Thorne Ch. 09

"This is for my son and daughter," Hans said and squeezed.

After the heart was no more than a mass of flesh, Hans removed Harry's head. There was now no chance that he would come back again. With a thought, Hans cleaned his hands and his clothes and went over to Nathan.

"How is he?"

"Alive, but he's hurt pretty badly. Harry just missed his heart," Nathan replied. "We need to get him to the house. You go ahead and prepare Nadine; I'll be right behind you."

Hans took one last look around and vanished to the house. He was sure that Nadine already knew and was frantic. It was much more than worry. She was in full panic mode and trying to leave the house. She had managed to break away from Kevyn when Hans appeared before her.

"Where is he?" Nadine screamed when she saw Hans. "Is he dead?"

"No sweetheart, you would know if he were," Hans replied taking her into his arms. "He's hurt but he's alive. Nathan is bringing him now. He needs blood."

Nathan appeared carrying Leon. Nadine tore herself away from Hans and ran over to Nathan.

"Leon?"

Leon slowly opened his eyes and focused on Nadine's face.

"Hey baby... we got him. The son of a bitch is dead. He can't hurt you or anyone else again."

"Nadine," Louise said from beside her, "We need to feed him so that he'll heal."

Nadine hung on to Leon's hand as Nathan laid him on a sofa and opened his shirt. The bleeding had already stopped as the wound was healing from the inside out. It had really been a close call. While they waited for the first unit of blood, Nathan bit into his wrist and put it to Leon's lips. He had already given him some blood before he brought him to the house. Leon was already starting to heal by the time they arrived. It would take some time, but he would completely heal.

Nadine took the blood when Katrina handed it to her. Nathan moved aside so that she could feed the blood to Leon who was half asleep.

"Not yet," Nadine crooned. "You have to drink this first."

"He's dead," Leon replied sleepily. "Hans killed him. You're safe."

"Shush now and drink," Nadine said as tears ran down her face.

When the unit of blood was gone, Hans carried Leon up to their room and put him on the bed.

"Let him sleep for an hour or so and then wake him up. He needs another unit of blood. Nadine, Leon did well. As much as he wanted to be the one to kill Harry, he stepped aside when he realized that it wasn't going to happen. Your safety took precedence over his pride. The fates chose well for you."

"Thank you papa," Nadine said hugging Hans.

"You're welcome, but we have to go help Ethan and Thorne. Keep feeding him blood every hour or so and he'll be fine."

"Do you really have to go back? Ethan said that it was almost over."

"Yes sweetheart, we do. Not all of the hunters are going to turn tail and run. I'll be back I promise, but I need to talk to Juliette and the children before I leave."

****

Juliette threw herself into Hans's arms crying in relief. Now that she knew that Leon was going to be alright, her concern switched to Hans.

"Are you alright?" she asked running her hands up and down his arms.

"I'm fine," he assured her as he pulled her into his arms for a kiss. "I'm unhurt. Where are the children?"

As soon as Ethan appeared with the guard, Rachel had gathered the children and took them to the library. Things were frightening enough without them having to see the injured as they came in. As she read to them, she wondered what the casualties were for their side. She was almost afraid to know.

Celeste was the first to see Hans when he walked into the library. She dropped the book that she was looking at and ran to him calling the name that she used for him.

"Papa-too!"

Hans scooped her up into his arms, kissed her cheek and then hugged her. Victor and Wanda wrapped their arms around his waist and hugged him as tight as they could. They were beginning to understand that things weren't as they appeared and that there was something very different about their step-father and the others.

"I came to see you before I left again," Hans said as he sat Celeste on her feet. He kissed Wanda and then Victor on the cheek and then hugged them. "I know that you are very frightened, but don't be. It will be over soon and we can go back home."

Victor and Wanda each took one of Celeste's hands and watched Hans walk away. Of the three of them, only Celeste knew for certain that Hans was coming back.

*

Once Leon was settled, Nathan pulled Louise aside and hugged her. He was as angry with her as he was proud.

"Nathan, I had to do something! I couldn't just sit by and watch as Nadine suffered!"

"I know sweetheart but you could have led him back here," Nathan replied.

