After combing through video surveillance footage for the rest of the morning and early afternoon, Theo was done with rogues and their need to upset the balance. Their attempts to get through the gateway were increasing as of late. His father had warned him years ago that there would come a time in the near future when things would be set in motion.
He knew of the prophecy made by the Seer of Shayla. Greer Byrim, the young Fae wizard that had taken up residence in the royal castle of City Of Pearl after Eldridge had taught him and praised him, had often educated him of such matters. Smiling at the thought of his old mentor, he couldn't help but reflect on the old times. Only eleven years older than Theo, the wizard was seasoned by his travels all around Tempest Elysium. Greer had been nomadic for all of his life until he had helped with the shields to be magicked around the City of Pearl. Oh, the tales he used to regale both he and Caly with.
It wasn’t a surprise that both of them had become Greer's scholars in a way. Both of them were biracial. For him, his mother was a Celestial or as humans referred to as angels in the Earth Realm and his father was a Lycan. Caly’s mother was Elvish and her father was Lycan. Greer helped master their innate natures and skillsets. He assisted in helping them shift into their singular natures as well as their hybrid natures. For Theo, he was a white wolf with wings while Caly's hybrid wasn't as pronounced. He did remember how much in shocked awe he had been when Caly at Greer’s guidance used her Elvish magick to heal a particular nasty wound he received during a nature walk in the Elovaisus Forest.
Nervously, her green eyes peered up at him as she held the moss that Greer had plucked from a fallen tree over his wounded arm. Greer instructed her to meditate on the essence of the plant and envision a green mist surrounding the wound. She did as she was told and he felt a prickling sensation that turned to excessive itching upon his arm until he felt nothing but warmth. When she had lifted up the moss, the only remnants left of the wound was dried smears of blood.
“Deep in thought?” a gruff voice rumbled, drawing Theo out of his thoughts.
He eyed the burly man with a beard. “Any news?”
Amos was his beta.
He also happened to be Aiden's older brother. Both of them as different as they come. While Aiden had a happy go lucky, light, and mischievous nature to him, Amos was more rough around the edges, brute force, and direct. Amos was solid like a mountain. His younger brother was more like air.
The man shook his head. “Not anything of value. Find anything on the footage?”
“No,” he sighed. “The number of attempts have increased. Just this month, there have been several attempts.” He looked right into his beta's eyes. “I just received a surprising call from Landon Decker.”
“Decker? The vamp?”
The surprise reflected on Amos's face wasn't lost on Theo. It was common knowledge the notorious High Lord Landon Decker of the High House of Harken and High Alpha Of The Lycans had a mutual hatred of one another. He respected Prince Dimitrius Calla of the Vamps, the younger brother of King Sylvain, but Prince Dimitrius didn't wish to instill more of a leadership role beyond what he was doing. In fact, he was known as High Lord Dimitri Cristos of the High House of Cristos in Earth Realm.
It was only the High Council of Immortals that knew Lord Dimitri was the Prince of the Vamps as well as Landon Decker and Hyperion Devereux, who were elysium-born. Instead of dealing with Prince Dimitrius or even Hyperion since he regularly occupied Shale Abbey in Skye Elysium, he had to deal with the likes of Landon Decker regularly to his utter disappointment.
“It seems as though we can set aside our differences when called to do so,” Theo informed with a shrug of his shoulders. “His kin have been going rogue. They have made a successful passage through the gateway in Paris at Decker's fancy hotel.”
“Why would the vamps go back to Tempest? They have more rights here.” Amos paused and a look of uneasiness washed over his face. “Unless…”
He quirked his eyebrow at his beta. “Unless it's beginning.”
“The prophecy.” His beta nodded. “The atmosphere. It's getting thicker. The tension. Whatever it is. It's not good.”
They both shared a pointed look. It had to be apocalyptic in order for Decker to voluntarily call him. Decker was not a fool. Arrogant? Certainly. Pompous? Without a doubt. Foolish? No, the vamp was clever, cunning, and manipulative. Their lifestyles and values were different beyond measure, but they were both headstrong and stubborn with the rigidity of their laws.
Decker reported that the vamps are beginning to rebel against the High Council Of Immortal’s regulations. This was not a slight revolt either. There was talk among his people about the Cult of the Vampiress reforming.
“The Cult of the Vampiress,” Theo finally stated. “Decker says they're on the rise.”
Amos growled. “Fuck. Those little assholes?” Theo chuckled at his beta's reaction. “Well,” Amos bit out. “I have no problem dealing with them accordingly.”
The man scowled and Theo watched in amusement. There was no doubt this man would and very well could deal with them all accordingly. He was quite certain Decker would allow them to manhandle those vamps in order to send them straight back to him for protection against the big bad mutts.
Speaking of little assholes, Aiden floated into the room, eyeing the two of them. He frowned, shaking his head at them.
“I'm convinced that the both of you no longer know how to have any fun.”
Amos pinned him with a glare. “Not everything is about fun and games.”
“It's the Full Moon Festival tonight! I know a lot of serious shit is happening, but for once, take that stick out of both your asses and enjoy a night. One night. Thee night. I'll even help shove that stick right up your ass in the morning if that helps.”
That last image was definitely not… pleasant.
