Blood Moon

Koloa, Kauai

2007

Rowan stepped in. "That's a bunch of bull!"

A delicate eyebrow shot up as Elizabeth turned her head to look at Rowan. She gave him an appreciative once over. Casey narrowed her eyes at Elizabeth, wondering who the hell she was and how the hell she got into the house.

Elizabeth's reply was practically a purr. "Such vehemence. How do you know this won't work?"

"Because if that was true. This curse would have ended five-hundred-eighty-four years ago when my daughter was turned into a blood-sucker." Rowan spat.

Casey's head shot up and she stared at the intense look Rowan was giving Elizabeth. She was extremely curious about Rowan's wife and children. Casey almost hit herself thinking she should have asked about his family sooner. She wasn't so sure about mentioning his children since she knew they were dead when Rowan mentioned swearing on his children's graves.

But nothing said indicated that Rowan wasn't still with Sara. Just her luck Rowan was still married and fooling around on Sara, his-Casey just then recalled Lilith's story on the jet. Then her gaze shifted to Elizabeth who didn't look surprised at the news. In fact, Elizabeth smiled.

"I suppose you missed the bit that explained that. Women don't carry the lycan gene. Tell me, have you ever met a female who could morph into an animal state?" She answered for him. "No. Neither does a woman of lycan lineage have lycan sons. The lycan DNA is connected to males and can only be passed through males. Therefore, only a father can give his sons lycan DNA. Simply put, lycan gene is connected to the Y chromosome."

Her eyes flicked over Lilith and Derek. Within a blink, her hold over them disappeared. Lilith drew her brows together as she assessed Elizabeth. When Lilith had first met Elizabeth she had a feeling Elizabeth was powerful, but only now was she grasping just how powerful.

"Hush your thoughts human." Elizabeth cut a glance at Casey. "I am the Elizabeth who so graciously lent you my jet. For which I had to severely pay the consequence of riding a commercial plane." Elizabeth visibly shuddered. "And your door was wide open, I just invited myself in. You know, loop holes and all."

Casey gasped and moved closer to Rowan. Tension began to grow. With a perpetual fake smile, Elizabeth stood and looked around the living room.

"Lilith and I are the only day walking vampires I know of. Though there were others who could walk during the day, I know for a fact that they are dead. Human, cease bombarding me with your questions. I'm not purposely reading your mind. You're directing your thoughts at me." Elizabeth shot her eyes to the front door that was visible from the living room.

Everyone followed her gaze to see a man standing in the doorway. It was Keola. He was still slightly wet with a dusting of sand over his body. He moved his wet bangs out of his eyes and gave the room full of people a curious smile.

"I saw a Mustang and a cab outside. A party going on while I was out?" He grabbed the towel he had placed near the front door just before leaving to go surf.

Keo walked into the room and stopped near the phone. "So...someone want to explain what happened to the phone jack?"

Casey quickly spoke. "Sorry, my fault. I um...tripped."

"Doing what? Sliding between the table and the wall?" Keo bent down and inspected the wire. "That must have been a nasty fall. The jack is ripped clean out. Are you alright?"

Casey nodded swiftly. "Oh you know me, Ms. Clumsy and Indestructible. Well um...we have guests."

Keo leaned towards his sister. "Clumsy is right. I think you spilt something on your shirt. Your whole-" Keo stopped and motioned a circle around his nipple. "-is wet."

Looking down quickly, Casey felt her face grow hot. She crossed her arms over her chest as she heard Elizabeth laughing in the background. Casey narrowed her eyes again as she turned to introduce the people in the room to her brother.

"Keo, these are people we know from Seattle. Derek and Rowan Elroy." She pointed at the two brothers. "And this is-"

Elizabeth cut in. "Elizabeth Christensen. We talked on the phone a few nights ago."

Keo looked down at her offered hand and took it. He felt a weird tingle as they made contact. It was almost as if his life flashed in front of his eyes. When he released her hand, she was staring at him oddly. Then she shrugged off her look that appeared slightly embarrassed and pasted on a smile.

"So what are we all doing right now?" Keo asked.

"Sorry to bother you. My brother and I just came to speak with Lilith. We'll return at a more convenient time. Good day." Derek and Rowan exited quickly.

"I should be leaving also. So much unpacking to do and what not. Not to mention, it's so humid, I need to find some better sun-screen. I burn rather easily. I'll call some other time. Tata, dear." Elizabeth went to kiss Lilith on the cheek and pulled back with a hiss as their skin made contact. "That bastard!"

