Page 15 of Hunted on Halloween

The wolf shifter answered. “Three a.m. your time is midnight our time.” She nodded, taking Tieran’s hand, and leading him and the wolf down the street.

That meant for them, All Saints Day started at midnight or three a.m. their time. So that was the goal to make sure that when three a.m. rolled in, All Saints Day, all the monsters were still on this side of the veil. They hurried down the street, hearing the growls and the screams of both monsters andhumans and knowing there was nothing they could do about it, unless they broke this curse.

When her mother’s house came into view, she walked even faster, knocking on the door, desperately wanting her mother to answer it. When the door swung open, it wasn’t her mother there. Tia’s mouth opened in shock.

Tieran then growled, “What the hell?”

Chapter Seven

“Rylin,” Tieran said. “Whatare you doing here?”

Rylin gave them a big smile, showing his obvious vampire teeth. “Hello, daughter, hello, son-in-law.”

“What the heck is happening here. Start talking now or we can take it to the street,” Tieran challenged.

“Boys, there’s no need for violence,” Calista, Tia’s mother said as she peeked from behind Rylin’s back.

“Mom, what the heck is going on here?”

“If these two testosterone-laden muscle heads calm down, you can come in and we can talk about what’s happening.” Tia knew this was serious, but her hand went to her mouth to control her laughter as her eyes met her mother’s. They both silently laughed as the two males grunted and Bryce just looked on with enormous eyes.

Rylin stepped back, clearing the doorway and allowing them to come into the living room.

“Take a seat,” Calista said. Tia beelined for her favorite comfy chair and sat down while everybody else was still circling the other person.

Tia held out her hand to Tieran. He could either stare down Rylin or come to her.

“The responsibilities of a king,” he growled, “for his queen.” He walked over, picked her up, then sat with her in his lap.

“Much better,” she whispered.

“Introductions?” Calista said, looking at Rylin.

“The male getting way too comfortable with my daughter is our new high king, Tiernan. The wolf sitting nervously on the edge of the chair is Bryce.”

Rylin took Calista into his arms and gave her a soft kiss before he turned to look at Bryce, a speculative look in his eyes.” I’m glad to see you, Bryce, but I’m also surprised. What happened to cure the bloodlust that you were under?”

“My queen,” Bryce said, looking at Tia. His voice quivered, he wasn't sure how it happened and yet he was glad it did. “I saw fire shoot from her hand. It enveloped me and the next thing I knew I was on the ground, but I was sane.” He turned his head and wiped his eyes. The overwhelming desire to kill stained his soul.

“Yes, yes,” Calista started dancing around the room. “For such a time as this.”

Those words caught Tia’s ear. Isn’t that what they said when she was with the being and Tiernan’s father? That she was born for such a time as this?

“Mom, what are you saying? What do you mean, such a time as this?” She pushed Tieran’s arms away and jumped up. “Mom, we have got to do something. We are going to die. We’re all going to die!”

That feeling of panic that had receded like a tidal wave was crashing over her again making her feel like she was going togo under this time and not find her way back to the surface. Tia started pacing as she explained everything that had happened to her so far. She looked over to find her mother and Rylin, the man who may or may not be her father, sitting snuggled up on the couch.

Tia couldn’t remember any instance of her mother being with a male. Growing up, it had been Tia and her mother, two peas in the same pod, and she wasn’t sure she exactly liked seeing some male in her mother’s house, holding her mother. It was selfish, and she knew it, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

“We’re going to die,” she said, coming back to the subject at hand. “Unless there is some way that we can break this curse. Mom, do you know anything about it? We need the help.” Calista looked at Rylin, both of them nodding their heads, before she got up and left the room. When she came back, she was holding an old book.

It looked like one of those ancient tomes from hundreds of thousands of years ago, as far as Tia could tell.

“This book,” Calista said, “Is about three hundred years old. When I was 16, I went into the library, and I saw this book. It felt like it was calling my name. I picked it up and flipped through it and decided that I didn’t need it and put it back.” She shrugged, as if to say youth.

“When I left the library that day, I didn’t have the book with me. When I got outside and went into my book bag to look for some random item, I don’t remember after all this time, this book was right there at the very top of my book bag. I knew I should take it back, but I couldn’t.” She stroked the cover of the book and shook her head. Tia noticed that the cover of the book was blue, which was the color of her mother’s door and hers. She pushed that thought away; she didn’t need another conspiracy taking up room in her mind.

“How did it get into my bag? I don’t know. How did I walk out of the library without the sensor going off? I don’t know that either. But I took it home and hid it. I wasn’t sure what I was doing with it. I didn’t know why I had it, but I hid it. Years later, when I was moving, I took the book out and it opened to a certain page.” She walked over to Tia and gave her a tight hug.

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