We went downstairs and I told Clayton more or less what I'd figured out during the week away. He'd come to similar conclusions and was more or less convinced that, even if Demetruis wasn't a member of the resistance group, he was working along side them for now. The two attacks were too close together.
Clayton and Nick had also run into several mutts who were undergoing the 'treatment' while they'd hunted Demetruis down. Nick had been robbed by one seeking money. They were desperate for the treatment, even 'addicted', willing to do or steal or kill to get it so they could keep 'normal'. They were with a vampire.
It was a strange world out there, apparently. Supernatural beings pairing up our of sheer desperation to regain their powers back. The internet was going mad with stories about them now. Clayton had gotten the money back and reminded them 'gently' to stay low but when I told him the sheer figures of how many people were sick, even he looked taken back.
"And our treatment isn't going to last."
"I don't know. Maybe not." I admitted.
Clayton frowned. "Then we better get on with it."
Jeremy came down after a while and joined us. He didn't try to tell Clayton to calm down or get sleep, though he repeated his offer of a sedative for a little rest before we headed off. I didn't know where to start though. None of us did. Demetruis had no known residence. We only knew about his mother.
I was distracted though, by the sleeping toddlers upstairs, by Matt, by the twins, and it was clear that I wasn't really able to leave just yet. I tried to be focused in it. I really did. Clayton got more and more annoyed with me as I zoned out, Nick squeezing my arm, though he was equally as reluctant to rush off.
"Sorry. My twins were supposed to be here yesterday." I muttered, finally, as Clayton kicked my chair and kicked me back into reality. "The twins are with Demetruis' mother right now."
"I said where's his mother live?"
"I don't know. Benicio Cortez knows."
"Jer, can you give him a call?" Clayton didn't care that it was reaching two in the morning. He had a job to do.
Jeremy already had his phone out. No answer on the other end.
Clayton stood up. He was just about ready to go now, I realised, but I had no clue where he was going. Jeremy stood up too.
"Lucas is asleep. Don't wake him."
"We've got to get Elena. She's been gone a week." Clayton pushed past Jeremy, heading upstairs, and Jeremy looked like he was ready to get him.
Then he sighed, sat down, and pulled over the map of where Nick and Clayton had gone.
When Clayton returned, it wasn't just Lucas and Paige. Antonio was there too, looking as sleepy as they were, flopping down beside me.
We went over it, Lucas saying something about the 'broken contract' possibly assisting me tracking Demetruis down, but he wasn't a hundred percent certain about that. As soon as he said that, Clayton was standing and shoving a backpack at me.
"What?" I stared at it.
"Nick packed for you. We need to get going. How does the tracking work?" He glanced at Lucas who looked as surprised by the sudden movement as I had.
"She has to feel it. I've never been in one. Not many have." He glanced at me. "You'll have to go with it."
I remembered, as I sat there, how it'd felt like 'strings'. Hooking him to me. Like a fishing rod. The more I thought about it, the more I was aware of those strings, like they got less transparent, more clear, more obvious.
It was Benicio who gave us a lead. He apologised to me- the mother of Demetruis had flat out refused to let them on the property and he was working on it- but he suggested that Demetruis might be there. If we showed up, I might be able to order into the microphone and make him come out.
"But if he isn't there?" I added, as Clayton looked about ready to get up then and there. "What if he's not there and we've just told him I'm alive?"
No one spoke for a while.
It was Paige who spoke, softly, glancing from Lucas to us. "The treatment is being sold to anyone who'll pay for it. We could get someone to go for it."
"Not me though."
"No. Someone else. Cassandra." Paige caught Clayton's face as he flinched, scowling, and shrugged. "She's the only one I think he might believe is more interested in herself than the greater good."
"Because she is." Clayton interrupted.
"Aaron isn't. If everyone agrees, I can call them, and see if we can get them to find out where treatments are offered." Paige glanced around. No one was shaking their head, except Clayton's clear dislike of the woman, and she stood up with her phone and went outside.
Aaron and Cassandra. The two vampires that had gotten a bit munchy on us. I had to guess they'd recovered and had gone back out onto the streets. Or something. Having never met them before, I had no clue how they worked, and somehow didn't feel too much curiosity about it. Being on the receiving end of a bite was more than enough information.
Nick yawned, leaning against me, shutting his eyes. I had to agree.
Paige was back after twenty minutes. She smiled a tense smile. "All arranged. Cassandra has a contact who got her an appointment, Aaron will go with her, and then they'll meet us there."
"Where?"
"Miami." Her eyes met with Lucas's eyes for a moment. I wasn't sure why.
"Right under my father's nose?" He breathed out slowly.
"Best way to keep something hidden is hide it in plain sight. We have to get going now then. You and me." Clayton was already heading out the door. No more waiting. I was only out the door by the time he got to the car.
I hurried after him, the backpack in hand, "Wait..."
He swung around, glaring at me, hand on the car door. "Yes?"
"The triplet's birthday... the twins... Matt. I can't go rushing off like this."
Clayton didn't answer for a moment. Then he stepped closer. He was angry, the expression actually scaring me, suddenly his height a threatening thing rather than an amusing thing. "You'd eat cake right now? After what he did to you?"
"It's not that. It's just that they were hysterical. If I'm not here tomorrow..."
"Elena might be being raped right now." The words slapped me hard across the head, Clayton's voice low suddenly, dangerous. There was no empathy. Nothing. Just that low warning growl, the older stronger wolf ready to discipline and hurt the disobedient younger one. "Your alpha. The triplets can cope. Matt can cope. We have to go now."
And he was right. I knew it, even if I knew it was going to scare them, and Matt...I swore, dropping my eyes, giving in. Submission to him. He was in charge and I had to do what he said. "You're right. Sorry. I would never let Elena go through that. We should go."
Clayton backed off, when he was satisfied I agreed, and glanced over to where Paige and Lucas were coming over at a near-run. "Where do you two think you're going?"
"With you. Unless you've suddenly learnt how to do magic." Paige replied, meeting his eyes with a cool expression.
"Get in the car." He didn't answer her, just ordered me, and I got in. Paige and Lucas got in the back in a hurry, as Clayton was already pulling out, only to skid to a halt as Nick jumped in front of the car. Clayton growled, threatened to run him over if he didn't get out of the way, and tried to go past him as Nick went to the side.
Nick grabbed the door handle, opened it, and flung himself inside as Clayton sped off down the driveway.
"What do you think you're doing?" I glanced back at him, annoyed, he could have been hurt by that.
He crossed his arms. "I'm coming. Trying to leave me there asleep." He didn't seem annoyed though, just amused, and winked at me.
