CURSE OF THE BLOOD MOON
Chapter 56- GOODBYE MY LOVER

“Scarlet this has to stop.” Kayla had decided to pull her friend out of the pity hole she had managed to dig for herself.

“What is it K?” she shifted her gaze from the thick forest to her friend’s face.

“You can’t keep walking around here like a zombie. One month of feeling sorry for yourself is enough. You have a son, think about what this is doing to him.”

Her son was all she could think about. He was also Stephan’s son and when she looked at him she saw his father. Scarlet had spent her time avoiding the rest of the world. She never spent more than ten minutes with them and with her son she would give all her time.

She was with him from the time he woke up, to the time he slept. She would only leave him when he played with the other boys. Scarlet took over all the responsibilities that involved her son. Changing him, feeding him, and putting him to bed.

She felt closer to Stephan every time she was with him. The little time she wasn’t with him, she would spend it sitting on the bench looking towards the forest. She never went back to the place where they spent their wedding night, not since he left.

“I am thinking about my son. I’m thinking about the danger I have exposed him to. I’m thinking about how different his life could be if we were all human. I’m thinking about the times he could be spending with his father. I’m thinking about how hurt he would be if his father never returned.”

“No, you are thinking about how to hurt you will be if Stephan never comes back. But he will Scar, just believe in him.” Kayla tried to reassure her damaged friend.

“If they kill him, he won’t be able to do anything about it.” it was a possibility that they all refused to face, but she wasn’t going to ignore it. She was going to prepare herself so that the shock wouldn’t hit her as much.

“You can’t think like that.”

“I can. I thought you could read minds.”

“You need to believe in him, if he says he’ll be back he will be.”

“I don’t want my son to lose the innocence in his eyes. What happens if he doesn’t come back if SJ feels he has to replace the reason for his disappearance? What happens next?”

“You don’t have to worry about that, it won’t happen.” She sat next to her and wrapped her arm around her. “Right now you need to pull yourself together.”

“You can start by drinking this.” Solara walked up to them with a mega-sized mug in his hand. “It’s been a while since I last saw you eat or drink anything, so take this. You need to keep your strength up.”

“The exhaustion is beginning to show.” To emphasize her point Kayla traced the dark circles under her eyes with her index finger.

“Thanks, every girl needs to know how awful they look once in a while,” Scarlet responded in an effortless attempt at sarcasm.

Reluctantly she took the mug from him, she didn’t have the strength to argue with the both of them, and so she gave in. Scarlet couldn’t help but acknowledge the weakness she felt over the past few days.

Solara and Kayla stood at her side watching her drink the blood. It made her uncomfortable but she knew they were only trying to make sure she finished it all.

“The dark circles under your eyes are disappearing.” Kayla was glad that she was getting her color back, even if it was still that pale white.

“Scarlet when do you think we should teach SJ to hunt on his own.” Solara thought it was time that he learned how to provide for himself. He was growing fast ad in a couple of years he would pass for a full-grown adult.

“No. Stephan said he’ll teach him that.” Scarlet wanted that experience to be just for the both of them. Stephan had missed out on teaching him a lot of this, but she was going to guard this one experience for them. They were going to need that time to bond even more.

“Daddy said he’ll teach me.” SJ ran out to the pond. He did not stop as he spoke. “He said it would just be me and him and mummy isn’t allowed to come.”

“And why is that,” Kayla pulled him on her lap, allowing Scarlet to finish drinking her blood without any interruptions.

“He said mummy baby’s me too much. And that I will hunt like a big boy without her cuddling me.” Innocently he exposed his father.

“Did he now.” Kayla could see the innocence that Scarlet didn’t want to lose from her child.

“I promise I won’t baby you anymore.” Scarlet raised her right hand as if she was swearing an oath.

“Not now Mom.” SJ leaned to her ear and whispered, “Only when Dad is around.” He looked up at Kayla and Solara and they pretended not to have heard him.

“Ok.” Scarlet winked at him.

