Carter
“Why did you guys come back so early?” I asked dad. We ended up in the bar lounge of our home while mom dragged Ember off, most likely to the gardens, which were always her favorite part of the house.
“We crossed paths with Jordan and Damien and decided to visit home before Franklin, your mother and I went back to the Bahamas, ” Dad said, and we nodded. They were always working on new designs. Damien was Seth’s younger brother and Jordan was my younger brother, both by a year. Coincidently, they were born around the same time as the red moon, which was a rare moon that came to pass every hundred years. The red moon had no real significance for Seth and I, but it had the strangest effect on Jordan and Damien, turning them from birth into half vampire, half wolf shifters. Hybrids are rare but not unheard of. They were still considered special and part of the pack, as some of their powers allowed us to still speak in the pack link. They, like Seth and I, became best friends as well and traveled around a few countries from time to time, expanding our family business, or traveling with our parents. They did not have to carry the responsibilities of running a pack since they were not first born and that was always fine for them.
“So, a human hunh”, dad said, pouring himself a shot of gin.
“Trust me, we were just as surprised as you when we found out”, Seth said. Pouring himself a shot as well. My mind flashed back to earlier. Our Ember, blushing red, face flushed from squirting Seth’s face. She could truly do no wrong. She was our Ember.
“Ruby could have been more respectful about it” I said, sipping my gin as well.
“You and I both know Ruby has no respect for anyone but Franklin”, Seth said. It was true. Ruby sometimes acted like she had multiple personalities towards us growing up. Sometimes she was nice. Some days, she was a stone-cold bitch. It just depends on what day you caught her on. Growing up, the four of us grew used to it.
“Relax. You know Ruby has a deep respect for a pure bloodline. I suppose she feels your mate will taint it now, and she really isn’t wrong ” he said, causing me to look at him in shock. How dare he say that!
“Selene made her our mate human for a reason. If it taints the bloodline, then so be it. Our children will be Lycans, and because of our pairing and natural bond they will control it. ” Seth said.
“That is what the legends say. Yes, but while we were gone in the Bahamas, I came across a rare book in the Enoch library, called the Book of Alcaic. It has a different legend in there. I will have a friend of mine email me the book’s contents. Maybe it has some information that will shed more light on your bond with Ember. She seems like a lovely girl”, dad said.
” She really is. How long are you guys staying this time? “, I asked. Dad laughed.
“Now that your alpha, you’re trying to kick your old man away from the pack again” he joked. I shook my head. It would never be that way and he knew it.
“Nonsense. I was thinking about having a family dinner tonight. I know you guys won’t stay for a full day, but if you’re going to be here, we mind as well all be together. ” I told him. He nodded.
“We planned on leaving in the morning. I’m not sure about Damien and Jordan though. They may be here a while since the projects they are both working on are based in Miami”, dad said. I smiled. It had been a few months since we had spent time with our brothers, and I always looked forward to the time we spent with family. I already knew they were going to give Ember hell. Our smart Ember would know how to dish it right back as well. It’s one of the things I love about her. Wait…. Did I just say…. love?
Ember
I followed Jessica to a closet. She grabbed something that looked like a book out of it, dusting it off, before closing the closet door and beckoning me to follow her. We walked in silence for a while before we ended up in a part of the house I had yet to be in. I could tell off the bat that it was a garden room. I knew because my own mother loved flowers, and she built one herself while I was in high school, but it died out when we couldn’t keep it up anymore.
Flowers were everywhere. I could tell the staff of the packhouse were doing a great job keeping everything up. There was a high archway covered in vines and roses that led to an even bigger flower garden that had a few sprinklers working its water across. A bench was near the bushes, and the clouds blocked the sun as it was setting. I was glad I had brought my white t-shirt and jean shorts when I packed my stuff this morning because I definitely did not want to have seen them in the dress I was wearing. She sat down and motioned me beside her. I took a seat, still marveling at everything. This place deeply reminded me of my mother at her happiest and it made me a little sad.
” They haven’t shown you the packhouse?” Jessica asked me.
” Most of it, yes. I knew there was a garden here, but I didn’t expect it to look as amazing as this garden does”, I told her truthfully. She smiled and looked away.
“When I lived here, this was always my favorite place to go and think or escape.” She spoke.
“My mother was into gardening. She would have loved to have seen this place” I said, voicing my thoughts out loud.
“Well bring her, dear.” Jessica said. I couldn’t look at her.
“What a nice gesture. My mother, though, would not be able to. She was murdered a month ago, “I told her. I wasn’t sure how it just slipped out. Jessica had such a warm nature about her though.
“Oh, goddess. I am truly sorry to hear that” she said, and looking up into her eyes, I could tell she meant it. She reached over and wiped a teat I hadn’t realized was trailing down my face.
“What about your father?”, she asked.
“My father passed away when I graduated high school. ” I told her. She nodded.
“Sometimes, I even wonder why the fates make us go through such pain”, she said, almost to herself. She pulled the book onto her lap. I could tell it was a photo album.
She flipped to the first page and I saw two cute little boys, playing in the tub with werewolf toys in the bathwater.
“Carter and Seth when they were one.” She spoke. I smiled.
“They are too precious here” I said. She flipped a few more pages of Seth and Carter, who were crawling together as infants.
“They have been inseparable since the day they were born. Ruby and I gave birth side by side, determined to make sure they were born together and when they did, they cried so hard. However, when they were in close range with each other, all they did was coo at us. That was the day their bond really began”, she explained. I smiled again. They were both so lucky to have such a tight bond like that. This made me understand them more, in a way. She flipped to another page, where they stood with two more boys. One with a light brown curly head and one with jet black hair like Seth’s, but it was sleeker.
“Who are these two adorable boys?” I asked her.
“Oh, those are our other sons, Damien and Jordan, ” she said. I looked at them. They definitely had a resemblance to each other.
“I didn’t know they had siblings.” I said, shocked. They never told me.
” Yep. Jordan is Carter’s brother, and Damien is Seth’s brother. We gave birth to them one year later. Surprisingly, they were born around the same time as well, and they are also inseparable. Since Carter and Seth now run the pack, they have business ideas for our family to spread out our packs’ influence, doing some good. You will get to meet them tonight. Ben has just informed me our sons will be making dinner for us for a family night before we head out in the morning “, Jessica said, still scrolling through the book. The more pages she scrolled through, the more I found myself watching the four of them grow up together. She came to a photo where it looked like the four of them were in college together. Their builds were all sleek with a hint of muscles peeking through all four of them. My men looked hot as usual, but it was something about Jordan and Damien that made me want to see more of them as well. Though I could not figure it out. Jessica followed my curious gaze at them, and I looked up at her. She looked down pretending not to see I was just ogling her other two sons. My cheeks reddened, but she said nothing about it, and proceeded to show me more photos as well.
As the night closed, we went back inside.
“Do I have to dress fancy for dinner?”, I asked her.
“Oh dear, Goddess no. Just get washed up and wear normal clothes. I guarantee you, no one is wearing a suit to dinner” she said, smiling at me. I was happy to hear that. My mates were in the kitchens, and I was going to go help them after I got dressed.
Before I went up the steps, Jessica grabbed my wrist.
“Oh, and dear, one more thing, don’t let tonight scare you. I am sure it will hold… many surprises. ” She said, letting me go and winking before she left. What the hell was that about?