Storm of Shadows Ch. 09

Caleb literally stopped breathing for a few seconds...the words from the Genesis Society coming to mind.

With the birth of the first female offspring of each century they imprinted a key. They would have the ability to walk in both worlds, both walker and life drinker. They would possess the powers of their ancestors and be able to carry the gene until a union of the two species would come and our resurgence would arrive. They called these children the Vârcolac.

"Annie, are you saying that we now have the ability to have children?" he stammered out, fear, confusion and a liberal amount of hope colouring his tone. He let out his breath as he waited for her answer.

She nodded, colour blushing her cheeks. "After reading the histories, I started to suspect it was possible but I wasn't sure so I didn't say anything right away. The more I listened to your conversation with Ana, the more time I had to think about, and the more it made sense. Caleb, the Vampire Queens are direct descendants from the Genesis beings. They are the original Vârcolac, the ones who were imprinted with the genetic key. This is why they were the only Vampires who could give birth. Anakatrine's mother gave birth to both Gard and Ana, and I have been gifted that genetic key. That's why I was crying earlier, not because I was afraid to be the Vampire Queen but because I finally believed the truth staring me in the face."

Wonder filled his soul, a joy so strong that Caleb was astonished to realise that becoming a father had been something he had secretly been yearning for since he'd first met his beautiful mate. Sure, he had always spent a lot of time with the pack young when they were babies, but he'd put his enjoyment of that down to his Annie's obvious joy and being with the children. Now he was finally understanding that he had taken as much joy in those moments as his mate. Now that joy was going to be available to them together, and he found himself overwhelmed by just what that meant, though caution filled his soul too.

"Annie, I can't tell you how astounding, how amazing this is," he whispered, tenderly stroking her face and uncaring of the tear that rolled down his cheek. "To bring new life into this world with you would be the most wonderful thing ever. The knowledge of all this though...I don't know if the vampire nation is ready for it. In addition, we have this threat hanging over everything. We probably should keep this to ourselves just now, and take the necessary precautions needed until things have been resolved."

She blushed a little brighter, her expression turning sheepish. "I think it might be a little late for that, my love. When I returned, we were pretty excited to be back together. I haven't had another monthly cycle since that first time yet, but I felt unsettled inside the other night and that was what drew me to Masking Lavender. I think that was Anakatrine's way of pointing me in the direction I needed to go."

Stunned silence greeted her words, and then Caleb expelled another loud breath. "You mean...you think you're already pregnant?"

Rhianna's smile grew wider, and she reached up and kissed his mouth softly. "I know it's only been a few weeks but I did a little inward search while you spoke with Ana. We have created a son, my beautiful vampire."

"A son? How can you know so soon? When is the child due?" He was going to be a father...to a son...Caleb was stunned and elated, worried and fearful.

She laughed and kissed him again, his happiness infusing every cell in her body through their mate bond. "The Vampire Queen always gives birth to the next Guardian first. He must grow big and strong so that he can protect the next Queen while she awaits her King. From what I've read in Masking Lavender, it would appear the Queen has a more traditional gestation rate, so I would suspect our son will be born in a little over 8 months' time. We should be able to keep this secret for a while to come, Caleb, hopefully long enough to finish this hidden war and prepare the vampire nation for what is next to come."

They had time...time to come to terms with everything and to prepare for the future. Caleb gathered his astonishing mate into his arms and kissed her until she was breathless, breaking off to laugh with joy before kissing her soundly again.

"What is still to come, Annie?" he finally asked when he let her up for air.

"The reintegration of the Genesis Society, my love," she whispered, her eyes glowing with excitement. "We cannot change evolution as a whole, but we can set it back on the path it should have taken if we had not been betrayed and had to hide our true natures. The evolution of the Genesis Society was the rise of the Vârcolac. Anakatrine set us back on that path three thousand years ago. Now it's time to win the war against our enemy and to be what we always should have been."

