Andrew’s head felt like it had been split open with an ax, dots swimming behind his closed eyelids as he slowly regained consciousness. He blinked blearily, groaning in pain as the light flooded his vision and made him screw his eyes shut once more. His mouth tasted like iron, the telltale taste of blood overpowering, only getting a modicum better once he spat out a thick glob onto the ground.

With his head swimming, he went to run a hand down his face, but when he started to move his arm he found that he couldn’t raise it at all. An inspection through blurred vision was all he needed to see that he had been tied down, half a roll of duct tape on each arm keeping him securely in the seat.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try though.

Andrew shook in the chair, rocking back and forth as he tried to get some form of momentum, or even to damage the chair itself, but it was no use. The tape on his arms was too thick for him to deform, and the legs of the chair, made out of steel rather than wood, were bolted directly into the concrete floor. He groaned in frustration, the noise quickly turning into a growl when he remembered why he was there.

“I swear to god, if he hurts Skylar...”

The sound of the door opening drew him from his thoughts, especially once it was accompanied by a mocking strain of laughter. He raised his head slowly, grimacing when he saw who his guest was.

Sarconi clapped mockingly, delighting in seeing someone tied down in front of him, helpless to whatever it was he decided he wanted to do. It felt... Familiar.

If only Grayson was there.

“So, Andrew, you’re finally awake. Bout time too, we were getting worried for a second there.”

Andrew groaned, spitting onto the ground once more. “Who is we? Another one of your friends? I’d rather not honestly.”

Sarconi stepped over, grabbing a fistful of his hear and tearing his head back, sneering into his face. “Don’t be like that Andrew. I think that you two will get along pretty well. Well, better than us at least.” He dropped his head, wiping his bloodied hand off on Andrew’s shirt. “Really, I can’t wait for you two to meet. He’s been helping me out quite a bit, we only met very recently but... I feel like this is a partnership built to last. I think we might be kindred spirits.”

“Oh, you speak to highly of me, I’m just a lowly hunter, nothing to be in such a fuss over.” Andrew looked at the man who had just entered, head tilting at the display. He was dressed almost as a priest, though the gun on his hip obviously crossed out any affiliation with the church. Well, any normal church at least. After the last few months, Andrew was willing to believe in the strange.

“Who the fuck...” His words were cut off as a fist connected with his cheek, Sarconi almost moaning as he shook his hand out.

“My god I missed that.”

The other man placed a hand on Sarconi’s shoulder, giving him a pointed look. “Please, you can wait until I’m finished before you start.” Sarconi chuckled, but he acquiesced, stepping back and leaning against the wall. “Now that that’s done, I believe you were asking me a question?”

Andrew spat blood at his feet, cracking his jaw from side to side. “Yeah, I was asking who the fuck you were.”

He brushed a hand down his chest, cleaning off whatever imaginary dust he thought he had collected. “Of course, how rude of me.” He held his hand out, smirking when Andrew looked at it in irritation. “My name’s Christian, I’m a hunter.”

“Christian?” Andrew raised an eyebrow, looking over his outfit. “Don’t you think that’s a little on the nose?”

Christian rolled his eyes. “Of course, I haven’t heard that one before.”

“Well no offense but maybe you should change out of that get up. It’s not like you’ve been sewn into those clothes.”

“You know, you might want to watch the way you speak to me. I’m not itching to see you bloody but I’m not exactly going to stop Leonard here if he wants to continue.”

Andrew laughed, “Leonard? Your fuckin’ name is Leonard?”

“Leonardo.” Sarconi looked over at Christian. “I thought I explained that.”

He shrugged. “Guess I forgot, sorry about that.”

“Look, if you two idiots are done are we finished here?” Andrew shifted in his seat, tensing his shoulders and shaking. “If you’re gonna kill me just go ahead and get it over with, I’m sick of fuckin’ waiting!”

Sarconi stepped over, his brow raised in surprise. “I’ve had a lot of people in this chair, but you might be the first to actually be willing to die. I know your life is pathetic but is it really that bad?”

