When the light starts to come into sight, I am in the clearing before the Riverwood pack house. I hear a growl from behind me and I turn around. It is Jason! He shifts back looking at me like I am a ghost. It takes him a minute of staring at me.
"Hey Jason," I say in a quiet voice.
He just runs up to me and wraps me in an embrace, "you are here? Are you okay?"
"I am fine Jason. What happened while I was gone?"
"Well, when Altair took you away, Nix was running up to us and saw it happened. Let's just say he didn't take it well."
"How badly did he take it?" I ask, concerned.
"Well, I may have had a few broken bones when I broke it to him about what just happened."
"I am so sorry Jason."
"It isn't your fault. Anyway, he went crazy reading every book on the underworld, trying to find a way in so he can rescue you. He didn't have any luck."
"What has he been doing other than reading?"
"Well, he hasn't been eating or sleeping much. He mopes around, but mostly sticks to staying in his room. The odd time he would shift into his wolf, Lupus, and let him take over. Instead of Lupus' angry self, he would just curl up under a tree and whine for hours on end."
"Oh my god, I can't believe he acted that way just because I was gone."
"You are his mate."
I give him an unsure look.
"Still not feeling the bond?"
I shake my head no.
"That's okay."
"No, it isn't. What if I never feel the bond and fall in love with someone else. That would break him by the sounds of it."
"I bet it would take a while, but eventually he would understand."
"Okay, where is Zane?"
"He hasn't left Nix's side since you left."
"I need to go find him. I will tell you everything that happened when I am ready, okay?"
He nods, obviously there is a million questions swirling around in that head of his. I turn towards the pack house door and walk in. I walk over to the kitchen looking for someone to give me directions to Nix's room. I see Liam standing there at the counter, his back to me.
"Liam?"
He whips around, "Who do you think...Chara? Oh my god, are you okay?"
"I am fine Liam, but I need to find Nix's room. Can you point me in the right direction?"
"Ooo, did you miss somebody?"
"It isn't like that Liam; I am looking for Zane."
"Oh, sorry. I will walk you there. Follow me."
I do as his says, I am walking beside him when I ask, "are you okay? You seem on edge."
"Is it that obvious?"
I stay silent.
"Well, with you being gone, Nix and Jason have been distant. My wolf and I can feel their anxiousness and sadness. I haven't really had a break for the two weeks since you were taken. I am wondering, what happened? How did you escape hell?"
"I will explain to all of you later, I need to talk to Zane first."
He nods and stops in front of the door, "here we a..." he is cut off by the door swinging open.
I feel big arms wrapped around me before I could process what just happened.
"Um, Nix?"
"Mmhmm?"
"Can you let go."
I can hear a quiet whimper and he lets go, "are you alright? They didn't hurt you, did they?"
"I am fine Nix, where's Zane?"
He looks a little hurt but says that Zane went for a run. Great, so much for the surprise.
'Zane?'
'Chara, thank god! Are you alright? Where are you?'
'I am at the pack house and I am fine. I need to talk to you though.'
'I am on my way.'
A few minutes later I hear the door swing open and paws running down the hall towards us. Zane has a huge, goofy dog smile on him.
"Hey Zane, good to see you," I chuckle.
He rolls his eyes and we walk out back to talk. We sit down on the grass.
'So, what happened?'
I tell Zane everything, even the part of my new friends joining us at school on Monday.
'I am glad you had a good time for the most of it. I don't like that Killian fellow though; he likes you and you should be with Nix.'
'Zane! I can be with whoever I want to be with.'
'I know, I am sorry Chara.'
'Anyway, should I tell them everything? Also, what do you think about the whole Aluca being innocent part?'
'Well, I think you have to figure that out for yourself. I also think you need to find you mom and dad first to talk to them about their opinions on the upcoming war.'
'Thanks Zane. I guess I have to go tell everyone what happened now, don't I?'
Zane nods his dog head and we stand up. I link Jason, Nix, and Liam.
'Can you guys come out to the back field to talk please?'
'On my way,' Jason replies.
'Coming!' Nix says.
'Be out there in a minute,' Liam answers.
Within two minutes they are all out on the field with Zane and I.