Joshua arrived as the others were packing up the camp. Agony was currently trying to track down the rendezvous point the younger members of the pack had disappeared to, and Louis had returned back to his coven. Dara wasn't sure whether Louis would come with them. There was a good chance that now he was back with his coven he would remain there, burying his head in the sand. Part of her couldn't blame him, there were many who would prefer to pretend that whoever was out there would leave them alone. However, her gut instincts told her that no one would escape the coming conflict unscathed. When it all came to a head, everyone would need to pick a side and hope their choice was right.

"You appear to be creating havoc, Dara Romanov." Joshua managed a brief smile, despite the fact he could see the gravity of what had occurred in the campground and could still detect the lingering scent of dead vampires.

She gave him an answering smile, strangely comforted to have someone Caleb trusted so much around them. "I am merely the cleaner, Joshua, and hopefully, the one who can help minimise any further disruption before we leave here."

"Where is the infamous Kothari?"

She nodded her head to the left though she didn't take her gaze from his. "He is due back shortly, and you will need to remain until he has had a chance to get a sense of you and reassure himself that Pippa will be safe with you. His vampiric side is in dominance and Agony has taken a special interest in the child."

"That should be interesting," he drawled, though from his expression it was evident that Joshua would have preferred not to hang around for any length of time. He didn't wait for a response, turning and heading over to Dante and Mila who were helping Natalia pack the last of Ava's possessions.

Dante paused and glanced around at his approach, nodding his head in greeting. "Joshua. You haven't officially met Mila, yet," he said. "Mila, this is Joshua."

Joshua knew enough about Dante's friend to be aware of her unconventional sight. He made sure he made enough of a subtle movement so she could see him. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mila, though I confess I would have preferred to under less chaotic circumstances."

She smiled at his words and placed some clothes into the canvas pack she was holding. "I've been trying to convince Dante to introduce us for months but he was being his usual overprotective self. Thankfully we appear to have addressed that issue now, though for how long he'll be able to contain himself, I have no idea."

Her tone was affectionate as her friend snorted beside her, her unseeing gaze turning back to Joshua. "It would be best to familiarise you with Pippa and Ava before Agony returns. If he sees they are comfortable around you it will make him less volatile."

Joshua had experience of dealing with out of control vampires. It hadn't been that long ago he'd had to help one of the most dangerous vampires in existence save Pietro de la Rios' life - Demetri Bozic. He was fairly certain if he could survive the Ancient vampire then he could survive a meeting with Kothari, but it was prudent to have the meeting go as smoothly as possible. He crouched down beside Ava and the little she-wolf, talking in a hushed voice as he began to assist them with their packing. They were initially reticent with him but then they relaxed, Pippa asking questions about the aeroplane they would soon be travelling on.

They were almost packed up by the time the volatile Vârcolac returned to the campground alone. It was Joshua's first sight of the boy, and he couldn't hide the shiver that went down his spine as Kothari strode towards them. He literally oozed menace, though when he paused to glance at Dara some of the menace evaporated.

"You didn't find them?" There was no denying the surprise in Dara's voice.

"The she-wolf is impressive," her packmate replied, respect lacing his tone. "By the time I found their trail, she had backtracked so many times with many false starts it would have taken me a few hours to work out where she actually went. I decided we did not have that amount of time to waste, and as the vampires on this continent are inferior, the pack was safe from detection. Let their Alpha take care of her own pack. The she-wolf is more than capable of protecting them until the Alpha returns."

It was clear that Dara wasn't too happy with his assessment, but she didn't argue with him, merely inclined her head in agreement. "This is Joshua. He will take Ava and Pippa to Rafe. Don't you go giving him a hard time, Agony. He is trusted by both Caleb and Demetri, as well as by me."

Joshua would have preferred not to be the direct centre of attention for Kothari/Agony, but he knew he had to accept the scrutiny he was now under.

"It is not like you to trust so quickly," the younger male remarked, his gaze never leaving the vampire as he spoke, though it was clear he was still having a conversation with Dara.

