Days passed, and they stayed in his little bayou home. He offered to buy them something in the city, something with more space, but she would only shake her head, shrinking away from the thought of leaving. He knew she didn't like thinking she was intruding on his private getaway, and he knew she only stayed because the thought of being somewhere someone could find her terrified her. So eventually he stopped bringing it up, and just made sure his little kitchen was stocked with things she liked.
He worked nights at Sanctuary, and she stayed around the bayou, chilling in the house and picking fights with gators, and without them realizing it, days turned to months. Every week or so, Aimee would broach the topic of having Anelise speak with her cousin about laying off the bar. But he always told her the same thing, "Not now, Aims."
The guys were starting to open up again to him and things were getting back to normal, though it was all overshadowed by the lingering presence of the Leopards outside. Justin, Trip, Angel, Slash, Fang, almost no one could cold even go to throw away the trash without being harassed by a group of Leopards. Except for the one on the roof, they always traveled in groups, whether from fear of the Kattagari or intimidation factor, it didn't matter. The fact remained that they were ALWAYS there. Always on the boys, wherever they were. They were like determined shadows, and even the moonlight gave them enough light to stalk the men of Sanctuary. Aimee got more worried by the day, thinking it was only a matter of time before they killed one of the guys. But the Leopards were patient, and they seemed to enjoy taunting the bar as much as they enjoyed the thought of killing the Howlers. But Colt was determined not to push Anelise, though she seemed mostly back to normal. One day, she was pacing his dock, sweltering in the heat, while he sat on the dock, teasing the gators by swinging his feet just within reach and back out before they could reach him.
"Any of those things touch you, and we're having gator meat for dinner." She threatened idly from her pacing.
"Ah, but to get inside to eat it, we'll have to jump the moat you're slowly pacing away in my dock." He responded lightly.
She shook her head, rolling her eyes, but didn't respond, and he rubbed the back of his neck, dreading the upcoming topic.
"So… I have a request. One you're not going to like."
She narrowed her eyes at him, pausing in her pacing, but only for a moment. "Continue."
"Aimee's really freaked out because, ever since what happened-"
"The attempted assassination, you mean." She said, her voice icing over. He looked away. He could still take her ice, her cold fury, but it was harder since lately he usually got her fire, her passion and her warmth.
"Yeah. That. Ever since, Nera," He talked over her vicious snarl, "has been stalking Sanctuary. She's threatened to kill off everyone there the moment they step outside the bar."
"Are they dead yet?" She asked callously, and he shook his head. "No, not yet."
"Then she either doesn't mean it, or she's planning on fucking with them until they go stir crazy."
"We think it's the latter."
She stopped pacing, and turned to glare at Colt. "So why tell me?" She snapped.
He rose to meet her anger. "Because like it or not, you're still Regis. She's walking around claiming YOUR title, Anelise. And I know you don't have any reason to protect the bar, I would ask you to, for me, and for Aimee. To help keep us from losing more of our family."
"That's not fair and you know it."
"It's the facts, Anelise. You know that."
She snarled and turned her back on him. "Go to work. Tell me when she arrives."
"She hasn't come into-"
"She will." And with that, she vanished. He paled, wondering if he and his siblings really were destined to get her killed one of these days.
He went to work, and everything was pretty calm and normal up until about two am. The bar was cleared out and the only ones left were the Peltier House inhabitants and the cubs, running around causing general chaos. Colt was arguing with Zar about them being down here, especially after what Anelise had implied. But Zar didn't see any harm, and Colt didn't want to bring Anelise into any conversation with anyone around here. So he kept a close eye on the cubs, waiting for shit to hit the fan.
Little Misha ran to the far side of the bar to get a ball he and his brother were throwing around, and suddenly, in between him and the others, was Nera, looking pissed off and far too happy to be near a cub. Misha froze as five more Leopards appeared in a circle around him, cutting off him from his family, and his family from him. Zar made a move to run to him, but Remi grabbed him, seeing what Zar's parental anger blinded him to. One wrong move, and even if they managed to get past Nera, one of the others would kill Misha before they could save him. Nera shot a look to Misha that had him quailing back in fear, and then looked to the others littering the bar, on high alert. Colt sent a link to Anelise, calling to her for help, but she wasn't responding. Most likely debating the pros and cons of actually showing up to help. Not that he could blame her, but now the cubs were in danger. That had to change the stakes, even to her.
"You know what I hate?" Nera snapped, her blonde hair falling into her eyes. Colt hadn't been the first to notice that Anelise was one of the only Leopards he'd ever seen that had dark features; most looked eerily similar to Nera- white blonde hair, ice blue and pale violet eyes, pale skin and a preference to white clothing, the better to camouflage themselves in the snow. "I hate it when my information proves to be false. Devereaux, Remi, did you or did you not tell me she was dead? Because now, I have sources telling me that they were attacked by none other than the ghost girl herself. Care to explain?"She spat out the words as though they pained her to say.
