CHAPTER THIRTEEN - ANOTHER DAY ON THE SHORT WORK TRIP
Eden is taking a rest inside her hotel room after working for nine hours at the underground site area at the old cathedrals with Queen Lena and her brother, Jacob. She also has taken a few notes from the area as they try to unveil the tombs one by one. The King Alpha also called her to tell her about their arrival by early tomorrow morning and wanted to see Eden first before proceeding with the other matters. He also informed Eden about Lord Stefan — the King of the cold blood clan also wanted to meet Eden and have a private conversation about the things that she'd done to his son a few weeks earlier.
Alpha Aedion Blake seems very pleased with Eden's work so far and he can't wait to meet her and talk about the progression with the mummy and sort out things that need to get done by tomorrow. Eden was humming low with the song from her headphone. The song by BTS 'Spring Day' really hit her hard and sometimes listening to this kind of song makes her realize how lucky she was to be alive and breathing. Of course, the world is cruel, and living in it every single day requires a lot of sacrifices and hard work, but still living alive is more worth it than giving up.
She calls the front desk and asks for room services to send her dinner. She wants to eat in her room tonight while keeps on working on the paperwork for the mummy and the tombs, again while enjoying her dinner. When her food finally arrives, Eden starts to eat like she had been starving for weeks. The steak tastes better tonight and she also orders fruit salad and asked the room service to give her a bowl of fresh fruit as she loves to munch on it when doing her late—night work
Her brother, Jacob had come for a while to check on her and exchange some funny talks about their childhood days and stuff. Eden also asks Jacob about Hailey and why the packs chose her to be one of their candidates. To her dismay, her sister got chosen because she is a great wolf warrior and had been giving a lot to the packs and because she is still unmated. the packs think she's suitable to be the candidate as she is still a virgin as well.
Eden just smiles awkwardly but says nothing about it to Jacob. She just hopes that Hailey won't participate in that ritual tomorrow. She just doesn't want her sister to get embarrassed in front of others and she'll try to protect her from any kind of situation that'll make her sister's life turn into a joke in front of the supernatural community because Eden knows how much effort Hailey been giving and done just to gain such acknowledgment from their society and supernatural world. She let Hailey know about their small ritual tomorrow by sending her a text message and asking her to try to avoid the ritual tomorrow.
Fixing her bed, Eden tries to get as comfy on the hotel bed as possible so she'll get more energetic for tomorrow's work. Meeting her King and Queen is a great honor; indeed, she just needs to avoid their fond behavior toward her. She likes both of them a lot, but she doesn't want them to pity her life by giving her attention like she is the only pack member who excels in everything. She doesn't want other enemies besides Victoria and her three evil friends. Although she isn't a she-wolf, she still has to go home to BlueWood for a packed gathering or other celebration.
Everyone knows her name but not her face. She had been living secretly with her pack members and she was doing it right. So to live peacefully outside the supernatural world, she won't get persuaded by the royal couple to seat in a hall with them again after the last two experiences. She's been seat inside the DPO meeting hall twice when she was 12 years old and 14 years old, to see how the DPO functions and to meet other people from another pact.
She meets Queen Lena when she was 12, but just a brief hello and nothing else. When she was 14 and summoned again by her King to present, she became an acquaintance of Queen Lena, and since then they have always got together to do some odd work about the soul bearer project from the DPO. She also had a chance to meet the prince from the demon's clan itself, and Gabriel and Eden have become good friends ever since.
Talking about Gabriel, Eden hadn't seen him for almost a year now. He's been busy himself with his job as the CEO of Tudor Companies — the company that manages several luxurious five stars to seven—star hotels whole over the world. Tudor Companies also own a watch company, a food company, and a jewelry company. Life certainly treats the supernatural people lavishly with wealth, position, and luxurious lifestyle as they become an icon of a certain important project or work around the human community in the world.
Honestly. Eden feels so lucky to witness their achievements or progress, living normally and mingling without a barrier with humans, and acting like real people. Even though some supernatural people like to create a mess and chaos. Eden was surprised when her phone suddenly rang her alarm in the middle of the night. She forgot to turn off her alarm notifications last night as she set her phone with the alarm to keep her remainder notification alert on, in case she forgot.
She picks up her phone from the side table and turns off the alarm notification. Hailey also had sent her text, to reply to her message earlier. She Thanks Eden and will try to avoid the ritual tomorrow. Eden smiles in relief. She found a cute emoji and sent it to Hailey before turning off her phone and leaving it charging on the table. She needs to wake up early in the morning. Another day passes by and another will come. Turning off the light, Eden tries to get, a good night's sleep.