Clayton didn't tell him off either. We took off, leaving the house behind, and headed away.
The five of us booked a flight to Miami early that morning, four hours away, and as the airport wasn't open till five, we found ourselves waiting outside anyway. Clayton paced up and down in the darkness, his frustration with this helpless situation showing, and by then Aaron and Cassandra were already arriving in Miami.
They agreed to meet us after the treatment and were gone for a while. I leaned against Nick in the dark, yawning, the two of us half dozing as we sat beside the car and leaned against it. Lucas and Paige were doing more or less the same thing, speaking in low soft voices, though it seemed to me like they were still in 'switched on business mode' compared to us. We were just sleepy.
I watched Clayton pace up and down in the darkness. Finally he vanished for a while, and I smelt the smell of wolf increase a slight bit from his scent on the wind, knowing he'd finally had to change and deal with the anxiety that was building in him. Nick slid up higher too when I told him softly. He couldn't smell him or hear him like I could.
"Just keep a nose on him. He should be okay." He murmured, eyes trying to see into the darkness where Clayton had vanished, some alertness returning.
I did just that- kept a nose on him- and for an hour he paced through the dark bush near the highway, the smell of rabbit blood at one point, before he returned to the car and sat down beside us, muscles less tense, but the deep anxiety still there. It was sated for a little while, that was all. When I slid my free arm over his shoulder, slowly just in case he rejected it, Clayton didn't. To Paige's amazement he leaned against me, shutting his eyes as well, the pack thing equally as comforting right now as a sedative. But he did open one eye, shooting her a look, which made her flush and glance away. I nudged him.
"Be nice."
He shrugged, shut his eyes again, but didn't sleep. Just sat there on the other side, Nick standing to pace.
"I've got an address." Paige called, softly, finally.
"Write it down." Clayton ordered, without raising his head, but his shoulder muscles tensed under my arm. "Anne, check it on your phone."
My phone was dead, I remembered, but Nick tossed me his and I worked on finding the address. It was outside Miami. Clayton had me save the search before he relaxed.
"So, do we barge in, or what?"
"You use that spell to call him out." Lucas came to sit closer. "You picture how it looks in your mind, the leash, and picture it getting solid... then you order him. We don't want to take on a factory full of who knows what."
"Treated supernaturals who are keen to show off their strength?" I muttered.
"Exactly." Lucas nodded. "We'll avoid that and meet with Aaron and Cassandra in his hotel room after."
There wasn't much else to say. We waited and headed into the airport when it was time, backpacks all we had or needed, getting onto the early morning plane with a handful of humans who looked as bleary eyed as we did.
Miami. I stared at it out of the plane as we dipped down, realising this had been where we'd been for the past week, and suddenly realised I should probably get to know these stupid American cities so I knew where I was.
Nick hired a car for us, a nice dark windowed one, a four wheel drive with some spare seats- we fully intended on not going anywhere without Elena, and after glancing at me, asked them to put a couple of baby seats in the trunk for later. Just in case.
I knew our priority right now was Elena but I couldn't help it. I had to think about a lot of priorities. If Clayton's twins were here he'd be equally as obsessive, I was sure, and maybe he'd understand when Elena was safe and his instincts weren't screaming in his ear to get her to safety and rip apart the threat. If we could safely get the twins then I wasn't going to pass it up.
We drove in silence, the early morning light starting to come with the dawn, and came to a tree lined factory after half an hour, some distance out of the city, a building so normal looking that I wasn't sure for a second that it was the right place. The ocean was out the back of it, several boats tied up ,and I wondered if maybe they picked people up. Clayton breathed in sharply though as he recognised someone. I saw him too. One of the mutts from the factory. He went into the office with someone else, a teenage boy, and I wondered if it was his son.
"Try it."
I tried it. The second I tried to touch that 'leash', the strings, I felt bile rise in my throat. But I also felt something else. Distance. He wasn't here. He was closer than he had been in Stonehaven, I could almost be sure he was in the city, but he wasn't in the building. I tried it anyway.
"Be specific." Lucas tried to encourage me. "Say it out loud. If he's within fifty feet he'll be compelled to do what you say."
"Come out to the car quietly with Clayton in the driver's seat with Elena and don't move when you get here." Nothing. He wasn't here. I turned around, stomach churning from the sick sense this spell gave me, and shook my head. "He's not here. I don't feel him here."
"Okay. We'll head to the hotel and I'll call my father from there." Lucas nodded.
Clayton pulled away again.
Aaron and Cassandra were waiting in the hotel when we arrived and showed us upstairs. As soon as we were inside, Aaron turned on me.
"I had to say sorry."
"Sorry?"
"For biting you. I don't bite healthy people but I ...wasn't thinking straight. I don't behave like that normally." He tried to smile, an awkward smile. "So sorry."
"No problem. I'm glad you're okay."
"We are trying." Cassandra spoke up, softly, a shrug. She fixed Clayton with an amused look as he didn't greet her, only Aaron. "Hello, Clayton. Elena gone again?"
His lip curled up a fraction, as if he was tempted to bare his teeth, but he didn't. Instead he crossed his arms. "Well?"
"It's an injection. They don't let you do much, they strap you down, it makes you convulse for a few minutes, then suddenly you're as good as new. Then they make a new appointment in a week's time. It's a busy place." Aaron sat on the bed as he spoke. "Cassandra tested it out before you arrived."
He didn't look exactly happy about it, or about her, but he was tolerating her. I wondered what was going on with them. Or between them? Who knew.
"How did it affect you? The disease?" I asked .
"We were able to bite and sedate but they would remember us. You should not have remembered Aaron's bite. Our saliva holds a sedative and creates amnesia in our prey but the disease took away the amnesia and the charm. A slight problem for feeding there." Cassandra explained, a faint accent in her voice. "We coped. There are human clubs with people who want to be bitten."
"They know?" Lucas stiffened.
"No. It is fashionable for young men and women to have their canines filed down. They dress in black, go to these clubs, and bite each other." She rolled her eyes as she said it. "But it's become a popular place for the real vampires to find willing donors."
"How much did they ask?" Paige spoke up.
"Three thousand dollars per treatment for a vampire. Five hundred for a werewolf. There are half treatments too, that only give half back, for a discounted price. We require a larger amount, I heard the nurse tell me, so it costs us more." Aaron added, "Or they think that because we're immortal we have more money."
Three thousand dollars. I exhaled slowly, shaking my head, that amount of cash... and they'd pay it too. Five hundred and the mutts would be hooked. No wonder why they tried to rob Nick and Clayton.
