Chapter 6 Where Have You Been?

• Asher and Mariah appeared in her room and they soon heard an angry voice asking, “where have you been?”
• They turned to see Noami approaching them. It seemed like she has been waiting for them in Mariah’s room. Asher and Mariah glanced at each other, not knowing what to say.
• “And what happened?” Naomi asked. “Asher, why are you so dirty?”
• Asher left Mariah to hold her. “I’m fine, we just had a little unplanned activity.” He smiled.
• Naomi glanced from to Mariah and then back at him. “So, you can’t tell me what happened?”
• “It’s Mariah’s story, I can’t share it on my own. And besides, it’s not a big deal. Come, let’s go to our room, I need to freshen up before dinner.” He started leading her to the door. He paused as he opened the door and glanced at his sister but only sighed and left with his mate.
• Mariah sat on her bed when alone, lost in thought. What the hell just happened? Did she and Asher almost died at the hands of the man she has been seeing in her dream for over a century? What the hell happened, why was it this way? Yesterday that she had decided to meet him, she never planned it to go like this. She never planned any of this. What could be his purpose of killing her? What does he mean by ‘He will be after him? Who is he afraid of? What the hell is going on?
• She went to that mountain to find him and get answers but instead, she left with more questions. Who the hell is he? What is he made of? Is he a Nightwalker? She means, he sucked her blood. But he could walk under the sun. Wait, her father can walk under the sun and he has been doing so long before he even became a demon. Then, is he an Original? Could he be the first ever vampire that was created? Is that why he was buried in the cave? Could it be that he brought calamity to the world and the humans were able to subdue him and then bury him in the cave? Then if so, have she brought calamity back in the world by freeing him?
• She ran her fingers in her hair and fell on her bed. How could she get answers to her questions? She can’t afford to meet him without Asher and knowing her brother, Asher will never let her meet him in this life ever again. But only the man can answer her questions. So many things don’t make sense. Like what did he mean by under normal circumstance he would have accepted her, accept her as what? What is she to him? Why does he want her blood and only her blood? What importance is she to him? Why had he invaded her dream for the past hundred years? What does he want with her? Why was she the only one that can save him?
• ‘Mariah, I think it’s time to tell dad.’ Asher’s voice rang loud in her mind. ‘As the king, he needs to know what is going on. We can’t hide it from him anymore, not with that man roaming around. If we had succeeded in killing him, then we could consider keeping it a secret but he was able to escape and something tells me we have not seen the last of him. Dad needs to be in on it, as you saw, he is very strong even though he claims to be weak and it left me wondering what he is when strong. We can’t do this alone anymore, we need all hands on deck.’
• ‘But how should we tell him?’ She replied in the mind link.
• ‘We will start from the very beginning.’
• ‘And mom? I don’t think I will want her to know.’
• ‘She doesn’t have to, at least for now.’
• Mariah sighed. She knows her brother was right. She could still remember how he couldn’t even lay a hand on the man until he became that black monster. And that means that the next person who can successfully hurt the man would be her father and so he has to know what they were up against it, at least to make necessary preparation.
• ‘I will single dad out after dinner. We will tell him everything. Do you understand Mariah? I know you would love this to be a secret but you have to understand that this is not just a dream anymore.’
• ‘I know, I understand. Thank you for protecting me today.’
• ‘You are my sister. I will die protecting you and I won’t think twice about it.’
• His words brought tears to Mariah’s eyes and she smiled sadly. She knows she is loved but didn’t know it was to that extent.
• ‘And I’m sure dad would do same too.’ Asher added. ‘We need all the people we can get to help in protecting you. He made it clear that you are the one he wants and from the kind of person he is, he won’t stop until he gets what he wants. He is not a weak opponent Mariah, believe me.’
• Mariah thought about that peerlessly gorgeous face and how easily he defeated Asher initially and she shuddered. The man was a monster, there was no doubt about it. If he could fight Asher, the Alpha King so easily, then she doubts if the werewolves combined can even lay a finger on him. So yes, he is not a weak opponent and should not be trifled with.
• ‘I know.’ She replied. ‘We will tell dad everything.’
• ‘Good, I will see you downstairs.’ And with that, he closed the connection.
• Mariah sighed and dragged herself up from her bed. She needs to shower and prepare to face her father. Thinking about Edward’s poker face, she shuddered, no doubt she would get an earful for hiding this from him for so long. But guess nothing can remain hidden forever and she needs to get this over and done with.
• ***
• “Where were you both all afternoon, you missed lunch,” Aliyah asked her children as they joined them in the living room.
• Asher went and sat beside her, kissing her head. “Mariah wanted to spar with me. We were training in the woods.”
• “Oh, I see,” Aliyah chuckled, glancing at Mariah who shrugged and looked away.
• Asher glanced at Edward to see him studying him and he cleared his throat. Of course, why won’t his father suspect him? He felt like rolling his eyes.
• “Have you guys heard anything from mom and dad? I have tried calling but I can’t get through to them.” Noah said, staring at his phone.
• “I have every reason to believe they are on flight. Irene called me when they were in the airport. We should be expecting them early in the morning.” Aliyah answered.
• “That soon? I thought they wouldn’t be back until the weekend?” Mariah asked.
• Aliyah shrugged. “Irene sounded ecstatic. Whenever she sounds like that, know that she is immensely happy or have seen a vision that made her really anxious. But since she is rushing back, I have a feeling that it’s the latter.” She heaved a sigh, “however, I pray its nothing too serious. I really loved the peace and quiet we have been living since the last century.”
• Asher and Mariah shared a look at what Aliyah said. How could they have forgotten that they had a pure blood witch as an aunt?
• Edward studied the both of them. He could feel that there was something off about them and since they are not saying it, he had a feeling they don’t want their mother to know and so he could only keep calm till after dinner to question them about it.
• A servant announced that dinner was ready and they all stood and left for the dining area. Dinner didn’t take much time as there was nothing to talk about or perhaps, the news of Irene’s sudden return had affected Aliyah’s mood, making her not really aware about what was happening and so, there wasn’t anything to talk about.
• As they returned to the living room, it was as quiet as the dinner and after a while, Aliyah excused herself to turn in early. As soon as she was out of sight, Edward said, “Asher, Mariah, drawing room, now.” And he stood up and teleported straight there.
• Asher and Mariah shared a look and sighed before teleporting as well, leaving the confused Naomi and Noah in the living room.