Chapter 214: Wolfless Stars I
After that piece of devastating news, I could not stop my thoughts from running wild. There were simply too many things that could go wrong.
"Is it possible for the meeting to be done online, with the help of technology?" I asked hopefully. "You guys can try teleconferencing. That way, the both of you can still remain in Fangborne."
Blaise laughed uproariously. "Oh goddess, I would love nothing better. Damon, can you imagine us simply muting Alpha Thorton once we got tired of his bullshit? It would make my day. We won’t even need a week in this case; we can settle everything tomorrow."
"Are you that eager to hear Alpha Thorton screaming in your ear?" Damon raised an eyebrow, his lips briefly quivering in amusement. "I would simply not pay for an internet connection."
Sadly, whatever joy he felt from my comment was short-lived; grim solemnity replaced the amusement on his face.
"Unfortunately, something like this is too serious to be resolved with an email or a conference call," Damon said with a sigh. "Alpha Thorton is going to accuse us of kidnapping and harming his son. He can’t levy such a heavy charge over the phone; there needs to be in-person witnesses to hold both of us accountable."
"So we’ll have to leave Fangborne unprotected?" I bit my lip, not liking the sound of that at all. Fangborne would be a sitting duck with their Alpha and Beta gone, and the rest of the pack were wolfless.
Could they even adapt to fighting without their wolves? They were going to become as useful as I was in a fight!
Damon shook his head. "Not entirely. I have made preparations for such a situation." A wry smile crossed his face. "I guess I’ll finally know if they’re good enough. And the lunar eclipse shouldn’t last more than a few hours."
"Oh," I said glumly when I recalled how quickly Damon and I got to Everhaven by car.
A few hours was enough for an entire army of hunters to descend upon us by car and wreak havoc on our defenseless pack. Vampires with their supernatural speed would arrive even more quickly in droves.
"That’s too long," I said feebly, my fingers beginning to tremble at the possible attack.
"Hopefully, the hunters will develop a sudden pressing case of the runs until the eclipse is over. Or maybe they might decide to attack Thunderstrike instead. Dahlia would drive anyone to insanity," Blaise said, trying to cheer me up.
I tried to smile, but since I did not feel much joy, my smile was stiff and wooden. Blaise blinked and made another attempt to reassure me.
"Harper, it is what it is. If we’re lucky, it might be over in half an hour and we can get back to business," Blaise added with a shrug, sounding remarkably cavalier about things.
I wish I had his optimism. Damon and I had matching looks of unhappiness. But at least Damon was calmer than I was, and I let some of his calm bleed into me.
Things would be fine. Damon said he had plans. For all his flaws, he was a man who treated his pack’s safety with utmost importance.
"I’ve tried to take a look at the astrological charts― apparently, a lunar eclipse can last from half an hour to several hours. We’ll prepare for the worst, while hoping for the best," Blaise said.
He then squeezed Damon’s shoulder reassuringly as he addressed his brother.
"Your plans will work. Elijah, Kaine, and I have all looked over them. Have more faith in yourself. Worst-case scenario, I can stay behind in Fangborne while you and Harper go―"
"No, you’re not leaving me." To my surprise, those words didn’t escape from my lips. They emerged from Damon’s in a low angry snap.
"Damon, be reasonable about things. It wouldn’t be like before. I’m not a child anymore," Blaise cajoled, but Damon continued to glower at him.
"Why? What happened before?" I asked curiously.
"Damon and I experienced a lunar eclipse when we were kids," Blaise explained, giving Damon a careful glance from the corner of his eyes. I guessed he was wondering how much of their shared past he could tell me.
Damon gave a short, jerky nod, wordlessly giving him permission. Blaise continued to speak.
"In the past, we experienced a lunar eclipse that lasted for roughly three hours. In the grand scheme of things, a few hours is not a long time, but yet it lasts an eternity when it actually happens." Blaise shook his head with a tired sigh.
"Back then, our pack already knew about how they would lose their wolves at that time, but some of them didn’t believe it. One of those people was our father."
My mouth fell open in shock as my mind reeled from the implications. "The Alpha? He didn’t believe―"
"He was a goddamn fool that believed he knew better than the stars," Damon growled out, clenching his hands into fists. I felt a strong surge of anger course through me so quickly that I almost got dizzy from whiplash. "And Blaise paid the price for it."
"You mean..."
Blaise responded with a wry smile. "Yes. The hunters struck Fangborne back then we were powerless, and I got taken away. Disgraceful, isn’t it?"
Although he was smiling, Blaise’s expression held no form of joy. Even though he recalled those memories as though they were nothing more than a few grains of sand stuck to his skin, I could feel the pain and fear rippling through him through our bond.
Fear.
There were only so many times I had felt that emotion from the twins. For the longest time, it felt as though they were incapable of such a human trait when in truth, a werewolf was still half a man.
"They kidnapped me so easily as though I was nothing more than a sleeping baby," Blaise continued. His eyes turned downcast. "I suppose I should be thankful that back then I had no wolf to lose."
