Genesis? Unlikely Allies

"Pull yourself together"

"Pull. Yourself. Together" Her father's signature calm voice went noticeably deeper and had an edge to it, like he was trying to restrain an emotion. She couldn't tell what that might be

"Who could that be?" Eliza asked herself, she considered walking out to inspect herself but thought better of it.

"It's best to avoid avoidable questions" she muttered.

She turned back to the tome in front of her and continued to finger through the pages of Heeglde's Letters.

She had snuck back into the house from the mating festival, which usually lasted 7 nights throughout the season of fertility, where the Spirit of the First Mother is believed to hide herself in young unsuspecting females to mate with someone of high status and bear a unique female paw to ensure continual belief in her existence.

Tsk, she saw it as a stupid belief anyway, it's almost as if the ritual was a competition.

A new one is born as the former dies at the close of the last generation.

"You're getting old" she remembered Yana saying, words as clear as day, "get yourself a mate, love. Your father is not happy."

Ironic how Eliza, who is rumoured to be her direct descendant, cared more about a grain of sand from the waterside than any of that fanatical nonsense.

The heavy stench of sex hit her sensitive nostrils once more like a cold waft of wind on a stormy night and she wondered if she had become too modernized from all the intellectual scripts she constantly devoured and therefore desensitized to the idea of finding a mate and commencing the mating ritual which is really just a large outdoor communal orgy of supernaturals.

She took a deep breath…ugh, bad idea.

It was only the second night of the festivities and she couldn't bear a second longer.

She got up, patted her dress down and quietly - or not so quietly - when did her door start to creak? This is certainly a recent development.

She didn't stop anyway, she would rather profess her love to a vampire than stay another second suffocating from the fragrant aroma of fur against fur, skin against skin.

Caleb.

The name popped up in her head intrusively as it had been for the past few weeks for she secretly hoped to meet him again.

She cut off her current train of thought abruptly.

"Now's not the time, Eliza"

She crept quickly and stealthily, bound for Yana's room, specifically to the little makeshift cabinet Eliza discovered is really a door that Yana herself built.

She was getting closer, her heart fluttered in anticipation, begging her to hurry.

"NO!" A voice thundered

Time seemed to stop.

Her body tensed up as she stood frozen in fear, unable to move or even breathe properly. Her heart raced inside her chest like a jackhammer, while her breaths came in quick, shallow gasps.

Sweat beaded on her forehead and palms as her body prepared for fight or flight. Her muscles quivered with tension, as if ready to spring into action at a moment's notice.

"Marcus" she whispered shakily.

What could the new pack Alpha be discussing with her father.

She moved closer in their direction, right behind the mantle piece, it was most convenient place to listen to them without being smelled or felt.

"It's a big decision." Marcus said resignedly.

"Which is why you must make the announcement tomorrow." Her father's tone was definitive and left no room for any more discussion.

At this point, she wished even more than before to get the hell out of this hole.

She fled to Yana's room quickly, not caring if anyone heard her, even almost wishing they did.

Once she was out in the cold air, she set a sprint through the woods to the lakeside.

She sat, staring above into the starry black sky and took a deep breath again…yeah, this is what paradise feels like.

****

The sun had risen in Silver Creek, and Eliza was getting ready to head out with her pack for a meeting with the vampire council.

She had woken up with a start, and thanked her luck that they probably didn't notice she was gone all night.

She still thought of Caleb and couldn't shake off the feeling of confusion that lingered from her encounter with him.

She had never felt such a strong connection with someone, especially not a vampire. She flicked her stray silver strands behind her right ear and walked out of her cabin to meet her pack.

Eliza and her pack entered the council room where they were greeted by Marcella, Caleb's sire. The council demanded the pack's help in finding a rogue vampire that had been attacking humans in the area.

They have an unlikely alliance concerning humans which seemed strange to Eliza.

They were quick to bite and stab each other at the slightest chance but once either party goes rogue and attack humans, they work together immediately to hunt the rogue.

This didn't stop her from feeling a pang of unease, knowing how much her pack disliked vampires.

Alpha Marcus agreed to help the vampires after being stubborn about an old custom that goes way back into centuries.

She had earlier determined to find Caleb and ask him some questions.

"What if he doesn't join the hunt?" A voice in her head which sounded like hers asked.

"Shut up."

"Huh??"

She turned to face the most beautiful creature she had ever beheld in her twenty eight years of existence.

"I'm Adeline" she said with a smile.

Her voice even sounded unreal, and her gentle smile revealed a perfect set of straight white teeth that seemed to sparkle.

She had to be the true definition of otherworldly beauty.

"Hello, I'm Eliza"

"I know." She responded.

Of course she does, that doesn't surprise her anymore.

"Well, I suppose it's only fair to know who you are too."

"I suppose it is -"

"We meet again, Eliza"

Adeline was cut off mid-speech by the voice Eliza longed to hear for the past weeks.

Caleb.

She sensed him walk up to them and he came to face her. Her heart skipped three beats.

"Hello to you too, brother."

She whipped around so fast, it's a miracle she didn't get a whiplash.

"Hello again, Eliza, we'll see later. I gotta go." Adeline practically skipped away.

"You do know how to make an appearance, Caleb. I hope we're paired together for the hunt."

A tilted his head a little. "I appreciate the enthusiasm but" his eyes bored a hole into her eyes "why?"

"I'm curious."

He smiled and nodded.

Damn, he's beautiful.

The pack was split into pairs to search for the rogue vampire.

Eliza was paired with Caleb, which made her feel both excited and nervous at the same time.

They were about to set out on their mission, and follow the vampire's trail deep into the woods.

Eliza abruptly stopped.

Caleb started to ask why but stopped when he knew why or rather, heard it.

A piercing scream rang through the woods.

Eliza didn't realize that the scream was coming from her.