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CHAPTER 2 Blood Ties

Grace

"Dad? Mom? I think you know just how ridiculous that sounds. You promised me I get to decide what to do with my life."

"That's right, Grace. You still have that right," dad agrees, looking at me solemnly."Your Great-Aunt Domino is simply setting an option. You don't have to go."

"I'm asking for help," Great-Aunt Domino clarifies with a small smile. She knows what that word would make me feel. Help? Who says the word "help" and expect to be rejected? She is putting me on a spot.?

"Aunt, this isn't just any kind of help. You're not here to ask Grace to help you prepare for a party. Her decision will change the course of her fate, for better or for worse."?

Mom comes to my rescue. She even glares at her own aunt. There was a time my mother wasn't too happy about her father's side of the family, but Grandpa has so far been wonderful. His younger sister, Great-Aunt Domino, is barely there but has always been generous with gifts and stories. Gannon may not remember her as much as Gregory and I do, but she has never made me tense - until now.?

Meanwhile, Grandpa even promised to teach me how to better manipulate scents after I turned eighteen. I turned eighteen two months ago, and he hasn't been home from across the country. He has been helping a different pack with other matters. It seems that several packs all over the country are experiencing their own upheavals recently. But why should they turn to me? I'm a hybrid who doesn't even like shifting.?

"I know. I understand. My father tried to force me to mate with an Alpha male all those years ago. He couldn't understand that I was in love with a female. He thought I was a deviant, an abomination."

"And you got what you want? Freedom?"

My great-aunt nods at me, but I notice that her smile is bittersweet. Disobedience has its own repercussions. I wonder what mine would be??

"So, what do you think, Grace?" she prods gently.?

"What exactly am I committing to?" I ask. Gregory, Gannon, and I are still standing while the adults are seated. Well, I'm an adult now but I'm still getting used to it. At this very moment, I wish I hadn't turned eighteen yet. Then, it would be inappropriate for her to even introduce me to potential mates.?

"You don't have to commit to anything yet," Great-Aunt Domino says. "Just come with me and meet the wolves of Opium Hills."

"Why is that place even named after opium? Is everyone high over there?" Gannon asks, pulling a chair next to dad. He looks sleepy, rubbing his eyes with his fists, even though he said that he could go all night into the morning because its' the middle of August and there's no school. It's why we're even staying here in the cabin in the middle of the Forbidden Forest.

Great-Aunt Domino laughs. She reaches out from Gannon's other side and ruffles his hair. He squirms a little. I know what he's thinking. He's about my height now at five feet six and still rapidly growing. So, he believes he's not a baby anymore. He's not complaining right now, though. Instead, his eyes are on the tattoo around our great-aunt's wrist. The pattern is made up of what looks like thorns and crosses. Our mom has a tattoo on her shoulder from when she was still a member of a coven of vigilante witches.?

"Will I get a tattoo, too?" he asks.

"I'm pretty sure we can decide if we want tattoos or not," Gregory grumbles before squatting on the floor.?

"One question at a time, darling," our midnight visitor says. "First, the place is called Opium Hills because the scent wolves who live there are also good at suppressing pain - any kind of pain. They can shift without any pain -."

"But we don't feel that much pain when we shift," interrupts Gannon.

"That's true. However, these wolves heal very quickly and don't feel pain when they're attacked."

"B-but why are they running out if they sound so invincible?" I ask, trying to find any kind of loophole to get out of the visit.?

"Enemies have been killing their females until there were only a handful left. Their females were often kidnapped Some have resorted to mating with wolves from other packs. So, their abilities have weakened."

"It's not just scent wolves they need," I conclude.

"You're right. They need any kind of wolf with sense abilities."

It sounds all so coincidental. I wanted my other senses to be heightened. Now, I'm being given this offer??

"Will two sense wolves mated together strengthen each other's abilities?"

"Exactly, Grace."

"Have you found others?"

"As I told you, you're the first scent werewolf I thought of is you, but I found a sight wolf who can see better than hawks. Her name is Justine. You will like her. She's about your age."

"Is she there now?"?

Somehow, it feels like Great-Aunt Domino and I are the only ones left in the room. The rest has become silent, barely there. She has that strange, hypnotic ability that make me wonder if I am being seduced into saying yes. I shake my head to break through the dazed feeling.?

"Yes, she is. If you're going with me, we will leave by daybreak."

"That soon?" my mother exclaims, her voice rising a pitch. She may be tough, but she likes having us near her all the time. She is an overprotective mama, and one who's actually capable of killing anyone who hurts us.?

"Again, remember that you have a choice, Grace. I don't want you going there thinking that we have given you away. We don't want you to leave," dad reminds me.?

"Mom?" I turn to her.?

For a moment there, I realize that I'm not quite sure if I'm asking her for help to stop her aunt from taking me or asking for her permission to let me go. I have never thought of being a mate to anyone - witch, wolf, or human. It has never crossed my mind. I have had several crushes from since I turned eleven, and marriage may have been somewhere in my subconscious, but the idea of mates repels me. It's like you don't get a choice. I remind myself that my parents are mates, although they have been with other people before. My mother had a human boyfriend and my dad was a widower when she met him.?

"It's your choice," mom says, although I can already feel her sadness.?

"I have one more question, Great-Aunt."

I walk closer to Great-Aunt Domino again, looking her straight in the eye. We are inches to each other. I can smell her. There's anxiety there, but not desperation.?

"Yes?" she asks, her voice level but a little wary. Her shoulders seem to slump a little, which is a surprise for someone like her. I always remember her as strong.?

"You're mostly a lone wolf like Grandpa. Why are we helping the wolves of Opium Hills?"

"Blood ties, Grace. If you trace their ancestors, you will see that the tree's branches will intertwine somewhere. They're not close relatives, but we are all descended from the same werewolf and witch. You'll discover more. Talk to the wolves. You may just like them. If not, you can always go back home. I promise to bring you back."

"How far away is this place?"

"Almost half a day by car if we don't stop anywhere."

"Oh. I have never been that far. I've always stayed around here. Near the Forbidden Forest."

"Then, it's time you go on an adventure."

I take shaky breaths. I know that even though I don't have to commit yet when I go with her, the expectation rises.?

"Mom, dad. I'm going to see how it is. I will talk to the Opium Hills wolves and see why they need mates at all. It's up to them to persuade me. If I'm not too happy about their reasons or I think they can just find any wolf as mate, I will return."

"Again, it's your decision," dad confirms. "You're now eighteen. Call when you've decided. As for your education…?"

Dad looks at Great-Aunt Domino questioningly.?

"She will continue her studies even if she does find a mate there. We will make sure. Again, she is not going to be held prisoner there. It's the opposite. They'll likely to follow your every whim. Woo you to choose one of them. Woo you to stay."

My ears perk up at that. I want to know just how true those words are.?

"I'm going with you," I say firmly.?

"T-then pack your clothes and necessities," mom directs, although I detect how her voice catches a little. I wonder how much she knows about Opium Hills or if she's just sending me because she wants me to fully appreciate my freedom.?

"Before you go, Great-Aunt, don't forget you haven't answered my second question."

I roll my eyes. As much as Gannon wants to be treated like a big man, he sometimes can act so, well, young. Or maybe I'm just getting old so fast??

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