Chapter 23

Elsa hesitated. She looked at the men as they climbed the stairs. "No," she shook her head, "I'm not leaving you here." She spread her palms out to them, casting a spell that sent them falling back to the ground with a thud.

She held her hands to both sides and floated as she descended from upstairs. She used her supernatural power to throw a flower vase at Sasha.

Sasha left Philip and held her fist in the air. The vase shattered into pieces and fell to the ground. Philip dropped, free from Sasha's spell. He noticed the two guys going after Elsa, and he flung himself towards them. He punched one of them and threw him to the ground. 

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Michael walked to Elsa's house, he wanted to express his gratitude for what she did for him. When he got to her house, he noticed that something was happening inside. He threw open the door to observe what was going on. Everyone was engrossed in the fight, so no one appeared to notice his presence.

He witnessed the two men beating Philip. He wasted no time in extending his claws and charging one of the men. Michael and Philip won the fight, knocking the two men out.

With Elsa's preternatural power, she pushed Sasha away, who then fell into the wooden table. She groaned and teleported out of the room. 

They sighed, settling on the couch. Elsa turned her head and saw Michael. She called, "Michael?" She was taken aback to see him. "Have you been here the entire time?"

"Yes, I came to check up on you..." He looked at the guys lying unconsciously on the ground. "Then I saw all this."

"Did I or did I not warn you to not do dark magic?" Philip yelled.

"Dad, it was just that once, and I don't plan on doing it again." 

"Don't you get it? There's not a second chance. You do dark magic, they come after you and kill you. It doesn't matter how many times you do it. "

"She said something about me being reborn. What did she mean? " Elsa sat up.

"Sasha is a crazy bitch. Don't listen to anything she says. " Philip stood up and turned to Michael. "Hey, Michael, thanks for earlier, but you shouldn't have. I had everything under control. " 

"Sorry, but it didn't seem like you did." Michael chuckled.

Eve walked into the room through the back door with a watering can. She had an apron on. "What happened here?" She asked, wide-eyed as she continued walking into the room.

"Honey," Philip called out to her.

"What happened to your face?" She noticed the cuts and bruises on his face as he went closer. 

"It's nothing." He gave a sly grin.

"Come, let me help you clean those wounds." Eve walked away with her husband.

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Chris arrived at his home and waited outside for a moment to survey the structure like it was his first time there. He missed everything—his life, his house, his loved ones, his friends. He entered his home and was happy to see his father because it had been almost a year since he had last seen him. His face lit up with delight as he raced to give him a hug. 

"Since when have you been here?" Chris inquired as he released the embrace.

"About two months ago." Nicholas ran his gaze down Chris. "You don't look like you're dark." 

"Because I'm not anymore. Wait, you knew." Chris's expression changed from ecstasy to a puzzled one.

"Of course, how did you turn your good side back on?" 

"I didn't, a witch did."

"How was she able to do that?" 

"Why didn't you come for me while I was out there wandering in the woods?" Michael asked, ignoring his father's question.

"I was searching for ways to turn on your good side, so you wouldn't kill Michael."

"Kill Michael?" Chris scoffed. "While you were searching, I was out there doing horrible things. Do you know how much those memories haunt me? " Chris chuckled amidst the anger. "Why am I surprised? "You never cared about your children anyway." He walked past Nicholas and climbed up to his room.

Nicholas didn't say a word as he watched Chris exit the living room. He sighed and strode up to a couch and sat on it.

Michael walked in after a few minutes. He was heading to the stairs when his eyes caught his father. He immediately remembered what Sydney had told him. Before he said anything, he decided to ask his father to show him his wolf eyes.

"Show me!" Michael yelled as his father didn't respond to him at first.

"Michael, I don't have the strength for whatever this is about." 

"I've never seen your wolf eyes. I saw Mom's before she died. It was blue, like Chris's. They're regular werewolves. What kind of werewolf am I, dad? " Michael walked closer to his father. "Show me your wolf eyes."

Nicholas looked down at his shoes and sighed. He raised his eyes to Michael, and they glowed blue.

"Michael, let me explain." He stood up from the couch and walked up to Michael.

Michael staggered backwards. He rubbed his brows into a furrow. "Stay away from me." He held out his hands to Nicholas. Tears began to form in his eyes. "You're not my father." 

Chris walked down the stairs and stopped halfway, observing his brother and his father. He couldn't get a clear picture of what was going on between them. 

"Michael, wait!" Nicholas hollered as Michael hurried towards the door.

"What did you say to him?" Chris rushed down the stairs. 

