Chapter 64 Setting out for the human realm.
Meanwhile, at Megan's courtyard, the previous night, everything was solemn after the family of four returned home.
Ainar was terrified and stayed by her mother's side crying until Megan used her magic to make her sleep again.
Amoux on the other hand stood by the bed watching Ainar sleep. There was nothing he could do.
After the kids quieted down, Megan called Ryan to the sitting room and served him some blood.
"Ryan, from now on, you can sleep with any of the females in our crew. I want you to start your own harem."
Ryan dropped the glass of blood and shot to his feet.
"No!"
"It's an order!" Megan's voice trembled. This was harder than she had thought. "I have given it a lot of thought. To show my sincerity, I must let you do this. I will never lay with another man. I can't bring myself to do it. But you, you should do it. You should lay with other women and make your mother's house stronger. It's part of your filial piety."
By the time Megan was done, the tears she was trying to hold back were already streaming down her cheeks.
Megan knew all this while that she was being selfish by not having a harem. If they were back at home, in her own pack, the elders would have insisted on it. The prominent families within the pack would have presented her with their most powerful Alpha sons of her generation for marriage. In this way, she would be able to give birth to as many powerful Alpha sons and daughters, making her family and the family of her husband more powerful.
Even though nobody can force a Luna to do this, it was the norm and the preexisting Luna's hardly refused.
It was even more selfish of her to prevent Ryan from having a harem of his own. After all, he was one of a kind, and as many women he sleeps with, will the strength of the house or Kulan be. But being a girl who had read a lot of human romance novels, she believed in love and had ignored traditions.
Deep down, Megan knew that Kulan detested her for this. And tonight, when Kulan outrightly called Ryan a useless son and an incompetent husband, Megan made up her mind to rectify the relationship between mother and son by sacrificing her own belief that a man and a woman should be exclusive in their love relationships.
Already feeling the compulsion of her magic on his soul, Ryan went to his wife and hugged her.
Before now, other women repulsed him, but after Megan permitted him, he would be able to find other women attractive from now on.
He also knew that the strained relationship between himself and his mother was because of this but he didn't mind. Even without the bond, he never had the thought of having another woman. If not for the force from the bond, Ryan still had no intention of having another woman.
With the rising of the sun, Alice summoned Megan and transferred her to the Library where she was made to take over from an older human elder of the house of KuLaa, who was planning to retire from active life.
The twins were told they could return to KuLaa's villa but Ainar was too traumatized and quietly remained by her mother's side. Her dream of becoming a superstar in the human world is forever forgotten.
Amoux was the only one who was happy with the outcome of the previous night's events. With his status regained as the grandson of KuLaa, he could now continue his research without any hindrances.
By this time, it was time for the crew to depart for the human realm.
On the day of departure, Kulan handed the island over to Alice and Bella while she took Ryan, Kurt, and Lev with her and the crew.
The journey to the human realm from the vampire realm takes three months using the legal routes. Therefore, give or take, this journey should take a year at the most, if everything goes as planned.
The island made a sacrifice to the Moon Goddess and the crew departed…
In the Human realm, it's been more than half a year since Alaric died and Oliver left with his two remaining sons: Saint and Roy.
It's been 5 months since they left the vampire realm and two months since they arrived in the human realm.
On the day of their arrival, an elderly wizard from KuLaa's crew met them at Baril and took them to a town called Avila. This was an industrious town where factories outnumbered residential houses. In fact, the residential houses outside the factories were not for rent as they belonged to the factory owners who now gave it out to their staff at subsidized rentage fees. No outsider can get a house to live in in Avila unless they want to scout with a factory worker.
The factory where they were taken to was one of the numerous estates Kulan snatched from the members of the Ember coven.
It was a rubber and wool processing company with sections that also produced dolls and toys for children and textiles for making clothes.
The family of three lived in a four-bedroom apartment in a block building with ten flats and five floors. They were on the third floor.
While Saint and Roy were posted to the textile section, Oliver was posted to the toys and doll-making section.
For the first time in his life, Oliver got to live a normal life with what remained of his family. Even though there were a lot of grievances and sadness in his heart, everything around him and his sons was perfect.
They got to live together like a real family, sharing meals and stories, drinking, and making jokes. Oliver couldn't ask for more.
Since the werewolves came to stay in the human realm, they couldn't go out to hunt for their meals like they did back at home and couldn't buy as much meat as they needed to strengthen their bodies because it would be suspicious.
Therefore, while they ate like normal humans, they learned to use physical training to maintain their strength.
On this day, Roy was off duty and since he was home alone, it was his job to prepare the meal for the family.
Roy was in the kitchen, cleaning up when Saint arrived, looking worn out and ready to crash.
"What's there to eat, Roy?" Saint called out from the sitting room.
