A World Unknown

6. You’re My Little Secret

I made it home without incident. I got inside and saw Grandma sitting in the living room in her leather recliner. She was watching a murder mystery.

“Tiara! Girl, what took you so long? I was starting to get worried,” Grandma said as she turned to see me walking in.

“Sorry, Grandma,” I said to her, “I guess I just lost track of the time.”

I went to her side and returned her bank card with a kiss on the cheek.

“My sweet baby. Did you get everything you needed?” she asked.

“Yes,” I replied, “I was thinking, if it’s ok, to walk to the park and get a little drawing in.”

“Well, it is your birthday. It’s not like you’re asking to go to a nightclub. That’s fine with me, baby, just make sure you come home by dusk,” Grandma warned.

I nodded and took my stuff to my room. It was the best plan I had to get some privacy so I could talk to my uncle. I decided to change into something a little warmer, so I grabbed some black sweatpants and a long sleeved shirt. I closed my door and took the phone out of my backpack. It was so cool to have one of my own, I just wanted to check it out before I left.

“We should call him as soon as possible,” Lilac said.

“Yeah, I know. I just wanted to take a look before I head out. I don’t want to look dumb out there, in case anyone is watching,” I said.

I could sense she was anxious, but I wasn’t going to let her boss me around. Looking at the instructions, I turned the phone on and got the setup going.

“Tiara, are you still going out? It’s getting late,” Grandma yelled from the living room.

“Yeah, I’m leaving now!” I yelled back. I was starting to get anxious myself trying to do all this. I was nervous about the whole thing anyway. I shoved the phone back in my backpack and swung it over my shoulder as I hurried out the door.

***

I got to the park a couple of blocks from Grandma’s house. It was a big park with a skate park, splash pad, and plenty of trees for the best shade around town, if you ask me. There’s a baseball diamond and indoor gymnasium for other sports like basketball and gymnastics. I really loved spending time here. I usually spent my time alone. I never did any of those sports, so I preferred to watch other people play or relax under the trees and draw. I found a good spot away from the crowd to get some privacy. I sat down and pulled the phone and my uncle’s card out of my bag. Finding the phone icon on the screen, I typed the numbers in and pressed the call button. Nervously, I waited as it rang once and immediately my uncle’s voice came through.

“Hey, Tiara,” he said.

“Hey, Uncle Ant. How are you?” I asked nervously.

“I’m so relieved you got the phone and are calling me now. Are you somewhere safe?” he asked.

“Well, I’m at the park. I’ve never had any trouble here. It’s the only place I could think Grandma wouldn’t trip about me going to.” I told him. He laughed a little.

“You’re a smart girl. Very independent, I see. Well, we got our work ahead of us. We need to figure out a way to get you here and reveal as little to your grandma as possible. Plus, the whole shifting thing. That will be a lot easier to handle if you’re here with us,” Uncle Ant explained. My heart started to race thinking about the shift and leaving Grandma.

“Do I really have to leave?” I asked with sadness in my voice. I couldn’t help it. It wasn’t something I was interested in. Leaving to be with a bunch of strangers. In fact, I didn’t know any of these people or what they could possibly do to me. “How do I know I’ll be safe with you? I don’t even know you. How well did you and my dad get along? How do I know he would trust you?” I shot back. He was silent for a moment and let out a heavy sigh.

“You’ve trusted me so far. You’ve got a wolf now. What does she think?” He asked.

“Well, she’s told me I need to be with the pack and that I should trust you,” I answered.

“You should also tell him I like his scent and it makes me feel calm when we’re together,” Lilac chimed in.

“Uh, she just told me she likes your scent and it makes her feel calm when we’re together,” I relayed to him.

“Do you know why?” he asked.

“No,” I said.

“Because we’re family and even she knows I am here to help. I’m here to protect you both. I can show you better than I can tell you,” he replied. I was silent for a minute, but realized I was outnumbered and really had to do this. Figure out a way to tell Grandma I was leaving.

“Will I ever see her again,” I asked.

“It’s complicated, Tiara,” he started to say, “Most humans don’t know we exist and it could be dangerous to reveal our true identity without that human becoming a part of the pack as well. Your dad couldn’t convince our parents that your mom was worth that kind of sacrifice and they wanted him to reject her. Like I said, your mom was his fated mate.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Well…you know about God, right?” he questioned.

