"Do you actually know how to bake?" Kai asked from over my shoulder as I tried to pick out egg shells from my bowl.
"Less talking, more helping," I jabbed him in the rib.
Groaning, he backed away from me, "One, ouch that hurt. Two, I've been commanded to keep you safe not helping you in lighting the castle on fire."
"Fire? What fire?" I laughed uneasily, cross-eyeing the bowl of chocolate I tried melting earlier.
One minute it was melting perfectly, then the chocolate seized and then there was smoke which was caused by a small fire.
"You almost burnt my t-shirt," He pointed to the singed end of his shirt which was a result of him getting close to extinguish the blaze.
"Then you shouldn't have gotten that close," I flipped my hair over my shoulder before painstakingly pulling out the shells.
I can cook just fine, but when it came to baking, my lack of luck followed me. Forget homemade cake, I couldn't even bake a cake mix without it becoming too dense.
Kai sighed as he grabbed an apron and pulled out some chocolate from the refrigerator. I grinned as he gave me a glare from across the kitchen.
"You do realise he could bake a better chocolate cake than anyone in this castle, right?"
I nodded, "How long has it been since anyone baked him one?"
Kai gave it a thought before answering with, "I guess the last time was his mother."
"I know it won't be as good, as it may be inedible-"
"Any crunchy from all those egg shells," He added with a wide grin.
"Hey!" I detested. "Crunchy or not, I want to do this for him. It's...it's my way of saying many things with no words at all."
His eyebrows drew together in confusion, "As in?"
"Thank you?"
"Why would you need to thank him?"
"For giving me the best time at the end of my life," I replied.
"Tate-"
"If you say I'm not going to die then I'll burn your hair next," I countered and he frowned at me. "We haven't received the blood yet and who knows how long it'll take. Every day I get weaker, less me."
"You and I both know he'll turn the world upside down before he let something happen to you."
"That's why I need your help," I said seriously.
"I need to retire," He sighed, placed his hands on the counter before straightening his spine and nodding. "Lay it on me."
"If...no, when, something happens to me, I need you to remind him to stay in control. Help him in remaining focus and protecting Tourmaline. Would you do that for me?"
With a sad smile, he nodded, "You have my word, Luna."
"Great," I let out a breath of relief, "your next task is helping me ensure this cake at least appears delicious."
He snorted as he lifted the bowl of chocolate off the double boiler.
Just as he was about to set it down, it drops to the floor and shatters to pieces. Kai clutched the right side of his abdomen as he fell to his knees.
"Kai!" I screamed as I run to his side.
His face was contorted in pain as he gasped for a breath.
"Matt," He struggled to mutter between his clenched teeth. "Matt's hurt."
Kai placed his hand on the ground to push himself to his feet, cutting his palm on a broken piece of glass as he went. He stumbled as he kept a grip on his side and hurried out the door.
Rushing behind him, I followed as he pushed his way through the castle to the door that led to the backyard.
As he broke into the sunlight, Aiden and Rick were carrying a bloodied Matt up the steps from the beach.
"What the fuck happened?!" Kai yelled as he rushed to the side of Matt.
His mate was unconscious, a wooden dagger protruding from his abdomen.
"Let's get him inside first," Aiden said lowly.
Kai looked about to kill someone, but he relented as they hurriedly got Matt to the infirmary.
Standing outside the door, I was joined by Calypso and other wolves as we listened to Dr. Nazra dolling out instructions to save Matt.
Aiden and Rick exited the room, both covered in the deep red of their pack member's blood.
"How's Matt?" I asked anxiously, the image of both him and Kai flashing in my mind.
"Dr. Nazra's working on him, the stake just missed his lung," Aiden said.
"And you? Are you okay?" I grabbed is shoulders and turned him around to ensure he wasn't wounded.
"I'm fine," He assured me before anger flamed in his eyes. "It was a vampire."
Everyone drew in a shaky breath as I asked, "In daylight?"
"No. This one was hiding in the boat we have in shed down on the beach. We don't know how it got past border patrol, but it climbed out and attacked Matt in the dark room. I don't know how long he was in there but he was still strong, used Matt's wooden dagger and stabbed him. The only reason he was in there was to do the weekly cheek to ensure no one stole our boats."
"Is it dead?" I felt my anger surging forward.
"Not yet, we have the shed surrounded from the outside. I have to go back and take care of it," He said lifting his hands to brush back my hair but stopping short as they were smeared with blood.