At such a tender age and barely knowing him, SJ wanted to impress his father in any way. He wanted to make him proud by doing such a simple thing as acting like a grown-up. Scarlet didn’t know if he realized that by merely being born, he made his father proud.

“How about you?” Solara took SJ from Kayla when he went for the mug in Scarlet’s hand.

“How about me, what?” Scarlet asked surprised.

“Do you want to learn or would you rather wait for Stephan.”

“Didn’t you hear? I’m not allowed on the hunting trip.” She winked at SJ as he smiled at her, “Let’s give it a try. Teach me.”

“Are you sure you can do it Scar?” Kayla was very skeptical about her hunting a living animal for food.

“If you can do it I can.” Scarlet was confident about her capabilities.

“That’s not what I mean. You are the girl who wouldn’t kill a cockroach.”

“Haven’t you heard? I’m a vampire and I don’t have those soapy feelings anymore.”

“I’ll have to see it to believe it.” she chuckled amused at the brave front Scarlet was putting up.

“When and where you name it and I will be there.” Scarlet was hyping herself up, convincing herself that she would be able to go through with this part of her new identity.

“How about tonight. I suggest that you take a nap before we go. The boys and I will watch this one.” Solara tossed SJ into the air and caught him when he was just inches from the ground.

“Solara doesn’t do that.” Scarlet was trying to calm down her rattled heart.

“Solara I feel cheated, how comes she can sleep.” Kayla pouted her lower lip.

“Because she’s not normal honey, you are.” He kissed the top of her head and walked away with SJ. He was begging him to toss him again but Scarlet’s mental threats convinced him not to.

“Thanks. I love being the freak. But I must say it is very comforting knowing that at the end of a tiresome day I can lay my head down and sleep.”

“Show off.” Kayla elbowed her in the ribs.

“If I was still human that would have hurt. Thanks, K, I don’t know what I would do without you.” She used her free hand and pulled Kayla closer to her.

“What are friends for? I’ll always be here for you.”

“It’s a good thing we have eternity.”

***

That night Scarlet dressed up in shorts and a tank top, she wanted to be free with no restrictions. Victor and Vincent had volunteered to come with them.

Eric reluctantly agreed to stay behind and watch SJ. He wasn’t too happy about missing the action, but Vincent promised to give him a detailed recount of the evening’s events.

They all stood at the edge of the forest, Kayla and Solara flanked Scarlet’s sides. They were all going to guide her every step of the way.

“Are you ready?” Kayla squeezed her hand to show her support.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Scarlet said not sure where the confidence she had that afternoon had gone to.

“Let’s do this.” Vincent cheered.

“Vincent, aren’t you a bit too excited, considering this is Scarlet’s first hunt and not yours,” Solara asked.

“What? This is her first hunt, so yes I am excited.”

“I’m glad one of us is,” Scarlet mumbled under her breath.

“Relax just pay attention to your surroundings.” Victor brought them back to the matter at hand. “Listen to everything around you and slowly sort out the sounds.”

“Then what?” Scarlet was looking into the darkness, she couldn’t differentiate any of the sounds from each other and she was growing impatient.

Victor stood behind her and covered her eyes. “Listen, stop searching for what you can’t see yet.”

Scarlet let her other senses work. Having her eyes closed made it easier for her to concentrate. She wasn’t searching through the darkness with her eyes but used her ears instead.

“When you hear what you are looking for, go for it.” Victor stepped back giving her room.

“Hear what exactly.” Scarlet kept her eyes closed.

“A heartbeat.”

It took Scarlet a couple of minutes to set the sounds apart. She could hear the river and the winds beating against the tree. She could hear different heartbeats, beating in different momentums.

Scarlet locked on the strongest heartbeat she heard and went for it. Her eyes were still closed as she weaved through the trees to the foot of the mountain.

The others ran after her wondering how she could be able to move so fast with her eyes closed without running into the trees and rocks.

“How is she doing that?” Kayla asked Victor when they stopped at the foot of the mountain.

