SWNOVELS Chapter Chapter Twenty-five
Sparkles groaned as she donned her earmuffs. She heard her mom's soothing voice as she tried to soothe a wailing Gemma.
Since the disappearance of Elena and Aiden two days ago, no one had been able to get even a second of sleep in the house.
It was as if the little wolf had sensed what was going on. Perhaps she did since all her werewolf senses were already active for a child her age.
“Mom, my ears are bleeding." Sparkles hollered even though her mom was just some distance away. “I think you should give her one of those sleeping pills you administered to us while we were little."
“No," Callista said firmly, rolling her eyes. “She is not a troubled child. She only misses her father and Elena.”
Sparkles rolled her eyes at her assertion of them being problematic children when little. She watched as her mother gently placed Gemma in her cot.
Callista counted to see if she would come awake again. Luckily, she didn't, and she let out a relieved sigh. She shuffled to the vanity close to the window and peered at her face in the mirror.
“You look like a mess, mom." Sparkles said as she stared at her.
Callista's blonde hair hung loosely on her head, and it looked unkempt. Her eyes had bags under them from lack of sleep. She beamed at her daughter, “A lot has been going on lately, and I'm sure everything will be back to normal soon. Likewise, I will be able to get a good night's sleep.”
“You should be sleeping by now." Callista pointed out while peering at Sparkles from inside the mirror.
“I can't." Sparkles muttered.
“Still feeling guilty?"
Earlier, Sparkles had explained to her mother why she had been mean to Elena all this while. She was happy her mother hadn't judged her. Instead, she had encouraged her to embrace her supernatural side since she had been like that, too, when she was younger.
“I'm not, and you need to sleep much more than I do. I'll watch Gemma." Sparkles offered before leading her mother to the enormous mahogany bed she sometimes shares with her father.
For the first time today, Sparkles glanced at the figure of her mother, who seemed to have aged overnight.
Her forehead creased with frown lines, and the corner of her eyes crinkled as she stared at nothing.
She shook her head and let out a sigh. “Thank you, Sparkles, and I'm sure Elena will forgive you.”
Sparkles shrugged while stepping towards Gemma's cot. Her hand caressed Gemma's rosy cheeks, and she stirred.
Gemma's lashes fluttered against her cheeks, but she didn't open her eyes.
Sparkles withdrew her hands as she watched her sleep. She looked just like Sienna except for the dimples in her cheeks, which were from Aiden.
Everything in her reminded her of Sienna, and she felt hurt.
Sparkles knew she hadn't been there for Sienna when she needed her the most. They had vowed to have each other's back no matter what, but she had let her down.
Sienna had been her childhood friend, and she had been overjoyed when Aiden took an interest in her. They practically were like sisters even before Aiden noticed her.
But, she had let her down. It was one of the reasons she despised associating with humans because they were so fragile.
Though Sienna wasn't entirely human, her supernatural powers were still undiscovered since she couldn't even defend herself with them. Just like Elena, it was another of the reasons Sparkles loathed her.
Aiden had always been drawn to humans, and she never knew why.
She glanced at the figure of her sleeping mother before stepping out of the room.
***********
Sparkles jolted awake as her ears heard some movement, her eyes flickered around the room, and she became alert.
Her nostrils flared as she sensed the people around the house. They weren't just Werewolves; werecats and Banshee were also part of them.
The worst was the were-jaguar. Sparkles had only encountered it once, and she had hoped never to again because the battle with it was so fierce, and it was a surprise she came out victorious.
She let out a relieved sigh as she didn't perceive the familiar stench of the werejaguar.
Yet, they were still under attack.
“East Vale.” Sparkles gritted her teeth. That was the only kingdom that had those species of supernatural beings. It was scarce to come in contact with them in West Vale.
“We are surrounded,” Jaxon mumbled as he strode into the room. He cracked his knuckles and lifted his hand to his lips as one of the newly recruited werewolves wandered in.
He was nineteen years old, just a year younger than Maya, and he had triggered his curse when he was fifteen after shoving his best friend unknowingly to his death when they went cliff jumping.
“What do we do?” Xander sputtered, his eyes flickering between the two skilled werewolves with him.
“Well, we'll do what we normally do,” Sparkles replied with a mischievous grin on her face.
Xander shivered as she sprang out of the sofa she was on; she did her long brown hair in a messy bun and rolled up the sleeve of her polka dot shirt.
Since his arrival, he had learnt never to mess with her as she could be the most formidable woman in the park if she wanted. He had seen her when she was furious and had vowed never to annoy her because he wasn't ready to have his face punched.
Nonetheless, Aiden was the one he often looked up to, for he was fearless and never backed down from a fight, even when it looked like he would lose.
“Hey.” Sparkles said while motioning to him with her index finger.
A blush crept up his cheeks as he trudged towards her. He took a liking to her despite how dangerous she was. Also, she had never noticed him until now.
He stuck his hands into the side pocket of his camouflage pants and walked towards her.
“You might want to stay out of it because it will be bloody soon.” She said.
“What? I can fight, too!” Xander argued as she nudged him sideways.
“Right,” She rolled her eyes, “But we are not dealing with toy werewolves here. Also, this isn't training.” She added.
Xander seemed slightly offended, and he scowled while shrugging her hands off. He stepped back, then watched as Jaxon moved to the banging door.
“Ready?" He asked, glancing at Sparkles.
“Ever ready.” She beamed.
“Same.” Brad yawned as he slipped off the shirt of his pajamas.
“Thanks for joining us.” Sparkles mumbled and continued with her eyes lingering on his exposed chest. “Kindly put that shirt back on. This is not a strip show.”
Brad ignored her and moved towards Jaxon.
“Hey buddy,” Jaxon said, doing a bro handshake with him.
The door sprang open, and Xander lurched from where he was at the abruptness.
His jaw slackened, and his eyes bulged as he saw what they were against.
“Holy crap!" He cussed.
“Don't worry; far worse is coming.” Jaxon chuckled.
“That is so encouraging,g,” Xander murmured sarcastically.
“Do you still want to fight?" Sparkles asked, not taking her eyes off the approaching girl about her age.
Xander contemplated, staring at the beasts approaching them. Then, he thought of Aiden and the reason they were fighting.
“Of course, I'm not scared. I still want to fight.” He said, though, within him, he meant the opposite.
“Good boy." Sparkles grinned. “However, I think you need to write your wish to die down because I'm not ready to explain to anyone how your head got disentangled from your body.”
“Very funny.” Xander went ahead to battle with the creature he knew he could handle.
Also, Brad, Jason, and Sparkles made sure he didn't die as they were behind and in front of him with every little chance they got.
He wondered how powerful they were since it didn't look like they were affected by their blows.
Not long afterward, Callista and Edward joined in the show.
They fought tirelessly, and in the end, it was over. The others who had the chance of escaping did, while ten out of the fourteen that came lay lifelessly on the floor.
“Geez, that was so exhausting.” Sparkles groaned.
“It is," Jason nodded, agreeing with her.
“Who is cleaning up?” Xander asked as he saw them strolling back in.
“You are.” Sparkles and Jaxon said simultaneously and left immediately, not leaving any room for argument.
“That is one of the perks of being the youngest," Brad added and left.
“Could my life be any rosier?" Xander looked heavenward before letting out a sigh.