Long Run

~ 26 ~

Balthazar walks into the family room with Iris. He sees Ivy sitting on the sofa with her both hands cupping a cup of tea. Her eyes are wide open and she is steering straight ahead without blinking.

He sees Katie sitting next to her looking at her worried. Oak is in the kitchen probably making himself something to eat. Balthazar focuses his attention back on Ivy. It's hitting her hard, he knows she wants answers. She is overthinking everything. He hears his Dad walking in. He doesn't want to have any conversation without him.

"Great job son, getting her home safe." Elon walks into the family room and pats his son on the shoulders.

"Katie, can you go up into my room and bring me a photo album that is on my nightstand?" Elon asks his daughter-in-law a favor.

Katie nodes, she gets up and gets what she was asked to.

Oak returned from the kitchen chewing something, he sat on the opposite side of the sofa. Balthazar and Iris sit next to him.

Elon sits next to Ivy. Ivy finally notices that there are other people in the family room. She looks around. She looks at Oak, Iris, and Balthazar, and then her gaze stops at Elon. He is the only unfamiliar face.

"Here you go, Dad." Katie returns with a photo album and passes it to Elon.

"Ivy... My name is Elon Balthazar, Ily Balthazar is my son, and I am a grandfather to Oak and Iris." Elon is careful with his wording, he understands what state Ivy is in, and what he is about to tell her is life-changing. "I also had a daughter. She is Ily's twin sister, her name is Hedera. We believe she was your mother, making you my granddaughter."

Ivy is hearing him but her brain is not pressing the information. So much has happened today. Everyone stays quiet giving her time.

Elon takes the photo album in his lap and passes it to Ivy. Ivy opens it. She sees a beautiful wedding photo of a couple with white hair. Then pictures of them holding the two babies. Babies pictures, toddler pictures, kids pictures, and then teenager pictures. Last graduate, young Balthazar works in the restaurant and then she sees a picture of her mom decorating a cake.

This is how Ivy remembers her from the pictures she has at home. Happy, beautiful smile, her eyes sparkly and full of life. Ivy's tears start falling involuntarily. She can taste the bitterness in her mouth due to the sadness of her mother's loss. Ivy runs her hand over the picture of her mother.

The aching pain in her heart is always there when she looks at any of her mom's pictures. Ivy raises her head and looks at everyone. All eyes are on her. There is pity in their eyes but also love.

"You knew I was related to you for months?" Ivy asks.

"Yes, we did." Elon responds "Remember the folklore story Iris told you, the first day you met? Well, it's not a folklore story it was our real history of our people. Your mother was a white-haired witch, making you also a witch."

"I am a witch?... And a wer...?" Ivy starts speaking then stops.

"Yes, you are a witch and a werewolf hybrid." Elon finishes Ivy's sentence.

Ivy turns her head to Elon in shock. "You know about werewolves?"

"Yes, we do. And... We believe you are also an Oracle. The last oracle was killed by the Lycan King more than four thousand years ago." Elon continues.

Ivy is trying to remember what Iris told her about the Oracle. What was the Oracle's service to the white-haired people? The power of manifestation. Why did her mom never tell her Dad that she was a witch, and then she remembered that white-haired witches are not compatible with werewolves?

Her mom knew this!

"My mom knew she was going to die when she gave birth, she knew I was going to die. Why risk getting pregnant? She should have told Dad, he would never let her get pregnant. They would have lived their whole life together, in love, why get pregnant?" Ivy is thinking out loud.

The whole room stays quiet. This question has been bothering the Balthazar family the whole time, especially when they confirmed that Ivy was a werewolf. There is no way Hedera did not know that she was mating with a werewolf.

"Ivy, I know this is all overwhelming for you and a lot to take in but it's very important that you tell us what happened today after school when you were walking home?" Ily says.

Ivy started to remember what happened after school. The voice in her head. Can she trust them? She looks around the room and then at a picture of her mom. This is her family! Everything is starting to sink in. Ivy looks into Iris's face, that's her cousin, and then at Elon, this is her grandfather. That is her mom's family. Ily is her mom's twin brother.

"Ivy..." Iris says with tears in her eyes.

Ivy feels Devon stirring inside her. "When I met them I had a feeling, I was drawn to them. Back then I did not understand. Now looking back it is the same feeling I have towards your Dad."

Ivy gets up and runs into Iris's arms, she hugs her tight. She felt that connection from the start. She found her mom's family. Elon comes next to Ivy. His face is so full of emotion. Iris lets go of Ivy and Elon extends this arm.

"Grandpa!" those words leave Ivy's mouth naturally. Her heart and brain did not hesitate. A warm feeling engulfs her. Her wolf at peace, with no reluctance.

Elon breaks down. The feeling of loss he has been carrying for years for his daughter has been lifted. He takes a big breath of relief. The piece of his daughter is now in his arms and home.

Ivy pulls away and says. "When I was walking home my wolf Devon sensed something was off. She and I still don't know what it was. Then... I don't know how to explain this... I heard a voice in my head. Like someone was speaking directly to me in my head. It was weird. I never felt that before. The voice said, "Hello Beautiful!"

Elon and Ily looked at each other.

"That's impossible," Elon says.

"All of them were killed off, thousands of years ago," Ily says.

"Ivy, I usually wait outside your building for you to get home. To see you and to make sure you are safe. Today there was a very powerful wolf outside your place. I perceived the wolf being an Alpha but now I might consider him to be a Lycan or have Lycan's blood." Elon says.

"No, no, no cannot be. Devon would be able to smell if there was a wolf in the area." Ivy tells them.

Again Elon and Ily exchange a look and Elon says. "Ivy, he was a wolf. There was no mistake about it. I don't know yet why Devon was not able to smell him but she sensed him, you sensed him, you are an oracle, you can sense magical creatures. Remember the feeling that you have. It's the same feeling you get when you smell a wolf. The feeling and the smell combination. You never felt them separately. That is why you could not distinguish it without the smell."

Ivy is trying to remember the feeling she got when she met Balthazar. Devon felt something, she was stirring, at that time she was mad at her and did not talk to her. Ivy felt it too.

"Ivy, have you ever mind linked someone?" Oak asks out of the blue.

Everyone looks at Oak and then at Ivy with questionable expressions on their faces, waiting for her answer.

"Yes, Devon's mind linked my Alpha's wolf," Ivy says and puts her head not willing to share any more information about it.

"Alright, it's about time I meet your father. We are flying out to your pack tomorrow." Elon informs Ivy and everyone in the room.