Rogue Heart

A Glimpse Of The Past And The Future

Chapter Eighteen: A Glimpse Of The Past And The Future...

NICHOLAS

Auntie’s unexpected request for an impromptu meeting with the entire Council the moment she and Horacio returned from their shopping trip—including Alastor and for the first time, Mattias, both now officially shadowing our two eldest members—as well as Raven and Pacha. Surprising revelations abound as her vision was replayed...

“Igor is in a coma?” Mahan shockingly breathed out, “And Oralia—she thinks I am to blame?”

“Mmmmm, as Temora and Theodora have the benefit of being the only two left standing with the ability to tell their version of our battle at Amelia’s, I’m afraid so. Unsurprisingly, Arturo’s trust was misguided, double-crossing Igor by viciously attacking him in the fog before being double-crossed himself by the instigating sisters, leaving Arturo to his own devices while they took the severely injured Igor back to Oralia,” Auntie decisively theorized, “who has foolishly played right into their hands, believing their story that you committed the near-fatal strike, Mahan. All the while, I have no doubt they are purposefully keeping Igor alive in a magically induced coma to continue their manipulation of the newly appointed Rogue Queen.”

Horacio was definitely in King of Fury mode, irately grumbling, “Can we please not say those sons of bitches names? And discuss what I feel is the most concerning part of your vision—the momentary glimpse of this slimy ass-looking high seas character, Romulus, who gave us both a feeling of overwhelming impending danger?”

Knowing of his first-hand experience, Pacha’s highly anxious reply did nothing but further my growing concern for the half-a-second flashing menacing image of the dark magic sorcerer, “I’m sorry. I can’t help but feel that Romulus’ appearance is largely our fault. Though I can only assume, if he has formed an agreement with the two sisters, it has to be because of Iggy and a continued desire for the purity of her magic. But you are correct, Horacio. Romulus is dangerous. That Loco cannot be underestimated.”

Patting his hand that was firmly gripping the khaki material on top of his thigh, Auntie soothingly assured him, “Truthfully, Pacha, that glimpse only made me feel more grateful that you and your familia have found your way here.”

“I agree,” Raven fervently concurred, “Hopefully, between us, we can conjure up more information on Romulus’ plans.”

“And this Josie—Arturo’s last escapade or whatever the deluded young girl was,” Soren brusquely pressed as Mattias sat beside him, appearing just as terse, “What are your feelings regarding this secret of hers, Tati? As you have said often, there is always a reason for things that are disclosed to you.”

Running her index finger along her lower lip, Auntie thoughtfully drawled out, “Another thing I will have to dig into deeper, Soren, as I’m not exactly sure. She does appear to be close to Oralia. Perhaps Josie is considering telling her the truth about being a hybrid, which could cause strife between them or Temora and Theodora as they consider such a thing an abomination.”

“From what I could tell, she appeared to be quite taken by Horacio,” Lorenzo pointedly assessed, “Something that may need to be utilized if the opportunity arises to question her.”

“Only as a last resort if you don’t mind. Besides, Alastor is the one known as Casanova. Let him be the Spirit Walker that sweet talks the girl into giving us the information we need,” Horacio bluntly responded, protectively strengthening his hold around Auntie, who lovingly comforted him by slowly running her fingertips along his thick forearm.

“Nice try, Horacio, but even I could see the girl was completely enamored with you,” Alastor amusingly countered, “However, I’m more than happy to give our King of Fury some pointers on using charm to your advantage.”

“I don’t need any lessons. I’m perfectly capable of using charm,” Horacio defiantly countered, pointing at Auntie as he added, “With her and her ALONE!”

“Enough, Alastor,” Lorenzo slowly drawled out while Auntie brought her hand up to his Beta’s cheek in an attempt to calm him, purposefully adding, “Let’s worry about that bridge should we have to cross it, hmmmm?”

“In the meantime, I will send a group of our warriors out to search for the band of rogue thieves that sought out their—services,” I thought out loud, “See if we can offer a lesser sentence or possibly even immunity for their crimes in exchange for any useful information about their transaction.”

“We should lend a hand, Grandfather. Expand the effort by sending some of our men to search the Howling Wind side of the territory. Make sure they didn’t cross our borders,” Mattias astutely suggested.

“Well done, Mattias, my boy! Precisely the right call and said before giving Alastor a chance to speak up,” Soren proudly boasted before turning to flash Lorenzo a prideful, broad grin, receiving an exhaustive huff in return.

Leaning forward, I placed my elbows on my desk, commending my cousin, “All competitiveness between those two aside, Mattias, I would greatly appreciate the assistance and am very impressed that you showed no hesitation in speaking up, especially as this is your first introduction into Council matters.”

