Thanks for your review EC Brenway!
The Pack moving to the Island was a while back, I just didn't say where I was sending them all! Surprise! Elly's gotta be flexible to have a life with Chloe...and that baby she's got on the way! Chloe shooting down all of Elly's suggestions stung! So you think Elly needs a lover of her own to help her get over Chloe if she's gotta wait years!
The Chemistry In Darkness
Chapter Sixty-One
Tuesday 17th December 2024
Elly sighed as she dragged her overnight bag that she'd thrown together quickly with her belongings out of the dingy. Of course, she knew she was going to be away for more than simply overnight. She knew it couldn't be four years that she'd be away but she knew it would probably be for a couple months.
Elly knew she was only punishing herself. She hadn't hurt anyone but she'd come so close to turning Pierce into a werewolf and that scared her more than she liked to admit.
Elly didn't want to allow her self-punishment to overtake her life as it had after she'd killed Finn. And she knew she couldn't do this to Aster again.
Aster would be due to start kindy in February. Elly hoped that by that stage she would've punished herself enough to return home to Erinsborough with Aster. To rebuild their lives properly this time. For Aster to start kindy and for her to find a job and settle in properly with her own life in Ramsay Street.
And not spend all my time and energy wondering when Chloe and I will be together…I'll just be patient…and watch from afar as Chloe has a baby with Pierce and not feel like I'm dying inside every time I think of when Chloe and I will be together… I need to be strong…I can't stay out here forever. If Chloe and I are to be together than I need to be in her life. And if that's as a friend whilst I watch her start a new life with Pierce, then I will…and I'll be patient until I know it's Chloe and I's time to spend our lives together…
For now…I'll just die a little inside as I struggle through a month or two out here trying to get past my fear that I'll attack and hurt someone…even someone who has everything I want in my life…and he doesn't even know the half of it! Pierce doesn't know Chloe has their baby on the way…
"Mama, what is this place?" Aster asked as she stood by the dingy on the beach of Pierce's Island, her Mum having used the dingy to get them across from the main land in just over half an hour, with the youngster impressed by her Mum's strength.
Elly grabbed the bag she had packed for Aster, throwing both their bags over her shoulder one-handed, turning to her daughter, "It's Pierce's Island. Do you remember back when we arrived to Erinsborough, we had a lunch with Chloe and Pierce? They both mentioned this place, that Pierce owned it before they got married and they came out here a few months after you and I went…missing."
Aster nodded along to her Mum's words.
"Whilst they were out here with some of our friends and family, like Bea, there was a fire. It damaged most of the greenery but it's been a few years and it's all grown back. Chloe was looking to try to get Pierce to sell the Island since it's just sitting here but he had no interest in bothering to sell it," Elly explained as she took Aster by the hand and started leading her across the beach, "Do you remember when I told you to keep it a secret that the cabin that we lived at with The Pack burnt down a while back and they were now living in a new place, free to roam when the full moon is about? They've been living out here since…no one knows they've been out here."
"Wow," said Aster with amazement as she continued staring around her at the island.
It was late into the night, way past Aster's bedtime, and whilst she couldn't make out much of the island's surroundings, Aster was almost excited at the prospect of exploring the island in the morning with her Mum.
Aster hoped the rest of The Pack would join them to teach them all the places on the island that they'd gotten to explore themselves since they've been here.
Aster stared up at Elly. Whilst she was excited to see the family again and exploring the island was going to be an adventure for them, Aster knew something was wrong.
Her Mum had packed their bags and they had up and left within the matter of half an hour. Aster hadn't said goodbye to Bea or Yashvi or Karl and Susan. And she hadn't said goodbye to Chloe.
Though sitting in Elly's car outside whilst Elly had gone to see Chloe, Aster got the impression that her Mum had said goodbye to Chloe and she didn't know why.
Elly had said during their dingy ride to the island that she was too dangerous to be around their family and Aster knew she was trying her best to hide something from her, but she was most worried about why Elly would willingly say goodbye to Chloe. And why Chloe would let them go.
"Will Chloe and Bea and everyone come to visit us here, Mama?" Aster asked.
