Juniper Santiago - Book 2 of The Santiago Series

Boris shot up with his veins searing. He’d been in the middle of a strange dream, with a woman telling him that his time had arrived, before she shoved a ball of light into his chest, resulting in his abrupt interruption of sleep.

Auriela woke up dazed, wondering what was going on, until her eyes widened at the sight of her mate. He was visibly warming up as sweat glazed his skin, and she watched as signs began to glow on his arms.

Boris shut his eyes and when he opened them again, everything around him was bright. He could still see his mate, but it was like he was using a different pair of eyes to see things. He looked around him and found that he could pick up auras all around him.

Auriela watching him in awe, unsure of what was happening with him. She was knowledgeable on a lot of things, but she’d never witnessed nor heard of anything like what she was seeing.

Everything eventually died down and Boris’ body returned to normal before he slumped back down onto the pillow. She immediately wrapped her arms around him, an action he returned as he squeezed her back.

“What was that?” she whispered after minutes of silence.

“I’d be lying if I said I knew,” he replied.

Just as she was about to ask a follow-up question, his entire body jolted, silencing her. They were both confused, until it happened again, this time forcing Boris to close his eyes as he felt himself travel within his own brain, until he finally landed on a memory he didn’t know he had.

*FLASHBACK*

An eleven-year-old Boris was running around with the other children in the village when he spotted an old man and an old lady. They were speaking in hushed tones, and he knew that whatever they were discussing was important.

He kicked the ball in their direction so that he could pretend that he was going to get it. They hadn’t seen him yet and he managed to grab the ball and hide behind one of the bushes that was close to where the couple was standing.

“This isn’t wise Merlin,” the woman said, sounding desperate.

“There will never be a right time to tell him Meda. We have to tell him now so that he can do the right thing here,” the old man argued.

“Except who’s to say that this is the right thing? She said she didn’t want him to know,” the woman countered.

“She’s also dead. I don’t think what she said counts anymore,” he said.

She gasped. “You would dishonour a dead woman’s wish?”

“No. I’m trying to save a little boy from a life of uncertainty. If we do things this way, then he gets a chance at a better life,” he stated.

“I still think you’re being rash about this. What if he’s not ready? He hasn’t been the same the past few years and you know it. Even this situation is one that wasn’t meant to happen, but here we are. If you do this, you could possibly be messing with fate,” she warned.

“And if I don’t do this, I could possibly lose my son,” he suddenly shouted.

An unexpected bolt of lightning left him and struck Boris in his hiding place. The little one made a sound that brought the two elders’ attention to him and they rushed over to him once they realized what had happened.

“Shh little one. It will all be ok,” the woman soothed as she ran her hand over the wound on his arm.

“What’s your name son?” the old man asked.

“Boris Vladislav,” young Boris introduced.

He didn’t miss the look the two adults shared amongst each other.

“Where are your parents?” the woman asked him.

“My mother died recently. I don’t have a father,” young Boris replied.

The man pursed his lips. “And who do you live with?”

“I live with my aunt, my uncle and my cousins,” young Boris informed.

“You should go back home,” the woman suggested.

With his arm healed, Boris got up and nodded. “Thank you for healing me.”

“You are most welcome sweetheart,” the woman said to him.

He turned to leave, but then thought twice about it as he looked back. “Respect the dead woman’s wishes.”

“What?” the adults asked him.

“Don’t tell whoever you’re supposed to tell whatever you’re supposed to tell them. The dead woman didn’t want that. Respect her wishes and let fate take its course,” Boris explained.

The adults were surprised and the woman found herself smiling. “Would you look at that? At just eleven he’s already smarter than you Merlin.”

Boris laughed at the look on the old man’s face before running off back to his cousins and friends.

***

“Do I even want to know?” Auriela questioned, standing at the other side of the room. Boris was confused as to why, until he realized that the bed was charred and he was laying on the floor.

“I think I met Merlin and Mama Deo long before I originally thought I had,” he said, confused by his memory.

“What do you mean?” Auriela asked him.

“I’ve just had a memory from when I was a little boy and I met them then. I didn’t even know Balthazar, which means I met them before I met him. However, I don’t remember this meeting. I mean, I remember that day and me running to get the ball, but I don’t remember listening in on their conversation, much less meeting them,” he rambled.

