Forgotten

This took longer then I intended but it could not be helped, Enjoy!

@}-,-'-

Chapter 6: Come What May

The assembly of Dawnlight vampires all turned towards the entrance of the grand hall as Lord Einar entered. The blue-haired man glided up to stand in front of Lord Wade and his wife Lady Abigail. With his usual smug grin he bowed, "Greetings Lord and Lady Dawnlight," his smooth voice bringing a smile to the Lady's face. "I have come to ask permission to visit you territory."

"On what business?" Wade asked with annoyance at his wife's smile.

"I come to help you with your dhampire problem," Einar informed him whilst openly checking the Lady Abigail out.

"There is no problem," Wade grunted.

"Now Wade," Abigail warned, "They have been a thorn in our sides for centuries." The Lady's clear distaste for the clan populated primarily by her husband's bastard children. She feared for not only her own safety when it comes to the dhampires but the safety of her young daughter also.

"We have no problem," Wade sneered at his wife, "We have not done anything to them to provoke them." He turned his attention back to Einar, "Only the wolves have a problem with them."

"The dhampires have caused me to be cautious of them," Einar said airily as he checked his nails, "As they have threatened the mate of my best friend." His gaze settled on Abigail again.

"You have our permission to deal with them," She said defiantly, ignoring her husbands growls, "Just remember who is the actual ruler here Wade." She glared at him, "I think you have protected them long enough. I know most of them are your sons but you have a daughter also, don't you think she is worth protecting?"

As though called a girl who looked no older than five years old ran into the chamber, she ran up to her mother and jumped into her arms. Einar's flirtatious expression vanished, the girl was the very image of her mother, black hair, soft mocha skin, hazel eyes and plump chocolate lips. "Now I have extra incentive to deal with them," he gave the girl a bow, "The thought of something so precious in danger only makes me more determined."

The girl looked at him as though he said something out of place, "You have blue hair," she stated flatly, "San I have blue hair?" She looked to her mother who just laughed at her little girl's reaction.

"My mother is a sídhe," he explained, "A fairy."

"So you're a fairy?" She asked excitedly, "Do you grant wishes?" She bounced on her mothers lap clapping her hands.

Einar was speechless, her enthusiasm made him want to give it a try. It had been years since he played with magic as he grew bored with it. He gave the girl's father a look of askance, silently requesting permission to entertain the little girl. An annoyed nod was all he received but it was enough to allow Einar to give the girl what she wanted. He stroked her hair lightly and the little girl giggled, little did she know he had turned the girl's hair the same shade of blue as his own hair. The room gasped at how fast the change occurred.

"What's happening?" The little girl asked.

"Look in the mirror," Abigail suggested to her, barely containing her laugh.

The girl squealed at the change she saw, "My hair is blue!"

"It is only an illusion," Einar explained, "It will fade over the next few hours back to your original colour. I do not think your parents would have been happy with me if I permanently changed it to blue."

"Indeed," Abigail chuckled, "I love the colour of your natural hair."

The girl smiled at Einar, "What else can you do?" She asked sweetly.

"I would first like to know your name, princess," the sídhe dhampire enquired.

"Kaelea," she whispered and turned beet red, hiding her face in her mothers shoulder.

"Kaelea, I can do some wondrous things," he kneeled at Abigail's feet, "And some terrible things but I only use my magic when I have to, like what I have come to try fix."

"Are you going to kill my brothers?" She asked turning back.

"If I have to," Einar replied, "I am hoping to talk them out of attacking my friend's mate's family."

"They won't listen," Kaelea said, "They hate us, they hate the weres, everyone," her voice lowered to try hide what she was saying, "They said they a going to kill mummy and me and take over the seven realms."

Wade jumped up, "I think you have overstayed your welcome, Midnight." The vampire lord glared at his peer with loathing, "I suggest you leave now and leave the dhampire clan alone."

Lord Einar stood to his full height, standing just a few inches taller than Wade, "You will forgive me if I happen to hold my friendship with Alpha Brynjar higher than others," Einar explained with distain. "His mate is in hiding because of their actions, you own daughter is scared of them and you wish me to leave them alone?" He raised his voice with each word he spoke, "Leaving them alone has resulted in them posing a threat to not only Dawnlight but the other realms also! So no I will not leave them alone, but I will give you my word that I will avoid killing them if I can, however if they refuse to negotiate I will eradicate them without remorse." He turned an left the hall, leaving the occupants silent.

