Unsettled Magic

Chapter 7 - Making Plans

        The dinner was even more complicated than I expected.  I was worried that my dad would be more observant to their odd behavior than the rest of the group.  It was something I was anticipating since his job was to pick up on anything unusual as head of security.  I wasn’t sure if I was relieved or worried when we made it through with only minor hurdles.

        On one hand, it was a relief because we needed to figure out how it happened before others did.  Was this a fluke or was it a sign everyone has been waiting for?  A sign that the contagion was finally coming to an end.  

        On the other hand, if my father was not catching on, it could indicate a serious problem with his ability to continue protecting the pack.  I was hopeful that his lack of observational skills would return to normal soon.  If they did, it was most likely due to the treatment that he had received this morning.  Even the heads of the pack were subjected to treatments, each on varying days so the pack would not become defenseless.

        The dinner itself was manageable.  Ro and I stayed quiet through most of it as Theodore fielded questions from everyone else at the table.  The few questions that were directed to either one of us were more specific to training tomorrow or how the pack seemed to be fairing while we were on our way home from school today.    

        We managed to pick up a few bits of information about Theodore.  It turned out, he was sixteen and just moved here a few days ago.  The first day I saw him in class was his first day in the pack, he had just registered and wanted to see what our classes were like.  Because of the shrinking size of our pack members, he was forced to take a few mixed-age classes like our history of wolves class. 

        “So, Theodore.  Is your mom excited about your position promotion?”  Gamma Dean was smiling at his nephew from ear to ear, his hand excitedly grasping Beta Tomas’ under the table.  Even though many people’s relationships were affected when the mate bonds were broken, Gamma Dean and Beta Tomas were still as in love as the day they met.  The only reason we could tell the contagion had affected their bond at all was because they were not as territorial around other people or with each other anymore. 

        “Everyone just call me Theo, please.”  He said, throwing a smile at Rowan.  “And yes, she’s enormously proud.  She cried a lot when I was getting ready to leave but said that it was my “destiny” to come back to her home pack.  She had mentioned dreaming about it.  Apparently it was enough to convince her it was the right decision…” he shrugged at the statement but left it sounding like there was more to it.  I was hoping he would be a little more forthcoming with information now that he and Rowan had a connection.  I did notice, however, that he made no mention of his father.  Perhaps he was like me and lost his first parent when he was young.

        After dinner was done, I volunteered Ro and I to do the dishes.  I suggested that the pack heads show Theo around, which they readily agreed to.  My mom headed upstairs to put Griffin down to sleep for the night. 

        I pulled Rowan into the kitchen with me to get started on the dishes.  It wasn’t safe to thoroughly talk things through when we were out in the open, but we still had to have a plan in place. 

        Standing side by side at the double sink, we hand washed the delicate china.  We couldn’t risk Rowan’s mother having a fit if they broke in the dishwasher.  I scrubbed the dish as she rinsed it and set it aside to dry.  Both of us were quiet for a few minutes before I found myself breaking the silence. 

        “So… when and where are we going to meet up and figure out what the hell happened…?”  I tried to be casual about the topic but my soft whisper came out more like I was yelling with laryngitis.  I felt the need to apologize. 

        “Sorry… I was just kind of caught off guard by the whole situation.”  I tried another attempt at a reassuring smile. 

        “YOU were caught off guard!? Imagine how we felt!  This isn’t supposed to be possible!  How are we going to handle this!?”  She was aggressively running water over the same dish repeatedly.  I sighed, rinsing the suds off my hands and grabbed her arms, forcing her to look at me.

        “This is a GOOD thing, Rowan.  We just have to figure out how it happened and what it means.” She scoffed with tears in her eyes. My touch had brought her mind a bit back into focus, and the look of displaced thoughts cleared from her features.

        “I know it’s a good thing, but you were right.  If anyone finds out, we will both be test subjects for the contagion clinic. The treatments are bad enough.  I can’t handle the treatments like they are now, how am I going to handle being a test subject?!  Let alone the thought of him going through it too. 

        What am I going to do, Logan?  He’s already so perfect and I don’t even know anything about him yet.  I can’t lose him now that I know what he’s supposed to be for me.”  Her attempts to hold back her crying only made her hiccup.  I wrap her in my arms and let her get a few silent tears out. 

        “Now.  You listen to me.  We are GOING to figure this out.  We will come up with a plan.  If anyone can do it, it's three conscious walkers, right?”  She nodded her head silently, letting my words sink in.  “I’m going to ask again, then we are going to temporarily drop this.  When and where did you tell him to meet?  I don’t want to intrude on your time together, but you are going to need my help.  You’re not always as lucid as I am… or as Theo seems to be.  He needs to know.  And we need to make sure he understands.”  She nodded and bit her lip before giving me the details.

        “Tonight.  At midnight in the attic above the west side of the pack house.  Nobody ever goes up there.  It’s safer than meeting outside or risking some place the pack leaders would go.”  I nodded my agreement. 

