ROMANCE: CLEAN ROMANCE: Summer Splash! (Sweet Inspirational Contemporary Romance) (New Adult Clean Fantasy Short Stories) (97 page)

The marking worked. According to Anton, the packs had all played him courtesy at his uptown penthouse suite.

If they had already found out about Hailey, then paying him a visit would be utterly useless. But they did. Although he felt like this was so burdensome, he just took it as a positive sign that Hailey was safe for the time being.

All of the families who had paid him a visit inquired of “strange occurrences” and all stated they came to “help-out”. Anton knew these were all lies. They were there to expand their powers by sacrificing the pure one. But they couldn’t say that outright of course, or panic would ensue. Luckily, they bought Anton’s story of being a reformist Alpha not wanting to do with old traditions and not knowing of any strange happening or occurence.

They just shrugged off the boy as incompetent and a poor leader for not knowing that the pure one had just been awakened by the recent harvest moon right there in their own territory. Of course, they had to pay him courtesy to avoid a bloody pack war, but they didn’t think of each other as allies or friends. They knew they meant something terrible to each other.

The first to have arrived in New York was the Texan pack, the Levis. This pack was one of the biggest there was, if not the biggest in the whole United States, but they had no special powers whatsoever. That was why when they felt the pure one they made it a point to be there first. No pack, no matter how rich or big in numbers can ever be respected if they had not, at one point in their histories, sacrificed a pure one.

The Levis had never been the Dominguez’s friends. They were insecure and very defensive of their territory. Most of their pack members turned out as bikers or cowboys, you know, the ruffian kind. This is stark contrast from the type of members the Dominguez had – professional, business oriented and very rich.

Their leader was an old wiry man with a cane and a cowboy hat with two feathers crossed and stitched into the very front of the hat. Isaac was his name. He was very severe looking with his scowl and silver dentures.

“I hope you will permit our stay here.” Isaac of the Levis spoke to Anton.

“Of course. For whatever reason you are here, I hope that the harvest moon will be the light in your journey.” Anton answered in the most courteous manner as he did for every other Alpha who had come there too. He was an expert at feigning ignorance. It wasn’t too hard to accept, knowing how he was turning into a laughing stock by being so young and clueless.

The next group that had paid him visit where the Letrelles of Louisiana. This family was known to have sacrificed three pure ones in their history. Although only made up of very few members, the Letrelles were known for their vicious demeanor and their adherence to the old code. They are said to have the power to will other beasts to do their bidding, start fires and read cards.

Interestingly enough, out of all the wolf packs in the United States, the Letrelles were the ones that the Dominguez family was particularly chummy with.

Adam Letrelle was about the same age as Anton, and had been a close friend of his. He was the son of the Alpha of the Letrelles. Adam, unlike his vicious father, was open minded and very kind – the qualities Anton looked for in his friends. Unfortunately, Adam’s father was as healthy as he ever was and it seemed that there was no replacing him anytime soon.

The Letrelles were known to be very beautiful. Dark green eyes, dark hair and pale skin were their family’s most common physical feature. Adam was the perfect example of a pure blooded Letrelle.

There were also the Radcliffes from the Midwest, who had acquired the power to mind speak with each other even in their human form. This is something particularly useful when taking exams and whatnot. Their leader, Anastasia, was an old woman with fiery red dyed hair and vicious hazel eyes. She was known to be able to pierce other humans’ consciousness and torture them from the inside. She rarely did so, but still, this means any human could be subjected to her bidding.

Caleb’s family, the Storms, are said to have been every distant cousins of the Radcliffe’s from way back in the old covenant. But just like every wolf pack, the Radcliffe’s hated the Storms for their unpredictable powers. So when the war came and the Storms were about to be wiped out, not a single wolf from the Radcliffe’s came to help their cousins.

When Anton mentioned the Radcliffes, Caleb automatically gave him a scowl.

The Butlers from Washington State also came. They were an odd little pack with a penchant for shadow travel. They had the ability to jump from one shadow to another. This meant a very fast way to travel from place to place. The only catch was that they went about it expending so much energy that they rarely use the gift. This could exactly be why they were so eager to sacrifice another pure one -  to acquire a more useful gift.

The Bellefleurs of California, a very nonthreatening pack of wolves who owned mostly food chains and car dealerships also came along. The Dominguez’s never gave them much credit for anything. Although the Bellefleurs were an important business ally on the west coast, as a wolf pack they were a nonentity. Much like the Levis, they had no special power, just a lot of money.

The pack the Dominguez had feared the most had also arrived. The Khiones of Alaska. The Dominguez feared them not so much because they were the most powerful, because the Letrelles truly were more powerful. They feared them the most because out of all the families – the pack, the Khiones were the ones who had the most hatred for the Dominguez pack.