“Yeah, I was never really into religion so it’s not something I know a lot about,” I replied.

“Well, it’s kind of like how people fall in love and believe God put them together. It doesn’t really work that way with humans, but it does with werewolves. Moon Goddess, our creator, gave us these magical wolves that we are able to shift into and control. She has given our race many gifts, and one is a fated mate. A mate that you are bound to that you could never part with. It would cause physical pain to do so. It’s rare that Moon Goddess would mate a wolf to a human, but it’s not impossible. Clearly, your mom and dad are an example of that,” Uncle Ant told me.

It was a lot to take in. Could that be the reason my mom was in so much pain before she died? Is that when she started to get sick? It made my heart hurt to think of what she could have been going through. I was stunned into silence.

“You still there, T?” he asked.

“Um, yeah. I just…it’s so…different. I guess I have a lot to learn,” I said.

“First things, first. I’ve been thinking about how I can get you away from your grandma, at least temporarily, to help you with your first shift. Do you have any friends that you can maybe lie and say that you’re spending a couple days with?” he propositioned.

“I’m pretty much a loner. I’m always home,” I said.

“Ok, ok. I wasn’t expecting that so I’m actually out of ideas. I knew I should have told Tiana about all this. She probably would have had a plan from the first moment she knew about you,” he said.

“Who’s Tiana?” I asked.

“She’s my older sister, and she’s between your dad and I. He was the oldest of all of us. She’s really smart and independent, just like you. That’s kind of where your dad came up with your name,” he told me.

My heart fluttered just thinking about the family I had. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad thing at all.

“How about this,” I began, “I can sneak out if you can get me back home by eight in the morning. I’m usually in bed by 9:00PM and Grandma sleeps as hard as a rock. She’s got the whole house alarmed and locked up like a bank vault, but I know the codes. I just need to get out of my room. Grandma is usually up by 8:00AM and knocks on my door to check on me. I don’t have to worry about her overnight. I just need to get back before she comes to check on me.”

“If that’s the only way, then we’ll have to make it work. The pack land is in between where you used to live and the city where you are now. It will take me a couple hours to get to you, but we can make it back before your grandma wakes up,” he confirmed.

I was getting excited and I could sense Lilac was a lot more calm now that we had a plan for my first shift.

“You can text me your address and I’ll be there at 8:45PM sharp. We can’t waste any time with all the traveling ahead of us,” Uncle Ant said.

“Ok I’ll send it as soon as I’m off the phone,” I replied.

“Great,” he said, “I’m looking forward to Friday. It’s a shame it’s taken this long, but I promise I will make everything right, Tiara. You deserve the best and I want to make sure you know your family is here and we love you.”

His words brought tears to my eyes. “Thank you,” Is all I could say as I fought the tears back. I sniffled a little and we said our goodbyes. I ended the call and immediately texted the address. He sent a thumbs up and a heart emoji. I sent two hearts back. He sent back three hearts and a whole bunch of other emojis of flowers, hearts, and wolves. It really made me feel loved and wanted. I hoped the rest of the family was this nice. I put the phone in my backpack and looked around. The last streaks of daylight were fading away and the city lights were lighting up all around the park. I knew I needed to get back quickly. Suddenly I felt panic and it wasn’t coming from me.

“Something’s not right here. Can you smell that?” Lilac said. She sounded worried. I turned my nose to the wind and smelled something that smelled like old blood and death. It was getting stronger. I turned around to find a pair of girls walking towards me.

“Vampires!” Lilac was practically yelling.

I couldn’t believe she was serious. They didn’t look like typical vampires. Besides their pale skin, they looked normal. The smell coming from them definitely wasn’t.

“You’ve got to get out of here, Tiara, but you can’t let them know where you live!” she warned.

“Hey there, little puppy. What are you doing out here all alone?” one of the girls said. She had a short black skirt and tank top on. Her makeup was goth looking and her hair was red. I didn’t see any fangs so other than the smell it was hard to tell she was a vampire.

