Powerless: Zartoto, #2

By Callie Woodridge

Warning: This book has more than one point of view. This book may not be your cup of tea if you prefer to avoid multiple perspectives.

 

Dive into Powerless, the sequel to Abduction, where Paul and Tiffany have cherished the tranquil peace for thirteen years, is suddenly shattered. Though Cyrus was killed and his allies, Dorothy and Harriet, narrowly escaped, the community basks in their hard-earned victory. Now, Paul and Tiffany revel in the joy of their growing family, shielded by the unwavering protection of Valerie and Aldophous.

 

As the community thrives as a sanctuary of safety, children roam freely without the haunting spectre of energy vampires. But amidst a night of jubilant celebration, a sinister shadow rears its head again. Dorothy and Harriet return with a vengeance, unleashing a fresh onslaught of threats fueled by cunning and malice.

In a race against time, the community must rally together to confront this newfound peril and reclaim their cherished tranquillity. Their unity will be tested, and their resolve will be pushed to its limits as they confront their former enemies. Join them on a gripping journey fraught with danger and suspense, where every twist and turn will leave you on the edge of your seat, eager to discover if they can emerge victorious once again.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Callie Woodridge
• Release date: Apr 2, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224784486

Book preview

Callie Woodridge

Powerless

Copyright © 2022 by Callie Woodridge

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise without written permission from the publisher. It is illegal to copy this book, post it to a website, or distribute it by any other means without permission.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

Callie Woodridge asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

Callie Woodridge has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party Internet Websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such Websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book and on its cover are trade names, service marks, trademarks and registered trademarks of their respective owners. The publishers and the book are not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. None of the companies referenced within the book have endorsed the book.

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Contents

1. Lucy

2. Paul

3. Paul

4. Tiffany

5. Tiffany

6. Ethan

7. Ethan

8. William

9. William

10. Dorothy

11. William

12. Charlie

13. Paul

14. Paul

15. Lucy

16. Lucy

17. Paul

18. Paul

19. Paul

20. Ethan

21. Tiffany

22. Paul

23. Paul

24. Tiffany

25. Tiffany

26. Paul

27. Paul

28. Epilogue

Tiffany

Thank you for for reading!

About the Author

Also by Callie Woodridge

1

Lucy

Itapped my foot impatiently while I waited for mom to hurry, so we could go. It was my twentieth birthday, and I would be getting the rest of my powers in less than two hours.

We should have been in the community over an hour ago, but she was stalling, and I knew why.

Now that I was twenty, I wanted to move there with my friends, and others who I considered as my family. I’d spent nearly everyday visiting since I was six, and now I was ready to move in.

Years ago, I’d promised mom I wouldn’t leave until I turned twenty, and that day was finally here. I loved my mother, but I wanted to have my space without her rules. I wanted to be an adult, something I’d technically been since I was six.

We were having a small party (at my request) at who I considered my second parents’ place, Tiffany’s and Paul’s. I knew they were all set up and ready with their kids, and the rest of our friends and family who I’d invited.

I sighed and stared up at the ceiling, knowing she was up there somewhere. Mom! I’m going to leave if you’re not down here in five minutes!

She appeared seconds later, looking annoyed with me, but I was annoyed with her, so I didn’t care.

I can withdraw my permission to let you move out today if you’re going to act like this, she warned, throwing her long flowing blond hair over her shoulder. She and I looked like sisters instead of mom and daughter. I looked more like her than my dad, who was a Head Supernatural. We all shared blue eyes, but mine were almond-shaped like mom’s.

I stared into her beautiful, youthful face. She looked like me, though she was over three thousand years old. She’d become a caster when she was twenty. Permission? You can’t stop me from moving there. Most of my stuff is in the condo they have for me. I’ll be more powerful soon, and the community is safe!

And without waiting for her to respond, I teleported by the lake, just to the left of Tiffany’s and Paul’s. I could already hear all their voices coming from the backyard.

I was very close to the friends I’d grown up with in the community, and I knew they’d want to hang out later, particularly Elsie, who was two years older and my best friend. She was a full Zartotian caster now, so we often worked on our powers together. Matthew, who I had a pathetic crush on, would want to hang out too, and I was hoping we’d get time alone later. I could never tell what his true feelings were because it was hard to tell with most boys. Most of them only wanted a pretty girl, and they didn’t like me for me. He was my friend, but he often complimented me, and I worried he just saw me as a cute girl that he could show off.

He’d never had a girlfriend, but he certainly hung out with a lot of beautiful girls and bragged about them with other boys.

