Sitting on the front porch, a cup of tea in her hand, Senka stared out across the field and watched the sun set for the day. It had been over a week since the battle at Lobo’s and Duncan still had not healed enough to travel back home. Most of the days he slept, and when he did awaken he was often angry and confused about what happened. Refusing to leave his side except when necessary to eat or shower, Andria had insisted she at least take a break in the evening to enjoy a cup of tea. Half suspecting the matronly lady was trying to drug her, to force her to sleep, she mainly blew on the top of the steaming liquid to give the appearance of drinking it.
Peaking over her shoulder, she stared down the long stretch of road, and discretely poured a little of her tea over the porch edge.
“How’s things been goin’ over there?”
Turning to smile up at her father, she shrugged. “It’s a work in progress. Vincent ran everything and it’s gonna take them some time to remember how to think for themselves again. But they are working together and I think they will be alright. Even heard a rumor that the citizens are already planning to hold an election to choose an actual leader to help them rebuild and manage the city.”
“That’ll be good fer ‘em.” Walking up the porch he gestured to the empty chair behind her. “Mind if I join ya?”
“Sure.”
Taking a seat in the chair beside her, he stared out at the sunset in silence. Knowing he had something he wanted to discuss but needed to build up the nerve for, she watched out of the corner of her eye as he fidgeted with his jewelry. Finally after a few more minutes of silence, he released a heavy sigh.
“Senka, there’s somethin’ I been debatin’ on tellin’ ya. But after ponderin’ on it a bit, I decided I had better do it so as the pair of ya don’t figure it out later on ya own and get upset that I at least didn’t warn ya.”
Slightly concerned as to where this might be heading, Senka set her tea cup on the table to give her father her full attention. “Ok Pa, what is it?
Biting his lip, her Pa sighed. “I wasn’t sure at first cause of the beard. But after doin’ the math and hearin’ what I did at the bar that night, I am pretty certain that you and that Duncan fella met long before ya showed up at the Northern Camp.” Pausing he rubbed the back of his neck. “Twenty years ago to be exact.”
Well that took her completely by surprise. “Twenty years ago? Pa I would have been six years old and Duncan would have still been working for Vincent. Hell mom was still with us then, so how the heck would I have met Duncan?”
Rubbing his chin, her Pa shook his head. “Ya really don’t remember do ya?”
“Pa what are you talking about?”
“It was back when we lived on the edge of the Seer border in the cabin by the river.” Pausing he stared out at the field. “I was out workin’ the garden and you was out playin’ by the stream. I had told ya a thousand times not to wade in too deep cause the current was fast, but ya were so damn hard headed.
“Anyway, my back was to ya pullin’ weeds. Never even knew he was there. But the next thin’ I know this giant, very pissed off lookin’ man, come chargin’ out of the forest and headin’ straight at me. It was broad daylight so I couldn’t flash, so instead I held up my shovel and prepared to fight for me life. Only, to my disbelief he ran right past me and dove into the river. At first I was confused… then I realized you were missin’.” Pausing, her Pa’s eyes saddened as he continued. “By the time I made it to the water’s edge, he was already crawlin’ out with you in his arms.”
“He’s the only man that ever got the drop on me Senka. Ever.” Pausing he shook his head. “He could have killed me. Gone back to Vincent a hero and been set for life. But instead he blew off his one opportunity in order to save the life of a Night Stalker child.”
“But you were going to kill him anyway.” Senka blinked the memories suddenly flooding back to her. “I still remember that look in your eye when he set me down and told me to go to you. I knew if I left his side you’d kill him like you had all the other hunters, so I clung to his leg, and cried and begged you to let him go.”
He nodded. “Do you remember what you told me?”
“I said ‘Please don’t hurt him Pa, he’s my guardian and my friend.’” Senka paused, staring out across the field. “He’s always been my guardian.”
“Seems fate saw fit for the pair of ya to guard each other.”
Senka sat in silence for a few minutes. Then with a heavy sigh, she turned and faced her father. “Does the age difference bother you Pa? I mean, I don’t actually know how old Duncan is, but my guess is he is pretty up there.”
Her Pa took her by surprise when he laughed. “I am over eight hundred years old and my current wife is thirty.” Smiling over at her gaping expression he reached over and patted her arm. “That bein’ said. I hardly think I am one to be placin’ judgment on someone’s relationship cause of an age difference.
“Are you immortal Pa?”
“Naw child, just really lucky and very hard headed.” With an amused smirk, he rose to his feet and stretched his arms above his head. “And I ain’t ready to die yet.”
Staring in disbelief as he descended from the porch, Senka shouted after him. “How about me Pa? How long will I live?”