"They also offer loans. Payment schemes. First time discounts. They have people hooked." Aaron added, softly. "People on contracts. It's pretty nasty stuff. I'll get breakfast for everyone."
We went quiet as Aaron called room service and Lucas called Benicio and let him know. He seemed to know already, apparently, and had a car sent for us after we'd eaten breakfast. We'd be going to Demetruis's mother's house. It was possible he was hiding there- the road in was being watched but there was water access too.
Breakfast arrived and we ate hurriedly. Aaron and Cassandra weren't coming, she vanished into her own room after a while, and Clayton just paced up and down. Five minutes and we were off again, in a different car, driving through the city to a different place.
Miami had islands. It was interesting to see- these islands, long bridges, and it was on one of those islands that we ended up. The car made its way across the water and we ended up on a tiny island. The house looked Spanish, a long Spanish building that was probably better described as a 'mansion' instead of a 'house, with tight security and a waterfront pier hidden away probably behind the house. I wasn't fooling myself- a place like this would cost a lot of money. According to Benicio, it had security as tight as the Cortez building, complete with half-demon and sorcerer guards and a security system that was more state of the art than I knew what to do with. Benicio was already there waiting, security with him, and apparently this was not common. I doubted he took so much personal interest in things like this.
"We'll make another attempt before you expose yourself as alive." Benicio informed us, eyes going to me and Lucas. "Just in case he runs. Try it while I inform her I'm here." Benicio vanished again and Clayton moved the window back up.
"You can think or say it. It's up to you." Lucas said from the back. "I don't know which will work. Try both."
"This magic thing feels too much like cheating." I muttered. And it made me feel physically ill. "Can't we just barge in?"
That actually got a sound from Clayton that might have been amusement.
"No. We should be delicate." Lucas' lips twitched slightly.
I sighed, shut my eyes, and tried to focus on making the 'strings' stronger. It was surprisingly easy, as if he was inside that house, I could almost, almost pick him out. Vomit welled back up, and I felt Nick's hand grasp mine, maybe he could see how uncomfortable it was to do. I didn't know.
He was behind the house. I tried it, mentally, ordering him. It was so strange, my hands flexed, I just wanted to grab him and drag him here. Maybe that was the werewolf thing. I wasn't like this before the bite, or was I? Who knew. This magic bullshit felt so wrong.
"It feels wrong." I muttered. "Like ...I don't know. Like I'm trying to drink off milk and my stomach's rejecting it. Everything in me says this is wrong."
"You're not born to do magic. It probably would feel wrong." Paige said softly. It was the first words she'd spoken since earlier. "Try it out loud. Be specific. Which car, who he's coming out here to, and what he'll do."
Lucas added, "Don't worry about the twins. We will get them out but they'll complicate it if he has to carry them out and take Elena out."
I growled softly at that, shut my eyes, but Lucas was right. Shit. Even I struggle to carry two babies without assistance sometimes. I had to trust that Benicio could talk to the mother. I didn't know if I did trust him, that was the problem.
I flushed, embarrassed now, aware of their attention on me. I tried to organise the words in my head "Get your ass out to the dark blue car with Clayton in the driver's seat and get in the back with them and don't move."
"And bring Elena." Clayton muttered.
"Get your ass out to the dark blue car with Clayton in the driver's seat with Elena and get in the back with them and don't move." I was grasping at the 'off milk' strings, trying to put all my anger into it, and I felt something. Resistance, annoyance, was that it? But it worked. It felt like the leash tugged hard and the other end had no choice in the matter. "I think I can feel him."
"If he's close enough then you can." Paige and Lucas were reaching back into the back of the car to open the two seats back there, so they could get out of the way. "You have to wait there now. If he's coming, he'll need to see you there."
Clayton nodded and waited. His hands clenched and unclenched the wheel.
I knew Demetruis was coming. I knew it. My eyes snapped to his, like I was energetically drawn in his direction.
We saw him, saw the guards watch him confused, and he was so angry. His face was red with rage, an emotion I'd never seen, as his body did something he wasn't doing. He vanished inside the house, and Clayton sat up.
"Elena." Paige reminded him.
He was gone a few minutes as the tension in the car rose. I held my breath...
And then he was back, a limp body over one shoulder, long silvery hair swinging as she was carelessly swung side to side. It was deliberate too. We watched him, all of us holding our breath as he made his way down the driveway, red and purple bruises around her ankles and wrists showing that she'd clearly been tied down. When her head hit the edge of the brick letterbox Clayton growled and before we could stop him, flung himself out of the car.
I felt it- the order shattered, now that Clayton wasn't in the driver's seat, Demetruis freed of it, and he barked an order to the guards. Paige was leaping out of the car, Benicio raising his hands. I saw flames leap at Clayton, Demetruis jumping back, the unconscious Elena swung carelessly into a guard's arms.
Clayton got knocked back as he reached the gate, knocked back by such a hard force that he didn't move, and Demetruis focused on the car. There was a spell, I saw it deflected by Paige, Benicio right beside her, the two of them at the front of the car. He was willing to kill us this time. No fucking around, even if Benicio Cortez was right there.
I jumped out as he was about to vanish inside, behind the guards, an old woman in a robe yelling orders in Greek from the window.
"Stop moving and stay still." The words hung in the air, heavy in the sounds of yelling and explosion, hung between the two of us as if I'd hooked a rope onto him.
Demetruis froze. He stared at me with a mixture of rage and fury. But he couldn't move. It was such a simple order and impossible for him to find a way out of. It weighted us both down. I felt something strike the side of my head, pain exploding throughout it, a guard attacking me, and let Paige and Nick take care of him. My focus was fixed on the older man.
"Stay still and tell them to stop attacking." I said the words, though they were drowned out by the sound of the fighting around us, and yet somehow... I didn't see that anymore. I saw him alone. It was tunnel vision all over again, just him and me.
Demetruis's mouth opened as he ordered and the guards stopped, glancing back, one of them about to go past him into the house.
"Stop him and bring Elena to me safely."
He did it, even though I knew he hated it, lifting her up with a lot more care now than he had earlier.
"You're supposed to be dead." He growled, and I saw it, the wolf there. The rage. Demetruis dropped her on the ground beside me as Paige moved to check Clayton. He was groaning, struggling to stand up, blood pouring down the side of his face. Magic against a werewolf. It didn't usually end well.
"Stay still." I told Demetruis, narrowing my eyes, and Nick hopped out with Lucas.
"You can't keep me. I've done nothing wrong. I didn't even know she was in the house." He spat, frozen while they bound him up, Lucas careful to keep his hands apart. "I've broken no laws. You attacked my mother's house."
