Welcome,
The vampires reach a decision and they meet with the council. Julianne and BJ go home. New matings occur.
This chapter is self-edited. I certainly hope the errors you find do not distract from the story.
All characters in this story are above the age of consent.
Happy reading. IR2R
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Gernick waited at his home. He called his siblings and his cousin Krill to meet him there. They needed to talk. The situation involved mainly his children's and Krill, but all of the kids would be affected. Garrick, Shari, and Ava appeared before any of the others arrived. Gernick and Garrick shared a look. Ava rushed to Amie. The two girls were close.
Next Cantar, Corliss, and Christiana arrived. It had been so long since Cantar had visited. Everyone greeted her and Corliss eagerly. The children rushed over to hug their aunt. They were so excited to seen their cousin Christiana. Christiana smiled at her relatives and was glad to finally visit with them as well. Cantar held her daughter close at first, and then released her.
At eleven, Christiana was as beautiful as her mother. Garrick smiled. She was an exact replica of Cantar at that age. Mother was often keeping her close to her side as well. When they were younger, Esmeralda was a great mother. But something changed. Garrick's thoughts turned dark. Shari caressed his shoulders, pulling him from his somber mood. He looked at his siblings, their spouses, and children. Despite everything they had faced. They were OK. He was happy. Cantar was a great mother.
Corliss stood beside his daughter ready to defend his family against any foe. Garrick was impressed with him. Corliss was a hard worker and he loved Cantar and his daughter. He was not a fighter, but Garrick knew he'd defend his family, all of his family. Corliss sighed as he moved to greet his brother-in-laws. Gernick could tell this proclamation had taken its toll on the quiet man. It was hard traveling here because once they explained to the grandparents and his brother what was going on. Christophe was incensed. All three wanted to accompany them. Christiana was not being sent to Russia.
The small group chatted as Krill, Samaria and their children appeared. The children greeted each other as Nickie noticed fundamental differences in their makeup. Their children that carried the wolf genes were friendly, affectionate. The vampire children, like their predecessors were standoffish. She wanted to speak, but she was torn.
Were they wrong? Should she and Nina have just died? Then this problem would not exist.
Kale, Brenwan, and Kalen arrived next. Kalen, like his father, was the deep thinker in the group. He greeted his family members coolly. He looked so much like Kale and had his father's mannerism almost exactly. He did smile when he greeted his aunt. Cantar was always able to draw a smile from him. Kalen then greeted Christiana. Christiana didn't visit as often, so she was not as in tune with the rest of the children. Jonathon took her hand and escorted her and Kalen over to game room where the others were waiting. At first, they were silent and then noise erupted as the children interacted as though no distance had existed between them at all.
Nicolette asked two of the maids to watch them as the adults met in the library. As she returned to the library, Gernick could sense her thoughts. He didn't like it.
Nicolette, never think such dark thoughts again. You are my life and I would be lost without you. The wolves are our family. This is just a small problem. We will fix this.
Gernick sent. He was worried. Nicolette had stopped talking. He could only sense her thoughts and lately they were dark. She was not herself. He knew she was torn. Her natural instinct would be to kill whoever hurt her family, only this time it was her wolf family that inflicted the pain. She could not hurt them. She internalized, finding a way to blame herself.
Shari greeted her with a warm hug, as did Brenwan and Cantar. All three women knew she had to be conflicted. They were also, but she was so close to the wolves. Shari smiled and took a deep breath. "Nickie, we will figure something out, ok." Shari whispered. She more than anyone else knew how hard this turn of events was on Nickie.
"They attacked my son, and now he wants to go away. I don't know what to think about that." Nickie whispered. Shari, Cantar, and Brenwan stood with her. Soon Gernick, stopped talking with his brothers and called everyone together.
"I wanted to address the issue on Dracount. Cassius wants us to decide, but I'm not sure all of our children need to go. This issue directly affects our kids and Krill and Samaria's children. Our kids have altered DNA. The rest of you have kids that are pure vampire." Everyone listened. Garrick was waiting. He never really argued with his brother, but if he said what he feared he might, he would protest.
He knew it was centuries ago. But he remembered Gernick being sent away. He recalled the heartbreak and he was not going to agree to send their children there. He wanted to talk to Cassius, and find out who suggested Dracount. Right now, he'd wait.
"Gernick, I want you to know. I will never agree to send any of our children there. I know you trust Clause, but he is council now. They think differently than we do." Gernick faced Garrick and growled. He spoke ill of Clause. Clause was as close to a father that he had and he would not let him or anyone bash him.
"Garrick, watch it!" He warned.
"Don't get me wrong, Gernick." Garrick continued not even fazed by his brother's fury. "I love Clause and Amerie, but he is fallible. Stop and think. If they wanted to hurt us, they can't get to us. However, we send our children there, and they will have access to them. After seeing what mother did to that council, I can't agree with their decree without being able to have access to the school anytime I want."
Deep inside, Kale agreed with Garrick. However, he needed to hear what Gernick had to say. It did not matter because he and Brenwan were in agreement, Kalen was not going to Russia. "Listen, Garrick. I know this is not easy, but let Gernick talk." Kale stated.
"Kale, why? On this, I disagree. I don't think Gernick should lead. His children are not pure vampire. What if this is some ploy for the council to have access to them. Cassius has been on the council for centuries. He is the leader, the oldest member. Clause is the youngest, and of course he'd trust his mentor." Garrick began to pace. "The council has never chosen a member that was made and not born. Then when father dies, Cassius hand picks Clause. At first, I thought nothing of it, but he knows you trust Clause implicitly. Gernick, I don't trust them."
Gernick nodded. He had thought of this. But for years he defied the council, and since Cassius had taken over, they had not demanded anything from him. Cassius said that the wolves were tormenting the vampire youth and many were taking their own lives. He knew for a fact that the wolves were bullying his son. Cassius had no reason to lie to him, and if Clause doubted Cassius in anyway, he would warn him. Gernick would not let himself believe Claus could be manipulated so easily.
Gernick paused. He faced his mate and he saw how this distressed her. He then recalled all of the stunts the council pulled over the years and how Esmeralda got her hooks in them. "Garrick, you have a point. Krill, you're on the council. No one ever mentioned this to you?" he asked.
Facing the entire group, Krill held his wife in his arms. She was silent, but they had talked before they came to the meeting. "Yes, I knew about the suicides. I have also seen officials from Dracount being called in to talk with certain council members. I suspected something was going on when the council ended sessions last month. Then there was the issue with Jael. We met and voted to not interfere. However, I agree with Garrick about this school. If I understand this correctly, Dracount is where your father sent you when you were younger. Right?" Krill asked.
Gernick nodded. He hated that place. The only time he felt happiness was when Clause would visit. He got a great education, but he felt like if he sent Jonathan and Amie there, then he'd be doing to him the same thing to them that his father did to him. He could not abandon his children. Krill continued to speak. "No, I cannot agree to send my children away." Krill spoke.
