha Michael quietly laughing too.

“For Goddess’s sake, why do I feel like such a fool right now” I inwardly cried

“We need access to the archives, ma’am” Axel dived in and saved the day, taking the attention off of my stupidness.

“Okay, and what is it you are looking for, dare I ask” she questioned

I looked over to Michael; he stood with his shoulder resting against the wall. Arms folded across his chest, looking nothing less than amused. He looked floorless as well, of course. On the other hand, I look like a teenage fan girl who had just stumbled across her favourite celebrity and was close to hyperventilating. The Alpha would let us take the lead on this one and see how we handle it.

“Well, you see, we need to find information on anything remotely related to multiple mates” Axel was right there. Obviously, I should keep my mouth shut and let my brother do the talking for everyone's sake.

Aleena’s face was a picture; she didn’t even try to hide her shock. Her mouth hung open slightly, and her almond eyes were wide. All the hair on my arms stood right up, and the air around us shifted somewhat.

“Michael is this true” she barely whispered.

“Yes, I’m afraid so, my old friend”, he sighed. I was more interested in how old Aleena was now, as that was not a statement made by people who had just met.

“You better come this way then” she took a deep breath, closed her eyes and ran her fingers across the surface of the old wooden doors. Aleena uttered a few unrecognisable words in a language I had never heard before. All was silent for a couple of heartbeats. Then a great gust of air blew towards us. It was stronger than I had expected, making me step backwards; regaining my balance, I peer into the darkness ahead. No lights shone in the chamber in front of us. Nothing could be seen.

“Follow Aleena, lads, don’t touch anything and don’t stray. If you do, there is no guarantee we will find you again.” Michael warned. This time I would heed his warning well.

Stepping over the threshold to the Archive didn’t feel like stepping into a standard room. I followed Axel, and I couldn’t see my brother for a second. As my foot landed on the other side of the door frame, the air rushed out of my body, and my ears popped. I felt slightly sick and dizzy. There was no time to feel sorry for myself; I could already see Aleena moving ahead. The only light was a small perfect ball of blue light resting just above the palm of her outstretched hand.

“This place was so much more than I had ever begun to imagine”, the words fill my mind in my brother's voice. I couldn’t agree more.

Aleena’s POV

Working for Michael had always been a pretty easy job. I use my powers to keep his home and texts safe. Usually, this kind of work would be beneath my kind, but Michael had saved me many moons ago. So, I’m repaying my life debt to him via service and safety for his pack.

I tend not to think about the time before I came to live here at the Winter Moon pack. It wasn’t pleasant for me.

Michael had stumbled upon me one evening while running in his wolf form. His reaction to me was much the same as Archers. I was trying to get back to my family, hidden deep within the forest surrounding the pack house. There were only two ways to access my village, and neither was known to the outside world. I had been out with a couple of my friends who had dared me to get as close to the wolf’s house, stupidly I had accepted.

Little had I known, the people I called friends were not my friends. They wanted me out of the way, so they could gain the position destined to be mine. I didn’t even want it, though, if I’m honest, but that wasn’t good enough for them. They had beat me and left me out in the open for anyone to find. Knowing all too well, it would be the end of me. I would die first, or if I were found, I would most likely have been taken and experimented on! Our kind was rare to the outside world now—most thought of us as myths or legends. Luckily for me, it was Michael who had found me. He had only just taken over as Alpha from his father and wanted to lead his pack in a fairer, more understanding way than his father had.

Michael had brought me back to the pack house. It was dark, and most people were already in bed. His mate was there, though, and she agreed to help him. They found a place for me to stay out of sight and heal. It took a good few days before I was back on my feet. I would have died that night if it weren’t for Michael and Laura.

“Stay close; I don’t want to have to search the emptiness for lost wolves”, I call out over my shoulder.

“Aleena, if you would grant access to the restricted collection first, I’ll stay with Axel and Archer. The more of us looking for answers, the quicker we should find them” Michael’s voice reaches my ears from the back of the line.

“Okay, hold your breath, boys. I don’t want to be covered in Wolf vomit!” I laughed, but I wasn’t joking.

Moving between dimensions wasn’t always easy for me, let alone none magic folk, even more so if it’s your first time moving via magic.

“Oh goddess, never again”, I hear one of the younger wolfs complain. I hide my laugh behind my hand. The poor boy had gone so pale and was clutching his stomach. He was not going to be a fan of this. But at least Michael had gotten used to it, and it was the safest way to protect the pack’s most valuable things.

“Thank you, my friend. We will be here for a while; you are welcome to stay or go. The choice is yours,” the Alpha tells me with a smile.

“I’ll stay and help as you said; the more looking then, the faster it will be”, I reply, stepping away from the pale-looking brother and flicking all the lights on. Once again, magic was provided by me.