July 12th, 2016
Sethius’ POV
I awake the following morning at 5 AM sharp. It was a habit I started back when I was younger and when my father was still around. As expected, Ari did everything that I did so it wasn’t long before she was waking up with me. Our father was always an early riser, so it became a tradition for the three of us. We’d start the morning off with a jog and then return home for breakfast. It was such a simple, mundane thing. Almost human-like. After things started to get bad between our parents, our morning tradition soon stopped. Ari had stopped waking early after he left. I kept up the tradition. It was the only thing that helped me stay connected to Father. It was during my morning runs where I would think back to the happier times our family had before everything changed. Those times now seem like a distant memory.
I dressed in a pair of grey running shorts with a matching sleeveless grey shirt. I slip my running shoes on before I exit my room. As I pass by Ari’s room, a small smile stretches across my face at the sound of her deep snores coming through the bedroom door. She always said she didn’t snore, but we both knew that was a lie.
The house was silent, save for Ari’s snores. Mother wouldn’t be up for another hour so I wouldn’t have to deal with her until I came back from my run. I head downstairs, my footsteps echoing against the polished hardwood stairs. I caught her scent first before I heard her voice.
“Sethius.”
I stop at the bottom of the stairs as my eyes lock onto my mother’s hard and emotionless gaze. I never expected her to wake up this early.
“Mother,” I say in greeting. “You’re up early.”
She was dressed in a feminine tailored grey suit with matching heels and a black tie. Her hair was in its usual elegant bun with tendrils of her hair coming down to frame her face. She was a stunning woman, yet everything about her was ice cold.
“Yes. I know you normally wake up around this time to go for a run.” She places her hands into her pockets. “I needed to speak with you before your sister wakes up.”
I had a strong feeling she wanted to discuss what happened yesterday. I never really spoke out against her but seeing her slap Ari like that made my blood boil.
“If it’s about yesterday then I apologize for what I said. I just don’t like it when you abuse Ari,” I say to her as respectfully as possible.
“Although I’m grateful for your apology, that isn’t what I wanted to speak with you about. Come with me,” she orders as she begins to leave me behind in the foyer.
It didn’t take me long to catch with her. I stay a few feet behind her as we head through the various hallways in our house to get to her home office. Her heels strike forcefully against the floor and briefly flashback to a moment in my childhood when hearing the clicks of her heels sent fear into the very depths of my soul. Even now, her very essence demanded power and respect. As the second seat on the Wolfkin Council, Mother was the most feared Wolfkin in the city of North Liotnai.
We walk past the den before we reach her office. It was grand and spacious. Mother possessed a large redwood desk that sat in the center of the room with a leather chair that was a darker shade of red. A hand-woven Indra rug was spread out across the dark raven-colored floor. It had intricate symbols of the twelve Greek Gods and Goddesses woven into it. The built-in shelves that covered the left and right walls were filled to the brim with books from various periods. Many of them were in Greek or Latin. The wall behind her desk was covered by a large, light tapestry that depicted the lunar cycle.
She strides over to her chair behind her desk and gracefully sits down with her hands resting on top of the desk, clasped. I sit in the leather chair in front of her desk and wait for her to start speaking.
“I will no longer be announcing Arianna’s punishment for her behavior yesterday,” she begins, and I keep the look of shock from showing on my face. “Nathan’s family approached me after yesterday’s incident to request a meeting with Arianna and me, so I will be postponing the announcement for her punishment until after we’ve met with them.”
I was beyond confused as to why she would agree to meet with Nathan’s family. For them to boldly request a meeting with someone like my mother they had to be out of their minds. She didn’t spare humans an ounce of her time. What made them so special?
“Why did you agree to meet with them? They’re nothing but lowly humans. They don’t deserve your time, nor will Ari like the idea of being requested to meet with them. You know how she is when it comes to humans, Mother,” I say to her in hopes that she may reconsider this.
“I’m aware of how Arianna is. However, she won’t have the option to decline. As for why I agreed to meet with them, I can only assume they wish to stay in good graces with the Wolfkin Council. They likely wish to apologize despite not causing any issues to begin with.”
“Their family has had nothing but a long history of conflict with Wolfkin. I doubt they care what standing they have with the Wolfkin Council.” I scratch my head. “Maybe they have an ulterior motive.”
“Whatever it may be, I will hear them out. If it seems out of the ordinary then I will inform the Council immediately,” she says with finality.
I wasn’t going to be able to talk her out of this. The request was rubbing me the wrong way. As the only male in the household, it was my job to protect both Mother and Ari. If she was going through with this, then I would insist on tagging along to the meeting.
