SWNOVELS Chapter 92: Research!
Kenzi had finished lunch, and she was sitting in her bed watching Elijah and Kenneth looking through all the books.
“Elijah?” She called him.
“Yes Kenzi!” He called back but didn’t lift his head.
“What are you doing?” She asked,
“Translating Elder Futhark” Elijah replied,
“What’s that?” She asked, her face scrunching
“It is an old runic alphabet used by vikings” Elijah answered her,
“Vi-kinks?” Kenzi asked her interest perking,
“Yes vikings,” he got up and showed her some of the symbols so she could get a better idea of what he was talking about.
“They look like s-sm-smb….funny little marks” She replied,
“Yes they do. They are unique symbols and they represent twenty four letters. Some represent double letters like this one…. Is both the letter c and k.” Elijah said, enunciating the word she stumbled over while showing her the mark.
“Wow!” She said, as she looked at some of the other ones. “And they writed with these?” She asked, looking up at him.
“Yes they did” Elijah smiled at her as she turned back to the book.
“Can I help?” Kenzi asked,
“Of course!” Elijah moved from the bed and copied the runes that were written on their chests for her as well as the letters they corresponded with and found a book she could use to research in.
“We are trying to figure out what word they spell in english, but we aren’t having much luck” He told her and she nodded her head as she took the book and looked at the runes he had given her.
“I don’t think she is doing research” Kenneth said quietly after a bit as they listened to Kenzi giggle. Every time she did it he would fight back his laughter.
“No!” Elijah agreed, shaking his head, the smile tugging at his lips. He wasn’t sure what she was doing over there in the bed, but she was enjoying herself. He would periodically look over and see her hand moving across the paper he gave her. What’s Luna doing? Enjoying herself! Doing what? I don’t know! Makes research more fun! You don’t like research? It’s boring! It’s necessary! Doesn’t make it any less boring! Not everything can be fun Asmo! Why the hell not? If nothing was boring there would be no fun! You know what’s fun? Am I going to regret asking? Impudent Elijah! I need to teach you a new word! What? Why? What’s fun Asmo? Making things bleed! Yes it is! You know what’s funner? What? Making things cry while we make them bleed! There is nothing to bleed right now! We can find something! Like what….and don’t say Queeny! FUCK!
“How is your research going, piccola?” Kenneth had to ask her. He was getting curious as to what she was doing.
“Um….” Was all she could say when her head snapped up, guilt written all over her face. Elijah could only smile, while Kenneth bit back a laugh.
“What are you doing, if it is not research?” Kenneth asked. Kenzi held up the paper and he could see the markings all over it.
“You are writing in runic” Kenneth nodded, Elijah looked over as well again he could only smile. He could also point out half a dozen spelling mistakes, but he wasn’t going to do that, she was trying.
“I don’t think it makes a word” She said.
“I think you might be right, not enough vowels” Kenneth agreed, releasing a small frustrated sigh.
“If it’s not a word then what is it?” Elijah asked, putting the book down that he was looking at.
“I don’t know, but I am going cross eyed,” Kenneth said, running his hands over his face.
“Adonis has this s-sim-si….”
“Sym-bol” Elijah again enunciated the word for her.
“Yeah, sym-bol” Kenzi held up the book she was looking at. It was a tree with large branches and three roots with a circle around it.
“Yggdrasil….tree of life” Elijah read a brief paragraph on it “In Norse mythology, it is said that this tree stood in the middle of the world and its branches hung over all nine realms, should the tree shake or fall, so will the realms.”
“That would make sense. Alpha Adonis would be the tree, he binds our worlds together and without him there would be no kingdom.” Kenneth remarked.
“He is the tree, making the normals, the cats and the bears the roots” Elijah added.
“He has this one too” Kenzi flipped to another mark. Three interlocking triangles.
“Valknut, known as the symbol of Odin or the knot of the slain warrior.” Elijah said.
“This one too” Kenzi showed him the symbol of two wolves, one eating the sun, the other the moon.
“Wolf symbol!” Elijah said, he searched through the books in front of him looking for the one in which he read about it.
