The Lost Elixir

Chapter Two

Luna Nevaeh held the Vance family down with an iron grip of generosity and strength in every sense of the two words. Her fierce protectiveness over any life she set eyes on made Rayne wonder if her father kept her out of the loop on their newfound prisoner purposely. But that thought quickly disintegrated after catching them in a quiet argument after returning from the dungeons. She caught Ezra lounging on the couch flipping through channels and before she could say a word, he jabbed his thumb in the kitchen's direction.

Rayne desperately needed a shower, but she was too curious about the conversation to head up just yet. Instead, she tiptoed over to the kitchen door and barely nudged the door open to hear them better.

"How could you not come to me about this?" Nevaeh hissed, leaning her hourglass body against the sink. Her full lips were twisted into a frown, her plucked eyebrows nudged together over thundering eyes—Rayne and Ezra's eyes.

Nashoba pushed his muscular body forward, his dark hair now unbraided and floating down his back. He tried to touch his wife's arm, but she moved away. "No, Nash. Now tell me where he is."

"Not until you tell me you aren't going anywhere near him," he deflected, a protectiveness leaking into his voice. His jaw was set, his gaze just as fierce as hers. "I know how you are, Vae. I don't want you or the kids down there alone until I know he's safe to be around."

Kids? Rayne scoffed mentally. She was twenty-one years old, and her brother twenty. They could easily take care of themselves.

"Need I remind you that you're the one who brought him here?" Nevaeh demanded. Her hip jutted out now and Rayne knew as soon as she pushed away the small coils of obsidian from her cheeks, father was done for. "Onto our land—without telling me, mind you, even though you know you have Warlock Holmes for a daughter? You don't think she's already trying to figure him out?"

A growl rumbled low in Nashoba's chest. His hands clenched into tight fists, and he rolled his shoulders back to release the tension at such a thought.

"Don't like that, do you?" Nevaeh smirked. She dropped the unused pot into the sink and shot him a look. "Should have thought about that before putting him in that room."

"Well—" he paused. Rayne made the mistake of shuffling closer to the door. "It seems like we have company."

Ezra snickered. Rayne cursed under her breath and straightened her back, deciding it was time to make her presence known. She pushed open the door to the kitchen completely and walked right up to her unsurprised parents. Nevaeh thinned her lips at Nashoba but shot her eldest a serene grin.

"Hey baby," Nevaeh greeted, pressing a kiss to Rayne's temple on her way back to the stove.

"Hi mom," Rayne replied, though her eyes stayed on her father. Despite being forty-one, Alpha Vance was just like any other wolf with the slow aging. He easily could pass for Rayne and Ezra's older brother, as disgusting as that sounded to her, and her mother could be her sister. Both passed for their early thirties, which should have made it easier to talk to them.

But it did the opposite; at least with her father.

"Dad?" Rayne started off hesitantly.

"A, um i hullo?" he questioned, waving a bronze hand to draw her closer to him. His hair was pulled away from his sharp features that resembled her own, with their almond-shaped eyes and high cheekbones. He seemed in a good mood.

Like a pup seeking parental protection, she dove straight into her father's side. Though she was still upset with him for how Jarrah was being treated, she relaxed under the affection of her father giving her one of his signature hugs. "Chim achukma?" he asked.