“At least allow me to come to the meeting,” I state.
“You’re just as protective as your father was,” she comments with fondness in her tone. There was a faraway look in her eyes before it vanished quickly and was replaced with her usual iciness. “Very well. You can attend. It will be better if you do. Arianna will be more likely to keep her composure with both of us present.”
Yeah, I doubt that. She’ll do whatever she wants and worry about the consequences later.
“The meeting is set for today at 1:00 in the afternoon,” she continues. “I’ve decided to hold the meeting here in my office. I’ll be busy most of the day until then. Tell your sister and make sure she’ll be on her best behavior if she wants to avoid being punished yet again. Understood?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll make sure she behaves.”
And that was going to be a challenge.
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Arianna’s POV
The sun was already high in the sky by the time I woke up. I used to love watching the sunrise when I was a pup, but that changed after Father had left. His absence only served as a reminder for the turmoil I caused within our family.
I get myself ready for the day with hopes of being able to spend some time with Seth before Mother announced my punishment to the whole city. The scratches on my cheek had healed up nicely overnight and you could barely see them. It wouldn’t be the first time I had watch scars like these heal. I gave Mother plenty of opportunities to physically punish me.
I dress in a simple pair of blue jeans and a plain white t-shirt. I forgo putting on any socks since I preferred being barefoot while I was at home. I tie my hair back into a ponytail and once I was satisfied with how I looked; I exit my room to head downstairs for some much-needed breakfast. A coppery scent hits my nose when I’m halfway down the steps and my mouth waters at the smell. The sound of movement from the kitchen makes my ears twitch slightly and concentrating beyond the scent of blood, I could make out my brother’s scent.
I pad through the foyer and pass the living room before I arrive at the kitchen. The coldness of the stone tile floor didn’t bother me as I enter the kitchen and see Seth removing a fresh pound of bacon from its package and onto an empty plate.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” he greets with a smile.
“Morning, Sethy,” I greet back teasingly and chuckle when he frowns at me.
“I wish you’d stop with that ridiculous nickname.” He throws the empty bacon package into the trash and washes his hands before grabbing two forks from the draw where we kept the silverware. “I spoke with Mother this morning before my run.”
I raise an eyebrow in surprise as I hop up onto the empty barstool next to Seth as he hands me one of the forks. I stab a piece of blood-soaked bacon and chuck it into my mouth. “That’s surprising. She’s never up that early.”
“Trust me, it caught me by surprise too. She wanted to talk to me before you woke up.”
Typical, I think to myself. She likes to keep things from me and then have Seth tell me about it. It was her way of not having to deal with me unless it was necessary.
“And what did she have to say about me this time? That she should’ve just beat me to a pulp like she wanted to yesterday?” I ask, already feeling my annoyance growing.
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Seth eyes me disapprovingly. “You know I would never let her do that. It took a lot of restraint to keep from lashing out at her after she slapped you.” Seth picks at some of the bacon on the plate but never makes a move to grab any which was something he did when he felt troubled.
I sit my fork down and twist my body to face him. “What’s bothering you?”
He sighs and mimics my movements and his knees bump my own. With his familiar troubled look on his face, he opens his mouth to speak. “Nathan’s family approached Mother yesterday.”
Of all the things I had expected him to say that was the last thing I thought would come out of his mouth. For one, I couldn’t believe Nathan’s family dared to approach someone like Mother. Two, I found it downright disrespectful that they thought they could just approach her so openly. As humans, they didn’t have the right to do that. I didn’t care that humans would soon be getting the rights they were stripped of so long ago. They were still beneath us in my eyes and the eyes of many others in our community.
“They seriously dared to approach her after what I did to Nathan?” I snort. “Humans are dumber than I thought.”
“It’s not like Mother was going to attack them like you attacked Nathan. I find it more upsetting that she took the time to speak with them.”
“What did they want?”
“Well,” he pauses and scratches the back of his head while nibbling on his bottom lip. A nervous tick of his. “They requested a meeting.” Another pause. “With Mother.” Pause. “And you.”
I blink. Once. Twice. And then, I explode.
“Are you fucking kidding me? Who the hell do they think they are to ask for a meeting with us? I broke Nathan’s nose!”
I was beyond livid. They didn’t deserve our time. Stupid humans. They just didn’t know their place.
“She agreed. Didn’t she?” I ask, waiting for the answer I knew he’d give.
“It’s this afternoon at 1:00. She’s holding the meeting in her office,” he says as he reaches out to place his hand on my shoulder. “I asked Mother to allow me to attend as well. Something about this is rubbing me the wrong way and I have to make sure you two are safe.”
