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A special Thank You to Kt for beta reading.

Blood Ties

Chapter 26

He woke, the sensation of bliss still lingering in his belly, but didn't open his eyes. Instead he just lay there basking quietly in the afterglow of the sexual romp the incubus had taken him on. He could almost feel those hot kisses and gentle touches exploring his body, maddeningly soft and slow. Never before had he realize how closely related pain and pleasure could be. Those memories alone were enough to send shivers of delight down his spine.

What about Treize; was he still sleeping?

The young man reached out to touch something soft beside him…soft and warm… and furry?!

Milliardo's eyes flew open and he let out a little involuntary yelp as he found himself lying next to Snowball. The white tiger opened one eye and looked at him somewhat annoyed for having been woken from his nap so rudely. Milliardo felt the sudden urge to bring some distance between himself and the grumpy cat. But before he even got a chance to move, Treize came flying into the room. He was already dressed, his hair still slick and damp from the shower.

"What's wron…?"

The incubus swallowed the rest of the sentence, his eyes narrowing dangerously as they caught the tiger lounging on his bed.

"You!" he thrust one slender finger at the large cat. "Get out of this room!"

The animal jerked up with a snarl and slapped at the incubus' hand with one large paw.

"Do that again and I'll turn you into a fur coat," Treize warned.

For a moment man and beast glared at one another, eyes locked in a silent combat of wills. Snowball looked away first. He yawed, slipped off the bed and strutted out of the room. Treize's glare followed him all the way into the hall.

"I hate it when he does that."

"I…um… couldn't agree more." Milliardo mumbled, still trying to slow his pounding heart.

"Oh, good morning." the incubus walked over to the bed. "Breakfast is almost ready. If you still want to shower you'd better make it a quick one."

"Breakfast?"

"You didn't think I was going to send you on your way with an empty stomach, did you?" Treize leaned in, nuzzling the young man's cheek in a brief but affectionate kiss. He smelled of sandalwood and musk and just the slightest hint of mint. "You have to be starving after last night."

Now that he mentioned it Milliardo realized that indeed his stomach was growling. "I could eat a cow."

"Sorry," the incubus replied, a sparkle of amusement in his eyes, as he pulled away. "We are fresh out of cows. Blame Snowball. How about eggs and bacon instead?"

"Eggs and bacon sound great." the blonde smiled as he swung his legs over the side of the bed.

###

By the time Milliardo got out of the shower the table was set for two on the patio overlooking the garden. The air was still cool and clear and filled with the sweet scent of roses and freshly brewed coffee. The young man inhaled deeply as he took the seat across from Treize who was reading the business section of the morning paper.

Below in the garden Snowball was basking in a patch of sunshine. The large, white tiger was making quiet noises of content as he licked his enormous paws.

"How are you feeling?" Treize put down the paper and offered Milliardo a piece of toast.

The toast was stacked not on a plate but in one of those fancy little toast racks matching the creamer, sugar bowl and napkin rings, and the napkins of course were made of cloth not paper.

"I'm fine." The blonde's eyes examined the table for a moment. "You eat like this every morning?"

"Hardly." the other man admitted. "I do enjoy taking my time over breakfast if I get the chance. But more often than not it's just a cup of coffee on the way to work. "

"Yeah… about that," Milliardo said as he put some butter onto his toast. "Do you really have to go to work today?"

"Why? Do you have something different in mind?" Treize asked as he poured his guest a cup of coffee.

The younger man smirked. "I could come up with a thing or two."

The incubus returned the smirk. "I'm sure you could," he agreed. "But unfortunately I have pretty full schedule today. Besides, it would hardly be fair of me to expect my employees to show up on time and do their work while I otherwise amuse myself, would it? But how about dinner together? I think I can fit that in. Pick me up at the spa, let's say 6:30?"

"Fine," Milliardo didn't even try to hide his pout. "I'll take what I can get. Dinner it is. I should probably head home and talk to Wufei anyway, before he mobilizes the guardians and comes looking for me."

"You didn't tell him you were going to stay out overnight?"

"I wasn't sure that I would." Milliardo took a bite of the crispy bacon and raised one eyebrow approvingly. He chewed, swallowed then continued. "I did tell him I was going to a friend's house and there was a chance that I would sleep over."