"Okay, I am going to tell you what happened and please hold comments until I am finished." They all nod, "So, when Altair took me back to the underworld, I was met by Aluca. Apparently, Altair was not supposed to force me to come to the underworld. He was supposed to reason with me and let me come by choice. I don't think he likes me very much. Anyway, Aluca wanted me to stay there for two weeks until I was fully healed so we could talk, and I could see that he isn't that bad." I see some of their eyes roll, "He brought me to the castle and gave me a room to stay in which was very nice. I was introduced to a Ravenier demon named Talia who I became good friends with. I then talked with Aluca and he explained that he just wants the other gods to accept him, but they refuse and are going to start a war to make Aluca look back. He said my father saw how sincere he was and helped him. Aluca wants me to help him in the upcoming war and I told him I will think about it. First I want to find my mother and father to talk to them about all of this and get my father's opinion on Aluca."
I am shocked at how quiet they are all being, no sounds are made. They all just nod in understanding or roll their eyes in disagreement.
"After our talk I went back into the hall and I couldn't find Talia. I walked around looking for the way back to my room considering I still couldn't use my powers without extreme pain. I go into the Livingroom and Altair sneaks up on me. He wanted me to go somewhere with him and he wouldn't tell me why. I refused to go, and he grabbed me to take me by force," I hear a growl erupt from Nix, "I used my powers to give him a nasty burn and he let go to which I ran down the hall. I gave up on finding my room not long after, afraid Altair would come back. I used my powers to teleport to my room. When I go there, I was on the ground in a ball, my whole body felt like it was burning from the inside out. Not long after I passed out from the pain. I woke up a week later and my other wounds were almost healed by then and I could finally use my powers without pain. Talia and I took the time to get to know each other in the next week. She introduced me to her other friends, Lina, Jared, and Mikhail who are siblings. Yesterday, I joined them at demon training and went up against a special Ravenier demon named Killian. He also had the power of telekinesis on top of super strength and teleportation. I battled with him and won, of course." I say sarcastically and the others laugh along, "we actually became friends afterwards and then I came back here. You guys know the rest."
"So, Aluca didn't hurt you?" Liam asks, confused.
"No, he and the other demons did not. Other than Altair, I guess. Any other questions?"
There is a pause of silence, then, "I don't think we do right now, but some may come up later," Jason says.
I nod, "oh one more thing, no big deal though."
"What is it?" Nix asks through his teeth.
"Well, my demon friends, Talia, Lina, Jared, Mikhail, and Killian, are joining us at school starting Monday. I hope you will be nice to them and they will be nice to you."
I see shocked faces laced with some fear. They probably grew up to fear demons, especially the high-class demons.
"Okay, if they are worthy of your trust, I will welcome them," Liam says a little hesitantly.
The two boys nod as well, "thank you guys! You will love them; they are great and so much fun!" I squeal.
I get settled into my room the rest of the afternoon and soon it is time for dinner. I head down to the dining room to see practically the whole pack there. I guess I am a little late. Oops.
"Kate! We are so glad you are back!" A pack member greets and I nod in response.
We eat a lovely dinner; I feel like Nix has been wanting to ask me a question but hasn't said anything. After dinner I help clean up and then walk up the stairs. I make my way to my bedroom door as I feel Nix following me the whole time. When I reach my door I turn around to face Nix and he looks at me shocked.
"Whatever you want to as Nix, just ask. You don't have to be so anxious."
He gulps, "when I hugged you earlier, you smelled strongly of another guy. Why?"
"Before I left, everyone gave me a hug. It was probably just one of the guys."
"Okay, do you like any of the guys?"
I sigh, "look I have only known two of them for a week and Killian for a day. I don't know if I like any of them. Right now, they are good friends like Jason and yourself."
He seems to accept my answer, looking slightly hurt, "goodnight."
"Night."
I open my door and walk inside, exhausted. I just lay on the bed, Zane next to me.
'Hey Zane?'
'Yes Chara?'
'Do you think if I like someone else, Nix will accept it?'
'Well, you are his mate Chara.'
'But I don't feel anything towards him, nothing like that.'
