Chapter 57

Loiza's POV:

I can't take any potions and there's no way I can meditate. I am so happy to be back at my temple, it was untouched by the lava. It's in the most southern cliff of Karaya, West of Itiba City. I thought that the scent of home would bring me comfort and it has in a way, now it feels different. This temple would bring me peace every time I guarded it, but... am I STILL it's Guardian? No... It doesn't FEEL like it's MY space anymore. Might as well try it on for size...

"Ayana... let's go to The Alpha's Fort." It feels bittersweet as it leaves my lips.

"Hells yeah! One portal coming up!" And this building wasn't spared. It looks so different from when Alpha Gúarionex ruled and I remember running in these halls with Yadiel before I left for Avalon. It feels like a lifetime away, I am not yet 20, yet that's how things are feeling like.

"Izzy, we can clear this out you and me with no problem..." She knows that's not bothering me right now, I know what she's trying to do, but it won't work today. I walk towards the curtain walls overlooking the waters of The Caribbean and I just take in the smell of salt and the sound of the waves.

"Ayana can you find my sister Nina for me please?" I hear her open a portal and leave. No matter what comes from tonight, THIS will be my home with or without him. I can't take out the vision of all of him out of my mind... But it's his face full of fear and confusion where I linger.

A portal opens up and out comes Ayana, Cresta and Nina and I can already smell Nina has begun her herbal routine early...

"By the Goddess, today must be shit show day!" She takes a puff and sits next to me passing the joint and getting four beers from her bag... Kappas are indeed made of different stuff!

"You noticed that too, huh?" And I take a puff and pass it to Ayana. Nina opens the beers and hands them over so I would make them cold... We look at each other and laugh, and I blow the beers to the point they are covered in frost we clank our bottles and drink. The first time Nina and I had a conversation it started this way. She was sick of the me not talking and when I was almost 16 she comes over with a sixpack and weed. "Hey kid! Do you mind giving me a light?" Sticking out her blunt. I snapped my fingers she huffed until it was lit, she passed the beers... "Can you chill those up?" She asked with a raised eyebrow and I complied. After that we would meet up at the last soldier fort of The Fort that had been abandoned for centuries every wednesday to smoke, drink booze and talk bullshit. Natalia had told us about it and of course Ura tagged along. I would bring the weed, Nina and Natalia the booze and Ura always had the blunt papers and was the designated roller.

"Soooo... Your mate is pretty bad ass holding up to Caliburn against 23 heads... What would have happened if he had to do the other seven? I wonder about these things you know?" Nina may be no Beta, but father had a way of making sure we always had our eyes not just open, but ALERT. I don't even want to know, but I do. Nina was never a lover to any Priestess of Avalon, yet she knew, she always paid attention to every word I would say about Avalon...

"It seems your mate loves you dearly sister, let me guess? Bayoán is keeping him at bay? Not caring if he dies or his mind is gone forever?" Ayana and Cresta LOVE my family gossip so they just laid on the floor looking at the clouds. Nina and Bayo have been at odds since I can remember, we as siblings argue and fight all the time... But those two can be vicious, so when the fight is between THEM no one interferes, after a while not even Mom or Dad would, not that she would listen to Dad anyway... They had their own issues. They are both so similar in the most opposite ways and neither stands down, two sides of the same coin. Bayoán is very overprotective to say the least... and Nina... Nina is wind and freedom. When she passed her tests to study abroad it was Dad who forbid it and even though Bayo disagreed he stood by Dad, it was stupid really, they said that since she was a Kappa she was more vulnerable, and yeah I could beat Nina in a fight, but Kappas studied abroad all the time, at first they didn't want me going but their little excuse crumbled when I was able to beat them BOTH at the same time in combat. I think they didn't want us finding our mates so she gave them the biggest fuck you, by having her fun in the island and not discreetly.

"You think he wants him dead?" I ask. She took a sip contemplating the waves.

"I think he wants you to forsake him for your duty... Dead, alive... To him and Dad it would be irrelevant. He wants what's best for the pack and for our family's future, with you ruling you have brought our family to not just a House of the ruling class, but a new Dynasty. Just like the tragedy brought the end of the Real Dynasty it brought forth the Mirabal line. I know he didn't want to be Beta even though he was supposed to anyway, but now that he IS, he will follow that mentality, just like Dad used to. It's in his natural patriarcal Beta mentality Izz, shit I bet it's still hard for him to compute with a female Alpha, let alone her being his baby sister." I take a puff and pass it to her. I keep looking at the waves.

"I know that you know what's going to happen tonight, do you agree?" She takes a deep puff and a drink. She clinks her bottle with her nails...

