Chapter Seventeen

Cal

I never in my life imagined I would be happy. Briefly content or maybe appreciating a singular moment of bliss, but never happy. Never thought that I would find a girl that loved me as well as the monster inside. Never in my most fanciful moment did I think I would hold a son in my arms, well at least not a son that wasn't trying to go for the jugular. And I couldn't exactly explain how it all made me feel.

I wasn't unappreciative, I didn't hate it. I just didn't trust any of it. It felt like a surreal dream or like a demon was pulling a warm filmy sheet of happiness over my mind waiting for the perfect moment for the unveiling so I could see that it was all bullshit and I was still at square one in a shitty world. I supposed that was what happened when life was nothing but a series of death-dodging disappointments. I didn't trust when things were going right. Well, as right as my life could go.

I lounged on Promise's immaculately white couch, legs stretched out, ankles crossed and feet bouncing back and forth to distract Dante with the loose laces of my boots. It let Cassie wrestle him into his pullover hoodie a little more successfully that she would if he had been running around the new surroundings in curiosity. It was a new adventure for him, since he'd already been passed out on my shoulder when we got to Promise's place last night. It wasn't the best location, considering there were many who knew of our affiliation with Promise. She wasn't exactly an activist in the supernatural community, but she knew about as many people as Robin and many people knew her.

We wouldn't be that hard to track down here, but I also doubted Delilah would be able to reconvene very quickly after all her injuries, especially after Cassie and I effectively slaughtered her pack, and she now knew she was dealing with two halfAuphes. One of which had a pretty impressive resume with the Werewolves.

Dante became bored with my laces and started using my legs as a jungle gym. Cassie sighed in defeat and sat back on her legs with one of his shoes still in hand. Dressing him was becoming a rather difficult task now that he wasn't leery about us. All that good boy behavior was out the window and he was becoming the typical mischievous two-year-old. Well, I couldn't say that even. He still didn't cry, didn't fuss too much, he was just incredibly active.

Not something I thought my son would be, considering.

I hoisted him up when he reached my knees and pulled him into my lap with his chubby little legs straddling one of my thighs. "Don't make me break out the straitjacket, Ace," I teased. He reached out and squished my cheeks together, giggling madly. Cassie took the window of opportunity and quickly shoved the other shoe over his little foot. They were Velcro so it only took a second to anchor them.

We were only getting him ready to go out to lunch; get him out of the apartment but not for a prolonged period. Promise's digs were much more extensive that Nik and mine, but the kid still needed some fresh air and the balcony only sufficed so much. Niko slipped another three throwing knives up his sleeve as he walked into the main room from his and Promise's bedroom. His hair was a bit dark with the dampness of a shower and he had that slightly more relaxed gate; I'd started noticing that stance the more often Promise stayed over.

I glared daggers at my brother in jealousy. While I certainly didn't mind telling stories to my son with my girlfriend curled up right next to me in bed, there had been other activities that I had wanted desperately to partake in and Dante made those a little difficult. My brother could get laid though; no problems there.

Nik lifted his eyebrows at my expression, then almost smirked. "Patience, little brother."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I grunted. Although the sound was more because Dante chose that moment to lose his balance and knee me in the stomach. I clutched the accosted area with a groan. Cassie scooped him up, before he kneed something more important.

"You ready?" She asked, motioning for us to head out. She seemed a little stir crazy herself; or maybe she was feeling the same anxiousness that I was. There was too much unfinished, too much waiting to crash down. I felt like we were in a house of cards and a hurricane was on the rise. It didn't help that she wouldn't talk to me about what was going on with Catcher; like I didn't notice the looks they were exchanging as we left.

I gathered my legs and hauled off the couch reluctantly. I already had my Desert Eagle under my arm and my hold up .38 at my ankle. Like my brother, I'd also littered my jacket with several concealed knives. Per usual, Castiella was armed only with her body, but after seeing what she could do I didn't doubt the choice. No one was taking my son again. "All right, let's blow this extravagant popsicle stand."

Niko nodded and slapped me on the back as I followed Cassie out of the apartment; considering the time was high noon, Promise wasn't joining us. The smack caught my attention since it wasn't on the back of my head like his slaps usually were.

"We'll take Dante tonight."

I stared blatantly for a few seconds. There was a time when Niko would have tried to convince me not to have raucous sex. There was a time when he looked at me with disapproval when I snuck out to commit the cardinal sin of lust, but that was before Cassie. That was before I had a girlfriend he wholeheartedly approved of. "Thank you," I said and meant it more than I ever had before.

Cassie pulled back from her lead and pushed up on her toes to dot a kiss to his cheek.