Scarlet stood still, her eyes still closed. She inhaled deeply then turned her ear towards the beating heart.

“Honestly I don’t know. She has unparallel senses.” Victor stopped them from getting any closer to her. “Don’t distract her.”

Scarlet took off towards the sound again. This time she didn’t stop until she was next to it. A low feral snarl ripped through her throat as she crouched, as it lunged for her, she pounced on the animal. Her senses were on the defense, she had to kill the animal before it killed her. She wrestled it to the ground matching its power to her own.

In one fluid move, she snapped its throat. She stood up over the dead animal once it stopped struggling against her. Deeply she inhaled the scent of blood, it wasn’t as appealing as human blood but it was smelt sweet.

When Scarlet finally opened her eyes she gasped in shock. She had been able to wrestle and beat a bear. Immediately she felt sorry for it, it may have been a lot bigger than she was but it didn’t stand a chance against her.

“You better drink from it now, before its blood loses its potency.” Victor helped her down as she knelt beside the dead animal. He showed her where the vein was and the best place for an easy flow of blood.

Hesitantly she parted the thick hairs and sank her teeth into its skin. She sighed as its warm blood rushed into her mouth. She sucked it in harder and harder, ignoring her audience.

Scarlet stopped when the only thing coming from the vein was air. She had bled the bear dry. Her tank top had a few drops of blood, but other than that she was intact. She dusted herself off once she stood then turned to face the crowd.

Vincent started applauding a proud excited look beamed from his face. “Bravo. That was amazing. I’m sure you were a vampire in your other life.”

Solara joined in applaud, while Victor nodded in approval.

Scarlet felt like she had finally joined the group. That was her test and she had passed and now she could fully be one of them.

“Wow, Scar. That was brutal.” Kayla was still staring at the lifeless beast on the grass.

“And you said I was too fruity for this.” Scarlet boasted.

“Now that you have learned how to do it, how about we all get some grab.” Watching Scarlet hunt had made Victor thirsty and now he wanted to hunt his prey.

They ran to the top of the mountain crossing to the other side. There was bound to be a bigger game there and it was there for the taking.

Scarlet enjoyed her new talents. She hadn’t bothered using them at first but now they were exhilarating. Now all she had to replace out is what she could do apart from the super speed and super senses, and she was excited to replace out.

***

Scarlet woke up when she felt her body being bounced up and down. She opened her eyes but quickly shut them when the sunlight blinded her.

“What’s going on?” she groaned.

“How was it, Mummy?” SJ jumped on the bed.

“Go away, I’m sleeping.” She moaned again.

“But I want to know. I want to know.” He was curious and persistent.

“Only If you stop jumping about. Sit down and let Mummy close her eyes for a few seconds.” She held on to his leg and pulled him down. It was harder to move him about, he now had the body of a four-year-old. Still small but heavier.

SJ lay on the bed, his face close to hers. He watched as she closed her eyes again and waited.

“Mummy, it’s been a few seconds.” He whispered.

Scarlet remained silent hoping that he would get bored and ran to play with the boys. But he didn’t.

SJ used both his index fingers to open a right eye.

Scarlet gave up and sat up. “What do you want to know?”

“How was it, tell me, please.” He held his hands together as if in prayer and stuck out his lower lip.

“It was fun running in the forest like that. It felt good being able to have such power and control. But don’t worry you will soon know how it feels.” She brushed back his hair, it had grown too long and was covering his face all the time.

“When is Daddy coming back? I can’t wait to go hunting.”

He still wore his excited face and she couldn’t bear to take away his happiness, so she lied.

“Soon, he’s coming home really soon.” She swallowed her lie and plastered a fake smile on her face.

“Ok, I’m hungry.”

“Let’s go to the kitchen and get you some breakfast.”

Scarlet raced her son downstairs, she beat him most of the way, but let him win once they neared the kitchen.

“Kayla, please.” She put him on one of the high chairs on the kitchen counter.

Kayla gave him his cup of blood and his pizza, the ordinary breakfast for champions.

