Brother Remembered - Black Dagger Brotherhood FanFic - Sumter Colony 2

Chapter 16

A gentle tapping at the head of the table got everyone's attention. Wrath stood, glass in hand. "You know that I'm not big on this speech sh—" he cut himself off, glancing at the young, "stuff, but it's not every day that we find a long-lost Brother." He turned to Night. "Welcome home, Night. And, welcome to the community, Mehnace. I hope you can find a place here that brings you happiness." He toasted, "To friends and family, old and new!"

As everyone returned the sentiment before drinking, words of agreement echoed through the room. As each settled into eating again, Hatrhed turned to him.

"So, Night, where have you lived all these centuries?"

"Fleur and I moved to Alaska in 1964, right after the Good Friday Earthquake. We bought land all over the state, including Prudhoe Bay, where they discovered oil. We had just settled on about two hundred acres north of Willow when Mehnace was born. Ace and I have lived there all his life, and we run a survivalist training business." He didn't miss the glances that passed between Phury, V, and Hatrhed.

"Are you a survivalist yourself, or do you just run the business?" V asked.

"Oh, I like to get out into the trees whenever I can. Honestly, my personal assistant, Cathy, runs most of the business."

"Huh." Hatrhed spooned her soup. "Well, I imagine being a daywalker comes in handy if you have a business like that."

"Wait," Beth butted in, "what was that about being a daywalker?"

The table around them fell silent, each set of eyes looking expectantly at Night. He cleared his throat. "I am a daywalker. I found out about twenty years ago."

"Neat!" Beth exclaimed and raised her glass. "I am, too!"

"Nearly killed me the first time she went into the sunlight after her transition," Wrath grumbled.

"I can probably still handle the sun because I'm half-human," Beth explained.

Night paused. "You're half-human?"

"Oh, yeah. On my mother's side."

Wrath filled in the gap. "Beth is Darius' blooded daughter."

"Darius had young!" Night exclaimed, brows arched. "That's... unexpected. He didn't seem much interested in romance."

"Oh, he didn't have a relationship with my birth mother. She died giving birth. Same thing happened to John Matthew," Beth explained, pointing out the Brother to Night. "He's my half-brother."

Night sipped his wine, reminded of the situation between Ace, Rhet, and Hatrhed. "Did you know each other growing up?"

"No, not at all. It wasn't until after I was Queen that we found John Matthew," she said before looking at Ace. "I hope you get to know your brother and sister better."

"I do, too," Ace agreed.

"So, the Brotherhood has a training program," Hatrhed broke in, changing the subject. "The current class has been training for over a year and is being taken out into the fight on occasion now. But, I reminded them that newly transitioned trainees would not have the survival skills they might need to fight. We're setting up a trade: my team teaches theirs about surviving in the woods, and the Brothers hone the urban skills of my team. Want to help?"

Night stopped eating. "You two want me to help train future Brothers?"

"Going through the training program doesn't guarantee that a civilian will become a Brother, true?" V pointed out.

Night cleared his throat and glanced at Ace, who nodded enthusiastically. "Still, we'd be honored to help in any way we can."

"There's something you should know, though," Hatrhed offered. "I've tagged Rhet for the program. He's excellent at hand-to-hand with several martial arts styles, and he's been out bow hunting with us a time or two. He's not bad."