"Goddammit..."

Andrew Moore stumbled as he walked out into the street, the door to his latest gambling adventure slamming shut behind him, his income securely tucked into someone’s pocket behind it.

He tramped through the snow, specks of white dusting his shoulders as he trudged by people who went out of their way to avoid him, his breath stinking of bourbon he couldn't afford, and his clothes ragged from disrepair. One would be forgiven for thinking him homeless, and if he kept losing money they would soon not even be wrong.

For someone who loved gambling so much, he wasn't very good at it. Which likely explained why he was in debt to five different loan sharks and his daughter was no longer a part of his life. A smarter man might have seen that as a sign that they should change, though Andrew wasn't exactly winning any awards.

Ahh, his daughter. His head filled with thoughts and memories, what little ones he had where they had both been happy. When he'd managed to get a clamp down on his addiction long enough to think that he could have a happy family, with a wife he supported and a daughter he could love. It was only a matter of time before those addictions caught up to them. When he started gambling again it was the first splinter in their relationship, by the time his wife died he'd all but given up on the idea. There were moments where both he and Skylar attempted to at least maintain the illusion, but it was too painful, too fake.

The best thing for the both of them was for him to be gone from her life, so that's what he had done. Someone as toxic as him could only bring her harm, at least with him gone she could find some measure of peace. Or at least, that had been the plan.

He shouldered a random pedestrian out of his way, the strangers nose wrinkling at the stench of liquor and the slurred "Fuck off" they got in response to their protests. He was in no mood to wait around for them to move, his mind occupied by the news that his daughter had been attacked in some way. He didn't know the specifics, no one did, but Sarconi Sr. marching into Boulder Junction with thirty men and returning with none wasn't something that could go by unnoticed. There was no idea on why he had gone there, or who he had gone to see, but Andrew knew. He knew just as well that it was his fault as well, an old debt that he had gotten into, with a man he should have known better than to go in business with.

He rounded the corner, his apartment looming in front of him, the prospect of sliding into a warm bed after such a terrible night almost too good to be true. He stomped up the steps, his hand sliding over the phone he kept in his pocket, though these days he hardly ever used it. Pretty much it was all used for was...

He shook his head, no use in thinking about that. No good would come of it.

Andrew shoved his door open, his empty lounge in his lonely one-bedroom apartment flooding with light before he slammed it shut again. He fumbled in the dark for the light switch, blinking his eyes when the artificial light's flickered on. The jacket was discarded, tossed onto his ratty old couch to gather dust and remain unwashed yet again. He stretched his arms above his head, feeling the bones in his back-pop back into place with each twist he made. The days of Andrew Moore's youth were long gone.

The floor boards creaked as his heavy feet stepped upon them, the apartment itself looking fit to fall apart any second. The walls were water stained, the floor patchy and torn up, it was a miracle that the building hadn't been condemned. "Perfect place for me." He said with a laugh, walking over to the fridge. A sudden gust of air chilled him to the bone, and with a sigh he looked over to the end of the hallway, where a window was wide open, curtains billowing in the night air.

He shut the window, hands lingering on the frame and eyes going wide in realization. "I didn't leave any windows open." A creaking sound drew his attention to the bedroom, his ears pricked and sensitive to whatever intrusion had found itself into his home. He knew how things like this worked though, which meant that running was out of the question, they'd have people waiting outside for just that. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly through his nose as he began to walk towards his bedroom door.

"Probably just some goon, here to make a point. Let's just get it over with."

Andrew clutched the handle and threw the door open, fully expecting to be greeted by some hired thug with a tattoo on his cheek, some punk who collected debts in between shifts at the burger joint down the street.

What he never expected was to come face to face with the specter of many a person's nightmares, one of the underworlds most dreaded boogiemen and the cause of countless restless nights to Andrew himself.

Sarconi Sr. smiled from his seat on Andrew's bed, his face twisting such a normally pleasant greeting into something ugly. "Well hello Andrew, or do you prefer Andy? I can never tell if someone prefers the shorter term honestly, it's something that still alludes me."

"Mr. Sarconi..." Andrew edged in slowly, keeping his back close to the wall. "What's this about? If it's about the money I owe your kid I can tell you I'm getting it together..."

Sarconi waved his hand. "Forget about that, my kid's dead. Pretty much wipes your debt by default doesn't it?"

"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that."

"No, you're not." He held up his hand. "Don't deny it, to be honest I'm not either."

Andrew was taken aback, to see someone so callously disregard their own blood... Well it explained a few things at least. "Then... What are you here for?"

