Home of The Bears

Damian has been up all night, pacing back and forth in his room. He isn’t sure why he is feeling unsettled, but he does. He has a feeling that something’s going to happen, but he doesn’t’ t know what. He’s trying to be prepared for when it does happen though.

Jarod walked into the cabin that he had allowed Damian and his two companions to stay in. The tension rolling off of Damian is making the whole pack nervous. They can sense he’s not a shifter, but something powerful, although they have no idea what, but his nervousness and tension is affecting all of them at this point. What could be making someone who holds so much power so nervous?

“Is everything okay in here?” Jarod asks as he walks in the cabin.

It’s just Damian inside at the moment. Jayven and Daniel had been granted permission to join their mom and sister since they had vouched that the boys are indeed their family.

“I’m not sure, something feels off, I have no idea what it is, but something doesn’t feel right,” Damian says while he continues to pace around the cabins living room and kitchen areas. He’s deep in thought at this moment. It’s really bothering him that he’s not able to place what this feeling is that he has.

“Anything I can do; your emotions are everywhere, and the pack can sense them, and the pack is getting antsy because of that.” Jarod states.

Damian looks at him, unsure of how to answer that question. He’s sure there’s probably something coming this way, although he can’t tell if it’s something good or something bad. He could tell Jarod to prepare the people just in case though.

“Get your people ready, something’s coming and I have no idea what it is.” He tells the leader.

“Do you think it could be dangerous?” Jarod asks. He is starting to get a bit concerned. They have lived in peace for a long time now and he’s not really interested in being a part of some type of battle or feud, or whatever it is that these people have gotten themselves into. He had a sneaking suspicion when he took the women in that more was to follow. Something is going on and now he’s afraid he’s put himself, and his people, right in the middle of it all.

“I can’t be sure of that. I’m not sure what this feeling is, but it’s making me uncomfortable. I don’t like being uncomfortable and not being able to figure shit out!” Damian says getting frustrated about it all.

He had a made a promise to Matthew before he left to come to this god forsaken world that he would be careful and that he would return home. He hopes that he can keep that promise. He hopes that he can succeed in bringing the boy’s mother home with him as well.

Jarod looks Damian up and down, he’s trying to read this rare and weird creature in front of him, but he can’t. Normally Jarod has a good sixth sense about things, but he can’t figure out this stranger he allowed into his lands. He’s almost wondering if they should just the kill the strangers and exit this situation before it escalates, but something inside of him is telling him that that’s not the solution to this problem.

“I’ll prepare my people.” Jarod responds and leaves the cabin.

While that relaxes Damian slightly, at least if everyone else is on guard then there’s a few more people added to this and whatever is coming their way will have a battle on their hands. He can tell that this pack is capable of caring for themselves. They’re bear shifters and each and every one of them are trained warriors, it’s obvious by looking at their toned, muscular bodies that all look perfectly in shape, even the woman. There’s also this feeling inside that he can trust this leader, and that the leader is meant for more, much more than what he is.

All of a sudden Damian can hear people rushing past his cabin. He bolts out the door without pausing to think about anything or to consider any situation.

“What’s going on?” He asks one of the shifters as they ran by him.

“There’s a breach at the border… again,” they add as they continue to the area where they were called too.

Damian falls in line behind them. He’s the most powerful one here, and he will fight to protect this pack, no matter the cost. They have been nothing but kind and it’s not their fault that they had been brought into the middle of all of this.

Shock runs all through his body and freezes on the spot once they arrive where the intruders are. He can’t believe what he is seeing. How did this happen?

The sight looks horrible. There’s seven people, three of them unconscious, but all of them covered in blood. What caught Damian’s attention the most is that one of the seven is Seth, holding a woman in his arms that looks a hell of a lot like Amillia, but he knows she’s not, he’s actually seen this woman before, it’s Natalia, and from the looks of her, it’s impossible for Damian to tell whether she is alive or not.

The last time that Damian had seen Natalia she had been with Amillia. They had left the hotel together when the city cracked and was destroyed. But he can’t see Amillia, not at first anyways.

She steps out behind Seth and stands tall. Damian lets out a breath of relief until he takes in how she looks. She’s bloody from head to toe. She has cuts all over her body and her clothes are ripped. The whole group smells of smoke. Amillia is also limping, it’s very noticeable as she walks forward. She’s allowing her power to show, she’s nervous and doesn’t want to fight. She has blood coming from her nose and her eyes are black. Whatever happened to them couldn’t have been good.

“I promise we come in peace,” she speaks, her voice horse.

