Passion Found

by C Zinnia

  “Do you think that way is better?” Mel asked.

  Nana chortled. “When you get to be my age, you learn what’s better for one couple isn’t necessarily better for another. My two eldest had children when they were younger than Silvia. That doesn’t make it right or wrong. Each couple has to create their relationship so it is specific to their needs and wants. Couples shouldn’t do things in their relationship to follow the crowd. I think too many people are so focused on their opinion being right because they want to validate what they do. They want to pretend like there is an ultimate right way to have a relationship that everyone should follow. They don’t realize how ambiguous and complex life is.

  “There is more than one way to travel to my home. If you are a person with a car, the best way to get here is by the road. If you are a critter, the best way may be through the woods. Neither way is right or wrong, just different. Anyone who preaches there is only one way to do anything has not truly lived,” Nana said. “As long as it’s a healthy relationship with healthy boundaries, it’s all right.”

  Mel felt honored to be able to talk with such a wise woman. “I hope one day I’m as worldly as you,” she said.

  Nana laughed. “Aren’t you a sweetheart!” she exclaimed.

  “Good morning all,” Papa said as he came into the kitchen. He gave Nana a kiss. “How’s my sweet lady this morning?”

  “Wonderful now,” Nana said.

  “How are you, Mel?” Papa asked. “Still taking in everything that’s happened?”

  “It’s gotten easier to process,” Mel said. “So, overall I’m well. I do have another question.”

  “Just one?” Nana teased.

  Mel laughed. “No,” Mel said. “How is it you all have been able to get away with shifting into wolves on the Eastern part of the U.S. when wolves died out a long time ago in this area? How did your ancestors end up here?”

  “We make sure to stay in the woods away from humans. Because humans don’t expect to see wolves, they don’t notice us. Or they mistaken us as coyotes or dogs,” Nana said.

  “Really?” Mel asked.

  Papa nodded. “The mind is a powerful thing. Psychologists call it inattentional blindness. It’s where a person isn’t able to interpret unexpected stimulus even when it’s right in front of them,” he said. “When you came to the fight, did you see wolves or big dogs?”

  “Big dogs,” Mel said with chagrin.

  “You saw what you thought was the only possibility instead of what actually was,” he said.

  “As for our ancestors, we don’t know much about them,” Nana said. “A lot of our history has been warped in various packs for political purposes. No theory is the same in any of the packs.

  “Some packs say it was a virus that mutated our DNA so it is able to morph at will. This is what allows us to turn into a wolf. Some say it was a survival mechanism back during the days when there was a predator that hunted humans. Some say we aren’t from this planet or that we’re alien experiments. It just depends on which pack you talk to and who you talk to in that pack.”

  Mel felt her head spinning from the responses. “I’m sorry I asked. I don’t think I was ready for those answers,” she said.

  “Most people don’t like discussing where we came from. They are afraid of the answers,” Nana said.

  “It seems to be the same way for humans,” Mel said.

  Bruce and Silvia entered the kitchen.

  “There’s my princess. And my son-in-law is up at this hour? How is that possible?” Papa bantered.

  “I know it’s unbelievable,” Bruce said. “I was hoping Mel was up so we could chat some after breakfast, but before she meets Eli.”

  “Speaking of which, let’s make them breakfast,” Nana said to Papa.

  “Great idea,” Papa said. He hugged his daughter. “How did you sleep, honey?”

  “Really well,” Silvia said. “The baby only kicked two times last night.”

  “Good, good,” he said as he ushered Bruce and Silvia into chairs. With Nana’s help, he started working on a delicious breakfast.

  “Good morning, Mel,” Silvia said. “What did you think of Viola’s gift? I caught her bringing it inside yesterday.”

  “I love it,” Mel said.

  “Lee told me what happened,” Bruce said. “I’m glad you met with Eli yesterday and meeting with Eli in a few hours. We need to make sure that never happens again.”

  “Which part?” Mel asked.

  Bruce stared at Mel like she had a second head. “What do you mean ‘which part’? How many things have you done since we last spoke yesterday?” he asked.

