Michael
"Juliet!" I ran when I saw her lying on the ground. She was out and hurt. Juliet had not eaten for a few days and was as tired as I was. I heard her screaming and came as quickly as I could. Sammy didn't want to budge. Juliet had been walking with her for hours. My hands were shaking. The ground and the walls in the cave had started rumbling. I knew it had to have been a massive monster. I was feeling her all over. I heard Chris's voice talking to someone and yelling from Caleb.
"Chris!" I put my hands around my mouth. It was quiet. "Chris! Caleb!" There was a long silence. She was going to be furious. But she was being stupid. I smiled. I had a way out of her waking up in the next ten minutes. I dug into my pocket for a tube of drugs.
"Michael?"
"Yeah! Chris, she's hurt."
"Stay there. We're coming to you."
I pressed the vial into her neck. The little princess in my arms was out and dead weight. After having a proper meal that night, I felt better. But I was still weak. It had been too long in that cave. We had a good laugh at Caleb's expense when she came back with so much food. How she couldn't see he was hers was beyond me. I didn't have the heart to tell her. When he walked into the cave, I almost wanted to wrap my arms around him. Maybe it was because he looked exactly like her and not Chris.
***
It was so hot that all I had on was a T-shirt and long cargo pants. I could try and hide all my tats. But really, the secret was out. Whoever was with Chris would know. The entrance to the valley came into view, and Sirius was luckily coming up. It felt like I was dreaming. It was bizarre to see Chris after so long.
He had given Sammy to a woman walking with them. She wasn't in Riphath form anymore… I gave Juliet to another blond guy. Chris and I actually hugged for the first time. He was so happy to see me that I knew he would come home. All her fears were for naught… I sighed. We still had Ira to contend with.
"All I can say is… she's too stubborn. She wanted to find out everything before talking to you. She just needed to figure it out on her own… You know. We were too scared of that nose of Silvanus… He clapped me on the shoulder. Chris manifested and took Juliet from Jamal and carried her with ease. It would've been impossible for me.
"I don't think she wants Ira to know. There are things she had been… investigating."
Chris didn't seem surprised. "Jamal, can I leave her with you? Caleb, you will stay with her." They both nodded. The woman was quiet, her eyes drifting between Juliet and me.
"She's going to be pissed when she wakes up."
"How long?"
"No, not three days again. Maybe half a day... A few hours. It depends. She's exhausted."
"You seem tired, too. How long have you guys been here?"
"About five weeks…." I said, yawning. It had been a long night.
Chris halted and turned to me. "In that cave for five weeks?!"
"No! Just as long as it took you guys to enter the city… So about two and the one we are in…." I said, yawning again. "It wasn't that bad. We had been living in the city… For about three weeks before you came." I smiled. Those were the best weeks of my life. It had all been worth it.
"Why like this?"
Guiltily, I cast my eyes to the ground, rubbing nervously over my beard.
"What? Now is not the time to hold back."
"I was the only one…."
"The only one what?"
"The others don't know we are here. I think… She didn't want Marcus and Louis here…."
He smiled… "Because they can control her… Louis's in her head."
I nodded. "Yeah, and she thought Ira would be more receptive if there weren't any other vampires on Zoreah. I'm more diplomatic, she said."
Chris laughed. "We will need to cover you up with a bodysuit. Selena, would you please. We have to hurry… Ira would hear about the child soon…. About Sammy…" Chris glanced at his daughter.
Selena gave Sammy to Caleb… she saluted and teleported.
"In a nutshell?"
"Mhmm… Well, most of it, you know… Since Ahasuerus handed her the keys, it had been months of finding the coordinates to Shumaan. What don't you know?"
"Well, I didn't know I had a daughter."
"Yeah, Samantha Agatha Ahmed."
He stopped and stared at me… "Long story, but it's a joke… It's not like she has a birth certificate."
Chris was quiet.
"Well, not yet. That's another reason we're here. Juliet needs the swatch for her. Thinks it will give her some authority. But it seems all she needed was her father. It had been a few months of hell. She has never gone into human form. Not once."
We were coming up to the city. It was early in the morning, and there was little patrol after the monster. Jamal gave me his jacket, and we waited for Selena to come and give me a bodysuit. It covered me up to my neck. I was relieved that I could walk around like a normal person.
"You feel better?"
"Much… Now I can actually do something… She would have taken one, but you guys don't have spares lying around. I should've packed better…." Chris didn't say anything. "I told her she should bring someone that could easily blend. But she would have me. And here I am doing everything she tells me to."
Chris attempted a smile. "I have really missed you guys. All of you. How is everyone?"
I didn't know how to tell him how hard the year had been on all of us. How hard the three years had been… Back and forth…. Selena and Jamal were intrigued about everything. Listening to everything. I didn't know what to say…
"Oh… where are my manners." Chris saw me staring at them. "This is Jamal and Selena." I held out a hand, but they just stared at it.
"Turn your hand palm up," Caleb said. I did it, and they showed me their greeting.