I knelt down as they forced him to stay still, carefully untangling Elena's arms from where they'd fallen awkwardly under her, cringing at the sight of her. There was no smell or sign that he'd hurt her in the way that Clay was afraid of but I didn't know. I smelt her blood as I tried to lift her up, my own head pounding, and Nick came over to check it as I gently held her.
"We'll find that out." Benicio spoke smoothly from behind him. He didn't touch him. "Attempted murder isn't something we ignore."
"That wasn't me." He growled.
"We'll take him for questioning." Benicio looked at me and I saw it- there was no chance of arguing, They'd take him and I had no say in that. A van was already backing up. "Would you like a medic for your Alpha?"
"Can you get us back to Stonehaven quickly?" Lucas asked from behind me. "We might not want to stay in this city."
"Private jet is already waiting." Benicio Cortez turned and hopped into a waiting car. "Clean up this mess."
"She should heal fine. How's Clayton?" I hoped I was right. It was strange- they were all looking at me for answers, even Nick.
Clayton was struggling to stand, Nick going over to help, and while he was unsteady, but his eyes were fixed on Elena. "Clayton's walking. Let's get her home."
There was a commotion from the inside. The old woman was rushing out in a robe, fury on her face as she saw her son driven away. Benicio was already gone, everyone leaving, the guards left to face her wraith. For a little old lady she had one hell of a screaming voice. I could see them cringe.
She turned, and faced me, and I saw it. Hatred. So much hatred there. The woman spat on the ground, turned, and headed inside. Benicio Cortez would have to deal with her. I doubted she'd listen to my pleas for the twins.
"We have to go." Lcuas touched my arm gently.
"My twins." I probably didn't need to remind him. I was tempted to go after her anyway, or smash my way in and grab them, or ...
Lucas frowned. "I'm sorry. I know you want them... but she won't let you in. They'll attack you if you tresspass and we can't protect you too."
I felt myself pulled back by Nick, heart breaking as I saw the old woman come to the window with one of the babies, as if she was deliberately rubbing it in my face. No... there was no 'as if'. She was. Nick growled softly and tensed, but we got in the car, my eyes shutting. Lucas and Paige were in the front now, the four of us in the back seat and crowded in, Nick and myself on either side of Elena and Clayton.
The drive back stretched out, Elena drugged out of her head I guessed, but she seemed uninjured. She'd probably been too dangerous to be allowed to be concious. The less I touched those 'strings' the less wrong I felt. They faded back into some area of my subconsciousness and I sighed with relief. But the grief at the twins, at not having them, like we hadn't really won anything in the end. We'd gotten Elena back, which was a win, but not the twins. It was only half finished as far as I was concerned.
"Sure she's not a ...spell? Illusion?" I asked, Nick's hands tightening on the wheel now, his eyes going back to Elena.
"She's here." Paige reassured us. She was on the other side of Elena, Clayton trying to keep awake, bent over her, his arms around her as if that'd protect her.
Of course she was. If this was an illusion they'd have thrown the babies in for good measure. They probably knew by now how much I wanted them.
"He's drugged her. Coward can't even face her." Clayton growled, his growl sluggish, eyes shutting as he inhaled slowly, his nose brushing against her hair.
I breathed out slowly, shutting my eyes, Nick's hand across the back of the back seat so he could touch me again. He was trying to comfort me.
"Doesn't solve the other problems, but yes. He wasn't expecting you to survive that." Paige agreed. She shut her eyes. "You should have seen it. No one should have survived it."
"But we did." Lucas reminded her, reaching across, touching her shoulder.
She went quiet, reaching up to touch his hand, not answering.
A small plane was waiting for us when we got there, complete with stretcher for Elena, Nick helping Clayton struggle onto the plane. I stood on the tarmac, staring at the car, torn. I didn't want to go. I wanted to stay and find them. It wasn't done, I hadn't finished this, but...
"Come on." Nick's hand closed around mine gently. I let him lead me onto the plane.
When I got on Lucas was already on the phone to his father. He spoke softly and quickly before he hung up and glanced at me. "His mother's causing a lot of trouble over this. He's handling it though. Your twins are there, she's just refusing to let anyone near them."
I wasn't sure what to think of that. "Can't we snatch them?"
"We probably won't need to. Just give him a few hours. She's influential... the politics are blocking him now." After a while, Lucas added quieter, "And worst comes to worst, we can force her legally. I'll assist you."
I didn't answer, just gazed out of the window of the small plane, aware that he'd already promised I'd have them by now. Nick made me turn and he cleaned the wound on my head and down my arm, where something had sliced, though it wasn't that bad. Not really. I'd barely been touched by the guard.
Clayton was asleep again, his head injury not a small one, and Nick checked it out as we lowered down for the smaller airport near Stonehaven.
"How bad?"
"We'll get Jeremy to look at it." He glanced at me, lips tightening, and I suspected it wasn't good. But Clayton had been through a lot. He'd manage.
Never the less, the drive from the airport in the car we'd left there was not fast, and I got more anxious as Clayton remained asleep. With Elena there, he should have been wide awake, probably watching out for threats or something. He lay beside her, both fast asleep, both pale. But they were calm, their hands clutching each other hard, so they were at least subconsciously aware of each other.
I couldn't believe it though as we pulled into Stonehaven. The retrieval had been so fast and ...sort of smooth... except that I'd again lost the twins... and we were home in time for dinner. Jeremy seemed stunned too. He lifted her up as easily as if he was still full strength, while I lifted Clayton up, the two of them carried upstairs into their bedroom. The best place. It was their territory.
I had to keep asking Lucas or Paige to check for spells. Nothing. They reassured me that it was real, over and over, and that it had been easy because I had him in 'thrall'. Or something. Without me there, apparently he could have stayed there for weeks while Benicio went through all the diplomatic and political bull he needed to do just to get into her property.
We sat there on either side. Nick with Elena, me with Clayton, I held an icepack to the back of his head where it'd hit the road pretty hard. Elena was fighting the drugs, eyes opening and shutting, struggling against Nick. Then she'd inhale, sigh, and relax. Kate and Logan refused to be taken away. They sat on the bed with their parents, waiting, taking over icepack duty for me when I had to go out to get food for all of us.
It was Elena who woke first, out of the two, and Clayton wasn't far behind her when she started to speak to him softly, voice rough, as if just her voice was enough to provoke his head to heal faster. Nick kissed her, ignoring my soft playful shove, so relieved to see her back gain.
"How are you feeling?"
"Sore." She grimaced, touching her head, Clayton rubbing his head as he fought the urge to go back to sleep.
