by C Zinnia
Viola winced. Even though they all lived together, and Viola saw them for a few minutes in the morning, Viola hadn’t had a real conversation with them in a week because of training and work. “I’m sorry, Papa,” Viola said. “I’ve been-”
“We know, we know,” Nana said. She tossed the last of her snapped green beans in the pot. She pitched the newspaper she had been using in the bucket along with the strings and tips from the green beans. “We just miss you, that’s all dear.”
Viola smiled. She gave Nana and Papa each a big hug. “I’ll missed y’all too,” she said.
“Come on, Nana, let’s feed these two,” Papa said as he jumped out of his chair.
“I was going to cook,” Silvia said.
“No, no, no. You get to sit,” he said. “You’ve been overworking my grandchild.” He guided her to a chair and propped her feet up on another one. “You need a chair, sweetie?” he asked Viola.
“No thanks, Papa,” Viola said, smiling.
Nana grinned. “I remember when you’d do that for me,” she said to Papa.
“I’m glad because it was last night,” he said as he chuckled.
“I meant when I was pregnant,” she said with a laugh.
“Oh, that was definitely not last night,” he said.
Nana stood up and helped him fix food. “Are you competing at the next match, Viola?” she asked.
“Yes, I’m fighting a beta from Mason’s pack,” Viola answered.
“I bet it’s that Chris kid who was just promoted,” Papa said. “He’s the youngest beta they have and built like a tank. It’ll be great watching you whoop him.”
“Hopefully, I will exceed your expectations,” Viola said.
“You always do, dear,” Nana said.
“You know, I like Mason a lot. He’s a good leader, but he’s dying and there is no clear sign of who his predecessor will be. Mason wants Alura, but most of the pack doesn’t want a woman to lead, especially a Vietnamese woman. They keep using Alura being Mason’s daughter as an excuse for not taking her seriously. They like to act like she doesn’t deserve to be a beta even though she has proven herself time and again. After you beat this kid, it’s going to cause a lot of problems,” Papa said solemnly.
Viola wasn’t used to seeing Papa so pensive. She could tell he had been worrying over the matter a lot. “What do you think is going to happen?” she asked.
“Chris is going to try to take over. He may even try to take over by force. When he’ll decide to do it, I don’t know. He may wait for Mason to pass first,” Papa said. “Even when Chris gets beaten by you, there are too many who’ll support him. It’s already rumored you win because you’re a witch. He’ll feed into that rumor to save face.”
Viola laughed. “Me? A witch? I’m pretty sure I’m the most anti-hoodoo person in this entire pack! No one will buy that,” Viola said. Papa didn’t laugh. He was very serious about the matter. “That blockhead has that many supporters who would believe him?” Viola was stunned.
Nana laughed. “Of course, his followers would believe that!” she exclaimed. “None of them think it is possible for a mere woman to be as good of a fighter as a man, so magic is the most logical explanation. Look at all of the times women were accused of being witches and killed for the most ridiculous reasons.”
Viola swallowed. She thought about her dream and how they too had been convinced she practiced the dark arts. The fact irritated her. “Why is it so hard to believe that I am a strong fighter due to my own merits? Everyone knows how hard I train. It’s not a secret,” she said. She crossed her arms and scowled.
Silvia patted her arm. “We all know how hard you work, Viola,” she said soothingly. “It’s only a few people who would believe that and it’s a reflection on how they view women. Chris and his followers don’t view women as strong, so in their small-minded brains, it’s impossible for you to accomplish the feats you do. Their view of you has nothing to do with you, even though it feels personal.”
“Yeah, but it’s hard to believe that blockhead already has such a strong hold on enough members in the pack to be a danger,” Viola grumbled.
“It may be hard to believe, but it’s a fact. That blockhead has followers already and that makes him dangerous. And Chris wants the power without understanding the politics,” Papa said.
