at Garroth, Dottie, and Ryland stayed frozen in place, staying silent, not sure what to do as Zane was panicking and Travis was confused. "How is this possible...?" Travis questions, "Uh, it was a potion accident..." Zane lies but Travis quickly doesn't buy it. "No, you've been wearing that hat for days now, hiding your ears. If it was a simple potion accident, it wouldn't last 24 hours," Travis states, feeling anger that Zane is lying.
Travis turns to Garroth and walks up to him, grabbing his face and makes him bend down to see the top of his head. "Are you hiding them as well?!" Travis questions and walks behind Garroth, lifting the back of his shirt. Garroth pulls away, "No I'm not a werewolf!" Garroth says. "Then what's going on?! First Aaron and now Zane?" Travis was confused and even slightly frighten, not sure he should believe any of their words if they tried to explain it.
"Travis, if I could explain it would," Zane says and turns to Garroth, Garroth shakes his head as Zane then turns to Dottie and Ryland, the two still not sure what to do. "But I can't," Zane finishes and grabs the plushie, running off as Garroth, Dottie, and Ryland follows. Travis stood there, dumbfounded, and turns to see Lucinda by the buffet table, drinking a soda as she seemed tired from dancing.
Travis thinks for a moment before walking up to her.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aphmau and Aaron sat by the fire to keep warm, holding each other hands as Aphmau stares down the ring, smiling widely. "Do you like it?" Aaron asks, "It's not the ring that I like, it's the fact that it symbolizes we're gonna be together forever. I really can't imagine it any other way," Aphmau explains and rests her head on Aaron's shoulder.
"I can't believe we're engaged..." Aphmau adds, "I can't believe you actually said yes..." Aaron mutters, making Aphmau confused. "Did you think I would say no?" Aphmau asks, "Well after everything, I just thought that..." Aaron's voice trails off. "Well stop thinking like that, after everything we've been through, I'm never going to give up on us," Aphmau says and smiles.
I can't wait to tell everyone...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zane quickly runs back to the house with Garroth, Dottie, and Rylan following him. When entering the house, Zane quickly checked if it was clear to speak, but no one seemed to be in sight. "What are we going to do?" Zane asks, turning to Garroth, Dottie, and Rylan, who were just as clueless as he was. "I don't know, I don't think there's anything we can do," Garroth says, making Zane feel frustrated.
"Should we just try explaining it to Travis that the situation doesn't involve him, and to keep quiet about this?" Dottie suggests but Zane shakes his head. "I don't think Travis will agree to be kept in the dark," Zane says and Garroth agrees. "We can either reveal the Ultima secret and hope he keeps quiet about it or avoid him at all," Garroth suggests to which was an easy choice.
"Avoid him at all cost, we can't reveal the Ultima secret to anyone, at least without Derek, Rachel, and Aaron's permission," Zane says and Dottie and Rylan agree. "We should call Aaron and tell him," Garroth says and starts to pull out his phone, but Zane quickly pulls it away. "No, right now Aphmau and Aaron are in a very important moment," Zane says, reminding Garroth about the proposal.
"We should wait until he gets back, but right now we can't ruin their moment. They don't need to deal with any more stress," Zane says and Garroth agrees, taking the phone back and put it away. "Should we tell Derek and Rachel? Or Melissa?" Rylan asks and Zane shakes his head, "I'm afraid of what they'll do if we tell them," Zane answers. "We should just wait until Alpha gets back," Dottie says.
"In the meantime, we should inform everyone else, so if Travis questions them, they'll know what to do," Zane says, and Garroth nods. "I'll text Lucinda and Kim," Garroth says as he pulls out his phone away and Dottie pulls out her. "I'll text Daniel and Blaze," Dottie says and Zane nod, feeling an empty pit grow in his stomach.
