New Blood

Chapter 11

Everly and Ashton were the first to arrive for the meeting at her parents’ house. Darcy was asleep in her father's arms with her head on his shoulder as they walked into the living room.

Everly smiled at her mom and dad, who were sitting on the sofa, and asked, “Where do you want us to put her?”

“You can tuck her in with Miranda. That will leave a bed for the twins and one for Lia's girls,” Olivia replied with a smile.

“Lia and Will are coming to the meeting, too?” Ashton asked.

Tyson nodded, “They are. Lia isn't taking over additional responsibilities when the transfer of power takes place, but since she is one of my children, and with all the time she spends in the forest, she and Will need to be aware of what is happening.”

Everly nodded and sighed, “We'll put Darcy to bed and be right back.”

“That's fine, sweetheart. Do you two need any help?” Olivia offered.

“Thanks, but we've got it,” Ashton said before he turned and carried Darcy out of the room with Everly on his heels.

Olivia sighed as she watched them leave the room. Tyson put his arm around her shoulders and kissed her head. They were both worried about their children and grandchildren.

As they sat together, they heard the front door open again. Logan walked into the living room holding his twins, Addison and Dylan, who were sleeping. Gabby walked in behind him, carrying the baby, Amanda. She was using the same type of soft carrier that the family was so fond of using.

“You can put them to bed upstairs. Evvs and Ash are tucking Darcy in with Randi. Pick an open room, and Lia and Will can use the other one for the girls,” Tyson instructed his son. “Everly and Ashton will help you if you need it.”

Logan gave Gabby a peck on the lip before saying, “I'll be right back.”

Gabby gave him a nod before she took a seat on the sofa across from Tyson and Olivia. She adjusted Amanda in her carrier, causing the baby to give a plaintive grunt.

Gabby giggled, “Are you two collecting grandchildren for the night?”

“Is it obvious?” Olivia grinned.

“Just a little,” Gabby replied. “Are you after only the older children, or do you want Amanda too?”

“We are happy to take the baby anytime you want us to take her, including tonight,” Tyson said with a smile.

“It's fine with me,” Gabby said, peeking in the carrier at Amanda sleeping. “It would also be good for all the kids. We are on edge, and they can feel it. They need to spend time together and in nature. I can't think of a better and safer place for that than with you and in your garden. It would be good for all of us.”

“You are welcome to join the kids in the garden whenever you want. I would feel better if you did that rather than going into the forest until we know more. Kevin should be giving us more information,” Tyson said as he rubbed the back of his head. “The trick will be getting everyone to listen and stay out of the forest.”

“Why do we need to stay out of the forest?” Amelia asked as she and William walked in with their daughters, Isla, Willa, and Brooke. Isla and Willa walked into the room, yawning, while Will carried Brooke, who was asleep.

Olivia smiled at them and said, “Why don't you tuck the girls in upstairs, and we will explain when you're finished?”

“Oh, that sounds ominous,” Amelia sighed. “We'll be right back.” Amelia put her hands on her daughters’ backs and guided them toward the stairs. “Come on, girls. Let's get you tucked in so you can spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa.”

“Yay!” Willa and Isla cheered as they ran up the stairs ahead of their parents. That made William and Amelia laugh as they followed behind.

Amelia and William’s footsteps were disappearing upstairs as they heard the front door open again. It was challenging to pick out individual voices as a group came into the house, but they could hear Amber and Rebecca laughing as they approached the living room. The women sat on either side of Gabby and began to pick at the baby in her arms as Jake and Eric perched on the arms of the sofa.

“Jason, Murial, Liam, Angelica, Damian, and Veronica will all be here soon. They are dropping the kids off with Leta and her girls to watch while we deal with whatever this is,” Jake said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “What is this exactly? Does anyone know?”

Lucy stepped into the living room with a smile and said, “I hate to interrupt, but the buffet is almost ready in the dining room if you would like to move in there. I can hear the kids upstairs, and I know there will be many more arriving in the next few minutes.”

“Thank you, Lucy,” Tyson said. “Let’s go ahead and move in there. Is there any chance that you have the coffee ready? I think we will all need some.”

“I have a fresh pot ready to go and everything ready if someone wants to make a cup of the fancy stuff,” Lucy chirped. “I left Callum to put the last of the food in the buffet, and his fey dragon is busy helping him do it. I will warn you that the little thing has been acting crazy this evening, so be ready for it.”

Olivia laughed, “Aren’t we always?”

