"That's about the strangest thing I've ever heard," I said, shaking my head. "I know I've heard it before, but I don't see how he can just sit and wait for me to come around. He's so sure that I will; at least he was before the werewolf."
She winked. "He still is. He just needs some reassurance from you. You don't need to throw yourself at him. It's obvious how you feel about the son of Halldor—"
"He has a name. You can call him Cliff."
"Right. Sorry. It's just that's what Alre always calls him."
"You call him Alre?" I asked, remembering how he'd said that those closest to him called him that.
"Jealous?" she asked with a twinkle in her eye. "We've always been close. In fact, most of his children are mine. But now that I'm in love with Soren, I couldn't in good conscience mate with Alrekur. You know what I mean? Speaking of which, isn't it exciting that someday we'll be sisters-in-law?"
I sighed.
Svana smiled. "I didn't say today. I know you need to spend time with the s—I mean, Cliff. So do you want to go make up with Alrekur or do you want me to introduce you to the ones you haven't met?"
"What a choice," I mumbled.
"They're not that bad. Everyone's even getting along now. Who's to say how long that'll last? But it's going well now, and will probably continue."
"Why are you the only one bothering to talk to me?"
"Everyone pretty much follows Alrekur's lead. He gets his way; he's always been the leader of the group."
"What about Ida? She's supposed to be my sister, and I've really only gotten a smirk from her when I was with my parents. They didn't introduce us because I was so focused on talking to them about what they did to me."
She rolled her eyes. "That's not surprising. Ida's a bit…uh, self-absorbed. I wouldn't worry too much about her, unless you're dying to have a sisterly bond with her."
I shook my head. "No. I'm happy with the sister that I grew up with. And the parents."
Svana patted my shoulder. "I don't blame you. Back to my question. Do you want to meet the others or kiss and make up with Alre?"
Looking around the room, I sighed. "If everyone looks up to him, then I'm probably better off talking with Alrekur."
She linked her arm through mine and pulled me toward the chair that Alrekur was sitting in front of the fire. She nudged him playfully and said, "Look who can't wait to catch up with you, Alre sweetie! You two catch up. I'm going to attach myself to Soren again. Looks like Ida's talking to him. What does she want?"
Alrekur looked up at me as Svana walked away. I gave him a weak smile.
"You want to catch up?" he asked, looking as if I were handing him a rattlesnake.
"I…uh, well," I stammered.
"Just to let you know, I wasn't behind your parents' banishing of you. They did that all behind my back. Their stupid spell even blocked me from finding you. I know that the son of Halldor was searching for you too, but I'm much more powerful than him and still I couldn't find you. I went to that forsaken town a hundred times, knowing that they had to have sent you back there. At least I was right. Those two have always been so predictable."
"They probably set me up so that I would end up with the werewolf, you know. They probably didn't expect me to date him." I couldn't help but laugh. "You should have seen their faces!"
A sly grin spread across his handsome face. Why did I have to notice how good looking he was?
"I would have loved to have seen their expressions," he said, still grinning. "That would have made it all worthwhile."
"I don't know that it would have been worth everything, but they did have it coming."
He reached for my hand. "Did that dog treat you well?"
The familiar electricity ran through me with his touch. It filled me with energy and confidence. I felt my insecurity melt away, finally feeling like I could face meeting the other Fyrsturae, including Ida. I looked at Alrekur and he appeared to be receiving some kind of benefit from our touch as well.
Our eyes met again after a moment. "Did he treat you well? Can we trust his pack as your parents expect?"
I nodded. "He was very good to me. He reached out to me when I was depressed about being left alone without any vampires. It wasn't until later, after I was strong again, that any feelings arose from either one of us. He wouldn't let me near him around the time of the full moon. His pack is as apprehensive about us as you're feeling about them. He's made it clear that he expects them help."
"You really believe that they will fight with us against the rest of their kind?"