Andrew chuckled, before it turned into a full-on barking laugh, “Are you kidding? I’m in debt to seven loan sharks in New York alone, five in Miami. If there isn’t already a contract on me from all of them by now there will be soon, so tell me, what the fuck do you think you can do to me that they can’t? You think I’m going to be extra scared of you because I owed a shit ton to your dumb shit kid? News flash asshole, he wasn’t special, he just came after his money.”

Sarconi smiled as his tirade finished, momentarily impressed that Andrew had that in him. “Most people are too scared to talk back to me, they’re worried what I’m going to do to them.”

“Yeah well you lost a lot of your mystique when you came back into town alone, cock sucker.” He punctuated his insult by spitting a mouthful of blood at him, splattering the leg of Sarconi’s pants. For one of the first times he’d been in this room, Sarconi was genuinely speechless, only managing a shocked grin in response. “Well now, you do have balls.” He slammed his fist into Andrew’s nose, an audible crack sounding out through the room as his head shot back. Sarconi didn’t let up, raining blows down on his cheeks and into his stomach, pummeling him until the skin started going purple.

Christian stepped away, taking care not to put his foot in any of the blood. “I think I’ll leave you two to it, enjoy yourselves.” He shut the door behind him, the sound of fist hitting skin still echoing clearly.

---

“Who owns you?” Farah panted as she fell back down on Cayden, her hips vibrating with each meeting of their bodies. “Who do you belong to?”

Cayden groaned, halfheartedly struggling against her grip, her hands keeping his wrists pinned firmly to the bed. “God, fuck... You...”

She slammed her hips down extra hard, drawing a surprised yelp out of him. “I didn’t hear you Cayden. Who owns you?” She ground herself against him, her wetness spreading across his stomach where it touched.

He threw his head back, a throaty growl tearing out of his throat. “You. You own me. I belong to you.”

“That’s right...” She leaned down, almost purring in his ear, “And you’re not going to do anything I don’t tell you to do first, are you?”

“God no, I wouldn’t dream of it!” He didn’t move as she took her hands away, waiting for her to give the command.

She smirked, enjoying the sense of control. “You may touch me now Cayden, but only my chest.”

Cayden obeyed instantly, hands shooting to her chest and grasping at the silky softness of her cleavage. His fingers were almost swallowed up, the pliable flesh of her heaving bosom molding deliciously to his hand, her nipples pebbling as he flicked his thumbs over them.

“That’s right...” She moaned, “That’s good. Just like that...” She felt herself edging closer to the end, but she had to make sure she was clear first. “You are not to cum until I tell you to, understand?”

Cayden nodded, making a face that looked like he was in pain, but he was going to obey anyway. That was just how the commands worked, he couldn’t disobey them. Though the prospect of whatever penalty she could think of was enticing, he didn’t want to raise her ire if he could help it. So, if she said he couldn’t touch her, he wouldn’t touch her. If she said he couldn’t cum until she said he could, he wouldn’t, even if it felt like he was tearing his leg off in doing so.

Farah tightened around him, his eyes screwing shut as he desperately tried to ignore the way she pulsed and moaned above him, her voice pitched high as she let out a seemingly never-ending series of curses and praises. Hoping she would forgive him, he took one hand off of her chest, shooting down and clamping around the base of his shaft, a second away from releasing inside of her. His vision swam as he fought as hard as he could to come down from the edge, breathing a relieved sigh when it started to fade away.

Farah watched all of this with great amusement, though she would still have to think of a penalty for him to fulfill. She sighed longingly, watching the way his expression pinched when she pulled off of him, her body still having a tight hold upon his own. She situated herself between his legs, his eyebrows shooting up as he saw her in his favorite spot of all.

No words were exchanged as she took him in hand, tongue flicking out to lick at his head, the taste of herself coating him driving her mad. She surged forward, capturing him in her mouth and working herself back and forth, not giving him any time to prepare. He struggled to keep his hands by his side, which she noticed with a smirk. Pulling back with a pop, she said, “You’ve been a good boy today I think, you can put your hands on my head.”

