Episode 29: Dogs Are People Too

Genre: Horror

Characters: Kaya, Rafe, Harley, Lucy, Jacobi, Alistair, Aurora, Demarius, Vaughn, Daniel

Word Count: 5,989

Rating: R

Type: Series

Summary: The hunters' past is shown through the eyes of their father and Lucy comes to a shocking revelation about her brother. Rafe tries to convince Kaya to go home and face her father about what she learned at Luther's. She goes knowing he is right but grudgingly. Rafe is confronted outside his apartment.

Warnings: Language, suggestive material, violence, adult content, adult situations, nudity, RAPE, STRONG sexual content 

Officer Charles Riley had been coming over for weeks now helping the Cranes plan and plot. He wanted to learn all he could about wolves and the way they first manifested. Though Harley could answer his questions, all of them had he wanted to, he thought it best to leave him in the dark about a few things. Telling him only what he felt he should know he intentionally gave him anger, purpose and focus towards destroying all the wolves and ridding the town of their furry asses.

It didn’t hurt that the Cranes had a law enforcement officer in their back pocket in case anything like the full moon situation were to occur again. But it also hindered them in more ways than they were willing to admit. As with wolves, hunters are born into the game prepared and ready to kill any hairy monster that comes their way; it’s nature’s way of maintaining the balance. They were not able to stay on task knowing the very mortal cop was riding their tails every step. Unable to use all of their abilities with him present, they stuck to using him for their ends.

With the dawn of time and the very first wolf there has always been someone to track down the wolves more focused on creating chaos and getting rid of the menace. But that also meant that hunters were born with their own share of supernatural powers. Like wolves they age slowly and can survive for generations. Unlike wolves they are very vulnerable and susceptible to human frailties and diseases as well as manmade weapons. And yet with that disadvantage, there was always a way around it.

“What are you doing?” Lucy asked watching Harley prepare a cup of the herbal tea she despised.

“Trying to figure out what to do with Jacobi. His birthday is coming up and it’s the last before the lunar event that started it all.”

“Lunar event?”

“The Celestial Descent. It happens once every century. It’s when the moon is said to be at its greatest power and brightest light. The ancients used to worship under it praying for strength of the hunt, powers of longevity and fertility. There are several rituals in one of Father’s old journals that supposedly are used to raise the dead into a spirit of a newborn. It was believed that newborn would grow into the most powerful hunter the world has ever seen.”

“And are you planning to ‘raise the dead’?” She giggled jumping onto the counter and pushing at him with the tip of her toe.

“No. I just want to make sure our brother makes it through safe and sound.”

“What does that mean? And what did this event start?”

He sighed and moved the pot off the stove placing it on a potholder on the counter and twisted the knobs to turn off the burners. “You ever wondered why he doesn’t look like us, Lucy?”

“Uh because unlike me he wasn’t blessed with beauty and brains. I like to think that the both of you were cursed by some passing merchant Mom met on her way to finding Dad.”

“Yeah well, you’re not too far off on that.”

“What are you talking about? Jake’s our brother.”

“Half. Look at us Lucy. We both share the same hair color, same eye color, same facial features, nose, chin; Jacobi has brown eyes, black hair and a thinner face. He isn’t our father’s son.”

“I can’t believe what you’re saying. Why are you telling me this?”

“Because it’s high time you knew the truth! Mom was raped Lucy, by a wolf. Your brother, my brother, Jacobi is not human!”

“You’re a fucking liar!”

“Am I? Those herbs in that tea tin are specifically for him. Though they possess healing powers for us because we share a bloodline, they are meant to protect him against Truesilver. Why do you think I insist he takes them before we leave for a hunt? If any of our weapons are turned against him he could die Lucy and it wouldn’t be pretty.”

