Chapter 1 | Raine
They call it ‘heroin heart’.
The long term effects of a heroin addiction vary but some common ones involve cardiovascular issues and respiratory infections. I witnessed both over the course of a year while being caretaker to my grandmother.
It took my mom a very long time to find her mother after mom came to live with the Werewolf people where she met my dad... and blah blah blah.
My mom’s upbringing was less than favorable. A nightmare, really. But she loved her addict mother, so when she finally located her she got her sober over time.
And then she let us into her life.
Grandma wasn’t allowed to know that we were Mystics and werewolves. It’s the wolf community’s best kept secret. So, Grandma was never allowed to come to us, but we would go visit her in the human world when we could.
Even with her being sober my mom had a lot of trauma related issues, so I couldn’t call them ‘close’, but I’d always had a bond with Grandma.
Even knowing what I know I just thought she was brave to finally get sober after 18+ years of battling addiction.
She’d gone to rehab before and had stints of sobriety when mom was younger, but it never stuck. Not like the last time.
My Grandmother was sober for the majority of my life, so I was allowed to spend time with her for weeks at a time when it was summer and I was out of school.
It changed when she got sick.
‘Heroin heart’ took my grandma away from me over the course of one long, sad, disintegrating year when I convinced my parents to let me live in the human world to watch over her.
It started with her fainting spells. The doctors determined she had something called bradycardia, which is a slowed heart rate that causes dizziness, shortness of breath, chest pains, etc.
Then it was the respiratory issues. She was prone to pneumonia.
She ended up on oxygen sometimes but the worst was the end. We didn’t know what was wrong but when the doctors finally found out it was too late.
This time it started as swollen legs. We cut down her salt intake and I got her compression socks to help combat the issue. Night sweats, joint pain, no appetite, more shortness of breath.
It was Endocarditis and we caught that heart infection too late.
I’m only 17 years old, so my parents fought hard for me to spare myself from watching a woman slowly die, but she was Grandma and I’m stubborn, so they let me.
One full year in the human world was a trip for me. Things are so different and frankly overwhelming, but I came to really like my human high school and human friends.
Grandma died about two weeks after my graduation. I stayed another few weeks to tie up loose ends with mom who was down here with me for funeral prep, etc.
My father Devran is the Alpha of the Mystic Wolf Pack.
My mother Mira--a human--is the first living Mystic to appear since several generations ago. Back when they thought their people were killed off.
That makes me and my three siblings both Mystics and werewolves. Which is the first of our kind or at least the first in a very long time.
Aaryn, my eldest sibling, is 20 years old and will be taking over as Alpha soon enough. My sister Ryver is the second eldest at 19 years old.
Then there’s me, Raine, and our little brother Conan Jr. but we all call him CJ.
Although we can work with all the elements each of us favor one element as our strongest gift.
Aaryn is fire.
Ryver is water.
I’m air.
And CJ is earth.
I feel kind of strange leaving the human world and returning home. I know it’s only been a little over a year but that feels like a really long time...and I don’t know what to expect coming home.
Life has gone on without me. Who knows what’s changed since I last stepped foot in our mountain town.
“You haven’t answered me. Are you keeping this or are we getting rid of it?” Mom interrupted my thoughts.
I glanced over my shoulder from where I was packing up the bookshelf to see my Grandma’s mini record player. She listened to a collection of oldies music and I got super into it with her over the course of my living here.
“Keep it” I pointed to my pile of stuff that I’d be for sure taking with me. I heard mom chuckle, “I never thought I’d see the day where my mother would be reading books.”
I looked at the paperback in my hand and smiled down on it fondly.
“Towards the end she really got into crime mysteries. I have no idea why” I was the one to chuckle now, putting yet another book into the ‘for sure coming’ pile.
“I think you got to know a side of grandma I never did” Mom looked sad for a moment before wiping her expression clean.
“I don’t think we give you enough credit for being the kind of mother you are. You never had a good example but you’re a really good mom.”
I saw her big blue eyes water slightly and she got up and hugged me around the shoulders.
“Alright, alright. Don’t make me regret being a softy,” I teased her.
“You? A softy? You’ve got the spitfire of your father,” she laughed and released me.
“Has anything changed? Back home...” I clarified. She was already back across the room packing boxes.
“Hm, in my world it hasn’t, but I don’t know what these youths are up to. I couldn’t say,” she shrugged idly. After a second she added, “Sköll has certainly matured more...”
I could hear the smirk in her voice without even having to look at her. Sköll is my mom’s best friend, Jasper’s son. His name is pronounced ‘skohl’ which is a super weird name, but Jasper didn’t pick it out.
His son was actually found in the woods, and his silver armband had the name engraved...he has a weird back story.
We’ve never gotten along for the simple fact that we’re the same age and have grown up together since our parents are best friends. All he would do is bully and annoy the crap out of me.
We’re sworn enemies and Mom knows it.
“Don’t start,” I warned her. Her laugh made me roll my eyes. I took a second to look around the living room of this tiny apartment. Everything was either boxed up or outside for trash day. We donated decent furniture.
Grandma’s life was summed up by a couple of boxes. It’s poignant to think about.
“You okay?” I felt mom’s warm hand on my shoulder as she peeked over it to see what I was thinking. “Yeah, I just miss her...and I’m used to being here.”
I didn’t want my family to think I didn’t miss them because I did. But the human world is a lot more fast paced than the wolf community. I had grown to love the quickness.
