The Beta - 6. Chapter 5-The Battle for Nicolas

The Beta

Chapter 5-The Battle for Nicolas

The first person Xak saw when he exited the room was not who he wanted to see. Justin glared at him and said, “Who gave you permission to leave that room? You’re lucky you aren’t locked up with silver shackles around your wrists and ankles. I don’t know why Nicolas wouldn’t let me have you last night. Doesn’t matter, I didn’t really want it anyways; not into bestiality.”

“Whatever, I could smell your desire Sunday night when I was flirting with you. Besides, I wouldn’t fuck you if my life depended on it. I have taste in guys.” Just then, the door opposite Xak’s opened and Toby emerged. Xak looked at him and said, “Just the person I was looking for. Can I have word with you before you retire?”

Toby eyed Justin warily and said, “Certainly, follow me to my room.” They headed down the hallway leaving Justin standing in the hallway. When they arrived at Toby’s door, just for shits and giggles, Xak pinned Toby against the door and kissed him hard. Justin tried to act like he wasn’t bothered, but wasn’t very successful. When they finally entered the room, Toby said, “That was nice, but you’re not my type. Actually, that was fucking hilarious; but won’t Chris get upset?”

“Not after I tell him he threatened to rape me. That asshole is lucky I didn’t rip his throat out. Here, I have something for you. It’s a crystal that prevents you from entering your dream space. Instead, you’ll appear wherever I happen to be if I’m wearing this necklace. My grandmother gave it to me and Thayne brought it over for me. Can you stay awake for any time after sunrise?”

“Yes, but not long. Maybe an hour. What do we have to do to get rid of him?”

Xak took a deep breath and responded, “It’s not going to be easy and it’s going to take all of us working together. Thayne will be there, but can’t get involved. Once we get Nicholas bound and under submission, then some spirits can take him to wherever people go when they die. What I’m going to need you to do is help Thayne keep Jacob safe and out of harm’s way. Also, if any of us are injured, I need your speed to get in and get the wounded out. As far as Jacob goes, I don’t know exactly why he will be here but my Granny gave me a crystal necklace for him, no clue why he wouldn’t be with Trystan at the loft. If you will keep him safe, and then the rest of us should be able to take care of everything. Hopefully, you won’t need to pull anyone out of the fight. These crystals allow your astral projection to appear on the other side of the veil, and if any of our projections are injured, our physical bodies suffer the same injuries. The sun is almost up, hopefully Chris and the rest will be here soon.”

The pair sat in Toby’s room and talked for about twenty minutes, Xak could tell Toby was struggling to stay awake. Finally, Toby said that enough time had passed and that Justin and Nicolas should be “dead to the world.” Xak couldn’t help but laugh at that. They exited the bedroom and headed towards the front of the house. About five minutes later, there was a light knock at the door. Since the sun was out, Xak opened the door. Before he could even blink, Chris was standing in front of him. The pair stood there staring at each other, not moving. Chris could hardly believe that Xak was standing in front of him. Xak was in awe of how gorgeous his guy truly was. It had only been about thirty hours since they had last seen each other, but it had felt like an eternity. Neither wanted to ever be separated from the other again. Xak didn’t have time to realize how much he had missed his mate.

Chris on the other hand, had gone through hell. He looked down at his auburn haired hazel eyed lover and said, “I am never letting you out of my sight again. I don’t know how I would live if anything ever happened to you. I love you so fucking mu…” That thought was interrupted when Gary came storming through the door, sniffing the air like a bloodhound.

He said, “What is that smell? Can y’all smell that? It smells like, like, I don’t fucking know but I have to have it.” He came to a stop in front of Toby. The two locked eyes and Gary growled and said, “You Are Mine!” After a second to collect himself, he continued, “Oh, hi I’m Gary. I think we might need to get know each other better. But why do you kinda smell like Xak?” Gary turned to Xak and said, “What the hell did you do with my mate?”

Xak looked Chris in the eyes and said, “I’m sorry, I kissed Toby earlier to prove a point to an arrogant, cocky, asshole leech that had threatened to rape last night.”

Chris looked at Toby, who shrugged his shoulders. The tall blonde looked down at Xak and said, “I’m too fucking happy right now to care. I know that you love me and since you’re not going to be out of my sight ever again, I don’t have to worry about it happening anymore.”

