Chapter 35 - The Implications of Any of This

— Elaeya —

I got up in the morning around the same time as Kaden and went for a run.

Ylva has spent her days with me nearly every day since she was assigned to be my bodyguard.

She was not the most talkative person, but I suppose I wasn’t either.

I had been used to train nearly every day of my life, so when Ylva suggested for us to start the day this way, it suited me fine, and we kept this habit almost every day since.

We would run most trails of the packhouse land, and sometimes go further out of that territory. I was getting acquainted myself with the land. We would go off-trail at least a few times a week to really challenge ourselves.

She was in great shape, and we kept up well with one another.

A few of Kaden’s sisters tried to join us, but they gave up after their first attempt—except for Eva and Darren. They were busy and would run with us only twice a week. Kaden, when he had time, would too, but he wasn’t able to keep a regular schedule and would often stop short to deal with something.

It felt good to run, and work my muscles. It allowed me to clear my head, and have some quiet time away from everybody.

Blakemore packhouse land was constantly busy, and since the challenge, the rumours about me had spread like wildfire. There would nearly always be someone around, greeting me, or trying to make themselves useful. I had the feeling a lot of this was to get a good peek at me, to satisfy their curiosity.

After our daily run, Ylva would take me to the dojo inside the packhouse next to the gym and show me the ways Blakemore warrior fought, their tactics and moves. It wasn’t too hard for me to keep up, but it was good to be acquainted with their techniques, know the way they operated, it was different from what I’d been used to.

Once this was done, I would take a shower, and start studying. I’ve gone through every books Mrs. Raynolds brought me. Anything from packs to more generic shifters anthropology, history, and hierarchy. I have asked to get some more Blakemore specifics too. Eva has brought me censuses and more documentation to be sure I would know what I needed to know.

Shae, Kaden’s mother would come in the afternoons to give me a few pointers and to teach me what she could.

I was feeling like I’d been swept by a tsunami. I had stopped fighting the inevitable. I still was not sure if Luna was really my place, but at least I would be prepared for whatever may come. I had been assured that it was not an obligation from my part, and not all ranked members had partners sharing their responsibilities, but I could not imagine spending my life here being pampered and do nothing of my days other than spend money that was not mine, and doing nothing else. Expecting to be cared for, and protected, and respected, without the slightest effort for my part.

The thought alone made me cringe.

I knew Kaden was trying really hard to come back home for dinner every day, but regardless, he would spend more time in his home office than he would like.

We would spend a few hours together, and he would join me to bed every night, but we never spent as much time together as we did the first few days after we met.

We were both trying hard to adapt.

Today’s run was different though. I kept feeling a tingling sensation on my neck and would rub at it subconsciously. I noticed Ylva doing the same too.

We had chosen to go off-trail this morning. The terrain was rough and our trek laborious. There was a pleasant burn that had settled in my legs, but I kept feeling like we were being observed.

I tried not to spend too much time rubbernecking around, but the feeling never decreased.

I know Ylva noticed my behaviours because before we had reached the midway of our run, she was spending a few extra seconds here and there sniffing the air, looking for any unusual scent.

She had been different since she returned from Greysky two days prior, but I could not figure out why, and she was clearly not willing to talk.

Today would have been a day which Eva and Darren would have joined us, but they were busy with the arrival of the Alpha of Boisclair, which was a friendly pack, or so I heard. The Alpha was here for a business venture and was lodging in the packhouse for the week.

I saw Ylva’s eyes widened at something in the distance as we ran out of the woods, but she turned away from it as if nothing had ever happened, grabbed my arm before I could turn around to see what made her react and pulled me away, faster than we had run until then.

I did not question her.

I did not know her well, but I knew enough about her to be aware that she was taking my protection seriously, and she was familiar with these lands much better than I.

We went back inside the woods, cutting the distance short between us and the packhouse. We did not go around the thicker brushes, but went through, and I was slapped a few times by stray branches that I could not evade.

Ylva was spooked. I did not know by what, but she did not call for reinforcements either. She slowed her pace as we approached packhouse land. She nodded casually to the sentries as if nothing ever happened and we walked to the building slowly.

I was tired, sweaty, and not sorry to have ended it earlier than planned.

I scratched at my arm and found blood. There was a one-inch red line on my skin probably caused by a stray branched than whipped me. I took a handkerchief from my pocket and wiped the blood clean. The skin was mostly healed already. Once I had made sure there was no blood left, I held the handkerchief in my hand and set it on fire with a muttered word. I left the ashes fall down three seconds later.

Ylva eyes were searching me. I have not shown obvious signs of magic to anyone here yet. But judging from her eyes, she knew exactly what I had done, that I had been hiding it until now, and that I had wiped very thoroughly and very obviously any blood that could have been found, or used.

I was not sure that letting such information out was a great idea, but I was searching her face too.

In the end, there were no uttered words between us as we came to a similar conclusion.

