The request was so unexpected that at first, they didn’t know how to react. Alora felt like a vise had squeezed around her heart. Her own mother, and the male she had thought to be her father had not once, in all this life, offered her a hug. Xena felt a spark of longing as soon as she heard this request. Being Alora’s wolf, Xena had also been without the love of her parents. Selena was the first to start stumbling forward to accept the offer.
Selena had been without the ability to touch another living being from shortly after birth till today. She could not deny herself the opportunity to be held by their father. As Selena stumbled forward, the other two followed in acceptance as well. Their father’s forms were taller than they all were, allowing them to bury their faces against their chests. They were quickly surrounded in a warmth that entered their hearts, and their father’s scent wrapped around them.
****
It was Selena who let out the first heart wrenching sob, followed quickly by Alora’s sobs and Xena’s cries. Sebastien and Deimos felt like their hearts were being torn to pieces as the bodies of their daughter’s forms shook against them. It went on like that for a while, with Sebastian and Deimos shedding tears of their own. Their first child they had thought dead all these years was alive, and in their arms.
Eventually the cries and sobs subsided, and the shaking in their bodies lessoned to the occasional shudder. It was a little while more before Deimos and Sebastian could bear to part from their daughters. They only had so much time left that they could remain in their daughter’s space. All too soon they would have to leave it to return to their own space.
“We’ll have to return to our space soon.” Sebastian told them. His voice was full of his reluctance to part with his daughter so soon after meeting her for the first time.
“Why?” Alora asked, not wanting her father to leave yet.
“If we stay here in your space for too long, our space will collapse into nothing. If that were to happen, we would be trapped here in your space, never able to return to our body in the physical realm.” Deimos explained.
Alora, Selena and Xena looked at them both with wide eyes that held understanding, and a touch of horror. “I don’t want that to happen.” Alora stated.
“How much longer?” Selena asked.
“Not nearly long enough. Just a few minutes left.” Sebastian told her.
Selena’s eyes welled up with tears, but she held them back and didn’t let them fall. “Don’t worry little one. We will make the necessary arrangements with Alpha Andrew Moonstar to visit you as soon as possible.”
“Do you know how long that will take?” Xena asked.
“If we had our way, we would be heading to you tonight.” Deimos said. “Unfortunately, our identity as the King of Vampires complicates things. There are rules to follow when one King visits another.”
“But the Alpha isn’t a King, he’s the first continents Alpha of Alpha’s.” Xena said.
“We are expecting a call from your Alpha tonight. We will set up the visit through him.” Sebastian told them. “Until then we can keep in contact with each other through several different magical and or technological means.”
“Magical?” Xena asked.
“Yes. Our fated mate is a powerful Witch of the Goldlight line.” Deimos told them.
“Stephanie wants to meet you as soon as possible.” Sebastian said. “I have to warn you now, she is very affectionate.”
“W.w.will she like us?” Selena asked nervously.
Her nervousness had Xena and Alora huddling close to Selena to offer her comfort and support. This sight emphasized to Sebastian and Deimos once more just how vulnerable their daughter was.
“She will more than like you.” Sebastian said, his tone serious. “Stephanie will love you like you were her own daughter.”
“Stephanie has a big heart, and zero tolerance for anyone who abuses a child.” Deimos told them.
Then a heavy gong sounded and vibrated the air in their daughter’s space. “Our time is up.” Sebastian announced with great reluctance.
It hurt to part with their daughter so soon after finding her. However, this parting was not forever, as they would soon meet her again in the physical world. Still, they could not resist stopping at the misted veiled doorway that led back to their space and taking one more look at their daughter. At the sound of a second gong of warning resounding through their daughter’s space, they stepped back into their own space.
It was that last look from their father’s forms that let Alora, Xena and Selena know just how reluctant they had been to leave them. It felt good to know that at least one of their biological parents liked and accepted them. Since Alora did not know how long she had stayed in their space, she felt it was time to wake up.
****
Stephanie sat on the couch opposite Sebastian with a worried look on her face. She had felt all the changes in her mate’s emotions he was going through in his meditative state. Stephanie let out a gasp of pain, as the crushing weight of Sebastian’s immense sorrow rushed through their bond the moment he opened his eyes. Sebastian’s pain was reflected in his eyes as his gaze met Stephanie’s. She leaped off the couch and over the table, somehow managing to miss knocking into the things set on it. Once she was kneeling on the other couch, she grabbed her mate and wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing his face to her chest.
Sebastian wrapped his arms tightly around Stephanie’s waist and let out a gut-wrenching cry of pain. “Bas…?” She asked, her voice full of worry.
“It’s worse than what was in the reports Annie!” Sebastian said in an emotional voice. “She was tortured, Annie. Not just abused! Tortured! All her life!”
Stephanie let out a horror filled gasp at what her mate told her. A moment later, she drew back and met Sebastian’s gaze, a determined expression on her face. “Show me.” Stephanie demanded.
Lifting one of her hands, a golden circle glowing with an internal light appeared above her palm. Inside the circle, were circulating bands of varying width filled with symbols, runes, and ancient words written in flowing calligraphy. Each band rotated independently in different directions and at different speeds.
Sebastian looked down at the spell in his mate’s hand with a hard look. After a moment he looked back up and met her gaze. Cupping the back of her hand with the spell in his, he drew her hand up and pressed it against the side of his face. Allowing the spell to give her the memories of his encounter with his daughter and her three forms.
Once the spell was fully active, Stephanie’s brightly glowing eyes stared sightlessly at Sebastian. Sebastian watched solemnly as her expressions changed and her emotions became tumultuous. When tears started to pour down Stephanie’s cheeks, Sabastian drew her back into his arms. He clutched her tightly to his chest as the memory finished.
“Oh Bas!” Stephanie sobbed out.
“I know.” Sebastian said, clutching Stephanie tighter. “I know.”
****
Her eyes open, Alora looked at the glowing numbers of a digital clock on the long dresser against the wall across from the bed. It was only now as Alora was looking at the time on the clock that she realized there was a large TV in the bedroom. It was attached to the wall above the dresser. The screen was currently black, as no one had turned it on. The time on the clock let her know it was time to go down and join everyone for dinner.
Grabbing her phone off the nightstand next to her, Alora got up from the bed. As she stood, she stumbled forward a little bit, making Alora realize her legs were asleep. Alora had been sitting in the same position for so long, she needed to take a moment to stretch out and get her blood flowing properly again. As soon as she was sure she could walk without stumbling, Alora walked out of her apartment suite.
Alora wasn’t the only one leaving their room at this time. Darien and Serenity happened to be leaving his room at the same time as her. Alora gave a half smirk of amusement when her gaze met the startled and slightly guilty expressions on Darien and Serenity’s faces. Even from this distance, Alora could tell they had been very intimate.
Even without having experienced it herself, Alora could tell what went on between them. It became especially obvious when you looked at their necks and their matching mating marks. Alora’s amused smirk turned into a wide smile. ‘They didn’t wait long to complete their union.’ Alora thought to herself.
Alora got closer to them and was about to congratulate them verbally when she caught the change in Serenity’s scent. Alora looked at Darien with a dead panned expression for a moment. Then she raised one brow before asking in a dour tone, “Seriously?”