BK 5 - Chapter 56 - Earthquake
Nathan held onto Isla as she cried against him. He could feel her pain so raw it seemed it was becoming a part of him. He stroked her head gently, not wanting to scare her with any sudden unwanted movements. When her sobs had stopped, her tears still fell.
"I'm sorry. I don't hug people, and I definitely don't cry on them." Isla said, even though she made no attempt to move.
"Don't apologize. I'm your mate. Whether you accept me or not is up to you, but either way, I will be here for you. I don't want you to hurt anymore. What Grandma Cat said is true; we help a lot of people, but each person is different. You're pain and suffering is unique to you, I just want to help you." Nathan's lion, Percy, began purring softly. Isla jumped from the sudden sound and the vibration against her cheek, but when she realized what it was, she calmed down.
"Are you a werelion?" she asked, as the purring began to calm her even more. Isla dried her eyes and focused on the soothing sound. Nathan's touch was also helping to ease her fears.
"Yes. I'm actually a Werelion-Caladrius hybrid. Grandma Cat is part Caladrius, so some of us are, too." Isla turned slightly to look into his eyes.
"I've never heard of a caladrius. What is that?" She asked softly. Nathan gently smoothed her hair from her face. The sparks that filled her were intense.
"It's a type of bird that can help people heal. We can feel your pain and emotions as if they're our own. When we touch people, we can take some of that away from them and share it so they're not alone. It's probably one of the reasons why you felt okay with Grandma Cat touching you and now me." Isla couldn't believe there was a real reason why she felt better when he touched her.
"So when you shift, are you a big lion with wings?" She asked, trying to picture that in her head. It seemed unnatural. Nathan chuckled slightly, and it made her almost smile. She liked the sound of his deep laugh.
"No. The caladrius part of us isn't a shifter. When I shift, I'm a lion. Based on your scent, you're a wolf, right?" Nathan could feel her relax against him. He had just turned nineteen. Grandma Cat always said that out of everyone who had their gift, he seemed to know how to use all of his abilities better than anyone else.
"My wolf's name is Scarlett. She wants me to trust you and accept you as my mate, but I'm scared. What if I never get to the point where I want to do more with you? Will you want to reject me later if I won't let you touch me?" Isla looked away sadly.
"It's okay if you never want to be touched. Although, you're letting me touch you right now. If this is all you want for the rest of your life, that's fine. I can be whatever you need. If you wake up from nightmares, I'll be there to comfort you. If the pain from your past gets so bad, you can't handle it. I'll be there to relieve some of it. I don't want you to feel pressured to accept me. Working with the people in the group homes and some of my own family members, I understand that it takes time to earn someone's trust. No one is staying in the pool house right now, so I'll let my Aunt Lisa know we're going to stay here. There are two bedrooms upstairs. Are you okay with that? We have a huge family, and the last thing I want is for you to be overwhelmed by a lot of people." Nathan continued to stroke her hair while Percy purred. Isla felt like she would go to sleep if she continued to stay against him much longer.
"Yes, that's okay. Thank you. My suitcase is in the cargo van. I do have nightmares that wake me up in the middle of the night. So if you hear me screaming, just ignore it, I will stop eventually." She spoke so softly Nathan almost didn't hear her.
"If you have one, is it okay if I come into your room just to sit with you until you calm down?" He wanted to hold her in his arms at night and keep her safe, but he knew she wasn't ready for that. Even if his intentions were completely platonic, she was too hurt to feel safe with him in the same bed.
"Okay." They sat in silence for a few minutes. When Nathan heard Isla softly snoring, he lifted her legs onto the couch. When he tried to move from under her, she grabbed onto his shirt and wouldn't let go. He sat back down and leaned against the corner so Isla could lay against his chest comfortably. He stroked her hair while she slept. Nathan knew no matter what choice she made about accepting him, she was still his. He would protect her forever.
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Petra and the others sat with Grandma Cat and Lisa. Although many family members weren't there, there were still quite a few.
"I feel bad for Isla. She's so broken." Cat said sadly. Petra nodded in agreement.
"Yes, she is, and we can't get her to open up to us. Hopefully, Nathan can. I was shocked that she even agreed to go to the pool house with him. We don't know about everything they did to her at the pack she was rescued from, but it was bad." Petra explained.
"What brought you all to California? Not that we're complaining, but it felt urgent when you called." Lisa asked, looking at Petra. She had always considered Petra a little sister, even though she was only a couple of years older than her cubs, and they lived on opposite sides of the country. Petra had always been mature and appeared older than she was.
"I woke up this morning in a panic that we needed to get here. I recently discovered I'm from the Mystic Moonlighters' pack and have magic. One of my new abilities is feeling energy from others and knowing when they need help. Don't ask me how I knew we needed to come, but I told the others we needed to be here for whatever was coming." Petra answered. Victoria sat next to Cat and nodded.
"We have come to never question Petra and her intuitions. Thank you for allowing us to stay. Our group has grown, and with the pups, it can be overwhelming for some." Cat and Lisa looked at each other and laughed. Victoria watched them in confusion.
"I'm sorry, but you'll understand when you see our entire family. We have grown so much that sometimes I think we need to make our own city. It's nice to have some babies in the house again. Penelope is the youngest right now, and she's four. Although, with all the new mates who have recently found each other, I have a feeling we'll be filled with pups and cubs soon." Cat replied. Teegan watched Cat in awe. She could feel her calming energy, like a warm blanket, even sitting across the room from her.
"Petra said that your family was incredible, and now I see what she means. The work you do is amazing." Teegan said to them.
"It sounds like your family is doing some impressive work yourselves. I'm sure it hasn't been easy dealing with those packs and rescuing people who have been beaten down so badly." Lisa said, smiling at Teegan.
"To answer your question, Petra. We do have something brewing, but we're not entirely sure what. Emma and Roger were given magic from a witch named Atzi. We were told that having it would put a target on them, but the twins would know what to do. We appreciate you being here because we could use all the help we can get. We're not sure, but we believe we may have some visitors coming from the underworld." Everyone looked at Cat with their mouths open and then looked at Petra. She was the only one who didn't look surprised.
Before anyone could say anything, the ground began shaking. To everyone else in California, it was an earthquake. To the werelion family, it was a warning of what was coming. Cat knew it was time to call in some reinforcements.
