“I’m glad you’re here.” Tamara glanced at Gage and Lars, who both nodded. “We all are.”
“Why do I get the feeling everyone is going to be watching every move I make?” Alton grumbled and followed the line of people out the door as Maxim slid in next to him.
“Because they are, but it’s not only going to be you Alton, but me too. To say I have a history… well let’s say I’m no saint.”
Chapter Two
She was alone. Her mother, the only one Willow truly trusted, had left her, despite knowing what was coming. Her stomach was in knots and her heart was in her mouth. Not to mention that she had never once been alone with her own son. Her mother had always been there to help her.
“Will Nana come back?” Dylan asked, his head laying against her shoulder as she climbed the stairs to their home. No one had said a word to her or Dylan as they had crossed the line where humans couldn’t travel. The others that took up residence in their little haven had come out to see the new people following her bowing their heads to Baal as he passed them, knowing something had changed. Would the other families leave this area now that it was known? She hoped not, it was the one place Willow would always call home.
“I don’t know, Dylan. I’m sure we’ll hear from her soon, but until then, I promise not to leave you.” The door automatically opened for her as she placed Dylan down on the ground. Their home was a three-story house with four bedrooms, and two large living areas which opened out with a balcony, looking out over New Orleans.
“Go wash up, baby, while I get everything ready for dinner,” Willow watched as her son took off towards the bathroom when Tamara stepped up next to her, staring at Dylan’s retreating form.
“Assholes?” Tamara asked, and she nodded.
“Yep, hence the year I took off. He’s so smart, already it scares me sometimes. I want him to be the little boy he’s supposed to be, not worrying about other stuff, but he picks up things so easy.” Willow looked behind her to see her father standing in the doorway.
“Can I come in?” he asked, his frame filling the entranceway. His dark eyes moved over her, studying her just as she studied him.
“I invited all of you, and that includes you.” Willow turned and moved towards the kitchen. “So how are the babies doing?” she asked, earning a gasp from Tamara as she came around corner into the kitchen with her.
“Please, I can hear their heartbeats. They’re strong.” She turned and stared at Tamara. “I’m half Fae, Tamara, I can hear and do things. I just wish I could have helped you more.” Willow waved her hand and the table that was for four was now a table for eight. They always ate an early dinner so they could enjoy the nightlife watching the tourists make fools of themselves. Her favorite blue and white plates were on the table.
She stood next to the table as Alton and Maxim stepped into the room, looking around, taking in all of it. Theirs gazes finally landed on her and Willow knew they would be having a long talk, later. But for now she turned her attention to the food. “Tamara, there is a seafood salad in the fridge. Would you please grab that and put it on the table? Lars, there are beers and such behind you in the bar, if you guys want one. Or I have pop in the fridge over there.”
Willow rattled on as she walked to the stove and stirred the gumbo. Then she placed it on the table before going to the stove to take the roast out of the pot. She always did cook too much when she was nervous.
“Momma?” Dylan’s small voice made her look over at her son. He stood there in-between the dining room and living room, afraid.
“Come here, baby?” Willow knelt down as Dylan clung to his stuffed dragon and moved to her, but he wasn’t the only one. Her father knelt down next to them and smiled, nodding to the dragon.
“You like dragons? Did you know long time ago there used be live dragons here on this planet?” her father said, drawing Dylan’s attention.
“Did you know them?” Dylan asked, and her father nodded.
“Yes, maybe one day I can introduce you to a few of them.” Baal glanced at her. “I see pictures of your mother in your head, but I can’t remember why?” he asked. “I know every child of mine that was born, but I have nothing when it comes to you and I don’t like that one bit. I should have been with you, watching and protecting you.” He reached over and placed his hand on her chest.
The heat sent her back onto her butt. Willow knew his mark stood next to his father’s on her right breast, while his father’s mark was on her left.
“My father was right about one thing. You and Tamara are special and always will be.” He rose and took the beer that Maxim held out for him.