With the family history Nathan’s family had, it was no wonder Seth would want to be there in case anything went wrong. The Scott family wasn’t exactly known for their fondness of Wolfkin. Just the thought of them being in our home made my skin crawl in discomfort.
“Don’t worry. I’ll keep you both safe, okay?”
“And I’ll look out for you,” I say firmly.
Again, he looks at me with disapproval. He took the role of being the sole protector of our household very seriously, especially after Father left. After all, all males were charged with protecting the females of their respective households. I, however, wasn’t the typical female Wolfkin. I wasn’t afraid to get into fights and stand up for myself which, to Seth’s annoyance, made it harder for him to keep me safe.
“Fine. Just don’t do anything rash and try to stay on your best behavior. Mother has already threatened to punish you if you act out during the meeting, so promise me that you’ll at least try to behave.”
There was no guarantee that I would behave during the entire meeting. Even with the threat of a possible punishment. I would give no human an ounce of respect and I damn sure wouldn’t do it in my own home.
“I’ll try to behave. I promise.” I then hold up my hand and offer my pinky to him.
He rolls his eyes but locks his pinky with mine. “I can’t believe you still make pinky promises.”
“Shut up,” I say playfully and unhook my pinky from his. “Let’s finish up breakfast. I wanna spend some time outside before this nightmare of a meeting later.”
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Around noon, Seth and I went out to the backyard to enjoy the nice summer weather. We had laid out on the grass and just watched the clouds move freely across the sky. We decided to forget about everything else and just talked about numerous things that had caught our interest lately. We were in the middle of discussing what we expected to happen during the upcoming school year when we both felt Mother’s aura brush against ours.
“Guess it’s time,” Seth says as he sits up. “You ready for this?”
“No, but I don’t have much a choice,” I answer, pulling myself up from the ground. “We better hurry before we make her angry.”
We start to head back to the house for the meeting. I was a little nervous if I had to be honest, but Seth’s presence eased my nerves a little. We enter through the backdoor and I’m immediately bombarded with new scents. The only one I recognized was Nathan’s. The other two were unknown. The unknown scents set me on edge, and I could feel my hackles rising. There’s a familiar itch under my skin from the urge I had to shift into my True Form.
“Relax, Ari,” Seth says gently.
Easier said than done. I knew Seth was feeling the same way I was. He was just better at keeping his composure. Wolfkin didn’t take too kindly to outsiders being in their territory. We’d instinctively be on the defensive and be seconds away from shifting. I don’t know what Mother was thinking when she decided to hold the meeting here. One wrong move and Nathan and whoever he brought with him would have their throats ripped out.
We make our way through the kitchen and down the hallway and pass the door to the library before we reach the door to Mother’s office. I pick up the sound of four heartbeats as Seth and I stand outside the office door. Seth steps in front of me protectively as he grabs the door handle and twists it before he pushes the door open. He steps in first while I follow quickly behind him.
Mother is sitting behind her desk and her eyes are already locked with mine. A slight chill travels down my spine and I advert my gaze down to the floor in a clear sign of submission.
“Sethius. Arianna. Come stand next to me,” she orders.
We both follow her directions without uttering a single word. I feel eyes on me as I travel to stand behind Mother’s desk. I’m to her right as Seth stands to her left. I had kept my eyes lowered to the ground the entire time until I faced the front of the room. My eyes landed on Nathan’s form. A splint covered his broken nose and I was surprised to see that his jade green eyes were focused on my amber ones.
The look in them was kind, friendly even which baffled me. I stare daggers at him in return, only for him to offer me a quick smile in return before I tear my gaze from his. What kind of game was he playing?
“I suppose introductions are in order,” Mother begins, her tone authoritative. “I’ll assume you’re well-acquainted with my youngest, Arianna, and this is my oldest, Sethius.”
I mumble a ‘hello’ under my breath as Seth gives a more polite and proper greeting. I didn’t even spare the humans in the room a glance.
“It’s nice to be able to put a face to a name now,” a rough, but amused voice comments.
I decide to spare the owner of the voice a glance and see that he also was looking in my direction. Although he sounded kind, his eyes didn’t reflect it. They were the same color as Nathan’s, yet his had a harder look to them as well as a few bags under them.
“I’m Grant, Nathan’s father, and over there is my wife, Patricia,” he continues. “And you already know Nathan, of course.”
I take in Grant’s appearance. Tall, stocky build. His skin a fawn, light yellow-brown. His hair was sandy and styled in a crew-cut style. If I had to take a guess, he had to have some military background and that’s just based on the family’s profession and their obvious skill for it.