“You don’t look so good, mum.” Kayla winked at Scarlet. “You had a long run last night I’m surprised you are up.”

She was still in her pajamas and had bed hair.

“I got an early morning wake-up call.” She ran her fingers through her hair. “Now that you are fed, I’m going back to take a shower.” She kissed the top of his head and left him nestling his breakfast.

***

Marquis stood at the door and slowly filled his head with all the horror she could come up with. She had gotten Scarlet’s face from Zen’s mind, it wasn’t a clear picture since he hadn’t gotten a good look at her. But she used what she had at the best of her ability.

She could hear him groan and toss about, his pain pleased her. It was like getting retribution for all the rejection and hate he had directed towards her.

***

Stephan dug his fingers into his temples as his headaches worsened. He could see fleeting images of Scarlet, but there was something not right with the picture. She didn’t have her usual smile or the peaceful look in her eyes. She looked pained and scared.

“Help me.”

“Scarlet. Scarlet. What’s wrong? What’s going on?”

He couldn’t see what was going on. There was a thick mist cloud blocking his vision. He could hear her voice, her pleas and they sounded vaguely familiar. He swore that he knew the desperation, the fear, and the pain in her voice. He had heard them before...Sotera.

Stephan stood up and tried to clear the cloud, using his hands. But no longer how hard he tried to push it away he couldn’t it got thicker and thicker.

“Stephan.”

He spun around, her voice was now coming from behind him.

“Scarlet. Where is he?” he could see her standing at the front of the house, but she was alone. He couldn’t see his son and neither could he see anyone else from his family.

“He?” Marquis didn’t know of any other person in his life.

“Scarlet run!” he could see a beast come up from behind her. It wasn’t Xavier or any of the other three beasts.

He tried to go to her, but he couldn’t. Something was holding him back but he couldn’t see what.

***

“Leo,” Salvatore called out to him when he walked past the Counsel room. “Come in here for a minute.”

His eyes fell on the bag he had in his hand, “Where are you taking that?”

“To Stephan, he hasn’t fed in a while,” Leo informed him.

“Don’t take it to him. We need him to be as weak as he is right now for a couple of days.”

“Why?” Leo was confused, there was no way Stephan would be able to train their men if he could barely stand up.

“Because I said so.” He roared.

“But sir-,”

“Do not question me or go against me. May I remind you that the only reason you have a seat at the Council table is that I killed my brother for going against me.” He had no value for life, neither did he keep anyone who had no value to him.

“As you wish.”

“Leo one more thing, when you next see Stephan please inform him that his mate was killed, by the beasts.” He stared at his nails.

“I don’t understand. Why?” Leo was getting more confused by the second.

“Don’t question me. You could lose your position just as fast as you acquired it.” he snarled.

“I shall take my leave now if you permit it.” Leo subtly bowed and turned to leave, when Salvatore waved him away with his finger.

Leo stalked to Stephan’s room, he had given the bag of blood to one of the guards’. He found Marquis leaning on the door.

“What are you doing here?” he growled at her. He had lost all patience with her and Salvatore. There was something they were up to.

“Nothing I was just-,”

“What are you and Salvatore up to?” he had no interest in what she was saying, he wanted to get to the point and fast.

“Nothing. And besides whatever goes on between the Elder and me, is between us.”

She left him standing at the door, half running, and a half walking away. She knew what he was about to walk into and she didn’t want to be anywhere near them.

Leo could hear the commotion from the other side of the door. He cracked the door open and cautiously peeped first. Once he got sight of where Stephan he walked in, closing the door behind him.

“Stephan?”

Stephan watched as the wolf tore Scarlet apart. He tried to struggle against the invisible restraints holding him back. He kicked and punched in all directions, but hit nothing.

“Scarlet, where is he?”

He was determined to save their son if he couldn’t save her. He was the little piece of her that he could keep with him.

“He? Stephan, what’s going on? Who are you talking to?” Leo slowly followed him around the room as he moved frantically about.

