Chapter 106

Once Joey was tucked in and on her way to dreamland, Kahlan made her way to the boys. She told Jack goodnight, kissed his cheek, and then pat Goliath on the head and headed to her eldest's room. She took a deep breath as she looked at the closed door in front of her and then knocked. While she may have felt proud when Wyatt had made his bold statement earlier, the more she thought about it, the more it bothered her.

The door quickly opened to reveal a dripping Wyatt; apparently, he'd just gotten out of the shower. He gave her a small smile, opened the door all the way, and proceeded to rub a towel over his short hair.

She stepped in and shut the door behind her, and that made him frown. "Is everything alright?" he asked because she normally wouldn't do that just to tell him goodnight.

"I don't know; you tell me."

His brows furrowed even more. "I don't understand."

She took a deep breath and motioned to his bed. "Sit."

When Sampson sat, Kahlan chuckled and shook her head at the dog. "Not you, boy, Wyatt."

Wyatt flopped down onto his bed, and she sat beside him and sighed. "Wy. . ."

He stood up and faced her. "Alright, I'm sorry I'd said I'd kill him. My anger got the best of me. I know I shouldn't have said it especially in front of Joe, but. . ."

She pat the bed. "That's not exactly what I wanted to talk about. Now sit."

He took a deep breath and sat.

"You said you've been doing research, that you knew how to kill vampires."

"Yeah, so?"

She looked him in the eyes. "I want to know why, Wyatt."

His face showed his confusion. "Why? What do you mean, why? Why is knowing how to kill vampires a bad thing?"

She huffed. "Because your father is a vampire, Wyatt."

His brows shot to his hairline as he stood up in a rush. "Oh my God. . . you think . . . that's why Jack got so upset?! You all think I wanted to know how to kill Dad?!"

She licked her lips as she studied him. He wasn't only offended by that thought, he was also hurt.

He teared up. "I would never hurt Dad. I love him! I love him just as much if not more than Jack and Joe because I know he didn't have to love me because I'm not his, but he chose to! I would never, ever. . ."

She got up and pulled him into a hug. "Alright, Wy," she soothed him as she squeezed him. "I'm sorry. I should have never. . ."

He pulled away from her. "Why would you even think that?"

She half shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it was because of the way you reacted when we told you guys. You seem like you don't like any of it."

He snorted and sat back down. "Yeah, I admit, at first, I was shocked and a little afraid; but I wasn't afraid of Dad! Just the thought of monsters. . ." he drifted off as he shook his head.

"Then why were you doing research on vampire weaknesses?" she asked as she sat beside him again.

He locked eyes with her. "I had to know his weaknesses, so I could protect him when he couldn't protect himself."

She studied him, and the seriousness in his entire being made a small smile form on her face.

He wilted, though. "I wanted to learn everything I could, so his weakness could be my strength. Apparently, I haven't learned enough, though, because I wasn't there for him. I didn't help him, and now he's missing," he continued as he started to cry.

She pulled him into another hug. "It's not your job to protect your father, Wyatt. It's the parent's responsibility to protect their children."

He shook his head and pulled away from her. "He obviously needed protecting. I just wish that I could have been there," he offered and then wiped his face.

She put a gentle hand on his cheek. "I know, and he would be proud just to know that you want to protect him, Wy."

He smiled a crooked smile as he shrugged. "That's what you do when you love someone."

She leaned in and kissed his cheek. "Yep," she agreed and then stood up. "I guess I better let you get to bed. Goodnight, Wy. I love you."

He gave her a hug. "I love you, too," he told her as he released her, and she headed to the door.

Before she could get out the door completely, he called out softly to her, and she turned around to face him.

He chewed on his lip for a second as he glanced to make sure Jack's door was shut, and then locked eyes with his mother. "You will be able to find him, right, Mom?"

She almost didn't hear him with as delicately as he had spoken, and it was apparent that Wyatt didn't want any other ears to be privy to the question or its answer. She moved closer to him. "While you know I can't guarantee that, Wy, you have to know that I will not stop until I do."

The conviction in her tone made him feel a little better, and he smiled. "Well, if anyone knows the truth of that, it's me, right?"

She smiled. "Yep. Now go to bed, and I'll see you in the morning."

"Alright. Love you."

"Love you, too."

As she walked up the stairs, her eyes watered. If it's the last thing I do, Aaron, I will find you. I swear on my life!

XXXXX

Hotch panted as he grabbed his companions and slid to a stop as soon as they had turned down another passageway. He leaned up against the wall and tried to catch his breath. It felt like they had been running from whatever was following them for forever.

"Why and the hell would you have dropped the torch?" Tucker asked in a whisper as he leaned close to Hotch's ear.

"Because I think it was following the light," he offered and then peaked around the corner. The discarded torch was still lit and lying on the ground at the far end of the passageway.

"But now we can't see where we're going," Tucker argued.

"I can halfway see. . ." Copper started but stopped when Hotch held up his hand to silence him, and he and Tucker both peaked around the corner to see what had Hotch's attention.

A deep rumbling breathing could be heard before they saw anything, and they all glanced at each other. Before any of them could wonder what it was, the thing walked into the light of the torch, and Hotch's eyes widened as he gasped and then cringed for making any noise.

The thing was walking on all fours, its back was about four feet high, and it had a long tail that curved up over its back. It sniffed at the torch and then bat it away with its paw as it growled in frustration. Then it started looking around, and when it's head turned toward Hotch and them, Hotch ducked back behind the wall as he pulled the guys with him. He hugged his back up against the wall and then looked at Copper. "What the hell is that?" He'd basically mouthed the question even though they were a fare distance away from the beast because he didn't want to take the chance of it hearing him.