“Wolf symbol carries contradictory meanings. For instance Fenrir, he was a giant monstrous wolf in Norse mythology. He was responsible for killing Odin, he was so powerful that the gods feared him and chained him up. Though he was feared he stands for strength, destiny, ferocity and inevitability, there was a prophecy that foretold that he would kill Odin.” Elijah explained, he was about to say more until she spoke first.
“Fen.... Fenr.... Fender wasn’t a monster he was pro-prob-prolly jus hungry.” Kenzi huffed. That did have them laughing.
“You’re probably right,” Kenneth replied.
“It is said that Odin also had wolves, Geri and Freki….” Elijah had to pause there as Kenzi started giggling over the names.
“Sorry!” She blushed,
“It’s alright. They represented guardianship, ritual, loyalty and spirit. Wolves were a double edged sword so to speak for vikings, they could be a positive representing bravery, loyalty, protection and wisdom. If one was seen on the battlefield, vikings took that as a good sign they would carry the fallen warrior to Valhalla to sit with Odin. Vikings would rather die on their feet in battle then on their backs. Or they were seen as an omen for destruction and chaos. When we first discovered what the markings were I read about a group of vikings known as Ulfhednar. They were so fierce in battle that they influenced many European folklore about werewolves. With skin dyed black they wore the coats of wolves, but there is a prophecy about them saying that one day these men will rise so powerful that they will be able to take on the form of the beast.” Elijah placed the book down in front of Kenneth.
“Werewolf folklore also stems from Greek mythology. Lycaon” Elijah said,
“But that was punishment” Kenneth told him,
“For what?” Kenzi asked,
“He did something really bad” Kenneth said, “He tried to trick Zeus the god of the gods into eating human flesh”
“Eww!” Kenzi scrunched her face and stuck her tongue out at that. Kenneth wouldn’t have said something but the little pixie was riveted to what they were saying.
“That gave birth to a different style of werewolf folklore. One in which werewolves feast on humans.” Elijah added as he too was watching her fascination.
“Like the Wolfman!” Kenzi asked.
“A lot of movies were based off of it.” Kenneth nodded.
“Biscuit eaters!” Kenzi huffed, causing both men to chuckle.
Picking their books back up again they continued the research, but it was futile. The markings on their bodies did not make a word no matter which way they placed them and the frustrations were starting to grow.
“Elijah?” Kenzi asked, confusion evident in her voice.
“Yes Kenzi!” He was frustrated and he tried not to let it show in his voice. It wasn’t her he was irritated with, it was their progress.
“How come Jackson and Tyler has the same sym-bol?” She showed him the M on the paper he gave her with the symbols written on them. “It’s not on you or Adonis!” She added when he continued to stare at her. The wheels were turning. What’s wrong Elijah! Asmo was in his head. I think we’ve been looking at this all wrong! What? How? It’s not a word! What is it?
“Piccola, what does it mean?” Kenneth asked, drawing her attention to him.
“Um....p-pa-part-n-ner-s-hip, pa-rt-ner-s-hip, part-ner-s-hip?” She looked back at him seeing if she got the word right.
“Partnership!” He nodded.
“Um....t-w-w-in g-g-ods, tw-in gods? Oh....maybe cause their wolfies are twins” Kenzi exclaimed excitedly then her face dropped when she saw Elijah’s. He was thinking. That makes sense! What makes sense? Elijah what’s going on? Asmodeus grew cranky that Elijah wasn’t answering him. Our Luna is a genius!
“You….beautiful little genius!” Elijah said then started looking through the books again trying to find the one he had that had the meanings behind the runes.
“What’d I do?” Keniz asked, confusion written boldly across her face.
“I think you figured it out, piccola.” Kenneth replied.
“Oh! What did I figer out?” Kenzi asked,
“The markings!” Kenneth replied.
“Oh, yay!” Kenzi smiled brightly. She didn’t know how she did that.
“Care to fill everyone else in, amico” Kenneth commented as he watched Elijah frantically search the books trying to locate the one he wanted.