She looked at him weirdly. “I have no idea what you’re going on about, so I think I’ll address something else. How on earth did you scorch the bed?”

“Did you see the whole thing?” he asked.

She nodded. “Your whole body was on fire, but you weren’t burning.”

“That sounds a lot like what happened to June,” he mumbled.

“June?” she questioned.

“Uh, yeah. When she first got her elemental abilities, her body was on fire. Balthazar had already told her grandparents what to do, so they were ready,” he explained.

“Ok, so what does that mean?” she asked.

And that’s when it dawned on him. “I have absolutely no idea.”

***

King Rixon and Queen Ophelia sat nervously, waiting for their guests to arrive. They didn’t know how they were going to handle the matter at hand. They just knew that they’d been looking forward to this day for twenty years.

“Why are we going there again?” Anastasia asked her mate.

“I really don’t know babe. When the royals summon you, you don’t ask questions. You just go,” Jacob replied, fixing his tie.

“I get that, but why you?” she questioned.

He sighed. “Babe, I really don’t know what to tell you here. They didn’t tell me either. I was just told that the King and Queen have requested my presence and that I was allowed to bring you. Now would you please just get ready to leave?”

“Alright fine, fine, I’m going,” she murmured.

“I love you,” he chuckled.

“Yeah, me too,” she shouted back.

He shook his head, smiling to himself, before getting back to fixing himself. He wanted to look perfect for the royals, even though honestly speaking, he was just as curious as his mate as to why they were requesting his presence.

He figured it might have to do with Royce and Dayton.

Having been around the two evil men, it would make sense to want to meet with the person they used in some of the missions. He could have important intel that would help in tracking the men down.

Soon enough, Anastasia was ready to leave, and the two of them headed out. They were traveling to a meeting point where they would then be teleported to the castle since they were on a different continent altogether.

The journey to the castle wasn’t all that long, and once King Rixon and Queen Ophelia learnt that they’d arrived, their nerves were shot as their anxiety overwhelmed them. The royal staff led the young couple to the meeting room where the King and Queen were waiting.

“Your Highnesses,” Jacob and Anastasia said as they bowed.

Tears quickly filled Ophelia’s eyes, while Rixon squeezed her hand. “Jacob, Anastasia, welcome to our home.”

“It’s an honour to be here, even though we’re not quite sure why we are,” Jacob commented.

“That’s understandable. Please, have a seat,” Ophelia requested.

Once they were all seated, Rixon took over. “As you may know, twenty years ago, we had a son, but our son was taken away from us just days after he was born. We searched for him for years before giving up and accepting that perhaps he was dead. While we stopped the search, we never gave up hope that somehow, we’d get answers to what happened to him. A couple of weeks ago, we decided to start the search again, this time approaching some good friends of ours for help.”

“And what happened?” Jacob asked.

Ophelia smiled. “Thanks to an observant person, we learnt that our son is indeed alive and that he’s closer to us than we thought.”

“That’s wonderful! I’m sure it was amazing finding out that your hope wasn’t misplaced after all, but what are we doing here?” Anastasia questioned.

“Well, it seemed fitting to invite you here to support our son once we broke the news to him,” Rixon hinted.

The young couple’s eyes widened. “Son?”

“You, Jacob, are our missing son. We know that this is probably a shock to you, but it is the truth,” Ophelia said, her tears betraying her as they rolled down her cheeks.

“How?” Anastasia eventually asked since her mate was stunned into silence.

“As I said before, we went to our friends for help. Our friends happen to be Merlin, Deondrameda and Balthazar, who we know you know of. We approached them for help, and Balthazar said he would ask his son in mating for help. It was then that we learnt that he was talking about Mateo, and that Juniper is his daughter. When we met the young couple, Mateo already knew who we were, and Juniper was already disguised as Marissa, but we’d been let in on the plan. Deondrameda explained to them that we needed their help finding our son, and Juniper asked for a description of our son as a baby. Once we’d told her that he had blonde hair, blue eyes and a birthmark in the shape of a crown on the left side of his back, she immediately shared her suspicions,” Rixon explained.

“I have a crown shaped birthmark on the left side of my back,” Jacob said lowly.

“Mateo agreed to take on the mission of finding out how you ended up at the pack that you did, especially since you were on a different continent altogether. He wasn’t able to find anything concrete, especially with Royce having burned the whole place down, but together with Juniper, they were able to figure out that dark magic had been used to hide your true scent and aura, hence why no one thought to bring you back here,” Ophelia added.

