Clovers End - 9. An Explanation

Alex P.O.V

"That look tells Mama you recognize her. So did your mother." beams Mama Rosario.

"But how Mama Rosario?" I ask, perplexed by her statement. I feel we are connected somehow and yet I find it difficult to place a finger on it.

"To put it simply she's your great, great, great and many more greats grandmother." She says in a soothing tone. Her eyes are now sparkling deeply with an incomprehensible amount of knowledge. It twitters coolly and I know I can trust it, although it feels odd as the words trickle off her aged lips.

"But that's impossible. How can I be the descendant of a God. I don't have any powers or anything. There's nothing special about me. I'm just plain old ordinary me." I protest. Doubt clouding my mind as I struggle to succumb to this new reality.

"Child. You are far from ordinary. I felt it from the moment you walked in." she says sensing my hesitation.

"You too Mr muscles." she adds nodding in James's general direction.

"Am I a God descendant too Mama Rosario?" he inquires, his voice undulating an intense level of excitement.

"Not exactly. Let Mama explain. You can ask her questions later." she calmly states.

"Alex there's a reason you don't have any abilities. You’re not of age yet. You see, back when the Primordial Gods were in power they gave rise to the supernatural. Each Supernatural was tasked with a specific role. With werewolves it was the protection of nature. Angels and Demons, the balancing of good and evil and so on, yous get the point." she vehemently gestures as she continues her tale.

“With the heralding of other religions, the Primordial pantheon grew weak as people turned away from them. Humans began to fear us. All of a sudden that delicate balance became disorder. We were hunted for trophies, enslaved or killed, displayed like exotic creatures in cages. Our numbers dwindled but we still wished to somehow salvage our broken connection with them. Then the Clovers came into existence. As a result, the supernatural had to go into hiding. It became clear that we did not form part of this new paradigm. Many believed the supernatural to be extinct and the younger generation referred to them as myths. Not all of them were as easily fooled but my sweet child, Mama digresses." she adds with a half winked-smile.

"Your oh so many great Grandmother, unlike the other Gods, knew that her power was still needed in this world regardless of whether that power belonged to her or someone else. After all, she was the primordial God of Nature. The personification of the soul of our world. To maintain balance, she did the only thing she could. She created an heir and entrusted it to the werewolf community, gifting it the last of her remaining prowess. Not knowing if a mortal could fully inherit or control her abilities or if her power would always be used in the name of good. Needless to say, that power helped us build our sanctuary long after they were gone." She leisurely guides our collective gaze to the woman enamored by nature.

"Are y’all with Mamma so far?" she watches us intently.

"Yes." comes the disjuncture of a response.

"Alright then. The Goddesses power was passed on along the maternal lineage, to one individual and so on and so forth. Each descendant had a chosen custodian or guardian that was mated to them by ritual. Not by soul bond. This practice has been happening for many years with each descendant inheriting the power and guardian around their 19th birthday." Mama explains.

"Where does my sister fit into all this?" questions the immersed Rachel.

"What did Mama say about questions child?" Mama Rosario playfully teases her. Rachel looks down, slightly embarrassed.

"Well, your sister never agreed with the way things were done. She wanted to be able to choose who she fell in love with, instead of someone doing it for her and she did. She fell pregnant shortly after her 18th birthday. One year short of inheriting the powers herself. This was right around the time the strings of fate chose James to be her guardian." she responds.

Wait, did she just say that James was my mother's guardian? This can't be right. I must not have been hearing clearly.

"This doesn't explain why she ran away." James and Rachel say in unison, pulling me from my thoughts .

"Well, dearies remember when the village moved many years ago. Do you know why?" she asks. They shake their heads.

"We were betrayed by some of our own, who learnt about Diana’s condition. They didn't agree with it and informed the Clovers. Thus putting her in grave danger. She came to Mama and made her promise not to tell the other elders. She wanted to keep you out of harm's way Alex.” she turns to look at me directly.

“Protect you from her destiny and from the Clovers. So she runaway with your father." her expression falters, revealing a flicker of pain. "But it seems, instead of protecting you from it, all she actually did was pass it on to you. That includes James as your preconceived soulmate."