When they got back to Nolan's house, Rhia was physically and emotionally drained. A part of her was terrified that Constantine would be there again. He wasn't. She dropped her bag at the bottom of the stairs went straight to the couch to collapse and scrub her eyes with her palms. Nolan, much to her delight, opened a bottle of wine before joining her. "What exactly would you be doing for Constantine?" She asked quietly.

"Whatever he needs from me." He answered after a minute of silence. "Generally, I act as a political aide and advisor. I'll probably have to take my seat back on the Counsel. But I will do what my king commands."

Rhia pulled her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. "He's not really your king though. I mean..." she hesitated at the somber look he was giving her. "You're... dragonkin."

He shook his head. "Any dragonkin magic I would have had was suppressed by changing. I am a vampire, Rhia. Luna acknowledges me because of how close she is with Constantine. Quin continues to accept me because I was one of his before the change. His kin accept me because he accepts me. The others... it doesn't matter. Constantine is my king now."

"Others? You mean... Ares? And what do you mean by Quin's kin?"

"Every kin is sworn to a dragon. It's... hard to explain, it's just how things are. And not just Ares, but his kin and Luna's kin and the other-" he stopped.

Rhia felt a lump in her throat. "Other... what? Are there... more dragons?"

"The human governments are only aware of the identities of three." He relented slowly. "Luna, Ares, and, of course, Quin. Ozin and Nekros did not want to be known by the humans."

"Oh... wow. Five dragons, huh? And Luna's the only female? That must suck for everyone."

Nolan laughed. "Ares and Ozin each have their own mates, and Nekros is Luna's brother."

"Ozin and Nekros... they turned on you too?"

"In a way. It's hard to explain."

"Okay. So, you have to follow Constantine's commands. What's in Europe?"

"There's a vampire who doesn't think Constantine should be king. Apparently, he's built up quite a following in my absence."

"Constantine really needs your help?"

"I don't know if he needs it, but he wants it. I can't exactly say no to him."

Rhia nodded and took a long drink from her glass. "Theoretically, if I were to come," she watched his eyes for a reaction. His eyes narrowed slightly but didn't interrupt. "What would I do? Would I be able to work, or would I just be waiting for you to come home every night like a fifty's housewife?"

"We would find something for you." His words were slow and thoughtful. "As you can imagine, no one is exactly lining up to work with Constantine. There is always something to be done. But there would be days you would spend waiting up for me."

"Ignoring the fact that the reason you're going is to deal with a vampiric rebellion, would I be safe around the other vampires?"

"Probably." He looked away from her. "Constantine isn't very forgiving of those who break his laws. You would still have to put up with him, though. He was... impressed this morning by your reaction. It's only going to make it harder on you."

She looked down at her bruised knuckles. They had turned purple now and pulsed painfully any time she moved them. "I don't have a passport." She muttered quietly.

He shook his head, stood up and walked back to the kitchen. "You would so willingly give up your life here?" he asked coolly. "To blindly follow a vampire you barely know?"

"I'm not giving up on anything." she scowled at him. "And I'm not blindly following you. That's why we're having this conversation, so that I know what's involved. I understand this isn't going to be some romantic getaway or a vacation."

"I don't know what's going to be involved!" He shouted and she flinched. "The plan is to kill Raphaël and put an end to the rebellion. I don't know what comes after that. Constantine isn't going to just let me come back! He thinks I've had more than enough time to heal. He wants me to give up everything I've built here! My practice! My family!"

His hand gripped the empty wine glass and threw it with incredible strength across the dining room where it exploded against the window. The shrill sound made her jump, and a chill ran up her spine. She hadn't noticed she had stood up. She took a step back, feeling a lump swelling up in her throat. Despite her best efforts to push it out, Nolan bore an uncomfortable resemblance to Church in that moment. He slammed his fists on the counter, the harrowing sound echoing around the walls, and leaned forward to rest his forehead on them, breathing heavily.

Rhia's body moved without her being fully conscious of it. Her eyes burned from tears beginning to well up and from her refusal to blink and close her eyes to the dangerous male before her. It was the first time she had ever felt... afraid of him.

After a minute he looked at her again. His eyes were flickering between red and blue, a storm of emotion behind that remarkable power. He blinked at her, seeing how she was shaking, the tears in her eyes. He looked at the remains of the wine glass. "Fuck," he breathed, drawing out the curse. He straightened and walked slowly around the island. "Rhia... I'm..."

He froze when she took another hesitant step back. His hands fell limply to his sides, and they stared hopelessly at each other.

The silence was broken by a knock on the door. Rhia tore her eyes from his and cleared her throat. "I'll get a broom." She whispered.

"Rhia, wait..." he stammered.

