Chapter Twenty - The cousins

***Present day***
The dining room was bustling with life from all the members of the pack. In the last decade it had grown from being just Adam and Monica to count a good fifty people, all of them joining together for breakfast. Talia and Adam joined them in the room but had found themselves a table in the corner where no one bothered them.

“Xavier is arriving later today” Adam said during breakfast. He had managed to give the male fae a call in the end. It had taken some time to get a hold of the man, he was apparently busy with something. *‘Or someone’* Damir pitched in, making Adam cough on his coffee.

“You okay?” Talia asked, patting him gently on the back with a concerned look resting on her face. “Yeah, just Damir being is stupid self” Adam assured, coughing once more before focusing on the food yet again.

“So, you spoke to Cousin Xavier, and he’s coming” Talia removed her hand from his back, her concerned face turning into a frown. “You know I had to” Adam said, reaching for her hand. She let him rest his hand on top of hers but refusing to look him in the eye. “I know. It’s just…” Talia paused, taking a bite of the egg Monica had prepared for them.

“You have a couple of things you’d like to say to him” Adam offered with complete understanding. He didn’t hold the anger she felt towards her cousin against her. In fact, he was relieved and surprised that she didn’t hold an ounce of anger against him. She showed him much understanding and appreciation, but Xavier – that was a whole other story now that she remembered everything.

“He’s the reason I lost my memory. And he didn’t ask me. He didn’t think twice about it. He didn’t even ask me for my opinion” Talia huffed. “Talia – I was there. He didn’t actually have a choice. It wasn’t like you were awake and could answer him. And if you had been, what would you have done? If someone told you ‘if you don’t drink this, you’ll die. But if you drink it there’s a high chance, you’ll not remember anything from birth to you wake up from a week’s worth of healing’, what would you have chosen?”

Talia looked down at the table, stabbing a baked potato with her fork. He had a point, and they both knew it. But he understood her anger, understood where she was coming from. But in all of this he had to be the voice of reason so she could be the tornado of emotions.

“Life” Talia answered eventually, after stabbing a couple more potatoes. “But I’m still mad at him” She said lowly. “And that’s okay. We both kept a lot from you, and I’d understand if you’re also mad at me” Adam said, earning himself a glance at Talia.

“Somehow, I’m not mad at you. Something tells me you did what you thought was the right thing. And also, you were influenced by dearest Xavier, so that makes you less at fault” Talia flashed him a smile, turning her hand over to lace her finger with his. “And you’re my mate – so…” Talia the smirk she gave him made him feel warm and fuzzy on the inside.
–
Xavier had been in the middle of something important when the wolf had called, interrupting him in the middle of his enjoyment. One time was ignorable, two times an annoyance. At the third call Xavier had answered somewhat begrudged. But now that he was walking up to the pack house, he was glad he had picked up. His cousin was back in town, and her memories had finally been restored. It had been a long time coming, the side effects to the healing potions varied from person to person, and how severe they injuries were.

“Xavier. Always a pleasure to see you” The beta Devan came running up to greet him. “Devan, how’s my darling cousin fairing?” Xavier asked with a smile. “All things considering I’d say…” Devan was interrupted before he could finish the sentence, a ball of energy surging past him and Xavier, hitting a tree in the back with a loud crack.

“You!” Talia came into sight, another ball over energy already at the ready in her palms. “Talia, please do be civil” Xavier said, but Talia didn’t listen. The ball escaped her hands, hitting the ground in front of him. “Or by all means, lash out”

Devan retreated to the side, watching with wide eyes as Talia kept flinging balls of pure energy at her cousin. The tornado of emotions that Adam had warned him about had arrived, but not at full force. She held back, making sure she didn’t injure anyone. It was just a display of how much anger she had built up towards her cousin. A way for her to lash out before calming down again. Talia was like a storm in the winter. Silently creeping up before hitting with full force. And just as suddenly she calmed down, leaving nothing but smiles and laughter in the wake.

“You. Took. My. Memories!” Talia shouted, flinging another ball in the direction of her cousin, getting dangerously close to actually hitting him. “You. Did. That. Without. Asking!” Another ball, this time Xavier had to duck to avoid it. “It’s. Your. FAULT!” The last ball hit the man square in the chest, pushing him backward to the ground.

Xavier laid coughing on the ground; the impact had knocked the breath out of him. “Are you done now?” He asked as Talia went to stand over him, arms crossed over her chest, eyes shooting daggers at him.

