Chapter One-Hundred

I stared at the man in front of me, drinking in his appearance, trying to figure out of he was being truthful or not. *'If this is really my father, would he really kill his own grandchildren? If he is my dad, he's the leader of the elementals and the most powerful man walking the earth, I don't think I should test his resolve.'* I told myself as I looked into his deep green eyes, finding no hint of hesitation, nothing to say he might not hurt my babies if it came down to it. "So, you're my dad? Er, our dad?" I asked, motioning to the Octavia who was staring at the man before us, eying him suspiciously, a low continuous growl coming from her depths. I felt the same way she did, as I found it hard to believe that this man was really my father. He was taller than Damien and Kerr by a couple of inches, a long brown beard down to his chest, with short brown hair. His eyes were like mine, in color, but hard like steel. His voice was deep and threatening with every word he spoke, telling me he wasn't threatening harm, but he was promising it.

"A little slow, are you?" He asked me, his lips pulling back into a twisted smile as he stood and walked towards a cradle, setting Azeneth down before waving his hand over it, engulfing the cradle in flames. "She's fine, but if you do one thing I don't like..." He trailed off as he locked eyes with me, grinning as Azeneth began screaming, her pain in my head, begging me to help her. "I don't need to finish that sentence, do I, Bastet?" He asked me as I tried to rush forward, but was greeted by an invisible border keeping me from going any further towards him. "Be a good girl, and listen to your father." He snarled to me as he watched me fall to my knees.

"What do you want?" I screamed at him as I felt Damien's arms wrapping around my waist, pulling me to my feet. I couldn't bother turning to look at him, as I didn't want to take my eyes off of my babies for even a moment. I knew the reason he wanted me to stand is so my father didn't think I was weak or frail, but seeing my babies so distressed and begging for help, broke me down.

"I've already told you what I wanted, Bastet, a civil conversation." He said as he looked down at Ciaran who was still bawling in his arms, struggling to get free. "Your mother doesn't seem to use her brain very much, but I imagine if she did, you and your sister wouldn't exist, would you?" He asked him softly, ticking under his chin before setting him down in the cradle next to Azeneth, rolling his eyes as they continued to cry out. "Bastet, I will allow you to come in, to shut these disgusting creatures up." He said as he walked to the border and crossed his arms over his chest before leaning down so our faces were even, his green eyes fierce and unwavering, "Do not test me."

"I won't, please!" I said quickly as I waited for the border to fall, but rather than dropping the border, he held his hand out through it, waiting for me to take it. As I was reaching to take his hand, Damien pulled me behind his back, his eyes bright purple as he snarled at the man.

"Over my dead body, Edward. You'll pull her in there and kill her, knowing damn well none of us can breach this border." Damien scoffed, refusing to let me go, no matter how hard I struggled.

"I must admit, I considered it." Edward agreed with a nod and a short chuckle. "But, if I were to kill her, those things will never cease in their infernal cries. If these two aren't any hint to it, I don't much like children." He said, motioning to me, then to the wolf form of Octavia. "Octavia, go put on some clothes, would you? I can't very well speak to you like a dog, can I?" He added with a growl, shaking his head as he turned his attention back to Damien. "You have three seconds to let her by, or I silence their cries for good."

"Damien, you need to let me go!" I gasped out as I tapped into my abilities again, forcing him to let me go. I snarled at him when he tried to take me back into his arms, shaking my head as I held my hand back out to Edward, waiting for him to take it.

Edward took my hand and yanked me through the border, grabbing my face as he leaned down so our faces were only inches apart. He turned my face from one side to the other, looking over me in utter fascination, chuckling lowly. "Now this, is interesting. How did you come to have this ability? I know you aren't a vampire, you cannot be, as you are elemental." he muttered to himself as he looked into my red eyes, then forced my mouth open so he could see my fangs. "Interesting indeed, Bastet."

"Let me go!" I growled as I shoved against him, then immediately went to the cradle where I picked up both of the babies, holding them to my chest, holding back my tears as they flooded my head with their happiness. *'Mommy is so sorry, babies. I promised nothing bad would happen, and then this happened. Please, be good. You must stop crying or that bad man will hurt us.'* I thought, hoping that the babies would understand what I was saying, and would listen and stop crying.

I felt understanding from both of the babies as they stopped crying, but I knew they were still terrified and were asking me to get them away from the bad man. *'I will get you away as soon as I can, but the bad man wants to talk to mommy and daddy, and auntie. Please, just be good.'* I told them, holding back my tears as they agreed, then told me they were hungry.

"Bast?" Damien called out, his electric eyes wide in anticipation as he watched me, waiting for me to tell him that I and the babies were alright.

"They are fine, vampire," Edward said with a roll of his eyes as he sat back down, and looked towards the doorway, smiling softly. "Recreants, huh? I never expected you to recruit recreants, Octavia, well done. Well, don't be shy, come on in. No point in standing out there." He said, then watched as Octavia turned and ran out of the room, likely going to get clothes so she could be in her human form. Kerr, Jaxson, and Jacob followed her out of the room, so they could get clothes as well.

