All characters that are from the TWILIGHT saga by Stephanie Meyer belong to Stephanie Meyer. All others belong to me. I do not receive profit for these stories except for the joyous enjoyment of reviews.
This story follows right after When I'm Gone: Third Installment to GONE Saga, so if you haven't read that one or the two before, please do.
The timeline of the story will coincide with Gabriel Michael Laskaris' growing up years, starting at Seth and Rosa's wedding day, April 12th and will progress from there.
AN: Yes, it's taking me a month to write each chapter and post. No excuse except for real life taking away my time. I hope y'all will continue to stick around and read with every update -I will not abandon this story until it is complete and I hope, likewise, my wonderful readers/reviewers won't abandon me.
As always, enjoy what you read (this is a shorter chapter than usual) and please, don't punish me without leaving reviews. They encourage me to keep plugging along even when my Muse is being stubborn or lazy.
Family Chapter updated with new ages and such -found out one of my kiddos has been stuck in age one so I jumped her to age three, which is what she's supposed to be. Also, there's no Gabe/Vivi in this chapter -I have plans for them in the next one so I wanted to pass time along with some of the other characters y'all have fallen in love with.
Chapter Seventy-Two (16 yrs old)
May 10th
La Push Tribal Football Stadium
He stood in the shadows of the bleachers, watching as the graduating class was called up to the makeshift stage one at a time, cheers swelling and rising with each graduate walking up the metal steps and across the stage to get their high school diploma –it was, to date, the largest graduating class of La Push Tribal School.
Thanks to the Harry Clearwater Scholarship, about fifty percent of the class was heading off to colleges around the United States, with plans on furthering their education in pursuit of a career. All in all, it was a good group of high school graduates setting off to change their lives and hopefully the world.
He smiled as they called out her name, watching her walk up the steps and across the stage, her raven black hair falling in a waterfall down her back, the sun bringing out blue highlights as her face glowed a copper hue somehow enhanced by the red gown she wore.
He hadn't seen her in over six months, hadn't talked to her but never did an hour pass without him thinking of her, wondering how she was doing. Not phasing had kept the pain of being away from her to a dull throb but it had still been there, a reminder of where his soul used to be.
He struggled each day with remembering who he was because without her, he lost all meaning to himself and to the world around him so he had to work hard at simply recalling his name. Even so, he'd been able to put one foot before the other, had been able to do the work he was being paid to do, even had made a few new friends although the depth of the friendship was shallow at best.
He watched as she hugged her parents, her little sister, ending with her brother as he came down the stage with his own diploma in hand. It felt good to see her smile –even from this distance he could see her dark eyes dancing, her full lipped mouth stretched into a joyful smile, which let him know she was alright at that moment.
He knew from conversations with Sam –because even though it hurt to hear how she was doing when he couldn't be a part of it, he preferred it to the not knowing –Bailey was exhibiting classic signs of phasing.
From her volatile temper to her rapid height growth, not to mention the increasing physical strength and body temperature –Sam knew it was just a matter of time which was why he'd asked Brady to return to La Push…not to mention needing all wolves on patrol since their current prey was still at large.
Watching her return to her seat, he let out a long breath before turning away. Hands in the pockets of his leather jacket, he made his way to the parking lot, the late afternoon breeze ruffling his hair, a few inches longer than he used to wear it…of course, now that he was back to doing patrols with the rest of the pack, he was going to have to cut it again.
Looking at his watch, he unlocked his car –a sleek pewter gray Audi A3 he'd bought just three months ago with the sale profit of his first security software –hoping he wouldn't have to see Bailey tonight…
He wasn't ready to face the reason for his existence, wasn't ready for the gravitational force of his imprint to bring him crashing back to Earth, no matter how disconcerting it was to float through his days without an anchor.
10:53 PM
She usually didn't get home until an hour or so after midnight, despite her father's insistence she had a curfew to obey. This time around though, she had lost interest in staying any longer at Anaya's, the party a little too wild for her taste despite the four or five shots she'd tossed back.
Pulling her second hand Jeep Wrangler beside the curb–she'd bought it from her Aunt Julie, who apparently had kept it despite moving to New York City almost seven years ago, and helped her Dad fix it up before getting it painted a deep forest green –she grabbed her cap and gown from the passenger seat and stepped out. Her mother had taken her diploma home after the graduation ceremony, along with flowers and balloons from friends and admirers. Walking around the front of her Jeep, she gave a curious glance at the dark gray vehicle parked in a couple of feet in front of hers.