“Don’t rightly know.” He shouted back. “But I’d wager you’ve aged as much as yer gonna. So as long as ya keep yer head on yer shoulders, you and the Shifter fella should have plenty of time to enjoy each other’s company.”
And with that said, he flashed away leaving her with a ton of unanswered questions and a whole mess of information to process.
* * *
Groaning in pain, Duncan awoke to find himself in the familiar confines of his sister’s bedroom. Unsure how long he had been there or even how he had gotten there, he racked his mind trying to recall what the last thing he did was. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to pull any clear memories from the foggy banks of his mind. Deciding it wasn’t worth the effort or the headache it was causing, he attempted to push himself up only to have a searing pain shoot from his left arm all the way up into his shoulder.
“What are you doing? Lay down!”
Cringing from the loudness of his sister’s voice, Duncan braced his head in his hands. “Can you talk more quietly?”
“Sure, as soon as you lay back down.” She snapped, as she not so gently shoved him back into the bed.
Groaning as a new pain radiated up his side he conceded to his sister’s wishes.
“Why the hell do I feel like I had an entire building fall on me?”
Andria, who was busy straightening little things around the room, stopped what she was doing and stared at him as if he had lost his mind. “Maybe cause you did?”
“Did what?”
“Had a building fall on you.” She remarked, as she went about her chores. “Not an entire building of course, just a large piece of the ceiling.”
Blinking rapidly he rubbed his head, certain he had misunderstood her. “You want to go over that again?”
“Not really, we have already been over this a several times in the last few days alone. But don’t let that worry you too much; Uriel said it was normal for people with injuries as severe as yours to experience some amnesia. Once you’re all healed that should go away too.”
“What are you talking about? And who the hell is Uriel?”
“The Alpha wolf from the forest patrol who has been coming by every day for over a week to make you shift a few times.” Andria said rolling her eyes. “You know, the man who is literally the only reason you are alive at the moment.”
Growing tired of his sister’s games, Duncan managed to push himself upright without hurting himself and propped himself against the headboard of the bed. Doing his best to control the tone of his voice so she wouldn’t realize how extremely pissed off he was becoming, he pinched his brow and tried one more time.
“Andria, I know you say you have done this already, but can you please try explaining why I am here, in your home, covered in bandages, and have no recollection of what has happened over the…” He paused, unsure of exactly how many days he was missing.
“Week Duncan. You have been here a week.”
“Ok, a week. Can you please tell me what I have been doing for the last week?”
“I got a better idea.” Turning toward the door, Andria hollered out into the hallway. “Gidgit, come here. Your Uncle is awake again.”
Something about hearing Gidgit’s name triggered a deep sense of remorse and guilt. But before he could ask why, Gidgit came barreling into the room and jumped into bed with him.
“Uncle!!!” she exclaimed, lunging in for a hug.
A wide range of emotions bombarded him at once and before he knew what he was doing, Duncan was crying. Thinking for sure he had lost his mind, but still loving the feel of his tiny niece’s arms wrapped around his torso, Duncan placed a hand on her back.
Leaning back and seeing him crying, Gidgit made a pouty face. “Awww Uncle, did you dream the bad men killed me in the fire again?” she asked leaning in to hug him. “Don’t worry I’m ok.”
Her sweet words triggered a catastrophic avalanche of memories to come tumbling back into his mind all at once. Memories of Hatchet strangling him, memories of fighting goons side by side with Senka, memories of being chained to the ceiling of a cell while Vincent described in vivid detail the way he had ravished Senka’s body. And with each memory, the panic, fear, and anger all began to return. Within seconds it had built to such a horrifying level that it thickened the very air around him making it difficult to breath.
“Andria,” he called, trying to steady his breathing as he recalled Vincent telling him Gidgit had been killed in a barn fire.
“Andria…”
Sweat beaded on his forehead and his hands shook. Deep inside he could feel his bear clawing to get free, but he dared not release him in this state with his niece so close.
Oblivious to his suffering, Andria kept to her work, her back turned toward him.
The beating, the Wolf’s bane, the Cage. It all came crashing down upon him at an unforgiving speed. Closing his eyes, he clenched the sheets tightly.
“Damn it Andria! Get Gidgit out of here!”
The panic in his voice finally got her attention. Spinning around and realizing the state he was in, Andria paled. “Oh crap.” Rushing forward she jerked Gidgit off of him.
“Uncle!!” Tiny hand outstretched, Gidgit protested her removal as her mother set her down in the hallway.
Kneeling before her, Andria attempted to pacify her youngest child. “Baby, Uncle doesn’t feel good right now. How about you do Mommy a big favor and go find your Papa and tell him to come here?”
