Renaissance

Episode 10

*Damon’s POV*

I didn’t wait long for my brother and that human girl to come down. I was surprised to see Autry was holding her hand so casually and her, letting him. I looked at the two.

“Good evening,” I greeted them, taking some of the shopping bags from the lady.

“Thank you, Damon, sorry for causing all the trouble,” she said. “I don’t think we have yet been properly introduced. My name is Cecelia Alcmene, and apparently, I am from the Maya Pack,” she said with a sad smile, offering me her hand to shake. I was dead shocked! I looked at her and then my brother and back at her again. I took her hand for the shake.

“I am Damon, Autry’s little brother. It’s nice meeting you, Cecelia.” I managed to say. “Come, let’s get in the car and head back.” I ushered them.

We moved out, and Autry and I put the bags into the car’s baggage parked just at the hotel’s gate. Autry then helped Cecelia climb up the front passenger seat, himself going around to the driver’s seat, which left me to ride at the back seat of the black SUV. We all belted up, and Autry hit the gas. After we reached the highway in uneasy silence, I couldn’t take it anymore.

“So, you are from a pack?” I called to Cecelia, “That’s interesting news. We all thought you were a human girl. You sure were bathed in human scent.” I pointed out the fact.

“Yes, Damon, I probably was; I was raised at an orphanage,” she said, making my jaw drop.

“But you just said you belonged to this Maya Pack!” she sighed.

“I am, but apparently, they want to do nothing with me! That’s why I was sent to the orphanage.” Cecelia said solemnly. It was a shock! How could she be okay with such a claim? Your own pack just rejects you but leaving you still attached? It should be a crime or something!

“Not everyone… The whip guy left a note in my pocket.” Autry said without diverting his gaze from the road.

“What, do you mean Caspian?”

“Yea, he thanked me for coming to your aid, stating that we had a friend in the Maya Pack. He asked me to take care of their Cecelia and left a phone number for us to call him if and when we need anything,” he said.

“He did…” Cecelia’s eyes were watering, and one thing I couldn’t bear watching was crying she-wolves. “Oh, none can compare how much I need to thank him.” her voice was shaking. I wondered what the hell went on. I had no idea at all, I’ve been summoned here, out of the blue, and now they were talking like in codes or something.

“Hey, mind explain me what the heck is going on?” I said, irritated already.

“Well, you know how I selfishly rejected Cecelia a few months back?” Autry started.

“Yes, and then you were so remorseful that you rejected her. Ranted about how she could have made a miraculous Luna, despite being human and f****d our heads with your misery?” I chuckled. “I’m not gonna forget how miserable he’s been for the first time in his life!”

Cecelia checked me out by turning her head back. She looked surprised about something.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing,” she said.

“Go on then… tell me the whole story!” I pushed on.

“So,” Autry continued to explain, “that night when you found me on the ground, twisting in pain… It was because Cecelia was transforming for the first time, forced by the full moon, at the night of her 20th birthday.” holly mother of crows! “Well, I don’t know what happened in between either; all I know is, I felt some kind of dread during the night class we were on; remember I left?” he asked. “That was why. And when I returned my room, I strongly smelled rogues, and in a moment, I tasted rogue blood in my mouth for no reason, for five sequent times.”

“No s**t!” I said, couldn’t help my shock escaping.

“Then Godric was able to finally get it into my thick head that our mate link with Cecelia was not broken, and she was fighting filthy rogues at that moment.”

“That’s freaking awful. You fought rogues? Without knowing any s**t about werewolves at all?” I asked Cecelia, “Are you the goddess herself or something?”

“Well, I might have trained self-defence in high school. And also, my wolf is very talented,” she said.

“What have you been doing in between, Cecelia?” I asked, curious.

“I have been planning how to cause more pain to your brother, and my wolf was helping me to trace my link with my pack. Close to the pack, I ran into the rogues. Thankfully Bendis told me about them, and we just fought them.” she shortly explained. “I didn’t know you actually tasted the rogues. They tasted disgusting,” she said, touching Autry’s arm lightly.

