Part Forty-Two

I woke to sunlight filtering through the still open curtains and I could feel the chill in the air. I had left my bedroom door open in case Sierra needed anything during the night. I had hoped she would need something but after we said goodnight she didn’t venture out of her room again.

Her door was wide open and her bed made when I walked out of my room and headed downstairs. I found her in the kitchen making breakfast and singing along with the radio as Kane sat and watched her every move.

“Morning,” I said and she spun around.

“Hey, did I wake you?” she asked and put the music softer.

“Not at all, can’t remember the last time I slept this late,” I said.

“It’s seven thirty, you call this late?”

“I’m usually up at five,” I said.

“To do what?” she asked me.

“Go for a jog, start my day,” I said as she pulled a face.

“Only crazy people jog,” she said as she handed me a cup of coffee.

“Thanks,” I said and sat down at the counter as she finished breakfast.

“What does your day entail? You’re a lawyer right,” she said.

“Technically yes, although I haven’t worked as a lawyer in a long time before your trial,” I said.

“So what did you do all day?” she asked.

“Technically I’m also an Enforcer so I was on assignment the whole time. I work differently than other Enforcers, I was tasked with finding hunters and eliminating them,” I said.

“And all the marks on your arms mean that you’ve been pretty successful doing that,” she said.

“I’m good at finding people that doesn’t want to be found,” I said.

“It sounds more personal than just an assignment,” she said.

“Hunters killed my mother eight years ago, my best friend, his parents and a few clowder members,” I said.

“I’m sorry,” she said.

She dished up breakfast for us and we ate quietly as I thought about how to tell her the rest of that story. She deserved to know the whole truth even if it wasn’t pretty. I offered to clean the kitchen since she made breakfast and afterwards I found her lounging on the couch with Kane’s head on her lap.

“Uh oh, you have your serious face on,” she said.

“There are more things that I should tell you,” I said as she shifted her legs and turned towards me.

“I got married when I was eighteen,” I started to say.

“Married…” she said and I knew what she was thinking.

“The Oracle told me I’d never find my bonded half, she of course never said that my bonded half would find me, so I took a chosen mate. Our clowder was attacked just as we finished the ceremony before I could mark her.”

“After the attack Samantha was missing and a week later I received a video where she was shot in the head,” I said.

“That’s terrible!” she said.

“She wasn’t dead though, it was all a lie. I found her a month ago and you rejected me when I brought her here, you left thinking that I chose Samantha,” I said to her.

“Did you choose her?” she asked me softly.

“I didn’t choose anything, I was confused because the Oracle appeared again and said I’d be betrayed and at that time things didn’t look so good for you, you didn’t give me a chance to choose though and honestly I can’t say what I would’ve done,” I said.

“You thought I would betray you?” she asked me.

“We’d only known each other for three weeks, but be that as it may, that night Samantha shot me three times in the back and I realized the crazy truth. She was a part of everything from the beginning, her father killed my mother,” I said.

“Did you ever find her again?” she asked me.

“Yes, she’s in the dungeon with her father in Newport,” I said.

“Do you still love her?” she asked me.

“No, I fought your case after you rejected me. I didn’t accept your rejection because I couldn’t. I didn’t want to let you go, but you left me anyway and went back to New York. I felt your fear, that’s how I knew something had happened,” I said to her.

“Why are you telling me all this?” she asked.

“Because you deserve to know the truth, I also sought out Clive Hastings and he told me things that were never put into your pack file, the truth of who you are,” I said to her.

“Was he hiding something from me?” she asked.

“Yes, you’re not human Sierra, your parents Charlie and Mathilda died in a car accident but you were unharmed and a mountain lion led you to the pack border, you were sick because you’d been eating raw meat with the cat, but it looked after you until you were found,” I said to her.

“If I’m not human then what am I?” she asked.

“A nymph,” I said and her eyes widened slightly.

“I have no idea what that is,” she said.

“We thought nymphs were extinct but I can call on an Oracle, she might know more,” I said to her.

