Chapter 128

Evie Henry was in her kitchen, making the coffee before her family awoke and started getting ready for the day. She loved the early mornings, when the house was quiet, it reminded her of when she and her mate would make breakfast together before the children woke up. This particular Sunday morning, she was taking the first sip of her hot coffee before her son came in asking about his lunch pail, when a knock at the door interrupted her. Walking to it, she was extremely wary, who would be here this early? She thought as she brought her hand to the lock, but kept the chain on just in case, nothing could have prepared her for the crumpled mess of a man on her porch.
“Kyle!” She screamed, slamming the door shut and ripping the chain off, before flinging the door open and trying to drag the semi-conscious man inside. Kyle appeared next to his mother, his claws bared, prepared for an attack, not a badly beaten, and bleeding man being dragged across the floor. Realising his mistake, he gently moved his mother out of the way and carried the man to the couch.
“Who... who did you...” The man was struggling to ask between wheezes and coughs, Evie tried to shush the man, whatever it was could wait, she was sure, as she grabbed the kit she had accrued patching up her son after training. She put some water on to boil and ran back to the injured man, her eyes filling with tears she had to fight back every time she took in his emaciated and tortured frame. She brushed his hair off his face as she took in his injuries.
“Mom, we have to take him to the pack hospital, or call a doctor or something.” Kyle began arguing, clearly worried about the man’s survival.
“No hospital!” The man choked, coughing on his own blood as he fought to stay awake. “Who did you tell?” He accused, his one eye swollen shut, but the other burning into Evie, as he waited for her answer.
“Protectus?” Evie whispered, confused, by the man nodded his head, and she wondered if this was his true form. He was almost skeletal, like he hadn’t eaten in weeks, and his long hair was matted, greying and very poorly kept. There was barely a square inch of skin that didn’t contain a cut or bruise, and his lips were peeling with dehydration. Kyle scrambled to get the man some water as his mother did her best to treat his injuries.
“What happened to you?” Kyle couldn’t stop himself from asking, as he put the cup to the man’s lips.
“Who did you tell about her?” He managed to ask, his grip remarkably strong for someone so beaten and abused.
“No one, I swear.” Kyle replied, shocked and confused, both men looked to Evie, who was pouring the boiling water into a bowl at the sink, oblivious to the conversation.
“And you?” Protectus asked her, pulling her attention away from what she was doing.
“I’m sorry, what?” She asked bringing the bowl over to the couch and placed it on the floor, with a bottle of Neosporin.
“Who did you tell about her?” Protectus hissed as she started cleaning his wounds, swatting her hand away from him until she answered.
“No one.” She huffed, annoyed. “My family has kept this secret for centuries, my mother didn’t even tell my father, and swore me to secrecy too. I only told my son... I know I was supposed to tell my oldest, just like my ancestors before me, but my daughter... Kyle was the right choice, and he is the only person I told.” She said, picking up another cotton swab and started cleaning out a cut on his torso.
“Someone told him she exists, and now he is looking for her, he is furious.” Protectus coughed, blood and spittle dripping down his chin as he struggled for breath.
“Who? Who is looking for Charlie?” Kyle demanded, frustrated he didn’t have more information.
“The Vampire King.” Protectus gasped, before finally passing out from exhaustion. Kyle grabbed his mother’s arm and dragged her away from her nursing duties, into the kitchen.
“We have to take him to the hospital and tell the Alpha everything.” Kyle hissed to his mother between his gritted teeth.
“We can’t! We don’t know what species Protectus is, if the stories are true, he is one of the Gods that created us. We can’t allow him to be found by anyone, who knows what they would do to him in his state!” Evie snapped back, although the oath her family had sworn all those years ago had been fulfilled, she also believed that the things he told them, about himself and the things that hadn’t come to pass yet, were all secrets they were duty bound to keep. Once he had come under their protection, and entered their house as a guest, his life was their responsibility, and her son would not convince her otherwise.
“And if the Vampire King sends someone to kill her, and we could have stopped it? Are you willing to risk her life? Because I’m not, besides, if the Alpha orders us to tell him everything, we won’t be able to lie.” Kyle replied furious that his oath to his mother was interfering with his duty as a pack warrior, a rank he had put years into achieving.
“I know, I know. And of course, I don’t want anything to happen to Charlie, she saved your life.” Evie paced distractedly. “Okay, we don’t know where she or the Alpha are, so we will take care of Protectus overnight, and tell him before we talk to anyone, then we will make an appointment to see the Beta, first thing in the morning.” She said, scrambling for time.
“I won’t put him before the pack.” Kyle swore, before turning on his heel and stomping to his room to get dressed. He had training to get to, which he wasn’t looking forward to now he had to keep a secret from his superiors.

