by Kylie Price
She waved her hand in the air, “I will be fine, go find out some stuff so you can fill me in.”
I walked over to the bag that was sitting on the coffee table, putting it on the couch. I sifted through it, grabbing a pair of black pants, a blue singlet, a bra and a pair of underwear, holding them up.
“One day I am going to buy my own underwear you know.”
Nikkee laughed and so did I as I was walking over to the bathroom.
I left Nikkee and Sky in the room. Apparently we were going out in a few hours ‘cause it wasn’t breakfast time like I thought it was, but more like dinner time. No one was out in the hallway when I shut the door behind me. It really did look like a fancy hotel with all the timber panels and edging with old paintings on the walls.
I got in the elevator and went up to the top floor. I felt nervous as I stepped out to the reception area.
“Hey Trinity. Did you like what I picked out for you?” came a girl’s voice. I turned and saw that she was at least two years younger than I was. She had blond hair that was in a bowl cut just below her ears. She had on a floral strap dress and boots.
“Picked what out?” I asked.
“The clothes silly,” she said with an enthusiastic smile.
I looked down at my body and back up to her again, “Oh yeah, they are great, thanks,” I told her.
“Are you off to train? I am so sorry I didn’t pick any training clothes, but I can try to find you some,” she mentioned looking disappointed.
“No, I am not off to train. I am just about to have breakfast or dinner, which ever it is,” I laughed; I wasn’t really sure why she would think I would be training.
“Oh, can I join you? You don’t want to go in there by yourself,” she frowned.
“I already have plans with someone. Sorry,” then I asked, “Why shouldn’t I go in there by myself?”
She bit her bottom lip and looked away.
“What?” I asked.
“It’s just not many people like you, that’s all,” she whispered.
“Not much I can do about that,” I said frowning.
“It’s ok, it won’t last for long, it’s just they blame you for our species being found out. It’s ok though really,” she said with a big smile, turned around and walked off.
Watching her go I mentally shook myself. That was a bit over enthusiastic and strange for only being up a short while.
I turned and walked to my left where a door lead to the dining area that Vex had shown us.
As I walked in, all chatter and talking ceased. I looked around and saw every set of eyes on me except one, Garth’s.
I sucked in a deep breath and walked through the eerily silent room until I reached the table and sat down. Garth looked up at me and then out at the room. The small chatter started back up. I kept hearing my name so I blocked it out as best I could.
“Thank you for joining me,” Garth said.
I just gave him a smile and looked down at my plate. It was a piece of lamb, boiled potatoes, mixed salad and hot chips.
My stomach grumbled.
I took a mouthful and chewed as I watched him.
I swallowed asking, “So, you are my real dad?”
“Yes.”
I took another mouthful and chewed, thinking of what I was going to say.
“Did you think that maybe, just maybe you could have…?” I waved my fork around, “I don’t know, told me who you were? Saved me from being with my foster monster?” I finished with a bit more spite than I anticipated.
He took a mouth full of his drink watching me over the brim of it. I slapped my hand down on the table, licked my lips and stared at him dead on; giving him the most serious look I could muster. It must have worked because he sat the cup down with a sigh.
“You are so stubborn,” he said.
“You are so selfish,” I retorted.
I regretted the words as soon as they left my lips. Well, not regretted them because selfish is what I thought, but I didn’t mean to say it aloud.
“I have always been there Trinity. In the shadows, watching, protecting,” he said in a deep tone.
“Why? Because you felt it was your duty to Carra?” I spat out.
“No, because it was my duty to you and Julie, your mother,” he whispered in a sad voice. He sat back in his seat crossing his arms.
I dropped my fork. “Julie…” I choked out and tears sprung to my eyes.
Garth just gave a nod.
“Julie is my mother’s name?” I asked, not sure I was hearing him right.
His look softened, “Yes.”
“How… how did this even happen?”
He leaned back towards the table and grabbed my hand. I went to pull away from him, but he held it tight.
“Let me explain,” he said.
“I don’t know if I want to listen,” I said honestly.
“I understand that, but can you at least try.”
I swallowed. I wanted answers, but now I was more scared of them than before. I sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“Okay, dazzle me.”
Chapter Ten
“As you know, Vex and I have not been friends for hundreds of years. He blamed me for Carra’s death because my gene had infected many people which left overwhelming numbers to be found, tamed or killed. The night Carra died, we had both been on a hunt to find the Alpha I had accidentally created. We had been given some hints on where to go. I insisted we leave straight away. Vex had hesitated, he told me something wasn’t right. Carra told us that everything would be fine and to meet back at sundown. Vex still wanted to stay, but with my insistence, we left. Carra knew her fate and she accepted it as she knew deep inside that her other line had already been murdered by Eba’s descendants, using the hand of the beast to fulfil their bidding. When we returned, Carra told one last prophecy. One would father and one would nurture. Vex had told me to leave and if he saw me again, then he would kill me. I wanted to stay and comfort my long-time friend and ally, but I knew he needed me gone. I vowed to protect her legacy and nurture them. I assumed that part was for me as Vex was originally the father of their daughter Sherra,” he said.
