Chapter 97

Chapter 97
It was three days before the ceremony and I was in my office, reviewing a request from the pack daycare for an additional staff member to be added for the zero to 18 month pup class, when Grimm lightly knocked on the balcony door and entered my office.

“Hi, love,” I greeted him with a smile.

“Hi, little mate,” he replied as he bent down to place a quick kiss on my head. “Do you want to come down with me for lunch?” he asked.

My stomach growled at the thought of lunch, answering Grimm’s question for me. He was just about to reach for the doorknob when he paused, getting a mind link that made his brow wrinkle.

“What it is?” I asked when his eyes refocused and I could tell his mental conversation had ended.

“Not sure. A human is at the border checkpoint asking to see me or Declan,” he answered, “Stay here while we go check it out.”

I nodded, pushing back the tiny spark of fear I felt and shaking my head at myself. There was no reason for fear. The bad guys had been taken care of, and besides that, Grimm was going to have Declan and at least two pack guards by his side. Nothing bad was going to happen.

I tried going back to my work but found myself unable to comprehend the words on my computer screen. After a minute of drumming my fingers on the desk, I became annoyed with the sound and got up, pacing my office and gnawing on my lip.

Relax, little mate. Everything is fine, Grimm’s link came in, startling me and making me jump a little. His voice and reassurance made me relax immediately, however.

Sorry. I don’t know why I was so worried. I replied, knowing he had been feeling my fear and anxiety while he was gone.

Declan and I are heading up to my office with our guest. Meet us there. And if you could have the kitchen bring up lunch for the four of us, that would be good. He replied.

Despite Grimm’s reassurances, I found myself pacing his office while I waited for him, Declan, and the mystery guest. When the trio arrived, I saw who the guest was, recognizing him from our video calls. 

“Father Sean?” I asked, dumfounded.

“Lovely to meet you in person, Camellia,” the priest said with a warm smile as he took my hand in his. I felt a positive energy of sorts radiating from his hands into mine.

“What are you doing here?” I asked as my brain fought to catch up with the surprise, “Not that we’re not happy to have you,” I quickly added, feeling a blush creep into my cheeks.

“It was a surprise to all of us,” Declan added, feigning annoyance with the priest for his unannounced visit. I could see the smile in his eyes.

“Well, I was going to call to tell you all some new information I found, but I thought it might be best delivered in person. And what a wonderful opportunity to meet the woman who’s gotten Declan to finally settle down!” he said with a sparkle in his eyes.

“Please come and sit. The kitchen is bringing us some lunch for us while we talk,” I said, guiding Father Sean over to the sitting area.

We chatted about Father Sean’s travel and other mundane things until a light knock on the opened office door announced Seraphina’s arrival followed closely by a staff member with lunch. The conversation continued to be light while we ate, Father Sean peppering Sera and Declan with questions until the lunch was over and Declan spoke up.

“Alright, Sean-O. What’s the real meaning of your trip all the way to America?” Declan asked, not beating around the bush.

“Even though you handled the hunter situation, and quite effectively from what I’ve heard,” he gave me a small wink of approval, “I kept digging into my library because something was nagging at me.”

“About what?” Grimm asked. He was leaned back with an arm resting on the back of the couch, but, despite his relaxed outward appearance, I could see the tension in his jaw and placed a reassuring hand on his thigh.

“It’s about the prophecy,” Father Sean replied, causing Declan to huff and throw himself back in his chair. “Now, now my boy. I know how you feel about prophecy, but just hear me out.”

Declan ran his hand through his hair in annoyance but kept his mouth shut. 

Father Sean turned his attention to me, “Cam, dear, the version of the prophecy you have, is disguised as a book, yes?” I nodded, “and what book is that?”

“Little Red Riding Hood,” I replied.

“And do you recall how the story of Little Red Riding Hood ends?”

I thought for a moment, “It depends on the version of the story, right? Like in the modern version for kids, the hunter saves the girl and kills the wolf and grandma is cut out of his stomach and lives. In older versions the hunter just kills the wolf, and in some the wolf eats the little girl too.”

“Exactly, there are different ways the story ends; different interpretations. But in each one, who is left living?” he asks.

“The hunter,” Grimm says, sitting up straight now, his full attention on the priest.

“So what does that mean?” I ask, “He wasn’t supposed to die? The wolf was? Grimm was?”

“Wait, that doesn’t make sense.” Seraphina interjected, “the story can’t be a one-to-one comparison to Cam’s life. Her human grandmother died of natural causes and her wolf grandmother was killed by hunters. And in real life, it’s the hunters who are the murders, not the wolves.”

“Yes, that’s my point,” Father Sean said, a knowing and sly smile playing on his lips, “The fact that the prophecy was disguised as a Little Red Riding Hood story book is not a coincidence. I don’t think that version of the prophecy is accurate. I think that version was created for the hunters.”

“What do you mean for the hunters?” I asked.

“I think it was meant to… inspire, I guess you could call it, the hunters to find and eliminate ‘Red Riding Hood’,” he said, putting air quotes around the name.

I looked around at the others, sort of glad to see looks of confusion that matched my own. At least we were all confused together.