“Who are you?” Jarod asks her.

“My name is Amillia Black,” She answers without hesitation, a brave move on her part considering she has no idea who these people or where she is, other than being in the smallest, most isolated area she’s ever been in her whole life.

“Why are you here?” Jarod asks her.

“We were coming to seek Damian and two mortal hunters,” she informs and everyone in the area turns and looks at Damian, everyone except Jarod that is. He doesn’t seem surprised at all by her revelation.

“Why?”

She hesitates for a moment debating on what she should tell this stranger and what she shouldn’t. Instead, she settles on asking him a question herself.

“Do you know who I am?” She asks.

“Yes,” He states matter of fact. Damian wonders if he really does or if he’s just saying that because he doesn’t want to admit he hasn’t a clue as to who this woman in front of him is.

“Then you should know why I’m here and why I’m looking for him.” She speaks. “We’re not trying to fight, but I need his help. My sisters here, and my best friend, are all severely injured from a car accident that we were just in, and they need assistance. I can help them, but I need a safe and quiet place to lie low. I wasn’t whether or not Damian had found people or was doing the same thing that we’re trying to do, but I had to find out.” She rambles.

Without thinking about it, Damian steps forward and stands beside Jarod, he’s looking at the group in front of them. Jarod turns to Damian, but still keeps an eye on the seven strangers out of the corner or his eyes.

“I’m going to trust you this one-time Damian. I don’t know what’s going on, but are these people trustworthy and whatever danger is following will you guys help keep my people safe? I refuse to put them into harm's way. We have had too peaceful of a life for something to mess that up now.” He says to Damian just barely loud enough for Damian to hear it due to him not wanting his pack to overhear his conversation.

“They’re safe. That’s the mother of my children, two of her three sisters, my twin brother, I’m not one hundred percent on the werewolf, I don’t know him to speak for him, and that’s the Lycan,” He finished the last part with a sour taste in his mouth that reflects in his words. He pointed out each of the people to Jarod, both of them speaking so softly only Seth can hear what they are saying due to his Lycan hearing.

Seth wants to say something back to Damian with the same venom that Damian’s using towards him, but he bites his tongue. He’s almost certain there will be plenty of time, or they’ll simply make time, to work out their issues later. Right now, the important thing is making sure Natalia and Sonja stay alive.

Jarod nods and allows them all entrance. “I want them kept in the locked cabin though. There’s too many of them and I don’t know them enough to allow them the freedom to roam the pack, not until I know I can trust them.”

Amillia speaks up again, “Sir, may I request your permission to put up protection around this place? There are some simple spells I can use to block anything that can trace anyone to where we are. It’ll help keep all of your people safe while we’re here. Once the other women are well enough to travel, we can leave.”

Jarod considers this request, but he can tell that Amillia is being sincere and is just trying to keep everyone safe, so he grants her request. He does appreciate the fact that she respects him enough as the leader to request permission instead of just doing as she wishes.

There’s only been a few times in Jarod’s life that he’s run into a witch, and those have not been under good circumstances. None of the witches he knows are of the light, they all mostly practice dark magic. It’s been a long-time assumption of his that all witches are evil, but there’s something about this one that screams there’s a difference to him, he just can’t quit figure it out.

Two of the best warriors walk around the territory with Amillia while she’s casting protection spells around the area. Jarod, with Damian, escorts everyone else to their cabin. It’s a bigger cabin that was built as a prison block just in case they need it. It’s not very often any magical creature cross into their land, but just in case, they’re prepared. Jarod likes to be prepared for the unexpected.

After the guys walk in and lay the girls down, Jarod shows them around the rest of the cabin and where everything else. Khalil decides that he’s wanting to get cleaned up, and clean Sonja up, and then rest. He looks as if a lot of the damage done to him has healed, which isn’t surprising. Everyone agreed they all needed to be cleaned up and get some rest to be honest. Their little side adventure has taken a lot out of them.

“Seth,” Damian says, “A word… Please,” He gritted that last word out through clenched jaws. The word tasted as if it is poison on his tongue.

Seth looks at him in shock for a moment but nods his head. After making sure that Natalia is safe where she lies, he turns and walks out of the cabin with Damian and Jarod.

“What the fuck happened and what the fuck are you doing here?” Damian asks obviously a little hostile.

Damian’s attitude toward Seth throws Jarod for a loop. Wasn’t this man just telling him that these people are safe. Damian had vouched for them when they were being held at the boarder of the land.

