by Mhalachai
Both Richard and I turned to glare at Nathaniel at the same time, and our expressions must have been equally intimidating, because Nathaniel looked down and hunched his shoulders in a look of submission. He didn't get down and rub himself along my legs, though. I'd been trying to get the wereleopards to stop the less human dominance/submissive actions in public. Apparently, Harry qualified as public.
Harry flicked his wand and let the spoon clatter to the table before standing up. "Hi again," he said, linking his fingers in the back pockets of his jeans.
Nathaniel looked at me, then at Micah, then Richard, then finally at Harry. He straightened his bare shoulders and smiled back at Harry. "Are you staying for lunch?" he asked.
"I suppose I am," Harry said. "And maybe for longer than that?" he continued, but now the boy was angry and the focus of that anger seemed to be Richard. "Was that what the point was? Now that I'm going to be a werewolf I have to stay in Saint Louis?
Richard stood up. He loomed over the boy but I don't think it was intentional. "Question time. Do your people accept werewolves? Functional members of society? Or are they monsters all of the time, not just on the night of the full moon?" he demanded.
A silence settled over the kitchen. I remembered how I felt when everyone was convinced that I was going to be a wereleopard, after Gregory accidentally cut me up in attempting to pull Chimera's snake-men off of me. Richard had gotten a bad batch of lycanthropy serum, and Nathaniel had told me that Gabriel had infected him, pulled him off the street when he was a seventeen-year-old heroin-addicted prostitute. Micah had never mentioned how he became a wereleopard.
The month before the first full moon was so full of change, so much pain, impossible to describe with words. I hadn't changed into a wereleopard, but the changes in my body were almost as severe. I just stayed human on the full moon. Or as human as I had ever been.
Richard turned and walked to the door. "I'll be in the living room," he said over his shoulder. He glared down at Nathaniel. Nathaniel turned to let Richard out of the room, but didn't move backward. I thought that was kind of interesting, but I put Nathaniel's continuous problems with alphas away for a moment and followed Richard. I wasn't finished with him yet.
I caught up with him just as he reached the sofa. My anger was still raging through me. I crossed my arms and glowered at Richard as he flopped down onto the sofa. "You can't be thinking this," I said.
Richard slumped even lower and linked his fingers over his stomach. "I can do whatever I damn well want," he shot back.
I felt Micah at my back a second before his hands came to rest on my hips. "What's he thinking?" Micah asked.
"Mr. Zeeman wants the kid to stay and become his vargamour," I replied.
Richard smirked. "Looks like someone's jealous that she won't be the only witch in the pack."
I stared. "Have you lost your fucking mind? You can't ask a boy to leave his home to play with the monsters, making himself into a target! Anyone who wants to hurt the pack will just have more targets. He's only just seventeen!"
Sighing, Richard dropped his head to the back of the couch. "When I was seventeen, Raina already had me, Anita." He closed his eyes. "I don't know any of the werewolves in England, or wherever he goes to school. I do know our pack. I can keep bad people from getting their claws into him if he stays here."
"You can't ask him to stay," I said, quietly, leaning back against Micah.
"But how can I ask him to go?" Richard asked. I didn't have an answer.
I had retreated to the other end of the couch, with Micah perched on the side of the couch arm. Richard hadn't moved. I felt movement and turned to see Harry leaning against the wall. Nathaniel came around him and curled up on the floor by my feet.
"That leaves the question of what to do with Harry," Richard said into the silence.
"Why does everyone always decide what's best for me?" Harry demanded.
Richard gave a full body shrug and finally opened his eyes. "So decide what you want to do," he said. "You can stay here for the next month until the full moon. Or you can go home to England."
Harry looked around, at me and Nathaniel, then at Richard, before turning and walking over to the window. The day was beautiful, sunny and breezy, and the greenery outside was moving slightly in the wind. "If I want to stay in town, at least until after the full moon, would that be okay?" he finally said.
Nathaniel whispered, "Yes," under his breath at the same time as Richard said, "Yes."
