LEUKAS

(the next day)

Atlas and I had opted to share one of the spare properties on the island for our stay, both to get out of our parents’ hair and also for old time’s sake. I’d spent the whole of yesterday trying to connect with my kids and it had gone moderately well. Elena was more cheerful and receptive while her brother was a bit more subdued and wary but not entirely cold, but at the end of the night he had made it clear by not so subtly telling me that he would always choose his mother over me, and that both he and Elena weren’t going to stay here unless it’s with Aleks. I hadn’t really concerned myself with the meeting because I was wholly prepared to have just my kids and minimal contact with their mother, her hot mouth be damned, but after Adrian laid down the law, I started hoping then that a solution suitable for everyone was found at the meeting. But now judging by the frown on Lanthe’s face when she sensed my presence, I knew that she had made a decision with regards to the events surrounding my life, and that I would not only not like her decision, but I would do it regardless of my feelings. Aside from the dread I felt when I saw her face, the atmosphere in the kitchen was so homey I almost couldn’t stand it or the feelings it evoked. Jason had obviously taken the day off and left Atlas, his regent, in charge. I ignored the pang that hit me in the chest when I thought about Atlas’ position. A long time ago I had been the one tailing dad, learning everything about pack and becoming the best Alpha. I had learnt anything and everything I could about our history, made plans about how to make the pack stronger and healthier, and spent night after night, fighting to earn multiple degrees in order to help the pack and teach the next generation in every way I could. I was the older twin; I was always going to rule after dad. Until I wasn’t going to rule after dad. Until I couldn’t, and until my destiny became my little brother’s.

I had realized a while back that it was one of the biggest reasons I’d left. I had always adored and respected my father so much that it had been my goal in life to carry on his legacy and to become like him. When my life was changed so drastically and my bond to the pack was broken, all I knew was that I could not be like Jason Hyades and it killed me. And it wasn’t even because I had some fixation with Jason, he has just always been the man everyone in Abattohn aspired to become. Not only was he a smart, beloved Alpha who took care of the pack so much that no one slept without a full stomach or had to go through the harsh Abattohn winters without proper clothing and everyone had a home to live in. He had also always been an upstanding father to all of us, supportive, accepting and best of all, a gentleman who has treated our beloved mother with such respect and adoration.

Both Lanthe and Jason were in the kitchen, Lanthe making what smelled like Stifado, beef and onion stew, while Jason sat on one side of the G-shaped counter Bené on his lap, both of them looking intensely serious as they drew, an array of colorful crayons and pencils scatters in front of them. I couldn’t help my chuckle when I peeked into their drawings and found Bené’s picture of a butterfly way more appealing than Jason’s. It was a well-known fact that, for some unknown reason, Jason couldn’t draw on paper to save his life. His drawings were ridiculous at best and despite his being good at everything and the ability to buy my one hundred and fifty-six-billion-dollar net worth life five times over, drawing was the bane of Jason's existence, especially considering the fact that all his kids liked it and were good at it. After giving Bené a soft kiss to his fore head and murmuring a greeting he swiftly returned along with a cute little hug before turning back to his masterpiece, I greeted everyone else in the room and they all responded, my mother less enthusiastic than others but I planned to address that with her when she wasn’t near a whole set of knives. I had a feeling I knew exactly why she wasn’t overtly pleased with me. An overtly dramatic sight drew me to my littlest sister, Harp, who was exaggeratedly writing what I assumed was homework at the small table only a few feet from the kitchen. I stalled the talking to Lanthe by walking over to her instead and kissing her forehead while looking over her shoulder to what looked to be Calculus on her glittery purple iPad. It was so bizarre how she looked so much like my own daughter, but also so different. Maybe it was because my daughter practically oozed sweetness and kindness and gentleness, whilst Harpah’s gaze was a bit shrewder and calculating despite her age.

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She turned said eyes onto me and before my eyes made them sadder than I’d ever seen them and then gave me the most piteous “Hey Lu.” I had ever heard in my life. I smothered a grin but Jason outright snorted, eliciting another sad sigh from Harp. I on the other hand played along.

