Alpha Ch. 09

Turning back to watch the game she took a swig of her beer.

"You have a good family. You're very lucky." She said simply.

"I found most of them. You'd be surprised how good the runts and strays can turn out." He said with a wink.

"So am I a new stray?" She asked in amusement.

"Ealasaid was a new stray not too long ago. It's a good person to be." Drago drained his beer and reached for another one. As he leant down a shock gripped his body and he breathed in deeply. There was a wild, unfamiliar scent coming from the young woman beside him and he thought back to Baal's words.

'She's not what she seems.'

Forcing his face to remain neutral he grabbed a new beer and came back up to a sitting position. Together, he and Oana watched the Council play and when they were all sweating and red in the face Lucius threw the bat away.

"I'm starving." He looked at Jaylon who nodded. "What about you Jay?"

"Always hungry, BBQ sound good kids?" Jaylon asked and Leif nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah with sausages and burgers."

"And ribs." Avianna chipped in.

"We'll get started." Lucius said but his eyes were glued on Ealasaid who was beckoning to Oana.

"Come for a swim with me?" Eala asked and Oana hesitated. Thinking back to the conversation she had had with Drago she made a decision. She was a stranger, she had a chance to make something good somewhere new and she was going to grab hold of it.

"Sure!" She slid from the table and skipped to the edge of the lake. She joined the children, Ealasaid, Nix and Elena who were beginning to strip out of their clothes.

When they were all in their underwear they dove into water with a mixture of sighs and shrieks as it washed over them cooling their hot skin. Oana kicked through the water, feeling a true sense of freedom for the first time in over sixty years. her thoughts were her own, she knew what she wanted and a part of her was certain that these people would protect her if she was ever in danger.

Soon the smells of the cooking food reached their noses and the children began to grow impatient. Finally, Jaylon shouted loudly and they swam to the edge of the water and climbed out. The sun was shining brightly, warming the skin instantly and they descended on the food.

Drago sat slightly away from the group, watching his family as they laugh and ate together. A sense of dread began to settle in his stomach. He had worked so hard to get what was now in front of him but at every turn something was so close to taking it all away. Eylas, the Senior Agents, they haunted his thoughts turning his stomach into a tangled mess of worry.

He would fight, he would fight for all of them. Nothing was going to take his family away.

*

Eylas stood on a stone balcony staring out at the grey sky. His ancestral castle stood on the edge of a steep cliff, below was dense forest and the there was no sound for miles around save for the rustle of the leaves and the soft noises of the animals.

"I forgot how beautiful this place is." He said softly. Lara stood behind him, her hands clasped in front of her and her eyes fixed on the floor.

"Yes Daddy." She answered. Her voice was small and he turned to face her.

"I know it is quiet but soon this place will be filled with life. You'll have so many brothers and sisters and this old place will be warm again."

He held his hand out to her and she walked obediently to his side. He pulled her in front of him and stroked her upper arms.

"We'll build an army. An army of Lycans, Weres, Vampyres. Every creature will bow to us and you will be my most precious possession. Would you like that?"

Lara nodded. "Yes Daddy."

"The world will be ours, soon nothing will stand in our way."