Chapter 17 - What Is to Come

—Kaden —

When the phone rang this time, I woke up.

I took it from the nightstand and gave it straight to Elaeya without looking at it. I was lying on my side with her nested in my arms, her face pressed against my chest.

I could have slept a few more hours, at least.

When she answered, the tone of her voice said pretty much the same thing. She didn’t move away from me. She just put the phone against her ear. I could feel her breath through my shirt. I just took a long pull of her scent and closed my eyes.

“Yes,” she said.

“It is the last morning,” said her mother.

“I know.

“It is time to return.

“…”

“Ela, it is not that simple.

“Is it?

“You are young, there are still so many things you do not know.

“I know.

“No, you do not. You don’t know the door you’re about to open,” her mother said. “There are doors that once opened, cannot be closed.

“I know.

“No, you do not. You think you know. You are feeling really intense things right now. Things that don’t delve in the land of reason. Overwhelming things that can lead you where you never thought you would.

“I know.

“I do not think you understand—.

“No,” said Elaeya. “I think you do not understand.

“Ela, it is not—.

“What has your instincts told you?

“…”

“I know what they told you, and it scared you. It scares me too. I do not know what it means, I do not know what is to come, but I know that I will need him as he needs me.

“Are you sure?” asked her father.

“I know that if I do not go, I will probably die.

“…”

What did she mean?

I looked down at her, but her forehead was against my chest, her face down. I couldn’t see her expression.

“I do not know if I can do this.” There were deep emotions in that voice, it cracked under the weight of something that was too much to bear. “I do not know if I can do what is expected of me. There is too much that I do not know. Too much that I do not understand. All that I know is that I must, but I do not get why, or how.” I could feel a few wet blotches grow in the middle of my shirt. “I know that if I fail, the consequences will have far-reaching ramifications. I do not want to mess up, but I do not know how. I know the risks, I know the price and it terrifies me.

The three of them stayed wordless for a while.

“Do what you feel is best, and we will accept,” her father told her.

I heard a sound in the background that translated to me as her mother being highly uncomfortable with this decision.

“I will go.

I never thought three small words could affect me this much. I wanted to hug her, kiss her, do something, anything, but I stayed unmoving with my arms loosely around her.

I’m pretty sure I heard her mother pleaded with a heartbreaking ‘No,’ in the distance.

“We will talk again,” her father said.

“You could come,” Elaeya suggested. “He offered.

There was a pause. “Maybe in time,” he said.

“I understand.

“I know you do. I would like to keep contact every day if possible.

“Maybe noon would be easier,” she suggested, her voice a little more stable now.

“It would be wonderful. Be careful, child.

“You too.

“Bye.

“Bye.

And that was it.

She gave me back my phone without looking at me.

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

She nodded silently.

“Do you want to talk about it?

She shook her head. “Maybe later.

“Okay,” I said. “I don’t want to rush you, and if you want to stay longer, I can ask Mariqueen about it, but I doubt I can stay here for long.

She looked up this time.

“You have to go. You cannot wait. Things are unfolding and you will be needed.

Her eyes were wet but her cheeks were dry. Her voice had it’s assurance back.

“What is unfolding?” I asked her.

She shrugged.

I took my phone and sent a message to Brandon to get the plane here and ready as soon as possible. He would organize what we needed.

— Elaeya —

We did not linger in bed for long.

We had breakfast and I asked him to ask Mariqueen to return my clothes.

She came not long after with a package.

“Here are your clothes,” she told me as she gave them to me once we were in my room. “Here some more clothes.” She piled some on the bed.

I looked at her in confusion.

“Where you’re going, things will be expected of you. You can’t go there with just one outfit.” She gave me a small bag. “Take those clothes, and the one I lent you, and the cosmetics, the toothbrush, everything. I’m sure he can buy you anything you want but, in the meantime, you will have the basics. Make sure you look your best before you board that plane, because even if the flight may be long, and even if he might not ask anything out of you yet. The moment you will step out of that plane, you will have to do it like a Luna. First impressions matters, make it count. This is probably the best piece of advice I can ever tell you. Maybe you’re happy, or excited, or confused, or emotionally unprepared. Whatever you’re feeling, when you’re in public you’re a Luna, the rest comes after.

“There is no middle ground?” I asked her.

“No. And the bigger the pack, the more prevalent this is.

“How big is Blakemore?” I asked her.

She reeled from my question, clearly surprised.

She thought about it before answering me.

“If you would have come here to be Luna, you would have had a reception similar to becoming the mayoress of a small town. When you walk on Blakemore land, consider yourself the Queen of England.

I froze horrified.

“So it is big?” I dared asked.

“I haven’t seen bigger,” she said. “Or stronger, or more influential. They’re probably in the top ten or five richest on the planet too.

I’m pretty sure my eyes bulged at this.

He said he was ‘loaded’, but there is a difference between that and top ten world-wide.

“What did he tell you?” she asked me.

We sat on the bed, the clothes left untouched.

“He mostly explained to me what packs are, how they function, and what is the role of Alpha.

She looked strangely at me.

“I did not know any of this,” I explained. “Your land is the first packland I ever walked on.

“Then you’re gonna have a pretty steep learning curve. Get all the resources and knowledge you can. There are some etiquette classes, plenty of books on werewolf society and behaviours, I’m sure he can get you whatever you want. You might want to talk to his mother if she’s still around. Former Lunas are a great source of information. You can call me too, if you have questions.

“Thank you,” I said.

“I know it’s a lot, but you’ll get through it.

“The Queen of England?” I muttered in terror at her.

“Pretty much.

I shook my head, and she helped me pack everything.

We all took a quick bite late in the morning. Mariqueen and her husband joined us, then we went to the plane just before noon.

I got really uncomfortable about my passport situation, but Kaden told me it had been taken care of, that we were going from a private strip to another, and that he would take care of it once on Blakemore Territory.

In the plane, Kaden suggested taking a nap before things got hectic back home, and I agreed. I was not expecting a private bedroom in a plane though.

I got really uncomfortable at takeoff, and I found the engine deafening, but he gave me earplugs and wrapped me in his arm, and soon enough, the sensation of motion stopped bothering me, and I fell asleep.

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