"Hey, it's not your fault," Garroth says, trying to comfort Zane as he puts a hand on his shoulder. "I guess I'm just nervous. All I had to do was hide my ears and tail and I couldn't even do that right..." Zane explains and lets out a sigh. "I'm going back to my bedroom," Zane says before walking off upstairs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Later that night, when the party ended, Travis followed Lucinda back to the house and into her bedroom, while Katelyn and Kim said they'll go get food to bring back at Travis's place. "So, why do you need legs?" Lucinda asks as she opens her bags, searching through her bottles of where she keeps ingredients for potions.
"Oh, well...uhhh...m-my father has been needing spider legs for a while now and I thought that you would have some since you're a witch. I also wanted to ask if you have any werewolf potions?" Travis asks as Lucinda grabs the bottle containing spider legs that she uses for potions. "Werewolf potions? Sorry, but I didn't bring enough ingredients to make werewolf potions, only those for emergencies," Lucinda explains.
"Emergencies?" Travis questioned, "Yeah like healing potions, strength potions, things like that if anyone ever gets hurt. Do you need one?" Lucinda asks but Travis shakes his head. "How much spider legs?" Lucinda asks, "Um, 5 should be enough," Travis answers and he looks over Lucinda's shoulders.
Travis's eyes darken when his eyes laid upon the book, his mind seemed to blur as his mouth starts moving on its own. "That book...Where did you get that book?" Travis asks, his tone of voice turning serious and even frightening. Lucinda's heart skipped a beat as she turns to Travis and back at the book, "I-I got it from the library. It's nothing special," Lucinda responded, pouring 5 spider legs in her hand before closing the bottle.
"Lying doesn't look good on you..." Travis says, turning to Lucinda with such malicious eyes and a smirk, but his eyes suddenly brighten again and he smiles. "Anyway, it looks cool!" Travis says back in his cheery voice, "R-Right..." Lucinda says and quickly closes her luggage. She passes Travis the spider legs, "Anyway, Kim and Lucinda are probably waiting for us. Let's get going," Travis says and leaves the room.
Lucinda follows behind him, closing her bedroom door and checks her phone for the time. She realizes she got a message from Garroth a few hours ago and reads it.
~~~Messages~~~
Garroth~Lucinda, something happened.
Zane ears and tail were revealed to Travis on accident and seemed to have realized that we're hiding something from him.
We avoided his question and ran off. If he asks you anything, try your best to avoid him.
Also don't mention anything to Rachel, Derek or any of our parents.
~~~Messages~~~
Lucinda's eyes widen as she stares at her phone screen, "Lucinda? You alright?" Travis asks, turning to Lucinda. Lucinda looks at him, silent for a few seconds before responding, "Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go," Lucinda says and follows Travis out of the house and to his place.
"Oh, should we also invite Garroth and Zane?" Travis asks, "No," Lucinda answers bluntly. "Well, their probably asleep by now so, it's best to not bother them," Lucinda explains. "Asleep? It's only 12 am?" Travis questioned, "Well they are adult, maybe they're just getting old," Lucinda says, just trying to come up with any excuse as she continues walking.
"But, wait, did you hear?" Lucinda asks, turning to Travis, "Hear about what?" Travis asks, "Aaron took Aphmau somewhere alone to propose," Lucinda says, wanting to quickly change the topic. Travis's eyes widen and lit up with excitement, "Really?! He must've proposed by now!" Travis says with excitement as he starts to blabbing about Aphmau and Aaron's perfect relationship.
What's going on with you Travis?"
Lucinda thinks to herself as she continues walking.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The following day, Lucinda leaves the house, having to go to the store but was stopped when a man walked up to her. The man had white messy hair and grey eyes, and he actually looked pretty familiar to her. "Hello miss," he greets, his voice sounding oddly familiar as well. "Oh hello, may I help you with something?" Lucinda asks.