Putting her white sweatshirt on and ripping her skinny blue jeans, Eden tied her long hair after blowing it dry with the hairdryer. Fixing the other loose hair while checking her pale white skin after putting the sunblock on her face — she had a decent look. Beautiful might be exaggerating words to describe her, but she did agree that she had a great look. Eden laughs at her silly little thought and leaves the mirror after having done fixing herself. She left her backpack and only carried a small pouch bag that held her passport, mobile phone, and her wallet, and file which contained her latest research.
She goes into the lift and pushes a number on its wall before the 'ding' sounds can be heard. She has already reached the penthouse area on the top floor of the hotel. She'll be meeting King Alpha and Queen Luna this morning and having breakfast with them in their royal hotel room. After her breakfast with the royal couple, Eden then follows Alpha Aedion Blake to meet Lord Stefan in his room.
The meeting is all just about the soul—bearer and the things that they should do after the soul-bearer gets identified. In Lord Stefan's room, Eden got to meet his wife Lady Lona Vanessa Whitaker the Queen of Cold Blood clans. She was a soft—spoken woman and got a lovely personality in Eden's eyes. Her looks are similar to those of women in the medieval era but with modern dresses. The meeting between Eden with them is more relaxed as Alpha Aedion Blake, Lord Stefan, and Lady Lona are very laid—back people.
After everyone is gathering in one of the rooms, Queen Lena finally asked for the candidates to gather at the underground area where the three tombs are located. Eden looks for her sister, Hailey. Indeed, Hailey says the truth to her words. She isn't attending the ritual and that makes Eden feel less pressure and focus on her work more. One by one start to cut a small line to let their blood attach to the mummy cloths. Each one of them will have to wait a few moments before a connection is created with the soul—bearer mummy. The omegas surely got a high potential to be the next soul—bearer because the connection between them with the first soul—bearer is similar.
The first soul—bearer is from the omegas and she's half a witch. She was killed by something because her death wasn't natural. After digging a lot yesterday, Eden also found that something is far darker than what she already knows. There's something about DPO's real intention and why the soul—bearer is very important to find rather than anything. Although they said it was due to the unmated heir of the three top powers in the supernatural world, and they need the continuation heir from them to secure their power, Eden didn't buy that at all.
Something far bigger or worse than what she and Queen Lena had known so far is coming. It's just, she seems, she can't recall it right now. But she knows she misses something significant about the three tombs.
Waiting for almost ten minutes, Eden and Queen Lena exchange strange looks. There's nothing that happens to the wrists of the candidates that are present there. The cut is still visible on each of their wrists — but the maiden seems not to experience the exchange with their body at all. What is happening? They have already done the right things and made sure they check every single tomb and translate the written pattern one by one, again and again until they were satisfied with the result yesterday.
If she is wrong, she can accept that because she is still young and inexperienced with these kinds of supernatural things. But Queen Lena is different. She was raised and grew up with these stories her whole life. Where'd they get it wrong? Even the group of elders who perform the ritual with them is far more knowledgeable about the magic and the ritual. There is no way they made a mistake. did they recite the words correctly or not?
All maidens who become candidates are virgins, and it's strange how the ritual doesn't work after them doing it right. Queen Lena performs the ritual herself and Eden also saw every single candidate cut their wrist and pour it onto the mummy cloths of the first soul-bearer. Something isn't right. If the candidate is indeed the virgin maiden, the ritual works without a single delay. Unless there is one among them who isn't a virgin maiden. But who is she? Hailey is already out of the ritual. So she can't ruin the perfect ritual.
Eden asked Queen Lena to take the candidates out of the underground area and told her to explain what happened to the heir and their family whose waiting on the up stair for the news. Eden let out a small sigh. She squatted near the wrecking tombs and concentrated her eyes on the walls of the tombs. Jacob saw his sister's disappointed look. He wishes he knew what was happening so he could help her. He saw how hard Eden and Queen Lena work just to make sure they don't make mistakes today. Working almost nine hours nonstop — reading the unclear symbol and strange carved figure on every tomb, and writing it on paper after being translated isn't an easy task. His sister is still young and looks at what the DPO had made her do.
"What is wrong E? Did the ritual not go well?" Eden shocks her head slightly. She drew a sweet smile after hearing her brother call her by her initials name.
"I thought you already stop calling me by that name anymore! I think I never heard you call me by that name after my last birthday party years ago..." Eden spoke while laughing a little at her brother's expression.
"Oh! Common, is it not like I stop calling you E forever? Is just that mom and dad want us to call you Eden instead of E because they think is better that way? After all, you are a grown-up young lady and maybe you prefer to be called by your first name and not by your initials..." Jacob replies with his playful tones. Eden puckered her lips hearing her brother's nonsense answers.
"You know Jac, I prefer E better," Eden said with her cheerful face. The underground area is filled with the two sibling's voices — they exchange their bickering and laughing together. Queen Lena approaches them with her somber look. Eden and Jacob exchanged looks with each other by looking at Queen Lena's hard expression. Eden knew something bad was just about to happen.
