*Sasha*
“I think we should get to know our enemies better,” I suggested.
“I’m not sure there’s going to be a lot of research information on a Lycaon splinter group.” Lucas sighed.
I shook my head. “We still don’t know how or why Stone got involved in all of this. He could be the link we need to figure it out.”
Lucas creased his brow. “Stone is imprisoned. You think he’s still dangerous?”
“I think we need more information about his involvent. Knowledge is power, Lucas.”
“Alright. I’ll set up an appointnt at the Royal Archives. We can do our research there.”
We took Hunter with us to the Royal Archives. I wasn’t willing to risk leaving him with soone who wouldn’t be able to protect him or whom we couldn’t trust.
Fortunately, the Royal Archives were well protected by guards from the palace because so of the tos there were rare and protected.
“Here are so volus on family histories.” Lucas brought so musty old books to the desk in the back.
I had Hunter’s baby carrier on the table, rocking it gently while he cooed in his sleep.
Lucas handed one of the books and I started flipping through it. Hamline wasn’t a well-known last na, not on the sa level as the royals and other people we knew.
Lucas and I spent hours combing through family trees. I paused to feed Hunter from ti to ti. Once, I had to pick him up and walk him around while he was fussy.
“Hey, I think I have sothing,” Lucas announced. He motioned over.
I stood behind him and peered over his shoulder.
“It looks like one of Stone’s ancestors was a man nad Dylan. He served as Beta under Dark King Sebastian.”
I swallowed and instinctively clutched Hunter closer. “The Dark King Sebastian?” I rembered learning about him in school. The tales of his reign belonged in the past.
“Yeah. Not a lot is known about this Dylan character, but apparently history rembers him as being a power-hungry deviant that was ruthless and cutthroat.”
“It makes sense that King Sebastian would have people like that around him.”
Lucas nodded. “Yeah... he caused a lot of problems, even tried to stage a coup to take over the throne.”
I gasped. “This is who Stone is descended from? I’m starting to understand him better.”
Lucas chuckled. “Well, Dylan t a justified end. According to the history books, he was killed by a wolf from the Light Realm, Soren Black, my great uncle.”
“Interesting....”
“Soren killing Dylan led to a generational vendetta from Dylan’s bloodline against the Light Realm, passed down through the generations to Stone.”
I sighed and tucked Hunter back into his carrier. “Well, that explains why he wants to see the Light Realm destroyed and why he thinks bringing back the Dark Lord is a good plan.”
“It also explains why he is willing to work with the church or this splinter faction. He doesn’t care who gets hurt. He doesn’t even care if he dies, as long as justice is served for his family.”
“Then he’s the most dangerous kind of adversary because he has nothing to lose,” I muttered.
“There is a reference here to another book. A journal by Dylan.” Lucas flipped through several more pages to find what he was looking for.
I saw the frown tug at his lips and he slowly closed the to.
“What is it, Lucas?”
“Dylan kept a journal, but they only included passages that made no sense. I guess he wasn’t the sanest person.”
“No surprise there,” I grumbled.
“Apparently, Dylan claid he was working under the guidance of a dark witch nad Hestia. She was the one who told him he could resurrect his dead wife and take over the throne.”
“Bringing back the dead, that’s not possible. Is it?” I gasped and reached for Hunter again. There were so many horrible things in the world, and I wanted to protect my son from all of them.
“It doesn’t say whether he tried it or succeeded, so I’m guessing that it isn’t possible. Otherwise, we would have heard about it.
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
“Dylan claid the throne was stolen from his great-great-grandfather, which is why he felt he should take it back. In the end, he died, and so did the witch Hestia.”
“Then why do you look like you’ve seen a ghost?”
Lucas sighed and I noticed how he wouldn’t make eye contact with . “There was another footnote reference to a grimoire, Hestia’s grimoire. They found it when they searched her lair.”
“Wh-what did it s-say?” Words stuck in my dry mouth as I tried to speak.
“Hestia recorded visions she had, visions about how to bring back the Dark Lord. The most reoccurring one she had was about a Dream Dancer who would have the power to do it.”
All the air rushed out of the room and I leaned on the table for support. Hestia ant . Who else could she an?
And everything that was happening to and my family was because of the visions so depraved witch had years ago.
“It’s getting late. We should get Hunter ho.”
I was quiet for the entire ride back. I could tell that Lucas wanted to ask questions, but I was too preoccupied to talk. Fortunately, he seed to understand that.
I hated that I was being thrust into this storyline from people who died long before I was even born. Hestia, Dylan–I didn’t know them. They were fignts of the past.
