Erasthais Across Time

2 - The calm before the storm

Once in my condo, I opened the curtains to let in the daylight, as well as some of the windows to let some fresh air in. I spent the next few hours cleaning the place and doing laundry as I had been neglectful the past several days. Once I was satisfied with how my home looked, I decided to light some sage and lavender and found comfort reading some old mythology books in my reading nook. Just after 1p, I heard a knock at my door and some deep voices outside it. "Coming," I called out as I approached the door. I heard the voices quiet down as I unlocked the door and saw the handsome blonde Alpha Konrad, with the gorgeous latin cousins Roman and Marcus standing guard as their backs were turned towards me. "Ah, Alpha Konrad," I said with a bow of the head, "come in, come in. I hope you don't mind the smell as I was just tidying up the house today," I said with a wink at Marcus' back as Alpha Konrad stepped inside. I closed the door but didn't lock it as the guards outside wouldn't appreciate kindly not being able to reach their Alpha unless they broke down the door – and I preferred not to have to afford a new steel door. "It smells lovely in here. It reminds me of my grandmother's old cottage up north," he said as he deeply inhaled the aroma and sat himself down on my couch. "May I get you something to drink?" I inquired, heading over to the bar. "Depends on what you have to talk to me about..." he said with a raised eyebrow. I offered him one in return and chuckled at the conversation we were about to have. "The strong stuff it is then," I said, and entered my combo and poured out the amber liquid, a glass for each of us. Handing him his glass, he swirled the contents and sniffed the liquor. "Okay, so this is about what I think it is then," he said, taking a sip. "Woah, I forgot how strong this is. I haven't had this since I was 20," Konrad exclaimed, recovering from the intensity of the liquor he just ingested. "Well kiddo, it has been about 15 years since I've had anything interesting happen, so – bottoms up, I guess!" I said, and downed my glass in one shot. Konrad stared at me in awe with his green eyes, wrapping his brain around that I was able to tolerate such a potent drink in seconds. Konrad followed suit and had to turn his head away from me to hide his embarrassment as he convinced himself to keep the liquor down. "Hahaha! Don't fight it, kid! Let it slide down your throat. Let me get you a chaser, hold on," I said, walking up to my beer fridge and getting him a Heineken. "Here love, this'll help," I offered. He looked at me, offended that I even suggested a chaser but once I took a sip from it myself, he seemed to lighten up a little bit and drank a majority of it. "So," he said, once he composed himself a bit, "does this have anything to do with the male friend you had over last night?" he asked, like he was scolding a child. "Me? Have a male friend? What ever do you mean Konrad?" I said to him, rolling my eyes. "Hmph. My parents mentioned you had someone over last night. And, I could smell some cheap cologne in the hallway – definitely not something my father would wear," he said, crossing his ankle over his opposing knee and running his arm across the top of the couch. "Ugh, everyone and their nose should mind their own business...Yes, alright, I had someone over last night," I said walking over to the bar to refill my drink then walking back to the couch to sit a few cushions away from Konrad. "And what happened?" he asked. I choked a little on my drink. "Do I need to explain to you how an intimate relationship works between adults, kid?" I said, throwing him a side-eye. He chuckled, "No. I'm asking what happened last night that warrants this conversation?" I nodded, "Ah, I see... I was at a bar last night when the stray picked me up. As we walked outside, Xena caught wind of our erasthai's scent and we saw him at the corner of the street. He walked by and I whispered his name to be certain it was him and his eyes lit up. Then after the stray went to bed, I went outside for a cigarette when Xena could smell him again. It was more faint this time but it had the same elevation as we did. I used her eyes to look towards the western sky and I could see the shimmers of his blue eyes in the distance. I came back inside and made sure the doors and windows were locked and my alarm was set. Not that it would do much but at least it would give me some piece of mind... After that I made sure the stray went home as early as I woke up. Then I cleaned for the morning," I said with a shrug, taking a sip of my drink. "Hmm, two possible sightings within 12 hours. And Xena is positive that she smelled him?" he asked, finishing his beer. "Without a doubt in our minds. Once you are mated, you never forget their scent..." Xena pushed through and spoke so profoundly, we almost shattered the glass in our hand. Konrad could hear it in our voice and sat closer to us and put a hand on our free hand