Chapter 38: Chapter 37

“And this is my doll, I named her Sandy because her hair is yellow like sand. She looks so pretty in this pink dress, don’t you think?” Emerald picked up the doll from its place amongst other stuffed animals, and smoothed out the dress that was covered in flowers, ribbons, and buttons.

Her side of the room that she shared with her sister was all soft and girly with pretty pink things everywhere, while Savannah’s side was decorated with unusual things like smooth rocks from the creek, slingshots made from sticks, and curious leaves dried between books. The two Alpha daughters were opposite in many ways, but so alike in their love for their family and friends.

“It’s gorgeous,” Ariella agreed, patting the doll and looking about the room. When Ariella and her mom came to visit for the day, both girls instantly pulled her upstairs to excitedly show her their latest gifts and toys. Now while Emerald was proudly pointing out her neatly arranged collection, Savannah sat in the window seat flipping through a book.

“And this is Mr Bunny. I got him from Daddy for my birthday last year. He has the softest fur. Feel it?” Emerald held up a stuffed bunny rabbit and Ariella patted it.

“He sure is soft. And he’s got a really cute face. And he even has whiskers,” Ariella inspected it closer before tickling Emerald on her neck and arms with the whiskers. The young girl’s happy giggles and smiles brightened the already sunny room.

“Cale hates that rabbit for some weird reason,” Savannah said with amusement. “He tried to throw it in the lake when Emmy brought it to school.”

“But it’s okay. I kept Mr Bunny safe. I’d never let that mean little wolf hurt you, would I?” Emerald stroked the stuffed toy and talked to it in a soft voice.

“He’s not as mean as Justin.” The comment came from the future Alpha who had her nose back in the book, a scowl on her cute face. Suddenly she laughed. “Hey, It says here that a special type of sumac plant gives you an itch. Should I try and put some in Justin’s jacket? It would be so funny to see him scratching all over!”

“What are you reading?” Ariella got up from her kneeling position to sit beside Savannah. The sunshine glided in the open window and illuminated the pages that consisted of words and simple sketch diagrams.

“It’s a botany book my mom gave me last week. It’s been in her library for years and when I found it, I couldn’t stop looking at it, it’s so interesting! So Mom said I could keep it,” Savannah grinned with excitement. “It’s full of so many cool facts, all about the plants that grow around here. Some are used for medicine, some are used to add flavour to food, and some are even poisonous.” Savannah’s eyes sparkled with delight as she rubbed her hands together.

“Sounds like you need to be careful with what you pick,” Ariella flipped through the pages, recognising many flowers and herbs that she’d seen across the years in her meadows and forests. Memories of being pricked with thorns, stung with bees, and sneezing from a faceful of pollen skipped through her mind. Despite all this, she loved nature, and it seemed Savannah did too.

Her eyes caught on something, one word in the description of a plant.

Madness.

The small shrub, Madenolia insansum, grew beautiful blossoms that came in shades of white to blush pink. It was under the poisonous section of the book, coming with a warning to steer clear of it as even a brush of the petals could allow the toxic residue to infiltrate the skin and enter the bloodstream. Though little was known about it, it was believed the toxin could reach the brain and destroy neurons, over time resulting in insanity, or madness. It only grew on the very high mountain tops, somewhere near the present location of IceSword Pack.

Madness.

The voice of Jasper the warrior haunted Ariella, and she recalled the unashamed look of disgust as he spoke of his previous Alpha.

Had Dennison come into contact with a poisonous plant, thus slowly losing his mind? Could this explain his reckless and abusive behaviour?

“Do you mind if I borrow this book?” Ariella asked Savannah, her fingers lingering on the yellowed pages as ideas flew like birds in and out of her mind. She needed to look into this more, and maybe do her own research.

“Sure. Why not. I’ve read lots of it anyway. Mom said she’ll buy me some more updated books all about plants, since that’s the kind of thing I like to study. Maybe when I grow up I can be a botanist, or haughty callchist, or what’s it called?”

“Horticulturist,” Emerald pronounced the word perfectly around a few missing baby teeth, as she re-dressed her doll in something blue. “But won’t you be Alpha when you grow up?”

