76. Double-Trouble

[Mercy]

"Yeah, you can say that again." I snorted as I started on my makeup, shaking my head with a sigh. *'I seriously do doubt that today could-'* I began to think but lost my train of thought as Alaric yelled from what sounded like the kitchen.

"Do not so much as think it, Mercy. I know you're going to. Do not think or say those words. Christ, we don't need any more shit to happen today." He growled from the bedroom, then walked into the bathroom, watching my reflection as I applied eyeliner, a small smile creeping at the corners of his lips.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready?" I asked him, trying my best not to let him see me squirm, as I knew what he'd do if he did.

"It's near impossible to look away from you, kitten."

"Near, which means you can, if you wanted to." I giggled, then gulped when I saw his eyes turning blood red. *'Oh, I fucked up.'*

"I will do as I wish, kitten," He growled lowly, narrowing his eyes before taking a few steps forward, turning me around before setting me on the bathroom sink, swiping the makeup into the sink with a growl. He grabbed my chin before he swallowed my lips in his, running his hand up my dress until he met my thigh, pulling my body against him.

"Yes, sir," I gasped as he lowered his hand to my throat, moaning as he kissed and nibbled at my neck, wrapping my legs around him as he brought our lips back together, picking me up to push me against the wall. I put a hand on the back of his neck, using it to lift myself so I could unclasp his belt and push down his pants, smiling against his lips as he ripped my panties off. *'The impatience of this man,'* I thought, almost immediately regretting that I'd smiled as he set me down, bending me over the sink, putting his hand on the wall below the mirror as he thrust into me, slamming me forward. *'Fuck, he's going to break the sink'* I thought, gasping as I put a hand on the counter, trying to lift myself, but couldn't as he put a hand on my back, holding me down. I know he could hear the sound of the sink cracking from the force, but it seemed as it only provoked him into thrusting harder.

"B-babe," I struggled to get the words out through my moans as he moved his hand from my back to my clit, rubbing it in a soft circular motion, nearly driving me insane from the sensation. I didn't want him to stop, not in the least. I knew if he didn't, then he'd break a sink in a house that isn't his. "You- You're going to break it!"

"Are you complaining?" Alaric chuckled at my frustration, then put his hand on my chin, lifting me, so my back was against him as he straightened out my back, turning my head to bring our lips back together. *'Oh, shit, I really gotta learn to stop disobeying. But it's so fun,'* I thought, doing everything to hold back a smile, as the anticipation was thrilling but would not bode well for me if I did.

I tried to turn myself back around, but Alaric wouldn't let me, putting his hands on my hips to push me down, adjusting me so my legs were bent and I was in a sitting position on top of the sink, thrusting inside of me while using his mouth to stifle my cries.

"You never learn, do you?" He groaned softly against my lips, putting his hand on the wall behind me, leaning into me as I rocked my hips against him. I put one hand on his arm to steady myself and another on the back of his neck to pull myself against him, letting my head fall back on his shoulder with a moan. "Mmm, kitten," Alaric purred in my ear, chuckling as he put his hand back between my legs, rubbing the swollen bud just hard enough to make it feel so amazing that it was painfully so.

I tried to hold myself back, as I didn't want it to end so quickly, but it was almost impossible to do so when everything he did was driving me rapidly to that point. I gasped out, bringing my hand down on the sink much harder than I meant to, breaking off the right side of it as I cried out, resting my forehead on the mirror as my spasms tore through me.

"I would tell you to be quiet, but there is no way in hell everyone hasn't heard you by now." Alaric chuckled softly as he pulled back and helped me get down off of the counter, reaching over to turn on the shower before removing his pants, inspecting them before folding them to set them on the toilet. "You're lucky you didn't spill. Otherwise, we'd be having a much different conversation."

"I-" I started to say but cut myself off and nodded instead, lifting my arms over my head so he could pull my dress off. I pulled my hair into a messy bun so that it wouldn't get wet from the shower, then stepped in, washing as quickly as I could so he could do the same. *'I'm lucky I didn't spill? He's the one that positioned me like that, so it wouldn't have been my fault even if I did spill. Yeah, it's better I didn't say that out loud.'* I thought as I stepped out of the shower, smiling at him as he stepped in after me. *'I wonder why he didn't just get in with me? He usually does. I rarely shower alone anymore, but this is the second time today that I have.'* I thought, then checked the duffle bag that was sitting on the chair in the bedroom, letting out a sigh of relief when I saw that Samantha had put multiple pairs of panties for me.