Before the other three could question her, Elizabeth stomped out of the living room and paused by the open door.

"Oh, and Casey, you may want to remove the 'Welcome' mat from your front door...it tends to give the wrong impression with unwanted visitors and all." With that, she slammed the front door close behind her.

"I didn't ruin the party or anything, did I?" Keo asked in confusion to the cleared out living room.

"Nope. But can you get rid of the welcome mat at your front door and put a less...uh...welcoming mat out?" Casey asked her slightly confused brother.

But Keo just went and did what his sister asked. He returned shortly after and asked what the three of them were going to do now.

"Nothing, but maybe we can finally get to our cold breakfast. Lilith, you okay? You've been really quiet."

Lilith nodded. "I'm fine. Just a lot to think about."

Knowing what Lilith meant, Casey didn't say anything else as the three of them made their way to the kitchen.

"Derek Elroy!" Elizabeth shouted as she treaded heavily towards the brothers. "You idiot!"

Derek was rooted to the spot, unable to move. Elizabeth jabbed a pale finger into his chest. Rowan took a step back, knowing not to involve himself.

"You have ruined my plans! How will Lilith consent to having you in her bed when you raped her last?"

"How do you know that?" Derek demanded.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Making skin to skin contact allows me to see bits and pieces of their life. I inadvertently saw what happened to Lilith this last week. I know that she believed you killed the son you two had together. But she obviously wasn't in the right state of mind at the time and I clearly saw it as a mercy kill. That would have been easy to get Lilith to forgive you for. But rape? You've also fucked the rest of us over as well."

Elizabeth waved her hand angrily and began to walk away. Derek reached for her and grabbed her upper arm. With a strangled hiss, Elizabeth tore her arm from his grasp. She cradled her arm as she regarded Derek.

"Even though all that had happened to you, it does not justify rape. I understand the horrors you endured under torture, but are you alive to be more of a monster than those who tortured you?" Elizabeth looked at Derek in the eyes until he turned away guiltily.

"Neither Lilith nor I want to go through with this." Derek spoke softly.

"Are you honestly going to flat out lie to me? You've masturbated to the thought of Lilith more than a teenage boy got off with a Playboy magazine. And I find it extremely selfish of you to not want to end this curse. I'd suggest taking semen samples, but unless you came inside of Lilith, it wouldn't be worth it. Pity. But by all the gods, this union and the conception of a son will happen." Elizabeth got into the cab she paid to wait for her. Heaven forbid she actually had to drive herself around and get lost.

The Elroy brothers watched as Elizabeth's cab drove out of the driveway and down the road before either of them spoke.

"She's weird." Rowan stated.

"Eccentric." Derek agreed.

They got into their rented Mustang and drove back to the other side of the island.

It was late at night and Lilith needed to go for a walk. After Derek had left, Lilith had gone shopping with Casey. Usually shopping relaxed Lilith and she was able to make sound decisions after shopping. But obviously shopping therapy wasn't working because Lilith was still confused. That had been a couple days ago. Derek hadn't attempted to contact her again, but Rowan had called and left the number to their suite at Princeville.

On one hand she wanted to end the war between the lycan and vrykolakas. Yet, did that mean she would be using her child? It didn't mean Lilith would love her baby any more or less than she normally would. If only she could have Derek's baby without having sex with him. She didn't want that intimacy crossed.

Lilith had changed into the running gear she bought and decided to go for a jog. Seeing as she ate like a pig, she had to start exercising. Being so caught up in her thoughts, Lilith ended up getting lost. She was at the end of a road that seemed to have a continuing dirt road behind a large metal gate. Lilith peered to the left and saw a large house at the end of a long driveway.

Maybe she could borrow their phone and call Casey's cell. Her phone had been dead so she left it on the charger, thinking she'd just go for a short jog. Lost in her thoughts, a horn made Lilith jump as she quickly turned to be blinded by headlights.

Focusing her view, Lilith realized it was Keo and Casey. Immediately, Keo rolled down his window and apologized for surprising her while his sister hopped out of the truck and walked over to Lilith.

"I was so worried after the second hour. I'm glad to see you're okay. Keo kept telling me I shouldn't have worried since this is after all Hawaii and not New York City or anything, but still. Come on, let's go back."

Lilith nodded and followed Casey back to the truck. "Thanks for always watching out for me."