Plus there had been a boy here. We weren’t dating but we were in a ‘flirtation-ship’ I can’t exactly continue if I’m going to be in bumfuck nowhere.
“Dad will never admit it, but he’s missing you bad, kid. You know you’re his favorite...it’s cuz you look like him. He’s vein,” she teased me.
I snorted out a laugh. I have my dad’s black hair, while my sister Ryver has my mom’s blonde hair. All of us have blue eyes which are striking with any shade. Or so I’ve been told.
“Alright Rainy, I think we’re done here...it’s time to come home,” she used the nickname I despise. It’s time to go home...
-
We have a thing called ‘travel wolves’. They’re the people who travel back and forth from the human world to our village to get supplies we need each month.
A couple of those guys had come down and helped us move the few boxes I intended to bring with me.
It’s kind of a pain in the ass journey up the mountain but we have four wheelers to do most of the work. And there are huts where border wolves can live, so they’re basic refuel stops where we can rest.
After all that I was finally standing in front of the Pack house again staring up at it’s very large structure. I’d been living in a tiny ass apartment, but the Packhouse is like a mansion.
It has to be, we have a million people living here.
It goes as follows:
-Alpha Devran & Luna Mira (Dad/Mom) : Aaryn, Ryver, me, and CJ
-Beta Diego & Rune : Raven, Blair
-Delta Jasper & Nealin : Conri, Sköll
That makes 14 of us. Sure, we all have different sections of the house, but it’s still a lot. It’s commonplace for the 3 leaders in command to all share the same space as a unit.
The Packhouse is made up of Western red cedar heartwood. It’s refined rustic if I had to label it as anything. It’s shaped like a giant human fraternity house in my opinion.
All our wolves huts, homes, and furniture are made up of the forests tree-types on this half of the mountain. Cedars, pines, things of that nature. Hand crafted too.
We have carpenters and craftsman in our village.
As soon as I got to the front of the Packhouse I swear they came out like a stampede. My dad was the first down the steps and he hugged me into his damn strong arms. I made a squeak noise when all the air left my body.
“Welcome home, kiddo” his deep voice gives no emotion away, but mom already dimed him out so I know he missed me a lot.
He made my brothers carry the boxes in so the next to hug me was my sister Ryver.
Ryver has a long swirl of blonde hair, and that same glow like my mother. Her eyes are a glint of blue like sun hitting the surface of the water. Her full shapely brows frame her face.
We’re built about the same. Petite shoulders but healthy legs. Her demeanor has always been shy, though I don’t know how with the rest of her tyrant siblings.
She tried puckering those pink lips at me to peck my head but I dodged her when I ducked under her arms.
“I cleaned your room up. Everything’s nice and fresh” she smiled. We have staff but my sister’s a people pleaser. She can’t help herself.
I blame mom for that tendency. And I blame Grandma for creating that tendency in mom.
It was only when I stepped into the foyer that my brother popped up again.
Aaryn has both the build and arrogance of an Alpha, which he’ll be soon enough. Same as my father. Large muscled build, midnight hair, and the chlorine blue eyes.
“Hey ugly” he teased me while giving me a half assed hug.
“Don’t call your sister ugly” Mom scolded him. I laughed.
CJ being the annoying teenager he is, came jumping on my back so that I almost fell right on my face if not for Aaryn catching me.
“Bring anything for me?” He asked me first. “I wasn’t on vacation. I was cleaning out a dead woman’s stuff,” I rolled my eyes at him.
“Insensitive,” Ryver whispered to me and looked at mom.
I think I’m more affected by this death than she is but whatever. It’s not that she loved her any less. It’s just that she hasn’t lived with her in day to day life since she was 17, my age.
But I have been in these recent times.
CJ’s face flattened. “Grandma had that cool record player” he reminded me like he was calling dibs. “That’s already mine. Don’t you dare” I warned him with a pointed finger. He started to walk off so I called after him, “I mean it!”
Since we were all still idling by the door Dad shooed us further inside.“Sounds quiet around here” I noted the other members who live here haven’t come to greet me yet.
“Yeah, it’s market day. They made everyone go this time so they could give us a minute alone...which I need,” Dad grumbled the last bit to me.
“Have you been tiring yourself out? Make Aaryn do crap. That’s the point of the transfer of power” I pouted at Dad. I wanted him to rest.
“He’s not stealing my title just yet” he slapped his son on the back. They look the most alike out of any of us. Mom said they could’ve been twins when dad was Aaryn’s age.
“But you can increase his responsibilities,” I reminded him.
“He’s a control freak. He never lets me do shit,” Aaryn grumbled. “Dad,” I laughed.
“When you act right I will. He’s too busy chasing she-wolves rather than taking his studies seriously,” Alpha Devran started scolding my brother...which I instigated.
He was giving me the stink eye for it.
“I literally just finished two years of training. How am I not taking it seriously?!” He scoffed.
“Can we not start this here?” Mom placed her hand on Dad’s arm which always reigns him in. He pulled her into his side and pecked her head.
All of us started separating off into different rooms, so Mom called after all of us. “Family dinner tonight! You better be there.”
I knew that was on my account. They really were welcoming me home like I’d been away at war or something.
I do miss Mom’s cooking. We have staff but she’s a dang good cook and I bet for my homecoming it’s her that’ll be making the meal. I know her too well.
When I heard the front door swing open and the swarm of voices spilling inside I knew everyone was back from the market.
Like...everyone.