Copper shrugged. "I don't know. I had thought it was a manticore, but they have a human shaped head."

"It looks like it's half scorpion, half werewolf," Tucker put in as he cringed. "I've never heard of anything like that."

"With as strong as it looks, that's probably what killed Gaylord," Hotch mused and then peaked around the corner again. "It's just standing there."

"Maybe you were right. Maybe it was attracted to the light," Copper offered.

"Then, I say we go," Tucker suggested.

Hotch nodded. "Quietly. If it is part wolf, then it probably has decent hearing."

Before they could get to the next turn, the beast was on their trail again, and Hotch silently cussed as he urged his companions on even faster. They were blindly taking turn after turn trying to lose the monster, but it kept following.

As he ran, Hotch wasn't sure what bothered him more: the fact that he no longer had any idea if they were headed in the right direction, the fact that they might get trapped in another dead end, the fact that if the beast caught them, one of them, if not all of them were going to die, or the fact that they might run into something even worse in their frantic escape.

Tucker stumbled and then fell causing both Hotch and Copper to slide to a stop to help him up, but he shook his head and waved them away. "No! Go!"

"What?!" Hotch asked as he grabbed the man's arm. "Come on, we can do this!"

Tucker pulled away from him, though. "No! I can't keep this pace up, and I think it's tracking me! You guys go!" he told them as he shoved Copper towards the nearest opening.

Hotch's brows furrowed. "Why would you think its tracking just you and not all of us?"

"Cause I'm a lycan, and it's a wolf, or, at least, part wolf. I can sense it, so it can sense me, just like you can sense other vampires!"

"But it will catch you!" Copper tried.

"Maybe, maybe not, but either way, it will give you guys a chance to get away from it!" Tucker insisted.

A loud growl let them know the beast was getting close, and Tucker shoved Hotch away from him. "Go! Now, damn it! You saved me, so let me save you! You two head that way, and I'll go this way," he ordered as he pointed the opposite way that he'd shoved Copper.

Hotch could tell he was adamant about doing it, so he nodded. "Alright. Good luck!"

Tucker gave him a big smile. "Maybe I'll beat you guys to the exit."

Copper clasped the lycan's arm. "See you there."

"Yep, now run!"

Hotch gave him one more look, grabbed Copper's arm, and then took off as fast as he could. He wasn't sure which of them the beast would choose to follow, but he silently hoped that all three of them would make it out of the maze alive.

Within minutes, though, they heard a guttural roar quickly followed by a scream, and Hotch slid to a stop.

Copper grabbed his arm. "What are you doing? Come on!"

"But we could help him!" Hotch insisted.

"No! He did that to give us a chance. We need to run!"

Hotch looked back the way they had come. Every good thing in him wanted him to go back.

Copper could tell Hotch was torn. "If we go back, it might get us, too, and that will make his sacrifice in vain. Do you want that?"

Hotch swallowed, looked down the passage again, and then shook his head. "No."

"Then, let's go!" Copper ordered and took off again while still holding onto Hotch's arm.

XXXXX

Kahlan laid in bed and stared at the ceiling. No matter what she did, she just couldn't fall asleep. She'd thought coming clean with the kids would ease some of her stress, but it seemed to have made it worse. She sighed and rolled onto her side.

After about five more minutes, she got up. Lying here is just fueling my imagination of all the horrible things that might be happening to Aaron. I might as well see if doing something will get my mind to settle.

As she was walking down the stairs, she saw Sampson go into the family room. She frowned and followed him wondering what he was doing.

He went out the pet door, and she went to the back door to watch him through the window figuring he had to go to the bathroom. He didn't. He walked along the fence, around the shed, back along the fence again, and finally came back to the deck.

When his head came back through the pet door, she giggled at him. He startled to find her there, and she chuckled. "You doing your rounds?"

His nub wagged, and she rubbed his neck. "Thanks, boy."

He looked at her and whined. "Yeah, I miss Dad, too, but hopefully he'll be home soon," she told him and then went to her den.

He followed her and sat down next to her once she sat at her desk. She grabbed a couple work files and then noticed him staring at her, and she sighed and looked at him. "What?"

He looked at the door and then back to her, and she huffed. "You're wondering why I'm here and not out there looking for him, aren't you?"

He whined, and she shook her head. "Yeah, I know I should be, but we have to wait until another lead comes in."

He frowned at her as a soft growl escaped him. "I know," she told him. "As soon as I have even a hint of anything, I will leave," she told him as she turned her chair to face him. "And when I do go, I expect you to watch the kids. You'll do that for me, right?"

He stood up and moved to place his head on her lap as he whined some more. She pet him as she nodded. "I know you'll protect them, boy," she told him and then took his head in her hands to look him in the eyes, "and I love you for it."

He wagged his nub and leaned up and licked her face.

She shoved him away as she snorted and wiped her face off. "That was disgusting!"

He wiggled his whole body as if laughing, and she shook her head at him and pointed to the door. "Get out of here and let me do some work. I'm hoping these files will bore me enough that I can sleep."

He looked at her for a moment as he wagged his nub and then pranced out of the room.

**the Werewollf/scorpion or 'Werpion' is on the website. The tales of hoffer dot weebly dot com – no spaces. The 'Halloween Fun' page is under the 'Hotch/Kahlan Stories' tab at the top. Check it out! Check out everything else, too, if you want.