Distracted from her tantrum by a sense of purpose, Gidgit’s face lit up with excitement. “Ok mommy!”
Spinning on her heal, Gidgit disappeared down the hallway merrily humming a tune. With her safely out of the way. Duncan crawled from the bed, grasping his hair in his hands. Heart pounding in his chest, he paced the length of the room, desperately seeking some kind of relief from the overpowering emotions.
“Duncan,” Holding up her hands, Andria cautiously approached him, her concern clear in her voice. “Talk to me Duncan.”
“I was trying to talk to you!” he seethed, causing her to retreat back a few steps.
“I’m sorry Duncan. I never imagined you would have this kind of a reaction to Gidgit. I only called her in because the last time you woke up she triggered your memory... but it was nothing like this. You were so elated that she was alive and well, that you held her in your arms, listening to her for hours as she yammered on and on about nothing.”
“They told me they killed her Andria!” he yelled, pointing at the door. “Burned her alive in a barn because I had the nerve to show my face again!” Doubling over he cradled his head in his hands, as the memory tore painfully at his heart. “Stars Andria, I thought I was responsible for the death of your daughter… do you have any idea what that did to me?”
“But Gidgit is fine Duncan… we all are.”
Heavy footsteps could be heard rapidly approaching from down the hall only moments before Bruce appeared in the doorway. Doing a quick assessment of the situation, he rushed to his wife’s side. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. It’s him I’m worried about. He didn’t react well to finding out Gidgit was still alive this time.”
Eyeing him sadly Bruce shook his head. “Duncan, everything Vincent told you in there was a lie. He only wanted to screw with your head.”
“Well he fucking succeeded.”
Running his hands through his hair repeatedly, Duncan resumed pacing, desperate to make sense of everything his mind was trying to show him. But other than the misery and pain associated with them, Duncan couldn’t make heads or tails of the jumbled up mess. “I think I am losing my mind.”
“Then let me help you find it.”
“Senka?”
Halting mid-stride, Duncan spun to face the door. Standing just inside the room, looking every bit as beautiful as the last time he had seen her, Senka greeted him with a sad smile. “Hey old man.”
He should have been overjoyed to see her alive and well, but her presence only made the pain worse. Recalling the hurt in her eyes after learning the truth of who he was, Duncan was overcome with heart crushing regret. Combined with the panic and guilt already tearing away at his soul, it quickly became too much for his weakened state, and he collapsed to his knees.
“Senka I’m so sorry.” He exhaled watching as she slowly approached him. “I didn’t want you to find out the truth that way. I wanted to tell you myself, I swear. But every time I built up the nerve, something would happen that made the timing seem wrong. ”
Hesitating as she stopped in front of him, her expression impassive, he dropped his gaze to floor. “I didn’t mean to deceive you and I damn sure didn’t mean to hurt you. If you never want to see me again, I will understand…”
“Duncan…” Her hands gently holding each side of his face, Senka tipped his head back so that he was forced to look at her. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Finding it hard to believe she could have possibly forgiven him for his crimes against her people, Duncan furrowed his brow. His gaze locked with hers, he stared up into her breathtaking amber eyes, and searched for any signs she was being anything but truthful. But there was no anger or hate in the soft expression that stared back at him. Instead his fear was met only with warmth and compassion.
“You’re not angry with me?”
“I was…”
Upon hearing those words, he tried to pull his head free of her hold. But Senka was not having it. Tightening her grip, she held him in place, forcing him to look at her.
“Let me finish.” She gently commanded.
Surrendering his struggle, Duncan watched out of the corner of his eye as Bruce, realizing they were no longer needed, nudged Andria toward the door. Hand in hand they exited the room, giving them the space and privacy they needed to work out their grievances.
“Duncan…” She called, pulling his gaze back to her.
Satisfied she had his undivided attention once again, Senka continued. “As I was saying, I was angry. So much so I considered leaving you to Vincent’s wrath. But then, the more I thought about it, the more I realized I had no right to be angry with you.” Heaving a heavy sigh, she reached down and took his hands, pulling him to his feet. “What you did to protect Andria and your family is no different than what I did to take care of my sister when my father left. And while I’m not proud of that fact, I will not deny, given the same circumstances, I wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again. Just as I am sure you wouldn’t either.”
He sighed, knowing she was right. “Still I shouldn’t have kept my past a secret from you. By bringing you here and not telling you up front what we were walking into I put your life in danger, and for that I cannot forgive myself.”
“We all have secrets Duncan…” Senka hesitated, biting her lip nervously. “Some just a bit more ummmm… impactful than others.”
