He greets me with a handshake, and motions for me to take a seat. "First thing, you already know that I am James's Father. I want to know how you know."
I pull out the book with a smirk, and he immediately is smiling a smug smile. "I take it you know what this book is?" I ask.
He pulls off his shirt, exposing hard rippling abs that almost take my breath away, and to my surprise reveals his marking. It is a beautiful wolf inside a pentagram, and I automatically know that he is Alpha of the pack that is to produce Emmaline's Protector, just as I had expected. I am relieved to see his marking, but I'm ready to discuss business.
"Grayson, Emmaline's initiation ceremony is tonight after her birthday celebration. Her soul mate has already revealed himself. I will let you know who that is at the ceremony. I am Emmaline's Gran and her Keeper. It's my job to protect her until James's binding ceremony is complete. I am inviting you to be at my cabin tonight at eight p.m. I know that his ceremony has to be completed under the moon. That is where the other ceremonies will take place tonight as well. I would like to get the Protector one completed with the others." I write down directions to the cabin, and hand them to him, smiling politely.
"I will have James there at eight. I will have my pack pull back, and they will stay in the woods. His mother and I will be present. I'm sure that won't be a problem, correct?" he asks demandingly.
"It is not a problem as long as no one tries to interrupt this ceremony. We will work united on this!" I say just as demanding.
I don't want any trouble, because I want everything to go perfectly. This can be the answer to the peace that our races need. I will accept nothing less than perfection on this. I will do everything in my power to ensure this night goes as perfectly as it should.
I am on my way home when I suddenly realize I have forgotten to text Ren. I rummage through the console of the Camaro looking for my phone. I really shouldn't be texting while driving, but this needs to be completed.
Molly: Ren, everything went fine. I am safe. Emmaline's birthday party starts at 6 p.m. at the house. We will then proceed to the cabin where her initiation begins at 7 p.m. which will include the Keeper part. You know where the cabin is already. Dravon's and her part will begin at 7:30 p.m. Once theirs is finished I will need you and Dravon to leave. I have found the Protector, and that ceremony will begin at 8 p.m., when the moon first comes up. Be at the cabin promptly at 7:30 p.m.!
Ren: This is exciting news, Molly! I will be there! Why can't we be there for the Protector ceremony?
Molly: That is not something we can discuss on the phone, but let's just say that there is a racial difference. There is still one person that hasn't been revealed, and hopefully that will happen soon.
Ren: I do, too! We need this to work! I will be there.
Chapter Eight
Sadie
I am utterly relieved that school is finally coming to an exhausting end at this point. Everyone is acting nine kinds of weird today. First thing this morning when I boarded the bus, I could automatically tell something was definitely transpiring between Em and James. I also happened to notice that Dravon wasn't acting his snide self today.
Then Em drops a bombshell on us that Dravon is eating lunch with us, while she scurries away without another word. I haven't seen her since, and the only time I have spoken to James was after first period, when he jumped up like someone lit a fire under his ass and sprinted out the door. James didn't show up for lunch either, which leads me to the conclusion that they are together, or they know something they aren't revealing to me.
Emmaline and I have been best friends since we were twelve. I believe that whatever is happening has her utterly overwhelmed and confused, or she would be calling. I would think that she would at least text me. I don't know what is happening. Since when did I become the worry wart of the bunch? That is normally Em's job, but for some reason intuition is screaming that something just isn't up to par. I need to talk to Em, so that I can return to some semblance of normalcy.
I can feel my heart pounding, threatening to cause a heart attack or an anxiety attack. I personally don't want to experience either one, so the faster that I speak with Em the better. I can't explain this feeling of overwhelming need to protect her, and shield her from whatever it is that is occurring at this moment. I finally can't take this anxiety anymore, so I text her on this screaming bus ride home.
Sadie: Em, Wtf. I need you to text me ASAP. What is going on? I'm panicking here, and I'm about to have to check myself into the loony bin if you don't hurry up and explain what the deal is.