“I’m used to it. The point is, you fought and won over five fully grown rogues. I saw their dead bodies while tracing you in.” Autry said.

“You did?”

“Yes, I was very proud of you but sad that I wasn’t there to take care of that for you!” Autry explained.

“The thrill of the fight was intoxicating, though,” Cecelia said. “I might become addicted.” she chuckled.

“So, then? How did you end up here, Autry?” I asked. They were painfully slow on giving up information, and I was dying to learn everything.

“Then, I felt somebody slapped Cecelia a few hours after the fight. I was pissed, Godric was pissed, so we hustled over. Thanks to our insufficient rejection, Godric still could feel roughly where Cecelia was. I took a flight then ran, tracing her footsteps to reach, to my surprise, the Maya Pack.” he explained.

“That would be my mother, slapping me across my face when I said I was from the pack and showed them my pendant.”

“Your mother?” Autry and I asked in unison.

“She became so frustrated that she ordered for me to be locked in the dungeon. II spent the rest of the night in a cell.” she elaborated. “I didn’t understand why she acted like that, oblivious to the fact that she was my mother, until Caspian came into the cell, pretending that he will torture me as a cover, to explain what actually was going on,” she said.

“Come on, Cecelia, enough with the cliffhangers already!” I cried, impatient. Causing her to sigh once again.

“The current Alpha of the Maya Pack challenged the former and late Alpha, my father, over the ownership of the pack and his mate. Killing my father and claiming my pregnant mother. When my mother gave birth to me, their only child, she was about to lose her mind. Everything was so monstrous, except the new Alpha was actually in love with mom. So he cooperated with a dark witch to convert her memories of my father with his. Causing her to forget about my existence utterly. Therefore, Caspian took me to a human orphanage, giving me my mother’s name and her pendant as she gave birth to me on her own birthday.” she quickly explained. I was left speechless. How could one person be subject to this much drama in such a short period of time and still be sane and sit here to tell us all that? My little brain couldn’t comprehend. Autry pulled the car over on the highway. Got out of the car and circled around to open Cecelia’s door. I watched in silence as he grabbed her from her waist like she weighed nothing and carried her out of the car to give a tight hug.

They were talking something, but I had the decency not to eavesdrop.

When they came back, Autry started the engine and went on driving towards our town. We were silent until our hunger grew, forcing us to stop at a pull-over to eat. The tension eased a bit but was still hanging in the air when we hit the road again. I took a mental note to myself; try not to speak about family love so much in front of Cecelia.

*Cecelia’s POV*

I was startled when Autry suddenly pulled over just to hug me. I didn’t expect such an action at all. My heart filled with warmth as he held me, just like that.

“I had no idea…” he said into my hair with sorrow apparent in his voice.

“Well, how could you?” I stated. “It’s just an unfortunate event.”

“No, it must have hurt you to no extent to hear those harsh words from your mother…” he said. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t of better support.” This startled me.

“You were, though,” I said softly. He pulled a little back to look at me questioningly. “You took my mind off it, with our own fight and everything. I didn’t have time to dwell on that. Then, you were able to just” I searched for the right word “warm me back to you. I am really struggling, Autry.” I confessed. “I hate that you just like that rejected me, but listening to your reasoning and the fact that you have always been so nice, coming to my aid, taking care of me and being so considerate for my decency… Then there are your brother’s words to back your story up! I think you might have gotten the hint by my sudden kiss, but my logic is losing.” I said.

“Cecelia…” he pleaded, yet again, “I want to be there for you, for the rest of our lives. Please, be kind to yourself, and for you, give me a chance to prove my worth. I don’t care about anything anymore! Not the titles, not where you came from, not my past! I just want to take care of you now and forever.” he said. It was just him begging, but it felt so much like a proposal, in a way.

“I don’t know a thing about werewolves.”

“It’s okay.”

“What if I turn out to be like my mother, a cold-blooded creature who treats people the way she treated me?” I asked. I seriously feared turning out like my mother. What if I lost it at one point?

“You will never become that! I will make sure you don’t.” Autry assured me.

“Autry, you don’t even know me,” I said.