"Get Jer to check her out." Clayton ordered, or tried to, but the words made him cringe.
I got up and headed for Jeremy, who was quick, but Elena shrugged him off, trying to gulp down water that I offered.
"I just feel groggy and sore. I'm fine. Check Clayton." Elena's eyes went over the big red swollen bit on his head, dried blood down his face and neck.
I filled her in on what'd happened but she was falling asleep, struggling, and she barely heard a word I'd said. Eventually Jeremy suggested we all go sleep. Tomorrow was the triplet's birthday.
That made me jump, I'd forgotten that somehow. I was still upset over the twins. The idea of celebrating any kind of birthday right now felt almost beyond me. I didn't want to cook, not really, the idea of take out suddenly very very attractive.
We headed out of the room and downstairs when Jeremy shooed us all out, kids included, Jeremy promising to keep an eye on both of them overnight, and to worry about tomorrow's food. We'd need a lot more if there was another party. He came with us downstairs.
"I need to buy stuff to cook with." I realised. "I think."
"Lillian wants to make their cake. You don't need to worry about it." Jeremy told me softly as we headed downstairs. "She and Antonio took the triplets into town today to stock up."
I sighed in relief and got into the car. One less problem. He smiled a tense smile, leaning over, hugging me. "Get some rest. You did good today."
"Not really. I didn't get the twins." I said it, finally, and Jeremy's arms tightened then, harder.
"Not yet. You got Elena though. It's a start. Soon as she's awake she'll probably be keen to get them back as much as you are. Get some rest tonight and we'll see you in the morning, I'll bring everyone over. Savannah and Adam are at Forestwatch tonight, Paige and Lucas here, so focus on resting and reassuring those babies you're safe." Jeremy stood back after a few more minutes of us there, the door open, his smell and reassuring calmness washing over me.
Nick slid into the driver's seat and we took off, slowly, glancing back at the house. Jeremy was already heading inside.
"You okay?" He asked, reaching out to squeeze my hand.
"I don't know." I admitted and he sighed softly. It was bothering him too, I realised, that he hadn't been able to get them. So I changed the subject to try and ease his guilt. "Do you think our capture of him was too easy?"
"You caught him off guard and he's probably sitting in a cell making plans to catch up." Nick didn't speak for the rest of the quick drive, hand stubbornly holding onto mine as long as it could, and we pulled up to chaos.
No fire in the house, nothing like that, but I could see Savannah trying to calm down toddlers. Nick and I jumped out as they refused to go to bed, demanding to see us, really not impressed by our vanishing act again.
She looked like she was so tired she could cry, Adam doing his best to help her convince them to go to bed, and when she saw us she nearly fell over with relief. "Thank god. Tell them to go to bed."
The three toddlers gazed up at us, angry faces fading into angelic 'who, us?' faces, all three pairs of arms and legs trying to climb up. They were tired, I saw it straight away, all three with the rosy cheek look they got when they were beyond tired.
"They wanted you." Adam explained. He squeezed Savannah's arm gently. "We were hoping they'd pass out and we'd carry them to bed if they didn't settle soon."
Nick nodded a fraction and glanced around. "Where's Dad?"
"Took Lillian on a date." Adam informed us. "Tried to sneak out the back door but we spotted them."
Nick laughed, lifting up Lily, leaving me with Susie and Dominic. "Thank you for helping. We'll get them ready for bed."
"We tried." Savannah called as she collapsed onto the couch. I heard her swear as Adam joined her, both of them muttering something about werewolves and too many kids, the TV turning on. They'd probably pass out pretty soon too.
I was right about the toddlers being tired. Once we'd gotten them bathed, a quick bath in lukewarm water which was more about soothing them than really cleaning them, changed and in bed, they were already falling asleep in our arms, though they refused to lie down till Nick got a book out and we read it. As usual I was amazed, amazed that they had a favourite book, and that they knew that they could bribe us.
We fell asleep almost as we read, the toddlers curling up together in their heap, the cool air from the fan lulling them to sleep in the warm night. Then we crawled into our own bed, when I'd made sure Matt was asleep, falling asleep in front of our own fan, not even bothering to undress this time.
I woke up, Nick thrashing beside me, and groaned softly. When I lifted my head up, his eyes were moving from side to side under his lashes, thrashing, face twisted with grief and rage all over again. It was the same expression from the nightclub.
I shook him, Nick's eyes flying open, hands flying up to shove me back. They froze midway, his eyes confused for just a moment, before he froze and groaned softly, arms grabbing me close to him, his breathing fast.
"What was it?" I knew. I knew from the expression on his face as he had his nightmare, what it was, but I asked anyway, sliding a leg across him.
"Nothing." He tried to smile as I gazed down at him. "Nothing. Hi."
"Nick."
"It was the funeral. I thought you were dead again."
I groaned then, flopping my head onto his shoulder, Nick's trembling body relaxing. "Sorry."
Nick didn't answer. He stroked my back, while I shifted my body onto his, lying on him, a long sigh finally releasing when I settled there. "It's okay. We're alive."
"Yeah. We are." I agreed. I sat back, tugging my clothing off, and undressed him. Not for sex, just ...we were dressed and he always slept better when he was naked. When we were undressed, I crawled back in beside him, Nick's skin against mine while he snuggled against me, his sweat drying and heart rate slowing. Only when I was sure he'd fallen asleep again, without any bad dreams, did I let myself slip into sleep as well.
When I woke, Nick was dressing, a finger against his lips when he caught sight of me awake.
"Wha-" I whispered and he shook his head.
"The beds we picked from Ikea are downstairs. We're going to make them and wrap them before the army of toddlers stirs." He whispered and grinned, sliding closer, kissing my hair.
"The beds we picked?" I blinked, sleepily, trying to recall this. We'd looked at beds together on their website, liked a few, but had we picked them? I had this vague idea that we probably hadn't. But with him looking so pleased, I didn't tell him off or remind him that I hadn't actually picked anything. "Have fun."
He vanished through the bedroom door and I shut my eyes.
I only lay there for five minutes before I couldn't take the curioisty about these mysterious beds. A quick shower, I washed dried blood off my skin I'd forgot was there, saw the wound was already healing, before heading downstairs. Reece and Nick were bent over a frame, one bed already done and covered with wrapping paper somehow... several rolls, from the looks of it... and the other one in a box still.
It wasnt' a bad one. Pine beds with guard rails, detachable ones, and they had a blue and white cat and dog at the end. I wasn't sure how we'd fit all three beds in- it'd be a bit of a squeeze- but it was again a reminded that they were really growing up already. The cribs would be free soon.