He took the gift he was given, his hands placed on the back of her head as she pushed herself back on him, his length resting comfortably in the back of her throat. Her tongue worked its way over him, every inch of him lovingly tended to as she guided him towards his release. Farah’s hand cupped his sac, massaging the two tender globes contained within as she almost devoured him whole, desperate to swallow what he could give her.

Cayden met her halfway, his fingers tightening in her hair as he pulled and pushed her against his crotch. He thrust shallowly into her throat at the same time, the movement making her gag in surprise before she adapted, making sure to note this for later. He was a sweating, babbling mess, desperate for more but forced to stop from going too far each time, something she gladly took advantage of. Farah took his entire length into her mouth, her tongue flicking out to toy with his globes as he held her down.

After a minute, he could tell that he was going to lose control, begging Farah to tell him he could. “Please... Please I... I need to...”

She worked her hand up and down his shaft, positioning herself in front of him before looking at him with hooded eyes. “Cum.”

He erupted, his seed rocketing to the back of her throat as he screamed in pleasure. Her mouth was near overflowing, a few drops streaming down through the corner of her lips as she tilted her head back, a heavy gulp signaling that she had swallowed his entire volume down. He was still twitching in her hand, his legs shaking around her as he came down from his high, his vision all but blacked out in pleasure.

When he regained control of himself he looked down, her head resting on her arms as she leaned on his leg. He smiled in a daze, reaching out a hand and pulling her up towards him. He captured her lips with his, softly moaning as she climbed onto his torso at the same time. She pushed her tongue through his lips, tasting every inch of his mouth as she began to grind against him, Cayden chuckling in response.

“Again?” When she nodded, he laughed, “You’re insatiable.”

He placed his hands underneath the swell of her behind, pulling her upwards until she was kneeling directly over his face. She let herself slip lower, her lower lips pressing against his as he nuzzled his mouth into her, hands kneading at her backside. She rubbed herself against him, moaning at each small squeezed and lick that he visited upon her body. Her taste was sweet, like liquid honey on his tongue, Cayden frantically lapping up every drop that he could coax out of her.

He teased his fingers around, kneading and pulling her cheeks apart, her moans increasing in pitch as he teased her back entrance. “Huh... That’s interesting.” He thought, “I’ll remember that.”

He pushed the tip of his finger in, and the effect was immediate. Her legs squeezed around his head, her upper body jolting forward and her hands shooting out to keep herself from falling over. She let out a guttural groan, her entrances tightening around his tongue and finger as she began to shake. She pushed herself backwards against his finger, grinding herself against his face as she fell into the throes of climax. He pushed in deeper, her mouth widening in a wordless cry as she all but shattered, body shuddering violently as he guided her through it, finally collapsing on top of him.

“Mmm... Mmmm!” Cayden tapped her leg, taking a deep breath when she raised it off of him. “That was... That was pretty incredible Farah.”

When she looked down at him, he had to force himself not to laugh when he saw her face was completely red. “Wait... This isn’t because I-“

She clamped a hand over his mouth, looking at him seriously. “We will not discuss that right now. Maybe later, but right now you won’t mention anything regarding fingers or my behind, understood?”

He nodded, giving a muffled, “Yes Ma’am.” Before she let go, immediately pressing her lips to his.

“Thank you for that though, it was... Enlightening.”

“Oh, my pleasure, believe me.” He smirked, chasing her lips down for another kiss. “Just let me know if you want me to do it again.”

“I will...” She nipped at his nose. “But first I have to think up a penalty for you. You did break the rules after all, what do you have to say to that?”

Cayden looked down, blushing furiously. “I’m sorry Ma’am, I’ll take the penalty.”

“It won’t be too bad.” She grinned, her voice but a whisper, “Or maybe it will be. I’ll see what I decide on.”

