Chapter 49
Monday 21st September, 2020 (Continued)Text © 2024 NôvelDrama.Org.
Eli’s POV
Zaya was fuming. We had just found out that Star and Harper had used the snow globe portal to go to the Ice Moon Pack’s Castle. We had also just discovered that Hesper, the Alpha’s daughter and the Winter Faerie Queen’s granddaughter, was Star’s mother. Harper’s too obviously. The great warrior from the Ice Moon Pack was their father. Their father had come to take them back to their original pack and they had gone without so much as a note or a text.
“I can’t believe she went so far away with telling us,” said Zaya for the umpteenth time, looking at me. Zaya had been ignoring Noah and Jonah, who had just shown up. He blamed our elder two brothers for just about anything that went wrong with Star. I blamed them too. My Princess Star and I would be much closer if not for them. I sighed.
“How are we gonna get to the Ice Moon Pack lands?” I said. “What’s the fastest way?”
“The fastest way would have been the snow globe that Harper and Star took,” said Noah with a shrug.
“Plane?” Said Jonah.
“Luna Jamie,” said Zaya.
“Yes!” I exclaimed. Jamie was a Luna and a witch, a Coven Mother at that. “She could teleport us there magically or even make us a new portal like the snow globe so that we could travel there and go back and forth when we need to,” I said.
“Why would we be going back and forth?” Asked Jonah, looking annoyed.
“Star’s twin Harper will become the Alpha of that pack! I’m sure of it! Our pack needs to become allies with the Ice Moon Pack as soon as possible. It’s our mate’s pack and she’s part of the alpha lineage,” I explained.
Jonah sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m still wrapping my head around all of that,” said Jonah. “So Star’s brother will probably become the Ice Moon Alpha and her grandmother is Queen of the Winter Fae. Do we have to be friendly with the Fae now too?” Asked Jonah.
Noah shrugged. “Why not? Fae are magical. They’d be useful allies,” said Noah.
“No, witches and wizards are magical,” said Jonah. “The Fae are a bunch of tricksters. We have to be careful with them. They use their magic for mischief.”
Zaya roared in anger suddenly, startling Mia, Harper’s adopted Mom.
Mia yelped and hid in the arms of her mate, Marco, Harper’s adopted Dad.
It had been Mia and Marco who had filled us in on everything. Marco gave Zaya a pointed look for scaring Mia.
“Sorry,” mumbled Zaya.
“What’s your problem?” I asked.
“Luna Jamie isn’t answering her phone,” Zaya said exasperatedly.
“Don’t blow up her phone too much!” Warned Jonah. “That might piss off Alpha Jessie.”
“Should I call Alpha Jessie instead?” Asked Zaya, scrolling through his phone.
“Yeah, try his cell,” said Noah. “He’s a good person to talk to about befriending the Ice Moon Pack too. They’re a northern pack. His cousins are alphas of one of the other northern packs.”
“Which one?” I asked.
“The Winter Moon Pack,” said Jonah.
“Oh, the one with the triplet alphas!” I said excitedly.
“Yeah,” said Jonah. “That’s why the Ambrosia Wolf Pack and the Winter Moon Pack are such good allies. Those two alpha lineages are related.”
“Alpha Jessie isn’t answering either!” Yelled Zaya.
“Zaya! Don’t!” I said sternly.
It was too late. Zaya had flung his phone against the wall, smashing it. f**k!
“ZAYA!” I yelled. “What if Star tries to call?! She knows your number by heart!” I reminded him.
Zaya looked horrified as what I had said dawned on him.
“OH f**k!” Exclaimed Zaya.
“Excuse me, do you mind?” Said Marco indignantly, his eyes narrowed.
Mia was sitting on a couch nearby with a cloth on her head, obviously nursing a headache.
“Sorry!” said Zaya quickly.
“We’ll get out of your hair! Sorry, Mrs Jogie,” I said.
“I’m worried too,” she admitted. “I knew this day would come…when my little Harper would go back to claim his pack,” she said, her voice cracking.
She burst into tears. Marco comforted her, shooting us a look that said “leave.”