“Don’t they all,” Silvia said. “No one wants the responsibility. If these kids knew the amount of work it took to be a true leader, they would never fight over it.” She rubbed her belly. “Being a true leader isn’t about control. It’s about serving your community and guiding your pack to be the best they can be. Chris won’t do that.”
“That is true,” Viola agreed.
Silvia laughed sadly. “They’ll gain power and shirk the responsibilities. Some of the other packs throughout the country operate in such a manner. They’re in complete financial and social disarray. There are members constantly leaving those groups to form new packs or try to join ours,” she said.
“Do you need any help?” Viola asked Nana and Papa.
“Oh no, dear, we old folks have to earn our keep somehow,” Nana answered.
“Nana, you are silly. You two work as much as the rest of us,” Silvia said. She started snapping beans to distract her from her hunger. “And, you’ll be honorary babysitters soon enough.” She rubbed her belly affectionately. “And the baby is excited to meet his grandparents soon.”
“What are you cooking?” Viola asked Papa and Nana.
“You’ll see in a bit. Go sit and relax,” Papa said.
Viola sat down. She looked at all of them and warmth filled her heart. Though her adolescence wasn’t ideal, she was blessed to be around loved ones who accepted her for who she was.
Long before her reputation as a fighter came out, Nana and Papa treated her like a granddaughter. Bruce and Silvia were always great to her. Viola was grateful none of that had changed.
Some members of the pack suddenly were oh-so-friendly and giving when her talents became well-known. Some of the members started asking for favors. Some even tried to hire her to “retrieve” whatever a person had owed them. A few tried to get her to fight for them.
Bruce put a quick end to those requests, but a few with enough gall tried to bribe Viola behind Bruce’s back. It never ended well when they did.
Jesse had been one of the ones who showed sudden interest when Viola’s popularity rose, but Viola had just been too blind to see it at the time.
What was strange was when Viola first met Jesse, she found her attractive, but there was no attraction . Suddenly, one day Viola found herself wanting to get to know Jesse more. She actually thought she loved Jesse. The more they got to know each other, the more Viola realized love was not involved. To this day, she still didn’t know what had captured her attention to begin with.
“What suddenly has you looking like you just sucked on a lemon?” Nana asked.
“Nothing,” Viola said quickly.
Nana and Papa shared a look. Nana reached out and patted her hand affectionately. “Don’t you worry, dear. The right one is out there. You’ll meet her when the time is right,” she said.
“Better to wait than end up with the wrong person,” Papa said. “You ought to know that.”
“Yes, I do,” Viola admitted.
“How has that been going?” Silvia asked. “Have you been left alone?”
“For the most part,” Viola answered. “She’ll move on someday.”
The smell of garlic and onions cooking on the stove captured Viola’s attention. She happily watched Nana and Papa make vegetable omelets.
“You two are awesome,” Viola said.
Nana winked. “We know, honey,” she said. She placed one plate of the delicious food in front of Silvia and one in front of Viola.
Silvia inhaled her food. When she was almost half-way done, she said casually; “I asked Eli to come over.”
Viola paused in mid-bite. Shit, she thought. Viola had been buttered up and
hadn’t even noticed it. “Okay,” she said slowly.
“I think it would be good if Eli did a reading for you to give you an idea about everything,” Silvia said.
Viola didn’t know how to respond, so she ate. Viola didn’t have anything against Eli, but some of the things he did made her uncomfortable. She was open-minded enough to believe that there were things Eli did that had validity, but that didn’t mean Viola wanted to see it firsthand.
A werewolf uneasy about mysticism, go figure, Viola thought. In all fairness, being a werewolf was a physical reality. Witchcraft involved metaphysical aspects that were sometimes overwhelming.
“When will Eli be here?” Viola finally asked once she finished her omelet.
“Ten minutes or so,” Silvia answered.
“Okay,” Viola said. She glanced down at her empty plate. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was glad they scheduled a session with Eli for her. Dear God, she prayed. Please let the reading reveal when I’ll find my mate.