“It’s not a word. It’s the symbols themselves. Yes they represent letters but they hold a deeper meaning. And if I can find that fucking book then I’ll know what the meanings are.” Elijah was about ready to flip the table; he was frustrated and he couldn’t find it.
“Like the book you gave to piccola,” Kenneth said pointing towards the book in her hands. Elijah’s head snapped up and sure enough there was the book he was looking for.
“Yes, like the one I gave Kenzi” he said, his cheeks slightly flushing.
“Breathe amico!” Kenneth was trying not to laugh, but it was quite entertaining sometimes to watch Elijah get flustered.
“That is a bit twisted Kenneth” Elijah commented when he heard the sounds of the first chuckle.
“Mi dispiace! I think I might be spending too much time with you amico. Your resolve is quite impeccable so it is uncharacteristic of you to get flustered like that and it may be a little entertaining. ” Kenneth replied,
“Nice to see I have that kind of influence over you,” Elijah sparred back. To which Kenneth laughed some more.
“Who else has matching symbols?” Elijah asked,
“You all has the funny Y,” Kenzi said. Elijah looked for a pen and a piece of paper but the only thing he could locate was a permanent marker. Standing up he moved towards the wall.
“Elijah you can not….we’re going to write on the walls now. I don’t think Alpha Kennedy is going to be happy about that, but ok” Kenneth said, nodding as he watched him draw a table on the wall, putting their names in the top box of each column. He placed the M under Jackson and Tyler And the funny Y under all of them.
“You all also have the lower case n and and the arrow pointing up” Kenneth replied.
“You and Adonis has the t and weird arrow pointing….that way” Kenzi said motioning in the direction when she found another two matches.
“Tyler and Alpha Adonis have the lightening bolt” Kenneth said,
“And Jackson and Adonis has the line with the bump,” Kenzi added.
“Alpha Adonis is the only one with the F.” When Elijah was finished they looked at the table written on the wall.
“We know Ehwaz the M means twins, which is why Jackson and Tyler are the only ones that have it. What does Elhaz mean….the funny Y?” Elijah asked when he looked at Kenzi.
“P-pr-aw-t-ec-t-t-i-on” Kenzi shook her head, she didn’t know that word. Kenneth moved to help her and she pointed to the word.
“Protection!” He said. Elijah wrote that down,
“Teiwaz, the pointing up arrow”
“W-w-war….” Again Kenzi shook her head,
“Warrior!” Kenneth helped her
“W-war-eeor….war-eeor” Kenzi repeated,
“Uruz, the n”
“S-s-st-ren-g-t-h” Even Kenzi had to cringe at that, she was trying not to be upset with herself, but it was her fault, she knows she should practise but she doesn’t.
“Th” Kenneth helped, taking hold of her hand and offering her reassurance. She was doing a wonderful job at trying.
“Th….st-ren-g-th” Kenzi looked at him and he nodded “St-ren-gth, stren-gth” And Kenneth nodded again.
“Naudhiz….the t”
“S-had-ow,” Kenzi replied.
“Sh,” Kenneth corrected.
“Sh-ad-ow, shad-ow, shadow” Kenzi looked at Kenneth and he smiled down at her, taking a seat beside her in the bed.
“Shadow!” Kenneth nodded.
“Elijah, the front yard….bring medical”
“On my way!”
Elijah paused there, cursing slightly under his breath, as his Alpha’s voice came through the link. Something had happened and it sounded bad if medical attention was required.
“What is going on?” Kenneth asked,
“Medical assistance, I have been called to the front yard. You’ll have to carry on” Elijah handed the marker to Kenneth and walked out the door to gather supplies. He didn’t know what he was walking into, but he grabbed everything he could think of. What if Tyler bit Queeny? That thought made him pause then he grabbed more items. That would be a bad thing! Would it really? Yes Asmo it would! Really? Yes! Are you sure? You’re not sure! Shut up Asmo! Impudent Elijah!
“What happened?” Adonis asked as he looked at the others.
“I don’t know!” Kane replied,
“Tyler lost control of Bal,” Carter replied. “We were in the kitchen having lunch and Jackson came through the link saying Queen Dax was heading our way and Tyler bolted out the back door. When we rounded to the front he saw her on the porch and just lost control. I punched him to take his focus off her and he told me to run so I did.” Carter added as he watched his friend tremble on the ground.