The rest of the group slowly came into the room, looking from me to Edward, not sure of what to say or do, so they looked to me to tell them. But I didn't know what to say or do either, other than to do as Edward wanted. "They need bottles, they're hungry," I said as I turned to look at him.

"And? Feed them." He said, raising an eyebrow.

"Their bag is right there," I said, stepping back so he could see that their bag was just outside of his border, out of my reach.

"Vampire, make your children bottles, would you?" He responded, waving dismissingly to Damien as I walked to the edge and set down a blanket before laying the babies down, waiting for their bottles.

"So, what the hell do you want, and why did you kill her?" Octavia asked as she came back into the room, motioning to the dead mimic on the ground as she stood next to Damien and helped him mix a bottle. Jacob, Kerr, and Jaxson followed her back into the room but stood back, not sure of what to do, so they waited.

"She annoyed me," Edward responded as he stood and carried his chair to the border, where he sat a few feet in front of me, eyeing the babies in disdain as they watched me. "So one of my daughters is the vampire queen, while the other is the leader of the biggest pack of mimics in the history of mimics." He said matter of factly as he looked from Octavia to me, then to Damien and Kerr.

"Bast," Damien said as he set the bottles down on the other side of the border, then looked up at Edward, waiting.

I hesitantly put my hand to the border but found that I could reach through it, and was able to grab the bottles. Once I had them, the border resolidified, blocking anyone from trying to come inside of it.

"I want to know what your plan was, Octavia," Edward said, watching her as she sat down next to me, putting her hands against the border, testing it. "I don't suggest you test my patience, Octavia. Try not to forget that your little sister is in this border with me, as are your niece and nephew."

"We didn't have a plan yet, Edward. That's why they are all here," She said, motioning to the group.

"Your friend, Kye, insinuated that you've been planning this for years. You're saying in the years you've been planning this, you've never had a plan?"

"I planned to kill you, obviously." Octavia spat.

"Hmm, obviously." Edward scoffed as he turned his attention to Sinclair who was standing just behind Damien, with Sam to his side. "So, the rumors about recreants are true? I heard Bastet is to thank for that discovery?"

"Yes," Sinclair said, narrowing his golden eyes at Edward suspiciously, waiting for what he was going to do or say.

"You recreants are arguably the fiercest creatures, second only to elementals, of course," Edward said as he stood and walked to the border, once more, looking Sinclair up and down, then turning to look at Hanna and Richard, before looking back at Sinclair. "You are the leader?" he asked, waiting for Sinclair's curt nod before continuing. "Why don't you join the winning team, then?"

"Join you?" Sinclair laughed spitefully before snarling as he stood just on the other side of the border, his gold eyes darkening into an amber shade "My loyalty lies with Bastet, and as such, her husband and her sister. By association, you are my enemy."

"I understand that Bastet gave you recreants your freedom, but would you say it's worth dying for? I heard their wedding was interrupted as well, so he is not her husband, but her fiancee."

*'He knows everything! He's been keeping track of my life? What the fuck?'* I thought as I watched him, afraid of keeping my eyes off of him for too long.

"I could never expect you to understand the depth of what Bastet has given us, so it's no surprise that you cannot comprehend our loyalty." Sinclair scoffed and shook his head, then stepped back next to Sam, putting a hand on Damien's shoulder, bowing softly to him.

"And you, Mimics, why does your loyalty remain with Octavia?" He asked, turning his attention to Kerr, Jaxson, and Jacob.

"She is my mate, and I stand behind her," Kerr growled, shaking his head in disbelief.

"She gives us a freedom we will find nowhere else. We remain loyal to our alpha, and she alone." Jacob growled, then laughed softly. "We are no one's pets."

"Don't even bother, royal," Sam said, shaking his head as he put his hand on Damien's shoulder and bowed, the same thing Sinclair had done, showing his loyalty.

"Aye," Bartholomew said.

*'Why is he questioning everyone's loyalty? Just what the hell does he think he's playing at here?'*

Edward nodded, then sat back down, looking from Octavia to me, smiling softly. "I expected great things, but this far bypassed my expectations." He said, motioning around the room with what looked like an approving nod.

"What the hell do you mean?" I gasped as I finished feeding Ciaran and laid him back down, then picked up Azeneth, and began feeding her.

"You think I'm so stupid as to run around impregnating random women without realizing it?" He said as he leaned back in his chair, narrowing his green eyes at me, "I knew what I was doing. I've ruled for longer than anyone in this room has been alive, and I tire of it. I knew my children would rise up against me, but I couldn't allow you to continue in your futile efforts at this battle you were planning. When I saw that raven shifter, I knew the time was nigh. I expected all of my children to ban together, not just two of them."

*'Wait, what?'* I thought, shaking my head in disbelief, trying to make sense of his words, but I couldn't. *'He did this on purpose? What reason would he possibly have for doing that? What's the point? Wait... Did he just say there are more? Not just me and Octavia?'*

"Not just two of them, you say?" Damien asked, narrowing his eyes at Edward.

