“Genevieve, do you know why you are here?” His voice was completely different than I expected. When he spoke, his voice was quiet and calming, not gruff or throaty like I had expected.
“No, sir, not really.” I answered, feeling a little more at ease with him.
“ I’m going to tell you a story. I want you to listen carefully to what I have to say before you ask any questions. I also ask that you keep an open mind.” He scooted to the edge of his chair so he was pointed more toward me and then he began.
“The day of your birth is the first day in November. Beginning at midnight on that same day is when the Blood Moon rises.”
I scrunched my eyebrows. “The what?” I mumbled, but he continued as if he hadn’t heard me.
“The night of the Blood Moon is when the veil between Lycan, Adlet, and Blood Drinkers, or vampires as you know them, is lifted. Many years ago there was an Adlet woman whose husband was killed during a hunt. Like many creatures, the Adlet choose only one mate for life. She grew very lonely over time, and tried to remarry, but no other Adlet warrior would have her.
“Russian sailors began coming to our land to buy animal pelts, which were very popular given the constant freezing temperatures their country sustained. One night a man claiming to be a Russian sailor came, showering her with gifts. She mistook his intentions for love, and she lay with him.
“It was later discovered by an Adlet warrior he was not a Russian sailor, but the shape shifter who had been killing warriors while they hunted. The chief, who was also the woman’s father, gathered the remaining Adlet warriors of the tribe and they hunted him down, killing him in his animal form. They dragged him back to camp to parade their kill.
“The next morning the rest of the tribe, including the woman, came to see the animal, only a Russian man lay dead in its place. It was too late though, the Adlet woman told her father she was with child.
“Several months later, she bore five children who appeared to be human, and five wolf-like pups. The tribe said she was cursed, and she went to her father when she got word they were coming to destroy the five pups who they said were an abomination. Her father couldn’t stand to see his daughter’s pain, therefore he agreed to take the five pups and carry them across the ocean, leaving each one at a different port to be adopted. She took the other five and disappeared into the woods, never to be seen again.”
“Okay, but what does all that have to do with me,” I asked the chief incredulously.
“The five taken across the ocean are what is known as Lycans. The five she raised are a larger wolf breed called Adlet wolves. When her father reached his first stop and went below deck to retrieve one of the animals, the five ‘pups’ had mysteriously taken on human form, but he dared not take them back. So he went on and carried out his daughter’s wishes. They grew up as humans, mating and spreading their seed, but there was evil in their blood.
“Eventually, the evil ones came back to wreak havoc amongst the tribes, and also any Blood Drinkers who had come here to escape the grasp of the Amalric. The royal princess came, and her warriors killed most of the evil clan, and there was peace for many years.
“Over time the evil clan’s numbers grew again to be many, and they were able to kill off most of the royal family—all but one. Zane is the leader of that clan, and he’s been looking for the princess for many moons. He will stop at nothing until he finds her.”
He stopped speaking, and I watched as he rubbed his hand over the tattoo, and surprisingly, so did not only Luna’s brothers do the same exact thing, but Luna did too. Suddenly, the back of my neck began to heat up like fire had been placed on it. When I rubbed my hand across it, it was like touching a hot stove.
His eyes hardened when he looked at me. “You see, Genevieve, the same blood runs through your veins that runs through ours.”
“How is that? I’m not even from here?” Tears stood in my eyes. Joseph reached over and took hold of my hand. I surprised myself when I didn’t move it away.
“Not our blood like brothers, the blood of the Adlet. You see, the spirit walkers spoke of a princess with the purest of pure blood. The descendant of the royal child who had been safely smuggled out before the Lycan could kill her. They said she would come one day to accept the throne, and in doing so there would once again be peace among the different clans. The time is upon us.” He looked completely serious.
“The royal daughter had a daughter who had a daughter, and so on until finally the tenth generation daughter was born … that daughter is you.”