Harry looked faintly surprised. "But where can I stay? I haven't any American money," he said.
"You can stay here," Nathaniel said. My eyebrows went up. Oh really?
"He could stay with me," Richard protested.
I shook my head at that. "No, it would cause less talk if he stayed here, Nathaniel's right," I said. "Besides, there'd be someone here in case he started having troubles with the change, while you're the only one at your house."
Richard sighed. "Less talk, huh?" he said. I nodded. He had enough trouble keeping his furry identify from the school, he didn't need to start inviting strange teenage boys to stay over at his house, no matter how innocent the explanation. Although which was worse for a teacher? Being outed as a werewolf or whispered talk about your underage houseguest?
Don't answer that.
Harry had the strangest expression on his face. "Well, it looks like you're staying here," I said. "We can move Nathaniel's stuff into the back room. Harry can be in the front bedroom upstairs."
"No," Harry said sharply. "I mean, I don't want to displace anyone. I can take any place, really."
I sighed and let Nathaniel help me stand. "Look, kid, you're not displacing anyone." I stopped in front of Harry, having to look up. He was taller than Nathaniel. "Where did they make you stay?" I asked softly.
Harry stuck his chin out and shrank back on himself a little. "They let me have Dudley's second bedroom, when I was eleven, but before that I was in the cupboard under the stairs." He smiled faintly at the memory. "That's what my first Hogwart's letter said, 'Mr. Harry Potter, Cupboard under the stairs, 4 Privet Drive'."
I'd heard of worse childhoods; Stephen and Gregory came to mind, as well as Nathaniel, but Harry's still sounded like it sucked. "No cupboards for anyone in my house," I said. "You are my guest and as such you get the best. Come on, let's go get something to eat."
I let Harry precede me, and watched as Nathaniel followed our English guest. Richard came up behind me. "Is this a good idea?" he asked.
I shook my head, feeling drained. "No, this is a bad idea, but what can I do? He's just a kid, with no one. I met his family. They were willing to let the bad wizard who's after him take him, so long as it didn't involve them at all."
There was a moment of dead silence. "What did you just say?" Richard asked.
I winced. Shit. "They abandoned him in the wilderness last night with no money. They were making him sleep on the floor of the hotel. The way he talks, that was the way they always treated him." So I was intentionally answering the question incorrectly. Sue me.
"Answer me, Anita." Richard's voice was cold.
I turned around to face him. His anger was palpable. I recognized the feel of it, the taste. He felt this way when one of his pack was in danger. How had Harry become part of the pack so quickly, in his eyes?
"Okay, but none of this is to go beyond this room without Harry's approval." I explained the conversation I'd had with Harry at the diner the night before, about Voldemort and how Harry's parents had died. "He made it sound like this jerk would be coming after him. I told him that if he showed his face around here, I'd take care of it."
Richard was breathing heavily. "Jesus Christ. He's just a kid," he said after a minute.
"So does your offer still stand?" Micah asked from the couch. "Is he still welcome in Saint Louis, now that you know he's got someone after him?"
"Of course he is," Richard snapped. He glared at Micah, the air full of some arcane alpha male shit. I threw up my hands.
"Good, I'm glad we've gotten that under control. I'm hungry, let's go eat." I had even turned toward the kitchen when my cell phone rang.
I hung my head for a second, then went to dig the bloody thing out of my jacket. "Hello?"
"It's Jamil. Is Richard there?"
I handed the phone to Richard without a word. Richard lifted it to his ear. "Hello? No, I didn't know there was a problem. She what?" Richard yelped the last bit. Micah and I exchanged looks. "Did anyone get hurt? What the fuck was she thinking? Yes, I'll be over as soon as I can." He hung up and very carefully put the phone down. I think that if he wasn't being dangerously careful, he would break something in his anger.
"What's wrong?"
"Suzanne, she's pack, has been for about three years. Turns out that sometime in the last month, she infected her boyfriend. He changed last night for the first time." Richard's voice was even more careful than his actions. It was the voice of someone who wanted to scream and yell more than anything.