"No... But I am not Cacique of The Osupa. I have the luxury of being a Kappa, my bad luck was that Dad had a say in most of my life. You have had most of your life dictated by duty, I just had the nuisance of having a helicopter Daddy." She says bitterly.

"I never met my Daddy." And we fucking forgot Ayana was on lying on the ground! "Ayana are you ok?" And we can't stop laughing.

"I don't know who either of my parents are... but I think Moira knows..." And Cresta is doble baked! I forgot weed works different on Werejaguars! And I can't help but laugh again! "Cressy how many fingers am I holding?" And she lets out a gasp... "Who's fingers are you holding?!" And she is looking at her own just to check!

"Nina where are you getting your weed girl? Look how it left Cressy!" And she starts laughing harder. "It's yours stupid! It was in a jar by your bed before we evacuated and I nabbed it! For it to burn here I rather burn it myself!" And now we can't stop laughing. I really needed that.

"I saw him naked!" And Ayana sits up and Nina gets more beers from her bag, I cool the beers and she hands it to us. Cressy is still checking her fingers..."Six or eight?" Is all Cresta can mutter, while I get an...

"AAAAAND?!" From the other two who ask at the same time, why did I say anything?! And I blush straight to deep red. "Damn, that good huh?!" Nina asks. "And you are going to Mark him tonight, trying to keep focus on that 20 second window? And you're looking like a beet right now? I don't have my mate, but I can tell you, your mind is mush when you have a good orgasm and from what I have heard of the mating and marking part it's the Crème de la crème sweet sister. If you can keep your focus through THAT, then hats off to you!" And now I am getting nervous, I look at Ayana for words of encouragement...

"Your fucked Izzy! You can barely think let alone function 'a mission' after a good orgasm especially with a mate who already makes you feel as he does and now that you caught a peak... well I guess you can try!" Ugh!

"Thanks for your damn vote of confidence Ayana!" And Nina spits out the sip she was taking and we are all laughing again.

"Izzy, stop thinking to much about it. If the mission fails, fuck it! But this IS YOUR mate, why would the Goddess give him to you and you to him? I have heard a lot of bullshit saying that you're merely a Troyan horse--"

"Wait, where did you hear THAT?" I hate it when I'M the piece of gossip.

"Well Suania heard it from Ura, who heard it from Yaya, who heard it fro--" Ugh!

"FINE! Ok so YOU don't think I am a Troyan Horse?" I am discussing semantics with her! Well she IS a Master Architect.

"You have dedicated your short life to trying your damned best to be everything they wanted of you to be and now that you have been placed in a position of power by the Goddess herself she wants you to suffer? It doesn't add up. Have you just straight up just ASKED Kayden if he had any knowledge of what happened here? And fuck semantics, I mean TALKING straight up, not in stupid code. I'm talking basically truth or dare, you should have done THAT!" I just facepalm myself and Ayana is intrigued. Poor Cressy is trying to get up failing miserably. She's used to weed, what's up with her?! Riiiight... If Nina took the weed next to my bed... Oh boy...

"Damn Izzy! Truth or dare would have got him!" Ayana just spouts! I don't have words.

"Oh my Goddess, I AM FUCKED! Truth or dare? What the actual... you know what? I'm not going to get mad at that! Nina this is to be OUR home. You're a Master Architect, think of something so it represents the Mirabal-Real Dynasty... I need lots of access to water in here, so feel free to add indoor patios with pools and fountains. I heard Domingo bitching that Gúarionex didn't want to remodel the kitchens, give Domingo what he wants, I want the Luna's room to still be Luna Isla's. She will remain Luna while I am Alpha. We will remodel and ask everyone what they want, just make sure that the integrity of the original building is intact, this building is a patrimony of all Osupa. I am also puting you in charge of the design of a new city in Uguaca Bay. There's a new huge dock there now, a gift from Avalon, we have just closed a treaty that will add two other packs to ours almost doubling our numbers, get Chloe to help add that creole flavor I want them to feel as home as possible." We will have two main cities and ports, we need to change up the design of a lot of this but still want it to keep the historic part.

"Wait 'creole' style? What do you mean? The WHOLE Caribbean is Creole?" Ugh!

"I don't know Nina, sorry I'm not the damn artiste! The packs that are coming are from the South of France and Sardinia!" There straight up, no 'code'.

"Ok, now THAT I can work with... Ummm and working over there will put some nice surfing hours. I'm so happy to be back, the weather over there SUCKS! I wonder if my shoes survived?" And she stumbles upon Ayana babble. "SHOES! We should check!"

"You two go and take Cressy, I'll stay here. There's something I always wanted to check." Ayana opens a portal and off they go. I light a will-o'-the-wisp and let it guide me to The Catacombs.