@}-,-'-

Just outside of the Dawnlight Pack's castle a group of about a dozen dhampires hid in the trees, the fortification of the castle was difficult to scale but not impossible. The clan's chief, Abaddon studied the previous path they had used years earlier, a crack in the main defence wall which had been easy to climb was now repaired. "Damon, scout the north wall and report back to me if you see any potential entrance points," the chief, "Pythias, the same for the south."

The two brothers nodded and left for their assigned destinations and Abaddon continued to study the wall for any little foothold that could be exploited. Unlike their immortal cousins, human dhampires do not have the speed to scale the wall with little to no effort. Abaddon felt no resentment for the fact that his human blood slowed his movements and made him more vulnerable to injuries, he felt the opposite. He loved his mother more than anything else in the seven realms, she may have been a mistress to Lord Wade but was not treated with the same respect other women who shared his bed received. He was her eldest and was born in normal human gestation like all his brothers, he had the blood thirst like regular vampires and had faster than the human rate of healing but still much slower than that of a full vampire. These traits left the dhampire to utilise the only thing that was not hindered by their mixed background their minds. A dhampires brain is their strongest asset, cunning and planning their only weapons.

Damon made his way back to the chief, "A vine is growing on the north wall. It looks like an old grape vine, the tendrils are thick and should hold the weight of a man," he explained quickly. "It sits close to the western wall."

Abaddon smiled, "Then we will be in the shadows," his grin widened, "Excellent."

"Why are we here, brother?" Damon asked the chief, "The Alpha's children are not here."

"I have a feeling the Alpha is missing his children," he spoke coldly, "That and the young bitch is needed for her contractual obligation."

"So she will return," Damon said, "You wish to continue with your plans from before?"

"Yes," Abaddon replied, "She has the strength our clan needs to get the upper hand and finally take our place among the immortals."

"Do you think that forcing her to bond with you will work?" His younger brother questioned hesitantly, "You may need to mate with her instead as a vampiric bonding requires consent."

"If you remember," he turned to Damon, "Bleddwen quite liked my attentions, I still long to see her smile as she wakes in my arms." Abaddon's eyes glazed over, "She was the one who encouraged me to elevate us to join our fellow immortals where we belong."

Before Damon could respond to Abaddon's statement, Pythias returned, "Nothing stable on the south wall."

"Okay move quickly and place yourselves around the castle where the Alpha moves," Abaddon ordered them, "There is a special guest at the castle and I want to know who and why he is here."

@}-,-'-

Damon settled in the rafters of the dining hall, Alpha Bleddyn, his mate and their guests Alpha Brynjar and Lord Einar sat at the grand table with a banquet laid out elegantly along the length. He stayed as still as he could, taking advantage of the air duct to carry his scent away from the wolves below. He waited for them to talk to discuss something, anything, but they sat in silence. Bleddyn seemed to be watching his mate with sad eyes and the others had their eyes trained in on their plates.

"I've decided to bring the kids home," Bleddyn said to his mate, "I miss them too and you need family after our loss."

Damon's heart jumped, the Alpha's children were returning, Bleddwen was returning.

Steren looked up to her mate her eyes were red and swollen, "My babies are coming home?" She asked with a glimmer of hope.

The Alpha smiled as he nodded, "Yes, you need them love." He reached out to her hand and held it tightly, "As soon as we hear from Bedella I will ask her to find them and bring them home."

"And I will wait until your grieving has eased before taking your daughter as my mate," Brynjar spoke up, "I would not wish to part you from your only daughter so soon after her return."

"You are too kind, Alpha Brynjar," Steren uttered, "But I would not wish for you to suffer with loneliness."

Einar chuckled and threw his arm around the wolf, "He won't be lonely, he'll have me," his confident grin made Steren smile.

"Why don't you stay a while after you mate with Bleddwen?" Bleddyn suggested, "Like a honeymoon."