Knowing him, I expected Alastor to react more aggressively to being called out—twice—but instead, he kindly stated, “I am impressed as well, Mattias, and believe Spirit Walker should follow your lead. What say you, Father? Send a group of our men to search our side of the territory for these rogues?”

“To reiterate our family’s firmly held belief in strength in numbers—yes, I am in total agreement with that, Alastor,” Lorenzo authoritatively drawled out, “The more information we can obtain, the better off we all be for whatever plans have been put into play by these witches and wolves."

Following Lorenzo’s harshly spoken consensus, his eyes fell upon my cousin, dryly continuing, “I would also like to commend Mattias on the hard work and dedication he has shown as of late, enabling his introduction to the inner workings of the Council today. Well done, son—and I look forward to your continued participation where you will hopefully drown out more and more of your grandfather’s blustering over time.”

Looking between them in confusion for a moment, Mattias moved his gaze over to me, inquiring, “I always thought these two only acted like this outside of The Council, but they’re always like this, aren’t they?” After I responded with a humored airy laugh and nod, he widened his eyes in a humorous disbelief before appreciatively stating, “Well, thank you all for your kind words. I’m looking forward to learning from each of you so I can continue to be an asset to The Council and our pack in the future. And hopefully doing my poor cousin a favor by making the interactions between the Spirit Walker and Howling Wind Alphas less—challenging.”

“Lorenzo prefers to look at it as tension-breaking entertainment, Mattias,” Horacio chortled, “And as the subject has been brought up during many dinners over the years, I wish you the best of luck with that endeavor after Alastor takes over as Alpha, as I happen to know for a fact that this has been going on between our two packs for generations!”

Standing tall, Mattias remained adamant, impressing me further as he steadfastly returned, “Then I guess I will have to be the person to break the cycle. In the words of the very beautiful and wise woman that I adore—and you are fortunate enough to call mate—gifted leadership occurs when heart and head, feeling and thought meet. These are the two winds that allow a great leader to soar.”

I was even more impressed with my cousin as it appeared he had completely diverted Horacio’s previous thoughts about an unwanted interrogation with our Spirit Walker Beta animatedly retorting, “Wow—bravely using my mate’s words against the King of Fury. You have come a long way, kid!”

Auntie giggled before blowing Mattias a kiss, winking at him as Mahan’s gold in his eyes sparkled, highly praising, “I believe we can all say that Howling Wind is very fortunate to have our young Mattias as its next Alpha. Already showing signs that while making his own mark, he will be just as formidable in his leadership as his legendary grandfather—and previous generations of grandfathers before him.”

My uncle reached over to gently pat Mattias’ shoulder, exhaling out with great pride, “I couldn’t agree more, Mahan, and again—well done, my boy.”

***************

HORACIO

Tati didn’t seem bothered by this Josie’s apparent infatuation, but it was bothering the hell out of me. I knew the look on the young girl’s face—the longing of unrequited love. I knew it because I felt it the instant I saw Tatiana—and I lived with it for what felt like a thousand years...

“Why me?” I harshly muttered as I sat down on Tati’s bench, listlessly looking out onto the water. Part of me hoped that we would never find Josie, so I wasn’t subjected to interrogating her. For one, I wouldn’t be good at it—and I hated not being good at everything I attempted—but more importantly, the only one I would ever want, much less be able to use any wiles on was Tati. And two, I would feel like I was being incredibly unfair and cruel to poor kid—yet another ruination of my former asinine self that my Fairy Queen could claim victory over—only she could make me that compassionate...

I felt the familiar feeling of Tati’s gentle touch as her fingers brushed through my hair, lovingly murmuring in my ear, “I’m sorry that our lovely day was dampened by unexpected events, love. I can also feel the conflict raging inside you. Talk to me.”

Reaching up to take hold of her hands, I brought them down to lay across my chest, despairingly replying, “I don’t want to have to encourage the girl’s feelings to get information out of her, Tati, because the truth is, I know how Josie feels. She's so young and naive. It wouldn’t be fair to her.”

Kissing my cheek, she soothingly informed me, “I’ve already fixed it, Horacio. I just informed The Council that it will be quicker—and preferable—for me to simply place a truth spell on Josie if we find her and deem it necessary.”

My head falling back as I expelled a deep sigh of relief, I appreciatively expressed, “Thank you, beautiful. I don’t even care if Lorenzo and Alastor question whether or not I’ve lost my edge.”

Gliding her hand across my chest, Tati slowly walked around, warmly smiling as she sat down in my lap, “Which is why I informed my dear brother and nephew that if they even think about doing that, Spirit Walker will lose a great deal of claim of me to Cresent Moon. And both replied that they would never fathom doing such a thing, especially after seeing their Beta’s loving reaction towards me at the mere suggestion of the silly idea.”