“I can still study plants. Maybe I’ll plant a whole farm of mango trees, and strawberries, and make my own plant of strawmangoes! Or I’ll discover a new plant in the forest when Justin isn’t following me like he does all the time—” she gave an annoyed roll of her eyes— “and it will be named after me!” The young girl waved her arms around expressively, her light brown hair swaying in its ponytail back and forth over her slender shoulders.

“You can be anything you want when you’re older, Vannah. Including Alpha, and horticulturist, and master storyteller!” Ariella laughed and gave her a tight squeeze before slipping the book in her bag. She was just beginning to rise when Isaiah came toddling into the room and straight for his big sister Emerald.

“Emmy, I wanna pway. Pway with me, Emmy.” He wrapped his arms around her neck and fell over into her lap, disrupting her work on the doll.

“No, Isaiah! Don’t ruin my dolly. Sit back,” she tried shoving him off, only for him to become interested in her neat line of stuffed animals. With chubby fists, he picked one up and scattered all the rest.

“No! Be careful, Ziah, don’t mess with my things.” Emerald was getting frustrated and Ariella knew that though she loved her baby brother, his innocent actions would quickly upset her.

So Ariella rescued the situation before anyone started to fuss or cry. “I’m going to go see if Mom needs help with lunch. Why don’t you come with me, little man?” Picking him up, she carried Isaiah downstairs and left the girls in peace.

After lunch, she tidied up the kitchen and washed the dishes with the girls, giving their moms a chance to relax and chat.

Later in the afternoon after training, Charles came by and led Ariella to the library as promised. After their discussion last night of her unusual dreams, he told her of some ancient books that had remained in the Alpha library for generations. Mostly filled with speculation, the books spoke of good and evil spirits, their interaction with reality, but most importantly, the Interealm where they resided. Ariella wanted to know how much was factual or based on matters of the heart. Was it just spiritual and dependent on personal faith in invisible beings? Were angels and demons actually real, or thought up by overactive imaginations such as hers?

“So you’ll find down here, in this corner, the oldest books on the territory,” Charles showed her the tall bookcase that rose a few feet taller than her, the shelves sagging under leather bound tomes. Layers of dust say undisturbed between the spines.

“Chesca’s great-great-grandparents, the founding Alphas of Steelheart pack, had them brought over the sea from the temples before they were destroyed. No one has read them for centuries, but I’m sure they say something about what you’re dreaming of. Even if you don’t find out anything for certain, it might be helpful to know that others have experienced similar things.”

“Thanks,” Ariella murmured and began lifting a small book from the shelf nearest her eye level. The scrollwork on the worn leather was intricate and intriguing. Otherworldly.

For the next half hour, she paged through drawings of different creatures, ancient wolf portraits and sketches of extinct animals. Some were obviously embellished by imagination, but nothing matched what she’d seen in her own visions.

Not even the pictures denoted as spirits of Tartarus were like how she’d envisioned Hamilton on the first night she’d stumbled onto his territory.

“You won’t find what you’re after in the mythology section.”

Ariella nearly jumped out of her skin and dropped the book she was holding. “Don’t scare me like that!” she squeaked. With a pounding heart and unsteady voice, she sank into an overstuffed wingback chair and glared at Luci.

“Not my fault you were so engrossed in a weird book that you didn’t hear your best friend walk in. Don’t give me that look! You think I deliberately snuck up on you like some creepy demon? Is that what you take me for?” Luci scoffed and lightly punched her friend in the arm before collapsing beside her, sitting half on her lap and dangling the other leg over the edge of the chair. Ariella squirmed under her weight but didn’t mind the proximity.

“Let’s see what you have here….” Luci peered over her shoulder at the open book and couldn’t hide the amusement in her eyes. “You really think you’re going to get answers from here? Just look at how crazy that picture is! Like I said, you need facts not myths.”

“Oh, and I suppose you know exactly how to recognise a demon,” Ariella sighed and closed the book, putting it on the table that was already stacked with similar books she’d discarded.