I was relieved to see that Tiffany and Paul were in their backyard near the entrance. We could talk first before the others ambushed us. They were with their four children, who were begging for snacks while they waited for my manifestation.

Energy vampires, which Paul was, couldn’t have kids, so originally, they were going to adopt, but there were strict rules on this planet about who adopted. With Tiffany not being from here and Paul being a partial energy vampire, they weren’t granted permission from any adoption agency. They’d gone to dad to see if there was a way for her to get pregnant with Paul’s DNA but nothing with his energy vampire form involved.

Dad helped people on other planets who were hybrids, including vampires, and believed he could.

Since the energy vampires and the humanoids were so similar on other planets, and dad had done the same for couples there, he’d been ready to try for Paul and Tiffany or any others who needed that help. He only had to tweak the spell a bit and experiment with some of her eggs, but he’d managed to extract Paul’s DNA alone to combine it properly. Although apparently, it had been hard at first to tweak the spell, and it had taken a few months for him to perfect it.

They were done for now, but they had four children. The two oldest were fraternal twin boys, who were going to be twelve in a few weeks. A few years after the twins came along, Tiffany had a baby girl named Alyssa, who was now nine and then four years after that. She had another little girl, Hailey.

The girls looked a little like their mother, but I could see so much of the Dixon clan in them. We sometimes joked that Alyssa looked so much more like Susan that maybe dad took her DNA instead of Paul’s. The resemblance between the two of them was uncanny. Hailey was a good combination of her parents, but the odd thing was, she’d come out blond while the others come out with brown hair. All four had brown eyes, though the boys had Paul’s hooded eyes, while the girls had Tiffany’s round eye shape.

Alfred, Paul’s dad, said sometimes blonds popped up in their family even though they all had dark brown or black hair and brown eyes. Paul used to have a cousin, John, who was blond-haired and blue-eyed even though his parents and siblings had brown hair and brown eyes.

They were half human and half Zartotian, so they had both traits from both Earth and Zartoto. All four had pale blue skin and four ears on their heads, the same as all Zartotians had. Tiffany often described them to look like tubes with what she called small trumpet horns on the end. Their ears not only heard better, but they were sensitive to magic, particularly their own magic or relations. They also had human ears too. I’d never seen a part human and Zartotian before, though plenty existed on Zartoto. However, the Dixon children were rare since dad made them from scratch with his own magic. Others like them existed now, but they weren’t the norm.

They were a happy and close family, the type I always wished I could have. Dad couldn’t stay in our dimension long, so it was always mom and me unless we came here. The first six years of my life were the loneliest years of my life. I’d always wished I could have a dad that lived with us and more siblings. Once I was old enough, I understood why dad couldn’t live at home and why I had no siblings, but it was still lonely.

Lucy! Tiffany said excitedly when I appeared. You’re here! We were getting worried.

All four ran over to greet me excitedly. I lifted Hailey as I hugged her.

Paul beamed at me and gave me a one-armed hug. Wow, twenty years old now.

When I turned seven and sixteen, I’d had big parties by the lake for my manifestation, but this time I only wanted it to be with them. The yard wasn’t too full, and no one had noticed me yet, which I was grateful for.

Lucy, can you tell my mom and dad that I’m old enough to decide to be a werewolf? William suddenly asked me as I set Hailey back down.

You’re not old enough, and dad would have to turn you anyway because you’re a child. He only makes rare exceptions for that, I said, feeling annoyed. You’re lucky to be here at all, you know. Dad helped create you.

William rolled his eyes and looked at Cameron, who was a few inches shorter and had longer hair, shrugged and turned away as if telling his brother he was on his own. They were twins, but they didn’t look exactly alike. They shared some similarities, but no one would guess they were twins just by looking at them.

I don’t know why everyone reminds me of that, William muttered.

Because you don’t realize how rare you are, Tiffany said as she pulled him close to hug him.

He scowled up at her.

I do. You and dad always tell me that, but I’m just saying Aldophous is a close friend of yours; he should be happy to do it, William said.

And that attitude right there is why it won’t happen, Paul said. Aldophous is the reason you are here, young man. He’s done a lot for us, including keeping this place safe and hidden. How disrespectful would it be for us to ask him to switch you?

I’ll ask him myself when he gets here instead then, William said before taking off into the house. Cameron shrugged at us and followed him.

I don’t know what we’re going to do about him, Tiffany said. He’s getting that sense of entitlement even more. Cameron has never acted like that, and Alyssa and Hailey most certainly don’t.

