chapter 3
“Hey, Griff!” Without knocking, Ellie barged into her brother’s room and plunked herself on his bed.
Griffin briefly paused, stuffing his laptop into his backpack to look at her. One would never guess they were twins. Ellie was pixie-like with long black hair and striking violet-blue eyes. Griffin, on the other hand, was tall with golden hair and tawny, almost leonine eyes. As children, their mother had nicknamed them Artemis and Apollo after the mythological gods who’d embodied the moon and the sun. Although Ellie definitely had the sunnier personality. Especially lately.
“What’re you doing here this early in the morning?” Griffin asked, as he continued to pack his laptop and books in his bag.
“Nothing special.” Ellie shrugged.
Griffin paused again. “Okay. What’s up?”
Ellie wrinkled her nose, giving an exasperated huff. “Why does something have to be up for me to visit my brother?”
“You only block my mind reading when you want to hide something from me.” He zipped up his bag and slung it over his shoulder. “Alex here, too?”
“Yup. We just finished a run. He’s downstairs letting Lucy stuff him with breakfast.” Last year when Ellie’d moved to Estes Park, Colorado, she’d met and fallen in love with Alex Jenner. Alex had thought Ellie was just a regular high school girl at the time. That was before Griffin and Ellie had helped save Alex’s family from the Vyusher. Now they were engaged to be married.
Ellie hopped up and followed Griffin out of the room. “Where’re you headed?”
“Library. I have to finish this last paper for my economics class.”
“Hmmm. Makes me glad I didn’t do summer school this year. I thought you got that paper done last night?”
Griffin grunted. “I need a little more quiet than this mad house affords.”
As Svatura, their family required very little sleep. Griffin lived with Hugh and Lucy Jenner and their two daughters, Lila and Adelaide. The Jenners acted as Alex’s adoptive family. In the house next door lived more Svatura, Charlotte and Dexter Pierce, and their adoptive sons Ramsey and Nate. Lucy used her gift to sort of collect people with powers, forming their hodgepodge but now tight-knit family. With so many people around, there was usually constant commotion, even late at night.
Ellie laughed. “You could always move back in with Alex and me. It would be quieter there at least. I guess we were all up pretty late last night playing Trivial Pursuit. You should have come down and joined us.”
“What, and be a third wheel to new te’sorthene? No thanks!”
Alex was more than Ellie’s fiancé. He was her te’sorthene, a word literally meaning a friend bonded by heart or sprit. But to the Svatura, Ellie and Griffin’s clan of gifted people, the term equated to soul mates. It was a bond between two people that was fated… and unbreakable.
“Hugh and Lucy’s house suits me very well. Most of the time, at least.” Griffin stopped at the top of the stairs and turned to her. “Hey, Elle? You’d tell me if Selene appeared to you in a dream, right?”
“Of course!”
“So she hasn’t?”
Ellie rested a hand on the banister and frowned. “Not since we killed Gideon.”
“Okay.” Griffin started down the stairs, missing his sister’s worried look as she followed behind. When he reached the bottom, he turned and gave her a peck on the cheek. “See ya later.”
“Have fun.” Ellie decided to keep her concerns to herself. She gave her brother a casual wave and wandered off to find Alex.
Griffin let himself out of the house and walked to the shed where he kept his motorcycle. He hopped on the bike and headed into town. Most days he loved this ride. The winding road through the mountains had spectacular views, with vibrant hues of blues and greens. But lately the magnificent sights had been lost on him. His attention was inward. He hadn’t wanted to bring up Selene to Ellie, but after last night…
It’s got to be coincidence, he reasoned with himself. Selene hadn’t been in his dreams since the last time he had seen her. And that had been over a year ago.
His history with Selene flashed through his mind. The Vyusher were responsible for massacring his clan of Svatura almost a century earlier. And she was Vyusher. Hell, she was their leader now. Ellie and Griffin had barely survived and had spent the next several decades in hiding. During that time, Selene had frequently appeared to Griffin in his dreams. But in all those years, he’d never thought she was actually real....
Then a dream had led Ellie to the Jenners and the Pierces, and the twins had joined forces with them to kill Gideon, the leader of the Vyusher. And Selene’s brother.
An image of Selene standing in a field in the mountains, regal and gorgeous with her silvery hair floating in the breeze, continued to haunt him. It was the first time he’d seen her in the flesh and realized that she did exist… and not just as a figment of his male fantasies.
But then she’d walked away from him. And he hadn’t seen her since.
Initially, Griffin had convinced himself that he never wanted to see her again. Despite the fact that he was positive she was his te’sorthene, he couldn’t overlook the atrocities her people were responsible for… things she was responsible for.
But he missed her. Despite himself.
He’d believed her to be just a fantasy, and now that she no longer appeared to him at night when he closed his eyes, he missed her. And he hated himself for it.
His dreams lately, however, had featured flashes of a white wolf.
I only know of one white wolf, but there’s got to be more out there… right? Maybe it’s just a coincidence.
But he didn’t really think so. The images that came to him in his sleep were never very clear. Only flickers, like an old-timey movie, but with more time between pictures. And last night…
Last night he’d heard sobbing.
*****
After finally getting approval from the High Council to go to college, it’d taken her nearly a month to get all of her ducks in a row. Now Selene had finally arrived in the mountain town of Estes Park in a state of emotional turmoil. School was starting in just a few weeks. But before she did anything else, she had something important to do first. Today was the day, and she was already dreading it. And yet another horrible vision that’d kept her up half the night hadn’t helped any either.
In addition to those blasted nightmares, Selene was worried about the family she’d left behind and sad at the reasons that had driven her away. But, at the same time, she was also excited for a chance at some independence after living so long under Gideon’s oppressive rule, and this, in turn, made her feel guilty for wanting to leave her family.
Above all these mixed-up feelings was the ever-present anticipation of seeing Griffin again. After so many years with Gideon dictating every single thing about her existence, the thought of being able to make her own choices was overwhelming to Selene. The only thing keeping her from outright panic was the hope of what she could accomplish if she kept moving forward on this path she’d set for herself.
Before Selene did anything else, though, first she had to talk to Ellie. Let her know that she’d be attending the same college and living so close by. Selene debated telling Ellie about the dreams for the thousandth time but rejected the thought just as quickly. She intended to stay away from Ellie and her new family. She didn’t want to put them in danger that way. Those dreams were her problem.
She wondered how Ellie and Griffin would feel about her proximity. Actually, she could hazard a guess at how Griffin would react. Her last impression of him had been one of frustrated anger - with her. So, no. She didn’t think he’d be thrilled, but if Ellie could see her side, then maybe it wouldn’t be a problem. Maybe she could stay. She’d taken a risk applying to Colorado State University and didn’t want to have to leave.
Selene’s hands tightened on the steering wheel as she continued her unending internal debate. She’d battled her conscience when she’d asked one of her pack to locate Ellie for her. She’d asked for Ellie only, to help appease the guilt she felt. She didn’t want to invade the family’s privacy. But she also thought they should know that she was so close. If they put up too much of a fight, she’d just go somewhere else. It would mean delaying college a little longer, but she’d do whatever she had to do.
Selene drove to the address in the Carriage Hills neighborhood. The two-story house was modest but offered gorgeous views of the surrounding mountains. She drove her car up the gravel driveway, parked, and stood for a moment. Heart in her throat, Selene took a second to gather her courage.
All right, girl… get a grip. You can do this.