Faze

Chapter 16: Marshal

Chapter Sixteen

Sunny sat across from Marshal outside in the grass. The day was sunny and Marshal couldn't deny the warmth on his skin. His eyes were closed but they opened, squinting from the sun "so, I heard that Zephan is doing a lot better." He wiggled his bushy eyebrows and smiled.

Sunny sighed, "I'm relieved. He looked so sick."

Marshal closed his eyes again, "you will be a great Luna one day."

Sunny processed his words. He hadn't heard it from anyone yet, not even Ruth or Leland. He had put the puzzle together already. If Leland was going to be the alpha, then he would be the luna. "Are you okay with all of this?" Sunny was okay with it. He was really okay with it. He wanted to be around Leland constantly. His thoughts always always revolved around him. He wanted to hug him and feel the warmth.

Marshal opened his eyes briefly, "of course. I met Ruth and Cliff when I was in my twenties. They are both very good people. I have helped them and they have helped me. I'm happy to call them my family now."

"How did you meet them?" Sunny asked, trying to imagine a younger version of Ruth and Cliff.

Marshal kept his eyes closed, "as a human, we shouldn't have met. Unlike you, I'm not supposed to be a part of their world. I don't have a soulmate like them and I'm as human as they get. Vera, your mother, she knew of them before I did. I'm not sure how she did but... she did."

He stopped talking for a moment, collecting his thoughts. Sunny watched and when his brown eyes stared back at him, he continued. "I'm sorry for not being honest with you."

"It's okay, I understand. We aren't supposed to tell people about them. I get it," Sunny shrugged. "I'm glad you already knew so that I didn't have to keep it from you."

Marshal smiled, "it's really hard to avoid them once you find out about them. I moved to the city to get away but then you were born and Vera wanted to bring you here. She begged me. She wanted you to grow up where we grew up. She's from here too, coincidentally. But after she died, I couldn't bring myself to do it, not until now. Ruth contacted me and told me to come, for our protection."

"Protection from what?"

"Other wolves. When you find out about them, they all know that you know. It's like something changes in your eyes and they all see it," Marshal said. "So Ruth offered her hospitality and protection and I couldn't deny that, not after your mother..."

"How did she die?" Sunny asked and the world around them stopped. He had never asked before. He just accepted the fact that his mother was gone and he couldn't do anything about it.

Marshal didn't speak and his eyes didn't close, he didn't even blink. He stared at the grass below them as if he was waiting, waiting for someone else to say the truth because he didn't want to.

"Sh–she's not dead, Sunny."

His ears had started to ring and he swallowed back the bile that suddenly stuck to the back of his throat. "What? What do you mean she's not dead?"

Marshal looked up, his brown eyes darker than before, "she's not dead. She never died. She went missing. She was taken away and no one knows where she is."

"Is that why we're here?"

Marshal nodded.

"Do you think it was a werewolf?"

"I do. But I don't know who. Ruth wants to find her just as much as I do. We think she's here somewhere."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" Sunny asked.

Marshal sighed, his stare as hard as before, "I would rather you have a dead mother than a missing one."

"Why?"

"People are cruel, Sunny."

________________

Ruth hosted dinner and Marshal and Sunny joined. Cliff made steak, potato casserole, and corn on the cob. "He's the cook in the family," Ruth said, her hand on the back of Cliff's neck. He wore a grey apron that said: "Kiss the chef".

"Ignore her," Leland whispered to Sunny. They sat next to each other at the table. "They will talk about each other for hours if you let them."

Sunny smiled and dished up a spoon full of casserole.

"My mom is the boss of the house too," Leland smirked. "All men are scared of her."

"Not true," Theon said from across the table. He shook his head quickly. "I'm not."

Ruth stood behind him, "are you sure about that, little boy?"

Theon didn't say anything but his body language showed. He sunk into his chair and dug into his food, slightly embarrassed. Leland stuck his tongue out at his cousin and Theon gave him the finger.

Zephan sat next to Theon. He retired his sweatshirts, finally able to control his body temperature but he still had dark bags under his eyes. He looked better but was still sick.

Ruth sat in her seat at the head of the table and Cliff sat next to Marshal at the other end. "Sunny, big thanks to Alethea for us. Zephan is doing a lot better," Ruth said, dishing up her plate.

"Of course!"

"I don't want to go on Kester's territory unannounced and anyways, Alethea and I have never formally met. We usually do phone appointments for our needs, or she sends an omega with our medicine."

"Omega?"

She smiled, "they are natural healers. Hazel is one and she's very good at it. If you have a physical injury, she can heal it with just one touch. But it does take a lot of energy out of her."

"That's amazing," Sunny said. "But how can you trust Alethea if you've never met her before?"

Ruth finished chewing a piece of steak before she spoke, "Kester recommended her to me, and out of curiosity, I tried some of her medicine. She's great. Although I am one hundred percent sure he's guilty of something because he said he owed me at least this. That guy has the guilty conscience of a child who stole candy, they are running to rat themselves out before someone else can. I don't even know what he did."

She shrugged and continued eating.

"Thank you," Zephan said from across the table. He looked at Sunny with a frown. "You didn't have to try and save me but I appreciate it."

Theon slapped his cousin's back lightly, careful not to hurt him, "Don't listen to him, he's been whining nonstop about how he's going to die soon. It's not official but he keeps freaking himself out for no reason, everything is going to be fine."

"Yeah," Leland said. "So drink your tea because if I hear you crying again tonight, I'm going to bathe you in it."

A smile tugged the corner of Zephan's mouth but he didn't let it through, he picked up his mug and chugged his tea down quickly.

Ruth had finished her food and she leaned back in her chair, "so, Sunny," She looked at Marshal, "Marshal."

"Yes?" They both said.

"I have an offer for the two of you, you don't need to decide now but I recommend it," she said. "So I was thinking that you both can live here, in the packhouse. It would be better for Sunny and Leland. It's hard and unnatural to be away from each other for so long when your soulmates. The bond is only going to get stronger and Marshal, it's just great having you around."

"Really?" He looked beside him, catching Leland's smile. "I mean that's great! We'll be safer, and I can get used to everything better if I'm here."

Marshal laughed from the end of the table, "I don't mind if Sunny doesn't mind."