Unwanted Mates

Chapter 6

Unwanted Mates Chapter 6

Olivia was editing photos in her studio at the art center. She hoped staying closer to Amelia would help her oldest daughter with the uneasiness consuming her. She was putting the finishing touches on a photograph when her sister-in-law's voice popped into her head.

Through the mind link, Rebecca yelled, “Livie! Everly is alright, but Willa attacked her and bit her severely. The girls called me and said Willa was all fangs and rage, and they couldn’t calm her. I told Darla and Evvs to use their auras to protect themselves and Isla and to contain Willa if necessary. What do we do?”

“Dear Goddess,” Olivia gasped. “Call Julian and Kevin. Have them meet us at the art center. Bring all the medical supplies you need and meet us there. I will tell Lia and Tyson, and we will fly to them. Do you know where they are?”

“They are at the edge of the meadow north of the spring Lia loves,” Rebecca replied.

“Call Jules and Kev as you grab your stuff. If you can think of anyone else, call them too. We might need reinforcements if Willa doesn’t calm down,” Olivia said as she broke the link.

Olivia rushed out of her office and yelled, “Lia! Where are you?”

“Main room!” Amelia called back as she moved so she could be seen from the hallway. “What’s wrong?

“Try to stay calm, but Willa bit Everly,” Olivia said as she jogged to her daughter.

“That’s nothing new. Willa is a biter, and we are trying to break her of it,” Amelia chuckled.

“No, sweetheart. She attacked Everly. The girls called your Aunt Bex to find out what to do. She just linked me to let me know. You need to tell Will and have him meet us here. She is calling Kevin and Jules, and I will link your father now. We need to fly out to them,” Olivia explained.

“Yeah, OK,” Amelia said, in shock at what her mother said.

Olivia nodded as she mind linked Tyson. “I need you to come to the art center now.”

“I’m in a meeting. Can it wait?” Tyson asked.

“No! Willa attacked Everly! The girls called Bex to find out what to do. Right now, they are using their auras to keep themselves and Isla safe from Willa,” Olivia explained.

“Oh, gods. I’m on my way,” Tyson replied before cutting the link.

Olivia looked at her daughter to see Amelia was mind linking with someone. Before she could say anything, the main door flew open. William was a blur as he embraced Amelia, causing her to break down in his arms. Olivia’s heart broke for her daughter. She understood what it was like to see your child suffer and not be able to help them.

“Olivia, do you know if they are alright? Where are they?” Will asked as he held Amelia, trying to comfort her.

“I don’t know. The girls are near the meadow north of your favorite spring,” Olivia sighed.

Olivia watched three dragons touch down near the art center. Tyson, Kevin, and Julian shifted and rushed inside through the side door as Ben and Rebecca entered the main door. Tyson hugged Olivia tightly as she felt Kevin and Julian nudge their calming auras around the group.

“Bex, tell me exactly what the girls said?” Kevin asked.

“Darla called me and said that Willa had attacked Everly. Willa bit Everly’s wolf several times, severely enough that when she shifted, she had deep wounds that were bleeding rather badly on her neck and shoulders. They are jagged, so her beasts are not healing them. At that point, Willa was still fanged out and snarling at them. I spoke to Everly and could hear she was in pain. I told them to use their aura to keep Willa from attacking them or Isla and, if needed, to hold her in place so she did not run off,” Rebecca explained.

“We need to get to them,” Amelia said as she wiped the tear from her face. “Do you know exactly where they are?”

“They said they are at the edge of the meadow north of the spring you love so much,” Rebecca said.

“Then let’s go,” Tyson said as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ll carry Olivia. Jules, you carry Lia and Will. Kevin, that means you get the daredevil and Ben. No barrel rolls no matter how much Rebecca begs.”

“Spoil sport,” Rebecca grinned as Kevin snorted.

“Cross my heart,” Kevin said as he made the motion of crossing his heart. “I might do a few if it were only Bex, but I would not do that to Ben.”

“Let me tell Rosy that we have to leave so she can call Ellie and Ethan to help with things,” Olivia said as she turned to go to Rose’s studio.

Rose stepped into the hallway and called out, “I heard. Go take care of the kids and give them hugs for me. I will handle things here.”

“Thank you, Rose,” Tyson said as he led the way to the side door.

They hurried to the small clearing beside the art center to shift and take flight. Tyson was the first to transform and take flight with Olivia on his back. His enormous black and iridescent red dragon quickly sped toward the meadow.

Julian sighed and embraced his cousin Amelia. He pushed his aura around her to help ease her before he took her to where her daughters and sisters were. She was understandably upset by her daughter attacking her younger sister.

