# Late

“Analise!” Violet was wandering along the forest floor, calling out for her daughter who’d taken off at the first sign of trouble. Watching her mother from her perch upon a branch dozens of feet above her, the little girls’ legs were swinging loosely, leaves and twigs matted into her vibrant blonde hair. Her mother had found her shoes, she could see now. She was holding them in her hands, frowning with blatant disapproval. Analise always hated shoes. “Ana! Come out right this instant!” Still calmly swinging her legs, the little girl wondered what her mother would do if she didn’t. It wasn’t like her mom could climb up here after her. And what consequence could she possibly give her? No dessert? Analise didn’t even like sweets much. They don’t sate her nagging hunger. “Don’t make me call Zechariah over here!” Analise froze, breath caught in my throat. Well, there is that. She could definitely do that. “I know you can hear me Ana,” Violet called, already pulling out her phone. It was no empty threat and the little girl was certain he’d have no problem showing up. She thought of his sharp gaze, the slight dip at the edge of his lips as he gazed down his nose at her. It made her stomach do something funny. “You have three seconds before I hit dial,” Violet called out. “Three.” Grimacing, the girl stood from her perch. “Two,” her mother called. Jumping from the branch down to the one yards below, she bounded downward, toward her mother who, upon the sound of creaking branches, was now staring directly at her wild child looking completely unimpressed. “Why must I bring up Zech to get you to behave?” Standing at about the height of Violet’s waist, little Analise didn’t hide her frown. It mirrored her mothers’ current expression. Still, Ana thought, her mother’s eyes hadn’t flashed gold which meant she wasn’t too upset with her. “Today is an important day.” Reaching out, her mother plucked a leaf from her hair, giving an exasperated sigh. “You know it’s a tradition.” “They don’t approve of me,” Ana stated, tucking a stray golden curl behind her ear. “Chieftain Brentik does,” her mother insisted. “Kai is joining as well.” Kai. Ana frowned. “The jaguar is doing this for Ms. Azalea. My link is not an elf.” “Kai is a shifter,” her mother corrects her, stern. They’d already had this talk multiple times now. Ana doesn’t miss a beat. “Jaguar,” she repeats stubbornly. Violet rolls her eyes. “If you’re nervous about the ceremony—” “I’m not.” “Kai will be with you,” she finishes, holding out the girls shoes to her. “I don’t want to.” She’d said it deadpan, glaring at the shoes. “You don’t want to attend the ceremony or wear your shoes?” Violet asks. “Both.” Dropping the shoes to her side, her mother held out her free hand. Ana didn’t budge, eying it carefully. Impatiently, her mother she does the pointed finger wiggle for her to take it. “I wasn’t asking.” Puffing her cheeks, Ana hesitated. Her mother just quirked a challenging brow, wiggling her fingers once more. The girl was certain she’d rather take her mothers hand than have her link intervene. So, begrudgingly, she does. . . . “They’re late.” Cronan stares down at his watch with a brisk frown. It had been nearly an hour since his little one had traipsed off into the woods and, after searching to no avail, Violet had chosen to stay behind and send the rest of the search party back to the communal tent of the Northern Tribe to help with any preparations necessary for the event. Elves are diligent, though, so everything was ready. That was good since the Purebloods had very little interest in helping. “Twenty bucks says she doesn’t show,” Xavier says with a smirk. “Violet will find her daughter,” Talia stated with certainty, offering a small smile up to Luca who pulled her into a half hug. They had left their children with her mother this evening, making this family affair into a date night. “There’s no question she’ll find her,” Xavier smirked. “It’s whether or not she can get our little niece to cooperate.” Cronan’s eyes shifted to Zech, certain that he would be used as the threat cast down upon his daughter to force cooperation. Standing with the straightened posture of a soldier and poker face of a gambler, the man had ebony skin and dark eyes that flashed green when something was amiss—his eyes hadn’t flashed green but they were peeled toward the entrance of the large hall. Cronan knew what that meant—Analise is close. It used to bother him that Zech’s ability to sense his bond was much sharper than normal, but after months of watching his relationship dynamic with Analise, Cronan felt more at ease. Unlike a bond which is cast by the transfer of blood between a Pureblood and a human, the link is an attachment between two Purebloods that is immediate, unavoidable. Cronan had been perplexed—well, horrified initially—when he’d linked with a human but now, understanding Violet’s Pureblood lineage, things suddenly made sense. Just as seeing Zech’s ability to read the mind and calm the emotions of Analise had proven necessary in rearing a creature like Cronan’s daughter. “I’ll take your money,” Cronan stated. Xavier, who hadn’t noticed Zechariah’s telling reaction, smiled wickedly—until he noticed the small girl holding her mother’s hand, walking straight toward them. Breathless, clutching her long light green dress, Violet’s purple eyes were wide with worry, full lips parting as she asked, “Are we late?” “Yes,” Zech stated, deadpan, his eyes already having fallen to his little link who was dressed in a cute white dress and matching sandals. Cronan shot him a dirty look before planting a kiss on Violet’s lips. “Just breathe, love. You didn’t miss anything.” “Everyone is already here,” she hissed, eyes darting around the full hall. There was no mistaking the obvious separation between the elves and the vampires, most of them clearly keeping their distance. They did a good job of not staring though, Cronan thought. Though he doubted it had anything to do with manners but, rather, innate fear. “Ana!” Waving from the front of the hall was a familiar female elf with a big smile. Analise didn’t smile back, her eyes moving toward Zech with a frown. He reached out to ruffle her hair and she took a step backwards, out of his reach. It was a rejection, one Cronan had noticed happening a lot these past few weeks. Once inseparable, the couple now openly avoided each other. As his hand