She stood as Dylan stood in-between them. “I’ll tell you what I know, but not now.” She looked down at her son. “Let’s eat, get to know your grandson,” she said, lifting Dylan and putting him in the booster chair at the table next to her seat as the roast appeared on the table next to the gumbo. “Please, have a seat. Tamara do you want some iced tea? Mom made a fresh pitcher this morning. God, where did the time go?” Willow shook her head and moved to the fridge.
It felt like she and her mother had just left the house for their walk, but in reality they had been gone for most of the day. No wonder she was starving, and she had heard Dylan’s stomach growling to. Willow put her head on the fridge and closed her eyes, realizing how little she knew about being a mom. Her mother had done so much for her, but now it was just her and her son. Could she be the mom he needed?
Large warm hands squeezed her shoulders. “You are not alone any more, Willow. We are here to help,” Maxim said behind her. Alton was next to her on her other side. “Between the three of us, Dylan will have a great life. Now, come sit down and tell us about this little place you call home.”
Alton held out his hand to her. “I meant what I said, I might mess up sometimes, but I won’t give up on you, kitten.” His slow smile formed on his full lips. “I can’t wait to see if the claws come out when you are...” He stopped, glancing behind them at her son.
She lifted her hand and placed it into his. “If you hurt us, I swear I’ll rip you apart. It’s one thing to hurt me, but not him,” Willow stated as she allowed them to escort her to the table where everyone waited for her.
She took a seat at the head of the table, while Lars, Gage, and Tamara sat across from them. Maxim sat down at the other head of the table, while Alton sat at her side.
“I have to say it’s been a long time since I’ve sat down and eaten with anyone, but the food smells great, daughter.” Baal said and waved his hand as the drinks she forgot were now in front of them. “You’ve done enough for one day. Relax and tell us about this place.”
She smiled and scooped up some gumbo into her son’s bowl. “Mom came here after being thrown out of her parents’ home when they found out she carried me. She loved New Orleans so, slowly, as not to draw the attention of humans, Mom created this little block for us to live without disturbing anyone. As the years went on, others joined us, helping to forge this little enclave.” She cocked her head to the side. “So far we have about 50 families living here. Every Christmas we throw a large street party New Orleans style, but with a twist. That is where I met Dylan’s father. He was new to this area and Mom allowed him to join our community even though some of the others didn’t trust him.”
“My daddy is a bad man. He made mommy cry too much,” Dylan looked over at Maxim as she put a spoon full of gumbo in her mouth. She could see the little wheels spinning and Willow reached over and squeezed Dylan’s shoulder.
“I’m fine Dylan. Not to worry, we are safe here.” She kissed the top of his head.
“This man has threatened you?” her father asked and Willow noticed the little flames dancing in his eyes.
“There is no need to worry about him, he is far from this place, at least I hope. Seems my Mom has a little evil side in her too, especially when it comes to us.” She snorted and everyone laughed, including her father.
Tamara reached over and
scooped more gumbo into her bowl along with some meat. “Why the hell didn’t you make this when we were at your apartment? This stuff is awesome.” Tamara glanced over at their father. “Did our grandfather destroy all of our brothers, or just those that were here that day, and how many of psycho lady’s children are we going to have to worry about causing trouble?”
“Just around here, I’m afraid, and as far as her children, I actually don’t know how many escaped with her.” Her father looked over at her. “As soon as I find this woman, I’ll destroy her. Your mother will be safe Willow, that I promise.”
“Can’t you track her if she is part of you?” Gage asked, putting another heaping of roast on Tamara’s plate.
“Stop it Gage. I have enough on my plate already.”She poked him with her fork and Dylan laughed.
“I like my aunt, she’s funny,” he leaned over and whispered to her.
“I hear you, young man, and you better watch it. I’ll come over there and tickle you,” Gage grumbled, and he laughed.
“I like him too,” he nodded his head, his eyes getting big looking towards Lars, who laughed.
