Chapter 22:

Thursday morning. Going down the stairs, I found John and Evan downstairs waiting for the meal. "Hey, John… Can I ask you a question?" I asked in my half-asleep state.

"Sure, Eve, what's up?" John asked, sounding a little peppier than me.

"Would it be okay with you if we sit next to the Dunkels today? Or at least during classes? I want them to know the plan and that we are trying to try to understand them. I really want to know if it is okay with you since we always sit together," I said, not wanting to step on his toes.

"Uhm, yeah. It would be okay, but the moment that they do anything I don't like, we are leaving those seats," he declared.

"Well, that is not fair. You don't like them and probably don't even want me to go to their house… so??" I said with some sass.

"You're right. But yeah, we can sit with them and no stipulations," John said.

"Okay, good. What time is food?" I asked.

"Like normal. But I think Dad slept in a little bit late this morning, so it might be late," Evan said, in the same peppy voice of John.

Right then, Marcus and Donny came in. "Good morning, Donny. Good morning, Marcus," I said, wanting to make amends.

"Morning, Eve. Morning, kids," Donny said. The way he said it made me think he knew Marcus was mad at me still.

"Morning, Dad," Evan and John said in unison, like old times.

Marcus just glared at me and scoffed as he left the room.

After that, we sat in silence for a while. I could not handle the silence or the uneasy tension happening in the house. I left the kitchen to go find Marcus in his chair in the living room. "Marcus, I am sorry that I disrespected you and your rule. However, Mom has always told me that I should speak my mind, and that is what I did."

"I could figure that out. Your mom always spoke her mind. But you must remember I am your alpha and your uncle. You need to respect me, and what I say goes for the most part," he commented.

"Yes, but I have a big decision on my mind. So, I must do what I want to do: to decide the fate of this world. Why do not we do this...I will still follow your rules, but I have to do what I think is right for the supernatural world," I suggested.

"I think that is okay, but you have to listen to my thoughts and not just be single-minded. I know that might be hard, but you must follow the rules of the beast life. Can you do that?" he asked.

"I will try, Marcus," I said, trying to try with Marcus like Mom would want me to. "Can I have a hug, Marcus?"

"Of course. Come here, my little niece," he said with his first smile.

With that I went over and gave Marcus a hug, it felt nice to know that he was on my side and wanted the best for me. "Aww, isn't that sweet?" Dad said, rounding the corner. He was followed by the rest of the gang. "It is nice to know that this family is getting better with you guys."

"Morning, everyone. And yes, we have made up. Everything is better," I said, letting everyone know the truth.

"Well, that is good," Dad said, coming over to give me a hug and a kiss on the forehead. "Your mom would be so proud of you."

"Thanks, Dad," I said, giving him a hug.

"Well, with this morning's entertainment done, can we eat like civilized people?" Donny asked, coming through the kitchen door.

"Yes, that sounds like the best idea we have had all day," Sly said, looking annoyed with the conversation.

Once we got done eating, it was school time again. Sly and I raced the others to school. This time we lost only because we missed a turn and took a side road across the forest. When we arrived at school, Kenny said, "Maybe next time you should ride with me to see who can win in a race?"

"Maybe, since today is the last day, we have to go anywhere to see another part of this world. Maybe we might just keep racing and keep having contests even in training," I suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Why don't we just keep acting like weirdos to get the attention of a girl?" Evan asked sarcastically.

"Bro, come on. It is a way to make life a little more entertaining. And besides, Dad tells us to act like normal kids, so what is more normal than fighting over a girl?" John asked.

"Great, you too, John. Does anyone agree with me? Sly?" I asked.

"Well...I think that we should be responsible but maybe also have some fun. We are kids, you know. One day we are going to have to be adults, so why not act like regular children for a little while longer," explained Sly.

"Okay enough talking about this. Can we just go to class like normal kids, or is that too much to ask right now? There is a lot that can happen in a short time. You know that?" I said, trying to keep this conversation calm.

In class, I went up to Baer and said, "Okay, we are in the same class, right?"

"Yeah?" Baer said, confused by my question.

"Well, I am going to sit with you today. Well, John and me. Is that okay?" I asked.

"I guess, but no talking about this with anyone else about what I do. Got it?" he asked, guarded.

"Understood. See you later, Baer. Also, nice to see you, Ursa, Raven, and Wren," I said cheerfully.

"Nice to see you too, Belle," they all said in unison.

"I told you to call me Eve, so please, do," I said, trying to sound strong and not scared of them.

"Okay. Bye, Eve," they said once again in unison.

Arriving back at our little cluster, I could tell that the boys did not like what I was doing, but they never complained or told me differently, probably because they knew I would not like it and give them some serious sass afterward.

"Good morning, class," Miss Parman said as she started off today's announcements. I ignored it as I looked around and felt tension between each group. "Have a wolfy day."

The rest of the day, school went normally. John and I sat with Baer the whole day. The whole time I felt like Baer was trying to keep something from me. Well... it turned out that he was keeping something from me. It turns out that Baer is smart, and he cares about what others think about him. In science, he made it seem like he did science every day, which I guess is true since he is a witch.

Once school was over, I was going to ask Baer where he learned all that, but I knew there was no point to it. So instead, we went to their house. It was on the south side of town next to the metal factory, which made sense since most Dunkels have purple or at least black which needs darkness and shade.

