The Werewolf and the Halfling

"What are you doing?" Christian looked up as his father approached him.

He held an axe over his shoulder with some freshly chopped wood under his arm. Christian smiled widely running to meet his father. "I was hunting." He said earnestly as Julian ruffled his hair with pride, dropping the logs he lifted Christian into his arms.

"Where is your mother?"

"In the basement, she said she was not feeling very well." A strange look flittered over Julian's face, his eyes sparkled with excitement.

Tightening his hold on his son he walked towards the cottage, squirming from his fathers hold Christian shifted into a small white wolf pup. Julian laughed as he ambled down the stone staircase leading the basement.

"Christian." His mother said chidingly, pulling the writhing puppy into her arms.

Running a loving hand over his sons head Julian leant forward capturing Diane's lips with his own. Diane leant into her husband, scraping her incisors along his jaw, the pulsing of his vein calling to her.

"Ma Mere, Mon Frere." Giggling Diane placed Christian on the ground, prideful eyes watched as he shifted back into a young boy.

"Christian told me you weren't well." Diane took Julian's worried face into her hands and kissed at the worry lines marring his brow.

"All is well." Her eyes glittering with mischief.

"A child?" He whispered. Diane just kissed him again.

"I will know soon enough." Julian lifted Diane into his arms and spun her around the room.

Christian who had now climbed into his parent's bed watched with laughter in his eyes, he never wanted this moment to end.

...

"Christian. Christian wake up." A soft hand shook him awake, a familiar scent washed over him, an anchor in the maelstrom of uncertainty.

"Jess?" Jessica smiled as his eyes opened slowly revealing the blue eyes she loved so much.

They were filled with so much sadness it tore at her heart, what has brought this upon him? After helping him up she left the room returning with a steaming bowl of soup.

"Julian said this will return your strength."

Christian hissed flinging the bowl away, Jessica stood aside as he ripped the bed sheets kicked the floor lamp, smashed a vase. She has never seen him so angry, the only thing keeping her from bolting was the knowledge that Christian would never hurt her, he was angry and he had every right to be.

"They said I had until sun rise to change back into a human. I'm relieved, I didn't want to stay a wolf for the next three months." She said trying to take his mind off the fact that his father was alive. She succeeded.

Christian walked shakily towards her, running his cheek against hers.

"All I wanted was to protect you, I failed my parents I didn't want to fail you too."

She felt hot liquid coat her neck as he wept. Suddenly she felt like every type of fool after all he had been through, after all that both been through she should have realised his need to protect her.

Instead she had acted like a spoiled brat which had resulted in the kidnapping Christian had tried to avoid.

"Where are we?" Christian said a few minutes later.

The bedroom was sparse with only a bed, side table and one dresser. The room was painted all in black and there were no windows.

"Sanctuary." Jessica answered.

...

Julian read and re-read the letter in his hand, Vincent de Groudané had sent a bounty for Christian, and the reward was so large no man would turn it down.

"Woo wee, with that much money my children's, children will be millionaires." Julian sent his second in command a scathing look.

His son was worth more than a couple of million, he just needed to persuade his men that the money was insignificant. A tall black haired woman entered the briefing room. Her blood red eyes flashed with anger. Both men gulped as she stormed in, her scarlet cloak billowing as she moved with speed of sound.

Julian gasped as her taloned hands grabbed his throat, her fangs flashing menacingly beneath the light.

"You brought him here?! Here!" She gave a mournful cry. Swirling into a black mist she sped out of the room her cries ringing through the house.

"Well she didn't take it well." James said, Julian laughed.

"Understatement of the year."

...

Christian pulled away from Jessica as he heard the blood curdling scream that filled the air.

Not many things unnerved him, but he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. It had been nearly three hundred years since he last heard that cry.

"What was that?" Jessica asked hating the warble in her voice.

He didn't want her scared, even though he felt like collapsing into a heap of resignation. Holding Jessica he laid his hand on her stomach the small flutter of his child kicking eased him.