I flopped down, watching, yawning as I tried to not think about the twins. They'd be great for those cribs. One for them and we could convert those things into sofas apparently. So the three of them would be useful somewhere. Nick threw wrapping paper at me and I went to wrap other things we'd already ordered for them. A play kitchen, plushie vegetables, soft toys of different kinds, finger puppets, a couple of art easels which I would have to keep outside from the way the toddlers messed up everything around them, a mirror with a big plushie crocodile around it, half of this stuff having been bought when they were born. Nick had kept them in the shed all this time. They had so many toys already but when it came to those three, he was obsessed with making them happy. There was even a tiny slide.
"We better give them our room." I joked, trying to wrap it up, as Nick and Reece started to cover the second bed.
"Maybe." Nick actually seemed to think that over seriously. "It's too big for us."
It was, really, we didn't need all that space. I hesitated and asked, "You want to move bedrooms?"
"If you do. We can swap with them." He shrugged. "I don't need a lot of space."
Not when he spent half his time in New York working, I suspected, and nodded. "Okay, we'll move."
Lillian came down and she helped me wrap the last of it up, piling it in one corner, while the two men got the last bed done and wrapped. It was huge- the presents took up half the living room in the end- and I stood back and shook my head slowly.
"I don't know where we'll put it when they've unwrapped it." I admitted.
"We'll figure a way out." Nick came over to wrap an arm around my waist. "Love you."
I smiled, leaned against him, and shut my eyes. "Love you too. Want to cook?"
"Nope." He shook his head. "Want me to get something easy?"
I groaned, soft, and shook my head. Of course I did but I didn't want to feed them crap all the time. They needed real food sometimes. "I better cook."
"We bought some things yesterday." Lillian reminded us from nearby as she finished a present off and stacked it with the others. We cringed as a few parcels fell and rolled around, hoping they weren't breakable, but we just nudged them back into place with the rest.
The cakes were going to be three bears today. They were easy to cook, looked good, and I sent Nick and Reece to the shop to get the last of what we needed just before the toddlers woke up and stood at the top of the staircase, trying to get past the toddler gate, calling for us.
Lillian let them down and they raced into the kitchen one after the other. She fed them while I worked on the cakes themselves, and while they were upset and looking for Nick, as long as I was within sight, they seemed relaxed enough.
Jeremy came back before Nick did, Lucas not far behind in his car, and I expected to see Elena jump out, full of energy and life. She didn't. Clayton wasn't either, he got out, looking just as fucked as she did, a bandage over the part of his head where they'd wounded him pretty well. It occurred to me as I watched him that they had tried to hit me in the same part of the head. They were blows designed to knock us out or kill us. The head could be equally good for either attack.
I went outside to help Jeremy, Elena smiling, but her legs were struggling to keep her up and I could see in her eyes that she was just barely hanging onto conciousness. She glanced past me to the windows.
"They're watching you." She said, softly, while I let her lean on my shoulder.
I didn't need to ask who. I could feel them, two pairs of blue eyes and one pair of brown eyes, could hear them calling me inside, and groaned as she laughed. "They're getting a little obsessive about me staying near them."
"It'll probably pass." Elena followed me inside, Clayton trying to help her, and she let me lower her onto the couch. "The twins did it to us sometimes when they were toddlers."
"All the time, darling." Clayton chuckled. The stress and anxiety was gone, his eyes fixed on her every move, every sag of her eyelashes as sleep tried to drag her back under, but there was still a tenseness there. I doubted he'd relax and let his guard down till he was certain she was back with us.
I wanted to ask her if they'd hurt her, if they'd done something fucking terrible, but it wasn't the time. All three babies were heading straight for her and gathering around her and Clayton with that adoration they had towards everyone in the pack. They asked Clayton about his owwie, if Elena wanted a nap- her eyes kept drooping as she fought the last traces of whatever they'd doped her up with- but when Clayton made a 'you can go, we're fine' gesture at me, I could go back to the kitchen to get the food ready. Jeremy was already in there, Antonio awake now, Savannah and Adam still missing upstairs.
Elena came in to sit in the kitchen after a few hours, as the food was being put into the oven and the cakes iced, probably relieved to get away from inquisitve toddler minds for a while. She rested on the chair against the kitchen table.
"Before you ask, I don't know." She saw my mouth open and cut me off. "The last thing I remember is the explosions, a lot of dreaming, a lot of fighting drugs in my dreams, then waking up here."
The answer should have been reassuring. It wasn't. I remembered that it'd taken me months to remember what'd happened to me in the garden, whatever drug they'd have given me affecting my memory, and I only felt more anxiety on her behalf. Elena looked relaxed and fine. I wondered if she was just putting it on for us.
"I wouldn't have asked till you knew." I sat down beside her and offered her a spoon covered in chocolate icing. "How are you feeling?"
"Better than last night. I might have a sleep this afternoon." She took it and licked the icing off. Elena caught my expression, sighed, and lowered her voice. "I know what you're worried about. If something happened, it did. I'm here, I'm not hurt, and I'm pissed off. Give me a few days and we'll get onto the problem."
I nodded, trying to accept what she said, as I smoothed the icing across the cake. "Did you agree to the offer?"
"I told him to fuck off, that I wasn't using my own children as bartering tools, that he had to come up with a better idea."
I knew she didn't mean to insult me, or hurt me, but I flinched. Elena seemed to realise what she'd said and reached out to touch my hand.
"You were trying to protect the pack. I'm sorry, I didn't mean you did."
"But I did." I muttered, squeezing my eyes shut, the fear for the twins rising up the second I'd acknowledged it was there.
"With good reason. You can't change what you agreed to. I might have thought about it if I hadn't seen how hard it was for you." She tried to reassure me. "You'll get those babies back and we'll deal with them when Clayton and myself are back to normal."
I nodded, grimcing slightly, trying to push my own axnieties. Now it wasn't the hospital that haunted me, it was that old woman, holding my baby, refusing to let me near them. Or her. I'd had her son taken away, I'd forced him away, and I knew the kind of grief a mother could feel. They were her grandchildren. She'd probably fight hard to make sure I didn't take them away from her as well. At least we got one thing right. Elena was home.
"Elena?"
She looked up from her spoon. "Yeah?"
"You should have a nap now. The lunch is pretty heavy. You might fall asleep at the table." I smiled weakly and she nodded, standing up. At least I could make sure she recovered as fast as possible.
"I'll be in the guest ..."
"Savannah and Adam are in there. Still. There's the daybed in the den, it should be quiet if you shut the door."
Elena nodded and headed away. Clayton came into the kitchen, his nostrils flaring, only pausing to dip a finger in the icing and then follow Elena's trail back out again.
