Chapter Two | Fate

She was beautiful. Tall, graceful, curvy. Everything a man would want in a woman. Sparkling hazel eyes that peeked through thick, brown hair. Thick lips that looked perfect when upturned into a smile. Miles of pale skin that was just begging to be marked.

She was Alexandra Di Rege. Daughter to Maria and Anton Di Rege, coven leaders of the Di Rege Coven that housed the majority of witches within the northern portion of Italy.

Her laugh was on par to an angel's and she fit perfectly within Wyatt's hands. He twirled her, a smile on his lips. His blue eyes were bright with mirth. Her gown flew out as she spun back into his arms.

He tried to not pay attention to the eyes on him. He tried to focus on her. And only her.

And not the ache in his heart and soul. He could feel the strain of the smile at the corner of his lips. The falseness of it felt like a thick piece of tape over his mouth. It's been two and half months since he saw him. 75 long days. Each day seemingly longer.

The ball at the Di Rege Manor was in full-swing. Wiccans from America, Italy and other nations were gathered in hopes of younger, promising, heirs to start making their connections. It isn't just power to live within the Wiccan world; but, also politics.

Beautiful instrumental music floated from the small orchestra in the corner. The leaders and their partners hung away from the dance floor, talking and making plans for their children's' futures.

The off-key note was their first clue.

The sudden silence was their warning.

The dancing came to a hault. Everyone swung around, their eyes wide and hands posed for attack. The room was quiet.

Except for a whisper.

"Chris?"

Sage green eyes peered through bruised skin. Blood dotted the pale skin. Small rivers of it ran from each corner of the young man's mouth. His hand, stained ruby, was pressed to his left side. His clothes, the ornate robes that once belonged to his father, was dirty and torn.

Wyatt took a step forward, his eyes wide. His heart hammered against his chest and his hand rose without thought. The skin beneath his palm was feverish.

"Chris."

This time the name was tinged in sadness.

Eyes slid close, a single tear wiping the dirt from a cheek. "Wyatt,"

"Shh," Wyatt pulled Chris close, cradling him, "Shh."

Chris shook his head and pulled away. "I don't come for myself, Wy." his voice was quiet and hoarse, "I can't hold them. They don't want me. They-"

"Want you dead, obviously."

"Yes. That-"

"What the hell is this?"

Wyatt looked over his shoulders, his eyes wide. His mother stood, her hands posed for a vanquish but something stopping her from following through. "Mom." Wyatt licked his lips, not knowing where to start, "Mom."

"You will explain this instant, Wyatt Matthew." Piper growled.

"Mrs. Halliwell," Chris cleared his throat, 'I swear, everything can be-"

"He's the Source!" Anton Di Rege spat, his hazel eyes alight with fury, "Your son has been intimate with the Source of all Evil!"

"No," Piper quickly answered, "Wyatt, tell them."

Wyatt clenched his eyes shut. "Mom -" He glanced at Chris, the man's weight quickly leaning more and more onto him, "Can we at least get him some medical attention before we interrogate him?"

"We should vanquish him," Anton stated.

"If you do that," Chris whispered, "All Hell will break loose."

Wyatt looked at Chris, "What's going on, Chris."

"The Underworld isn't going to stay beneath us much longer," Chris winced, "Demons, Vampires, everything evil…..binding together…"

"Mom! He needs help." Wyatt hissed, wrapping an arm around Chris's waist, "He has a damn stab wound!"

"If you wish to help Il Diavolo then do it somewhere else," Anton stated, his head held high, "I refuse to aid our enemy."

Wyatt glared at the older man, "Fine." Turning towards Chris, he threw one arm over his shoulder, "Think you can breathe through a orb, hon?"

Chris nodded, "Don't have much of a choice now do I?"

"Wyatt, we're not done here." Piper said, taking a step forward.

"Yes we are," Wyatt said firmly, "I refuse to let my boyfriend bleed to death while we chat. Now, if you excuse me, I have a demon to save."

He knew the orb would be painful for Chris. His demonic blood didn't like the purity of it just like how Wyatt's angelic, Whitelighter heritage revolted against Chris's shimmering. Usually it was just uncomfortable; but with injuries, especially as grave as Chris's, it was downright agony. Wyatt knew a hospital was out of bounds. The doctors wouldn't be able to help magical wounds and Chris would be furious at Wyatt's disregard at keeping the magical world a secret.