“You were doing well until the ‘silly idea’ part, Tati. Neither of those two would ever say that,” I knowingly sighed.

“I did add that part, but the majority of it was true,” Tati sweetly tried to assure me, “In particular my threat of losing claim.”

Following a tender kiss, I replied, “And I love you for that.”

“I felt your pain, Horacio, as the memories of our past flooded your brain,” she softly admitted, “The same pain I have seen in your eyes many times through visions I’ve brought forth to see what I put you through. I’m sorry that I never had any idea of your feelings back then.”

“Many times? Exactly how many times are we talking? I thought we agreed the past was in the past,” I worriedly pressed, pulling her tighter against me.

Peering up at me, Tati quietly countered, “I think we can both agree that while, in theory, that sounds wonderful, the past remains forever in the far reaches of our mind and, under certain circumstances, easily flows back to the forefront, even when we don’t want it to.”

My eyes drifting back to the water, I stoically reminded her—and me—of my deeply felt truth, “Doesn’t change the fact that I wasn’t ready and definitely didn’t deserve you back then.”

“Maybe not, but I also can’t help but wonder if you’re wrong—if our love and connection wouldn’t have changed you back then as it has now,” Tati contemplated out loud, “At times, not even my favorite quote about timing helps with those disparaging thoughts. The only thing that seems to work is knowing that what we have now makes the time we lost together worth it, especially as we will soon have two beautiful symbols of that immeasurable love.”

Firmly cinching my arms around her tiny, curvy body, I wholeheartedly enthused, “Have I mentioned that I can’t wait to complete our circle of love and marry you? Mostly because I can’t wait to have that ring you designed on my finger—it is a great ring.”

Smirking, Tati teased, “Well, at least you didn’t say it’s because of my newly engorged breasts. Though I will lift your spirits higher by informing you that they are already larger than when I was pregnant with Jace, so you may stand a chance of at least a little more fullness sticking around.”

Laughing heartily, I retorted, “As that was my second reason, I am very pleased to hear that—and as that new little navy-blue bra with red swirly things on it comes to mind—I’m really wishing we had a couple more of those funnel cakes.”

“Yes, I thought you might feel that way. Plus, the girls were very intrigued by my description,” Tati elatedly gushed as she extended her hands out, bringing forth two plates covered in heavily powdered fried dough, “That’s why Jace and I made a quick trip back to the market before they closed prior to my coming down here. And they’re still piping hot!”

“Oh, you really do know me better than anyone,” I amorously rasped out before taking hold of one of the plates, “In the words of our dear Tink and Beast, all my heart, forever a lot, beautiful—for eternity!”

*****************

JOSIE

Oralia’s overly doting attention was nice, but also overwhelming following our return, especially as it made it more difficult for me to hide the herbs I had purchased before discovering Horacio and Tatiana had shockingly made their way there too...

Telling her that I was exhausted from my harrowing day, I retired to my room early after Oralia sweetly had all my favorites served for dinner—steak, cheesy scalloped potatoes, baked beans, and carrot cake for dessert. It only made me more determined to find out if my suspicions were true that Temora and Theodora weren’t being truthful about Igor’s state.

My comforter over the top of me, I used a flashlight to flip through the pages of the only surviving remnant of my mother—her magic book that appeared to be a large dictionary of herbs until the words ‘reveal my darkness within’ were recited, transforming it into a wealth of information that I never really understood, merely looking through it to feel a connection with her. It also didn’t help that I was half-wolf and was never allowed to explore my sorcery side. But I couldn’t help but feel in this instance—for Oralia—that my mother’s potion section might prove to be a very useful tool, if I could manage to wrap my head around it...

Concentrating on the intricate instructions grew harder as my mind drifted back to Horacio. I was always drawn to darker, malicious men, which had to mean that despite his connection to Tatiana, there was darkness within the Beta somewhere, though I did find the outward tenderness he displayed in the lingerie shop to be just as sexy—and his head to toe endless, perfect muscles—oh, what I would love to do—

Jumping as I heard the soft knock on my door, I shut off the flashlight, shoving it and the book under my pillow while simultaneously pulling my blanket down enough to reveal my head, but facing away from her as Oralia slowly opened the door, affectionately whispering, “Josie, dear. Are you still awake?”

Turning towards her, I forced myself to sound heavily drowsy in my reply, “Hmmmm? Everything okay, Oralia?”

Walking over to sit on the side of my bed, she ran her fingers through my blonde curls, quietly murmuring, “Everything is fine, dear. I just wanted to make sure you were alright. You still seemed so out of sorts at dinner. I just want to make sure you know that I will always protect you and keep you safe. Just like I did today.”

