*Bonus Ch 264: The Call

[For Reference: Continued from Bonus Ch 245.]

Nighttime came, and the campfire was lit. A lot of vampires and vampiresses of all ages gathered. Just as Mitchell figured, Lily and his seventeen-year-old daughter pulled it off like besties. Then Ian got along great with the teenage vampires his age. Mitchell watched them across the fire and noticed Ian's expression change from laughter to distress. He went to Ian and shooed the other vamp teenagers aside.

Ian held his head from an enormous discomfort. His chest heaved and his breath stifled.

"You're alright." Mitchell touched his back and sat next to him.

"Ian!" Lily addressed, going right over to sit by his right.

"What's going on?" Ian gritted his teeth in agony. "Everything feels so cold!"

His teeth started to chatter, so he rubbed his palms up and down his arms, trying to get warm.

"Let it pass." Mitchell urged, "Just breathe."

"What's happening?" Ian shivered, asking again.

Mitchell replied, "Something must be happening to your father. Another vampire might be attacking him."

"I-I have to help him!" Ian stutters, chattering his teeth together. "He's in trouble!"

He was going to stand, but Mitchell kept him from doing that. "Stay put," he urged. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

Around the fire, everyone was quiet while Ian embraced whatever pain his father was dealing with. Sure enough, the pain faded and stopped altogether. Ian took a heavier heave, and relaxed the tension in his muscles.

"Are you ok?" Lily's darling voice entered his ears, so he faced her, barely smiling.

"Yeah, I hope my dad's alright," Ian replies, feeling heartache.

After a few minutes, "Come to me," he heard his dad whisper.

"Dad?"

He peered around as if his dad's voice came from right here. But all he saw were eyes staring at him. And all he heard was the sizzling fire, crackling and popping the moisture inside the sticks and twigs.

"If you hear him, then I'm sure he's fine," Mitchell smiled as Ian stood after hearing the voice several more times.

"I think he's calling me," Ian uttered, staring at the night sky as if he wished his dad would come.

"He is calling you," Mitchell confirmed as everyone started to talk. Ian walked off, going to the woods. Lily was about to follow until Mitchell grabbed her wrist. He smiled at her to stay put and enjoy herself. Although Lily wanted to comfort Ian, however, she respected Mitchell's gentle request, so she didn't move from the fire. Quietly Mitchell followed Ian to the nearby woods.

"You need to come home," a stronger dominant voice whispered to Ian.

Sensing Mitchell's presence, Ian told him, "I heard a distinct voice that was stronger than my father's voice." Ian turned to face Mitchell. "I've heard this voice a few times before."

Mitchell cocked his head thinking. Over time he figured out he knew Ian's father and Coven. But what Ian had shared would mean his father's Clan Alpha was back after vanishing long ago.

"That would be your Alpha helping your dad to locate you," Mitchell only shared.

"They're calling me now." Ian frowned, glancing over at Lily chatting by the fire.

Mitchell saw the look and read him like an open book. "You have a choice to go to the call or not," he says.

Ian frowned and made the difficult decision. "I made a promise to Lily," he affirmed. "I told her that we'd find her dad first. I won't break that promise."

Mitchell smirked, "You are just like your dad."

Ian's mouth hangs partly loose from what he heard. "You know my dad?" he asked, feeling excited and stunned.

Mitchell smiled lightly, "I'm pretty sure I know your whole Coven."

"Who are they? What's my dad's name? Do you know why he left me?" Ian bombarded him with questions that Mitchell hardly had any time to process each one, let alone answer them.

Mitchell chuckled and expected this to be his reaction. "These questions are for you to discover for yourself. To be fair, I never knew your father had a vamp kid to a human."

"Oh, I see," Ian said with the visible sound of massive disappointment.

Mitchell smiled and touched his shoulder. "Just because he left you, doesn't mean he didn't love you. Single unmated vampires won't raise offspring without a mate. At least not until you're eighteen."

"That's why he left me with my mom?" Ian muttered, and Mitchell nodded to answer him before he took his hand from his shoulder.

"In due time, you'll find your dad," Mitchell guaranteed. "For the time being, you are welcome to stay here."

Ian was downright grateful.

~~~

October came. Lily and Ian watched as most of Mitchell's Coven left for this masked ball. Before taking off, Mitchell approached them. He frowned, seeing how lonely they appeared.

Throughout the remaining weeks, Ian hasn't heard or sensed his dad, and it had been the same for Lily. Mitchell explained their dads have been traveling through worldly dimensions with their Alphas. Traveling through gateways would cut their connection until they'd return.

Ian and Lily knew their dads had returned, but their scent was far away. Though Mitchell had a hunch as to where their dads were going.

"I advise that you stay until I return," Mitchell told them.

"Thank you for everything," Ian thanked.

"I'll see you both soon," he smiled. Then he faded into smoke before withering away.

Once again, Lily and Ian cupped hands to help ease that lonely sting in their hearts.

~~~

"Come to me."

Monday morning, Lily sat upright from her sleep when she heard a voice calling her. Using her hefty speed, she gets dressed and flies her door open. At the same time, Ian opened the guest bedroom door across from her room.

"My dad's calling me!" Lily chippered all too happily.

"Wait, are you sure?" Ian stopped her before she left the hall.

"I have to go!" Lily insisted as the voice called her again. "He's close!"

Ian parted his mouth to speak, but she was gone that fast. From the hall, he bounced himself to the dining room, where he found one of the vampires who stayed behind to care for them and the mansion.

"Hey, Mitchell called me. He said your dads are heading here," he informed happily, setting the table for everyone to eat.

"Lily is gone!" Ian blurted as a churning pang jabbed his heart. "She said her dad was calling her!"

The vampire dropped the utensils before he pulled out his phone, calling someone. "Did Lily's dad call her?"

"No," over the phone, Ian overheard Mitchell's voice say. "Why?"

Ian's eyes got blurry, and without thinking, he took a mad dash out of there to go after Lily.

By the time the vampire peeked over, Ian was gone from sight. "Lily and Ian are in trouble," he notified Mitchell over the phone.