Stephan could feel the rage kick in his body. His bones cracked and snapped as they took their new form. His breaths were deeper, heavier, and ragged.

Leo heard the ripping of clothes then he realized what was about to happen. He loped out of the room and bumped into Marquis at the door.

“We need to get out of here. He’s out of control.” He grabbed her arms and pulled her behind him. From the top of his lungs, he shouted to everyone to get out of Stephan’s way if they came across him.

In this state, he could take them on and cut their numbers to half of what they were now. They didn’t have that many men, to begin with, and losing more would be a detriment to them.

Stephan didn’t leave from the door as Leo anticipated. His pitch-black body went through the window, taking some of the brick walls off. He landed steadily on the ground on all fours. His dark skin was obscure with the night.

The vampires didn’t dare challenge him not only because of Leo’s earlier warning but because they are more interested in self-preservation than they were with him.

Salvatore and the other elders ran out of the fortress to the front gates. He had ordered them to be closed, but Stephan smashed through them.

“Leo,” Salvatore growled.

Leo and his unit chased after him, keeping a considerable safe distance between him and themselves. He was only interested in keeping track of him and making sure he didn’t run to Washington.

“If you get too close he will feel threatened and he will kill you.” Leo stuck out his hand preventing his men from getting any closer to him.

They followed him to the beach but watched him from the cliff above the shore.

Stephan ran into the water and when he was knee-deep in it, he howled up at the moon. His heart filled with grief as he stood in the water and under the moon, he shared with Scarlet.

Leo watched as Stephan’s grief tore through him. He didn’t know how he could bring himself to tell him that the woman he loved was dead. He knew the lie would destroy him even more.

Stephan let out one last howl, this one with more devastation than the last. His massive body then splashed into the water, sending a ripple through the ocean. All his strength had left him and he surrendered to the weakness his heart had exposed him to.

Leo went down to the beach once Stephan assumed his human form. He watched as his comrade wept, his tears becoming part of the ocean.

“Stephan I’m sorry.”

“How did I get to the fortress?” he couldn’t remember what had happened between the time he saw Scarlet murdered by the beast. He was sure that it was a memory of what had happened.

Leo astounded at first. He thought the memory loss was something temporary, so he held off on Salvatore’s plan. “Let’s take you back. We’ll talk when we get there.”

He used his long dust coat to cover his body.

Stephan didn’t resist as they escorted him back up the mountain. He went willingly into his now damaged room. He remembered that part of the night but other than that nothing.

Marquis was waiting for him in his chambers, he was indifferent to her. Stephan didn’t even think of kicking her out, he was mentally and emotionally destroyed to enter into a tug of war with her.

He dropped the coat then sat on the bed beside her, his eyes fixed on the mood shinning through the fissure he had made on the wall. The picture of Scarlet bloodied and dead, implanted in his head.

“Marquis you need to leave. He doesn’t need you pawing at him right now.” Leo grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the bed.

“He isn’t complaining. Are you Stephan?”

Marquis leaned forward, her eyes squinting as she tried to read what was etched in his back. She had seen the scars before, but partially. She was concentrating on his mind most of the time, she never took a second look.

But now she was closer to him and the letters were hard to miss and what they spelled out was even harder for her to bear.

Leo followed her eyes to Stephan’s back. He chuckled, “Haven’t you ever seen it before. It says Scarlet if you can’t read. She’s the one he wants in his bed, not you.”

“Arrghh!” She pulled her arm from his hold, a wicked smile spread on her face. “Well, now she won’t be. I’ll be the only woman in his bed, his heart, his mind and as soon as I can, my name will replace hers on his back.”

“Never,” Stephan’s voice was barely audible.

Marquis jumped when he talked. His voice startled her. They had spent the last few minutes talking as if he wasn’t in the room, that she had forgotten that he was still very much aware.

“She may be dead but no one will replace her.” Stephan stared up at the moon, his voice hissing.

“Go.” Leo grabbed her one more time, but this time he didn’t release her until he had tossed her out of the room.

