Raised By Humans ✔

One

Michael disappeared into another room towards the back of the house while I headed back outside. Tiberius and Fabian had set themselves on top of James' Porsche with Sage leaning against the passenger seat door, Dayna sitting on a patch of grass in the sun a few feet away. Her eyes were closed, her face tilted slightly towards the sun, finally able to relax for the first time in a long time.

"Where's your brother?" Tiberius questioned, poking Fabian's leg as he dozed in the early afternoon sunlight.

"Getting a bag ready." I beamed back at him.

"He's coming with us?" Sage asked in disbelief. He must have thought that Michael would wait here while we took Dayna home.

"Yeah, he'll be following right behind us on his bike." I felt as if I was floating on cloud nine despite being held in a basement and tied up two days ago.

"Excited?" Sage grinned.

"Is it that obvious?" I asked as he pushed off the car and ambled towards me.

"Just a bit." He spoke softly as he reached me, placing a light kiss on my forehead and wrapping his arms around my neck, pulling me close.

"Didn't see that coming at all." Dayna chuckled, an undertone of sarcasm hinted in her voice.

"Piss off, Ducky." Sage teased her with her childhood nickname. "You and your lover boy are ten times worse."

Dayna made a noise of agreement as she shrugged her shoulders. "Probably, but that's a debate for another day."

I snickered quietly as I buried my face in Sage's neck. He didn't smell great but neither did the rest of us. We hadn't been able to shower for a little over two days because Tiberius point blank refused to stop for any more distractions. No one even had the energy to argue with him. I was just glad we were here and not stuck in that basement while the Fae tormented Fabian and drugged Sage and Dayna.

"We should call James and Anna," I whispered to Sage so that the others couldn't hear. "Tell them we found Dayna."

"Yeah, we should."

The thought of even calling them had slipped our minds. We were all so focused on making sure that we had put a large amount of distance between us and the Fae that nothing else but getting to New York mattered. Not even showers.

"Could you call her?" Sage queried. "She's still pissed at me, I know it. I just can't face her yet."

I pulled away and smiled at him softly. "I knew this already, Sage. You didn't even bring your phone with you."

Pulling out my phone, I marched to the end of the driveway, making sure I was out of range of werewolf hearing. Dayna was still recovering, and I didn't want to put any more stress on her if she were to hear James, Anna or even Finn on the other end of the phone. I scrolled to my contacts and hovered my thumb over the number for the house phone. My hesitation didn't last long before I tapped on the number and put the phone to my ear, holding my breath as the dial tone vibrated in my ear. It only rang three times before someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Jaxson? It's Cas."

"Oh, thank God! I nearly went fucking insane worrying about the two of you! Why didn't you call sooner?"

"I'd love to explain it to you, Jaxson, but I don't have time. Could you please put James or Anna on the phone?"

"Sure, but you have a lot of explaining to do later."

"I'll tell you anything you want to know. Later."

I didn't get a reply as he walked through the house looking for his Alpha. I could hear noises in the background and a few muffled voices as the phone was handed over to someone new.

"Cassiel?"

"James."

"You haven't called since Sage took off after you. Are you both alright?"

"We're okay. We're at Michael's now getting ready to drive back to California. He's coming with us."

"Any problems?"

"Well, I had a gun held to my head by a vampire on the first day. A witch named Tiberius took her down. He's been following the prophecy and my family for a while. Apparently, he's one of the few people who's taken it seriously since day one."

"He doesn't sound like a stalker at all."

"I said the same thing. He's a bit odd but he has his qualities."

"So a witch and a vampire. Anything else I should know about?"

"We were also ambushed by a Fae because Sage decided to play hero. All has been forgiven now but it was still a stupid move."

"Why was he playing hero?"

"...I had another vision...this time about Dayna..."

"Go on..."

"She'd been taken by the Fae as bait, to lure me in when the time was right."

"She's alive? Is she hurt?"

"She was. She's completely healed now, she just hasn't had a lot of time to relax until now. None of us have."

"Why would the Fae even want to lure you in to begin with? Does she know about you?"

"Not just me, but my brother's. My parents too. She knows my mother personally. Called her a whore."

"It sounds like that bothers you."

"...In a way. I can't explain it. I don't even remember her but I felt this need to protect her when the Fae insulted her. And you know I hate it when people trash others when they aren't around to defend themselves. It's low."

"Not for a Fae it isn't. They're the lowest of low. I have more respect for vampires than I do for the Fae. As for the need to protect, we'll talk about it when you get here. That's a conversation we need to have face to face. For now, I just want you to focus on bringing yourself and the others home."

"Will do. When you tell the others that we've got Dayna, don't let them call? She's been through a lot and I don't want her to feel stressed out for the next few days."

"I won't tell them that you're all coming home until you at least half an hour away."

"Thanks, James. I'll see you when we get there."

"See you then."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Cassie."

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Hey guys, gals and fridges!

And so it has begun! Actual chapters for the story and not a pt. 2 for the prologue, which I was debating.

Anyways, thank you guys for 11 reads and 2 votes! It means a lot and this book is already doing better than the last one when I first published it!

Thanks for wasting your time on me!

~Daxton🌈