Their banter was interrupted when Farah’s phone began to ring, the woman groaning loudly and leaning over to it, her hand slick with sweat as she struggled to answer. “Hello? This is Farah.”

“Farah, hey it’s Hayley.” Though Farah wanted to smile at the sound of her friend’s voice, she could tell within seconds that Hayley was obviously distressed by something.

“Hayley? Is something wrong?”

Her reply was shaky, “Yes, I’m fine but... It’s about Skylar. I’ve worked out what kind of supernatural she is.”

If Farah’s attention hadn’t been securely grabbed before, it certainly was now. She sat up, expression set and her voice serious as she said, “What did you find out? Is it dangerous?”

“We don’t know, Michael and I... We think we might have a plan to be able to help her, to be able to help all of us, but we don’t know for sure. Just in case things go south... We need your help, maybe you can help us think of something better.”

She nodded to herself. “Of course I’ll help, you don’t even have to ask Hayley, you know that.”

Hayley let out a breath of relief, her thankfulness plain in her voice, “Thank you Farah. We’re going to be meeting at Liam and Skylar’s house in the next hour, do you think that you can meet us there?”

Farah looked down at her and Cayden’s bodies, the two of them slick with sweat and sex, not in any shape to go anywhere without at least a shower. “I think we might be able to make it there in the next hour, we might be a bit late though.”

“That’s fine just... Whenever you can make it is good. And Farah? Really, thank you.” The line closed, Farah looking at her phone as she tried to think of what could possibly be happening with Skylar that had Hayley so shaken. Her worry must have been showing through, Cayden placing his hand on her leg and squeezing lightly.

“Hey, you ok? What happened with Hayley?” She looked into his eyes, so wide with care that she almost felt like crying.

“She’s fine. I have to go.”

When she stood he grabbed her wrist, holding her back. “Woah, wait up a minute! What’s going on? Why just you?”

“Because you’re still healing, with the amount of sex we’ve had I’m shocked your stitches haven’t torn open, so I don’t fully trust you with walking.”

“Oh, come on, I’m not that useless! I just need some help getting around but... but I can walk, that’ll be fine!” He screwed his brow up. “What’s got you so rattled? Usually you can’t wait to take me somewhere.”

“Well this is different! This isn’t... This isn’t about fun, this affects someone I care a lot for.”

“Someone you care f-“ His eyes widened in horrified realization. “Skylar. What’s wrong with Skylar?”

“Cayden I...”

“What’s wrong with her?”

Farah sighed, leaning forward. “Hayley thinks that she’s figured out what Skylar actually is, which I’m guessing means that she’s found out what the baby is going to be. She... She sounded worried. Really worried.”

“I’m coming.” Cayden shook his head when she made to protest. “No, I can’t stay here, not knowing this. Skylar is my friend, I care about her as well. I’m all but fucking useless right now but I can at least be there for her when she needs support.”

Farah sighed to herself, he was right, she would need as much support as she could get. Especially if she was about to learn what she and her child actually were, that would be a great emotional strain for even the strongest of people. At the same time... She would be lying if she said that one of her first thoughts was about how concerned Cayden still was about Skylar. She tamped down on that line of thought immediately, shaking her head for being so selfish as to even think of something like that, much less having it influence her decision making. As such, her answer was made as much out of concern for her friends as it was spite at herself. “Fine, you can come. But you have to keep up, I’ll drag you to the car if I have to.”

“I don’t doubt it.” He couldn’t help that his gaze tracked over her strong biceps, corded muscle stretching and pulling as she moved. “So, should we get moving then?”

She raised an eyebrow in amusement. “You don’t want to have a shower first? Wash at least some of the smell off of you?”

“How soon till they get there? An hour? Two?”

She nodded. “They’ll be there within the hour.”

“Can’t afford to then, with the way I’m moving we’ll barely be able to get there on time as is.” His expression was completely serious, leaving no room for argument. “And we need to be there on time.”

