Once Scorched Always Safe
Chapter 14

The Calm Before The Storm

Ravie

She sat on the deck watching her father’s reaction to Parker changing forms, from the eagle he had flown to the house as to the cat he was lounging on the deck railing as. Edmund’s face was full of childlike wunder as he searched his mind for animals for Parker to change into. It was fun to watch his reactions to each new creature. They had been home for about an hour now, her father had eaten, taken a shower, and was now wearing a pair of Parker’s sweats as they lounged around on the deck.

Rayne could see the toll the transformations were taking on Parker, so she decided after he changed back to his human form, she would call it a night. The guest room was made up already since she had offered it earlier that day to Bridgette and her mate. For the sake of her father, she would have Parker sleep in his bed tonight. Despite wanting to have him near, she knew he would be close by.

As Parker turned back to his human form, she stood from her lounge chair, “Ok men, let’s call it a night. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day, and that took a lot out of Parker.”

“That was an amazing show,” Edmund said as he yawned.

She chuckled softly as she recalled having a similar reaction when she learned what Parker was years ago. Hayne walked to Parker, slid his arm over her shoulders, wrapped an arm around his back to support his weight to help him to his room. “You remember where the guest room is, Papa?”

“Yes, thank you for letting me stay the night.”

“I am going to help Parker to his room, then get some sleep myself she headed into the house.

*You can drop the pretense of just being friends, I can see that there is more between you two than that.”

Rayne laughed at her father’s words but took Parker to his room. Once she had him on his bed, she helped him strip and get under the sheet he preferred to sleep with. She kissed him softly on the lips as he drifted off to sleep, then made her way through the bathroom to her bed. Once she peeled herself out of her clothes, she grabbed one of her nightshirts and slid into bed. Sleep swept over her almost instantly, the events of the day forgotten as images of her mother flowed through her mind.

Sebastion

The following morning

Sebastion watched the scenery as their little caravan traveled towards San Francisco, making up a lot of ground as they sped along the California highways. They had left at the crack of dawn after feeding the children, themselves, and the vehicles. Once on the road he relaxed. He was hoping to make it through to the Bodega Bay area by nightfall. There was a nice trail where they could camp, let the children run free, and all their wolves out for a run in the woods.

After being on the road cramped in the minivans, he knew they were all itching to have fresh air and the freedom of being in their wolf form. He made calls while they traveled to check with the council to see if there were any packs in the area that he should get permission from before crossing their territory. There were no official packs in the Bodega Bay area, so they should be fine to stay for a day if they agreed on it.

He wanted to get back to Redwood as soon as possible, for his son, and to finish up where he left off with Gla. Arianna pointed out that his focus needed to be on the survivors they were bringing home, to assure them he had their best interest in mind. So, to do that, he decided that they all deserved a much–needed free day, to be who they were deep down. A day of downtime would do him some good to free Aries from his cage, let his mind wander as his beast roamed the woods for a few hours.

Sebastion spent the next several hours making calls to his construction crew to get started on the new track of houses, the new medical building, and the new school that he wanted built. They assured him that the houses could be up by the end of the week, but would need furnishing once he arrived with the new pack members. The school and medical building would take longer, but since they those facilities up and running already, he knew that they would be fine.

His next calls were to replace a few more doctors to fill the new medical building once they completed it. To replace teachers willing to move to a new pack to help the children prosper. He succeeded with replaceing two doctors who wanted a new start and will move to Oregon. He found one teacher willing to move with her family of five, with a bonus that her eldest daughter was learning to be a teacher, so he agreed and they would make the move to Redwood in the next few weeks.

After hanging up the phone after he finished his last coll, he looked over to see that Arianna had her head leaned back against the seat, her earbuds in as she watched the scenery go by. He gave her a small nudge with his elbow to get her attention, to fill her in on all that he had made a start on. He wanted her opinions on what they can do for the pack once they were all home when to have the swearing–in ceremony for their new members. Most of all, he wanted her opinion on what to do with Gla.

The Calm Before The Storm

Arianna pulled the earbuds from her ears as she looked at him with a smile. There is some exquisite country out here in California, we should come down here more often.”

*It has some excellent qualities. There is a vineyard in northern California that I was thinking of investing in. We could go check it out in a few weeks.” The smile she gave him was answer enough.

“That would be amazing, but are you wanting to invest or buy?

“You know me entirely too well Ari, yes buy would be more of what I was thinking. I will

I show you the file I have on my desk on it when we get back home.”

“I heard some of your conversations with the builders, I am happy to see the directions you are going, the future that you are forging for our people. This teacher and her family, where are they originally from? What makes them want to move so easily?”

