Standing outside with Mavis and the rest, we were just having some fingerfood as we watched the night's festivities die down.
There were even a couple of children lighting some firecrackers in the sand pit.
That was something nice to look at.
Darryl, who had already gotten fond of Mara, his supposed 'replacement' as he put it, was busy telling her a story about Ryan which, judging by the redness in his cheeks, was an embarrassing one. Mara just laughed while stealing glances at Ryan who was staring at this brother, probably willing him to evaporate.
I glanced at Ryan again, hmm, more like disintegrate.
I'm pretty sure I'd heard the story before since that was Darryl's favorite pass time, embarrassing his brother, and I caught a couple of snippets of the story here and there, but right now I was a little more focused on the conversation Mavis was having with Aliyah and Raven.
"Oh, so you're from Ohio?" Raven asked looking at Aliyah.
"No, not really, we lived there for a while, but we're originally from Carlifornia."
"Why'd you leave?" Mavis asked taking a sip of her drink before placing it back down on the table.
Taking a mini kebab from the tray, I continued listening on in silence.
I was engaged in the conversation mostly, but I was also still on some sort of high from everything that had happened earlier.
Damon and Latifah had gone with Sorayah to go and see Evelyn.
I wanted to go with them, but they insisted that at least one of us should stay here.
So all the while I was standing here, my mind was also back at Evelyn's hut, wondering what was going on and if she was okay.
I noticed Mara's attention shift from Darryl to her sister as she spoke, and now we were all just listening to her.
"Our pack, kinda uhm,..." she fumbled for words, "fell apart, and we couldn't stay anymore so we left, we've lived in many places since then." She shrugged off.
"Our pack which just consisted of our dad and us." Mara added.
"You haven't been in a real pack before?" Raven asked looking between Mara and Aliyah.
"Apart from our pack of three, no, we haven't really settled anywhere since we left Carlifornia, it's a long story."
"What about your dad?" I asked her.
For a moment she seemed to zone out, far away all of a sudden, "An even longer story." She said and smiled taking a last drink from her cup.
The look on Ryan's face as he watched them made me think he already knew part, if not all, of this long story.
"So it's been just the two of you? Travelling all around?" Raven asked, her eyes bright like she was imagining a life like that. "That must be awesome, I haven't left this place since I was born." She pouted.
"Well, I wouldn't say awesome," Aliyah laughed. "But it was cool."
"Yeah, especially Italy, that was my favorite."
"You guys went to Italy?" Darryl asked.
"Yeah, we stayed in Europe for quite a while before returning, so we had the chance to see a couple of places."
"I wish you could take me with you. I'm tired of only travelling in my head." That was Raven again, this statement made us laugh.
"Tell me about it." Mavis muttered still laughing.
"Well, I guess we've had our fair share share of travels to last for a lifetime, but we're done now." Mara said.
But the way she said it with the look she gave her sister made me think it was more like a question, or maybe even a plea.
Aliyah only breathed out a small breath of a laugh and just shrugged it off.
"I need to find the ladies room." Aliyah excused herself, nodding Alpha at me before turning around to leave.
"I'll show you." Mara quickly added and then went after her sister. Probably off to have a private conversation.
"Do you think they were running away from someone?" Mavis asked me as soon as they'd walked out of sight.
"What?"
"All that travelling stuff, and the pack falling apart thing, it's just giving me serious run away vibes."
"Really Mavis?" I asked her, her hyperactive mind obviously trying to connect too many dots. "They haven't been gone thirty seconds and you're already conjuring up conspiracy theories." I breathed out a laugh.
"Yeah, it's not too farfetched now, is it?" Turning slowly she faced Ryan, "Is it?"
Ryan smiled and plopped some kebab into his mouth and shrugged.
He knows, I know he knows, but it wasn't in his place to tell, and even though I was curious now that Mavis had brought it up, I respected that.
At that moment, I felt my wolf who'd been stirring up all along finally wake up.
You're awake!
About time too.
Taking a step back from the table I started talking to her.