"What are you grinning about?" Alaric asked me as he walked over to me, pulling a pair of black boxers out of the bag, putting them on, eyeing me curiously.

"Just happy that Samantha brought me more than one pair of panties," I responded with a shrug as I pulled them on, then walked into the bathroom, checking my makeup in the mirror before pulling the dress over my head.

"How do you know it was Samantha who got your clothes and not Sam?"

"I- Don't do that to me!" I gasped, giggling as I shook my head and let my hair down, making sure it was tidy before walking out of the bathroom where Alaric was already dressed, this time wearing a tuxedo with a crimson bow matching my dress and putting on his shoes. "I didn't know you had more than one pair of pants?" I asked, narrowing my eyes as I glared at him. *'He was acting like I would have ruined his pants, and he had another pair? Wait, he's not wearing a suit anymore. He's wearing a tuxedo now. Aw, his bow matches my dress!'*

"It was a last-minute change." He responded after checking his watch, motioning for me to sit on the bed so he could put my flats on for me.

"Ah, it's so exciting!" I grinned, jumping to my feet as soon as he'd finished, taking his hand as I pulled him towards the front door.

"It is, but you do not know exactly how right you are," Alaric responded with a chuckle, squeezing my hand softly as he pulled me to a stop, getting on one knee in front of me. "Mercy, will you marry me?"

"Babe- You already asked me that." I stumbled out, blushing as he took my left hand in his, his gray eyes soft like melted steel as he shook his head.

"No, I mean, will you marry me today?"

"Today? But it's Bast and Damien's wedding!"

"I know. I wasn't going to ask, as I didn't want to invite ourselves to impede on their big day, but Lucifer is the one who suggested it to me." He said with a slight chuckle, taking a deep breath as he watched me, waiting for my response in anticipation.

"Of course, I will!" I exclaimed as I jumped forward, wrapping my arms around his shoulders as he stood and turned me around in a circle. "When did this happen? Why didn't you tell me before? Oh my god!"

"I wanted to ask in private, and he suggested it earlier today when you were eating. I was surprised you didn't hear him, as almost everyone else did." Alaric said as he stood, checking his pants before taking my hand, picking up the door with one hand, making sure I made it to the other side without getting myself dirty.

*'Oh, so that's how Sinclair knew, and no one else seemed surprised by the news. Happy for me, but not surprised.'* I thought, but couldn't stop myself from grinning as I was too happy not to let it show. "Do you have a ring?"

"Yes. I got a set that I hope you'll love." He said with a nod as we walked towards the yard where Sinclair was standing at the front; Octavia, Kerr, Sam, Maeve, Bartholomew, and William were standing on either side of the blood-red runner, smiling at Alaric and me as we drew closer. *'Oh my god, Bartholomew and William are back? When the hell did they get here?'* I thought, then noticed that I didn't see Samantha anywhere. After a moment of looking, I found her standing in the shade by the treeline, as close to the wedding as she could be, without standing in the sun. *'It's gotta suck to be surrounded by vampires who can stand in the sun while you can't.'*

"Surprise wedding, surprise guests, and surprise rings? You love to surprise me." I said as Sinclair smiled at us, handing his book to Maeve before holding a hand out with a nod, motioning for Alaric and me to stand at his left side. I started to walk across the yard, but Alaric stopped me, grinning as he put my arm through his, leading me to stand on the left side of the runner. *'This is why he's been so happy all morning? I could tell there was something in his eyes, not to mention what happened a few minutes ago, but now I see why.'*

"Mercy," Alaric whispered, bringing my attention out of my thoughts and to where Bast, Damien, Azeneth, and Ciaran were coming around the corner from the house. Damien and Ciaran wore matching tuxedos; Damien's tie was blood-red, matching both mine and Bast's dresses and Alaric's bow, while Ciaran had a navy blue tie, matching Azeneth's dress. Bast was wearing a dress the same color as mine, but the back was filled with a v cut across the top. *'They got us matching dresses? Oh my god, please don't cry, Mercy.'*

I felt like my heart was going to explode as I watched Damien and Alaric walk to the front, standing on either side of where Sinclair was previously, smiling at him as he walked, standing between Bast and me. Azeneth and Ciaran went to stand on the side of the runner, taking handfuls of flower petals in their hands.