Chapter 21
Shocked, tears ran down my face. Joseph patted my hand awkwardly, trying his best to comfort me.
Aunt Bev came to sit next to me, and pulled me in close to her. “You see, Gen, your mother was Adlet. All that time she spent taking you camping, teaching you how to survive, and how to fight, and how to live in the woods. she was preparing you. This has been your destiny all along.”
“I don’t want to do this. Let someone else do it,” I cried.
Aunt Bev pulled my face up so I was looking at her. “This has always been your destiny. Your mother had to fight her whole life to keep you safe. Why do you think she moved you around so much? It’s because Zane kept tracking you,” she paused. “Gen … your mother died saving you. The fire was no accident. Zane burned your house to hide your mother’s murder. You coming here was no accident either. She called me because she could no longer keep you safe.”
I knew what Aunt Bev was saying was probably true, but it still hurt so bad, and I was frightened. “What if I fail? This will all have been for nothing.” My heart ached to know that my mother loved me so much, she gave her life to save mine.
“You won’t fail. This is your destiny. You can do this,” Aunt Bev said softly, trying to smile through her own tears.
I shook my head “I don’t know. I just need time to think about it.”
“There is no time. You leave tonight,” the chief said sternly.
I peered at him. “Tonight?” My heart ached to the point I thought I would die any second.
“Yes.” His voice was cold and without emotion. “You have to retrieve the Crest before you can take the throne. Once you take your rightful place upon the throne, the Lycans will no longer be enslaved to Zane. The killing will stop and you will reign.”
“Shouldn’t we go home and pack?” I asked Aunt Bev. I didn’t really care about packing, I just wanted to be with William. I would go home and pack to runaway with William.
“I’m not going, and I’ve brought your bag already. I would never survive the journey. Only you and your royal warriors will be going.”
“My royal what?” I was having a hard time comprehending that I was a royal anything. All my life I’d been plain old Gen.
“James, Joshua, Joseph, and Luna. They are your protectors.” As Aunt Bev said each of their names, they rose and crossed the room to bow before me.
“What about William? I want him to go, too.” I pleaded, but I could tell by the look on Aunt Bev’s face she disapproved of the idea.
“There’s no room on the plane,” Aunt Bev blurted out. I sensed there was something she wasn’t telling me. “You must leave for New Mexico tonight.”
“Why are we going there? Shouldn’t the Crest be here somewhere close to your tribe or something?”
“No. The crest was taken far away for safe keeping until the day of our princess’ return,” Mary spoke up.
“I’ll be going with you,” Luna said, happily, getting all perky like we were going on a friggin’ picnic.
I didn’t want to hurt hers or her brother’s feelings, but I knew unequivocally I wouldn’t feel safe without William to protect me. Whatever he was or wasn’t, he’d kept me alive so far.
I sighed heavily, lowering my eyes. “Let me go tell him good-bye.” My heart ached at the thought of not seeing him for God knew how long. Maybe not forever.
I pushed myself up off the couch, and left the room. When I opened the door
to the bedroom I was certain I’d been in, it was empty. I ran over to the window where William had been standing when I left, and threw back the curtain. When I tried to push the window up, it was locked. “Where did he go?” I muttered.
It was suddenly too much to shoulder. My life had literally changed in an instant, and the one person who I thought could save me from it all had left without a word. I collapsed onto the bed and bawled. Why would he leave without saying good-bye? I thought we meant something to each other. Everything was confusing, and it hurt. I kept praying it was all just a bad dream, but in my heart I knew it wasn’t.
After I pulled myself together, I returned to the living room. Luna and the boys stood ready with their backpacks, and I saw mine leaned up against the wall beside the front door.
Aunt Bev picked it up and handed it to me. “I put in everything you might possibly need for the trip.” A strange expression flitted across her face. She whispered in my ear as she hugged me tightly against her. “I want you to be careful. If anything happens, remember what your mother taught you. Do you hear me?”
