Callyn
It doesn’t take us long to reach my house. There is a moving van and a candy apple red SUV in the driveway when we pull up. I glance up, and my aunt is standing in the doorway of the front door giving directions to the movers. I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes at just the sight of her. She hasn’t changed a bit. Her long, brown hair is pin straight and pulled back into a ponytail. I’m actually surprised that she is wearing jeans and not her fifties style skirts she loves. She looks young and youthful in her t-shirt and sneakers. I didn’t realize how much I’ve missed her until now. I unbuckle myself and bolt out of the car, not bothering to close the door behind me. I take off at a run.
“Aunt Dahlia,” is the only warning I give her right before I launch myself at her. I wrap my arms around her as tight as I can, letting the tears flow. She hugs me back just as tight. “I’ve missed you so much.” She pulls back and cups my face. She is crying just as much as I am.
“Oh, sweet pea, I’ve missed you too.” She pulls me back in for another hug. I couldn’t tell you how long we hugged each other. I feel a hand touch the small of my back. I pull back and see the boys are standing nearby. My aunt follows my line of sight, “and who are these handsome young men?”
I clear my throat and blush. I’m about to introduce her to my mates, my boyfriends. I wonder how she is going to take that news. I step back from my aunt and walk to stand in front of my guys. Graydon puts one hand on my shoulder, and Zeke places his hand on my other. Lucian laced his fingers together with mine and Max does the same with my other hand. I love their comfort. I don’t think I could have done this without them. I’m so glad that they are here. I can see my aunt’s eyes bounce from hand-to-hand.
“Aunt Dahlia, I would like to introduce you to my mates. Graydon James, Zeke Montgomery, Lucian Harris, and Maximus Anderson.” As I say each name I gesture with my head to each boy. “Guys this is Aunt Dahlia.” They all say hello.
I was waiting for her to scream, yell, hell even have a shocked face. Instead, a smile crosses her face and barely above a whisper we hear her say, “It’s you, you found them.”
I frown at her. “What do you mean by that and why aren’t you more, oh I don’t know, upset about this?”
She waves her hand dismissively at me. “We can talk about this later. Let’s finish bringing the boxes in, and we can catch up, it’s been way too long.”
Oh God, this is it, the moment I’ve been dreading. Zeke must feel my anxiety because he lightly squeezes my shoulder before leaning down to whisper in my ear. “You got this, sweetheart. You are stronger than you think, and we will be with you every step of the way. You are not doing this alone.”
I nod my head. I look around me and see the love and support shining in all of their eyes. Squaring my shoulders, taking a deep breath, and quickly squeezing of Max and Lucian’s hands, I make my way into the house.
The memories hit me all at once. Every hit, every scream, every sound. They all come flooding back. I let out a whimper and close my eyes. I can’t do this. Why did I think I would be able to? I try to sink down to my knees, but a pair of strong arms wrap around my body from behind, holding me steady.
“It’s alright, Callie bear. You don’t have to do this. We’ll figure something else out.” Graydon’s voice is softer than I’ve ever heard it before. But instead of it making me fall apart, it gives me a little bit of strength.
I take a couple of deep breaths, trying to get myself under control. “No, I need to do this. I can’t let him have any more control over me.” Graydon drops his arms, and I walk slowly toward my living room. I was expecting to see the room in the same state that it was left, but I’m floored by what I see.
There is not a single beer can in sight. All of the furniture has been replaced. There are a few pictures on the wall. I walk closer to see of who and a flood gate of tears open. There are pictures of me and Mom on the wall and some of me and my aunt. I whip around searching for my aunt. She walks in the living room, coming from the kitchen. I meet her eyes.
“How? When?” I say through the sobs.
“I arrived late last night, and the movers got here pretty early this morning. They helped me get rid of all the old furniture. Did you think I would let you walk back into this house with it looking how you left? I knew this was going to be hard on you. So, I wanted to make some changes before you got here in hopes to make this easier on you.”
“Thank you,” I whisper. The boys walk over to me and look at the pictures. I can feel their question. “It’s my mother.” Each of them put a hand on me. They let me take all the time I need.
It doesn’t take long for the rest of the boxes to be moved into the house. The movers had the majority of it done by the time we got there. The entire time we helped, my aunt asked me questions about what I’ve been up to, and what my life has been like since the last time I saw her. She does the same. After all the boxes are in the house, she calls and orders pizza. We are all sitting in the living room, when my aunt gets up and goes outside. She returns a few moments later with a box in her hands.
Walking over to me, she places the box in front of me. I hesitantly open it and look inside. Journals. It’s filled with journals. I look up at my aunt; my eyes burning with questions. She goes back to her seat.
“These journals are very important. I should start off by saying that I know who and what you are, Callyn. I truly know who these boys are. Those journals,” she gestures to the box, “they hold some powerful information. No one other than who is in this room is to see the contents. Do you all understand me?”
We all nod our heads.
“There is a journal about your lineage, but the rest is a chronological list of events that has happened to every heir since the demise of the Alpha Queen. Oh, there will be one journal in there that talks about your abilities and that of your mates.”
We are all staring at her with shock on our faces. “But-but-but how do you know? Did my mom tell you?” I stammer out.
“Not exactly. Look, what I’m about to tell you will be a shock and just know that this doesn’t change anything, and I love you. Don’t you doubt that.” She takes a deep breath and a quick drink of water. “I’m not really your aunt, not biologically anyways.”
I gasp. “Then who are you?”
“When you read the first journal, the first passage is written by a girl named Bridgett. She was the Alpha Queen’s handmaiden. She writes about her escape from the castle with the Alpha Queen’s heir. She is also the one who started the journal about the abilities that the Queen and her mates had. Over the years, the other heirs, and what mates she could find, all added to the journals. You, Callyn, are a descendant from the Alpha Queen. It’s because of that handmaiden that the Alpha Queen’s line was able to continue.”
“I know that, Elder Harris was able to figure at least that much out because he found the necklace.” I pull the necklace from shirt, letting it rest against my chest. “But that doesn’t tell me who you are.”
“I am a descendant from Bridgett the handmaiden.”