"Who's here?" I hear Eric yell throughout the house in a warning voice as he walks down the hallway with his heavy tread and then stops just outside the door.
Looking from Arabella to the door, I notice that she is a little too close to it, so I push her back just in time. He kicks it open and then stares at me with a shocked look on his face. Automatically smiling when the recognition registers in his eyes, I know that he remembers me, and everything will be alright. Sure, it has been several years since I have seen him last, but it hasn't been so long that he wouldn't recognize me. After all, I have hardly changed since then.
"Oh my god, what are you doing here?" He asks in a boisterous voice, while stepping in and holding his arms out to give me a hug. "It has been so long since I have seen you last. Ever since Samantha's funeral, I expected you to come back and visit. Years went by, and I realized that you were never coming back." His voice fades off when he stares at his sister's picture on the wall, then he continues speaking softly, "I regret what happened, but it is the past and now you are here."
He glances past me to Arabella and asks before I can get a word in edge wise, "Who is this little one?" Then he inspects her further and says, "Wow, you got her pregnant. Is she a wolf or a human? She doesn't give me that vibe."
Shaking my head, I must laugh at his astonishingly keen perception. "Yes, she is carrying my pups and she is a human. It is making things difficult back at the castle and that is why we are here right now. We need a place to hide out for a couple days because there is no telling if the castle is over run right now or not. I need somewhere that I can leave her, so I can check it out without worrying about her too much." I say while still concerned how to deal with it all.
He slaps me on the back before stating, "Well, that is a lot to think about. Now, let's grab the two of you some dinner and then we can figure this all out. Then tomorrow, I will watch out for her so you can do a reconnaissance mission."
We follow him into the small kitchen and sit down at the table. "Do you want some coffee?" He asks as he calls the pizza place and orders a couple pizzas.
While he does that, l scan the room and notice something odd. There is still no sign of Ruby and no dog bowl where it used to be. How odd.
"Where is Ruby?" I ask without even thinking that something might have happened to her.
"Dude, she died 2 years ago. She was 15 and the doctor said she had cancer, so I had to put her down. It was the hardest thing I have ever had to do. If my dad ever gets that bad, I was told that I should look into putting him into a home. Not going to happen though." He looks distraught when he says it absent mindedly.
Deciding to get off the subject, I tell him everything from the beginning. Once it all has been cleared up, I look up at him and his eyes are as wide as saucers. His mouth is gaping, and he is just sitting there silent watching me.
Arabella finally chimes in with perfect timing to break the quiet, "So, when did they say the pizza was going to get here? I am famished. In case you can't tell these pups are hungry little bezel nuts. Every time I turn around one of them is kicking me or pinching me to tell me they are hungry. Then my stomach starts growling and I have to wonder if they aren't already able to howl in my tummy." She giggles when one kicks her, and I watch her stomach launch forward a few inches.
Geez that must hurt, or at least you would think so, but she never complains even when I can tell they hurt her. Sometimes, I must wonder if carrying these pups is too much for her, especially now of all times when everyone seems to be out to get her. Now, if I can properly protect her so nothing happens to her or them, I have done my job properly.
Furrowing my brow, Arabella notices and asks, "Julian, what's the matter?" As she cocks her head and frowns before I hear the doorbell ring.
Not too worried, I still stand up and rush over to check the window over by the door before Eric opens it. The last thing we need is someone posing as a delivery boy and then walking right in with a gun and killing my babies. When I have verified that it seems legit, I nod to him, and he opens the door to the young boy.
Watching the transaction take place, I notice that Eric wears his dark brown hair longer now as it hangs just above the nape of his neck. Then I notice that he has a tattoo on his forearm of a ying-yang when his sleeve rides up just a bit. The kid smiles at us all before he turns his back to Eric and then he says something quietly. "I hope you like it my king."
Shaking my head, I stand still because at first, I don't think I heard him right. Then Eric turns to me and gives me a knowing look before he slams the door shut quickly. "There is something wrong here. I have been around your kind my whole life and he was not a human, because I can smell it on him. Don't get offended, but you all smell like wet dogs when you sweat." He starts to laugh but then regains his composure and becomes all serious.
"Damn, I was hoping to get a way for a few days with her, but they keep tracking us down over and over again. I wouldn't eat that pizza if I were you. Throw it away while I scan the area in case there are others." I point to the garbage after demanding that Arabella throw it out as I watch her start to open the first box, before she quickly shuts it and obeys me.
Cautiously, I make my way to the back door and then open it slowly. There is not anyone back here yet, so maybe there is a way to get out of here before something else happens. Then I hear him from the side of the house as someone accidentally steps on a stick and it makes quite a bit of noise.
"Shit!" I murmur under my breath as I rush back into the door and lock it behind me.
When I walk back up to the front, I see worry on Eric's face and then Arabella states, "Eric said there are 5 guys out front now and then are closing in on the house. What are we going to do Julian? I need to protect my babies." She begins crying as the tears fall down her cheeks, as we become surrounded and the fact that we don't have a way out is worrying me.
At this point, all I want to do is hold Arabella and make it all better, but I am afraid there is no way now to make it all better. Unless. I remembered that Eric's dad had built a bunker underneath this place and the access panel is in the laundry room. Surely, we can use that if Eric hasn't sealed it off years ago.
Turning to Eric, I ask quietly so no one can hear from outside, "Eric, remember the laundry room."
At first, Eric gives me a funny look and then suddenly it hits him. "Yes! Oh my god, I forgot about that." He says it a little too loud and then Arabella gets up and walks over to find out what the commotion is all about.
Smiling at her, I lean down and whisper into her ear softly, "Baby, he has a bunker under the house that his dad had built ages ago, but we should be able to stay there till the intruders leave. Once they see that we are gone, they will think there is some way we escaped. The bunker is airtight, so they won't even smell our scent or more importantly the babies."
She hugs me before I take her hand and we make our way to the laundry room. Just in time too, because the minute we shut the door to the access panel, I hear a loud roar and then the wood from the door splintering. Now they are inside, but they will never find us down in the bunker.
Carefully, I hold her hand as we go down the dark corridor into the bunker and then once Eric opens the door, he flips the light switch, and everything is flooded with the ambient glow of the lightbulb from the ceiling fixture in the drop ceiling. "Thank goodness, that dad thought ahead. He knew someday that this would come in handy. I am just sorry that it is needed now when the two of you should be happy not running for your lives." Sighing, he unwraps a plastic bag filled with blankets and then I lead Arabella to a bed in the corner.
There she seats down while we sort out what kind of things his dad kept in here. As we hear them ransack the house upstairs looking for us, we sit underneath them comfortably waiting for them to leave.