The blonde sighed, and frowned slightly, before shrugging her shoulders and turning away. "I can't talk about it here," she called over her shoulder. "Let's just say, Liam and I share a similar taste in hobbies."

No one else would have known what she meant by that, though Joshua did, and he could guess from the understanding that crossed Agony's face, that the Liam mentioned must have had enhanced mental skills that resembled Dara's in some way. What they were he didn't know, but her words appeared to settle the brooding Vârcolac as he too, turned away, surveying the area around them for progress.

"We're wasting time," Agony growled, a dark frown marring his features. "I still don't understand why we need the human girl to come with us either. She will slow us down." He studiously ignored the protest from his other half. Having an unnecessary distraction was still gnawing at him.

"Believe me, coming with you is the last thing in the world that I want to do," Natalia shot back, her chin tilting upwards though it was clear to see that she wasn't feeling half as brave as she was trying to appear.

Then why are you?" the Vârcolac retorted, his shaded eyes trying to bore into the girl's head.

"I have to."

It was such a strange thing to say from such a frail girl, that everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at her. It was Mila who finally moved closer, her head tilting to the side in curiosity.

"Why do you have to come, Tali?"

The girl appeared to shrink inward at the scrutiny for a moment and then she visibly swallowed. "Because just the thought of leaving is enough to send me into a panic attack and want to throw up," she admitted.

Their curiosity heightened though Mila smiled encouragingly at the girl. "This feeling has some important significance?"

Another long pause fell over the group before Natalia finally nodded and took a deep breath. "Sometimes I get a feeling when something bad is about to happen. If it's really dangerous, then I can even throw up and become too ill to move. It happened when Pippa came and told us about him." She pointed in Kothari's direction.

"At first I thought it meant he was a personal danger to not only my pack but also to me, but as time has passed, the closer I remain to him, the calmer I feel. It's only when I think about getting as far away from him as possible that the panic begins to set in again and I feel ill. My alpha has come to trust my feelings and it has saved our pack a few times. I have come to trust them too so there really is no option for me but to come with you."

Joshua shared a glance with Dara weighing up Natalia's words. "One of my coven mated with a human male a century ago," he announced. "Henry told us something similar happened to him, and that he sometimes just knew when he shouldn't walk in a certain direction. He is now our top security agent and his skills have increased exponentially since he made the change to vampire." He knew it was a lot of information to relate about his coven, but he trusted the people around him, and giving them his trust went a long way encourage them to return theirs.

"I would hazard a guess that this skill falls within the Seer spectrum," Mila mused. "It's not quite full foresight but something very similar. I also had strange feelings when I was human. The one time that I didn't listen to them, the end result was my human blindness that never repaired when I became vampire."

"Then these feelings will become stronger when I make the change to Were?" Natalia asked, genuine curiosity crossing her pretty features.

Agony growled and then appeared surprised that the sound had left his lips. He ignored Dara's raised eyebrow, working to keep his expression neutral. "That is a strong possibility...if you make the change to Were. At least you will be some use to the team."

It was Dara's turn to try to keep her expression neutral, a resigned sigh bubbling just under the surface. "Truthfully, there is a lot we're still learning about the different enhanced mental abilities some Weres and Vampires have. Europe is throwing up new ones almost on a daily basis, though it isn't something that we can invest any time to investigate at the moment," she said with a reassuring smile. "What we do discover here will be relayed to our Alpha and the Ancient Council for them to work out what it all means when we get home. For now, we need to get on with our mission to find Gard and Rayne."

"Something that we need to be doing now," Agony added, clearly feeling exasperated by the delay.

Louis chose that moment to return to the campground with four of the original vampires he'd brought along to help out with the clean-up operation. He gave Joshua a brief nod and shot a pointed glare in Dante's direction. It was obvious that he knew the other vampire from the opposing coven and he wasn't too happy to see him present. His reaction didn't appear to faze either Joshua or Dante but then Dara presumed that this was typical of the European Covens.