“Everything will be alright,” Julian whispered as he embraced her. “I promise we will take care of this and help Willa and Everly.”

“I know,” Amelia murmured as he released her.

Julian gave her and William a nod before he moved away from them and shifted into his dragon. Julian’s dragon was black with a scattering of iridescent green scales. His belly and wings, which he stretched before he lowered himself to the ground for Amelia and William to climb on, were the same green as the scattered scales. When they were ready, Julian lifted off and followed Tyson.

Kevin had not waited for his son to take off before he shifted. Rebecca and Ben were climbing onto the back of his gray and blue dragon as Julian had left the ground. Rebecca patted the dragon’s shoulder, signaling they were ready, and Kevin immediately took off, racing to catch Tyson.

-

Tyson would have been flying faster to reach his daughter, but she was worried about Olivia holding on to him. She was lying on his neck with her arms around it, holding on as tightly as she could.

“Are you alright?” Tyson asked her.

“I will be better when we reach Everly and the girls,” Olivia replied through the link.

“Understood. I haven’t been able to reach her yet. I will keep trying as we get closer,” Tyson said before cutting the link.

He sighed internally and waited for a few more wing beats before he tried to open a mind link with his daughter. As a dragon lord, Tyson could communicate with the mind link over a greater distance than Olivia could as an unranked werewolf. Much to his relief, Tyson felt the link connect with Everly. He expanded the link to bring Julian and Kevin into the conversation so they would know where they were going.

“Everly? Where are you? We can see the meadow,” Tyson said to his youngest child.

Everly tried to hide her pain as she replied, “We are on the trail, just south of the meadow. We’re less than ten yards into the tree line. Please hurry. Darla and I are wearing out trying to keep Willa off us.”

“We will be there in less than a minute,” Tyson said.

Kevin and Julian bellowed behind Tyson, letting Everly know they were coming to help them. They knew it might take the combined effort of all of them to regain control of Willa and treat Everly’s wounds.

Tyson studied the area as he neared the meadow. He could see glimpses of the bright pink shirt Darla often wore when she shifted. Tyson circled the meadow, swooping down and landing as close to the trees as he dared with Olivia as a passenger. If he had been alone, he might have tried crashing down into the forest and blazing a path to get to his daughter, her best friend, and his granddaughters.

Olivia lept off his back and bolted toward the girls. A snarl came from within the trees, causing her to slide to a stop. Tyson pushed her behind him to block her from danger. The growls continued as Julian, Lia, and William joined them.

“I’ll go,” Amelia said as she walked forward.

“Will and I will go with you. It might take us all to calm her down,” Julian said as Kevin landed with Rebecca and Ben.

Rebecca jumped to the ground before Kevin touched down. She raced to them with her medical bag.

“I have tranquilizers if Willa needs them. Getting her under control is the top priority. Until then, we can’t help Everly,” Rebecca said.

“Then let’s go,” Amelia said as she turned.

William took her hand and walked with her to their daughters in the trees. As they neared them, they could see Willa glowering at her sister and aunts before she turned toward her parents. The lower half of Willa’s face was coated in blood. Her fangs were elongated, and her eyes gleamed red.

“Goddess,” Amelia stammered as she looked at her daughter. “Willa, baby, Daddy and I need you to listen to us and take a few deep breaths. Do you remember how we taught you to calm down?”

While William and Amelia tried to calm Willa, Olivia focused on Everly, Darla, and Isla. Everly was looking rather pale. Olivia could smell blood from both her and Darla and knew something had happened after they had called Rebecca for help. Thankfully, Isla appeared uninjured, and Olivia prayed no one else would be.

“How are you doing Evvs?” Olivia asked her daughter through the mind link.

“I’m getting really tired. So is Darla. I hope this doesn’t take much longer because we are exhausted,” Everly told her.

“How bad are your injuries? I can smell that Darla is bleeding, too,” Olivia inquired.

“Darla’s OK. Willa bit her arms, but her wolf has already healed her. Willa bit my wolf and opened up my neck, shoulder, and upper back. The wounds are jagged, so they are still open. Neither of my beasts can heal them without some help putting things back together first,” Everly said, with pain and fatigue in her voice.

“I promise this will be over soon. Even if your dad has to pin Willa to the ground with his aura so Bex can sedate her, we will end this soon,” Olivia assured her daughter before closing the link.

Olivia watched helplessly as Amelia and William approached their daughter. They spoke softly, trying to coax her into calming and fighting the bloodlust she had. As they reached her, Will lunged at Amelia, sinking her fangs into her arm. William shoved Willa away and pushed Amelia back as Julian grabbed the little girl from behind.