Toby gave him a slight smirk then turned to Gary and said, “Didn’t think you would be a shifter. I’m Toby; I’ve been waiting to meet you for over sixty years. I almost gave up hope that I would ever find my true mate between Nicholas’ reign over me and Justin, the afore mentioned leech.”

Richard cleared his throat, drawing everybody’s attention, and said, “Guys, why don’t we all get inside and get situated, then everyone can stare at each other awkwardly.”

Jacob and Xena then came through the door. Toby shook his head, trying clear it. He reached out and took Gary’s hand, then said, “Let’s go to the library. Jacob, do you remember where that is? Do you want to lead the way?”

The black shaggy haired boy nodded vigorously, causing his hair to flop back and forth on top of his head. He said, “Hey Toby, yeah I remember how to get there. Where’s Thayne; and why are you still awake?”

Xak said, “My Uncle Thayne is here. He’s probably already in the library waiting for us.”

Xena looked at her brother like he was crazy and said, “We don’t have any uncles, what do you mean Uncle Thayne?”

“We not only have an uncle, who happens to be a prince, we also have a grandmother. But she wants us to call her Granny. Oh, yeah, she is a queen. She is officially Queen Mab, the High Queen of the Winter Court of the Sidhe. Current Queen of Winter, Shadows, and Darkness. Our mother was the daughter of the Queen of the Winter Sidhe and a wolf shifter. Our grandmother then sent her to join Pawpaw’s pack. You and I are her ‘insurance policy’ to ensure Nicholas would be stopped. I think it was kind of a gamble. I don’t think she knew for sure if anyone past mom would have any of the Sidhe’s powers. I’m not sure how many hybrids there have been before.”

His sister didn’t look like she believed him. She asked, “What are the Sidhe? Is this woman like Elsa, running through the snow singing about letting shit go? Besides, why go through all that trouble? Why couldn’t she just take care of this whole thing herself?”

This was asked just as Jacob opened the door to the library. Sitting at one of the tables, Thayne said, “Because, my dear niece, she was bound by her counterpart in the Summer Court, who did not want to involve the Sidhe, aka the First People, aka the Fae, aka Fairy Folk, in a ‘shifter-vampire’ conflict. Surely you know that shifters and vampires are not the only supernatural beings out there. Witches exist too. Anyway, since Titania didn’t want to get involved, that left Mab with no other choice but to try something desperate. No, she was not certain that it would work, but it was the best she could think to do. Hello all, I am Prince Thayne of the Winter Court of the Sidhe, heir to the Winter Throne. I am only here as a witness. I cannot get involved directly in any fight. Xak has presents for you all from Queen Mab. Think of them as past birthday, Yule, Beltane, Samhain, or whatever the hell you celebrate gifts. Now, you all have some strategizing to do, and not much time to do it. Toby is pushing his limit on staying awake.” He then turned to Jacob and opened his arms and said, “Hey there little man, how are you holding up?”

Jacob went and gave him a hug and climbed in his lap and said, “I’m okay, I’m a little sad about my mom having to go but I know she had to be there to help my dad with the bad Nicholas after Xak is finished with what he has to do. See Xena and Chris, I told you he looks like Xak, only with purple hair and different eyes. Xak would look funny with purple hair, huh?”

Thayne gasped and said, “Are you making fun of my hair? Besides, it’s not purple anyways.” As he said that, his hair darkened from violet to black and started to grow out into a shaggy mop identical to Jacob’s.

Jacob laughed. It was one of those laughs that only a child can produce, the kind that lifts the spirits of everyone around and inspires hope and joy. He then said, “I liked it better purple. I only said Xak would look funny with purple hair, not that you do.”

“You also said I look like Xak. So, if Xak would look funny, that means you think I look funny. Am I funny looking to you?” He started tickling Jacob’s sides and this caused another round of laughter from the boy.

Through his laughter and tears, Jacob begged, “Please stop. Somebody please help me!”

Thayne kept up his tickle attack and said, “Alright, I’ll stop, but only if you tell me I’m not funny looking.”

“You’re not funny looking! You’re really not!”