"You told me there were no new lukoi last night," I said, worry snaking around in my stomach.
Richard smiled, a tight smile. "I know. He has a house out in the country. The place is torn up, a couple of cows are dead. No one else got hurt."
"Did she know she infected him?" Micah asked.
Richard nodded. "Jamil said she knew, was there to make sure he didn't kill anyone."
"Wait, she knew she had a first-timer and didn't bring him to the Lupanar?" I demanded.
"It looks like that," Richard said. He suddenly looked tired. He must not have had much rest after the change last night. "I have to get over there. Jamil's already there, so is Sylvie."
He turned to leave. I called after him. "Richard..."
"What, are you going to tell me to take it easy on the poor lovebirds?" he asked. The sarcasm was thick.
"No. I was going to tell you that you need to make the decision for the pack, not on how sorry you feel for Suzanne or the boyfriend. We can't have this sort of thing happen again."
Richard turned at my words. He and I had a rare moment of clarity, even though our marks were carefully boarded up. "Scare her good, in front of everyone," he said.
I nodded. "I'll be there for extra threat."
Then the clarity was gone, and we were back to being the same confused individuals. He left and didn't even slam the door behind him.
That left Micah and I in the living room. There were soft voices in the kitchen, but I tuned them out.
"Come here," Micah said as he stood up. I went to him and let him wrap me up in his arms. He rubbed his nose against mine and made me smile.
"How did everything go last night?" I asked in a whisper. My lips were so close to his that a butterfly flapping its wings in China would have brought us together.
"Same as always," Micah replied, his lips touching mine as he spoke. Then he kissed me. It was gentle and wet and it made my knees weak. I responded, putting my hand on Micah's neck to keep him where he was. The tension in my body slipped away as the kiss continued.
The sound of laughter in the kitchen eventually made me draw back. Micah was smiling at me. "Looks like Nathaniel's made a friend," he said.
"Always good to have friends in the pack," I replied.
The smile on Micah's face ebbed away. "So you really do think he's going to change."
I shrugged. "Yes, I do. I'm not sure why, though."
"I do." Micah slipped one arm over my shoulders and drew me along with him toward the kitchen. "There is the tiniest spark in him, something wild. It's so new that I don't think he knows about it yet. I felt something like it in you, back in the days you were still unconscious and healing."
I made Micah stop. "Back when you first saw me, I mean, when I was unconscious..." I looked down. "Open mouth, insert foot," I muttered.
Micah put his mouth next to my ear. "Even unconscious for days, I felt the power in you. I watched you sleep and you looked like an angel."
I closed my eyes and drew in a deep, shuddering breath. The comment was so romantic it was silly, but it made me smile. "Thank you," I murmured. I let Micah draw me into the kitchen.
Harry put the last of the plates in the drying rack, and let the water out of the sink. He stared as the suds were sucked down the drain.
"Thanks for helping with dishes," Nathaniel said in a soft voice. Harry turned his head and saw the wereleopard leaning against the counter and smiling.
"It was the least I could do," Harry replied. He was lost in thought, about how much had happened in the last few days, when he realized he had been staring at Nathaniel. He jerked his eyes away, a bit embarrassed. There was something about Nathaniel's eyes, a strange purple colour, that he just couldn't help but stare.
"Should we have saved something for Damian?" Harry asked to fill the silence.
He was not ready for the laughter his comment elicited from Nathaniel. "What on earth for?" he asked, his chuckles hunching his shoulders and sending his long braid over his solder.
Harry had never seen anyone with hair as long as Nathaniel's, and it was almost as interesting as his eyes.
"What's so funny?" came a new voice from the door. There was a man standing there. He was short, although a bit taller than Micah or Anita, with long curly blonde hair and bright blue eyes. If Harry hadn't spent the last few minutes staring at Nathaniel, those eyes might have been more interesting. Although everyone around the place seemed to have interesting eyes.