So, Wyatt chose his hotel room.

Chris muffled a scream as they reformed. Without a second thought, Wyatt began peeling the dirty clothes from Chris's body, gritting his teeth harder and harder as each new bruise and wound was revealed as the layers disappeared. The worse was the stab wound on the left side of Chris's abdomen and the deep slashes on his back that were red with infection.

Wyatt gently lowered Chris on to his bed. "I don't know how far my healing…"

"Anything would be….a benefit right now," Chris gasped, "Just focus on the stab."

Wyatt nodded. He peeled off the soiled suit jacket and rolled up his white sleeves before hovering his hands over the deep wound. His brows furrowed as the golden light began to pool from his hands. He heard Chris gasp and saw from the corner of his eye Chris's fingers curl. Wyatt only hoped that the Wiccan part of Chris's heritage fought against the demonic one long enough for the wound to at least stop bleeding.

By time he was done, he was sweating. Chris was breathing as if he sprinted a mile.

And the wound was closed with nothing but a scar left. Leaning down, Wyatt pressed his lips to the thin white line. He could feel quivering fingers weave through his hair. Turning, Wyatt smiled, his cheek against Chris's stomach.

'I missed you."

Chris huffed out a laugh, "God, we are hopelessly in love aren't we?"

Wyatt grinned, his free hand find Chris's to hold, "Only a bit."

"Yeah, only a bit."

He knew it was coming. It was inevitable, and he couldn't blame them.

He was just thankful he and Chris could shower before it happened.

They were coming out of the shower when the door was tossed open. Wyatt watched as his whole family piled into the small room. Meeting his mother's cold stare, Wyatt placed his hand on his boyfriend's lower back. Leading him to the bed, Wyatt made sure to hold Chris's hand in his lap and wrap an arm around his shoulder to show that he was with Chris.

Family be damned.

"I think you have some explaining to do, Wyatt."

Wyatt nodded, "Yes, but, honestly, not one-hundred percent sure where to start."

"How about at the beginning?" His youngest Aunt, Paige, suggested with a raised eyebrow. Her crossed arms and narrowed eyes suggested that it wasn't a suggestion at all.

Wyatt sighed, still unsure at where to exactly to begin.

Apparently, Chris made the decision for him.

"My father was the Source of all Evil since I could remember." He started, "My mother was a witch he raped early in his reign. Fortunately, my mother was powerful enough to stop him ever producing children ever again. Not sure how she did it, never did ask; but, when he found out about it, he made it his goal to get his only heir : me." Chris frowned, "He murdered my mother when I was six. It was….gruesome and he made sure that I watched every bit of it."

Wyatt closed his eyes, squeezing Chris's hand. "I don't think they need to know this, Chris."

"No, they want the full story, and they'll get it." Chris took a deep breath, "Ever since then, I was groomed just like you groomed Wyatt : to be the next ruler."

"We've groomed Wyatt into nothing. He makes his own choices." Leo declared.

"Right, because he chooses to read outdated Latin tomes that, by the way, would vanquish nothing in the Underworld these days and age." Chris rebutted, "Anyways, since my father couldn't just make me disappear, he let me continue to live in the mortal world with my darling Aunt as a caretaker. I would go to the Underworld nightly for lessons that were more torture than anything. Three months ago, give or take a few days, my father was successfully assassinated and I took his spot as the Source of all Evil."

"How did you manipulate Wyatt into being with you?" Leo growled.

"I didn't manipulate Wyatt into anything!" Chris snapped, "and I wouldn't! How dare you-"

"Kit, calm." Wyatt pressed his forehead onto Chris's temple, "Kit. Breathe. Your eyes are red, darling."

"I wouldn't-"

"Shh. I know." Wyatt turned back towards his family, "I pursued Chris, not the other way around. Took me three weeks just for him to agree to eat lunch with me at school."

"I knew his connections," Chris whispered, "I knew mine. I knew what our futures held. I didn't want-I just thought it would be a fling, not….this. Not a happy-ever-after thing."

