As Sam and I prepared dinner, Morgan went next door with Elena and Marcus to tell Artemis about what happened at the packhouse and where we think either Raven or her coven is. So many thoughts are playing themselves out in mind like a movie that can be fast-forwarded or rewound or paused. I need to pause them for a bit.
“So did we miss anything?”
Steven says, “No, it has been mostly quiet here.”
Katie shrugs, “I did accidentally blow up the hairdryer. I will buy a replacement tomorrow.”
Vincent laughs as he waves his hand and produces a black hairdryer. “Here,” he said as he handed it to her.
She takes it and looks at it, “There's no cord?”
Vincent smirks, “You don't need one. Just turn it on when you need it.”
Katie gasps, “No way!” as she flips the switch and it roars to life, “Fucking wow!”
“Vin?”
Vincent takes my hand, “I have figured something out. Our son is a Triton.”
“Don't you mean merman?”
Vincent smirks, “A Triton is a type of merman. He can mate with both a mermaid and a Siren. They can take full human form and are all fierce and
violent warriors on sea and land.”
I shake my head, “Figures that he would get your propensity for blood gene.”
Vincent kisses me, “Hey, I lessened the killing.”
I look at Vlad, “Yes, but your brother continued it.”
Vlad takes my hand and kisses it as he looks up into my eyes, “I have not impaled anyone since we met.”
“True but you would have.”
He smirks as Katie giggles saying, “ImpalingRUs is his nickname after all.”
Vlad chuckles, “And it's far better than Eeyore too.”
Vincent snaps, “Fuckoff!”
Steven laughs as he offers Cassius a snack, “Yes, Cass this is their normal.”
Cassius says, “I was so used to mostly being on my own or just Raven and me.”
“Cass, why were you packless?”
Cassius sighs, “I was out hunting when I got a distress call. A group of Hunters swarmed the pack. They used weaponry that we had little defense against. My pack didn't stand a chance no matter how hard they fought.”
“Vlad, go get Brandon now!” I feel darkness, a similar one that I would feel from Brandon from time to time.
Vincent says, “I don't want him in my home.”
“Our home. Plus, I need to ask him a few things.”
Vincent sighs, “Fine, but he won't be able to retain knowledge of this location.”
Gabriel nods, “My energy has replenished so I can put a tracker on him too.”
Venus winks, “If he is an issue I can make him disappear.”
It looks like I will need to keep an eye on my new sister.
Levi grins, “Or I can just eat him.”
“No one is eating anyone!”
Amira shakes her head, “Just glamor him. Why do you all go straight to death?”
Vincent glares at Amira, “For once I am in agreement with the World Eater.”
“Vin! Eeyore, I will put you in timeout!”
Grinning smugly, “Try it,” Vincent says.
Eric throws his hands up trying to separate us, “No! None of that until after we have dinner. I am starving!”
Brandon shakes as he sucks in a breath, “Fuck! A little warning next time.”
Vlad rolls his eyes, “Be happy that I got the right spot.”
Vincent chuckles, “Not as easy as I make it look, is it?”
“Fuckoff!” Vlad retorts.
Brandon says, “And it appears that not much has changed.”
I step out from behind the kitchen island. I have accepted Brandon into this bound family of mine and now I need to figure out how tethered to us he is. “But lots has,” I say as I introduced our newest members and who lives next door. But I didn't fully reveal what beings any of them were.
Brandon looks around, “You have an army.”
“We have an army,” I correct Brandon and then turn to Cassius, “Now Cass tell us about those Hunters in as much detail as you can.”
Cassius picks up where he left off, “When I made it to my pack, saw the leader use this weird gun that shot a laser beam straight at whom I grew up thinking was my father. It went right through his chest, searing his heart.”
As a realization dawned on him, Vlad said, “Something like that could have aided them when they took out my caravan and made me have to turn Elena.”
Brandon cocks his head, “Cassius, describe any of the Hunters the best you can.”
Cassius looks at me, “Better yet I can show him, right sis?”
“Yes, just touch him and push your thoughts to him. Relax, it will come to you as naturally as shifting does.”
From behind, Sam wraps his arms around my waist as he rests his head on my shoulder, “Food is nearly done too.”
