Chapter VIII

"This is Chase Smith of the Dark River Clan speaking."

"Yes, this is Xavier Lopez, Crown Prince of the Shadow Clan. Could I speak with the Alpha?"

"Sure thing, Your Highness."

Xavier twirls a pen around in his fingers as he waits for the Alpha to answer.

"This is Alpha Ben Smith speaking; how may I help you, Your Highness?

"Yes, I was wondering if we could come for a visit? But, first, I would like to see how the clans are doing around our area. Then I would head your way."

Ben stutters for a moment. "Yes, of course, we would be delighted to host Your Highness! How soon were you thinking of arriving? And how many?"

Xavier taps his finger on the table, thinking before answering Ben.

"I was thinking maybe the next couple of days, to be honest. And no need to worry, there will only be my guard and me coming, Raphael."

"We will look for you, then. Have a safe journey, and if you."

Alpha Ben stares at his phone as it cut his sentence off in the middle. So, what was up with the young vampire? What had made the vampire decide to visit, anyway? The Dark River Clan wasn't even near the Shadow Clan, which worried Ben.

Sighing, Ben rubbed his temple before looking at his son, Chase.

"Xavier Lopez is coming for a few days. That means we need to clean up around here and get things to look tip-top. Unfortunately, since Ellean died, we haven't been able to find any expert help. So, guess we all have to pitch in and help."

Chase nods, "I'll spread the word that he's coming and have the house cleaned up in no time."

As Chase gets up to leave, Ben stops him. "Also, tell you're, Mother, I need her to come in here."

"Sure, as soon as I see her, I'll tell her you need to see her."

Closing the door behind him, Chase rubs his chest. Ever since he had rejected Ellean, and she had died, his chest hurt. Something weird was going on. Chase wasn't sure what, but he hadn't dared to speak to either of his parents about it. He wasn't a weak werewolf that depended on his mate. He knew his parents weren't mates, but they had mated and had him because of an alliance. Ben had drilled into Chase's head that mates weren't something you needed; you could if the mate was strong, but to have a weak one was a disaster in the making.

Chase spotted his Mother in another werewolf's arms as he walked down the hall. Sighing, Chase knocked gently on the half-open door before speaking.

"Mother, Dad is looking for you. He said to come to see him as soon as possible."

Sophia nodded, not moving from the arms of the man. "I'll go in a minute; thank you for telling me, son."

Chase left the room, his shoulders slumped. He never understood why his parents didn't have a better relationship. Chase knew they didn't love each other, but that didn't give either of them the right to cheat on each other. Instead, he always saw his dad with some new woman or his Mother with another man.

Chase runs a hand through his hair as he moves towards his room. Jenny was waiting for him, probably wondering why it took him so long to get back.

After opening the door, Chase saw Jenny sitting down in front of the mirror, putting on makeup. Glancing up at him, Jenny smiles before going back to her grooming.

"Why the long face? Did you get into a fight?"

Chase shakes his head. "No, but Dad said that His Highness Xavier Lopez is coming for a visit in the next few days. We need to find people to clean up this house."

Jenny frowns for a moment, laying down the massacre wand. "Only if Ellean hadn't croaked, we'd have someone. I don't know anyone around here that can do what she did."

Chase sighs "that can't be helped. We all felt when Ellean died. It's no one's fault."

Jenny bites her bottom lip. She knew why Ellean died, and it was HER fault. Not that she was going to tell Chase that. Luna Sophia had spoken to Jenny about not breathing a word about what had happened to Ellean in those woods. And Jenny had kept her mouth tightly closed. Yes, they had felt the bond snap a few weeks ago, but Alpha Ben had chalked it up to the fact that Ellean had run away and was killed by another clan or wild animal.

Chase sits on the edge of the bed, watching Jenny. "I will put you in charge of finding someone to clean the house. I need to get the warriors in shape as fast as possible so that I will be busy for the next few days."

Jenny nods as her thoughts float away to her dead sister. If only Ellean hadn't angered her, Jenny wouldn't be in this mess.