Children of the Goddesses (completed)

Match made in Heaven

Laila’s POV

            It was our second night on the road and we had left Ottawa about 12 hours ago, which was where we had spent the daylight hours yesterday. I was holed up in the motel room with blackout curtains that Betti had specially prepared for me while the rest of the entourage took turns to rest and keep a lookout. My apprehension faded away after the first few hours on the first night. We were split into two SUVs and I was in the same SUV as Betti, Gamma Ethan, Dillon and two other warriors. Dillon was my age, since I’m technically 18 now, despite not having lived those two years, and he was one big goof ball. The moment we had crossed the border, he began to curse and swear at the speed limit signs, while trying to convert kilometers per hour to miles per hour. Though he was muttering under his breath, with enhanced hearing, all of us could hear him clearly. 

            Forgetting my situation for a moment, I had done a conversion for him quickly and jokingly offered my help with his lack of aptitude for mathematics. To my relief and surprise, Dillon began to engage in the most childish fight with me over who was better at mathematics. It was an instant ice breaker and soon, we were joking and laughing about other things. The two other warriors were not as talkative but they’d join in on our conversations occasionally. It was a huge relief to feel somewhat welcomed, especially when I knew that we were in for a long ride. Betti and Gamma Ethan did not say much and I assumed that they were not really the chatty type or perhaps our conversations were too childish for them. Whatever the reason was, their reactions to the jokes made by Dillon and me were so similar that I couldn’t help but think to myself how compatible they really were. The thought made my heart clench painfully but I did my best to ignore it. They were a match made in heaven and I certainly did not intend to be a homewrecker. 

            Besides, I had something more important to do when the sun rose in about an hour. Yesterday, while Betti was taking a shower, I noticed a small gap between the curtains hanging in front of the balcony door and decided to fix it on my own. In my carelessness, my forearm was exposed to the sun but to my astonishment, the painful burning sensation that I was expecting did not come. Curious and shocked, I made a bold decision and drew open the curtain a little more and exposed my entire arm to the sun. Nothing happened and this time, I was bold enough to stand between the curtain and the balcony door. The warm sunshine kissed my skin and a surge of energy rushed through my veins. 

            Suddenly, the sound of running water stopped and I shut the curtains immediately before rushing back to bed and snuggling under the covers. Taking deep breaths to calm my racing heart, I closed my eyes and did my best to look like I was sleeping. It was no easy feat, considering werewolf hearing was just as good as vampires’ and my mind was anything but calm. Hundreds of questions bombarded my brain like raindrops during a thunderstorm and I was still at a complete loss. In barely three days, I had a near death experience and saw my dead mother in a place called the Mittelding, a plane between the living world and the spiritual world. As if that wasn’t absurd enough, Mother had a warning from the Moon Goddess for me and tasked me with saving our kind from the impending calamity. What I thought was a short interval in the Mittelding turned out to have been two years and two months in the world of the living, and now, I made the groundbreaking discovery that my appearances have not only completely changed, I was also invulnerable to sunlight, like the daywalkers. 

            Like the daywalkers.

            I stifled a gasp as that thought crossed my mind. Daywalkers were created with dark magic using the moonstone and the sunstone, but during the Battle at Wallace Bay, Luna Kayla had killed all of them and both stones were destroyed after Brenna killed Lady Lae. Or were they? Mother said that the Moon Goddess used the stones to preserve my life force and they were therefore never truly destroyed. Could it be that they somehow became a part of me? Even then, how would that explain why the sun was no longer deadly for me, like for all vampires except daywalkers. 

            “Gamma Ethan, shall we take a break at the Pukaskwa National Park? The sun will rise in about an hour and if we look for a spot to set up camp now, we’d make it just before sunrise. The National Park would also give our wolves a chance to stretch their legs,” piped Dillon. His voice brought me back to earth and I silently marvelled at the amount of energy that this werewolf had. How was he still so chirpy after a long night of driving? 