Again the agonised wail could be heard. Christian growled as Jessica hid her face against his chest, her slender arms wrapped around his neck.

"Please Christian I'm...I'm...scared."

Running his fingers through her hair he tilted he chin to meet his kiss. His father was alive and well, the memories of seeing him laying in a pool of blood angered him.

All this time he had blamed himself for not protecting his mother as she was raped and murdered, it was time to face his demons. Stalking to the door he flung it open his teeth bared.

"For moons sake shut up mother!"

...

Jessica sat at the dining table, it was made of dark mahogany, wolves and big cats were carved into its legs and those of the matching chairs. A tense silence filed the air, Julian sat at one end of the table and she was surprised at how alike Christian and Julian looked.

Their hair was the same shade of blonde although Julian's was littered with grey. They also had the same eerie blue, iridescent eyes which held the same level of pain, anger and pride. Diane sat at the opposite end of the table a gold goblet of blood in her taloned hands. She was beautiful with midnight black hair and pale, snow white skin. Her lips were blood red and her cheeks a faint rose due to the meal of blood before her. She wore a low cut corseted dress with a dark scarlet cloak which matched the colour of her eyes.

If this had been any other situation it would have been funny, Christian sat opposite her with a sullen look on his face, he had been forced to apologise to his mother.

"So Jessica, your are my cousins granddaughter." Jessica nodded, noting how Christian's eyes darkened.

"How is the family?" Christian snorted ignoring the rare steak on his plate. Julian sent him a reprimanding glare which only angered Christian further.

"Are you well?" Diane asked noticing the agitated look on her sons face. Christian growled sending Diane the most scathing glare he could muster.

"No! No I'm not. You are alive, alive!" He roared thrusting his chair back.

"Sit down." Julian said wearily, unfazed by Christians outburst.

"You shouldn't make him angry." Jessica whispered, but Julian didn't seem to here her words that or he didn't care.

"Apologise to your mother." Christian jaw hung open at the absurdity of what his father was asking. Could he be serious? Did he honestly believe he would apologise.

"You let met think you were dead. I saw what they did to you." He said pointing to his mother. "And you, you were laying in your own blood."

Horror filled Christians face as he relived the day in his mind.

"For your safety." Julian said also affected by Christian's discomfort.

"Safety." Christian spluttered. "To me you were dead, my only family dead. if only you had stayed that way."

Christian was sorely tempted to walk out of the door, but the look on Jessica's face stopped him. Tears ran down her cheeks as she realised just how much Christian had suffered growing up, he had never known piece and as much as his parents tried to justify what they had done Christian had been far from protected. Offering him a comforting smile Christian sat back down in his seat.

"I think we will leave you men to talk." Diane said motioning to Jessica, unsure whether she should leave Christian Jessica was hesitant.

"It's okay Jessie, you must be exhausted anyway. I'll meet you upstairs."

All life had left Christians eyes and for a moment she hated Julian and Diane just as much as he did, it wasn't for the red tears Diane vainly tried to hide she may have refused and demand to be taken home. Christian grasped Jessica's hand just as she was about to leave the room, tugging her down onto his lap he kissed her passionately expressing to her just how much he loved her and finding strength from her warm embrace. Finally he let her go, ready to face his father.

...

Christian watched as his mate and mother left the dining room together. It was a sight he never thought he would ever see. His feelings for Jessica were strong and they strengthened each, but his mother was a different story.

Until last night he had believed himself an orphan, but to know they had been alive the whole time...Feeling his anger mount he slowly turned to his father negative magic flowing through his finger tips.

"If you had me explain perhaps you would not be so angry." Julian said straightening in the velvet red armchair he had moved to once the women had left.

He had been somewhat silent during the meal but know that he had time alone with his son, he was well armed to defend himself and his mate.