My eyes traveled to Chris… "Are they family?" Chris's jaw and lips were tight…." He nodded.
When I reached over, I introduced myself to Selena. Someone just as tall as me. "I'm husband number one… Michael." She didn't smile.
"She's not very friendly."
Chris chuckled. "I think she fits right in. Just like Charlene."
Chris kept moving deeper into the small room and laid Juliet on a bed. He took Caleb's hand and dragged him down next to her. "You don't move. You don't leave her side. Not for a second. Let's give her what she wants, huh." Chris rubbed his cheek, ran his hand to Caleb's shoulder, and squeezed it. Caleb bobbed his head.
"You hungry?" He asked.
"Your human?" Selena asked. I nodded, biting into something Chris gave me.
"Not bad… What is it?"
"Fruit, I suppose."
"You okay, Chris?"
He shook his head. "I'm kind of losing my mind over here."
"She just wants Caleb. If you don't want to go back… She says it's her turn with the kids."
Chris laughed lightly. "Like we're divorced?"
I shook my head. "No, never that!"
Chris smiled, "No, never that. And no, I want to go home. So bad it hurts." Chris's lips pulled tight around his mouth. He was trying really hard to keep it together. The rest of the room went quiet, and our heads snapped to the door. The orange hue coming from the man meant it could only be Silvanus.
"If you touch her, we will have the first murder on Zoreah." Silvanus lifted his hands in the air.
"She's hurt. I'll get something for her." He turned and went out the door.
"Do not tell my father."
"Who do you think kept him busy the last half hour. Told him that they jumped and he should go chasing them."
Jamal moved to the other side of the bed. He leaned over her, touched her shirt, and lifted it to pull it over her head.
"Stop!" Chris and I yelled.
Jamal slowly let go. "What? We need to clean her up with water and be ready for when Silvanus comes back."
Chris and I shared a knowing glance and chuckled.
"Out! Everyone out, even you, Caleb."
"What? Why we want to see." Selena said.
Chris kept shaking his head.
"I can help," said Jamal.
I pulled Jamal out by the collar. "You get out first… there is definitely no place for another addition."
"So she hasn't added anyone?"
I drew in air through my teeth. Chris's eyes widened, and he tilted his head.
"There was a boy… But Marcus… He lost it."
Chris frowned.
I lifted my hand to steady the situation. "Uhmm… There is nothing settled yet… We were kinda too busy anyway... Had one thing on her mind… Or one person… Maybe it's a good thing. But Jamal, you're so pretty. Let's stay on the safe side."
The three left the room, but they stayed right outside.
"Juliet saw Selena naked coming out of Jamal's room… I think you're safe…." Caleb commented. Chris opened the curtain and hit him behind the head… "It's mom… not Juliet, and… I will have to teach you some manners before we leave for Earth."
"You're not leaving me here, are you?" Jamal begged.
"If he's going, I'm going," Selena said.
"If she doesn't challenge you… she saw you straddling Chris…." I said through the curtain. "Not happy. She is wondering if you fell in love with someone else." I gestured to the cloth that separated the rooms. I wanted to see his reaction.
Chris rubbed his hands over his face and snorted. "This place is not about love… So no…"
"Oh please, this little vamp… I'll take her down in two seconds." Selena postured.
"HEY!" Chris yelled. "The problem is not her. It's the wall you have to get through first. I don't think you want to meet Marcus."
"Marcus going to fight Selena?" Silvanus said from the door. Chris took the medicines and wraps he brought. Silvanus pushed in and, walked toward the bed, and checked her wound.
"Caleb… water… put it outside."
"Already done." I took the leather-like pouch they had to keep water in.
"How did you do it… it's so primitive." He took a deep breath as we took off her shirt and turned her on her side.
Juliet moaned, and Chris gently stroked her hair. She relaxed again. I dipped the cloth in the water, and we quickly cleaned the wound. All they had was a slimy green sludge of a lotion and wraps we had to tie around her waist.
"We have some stuff in the cave Liam sent us. If this green goo doesn't work."
"I'll go get it," Jamal offered.
"Bring both packs, please. Everything in there is important."
"How did you make it for so long?" Chris asked.
"I had to ration for a few weeks, but you should have seen her and Sammy hunting… It was cute. Sammy was free here, and they both could go primal."
Chris and Silvanus were staring at Sammy.
"Why does she still have the skin? Is it because Rodrigo is here." I didn't know how to tell him that we lied… I just kept ignoring him when I didn't know what to say.
He was regarding me… "You will have to start talking, Mike…." I smiled. That was a first… I liked it… Guessed the secrets had to come out… I watched her as Silvanus held her up. Chris got her dressed again. He put a clean suit on Juliet, which Selena got for us. She looked like a really small Riphath.
"I lied to everyone. It was me that changed her treatment."
He frowned. "You?"
