Bianca swallowed against Russ's tight grip. "Fernando Boosilis! He knew where you were!" She tried to wiggle against Russ's tight grip as the heat from the wolf's hot breath sent chills down her spine.
Ry narrowed his eyes at her. "You want us to believe the kid's own uncle called in the hit?"
She nodded furiously. "Yes! I met with him in person. He deals with several vampires, almost daily!"
"Is that so?" Ry stroked his chin ignoring her gasps as Russ's claws sank deeper into her throat. "Was Vivian DeMarco aware of your attack beforehand?" When she didn't answer, Ry added. "You'd better not drag this out too long. You see my friend here can only control the wolf for so long, and you don't want to be in a cage with him when he loses control."
Bianca's eyes met the heated, red glare of the man-beast before her. There was little left of the attractive young wolf that had walked into the room. The beast snarled up at her as she thought over her options. When his grip tightened more, sending razor-sharp claws deeper into the tender flesh of her throat, she gasped out. "If I answer you this, I'm as good as dead."
Ry smiled as he stepped closer. Leaning in and glancing pointedly from her to Russ, his smile widened. "My dear, you are dying either way. I'm giving you the option of a quick death or a slow painful one. Which will it be?"
She swallowed hard against the tight grip around her throat. "Yes."
"Yes, what?" Ry taunted leaning even closer.
"Yes! She was the one who sent me to Fernando!" Her eyes widened when the wolf snarled centimeters from her face, the heat of his breath nearly scorching her skin.
Ry smiled as he leaned back. "Told you." He said to Russ. He watched as the last bit of control seeped away and the wolf sank its long canines into her throat and pulled back, ripping out a large chunk of flesh before dropping the vampire. "Let's get out of here." He said as he turned toward the door.
"Wait! You can't just leave me here like this! As you said, if Vivian finds out I spoke with you she'll kill me; and it will be slow!" Bianca whaled out as she clung to her bleeding throat.
Ry smiled back at her over his shoulder. "Yeah, I know." His smile widened to a toothy grin. "Good luck with that."
She snarled as she shot up from the floor, something shiny now in her hand. "Fuck you both!" She charged at Russ with the glistening shank in hand.
Ry's smile fell away. "Well, hell…" He stepped between them, quickly grabbing and breaking the vampire's wrist causing the shank to hit the floor, before plunging the hilt of his palm forcefully against her chest. Watching the vampire crumple against the floor, he huffed out a sigh. "Well, she'll not be healing from that as quickly. Let's go before we're caught." He turned back to see Russ struggling to shift back. "Come on, kid, you got this." Wild, red eyes met his. He was panting heavily as he struggled to transform. "Your adrenaline is still up too high. Take some long breaths." He placed his hand on the center of Russ's back and guided the panting wolf from the cell and locked the door behind them. "This way. We're going out the back." He continued guiding Russ through the long corridor of cells. Many were occupied and curious eyes followed them. Ry threw one of the lab coats over Russ, trying his best to hide the kid's identity.
When they made it through the thick double-barred exit at the back of the hidden prison, Russ fell to the ground on his knees digging his claws into the hard soil. He groaned and growled loudly as he fought against the best. With a loud howl directed toward the heavens, he finally got the beast under control.
"You alright, kid?" Ry asked as he squatted down beside him and patted his back. Russ nodded but still didn't speak. "You did well. We got the information we needed and got out in a timely fashion." Ry patted his back as he looked around the wooded gardens surrounding the hidden back entrance. "Come on, we don't have much time before we'll have to meet Andre. Trust me, kid. If you think standing up a woman is bad, DO NOT stand up a gay man!" He helped Russ up before pulling out his cell phone. "I'm going to call dad and see if he's willing to help later." He sent Russ's questioning expression a sly smile. "We are going to drop in on your uncle unannounced."
The ringing stopped as the call was answered. [What up, son. If you boys are wanting to come here, we could shift the kid into a goldfish this time.]
Ry sent Russ a thoughtful look, as he fought against a smile."Yeah, I have places to be a little later; but how about later tonight? Then after, if you're up for a little adventure maybe you could pop over to the kid's island with us?"
Poseidon smiled, [Sounds fun. Shall I be going as a guest, or will there be a prospective claim? On second thought we can discuss it later. What time would you like me to snap you over?]