Sarconi stood, cracking his neck. "I'm gonna need you to come with me, you don't have a choice in this. Only choice you have is whether you want to do this the easy way or the hard way."

He widened his eyes. "I don't-"

"Hard then." Sarconi's fist cracked into Andrew's nose, his head flinging back at the same time as a black bag was drawn over him. The fabric clung tightly over his nose and mouth, his fingers clutching at his throat where the cord was digging into the skin, punches being forced into his stomach as he slowly started to lose consciousness. Sarconi's sneering voice was the last thing he heard before he blacked out.

"They're gonna pay for what they did, you'll see."

---

Skylar threw her head back in ecstasy, her voice long since gone as she squirmed on top of the covers, her husband clutching down hard on her hips. Liam’s head was firmly between her thighs, his mouth working wonders against her sensitive folds, his tongue jolting her body with every swipe. “Oh my god Liam! Please don’t stop!”

He pushed himself against her even harder, his tongue pushing into her at the same time as her eyes rolled back into her head, her mouth wide in a silent scream as she felt her body begin to tingle. Liam nuzzled his face against her, tongue bumping against her clit as he continued to almost ravenously feast on her, the taste of her arousal overwhelming any form of self-control that he could have normally possessed. His own arousal was plain, painful even, as he was forced to neglect his own needs to service his own.

All in good time, the two of them were good at returning favors.

He reached up, pushing two of his fingers inside of her, and that was the last push she needed. Her legs clamped around his head, her hips grinding against his face feverishly, desperately chasing down any way to prolong the incredible feeling of her orgasm. Her vision went white, stars dancing behind her eyelids as her body shook and shuddered, her breath hitching as she slowly started to come down, his attentions gently bringing her back down to earth.

He rubbed her leg, Skylar’s head lazily looking over to him. “Hey.” Liam grinned. “How was that?”

She rolled her eyes, pushing him onto his back with her leg, smoothly maneuvering to straddle him before he could even register what happened. “Oh. I think I like this answer.”

Skylar gripped him in her hand, angling him to enter her just right before slowly sliding down onto him. Liam clenched his teeth, a throaty growl forcing its way through as her incredible heat surrounded him inch by inch. She sank down until her hips were flush with his, grinding herself against him as he let his head fall back, all his willpower focused on keeping his climax at bay.

“How do I feel?” She asked, one hand tenderly stroking his cheek. Her hips rose and fell upon his own, his length pressing wonderfully into her deepest depths. “Do I feel good?”

Liam pressed his teeth tightly down on his lip, tasting blood. He met her in the middle with his own thrusts, her body vibrating and her chest heaving with the force of his impacts. His hands reached up, squeezing the tender flesh of her bosom as she whimpered and groaned above him, her own fingers coming down to toy and rub at herself, the both of them rapidly approaching incoherence as the faint whispers of orgasm started to speak their mind.

“You feel so goddamn good.” He grunted, burying himself as deep as he could before withdrawing once more. “Nothing in this world can even compare.” Liam’s hands traveled down to her backside, each little touch and brush of his fingers down her skin sending waves of desire rushing to her core. He grabbed two generous handfuls, her pliable cheeks almost melting within his squeezing fingers, Skylar almost collapsing onto him in her pleasure.

He caught her gently, pushing her back slowly until she was resting upon the covers, her hair splayed out wildly and her skin flush with passion. Liam leaned down, his teeth attacking her neck as she dragged her fingernails down his back, thin lines drawing blood as he continued to thrust into her, legs winding around his own to push him deeper still. He cupped her cheek, thumb teasing its way over her pouting lips before she sucked it in, his eyes going wide as she licked and sucked at the thick digit, his arousal growing so fast he was afraid he would explode on the spot.

“My god...” He said in awe, mouth open in his disbelief. “You’re so beautiful it’s almost a curse.”

Skylar merely smirked in response, her hand grabbing a fistful of his hair and pulling back. A surprised moan tore its way out of Liam’s throat, his reaction surprising him most of all, her grip only intensifying when she heard his pleasure. She pulled him down, growling into his ear, “Not inside this time. I want you to finish on me.”

Liam was a slave to obey, his hips working overtime as he sought desperately to obey her wish. He pulled her legs up, her lower body lifting off the surface of the bed as he gripped her desperately and threw himself with reckless abandon into her, growls and pants punctuating each slap of skin against skin, the sheets soaked through with sweat and arousal.

