The Unmarked Mate

Chapter 54

James

When it was time to leave, after a trip to the packhouse to see all those who stayed behind, we joined Liam, Nora and to George to the car. George was driving. It was decided that the Crimson Moon Pack team and the Yew tree pack team would take the road east to arrive from another place in the Crimson Moon Pack territory, closer to where the challenge would take place and further away from the forest of Dark Hedges. Only two cars of lycans left Yew Tree, Malcolm, Catherine, Elliott, Arthur, Cat, Tom, Jack and Serena. The others were to stay at Yew Tree to protect the pack, alongside the Betas Oliver and Olivias and a few warriors who stayed to protect Orithya. Her pregnancy forbade her to join the attack and it tore her apart. Malcolm was joining quite enough back-ups at Dark Hedges, and more werewolves as Alpha Raymond had insisted on joining the attack. It had snowed all night and all day long. The road was covered in white.

Nora sat in the front seat next to George, and in the back Elestren sat between Liam and I. She was so tensed, so nervous, if she had space she would be pacing around. I held her hand to try to soothe her anxiety but even that wasn't enough. To be fair, I was very anxious myself, so I wasn't much help. She had to do this, I knew that, but at least if it was just an attack I could be useful, I could fight, I could do something. The challenge meant I'd have to stand by, again, and be powerless to help her, again.

"How about some music to relax you Dahlia? I brought just the thing." Said George. He turned on his car's stereo. Five strong chords played "tutta forza", Elestren had taught me that. I recognized the opera at the first notes, it was Tosca, we had listened to it together. I knew she loved classical music, I knew it soothed her when she was anxious or in pain, George and Elizabeth told me once they would hear it in the morning after her nightmares.

Malcolm had brought me to theatre to see concerts and operas when I was younger but I came to enjoy it later on. Since I had met Elestren, I enjoyed it even more, in part because I associated it to our afternoon at the theatre when she had first told me she loved me. As if she knew what I was thinking about, she squeezed my arm tighter, and leaned on me. Soon she was caught up in the music and completely relaxed. George really knew what he was doing when he planned the playlist for the ride.

"Like father, like daughter" joked Nora. She was Elestren's Gamma now, but we had not spent a lot of time together, so I didn't really know much else than what Elestren and Liam had mentioned about her.

"What do you mean?" I asked her.

"Richard used to do that, listening to loud opera, when he was sad, when he wanted to relax, when the both of them trained together. He had installed a stereo in the training room just to listen to opera when he would train Elestren." She answered me, then she looked at Elestren through the rear-view mirror. "A few times, I was with Elijah and Carter heading to the training rooms, and we would hear you both stop sparring and start singing along an aria, it was ridiculous, but so cute." Elestren laughed recalling these singalongs with her dad. Bless you Nora! This tiny glimpse into her relationship with her father explained very much her relationship with music.

"You know, dad used to do that because of my mother. He once told me that he was always more of a blues and classic rock kind of man until he met my mom. She introduced him to Italian operas." She smiled.

Liam joined the conversation and the three of them talked about their parents. The new generation, all heirs to their parents' title, embracing it, fighting for it, accepting their responsibility towards it. At first, I feared this topic of discussion might sadden or trouble Elestren but as always she surprised me. It gave her strength, I sensed it, it fuelled her desire to win. Without realizing we had arrived at the point of rendezvous, following Nora's brothers' car. We all parked and got out of the cars. When everyone had arrived, I linked Malcolm.