Chapter 49 Asia&Eva
As the townspeople struggled to adapt to the new way of life thrust upon them, tension within the waterfall grotto was steadily rising. One of the tall windows on the upper floor of the great stone manor had suddenly shattered, and a heavy chair had been hurled out through it.
The pack's twins, Alex and Axel, burst through the door in an instant and looked up. Their eyes were locked on the window, trying to make sense of what had happened. In one corner of the waterfall grotto's paradise garden, Asia lay stretched out in a hammock, arms folded across her chest. Despite the chaos unfolding around her, she was trying to rest and though her body was relaxed, the turmoil in her mind refused to settle.
Hearing the voices rising from inside, Rai poked his head out through the door. He turned to Alex and Axel and asked, "What's going on?"
Axel let out a laugh, a sardonic smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "Looks like our Alpha hasn't exactly managed to calm his dear wife Eva down," he said.
Rai already knew that after what Eva had witnessed at the sacred haven, things weren't going to be easy for Kael. But he believed that meddling in the troubled relationship of two supernatural beings bound by a sacred soul bond was not his place. So he cast a brief glance toward the window, then looked away. "Alright," he said in a firm tone. "Enough clowning around. Back to the manor , there's work to be done inside."
He went in as soon as the words left his mouth. Axel and Alex followed with reluctant grumbles.
The only one who remained outside was Asia. She slowly closed her eyes and surrendered herself to the gentle rhythm of the swaying hammock. The weight of this world they had only just awakened to still pressed down on her. And she needed a little more time to make sense of this strange new reality.
Upstairs, things had taken a turn for the worse. Eva , wrapped in a fabric bathrobe, her fury far larger than her small frame , had raised a finger and was screaming at Kael.
"You knew that not all of my memories had returned! And yet you let me believe the only problems were an angry mob and some wolves! A vampire who shares your face and your blood? Are you serious, Kael?! When were you planning to tell me , after the entire pack had been slaughtered?" she snarled.
She carried a luna spirit in her body now. Her old witch self had been an expert at staying calm, but wolves were fueled by the fire of rage. And Eva's soul was at that moment teetering on the fine line between ripping Kael's head off and devouring his organs.
Kael moved slowly toward her, leaned in, and gently kissed her shoulder as he stroked it. "Technically he is a demon king , humans over the centuries called him a vampire. But demons are too evil to be romanticized, Eva," he said.
Then he slowly lifted her into his arms and carried her to the bed. Eva was a bundle of raw nerves and didn't even turn to look at him. Kael, understanding her devastation, was doing his best not to push further. He reached for her ankle and pulled a cloth from the nightstand beside her. In the earlier struggle, Eva had cut her wrist slightly. He cleaned it gently and blew on it.
That gesture softened Eva's expression, if only a little. But she couldn't hold back her anger. Kael finally drew a deep breath and, while still tending to her wrist, began to speak. "Centuries ago, in the time when you and I existed... before the Rose women created the wolf race, many of us were nothing more than humans. Just like you..." he said.
Eva was startled by what she heard. The word humans from Kael's mouth had literally stopped her pulse. She continued listening with curious eyes.
Kael seemed to be deliberately holding something back. Avoiding her gaze, he went on. "Then we all had to live with what our choices brought us. You became a Rose witch. I became an Alpha. And he became a demon..." he said.
Eva's patience had reached its breaking point. "So you're choosing not to tell me either! What is this?! Since the day I arrived in this town , find your own way, Eva! Find your lineage, Eva! Find your power, Eva! Believe in love, Eva!" she cried. "But let everyone keep their secrets , even the man who is supposed to be my soul mate!"
"No, it's not like that," Kael said, reaching out to touch her, but Eva had already gotten up from the bed. "No , don't you dare touch me! If I'm supposed to figure everything out on my own, then leave me alone and let me figure it out," she said. A few tears had slipped down her cheeks. "Maybe in this new century, I also need to find the man who was honest with me back in those past centuries , instead of this mysterious man I fell in love with!" And with that, she walked out the door.
Her white bathrobe billowing in the wind, she stormed out of the stone manor and into the garden of the waterfall grotto. Her white hair was plastered to her face, smeared with tears. Just as she was about to move forward, Kael leaped from the shattered manor window in wolf form and landed in front of her.
