The next evening Merril went to Clayton. As a healer he could confirm the problem. His grin was quickly lost when he noticed her distress. She sat down and asked him to check her for any abnormalities as she hadn't been feeling well. She hadn't told anyone else the truth yet except for Thor in a moment of tearful frustration. Drinking from him had only made her more bitchy and hysterical. Too bad he was confident that it would be helpful for the child's development.
Clayton worked swiftly, taking a drop of her blood and whispering some words over it before swallowing it. All three of his eyes went wide and he stared into hers before his gaze dropped to her stomach. He stammered out an apology. "I'm-I'm sorry. Something must be off with me because it's telling me that you're pregnant."
She sighed heavily and finally burst into tears. So it was true. What would that mean? Vampire and werewolf together? At best they'd be dhamphir, but at worst...No, she wouldn't think of the worst case scenario. She got to her feet. "There's nothing wrong with you. You've just confirmed what I already knew. Thanks."
He gave her a firm hug and escorted her out of medical and into the war room where they were greeted by loud howls of celebration. People kept leaving gifts at the door for Merril. Thor had apparently spent the day letting the entirety of the city wolves know about Merril's news. The most jarring, for her anyway was when Thor told Groven. The old wolf had grabbed her, twirled her and tossed her in the air, laughing as if he were king of the world. After he set her down she staggered a little and Kevfire helped her into a chair. "Does this mean you're staying?" she asked.
He grinned and clapped Thor on the back, before pulling him into another hug. "Aye, I'm staying." He broke the hug. "Good job son. Congratulations." Merril felt Kevfire stiffen beside her. How many years had he been waiting to hear those words only to have them given to someone else? Thor shoulder checked him out of the way and perched on the arm of the chair. "Have you told them I'm a vampire?"
Thor shook his head. "I don't think that would end well. And I want me and mine protected." He laid a hand on her stomach. He was probably right. They would probably treat it as an abomination. Unfortunately all this attention was weighing on her conscious. She didn't plan on keeping it after all.
She got to her feet, struggling to get around Thor just in time to see the fleeting flash of red as Kevfire left the room. She followed, sternly telling the others to stay and that she wanted privacy. Merril figured that would give her about fifteen minutes before someone came looking for her.
She found him in the laundry room, lying on top of the washing machine, which was currently running. He glanced up from his phone and gave her a small finger wave. "So, why are we hiding in here?"
He shrugged. "Nobody comes in here unless they have to."
She hopped onto the dryer, thankfully it was still, and let her legs dangle. "Fair point." She sighed heavily. There was so much they needed to discuss, and she had no idea where to start.
Luckily Kevfire decided to go right to the heart of the matter. "How're you handling the whole pregnancy thing?"
She stared at the ceiling, not willing to meet his eyes. "I..Kev, I don't want this." He said nothing so she continued. "I mean, I never wanted to be a mother. My own family was awful, and I never wanted to perpetuate the cycle. I was almost relieved that vampirism took the choice away from me. Or so I thought. And this is the worst fucking time! We're are neck deep in the shit, and now Thor wants me to bring a child into it?" She hung her head. "You must think I'm some kind of monster for thinking this way."
Something thudded gently into her arm. She looked up to see Kevfire pulling his foot back for another nudge. He sat up and moved as close as he could get without touching her. "No, I think you're brave for being able to say that. It's a good sign that you can acknowledge that you can't give it a good life." He leaned in, and Merril shivered a little when one hand rested on her thigh for balance. "Though there's always adoption. Give it up to some less fortunate soul who can provide a good life for it." He was so close, all she had to do was lift her chin and their lips would meet.
The door to the room thudded open and Thor and Groven stepped in, baskets of clothing in their hands. Their expressions were grim and condemning. Merril and Kevfire sprung apart, and hopped down from their perches. The two dropped their baskets and looked at each other. Groven held out a hand to Merril. She felt cornered and hesitantly took it. He began leading her out of the room. "Come on lass, we need to get you some more food and discuss future training for the pup." She struggled, but even with enhanced strength she couldn't break his hold.
