- District S, Bloodstone Pack -
The news of Adriana's wedding came as a shock to her relatives. All kinds of speculations arose when they heard their junior ask for blessings from the family. Adriana's parents urged their daughter to go home early. But Adriana chose to go with Stephen and his parents.
Their marriage was hurried, but Stephen no longer wanted to wrong Adriana. He proposed for their family to visit Adriana's hometown to officially propose to take Adriana's hand for the grand wedding. Adriana also agreed, and they left overnight, but Acceber chose to stay at home to avoid trouble.
"Mom, sister Adriana is back with her new husband!" Fiero's excited voice lingered in the packhouse as several families gathered to watch the excitement upon hearing that one of their treasured children got married abroad without the family's consent. She even married a human.
"This child, how can she decide marriage like it was a spur of the moment?" Julie had a worried face and rested on her husband's arms.
"The child might have been impulsive because she was in pain from the breakage of the bond. She's old enough to decide about her life and we should support her. Let's see what kind of man deceived her this time." Drew, Adriana's father, tried to soothe his wife's irritable temper with comforting words.
"Evan, Charles, go with Fiero and meet with your sister. Don't let other members think that there were human intruders entering the pack's border." Zephyr ordered as he sat with a solemn face. Humans would never be a threat to them, but he wanted to guard against those people with evil intentions in werewolves.
"I can't believe Adriana would get married all of a sudden? What do we do about Lucas now? I'm sure, even if he disregarded Adriana the other month, his body will still act based on his inner wolf's power and possessiveness." When Marcus mentioned these problems, the tension within the hall deepened.
When the family entered, Zephyr and Elizabeth rose to their seats. Elizabeth was too shocked to say anything as she stared at the old couple before her. The hall was engulfed in silence. Even the older generation was called back to the pack in a hurry through mind link, a telepathic ability between werewolves in the same pack.
Unfortunately, before everyone reacted, someone attacked Stephen.
Under the eyes of every werewolf, they were expecting the worst thing to occur in a fight between a sneaking werewolf and a human. But Stephen effortlessly overthrew the ballistic beast who attacked him from behind. Disgust was shown on Stephen's face as he retrieved a tissue from his pocket and wiped his hands.
Stephen's eyes were cold as he stared at the intruder. Cracks appeared on the wall where the intruder hit himself due to the impressive impact. This time, Stephen took Adriana's trembling hand and comforted her.
"Is that Lucas?" Adriana's almost inaudible voice caught everyone's attention.
Drake immediately ordered warriors to take hold of Lucas. Lucas wanted to break free, but he was too weak to do so.
"You son of a bitch! Take your hands off my mate!" Lucas shouted with gritted teeth, veins bulging on his forehead. His eyes were red, evident in how many days he missed sleep since he lost his mate.
"Whose mate?" Stephen's eyes were murderous. His aura changed, and his deep blue irises slowly shifted to a lighter color. The impatient Lucas suddenly fell on his knees as if he was forced to do so. The warriors couldn't even lift him, no matter how they pulled him up.
"Stephen..." Adriana's soft voice made Stephen relax a little.
"What's mine is mine alone. You are not worthy to call my wife's name! Such a weak wolf who fell under a curse and got his soul tainted by evil cultivators! Do you think you deserve to show up in front of me? Should I send you to the underworld's door?" Stephen's dead tone made everyone shiver in eerieness.
"Let him be. The pack will banish him as an exile." Adriana, with a pale face, hugged Stephen as if giving him warmth. It was her first time witnessing her husband get mad.
Drake turned to look at Stephen with great respect as he ordered someone to clean up the mess in the hall.
Elizabeth finally had her voice back and said, "Lexy, Lian, you guys... I can't believe you're back!"
"It's been a long time since we last saw each other, Liza and Zeph. We were not expecting to come to your place this time for marriage. It was also unexpected that my son would marry into your family."
Zephyr left his wife and stood beside Maximilian, and he patted his shoulders. "Women, they talk so formally even when faced with this moment! How are you brother? We haven't talked for a long time. Come on, let's catch up on some old news."
Zephyr decided to pull the older male generation out of the hall and left the women to talk. He also introduced Adriana's father, Drew Theodore, to Maximilian.
Drake, with the rest of the younger generation, stayed in the hall. Stephen and Adriana, however, were tasked to rest and talk about things concerning Lucas.
"Children, this is your aunt, Alexandra, a lady from Yin's Ancient Family. The Yins are known for their skills in seeking prophecy since the reign of kings and queens." Elizabeth slowly popularized the secrets of the hidden Ancient Families.
There were four succeeding Ancient Families, including;
- Yin, the bearer of god's eyes
- Zerrudo, the knights of light
- Estaris, the guardians of elements
- Orendain, the judge of right and wrong
"Mother, why are we not aware of the history of the Ancient Families?" Fiero asked with hints of doubt.
Elizabeth stared at Alexandra, who was sitting beside her.
Alexandra spoke this time. "The Ancient Families no longer participated in the affairs of the mortals. Gatherings were still held, but the head of the Avatars disagreed with us, Spiritualists communicate with people from the supernatural and the mortals. We cannot let others know of our existence. Today was a miracle that our paths have crossed again."
"Have crossed again?" Drake suddenly asked out of nowhere.
"Your mother and I were soldiers and comrades at arms a long time ago, young man. We fought together to eliminate the descendants of an Evil Cultivating Sect. After gaining victory, that was also the last time we saw each other."
Elizabeth smiled and said, "Our time together was short-lived, but the war lasted for a decade."