She turned away from him and looked out towards the backyard. Jacobi was running with Liberty and Smokey in the gardens tossing the ball to them ensuring they got a good workout. That was her big brother. The one that slept with her as a child on nights the drafty windows of their old manor tossed eerie shadows on the walls of her room. He was the one that showed her the best place to shoot a wolf to immobilize and not kill. She felt closest to Jacobi there was no way he could be one of them. He wasn’t bestial! “That can’t be right.”

“Don’t believe me.” He dropped two tattered leather diaries onto the counter beside the cup of tea. “It’s all in Father’s hand; his diaries. I want to warn you though baby sister,” he began as he started for the door. “There are references to what happened to Mother, some of it is very gruesome in detail. Just know that everything Father did, he did it for us.”

“And how long have you known about this?”

“Read. Father’s hand will tell you that too. Just don’t let Jake read it. He can’t know about this Lucy.”

Saturday, June 14, 1783

“The London Gazette said it was going to be a hot summer. Great, just what myself and the fellowship were hoping for. It was quite muggy indeed around these parts without the added intensity of the summer’s sun perfecting its rays on our exposed flesh. Nonetheless I and my brethren have a job to do and we shall perform our tasks to the best of our abilities regardless of seasonal vexations.”

Present

The words of her beloved father sprang to life as she engrossed herself within the pages of the book. He seemed eager to defend those he loved and was a steadfast believer in the cause. His contempt for the hairy beasts seemed healthy. This was not the man she grew up around. She had seen firsthand the obsession her father had with getting rid of the fanged monstrosities. What changed? She wondered as she continued reading.

Saturday, June 14, 1783

“We live by one rule: ‘Hunt those that hunt us’. It is a rule that has helped us weed out the errant rogues that find hunting humans a thrilling sport. These are the monsters we have been created to kill. Their obvious disregard for human life is both appalling and audacious. They believe they have the right as higher members of the food chain but they have certainly crossed a line where the Huntsman’s Guild is concerned. We will rid this world of all that we can and put an end to their frivolous killing sprees.”

Present

“Hey Luce!” Jacobi dropped a bag beside the couch and fell onto the cushion behind her. “Whatcha reading?”

“One of Dad’s journals.”

“What? Harley let one of those things out of his sight? Really? Lemme see!”

“No!”

“Ah come on Luce! He guards those things like the fucking Hope diamond I just want a peek to know what the big deal is with them.”

“I promised him Jakey.”

“And? I won’t tell him, I promise. Where is he anyway?”

“Downstairs messing around with that wolf.”

“When the hell are we killing that damn thing anyway? I fucking hate having them around like this.”

Lucy peeked over the book towards her big brother and smiled weakly. There’s no way he could be what Harley implied. He has no characteristics of any of those monsters they torture and kill and is always the first out the door to take one out. He watched her as she continued staring at him making faces until she finally smiled at one and he pulled her legs into his lap gently rubbing her feet. No. What he said couldn’t be true. “You smell.” Her nose scrunched up towards him and he laughed at the childish expression and slapped his hand against her knee.

“Yeah the pooches really gave me a workout,” he grinned and raised his arm to give himself a whiff. “Wow I guess that is pretty rank huh? Alright I’m gonna grab a shower and find us some dinner then you can tell me what you uncovered in the coveted Alistair Crane journals.”

“Harls made you some tea. It’s on the counter in the kitchen.”

“Yeah, I can smell it…maybe that’s what you smell too.”

“No, it’s you.”

“Damn, not falling for it huh? Ah well maybe next time.”

Monday, July 7, 1783

“A new addition, Roger, accompanied me and Demarius to the Masque. He is quite certain the one they call Vaughn will meet with us tonight. If that is the case then we may have an ally who also is one of their kind. Intel like this is too hard to ignore so imagine my delight to discover if what he says is true. Aurora is dressed and ready with a few Truesilver bombs beneath her gown if the meet does not go as planned and we have another three heavily armed men waiting around the various exits of the meeting hall just in case.”

“Demarius was the first to arrive that night. Hidden behind a mask as were the others in his company, he hid among the partygoers and waited for me to make contact with Vaughn. After identifying the wolf I motioned him towards the park and we spoke on the various natures of his kind. I was pleased to learn that as Roger had described, he was a gentleman in nature and as against the violent acts of Lycans as the Guild.”

“After a few brief introductions to our hunting party, Vaughn settled into the group. It was said by the Huntsman’s leader, a fellow by the name of Virgil, that we should test his loyalty towards the cause. I was all for this as it was a concern of mine that this wolf may have been infiltrating us to learn the truth behind our fighting strategies and could perhaps be amidst a scheme to sabotage us.”

“Almost instantly he took to the night leading the party from one pack to the next. Though three of the four in which he took us were civil members of society, the Guild ensured they remained that way, scrutinizing their living means. Once satisfied we moved on leaving the Lycans to live as they were. The fourth pack however was a much different story.”

“Upon arriving at the cavern near Hyde Park, we’d uncovered a large trail of blood that led into the hills. Entering cautiously my men led by Vaughn seized three wolves living within the hollows of the tiny cave. The bones and decomposing bodies of their numerous victims lay about the fissure. Setting up a large pyre within the grounds of the park, Vaughn, Demarius and myself proceeded to torch the wolves ending their brutal reign and declaring a small victory for the people of London. Vaughn had also proven himself worthy!”

Friday, August 22, 1783

“Daniel Sheffield has returned. I caught him around the manor only days prior lurking in the gardens waiting for Aurora. I ran him off threatening him with the wrath of God that if he neared my wife or son again I would ensure his death be a slow one. He has the curse and neither I nor the Guild want him around us. He has yet to take a life; no blood spilled on his end means that we cannot rightfully execute him but that won’t stop me if he shows his face around my kin henceforth. He was a dangerous human and with his new found Lycan abilities he has become an even more dangerous animal. The threats he’s lashed at the Guild only proves how cautious we all must be.”

“It saddens me because the man used to be one of us. A tragic accident years prior in Venezuela has since bound his body to the moon as the very beasts we slay. He must understand our position. Though we once called one another brother; friend, I can no longer hold him in such regards as I am sure he seeks to harm me. I am departing for Newcastle on the morrow and plan return on Tuesday. There have been reports of a new pack of creatures taking the poor city by storm and treating it as their dinner tray. The Guild and I shall dispatch the town of these fiends promptly and continue the search for the savages that have been plaguing London and Manchester.”

“The wolf Vaughn will accompany us on the trip. He is quite the hunter and with his excellently honed skills we have been successful finding these rogue packs and dismantling them in kind. I often wonder if the wolf fears he is to be next on the Guild’s list if he shall ever cross us. I, as well as Demarius, have assured him that this isn’t the case. He himself has bore witness to the golden rule and the wolves we have left be to their lives. It is a shame and a disservice to all lycanthropes when a few take it upon themselves to treat those they inhabit with as food items.”

“Vaughn is a proud man and stands for all of the things the Guild does. He is just and loyal and a family man. Today on the train ride over, he shared with me an aquatint etching of his family. Two boys and a young girl; the female he said has taken ill with something they have labeled the Gray Plague. It is a sickness that only affects wolves and has a high mortality rate. I grieve for the man as no father should ever have to witness the death of his child.”

Tuesday, August 26, 1783

“I returned home eager to resume the original hunt and locate the villains of my beloved London.  As I rounded the corner to my bed chambers I heard my Aurora yelling. I entered the room to find the monster Daniel upon her. She was bound beneath his large hands and crying, there was blood staining our sheets and her face had been struck repeatedly. He took my poor wife; ravished her tiny body until she was broken and bloody and barely able to speak.”

***

Daniel broke into the Crane manor shortly after watching Alistair heading out with Vaughn to Newcastle. He waited, lurking in the shadows among the hall and listened for the boy to fall asleep. Placing a bureau in front of his door, Daniel effectively locked Harley into his room; he did not want to be disturbed.

He snuck towards the masters’ bedroom and peeked through the keyhole watching the Mistress preparing for bed. He sniffed through the tiny crack inhaling her scent and became aroused. Rubbing his stiffening member between his right hand, Daniel quickly undressed and with his left hand turned the handle to her bedroom slowly and slipped in behind her. “Scream and I’ll rip your throat out where you stand,” he growled in her ear as he shut the door behind him with the heel of his right foot. He rolled his nose along her cheek sniffing her once more and sighing satisfactorily. “I’ve been waiting for this for so long Aurora.”

“D-Daniel?” she cried in a shaky voice as she recognized the man holding her in place. “Please, Alistair is…”

Hitting her twice Daniel threw her against the door and pressed his forearm into her throat. “I don’t care about him! He took you from me. You and I were meant for one another and now that we’re alone I intend to take full advantage!” his eyes undressed her slowly. She rubbed a hand over her cheek looking towards her nightstand. If she could make it, she could keep the wolf at bay.

Darting quickly, Aurora moved towards the bed but Daniel’s lycan traits kicked in and he was on her in an instant. Gripping her by the wrists, he pulled her roughly into his body and groaned as her ass rubbed against his erection. “Keep fighting! You’re only waging a losing war! I am so much faster and stronger now Aurora!”

With his hand beneath her corset, Daniel pulled at the lace strings and freed her bosom of the ties. Hooking his thumb into her bloomers, he pushed them off her hips and threw them to the other side of the bed. Aurora screamed and Daniel hit her once more. She gripped the bedpost to brace herself as he forced her legs apart. In one hard thrust he entered her and she yelled in agony as tears rolled down her cheeks.

His fingers tightened on her hips as he pumped himself faster into her. Aurora’s nails scraped the post in front of her. Bits of wood embedded themselves beneath her fingernails and small drops of blood dripped from her hands.  

Daniel threw Aurora over the edge of the bed and continued his assault on her. She bit down on her lip to keep Harley from hearing her scream, afraid that if disturbed Daniel would take his rage out on her son. The thought of him hurting her child scared her more than the pain he was putting her body through. Blood spilled from between her thighs from the sheer amount of power in his thrusts and the smell of her blood enraged him more. Hungrily he pulled at her body licking her sweat dampened flesh while his aroused member ripped deeper into her. 

“Alistair has always kept you to himself and now I can see why. But I could always tell you longed for me. I saw the way you would watch me when you thought I was not looking. We shared something,” he growled and pulled back. Taking her arm, he pressed it into her back and used it as leverage to allow his cock to ram her harder. Her muffled screams made him laugh sinisterly and his hand circled around her throat squeezing tightly until she released a ragged breath and the cries she fought to swallow. “That’s it! Let them all hear you! The whore of London squealing like a stuck pig! Do you now regret the way you tormented me? The way you would rub your arse against my hand ‘accidentally’ and smile? Or have you forgotten that the same way you forgot me once I was clawed! Once I became one of them you all turned your backs on me! Well now I must say I don’t mind seeing your backside now!” Wrenching her arm he tore into her harder, taunting her with his words, rubbing her dry.

“I was nothing if not a friend to you!” she cried. Daniel ceased his motions as he listened to her speak. “I loved you like a brother, treated you like family! It was never my intentions to cause you any ill will. But you chose to join a pack; one that you KNOW has been the cause of so much chaos here in England! YOU turned your backs to US Daniel!”

His fingers dug into her shoulder and he turned her violently looking into her eyes. “And what would you have me do? I was alone! No one understood the pain of my transition! You all readily tossed me to the side afraid that I’d somehow infect you all! I loved you Aurora! I’d have given my life for you! And yet you refused to leave Alistair for me!”

“I am his wife! I am devoted to my husband and would NEVER be yours!”

“You’re mine now! There’s no denying that!” He threw her back onto the bed and pulled her legs apart harshly clenching the soft muscles of her thighs in his rough palms. She continuously slapped and clawed at him infuriating the beast. He slapped her hard and forcefully turned her hips to take her from behind once more.

Daniel pumped her harder as he felt himself ready to release. Aurora bit at the sheets as his thrusting grew more violent and the hold he had on her hips bruised her already tender skin. He howled as his seed ripped from his loins shooting into her with one powerful torrent after the next. His body slipped against her back and he massaged his hands along her shoulders pulling her ass against his pubic bone.

He pulled out of her spilling blood and semen to the sheets beneath her torn body. “Get your nightwear on and get into the bed,” he instructed calmly as he pulled his pants on his hips. Climbing in behind her, Daniel sprinkled kisses along her side, her arm and back. “I do still love you Aurora, more than ever. I want to spend my eternity in your arms.” He licked his tongue over his fangs in full sight of her face and grinned at the expression of terror in her eyes.

“No Daniel! You can’t! You have no idea if I am meant for this life! I could die!”

“But you would no longer be his! Though it is true enough, you may not be capable of holding the curse as my blood has proven, my heart longs for you just the same and it is a risk I’m willing to take.”

***

“I interrupted him as I called for my wife watching him hold her against the comforter preparing to sink his fangs viciously to her neck. I had thrown a dipped dagger at him and it nicked his left ear. He jumped to his feet and came for me. Dodging his attack I went on the offensive, swinging at the vile being I clipped him and he fell. By then my travel companion Vaughn had heard the commotion and ran inside to assist me. Seeing himself outnumbered, Daniel tried to get away.”

“I fired one round and it struck him in the back of his head as he tried to hop out of the window. He fell to the ground but was far from dead. Immobilized and in great agony I dragged his body to the pyre and lit it. It is still as of fact that he has not slain a human but I cannot and will not allow him to breath another day after this act.”

“My eldest Harley and I have laid the ground work for removing Sheffield from this earth. It was a horrible sight for him to bear witness to but he is to be a man and live by the same rules that govern our kind. He must learn to fight and there is no better time than the present for him to learn who and what he is and defend his family’s honor in the process.”

Monday, May 10, 1784

“My Aurora has delivered. A healthy baby boy with eyes burnt as mahogany and hair as black as coal. He is Sheffield’s without question. My Aurora; my beloved wife and the mother of my son was fell upon by that creature and bore his child on this day. It is uncertain whether the babe possesses the same traits as his father. Never before has a human birthed the child of a lycanthrope so neither I nor the Guild can make any assumptions of the child’s fate.”

“I looked into his eyes and fell in love. His tiny fingers curled around mine and he suckled my index smiling warmly at me and trusting that I would secure his safety. Even with the injustices heaved upon us Cranes by that of the babe’s birth, I cannot bring myself to end him for the sins of his father. Though my Guild cannot approve, I have decided to take the child under my wing to love him, raise him and nurture him as my own. My eldest and I will forever keep this secret and with Harley’s help he will ensure that Jacobi never has to live with the burden of what his true blood has done.”

“He is my son as sure as Harley’s birth entrusted me with an heir, so shall Jacobi’s. If he is cursed by the moon I will do my best to guide him through it. But we shall cross that bridge when we get to it. For now the halls of my manor rejoice in the sounds of his happy cries and my life as hunter continues just the same. My wife fears I shall never touch her again as I have in the marriage way and it saddens me that she believes so low of me that I would dare hold against her the crimes committed to her body.”

“I’ve assured her it is an absurd notion. She is my wife, the love of my life and I am as devoted to her as I have always been. It is her strength and her courage to awaken to the morning sun each day that inspires me to continue fighting the good fight. I am determined to never see another morn to which I must witness a tear fall from her sapphire eyes. I’ve endured her pain and bear with it. She is a beauty and have I the husbandly bulge our marital duties will remain between one another. It is her and her alone that satisfies me.”

