I realise the last chapter was major filler so I've decided (at 1 in the morning and it's over 4000 words you should feel very loved!) to give you the next chapter now. Consider this chapter 8 part 2 and sorry, it's 1 in the morning so there might be some mistakes.

Okay, so I've got a pronunciation guide for some of the names coz they're French:

Marie- marry

Jerome- jeh (soft j)-rom

Amélie- Am-eh-lee

Damien- da-me-en

Pascal- (okay this one's obvious)

Lucas- the s is not pronounced, it just ends with an 'a' sound

Chapter 9

I hadn't known what to expect, so I had kind-of packed a lot in my suitcase. I decided to go help Luc out as it would likely be too heavy to do on his own and it was my fault for packing so many clothes. Before I could even get it out of the boot, someone grabbed it for me. Turning around, I saw a guy who looked to be the same age as Luc grinning at me. Winking, he lifted my heavy bag with ease and grabbed Luc's much smaller one, before walking over the gravel drive and disappearing without a word. I had grabbed Luc's hand in mine again, knowing that we both needed the contact and tried not to wince at the 'clingy girlfriend' gesture, but before I could think better of it, Luc grasped my hand tightly. Finally, I turned to the house and the many people in front of me.

I had barely turned around when a pair of arms engulfed me and I was pressed against someone's chest. I inhaled the lemony scent of the wearer and made sure I didn't let go of Luc's hand. I assumed this was Luc's mother- what was her name again?

Marie

Luc's amused voice supplied, but when she released me and gave her son and even bigger hug, all amusement was gone from his face, although it kept its warmth. That woman had arms like iron and squeezed like a python, but an affectionate one, if that's even possible… Then she pulled back, hands still on his shoulders and beamed at him "LUCAS! Jet'aitellement manqué!" (I missed you so much!) Woah. His full name was Lucas? How did I not know that? Come to think of it, I didn't even know his middle name. And he didn't know my full name.

I was distracted by Luc's mother's not so beaming face when she hit him lightly on the shoulder and began yelling in a tirade of French that I struggled to keep up with. Luckily, I had my French boyfriend to translate anything I didn't catch, although I got the gist of it anyway.

"J'ai été très inquiet pour toi! Pourquoi n'as-tu pas nous appeler? Oui, tu m'a envoyé des textos mais il pourrait tout aussi bien avoir été un meurtrier de masse nous dites que tu était «bien»! Et maintenant j'entends que les Watsons entent de vous attaquer etque ferais-je si… "

(I've been so worried about you! Why didn't you call us? Okay, so you texted but it could just as easily have been a mass murderer telling us you were 'fine'! And now I hear that the Watsons are trying to attack you both and what would I do if…)

Luc cut off her tirade sharply.

"Maman!"

A man who I assumed was Luc's father stepped up and put his hands on his wife's shoulders.

"Marie, çasuffit." He told her quietly. Looking at them both, I saw that Luc got his looks from his parents. Whilst his mother was a little rounded, she was not overly so and was very pretty. His father was handsome, but in a less rugged and more refined way than Luc, and his hair was shorter. Luc had the same colour eyes and dark brown hair as his Mum but his tanned complexion and height from his Dad, whose hair was darker and greying very slightly at the temples.

Now I see where you get your looks from, I told Luc teasingly as the rest of the Renou clan began to spill out from the house. It seemed that his Dad was going to make up for his wife's madness and, after clapping his son on the shoulder, he turned to me with a smile.

"Welcome, Anna. I apologise for my wife's craziness, I assure you it is perfectly normal." I smiled in return as Marie put her hand over her heart in mock hurt. He held out a hand and I shook it, feeling my respect for him rise.

"You are welcome here Anna. My name is Jerome, and this is Marie, we don't want to hear any Mr or Mrs Renou since we're all called Renou and it would get a little confusing!" I noticed he had a much stronger accent than Luc, probably Luc was the best English speaker here and many would not be able to speak all that well, so I decided to help them out, whilst getting the opportunity to practice my own French. Because I hated crowds, and I was in the presence of a load of native-French speakers, I began hesitantly.