“Hey Harp, what’s wrong? You look a bit sad.” I asked, seating besides her and hugging her to me. Despite the fact that my bond to the whole pack was broken, I still got impulses to get close to my immediate family because even without the bond, my soul recognized them. They were pack. They were home.

“Just life Lu, just life continuously kicking me down while I have no one to help me back up.” She declared, pointedly staring at my mother. I couldn’t help my snort this time and Harp dropped her sad demeanor and glared at me. I had a feeling I knew exactly what her problem was.

Lanthe was as awesome as my dad, no doubt. Aside from her beauty and her enchanting presence that was quite a bit of a legend among the world of the transcendental beings and the mortals, she was the best mother anyone could ever ask for, and despite everything that had happened to drive me away from home, away from Lanthe herself, I recognized everyday how lucky I have always been to have her. She loved us more than anything and has always been more vocal in her affections than dad. She was the most kind, sweet, loyal, accepting and supportive mother. But she also had very humble beginnings, unlike my father, and she had become the disciplinarian of the family. While Jason had no problem surprising me and Atlas, and mom apparently, with a helicopter for our birthday, our mother had a big problem with it and had wasted no time locking the plane away and getting us new shoes instead. She had also always forced us to go out into the park every weekend and to play with every other kid in Abattohn regardless of how big their house where and we had done the dishes and shopping and some light chores despite the dozens of maids and butlers in our house. I had no doubt that Harp’s current attitude was because Lanthe had denied her something she deemed necessary. I was inclined to believe Lanthe had mellowed over time because during my brief visits home, I had seen Harp got away with a lot more than we ever did, but apparently not everything.

“Sorry for that Princess,” I apologized for laughing, “What is bringing you down?”

“Mom won’t let me get a lion.” She pouted, folding her eyes and looking straight at mom who was pointedly ignoring both of us while she chopped up a couple of peppers. My tummy rumbled in anticipation of the food she was preparing. There was no food like Lanthe’s food. Because Jason had always been a picky eater, Lanthe had always done the cooking, the chef only coming in when she was absent or when we were expecting a lot of guests.

Even though I knew I would probably regret asking, I asked anyway. “Why do you want a lion, Harpah?”

“Because Molly’s parents got her a pet zebra! And then I tried to ask mom for a lion of my own so I can one-up Molly and prove to her once again that I’ll forever be better than her at everything because she is just a Harpah Hyades wannabee anyway, but mom said ‘Not on your life Harpah Hyades!’, then I tried to ask dad since he’s the pushov…I mean the sweet one, and he was about to do the reasonable thing and give in but mom glared at him, and now I might lose my street cred to Molly Grandee.” She finished her story with a dramatic hand to her forehead, her glittery bracelets clinking against each other on her left hand. The bracelets were pink, matching the majority of the locks on her otherwise blonde hair which was also decorated by stylish little trinkets.

“I heard that pushover part.” Jason muttered, standing with a giggling Bené on his arms. We both ignored him and he huffed as he walked away to hang the pictures on the already picture-filled fancy refrigerator, as per Bené's request before they both walked out after murmuring something to Lanthe. Lanthe then kept moving around the kitchen, humming a little under her breath as she worked. I could tell that she was still angry at me but she had tuned me out for the moment.

“So you're still feuding with Miss Grandee I see.” I commented with a smirk, steering the conversation away from the lion saga because I honestly had no idea how to respond. How eight-year-old kids could have a rivalry as intense as the one Harpah and Molly had, was beyond everybody, considering how close Lanthe and Molly's mother, June, where. They competed in everything; the top spot in ballet, tennis, horse riding, dancing, singing, apple picking, charity games, sports, their clothes, their hair and their ‘portfolios’. Everyone practically lived for the winter talent shows where the two girls competed against each other with everything they had. They were both insanely talented young women. Abattohn Elementary wasn’t divided by the usual standards like riches and fashion, it was divided by who you liked more. You were either team Harpah or team Molly. Lanthe and June had given up on trying to bring the girls together a while back. Besides, their feud was mostly harmless.