"He would have eventually found us anyway," Louise countered. "My reaching out to him prevented that didn't it? He's dead isn't he?"

Nathan didn't say anything, she was right.

"Alright," he said after a moment's silence. "You're right but that doesn't mean that I have to like that you put yourself in harm's way like that. Are you and the baby alright?"

"We're fine. I'm tired but I'm fine. Is what Ethan said true? Is it almost over?"

"In a manner yes," Nathan replied. "But in many ways it's just beginning."

They talked for a few more minutes before parting with a kiss and a promise of spending two days in bed as soon as they could.

"I miss you," Nathan said hugging Louise again.

"I miss you too, don't worry about us; we'll be fine. Just make sure that you come back in one piece."

****

Barb went back to the group when Adrianna told her about Leon. She stood back and watched as the women of the group gather around Nadine and offered her comfort. She wanted to move closer but didn't. She felt like she was watching a movie in which she played no part.

"That's because you wrote yourself out of the script," the voice said. "But you could write yourself back in. You could be a part of that no matter what happens between you and your mate. You could still be a part of your son's life... don't humans do that all of the time?"

Barb didn't answer and the voice went silent content that it had made its point. Still Barb didn't move. When she was sure that Leon was alright, she went back to her room to think. A headache had settled right behind her eyes bringing tears to them. The headache was rapidly growing in intensity and if she didn't so something soon it would be out of control.

"Headache?" Adrianna asked.

"Yeah-migraine," Barb replied feeling slightly nauseated.

"You're stressed-it isn't good for the baby. Lie down on the bed and let me see if I can help," Adrianna said.

Barb hesitated wanting to say that she didn't need help but the pain was becoming blinding. She didn't see where she had much choice. She lay on the bed and closed her eyes belatedly realizing that she hadn't asked about any of the men. She tensed waiting for the voice to speak; relaxing as much as she could when it didn't. She was getting to the point where she hated its effeminate voice- she had decided that the voice was most definitely male.

She felt a cool hand on her temples that began a slow, firm but gentle massage. The nausea was the first thing to go and then finally as the migraine began to ebb; Barb fell asleep.

*****

Thorne was receiving casualty reports. While the news wasn't great, it wasn't horrible either. There had been several injuries most of them non-fatal. There had been five deaths, three wolves and two vampires. Four wolves and one vampire were missing in action and were being searched for. Thorne hoped to find them alive and unhurt, but he had his doubts.

His crew alone had destroyed four crews of hunters and were zeroing in on a fifth when Ethan called him with the news of Rufus.

"What's your casualty count?" Thorne asked.

"As of now, three dead, seven injured-of those four are serious and two missing. We're looking for them now."

"I have casualties as well," Thorne replied. "This could have been much worse. Where's William?"

"Safe, I told him to go back to the house where he found Travis. He should be safe there."

Ethan told Thorne that he had been giving the hunter groups that they came across the option of leaving peacefully or to stay and die.

"Good," Thorne replied. "I'll start doing the same thing. I'll let the other groups know too."

"I think that I got most of them," Ethan said. "I haven't been able to reach the Bakersfield and the Phoenix groups."

"I'll try too, between the two of us we'll reach them. I was thinking about Olivia. I think that we should deliver the news about her father in person."

"Agreed," Ethan said. "I would also like to suggest that we take Louise with us. If I'm not mistaken, Olivia and she seemed to share a bond of sorts."

"Good Idea, I'll see you at the house in a few hours," Thorne said and hung up.

The rest of the night was spent looking for the missing in action and the crew of hunters that hadn't been given the choice of walking away or death. All of them chose to walk away. Some of them swore that they would be back, but most of them had had enough. Of the missing all but three had been found alive. Both Ethan and Thorne dreaded going to the mates of these fallen to tell them the news although they already knew.

The sending off ceremonies for all of the dead would take place as soon as possible. Vampire and wolf alike would be equally honored and their families would be taken care of for the rest of their lives. That wouldn't mean much compared to the loss of a mate, but it was the best that could be done.

By dawn the last of the hunters had left the area. The feeling of tension that had been in the air for days were gone replaced by a feeling of sadness. All of the vampire and wolf crews had been sent home after a final sweep of the area.

