The Damned

Theo

Darian POV

Twenty-five days and counting.  What I mean to say is that in twenty-five days, I hopefully find my mate.  Granted she lives on the island.  Of course, since the first day of this school year, I have felt this connection to a beautiful, silver-eyed, girl named Phoenix, or Nix.  Lucian shared a class with her last semester and this semester he shares two classes with her.  Apparently Phoenix is what everyone calls her, but I think that that’s not her true name.  I wonder what her real name is.  Maybe one day I will get the chance to find out.

School today goes by slowly.  I am appreciative of the fact that lunch goes by slowly.  Gives me plenty of time to sneak in glances at Nix.

‘Darian, why don’t you just go talk to her?’  Nina asks through mind link.

‘I don’t want to frighten her off.’  I say honestly.

‘Dude, you’ve been pining over her for weeks.’  Lucian chimes in.

‘Both of you just need to shut up.’  I say.  Lunch ends and I head for Herbology with Nina.  Hopefully, Lucian will have some news for me today.

Nix POV

Today after school, I go home and work on my photography project.  Thankfully, Mr. Keel can develop film in multiple ways.  Which is good because this first project is black and white floral.  As I work, it starts to get darker.  I sense a storm is coming.  I get inside just as lightning strikes the sky.  I hope Darian isn’t out on his motorcycle right now.  Where on earth did that come from?  I shake off the thought and go upstairs to work on my other homework.  Mom calls me down for dinner just as I finish my Pre-Calculus homework.  I go down and find my family waiting for me at the dining room table.  Dinner smells amazing.  I sit and see that dinner tonight is tortellini with Alfredo sauce and mushroom pieces, garlic bread, and salad.  While eating, we talk about any plans for the weekend ahead.  It’s Theo’s last weekend before his fourth semester of college.

“What would you like for dinner Sunday night?”  Mom asks Theo at one point.

“I’ll have to think on that one.”  Theo says and conversation around the table continues.  After dinner, I go back upstairs to my room and sit at my desk.  I work on the rest of my homework for tomorrow’s classes.  As I am putting my books back in my book bag, my phone rings.

“Hello, Luna.”  I say answering the call.

“Hello, Nix, dear.  How are you feeling?”  Luna Aslanta asks.

“I’m feeling good actually.”

“Good.  I have to go out of town for a while, but I’ll be back beginning of February.  If you need anything, I’m only a phone call away.”

“Thank you, Luna.  I will keep that in mind.  Stay safe.”

“You too, Nix.  Bye now.”  She says and hangs up.  Because of my episodes, Luna Aslanta has become like a second mother to me.  My mom always calls her to let her know when I’ve had an episode and Luna makes sure to come see me either at the hospital or shortly after I’ve been released from the hospital.  I finish putting all my books in my book bag, but then grab my canvas to work on the movie scene for paint class.  I had a tough time figuring out what movie to do a scene from.  I switched from Titanic to Stardust before finally deciding to do a scene from Princess of Thieves.  I decided on the scene towards the end where Prince Philip is walking back up a set of stairs and has turned around to look at Gwyn longingly in her women’s attire after she has proclaimed that she will protect him for the rest of days.  It’s one of my favorites from that movie.  I work on the sketch for a while before deciding to get ready for bed.  I crawl into bed and drift off into a peaceful sleep.

Darian POV

Walking past Mom’s office, I hear her on the phone.

“Hold on a sec.”  I hear Mom say.  “Darian.  Come in here please.”  She calls after me.  I go into her office and sit down just as she ends the call.  “Darian.  I have to go away for a bit of time.  But don’t worry, I’ll be back in time for your birthday.  As future Alpha, you should know that there has been a report of an attack on one of the American packs.”

“Mom, why don’t you say the other title?”  I ask.

“Well, because some shifters believe that that title is the reason your father was killed.”  Mom says after a breath.

“I know this is a hard topic for you, but how did Father die?  I mean it’s nearly impossible for us to die.”  I say after a beat.