Thayne stopped tickling the boy and Jacob leapt down from his lap. Once he was safely away from Thayne on the other side of Chris and Xak, he stuck his tongue out at Thayne, blew a raspberry, and said, “I had my fingers crossed when I said it.”

Xena still had not quite recovered from coming face to face with living proof that Xak was telling the truth. Finally, she turned to Xak and said, “That poor guy has to live his life looking like you? If it weren’t for the eyes, you two could be twins.”

Xak responded, “Don’t be a bitch, bitch. Thayne is a good-looking guy, in my humble opinion. What do you think, Chris?”

“Um, ah, he’s alright, but he’s nothing compared to you, no offense.”

Thayne laughed and said, “Don’t worry, I have my own blonde haired, tanned Adonis. His name is Sulian¹, he’s my counterpart in the Summer Court. Now, Xak hand out presents and explain what they do. Don’t forget what happens to your projection happens to your physical body.”

Xak handed everyone a necklace and explained what should happen once they all fall asleep. He reiterated Thayne’s warning about damage sustained to their projections. He then started coming up with a plan of action. Xena would read Nicholas attempting to “see” his next move. Xak would concentrate on building some sort of restraint to bind Nicholas in. Gary and Chris would shift and their wolves would protect Xak’s flanks. Richard would grab Nicolas and keep him away from Nicholas so that Xak could bind him. Toby would guard Jacob, whom Xak did not want to bring but gave into Thayne’s insistence that the kid would play an integral role in the end. Thayne would observe.

Toby finally said, “I have to retire now, I can’t stay up any longer.” He looked at Gary and said, “You’re welcome to join me, if you like. Xak, feel free for you and Chris to use the room you were in last night, is it alright if Jacob stays in there with you? Richard, you can use the room next to Xak’s on the left. Xena, you can use the room across the hall from me. Let’s hope this works.”

Xak grabbed Chris’ hand and picked Jacob up as he walked towards the room he had slept in the previous night, while Richard and Xena headed off to their appointed rooms. About fifteen minutes later, Xak “awoke” on the astral plain. Instantly, Chris, Jacob, Gary, Toby, Richard, and Xena appeared next to him. He looked at them and said, “Damn, these really worked. Thayne, are you here?”

Thayne appeared, suddenly followed shortly by a guy with sun-bleached blonde hair and a deep summer tan. Thayne turned to the other man and asked, “Sulian, what the hell are you doing here? You shouldn’t be here. Your mother is already pissed that Mab and I are as involved as we are, we have barely gotten through the loopholes, if she finds out that you came here too, she will be furious.”

Sulian replied, “Calm down love, she sent me to witness and to make sure that you don’t get involved directly. You know she doesn’t trust you or your mother.”

“Whatever, I haven’t gotten involved and wasn’t planning on it. Well, not obviously at least. Sulian, this is my niece Xena, my nephew Xak, his mate Chris, Chris’ cousin Gary, their grandfather Richard, Toby, Gary’s mate, and finally Jacob. Everyone, this is Prince Sulian of the Summer Court of the Sidhe, heir to the Summer throne. Oh, and my mate.”

Xak nodded at him and said, “Alright, y’all keep my little man safe, do not let anything happen to him. I don’t even know why he’s here. Jacob, please stay with Toby, Thayne, and Sulian. They will take care of you until this is all over. Chris and Gary, y’all want to go ahead and shift?”

Once the two shifted to their wolf forms, Xak was flanked on one side by a brown wolf and a white wolf on the other. He started walking down the path his Granny had shown him earlier, followed by the rest. The group instinctively formed a wall around Richard, shielding him from the view of anyone that happened to be in front of them. Finally, about five minutes later, they came to a cave entrance. The inside of the cave was pitch black; nothing could be seen or heard. Thayne and Sulian stopped and said that they could not go much further than just past the entrance of the cave, they would have to observe from just inside.

Toby grabbed the brown wolf into a hug and buried his face in Gary’s fur. He said, “I just found you, so don’t even think about getting hurt or anything else.” Gary huffed at him and then licked the vampire from his chin all the way up to his forehead. Toby laughed a little and said, “Eww, that wasn’t an invitation to drown me in wolf slobber. Seriously though, be careful, do your duty, but come back to me. That goes for all of you. We are all going to wake up tonight safe and sound and Nicholas free.” They then walked into the darkened cave.

