Natasha had spent the last hour methodically looking over every Heir, checking for injuries and making sure they were all comfortable, furiously fussing as only a Sentire could.

Meanwhile, Sophia had borrowed a phone from someone in the pack to check in with Katya and let her know everyone was okay and that we’d be making our way towards Eve Valley tomorrow morning.

The pack had graciously offered to take us the rest of the way there, which Sophia quickly accepted considering we wouldn’t even be able to fit half the Heirs in the car we’d arrived in.

The other members of the pack had also gradually begun to relax around Natasha and Sophia, despite their healthy distrust of all things vampire.

I’d even heard one of the teen wolves ask her pack-mate whether all vampires were that beautiful, which I’ll be honest, I had considered asking myself more than once.

As far as I could tell, Natasha was still mad at me, although I might be wrong. It was hard to tell given she hadn’t left the Heirs’ side since we got here-

“No, you’re not wrong. She’s still mad!” Sophia called out to me across the camp, holding a hand over the phone.

The teen wolf from earlier startled at the sudden outburst from Sophia and looked around confused before turning to one of the older wolves, who stayed with the pack and quietly asked, “What was that all about?”

“Her kind can read emotions and even thoughts, although I thought that was an ability honed with great age, but she feels barely over a hundred.” The older wolf explained, looking around the camp. “To do something like that in a crowded space like this camp is an impressive feat.” His eyes sharpened, mentally reevaluating Sophia.

Upon hearing the first part, the teen wolf froze, an expression of horror slowly spreading across her face as she quietly stared at Sophia like a deer caught in headlights.

The spell was finally broken when Sophia let slip a small knowing smile towards the girl, who immediately blushed beet red before taking off at a sprint into the nearby woods, letting out embarrassed yelps as she shifted out of sight.

“Aaah, to be sixteen and a wolf. Not easy.” Lydia lamented sluggishly, leaning back in her chair with her injured leg raised, a mixture of painkillers and alcohol having kicked in.

“I guess not.” I replied with a laugh before telling a few shadows to follow the young wolf and make sure she didn’t run into any trouble or get lost.

“What are those things?” Lydia languidly waved at the quickly and subtly departing shadows.

“You see those?” I asked, impressed with her perceptiveness.

She squinted at the shadows near the woods. “Sometimes. There weren’t as many of them last time.”.

“I guess not, although these are different.”

She turned back to me. “Different how?”

I smiled. “They’re better behaved.”

Lydia’s eyes sharpened. “They gonna look out for her?”

“I wouldn’t have sent them otherwise.” I replied sincerely.

***

The following morning was chaotic, to say the least. The Heirs had calmed down and become more comfortable around the pack, which almost doubled the number of children at the pack’s breakfast table.

It seemed the Heirs enjoyed the freedom and independence the pack-kids had, many of them quickly becoming thick as thieves, as only children can, running around and getting into trouble.

I’d sent a couple of my shadow constructs down the pass we came up through to get our stuff from the car. Sophia had informed me the car itself would be taken care of by the cleanup crew already on their way here.

After breakfast, the pack quickly pulled down and packed away the various tents and equipment with practiced ease and we were back on the road within the hour, quickly shortening the last stretch of our journey.

Natasha had chosen to ride with the Heirs and quickly blocked me from coming along, citing I was too heavy, which I’ll be honest stung a bit. John overheard her and put a comforting hand on my shoulder, inviting me to ride along with him and his sister since Nala was going with Natasha to smooth over any interactions with the pack. And also since she’d built some trust with the heirs.

***

The rest of the drive to Eve Valley was ultimately uneventful for the small caravan of trucks and campers, although the occasional gas station stops were interesting, with almost thirty kids practically shooting out of their respective vehicles and charging the candy aisle.

I’d seen how Sentires act around their Heirs before, but for some reason I had never really pictured Natasha reacting in the same way. Which made the scene before me so much more bizarre.