Ry thought about it for a few seconds. "Give us about an hour, hour, and a half. We'll be at that high-end restaurant with the good sushi. I have a date I need to get out of."
Poseidon chuckled. [Very well, give them a kiss for me! I'm sure it will be a fun one dragging the kid along with you. Are you sure you don't want me to pop in to babysit for you?] He teased.
...
They had all barely gotten settled when another knock sounded at the door. Before Arei could yell that it was open, the knob was turning, and the door was being pushed open. Poseidon stepped inside; a vanilla envelope in hand. "The results just arrived. Should we try waking her first or be prepared with the knowledge beforehand?" Poseidon handed the vanilla envelope over to Jos. "Either way, I imagine, if there is bad news contained inside, it would be you she would prefer to deliver it." He nodded to Arei. "If you'd like to give the girls some privacy, I have something to go over with you."
Arei reluctantly released Jos and followed his father out of the room. Glancing back in concern to Jos, he said. "I'll wait for you in the library. Come find me after you give her the news." When Jos only nodded, he let the door shut quietly. Turning his attention to his father, he asked. "What is it you need to speak to me about?"
Poseidon kept his focus on the hall in front of him as he made his way to his office. "I spoke to your brother earlier. I'll be bringing him and the boy here for a few hours... more for the girl than anything. I suspect regardless of those results, she'll not likely be welcomed in wolf territory until the boy is in complete control of the area."
"Alright, what do you need from me?" Arei asked as he followed his father into the office, letting the door close behind them.
Poseidon sat behind his desk before answering. "It would be best if Jos wasn't around until the boy leaves. The two of you have made great progress recently. The boy will only set that progress back."
Arei nodded in agreement. "Easy enough, I'd like to work on flight travel with her some more anyways. It could come in handy. Is there anything else?" Arei said as he leaned back in the armchair opposite the desk.
Poseidon nodded. "Your brother has asked me to help them. I'll leave out with them this evening once the boy has spent some time with his sister. I'll not lie to you, I plan on pressing for a claim there as well." He shrugged. "Which means the court will be a little awkward for Jos and the boy at first, but it is worth the aggravation in the long run."
Arei shook his head. "Is that all any of you ever think of? Power and claims?" Arei was about to push himself up from the seat when Poseidon asked.
"Do you honestly think I'm doing this strictly for my own gain?" He held his son's gaze. "The wolf packs of the boy's kingdom are going to require a lot of backing. It will be a massive investment on my part and there's no way of knowing how it will pay off if it will... And as for Jos, there is no way of knowing if the Kraken can ever be fully controlled or if it will even be in existence once the curse is gone. She may very well be an ordinary girl after-"
"A powerful demi-goddess still afterward, you mean?" Arei interrupted. "I've already told her, no matter what, I don't want children. I'll not have my children be used as I have been. As we all are still used."
Poseidon let out a long sigh. "With great power comes great responsibility, Areion. Your brothers understand that, as I'd hope you would by now."
Arei pushed up from the seat. "I don't want that 'responsibility falling on the back of innocent children." He glared at his father. "My children will not be drawn into the politics of the Gods." A smile curved his lips. "I suppose there's no point in arguing this anyways. Jos believes herself to be infertile."
A deep frown creased Poseidon's handsome face. "That is sad news if it's true." He watched his son leave the room and shook his head in irritation as the door shut loudly behind him. "There's no reaching that one..." He pushed himself up from his chair. "Oh well, time to go crash a date..."
***
"Should we wake her now?" Isha asked, staring down at the envelope in Jos's hand. "I'm sure she will be eager to know one way or the other..."
Jos nodded in agreement. She handed the envelope over to Raven as she walked toward the bed. She set on the edge of the bed and began stroking the wolf's soft fur. "Shell... Shell... The test results are in. Would you like to wake up and look them over?" The wolf's lashes fluttered open and unfocused cyan eyes moved around the room before finally settling on Jos. Jos smiled down at her. "The results are back." She turned slightly holding her hand up for the envelope as the wolf pushed herself up on her wobbly front legs. Setting in front of Shelly, she asked. "Would you like us to let you read them in privacy?" Wide eyes met Jos's, and the wolf shook her head no rapidly. Jos smiled down at her. "Alright, we'll stay." She stroked her hand over the wolf's head before turning her attention to opening the envelope. She pulled the papers out and scooted closer to Shelly. Raven and Isha had made their way over to the other side of the bed and were now climbing on at Shelly's other side. Jos spread the forms out on the bed and squeezed her eyes shut tightly as she waited for everyone else's reactions, not wanting to be the first to bear the news. A sharp inhale of breath brought Jos's eyes shooting open quickly.