“For now.” She shrugged before walking back inside. Devan came running to Xavier’s side, offering a helping hand, and pulled him back on his feet. “You were saying?” Xavier looked at the younger man as he dusted himself off. “All things considering she’s been doing fine. But she’s mad, especially at you”

“You don’t say” Xavier rolled his neck and shoulders, loosing up after the impact with the ground. “How much does she actually remember?” Xavier wondered. “For what I know – pretty much everything. Might be some black spots here and there. But…” Devan chewed on his lips before continuing.

“She remembers the worst things. The…” Devan couldn’t get himself to say the last words. “I see” Xavier responded, looking up at the house, finding the window to the alpha’s office. He could see Adam standing at the window, looking down at the two. Talia was nowhere in sight.
–
Adam had followed the spectacle outside from the comforts of his own office. Talia had warned him before going out to meet her cousin. Her emotions were in turmoil, making it hard to not be mad at her cousin. She blamed him for the loss of memories, and the slow recovery.

Xavier had been a faint figure in her life ever since, rarely showing up in person, claiming it was the best for everyone. Adam had never questioned him. Xavier was not many years his senior, but he knew more about the fae than anyone else they knew. Adam trusted his words and his decisions, believing he always did what was the best for Talia. Now – now he was wondering if he had some alternative motives as well.

The knock on the door made him turn his attention away from the outside, watching with a smile as Talia came in before he could answer. “How are you?” He asked once the door was closed behind her. “I don’t know” Talia answered as she leaned heavy against the door, her eyes closed, and head tilted backwards. “Feeling any better?” He continued, walking around his desk to lean against it while he looked at her with concern. All he wanted was to wrap her up in his arms and make all the pain go away, but he couldn’t.

“I don’t know” Talia answered again, her chest rising and falling as she took deep breaths. “It felt good, to let out some of that negative energy I was feeling” She admitted after some though, slowly opening her eyes and straightening her head, locking eyes with Adam.

“You caused quite the scene” Adam said flatly, hiding the amusement. It had caused quite the spectacle, but Adam had more than enjoyed the show. “I did, didn’t I?” A small smile presented itself on her lips.

Talia opened her mouth to say something when a knock at the door interrupted them. “Come in!” Adam called, Talia moving away from the door and getting seated at the armchair in front of the fireplace. The weather had taken a turn for the better since yesterday, leaving no need for a burning fire. Yet, there was nothing more she wanted than to stare into the dancing flames of a live fire.

Xavier stepped into the office as Talia got comfortable in the chair, the top of her head barely visible over the edge. She didn’t feel like confronting her cousin just yet, she needed to still her heart first. It felt good blowing up on him, watch as he tried and failed at dodging the energy she flung at him.

“Adam. Talia” Xavier nodded to them both before sitting on the chair in front of the desk as Adam went back around to sit down in his own chair. Talia remained curled up, watching the fireplace with much interest.

“How are you?” Adam asked polite. “I’m good – thank you. And yourself?” Xavier kept his voice polite, a small smile present on his lips. “Can’t complain” Adam answered as a tense silence fell between the men.

They both knew why Xavier was there, to have a chat with Talia. He was the one who gave her the potion who heled her, and in turn deleted her memories. If anyone knew anything about the effect and what to expect from now on it was him. But Talia refused to look at him. Her eyes locked on the logs in the fireplace, her eyes narrowed as she thought about dancing flames.

“Have you found your mate yet? Devan was just telling me…” Xavier was interrupted as Talia jumped in the chair, her eyes wide as she watched flames lick the dry logs. “Did any of you see that?” Talia’s voice was mere a whisper as she creeped closer to the flame, hand outstretched as her mouth formed a big o in awe. “Saw what?” Xavier and Adam asked in unison, eyes darting between her and the flames in the fireplace, both with wide eyes.

“Talia – did you just do that?” Xavier asked carefully. “I think so” Talia answered, her fingers playing with the flames. “It doesn’t hurt” She continued, her eyes big and full of wonder. “That’s…” Adam didn’t know what else to say. He knew Talia was special, had seen her form balls of energy with just flicking her fingers. But fire just by staring at a log – that was new. “This is interesting” Xavier said slowly, dragging at the vowels as he strokes his chin.

“What, why?” Talia pulled her hand back, looking over to her cousin. “You once said she was special. That she could, to quote yourself, not only bend but also create. So, I’m guessing she can create fire now?” Adam said.

“Well – yes, that’s the easy way to explain it” Xavier answered. “And the complicated?” Talia asked, her eyes focused on her cousin as she had once seated herself in the chair, this time curled up with her arms folded over the back, her chin resting on top of them. “How long do you have?” Xavier sat in the chair beside her. “All day” Talia answered, turning her attention to Adam, who nodded. “I’ll leave you to it” He exited the room, giving the cousins time and space to speak in private. Yet there was one question lingering in the back of his head – was this what Xavier had meant when he said she could create chaos?