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Nova drove in front with the girls and I followed with Wynter and Milo. We kept up a steady pace and stopped twice, once for gas and once to eat. We reached Aurora by nine pm and I overtook Nova as she followed me to the house.

The front door opened and I saw Rev as I parked the car and climbed out. “It’s good to see you Ryder,” he said as he slapped me on the back as we hugged.

“I want to know everything you know,” I said as the kids climbed out.

“Hi, I’m Nova,” Nova introduced herself and shook hands with Rev.

“Rev,” he grunted out and looked at my family.

“Ryder?” I turned and looked at Hannah as she came down the steps.

“I’m so sorry Hannah,” I said as she hugged me tightly and I felt her tears against my neck.

“Look at them all so grown up,” Hannah said once she had released me. “Come inside, let me show you where you’ll be sleeping.”

“There’s a folder on Chase’s desk,” Rev said as I threw the keys to Wynter to unload the bags.

I left Nova and the kids with Hannah and followed Rev up the stairs to Chase’s office. Nothing much had changed since it had belonged to Lucas and I felt the pain rising as tears welled up in my eyes. I wiped a stray tear away and I could see Rev was battling them too.

“I know you’re the natural successor but honestly Ryder, what do you know about being a Sire?” Rev asked me.

“More than you think Rev,” I said and opened the folder.

Rev had done a lot in the fourteen hours it had taken to reach Aurora. He had already filed the paperwork to have their bodies released by the coroner to their lair owned funeral home. There were pictures of their bodies, notes that he coroner had made. He had printed out the emails between this other Sire and Lucas, the threats and I read through them carefully.

“I’ve called in extra security around the house,” Rev said.

“Let them go home, they won’t come tonight,” I said.

“What are you planning on doing?” he asked me.

“Tomorrow I’ll go see this motherfucker,” I said and held up the email.

“Ryder …”

“You don’t know me Rev, you haven’t seen me in years. This is the last time I’m going to say this, stay out of my way, I know exactly what I’m doing,” I said and stood up as my eyes flashed yellow and Rev looked down out of sheer force from my aura.

“Yes Sire,” Rev said and I sat down again.

“Don’t call me Sire Rev, you put me on this path when I was seventeen. I know you don’t remember it, but I’m not the person you think I am,” I said.

I spent two more hours in that office, sitting and staring before I finally stood up. Hannah had put us in Chase’s room. She had cleared out all of their things and the sadness overtook me. I cried in the shower for the loss of my twin, my mother and mostly for Lucas, my father.

I climbed into bed, relieved that Hannah had changed the sheets and slept until the sun rose. I left Nova to sleep in and headed downstairs after I’d gotten dressed. I could smell coffee and I heard Shae giggle in the living room.

“What are you then?” Rev asked her.

“I’m a half breed,” Shae said proudly.

“Never heard of a half breed before,” he said and I stepped into the room.

“She’s the prettiest half breed there is,” I said as Rev looked up where he was busy braiding her hair.

“Morning Daddy,” she said with a bright smile.

“Si .. Ryder,” Rev said.

“Go wake your brothers and sisters for breakfast,” I said as Shae jumped off Rev’s lap and hugged my legs tightly before thundering up the stairs, yelling their names loudly.

“I’ve never heard of a child merging so young,” Rev said.

“Wynter was five when he merged, Shae beat him by a few days,” I said with a smile.

“Sire Robert McDaniel is staying at the Bayview Hotel just outside our borders,” Rev said.

“Thank you Rev, I’ll go pay him a visit after breakfast,” I said.

After breakfast, Wynter and Milo went with Rev for a training session while Hannah stayed back with Nova and the girls. I left the house shortly after that and headed to the border where the Bayview Hotel was located.

I saw him as he exited the hotel with three men and I followed their car to a nearby restaurant. I had instinctively known that he was the man I was looking for. I walked into the restaurant and sat down opposite him as the three men stood up from a nearby table.

“Please, like I’d make a scene in public,” I said and he nodded at the men to sit down again.

“And you are?” he asked me as he took a sip from the coffee cup in front of him.

“I’m Ryder Grey, the son you threatened my father with. Aurora will never be yours, take your men and leave because the next time I see you, I will kill all of you,” I said.

“The second son of a great Sire, a Sire that fell so easily, as easily as his first born did. What makes you think that you can threaten me?” he asked.