"Bastet," Sinclair said, offering her his right arm, smiling softly to her as she put her arm through his, then turned to look at me, offering me his left arm. "Mercy," He said when he held his arm out to me, nodding softly to both of us before taking a step forward, leading us to the altar.

I felt like my heels were made of lead, as it took all of the strength I had to move them, smiling as our guests tossing flower petals in front of us. *'Oh my god, I can't believe this is happening!'* I thought, unable to take my eyes off of Alaric, as every step forward I took felt like I was getting closer to the rest of my life.

Sinclair squeezed my hand gently as we arrived forward, placing Bast's hand in Damien's, then gave my hand to Alaric. He took a step back and bowed to the four of us before smiling at Maeve, who stepped forward to hand him his book, then walked around us to stand on the other side of Damien and Alaric. *'I didn't think we'd get married at the same time! Bast is my big sister. She deserves to have a wedding to herself'* I thought and couldn't help but feel bad like I was stomping on Bast's big day.

Damien cleared his throat softly, bringing my attention to him as he smiled softly, shaking his head. I'd forgotten that Damien could tell what I was thinking and smiled back to him as an apology before looking up at Sinclair, who'd begun talking.

"We have been invited here today to witness the joint weddings of Lucifer and Bastet, Alaric and Mercy. In the time they have been together, their love and understanding of each other has grown and matured, and now they have decided to live their lives together as husband and wife." Sinclair said, smiling at Bast and Damien before turning to Alaric and me.

I tried my damnest to listen to what Sinclair said, as I knew I should have been listening but found it hard to hear over the deafening pounding of my heart like it was trying to bust out of my chest. I couldn't believe that this was all happening so quickly, but regardless, I couldn't think of a single time I'd ever been as happy as I was now. *'I'm so glad I'm not the only one whose heart rate is off the chart,'* I thought when I heard Bast's increased heartbeat, blushing when I realized I'd been staring at Alaric while being thoroughly engrossed in my thoughts. Alaric didn't seem to mind it, however, as I could see nothing but love and happiness in his eyes as he gazed down at me, squeezing my hand softly.

"Alaric, please repeat after me to offer your commitment to Mercy while placing your ring upon her hand. "Sinclair said, smiling at me as we both turned to look at him for the first time since the ceremony started, rather than each other. "I, Alaric, take thee, Mercy, to be my lawfully wedded wife."

"I, Alaric, take thee, Mercy, to be my lawfully wedded wife," Alaric repeated as he put the ring on my finger, kissing it on my hand before looking back at Sinclair.

"I take you just as you are, and in every form, you may ever be. You are the light in my life and the beat in my heart." Sinclair continued, waiting for him to repeat it before speaking again. "I promise to tend to your weakness just as I applaud your strengths. I promise to reach for your hand when I am lost. I promise to show you, day in and day out, that you are my everything. On this day, I give you my heart." He added; then, when Alaric finished, he looked at me, repeating the same vows as I placed Alaric's band on his finger.

My ring was a 14K white gold band, with a round amber stone set in the center, the sight of it bringing tears to my eyes. *'How did he know? I never told him how much I loved the amber stone! And it's not a big dumb ring, either. I have the feeling that he knows more about me than I'd be willing to hear '* I thought as I saw my band, then felt my heart fluttering when I saw the ring I was placing on his finger. His band was 18K white gold, set with diamonds and four ambers offset throughout the band. *'Oh my god, our rings match!'*

"Please hold hands and face one another," Sinclair said to the four of us, placing one hand on Alaric's shoulder and the other on Damien's as he looked out at the guests. "Before your families and your friends, I now pronounce you lawfully and spiritually united. Please seal your marriages with your first wedded kiss."

"Our love is unique because we are unique. Together we make something that has never before been witnessed. Together we make a force that holds the power to stand against any disaster, an engine of love the likes of which this world has never seen. Take my hand, and as your husband, I vow to begin our journey in honest and true devotion." Alaric said as he leaned down, kissing me softly, so softly that I lost the fight against my tears, unable to hold them back any longer.

"I love you," I whispered against his lips, kissing him again before pulling back. I started to use my hand to wipe my cheeks, but Alaric stopped me, motioning for William to give him his pocket square, and instead used that to dry my tears carefully, making sure not to smear my makeup. He did it with such delicate care that it made my heartache, resulting in me beginning to cry yet again.