"Go, I'll take care of things here," I assured him.
"Tourmaline?" He asked with worry.
"She's in the pool with the mermaids, safe."
With a nod, he and Rick rushed back to the beach.
"I'll go keep an eye on Tourmaline," Calypso said and I thanked her.
Calling the remaining wolves forward, I began delegating tasks.
"I need someone to go the control room and review all the footage from the past week to see how and when the vampire got here. I need another to go Kai and Matt's room and prepare for Matt to be transferred once Dr. Nazra approves it. I'm sure he'd want to be comfortable as he recovers."
As they left, I spotted two faces I knew I could trust.
"Loly and Paul, stay behind. The rest of you are free to go," I smiled gently at the two wolves who accompanied me on my trip from my old pack to the coast.
"Luna," Loly greeted with a bow. Paul was still hesitant of trusting me, which I appreciated since it meant he truly cared for Aiden and the Pack's wellbeing.
"Here's what I need you two to do," I lowered my voice as I stepped closer to them and outlined exactly what I needed them to do.
They were both surprised by my request, but they agreed nonetheless. I could sense a million questions from them, but I promised it will all make sense in good time.
"And not a word of this to anyone else," I enunciated.
They bowed and left to their tasks.
Kai stepped out of the room, his eyes bloodshot and his shirt scarlet red with dried blood. He seemed lost and confused, unsteady on his feet.
I wrapped an arm around him and guided him to the bench that was outside the door before going into the infirmary.
The rusty scent of blood knocked into my senses as I entered the blinding white room. I could hear Dr. Nazra and two other wolves behind a curtain working on Matt.
With a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess, I grabbed a tweezer, a bowl of clean water and some gauze.
"He's- he's going to be alright," Kai stammered, on the brink of tears, as I stepped out of the room.
Relief filled me as I took the seat next to him and grabbed his wounded hand. The skin was already trying to grow back and if I didn't remove the shards of glass now, he'd have to reopen the wound later.
"I should go down to the beach," He tried to pull his hand away but I kept a firm grip and I began pulling out the pieces.
He winced as I shook my head, "No. Aiden's got it covered and you should stay here with your mate."
I could tell he was struggling with his need for revenge and need to stay with his mate. In the end, he nodded and stayed put, allowing me to clean his wound.
"There was so much blood... he- he could have died, Tate," He expressed, his voice filled with fear.
"But he didn't," I reminded him. "He's safe and that's what's important right now."
"I should have been there, I should have been protecting him."
"How would you have known?"
He held no answer, frustration, desperation and anger lining his face.
Silence unfolded over us and he kept his head bowed as I offered any amount of comfort that I could. The thoughts of when next something of this magnitude would happen and whose blood will line the floors of the castle.
This had to end. It wasn't simply the matter of protecting the mermaids anymore, it was freeing everyone from living a caged life.
Kai will live with this memory haunting him every moment he's away from Matt, Calypso and Rick would always fear the thought of conceiving a child with the possibility of a war on the horizon and Aiden would overwork himself every day to ensure nothing touches Tourmaline or his pack.
And everyone will die trying, not knowing if it meant anything at all in the end.
Rushed footsteps padded its way to us from around the hallway, startling both Kai and I. Bracing myself for the worst, I gripped Kai's arm as the person rounded the corner.
Dylan's cherry face had me breathing a sigh of relief as he rushed over to us. His joyful expression took me off guard as he waved an embellished piece of paper at me.
I felt Kai's muscles tense under my grip and the onslaught of anger that rolled off of him was almost tangible. My eyes cut to him for a split second, only to see dark pupils filled with unadulterated rage that's been boiling for too long.
Squeezing his arm, I got to my feet and blocked his sight from Dylan as I greeted the Gamma.
"Tate, I've been looking everywhere for you!" He said with excitement as he passed me the paper.
The piece of cardstock was embossed with gold lettering that read 'birthday invitation'. Turning it over, I realised that Dylan's birthday was two weeks away and we're apparently hosting a formal ball. Dress code: evening wear and theme: vie et mort.
"I didn't know it was your birthday so soon," I said with a small smile. "What does vie et mort mean?"
"Life or death, seems fitting for a birthday party, doesn't it?" He seemed proud of himself and I rolled my eyes at the irony of the theme.
Kai snorted behind as he rose to his feet, "Every day the pack lives with the fear of death and you have the audacity to not only throw a party while our Luna is sick, but also give it such a gruesome theme?"
