My Resolution

Chapter 11

Donovan and I went to visit Emma and the baby, Finn, after school on Friday. She looked surprisingly well-rested considering she was home with a five-day-old baby. She was sitting in a large rocking recliner nursing Finn when we arrived. Emma had already given me permission to tell Donovan all about Finn’s birth, but this was the first time he was meeting him.  

“Hey, Emma,” I greeted. She smiled and said hello.  

“I’ve brought a gift from Luna,” Donovan announced,” setting a large package wrapped in white paper that said “baby boy” in varying shades of blues and greens all over.  

“Oh! Tell her 'thank you' for us,” she gushed.  

“How’s it going, girly?” I asked, curious how she had taken the news that Mrs. Boone had delivered earlier today.  

Her eyes moved, not looking at anything in particular, as she sighed heavily. It was like she just didn’t know where to start or what to say. Finally, she shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment before saying, “I don’t even know. By all accounts, I, well, we are great,” she caressed the top of Finn’s head before continuing. “I don’t know what to make of any of this. He is perfectly healthy. His lungs are developed and function as well as any other werewolf baby. His eyes respond to movement, like any other werewolf baby. Apparently, I had purple hair as a toddler, so what the hell is that? Finn doesn’t have purple hair, he’s blonde. I was teeny tiny, but Finn is big, even for a werewolf pup. I just don’t know what to make of any of this.” She sounded crestfallen, as tears formed in her eyes, “I just feel like one of the happiest moments in my life was taken away, again.”  

Before I could say or do anything, Donovan was leaning next to her with his arms wrapped around her shoulders. “Hey, I just heard a lot of reasons to be celebrating. Sure, some stuff needs to be sorted out eventually, but that doesn't mean we can’t celebrate now,” he gently assured her, “You are both healthy. He is perfect even with his unique traits. And, you are one tough momma, you made it past your due date when the doctors didn’t think you would make it through your fifth month. You did what you had to do to take care of your baby, and I think that’s important too.”  

“Thanks, Donovan,” she whimpered, “you know, you really are going to make an amazing alpha.”  

Donovan didn’t respond, he just hugged her again, being careful not to bump Flinn, still latched to his mother’s chest.  

“How’s nursing going anyway?” I asked, she had been worried about being able to breastfeed, basically her entire pregnancy.  

“Oh, goddess!” she made a pained face, “it's going pretty well now, but I honestly thought it wasn’t gonna happen. People going on about how ‘your body knows how to do’ and ‘the baby knows how to do it,’ is such utter bullshit. It was work. Hell, it’s still work. My milk actually came in yesterday and my boobs have expanded. I have to express some by hand just to get my n*****s soft enough for Finn to latch.”  

My eyes widened, Donovan nodded awkwardly. “So, will you always have to do that,” he asked.  

“No, thank the goddess. Once my body figures out the whole supply and demand thing, my supply should regulate,” she explained.  

“That's kinda cool,” Donovan responded. I nodded in agreement.   

“Yeah, frankly, I’ve been lucky. Some moms run into major problems. I know a mom whose pup took the skin right off her areolas. She ended up using formula, and who can blame her?”  

It was Donovan’s turn to look shocked. I just felt sympathy pain thinking about having the skin removed from my n*****s by a pup. I shivered, Emma laughed.  

“Anyway,” I interjected, hoping we could move past the pains of nursing, “I had an idea, but I didn’t want to say anything until Mrs. Boone got to speak to you.”  

“What’s up?” Emma asked curiously.  

“Well, what if you are part fae?” I suggested.  

“Like a fairy?” she questioned, looking unimpressed with my hypothesis.  

“Yeah,” I continued, “Hear me out. Fae are known for being small in their human form and have very delicate features. I also remember reading that they have colorful hair.”  

“That’s kind of a weak argument, Val,” Emma sarcastically drawled.  

“I know it could all be coincidence, but we could at least look into it before dismissing the idea.”  

“Fine, but how would you even research that?” she asked, still sounding uncertain.  

“Donovan knows the royal family of the Americas,” I said simply.  