He growled in a wolf's voice: "There is a demon king out there, Eva! You are the last of the Rose witches! Do you have any idea what he might do for your blood? You are not going anywhere!"
But that move had drained the very last drop of Eva's patience. In an instant, she spread her palms open and awakened the witch within. With violet embers flickering in her eyes, violet fire blazed from her hands. "You were right! I am the last witch of the Rose bloodline, and there is no one else like me , no one to match my kind, my power! Now get out of my way. Because if I have to trample you to pass, don't you dare put on the drama of 'You were always a traitor, Rose girl!'" she screamed. Mystical energy radiated outward around her.
This turn of events delighted someone nearby. Asia's face lit up with a sly smile. Because Eva's meek little luna-cat phases had been grating on her nerves. But the woman she now saw before her resembled the young witch she had known centuries ago. In high spirits, she slowly rose from the hammock and made her way toward them.
"I'll go with her," she said.
Kael , his great wolf paws planted in the earth, eyes fixed on his beloved wife , shifted his gaze to Asia. "You don't know life outside, Asia! You can't protect her," he snarled.
Asia opened the red embers in her eyes, the mark of her bloodline. She tossed her jet-black hair, bared her teeth, and readied her claws. "You made four ancient wolf lineages into your pack! You knew we would never be obedient little lambs, Kael! We are not governed , we are only companions. It seems you've misread our loyalty. Or perhaps the centuries have made you forget!" she snarled.
Kael knew them well. From the very beginning, he had bound this pack , wolves who were normally alphas of their own bloodlines , to himself with unwavering loyalty. And he had always respected their foresight and their desires. But now, having lost Mad Jack and with the demon king awakening, the protective instinct within him had been stoked to a fever pitch.
As the two wolves snarled at each other, Eva's voice broke through the chaos. "If she wants to come with me, she's coming! And if you want to stop us, it seems you have two people to deal with," she said.
Kael turned his wolf eyes to her. The resolute expression on Eva's face hadn't changed in the slightest. With a growl and a curse under his breath, he turned his gaze to Asia. "Please , watch over yourself. And over her," he said.
Asia, pleased to see the old Kael standing before her once more, said, "Have no doubt, Alpha!" and headed toward the exit.
Eva was right behind her. As she passed by Kael, he shifted back into his human form for a brief moment and reached out to touch her arm. But Eva, her senses now sharpened, sensed it coming and pulled her arm forward, continuing on her way without a word.
A few steps later, they had reached the great stone gate of the waterfall grotto. Without turning to look at Eva, Asia asked, "We're very high up , if you climb down in your human body, you'll be shattered. Can you still not shift when you want to?"
"I'd have been happier if you hadn't asked like you were mocking me. But yes , I'm new to all this," Eva said. Then, in a slightly hesitant tone, she asked, "So... couldn't you just carry me on your back?"
Asia looked at her with a sardonic gaze and grumbled. "I don't go for women , the ones I carry tend to be handsome and muscular," she said, letting her eyes sweep over Eva. But even as she spoke, an idea for getting Eva to shift had already taken shape in her mind.
With a sharp laugh, she added, "Oh, and you should sign up for the gym at some point. Small girls can be attractive, but with that backside of yours, I don't think an Alpha's eyes are going to stay on you for very long."
Eva's face darkened with fury. "Damn you, Asia! What is that supposed to mean?!" she growled.
Asia was ready to play her final card. "Or did Kael go and tell you again , that centuries-old lie about wolves being capable of monogamy?" she said, stifling a laugh.
At that moment, the embers in Eva's eyes began to blaze. The wolf inside her had grown jealous of her mate! "What nonsense are you talking about?!" she snarled , and in that instant, she realized. Her voice was gone. She had already shifted into her wolf form.
Asia closed her eyes and opened them again, glowing red embers blazing within. In an instant, she had transformed into a grey wolf. She called out in a wolf's voice: "I don't know where your home is , lead the way, little wolf!" And with that, she leaped from the waterfall gorge, down through the falls.
Eva leaped after her without hesitation. Down in the town below, chaos was waiting for them...