The room was suddenly filled with light. What they saw before them was Nicolas inside a cage that Richard immediately recognized. It was an exact replica of the cage they had discovered Nicholas in aboard that Union ship all those years ago. Richard crossed the room and tried to open the cage door, only to be burned by the silver.

They then heard a voice say, “Richard, mon amour², how lovely to see you again. Toby, tu petit morceau de merde³, I heard you say something about waking up Nicholas free? How do you plan to get rid of me? This little army of mutts?” Nicholas then disassociated from his surroundings and reappeared behind Toby, holding him in a choke-hold. From there, the plan went left.

Gary instinctively went to his mate’s aid and attacked Nicholas. Nicholas released Toby from the choke-hold and focused on the wolf that was attacking him. Gary bit into Nicholas’ right forearm and clamped down, locking his jaws. However, he ended up with nothing but air after the spirit disassociated once again only to instantly reappear in time to catch the wolf and throw him across the room. Toby wailed as he heard the bones breaking and his mate’s limp body fell to the floor. Toby was at Gary’s side in an instant and was relieved to find the wolf breathing, but unconscious. He could feel the bones mending themselves as he held his mate. The Sidhe Princes used their powers to blend into the wall, hiding them from view of all. Xak started trying to create a something around Nicholas by altering reality, but the spirit kept disappearing and reappearing somewhere else. His powers were useless.

Then, the unthinkable happened. Nicholas reappeared grabbing Richard’s head from behind. The sound that Richard’s neck made when it snapped echoed throughout the room, as Richard’s dead body fell to the floor. Back in the room inside the house in Highland Park, Richard drew his last breath. He was gone.

Suddenly, instead of a white four-legged wolf, there was a white half-wolf/half-human hybrid standing next to Xak. Chris immediately grabbed Nicholas’ throat only to have the damned spirit disappear again.

The fight began so quickly, that Xena never got a chance to focus on Nicholas to try to read him. When she finally did, the only thing she could feel was elation. She wasn’t prepared for such an overwhelming feeling and it literally knocked her down.

Jacob might have been only five-years-old, but he was smart, observant, and almost as analytical as Xak. He watched as his family fought and realized they were going to lose to the bad Nicholas. That couldn’t happen. The bad Nicholas had to be stopped. Suddenly, a thought occurred to him. He always liked to play with his mother’s jewelry, and she wasn’t a shifter. Her favorite pieces of jewelry were her sterling silver bangle bracelets and she would always let Jacob wear them when she took them off. He asked Xak once if he wanted to wear one, and Xak explained to him that since he was older and had already gone through his first shift, he couldn’t touch anything silver. The silver allergy didn’t kick in until after the first shift. Jacob also knew that there was one huge benefit to being five-years-old, grown-ups rarely look down. So, five-year-old’s can get away with just about anything if they don’t draw attention the themselves. He knew what he needed to do; so, as quickly as he could without alerting anyone to what he was doing, he snuck across the room to cage. When he arrived at the door he nodded at the little man inside and opened the door.

Nicolas was furious. For over 160 years, he had waited for the opportunity to be with Richard again. That had been stolen yet again, by fucking Nicholas. For over 160 years, he had been held prisoner, forced to watch as somebody else ran his life, that somebody being fucking Nicholas. Over time, he managed to regain some control and somehow could force Nicholas to switch places with him. The switch would knock Nicholas out for a while. These were the few moments when Nicolas was in control and Nicholas could neither be heard nor felt. So, Nicolas gathered his will and combined it with the grief of losing the love of his life, and the hatred of the spirit that had done all of this to him, and focused on one thought-Nicholas inside the cage, unable to move. Suddenly, the chaos in the room came to a halt, and inside the cage laid an unconscious Nicholas. Nicolas was just as shocked as everyone else. He wasn’t sure, but he knew that even if Nicholas was still present in his body from this point on, he was never taking control again. Hopefully, though, Nicolas would be free from the evil spirit. He went to his lover’s dead body and stroked the golden hair. He looked around expectantly. Where was Richard’s spirit now? What happened to him?