Leo realized that he had no recollection of the month he had spent there. Marquis had planted the seed and now he had to make sure it grew out. He hated himself for causing him more pain but he had to.

“When you got back, you were distraught. You kept on saying that the beast had killed everyone, but you didn’t give us any specifics.”

He decided to play it safe and generalize, he didn’t know what Marquis had shown him so he didn’t want to overstep. So far he only knew that Scarlet was dead, and Stephan hadn’t mentioned the names of the other people who lived with him.

“I didn’t see the others, but I saw her... I saw her die...and... and...” his voice faltered, and he crashed into the ground on his knees, “And they killed her. She’s...she’s dead. Right before my eyes, just as Sotera did.”

Leo knew who Sotera was, everyone who was in his regiment and at the fortress at the time knew her. She was the vampire who made Stephan abandon his life, his responsibilities all that he had come to know during the last three centuries.

She was the vampire who had Marquis climbing on walls and a rampage. She was the reason Marquis had decided to bring back the exiled vampires so that they would kill her since all the other vampires had refused. They knew better than to cross Stephan and Zen was the only one with enough hate to dare.

“Did you see the beast that did it?” Leo continued to weave the web that Marquis had started.

This was the only way to plant enough hate in him so that he would lead the slaughter of the beast. He convinced himself it was for the greater good.

“No. I don’t understand why they would do this. We had formed a close friendship. Maybe it’s because I told them what I was doing here?”

“You told them what? Stephan that wasn’t wise.” Leo realized that everything had gotten complicated.

The beasts knew about their impending attack, he knew they were training to attack. They would be ready for them if they didn’t attack first. Stephan was in no condition to lead himself let alone an army.

“I need to speak to Xavier. He has to explain this to me.”

“No Stephan you need to get your revenge.” He knew that the need for vengeance was the only thing that would get him on his feet at this point.

“I will. I’ll kill all of them. But first I have to speak to Xavier.” Stephan got to his feet and walked into his closet.

“You can’t go to Argentina on your own. You can’t cross into their border, you’ll start a war.” Leo has happy he was making headway, but now he had to act like the concerned friend that he was.

“No you will start a war, I’m half their own. Anyway, we are going to meet at the border.” He walked out of the closet and shrugged on his black muscle shirt. “Like you, Xavier is my friend and I’m sure he didn’t have any knowledge of this.”

“Just give me tonight, let me get permission from Salvatore. I want to come with you.” He needed to keep an eye on him to make sure everything went according to plan.

Stephan thought about it for a while. He was going to need time to call Xavier. He fished through his bag for his phone number. “Ok, but as soon as the sun rises I will be gone with or without you. Can I use your phone?”

“Who are you going to call, Scarlet?” Leo was nervous they hadn’t thought about that part, and he was sure if she picked up, they would all die.

“No, she’s... dead. And I don’t have any of their numbers. Their phones got lost around the time when Zen came by and when Scarlet went to Washington on her own.” He would have loved to call her, to prove himself wrong. Just to hear her voice, it didn’t matter if it would only be her voice mail.

“Oh, ok.” He tossed him the phone once he was sure, “I’ll be back in a while.”

Leo moved as fast as he could to the other end of the fortress where Salvatore was. He found him with three other Counsel members, he was relieved because now he would get different opinions.

“He’s going to meet the beast.” Leo didn’t bother with niceties he got straight to the point.

“Then stop him,” Salvatore said as if it was as easy as forbidding him to go.

“This is Stephan a very powerful immortal, if he wants to go there is nothing we can do to stop him.”

“Use his mate,” Salvatore suggested again.

“The same mate he thinks is dead. She is the reason why he is going in the first place.”

“He hasn’t fed for a while he won’t be able to make it.” He tried to salvage himself by stating the obvious.

Leo shut down his confidence in Stephan’s thirst, “He is determined, and besides he is sure to replace some game on his way to Iguazu Falls.”

“He does survive on that, but it doesn’t make him as strong as human blood.” He was depending on his newfound ethics and morality.