"You've another sister, daughters of mine. I expected the three of you to ban together to rise against me. This is the reason I couldn't allow this fight to ensue. That, and, I can't very well allow you to kill the subjects I wish the three of you to lead, can I?"

"Who?" Octavia gasped out, her aquamarine eyes wide in shock.

Edward snorted and raised an eyebrow, pursing his lips as he glared at Octavia, refusing to answer.

"You're saying, you purposely had three children, that you want to knock you out of your place?" Sinclair asked slowly, shaking his head. "That's insanity!"

"There is a method to my madness, recreant. To be truthful, I did not expect to have three daughters, and they were meant to be the same age. But, as they say, trial and error." Edward said with a shrug, then looked back to Octavia and me "I want you to rule the elementals, Octavia and Bastet, but I simply cannot allow you to demolish us. Nor will I allow you to do so until you find your sister."

"So all of this, was for what, exactly?" I snapped with a growl, feeling the fire in my veins boiling, threatening to come to the surface.

"If you know what's good for you, you won't do that, Bastet," Edward warned, raising an eyebrow as his eyes turned into balls of fire. "To get my point across. Tell me, what would have happened if I strolled into Octavia's house? None of you would have listened. So, I did the one thing I knew would force you to listen." He added, motioning to Azeneth and Ciaran.

"I'm going to kill you, Edward. And I'm going to enjoy ripping the flesh off of your bones. Just thought you should know." I said with a fake smile, then laid Azeneth down on the blanket, checking on Ciaran to make sure he was alright.

"Noted," He responded, returning my mock smile, before looking back at Octavia, "I will allow you all to live. But, if you try to mount an attack against me, without having your sister with you, I'll destroy every last one of you." He said, then stood and dropped the border, and began to walk out of the room, but was stopped by Damien and Kerr who jumped in front of him with a growl, followed by Sam and Sinclair.

"You expect us to let you go? Just like that?" Damien snarled as he shoved Edward back, or at least tried to, as Edward only took a singular step back, smiling.

"No, vampire king, but you don't have a choice in the matter, do you? Have none of you realized that Octavia's surrogate mother is nowhere to be seen?"

"What did you do with her?" Octavia roared as she stood in front of Edward, glaring up at him. She didn't seem to notice or care, that he towered over her and was easily was three times her size.

"Insurance policy, my dear," Edward responded with a smile before he shooed Octavia to the side, then shoved past the group blocking him to leave, chuckling softly as he left.

"What the fuck are we supposed to do now?" Samantha gasped out, falling to her knees, shaking her head in disbelief.

"We have to find our other sister, or I'll never see Anissa again," Octavia said softly, her eyes wide. She tried to say something else, but couldn't force any words to come out.

"He wants us to overthrow him? I can't believe that. He has a plan, and he wants us to bring our sister to play into it. What in the hell does the elemental king possibly want with us?" I asked as Damien came over to me, pulling me into a tight hug as he kissed me, then picked up both of the babies, pulling them against him.

"Bastet, Octavia," Sinclair said softly, shaking his head. His eyes were clouded over in sadness and regret as he looked between us, his eyes apologizing before he could say anything deserving of an apology. "He's extremely powerful, more than he should be. There used to be four royal families, but they were all killed. That is why Edward is the king. His royal bloodline is the last to exist."

"We already know that he's a murderous asshole, Sinclair. What is your point?" Kerr demanded as he pulled Octavia into his arms, trying to comfort her.

"He had kids before, but they were killed as well. His power only grows over time, rather than dwindling as it should. It's clear he's been keeping track of the two of you, and if he knew who your sister was, I'm sure he would have found a way to get her as well." Sinclair said as he sat down next to me, waiting for me to look at him before continuing. "He doesn't know who the third is, and he needs you to bring her to him so that he can take the power the three of you hold. That's why he let us plan this fight. Because he thought your sister would be coming with you, but when he realized she wasn't... Well, you see what he did."

"Our father is going to steal our power? That's why he got our mothers pregnant? That doesn't make any sense!" I exclaimed.

"One of you is a mimic, another is a human. What do you believe the chances are that your other sister is not a hybrid of another species? Elementals are powerful, to begin with. But just look at Octavia's power. No offense Bastet, but she's got more power than you."

"So a human, a mimic, and something else... He had kids with different races so he could steal our power?" Octavia said slowly like she was trying to convince herself of her words as she spoke them.

"He was going to allow us to bring the fight to him, so he could kill us all. Which would be a good cover for siphoning the power out of his kids. And now, we have to give him exactly what he wants to get Anissa back? Fuck!" Damien said with a growl, then apologized to Ciaran as he jumped awake and began crying.

"Bast," Octavia said, looking at me, searching my eyes with hers, trying to see what we should do.

"He will never let us leave with her, you know that, right?" I asked her.

"I can't leave her there to be tortured by that prick, Bast. We need to do this. But we aren't going to die, and neither is she. I don't care how powerful he thinks he is. The elemental king is as good as dead."