What occurred next, surprised everyone. Gary, who regained consciousness suddenly, started saying a chant over and over. Next to Xak, Chris shifted back to his human form and he too began chanting. They were both repeating, “I bind thee with my Will so you can no longer do harm. I bind thee with my Will so you can no longer do harm.” As they repeated those words, misty chains started appearing around Nicholas’ body. By the time Chris and Gary were finished, Nicholas was restrained completely, surrounded by magical chains inside a silver cage. The cousins suddenly jerked, and shook their heads, almost like they were coming out of a trance.

Gary began to ask a question, but was interrupted by the entrance of two more spirits. Jacob ran up to them and nearly tackled the man with the Marine regulation black hair cut and piercing green eyes. He yelled, “DADDY! I finally get to see you!” He then turned to the woman next to his father and wrapped his arms around her saying, “I love you, Mommy. Dad guess what I did. I touched the silver cage and opened it so that the good Nicolas could get out. I helped!” He then got sad and with tears filling his eyes continued, “But I wasn’t in time to save Pawpaw.”

That’s when everyone looked at Richard’s dead body. Nicolas was cradling the man but he wasn’t crying. He looked angry. He demanded, “Where is he? Shouldn’t his spirit be here since this body was made of his spirit? WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?”

There was flurry of snow that swirled into the form of Mab. Next to her appeared Richard. She looked at Nicolas and said, “He is now a member of the Winter Court. He will be staying there from now on. He has chosen, as is the right of all supernatural beings after death, to join one of the Courts. You are welcome to join him, there is only one small hitch. You are going to have to die. You can’t leave this room if you have an earth-bound body. The decision is yours.”

Nicolas looked at Richard and asked, “Do you still love me? Can you forgive me for everything that has happened in the past?”

Xak had to control his anger when he said, “I already told you, there’s nothing to forgive. Tell him Pawpaw. Tell him what you told me Friday morning.”

Richard looked at Nicolas, gathered him in his arms and said, “I never really stopped loving you. I don’t need to forgive you for anything, because you didn’t do anything to me. All the hurtful, evil, horrible deeds done were performed by him, not you. I could always tell in my heart when I was talking to you or when I was talking to him. I thought either you had developed split-personalities, or I was a crazy fool looking for any sign of hope to grasp to. I love you and would like to spend the rest of however long spirits can exist together. But, I will understand if you want to live your life for a while. You never got to experience a life after you were turned. You’ve been a prison in your existence. I’ll wait for you till the end of time if I need to.”

Mab interrupted before Nicolas could respond, “Trystan, Dean, the rouge spirit is yours to take to wherever you deem necessary. He will need to be restrained and kept under constant supervision, make sure he never escapes. Thayne, Sulian, you can come out now. And I mean that in more ways than one. You should know that you cannot keep a secret from the Queen of Shadows.” Thayne and Sulian appeared, holding hands. She turned back to Nicolas and asked, “I really don’t mean to rush you into a decision, but we are about to head to the Winter Court. I know Richard would love for you to join us. If you need more time, take it. However, if you are ready now, either Thayne, Sulian, or myself can cross over and I promise, you won’t feel a thing.”

Nicolas looked at the love of his life and stared into the blue orbs, he saw the love and devotion he was looking, and absolutely no doubt. He turned to Toby and said, “You are now Clan Leader, do not allow Justin to take over. There is paperwork in my office that names you my sole heir. I had them drawn up last week in one of my moments of control. Justin is to get an allowance you deem appropriate. I’m sorry I am burdening you with Justin, but I can’t not be with Richard now that I’m given the chance. Queen Mab, I choose to be with Richard, do what you need.”

Toby crossed over to Nicolas and drew him into a hug, which drew a growl from Gary. Toby laughed and said, “Down boy, I’m just telling my friend goodbye. Now that I’ve found you, you’re stuck with me.”

Nicolas looked from Gary back to Toby and finally at Richard and said, “Richard, your grandson, really? My ‘son’ is your grandson’s true mate. A Vampire Clan Leader with a shifter who is also a natural witch. Impressive pair. Did you know that your grandsons were witches?”

Richard looked as confused as Gary and Chris felt. He shook his head and said, “No, their mothers never let on that they were witches. Chris and Gary were born a month apart, and their mothers both got sick shortly afterwards. They died within days of each other. If they were witches, how did they get sick? Couldn’t a witch heal his or herself?”

