Queen Of The Night ×Wyatt Lykensen×

•Ancestors On Speed Dial•

🔮Crystal🔮

In the morning I get up and dress quickly. I pull on a black tee, jeans, and my sneakers. I leave my room and go to Alec's. I knock and wait patiently. "Alec? You awake?" I open the door and look in. The guest bed is empty and the bed is unmade.

I head down the stairs wondering if he's in the kitchen. I enter and look around except he's not here. "Where are you, Alec?" I ask myself before heading out of the house. I look up and get my answer. Alec is shooting targets with his bow. He's wearing a black tee, blue plaid shirt, black jeans, boots, and one of those archer gloves.

I watch as he pulls another arrow out of his quiver, notches it, then pulls the string back. He aims at the log set up as the target, holds his breath, then fires. I watch as the arrow embeds itself into the bark. I clap and he looks over at me, giving me a small smile. "Hey, Crystal."

"Hey, I'm going to see Caleb. Want to come?" He fiddles with the bowstring, thinking pensively. "Um, nah, I'll stay here. Lukas is coming later to help me with one on one."

"So that's the only reason you don't want to come?"

"I didn't say I don't want to go. I just don't think I should. Don't want to make it worse." I stare at him as he gazes down at his shoes. I walk over and stop in front of him. "Hey, where'd confident Alec go?" He rubs his upper arm and shrugs his shoulders. "I don't know."

I stare at him sadly. "You didn't do anything wrong, Alec. Caleb's just had a rough upbringing. He'll come around." He nods to show he heard me and pulls out another arrow. I place my hand on his shoulder and give him a smile. He returns it before I start making my way toward the Clan's camp.

I listen to the chirping of the birds as I walk. I smile at the sounds of nature around me. I follow the strong scents of all the other werecats from last night. Eventually I make it to the camp and immediately hear them call out greetings. I wave hello and look around searching for Caleb.

"Welcome, Crystal," a voice says and I turn to see Catrina standing in front of me. "Hello, Catrina," I say dipping my head respectfully to her and she returns it. "What can we do for you?"

"Oh, I was looking for Caleb. I need to talk to him about something."

"I'm afraid that's not possible at the moment."

"Why?" She turns and points. I follow where she's pointing and see Caleb lying down on his back, eyes closed. "Is he sleeping?"

"In a sense. He's speaking with our Ancestors."

"What?"

"It is a tradition that goes back thousands of years. Whenever our leader needs guidance they can get it from previous leaders."

"How?" I ask looking away from his unconscious form. "With the help of a few herbs."

"Why does he need guidance?"

"In this case it's not a real emergency but he needed to talk to his mother. And our healer wasn't about to say no. You really don't know anything about us do you?"

"Um, that was kind of the whole point of the get together yesterday."

"Well, would you like to know more?" I nod, might as well further my knowledge while waiting for Caleb to come to. She leads me to a more comfortable spot and we settle down. Catrina opens her mouth only for a weight to drop down on my shoulders, making me squeak in surprise.

Well, that was very Alpha of me. Cat laughs in amusement. "Sorry, um, it's Cora, one of our kits." I reach up and gently grab the little one. I hear the cutest sound ever as a cheetah cub comes into view. "Well, hello, Cora." She opens her mouth and meows, if that's the appropriate term for the sound a big cat makes.