Over the week of Amira's freedom, she feels as if she has been transported back to her high school days of sneaking around the school and hooking up.
Except she doesn't remember any of those things involving the teachers, yet here she was stealing kisses after class and the occasional closet hook-up to energize the batteries with her college professor, always leaving her wanting much more. It's been hard for Amira to come home and keep up the act that she is still upset over not seeing Calix when her cheeks are usually still flushed by the time her parents pick her up.
After what feels like a surreal dream of a week, the long-awaited dinner with Evander has come, but rather than sitting alongside him probably eating delicious food, she is sitting at home under the watchful eyes of her parents and the boredom of her bedroom.
This leaves her with nothing more to do than work on her weekly assignments and think back on her eventful week with Calix. She pops in a pair of headphones to help her concentrate and soon finds herself bobbing along to Pack A Lunch by Prof, focusing so hard on her assignment that she doesn't hear her bedroom window slide open.
She sees a shadow move from the corner of her eye and whips around to see Calix standing by her bedroom window, looking sweaty and out of breath.
"Jesus don't scare me like that! What are you even doing here?" she cries.
Calix doesn't answer her and lunges forward instead.
~*~
"Is everything ready in the dining room?" Calix asks for the 10th time tonight.
Malachi groans. "Yes, everything is ready in the dining room and the food is prepped and ready to go for when our guests arrive. Calm down, would you? You're putting everyone else on edge when we're supposed to be on high alert."
"I just want to make sure everything goes well for tonight, so I can get this over and done with," Calix grumbles.
There is a knock at the front door shortly after, the scent of Evander and two unknown people wafting through the house. Calix nods to Malachi to get everyone in place before opening the door. A man and woman are accompanying Evander, both looking rather young to be parents of Evander but not an impossible age.
The other red flag is how little they all look alike, with Evander only sharing the same dark blonde hair as his mother, but neither of them having the same dark hazel eyes, they both have blue.
"Thanks again for agreeing to this, Calix. Let me introduce you to my parents, Nathan and Cecile Braith."
Calix numbly shakes their hands with a tight smile, thinking back to the names he saw in the record book.
Emilia Braith.
That is the name of his birth mother. So, who is this Cecile woman? Is this woman really his mother, Emilia, hiding under a different name? Or is she someone being used in whatever intentions Evander has here?
"I'm glad we could finally get together like this. Please, come sit in the dining room, I have tea and refreshments waiting for us while the main course is being prepared."
Cecile claps her hands in a similar manner that Evander does.
"That sounds wonderful, we can use that time to get to know one another," she says.
Calix leads them into the dining room and signals for the kitchen to begin preparing the main course meals, bringing out appetizers to start.
"I hope you can forgive us for delaying this meeting for so long," Cecile speaks again. "Evander was unaware of the proper customs once we moved here. His father and I were unsure how the other packs here would take to three rogue wolves moving here so suddenly."
Calix nods in understanding. "Evander has briefly explained why you are seeking refuge here, there is no need to explain further the details you must have suffered. From my understanding, you left your previous pack because you could no longer agree and live by their customs and practices. Is that correct?"
Nathan Braith nods. "We aren't afraid to speak of our past packs crimes. Our family were members of the Dark Crescent Pack located on Nanaimo Island. It isn't illegal for supernatural species to live there, but they are widely hated by the human population due to many rogue wolves attacking the towns and taking advantage of their solitude. Our pack was also rather small and thrived on the business deals that the few humans who did trust us and traded their business for protection."
"What happened to your pack that made them turn to suddenly?" Calix asks.
"The rogue wolves. They attacked our pack in the middle of the night, setting fire to half the buildings and territory before raiding and capturing everyone. They asked us all a question once we were captured, and that was whether we were willing to join hands with them or die. Those brave enough chose to stand by their pack and died foolishly, while others swore loyalty in hopes of living another day. We were some of those people, we had no choice until the day we could finally escape and come here."
This isn't the story that Calix was expecting to hear. There aren't many flaws in his story, and hearing his words, Calix vaguely remembers the meeting that discussed the news of the Dark Crescent Pack, but they assumed the pack was wiped out once it was said they were attacked, and the Alpha of the pack has been unreachable ever since.