“Let’s make this easy, you know where to find me, come with everything you’ve got because I am going to kill every last one of you,” I said with a smile as my eyes flashed yellow and stood up.

“Good talk Robert, I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other again.” I turned around and walked out of the restaurant.

I didn’t look at him again as I drove away from the restaurant and headed home. Wynter had a blue eye and a split lip when I walked outside. Milo held his broken arm in his other hand and blood spilled from his broken nose.

“I see training went well,” I said.

“They’re good Ryder, you train them?” Rev asked me.

“Since they were ten,” I said.

“Go get cleaned up and grab some lunch,” Rev said to them.

“Geez Dad, Rev’s an animal,” Wynter said and Milo laughed.

“You go see your friend?” Rev asked.

“Yeah, they’ll be coming for me soon,” I said with a smile.

“I’ll double the warriors on the outside perimeter,” Rev said.

“No need. You can arrange a safe house for the women and pull all the warriors off the house,” I said.

“That’s madness,” he said.

“Rev, none of our people are dying tonight,” I said.

“We have some good warriors Ryder, trained them myself,” he said.

“I’ll be fine,” I said. Abeloth’s bloodlust was pumping through my veins. I knew without a doubt that Robert McDaniel would die tonight.

The day passed swiftly and both Milo and Wynter had been arguing with me about leaving the house. Hannah had taken Nova and the three girls with her to the Drake. All of our warriors were there and our enemies would have to fight through all of them just to realize they weren’t there.

From the Drake there was a tunnel that led to the next building and from there they’d go to another safe house located just on the border of Aurora. I wasn’t going to put them in jeopardy because tonight the real hunter in me would emerge.

Rev had remained at the house with me and I’d switched the electricity off. Rev was on the second floor and I was in the foyer, sticking to the shadows, dressed in black with my weapons strapped to me. I felt comfortable, like I’d been fighting my whole life. The weight of the guns felt like home as did the knives strapped to my arms.

“Here we go,” Abeloth murmured as the front door creaked open and five men slipped past me. They were whispering and I could see the yellow glow of their eyes. I came up behind the last man and broke his neck as I kept him standing upright.

“I can smell him, he’s here,” one man said.

I was behind them now, and I ejected the two knives from the wristbands and stuck both knives into the next man’s neck. Another man turned around and raised his gun as the knife went into his throat as well.

“He’s here!” another man screamed as he started shooting. I landed on the floor on my back with my gun out and I shot him four times in the chest. I heard the strangled cry of another man as Rev stepped from the shadows and stuck his hand out to help me up.

“We need to go,” I said.

“He’ll be looking for them,” Rev agreed and we ran out of the front door and into Rev’s car.

I heard Shae’s scream and I was out of the car the moment Rev stopped. We had skipped the Drake and driven straight for the safehouse. I had both guns in my hands and I shot at the men as I walked up to them.

Three men were outside, now dead and Robert walked out of the front door, holding a gun to Nova’s head. Two men followed him as they aimed their guns at the five children and Hannah. Wynter and Milo stood in front of the women and pride surged through me.

“So easy to find loved ones,” Robert said.

“Nova, close your eyes,” I said to her and she closed them as I nodded at my sons.

I saw it happening in slow motion as the bullet from my gun tore through Robert’s forehead, snapping his head back into the cloud of blood that erupted. Nova screamed as Echo separated from Wynter and bit the first man’s arm off and swallowed it whole.

Milo was behind the second man as he lifted his arm and he ripped his heart out from the back. His eyes were pitch black and his fangs protruded from his lips as he let the heart fall to the ground. Wynter was in front of the first man as he screamed and blood spurted from his severed arm. He looked the man in the eye and snapped his neck, cold as ice.

“Chusikins gross!” Shae yelled as her dragon emerged and started eating the first man’s face.

Echo followed her lead and in three bites the second man had been devoured. “Fuck sakes,” Rev said as we watched the dragons feast. Scylla had joined in too and Abeloth made gagging sounds in my head.

“You okay?” I asked Nova as she opened her eyes when I placed my arms around her.

“I was so scared,” she said and I could her heart thumping in her chest.

“I’m sorry, I never thought he’d find you,” I said.

“The man that was with us, Granger or something, he let them in,” she said.

“He’s fucking dead,” Rev said as he pulled his phone out, holding Hannah’s hand.

“Bastards,” Hannah said as Rev hugged her tightly.

“We need to go clean up at the house,” Rev said and I smiled.