Chapter 44 - Unedited
*Saturday, 2nd July*
When Ara looked at her emails for the first time she has arrived at Xander's home, she was in for a shock. Countless emails listed in bold letters, all from her parents (as well as a few spam sites). Each of them were dated once every week, sometimes two, three, even four times in one week. She expected this kind of behaviour from her mother whom she hasn't spoken to for quite so time now. She hardly remembers when she last checked her emails.
Thinking about her mother made her stomach drop into many little pieces. Just the night before had she had encountered the grand presense of the Great Luna herself, and had experienced the great pleasure of finding out the truth to whom she was. Everything sounded crazy to her. Every single word, every single comformation, every single promise the Great Luna had bestowed onto Ara, promising her that good will come from all that is bad, everything was just plain crazy.
And Ara hardly had any idea how to handle the insanity. Yesterday she turned into a wolf for Christ's sake, and last night she encounted the Moon Goddess herself. The creator of all wolves and werewolves. But that didn't mean she didn't love her given soulmate, or the son they had together. No, they were the most precious beings in her eyes, she couldn't imagine a life without either.
Anxiety melted its way into her stomach as she clicked the latest dating email from her mother, scanning over the simple printed words on Xander's laptop. It was simple information, keeping her updated on recent events, what's been happening and how her father had gone down with a nasty case of the flu. Ara took some time reading through every single email, looking word from word with guilt seeping through her mind. Her mother has been begging for her to come visit for once, but how could she when they still don't know she has a son?
Before she knew it, she had clicked a button to type yet another email, her fingers shaking as she pressed letter to letter.
Dear Mom,
I'm sorry for not replying in ages, I've been so busy with college and exams. It's summer now, and I've missed you so much. A day does not go by where I don't miss you or dad at all. I've been doing well in classes, only skipped a few days when I've been sick (Or really, when Caleb had been sick) hopefully that doesn't turn your insides out. I promise it was only three days off the most.
But things have been going great. I've made such good friends and they're amazing people. I wish you could meet them. And Aunt Maria has been looking out for me, time to time, I still work for her. But she let me have the entire summer off. Though I think I forgot to mention that I stopped taking photos and decided to work in more of the background work. I feel more comfortable doing that, but whenever Aunt Maria needs me for any sort of back-up, I'm always there to help.
I think I've already said this but I miss you so, so, so much. If I can afford it, I'd love to come visit at the end of summer. I'd say Christmas, but that's far too long, and I can't handle waiting after all this time. It's probably been a year since I've last seen you? Anyways–I plan to see you in September. I will see you in September, a week before college starts once again. And I might just bring one of my friend's along, if that's okay with you guys. You must meet him, he's an amazing man. He's talented, smart, thoughtful, very encouraging, and before I say anything else, I'd love for you to meet him first.
I don't know what else to say but I don't want to stop writing but I must. I will see you soon, tell dad I love him, and I love you too.
- Love, Ara. xoxo.
Ara let her arms sag by the sides of the chair right as Xander walked into the room, holding Caleb in his arms. She gave him a tired smile before looking back at the computer screen, the cursor hovering the arrow button to send the email.
"What's wrong, Bella? You look worried, I can sense that you're worried." He asked ingeniously, holding Caleb against his hip before his son slipped through his arms to sit on his mother's lap. Xander chuckled lightly, watching Ara kiss Caleb's forehead before sighing.
"I don't know if I want to send my mother this email. I mean, I do, but, it's been so long." Ara was frustrated and Xander came around behind her, placing his fingers along the top of her back, squeezing the tense shoulder muscles lying next to her neck.
"Oh Bella," Xander breathed, "You're going to have to tell her everything one day."
"I know, I know," Ara waved off, "I want to take you and Caleb to meet my parents in September. Yeah–September sounds great, honestly. I want you to meet them." Xander leans down to kiss her head, lingering his lips between the strands of her hair for just a few moments before standing straight up, patting his son's head.
"I'd love to meet the man and woman who gracefully raised you to become such a beautiful and wonderful person." Xander gushed, causing Ara's cheeks to burn bright red. Caleb just giggled, he always giggled, and it was contagious.
Ara quickly pressed send without even thinking, breathing hard and fast in realization that everything is now confirmed. "Okay. I sent it. What now? What do I do now?" Ara stuttered worriedly, her tone was all Xander needed to know that she was stressing out. There were so many things piling up on her plate, he wished that he could take it all away in a matter of seconds.