  “Well, I left my body and tore a tree branch down,” Mel said.

  “The tree branch of course! You could have seriously hurt someone!” Bruce said. “I think it’s great you have your gifts, but only if you are able to control them.”

  “You’re right,” Mel agreed.

  Bruce paused. He had prepared a list of arguments to convince Mel of the seriousness of the situation. He hadn’t counted on Mel agreeing so readily. “Huh?” he said.

  “You’re right,” Mel repeated. “I’m fully aware I need to get ahold of my abilities. And I’m aware of how dangerous it could get if I don’t have them under control. I plan to put all of my time and energy into it.”

  Bruce was glad Mel took responsibility for her actions. “Good,” he said.

  “Have you learned anything else from Bill?” Mel asked.

  “A little bit,” Bruce said. “Bill was one of the hunters that wiped out a pack in Georgia. He’s been a hunter for years. He was brought into hunting paranormals by an acquaintance he’d met at a firing range in South Carolina.

  “From Bill’s description of one of the hunters, it appears the West Virginia pack did kill one from the group. Currently, there are six hunters remaining; Bill, four other hunters, and a Master Hunter who orchestrates the murders,” Bruce said. “The Master Hunter hasn’t tried contacting Bill yet. Supposedly, the Master Hunter calls randomly incase capture occurs. Bill didn’t say anything else.”

  “Why is he telling you all of this?” Mel asked.

  “Eli did a reading that showed Bill is easily corrupted by his vices,” Bruce said. “So, we got him really drunk.”

  Mel laughed. “Drunk? Really?” she giggled at the thought.

  Bruce smiled at Mel. “It’s true and it’s effective. As they say, ‘the drunk man tells no lie.’ He’s an egotistical person who loves to brag about the things he’s done. Bill and I were having a drinking match and he lost. He passed out, so I haven’t been able to ask him anything else. When he wakes, he’ll probably have a hangover. We’ll see if we can get more out of him tomorrow. Have you had any visions about Bill or any other hunters?” he asked.

  “No,” Mel said. Thinking and talking about Bill made Mel’s palms sweaty. What if one of the other hunters is already here and has a bomb in place? she thought.

  Boom! Crash!

  Chapter 13

  Mel let out a strangled yelp as she dived to the ground, under the table, and covered her head. Her chair went flying backwards and crashed against the wall.

  Crash!

  Her chair burst into pieces.

  Mel’s pulse raced and a loud rushing sound filled her ears as she struggled to catch her breath.

  “Mel,” a familiar voice said. It was a woman, but it sounded far away. Warm hands slowly touched Mel’s. “Mel, it’s okay. You’re safe. Mel, it was just a cabinet door and some pots. Mel, you’re safe.”

  Mel opened her eyes to find Dana under the table with her. “It’s okay, Mel. You’re safe,” she said.

  “B-but the bomb,” Mel whispered.

  “No bomb,” Dana said. “You’re safe, okay?”

  Mel didn’t understand what Dana was saying until she looked around and realized they were still in the main house. It didn’t blow up, she thought. She slowly nodded.

  “I’m sorry, Mel,” Nana said. “I closed the cabinet do
or harder than I meant to and it caused some of the pots to tumble.”

  Mel stared at Nana, who was currently bent over to look at Mel. She tried to interpret what Nana had said over the pounding in her ears.

  “Do you want to sit up?” Dana asked.

  “Okay,” Mel said. She uncurled. She was agitated when she realized she had been a fetal position. She sat up and looked around to find everyone was watching her. “That was embarrassing.”

  “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Dana said. “I heard it from upstairs and nearly came unglued too. Even Lee was startled.”

  “That’s a nice was to put it,” Lee said as he sat on the floor beside Mel. “Initially, it scared me. It sounded loud even from upstairs. And when you screamed . . .” Lee trailed off. Mel followed his gaze and saw the door from the stairwell to the kitchen had been ripped off the frame.

  “Oh,” Mel said. She pointed at the shattered chair she had been sitting in moments ago. “I broke a chair.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry, Bruce. I said I was going to be careful, but it didn’t happen. Please don’t be mad at me.”

