Author's Note:

Happy New Year!  🥳

Come on 2021, 2020 set a really low bar, you can do better than that at least!

Hope this next year is better for you than Elise's past week has been for her!

* * * * * * * * *

From the corner of my eye I saw Karen move as if to hurry to greet our guests, but before she got far I felt the back of my neck prickle and I heard Serge's footsteps echoing as he walked out of the hall.

I heard the light squeak of the hinges.

"Hello, Nick, welcome to my home and my lands," Serge said.

I knew my family must be standing there, just outside the door. I could only see them from the corner of my vision because he was too close to them.

"Thank you for inviting us," I heard my father respond. "You already know my son, Sean, and this is my wife Moramay."

While they had been talking, I had slowly started moving towards my family, but I could not make myself come up beside him.

"Nice to meet you, Moramay," I heard Serge say. "Come in."

They did and Serge hung back while they greeted me.

I was instantly enveloped in my father's hug and I could feel his breath on my hair. "Elise," he simply said.

"Hey, dad. How's it going?" I asked.

He laughed a bit at my words and I smiled.

"I'm more worried how it's going for you," he responded.

"I'm surviving," I assured him and felt the curse prickle me, although it seemed somehow better when I was holding on to my father.

He stepped back and inspected me carefully. I looked at him, too. He definitely looked worn compared to the last time I had seen him. My heart ached at the sight and I felt a shot of guilt rush through me.

Sean ruffled my hair annoyingly and I shot him a fake glare. He laughed. He at least looked in better condition than my father.

"It's so good to see you, sweetie," Moramay said, taking her turn to hug me. She had her dark blond hair swept up into a knot at the back of her neck. Her brows were drawn together in worry and she had a soft smile on her face. She looked a bit tired, too. I imagined it had not been an easy week dealing with my father.

I smiled at my family, but inside I felt guilty. I had caused so much trouble and the curse purred at my pain. The whole time they enveloped me I could feel the prickles of Serge's presence on the nape of my neck. He was standing back and I wondered what he was thinking.

Serge turned their attention to my caretaker.

"I should introduce you to Karen. I believe you've already met, Nick."

"Briefly in person, and we've spoken quite a lot this week," my father agreed.

"She's wife to my second and as you know, I've given her charge of easing Elise into the pack as best she is able."

"Thank you," my father told her solemnly. "Your updates have made this easier on us, Karen and your assistance has hopefully made it easier on Elise as well."

I had known she had spoken to my father, but I had been unaware of the depth of their conversations.

Karen smiled. "You are most welcome, Nick," she said.

She paused. "But I'm going to have to run now. Everything's ready for supper and I told my kids I'd be home tonight."

"It's great to have met you," Moramay said kindly.

My family said their farewells to Karen as she grabbed her purse and went out the door.

"Why don't you all sit down in the living room while I make sure everything is ready?" Serge suggested.

I was pretty sure Karen had already handled it all. The salad was ready and there were two crock pots simmering away and warm bread waiting in the oven. But I did not point that out as my family moved me over to the living room area. The curse reminded me it was not my place to question him.

And if he wanted an escape, I would not ruin it for him.

I found myself on a couch beside my brother of all people while Moramay and my father sat across from us.

"So, how do you like it here?" Moramay asked.

"Um, it's nice enough," I said.

"I guess that was a silly question," she admitted. "Sorry, I don't know what to say."

My father took over. "What have you been doing since you got here?" he asked.

I glanced at him. They were all watching me so closely I felt like a specimen under a microscope. "I thought you've been talking to K-Karen," I said in an attempt to avoid answering.

"I still want to hear it from your side," he said.

I paused. I could hear that the sounds in the kitchen had ceased and I wondered where Serge had gone.

I turned my attention back to my father's question. "Well, I keep busy. I've been figuring out my phone. It's really cool, thanks." I did not tell him how hard it was for me to use it, or how much it felt like I was wrong to have it.

"I'm glad you like it," he said.

"Remember what I said," Moramay reminded me with a wink.

My father's face took on an expression of good natured exasperation.

I chuckled at that, then tried to think what else I had been doing.

"I've been running in the forest alone every day after the first few," I told him. That was a good answer. It sounded like a healthy activity.

"I did not think you could," my father said.

I shrugged. "It's fine, as long as I stay close to the house."

But it was not really the house at the centre of my circle, it was Serge.

I suddenly realized that he must not have left his house in a week either, other than to run and his runs were no doubt as restricted as mine were.