“Well…he was visiting a pack in America.  He was in the desert and his car from the rental company broke down.  A pack of about thirty rogues caught his scent.  Apparently, they could smell the power your father possessed.  The rogues attacked your father without giving him a chance.  They ripped all his limbs apart so that he couldn’t heal.  They then left him there.  A werewolf pack was nearby on patrol and smelled the blood.  The Alpha of that pack knew who your father was, so, he did the honorable thing and cremated your father then sent the ashes back to me.  I will never forget that Alpha’s kindness.”  Mom says pausing at some points.

“That’s why there was no casket.”  I say.  Mom nods.  “Can rogues shift back and forth from wolf to human?”

“Yes.  But rogues are so bloodthirsty for power and land that they didn’t care to hear your father out.”

“I see.  So, why are we called shifters and not werewolves?”

“The best way I can explain that is that werewolves don’t have as much control over their wolves as we do.  Werewolves, for example, when they find their mates have a hard time controlling their wolves.  We can maintain our wolves better than werewolves.  There are some cases where werewolves, once they have found their mate, have forced the bond completion in spite of their human counterparts.”

“Wow.  I could never imagine forcing the mate completion on my mate.”

“Right.  Plus, werewolves are larger than normal wolves whereas The Damned are normal sized wolves.  Werewolves also praise the Moon Goddess whereas we praise the Wolf Goddess.  Theirs is the Moon Goddess because werewolves shift for the first time under a full moon.  We shift at the time of our exact birth for the first time.”

“I see.”  I say not sure what else to say.  “Thanks for answering my questions.”  I say to Mom with a slight smile.

“Of course, sweetheart.  You’re old enough now to know those answers.”  Mom smiles in return.  “Well, I have to go pack because I leave first thing in the morning.”  Mom gets up from her chair and leaves her office with me behind her.  It just doesn’t feel right being in her office without her in there.  I go upstairs to my room and work on homework for an hour and a half before it’s all finished.  I then decide to call it a night and change into my pajama bottoms.  I crawl into bed and dream about the white fox.

Theo POV

Today my fourth semester of college begins.  Thankfully, this semester I won’t have any classes on Fridays.  Not that that really matters since I have yet to find my mate.  Nonetheless, I get ready for my new semester and head for the college.  I have three classes today.  Chemistry IV, Geography of Europe, and Financial Accounting II.  Each of which I also have on Wednesdays.  As I enter the building, I am hit with the smell of lilacs.

‘Mate!’  Hugh, my wolf, says excitedly.  ‘She’s here!’  Which means this is her first semester here.  I follow my nose and see a young girl sniffing the air as well.  She sees me and a smile lights her face.  ‘She’s beautiful!’  Hugh says.  I smile.

‘She certainly is.’  I agree.  The young girl comes up to me with the smile still spread across her face.

“Hi!”  She exclaims with the voice of an angel.

“Hi!”  I exclaim back.

“I’m Lynne Edwards.”  The girl introduces herself while holding out her hand.

“I’m Theo Delaney.”  I say taking her hand and feeling the sparks instantly.

“I’m so happy to have finally found you!”  Tears are forming in Lynne’s eyes.

“So am I!”  I feel tears in my own eyes.  “Can I walk you to class?”  I ask suddenly shy.

“Sure!”  Lynne leaves her hand in mine as we walk to her classroom.  Turns out, it’s my classroom too.  “Well, this is me.”

“This is me as well.”  I smile.  Lynne’s face lights up.

“Really?”

“Yup.  Be my lab partner?”  I ask.  Lynne nods excitedly.  We go in and find an empty lab table and sit down.  “So, how is it that I haven’t seen you here before?”

“Well, my parents had me while they were still living in the States.  So, this is my first time to the island.”

“How did you come to be on the island?”

“Luna Aslanta called my father.  Told him that she needed a warrior like him to train some of her warriors.  So, my father requested that I move back with them so that he can continue to train me as well.  Luna Aslanta was very happy to hear that he’s been training me, so, she happily agreed.  We just arrived Friday night.”

“Well, I can’t tell you how happy I am that that’s what happened.”  I say honestly.

“Same here!”  Lynne smiles.  Class starts with Mr. Briar handing out a syllabus to each student.  Then he hands out our text books telling us not to mark in them as they are not ours to keep.  Once he’s written down the number text book we each received, he dismisses us for the day.  “So, I have two hours now until my next class.  What would you say to going to the outdoor commons and getting to know one another better?”