'You still haven't told him who you are, hell those demon friends of yours seem to know more about you than he does. At least they know you have multiple powers. No just the three Nix knows about. '
'I know, I should tell him, shouldn't I?'
'Yes, I think you should.'
'You are sure this won't backfire?'
'I really hope not. We have been together these past two weeks and he was very depressed while you were gone.'
'Okay, thanks Zane. what would I do without you?'
'Probably crash and burn.'
I chuckle and soon I fall asleep.
I wake up in the morning to two boys staring at me uncomfortably close to my face. I don't take the time to see who it is, I suspend them in the air while I stand up and then look at them. What are these dufus' doing in here at six in the morning?
"Luke, Ryan, what the hell are you doing?"
"Well, uh...can you put us down first?" Luke begs.
I roll my eyes, "no, I will put you down when you answer my question. I can do this all day."
The look at each other and then back to me, "okay, we wanted to get your up and ready to hang out. We are going into town with my mate, Layla, and Jason. We want you to come and get ice cream with us. Maybe we will go to the beach," Ryan answers.
"Okay, okay. I will get ready," I put them down, "I need be back before dark okay?"
They nod and then leave in a hurry. I smile to myself and then head off to the shower. After my shower I put on a royal blue bikini with matching bottoms. I throw my silky, black hair two Dutch braids. I put on a pair of bright red jean shorts and a white, strapless crop top. I grab my only pair of Ray Band sunglasses and head out of my bedroom. I head to towards the kitchen where I hear voices coming from. I walk around the corner and see the room filled with boys and one gorgeous girl.
"Hey guys," I say.
"Kate!" Jason smiles, "This is Layla, Ryan's mate."
"Nice to finally meet you! Ryan has told me lots about the fierce shifter here."
"It's nice to meet you as well. Where are we going today?"
"We are heading to town to get some ice cream and then we are heading to the beach for the day," Layla explains.
"Okay, let's go,' I say.
We make our way outside and everyone shifts into their wolves and I do as well. I see Layla's blonde wolf look at me in shock and a little fear. She is the smallest of us wolves here. I give her a wolfy grin and we begin running. Soon we come to the town end and shift back.
"Wow, Kate. Your wolf is huge!" Layla exclaims.
"I know, kinda weird right?"
"A little, also what is that marking in your fur that was in white?"
Crap, no one has noticed that other than Jason, "I have a tattoo on my side, and it shows up in my fur for some reason."
"Huh," is all she replies with.
We continue to make out way to the ice cream parlor. I get French vanilla, Jason gets mint chip, Layla gets strawberry, and both Luke and Ryan get moose tracks. We eat our ice cream as we make our way to the beach. One there we take off our clothes being left in just our bathing suits. We all run into the water. We begin to splash each other and swim away. Jason catches my waist and starts tickling me, again.
"Is this...going...to happen...every time...we go swimming?" I laugh.
"Only if you continue to splash me every time," he replies.
"I guess I will have to get use to this then," I give him a mischievous smile.
"What are y..."
I teleport five feet away from him, cutting off his question.
"Hey! That's cheating!" he yells.
"No, it's being smart," I yell back.
He starts swimming as fast as he come towards me and I shift into a dolphin and I start swimming away. I hear him stop swimming soon and I head over to Luke, Ryan, and Layla. I shift back into human.
"You guys have to hide me!"
"What? Why? What's wrong?" Luke asks worriedly.
"Kate! Where are you! I will find you!" Jason shouts into the air.
"Oh, I see," Luke chuckles, "why don't you teleport us all to the beach?"
"Is this to help me or do you want to know what it's like to teleport?"
"Both?"
I laugh and put Luke's hand on my shoulder then grab a hold of Ryan and Layla.
"I see you!" Jason shouts to us.
I smile back and then teleport to our towels on the beach. We see Jason looking dumbfounded and we all laugh. Jason snaps his head to look in our direction and huffs.
"Hey!" he yells.
"Come on slowpoke!" I shout back.
He starts swimming to the beach and walks over to us.
"Okay, next time I will get you."
"Good luck buddy, I am the best," I laugh.
"Yeah man, the only one better than her would be that prophecy chick," Ryan says.