It was a little late for her parents to have visitors over unless it was family and she knew for sure no one in her family owned a luxury car like the one in front of their little sea-side house, especially here at the reservation.
Heading up the walkway, she stopped halfway to the front door as it opened, heart jamming up into her throat as Brady walked out, her dad behind him. The silence was heavy, suffocating to the point of wanting to scream but she couldn't, not with the baseball sized lump in her throat.
Brady and her dad shared a look but nothing was said before he came down the porch steps, the breeze playing with his unusually long hair as he walked right by her, not once looking her way.
She, on the other hand, turned in the spot, unable to look away as he disengaged the alarm of that sleek little car as he walked around it and got in, not even a minute passing before the softly purring car pulled away from the curb and made a U-turn.
She stood rooted where she was, her heart beating so fast it felt like it would burst any second, eyes welling up with tears despite her efforts to fight them back, "He didn't even look at me."
"What did you expect?"
Her father's words had her breaking away from the sudden stop of time. Sucking in a breath to steady her voice, she cursed herself for forgetting he had wolf hearing, "What do you mean?"
"You told him to leave, Bailey," he leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms over a broad chest, dark eyes studying her as he continued, "He's not coming back until you personally let him know you want him to return."
"Aunt Rose never told Uncle Seth to come back," she muttered under her breath, immediately regretting it because she knew her dad wasn't going to ignore it.
"Rose never told Seth to leave –she didn't tell him to get out of her life and get one of his own."
Her jaw locked, a tick on the corner of her left eye giving away the rising anger inside her. Breathing in deep through her nose, she worked at letting it go as a tingling feeling ran up her spine, the growing heat dissipating as she continued breathing deep to get a handle on the emotions inside her.
Finally able to focus on something other than her breathing, she looked to her dad, eyebrows dipping at the way he was studying her, his body tensed as if he were preparing himself for whatever might come out of her mouth.
"What was he doing here then," Bailey's snide tone obviously bothered him as he gave her a look well known to express frustration with her attitude but she didn't bother to hold back –she never felt the need when it came to her father, "'Cause I sure as hell didn't ask him to come."
"I did," he stepped back into the house, holding the door open for her as she made her way up the porch steps, "I'm his Alpha and I need him here –however, you are not to talk to him until you change your attitude towards him."
She scoffed, chest tightening at the thought of seeing him but not talking to him, "Yeah…like that's going to happen."
She knew it was pride keeping her from admitting the truth –she had regretted sending Brady away within seconds after uttering the words but she'd been too drunk at the time to stop herself, then as days blended into weeks, she'd acutely felt his absence but the one time she'd decided to call and tell him she was wrong, she'd ended up talking to his girlfriend instead.
She, of course, didn't know if Sandra was his girlfriend but whatever the hell she was, there was more to it than just friends –who else answered a guy's phone so late in the night?
Tossing her cap and gown over the desk chair, she gave her little sister's bed a quick glance, the moon coming through the window over her bed spilling across her pretty round face. Bailey believed her sister to be the definition of beautiful, her cinnamon hued skin and big dark eyes practically a carbon copy of their mother's face while her own was too similar to her father's sharp features.
Granted, on her, the defined jaw and straight nose, along with the high forehead and sharp cheekbones, gave her what mama called an exotic look but Bailey thought her face was a bit too…angular for a girl –she would have preferred softer features like her little sister's.
Grabbing a pair of black yoga pants and a worn SU t-shirt, she stripped out of her dress, kicking her strappy heels off before pulling on the comfortable sleepwear. Taking her pillow, she quietly closed the bedroom door before heading to the back of the house, feeling like she could breathe again as soon as she stepped outside.
Within minutes, she was unrolling the sleeping bag she kept on the flat eight by eight corner of the roof she'd declared as her personal hiding space. Slipping into the bag, she laid back, head on her pillow as she stared up at the star studded sky, the crashing sounds of the ocean soothing the hot emotions clawing to get out.
She knew what was taking place, knew changes were coming whether she was ready or not. She had no choice over any of it, no control over what she was becoming and it scared her…no…that was too tame to what she was feeling. She had to be honest and admit the truth –she was completely and irrevocably terrified.
She was no longer sure of what the future held –no longer sure of herself, of whether she had what it took to meet this new challenge head on…
She wasn't sure of anything…and for someone who'd always known who she was and where she was heading, that alone was slowly burying her alive.
May 15th
"Let me in –let me in –let me in!"