"Jerome… ça va- j'étudie la français alors… je pense que je peux suivre si vous… si vous ne voulez pas parler en anglais. " (Jerome… it's okay- I'm studying French so… I think I can keep up if you… if you don't want to speak in English).

Jerome studied me intently for a moment with piercing eyes, before his face broke into a smile and exchanged a look with his wife that clearly said he was pleased.

"Cela signifie beaucoup pour nous, Anna. Merci." (that means a lot to us Anna. Thank you.)

Everyone seemed to take that as their cue to jump forward and begin talking excitedly and loudly in French at the same time. I gripped Luc's hand harder as everyone was trying to talk to us and I was struggling to maintain my composure. I was not one for a crowd. Luckily, Luc noticed this and told everyone to back off as we made our way inside and to the sitting room, where everyone began to crowd in and talk among themselves. It seemed that most of them hadn't been here very long because some people were greeting each other.

A girl pushed her way through the crowd towards us determinedly and Luc rolled his eyes. I gathered that she was Luc's sister, who looked to be about 15 or so.

"Salut." (hi) I told her. "Jesuis…" but she interrupted me, rolling her eyes.

"Je sais qui t'est- tout le monde sais qui tu est. T'estAnna." (I know who you are- everyone knows who you are. You're Anna)

I wasn't sure what to make of her rudeness, I was a little amused actually, but Luc obviously thought otherwise.

"Amélie, t'excuseimmédiatement! C'étaitimpoli." (, apologise immediately! That was rude.) Rolling her eyes again, she smiled at me.

"Pardon Anna. Salut, je suis Amélie," sheintroducedherself.

Then, turning to her brother, she launched herself at him and gave him a big hug and started talking to him at a hundred miles an hour. Smiling, I saw that they had a typical sibling relationship, that is, they really cared for each other whilst hating each other's guts- in a perfectly loving way, of course. It made me wish I had siblings, but no such luck.

The guy who had taken our bags came up to us and gave Luc a man-hug- the one where the guys grab each other's forearms and slap each other on the back.

"Hé mec! Ça fait longtemps, non?" (hey man! Long time no see, huh?)

He looked to be around the same age as Luc, but was much more muscly and had much lighter skin, although nothing like my vampire pallor. Other than that, they could be brothers, with the same colour hair, although this guy's was much shorter. He turned to me with a smile.

"Et vous devez être la nénette de mon cousin," he grinned. I frowned. I got he was saying I must be something… but what was a nénette? Was he insulting me? I looked at my interpreter, who was trying and failing to hide a smile at my expense, and I mock-glared at him.

What is he calling me?!

I glared at his smirking face and raised my eyebrows. He finally lost it and burst out laughing. I was completely astonished. Yes, Luc had chuckled before and maybe laughed a bit, but this was the first time he had properly laughed, a full-blooded, throwing back the head kind of laugh. Despite the fact that I knew it was at my expense, I couldn't help a slow smile spread across my own face at his obvious happiness. After a few seconds, I got tired of being embarrassed and poked his arm.

Tell me!

"He was just calling you my girlfriend, but more colloquial- how would you translate it… He said 'and you must be my cousin's… chicken?'" He looked at me to see if I understood the slang, and now it was my turn to burst into laughter.

"I think…" I told him between gasps, "you mean 'bird', not chicken!"

I managed to control my laughter, although my lips kept twitching, and the introductions carried on. It seemed that Damien, who was Luc's cousin, had a strong relationship with Luc and vice versa. I stored that one in my head to ask about later, but with all the people around, I thought it would probably be better in private.

Just then, a man shouted for quiet and everyone found a seat on the sofas dotted around the room, the kids on the floor and the adults in the seats. Some cheeky ones got shoved off by their elders and I was flattered to be offered a seat by an uncle I had yet to meet, but I declined politely and sat on the floor with Luc, who, needless to say, still hadn't let go of my hand, which I was eternally grateful for. He sat leaning against an armchair leg and pulled me so that I was leaning against his chest instead of being backrest-less. I smiled shyly at him, glad that he was taking the initiative and moving on in our relationship.