William’s always been a little demanding, love, Paul said. And they’re going to be teenagers soon. Teenagers on our planet aren’t that different from your teens on Earth. He’s finding himself. Let him go to Aldophous once he arrives. He’ll know we didn’t send him. Aldophous has always been understanding, and I think he’ll get through to William better than us.

Remember, I also went through a demanding phase, I reminded her. William is a good kid, but he understands his status as well, and he knows how excited everyone was when your pregnancy worked. He knows he’s one of the first people on this planet to go through this with his parentage.

But not as much of a rarity anymore, Tiffany said. The Head Supernaturals have made great progress helping more energy vampires with that and anyone else with fertility problems.

But you have to admit that they have a stronger status here, no matter what, dad said. They’re Dixon’s, and we’re leaders. They’re the miracle children, even if the Head Supernaturals are making significant progress with helping more of us have kids. William knows they were the first ones on Zartoto.

Tiffany nodded. Yeah, we’ve got to stop saying that, but I wish he would understand how lucky he is someday.

He does, but right now, he’s expressing all that, I said, and then changed the subject. Mom’s still in denial about me moving here this week, but she should be here soon.

You’re moving here? Alyssa asked me excitedly. You can share my room!

I think Lucy wants a place of her own, Tiffany said, laughing as she pulled me close.

I have my own place, but I can still have sleepovers here, and even better, you can sleep at my place without any parents! Both of you can!

Yeah! Alyssa and Hailey said excitedly at the same time.

Can we sleep at your place tonight? Hailey added to me.

I haven’t fully moved here yet, but you two will be the first to sleep over when it’s ready, I told them.

How did Valerie react to that? Dad asked. I know she’s having a hard time letting go. She’s refuses to talk to us about it.

We’ve argued about it as usual, she’s still in denial, which is why I left ahead, I replied. I told her to go make more kids with dad, yesterday. They want more, and now is the best time, especially with more of us watching. I don’t think their next kid will get kidnapped as easily as me.

I figure she’ll see sense eventually, Tiffany said. I think she’s scared of the loneliness, but she knows she is welcome here as much as she wants. Everyone here loves when she comes for visits. Little Ava has been asking for her lately. She’s always been so drawn to Valerie.

I’ll let her know, I said knowing mom loved working with Ava.

Ethan and Courtney had two children, and their daughter Ava loved my mom the most out of all the kids. Mom always trained with the casters to help them with their powers more, and Ava begged for more lessons, the most out of them all.

Mom was beginning to see her as her favourite student and believed she had a lot of potential as a werewolf-caster hybrid. She was ten-years-old, and she already had great control of her caster and werewolf powers thanks to mom and Gad.

She’ll be fine once she gets past the shock. Every parent goes through it. We will eventually, Paul said.

But our kids will probably stay here. William already has land picked out for his house, Tiffany said, chuckling. Way on the other side of the lake from us, but we can at least still see his place.

It’s still going to hurt, hon, Paul said to her. Be glad that right now we’re just dealing with a spoiled kid; someday they won’t be in this house with us. They’ll be starting their families, and we’ll be grandparents.

Tiffany snorted. Let’s not think of that yet.

I do understand, but I’ve been stuck in that house for so long. William acts like he is a little prince around here; he has more freedom than me even if they can never go past the boundaries on their own, I said.

The boys would turn twelve in a few weeks, and so they were demanding even more independence. The community was very safe and there were always people looking out for the children, most children had the freedom to go wherever they wanted, though Tiffany and Paul kept Hailey close. William and Cameron wanted to be allowed to leave the boundaries on their own to explore the woods, but every one of us disagreed with this, so we didn’t give them that permission.

William always made a big stink about it, but he didn’t realize how lucky he was. I was older and an adult, and my mom often wanted me to check in with her if I wanted to go into our yard! The boys could take off out of the house and go where they wanted within the community. Until I was sixteen, mom made me check in with her if I wanted to go somewhere with my friends within the community when we visited.

These kids did not know, and while I was glad they had their freedom, I wished they’d appreciate it more. They had many children to play with and adults as well. They didn’t understand true loneliness.

For most of my life, it was just my mom and me unless I went to dad’s world, which wasn’t as often as I’d liked. I loved going to his world because the Head Supernaturals and their world was exciting, and dad gave me freedom there since we were too well protected there. It made me wonder why we weren’t raised there more.

Well, there are condos available if she needs a place here if she doesn’t want a house, Tiffany told me. And we’ve been talking about building another one. We want to keep humans in their own buildings. We haven’t had an accident in nearly five years, but we’d still feel better if they had their own building, especially with how fast the community is growing. Martha and Alfred are working that out now. We don’t want to make the people feel as if they aren’t a part of the community if we do separate them.