The door opened and a familiar voice interrupted him. "Hey dad," Cameron called out. "Sorry, we're a bit late. Somebody couldn't be bothered to come home on time."

"Gods, how long are you going to be on my ass about that?" came a younger female voice. "I lost track of time, I'm sorry."

"You're constantly glued to your cellphone; how can you lose track of time?"

The bickering continued and Nolan went to the door to greet them. Rhia crouched to sweep the glass into a dustpan and took the time to wipe her eyes dry. She hated how vulnerable she felt right now.

She straightened up in time to see Nolan and Cameron walking into the kitchen with a teenaged girl and a toddler in Cameron's arms. The girl looked up from her phone at Rhia and stopped dead in her tracks. She raised an eyebrow and Rhia was struck by how she too inherited Nolan's intense blue eyes. It had to be a magic thing. There was no way everyone in this family had eyes like his. "Hi Rhia," Cameron smiled. "It's good to see you again."

"You too, Cameron." She managed to smile back, but it took an incredible amount of emotional energy.

"You really weren't kidding when you said grandpa was dating a human." The girl mused.

"Val, this is Rhia. Rhia, this is my daughter, Valentina." Cameron introduced them. "And this is my son Ethan.

"Hi Ethan." Rhia said sweetly.

Ethan buried his head in his father's shoulder shyly and Cameron chuckled. "Buddy, can you say hi to Rhia." A tiny hand poked out and waved at her and he laughed again. "Good enough, I guess. I heard your brother was released from the hospital. How's he doing?"

"Better, thank you. His doctors think he'll essentially be back to normal by Christmas. They really can't make sense of how fast he's recovered."

"Hey, how old are you?" Val asked, interrupting their conversation.

"Uh," she glanced over Val's shoulder to look questioningly at Nolan. "Twenty-six. Why?"

"Okay, so why is it okay for grandpa to cradle-rob a human, but it isn't okay for me to go out with Ryan?"

Rhia felt her face go hot and her jaw dropped open. Nolan stared at his granddaughter with wide-eyed horror while Cameron buried his face in his free hand. "Not this again," he groaned. "You're sixteen, Val. Ryan is twenty-four."

"So what!? That's only eight years. Grandpa is, like, a million years older than Rhia!"

"The moment you turn eighteen you and Ryan can run off together! But as long as you're underage, keep things G-rated."

"What difference is a year and a half going to make?!"

"Legally it's the difference between a consensual relationship and pedophilia!"

Val rolled her eyes and looked to Rhia. "What does your dad think of you dating a guy a thousand times your age?" she demanded.

Rhia saw Nolan stiffen at the question. "I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Val demanded before she smirked and lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Is it a secret tryst?"

"Valentina Joselyn Wes!" Cameron barked.

Rhia ran a hand through her hair, tugging at the roots enough to feel the slightest pain and bringing her back to solid ground. "I've never met my biological father, and the man who signed my adoption papers is the furthest thing from a father you can get."

"Oh..." Val seemed to deflate. "Sorry."

"I'm sorry, Rhia." Cameron glared at Val. "I have tried teaching her the value of personal boundaries."

"It's fine." She shrugged and plastered on the best fake smile she could muster. "I remember what it was like being sixteen."

Nolan thumped Cameron on the back. "Daughters make us better parents in the long run, Cam. Even if they don't make it easy on us."

There was a second knock on the door and Nolan looked around in confusion. "Yeah, about that..." Cam snickered.

"Oh, you've got to be-"

The door flew open and a tall blonde woman threw out her hands in a grand entrance. "Surprise!" she sang.

"Sybil?" Nolan gaped. "What the hell are... Bastian?!"

Behind the woman came another male, also blonde, but with an aged look to his face. It was rare for an Ancient to show their age. Most of them resorted to using glamour to maintain the look of their prime. The woman bounced forward and threw her arms around Nolan's neck. "It's good to see you, papa."

"What are you doing here?" the disbelief in his voice was overtaken by pure joy.

He grabbed Bastian's shoulder and dragged his oldest child into a hug. "Cam called us." Sybil explained. "He said you met someone and there's no way we're letting you get away with not telling us about another woman." Yet another pair of intense blue eyes found Rhia's and Sybil sauntered towards her. "You must be Rhia." She held out her hand. "I'm Sybil, Nolan's middle child."

Rhia shook her hand. "Nice to meet you."

"And this is our older brother, Bastian." She brandished a hand to her brother still at Nolan's side. Bastian raised a hand and smiled. His eyes were also blue, solidifying Rhia's assumption that there was some kind of magical connection behind the familial resemblance. "Sorry to show up unannounced." Sybil continued. "Our dear ol' dad has a nasty habit of forgetting to let us know when he decides to have a social life."