“Damian?” Jarod asks, looking at him. Damian has obvious hate and fire burning behind his eyes, literally. The fire red of them is starting to show, which takes Jarod by shock. He knows what those eyes mean, and this is when he realizes that Damian is actually a very upper-level demon.

Looking between the boys, Jarod can tell that Seth isn’t as happy, but his eyes are turning a black and his claws are starting to extend. It’s very apparent that there are some unresolved issues between the two of them, so Jarod decides just to hold off on getting into things and pushing for answers and waiting to see what he can find out during this little conversation that they’re having or may have at least.

“Fucking Zander is what fucking happened asshole. Where the hell were you? Somehow those assholes found out we were traveling and had that prick run us down with a semi. We’re lucky as fuck, but Amillia had to use too much of her powers, and then ended up having to shimmer us here as well.” Seth says through gritted teeth. “She shouldn’t have had to come looking for you!”

Damian’s hands ball up into fists and it takes everything in him not to knock this asshole out right here, but he’s not trying to disrespect the rules of the pack and get them all kicked out of here.

“We had a deal asshole; she was going to find her Sonja with that group, and I was to help the hunters find their mom and sister because she had promised them help at some point in fucking time. Do you really think I’d have left her if I didn’t have a choice?! The whole fucking city we were in had a massive earthquake and all hell broke loose, fucking literally!” Damian states. “Why am I even explaining myself to you?” He mumbles, “What are you even doing here?!”

Seth shrugs his shoulder and then a wide, bright smile is plastered to his face. “I’m here for my mate, why else would I be here.”

He knew that those words would run Damian’s blood either ice cold or boiling hot. Seth isn’t afraid of danger, and he most certainly isn’t afraid of Damian. He’s wanting to fuck with him and get inside his head, but doubt in there, although in all honestly there’s no reason for Damian to doubt anything.

Before Damian can reply to Seth, Amillia walks up. She can sense the tension between the boys, so she steps between them. Yup, nothing new about this situation at all. This is so going to be a long night.

Amillia turns her attention toward Jarod though, ending the boy’s argument for the moment being.

“Sir, I have the whole territory protected and special enchantments and charms as well so that we can be warned before anyone with ill intent gets here. Trust me, it’s better to be safe than sorry.” She tells shim. Then she asks, “Do you mind if we speak somewhere private, Beavis and Butthead can join too if they wish, and we can let you in on everything that’s going on?”

“Yes, please, if you don’t mind,” Jarod responds with a nod of his head. “Please, follow me. “

The three of them follow Jarod to one of the bigger cabins on this land. The leader welcomes them into his home and offers them all something to drink. He leads them to the living room for them to take a seat while he goes to the kitchen and fixes the drinks for everyone.

None of the three take a seat though. Amillia and Seth feel as if they are too dirty to seat on clean furniture in a nice home, and Damian is just being stubborn and wanting so badly to just wrap Amillia up and make her better. He can tell that she’s tired, aggravated, worried, and hurt. He can’t stand to see her in this condition.

Jarod returns from the kitchen with the drinks and offers the three of them a seat again.

“I mean no disrespect sir,” Amillia starts, “I will take a seat on the floor if you insist on us taking a seat, but I don’t feel it appropriate to set on your furniture in these clothes while being dirty, bloody, and sweaty.”

“Ah, it’s fine…. Amillia?” Jarod asks waving them off.

She nods her head in agreement, and she just barely takes a seat on the edge of the chair that is facing the couch. Jarod takes a seat on the couch, and the two boys remain standing. Amillia is grateful that he said he doesn’t mind. Her leg is broken and it’s taking everything in her not to pass out with all of the pain she’s in, although in her mind she’s hiding it quit well.

“So….” She says, “Where should I start at?” She’s thinking more to herself than asking a question to anyone. Then she makes eye contact with Jarod. “You said that you know who I am, what is that you know about me?” She inquires.

Jarod takes a sip of his bourbon, yup, it’s one of those nights. “I know that you’re the great granddaughter of the mother goddess and that there is some prophecy about you that makes you special.” He answers.

“Well, at least you know part of what I’m famous for. It’s not actually me that the prophecy is about, there’s a whole lot more to it that no one ever bothered to look into. It’s actually about my kids, and nieces and nephews, but because no one ever bothered to check the facts, they assume it’s me and my sisters, which means we are the most wanted magical, or mystical, beings in creation at this time,” Amillia states. “Hence why I requested to be able to put up the spells. I’d have rathered Renee do it, but considering she’s knocked out cold, that couldn’t happen.”