“Carter collided with me. I tried to command Tyler to stand down, but he turned on me and advanced. I tried louder and he charged then Jackson tackled him. What the hell happened?” Kane finished the explanation of events.
“Your Delta Saved your Queen, you saved your Delta and Jackson saved you all.” Adonis replied. “ELIJAH!”
“I’m here!” He was already at Jackson’s side looking over his injuries, caring for the more serious ones before he would move onto Tyler.
“Sedate his beast” Adonis ordered, Elijah looked up at his Alpha then back at Tyler and nodded.
“What?” Kane too looked at Adonis.
“Bal is too unstable right now, he’ll try again. That being said this is the only time it can be done” Adonis commented as he moved to Jackson’s side getting him to his feet after Elijah was done with him. Damon met Adonis at the bottom of the stairs and picked up the slack on the opposite side.
“Exam eight is open” Elijah called to them as he pulled a syringe from the bag he had with him and a small vial of something. Pulling the cap with his teeth he inserted it into the vial watching the barrel fill with the required dose it would take to sedate Tyler’s wolf. Then he plunged it into his arm. Finishing his assessment quickly and repacking the bag. He got Tyler to his feet. Carter moved to the other side of him and helped get Tyler to medical. Kane looked at Dax, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly gaped as she stared back at him. He moved towards the house following the others, but found he was unable to look at her any longer.
“Wait for me in our room” Kane said as he passed right by her.
“Kenaz, the arrow pointing that way” Kenneth was now standing at the wall, ready to write.
“Um….fff-i-re ffff-ire fffire and k-now-l-ed-ge….k-now-led-ge” Kenzi looked back up at him.
“Knowledge” Kenneth wrote that down. Sowulo the lightning bolt?”
“V-i-s-i-on….vis-ion?” Kenzi said, Kenneth kept the smile on his face. He understood, he went through this with Marco, to get the few words he does know in English. He knows exactly how hard and trying it can be. And if she never received any formal education, just a few lessons, then she was doing quite remarkable.
“Vision….very good” Kenneth praised her, and she beamed brightly at him. “Thurisaz the line with the bump”
“Um….b-b-rrr-uu-t….f-f-or-k” Kenneth furrowed his brow and crossed over to her to take a look and she pointed it out to him.
“Brute force” He told her,
“Bru-te for-ce” She repeated.
“Si, good job.” Moving back to the wall he wrote that down. “And the final marking Ansuz the F”
“Odin,” Kenzi replied confidently, that word she knew.
“Ok, so what do they mean?” Kenneth asked as he stood back and looked at the wall.
“War-eeor cause they all fight” Kenzi replied,
“Ok, that makes sense. Protection, they protect the pack. Jackson and Tyler’s twin wolves.” Kenneth said
“They’re all strong” Kenzi added,
“They also have individual strengths,” Kenneth added to what she was saying. “Brute force, power….”
“Jackson’s a breaker, he uses power to break stuff” Kenzi exclaimed, cutting him off. “Sorry!” She cringed a little, but she was just excited that they were figuring it out.
“Don’t be. It stands to reason he and Alpha Adonis would have the brute force rune. So if we were going by that, then Elijah’s shadow rune is because he’s in the shadow faction. And Tyler’s vision rune is because he’s a seeker, insight.” Kenneth said.
“What about the screamers and the whispers?” Kenzi asked.
“Rune means secrets, and you whisper secrets. So the runes themselves represent the wisps. May I see that per favore?” Kenzi nodded and handed him the book.
“Ok Ansuz also represents communication, mouth”
“The screamers!” Kenzi said, her excitement was high but the feeling that washed over the room wasn’t on the same level it was earlier. Kenneth looked over at her and he could see she was getting tired, but was fighting to stay awake.
“Si piccola. The sirens are used as the first line of defence to communicate when danger is approaching.” Kenneth said agreeing.
“Did we figre it out?” Kenzi asked, fighting back a yawn.
