Our home is not exactly what I would have picked, given that I had grown up in a castle. I couldn't say that I didn't appreciate awe-inspiring landscapes and large expanses of rooms. I had put my input towards a larger home, in an active community, with multiple stories with space for entertaining.
But, what we settled on unfortunately catered to the trauma we had endured that Verando struggled to escape from. The home was more secluded, towards the edge of town backed up to the vastness of slowly encroaching grasslands and new development. We had settled on two stories with emergency drop-down ladders should our house be subject to another fire.
It was quaint, a nice house with plenty of modern conveniences, but it was the way it was chosen that irritated me.
Stepping in and closing the door behind me, the gentle chime reminds me to lock it and I roll my eyes in my buzzed state. I slip off my shoes, placing them haphazardly beside the organized shoe tree as my refusal to participate in the dictatorship.
We had to be separated from society, it was the best chance for Darius to live a normal childhood without attracting attention while keeping us safe from an ambush. I'd give him that, with the ample security system, I didn't often worry much for our safety. Given the unique shingled roof and the more turn-of-the-century style nooks, cameras easily hid in various corners out of sight and out of mind.
Immediately in front of the door, the staircase ascends into the vaulted ceiling where we had ripped out the majority of the upstairs to allow easy access to the downstairs. Much of the walls in the home had been removed or designed in a more forgiving manner, all pointed towards easy escape and vigilance.
Corner mirrors are incorporated into the design, decorative to the untrained eye, and lethal to a predator hunting whatever decided to sneak into our home.
The only private room was my upstairs study, for I had forbidden him from turning it into a watchtower. While I often found him in there, basking when the children were asleep, he had complied to not dismantle my chaotic organization.
I ran my fingers through my hair, scenting the air, and discovering that he wasn't alone. The air is filled with the aroma of a marinara sauce and heavy with seasonings. While I'd just eaten, my body rumbled to life at the thought of dinner and the possibility of more wine.
Stepping around the corner, I see Darius playing with Silvia, a simple game of chase around the open living room and carefully constructed floor plan.
With the slight drop and two stairs to reach the lower area coupled with the raised kitchen, there were plenty of obstacles for the children to race around in a giggling tornado. I glance out the large glass doors onto the back porch and see that more remodeling is taking place to enclose the covered area.
Verando didn't get many days off, it shouldn't surprise me that he spent this one perfecting his fortress.
Legardo glances up from the cooking and I spy Xavier on his hip as he tastes the sauce for what looks like some sort of lasagna. "Were you drafted into cooking dinner? I could have cooked." I hold out my hands for the squirming little boy and smile as Xavier climbs into my arms. The warm cheek rests against the crook of my neck, thumb in his mouth as he clings. "If I had known you were coming, I would have come home sooner."
Legardo shrugs one shoulder. "Pascal's meeting ran over and Silvia was lonely. Wait until they turn into teenagers, Briley pretty much kicked us out." He rolls his eyes with a heavy sigh.
The thought of the meeting brings a frown to my face and I try not to let it affect me as I lean my cheek against the boy's head, swaying slowly as I contemplate a diplomatic answer. "Have they found the shipment of suppressants?"
The pale-haired Verando look-alike is not much for gossip. "The council is fighting the use of heroes to find it, there was a lead but there's a lot of red tape and finger-pointing. It's at a standstill I fear, but the enhancers are safe in lockdown, Lotta seems confident that we should see the end of the elementals soon enough."
Elementals were one of the biggest threats to our budding nations, for their power was unmatched now that our heavy hitters were gone. We had our heroes but underutilized, they seemed happier on their own than following government orders to stand and pose for pictures. "Any word on Caspian?"
Legardo shakes his head. "No. Leo and Landon are on it though, no need to worry yourself much." Taking the opportunity to take a small inhale, he dimples his cheek with a sarcastic smirk. "Still no wolf?"
I wrinkle my nose, twiddling my fingers to wave at Darius as he passes by full force with Silvia close behind him. "I'm trying."
"I don't have much of one either. It'll come."
"Since when are you so positive?" I already knew the answer to this, Pascal had been good for him, keeping him in line in a way that Tanya was incapable of. While I'm not quite sure of the truth behind their relationship, it would seem that they were at least happy in whatever it was that they had. If nothing else, she kept him honest and that was something he was lacking.
"I'm surprised Rhea isn't here."
"Not happy about the wedding." He summarizes, popping the lasagna into the oven and working on washing the plentiful bowls. I'm tempted to wave him off but I shouldn't encourage an argument with his father considering they were just starting to get along. Clutter, in what looked like a freshly cleaned house, would cause foul feelings. "How was the venue?"