“This is all a lot to take in,” she said.

“I’m sorry, but knowing the truth is always better. I don’t want you to get to know me without having all the facts of our past,” I said.

Sierra had gone upstairs right after that conversation and I wasn’t sure now that telling her had been the best thing. Kane and I had gone for a jog and checked the surrounding areas for strange scents. We found none but he did spot some moose further up in the trees but he let them go.

I checked my email and worked on some stuff that Damon had sent for me to check. It was mostly legal stuff, contracts, alliance proposals, Council documents and so forth. Just before dinner Sierra came down the stairs and I closed the laptop when I saw her.

“Are you okay?” I asked her.

“Information overload,” she said and smiled quickly. I had noticed that about her, always smiling at everyone else to make them feel better or to hide her true emotions.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“No, you’re right. It’s better to know than to wonder what happened between us,” she said.

“I’d like to see this as a second chance, a fresh start for both of us,” I said.

“For me everything with you is a first now but I like the idea of a fresh start. Did it hurt when I rejected you?” she asked me.

“Knocked me out for a whole day,” I said and she looked down.

“I’m sorry,” she said and then she laughed.

“I deserved it but it’s not really that funny,” I said.

“I know, I’m sorry, it’s just, I can’t imagine you all big and tough knocked on your ass,” she said and started laughing again.

“You’ve met my father, my mother knocked him on his ass quite a few times,” I said and she laughed again.

“Was she a great warrior?” she asked.

“My mother was human,” I said and she blinked a few times.

“How the hell did she do that?” she asked.

“She used to tase him whenever he became too much of an Alpha for her,” I said and we both laughed.

“Right… I’m making a mental note of that,” she said as I stopped laughing.

“That shit really hurts, she used to tase me too,” I said and she tried to hide her smile.

“I was wondering if you could call your friend, the Oracle, I’d like to know more about what I am,” she said softly.

“Sierra, you grew you up in a wolf pack, your position in a clowder will be equal of that of the Alpha Female in a wolf pack, as my bonded half you never have to waver or feel shy about saying what you want to say or ask for anything you want,” I said to her.

“Griffin, call your Oracle friend now or else!” she said threateningly and then laughed, “no, I can’t be like that.”

“That was a pretty strong aura you just put forth there,” I said as she smiled at me.

“Liar, anyway are we making soup today? I’ve got a feeling at some point we’ll appreciate just being able to heat it up,” she said.

“Sure, whatever you want, I’ll try and contact Octavia,” I said to her.

“I’m guessing you can’t just call her,” she said.

“Octavia doesn’t live in this realm, so it might take a while before she responds or appears,” I said.

I went upstairs to my room as Sierra headed towards the kitchen. It takes a lot of concentration to contact an Oracle on the other side and I needed quiet to reach out to her. The system was a powerful one, I could feel if she was there or not and then I could just leave a message for her.

I sat quietly for the better part of an hour, clearing my mind and concentrating on Octavia’s face and feeling for her presence on the other side. When I felt a sliver of it I whispered, “Veni ad me.” I stood up and stretched my back before joining Sierra downstairs.

“Did you find her?” she asked me as I walked into the kitchen.

“It’s hard to explain, but she’ll appear when she gets my message,” I said.

“Can I ask you something personal?” she asked.

“Aren’t you moving a bit fast, I mean, we’re still getting to know one another,” I said as she threw the dishcloth in my general direction but laughed as it fell to the floor not even traveling across the table.

“Idiot,” she mumbled.

“What did you want to ask?” I asked her.

“How are you and Kane two separate beings? Does it work differently with Enforcers? Can you all separate like that?” she asked me.

“I pissed off a witch seven years ago and she pulled Kane from me, but as time went on we both realized we preferred it, now we can do things together instead of just living in each other’s heads,” I said.

“I like having Kane around instead of you changing into him,” she said and on cue Kane marched into the kitchen and started rubbing against her.

“Great, now he’s leaving his scent all over you,” I said as Kane growled lightly at me.