“Take care, Mr and Mrs Jogie! We’ll update you when we find out more!” I promised.
“What now?” I said as we walked outside.
Noah stopped dead in his tracks. “Dad has one of those things! One of the snow globes!” He exclaimed excitedly.
“That one goes to the Marigold pack lands not to the Ice Moon pack lands,” said Jonah with a sigh.
“Right! And Marigold is such a strong Aly of Berryndale, they’re almost the same pack! Right?! Right?” Asked Noah.
“Ok…so…” I said, unsure where he was going with this.
“Let’s snow globe hop!” Exclaimed Noah.
“What?” I said, snorting with laughter.
Zaya looked intrigued.
“Taking Dad’s private jet would take hours! We use Dad’s snow globe to Marigold. I guarantee you, there’s a portal from Marigold to Berryndale. And in Berryndale, I know there’s a portal to the Winter Moon Pack which is the neighbouring pack of the Ice Moon Pack,” said Noah.
“Noah! You’re brilliant!” Exclaimed Zaya, speaking to one of our elder brothers again. Zaya grabbed Noah into a hug.
“What if the other packs don’t let us use their portals?” Asked Jonah worriedly.
“They will! Have some faith! Every alpha knows what it’s like to have to go rescue your Luna!” I said, immediately liking Noah’s plan.
“But we’re not rescuing her. She went to her original pack!” Jonah said, looking forlorn.
I knew what he meant. He was worried she’d left us without any message because she’d left us.
“You think she left us as in she’s done with us?” I asked.
Jonah shrugged. His eyes were glassy. He was a softie but he hid it well.
“She ain’t leaving me. That’s not an option!” Said Zaya theatrically.
Jonah smiled. Noah was grinning from ear to ear, probably nerd-ing out over all the packs he was about to meet. He loved pack history.
“Let’s go!” I said.
“Say your crazy plan again,” said Jonah, more determined now, as we piled into Noah’s car.
“We get Dad’s snow globe,” said Noah. “That one goes to Marigold! We take a portal from Marigold to Berryndale! We take one from Berryndale to the Winter Moon Pack! The Winter Moon Pack is next door to the Ice Moon Pack! Simple!”
That was not simple.
“Are you sure there’ll be a portal in Marigold that goes to Berryndale?!” I asked, worried.
“They share a Luna for goodness sakes! They built a joint pack house! Don’t you guys read Alpha Anthropology?!” G*****d Noah, annoyed with us.
Alpha Anthropology was an educational magazine that came out once monthly with updates on each large pack.
“No, Noah! We don’t! We have lives but we trust you!” Said Zaya.
Jonah was lost in thought during the drive. “Star is a Princess,” he said absentmindedly. “What if that changes everything?”
“Well, she’s always been my Princess so nothing’s changed for me,” I said pointedly.
“You mean like what if she rejects us?!” Asked Noah, coming down off his pack knowledge high.
“What if someone challenges us for her?” Asked Jonah. “That’s what I mean.”
“Challenges us?” Asked Noah.
“For her hand. She might have a betrothed. The Fae are a bit different. They like to arrange things and the Ice Moon Pack also does arrangements,” said Jonah, looking like he was going to be sick.
“Arrangements?” I asked.
“Arranged marriages,” said Noah.
A chill crept through me.
“I think the f**k not,” said Zaya. “Not my baby. My baby belongs to me.”
“To us,” I said.
Zaya grinned and nodded.
“But mostly to me,” said Zaya mischievously.
He was so annoying but he was my favourite brother.
“Let’s go get our Princess,” I said.
“Princess Hannah,” said Jonah more to himself than any of us. He was smiling to himself. He took out his phone and smiled at it. I knew he had Star as his wallpaper and was always careful about hiding it from Angie. It was that picture of her blowing our her eighteenth birthday candles. I had sent it to our messaging group with the four of us.
“I can’t wait to meet Alpha Maze. He’s an academic alpha who will understand me,” mumbled Noah to his nerdy self.
I knew Star was probably safe as she was with her people but I had this crazy anxiety that just wouldn’t let up. She was safe, I kept reminding myself. She just had to be.