I nodded to her and she nodded back. What this non-verbal agreement meant was that I would not speak of how she acted in the woods as she was not ready to speak about it, and she would not speak of what I just did as I was not ready to speak about it either.

We both took a long inspiration and moved to Kaden’s house.

There were a few knocks on the bathroom door as I was taking my shower.

“Yes.” There were only two people in the house, Mrs. Raynolds and Ylva, and I was sure Ylva was cleaning up in the other guest bathroom, as she had left some of her clothes in that other bedrooms for after our morning training.

“Luna Devon has invited you for lunch at the packhouse, as the family is entertaining a guest,” Mrs. Raynolds told me through the door.

“Understood,” I said.

So I prepared hastily and moved to the pack house a little early.

The triplets, Jasmine, Lisa and Gwen were chatting merrily on the terrace. The trees had gained in colours in the last few days as autumn was on its ways. The yellows and oranges were slowly melting to reds as the leaves fell down, leaving some trees as if they were on fire when the sunlight reached the proper angle. The air was still comfortably warm, but the northern wind made us wear warmer clothes.

I loved the smell of the changes of seasons. Whenever we would go to a country where the climate was more constant throughout the year, I would always miss it.

I heard Eva talk animatedly to someone as she walked on the terrace.

The man with her was a few years younger. He had hair the colour or warm wheat, neatly styled, with a knitted cardigan and denim. The moment he laid his feet on the terrace he stopped dead, looking at the triplets with his eyes wide.

Jasmine froze mid sentence and turned dramatically to him.

He began fast-walking in her direction, but the pool was in the way and he had to circle it.

She did not bother, ran to him and knocked him off his feet and they both splashed inside the presumably cold waters.

Eva’s hands were on her mouth and she looked both surprised and excited.

Gwen and Lisa looked confused at the two still under the surface.

I had stopped before I would have come too close and be splattered with water.

Everyone walked closer to the edge as they were still not resurfacing.

“Are they drowning?” asked Lisa worried.

“What just happened?” asked Gwen.

Eva opened her mouth to answer but stopped as their head pierced the surface to reveal the two kissing furiously.

“Mates,” Eva said waving her hand at them.

Lisa gasped.

“Who is he?” Asked Gwen.

“Jean-Philippe Boisclair. The Alpha of the Boisclair pack.

Both girls gasped.

Eva’s brows furrowed.

Jasmine and Jean-Philippe were trying to rip each other’s clothes off, but were struggling as the wet fabric was clinging to their skin.

“This is enough!” said Eva loudly.

They both froze and turned to her, still in each other’s arms, their clothes askew, their wet hair a tangled mess.

“Your lips are blue,” Eva said. “Get out of the pool now.

Jean-Philippe blinked, somewhat confused, Jasmine looked like she wanted to defy her sister.

“You’re a minor, Jass. You think Mom and Dad will approve of this happening right in front of everyone.

“I’ll turn eighteen in a month,” Jasmine contested.

“And you think Kaden won’t be angry that his underage sister humiliated herself in front of the staff with a foreign guest?” Eva put her fist on her hips angrily. “Is this how you do business?” she asked at him. “Or how you’re going to conduct yourself?” she turned to her sister. “He’s an Alpha. You think he’ll want, or need a Luna that can’t even behave herself?

Jasmine faced paled at the realisation of who he was. Her teeth were now clacking together.

Jean-Philipped swam to the side of the pool and pulled himself up. He extended his hand to her, and she swam in his direction to take it and pull out.

“Change,” Eva ordered them. “Now. We eat in thirty minutes, you’re going to be at the table, clean, dry, and you’re going to behave yourself.

“Since when are you ordering me around?” muttered Jasmine deflated.

“Since now. You said it yourself, you’re nearly eighteen. Does it still have to be your brother who makes you behave? Haven’t you realized he has more than enough on his plate? He can barely spend time with his mate.” She waved a hand at me. “Do you see her behave like you just did? Questioning everything and everyone? Jean-Philippe is not from this pack Jasmine, and he has rank. You haven’t even stopped to consider the implication of any of this and you’re angry that I stopped you from humping in the pool? You think that’s what you want to teach Amy?” she said waving her hand as their youngest sister walked in on the scene. “A mate turns everything upside down, but it doesn’t mean you can’t act civilised. You’re a Devon, act like it.

“What did I just miss?” asked Darren as he walked in on the situation.

Jasmine’s head was down, ashamed and she turned to her parent’s house to change.

Jean-Philipped looked like he had landed in the middle of a hurricane, and decided to go and change was probably a better idea.

“Gamma-power activate,” said Gwen at her oldest sister in jest. The other two started laughing.

Eva shook her head and went back in.

Darren looked around confused but decided to follow after Eva.

“Well, this will complicate things,” muttered Ylva next to me.

“I guess it will,” I replied, and we walked with the others, stepping on the wet stones on our way in.

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