“I will,” I whispered back. She held onto me until Luna got her attention.
“We really need to go, they’re still tracking us and I feel them getting close,” Luna said quietly.
Luna touched my shoulder and I jerked, so she quickly let go. When her hand had touched me, I saw a blip of something. A man I’d never seen was talking with someone. I couldn’t see who it was because Luna had pulled her hand away too fast. It was the weirdest feeling ever though, like she transferred her thoughts to me. I knew she had felt it too, by the surprised look on her face when I turned to her.
“Uh … okay, I’m ready.” I tried to stand tall and look confident, but a sigh slipped out. I promptly thought, “What if William hadn’t gone, but was just outside somewhere getting some fresh air or something?” I turned back to Aunt Bev. “William might be outside somewhere. If he comes back tell him to call me. Okay?
Aunt Bev hesitated and cleared her throat. “Um … he left, Gen,” she uttered.
“How do you know? He might still be around.”
Her eyes averted mine. “Because, I sent him away.” She pulled her shoulders up, almost like she was proud of what she’d done. “There wouldn’t be enough room for him in the plane, and I figured it would hurt him less if I told him.”
“You had no right. I didn’t even get to tell him good-bye. Why do think you need to control every aspect of my life? I’m sick of it.” I shot her a disgusted look and threw my backpack over my shoulder. “And I’m sick of you.”
I spun around on my heel, and without looking back, I stormed to the door. Luna and the boys had already gone outside.
“Gen,” Aunt Bev had shouted from somewhere behind me. “I’m sorry.” I heard her voice grow thick.
“Good riddance!” I slammed the door, and ran to the truck.
Their grandfather waited patiently in the driver’s seat. I was the last one to climb in. I sat back and Luna put her arm around my shoulders, laying her head against mine.
“I’m sorry, Gen,” she whispered.
I bit my tongue to keep from sobbing. My heart pounded erratically, and I felt like throwing up.
Luna’s grandfather stomped on the accelerator, but instead of heading back the way we had come in, we drove around behind his house and onto a dirt road.
I noticed Joshua and James were rather edgy while they kept a constant watch out the windows for some lurking danger that might be close. Joseph stared straight ahead. He was quiet and seemed withdrawn. I didn’t feel like I was in danger, but what did I know? My new best friend, Luna, was an Adlet wolf.
We stopped next to a huge lake, wrapped on three sides with snow covered mountains. Luna pointed out that all the land, including the lake, belonged to Luna’s grandfather.
When we stepped out of the truck, the icy wind whipped over me, and I wrapped my arms around myself.
I scanned the area around me looking for William. I couldn’t explain it, but I had a feeling he was watching me from somewhere close by.
“Where’s the plane?” I asked, flatly.
“Out there.” Luna pointed across the water, and when I looked closely, I saw a tiny dot.
“So … like, how are we supposed to get out there? Swim?” I threw my hands up.
At first, Luna gave me this look like I had hit it spot on. But, just as I started to protest, she laughed lightheartedly. “Just kidding. A boat is coming.”
She knew by the look I shot her that I didn’t find her sense of humor funny. I turned my ear toward the water, and I heard the faint burbling sound of a boat’s engine slowly growing closer. I was genuinely relieved when I heard it coming. I was really starting to get a bad feeling and it scared the hell out of me.
I was the first one to climb into the boat. Joseph helped me in and then jumped in right behind me. Luna and the twins loaded our gear and then settled into the boat. The icy wind was way worse on the water than it had been standing on the shore. They had talked me into leaving my big jacket in the truck. Joseph said we wouldn’t need them where we were going.
The plane had just started to climb when I remembered my phone was in my jacket pocket. “We have to go back,” I shouted frantically over the loud engine noise that the Cessna made. Everyone jumped, even the pilot, which made him temporarily let go of the control thingy, causing the plane to teeter to one side.