“So how are you sure that he’s your son now?” Anastasia asked.

“Aside from the DNA test we managed to conduct, his wolf was our biggest indicator,” Rixon replied.

“They did say it had grown in size,” Jacob commented.

“That’s because before the whole mess with her and her mates, Marissa had managed to completely take apart the dark magic that was surrounding you and keeping your true self hidden,” Rixon said.

Jacob frowned. “Then why hasn’t anyone else picked up my true scent?”

“Because you haven’t accepted it either. You had to first be made aware of who you really are, and once you accept the truth, then everything else will come together,” Ophelia responded.

Jacob didn’t know what to feel in that moment. He’d already been through so much in his life, and most of it was more on the negative side than the good. He just didn’t want to find himself in a position where this was the door to yet another phase of negativity in his life.

He wasn’t sure what to do with the new information at hand.

Anastasia could see the turmoil in her mate’s eyes. She’d lost everything, and he’d come into her life when she was lost, and he became everything to her. She knew that he felt the same since he too had just lost everything.

She knew that finding out everything that they just had couldn’t be easy for him.

One thing she was sure of was that she would be there for him the whole way, even if it meant jumping into a role she knew nothing about. She was sure that being a royal, much less a Queen, required greatness and had major responsibilities that she wasn’t sure she’d ever find herself ready to face.

But with her mate at her side, she knew she’d be ok, which is the same support she wanted to show him.

When Jacob felt his hand get squeezed by his mate, he looked up into her hazel eyes and could see the indecision in them. He could see the fear, the confusion, the excitement, and even the disbelief.

But it was the love that struck him most.

It was the love that he translated into support that made him believe that he wasn’t alone in this. She didn’t have to say anything for him to know that she had his back, no matter what happened from that moment forth.

“So, what happens now?” he asked his parents.

“Now, we make you a prince.”

***

The mansion was buzzing with preparations for Boris’ party. Auriela had been tasked with keeping Boris busy for the day, and Aerie found herself putting the whole thing together on her own since Anastasia had disappeared with her mate.

“How did I get stuck planning the party of a man I know nothing about?” she complained.

“And I’m assuming you’re suggesting that these tables and chairs are just moving magically on their own,” Mark commented sarcastically.

“They really must be because I’m the hardest working person in the room right now,” Aerie said dramatically, making the people around her laugh.

Everyone was getting used to her, and they could definitely see why she’d been paired with Max. The two of them were a lot alike in many areas, but they could also see the sides of her that would possibly prove to be challenging for Max. They were all excited to see how the mating would eventually play out.

“Do you even know who’s coming, or are we just setting up randomly?” Mark asked her.

“Hey Faith?” Aerie shouted across the room.

“Yeah?” Faith responded.

“What’s it like being with a woman?” Aerie asked. There was a roar of laughter once more as everyone pieced together what she was implying.

“I don’t like you,” Mark said to her, even though he was fighting a smile.

“You don’t have to like me. You just have to stop asking so many questions and do what you’re told,” she sassed.

Orion chuckled. “On the real though, do you know who’s coming?”

“I was told that it’s a small event for about thirty people maximum. If any more than that come, then we’ll look into accommodating them later, but for now, that’s it,” Aerie replied.

“That’s not a bad number, but I’m sure Boris wishes June was here,” Orion commented.

Mark sighed. “We all wish June was here.”

“Tell me about her,” Aerie requested, hoping to lighten the mood.

It seemed to work as their faces brightened at the request. “She’s short and mean.”

“What?” Aerie giggled.

“It’s true. She’s also bossy, kind-hearted, powerful, a big baby and she genuinely thinks she’s funny, even though we all know she isn’t. She’s the sassiest person you’ll ever meet,” Maya informed.

“Though I think you might give her a run for her money,” Dante joked, which everyone else agreed with.

“The two of you might actually be the best of friends. You’re alike in many ways, and something tells me that she’s going to use you to get to Max,” Faith said knowingly. Everyone laughed in agreement.

“All in all, June is probably the greatest person you’ll ever meet. There’s just so much to her and she loves so wholeheartedly that it’s hard to feel unwanted around her. She changed the heart of one of the coldest people on earth, and she brought all of us together. She’s the strongest person we know,” Mark said sombrely.