“I’m sorry I can’t be as confident as you are. He is only interested in avenging Scarlet’s supposed death. I wouldn’t put anything past him.”

“Go with him and make sure everything goes well.” He barked he was fed up with all his negativity.

***

“Xavier I need to meet you at the falls at sundown tomorrow.” He said as soon as he received the call.

“What is this about Stephan? Is this about the attack? Are they planning to come after us now?” A dozen reasons why he was calling run through his head.

“No, I will tell you tomorrow.” He didn’t allow him to say anything, as he hung up the phone immediately.

Stephan took his usual position in front of the window. But this time there wasn’t a window, there was a huge gaping hole instead.

“Don’t worry my love, our family’s deaths won’t go unpunished.”

Stephan and Leo began their run to the border at mid-day. Stephan was sure it would only take them a couple of hours to get there. When he was sure they had enough time, he hunted the wild game that he could replace in the area.

***

They got to the falls just as the sunset. The scenery was beautiful, Stephan was sure that Scarlet would have loved it. She always appreciated the simple beauties of nature.

“Stephan. You came with a vampire.” Xavier and Sam stepped forward from the rock that had carefully concealed them.

“Don’t worry, this is Leo.”

“OK, what’s this about?” Xavier didn’t trust Leo, so he watched him carefully.

“Scarlet and the others are dead, and they were killed by a beast.” Stephan’s tone dropped.

“What are you talking about? I just spoke to Eric and everything seemed fine.” Xavier was taken aback. He had spoken to Eric a few hours earlier and he was fine.

“Are you sure it was him?” Stephan was confused, he thought that he was tricking him. “Are you trying to cover up for your people? I saw her die. I saw that beast take her life.”

“Stephan, are you sure. I don’t think Scarlet would wait to be attacked. What about Solara, Kayla, and the twins, they wouldn’t let her die.”

“I don’t know where they are.” Stephan searched his memory but there was no sign of the other five.

“I do not think that a beast can attack them and survive, especially with the child there. They are all very protective of him.”

Leo could see that their plan was about to be derailed, “You aren’t being honest with us. Produce the murderer or we won’t have a choice but to attack you.”

“Xavier, you and I have become friends. I let you live in my house whenever you are in the states. We have been through a lot together.”

“I know that Stephan.”

“They why would you hide the beast that killed my wife? My family is missing, my son is missing Xavier.” Stephan growled.

Leo turned to look at Stephan wide-eyed. He never thought that Stephan could sire a child, none of them could. it was against their nature to give life.

This changed a lot of things. Leo knew that if the elders knew of Stephan’s potential they would make him sire an army for them. This would give them more power than they ever dreamt of.

“I was there when you were married, I was there when you brought your son home. Your family has become mine, I wouldn’t hide anything of this importance from you.”

“Sam?” Stephan turned to the other beast. He was older and didn’t see the value of deceit.

“This is the first I am hearing of all this Stephan. But if such a thing has happened I will kill the beast myself.” He swore.

“I will do that. Xavier, I am only giving you this one chance. A week from now I will be back and I want to replace the killer of my wife and my son before me. If not I will come after him, and many people will get hurt along the way.”

“I swear it to you.” Xavier shook his hand before he and Sam phased into wolves and ran in the opposite direction.

When they were alone Leo decided to ask him about his son, “You never told me about your son.”

“No one but my family knows about my son. He is my treasure, the best thing I could ever have done.”

Leo saw an opportunity to show more hate in him, “Maybe that is why they took him. They want to use him as a weapon against you.”

Stephan thought about it and it made sense to him. SJ was a strong boy even at his tender age. With the right training, he could be dangerous, but he would never fight his father. So he thought of the possibility they would use him to draw him to their side, just as the vampires had done with his mother.

This time he vowed not to be used. He now had the vampire army to command and he was going to use it to take his son back.

“They have a week.”

“If they don’t have him by then?” Leo asked.

“Then they die all of them.”

***