It had been awhile since he took part in the Full Moon Festival and that said a lot since it happened monthly. Glancing over at Amos, he watched the older man gradually arriving at the same conclusion.
They’ll let us know if something happens, he heard Amos in his mind.
He nodded in agreement. Can't hurt, right? Haven't had a night out in awhile.
Aiden growled. “Stop mindlinking,” the younger huffed. “Just do yourselves both the favor and go. Get laid. Just do something.”
With that, the younger Lycan left the office and they just shook their heads in disbelief. Theo once again was reminded how long it had been since he had been with a woman.
Amos grunted. “He's still a little shit.”
~
Beer? Beer or whiskey? Hell, maybe scotch? Theo sighed, signaling the bartender in the tavern. Pearl City. That's what he had named it and he once again his mind wandered again to the Tempest Elysium. It had been almost several years and he wondered if he was suffering a case of delayed homesickness.
The Earth Realm was vastly different. In the beginning, he wanted something different. He needed… No, he still needed different, because different helped him to forget her lime green eyes. Even now, when he was supposed to be having fun to forget about her, he still thought about her.
“This is starting off really well,” he finally muttered before glancing over to his left. "James, give me the usual."
The dark haired man with a goatee smirked. “Right on it, boss.”
He scanned the tavern, watching his pact celebrate the full moon. Noticing his younger brothers in the fray, he couldn't help but wonder when was the last time they had seen each other. Ash, the middle child, must've just come back from one of his adventures. The youngest, Cayden, was just as bad as Theo when it came to his role in the pact. Cayden was the leader of the border patrol and he was hardly ever seen in town. With all that was going on, Theo was actually surprised he was here and probably just like him was on standby.
As if they felt his eyes upon them, they surveyed the crowd and landed on him. Ash’s grin was infectious as he clamored over to Theo with an equally happy Cayden in tow.
“It's been too long!” Ash crowed, pulling him into a tight bear hug.
Theo chuckled at his antics before he grabbed Cayden and dragged him into a bear hug as well.
“I had to drag this asshole out,” Ash said. Theo bit his lip to once again laugh aloud at the dirty look Cayden sent to him. “He's just as bad as you.”
Cayden groaned, rolling his eyes. “Not everyone can take off and go see the world.”
“Hey, hey, I'm an ambassador of our wolfie team,” Ash argued. “I hardly see either of you spreading the good deeds of our kind and making donations and shit.” He pointed to Theo. “You're the one that sends me out to do all this humanitarian work so you don't have to do it.”
Chuckling, he put his hands up in surrender. Glancing sideways, Theo spotted his tankard of beer and grabbed it to take a swig.
“How long are you here for?” he asked Ash.
His brother shrugged. “Few days. I got that thing in New York soon.”
Right. The new gallery opening at Alpha Eckerd’s territory, Theo realized, eyeing his brothers with brotherly pride. They all grew up and became their own person. Ash was the diplomat. He and Cayden were the warriors. He didn't realize he was once again lost in his own thoughts until Ash let out a low whistle.
Theo raised an eyebrow and noticed that both of his brothers were looking elsewhere. Following suit, he couldn't help but appreciate the vision that his eyes settled upon.
Marion St. Lawrence. His first.
After he moved permanently to the Earth Realm, his men and him wanted to make the estate into a hidden headquarters to solely look after the gateway, but it was Cayden that thought it would be wise and profitable to make it into a village and house their own pact within it. When word got out the High Alpha of the Earth Realm was allowing entrance into his pact, the people came, built, lived, and thrived.
Marion had come with her family. Her father owned the bakery in town. Even then, she was beautiful and would always be beautiful, but his mind wandered to that mesmerizing image of a girl with tamed red hair, green eyes, and a shimmery, delicate gown.
“Tell me,” Ash murmured. “Why didn’t you shack up with that one and make wolfie pups?” His eyes raked down her body. Not even the slightest bit jealous, Theo just shrugged. “From the smell of her, I don't think she'd mind warming your bed.”
Cayden snorted at his brother's assessment. “Because he's old school Tempest,” he said. “A lot of us still believe in the old ways of mates.”
“It's pretty impossible to find that nowadays.”
Tensing at the mention of old mates, Theo groaned when he immediately saw a flash of lime green eyes. Fuck soulmates, he finally decided. His was long gone and never wished to be found.
The conversation between his brothers gradually faded as his attention zeroes in on Marion. Her sapphire eyes locked unto his and a smile crossed her face. Licking her lips, she glanced at the entrance of Pearl City and he knew what she wanted. He had known since she walked in.
It was indeed the full moon. The scent of sexual arousal in the air, causing everyone to give into the sensual lure of the moon. He watched as she walked to door, glanced over her shoulder, leveled him with a heated look, and then left the tavern. Without hesitation, he downed his tankard, attempting to drown out the desire.
At least, she wanted him. At least, she kept wanting him around.
“Old Dog, are you seriously not going--" Ash huffed.
Theo shoved his empty tankard at Ash’s chest and his brother grabbed it before gravity was forced to take over. Without a single word of goodbye, he followed the beautiful blond’s lead, ignoring Ash’s hearty laugh. He could feel Cayden’s eyes burning into his back, but he refused to feel guilty or ashamed. It had been a long time since he held a woman and she was willing enough to give herself to him for the night. Why would he refuse?