"You live here?" The man, giving Lucinda an odd feeling, "Uh, yes. Who are you?" Lucinda asks, "Oh, I'm very sorry for this awful first impression. I'm Terrence, Travis's father," Terrence answers, giving Lucinda a warm smile. "Oh, Travis's father, Terrence Valkrum," Lucinda states, "Yes, but call me Terry for short," Terrence says, "Anyway, I'm Lucinda," Lucinda says, introducing herself as Terrence reaches to shake her hand.
Lucinda takes his hand, "Ah yes, Travis has told me about you before, he says you're very skilled at witchcraft," Terry says. "Yes, I've been practicing since I was 3," Lucinda explains, noticing a change in Terrence's eyes for a second. "Really? Most kids can't even start until their 7," Terry states.
"Well, I would love to talk more, but I was wondering if Aaron is here?" Terrence asks, "Oh Aaron, no he's not here. He actually left to-"
"To purpose to Aphmau," He finishes, "I know, I met the lucky gal. I just wanted to ask about how it went, but I'll come another time. Anyway, it was very nice to finally meet you, Lucinda, I hope to see you again," Terry says and smiles, but as he walks off, he stops and turns to her, "Oh, and thanks for the spider legs," He adds before walking off. Lucinda smiles but it quickly faded, Lucinda's expression turns into confusion.
There's something off about that man, I shouldn't trust him...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zane has decided to spend the rest of his day locked in the house, but mainly his bedroom. Not wanting to go out in case he bumps into Travis. Everyone knows about the situation besides Garte and Zianna, knowing to keep quiet if Travis, Katelyn, or anyone else asks about Zane. The only ones who don't know about the situation, being Aphmau and Aaron, wanting to wait until they come back to the house. Also, Derek and Rachel.
Garroth knocked on the door before entering, carrying a pizza box as Zane sat on his bed, with his laptop. "Are you sure being locked up at home is a good idea? You already do that back at home anyway, this is supposed to be a vacation," Garroth explains as he goes to sit next to Zane, setting the pizza down on the bed.
"Well for a vacation, I'm not relaxing," Zane says as he opens the box, grabbing a slice. "Besides, I don't want to risk the chance of bumping into Travis or Katelyn. It's already bad enough that Travis has figured out that something is going on, it would be worse if he found out what," Zane explains
"Let's just wait until Aphmau and Aaron come back, they should know what to do," Zane suggests and Garroth nods, taking a slice. "When will they get back?" Garroth asks, "Today at noon," Zane answers. "I hope Travis doesn't get upset by the fact we're hiding something from him," Garroth says, feeling upset by the guilt feeling that's he's betraying Travis.
"Well, there's nothing we can do. It's not our right to tell anyone the Ultima secret, it's up the Lycan family. The Lycan family already put their trust on us with the secret, so let's not break that trust," Zane explains, and Garroth nods. "Besides, imagine the moral panic when the public hears about the Ultima being real," Zane adds, "You're right," Garroth says and lets out a sigh.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aphmau and Aaron were making their way back to the house, already having everything packed up as Aphmau kept the ring hidden in the box. They decided to wait and tell once everyone gathers together, but it's only the parents that had no idea about the proposal plan.
Aphmau and Aaron walk inside the house as they set down the bags, "It feels nice to be back," Aphmau comments but before Aaron could answer, he was hit behind the head. Aaron lets out a yelp and groans in pain, turning around to see his mother and father, both with an angry expression.
"Where were you two yesterday!?" Derek yells, "We called and messaged you two," Rachel adds. "I messaged you guys saying I'm going to be busy and that I'll have my phone off. I just wanted to spend some time alone with Aph," Aaron explains as Melissa also walks in. "I understand wanting to spend time together, but telling us ahead of time won't kill you, more like it'll kill us. We were concern," Rachel explains as Melissa agrees.