A second later, another man and a woman joined the first man in the doorway. The new man was tall and thin, with bright blue hair. The woman was tall, blonde and not wearing a heck of a lot of clothing.
"Harry just asked if we should have saved some lunch for Damian," Nathaniel explained.
Each of the people in the doorway cracked up at that. Harry fidgeted, not seeing why it would be so terribly funny. He knew he was missing something but he wasn't sure he wanted to ask.
"What's going on in here?" Anita asked, coming in the glass doors from outside. She had changed from the clothes she had worn to the Dursleys' hotel into a pair of cut-off shorts and a blood-red tank top. There were scars running up and down her left arm, over her collarbone and continuing down her right arm. Beside Mad-Eye Moody, Harry had never seen so many scars on such a concentrated part of skin.
"Harry asked Nathaniel if they should have saved some lunch for Damian," the short man said, still giggling.
Anita looked at them all with a blank face. "And why exactly is that funny?" she said, the warmth that had been in her voice a moment earlier gone.
The laughter in the others went out like a candle. They all looked at their feet, the walls, anywhere but Anita.
"I didn't tell Harry about Damian last night," Anita went on. There was a frown forming on her face. "He offered to do something nice for someone he'd only met for a second, and you're laughing at him?"
Nathaniel pushed himself away from the counter and got to his knees, crawling toward Anita with his head down. His crawling was oddly graceful, and it made Harry stare. Once Nathaniel got to Anita, he pressed his head against her knee. She let him, although she didn't look down.
The other three in the doorway followed suit, until Anita was surrounded by crawling people. It wasn't until the blue-haired man licked her palm that Anita said, "All right, everybody off the floor."
The three from the door stood up and drifted over to the chairs around the table. Nathaniel stayed on the floor by Anita's feet.
"It's all right, Nathaniel, you can get up," Anita said, offering him her hand. He used it to stand up, and didn't seem to want to let her go.
Now Harry was a bit confused. He had thought that Micah and Anita were a couple.
"Harry, about Damian," Anita started. "He won't need any lunch because he's a vampire."
Harry blinked owlishly. "He's a what?"
"A vampire," she repeated. "But it's okay, he's safe. He's... well, he's mine. So he won't hurt you. But don't look in his eyes, just to be on the safe side." She smiled in what Harry thought was an attempt to be reassuring. It didn't quite work.
"You've got a vampire in the basement?" Harry asked, rather stunned. "But I thought you were a vampire hunter."
Anita waved her hands in the air, as if trying to push the inconsistency aside. "I know, but you have to trust me. He's fine. He won't do anything to hurt you." She suddenly looked a bit awkward, standing there in her raggedy clothes, her hair flying wildly around her face. "Is that going to be a problem?"
All eyes were on Harry. He restrained himself from putting his hands in his pockets and shuffling his feet. To his knowledge, Harry had never met a vampire.
Not until last night, that was.
"He won't try and kill me," Harry finally said, as a sort of question.
Anita looked very relieved. "No, not a chance. You can even ask Richard, however grudgingly that conversation may be."
"In what way?" Harry asked, leaning back against the counter. He noticed that the blonde man was giving him a very strange look.
"Richard doesn't approve of Damian," said the woman as she cuddled in the tall man's lap.
"Cherry," Anita said in a warning tone.
"She's right, though," the tall man said. "Richard has never even tried to understand what the deal is between you and Damian. Which is dumb, 'cause it would help the pack."
"Zane's right," the short blonde man said in turn. "No one hurts the pard in part because they know how very scary you can be. If Richard used half of that, no one would stand against the pack."
Harry wondered how Anita, so small and delicate-looking, could scare anyone. But then, the mere mention of necromancy sent most wizards he knew screaming into the distance. Harry's only run-in with necromancy had been with Voldemort, but Voldemort always scared him for a whole different reason.
"Gregory..." Anita started, then stopped. She took her hand out of Nathaniel's and pushed her hair back. "I don't want to talk about Richard." She shook her head and went to the coffee maker.