“Are you trying to kill us?” Joseph shot me a look. “You don’t have to scream,” he said into his microphone that was connected to a set of headphones. “See this little thing right here?” he asked sarcastically, pointing to my microphone. “You speak into it in a normal voice, and then we all can hear it in our headsets.” He pointed his index fingers to each side of his headset.
“Sorry. But I just realized I left my phone in the truck.” I was as close to hysterics as I could be without crying.
Joseph shook his head. “Sorry. We can’t turn around … it’s too dangerous.”
“Please.” Fresh tears filled my eyes. “I … need it,” I trailed off trying to think of an argument that would convince them I needed my phone, but the truth was, there wasn’t one. I wanted my phone so I could talk to William, not because it was needed to help me sustain life or something. I dropped my shoulders and lowered my head.
I turned toward the window, and watched the sky grow dark as we flew south. I thought about William and how I might not make it back. He would never know what happened to me. Fresh tears streamed down my face when I thought about how hurt he had to have been when Aunt Bev told him to leave. There was no telling what she’d told him. She probably said that I didn’t want to face him, so she offered to do it for me. I would never forgive that woman as long as I lived.
Chapter 22
I arched my back and stretched my arms high over my head, trying to work out the kinks sleeping in my seat had left in my neck. Twin one and two, Joshua and James, were already out of the plane. Luna was still asleep, and I caught Joseph taking sidelong glances at me even though he pretended to read a magazine.
“Where are we?” I asked no one in particular.
“A small airport south of Seattle,” Joseph answered, without wavering from the magazine.
I could tell he wasn’t reading it. I mean … not really. If he was, he’d have to be the slowest reader in history, because he hadn’t turned a single page since I’d woke up.
I peered out the window at a small metal building lit up on the inside, and an idea hit me. I could go in there and ask to use the phone and call William. “Um, I’m going to get out and go to the bathroom,” I said to Joseph while reaching for the door.
“There’s a small bathroom in the back of the plane.” Joseph pointed his thumb over his shoulder without taking his eyes of the magazine.
When I glanced behind me I saw two extra seats. Empty seats. I was extremely pissed and since Luna was still asleep, I directed my anger toward Joseph. “Did you know about
this?” I shouted, pointing to the empty seats.
“What?” He asked, looking up from his magazine, his face contorted.
“There was enough room for William to come with us.” I slammed myself back down into my seat, folded my arms tightly across my chest, and started bouncing my knee really fast.
Luna stirred in her seat. When she sat up her long black hair was knotted and sticking out everywhere. “What’s all the yelling about? Some people are trying to sleep around here.”
“Did you know, Luna? Did you both know there was plenty of room for William?” I glared at them both for a minute, and when neither answered fast enough, I pushed open the door and jumped out. Luna called after me as I slammed the door and ran to the building.
There was a small counter just inside the door, but the room was empty except for me. I stood around for a minute, pretending to be interested in the maps hanging on the wall closest to where the phone sat on the counter. When no one came, I promptly jerked up the receiver, and punched in William’s cell number. “Come on damn it. Pick up the phone.” I kept glancing around nervously while his phone kept ringing.
Finally, his voice mail picked up. I waited for the beep and then I started to talk so fast, I’m wasn’t sure he would be able to understand the message.
“William, it’s Genevieve. I didn’t tell Aunt Bev to make you leave. I wanted you to come with me, but they said there wasn’t any room in the plane. I don’t have my phone, so you can’t call me, but I’ll try to call you again soon. We’re on our way to New—”
I spun around to see whose finger had pressed the button on the phone. “What do you think you’re doing?” I spat, angrily.
“What do you think you’re doing? Do you want to die, because I don’t.” Joseph was furious.
“What are you talking about? I was just trying to call William, not the Haven Daily News.” I was extremely hurt and confused. I didn’t know what I’d done wrong.
Ties to the Blood Moon 2nd Edition Page 11