"Oh, kitten, you're ruining your makeup." Alaric softly chuckled as he kissed the top of my head, looking to our left where Bast and Damien had Azeneth and Ciaran embraced in a group hug.

"I know, I'm sorry." I sniffled, shaking my head as Alaric used William's pocket square to dry my tears once more, watching me for a moment to make sure I wouldn't start crying again before taking my hand, nodding to Damien. He responded in kind and stepped back from their group hug, so he was standing before Bast.

"Bastet Isabella Edge, my wife, my queen," Damien said as he took a step back, putting his right arm across his back, and putting his left hand over his heart, bowing deeply to Bast, closing his eyes before he stood back up, his electric blue eyes overflowing with emotion and joy as Bast took the hem of her dress and curtsied to him.

"Lucifer Damien Edge, my husband, my king," Bast responded before straightening her back, putting her arm in Damien's, walking back down the aisle while she held Ciaran's hand, while Damien had Azeneth's.

*'Oh my god, that was so... amazing is nowhere near the right word, but it's all I can- Oh-'* I thought, gasping out as Alaric cupped my face lovingly, turning me to look up at him.

"Mercy Krysanthe Vincent, my wife, my partner in crime," Alaric said before bowing in the same way Damien had done.

"Alaric Vincent, my husband, my partner in crime," I responded as I took the hem of my dress, trying to mimic Bast's curtsy, as it felt like the correct thing to do, not to mention, I had no idea what else to do in response. I almost couldn't believe that I'd managed to get the words out, as I didn't think I had the ability to speak.

When I looked back up at Alaric after closing my eyes in my curtsy, I felt my heart jump back into my throat when I saw his gray eyes were filled with tears of joy, doing his best to keep them from falling. *'Oh my god,'* I thought, smiling up at him as he walked me down the aisle, grinning as the group began cheering.

"Congratulations!" Bast exclaimed as she pulled Alaric and me into a hug, kissing me on the cheek before doing the same to Alaric, grinning when she saw the look on his face. "You're my brother-in-law now. Deal with it."

"No, congratulations to you!" I gasped as I put my arms around her shoulders, motioning to Damien for him to come over so I could hug him too.

"You are both getting it wrong. Congratulations to both of the brides and grooms!" Octavia gasped as she pulled both Bast and me into a hug, telling Alaric and Damien to join us. "Don't you dare," She growled playfully when they started to object.

"I suppose we should listen to our new sister in law," Damien chuckled, raising an eyebrow at Octavia before nodding to Alaric as he stood behind Bast. Alaric stood behind me, pulling the three of us into a hug so tight, I was glad none of us were human, as I'm quite sure bones would have been broken.

"Smile!" Azeneth and Ciaran said, drawing my attention to my left, where Ciaran and Azeneth were both holding cameras pointed at us, waiting for us to look before they hit the shutter buttons simultaneously.

"Oh, no, you are taking pictures, Mercy," Alaric said when I tried to turn away, as I'd always loathed having my picture taken.

"It's your wedding, aunt Mercy. You can't avoid wedding pictures!" Azeneth giggled as she took my hand and pulled me back to the altar, directing Alaric to put his hands on my waist so she could take the picture. Ciaran and Azeneth kept trading places, taking photos of the two couples in a few different places in the yard, telling us how to pose, and making sure the pictures came out perfect. Otherwise, they'd make us start over again. This went on for almost two hours until the twins were both satisfied with their pictures and allowed us to relax.

"I kind of regret not doing more, now," I mumbled as I watched Azeneth and Ciaran inspect each other's pictures, unable to stop myself from wondering how they came out.

"Mercy, you are gorgeous. Don't think about what you could have done. Why don't you focus on how you felt when we were vowing ourselves to one another. Did you have any regrets then?" Alaric asked, putting his hand on the small of my back as I wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my forehead against his chest.

"No, of course, I didn't!" I gasped, shaking my head. "Oh..." I said, giggling when I understood what he was trying to say. "I love you, Mr. Vincent."

"I love you more, Mrs. Vincent." He said, sending a tingle down my spine when I heard his words, grinning as I stood on the tips of my toes to bring our lips together. *'I'm not Mercy Roberts anymore. I'm Mercy Vincent!'*

"Congratulations," Maeve said with a smile, her hands clasped behind her back as she smiled at Alaric and me. She gasped when I motioned for her to join us, shaking her head as a slight blush spread through her cheeks. "Hmm? Oh, no, I couldn't."

