New Blood

Chapter 5

Everly opened the patio door, leaving her father outside to contact everyone he felt would be needed. What happened in the forest made no sense to Everly or Ashton. It made Everly question if the strange silence might have had something to do with them and their fairy magic.

“Hey, Mom?” Everly asked through the mind link.

“Yes, sweetheart?” Olivia replied, waiting for her daughter to say more.

“Are you in your office? I need to talk to you about something.”

“I am, and the tone of your voice is not making me feel better.”

Everly grinned as she replied to her mother, “Don’t worry, Mom. Dad asked me to pass on some info. I’ll explain when I get there.”

“I’ll be waiting with bated breath,” Olivia laughed as she closed the link.

Everly smiled more as she heard her mate and daughter laughing in the kitchen with Lucy and Miranda. That let her know that Darcy was not upset by what they experienced and might not have even noticed it. When she reached her mother’s open office door, she tapped on it lightly before she walked in and dropped into a chair in front of her mother’s desk.

“Hi, honey. Is something wrong? You sounded a little off when you linked me,” Olivia said as she stopped her work and focused on Everly. “Now I can feel that something is wrong, so spill it. What happened?”

“I wish I could, but I can’t. I will explain it to the best of my abilities,” Everly sighed. “Ashton and Darcy came to the office to take me on a picnic after work. Everything was good until we got into the forest. It was weird. It was like we were in a bubble of silence. There was not a single bird, bug, or even leaf making a sound within a hundred yards of us. We could hear things in the distance but nothing close. We stopped and ate quickly, and then we flew back here. I spiraled out from the little clearing where I had lifted off and saw nothing. Ashton was looking as we flew, and he didn’t spot anything either.”

“That is odd. And your dad knows about this?” Olivia questioned with a furrowed brow.

“He does. He is notifying Logan, Jules, and Kevin to inform them. We are going to wait to tell the pack. They are sort of like us when it comes to their power transfer. If we can lessen one of their worries, we want to do it.”

“Good. I agree with that,” Olivia said as she gazed at a paperweight on her desk. “Do you think this could have something to do with your fairy magic? Maybe Darcy’s is starting to manifest.”

“I was wondering that too, but I didn’t say anything to Dad about it. He is talking to the others and will join us soon. I can tell him then,” Everly said.

-

Tyson waited for Everly to go inside and for the door to close behind her before beginning his mind link. He would be linking Kevin, Julian, and Logan as a group so they would all know what was going on. He pushed the link open with a sigh.

“Sorry to do this, but we need to have a meeting as soon as possible,” Tyson announced.

“What’s up, Dad?” Logan asked.

“Something weird,” Tyson sighed. He paused as he tried to think of the best way to explain what Everly and Ashton had told him. “Evvs and Ash took Darcy out in the forest for a picnic. When they were out there, they stopped to eat and realized that nothing was making any sound around them. No bugs, birds, wind, nothing for about one hundred and fifty feet in all directions. They could hear everything as normal in the distance, but nothing was near them. Ashton said it felt like some turned down the volume where they were or that something was frightening everything, and it was silent.”

“I don’t like it,” Julian grumbled. “We need to know exactly where it happened so we know what monitors and cameras to check. Maybe someone was out there ahead of them and scared the wildlife.”

“Or, something is still out there, and we need to go find it so it doesn’t hurt anyone,” Kevin said.

“Or… and hear me out on this,” Logan said with a dramatic pause. “It is all because of fairy magic, and Darcy might be getting her magic as we speak.”

Kevin chuckled, “I hate to admit it, but the boy might be right.”

“He might, but we still need to investigate it,” Julian said as he yawned through the link. “Since I was up half the night dealing with a drunken group of teen dragons, Jonah was kind enough to let me take a nap before dinner. Looks like that isn’t going to happen now.”

“Sleep late in the morning. Things won’t fall apart if you are a couple of hours late,” Tyson chuckled.

“I was already planning on it. I’ll be at your house in a few minutes,” Julian said before he cut the link.

“Gabby is getting the kids ready to head over now. They can get spoiled by Lucy while the rest of us work. See you in a few minutes, Dad. Love you,” Logan said, cutting the link before his father could reply.

Tyson grumbled to his cousin, “I hate it when he cuts the link, and I can’t tell him that I love him too.”

“He does it to annoy you. Logan knows you love him, and he doesn’t need to hear it,” Kevin chuckled. “My kids do it to me half the time. It is done out of love. If they didn’t love us, they wouldn’t want to irritate us the way they do. I’ll see you in a few minutes, and if you want, I will have Jule hold Logan while I tickle him until he promises not to cut the link like that again.”

“Thanks, but I will let it go,” Tyson chuckled. “I will see you in a few minutes.”

Tyson hurried to Olivia’s home office, tapping on her open door and stepping in, smiling at her and Everly. He wasn’t sure what to tell Olivia. They had no idea what was happening and would not until after Jules and Kevin completed their investigation.

Olivia gave a mate a loving smile and said, “It’s OK if you don’t explain the problem. I can feel how confused you and Everly are. We will figure this out after the others arrive. All I ask is that you let me get my baby snuggles in first. Kevin and Jules can have their turns after me.”

“Why don’t we go to the kitchen to wait?” Everly suggested. “I can smell the cookies, and flying back with passengers burned off my snack plus some. River is worried that I will let the two of us waste away.” Everly giggled as her wolf snorted in her head.

“I like the way you think,” Olivia grinned. “Raine is saying the same thing about me, even though we have been doing nothing but sitting at this desk all day.”

Tyson chuckled, “Then, my lovely ladies, allow me to escort you to the kitchen and Lucy’s cookies. Let’s hope Miranda, Darcy, and Ashton left some for us.”