"That's not fair, Sybil," Nolan's face was beginning to turn red and glanced nervously at Rhia. "We've only just started seeing each other."

"Perfect," Sybil beamed. "That means we won't be out of the loop at the wedding."

"Wedding!?" Rhia blanched.

"Sybil, stop being a pest." Bastian warned quietly. Sybil tossed her hair over her shoulder and huffed. She turned her attention to Ethan and started to coo over her nephew. "I apologize for my sister, Rhia." Bastian addressed Rhia directly. His voice was softer, hoarser, and not quite as deep as his father's or brother's. "She has a hard time defining the line between social curiosity and being obtrusively nosey."

Rhia bit back the sarcastic comment about how it seemed to be a common trait in the Wes women, and just shrugged. She looked to Nolan. "If you even try to propose..."

Nolan threw his hands up defensively. "Not happening, I swear."

Bastian chuckled and followed his siblings into the living room. "Not to sound as imposing as Sybil," he said and dropped into the large reading chair. "But how did you come to meet our father?"

Rhia started to feel the tension finally begin to seep out of her shoulders. Nolan moved through the kitchen to take out more wine glasses. His presence was a comfort around the other three, fully grown vampires. "We met at the hospital." She explained.

"You work there too?" Sybil chimed in and accepted a glass of wine from Nolan. "Another doctor? Nurse?"

"Paramedic."

"Just like you, Bast."

"Really?"

Bastian shrugged and took his own drink. "Not anymore. I train pilots for S.T.A.R.S. now."

An entirely different kind of fear coursed through her now. "You mean you're the one who trained those maniacs!"

He laughed. "You've worked with my people then?"

She gripped the counter to steady herself, remembering the horrifying days she spent working with the highly capable, questionably sane, and unbearably optimistic Canadians. "A couple years ago some of S.T.A.R.S. came down for joint training and helped out with the wildfires. I'm pretty sure they were trying to kill me."

"Not a fan of flying?" Nolan quirked his eyebrow at her and tilted the wine bottle to refill her glass.

"Humans were never meant to fly," she insisted defensively. "And the S.T.A.R.S. are crazy. They see gravity and think of it as a mere suggestion."

"I train my pilots to be fearless."

"There's fearless, then there's certifiably insane. You guys have free healthcare up there, you have no excuse to not get that figured out!"

"At least it's always exciting. How are those public relations meetings, Sybil?"

"At least I can make a difference in the big picture!" Sybil reacted to Bastian's barb predictably.

The conversation dissolved into mindless bickering between the siblings again. Rhia took advantage of their distraction and slipped out the back door to the porch. The night was cool and dark, exactly what she needed to calm down. It had been a long and overwhelming day and she just needed five minutes to center herself. She would be fine spending time and socializing with Nolan's family... she just needed time.

She sat down on the steps of the porch and stared out at the ocean. Being a holiday in a vampire-dominated neighbourhood, there were a lot of people out on the beach. A bonfire was roaring a few properties down and music was blaring. Children were laughing and playing. It all felt so normal.

The door behind her slid open and shut. A second later, Nolan was sitting next to her. "Are you alright?" he asked carefully.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I'm just... a lot has happened today."

"I'm sorry for scaring you earlier." He said softly.

"You didn't... I wasn't..." it hurt to try to get the lie out. She felt the shaking start again and fought against the tears.

"I did. I let my emotions get the better of me. They way you looked at me... I was no better than him." She looked up at him. The emotion was as heavy in his eyes as it was in his voice. He meant his words. "I can't promise I'm not going to lose my temper again." he breathed. "But I can promise that I would never hurt you. I will never lay my hand on you the way he did."

The first honest smile in a while tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Thank you."

"When you're ready to talk about it, I'm here for you."

"Seeing him just kind of freaked me out. I thought..." She sucked in a strangled breath and looked up at the sky trying to hold back the tears. "I'll be okay in a minute. Go back inside."

He let out a desperate laugh. "I wasn't expecting to have all my children in one place tonight."

Rhia rested her head on his shoulder. "They're intrusive and obnoxious, but they are family."

He wrapped his arm around her and squeezed gently. "Yeah. In the long run it's good they're here. I needed to see them before we went to Paris."

Despite everything, she couldn't hold back the stupid smile on her face. "You said we."

"Paris?"

The patio door flew open. Cameron stood at the opening, the edges of his eyes burning red. Sybil appeared behind him with the same look in her eyes. "You're going back to Paris?" she snapped.

"Grandpa's leaving?" Val called from inside.

Silence filled the space between Nolan and his children. Rhia could feel magic begin prickling at her skin and rubbed her arms. Slowly Nolan stood up, pulling her up with him. The way he placed himself between her and his children was chilling. "Let's talk inside." He said calmly.

~