  Bruce felt remorse. “It’s okay, Mel,” he said. “I’m not mad that you broke the chair. I understand it. You were triggered by the sound and reacted the way you did because you were trying to survive.”

  “We’re all still recovering from a high-stress situation,” Lee said. “It’ll take some time, but it’ll get easier.”

  “Maybe all of you should see May,” Bruce suggested. “They could help y’all a lot.”

  “That’s a good idea,” Dana said. “Do you want to come out now, Mel?”

  “Okay,” Mel said. She crawled out from under the table. “Sorry about that.”

  “It’s okay. We should have taken into account that all of you have had huge life-threatening situations,” Silvia said. “Your responses are because your body is trying to make sure you stay alive.”

  Mel didn’t want to talk about it anymore. “When do I meet up with Eli?” she said.

  “He’s coming over this morning,” Bruce said. “After lunch, you’ll meet with him at his home to work some more.”

  “Oh, okay,” Mel said. She knew that meant she couldn’t go to the gym with Viola. Mel tried to be excited about working on her abilities, but she was disappointed she wouldn’t get to spend more time with Viola today. Controlling your gifts is important, Mel thought. She glanced at the demolished chair. You wouldn’t want to break something at the gym for the world to see. “When can I see May?” she asked.

  “I’ll coordinate with Eli about that,” Bruce said.

  “I can handle scheduling for all of us, if that’s okay,” Lee said.

  Bruce smiled. “That would be much appreciated,” he said. He refocused on Mel. “I feel bad asking right now, but have you gotten anymore visions about Chris?”

  Mel didn’t blame him for asking. While the hunters were his top concern, Chris was just as much of an issue. She thought about the older Alpha from the fight. Her fear seemed to awaken her sensitivity. Somehow, just by thinking about him, Mel’s energy connected with Mason’s. Information flooded her mind like a tsunami. It felt like Mel was in a daze and almost floating, but also clear-headed at the same time.

  “Mason is dying from cancer,” Mel said without thought. “He has one month left at the most. He’s been trying to find a suitable heir. He wants a woman to become the next alpha, but he knows half of the pack wants Chris to be Alpha.”

  Bruce’s eyes widened. He was amazed because he hadn’t expected Mel to get such specific information about Mason. “We all could smell cancer and he mentioned dying. Viola and Daren said he’s lived longer than the doctors had predicted,” he said. “Alura would be the perfect alpha. He’s been trying to get the more backwater ones to realize how great she is, but they are being stubborn. What else do you know?”

  “Mason knows Chris won’t be a good leader, but he also knows some of the pack members are sexist and old-fashioned in a bad way. The pack wouldn’t be able to handle- what did you say her name was? Alura?” Bruce nodded. “They can’t handle Alura being their leader, especially because she’s Asian.” Mel paused.

  “What?” Bruce asked.

  “I don’t know how I knew Alura was Asian. And I never thought of werewolves being possible in Asian countries. I feel foolish for being surprised that an Asian werewolf exists, especially since I know Silvia,” Mel admitted.

  “It happens,” Silvia said. “While Papa is human, we assume he has werewolf ancestry. I believe Alura’s parents were both werewolves and her mother was Vietnamese.”

  “Alura’s the one Chris wants to kill. Who is she?” Mel asked.

  “She’s currently second in command, a beta, in Mason’s pack,” Silvia said. “She is also Mason’s daughter. She’s had to work hard to prove that she deserves the title of Beta versus only getting it because of her father.”

  “She’s the woman with the scars. The one who’s ex was a witch, right?” Mel said. She had an image of Alura in her head again.

  “That’s Alura,” Silvia said.

  “Let’s get back to the matter at hand. What you were saying about Mason?” Bruce asked.

  “Oh,” Mel said. Mel paused again for a moment. At first, she was worried she wouldn’t get any more information. Suddenly, the connection was back. “Mason is at a loss. Mason doesn’t know how to best handle the situation,” Mel said. She hesitated again. “If things continue on this same path, Mason will die before anything is resolved and his pack will start fighting amongst themselves. It could lead to a lot of people dying, including Alura and her mom. That’s all I know.”

