Has there ever been a day when you'd ever think that your loved ones would disappear?
Well, they did for June Vargo and everyone else, supernatural or human, who remained on earth.
Now stuck in a world with only one fourth of the population remai...
Play time was over when I suggested we start training. It wasn't that I didn't like being playful or I had some secret mission, but rather we needed to know each other's strengths and weaknesses as mates. After taking a shower this morning, I scrounged around for an outfit and found some gym shorts, a somewhat fitting t-shirt, and boxers that had been washed way too many times to fit any of the guys. Once I looked like a gender confused teenager, I threw my hair into a ponytail, a step up from my usual bun, and headed downstairs for a light breakfast.
"That's not the way you're supposed to---no like this. I told you, see now it's broken," someone complained and I rounded the corner, entering the living room. There stood Jackson and Julian, arguing over something I couldn't see yet.
"What are you guys doing?" I asked curiously, walking up to them. My father gave me a smile, pulling me into a hug before answering.
"It was a Storm Radar, but now the signal is off thanks to your hard-headed brother." Jackson sighed, handing it to Julian who absentmindedly fiddled with the circular device. It had lines this way and that with a tiny, four pointed star in the middle. Snatching it out of his hand, I examined the little thing closer.
"It's already broken, I don't need you messing it up more. Give it back June," Julian demanded. I laughed, dodging him.
"I think I can fix it. Give me a sec." Turning it over, I inspect the back. There was a small button, but other than that it was just smooth plastic. Humming to myself, I pressed the button and was happy to have my prediction confirmed; the back popped open.
With trained finesse, I prodded at the programming chip while evading Julian's attempts to take it back. Once I got the chip out, I blew the dust from it, flipped it to the other side, then slide it back in. When the back was in place once again, I held down the power button and restarted the device. Before Juilan tackled me to the floor, I threw it back to Jackson.
"Problem solved. Just let it cool down," I said then scream-laughed as Julian tickle attacked me. It was torture, but welcomed nonetheless. I missed the Julian that was playful and caring, always turning my frown into a smile. Now he was...bitter. I knew it was just his wolf, hurt at not having a chance at happiness like me. He could fight it though, try to be happy for me, but I don't think he wanted to. And that realization was enough to kill my laugh.
Sensing the change in my mood, Julian stopped and got off of me. The three of us were silent for a moment.
"We're leaving tonight June. Before the Storm Radar stopped working we saw that storm had passed. We need to see what condition the cabin is in, get our stuff, and after that...well we're heading South," Jackson calmly explained.
My heart stopped in my chest. I opened my mouth to speak but words failed me as a lump formed in my throat. Stumbling back several steps, I looked for something to support my weight. A hand found mine, silently supporting me. Without looking I knew it was Kelen.
"What," I whispered, closing my eyes. When I opened them, my father was looking away. Julian however, looked me straight in the eye.
"June now that you've found your mates---"
"Is this why you've been an ass to me!?" I suddenly shouted incredulously. "Because you're jealous I found my mates!? Why can't you just be happy for me?"
He just scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous. I'm not jealous of you. I'm jealous of---" Jackson snarled at him before he could finish. I shook off Kelen's hand, anger rushing through me violently.
"Let him finish Father. I'm sure whatever excuse he's pulled out of his ass---"
"I'M JEALOUS OF THEM!" Julian shouted. No one dared to even breathe as that sunk in. I flinched, as if slapped in the face. There was no way--- "I'm in love with you June. I was promised," he bit out with a pointed glance at Jackson, "to have you when you turned 20 but now that you've decided on them, I guess the plan has changed huh?"
My stomach twisted, as it really hit me what he was saying, and I had to swallow down the bile that threatened to come up. "You don't know what you're saying Julian. I'm your sister."
"We don't share the same blood," he argued with a crazed look in his eye that I hadn't noticed before.
I shook my head, taking a slow step back. "That doesn't matter. I'm still your sister. This---we---it c-can't happen. Ever."
When I turned around to run away, I saw that shadows covered the entirety of the back wall like a shield. My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Why would Kelen trap us in here?
The man in question was hovering above the ground, shadows licking up every inch of his body. It was both a haunting and glorious sight. Looking down, I noticed they were slithering at my feet. While the instinct to jump back was there, it was overpowered by this pull in my chest. His shadows were calling to me.
Shatel. They hissed.
"Do you know why I have shadowed the room, June?" Kelen asked me in that haunting voice he had when his powers were taking over. Staring straight into his now black eyes I shook my head. He wasn't looking at me, his eyes were all for Julian and Jackson. "Because your mates are on the other side of that door, ready to rip their hearts out."
I shivered then looked at the two men I had been stupid enough to call my family. But even still, I didn't want them dead. Years of being stuck together didn't just make me suddenly hate them. And the look in Kelen's eye said he understood that. It also said that his rage was about to boil over. "The only reason I'm not purging the life from your soul is because I don't want her to see how much of a monster I am when my family is threatened."
"You couldn't even if you---" Julian tried baiting him but shadows lashed out at him. They wrapped themselves around his whole body and squeezed.
"LEAVE. Now. And don't ever come back," he commanded. Tears were streaming down my face silently as I watched them shift and run through the door that lead to the kitchen, which ultimately lead to the surface level. I stared after them for what felt like years, then fell to my knees and sobbed.
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