Beyond the Bloodline-Chapter 235: A Mother’s Intuition
Jamie chuckled lightly as he met eyes with the man, and with a slow, deliberate clap, he broke the silence, his voice filled with amusement.
"Bravo! Wonderful entrance, Kaiser! How much was that performance worth?"
Hearing Jamie’s words, the man shook his head slowly as he muttered.
"Of course, a mere twelve thousand years is far from enough to make you change."
"Hmm? What are you talking about, Kaiser? I never change."
’Kaiser’ let the comment hang, not bothering with a response. Instead, he stepped forward, casually peeling ’Laura’ off Miranda, who looked mildly amused by the scene.
Holding ’Laura’ up by the scruff of her neck, he offered a nod in greeting.
"It’s been a while, Miranda. I’m glad to see you’re well."
"Kaiser, Put me down!"
He casually ignored ’Laura’ shouting at him and kept holding her by the scruff of her neck like one would hold a cat and Miranda could only laugh at the sight.
In contrast with the hyper ball of energy that was ’Laura’, ’Kaiser’ gave off a calm, more observant vibe.
’All three of them have completely different personalities.
Jay’s the nonchalant, devil-may-care one; Kaiser is the calm, observant one; while Laura is the vibrant, hyperactive one.’
Such were Miranda’s thoughts as she gazed at the three Westley Siblings. The Children of the former Werewolf Emperor, Robert Westley.
Jamie Franklin Westley and his twin younger siblings, Kaiser Fabian Westley, and Laura Fannie Westley.
And yes, they all had middle names starting with ’F’ on purpose.
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"Alright, since everyone’s here, let’s move."
Jamie clapped as he spoke, then turned to Miranda and continued.
"I’ll see you in a bit."
Miranda nodded and said she was going over to her family’s main residence, but Laura naturally didn’t want her ’Big Sis’ to go so soon.
Before Miranda could take a step, Laura broke free from Kaiser’s hold, her form blurring as she shot forward, arms wide to pull Miranda into another hug.
Suddenly, Jamie’s eyes narrowed, the warmth in them vanishing as he turned to face Laura.
|Laura. That’s enough. |
Laura stopped dead in her tracks, flinching at the sound of Jamie’s voice. His eyes glowed darkly, and the authority in his tone left no room for argument.
|You can talk to her later. Let’s go. |
Without another word, Jamie turned and began walking toward the grand entrance, leaving behind a cloud of confusion among the onlookers.
Kaiser, however, completely understood the reason for Jamie’s abrupt change in demeanour.
After all, he hadn’t transformed into his true form to incinerate an enemy planet, then rushed across space to Estea simply because Jamie was around.
Like Jamie had said to Caera, they had gone longer times without seeing each other so he wasn’t that eager to meet his elder brother.
The three siblings stepped inside the towering entrance of Wolfsong Chateau, moving past intricately carved doors that shut behind them with a heavy thud.
They strode down the grand hallway, the murmurs and glances of the gathered crowd fading away as they passed the designated line where no non-Westley was permitted.
Here, not even members of their extended family could venture without direct permission from Jamie or his siblings.
Each step took them deeper into the inner sanctum of the chateau, their footsteps echoing across the walls.
Finally, they emerged into a vast courtyard, an open-air space at the very heart of the chateau.
The walls were adorned with lush, flowering vines, at each corner of the stone-tiled floor, three intricate circular patterns were etched.
Jamie, Kaiser, and Laura each took their places on a respective circle, and once they were positioned, Jamie raised his hand, and a powerful surge of cosmic energy burst from his body.
He sent two streams of energy towards the twins and they controlled it, along with the surrounding cosmic energy and redirected the energy streams toward the centre of the courtyard, where the beams collided with a blinding flash.
When the three cosmic energy beams collided, space fractured open and a dimensional rift tore open before their eyes.
Jamie took the first step, disappearing into the rift, and Kaiser and Laura followed without hesitation.
Upon emerging on the other side, they were met with a verdant forest bathed in the soft glow of daylight.
Towering trees spread their canopies wide, their leaves whispering in the gentle breeze. Shafts of sunlight pierced the branches, creating dappled patterns on the forest floor, and the scent of earth and moss filled the air.
A well-worn path lay before them, winding through the undergrowth and leading further into the heart of the forest.