I don’t think they’ll feel that way, I responded. You all treat them very well, and the number one rule is to never attack a human.

It often surprised me at the number of humans who stayed human. There was an application process to change. No one wanted to give powers to the wrong person, and once a person changed, they were watched over closely for the first few years. If they showed any signs of giving into the darkness, we cast them out. If they were human, we sent them back to Earth.

The rest of the humans who lived there seemed very happy, even the ones who’d been rejected. There were some troublemakers, such as one female human, Leah, who liked to hit on every man, available or not, but other than that, we didn’t have any problems with them.

Mom and dad said the same thing, Paul said. But we’re going to talk to them all, anyway. Either way, we’ve had more applications for this place lately, and we’re worried we’ll turn away good people who need a home as well. There is so much land here, and mom and dad want to expand our boundaries even more, especially into the woods behind our houses over here, so the wolves can have more homes out there. For you, we could always build you a home if you’re not comfortable in your condo.

Yes, we should do that instead, Tiffany said. We should have a place for you to grow into. That way, we still have a condo open for new residents.

It’s up to you, though, Paul added to me.

I felt overwhelmed when they brought this up. To have my own house here would be a dream come true. I’d always believed I’d get a condo when I moved there.

Eventually, I would be an amazing tracker, and I often went out for practice in the mountains with some of the community members, but I wasn’t as I could be. Stephen and Aiden, who were the best-known trackers so far, still beat me, and I was supposed to be better than them eventually. Since I was a Head’s kid, I was supposed to feel at one here.

Unfortunately, the rest of my powers were only about to manifest, so I still had a ways to go. Eventually, I’d be able to do more than mom. Dad figured that by the time I was thirty, I’d be doing everything better than everyone in the community. I could give powers now like my father. I’d be able to change people into werewolves or burls and casters for humans. I wouldn’t be able to top up powers the way dad could. Other than that, I’d be powerful, and it scared me.

You really mean I could have a house instead? I asked. But I thought that was reserved mainly for leaders or families?

The kids will eventually have their own homes, too, Paul said. You’ve grown up here. While I doubt we’d ever make your mother a leader, there are some personal differences there; we’d still build her a home if she decided to move here. We’ll build you a home, and I doubt anyone will argue against it. If you truly want a house, pick out some land, and we’ll build you a place.

What about close to the lake? I asked. It’s always been my dream to have a house with a backyard facing a lake. The one here is beautiful.

Their backyard faced the woods so we couldn’t see much of the lake, but there was so much room around it that I figured I could have a house without being disturbed.

Go on and choose a spot later then, Paul said.

And Martha and Alfred will be okay with that? I asked.

They’d probably suggest it, Tiffany said. I’ve heard you talk about that before, and I knew that’s where you’d want your home to be. Martha knows that too. If you asked them if you could build a house, I bet they’d suggest that. The lake is big enough for more homes to be near, with ample space for the werewolves and burls.

I smiled at them and hugged them both, thanking them as I did so. These two always felt like my second parents. I knew they resisted each other at one time, and Tiffany had been with someone else back on Earth, but I couldn’t imagine Paul and Tiffany without each other anymore. I’d spent so many weekends at their house, mainly as a teen, to the point that I’d grown close to them.

As a little girl, I’d been a bit shy around Paul (and the other energy vampires) at first because of my experience in the basement when I’d been kidnapped, but I’d grown close to all of them, Paul in particular.

When I’d first started coming around, I’d never anticipated it would be Paul I’d get close to, but there’d be many nights when we’d stay up later than Tiffany because of the kids sleep schedules, and we’d talk. As an energy vampire, Paul didn’t need as much sleep as most people, but he also slept during the day because he couldn’t go out at night.

At first, it would be me confiding in him a lot, particularly about my loneliness at home, but as I grew older, he talked to me more often. He’d tell me his worries about the kids and ask my opinion on whatever ailed him about them.

I’d eventually got him to open up about his lost love for Edith when I was thirteen, and after that, he’d told me everything about his life growing up. Eventually, I’d also been allowed to take a peek at Harriet’s diaries.

The Dixon’s had a tragic story, and I was glad they were all happy. Quite honestly, out of anyone, I thought they should have been allowed to be changed back to normal Zartotian casters again or something else, if that was their wish.

Rebecca, who was next in line to change, was kind, but I hated that dad and the other Head Supernaturals always went on about how selfless she was when the entire Dixon family seemed to be. Martha and Alfred, out of anyone, deserved to be changed, but Paul’s story got to me the most because of how lonely he’d been, even with being surrounded by his friends and family in the community.