Raven pulled Shelly into a tight hug as wet tears streamed down the sides of the wolf's furry face. She rubbed short strokes back and forth in the fur where her hands linked behind Shelly. "Thank the gods!" Raven whispered.
Jos's brows furrowed as she lifted the papers. She sucked in a breath bringing one hand to rest against her chest as she scanned the document. Tears filled her eyes as she turned her attention to Shelly. "You're 21 weeks... that's a little over 4 months." A happy smile curved her lips. "It's Gen and..." She held the paper out for Shelly's inspection. "It's a boy." She flung her arms around Shelly's neck.
Movement from the door brought all four women's attention up. "Congratulations," Russ said as he stepped into the room. He ran his hand over the back of his neck as his attention moved from Jos to Shelly.
Jos's joy vanished, replaced with high anxiety as she watched him approach the bed. She gave Shelly another quick hug and leaped up from the bed. "I'll leave you guys to catch up." She forced a smile as she hurried toward the door, keeping her head held low.
Russ watched in barely masked irritation and longing as Jos hurried by him without even looking at him once. He let out an irritated half laugh as the door slammed behind him. "I guess I deserve that." He turned his focus back to his sister. "How are you feeling?" When the wolf nodded, his focus moved down to the papers. "So good news then?" He pushed his irritation to the side as Raven began reviewing the information of the documents.
Jos had barely gotten the door shut behind her when she ran into the solid wall of muscle. massive arms encircled her.
"I came as soon as I heard they'd made it. Are you alright?" Arei asked, holding her close.
Jos nodded. "Yeah... I thought they could use some time... without me around."
Arei nodded. "I could use an escape from this palace as well, would you like to go for a ride?" He asked pulling away from her enough to send her a wide smile. When Jos nodded, his smile widened, and he took her hand moving quickly toward the back staircase.
"Wait now?! Shouldn't we tell anyone?" Jos asked as he practically dragged her down the hall.
"Father knows. If anyone asked, I'm sure he'll let them know." He called over his shoulder.
"But?!" Jos protested as she stumbled over the first couple of steps of the stairs. Her breath sucked in painfully when he quickly spun and scooped her into his arms. "Arie, What the!?!" His stunning, wide smile silenced her.
"It will be fun, I promise!" Arei said as he began making short work of the stairs with her now in his arms. He pushed the back door open and set her gently down on the back lawn. "Ready?" He asked with a devilish smile.
Jos looked around not seeing a mode of transportation but enjoying the beautiful landscape surrounding the palace. Her eyes widened as a very familiar shirt was tossed at her. Her attention snapped over to Arei as he dropped his pants, underwear, and all. "What the hell are you doing?!" She shouted as she averted her gaze.
"Getting ready to take you for a ride." He chuckled. "You're not curious at all about how the transformation happens?" He asked stepping out of his pants.
She peaked around over her shoulder, catching the full view of his round, muscular gluts. Jos could feel her cheeks blaze as she quickly averted her gaze. "I've seen transformations before... of others as well as my own..."
He shrugged, "Alright, if you don't want to go for a flight..."
Jos's head snapped around to him in surprise. "A flight?!"
He nodded holding his pants in front of him for her comfort. "Well, yes. You seemed to enjoy it the other day. Plus, it's good practice in case we ever need to use it in the future." His smile widened. "I'll just need you to carry these for me... unless you'd prefer me naked..." He winked at her as he lifted the jeans slightly.
Jos could feel her cheeks heat more as she held out her hand for the pants. "I... I'll carry them."
"Good." He said as he set them on the ground and began to shift while bent forward.
Jos watched in amazement as beautiful wings emerged from the stallion's sleek back. "I don't think I'll ever adjust to how beautiful you are in this form." She murmured as she scooped up his discarded clothes.
The horse nudged her playfully. "Only this form?" He teased.
The blush crept back across her cheeks. "Your normal appearance is... shockingly above average but not quite as shocking as being face to face with a talking, winged stallion."
The horse whinnied in amusement. "Fair point. Now get on!" He said as he knelt beside her.