Violet was walking to the house where Cornelia and James were; her pace was much slower than she wanted it to be because three kids followed her. Molly, David, and Mia, aged 7, 5, and 4 years, respectively.
If Violet could shift, everything would be much faster, but the youngsters didn’t have their first shift yet, so she was stuck to a snail’s pace. The little ones would stop on every few steps to look at the butterfly, a bug, or a rock. Everything was interesting.
“Hurry up, or I will leave you behind,” Violet grumbled.
The trio was excited to play with Cornelia and James’ kids, so they hurried after Violet obediently. As they approached their destination, they heard noise from there…
“Wait! Wait!” Violet shouted after the youngsters, but it was in vain. The three kids heard squeals and giggles from their friends, and they dashed away.
Violet couldn’t believe how quickly they ran. “Why did you drag your feet so far?”
Violet wanted to use her ability to bring them back and teach them a lesson, but the reality was that she didn’t get the hang of her power, and she hated it.
“Figures,” Violet grumbled. Her younger brothers were also mischievous. Jacob was almost bearable, but Logan, Zeke, and Gabriel gave her a headache.
“Violet!” Cornelia called when she noticed the newcomer. She was tending to the herbs in her garden, and six kids were running around on the playground a bit further away.
James made it with some help from Cornelia’s magic. It had a twisting slide, monkey bars, swings, and a massive sand pit.
“Did you bring Molly, David, and Mia here?” Cornelia asked.
“Yes, Aunt Cora. I was on my way here, and Petra and Zack said it would be OK. Is it OK?”
“Of course,” Cornelia assured Violet. “What brings you here?”
“I would like to talk to you.”
“Sounds serious.”
“It is. To me.”
Cornelia left the pruning shears in the basket by her side and walked to meet Violet.
“Is Uncle James around?”
“He is inside on a video call with Alpha William. They are arguing for more than half an hour. The old guy is still refusing our terms on trade, but he wants the benefits. My James won’t let that slide.”
Violet wanted to ask, how can Cornelia call a guy in his fifties as old if she lived for more than three centuries? But Cornelia looked like a female in her early twenties, and by looks alone, she could be Alpha William’s daughter.
Violet saw pictures from ten years ago, and then James looked like a boy next to Cornelia, yet now he matched her in maturity while Cornelia didn’t change, not even a little bit. Actually, James looked like he was a few years older when compared to Cornelia.
The rumors are that James’ biological father had an Alpha bloodline as a recessive gene, and when James and Cornelia mated, her magic activated that gene in James. 𝒪𝑣𝑙xt.𝗇𝓔t
Violet was good at studies, and she would call that theory nonsense because no one EVER activated a recessive gene in a grown specimen. Still, the fact was that James was bigger, stronger, and faster than any regular werewolf, and his aging was slower than expected which meant that his wolf was special. Also, Violet could swear that she sensed a strange Alpha aura when Commander George sparred with James. Violet was familiar with George’s aura, and that burst was not his. The only logical conclusion was that it belonged to James, who was equally matched with George, who didn’t conceal he had an Alpha bloodline.
However, it was obvious that James was perfectly content to live as Gamma James in the two-story house with Cornelia and their three kids. If he acknowledged his Alpha heritage, he would end up with people following him, and he would have much more work, just like Commander George is stuck managing a town. If not for Erik and Owen helping out, Dawn and their two kids would barely see George between training, military duties, and managing the town where ex-members of the Frostcrest pack lived.
And just as James was living an unusually quiet life for a werewolf of his status, Cornelia was the same, but by witches’ standards. Cornelia acted as Alpha Natalia’s Gamma, and she worked closely with Amelia as a point of contact for all witches who now lived in this realm.
Over the years, Cornelia showed wisdom and skill that left many in awe, and people wondered who would win if Evanora and Cornelia clashed for real. Regretfully for the masses, Cornelia and Evanora were not interested in a showdown to determine their power levels.
Evanora was busy with Edgar and their grandkids. God knows they had their hands full with ten kids (five sets of twins) that Axel and Yasmin produced in the last thirteen years. It didn’t look like Axel and Yasmin were ready to stop.
Yasmin said that during pregnancy, she could tap into a mystical realm and gain a better understanding of her powers. For her, getting pregnant was for research purposes, and Axel had no objections. If not for the breastfeeding period and sleepless nights with twin infants, Axel and Yasmin would have babies at least once per year! Miles and Daisy were now two years old, which meant that news of another Yasmin’s pregnancy could come any day.
Violet loved her cousins, but other than Valeria and Edgar, others were a noisy bunch that was good only for making a ruckus.
More than once, Violet heard Damon teasing Axel, “Are you creating a pack of your own by making so many pups?” Axel would counter that with a shrug and, “It’s not my fault you can make only one pup at a time.” Damon would blow a fuse, and Talia would interfere because she feared Damon’s obsession with impregnating her would spark again.
That whole group was made of Alphas and powerful creatures that carried the bloodline of Gods, and the fact that Cornelia was among them as an equal, spoke about her power more than any other test in existence.
“How about we sit?” Cornelia asked Violet while gesturing toward big stones arranged in a circle. That area was made by James, for him and Cornelia to snuggle after they put their kids to sleep. Cornelia would use magic to warm up the stones, and they would sometimes light up the fire in the middle. Cornelia had many good memories of that place. Many carnal memories. Ah, only if those stones could talk.
Violet was ready for this. She sat where Cornelia offered and immediately went to the topic that brought her here.
“You are interested in the ceremony,” Cornelia concluded.
“Yes. I want to sense my mate.”
“That’s not a good idea, Vi.”
“Why? Does it have negative effects? I’m sure you can make it safe. You are the best witch in this realm.”
Cornelia smiled. “I will take the compliment, but this is not about my skill.”
Violet frowned. “Then? Are you also going to tell me that it’s best to wait? Five years, Aunt Cora. Five. Long. Years.”
“That will pass in a flash if you focus on what you have instead of on what you are missing.”