Emmie let out an exasperated sigh as she set down her scalpel, removing her safety goggles and getting down from the bar stool she used as her chair. Placing the goggles on the table, she ran her fingers over the carvings on the edges of her wall-to-wall shelves, smiling at the story the Greek words told.
Her new lab, a mere ten foot by ten foot room with ventilation along the top of the roof and an energy efficient cooling system, was to date the best gift she'd ever received. She knew her Daddy had done most of the work –the most impressive being the carved story of the origin of science going from one end to the other of the shelves on both right and left walls –but there were little things here and there that let her know her siblings and mama, even Embry who'd designed and built the cooling system, had been involved as well.
There was the 'Alyx was here and Andrey got eaten by a giant bug' written in bright orange on the blue wall below one of the middle shelves. The drawing of a hamster done by Tyra several inches to the left of the twins' tagging was a thank you because there was now space in their bedroom for the much coveted rodent.
Mama had promised Ty the furry little beast along with everything it needed for her ninth birthday.
Erick had finger painted the glass fronted box holding the first aid kit and situated on the wall to the left of the door –he'd even gone as far as leaving two multicolored hand-prints on the glass itself.
Zak had built a four shelf cabinet where she could place her research journals while Xavier, with Zak's help, had carved a sign for the door stating 'Experiment in progress –Enter at your own risk.'
Gabe had painted the whole lab, inside and out, using purple and blue since those were her favorite colors and mama had decorated the door with a butterfly border, stenciling 'Emmie's Lab' in pretty calligraphy on the outside of the door at eyelevel.
An impatient knock with another plea to enter brought Emmie out of her revere. Pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, she moved across the short distance and pulled the door open to find Lili anxiously bouncing in place.
"Lili, hi," Emmie grinned at her cousin and best friend, stepping to the side in invitation, "Want to come in?"
Lili's dark brown eyes widened as she looked into the laboratory, the brown and black tarantula in its terrarium on a shelf over the work table catching her attention, "Uh…no. The lab looks great, though."
"Thanks," Emmie grinned as she stepped out and closed the door behind her, not at all offended over her cousin's decline to enter what was quickly becoming her sanctuary, "I really like it –especially because Daddy put a lock on the door so the twins won't mess with my stuff."
"Good idea."
As impossible as it seemed, Emmie's grin stretched even wider, ice blue eyes twinkling behind her glasses, "Definitely. So what's got you excited? You seem to be secreting copious amounts of adrenaline."
Lili laughed as she reached up to brush her hair out of her face, the sun bringing out blue highlights from the heavy black tresses falling down her back, "Daddy said yes!"
"About what," Emmie tilted her head to the side, eyes brightening as she recalled a previous conversation they'd had, "He agreed?"
Lili nodded, taking in a deep breath in an effort to calm her fast beating heart but it didn't work –she still felt like she was going to explode with the excitement, "Mama finally talked him into it so he called the lady yesterday and set up an appointment. Her creative manager is going to be coming here, to our house, to meet with me in two weeks."
"That's so cool," Emmie grabbed her cousin in a hug, laughing as Lili pulled back to give her a panicked look, words tumbling out of her, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do –shouldn't I have some sort of plan or something?"
"Breathe," Emmie admonished her gently, taking her by the hand and leading her across the backyard and into her house, through the kitchen and down the hall to her bedroom, "First, you need a business plan –one outlining your goals, vision, and purpose. You already have a portfolio of your designs and I think we can arrange a mini show with the help of the girls. Do you have a name for your clothing line?"
"No," Lili shook her head, watching her cousin take a notebook, pens, post-its, and a stack of loose leaf paper before leading her out of her bedroom and into the kitchen, "I've never thought I'd get the chance to do something like this so soon…I mean, I don't even have the proper training –"
"Which won't hold you back," Emmie plopped down into a chair, using a foot to pull out the one beside her for Lili, "We have two weeks to put together a basic business plan, one the creative manager can help you build on."
"Okay," Lili nodded, watching as Emmie began writing a list on the first page of the notebook, her neat penmanship making it easy to read, "What first?"
"First," Emmie completed the list with a flourish, looking up at her cousin with a bright smile, "We need a name for your clothing line. This will be your trademark –like Nike or Abercrombie and Fitch."
"American Eagle?"
"Exactly."
"Well then," Lili nibbled on a fingernail, dark eyes displaying the thought process over this first task, "I haven't gone as far as coming up with a brand name…I just know I want Bailey to be the spokesperson or whatever it's called."