"By the way," Treize asked. "Do you have any plans for Wednesday evening yet?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Why; what's Wednesday?"

"The grand opening of my newest spa," the incubus explained as he handed Milliardo the social section of the newspaper he had been reading. "I would love for you to come."

"Newest spa? I didn't even know you owned more than one."

"Three," the tawny-haired man sighed. "I just can't keep up with the demand."

"Nice picture!" The blonde gave a impressed nod. The photographer had indeed done an excellent job. "…expecting a star studded gala…bla blah blah… I guess I'll have to send my tux to the cleaner."

"Can I take that as a yes to my invitation?" Treize asked. "I won't be able to pick you up myself, I'm afraid. But I'll send one of my drivers."

"You don't have to do that. I can drive myself, take a taxi or a limo."

"Don't be silly, Milliardo."

"Very well." As he shuffled a few bites of scrambled egg into his mouth the young man looked around. "I like your garden, by the way. Looks very…um… peaceful. But what's up with the drained swimming pool? I mean, I'm all for conserving water, but it's hard to swim in an empty concrete hole."

"I don't like swimming pools." Treize declared as he took a sip from his coffee. "They are just too dangerous."

Right, so you bought a house with a pool to remind yourself of that fact? Milliardo thought, but aloud he said. "Dangerous? Perhaps if you have children or throw a lot of drunken parties…"

"Dear Milliardo. Water is a great magical conduit. Have you any idea how much easier it is to open a portal between this realm and the Other World near water? A filled swimming pool is basically a written invitation for all kind of nasties."

"Hmm," the blonde grunted as he tried to wrap his mind around that idea. Wufei had told him about the demon world and how creatures traveled between realms, but he never realized that it would be this easy. "So if there is no water portals can't be created?"

"Oh no, the more powerful creatures, gods, ancient ones and high demons can create portals without the help of any magical conduit. They can come to and leave this world wherever and whenever they wish. It's the lesser creatures that require some help in one form or another. Water works best."

"Any water will do?" Milliardo asked.

"Well it depends on the amount. A puddle of rainwater or even a bathtub probably isn't big enough to create enough energy to let anything bigger than a minor fairy or other small fae through. A pool of this size however…No thanks," Treize shook his head. "I prefer not to have to deal with that…even with Snowball around."

Speaking of which… The large tiger had risen from his place on the lawn as the sun had begun to move. He slowly strolled along the path, long claws clicking on the cobblestone. Suddenly the air in front of him began to flicker like heat shimmer over asphalt, only more intense. As the animal walked into the glistering space it began to disappear; first his head then the rest of his body and finally even the very tip of his long tail.

Milliardo blinked. What just happened? "Where did he go?"

"Excuse me?" the incubus looked at him puzzled.

"Snowball, he just…disappeared. He was walking through the garden and poof he was gone."

"Oh," Treize nodded calmly as he looked down into the garden. "He comes and goes as he pleases. It's not like I own him or anything. He just chooses to annoy me."

"But how…"

"Remember what I just told you about portals between realms? Well, they do work both ways."

"So…what you are saying is Snowball has his own little… doggy door to the Other World?" Milliardo asked in amazement.

"Yeah, I guess you could put it that way."

"Does that mean, he is not what you would consider a 'lesser creature'?"

Treize laughed. "By no means. Snowball…his real name is Jian, is a guardian beast. One of his ancestors was a deity or divine spirit. He was born yellow like most tigers, or so I was told. It was a bit before my time. Legend has it that a tiger who lives for more than five hundred years will slowly turn white, starting at the tail. By the time I met Jian he had barely any yellow fur left "

"Five hundred years?" Milliardo's jaw nearly dropped. "That would make him how old now? Six hundred…seven hundred years?"

"Give or take a few."

"Wow. And he doesn't look a day older than four hundred."

The incubus gave an amused huff.

"He is a guardian beast you say? Does that make him something like your version of 'Wufei', just a little more furry and minus Nataku? They do seem to have the same quick temper. Though, I don't remember ever having to throw Wufei out of my bed."