"I had to do something when I was her watcher… I held Rodrigo captive and forced him to make her stronger to carry Caleb and get a new ability with it…. You saw her with Ahasuerus… You saw Brylee. Why she could carry Louis. Juliet would easily take on Selena and win. It was never going to turn out bad… I got Louis involved, and we both lied to everyone."
"So Louis isn't sick anymore?" I shook my head.
"He never was. It was to put Qadir off the scent… It's more a matter of the consequences of interspecies pregnancy and managing and mastering the side effects."
"The skin?"
"It would always be there, I think. Unless we work tirelessly for two hundred years like Rodrigo to formulate something to take it away."
Chris sat down next to her.
"I know… it's a lot… We can take it day by day? Just know she is healthy. And… she won't ever get the reversal, or else she won't be able to carry your babies."
"No! I want to know everything. All I had was day-to-day… No more! Please."
***
The rest of the group moved to the kitchen, and I sat down with Chris. I stared at the two of them. Sammy wasn't asleep anymore and got off, climbing onto my leg. "Daddy." I hugged her. The joy of seeing her so calm… not like an animal. "Go home now." I put a strand of her long hair in behind her ear. We never knew what she would look like. I took in all of her. She had dark hair like Juliet. Even if Juliet's hair was always blond. It was actually a very dark brown on the compound.
"Mommy has to work, remember."
"Mommy always works…." She rested her head on my chest.
"What about a nap? Mommy is napping. You kept Mommy up all night." I bumped her nose.
Surprisingly, she got off and walked to the bed. Usually, we had to wait till she passed out. "Sit with me?" She asked.
I walked over to the bed, watching Juliet and feeling her forehead for a fever. Her left arm was exposed with the skin I was so used to. How it was ever a problem. I shook my head. I ran my fingers over the little part of the tattoo sticking out… I remembered how it happened. I was hoping the stress of the trip wouldn't do more damage.
"You are such a good girl, Sammy." I stroked her hair until she fell asleep.
My gaze finally lifted to Chris. His eyes were fixed on me… I was so used to someone watching me… with her… Having Chris witness how I felt and what had happened between us… I had to show him what he was coming home to. It was going to be four… five men…
"Are you sure, Chris? We have the coordinates. We can come and go with the kids? We don't even need to tell Ira."
Chris sat forward like always and rubbed one hand with the other. I stood up and held out a cigarette to him. His gaze lifted. He took one, and I lit the lighter for him.
"There has been a lot of contention for her time." I pointed to her shoulder. "It's not sorted out, and it's just gotten worse. You had her so long… You had her the longest."
"Accept for Louis on the compound? And I've not slept with anyone here… but her."
I stood back regarding him. "Why?"
His gaze came up to mine. "What do you mean, why?"
"After Sita…."
He bobbed his head, "Would you ever?" Chris asked.
I snorted loudly. "There is no way in hell… Not even if she died."
"I had my temptations…." Chris dragged the cigarette. "I found her journal just in time… Then, the universe gave me that night with her. How did she end up here, Mike?"
"We have no idea. She went to Palmyra that night. Had tea with her mother-in-law." That made him laugh lightly. "It's like we're all guessing. Brylee stabbed Ira in the back… Nothing is surprising anymore, huh." He shook his head. "What is the stick up your father's ass. Juliet is such a peaceful girl… I don't understand it. That day when he came for you… He was nice to her… But he probably didn't think he would see her again."
"I think I have much to do with the hate he had built up in his heart towards her. I didn't want to fall into his way of living. Know how Marcus felt being…."
"Filial?"
He blew out some smoke. "Yeah… but I just couldn't do it. There were years we didn't talk to each other. The last time when he drugged me… It was bad. I had almost hurt Selena."
"Was Selena your temptation?"
He bobbed his head and snorted. "But she was sleeping around… And I couldn't handle it." We both chuckled.
"Juliet is the only one that can do it… because she didn't really want it… I wish I could show you all… What she was like before… I'm angry at Marcus. We all are a little that he was so selfish!"
"What do you mean?"
"The boy… Soren… He would have married her… before Lucius, before the branding, and she didn't even know. Liam didn't tell her. Marcus avoided the whole topic… Because he was jealous… She would have been happy. Uncorrupted. Reading for a life. Having babies… It's all she ever wanted… Was to be happy… He is such a good kid, too. He is only a few years older than her…."
"Is Soren still in the picture? You said it's not sorted out."
I bobbed my head left and right, moving with my shoulders. "Mhm… like I said, Marcus has her wrapped around his finger. They did…" I looked up to see his reaction… "Once…" Chris seemed fine. "It happened when Louis wasn't there… Marcus wasn't there. You weren't there, and I was presumed dead… You won't blame her, will you?"
Guess it did bother him. Or it just hurt, knowing she was that alone. Chris's head dropped, and his shoulders shook. I got up and pulled him to his feet. I hugged him and let him get it out.
Juliet started stirring behind us. "Guess the medicine for Sammy wasn't as strong as I thought."
Chris wiped at his eyes, turned around, and left… "I have to sort out Ira anyway. Keep Sammy here."