I was distracted by the beginnings of the speech from the guy who had shouted for quiet, not that it finally was quiet. I totally got what Luc said about his family's loudness driving him nuts. Sometimes, quiet people like us needed a break. I linked into Luc's head so that I could get any words I didn't understand translated and saw that he was the leader of the Renou clan- his name was Pascal.

"Okay, so you all know why we're here." He paused, smiling at Luc and I. "We finally have what we've been waiting for, for many years now. It seems we're doing something right, like the Visionary told us, and now we're back on track. As the Champion of our clan, I'd like to officially welcome you here, Anna. I hope you feel you belong here as much as we do."

I blushed at all the eyes on me whilst casting a questioning thought at Luc. Apparently the 'Champion' was another word for leader. Huh, Virtuoso, Aces, Charmed, Champions, didn't it ever strike these people that the names they had were a bit pompous and quite vain? I felt Luc's chest move in a silent snort at my thought and I ignored him, taking advantage of the slight pause to clear my throat and smiled at Pascal.

"Thank you. You've… made me feel very welcome"

Full marks for effort, but maybe a little too enthusiastic, I added (in my head obviously, where there was only one observer). Pascal continued.

"But this is not the only reason we've all gathered here. It seems that the Watson clan, despite them being stripped of their powers and even dead, have resurrected and are now targeting Anna here. Luc?"

Pascal raised his eyebrows at Luc, who gave a short account of all that had happened in the past week and a half. I felt ashamed when he glossed over about me avoiding him for a week and getting us both sick because of my stubbornness. He added that Maggie, the Visionary, was personally looking into it whilst they were there and keeping an eye out in case Marcus decided to return. Pascal thanked Luc and addressed the group once more.

"Although an unintentional result of the attack was actually a very happy conclusion, something needs to be done about Marcus and it needs to be done before the Reunification, which is in 10 days. We cannot just sit around when one of our family is in trouble."

I realised that the clan was finally doing what it should have done when Luc's grandfather was alive- to act. They couldn't just sit around, waiting for someone else to sort out their problems. I saw that Luc was, for the first time, incredibly proud of his family, and I lightly traced the tattoo on his wrist with my fingers, glad that I would be part of this. I had only ever had a vague idea of what I had been missing with my absentee mother and distracted father. I had been lonely without realising it.

And now you have us. We are your family now.

I smiled at the thought of having a sister and cousins (he had a lot). I decided to be cheesy again.

And I have you, don't forget that.

I wouldn't dream of it.

The meeting dissolved into a load of family talking and I was introduced to more people since it was much more civilised now. A lady came over and introduced herself to be Emily, Pascal's wife. She spoke English with an Australian accent, and I belatedly realised that all the women had to have some from a different clan.

"You must be feeling a little lost with all the nattering in a different lingo," she told me, smiling. She was blonde and looked to be in her mid-forties and smiled a lot.

"When I first met the family, there was a heck of a lot less of them for one, two I had a French mother so spoke French, and three we were already ascended when I met them, so I was in Pascal's head, so he could translate much more easily than when we weren't ascended. Oh, and I was an Acce anyway, not a human, so I was perfectly used to this stuff- I was twenty-four, the normal age for imprinting, as well! You seem to be perfectly at home here. I mean, I would've run for the hills screaming if I was in your position."

I turned red as I recalled that my week of denial was my version of running for the hills, screaming, as Emily put it.

Ah, but the difference is, you came back, Luc reminded me.

True. Emily was watching us with a knowing smile and I realised she knew we were talking inside our heads. Blushing again, I replied.

"Well, I got all the running and screaming out of my system at home, I think," I told her honestly, and she laughed. I realised that she wasn't one of those people that smiled for the sake of smiling, she smiled because she was genuinely happy and put people at ease- even people like me who was not good at talking to strangers… well, at talking full stop. I longed for her contentedness.

"I see Luc's got you trapped as well, so even if you wanted to run you couldn't!"