"In the very same way that we'll fight against Francine and the vampires that she's been creating. They're very much at odds with the other werewolves. For the first time ever, the packs have split up and reorganized based upon who wants peace and who wants to rid the earth of us. Many of them will be fighting brothers and parents."
"As will that son of Halldor who's helping you to create the tenth line. You're not concerned about him fighting against his parents?"
"No. His alliances are on the right side."
He nodded, looking more relaxed. "You know, my Sonnast, I will fight to the death for you too. I never stopped searching for you after your parents sent you away. I even hired a witch to try to break the spell from afar, but it couldn't be done."
"Well, I'm here now and they'd be stupid to send me away again. They know they need me. They need all of us. Speaking of which, what are we supposed to be doing at this meeting?"
"We're supposed to learn to get along. Despite our agreement to put our differences aside for the war, there's still a lot of awkwardness in the air. Dagur, Halldor, and I have killed some of us in this room. That has led to some irritation."
I laughed. "To say the least, I'm sure."
He smiled sweetly, melting away more of my apprehension. "I've missed your laughter, my love. Do you remember the last time that we were together, before your parents sent you away?"
I nodded. We'd actually had a good time, despite my being anxious to get back to Cliff. And the energy between us that evening…wow! "It was a nice time," I said nonchalantly.
He grinned. "It was more than that, Sonnast. I can tell that you remember the spark between us." He let go of my hand and stroked the mark on my neck. His arm lit up blue and I knew that the Sonnast mark was glowing again. I tried to push away the memory of it having shocked Cliff. It was just a stupid mark; it didn't mean anything. It wasn't as if I was going to choose Alrekur because of it.
Our eyes locked as he continued to stroke the mark. I held my breath until he removed his hand from my neck. When I looked around, I noticed that the other eight Fyrsturae were gathered around, watching us.
"You finally found your Sonnast, brother," Soren said, looking pleased. Svana rested her head on his shoulder.
"Ah, but she prefers my descendant—or perhaps that werewolf?" Halldor said, laughing.
Alrekur jumped up and wrapped his hands around Halldor's neck. Soren and Svana appeared on either side of him, fangs showing.
Dagur stepped up to them as well. "If I can forgive Alrekur for killing me, then surely you can too, Halldor. You two have always been at odds, but you all need to find a way to get along. It's the only way we'll win this war. We need to eradicate the werewolves once and for all."
"Not the ones fighting on our side!" I said. "They want peace enough to fight their own kind. We can't get rid of them."
"Look: she cares about the little mutts," Halldor said.
Alrekur tightened his grip around Halldor's neck. "Want to say that again?"
"Give it a rest, brother," Svana said, looking ready to bite. "Soren and I are getting married; you and Alre are going to be brothers-in-law. It's time to let go of ancient grudges. It's a new century, and a whole new world."
"Speaking of the new world," Asdis said, "today's humans make it so easy for us to hunt them with their ridiculous disbelief in us. I'm hungry. Why don't we go on a group hunt? There's nothing like the thrill of a hunt
to help bring us together and set aside our differences."
My mouth watered, even though it had only been a couple of days since I had fed on the cop who had been picking on that kid in O'Dell where I'd had my first kill after Tanner had exposed me to blood for the first time.
"She's right," Halldor said, looking at Asdis with adoration. "How many times has a group hunt helped us? Not only to unify us, but also to help us have more clarity of thought. There's something magical about it. It will most likely be even better now that our group is complete."
"I couldn't agree more," Baldur said. "We need to speak our true feelings before we go."
"Of course you two agree with her," Ida said. "Halldor, you love her, and Baldur, the doting big brother."
"Is there something you want to say to the group?" Halldor asked her, his eyes narrowed. "Anything you need to air?"
She rolled her eyes. "Like what? The fact that we suddenly have the Sonnast, and she's one of us, but has been shacking up with our mortal enemy?" Ida looked at me with pure disdain.