Chuckling, Dylan shrugged in return, "If you're afraid of a few blood suckers and the possibility of having some actual fun then I guess it's much better that I'm the Gamma now."
"You little-"
"Not to mention the fact that you couldn't even keep your own mate safe," Dylan tsked as he looked at the doors of the infirmary.
Kai was on Dylan before I could intervene, slamming him into the wall, causing all the invitations to go flying around me. He strangled Dylan as his fists turned white before the Gamma landed a punch on his left cheek.
Stumbling back, Kai wiped the blood off lip before looking at Dylan with a murderous gaze. The Gamma shot his arm out to punch Kai, but he dodged before grabbing Dylan's arm under his left armpit and slamming his elbow into his nose.
Blood gushed out as Kai shoved Dylan into the wall again. Cursing, Dylan charged at Kai once again, only for Kai to grab his right arm and bend it over one of his elbow. Kai used his other hand to pull on Dylan's bent arm until I heard a sickening snap.
"Kai!" I yelled, but he didn't listen as Dylan dropped to the floor, expletives leaving his lips.
Using this to his advantage, Kai dropped over Dylan, pressing his knees to each of Dylan's arms, before sending punch after punch at his face.
Droplets of blood began splattering the floor as I marched to the men and grabbed Kai's wrist.
"Enough," I commanded.
I lacked the real command of Luna as I haven't been initiated into the pack yet, but Kai immediately stopped at my words, heeding the authority of my voice. His shoulders were trembling with bottled up rage that hadn't been spent yet.
Getting to his feet, he stalked over to the bench and sat down, wiping his bloodied fist on his t-shirt.
"I want him out of here!" Dylan raged as he struggled to get to his feet. Lending him a hand, I assessed the damage that Kai wreaked on his face. A split lip, a broken nose, a deep gash across his left cheek, a cut on his brow and a broken arm. "He and that mate of his!"
Kai's eyes snapped back to Dylan but I shook my head at him.
"That's not going to happen," I informed him and Dylan seemed confused so I enlightened him. "Matt was just attacked and given your history with Kai, he decided to take out his frustration on you."
Dylan's eyes went to Kai behind me and a questioning gaze flickered over his eyes. Whatever answer Kai gave him, caused him to relax a fraction before his outrage flamed again.
"That's not an excuse for attacking his Gamma," Dylan finally said.
"No, but neither is it an excuse to kick him out of the pack," I made clear. "Go find someone to help you clean your wounds and straighten your arm so it can heal properly, Aiden and I will discuss Kai's punishment."
"I should be the done to dole that out, he broke my arm after all."
"And he'll be dealt with accordingly," I repeated and I could see the need to fight against me on his face.
"Fine," He relented. "But I'm waiting on the verdict."
Finally, he limped away, walking all over his fancy invitations.
Turning to Kai, he winced when he saw my anger.
"We need to talk," I growled as I led the way to the library. He swore quietly, but nevertheless followed behind me.
A sharp pain shot through my chest as I pushed the door to the library open. Biting the pain back, I pinched the bridge of my nose as I held back the tear that threatened to escape my eyes.
"I shouldn't have done that," Kai said solemnly.
I kept my back to him as I bit out, "You think? Attacking the Gamma has serious consequences."
"Maybe if he wasn't so full of himself all the time, I wouldn't have felt the need to punch him."
Chuckling without humour, I leaned my weight against Aiden's desk before facing him, "Punching him was one thing, but you broke his arm."
He nodded, eyeing me carefully, "I'll accept whatever punishment you lay out."
Sighing, I shook my head, "First, you're going to tell Aiden that I've increased your patrol duties, starting from tonight and you're to train the early morning rounds."
He seemed pained by that, but lowered his head and nodded anyways, "Yes, Luna."
"Kai?" I called his attention and he looked up. "I'm kidding."
Bewildered he looked around the room as if searching for someone else who must have spoken the words.
"You're what?"
"Kidding," I repeated. "I don't expect you to leave Matt's side so soon."
"Thank you," He said sincerely, his demeanour relaxing.
"But if anyone asks, that's the tasks you were given."
"Understood."
"However, your real punishment is finally telling me why you and Dylan are always butting head."
Fear sparked in his eyes, "We don't-"
I raised my hand to cut him off, "I just watched you broke his arm without much difficulty, if you expect me to believe you lost your title to him in a fight, then you better have an excellent excuse."
