Dean POV
Around 1:30 in the afternoon, I decide to pay a visit to Kaitlyn at the Rhodes' Tavern. Cody had told her that she was going to take the late morning shift, so she should still be there. When I get there I find her bringing a round of beer to these two men in business suits who are sitting at the bar. When she walks away from them, I notice that the men's eyes follow her until she gets behind the bar. Then they return their attention to one another and start snickering. I'm beginning to get mad. She's here to work not to be their eye candy. I should kick their asses, but I promised Kaitlyn that I wouldn't overreact… those guys need to consider themselves lucky.
"Dean!" I hear Kaitlyn calling me from behind the bar. I turn away from the perverts and walk over to Kaitlyn. "I didn't expect you until later," she tells me with a smile on her face.
"Well I wanted to make sure no one was disrespecting you."
"Is that what you're calling it now?" Alright so she caught me. I shrug my shoulders before leaning over the bar. She smiles and leans toward me before we share a small kiss.
"Hey!" A familiar voice that I hate interrupts us and Kaitlyn's lips leave mine to address her asshole of an ex. "That's PDA, Kaitlyn," he reprimands her. "You have break in an hour do that business then, but until then, get back to work."
"Yes, Mr. Rhodes," she replies, looking down in shame. My eyes lock with Cody's and I give him a death glare. I can't really get a read on how he's looking at me though. It's definitely not a friendly glare, but he doesn't seem genuinely angry either. It's more like he's trying to be hard to warn me that he'll put up a fight if I start something. Lucky for him, I promised Kaitlyn that I wouldn't do that. "Dean," I unlock my eyes with Cody and turn my attention back to Kaitlyn. "Go have a seat. We can have lunch together when I'm on break." I nod and slowly walk away from the bar, keeping eye contact with Cody as I have a seat by the window. The location will give me a good view so that I can keep an eye on Kaitlyn until her break. Cody breaks eye contact with me as soon as I have a seat and walks to back room, leaving Kaitlyn alone with two of her co-workers.
"Checking up on the lass I see," an Irish accent calls out to me. That accent is unmistakable. Sheamus enters my line of vision and has a seat across the table from me.
"Come to cause trouble, Sheamus?"
"Nah, just came here to enjoy a pint," he answers nonchalantly, but I don't believe him for a second.
"Then why come here, specifically? We have a mini-bar at the den."
"Yeah, but things aren't exactly comfortable there right now. Eve's dead, Corey's gone, Paige is a mess and Sasha is ready to tear Punk a new one, not that I blame her. All in all, I need some time away from the bullshit." I can't find any fault with anything he's saying. To be completely honest, it's the same reason why I'd rather stay away from the den right now.
"I guess."
"Besides, I smelled yours and Kaitlyn's scent coming from here and drinking by myself is sad." He lets out a booming laugh and calls over a waiter. "Want something, Dean?"
"Why not?"
"Great." Sheamus then orders a bottle of Jamesons and asks the waiter to bring over two glasses. I scoff. The Irishman would order an Irish whiskey. "So what are you doing here? Visiting your chick?" I don't trust Sheamus. We've already fought twice about Kaitlyn, so why is he being friendly with me? What's his game?
"Why do you want to know?"
"Just making conversation, lad. Don't get your panties in a bunch!"
"I don't know, Sheamus. You've made it clear that you want to take Kaitlyn away from me."
"Yeah, well that isn't working out for me is it? She obviously likes you a lot, for whatever reason. As long as she's happy, I shouldn't interfere." I'm a little surprised that he came to that conclusion by himself. I was expecting another fight.
"Good, then." The waiter comes back over with a tray holding the bottle of Jamesons, two glasses and a bucket of ice. He places it on the table between Sheamus and me and then walks off.
It's been about a half hour and Kaitlyn still hasn't gotten her break. Of course, her break was in an hour which means I still have about another half hour to wait before she gets off. Sheamus is on his fourth cup, while I'm on my third. I don't want to be buzzed when Kaitlyn and I go to lunch.