Queen Mab took over at this point, “Richard, they chose to die then because they didn’t want Gary and Chris growing up with the knowledge of Magic. I had originally gone to them, telling them of my vision about Nicholas and his desire to wipe out all shifters. They already had a personal vendetta against Nicholas. They knew of Sarah’s lineage and decided to take similar actions as I had. After they became pregnant, they did a divination spell to see what would become of their children. The spell showed two possible futures. One, the boys grew up with them, discovered Magic, Chris gave in to his rage, and Gary his jealousy. They used these powerful emotions to fuel their Magic. They became two of the most powerful wielders of pure Black Magic. They became monsters. Witches try to always stay Grey in their Magic, doing no intentional harm to anyone, but knowing that any spell cast, even on one’s self, affects someone, somewhere in the world. The second future was one where they grew up without Magic, their mothers having died while they were babies. This is where that vision led to. They knew what had to be done. The boys would never know anything about their Magical abilities. The power would come to them naturally, only when absolutely needed. That is how they cast such a powerful binding spell. Do you two remember casting that spell?”

Gary and Chris looked at each other and Chris said, “I vaguely remember something, but not really. Our mothers were witches?”

“Dear, your mothers were both High Priestesses in the Coven north of Dallas, both very powerful. They sacrificed themselves to allow this to come to fruition. Now, I know that’s a lot to process, but I’m ready to celebrate. Thayne and Sulian, could you go and do what is needed so Nicolas can leave? And don’t dilly-dally and take all day. Make it fast and painless and come right back.”

Thayne and Sulian disappeared and returned about 10 minutes later. While they were gone, Nicolas collapsed and his body fell to the floor and laid next Richard’s. He didn’t get up again. Richard looked around and Mab said, “He’ll be waiting for us when we return to Court, I promise you, and you know I cannot lie.” She turned to the rest of the group and continued, “Now, is everyone ready? Jacob, I’m sorry, but your mom and dad cannot come with us, and you cannot go with them. Now is when you need to tell them goodbye.” She looked at Trystan and Dean and said, “I know Xak wants to take care of him, but has not had the chance to tell Chris. I know Chris decided last night that he would take care of him no matter what, he just has not had the chance to tell Xak. I will love him as my own great-grandson. He will be looked after and taken care of not only by two incredible men that will love him, but by both Courts of the Sidhe.”

Trystan and Dean both nodded and gather Jacob into a group hug. Dean told his son, “I have always been proud of you, I’m sorry I was never there while you grew up, but I watched you from here. I will take care of your mother, don’t worry about us. Live your life, be a good boy for you Daddies. Listen to them and do what they say.”

Trystan took over and said, “They better take good care of you, or I’ll haunt them for the rest of their long lives.” She glanced guiltily up at the pair and continued, “I’m sorry for what happened as far as Xak getting taken, but I’m not sorry for my part in any of this. I know now that if I hadn’t betrayed the Pack, I would still be alive and even if this fight eventually come around, Jacob wouldn’t have been here. There wouldn’t have been a reason for him to be. I had to die before this battle, so that he could be here with y’all and open the cage to release Nicolas. Please take good care of him. I know y’all love him like family already, and I know he loves you.”

Chris said, “I agree, things had to happen the way they did, or none of this would’ve been possible. Jacob will be taken care of, and as soon as I ask Xak to marry me and he agrees, we’ll officially adopt him.”

Xak closed his eyes and said, “Oh hell fuck no. That better not be my proposal. I know you, I know how you think. Don’t even consider looking at me with that fucking shit-eating smirk that you know I can’t say no to and say, ‘So? Are you going to marry me?’ I expect the whole shebang. You will do this right. Romantic setting, a ring in a box, you on your knee, and me acting surprised.”

Chris, who was wearing said smirk, couldn’t hide the lie in his voice when he said, “I wouldn’t do something like that. I wasn’t going to say, ‘So? Are you going to marry me?’ I swear.”

“Don’t lie to me, I hear it in your voice. That’s exactly what you were about to say.”

“Actually, I was going to say, ‘You will marry me, your Alpha commands it.’”

That earned him a punch in the stomach from Xak, a slap on the back of the head from Gary, another slap on the back of the head from Richard, and a laugh from Xena.

Xak said, “Asshole, don’t even bother asking now; the answer is going to be no, doesn’t matter when you ask. You’ll know when I’m ready to marry you when I ask you.”

