The ride to the school was uneventful and boring. Mr. Harper was constantly droning about how he loved antique cars and how this one we were in was an antique too. Jake suffered the brunt of his talks because they both sat at the front.He was constantly asking questions and Jake looked like he was going to cry. I caught his eyes on the side view mirror and he begged me with his eyes to rescue him. I could barely hold back my laughter.The school was a 30 minute drive. The car had hardly stopped before Carlos, Alberto and Diego jumped out. Mr. Harper sighed. He caught my eye in the rear view mirror and asked, “Do to boys want to come in? Or you’d prefer to go back to the mansion.” “Um – we’d better go back to the mansion. Jake?”“I agree with him.” Jake groaned with relief. “Okay then.” He gave us a wad of notes. “Take a cab or bus. Watch each other’s back out there.” Then he grabbed his briefcase from Jake and stepped out of the car. We both stepped out too and told him bye. We wa
ATLAST WE SAW somewhere familiar. I heard Jake gave a huge breath of relief. “I was starting to fear we had gotten lost again.” I said. He gave a nervous short laugh. “Yeah. Me too.” We had been walking for close to 45 minutes. We had long finished our drinks, finished some ice lollipops we bought and the sun had started getting hotter. There was mild film of sweat on my forehead. Jakes upper lip and nose was dotted with sweat. We had thought of boarding the bus, but we realised that we didn’t know our stop. With the thought that we’d just get more lost, we decided to trek the whole way and hoped we’d see a familiar place and we did. We turned into the street and walked down, the scent of werewolf territory hit me so hard I almost staggered. Jake must have heard my sharp intake of breath because he looked at me and asked what was wrong.“That smell... its so strong.” “You’ve never perceived it before?” He asked. I shook my head. “So how come you did now?” “It’s supposed to be
“HELLO DAD. What’s up?” How a little boy tells his Dad, an alpha, “What’s up?” is just beyond me. “He wants to speak to both of us.” Jake said, then he put the phone on speaker mode. “Is Jason there now?” Alpha Jamie’s voice sounded strained and cackled a bit. Maybe it was because of the network service. “Yes, Uncle.” I answered. “How are you boys?” His voice was considerably less strained than before. “We’re just fine, Dad. Alpha Andrés has been terrific to us.” “That’s good. Do you boys feel okay there in Brazil?” I nodded, then remembered he can’t see me. “Yes sir.” “Do you mind staying there for a few more days? We’re trying to round something up over here.” Joy swelled in my spirits. “There’s no problem, Dad. When do you think we’ll be able to come home?” “I can’t say just yet. But soon"“Alpha. What’s going on in our Pack?” He made a gruff sound in his throat before he said, “It’s nothing, boy. It’s nothing we can not handle. There’s no need to bother yourselves ove
“You know Henri?” He asked. I nodded. “Eldest Vampire. Eldest living person from a magical specie.” He tutted and shook his head. “Not eldest living species. Just the Eldest Vampire. It was witch that turned him.” I looked at him. “The witch is still alive.” He laughed. “Crazy old thing. Over 4000 years old.” “She was the first witch?” I asked. “Oh no, she wasn’t.” He said. “She was the first witch to dabble in the dark arts. Every witch in her coven is long dead.”“But she’s still alive...” “Yes. With the help of Dark magic. She’s a cast-out. To dabble in the dark arts is an abomination amongst their kind. It takes part of your soul.” “I’ve never heard of her.” I said. “I know. She likes to remain a secret.” We entered a large room. “Sit.” He opened a mini bar that doubled as a refrigerator. Cool mist drifted out as he opened the bar. I sat on a big couch and struggled to maintain my balance because of how soft it was. It was swallowing me and I just let myself be swallowe
Me? How?My mind was in a raging turmoil but I just smiled and sat by his side. “Tell me about them.” I said. He took a ragged breath before saying, “It varies. Sometimes, you kill the Vampires and then turn on me. Sometimes, you are the vampire... and also the cat. Something like a Vampire cat. Like something spawned from the pits of hell.” I closed my eyes as he continued telling me the different version of his nightmares about me. I felt sad. A deeper sadness than I had ever felt. Suddenly, he stopped talking. I opened my eyes to look at him and saw myself reflected in the deep pools of his wide eyes. I had shifted. There was no pain or discomfort. It was just like I did this all the days of my 16 years on this planet earth. I got up from where I has sat. I stood taller than normal. Jake’s eyes never left me. I went into the bedroom to the full length mirror. I heard him shuffle up and follow me with an awe struck look in his face. Black fur brushed my hands, neck and part
Claude held the bell to prevent it from jingling as Jaja opened the door and they all stepped out into the cold night air. The sounds of bugs and mosquitoes filled the air. Jaja pulled up the collar of his jacket, Claude rubbed his two hands together. Jamie blew a misty breath out of his mouth. Like shadows, the Vampires stayed inconspicuously at various places surrounding the Cafe. The men weren’t sure if they had known they were there. Jamie could count about 7 of them. There might be more of them around. Claude walked up to one leaning on a street light pole. The vampire watched him with wary red glittering eyes. “Hello my friend.” Claude said. He placed a hand on the Vampire’s shoulder. Tension oozed out of the Vampire’s body. “Why are you so tense?” With that, he drove a full fist into the vampire’s belly. Air left the vamp’s body, as he doubled forward. Claude clamped his hands around the vamp’s neck and twisted sharply. The sound of twisted bone resonated in the air. A tw
I rushed back to our suite. I had heard Alpha Andrés receive the call and drive off. I couldn’t believe what I had heard. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I did. I barged into the room and heard low murmurs coming in from the bedroom. Those two were talking discreetly again. I entered the room cautiously, not wanting to break any serene environment. The stopped to look at me when I entered the room. “How are you feeling?” I asked Jake. He just nodded. I noted that they held hands as she sat on the bed and he lay down. “Dad is coming.” I said. Jake looked at me with wide eyes but remained silent like he didn’t know what I was talking about. “Who?” He asked, blinking rapidly. “Dad...” I said excitedly. “My Dad and your dad. I heard Alpha Andrés talking with them. He just went to pick them up from the airport.” The weakness left his body with surprising speed. He pivoted around the bed. “How long has he been gone? How long do you think it’ll take.” “15, maybe 20 minutes.” Elsa sa
Alpha Andrés walked us back to his car. I saw Tony lurking in the shadows. He gave me a thumbs up sign, I waved back. I saw the outline of Elsa from an upstairs window. She was looking down at me and Jake. “Dad.” I whispered. “Can’t we stay for a little longer? I really want to stay.” He smiled and said, “Do you really want to die? Because is you stay. You will die.” I quietened at that. We entered a black shiny Jeep. I had not seen it before, even in the exclusive garage. We got into the car and Alpha Andrés nosed out of the drive way. I turned to catch a last glance at the mansion.“Smart boys you’ve got there.” Alpha Andrés was saying to Alpha Jamie. “You should be proud. Jake... very good with the kids... a real blooded Alpha” Alpha Jamie turned to look at his son who turned red and ducked his head. I nudged him, smiling. “The other one... so intelligent. A bit too curious for his own good.” He said this with good humour. “He didn’t cause you any problems, did he?” Jaja ask