I look over to Jason wide eyed and then back to Ryan, "yup, I agree with you there."
Jason laughs nervously and they look at us confused.
"So, what now?" I question.
"I think we should start heading back," Layla says as she puts back on her dress.
I start to put on my shorts and then my top. We are soon fully clothed, and we start walking to the forest.
"How about we walk back, I need some time before we get there," I say, thinking about how I am telling Nix everything once we get back.
"Okay, I'm fine with that, you guys?" Jason asks.
They say they are okay with it and we continue walking. I am feeling off, but I am sure it is just the nerves. Just in case, I link Jason.
'Jason, I am sure it is nothing, but I have a bad feeling about something happening. Just keep an eye out please.'
'Okay, thanks for the heads up.'
I don't drop the link in case he may need to talk to me again. A couple minutes pass and there is no sign of anything until I feel a sixth presence that is giving off a bad vibe.
'Someone is here,' Jason tells me.
'I know, I can feel it.'
'Be careful, I will tell the others.'
'Okay. '
I drop the link and keep my eyes peeled as Jason mind links the others. I see something go by in a blur. Whatever it is, it is fast.
'Jason, what kind of creature can run so fast that it goes by in a blur?'
'There is only one creature that can do that, that would be a vampire.'
'Then we have a little vampire situation. You guys need to shift and run back to the pack house. I will take care of this.'
'I can't just leave you; I will link my dad.'
'I don't want you guys to get hurt.'
'Don't worry, we will be fine.'
I nod as I drop the link. I just have to keep whatever this is off until everyone else can get to safety. The only problem is that my cover may be blown. The vampire stops in front of us and I step forward to protect the others. The vampire laughs.
"A lowly being trying to protect four wolves by herself, very stupid of you," he says.
"What do you want?" I ask the creature.
"I want the boy and his friends. His father has hurt my loved ones and I want revenge. Let them come with me and I will spare you."
I laugh, "yeah, how about no. Counteroffer, you leave now, and you won't get hurt or you try to take them, and I kill you."
"I guess you chose the hard way, hope you had a good life."
I hear Layla whisper to me telling me to not fight him, that it is almost impossible to win a fight against a vampire. I tell her not to worry. I take a few more steps forward and prepare for the vampire to start.
"You really are stupid, aren't you?" he chuckles.
I push him hard into a tree with my telekinesis. I read about vampires, they need to be set on fire or stabbed in the heart with a stake to truly kill them. Let's hope a stick will work. He gets up and changes at me full speed and I teleport behind him as he runs right into the tree I was standing in front of. I laugh thus getting him angry. When you fight with anger, you are sloppy. He charges at me and I throw up a protective shield. He isn't repelled like people usually are, instead my feet slide back a bit under the blow. He takes a step back.
"How?" he mumbles.
"Don't underestimate someone you know nothing about," I tell him.
I look around and there are only twigs that won't withstand entering his chest. I swear under my breath and then look over to Jason quickly before looking to the vampire. I hold my hands up ready for him to come. I make a fire ball in each of my hands. I throw them at the vampire as he runs at me. He seems to ignore the burns and grabs my neck, pushing me against a tree, hitting my head hard.
"Ready to die."
"No," I manage to say as I grab his neck.
I put all of the heat into my hands, there are flames dancing on my hands, burning the vampire. His grip loosens around my neck, but I don't loosen my grip.
I make the flames go higher and soon he is completely on fire. I let go of his neck as he drops to the ground, dead. Well, dead for the second time, I guess.
I look up to Jason and he doesn't have an expression on his face; however, Luke, Ryan, and Layla are jaw dropped shocked. I then hear Jason's thoughts pushing into my head to I open up to them.
'Chara, the whole pack is here.'
'What? How much of that did they see?'
'Enough. They saw that you have another power. Nix is also here, he is shocked, but he doesn't know why everyone looks like they have seen a ghost.'
'Don't worry about him, I will talk with him later. Just one second, I need to talk with Liam.'
As if reading my thoughts, Liam shifts and walks over to me.
"What do you want to do?" he asks me.
"I don't know, what should I do?"
"I think you can tell them that you have quite a few powers or you can tell them the truth."
