Gods of Old, Part 2: Morrana

Chapter 4: Moving to Iceland

Marco called his cousin Kara first to get a new assistant for Vesna. Kara told him to get in touch with a distant cousin Allegra, who is a fashion design student. Then he called his aunt Mary.

“Hey aunty. Can we come over?” He asks cheerfully.

“Of course, we’re all home. Is something wrong?” Mary asks.

“Nothing. I just want to introduce you to my mate.” He tells her.

“Oh dear. Does your father know? You have to tell him first, he’ll go crazy if you don’t.”

“He knows, that’s the problem. I’ll explain later. Bye aunty.” Marco hangs up on his aunt. 

“She sounds delightful.” Morrana purrs in his ear. She was listening in on his conversation just by standing there.

“She is.” He smiles at her. “She is my favourite aunt.”

“I’m gonna like her. How far is it to her house?” She asks.

“Twenty minutes with a taxi.” He looks sheepish. “I’m sorry, you will have to endure some car rides around here.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll live.” She gives him a quick kiss and a smile. “We might need a change of clothes first.”

“Oh, damn.” Marco looks down at his bloodied shirt.

“Hey, relax!” She hugs him sideways. “A portal back to the hotel for me and we can go from there. Is your place on the way?”

“My apartment is just one block away from your hotel.” He tells her.

“Great. Let’s go.” She is all excited and keeps planning ahead in her head. “By Vesna!”

A fast portal transfer and a change of clothes later, Morrana is walking down the street with Marco by her side. She picked a bit more comfortable shoes with just 3 centimeters heels, black silk pants and a black blouse.

“I like it when you wear heels. You are just slightly taller than me.” He whispers in her ear. “Do you ever wear something in colour? And I hope you don’t mind me wearing it. I don’t own many black things.”

“I don’t mind. You wear what you want.” She says. “I don’t like colorful things on me. Just black or midnight blue. And I never wear white. It makes me look like a ghost.” 

“You look like Snowwhite from the fairytales.” Marco compliments her.

“Keep it up. You just might earn a special treat.” She laughs as they come to a stop in front of a tall building. She looks up at the gray facade and multitude of windows and frowns. “I thought you lived in a nicer part of town. Does Vesna not pay you well?”

“She pays me well. Milano is expensive and I can’t really afford much if I want to live alone.” He confesses. “You don’t have to come inside, if you don’t want to. I’ll just run up and change. I need five minutes.”

Marco opens the door to his tiny studio apartment with trepidation. He fears her reaction, because she was against waiting on the street and she climbed the stairs to the fourth floor with him. 

“Sorry, the elevator is broken again. Sometimes I feel like the owner wants to create the vibe from The Big Bang Theory.” He says as he lets her in.

“Oh, my!” Morrana exclaims. “This is tiny. And I thought Ilona lived in a shoe box!”

Morrana stands by the door while Marco changes his clothes. She looks at the place with mild horror. The door opens directly in the room, there is a modest sized bed, a small table and a dresser, a rack with a few suits hanging on it. Of the side she can see a tiny kitchenette and a door that she presumes is the bathroom.

“Hey!” He hugs her. “Don’t look so distressed. I’m hardly ever here. And it is better than listening to my father berate me every day.” 

“Can we go? I feel claustrophobic all of a sudden.” She whispers.

They have a taxi waiting when they come out of the building and Morrana looks at Marco to see him smile. He wears a blue shirt and indigo jeans with tennis shoes. It makes him look even younger. They sit in the back and Marco gives the driver his aunt's address. The ride is spent in silence and she can plan a bit for their move.

“We’re here.” Marco nudges her gently and she looks at a small suburban house that gives her a vibe of happiness.

The front door opens before they have a chance to knock and they are greeted by a smiling face of his aunt Mary. “You’re just in time for lunch. Come in.” She turns around and lets them pass her. She shouts up the stairs when she closes the door. “Taz, get your but down here!”

“We’re out on the deck!” Calls his uncle Ted. “You know the kitchen is too small.”

Morrana only smiles as she is led out the back door into a nice little garden with a table set for five. Ted looks like a slightly older version of the bartender she remembers from the wedding.

“Come. Sit down, Taz will help bring out the rest.” He smiles genuinely and offers Morrana a beer. “Hope you don’t mind beer, we don’t have any wine around.”

“Holly s**t!” Taz shouts as he comes to a stand still in the door. “Marco, Vesna’s gonna kill you for this.”

“Nah, she’s ok.” Marco laughs. “But dad sure tried to.”

“Vito tried to kill you?” Ted asks in outrage.

“How much trouble are we in, because you came here?” Mary whispers behind him.

Marco looks at his family and laughs. “Oh, relax everyone! Dad is out of the picture for a while.” He turns to his uncle and aunt. “Let me introduce you to my mate. Uncle Ted, aunty Mary, this is Morrana.” He takes her hand and gives her a kiss on the knuckles. “Morrana, my lady, my favourite aunt and uncle. And you probably remember Taz from the party.”

“Hello, everyone.” She purrs. “Just listen to Marco, he has a proposition for you.”