"Tofu soup, sour bread, and soy milk," Roy replied with a sneer.
Despite the aroma of stir-fried pork ribs hanging in the air, Saint went ahead to ask a question Roy considered stupid so he also responded with a lie.
Back in the sitting room, Saint sniggered to himself and walked over to the dining table which was just an extended area of the sitting room.
"Did someone give birth? Is your wife breastfeeding?" He retorted before dragging out a chair and settling into it.
On the dining table, were three pre-served plates of pork ribs and vegetables. There was also a big bowl of rice and several bottles of beer.
The moment Saint sat down, he started eating.
"Is Dad not back?" Saint asked because he saw that he was the first person to eat their dinner.
"No," Roy replied from the kitchen.
"I heard that there is a war of Lords going on in the vampire realm," Saint said between mouthfuls.
By then, Roy was done with what he was washing. He used a napkin to dry his hands and walked to the dinner where he joined his brother and started eating his food.
"What is that?" He asked before picking up a pork rib.
"They say it's like our Battle of the Alphas but it's a battle between the elders of vampire families."
"Where did you hear this?"
"Where else? At the factory canteen of course."
"It could be a lie." Roy snorted. He hardly believed any gossip from the factory workers.
One of the things he hated about humans was the way they lie about anything and the exaggerations in their truths.
"What if it's true?"
Roy sniffed the air and gave Saint a deep look. "You smell of fear. What worries you?"
"What if it affects you know who, and the kids?" Saint said in a near whisper.
They were warned never to speak of Megan and Ryan's name carelessly because they couldn't be sure of who could be listening.
Roy was in deep thought for a moment but when he was about to respond, the front door opened and Oliver stepped in with a middle-aged and good-looking man.
"Dad!" Saint and Roy stood up.
"Elder Mac!!" They chorused when they saw the man.
The two boys looked at their father and the guest quizzically.
Elder Mac was the wizard who came to pick them up at Baril when they first arrived. Since then, this would be the first time they would be seeing him. The boys were wondering why.
"Roy, Saint, how are you guys? Hope you like it here. I heard from your supervisors that you are quite hard-working."
Elder Mac beamed his best smile at them as he rained praises on the boys. Surprising and embarrassing them at the same time.
"We're Just doing our jobs, elder," Saint replied to both of them.
"Come, come and sit down elder." Roy quickly vacated his seat and hurried over to the kitchen to get extra plates. Since there was no leftover, he already decided to sacrifice his father's food to the elder while he passed his own food to Oliver.
After all, he had only just started eating his first rib. There were still several left on his plate.
"There is no need, Roy. I am just passing by and decided to check on you guys."
"More reason. Why should you eat with us, Elder? Please take your seat. Roy is a good cook. You will like the ribs, I promise." Oliver encouraged the elder.
Not wanting to appear rude, the elder nodded his acceptance of their invitation and sat at Oliver's seat.
"If you insist." He smiled gently.
"We do," Roy said from the kitchen.
Just like that, the food was shoveled and everyone chatted as they ate.
Elder Mac asked about their jobs, their partners at work, and their health. He reminded them to be very careful and always remember to call him anytime they plan to leave the safety of Avila town to go play outside. That way, Elder Mac would be able to assign them some bodyguards to ensure their safety.
Just before they finished their meal, Roy brought up the question about the War of Lords.
"Well, it is true but you have nothing to worry about. There is no household stronger than the house of Kulan in the realm. If Lord Kulan wasn't sure of winning, she wouldn't start the war." Elder Mac reassured them.
"What about Ainar? They said she was attacked and Injured. Is it true?" Saint asked worriedly.
"It's not true." Elder Mac revealed.
Roy gave Saint an 'I-told-you-so' look then focused back on Elder Mac.
"It was true that she was drugged but the protective totem on her neutralized the poison and she was able to alert Lord Kulan on time. She was rescued and is doing well."
Oliver, who was quietly listening by the side, signed in relief.
As long as his family was fine, the world could burn for all he cared for.
After everything he and his family had been through, Oliver just wanted to live a quiet life, devoid of any unnecessary excitement.
He was sad when Megan and Ryan decided to continue staying with Kulan but there was nothing he could do. Not only was he weak compared to them all, but he had no means of protecting them from prospective future troubles. They were safer with KuLaa.
"That is good to hear," Oliver muttered then opened a bottle of beer.
That night, the four men drank with abandon, and by the time Elder Mac left, he was happy that he stayed with them.
His life had been very dry because as an elder wizard. The crew members under him were wary and respectful to him while the elder vampires he had to work with to manage the Kulan crew overseeing the factory were never available in the day and he also had to sleep at night. Their biological clocks were in opposition.
Now that he discovered that these werewolves were not so reserved, Elder Mac decided to stroll past this area frequently in the future. He even collected everyone's phone numbers.