"Are you two partnering?"
Lili nodded, giving her cousin a shy smile as she explained, "A lot of my designs are inspired by her –the way she looks and moves…I watch her and I come up with these awesome designs because of her. Vivi and Nika inspire me too but not the same way Bailey does."
"Okay," Emmie nodded, writing a note below the list, placing an asterisk on either side before underlining it twice, "This is something you need to discuss with Bailey as well as the creative manager. You and Bailey need to come up with a partnership agreement –outline both of your responsibilities along with an agreed division of profit."
"It all sounds complicated," Lili gnawed on the corner of her bottom lip, not once doubting her cousin's knowledge as she supplied more information, "Not at all. Once you get a lawyer, a partnership contract can be drawn and revised to both of your satisfaction before it's signed and notarized –and I've figured out a great name for your clothing line."
Lili gave her cousin a look of surprise, "Seriously? While explaining all the stuff about a partnership, you came up with a name?"
Emmie shrugged nonchalantly as she set her pen down, "I'm able to grasp multiple topics at once without losing focus on any of them."
Lili grinned at her cousin as a soft giggle escaped her, "You're a multi-tasker except with thinking –a multi-thinker!"
Emmie laughed with her cousin, pushing her glasses back in place, "Yes, I am. Anyway, name brand for your clothing brand –Liliandra."
Naturally arched eyebrows lowered over slanted doe brown eyes, "My name? I don't know…"
"It's perfect," Emmie flipped the page of the journal and picked up her pen, "Easy to remember and yet, unique. You can have Marc draw up a logo for it…with a butterfly hovering over the first letter…calligraphy lettering –Marc can probably do different designs and you can pick your favorite. Creative art isn't my thing."
"Would Marc mind?"
"You're one of his favorites –of course he won't mind. Oh! Nika can help you put together a website when the time is right –and you can set up a mini fashion show with the stuff you've already done. Reserve one of the rooms at the center, possibly the one with the bright lights and long conference table –I think it's next to a bathroom, so we can turn it into a dressing room. Nika, Vivi and Bailey –possibly even Aunt Julie –can model the stuff you've made for them."
"I've made stuff for you too."
Emmie wrinkled her nose, eyes wide behind the glasses in horror at the idea of it, "I'm not a model…you can set up mannequins or something with the stuff you've made for me."
Just as Emmie took no offense at Lili's avoidance of her lab, Lili in turn was not hurt by Emmie's backpedaling, "That's a good idea…maybe Aunt Rose can do a series of pictures –kind of like a portfolio...I can place my drawings beside the photograph of the actual design."
"Definitely," Emmie nodded as she wrote all their ideas down in the notebook, "Perhaps Bradley can turn the conference table into a runway of sorts."
"This whole thing is turning into a La Push effort."
"Of course," Emmie looked over at her cousin, her face clearly expressing she thought Lili was stating the obvious, "We're a family –a tribe. We help each other pull forward and reach for the stars…it's the only way we'll advance and surpass as a people –as a nation."
Lili gave her cousin a big smile, reaching out to grip her hand, "You would make an excellent politician."
Immediately shaking her head, Emmie closed the notebook, purposely leaving the pen inside it, "No thanks. I'm a scientist, through and through. Let's get started on this list –with only two weeks, we have no time to waste."
They both stood up, Lili helping her clear the table before following her down the hall towards the bedroom she shared with her little sister, "Do you really think this will work?"
Putting everything but the notebook back into one of the side drawers of the desk she claimed as hers, Emmie pushed her glasses up as she looked straight into her cousin's eyes, "Not only will this work but I'll wager my top of the line stereo-zoom microscope you'll have your very first fashion show before this year ends."
Third Saturday in May
"I need your help."
Tyra looked up from an intense game of jacks she was playing with Patty Hatch, eyebrows just a shade darker than her hair lowering over large brown-green eyes as a piece of torn paper was thrust her way, "Why me?"
Eight year old Skye Lahote let out a huffing sigh as the blond girl took the grubby piece of paper, irritation written all over her little round face.
"Because you're the only one who knows how the terrors think," she stated emphatically, using the nickname used by the whole of La Push –and even some in Forks –when referring to the Laskaris twins, "They have never gotten the jump on you –plus, you have a sidekick."
"Hey," Patty looked up from the hundreds of jacks spread out on the space of concrete sidewalk between him and Tyra, a pile of about twenty five beside his left knee, Tyra's own pile at least ten more than his, "I'm not her sidekick."
