Chapter 27 You Are My Hope

Eric's POV

The next day we were in the war room, talking about what to do with Tasha.

“We can’t just barge in there. We don’t even know where she is,” Aaron says.

“Well, if he’s Cole mate, then we can use their mind link.”

“They don’t do mind links.” I reminded them, “plus, Tasha isn’t a shifter.”

“Man, can this get any much worse?” Aaron sat on a chair.

“Yes, it can.”

Uncle George and Uncle Leo walked toward us, looking grim.

“What is it?” Siam asked.

“Vampires didn’t only take her.” Uncle George said, “Judging on the scent, there were also hunters with them.”

I shrugged and sunk lower into my seat.

“We need everything we can learn about this, Tasha.” Jake says, “Aside from the fact that she’s a witch.”

“Well, there’s only one person who can give you all the answer to that.” Uncle Leo said.

We exchanged look. Siam gave a weak nod.

Soon we found ourselves in Cole’s room, asking her for anything that can help us.

“That’s all I got.” He said after telling everything he knows about Tasha.

“What about means of communication?” Jake asked, “you said she’s psychic. Have you tried to mind link with her?”

“No.” he quickly answered and looked away from us.

Then we heard a giggle behind us.

I frowned, people kept popping in and out everywhere, and we hardly even notice it. It's either we’re all terrific enough to be ninjas, or we’re all dead tired.

“I can just imagine your mind linking with her.” Serenity says, amused, as she walked toward us. “Now, what is this all about.”

“We are looking for Tasha.” Aaron says, “But we have no clue where to start.”

“Hm,” she nodded, “well, maybe I can help?”

We turned to her, all one brow raise. She shrugged and slipped her hand inside her pockets, looking like a kid who was caught up to no good.

“Well, Tasha and I sort of tried to mind link.” She admitted, “We tried it on Cole too, but he just pushed us away.”

“So you can mind link with her?” Siam asked.

“I can, but only in certain distance.” She said, disappointed, “and if she’s mind linking with me too.”

“What do you mean? Like meeting halfway?” Aaron asked.

Serenity nodded, “Tasha has this idea that when one person is trying to reach out to another through mind, it would expand and spread around her until they find that person, but in cases that there is too wide a space between them, then they would need to meet halfway. As long as the wave of their minds overlaps, then communication would not be a problem.”

We all exchanged looks, not thinking the science of our ability to mind link.

“Have you tried it?” I asked.

“No.” she said, “but she did say she tried it on Cole when he was caught, but that went haywire cause Cole refused to speak with her. Instead, she caught a few glimpses of where he was through his mind.”

“That’s how she knew where I was?” Cole asked.

“Yes, and also because she has a tracking device on you.” Serenity says sarcastically. “Do you really think Tasha would stop probing into your head just because you blocked her?”

Cole sighed and shrugged in his bed.

“Serenity, where are you?” I hear Anna call out from outside the room and peeked through the crack of the door. “There you are!”

“For a moment there, I thought we lost you again.” Cam teased as she and Anna step into the room.

“What’s going on here?” Anna asked. “I thought Mama Ellena said that this room was off-limits cause the rogue is supposed to be resting?”

She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Siam.

“Belle?”

Anna stiffened in an instant and turned to Cole.

“Belle, is that you?” Cole says again.

Anna moved toward Siam, “Who are you?”

“Belle…” Cole says, sitting up.

Anna shook her head and moved closer to Siam, “No, no… it's Anna now… who are you?”

“Belle, it's me,” he says. “It's Al.”

Anna’s eyes widened, “It can’t be… you were with dad… you ran off to “

“I ran to get you from your room, but you were no longer there.” Cole says, “One of the men said they saw you being dragged out of the house, I ran after you, but I can’t find you. I looked for you for years before I found the circus….”

“What’s going on here?” Siam asked.

Anna shook her head again and walked up to Cole, head held high. “If you are my big brother, tell me something that no one else knows.”

Cole smirked and tipped his head sideward, “I know how much you hated Nana Em for making you drink that medicine when you were four, and that scar under your left foot? You got that when Nana caught you drinking your third glass of milk for the night, and you broke the glass cause she surprised you.”

Anna’s eyes were filled with tears now but hadn’t moved.

“And I know how much you hate lilies cause it reminds you of mom’s death.”

With that said, Anna walked up to him and engulfed him in a hug.

“It is you, Al.”

Cole chuckled and hugged her back, “I told you so.”

We all exchanged looks, and then I felt Serenity tug me toward the door.

Everyone out of the room, she said through the mind link.

But it’s just getting good… Aaron whined.

Jake then put an arm over his shoulder and dragged him out of the room. I glanced at Siam, who was still staring at his wife and her brother.

Surprise, surprise… I tell him.

He broke into his moment of silence and glanced at me.

We’ll see you later, big brother. Anna would want you here. Serenity says as we walked out the door.