“I believe we did piccola. I think each one of them carries the rune of the faction they fall under. And Alpha Adonis carries them all….” Kenneth replied as he moved the books from her bed and helped her settle down.
“Cause he’s the mack daddy!” Kenzi blurted. Kenneth released a low chuckle but nodded carefully tucking her leg under the covers he pulled them up and turned down the lights for her.
“Si! You should get some rest now piccola, it has been a busy afternoon and you are tired.” Kenneth said,
“I’m not that tir….” Kenzi drifted off to sleep before she could finish protesting about being tired and Kenneth had to fight back a laugh only to hear a deep one at the door.
“Alpha Adonis,” Kenneth said.
“Hello Kenneth” He replied,
Adonis had stood there quietly observing the pair, he felt her hushed excitement at helping the men figure out the runes. If she wasn’t injured he would have felt it outside. He arched his brow when he saw the writing on the wall.
“Elijah got a little excited when we figured out the runes,” Kenneth explained.
“Kennedy will be thrilled when he sees this,” Adonis said, looking at them.
“Elijah will have to double check, I am not the strongest at research. But we figure the runes have something to do with the factions you are all broken down into. Brute force for berserkers, shadow for shadows, communication for the sirens, vision for the seekers, and the runes themselves for the wisps. The only one we don’t understand is this one. Kenaz represents both fire and knowledge.” Kenneth informed him. “These ones are protection of the pack, warrior in battle and your strength. You carry them all….” Kenneth was saying.
“Because I’m the mack daddy” Adonis finished for him with a smile on his face. Again Kenneth fought back a laugh
“Mi dispiace! Forgive me” Kenneth said, but he couldn’t fight the smile.
“It’s alright. The first time she attempted it she called me a crack daddy, wasn’t what she was going for, didn’t make it any less funny.” That did have Kenneth laughing.
“Jackson’s influence?” He asked.
“Yes! How did she do with research?” Adonis asked, turning to his mate. He was concerned that she would get frustrated with herself for not being able to do it. Elijah had told him what happened with the forms she was given and he didn’t want her to go through that again. His mate wasn’t stupid, she was never given a chance, something that he needs to correct.
“She did quite well. It fascinated her and she was quite eager to learn and very quick to put things together. She was the one that figured out the runes. Good thing too, Elijah was ready to flip the table. Her reading is where she struggled the most. She knows what she wants to say, but can not read it when it is put in front of her.” Kenneth explained.
“In time she will learn, but it will take patience and correcting her. Kenzi is quite intelligent, she has accomplished so many things without an education. She’ll be unstoppable when she receives one.” Elijah spoke confidently of his Luna, Adonis could only smile, it seemed his Gamma was already working on a plan to help her.
“And I was not going to flip the table.” He added when he entered the room.
“Elijah, you forgot you gave piccola the book you were looking for. I thought forgetfulness was supposed to happen in old age.” Kenneth countered,
“I may have struggled a little bit maintaining my composure” Elijah replied,
“You were ready to flip the table amico” Kenneth shot at him again,
“Don’t look at me he’s your friend, and last I checked that is what friends are supposed to do” Adonis said when Elijah looked at him.
“I think Elephant needs a friend” Elijah stated,
“You and I both know that is not a possibility any more” Kenneth fired at him.
“I read one part of the translation wrong, who’s to say I didn’t read another” Elijah fired at him “It is a theory worth testing”
“Don’t even think it demon boy” Kenneth shot out, a wry smile crossing his face.
“Fine, just remember I can make you bleed thirty seven different ways without even touching you” Elijah replied, causing Kenneth to laugh.
“It’s thirty seven now, you told Damon it was only eighteen” Kenneth sparred,
“I never gave Damon an exact number, if he said eighteen then he vastly underestimates my abilities or he was just trying to make himself feel better. I said several, and last I checked thirty seven classifies as several” Elijah responded with a smirk of his own.
“You two have an interesting friendship. How are Jackson and Tyler?” Adonis asked.