"Excuse me," Harry said, licking his lips nervously, "but what exactly is the pard?"
The three people at the table raised their hands. "Us," Cherry said. Zane nodded happily.
"Pard is the word we use to describe our pack," Anita said, still poking at the coffee maker.
"You're all wereleopards?" Harry guessed. More nods, and a meow from Zane. "But how can you be a wereleopard if you were out at the full moon, Anita?"
"She's Nimir-Ra, but doesn't change," Nathaniel offered. He stood in the centre of the room, looking adrift. At Harry's confused expression, Nathaniel elaborated, "She's in charge. She protects us all."
Harry nodded slightly, trying desperately to take this all in and keep it straight. "Okay, so she's head of the wereleopards." Harry paused, trying to get his words in order. "But then how is she tied to Richard and how does that affect the werewolf pack and its safety?"
A flurry of glances was exchanged between the three at the table and Nathaniel. Anita spoke into the silence. "I'm the Lupa, the pack mom. I'm also Bolverk, to take care of messy werewolf problems." Her tone was dull, uninterested. "The rest isn't important right now."
"Oh," Harry said. Nathaniel was nudging over toward Anita. He tentatively put his fingers on the back of her hand. When she didn't pull away, he stepped into the line of her body and stood against her, touching and offering comfort.
The only time the Dursleys seemed to touch Harry as a child had been in anger or irritation. By the time he got to Hogwarts, he had become accustomed to no touching. Sure, Hermione had hugged him a few times, and then there was that thing with Cho. He had had a bit of a relationship with Susan Bones the previous year, nothing too intense, just a dance or two, and a Hogsmede weekend, holding hands.
But he had never considered closeness for the sheer sake of closeness. Now, watching Anita lean into Nathaniel, he could almost feel her relief. For the first time in a long time, he wondered what it would be like to touch someone casually like Nathaniel was doing to Anita.
Sometime in the middle of his introspection, Anita looked at Harry. "You do realize I can't let you out of the house dressed like that," she said in an attempt at levity.
"Like what?" Harry asked.
"Like some sort of circus clown," Anita replied. She seemed to be getting herself back together. "Do you have any better clothes in that suitcase of yours?"
Harry shrugged, then winced as the flash of pain burned over his shoulder. "I was wearing my best things yesterday," he said.
"Are they hand-me-downs from your cousin?"
Harry met Anita's gaze, unblushing. He had nothing to be ashamed of. "Yes."
Anita sighed. "Then I guess there's nothing else for it. I'm going to have to take you shopping."
Everyone stared. "Did you just volunteer to go shopping?" Cherry asked.
"Don't look at me like that, I've been known to shop before," Anita said defensively.
"Only under duress," came a new voice from outside. Micah stepped in the glass door and came up on the other side of Anita. "Why do you need to go shopping?"
Three fingers pointed at Harry. He wondered if Zane, Cherry and Gregory always did things in tandem. He hoped not. It was annoying.
Micah glanced Harry up and down. For some reason, Harry didn't mind. He was still trying to place Micah in this whole mess. He had thought he'd gotten it earlier, but that was before he had seen Nathaniel touching Anita.
"When was the last time you went shopping with a teenage boy?" Micah asked.
"Last August," Harry said, before Anita could reply. His comment elicited giggles from the table.
"I could go to help out," Nathaniel said softly. At Anita's questioning look, he said, "You know, just in case he needs any help with guy things that aren't British."
"Not that I mind the love-in," Cherry said, suddenly serious, "But why are we going to buy things for the kid and why is he staying here?"
Anita, Micah and Nathaniel all looked at Harry, who pushed himself off the counter. "It is indeed possible that I will be a werewolf next month," Harry said. He was very pleased that he said it without any hint of wavering in this voice. "Ms. Blake was kind enough to assist me last night, and she and Nathaniel offered me a place to stay after my guardians kicked me out this morning. For which I will always be grateful."
Anita smiled, very slightly. "You keep talking like that and I may even buy you a new pair of shoes."