“There’s fae royalty?” she asked, eagerly. 

“Yep, so we thought we would go visit for a day or two next week if you wanted us to do a little digging,” Donovan explained. 

“I...well, sure, that sounds, yeah, why not?” she stammered. 

“I also think you should get a blood test done. You could have Finn tested, too. But it might be able to shed some light since his traits are definitely not fae.” Donovan suggested. 

“Can they do that at the pack hospital?” Emma questioned. 

“No, we don’t have the capabilities, but my Aunt Jeanie is a doctor for her pack, and she can. They can draw the tubes here and have them sent to her for testing.” 

Emma looked at me, “What do you think, Val?” 

“I think you need to do what’s best for you and Finn,” I replied. 

Her head nodded slightly and she looked down at Finn who was now sleeping on her lap, light puffs of smoke swirling through his lips with every breath. “We’ll have the tests done,” he has to know what he is. 

It didn’t take much to convince Gavin to agree they should have testing done, in fact, he took off work the following day specifically to take them to the lab. Donovan’s aunt said it could take a couple of weeks for the results to be available, so all we could do now was wait. 

Meanwhile, Donovan and I were planning our trip to the fae kingdom. Donovan and his dad sent several correspondences to the fae kingdom making arrangements for our visit. Apparently, there was a great deal of pomp and circumstance involved in arranging this trip. When I asked where the kingdom was located, Donovan said it was hard to know because the entrance shifts. He instructed me to pack for every kind of weather, with the only explanation being, “the queen changes the day's weather based on how she feels that day.” The more I was told, the less comfortable I became with this entire trip. 

It was three-thirty in the morning and I was finishing up packing a pair of sandals and some winter boots into a bag when Mrs. Boone knocked on my open bedroom door. “Hello, dear,” she greeted happily. 

“Hi, how are you, Mrs. Boone?” 

“Wonderful, dear. How’s the packing coming?” 

“Fine, I think. We’re only planning to be gone five days, and I feel like I’m packing for a month-long trip to every season,” I yawned, Donovan wants to be on the road by four o’clock. 

“Yeah, I can see that. Well, try to think of it as an adventure. Not many people get the opportunity to visit the fae in their home.” 

“Why is that?” I wondered. 

“They’re very private and very protective of their secrets,” she explained, “I have heard that they keep records of all creatures as far back as the birth of the first fae.” 

“Wow, seriously? I wonder if they will have anything that might help Emma..” 

“We can only hope, but it's worth a shot. You are doing a wonderful thing for her,” she wrapped her arm around my shoulders. 

“It’s too bad she can't come with us,” I said, more to myself, but Mrs. Boone still responded. 

“Yes, but she just had a baby a week ago.” 

“Yeah,” I smiled, “he’s such a sweetie.” 

“Yes, he is,” she agreed, releasing me, “well, Val, let me know if you need any help.” 

“I will,” I responded as she left. 

I finished packing and carried everything down to the foyer, dropping it off by the door. Donovan arrived about a half-hour later. I finished saying my goodbyes and we were off. 

“Okay, where are we going?” I asked. 

“Drummond Island,” he said tightly. 

“Where the hell is that?” 

He looked at me knowingly, “Michigan.” 

“Michigan? The fae kingdom is in Michigan?” 

“No,” he gulped, “The closest portal is in Michigan.” 

“You know,” I said thoughtfully, “that really doesn’t mean anything to me.” 

“The fae kingdom is not on this plane,” he explained. I just stared at him and blinked; I didn’t know what to say.” 

“You know what a plane is, right?” he asked. 

“Only what I’ve read. There’s the astral plane where spirits supposedly go after death and the physical plane, where we are now, I think. There are others, but I don’t remember them.”  

“Yeah, so there are known planes of existence where different levels of spirituality and thought exist,” he paused for a moment, seeming to be collecting his thoughts. “Well, okay, so fae are immortal, right? Well, the first fae transcended the physical plane, but she was still alive, so her transcendence caused the formation of fae dimensions. These dimensions are where the various fae kingdoms exist today.” 