Liam’s vision began to go white, yet he didn’t stop thrusting. He was determined to spend as much time as he could giving her as much pleasure as he could, even if the delay to his release was maddening. Finally, it became too much, dropping her back to the mattress, her body bouncing with a giggle as he took himself in hand. His hand worked back and forth in rough, messy strokes, Skylar leaning back on her elbows with her cleavage pressed together in front of him, eagerly awaiting his release. He came with a shout, ropes of his spend painting her body like a canvas. Her stomach was thoroughly marked, his cum floating in the crook of her cleavage, the feeling of his release covering her body enough to send her shuddering over the edge, teeth digging into her lip as she fell back, shaking on top of the sheets.

Liam collapsed next to her, hand seeking out hers as they both breathed heavily, coming down from the most intense climax of the morning. He looked to his side, the sight of her painted with his seed almost enough to harden him again, but they’d already been at it all morning.

Even shifters don’t have limitless stamina.

Liam stood, walking to the bathroom and wetting a cloth before coming back, sitting on the edge of the bed next to his wife. “May I?” He said, bringing the cloth forward at her nod. He cleaned her off, enough attention paid between her legs to be clearly teasing before he moved on to the rest of her body. She giggled and squirmed under the attention but was struck by the amount of love she saw in his eyes when he looked at her. “You know, if you think I’m getting bored with the sex, you don’t have to...”

Skylar placed a finger across his lips, silencing him. “It’s not like that Liam. I just wanted to try something different, that’s all.” She tilted her head, suddenly unsure. “Is that alright?”

He squeezed her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. “It’s more than alright Sky. I just wanted to make sure.” He chuckled, “I’m not sure how much more I’ll be able to take, you just might be the death of me at this rate.”

She smirked. “I’m sure there’re worse ways that you could go out.”

“No doubt.” He scoffed, “I’m sure Cayden thought of a few before our truce.”

“You’ve been mentioning him constantly this last week.” She rolled her eyes, laughing to herself, “Just admit that you two are friends already!”

“I’ll do nothing of the sort. You’ll have to pry the words out of me, and I’m not going to break easily.”

She slinked up to his side, winding her arms around his neck and leaning in, biting the tip of his ear. “What if I didn’t have sex with you until you admitted it?”

“That...” He paused, sighing deeply, “Would probably work. Please don’t do that.”

She laughed, the shaking of her body against his warming his heart. “Fine, fine. That would honestly be just as much a punishment to me. And it is pretty funny seeing you two dance around it.”

“Yeah, laugh it up.” He kissed her cheek, a hand stroking along her stomach as he looked into her eyes tenderly. “We’re going to meet them soon, can you believe it?”

Skylar placed her hand over his, feeling the tiny movements of their child underneath. Her smile grew until it almost hurt, the prospect of finally seeing her child in the world giving her more joy than any other thought she had ever had in her life. Though she was still worried about just what she was, what her child could possibly be in turn, she was not allowing that to affect the way she thought of them. Her child could be human, her child could be supernatural, her child could be the devil themselves and it would not change the fact that she would love and nurture them until the end of her days.

The baby kicked, the two of them gasping in delight as they felt their child shifting and pushing against their hands. Skylar in particular feeling tears come to her eyes as the realization finally hit.

This is my child, they are almost here. A little part of me is going to go out into the world, and I’m going to watch it grow.

She felt a pulse, like she just touched a live wire and forgot to let go. A jolt ran through her body, starting at her toes and shooting up through to her fingers, the light next to their bed flickering slightly. Liam didn’t notice, his attention still focused solely on the child in his wife’s stomach.

She couldn’t tear her eyes away from it.

“So, what do you want to name them?”

Her head shot around, her reverie broken as Liam spoke, all grins and anticipation. She smiled lightly, willing her apprehension to take a back seat as she racked her brain for names. “Hmm...” She said, “If it’s a boy, how about Davis?”

“Davis huh?” He nodded slowly, turning it over in his head. “I like it, it seems really... Blues musician-y doesn’t it?”

She snorted, “Oh no, our child’ll sell their soul to the devil in exchange for a guitar!”

“Have you listened to some of those musicians?” He placed his chin on top of her head. “Definitely worth it I think.”

“For a girl...” Skylar pursed her lips, blowing out a breath. “What about Abigail?”

“Abigail?” He smiled, the name feeling just... Right. “It’s beautiful. I think it’s perfect Sky.”

“So, Davis and Abigail...” She giggled as another kick pushed its way against her hand. “Pretty soon we’re going to meet one of them. I can’t wait.”

She gasped suddenly, her stomach lurching as the baby kicked once more, but this time was different. Her vision went black for a second, her skin crawling as it kicked once again with more force than should have been possible for an infant. Liam looked around alarmed as the lights once more flickered on and off, seemingly in time with the kicks. The kicking finally stopped, Skylar clutching at her stomach and breathing out harshly as she recovered from the sudden wave of pain that washed over her. “Hey...” He took her in his arms, rubbing soothing circles into her back. “Are you alright? What was that?”

“I... I don’t know...” She shook her head, bringing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. “Actually... That’s not true. I think... I think that I might be something. Something... Dangerous and... And dark.”

“No.” He turned her head to meet his, his jaw set and his expression leaving no room for argument. “You listen to me ok? You are Skylar Moore, you are my wife. You managed to win over some cynical prick like me just by being your wonderful self, you’ve had a major hand in bringing three groups who’ve despised each other for millennia to have peace. Don’t you dare say that you are something dark, don’t insult yourself like that!”

“Then what is this? Why is everything happening like this, why... Why do I have the feeling like something horrible is going to happen?” She sniffed, her eyes swimming with tears. “Why can I not just be happy that I’m going to be a mother? Why... Why do I have to be so afraid?”

“You don’t have to be.” Liam pulled her back against him, the two of them laying down on the sheets as he wound his arm around her. He pressed himself against her, her back slotting perfectly against his chest as he squeezed around her, making sure that she could feel every inch of his body pressed against her. “Do you feel this? I’m here for you Skylar. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, not now, not ever. However this goes, whatever happens, you are my wife, you are the woman that I love with all of my heart. Don’t ever forget that.”

“Ok.” Skylar let her head fall back, his chin resting in the crook of her neck as she shuddered out a breath. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. Don’t ever apologize. You’re in a position that no one should ever have to be in, and yet you still remain the love filled woman you always have been.” Liam feathered kisses against her skin, pouring as much of himself into each one as he could. “You’re a truly incredible woman, you deserve to have the chance to let it all go.”

“Does it change anything? How you feel about me, about our child.”

He didn’t even need a second to think about his response. “No goddamn way. You and this baby are my entire reason for living now, I live to protect the two of you, regardless of whatever it is you might be. Nothing is going to get in the way of that, I pity anything that tries.”

She sighed contently, finally feeling some of the tension leech out of her body as she relaxed against him. “That’s all I needed to hear.”

---

“Hayley!” Michael followed her through the room, where she had been sprinting around desperately trying to pick up whatever book, or charm, or whatever she could after learning about Skylar. “Hayley stop! What are you doing?”

She paid him no heed, frantically turning page after page as she looked for something, anything that she could do. Finally, after being ignored one too many times, Michael growled, grabbing Hayley by her shoulders and stopping her in her place. “Hayley! Goddammit calm down, what is wrong?”

Hayley shook her head, pointing over to the book, her hand shaking uncontrollably. “There... I... I think I know what Skylar is. Take a look for yourself.”

He followed her sight, the sight of the book planting trepidation on his face as he let go of her. “In there? What... What could it be that’s gotten you so shaken?”

“I’ve never seen anything like it before. I... I don’t think any of us have.” She walked over slowly, gathering the book up in her hands and gingerly turning back to the page that had alarmed her so. She flipped the book around, Michael’s eyes going wide as he looked at the diagram that Cassandra had drawn of the creature.

“Jesus... What the fuck is that?”

“It’s called an Enenra. They’re creatures of smoke and darkness, people can’t decide if they’re divine or if they’re demons. To be honest, I don’t think I know either.” She closed the book, placing it on the table behind her and putting her head in her hands. “It can’t be anything else Michael, it matches up with everything else I’ve seen, even Skylar would agree.”

“How can you be sure?” He ran his hands through his hair. “How... There’s got to be another explanation!”

“This is it Michael! This is what she is!” Her voice was muffled, her hand covering her mouth in horror. “You didn’t see the... The smoke. That shit crawling out of her body... I felt it Michael. She is something else, something powerful, and I don’t know what to do.”

Michael walked over to her, taking her in his arms and pressing her head into his chest. “Hey... Hey it’s alright, you don’t have to fix everything yourself. We’re all here for Skylar, just like we’re all here for you.”

She burrowed her head into him deeper, desperate for as much contact as she could get. She breathed deeply, his scent grounding her in the moment, a heady scent of grass and the forest that was instantly calming. Hayley exhaled slowly, “I’m sorry, I know that you want to help it’s just... She’s my best friend Michael. How can I not worry like this?”