Chapter 8
It wasn’t long before Eli’s face appeared in the window pane of the kitchen door that led outside. He greeted everyone with a big smile. His white teeth stood out against his ebony face. His long dark locs swayed as he opened and closed the door behind him.
“How is everyone today?” Eli asked in his bass voice.
“We’re good, but Viola is brooding,” Nana stated.
“I wasn’t brooding,” Viola said.
“Well, you sure aren’t as chipper as you normally are,” Nana said. “You haven’t seemed as happy lately.”
Viola didn’t respond. She tried to dodge Eli’s all-knowing eyes. They were the color of a black hole that held all of the secrets of the universe.
“Why don’t we go elsewhere,” Eli suggested.
“I’ll see if Bruce will let you use his office,” Silvia said. She left and moments later reappeared to gather Viola and Eli. She led them to Bruce’s office and opened the door. “Bruce and I don’t have any more meetings today, so take as long as you need.” She ushered them in and quickly closed the office door behind her.
Eli and Viola looked at each other.
“So, are you ready to get started?” Eli asked.
“I guess,” she said.
They sat down opposite each other with a coffee table between them.
Eli pulled out a deck of old worn tarot cards. The back of the cards were black with an intricate pattern of white swirls. The cards were passed down to him by the witch of the pack who taught him everything she knew about the arts. He was deemed the healer of the pack after she passed away two years ago. He had gone above and beyond to earn the respect he had from everyone in the pack. Even people from other packs came for his advice and care. He was so trustworthy that no member of any pack had ever argued when Eli was the referee for the matches. Viola also always made sure to end a fight so he didn’t have to do too much work.
Witches, Viola thought. She was used to seeing the santeras and babalos in Cuba practicing their magic. It still set her on edge. She didn’t like that there was an aspect of the world she couldn’t see or sense, but it could somehow affect her daily life. It seemed like witches and those of the same ilk had an unfair advantage.
The front of the tarot cards was detailed, seeping with symbolism from various religions and astrology. There was a mix of wolves, humans, and even beings in mid-transformation on some of the cards.
Eli shuffled the cards. Viola closed her eyes as she heard the cards shhhhhhhh . She prayed that God would tell her whatever it was she needed to know at that time.
“Here,” Eli said, passing the deck to her. “Shuffle until you feel the need to stop.”
Viola fought not to grumble as she took the deck. She frowned as she shuffled the cards. She never felt like she actually knew when to stop. She randomly stopped shuffling and handed the deck back to Eli.
Eli threw the cards in a unique pattern. He looked at the cards for a moment before glancing up at Viola. He had a sly smile on his face that made her nervous.
“You’re going to be meeting someone very special very soon,” he said. “Your lady isn’t someone from this pack or related to anyone in this pack.”
She was ecstatic and worried all at once. She wanted it so badly to be her mate, but she worried that it was too good to be true. “How soon?” she asked. “Will she be at the fight?”
He glanced back down. “Real soon. You need to be careful regarding Jesse because she won’t be happy about it.” He shook his head. “Jesse is capable of becoming dangerous if she feels that you will never be hers again. Be really careful, okay? There’s also a male you need to watch out for because he’ll make your life a nightmare.” He frowned at the cards. “He’s not a werewolf.”
Viola was confused. “What human would be such a threat?” Viola asked.
Eli glanced at the deck again. “He could be a hunter. I’ll have to keep an eye out for him to see if he shows up in anyone else’s readings. The fact that there aren’t other people in the reading makes him being a hunter less likely. They tend to like to travel in pairs. Still . . . I’ll have to tell Bruce about this part of the reading if that is okay with you. We haven’t had a hunter come ‘round these parts in a decade, but it’s still a possibility. You know other packs have been having an increase issue with hunters.”
“I know,” Viola said. “You can tell him.” Other packs in the surrounding area had run-ins with hunters. Hunter attacks overall had been happening with more frequency and more werewolves were being killed.
