Silence descended in the room when Freya uttered the name, ‘Emma.’ A silence that was different from the others that had fallen on the room at intervals since the meeting started.
This particular silence had everyone’s ears at attention, and everyone at the edge of their seats. Anticipation thrummed in and around the hearts of everyone in the room, including Claire.
‘Put the call on loudspeaker, my love.’
Freya turned up her lips at Aiden’s suggestion, but she was too happy to ignore or get annoyed over the suggested intrude in her privacy. She obliged. She removed the phone from her ear, tapped the loudspeaker tab, and kept the phone on her lap.
“Emma…is that you?”
A lighthearted chuckle resonated from the speaker, a chuckle that caused the drum of joy to begin to beat in the heart of Nathan, who was just hearing his first daughter’s voice for the first time. He had heard from Kane, that once, the girl had spoken to him through his mind, had bypassed the mind barrier.
For the life of him, Nathan could not understand how she had done it. She had never met Kane before, had never heard his voice before, not to mention exchange blood with the ancient, yet she had tapped into his mind path, without him knowing.
Nathan, now, couldn’t stop the shudder of awe that ran through him. Emma was something on another level. They would have to discuss it together. He longed to take the phone, and say hello, to explain things, but rather he inhaled deeply, aware of Sheila poking around his mind, and listened.
‘You really want to cry, big man?’
Nathan held back a huff, not wanting the others to know that he was communicating with his mate. ‘Not at all, woman. Check yourself, it seems you already are.’
Sheila held back a chuckle of laughter, when she felt a tear slip past her cheek. She would have accused her mate for being behind this, but she knew it was not so. This was coming from the numerous depths of a mother’s love.
“Freya, it’s barely a week since I left your company, and you already forgot my voice? I see Aiden is doing a great job. He has already befuddled your brain. However, is it that good that you would forget your own sister?”
Freya opened her mouth, then shut it, aware of the red blush of embarrassment that donned her cheeks. She had almost forgotten that Emma could be so brash. Maya, beside her, couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped her lips. Her friend was intact.
“Is that Maya?? Let her have the phone. Seems she already recognizes me…”
A taunt, that caused the people to hold back a laughter. They weren’t sure if Emma would take it lightly if she found out that the phone call was put on speaker mode. The girl could be in a diverse mood sometimes.
“Yo girl! How are you doing?” Maya asked, after a beat, not trying to sound down considering the heartbreak that her friend had faced before leaving, knowing that Emma wouldn’t like that.
“I feel a bit laden. You never told me that a shift could be this exhausting. I have been sleeping for the past two days. Just woke up this morning. How is Eva? Please don’t tell me that she has forgotten me too?”
Eva couldn’t stop the laughter, or the words that flew out of her mouth the next second. “I’m here, Emma. I miss you a lot! When are you coming back?”
There was a beat of silence during which Eva withdrew in her seat, realizing that she had just revealed the secret to Emma. The latter was too sensitive to not notice it.
“I miss you too Eva. I’m not sure when I will be back though. Maya, so the call is on loudspeaker? I thought as much. I’m sure that Freya had put it on, after I had said hello, and she had responded with a bedroom voice. Is Aiden close to her?”
Maya heaved in relief. Emma wasn’t angry.
“Yup. You guessed so right.”
Freya glared at her, but she wasn’t bothered, rather she welcomed a suddenly giddy Eva into her arms. But of course, she could understand the little one’s joy.
“The old man really wants to kill my sister…” This was said with an exaggerated sigh, causing Aiden to puff out smoke from his ears.
Yes, he was old. But should she say it that way? Like he was abusing his lifemate? Yes, he knew that she was joking, but still…
The others found it so funny, though they made strong attempts to not release their laughs. Even Claire had a smile on her face. With her obsession for Derek suddenly gone, she couldn’t help but to see the reason why people were drawn to the redhead she had talked about killing one time.
“Well, that’s by the way. How’s Ava? How’s she coping with other oldie?”
Julius balked visibly. She remembered him? Ava knocked her shoulder to his. They both seemed happy for the remembrance.
“How about Yodah? He had mentioned about his strict father coming, his uncle too. Have they arrived? I think his uncle’s name is Kane. Right, Freya?”
Freya nodded, then remembering that this was a phone call, said yes. A smile buttered her lips when she saw the expression on Kane’s face immediately. The ancient was shocked that Emma knew his name.
“Kane. Does he have a mate? His blood seemed so hot that night, yet sad at the same time. It didn’t stop me from cautioning him though. How could he scold you and Yodah…”
“How did you do that? You know you put him in disarray…” Freya asked, interrupting Emma’s next words, speaking the question that was going through the minds of the people at the moment.
A beat of silence.
“I’m not sure. Suddenly I could feel your emotions then. You were so nervous. I didn’t like you being nervous, so I traced what was causing it. Somehow I found the cause. When I touched him, I knew he was a vampire like Yodah, however good….”
Kane opened his mouth to release a foul word, but instantly Dobah was right beside him, with a hand over his mouth.
‘Shut your mouth, brother. I know being called a vampire irks you now, but still…keep it down until the call is over…’
Kane glared at his brother, and at the hand over his mouth, but he kept it down.
“He seemed to be on the brink of a discovery, or something. Well, I had just touched his mind paths, and somehow it had caved in, at my touch…”
Nathan’s mouth dropped open in shock. His expression was an exact replica of the others in the room. If Legardo should get his hand on his daughter…
Nathan shook his head, dispelling the thought. He didn’t want to think of the consequences, of the consequences of Emma being controlled like Eva had been.
“I just dropped my warning, and leapt off. I didn’t want to touch his memories which smelt of darkness and hunting… How is he now? Still angry?”
Freya shook her head, forgetting again. “No. He is fine now. He has found his mate too. Actually, he is not a vampire. I’m sorry I hadn’t corrected that expression before you left.”
“What is he then? What are you guys?” The question was asked without missing a beat.
“Ancients.”
From the background, the people could hear ‘Impossible.’
“Who is that?” Freya asked, noting that her sister must have put the call on loudspeaker too.
“That came from my friend, Annabel. She is a rare human, and comes from a family tasked with keeping supernaturals safe, and in line. I would call it fate that we met.”
Sheila jerked up, not believing her ears. She longed to talk to her daughter, and ask specific questions, but Emma didn’t know of her yet. So, she kept quiet, biding her time.
From the expression on her mother’s face, Freya was aware that the older woman knew of the people that Emma was talking about. And not just her, the ancients too. A certain look seemed to have donned their features, something in line with shock tampered with awe. She would ask them more after this conversation.
“Well, it turns out she knows your kind. She is special really. She shocked Prescott by hearing him speak for the first time.”
A laugh followed the statement. “Hush now Prescott. If it had passed my mind, I would have captured your expression with my phone…”
Maya chuckled, her eyes twinkling with mischief. “Did he really now? I’m sure his pride had taken a blow ….”
Emma laughed with the same thread of mischief. “Oh, you have no idea. And of course, my sister is here. You guys would not be able to guess what I found out about her. Freya, take a guess. She was your roommate, before you abandoned her to search for oldie.”
More low laughs from Maya, Ava, who had joined the girls on the couch, and Eva. Freya, however, was at loss.
“Yodah is right there too, right? Ask him to take a guess. Honestly, I don’t understand how you cope with the bodyguard and the oldie?”
Yodah scoffed, and folded his arms across his chest. However, he didn’t know much about Amelia, the only girl Freya had taken to on campus.
“Help us, Emma. We are at a loss here.” Freya finally said, putting an end to the misery that Emma’s question had brought upon her mind.
“Well, she is Jaguar.”