Julian sat down, pulling Willa down with him. She bit his hands and arms repeatedly as he held her tight. He pushed his aura around Willa in a futile effort to calm her. Julian looked up to see Rebecca filling a syringe. She hurried over and injected the sedative into the girl. Within moments, Willa was struggling less, and soon, she was sleeping.

“How bad did she get you, Lia?” Julian asked.

“I’m fine. Lily is already healing them,” Amelia replied, tears streaming down her face. “I had no idea she was this bad, or I would have never let her go.”

Ben, Olivia, and Tyson cared for Darla, Everly, and Isla. Tyson helped Olivia get Everly seated before he scooped up Isla and hugged her tightly. Ben was checking Darla’s arms where Willa had bitten her to ensure she had healed before he moved on to checking his cousin.

“Hey, Evvs. Let me see what’s going on while Mom takes care of Willa,” Ben softly said.

“OK,” Everly said as she slumped against her mother.

Ben went to work removing bandages and assessing the injuries to Everly’s neck, shoulder, and back. The bite marks were deep and jagged. They were continuing to bleed, which made him worry that blood loss might be part of the cause for Everly’s fatigue.

“Evvs, Aunt Livie, I’m going to line up the wound edges and start the healing process so Everly’s wolf and dragon can take over. It will feel warm and tingly, but if it hurts at all, tell me, and I will stop,” Ben said.

“OK. Right now, I just want to go home,” Everly whimpered as Rebecca came over to check on her niece.

“How are you doing, Everly?” Rebecca asked her.

Everly gave her a tired smile and said, “I’ll be OK. How is Willa? Will she be OK after this?”

Rebecca sighed and answered honestly, “I don’t know. No one had any idea that Willa was having blood urges to this extreme. We were looking for someone to help her all morning but didn’t have any luck. After this, we might have to medicate her until we can.”

Tyson sat beside Olivia as he continued to hold Isla. The little girl held tight to her grandfather as she silently sat on his lap. They were all watching Amelia and William as they picked up Willa, who was now sleeping. They came over to check on Isla, Everly, and Darla as Amelia cradled Willa in her arms.

“I’m so sorry,” Amelia apologized to her sisters and daughter. “I had no idea. Anything like this would happen. Normally, if she has an extra cupcake or a shake with blood or replacements, she is fine. Didn’t she have more before she left?”

“Lia, she had two more cupcakes before we left and fell asleep on the way here. I went ahead with Isla to set up our snacks, and Willa woke up and started biting Everly. It was so sudden,” Darla said, shaking her head.

“I just don’t understand,” Amelia shook her head.

“It’s OK,” Everly told her sister as she felt the warmth from Ben’s hands as he used his fairy magic to help heal her. “Willa was her usual, happy self. This came out of nowhere. We are fine or will be soon. Go and take care of Willa. Do you want us to take Isla back with us?”

William nodded, “Thank you. We would appreciate it if you would. Rebecca wants us to go straight to the hospital with Willa so they can try to treat her.”

“And you had better hurry. Dr. Clark and Dr. Reese are waiting for you,” Rebecca said. “Do you want me to go with you?”

“No. Stay with the girls and help Ben with Everly,” Amelia told her. “Thank you for your help.”

“Of course, sweetheart,” Rebecca said as Julian ushered Amelia and William to the meadow so he could shift and fly them back to Obsidian and the hospital. Rebecca smiled when she saw Julian’s bite wounds were nearly healed, thanks to his dragon.

“I think I’m done,” Ben announced. “Now Everly needs rest and to let her dragon and wolf decide who will heal her.”

Rebecca grinned at her son and said, “Perfect! Why don’t you and Darla take Isla with you on Kevin’s dragon? I will fly back with Evvs and Livie on Tyson’s.”

“Sounds good to me,” Darla said as she held her arms out to Isla, who jumped into them. “Are you ready, Ben?”

“Yeah, sure. If you are,” Ben said as Kevin started ambling toward the meadow, snickering as he went.

Olivia raised her eyebrow at her sister-in-law and asked, “What was that about?”

“Nothing you need to worry about, Sis. Come on. We need to get Everly back home, fed, and tucked in to get some rest,” Rebecca said as she helped Everly get to her feet. She looked at the mostly healed wounds on Everly and said, “My son does good work. Now it is Lucy’s turn. You need to eat so you can heal the rest of the way.”

Olivia and Tyson looked at each other as they got to their feet, confused by what Rebecca did. They would ask questions about it later, but right now, they needed to focus on their children and grandchildren.