And Then There Were Four

Chapter 196: Unexpected Surprises

Cassie.

When Ansley informed me that I was to pack a bag and would be traveling without any information, I hadn't expected that it was going to be with Finn. In fact, I was shocked to see him standing outside the portal gates with an overly excited expression on his face. I didn't have a clue where I was going, but it was clear wherever it was, I wasn't going anywhere alone.

“What's going on?" I asked as I approached Finn with a confused and furrowed expression. I glanced around taking note of the dark-haired man that had been Finn's shadow since the moment he got here.

“We're going on a trip," he replied cheerfully, “aren't you excited?"

Stopping in my tracks, I raised a brow as a smile of amusement crossed my lips. “With you? Are you messing with me?"

“No, I'm not. We're going somewhere you're going to like."

There was no way that Odin was allowing this, and I had suddenly become very hesitant about this entire situation. What if Finn was trying to get me into some kind of trouble and roped Ansley into getting me to go without approval? A wave of unease flowed over me until I spotted a familiar figure walking down the marble steps of the building heading straight for me.

“Silas, what are you doing here?" Silas didn't seem to be in the mood for idle chit-chat as he grunted in disapproval of whatever was going on and made his way toward the portal without a single word. “Alrighty then…"

“Silas, I wasn't aware that you were coming along?" Finnick said aloud, causing me to wonder if even he wasn't aware of the golden dragon's presence in whatever outing this was.

Seemingly annoyed by all the questions, his shoulders sagged as the portal opened and as he turned to face us, his eyes darted between mine and Finn's figure. “Odin told you a guard would be going, and unfortunately, I drew the short straw. Now, can we get going?"

I didn't understand why Silas had such a bad attitude about everything. He seemed irritated that he was having to go with us and when I turned to Finn, he didn't seem pleased by it either. I still didn't have the slightest clue as to where we were going, but considering the tension in the air between the two men, I decided not to press and just simply follow their lead.

Silas being there, however, did make me feel slightly more comfortable about the situation. Because Silas was going, that did indeed mean that Odin had given permission. I highly doubted that Silas would accompany Finn and try to take me somewhere without Odin's permission.

We stepped through the portal and I was once again transported to another realm, a place I had no clue existed until the moment we stepped through the other side and I realized that I indeed did know this place. Once again, everything looked completely different, the overgrowth more so prominent. However, new structures and the distance made me realize that my pack had been busy.

As my feet moved me forward onto the grassy green area between the woodland and the pack's actual property, I couldn't help it turn and look over my shoulder. “You brought me home?"

“I did, Cassie. I figured that you could use a little bit of separation from everything going on with the games and that perhaps visiting your family would do you some good." Finn was quick to step forward and take responsibility for the whole idea, but I couldn't help but wonder why Odin, my grandfather, would allow something when he was so adamant that I couldn't stay longer than I had before.

Something felt slightly off about the entire situation, but instead of dwelling on what was actually going on, I ignored both men and started running as fast as my legs could carry me straight to where the pack house was. To see my family again was something I had dreamed of and I couldn't wait till I ran into my father's arms.

The howling sound of wolves echoed through the night air as the stars above me twinkled and the moon sat high and full within the sky. They knew that I was here, and though I couldn't hear them anymore, I ran harder and faster, only to be stopped dead in my tracks by three wolves who growled at me.

I didn't understand why they were growling at me. I was the daughter of the Alpha's. There was no way that they didn't recognize me. I stood there utterly confused, watching them slowly crouch towards me with their ears back and their teeth bared, I suddenly became very uneasy about the entire situation.

I didn't have to worry, though, because Silas's body was quickly in front of me, and as he bared a sword in his hand. The wolves prepared to launch at him, my throat constricting, enabling me to scream at them before the sound of my brother echoed through the distance.