Thorne and Ethan appeared in the house in different locations. Ethan outside of his and Katrina's bedroom- he still had to give her warning when he was going to come in and Thorne in his office. Katrina opened the door before Ethan had a chance to call out.

"Is it over?" she asked reaching for him.

"For now- where are the twins and Victoria?" Ethan asked.

"The girls are with Rik and Luc and Victoria is with Wanda and Celeste waiting for Hans, Nathan and Patrick to come back."

"They're not back?" Ethan asked. "They should have been back by now..."

Ethan's phone vibrated in his pocket. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that it was Nathan.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"Doing a final sweep around our homes," Nathan replied. "We're headed back. Has anyone told you about Leon yet?"

"I just got here," Ethan replied. "Is he alright?"

"I'll tell you what happened later, but he's going to be fine. Harry won't be a problem anymore-Hans killed him. I gather that Rufus is dead?"

"Yes, William killed him," Ethan said. He had one arm wrapped around Katrina and wanted the call to end so that he could greet her properly and then see his girls. "We'll talk more when you get back. For now I have a mate and children to greet."

***

Thorne sat at his desk for several minutes before going to see Barb. He knew that she was half hoping that he wouldn't come back. The only reason why she wanted him to live was because she was afraid that she would be left with the baby. He pushed aside his anger and thought about the baby. The child was feeling enough anger as it was and didn't need to feel it from him. By the time he reached Barb's room, he had made a decision.

He tapped on the door and walked in. Barb was awake and looking at something on her laptop. She looked up at him but didn't speak. The expression on her face said it all. Thorne ignored it and approached the bed.

"I would like to speak with our son."

Barb sat the laptop on the bed and sat back. She said nothing as Thorne sat on the bed beside her and touched her belly.

"I am back as I have promised so rest easy."

Barb listened to the tenderness in Thorne's voice and felt a pang of... the voice inside of her sighed in frustration but remained silent. Thorne sat with his hands on Barb's stomach for several more minutes before standing up.

"I must leave for a while," Thorne said. "Olivia needs to be told of the death of her father. Once things have settled, we'll talk."

"What's there to talk about?" Barb asked. "I get it-you don't want me and that's fine..."

"I don't want to talk about this now," Thorne cut in. "People have died and their loved ones must be told. There is a sendoff service to be planned- our issues can and will wait."

He walked out content that the baby was calmed and turned his attention to other business. On the way out of the bedroom he ran into Noel.

"Where are you going?" Thorne asked surprised. Noel usually stayed in his room only coming out for meetings or when he was needed.

"I came to see Leon," Noel replied. "He was injured fighting Harry but he's on the mend."

"Good, I'll stop in," Thorne said.

"Thorne-it was good to see you and Ethan working together. It reminded me of father and Steven Sinclaire in the old days."

"I would be lying if I said that it didn't feel good," Thorne said with a small smile, "but there are still issues that need to be discussed. But as I just told Barb about our issues, the issues with the Sinclaires will have to wait."

After he stopped in to see Leon, Thorne went back to his office and began making phone calls. By the time he was finished, Ethan was in his office.

"I talked to Nathan; he'll be here in a minute with Louise so that we can talk to Olivia. After that we can begin to make our rounds to the families of the fallen."

"I have the feeling that we're going to be making more of these visits in the future," Thorne said his expression grim.

****

William passed the time by helping Travis polish the silverware. He wanted to call for updates but knew that he would have to wait until closer to morning. He wondered if Olivia knew that her father was dead and what her reaction would be when she found out that he had been the one to kill him. He also wondered if she had begun to think about him as a man and not one of her crew.

"What's swirling around your head?" Travis asked. "I've polished half of my pile and you're still working on the same piece."

"Gr... Travis, do you think that it's possible for a woman to forgive the man who killed her father?"

Travis hesitated for several minutes before replying.

"Son, I've never had a mate so I'm not the one to ask about the affairs of the heart. However, I do know about forgiveness. I see it every time I see Mr. Ethan with his family. Mr. Ethan's mate forgave him after he hurt her in a way that no one- male or female should be hurt. The same goes for Mr. Martin and his mate. It took time but the forgiveness came. It wasn't easy and from time to time I still see the effects of what happened, but they love each other. So the answer to your question is yes. It's possible that your young lady will forgive you."