“I have my ideas. Here, what about this book?”

Ariella took the offered book and read the title. “Science and Alchemy in the Modern Age. This book is anything but modern,” she thumbed the faded hard cover.

“It was for its time. And written by a highly reputable philosopher. My dad has a whole collection of her stuff. She was a dreamer, like you. But I doubt she just had dreams. Don’t you know that Francis wrote predictions that have come to pass?”

“Some call her a prophet.”

Ariella spun in her chair and saw Gabby browsing another bookcase. “Well, looks like the whole gang’s here for a party.”

The soft-spoken blond just smiled.

“Any excuse to get out of training,” Luci mumbled and pressed her lips in a smirk.

“I thought training was over. My dad came straight here—”

“His training is over,” Gabby interrupted Ariella. “But Gamma Roman’s been making us do post-training training, if that makes sense,” she said with obvious disdain towards the extra work.

“Something about tightening security,” Luci added then brushed aside the topic. “So, Gabby, you tell our darling Ari what you know about Francis Ainsworth.”

“What is it you want to know?” Gabby pinned her brilliant blue eyes on Ariella, a seriousness taking over her features that made ice crawl in Ariella’s veins.

“Anything. Everything, to explain what I’m seeing. When I sleep, when I awake, I don’t know anymore what is real or what—”

“Why does it have to be either real or fake?” Gabby took the book from her and flipped through it.

“Well, it can’t be both,” Ariella said slowly, confused. None of this made sense.

“You’ve heard of the Interealm?” Gabby suddenly asked her, and she nodded slowly.

“The place between realms. Between reality and whatever else is out there.”

“Yes and no,” Gabby replied cryptically, but with such a straight face.

“Could you please elaborate?” Ariella folded her hands in her lap, trying to remain patient as she looked between her friends who both seemed absorbed in one book or another.

“Hhm… I haven’t exactly read this book of Francis’s, but I do know that she wrote about things in the past and future. Some of her visions have come true, such as the extinction of the great winged Karalax. Of course, she believed they would rise again, but who knows when that will happen.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” Ariella prodded, not so interested in the winged dragon as much as demons and the Interealm, and what they really had in relation to her.

“Maybe I can’t answer your question, but it’s just something you’ll need to figure out for yourself.”

Gabby’s reply irked Ariella, and she rose and quickly snatched the book from her. Her eyes were then riveted on the pictures that were so similar to her own. So demons were real? Someone else had seen them? “You mean…”

“From what I’ve read of Francis, you have to believe in it yourself to be able to see it. Whether or not the Interealm is actually there, or if demons inhabit that space between worlds, is up to the individual to perceive. No one can convince you either way. You have to really look for it yourself if you have enough belief.”

“Belief,” Ariella murmured, staring at the coal black eyes and twisting horns on the ferocious creature, with its strong body and pointed tail. Partially mirroring a wolf, this creature was so much more deadly-looking. “And do you believe?”

“Hmph!” Luci snorted, casting Gabby a bemused grimace. “Do I believe in demons? Look around you. Monsters turn up every day, terrorising innocent people and raping young girls, murdering old people in their sleep, and for what? A wealthy inheritance? A moment of pleasure? Revenge? I don’t need to look between worlds to see demons. There’s enough living among us,” Luci paced the room with an angry look. It was no secret that man himself was a creature as dark as any imagination could make him to be.

“I understand that. But there’s something more, I just know it. I feel it, everytime I’m with Malachi’s mom and—”

“His mom? What about her?” Luci whirled around.

“I ...Uh, I just mean,” Ariella backtracked, realising what she was indicating. Could it be possible Luna Seneca was a demon? “I just mean that there’s something off about her. A darkness that rests in her soul and reaches out to me, suffocating me when I’m near her. I’m afraid it’s passed on to Malachi, if that’s possible. Whatever she’s hiding beneath her cool skin, I think Malachi and everyone knows about it. They’re keeping something from me.” It felt good to speak this out loud, to let the half-vague ideas form into words and get it out of her mind. Ariella hadn’t exactly entertained the notion that Seneca was anything more than a grieving widowed Luna, but maybe there was something more behind her cold exterior.