###

A message from Dr. Summers was waiting for him with the desk clerk when Otto showed up to work in the morning. Apparently one of his patients, the young woman Samantha Middleton, had asked to speak to the police again, and had made it very clear that she wanted to see the Lieutenant she had spoken to the day before.

Otto checked his watch. He still had more than two hours until his arranged meeting with the Police Chief, just enough time to run down to the hospital and back. On his way to the car he called Parker and told him to meet him at the medical center.

The two of them pulled up almost at the same time.

"Anything new, Lieutenant?" the detective asked as he slipped on his jacket and fell into step next to the taller man.

Otto moved one shoulder in a shrug. "Not sure yet, but I'll take anything we can get."

"Let's hope it's not another cock and bull story. Maybe this time she will tell us that they had been abducted by aliens or something."

The Lieutenant gave his partner a warning look as he knocked at the door to Samantha Middleton's room. The young woman was sitting in her bed, looking a lot better than at their last visit. Some color had returned to her cheeks and her eyes didn't have that sunken in appearance anymore. Someone must have washed her hair, and she wore just the slightest bit of makeup covering some of the bruises on her face.

"Miss Middleton?!"

"Lieutenant. You told me to call you if I remembered something else. Well, I did."

"Really?" Otto nodded encouraging as he stepped closer. "That's good."

"You see, the nurse left me the morning paper when she brought me breakfast and I was flipping through it when I saw him."

"Saw him?" The Lieutenant echoed, puzzled.

"Right there."

She had folded the paper so that it highlighted a large black and white photograph and an article in the social section regarding the opening of a new luxury spa in south Orange County. She handed it to the Lieutenant. Otto looked at the picture before his eyes flew over the article. Parker had to get up on his toes to look over his partner's shoulder.

The article talked about the new spa, the big party that was coming up to celebrate its opening and the selected few lucky enough to be able to attend it.

Otto frowned slightly. "Mind explaining this a little further?" he asked.

"You see, I recognized him back at the warehouse, but I guess I was just so out of it that it totally slipped my mind," she was so excited the words just bubbled out of her, almost too fast for him to follow. "Until I saw the picture today."

"He was one of your captors?" Detective Parker asked. "The man in this picture… Treize Khushrenada, business owner, philanthropist, investor, millionaire…," he quoted from the newspaper article. "…is abducting people and locking them up in his spare time?"

The young woman snorted and rolled her eyes. "No, not him. I'm talking about the cute guy in the back."

She leaned forward to point at a young man in the background of the photograph, slender, blonde, maybe in his mid 20s. The Lieutenant exchanged a brief look with his partner.

"And I didn't say he was one of the abductors. He was one of the people who saved us. You see, I'd met him before a few days earlier. This guy … um…invited me and a friend to his place. He told us his cousin was in town and needed some cheering up. The four of us spent a few hours together, had a good time if you know what I mean."

Otto just nodded. Oh yes, he knew what she meant. "Go on."

###

"Well, I guess you were right." Otto declared after the door to the hospital room had closed behind him. "This was a waste of time after all."

"I wouldn't be so sure, Lieutenant." Parker replied calmly, earning himself a surprised look from his partner.

"Just what do you mean?"

"That fancy beauty salon in that newspaper article, it's the same place the surveillance pictures came from," Parker explained. "The pictures of the van taken during the attempted abduction of those two girls."

Otto frowned slightly. "Are you sure?"

"Positive. I remember Will at the desk getting the name wrong over the phone, and we were laughing about it. He had written down 'Gilded Hose' and we were wondering whether it was a store selling fancy women's undergarments or just expensive gardening equipment."

"Hmm…Maybe it's worth checking the place out, but it will have to wait until this afternoon. I'm meeting the chief in an hour. See you at the station."

He made it back with enough time left to check through some files and messages on his desk. On top was a report from the Medical Examiner. The M.E. had completed his examination of the burned body found in the ruins of the warehouse.

Otto hung his jacket on the hook by the door, slipped into his seat and reached for the thin plastic folder. He hesitated slightly before opening it. His eyes flew over the clinically detailed report, letting out a small sigh of relief when he got to the end. The body was that of a young man in his late teen But it did not, as he had feared, belong to Kyle Saunders.

