Dear Sous,
I won't be attending Hacate. The sisters got back with my mother and told her it would be too difficult politics aside. They said there could be consequences if siree found out because how violent she can get when angry. They want to keep things mellow. Mommy and me will go searching for schools for me to attend. Derrick and Abel haven't been told they're part wizard. And siree doesn't know still either. I'm sorry, Sous. I was really hoping to go to school with you. I miss you so much!
Love, Kara Apex.
Sous lost count how many times she read the letter. She had hoped Kara could join her at Hacate but she supposed it was all wishful thinking. She sighed and folded the letter up. When she looked out the window, she saw Icarus standing on a branch watching her. She waved him away, not interested in writing at this moment. She wasn't even sure what she was going to say. A sigh came from her mouth again. She would think on it later.
Sous, Makala, Pixie Boy, Tany, Zan, Jacob, and Randali stood outside the cafeteria reading the bulletin board that held the news for the student body. That weekend was the Festival of Lights and all the decorations were up.
"Who are you asking on a date, Sous?"
Sous looked at Randali a bit taken aback by the question. "What do you mean?"
"The Festival of Lights is a two day celebration on campus and at the end of it there's a dance," explained Randali.
"You're supposed to dance with the one you like," Zan said.
Sous looked back at the bulletin board then to her friends. She wasn't aware that was the case with the Festival of Lights. Maybe it was just new information that she passed up because of everything that wad going on with Thibodeux and the dolls plus the new information Sous recieved about the potions for regeneration.
Sous shook her head and shrugged. "I guess I just wasn't paying attention." That was an understatement because standing close to her with a slight blush to her face was Tany. "Well, who are y'all going with?" She asked while petting little baby basilisk.
"I'm going with Faye." Makala said.
"What?!" Pixie Boy yelled. "Why would yer go with her when yer know I like yer?"
Makala looked confused as if she never gotten any hints about Pixie Boy liking her. She folded her arms and cocked her hip. "When did you ever tell me you liked me?" She asked.
Pixie Boy blushed and scratched the back of his head, his eyes looking up. He then snapped his finger. "When I got you those pints of blood from Hailey's Blood Supply."
"You mean the store you got Sous banned from?" Makala confronted.
Pixie Boy shrugged his shoulders. "I taught her how to unlock doors."
"Yeah, only level one. Makala taught me level two." Sous interrupted.
"Me and Zan are going together," Randali said putting her arm around Zan who smiled shyly. Sous thought they were good mates so she nodded her head.
They turned back to the bulletin board to read the other news pieces. It was also mentioned from the student council that the student body was to vote for a play for the student body to perform. Zan stepped forward holding his hands in front of his chest.
"We get to vote for the play we want to have performed. I'm voting for my favorite play, The Tale of Two Loves. Its a story about a vampire and werewolf that fall in love."
"Hmm," Jacob stepped in front of them and read the name of the plays. "That play is predictable. They fall in love, their families rage war, the end."
Sous and Randali laughed at Jacob's storytelling. There were two other plays that could be voted on. Dogma, a story about a war between the fairies and pixies, and The Story of Hacate.
"They made a play out of her?" Sous asked.
"Yeppers," Pixie Boy said. "They made a play, a movie, TV show, video game-I mean, yeah."
Through the conversations being held, Tany was quiet. Sous looked over at her and noticed she was still flushed in the face. Sous had got the impression Tany thought highly of her but didn't want things to become awkward with Kara. It had been made quite evident that Kara wouldn't be attending Hacate.
"Icarus dropped off another letter from Kara. Is everything okay?" Tany asked. She watched Sous shake her head.
"She won't be coming to Hacate." Tany would be lying if she said she felt sad about the new, but she didn't. Not having Kara present meant there was a possibility that her and Sous could...could..."Your face is turning red, Tany."
"I can blush can I!!!"
Sous just stared at the girl with brown skin and silver hair. After a while, she smiled and shrugged. "Do you want to go to the Festival of Lights with me or do you think you're too good for me?"
Tany flipped her hair. "Of course, I'm too good for you. I'm too good for everyone but...yeah, I guess I'll go with you." She said trying to play it off. Sous laughed at her and then smiled. They turned their attention back to the bulletin board. Dancing the night away with Tany could be fun. It would allow Sous to just be a kid, a tween, some humans called it for a night. No Apex, no dolls, no potions, just her and Tany since it couldn't be her and Kara. She became a bit sad for a moment but didn't let anyone else see.
Doureena straighten her tie as she closed her laptop on her desk. She had just finished reading the news article of Sous helping the Island of Dimona rid themselves of the witch that had been opening portals every decade. Sous was getting stronger and Doureena found it no coincidence that Sous went to Dimona when Dimona was known for their manufacturing of regeneration potions made from goblin blood.
She walked into the hallway passing her elites, nodding to them as she walked to the sparring arena to meet with the new batch of incoming potential messengers.
Doureena stepped into the arena, the air quiet as the children cubs took in their Alpha.
Sniff-sniff, sniff.
Doureena eyed the crowd and saw her daughter, Kara, standing amongst them. She stared at her and her daughter stared back. Unsure of why her daughter was applying to be a messenger, Doureena put her focus on the entire arena.
"I would first like to thank your parents for allowing you to come and try out for this position. Its the first position of many." Doureena pointed to her elites that stood to her side. "You know many of them also started out as messengers and look at them now, elite!" She was very proud of all of her elites.
The Alpha walked around the children, explaining to them just how easy it was to be a messenger. All they had to do was deliver news to the wolf citizens of Red Woods. That was it. What they were looking for were children who could take direction and instruction well.
"Nobody wants a betrayer," Doureena said. "You know what happens to betrayers?"
"NO!" Screamed all the children except for Kara.
"Krampus will get them."
Kara glared at her siree. Krampus...what was that? She never heard of it. She thought to yell out what it was but a boy beat her to it, an Omega, like her.
"What's a Krampus," he asked, a bit shy and soft spoken.
"That, my little Omega, is a very good question. You see, Krampus comes in bruma. He takes children who are bad and he kills them." She told them. The children were silent.
Doureena smiled. What Jacob did was unforgivable and thinking they could hide him and Sous at Hacate was a mistake, for Doureena had eyes everywhere. Her pack was growing day by day, night by night. Wolves were coming from all over to be apart of Apex. Ten thousand their population was early in the year, now their numbers are fifteen thousand. By mid next year twenty-five thousand. She laughed. It was important to start them out young on how betraying the pack will only get them kill.
"CHILDREN," the Alpha yelled. "NEVER BETRAY THE PACK! Repeat after me: NEVER BETRAY THE PACK!
"NEVER BETRAY THE PACK!" The children repeated, all but one, little Kara. She had a goal. She was to become a messenger, work her way up the ranks, and find out where Sous' mom was. She was going to make herself useful and she wasn't going to be some weak Omega her sire wanted her to be.
While the Alpha kept the children motivated and had indoctrinated them on how to stay in line, Zhiliary noticed Kara was the only one not following the commands of their Alpha. This time, she would turn the other cheek.