Primordial

Chapter Twenty-One

Kida's POV

A flood of questions and long forgotten emotions cascaded through my body the moment my hands touched the skin of my blood. It was comforting, a homey feeling that I didn't know I had been missing until I found it once again drowning my senses. I breathed in their scents deeply, rosewood and cinnamon floating around me like a shield to the world. I had my nose pressed into Asa's collarbone and Mila's head pressed into the crook of my shoulder. Asa was so tall, which was a shock for me seeing as last I knew him he was just a baby. I pulled myself back to see their faces fully. This close, I could see the freckles splashed across Mila's nose, and the dimples proudly displayed on Asa's cheeks as he grinned at me. Mila's steel blue eyes were exactly as I remembered them, a perfect mixture of Mahtim's and Papak's. My heart soared at he thought of my parents. If my siblings were alive, then were they as well? Asa's deep blue eyes scanned over my face, and as if in a trance he lifted his hand to stroke my hair. "I've searched for you for so long," he whispered, his voice cracking as a tear slid from his eye. "You're really here."

"How did you find us?" I breathed, leaning into their heat. The snow had completely soaked through the knees of my jeans and my thin shirt, sending cold shivers running up my skin. I couldn't force myself to care at that moment.

"We couldn't for a very long time," Mila sobbed, her hands clutching my arms as if she were afraid to let go that I might disappear before her eyes. "We searched for years, ever since that day in the lavender fields. I'm so sorry, Kida. I should've watched you better, should've fought those men harder. It's all my fault." I shook my head, pulling my arms tighter around her.

"It's not your fault. We were kids, Mila. There was nothing you could've done," I assured, but she just trembled against me. At my side, Asa's eyes snapped up to look behind me, and familiar tingles spread across my shoulder as Grayson gently laid a hand on me. Mila's head lifted, and she growled in warning. I met his soft eyes and pulled myself off the ground. Grayson instinctively wrapped me up in his arms, spreading the warmth across my body while sending a purposeful look at my brother and sister. "Mila, Asa, this is my mate and Alpha to this pack, Grayson Fletcher. Grayson, these are my siblings." Grayson smiled at them, and as they stood, Mila covered her lips with her shaking hands.

"You've met your mate?" she asked, and I nodded proudly, staring up at Grayson and allowing all my love and adoration for him to be seen. "And you're a Luno? By Goddess, Kida!" she exclaimed, laughing as she scrubbed her eyes with her hands to eliminate any remaining tears.

"Please, let's go back to the Pack House where we can get warmer and discuss things further," Grayson suggested, and I thoroughly agreed. The cold had been seeping its way into my bones, and all I wanted in that moment was to curl up by a fire with my mate and my siblings and spend time with the people I cared for the most. I held out my hand to Mila, and she took it with a smile. As we walked back, a whirlwind of questions spiraled through my brain. How did they find me? Were my parents alive? Did they know what happened to me? My heart sunk as I realized that they were probably completely in the dark to my situation. A part of me was happy that they hadn't seen me suffer, but another part felt powerless in that even my own people couldn't help me. As we stepped across the threshold of the pack house, seven sets of Alpha eyes turned to face me. My cheeks warmed when I remembered how I had just run off like a mad man into the woods and abandoned our war council. Yet another thing I'd have to upload my siblings on. Grayson took a step forward, assuming full control of the situation. "Members of the Board, I ask that we take a short break in our preparations and reconvene in a few hours. You all have traveled great distances, and deserve some time to rest and refuel. I've arranged rooms for all of you here in the pack house, if you'll follow my sister Claire she will show each of you to your rooms," Grayson commanded, met with even nods from all the Alphas. Mila and Asa hovered by the wall in silence, analyzing each of them as they passed by. Once the last Alpha had disappeared up the steps, Grayson beckoned us all into the kitchen. "Can I offer you guys anything to eat or drink, maybe? I'm sure you've come a long way," Grayson called.