What happened to you? Are you okay?
I have no idea, all I know is that something was making us sick. Me more so than you apparently.
Woah.
I felt like I was falling in and out of a coma, but just now, something happened, and whatever it is just shocked me back to consciousness.
Just now?
Maybe it was the Alpha ceremony we just held? Or maybe what the healer did to me? I'm not sure.
Right now, the moonstone you're wearing is making me feel stronger than ever.
Needless to say, but knowing you, I've got to say it anyway, don't take it off.
I won't, I won't.
I don't get it though. How were you getting sick? Oh no, it was the dark magic wasn't it, its like we caught something the day we were in the woods and we saw the ritual.
I don't know, but whatever magic parasite that was attached to us was sucking the life out of us and severely messing with your mind. I was pushed so far back into your conscious I'm even surprised that you could feel I was there and knocked out and not just completely, gone.
Maybe you've been ingesting something, maybe sniffing it or hell, maybe even injecting it into your blood stream. Whatever it is though, Adriane, You've. Got. To. Stop.
Oh goodness, that's why you've been knocked out all this while, it was like you were being sedated?
More like slowly poisoned. At least that's what it felt like.
I shuddered.
It didn't feel like I was dying, it felt more like I was just fading.
And suddenly you couldn't hear me anymore when I spoke to you.
I kept yelling at you to Stop.
I could always hear her muttering something incoherent to me, but it was far from a shout.
But an obvious cry for help. She called out to me.
Of course she did, and I was just too stupid to realise it.
I knew something had been off and yet I couldn't really do anything.
In fact, now that my head had cleared, for the past few weeks, certain moments seem like some sort of dream I was merely experiencing and not actually controlling.
I'm so sorry for not doing something about it earlier.
There was a little pause.
It's not your fault. Well, at least not entirely. Let's just say you've got a lot of kissing up to do.
"Hey, don't worry about me, I'll be alright by myself, I'm a big girl. And I'll come visit you." My ears suddenly caught on to a conversation I wasn't a part of and my head snapped in their direction.
Once I'd started talking to my wolf, I excused myself and started walking around a bit, watching the remnants of the celebration, and generally acting like I was on a phone call, just doing random stuff.
Even helped clear some tables and pack the overhead lights.
I'd eventually walked up to where the sisters were although they hadn't seen me yet. I was a bit obscured by the side of the great hall wall.
It looked like Mara was trying to hold in her tears.
Eavesdropping... Real classy.
Oh shut u-
Hm. You know what, insult me all you want. I've missed you.
I decided to turn around and head back towards my friends, that's if they were still there, and get ready to call it a night. I was beginning to feel tired and I still had plans to join Damon at Evelyn's place to see what's going on with her and the healer.
I turned around just in time to see Damon approach me, the glint of his glowing moonstone the first thing my eyes caught. And Marcus trailing behind him.
"You're already back from Evelyn's place? How did it go?"
Shaking his head he spoke, "I couldn't stay to watch the process, Sorayah said she needed time and privacy. All she told me was that Evelyn did seem to be bound by some certain type of magic." He said rubbing his jaw.
She is a healer, although I don't know many healers, I'm guessing she's got to be a very powerful one based on how she nearly fried my brain back there.
She helped me, she should be able to help Evelyn too right?
Right?
"Will she be able to help her?"
He shrugged. "I hope so."
In that moment, we both noticed the weird expression on Marcus' face before he walked off.
Marcus mostly has a serious look on his face, but now he just looked like a stunned person. Out of nowhere.
And he left without saying a word, which is completely fine by me, but Marcus, as formal as he is, never leaves Damon's side without acknowledging him first.
He stepped right behind me and I wanted to call out to him to ask what was wrong but Damon just stopped me. "Wait." He'd whispered at me as his eyes followed Marcus with keen interest.
I was also very interested in where he was going now. And judging by the look on Damon's face, he seemed to have an inkling as to where Marcus was going, he had a semi-knowing look on his face.