When I was sixteen, he confessed to me that he hadn’t realized how much he’d wanted love and a family until he and Tiffany discussed having children. He’d admitted it was then that he’d realized how much in denial he’d been when he’d said he hadn’t been looking for love. He’d been scared to love again because he’d loved Edith so much, and he hadn’t wanted to lose someone the same way. The connection with Tiffany forced him to overcome that because there was something different about her, and he’d let himself fall in love.

I believed that because of all those conversations; I was closer to Paul than I was with Tiffany, and she and I were bonded after we’d been locked in that cellar together. I hoped I was worthy of getting a home when so many others weren’t.

I think I will talk to them anyway, to be sure, I said. No offence to you two. I don’t want to step out of bounds here, either. I know my mother has.

Valerie has control issues, that’s all, Paul said. It’s nothing against her; we worry about the decisions she might make, and so does your father. Once you’ve lived here for a while, we’d probably consider you a backup leader. I doubt anyone will disagree with you having your own house.

I wasn’t sure about ever being a leader unless I’d been there for a while. I was still figuring out my powers, and I wanted to do that safely in the community with no other worries. Once I was fully moved there, I wanted to be one of the teachers. I already taught the Dixon kids, and I’d helped Catherine, AJ, (who were years older) and Elsie during the lessons we had together, particularly Elsie.

Anyway, we’ll be having the boy’s birthday party after sunset on their birthday. We decided against having it at dawn, Tiffany continued. I can’t believe they’re already going to be twelve. In four more years, they’ll get more powers.

For any magical child, we manifested some of our powers at seven, but we weren’t given too much at once so we could learn to control the bit we were already given, though it did grow with us. We weren’t given more again until we were sixteen, which was more than half of the rest of our powers. At sixteen, we learned how to control even more. The rest were given at twenty.

Werewolves and burls differed from casters, however. They were given their powers at seven, twelve, and then the rest at sixteen. Apparently, they handled it better, which I found slightly unfair. Werewolves or burls who were half casters were given their powers five times since they were two different species.

In the community, they taught us how to contain them; some of us (such as me when I turned sixteen) had our powers burst out of us unexpectedly. I’d a hard time for the first month, but with a lot of help from people who had gone through it, I could learn to contain them better.

When we manifested the last of our powers at twenty, we grew with them as we got older.

William and Cameron wouldn’t be as strong as me, but they’d be strong and powerful. I was sure if anyone would have bursts of magic come from them, it’d be those two, though I was sure Alyssa would be a spitfire. All four Dixon kids were on their way to becoming powerful one day because they might as well have been an original casters children.

I’ll be here; of course I will be. I still remember when they were born. I always thought of it as a birthday gift because they’d been born so close after my eighth birthday, I said. I’d like to help them more, anyway. Both told me recently that they can’t get the mind connection down, but Alyssa is good at it.

I felt that was more their fault than anything, though. They could do it, but they didn’t want to put the work into it. Magic came so easily to both boys, recently they’d discovered that they had a talent for creating spells. Mind connections differed from casting spells and took effort.

Usually, for young casters, creating spells was hard because you had to put your energy and intent into them, and some combinations didn’t work well. I’d struggled with it until I was sixteen, but the two had already made several prank spells, including one that knocked people out for about a minute.

With the mind connection, a person had to focus hard on both their energy and the other person’s energy, and William, in particular, got frustrated when it didn’t work right away. Being twins, Cameron and William automatically had that connection to each other, so it took no effort. I knew that was their problem, just like William wasn’t focused enough on teleporting. It was as natural as breathing once you got it down, but again, he didn’t focus enough because it took too much effort and he felt it should happen naturally.

Alyssa, who the boys had been pranking for most of her life, was determined to learn, so she did everything well. I think she wanted to prove to her big brothers that she could be just as powerful. William always told her she still had to do a lot to make him proud. Though I knew he was teasing. I think he felt secretly threatened by her.

They’d always left her out of their lessons, but since turning seven, she always let Hailey know everything she did. I believed because of Alyssa, Hailey would be the one who would be the one who learned the fastest.

I talked to Paul, and Tiffany a bit longer before I turned to look for Martha and Alfred. I wasn’t as close to them as the others, but it wasn’t anything against them. They’d always been nice to me, but I’d always felt intimidated around them anyway, because they were the true leaders.

I spotted Matthew and Catherine while I looked for them, and I hurried forward to join them.