"Sinclair," Alaric said, raising an eyebrow as Sinclair walked down the aisle towards us.

Sinclair nodded with a grin, letting out a laugh as Maeve tried to step away, catching her before she could take a singular step, and pulled her into our hug.

"When did the two of you come back?" I asked as William and Bartholomew made their way to us after saying their congratulations to Bast and Damien.

"A few hours ago. We stayed in another cabin while everyone was getting ready. Did you think we'd miss this?" William gasped, his eyes widening as if he was offended, then grinned as he hugged me, kissing me on the forehead. "You're stuck with us now."

"I didn't even know about it until literally, like, two minutes before we walked down the aisle," I said as I hugged Bartholomew, then stepped back as Alaric pulled my back to him.

"I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you earlier, but, well, you know what happened." Alaric said with a slight sigh.

"No, I'm glad you didn't. If you did, I'd probably still be in the cabin, fussing with my hair." I said, tilting my head back to look up at him with a grin.

"Are we ready to go inside?" Bast asked as she looked back and forth between Alaric and me, then nodded towards Samantha, reminding me that she was still too young to remain outside for too long. Bast giggled softly as she spoke, her green eyes bright like a sunny meadow. "Mr. and Mrs. Vincent."

"Oh my god!" I gasped, biting my lip as I giggled. I could feel my face turning red hot from her words, but I didn't mind it in the slightest. I was too happy to try and hide it, and I didn't want to, either.

"I will never get tired of seeing you react like this about taking my name. Try not to get used to it too quickly?" Alaric said as he took my hand and followed Bast and Damien into the house, grinning as he squeezed my hand softly.

"I can pretty much guarantee, at the very least, a year of reacting like this. Huh, I guess a year isn't very long to a vampire, is it?" I responded, considering it for a few moments as Alaric pulled out a kitchen chair for me, folding a towel over my lap before pushing my chair forward.

"A year to a vampire is like a week to a human. Once you've been alive as long as we have, the years truly do seem to accumulate rapidly." Damien said as he motioned for Alaric to sit, his eyes flashing blood-red as Alaric started to argue, successfully ending the argument before it could begin. He and Bast started putting lunch together, and if anyone tried to stand or assist them, they'd flash their eyes red, warning them against it.

"Unless you spend it alone, then the years feel like centuries," Sinclair added as he pulled out Maeve's chair, pushing it forward before sitting in his. "I truly hope we did not ruin it, but we tried our best."

"Ruined what?" Maeve asked, furrowing her brows in curiosity as she watched Damien and Bast filling the bowls with the Irish stew they'd made. "Oh!" Maeve gasped, her eyes a mixture of gray and blue as she smelled at the air, tears gathering in her eyes as she looked down at the bowl Damien set in front of her.

"We fucked it up, didn't we?" Bast asked hesitantly when she saw the tears in Maeve's eyes, shaking her head with a sigh of disappointment as she carried two bowls to the table, setting one in front of Ciaran and the other in front of Azeneth.

"No- It's just-" Maeve said, shaking her head as she swiped at her tears. "Wait, no, this is your wedding day!"

"We decided to do this before we decided to get married, Maeve. You said it was a Sunday tradition with your family. I know we aren't the most... Well, we aren't the most balanced group of people, but we are a family, nonetheless." I said as Bast carried two more bowls to the table, setting them in front of Alaric and me before crossing to where Maeve was sitting and giving her an exaggerated kiss on the cheek, laughing as Maeve cried out and pushed Bast away, her cheeks bright-pink as she wiped Bast's kiss away.

"Ah, let off it, you bloody loon!" Maeve gasped, trying and failing to hide the smile I could clearly see playing at the corners of her lips.

"Fine, but only because I don't want you to get too embarrassed that a girl kissed you." Bast giggled as she and Damien carried the rest of the bowls to the table, setting them down and putting a plate of Irish soda bread in the center of the table before taking their seats.

"You believe you are the first woman to kiss Maeve? When I met her, she had just gotten out of a relationship with a woman." Sinclair said, then apologized when he saw the icy glare Maeve shot at him. "I did not know your sexuality was a secret. I apologize."

"It's not a secret. It just didn't seem like the right time to bring it up," Maeve said as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat, refusing to look up from her bowl as she knew everyone's eyes were on her. I could tell there was nothing more in the world that she wanted than for someone to change the subject, so I decided to do just that.