“Not to worry Dylan. If he tickles you, I’ll tickle him,” Lars said, making her almost chuckle at the double meaning behind the words. Gage growled and Tamara laughed, patting Gage’s arm.
“Boys, behave. See I can’t take them anywhere.” Everyone laughed, but all turned once more to her father.
“No, I can’t track her. Something happened when she changed. With her being so unbalanced I have trouble even finding her in the same city, as you noticed before. I know she’ll, well, she will want more children, and if I had my guess, she’ll be calling the other man we never found.” Baal glanced over at Tamara, and Willow shivered.
Alton reached over, touching her. “Do we have any clue to who this man is, anything?” Willow asked, but Lars was shaking his head.
“No. Whoever he is, he’s old, leaves no trace whatsoever. We questioned all those that were left and nothing.” Lars looked at her. “So you believe we have a leak in our security at home?” Lars asked, earning a growl from Gage.
“That’s impossible. No one from the pack would betray us,” Gage said, stuffing another piece of meat into his mouth.
She shrugged and took another bite of her gumbo. Willow had dealt with Gage and Lars before. “They knew you were coming. I know for a fact that none of my brothers were here two days ago and all of a sudden they show up here,” she reached for tea. “No, you have a leak inside. Is there anyone who didn’t want you to take over the pack? Or maybe they didn’t like Tamara?” Willow had heard about the attack at the pack house and wished she had been there. The doggie would have made a great pelt.
Maxim cleared his throat, but smiled at her. “I believe you have the same trait as your mother?”
Willow couldn’t help but smile, but turned her attention toward the large balcony door. Something was off, her skin was itching and inside her stomach knotted like when danger was around. She rose and moved to the sliding doors, ignoring everyone behind her as she scanned her part of the city below. The closer she got to the doors, a dark feeling started to take hold of her, something was out there, watching. The thought of spiders around her sent a shiver through her and she shook for a moment.
Even though it was now dark outside, the city was well lit and from this view, Willow could see all across to Bourbon Street. Nothing was out of place that she could tell, but...
“What’s wrong?” Tamara asked next to her, looking outside. “The last time you got that look on your face, there was trouble.”
“I don’t know, but the city feels off. I need to take a walk and see what is wrong. With mom not here, I don’t know if the spell’s changed or what. I can’t leave my home unprotected, they count on us.” She looked over at Dylan and frowned, knowing she couldn’t go anywhere with him. It wasn’t safe. As if sensing her stare, he turned and smiled at her, waving his dragon’s paw at her.
Her father turned in his seat and faced her. “Whoever is out there, can’t get in this area. I’m surprised I could get in here now, but I have a feeling your mother changed that. I couldn’t break the protection shield where your sister lives without hurting all of those inside it.”
“You tried?” Tamara asked, turning to him.
“Of course, you are my daughter and I wanted to make sure you were safe.” Her father stood and ruffed up her son’s hair. “I’ll take a walk around and see if I can spot anything. Maybe when I get back we can speak of your mother?” he moved towards the door, but she went to him and shook her head.
“No one can come here, stay. There is no reason to go out there. Plus, we have much to talk about.” For some reason she didn’t want her father leaving just yet.
He laughed and leaned down kissing the top of her head. “No one can hurt me, little girl. I’ll be back soon.” With that, he was gone leaving her with the others. She turned to see Alton and Maxim staring at her.
“Come, finish your super, he’ll be back.” Alton patted the seat next to him.
It was going to be a very long night. As she turned to move towards the table, someone pounded on her front door, scaring the living crap out of her. She spun around and frowned at the door. No one in the neighborhood would come to the front door that she knew of. The only one that used to... “Fuck!” She yelled as the cat inside of her screamed to get loose and tear apart the man that stood at her front door.
***
Maxim reached out and tried to grab onto Willow as she dashed to the front of her house, but with her quick reflexes, she passed him, yelling for her son to show Tamara his room. But that didn’t stop him or Alton from following her close behind as she ripped the front door open before they could do anything. Alton shoved her behind him and faced a man a few inches shorter than him. “What can we help you with?” Alton asked, before Willow could do anything.
