Chapter 21

I stood there frozen in my spot as I made eye contact with the very familiar brown eyes of my mothers. Then, I saw them light up, and a huge grin adorned her face. She immediately brought me and smashed me into a hug. I grunted out loud. At first, my limbs didn't want to move, but I soon reciprocated the hug.

"Oh, my baby Lareina. I have missed you so, so much!" She pulled back and looked at me, then looked over the rest of the group.

"Come, come. Dinner is almost ready." My mom rushed us inside. "Lareina is home!" My mom shouted out into the massive home. I swear I heard her voice echo. I soon heard, what sounded like a stampede upstairs, make its way towards the stairs. I looked up and saw all of my siblings fighting one another to go down the staircase first. I chuckled at this and smiled wide. Soon I had people crashing into me, and a group hug was formed.

"We've missed you so much, Lareina!" My sister, Gracie's voice, rang out. They spoke in agreement.

"How was Europe?" I looked at them, confused for a second. Noor elbowed me, and then I remembered.

"It was beautiful. It's good to be back home and seeing all of you, though. I really missed you guys." I could feel my emotions flare a little bit, and I could tear try and prickle at my eyes, but I fought them off successfully.

"Madam, dinner is ready." A gentleman came out of nowhere.

"Come on, everyone, let's go eat and catch up." We all made our way towards the dining room. On the way there, my sister Nina locked arms with me.

"Mom, actually agreed to get maids and butlers?" I whispered in shock. My sister hummed.

"Who's the hottie? In fact, they are all hot." I looked back at Noor briefly and saw her smirking. Oh, this is going to inflate her ego to astronomical heights.

"The hot one is my girlfriend. The other two are our friends." She was about to say something, but I already knew what it was. "They are both dating each other." I cut her off again. "Yes, it's a strong, healthy relationship. Set your sights on someone else." She lightly huffed.

The dining room was massive, like the rest of the house. I still can't believe my mother agreed to have servants around the house. She's always been so strong-willed and always wanted to do everything by herself. She barely let me help.

We all found a seat, and quickly doors opened, and in poured servants carrying plates of food. I felt my stomach start to growl and my mouth water. I didn't realize how hungry I was till now.

"Smells delicious, mom." I thanked the servant as they sat the food down in front of me. I saw the young man blush. Then, I looked over and saw Noor roll her eyes.

"I wrote a cookbook, actually, so it's my recipe." Again I am shocked. She never told us her secret ingredients, and here she is now, having written a cookbook and is sharing family recipes. "Don't worry; no one still knows the secret ingredients. I always go in and have everyone leave and put the final touches on everything." She smirked and took a drink of her wine. Wait, she's drinking wine. What has happened to my mother?

"So, are you going to introduce us to your friends?" My brother Brandon spoke up. I felt bad. I just now noticed I forgot to make introductions.

"Right! Sorry. So this is Hannah, this is her girlfriend Naiomi, and this… This is my girlfriend, Noor." I looked at everyone and saw nothing but smiles.

"Wow. Look at you actually settling down. Never thought that would happen." Luke chuckled out.

Soon the table succumbed to multiple conversations. Everyone was getting to know one another. Finally, I sat back a bit and took it all in. It felt so good being at home with my family. Of course, I have found a family of sorts in the supernatural realm, but it still doesn't beat blood. I know sometimes blood isn't thicker than water, but for me, it was. I was fortunate and grateful for this.

After dinner, we were shown our rooms. We all gave our goodnights and headed to bed. I slept really well. For the first time in a while, I felt safe. I hope this lasted for a while. I hope we have a breakthrough before we've been found again.

The sun woke me up in a warm embrace. I could hear the birds chirping outside, and it honestly felt like a fairytale. Then soon, the peaceful moment slipped away.

"Luke, stop! Mom! Mom, Luke is trying to make me eat glue again." I smacked my hand over my mouth, stifling a laugh. What?

"Luke! Leave Lilly alone now, or so help me, I will come up there. And trust me, if I have to come up there, you better pray you can outrun my chancla!" I stifled a laugh again. I felt a stir and looked over at Noor to find her wide-eyed amused.

"Luke, you better listen to mom. You know that chancala flies faster than a bullet with precision." I hollered out and laughed quietly afterward.

"Fine." I heard Luke huff out and then heard a couple of doors shut. I looked over to Noor with a smile and shook my head.

"Good to know their antics haven't changed." She lifted herself up and kissed my forehead.

"You're so happy; you're glowing. I love it. I love seeing you like this." I melted into her kiss.

"I love it too. Come on, let's go get some breakfast." As we made our way out of the room, my youngest sister Violeta came up to me, signaling that she wanted to be picked up. So, of course, I obliged. How could I not with those big brown doe eyes?

We made our way downstairs to the same dining room, and soon breakfast was served. It was absolutely delicious. I don't know why but the food tasted better here. I'm going to have to get a hold of a copy of my mom's cookbook.

"They are having a little block party today. We should all go." My mom spoke out over everyone else's conversation.

"Sure, what time?" Noor asked back.

"It's around 6-7 pm." Noor smiled and looked at Hannah and Naiomi.

"Sounds perfect. We all need to go into my work today for a little bit. There are some executive issues that need to be addressed." Noor squeezed my hand. "You can stay and spend time with your family if you'd like?" I was about to answer when my sister Gracie spoke up.

"Yes, please stay back. We all miss you. It's the weekend; no one has school." I bit my lip and looked at Noor.

"It'll be okay, love; we are safe." Noor's voice rang throughout my head, addressing my fears. I was worried about her and them. What if something happened. I took a deep, calming breath swallowing my separation anxiety and fear.

"Yeah. Of course, I'll stay back and spend time with all of you." Some cheers sounded around the table, and I smiled. Everything is going to be okay.

