Children of the Goddesses (completed)

Family

Lovis’s POV

            The pounding of my heart rang in my ears as I waited on the other side of the fire portal anxiously for my father and little sister. Father had finally managed to convince the auction house that he was just another filthy rich warlord looking for exotic additions to his collection, and tonight was a test of sorts. He was invited to an auction after presenting 100 ounces of gold as collateral towards anything that he might eventually bid on and purchase. In order not to blow his cover, he had to go to a designated location on the northern border of Minnesota alone, where someone from the auction house would pick him up. The only thing that Father brought along with him was a tracking ring from Ana, which we had hoped would help us find our way to the auction house later on.

            Good things come in three, and tonight this saying couldn’t have been more true. Not only did Ana’s tracking ring work despite the cloaking spells used by those bastards from the auction house, Father called us late in the night to deliver an unexpected piece of good news. He had met Lem, our childhood playmate, at the auction house and he knew where Laila was. Lem suggested to break Laila out of the Vampire King’s fortress right away and it was a risky plan, since none of us were prepared. We weren’t even able to locate the fortress based on the directions that Lem gave to us, until the third piece of good news came in. 

            Luna Kayla managed to find the location of enchanted oak tree leading to the Vampire King’s fortress and with the help of the forest, Ana and Luna Meira were able to fire portal our werewolf friends led by Delta Michelle of the Gold Moon Pack right into the forest where my family were attempting to escape to. 

            The blackout curtains in the room were drawn but I knew that the sun was beginning to rise outside, and this was the only reason why I was not there in the forest with the rest of our friends. For the first time in my life, I prayed to the Goddess of my mother like Laila would do. I prayed for Her mercy on my family and I swore to Her that if She could bring them back safely, that I would believe in Her with no reservations and dedicate my life to Her cause. 

            “They will be fine, Lovis, I can feel it in my bones. The blessing of the Moon Goddess is with them.” The soothing voice of Luna Meira did nothing to calm my frayed nerves but I forced a smile at the witch holding up our side of the fire portal to ensure that our friends would be able to jump through immediately once they had met up with my family. 

            Suddenly, the flames in the fireplace burned brighter and larger until it resembled a whirlpool of fire, and like a dream, the people that I cared about stepped out one by one out of the fireplace. 

            “Father! Laila!” My voice wobbled involuntarily as relief and joy washed over me as I dashed towards my family, but my joy was cut short when I realized the state that my little sister was in. 

            “She’s alive and Lem said that we should put her out under the sun, it’d help her to heal faster,” Father said with some hesitation as he handed Laila to me. His skin looked like it had been singed by fire, no doubt due to the sun outside.

            We had all heard about Laila’s supernatural healing abilities and its connection with the sun from the Gamma but I didn’t want to entrust the life of my little sister to the words of a werewolf who couldn’t even protect his own mate. 

            “It’s a crazy idea, but given that no one really knows much about the new dimension, and how Ethan’s connection to Laila worked during the day, it’s not too far-fetched to assume that all of it has to do with the sun. I guess, at the end of the day, it depends on how much you trust the words of the wolf boy and this Lem vampire.” Ana’s analysis made sense and though I would rather trust a frog over that useless werewolf, there was no doubt in my mind that we could trust Lem, if he was still the boy we knew from our childhood. 

            “What do you think, Father?” 

            “I trust Lem, and he gave me a sun ring,” Father recounted before turning to a shivering female vampire behind him. “Child, could you please give me the ring that I gave to you before we left the tunnel?” The female vampire nodded timidly before handing Father a gold ring with a piece of bright green jade set in the middle. 

            “We could let Laila wear it before letting her get some sun and if it helps with the healing, great, if not, at least she wouldn’t get hurt.” 

            I nodded in agreement at Father’s suggestion while Ana checked the sun ring to ensure it was real, and I carried Laila to the medical wing of the pack house so that Dr. Heil could check on Laila.

            “How is she?” Father and I asked in unison as soon as Dr. Heil finished examining Laila and cleaning up her wounds. 

            “All things considered, not too bad. 3 broken ribs, broken nose, dislocated jaws and I can’t rule out a concussion until she is awake. I’ve pushed her jaws back into place and set her nose. Now it’s up to her body to heal itself.”

            “Thank you, Dr. Heil. Can we go in to-” Before Father could finish his words, the smell of wolf boy filled my nostrils and I took a deep breath to calm myself down, reminding myself that despite everything, wolf boy had risked his life for that spell to find my sister. 

            “Is Laila inside? Can I please see her? Just one look and I promise I’ll leave. I just want to see that she’s ok.” The weak pleas of the wolf boy made me feel like I would be killing a puppy if I denied him. Heck, he couldn’t even stand on his own and had to be supported by his cousin. 

            “5 minutes, that’s all you get until my daughter is awake again and she can decide for herself if she wants to see you,” Father said sternly before gesturing at me to follow him. 

            “Father,” I protested, “we shouldn’t leave him alone with Laila!” 

            “It’s fine, son. That boy can’t even stand on his own, I’m sure he won’t be able to do any more harm than he already has. I need to discuss an important matter with you.” The sombre tone of my father got my attention and it was only then that I realized that something wasn’t quite right. In the heat of the moment, all of my attention was on my sister, and it was only now that I realized that three vampires came back through the fire portal. 

            “Who is that female vampire who came back with you, Father? And where is Lem?” 

            “I’m not too certain who the female vampire is,” Father explained, “but she’s probably harmless and as long as we’re keeping tabs on her until Laila is awake to tell us who she is, it’s fine.”

            “Alright, I’ll talk to Alpha Jove and ask for his help on this.” 

            Father nodded in agreement before his tone took on a more solemn note. “We need to go back there, Lovis. The Vampire King’s warriors gave chase just as we were about to escape into the forest, and Lem, he stayed behind to make sure that we made it out alive. There were too few of us and we weren’t prepared for a full on fight. Ana gave me no choice but to leave him behind. We have to go back, Lovis. I promised his father to care for him like my own son, but when danger came, I left him all alone to face it.” 

            Father’s eyes glistened as he mentioned Lem’s Dad, and my heart sank knowing that my childhood playmate was in the best case scenario, in grave danger. Images of the scrawny little boy flashed in my mind and I knew without a doubt that I would brave the lion’s den to bring back the boy who was like a little brother to me. 

            “What do you need me to do, Father?” 

            “I need you to stay here with your sister, Lovis. I’ll speak with Ana about helping me to go back to that forest, and I can only hope that I’m not too late.”