“But that part of the prophecy was for you, not Vex.” I pointed out.
“Yes. Though before that I had tracked down and killed the wolves and vampires involved. It was unknown to us at the time that they were under a witch's spell. Regardless, I killed them and any who were involved in killing Carra’s descendants. Vex mourned in the shadows for many, many years. I knew where he was, I let him be. What I did was look after and help the descendants as they came. Vex got wind of this thanks to Lachlan. He decided to meet me one day. We talked for hours. I had told him of my successes and failures in helping protect his bloodline. Some grew to old age others were just as young as your mother. Then Lachlan simply said, ‘What if it’s the witches?’ We had never even thought about them. Eba and Sab’s line flourished through time. They didn’t need our help anymore, so we let them be. Unchecked.” He stopped and took another mouthful of his drink.
“So you learned that it was the witches all along,” I asked.
“Yes, I felt pain in my chest from all the lives I had taken in revenge. Yet, after that, Vex and I decided to work together. Two had to be better than one, right? He wanted me to create another Alpha, but I refused. That is when he created Brandon and Dustin. They were homeless, living in the slums of London when he had found them. He saved their life by giving them a new one to help us. We might be immortal, but we are still at our core simply human. Life can get tiring after you have lived it for thousands of years. After many failed and some successful attempts, we had Julie. She was absolutely the most gorgeous woman I had ever laid my eyes on. All the decedents were beautiful, but there was something about Julie that just stole my breath every time I looked at her. Vex saw it, but he left me with her anyways,” he said. He had a glaze over his eyes that seemed to grow darker.
“Did she know what you
were?” I wondered aloud.
“Yes. I told her the second day I saw her. I just told her everything. That is how you remind me of her; you were pretty much the same when you found out. She thought it was completely nuts, but she just went with it. I did prove to her what I was and she did not run or hide. She embraced me for the beast I was.”
A smile came at the corner of my lips.
“This is where things went wrong Trinity. We actually lived together for four years. I wasn’t aging, but she was. She hated it. She said she would not want me to stay with her if she kept looking older. I sensed something was different that something had changed with her. It never crossed my mind that she was pregnant. One day I came home from going on a run and she was gone. A note was left and all it said was, ‘Until I can live forever, we will be apart. I will look for someone that will change me,’” he sighed. Then looked up at me with dread. “She had gone looking for someone to change her because I refused to. I didn’t know what would happen to her if I did, I didn’t want to risk losing her, but as a result, I did anyways. For months, we tried to find her and track her down. One night Lachlan came barrelling in the door saying she had been admitted to a hospital in Redcliff two days before. We took off as fast as we could.” He sucked in a deep breath then said, “We found her near the hospital holding a baby blanket. She had been murdered and just left there. I lifted her lifeless body up and carried her to the emergency room. I knew she was already gone,” a tear rolled down his cheek.
It looked so strange watching it slide down on his face. He looked so tough, so mean, and fearless as though nothing could break through.
He wiped it away and continued, “Lachlan had found her records and told me there had been a child. I knew the baby was mine. Julie was not that sort of woman. I knew she loved me and only me, and I her. We went on the hunt to save the baby. Vex got a call from Dustin, who had read that a baby girl had been dumped at the Caboolture Hospital only a few days old. We thought it was strange to go from one to the other and then back to Redcliff. Vex said she must have known, she knew someone was coming for her, the only problem is, Lachlan destroyed her records at Redcliff about the child so there would be no trace, so they never found out who you belonged to because there were no baby births missing in the whole of Queensland. It had the authorities stumped.”
“So how did you know it was me?” I pressed eager to hear more.
“I went to the Caboolture Hospital. You were in the special care unit. Vex distracted the women while I snuck through. I took one look at you and I knew. Your hair was so black, your eyes so bright and blue. There, at the end of your crib hung the necklace your mother had always wore. Next to that was your name tag. Trinity. I waited outside for one of the nurses and I asked her why they had called you Trinity. She had looked at me puzzled, and then told me, ‘A child that is forgotten should be remembered for eternity. Trinity is eternal so it seemed to fit.’ It made me smile for the first time in what seemed like forever.”
“It still does not explain why you just left me,” I said. My anger had subsided a little as my heart broke for Garth and my mother. I never knew her, but he did and he clearly loved her. It was written all over his face.
“I wanted more for you. I didn’t want you to have a life of running and hiding. I wanted you to be free. I wanted to watch my daughter grow old and live a happy life. I knew you had it rough where you lived, but it was better than running, hiding or even worse dying. You have been in danger since your birth; I wanted to shield you from that. I watched over you every day and every night. I held you in your bed when you were asleep, I soothed you when you were left to cry alone as a baby. I was there Trinity, just not when you would know.”
I tried to think back, but nothing seemed to come to me.
“I understand your resentment, but now you know. I didn’t just leave you and forget about you. I loved you from the moment I knew you existed and I will never forget the feel of your tiny hand wrapped around my finger when I snuck in and saw you in the hospital,” he was almost pleading.
