Chapter Twenty-One

Apollo didn’t come back to the college that night or the next. I’d heard Fred telling Strider the ancient Spirit took a short break from everything, so it was only Strider, Fred and me residing in our room for some time now.

One afternoon, Strider was training with a few of his friends, and I was in my room, reading the Chemistry textbook for homework. I thought I was going to spend the next few hours on my own, but it appeared I was wrong when the door opened and Fred walked inside.

He headed straight for my bed and sat on its edge. I looked at him behind my reading glasses, confused. “Fred?” I asked, a slight shiver cascading down my spine. When he said nothing and his eyes turned a bright shade of crimson, I put down the book, took off my glasses, and came to sit next to him. “What’s wrong?” I inquired, worried.

Instead of replying, he put his head on my shoulder. I tensed, feeling the heat from the bare contact of his forehead spreading through my shoulder, and I forced myself to relax, even if I shivered again. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to control my body.

“You’re in danger.”

His voice was so soft, I could barely hear him. Then I tensed again when the words sank. “I don’t understand,” I whispered, and I found myself wrapping my arms around his neck instinctually. He leaned into my embrace and despite his powerfulness that he emitted just by being, he seemed a little vulnerable at that moment.

“We have a problem in the north,” he said quietly, “humans and werewolves are uniting their forces against me. They don’t want to just have me killed, but also have my helpers - and the Spirits among them - killed, too.”

“So everyone’s in danger,” I summed up in a murmur.

He raised his head and his eyes penetrated mine. He lifted his hand and cupped my cheek, his gaze softening a little bit. “You in particular, Angeal,” he said gravelly, “if they knew about your existence, about Tempest, the Spirit of Chaos…” He grimaced. “You can’t show anyone what you are. The people here at college already know, and some folks in the city, but they don’t know what causes it, that you have Tempest. You must not tell anyone about Tempest.”

“O-Okay,” I said, flushing a little from his closeness, and shuddering from his words. “I won’t tell.”

He studied my face, and his thumb caressed my cheek. His face drew closer to mine, causing my breath to hitch. He was only a mere couple of inches away, his nose touching mine, and an inexplicable emotion went through his eyes, causing goosebumps to rise on my skin. Tempest was more silent than ever in my head, and I was wondering if it was because Fred was so close, our breaths mixing…

I could’ve sworn he was going to kiss me, he looked at me so intensely, making my lips dry, my eyes close, and my body burn just by his presence, but whether he did intend to kiss me or not, it mattered nothing, because he pulled away and pressed his lips to my forehead instead. His lips were ever so soft against my skin, and I was so fucking confused. Why was he so gentle and concerned right now? Why was he sometimes hot, sometimes cold? Why did he decide now that he wanted to be kind to me? Was it only because I was in danger from these people who wanted him and his friends dead?

Another shudder took over my body, this time from fear. I didn’t want Fred to die. I didn’t want anyone to be killed - even hateful Apollo.

Fred took his mouth off my forehead and grabbed me in a hug. I didn’t resist his muscular arms that enveloped me, and I tightened my hold on him. I blushed a little at the thought of my chest pressing against his, but I didn’t care. His heat, his arms, he himself - it all made me feel this sense of safety I only ever felt with him, and the passion and attracting only he flared up in me. Strider, despite his change of heart regarding me, and him actually being a decent guy and, of course, extremely gorgeous, didn’t make me feel any of it. Fred, though… Fred was a completely different story. He was quiet, serious, intense, kind, dominant, strong, threatening, lethal, the Alpha of the Millennium, sometimes cold and distant… And yet the coglemation of all these traits made me want him to be… Well, mine.

Those are quite the possessive thought you have there, Tempest whispered in my head. I get why you feel this way, but you forgot one important thing - you don’t know which of these traits are actually part of him. You know little to nothing about him, except the fact he’s the Alpha of the Millennium. The attraction you feel toward him? It’s physical only. You need to get to know him for real in order for you to really want him to be yours, Angela.

“I feel you confusion,” Fred suddenly spoke, “and I apologize if I caused you more concern.”

I knew that he, like the rest of the werewolves, could feel what other felt by scent alone, and that was only if they really fixated on someone. “It’s all right,” I murmured back, “I… I need to know stuff like that.”

“I know,” he pulled away, letting me go. I felt his absence at once, and my body ached for him, wanting him back. “It’s the reason why I told you.” He rose onto his feet. “I need to go. Will you be okay?” he send me an inquisitive look.

After I nodded, he left the room, leaving me alone and lost in thoughts.