“It says here that demons can take on human form and even reproduce. Don’t ask me how. But Francis also believed that there was some kind of ritual for turning a half-breed demon into a full demon. Sounds freaky,” Gabby screwed up her face and pushed the book back to Ariella.

“Sounds absolutely horrible,” Luci commented from over Ariella’s shoulder, and Ariella shivered in agreement.

“What does this mean?” she pointed to a few lines of verse. Besides her scientific research findings and philosophical musings, Francis was known for writing poetry.

The script was a reprint of handwritten words, flowing in a neat scroll.

When the Moon turns to blood

Night shall be free

Cursed forever

are the souls bound to me

Mortal souls shall die

engulfed by Night

Forever to roam

beyond mortal sight

“Who the heck knows. Aren’t you the poetic one who can read between the lines?” Luci raised her eyebrows and gave Ariella a pointed look.

“If you believe in hell, just go ahead and say it instead of some stupid substitute word,” Gabby scolded at Luci.

“If I believed in it, then wouldn’t it be sacrilegious to swear on it?”

“Since when do you care what’s sacrilegious or not? You’d turn up to a Temple of purity with your skin still stained with lustful kisses.”

“And you, the ever innocent dove, would be there to bar my entrance, wouldn’t you, dear Gabriella?”

“I never said I was perfect, Lucia, so don’t go accusing—”

“And I never said I cared about ending up in hell. Do you know how many hot guys are probably in there? Oh, the joys of eternity—”

“I’d rather die than burn forever—”

“Well, it’s a good thing your daddy makes sure you say your prayers before bed.” Luci crossed her arms and smirked.

Gabby launched herself towards her raven-haired friend. “That’s it! I’ve had enough—!”

“Girls! Stop it! Goodness, you’re as bad as Justin and Cale when they’re trying to impress the Alphas’ daughters!” Ariella slammed the book on the table before pulling her friends apart. Was it always her responsibility in life to stop the clashes between such two opposite forces? “Just quit the squabbling, will you? I’m trying to sort out some serious stuff here, okay? Please, just chill. Fire Night starts soon, Malachi is coming—hopefully—and I want some answers before seeing him again.”

In truth, her heart was yearning for him and she couldn’t wait to be in his arms again, but so many thoughts and images were floating just beyond her grasp, and she needed to get ahold of herself before she really did go crazy.

“Okay. Okay, we’ll drop it.” Gabby extended a hand in truce to Luci, but she was already looking away, her attention quickly diverged from the argument that they often engaged in.

“Where have I seen this before?” Luci pointed to a sketch of a dagger that was on the open page of Francis’ book.

Ariella read the words beneath that implied the special weapon had the capability to kill a demon. She shuddered. It certainly did look familiar, the designs etched into the wooden handle swirling and stirring memories.

After pondering it for a moment, she said, “Follow me,” and scooped up the book, hurried out of the library, and down the hall to a special study in the Alphas’ mansion that also held various weapons. An armoury of sorts, that began when Alpha Chesca’s grandfather collected ancient weapons from different civilisations. “There, on the far wall.” She crossed to it and looked up at the dagger that hung in its brackets. The length of the sharp blade and the patterns on the handle matched that in the book exactly.

“The dagger of Chen. Fascinating. But is it really special as the book says?”

“Only one way to find out.” Luci reached up and held it, testing the weight in her palms.

“You don’t mean…”

“Come on, if there was something to protect you from nasty demons, wouldn’t you want to hold onto it? Just in case?” Luci’s tone was serious with an edge of cunning.

Gabby shared a strange look with her, one that left Ariella wondering.

“You don’t even believe in demons,” Ariella pointed out, taking the dagger from Luci. The cold blade made her skin clammy and her heart rate spike. It was sharper than anything she’d ever felt.

“That’s for me to figure out, isn’t it? Personal faith, and that sort of hocus pocus,” Luci said in a dramatic voice and waved her fingers in Ariella’s face.