A bit dramatic, I know, but I have to figure this out before her birthday party tonight. It suddenly hits me that I didn't ask James if he could also pick me up for Em's party tonight. I’ve reached my house, so I have to exit the bus before I can send him a text. I automatically notice there is an unfamiliar car in my driveway. That is not an unusual occurrence with my mom's reputation, but for some reason this particular car makes my blood run cold. Gah, what is wrong with me? I busy myself trying to find my phone that I conveniently have lost in the bottom of my seemingly bottomless bag, so I can text James. Maybe he can pick me up early, because I have an eerie feeling that whoever is inside is bad news.
Hands grasp me from behind, and something hits me over the head, putting me on the ground in a matter of a second. The taste of blood, bitter and metallic, tells me I almost bit through my tongue when I was hit from behind. Icy fear grips my insides and overtakes my body. I can feel the darkness threatening to take over, even though I am struggling with every ounce of my energy to stay lucid. I try desperately through blurred vision to find my phone that was knocked from my hand. I need to get that text to James. I can hear the ringtone alerting me that Em has texted back, but the darkness takes over before I can locate my phone.
I awake in a completely dark room with an excruciatingly painful headache, and I immediately reach back to rub the place where it is throbbing. My hands return with a sticky substance that smells very metallic, and I automatically know that the hit I took to the back of the head has done some damage. I put my hand in front of my face, trying to squint in the dark to assess the damage, and to confirm the fact that I already know. There is blood all over my hand. I can't see a damn thing though, and this fact frustrates the hell out of me. I have never in my entire life felt as helpless as I feel at this moment. Panic is rising up in my chest, threatening to take over. I gulp back the sobs attempting to escape my throat, and force back tears that are stinging my eyes, willing myself to stay calm and not let the panic take over. The room is a spinning ball of blackness.
Boys and girls, it's at this point in the story that things get a hell of a lot more weird, I mean like nine kinds of crazy. Is that even possible at this point? Besides the fact that I can't see shit, I run my hand across the cement floor trying to make out exactly what my situation is at this time. I am trying to figure out where I am at. I reach out in front of my face, feeling around me, when my hand collides with metal. I run my hand up and down the metal bar when I hear a voice that causes me to jump out of my skin.
"You are in a makeshift cell. There is no use to even try to escape. You're ours darling, until we get her," he says.
I can almost hear the smirk in his voice. "Where the hell am I? Who in the freaking world are you, and who are you talking about? I guess the real question is why in the hell do you need me to find my mom?" I ask in a very pissed voice that borders on a full scream. It slowly dawns on me that I am cursing my kidnapper out, but I'm beyond frightened and livid at this point to worry whether I'm cursing or not. I'm almost sure that this has something to do with my mother, and I hope that this assumption is correct. My intuition is telling me a whole different story that I am refusing to listen to at this moment, because it is so much easier to just focus on my mom. I feel hysterical when I even entertain the idea that this has something to do with Em or James. I mean my mother has a stellar reputation. Not! This seems like the logical thought
s that I should be having, right?
"Listen! Darling, you know all you need to know at this point," he answers.
I feel something over my mouth. I gasp but quickly smell the chloroform, so before I lose consciousness, I make a decision that when I wake again I’ll try figuring out how he made his way into this cell. Clouded vision is replaced by darkness as I start to lose consciousness even though I struggle to hold my breath to postpone the inevitable.
When I awake I hear muffled voices. My eyes feel like they are glued shut, and my head feels like it has been split in two with a sledge-hammer. I try to lay silently, even though my body is totally wracked with intolerable pain. I struggle to quiet the cries of pain that are desperately trying to escape my lips, but I can't stop the tears, so I just let them run down my cheeks. I don't even try to wipe them away. I need to hear every word they are saying to each other, so maybe I can finally figure out what the hell is happening to me.
"We have a few more hours before the initiation ceremony, so please make sure Drew is ready for this." I recognize the voice of the man that was talking to me earlier.