Anton never really got the whole gist as to why there was this undeniable rift between their pack and the Khiones. All he knew was that it was because of a she-wolf.

Apparently, a she-wolf from some little pack in North Dakota was marked by the then Alpha of the Khiones. During his time, the Khiones and the Dominguez were allies. In fact, the Khiones used to live just north of New York, near Toronto.

When the harvest moon festival came, the two big packs assembled all the packs in the surrounding area to a feast. That was when a lowly omega from the Dominguez pack saw that Dakotan wolf and fell in love.

They both fell in love. However, this girl was promised and marked for the Alpha of the Khiones. The Dominguez’s and all other small wolf packs saw how their auras were so in tune that everyone knew it was true love. Everyone expected the Khione Alpha to back down as this was tradition to let true love take its course. But it was also tradition that an Alpha would always precede the lowly Omega.

The Dominguez’s, of course, pushed for the former. They had that familial dynamic to always protect their own, even the lowest ranked wolves.

The rest of what Anton knew about the story was pretty shady. All he knew was that there was a fight and that the Khiones were forced to leave for the colder fields of Alaska.

The Khiones never paid him a visit, of course. They never really cared for paying respect for territories. Their leader, an old woman named Shana, was young looking, but the lines on her face showed how old she really was.

This pack wasn’t necessarily as conservative as the Letrelles. They never really stuck to the ancient code, even less so than Anton. But they certainly were ones who loved power, and power was what they needed. It was said that their gift after their sacrifice of a pure one was the power of ice. They could manipulate fog, snow and ice and freeze anyone in their tracks.

Anton feared this pack the most. The marks he and Caleb gave Hailey were in the simplest explanation possible, fog-like. If they found out that the pure one was being hidden under a fog, they could easily just lift it to reveal to all these wolves her presence.

Anton’s head ached just trying to think of a plan. He scoured his family’s archives, trying to look for an answer. But he could not find any.

He sat down and stared at this grand portrait framed on the wall of their study. He had seen this picture too many times that he could bet on knowing every single person in the picture. After mentally reciting all the names of his grandfather’s hunting club, he found it. The answer to all their problems was staring right at him.

******

“His name is Gustav.” Anton explained to Caleb and Hailey as he walked into Hailey’s apartment. “He used to be good friends with my grandfather, but after my grandfather died, the family had not seen much of him. He is still under our protection though, and I’m pretty sure he can help us and that he would be willing to come to our assistance from what I heard from my elders.”

Caleb just gave him a weird stare because he didn’t really understand what Anton meant.

“He is a witch doctor.” Anton revealed. “One of the strongest there is in this hemisphere. He’s originally from Haiti, from what I gathered from our files, and he is living right here in New York with his one and only son who is about the same age as my father now, if I got my dates right.”

“If he can’t help us with our problem then I have no idea who can.” Anton finished.

“So let’s track this Gustav guy down and beg him to help us.” Caleb said with an almost hopeful and ecstatic tone.

“I don’t know. A witch doctor? Really?” Hailey asked. Letting someone else know of her situation was not sitting too well with her. “I mean, are we even sure taking the risk of telling one more person about me being the pure sacrifice is worth it? He might not be able to help us in the long run.”

Anton extended his hand to hold Hailey closer. “We don’t really have a choice Hailey. If he indeed ca not help us then that means we’re totally fucked.”

“I’m totally fucked, you mean. I’m the one getting sacrificed, not either of you.” Hailey shot back

“Hails.” Caleb said. “We are going to protect you, and if that means our lives, I’m sure Anton will agree that that is a small price to pay. Caleb reassured her while Anton held on to Hailey even tighter now..

“So how do we find him?” Caleb asked trying to look away from the sight of Anton comforting Hailey.

“I already did.” Anton replied with a smile. He took out a small piece of paper with an address scribbled on it. “He’s still under my pack’s protection. It did not even take me a minute to get his address. Apparently he is into some normal profession now, but is still delving into the black arts every now and again for a select clientele.”

“So what are we waiting for?” Caleb asked.

“Nothing. Let’s go then. My car is waiting downstairs.” Anton replied. “Shall we?” He asked Hailey.

Hailey heaved in. “Let’s get this over with.”

They drove to an old Latin district in the Bronx. The dreary gray buildings began to transform into lively colored stalls and showrooms. There were food carts and people everywhere speaking in Creole, Spanish and other Latin dialects, like a hodgepodge of South America all rolled up into a tiny district. The car struggled to snake its way through the streets, which were just overflowing with carts and vendors.

“This is our stop. He is supposed to live somewhere down the road, about two blocks.” Anton pointed to a narrow alleyway.

