Dawn's Promise

Candace didn't doubt the sincerity of Will's words. He'd missed the first twenty years of his son's life. And her explanations to Chance about his father were vague, at best. For so long it had only been the two of them. And now, his father shows up out of the blue. And she had so many things to tell her son. She wasn't sure where she should begin. How was she going to explain her disappearance and what had happened to her without scaring him half to death? She hazarded a request, "If you could just let me use a cell phone, I could call him. Let him know I'm ok."

"I'll see what I can do. Just stay put. I'm going to have to tell Dane and the brothers about Chance. They need to know about this." Will stood and walked to the door. "Don't worry, Candy. I will keep him safe." He closed the door, locking it behind him, leaving a hopeful Candace sitting on the edge of the bed.

Will walked down the deserted corridors, mulling over what to say to Dane and to his brothers. He knew what he was giving up when he signed on for this life and drank the blood. He never imagined anything different for himself. He had a gift beyond imagining. Something enviable, so rare and sacred, that a part of him wanted to keep it locked away. Hold it so close to his heart that he never breathed a word to anyone.

Since the early days, when the first brothers had come across, no brother had mortal children left behind in the human world. The Great Father had a family once, and the Prophet a wife and children of his own. They knew the pain of watching them grow old and die. It wasn't forbidden. But, it wasn't exactly encouraged either. Will hadn't stopped to ponder that fact. One day, his son would grow old. One day, his son would die. Or, perhaps, not.

Chapter 7

"I'll be damned," Patrick muttered in disbelief as he stared at the proof on monitor. Will had a son. A bouncing baby boy. The kid looked enough like Will, that he could have been picked out of his proud papa's ass. "Son of a bitch," he breathed out, dumbfounded

Will stood behind John Mark, Patrick, and Dane who were gathered in a cluster staring down at the monitor, glancing up to him, and then turning to stare down at the monitor again. Will had never seen Patrick speechless in his life, but he was now. John Mark narrowed his eyes in disapproval and a good measure of disbelief. Dane, at least, had the courtesy to be ambiguous about his reaction long enough to hear him out. "Gentlemen." He postured, bouncing between dread and pride, waiting for the question and answer session to begin.

John Mark looked at Will. His eyes narrowed with suspicion. "The female rogue is the child's mother? You're certain of this? The kid is your son?"

"Absolutely."

"And we're just now finding out you've got a kid?" John Mark prodded. Rogues were crafty, sneaky, and devious. Ok, so the kid looked like Will. No doubt about that. There was enough of a resemblance to Will that the kid could be his son. But, why hadn't he told the brothers sooner, like say twenty years sooner? What kind of person was Will before he joined the brotherhood? Were there more unclaimed rug rats running about?

Will ground his molars in frustration. What the hell? Did John Mark take Hard Ass 101 classes from Dane or did he see it his personal mission to make Will's life a living hell? Dane sat there staring at the monitor, speechless. Ignoring the grief that John Mark shoveled out on his head. Patrick was simply amazed, flicking back and forth from the various snapshots unearthed from the World Wide Web. "I told you, I just found out about him," he grated, answering John Mark's question for the tenth time.

"You disobeyed a direct order and went to speak with rogue?" John Mark's fury was building. Will had risked the safety of his brothers and their home by going to the woman alone and unarmed. She wasn't to be trusted. He planned to punish Will for his disobedience. Being second in command to Dane, he could deliver punishment and demand obedience. He could make an example of Will, and he should.

"Yes."

"Don't you think it's odd that after twenty years she shows up here and conveniently claims to be the mother of your child? She's a rogue, Will. You can't trust her." He opened his mouth about to unleash a tirade, when Dane reached up and clamped down hard on his shoulder, silencing him.

Dane put a hand on John Mark's shoulder, hinting at him to back off. Computer equipment was expensive and fragile. The last thing he needed was these two going at it like a couple of junkyard dogs in the nerve center of the compound. "What do you plan to do?" Dane asked, turning to Will.

"Candace needs to see her son."

"Out of the question," John Mark interjected, crossing his arms stubbornly over his chest. He was not turning a rogue loose on the street for any family reunion.

Will glowered at John Mark, itching to put the little twit in his place for once and for all. He got it. The rogues had done terrible things, burned their home, killed their brothers, and murdered their leader. He had no love for the rogues himself. But, Candy wasn't a rogue. "Patrick can you hack into her e-mails and cell phone records?"

