Querencia

Chapter Twenty Six

FLORENCE

I woke up to someone trailing their fingers over my cheeks. I scrunched my nose in annoyance before opening my eyes only to be greeted by an adorable little face. I let out a surprised gasp before pulling away.

The child was around four or five years old I think, his hair matte black and eyes dark forest green. He grinned an adorable grin when he noticed me staring. "You're awake!"

"Uh...yes..and who might you be, you adorable little baby?" I asked, caressing his soft cheek.

His grin widened. "I'm Elijah and my mummy told me to come get you for breakfast."

Only after Elijah's words did last night's events came back into my mind. I looked around and took in the room before sitting up. Where was Vlad?

I looked at Elijah who was looking at me expectantly. "Uh...do you know where...Vladimir is?"

"Yes! My daddy and Uncle Vlad went out this morning on a run. Uncle Vlad told me to take special care of you." He said and I couldn't help but let out a chuckle.

"Alright, Elijah...let me just shower and I'll be down for breakfast in five, okay?" I asked him, tucking a piece of his black hair behind his ear.

"Okay. I'll let mummy know!" He hopped off the bed before walking to the door and letting himself out.

I smiled subconsciously before sighing and swinging my legs off the bed. I sat there for a minute and thought about everything. Everything felt so unreal. Someone had actually planted a bomb at our pack house. Just thinking about it made tears well in my eyes. I wiped them away.

I needed someone to let me know what went down last night. I picked up my phone and dialed Vlad's number before holding it to my ear. It rang a few times before going to voicemail making me curse in frustration. Next, I dialed Caleb's number who thankfully picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Caleb...it's me."

"Florence, what's up?"

"Listen do you know what happened last night? With the bomb and everything?"

"There was no bomb, it turns out..but Camille's people came back last night and there was a fire."

My heart dropped. "W-Where?"

"At the main pack house." He responded. "We were able to put it out before it spread too far but it destroyed the pack house."

"Did someone get hurt?"

"No, fortunately, everyone's fine." He said and I sighed in relief.

"Did you guys get ahold of Camille?" I asked.

"No, but we got one of his men." He said and hope swelled within me but also dread. "I'm on my way back right now but. Vlad will be there soon and relay what'll happen now."

I had a feeling he wasn't telling me the whole thing, making me frown. "Caleb.." I spoke in an unsure tone.

It was silent for a moment before he spoke. "Let me know when Vlad gets there, alright? Bye."

He hung up and I just sat there for a moment. He was definitely hiding something from me. Something Vlad was going to tell me.

I found myself itching to pick up my phone and call Vlad again but I resisted the urge and walked to the bathroom. I quickly showered and wrapped myself in a towel. As I exited, the door opened and Vlad walked in.

He looked me up and down and sunk his hands into the pockets of his basketball shorts. "Hey." he spoke.

"Hey." I said, before taking a seat on the bed.