"This soup is delicious. I see why it's a weekly tradition for you." I said as I picked up my spoon, taking a spoonful of the soup. *'Oh, it is delicious.'* I thought with an appreciative nod. The mixture of vegetables to the lamb meat gave it a fantastic aroma, but even with that, I didn't expect it to taste as good as it did, as I'd never been a fan of lamb meat.

"You said it was good before you tried it, though," Azeneth said, cocking her head to the side as she watched me curiously, looking back and forth between me and my bowl.

"Okay, well, I meant to say it smells good," I responded with a sigh, shaking my head at her as the table erupted into laughter.

"Hmm... No, you didn't."

"Azeneth, she was trying to change the subject because Maeve was getting embarrassed. God, learn to read a room." Ciaran groaned with a roll of his eyes, then looked up at me, giving me the most adorable smile I'd ever seen. "Can you please pass the bread?"

"I- Yeah, of course," I said after watching him for a few moments in amusement.

"So, I wasn't planning on bringing this up until after we ate, but since we're in dire need of a new subject..." Bast trailed off as she wiped her hands on her towel, clearing her throat as she leaned back in her seat, looking around the table for a moment before continuing. "I know you guys have been hiding stuff, and thank you because I know you were hiding it because of the wedding, but if it's as important as we think it is, it's time to spill the beans."

"We? You two knew we were hiding things from you?" Sinclair commented with a slight chuckle, then smiled at Ciaran as he asked him to pass the bread plate down.

"Of course we did. As Bast said, we know the reason you were hiding it, and we thank you for it, but we are married now, and there's no other reason to hide it from us for any longer." Damien said with a curt nod.

"Oh, where to start?" Alaric breathed out, glancing across the table at Sinclar, who shook his head. *'What do the two of them have to hide?'* I thought as I looked back and forth between the two of them, waiting for one of them to speak first, but after a few minutes of silence, I knew they weren't going to be the firsts to speak.

"That bad, huh?" Bast giggled as she took a spoonful of her soup, chewing in slowly in thought before looking up at the rest of us, rolling her eyes when still no one spoke.

"I will put it all out there, then," Sinclair said with a chuckle, watching Maeve for a moment before looking back at Damien and Bast. "Mercy received phone calls from Nancy's phone, so Alaric and I went there to see how Nancy might have been able to make outgoing calls from Lucifer's basement. It was not Nancy, but it was Leena who found her phone in the yard. She came back to try and assist Maeve, who, because I know someone will ask, does not in any way want her help." Sinclair said, pausing for a moment to let his words sink in before he continued.

"Last night, or rather, early this morning, Maeve was being controlled by something underneath my house. That thing you felt in the tunnels, Bast, it's connected to Maeve in some way. It doesn't seem like Leena is affected by it in the slightest, as Maeve and I tested it, and she didn't seem to feel it at all. Maeve and I believe that it is one of the first anodyne, as Maeve did not feel it until she became one. When Maeve disappeared earlier, I thought that thing had gotten into her head again, so I went into the tunnels to look for her. When Maeve was taken over by it, she broke down the wall in front of it, or tried to, at the very least." Sinclair continued, then growled as he shook his head. He looked around at everyone at the table, watching each of us for a few moments as he considered what he wanted to say next.

"Samantha and I didn't see it, but it was enough to scare Sinclair, so I know it's powerful and possibly evil," I said for him, as he seemed to be having issues with finding the words.

"Something that scared Sinclair?" Alaric asked with a laugh, then gasped when he saw that Sinclair was not joining in on his laughter. "Whatever is down there scares you?"

"It does not scare me. It worries me. I have never seen anything like that before, and though it may not seem like much, it was enough." Sinclair snapped, his golden eyes darkening until they were the same shade of amber as the stone in my ring, then slowly began to lighten as he gathered himself. "There is a small hole that I looked through, and all I could see was a black leathery wall. I cannot say with absolute certainty that it is a wall, as it had veins, a heartbeat, and I could see the wall moving with the heartbeat."

"Oh my god," Maeve gasped, her eyes turning into a beautiful shade of green as her heart rate spiked. She tried to open her mouth to speak again, but words seemed to be failing her every time she tried.

