Read Bizarre Life of Sydney Sedrick Online
Authors: Mandi Casey
“What happens if he isn’t a member of your pack?” Just how many packs lurked in the outskirts of Kenosha?
“Once we know what pack he belongs to, the leader of that pack will be contacted, and the wolf will be given over to them. Our pack has been responsible for caring for and protecting the Selected for a very long time. All other packs and their members are ordered to stay far away from you unless Morris asks for help, and my father never asks for help.”
We drove for ten more minutes in awkward silence when Blake finally slowed down and turned the car left off Highway 50 onto a side street. A few miles down the street, he turned right into a long driveway, lined with giant trees whose bare branches loomed over the car as we passed by. Up ahead loomed a large, wooden cabin. Mansion would be a better term to describe the pack den. Blake pulled around to the back of the house into an enormous garage.
He gently grabbed my arm before opening his car door. “Sydney, before you meet my father, please keep in mind he is a hard man, but he means well. All he wants to do is take care of his family. So please listen to what he has to say. Give the wolves a chance to prove themselves to you as good people before you make any permanent decisions about them.”
Blake escorted me into the werewolf pack’s house, through the grand entrance, up a marbled staircase, then through an ornately carved, wooden front door. I’ll admit, the décor was up-to-date and contemporary. The artwork on the walls was very modern. Paintings with bright colors and shapes were placed in well thought out arrangements.
“Not what you expected?”
I glanced over at Blake, and found myself drawn into his warm, dark brown eyes. I was relieved to see his smile had returned. He looked like he was enjoying watching me take in all the warm and cozy aspects of his home. “It’s very nice, and no, it’s not what one would expect the pack leader of the werewolves’ den to be like. I’m surprised it’s not more on the earthy side. But it is very nice, even welcoming.”
“Let’s go to the dining hall. I’m sure they’ll be waiting for you. It’s not every day Morris invites an outsider into his home.”
We walked through the foyer and turned left toward a barrage of wonderful smells. The aroma of apple and cinnamon filled the air. The sour-sweet smell made my mouth water. Hunger pains gripped my gut, reminding me it had been too long since last eating. We entered the dining hall where about ten men and women were seated at a large wooden table. The table and chair set was probably the oldest thing in the house, well, besides the occupants.
To my relief, my sister wasn’t in the room. At that moment, a man sitting at the head of the table stood. My chest constricted. Morris. He carried himself with confidence as he strode over to us. The man was a good four inches taller than Blake, and that was saying something. Blake had to be at least six feet tall.
Morris looked at Blake, and it was like they had an entire conversation with each other without saying a word. Then Morris gestured to both of us, motioning us toward the large table.
“Come in, have a seat here next to me, and we can start eating. Blake says you work quite a bit, and that you haven’t had dinner yet. You must be starved.” Morris sat back down at the head of the table, and Blake led me to the seat next to Morris on his left. Blake took the chair on my other side.
Morris leaned forward, then clasped the hand of a handsome woman sitting to his right. “Sydney, this is my wife, Adaira, and the rest are members of my family. We’ll save those introductions for later.”
Was Adaira Blake’s mother? If so, Blake definitely took after his father in the physical attributes category. “Where’s Michael? And my sister?” What did they have in store for Brianna? Was she locked away somewhere to ensure my cooperation?
Morris studied me. “I told Michael to take your sister out for the evening so we won’t have to watch what we say in front of her. You’re able to speak freely here.”
I froze. Speak freely? There wasn’t really anything to say, in my opinion.
Luckily, Morris took the lead. “Sydney, we brought you here so that we can begin to develop a relationship.” The servants began to bring in the food and served our plates as Morris continued to talk. “You are aware of our conflicts with the vampire nation, and we need your help.”
“I still don’t understand what the Selected has to do with all of this, and how my abilities can help you. I get that I can sense when vampires and werewolves are near, but I don’t get how that would help either of you.”
“Blake says that you have not spoken to Kieran yet.” A deep rumble of laughter issued from his chest, and when he noticed my shocked response, he added, “Don’t be surprised, young girl. Of course we know who Kieran is, and he, I. The vampires will approach you because they think you can fulfill their prophecies as the Selected. They think you can help them get the locations of our dens so they can hunt us. Sydney, this must not be. That’s why you are here. So you can meet my family. We are people who love and care for each other. We are not a bunch of animals the vampires believe us to be. Most of us have regular day jobs outside of the pack circles. We have families with children to take care of.”
“So you brought me here, to pack central, without knowing if it would endanger your entire family? Why?”
“In the past, the wolves have made, uh, slight errors when it came down to introducing ourselves to the Selected. In the past, force and coercion were used to keep my family safe. From these past experiences, we have realized the errors of our ways, shall we say. We need not be enemies. We give you our oath that we will do everything we can to keep you safe.”
“Safe? I wasn’t so safe being attacked by a werewolf the other night. How safe can you keep me? Blake told me already the attack wasn’t from your doing, but how many werewolves are out there not heeding the pack rules? How safe, really, is anyone?”
“We are taking care of that wolf right now. Do not worry. Enough of business. Let’s enjoy this fine fare our friends have prepared for us.” His smile was strained. He put his hands up to signal his guests that they were now allowed to dig into the heaping food filled plates that were set before them. I found it odd they waited to eat until Morris gave them permission. Must be some pack protocol or something. Don’t touch your food until the big guy says it’s okay.
Dinner was filled with pleasant small talk. I found the story of how Morris and Adaira met remarkable. Morris went to meet her father for pack business, and he fell in love with her the second he laid eyes on her. They laughed together because she didn’t want to have anything to do with him at first, and her father was not happy Morris wanted to continue to see her. They were all aware that females are treated with high respect and great regard. It is a gift to a pack from the Moon Goddess whenever a pack is blessed with a female spouse or child.
I was very interested to find out that she was only half human. It surprised me that fact never bothered Morris. But Morris was persistent and ended up winning her heart over in time. It was easy to see why Morris was so enamored with his wife. Adaira wasn’t the type of woman who needed makeup and designer clothes to make her attractive. She had a natural beauty many women pay serious money for through plastic surgery, often with the end result looking like an overstretched human cat.
During dinner, she was very social and polite, even cracking jokes at her husband’s expense a time or two. But clearly she loved him and cared for all members of their pack just as much as Morris did.
After the plates were taken away, everyone was given a dish with a large piece of apple pie and a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. It had been a long time a meal so grand and filling had been set before me. Memories of the holidays back home while living with my mom and dad seemed like years ago, instead of a few weeks. My mom would always make a giant spread for the four of us. Sometimes Aunt Judith and Grandma Maria would come to visit, often for Christmas or Thanksgiving. Come to think of it, they always seemed to have “grownup” talk when they came. Dad would take us somewhere else so they wouldn’t be disturbed or overheard.
When everyone was done eating and the dishes were cleared, Morris’ family members came and said goodnight to Morris, Adaira, and then to me. Morris said goodnight to each one in a kind and loving manner. He even tried a few jokes, attempting to lighten the mood of having a stranger among them. There was love and adoration between all of them, and there wasn’t an ounce of tension coming from any of them. I couldn’t detect any grand scheme hiding behind any of those golden, bronzed colored eyes to take over the pack or to hurt me. Grandma mentioned in her journal that the wolves wanted me to be locked up because they felt the Selected was more of a danger to them than anything else, but none of the wolves gave off that sort of vibe, even with my very astute observations.
Adaira said goodnight and left the dining hall. All that remained were Blake, Morris, and me. “Sydney, it is time for this old man to retire for the night. Feel free to stay in my home as long as you wish, and when you are ready, Blake will take you home. Thank you for coming here and meeting me. A lot has been put on your shoulders recently, and we can appreciate your surprise. You are wise to be so cautious when dealing with the likes of us. I’m sorry it was a wolf that attacked you before we introduced ourselves in a more civilized manner, but please, accept my hospitality whenever you need it. My home is open to you on good faith. Good night.”
“Good night.” What Morris had said left me speechless. Why have me here? To read my mind? Test my true intentions? He left before we discussed the wolves, me, and how the Selected fit into everything. Being able to sense werewolves and vampires didn’t seem like that big of a deal. So what? There were clearly missing pieces of the puzzle yet to be put on the table.
Still, the dinner had gone better than expected. I hadn’t expected Morris to introduce me to his entire family, welcome me into his home, and treat me as warmly as he had treated his own people. From the way Blake had talked about Morris, I assumed he would be more forceful, more insistent that the Selected have nothing do with the vampires, but all he said was he knew the vampires hadn’t approached me yet. There were no attempts at manipulation, no coercion.
Blake pushed his chair back and stood with his hand outstretched to help me up. Hesitantly putting my hand in his to stand, I tried to pull my hand away from his, only to have him grip mine tighter.
“So, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” He raised his eyebrow.
“I still don’t like that the dinner invitation basically was mandatory. But no, that wasn’t so bad. Your family is very nice.”
“Did you think they wouldn’t be?” he said with a slightly stung tone.
“I didn’t know what to think, Blake. You seem to keep forgetting that I’m completely new to all of this. I didn’t know my family was involved in the war between vampires and werewolves, like you. I’ve never met anyone from either side before. All I’ve known are the tales from movies and books. I say your family is nice, and you jump all over me for that?”
“No, it’s impossible to forget anything about your situation, but you have misperceptions about me and the wolves. We’re just like normal human beings, Sydney.” He stretched my fingers open and placed my hand on his chest above his heart. The heat radiating from him through his clothes was intense, and it started to travel up my arm to the core of my body.
“We’re warm blooded. My heart beats, just like yours. We have feelings, just like you do. I’m not sure exactly what you think of us, of me, but hopefully you’ll give us, and me, a fair chance to prove ourselves before you make judgments.”
His pulse beat against my hand. It was difficult fighting the urge not to lean into him. Being so close was the epitome of temptation. My body ached to be held in his strong arms.
“Blake, you should take me home now.” He let me pull my hand away from him then, disappointment written all over his face.
“Fine. I’ll get the car.” He stalked out of the dining hall, leaving me to my thoughts.
The car ride home was quiet. Blake was like a tensed coil ready to spring. The silence became too much to bear any longer. “Blake, did you know my grandmother?”
Without looking at me, he replied, “Yes. It was because of her and how my father dealt with her that he is trying to change his ways with you. That’s why he brought you to the house for dinner. Relations with your grandmother were strained at best. There were pack members during the early years of Morris’ leadership that encouraged him to use a strong hand with the Selected, so that’s what he did. He no longer goes with the advice of those advisors. He chooses his own path now. We met only a few times, but they were not under the best of circumstances, and it was a long time ago. Politics of the pack were generally kept from me at the time. But there are stories. Sydney, your grandmother was a good woman, but we as wolves feel she chose the wrong side in the war. She never did anything overtly against us, she just wasn’t with us.”
“So what happens if the Selected doesn’t choose either side?”
“Sydney, you have to choose. It is the way of the Selected. And that choice tips the advantage one way or the other, whose numbers go up, and whose go down. It’s obvious you would rather have nothing to do with any of us, but you don’t have a choice. You can’t run from your place in life anymore than we can ours.”
“Is there a next meeting, between Morris, the wolves, and me?”
“He hasn’t said yet. There’s a pack meeting coming up. He hasn’t mentioned having you attend or not.”