The last bits of my buzz floated away, sobered by family and the realization that the onslaught I was prepared for didn't happen. It hadn't happened the last few times I'd arrived home. "Just like I remembered. I'm making them remodel the outside for a courtyard wedding, I've got to compose a guest list still, Lotta has sent out a lot of invites but there are some I want to make sure get on the list."
Political figures and magical users alike, I didn't think of her as a biased person but I didn't want to leave out any important piece to this grand puzzle. As if on cue, Verando appears down the stairs and I stiffen to hold myself in place as he places his hand on my shoulder and kisses first Xavier then my cheek.
"Accomplish your goals at the venue? I got an email that they have to remodel?"
He steps around me and I can't help but feel my face fall when I realize he's dressed to go out. Much as I'd been trying to withhold, it didn't mean I was happy about it- quite the opposite. "I was told I'm too tame so I threw my weight around a little."
Legardo snorts, unimpressed. I sneer at him and allow Xavier to slide down my body and toddle off to play with Darius and Silvia.
Carefully, warning him with my eyes, I approach to help him with the buttons of his dark button-up. He's in a simple dress shirt and dark pants, the scent of him heavy with body wash from a shower. Temporarily washed off the intoxicating scent, it was easier to be around him.
"Are you leaving...?" I ask, as casually as I can manage.
"Tiberius is having a party and a small private concert that I must attend, unfortunately. You know how I like to pump drunks for information. Landon is going to scout the place for familiars and see if we can't start connecting some dots."
He rolls up his sleeves to his elbows, carefully creasing the fabric into a neat fold.
I deflate in the slightest sense, but, noticing that he's watching me I try and look as passive as I can manage.
Glancing over my shoulder at Legardo, Verando pulls his lips into a thin line before examining me once more. Slowly, his hand raises to brush my cheek with the backs of his fingers. I lean into the warmth with a sigh as his fingers spread and brush a few stray strands back into my bangs.
"That's pretty good." He comments, his voice even. "You seem in control."
Annoyed that I'm being tested, I can only bite my tongue at the retort that's hot in my throat. I know that it wasn't meant in a slight, I had been volatile on my worst days and he had received the brunt of my periods of unexplainable rage or unquenchable lust.
"I'm just happy to see you." The truth rolls off much easier than a lie about any sort of control.
I had missed him, I'd missed being in contact with him, I'd missed everything about him. Feeling like a prisoner in my own home had put a large toll on my happiness, being able to share a moment with him made that all feel worth it.
With a heavy sigh, it would appear he was at war with himself. "Well. Why don't you get dressed and come with me? You haven't gotten to go out very much these past few months, it'd be good for you to get out in a smaller atmosphere. That is; if you want to go?"
Suspicious, I looked him up and down, wondering if somehow my husband had been replaced with another shapeshifter. "You want me to go with you to an event?" I hadn't attended anything with him since we left New York. Heavy with sarcasm, one of his cheeks dimple as he leans in close as if to whisper me a secret.
"I'm not sure if you knew but we're about to be sworn to each other in a quite large public event. The public ought to get used to seeing us together, yeah?"
Swatting him, I consider my options, glancing around at the crawling baby and the two sprinting children.
Legardo checks his watch, irritated at my hesitation. "Pascal is coming over to watch a show, can we move this along? Just go with him?"
With my best political face, I nod and try not to rush upstairs to get dressed into something more formal. With the warm weather, a suit wasn't necessary or practical so I opted for my version of a gray-green button-up with a slimmer fit pant.
Tucking in my shirt and doing up my belt, it was difficult to get used to form-fitting clothes but I was beginning to manage as I take in my appearance in the mirror and attempt to do something with my hair.
The heavy, thick red locks were the only thing that hadn't changed and I was grateful for that. I cherished the heaviness and the depth of the color, sometimes it felt like it was the only thing left of the old me that had been remolded and shaped too many times to count.
Instinctively, I reach for a jacket but there is no need for one with my body producing ample heat.
It was only out of self-consciousness that I wished to cover up. The layers had always protected my damaged chest, but, with the long sleeves of the button-up, I felt safe enough that the scars might not be exposed. I put on a tie to complete the vision of layering and ran my fingers through my hair with little progress on the weight and the way it wanted to lay.
Perhaps it was time for a haircut.
In the back of my mind, I see those deep mocha eyes watching me and for once, I don't feel the lumbering disapproval. The wolf was.. happy.. that I was going out. A part of me could be convinced that it liked the way I admired its handiwork on my body, going from frail and thin to lean and sporting the olive skin tone that I'd only had one other time in my life.