Swallowing hard, it was Senka’s turn to look away. Eyes on the floor, he watched as she randomly picked at some invisible object on the front of her shirt. Concerned by her sudden change in demeanor, he moved closer and wrapped his arms around her. “Are you ok?”
Returning his embrace, she pulled him close, shaking her head. “I have something I need to confess. But I am afraid if I tell you, you won’t want me anymore.”
Tightening his hold on her small body, Duncan shook his head. “Senka, I love you. Have for a long time, if I am going to be honest. And there is absolutely nothing you can say that is going to change that.”
“I found my father.” She blurted out before biting her lip again. “And it seems the two of you have met…”
Duncan blinked. That definitely wasn’t something he had expected her to say. “I’ve met your father?”
Again she nodded. “About twenty years ago.”
Duncan frowned not liking the direction this conversation had turned. “I was still a bounty hunter twenty years ago.”
“Yes, and he was your prey.”
Duncan cringed. Unsure of how to respond to that tidbit of information, he elected to remain silent.
“You might even remember him. His name is Criston Le Blanc.” Senka hesitated, staring up at him. “But you’ll probably know him better by his code name… ‘Marchand de Mort’
At the mention of the assassin legend’s name, Duncan’s brow furrowed. The one and only time he had encountered Marchand was the day he had planned to kill him. However after hiding in the forest for days, waiting for the perfect opportunity to present itself, he ended up blowing his cover at the last minute in order to save the man’s child from drowning in the river.
The child…
Eyes wide Duncan dropped his gaze to Senka’s dark brown hair and amber eyes. “No… it’s not possible.”
Having remained silent up to this point, giving him the time he needed to work the truth out on his own, Senka sniffed. “You saved me that day Duncan. You gave up your chance to kill a legend and become one yourself, in order to save your enemy’s child.”
“And you protected me from your father.” He breathed out. Moving away from her Duncan shook his head. “Damn Senka, this…” he paused gesturing between them. “…this is messed up. You… you were just a tiny thing… a child…”
“But now I am an adult… and semi-immortal.” She challenged closing the gap he had made. “I will look the way I do right now for the rest of my life. So what difference does it make if I am twenty-six or two hundred and six? Me personally, I believe fate brought us together again because they knew we would need each other’s help once more.” Still reeling from the shock of it all, Duncan remained still as Senka wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “And I for one would hate to go against the stars plans for us.”
Before he could argue, Senka rose up on her toes and pressed her lips against his. Passion ignited his veins, instantly obliterating any arguments he had once had.
When they finally broke their kiss, Duncan pressed his forehead against Senka’s and released a heavy sigh. “You know …that day changed my life. You changed my life.”
“Duncan…”
“No Senka, it’s true. I went into that forest fully expecting to die. But instead I walked out a completely new man. And do you know why?” Running a hand through her hair, he laid a gentle kiss on her cheek. “Because you called me your guardian. It was the first time in a long time anyone had seen me as something other than the killer I had chosen to become. And it gave me a purpose. I decided then and there, that if that cute little girl in pigtails could see good in me, then maybe, just maybe, there was hope for my dark soul after all.”
“The goodness was inside you all along Duncan… otherwise you would have let me drown.” Rising up on her toes as if to kiss him, she hesitated, “You just needed a little help finding it.”
Pressing her lips to his, she ran her hands through his shaggy hair. A low growl rumbled free from his chest as he snaked his arms around her waist, and he held her close; her small body molding to his as if they were made for one another.
They remained that way, locked in each other’s arms for how long he had no idea. This time it was Senka who broke it off first. Her eyes half hooded, she looked up at him with a need that mirrored his own. Not wanting to deny either of them what they both so obviously wanted, Duncan scooped her up in his arms and set her gently down on the bed.
Gazing up at him, Senka smiled mischievously. “I love you old man.”
Leaning down, Duncan pulled up the bottom of her tank, pressing a gentle kiss on the skin underneath. “I love you, too.” he breathed, loving the way she groaned when his whiskers tickled her skin. Slowly working his way up to her shoulder, Duncan licked and nipped at the sensitive flesh as she fisted her hand tightly into his hair, encouraging him to continue. Before long her breathing got heavy and her heart rate increased. But still he taunted her.
Finally when she was on the edge of going mad, he leaned over and whispered softly into her ear. “I plan to spend every minute of every day for the rest of my life proving to you just how much I love you… that is if you will allow me.”
She gasped. Pulling back slightly he stared into her shocked expression. “So will you?” he asked again, watching as tears welled in her eyes. “Will you have me as your mate Senka?”
A loan tear escaped as she nodded her head. “Now and forever.”
THE END