“Thank you, Oralia,” I sincerely breathed out, “And I’m sure that I will see things much more clearly in the morning.”

Kissing the top of my head, she continued to gently caress my hair, lulling me off to unwanted sleep that, truthfully, I didn’t mind as I embarked on the most beautiful dream. Where Arturo once stood, Horacio was now standing—playfully feeding me a bite of his caramel apple in front of everyone at the busy market, undaunted by their stares as his gorgeous slate blue eyes were solely locked on mine...

*****************

NICHOLAS

After discussing initial plans for our search party with Gavin, I quickly finished up some paperwork before hurriedly trekking across the room for my plans to meet Madeline at our treehouse for dinner. But when I opened the door, I found Carson in the midst of knocking...

Stopping his fist mid-air, my lifelong friend appeared incredibly off—which was a complete turnaround from his earlier elated visit where I joyously learned he and Charlotte were expecting—as Carson quietly responded, “Oh—hey. You, uh—you look like you’re in a hurry. I know there’s a lot on your plate right now, so I’ll just—we can talk another time.”

I had already sent Madeline a quick link to inform her I would be a few more minutes, catching Carson’s arm as he swiftly turned on his heel to leave, kindly instructing him that I was never too busy for my brother, so we would talk now as I threw all my emotions in the box that I kept handy in my mind, concentrating on helping Carson with whatever was bothering him...

“You’re going to think I’m being stupid,” Carson defeatedly chastised himself as he walked in, “But I don’t want to worry Charlotte, especially not now. She’s put herself through enough for us to have a baby.”

I was worried things hadn’t gone well with Zahlia, who had always struggled when it came to Carson’s mother, Sabrina. But Carson quickly negated that theory, telling me that while it may take a couple of days for his cheeks to recover from her ecstatic reaction to the pregnancy news, their talk had gone very well. Zahlia apologized to both him and Charlotte for her unusually curt behavior towards his mother at the lake house, something that she promised would also be relayed to Sabrina...

My next concern was that there was something about his parents’ visit that was troubling him, possibly worried that their history of broken promises would continue, but that too ended up being anything but the case. In fact, plans had been made for a dinner at Shadow Moon, which pleased me a great deal, but also had me completely confused at Carson's current state now...

Finding myself at an almost complete loss, I curiously asked, “With everything Charlotte has endured, are you worried something may go wrong with her pregnancy?”

Fiddling with the bottom of his dark grey t-shirt, Carson hesitantly admitted, “Maybe. I mean, I know between Talon, Raven, and Auntie that Lottie and Cyrus are in good hands. But—again, you’re going to think I sound stupid—do you ever feel like things are going too well—and the bottom is inevitably going to fall out?”

Mindful of his cadence throughout our conversation, I could hear it in his voice in the last two sentences—the fear—leading me to honestly reply, “Sometimes. But as Alpha and Leader of The Council, that’s a constant concern.”

Nodding, Carson embarrassingly confirmed, “Yeah. I don’t envy you in that aspect, by the way, especially with all the close calls we’ve had lately.” His usual lighthearted tone was nowhere to be found as he unevenly breathed out, “I think that’s what is bothering me the most, Nicholas—all the close calls—and that we have so many other innocent lives at stake now.”

I couldn’t force the words out at first, but finally managed to slowly drawl out in understanding, “It’s not easy, is it? The instant worry fatherhood brings on?”

Carson’s blue eyes went distant as he quietly admitted, “No, it’s not. Don’t get me wrong, the love I already feel for Cyrus is the best feeling in the world, but the intense worry? It really sucks.” Pausing for a moment, he distractedly continued, “And believe it or not—not that I would ever make the same choice—it sorta made me understand Mom and Dad a little more. In their hearts, they really were trying to ensure my happiness. Wrong call, of course, but I can see now that it did come from worry—and love.”

Leaning back in my chair, I thoughtfully returned, “I hadn’t really thought about it that way until you said it just now, but—yes, I can see that too.”

I wasn’t shocked by Carson’s humored response as the conversation had gotten quite heavy, “Huh! Who knew I could be so philosophical?” As I let out a light laugh, he sincerely continued, “I’m grateful to everyone, you know—always making sure I knew that I was part of a family. Especially you, Nicholas, and our brotherhood of five. I wouldn’t be near as happy or—well, me—without all of you.”

My lifelong friend’s happiness in mind, I quipped, “I wouldn’t be near as happy either, as my life wouldn’t be complete without our designated victim, which is why your Alpha is going to covertly lend a hand when necessary as you face the Quad of the Dark One—to be kept between us, of course.”

Flashing his crooked smile, Carson mockingly guffawed, “Seriously? All the torture that I’ve endured at the hands of that twisted sister and one heartfelt conversation is all it took? Talk about dirty play, my Alpha!”