I sat there slack-jawed. “So, you are taking me to another dimension?” 

“Yep.” 

“Well, okay then. How do we get through the portal?” 

“We are meeting a fae guide to provide us safe passage,” he explained. 

“Of course,” I said sarcastically, “How are we getting to Michigan?”  

“Driving?” It was his turn for sarcasm. 

“That’s going to take us like two days!” 

“Valley Girl, it's literally a sixteen-hour drive. We’ll make it in time for dinner. We’re spending the night at an Airbnb in Drummond, then meeting our guide in the morning,” 

“Oh, I guess that's not so bad,” I conceded. 

I grabbed Donovan’s phone and announced I was finding some road trip music. I started my search. I’ve never been on a long trip like this, and I was excited to go with my best friend. 

“Are we going to stop for breakfast?” I said, there was no way I wasn’t going to eat all day. 

“I was thinking we could stop in Springfield.” 

“Where?” 

“No idea, you can make that decision.” 

I began searching my phone for Springfield restaurants, checking reviews, and reading menus. My arm was resting on the center armrest when Donovan reached down and wrapped his pinkie finger around mine. I looked at our hands then back at him. He stopped the car, leaned over, and kissed me, taking my breath. “Oh, this is going to be a fun trip,” I thought as he put the car back into drive and we rolled away. 

Hours later we finally passed a sign for Drummond. It was dark outside by this time, I was shocked at how many stars were twinkling in the sky. Even as secluded as our pack territory was, I don’t think it ever got this dark at night with skies this clear. 

Donovan pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant called The Northwood Restaurant and Bar, “I heard this was pretty good,” he explained as he pulled into an empty spot. “Do you want to eat here or get it to go?” 

“I think just get it to go. I’m going to pass out as soon as I’m full of food.” 

He agreed. I ordered a broasted chicken meal and he got a burger and onion rings, and we made our way to the house. 

“It’s a yacht!” I squealed excitedly as we pulled into the drive. 

“Yep,” he laughed. 

“This is so neat, but, okay, why are we staying on a miniature yacht?” 

“Just for the hell of it,” he answered honestly, “I knew you would love it, so I thought ‘why not’?” 

We climbed aboard and spread out on the deck to eat our meal under the stars. I don’t think I’d ever seen anything more beautiful as the stars above us, I could not get enough. After dinner, we went to sleep. I had planned to suggest we share the bed, but as it turned out, there were no double beds, only singles. So, I shook the thought from my mind, a little ashamed of allowing my mind to go there in the first place, and I fell asleep. 

The next morning, we got breakfast at Bear Track Inn and drove deeper into the island. 

“So, where are we going?” I asked. 

“My instructions are to drive east on Colton Bay Road until I know to stop.” 

I raised an eyebrow, “What? How will you know when to stop?” 

“No idea, but that’s what I was told.” 

I took a deep breath, “Well, okay, let's do this.” 

The road was narrow and surrounded by big trees. We didn’t see any other cars or people. Donovan was driving carefully, a little too slow for my taste, but I know he was hoping for some sort of sign.  

I was staring out the passenger window when Donovan suddenly slammed on the breaks. I jerked forward, but fortunately; he had been driving slow enough we weren’t hurt. “What the hell, Donovan?” I hissed, turning to look at him. He was staring unblinkingly toward the front of the car. 

I turned my head, and there in front of us, with one hand resting on the hood of the car, was the most beautiful man I had ever laid eyes on. 

He had bright blonde hair that flowed down his back, delicate, yet strong facial features with eyes that rose at a sharp angle, and a slightly turned-up nose. He was wearing a pair of dark brown leather woven breeches, but no shirt. His skin glowed almost iridescent. I couldn’t catch my breath; I could feel myself getting hot all over. He made eye contact with me, his gaze was so intense, I felt like he was seeing my soul, then he smirked and winked one of his heavily lashed green eyes at me. 

He walked to my door and Donovan rolled down the window. “Good morning,” he greeted in a low silky voice, “My name is Aisling, I will be your guide.”