“I’m not saying don’t worry, god knows I’m close to freaking out over this. She’s the sister I always wanted Hayley, and you know how much family means to me.” He smiled, the expression a little melancholic as he tightened his arms around her. “The thought of losing her, to some two-bit mobster or to... To herself...” He shook his head vehemently. “I can’t bear the thought of it.”

“I swear Michael, I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure that she is alright. I just... What can I do? The only person who’s even seen one of these is Cassandra, and even then I don’t know for sure if she’s actually seen one or if this was just theoretical!” Hayley swept an arm around the room, books fluttering on the shelves from a slight breeze. “I could look through every book in this room, hell, every book in the coven, and I doubt I’d find a single thing that could help us. The baby is going to be born soon anyway, so any help we could find here would be far too late.”

Michael stepped out of their embrace, taking a seat on the other side of the room as he tried to think of some course of action, some way that they could get assistance. “What about Cassandra? She seems like the obvious choice don’t you think?”

Hayley shook her head sadly. “We can’t afford the time to make the trip, with the rate it’s been growing Sky’s baby is due any day now. If it wasn’t for that we’d be leaving right this moment.”

“What about that thing she gave us, that stick? Can’t we summon her here, get her to answer some questions?”

Again, she shook her head. “That’s not what it’s to be used for. Her giving us that summoner... That’s an extreme mark of trust, not something to be taken lightly. It’s to be used in a matter of life and death, when there is no other option available. She seems like she’s getting used to us, maybe even starting to like us, but if we used that to summon her to answer some questions? That would be profoundly insulting, and I don’t want to anger her on top of everything else that’s happening.”

Michael swore quietly to himself, though he was willing to concede the point. He considered himself to be relatively easy going, but even he knew he would be insulted by being summoned at someone’s beck and call to indulge their curiosity. And besides, even though they were growing fond of each other that didn’t mean that his fear of the witch had disappeared. He still remembered the look of cold anger disguised as aloofness she’d shown him when he got too nosy in her house. If possible, he would very happily not see that expression ever again, whether it be directed at him or his friends.

“Well what can we do then? If we can’t go to her, and if she can’t come to us...” He sighed, “We’re fucked, aren’t we?”

“It looks like that but... There has to be something that we can do, doesn’t there?” Hayley shuffled back onto the table, drawing her leg up and placing her chin on her knee. “We can’t be completely helpless here.”

“Maybe all we can do is be there for her, make sure that she doesn’t feel like some kind of... Freak of nature or whatever. Maybe all she needs is to not feel alone right now.”

“Maybe... Maybe.” She nodded slowly, staring of into the distance.

“Still though, I almost can’t believe it.” She looked back over at Michael, who shrugged. “This... Enenra thing, it’s made up of smoke and darkness, right? I think of that and I think of some kind of big scary demon thing, not Skylar. Skylar is like light itself almost, there’s nothing about her that looks dark at all.”

Hayley looked down at her hands, seeing how soft the skin remained in spite of how much power was hidden within. “Michael... Do I have the hands of a killer?”

He looked over at her, confused at the change in topic. “What?”

“My hands, do they look stained with blood? Scarred beyond recognition?” She held her hand out to him, showing off the flawless skin. “Does it look like I have the hands of someone who’s killed dozens of people before with a flick of my wrist?”

“No, your hands look like you’ve never done a day of work in your life.” He looked down at his own, faint white lines crisscrossing along the toughened skin. “Your hands don’t look like mine.”

“Just because something looks one way, doesn’t mean that it is that way.” She sat down next to him, running her finger along one prominent scar that stretched over the back of his hand and traveled up his forearm. “She could have some darkness within her, and none of us would know until it was too late, maybe not even her. She’s a lot stronger than she looks, but for all we know this could amplify that feeling until she lost control.”

“But... Where did this come from? How is something like this even created?”

“The book said that people think that there are two different ways that they come into being, the first is that some are just... Born, like normal creatures are. The other is...” She trailed off, hoping that the second way wasn’t the correct one.

“Hayley? Hayley what’s the second way they’re created?”

She shuddered out a breath, pushing her words out in one breath. “The other way happens when someone dies, then they turn. I don’t think it’s that, since we looked over her history as well but... We can’t rule it out.”

“Jesus...” Michael covered his own face, Hayley’s arms winding around his neck. “What can we do for her? If this is actually dangerous... What can we do?”

“I want to trust her, I really do... But something like this is dangerous if you don’t know how to control it, and she didn’t even know supernatural beings were real a year ago.” She sighed, already regretting making this decision. “I think, if we’re going to be able to protect her as well as ourselves... I think we need to assume the worst.”