“I’ve been told it’s like a switch that just gets flipped in your head,” Sophia said from beside me, matching my incredulous expression. “supposedly it can be quite overwhelming too, the younger they are. Katya told me that if there isn’t an elder or Matriarch present to keep order when an Heir is born, they can get quite paranoid and Cabin-fevery. Like chasing villagers out of nearby villages and making hundred mile exclusion zones. That sort of thing.”

I didn’t respond as my eyes were glued to the sexy, impish combat ready Sentire I knew…. Now herding and fussing around a group of Heirs, clearly using her superior physical abilities in front of other humans.

“Is… Is she gonna be okay?” I asked, a little worried.

“You kiddin’? This is the best day of her decade. I can barely stand next to her without my senses being assaulted with pure joy and dopamine.” Sophia’s expression softened as she looked at Natasha, almost hiss at the clerk who came over to ask if she needed anything. “Although seeing this does put my mind at ease about the future.”

***

After passing what felt like half a dozen checkpoints, Natasha and Sophia having to flash their credentials repeatedly, the caravan was allowed through.

I was honestly surprised at the sheer size of the city in the distance; it wasn’t metropolitan, but you wouldn’t have guessed it from the many highrises and apartment buildings stretching towards the sky, although none of them managed to peek over the truly massive cliff walls surrounding the valley on all sides, giving the feeling of being cut off from the rest of the world.

We were being guided by a local patrol car towards one of the fancier parts of town. The closer we got, the deeper John’s frown became, although Lydia absolutely beamed at the vibrant city full of life.

It was a mix of old architecture and new age style buildings giving the impression of an old touristy European city, like Amsterdam or Paris.

“We’ll put you up at a hotel all expenses covered, it’s the least we can do for what you’ve done for us.” Sophia told John

“That really isn’t necess-“ John began but was quickly interrupted by a sharp jab to his ribs and a glare from his sister.

“Thank you so much. We were happy to help.” Lydia said, taking over the conversation.

***

Natasha helped the last Heir into one of the several armored vehicles surrounded by a local Custodes team.

“A route has been cleared?” Natasha asked.

“Yes, Ma’am.” A commander near her replied crisply.

“Backups shared between all teams?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“Good… Also, if any of your teams see any… shadows acting strangely, disregard it.” At that, the Custodes commander froze and turned a questioning look at her.

“Are we expecting Circle or Coven interference, Ma’am?” He replied with steel in his voice.

“No, they’re friendlies, protectors if you will.” She replied, not turning to face his scrutinizing gaze, but she felt the rude mental probe for any context as to what she’d meant and quickly squashed it like a bug.

“Understood Ma’am, I’ll pass the word to my people.” He said hesitantly before turning around and giving orders for their departure.

Natasha waited until she could no longer see the vehicles before letting out a heavy sigh.

It was incredible to have this much time alone with that many Heirs in a clan of their size, but it was also stressful and nerve-wracking, her instincts running amok, constantly scanning her surroundings and keeping an eye on them.

She felt exhausted as she walked back to the front of the hotel, but soon found herself in the soothing and comforting mental embrace of Sophia. Sophia had been forced to block their connection for the past 24 hours because of the intense mental state Natasha had been in.

Natasha closed her eyes with a weary smile as she basked in the supportive and caring mental energy that slowly enveloped her until she felt Sophia wrap her arms around her.

“You okay?” Sophia whispered into her ear as she held her.

“Yeah… Just exhausted, that was amazing, but… A little much.” Natasha replied with a complicated expression.

“You were pretty out of it” Sophia laughed softly, the sound washed over Natasha clearing away some of her fatigue.

“I barely remember half of it, it was just so… Intense.” Natasha said, squeezing a little tighter before letting go and looking at Sophia. Then her expression turned to a frown as she realized with no small amount of dread. “Wait, where’s Aleks?” Natasha didn’t need to rely on their newly established connection since Sophia instantly stiffened and her eyes widened.

***

Tessa swayed gently with the breeze, enjoying the cool night air as it passed her by.