“Let’s go.”  I smile.  Lynne and I walk to the outer commons and sit down on a patch of grass.  “I love the outdoors.”

“Same.  What else do you love?”

“Well, I love my family.  I love music and movies.  I love writing.  What about you?”

“I love my parents.  I love music, movies, and books.  And I love drawing.”  Lynne says.

“You’d get along great with my youngest sister.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because she loves anything art related.”

“I would love to get along well with your whole family.”

“I have no doubt in my mind that you will.”

“How many siblings do you have?”

“Just the two younger sisters.”  I reply.  “Nina is below me then Nix is the youngest.”

“Must be nice to have siblings.”  Lynne says looking sullen all of a sudden.

“I’m sorry.”

“No need for that.  Now I will have siblings.”  Lynne says turning her sullen look into a huge smile.

“Very true.  How would you like to meet them soon?”

“I’d like that very much.  How soon is too soon?”

“Well, let me call my parents real quick.”  I say hoping they agree to my plan.  I pull out my cell phone and hit two on my speed dial so that it calls the house phone.  I watch Lynne pull her phone out too.

“Hello?”  Mom answers on the second ring.

“Hey, Mom.”  I say.

“Theo, why aren’t you in class?”  Mom scolds.

“Mr. Briar let us out after receiving our syllabus and text book.”

“Oh.  Okay.  So, what’s up?”

“I was wondering if I could bring a friend over for dinner tonight.”

“Of course, sweetheart.  Any friends of our kids are welcome here.”

“Great.  I’ll fill you in more later.”

“Sounds good.”  Lynne grabs my attention then.

“Oh, hey, Mom.  Would it be alright if my friend’s parents come too?  The three of them are somewhat new to the island.”

“Sure, Theo.  We’ll be happy to meet the three of them.  What’s the boy’s name?”  Mom asks.  I look to Lynne and hold my phone out to her.  She gives me a questioning look, but I nod to her for reassurance.

“Hello, Mrs. Delaney.  My name is Lynne Edwards.”

“Oh!”  I hear my mom’s shock.  “Theo’s new friend is a female.”  I roll my eyes.  Think about it, Mom.  I think to myself.  “Oh!”  I think she gets it.  “Are you Theo’s mate, dear?”

“Yes, ma’am.  I am Theo’s mate.”  Lynne says looking at me with a smile.

“That’s fantastic!”  Mom says.  “You and your parents are more than welcome for dinner tonight.  Umm…what should I make?”

“My parents and I aren’t picky, so, whatever you decide to make, we’ll eat.”  Lynne says.

“Okay.  Well, my dear, I can’t wait to meet the three of you.  I have to go grocery shopping now.”  Mom says excitedly.  “I’ll see you tonight.”  Mom says hanging up before Lynne can say another word.  Lynne types her information into my phone then calls her own phone so that she has my information.  She hands me my phone back and I quickly text Mom to tell her not to tell anyone else yet.  While still on my phone, I put Lynne as number one on my speed dial.  I put my phone away after that.

“So, tell me more about you.”  Lynne says.

“Well, what would you like to know?”

“Let’s see.  I have an idea.  We play a game.  We take turns asking questions that we both have to answer.”

“My sister, Nix, loves doing that.”  I smile.

“Guess your sister and I will have some stuff in common then.”  Lynne smiles.  “Okay.  Favorite movie?”

“Hmm.  I am going to have to go with Battleship on that one.”

“Good movie.  Mine’s Safe Haven.”

“Also a good movie.  Okay.  Favorite band?”

“I guess I’d have to go with Daughtry on that one.”  Lynne says.

“Nice.  My favorite band is The Weeknd.”

“That’s a good one.  Favorite hobby?”

“Writing.”

“Drawing.”

“Favorite book?”  I ask.

“The Unseen Saga by Richie Tankersley Cusick.”

“I haven’t heard of that one.  Mine is The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare.”

“That’s a good series.”  Lynne smiles.  “Okay.  Favorite actor?”

“Umm.  Timothy Dalton.”

“I don’t think I know who that is.”  Lynne says.