"Nobody from Erinsborough knows where we are, Aster. They can't know that we've inhabited Pierce's Island as the new home for The Pack," Elly answered, then squeezing Aster's hand, "Baby girl, I know you have so many questions but it's late and I never even told The Pack we were on our way here. Can you just let us find a way to settle in for the night here? I'll answer some of your questions in the morning."
"Okay, Mum," Aster agreed, sensing the sadness in Elly's voice.
Several moments later, Elly and Aster had walked further inland on the island. Elly didn't quite know exactly where she was meant to be going as to where The Pack had set up on the island and to be honest, the island was much larger than she imagined it to be.
Course Pierce would've made sure to buy such an extravagant island…then never visit it for years on end…
Elly smiled as she noticed light up ahead and before they knew it, they had found themselves in a small clearing of grassland. There was a fire in the middle of the area, controlled as The Pack laid out on makeshift lounges around the fire.
To the side of the fire, there were a handful of tents. Not your camping style tents. The kind you find in a glamping resort, that were large enough to have large beds in them. Elly hoped the tents had beds in them, though she knew The Pack were willing to sleep anywhere, even in their human form. However, the glamping tents were old-looking and seemed to be covered in some dirty ash over them. Despite how many years it had been since the fire had raged against the island.
Elly put on a smile on her face as best as she could. Clarke was the first to notice their arrival from over a hundred meters away. It didn't take too much longer for the rest of The Pack to spot them. When they got closer, Aster dropped Elly's hand, racing off ahead of her mother to reach the family first.
Raven scooped Aster into her arms, "Hey, little one. What are you two doing here? Thought your Mum was meant to come visit us several nights ago."
"Mama didn't need to come here for the full moon cycle, she was okay back at home. But now we're out here to join you and Mama won't really tell me why," Aster replied.
As Elly finally caught up to her daughter, she shrugged, "It's late, I've already told you I'll explain more in the morning," then greeted the family, each of them giving her a quick hug and reassurance they were glad to see her and Aster.
"I'm sorry I didn't call to let you know we were coming. Do you have a place for us to stay here for a lil while?" Elly asked nervously, not sure why when she knew The Pack were so welcoming to her when she was with them.
Abby nodded immediately, "There's four tents here, Elly, we always knew to keep one for you and Aster when you needed a place to stay with us."
"Everything okay, Fresh Meat?" Lexa asked with concern at seeing Elly attempting to smile but didn't believe for a moment she was happy, despite reuniting with the entire family for the first time in a month.
"I just want to get Aster settled in for the night," Elly replied, "It's way past her bed time."
"Raven can show you both to your tent, we'll talk in the morning," Romulus grunted in instruction, making it clear to the rest of them to give Elly space.
About an hour later, Elly left her tent with Aster sleeping peacefully. She could tell the only members of The Pack who hadn't called it a night was Clarke and Lexa and didn't mind speaking to them.
When she walked over to them, Clarke was yawning wildly and was already standing up to go to bed, "You doing okay, Elly?"
"Just needed some fresh air," Elly shrugged, then not wanting to stop her friend, "I don't need you to stay up for me, we can catch up in the morning."
Lexa sat up from where she was lounging around near the fire, "Go to bed, babe. I'll keep Fresh Meat company for a little while until I join you in bed."
Clarke nodded before walking off to their own tent.
Elly quietly sat down next to Lexa.
"You all set up in your tent with Aster? Pretty happy you two both have your own beds in there? We found the tents the first day we came out here. Two had Queen size beds, the other two tents came with two singles in them. With two couples, then Raven on her own and you and Aster, it's like the tents were made for our whole family. Though Raven keeps going on about needing to drag a Queen bed out here to the island if she ever meets her mate. I keep telling her she can swap with Clarke and I if she needs cause a single bed won't turn me and my girl off as it's the ultimate bed for sleeping as close to your girlfriend as possible," Lexa babbled in response to Elly's quietness.
Elly unexpectedly burst into tears, finding herself instinctively lying down with her head against Lexa's lap, burying her crying face against the tattooed brunette's thigh.
At first, Lexa didn't know how to react to her friends' breakdown, before finally stroking her hand through Elly's hair, then asking in a whisper, "What happened?"
Elly mumbled through her tears with Lexa unable to make out what she'd said.
"Okay, you're going to have to repeat that without the tears if I'm to offer any help," Lexa told Elly as gently as she could.