Tyra and Skye turned to give Patty an arched look, neither saying anything as the nine year olds' copper hued skin, stretched over sharp cheekbones, flushed a dull red, "Okay, fine, I'm her sidekick –just don't tell anyone else."
Turning to look at each other, neither mentioned the fact everyone in La Push knew Patty followed after Tyra like a duckling after its mother, hardly ever being far from her except for school –since they went to different schools –and nighttime. Even for mealtimes –especially during the summer break –either Patty joined the Laskaris or Tyra was invited to join the Hatch family.
"So what's the ransom," Tyra handed the note back to Skye, holding back a smile at the girl's look of affront as she shoved the note into the pocket of her jean shorts, "I may or may not have stolen their 'No Girls Allowed' sign from their treehouse."
Tyra wasn't really surprised –when the sign went missing, she knew more than likely one of the Lahote twins would be responsible, being they constantly complained about the unfairness of banishment from certain places or activities simply because they were girls.
Rumor around La Push had it the girls were seeking to join the Spirit Warriors, a Boy Scout type of group within the reservation started several generations ago which purpose was to teach boys the responsibilities of what it meant to be a spirit warrior of the Quileute people. Both girls were actually working on taking on the council with petitions and debates as to why girls should be allowed to join the Spirit Warrior –Tyra knew for a fact it was true because her mama was helping the girls with this mission of equality.
"So now they're holding your sister hostage until you return their sign?"
Skye let out another sigh as she gave a nod, bottom lip pushed out slightly in an unconscious pout as she reached up to push her long thick hair out of her face, the wet breeze stirring it enough to have her thinking she should have had her Dad braid it that morning when he asked, "Not only are they holding her hostage but they're probably terrorizing her."
"I doubt they'll hurt her," Patty said with a shrug, taking the wooden box where the jacks –all different sizes, colors and materials –were collected and kept, "They do have their limits."
He missed the fleeting look of doubt on both girls' faces, methodically completing his current task as he off handedly asked, "So what's the plan?"
Tyra scrambled up onto her feet, slapping dust off her jeans as she began to explain the situation, "They're probably holed up in the tree-house which means we have three different ways to sneak up on them. The first one, going around the left side of the house, won't work because they can see us from the tree-house opening. The second one, going around the right side of the house, will offer us more cover because of Emmie's lab but there's enough open space for them to catch us before we reach the tree-house."
"Then let's call the second one Plan B," Patty stood up, box in his right hand as he wiped the dirt on his other hand against his torn jean shorts, Skye frowning as she crossed her arms over her thin chest, "You said there were three ways to get to the tree-house."
"The third one can get us into loads of trouble," Tyra rubbed the tip of her itchy nose, the breeze picking up strands of her long blond hair, which she had in pigtails on either side of her face, "We can use Gabe's bike track –it ends on our backyard and since the tree-house only has the two side window openings, they won't see us coming from the back until we're on top of them."
"Why don't you just pay the ransom," Patty asked as they headed down the sidewalk towards the Lahote's house, Tyra beside him while Skye kept pace beside her, "It'll be easier that way."
"I am not going to give them back their sign," Skye shot a glare at him, nose quivering slightly with indignation over the suggestion, "It's not right for them to keep girls out –as Andrey's best friend, I should be allowed to go into the tree-house whenever I want."
"It's their tree-house," Patty gave Skye a look of incredulity, "They can let whoever they want or not go in there."
"It's Tyra's tree-house too and they don't let her go up there," Skye pointed out the fault in his logic. The blond nine year old, however, had to comment on that fact, "That's true but I don't really like heights so it doesn't bother me."
"What about Emmie," Skye led them around the back of her house, opening the back door, Tyra and Patty following behind her, "She studies plants and stuff so I imagine a tree-house would make it easy to do stuff like that –but she's not allowed up on the tree-house because she's a girl."
"Aly and Ady say Emmie don't count 'cause she's a scientist," Tyra explained her brothers' reasoning, "They say being a scientist means there's nothing to hold her back so they weren't gonna try."
"They also get ideas for science projects from her so they wouldn't want to make her mad," Patty added helpfully, Skye's eyes narrowing as they went into the bedroom she shared with her twin sister, "That's selfish."
Tyra shrugged as she watched Skye open the closet door to rummage through a pile of shoes, toys and even clothes, "They're ten year old boys…what do you expect?"