Chris knew Xak wasn’t mad at him. But, he also knew that he was telling the truth. Even if he asked Xak every day for the next hundred years to marry him, the answer would be no.

Mab said, “My gods, you sound like an old married couple. Now, if everyone is ready, I have a celebration feast waiting for us.”

Jacob hugged his parents one last time, then they simply disappeared along with Nicholas and the cage. The two bodies on the floor were slowly fading away. Then with a wave of her hand, there was a flurry of snow around each person there and then they suddenly found themselves in a ball room the size of a football stadium. They were all dressed in formal wear. Xena in an ice blue dress that seemed to be made of ice and snow, but was not cold against her skin. The men were all wearing tunics and regalia. Xak and Chris’ tunics had matching designs on the breast. It was an image of a wolf howling at the moon against a snowy background. Gary and Toby’s tunics had the image of a man with alabaster white skin and amber eyes sitting next to a wolf, the man stroking the fur of the wolf. Thayne and Sulian’s had the image of two men on thrones next to each other. One was blue and both the throne and the man were obviously made of ice, the other was golden and almost seemed to be glowing hot, the man almost looked to be made of pure sunlight. They were holding hands, and where the hands met, the ice had melted away and the fire had been put out. There were simply two flesh colored hands. Richard and Nicolas’ tunics were simply blue and had two snowflakes on them. They were quite literally in a fairy tale.

Suddenly, a flame appeared and in a flash of sunlight, there stood a woman, almost identical to Mab only with blonde hair instead of black, deep blue eyes the color of the ocean instead of ice blue eyes, and sun-tanned skin instead of pale white. Mab looked at the woman and said, “Titania, how nice of you to join us now that the situation has been dealt with, without any direct help from the Sidhe. Beverage?”

The other woman laughed and said, “Oh my dear Mab, you’re lucky I’m in a good and forgiving mood. Your little tricks barely passed through the loopholes. In fact, a few of the loopholes almost broke from the strain of what you tried to force through. I see our sons have decided to be honest. We’ve known since you were born, that you were mates.”

Mab laughed and said, “Dear, don’t give away all of our secrets, let them think they were getting away with something scandalous. That is another story for another time. Now, let’s just celebrate my grandson’s engagement.”

There was a lot of laughter to that statement and one pissed off pouty Xak. He stood there scowling with his arms crossed. He said flatly, “Nope, not happening. This is not my engagement party because I’m not marrying him yet.”

Richard spoke up then and said, “Fine, then it can be Nicolas’ engagement party.” He turned to his chosen mate, got down on one knee and pulled a ring box from under his tunic. Even on his knee, he still was only a head shorter than Nicolas. He stared into the amber eyes of the person he had loved his entire existence and said, “I have and always will love you. I’m sorry I didn’t do this before we died, but will you spend the rest of your afterlife with me?”

Nicolas smiled and said, “Nothing would make me happier. I love you. Yes, yes, yes, a million times, YES!”

Mab said, “In that case, I say, this is not an engagement party. It’s a wedding.” With a wave of her hand, suddenly she and Titania were standing behind an alter with Richard in front of them. Nicolas was at the other end of the room wearing a white tunic. Music filled the room, surprisingly it was the instrumental part from Bittersweet Symphony. Nicolas approached the alter, being escorted by Toby. Next to Richard, Chris and Gary both stood. Xak was on the other side waiting for Nicolas and Toby to join. Xena, Thayne, and Sulian were seated in the room along with Margaret, Lucy, Bill, and Phil. Mab said, “I have allowed your family to be here but they cannot stay long. Let’s get this show on the road.”

Nicolas was apprehensive when he saw the four new guests. Richard was crying. Margaret stood first, walked to Nicolas and took his arm. She led him to Richard and said, “I give him back to you. This is where he always belonged.”

Richard leaned down and kissed her on the cheek and said, “Thank you. I love you and miss you, but you knew where my heart always was. Thank you for your blessing.”

She returned to her children, and they suddenly were gone. Chris and Gary were a little upset that they didn’t get a chance to speak with their fathers, but were happy they got to see them at all.

Mab said, “You both needed to hear that from her. So, now, do you Richard…”

That’s as far as she got before Richard said, “Hell yes I do.”