Luc squeezed my hand and I glanced sideways to see him looking at me with an expression on his face that made my stomach jump. Instead of swallowing, blinking lots and looking at the floor with cheeks flaming, like I normally would, I gazed back at him and bit my lip, dropping my gaze when I couldn't take the blazing emotion in his eyes. To be honest, it terrified me, but this was progress. Baby steps Anna, I reminded myself.

"Oh, I remember when I was just imprinted. Pascal couldn't keep his hands off me and I pretty much looked like a tomato the whole time…"
"Aunt Emily!" Luc protested, making a face, but I found it more cute than embarrassing.

I also met Amélie and Damien properly. Amélie was actually fourteen and had her mother and brother's hair colour, but whilst her mother's hair fell in soft waves, her long hair was straight. Amélie also had braces, which she kept picking at because, in her words, they 'itched'. But she had only just got them so I supposed she'd get used to them. It seemed that practically all the Renou clan had dark brown eyes, except Luc, whose were that unique shade of hazel. In this light, they had a warm gold tint to the browny-green mix. I was pretty sure I could stare at his eyes all day, but I had to meet people.

Damien was 20 and the council member Philippe and his wife Marcella's only child, but since children weren't allowed at the palace, he didn't get to see them often. So, Damien pretty much lived with Luc and his family- that explained why they were as close as brothers. I could definitely identify with the whole not seeing the parents thing, but seriously, what kind of society forces those in power to separate from their loved ones? I guessed that if there wasn't the whole 'need to be with the imprint or you die' thing, spouses wouldn't even be allowed. I realised how much Maggie's work was cut out for her now.

Actually, don't bring it up, but Damien used to have an older sister, but she died a few years ago now. I sent Luc a questioning thought but he just told me later. But that made me think of the last time he had said later to me- when he had breathed it in my ear. My heart sped up just thinking about it and Luc's hand tightened on mine. I could tell he was amused by my heart's reaction, although he didn't show it. His mask was on.

Because people were moving around, we decided to sit on the sofa; or rather Luc had claimed the love-seat for us. The women had disappeared to do lunch and various children were called to set the tables outside (I did a rough head count and I think there were around 25 of us. As practically everyone had introduced themselves already (I would never remember all their names, so it was lucky I had Luc to remember them for me), we were alone on the love-seat for a few minutes and Luc gave me a rough family tree. It seemed that his grandparents had eight children together; only two of them girls, so since the women joined the husband's clan, there were six families, all with children, ranging from 24 to 3 years old. All I could think was that it was a lot of lunch. Luc was one of the oldest grandchildren and was clearly looked up upon by all his younger cousins.

I realised that this family was so forgiving, and Luc could only wonder at their complete acceptance when he came back. They didn't judge him, they just forgave him and moved on. But Luc had tried to tried to make up for or at least heal his past wrongs because he became the perfect brother, nephew, cousin and son. He was amazing- how could I compete with that?

Don't start that again, Anna, Luc's teasing voice echoed through my head.

Okay, let's call it quits- neither of us deserves the other.

Hmm, that's a little pessimistic, don't you think? I prefer to say that we both deserve each other.

He had leaned in and I realised we were probably making a sick-inducing display of staring into each other's eyes, but looking around, I saw that chunder was not, in fact, flying everywhere. There were a few sideways glances, but they were happy ones- ones from people who had experienced that heady rush when their Significant touched them and the constant urge to be with them the whole time. There were also quite a few emotional gifts in the Renou clan such as Jerome, Luc's father, who could sense emotions, and Thomas, one of Luc's uncles, who could sense if someone was hurt, emotionally or physically. His wife could heal physical pain, which was pretty cool. I was definitely looking forward to superpowers.

The room began to empty as everyone rushed outside for lunch and Luc and I followed, arms swinging between us as we maintained the skin contact that had not been broken since we got here. I sighed. Definitely clingy girlfriend. But oh well, my boyfriend gave me a shot of calm every time we touched. What's your excuse?

By the end of the day, I had decided that I was in love with French food. Having 6 amazing cooks prepare authentic French nosh was amazing. So here I was admiring your cooking skills when it was all from your mother and aunts I had told Luc teasingly as we were eating.