"Wyatt, you can't believe that he-"

"You all focus on Chris's father; but, not his mother." Wyatt stated, "His mother was a witch. He was forced into being the Prince. He didn't have a choice. He didn't have to come up here to warn us; but, yet here he is."

"This could be a trap." Paige whispered.

Chris shook his head, "I've known all of you for three years, and, I couldn't let Wyatt or anyone close to him to be hurt. And I couldn't-you showed me what a true family is supposed to be like, I couldn't just let you all be slaughtered like that, like my mother was. The day she was killed, I vowed, that the Underworld would crumble under my reign. I told her as she died that...that I would stop him. That I would stop them all and I won't...can't let her down."

Wyatt sighed, "Mom, if I thought he was a threat to our family or other Wiccans do you think I would've let him get this close to us? To any of us?"

Wyatt kept his eyes on his family. He knew his parents weren't keen on the idea. His Aunt Paige looked torn, her teeth working her bottom lip. He tensed as his other Aunt took a step forward. Her brown eyes were honed in on his boyfriend, her long brown hair curled around her face. Wyatt watched with apprehension as his Aunt Phoebe knelt in front of Chris, her hands on his knees. Slowly, as if approaching a scared kitten, Phoebe reached out and brushed aside Chris's damp brown bangs. "Sweetie," Phoebe smiled weakly, "Can you promise me you'll be completely honest from this point forward?"

Chris nodded. Phoebe's smile slowly pulled downward, "So much pain comes from you. It physically hurts."

"Phoebe-"

"Hush," Phoebe held up a hand, "Now, Sweetie, can you answer one question for me?" she waited for Chris's nod before continuing, "Do you love my nephew?"

"Yes."

Phoebe sighed and stood. Turning, she placed her hand on Chris's shoulder her gaze leveling with her older sister's.

"Phoebe…"

"He's Good, Piper."

"He's a demon!"

"Blood doesn't equal damnation, Leo!" Phoebe spat, "He's Good. He loves Wyatt and that's all I need to know."

"Stop being so naive, Phoebe!"

"And stop being so stubborn!" Phoebe shouted back, "And have faith in your son. Now, are we going to listen to Chris's warning or not?"

"Phoebe,"

"Not you too, Paige."

Paige just shook her head, a small smile on her lips, "I was just going to suggest we let the boys sleep first. They both look like they could use some 'z's."

Phoebe looked down before nodding. "Okay, we'll have this conversation after breakfast. Wyatt, you're going to be the one that have to patch this up, and I have a feeling it's going to take more than just a band-aid."

"Probably will take until my death bed to fix this."

Phoebe looked at her nephew, grinning, "But he's worth it, isn't he?"

Wyatt chuckled, "That and more, Aunt Phoebe, that and more."

"Stop." Chris muttered, "You're starting to sound all sappy and disgusting."

Wyatt's chuckles sparked into full-blown laughter. "You were the one to compare us to Romeo and Juliet."

"I refuse to let him sleep with-"

"Probably too late for that Leo," Paige muttered, "We're literally in the room next to them and Wyatt has his shield. He's probably safer than us. Now let the poor boy get some sleep, being stabbed takes a lot out of you."

"Thanks Mrs. Valentino and Mrs. Matthews"

"Oh honey, Paige and Phoebe are just fine," Paige said, "Now come on, everyone out! Shoo! Shoo."

"Paige-"

"Piper out before I orb you out. Now."

Wyatt watched as his youngest Aunt wrap her hand around his mother's and father's wrist before departing in a cloud of orbs, his mother screaming all the while. Sighing, Wyatt looked at his boyfriend. "Mel and the cousins are going to love this."

Chris managed a half-hearted smile. Frowning, Wyatt cupped Chris's cheek, his thumb caressing the cheekbone. Faint bruises still remained after the healing, but the life-threatening wound and infection luckily disappeared. "So, you love me."

Chris's eyes flickered close. "I guess so."

"Good. 'Cause I love you."

"Hm."

"Chris.'

Green eyes opened.

"Don't leave again, please."

"As if I could."

Foreheads together. "I missed you."

Lips blending. Breaths quickening. "I'm back now. I'm sorry."

"I understand." Bodies lowering. "I love you."

Gasps. Moans. "Love you too."

Souls reuniting.