Damon listened carefully, this news of Bleddwen to be mated so soon would not go down well with Abaddon and his plans. He was about to leave when a scantily clad green haired mauve skinned woman strolled into the room, "I hope there is enough for Amandus and I," the woman said as she sat next to Lord Einar, "You're cute." Damon knew who this woman was, the Bedella mentioned earlier, this was the first time he ever saw her and she was nothing like he imagined her to be.

Lord Einar cocked his eyebrow at her, "I like a woman who is direct."

Sir Amandus kneeled at Alpha Bleddyn, "Sir, I have come to report that your son is well but I believe he must come home as soon as possible," he explained quickly.

"Then bring him home," Bleddyn responded, "Bedella, please leave my guest alone." Bedella had worked her way onto Einar's lap and planted her lips on his. "I want you to retrieve my children from Earth and return them," the Alpha sighed.

The sídhe woman grumbled, "Your knight over there ruined a very good night for me." She turned her attentions back to Einar, her hands sneaking under his shirt to find the chiselled physique underneath.

"Sir," Amandus spoke drawing attention back to him, "May I please spend a day with my wife? I miss her terribly." He silently pleaded with the Alpha to which Bleddyn nodded and Amandus excused himself to find his beloved.

The two Alphas glared at Bedella and Einar, "Would you mind taking that elsewhere?" Brynjar huffed at his friend.

"Gladly," The vampire lord replied, picking the delectable fae up and taking her from the hall.

Damon took that as his signal to leave and update his chief, in the next day or so the main focus of Abaddon's desires will return and they needed to plan.

@}-,-'-

The Castleton vicar's house reminded Michael of the 1950's with the floral wallpaper and tea set, the white doilies and the three ornamental ducks hanging on the wall. The vicar and his wife were a kindly old couple who were currently caring for a teenage boy who had run away from home. Michael sat in the living room with the vicar and the teen as they studied him.

In the kitchen, Michelle and the vicar's wife prepared some sandwiches. "So is this the young man you have talked about for some time?" The vicar's wife asked.

Shell blushed, "It is, mama Peggy."

Peggy laughed, "I thought you had given up on him."

"That is yet to be decided," Shell let slip.

"Miss Ackermann," Peggy chided, "You haven't done something stupid have you?" The elderly woman's glare broke through Shell's defences. When Michelle's eyes dropped Peggy let rip, "I thought better of you Michelle than to give yourself to a man before your wedding night."

Shell thought of the moonstone ring, "He does intend to marry me," she knew she had technically lied as she was already considered his wife among the werewolves, "He asked me two days ago."

Peggy's frown lifted to a smile, "You will marry in our church!" She pulled Shell into a warm hug, "Hang on, you implied that you might give up on him."

"We had a fight and I haven't completely forgiven him yet," Shell mumbled, not wanting to talk about it too much.

Back in the living room the vicar eyed Michael intently, "I hope your philandering ways are over now that you have our Michelle's heart," he said suddenly.

"I have promised myself to her," Michael retaliated, "I love Michelle."

The vicar seemed happy with that, "If you hurt her, I'll kill you."

"Gerald!" Peggy cried as she carried a platter of sandwiches, "I'm sure young Michael here would never hurt our lovely Michelle," her smile a partially disguised the warning she shot at the wolf.

The teen laughed at Peggy's expression, "I get that one all the time," he chuckled to Michael, "Like us mere mortals would ever be pious."

"I don't know about you," Michael said to the boy, "But I wouldn't chance going up against her."

"Neither would I," the boy chuckled, "I'm Peter by the way."

"Yes," the vicar cut in, "He came to us with a heroin addiction and he's only fourteen years old."

"But we got him off that crap," Peggy smiled, "He's returning to school next week."

"Good for you," Michelle cheered Peter as she sat down and tucked into one of the sandwiches.

"My goodness girl," Peggy exclaimed, "Didn't you eat enough at lunch?" Michael froze and glanced at his mate as she began to brighten with a crimson hue, "Michelle, please tell me you aren't feeling pressured into this marriage due to a new arrival."

Shell cringed, the idea of a pregnancy out of marriage was a taboo subject in the vicar's home and if she was indeed with child she would be marched down that aisle faster than her feet could carry her, "I don't think so," she finally answered.

"It matters not, if you are doing what only married couples should do, you will be married soon," the vicar sternly stated, "I suggest you make the preparations."