“Her name is L

Laura Murphy, she and her family are from a small pack in upstate New York. There was recently a change of leadership during a rather hostile takeover. The new Alpha is making changes that many in the pack do not agree with. Some are putting in for transfers to new packs, so my phone call came at a good time for her.”

“Well, that is a good thing then. Give them a new home where they will have safety and a purpose.

1. e. What is the older daughter’s name?”

“Sarah, she is doing her classes online, so it will be easy for her to transfer out here with no problem. Laura and her mate Kyle have three children, Sarah being the oldest at eighteen, Duncan is twelve, then they have little Fiona at six,”

“I am proud that you remembered all of that without taking notes.”

“Look, I know that I have been an asshole in the past, but I have had a vulgar awakening on how I have behaved in the past. I want to be a better man. A better leader, a better father, a better everything.” He looked her in the eye as he spoke, “I want to be the man that I know I can be, the one I have always wanted to be. She manipulated me to such a point that I don’t even recognize myself half the time.”

“Sebbie, you let her do that to you. She has had you wrapped around her little finger since we were thirteen years old. She had her greedy little eyes set on you from the moment you both hit puberty and she knew the way to do it. You were the Alpha’s son, heir to the title, future Alpha of one of the richest packs in the United States. You were the big fish, and she got you hooked from the beginning.”

Hearing how pussy whipped he was, made Sebastion growl low in his throat. “I thought she loved me, Ari, that I loved her.” His voice cracked with unshed tears. “Did she ever love me? Was it all a lie?”

“That is something that you will have to ask her, but from my outside view, no, she never did. If she ever loved you, there is no way she would have fucked every male she could. She would not have tried to seduce Flint, Justin, or any male she set her eyes on while you when out of the territory on business.”

“I am so sorry that I was blinded by her, that I didn’t listen to you or anyone who tried to tell me of her true nature.”

“When we get home, get her out of lockup to say your peace, get your answers. Get the closure that you need from her, then banish her from Redwood.”

“What about face? He needs his mother.”

“That woman was barely even around him. He deserves more. With this new clarity you have achieved, I hope you take the chance and get to know your son. Even if he isn’t yours biologically, he is a gift that you should treasure.”

“I made a start on that last night.”

Arianna angled towards him in her seat, he had piqued her curiosity with that, “How so?”

“After I sent Justin to bed for the night, after our call with Flint, I called back and had Flint get Jace on the phone. I asked him questions, listened to his answers, let him ramble about his day. He is very talkative when he is fighting sleep, but he has so much to say. I want more time with him and will make better choices for him from here on.”

“Well, that is a good start, I am proud of what you are trying to do,

Sebbie.-

Sebastion talked to his sister for hours about what each of them wanted for the future of their pack. Her dreams for Calista’s future, his hopes to one day claim his mate if he ever found her again. The caravan stopped for lunch, let the children run off some energy, then got back on the road. They were making good time, but would not make it to where he wanted to be by nightfall, so he locked for a place to stay that had enough empty rooms for their group

The Calm Before The Storm

As quiet settled in the minivan, he turned his head to look out the window as they sped down the highway, a sense of peace settling on his mind. His heart was still heavy, but knowing what he wanted for the future helped soothe the ache that sat there like a stone. Sebastion knew that getting to where he wanted to be would have more hurdles to cross, but he was positive that he could achieve what he set out to do. He had Arianna at his back, his beta at his side, and his son to help him become a better man.

He now had hope for his future.

Lyric (Edmund)

He was sitting out on the deck watching the waves crash along the beach as he sang to the binds. His song was soothing the inner turmoil in his mind. Last night’s events were on a loop in his head, playing every word that said over and over, as he digested what was his past was. He knew that there was more to the past than she what she had told him last night, something she wanted to tell him but held off when Parker had flown onto the deck.

Fucking flown onto the deck.

In a short period, he had gone from being no one, a homeless drifter, to being a father of a powerful woman. Learning that supernatural creatures existed, that he was one, a freaking werewolf of all things. Shifters were a species that could shape–shift into any creature they chose. It amazed him at what Parker had done that morning.

Parker was an interesting man, but what was clear to Lyric and anyone with eyes was that the man was head over heels in love with Rayne. That gave him a brief smile, knowing that his daughter had that kind of love in her life. Though he was not her true mate, something she explained on their drive back to her house, it relieved him to know that Rayne had Parker in her life.