I heard screams, tensing, but it was only the three older kids outside in the pool, racing at it, splashing in with crashes and yells and their usual good moods. Mum was home, for the twins, and I was home for Matt, so suddenly they were fine now.
We did presents before lunch, because the toddlers would be covered in food by the end, and watched as they tore into the paper. They apparently remembered Christmas and knew how this part worked. Antonio had gotten them bathers to swim in and some pool toys, to my mixed amusement and horror, reminding me that they had to learn to swim soon. Now even. They were old enough to swim. Thankfully people mostly got them clothing, most of it larger than them, they'd probably seen how much stuff they had already. Clothing we could use. Toys were going to start falling out the windows soon. Jeremy had painted them a new painting, an incredible painting of the three of them with the two of us, Antonio, even Lillian and Matt there, a little red wolf cup stalking up behind Nick while Lillian sat next to Antonio's dark shape. It was complete with a dramatic summer's night behind us, fireflies a big full moon, Forestwatch in the distance through trees. Our entire family.
Nick put it up in the living room right then and there, stunned himself I thought, and came over to snuggle against my side as we took it in. It must have taken Jeremy a long time to get it done. All that were missing were the twins.
Jeremy murmured in my ear that he hadn't forgotten the twins, while the triplets played, and led me closer. He pointed them out- two tiny furry figures protected by my chest and head, tiny dark brown wolf cubs that were fast asleep and safe. It almost made me burst into tears to see that. Of course he wouldn't forget them. He'd just put them somewhere safe.
"It's too much." I stared at it. He was an incredible painter. "This must have taken you ages."
"Not really." Jeremy shrugged. "I like painting. It's peaceful... and with this pack, peace is hard to find sometimes." He smiled somewhat, glancing back at the triplets and the kids exploring the toys, their existence translating into very loud voices.
It seemed like a good idea to put the food out now, giving the adults a chance to retreat as we put food out on the table, some Aussie things mixed in. Antonio or Nick must have gotten them sent from Australia. Tim tams, Dick Smith stuff... even vegemite, to my amusement, even though only myself and Reece ate the stuff. At breakfast. Not at lunchtime and not during a party. But it might make for good sandwiches for dinner if we were too tired to do much else.
Food worked so well that even the kids were sleepy afterwards, we managed to get the toddlers to nap for an hour, so all got to rest for a little while before the three bears were set onto the three toddlers.
This was all nice, I was happy as I watched them attack the three candles with their renewed energy, but I was still thinking of the twins. It was impossible not to. Lucas would shake his head, whenever I went to ask, like I was being that predictable. I probably was.
He got the call after the cake and we headed into the study with Nick and Jeremy.
"My father can't convince her to let them go." Lucas said softly, as Jeremy shut the door. "But she's human and we do follow the laws of this land. So there's a possibility that we can send the police in to take the children. You're listed as their mother on the birth certificate."
I breathed out slowly, shutting my eyes, Nick's arm coming around my shoulder. "It's that easy?"
"Unless she can prove you're an unfit mother."
"I'm not an unfit mother." I scowled at the words.
Jeremy hesitated then, and all three of us stared at him, his face hardening. I felt my heart sink before he spoke. "You have a morphine addiction. It'll be with you for life."
"Yeah, but..." Oh fuck. He'd given me drugs. The bastard had reintroduced the drugs to me from the birth onwards. "He did that on purpose. He had them use that drug on purpose."
"Probably." Jeremy sat down beside me, a hand on my knee, and explained it to Lucas who listened calmly.
"That might make it more difficult." Lucas agreed, when he understood the situation, face tensing slightly. "I'll have to talk with my father and work on it."
He left us and I sat there, stunned, realising that again Demetruis had gotten another step ahead of me. Drug me up, in case something happened to him, and suddenly the custody might be awarded to his mother when that came out.
"I haven't touched them since I came back." I tried to say, Jeremy's hand squeezing my leg.
"We know." Nick reassured me, leaning against me. "Don't worry. We all know."
"I should have realised what he was trying to do... I should have..."
"No one expects you to know everything." Jeremy said softly. "You stopped again, which isn't easy, and you've stayed clean from the stuff. You know you're a fit mother, we all do."
I felt like it. I didn't want to tell them, neither of them, but suddenly the urge for the pain killer was growing again. I shut my eyes, leaning against Nick, trying to use his scent to replace it. Just thinking about it made the urge come back. "Let's eat cake. Or something. I can't think about it right now."
"Dad's getting them ready for their first swimming lesson. Want to come?" Nick hugged me closer.
That snapped me out of it and I stared at him, trying to hear what was going on beyond the room, beyond the calming sound of Jeremy and Nick's lungs and heart, hearing laugher and squeals upstairs. Antonio and Lillian were getting them ready for the pool.
"Yes!"
Nick stood up, grinning a little more now, and we hurried upstairs to change as fast as we could. We changed and went back downstairs as Antonio was leading the triplets into the pool, Lillian waiting in the water, Reece there. A small army of adults, in other words, and it looked almost like a ceremony. The triplets in their little inflatable lifejackets, complete with frogs, glancing back at us and waving.
Nick was already taking photos, I realised, and he went to sit beside the pool with the little waterproof camera while I slid into the water. I was sure some of those shots were less directed at the toddlers and more at my bikini top but he gave me an angelic look when I shot a look at him.
Antonio handed me an excited Dominic, who'd apparently claimed me, then slid into the water with Susie while Lily and Lillian floated around. They loved it. It was the most exciting thing for them, floating around with us, and Antonio started their swimming lesson as we knelt in the shallow water with them. Matt, Logan and Kate were quick to join in, demonstrating how to kick legs, how to float, and while the toddlers weren't exactly getting it yet... all three of them were eager to try.
Nick jumped in with the camera and took photos still, an arm around me, probably knowing how upset I was still about the twins. But one look at Dominic, Lily and Susie, trying to kick their feet, trying to float from one adult to the other in their life vests, it cheered me up a lot. The most they'd done was the little paddle pool thing, not exactly the equivalent to the big kid pool, and now they were with the rest of the pack in the pool.
It was an exciting thing to see.
Reece and Matt went bright red after a few hours of this. Funnily enough, with Nick's olive skintone and my burn resistant skin, the toddlers did not burn. They started to go a bit browner, reminding me we had to do the sunscreen thing, but they didn't burn like Reece or Matt did. Or Logan or Kate, I realised, as I watched the older twins get out with bright pink shoulders and Elena reminding them that they should have worn sunscreen as she poked the sore spots.