She was going to protest, but the thought of Hayley and Michael having to deliver the news alone... That was not a pleasant one. She sighed, he was right, they did need to get moving as soon as possible. Besides, it wasn’t like they reeked of sex, it was just... noticeable if you were within a few feet.

“Alright, fine.” She stood, holding her hand out and pulling him to his feet. She bent down, picking up his pants and tossing them over to him. “I assume you don’t need me to shove you into those.”

He chuckled, “No, I just need your help getting out of them.” He finished zipping himself up as she tossed his shirt over, already fully dressed herself.

“At least wash your hands before we go, we can afford to do that much.” She stepped into the bathroom, the thought of what the both of them had been doing only minutes before compelling him to follow.

“You know what? You make a really good point there.”

---

Hayley and Michael stood at the entrance to the Conway residence, opting no to drive through the gate just in case it got Liam and Skylar’s attention. The two of them were very anxious, neither of them particularly looking forward to delivering the news, nor were they happy about the plan they had for her safety. Hayley tried to push those thoughts to the back of her mind however, knowing that she would rather have Skylar be a little unhappy rather than in danger. If she had to she would choose that option every time.

Michael however was having a harder time with it, he’d come to accept Skylar as family after all. Considering how screwed up their family had been before, he was grateful to her for bringing some stability and genuine love into their house. After the loss of her husband and one of her sons, god knows that Leah deserved someone that she could dote on, much as she would deny doing so.

To have to deliver news like this to someone you cared about... Well, there were far worse things that you could be telling someone. But this was also far from the best.

Hayley squeezed his arm, seeing how miserable he was making himself. “Hey, we’re going to be fine. She’s strong, she’ll be able to take it.”

“I know, I... I know.” He sighed, “It’s just, she deserves so much more than this.”

“She does. But we never get what we deserve do we? Whatever it is that happens to be.”

Michael shrugged. “I dunno, those guys last week sure got it.”

“But not all of them, not the one that mattered.” Hayley kicked a rock by her feet, watching it skip off the gravel. “He gets to walk away scot free, while Liam and Sky have to deal with their house being blown up and her child being in danger. It just isn’t fair.”

They both looked up as Farah and Cayden pulled in, their faces clearly fearful of what they would learn. Hayley could sympathize.

“Hey you two!” Cayden waved over at them, getting out of the car with Farah’s help. “Sorry we’re a little late, it took longer than I thought to get around.”

Michael waved him off. “Don’t worry about it man, you’re still hurt. You didn’t even have to come if you weren’t able to.”

“No, I had to.” He patted Michael’s back, drawing him in for a hug. “You know why.”

Michael was too surprised at the contact to hug back, instead looking over at Farah with wide eyes. “Uh, what is he doing?”

Farah rolled her eyes at the display, walking over to them. “His stitches were killing him, so he took a bunch of his painkillers. He’s a little high right now honestly.”

“Oh.” Michael awkwardly hugged back, patting Cayden’s back. “It’ll be alright, we’ll get this sorted out.” He sniffed, his nose screwing up and leaning away from the man clutching onto him. “Jesus, you two smell like fucking.”

Farah pulled Cayden off, looking into his eyes. “Are you alright? Are you going to be fine in there?”

He nodded. “I got it out now, I’m gonna be ok. Don’t worry about me.” He squeezed her hand, kissing her palm as he started to walk to the door. “Should we go in? Or did you need to talk anymore out here?”

“No, we should get in there. The faster we do this the better honestly.” Hayley sighed, slapping her cheeks as she psyched herself up to go in. “This is going to be hard, but it’s alright. It’s for the best.”

They walked up as a group to the front door, knocking twice and waiting for an answer. A few seconds later the door clicked unlocked, pulling open to reveal a very pleasantly surprised Skylar.

“Hey guys! It’s so nice to see you, how are you?”

Hayley pulled her in for a hug, resting her head on her shoulder. “We’re good Sky.” She breathed deeply. “God, it’s so good to see you.”

Skylar chuckled, hugging back eagerly. “It’s only been a few days, it’s not like we’ve been separated for years. But why are you all here? Is there something that I forgot about on today?”