I sat back and looked past him at the wall.
I wasn’t sure how I should feel. Should I feel pity for him, anger for still leaving me or should I try to understand what it was he had tried to do? Save me from this life. He failed miserably, but could I blame him for trying? My own mother left me at a hospital because she feared that my fate was going to be death. My father left me because he feared the same thing. He wanted me to have a normal life, but then why would he…
“If you wanted me to have a normal life, why would you turn the guy that loved me into an Alpha wolf?” I asked looking him dead in the eyes.
“Because Carra told me, ‘the more you try to stop it, the worse fate she will have. Just protect her, but let the fates do their job.’ That is when I knew it was you. You were the final descendant and you were going to change no matter how hard I tried to stop it,” he breathed a sigh and hung his head sightly like he was defeated.
“But why Jason?”
“There is nothing scarier than a wolf protecting his cub except a burning man that would do anything for a woman he loves, like agreeing to turn into a werewolf just to protect you,” he said.
“How did you know?”
“Because he had the same look in his eyes that I did every time I looked at your mother,” he told me.
I smiled at the thought of Jason loving me that much.
“Do you miss her?” I asked.
“Every day.”
I looked down at my plate of food that had long ago gone cold.
“Everyone seems to be making decisions and sacrifices for me that only leaves them in pain. How about from now on, you let me know about these decisions and I will tell you if they are right for me or not?” I said in a calm voice, offering a kind of truce.
“I can do that,” he stated sitting back in his chair and looking as terrifying as ever.
Chapter Eleven
Since my food was cold, Garth went and got us some more. I looked behind me and saw that most of the people had gone. A few still sat at their table having something to eat, but as I looked, their eyes went straight to me. I turned back in my chair, but I still felt their eyes boring into me.
I tapped my foot on the ground. I was starting to feel irritated. I was trying to deal with all the stuff I had just been told. I really didn’t want to have to deal with high school drama.
It got the better of me, I stood up and turned around and was face to face with the same girl that had attacked Sky and turned her into a werewolf.
Her eyes bore into mine and she just stared. I just looked back not giving an inch.
“They blame you,” she finally said.
“Yeah, well, I blame you for turning my best friend into a wolf,” I countered back.
“I was not myself,” she said in her defence.
“That is debatable, there is no proof,” I replied.
The tips of my fingers ached and I felt my nails break out of my skin. She took a step back.
“I assure you I don’t even remember it. I only know because I can feel her,” she said quietly.
I let my shoulders relax. I knew she was not in control. Marie had told me she had used her.
“I thought you were dead,” I said calmer.
She shook her head, “I woke up in the parking lot covered in blood with flesh under my nails. I couldn’t remember what I had done. The first thing I did was come straight here,” her voice quavered with fear.
I didn’t know what was going wrong with me. I wanted to scratch her eyes out a moment ago, but now my heart wept for her. My emotions were so up and down I couldn’t get a handle on them.
“Would you like to join me?” I asked, gesturing to the table.
She looked back to the others that were left in the dining room.
“Unless you don’t feel safe enough, I understand,” I told her with a little snap that I couldn’t hold in.
She seemed to hesitate and the
n she finally said, “Sure.”
I turned my back on the gawking eyes and sat back down and she sat to my right.
“I’m Ally by the way. Trinity right?” she asked.
“Yes.”
“And Garth is your dad?” she asked a little quietly.
“It appears so,” I said flatly. “Sorry, I’m only finding all this stuff out myself. It’s kind of getting to be a bit much. I don’t feel right, I don’t feel like me,” I said more calmly.
“It’s probably your beast and monster fighting amongst themselves. Each one trying to be the Alpha,” she said grabbing a piece of cold toast and taking a bite.
I tilted my head looking at her intently. “Why would you say that?” I asked.
She sat back in her chair and waved her toast around. “It’s like all of us. We squabble amongst ourselves about who is tougher, braver, and scarier.”
“I think Garth would win that one,” I pointed out.
She laughed, “You would think so, but in combat Vex and Garth are pretty much on par with each other.”
“Really?” I said in surprise.
“But that doesn’t stop us from fighting amongst ourselves. Take the wolves for example. There are several clans or groups. Each has its own Alpha.” She put her hand up to stop me as I went to speak, “Not like Garth,” she paused to take another bite of her toast and chewed it staring off in deep thought. She swallowed and said, “In one forest there can be many clans of wolf, each one an Alpha, a leader. Garth is like a leader to us all but each group has its own as well, even though they are not a direct Alpha from Garth. My Alpha is John, he is a mean son of a bitch, but that doesn’t stop the others from trying to take him out to become the Alpha,” she explained.
“Have you ever tried?” I asked.
She laughed loudly, “Yes, only once when I was first created. Never again. I couldn’t walk for two weeks.”
I pulled a face and then she quickly added, “It’s not like he likes hitting girls Trinity, it’s just we know he is the Boss Man. Those who have the balls to stand up to him and take him on, it’s our own fault if we are put in our place. It’s the way of the animal kingdom.”