Silence settled onto the room as everyone stopped moving around, taking in Mark’s words. Aerie looked around her and she could not only see the love that these people had for Juniper, but also the longing for her presence. They missed her, and she wished in that moment that she could do something to help in getting the girl back.

These people were now her family, and with how close she’d learnt Juniper was to her mate, she knew that the girl was her family too now.

“I’m really sorry that she isn’t here today guys,” she pierced the silence.

“That’s alright dear. It isn’t your fault,” Gail said quietly.

“Still, I’m the one who asked you to tell me about her, and now everyone’s in a mood,” Aerie pointed out.

“We just miss her little one, but we certainly won’t let that take away from the spirit of today. Boris has been waiting too long for this day,” Balthazar joked.

“Don’t we know it!” the guys agreed with him.

Boris hadn’t shut up about finally turning two hundred for months.

“Does anyone know if Avan and Zak are doing ok?” Mark questioned as they continued setting up.

“Nope, and there’s no real way of finding out until someone comes back from the Underworld to tell us,” Dante replied.

“On that note, does anyone know if Max is coming?” Orion asked.

“Was he made aware of today’s plans?” Aerie asked in confusion.

“Well, you’re the one in charge,” Orion pointed out.

“She also isn’t fully mated to him, so they have no way of communicating,” Mark reminded.

Orion raised an eyebrow. “Except none of us know what Aerie is, so for all we know, she’s powerful enough to not need a mate bond to communicate.”

Something that she hadn’t thought of.

“I’m standing right here,” she commented.

“Sorry. I was just curious, that’s all,” Orion apologized.

“That’s fine,” she said.

Mark chuckled. “Still not revealing what you are?”

“Not a chance,” she smirked.

They laughed and continued setting up while making jokes and having a good time. It was a great distraction for all of them to find themselves laughing after such a long time. For once, they allowed themselves to not feel any guilt at enjoying themselves.

“Ooh, I just remembered what I wanted to ask earlier,” Aerie said, jumping up randomly. They were almost done with setting up.

“You know, some of us may never make it to two hundred, so you might want to ask us before we die,” Mark taunted, earning himself a glare while everyone else sniggered.

They were all getting used to the banter between the two, something Faith wasn’t jealous of, simply because she’d already picked up on the fact that Aerie filled the void in her mate’s life that his sister had left behind.

“Shut up! I wanted to ask why we’re all staying in a castle and who the castle belongs to,” Aerie questioned.

“It’s not a castle,” Balthazar commented.

Aerie was amused. “Mhmm, sure. I’m guessing it belongs to you?”

“It isn’t a castle,” Balthazar insisted, scowling.

“Are you saying that to convince us or yourself?” Dante questioned.

“It’s not a castle, right?” Balthazar said, this time audibly unsure.

“It’s a castle,” they all said before laughing.

The old man sighed. “Look, when I bought it, it was during a time when owning a castle wasn’t such a far-fetched concept.”

“Why do I feel like you’re probably some duke or sir in the human world?” Aerie asked suspiciously.

When they were met by silence, they knew she’d hit it spot on. “She’s right?”

“How else was I going to buy a whole castle without raising flags in their world?” Balthazar defended.

Mark was in stitches. “Oh man, Sir Balthazar Beinvenido. Definitely has a ring to it.”

“The whole bunch of you are childish,” Balthazar commented while everyone continued to laugh. Even his mate couldn’t help herself.

“Well, I for one think that it’s pretty epic that you own a castle. I mean, it’s not every day that one meets a non-royal with a castle. That also just means you’re pretty loaded, and I mean, who can be mad at that?” Aerie comforted.

“Aerie actually has a point. We wouldn’t be able to do half the things that we’re able to if it weren’t for Balthazar and Mateo’s wealth,” Mark pointed out.

Faith scowled. “Where does Mateo get so much money by the way?”

“Aside from passed down family wealth, he’s got investments and businesses all over the world. He’s a silent investor to all his businesses since majority of them are with humans,” Orion informed.

“Not even I knew that, and I lived there for most of my life,” Maya admitted.

“He doesn’t like talking about such things. He always chooses to assure everyone that they’re in good hands without getting into the nitty gritty details,” Orion said.

“So, when are we going to discuss what happened yesterday?” Dante asked.

“I’ve been waiting for someone to bring that up,” Mark stated.