Gregory stood up and edged toward the door. "What? I so have to call Stephen," he said when Micah pinned him with a glare. Then he was gone.
"I want to look at Harry's shoulder first," Anita said. "Then we shop."
Harry couldn't help but note the distaste she put into the word, before he was distracted by Nathaniel's smile.
And I thought shopping for girls was hard. It had taken the better part of the afternoon. Harry had wanted to stop after the first pair of jeans and runners, but Nathaniel had pressed on until we were loaded down with bags. I'd had to veto some things, but it worked out well.
After a quick call home, and an even quicker stop at a Chinese restaurant for takeout, we headed home. All of our leopards, with the exception of Elizabeth, were at the house. Stephen also showed up on Vivian's arm. It had been Zane's idea to carry on with the videos we'd started the previous day.
I'd quickly introduced everyone to Harry, and told them no sniffing. Only Caleb pouted at that, and it wasn't enough for me to smack him.
The food was dished out and everyone was sprawled on the living room when Cherry asked, "What are we going to watch?"
"The original Cat People."
"Tomb Raider."
"Planet of the Apes."
"Are there any wereapes?"
"Yeah, they drive jacked up trucks and congregate on Ninth."
"Shut up."
"Make me."
"Maybe Harry wants to pick something," Nathaniel said softly. He had been creeping around the room, putting coasters under the open cans of pop on the coffee table.
I paused in shoving noodles into my mouth to glance over at our fair English guest. He'd changed into a T-shirt and some shorts Nathaniel lent him, and he looked much more at ease. He seemed surprised by the suggestion.
"Go on," I said, waving my chopsticks toward the video collection. "Pick something."
Someone muttered under their breath, I think Caleb, but Merle leaned over toward him and Caleb shut his mouth.
Harry went over to the videos and glanced at the titles in front. "What's Bambi?" he asked.
"Saddest movie ever," Gina, one of Micah's wereleopards, said. She was studiously avoiding the bits of pork in her fried rice, which I found strange.
"Best movie ever," Gregory interjected. "Deer." His tone had a finality to it, as if that were the end of the story.
"Didn't you cry when Bambi's mother was shot?" Gina challenged.
Gregory poked at his lemon chicken. "Only a little," Stephen replied for him.
"Is there anyone in this room whose mother didn't die on them at an early age?" I said under my breath. Unfortunately, I was in a room full of lycanthropes with super hearing.
"Ours did," Stephen said from the couch. Vivian, who was already wrapped around him, hugged him a bit closer.
"Mine did," Nathaniel replied. His hand tightened around my calf.
Gina and Noah both put up their hands. I sighed and stuck mine up in the air too.
"Same here," Harry said. Every head in the room swivelled to him.
"How?" Gregory asked.
Harry glanced at me, and I nodded slightly. "When I was only a year or so old, an evil wizard came to kill my parents. My dad went first, then my mum. She died protecting me."
There was a moment of silence. I felt a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes as I thought about my mother. "Okay, group hug," I said in an effort to lighten the mood.
Everyone in the room lumped in, until we were a big bunch of wereleopards on the couch, touching in some way. Harry watched us from over by the TV, a wistful look in his eyes.
I smiled at him, still wanting to cry, as Micah nuzzled my neck. We stayed like that until I felt a hand start to creep up my thigh. "Caleb," I said sharply.
Micah's hand shot out and grabbed Caleb's wrist before any fingers slipped under my shorts. Nathaniel and Zane peeled off me, away from Micah, as my Nimir-Raj got in Caleb's face, energy prickling off him like a storm.
Caleb hunched down on the floor. I knew this game, and I let Micah play it. "The rules are no pawing at Anita, Caleb. Got it?"
Caleb nodded and was released. He quickly slunk off to sit by Gina, who seemed amused by the whole thing. Of course, she had known Caleb longer than I had. Or maybe I'm just intolerant of idiots trying to get in my pants.