No one answered her, no one even moved. She took a step closer to Misha. "Someone had better find me useful information, and had better do it quickly."
Aimee shot a panicked look to Colt, torn between wanting to protect Anelise and protect Misha. Suddenly, her decision was made for her as, in between Nera and the cub, a figure flashed in.
Anelise, snarling and clenching her fists, looking scarred and battle ready, her stormy eyes lit with fire and focused with deadly intent on Nera. "Go." She muttered to Misha, who wasted no time questioning her and dashed past Nera to his dad's waiting arms. Zar held Misha close as they all watched the showdown.
Nera had taken a startled step back, at a loss for once. "Anelise."
Anelise only smirked. "Regis." She corrected tauntingly.
Nera snarled but repeated, "Regis."
"I believe I told you to stay the fuck away from here, Nera." She bit out, glancing at the surrounding Leopards, who'd been smart enough to take a respectful step back at her arrival. "All of you."
"You did." Nera growled. "But you're supposed to be dead."
"You should check your source." She snapped. Nera opened her mouth to reply, but Anelise was done talking. She flashed right in front of Nera, grabbed her by the throat, and flashed them back to the wall, where she pinned Nera there, hanging a few inches off the ground. "You'd do best to not try to explain this away, cousin. It has become obvious that I've allowed you too much space to roam. It is a mistake I will not be making again." She brought Nera off the wall and slammed her back into it, denting the drywall. "Take your bitches, and run, Nera. Run to a place I will never find you." She advised, dropping Nera to the ground, leaving her clutching her throat, trying desperately to regain her breath, all defiance gone. Anelise watched her with pitiless eyes, and for the first time, Colt and Aimee understood why the Leopards obeyed her.
Suddenly, one of the younger girls leaped at Anelise's back with a screech. Anelise reacted without thought, spinning around and catching the girl in her ribs with a roundhouse kick. The girl went sprawling across the floor, and they got a good look at her. No more than seventeen or so in human years, she looked far too young for the malice in her eyes. Aimee felt her heart go out to the girl, and was surprised when Anelise was instantly at the girl's side, pulling the girl up by her hair. Anelise noted the panic from Nera on the other side of the room, and filed that away, her ice cold anger focused for now on the girl in her grip. "Who are you?" She asked.
The girl darted a glance at Nera, and Anelise yanked, hard, redirecting her attention back to her Regis. "Your name." She snapped.
"Kayley!" The girl yelped, grabbing at Anelise hand where it was buried in her hair. Anelise didn't bother smacking her hand away. She'd never break her grip. Her voice became sugary sweet.
"Good. Kayley. What's your relation to my sister-in-law, Kayley?"
"There isn't one."
Anelise gave one sharp tug and Kayley winced as Anelise spoke again, her voice dangerously sweet. "Kayley. I don't know what Nera has told you about me, but one thing she and I can agree on is that people don't lie to me for very long. Would you like a demonstration as to why?"
Colt held Aimee back as tears streaked down the girl's face. She looked to Colt desperately. ~She's just a child!~
He shook his head at her. ~Not anymore, Aims. She made her choice when she attacked her Regis. Leave it be.~
The girl shook her head, "She's my guardian." She said. Anelise nodded with a glance at Nera, who looked bloodhungry. "I thought as much. And your parents? Who were they to her?"
The girl glared up at Anelise. "Close personal friends."
"And where are they now?"
The girl's eyes sparked with fury. "Dead. Dead because you killed them!"
Anelise, to the shock of the others, only smiled, her voice never losing it's sugar. "Did I now?" She sounded amused. "Oh, Kayley, I can see how you'd think that. But I know the kind of radicals your parents were if they pledged to Nera. And would you like to know what really happened?" Her voice suddenly grew darker. "They killed themselves. They signed their death warrants the moment they decided to go against my will. Something you should consider before you follow in their very unwise footsteps."
The girl didn't back down. "I will kill you one day."
"I'd like to see that, little one." She suddenly slammed the girl's head into the ground, knocking her unconscious and eliciting a cry from Nera.
She flashed back to Nera, pinning her back against the wall with a shoe. Her precarious position could have made it easy for Nera to knock her off balance, except for the sharper-than-normal stiletto almost more a blade than a heel- of Anelise's boot pressed to Nera's throat. "So it seems we're at a stalemate. You know my weak spot, and I know yours."