"The bottle is almost gone," Sheamus states as he takes the final sip of his drink. He pours himself another drink. "I'm going to have to order another one." He gets the same waiter's attention and orders another bottle.
"You should have gotten the Jack Daniels Tennessee," I laugh at him. "Now that's a good drink."
"I'll get that one next time." I shake my head and take another sip of my drink. "Hey, what's going on over there?" I lift my head and Sheamus points over to the bar where Kaitlyn is pouring some drinks and Cody is right behind her, whispering in her ear. I feel myself getting warm with fury. WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING?!
"I don't know." I do my best to hide the fact that I'm pissed off. Just then, I see Kaitlyn smile and nod her head at Cody, after which he walks away. Now, I'm really mad.
"I'd nip that in the bud if I were you, lad," I hear Sheamus suggest. I acknowledge him, but my eyes never leave Kaitlyn.
"No, it's nothing." I hope it's nothing. Kaitlyn said that she loves me and will be faithful to me, so I need to trust her.
"Didn't look like nothing to me."
"No, I trust Kaitlyn. She wouldn't do anything with him."
"Probably not." I take a deep breath to relax myself. "But you can't say the same for him, unless there is something I don't know. I mean, do you trust him?"
"I don't know him like that to trust him," I answer honestly. I hear Sheamus sigh.
"Well, Katie is a good girl. I'm sure if you just talk her, it'll clear things up." That's true. I'll just have to wait until she goes on break to find out about this
AJ POV
The movers came over early in the morning, like around 9 am. On one hand, I was really upset because I was exhausted and really wanted to sleep in, but on the other hand I'm glad that they were early. It means I'll be moved into Kaitlyn's and my new apartment sooner.
My stuff was already packed from when I was going to move back in with my parents, so getting the boxes out of my apartment went pretty well, but getting all my furniture out was a challenge. Watching the movers try to get my table and couch out was like watching someone play one of the high levels of Tetris. A few times I was afraid that they would break something, but they ended up getting both items out of the apartment without causing any damage.
Around noon time, the movers go on break, leaving me alone. At first, I think that I could just relax in my bed, but then I feel hungry, and I have a real craving for Thai food. I look into my luggage bag to find something to wear outside. I don't have a belly yet, but I can already feel myself getting fat, so I didn't want to wear a crop top. Instead I put on a long sleeved, crew neck, pink top with black stretch denim skinny jeans. On my feet I wear my favorite pair of black and white, calf-high Chuck Taylors with pink laces. I give myself a once over in the mirror before grabbing my keys, wallet and phone. As I open my door to exit my apartment, I see none other than Punk standing outside my door with a bouquet of red and white tulips in his hand. Our eyes meet and he clears his throat loudly. He looks really nervous.
"Um, hi, April." I don't respond to him. I just keep staring in bewilderment. "I –I know I'm probably the last person you wanted to see, but,"
"What do you want, Punk," I interrupt him. He takes a deep breath and looks at the floor.
"A chance," he looks back up at me. "A chance to explain myself, and apologize." I tilt my head and narrow my eyes at him. "I, uh, got you flowers. I would have gotten roses, but I remembered that one time we were in the garden and you told me how much you liked tulips, so I thought tulips would be better."
"And what would giving me flowers accomplish exactly?"
"I was kind of hoping that they would make you happy long enough to give me a chance?" I really shouldn't. I shouldn't give him anything. I should slam the door in his face and order in, but seeing him standing here, all nervous, speaking quietly and holding a bouquet of my favorite flowers… I would feel bad if I did. I sigh deeply.
"Fine. Come in." I stand aside and Punk comes into my apartment. I close the door behind him and he hands over the flowers to me. I can't help but admire them. Tulips are absolutely breathtaking, and they are the same colors that you would need to make my favorite color. He's being really cute and sweet, but it still doesn't make up for what he did.