“Right. Whatever you say Anton.” Caleb replied sarcastically. But he felt something weird. Like someone was looking into their souls.

“Behave.” Hailey elbowed Caleb. Caleb smiled, but he still couldn’t shake off the feeling that there was something hiding behind the shadows or by the stalls.

They walked exactly two blocks through that alley, and right at the end they found a dental clinic. They weren’t expecting the place to be a dental clinic of all things. They knew from what Anton had gathered, that Gustav was into some ordinary trade but they never expected it was this ordinary. They acknowledged though that they had seen far weirder things.

“Gustav?” Anton called through the locked door. Clearly someone was inside since there were lights on.

“C'est Anton . Anton Domniguez!” He called in French.

“Dominguez?” a deep voice called from behind the door.

“Oui. C'est Anton . Saturnino Domniguez est mon grand-père . Est la maison Gustav ?.”I am Satrunino Dominguez’ grandson. Anton replied.

sound of unhinging locks followed suit. The door opened to a perfectly normal looking dental clinic.

“Is it just me or was anyone else expecting something more voodoo than an actual dental clinic.” Hailey quipped but a voice from behind immediately retorted in a deep Caribbean accent.

“Yes, this is a dental clinic.” The man who opened the door answered. He was a tall dark man with almost violet eyes and pearly white teeth. He had that distinct Haitian look to him – that beautiful mix of Mulatto and French features that made him look effortlessly gentlemanly. It was apparent that he was a few years older than them.

Anton stepped forward to extend his hand to shake. “You must be Gustav’s son. I’m sorry I can’t for the life of me recall your name.”

“It’s Henri, but unfortunately, I am not him. I’m Gustav. And you must be little Antonino?” The tall well built man replied.

Caleb interjected. “That can’t be right; you look exactly like you did in Anton’s picture! That was taken what? In the 70’s?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment, little Storm.” He replied. Caleb was taken aback by the fact that this man knew who he was. “But you see, if you did your research you would know that I’m not one to age very quickly, being a witch and all.” He said slyly.

I’m so sorry Mr. Gustav.” Hailey finally spoke.

The man was bewildered – almost stupefied by the sound of her voice. He stepped forward narrowing the space between himself and Hailey to almost half a foot. His face looked down on her doe eyes before taking her hand and lifting it to his lips and kissing it.

“It’s my pleasure.” Gustav spoke as Hailey blushed from ear to ear, like a little school girl.

“We need your help.” Anton spoke.

“Yes, I bet you do.” Gustav said without breaking his stare at Hailey.

Caleb sensed a presence lurking from outside. “Mr. Gustav, is there somewhere we can talk more privately?”

Anton felt a jolt of fear. He remembered the gift the Storms had: seeing through the veil. “Is everything alright?” He questioned Caleb.

Gustav looked to Caleb and gave him a nod. “You haven’t been trained enough little Storm, but still you can sense that? You must be really special then.” He eyed Caleb quizzically.

“The cellar, it’s magic locked. Let’s go there.” Gustav invited.

“Hailey, let’s go.” Caleb wrapped an arm around Hailey to Anton’s disdain of course.

When they went down the flight of stairs, they finally saw what they were expecting: a witch’s hut. Dolls and jars lined the cupboards and shelves.  Huge candles the size of barrels decorated the place, each with a distinct insignia and color.

“Sit my friends.” Gustav said.

“My family had given your family our oath of protection since as long as we can recall.” Anton began and Gustav nodded. “It is my hope that this time, you shall help us.”

“The Dominguez have been kind to me, yes. Whatever is in my power, I shall of course not withhold my friend.” Gustav answered politely.

“Caleb?” Anton looked to Caleb who merely nodded. They both stood up and touched Hailey’s shoulders. Suddenly a yellow mist started to depart from her body. The pair lifted their mark from Hailey to partially reveal to the witch her true identity. The mist easily folded back in to her once Caleb and Anton released Hailey.

Gustav stood almost horrified at the sight. “You?” He said in an almost fearful way.

“You understand Mr. Gustav that this is something we must keep a secret?” Caleb said in a serious tone.

“Yes of course.” Gustav said. “But my dear boy, this mark you’ve placed, it’s fading by the day. By the fifth day from now, I’m sure it would completely fade and reveal how special this young lady truly is.”

“That’s why we’re here Mr. Gustav.” Anton answered. “We need your help. We don’t know why Hailey is a pure sacrifice. We have no idea how to hide her.”

“There is no hiding a pure one, my boy.” Gustav said sullenly. “But there is one way to protect your little lady here.”

Caleb and Anton’s eyes grew bigger at the prospect of an actual solution to their problem.

“What is it?” Hailey said shyly with anticipation.

“You my dear must be tainted.” Gustav said.

TO BE CONTINUED