Conversation started again and Harry, in the meantime, had turned back to the videos. He'd perused my entire collection of Disney flicks and was burrowing deeper. He pulled a blank black video case out from behind the children's films and frowned down at it. By my leg, Nathaniel went completely and utterly still.
"What's this?" Harry asked, and made to open the case. Belatedly, I remembered exactly what that was. I dove off the couch and grabbed the film out of Harry's hands. I pulled the other two identical black cases off the shelf, and marched into my bedroom. There, I opened the closet, dropped the videos in the deepest darkest corner, pushed some shoes over them, closed the closet door, and went back to the living room. I was buzzing with adrenaline with the close call.
Micah's pard was looking at me funny. My pard, with the exception of Nathaniel, was careful not to look at me at all. Nathaniel was hunched in, like he was trying to pretend he wasn't there. Harry gave me an odd look before he went back to the videos.
I smiled at everyone, showing my teeth, and went back to the couch. When I sat down, Nathaniel moved over until he wasn't touching me.
I bit back the urge to sigh, and had to pull Nathaniel so his shoulder rested against my leg. I left my hand on his neck and played with his hair. Slowly he calmed down.
"What was that all about?" Micah murmured in my ear.
"I'll tell you later," I replied. I was not about to tell him, here, that the videos had been a present from Nathaniel. Back before I'd been made head of the wereleopards, their alpha had been a sick son of a bitch named Gabriel. His ideal fantasy had been to give me a knife, then rape me while I was trying to kill him. He'd given me the knife, but I'd managed to kill him before he raped me. Anyway, before his messy exit, he and the old Lupa of the werewolves, Raina, had been making pornos with the lycanthropes. Gabriel knew that Raina would kill Nathaniel in a one-on-one situation, so he'd only let her have him during filming. The three videos were porn with Nathaniel in a starring role.
I'd never watched them. I'd have thrown them away, but I was raised not to be rude, never to discard a gift someone give you. I had a suspicion that this was so not what my step-mother Judith had in mind, though.
Night had fallen when the last of the credits rolled on the Indiana Jones movie. I slipped out from under Micah's legs across my lap and padded across the floor to switch off the TV.
Harry continued to stare at the screen, pensive. "So what did you think?" I asked.
He shrugged. "It was interesting. I haven't seen many movies, though."
"Don't they have movies at your school?" Nathaniel asked quietly.
Harry shook his head.
"How utterly boring," Gregory said. He stood up and stretched as only a wereleopard can do, contorting into positions just this side of impossible.
"Stop being so energetic," Vivian demanded. She and Stephen were slumped against each other on the couch, looking wiped out. Come to think of it, all of the cats looked tired.
"Hey, I've got to work tonight," Gregory said. "And so does your lover boy. If I don't start getting worked up now, I'm not going to be at the top of my game, am I?"
Stephen stuck his tongue out at his twin, then buried his face in Vivian's shoulder.
I heard the faint sound of the basement door opening in the kitchen. Damian must have been awake and ready for the night. I leaned against the TV cabinet and looked over all the wereleopards. A strange urge of protectiveness washed over me, and I had to shake my head. They were all okay. And Micah was there to help me, if anything came up.
Harry got to his feet and went to the video shelf, began to put the cases back in place. "You don't have to do that," Nathaniel interjected.
"It's okay, I want to," Harry replied, turning to smile at Nathaniel. Gregory, who was also watching this little scene, raised his eyebrows.
Damian slipped into the room. He was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, very casual for him. "Not working?" I asked.
He shook his head, long red hair sliding around his shoulders. "Not this evening, but I was going to the club to help Hannah with the inventory."
"Want a ride?" Gregory asked. "I've got to head to Guilty Pleasures in half an hour."
Damian inclined his head slightly. "Yes."
Harry picked up the last video case from the ground and walked across the room to put it back in place. That accomplished, he straightened up and used his good arm to readjust his shirt over his wounded shoulder.
The movement put him right next to Damian. My vampire moved his head incrementally when Harry pulled at the cloth of his shirt, and I wondered if he had scented the blood.