Casey gave her a wide smile. "That's what friends are for. Hurry up, because I suggest you take a shower ASAP. Now that you sweat and all." Casey had lowered her voice at the last part so Keo didn't hear.

Both girls laughed and got into the truck. Lilith watched as Keo complained about something Casey did and she punched his arm. Mortality was such a beautiful thing. And right then, Lilith made up her mind.

Derek was lying in bed thinking about the odd morning he had a couple days ago when his room phone rang. At first he was confused, remembering he had told the front desk not to bother him. He answered the phone knowing it must be an emergency.

"Hello?" His voice was gruff from disuse. He hadn't spoken much since he and Rowan got back to Princeville.

Rowan had seemed distracted and excused himself to go swimming. Derek had spent the better part of his afternoon and evening staring at the ceiling of his room. He checked the clock and it read near half pass ten. It was then that Derek realized how long his brother had been missing.

"Hello? Rowan, is that you?" There was a note of panic in his voice.

"Oh no. This is Lilith. Did something happen to Rowan?" She sounded worried.

"No, I'm sure he's fine. How did you know how to contact me?"

Lilith bit her lip. "Rowan gave me your number. Um...can I see you? We need to talk."

"Don't worry Lilith. We don't have to do it. I just wanted to apologize for the way I treated you when we last met. I know just saying sorry doesn't change anything. But after I found out about Bran...I'm just really sorry. And that was what I meant to say...I don't know why I said the things I said that morning. It wasn't what I went there to say." Derek waited for Lilith to say something.

"Actually I wanted to see you because I think I want to go through with it. Our kind has been fighting for so long. I just want to put an end to all the fighting already." There was no reply. "Derek? Are you still there?"

"Aye." He didn't say anything else. He didn't know what to say.

"Is that an 'aye' for doing this?"

"It was an 'aye' that I'm here. You're right. We need to meet and talk face to face. Where are you?" Derek got up from bed. He didn't know Kauai but he highly doubted he'd get lost. It was a small island that had only one main road.

"I'm at Keo's house, but you're not going to come over right now are you?" Lilith sounded surprised.

"Well before we both start second guessing and doubting, I think we should set something up and solidify whatever decision we come to. Do you want me to pick you up at Keo's place or do you want to meet elsewhere?"

"I suppose you can just pick me up at Keo's." Lilith was a bit relieved that Casey was sleeping already. She wanted to talk to Derek alone.

"That will be fine. I'll see you in an hour."

"See you then."

Lilith was the first to hang up. Derek returned the phone to the holder and stood in shock for a moment. He couldn't even comprehend how much courage and forgiveness it took for Lilith to agree to such intimacy after he brutally raped her. Another wave of sickening guilt and regret assailed him. Gritting his teeth against the familiar emotion, Derek made his way out of his room.

Rowan was just getting back, looking as solemn as he had when he left. Noticing something was up, Rowan asked what was going on.

"I'm going to go see Lilith. She wants to talk about going through with Elizabeth's plan. Casey might to be there if you want to come along."

Rowan's brows scrunched as if he was thinking hard about it. He shook his head in a negative response. "I think I need to stay away from her."

Cocking a brow, Derek didn't comment on it. "Alright...I'll be going then."

Derek called valet to get his car out. He headed down to the lobby to find the valet just pulling up with his car. Tipping the man, Derek got into the car and drove off to something he was both anticipating and fearing.

When Derek arrived an hour and twenty minutes later, it had begun to rain. Lilith ran out to the car and got in quickly. Looking around in the car, it was obvious that Lilith had been expecting Rowan to be there. She would have felt safer that way.

Derek gave her an apologetic expression. "He was really tired."

Lilith shifted uncomfortably in the passenger's seat as Derek began to drive onto the road. He peered over at Lilith.

"Know anywhere we can get good food at this time?"

"Its half pass eleven on a Sunday night. I recall Keo and Casey talking about a bar near the bowling alley in town that has good steak. But they said they haven't been there in awhile to its possible the food has fallen down."

"Lilith," Derek said softly. Even though his voice was barely above a whisper, it sounded abnormally loud in the car. Lilith had jumped in her seat at her name. "Would you mind driving all the way into town for food?"

Lilith shook her head quickly. She didn't trust herself to speak. Instead, Derek drove in silence, turning up the radio. Neither spoke during the twenty minutes it took to reach the bar. Luckily the place was open, but whether the food tasted good was yet to be tasted.