The door shut and Kevfire found himself slamming into the floor with enough force to crack the linoleum. Thor had a hand around his throat, and a knee pressing into his chest. "I told you to stay away."
He struggled against the hold, at least trying to shift the knee holding him. "I've backed off. She sought me out!"
"I don't care. Last warning. Keep away from my mate, or you won't live long enough to regret it."
He stood up, spat in his face, and stalked out of the room. Kevfire wiped his face and got up. This was ridiculous. That over grown chihuahua had no right to be so damn controlling. He'd had enough. He closed his eyes as guilt surged through him. What he was about to do was absolutely the wrong thing morally. Merril would be furious. But he needed the help. He would do anything to keep his promise and keep her safe.
He headed to the chill out room to find Merril, Haley, and Hewey watching television. Groven was thankfully nowhere in sight. "Ladies, Hewey. I'm heading out."
Merril looked up with concern. "Where are you going?" She was sure he was unaware of the small scratches on his neck. What had done that?
He smiled that cocky, crooked smile. "Just going to hang out with a friend."
What friend? Merril thought. She didn't pretend to know all of his contacts, but it made her uneasy that he wasn't giving a name.
He waved to them and headed to his bedroom. It would be best to be away for a while. He sent the text requesting a hang out and opened up his laptop to get some work done while he waited. The dance studio was a go, with the first opening in a few days. Bored he checked his finances, pleased to see the steady increase in his vast wealth. Merril and Haley often wondered where it came from and assumed he was well payed to be the Baron's guard dog. They were partly right. Yes, he was paid handsomely with his continued existence, but most of it came from playing the stock market. He found following and predicting trends and patterns easy and entertaining. It was just a nice bonus that he got paid for it.
A short while later there was a knock on his window. He opened it and stepped back allowing his visitor entry. She hopped in and pulled him into a loving embrace. Her smile was wide and genuine when she started peeking at his still open laptop. "Why are you doing such boring things my little lamb?" Chantal asked in her lilting voice.
He shrugged and grabbed his coat. "Have to if I want to keep having money."
She sniffed and crossed back to the window. Kevfire followed and they raced down the fire escape to her waiting car. It was beautiful and Kevfire felt like a child let loose in a candy store when they got in. Chantal sped off and in a few blocks he commented, "This car is amazing!"
Chantal beamed. "Oh yes, I love it so. Normally one would not take this sort of car on the street but just drive it on a track to keep it pristine. There are only two of this one."
Kevfire raised an eyebrow. "Who has the other?"
Chantal giggled mischievously. "Guess."
He went for the obvious first. "Xavier?"
She shook her head and pouted a little. "Oh no, he has a boat."
Of course he does. Why wouldn't the pirate have a boat?
Chantal continued as if there hadn't been a pause. "I'm so happy that you called me my little lamb. I was so worried for you after that nuke went off."
His head snapped to face her with confusion and a bit of fear. "You remember?"
She nodded. "Oh yes, of course."
He mulled that over. How on earth could she? "Does Xavier?"
She pouted and a sadness came over her. "He never says he does. But I love him so I'll have him anyway."
He nodded, not sure of what else to do.
"So what shall we do tonight?" She asked, not liking his silence.
He jumped a little, having gotten lost in thought. "I'm not really sure. What do you do for fun when you're bored?"
"Oh, I play the game!"
The game. So that was still a thing they had to worry about. "I'm afraid I don't know how. Kassimera never told me about it."
Her brow furrowed with disapproval. Kevfire wondered if there had been bad blood between the sisters. "She would have I'm sure if she had the time. It's disgraceful otherwise. My little lamb, I will take you to our home and you will learn there." He simply agreed and she pulled a hairpin turn off of the highway. She giggled and smirked at him. "You can meet more of the family."
He blanched but tried to keep it together. "No parties."