He decided to call the Saunders family right away. He was sure they would welcome the news as good news, because it meant that there was yet hope that their son was still alive. Of course it also meant that the body down at the morgue belonged to someone else's son, someone else's brother perhaps. Eventually his family would have to be informed about their loss. Otto sighed. This was the part about his job he hated.

####

The man moved slowly and in deadly silence, testing the ground before every step to avoid stepping on twigs or leaves that might give away his position. His eyes moved around, searching his surroundings for even the slightest movement in the brush, his ears straining to pick up any sound that might tell him that he was not alone.

But for all of his stealth and caution he was only human, his senses no match for those of the deadly predator stalking him. The big gray and brown wolf kept his distance as it followed the man slowly, amber colored eyes alert and never blinking. They focused on the heavy double-barreled shotgun in the human's hands.

The man held his steps, as though he had noticed that he wasn't alone. A group of crows rose from a tree nearby, his eyes following them as they noisily made their way through the forest.

The wolf stirred and ducked down further. Lean muscles rippled beneath dense fur. His slender muzzle opened slightly, and then he pounced.

The man heard the noise behind him at the last moment and spun around. For a split second he trained his gun on the animal, then relaxed with a half amused, half exasperated huff, as the large wolf landed right beside him on soft paws.

"Bloody hell, Wana Chikala, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

The wolf's mouth dropped open into what looked like a canine grin. You are moving like an elk-bull; you must be getting old.

Heero knew the sheriff could understand him, and now he also realized why. Joseph Spotted Deer didn't inherit his grandfather's werewolf genes, but the blood of his ancestors still ran through his veins, making him more receptive than normal humans.

The dark-haired man huffed again as he secured his weapon. "Not everyone can be a young grasshopper. How did you get here so fast, anyway? I thought you were calling from Wolf Mountain when we spoke last night."

I was, Heero confirmed. I took the midnight flight and then chartered a helicopter to take me up the mountain. As he spoke the wolf had started to move, with Joe Spotted Deer slowly following apace.

"Ah, that was the chopper I heard. It wasn't one of the regular sight-seeing flights, so I came out here to investigate."

How is the pack?

"Recovering," the sheriff replied. "One-ear has taken over the position of Alpha female. She was injured in the attack, but even with a bullet in her shoulder she led the rest of the pack back to the reservation where she knew they would be safe."

The large wolf nodded. She is a good leader… and a fighter.

They reached the spot where Heero had left his backpack and clothes. The large wolf began to shimmer and Joe turned his back to him giving the young man at least that bit of privacy as he changed form and dressed.

"Is the cabin still off- limits?" Heero asked as he stepped into the sheriff's field of vision, still straightening his shirt. "I would like to pick up a few of my things."

"We finished our work there." Joe replied. "I sent someone to clean things up, as well."

"Thanks. I appreciate that."

"Before you go up to the house, there is something I would like to show you. This way to my jeep."

The two men fell into step beside each other.

"So, I take it then you are planning on staying on the West Coast for a while longer? How is California anyway?"

"Warm." Heero replied with a shiver as he rubbed his hands across his naked arms. "A whole lot warmer than this place."

The older man laughed. "This isn't cold. You are just getting spoiled in that sunny climate."

"Says the man dressed in a warm jacket ." Heero pulled a sweatshirt from his backpack and slipped it on while they were walking.

They reached the truck and drove for a couple of miles into an area far off the beaten tourist paths. Neither of them mentioned Odin Lowe or the incident at cabin.

###

By the time he stopped his truck Joe still hadn't told the younger man what he wanted to show him. When they slipped out of the cabin the sheriff let out a loud whistle. The sound was instantly answered by a chorus of wolf howls.

Heero smiled. The pack was near…and getting nearer by the second. Moments later the wolves, led by a large gray female with one floppy and ragged ear, appeared. She had lost its upper half of the ear in an incident with a wild cat when she was only a pup. Technically, she still had one and a half ears left, but everyone just called her One-Ear.

