Filed to story: The Luna Mated to Triplet Alphas Novel
“Please, I know it’s hard but please tell us Chance. It’s not too late for Chasity even if it was too late for her mother,” said Alex, gently, his eyes pleading with Chance.
Chance nodded. He seemed genuine in his desire to help Chasity. His eyes were still brimming with tears and his breathing was shaky. I patted him on the shoulder.
“I found them finally…I caught up to them in a motel miles and miles from here. I remember it so vividly because it was Christmas Morning,” confessed Chance.
“You know that song,” said Chance suddenly, his eyes glazing over as if he was envisioning the scene all those years ago.
“Walking in a Winter Wonderland by Dean Martin. It’s an old Christmas song,” he continued.
I knew that song. I loved that song.
“Beautiful. Chalice’s favourite. It’s so funny…the synchronicity…” he said, trailing off again, chuckling sadly.
He spoke with his hands a lot and currently, his hands were trembling.
“I…I was listening to that song on the radio…Walking in a Winter Wonderland…as I switched off the car and took the key out of the ignition but the song never stopped!” Revealed Chance.
Huh? My brothers and I looked at each other, bemused. Chance let out a nervous little laugh.
“The song was still playing on the same radio station but somewhere upstairs in the motel!” Explained Chance. “Chalice! Listening to the same Christmas song as her Dad on the same day at the same time on the same radio station!” Exclaimed Chance excitedly as tears streamed down his cheeks.
I smiled.
“That’s wonderful,” I said sincerely
Somehow I knew the story did not have a wonderful ending to match this heartwarming coincidence.
“So you followed the music?” I prompted.
“Right you are Calix, right you are!” Exclaimed Chance.
My brothers and I looked at each other in surprise. He could tell us apart! That wasn’t easy to do. Only our parents, exes, other pack leaders and of course our one and only Chasity could do that. We were mildly imp**ssed.
“I followed the faint music. It grew steadily louder. There was an echo to it. The Marigold Motel not the hotel, the seedy motel. I went up the rickety side steps. Found one of the doors to the rooms left open. The music was coming from there. I walked in. The place was small and reasonably clean, nothing spectacular. Minimal Christmas decorations. I followed the Christmas Carol to the radio. I turned it off. I shouldn’t have turned it off. The music has been off ever since. When I turned a corner, Chalice and her mate were sitting, staring at the table in the kitchenette. Eyes wide. Just staring. There were fang marks on their necks,” Chance said, lost in a trance and trembling slightly.
“Vampires?” Asked Felix, worry evident in his eyes.
“Snake bites. Furina Ornata. The venomous Moon Snake. The order has special snakes that are a thousand times more venomous than usual,” revealed Chance.
“So it was the order! It is something to do with the tattoo!” Insisted Alex.
Had we just solved the cold case?
“No…not quite,” said Chance.
Huh?
“We give snake bites on purpose. The venom makes us stronger when administered correctly and under supervision. That’s how I got my powers. They were seeking help to get stronger. To fight whoever was chasing them!” Explained Chance.
“But?” Prompted Felix, eager for the conclusion of the strange tale.
Chance gulped. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his brow.
“But the Furina Ornata member who had come to administer the snake venom was dead on the ground too with a bite bark on the neck,” confessed Chance.
I held in a gasp.
“Someone had come upon them and interfered with the ritual. The person or people they were running from interrupted the venom ritual so they couldn’t take the antidote and finish it. They died with venom flooding their systems unchecked. The antidote is usually kept in a metal briefcase with our symbol on it. I found the briefcase on the floor open and the antidote missing. Someone took the antidote and ran off. We usually bring many vials of antidote. The person took all, about half a dozen and left. Or people. The administrator of the venom, our member, she was dead on the ground near the empty briefcase with the snake still crawling about,” explained Chance very softly as though we might be overheard.
The tension in the room was palpable. I was devastated for my Chasity. Her own maternal grandfather had just confirmed the deaths of her parents and she wasn’t even here to process it for herself. Her parents had been doing whatever they could to get strong enough to fight their enemies and return to her but it had all gone wrong. Their enemies had come upon them mid-ritual and made off with the antidote, leaving Chalice and Chase to die by the very thing that was supposed to be their saving grace.
“So…what did you do after that, Chance?” I asked gently.
I was grateful that he was being so transparent with us. He had lost his daughter. No wonder his office was such a mess. He was probably dep**ssed.
“I called the police. They came with an ambulance. I sat there and looked at Chalice staring at me sightlessly. She looked peaceful, hopeful, perhaps about the ritual. She herself had undertaken it successfully once before. We all did, numerous times. The ambulance people couldn’t revive them. They were pronounced dead and so was the administrator. The people who were chasing them. I had no idea still who they were or where they went. I buried my daughter and her mate with my own money. I even included the administrator in the funeral. It was a quiet little funeral in Marigold,” said Chance in hushed tones.
Alex
Marigold? Maze’s territory. When I got my Luna back, I would take her to her parents’ graves. It was not what we had been hoping for but the truth was always worth telling.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone?” Snapped Felix, his blue eyes turning black.
I could understand his anger. Chasity had been in the dark all this time.
Chance looked affronted at Felix’s tone.
“Who was the administrator?” I asked instead, diverting Chance’s attention.
“The administrator was Deidre Binx, Chalice’s friend, and a fellow order member who used the venom treatments for her skin and whatnot like a beauty regime. She wanted to be a model,” said Chance fl*ppantly.
I felt a chill creep through me. My brothers were uncomfortable too. Deidre Binx wasn’t dead so how could she be buried? Was this man a pathological liar? Or was Deidre Binx some kind of wraith? Was she a total imposter?
“Deidre Binx isn’t dead,” blurted out Felix. “She is a model, was. She’s a retired supermodel. She’s in LA, still schmoozing and again why didn’t you tell anyone? Chasity? Our parents? You left her in the dark,” complained Felix, his voice cracking slightly.
We were all grieving but I knew Felix was taking this the hardest. He blamed himself for letting Chasity out of his sight even if only for one minute when he let her use her downstairs bathroom. Chance looked flabbergasted. He truly hadn’t known that Deidre Binx had been walking runways for the past nine years. I looked around the room. Chance was probably a recluse.
“The real Deidre Spinx is dead,” said Chance firmly. “I know that with a certainty. I don’t know who that woman that models and has her name and looks just like her is. She’s not Deidre Spinx. I was never able to catch her and talk to her. She eluded me for years and I grew tired. I don’t think she actually killed anyone. Just benefitted from the death of Deidre. Took her spot in the modelling agency. Doppelgängers? I really don’t know. It’s creepy but my focus was Chalice. I buried her and I did tell your parents. Alpha Romeo and Luna Ronnie.”
I was going to be sick. A wave of nausea hit me. What? My parents knew Chasity’s parents were dead.
“I begged them to bring her to the funeral,” continued Chance. “I spoke with them on the phone. They hung up. They ignored my letters. I used to show up at the pack house after I got back from Marigold. They got a restraining order against me. Look it’s there!” Shouted Chance, pointing to the wall.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?