"We have this under control Jasper." This comes from a different man's voice that is deeper than the first and filled with more malice.
"I hope Liam scopes out Emmaline's place, and he keeps her movements under tabs. He needs to follow her to the gathering. This whole situation is based on him following through with said plan," Jasper says almost frustrated.
I am in full-blown panic mode now. Oh my God! They are after Em, but Jesus, why? What could they possibly want with her? She is nothing like my mother. God, I have to get out of here. I make like a snail so as not to attract attention to the fact that I am awake. I try to reach in my pocket to fish around to locate the bobby pin that I know is in my pants, when I hear footsteps coming towards me.
"Sweetheart, if you are looking for a way to pick the lock, there isn’t a reason to search further. We have already confiscated your bobby pin. It really is a lost cause, and if you behave yourself you will get to escape this ordeal unscathed. We just want her," Jasper says so confidently.
I stop my furtive moving, and listen intently to his close footsteps.
"Now behave. I will let Kacey here come in there and tend to that nasty head wound of yours, but under one circumstance. You have to promise me you will not try to escape. I promise if you try that it will be the most horrible idea that you have ever entertained. You will definitely pay for that particular betrayal. Do you understand me, Sadie?" he asks me after his long spiel.
"Yes!" I say a little too aggressively.
The cell opens and someone enters, but again, I'm still in total darkness. I can't make out where the person is coming from, or if they mean me any harm. I feel a warm wet cloth being rubbed on my face, and it feels good to have the dried blood and grime washed from me. I can only assume that it’s Kacey taking care of me. She is very gentle, and smells sweetly of Cherry Blossom perfume. It almost makes me tear up, because that's the exact perfume Em and I bought last week at the mall.
"I'm going to have to wash your hair to get all the blood out, and I know this is going to be unpleasant. I am sorry for any pain that I cause you, so please stay still so I can minimize the brunt of it. I need you to tilt your head back, so that I don't get it in your eyes," says Kacey sweetly.
All I can muster to do is nod my head, and I wonder how she sees in this complete darkness. Wait! Why hadn't I noticed that they can see me in this darkness? How is that even possible? I want her to answer these questions that I am utterly curious about, but I guess I will have to wait for my next chance, because I hear Kacey's quiet footsteps walking away leaving me alone in this dreaded darkness once again. She has already finished washing my hair before I even know she has started. I wonder when I will have a chance to ask her any questions. I just roll on my side and let out a sigh of defeat as I let the tears I’ve been holding back finally take over and flow freely down my face, and before long they turn into full blown body-shaking sobs. I am terrified of what might happen to Em, and I am filled with guilt that I can't warn her of the danger.
Chapter Nine
James
I meet my dad at the normal place on River's Edge Trail. It is a little off the path so that we won't be spotted. "Listen, James, this will all be explained soon, but I am going to just tell you straight out. We don't have time to sugar coat the hard truth," he says but doesn't pause to give me time to process what is being said.
"The Ultimate Five will be explained to you further at the ceremony at Emmaline's Gran's cabin, but for now I will give you a necessary quick rundown. I don't have time to explain about the ceremony. You will just have to trust me. Emmaline is a part of this Five. She is actually a very powerful part, because she is the Chosen. And no I don't have time to explain what the Chosen is, or what any of this means. Please just listen carefully and trust me that all will be revealed. Molly, her Gran, is her Keeper which means that she is or is to become the High Priestess of the Chosen's coven. And to make things a tad more difficult, to say the least, Emmaline has a Soulmate that she will discover and be bound to at this ceremony." He pauses to check to see if I am still following, and when I begin to open my mouth to speak he raises his hand signaling for me to remain quiet and listen.
"The answer to the question you were going to ask is Dravon’s her soulmate. He is also a vampire, and we have been asked to remain civil even though the vampires and wolves history tell a gruesome tale of two species that don't play well together." He thought for a moment. "Em that is what you call her? A nickname? Correct?"
