Woven Fates - The War

Training Partner

Phillip was still awake, the looming 10.00am appointment with the trio who had visited Rose so inappropriately weighing heavy on his mind. He showered and dressed in fresh clothes before making his way over to the Alphas house where Jonathan was staying.

“Son.” Phillip smiled as Jonathan opened the door.

“Hey Dad, was just going to make some breakfast before I get in touch with James. You want some?”

“You got bacon?” Phillip asked hopefully.

“Nope, was looking at pancakes.” Jonathan smiled as he began to gather ingredients.

“Next best thing.” Phillip smiled, taking a seat at the table. “Jay still here?”

“Nah, he usually gets moving pretty early, just to be safe.” Jonathan smiled. “The first night he stayed I forgot to close the blind and I woke up just in time.”

“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about, son, before this meeting. Last night when we spoke to the representatives from their realms, they mentioned you and your relationship with Jay.” Phillip began.

“I know dad, you mentioned it last night.” Jonathan smiled.

“Jon, please listen. They told me I should be ashamed of you, both for having a male partner and for that partner being a vampire. I want you to know son, your mother and I both like Jay and we welcome him with open arms, no hesitation whatsoever. All we want is your happiness,” Phillip continued.

Jonathan smiled. “Dad, I know that, but I also know where you are coming from and it’s OK. Thanks to you and mum supporting me, I am ready to tell people now.”

“I’m glad to hear that son. You two make a fantastic couple.” Phillip smiled.

Jonathan began plating up pancakes as he cooked them, and Phillip tucked in. “You know, we probably don’t do this often enough. Eat together, I mean.” Phillip said as he looked at Jonathan. “I know you’re busy.”

“You’re right dad, we don’t.” Jonathan agreed. “Let’s fix that.”

“I’d like that.” Phillip smiled again.

They finished their pancakes and Phillip began washing the dishes.

“We have a dishwasher, dad,” Jonathan laughed.

“Well, now you have two,” Phillip shrugged.

“You’re nervous, aren’t you?” Jonathan asked.

Phillip sighed. “I am, if I’m being honest. They got to Rose too easily. If it had been their intent, we would have found Rose dead. I questioned the patrol and no one saw them. How then did they get there?”

“I need to get in contact with James. This goes beyond day to day running of the packs.” Jonathan murmured.

“You do, son.” Phillip agreed.

“James, can you ask Will to open a portal for me?” Jonathan asked through the mind link.

“Is everything OK? This isn’t a great time,” James replied.

“Believe me, I would not be asking if everything was OK.” Jonathan replied.

“OK, give me a moment.” James replied before closing the link.

Moments later, a portal appeared, and Jonathan looked at his dad. “Well, you wanted to see the Fae castle, right?” He asked.

Phillip nodded.

“Be careful, the portals can be disorientating the first couple of times. I’m still getting used to it.” Jonathan cautioned his father as he quickly entered the portal. Phillip followed close behind.

They came out into the conference room where they found the three kings, Lachlan, Jonas, Liam, Todd, Will and James.

“Welcome.” Robert smiled as he stood up to extend his hand to Jonathan. “How goes it, young Alpha in the making?”

Jonathan blushed. “We had an issue this morning, early.” Jonathan began.

“3am to be exact,” Phillip interrupted.

“What was it, Phillip?” Todd asked curiously.

“Sir, I was on patrol when we got an alert to attend the Alpha and Lunas home. I’m not sure if you are aware, but the Alpha is not with the pack right now.” Phillip began.

“What?” Liam asked.

Jonathan and Phillip glanced at each other quickly.

“Let’s have it, young Alpha,” Robert said.

Jonathan sighed. “Sir, the Alpha put his hands on the Luna. We organized for him to return to his father’s packlands for counseling.”

The anger in the room became palpable and Phillip raised his hands. “Sirs, while no one condones the behavior in any way, we are trying to deal with it in a way that reflects respect and our desire to support his ongoing rehabilitation. Rest assured, there is not a warrior in that pack that won't break his arm next time. We feel he is struggling without your support, Alpha Todd. We now know many more of us need to step up and truly be a village.” Phillip bowed his head slightly.

“I don’t believe we have been introduced, my friend.” Ailwyn began, standing up and extending his hand. “I am Ailwyn, this is Jaime and Robert. Do you know Jonas and Lachlan?”