She cleared her throat and said, “Well so much for long and drawn out, Nicolas, do you?”

Nicolas laughed and said, “Sure, why not?”

Titania said, “By the power we invest in us, you’re married. You may kiss your husband. Congratulations, I’m starving, let’s eat.”

At one point during the celebration, Richard pulled Chris and Xak aside and said, “I’m Xak kept his promise and didn’t tell you anything, but as of Friday, everything is in y’alls name. I was going to step down as Alpha anyways. The announcement was going to be made as soon as we all got back to the Pack Lands.”

Chris hugged his grandfather and said, “Thank you. I’m going to miss having you around, but knowing you’re here and happy makes me happy.”

Richard turned to Xak and said, “Don’t be a stubborn prick and string him along for too long. Make him suffer some for that assholish comment, but make him happy for me.” He then left the couple standing there and went to join Toby and Gary, who were talking to Nicolas.

Suddenly, Gary started choking, his necklace was wrapped around his neck tightly. When it was suddenly ripped away from him, he disappeared.

Mab said, “GO! It’s time to wake up. NOW!”

Xak awoke suddenly followed a few seconds later by Chris and Jacob. They could all hear a major commotion from just down the hall. Chris ran towards the door and in an Alpha voice said, “Stay here and protect Jacob. I’ll go see what’s happening. Please stay in here. I love you.”

When he opened the door, they could all hear Justin yelling, “What the fuck, Toby? I wake up to a houseful of fucking mutts sleeping in all our rooms, one of them being Richard, who’s dead, thank god. Then I find Nicolas dead in his bed. Then, I come in here and find you in bed with a fucking shifter piece of shit.” By the time Justin finished his tirade, him, Toby, and Gary were in the hallway in front of Chris and Xak’s doorway. Chris glanced down the hall and saw Xena standing in her doorway. Gary’s neck was red and covered in blood. The wounds, however weren’t fatal.

Gary awoke a few seconds before everyone else, being choked by his necklace. Finally, the necklace gave way and broke, but not before cutting into Gary’s skin. Toby woke up and noticed Justin standing over Gary with blood dripping from his neck. That’s when the screaming began. Justin yelled as Toby grabbed Gary’s hand and led him out of the room.

When they were halfway down the hall, Justin caught up with Toby just as he said, “…shifter piece of shit.” Toby stopped in his tracks turned to his former lover and “brother” and said, “You can insult me all you want, but if you say one more fucking word about Gary, you will die. He is mine, and I am his.”

Justin scoffed and said, “You little bitch. The only reason Nicolas kept you alive is because I asked him to, just so I could keep fucking your ass. Now, you’re telling me that you’re choosing a mutt over me? You fucking belong to me.”

With those words, Gary’s razor sharp claws appeared on his hand. He instinctively reached out and grabbed Justin by the throat. The claw ripped into the skin, and when his hand jerked back, Justin’s throat came with it. There was a gurgling sound and then Justin’s body fell to the floor, dead. Gary looked down at the body and growled, “FUCK YOU! He is mine and mine alone.”

Gary kicked the body repeatedly until finally, Toby’s voice cut through and he heard, “Babe. Babe, stop. It’s okay. He’s gone. Shhh. It’s fine.” His mate was holding him and soothing him.

Gary finally relaxed and said, “I’m ready to go home. Chris, can Toby…”

He didn’t get any further before he heard Xak say from the bedroom, “Toby is more than welcome to come home with us.”

Chris chuckled and said, “I guess the decision’s been made. Let’s go home, that’s if you do want to come with us Toby.”

Gary said, “Shit, babe. I’m sorry. I didn’t even think about that. I’m so sorry. I guess I can stay here if you want.”

He sounded so down and depressed when he said that, Toby couldn’t keep him away from his family. Toby smiled up at his mate and said, “There’s nothing keeping me here. Nicholas wouldn’t let any other vampires stay in the city. Justin and I were the only other two that lived here all the time. I’ll have to come and check on things once every other week or so I guess, but we can worry about that later. Let’s get home.”

1. Celtic boys name which is believed to mean (meaning) sun born or Summer baby, (FYI Thayne means “One who follows”

2. Richard, my love

3. Toby, you little piece of shit.