“She must be lost. We can take you home and make you our pet!” the other girl snickered. She was blonde with similar makeup and clothes. I wasn’t sure how I was going to get away from them without them following me. They split apart and started circling me. The crowd at the park had long gone and it was nearly empty. I could see why these vampires could hunt here without being seen.

“I’m ok, thanks,” I said confidently. I didn’t want them to think I was afraid. I kept my eyes on them as they circled me.

“You smell like you’re ready to piss your pants you little mutt,” the blonde said to me.

She was right and I didn’t think they could smell me. I thought that was a wolf thing. This was the worst thing; to be unprepared for the dangerous world I was living in. I may have not been very knowledgeable about sports, but my dad and I had quite a few intense hand to hand combats out in the woods. He said he wanted me to be prepared for anything that could attack me. He showed me a few moves and didn’t always take it easy on me when he knew he could. I knew I couldn’t try to take them both so my best bet was to distract them and get away.

“There’s someone over there watching us,” I said to them.

“Nice try,” said the red head, “but we would have known someone was around long before the got close enough for you to see. You think you’re so smart. Our queen would be so pleased to see we rid the city of your kind. You won’t be getting away from us, little mutt.”

I really didn’t know what I was up against. I was desperately trying to figure out how to get away when suddenly I heard a howling in the distance. We all looked to where the sound could be coming from. The single howl was joined by at least three other different howls. The girls looked at each other and then at me.

“Maybe she’s not as lonely as we thought,” said the red head to the blonde. They were gone in the blink of an eye as they ran towards the unlit part of the park. I saw four guys come from the opposite direction from where the vampires ran. They were walking towards me. I noticed the smell of cookies as they got closer and saw the guy from the phone store in the group of young men. They all seemed to be older teenagers, but they looked really fit, like they spent a lot of time at the gym. The phone store guy approached me as the others stayed together behind him.

“Hey, Tiara, is it?” he asked.

“Yes…uh…was that you and your friends I heard,” I asked back.

“Yeah that was us. We have patrols around the city where some of our pack members live. Anthony asked me for a favor and here we are. He wanted us to check around here for anything unusual. I guess he had a feeling you would need some protection. I’m Daniel, by the way.”

“Wow, I said, “I really don’t know what I would have done if you guys hadn’t shown up. I was so scared. Are you and my uncle from the same pack?”

“No, we’re just good friends. Our packs are allies so we help when we can. This wasn’t a big ask. The vampires have been terrorizing the city a lot lately. It was in our best interest to come check out this part of town. Seems the problem is spreading. I don’t want to scare you too much. He told me you haven’t grown up with wolves. All you need to know is we got your back. If you come across any wolves in the city, we’re all from the same pack. The Red Moon pack.” Daniel told me.

“At least while we’re in the city, we’ll have some protection. That’s a relief,” Lilac said.

I agreed. “Thanks, Daniel. I’m so grateful to you guys for rescuing me.”

“We’ll walk you home and make sure you’re safe,” Daniel said.

I smiled at him. Daniel introduced me to the rest of his group. There were five of them all together. Each of them had a different scent. It was amazing. I had never experienced anything like it. Lilac seemed to feel more at ease now that there were a few other wolves around. I motioned for them to follow me.

“We need to do a quick sweep of the area,” said Daniel, “Can’t have any bloodsuckers on our tail.” The group split up and disappeared into the shadows. I waited in the for what felt like forever, then I saw them return, one by one. Daniel gave me a head nod to let me know we were safe to leave. I felt so protected by this group of guys. I was in the middle while they formed a small circle to keep me inside. It wasn’t a long walk, thankfully.

“My house is right there on the corner,” I told them.

“Do you have a phone on you? I can give you my number. You can call me if you need anything,” Daniel said.

I reached for my phone and pulled it out. He told me the numbers to dial and I saved it.

“Thank you so much, you guys. I really don’t know what would have happened if you had not shown up.” I said.

“We can thank Moon Goddess that it all worked out this way. See you around, Tiara!” Daniel gave me a pat on the shoulder as he and his group went back in the direction they came. As I finally came down from the adrenaline pumping through me, I realized it was rather late and Grandma would probably be really upset. I ran to the door and opened it to see Grandma standing right in the doorway.

“Girl, where have you been? It’s pitch black outside. You know I don’t like you out that late. This city can be dangerous!” Grandma exclaimed.