Since it appears that Amillia is being nice and is apparently in a sharing type of mood, Jarod presses his luck, “I also heard that you’re an evil bitch who’ll skin someone alive just so they watch their own skin burn.”

He’s watching for her reaction, and it’s not exactly what he had expected. She smiles. It’s a sad smile, in a way, but it’s a smile. “Yeah…. Um, about that, I was evil, my other sister, the one not here with us had awaken the darkness that I contain and yeah, that was a bad time in my life, but we’re over that now.”

“You’re over being evil now?” Jarod asks raising his eyebrow being skeptical of Amillia. How the hell does one just get over being evil? He’s not heard that one before.

Amillia sighs. “Yeah, my great-grandmother paid me a visit and helped me get my head together, and because she did that after I pissed the fates off, I was cursed and couldn’t use my powers for a while without going all crazy again.” Of course, she left out some of the details of that curse mostly because the personal stuff isn’t any of Jarod’s business.

“So, you’re no longer cursed?” Jarod asks.

“Nope, the fates removed that months ago. See, the thing is there’s a war going on, and not just any war, but a war between the gods, and some of them are assholes, the assholes are using the magical worlds and communities to their advantage anyway possible.” Amillia informs. “There’s this family of mystical hunters that exist, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of them or not, but they’ve been collecting shifters to fight with them in this war. The Wyatt’s are actually descendants from a god themselves, much like me, but they decided that they wanted to fall in line with the Lord of Darkness and abuse their power. They’re supposed to help protect all beings, especially the mortals and lesser magical one’s, during this battle, but they haven’t been doing that in many years.”

Jarod contemplates on this information for a moment. “So, you’re telling me that right now you’re being chased by this family called the Wyatt’s? Or are you telling me that they’re after me and my pack?” He needs the confirmation either way.

“No sir, I don’t think they know about your pack, that’s why I covered my shifting tracks as part of the protection spell. They have the ability to trace my magic. Protection spells are different though, you can never tell who’s the one that put one up, just how powerful it is, but personal magic, like shifting, or fire balls, or blowing stuff up, freezing it, all that good stuff, that can be traced back to the being that had caused the damage.” Amillia answers.

Jarod nods, at least they’re not coming after his pack, but he is now seriously hoping that this woman knows what she is doing.

“What’s the deal with these two?” Jarod asks, referencing to Seth and Damian.

Amillia smiles and laughs a little bit. “That’s more of a personal matter sir and since they’re behaving at the moment, I’d rather not get into that and poke the sleeping monsters, if that’s okay.”

Jarod looks between the three of them and then nods his head, “Fair enough, as long as it doesn’t cause any harm among my people then I think that we can let that one slide.”

“Thank-you,” Amillia says. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to go get cleaned up and give my sisters and friend a good look over to make sure they’re going to make it. I’m pretty tired just to be honest too. All of this has taken a toll out of me. I haven’t spent this much energy in over seven years.”

“Yes ma’am, I do understand. I appreciate your honesty with me about the situation,” Jarod says standing and holding his hand out for Amillia to shake.

Very shakily Amillia stands and shakes his hands, but when she goes to take a step, she ends up falling back down and cursing in the process.

“Are you okay Amillia?” Jarod asks in concern as Seth made it to her first and is now helping her up out of the floor.

“Yes, I’m fine. I think I may have broken my leg when we were hit, but it’ll be okay. I’ll heal. I’ve had worse than this happens, and it’s healed just fine before.” She answers.

Damian, refusing to let Amillia walk in the current state she’s in, picks her up and takes her back to the cabin that the leader of the pack has designated to her and her group. He’s resenting the fact that she’s to stay here instead of with him. He has half a mind to ask the leader if he minds if she does stay with him so he can tend to her, but they’re pushing their luck enough just being here and putting him and his pack at risk. Damian doesn’t want to ask for more from him.

The cabin that the seven are staying in has ten bedrooms, three full baths, a half bath, a kitchen that looks like it’s a fresh add on, and a living room. It’s a nice little cabin. Jarod escorted them back to the cabin and informed them of the history. It used to be used as cells, that’s why some of it looks brand new, because they remodeled and updated everything inside. They have dungeons now so decided to make this just in case. He tells them that he had a feeling it would come in handy one day, he just hadn’t been sure how at the time.

Everything all caught up with itself all at once. Before the four of them even made it back to the cabin that Seth and the six were staying in, Amillia passed out. Her body just couldn’t handle any more, the pain of the day and her injuries are just too much right now. She held on for as long as she could and did everything that needed done before she collapsed, so when her vision started to all go black, she welcomed it happily.