Lucy! Catherine said excitedly. We were just talking about you! Are you here for all three resting days? We thought that us older grandkids could have a fire at mom and dad’s tonight. Everyone else will be at the farmhouse. No offence to the younger kids, but we want something with us older kids, and we haven’t for a while. We can celebrate your birthday properly, too.

I’m in, I said, and Matthew beamed over at me.

He was certainly handsome. He had brown hair and brown eyes, like the other Dixon’s, but he had a stronger build because of his wolf form. I’d always noticed he was cute, but for years I’d always thought he saw me as a playmate and then as a friend, but I could sense something different about his feelings lately. But I didn’t want to be wrong because I’d never let myself get close to a boy before.

Tiffany and Paul suggested I build a house near the lake instead of living in the condo. They say Alfred and Martha will be okay with it, but I want to double-check, I said nodding to where I’d spotted them. I don’t want to cross any lines before I even move into the community.

Grandma and Grandpa will be more than okay with it, Catherine told me. We’ve wanted you here for a while, even if your mom doesn’t want to live here. I’m surprised she’s finally letting you.

I bet it was a big argument, Matthew said.

Yes, we’ve been arguing for days. That’s why she’s not here yet.

I hoped she would be soon. I knew she was upset, but she would never miss my manifestation. At least I hoped she wouldn’t.

Good, stay over at my place or Elsie’s if you don’t want to stay at yours yet, Catherine said. You know the kids will be all over you if you stay there, and they’ll probably insist on staying with us. We will just wait until they’re all at the farmhouse. Alyssa will probably want to stay with Uncle Paul and Aunt Tiffany, and Hailey loves dad, but William and Cameron will insist on coming with us. They think now that since they’re almost twelve, they’re part of the older grandchildren.

Well, you can’t blame them, Matthew said. The six of us have always been close, and I think sometimes the four of them feel left out because of it. William and Cameron are getting older now. We’ll give them a few more years before we let them join us.

Martha and Alfred grinned at the three of us when we reached them. Martha leaned over and hugged me. Hi, Lucy! It’s great to see you here! Are you coming to our place tonight as well?

We’re actually doing our own thing tonight, Catherine said. We’ll all be together again for William’s and Cameron’s birthdays. We can do something then. We want to hang out with people our age tonight. Lucy’s twenty and her mom said she can drink once she’s twenty.

Fair enough, Alfred said, smiling at her. I understand we’re old and boring. You don’t need to justify anything to us, Catherine. You couldn’t have freedom for years because you were forever children. Be young adults and have fun without parents.

I came over here to talk to you two before my manifestation, though, I said, then I quickly explained the conversation I’d just had with Tiffany and Paul.

Of course, as soon as you’re ready, we can build the house. Your mom will probably even want to help out, and yes, of course, build it by the lake, Martha said. Lucy, we’ve told you from the beginning that you’re always welcome to have a house. After all the help your parents have given us over the years? After all the freedom you’ve been longing for? We’re more than happy to let you have a spot by the lake. If you let me, I’d be honoured to help you with your gardens. I do have quite the green thumb, as you can know.

They did have beautiful gardens around the farm and even around the community. The lake looked so beautiful because Martha designed it before the Head Supernaturals had built it. She’d known exactly how it should look so it would blend in well with the woods. She’d even helped put gardens around Gad’s home as well.

We’ll get started on that after the boys’ party, Alfred told me. We should have a place for you soon, especially if your mother helps.

I’ll talk to her again later, I said, noticing she was here now, talking to Tiffany and Paul. Thanks for allowing that. I’d have been happy with a condo here. I need to live my own life now that I have all my powers and an adult.

We’re more than honoured to have you here, Martha told me. I’ve enjoyed watching you grow up as much as I have with the other grandchildren.

They talked to us for a while longer and even set up plans for my house before we could leave. The three of us wanted to get away and talk to the others before my powers came in.

Once we excused ourselves and made our way to the playground the Dixon’s had in the backyard, Matthew whispered in my ear: A house by the lake is my dream home, too.

And then he transformed and sped off in his wolf form over to his parents, leaving me to stare after him.

I wonder if he’s finally going to work up the nerve to finally ask you out, Catherine said to me, and I glanced at her with surprise.

Matthew has had a crush on you since you met, she told me, laughing. When we first turned, he was excited because he could grow up with you. He told us after they changed us that you’d be his girl someday. Can’t you feel it?

It’s hard to tell with guys sometimes, I responded. Some only want one thing.

Catherine laughed and hooked an arm into mine.

Matthew’s not like that. Maybe you should say something tonight.