Tyson stood, pulling Olivia to her feet as he did. “Come, my little wolf. I have been listening to your stomach growl for the last fifteen minutes, and now mine has started.”

When they reached the living room doorway, their children started down the stairs to join them. Simultaneously, the front door opened, and the rest of the ranking wolf pack members and Julian entered the house. Tyson pointed toward the dining room, signaling for everyone to follow him. He took Olivia to her seat before he went to the buffet to prepare their plates. He quickly returned to sit with her and eat while the group discussed the situation.

“So, what exactly is going on?” Damian asked. “I heard something about dark magic in the forest, but that’s all. Do we need to be worried?”

Jake replied, “Dark magic being anywhere in Obsidian should worry everyone. Your grandmother can tell us more, which is why we are waiting for her and Kevin to arrive.”

As if on cue, Kevin’s dragon drifted to the ground outside the dining room. It was dark outside, but Tyson could see him in the dim light cast from the house and exterior lights. Aggie slid off the beast's back and walked to the house as Kevin shifted and jogged to catch up with her.

“Knock, knock,” Kevin grinned as he opened the dining room door. “Oooooh, food! I’m starving.”

“Kevin, you are always starving,” Callum chuckled as he pushed the trolley cart into the dining room to refill the buffet after the others had filled their plates. He smiled at Aggie and asked, “How are you tonight, my dear?”

“I’m doing well, Callum. Thank you for asking,” Aggie said with a grin. “It’s nice to see that there is at least one gentleman let in Obsidian.”

Damian swallowed his mouth full of food and said, “Hey! I had just taken a bite. We all know how you feel about people talking with their mouths full. You would be borrowing Lucy’s wooden spoon to whack us with if we did.”

Aggie laughed at her grandson and said, “I’m not that bad.”

“I still have a knot on my head from your wooden spoon making contact with my skull at the New Year’s Day cookout,” Kevin said as he filled his plate.

Tyson cut off the banter by saying, “Aggie, thank you for coming here tonight and helping us with this situation. Can you tell us what you found in the forest?”

Aggie sighed as she went to the buffet and chose a few cookies. “Well, I wish I could tell you all more,” Aggie said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. She sat beside Damian and continued, “What I felt was extremely dark. To be honest, I’m not sure I have ever felt anything like it. It was the residual of someone being there who was so consumed by the dark magic that oozed out of them and stained the area. I would say that whoever was there was probably there a week ago, maybe even more.”

“Why would someone like that come to Obsidian?” Jake asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t believe any form of spell was cast on anyone or anything in the forest, but they had to be there for a reason. That’s why I would like to go out in the morning, after the sun is up, to have a look around. I would also like to see all the evidence your team collects. We might get lucky, and I will recognize something that could tell us who was here, spying on all of us,” Aggie said with a huff.

Kevin said, “Call me in the morning when you are ready to go, and I will personally take you out there. I do not want you to go out there alone.” Kevin looked around the room and continued, “That goes for everyone, especially the kids. Until we can figure this out, everyone needs to stay close to home. I know that will not go over well with the kids, but I promise that it won’t be for any longer than necessary.”

A short growl came from Amelia, making everyone turn and look at her. Her eyes were wide, and she had her hand clamped over her mouth as she shook her head. William was sitting beside her, chuckling as Tyson, on the other side of her, lowered his head and pinched the bridge of his nose.

“I am so sorry. I swear, that wasn’t me. Lily had been chirping about going for a run in the forest all day. She is not happy with being told she can’t do it,” Amelia explained.

“Sorry, but that means Lily, too,” Julian said. “I have called in some reinforcements to go over the surveillance so we can clear this mess up sooner. We are all going to be lucky if we don’t have kids sneaking out of our homes to play in the forest. It has always been safe for them to go out and explore without much supervision. This new rule will not go over well, even if it is only temporary.”

Everly was chewing on her bottom lip as she thought. “Do you think there would be a way to secure a small area at the edge of the forest? Someplace where guards could be posted and put enough cameras and thermal sensors in that there is no way anyone could sneak in? A small area, like fifty square feet, that would be safe for us to go to. Don’t get me wrong, the parks and Mom and Dad’s garden are great, but I can tell you that the urge to be in the forest that fairy magic creates is nearly incapacitating if it is ignored. Darcy, Isla, and Willa will be the children who are most affected. As for the adults in this room, it would be Ashton, Lia, Gabby, and I who feel it the most. I speak from experience when I say that sitting under a tree in the garden does not cut it. If we are completely blocked from the forest, we could become quite ill.”