“Oh, but I do,” he said with a small smile.

“How come?” I asked.

“I can feel you, remember?” he explained. “Even though it was paining me and angry, all those months without you, I knew your anger came from your caring feelings. I knew that the seeds of hate were so shallow, they wouldn’t be able to hold on for a long time. Now, that doesn’t mean I didn’t fear you’d never forgive me; I knew even if you didn’t take me back, your hate would subside and never corrupt you. You are full of love by nature, and that pulls me towards you even more.” I didn’t have anything to say to that. I had butterflies going crazy in my stomach, and I was excited all of a sudden. I wanted this man before me, and I wanted him bad! It’s only that I wasn’t ready to admit it, even to myself.

He held me for a while more than placing me back in the seat and going back to driving. I felt Damon shift in the back. I completely forgot about his present for a moment, there.

I liked Damon. He was kind and friendly. A part of him was so carefree. In contrast with his very intimidating brother, It was easy being around him.

As he drove, I looked sideways to Autry, thinking about how Damon told me his ranting about I would have made an excellent Luna, despite being human. Damon had no idea what was going on when he spoke of this, so it eased most of the arguments my logic was supporting. My instinct was about to win this fight, and I could feel that it would happen very soon. I turned my gaze back on the road. It felt like there was no end to it, and my butt hurt. I wanted to get out of the car and stretch my legs, but I didn’t want to tell Autry that since he was the one driving and probably more exhausted than me. I looked at him worriedly as his gaze was fixated on the road.

He was an utterly handsome man. I studied his features. Every single line on his body was attracting me. Could eyelashes attract a person? Well, I knew they did me! I felt hot. Very hot. Not in a figurative way. I mean, I felt hot! Like I had a fever. But then you will feel cold, right? I felt my breathing becoming laboured, and I was unable to look away from Autry. I had this urge to touch him in any way. I raised my left hand to reach over the shaft and touch his arm, just below his elbow. His eyes instantly shot at me. He smiled a crooked one and turned his gaze back to the road.

We drove in silence for hours, taking some breaks to eat or use the bathroom. Finally, Autry entered the town where I was supposed to attend college; well, that chance has been long missed now! Though the bitter smell of the city hit my nose and I felt at home.

Within a few minutes, he was pulling over to the parking lot of the guest house. My memories of this place were so bitter, and I had to take a deep breath before climbing down the car.

Autry took my hand and guided me inside the building. He looked uneasy for a second.

“Would you mind moving on the same floor as us?” he asked. “There’s only me, Damon and Kenneth on our floor. Even if it’s on the boys’ wing.”

“I don’t know…” I trailed off.

“Your privacy needs will change now that you’re a fully grown wolf”, he explained, “and I will be more at ease if I knew you are nearby and at a safely guarded place.”

“Guarded? Why should I be guarded?” I asked.

“You are my mate, that’s why.” He answered matter of factly. I shook my head.

“And?” I asked again, baring my eyes into his.

“And, I can teach you all about being a werewolf,” he said.

“You are aware that I am probably kicked out of the programme, by now don’t you?” I asked him. “Why should I even stay here?”

“Because I can’t turn back just now. And you are my mate. So you should stay here.”

“Hmmm…” I hummed. “How possessive of you.” I did like it, but it sounded like it was a rule. So, I still couldn’t really understand how the customs of this new kind of society worked.“Okay, I will cooperate for now, only if you’d let me attend your classes as well. I need to learn something, or I’ll go insane.” I said.

“Suits me even more,” he said with a smirk. I grew to like that smirk so much.

“That’s a deal then,” I said.

“Yes, It’s a deal. Let’s get to my room for the time being,” he said. I looked at Damon, carrying my bags.

“Here, I’ll take some of that,” I said.

“No can do, future Luna, do you wish my brother to kill me this instant?” he said with a chuckle. I liked his easy-going attitude.

"Luna?" I was startled by the nickname.

"We have a a lot of teaching to do." Autry said calmly. "Come on." he said, and I shrugged,

“Okay, okay,” I said and let them lead me to Autry's room.