While she didn’t like the thought of her reading being shared, she knew it was more important for the pack to be on alert even if it turned out to be nothing. It’s only a matter of time before the hunters come for our pack, she thought nervously.
“Good. Either way, this human is a threat, so be careful. There are many different kinds of humans and possibly others that we have no clue about out there that are capable of being dangerous, even to a werewolf like you,” Eli reminded her.
“You’re right. It’s possible.” Viola had heard stories of humans who could harm werewolves through dark arts. She quickly lost interest in hearing about Jesse and the human. “What else can you tell me about her?” Viola asked. “What does she look like? How will I know it’s her?”
“Trust me, you’ll know,” Eli said. He hesitated. “Make sure not to bring your past relationship into this one. You both have a lot of scars and fears. If you aren’t careful, it could turn unhealthy.”
Viola was surprised by the advice. There’s no way my mate and I would have an unhealthy relationship. That’s why she’s my mate, Viola thought. She blankly looked at Eli. “I’ve received a lot of help since the breakup with Jesse. I’ll make sure to address anything that comes up,” she said.
“I’m not just talking about the scars from your breakups, Viola. I’m talking about your childhood scars. The ones from your time with your other pack,” Eli said gently. “We’ve spoke about this before. You went through a lot of trauma even before you left your pack. Perhaps you should schedule a few appointments with May to help clear some of that out.”
Viola frowned. She was annoyed by his statement. “I don’t feel the need to see May at this time. I’ve addressed those as well and have grown from them,” she said matter-of-factly. “Anything else about my mate?”
“You both have to learn balance in the relationship. It’s not about control or power. It’s not about having one person in complete control or having one person relinquish all their control. Establish healthy boundaries from the beginning and respect each other’s boundaries. Take the relationship slowly and learn more about each other. You both need to learn to take things slow and build a strong relationship,” Eli said. “A relationship isn’t meant to fix you nor is it where you try to change the person to suit your needs. It is two people who are whole on their own coming together.”
Viola frowned again at the cards. She highly doubted the cards said all of that.
“Anything else?” she asked.
“No,” Eli said. Eli sighed, knowing she wasn’t taking in what he was saying. He decided to move on. “You’re not meant to know more at this time about her.” He looked at the cards again. “Be careful with not this fight, but the following fight. That opponent doesn’t like to lose and is not honorable.”
“What about this fight?” Viola asked. “Chris hardly seems the honorable type.”
“You don’t have anything to worry about. Mason is a noble and honorable man, so his pack will act accordingly. Chris can’t afford to be impulsive and he knows it. He’ll behave for now,” Eli said. “Do you have any more questions for me?”
“No,” Viola said. “I guess I’m going to have to wait for some stuff.”
“Look at it as good practice for patience,” Eli said.
“I don’t have any patience. I want things done yesterday,” Viola said.
Eli laughed. “Don’t we all?” he quipped. Eli put away his cards, showing respect for each one. He paused. “This sort of stuff makes you uncomfortable, doesn’t it?”
Viola didn’t want to answer. “Why do you ask?” she countered.
“Your lady is . . . different,” Eli said. “Gifted.”
“Gifted how?” Viola asked.
“I’m not sure, but it may make you uncomfortable at first,” Eli said. “Don’t let it be the reason to stay away from the relationship, okay?”
Great , Viola thought. God really does have a sense of humor.
“Okay,” she said. Viola didn’t like the thought of her mate being with a witch. Witches seemed to come with a cohort of issues she didn’t want to deal with. It may all turn out okay. Don’t overthink it, she thought.
“Good,” Eli said as he stood. “Try not to over train, okay? You’re more than ready to fight even if you took some time off tomorrow.” He paused again. “You should go visit Dana and Lee soon. I’m sure they miss you.”
“You’re right,” Viola said. “I’ve been meaning to, but I keep getting distracted by other things.”
