The next few hours were torture for me as we waited and kept watch for the Death Dealers. Lucian came up with a plan for an attack if it came down to a war between the Vampires and the Lycans, but he was hoping that it would not come to that in the end. For all the times he had gone into battle, Lucian was a man of peace. He hated wars just as much as the next person, whereas my father lived for them. Centuries before my birth, he and the other Elders had gone out on marches across Europe, trying to exterminate the Lycan race altogether. It was when the very first Lycan, William, was still allowed to roam free. William's kind, unlike the Lycans we knew now, could not transform back into their human forms. They were no longer human, but instead remained in their wolf forms for the remainder of their existence. My father sought to exterminate them entirely, but at Marcus' insistence, spared William's life and imprisoned him on the warning that should William die the entire Lycan race would go with him. Father did not want to lose his slaves, our daylight guardians.
I remained in the inner part of the castle, keeping Lucan occupied after he woke. I knew the battle plan and I realized my part would be much smaller in comparison to what I had once been, but my main job was protecting our son. Isobel impatiently paced the room back and forth, as if she was anticipating something. She knew something was coming, just as we all did. From the reports Raze gave, my father had brought about thirty Death Dealers with him. A considerably small army in comparison to how many vampires lived within the walls of the castle, but not all vampires were honored enough to be Death Dealers. The rest just lived in luxury, never leaving the walls to hunt as blood was readily brought to them. But I knew that the Death Dealers my father was bringing would be the best. Many of them would have fought beside me when I lead them before.
As I waited for the inevitable to arrive, Lucian came into the room. He had finished briefing the rest of the pack on the plan and now his time was to be spent with me. Isobel got up and walked outside of the room, leaving us our privacy as a family. The dawn was approaching, meaning we had the daylight hours to spend together since the vampires could not travel without getting killed by the sunlight. Lucan was playing on a blanket on the floor as Lucian came in. Immediately recognizing his father, Lucan sat up excitedly and held out his arms for Lucian to pick him up. I watched my husband pick up our son and spin him around once, Lucan giggling happily that his father was paying attention to him and only him. I stood and approached my husband and son, smiling at both of them.
"He's grown so much," Lucian said, kissing my forehead. "I wouldn't be surprised if he skips walking and goes straight to running."
"He takes after his father," I laughed. "I'll definitely need Isobel to keep up with him then."
"And possibly Raze if he's half as sneaky as either one of us," he added jokingly.
"He's going to be the favorite around him rather quickly," I replied. If we all survive this… I unwillingly thought.
"I think he already is." Lucian wrapped his free arm around my waist and held me close. We were a family.
"He always has been," I added, knowing how true that was. Every single Lycan would have given their lives for our son, even if we never asked. That was part of being a pack.
I stoked Lucan's hair as he laid his head on Lucian's shoulder, yawning once. I smiled at my beautiful little boy, the son I had known from the moment he was conceived and had come to love before he even came into the world. He was everything to me and Lucian, our whole world. Everything that we were fighting for was right there in our arms. Lucan deserved life. He deserved the right to live because he was an innocent child that had no knowledge of the worlds he had come from. Neither vampire or Lycan could lay claim to him because he was neither species, yet he was both. Our son was an entirely new species by himself, the first of his kind that anyone knew of.
A born hybrid. A union of the bloodlines which ran so strongly between myself and Lucian, who was the first born Lycan able to change back to a human. Lucian had been the first of his line. It only made sense that our son would be the first and only of his. We had no idea what powers our son was capable of. The only certain thing was he grew slightly faster than a human child.
I knew that if my father were to catch him, he would undoubtedly kill Lucan on site for what he was, regardless of the fact that he was his grandchild. I had already seen that harsh reality once when he sentenced me to death while I was carrying Lucan. My father feared anything that was outside of the normal. Yet, he had once spared a child that was not normal. Lucian. My only hope was to implore to my father and remind him that he once spared a child's life because he saw potential. He spared Lucian's life because he was to become a father himself as my mother was carrying me.
The remainder of the daylight hours were spent with Lucian and I caring for our son, playing with him until he grew tired enough to sleep. We laid him in his bed, watching over him. I knew that if and when the time came, I would have to flee with him in my arms as I promised Lucian I would. It was not a promise I willingly wanted to keep, but he had made me promise for the sake of our son. We wanted him to have at least the chance for a life and if I could give that to him, then I was going to do what I had to do as Lucian would do what he had.
As our son slept, Lucian and I spared a few precious moments for one another, stealing away to the other side of the room.
"Do you regret coming with me?" he asked, running his hand across my cheek tenderly. His hand was warm and comforting.
I shook my head. "Never. I love you and you are my life. I could never regret loving someone so passionately." I paused and looked into his eyes, seeing the man I had loved for a long time. "Do you regret falling in love with a vampire?"
"I would have fallen in love with you no matter what species you were," he replied, kissing me on the lips passionately. "I love you for you, Sonja. Not what you are or what family you came from. I fell in love with the passionate warrior woman who did things her own way without questioning others. That woman is my wife and mother of our son. That woman is you."
I loved Lucian more in that moment than I thought physically possible. He reminded me of the moment I realized I was in love with him. That moment was so important in our lives because we both realized in that moment that our love could never exist in the world my father created. We had risked everything for one another and had claimed the prize in our marriage and the birth of our son. Now that was at risk again. My heart, were it capable of beating, would have beaten only for him. It had belonged to him since the very beginning and always would, for eternity. Without hesitation, I leaned forward into his body and kissed him with all of my strength, holding nothing back. My arms wrapped around him and pulled him closer to me to feel his warmth. It was the familiarity of his scent and the feel of his touch that calmed my nerves. Even though there was a battle approaching our doorsteps, I felt eerily calm about the situation. I was once the most feared Death Dealer in the entire clan, saving everyone's lives many times over from the feared Lycans who could not reclaim their humanity. And now I was a mother, which was far more dangerous.
The daylight faded into the sunset and I saw the last remaining rays of sunlight fading in the hallway as I walked from the room with Lucan in my arms. Soon Death Dealers would be knocking down our doors and coming after my family. My father would hunt me and my child until he found us. That was one thing I never thought I would see in my entire immortal existence. The man who raised me from birth, who gave me life, and who told me each and every day that I was the dearest thing in his heart was now trying to kill me and the child that I brought into the world.
This was it.
A/N: So, this took a little longer to post than I intended. My summer went kind of nuts. Forgive me and review?