Sliding into a booth, Lilith tried to ignore the few stares she was getting at some of the men in the bar. One table was filled with what seemed like a bunch of college boys visiting from the continental states. They were elbowing each other in drunken play as they talked about Lilith. A guy even raised his bottle in toast at Derek. Derek was smart enough to ignore the man as he took a seat in the booth across of Lilith.

A waiter came by with two cups of water and asked if anyone wanted drinks. The both of them ordered soft drinks and checked out the menu. Lilith ordered an appetizer as her meal while Derek decided on a steak. When the waiter got back with their drinks, they ordered their food and settled back into awkward silence.

"Thank the gods neither Rowan nor Casey is here. I doubt we'd be able to talk at all." Derek mentioned.

Lilith stiffened somewhat at his words. "I like Casey."

"I like her well enough also. But you have to admit, she can be a bit overbearing."

"Understandably so. We pretty much dragged her into all this and I can't just ditch her after telling her so much about us." Lilith pointed out.

Derek was tempted to also point out that he wasn't the one who dragged Casey into anything. But seeing as trying to place the blame of other things didn't end so well, he wasn't going to say anything. With a simple nod, Derek agreed. Yes, it was easier to agree, he decided.

"True. So, what are we going to talk about first?"

"Sex." Lilith said. "We may as well get right into it."

"Right now?" Derek asked.

Lilith missed the playful tone in his question. "Yes, right now. It all comes down to sex."

"I don't know how the patrons would take to me bending you over this table." Derek tried to joke.

His joke only caused Lilith to stiffen even more. "You're not taking this seriously are you?" She didn't allow him to answer before she continued. "I really am trying here. Do you know how hard it has been for me to decide this? I keep trying to talk myself out of this decision, but I know if I don't do this, I'd hate myself even more than I do now. I want this war to end. And if that means you and I have to have a son together, then that's what will have to happen."

It was Derek's turn to get angry. "You're portraying yourself as a martyr. You say all of this like someone is forcing you to do this. Like having a child with me would be a punishment worse than death. Mayhap we shouldn't have another child together seeing how well you took care of Bran."

Snapping his mouth shut, Derek instantly regretted his words. What the hell possessed him to say that? The look of hurt and surprise on Lilith's face added another huge tick to his growing list of remorse. "Shit, Lilith. I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

Lilith got out of the booth. "Yes you did!" She hissed. "We both fucking know you meant that. I'll catch a taxi back to Keo's. My mistake trying to talk to you." Lilith rushed towards the exit.

Throwing money on the counter, Derek quickly followed after Lilith. She was standing at the other side of the parking lot under the building to avoid the rain. At Derek's approach, Lilith stopped dialing the cab number she had memorized.

"You blame me for Bran's death, don't you?" She spoke loudly so he could hear her over the rain. It was a question that was buzzing around Lilith's head for the past few days.

"Lilith-" Derek began, only to have Lilith cut him short.

"Answer the question! Do you blame me for Bran's death?"

Derek growled low. "I don't blame you for his death. Lilith-"

"Then why do you keep doing that, Roderick? Every single time you make me feel like I'm responsible for our baby's death. I loved him more than my own life. How dare you imply I didn't do my damnest to keep him safe!" Lilith shouted, refusing to cry.

"I doona blame ye for his death!" Derek roared. "I blame me fucking self! I shoulda been there for ye and our son!"

Lilith's fierce expression softened. "It's not your fault Roderick."

"I ken that." He said, now sounding defeated. Derek sat on the curb that was still luckily under the building enough to keep him dry. "I tell me self over and over that it isn't me fault. But I still feel guilty."

Lilith took a seat beside Derek. She remained quiet for a couple minutes. "Remember when you asked me about the scars on the inside of my wrists?"

Another wave of guilt and regret as Derek thought of what happened after his 'interrogation'. "Aye."

Swallowing, Lilith wondered why she was telling him what she was about to tell him. "I tried to kill myself. William sealed my memories and when I got them back, I tried to commit suicide. While I was dying, I saw Bran. And I was so happy. But he was crying and it broke my heart all over again. He kept telling me to go home and all I wanted was to stay with him. When I woke up, I was a vampire. I knew I couldn't kill myself. It would have been a slap in the face to our son. Whereas I was alive, Bran had his life robbed from him. Who was I to take my own life like that? No matter how meaningless my life had felt from that point on, I just couldn't do it again."