“We can do that. Even if I have to build an electrified cage that you can lock yourselves in, I will figure something out,” Kevin said as he smiled at Everly.

“Maybe we can try something a little less drastic. Remember that we are talking about children who are curious and will probably want to touch any kind of fence you build. I don’t think you want to electrocute your little cousins, do you?” Amelia asked as Callum delivered a plate of rare steaks to her and William.

“Hey! Why do they get steaks and the rest of us don’t?” Logan asked with a smirk as he teased his sister.

Callum turned to face Logan and pointed to William. “Vampire,” he said as he moved to point at Amelia. “Alpha werewolf who is the vampire’s mate. I don’t know about you, but this is a pair that I want to keep happy and have their cravings kept under control.”

“You do have a point. I've never seen Will truly fang out to attack someone, but I bet it would be scary,” Logan said as he took a bite of his sandwich.

Olivia sighed. She was hoping there would be at least a few definitive answers, yet there were none. Her family would be the most impacted by closing the forest, and she did not like that. Olivia wanted answers.

“The first step is to figure out who brought dark magic into Obsidian and why,” Olivia said. “Is someone trying to attack the clan or pack? Is someone targeting my family or Jake’s? Since both the clan and the pack are transitioning to new leadership, it could be either one or both. I know we don’t have the answers to any of those questions yet, but we need to get them.”

Tyson could feel the anger and frustration roll off his mate and through their bond. He felt the same as she did. He needed the answers to everything Oliva asked and more to ensure the safety of his family and everyone living in Obsidian.

“Liv, we will find out all of those things. I promise you that,” Kevin told her. “I will only keep the forest closed off for a day or two. That will allow for all the evidence to be collected and for all the security stuff to be hidden among the trees. Until we know the threat is gone, I don’t want anyone going out there alone. Stay in groups, with at least one and preferably two people who can mind link. That way, if something happens, we will know immediately. Can everyone at this table agree with that?”

Everyone was nodding as Jake asked, “That’s a good plan, but do you really think that all the kids will do that? You know as well as I do that we have teenagers out there every day, and half the time we have to send out scouts to find them.”

Julian chuckled, “You might have to tighten the reins and actually punish the kids and adults who sneak out. That goes for the dragons and the werewolves. I’m as guilty as all of you when it comes to that. Jonah and I tend to tell the kids not to do it again and leave it at that.” Julian frowned as he said, “You know, I don’t think I have ever punished my kids. I don’t even know how to do it.”

Logan laughed, “Ask Dad about how to punish your children. He has always been fond of community service.”

“Yes, and it has always worked well, especially for you,” Tyson said.

Eric had been quiet, deep in thought as he took everything in. When he broke his silence, he spoke in a soft, concerned tone.

“I know we have everything planned for the kids to take over Obsidian, but should we do that now? Maybe we should wait a few more months to ensure that this is over and that it isn’t leading up to some kind of attack,” Eric suggested.

“I am wondering the same thing,” Tyson said as he held up his hand to prevent Logan and Everly from interrupting. “Right now, I think we need to let Kevin and Jules complete the investigation. After they have or if they find something of concern during the investigation, we will reevaluate if the transitions need to take place now or if we need to postpone them.”

“I agree with Tyson. Until we know more, we need to proceed as planned,” Jake nodded.

Kevin got to his feet and said, “Jules, that means you and I need to get back to work. Aggie, thank you for your help tonight. Would you like one of us to walk you home on our way back to the office?”

“Thank you, Kevin, but I think I will pop home instead,” Aggie said as she stood. “If you need any more help tonight, you know where to find me,” Aggie said before a bright flash of light filled the room, signaling she had departed.

“I hate to eat and run, but I think everyone with the pack needs to head to the pack house and start working on the announcement to the pack. Ty, I will send you a copy of the final draft before we send it out,” Jake said as he stood, leading the other to follow.

“That’s fine. If it’s good, I might use it for the clan,” Tyson grinned.

“That works for me,” Jake chuckled. “See you all later.”

“See you, Jake!” Olivia called out as Rebecca hugged her before leaving.

The room fell silent after the leaders of the wolf pack left. Tyson looked around the room at his family and felt his chest tighten. What they found in the forest would affect everyone, but his family in particular. That made him feel sick. The only thing Tyson could hope for was that Kevin and Julian found the answers to the many questions they had. The two most important questions were: Who had come into Obsidain, and why?