Fighting, Anaya Phoenix [best affordable ebook reader .TXT] 📗

him a pointed look before looking quickly to Alissa who looked deadly. I held my hands up in surrender and turned, beginning to walk away.

“It was fair!” Was all I said before I went off towards my room, suddenly desperately needing sleep.

 

Chapter 34

 

With a small groan I flopped down on my bed and stuffed my nose into Ander’s pillow. I had no idea where he was, but that had been happening more and more since we’d been officially mated. We could keep tabs on each other without having to go into the link, we could feel when we were near each other and when the distance was insufferable. And, currently, he was nearby but not too close. He was probably getting something to eat before he settled in for the night, which actually sounded like a great idea. I pushed myself up into a sitting position and sighed, staring down at my hands. While I was a werewolf and didn’t scar easily, my hands were still rough with damage. They were calloused and looked like they belonged to a middle-aged working man and not to a nineteen year old girl. I rubbed my hands down my face and, for the first time in a long time, let my body slump. My back was no longer rimrod straight and I let out all the air in my lungs only to take a good deep breath.

“Oh shit!” I scrambled out of my bed and ripped off my training clothes before putting on something comfortable and presentable before running to the dining hall. I skidded in, my breathing erratic, and ignored Anna’s glare before I sidled next to Ander who didn’t even look at me; which, admittedly, stung a whole lot.

“Happy Birthday Marie, David, and Maddock! Happy Birthday to you!!” They all finished singing and I watched as the triplets blew out one candle individually for their own cupcakes. I winced when Sarah threw me a glare before going to her children and kissing them on the forehead, each one of them reveling in it. Marie looked at me and stuck her tongue out, David simply smirked, and Maddock just stared at me. I waited for my mom to tell them happy birthday before me and Ander stepped up. I sat down across from them and smiled one of the few genuine smiles I’d smiled in a while. Ander sat down next to me but not as close to me as he would’ve typically sat next to me.

“How’s it feel to be ten? That was a while ago for me.” I asked them, folding my hands and trying not to read to into it.

“Not very different.” Marie Anne said politely, smiling primly and copying my stance. She typically spoke for the three of them, the boys weren’t very vocal.

“Oh, well. I guess that’s normal. Was there anything that you wanted for your tenth birthday?” She was silent for a while and her stare went slightly vacant before they seemed to focus on me again and her cheeks flared red.

“Not really, the cupcakes will be enough in this situation.” I looked to the rest of them then. David was licking the frosting off the cupcake and Maddock was already done with his.

“I guess so… Just remember, if you ever want anything I’ve got access to magick.” I waggled my eyebrows and she giggled while David smiled. Maddock cocked his head and looked around before turning to look at David who looked back at him. His brow furrowed and then they both looked to Marie Anne. Her eyes went blank again and I shifted in my seat, sparing one look at Ander who just watched them with happy curiosity. Her face seemed to scrunch up softly in concentration before it lit up and her eyes focused again.

“We want a day outside!” She said excitedly, then they all looked at me. My heart dropped and I heard Sarah take a sharp breath through her teeth before she made her way over to us. I could feel Ander’s unhappiness and the hint of anger and it ate at me. I held my hand up and all movement stopped, even Sarah halted in her war path to us. They weren’t like me and Ander and most of our siblings. They weren’t going to be involved in this war, and were not children of war. They would never understand what this war was for because I’d made it my job to leave that unknown to them.

“Do you? Do you want a summer or spring day? In a field or in the forest?” Their happiness permeated the air, but was quickly tainted with the anger of the adults. Sarah resumed her path and stood behind her children, bringing them together and shielding them with her hands.

“What kind of bullshit is that Luna? Teasing them with that?” She growled at me, her wolf coming to the surface and her eyes burning into me.