"It's been five years and no one questioned it," He chuckled darkly.
"Everyone must be used to the contempt between you two, but I could see it's much more. Tell me what happened."
The doors to the library were slammed open as Aiden entered with wild eyes.
"The three of us need to talk," He announced before closing and locking the doors.
"Is everything okay?" I asked with concern.
He nodded and then shook his head as he approached Kai and I. Noting his pack member's busted lip he pointed and asked, "What happened to your face?"
"Dylan and Kai decided to have a little fight, I already gave him his punishment," I said, telling Kai with my eyes that this discussion wasn't over.
He gulped but discreetly nodded.
"You'll explain later," Aiden waved us off before going to his desk and turning on his laptop. "There's something you both need to know, and it is to never leave this room."
Kai and I looked at him intently, the anxiety in his eyes making me even more worried.
"The vampire that paid us a visit today had a lot to say," He clicked through his computer as he explained. "It appears he's been hiding out here sometime between our last check into the shed and now, waiting to attack and deliver a message."
"What message?" Kai said between clenched teeth, the anger of not getting to kill the vampire himself showing.
"First, he said they'll be paying us a little visit soon."
"Aiden-"
"That won't happen," My mate stopped me as he grabbed my hand. "I already informed the pack and we have a meeting tonight to increase the security of the castle. They'll never get in here."
I squeezed his hand, knowing that if anyone were to keep us safe, it would be Aiden Oaks.
"Then what's so secret?" I asked.
He eyed the door and listened to ensure no one was nearby as he waved us closer to him.
"The damn bloodsucker let something slip. He said the boss will here for Esprit d'eau douce," He slammed his fist into the desk as he said the words.
"What does it mean?" I pressed.
"Freshwater spirit," He translated. "At first, I thought he meant Tourmaline and the other mermaids, but the name sounded familiar."
"The book..." Kai said as Aiden turned his computer screen to us.
The screen showed an illustrated image of an old text, the title being 'Esprit d'eau douce', the cover was a deep rich blue with a depiction of a woman with a crown on her head. Except where her legs should be, two mermaid tails extended and curved around her elbows.
"What is that?" I asked.
"In French, they call them Mélusine. A woman who turns into a serpent from the waist down, they call it a spirit of freshwater in Europe. Others may refer to it as a mermaid or siren with twin tails," Aiden explained. "We haven't been able to find much on them, the mermaids here all but call them a myth. But, from what we have figured out, they're said to be the oldest sea creatures, giving birth to both mermaids and sirens. That was until they all went extinct, along with this text."
"We thought it didn't exist," Kai said exasperated. "Does it exist?"
Aiden sat down, "We've searched everywhere for it, and this is the only image we could find. An old drawing that was found centuries ago stuffed in a bottle that was recovered from a sea wreak. I thought the book was fake, that the Mélusine were just another useless piece of information, but if the vampires are looking for it..."
"Then it must be real," I deduced before turning my eyes away from the screen and towards my mate. "The vampire we met in the human town, he was French."
Nodding Aiden rubbed his jaw, contemplative, "He must be the head of the coven. It explains how he knows about the book. What worries me is his age."
"If he's as old as time, he could have existed alongside the Mélusine," Kai sighed.
"Exactly, which is why we need to find this book before he figures out we don't have it."
"We've looked everywhere."
Aiden shook his head, "We haven't looked in France."
"I have. I emailed every book store, library and vintage shops around France. I also paid hefty sums to black market dealers to get me information," Kai said.
"Ahh, but it won't just be sitting around with a price tag," Aiden said decidedly. "If this book has information on the blood of mermaids, then there's a lot more it must hold. Which means it's been hidden."
"And how do expect we find a book that's essentially not real in a foreign country?" I side eyed him.
Aiden smirked at me, "Tell me Kai, what punishment did my girl give you for fighting with Dylan?"
"Extra training and patrol hours," He answered.
"That's harsh, Cupcake," Aiden frowned at me.
I shrugged, "He broke Dylan's arm."
Aiden was surprised by this news as he sat up, "You what? Are you out of your mind?"
Kai bent his head, "I'm sorry, Alpha. I'll accept any punishment you give me."
My mate sighed heavily as he got to his feet, "How about I send you to France?"
A/N
If any of those French words are wrong, then I fully blame google translate 👀
Song: The Neighbourhood - The Beach
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