The staff looked around at each other, wondering what she meant by soft spot. Aimee looked at Colt, who was decidedly not looking at anyone. Anelise continued, unaware of the curious stares behind her.
"So here's my deal. You and your silly little followers will follow my rules without argument or hesitation, or I will kill the girl." Nera snarled at the mention of Kayley, no longer caring that she was revealing exactly how attached to the girl she was, and Anelise smiled through her words for a moment, "What's more, I will tear her into iitty bitty little pieces, and leave them, one by one, on your doorstep. Do we have an accord?"
Nera snarled again but didn't respond, and the sugar was suddenly back in her voice as the blade pressed hard enough to draw a thin trickle of blood from Nera's throat, "Nera? I won't ask you again."
"We have an accord." Nera managed, the words more fury than actual speech, but everyone got the gist. Kayley started to rouse, and Anelise smiled again. "Good. Rule one; stay away from limanis, and their residents. If the Fates wanted you to hunt Slayers, they'd have made you a Sentinel." Nera only continued to glare, and Anelise snapped her fingers. "One last thing." She flashed back to Kayley's side, nudging her hard in the ribs with the harmless toe of her boot.
"Ow." Kayley muttered.
"Get up." Kayley glared but didn't disobey, and crouched with a hand on her head. Anelise bent down to look her in the eyes. "Just so you're aware of the little deal I've proposed, and that Nera has accepted; Nera and her little followers are to stay as far away from here, and anybody who lives here, as possible. They are to follow my rules to the last letter, unquestioningly and without hesitation. The price for any disobedience is your life, little one. I will rip you apart, piece by little tiny piece. It will not be quick. It will not be merciless. So it'd be in your best interest to make sure they stay away. Ok?" She chirped the last word.
Kayley continued to glare with hatred in her eyes, but nodded. "Ok."
"Ok…?"
"Ok, Regis." She clenched her jaw.
"Good. Now all of you, fuck off." The others looked unsure, and suddenly the fire was back in Anelise. "That was not a suggestion, people! GO!"
They vanished as one, leaving only Nera and Kayley. Nera flashed to Kayley's side and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, looking up at Anelise. "What of Devereaux and Remi? They conspired to kill you, and here you sit, protecting them."
"They are not your concern. You concern is that girl under your arm, and her future's looking shorter the longer you stand here." Anelise snapped.
"Well, when you're done being your mate's bitch, you know where to find us." She said, looking smug. Anelise growled. "You had better hope I don't, Nera. Because it won't end well for either of you."
Nera snarled in response, and flashed her and Kayley out. Anelise shot a glare to the staff of Sanctuary, looking disgusted with herself. Colt went to her side with Aimee right with him. "Thank you, Ana."
She took a step away from both of them. "She's right, you know. That's all I was tonight, is my assassins bodyguard."
"That's not how it-"
She cut Colt off. "I need to go away for a while. Do not follow me, Colton." She said before disappearing.
Colt sighed as Aimee looked close to tears. Then Trip spoke up.
"Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say."
Aimee's infamous temper flared up, and she spun on Trip. "Oh, shut up, Trip! You have no idea what shit she's had to taken for you; for ALL of you!"
"She's taken nothing, Aim-" She turned on Remi, even more furious with him than Trip. "AND YOU! You don't get to speak about this. Because THIS-" she gestured around, "-ALL of this if YOUR fault! Your and Dev's! You almost got Misha killed, Remi! Anelise is the one thing standing between the Leopards and us! Have the last five months taught you nothing, you stupid ass?! They could kill us! They could systematically hunt down every last one of us, and do you know who'd care? NO ONE! We have no one but ourselves, and we almost lost that! So you had better be damned grateful that she did this, because she didn't have to. She opened herself up to beatings, and taunts, and insults, and more attempts on her life because Colt and I asked her to. For you. People she doesn't like who not only don't like her back, but tried to actively KILL her. So shut the fuck up and go fuck yourself, Remi. You and everyone else here!" She slammed her way upstairs, leaving the boys all eyeing each other uneasily.
No one spoke for a long few minutes, then finally, Zar spoke up. "Thank her for me, Colt. I may not like her, but she did save Misha. And for that, I'm in her debt."
Colt smiled wanly at Zar. "I'll tell her but she doesn't like debts, so I doubt she'll take you up on that."
Zar nodded, and carried Misha upstairs. Colt looked at the others, and Justin cracked a smile. "Thank her for me, too, man." Colt nodded to him in grateful thanks. But they were the only two who said anything. The others sneered and went back to cleaning or their rooms. Colt sighed and went back to the cabin in the bayou. She wasn't there, not that he expected her to be. He thought about her snow covered home, and linked to Zar, asking a favor.