"Anyway, we have to go. We're late for a...business meeting," Derek says, making Aaron confused. "A business meeting?" Aaron repeats in a confused tone, "Yup, sorry bro, business is business Anyway, we'll see you soon," Melissa says as they start heading for the door. "Wait, but I have-"
Before Aaron could finish his sentence, they leave, closing the door behind them. Aaron sighs as his ears drop, "Aww, you okay?" Aphmau asks in a comforting tone as she holds Aaron, "Yeah, I just wanted to tell them about having to meet up later. I'll just text them," Aaron says and smiles.
"Anyway, we should inform everyone else we're back, and put everything away," Aphmau says and picks up the bag again. Aaron helps her and follows Aphmau upstairs to their bedroom, they start unpacking their bags but stops when hearing a knock at the door.
Aaron opens the door and there stood Zane and Garroth, "Oh hey guys," Aaron greets and lets them in, Zane closing the door behind them. "So, tell us, how was it?" Zane asks, turning to Aphmau with a big smile. "I did it," Aaron answers bounty but happily, "Yess!" Garroth yells as Aphmau pulls out the ring and puts it on her finger.
"Wow, it's so pretty," Zane comments as he grabs Aphmau's hand, staring down at the ring that shined so brightly in the light. "Can't believe it finally happened! You have no idea how stressed Aaron has been!" Garroth exclaims as he looks at the ring. "Wait, you guys already knew?" Aphmau asks, "Everyone knows, just not the parents," Garroth answers.
"Aw man, I wanted to tell everyone," Aphmau says, "You still can, some believed Aaron didn't have the balls," Zane says jokingly as Aaron looked offended. "...I honestly can't blame you," Aaron says, making them laugh. "But, that's not why we came here," Garroth says, turning to Aaron with a serious expression.
"What happened?" Aaron asks, noticing how nervous Zane seemed to be. "So, yesterday there was a party, and we all went," Garroth starts but Zane cuts in, "I was dragged," Zane says. "But, something happened. Travis and Katelyn were there and Zane's ears were accidently revealed to Travis," Garroth finishes and Aaron and Aphmau's eyes widen.
"What did you guys say?" Aphmau asks, "We tried lying about it being a potion accident but he didn't buy it," Zane answers, his voice sounding panicked. "But we ran off in a panic instead of answering his questions. He already figured out that there's something wrong, especially with your sudden announcement of being a werewolf," Garrot explains as Aaron runs his hands through his hair, trying to calm himself down.
"Alright, who else knows about this?" Aaron asks, "We already texted everyone just incase Travis or Katelyn questions them. We just haven't told your parents," Garroth answers. "Alright then, we uhhh...I honestly don't know what to do. The best we can do at the moment is avoid him," Aaron answers. "Should we not tell Derek or Rachel?" Zane asks, "No, they're already trying their best to hide you from your parents. Also, who knows what they'll reaction will be, they'll go far enough to make us move away from Phoenix drop," Aaron explains.
"I really didn't mean for this to happen, I'm sorry guys," Zane says, feeling guilt as his ears drop. "It'll be fine, we just have to avoid him until we figure this out. Zane, just continue practicing your ears and tail, but don't let this ruin your vacation," Aaron explains and Zane nods. "Alright, well, we're gonna finish unpacking and go announce to my mother, I want her to be the first to tell," Aphmau smiles.
Zane and Garroth nods and exits the room, going back to their bedroom, "So, what do you wanna do?" Garroth asks, "Absolutely nothing," Zane answers and sits back on his bad, grabbing another slice of pizza. "But you heard Aaron, you can let this ruin our vacation," Garroth states, "He said ruin my vacation, and being in my room with my laptop and pizza is enough of a vacation for me. But I don't want your vacation to be ruin, so go have some fun," Zane encourages.
"A-Are you sure?" Garroth asks, "I'll be fine, just try your best to avoid Travis and Katelyn, alright. Also, on your way back, and you buy some shampoo? I'm running out since I have to pour extra," Zane explains, "Sure, well I guess I'll be back in a couple of hours," Garroth says and heads for the door, he says bye before leaving and closing the door behind him.