"Thanks, Nikki. Any longer and you'd probably think I was PMSing." I snickered; sometimes I forgot that Castiella could be more insatiable than me. It had to be something about the Auphe genes.

"In thanks how about you never call me Nikki again?" Nik responded smoothly.

Cassie hoisted Dante high on her hip and considered this for a moment. A very long moment. Niko sighed glanced over at me as if asking permission for something. I gave him a shrug, not quite understanding, but considering the current topic was regarding his name I didn't think I had much of an opinion on it. His gray eyes slid back over to Cassie before he offered an alternative. "How about Nik?"

Well, that surprised me. I knew it was apparent because I felt my eyebrows shoot up. Not even Goodfellow called my brother Nik. It was a universal acceptance that I was the only one allowed to do so. Just like it seemed to have become unspoken that only Goodfellow and I called Cassie 'Cas'.

Cassie understood the importance too. She stood very still, Dante playing with the long braid that trailed over her shoulder. Her eyes were fixed on Niko as if trying to figure out the catch. "Nik, huh?" She paused again, eyes sliding over to me for the briefest of moments, before returning to Niko. "You sure? I don't want to overstep—"

"I'm sure," Niko interrupted before Cassie could imply she was coming between the brothers Leandros. "On one condition." He opened his arms and reached out for the little live wire on her hip. "I get to carry my nephew and we eat somewhere that doesn't have a menu which consists only of fried foods."

"Deal," Cassie replied and handed Dante over. The kid was just as at home in my brother's arms as either of ours and even continued the same game of tugging on long blond hair when he found Niko's braid.

We departed with shouts of goodbyes to Promise, who was probably still in her bedroom recovering from her and Niko's afternoon romp. The day was crisp like the others have been lately. Nature just couldn't shake winter's grasp. Niko had become so used to people avoiding me (and therefore him by proxy) that he seemed disoriented when we didn't receive the usual duck and evade. So disoriented, in fact, that I noticed our tail before he did.

I was walking with my arm around Cassie's shoulders, her petite body snug against me. I squeezed the joint where my hand lay over her jacket to catch her attention. I didn't even need to say anything.

"I noticed," she replied, stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and turned around to face our shadow. The black van crept to a stop in the closest parking spot which happened to be a block down, but none of us moved. Niko couldn't miss it now, whether he was cursing internally over his obliviousness I would figure out later. At the moment I was a little concerned about the safety of my son.

We didn't wait for the side door to slide open as Cassie led us across the side road to within a few feet of them. A man and woman stepped out, both in gray jumpsuits like last time. I recognized the woman as the outspoken one that helped us out with Samuel before, but the guy I didn't know. He wasn't one of the original crew Samuel had. I tugged my Desert Eagle out from the holster and held it at my side, just under the cover of my jacket. The action was noticed –I didn't try to hide it– and the jumpsuits stiffened in reserve. They stopped approaching. The unknown guy holding out his arm to keep the woman back. Bennett, that was her name. Huh, surprising I actually remembered that.

The driver remained in the van, but the passenger's side door swung open and Uncle Sammy himself hopped out. I edged in front of Cassie and my brother, letting them get a glimpse of my gun. "Go away."

"You found him?" Samuel stated as he walked up to us in complete disregard for my weapon.

"Samuel, back off," I snarled and moved to pull the Eagle out of my jacket completely. Castiella's small hand slid over my arm, brushing the bare skin of my hand before wrapping around my knuckles and tucking the gun back into hiding.

She glided in front of me with a look in her eyes that almost made me too frightened to stop her. "No, little lamb." She turned her gaze on the Vigil crew and all three of them stepped back in alarm, even Samuel.

"Castiella, we aren't here to harm you, or capture you or any of your kin," Samuel said softly. He held up his hands like she was holding a gun on him. I imagined it was probably her eyes; I had no doubt they were lava red right then. "I'm glad to see you and your son are alive and well."

"I'm sure," she hissed. "It would be a shame if your little experiment died with the incubator."

"I had nothing to do with that project," Samuel claimed. "I would never place a child into that life. It's one thing for a consenting adult to vow his loyalty to the Vigil, but they had planned to keep that child…" he trailed off as he looked over Cassie's shoulder to Dante who was still in Niko's arms. From the corner of my eye, I could see my brother had palmed a throwing knife in his free hand, the other wrapped under Dante's rump. Samuel's expression was ever-changing during this conversation from fear to disgust at his own people to the wide-eyed look of man seeing his son for the first time. Of course, this wasn't his son, but I also imagined that was the same look he might have had when he first held his niece in his arms.