        “Good.  Now, let us get the dishes done before someone comes back.”  I pulled her attention back to the task at hand, keeping our conversation typical as to not raise suspicion. 

___

        The next few hours went by slowly.  Rowan and Theo kept passing glances at each other every chance they got.  I felt like a third wheel in my own friendship.  Or a third wheel in whatever was starting to form between the two of them.  I really did want her to be happy, but this new development was stressing me out a bit.  I wasn’t jealous that she had found someone.  As much as I appreciated his beauty, I was more curious how he managed to be a conscious walker like me. 

        I know I sounded confident to her face, but I felt everything except confidence.  This had to mean that I was not just some fluke in the werewolf world, but that there was an actual explanation.  I was just missing all the facts.    

        Could two fourteen-year-olds and a sixteen-year-old really decipher what happened when medical professionals weren’t even able to explain it or recreate the mate bond between known mates in the past?  The important thing was, we had to try.  It was only a matter of time before someone figured it out.  The treatments may dull the senses and weaken some mind-specific abilities such as observational skills and quick thinking but everyone wasn’t blind.  At the rate those two were going, they would be outed before the weekend was over. 

        I had to convince Rowan to “go to bed early” because of their flirtatious behavior towards each other.  Alpha Rome had even pulled me aside to ask if she was feeling alright.  I decided to go with the lesser of two evils, leaning in and whispering in his ear.

        “Rowan is fine, alpha…. But she’s got quite the crush on our new future Beta.”  I added in a giggle to make the dumbed down truth more realistic.  His eyes widened at first as he pulled back, glancing at his daughter as she was not-so-discreetly watching Theo talk with his uncles.  The alpha then did something I was not expecting. He smiled, then leaned back into our conversation and whispered.

        “I’ll talk to Beta Tomas.”  Maybe we can get them betrothed and they won’t have to go through the Mate Connection Program.  Alpha Roman winked as he headed off in the direction of his three commanders.  I sighed in aggravation and headed over to Ro. 

        “I just had to lie to your father!”  I hissed at her as I approached.  Her eyes widened as I finally got her undivided attention. 

        “You what?!  What happened?  What did he say?”  Panic and anxiety had risen in her voice.

        “It would SEEM that you don’t know the meaning of being discreet.  He asked me what was going on with you!”  Her eyes grew even more round as I glanced over to where the Alpha was.  He was leaning in and whispering excitedly into my father’s ear.  I was betting my father’s observational skills were starting to return.  Alpha Roman was as dense as they came.  If asked, he wouldn’t even be able to find a black spot on a dalmatian. 

        “Oh no!  Well… he doesn’t look too mad, does he?” she asked, her voice shaking with uncertainty as she followed my gaze to our fathers.

        “That’s because I told him you had a crush on Theo.”  I grinned as her face reddened.  “I’m sorry, Ro, but it’s the closest I could come to explaining your behavior.  At least when Theo checks you out, he is more discreet about it. Your dad may actually have a solution though.”  I smiled and waited until her embarrassment had passed and I had her full attention again.  

        “He said he is going to talk to Beta Tomas about setting up an arranged marriage so the two of you wouldn’t have to go through the MCP.”  I managed to cover my hand over her mouth before she squealed out her excitement.  “For now, let's just tell them we are going to head to bed.  We have training tomorrow anyway, so it's not too far of a stretch.”

        Ro tried to put on her serious face, but it had no effect due to the bounce in her step.  I rolled my eyes at her after getting her attention.  She was being way too obvious.  

        I got our fathers’ attention as we reached where they were at, and announced that we were retiring for the night.  I caught a disappointed look on Theo’s face until Ro managed to signal him a reminder to meet at midnight tonight.  I was thankful nobody else seemed to catch on as Theo quickly changed the topic to training, asking all about what our practices entailed and if he could join starting tomorrow too. 

        I took her by the hand and dragged her away from Theo.  She was starting to act like a crazed fanatic over a superstar and it creeped me out a little.  From what the history of wolves class has taught us, a true mate bond meant an instantaneous connection.  She certainly was acting like she was head-over-heels in love with this guy.  Seeing her like that, it was impossible to deny what had happened. 

        “We have a few hours before we have to meet up.  We should probably try and get some sleep, seeing as we don’t know how long we will be awake tonight.”  Even though this was true, I really just felt the need to lay my head down.  I was starting to get a headache and being the only other person to know their secret was making me extra anxious.  I was hoping I felt better after we talked things out.  Maybe Theo could help fill in some gaps in the answer.    

        Pulling Ro into my room was a risk I had to take. There was a high likelihood that she would talk the entire duration of the time we had.  But I also knew my best friend.  The probability that she would sneak back downstairs if she wasn’t with me was near a hundred percent.  We could not take that risk.  Especially not before we had some answers. We had to know how to counter accusations if either of them were caught.