"Yes, it is short for her name," I say puzzled that this is not already understood.
"Em will need to absorb a lot of information at this ceremony, and one of those things is that you’re a wolf, and you are to be her Protector. That is why you have those feelings around her. The need to protect her is so overwhelming for a number of reasons. One of them being that it comes natural to our wolves to fiercely protect our pack, because we will stop at nothing to make sure the pack is safe. The second of those reasons being that she is a witch; that centuries ago our kind were chosen to protect, and these reasons are amplified when you sprinkle a little witch magic in with the over-protective nature and fierce loyalty of our wolf pack. This mixture gives an almost impossible combination. This has happened for generations, so it is nothing new. We don't have a lot of time for questions just now, so I hope that I am explaining everything to be understood, as well as can be on such short notice and time frame. Long story made short, there hasn't been an Ultimate Five in a long while due to circumstances that will later be explained."
"Chloe, Molly's great-great grandmother was a Chosen, which will be explained in further detail at the ceremony. She was bound to a vampire named Asher who was her Soulmate. My great-great grandfather Jameson, whom you are named after, was Chloe's Protector. Seraphina was Chloe's grandmother, Keeper, and High Priestess of the same Coven that Emmaline is going to be part of soon. A pixie named Aaryanna was Chloe's Healer. The Ultimate Five happens every other generation, but for some reason it hasn't happened in the last two. We are going to great lengths to make sure that it succeeds this generation. The supernatural world depends on it, son. Our very lives will cease to exist if it doesn't," my dad says quickly, just as nervous as I feel.
"There is only one of the Ultimate Five that has not revealed herself. That particular person will be her Healer. We have an idea of whom that may be, but until that person is able to reveal, himself/herself, we just have to wait for confirmation. This is all I have time to explain at this point son." He pats me on my shoulder.
My head is spinning from the huge amount of information that was just dumped in my lap, and my father is waiting patiently for me to gather my thoughts. I am Emmaline's Protector. What does that entail? Oh my God! What about Sadie? I love her and I can't give her up. I have no problem being Em's Protector, but I do have a problem giving Sadie up. Wait! Just hold on Jame
s, get it together! He just said that Dravon and Em will be bound together, because they're soul mates. "Dad, I understand what you are saying, but couldn't destiny have picked her a better Soulmate for her?" I ask.
"Dravon Riley is who destiny has chosen. Who are we to question this?"
"What? It’s our life, and we have a right to question what is best for us. She doesn't like him at all. How can you be bound to someone you can't stand?" I ask worriedly.
"Son, she doesn't have a choice in the matter. This is what it is destined to be."
"I don't have a problem with being Em's Protector. She is my best friend, and we talk to each other about everything. We have been close for a long while now, but Dad, I have to be honest here. How will she or I be able to accept that she has a Soulmate that she can't stand? What does that even mean? A Soulmate? I love her, Dad, but I am not even in love with her. How does my being her Protector even work if I am not in love with her?"
"Son, this is where I tell you to calm down. Destiny has a way of working itself out. What is meant to be will always find a way. Unfortunately, if you were destined to be her Soulmate you wouldn't have a choice of loving her, but you aren't. You are just destined to be her Protector, and her healer's Soulmate."
"So you are saying that Dravon won't have a choice whether to love her? Will she have a choice to love him?" I ask.
"Son, please do not worry. You will see. At the ceremony, you will recognize a love between them that you will think isn't possible. Love is very sneaky. It is said that love can be found in the least expected places."
It's at this part of the conversation when warning bells are going off loudly in my head. My heart begins to hammer loudly in my chest. Sadie is the love of my life, and I can't even think about going one day without seeing her, much less think about having to go a lifetime destined to be with someone else. I think my dad can sense the anxiety that has peaked in me, and his sensitive ears can hear the fierce, fast pounding of my heart, and the devastation on my face couldn't be hidden with a mask.