"Sammy," I coaxed. I didn't really want to be hanging around on the sidewalk all afternoon and Dante would get fussy soon if we didn't get some food in his belly.

"You made a beautiful baby." His dark eyes flickered to Cassie then me. "Forgive me for not thinking it was possible."

"It was a bit of a surprise for me too," I admitted. The other two Vigil were watching us amiably, so I returned my gun to the holster. They didn't want to take my son, but that didn't change the fact that the Vigil itself would want their experiment back once they found out he was a success. "Do they know?"

"Them?" Samuel asked motioning to the other two jumpsuits. I shook my head. Samuel's shoulders dropped as he realized I was talking about the Vigil in general. "Yes, but I promise it was not anyone here. Your movement through the city hasn't been unnoticed, Cal, and they obtained DNA samples from the van that the Auphe…or rather, Castiella attacked. They know Dante exists."

"And you're here to try and take him?"

Sammy snorted, white teeth flashing as he laughed. "I'm not suicidal." I waited for him to continue, since he hadn't really answered my secondary question: why was he here then? "I wanted to warn you. I'm sure you would hear it from Mr. Goodfellow or Ms. Nottinger eventually, but there is another threat heading your way."

Behind me, I heard Dante whine in discomfort. I glanced over my shoulder, meeting my brother's eyes. "Take him to that restaurant with the paninis you like. I don't want him out in the open this long."

"Cal," Niko started to argue.

"I'm fine, Nik. Sammy doesn't want to tangle with the Auphelings today."

My brother held my gaze, then I watched those gray eyes flicker over to Cassie. I didn't know what expression she was showing, because I didn't really want to split my attention that much, but whatever it was Niko decided he liked what she was implying better and edged back into the shadow of the closest awning. It was a little toy store, conveniently. One with a toy train chugging along an elaborate track. It successfully distracted Dante for the moment, but Niko's attention was on us.

I turned to Cassie with an irritated look. Her full lips were pressed together in scolding. "This family is not separating. Not now, not ever again."

I gave up; trying to disagree would be pretty hypocritical considering all the times I told her the same thing. I sighed and looked to Samuel. "What do you have?"

"There has been an influx of European werewolves entering the city. By the dozen, several different packs have been gathering. And the Kin are not showing any signs of their usual aggression. Normally, fresh meat –even their elders– would have been bullied or at least snarled at. They seem to be rolling out the red carpet in comparison." He shoved his hands in his pocket and I tensed, but all he pulled out was a cell phone with a large screen. He typed something in and flipped the phone around to show us a collage of four pictures. All of them were of weathered and scared men, ranging from their twenties to forties. The kind of guys you would find on a television mafia line up. They were werewolves; I didn't need obvious overbites or overly fuzzy sideburns to tell. I didn't recognize any of them though.

"Fuck," Cassie hissed beside me. Her brow was twisted and her eyes were kissed with flecks of gold. "Evati."

"We have a CI in the Kin—"

"A criminal informant? Really," I scoffed. "Are you the do-gooder mercenaries you claim to be at all or just a bad government front?"

"The CI tells us that those filing in are all surviving members or descendants of members associated with the Evati. The Evati pack has been defunct since the 1600s when the majority of their pack was slaughtered in Barcelona—"

"I know the story; I was there," Cassie growled. "They're after me. That bitch told great grandpa Evati that the Harbinger was in town and they all jumped the next flight over. Cal," she spun to me and I knew what she was going to say before she even opened her mouth.

"No," I rebutted before she could present her argument. It was the same old argument. I was in trouble I told her to leave and get to safety; she was in trouble she told me to leave and get to safety. The see-saw was getting tiring and, I realized, completely pointless. Both of us were too stubborn to just run from a fight, especially one where our loved ones were in danger. "This family is not separating." I threw it back into her face without shame. In fact I was grinning rather wickedly. Her round shoulders lowered in a silent sigh, defeated before she even lifted her fists to fight.

"Thank you for the warning, Samuel," Cassie muttered casually and gave a dismissive wave as she wandered over to where Niko was and took Dante from his arms. Nik didn't stop her, even if he asked for the quality time with Dante. I didn't blame him for stepping down; I knew what Cassie could do when threatened and I wouldn't want to mess with those maternal instincts.

"We can provide the child with protection." Apparently unknown Vigil-guy didn't have the same reserve I did. He scooted around Samuel despite his co-worker trying to stop him from approaching me. Like I had any say in this other than sticking together. "We wouldn't ask you to surrender him; we can house the three of you in our facilities until the waters calm."