“I need to speak with Willow, if it’s any of your business,” the guy said, pushing away from the wall and watching as Maxim held back a very pissed off cat.
“I have nothing to say to this thing. Where the hell are my knives?” she hissed, but stopped all movement when her little boy pushed around her. He was half cat and half human as he tried to get by him.
Maxim knelt down and wrapped his arms around the boy. “Easy Dylan, he’s not going to hurt your Mommy. We won’t let him,” Maxim reassured the boy. Meanwhile, Alton moved to hold onto Willow who now had tears running down her cheeks, while Maxim took care of the threat at the door, since it was obvious he knew these people.
“I’m sorry, Willow. I tried to stop him, but he heard the asshole and that was it. He moves as fast as you do,” Tamara said as she came up behind them.
“Well, that answers the question, son. Tell me, Maxim, are you now dipping into shifter whores?” A man he had hoped had died a long time ago stepped around the piece of dung in the doorway.
“Fredrick,” Maxim stood with Dylan in his arms and handed the child to his mother. “Take Dylan to his room, baby, while I deal with this,” he said to Willow. “I thought I heard you were in Florida?” Maxim turned his full attention to the man in front of him, the son of a renegade, who he thought he had killed over 200 years ago when he had threatened his granddaughter. But then Maxim saw two teeth marks at this man’s neck and knew that they were not normal bite marks for a bloodsucker or anything else he knew of.
“That was a long time ago, but I didn’t realize you kept track of me, but then again I always make sure to know where you are. Son, meet the man who killed your grandfather. Tell me Maxim, are you personally interested in my son’s leftovers?”
He lunged forward, but father and son disappeared before he could attack. The laughter he heard before he left made him shake with furry.
“Who was that?” Baal asked, coming around the corner and studying him.
“His father was a leader of a bunch of rogues in our town. Well, they stepped over the line when one of them tried to ra
pe my granddaughter. But I have a feeling his son is much worse than his father ever was. Gage, contact your brother and see if his new beta here in New Orleans know anything about Fredrick Beanard and his son. I have a feeling he’s up to something.” Maxim glanced behind him and Gage was already pulling out his cell phone.
In the dining room, Willow held onto her son, whispering to him and trying to calm him. She lifted her head up and stared up at him. Her eyes, red and swollen from crying, had his gut twisting into a knot as if someone had punched him. Alton stood behind her, rubbing her shoulders.
“Those bite marks are not from our kind,” Alton said, drawing their attention as they moved into the house and shut the door behind them, protecting the house from anyone who would try to enter.
“So you noticed them too? Any idea what could have done that? On his own, Fredrick shouldn’t have been able to disappear like that. How is Dylan?” he asked, kneeling down next to Willow and the boy.
“He’s a bad man and he smells different,” Dylan said, as he rubbed his cheek on Willow’s chest, holding on. “Don’t want him here.” The little boy pulled back and looked up at Willow. “Spiders,” he shivered. “I saw spiders, lots of them. I don’t like spiders, Mommy.”
“Either do I baby, either do I. Why don’t we show Aunt Tamara all your models. That will cheer you up? You can show her all the ones you did by yourself.” Willow kissed the top of his head before putting him down on the floor.
He looked up at her, then turned to Maxim. “You’ll keep the spiders away?” the boy asked.
“Yes, Dylan, we’ll try and keep them away. We’ll keep you two safe as well. No one is going to hit your mommy again.” Maxim stood and stared at Baal, who started to growl.
“That’s the man who hit you?” he asked Willow and she shrugged.
“Let’s just say, he got lucky.”
Willow stood and started to clear the dishes away from the table as Dylan took Tamara into the other room. She frowned and glanced over at Maxim. “If they got in, and it’s obvious that they’ve been with the bitch from hell, can she get in too? I thought mom protected this place?”
The Forgotten One: Book Three of the Surrender Series Page 3