The young man dropped to his knees, greeting the animals as they threw themselves onto him with excited bellows and whimpers. He rubbed bellies, scratched ears and banged heads for a few moments, at one point almost collapsing beneath the pile of bodies. But when he looked up Heero noticed three wolves that hadn't joined in the greeting celebration. The trio looked different, gawky with long limbs and paws still a little too big for the rest of their bodies. They reminded him of pups that hadn't fully grown into their adult shapes. He couldn't remember ever seeing them before.

Did Shei have pups this spring he didn't know about?

Heero turned his head, looking at Joe questioningly. The sheriff's face was unreadable, but one edge of his mouth curled up into the hint of a smile as he said.

"Come on, don't be shy!"

The air around the three juvenile wolves started to glitter as they began to change. It wasn't a smooth transition such as it was when Heero did it. It took them several moments to complete it; indicating that they were still rather new to the whole shifting thing. But when it was done three young…people stood before them, naked and a little embarrassed it seemed.

There were two boys and one girl, the youngest barely in his teens from what Heero could tell. One of them looked like he was of Asian descent; Japanese perhaps, the other two were Caucasian, brunette with light skin and blue eyes. He wondered if they were brother and sister, or even twins.

The girl was covering herself awkwardly as the trio disappeared behind the sheriff's pick-up. They shuffled around for a few minutes before returning, each of them dressed in a loose fitting sweat suit.

"Heero, meet Kirsten, Ryan and Takeshi."Joe introduced. "They are the newest members of the pack."

They nodded at one another and the girl, Kirsten, gave a high pitched little.

"Hi."

"Lesson's over for today," the sheriff announced. "Jump up in the back. We need to make one short stop before I take you back to the reservation."

The trio climbed wordlessly onto the bed of the pick-up. Takeshi jumped up first, then held out his hand to help the other two. Heero took the passenger seat next to Joe.

"Who are they?" he asked with a look back through the rear window as the sheriff started the truck.

"They are like you, when you first came here," Joe replied, quietly, seriously. "Remember how you felt when your powers first started to manifest?"

He did. It had been disconcerting to say the least, terrifying and confusing.

The sheriff nodded. "It's like that for all of them, and most aren't so lucky as to have someone around to explain to them what is happening to them; or how to control it. Many of those who have to go through the changes alone don't live long enough to make it to adulthood. So we try to get to them and bring them here to teach them… to train them… to show them that it is possible to live relatively normal lives."

"We?" Heero echoed. "You mean your tribe, people like your grandfather, Black Cloud? J told me everything, about Odin and Black Cloud."

"There are many of us, all around the world. We have to be careful, and we have to be fast. More often than not we are racing the Jaegers who would prefer to kill any werewolf before their powers fully develop."

The young man scowled in disgust.

"They would even kill children?" He growled in barley concealed fury as he threw another look back at the truck bed. The three teens had curled up next to each other and fallen asleep it seemed, exhausted no doubt from shifting earlier.

"Odin had brought those three…" Joe thrust his thumb over his shoulder. "Up from Salt Lake City only a few hours before the attack. They had been brought into the country a week or so earlier. Takeshi had been left at a monastery as an infant, his parents probably couldn't deal with it. He nearly killed one of the monks the first time he changed; but luckily the leader there knew the right people to contact. Kirsten and Ryan's parent's met here at… 'Camp Werewolf' about twenty years ago. They are working in South America now, helping others like them. They would have been quite capable of taking care of their own offspring, but decided the kids could only benefit from a few months out here in the wilderness."

"Do you think the hunters were after them?"

"I don't know. They have never before dared come this close to the reservation."

There was a long moment of silence before Heero spoke again. "Why didn't Odin ever tell me about any of this?"

"I assume he wanted to protect you."

"If knowledge is power and ignorance is dangerous, then I was in much more danger not knowing than I would have been otherwise," the young man insisted. "No, they should not have lied to me, and they shouldn't have kept things from me." And I still have the feeling that there are things I haven't been told yet.

The truck stopped outside Odin's cabin.

"Do you want me to wait?" Joe asked.

Heero shook his head as he slipped out of the passenger seat. "I want to stay for a while; need to spend some time alone."

The older man nodded understandingly.

"Come see me later at the Sheriff station or at my house."

"I will."

T.B.C.

Author's Note: