Chapter 23: Pieces of the Puzzle

*Thelma*
“Are you okay, sweetie?”
Hearing Ma’s voice on the phone fills me with sadness. I miss her so much and want to tell her everything that is going on, but that will just make her worried. I have to summon all the strength I can muster to put on a great performance.
“I am fine, Ma. The people here are very nice.” I lie and swallow hard.
Although there are some very nice people around here, like Rhia and Kim, some still eye me suspiciously. There are others who ignore my presence entirely, and then there are Yasmeen and Kyle who belong in their own categories.
“Is Mr. Kyle treating you alright?”
I clear my throat as a tear streams down my face. I’m suddenly grateful we are doing a voice call, because if we were on video, Ma would be able to call my bluff.
“Yes. He treats me like a…princess,” I say, choosing to use the pet name he seems to have adopted for me.
“That’s lovely dear. We have some of his men patrolling the house here. I don’t think your uncle likes them very much, but, then again, your uncle never really cared for anyone but himself. Mr. Kyle paid off most of our debts too and frequently wires me money for groceries and the liking….He is a very sweet man. I don’t know why he is being so nice to us. I guess he just has a noble heart,” Ma says.
Noble my pale ass! If only Ma knew Kyle probably felt obligated to compensate her for screwing her daughter raw. Maybe he even thinks he can bribe Ma because he killed her husband.
“Yes, Ma. That’s the right term. Noble,” I repeat.
“Did you know all the money I gave to your uncle to pay for the electricity and some other bills never reached the intended offices? Your uncle took all that money and used it for himself. Your aunt, Maggie, told me after they fought. She suspects he is having an affair.”
Even in my dull mood, I can’t help my ears picking at this piece of juicy gossip from my mother. So, Uncle Fernandez has been stealing from us, yet he stays under our roof with his broad rent-free? Figures….
“I can’t say I’m entirely shocked, Ma. I told you that man is a sneaky moocher.”
All I hear is my mother clearing her throat; she decides to ignore my comment about her brother. “Take care of yourself there, sweetie. Be a good girl, okay?”
I choke back a sob and nod. Oh, right, she can’t see me.
“Yes, Ma. Kiss Roy for me. Love you.”
I hang up the phone and walk down the marble path toward the garden. I hear footsteps running up behind me, and then suddenly, a pair of arms are wrapped around my stomach.
I turn around, but I have any idea who it is. “Hey, Kim,” I smile.
“Hey, bestie,” she responds.
Oh, I had no idea we were besties. Kim is too sweet and naive for her own good. I doubt she is the one who snuck that letter underneath my door. I will have to ask her though; one can never be too careful.
“Tell me, were you anywhere near my room yesterday?” I ask.
Kim pouts. “Why? Did you need me for something? I wanted to come to watch a movie with you, but Ma said I shouldn’t disturb you because you needed to rest. She said you had a very hectic lesson yesterday. I hope you didn’t need me or want me or something urgent happened and I wasn’t wasn’t there as your bestie. I’m sorry. Forgive me? You're still my friend, right? I’m sorry. Did I say that already?”
I smile. Oh, Kim. I reach over and pull her in for a side embrace.
“Of course, we are still friends, Kim.”
“Phew, what a relief!” Kim says as she wipes her forehead of the worried expression.
Taking the opportunity, I redirect the conversation to Kyle. “As my bestie, Kim, can you tell me more about the Kwaad pack? Growing up here, I’m sure you know a lot about Alpha Kyle and things that might have been covered up. Did any hunters ever come here to fight your Alpha?”
Kim frowns and shrugs. “No. I doubt anyone can enter here. Ma and the other witches put a protection spell around this whole place. Then, Alpha Kyle, using his Leviathan powers, put an Acheron ring around the perimeter. Unless someone lets you in or you are a pack member, you can’t break through. So, unless the hunter has extremely strong magical abilities to bypass the protections, they’d never manage to find their way in,” Kim explains.
I can’t help my mind from racing. I’m a witch, as odd as it is to say that, that much seems to be true. Now, being a witch, I wonder, where could I have received that gene from? Could my father have been a wizard? If he was, maybe he could have broken through the enchantments, right?
The worried expression on Kim’s face returns. “Are you okay, bestie? Why do you ask?”