“Stop making fun of me,” Ariella huffed and replaced the dagger. “Let’s get out of here. I have lots to think about and it’s almost time for the bonfire to be lit. We should be helping everyone prepare, not planning how to kill demons.”

“Hey, you said it,” Luci shrugged and led them back out to the front of the state. The wolves of ForgedHearts were already gathered around the stack of logs and branches, and more were laying food dishes on the surrounding tables. Musicians were tuning their instruments, and Ariella felt the familiar tingle of anticipation rumble down her spine and warm her heart.

The earthy smells of wood smoke and roasting meat wafted over the hill and small valley in the centre of the territory, and Ariella couldn’t wait to see Malachi and share all this with him. This was her childhood, her family. This was the tightly knit community that taught her how to love and fight for those she cared about.

Smiling at her mom who was chatting to Miranda and holding baby Elijah in her arms, Ariella then moved to the far side of the perfectly built bonfire. It was downwind, and Savannah was just lighting the kindling. The sparks took root and soon flickered into flames, licking at the logs stacked above and jumping for the Sky.

“Don’t look now, but Max is staring at you.”

Ariella instinctively disregarded the command and looked up across the gathering to see the instigator of her humiliation watching her with a hard look in his brown eyes.

She quickly looked away and pushed down the ugly feelings in her stomach. If she could manage to ignore for the rest of the night, she’d be okay. If only Malachi would come, then everything would be alright. But no matter how many times she searched the faces of gathered wolves and scanned the surrounding tree line, the handsome face of her mate remained unseen.

“Do you wanna see what the pups are up to?” Gabby suggested.

“Nah, I’m happy to just sit,” Ariella began lowering herself to a log when a high-pitched squeal interrupted her pensive mood.

“Oh, it’s Ariella! How are you, girl?”

“Hi, Bianca,” Ariella pasted on a smile that was anything but genuine, and faced the girl she’d avoided since middle school. Bianca had it all—good body, beautiful smile, rich parents, and an attitude that was sweet cherries to all the boys, yet crab apples to any girl who tried to compete with her.

“Where’s your mate? I heard he’d be here tonight,” the stunning brunette flipped her hair over one shoulder and enquired with a sly smirk. Her best friend, two peas in a pod with Bianca, flanked her and mimicked her dominant posture.

“Oh, he’s not here yet, but I’m sure—“

“So he’s too busy to be here with you? I guess it would be a waste of time. No one has fun when all you do is imagine yourself elsewhere,” Bianca sighed with copious amounts of fake pity. She didn’t even spare a glance at Luci or Gabby, just kept her catty eyes on Ariella, seemingly intent on making her even more miserable.

“No, he’s just busy being Alpha to a pack. Unlike your mate who’d rather stuff his face at the food table instead of being with you or having any responsible job,” Luci muttered from where she stood at Ariella’s left side. Everyone knew Albert was a loser and didn’t care to improve himself in anyone’s eyes.

“Yeah, Malachi is busy being Alpha. His pack needs him,” Ariella said sharply, defending her strong and selfless mate. She hadn’t ever stood up to Bianca, but something had changed inside, and she drew on the strength of being an Alpha’s mate.

“Oh, that’s too bad. I was hoping to meet him tonight. I hear he’s really hot. And that you haven’t mated yet?” She looked over Ariella from head to foot, as if x-raying her with her special intuition. She smirked again. “Maybe I do have a chance of being Luna.”

“Oh, please just slap her in the face. That would shut her up,” Luci whispered, making gagging noises.

“Don’t be so dramatic! She’s just jealous. How would you feel if Albert was your mate?” Gabby spoke harshly to Luci across Ariella’s shoulders so the other girls wouldn’t hear.

Tuning out her friends’ bickering, Ariella smiled through gritted teeth and clenched her fists by her side. “I’m sure you’ll get to meet him when he arrives. But do I need to remind you? He is my mate, and no one could ever come between the bond we have.”

Just as the words left her mouth, a cold breeze shivered over her skin, and she spun around.

With knots tightening in her stomach, Ariella looked up and saw him staring at her from across the fire, his eyes as midnight black as the sky above them.