At dinner, half of the people were missing - Samantha, Cora, Fred and Strider to name a few - and so after I grabbed a plate full of food, I sat down at the table with Greg, Brom and Sally only. Brom and Sally were chatting with each other, and Greg and I were eating in silence.

To make conversation, I turned to Greg and said, “You’re a Guard, right?”

Greg sent me an odd look, his eyes studying me suspiciously. “No, why?”

“No?” I said, honestly surprised. “But you’re part of the Fred’s convoy and everything.”

“I’m a specific type of wolf,” he said with a shrug. “Like Maria, who’s a healer, or Albert who’s a Messenger with his telepathy.”

“So what kind are you?” I asked, curious.

“A Hunter,” he responded, “I was born with a much more developed sense of smell than normal werewolves, and that’s what differentiates me from them. I can find anything with my sense of smell alone - and that includes people, too. Brom is also a Hunter.”

“Wow,” I said, “I had no idea werewolves had different kinds.”

Greg glanced at me. “It’s not an interesting information for regular people.”

“Oh,” I murmured, turning back to my food. There was a silence for a few more minutes, until I asked, “Have you found your Mate yet?”

He was caught off guard by that, if the widening of his brown eyes were anything to go by. “How do you know about Mates?”

“Strider told me,” I explained a little defensively.

“Ah, I see,” he muttered, then turned serious. “Heed my advice, and don’t talk too much about Mates. It’s a… sensitive subject for werewolves.”

I arched an eyebrow, confused. “Why?”

“Because most werewolves would never find their Mates eventually,” he said a little sadly. “Take the previous Alphas of the Millennium for instance, Christoher and Kasimir. Until this day, they hadn’t found their Mates - and they’re both over a thousand years old. They always build families with females, but those females die eventually, and they remain alive, and they need to move on.”

I hadn’t thought about it like that - from what Strider had told me, having a Mate sounded like a blessing, or a gift, and if you didn’t find them in time… “I’m sorry for asking you such a personal question,” I said quietly, “but I would like you to answer me another one - does the Alpha have any chance to have a Mate? After all, every Alpha of the Millennium is immortal, right?”

“Yeah,” Greg sighed. “There’s a theory that says their Mates are immortal, but as known to everyone, except for the Alpha, the only immortal girls who exist in this world are… Well, just you, female-wise. And humans - or any other race - can’t be a werewolf’s Mate.”

I felt a pang of pain in my heart - for Christopher and Kasimir, the previous Alphas, and for Fred, the current Alpha, who would probably never find someone to spend the rest of eternity that awaited him. Another pang in my heart, this time of jealousy for Fred’s Mate, if she even existed.

“Nature can be cruel sometimes,” I said quietly.

“I agree,” Greg said gravelly, “but there’s nothing we can do.”

It was frustrating just thinking about it, so I changed the subject. “Where’s everybody?” I asked.

Greg’s face turned even more somber. “At a meeting regarding the situation in the north.”

A shiver went down my spine. “This group’s really dangerous, isn’t it?”

Greg nodded, not surprised I knew about it. “That’s why we have the Millennium Force and the Alpha’s personal helpers that would protect him at any cost - and, of course, Fred himself, who can protect him and all of us better than we can. And as long as Apollo, Magnus, Ryan and you are on our side, we’ll be all right.”

“Magnus?” my eyebrows shot upward.

“Magnus Odin,” said Greg, frowning. “You know him?”

Shock settled in. Magnus was… alive? Magnus Odin from The Tales of England and Magnus? It sounded surreal. “Um… I heard of him,” I mumbled back, making a mental note to ask Fred about it the next time we meet. “Who is Ryan?” I asked, shaking the thoughts of Magnus away for now.

“Ryan England,” Greg replied, and I felt a little dizzy. England? But Maxwell England was a Spirit, not Ryan, and Maxwell was dead…

“What kind of Spirits are Magnus and Ryan?” I asked, still in shock.

“Magnus Odin is the Spirit of Lightning and Electricity,” Greg said as-a-matter-of-factly, not realizing that the entire concept of the world as I knew it had just changed upside down. Apollo had once said something about these fictional characters being real, but I’d dismissed him, and now I wish I hadn’t. “Ryan England,” Greg continued, “is the Spirit of Time.”

“But… I thought Maxwell England…”

Greg watched me in confusion. “Who is Maxwell?”

“Um, no one,” I lowered my gaze, my head still spinning from the latest reveals. Apollo had said they were Spirits. Apollo had also said I wasn’t ready to hear that story yet.

I was ready now, and the first moment I could grab Apollo or Fred, I would interrogate them about Magnus and England - both Maxwell and Ryan. And it was better be soon.