The view of the cliffs and the city skyline was beautiful, but it was nothing compared to the stunning view of the night sky. It wasn’t something you’d ever get to see from the streets below. Too much light pollution.

A gust of wind blew Tessa’s hospital gown in a very revealing direction and he awkwardly used her arm to hold it in place with some difficulty.

“At least I’m not going commando.” She smiled to herself as the wind played with her long brown hair, making it dance across her caramel skin.

Tessa reached up with her right arm, feeling the stump at her shoulder, before tracing the still fresh scars running across her face. As a young girl, she had large brown eyes and kind features. Her family had practically frothed at the mouth at the possibilities of marrying off. It didn’t take long for that to fall through, though.

At thirteen, she’d outgrown her male cousins, most of whom were a year or two older than her. That, coupled with her wide frame and athletic build, quickly ended any talks of marriage, and from that point onwards, her family saw her as nothing but an embarrassment.

At seventeen, she ran away from home, although she didn’t know whether it had ever truly been her home. She spent the next six months until she turned eighteen, going from shelter to shelter, saving up any money she could scrape together. It was a hard life, but she’d experienced worse.

At eighteen, she rented her first apartment and got a job at a nearby gym. For years she had seen herself through the eyes of her family, but now she finally felt comfortable in her own skin. She had even started modeling as a hobby.

At twenty, she was in her second year of college, paying her own tuition and working part time. She had even gained quite a following on an indie modeling site. She was happy.

That’s when things started to go wrong. Her mother contacted her after three years of no contact, gushing over the phone like they’d spoken just last week, Tessa knew something was up, but it had still caught her off guard when her mother informed her that Tessa was getting married to the son of an affluent businessman and that she could finally come home, like they were doing her a fucking favor.

Naturally she had refused and hung up, but that didn’t stop the rich scumbag from harassing her at work, she’d explained that she hadn’t seen her family in years and that this marriage was just another one of their scams, to which he’d laughed in her face and told her,

“Marriage What marriage? You’re bought and paid for. Now stop being such a cunt.”

Tessa had never been much of an open-handed gal, something this prick learned after two of his teeth bounced off the pavement. It had felt amazing for about ten seconds until she realized what she’d done.

Her boss had done what he could, but she was sent home until they could figure it all out.

She never made it home.

Two weeks later, a passerby had found her in a dumpster, barely clinging to life. The doctors told her they wouldn’t be able to save her left arm. Too much damage and tissue rot.

The police couldn’t or wouldn’t do anything as there was no actual evidence of what had happened, just her word.

Her mother had visited her as soon as she was moved from intensive care. She didn’t apologize or even show a hint of remorse. Instead, she admonished her for hitting him, telling her she should drop the charges, that she’d already embarrassed them enough.

The nurses had to sedate her as she ripped the needles and tubes from her body, clawing and screaming at the vile women from which she had come.

They had let her be after that, for a while at least. Until her uncle came to her, apparently he had negotiated, or more accurately, blackmailed the father of the monster who did this to her.

But the money had been placed in a trust, one only she could access.

That’s when suddenly her family came back in force. She had to request to be moved to another hospital after that, hoping it would give her at least a couple of days before they tracked her down again.

But it didn’t matter, she had already decided. The paperwork had been sent this morning, donating the money to the only place that ever really helped her, The Eve shelter for women.

She came to the corner of the concrete parapet she was walking on and leaned over the edge, looking down at the streets below before continuing her circuit of the hospital’s rooftop.

But as she rounded the corner and looked ahead, she saw a figure sitting on the edge of the building, blocking her way.

“It’s quite the stunning view from up here,” He said with an easy smile. “Although not for the faint of heart I’d imagine.” He continued as he peered over the edge.

Tessa’s breath clung to her throat when he turned to look at her, his eyes glowing faintly crimson. The world seemed to fall away, leaving the two of them on a rooftop island in a desolate sea of nothingness.

Tessa only had one word on her mind as she looked at the stranger.

“Yama”