Chapter 5

It was an annoying buzz that broke the moment. Rooka's head snapped, body tense, his eyes scanning the area looking for any anomaly. A low growl reverberated from his chest. His wolf was suddenly aware that something was not right with their surrounding.

In their mind link, Rooka broadcasted, "Fan out, there is something in the air that is making -" he stopped mid command, the woman in his arms was trying hard to hold back the chuckle inside. He looked at her, waiting for an explanation of her bizarre behavior. "Care to explain what is going on, my minx?" He felt her take a deep breath before lifting her head against his neck.

Even when her eyes were puffy from crying, Serena looked beautiful. Her coffee-colored eyes shone with sorrow, a deep sense of loss, and intelligence. The sad smile she gave him broke his heart. Then, softly she said, "Lem, stop it."

The buzzing stopped instantly. Rooka raised his eyebrow for an explanation. She sighed, not looking forward to explaining her mom's sparks. Instead, she changed her position on his lap, putting her back against his chest. His arms automatically went around her waist. Anchoring her to his lap. The other people in the yard also made their presence known.

There were three gorgeous men and a woman who would fit perfectly for a VS model, who stepped into her line of vision. All of them wearing black, with some minor differences. Blinking, she can see the power emanating from them. All their souls have some kind of taint on them.

The man, who has the same clothes as Rooka's, has a soul that has a taint of darkness. Of course, it was just a taint, but souls shouldn't have that color. The other whose hair was tied behind his back had a grayish one; the other two, who she guessed were twins has the same yellowish tint, but the woman had some green mixed with it. Glancing behind her, the man holding her has a mixture of black and red.

Something inside her turned cold. Why am I seeing their souls? she thought. "LEM!" she shouted, panic evident in her voice. Then, a spark appeared before her, taking everyone by surprise. "What's happening to me? Why am I seeing their souls?" she asked.

Lem landed on Serene's leg. He glanced at the Alpha behind her and bowed as a sign of respect. Rooka, with a confused, look on his face, returned the gesture. Three more sparks arrived. Each of them bowed their heads to him. He tightened his arm around her.

"I'm sorry, princess. Since your mother and the Alpha is gone, the seal to your power was broken," Lem said, his voice clear with a hint of sadness mixed with it. "You see, we were entrusted with your safety. It's our duty as your guardians to make sure that you can control all the powers that were transferred to you."

"Powers? What do you mean? I'm a latent wolf. I can't have any. The only thing that I can do is have the normal strength of a were," she said back. "And how can they even see you guys? I thought it was forbidden for your race to be seen other than your Master or whatever you call them - "

"Keepers," all of the sparks said.

" - yes, thank you. But here you are in board daylight, bowing to Rooka..." Her voice faded, and things were starting to clear up. "What are you even doing here?" She asked, looking at the man she hadn't seen for more than 30 years.

"The council wants you to be at their stronghold," he replied. "My pack is to escort you there." His voice was devoid of emotion, but when she looked at his eyes, there was plenty of emotion there. From wonder, confusion, sadness, and need. Wait, what? Need? She thought.

"As much as I want to know why I can see some sparking things floating around us, we have to rest," the man with long hair said. "Alpha, my name is Kazemde. Everyone calls me Kaz. The twins are Layla and Nuru." He tilted his head to indicate the twins who were looking at Mac and Beth.

"And him?" Asking about the man who wears the same clothes as Rooka.

"He is my Beta, my minx. Wayne," Rooka whispered. A shiver traveled down her spine. It was impossible for him not to feel it. She was still sitting on his lap.

"I'm not your minx," she replied.

"You are. And you will always be, minx." Rooka stood up while Serana was still in his arms. The sparks were hovering near the dead alphas. "Kaz is right. We need to find a place to rest." Then, with Serena still in his arms, he started walking to the cars.

"Wait, what about my mom and dad? We can't just leave them here!"

Lem flew to her side. "We will take care of it, princess. No one will see anything. You need to rest. Beth and Mac will be with you. Lily and I can take care of this."

"How will you know where we are?"

"We are connected, princess." With that, he started flying around the property. Another spark joined him.

When they reached the cars, Serena pointed to her car. Rooka went to the car without breaking his stride and opened the passenger door. He gently settled her on the seat before clipping the safety belt. Once that was done, he went around the driver's seat. When the door closed, he looked at her.

"Do you have any idea where we all could rest? " he asked. Absently, Serena reached out to touch his face, gently caressing his rough beard as if she was in a trance. "Baby?" That snapped her out. She quickly withdrew her hand and searched her phone.

It was on the driver's side, and he gave it to her. Their fingers brushed, and it felt like a small jolt of electricity passed between them. He closed his eyes while she started looking at her phone.

"Megan? Do you have some free rooms at the inn?" he heard her asking. Trying not to listen to the whole conversation. "Something happened. And I need," she looked at him and asked, "how many rooms?"

"Three."

A sudden "kyahhhhh" made her wince and pulled the phone away from her ear.

"Omg, Rena, who owns that hunky voice?!"

"Hunky? He sounds like a dry wood being varnished by sandpaper."

"Is he your boyfriend?!" Megan asked in a high-pitched voice. "OMG, girl! You have a boyfriend?! Whoot!!!"

"He is not my boyfriend!" Rena was already shouting to be heard because her friend was too busy singing a happy tune. When the man beside her began to chuckle, she groaned. "Don't, Rooka, just don't," she pleaded. Which made him laugh harder.

Wayne looked at his Alpha and Serena; from the way he was laughing, it seemed like he was enjoying her embarrassment. Weres have sharp hearing, and they all heard what was going on. A small smile broke his face. He is going to be okay, he thought. He jogged towards the couple, knocked on the window, and said, "Where to?"

"Omg, Rena! You have two men?! You go, girl!"

The two men just laughed. Then, Rooka took the phone from her hand and started talking, "I am Rooka, her friend," stressing the word 'friend,' which only caused a happy screech from the woman at the end of the line. "Can you tell us how to get there?"

"I get to see the man behind the voice? OMG. OMG. Rena has A LOT of explaining to do." Yet, happiness can be heard in her voice. "Open your GPS and type "Megan's Retreat." Rena knows the passcode of the gate. I will just get your rooms ready. Can you put the phone on speaker?" He pushed the button and held the phone between him and Rena, "Rena, are you going to be sharing a room with hunky voice?"

"Yes."

"Noooo."

"Okay. Bye. See you in a bit." The line went dead.

"So," Wayne said, "We get to have rooms, and the two of you will be sharing one?"

Rooka just smiled, a glint of playfulness in his eyes. Serena just groaned and snatched her phone.

His heartfelt light, even with the death of two of the most powerful beings in the world. For the first time since he became Alpha, there is something more to him than keeping his people safe. His mate, the other part of his soul, is alive. The burning question was, how can she be alive when she was supposed to be dead 30 years ago?