Charmed Chaos

1. Broken vow

NOLAN

Do you know the feeling one has when you know you've got one person who loves you more than their whole world? Do you know the feeling of utter bliss when you look into the eyes of someone and what stares back at you is genuine love?

Well, Nicholas and Naria— my siblings— and I were quite accustomed to that feeling. Our mother loved us so much. Her love for us ran so deep that it took me to adulthood to be able to grasp just how much she loved us. In her eyes, we were the centre of the universe, and even better, she made certain that we never forgot this. Not even trying to be poetic, but I often told myself that Mum’s love for us sprang forth like an eternal spring, making us know that no matter what trials or tribulations we faced, we had her unwavering support.

"I still can't believe you're going to visit your mother," Ella, my assistant said, as she walked into the office, a folder of files in her hands. "No, for real, I love that you're doing this."

"Ella, it's just going to be a couple of days," I let out, nearly cracking up as I saw a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her lips, though she tried to suppress it.

"Something is better than nothing."

Ella, the vibrant twenty-nine-year-old before me, has been my assistant for nearly six years now, and she had grown to really care about me. She thought I always worked too hard and never had time for myself or my family. And she was right, but man, she had no idea why.

Oftentimes, Ella would ask me why I distanced myself from my family. She genuinely wanted to know because I always told her that I was cool with my siblings and I absolutely doted on my parents. So, yes, Ella's curiosity wasn't out of place.

The problem was that I couldn't tell her that staying with my family meant I had to embrace a part of myself I had forgotten; when I moved away, I vowed to forget the supernatural world and all the nonsense that came with it.

Yes, I still snuck out to change once a month, but that was only because I had to in order to comfortably stay in my human form. That aside, I have totally forgotten about that part of my life. As far as I was concerned, the only thing special about me was that I was the founder of a multi-millionaire marketing enterprise that had grown to have branches in about a third of the country.

Pulling me back from my thoughts, Ella asked, "Won't you go home to prepare for your journey?"

Nodding, I responded, "You are right. I better get going." As I took my bag, I placed an arm on Ella's shoulder, "You know I trust you so much. Everything is in your hands until I come back."

"Sure thing. You know I'm super amazing."

Smiling as I walked out of the room, I said, "Remind me why I forget to never give you a compliment."

As I got into the car, Eric, my chauffeur let out, "Home?"

"Yes, Eric," I echoed.

Look, it gets lonely at times. It is not the easiest thing to do, you know? Hiding your identity from the world is hard enough, but staying away from a loving and supportive family feels like doing away with a part of your very being. I wake up every day second-guessing a decision I made years ago. And no matter how often I tell myself that I had to do it, the guilt never leaves.

The guilt stays fresh and strong. It’s like that one scar that no one else but you see.

'You are always at work', Mum would say whenever she called. Deep down inside of her, she felt I hated being a werewolf. She felt I didn't want to have anything to do with them and that, simply, wasn't true. At least not in the way they thought.

I didn't hate being a werewolf. I hated being told to help shoulder the burdens of an entire race just because Mum was the head of all the packs on this side of the globe. I hated being told that I had to put others' needs before mine, and even worse, I hated the look on the face of my family whenever I said this to them.

You know, I had dreams too and because of them, I have cut off from my family for years now. Mum was responsible for thousands and thousands of werewolves, and since it was utterly impossible for her to take on such a task alone, her family was expected to help her. Now, when I say help, I mean abandon your life and ambitions just to support Mum.

I didn't want that.

Unlike Nicholas and Naria, I could never accept that. While I couldn't choose to not be a werewolf, I could choose how to live my life.

Nicholas, the eldest, almost thirty-five years of age, and married with two kids, never speaks to me. Same as Naria, four years younger than Nicholas, was a librarian, living in Darkwoods with Mum and Dad. Neither of them have spoken to me in years.

A few weeks after my seventeenth birthday, I left for university. My goodness— what a fight it was just to convince Dad that I wanted to study business. He was of the opinion that studying anything for a werewolf was pointless.

“What is the point, Mirabel?” Father had asked Mum, not looking at me as though I wasn't there. “He can never work with it and it's simply just a waste of time and money. We are not humans; we have a way in which we live our lives. It's folly to think otherwise.”