"You left me on my own." Christian whispered any anger he felt diminished, Julian watched in terror as his son slumped into the opposite him and suddenly the man, the warrior, the alpha he had seen before him had withered into the six year old boy he had left behind.

Those few words had managed to erase every explanation in Julian's head.

"It had to be done, you were safe without us." Even to Julian the words sounded cold and rehearsed.

"Were you ever chased from your home? Your friends attacking you once they learnt who and what you were?"

The picture his son painted sounded horrific and for the first time in three hundred years Julian wondered if he and Diane had made a mistake.

"We believed that separated we had a fighting chance, integrated into a werewolf family you should have fit in."

"Should have? You were supposed to know these things, every full moon I would run with all my might or fight with all my strength, my blood coating the ground, my bones all but broken, yeah a better life."

"If we hadn't done what we did, we would have all been killed!" Julian took a deep breath. "This place is a sanctuary for people like us, those who don't want to be part of this battle."

"There are others like me?" Christian asked, for now his anger could wait knowing he wasn't totally alone in the world was more important.

"No, you Christian are truly an anomaly. There is no one like you."

Christian noticed the hitch in his father's voice as his eyes misted over, it took him back to the morning his parent had been killed.

"There may have been though, I guess the attack did kill someone after all." Christian refused to apologise for his coarse words even though he could tell his father was angered by them.

Pushing himself out of the armchair Christian walked to the door, just before he left he turned to his father.

"It was nice meeting you Julian Valentine may your cause grow and prosper, the moon at your back." He said giving his father an ancient lycan blessing.

Fully aware that this would be the last time he ever saw his son Julian chose his words carefully.

"May your son grow and prosper the full moon at his back." Christian paused, his son?

"How do you know the child is a boy?"

"You are my son, I know these things."

...

Jessica sat at the dressing table, slightly put off by the fact her mother-in-law had no reflection although she could feel her combing her hair, feeling her fingers run through her auburn tresses.

Diane was very beautiful for an eight hundred year old vampire. There wasn't a lot of Diane in Christian, she was dark were he was light, her eyes a deep dark red but they did share the same composure and characteristics.

They both appeared to float on air with so much royal bearing it was obvious that they were from a royal blood line. They shared the same smile and humorous twinkle in their eyes, Jessica was happy to have met the princess of the vampires, Christian's mother.

"I suppose you have many questions that need answering?"

Jessica nodded, sending a smile of gratitude as Diane returned the brush, she sat on the large bed she was sharing with Christian. With one hand on her abdomen she began.

"What was it like, giving birth?"

Diane was dumbstruck, she was prepared for an onslaught of accusations and damnations. Not a question such as this, but if it meant Jessica was beyond the need to verbally massacre her, then she was more than happy.

"As children of the goddess we feel very little pain all shall be fine. My cards say so."

Jessica sighed with relief, the birth of her child had been plaguing her, but now she awaited the birth of her child and the arms of her mate.

...

Vincent de Groudané looked at the vampire before him with barely contained contempt. Hatred bled from his pores and although he had invited the demon into his home, his soldiers hid amongst the shadows.

"I know who you killed your son and his wife." Vincent lurched in his seat, eyes wide with surprise.

For twelve years he had been searching for his son's killer, a name and a face to maul over as person not a phantom, you couldn't kill a ghost.

"Who, who was he?" His knuckles whitened with anticipation as he clutched the arm rests.

"Was? Oh no, he is very much alive."

Vincent couldn't breath, finally retribution! Jessica would want to hear this. Now that Philippe had called of the manhunt he had been certain she would return to San Francisco, even now Philippe was searching for his grandson ready to welcome him into the royal family.

Okay so he personally had a bounty for Christians death, but that did not mean his granddaughter was not welcome. He understood that he had been harsh before, but now he was fully prepared to forgive her.

"Who, who killed my son?"

Once Vincent knew the name of his sons murderer he and Jessica would reunite and have their vengeance. The vampire sighed with feigned reluctance a small smile twitching on his lips.

"Christian Valentine."