Noor and them left not too long after breakfast. It May seem pathetic, but I already missed her. I know I'm being ridiculous, but honestly, this mate bond is no joke.

"Alright, everyone, what's first on the agenda?" Nina gave me a mischievous grin and drug me out the door. Following behind us was the rest of my siblings.

We didn't end up doing anything as wild as what her look made me believe. We mainly just helped set up for the block party. I was okay with this; it provided a much-needed distraction from the emptiness I felt without Noor by my side. Once we were finished, we all headed back inside to shower and get changed. I was in the middle of showering when I heard the door open. I tensed up at first but soon relaxed as I sensed it was Noor.

"Hey there, love. You didn't miss me too much, did you?" She slid her way into the shower with me. I looked at her and brought her into a hug.

"You have no idea. I'm so glad you're home." I pulled away and handed her the shampoo so she could wash her hair. "How'd everything go? Any progress?" I asked while spreading the body soap on my body with the loofah. Noor let out a deep sigh.

"No. We didn't translate anything. I don't know what we are going to do." I switched places with her to wash off my body.

"I'm sorry. I know it's frustrating. Let's just put this behind us for now and enjoy tonight. We don't have too many days where we can just relax." She sighed and nodded in agreement. I could feel she was still carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders, so as she was putting conditioner in her hair, I rubbed her shoulders. I could feel her muscles start to relax under my touch, and I could sense her stress started to slip away slowly.

Soon we were out of the shower, dressed, and ready to go. It was 6:30 now, and I could hear some music coming from outside the house. Noor and I made our way downstairs to find everyone ready as well. We made our way out to the block party, and there were honestly a lot of people. I saw everyone branch out, but what caught my eye the most was a young boy following my youngest sister Violeta around everywhere. He was like her shadow. Noor looked at where I was and smiled.

"Looks like your sister has found her mate." I looked at her bewildered.

"What?" I looked back at my sister smiling a goofy grin at the young boy who seemed transfixed.

"Yeah. He's a werewolf. His dad is the alpha of this pack here; he's right over there." She pointed to a man who was very tall and rugged. "They own about 5 or 6 houses in the neighborhood. They are the strongest werewolf pack anywhere. They help keep your family safe. I know they put emphasis on it since your sister will be their luna one day." I looked at her again, shocked. The amount of shit I'm learning that has me in awe is crazy.

"That is absolutely fu- Oh hey Vi, who's your friend here?" I stopped myself from cursing as I saw my sister approach me. She smiled and pushed the young boy towards me.

"This Liam. Liam is my favoritest person, besides you." She gave me a huge grin, and I saw Liam blushing. Awe, so adorable.

"Hi there, Lareina. Your sister speaks of you a lot. I'm glad I finally got to meet you." He sticks out his hand for me to shake. I wave him off and bring him into a hug.

"You're already family. Don't be so nervous." He hugged me back, and I could tell he was a lot less nervous. After that, they ran off to go play some games. Noor and I made our rounds talking to all the families here. Liam's father's name is Henry, and he has a very deep voice. He also had this very long scar on his arm. You could tell it led further up his arm, but his sleeve covered the rest. Honestly, he was intimidating, but overall a very nice guy. He talked about how all the servants are a part of his pack and did not worry that my family was very well protected. His reassurance made me feel better.

The live band was doing a great job. I believe they were playing their own songs because I didn't recognize them. The food trucks lined up everywhere smelled delicious. It took me forever to choose what to eat. Around 10 pm, everyone started packing up and heading back home. Once we got back, we all changed into pajamas and then made our way down to the movie theater to watch a scary movie. After the movie, I carried Gracie, Noor carried Violeta to their rooms.

"Lareina. Lareina." I heard a small whisper wake me up. I turn over to find Violeta next to the bed.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" She looked terrified and sad.

"Can I please sleep with you? I had a bad dream again." I scooted over closer to Noor and held up the blankets. Violeta made her way under the covers and snuggled up to me.

"What was your nightmare about Vi?" She squirmed a bit and tensed up.

"It's the same dream over and over. It's dad. He comes to me and says that we are being watched and that you're going to die." I was now the one tensing up. I immediately put on a facade.

"Oh, Vi. I'm so sorry you're having that nightmare. Everything is going to be okay. I'm not going anywhere." Violeta snuggled deeper into my side, and I wrapped my arm around her. I stayed lying on my back and staring up at the ceiling. I can't say that I wasn't freaking out because I was. I was honestly terrified. What the fuck.

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Update!

Hi! I'm glad you're reading the book. Make sure to leave a review.

So, I have some exciting news:

1.) I am in the process of writing a sequel to my completed book Haven. I will have the first 10-15 chapters posted this coming Friday, September 10th. It will be updated every week. Also, The Haven series will be a trilogy. So, don't worry too much if I leave book two off on a cliffhanger (;

2.) My book Haven and my other completed book, Falling into Hope (make sure to check that one out too,) is going to be slowly edited over the next year.

3.) My book Dwaal will be updated every week from here on out. Right now, I'm aiming to have it completed sometime in October. However, I have a full-time job and attend college full-time, so please be patient with me.

4.) If you love my book, Falling into Hope, you should be happy to know that it will also be getting a sequel. I will most likely drop the first 10-15 chapters sometime next year in the spring.

5.) My murder mystery, What You Can't See, is on a brief hold right now but will be continued next year. Overall, I may post a few chapters here and there, though it won't be consistently updated until next year. I want to finish Dwaal, the sequel to Haven, and have the beginning of the sequel to Falling into Hope done first.

As always, I hope you enjoy reading my books and are as excited as I am. Don't forget to like the chapters, comment, and review the book. I love reading all of your comments and will definitely respond from time to time. Thank you again.

~ Katja