Nicholas didn't answer. He attempted to go after Michael, but Chris caught him by his wrist. I'm not sure he'd want to hear anything you have to say now. I'll go talk to him. "

Nicholas sighed, and he held his head up as he walked sluggishly to the couch.

Chris hurried out of the house in search of Michael. He walked silently in the warm rays of the afternoon that flashed through the tall trees. He followed Michael's scent and walked further. He halted as he sensed a dark vibe surrounding him. He looked around and couldn't find anything. He continued walking while using his acute hearing to pick up some footsteps on dried leaves and fallen branches. 

He noticed he was surrounded by people dressed in black. He watched them as they revealed themselves from the woods in a stalking motion.

"You are a hard man to find." From within the manifold ravens, Elias exposed himself.

Chris was startled. He looked around. His face was edged with pure confusion as beads of sweat rolled down his head. He hated this feeling; he hated anxiety. The only way he could get out of this was if he disappeared which was impossible for him to do. He knew he could not fight this number of ravens alone, and he didn't want to give them what they wanted.

"Where's the golden dirk?" Elias inquired."

Chris didn't answer. He extracted his claws and canines. His eyes shone blue. He tried to link minds with Michael, but he knew it would only work out if his brother shifted into a wolf, either partially or completely.

"I see you're ready for a fight." Elias smirked darkly. "Attack!" He commanded.

Chris was not able to link minds with Michael. He kept on trying, but to no avail. He was interrupted with a blow across the face, causing him to stumble backwards against a tree. He zoomed out of the danger zone like lightning, clasping his claws on a raven's neck. He immediately dug his claws into his neck and kicked the one running towards him from behind. He freed his claws from his neck and the lifeless raven fell to the ground with a thud. 

He turned around and faced Elias, who flapped his big wings vigorously unleashing dark energy on Chris. Chris was hurled into the air as it hit him. He fell to the ground and banged his head against a small rock that was stuck in the ground. He yelled, clutching at the back of his head as he felt an excruciating pain surging through his head. 

'I'm in trouble! ' He tried linking his mind with Michael's again, but it didn't seem to work. 

Elias walked up to him and grabbed him by the throat, dark energy whirled in his grip. He threw Chris at a large tree. Chris hit his back against the rough bark of the tree. He fell to the ground on his stomach and remained motionless.

Elias walked over to the insentient werewolf lying on the ground. He flipped Chris around with his leg and made him lie on his back. He examined him for a while before ordering one of the ravens to carry him. They all fluttered their wings and flew into the bright blue sky.

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Michael fought the urge to tear as he ran out of his house. He gritted his teeth angrily; his wolf was trying to take over. He clenched his hands into firm fists and punched hard against the uneven wall until his hand began to bleed. 

He brought down his bleeding hands, and they began to tremble. He leaned on the wall, feeling weak in his legs. He gazed at his blood that had stained it. 

He wiped away the tear that threatened to drop. He didn't want to believe that the man he had been with for twenty years was not his biological father. He was a stranger in his house. He wondered what happened to his birth parents. Do I have a sibling? Is my real family still alive? Those were the questions he asked himself. 

He found a waterfall as he wandered around and was surprised to find the roaring of the river very calming. He sat on a large rock and gathered some flat stones in his hands, throwing them off occasionally into the river. 

He got a sudden urge to shift. His eyes flashed green, but he fought it. His wolf fought to take over. He was extremely perplexed. What could have triggered his wolf? He wondered. He had not undergone the mating ritual with Emily, so even if she was in danger, he wouldn't feel it.

He felt like a werewolf was trying to link minds with him, trying to tell him something. He shut it out, believing it was Nicholas trying to reach out to him.

He dropped the stones he had left in his hands and walked to Sydney's house. With Nicholas out of the equation, Sydney was the only person who could at least tell him something about the kind of werewolf he was.

He knocked on the door, and a few minutes later, Sydney opened and invited him in. "Did you find out anything?" He asked Michael immediately. His eagerness to know made Michael frown slightly. 

"Why are you so keen to know?" Michael gave him a look of suspicion.

"You're my friend, Mike. I'd be a bad friend if I wasn't concerned about you. " Sydney walked with Michael into the living room.

"All my family, including my deceased mother, are regular werewolves." Michael breathed as he fell on the couch.

"Did you ask your dad about your real parents?" Sydney sat beside him.

"No, I was just so enraged that I didn't even want to hear anything he had to say." Michael turned to Sydney.

"Can I stay here for a day or two? I don't think I'm ready to go back there. "

"You can stay for as long as you want." Sydney's lips curved into a smirk.