“He played James Bond at one point.  He played Mr. Rochester in the BBC version of Jane Eyre.”  I say.

“Oh.  Rochester!  I love that man.”  Lynne smiles.  “My favorite actor is Julian McMahon.”

“He’s a good one too.  Okay.  So, favorite actress then?”

“Hmm.  Kristen Stewart.”

“Are you serious?”

“Yes.”  Lynne looks down ashamed now.

“No.  I don’t mean it’s a bad thing.  I asked because she is my favorite actress.”  I explain raising her chin with my finger.  I then notice the time on my watch.  “Shoot!”

“What’s wrong?”

“I have to get to my next class.”  I say disappointed.  Lynne smiles.

“It’s okay.”  She checks her own watch.  “I have to get to my next class too.”

“What’s your next class?”  I ask.

“An art class.  You?”

“Geography of Europe.”

“Sounds exciting.”  She half smiles.

“Yeah.  It was either that or Movie Pop Culture and I like my movies too much to take a course on them.”  I chuckle.

“That makes sense.  Well, we’d better get going then.”

“Yeah.”  I help Lynne stand up and walk her to her classroom.  I am reluctant to let her go, but I do with the promise of meeting her after class.

Nix POV

School today seems to be going by so slowly.  Which sucks because I’m excited to hear how Theo’s first day back to college was.  He may pick on me a lot but I know it’s his way of showing that he loves me.

As I am sitting under my tree at lunch, I look around at the students.  More students are outside today because it’s actually sunny.  My eyes roam over to the pops’ table and, sure enough, Darian is looking straight back at me.  I quickly look away.  I grab my things just as the bell is about to ring and practically sprint to the art studio.  Lucian waves at me when he enters the studio.

“We didn’t really get a chance to talk in Works of Shakespeare this morning.  How are you?”

“Good.  How are you?”

“I’m good.  Did you hear we have a new family on the island?”

“No.  Who?”  Maybe they have a daughter that is in college.

“Last name of Edwards.  Not much is really known about the family.  Only that they have one offspring who grew up in the States.  The father was called here to help train some of our warriors.  Luna Aslanta says he’s one of the best.  His child is a warrior.”  Lucian informs me.  There goes the hope of a daughter.  I think to myself.

‘Females are warriors too.’  Isla points out.

‘True.  There may be hope after all.’  I smile to myself.

“So, how’s your sketch coming along?”  Lucian asks.

“It’s coming along nicely.  Wanna see?”  I ask.  Lucian nods.  I pull out my canvas and show him the sketch.

“That looks awesome!  Such a good scene too.”  Lucian says appraisingly.

“Thanks.”  I smile.  “Let me see yours so far.”  Lucian decided to stick with his original scene from Pirates of the Caribbean:  The Curse of the Black Pearl where Jack has just stepped into the moonlight and is a cursed skeleton now too.  Lucian pulls out his canvas and shows me his progress.

“That looks great!  You are definitely capturing everything very nicely.”  I appraise.

“Thanks.”  Lucian smiles and I think I see a brief blush creep on his cheeks.  We work on our projects while talking.  After class ends, I head for Greek Mythology.  The rest of my afternoon classes go by as slowly as my morning classes.  After the final bell rings, I go to my locker and grab anything I will need for homework tonight.  I meet Nina at her car since I decided to ride with her today.  We ride home in silence and I can’t help but think about the new family.

We get home and I go straight upstairs to my room.  I’m not up there long before Theo comes barging in.

“Hey, sis!”  He says with a grin.

“Hey, Theo.  How was the first day back?”

“Amazing!”  He exclaims.  “I made a new friend.”  Friend, meaning not mate.  I think to myself with disappointment.

“That’s great!  What’s his name?”

“You’ll find out tonight when my friend and their parents come for dinner.”

“Is this the new family to the island that Lucian told me about today?”  I ask.

“Yeah.  So far they seem like a great bunch.  But I’ll let you decide for yourself.”  Theo says and runs out of the room.

‘Maybe Theo is gay and this new friend of his is his mate.’  Isla says.  I quickly shrug that off.

‘If Theo is gay, he’d have told me by now.’  I say back to Isla.

‘You don’t know that.  Maybe he didn’t know himself until his new male friend showed up at the college today.’  Isla retorts.