Skye didn't reply, finally stepping out of the closet, holding a rough plank of wood almost as tall as her, the letters obviously carved by a child as the 's' in girls was backwards and 'allowed' was misspelled.
Holding the large sign beside her like a surfboard, she gave her quasi-cousins a tight smile, slapping her free hand on the surface of the wood for emphasis, "We'll consider this Plan B."
"We don't even have a Plan A," Patty pointed out, not at all excited about being involved in some rescue scheme against Alyx Laskaris, whom he worshiped despite Tyra's disgust of it.
"Sure we do," Tyra gave her best friend a pleased look before turning it towards Skye, "We're going to need rope, water balloons and firecrackers?"
"Firecrackers?"
Tyra's smile grew at the squeak in Patty's voice, "Yes. We're also going to need back up."
"Back up," this time, Skye was the one questioning her, "No one is going to willingly go up against the terrors –they take revenge to a whole new level!"
"I've got someone specific in mind."
"Who?"
Tyra's smile was downright mischievous, "Someone who's worse than the terrors."
Meanwhile…
"This isn't right."
"It's not going to take that long," Alyx finished tying the knot, looking over at his brother who was the lookout, understanding they were still in the clear when he got a nod, "Skye will return our sign and we'll let you go."
One of Marilynn's dark eyebrows went up in surprise as she looked over her shoulder at him, "You think my sister's just going to give up the sign –just like that?"
"To rescue you, maybe," Andrey answered, walking away from what had been his look out post, hands in the pockets of his jeans, the knees worn out even though they had been brand new a week ago –according to mama, he and his brothers were hell on clothes and shoes, "But we're prepared if she decides to do something other than pay the ransom."
Marilynn let out a frustrated breath, which caused her straight bangs to shift enough to get in her eyes. Tossing her head back in an effort to move them aside, she frowned at both boys as they stepped back to study her, identical grins of triumph on their identical faces, "You could at least let me sit down –this will probably take a while."
Identical blue eyes turned to look at each other, mirror image expressions on them, making them look like one person except for the different colored shirts.
Andrey frowned as he thought over their plan, realizing Marilynn might have a point, "We should let her sit…Uncle Paul will kill us if anything happens to her…you didn't tie the rope too tight, did you?"
"No," Alyx shook his head with vehemence, moving to the tree he'd tied Marilynn to, easily undoing the complex knot, "Just tight enough for her not to get loose. You can sit down."
With another sigh, Marilynn did just that, not even bothering with an attempt at escape. She wasn't a good runner and knew the terrors would catch her without breaking a sweat so her only option was to wait for her fearless twin sister to come to her rescue, "You know Skye's going to get back at you two for this, right?"
"We know," Alyx wrapped the rope around her torso and the trunk of the tree she was now sitting up against, "We're counting on it."
An hour and a half later…
Three year old Erick Micah Laskaris was afraid of nothing –he knew the world revolved around him and nothing dare touch him because he had five older brothers, two older sisters and mama and Daddy who would always make sure nothing happened to him.
Up to this day, his faith in all of them hadn't been tested so he knew nothing of fear, betrayal or disappointment. For this reason, he willingly agreed to help his big sister by going out to the backyard and climbing the plank ladder up to the tree-house even though he wasn't allowed.
The edges of the second plank dug into his small hands, equally small fingers clinging to it as he pulled himself up, the toe of his lime green high top Converse catching the top edge of the first plank, which helped him hoist up higher so he could attempt to reach the third plank, which was just a little out of reach.
Grunting, he pushed up on his tip-toes, which were precariously perched on the inch thick edge of the bottom plank, stretching for all his worth, fingertips barely brushing the edge of the third plank.
"Did you hear that," Andrey looked away from the opening he was currently guarding, a water gun in his left hand. Alyx, with his own gun, was on the other side, keeping an eye out that side's window, which allowed him to see the path leading into the woods where Marilynn was just a few feet past the forest line, "Hear what?"
Another soft grunt had them both look towards the entrance of the tree-house –it was the one side without a wall, the tree-house simply constructed with a floor, a ceiling, which now had a crudely cut skylight thanks to them, three walls and two side rectangular cut outs serving as windows.
Looking at each other with identical looks of anticipation, they quietly belly crawled to the edge of the opening, tentatively looking around before another soft grunt had them looking down.
"Ricky," Andrey set his water gun aside, tossing down the knotted rope they used, shimmying down quickly, feet touching the floor just as his little brother's toes slipped off the edge of the plank.