“I set four of Jackson’s ribs. His left knee, his right elbow and his clavicle are broken, not to mention six of his fingers and a cracked cheek bone. Tyler’s right orbital bone, left cheek bone and the left side of his jaw are cracked. His shoulder was dislocated, he has a break in his ulna and wrist on his left arm. Eight fractured ribs six needed to be set. His right knee was dislocated and both his femur and tibia in his left leg have cracks. They both carry various bruising and other minor injuries and are out of commission until they can shift and heal. Bal is sedated, Tyler is sleeping and he is in the same room with Jackson who is keeping an eye on him, along with Carter, Marco, Johnny and Damon. And Alpha Kane is in the hall.” Elijah informed him.
“Sounds like a party.” Adonis replied,
“Not yet but I’m sure they’ll make it one. I also placed the violin on the table next to Tyler, hopefully Bal is not too far gone” Elijah said.
“There’s always hope,” Adonis remarked.
“What happened?” Kenneth asked, his eyes widened as he listened to Elijah list off Jackson and Tyler’s injuries.
“Trying to stay away from….” Elijah paused, he didn’t know what to call the pit viper that was responsible for his Luna being in the hospital bed. He knows what he wants to call her, but didn’t think Kenneth would take too kindly to that, but he most certainly did not want to call her a Luna, she wasn’t deserving of the title. “Tyler ran into her. He lost control of Bal.” Elijah said. He decided that calling her nothing was his safest bet. The look on Kenneth’s face said he understood the struggle.
“When a demon loses control they lose control. They will stop at nothing to get to their target, and anyone in their way won’t be for long, unless it’s another demon. Bal was hell bent on taking Queeny out until Carter hit him, Alpha Kane tried to command him, but it was Jackson that stepped in the way bore the brunt of his aggression” Adonis continued filling him in. Unlike Elijah he had no issues whatsoever calling her whatever he wanted.
“I called for Cage, Gage, Tommy, and Xander. As well as Derrick, Mike, Bo and….Brina” Elijah informed him. “I sent the plane for them this morning and they should be here within the hour.”
“You sent for Brina?” Adonis asked him,
“Not by choice, she was the one that picked up the phone when I called Bo” Elijah replied.
“Who’s Brina?” Kenneth asked,
“One of Elijah’s former bed bunnies. She was a regular if I remember correctly.” Adonis looked at his Gamma, the man showed not one ounce of guilt over his former proclivities.
“That’s only because I couldn’t get rid of the little parasite,” Elijah commented quietly.
“Then he found Kristi, but Brina was….attached to him. Elijah is the committed type and shot her down cold” Adonis explained.
“I wasn’t that cold!” Elijah said,
“You told her and I quote ‘I have no further use for you, so go away.’” Adonis replied to him.
“Sounds pretty cold to me amico” Kenneth remarked.
“I might not have been as polite as I could have been,” Elijah defended himself. We made her cry! She wouldn’t take the hint! She made our ears bleed! She got it after that! She was fun! We have Kristi! Kristi….! NO ASMO! FINE ELIJAH….what about Carter? If Elijah could mentally facepalm he would right now. No! But, but, but Elijah, we like him! No Asmo! We’re his type! No, just no! But Eli-jah! Stop crying! E-E-Eli-jah! You are an emotionally manipulative wolf! What? You just miss our mate, and when we see her maybe she’ll do that thing you like! REALLY! Maybe, but you have to be a good boy! Yeah, I’ll be a good boy. You tell her I’m a good boy. You’re gonna tell her I’m a good boy….right? Elijah….right? You’re gonna tell her? We’ll see! I’ll be good!
“In Elijah’s defence, Brina needs….to be told things bluntly. That might have been a little too blunt, she is also a highly emotional siren and left Elijah deaf for four days, but she did get the hint” Adonis said,
“She is also emotionally manipulative, it took Jackson four tries to break it off with her and she still has a thing for him. Then she tried to use Tyler to make Jackson jealous, she deafened them both.” Elijah countered “Tyler didn’t go for it and Jackson didn’t get jealous” He added, when he saw the look cross Kenneth’s face.
“And now she’s latched onto Bo” Adonis rolled his eyes.