William felt better after hearing the answer to his question. He knew about the Sinclaires- who didn't? But to know that there was the possibility that Olivia could forgive him even if she didn't accept him as her mate took a load off his mind.

Finally he decided that he could call Ethan and ask for an update. He closed his eyes in thanks when he heard that the hunters had left the area.

"William, I also have to tell you that Harry is dead."

"I know, I felt it when he ceased to exist," William replied. "Did he hurt anyone?"

"He didn't kill anyone that we're aware of but he seriously injured Nadine's mate."

"Will he live?" William asked.

"He'll live," Ethan replied. "We're on our way to tell Olivia about her father."

"I want to tell her," William said. "I was the one who killed him and I need to be the one who tells her. I'm sure that you'll be busy talking with the families of the fallen so please allow me to do this."

Ethan gave William the address and wished him luck.

*****

Olivia's anxiety level was through the roof. Had her father gotten away? Had he changed his mind and walked away as she wanted him to? No she thought to herself, he wouldn't have walked away. That meant one thing- he was dead. As much as she disliked him, he was still her father and she hoped that he hadn't suffered.

"Someone's here," Kenneth said standing up. "Olivia you stay here with Benita and do as you're told."

Kenneth seemed to be gone for a long time but when he came back, he was followed by William. Olivia didn't know how to react. The woman part of her wanted to run to him and hug him, but the hunter part of her wouldn't allow it. It wasn't that long ago that he had been a part of her crew. It wasn't that long ago that she began to consciously change her ideas and feelings about vampires and other non-human beings. The safest thing to do was to greet him as she always had.

"Hello William."

"Olivia, I am so glad that you're safe... There is something that I need to tell you..."

"Where's everyone else?" Olivia asked not ready to hear about her father.

"Harry is dead and I don't know where the others are. I managed to get twenty four hours for them to get out of town. Whether they took advantage of it I don't know. Olivia..."

"My father... he didn't leave did he?"

Here it was... time to tell the truth.

"No, I killed him after he killed Caleb," William replied. "He was going to kill you and I couldn't allow that. He was going to have the entire nonhuman species kill each other while he watched and then he was going to finish us off. Even if that weren't the case, knowing that he was going to harm you was reason enough for me to want him dead. I hope that you will someday forgive me."

"Did he suffer?"

"No... I wouldn't do that to you. I made it quick and as merciful as I could given the circumstances. But Olivia, given what's happening, you're still in danger. The hunters will split into different factions. Some will support you and some won't. There will be assassinations plots from both sides against your life. I see that both Thorne and Ethan have provided security for you- that is good, but I would also like to offer my services to you as well."

Olivia wanted to tell William that she was grateful that he was the one who killed her father but the words wouldn't come. She wanted to accept him as part of her security team, but she couldn't say that either.

When she didn't answer, William nodded his head in understanding.

"If you need me, Thorne and Ethan both know where to reach me."

Just as he was about to vanish, Olivia stopped him.

"Wait."

******

"So now what?" the king asked the queen as he stroked her hand.

"We watch and wait," she replied. "This is far from over, but we've got a reprieve. It's going to take some time for the dust to settle."

"Agreed," the king replied taking her hand into his. "How much time do you think we have?"

"A while... a couple of years maybe longer... the hunters have to reorganize and so do the vampires that aren't going to go along with the Sinclaire/Blackwell plan which by the way I happen to like. In the meantime, we'll make a few plans of our own. Maybe we can do something so that no more people die."

"But you know that it's going to happen," the king said gently. "People are going to die on both sides- that's the way of war."

"I know that but in the meantime the rogues increase in number in spite of our best efforts," she replied. "But I have a good feeling about Miss. Olivia Saunders."

"All of us do," the king replied. "We just need to find a way to help keep her safe without tipping our hand. They're going to be hyper vigilant especially after the last few weeks."

"True, but there is one among them who is a powerful seer, actually two of them but the one is too young to make use of," the queen replied. "But at any rate, they've handled things and have things under control."