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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐋 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍
𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘺: 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘥𝘰𝘰𝘮
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𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬
"YOU WENT OUT TO bring four back, and you bring eight instead," Lydia teases, her green eyes glistening with delight. "How resourceful, Sti."
Pulling her into a half hug, I look over at the newest members of our Pack. "They're a strange bunch, but they are most certainly strong enough to fight this beast."
"Are they family? Or just old friends?"
"Kemuri and Sasayaki are old friends, and he is also one of my Blood Bonded."
"The Dragon and the Draconite?" Derek asks, walking over to us with Evelyn and Conan in his arms. "That makes sense. Although, I would like to know why most of them smell like you."
Rolling my eyes at my other Mate, I turn my gaze back to the ones I brought with me. "Niall and Felicity are my eldest children, and Niall's Mate, Sarah, is my daughter-in-law. They are Death, Fate, and Life, respectively. My youngest daughter, Furu, is not even 20 millennia old. She is a half-blooded Kitsune, which means that she is more susceptible to harm and death."
A cry pierces my ears and a grin spreads across my face at the sound. Izabella just realised that her son is in the same building as her. In a flurry of colour, she speeds into the room and pulls the young ginger into a bone-crushing hug, his own lithe arms encompassing his sobbing mother. Only seconds later, Alek appears, his blue and red eyes widened in disbelief at the sight of his brunette daughter before him. With a small sob, she throws herself into her father's arms and holds onto him for dear life.
Beside me, Lydia lets out a small chuckle. "I am guessing it's been a while since they've seen each other."
Smiling at the sight, I nod. "It has been around 50 millennium since they last saw each other. It was heartbreaking when Jerome left Izabella, and I am sure it would have been the same for Alek and Maia. You should know something about those two. They are Chaos and Time - Concepts of Reality - just like Niall, Felicity, and Sarah are. Do not cross Jerome. He will kill you without a second thought. Maia is worse. Considering that she is Time, she can torment you forever. Her Power almost outweighs mine, but not quite."
Cayden laughs, my silver gaze flickering over to him. "Do these other children of yours fit into the 'Concepts of Reality, brother? If so, please do enlighten us."
"Max and Ina are not normal Kitsune, my love," Serenity calmly explains, shooting her younger brother a disgusted look. "Please do excuse my brother. He has been drinking already."
Shaking my head, I force my anger down. "Max and Ina are Concepts as well. They are Light and Dark. Yin and Yang. Constantly at war with each other, but also coexisting in a strange sense of harmony."
Furu rushes over to me, grinning up at me. "What about me, otōsan? Am I anything?"
"I'm not sure, Furu. There's not much to go on considering that you're only a Half-Blood. Your best bet is to come to training tomorrow."
"Training?"
"Your siblings and cousins require further harnessing of their powers in order to kill the beast and the hunters that have come to steal away Lydia and Derek's pups. If you do happen to be a Concept, we will find out tomorrow."
"How much of a chance is there for Furu to be a Concept?" Sasayaki asks, walking over with Kemuri in tow.
Shrugging, I begin to do calculations in my mind. "Considering that, out of all my children, only Ina, Max, Niall and Felicity are Concepts, I'd say that there is around a thirty to forty percent chance. Although, there are many different Concepts that have yet to come to life. So, if she is to be any, I would say either Humanity or Mortality."
• • •
Sighing, I drop onto the floor beside the pups and Hope. She has grown considerably in the past almost two years, and that means she is going to be growing considerably more over her life. It is unknown whether or not she will stop ageing at a particular time, or if she will grow old and die like a normal Werewolf or Witch. Considering that she has Vampire in her, due to Klaus being half Vampire, their is little chance that she will die along with the majority of our Pack when their times come. Then again, if she's mortal, I can always use the spell that Esther informed me of - the spell to make them immortal, but to keep them as they are.
Evelyn scampers over to me and yaps happily, jumping up and down to get my attention. Smiling down at the smallest pup, I carefully pick her up and hold her, making her nuzzle into my chest. She's only five months old, but she's quite large for a wolf pup. Tilting my head, I look over at Accalia, Claudia, Mieczyslaw, and Conan. They're also much larger than any other born Werewolf pup than I have seen before, and it fascinates me. It can't be due to Derek being an Alpha, as Alpha pups and other ranked pups grow at the same rate as normal wolf pups and the other pups in the Pack, and their Banshee half has no accelerated growth to it.
I murmur a spell and my eyes glow orange, my vision turning greyscale. Surrounding the pups are bright purple auras of magic, and around Hope there is a vibrant red aura. Amusement flows through me and I chuckle. Hope is accelerating their growth without even realising it. Cutting off the spell, colours return to my vision, but the auras remain due to Esther's Magical Link to both myself and Hope. Evelyn nips me to draw my attention and a soft smile crosses my face as I scratch behind her ears.
An idea strikes me and I carefully and slowly make my way into the pups' minds. They recognise me instantly and converge on me, happiness flowing from them into me. Their minds and souls connect to the network that is our Pack through me, and I feel shock reverberating through the Pack Bond at the sudden intrusion into the Pack's minds. Lydia's and Derek's threads shimmer with happiness, and the pups' joy rises considerably once they recognise their parents. Slightly incoherent thoughts fly around my head and the pups beside me let out small yaps and barks, making me realise that the pups are trying to talk to us through the Pack Link.
All the joy and happiness subsides as a wave of chaos smashes into the Pack Bond. Jerome's thread shakes at the impact and pain radiates from the small section of the Bond, causing Maia's to twist in response. Something chaotic is happening somewhere in time; somewhere in the future. Evelyn whines in my hold and burrows into my hoodie, the other four pups scampering over to me and somehow managing to hide themselves either in my lap or under my legs, or, in Claudia's case, under my hoodie. Anger bubbles away inside me and the pups tremble in response to the vulgar emotion, or maybe it's the feeling of a disaster waiting to happen.
A growl rumbles in my chest. "Those Hunters better be prepared to die."