She ran her gaze over the assembled group who were now all looking at her. It was disconcerting in a way but also exhilarating. They were all viewing her as the leader of the group, including Agony for the moment. Who knew what would happen once they touched Romanian soil, but for now, he was willing to follow her lead.

"Joshua, I think Ava and Pippa are ready now. I know you will take good care of them. Tell Rafe that I will be in contact with him once we reach Romania and have a direction to head in. We'll check in daily so if he doesn't hear from us, then he knows that we've hit a problem. That way, should there be any issues; the others will at least know what our last check in point was."

"They will be safe with me," Joshua answered smiling at Ava and Pippa as he shouldered their backpacks. "Are you ready to go, m'ladies?" he teased, drawing a soft giggle from the little girl.

"I will come for you when I have completed my task, little one," Agony said quietly, bending down to Pippa's height. Though his expression remained neutral, there was a glimpse of softness surrounding the usually chilling Vârcolac. "You must listen carefully to Rafe when you reach my pack. Though he is not your Alpha, he is mine, so you must respect his words. He will help you care for the wolf and instruct you on what must be done. Continue to be brave as I know you are."

Dara fought to stop her mouth dropping open as she watched their interaction. She had never seen Kothari bond with another so openly and compassionately before. It was as if he recognised and empathised with the wounded spirit the child was working so hard to hide. Perhaps Natalia was not the only female who was going to be instrumental in anchoring her volatile friend. This turn of events was certainly something to discuss with their Alpha when they returned.

"Come on, Tali, time to go," Ava smiled, taking the little girl's hand.

Natalia visibly flinched as she watched them, swallowing hard as she fought back tears. Dara couldn't even begin to imagine how painful it was for the younger girl watching her mother treat a stranger as her daughter. Her heart went out to Natalia though she also felt proud of how the human girl was holding it together.

"Take care of each other," Natalia managed to get out, giving them both a quick hug before turning and walking a little distance away from the group.

Dara expected Mila to follow the girl, but instead, it was Agony who took the three long strides to her side, passing her the lightest backpack of the team.

"You will stay close to my side," he announced. "That way, I can aid you when your humanity proves an obstacle, and you can alert me when the path we choose is perilous. I know you do not wish to do this but you have no choice in the matter. I suggest you resign yourself to that fact with no need to argue the matter. Arguing irritates me and I become unpredictable when I am irritated."

It wasn't the type of support that Dara felt the girl needed, however, strangely, she accepted it without an argument, and her expression turned resolved.

Sliding the backpack fully onto her shoulders, Natalia stared up at Agony with a thoughtful expression, and then she nodded her head, a ghost of a smile threatening to break across her lips. "I bet that sticks in your throat, realising that I am actually good for something. Who would have thought it? A little human girl can do something the big bad monster can't."

She walked back over to Mila and Dante, and missed the grudging respect that crossed the Vârcolac's face. Dara did notice it though, and her misgivings about what would happen between the couple lightened a little. It appeared Natalia had more spirit than she'd originally given her credit for. Oh, she had recognised the girl's strength just by how she was managing to cope with losing her father, and her mother's rejection. She'd just doubted if she would be strong enough to deal with Kothari let alone Agony. It seemed that maybe she had the strength to do just that.

"How are we planning on getting to Romania?" Dante asked. They couldn't rely on their supernatural skills, not with Tali being part of the team. Unless she would consent to them carrying her around like a piece of baggage but he didn't think the girl would agree to that. It would make her appear like she was more of a burden that an active member of the group.

"We can go by train. Europe's borders are pretty much open," Louis answered. "Though, once we get into Romania we're going to meet some difficult terrain. I am presuming that any old 'home' would not be in an easily accessible region."

"I will assist Natalia when the time comes." Agony repeated his earlier comment to Natalia. He didn't wait for a response, he turned and headed North. "It's time to move out. Come Natalia."

There was a brief pause before she moved to join him, the rest of the party picking up their packs and following them away from the campground. One by one they filed out of the clearing and into the denseness of the forest heading towards their next objective, and what was likely to be the most dangerous part of their mission.