Alastair: Valene and Merari had been missing for well over an hour. We'd be getting nowhere on this night. Tired of waiting, I dispersed the crowd for the meeting. The least we could do was ensure the city was protected until we received more intel on who we were potentially up against. There was no point in further discussion if the whole reason behind the meeting was missing. I ordered the witches to cast border shields and alarms along the city line that would signal us whenever a rogue was near. It would at least make things easier on the pack. “Alright, let’s disperse to the borders,” I ordered my pack. “Ares, spread your pack where you see fit, but I will call mine to the north and west. We'll spread out in between each designated area." “And what do you want us to do?” Harlyn asked. In her silence, I had nearly forgotten that she was there. "Harlyn, I-""And what are we going to do about the vampire coven?" "What do you mean?" "Are they not supposed to be assisti
Alastair: “She wanted to talk with him alone, Alastair,” said Merari as she answered my question about leaving our daughter alone with an undead Tobias. “She wanted me to warn you as well. She’d get two birds with one stone, I guess.” If anyone could handle themselves, Valene could. I had no doubts about that, but the father in me couldn’t help but be worried for her safety. Especially when considering the fact that I had just gotten her back. That was all besides the point that, yet again, I got the feeling that Merari was hiding something from me. Some pivotal information that could potentially help out the situation that Shadow Veil was steadily sinking into. “We will discuss what else you’re hiding from us later,” I said. I wasn’t in the mood to spare Merari her privacy at this point. The whole of my city was in danger, and she was keeping something from me that could potentially turn the bad luck that we were having around. Now was not the time to be blinded by my adoratio
Vale:“It was after she murdered me in my own home….” An odd place to begin a story.A bunch of time had passed before we could reconvene. Mum seemed to be having a harder time than anyone had previously realized. Even me.So, when she started to tell the story of her life...and death, my heart would secretly break for her. Silence took over before the story could even really begin. Her eyes glossed over and I suddenly realized that she had begun to lose herself in whatever trauma she was about to tell everyone in the room about.“Mother,” I softly called to her. I started to take a step toward her, when my father lifted his hand to pause me.Our eyes met and I knew immediately why he did this. “Alastair Wade has been on the sidelines long enough.” When I heard Fierya’s voice, my eyes shifted to her. “Fierya?” I whispered.I hadn’t heard the sound of my counterpart for what felt like an eternity. I could feel her but she just…she stopped communicating with me completely.“We…are h
Per usual, dad was there to soften the blow of reality for Harlyn. He stepped in, stopping me from getting brutally honest with Harly, and took it from there. It was only because I respected him that I conceded, but even my respect for my father was starting not to be enough to hold my tongue.“Harlyn, me and your mother were separated when I met Ms. Van Doren. It was while I was searching for your mother after she went feral, that I ran into her…my true mate.” Dad tried to explain.“And that excuses what you did?” Harlyn pressed. “Is that what you are trying to say to me, dad? Really?” Harlyn spat irately.“Nothing excuses what I’ve done, Harlyn," Dad spoke with conviction before he continued to further explain himself and truth be told, I was irritated by it. Not because he readily admitted to his truth but because he obviously felt obligated to give in to Harlyn's entitlement to his life before she had even existed. "I’d been chasing your mother around the world…for so long…fo
Alastair: “Valene! You need to think about this! You don’t want to do anything that you’ll regret!” As I said this, she scoffed, my words seeming to roll right off of her shoulder as she stood up from the ground, wiped the blood from her lips, and took concentrated steps toward her unwavering younger sister. “I can assure you, dad, I’ll not regret anything that I do on this night.” “Valene!” I growled and started to intercede. “You!” she growled, stopping in her steps as she glared at me, her eyes darkened and full of rage. “Stay right. There.” “On this, I’ll have to agree, daddy.” When Harlyn said this, I looked at her increduloualy. Did she not understand the grave danger that she was in? “Harlyn, don’t do this!” I could hardly get the word out of my mouth before a large ring of fire began to rise from the ground, separating me, and everyone else from the two of them. “Do you really think that will stop me from-” I reached my hand out to touch it. “I wouldn’t do that, dadd
As soon as Harlyn brought her fist down, this time, she was surprised by the swiftness of Valene’s counter.Without struggle, she caught Harlyn’s hand into hers. “That’s enough of that.” Her gnarl was guttural and inhuman. She twisted Harlyn’s arm back.Harlyn let out a howl of pain. Valene hadn’t snapped her arm yet, but I knew that it was coming.“You-you think I’m afraid of you! You think that….that you’re better than me?!” Harlyn struggled to bark through her pain. “Just because you’re no longer a weak, and tormented little human that nobody ever wanted! Not even your own mother!”With her arm still in her grasp, Valene stepped forward and so did I. This time, neither Tor
Vale:“Disperse! Everyone disperse!” I could hear my father saying this but it was like an echo in a distant world. I knew that he was saying this on account of me, and my mother. I knew that our power colliding like it did, was damaging to everything around us, but I just couldn’t stop. We just couldn’t stop. Rage had completely taken over.Not only me, but my mother as well. Fierya felt my rage and she tried to keep us grounded but there was something even stronger than her. She was muted by both of our life’s trauma and the emotions that came along with it. There was an unstoppable fury that seemed to engulf us both, and there was no stopping it. Not without intense physical intervention. And who on earth had such strength? Part of me hoped that someone would stop it, but another part of me...the feral part of me wanted to release it all. We fought. We fought hard and anyone who got into our way was only collateral to us both. I wanted it to stop! I wanted it to stop. Or at lea
I just wasn't ready for this conversation just yet. Not yet, so I grabbed some clothes, that I’d lounge in, and then I went into the bathroom and took a shower. Surely washing the blood and dirt off of me would calm me down. After an hour under the rain of well-pressured hot water, I left the shower, oiled down and put on my lounging gear. Fully expecting to just…play my frustrations away.I opened the door, and walked out, and sensed that he was still there. “What are you still doing here?” I asked, though part of me felt like I shouldn’t have been surprised. “I told you that I wasn’t going anywhere.” He shrugged haphazardly as his he took a look around my room, fiddling around with the odd knick knack that was lying around. I grabbed a beer from the mini fridge, and popped it open, I then took a drink of it. “I don’t want to talk to you.” “Yes, you do,” he said without hesitation. It was clear that he was not going to back down. “Now, tell me what it is that you think I wouldn’t