“Only by reputation, your highness.” Phillip bowed.

“Oh, for the love of the Goddess, stop bowing and stop with the sirs. We are all equals at this table. Your mind matters here, not your status.” Todd laughed. “Take a seat gentleman.”

“Now, what of this visit?” James asked curiously.

“It was a werewolf, a dwarf and an elf,” Phillip began.

Jaime rolled his eyes. “So, this foolishness has found ya too? Shoulda known.”

“What did they say?” Ailwyn asked quietly.

“They demanded a meeting be called between the village and the community. They wish to address all full-blooded werewolves,” Phillip continued.

Todd sighed. “Well, that’s me out.” He shrugged with a chuckle.

“And me.” Liam agreed.

“Me too.” Will chimed in.

“Hell if I know anymore.” James shrugged.

They all laughed as they looked at each other.

“Sounds like we might be due for a visit to the village,” Lachlan suggested.

“The rest of this business can wait,” Jaime agreed, looking around the table. “At least if we go, we will meet three of the damned traitors.” He muttered.

“Well, on the upside, at least now they can’t side with Hadley.” Jonas spoke up.

“Very true brother.” Lachlan laughed. “There had to be some good to come of that.”

“Have you learned something on your quest?” Jonathan asked curiously.

“Do we have to talk about it? It makes my skin crawl.” Liam muttered.

“It is a tad embarrassing, guys,” Todd shuddered.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have mentioned anything.” Jonathan said quickly, embarrassed he had overstepped.

“Oh stop it you two, you’re acting like children. We have learned Hadley may be a half-breed or a hybrid, however you view these things.” Jonas told Jonathan.

Jonathan looked at Jonas, his mouth agape.

“That makes sense.” Jonathan nodded.

“What does?” Jonas asked.

“Why Hadley can’t command his vampires and why they have no loyalty to him? And why they hold onto their memories of their past life?” Jonathan began.

“But he is still able to turn people?” Phillip asked.

“Yes, but technically that makes them a watered down version of a vampire. I wonder if I was to mark Jay what might happen? He could possibly take the bite as his turning came from a hybrid.” Jonathan was lost in thought.

“Don’t do it son.” Jonas cautioned. “Hadley bit my mate and I tried marking her immediately after. She survived, but she has been asleep for five years.”

“Yes, but that’s to cleanse her of the vampire blood and make her a wolf.” Lachlan reminded him.

“I’m just wondering if marking Jay will mean he might be able to day walk.” Jonathan murmured thoughtfully. “He desperately wants to experience life by day again.”

“Talk to the people at the Academy. I know that all of their work at the moment revolves around the vampires and what they can learn about them.” Todd advised. Jonathan nodded.

“Does Hadley know he is a half blood?” Phillip asked.

“That we don’t know. All this time we thought it was his infatuation with Ingrid that caused his murderous spree, but maybe it was some kind of revenge or sense of rejection.” Robert shrugged. “His mind is so addled there is no way to really tell.”

“And now that he is infected with demon blood, we may never know for sure. What we do know is he is more dangerous now than ever. We have Sabrina, Eva, Francesca and Hadley all infected with the demon blood and we have no idea who among them is pulling the strings.” Liam added.

“We have established Carlos isn’t the main player we thought he was. He seems to want to stay in his lane and he wants the demon blood removed from his children.” Will murmured, seeming deep in thought.

“But then he is providing weapons to the vampires,” Liam replied.

“Which doesn’t seem right unless he has seen the vampires under Hadley are weaker and he feels he is protecting them.” Phillip added.

“Might we speak with Carlos?” Ailwyn asked.

“Sergio is friendly with him, and they have built trust, so it may be possible. Carlos has requested, should anything happen to him, that the children go to Rose or Esmeralda,” Will said quietly.

“Can we organize that please?” Ailwyn asked. Will nodded in return.

“Well, we should probably get going.” Jonathan said, looking at his watch. “We thought we would go all out and set up a stage for them. We didn’t want it to look like we were trying to influence the outcome.”

“You really are a bright one, aren’t you?” Robert smiled. “You will go far, my boy.”

Phillip smiled proudly.