Perhaps she was right. Why couldn’t I say something to him instead? Now I was intrigued, and I wondered if he’d done that on purpose. Maybe drinks around the fire at Stephen and Jennifer’s would give me that confidence. Maybe it would for him, too.

When it came time for the last of my powers later, my friends and family gathered around me to wait. Mom was in a better mood, and she whispered in my ear that I had her blessing.

I’d seen her talking to Alfred, Mary, Tiffany and Paul, so I figured they’d said something. She even promised to look over the plans for my house later.

Our powers came down right to the minute. The others started the count down when there was twenty seconds left. They were off maybe a few seconds. My powers came in moments after they said one, and I closed my eyes enjoying the feel of them entering me.

I felt hot, but this time it wasn’t nearly as bad. It was a long time ago, but I felt like it was more comfortable than when I’d gotten my powers at seven. Turning sixteen had been the most intense. This almost felt cozy.

When it stopped, the others began cheering as I opened my eyes. Before I’d gotten them, I’d always felt incomplete, and now I understood why. For the first time since I got my power’s, I felt my like full self and I felt a lot powerful than five minutes prior.

I grinned up at the moons, which were just rising. Finally, I was a full caster with dads (who unfortunately wasn’t there, but I knew he was having trouble with another planet) powers. I could almost feel them moving through me, and I couldn’t wait to try all my spells now.

2

Paul

When I woke up in the late mornings, I pinched myself to remind myself that I truly found happiness, and it wasn’t a dream. Tiffany usually slept later than I did, as did the children, since I didn’t need as much sleep. I’d take the time to reflect on how much my life changed.

I’d gone from having flings with community members or humans I abducted to being married with four children. I’d spent so many years grieving a girl I’d considered marrying who’d died from a plague on Earth a month after I sent her back to earth. I’d met no one like her, and I probably wouldn’t.

Even being an energy vampire didn’t deter me from my happiness. I hated the form, but I’d made peace with it, and I rarely needed energy for sustenance. Since the boys were born, I hadn’t lost my temper. I’d struggled during the first year until I laid eyes on my two little boys. I never wanted them to see me lose control the way some energy vampires did, and I used that as an incentive, and it worked.

Aldophous warned us he might not be able to help us even if it worked on other planets, but the first time we’d tried with his experimentation after he perfected it, we’d been blessed with twins. Valerie and Aldophous kept track of her pregnancy closely for the first time, and both sensed the twins almost immediately.

We were going to stop after the boys. We’d felt Aldophous helped us a lot by blessing us with fraternal twin boys who both had our DNA in them, and that was enough. However, he’d informed us he’d made more than enough that we could try again if we truly wanted to. So we figured since he had them, we’d try again and we ended up with our first daughter a few years later.

With all three kids, one could tell that was part of the Dixon clan. I could see so much of our family in all of them, though you could see a lot more of Tiffany in Cameron. They all had brown hair and brown eyes, except they were a lighter blue than the rest of us.

William looked a lot like Stephen and me, but Alyssa looked very much like my sister, Susan, with Tiffany’s beautiful brown eyes and her human ears. Susan still had an old dress she’d had from when she was five, and when Alyssa was five, she’d asked her to try it on. The similarities were stunning. I knew families looked similar, but it was still shocking to see how much they looked alike. They could have been mother and daughter instead of aunt and niece.

Hailey, our last born, and the last we’d asked from Aldophous (he would need to make more, and we didn’t want to do that since he’d done enough for us) was a combination of the two of us. She too had Tiffany’s eyes, but she had blond hair, so she stood out a bit. At times in our family, we would produce a blond for some reason, though most of us usually had black or brown hair.

My cousin John had been the same way, and Harriet’s youngest as well (though no one talked about the lost children) so it wasn’t too much of a surprise. It pleased me that one of our children come out blond.

I loved the four children we had, but recently, Tiffany found out that there was a community that had some werewolf orphans, and they were looking for families to take them in. They weren’t too picky about human parentage, and so we could have a chance. She’d been discussing whether we should take one in, and I was all for it now that all four were older.

It was the boy’s twelfth birthday, and Hailey would be six that year. Alyssa turned nine back in our cold season. I felt we could take in another, particularly if they were really young.

We wanted it to be a discussion with the kids first as well. As much as we were open to taking in a cub, we wanted all four kids to be on board with it, too. We wanted this to be a family decision. If even one of them was against it, we wouldn’t do it. I couldn’t see any of my children treating another child differently, but recently, a human couple adopted a burl cub who’d been found lost and alone in the mountains, and their other two children ignored him. I didn’t want that for any child we brought in.