His fast reflexes saved the little boy a lot of pain, Alyx coming down the rope hand over hand, freaking out over the possibility of his little brother being hurt, "Is he okay?"
Andrey turned his little brother around, wide blue eyes staring up into eyes in the same shade of blue, "You didn't get hurt, did you?"
Erick shook his head, sandy blond hair flopping over his forehead with the movement, "No."
"Why are you trying to climb the steps," Alyx asked, running his fingers through his hair as he looked over his little brother, knowing there would be hell to pay if there was a scrape or bruise on him, "You know you're not allowed to climb the steps."
Erick tilted his head to the side as Andrey settled him a little more comfortably in his arms, the three year old quite light for a three year old, "Why not?"
"Because mama says you're not old enough," Andrey answered, Alyx reaching over to ruffle his sandy blond hair, giving him a dimpled smile, "Don't worry about it Ricky. When you're five, you can join us up at the tree-house. We'll teach you how to climb the rope."
Erick looked from one brother to the other then back, studying them intently before he gave them a toothy grin, a dimple digging into his right cheek, "Okay."
"Why don't you go inside and see if mama has ice cream," Alyx suggested, a bit disconcerted as he watched his little brother look over his shoulder towards the woods before kicking to be put down, giving them a downright naughty smile before he ran off to the back door, giggling like crazy the whole way.
"What the hell was that," Alyx asked his brother as they watched the three year old little boy nudge the back door close with a click, Andrey shrugging before they turned to head back up to their lookout post.
The look of shock on their faces was priceless as they were ambushed, water balloons flying at them from three different directions as the sounds of firecrackers going off distracted them even more. Before they could get their bearings, Tyra and Skye came at them, a nylon rope held between them. In what seemed like a blink of an eye, Alyx and Andrey were tied, back to back, both of them watching as Tyra used her knot tying skills –something they had taught her –to keep them in place.
Skye took a step back and crossed her skinny arms over her chest, a smirk on her face, "Where's my sister?"
Alyx scoffed as he looked up from the well done knot, "Like we're going to tell you."
Skye shifted her weight, jutting out a hip as she gave them a narrowed eyed look, "You don't have a choice –you're at my mercy."
Andrey let out a chuckle as Alyx rolled his eyes, the older of the two replying to Skye's comment, "No…not really. There's only one way for you to find your sister –give us back our sign and we'll tell you where she is."
"You guys are tied up," Skye's voice rose a bit as she planted her hands on her hips, "You have nothing to bargain with."
"We have your sister," Alyx smirked at the dark-eyed dark-haired eight year old, knowing it would tick her off as he pointed out the flaw in her rescue mission, "Plus, we taught Tyra how to do knots –we can get loose anytime we want."
"Fine," Skye let out an aggrieved sigh, dropping her hands as she pulled back her shoulders, "I'll find her on my own."
"Good luck with that," Andrey taunted her, laughing at the glare she threw his way before she stomped into the woods, somehow knowing if they would hide her anywhere it would be in there.
Once she got pass the forest line, two sets of identical blue eyes turned towards the nine year old blond standing a few feet before them.
"Really," Alyx gave her a look meant to make her feel guilty, "Our own sister?"
Tyra shrugged, long blond pigtails shifting with the movement as brown-green eyes twinkled with laughter. Her face, however, was void of all expression, "She asked for my help…you really should have seen it coming."
"See what coming," Andrey jumped on the guilt trip bandwagon, his face expressing hurt at the betrayal they'd just suffered in the hands of their younger sister, "We never thought our little sister –our favorite sister –would betray us this way."
Tyra rolled her eyes as she let out a sigh, "Oh please."
Voices had all three looking towards the forest line, Alyx and Andrey clearly displeased when they saw Marilynn walking beside Skye, arms linked with smug smiles on their nearly identical faces.
Skye's smiled stretched into a triumphant grin as they approached the tied up boys, "Told you I would find her."
"We want our sign back," Alyx demanded, ice blue eyes practically burning a hole into Skye, "You have your sister so we want our sign back."
"You didn't tell me where she was," Skye knew pointing that little detail out to them would get them all bent out of shape, "I found her, all on my own –but because Tyra helped me, I've decided to give you back the sign."
That was Patty's cue, the nine year old boy clearly not happy over his role as he came out from behind the shed, the rough plank of wood in his hands. Skye took the sign from him, turning it around before facing the brothers, their grins falling as they surveyed what had been done to it.