Thank you, Siam said.

I closed the door and turned to look at the others.

“Well, that was unexpected,” Jake says.

“Did you know that he was Anna’s brother?” Uncle Leo asked.

“To tell you the truth?” Serenity smiled, “Not really. I did know that they have the same story. I thought about it once, but hearing Cole’s story of his family, well, you wouldn’t have expected our perky Anna was from the same family background.”

We all stood there in silence, overwhelmed by what we just witnessed.

“God, this is starting to be one hell of a telenovela.” Uncle Leo says.

We all turned to him, surprised.

“What?” he asked, “If you’re stuck in your son’s room all day doing nothing, you’d learn to appreciate those shows.”

We all stifled a laugh, except for Serenity. She walked up to uncle Leo and wrapped her arms around his waist, “Don’t worry, he’ll be up and about soon.”

“I hope so, princess.” he sighed.

“I’ll make sure of that, uncle.” She said. I caught her reached for her necklace, and got what she meant.

It was a full moon tonight. He will be up by tomorrow morning.

“Uncle?” she says, her tone changing into a more serious one, as she steps out of her uncle’s hold and looks up at him.

He stared at her then sighed, “You’ve seen her, haven’t you?” it took a while, but she nodded, “You want me to tell him?”

“It’s the right thing to do, uncle.” She said, “He deserves to know.”

“She asked me not to tell her,” he said. “She wants to be the one to explain to him.”

“Then it’ll be hard for me to explain why I have a tinge of her scent.”

“A tinge of her scent?” Uncle Leo asked.

And like a cue, we all sniffed and did notice a different scent on her, it was that strong, but it was there. I thought. First, it was the human’s scent but hearing this conversation has something to do with a certain woman.

“Why do you….” then her eyes widened. Then he grabbed her and checked on her wrist, arms, and neck, and finally, he sighed with relief.

“She made me drink her venom, uncle,” she said, “she mixed it in my system so I can heal myself.”

“A vampire’s venom in a shifter’s body is unheard of.” Uncle Leo says.

A vampire?

“And so is a shifter turned into a vampire.” She said.

I stiffened hearing this. Was she one of them? Did they turn her into one of them?

“I’m not a vampire,” she said to all of us. “I just have a certain part of them in me.”

“That’s why you are up and about now.” uncle George says, “Even without Josephine in you, you can now heal yourself because of what that vampire gave you.”

She nodded and glanced my way. I guess she wasn’t ready to tell that to me last night. I smiled at her and urged her on to whatever she wanted to tell her uncle. She was forced to return a smile and turned to her uncle.

“It’s a full moon tonight.” She said, “I will wake Liam up, but you have to promise me that you will tell him. I can’t bear the thought of him finding out about it when they meet on the battlefield.”

Uncle Leo nodded, and Serenity sighed relief as she walked back to me.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.” She said.

I smiled at her, amused at how adorable she was looking right now. “It’s ok, love, I understand. I know you didn’t tell me cause you wanted to tell Uncle Leo or Liam first.”

“Thank you.”

“But I do hope that next time, you wouldn’t be too acquainted with beings who are supposed to be our enemy.” I teased her.

She grinned and wrapped her arms around my neck as my arms found their way around her. “Aunt J is far from an enemy, love.” She said, “She’s family.”

I rested my chin on top of her head and breathed in her scent. Then it hit me.

“For some reason,” Aaron said, “I caught another familiar scent on you, princess.”

“Shoot…” I hear Serenity says and dug her face deep in my chest.

“Care to tell us something we don’t know?” cam asked.

“No,” Serenity says.

“Hm, I wonder what your brother will say if he found out about it.”

“He is a gentleman. He wouldn’t say anything.” Serenity says with pride.

“I’m not sure about that.” Jake says as she stood behind her and pushed away from her hair, and frowned, “There’s no mark on you.”

“That’s because nothing happened.” She slapped his hand away from her, “We slept. That’s why I smell like him.”

“And he smells like you?” Aaron says. “Princess, there’s more into this than what you know. Taking someone's scent is one thing, but sharing a scent and mixing it with your own is another.”

I chuckled and pulled Serenity toward me, “You’re digging your own place of peace here, love, better stop now.”

She pouted, “That is so unfair you boys always parade around your scent.”

“So something did happen,” Jake says.

Uncle Leo and Uncle George laughed, “We’ll leave you kids to your teasing. I don’t think I have the stomach to hear what my princess had been up to.”

“I have not been up to anything!”

Aaron and Jake laughed, and I rolled my eyes at them, hearing the pun on Serenity’s words.

“Can you boys just drop it?” I asked, “Please, before you piss her off.”

“Sorry.” They said while fighting off their laugh.

“There, now will you also stop pouting and glaring at everyone? It doesn’t suit you.”