  Bruce cursed under his breath. “It fits with what Mason had told Viola and Daren. Still, I wish he had come to me sooner about this. I’m going to go call Mason,” he said as he left.

  “Why does Bruce take this so . . . personally?” Mel asked.

  “Mason was friends with Bruce’s parents. When they died, he was the one who helped Bruce understand what it means to be a leader. He’s always been there for Bruce. Bruce thinks of him as a father figure,” Silvia answered as she rubbed her belly. She hurt for her husband.

  Mel gasped. She stared at Silvia’s belly with wonder.

  “What is it?” Silvia asked.

  “I can feel his emotions,” Mel said, nodding towards Silvia’s belly. “He feels sad because you are sad. He wishes he could take away your pain.”

  “He?” Silvia repeated. “How do you know it’s a boy? No one told you I’m having a boy, did they?” Her voice showed she was impressed by Mel’s abilities.

  Mel was grateful Silvia wasn’t afraid of her. “I don’t think so,” she said. “I just knew.”

  “And he knows I’m sad,” Silvia said. Her tone of voice had changed into reverence and awe. Silvia had understood she was pregnant but hearing Mel’s words made it somehow even more real. Silvia was happy her baby was already so connected with her. She rubbed her belly. “It’s okay, my baby. It’ll all be okay.” The baby immediately was comforted by her words.

  Mel was humbled by the scene. How many times did the world take for granted that a baby developed in the womb while being constantly bombarded with different experiences for around forty weeks? How many people think the outside world has no influence on the growing child? Does the baby mourn when the mother does? When a person is cruel to the mother, does the baby feel the mother’s pain? Does the baby go through the same emotional cycles a mother does? Mel thought. “Incredible.”

  As Mel stood there, she realized she felt exhausted. She felt like she had been put through the ringer. “Why am I suddenly so tired?” she asked.

  “Your adrenaline wore off. Come sit down,” Silvia said. “Anxiety and panic attacks can drain you pretty quickly.”

  “It feels like it. I could just sleep,” she said.

  “You can reschedule with Eli,” Silvia said.

  “But I need to get this under control,” Mel said.

  “I
know, but you can’t do much if you’re running on fumes either,” Silvia pointed out.

  Mel didn’t want to admit it, but Silvia had a good point. Mel’s pride kept her from even contemplating rescheduling, especially since she could still see the chair she destroyed. “Maybe another cup of coffee will help,” she said.

  “Just be careful because caffeine can make your anxiety worse,” Silvia said.

  “Thanks for the heads up,” Mel said.

  “Morning all,” Eli said as he entered the kitchen.

  “Good morning, Eli,” Papa said. “Would you like some coffee?”

  “No, thank you, Papa,” Eli said with a wide smile. “I just finished having a cup of coffee with Cindy.”

  “How is she doing?” Nana said. “You need to bring her over with y’alls boys the next time you come by.”

  “She’s doing great. She has a meeting with some of the teachers later today to discuss methods for improving the curriculum,” he said. “I’ll be sure to do that. Though, they’ll immediately ask where Daren is. You know we’re all chopped liver compared to him.”

  Nana laughed. “I quickly realized that at this past match. They were sweet enough to give me hugs and say hello, but they were more eager to find and play with Daren.” Her eyes widened as she realized something. “You know, they had told me they couldn’t find him at the match and foolish me said he must have been helping Viola with something.” Nana glanced at Mel. “That must have been around the time Daren was getting you.”

  Mel blushed.

  “Well, I better get going,” Nana said. “Dana, would you like to join me at the bakery today? I sure could use your help.”

  Dana looked relieved and grateful for Nana’s offer. “Yes, it’d be nice to busy myself for a while,” she said. She nudged Lee. “Will you be okay without me?”

  “Hmm,” Lee pondered as he wrapped her in a tight hug. “I suppose, but I’ll miss you dearly.”