            I was seated beside the Gamma tonight in the middle row of the SUV and I saw his eyes glow for a few moments before giving Dillon the command to search for a place to set up camp. I was quite excited to go camping despite having done it a thousand times before at base camp, but this time was different. It wouldn’t be part of a training for a mission and even though it also wasn’t completely for leisure, given my current situation, at least I would be able to enjoy it. Dillon had told me so many fun things about camping during the drive and I was excited to hunt for food and roast them over the campfire. Speaking of food, it suddenly dawned on me that I had not craved blood since waking up, which was also strange considering I could normally go without for about two days before starting to feel hungry. As the SUV pulled to a stop, all thoughts about the strange things that had been happening to me left my mind. I jumped out of the car and ran to the boot excitedly, eager to help Dillion and the other warriors with setting up camp. 

            “Dillon, Dillon! Can we build a fire after we’ve pitched the tents?” I tilted my head to the side and asked in anticipation as we hammered the tent stakes into the ground. He chuckled in amusement and said teasingly, “well, we do have another 40 minutes before the sun would start to rise. It’s too late to hunt and make a campfire roast but I guess we could build a fire before your bedtime.” 

            My face heated up at the mention of bedtime and I scrunched my nose before giving him a friendly punch. Dillon had started to call our breaks in the day my bedtime as if I were a little kid and it reminded me of the times when Lovis would intentionally annoy me when we were kids. I wanted to get back at Dillon but I was still thinking of how I could pull off a good prank when Dillon suddenly made an amazing proposal, making all thoughts of getting back at him disappear. 

            “I brought chocolate, crackers and marshmallows. If you’re sorry for punching me, I might or might not make you some s’mores,” he said slowly with extra emphasis on s’mores. My eyes widened with greed and I nodded vigorously, hoping that the friendly punch would be forgiven. Who could say no to s’mores?! 

            Joy bubbled in my heart and I couldn’t stop smiling as I sat beside Dillon in front of the campfire, watching him make s’mores. After this sweet snack, I would have to hide in the special tent that they got for me to protect me from the sun and I knew that most of them would either be resting or going for a run. One or two of them would keep watch but if I were careful enough, I’d be able to sneak out for a few minutes to test out my theory with the sun again. 

            “There you go,” announced Dillon jovially as he handed me a freshly made s’more. He had been so generous with the marshmallow and chocolate that the gooey goodness was beginning to overflow the crackers. Not wanting to waste any of the delicious goodness, I leaned in and caught the s’more with my mouth before reaching out to grab the s’more from Dillon. 

            “What are you two still doing outside? The sun will rise in a few minutes! How could you be so careless, Laila?” An angry voice scolded sternly, breaking up our silly joyous moment. Dillon got up first and apologized to the Gamma before heading off to his tent to rest, and I took that as my cue to quickly leave before risking angering the Gamma further. Stuffing the entire s’more into my mouth and then regretting it as the piping hot s’more burned my mouth, I quickly got up and swallowed the delicious snack before putting on my most convincing apologetic face. 

            “Sorry, Gamma, I was the one who insisted on having s’mores. It won’t happen again.” Hoping that this was good enough, I turned to leave quickly but a large hand held onto my arm. 

            “I said you can just call me Ethan,” the Gamma said softly, the anger in his voice was no longer to be found. 

            The gentleness in his voice and his insistence on me calling him by his name was not something that I had expected. Confusion swirled in my head as my heart started to race from the touch of his hand. Warmth spread in my body and I would be lying if I said that I didn’t want the Gamma to be touching me, but it was wrong and I knew that I had to put a stop to it. I couldn’t lust after a taken man, especially when Betti had been nothing but good to me. Biting my lower lip apprehensively, I brushed off the Gamma’s hand casually before turning back to smile politely at him. 

            “I appreciate it, I really do but I know that werewolf packs have rules, and though I might not be one of you, I don’t want to break your rules. Good night, Gamma,” I said in my most polite voice before heading back to my tent.