"Chloe chose Pierce over me," Elly managed to get out, her sobbing continuing.
Lexa continued stroking Elly's hair, "Chloe's your mate, Elly. I know it might seem like Chloe's chosen her husband but she's probably just afraid of how strong her feelings for you are because they are stronger than any human's feelings-"
Elly sobbed loudly as she interrupted, "Chloe's pregnant."
"Oh," Lexa sighed in instant understanding of the complexity her friend was dealing with.
"Chloe chose Pierce over me…because she said she needs to raise her baby…with his or her father," Elly cried heavily, "What am I supposed to do?"
"I'm sorry, Fresh Meat. If you told me that Chloe was doing everything to fight the mate bond between you or that she'd learned you're a werewolf and felt that she needed to choose a boring life of safety over life with you and Aster…I might've been able to help because I have experience with both of those things with Clarke," Lexa admitted, "I don't know what to tell you other than…patience."
"It's not like I didn't offer to raise the baby with Chloe, it doesn't matter to me that it's Pierce's kid. I care that Chloe and her baby are safe. They won't be with him…Chloe knows how controlling Pierce is but she's convinced he'll be different with the baby…of course he doesn't know she's pregnant yet. She needs to have a test for the baby to see if the baby has her genetic condition before she makes a decision on continuing with the pregnancy. I don't think she's gonna tell Pierce until she knows for sure the baby is healthy…it could be a couple months until that happens. Am I a horrible person…okay werewolf if I…?" Elly trailed off, continuing to sob.
"Would hope even just a little bit that Chloe didn't have Pierce's baby so you don't have to wait…years for Chloe to come to her senses and need to be with you as much as you need to be with her?" Lexa posed.
Elly nodded her head against Lexa's lap, "I hate myself. I don't want to wait years to be with Chloe. I just want to be a family with Chloe and Aster…and Chloe's baby…I'd do anything to have them all with me…I just hate how much Pierce has the things that I want so badly. How am I expected to either hope this baby isn't healthy or that Chloe will look past her desire that she has to raise the baby with Pierce and isn't tied to him for the next two decades if not longer?"
"Wow, two decades of waiting around to be with your mate…I know wolves can take centuries to meet their mate but I don't think I've ever heard of a wolf meeting their mate and then having to wait decades to be with them," Lexa sighed softly.
"That's not making me feel any better," Elly grunted.
"Right…have I ever told you I'm not the best support person for difficult situations?" Lexa couldn't help but admit.
Elly continued sobbing, trying to wipe away her tears but more kept falling.
"Did you come back to us because you can't be around Chloe anymore…watching her through this pregnancy…witnessing Pierce living the life with Chloe you crave?" Lexa asked quietly.
"Yes," Elly mumbled, "And also some stuff happened between Chloe and I…and then I nearly attacked her husband in my wolf formation…I could've made him a bloody wolf…I'm too dangerous to be around. I need time away from everyone to come to terms with that…and the baby is just more of an excuse as to me needing to stay away from Chloe whilst she makes her decision when she knows if the baby is healthy…I don't want to do this…I want to be able to be there for Chloe…I need to be strong enough to deal with my issues and go back home in a month or two…and hope that Chloe will change her mind and that she wants to be with me no matter what happens with her baby."
"You will be okay taking this time to figure things out and maybe it'll be good to give Chloe this time too…maybe once she realizes you're not in her everyday life, she'll come to accept how much she wants to be with you too and in a couple months you can go back home to sort things out between you both," Lexa advised, continuing to stroke Elly's hair, "You should try to get some sleep, you'll have a lot to do tomorrow exploring the island with Aster."
"Can I stay here with you for a little while longer?" Elly whispered.
"Sure," Lexa agreed, "Things won't look so bad in the morning."
Elly closed her eyes gently as she yawned, "Oh…and I slept with Chloe the other day and Chloe found out I'm a werewolf."
Lexa snapped her eyes down at her friend, "Way to bury the lead on that announcement! I want to hear more about that than Chloe's decision to stay with her husband…for now. Tell me all about the Chloe and Elly goss."
When Elly remained silent, Lexa groaned, realizing her friend had fallen asleep.
Next time - We're flashing forward as Chloe is overdue for her first ultrasound! How has life been without Elly and Aster? And what surprise diagnosis will Chloe receive about herself...?