Surely staying home was not normal behaviour for a pack leader and though I did not know him before I doubted that had been his usual schedule. The curse was clearly taking its toll on him, too. I swallowed.

Sean spoke next, "I heard Matt came up here to visit on his day off."

"Yeah, it was great," I agreed. "I missed him; I miss all of you."

"Well, you'll probably see him plenty. He was desperate to get back to you," Sean said pointedly. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Don't tease her," my father intervened.

Sean shrugged and then grinned. He lowered his voice and asked, "Hey, did Matt really punch Serge?"

The curse did not like my brother's question. I felt it sweep over my skin and into my veins and down through my bones. I cowered back into the couch cushions. "Wh-what? N-no, I don't th-think so?" I stammered nervously.  I hoped not, but it seemed all too horribly plausible.

"Sean. Knock it off," my father growled.

I forced my head to shake. "N-no, it's not his fault. It's the c-curse. I-it sort of attacks me if I get out of line and i-i-it really doesn't like when S-S-S..." I stammered off and recouped. "When h-h-he's thr-threatened or criticized."

"Awe, sweetie," Moramay said sadly, rubbing my arm.

I shook my head and made myself sit up straighter. "Like I told Matt, I'm f-fighting i-it."

"He did mention something like that, something about wiggling toes," my father allowed.

I managed a shaky half smile. "Yeah, wiggling my toes." I felt the chill. "But i-it doesn't like that either. But I'm going to k-keep doing it, though."

My father nodded.

Moramay rubbed my father's shoulder absently as she asked, "I heard you were looking at photos?"

"Yeah, I've got some more. They scare me, like everything else here, but at least I'm figuring out what my p-pack looks like."

I saw my father stiffen when I referred to my new pack as my own. Right now it was not worth battling the curse on that front, but I felt bad again.

I tried to change the subject. "I've got pictures of all of you," I told them.

I turned to my brother beside me and said sweetly. "You look like a total imbecile in yours."

* * * * * * * * *

I kept talking with my family and I tried my best to sound as normal as possible, but it was a strain. I was glad when Serge returned and announced supper was ready, although sitting at the table with him was its own sort of stress as always.

There were place settings at both ends of the table, with the one at the head slightly further away from the others. Serge directed me to sit nearest to him which made my heart thud unpleasantly and elicited an irritated expression from my father.

We grabbed plates from next to the slow cookers and dished ourselves up stew, with a chicken version for Moramay. I tried not to feel guilty about the extra work Karen had done.

I sat where Serge had told me to sit and Sean sat on my other side, Moramay sat across and my father sat where he could aggressively stare straight ahead at Serge from the opposite end of the table.

I forced myself to bring a shaking bite of moose to my mouth. I could feel Serge's nearness in the prickling on my neck. I glanced at my family and then I understood what he had been thinking with the seating arrangement. I could look at them all freely without him directly in my line of sight.

I felt a bit of gratitude, though it was quickly lost in my shivers.

My father was speaking to Serge. "Doctor Alexi flew in today and she wants to see Elise right away, but she also refuses to come to you."

"I'll bring Elise to your territory tomorrow," Serge said without missing a beat.

"Very well, then. I'll tell Alexi. Moramay and I will be there, as well."

"Sounds good," Serge said.

"Elise might need to come for a few days in a row," my father continued.

"We'll make it work," Serge agreed with deliberate nonchalance. There was a note in his tone that put me on edge.

"And it's worth mentioning that Elise has never missed Matthias' birthday, which happens to be this Saturday."

"Nick," Moramay cautioned.

Cold anxiety was rushing over me at my father's increasingly aggressive voice.

"Would you like for me to simply move over to your territory full time, Nick? We could just hand mine over to the eastern king and be done with this war. God knows we're all weary of it."

"What I want is for you to give me my daughter back, damn it."

I glanced helplessly at Sean to intervene, but my idiot brother seemed to be in full agreement with my father's words.

Moramay had shifted closer to my father and had her hand in his, clearly trying to get his attention away from his standoff with my leader.

"There is nothing I want to do more than give you your daughter back, Nick," Serge said in a deadly calm tone. "I am trying to give her back, but do you know what will happen if you take her away from me right now?"

"No. I know what the old tales say but I don't know what would actually happen," my father responded through clenched teeth. "Because I've never abused my powers."

I knocked over my glass of water and it spilled across the table.

* * * * * * * * *