A big smile formed on Emily's face, and she kissed him once more. "I guess we better go inside." She nodded toward the front door that had the porch light burning bright. "My aunt wants to talk, remember?" Zach groaned but got out of the truck. He followed Emily into the house, not overly ecstatic about the lovely conversation her aunt wanted to have.
"Well, thank you both for taking time out of your studies and romance to have this little meeting this evening." Emily noticed her aunt appeared a little stressed about this get-together they were having. "Zach, how are your father and brothers doing?"
"They're doing fine. Thank you for asking." Zach and Emily sat down on the sofa, and Aunt Maureen sat on the recliner chair.
"I never got to ask you what your father did for a living."
Zach glanced over at Emily, who was looking at her aunt like she was unsure why she was asking these questions. "Um, he has his own business and works out of our home sometimes." How would he be able to explain his dad was alpha of one of the largest shape-shifter packs in Pennsylvania. Yeah, that would go over real well.
Emily's aunt nodded she had heard him, but her mind and thoughts looked elsewhere. Her facial expression and the way she kept wringing her hands together showed she was anxious about something and probably didn't even hear a word he'd said.
"Aunt Maureen." Emily noticed her aunt's tension and wanted to let her off the hook about having to talk to her and Zach about the whole sexual part of their relationship that wasn't happening. When the time came, they would take the proper cautions they both had been taught all their adolescence. "I wanted to let you know Zach and I aren't having sex. And when the time comes, if it does, and we decide to take that big step, then we will make sure all precautions are used." Emily smiled at Zach, hoping she saved them an hour-long spill concerning pregnancy, STDs, and all the other mumbo jumbo they'd heard a million times over.
Aunt Maureen looked at Zach and Emily like she was confused at what Emily was talking about. "Well, honey, that's great to know and relieves a little of my stress to know you two aren't sexually active at the moment. But what I wanted to talk to you both about tonight, and this probably involves Zach, is about your mother and father."
Emily and Zach sat a little straighter on the sofa. This information had their full attention because Aunt Maureen had never spoken about Emily's parents. "What about them?" Emily was both elated and nervous about finding out what Aunt Maureen had to say.
"Well." Her aunt began with hesitation in her tone. "Your mother was my sister, but we weren't always close. There were times in our lives we didn't see or speak to each other for years. One of those times happened to be around the time she got pregnant with you."
Emily nodded for her aunt to continue.
"Your mom came to me when she was about to give birth to you and told me this whole big story of who your father was. At first, I laughed at her and thought maybe she was on some kind of good drugs or something. Then after I did my own investigation, I found out what she told me was true."
Emily was totally confused at what Aunt Maureen was getting to. Was her father some sort of big celebrity? Was he an old flame, or was he a one-night stand? "Okay, but I'm still not understanding what you are trying to tell me."
"Your eighteenth birthday is coming. And for people like you, it's not your average ‘I'm becoming an adult’ birthday with a big party. Your father is coming for you. He gave me eighteen years to raise you, but now he’s claiming you."
Aunt Maureen sounded scared about this situation. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, and her hands were shaking.
This whole thing about something happening on Emily's eighteenth birthday had grabbed Zach's attention. He knew from personal experience and stories told that most beings involved with the supernatural all had changes that occurred when they made it to their adulthood year. His mind was racing as to who or what her father was.
"Who's my father?" Emily was frightened to think some guy would come and force her to move away from her aunt, who had raised her since birth, and the guy she pronounced her love to. She would be an adult, and there was no way he could do it.
"Zach, I'm sorry." Emily's aunt looked over at him with tears still rolling down the sides of her face. "I'm sorry we moved here, and you two fell in love. I should have watched more closely and found out before it got this far. Who Emily's father is affecting you as much as it does her."
Zach was nauseated. He felt like he could throw up at any moment. The more Emily's aunt went on about this, the more he wanted to tell her to shut up and none of it mattered. He wanted everything to stay the way it was.
"Just tell me," Emily screamed out. Both Zach and Aunt Maureen turned and stared at her after her little outburst.
"Emily, your father is..."
***
Zach and his wolf were both screaming inside his head. This couldn't be.
There was no way he could be her father.
How could they be mates?
Why were he and his wolf so attracted to her?
He had to get out of there before he made a scene. He hoped Emily would forgive him as he stood and walked out. He couldn't be around her right now, maybe not ever. He needed to go away and think all of this through. He couldn't go home and face his father. How was he going to explain to the pack who his mate was?
Zach ran through the night and shifted as he neared the wooded area surrounding his house. He smelled Adam and his pack nearby. He couldn't let them find him. He took off running as fast as his wolf could go. He didn't know if he'd ever return to West Lakes again.
Thank you so much for taking a chance and reading the first book of Separate Worlds. As a bonus, I’ve added the first chapter of book two, Seasons of Change. I know we all hate cliffhangers, so hopefully, the added read will help clarify a few moments that needed answers. It would mean so much if you could jump on over to Amazon and Goodreads and leave a review. I love to see what my readers think of what I’ve written. Thank you once again.