"Welcome to The Sisters of the Metals. I am Vogela. I am the leader and Raven's mom. This lady in blue and black is Morgana. She is Ursa's mother. And this is Diera in the red and purple. She is the twins' mom. So, what brings you here, little Belle?" Vogela said in her black and purple outfit.

"First, my name is Eve. I would like it if you called me Eve, not Belle," I said, standing my ground.

"Okay; well, I am sorry, Eve. And what do you like to be called, Mr. Sylvester?" Vogela asked.

"I like to be called Sly. But that does not matter at all. We are here to learn more about you and your powers," Sly said, also standing his ground.

"Okay, but first why don't you guys do your homework? Baer, why do not you take Eve here, and Raven, why do not you take Sly and help him out. After that we can talk, okay?" Vogela said with this sly factor in her voice.

"Oh, no; that is not necessary; we do ours at the end of the night. So, we can go straight to talking," I said, trying to get the last talk over with.

"Well, they do their homework right after school. So, please do it. I bet you want them to be there with the talk, right?" Vogela asked, still trying to cover up the whole reason for it.

"Okay, we can do our homework. Baer, where do you do your homework?" I asked, letting him lead the way.

"This way, Eve," Baer said, directing me towards the back upstairs room.

Once in there, we got really cozy and started to do our homework. I was going to ask Baer questions about his life, but I knew better than to do that, so we just worked.

After about 30 minutes of working, I had this weird sensation that something was wrong.

Next thing I know or at least see, is being back at home in Kansas. Mom was at the kitchen table with me doing homework.

"So, Eve, how was school today?" he asked...the way she always did after I got home from school.

"Mom, I thought you were dead?" I spoke.

"What kind of a question is that dear? So how was school?" she said in her sweet voice.

"School was great, Mom. There was this boy that asked me out today," I said.

"What was his name?" she asked really engaged with my story.

"His name was John. And he is from this new family that just moved in. His brother is like a brother to me. And another guy asked me out, his name is Kenny. They are both so cute, but completely different. John is sweet, and I just love to talk to him, while Kenny is more serious and tries to protect me," I said, like a gossiping little schoolgirl.

"These boys sound great, but I don't want you to hang out with them. They sound like bad news," she said, trying to get me away from them.

"Okay, Mom. How was your day with Mayor Angry Pants?" I asked.

"Your father and I had a great day. We went to some interviews, and they went really well," she said...never calling Major my father.

"How was work?" I asked, suspiciously.

"Dear, I don't work," she said, like a recording.

"No, Mom. You work for hospitals and nursing homes, then you get paid at the conservative place. You help the residents get better and remember stuff… Do you do that by magic? You were a gold, right?" I inquired.

"Eve, dear, did you hit your head harder than you originally thought. I told you not to go out for sports," she said in her sweet voice.

"But Mom, do you not remember? Weight...this is not real. You are dead! I went to your funeral! This is fake!" I yelled at her.

"Eve, honey, what is wrong?" she said.

"No, stop saying those words. I am not your dear or your honey. I was always your Belle. You never called me Eve. I was your little Belle. Who are you?" I yelled at the monster before me.

And with that, the room went straight back into Baer's room with floating golden lights. Baer was sitting there on his bed, looking at me with this puzzled expression. "What did you do to me?" I yelled at Baer.

"How did you do that?" Baer asked.

"Leave me alone! Stay away from me!" I yelled, backing away from him.

I busted out of the door and went to find Sly.

Finally finding Sly in Raven's room across the hall, Sly looked like he was in the same trance I was just in. Racing over to touch him on his shoulder and yelling, "Sly, come to me. It is fake. Remember me, Eve. I am your sister."

Waking from his trance, he said in a half sleepy voice, "Eve, what is happening?"

"I don't know, but we need to leave. Now! Come on!" I yelled at him as I dragged him out of the room.

Running down the stairs, flying toward the door, I could hear Vogela behind us saying something, but I was not listening too closely. Getting on the four-wheeler and racing home, Sly kept trying to ask questions but I did not understand what was going on.

Arriving home, I ran into the house to find everyone in the main room. "What are you guys doing home so early? You have been gone for only an hour," Marcus asked, looking puzzled.

"We had a problem," Sly said.

I began to confess the whole confusing events of the day. "They put us in a spell of some sort that made us go to a fantasy world. I saw Mom. She… she knew somethings but not everything. I don't know what exactly happened, but Mom was there." I began to cry as I thought about it.

"What? We need to go there and teach them a lesson," Dad said, sounding the angriest I had ever heard him.

"No. We can't do that. They have dark magic. We need to talk to the Lichts. They need to know what the Dunkels have been doing to people," I said, trying to convince Dad not to do anything too fast.

"Okay, then let us see the Lichts. Marcus, what do you think?" Dad asked.

"That sounds like a great idea. Brian, Sly, and Eve, you go. This deals mostly with you," Marcus instructed.

"We want to go, too," John and Evan said.

"Yeah, me too," Kenny added.

"No, this has to deal with Sly and Eve. And Brian is their dad. This is a family matter," Marcus ordered.

"But we are family," Kenny said.

"Enough. Marcus is right. Only we need to go… plus I do not think the Lichts would like to have too many more beasts there," I said, trying to keep things on the down low.

"Fine," everyone said at the same time.

"Come on! Let us go!" I said to Dad and Sly.