I was guilty of blaming my every fault on the temperamental creature and with the constant head traffic, surely it knew exactly how I felt about it.
"Listen..." I exhale to myself, watching my own eyes in the mirror. "Can you give me a break? You want out, I know you do. If not for me, then do it for Verando. Be good and maybe you'll get a reward?"
Though I struggled to think of what that might be, the hunting trip, or maybe an attempt at some sort of intimacy.
The thought of any sort of attention caused my starved self-consciousness to sit front and center, accompanied by the mocha eyes. I slam the door on them both, freezing to realize I'd slammed my door.
At a moment's notice, Verando was already at the bottom of the stairs. "Is everything alright?"
I clear my throat, I would not lose control, not now. "Sorry, I got a little excited."
This seemed to please him and I descended the stairs with as much grace as I could manage given the mental war going on in the background of my mind. Self-doubt wracked my thoughts, what if I wasn't ready for this? The doorbell rings and Verando allows Pascal inside, I know there's no going back for I would find no company here given her comfortable attire and the knowing look of ferocity if I dared to back out.
"We'll be home late so feel free to occupy the guest room if you get tired. I set up a bed for Silvia with Darius." Verando grabs a pen and paper out of the small side drawer, placing the paper down to meticulously write out the instructions for the evening.
"These are the codes of the surveillance, the locks, the windows, and the internet. Shut off the internet before you go to sleep, no Artifice in the house, if you must reach out please use Gospel or call me on my cellphone. Commit these to memory and burn the paper."
Pascal gapes but Legardo snags the paper and nods once. "Anything else?"
I find it odd that I don't even know half of these things.
In a quick motion, Verando assures that the children are playing in the living room before moving to the counter. He slips his hand under the ledge and presses a button, a sleeve drops down holding various guns.
"Triple tap the button promptly, shotgun, revolver, and a handgun. Ammo is in the bottom of the shelf." He closes it before reaching the bottom of the overhead cabinets. Pressing up, the bottom drops down. "Two handguns with suppressors."
"Good lord, Randy, who do you think is going to break in here?" Pascal hisses, keeping her voice down.
He says nothing as he closes the hidden shelf and then opens the final, more slender cabinet on the end. "Holy water, silver bullets, various hand knives. Expect the worst, you were taught better than that Pascal." Narrowing his eyes at her, she waves him off and moves to grab a beer out of the fridge. "This is just the kitchen, get creative, the house is stocked. I already showed you where the ladders are if something happens and you can't get out."
"It's going to be alright, nobody is getting in here. Window tints are on, the place looks abandoned."
"It doesn't smell abandoned." Verando reminds him, selecting a handgun from the back of the cabinet and sliding it into a sleeve on his thigh, beneath his belt in the internals of his pants. "Can you handle this?"
Relaying the information back and forth multiple times, finally, we exited our house which seemed much more formidable to me now that I was more aware of what all the remodeling had entailed. Silently, I slip into the passenger seat of his recently delivered sports car and he climbs into the driver's side, his eyes locked with deadly precision on the outside of our home as he does one last sweep.
"Perhaps I should check the perimeter-"
I reach across the space, clutching his face in my hands as I pull him to me and capture his lips with my own. I feel the tension against my lips and deepen the kiss as I melt against this man who has dedicated all his free time to our safety.
When he finally responds, I'm out of breath and release him to catch my breath. "Why didn't you tell me about all the upgrades?"
"You have enough to worry about without concerning yourself with my paranoia."
His worries were my worries, his fears were my fears. "Have there been threats?"
With a one-sided smirk, he brushes his nose affectionately against mine, kissing my forehead before returning his seat to buckle his seat belt. "Silence is never a good thing, darling. I'd much rather know they're out there than wonder what they're planning."
The war had taken a toll on both of us and in moments like these when I allow myself to realize the reasons for his anxiety and ridiculous behavior, I find myself ashamed by the small gesture of shoes disorganized or bowl set aside instead of neatly placed in line for washing. I don't like to spend time with him because my demons begin to surface, proving that I'm not a normal man with the normal life I'd been told I'd have.
All over again, it summons the call and that is more painful than denying any baser instinct. The desire to act, to hunt, to defend, I swallow it back and reach for his hand to tangle our fingers together as the car slides easily out onto the street.
"Tell me about it?" I offer, dropping the shield that had been protecting me for the past six months. I try not to let his surprise bother me. "Tell me about your grand fortress?"