Zane could hear Garroth footsteps as they were fading away before being in complete silence. Zane looks around the room, not being comfortable in silence. Zane sighs and grabs the seabunnie plush, hugging it tightly before going back to watch the movie on his laptop.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aphmau and Aaron exits the house and heads to the beach, finding Sylvana sat on a beach chair, tanning as her eyes were closed. Aphmau and Aaron walks up to her, their shadow making Sylvana open her eyes and turns to them. "Mija, where have you been!?" Sylvana says and sits up, pulling Aphmau in a hug as Aphmau had her hands behind her back.
"I'm sorry mom, I went go spend some alone time with Aaron," Aphmau answers, "And something exciting happened," Aphmau adds, smiling widely as Sylvana seemed confused. "What happened?" Savanna asks, glancing at Aaron. Aphmau pulls out her hands and shows Savanna the ring.
Sylvana stares at the ring, her jaws drops and her eyes widen, "Oh my Irene...don't tell me..." Sylvana grabs Aphmau's hand, looking closely at the ring. "We're engaged!!" Aphmau shouts, grabbing Aaron's hands. "Oh my baby is getting married!!" Sylvana screams as a few people around started to clap.
Sylvana starts to cry as he pulls Aphmau in a hug, Aphmau starting to tear up as well, "I can't believe my baby is all grown up and getting married!! Oh how the time has pasted!!" Sylvana cries, "Oh mom, I'm always going to be your baby girl," Aphmau says and pulls away, wiping the tears away from Sylvana's eyes.
Sylvana turns to Aaron and pulls him in a hug, "I'm so happy, there's literally no one else I would approve of," Sylvana says as Aaron hugs back, smiling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hours has passed as Zane continues being on his laptop, the pizza box now empty as Zane pauses the movie. Zane picks up the pizza box and goes downstairs, throwing it away in the recycling bin and heads back inside. Zane nose starts tingling, smelling something sharp and disgusting.
Zane follows the smell to the kitchen but nothing, he follows the smell upstairs and it seemed to be getting stronger. Zane follows the smell until reaching Lucinda's and Kim's bedroom. Zane knocks on the door, "Lucinda are you making a potion?" Zane asks, but gets no respond. Zane continues to take in the smell, realizing it smelled was familiar, but he could've sworn to have never smelled it before.
There was a familiar scent mixed in the scent, but he couldn't tell what it was as it was being overtaken by the sharp smell. Zane slowly opens the door and steps inside, "Lucinda? Kim? Ghost?" Zane calls although the room being empty.
Zane suddenly feels a sharp wave of pain hitting his body before everything goes black.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zane eyes shoots open as he sits up, gasping for air, his body feeling sore. Zane looks around, finding himself back in his bedroom, on his bed with his laptop by his side. Zane looks at the time, it read 5:32 and he realizes he's been out for 2 hours.
Zane gets up and runs out of his room, looking around the hallway before walking over to Lucinda's and Kim bedroom. Zane knocks on the door, getting no respond and opens it, finding no one. The smell was gone, not a single traced, which was odd due to the fact that Zane can smell Lucnda's and Kim scent.
Was that a dream?
There's no trace of a sharp smell?
This is Lucinda's and Kim bedroom with their belongings, so obviously their scent will still be around.
Zane sighs and exits the room, listening carefully to any footsteps as he searches around the house. Nothing seemed out of place, no trace of the scent, everything was fine. "Maybe it was just a dream..." Zane mumbles to himself, but an idea quickly came to mind. Zane goes outside, checking the recycling bin to find the pizza box there.
"What the hell..." Zane mumbles and goes back inside, Zane runs upstairs to his bedroom, locking the door and sits on his bed. Zane hugs the seabunnie and reaches for his phone, but stops.
No, I shouldn't bother him.
I'll just wait till he gets back...