"I think so," Patrick answered. He began furiously plunking on the keyboard, hoping he'd learned something from watching Toby. He was by no means the computer whiz that Toby was, but he'd try. Her e-mail account popped open. Thousands of e-mails scrolled across the screen, all from the sender Chance20@e-net.com. Her son. Skimming through them, the messages were pretty much the same. 'Mom where are you? Mom I miss you. Mom, please come home. Mom I love you.' The messages got Patrick in the heart. Hard to do. Considering how jaded he was about the world.

"I will not deny my son." Will's jaw was tight, his muscles clenched in determination. "Or his mother." He was ready to fight his brothers, if he had to. If necessary, he'd disobey direct orders and risk the consequences, anything to make up for the years he'd lost and the suffering Candace and Chance were enduring.

John Mark stiffened, ready to defend his leader from any attack. He didn't trust the rogues. Now, he wasn't sure if he could trust his own brother. He dropped his fangs and growled in warning, stepping between Will and Dane.

"Chill out, both of you," Patrick said, swiveling in his chair, casually rolling between John Mark and Will. The air crackled with the heat of warriors ready to go WWF smack down on each other. "Obviously, we have a situation here. We can't use the tracking devices till Toby gets back from the city." He pointed to a blip on an adjacent screen and snickered. The blip hadn't moved from its position in over an hour. A little tidbit of information he intended to save for later to razz the hell out of Toby. "He's still at Anna's," he said with a snicker and a knowing wink.

"John Mark has an issue with letting a rogue go free, and I agree. So, my brothers, what do we do?" Patrick asked, leaning back in his chair.

"Bring the boy here," Dane answered. "Patrick can you track him?"

Patrick memorized the address on the boy's driver's license. "Sure, no problem."

John Mark scoffed. "You want to bring another human here. We've already sent Janine to Alex's parents' house to stay. Are you willing to risk the life of our brother's child? Here, with all these rogues?"

Dane's eyes narrowed to slits. His second in command was treading in dangerous waters. Questioning his leadership. John Mark was insubordinate, undermining Dane's authority, and close to getting put back in his place. "I trust that you'll keep the rogues in check," Dane said his voice tinged with warning.

"I'll double up the guard," John Mark grumbled. Turning he walked away from his leader. Unhappy with Dane's decision to bring the boy to the compound while its walls were occupied by the rogues. Could he ensure the boy's safety? "Why not open a damn daycare while were at it," he muttered under his breath as he slammed the door shut behind him.

"I think it's time I went and interviewed our guests." Dane got up from the chair. "Will, take Patrick and go to the city. I think its time for you and your son to get acquainted." He patted Will on the shoulder and said, "Congratulations," as he left the room. Will needed this. The brothers needed to learn this lesion. No matter how far removed they thought they were from the mortal world. They were still very much a part of it.

******

"Well," Toby said as he leaned against the doorframe. "Your house is boogeyman free." He leaned low, his face mere inches from hers, tempting her, but not giving chase to the game.

"Isn't that a relief? "Anna shuffled her feet. She wanted so badly to kiss him. But, she held her ground. She felt certain that he wanted the same from her. Not just a light peck on the cheek. A sloppy, spit swapping kiss. She waited for him to make his move. He stood, annoyingly planted on the doorstep.

Toby watched Anna's feet nervously shuffle. He wanted to kiss her. He was sure she wanted him to. But, he waited for her to make the first move. He smiled down at her. "The patrols in the city know you're back so they'll be popping by, just to keep an eye on things."

"That's good." Anna bit her bottom lip and looked up at Toby in hesitation. Why wasn't he making a move? Maybe, she was wrong and he didn't want to kiss her at all. She sighed. Still waiting.

"Well, I guess I should be going." Toby wasn't about to be the one who caved first. "Look me up next time you're out my way. Our link should be fine. If it gets weak, I'll arrange to come out." He grinned coyly. It was good to keep her guessing. Toy with her a little longer.

"Ok." Anna dropped her head dismayed. "Well, I guess I'll see you around." She watched as he sauntered onto the sidewalk. Was she really going to let it go? Hell yes. Before she could step back to close the door, he grabbed her up in his arms in a blur of movement. His mouth landed on hers, hard and demanding. His tongue probed the inside of her parted lips, begging for entry. Oh, this was much better. She opened her mouth, granting him access.