Seasons
Of
Change
Book Two of Separate Worlds
By
Izzibella Beau
Changes are coming to West Lakes. Zach and Emily, Jacob and Madison, and Danny and Alex are destined mates. What is the reason for having such high-ranking and powerful supernaturals coming together all at the same time?
Zach has found out who and what Emily is—will he still love her and want to be the mate of the one he was trained to hunt and kill? Emily and Zach have their love, but it may not be enough to amend for the past and prepare them for their future.
Jacob and Madison are followed by a darkness that will do anything and everything to keep them apart. As close as they are, these two are driven farther apart by circumstances they have no control over. Is this the end before it even began?
Alex and Danny are the stable-minded couple of the group, but that is all about to change. Alex’s powers of being a seer are becoming more potent. Will Danny be able to save Alex from her own abilities, or will the pressure placed on her to save everyone else become too much?
Season of Change will alter the world of the paranormals as they know it. Will the black magic enchantresses and Orfeo’s family of vampires be able to overcome those of white magic, shifters, and seers? So much has already happened, and so much more is yet to come that will make us believe that being of the mundane world is a much safer place.
Chapter One
It had been one week since Zach had received the news that affected his entire life. The evening they’d spent with Emily’s aunt, and she revealed who Emily’s father was, made him question everything that had been happening. Why didn’t his wolf, who hadn’t spoken to him in a week, have any hindsight into the circumstance before it got this far out of control?
Zach knew the pack had been searching for him, he could always pick up a slight scent of Jacob, Danny, and Adam, but they never seemed to come his way. Maybe they knew he was there but sensed
he needed more time alone. He would have to go back soon, but he still had time since the school was still on winter break.
He’d completely missed Emily’s birthday, which he had everything planned for that occasion, but it got ruined with the news he’d received. Now that she turned eighteen, what kind of changes was she going through? Would he recognize her anymore? Would she still be the same? Did it matter at this point?
“So, nothing to say for yourself yet,” Zach spoke out loud to his wolf, waiting for some sort of answer from his always present other-self. Once again, there was none. “At least you can hide away. I have to deal with this on a realistic point. Why did she have to be the one?” Zach walked farther up the steepest mountain in West Lakes, one that no human ever attempted. He was still trying to get far enough away from all the problems that were going on in West Lakes.
***
Emily hadn’t heard from Zach since he picked up and walked out of her house and life. Ever since her aunt decided to tell her who her father was and that he was supposed to be coming for her when she’d turned eighteen, Zach had disappeared entirely; not even Jacob or Danny had heard anything from him. She celebrated turning the big eighteen with Alex and Madison and wished Zach would somehow show up and sweep her off her feet, but that never happened. The day came and went without so much as a Happy Birthday or even just a text message from him. In a way, Emily could see his reasoning and why he wanted to be away from her, but how could he think she was anything like her serial killer of a father.
Emily still didn’t believe the whole supernatural tale her Aunt Maureen had told her. She was really starting to question her aunt’s stable-mindedness right about now. Maybe she’d spent too much time alone and not enough time socializing with other people. It seemed all Aunt Maureen did for the past eighteen years was work, take care of Emily, and move around a whole heck of a lot.
Emily couldn’t even tell Madison or Alex why Zach had left and the rationale behind it. Jacob and Danny seemed to have some sort of idea that she was somehow involved with Zach just picking up and going, but neither said anything to her about it. Emily was like prime suspect number one regarding Zach’s disappearance. She’d been the last one with him. That day, when Emily’s aunt sat both her and Zach down for supposed sex talk that never came, would be forever burned into her mind.
***
“Emily, your father is Orfeo.” As soon as those words were spoken, Emily’s past, present, and future had changed. Zach stood up and glanced from Emily to her aunt. His face was pale, and Emily could see he was trembling. He didn’t say a word to either of them, but walked out the front door, got into his car, and disappeared into the night.
“Who’s Orfeo?” Emily asked her aunt. “And what does he have to do with Zach?”
“Em, it’s a long story, and I’m not sure you’re going to believe any of what I tell you, but everything I tell you here tonight is the honest truth.”
Emily nodded. “Okay.” She waited to hear what was so bad about this guy, who was supposedly her absent father of eighteen years, and what would make Zach walk away without any type of goodbye.
“Your father.” Her aunt stopped once again and took another deep breath. “He was the one who murdered Zach’s mother and his brother’s mate.” Emily was stunned. No, mortified would be a better description of how she felt. The one who was supposed to be her father was the one who killed her boyfriend’s mother and Adam’s fiancée.
“How? Why?” Emily felt the tears wanting to escape as she thought about the horror he had caused Zach and his family.
“It’s not a pleasant thing to talk about.” Aunt Maureen wrung her hands together in frustration. “Orfeo and his family drained them of their blood and left their carcasses in the garden of their home for their mates to find them.”
Emily sucked in a deep breath with that horrific news. Zach had never talked about the murder, but to have your mother’s life taken like that and then left like a trophy was way beyond what she was seeking when she thought of daddy material.