"Please, tell me he isn't serious." Samuel knew I was addressing him, knew my dubious glare was aimed at him too. Sometimes I wondered if they intentionally picked up the most obnoxious and obtuse idiots to work for the Vigil.

"It's an option, Caliban. That is all. You can turn it down—"

"I would advise you not to turn this down," the idiot went on. He adjusted the collar of the jumpsuit as if he wasn't used to it. I could catch a flash of plain clothes underneath and finally noticed a little bulge at the ankle of his pants. Shame on me for not seeing that right away. He wasn't a cleaner like Bennett and their driver. He was something else. Shit, I didn't know what kind of ranks these assholes had, but I had a feeling he was higher on the totem pole than Samuel had been before his demotion. A rat in cleaner's clothing.

He crossed his arms over a broad chest and lifted his chin. "Due to the nature of the conception, I'm sure you're aware that his birth would not have been possible without the Vigil's aid. In regard to that The Vigil wishes to have joint custody—"

"Oh, fuck no," I snapped. My gun was out in a second aimed directly at Vigil-dick. He backed off; so did everyone else on the sidewalk. There were several gasps and cries and the scattering of bodies. It was broad daylight, this part of town wasn't vacant or used to a rough kind by any means, but I didn't really care. This prick was trying to place claim on my son. Trying to tell me the Vigil deserved to take him because they popped a few eggs in Castiella's uterus. "You walk away right now, if you want to walk away at all."

Samuel was holding up both his hands, trying to distract me from the rushing desire to shoot Vigil-dick in the forehead. "Cal, please lower the gun. This area is too populated. Someone is going to call the cops."

"And you'll come up with a damned fine story to tell the world," I countered. I could feel the static in the air, but figured it was my own fury rising until there was the tell-tale snap of something tearing the fabric of space. The van lurched with the driver still inside. The back wheel on the passenger's side dropped into a sinkhole and the frame moaned. Bennett trilled in surprise and leapt away from the pit of swirling gray between the edge of the sidewalk and the asphalt. I almost laughed when the driver bolted from the vehicle causing a few passing cars to honk in surprise when he ran out. As posh as Promise's place was, we were still in the grid of the city and traffic crept along between lights at a pace that left enough time to reasonably stop before they hit him, but I doubted the driver was concerned about a fender denting his hip bone.

"Cal, stop," Samuel pleaded, on the edge of hysteria himself. His head snapped back and forth between me and the growing gate under the undercarriage of the van.

"It's not me," I informed him, lowering my weapon and stuffing it in the holster again. I wasn't the only one pissed off about them threatening to take my son away for experiments and hell knew what else. You don't mess with a mama lion; that was a sure way to get your face gated off.

Cassie closed the gate before anyone asked her too, but the damage was already done. The back wheel made a popping sound and deflated as half of it (rim and all) disappeared into the space between. The van was tilted in its parking space now and was obviously not going anywhere anytime soon. "I guess you're walking," I teased. I grinned and glanced over my shoulder at my vixen of a girlfriend. She wasn't smiling. She clutched Dante to her chest in the most protective manner and my son's face was nestled calm in the crook of her neck.

"We didn't ask for a son," she said levelly. Her eyes swirled with blood red rage. "Yes, you have allowed this to happen. Yes, the Vigil allowed us to have this child, but it will be a warm day in Tumulus when I give him up to you or anyone else with nefarious intentions. You did not carry him for nine months with your greatest nightmare salivating at your heels. You did not gate six times succinctly while in labor to outwit said nightmare, just to birth him in an alley in Cairo. You did not flee from country to country to outrun the most malicious creatures on the planet with a baby still suckling your teet. I did. He is my son, my claim, mine. If you so much wave at me on the street when he is present I will send you on a one way trip to my hometown before you can blink. Understand?"

And that little speech was enough to make me both want to piss myself in fear and gather her up in my arms to protect her from all the horrendous things this world had to offer. Granted the latter was a little ridiculous considering I couldn't even protect her from the Auphe myself.

It got the desired reaction from the Vigil crew though. Samuel's arms fell to his side in defeat, Bennett stared on with something akin to awe on her homely face, the driver had both hands braced to his ride with the whites of his eyes showing all around dark iris' and Mr. high-and-mighty stood riga mortis still. He didn't look pleased, but at least he wasn't coming any closer. "You realize such a threat will only change our tactics. I've offered you a respectful compromise and you are refusing to even listen."

"Sammy," I warned. I really was going to shoot this bozo in cold blood if he didn't shut his trap.