“Enough!" I couldn't see him, but the wolves quickly backed away, their ears returning to their normal position before they turned darting off into the woods to my left. I couldn't understand why they had acted that way towards me, considering I was my brother's sister and they acted as if I was an enemy on their land.

Silas quickly put away the sword at his side, sheathing it once more as he turned to me with a furrowed expression that seemed slightly angry, but also concerned for my well-being. There wasn't time to question him as a shadowed figure slowly came over the hill and I realized it was my brother standing before me. As soon as his eyes landed on me, a look of excitement washed over his face before he ran towards me, throwing his arms around my waist as he lifted me into the air and spun me in a circle.

“Cassie, what are you doing here?"

Shrugging my shoulders, I didn't honestly know what to tell him. “I don't know. They told me that I was able to come and see you guys and God, I've missed you so much. There's so much that has happened and I've been so lost without you guys."

Tears brimmed my eyes as thin came to stand by my side. “Hello, Pollux. My name is Prince Finnick of the Fae realm." He held out his hand towards my brother, who quickly stepped away from me and looked between him and Silas with slight confusion before his eyes fell on me once more.

“Are you with both of them, or should I be concerned that there's something that's going on I'm not quite getting yet?" he asked me and instantly I knew what he meant.

“Oh my God, no, I'm not with them both. Are you kidding me?" I stated quite quickly, with astonishment in my tone, feeling absolutely shocked that he would insinuate I was with both men.

“Well, I mean, you could take after our mother, so it's always best to ask instead of assuming."

The chuckle that left his lips was reciprocated by Finnick, who stared at me with absolute amusement, dancing within his eyes. However, Silas did not seem amused by the comment whatsoever. “I think we should get Cassie inside, where she can be reunited with her parents."

Pollux nodded his head and gestured for us to follow. I, of course, quickly fell into step with my brother, who began telling me about the different arrangements that they had made the pack and that his child was doing well. Which completely took me by surprise, considering Trixie had only been gone a week or so.

“That doesn't make sense. There's no way she had the baby. I just saw her over a week ago."

“Cassie, you forget the time works differently between our realms. To you, it's only been a week. For us, it has been a year," he replied, making me realize that time indeed was different. In Asgard, I was still 18. But here, I was far younger than my brother. Though he looked his age, I did not.

“How are our siblings?" I asked, eager to see them again. “Are they doing okay? It's been so long since I've seen them."

My brother stayed quiet as he looked at me and then the house that lay in front of us, seemingly so different from how I had remembered it being. I knew there had been changes before the last time I was here, but now I could tell that Pollux and Trixie had to put their touches upon the home and it looked magnificent. “Think that it's best you wait and speak to our mother about that. She can fill you in more as she keeps tabs on them better than I do."

There was something in the way that he spoke that made me wonder if there were things going on that I hadn't been privy to. But again, it wasn't like communication was easy between our realms. Instead, I was constantly left wondering what was going on and how everybody was. And as time grew on, everybody on Earth grew older—with me back on Asgard, remaining the same.

The moment that I walked through the door, I had anticipated everybody running to greet me, but instead the house was quiet and as I moved towards the living room, I realized that so much of this place was different.

The crackling of the fire coming from the living room drew my attention, and sitting on a gray corner sofa was Trixie, whose hair was no longer the vibrant blue I remembered but instead it had dulled to reflect the age that had caught up with her.

Her green eyes turned to me, and I realized that she was much older than I had remembered her a week ago. Instead, it looked as if years had been put upon her instead of a girl of eighteen. I remembered she looked like she was in her mid to late twenties, as if stress and time had worn her down. “Oh my god… Cassie."

Trixie jumped to her feet, throwing down the book she had been reading and wrapped her arms around me pulling me into a hug. I was stunned by the situation, and as I hugged her back, I realized that I really was missing out on everything.

“Trixie… I have been so worried about you."

She stared at me for a moment with a somber expression as she nodded her head, turning her gaze to my brother. “I'm sorry I have been away so long. So much has happened since I last saw you."

