The Fenrir Saga - Part I

Chapter 24

Zac

Ben found me half an hour later, sitting in the armchairs by the windows in my room. He had an unopened whiskey bottle in his hand and gestured with it tentatively.

"Zac? Drink? I just found this new smokey one.. You alright?" he gave me a concerned look.

I nodded slowly.

"Yes. Let's do that. I need to vent a bit, I think."

He located two tumblers, opened the bottle, and poured us each a glass and sat down next to me. He brought his tumbler first to his nose, gave an appreciative smile, and then to his lips, letting the amber liquor fill his taste buds.

"Not bad," he smacked and gazed toward me. "So, that was a.. thing to happen."

I took a sip of the whiskey and felt the smokey liquid slip down my throat. I put the tumbler down on the small table in front of the chairs and stared out the window.

"I have never wondered about where I came from. You and your family have always treated me like I was born into it.." I exhaled deeply, and I could feel Ben turning his gaze towards me, waiting patiently. " ..and for that, I am ever grateful. I loved your father and mother.. not like they were my own, but because they were my own. I have never felt or thought anything about my past before. My past has always been here. All my life. I have never been anyone else."

I sighed and rested my elbows on my knees, staring out of the window. A lump formed in my throat, and I fought to suppress it.

"The only time I thought about it was when I saw that photo," I rubbed my face. "But beyond that curiosity, I didn't feel anything else. Nothing."

I paused. The lump in my throat evolving into watery eyes too. I swallowed.

"Now it just feels like someone has intruded on my privacy. Like someone has come and stolen me from my family and therefore my family from me, you know?"

He didn't know, of course. How could he? His family was given by blood and birth; mine was a whim of my mother finding a baby on her doorstep and keeping it as her own. He could never lose his family, but I felt like I had just lost mine. I knew I should probably feel like I had gained one, but today's revelation had left me unbalanced. As if the small ice patch I was standing on, was ripped off from the mainland, and now I was floating out into unknown territory.

"Zac. It is only you and me left of our family now. You could never lose me; I'm your brother. You are, for better and worse, stuck with me."

He stood up, gazing through the window.

"I actually thought about it when you showed me the picture - how they all looked like Frej. I just.." he paused and frowned out towards the sky. "What does this all mean? We have a new pack formed, and it just so happens to be, allegedly at least, your relatives, and this just before a Gathering which also is a rare occasion. Three rare things happening at once - is it a coincidence? Maybe it is a trap of some kind?"

I looked at him. I hadn't thought about that.

"I.. but then, do you think we can trust Hild?"

He turned around and looked at me.

"That would be your sister. Right, I didn't think about that."

I sighed and rubbed my face again.

"How can we figure this out?"

He leaned back again and gave me a crooked smile.

"Well, we could call your sister and pry a little. They cannot be back yet, can they?"