“Phillip, it was nice to meet you. I knew your sons, I mourned them. They were good and true soldiers and warriors.” Ailwyn spoke quietly. “All three of your sons are a credit to you and their mother.”

“I’m honored by your words,” Phillip replied humbly.

“There is no honor in any of this except that displayed by those who fight,” Jaime muttered.

“Agreed,” Jonas added.

“Say goodbye to your wives, men, we shall make our way through to the Village. Rose will need our support.” Lachlan spoke as he stood up. “We shall reconvene after the meeting. Phillip and Jonathan, you are welcome to join us. We could use your sharp minds and experience.”

“You honor me again.” Phillip bowed slightly.

“Oh, and Phillip, bring your wife. You can all join us for dinner.” Robert smiled.

“Yes sir!” Phillip smiled.

“How long until you head out again Todd?” Jonathan asked.

“We think maybe in two or three days, we have a small issue we need to deal with first. If you have the time, you are welcome to sit in on our meetings over the next couple of days. It helps to have other trusted people who know what’s going on.” Todd looked over and noticed Phillip beaming with pride.

“If I can be any help at all, I would be happy to.” Jonathan smiled.

“We have three wives all expecting at the same time, which comes with the territory when we only return every so often,” Todd laughed. “We may stay a little longer as they are so close to giving birth. You will remain in charge, though Jonathan, on an ongoing basis.”

Jonathan nodded.

“Phillip, can we have a moment?” James asked.

Jonathan began to move away.

“Jonathan, you can stay.” Todd called out.

“Phillip, we wondered if you could spare some time to train Mack to fight as a werewolf? I have heard many stories of your sons and their bravery. I have been trying, but I fear his skills already match mine. This is a huge leap of faith for us to ask you, but we feel you are the best person for the job.” James smiled.

“How old is your son?” Phillip asked, confused.

“He’s almost nine,” James answered him.

“James, we don’t start training until the children are at least thirteen,” Phillip began.

James, Todd and Liam all laughed.

“Let us take you quickly out to the training field and we will show you.” James smiled. The men walked outside and found Mack in the training yard where he was much of the time. He was practicing rather pointlessly with a bow and arrow. He had perfected its use and was splitting arrow after arrow with the one that came after it.

“Your son is a fine archer, for sure,” Phillip agreed.

“Mack! Can you spare a moment to meet some people?” James called out.

Mack ran over to where the men were standing.

“Are you trained in hand-to-hand fighting with a staff or sword, Phillip?” James asked.

“I am proficient with both,” Phillip agreed.

“Mack, I have brought someone new for you to train with,” James announced.

Mack looked at Phillip skeptically. “Are you any good?” He asked.

“Phillip is one of our best. He trained two sons who were two more of our best.” Todd agreed.

“Was?” Mack asked.

“Yes, one was killed in the battle for the werewolf castle, one was killed in the battle for King Jaimes castle,” Phillip replied.

“I am sorry for your loss, but I can not afford to fail.” Mack began to turn away.

“A little cocky there boy.” Phillip called out.

“No, I am being truthful. I can best every one I train with. If you feel you can do better, then by all means, choose your weapon.” Mack stood his ground, looking at Phillip.

Phillip walked over and picked up a staff, Mack did the same. Phillip began to limber up, practicing with the staff. Mack stood and watched his moves. They faced each other and bowed.

“Mack already knows my father's moves, doesn’t he?” Jonathan whispered.

“I’d say so,” James replied.

“He just made mistake number one with Mack. You limber up the way you fight and he will defeat you in seconds. Watch.” Liam murmured, watching as Phillip moved forward.

Mack used the staff to sweep his legs and Phillip fell flat on his back.

He stood back up and faced Mack again. Jonathan had a smile on his face. Through training with his father, he knew that Phillip had given Mack that one. He had a feeling Mack knew that though.

Mack stepped forward and this time Phillip was able to disarm him. Mack bowed his head slightly and picked up the staff. This time they fought long and hard, neither able to best the other, until James called for a halt.

“He may train me,” Mack agreed.

Phillip looked at James for a moment and back at James.

“It’s him, isn’t it? Mack is the Warrior.” He asked.

James nodded.

“You honor me indeed.” Phillip smiled.

“You just earned it, my friend,” James answered him. “Now I believe we have a meeting to attend.”