Genetics

Chapter 5

I watched as children played in the snow outside the small little house Mark, Caleb, and I were staying in. It wasn't my old house here in Haven, but it was cozy and warm at least. We had a balcony that overlooked the center of the town. The window I stood by was close to the balcony, giving me a full view of what a peaceful life on Alina Island would look like.

I could tell from here that the town had grown tremendously since my last time here. The werewolf kids were playing with griffin and witch kids. I noticed that Zackery and Autumn would occasionally join the other kids when Zackery wasn't busy. Autumn seemed to be growing up pretty well. I was reminded constantly by her smile how much she resembled her father, Sam O'Conner, and the friendly look in her eyes, how much she reminded me of her mother, Levy O'Conner. I wished at times that Levy and Sam were here to see their daughter and raise her, but I knew fate has its own path that we were all supposed to follow.

I closed my eyes and tried to take in the warmth I felt here by this window. I could feel the coldness of the windowpane against my head, but also the warmth of the small fire in the fireplace. I could feel how soft, fuzzy, and warm the wool blanket around me felt, but what caught my attention to its warmth the most was the cup of hot cocoa in my hands.

Somehow someone had convinced the last people who went to the human world to bring back as much hot cocoa as possible. They even had gotten the ones with the little marshmallows floating inside. The cup in my hands brought back so many fond childhood memories of winter with Cass, Julia, Mabel, and Kayla. We all used to enter my house after a long day of playing in the cold and we used to be greeted by Martha with a freshly made cup of hot cocoa with little marshmallows floating around inside.

A hand on my shoulder jolted me out of my head and I opened my eyes. Mark stood beside me with his hand on my shoulder. He had a concerned look on his face, and I patted his hand. He knew seeing the kids outside and how much Autumn was growing up made me yearn for the sight of my own kids. They had to be two by now and probably already talking.

"April, we should ask Zackery when we get the chance if he's willing to send support to help find my nieces. If not, we should go back home and regroup with Alex, Ragna, and Jaydin before we venture off into the unknown. We know the vampires have your kids, so we can track down any vampire who might know back home." Mark spoke as he watched my reaction.

I could tell he missed Jasmine deeply and wanted to get back to her, but at the same time wanted to help me. By staying here, I was putting him in a difficult spot of having my back or going home and being with the person he loved deeply. I couldn't keep him here any longer even if it was for my sake. I'd have to talk with Zackery today and prepare to leave.

A subtle knock on the door drew my attention towards who it was, and I smiled at the sight of Delphine Heather. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, and she had a scar on her face. When we first arrived here Delphine had been the one to help tend to Caleb and me. She was being trained to be a healer, as the griffins called it, by a very nice old griffin named Grace Beaksberg. Delphine had been under her care and lived up in the Mountain based homes with Grace and her brother, George.

At first, I had found it difficult to see her and George considering how their brother had died because of my late husband's actions in bringing back Alexander. I blamed myself for their brother's death since I was the foolish leader who left her people in the hands of a madman while she went gallivanting around the human world in search of Vivien Heartstring.

I placed my mug down as Delphine entered the room and I held my arms out to her. Delphine walked over to me and gave me a light hug before placing her bag down. She placed her hand on my forehead and checked to see if the fever I had sustained after the too close brush with death. It had been ten days since then and my fever had been persistent. It always seemed to be going away, but after an hour or two it was back, and I felt like I was freezing from the inside out.