The house she had was amazing, the view of the beach was jaw–dropping, he could see why she had chosen it. He had given himself a brief tour of the three–bedroom house after he had woken a few hours ago. Two bedrooms shared a bath, the guest room looked like the master bedroom, with a bathroom. The bay window overlooking the deck gave an indoor retreat with a stunning view of the ocean. There was a thickly wooded area at the front of the house that stretched for miles along the beach, giving the house a very secluded vibe. The two–car garage at the back of the house had a little loft above it that Rayne was thinking of converting into an apartment.

He knew she was leaning in that direction more now that she knew be was alive and homeless. He had tried to convince her not to go to so much trouble for him, but she was strong–willed and stubborn. Lyric had a feeling that she got the stubbornness from him, which made him wish for his

mentores even more.

He knew that he would have to tell her about him being in the house early yesterday, that he saw what that monster had done to her through her flashback. He wanted to know who that man was. A visceral part of him wanted to take revenge for the young child she had been, though he knew it would solve nothing.

Lyric stopped his song, jerked back as he felt the air around him stir, then in a swirl of the wind a woman appeared beside him on the deck. She was tall, skin so pale it was like looking at the moonlight as it filtered through the trees at night. Her long red hair blowing around her shoulders as the breeze off the ocean flowed towards them. Her pale blue eyes looking straight into his like she was looking deep into his soul, it unnerved him with their intensity. She wore a dark red dress that had a slit on one side at the hip, revealing a long shapely leg bent at the knee.

“I have seen your face in a vision before, I knew that one day soon you would replace your way home,” Her voice was smooth with a touch of an Irish lilt to Sit.

He stared at her, not knowing what to say to this beautiful woman who appeared beside him out of nowhere. Who the heck was she?-What the heck was she? He felt a spark of recognition, but it faded just as fast as it came, swallowed up by the black hole that was his memory.

“Do not fear me, I am not here to hurt you,” She took a few steps away from him as she spoke.

“How did you do that? The just appearing here?” He found his voice, copied her move by taking a few steps back

She let out a low, throaty laugh at his question, “Magic”

Lyric moved further away from her, not liking how she laughed at him…

Oh, calm down, I have come here to help Rayne. Though I see now that I will do more than setting new wards. Your memories are so shattered that they are almost nonexistent. It is no wonder you have been wandering alone for so long.”

“Ah, I see you have met Arabella, papa,” Rayne said from the sliding glass doors.

“Rayne, my lovely, it is great to see you

The two women walked to each other, hugged tightly, they both turned to face Lyric. He had a gut feeling that today was going to be far more interesting than any day he has experienced in the last fourteen years. The redhead was looking at him with her head tilted to the side, an expression

The Calm Before The Storm

of concentration on her face. Rayne was looking at him with wonder, like she still couldn’t believe that he was real, that her father was alive.

“Well hello pretty lady,” Parker let out a low whistle as he walked out onto the deck.

Lyric thought he was speaking to Arabella. Anger instantly ignited in his gut, but Paker surprised him by walking to Rayne. He spun her around, wrapped his arms around her, fastened his lips to hers. Rayne let out a surprised squeak before she was silenced with Parker’s mouth, Arabella let out another one of those low throaty laughs.

“Good morning to you too, Parker. Once you are done with our girl there, let’s get down to business. I have memories to restore, wards to set.”

Parker pulled back from Rayne, wiggled his eyebrows at Arabella, then turned to saunter back into the house.

“Would you two like coffee? Breakfast?” Rayne’s voice was full of laughter as she looked at Arabella.

Lyric merely nodded his head, then went inside. They all spent the next hour talking over breakfast, forming a plan for the day. He learned that Arabella was a White Witch, that her magic was pure, coming straight from nature and from her inner power. From the new insight that Rayne had learned yesterday, he learned that Arabella was also far older than she looked, which caused him some confusion on how that was possible.

His world had gone from simple to beyond complicated in a very short amount of time, leaving his mind swirling with questions. Getting some of those answered would happen after breakfast. Arabella was going to put his memories back together, heal his shattered mind as she put it, then answer questions he had remaining.

Part of him was eager to have his past returned to him, then there was the part that was afraid of what he would learn. Afraid of the past, he survived somehow, despite everyone thinking he had died. Terrified of knowing what had happened that night to have taken him away from his only child, leaving her in the hands of a monster. Lyric’s instinct told him he knew that monster, which made him angry at himself for not trying harder over the

years to learn who he was.

He would spend the rest of his life making it up to his daughter, knew that he would do anything within his power to protect her, to make her feel safe, Whatever had happened that night long ago haunted her. She saw something terrible, but her mind refused to give up its secrets just like his.

Today they would both know the truth of what happened fourteen years ago that shattered their lives