“She and I have agreed never to speak of this again. We are husband and wife and nothing shall ever break those bonds of marriage. Our focus then shifts to our new son and his foreseeable struggles in the coming years. The witches have bestowed upon us herbs to maintain Jacobi’s health as he hasn’t the stability of a pack to raise him into manhood. He will develop as a human and when he is of age I will teach him as I have Harley to hunt those that threaten to disturb the balance of nature. Jacobi; it was my Grandfather's name.”

Present

The moon painted circles around the darkened living room as Kaya hid within the comfort of her mate’s arms. Her fingers rubbed slowly up and down the hair that covered the limb and he peppered kisses along her ear and collarbone as they sat quietly enjoying one another’s company. “You know eventually you will need to face him,” Rafe’s heavy voice cut through the silence with words Kaya neither expected nor wanted to hear.

“Yeah I know but who says it has to be soon?”

“Kaya,” he whispered in her ear and turned her in his arms to face him. “You can’t run away from this. You need to know the truth and the only way to get that is to ask the man that knows.”

“Maybe,” she sighed and leaned deeper against him.

“Hey watch this.” In a flash he began shifting and just as quickly stopped and regained his human form.

Kaya smiled at him and kissed him slowly building into a deeper, more passionate embrace. “You’ve figured it out?!”

“With your help! I realized you’re my center; the anchor I need to control my temper. Connor told me that I can find you when I need you by scent. Keeping that mental connection to you I used it to bring me out of my ‘hulk’ moments.”

“That’s great baby! I’m so proud of you!”

“How proud?” he asked thrusting himself forward. She giggled and jumped deeper into his chest.

“You know just because my Dad knows doesn’t mean he’ll be willing to tell me anything Rafe. I mean if any of what was in that diary is true, he’s been lying to me my whole life. Why would he suddenly have a change of heart and tell me now? Especially considering I broke one of his golden rules and mated the wild wolf!”

Rafe smiled hearing her call him wild and rubbed his hand up her arm pulling her lips to his. “I know you’re angry Ky, trust me I know. But in order to move past this you have to talk to him. I’ll come with you if…”

“No. Daddy is already on the brink of murdering you. I don’t want him near you to also give him opportunity. He’s already taken one of my mates.”

“Fine, I’ll wait here. Maybe I’ll mess around, make this place a little homelier for you. I wouldn’t want my mate being uncomfortable in her own place.” He held her head and smiled at her.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just wondering why you’re wearing underwear. I thought we talked about this.”

“What! Rafe, hellooo,” she giggled tugging on the waistband of his briefs. “I’m not the only one barricading the goods!”

“Come on, it’s not like you don’t know what’s in there by now.”

“Oh I know! I know about two times already today!”

“Mmm wanna make it three?”

“Not if you’re kicking me out!”

“But you can always come back.” He groaned thrusting his hips into her so his arousal grazed her thigh. “You know you want more of what I got.”

“If it’s all the same to you I think I’d rather go home clean. It’s bad enough I have wolf slobber to deal with!” She leaned forward and kissed him once more throwing him to the ground and laughing at the dazed expression in his eyes.

Saturday, February 20, 1790

“My daughter awoke today with tears in her eyes. She said her Mother was in pain and screaming. It is with a heavy heart that I write this. It is the night of the full moon and my Aurora, the woman who has set my heart afire for so long, is in the middle of transition. She hasn’t the lycan blood; her body cannot withstand the pain of this disease ravaging throughout. She will die slowly and painfully as the sickness eats away at her. Seven years passed since the creature Sheffield savagely mauled her, his seed, his child did this.”

“Her cries of mercy have been endless since morning light; she knows what is upon her. Demarius and I have laid her upon the rack. Bound like one of the very animals we hunt she awaits. She waits for the fresh moonlight to shine its rays upon her body as her new life begins. I have not slept a wink since the first signs. My Love has beseeched that I end her before the dawn of her new beginning but I cannot. My love for her is boundless and it is too much for me to watch her suffer but I cannot bear the thought of a life without her.”