I give Kim a tight smile as a lie cooks in my mind. “I just want to make sure that I’m really safe here.”
“Of course you are. There is no safer place than the territory in the Kwaad pack.”
I nod. I wonder who slipped that letter into my room, though. Could it have been Yasmeen trying to rouse trouble? Was there any truth to what the note said? If Kyle killed my father, I had to find out. However, I have to be careful about how I go about doing so. If he gets any inkling that I know something, he might go on the offense. Maybe he will jail my soul or kill me. I need to dig, investigate in the shadows, while I become stronger as a witch.
If it’s true, I will be the one to put an end to the Kwaad legend. I will finish what my father started and avenge his death.
Kim seems the best possible person to pry information out of with minimal consequence. Like I said, she’s a bit too naive for her own good. “Do people around here write or receive letters?” I ask.
“I saw you speaking on your phone earlier; we also have those here, you know? And get this…We know about the internet and emails too! We aren’t entirely living in the stone age. However, we have some ancients who still write letters, though.”
Her sarcasm was a bit unexpected and unnecessary. “And how does one go about receiving or sending a letter?” I continue asking.
“Well, first you grab a pen and paper….I’m just kidding. Do you want to write a letter to someone? Or does someone want to send you a letter? There is a pack P.O box people generally use. Our mailman, Chester, goes into the city to collect all mail twice a week and then delivers the mail to the intended receivers.”
Truthfully, I didn’t know Kim had that type of dry humor in her…. “Yeah. I might be expecting a letter from…home. And I might want to write and send letters in the future. I guess I just think there is something whimsical about writing physical letters. Maybe I’m just an ancient soul, huh?”
Kim giggles. “It’s okay. I can tell Chester to come to your room later today. You can give him any mail you wish to send out.”
I beam. “That would be so kind of you. Thank you, bestie.”
***
A man who has a big belly just like my uncle stands at my door when I swing it open.
I raise an inquisitive eyebrow.
“Good day, may I help you?”
The man smiles warmly. “I heard you wanted to see me regarding letters and the overall workings of the postal service? We are currently looking for part-timers if you’re interested.”
I remain silent; I guess I wasn’t expecting that type of introduction, but I assume it has to be Chester, the man Kim told me about.
“The silence is telling….Pardon my manners, my name is Chester. I am the pack’s mailman.”
I fold my arms across my chest. Yep, that confirms it.
“Oh, Chester. Yes, in fact, I wanted to talk to you about a letter. Did you get any mail addressed to me recently?”
The man shakes his head frantically. “I can’t say I remember getting any mail addressed to you. I may be old, but I have a very good memory.”
I raise my hand and wipe my mouth with the base of my palm. Next, I raise a finger signaling for him to give me a moment. I go inside my room and retrieve the envelope that contained the letter. I return and hand it over to Chester.
“You didn’t deliver such mail to my room?”
The man takes the envelope and studies it.
“No. All letters and packages I collect are delivered only after they receive the Kwaad pack’s ‘Sigil of Accepted Postage.’ This letter isn’t from my batch.”
He hands the envelope back to me.
“I see,” I say, a bit disappointed.
“What did the letter say? Didn’t it state who the sender was?”
This one was nosy, huh?
“It was merely a welcome note. It was anonymous, but I wanted to send my thanks to whoever was gracious enough to bid me such a warm welcome.”
Chester smiles and his shoulders relax. “We are a very vicious pack, but also very warm and welcoming. Any friend of our Alpha is a friend to us all.”
I paste a plastic smile on my face. Warm and welcoming, my ass.
“Yes, I have noticed. Thank you, Chester. I guess I won’t know who that sweet person was…. Will you just keep an ear on the ground for me? If you find out who this gracious person is, please let me know. I would like to send them a note in return, you know, to show my undiluted gratitude.”
“Yes, I will do that….By the way, while I’m here, I do in fact have mail for you.This one has a sigil, see?”
Chester hands me a small pink envelope with my name scribbled on it.
“From who?” I ask as I retrieve the note.
“You will know soon as you read it. Duty calls! Have a good evening,” he says quickly and then rushes out.
Really…he works the nightshift as the mailman? I think he just wants to avoid further questions.
I quickly tear the envelope open thinking it might just be the same person who sent the other note.
‘My room at seven. Kyle.’
Fuck!