They followed the path in silence, and eventually, the forest thinned, revealing a large, sunlit clearing by the edge of a serene lake.
Not far from the water’s edge stood a quaint cottage, small yet beautifully crafted, with ivy creeping up its stone walls and smoke curling lazily from the chimney.
Jamie’s gaze drifted from the smoke trail up to the sky, where he found the light source of this realm.
A lone star shining brightly—locked in orbit around a supermassive black hole that loomed beyond, dilating the fabric of space-time.
He returned his gaze to the ground and walked forward, where a figure entered his field of vision.
It was a man resting on a reclining chair, sitting by the lake with a cigarette in his mouth.
"Old man, you’re still smoking at your age?"
Jamie spoke as he walked towards him and the man turned his gaze to meet Jamie’s.
Like Jamie, he had silver hair, neatly combed back and framing a face marked by the lines of experience.
His piercing blue eyes held a sharpness and clarity that contrasted with the signs of age softening his facial features.
Laughing lightly, he got up from his seat, his movements reflecting a lifetime of self-discipline.
Before he could say a word, Jamie snapped his fingers and the cigarette in his mouth flew out and into the water, causing his expression to morph into one of despair.
"That was my last one!"
"That’s good. If I saw you with another one, I’d have sent you into the lake along with it."
After Jamie spoke, Kaiser nodded and added.
"I have to agree with him there. If he didn’t toss it, I’d have tossed you whole."
Kaiser calmly talked about tossing a grown man into a lake, earning him a look of disbelief from the target of his statement.
Jamie ignored them and headed into the cottage, moving with familiarity as he headed to the kitchen of the building.
There, a woman was setting food on the table, and when she sensed him, she turned with a surprised expression.
"Oh, you guys came along."
She had an aura of warmth and calm around her, with her hair—a once deep black now threaded with grey strands—falling just past her shoulders.
Her grey eyes were softer than that of the man outside, but just as perceptive.
She wore an earth-toned cardigan over a flowing long skirt that matched her gentle demeanour.
After setting down the pot she was holding, she spread her arms wide and Jamie reciprocated, hugging her tightly.
"Good to see you, my boy."
She spoke while patting his back, only to suddenly freeze and pull away from the hug. Immediately, her eyes narrowed and she looked right at Jamie’s azure eyes and asked.
"What happened to you?"
Hearing her question, Jamie laughed lightly, not even surprised that she had easily seen through the fact that he’d lost his power even though no one else could.
"Your paranormal intuition is as sharp as ever, Mother."
With his form of address, this woman’s identity was now revealed.
She was Caitrin Fiora Westley. The aged mother of one Ancient and a pair of twin Elder-Breed Werewolves.
The wife of the former Race Emperor Robert Fitzgerald Westley, and a former Race Empress herself.
"When did this happen?"
Caitrin’s eyes shook and she looked out the window, about to call out to the twins with their father when Jamie stopped her.
"They’re not aware."
"What?"
"Besides Mira and one other person, no one’s aware."
Jamie explained and Caitrin instantly understood that his power loss was a secret, but she could not understand how it had even happened in the first place!
"...how?"
"Let’s just say I made a certain deal with a witch to keep a certain item sealed, and when I temporarily left the Universe for a bit via Astral Projection, she may have taken advantage of that to steal a little something from me."
"A little?! You call this a little?!"
"Don’t worry, I’d get it back in a couple of years at most."
Jamie reassured his worried mother with a smile, softening her anxious expression a bit.
But before she could say another word, Laura came barrelling into the room, launching herself through the air with a delighted shout.
"Mom!"
Laura practically tackled Caitrin in a hug, burying her face in her mother’s shoulder.
Kaiser strode in after her, his usually composed demeanour lightened by the scene and their father, Robert, entered last, closing the door behind him.
He looked at the impromptu family gathering and rolled up his sleeves lightly as he spoke.
"Well, guess I’ll set out some extra plates for the occasion."
Before long, the small kitchen table was crowded with an assortment of dishes, mismatched plates, and silverware, hastily set but still welcoming.
The five of them sat around the table, cosy and close-knit.
For a moment, they were just a regular old family, not Werewolves with planet-busting power and galaxy-shaping influence but simply a mother, a father, and their three children, sharing a meal together.