They were exhausted and so happy with themselves after, falling asleep even as they tried to eat their dinner, Lily telling us all she was now a frog. Then she fell asleep, singing a song she made up herself about frogs, curled up against my chest, her damp curls tucked in under my head.
"I can't believe they're old enough to swim and make up songs." I muttered to Nick, Dominic's head on one of his legs, Susie still awake and following her grandpa around the house.
"I know." He stared at his sleepy son like he was still shocked to find him there. "It was only three years ago when Lily burst out of your body like a little alien."
"Burst is probably the wrong term." I muttered, dryly. "Kicked, scratched and tore her way out."
He laughed at that. "That then." Nick's amusement faded then, his hand reaching across to grasp mine. "Did you give birth to the twins?"
I realised I hadn't told him how it'd happened, exactly, and shook my head. "He had surgeons to cut them out, they did plastic surgery on me, he ...was very helpful." He had treated me okay, more or less, during the pregnancy. And he hadn't needed to get the plastic surgeons. That other part, I had to admit, confused me a little. Why would he care how I looked after? Was it just gratitude for the twins?
"I wondered why your body is recovering faster this time." Nick admitted, his hand brushing against my stomach. "Strange of him to do that though."
It was really strange. I shrugged, trying to act as if it wasn't anything, trying to remember that he'd also given me morphine seconds later. Was it an attempt to get me on his side more? For the attempt to get Elena to agree to his next bright idea? I wasn't sure. Maybe that was it.
No answers came to me though, not about that, or about what we could do about the twins. By night we were all so buggered that Jeremy decided they'd collapse here for the night. Couches, blow up mattresses, we were so used to this sometimes happening that it only took a few minutes and an electric air pump to get it up and get everyone's beds ready.
I collapsed into bed, Nick climbing on top of me to strip me, and I then pushed him dwon so I could help him out. No fun times from the pages of his kama sutra book, we were falling asleep already, so we collapsed and let ourselves pass out.
Bad dreams dogged me again now, dreams about the twins, and I woke several times in the middle of an anxiety attack, the feeling of Nick's hands stroking across my aching back muscles, telling me to go back to sleep, he wasn't tired yet. The third time I woke it was sudden, and slid over to check Nick. No, he was all right, sleeping peacefully, a book dropped onto the floor from his hands. But something had woken me.
I got up, pulled on some clothing and went into the hallway. The light was on downstairs and I smelt Elena down there, sitting in the kitchen, her soft breathing the only indication that she was awake and not asleep.
She glanced up at me, a cup of camomile tea in her hands, and smiled tiredly at me. Elena wasn't bawling her eyes out but I sensed she was stressed out.
"You can't sleep?"
"Guess I've slept too much. This stuff is helping a little." She yawned a fraction, but her shoulders remained tense, and patted the seat beside her. "You can't?"
"Bad dreams. That's a good idea." I got my own cup of it and sat down beside her.
We remained quiet for a long time, hearing the faint patter of rain on the roof and the cars outside, barely loud enough for either of us to hear. I yawned, leaned forward to sniff the tea and...
Realised exactly what was wrong. What had woken me up.
Bugger. I was back to human senses. Whatever he'd given me had just stopped. Elena glanced at me.
"I think his cure just stopped working." I muttered.
"It isn't a cure?" She seemed surprised by that. Sat up straighter, Alpha hat back on, and I wished I'd left it for the morning. "What did you find out?"
Elena seemed awake enough so I told her about the treatments, the costs that we'd been given, and that apparently he wasn't offering genuine cures. She listened carefully, grabbing the notepad and pens from one of the kitchen drawers, and made notes as I explained it. Yep, she was back all right, eyes clear.
I reached out to touch her arm, relieved to see some fight in her back now, and she smiled and squeezed my hand. Her smile was still tense, still stiff, but it was the best she had and I wasn't going to complain about that.
"Guess I have to put up with it." I tried to joke. Honestly while it had been devastating the first time, the missing twins was more upsetting than this.
"It's an interesting thing that our treatment lasts longer than the one he's offering. I wonder if that was intentional." She murmured softly. "But he gave us what we needed to make more, and we've got a few injections left, so I'll get one for you tomorrow."
"What was it like?" I had no memory of my 'treatment'. But suddenly it seemed that my 'trade' had worked somewhat. The bitten wolves in the pack would at least continue to be safe, and protect the rest till we got something for them.
"Agony. A few minutes of thrashing and agony then you're better than fine. You'll have to lie on the couch till it's over to protect your head." She yawned a fraction more but seemed no more sleepy than she had when I got up. "When does this work?"
"It's not a pill so it takes a little while." I admitted. That was why I liked it- it wasn't a pill, it wasn't chemicals my body disliked, it was a gentle shove instead of a drop into sleep. "Maybe you're right, you've just slept too much."
She stood up. "Want to come for a walk?"
I nodded and we went outside into the dark, the gentle rain barely touching us before it evaporated on warm skin, the ground damp under our bare feet. Little sparkles and reflections came from the trees around us, catching the light from the kitchen, the moon overhead now, and Elena tried to stretch.
I glanced at her and wondered if there was another reason she was struggling to sleep. "It's probably been a while since you changed."
"I know but I was trying to hold it off." She grimaced a little though. "Have my first run at Stonehaven with Clay."
"You can walk there from here. Want me to wake Clayton?" I imagined he was probably asleep.
"No need." A grumble came from behind us, the soft thump thump of hurrying feet, and Clayton caught onto Elena with a gentle hug. "Not tired?"
"Not really. Feel like a run?" She glanced back at him as he yawned, concern probably over his head, but he just nodded and stretched.
"Always." His head ducked down to hers, the two of them meeting in a rare embrace in front of me, and then Clayton swung his head towards me. "You too?"
"Not tonight." I smiled a little. I did want to go for a run, sort of, but I didn't want to get in their way. It was their first one together since she'd come back. "I'm going to go eat some cake and try and sleep again."
"All right. Come on, darling." He moved ahead of her, hand in hers, the two of them vanishing into the darkness together.
I went back to the house and slipped inside. Checked the living room, the other doors, the windows, a strange obsession with needing to protect my kids and make sure I could sleep while they were safe... kind of absurd, when the house was full of pack... and then nearly tripped over Clayton's legs. On the ground in the den.
He grabbed me as I fell, rolling over, grumbling as an arm shielded head from coffee table. Clayton's voice was filled with his heavy accent in his deep sleep, blinking sleepily at me,as if he had only just woken up. "What you doing?" A hand went in the other direction, to where I had to assume Elena had been, and "Where's she gone?"
"Clay?" Oh shit.