Cassius did as instructed causing Brandon to gasp, “Fuck! That's the guy that found me and made me a Hunter.”
Cassius shrugs, “He's dead if I find him.”
“You mean when we all find him.”
Brandon looks at me, “Now I am wondering now if it was really vampires that killed my family. At first, I was hesitant to let you find out for me, but now I need to know.”
Morgan jumps up onto the counter and rubs him, “He's bound to Vlad but he is still shrouded.”
“Like Gran was?”
Morgan says, “Different yet similar. His wasn't to protect as hers was. His is to control.”
“Can we free him?”
Gabriel nods, “Yes, and it will require less energy than it did to free Adele too.”
Vincent warns, “Eva, don't overdo it. We lost you for six hours earlier.”
Brandon asks, “Lost how?”
Feeling his concern, Eric explains, “Relax, nothing like that. A few odd things occurred recently. First, I took her on a date to my homeland. The passage of time was different is all and they freaked out a bit. Then earlier when she lifted Gran's shroud she needed time to replenish herself and Vincent lost his shit. So did Vlad and Sam too. I knew that she would replenish herself but I started to worry a bit too.”
Sam growls, “She's carrying our fucking pups!”
I turn in his embrace and pull him down by his ponytail, “I am fine.”
As he looks into my eyes, I see his anxiety ebb and with that, his aggression fades. I am thankful that I made it so that they can't harm each other after that night when Sam thought Vincent Turned me.
He runs his hand over my charm as his lips ghost mine, “My wife, eternal.”
“Yes. Now believe.”
Sam says, “I love you. As I am saying it back our lips lock in a tender embrace.
***Brandon’s POV***
Being a Hunter forbade me from forming attachments but despite my best efforts I became attached to her so much so that I entered a blood debt to Vlad. Dracula! I bound my life to fucking Dracula!
I don't regret it because Eva has shown me that not all supernaturals need to be exterminated. I am in a room surrounded by beings once thought extinct, based on what Eva said they were, because of fucking Hunters like me. I need to know what really happened to my parents and about the monster that I thought of as a father.
A petite woman whom Eva introduced as Amira approached me. Eva said that she was a fairy. Her voice is light yet forceful, “It is good that you doubt what you thought you knew. Let that light out.”
She said as her appearance began to shift to a beautiful woman with long blue and purple hair. Her eyes twinkled with mischief.
“You're not a fairy! You're a pixie.”
She giggles, “Their queen actually.”
Eva says, “You guys don't have to reveal your true selves.” I should be angry that Eva didn't tell me the full truth, but I am not. Perhaps she wanted them to decide if I could be trusted. I hope that I have proven that I am because I will die to protect Eva and any she loves.
Amira smiles, “It's okay. This one won't betray us.”
The man that she said was named Levi and was a demon started to shift, elongating his jaw and causing his body to erupt in scales. He smirked, “If he ever does I will eat him.”
“A leviathan! How?”
Gabriel comes over to me and puts his hand on my shoulder. I feel warmth, light, and love flood my senses as clarity bombards my mind. I feel a peace that is indescribable.
Gabriel says, “Relax. I'm not just her uncle. I'm the Angel of Ardor.”
“You're a Seraph?”
Gabriel nods, “Yes.”
I bow my head as I close my eyes, “I trust you.”
Gabriel smiles, “Thank you, trust will make this easier. Eva, Sam, Eric, Amira, and Cass join me.”
As they gathered around and lent their energies, Gabriel sprouted wings and began to glow. Everything was bathed into a blinding light. I felt free as if I were soaring through the clouds and the sun's rays were warming my cool skin. It was paradise.
Eva gives me a hug as she smiles, “The shroud is gone. You are now free.”
This is the most amazing experience of my life. Even though some of these beings are known for their darkness, I have seen their light. There is only one explanation for it too. They are Demiurges which are magical creatures that nobody knows about, not even other magical beings. The Light Beings as
they are known by, are rumored to have come from a distant realm, and they have existed since Earth's creation.
I am in the presence of true gods, not the ones that man made or named. look around with tears in my eyes. These are the first tears that I have shed in years. The last time was when Victor went after Eva. She still doesn't know that I helped prevent him from finding her. I did it because I loved her but now I know that it goes beyond that. I am bound to her, but I need to understand why as the how no longer matters.