and held it. As I pushed Xena back down, I felt tears roll to the front of my eyes. "Meine erdbeerchen," he said as he put his arm around me and held me close. I tried to fight the tears but was unable to hold them back. He took the glass from my hand and put it down on the coffee table and held me for a long moment while I cried. It's okay, I'm here," he said while rubbing my back. Once I gained composure, I dried the last of my tears and tried to reclaim whatever dignity I had left. "You know you haven't called me that in a while," I said, taking a large sip from my glass. "Called you what?" Konrad asked, resting his arms on his thighs. "Your little strawberry. I never understood why you did so anyway," I chuckled. "Oh, well," Konrad said, blushing a little and rubbing the back of his neck, "when I first saw you as a kid, you wore your natural hair color. Whenever I saw you, the only thing I could think of was an erdbeere, a strawberry, and now that I tower over you I think the little is implied," he said with a wink. "Charming," I said sarcastically with an eye roll. "So. Do you think he'll come for you?" Konrad asked, standing up, clearly showing he was getting ready to leave. Looking up at him, taking in the man he's become today after 35 short years, I thought about his answer. "Yes...I believe so," I said quietly. Konrad's eyes swirled black briefly as most of our eyes do when we feel possessive – or lustful – over someone. "When?" he demanded. I hesitantly looked up at him since, although I hadn't seen my erasthai in 100 years, I knew it was only a matter of time before he tried to claim me again. "Tonight...If I were to guess. Since he knows I slept with someone recently, it will drive him as close to insanity as the spell lets him, to be as near me as we are and not have me. That's why I wanted to speak with you before tonight. I was going to leave tonight and stay at one of my sleeper homes in the country so no one would be in harm's way and see what he wants, and if it's more than I want to give, well...then I wanted to tell you NOT to avenge me or else you and your pack will die. Am I understood?" At the last half of my statement I used my Alpha voice and I could hear a deep growl coming from Bolt, Konrad's wolf. "WHAT? You would leave?! Tonight?! And dare command me not to avenge my friend, my family and pack's guardian!?! Are you INSANE?!" Konrad growled, with clamped fists at his sides and trying to control his breathing. Alphas are notoriously bad at taking commands from others – especially those that do not specifically have a title as an Alpha – even if I do have the blood running through my veins. Xena answered his growl with her own as she did not like to be challenged either, friend or not. "Konrad, I am telling you as your elder, respected advisor, pack guardian and most trusted friend that if tonight does not go well – you nor anyone under your command, pack or suggestion will go after my erasthai. Is that understood?" I said, standing up now, arms crossed to face him. We held this staring contest for a minute or so before I could feel Xena winning over Bolt. And to be honest, she wasn't even trying that hard. We had to subdue our powers, our aura in order to stay hidden so we learned how to work with little. "Fine..." Konrad grumbled as he submitted, "but can I suggest an alternative to your plan?" I nodded for him to continue. "Stay, and let the pack guard you. Let him come here and if anything happens, we're here with you. This way I don't have to sniff you out and find out if you're dead or not by some blood trail," he offered. I opened my mouth to say no but with his last statement I could hear in his voice he was scared for me – like the young boy I used to know. Whenever I would leave, Konrad would always give me a look that would ask if he would ever see me again. I took in a deep breath, "I'll agree, on two conditions: one - we tell your pack the truth about my history, and two - we will only take volunteers for tonight once they fully understand the risks. Okay?" I said. "Okay, understood," he said, and put out a hand for me to shake. I laughed and shook his hand. I walked him to the front door and he offered another hug which I of course couldn't turn down. As he opened the door he turned around, "Check in with me in a couple of hours, and let me know how you want to proceed. I'll inform the pack that we'll have a meeting at 6p. Does that give you enough time?" "Yes, I believe it does. Thank you, Alpha Konrad. I'll give you an answer as soon as I have one," I told him with a low head nod. "Alright, I'll see you later then," he said with a soft smile and walked away. Roman and Marcus exchanged glances and then looked at me. "What? Your Alpha is walking away, by the way," I said, as I pointed in the direction of where Konrad was going. They quickly looked back at each other, eyes glazed over which told me that they were mindlinking to one another, and hastily walked after their Alpha before the elevator closed.