Chapter 4: Bloodrage
In the following days, some Sept Tours residents had noticed that something was going on between Gallowglass and Annika, and Diana sensed a strange uneasiness in her son Jack, who had meanwhile developed unrequited feelings for Annika.
This situation led Matthew and his wife to clash. She would have wanted Jack to find happiness and a balance, perhaps helping him a little with Annika would have succeeded, since the grandson had not yet mated one could intervene. She was so sorry to make Gallowglass suffer again, but her maternal instincts had prevailed. Matthew, on the other hand, was peremptory: they should let the relationship between Annika and Gallowglass develop without meddling. If she was interested in the Scottish knight, they certainly could not try to shift her interest to their son Jack. That would not have been fair.
"It's not fair for Jack to suffer either," Diana began, but her husband had already left the room.
Meanwhile, Annika had returned to Boston on business, reluctantly separating from Gallowglass, who was to carry out assignments for her Uncle Baldwin in Europe.
Eva had confessed to her that she liked the new Baldwin and also seeing him so devoted toward her daughter had amazed her.
Indeed, Baldwin had been very kind and considerate to her. He was trying to repress his authoritarian and patriarchal side because Annika resented it.
Annika was already foretasting the new love story that her witch instincts portended until she received a summons from Chris Roberts: her test results were ready.
The next day she went to New Haven and to her surprise found Gallowglass at her side who had arrived especially to support her.
Miriam got straight to the point. There were witch markers in her DNA as well as vampire and demon markers. She was not a weaver, she was not a vampire or a demon or a 100% witch.
But she had bloodrage. At these words everyone fell silent shocked. They wondered how it was possible. Chris tried to explain to them that her form of bloodrage had adapted to her specific characteristics. Basically, the disease had mutated to adapt to the new species. He hypothesized that it was inherited from one of the parents, but not knowing who they were was a difficult way to investigate. They would run further tests comparing his DNA to that of vampires with bloodrage to understand more.
Miriam timidly proposed to try and search for information about her parents, but Eva snapped to her feet and flatly denied that she would do such research and left the room.
Baldwin followed her to calm her down, and they all decided to go home and clear their minds.
Gallowglass had to leave Annika soon after to return to Europe, which left the girl displeased and dismissed him with a few words.
He called her back shortly before embarking and reassured her that he would be back soon and they would go through everything together. She calmed down and in the following days returned to her routine.
She visited her mother who was hosting her friend Elena and her son Dimitri. Two figures who had been part of Annika's childhood and whom she actually disliked.
She believed that Elena was basically just looking for money and notoriety. Charitable activities such as helping children in need were just a cover for her real aims. She had never been loving and understanding in her many years of teaching, and this attitude annoyed her.
In fact, today she was teaching dance to rich ladies who could afford her rates and lived in luxury.
Instead, Dimitri put a sense of unease in her; she did not trust him. Always silent and reluctant to contact.
Eva got along well with them. She was grateful to her friend for introducing her to Annika, and although she recognized her brusque, authoritarian ways, she knew they were a hallmark of her character and had followed the best dancers of the past 100 years in their development.
The fact that Annika in her early 20s had decided to continue to focus only on her studies and withdraw from the Boston company of which she was a member for Elena had been a great pain and she had never forgiven her for it.
She took her leave quickly and left her friends to their chatter.
During Gallowglass's absence, Annika had heard more and more from Jack, or rather he tried to contact her more and more often and invited her to spend time with his fellowship.
Annika gladly accepted; they were all nice people.
She understood that Jack had some interest in her, but she had tried to make him understand that she was not interested in him except as a friend.
He, on the other hand, hoped to get out of the friendzone. He felt that they had many things in common, primarily the fact that they were orphans and had been adopted.
Annika, however, was more mature, had built a life for herself regardless of her past, and had perhaps found in Gallowglass a man with whom she could share her world.
Jack had yet to mature and find an identity.
Diana as a mother hoped that something could still happen, but she understood that she had to let fate act.
Just as it had been for her and Matthew, who now had wonderful twins, almost 7 years old.
Annika, although she did not want to show it, had not been unaffected by the fact that she had bloodrage. She was easily irritable and who knows what would happen if she developed her vampire side.
Miriam and Chris agreed that it was right to nurture this side of her as well, and Gallowglass promised her that when she returned they would work on it together.
