444- The Unruly Pack
POV Thalyndra Moonclaw:
"And why are they running?" asked Vladren.
"I think now Nerea wants to do the same to Mira," replied the girl.
Vladren closed his eyes and massaged his temples.
"Lana, your only duty was to take care of the twins."
The girl put her hands on her hips and stared at him with a furrowed brow.
"Your offspring have endless batteries. Do you really think I can handle them alone?" She looked at Celindra. "If all pups are like this, I don't know how Mom can manage the school alone."
Myrion laughed.
"Not all pups are like that; Vladren is just the lucky one."
From my peripheral vision, I noticed Anton moving a little closer to me.
"Let me update you on our family's drama," he whispered, without taking his eyes off the commotion in front of us, moving his lips very close to my ear. "Mira and Nerea are Vladren's pups, and he's a single father, since the girls' mother abandoned the pack right after they were born and vanished into the world."
I blinked, confused.
Vladren remained inconsolable, while Lyris, Celindra, and Lana argued with him. The girl in her lap, Nerea, tried to break free to run, and the other, in Lunara's lap, did the same. Aurelka, Myrion, and Edric watched with amused expressions, all three with the same look.
"I thought it was forbidden to leave the pack without authorization," I commented, softly.
Anton crossed his arms and arched his back.
"It is. The girls' mother didn't belong to the Eldoria. She showed up a few years ago, asked for permission to enter, and it was granted. She got involved with Vladren, got pregnant, and took off as soon as they were born. We only found out later that she had done it before in other packs."
"Done what? More children?"
He laughed and shook his head, denying.
"Run away. Join a pack, socialize, and take off. Seems like she likes to live free, without attachments or putting down roots."
"You didn't kill her?" I asked.
"She's considered a traitor, but my father didn't think it was worth his men's sweat and time, so he didn't send anyone to hunt her down. But if Daciana shows up around here, yes, she will be killed."
I observed the unrestrained twins.
"So he raises the daughters alone?"
Anton nodded.
"With everyone's help, of course, since you can tell they're as calm as summer storms." He laughed. He pressed his lips into a silent smile. "And, oh..." he pointed with his chin toward the girl and crossed his arms in front of his body, "that's Lana, Celindra and Lyris's daughter and my sister's best friend."
We stood in silence, staring at the chaos that had been unleashed by a burnt lock of hair.
"Doesn't Vladren care?" I asked after a while, leaning toward him and lowering my voice. "I mean, doesn't he care that you have plans to kill his daughters' mother?"
Anton was so close to me that his arm brushed against mine, giving me goosebumps.
"He certainly doesn't care. I believe he'll even be the one to kill her himself."
"Why?" I inquired, unable to contain my curiosity.
"Because of a broken heart. Not his, in this case, but the girls'. Vladren knows that when they grow up and feel their mother's abandonment, they'll suffer from it. That's why he prefers her dead. It's easier to explain an absent mother by her death than to explain an absent mother by her own free will."
Aurelka walked up to me and grabbed my shoulders, making me look at her.
"Come, let me show you the rest of Eldoria." She threw a look over her shoulder, at Vladren and the heated argument that still persisted. "This is going to take a while. He thinks losing a lock of hair is like losing a finger."
"Why?" My eyebrows drew together.
"Because he's a very neurotic father. With my brothers, he gave them alcohol to try when they were only ten years old." She laughed. "He never planned to have pups; he was a confirmed bachelor, but then, fate played a trick on him by giving him his own offspring. Guilt weighed on him, I think."
"He's just a first-time single father. He's afraid for them because all the pressure falls solely on him," Anton countered.
Aurelka pondered.
"Uncle Vladren is incredible, even though he seems a bit scatterbrained," she said, agreeing with her older brother. "So, do you want to see Eldoria?"
I doubted I had any choice; she seemed extremely eager for our walk. Either way, I wanted to as well. It would be good to have some sense of location, considering that this would be my home for some time.
"I'd love to."
She smiled widely, looking like a genuinely happy child. She grabbed my hand and pulled me away. Briefly, I noticed Anton watching us, before I broke away from his image and focused on what I was about to discover.
I stared at my outfit through the mirror’s reflection, completely disapproving of what I was wearing.
When I packed my suitcase, it wasn't as if I had planned on attending parties celebrating the damn arrival of summer. To me, it was nothing more than a season that repeated itself every year.
If Anton had told me he was planning to kidnap me while watching me pack my things, I would have chosen better clothes.
I huffed and walked over to the bed, throwing myself onto it and staring up at the ceiling.
Why did I care so much about what I would wear to a party I would only attend once? By the next Beltane, I hoped to be far away, living my life however I could, with my revenge completed.
The Eldorias weren't bad people. On the contrary, they were incredible. The problem was entirely me. I felt lost, directionless, with no ground beneath my feet.