"I commend your bravery of withstanding that horror and escaping while you could. Let's not fill the night with a sorrowful atmosphere. The food has arrived, please dig in and enjoy."
There are smiles around the table as servants come out with steaming trays of food and cover the tabletop to the peak. Everyone helps themselves and light chatter starts as they ask Calix what it has been like living in a city so accepting of their kind. He tells them briefly of the accomplishments he and many other werewolves have been able to achieve in many different fields such as medicine and defence, thanks to the teachings they have been allowed to learn from other supernatural species.
Halfway through the meal when dessert is about to be served, Calix sees a familiar-looking servant with red hair through the kitchen door and watches as she walks through the back entrance further into the house.
"Excuse me for one moment, I just need to check on something," he says and runs toward the kitchen.
He rushes through trying not to hit anyone as people bustle around him and gets through the back door just in time to see her turn at the end of the hallway. He starts running after her at full speed and gets a waft of her scent, but there are several mixed in with it, mostly floral and overpowering to his senses.
Calix tries to pick up her actual scent through all the artificial ones but is unable to identify it as Myla's, running faster in hopes of catching her and seeing her face. But she starts picking up her pace also and turns at the end of another hallway, leading toward the back door where the garden is.
Just as he tries to break into a sprint, something turns deep in his stomach and his body flares up. He feels as if he might throw up, a cold sweat breaking out all over his body and drenching him in seconds.
This isn't the first time he has been poisoned, and at this point building up an immunity to most. He knows the feeling, and this isn't the same. His body feels like it's burning but just his skin, there is no pain internally or externally happening to him.
'Malachi, I spotted a woman who looks like your sister, track her. West corridor, southwest from where I am now.' He calls out to his Beta before rushing back toward the dining room, unable to hear the response he is given from how muddled his brain is becoming. He manages to make it back to the kitchen and asks the chef to show him the food.
Sniffing everything they ate this evening, there is no hint of any kind of poison he is familiar with and most dishes were finished, only the empty plate remaining with traces of whatever was left. After confirming there is nothing suspicious about the food, he decides he needs to handle this discreetly without alerting Evander and his family.
They may have something to do with this.
"I apologize for abruptly ending the dinner, but I believe I was fed something I am allergic to and I must receive medical treatment at the moment. My servant Altmen will show you to the door, and hopefully, we can do this again soon to make up for this," Calix says as soon as he bursts through the doors.
"Oh dear, are you all right?" Cecile asks.
"Quite fine, nothing alarming, but I must excuse myself. I apologize for not seeing you off, have a great evening." He quickly closes the doors and rushes back through the kitchen toward his bedroom, hoping to head straight for a cold shower to cool himself down, the heat becoming unbearable as his body begins to tingle.
He swings the door to his room open but is met with another unpleasant surprise.
Myla is stretched out on his bed wearing revealing lingerie.
"You're just in time," she purrs and moves toward him.
Calix falls back against the door, feeling slightly delirious now.
"Why the hell are you here? Are you the one who did this to me?" he growls.
"It wasn't all me." She puts her hands on his chest. "I did have a little bit of help, but it's all for you, Cal. To remind you of who you truly are–"
"Get the fuck off of me!" He shoves her away, grasping at his chest as pleasure grips him from her touch.
What the hell is wrong with me?
"There is no use fighting it, Cal. If it's really that hard right now, you can imagine I am here for tonight, if that helps you get over her." Myla moves toward him again and for a split second, he falls for her words and her face switches for the appearance of Amira.
"Just give in, my love." Though she has the appearance of Amira, her voice isn't nearly as soft and sweet, waking him up long enough for him to feel the rage masked deep within him. He acts on impulse and reaches out to snap Myla's neck, feeling nothing as he watches her lifeless body slide to the ground.
All he can focus on is the blaring heat in his body and how erect his cock is without even thinking of anything. The need to release this pent-up pleasure is ripping through him like slow lava and he knows there is only one thing that will solve this issue at this point.