"Thanks, man." Michael said, patting Sydney's shoulder. "So do you know what kind of werewolf I am?"

"You're a primordial werewolf." Sydney spoke without delay and Michael shuffled on the couch to face him. The look in his eyes told Sydney that he needed to say more. He got the memo and continued. "Primordial werewolves have been in existence since 70,000 BC. They were strong, fast and aggressive. They could literally do things other werewolves couldn't. In the 1880s, they were attacked by avians, both phoenixes and ravens. The regular and ultima werewolves refused to help the primordials in the fight, so they were overpowered and only one primordial werewolf survived." Sydney stopped talking and watched Michael's expression.

"Are you saying the man that survived might be my father?" Michael raised an eyebrow.

Sydney nodded, "You were born after the war. It actually makes sense, right? " 

"Do you know where he is?" Michael asked.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him in a decade. "

"Wait, you knew him?" Michael asked with a sly frown.

"Yeah, we didn't relate really well though, but I understood him."

"So, what type of werewolf are you?" Michael asked.

"Who says I'm a werewolf?" 

"Come on! You know a lot about werewolves, and I can smell you. "

"Okay, I'm a regular werewolf." Sydney looked away from Michael.

"You're lying." Michael spat. "Have you forgotten that I can hear your heartbeat?" 

Sydney groaned and yanked up from the couch. He walked further, to the stairs. Michael watched him with a confused expression on his face as he ascended the stairs. He wondered why asking him about the type of werewolf he was made him angry.

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Emily's father came home, and she explained to him what happened with the refrigerator door. He told her that all of her suppressed powers would come rushing out, and she would feel a lot of power surge through her at some point, and if she didn't control it now, it'd control her later.

He suggested they go to the courtyard and do some training.

Emily went to her room to change into something more fitting to train in.

They went out to the yard, and Richard taught her some fighting skills. 

When they were done, he told her that he wanted to show her something. She nodded and waited keenly for whatever her father was about to do. 

He stood motionless for a while. She saw dark energy encircling him until all she saw was dark shades of purple. She watched as the whirling dark energy stabilized, slowly dying down. She gasped, seeing a crow instead of her father, amidst the air, flapping its wings.

It flew towards her and she set her arm for it to land on. She chuckled, gently stroking its bristles. It turned around and flew a little bit away from her. She watched the crow spin with dark energy, immediately swapping into her father.

"How did you do that? Teach me." She moved towards him.

"I will, but first you must learn how to extract and retract both your raven and phoenix wings." 

Emily's ecstatic expression was replaced with a dull one at her father's words. He continued, feigning not to notice Emily's bored expression. "Close your eyes," Richard said, slowly closing his eyes. "Attract the soft breeze to yourself. Feel its coolness and let it radiate all over you. Let the energy surge through you and then let it out. " 

There was silence afterwards. Emily opened one eye and stared at Richard, whose wings had been extracted. She looked behind her and sighed disappointedly, saying, "It's not working." She opened the second eye.

"Your mother weakened your powers. It'll work eventually if you try harder." Richard opened his eyes.

"Jacob was also given parsley, but he knows how to use his powers without being taught." Emily walked past her father and grabbed a bottle of water from the wooden chair.

"Jacob was bitten by a werewolf," Richard told Emily. "It awakened his almost-dead powers, changing him to something else instead of killing him." 

Emily sighed, setting down the bottle of water after taking a few gulps down her throat.

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Michael was lying on the couch, he remained restless, his wolf popping in and out of his head. He jerked up, pacing the living room. He snarled, his eyes glowing green. He couldn't hold it any longer. With a loud growl, he erupted into his wolf form, rending the clothes he had on. Sydney heard the growl from upstairs and rushed down to check on Michael. 

Michael opened his mind to be linked to whoever it was. 'Michael,' he heard Chris's voice in his head. 

"Chris, what is it? ' Michael asked.

'The ravens captured me. I might have told them where the golden dirk is and they're after it. I have a bad feeling about what they want to do with it. I need you to get there first. ' Chris sounded like he had taken loads of punishment and rounds of torture.

"Where?" Michael asked but didn't get a reply. He felt Chris's breath shallow and the connection was interrupted. 

He fell to the ground, slowly transforming back to human form. He trembled, curling up on the cold ground.

Sydney rushed to him and covered him with the towel. He had gone back up to take it when he saw Michael in wolf form. 

"Golden Dirk... Chris..." Michael muttered with shaky breath. He closed his eyes, losing consciousness.