"I don't want to tell them the truth, at least not yet because more people may come."
"Okay, I will explain to them and get everyone back to the pack house."
"Thank you."
He nods turns around and goes silent for a couple minutes as he explains everything to the pack through mind link. Then everyone leaves except Jason and Nix.
"Are you alright?" Nix asks.
"I am fine, easy as pie," I laugh.
"Defeating a vampire is not easy as pie. You must be hurt, where does it hurt?"
"I am fine Nix; I didn't get hit."
"How the hell not?"
"Jason, can you go back to the house, I will see you in a bit." He nods in response.
"Can you tell me what is going on Kate? Why was everyone so shock, I understand that they are surprised someone defeated a vampire, but they were too surprised."
"I will explain everything, don't worry. You should know for starters that my name is not Kate. That name is used so that I am not constantly being attacked," he looks shocked and a bit angry, "my name is actually Chara, Chara Shade." Shade is my dad's last name and I decide to start going by it.
His eyes widen, "like the prophecy?"
"Yes, exactly like the prophecy."
"So that means that you are..."
"The goddess of Sinalo. That I am."
"Oh my god. How could I have not figured this out?"
"I try my best to stay low and hide it, so no one suspects anything."
"Oh my god! I am mated to a goddess, the most powerful goddess!" his face quickly turns from ecstatic to regret.
He realized he just told me that I am his mate. Little does he know I already found out.
"It's alright Nix, I already know."
"You do?" he asks shocked.
"Yes, when we were at the waterfall and Lupus took over, I heard your guys' conversation. I can read minds and I can make a mind link. I only read your mind to know whether you were going to attack or not."
"I guess that is understandable. Lupus did lose his temper seeing you with Jason."
"I understand, I want you to know that I don't feel the bond or anything, at least not yet."
His expression falls, looking sad, "I understand. Maybe one day you will feel the bond, but I will understand if you want to be with someone else."
"Thank you Nix."
He nods, "can you tell me who knows about you?"
"Well there is Jason, Liam, Principal Grimm, Jack, Talia, Aluca, and Altair."
"Wait, Jason knows?"
"Yes, when the incident happened at the school with wolves, he found out not long after. Funny story, he found out after I beat him the same way in a battle in class," I chuckle.
"So, what powers do you have?"
"So far, anything I have tried has worked. While I am here though, your pack thinks my powers are teleportation, telekinesis, and shifting. That is why they were all shocked when they saw me use my pyrokinesis."
"Oh okay," he goes silent for a minute think and then realization fills his eyes and sadness follows. "Were you that wolf from the woods," he asks, his voice filled with sorrow.
"Yes, that was me and Zane."
"Please tell me Zane was the big black one."
"Sorry, but that was me."
"Oh my god," tears fill his eyes, "I am so sorry. I thought the wolf hurt you. I didn't kn..."
"I know you didn't, I don't blame you. I got Liam to come and help."
"But you were hurt for weeks because of what I did. All because I am your mate."
I see his eyes flash golden and his expression changes. I am very confused.
"I am sorry we did that to you Chara; I promise we would never do that," I hear the sincerity in his voice, but his voice is deeper now.
"I know you wouldn't Nix."
"I am not Nix; I am Lupus."
Oh, I did not see that coming, "Sorry Lupus, I didn't know."
"It's okay, I am glad you told us the truth. Zane said you will take time to open up and we said we would wait as long as it takes. I am so happy you told us the truth."
"Zane, I am going to strangle him."
"It's okay, he didn't say anything. When he spoke to us for the first time, we were all confused and he said it was because you are our mate. I guess he couldn't talk to us until you found out about us being your mate though."
I nod, that seems reasonable, "it was nice to formally meet you, but can you give back Nix please?"
He walks up to me and hugs me, "I know Nix is too much of a wimp, but I wanted to hug you before I let him back."
I hug him back, "thank you Lupus."
We let go of each other and his eyes flash golden again and I see Nix is back.
"I hope you were okay with Lupus hugging you, sometimes I can't control him when it comes to strong emotions."
"It is fine Nix; you need to stop worrying."
"I will try."
"Come on," I grab his hand, interlocking our fingers and walk towards the pack house.