“But mom we want a spring day! And it can be anywhere, we don’t mind. Anywhere but here!” Marie kept her eyes on me the whole time and they seemed to shine so bright. I looked to David and Maddock and saw the hope and happiness that was shining in their eyes. With a nod I stood up and winked at them before leaving the room. I could smell the disappointment and anger and heard Sarah’s snarl and knew I was in deep shit.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Ander growled at me through the link and I took a deep breath before running to the main training room. Nobody came after me, which I was slightly expecting to happen, but all the people that was in the training room did look at me funny. I went to stand in the middle and opened every link I had to the people down here, but focusing mainly on the children. I hadn’t been so open since I was younger and didn’t know how to close myself off properly. I closed my eyes and sat down, feeling the lines and grabbing them all and tugging hard. The wolves that were in children weren’t really there, it was sort of the essence of the wolf. I would need to pull really hard for them to notice, and that’s what I set about doing. They all noticed and I could hear and feel their confusion but I couldn’t think about that.

“Come to the big room.” I whispered through the link and pulled back quickly.

“Bring all the children to me.” I said through the victor link and knew they would do what I wanted them to do.

“Leave.” I said aloud to the few people there and didn’t close my eyes again until I’d seen them leave. With a deep breath I closed my eyes and let my magick out. I let my mind wander and let my magick create what I saw in my mind, some place where they could run and feel the air and the sun and wouldn’t be reminded of the hole we’d been put in. I could smell the fresh air and the water and the grass. The subtle smell of dirt caressed my nose but it wasn’t stagnant; it wasn’t tainted. The flowers were in full bloom, and I knew they would always be in full bloom in this place. I opened my eyes and saw the Garden of Eternal and smiled softly. I stood up and stretched out my body and walked on the grass, enjoying the soft tickle. I heard squeals of joy and turned around to see wolf pups running in and rolling around in the grass. From another entrance the bear and tiger pups came running through, essentially doing the same.

“Bring the triplets.” Was all I said to Ander, my feelings still slightly hurt form him snapping at me. I knew he would comply though, by now everyone would’ve smelled the difference. I watched as the triplets ran in, joy and utter awe brightened their face and David ran in, shifting to his wolf in the middle of it and rubbing against the grass. Marie Anne put her hand over her mouth before looking up at her brother and pointing to everything she saw. The biggest smile graced Ander’s face as he listened to her and watched as she pointed to everything. She gripped his hand and ran to one of the bigger boulders and he let her drag him. Maddock stood there, shock evident on his face. I walked to him, fighting off tears, and got on my knees in front of him making him slightly taller than me.

“Do you like it?” My voice was so soft and scared and low, but he heard me. He heard everything. He blinked before looking at me, blue eyes like his brothers pinned me to where I was and he cocked his head slowly. I waited patiently, needing to know I’d done something right. He slowly smiled and nodded, his arms spread wide and he hugged me to him. Sarah walked slowly behind him and stopped in her tracks. Tears flowed freely down my face and I didn’t bother to hide them. My arms slowly came up and hugged him back gently, scared to scare him off.

“Thank you.” He whispered softly in my ear and I froze before hugging him tighter. Sarah fell to her knees and I watched as she became an emotional wreck. He let go of me and I returned the favor, loosening my grip that had to be killer at that point. He leaned back and wiped the tears from my face.

“Don’t cry. Thank you.” His voice was rough, but it was there. With a sniff I nodded and smiled. He stepped away from me and changed into his wolf, running to go play with his brother. I watched for a little while before looking to Sarah.

“Those are the first words he’s said since he was five. He said ‘Mommy, I love you’. Goddess knows how long it took him to try and get that out.” Was all she could say. She watched her son for a little while longer before standing up and wiping her face off too.

“Thank you, Luna. Honestly.” She put her hand on my shoulder and gave it a soft squeeze. I nodded and rubbed her hand once before turning and watching her go play with her boys.

                Maddock had been born Lupine, which was a rare occurrence in the werewolf world but when it did happen it wasn’t that big of a deal. He had to be cut from her, because when he was in the womb he shifted in to his wolf. It was a disease that caused a shifter to be more wolf than human. In the past, shifters that were born Lupine had to stay away from civilization and raised in heavily wooded areas. However, since we were out we couldn’t shelter him. He’d had countless human doctors poking and prodding at him, collecting things for science and I’d allowed it because it was meant to be. When he’d finally finished being poked and prodded at they couldn’t provide any further intel other than he would always be Lupine and he wouldn’t be able to function like a regular shifter.