“It’s lovely to meet you both,” a feminine, cheery voice says.
My eyes follow the sound of the voice and meet a pair of striking aquamarine eyes. Compared to Grant, she had a more delicate and tiny build. Her skin was a warm beige color. Ginger blonde hair framed her face and the ends of it were curly. A woman like her seemed too kind and loving to be involved in their family business. Looks can be deceiving, though.
“Now that that’s out of the way, we can start this meeting. You may speak first, Grant,” Mother instructs.
Grant clears his throat. “Thank you. Although it’s unnecessary, I’d like to offer an apology on my family’s behalf. I know our family has caused a lot of turmoil to Wolfkin for many generations now. My hopes for this meeting today are to put our long-standing bloody history to rest and begin a new era of peace.”
I wanted to comment, but I hold my mouth firmly shut. I made a promise to Seth and was determined to keep it. What Grant was offering was the same thing our ancestors were offered before the humans turned on them and enslaved them. Peace didn’t exist between us and humans. It never would.
“Interesting. How exactly will you go about doing that?”
“I have a proposal I’d like for you to consider. This whole mess started between our children, so why not end with them as well?”
The hell was this guy on about? Using me and Nathan to establish peace? Fat chance that would ever happen.
“Go on.” She sounded way too interested.
“Patricia and I thought the best way to help ease the tension following the verdict is to have Nathan and Arianna form a sort of friendship, to show that our two species can indeed get along.” Grant rests his hand on Nathan’s shoulder. “My boy here has fully agreed to participate. He’s quite excited at the chance to get to know Arianna a little better.”
“Is this your idea of a joke?” I hiss angrily. “I don’t want anything to do with you filthy humans.”
“Enough, Arianna. You know better than to speak without having permission to do so,” Mother reprimands.
I spin to face her. “But Mother-”
A crushing force suddenly washes over me. The feeling is so powerful that it brings me to my knees. It was like a giant weight was weighing me down and making it impossible for me to breathe. I can just barely lift my head to look at Mother.
“I told you to stop talking. Disobey me again and I promise you will suffer. Dearly. Do you understand me?”
“Yes.” The force gets even stronger and it’s almost impossible for me to keep my head up. She wanted me to submit, but I was too prideful to submit to her in front of Nathan and his parents.
“Yes, what?”
Either her aura was going to crush the life out of me, or I could swallow my pride and submit. Reluctantly, I bow my head in submission. I made a promise to Seth. I was going to keep it. “Yes, ma’am.”
The crushing force of her aura disappears and I’m able to breathe again. I unsteadily get to my feet but keep my eyes lowered to the floor. I could already feel numerous pairs of eyes on me. I wanted to run and go somewhere where no one could find me.
“I think I will be taking you up on that offer. It will be the most suitable punishment for Arianna, especially after the blatant disrespect she just displayed,” she says scathingly. “What exactly does this ‘friendship’ entail?”
“Well, Nathan is already open and accepting of Wolfkin, so this won’t be an issue for him. However, Arianna has made it clear that she wants nothing to do with humans at all. Think of it as a test for her if you will,” Grant explains.
“And if she fails that test?”
“I may be overstepping by saying this but with Arianna’s unruly nature the best course of action to ensure that peace can eventually be established between us may be that she be put down.”
My eyes widen and I’m sure the look on my face is of pure terror. There wasn’t a Wolfkin in this city who didn’t fear being put down by the Hunter’s Society. There was no way my Mother would ever agree to such a punishment; no matter how much she may have hated me.
“Fair enough. I accept your proposal.”
I lift my eyes and stare at her in complete and utter disbelief. She agreed with no hesitation.
“Mother, you can’t be serious. This is Ari’s life we’re discussing!” Seth seethes.
“Don’t raise your voice at me, boy. If your sister wishes to remain alive then she’ll do her very best to pass this test. To be perfectly honest with you, this test is the perfect fit for her. It’s exactly what she needs to whip her into shape.”
“It’s not a fair test. She’s dealing with a human.”
“When one’s life is at stake, they will do all that they can to save themselves. Have a little faith in your sister.”
She had the nerve to look at me then with a smirk on her lips. I felt sick. She was gambling with my life like it was a toy. Any hope that I had that she still cared about me was gone now. I was nothing to her.
I tear my eyes away from her and settle them on Nathan. Worry is what I saw in his eyes. Was it for me or was it for himself? I couldn’t bring myself to care. All I knew was that from this moment on our lives would be intertwined whether we liked it or not.