Charlie POV

It turns out Lycans have a precedent for almost anything, and a process for how it is dealt with, namely how we could strip Eric of his rank as Alpha, before we traded him for Landers' family. Kasa is apparently a little bit of a history buff when it comes to Lycan law, and found a book describing the impeachment, for want of a better word, of an Alpha during the reign of the last Lycan King. Another Alpha could challenge the decision later on, but there was no one left who cared about Eric, so it was a remote possibility. As all three Alphas would be involved in removing Eric, the lands would be split between them, and the businesses would go to Astrid as his surviving heir. The people would stay where they were, but would have to join the new pack that their homes reside on, in due time. Being neither Lycan or Luna yet, I was left at Dermot’s to shower and wait for the Alphas to return, which pissed me off. It felt very little woman know your place, until I took my ego out of the equation. Then the enormity of what Daniel had to do hit me, and the emotional roller coaster he must be riding at doing it, filled me with guilt. I sat on the bed wrapped in a towel and got lost, thinking about how I could make things better for him, when I remembered what I saw while I was recovering.
“Daniel?” I tentatively opened the link.
“What’s wrong? Is there a second wave?” His panicked voice echoed in my head.
“No, nothing like that... I’m just sorry for being a brat about not coming with you.” I mumbled, my cheeks flushing red. “And I saw Hera, or whatever again, when I was asleep.” I awkwardly stumbled.
“Umm, okay, she have anything new to tell us?” Daniel asked, thrown by my rapid mood change.
“Just that I’ve painted a target on my back and she will come to Applewood in a few days.” I replied with a shrug.
“Okay, I’m gonna deal with that later, when I get back. You tell Hyacinth, I’m sure she will want to know.” He said in a slightly exasperated voice which I didn’t understand.
“Alright, I’m not sure if good luck is appropriate, so I hope its not too terrible for you.” I self consciously rambled.
“I’m sorry I really have to go, but we will talk when I get back alright?” He rushed before closing the link. I threw on some clothes from the overnight bag I still had with me, Siobhan had thoughtfully put my toiletries in the family bathroom with some towels while I was unconscious, allowing me to brush my teeth when I finally awoke. And washing and putting on my own clothes was helping get rid of the last of the disorientation of the last twenty four hours. I headed down the stairs in the early afternoon, looking for Hyacinth, and a much needed cup of coffee, but before I had even reached the bottom of the steps.
“Charlie? Are you sure you should be up and about?” Hyacinth questioned, her immaculate eyebrow raised, and her wardrobe back to the classic chic gowns, unlike the Khaleesi-like get-up she had on during the battle.
“I am, and I was looking for you, I saw... the woman we are tentatively calling Hera, if for no other reason than it's shorter than violet eyed woman.” I ranted, still struggling to reconcile the idea of the Greek gods and I sharing DNA.
“You realise all that took twice as long as just saying Hera or the violent eyed woman, right?” Hyacinth asked me like I was still suffering from a head injury or something.
“Yeah. The point is, Daniel told me to tell you, Hera is coming to Applewood in a couple of days.” I said as I tried to shake off my growing irritation, unsure where it was coming from.
“Then you will finally know what to call her, and we may get some of our answers after all!” Hyacinth squealed excitedly. “Oh, obviously I would love to be there to welcome the goddess, who do you think she created? Um... but I think I will be needed here more.” She said scratching the back of her neck the same way Daniel does, making me smile. “I will make sure the rebuild is underway, and that Dermot and his daughters have everything they need to keep things going in my place, so I should be with you in a week. I will need my own space, a cottage somewhere on the grounds should be fine.” She waved her hand as she hurried off leaving me open mouthed and now in dire need of caffeine. I stumbled into the kitchen feeling a little banged up after my encounter with Hyacinth.
“I know lying in bed isn’t easy when your love isn’t beside you, but you look a little worse for wear!” Siobhan exclaimed when she saw me.
“Oh, I’m fine I just need a cup of coffee.” I tiredly laughed.
“Oh no, I’ll make you a nice cup of tea, and I’ll bring it through, you go get comfortable on the sofa, you’re recovering!” She shooed me out of the kitchen all the way the couch in the living room, before heading back to the kitchen, refusing to let me get a word in to request coffee instead of tea. A few minutes later, Siobhan reappeared, a cup of tea on a tray with a slice of cake and some cookies on a plate beside it.
“Siobhan, you really don’t have to keep spoiling me like this! I don’t think I have Lycan metabolism.” I teased, as the woman suddenly looked uncomfortable around me. “Is everything alright?” I asked, after she set down the tray but didn’t move to sit or leave.
“What you did... in the...” She pointed in the direction of the cottage, but seemed unable to say the words.
“The light thing? Yeah, I have no idea how I did that.” I said shaking my head, but Siobhan looked over her should in a paranoid way.
“I think it did something to Dermot.” She whispered, suddenly sitting, and fighting back tears.
“Are you sure? Has anyone else experienced any side effects?” I started panicking, of course it was affecting people, you can’t drop a bomb and not expect casualties, my mind started racing.
“No, no, no, he didn’t want to tell you, but its a good thing! Dermot saw so much horror, so much pain, it haunted him. Not long after we first met, there were days where he couldn’t get out of bed, the weight of what he saw, got too much to carry. He opened up later, let me share the load of some things, but it was always there. Until it wasn’t. He came home, and he thought it was the adrenaline, at first. But then today, he woke up, and he still doesn’t feel it, and I can see the change in him.” She wept, before scooting forward conspiratorially. “And, I spoke to one of the women in the village, her son was there, and the boy has always had a problem with the drink, but didn’t go to the pub last night, and this morning he asked her to help him clear all the empty bottles from his house. He poured all the booze down the drain!” She stage whispered, reminding me of my mother with a bit of gossip.
“But it was an intense, life or death situation... People are going to have feelings about that, maybe it was just the push that guy needed, and Dermot, saw his daughters fight, and kick ass, and not go through what he did. That’s going to lift a weight.” I struggled to gently explain.
“Maybe, but as someone who felt it move through them, I think it was you.” She said patting my knee as she got up of the couch, leaving me to wonder what could happen next.

THE END... FOR NOW

*Hi everyone, I'm taking a short break to get better, I will be writing an Epilogue or two, and I will be announcing the release date for book 2 and its name, so stay tuned lol. I want to thank everyone genuinely who have kept with the story, you've kept me writing, even when it was difficult, thank you.
Love always
Constance
xoxo*