Alrekur stood up. "Are you jealous, Ida? You're not daddy's only little girl anymore. Get over it."
"Can't she speak for herself? Or does she need you to stand up for her?"
I stood up next to Alrekur. "I wasn't shacking up with the werewolf. There's no chance of a werewolf-vampire hybrid. Yes, I had a romantic relationship with him. Our parents sent me to a place with no other supernaturals except a pack of werewolves. They knew I'd fall into depression. I'm not sure how they could have expected a different outcome. They probably wanted it to happen. I was nothing more than a homing beacon to alert them that war had been declared."
"Sure," Ida said, glaring at me. "Whatever you have to tell yourself."
"You could cut her some slack," Svana said, clinging to Soren again. "She's your sister."
"Born three thousand years after me. That's not a sibling, Svana. We merely share the same parents—barely, since they didn't even bother to raise her like they did me." She made eye contact and smirked at me.
"From what I hear, Mattie raised you more than they did," I told her. "Maybe if they had been more concerned about you, you wouldn't have been the first of the group to be killed!"
She narrowed her eyes and they turned the deep, Fyrsturae red. She leaped over the couch, hissing. Before I had even had a chance to react, Alrekur jumped in front of me and knocked her clear across the room.
"You will respect my Sonnast or you will answer to me," he shouted. "You know you don't want to cross me."
Ida stood up and smoothed out her clothes. "Why not let us fight it out? Are you afraid that she couldn't take me?"
"She's your sister!" Alrekur said. "How can you be so fearful of your sister? Give her a chance."
"Why should I? I haven't heard a thing about her to give me any reason to."
I gasped. "What do you have against me? Is it like Alrekur said? Are you jealous?"
She looked me up and down. "I see nothing to be envious of."
My eyes were turning red too. I could feel it. "You certainly live up to your reputation."
Flipping her hair, she smiled. "I'd rather be feared than pitied."
"Nobody pities me! I have handled everything with strength. Even with no experience being a vampire, I was able to defeat the leader of the Moretti's. I was raised to believe that vampires weren't real. I'd say that I did fairly well for having to figure almost everything out on my own."
"You got yourself abducted by them because you were romantically involved with a human, right? You've got quite the reputation. A son of Halldor, a werewolf, a human, and Alrekur. You really get around."
My mouth dropped open. "How dare you?"
"You're one to talk," Svana said, suddenly standing at my side. "How many of your children have different fathers? Oh, right. All five of them. And you couldn't even talk any of the Fyrsturae into mating with you."
Ida flew at Svana. I ran towards Ida and knocked her out of the way. She fell to the ground and glared at me. "I see you made a friend while I was dead."
"I've made a lot of friends! I don't see anyone sticking up for you, though," I said, noticing that all eight of the other Fyrsturae were standing next to or behind me.
"You need to learn to play nice, Ida," Soren said. "Are you willing to get along? You can see that you're outnumbered."
She stood, showing both pride and defeat in her face. "Fine. I'll play nice; I can't fight all of you."
"Are you going to be able to fight alongside us when we're battling the other werewolves and Francine's vampires?" Halldor asked. "Our group is more important than our individual grievances. If Dagur and I can forgive Alrekur for killing us, you can forgive Dagur for killing you and get over whatever else is up your butt."
"We'll fight for you because you're one of us," Dagur said, "but if you were actually pleasant, or even caring, you'd find that we'd protect you for more than just for the sake of group loyalty. If we had to choose between a Fyrsturae that we cared about and you, you wouldn't be the one anyone would pick."
"Sure, fine. We'll stick with group loyalty. In nearly two thousand years, none of you were able to win me over. I doubt you'll be able to now."
Svana rolled her eyes. "Ida, you do realize that you're the one who should be worried about winning us over, right? It's not the other way around."
"I don't need any of you. Never have, never will," Ida said.