"What's going on?" I asked him, as we slowly followed Marcus, lingering far behind.
"Just wait." He told me again. I frowned at him but waited anyway.
There were still a number of people around, some still eating, drinking and some starting to pack things away, but it became quite obvious who Marcus was walking up to.
Mara and Aliyah.
They were still engaged in their private chat which slowly faded out when Marcus stepped up to them.
Did he know them?
I looked up at Damon, his eyes were still fixed on Marcus, watching their exchange.
"Beta Marcus." Mara acknowledged with a slight bow of her head.
Aliyah nodded slightly at him too and then turned back to her sister, wanting to continue her conversation apparently.
But Marcus still stood there.
Looking stunned and staring at them.
And then I recognised that look.
He wasn't staring at them, he was staring at her.
His look was almost akin to James', the first day he saw Mavis.
Some sort of childlike amazement, like what you're staring at isn't real, almost too good to believe it.
I probably had that look on my face the first day I saw a four foot chocolate fountain on a family cruise we went on.
It was a surreal sight to my seven year old mind.
That's what Marcus looked like.
There was no way of knowing what was going on in his head, and if my theory was even true, but his look spoke volumes.
He couldn't take his eyes off her, even when Mara tried to clear her throat and ask him what was happening.
Aliyah turned again, her eyes narrowing a bit, obviously confused as to why Marcus still stood there not uttering a word.
"I'm sorry, can we help you?" Her voice was quiet, a bit tentative.
He still didn't say anything but then took a step forward, she instantly took one back, looking defensive.
Mara on the other hand also began to watch them with curiosity blazing in her eyes.
But she didn't seem nearly as defensive as her sister.
It seemed like some sort of realisation began to dawn on her as she looked between Marcus and her sister.
"Oh my," I started. "Do you think that she's Marcus'..." I trailed off, my lips already curling up into a smile.
"With the amount of silent staring he's done so far, it would be awkward if she wasn't."
I almost laughed at that comment, I don't know why I found it funny.
I guess I was just getting excited.
"Although, she doesn't seem like she's..." Damon trailed off, and I started to study her more closely.
In that moment Marcus reached out to take her hand, but when he did, she pulled her hand away from him shaking her head apologetically. "I'm sorry, maybe you've got the wrong person."
Hm, Mavis certainly hadn't done anything like that.
And even though I and Damon met in probably the worst circumstance, I still felt that initial bond attraction towards him, whether I wanted it or not. It just came naturally.
She then grabbed a hold of Mara's hand, who now looked more confused than any of us, and pulled her away.
While Marcus just stood there.
His face unreadable, but it was obvious he was trying to make sense of what just happened.
What did just happen?
I don't think we read that situation correctly.
Looking up at Damon, he looked back at me and shrugged.
Maybe, he did mistake her for someone he knew or something?
Or she was the one and she's denying it? Or she doesn't remember him?
Looking back at where they stood, we saw the place was empty. Marcus had disappeared as well, and Mara and Aliyah had slipped into the crowd I assume, maybe back to our table.
This did not go the way I thought it would.
I wanted to find Marcus, and ask him what just happened, but I didn't know how I'd even start if I did find him now.
'Hey I watched your awkward exchange with Mara's sister and initially thought she was your mate. Haha. Was she?'
That's the best you've got?
Yeah? I don't know.
I sighed.
Just talk to him when you see him next, if it is what we think then maybe it's best to leave him alone tonight.
Then just ask him how he is. If he wants to talk about it, he will.
Okay, yeah. I'll do that.
And I really hope that I was mistaken and that he didn't just get sorta rejected.
"Adriane." Damon called.
"Yeah?" I looked back at him.
"Let's go home."
"But there's so much left to do still." I said looking around. The celebration was pretty much over and more than two thirds of the people had left, but there were still people around, eating, making slight messes. We had a whole banquet hall to clean out.
"And it will all still be here tomorrow. No one is really cleaning up tonight. Clean up is scheduled for tomorrow. You need some rest. Let's go home."