Michael was shocked that people still thought that way in this day and age. He remembered his escapades in previous centuries with young women and there had been times when he had to disappear due to the girls making demands for marriage for reasons of their virtue being given to him. Many of those girls went onto have families of their own, now he was in that position again only this time he not only wanted to stay around with the girl in question but did not like that it was humans interfering with laws and rituals of werewolf lore. "Surely in this day and age society has evolved to more liberal virtues," Michael protested with a grin.

"It's attitudes like that, that have caused the wide spread of things like venereal diseases and children born outside of marriage," the vicar argued back.

Michael decided not to push the issue, he knew for a fact that the only change in human society when it came to sex outside of marriage was that it was now sociably acceptable thanks to the hippy movement and contraception, immortal society encourage the exploration of their sexuality. They never have trouble of underage pregnancies or anything because they instil the importance of consent at such a young age. "Not that it will concern us for much longer," Michael spoke light heartedly, "Michelle has made it clear that she wishes to be married in your church, so when she is ready to do so, we will."

Michelle's eyes could have ripped chunks out of him for the revelation, "But we won't rush into things as I have my research to think about."

Both the vicar and his wife found Shell's response satisfactory, Peter laughed, "How did you survive this place Michelle? Everything is such a drama."

"Study. And lots of it."

@}-,-'-

Michael thought they would never get out of the vicar's home, he had to suffer through the virtues of marriage and celibacy like they ever worked for humans anyway. Michelle's stomach had been growling most of the afternoon and early evening which thankfully only he could hear. The brief visit to a fast food restaurant served to ease her hunger until he could get her home.

"Are you sure you don't want any?" Shell offered him a bite of her chicken and mayonnaise roll.

"I am not the one who needs it," he smiled at her, "I can't have you in agony while we go shopping to fill your cupboards."

"I can't believe that I am eating so much," she commented between bites, "Will this last the entire month?"

Michael nodded, "It could get worse though, if we conceive it will continue until the pups are born."

Shell finished her chicken roll and the box of seasoned chips, "So what is the plan for this evening?"

"I cook you dinner and we have a night of passionate love making," he replied hopefully.

"Why don't we watch a movie or something instead?" Shell countered, shooting him down, "We need to get to know each other properly before I fall for that again."

Mike could not help but gaze at her heated expression, yes she was still annoyed at him but he also could detect the faint hint of her arousal that she fought to keep under control. He could only hope that she would give in soon and her stubbornness erode away to release the woman who gave herself to him just a few days ago. He pulled the car into the parking lot at the supermarket up the road from his new home with his mate, Shell wasted no time stepping out of the car and making her way into the store which had something she decided she wanted, chocolate. Mike followed her after locking the doors and jogged to catch up. "Is there anything particular you want?" He asked her as she charged forward to the confectionary aisle.

"Something European," she replied as she sifted through the various imported chocolate bars, "Nothing too sweet." His soft chuckle halted Michelle's endeavour to find the perfect chocolate bar, "What?"

"I'm just going to buy one of everything and let you enjoy them at home," he said, amused at her incredulous stare.

"Aren't you suppose to be hunting for our dinner?" She retorted sarcastically.

He laughed at her attempt to upset him, "I'm crouched and ready to pounce," his amusement evident in his tone, "How does lamb sound?"

"Whatever," Shell waved him off as she filled the trolley with an unhealthy amount of confectionary and pushing it further along only to repeat the process.

Mike shook his head and retrieved another cart to do actual food shopping. After filling the cart with so much meat to make a vegetarian faint he went to find Michelle. Much to his surprise he found her stalking the frozen aisle looking for ice-cream and other frozen desserts. "Shell, I need your help to get the veggies," he pleaded as he saw her head appear from behind a fogged up freezer door.

"I thought you were taking care of that," she said as she eyed the contents of his trolley.

"I was hoping you would be more helpful with this shopping trip," he sounded like an impatient parent talking to their teenage child.

Shell rolled her eyes and closed the freezer door, "Show me the way," she smiled deflating any frustration Michael may have been feeling.

Shell waltzed past him with a cheeky grin on her face and he followed forgetting that he was meant to be guiding her to the produce section. Michelle directly aimed her trolley to produce and began loading what she could into her cart.