Two Red Strings

Chapter 1

The three girls came out of the truck to explore the environment. Magnolia was quick to enter the clearing. "Magnolia!" Angelina called out and followed the girl. Camellia unwillingly followed. She looked up and saw an old faded sign, reading 'Autumn's Grace'.

It was almost a ten minutes trek, arriving at a large empty area, large enough for a town to inhabit. There were still some houses, desolate and breaking, giving off an eerie vibe from each of the houses as Magnolia headed straight for one of them. It was relatively smaller than the rest, but it could fit a family of 4, without much possessions.

The girl entered the house, or rather walked right through the empty and ruined house. Angelina and Camellia followed her in. They walked out to the backyard where they saw Magnolia on a sturdy tree branch. "This was the village I grew up in until I was 7." She answered their unspoken question.

"But I want to show you something else." She hopped down from the branch and hurried over to them. "C'mon!" She giggled and led them over the fence and out into the open wilderness. Camellia could feel the uneasy stares on her back and turned around. She didn't see anyone, but the glowing orbs of wolves.

The brunette stopped in her tracks, staring at them. They were an ash grey labrador wolf and a bark brown cascade mountain wolf. "Run," Camellia ordered as she grabbed Magnolia's and Angelina's wrists, sprinting off. The wolves followed after them. "I thought wolves don't come this close to civilization?" Angelina questioned.

"This was formerly civilization until almost a decade back!" Magnolia answered, sprinting. 'Maggy! Why are we running?' She heard a voice. 'Yeah? I thought we meet and head back to the house, but it didn't mean run!' Another added. 'Just tag along!' Magnolia pulled her best friends along.

Knowing her friends, they didn't managed far. Or at least for Angelina. The brunette was ahead of them by a few feet. The wolves were missing, so they trekked on briskly with caution. Eventually, they saw a large house. "Wow. I didn't know someone lived in the woods." Camellia commented, almost out of breath as they ran over. "This is what I want to show you guys!" Magnolia chirped as she slowed down to to front door.

Behind them, Angelina saw a tall girl with ash grey hair and a slightly shorter boy with bark brown hair. "Angey, Camey, these are my pack partners, Ashe and Marcell." Magnolia introduced Ashe and Marcell pointed them out. "Pack partners?" Camellia repeated. "What a morning run!" Marcell exclaimed as he collapsed onto his knees.

"Weak," Ashe mumbled as she adjusted her sweat jacket. "Mag, what is this place? It's too big to be a hideout." Angelina commented. "That's the Luna's childhood home." Ashe explained as Magnolia nodded, opening the door. "I'm back!" She called out.

"Magnolia?" They heard an older voice as a snow white haired man walked down the stairs. He was tall, wore a plain white shirt and black pants. And he looked like an older male version of Magnolia. "Papa!" Magnolia cried, throwing her hands up like a small child. "I see you have... friends." He seemed hesitant to say something.

"I'm Angelina Red-Kingdom, and this is Camellia Stargazer Kingdom." Angelina gestured to herself before Camellia. "Bonjour." Camellia barely lifted her hand. "Nice to meet you." She greeted. The head of the household nodded. "Have a seat." He gestured to the soft sofas.

Looking at the interior, Camellia guessed that it must've been a lot of money spent to build this. There a lot of house items, despite the fact that it was in the middle of the woods. "I see that you've become fond friends of Magnolia." He muttered. "I'm Jëager." He smiled, holding his hand out to the guests. Angelina firmly shook it while Camellia, just being herself, shook it lazily yet with a firm grip.

"Magnolia has told me about your little 'group' where nothing leaves the conversation, is that true?" Jëager asked. Angelina nodded. "Then I'm sure that I would not need told have a commotion when I tell you this family's secret." He added.

Magnolia threw herself in between her best friends. "We're wolf-shifters!" She revealed. "Quelle?" Camellia gave her a what the fuck face. Jëager sighed and began to explain. "We can shift between the forms of a wolf and a human whenever we want. It's probably similar to what myths would say 'werewolves'." Magnolia wrapped her arms around her friends and pulled them in.

"Who want to see me shift?" She asked. "We had enough of wolves for the morning, Wolfy." Camellia grumbled. Then there was knocking on the door. "Who else would be out here in the woods?" Jëager asked. Drawing out a rifle, Ashe cautiously approached the door. Magnolia pakour over the couch and ran over to the door, throwing it open once more. "Tavi!" She grinned from ear to ear. Everyone saw a shivering Gérard outside the house.

He enthusiastically waved to the pack before sneezing, since he was not wearing a muffler or any sort. The other residence (possibly pack members) took up fighting stances. "Your scent would be familiar." Jëager noted. "If it weren't for the snow." Magnolia led Gérard in as everyone present at the moment avoided him. "You should know my sister, Cornelia. She was here about 2 decades ago." Gérard explained. Marcell threw a hot towel at Gérard.

The vampire smiled in response before he started to warm himself. Jëager rubbed his chin. "Yes... I do remember that vampire. My father saved her from our rivaling pack that day." He mumbled, getting up from his seat. Then, Jëager went upstairs, yawning as he tread up the stairs. "Papa must be tired from last night's work." Magnolia smiled.

Gérard walked over and stood beside Angelina. "Why didn't you tell us about this sooner?" Camellia grabbed Magnolia's shoulders and shook her back and forth. "I wouldn't really do this if I were you..." She muttered, grabbing Camellia's shoulder to stop from being shaken further. Angelina turned to look at Ashe and Marcell, whom both were displeased by Camellia's (unruly) (mis)behavior. Still, Camellia wouldn't let go. "Okay! Let me explain!" Magnolia cried, letting go of Camellia's shoulders.

Camellia finally released the snow-haired girl. "I'm sorry! Okay? I felt scared that you might not understand." Magnolia said. "Magnolia," Angelina patted her shoulder. "Camellia and I have lived with a vampire for (almost) half a year. Of course we would understand." Angelina assured. "Well that's nice to hear." Gérard commented. "It's just that..." Magnolia started. "I thought no one liked wolf-shifters.."