Toby ran his palms along the curves of Anna's waist. She was so soft beneath his fingers. Perfect. He wrapped his arms around her hips, grabbing her and lifting her up high enough to see eye to eye. When she wrapped her thighs around his middle, a shudder of desire ran through him. "Maybe I should stick around, just a little while longer. To make double sure you're safe."

"Score!" the trackers hid in the shadows, watching over the tiny, immaculate red brick home. Toby in his haste had forgotten to shut the door and now the whole neighborhood was getting a show. "Easy there, boy." The vampire whispered to himself. His brother was going to end up in jail for indecent exposure if he wasn't careful. Unable to resist, the male hit speed dial. When a very annoyed voice answered the call, he said, "Either give me an air sickness bag or shut the door. You're corrupting innocent eyes out here." He cackled as a string of explicit language erupted from the other end.

"Toby put me down," Anna whispered. Toby snapped his phone shut, muttering curses.

"I forgot to shut the door," Toby admitted utterly embarrassed. "We had an audience."

Anna rested her forehead on his chest. She could feel the heat of her blush spread across her cheeks. Shyly, she waved out into the lengthening shadows, only to hear a loud burst of laughter in reply. "Rain check?" she whispered.

Toby grinned, lowering Anna to the floor. "Next time I'll make sure we're alone. Really alone." He growled as his cell phone buzzed in his hip pocket a second time. "Why don't you take a freaking picture? Give a guy some privacy!" he shouted into the phone. Pausing, he listened to the voice on the other end and cleared his throat. "Oh, sorry Dane. Yeah, I was just leaving." He hugged Anna, kissing her on the forehead. "I'll be back to collect on that rain check."

"I'm counting on it." Anna hugged Toby around the waist and then withdrew. She watched while he bounded in a half trot down the sidewalk. Bolting the door against the night as soon as he pulled away from the curb.

She turned to her little empty house and set about her chores. He had a job to do and so did she. It was just so easy to forget that he wasn't human. And where did the fact that he wasn't, leave them? Was it even possible? Nah, it wasn't. At least as far as she was concerned, it wasn't. She had already lost her morning coffee clutch to the dark side. Monday mornings weren't the same without Chris. She could have a best friend that wasn't human. But, date someone of the fanged persuasion? Someone who could get inside her head? She wasn't so sure about that.

Dane sat across from the young male vampire named Neil. "Now tell me again, how is it that you came to travel with Candace and Marcus?"

Neil ran his hands through his newly washed brown hair. "I told you. I bumped into them while I was on the run. The bitch that made us was crazy. Everyone, well, almost everyone thought so. But, we were too afraid of her to leave. She was merciless, hunting down deserters and making examples of them." He drew a line across his neck with his finger. "I didn't want to end up like that so I played along and when the getting was good, I split. Ran like hell."

Alex leaned against the wall, watching as Dane interrogated the poor guy. She was in training, learning to spot a lie. In humans, their bodies gave away their lies. Pupils dilated, heart rates sped up, and their blood rushed through their veins. In vampires, it was much more difficult to tell. She stared at Neil, watching for the subtle differences. As far as she could tell, he was being honest. Luckily for him.

Dane leaned in close. "Tell me, are there others like you out there?"

Neil shrugged. How the hell should he know? He hadn't exactly stopped to interview anyone along the way. "Yeah, I guess so. What happened to the rest of them, I don't know. There are others out there, sure. But, when we'd bump into them, we didn't stick around for tea and cookies, if you know what I mean."

Dane smiled and nodded in reply. It was hard not to like this guy's candor. "I know exactly what you mean." Rogues could be vicious and territorial, often fighting amongst themselves for land and hunting rights. More often than not, they kept their own numbers down and killed each other. Made life simpler for the Sons. "Why did you come here?"

Neil crossed his arms uncomfortably. "Candace had this crazy idea that you could help us." He was trying to be honest, knowing the guy could spot a lie. If he got caught lying, it wouldn't take much imagination to figure out what would happen.

"Help you? How?" Dane lifted his eyebrows. His story was almost identical to Candace's. What were they expecting from him? Did they really come here seeking sanctuary? He surveyed the young man, carefully honing in on the subtleties of his body language.