“Em, I know this is going to be hard for you to comprehend, but keep an open mind and remember there are things in this world that most never believe as true.” Emily nodded once again, barely registering what her aunt was saying. “Your father, Orfeo, is the head of a family of vampires that stem from the ancient ones of Ambrogio.”
Emily stared at her aunt as if she’d just freakin’ lost her mind. “Vampires.” She repeated what her aunt had told her.
Aunt Maureen nodded that she was correct.
“And let me guess, Zach and his family are werewolves and are in some big longtime interspecies paranormal feud.” Emily couldn’t understand why her aunt wanted her to believe this bullshit.
“Em, it’s all true, honey. I’m sorry you had to find out this way, but that’s why Zach probably left without saying anything. And yes, his family comes from a strong line of shifters. The last name Lovell means wolf.”
Emily quickly stood up. “What you’re trying to tell me is that my boyfriend, who’ve I spent almost every day with and haven’t seen anything unusual about him, turns into a big hairy creature at night when the moon is full.”
Aunt Maureen rubbed her hands over her face. “I don’t think it’s exactly like that.” She glanced over at Emily, who was still standing by the bottom of the staircase like she was in fight or flight mode. “I know they turn into wolves, but I think it’s on a volunteer basis and not specifically on a full moon.” This wasn’t going as well as Aunt Maureen had wanted. Emily was looking at her like she thought she’d just about lost her mind.
“Great.” Emily began walking up the stairs toward her bedroom. This was the lamest excuse, reasoning, story, whatever anyone wanted to call it, her aunt had ever come up with, and she’d come up with many of them before. “So, I’m going to drink blood, and Zach will turn into a wolf. It looks like we’re going to be a great couple.” Emily continued up the stairs. “And, Aunt Maureen,” she yelled down when she got to the top. “I don’t believe any of it. If he killed Zach’s mom, that I can deal with, but this whole vampire shit is just way over the top.” Emily walked into her room and slammed the door. Her only thoughts at that time were on Zach and his feelings at the moment.
***
That whole fifteen-minute life-altering event happened almost a week ago. Emily’s Aunt Maureen tried to talk to her all week, but she wouldn’t answer the bedroom door when she knocked. It was a lot of information to digest, and now that Auntie was going a little insane made the whole situation more complicated.
Emily was seated at her desk, staring at the blank screen on her laptop. She had sought out different websites, trying to determine what her aunt could be suffering from mentally. She also satisfied her own curiosity concerning paranormal activity regarding vampires and shifters, but no such site gave her any clear, logical answer for either question.
A soft knock came on the bedroom door. Emily didn’t even have to answer it to know who it was.
“Em, this was from your mother. She said to give it to you after your eighteenth birthday.” A white sealed envelope slid under the door and had the words ‘My Dearest Daughter, Emily’ written across the top.
The echo of footsteps going back down the stairs brought Emily back to the present. She was afraid to walk over and open up the letter or whatever the envelope contained. She knew it was from a parent she’d never met.
Her mind willed her feet to move one footstep closer at a time as she walked from her desk to the door. Although it was only about four feet away, it seemed like miles. Emily stood there in front of the door and stared at her name written in a fancy penmanship style. After about thirty seconds of deliberation, she picked it up and unsealed it from the back.
My sweet baby girl. If you are reading this, then I know he hasn’t found you as of yet. I am speaking of your father, Orfeo Ambrogio, the one who I met, fell in love with, and thought that he loved me back. I know as you read this, you are probably
questioning everything in your life right now. I know, baby, I did the same when I found out about who and what your father was. Please, just believe what your aunt tells you. She will never steer you wrong. Everything she is doing now or has done for you in the past was to keep you safe. Your father will come for you once you turn eighteen. He will corrupt your mind until you join him in this centuries-old battle between those of the summer solstice and those of the winter. Fight him with all that you have, my dear daughter. Please don’t give in to his lies as I did. There will be others searching for you. They are not seeking allegiance with you but want only harm to come to you. I’m sorry for this troubled life and one that is not of a normal maturing young woman. You are strong, my dear Emily. You will be able to do what is right. Even though we will never meet, I will always be around you. I will be watching out for you from wherever it may be I end up. I love you now and forever.
Your mother, Cassandra Beauford.
Emily read the letter over two more times. This was the first time she’d ever seen anything from her mother except for pictures.
Why was this given to her just now?
Why did her aunt wait all these years to give this to her?
There was only one person who could answer these questions and the million more that were floating around Emily’s head. She picked up the letter from her mother off her desk and walked downstairs. It was time to listen to what her aunt had to say.
***
Aunt Maureen was standing by the window in the kitchen, looking at the nothingness going on in the backyard. Emily cleared her throat, and her aunt turned around at the sound. She glanced down at the letter in Emily’s hand, then looked back up at her with a curious expression on her face.
Emily waved the piece of paper she was holding. “So, I read it.” She rubbed her hand over her face and brushed back the hair from her eyes.
Her aunt nodded. “And?” It seemed she was questioning Emily about its contents instead of the other way around.
Revelations (Separate Worlds Book 1) Page 15