“Yes, two emotionally charged sirens, should be a good time. One has attachment issues and the other has a wandering eye” Elijah stated bluntly.
“Should be great times, make sure you watch your asses,” Adonis warned. He took one last look at his mate then left the room.
“Where are you off to now?” Kane asked as Adonis stepped back into the hallway and headed in the opposite direction of him.
“Primrose Pack!” Adonis replied, “I need to inform Ethan his son died”
“You hadn’t done that yet?” Kane fell into step beside him.
“I thought getting back here was a little more important, good thing I did. Now here’s what you need to know. Tyler has always wanted to be an older brother, Bal as well. It’s the only thing they’ve ever wanted and Kenzi gave them that gift when she asked them to be hers. It is a position they hold with the highest regard. To know something is one thing, to see it is something entirely different. And to see Queeny walking freely around the house while knowing their baby sister is laid up in a hospital bed, Bal’s aggression became too much for Tyler to handle. He’s still learning and held on as long as he could, but once he lost control that was it. Horseshoes up your fucking ass though. The tussel Jackson and Tyler had, spent a portion of that aggression and the violin will help with the rest of it. You owe me $4600, I figured you could pay for half” Adonis replied. “Don’t look shocked, the violin Tyler has back home is a stradivarius….you don’t want to know how much that cost. But the sound it produces calms Bal, so the sound of this one needs to be on par with it for it to do its job properly. I had them play every violin in the shop. Heffler is a good brand.” He added when he saw the look cross Kane’s face. It was quickly wiped off when he heard the violin he had at home was one of the best.
“I am well aware of how much a stradivarius costs.” Kane said, “I now also understand why he didn’t bring it with him.” Everything around them stopped when the first notes flooded the hallway. Elijah and Kenneth now stood outside Kenzi’s door as well listening to the sound. Then the song played.
“Is that….” Kane started to say as the music swirled around them.
“The violin solo from Schindler’s List” Adonis replied, before he could finish. A smile on his face he turned and left them all in the medical ward enraptured with the music.
Ok, that was the right call! Yes it was! How did you know? Tyler is still learning and can only hold Bal off for so long, and it was just a matter of time before the two had a run in! Let’s hope this works! Tyler will be fine, Bal’s blowout with Ko was enough to spend a good portion of his pent up aggression towards Queeny and the violin will take care of the rest! You still sedated Bal! That was a precaution, I don’t know how long it will take for the violin to do its job. This will buy him some time! Delta protects Luna! Brother protects sister! What? He was protecting his sister and our tiny dancer will always be that first! Adonis sat in the backseat of the SUV conversing with Odin. He ran into Cage and Gage on their way into the house, and they insisted on joining him to Eric’s pack, they were itching for some fun. He sent the others to find Elijah in the medical ward. He’ll be thrilled. That was kind of a dick move! Not my fault Brina picked up the phone! Still a dick move! He could have hung up! Still. A. Dick. Move!
“Relax boys, we are not there for a long time. Just long enough to deliver the bad news and leave” Adonis said to his two men in the front seat. They were discussing the things they were planning when they got to the territory. War was declared after all.
“Thirty minutes tops” Adonis answered before one of them could ask how long they were going to be there for.
“That’s more than enough time for fun,” Cage said from the front, bumping his brother’s fist.
“Little bored back home?” Adonis asked.
“Lil bit” Gage nodded. As he pulled up the driveway to the Primrose Pack House.
“Yes, it has always been this ugly” Adonis said.
“Not as tacky as the other house” Cage said as he took in more of its features. Gage was opening the back door for his Alpha as Cage was watching the grounds. They had caught the interest of the pack members and they could see warriors in the trees waiting to see what was going to happen.
“Do they really think they could stop us?” Cage asked,
“Yes!” Adonis replied,
“Morons” Gage shook his head. “First to take their hand off the car?” Cage nodded a smile slipping across his face as he placed his hand on the passenger side door.
“Have fun boys” Adonis called over his shoulder as he headed up the steps.