Chantal pouted. "Oh, but why?"
He glared at her. "Because last time there was a nuke."
She giggled again. "But it was so fun!"
He shook his head. He needed to try to speak her language. Too bad she was insane. Perhaps...yes that'd work. "We can't have a party nuked again. It would be cliché."
She pouted even more before perking up and smacking his arm. "Next time we will have three nukes!" She beamed at him before flooring it and heading to a part of town he rarely went to.
They traveled through the district of the rich and bougie. The houses towered over them like giants, casting shadows that could swallow up the world. Finally there was one monstrous mansion a bit apart from the others. The sign at the gate declared it to be the, "Chateau de Awesome".
If it had an age of being awesome it had long since passed, thought Kevfire. The house was ancient, practically falling apart. It looked dark and dank. The shudders were closed, and he didn't even want to think of what sort of mildew might be growing inside. He looked to Chantal and back at the house. He couldn't imagine her living in such a run down shit hole. She beamed at him. "Just wait."
He didn't see them approach it but a moment later they were driving down underground into a parking garage. Cars of every shape and size were parked there, along with several other vehicles and enough empty spaces to house the military. She hustled him out of the car and up into the house.
It was like night and day. While the outside was in a sad state the interior was immaculate. White marble lined the walls, and gorgeous cherry wood flooring. The curtains were gold and the furniture sumptuous. He waited to zone out, knowing his curse should kick in, but Chantal just smiled. It didn't hit him. He was surrounded by expensive gilt and it just never happened. Her smile became a smirk and she gestured to follow. He did, wanting to see more. "Auntie, this is gorgeous!"
She smiled over her shoulder. "Thank you! I did it myself. It wasn't easy to find the sweet pot between beauty and enacting the curse, but I managed."
She lead him into another room and and he stopped. There were several people inside, most of them human. The humans were strewn around the room, all somewhat glassy eyed. In addition Xavier gave him a nod of greeting before leaving the room. He didn't recognize the other two vampires. The first was white. Possible an albino except for her dark, expressive eyes. Her white hair and skin looked even more washed out by the bright red lipstick and ebony leather jacket. Somehow it worked for her. She perked up seeing him and he detected a bit of mischievous nature. Chantal introduced her as Syxx, and claimed to have sired her.
The man is the one that truly caught him. He had tousled, shoulder lengthy brown hair, a bit of scruff on his face, and deep dark eyes. His face was somewhat slack, with a little blood on his lips. He was lying on a sofa and with every move Kevfire could see his taunt, lean muscles under the poofy pirate like shirt. He gave a vague wave and said he was Remy Bourdeaux.
Chantal was talking and he gave himself a mental shake and tried to pay attention. He caught the word drugs. "Oh, no thank you. I've been sober for years and don't want to change that." She clapped her hands happily and started showering him with praise for maintaining his sobriety and brought a women over to him. Understanding the invitation, and feeling it would be rude not to, he settled down to drink.
It felt so good to eat properly again. The endorphins flooding through him was better than any other feeling. He felt almost filthy doing this in front of other people. It went so intimate, so dirty. He finished quickly, not wanting to accidentally take too much and injure the woman, and heard nearly shouted into his ear, "So you wanna bang that faerie, right?"
Kevfire nearly choked on his last swallow. He looked up, dropping the woman so see Syxx right next to him, her eyes sparkling. "Eloquently put, but I'd like more than just that."
She pursed her lips and mulled that over. "Well, I'm meeting up with her tonight. Want to come?"
He felt Remy's stare more than saw it as he thought it over. To get the aid he needed he was going to have to become one of them. This was a good opportunity to ingratiate himself and see the object of his affections. "Alright, I'm game."
They started out of the room and Syxx poked him in the ribs. "Just so you know if you don't take her, I will." She smiled at his frown. So it was to be a game then. Fantastic. As if to help illustrate that Chantal pulled him into a hug on his way out and whispered in his ear, "Welcome to the game."