"April," he starts. "I know that I messed up, and I messed up big time. I should have punished Corey on the spot, and I shouldn't have tried to keep from everyone. It wasn't right." I nod slowly.
"Well, I'm glad you realize that."
"I want you to know that I did the right thing, and banished Corey." My eyes widen in shock. I wasn't expecting Punk to banish Corey. I was expecting the equivalent of jail time, or a serious ass kicking. "And I apologized to the pack and especially to Renee."
"What I don't understand is why you did what you did in the first place."
"In all honesty, I didn't want to be cruel to Corey because he's my brother. I know it's what he deserved, but," he pauses for a few seconds and takes deep breaths. "You need to understand. When we were growing up, I was the worst big brother. I was cruel and mean and hateful, and I made sure that Corey knew that I didn't like him." I give him a look. How could he do that to his little brother? "Corey was a good kid through it all, but then our father abandoned us, and it was only then that I decided to step up and be a good big brother, but by that time Corey was a lost soul, and I had no idea how to handle him. Then the pack split up and I didn't see him for five years, so when he came back I thought I had another chance. Then he raped Renee, and I knew that if I did anything to punish him he'd hate me, and I didn't want him to hate me any more than he did, so I just put it off and tried to cover it up."
"I get that, but it doesn't excuse what you did, or what he did." I now understand why Punk tried to cover up the rape, but it's not an excuse. He knew it was wrong and chose to do it anyway.
"I know. I know it's not, and I'm not trying to make excuses. I was wrong, he was wrong. It's as simple as that, and that's why I'm trying to make everything right."
"Well, you did do the right thing in the end. I just don't know if it's enough."
"I know it's not. Nothing I ever do will be enough to make up for it, but I'm hoping you'll forgive me anyway and give me a chance to be a part of your life and a part of our unborn child's life."
"I don't know, Punk." It's not like I don't want to be with him. In fact, I would love to let him back in my life, but I just don't think I should let him back in my life so easily.
"I know I've betrayed your trust April, and that's a huge deal, but I want you to know that I'm ready and willing to do whatever it takes to earn your trust back." I sigh in light frustration and look up at my ceiling. Why does he have to be so sweet?
"Okay, but this is your last chance." A huge grin spreads on his face. "But we have to move slowly and no sex, we just take it one step at a time." He wipes his eyes with his forearm quickly, is he crying? As soon as his arms leaves his face he nods with a smile.
"I promise, we'll go at the pace you want, and I won't do anything to mess this up. I'll treat you the way you deserve to be treated, and I'll be a great father, I swear!" I nod in response.
"Good. We'll start this Friday."
"Why Friday?"
"My first sonogram is on Friday, unless you don't want to come."
"No! No, no, of course I want to come! I'll be there!"
"Alright then." I smile at him and put the flowers down on the kitchen countertop. "I'll be going then."
"Where are you going?" I reach the door and open it up.
"I'm going to get some Thai food. I have a craving for it." He looks down at the floor and puts his hands in his pockets.
"Can we go together? Like, have lunch together?" He looks too adorable when he's all nervous.
"Sure." He looks up at me and smiles widely. He should really smile more often.
Renee POV
I don't know where I am, or how I got here. I'm tied to what feels like a wooden stake and standing above a fire pit. All around me I see long blades of grass as far as the eye can see and bodies. Dead, completely lifeless bodies. All of the bodies are lying face first, but I recognize each and every one of them. They're the wolves. All of them are dead! How did this happen?! I start to struggle as panic sets in, but the retraints just cut deeper into my skin the more I try to wriggle out of them. Suddenly, I hear a manical laugh that booms through the space. I look around to find the source and when I do, I'm paralyzed in fear.
"Traitors don't get to live, Renee." It's Natalya. She's alive? No! No! The wolves killed her, I know they did! She's dead! As I begin to tremble and shake the once clear sky turns black and I hear thunder boom throughout the sky. Then lighting makes its way through the clouds before it strikes down on the field of grass. A fire is ignited as more lighting strikes the ground. The fire grows larger and its flames become uncontrollable as they engulf the field and the bodies that are scattered in the grass. I begin to cry hysterically. Why is this happening?!
"Too bad you gave up your powers, siren," another voice, a man's voice, catches my attention. I look around to see a heavy set man in a straw hat and a large beard walking up from behind Natalya. He walks past her and then stops, holding out his right hand. Lighting strikes his hand in an instant, but it doesn't hurt him. Instead he hones the lighting's energy and a large flame burns just above his hand. "You could have used them to help your beloved wolves." He laughs jovially, as though he's really enjoying the destruction around him. Suddenly, he throws the flame in his hand at me. I scream aloud as I feel the flames lap at my skin and char my flesh.
"Renee, wake up!" I hear Seth's voice and my eyes shoot open. I'm completely out of breathe and sit up, finding myself in my bed in my room, with Seth sitting on the side of my bed. "What happened?! You were thrashing around and screaming while you were asleep." I grab hold of him tightly and cry into the crook of his neck.
"It happened! It happened again!"
"The nightmare? Renee, you've been having this nightmare since I found you at the cemetery."
"I don't know. It just gets more real every time!"
"Okay, calm down." Seth gently strokes my back and hair. "We're not going through another one of these nights, Renee. Get up and get dressed." He lets me go and gets off my bed.
"Huh? Where are we going?"
"We're going to see Raquel. She can interpret dreams, so she can help you make them go away."
Seth takes me to this little cottage just outside the woods. It's a nice little place made of brick, with a small chimney with smoke puffing out of it. Outside is a huge garden with all different types of flowers, and the way that they are growing draws a picture of a rainbow. The sight is just beautiful. The whole cottage just gives off this very positive, loving and bright vibe that is making me feel a lot better than I did this morning.
"This place is beautiful," I mention aloud.
"Yeah, Raquel likes to garden and uses her magic to nurse all the life in her garden."
"I wish I still had my powers. I could put them to good use if I did." I look at my feet. Not having my powers is really weird. Over the past couple days, I've had to learn how to function without them. It's a good thing that I had Seth to help me out because I don't know how else I would have adjusted.
"Before we go in, I actually had a question about that… kind of." I look up at him and give him a curious look. "The curse. How do we know if it's broken?"
"I don't know anything about that curse, Seth. When you had mentioned it to me was the first time I had ever heard of it, I really wouldn't know the answer to that question without doing some more research on it."
"Is there any way we can get that information?" I think hard about it. I know of one source that would have any information about the curse.
"The Máv̱ri̱ Cheirógrafo." Seth looks at me in confusion. "It's the sirens' ancient book of spells. It is the end all, be all of black magic. If there's any information on the curse, it's in that book."
"Where's the book?"
"In the Realm of Sirens. Natalya always wanted to keep it close to her, so it's in her throne room, on a pedestal." He looks down at the floor in defeat. I hate seeing him like this. I stand in front of him, taking his face in my hands and look up at him.
"Don't worry, Seth. After our visit to Raquel, we can plan a trip to Greece and get the book."
"Are you going to be okay with that? I mean going back to the Realm of Sirens?"
"It'll be weird, but it'll be worth it." I smile at him and he smiles back. I like seeing him smile. It makes me happy. We lean in toward one another and kiss softly and lovingly. I love the way Seth kisses me. I feel like only the two of us exist in the world whenever our lips meet. We stop kissing and he takes me by the hand to lead me into the cottage.
Seth POV
I knock on the door to the cottage, but no one answers. That's funny. Raquel is always home. I knock again and the door slowly swings open. I open the door wider so that Renee and I can enter. Immediately, the smell of sex fills my nostrils, and I let go of Renee's hand to cover my nose.
"Seth are you okay," Renee asks me. I nod at her and hold my nose tighter, trying desperately not to take in any more of the scent, but the smell is way too strong. Raquel and whoever she is with must be right in the middle of their little "session".
"I think we caught Raquel at a bad time," I tell Renee. "Maybe we should wait outside for her."
"That won't be necessary, Seth," a high pitched voice enters the room before the owner of the voice does, but Raquel soon walks out of her room, wearing some boy cut shorts and buttoning up her blouse. "You caught us just as we were finishing up." I'm more than embarrassed right about now, but Raquel doesn't look embarrassed at all. Doesn't she have a little bit of shame? I mean she's practically naked, and Renee and I almost caught her having sex. "Who's the lady?"
"Oh, um," Renee stutters. I turn to her and notice that she is bright red. She's obviously as uncomfortable as I am. "I'm Renee. It's, um, it's nice to meet you, Raquel."
"Renee, huh?" Raquel walks over to her couch and has a seat, laying her legs on the couch. "I've heard a lot about you. Good things. You saved Seth's pack, and the little sorceress, and Punk's girlfriend. You are a hero, sin duda."
"Wait, how do you know that?" I'm really confused. "I didn't tell you any of that."
"I told her, Seth," a familiar voice comes from the direction of Raquel's room. It's Raquel lover, I presume, but it's definitely not a man's voice. I turn around to find Sasha wearing nothing but her under things and holding a shirt in her hand. Oh. My. God! They're gay! Sasha's gay! Raquel's gay! They're gay and they're gay together, being… gay! "Don't look so surprised, Seth," Sasha tells me while putting on her shirt. "Think about it, have you ever known me to date men?"
"I've never seen you date anyone." I'm still in shock. How long has this been going on? "I'm, I'm sorry I just never thought you guys were lesbians."
"Ugh," Raquel interrupts. "That word. Let's leave the labels for the humans, shall we Seth?" I don't even know how to respond to her. I mean, I don't have a problem with it, I just didn't expect it. This whole thing has taken me by surprise. "So what are you two doing here?"
"Um, well, Ms. Raquel," Renee begins, but is interrupted by Raquel.
"Oh no, no, Renee. There's no need to call me Ms. Raquel. Raquel is fine."
"Um, okay, Raquel. We came because Seth told me that you could interpret the nightmare that I've been having."
"A nightmare?"
"Yeah, I've had it every night since I was brought back from the dead." Raquel nods and gets up from the couch. She walks over to her bookshelf and pulls out this thick green book.
"I can certainly do that for you," Raquel says as she opens up the book. "Vestibulum somniorum, ante me." As the words leave her mouth the scenery around us changes. The living room and furniture fade away and in its place appears a white room with various shades and tints green. In the middle of the room, a large table appears from thin air with a pillow at one of the ends. "Welcome to the Room of Dreams. This is where I can perform dream interpretation." Raquel closes the book and holds her hand out toward Renee. "I'm going to need you to relive the nightmare once more before I can interpret it."
"I don't know, Raquel," I begin to intervene.
"No, Seth. It's okay," Renee tells me, while holding out her hand to stop me in my tracks. "I need to do this." Renee takes Raquel's hand and she leads Renee to the table in the middle of the room. Renee lays down on the table and Raquel pulls up a seat on the end of the table where Renee's head is lying.
"Just close your eyes sweetie," Raquel directs Renee. "It'll be over before you know it." Renee replies with a nod and closes her eyes. "Ad somnum." With that Renee falls asleep. Raquel places each of her hands on either side of Renee's head with her palms facing inward and closes her eyes. She starts whispering something in Latin, but I can't hear what it is.
"Don't worry, Seth," Sasha tells me. I turn to find that she's standing right beside me. When did she get there? "Renee's in good hands. Raquel won't let anything bad happen to her."
"She's got to be the only witch I trust around this neck of the woods." We wait in silence as Raquel continues whispering. "Hey Sasha, if you don't mind me asking, when did you and Raquel start dating?"
"About three years ago. We had a crush on one another since we met, but neither of us were sure if we went that way you know?" She lets out a laugh. "One day, I just gathered up some courage and asked her out. We've been together ever since."
"Are you two happy?" She looks up at me and smiles.
"Yeah, she's really good to me. She's honestly the healthiest relationship that I've ever had. We really care for one another and trust each other. We have a really strong bond and a really good relationship." It's good to hear that. Sasha isn't exactly mean, but she's always had this really hard outer shell. It's like she didn't want anyone to ever get to close to her. She was never the one that wanted to play or interact with anyone else. She spent most of her time combat training with her father, who, before his death, was the Head Pack Master of our pack. I guess Sasha is the way she is because of him, but I'm glad that she's found someone who makes her happy, and who makes her smile. Sasha's always been about business and looking out for others. She deserves to be happy.
Out of nowhere, both Renee and Raquel start screaming and the floor beneath us shakes violently. Sasha and I fall to our knees as we are taken off balance, but before I can recover, it's over. The ground stops shaking and both and Renee and Raquel are sitting up with their eyes wide open. I run over to Renee and comfort her. She seems really disturbed.
"Honey," Raquel speaks up. "That's no dream." Renee and I turn to face her. Sasha has joined Raquel by her side and is rubbing her back with one hand.
"What do you mean that's no dream," I ask her.
"That's a premonition, a foreshadowing." Now I'm even more confused. "Dreams are the way our minds interpret what's happening to us while we're awake. They often reveal how we are really feeling about situations, but that. That was no interpretation! You're seeing the future."
"I can't be seeing the future," Renee argues. "I don't have my siren powers anymore! How could I possibly be seeing the future?" Raquel pauses to think for a minute before answering.
"It's possible that you could still have connection to your powers, if they are still being used." Realization hits me like a ton of bricks.
"The Wyatts," I say. "Bray Wyatt wanted siren magic in exchange for his services to protect the humans while we were in Greece." Raquel looks at me in shock.
"You agreed to that?! Why would you do that?! Are you stupid," she yells at me, getting out of her chair and screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Raquel, it wasn't his fault," Sasha defends me. "Punk wanted to enlist the Wyatts help no matter what the cost."
"Well then he's an idiot! Bray Wyatt is evil, and so are his followers! You gave a mad witch access to black magic?!" I'm at a loss. I don't know how to answer her.
"This is just another reason why Punk shouldn't be Head Pack Master anymore," Sasha thinks aloud. She takes a deep breath and speaks again, "what are we supposed to do now?"
"I don't know!" Raquel is in a total panic and paces around the room. "Okay, okay, um. When I was on the compound he used to mention this grand scheme that he had, but he needed two very ancient books in order to complete the scheme. If we get to those books first, we might be able to stop him."
"What were the books," Sasha asks. "Do you know?"
"Yes, one was the Album Libris, which is a guide to white magic mastery, and the other was Máv̱ri̱ Cheirógrafo, the guide to black magic mastery." I look back at Renee.
"Guess we have no choice but to go back to the Realm of Sirens after all."
Hmmm, Dean isn't happy. Granted I wouldn't be happy either if some guy was whispering to my girl. Like no, we'd have a problem lol.
AJ's giving Punk a chance, but he's gotta take it slow. Good thing too, moving quickly was how she got pregnant in the first place
Looks like Seth and Renee have more than their growing relationship to worry about.
And of course, Sasha and Raquel are an item!
So I touched on a lot in this chapter so kudos to me! YAY! lol
Big thank you to everyone who reviewed my last two uploads! I know it was confusing, but this is actually chapter 35. The last chapter was a part 2 for chapter 34.
Leave reviews because I adore them and thank you everyone, once again for all the support! You guys are THE best!
-J.