“Wait! What happened? I thought you said there was an attack at Vista but you guys handled it,” Gail questioned.

Balthazar sighed. “It was half the truth. We were engrossed in a short battle yes, but Mateo made a surprise appearance, except he wasn’t alone.”

“He was with the imposter and he proceeded to tell us that the imposter is actually his brother,” Mark added.

“What? Teo doesn’t have a brother,” Maya denied.

“That’s what I said, but Maya you didn’t see him. He’s pretty sold on the whole thing,” Orion commented.

“Maybe it’s the truth though,” Dante argued.

Strange looks shot his way and he sighed. “Think about it this way, the two of them are identical. If it weren’t for the hair and eyes, we’d basically think that they’re the same person. Also, how much do we really know about Mateo?”

“We grew up with him, so I’d say a lot,” Orion responded.

“I don’t mean Mateo the man. I mean Mateo the supernatural. Are we all really going to just forget the fact that he’s got the most powerful wolf in the supernatural world? More powerful than the werewolf royals? Stuff like that just doesn’t happen without a bigger reason involved,” Dante pointed out.

“He did mention that there’s a lot we don’t know about him, even if he insisted that he isn’t telling us any more than that,” Mark noted.

“Did anyone pick up anything on the imposter?” Gail asked.

“Nope! He’s scent free, which I’m guessing is a power of his. Also, am I the only one who picked up that he called Mateo Tero and not Teo?” Orion questioned.

“Could’ve easily been a slip of the tongue?” Faith offered.

“Nah, I don’t think that’s it. There’s genuinely more to this than we know, and I’m actually going to admit that I’m kind of worried. Mateo isn’t known for making rational decisions when his moods have been tested, and I think it’s safe to say that we all agree that right now, he’s probably at his most unstable. Who knows what he’s really up to?” Mark asked.

“And it doesn’t make situations any better that he’s travelling with his so called brother,” Orion added.

“I see all of that. I’m still stuck on the growl he released when Max’s name was mentioned. Something tells me that he and Max shouldn’t be in the same space any time soon,” Dante stated.

Aerie was instantly worried. “What did Max do?”

“He may have locked Mateo up when Roman and Marissa mated so that he wouldn’t be a danger to anyone else,” Orion told her.

“Though the fact that he’s travelling with the imposter answers our questioning on how he possibly escaped,” Balthazar noted.

“Do you think the imposter has somehow poisoned him?” Aerie asked.

“It’s a possibility because at this point in time, we really don’t know what we’re dealing with here, and until we have an idea, anything flies,” Mark replied.

“This is getting depressing. Not that I don’t love my cousin or don’t want him to get his mate back, but today we promised ourselves that we’d only be concentrating on Boris and having a good time. Let’s stick to that and we’ll talk about everything else at another time,” Maya suggested.

Everyone was on board with the plan and they eventually finished setting up. With everything in place, they split up to go and get ready, agreeing to meet back at six in the evening.

They’d all just arrived when Auriela walked into the room with Boris. He couldn’t believe the amount of effort they ended up making for him, let alone everyone who was actually in attendance.

On top of everyone who had helped with setting up, the werewolf royals, the vampire royals and surprisingly King Tristan were in attendance. The King of the Ocean was really seeking answers with regards to his son.

“I haven’t seen Draxlon in days now,” he stated.

“He’s probably in the Underworld,” Orion told him.

King Tristan scowled. “He can’t survive in the Underworld.”

“My daughter apparently made it so that it’s possible for him to. Don’t worry Tristan. He’s fine,” Balthazar told him.

“I will take your word for it,” King Tristan mumbled.

“Jay, are you ok? You seem like you’re a million miles away,” Maya asked him.

He sighed. “I found out something that I’m still trying to wrap my mind around.”

“What’s up?” Dante asked.

When he wasn’t saying anything, King Rixon cleared his throat. “He found out that he’s our missing son.”

“What?” was the resounding response.

“Jacob is the Prince of the Werewolf Kingdom,” Ophelia confirmed.

Before they could truly react to the news, Domitius felt strange. He clutched his chest, unsure of what was going on, until he realized that his parents looked the same way. They all shared a look of terror.

“Love, what’s wrong?” Crystal panicked.

“I’m not sure. There’s so much panic,” he replied.

“Paolo?” Balthazar questioned when the King’s eyes widened.

“The Vampire Kingdom is under attack.”