“Sorry, Grandma. I just got caught up watching a basketball game in the gym and lost track of time,” I replied. It was a terrible lie, but I wouldn’t have any reason to stay out that late knowing Grandma didn’t want me out late.

“Well, at least you’re safe. You better not let it happen again. You may be thirteen, but you ain’t grown!” she scolded. She gave me a playful spank on the butt and I laughed and kissed her on the cheek.

“It won’t happen again,” I said, “I promise.”

***

*Anthony*

After I got off the phone with Tiara, I felt such a sense of relief. My little niece was independent and strong. I was proud of my brother, Terrence, for all he sacrificed to bring her into this world. It just hurt so much to think he will never get to see his pup shift and everything else he will miss.

Our family was already torn when he decided to mate with a human. Losing him to battle was almost unbearable. He was the oldest son. The leader. The one all us siblings looked up to. My sister, Tiana, was especially devastated. They were always so close growing up, being the two oldest. She was angry with him for choosing a human mate and upsetting our parents. She never quite forgave him, but she didn’t hold it over his head. Still, their relationship suffered. I was still grieving over his death as well as our youngest brother, Adrian. Now he’s gone and I was the only person that knew he had a pup with a human mate. He swore me to secrecy, as he didn’t want any harm to come to her. With him gone, I knew I had to find a way to protect her. He trusted me enough to tell me about her, I felt it was my responsibility to make sure she could grow up and live her life.

It must have been a blessing from Moon Goddess herself that our paths crossed at Tiara’s old home. After Terrence died, it took months of digging through my brother’s business dealings for me to find the house in that obscure and rural human town. It was the perfect place for him to escape from pack life to be with his family and not cause any suspicion about what he really was. I was hoping to find his human mate and daughter, but instead it was abandoned with police tape across front door. I checked with the local police to find out what happened and was informed the woman that lived there had committed suicide. She left a daughter behind. Knowing that Tiara was possibly still out there, I decided to keep the property in good condition in case she ever returned. For months I would go to the house and clean the dust from inside and maintain the landscape. I found a clearing in the woods and figured Terrence must have claimed that spot. We used to spend so much time in the woods as pups. He must have wanted the same for his daughter.

My phone rang, pulling me out of my daydream. It was Tiana. I figured I had put off telling anyone about Tiara long enough.

“Hey, Tiana,” I answered.

“Hey,” she said, “You’ve been hard to catch up with lately. Mom and Dad have been grilling me for information, but I don’t have any. So, what’s up?”

Tiana was a great sister, always looking out for us. She was like a second mom to us boys. You couldn’t really get anything past her. She could sniff out a lie.

“Promise you won’t go running to Mom and Dad with what I’m about to tell you,” I warned her.

“Are you in some kind of trouble?” she asked.

“No,” I said. I breathed out a heavy sigh and continued. “Tiana…Terrence…he…h- he has a daughter.”

There was long and uncomfortable silence on the other end.

“How old is she?” she finally spoke.

“She just turned thirteen,” I responded. I heard her gasp.

“Is she…” she asked with trepidation.

“Yeah, I think she’s a wolf like us,” I answered. She was whimpering on the other end.

“Goddess, why? Why didn’t he tell us? How did you find out?” she started firing off questions.

“He told me when she was born. He also said he didn’t want anything to happen to her so he swore me to secrecy. Said I couldn’t tell anyone or he’d never forgive me,” I told her.

We talked for a while about how I came to find Tiara and what the next steps in my plan were. She had to get to the pack land and be home before her grandma woke up. I needed help. I didn’t know what to do with a little girl.

“Well, I’m glad you told me. Now we just need to break it to Mom and Dad,” she said.

“Yeah, I’ve been dreading that conversation ever since I found out about her. They don’t seem to have changed their minds about humans. I don’t see how this will go well,” I lamented.

“If they have any sense, they will embrace her as the living memory of the son they lost. It may take some time, but she belongs with us. I can’t imagine how dangerous it could be for a young she-wolf with no pack to protect her,” Tiana explained.

I felt like a huge weight had lifted off my heart and shoulders. It was so hard keeping a secret like that from everyone. Now that Tiana was onboard, it was time to get this plan into motion.