‘Whatever.  Want to go for a run before the new family comes?’  I ask hoping to distract her.

‘Duh!’  I smile and go outside.  Once out of my clothing, I let Isla take over.  We run to the lake and back.  I get dressed and go upstairs to my bathroom to take a quick shower.  Just as I am putting my jewelry back on, Mom hollers for me to come downstairs.  I go downstairs to find my family in the living room.

“My friend will be here in a minute with their parents.”  Theo says.

“Okay.”  Just then there’s a knock on the door.  Theo gets up off the couch to go answer it.  I sit down on the couch and wait.  I hear Theo come back into the room with three additional sets of feet.

“Mom, Dad, Nina, Nix.  These are the Edwards.  Mr. Drake Edwards.  Mrs. Karlie Edwards.  And my mate, Lynne Edwards.”  Theo begins introducing and when he says the word mate, my head turns so quickly I feel dizzy from it.

‘She’s beautiful.’  Isla says when my eyes land on the young girl next to Theo.

‘She is.’  I agree.  The young girl, Lynne, is about my height with long blonde hair and stunning green eyes.  I get up from the couch to go shake hands with the Edwards family.  Mom and Dad are just thrilled to meet them because Theo finally found his mate.  Mom goes into the kitchen to finish dinner then calls us all to the table.  The Edwards family follows Theo into the dining room where dinner is already on the table.

“I hope you three like meatloaf.  It’s one of Theo’s favorites.”  Mom says apologetically.

“I love meatloaf!”  Lynne exclaims with a huge smile towards Theo.

“Great.  Well, have a seat everyone.”  Dad says and everyone sits down.  Mr. Edwards sits to Dad’s right and they instantly begin their own little conversation.  Theo and Lynne sit to the right of Mr. Edwards.  Mom takes her usual seat with Mrs. Edwards on her right.  Nina and I sit in our usual seats which are to the left of Dad.  Normally, Nina is to the right of Mom, but with the extra people we had to make adjustments.  Mom and Mrs. Edwards start talking with Lynne and Theo.  Nina and I both eat rather quietly tonight.  After dinner, Mrs. Edwards helps Mom clean the kitchen.  Dad and Mr. Edwards go into Dad’s office to talk some more.  Theo, Lynne, Nina, and I go into the living room.

“So, Nix, Theo tells me you are an artist.”  Lynne says looking at me.

“Yes.  It’s one of my greatest passions.”  I smile.

“Mine too.  Maybe one day we can show each other some of our work.”  Lynne smiles.

“I’d like that.”

“Great!  And, Nina, I hear you are quite the fashionista.  Maybe soon we can go shopping together.  You can help me get a new wardrobe.”

“I’d be honored!”  Nina says excitedly.

“Awesome.”  Lynne smiles again.  The parents join us then.  I decide to go work on homework.

“I can’t wait to spend more time with you, Lynne, but right now I need to get some homework done.  So, if you will all excuse me.”  I say and go upstairs.  After about an hour, I hear the front door which means the Edwards are leaving.  I’m so happy for Theo.  I continue working when there is a knock on my bedroom door.  “Come in.”  I say and turn to watch Theo walk into the room.

“Hey, sis.”  He smiles.

“Hey.”  I smile.  “Theo, she is lovely.  I’m so happy for you.”

“Really?”  Theo asks unsure of my honesty.

“Yes, really.  Why?”

“You just seemed to rush out of there and didn’t even try to talk to her at dinner.”

“I wanted to get my homework done.  And I didn’t try to talk to Lynne at dinner because you and Mom were hogging her attention.  I didn’t want to be rude.”  I say.  Theo looks up.  “I really do like her.  And I can’t wait to get to know her better.”  Theo smiles.

“Thanks, Nix.  That means a lot.”  He starts to leave but turns around.  “I know I pick on you a lot, but it’s only because I love you.”

“I know.  I love you, too.”  I smile and Theo leaves the room.  I finish my homework and crawl into bed.  Tomorrow, Mr. Keel is taking me to the dark room during lunch so that I can learn how to develop film.  I have a special picture that I want developed tomorrow for Theo’s birthday in two days.