Hayley shook her head. “No, nothing like that. We just... I need to tell you something. Something very important.”

“This sounds pretty serious.” Skylar’s face fell when she looked at everyone else, apprehension clear on their faces. “I suppose you’d better come inside then, I’m guessing that Liam’s going to want to hear it too.”

The group followed her into the house, walking through hallways filled with what photos they had salvaged from the explosion, each one depicting Skylar and Liam in some form of loving display, whether it be from their first holiday together or just relaxing outdoors one day. Hayley couldn’t help but notice that one of the frames had a crack along the middle, the glass splitting right over Skylar’s face. She wondered exactly what she was, the frame holding everything together? Or the crack steadily breaking everything apart?

They walked into the lounge, Liam sat on the couch and clearly not expecting any visitors today. He looked up in surprise, standing up to meet them as the four of them took their seats. “You four... What’s going on? Did something happen?”

They looked toward Hayley, who took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Michael and I figured out what Skylar is, we came to tell you.”

He and Skylar’s eyes went wide, the both of them exchanging a shocked look. “Well that’s... That’s great, isn’t it?”

She looked over at Michael, the two of them both regretful. “We also came to give you some advice on what to do, what we think you need to do.”

The couple took note of Hayley’s expression, Liam holding Skylar’s hand in her own as he guided her to sit down. “Alright,” He said, “What can you tell us?”

“I’ll say first that I think we should tell you what species you are later, or at the very least I should let Skylar know in private. As for the advice...” Hayley sighed to herself, walking over to Skylar and taking her hand. “Do you trust me?” She shook her head when Skylar made to answer. “No, really, truly think about it. Because this isn’t going to work if you don’t trust me one hundred percent.”

Skylar knew her answer hadn’t changed, but she made a show of considering it anyway, just to reassure Hayley. After a minute of thought, she nodded, squeezing down on her hand to make her conviction clear. “I’m sure Hayley, you saved me when we were attacked, and you’ve done so much more for me since then. I trust you with my life.”

Hayley took a deep breath, her hand reaching out to Michael for some added support. She didn’t want to say what she came here to say, but she could comfort herself in knowing that it needed to be said. “We need to keep you locked away from everyone, until the baby is born.”

Liam’s reaction was immediate, shooting to his feet and almost screaming, “What? That’s insane!”

“I know what it sounds like Liam, but it’s for safety! I wouldn’t be suggesting it otherwise!”

“Safety from what? If something happens, we can protect her! That’s my entire fucking job, to protect her!” He pointed viciously at her. “That’s yours too! So why the fuck are you trying to make her a prisoner?”

Michael held her back to prevent her from slapping him, which she had clearly been winding up to do. Farah and Cayden watched from the sidelines, desperately wanting to step in but neither knowing exactly how to do so. Everyone in the room was frozen by Hayley’s next words anyway.

“Goddammit Liam it’s not for her safety! It’s for everyone else’s!”

Skylar stood, her hand falling out of her stunned husbands. She walked slowly over to Hayley, her arm shaking as she reached out to her. “Hayley? W-What do you mean it’s for everyone else?”

Hayley shrugged out of Michael’s hold, taking hold of Skylar’s hands. “Skylar... What you are... What you are is very powerful. And someone with such power having no control over it is never a good thing. I just want to keep you hidden away from everyone while we try and figure out what we can do, so that you and everyone else is safe, do you understand?”

Skylar thought of the tendrils that had emerged from her body and disappeared just as quickly, of the fact that she should be dead, or at the very least badly hurt from a shard of glass flying through her, yet she didn’t have a scratch on her. She thought of what that could possibly mean, and what could emerge that she didn’t know about. In was inarguable what the correct answer was.

“Ok. Ok I’ll... I’ll go.”

Hayley took her arm, leading her down the hallway towards the guest bedroom. “Thank you. I’m...” She turned, looking at everyone else watching the two of them leave. “I’m sorry.”