⚠️⚠️

Nicolette found it weird that they had both disappeared and Malcom didn't have a clue of what they were doing. We walked back to his house in silence. The sun was starting to set and the blue sky turned into a orange and yellow mess.

As we got closer to his house, Nicolette sensed a familiar presence but she knew he wasn't supposed to be here. She sees Beck arriving at the front door of Malcom's house.

"Beck? What are you doing here?" She calls out to him. A smile was plastered on his face as he turned and saw her. He ran up to Nicolette and pulled her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around him but then a low growl was heard through the silence.

"He marked you," Beck whispers into Nicolette's ear. She nod and he backs up a bit, not wanting to cause any trouble with the Alpha King. "I was told to come here but I don't know why. I assumed it was you but I don't think you knew I was supposed to come." Nicolette glances up at Malcom and he shrugs.

Her suspicions were growing. So first, Lucas and Seth disappear. Second, who would have invited a vampire onto pack lands?

Nicolette has a sudden rush of realization pass through her. Her body began to shake and her breathing becoming shaky. "Damn it." She ran into the house and saw streamers lining the pillars and balloons strung along the place.

"Surprise!" Lucas and Seth cheer and throw confetti over her head. She looks around frantically, as if she were looking for something, but she wasn't.

"I forgot," she whispers with tears welling in her eyes. She turned to Beck and stared at him. "I forgot."

How could she forget that today was the 28th? She forgot the most important of the year. Her parent's death day. Every year she visits their grave and this year she can't. She made the idiotic choice to stay here for month and now she can't even leave to see her parents.

"It's fine Nicolette, you were distracted it'll be okay," Beck tried to console her but he had no idea how bad Nicolette was beating herself up about it.

She felt waves of pain wash through her body. She forgot, she was so busy with protecting this pack that she forgot to visit her parents. Tears fell from her eyes as she ran past Beck and Malcom and out of the house.

Nicolette needed to get away from whatever surprise party they threw for her birthday. She already told them to not do anything for her birthday.

Her birthday was only a reminder of her mistakes of past. If she had trained harder with her mom, she could have been strong enough to fight back and help her parents but she could barely hold a simple shield up at the time.

She needed to see their graves, to tell them sorry for the five hundredth time. She ran quickly and leaped into the trees. She ran on top of the frail branches towards a lake that was near by.

Nicolette took careful, educated leaps onto the branches, making sure that they wouldn't break on impact. She heard an occasional crack or break but she made it to the lake safely.

She dropped down to the edge of the lake and stared out upon the lake. The moon was starting to rise further into the sky as the sun could no longer be seen. The lake ripped quietly as the moon's glare caused the whole lake to light up.

The tribrid sat on the edge of the lake and looked at her reflection in the water. Tiny fish swam under the moonlight and seemed to have their own sparkle too.

She closed her eyes and lifted her hands over the water and chanted a spell. Her soft voice broke the peaceful silence around her. Nicolette opened her blue eyes that lit up the night even more and watched the water start to swirl.

In the small vortex, the reflection of the moon's light was no longer seen, but one large stone, trees surrounding it. Etched into the stone read: Mom and Dad. Tears welled in Nicolette's eyes as she stared at the makeshift tome stone she had made centuries ago.

Days. It had been days that Nicolette had been running, like her mother told her to. She could only pray that they were alive. She ran, waiting for her mom to contact her to tell her to come home, but it never happened.

She decided that she would go back and see if her parents were waiting for her there. She couldn't bring herself to think of the worst. She thought that it would be offensive to say that her parent's power wasn't strong enough.

Her father was an extraordinary warrior and her mom was a talented witch. Over the few days that she had been running, she convinced herself that they were fine and were just having a hard time finding her.

Nicolette still clung onto the book of spells her mom handed to her before she was told to run. She opened it and flipped through the pages until she found the locator spell.

She read through the phrase and lifted a hand in front of her and read it out loud. The leaves on the forest floor started to blow up into the air. Then, they went limp and fell back down onto the ground.

"Damn," Nicolette muttered. She grumbled out a few more curses and read the spell out again. This time, the leaves flew up into the air and stayed in the air.

Nicolette slammed the book close and silently cheered as she stared to follow them back to her house. It was a few day before she got back to her house.

Nicolette spent those few days convincing herself further that everything was alright, and all the tears she shed while running were a waste because her parents are alive.

She smelled the scent of unwelcome visitors at her house as she approached it. There was no scent of viable life but she told herself that her parents probably just went looking for her.

She walked slowly towards the house and walked to the backyard. Nicolette let out a gasp and dropped the spell book. Tears flows out of her eyes as she saw blood everywhere.

Her mom was chained to a tree, dead. Everywhere on her body was cut. Nicolette chocked back her sobs as she stared at her mom's limp body. Only a few shreds of clothing cling onto her body.

She saw her dad's body on the ground, blood coming out of his ears and eyes, no glimpse of life in his eyes. His face stayed morphed in sheer terror.

Tears didn't stop flowing down her face as she tore her focus away from her parents. She couldn't bear to see them in this way.

"I'm so sorry. I should've stayed that day. I should have stayed and died with you. I-I have a-a mate now," she cried. Nicolette always told her parents what happened in the last year. In hopes that they were listening from wherever they were.

"He w-was an ass at first," she choked. "I-I don't know how he made me fall in l-love with him, b-but I can't stop. I do-don't know if I should st-stay. I'm s-supposed to be Qu-Queen Luna now. I don't think I'm ready to h-have everyone find out about me."

"Then don't. I'll kill you first." The image of Nicolette's parents faded back into the water as she turned around quickly, drying off her tears. She stared at Henry who was smiling back at her.

"If I had an actual heart, I may have shed a tear," he laughed. Nicolette let out a growl and flung her hands at him. Her intention was to send his body flying back into the trees but he stayed in place. "Isn't it wonderful?" He held up his arm to show a marking cut into his wrist.

"Your magic doesn't affect me," he grins as he pounced at her. She moves quickly and pointed her hands towards the water and chanted a spell. Her eyes flowed blue again and water spun out of the water.

"It won't affect you but I can control things around your body," she let out a grunt as she moved the water towards him. It was like carrying gallons of water but with an imaginary pole and bucket.

The water circled around his body and trapped him in a floating position. Henry let out a growl and punched the water around him. Nicolette slowly closed her hands into fists as the water wrapped tighter around his body.

Suddenly a force pulled against her and her hand dropped. She no longer had control of her body. Her hand was forced down and the water around Henry fell to the ground.

He let out a growl and glared at Nicolette one last time before running back into the shade of the woods. The force against her was released and Nicolette dropped to her knees.

She let out a cry of anger and slammed her fist into the ground. The energy of her anger coursed through her body and cracked the forest floor in half. Nicolette got up quickly and backed up, watching a small ravine form in front of her.

"Holy shit."

———