Rise to Reign: Growing Up Young

Leaving Home

*Sterling POV*

We had just left my pack for Brave River, and Grace chose to sit in the backseat, so I rode shotgun next to Damian. Once we pulled away, I asked if we could stop at one of the local stores that had some of the best food in their deli. I had slept through lunch, and had no time to eat before I had to leave.

If I was starting a new journey, I might as well do it on a full stomach. Damian agreed, because when I mentioned where I wanted to go, he was excited. In his exact words, 'Hell yea, I will never pass up a chance to get something at the deli from Dom's'.

Dominick's was a small local store about 5 miles away from Crescent Moon Ridge. Dad and I used to go there all the time when I was growing up, but we don't go like we used to. Usually they will send the Omegas to pick up food for us instead.

They even have stuff Grace will eat. Since she got her wings, she has changed her eating habits. She doesn't eat as much meat as she once did, and she said it was almost like her taste buds changed when everything else did. My experience was opposite.

Grace and I are both Hybrids. My dad's side of the family is mostly hybrid, and my birth mother was a Fae until my dad changed her, and made her a hybrid.

Because of who we will be, we will have both wings and a wolf. A Fae gets their wings at the age of 16, and technically, Grace could have ascended then. However, she wanted to wait and the two of us would ascend together.

People swear that the two of us are siblings, although at first glance we look nothing alike. We both have the "Carter eyes", my grandma always says. The only thing missing was the eye color. Most of the Carters had green eyes, but mine are blue like my dad's.

Although we aren't anything but cousins, we act like siblings. Maybe that's why people assume. I'm closer to Grace than any of my siblings or cousins, and there are A LOT of cousins.

Let's see if I can remember all of them. My Uncle Phoenix has Ava, Tallulah, Talasi, Taima, and Tayen. My aunt Lark has Skylar, Rain, Autumn, Link, Cheyanne, twins Emerald and Diamond, Raven, Zephyr, and Zion.

Then there is my aunt Adelina. She has the most, and their names are Alexander, Jackson, Hunter, Gretchen, and Lilly. They are the oldest of all the cousins. Then there are Waylon, Wolfe, Walker and Weston, her quads, and mine and Grace's advisors. Then there is Braylin, who is my favorite, and the twins Gwendolyn and Genivive.

My aunt Asteria has two sets of twins, Delaney and Devany, and Winn and Rosemary. Devany and Rosemary will be part of my cabinet, and Delaney and Winn will be with Grace. Even though they should have technically been born hybrids, they weren't. Delany and Winn are Fae, and Devany and Rosemary are werewolves. Then there is Aren, her youngest son. She also has Finn, her oldest. He was adopted at age 13, and has since became one of the best warriors I have ever seen. He is part of the Wolf Elite Squad, and I am beyond excited he will be stationed with me at the Royal Wolf kingdom.

My uncle River, only adopted the nine he has with my uncle Caleb. He didn't want to push it because of the old prophecy that he had dealt with. Even though the person who tried to kill him was dead, he didn't want to chance anything. His children are, Adam, Abbie, Grayson, Rion, Olive, Frey, Ian and Lucas. Adam is a doctor at Brave River, but I would love it if he came to work in the kingdom once I take over.

Last but not least, my aunt Alette. The current Queen of the Fae. Although I love all my aunts and uncles, it's no secret that auntie Alette is my favorite. I'm almost as close to her as I am my mother. The same with uncle Damian. He is like a second dad to me, and when I can't make heads or tails of what is going through my dad's mind, I go to my uncle Damian to help me understand.

Damian and my dad have been the best of friends since the day they rescued my aunt from a s*x trafficking organization. He knows my dad better than I think my dad even knows himself.

Not only do they have Grace, but they have a set of triplets who are a couple of years older than Grace and me. Their names are Connor, Craven and Chase. Her youngest are twin girls named Skylynne and Stella, and are seriously the cutest. They are going to be breaking hearts for sure when they become teenagers.

Of course, there are the extended family cousins, but if I had to name all of them, I would go on for days.

As I stared at the deli case, I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted. They had a box lunch special, so I chose two different ones. The first one was a Reuben sandwich, in which I asked for extra sauerkraut, and I paired it with a bag of homemade kettle chips and a container of mixed melon with grapes. The second had a cold pasta salad, a container of raw vegetables and ranch dressing. I had two other sides to choose from, so I had them add a cucumber and tomato salad with fresh mozzarella cheese, and a large spoonful of warm apple cobbler.

I went to the drink section, and grabbed two bottles of Cherry Gatorade, and went to check out. As I started to pay, my uncle Damian told the clerk to ring me up with his order. He didn't have to do that, but I thanked him for his kindness.

We loaded back into the car, and once we were ready to go, Damian turned up the radio and we drove away. Damian had an awesome taste in music, and just like me and my dad, he liked loud music.

As I ate my lunch, I paid close attention to the scenery. I have been to Brave River more times than I can count over the years, but today, something felt off. I couldn't explain it, but the hair on my neck was at attention, and my wings were tingling.

"You feel it too?" Grace asked. I whipped my head towards her, and when our eyes met, we both gasped.

"Grace, your eyes have changed color," I told her. Instead of her stunning green eyes that all the women in my family have, they were silver with a purplish glow to them.

Her hand covered her mouth, and she shook her head. "So have yours! They are yellow and a shimmery gold!" she exclaimed. "Daddy, what's happening to us?" she cried. She was frightened, because even though the two of us had undergone many changes over the years, this one felt very odd. Almost celestial.

Damian explained that he wasn't sure. He said his wings had been tingling all day as well, but until we got to Brave River and spoke with Luke, there was no way to be certain what it was.

According to Damian, his wings always tingled when there was a big danger approaching. He picked up his speed, and we ended up getting to Brave River 30 minutes quicker than we should have.

Instead of going to our cottage, we stopped at Luke's cabin first. If there was something dangerous coming, we needed to be prepared.