fell back to his side, Zech just tilted his chin, motioning for the girl to go. When Cronan’s little one’s eyes lifted up to his, he dropped to a crouch, holding out his arms—and into his embrace she ran to a full hilt, nearly knocking him over. “Daddy!” Kissing her forehead, he lifted her up with a laugh, noticing the way that Zech watched them, this glimmer of something dark in his gaze. Cronan almost felt pity for the guy but small hands grabbed his face, large blue eyes very close as his daughter stared directly at him, nose to nose, capturing his full attention. “Mommy yelled at me for having plants in my hair, then put plants in my hair.” Ana sounded so frustrated with her mother. “Wow,” Cronan muttered, glancing toward Violet who had her hands on her hips. “You had dirty twigs and leaves in your hair, Analise. That’s not the same as the pretty flowers I incorporated in your braid,” Violet explained. Ana just turned, frowning at her mother. “Tomato, potato.” Cronan turned away to hide his laugh. Violet’s eyes narrowed, tone scolding, “Those are different, Analise. Just like the twigs and flowers.” “Um, hi guys.” In the same chipper tone, Azalea had approached them with an ease unusual for a lesser being, offering both smiles and eye contact. Though she’d seemed wary at first, being around her companion Kai and his brothers had gotten her to warm up to them over time. “It’s time for Ana to take her place. Are you ready?” “Yes,” Violet said, pushing at Cronan to put their daughter down. “Sorry, we were a little late.” “Oh no,” Azalea reassured her, “it’s fine. I just want to run through a few things with Ana before her big moment.” Cronan set Ana on her sandaled feet, offering a soft smile, and the girl looked outright glum as she took the hand of the patient elf. As the girl was led away from them, Xavier scoffed. “She looks like someone killed her puppy.” Without missing a beat, he passed over the twenty-dollar bill which Cronan accepted, carefully ignoring the glare from Violet who had noticed the money exchange. “She doesn’t have a puppy.” “Oh right, Jaguar,” Xavier corrected, rolling his eyes. “Tomato, potato.” . . . “You’re late.” The jaguar was in his human form, staring down his nose at her with his typical calm expression. As a general rule, Kai never really got mad about much but he had no problem calling Analise out when she made a mistake. “You’re not wearing shoes,” was Analise’s observation. She was immediately jealous. “Yes, you’re not going to be wearing shoes either,” Ms. Azalea said, already undoing the clips on either side of the restraining sandals her mother had demanded that she wear. “Oh good,” Ana said, quickly, happily stepping out of them. “We’re going to perform the annual Ceremony of Metir,” Ms. Azalea said, smiling up at the little girl, “which is an official initiation into our tribe.” “Yes,” Ana stated dryly, aware of the premise of this ceremony. Metir is the God of checks and balances. He’s in charge of making sure that all energy flows appropriately, everything happening at the correct time, in the correct progression. His favored is the elves which is fitting since their entire existence is based on maintaining the balance within nature—anyway, that’s why the elves do this whole ceremony thing to honor him. Brentik had explained it all to her and then formally invited her to participate, to which she’d immediately, shamelessly rejected the invitation. Her mother had been beside herself, giving long spiels about inclusivity and creating new relationships. Ana wasn’t interested in any of that. Apparently, her lack of interest didn’t matter. “You place your loyalty with the tribe and, in return, we sing in your honor, to welcome—” “They don’t want me here,” the girl stated wryly, staring Ms. Azalea in the eye. Kai said nothing, rocking back on his heels, eyes averted. He didn’t have to say anything. He knew all too well how warmly she’d been received by the adults within the Northern tribe. Ostracized, they’d kept their children far from her, arguing that she must not join in on lectures because she “isn’t one of them”. That was why Chieftain Brentik was so set on this ceremony in an attempt to better assimilate her into their society. “Analise.” With a serious tone, Ms. Azalea had knelt down before Ana, taking her hands in hers. “I want you here.” There was a sincerity in her voice that was kind, true. “And if I’m not good enough for you,” she gave a light laugh, “our Chieftain wants you here. That alone speaks volumes.” Analise sighed. It was such a deep sigh, a noise that should come from someone older, seasoned. Not a child. “I need you to do this with me,” Kai spoke up. “I don’t like being alone.” Ana stared up at the jaguar for a long moment, then Kai quirked a smirk. The two started laughing at the obvious joke. The Jaguar was a solitary creature, one that enjoyed being alone. If Azalea weren’t his companion—and, invariably, if this ceremony hadn’t mattered so dearly to her, specifically—Kai wouldn’t even be here. He was here for someone else. Just like her. Unlike the others in their group who took this whole bit seriously, Kai and Analise didn’t belong. Maybe that’s why Analise didn’t mind stepping to the jaguar’s side, willingly taking his outstretched hand. “At least I don’t have to wear those awful shoes,” she grumbled, wiggling her feet in the flowering clover covering the hall’s ground. With a grunt of agreement, Kai’s eyes lifted to Azalea who was gazing at him in a way that made him stiffen, his hand unconsciously tightening on hers. Ana scrunch her nose. These two were always so easy to read. A gasp sounded. The room which was abuzz just a moment ago, fell silent, and Ana’s head snapped up, taking in the sight of Chieftain Brentik’s hulking form moving forward as everyone stepped carefully out of his way, parting like the sea for him, hitting a sharp salute. The only creatures clearly unabashed by his presence was the gaggle of vampires who merely smiled and waved. Brentik just nodded his head toward them, looking amused. The elves who’d noticed looked irate. “They don’t assimilate,” Ana muttered with a frown. “Why should I?” Kai just muttered back, “It’s all about tradition, kid. Just follow directions and smile.” Ana frowned up at the jaguar. “You’re not smiling.” He just huffed, no smile in sight. “Alright,” Azalea whispered, giving Kai a pointed shove, “It’s time.”