“It honestly hasn't been that long, Trixie. It's only been a week," I replied trying to find a polite way to tell her what's been going on and realizing quickly that no matter what I said, the way we once lived together in Asgard wasn't going to reflect how things were here.

“A week?" she whispered with a frown as her brows knitted together and she rubbed her hand across her face. “I almost forgot that times were different… I take it the games aren't over yet?"

Shaking my head, I sighed heavily. “No, they aren't. I brought people with me though."This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

Turning, I looked over my shoulder towards Silas before looking back at Trixie. “My guard came with me."

Trixie broke into laughter at my comment before going to hug Silas. “It's good to see you, Silas. I have to say I don't think I ever imagined you coming to this realm again."

Silas frowned at her comment with an irritated expression. “Trust me… I never wanted to, but I didn't exactly have a choice."

Trixie looked back at me once more with a question glance as I rolled my eyes. “Finnick wanted to bring me back here to spend time with my family. The only way I was allowed to go from what I'm guessing is with a guard, and Silas as he said 'drew the short straw'."

The moment I said Finnick's name, Trixie went pale as her eyes darted towards the vacant area behind Silas. “Do you mean—" she whispered as Finn's body came into view. A shocked eek noise left Trixie's throat as she dropped to her knees before him. “Prince Finnick, my apologies. I didn't know you were coming."

It wasn't like a Luna to bow before anyone and the low growl that left my brother's throat showed he wasn't pleased by what she was doing. Finn quickly realized this as he stooped down to Trixie with his hand upon her arm forcing her to stand. “Please, Trixie. You're the Luna of this pack. You do not need to bow to me or use formalities."

“Yeah, this is just a normal visit." I quickly added, stepping towards my brother, who looked more angry and confused than anything. “Finn is the prince of the Fae realm, Pollux… it's Trixie's royalty."

Realization crossed his face as his temper simmered down and he quickly wrapped an arm around Trixie's waist pulling her towards him. “I see. My apologies, it isn't customary for a Luna to bow to anyone."

Finn quickly waved him off with a smile, not seeming to care about what happened. “It's okay, don't worry about it. I probably should have warned you ahead of time, but it didn't cross my mind that Trixie would react to seeing me the way she did. It's my fault for not saying something sooner."

To hear him admit that this was his fault was shocking. I didn't take him for a man that would act that way and by the look on Trixie's face, she didn't either.

“What are you guys doing here anyway? I didn't think Odin would allow you to come back."

With an open mouth, I looked to Silas and Finn for answers before closing it shrugging my shoulders. “Honestly, I'm just as surprised by all of this as you. But I'm not going to complain. I miss this place, and it's exactly what I needed after everything that's happened lately." This belongs to NôvelDrama.Org.

“Oh, my," Trixie said as she pried herself from my brother's arms. “Why don't I show you all to the spare rooms and in the morning, we will have a long talk just the two of us."

Nodding my head, I started to follow Trixie before I stopped realizing I still hadn't seen my parents, who should have been here. Looking over my shoulder at Pollux once more, I frowned with confusion. “Lux… where are our parents if they aren't here?"

His face fell for a moment before he cleared his throat. “A lot has changed since you left last time, Cassie. You will see them soon, but for now… rest."

There was something cryptic about his message that didn't settle well with me, but instead of prying, I nodded my head and continued with the others towards the staircase. An uneasy feeling in the lower of my belly that made me wonder if I wasn't going to like what he had to say.

I had only just arrived and already I felt like I had hit a brick wall.

One, I was an aunt now, and knowing that I missed out on the child's first year was heartbreaking. Two, my parents weren't here to greet me, and the feeling that something was wrong lingered through me like a serpent wrapping around its prey. I wanted to know what was going on, but I also knew I had to be patient.

Patience was the only way I'd get anything from this situation, and all I wanted was answers.