Hey, my mother only taught me the basics, he had defended himself. I was too busy eating to reply, not that I had needed to use my mouth to talk to him.

Now, we were heading upstairs to his bedroom and I actually felt nervous. His room in England was impersonal, not the one he stayed in permanently. His real room would be different. It would give me an insight into who he was- bedrooms spoke volumes about a person.

Taking a deep breath, I followed Luc into his room and stood in the entrance, taking it in. It was a bit messy, but not very, it just looked 'lived-in' messy. It was pristine compared to my own. The walls were a soft brown that reminded me of his hair colour and the bedspread was green. From analysing the contents, I got that Luc played the piano and guitar, didn't really do video gaming (if his dusty x-box and few games were anything to go by- I thought it was probably for Damien's sake), liked reading and was a football goalie. Way to go, Sherlock Holmes. I had not known that he played. How did I not know that? I sat on the edge of his bed and put my head in my hands. I was a terrible girlfriend.

"Lucas Alexendre Renou."

"Huh?" I was confused. He sat next to me and took my hand again.

"That's my full name- you were wondering?" He asked teasingly. "Now you have to tell me yours," he bargained.

"Anna Marie Fairclough."

"Anna," he told me quietly, bringing his other hand up to touch my cheek and guide my face so I was looking at him.

"We met only a week and a half ago. We have plenty of time to get to know every little thing about each other. In fact, I want to get to know you, but I know already that you are not some terrible girlfriend."

I finally allowed his touch to take away my anxiety and sighed when the calm washed through me.

We got ready for bed and sat together in silence, each absorbed in our own thoughts. Today had not been as scary as I had anticipated. Sure, Luc's family were loud and not like him at all, but I had felt at home with them and Luc had helped me be strong by barely letting go of my hand all day. My heart sank as I realised how weak I had been. Today was supposed to be about me comforting Luc and helping him be strong for his family, but it had turned out that I was weaker than him and had needed his strength more than he needed mine.

That is not true! He contradicted fiercely. And if you looked in my head, you'd see it was true.

I reached out my mind and saw that his mind barriers were fully down. I saw his mask that hid his true feelings and went past it. I looked into his mind and saw his vulnerability, his pain at hurting his family, his lingering resentment, his self-hatred at what he did when he ran away. Then, I saw in the centre of his mind and his heart, was me. I saw his need to protect me, to help me, to be strong for me, I saw his fierce determination to care for me, but I also saw his own need to be protected, to be helped and to help him be strong. I was the person that kept him strong. Without me, he wouldn't have been able to find the strength to endure the attentions and expectations of all his family at the same time for long. He really did need me.

His hand brushed my cheek as I realised this, followed by an awareness of how close he was. He moved slowly closer to me and I closed my eyes in anticipation. When our lips brushed, it felt like electricity was flowing through his lips to mine. He deepened the kiss and I leaned into him, fireworks going off beneath my eyelids. His hand dropped from my face, only to find my waist and bring me closer to him as his lips sped up and became more forceful. His hands moved from my waist to my back and ran along my spine and pulled me to him as his tongue brushed along my bottom lip, seeking entrance. Without even pausing, I allowed him in, but I couldn't hold back the breathy moan that escaped my lips when his tongue slid over mine. I was embarrassed for a split second before he made his own noise, a growl at the back of his throat as his hands tightened. My own hands had been around his neck, but now I entwined them both in his shaggy hair.

We both pulled back at the same time to breathe and Luc rested his forehead against mine. Both of us were panting slightly and my heart thundered in my chest, which I knew he could also hear. He kissed my forehead, then my cheek, very close to my mouth, lingering a few seconds, before lying down and tugging me down with him. I settled into him so that my head rested against his chest and my hand lay on his heart, underneath my own. His arm came around me and he kissed my forehead again before turning off the light.

Goodnight Anna.

Goodnight, Luc.

So I suck at writing kissing stuff, sorry... any pointers would be helpful.

Just out of interest, what actor/actress do you see as any/all of the characters? I surf random pics for someone I think looks the part but I want to hear what you guys think.

See you next time :)