"What the hell did you do to our sign," Alyx's question was obviously rhetorical, considering they could both see the painted flowers and rainbows, not to mention butterflies –was that a unicorn on the left hand side?
Skye grinned as she leaned it up against the wide trunk of the tree, "That'll teach you to ban girls."
All four of them walked off, Alyx calling after them, "Hey! You can't leave us tied up."
Skye looked over at them, grinning as she tossed one last taunt over her shoulder, "You said you can untie yourselves –you don't need our help."
They disappeared around the corner of the house, Andrey letting out a frustrated sigh, "You just had to brag, didn't you?"
"Shut up."
Last Day of May
Middle of the night in Seattle
The night breeze carried a heavy hint of rain; a sliver of moon peeked through the thick darkness casted over the sky, patches of it just a shade lighter than the menacing looking clouds…it was the perfect night for the next phase of her plan.
A waterfall of ink black hair spilled down her back, the dim yellow light from a nearby street lamp illuminating her pale skin yet casting enough shadows to hide the unnatural color of her eyes –not that it mattered since there was no one at the docks at this time of night.
It hadn't been easy to bide her time–despite what the passing of time had taught her on patience –but she knew to succeed in exacting revenge, she had to do just that. For it to reach its completion as she wanted, she had to wait –had to set in motion each phase then step back and melt into the shadows until it was time to launch the next plan of attack.
Her calculated and perfectly timed actions defied the burning need to avenge her mate but she had always been a strategist, even before her life became an eternal damnation. Her ability to logically strategize when all she wanted to do was tear them all into pieces, as they had done with him, is what had kept her out of reach –what kept her existing in this new kind of hell.
They had taken away the one person who had made her new life bearable, had made her enslavement to the blood thirst easier to handle…the absence of him was twisting her into an unrecognizable being…a monster inclined to savage behavior.
This was why she was taking away what mattered to them –stripping them of whatever or whoever defined them as the person they were.
First phase completed –a mother ravished by pain and injuries, lasting long enough to make it clear it had been no accident. It hadn't been easy but disappearing into shadows is what she did best and although they had buried her during the day, she had been able to witness the grief and pain they had felt over their loss –it had given her a measure of pleasure but not enough to quench the gnawing rage ravaging her insides.
It had been a month since then and she had placed distance between herself and them but now, it was time for the next phase…and for this next one, she needed outside help.
"Could you possibly be anymore cloak and dagger?"
Eyes so deep a red they were nearly black were the only part of her to move in acknowledgement as shadows moved across the flooring of the dock, approaching steps nearly silent were she not possessing of supernatural senses.
"Shadows are where I'm most dangerous," she replied, voice smooth and low as the shadows solidified into a tall, lean man –one she hadn't seen in decades, "You should remember that."
He let out a mocking hum, lazily walking closer, hands in the pockets of his tan colored slacks, a black leather jacket over a navy blue pullover sweater completing his ensemble, "Oh, yes, I well remember how dangerous you are."
The drawl in his voice was all it took for her mouth, full and glossy with a hard smooth edge to it –like shaped marble –to spread into a smile as she stepped out of the shadows and into the pool of dim yellow light, "I have a favor to claim."
"Right to the point," the sharp features of his supernaturally beautiful face were enhanced by a slightly mocking smile as he tilted his head to the side, dark hair falling across a high forehead, eyes a bright red brought out by the street light, "As always. What payment are you asking for?"
"There's someone I would like to send my regards to," she stated, her voice void of any emotion as she stepped closer, pulling out a hand from the pocket of her jeans to reach out and touch his jaw, the defined line smooth to the touch, "Her husband…I don't care what you do with her, I just want her to be able to pass along my message. Can you do it?"
He frowned at the detailed image appearing in his mind, able to see there was more to this than what she was asking, "What aren't you telling me? I'm not exactly sure what it is but there's something different about this one."
She stared into his ruby red eyes, dropping her hand as she began telling him the truth…well, only half of it, "She knows about us –in general, not specifically."
"There's more to it than that," tilting his head to the side, he studied her face but couldn't see anything to give him a clue as to what she was hiding from him, "Tell me or I walk away."
Feigning annoyance along with chagrin at being called out, she shifted her weight, crossing her arms over her chest as she further explained, "Her husband is a werewolf…he's the one I want to hurt by having you get to his wife."
"A werewolf?"
"Yes…as long as you get to her before he gets to you, he can't hurt you. She is, after all, his priority…the very reason for his existence."