"So, what you're saying is, we need to get out of our dresses and go on an adventure?" Bast finally responded, then shrugged with a nod before returning her attention to her lunch. "What? Don't tell me that you guys want to wait until that thing comes after us, or god forbid, goes after Maeve again? No, I'm tired of talking. If you don't want to go down there with me, don't. I'd like to be able to go to sleep on my wedding night without worrying about whatever that thing is. So, after lunch, I'm going down there."

"We want to go!" Ciaran gasped, his blue eyes widening in excitement as he looked back and forth between Damien and Bast, waiting for their answer.

"I know you are no longer children, but you are my children. On the one hand, I do not wish to allow you to be so close to something that is clearly very powerful, but on the other hand, if I try to stop you, you'll find a way to get yourselves on the front lines." Damien responded with a sigh, shaking his head as he watched the twins for a few moments. "You must eat all of your lunch, you will wear protective clothes, you will use any power you have to protect yourselves, and if someone tells you to move, you are immediately expected to do so. Am I understood?"

"Understood!" Azeneth and Ciaran agreed without hesitation, then began gulping down their soup, making everyone at the table laugh, thankfully, as a laugh was what we needed.

"So, who's going?" Bast asked after watching the twins for a moment, turning her attention back to the table.

"It goes without saying that Sinclair and I are going. I don't think you could keep Mercy and Samantha away if you tried. Because those lasses will be going, their boyfriends- Sorry, husband and boyfriend, will be going as well. That only leaves the mimic couple and the silent vampire couple over yonder." Maeve said, motioning to the two couples as she took a piece of bread off the plate, tearing off a portion of it before dipping it in her soup to eat it.

"Well, I made two promises. I promised Anissa that I'd come back after the wedding, and I promised Kerr that I wouldn't get myself into situations like these anymore, in the best interests of our baby. So, yes, I really want to go, but I can't." Octavia responded, her aquamarine eyes filled with sadness as she shook her head no. *'Oh, I want to ask about the baby so bad right now. There are so many questions, like, is it one baby or multiples? How long until they're born? Gah! I have to wait to bombard her with questions. Holy shit... I'm spending way too much time around Bast.'*

"We do wish to go, truly, but we must return to Europe. We only planned to be gone a few hours, and we do not wish anyone to know we were gone. The last thing we need is creatures thinking they have free reign." Bartholomew said with a slight smile to William, who didn't seem to be in the best overall mood. William and Kerr were always the silent ones who'd rather listen than speak, but something about William's silence made me think there was a grave disturbance behind it.

"Oh, how is Anissa doing?" I gasped at Octavia. *'I can't believe I completely forgot about Anissa! That maniac trapped her for months. There's no way that didn't cause permanent damage.'*

"She's doing really good. I thought she'd be... well, a little unhinged after her time with Edward, but I think I was only seeing her as a human, and not the woman that raised me." Octavia said, then giggled with a shrug. "I got this obstinance from someone, you know. I kind of forgot it was from her."

"If it's alright with you, sometime in the near future, we'd like to come to your town for a visit," Damien said to Octavia and Kerr.

"Don't be an asshole vampire. You know you're welcome any time," Kerr said with a roll of his eyes, then started laughing. "Never thought I'd say those words and mean them."

"We're done eating!" The twins beamed, showing off their empty bowls proudly.

"Your mother, Maeve, and Mercy are not, so you'll have to wait," Damien said, shaking his head. "It's nearly two pm. We still have the rest of the afternoon ahead of us to do this. You do not need to be in such a rush."

"Okay, well, can we be excused so that we can get ready?"

"You may, but come down to say goodbye to everyone when they are leaving, yes?" Damien nodded to the twins as they voiced their agreement and kissed Damien and Bast on the cheek before running upstairs.

"I don't think they realize that this is dangerous, no matter how powerful they are," Samantha said, watching them as they ran out of the room.

"They know; they simply do not care," Sinclair responded before looking to his left where Maeve was absentmindedly stirring her soup with her spoon, her eyes far off in the distance as it seemed she was thinking very hard about something. "Maeve, please, eat."

"Hmm? Aye," Maeve said, blinking away her thoughts as she took another bite of her bread. "What about Leena?"

"She can stay in the cabin. Having another fae nearby could be very useful, depending on what we find in those tunnels."

"Alright, we're doing this thing, huh?" I said with a scoff, shaking my head in disbelief. *'I am both so excited to go into those tunnels and terrified out of my fucking mind. No matter how hard I try, I cannot figure out what that wall could possibly be. I guess I'll see soon enough, though.'*