"Fuck me," Gregory burst out. He was staring at Harry and Damian, mouth hanging open. Everyone turned to stare at the wereleopard.
"What is wrong with you now?" Stephen demanded, getting up to stand beside his brother. Then his blue eyes got wide as he stared at Damian and Harry.
"D'you see it?" Gregory demanded. Stephen nodded slowly.
"What the hell is wrong with the two of you?" I demanded, crossing my arms.
"Look at them!" Gregory said, pointing at Damian and Harry, who were both looking a little shocked at the outburst.
I obliged by looking. "So what?"
From behind Gregory, Micah slowly got to his feet. "Um, Anita..."
"What?"
"Yes, Gregory, what?" Damian said in a low voice.
"They have the same eyes," Stephen said, unable to take his eyes off the pair. "And there's a cheekbone thing going on."
"And they were making the same expression," Gregory continued. "It's like they're related or something."
"No way," Harry said, taking a step back. "There's no American vampires in my family."
"Damian's from northern Scotland, originally," Gregory replied.
The look Damian was throwing at Gregory made me push off the wall and get between them. "Gregory, you need to shut up," I said.
"Okay, no vampires in the family," Harry said. "There's no record of any vampires in my dad's family for as far back as I've ever heard."
"What part of your family did you get your eyes from?" Stephen asked.
The room grew silent. As I watched, Harry went very pale. "My mother. But I've seen pictures of my grandparents, Grandmother and Grandfather Evans. Aunt Petunia had them." His voice had an almost pleading tone.
Through the marks I had with Damian, I felt a cold thrill run through him. "Did you say Evans?" he asked.
Harry whipped his head around. I had never seen anyone looking more stunned.
I'm not sure what I would have said, because Damian brushed past me and out the front door.
Shit. "Micah?"
Micah stood up. "Go," he said. "I'll stay here." Stay with Harry, I knew he meant.
I headed out after Damian.
I found Damian leaning against my Jeep, his head ducked down. He was very still, but it was a trapped rabbit stillness, not the usual vampire stillness. "Do you know what Gregory's talking about?" I asked very quietly, in the warm August air.
It took a minute, but Damian finally nodded.
"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked as I stopped beside him. I brushed his hair back from his face, his skin cold. He hadn't fed yet.
"I don't know."
I continued to touch his hair, like blood-coloured silk under my fingers. "Are you related to that boy in there?"
He nodded. "It's possible." He took a shuddering breath and lifted his head enough to meet my eyes. "Almost fifty years ago, She-Who-Made Me was summoned to the Council. She left me behind."
"And that's when you met, what, Harry's grandmother?" This was turning into a bad soap opera.
"Her name was Mary, Mary Evans. She and her husband and her daughter were staying at a hotel, trying to fix their marriage. She went out for a hike and became lost, took refuge in some caves near the castle of She-Who-Made-Me." Damian closed his eyes, and for a moment, I saw a hint of Harry in his face. Oh shit.
"What happened then?" I asked. I knew this much, that I couldn't not know the rest.
"She got a fire going. I sensed it, and went to investigate. She... she was very beautiful." He shook his head. "She had never met a vampire before. She was curious."
"How curious?"
Damian gave me a look. "Curious enough."
It took a lot not to smile, but I managed it. "So you satisfied her curiosity?"
Damian pulled away from me and walked a bit further into the dark night. I followed him. "And then guided her back to the road. I flew back to the castle and that was it." He pushed his hands into his hair. "I had no idea there would be a child, you have to know that."
I nodded, not really sure what else to do. What do you say to a guy who has just found out he's got a grandson?
"I have to go," Damian said suddenly. "Hannah's expecting me."
"Okay," I said. He didn't look at me as he suddenly flew into the air. I shook my head. I'd never get used to the way vampires just flew away like that.
I turned around and took a deep breath. Now all I had to was go back into the house and try and figure out why Damian's long-lost grandson had appeared in our lives. I just wished I believed in coincidences.