Samuel ran a dark-skinned hand over his mouth and gestured for me to be calm with the same hand. He turned to the asshole and motioned for them to leave. "With all due respect, Fredricks, I believe this has become a hostile environment and we should take out leave."

"They have no rights to that child. He is a product of the Vigil's efforts—" I didn't know how it happened, but Vigil-dick's mouth gaped wide in silent agony before he could even finish his outrageous comment and his hand was pinned to the side of the van with a glinting throwing knife embedded in the center of his palm. To his credit he didn't scream; he must have been a soldier or something years ago because he had some fight in him. He lifted his leg to grab for his hold out weapon even with his hand anchored to the van's siding.

Niko was on him faster than I could raise my own gun. Fredricks grunted as Niko cracked his back against the van's door. The vehicle rocked since it was still unbalanced with half a wheel missing. My brother lodged his lower arm under the Fredricks' jaw, pressing bone to his throat. "That flimsy claim wouldn't even hold up in a human court," Nik snarled, baring white teeth and looking almost as vicious as he did when he was taking out a zoological list of creatures to get to my supposed murderer years ago. "Dante is a Leandros and the Vigil would be wise not to mess with a Leandros. Tell your superiors that we will do more than spread the word of your experiments to the other preternatural blights of the world. Tell them that if they even attempt to collect my nephew we will destroy every living creature of your ilk, innocent or not." He jammed his elbow into Fredricks' pulse. "If you can't give them that message and walk away this instant. I'll kill you myself."

With that, he plucked his knife from the prick's hand and wiped the blood off on Fredricks' gray jumpsuit before slipping it back into its hiding place under his jacket. "Can you do that?"

Fredricks tried to kick at Niko and even spat into his face. It wasn't that impressive a glob so it fell short to the ground between them, but that didn't help his case at all. That was a Rom thing. That was what our own relatives, on Sophia's side, had done at me the moment I stepped into their little mobile trailer park half crazed with my big brother desperate for help. Niko didn't appreciate the gesture in the least.

Niko fisted his hand in the front of Fredricks' shirt, yanked the bastard off the side of the van, and threw him bodily into the back where the side door was still open. Part of me was slightly concerned, only because my brother was about to kill a human in the middle of a high class part of town in daylight and I didn't want him getting arrested for murder one.

Samuel seemed to feel the same way about the scene we were making, because he cursed and quickly jumped into the van behind Nik and Fredricks. "Caliban!" The sharp bark was for me to help him and, again, the only reason I did was to keep my brother out of jail. I hauled back on Niko's coat, which left a thin line of blood on Fredricks' throat from another of Niko's many knives. It was hardly deep enough to cause any damage, which was certainly Nik's intention since he backed out of the van with a graceful step, not thrown off balance by my man-handling at all.

Samuel stood in the threshold of the door, both trying to hold an enraged Fredrick back and to snap at us. "Get out of here before the cops come." With that he slid the side door closed, effectively separating us for our potential punching bag.

I glanced over a Nik, sporting a look that probably expressed just how surprised I was that I was pulling him back from killing someone. He didn't say anything, but grabbed a handful of my sleeve and tugged me along the sidewalk back to the rest of our family. I shrugged him off within a few feet of Cassie and my son. I shrugged him off so I could cup my girlfriend's cheeks and place firm kiss to her lips. My thumbs brushed over her cheekbones as I knocked my forehead to hers, tilting it to the side to gaze at Dante as well. The little toddler reached out and smacked me on mycheekbone, gray eyes as solemn as a child's could get.

"I'm sorry for that freak out," Cassie whispered. Her breath was warm and sweet to my lips.

"Are you kidding me? That was both frightening and unbelievably sexy," I chuckled. I switched one hand to ruffle Dante's chocolate brown hair, my thumb still grazing over the subtle scars along Castiella's jaw. "I love your mama lion instincts."

Her upturned eyes crinkled at the sides just slightly with a smile that didn't touch her full lips. She glanced over my shoulder, most likely at Nik since I could feel him closed to my back. Her voice was still a whisper when she spoke; the grin in her eyes finally reached her mouth. "I think I now understand why you're scared of your brother sometimes."

I snickered, reached behind me to knock my knuckles to Niko's arm, and trailed my other hand down to the small of Cassie's back. "Let's get out of here."

I could hear voices bouncing off the interior of the van as Samuel and the prick had a shouting match. Bennett and the driver were still on the sidewalk, watching us and giving the vast pothole Cassie created a wide berth. I spared them just that glance before we headed out, continuing to the restaurant with new knowledge that I fully intended to ignore until I had some food in my stomach; I'd even take some chicken flavored tofu at this point.