***
Tyler paced on the training ground. Arms crossed, head bent he paced.
It was a lot of information to process. That people like them could even see the dead… that they could survive lethal experimentations…
"You should be doing your drills." Axel greeted. Tyler eyed the vampire.
He could say that he had mixed feelings about Axel.
The man was distant, aloof. Border line cruel.
His training was rigorous at best. Tyler sighed as he took his first stance. Knees shoulder width apart, slightly bent, ready to spring into action.
"Mutal nilaippāṭu! (First stance)" Tyler shifted so his right leg was shoulder length to the front of his body, as if ready to sprint forward. His right elbow was ear length with the back of his blade pressed into his forearm.
Axel circled Tyler, nudging his feet so they were straight, grounded to the ground. Tyler felt the ease in his stance. Axel nudged Tyler's left hand so it cupped his right, ready to take the blade if necessary, also ready to defend.
"Luṅki! (Lunge)" Tyler felt his body thrust forward, tip of the sword point forward, left hand on the hilt of the blade.
"Uṅkaḷai taṟkāttuk koḷḷuṅkaḷ! (Defend yourself)" Tyler was ready when Axel appeared Infront of him.
***
Nicholas wondered to the training ground where Tyler and Axel were sparring. It was a matter of minutes before Axel had Tyler on the ground with his foot on the boys chest.
"Your strength grows every day, child." Axel praised as he helped the boy up. "You should be proud."
Tyler frowned, "But-"
"However you should not let your anger be your strength in battle." Tyler tilted his head.
"Battle is a hellish deed." Axel murmured.
"You need a clear mind and a sound body. Anger blurs your vision and burns your energy." Tyler slowly nodded.
"You should rest." Axel murmured as Tyler started to move through his cool down stretches. "Luna will shine bright tonight."
"Does shifting ever become easy?" Tyler asked after a moment of silence.
Axel tilted his head, "I had a friend who had told me that you must embrace the animal. Two halves to one. You are the wolf as the wolf is you."
Tyler flinched, "but…"
"It was not the wolf who killed your parents, boy. It was The Order." Tyler felt the air leave his lungs at axels cold declaration. "I'm alive and they aren't…"
"Don't let your guilt warp you from the truth: your parents loved you. So much so, they sacrificed their lives to protect you. Such is the way of the world. Parents sacrifice so their children can thrive."
Axel pulled a thick, aged leather book from his bag. "I went back to retrieve this for you. Your mothers final request." Tyler felt his breath hitch as he slowly reached for the book.
"You…" his eyes found Axels, "Thank you…"
"Think nothing of it." Axel murmured. "You must know your past to move on to your future…" Axel felt his words fade as the connection snapped into place. "My past to.." Tyler could say he was confused when Axel perked up.
"The fates." He gasped making Nicholas freeze and Tyler tilt his head in confusion.
"Are you seriously talkinf about the Grecian fates right now?" Tyler asked, Axel nodded.
"Come."
****
Myriah and Jasmine sat across from Axel whose glance shifted between them.
"This is a stretch, but hear me out: Keyonie could see the past. He Vamir and Miru must have been part of the same clan…with the same abilities."
"Axel?" Myriah asked.
"Just think about it: Miru trained me… at my mothers request…"
"So mother is part of their clan too… which is where you can walk the dreams of others…" Angalo murmured, making Axel flinch.
Nicholas pursed his lips. "So if Keyonie actually found his life mate, it must have been from Keevans relation as he was married to Alexandria Whitman…"
"And Myriah ended up with Alexander Whitman… so he'd be close…" Myriah listened to the three males attempt to peice the puzzle together.
"Unfortunately, the elder Whitman was on a blood path. He seized Keyonie, and his mate had to have gone into hiding…"
"A double cross… Whitman only allowed Keevans union to Alexander to find Keyonies mate…"
"The Order always seized the females when they were with child… that's why…"
"Keevan sacrificed himself and his children for Alexandria…" axel gasped, "she was with child… what could have been their strongest…"
"Hang on.. why would the third child be the strongest?" Myriah asked, having lost the trio.
"No, that's not the right question." Axel murmured, "Keyonie was from the past. And made his way to the present." Nicholas and Anglao nodded.
"Keyonies mate was with child… which would naturally be the present as the child more than likely slept." Axel and Nicholas gazed fell onto Jasmine.
"Then… Samantha fell pregnant with Alexander's first child…the future." Jasmine and Myriah shared a long and steady glance.
"And a pure one. To make the binding possible…" all eyes fell on Myriah. Then on Jasmine shifted uncomfortably.
"Is anybody esle lost in the sauce here?" Myriah asked. "Long ago… when the Pure ones sacrificed mortals to create the shifters and the vampires, the Order also sacrificed us to be able to hunt us." Nicholas murmured.
"Hold on.. what?!" Myriah asked, unsure she heard correctly.
"I had a mole who spied on The Order so that we could avoid them… the mole told me, that the order used the fates to find us."
Myriah felt her jaw drop.
"The fates?" Her tone was disbelieving… "the fates…" she murmured again: "The three muses who controlled life and death by cutting the strings of fate on those meant for dreary…" the three males eyed Myriah.
"The past… the present and the future.. rumored to have shared an eye…" Myriah gasped and waved her hands as she spun on Jasmine who gasped when Myriah grabbed her shoulders.
"The eye is the window of the mind with the blessings of the Pure one to bind…"
Nicholas pursed his lips.
"So.. it wasn't an eye that they shared?" Tyler asked. "Then… what did they share?"
Myriah closed her eyes and pressed her forehead against jasmines. Nicholas angled his body away from the boy while Axel and Angalo shared a long glance.
"What…" Tyler's gaze fell on Axel who resolved himself and held Tyler's curious gaze. "They shared a brain."
And like that Jasmine fell unconscious.