“Hello Ezra, you must be thrilled to be on door duty” Adonis said as he walked right into the house, not waiting for the invite. He wasn’t surprised when the door opened for him. The warriors would link Eric and their guards are going to be up. He had no intentions of doing anything, but his men outside that was another story.
“Try not to leave a puddle” Adonis continued down the hall towards the office, again not pausing when the door opened for him. He didn’t stop moving until he was standing in front of Eric. Ethan, Eldon and Eliot were present as well, standing on either side of him.
“Condolences Eric!” Adonis spoke, flames igniting in his eyes.
“Condolences?” Eric questioned him, there have been no other deaths aside from the eight at the border that he knew about. He looked to both his father and other two brothers, both shaking their heads and shrugging their shoulders. They had no idea what he was talking about.
“I am sure you know White Stone was attacked by rogues yesterday. Death was had by both sides but it wasn’t until we were removing the bodies that we made a grisly discovery.” Adonis said, reaching into his pocket and pulling the shiny metal blood covered chain. He threw it down on the desk in front of them all.
“It was discovered amongst the bodies in the woods close to the western border. Sadly we weren’t able to identify Emroy, too much carnage, but it’s coated in his blood” Adonis said.
“Emroy’s not dead” Eric shot at him picking the necklace up, his hands trembling slightly. None of them had seen Emroy since the day before yesterday, but he wasn’t dead, he couldn’t be.
“Have you seen him? Did he make it back here? We searched the woods, but came up empty” Adonis informed them, when no one answered he continued. “As best we can figure the rogues crossed your territory to get to White Stone. Makes me wonder where the fuck were your warriors and why they would let that happen”
“He’s not dead!” Eric repeated, though he tried to put force into his words, he failed.
“Emroy either tried to stop them, or he was helping them, doesn’t matter though he was caught in the crossfire, when the White Stone warriors took them out.” Adonis asked, tilting his head to the side. Eric’s hands trembled more as he held the necklace in his hands, his fingers moving across the delicate chain, looking for any sign that maybe it was ripped from his neck and that’s how Adonis got it. He took him prisoner and the crazy psychotic ninja was torturing him until he told them something.
“He’s n-n-not d-d-dead” Eric stuttered, though he never lifted his eyes to Adonis. He could only look at the blood stained necklace in his hands.
“Son, that is Emroy’s necklace. He never takes it off, you know that.” Ethan said, putting his hand on Eric’s shoulder. Eric shrugged him off and glared at him. This was his fathers fault. He caused Emroy’s death, his stupid plan to get Adonis made this happen. Seven of his brothers were gone. Seven family members, annihilated because of his father.
“Tonya should have felt it” Eliot blurted,
“He never accepted her as his mate, he just marked her to shut Ethan up. They have no bond” Adonis said. Eliot and Eldon both looked at their father. Eyes wide in shock.
“Silence speaks volumes” Adonis said when he saw Ethan looking at him. The question was right there written across his face. How did Adonis know, Emroy had no bond with Tonya? Ethan looked away, his mind racing. What was he going to do now? He was losing everything.
“This will be the last attack on White Stone, we took care of the problem.” Adonis told them, Ethan’s eyes snapped back to Adonis. He lost everything, his youngest son took his last chance at getting the life he deserved. And he did it without an ounce of remorse.
“They took someone that belonged to me and I took them back. I’m curious, how did they manage to set up camp on your southern border without any of you knowing?” Adonis asked as he eyed the men in the room. Eldon and Eliot looked at each other stunned.
“They’re on the southern border?” Eliot asked,
“Were….they were on your southern border. They were in the bluffs. Though I guess they still are, they’re just all over it now. Left a bit of a mess” Adonis replied, a sly smile lifting the right side of his mouth.
“Get out!” Eric bellowed. Adonis didn’t move, he didn’t flinch. He showed no reaction to the command.
“Just get out,” Eric begged, dropping into his chair. He clutched tightly to the necklace.
“I’ll let you mourn the loss of your brother, but our business….isn’t finished. You failed to bring me the one that was responsible for the harm brought to my mate, this pack will burn” Adonis said as he moved towards the door. “Again my condolences….Eric” with that said he walked out of the office.