"You know, teach us things. Help us get our lives back." Neil looked eagerly at Dane. Wide-eyed and innocent, was how he was going to play this particular hand. "Can you?"

"Things will never be the same as they were before." Dane wasn't going to lie to the young man. There was no point. Things were what they were. "You can't go back to your old life. It doesn't exist for you anymore." Dane tried to picture where the man had been in his previous life. The man was wiry and slight, smaller than Patrick, and hard packed with a firm, muscular build.

His facial features and non-descript shade of brown hair made it easy for him to fade into a crowd and not be noticed. The man could have fit in one of a thousand different occupations and blended in easily in any setting from the beach to Wall Street. Too bad, the guy had the unfortunate luck to be ordinary, just like Candace. Just like the ones left dead on the battlefield. God, he was glad Kore and her demented brother Kiros were dead. Who knew how many more they would have made right under the Sons' noses.

"I know that. I'm not a dreamer like Candace. But, surely, you can tell me where it is that we belong. We must fit in someplace?" Neil shifted, swallowing a dry empty swallow. Hunger wrenched at his gut. "Hey, what have you got to eat around here?"

"It won't be long." Dane reassured him. "I'll take you and the others hunting." Neil nodded eagerly. He was ready for some chow. Serious chow. Dane and the woman, Alex, he thought was her name, left, locking the door behind them. "Hey thanks for the new duds!" he called out after them.

Dane was certain that Neil was genuine, telling the truth. Alex concurred with him. Now, they were on their way to interview the other male. Hopefully, by the time they done, Toby would be back to fit the rogues with the tracking devices. Dane had spent hours watching the tiny red blip flit across the computer screen. He was confident in the device's ability.

"Now Marcus, you expect us to believe that you put your own life at risk to protect Candace?" Alex repeated his last statement, leaning in close, gauging him analytically. Dane and she were playing good cop-bad cop. This time she got to be the bad cop, badgering the witness. Trying to make him slip up.

"It's the truth. I thought I could protect her." Marcus held his ground, unwavering. He thrust out his jaw and stared into his questioner's eyes. "Some lot of good I did huh?" The redhead was direct and to the point, surveying him through narrowed brown eyes that seemed to bore right into his soul. He didn't care. Let her stare. He had nothing to hide. He didn't even so much as flinch as they sat across the table from one another, studying each other.

Marcus knew their game. He'd been hauled in for questioning a time or two and knew the routine. And truthfully, he had no reason to lie. Dishonesty wouldn't protect Candace. And they already had him where they wanted him. So, what was the point in wasting his energy?

"Hmm." Alex rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Marcus hid nothing with his body language. He sat with his arms resting lightly on the table. His hands still, palms up on the surface. Kore knew how to pick her army and she'd chosen well, when she'd chosen him. He had a charisma about him. A magnetism that drew a person in.

He was forty-something, with brown hair, cropped short over his ears and a little longer to curl over the edge of his collar. He'd had a rough life, pre-Kore, there was no doubt about that. A fighter even before he'd had the misfortune to cross her path. There was a hard edge to him, beneath his veneer of openness and friendliness. A scar stretched across his left brow, another on his chin, and his nose was just a little crooked. He'd taken more than one punch in his lifetime. A scrapper. A survivor.

Marcus was medium built, probably about five-ten and one hundred and eighty pounds, none of it flab. Although, he lacked the well-defined musculature that spoke of hours of training in the gym, he was solid without an ounce of fat. He earned his build the hard way, through a life of backbreaking labor, probably in construction or warehouse work. He had an easy smile that automatically disarmed a potential threat. And his shrewd green eyes missed nothing and there was a haunted hollowness to them. They'd seen a lot and the memories of it kept him awake at night. He knew she was watching him watching her. Looking for the lie behind his story.

Dane stood in the corner watching her as she questioned the male. She felt no malice or deceit from Marcus. Just a hesitancy and a deep desire to get the hell out of here. But, she needed to make sure. "What is it that you're expecting from us?"

"Candace thought you could help us." Marcus scoffed, "I was beginning to believe her, to hope. I didn't have much of a life to go back to. But, I was starting to hope for an opportunity to do something with this one. I was beginning to think that maybe this new life was my second chance. I haven't ever been an extremely bad man. But, I haven't always worn a halo either." He looked away from the girl's piercing brown eyes and up to the man who stood behind her.