She shrugged and leaned on me, “I swear I’ll make you kiss the ground I walk on if you mention one word to anyone.”

“Fine, fine…” Jake says. “It’ll be our secret.”

“That’s right.” Serenity says, quite satisfied.

“And since it is our secret,” Aaron says, “whose plan was it?”

I laugh escape from me, earning a glare from Serenity.

Then Aaron laughed, “No way…” he laughs again, “I guess you are a cry baby.”

“That’s it.” Serenity says and ran after Aaron and jumped on his back. Aaron continued to laugh as he held her up and started twirling.

“Aaron, don’t….” I said.

I saw Serenity close her eyes and put her hand over her mouth.

“Stop, Aaron!” I called, and he did. He looked back and saw Serenity turning green.

I took her from him, opened the nearest guest room door, and brought her to the bathroom, where she let out everything she ate earlier. I held her hair back and rubbed her back, calming her down. She was breathing hard and was turning pale.

“I’m sorry, I completely forgot about her-“

“It’s cool….” Serenity says as she wiped the corner of her mouth with the back of her hand.

“You ok?” I asked. She shook her head as she sat on the floor, “C’mon, you better rest.”

She put an arm around my shoulder, and I picked her up.

“Cam, can you cook her some soup, please?” I asked.

“Yeah, sure.” She ran out of the room.

“I’ll see you guys later at the war room,” I tell the boys.

“You’d be ok, princess?” Jake asked.

“Yeah…” she said in almost a whisper, her eyes closed and her head rested on my chest.

“Sorry, princess…” Aaron says.

This time Serenity smiled, “I’ll get you for that, Aaron.”

Aaron chuckled, “I’ll be waiting then.”

I dropped off Serenity in our room and tucked her in. She was asleep even before we reached the room.

So I ran to the kitchen to pick up the soup I had Cam made and to get a few more of Serenity’s favorite fruits and food.

“Hey, how is she doing?” Cam asked, worried.

“She’s asleep now. I guess her pregnancy would be different from Anna's.” I sighed.

“This will be different. She’s carrying a human and is a human right now.” Cam says as she put soup in a bowl for me.

“I know.” I said, “I just don’t know what to expect.”

I shrugged and looked out the window and saw Jean in the middle of the garden looking out in the forest.

“She’s been there since this morning,” Cam said. “Aaron tried to get her to come in, but even his puppy dog eyes failed.”

“Did something happen while we were gone?” I asked.

She shook her head, “Nothing that I know of. We were together the whole time.” Then she put on her thinking face, “She was there when you arrived though, she even helped mama Elena to heal Cole.”

I frowned, “I’ll be back.”

I walked out to the garden and walked toward her.

“I guess I was wrong.” I heard her say.

“Wrong about what?”

“About mates.” She said.

“Why?”

She looked up at me, and her eyes were all puffy and red. Her smile was pained. “I saw mine.”

“It doesn’t look like it went well,” I said.

She chuckled, “That’s an understatement.” She said, looking back at the forest, “One look was all it took him to turn me down and flinch away from me.”

I frowned, “Did you know that it was him before that happened?”

She shook her head, “Everything was sudden, you guys arrived, and everyone was busy and on their feet. Mama Ellena asked me to help her and then….”

I frowned.

“It’s Cole, isn’t it?”

She gave a weak nod, staring down at her lap.

“What did he say?”

“Nothing.” She said, “He didn’t have to, the way he glared at me, flinched when I needed to touch him, and slapped my hand away….”

A sob escapes from her.

“Jean…”

“Just let me be alone, Eric, please…” she begged.

“You are not allowed to leave my pack or this house, do you hear me, Jean? I’ll leave you to think, but you are not to step into that forest, or I swear to all that’s good, I’ll have Serenity command you to sit and stay.”

She chuckled and wiped away a tear, “I’ll be right here, alpha.”

I smiled, “Good.” Then I knelt beside her and hugged her, planting a kiss on top of her head, “everything will be alright. He doesn’t know what he’s missing if he turns you down.”

“He already did.”

“No, he hasn’t.” I said, “He’s pushing you away, yes, but let’s see how far he can take to be away from the person that is meant to complete him.”

She smiled at me, “Go back to your mate, and I heard from Aaron and Jake that she almost fainted.”

I shrugged and stood up, “Yeah, well, she’s as stubborn as you are and won’t stay in bed.”

She laughed, ‘If it were you who asked me to stick in bed with you, I’d probably won’t either,” I gave her a questioned look, “Cause I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from mauling you.”

She winked at me, and I laughed, remembering what happened the night before.

“Well, with her in my bed, I can’t say I don’t feel the same.”

She smiled and nodded toward the house, “Go on, I’ll see you later.”

I nodded and walked back to the house.

Man, this day can’t stop with all the surprises. I thought. But then again, that’s what Serenity brings. Surprises.

The good kind.

The kind that would make you hope.