We planned to talk to them about it after the next resting days. We had a lot going on with the boy’s birthday party later that evening, and then on the next first resting day evening, Jennifer wanted to host a dinner party for friends and family at her place. We wondered if they had an announcement too.

Both Susan and Aiden, and Jennifer and Stephen, were feeling lonely now that the kids had grown up. I knew they were happy that their children finally had that chance to grow up, but Stephen, Jennifer, and Susan spent over five hundred years raising those children. Aiden been more than happy to step into a fatherly role for them, and he missed them as well.

When they left the nest, it hadn’t been easy. It was harder for Stephen when Catherine married a caster years ago. Stephen and Jennifer were excited about potential grandchildren, but I knew they missed having full-time children in the house.

I think seeing us raise our children brought it on even more, especially since Hailey was Stephen’s girl. Ever since she was a toddler, she’d been drawn to Stephen. Since then, she loved being around him so much that she often pleaded to spend the night over there. They both loved when the children went over there, but I think the closeness between Hailey and Stephen brought on their desire to have more children.

I glanced over at the clock to see that I’d slept later than usual that day. It was just after ten in the morning. Since I couldn’t go out in the sunlight, our family tried to sleep as much as possible during the day so they could spend the night with me outside. We’d found that putting the kids to bed around three or four in the morning worked better for them, especially in the warm season.

They could still enjoy the afternoon sun, but still enjoy a late night with their father as well. Tiffany and I usually went to bed an hour or two after they did, and we were both still up before them, though lately, the twins been rising earlier than Tiffany.

When all four were younger, it’d been harder to have a normal schedule, especially with the twins. For the first five years after we had the children, the two of us to break up our sleep schedules but by the time Hailey came along, we’d been able to work out a proper way for our family to function, and her birth hadn’t changed that.

Tiffany looked as if she was still in a deep sleep. She likely wouldn’t be awake for at least another hour or so. She usually got up about midday and the kids would get up shortly after, but as I sat up, I could hear the boys whispering together as they descended the front stairs down to the living room.

I’d been hoping to have something set up for them before they’d woken up, but I was sure it excited them that they were finally twelve. They believed it was a grown-up age because they were a year from being teenagers. Stretching, I glanced over at my wife again before getting out of bed.

I headed downstairs to find the boys in the living room watching some kid shows from Earth, but they quickly changed the channel as if to hide from me that they’d been watching it.

We had both shows from Zartoto and Earth. Over the years, when we used to abduct, we’d allowed humans to bring recordings of their movies or shows to our planets as well as books. We’d learned how to make their shows work on our devices and televisions long before Tiffany came here, which a spell was easily made for that.

Tiffany wanted to integrate as much of Earth life into their lives as possible while letting them grow up with Zartotian things as well. I was more than happy to do that, and many community members did the same. The children loved Earth shows more than ours. The girls were obsessed with princess movies from Earth.

They technically had two names. Their human names were the ones we used the most, and the ones Tiffany picked out, but I’d given them names from our planet, too. I used them when we spoke in our language, but because Tiffany couldn’t speak it, we mainly used their human names.

They’d grown up with both English and our language, though English was usually the universal language now since we had more English-speaking humans than any other, and we wanted to make sure the humans were comfortable. It wasn’t exactly a hardship for us, since we’d always put them or other species first since we’d been bringing them over. We used language translator spells for those who couldn’t speak it. Unfortunately, those wore off. Gad, our ancient, couldn’t speak English and neither could a lot of the burls and werewolves we’d rescued from the mountains.

Landon and Brandon also came up with a spell to make our planet’s universal language easier on human ears because when we spoke in our language, we used high pitches that were too much for their ears.

It wasn’t difficult at all for the children who were part Zartotian, but human children had a hard time with it. Our children began speaking my language before English, but thankfully, as a human caster, Tiffany could understand them. We’d t them English once they could speak.

Most children could choose their human names on our planet, that had been changing lately with human parents who wanted to name their children. So many children had more than one name, but they were welcome to come up with names for themselves for other planets. We hadn’t for a long time, but we sometimes took others besides Earthlings.

For a while, there was a twenty-year ban on abductions for all planets, but the Head Supernaturals reduced it to ten years. They still wanted abductions to take place so we could spread magic from planet to planet, so they allowed it again. We just had to have the consent of anyone we took. Anyone who went against this and got caught would have their powers stripped immediately, even if they were born with magic. They would also have a prison sentence on the Head Supernaturals planet, and then they’d get sent back