But what they set in motion affected and my son today.
It wasn’t fair.
When we got ho, I fed Hunter and put him down. I went to sleep in the nursery as I always did now.
My dreams were haunted with faceless, naless shadows reaching for and for Hunter in his crib. Lucas ca in more than once to wake up to tell that I was crying and screaming in my sleep.
I brought Hunter to the kitchen, eyes still blurry with sleep. Lucas gave a look.
“Sasha, are you okay?”
“I feel like I didn’t get any sleep at all.”
“I ca in to wake you up six tis. You can’t go on like this.”
“I–” I froze. “Lucas, did you hear that?”
I picked Hunter up and held him close to my body.
“Hear what?”
“Soone is outside!”
Lucas sighed. “It’s the security guards, nothing to worry about. They are here to keep us safe.”
“You’re sure it was them?”
“Yes.”
Slowly, I put Hunter back in his carrier. “Can you... just check?”
Lucas grumbled under his breath but he slipped outside. I held my breath the entire ti he was gone. He ca back monts later and confird that it was just the security guards.
“Why don’t we leave Hunter with our moms today and get so real sleep?”
“No!”
Lucas’s eyes widened.
“I’m sorry... I can’t let Hunter out of my sight until I know he’s safe.”
Lucas nodded and didn’t push the matter anymore.
***
A few nights later, Lucas convinced to sleep in my own bed, that the rest would do good. In the middle of the night, I woke up and sat bolt upright.
Sothing had woken ... but it wasn’t a dream. It was sothing in the house.
My skin prickled and a shiver ran down my spine. I held my breath.
Low whispering sounds ca from the hall, right outside the nursery.
I jumped out of bed and flew across the hall. I raced to Hunter, grabbed him in my arms, and held him close. He was sound asleep, but the fear creeping down my spine didn’t go away.
I took Hunter to the master bedroom and I lay down with him, refusing to let him go. I wasn’t going to let him out of my arms or out of my sight.
Lucas flipped the light on and turned toward us.
“Sasha, what’s going on?”
I held Hunter close and suddenly burst into tears. I was so tired and so worried about the baby, it all ca out in tears.
“I don’t feel safe anywhere! How can we keep our son safe when things are coming into our ho and hurting us?”
“Sasha.” Lucas put his arm around and soothed . “Maybe we should talk to soone about all this.”
I sniffled and nodded, leaning against Lucas. He let cry all my anxiety out until I finally passed out from exhaustion.
The next day, Lucas scheduled an appointnt with a healer for . I resisted, but he pointed out how I was barely sleeping and eating. It wasn’t good for or Hunter.
Finally, I had to admit that I needed help or Hunter would be the one who suffered.
I knew the threats out there were real, but if I couldn’t make it through a night or day without fearing the worst. That fear and anxiety would only pass on to Hunter.
Lucas watched Hunter in the waiting room while the healer asked questions about my sleep habits, my feelings, and my dreams.
“It isn’t uncommon for new mothers to have fears and anxieties. They can manifest in paranoid feelings and dreams that make you think sothing is wrong.”
“What if sothing really is wrong?” I asked.
She frowned and looked at her clipboard. “Do you truly believe that soone is after your baby?”
“That’s a difficult question. I an, Lucas must have told you that rogue shifters broke into our ho and ca after the baby.”
She nodded. “Yes, he did. However, you two did everything you could. You protected Hunter and got more security. There have been no break-ins since.”
“No, but–”
“Then it stands to reason the asures you’ve taken are enough.”
“Yes, but–”
“Sasha, you’re experiencing postpartum anxiety. It isn’t uncommon, though yours does seem severe. I’m going to prescribe a mood stabilizer and a sleeping pill. Those should help you get needed rest and take the edge off your feelings. I want you to check in regularly and talk to when things co up.”
“Okay,” I whispered.
What else could I say? If the dication and therapy might help, I might as well try it.
I started the dication and Lucas checked in regularly. It was nice to have him there supporting , and I did feel a little better once I started taking the dication. It ant I couldn’t breastfeed, though, and I had to switch Hunter to bottles.
I didn’t like that, but Lucas insisted I stick to the dication because he noticed a change in right away.
I was getting better sleep and eating better, and it made feel better overall. I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t over though.
As paranoid as I was, I knew Lucas felt the sa uneasiness. He still snuck out of the house three tis a night to check the periter. We were both still worried about possible threats to Hunter.
Paranoid or not, the threats were real. Would we ever truly be able to relax and stop worrying?
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