But he knew he couldn't. This was her problem, and no matter how much he wanted to but in, she had to do it alone. He knew she had to, after all, the Great Luna confirmed it. And he was going to give her all the help she can get.
"You're sounding so stressed. You should relax. After all, it is a saturday, and it is a relaxing day. Everyone's in the pool." Xander said and Ara's eyes widened in surprise.
"There's a pool?" She asked and Xander nodded, a cheeky grin on his face.
"Get ready. I'll take Caleb down, I've got some floaties down there from when I was a kid." Then Xander whisked himself and Caleb away, leaving Ara to quickly changed into a simple white floral bikini she was thankful she packed.
She was grabbing a spare towel from Xander's ensuite bathroom, folding it in to a spare bag full of supplies when she fell to the ground, a massive headache hitting to back of her head as well as the presence of the Great Luna.
"Arabella," Her voice boomed with rising power, causing Ara to sit up from where she fell, staring at the bright light contrasting against the darkness of the room. "My dear Child, I have come to warn you." Ara was nonetheless surprised about seeing the spirit of her true Mother, and to add on the fact that she had come here to warn her was something she needed a while to consume.
"About what?" Ara inquired, her voice croaky and sore for reasons unknown to herself.
"About the dangers that lie ahead of you!" The Great Luna's voice boomed through the room, and Ara swore she saw the windows shake in their strong holds. What could be so dangerous about going to the pool with her family? Obviously the Great Luna was the only one who would know...
"But I'm just going to go to the pool...with my mate and my son. Surely nothing bad's going to happen."
Ara wasn't one hundred per cent sure, but she thought she had seen the Great Luna's floating escense form a smile within the midst, light drowing from her sides as she stood a foot off the carpeted floor, remaining a grand light in Ara's eyes.
"There's so much to know, but there's only so little I can reveal. Time is wilting away, Arabella. There's not much of a choice. You're going to have to choose."
With those words, Ara simply wondered, what? What in the heaven's name?
"I have done a great deal telling you all that I knew last night. Revealling the truth to your identity, showing you who you are, who's spirit is captivated in your body. You are still your own person, but you were born to be my Child." All Ara could think as the mystified glow standing before her was how she'd been over this the night before.
She had a mother and a father she dearly loved back in California, despite growing up to know they weren't really her true parents. Not to mention, her real mother was actually a Goddess. The creator of all things she didn't know even existed.
Ara held back her thoughts, listening to the Great Luna's words. "I've come to warn you. Things have changed, I thought you could have had more time but brother is starting to turn on brother, sister will fight her sister and it's to stop this. To stop the war. It's something unavoidable, I can't change choices, I can only guide you. I'm risking everything just telling you this, but now you must go. You must tell your mate and you must warn the pack. They're coming...they're coming sooner than you thought."
And with that, she dissolved away slowly, as if every particle separated in a matter of moments, mixing into the oxygenated air. Ara breathed quickly, very fast paced as she held a hand over her forehead, trying to process what was happening. In her perspective, what the Great Luna had said to her was something incredibly impossible to understand. Not in the way that she wasn't able to comprehend words, but perhaps understand that in all truths, her family is put in danger. Her friends, her mate's family, her pack.
"The war's coming. The war's coming." She whimpered, holding her legs close to her body, rocking back on forth on the floor. Her head goes crazy, filled with gory images of what was yet to come, who was yet to go and what they were going to lose. What she could lose if she didn't make the right choice–whatever that choice was.
"I don't want war." She cries empty heartedly, "I don't want this anymore."
**********
A/N: Yay i actually updated in like a billion years because im a slacker and procrastinator and fuck i am tired. I had a lot of shit to do because you know, school missed me for a bit. Anyways, now I'm officially on holiday and that's so fucking great because NO MORE SCHOOL AND i actually have so much free time because I have no life, you feel?
Anyways...I should probs write a lot more and actually finish this book once and for all, I'm such a slacker. I seriously need a nap.
And thank you guys for getting me 3 million reads <3 That's so bloody amazing, I did cry :) Who knew, some weird story I started a year ago would get so far? I never expected it honestly, and if I had actually started this later I could have entered the wattys this year :p but sadly, I'll just enter my other (short story) book called Colours of a Sunset in it.
WHICH REMINDS ME. I should have probably written an epilogue for that and I didn't and dammit, no wattys for me :( hahhaa.
Love you guys xx
-Erin