"Some things never change," muttered Hella. I looked over at her in surprise. It was the first time I'd heard her say anything. I hoped that I'd get the chance to talk with her about her hidden cottage.
"Your tone will change when we're facing all of those werewolves," Asdis said, eyes narrowed. "We all know that there are more of them now than ever before."
"She's right," Halldor said, obviously backing up the one he loved. "You know their population has been growing at an unprecedented rate. First, when the Sonnast began her transformation, then again when each of us was awakened from our graves. You can't face them alone. We need to be united as a group."
"If you don't part with your attitude, you could ruin everything for our kind," Soren said. "If all of us that were killed by one in this room have been able to move past our differences, then so can you."
"This is about something much bigger than you," Baldur said. "It's time to get over yourself for once."
"If you will all get off my back, I'll try to be part of the happy family. At least until we've killed all of the werewolves."
Alrekur flew across the room and grabbed Ida's shirt by the neck, squeezing it tight. "The rest of us have gone to great lengths to move past our issues. No one in this room has done anything to warrant your disdain. Get over yourself, or you're going to find yourself in a world of hurt, Ida."
She batted her eyelashes, as if being choked didn't bother her. "You don't need to threaten me."
He shoved her. "You'll learn to play nice one way or another. Either choose it for yourself or we'll convince you…over and over again. You heal particularly fast for some reason; that just gives us more opportunity to persuade you. Understand?"
Ida rubbed at her neck and then looked at the nine faces glaring at her. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go hunt some naughty humans."
"Have we reached an understanding?" Svana asked, eyes still red.
"Sure. We're one big, happy family, at least until the war has been won."
Dagur sighed. "You're going to be a thorn in our flesh for all of time, aren't you?"
She smirked at him.
"Maybe we need to teach you a lesson now just to make sure you understand where we're coming from," Dagur said.
"No need for threats," Ida said. "I can play nice."
He jumped at her, knocking her over. "And if you don't, I will personally make sure you regret it. Do you understand?"
Ida stood up. "I said I would play nice. Let's grab something to eat."
"I can't believe how brazen she is against nine others,
" I whispered to no one in particular.
Hella looked at me. "You have much to learn about your sister. It's no coincidence that she was the first killed."
"She's not my sister. I don't know what I'd call her, but not a sister. The human I was raised with, she's my sister."
"Good to hear," Hella said, nodding.
"Where are we going to hunt?" Soren asked. "We should move to a different area. You heard the news. The humans think there's a serial killer loose."
"So?" Ida asked. "It's not like they're going to start suspecting us. We're in a time in which we can have free reign because they don't even believe in us. Let them think there's a serial killer on the loose. It'll only make them more fearful."
"In other words, more tasty," I said, my mouth watering.
Ida smiled and let out a little laugh. "Maybe you aren't as bad as I thought."
Some of the other gave me a look of irritation.
"What?" I asked. "She has a point. They taste much better when they're afraid. Can you imagine how much better it'll taste if they're living in a state of constant worry? It'll be like gourmet food, instead of just a rush of fear after a little chase."
"She has a point," Svana said.
"We're supposed to help the humans," Asdis said. "Not terrorize them."
"Where did that get you?" Ida asked. "They killed you."
"They should be afraid," Dagur said. "It's idiocy that they don't believe in us or any of the other creatures. They act like they rule the earth now. There's a pride now that never was when we walked in truth about who we are."
"Humans have always been full of pride," Soren said. "But you do have a point in that it's reached unseen levels. They think they're so smart."
"Exactly what I'm saying," Dagur said. "They're so sure of science that they think of themselves as gods. What do they need protection from these days? They have it covered."
"Enough about them," Ida said. "Let's have a feast."
"So long as we leave any innocents we find," Svana said.
"Should we find any," Dagur said.
Half of the group had a good laugh.
The Transformed Box Set: Books 1, 2, 3, 3.5 Page 92