Mum had pretended to agree with Dad back then but still sponsored my University education, ensuring I never lacked anything— at least anything money could buy. But what she didn't know was that I had a plan….

You see, in the four years I spent in university, I visited home about six times or thereabouts, though never staying for more than a week or two. However, after I graduated, I promised myself never to set my eyes on any one of my family or ‘people from my past.'

And yes, that included Mum.

Before I graduated, I had started my own company and as it happened, it started well, with sales booming here and there. Two years after leaving Uni, it exploded— in a crazy way. The company went public, with multiple shareholders.

All in all, I was a success. Everything has been fine so far. Well, until I got the call.

About eleven days ago, Mum called, which was an oddity in itself because none of them really kept in contact with me, and vice versa. In a way, they felt I betrayed them. From the blissful days of my childhood, the one thing I have heard so much about was— family. My mother, the Luna— the revered feminine head of the werewolves— especially put so much weight on family, and that it came with responsibilities that we had no choice but to shoulder.

When she called, I was happy to hear her voice, but that soon changed.

Her voice laced with worry, she said, “I need you to come and see me before two weeks. I would ask you to come immediately, but I know you wouldn't.”

I tried to explain why I couldn't come at all, but Mum's voice cut through the air like a sharp blade. Her voice, usually gentle and kind, was now firm and abrasive. "If you don't come as I have asked, forget about me. I don't expect to see you, but I just wanted you to know that I will be dying soon.”

What? Who says something like this?

You see why I left?

I tried to get some more information from her, but she didn't say any more.

Her words hung in the air, echoing in my ears, and for a fleeting moment, time stood still. I felt a chill run down my spine as the gravity of her statement sank in. There was something in her voice, a hint of desperation and finality, that made it impossible to ignore. She wasn't playing or trying to just see me; she meant every syllable with every fibre of her being.

The realisation hit me like a tonne of bricks, and a surge of fear coursed through my veins. My heart pounded in my chest as I grappled with the weight of her ultimatum. I never expected her to utter such words because I thought we had passed this stage. I mean, she already knew I chose to live a normal life, one that couldn't include them.

In that moment, time seemed to stretch on endlessly, while a myriad of thoughts raced through my mind. What had brought us to this point? Why did she ask this of me? The weight of the situation bore down on my shoulders, threatening to crush me under its immense pressure.

After some days of giving it thought, I decided to leave the company and go see my family. Yes, I was breaking my vow, but not for long. After I saw them, I would take the next flight back to the city.

I got home and saw that my housekeeper had arranged all I needed for the travel, just as I had asked.

It was time.

“When will you be back?” the housekeeper asked as I sat on a sofa in the living area. “You asked for us to pack light.”

“A week at most,” I answered, getting to my feet. “But I intend to return much quicker than that.”

I went into the room and, because I was exhausted, I fell asleep immediately. Morning came so quickly; it was almost as though I just closed my eyes and it was morning.

The day had come.

Preparing quickly, I joined Eric in the car. My luggage had already been put in the boot.

As he drove, Eric enquired, “Do you think it's safe to go alone without any security?”

Eric's concern was reasonable. Most people of my status don’t just go around without a security team or, at the very least, a bodyguard.

"It won't be a problem, Eric," I let out, assuring him as our eyes met in the rearview mirror. "Trust me, I will be safe in Darkwoods."

Now, while it could be true that I would be safe in Darkwood, the truth was, if someone were to want to hurt me there, well, let's just say a bunch of bodyguards would be utterly useless.

Eric dropped me at the airport and I slept throughout the three-hour flight. I didn't want to think about the drama and awkwardness that awaited me, so I just tried to play it cool.

As the taxi dropped me just a few blocks away from Darkwood, as he told me he couldn’t go any further. As expected.

A flood of memories washed over me. It was like a thousands suppressed memories popped up, and now danced around in my head with reckless abandon.

Standing just before our house, I stopped as though I was frozen, and it had nothing to do with my memories, anxiety or feelings. I had been filled with so much worry and fear, thinking about what this visit could mean, and hoping I could just get it over with and go on with my life.

But as these eyes of mine set on hers, for a moment which appeared to stretch on forever, I forgot about everything.