"What is it?" Jacob first cracks their silence by asking the same typical question as Queen Lena sighs in defeat. She felt her hard work, and Eden's all these years just went down in vain, not because they didn't do the right things but because they did work for nothing.
"I did tell them about what happened here just like you asked me to do. DPO called in and tell that they finally found the next soul bearer in the States and ask the heir and their family to come home as soon as possible so they can proceed with the next ritual. So they all going to travel back this evening and expected us to come with the" Queen Lena replied in her frustrated voice. Eden felt like her brain wanted to explode. She touches her face with both of her hands and left unbelievable sighs. Her big ocean—blue eyes eye the three tombs intensely while focusing on something by closing her eyes for a moment.
"How did they find her? Is it not like the tombs we found here are fake... why did DPO suddenly find her after us troubling ourselves with this kind of work for years?" Queen Lena shakes her head. She also doesn't know the real answer to the young girl's question. She's right, why, after they do the important ritual, suddenly call in and tell them that they have already found the next soul—bearer, just that?
"What are you doing?" Eden didn't answer Queen Lena, but she walked to the side of the first tombs. She suddenly remembers the first thing that Dean Rasmussen told her when he gave her this work. He told her that the authorities had already done their autopsy and only needed them to inspect if it was true and real. Which authority that Dean Rasmussen refers to, the police? Scotland Yard? Or is there one organization out there that's more powerful than the DPO itself? "Jac, did Dean Rasmussen tell you something about the work we will be doing here? Anything that might connect with it..." Jacob shakes his head again. He just told them the same as what they already knew.
"Why? Did you find something that might connect with all this mess?" Eden nodded and started to explain what she had just recalled about their work near the underground site yesterday. According to Dean Rasmussen, the authority already did the autopsy and they even gave them the result to see. The DPO also want to get down with the work as possible because they want the heir to have their mates during this full moon festival, which isn't very convincing to Eden at all.
Then, Rev. Arthur Marcus told them that there never opened the tombs since they first discovered them three months ago, which is true because, from the work Eden did yesterday, the three tombs have indeed never been opened. Something's far more darkening than what is already known to Eden and Queen Lena so far about the DPO and the true purpose of them to find the next soul—bearer.
"What are you trying to say exactly? Are you saying that DPO lied about all these? The heir continuation is just a joke, is that it?" Queen Lena begins to enrage Eden's explanation. What does this young human girl know that she doesn't? She isn't even fit to do the hard labor work, but still had some guts to say what her useless brain told her to do. Queen Lena scoffs.
"Don't assume something about me just yet, Your Grace. I'm just telling what I know and what I see and read on those tomb's walls..." Eden replied with her composed tone and action. She pointed her finger to the first tombs and said the first tombs belong to the first soul—bearer but died when she was giving birth. The second tomb belongs to the priestess because there is no indication that it is the mummy of the soul—bearer. And the third tomb with that wrecking corner also belongs to the first soul— bearer — and, this is where the story begins to get interesting as the link between the three tombs is very fascinating.
As Eden begins to give her clarification suddenly, out of nowhere, the white spark comes from the second tomb and caught Eden's long-sleeved sweatshirt and put it on fire. Panicking, Eden starts to cry and thereafter runs out of ideas on how to put the fire off. She almost burnt alive, if not because her brother's fastest move saved her by tearing off her sweatshirt. Eden stood there, unmoving, without her realizing that she was already half—naked. Her static state was gone after she felt the clothes start to wrap around her upper body tightly. She felt something was wrong with herself and her eyes became blurry and she felt the drowsiness start to kick in from inside her.
"Eden! Are you okay?" Jacob embraces Eden in his arms. He looks horrified to witness the horrible incident in front of his own eyes. His facial expression and voice are shaking — even his arms are trembling while holding Eden's small body close to him.
"Quick! We need to take her to the hospital now. Let the doctor see her wound and treat her immediately. We can't stay here... hurry!" Queen Lena and Jacob hurried out of the underground site and sent Eden to the hospital for further treatment. They're all surprised by just what happened at the underground tombs, just now. The white sparks are trying to harm Eden. Something's evil lurking inside the underground tombs for sure.
"Lets her rest for a while... she'll tell us when she is ready to talk. For now, let's just take a break and relax..." Jacob nodded slowly. He almost lost his baby sister because of the stupid DPO work she had done. Jacob doesn't know what he'll do or tell their parents if something bad happens to Eden today. He just hopes his little sister will stop her work with the DPO instantly and live like a normal young teenage girl.
"Let's go home!" Eden walks out of the treatment room with a bandage on her left arm. Queen Lena and Jacob exchange their strange looks back again. She just gets burnt all over her arms and now, suddenly she acts like she just got twisted arms? Jacob wants to argue but stops when Eden tells him not to say anything. Sighs in defeat, both Queen Lena and Jacob decide to do what Eden wants and get back to their hotels.