As everyone takes a seat around the table, Marco starts by a quick explanation of the events this morning. “Morrana is the sister of Veles and Vesna. I asked Vesna to be released from her service and she told us that my father has signed a blood contract with her and we need to break that, otherwise I can’t leave Milano. Vesna called my father over and he came literally guns blazing. He didn’t listen to reason and tried to shoot me. Morrana saved my life. The contract is broken, with a few side effects I will explain in a minute.”

“Oh, that is just horrible!” Aunt Mary exclaims and holds to the table with her knuckles turning white. “That man will doom the pack one day.”

“Hey, relax.” Morrana smiles gently. “Vito is currently serving his sentence in a prison he can’t escape. The more I hear about him, I might just forget him there.”

“I would ask you for my mothers sake, that you don’t.” Marco implores her and she just smiles at him.

“Dad did do one thing that changes a lot.” Marco continues. “He banished me. Right now, you are the only pack members that know that, since he can’t tell anyone.”

“What will you do? Where can you go? You know he has ties to a lot of packs around.” Ted asks worriedly.

“I’m starting my own pack and you are invited to come with me. I promise I’ll treat you much better than he does.” Marco tells them sincerely. 

Taz starts to laugh as he realises the situation. “Three wolves, a human and a goddess. You have a base for a pack, alright. But, can you hold it?”

“That won’t be a problem. I live in Iceland. There are no wolf packs and the neighbours are a very nice clan of polar bears.” Morrana sets her plan in motion. “If you come with, you save Marco’s wolf from going crazy on it’s own. And I can offer you all jobs that will pay well.”

“I remember Veles said you own a hotel?” Taz looks at her.

“Yes. And a spa. And I need a new accountant, because mine wants to retire. There is no problem getting Taz a job, I have seen your work up close.” She turns to Mary, who is quietly sitting there. “And, you Mary, you can decide what you want to do with your time there. If you want a job, I’ll find you one.”

“That all sounds too good to be true.” Mary says. “Can we afford to live in Iceland?”

“Of course you can. The job offer comes with a two bedroom apartment in walking distance to all the stores and the hotel is just across the street.”

“I could really get a job there? Are you sure? I’m 45 years old and I hardly have any experience.” Mary gets interested more in the offer.

“You would give us an apartment just like that?” Ted asks curiously.

“Where in Iceland is your hotel?” Taz wants to know.

“Ok, ok. One at the time.” Morrana laughs goodnaturedly. “Yes, you can get a job. Housekeeping always needs someone, or you can try waiting tables in the restaurant, or work in the spa area. Maybe we can get you a job at the local school, but I don’t have any pull there, so don’t hold me for my word on that part. I give all my employees a chance for a place to live. There are apartments and a dormitory that’s kind of like a student house. The seasonal workers mostly use the dormitory, but some stay, start a family and move to the apartments.” She takes a small break and drinks some of her beer. She lets them think a bit, but since there are no comments she continues.

“Akureyri is the name of the city. It’s in the northern region. It’s a bussy fishing port, And it has a University. We have skiing options on the glacier and the day trips up the fjord can be amazing. But the best part, and my favourite, is the Botanical garden.”

A moment of silence is broken by awid chater, when all start to talk at once and Morrana is interested in what direction they will go. She looks at Marco questioningly and he just nods and smiles. She can feel the happiness he is feeling inside. She will have to get used to the bond they have and sort out her feelings from his. But just seeing him happy, makes her happy, too.

“We’ll go!” Ted tells Marco and Morrana. “I can quit my job and we can pack up in a week. We’ll probably have to pay rent for a few months, before we can cancel the lease on the house. I can probably negotiate something.”

“Aunt Marra will be happy to see me go. She is regretting giving me a job, she tells me that every day.” Taz laughs. “I have a few savings, I can help with the rent.”

Marco looks at his family members and a huge weight is gone from his heart. They care for him enough to leave their lives behind and start new. And he promises himself first, that he will be a good alpha and never berate anyone.

“Thank you.” He says out loud. ”I promise to help you and care for you. And I think we will have a democracy. Everyone gets a vote in our pack.”

“This is the address you need.” Morrana pulls a small card from her clutch. “I think we will be here for a few more days and I can get your personal things over a bit sooner. You on the other hand will have to come by plane. I will get you all work visas and I’ll vouch for you as your employer.”

“Emm?” Mary sounds surprised. “How can you get our things to Iceland sooner?”

“Oh, mother!” Taz laughs. “You weren’t paying attention. Morrana is a goddess, she has a portal key.”

Mary looks at Morrana and frowns. “I thought that was a nickname or something, because you look ethereally beautiful.”

“No!” Morrana laughs and Marco explains to his aunt.

“She is the goddess of winter and death. And I’m lucky she is my mate, because I would be dead now without her.”

“How does tree days sound to you? Can you pack most of your things for transport so fast?” Morrana asks.

“Do we need furniture? Or just personal things?” Mary is curious.

“Just personal things and souvenirs and decorations. The apartment is fully furnished.”

“We can do it.” Mary sounds determined and excited.