“I have asked Demarius for his council and with his hand I shall put myself to task.  Harley was in tears listening to his Mother screaming in pain and begging for an end. But I am weak. I am too weak to end our suffering. My sweet Aurora’s bones began snapping and her cries drew bloodier. Harley grew ill; his insides spilled onto the floor beside the rack she lay bound. He hates as much as I the pain she is in and knows the only way to end this humanely is a quick death.”

“Demarius stood over her, his arms raised above his head, knife at the ready. He was prepared to stab that Truesilver dagger into my wife’s still beating heart and end her torment. She looked upon his face, her eyes pleading, her lips quivering; she wanted this and felt it to be the only way. I implored Vaughn for all the information he had about her transition and he informed me it would be bloody. And to his knowledge my daughter; my youngest and most precious Angel, Lucille, would be spared of the same fate.”

“I fell to my knees weakened and weeping. Praying to my Lord with every ounce of strength that I could muster I pulled up from the ground. I removed the blade from my colleagues’ hands and with the Grace of the Almighty I plunged it betwixt her bosom and watched the light in her beautiful eyes dim. The love of my life was gone.”

Present

“You were there when Mom died? You never told me that!”

“There’s a lot I never told you Luce. A lot that you shouldn’t know and promises I made to Father.”

“Like lying to Jake and me all these years about what he really is? And that Dad isn’t his real dad?”

“To name a few. It was shortly after that father grew colder, darker. It’s why you probably have no happy memories of your childhood Lucy. Everything after that consisted of murdering as many wolves as he could find. He was determined to never again allow that type of travesty to occur to any family ever again. Jacobi and I trained you nearly every day of your life and father took you on your first hunt when you were only eight.”

“I remember. I was scared that one of them would bite me and turn me into a monster like them. Jake held my hand the entire time we were in those woods, he never left my side.”

“You and Jake were always two peas in a pod. Father originally thought it was because you may have had a touch of lycan in you as well. Residual he believed from what had happened before your birth. But then Vaughn told him that you showed no signs. Father even cut you to spill a drop of your blood so the wolf could tell for sure.” He looked towards her as she shifted her weight against the floor and sighed. “You’re not a wolf Lucy.”

“If Dad knew for a fact Jake wasn’t his, why did he keep him?”

“Because he was an innocent child and in his eyes and the rules of the Guild he had not committed an executable sin against humanity. He feared allowing him to grow with a true pack because of the fact that he is part human. He thought that would be a great risk and the wolves would kill him immediately. He also feared that if they didn’t kill him, they would train him into becoming a monster and brutalizing towns as his father began doing. Plus he wasn’t a bad looking baby,” Harley grinned. “And I needed a playmate.”

“And even after Mom died and he went on his spree, why keep him then?”

“By then he was six years old and his son. He had raised him Lucy; you ever try raising someone and then stabbing them in the heart with a Truesilver blade to watch them die? Plus the fact that you had also grown attached to him and he didn’t want to hurt his pudgy Angel. Besides, Jake was still half of Mom. I don’t think Father could bring himself to kill her twice.”

Rafe watched Kaya pull away in Connor’s Humvee before slowly making his way back to his front door. The moment she pulled off he felt his heart drop and he began longing for her in his arms. Smiling as he ran a hand across his neck he realized just how deeply the mating link was and suddenly became eager to share their bond so he could know her completely. Ignoring the sudden chill in the air, Rafe turned the corner of his apartment and stopped short. His eyes fell upon a dark figure lurking beside the door. It took a moment before he realized who it was before instinctively preparing to shift. 

“Hello Rafe.” Before he had a chance to turn around a heavy object struck the back of his head dropping him instantly to the ground. He remembered seeing the doors to the elevator close inside, the lights on the back of a black jeep and the sound of running water before his world faded to black.

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