And Then There Were Four (Lilith Carrie)

Staring at her for a moment, I nodded my head slowly. I had a breast pump, but being a new mother, it felt unnatural. Even though it was super convenient, I enjoyed the feeling of having my children nurse from me. Having my body supply them with an ability to live. "I did. I stocked just like you said. There is enough for tonight, and tomorrow morning."

"Good," she replied with a smile on her face as she glanced at Priscilla. "Priscilla and I will take tonight's feeding shifts with the milk that you've stored. You will sleep and not wake until morning."

"That's easier said than done, mother," I scoffed as I lifted the teacup to my lips.

"It isn't as hard as you think, and instead of trying to deflect the situation, try to accompany it and agree."

There was no winning with this woman. She refused to leave, no matter how many times she had talked to her mate Blake. He was growing impatient, but she told him he could come up here if he was so concerned.

"Oh, speaking of that, I wanted to let you know that your mate sent me with parting words to give to you," Kate said as she turned to my mother, whose eyes narrowed slightly before she crossed her arms.

"Is that right? And what were those words?"

"He simply said that if you don't come home, he is going to come here and drag you home, regardless. He wants your one-on-one game night fun. Whatever the fuck that means."

A twinkle in my mother's eye caught me off guard, and I knew exactly what that was a reference to. "Kate, you literally just passed a sex message," I said nonchalantly, watching as Kate's eyes widened and a look of disgust crossed her face as she glanced between my mother and I.

"OK, that's just absolutely fucking disgusting. I am not your sex correspondent person over here. You two need to learn how to figure out your arrangements."

Laughter filled the space around us as we enjoyed Kate's disgust over what she had just done. Moments like this were the ones I looked forward to.

"I know that you're trying to keep my spirits high, but I have to know... did you find anything okay, Kate?"

The change in conversation seemed to bring silence to the room. Each of them looked at each other before Kate sighed. "I wasn't able to find anything, but we have a solution." "Solution? What kind of solution?"

"Angel and I are going to the council at dawn," She said, catching me off guard.

"No," I said quickly, shaking my head. "It's dangerous... you can't, Kate."

"Hey, it's going to be okay."

"I said no!" I roared, jumping to my feet. Those in the room jumped back from me in fear. "I will lose no one else to these people."

"Ivy, my love..." James said softly with his hands in front of him as he stalked toward me. "I need you to take deep breaths and calm down, please."

"Don't tell me to calm down."

"Ivy. Look at yourself... like actually look," James said, causing me to flinch at the tone of his voice. Unsure for a moment, I let my eyes cast toward a mirror hanging on the wall. The reflection was one I didn't recognize, and flinching back, I gasped. My eyes were no longer the celestial blue but pitch black, and my hair a flaming white with tendrils of darkness spreading across my body.

"What's wrong with me?" I whispered, trying to understand what was going on. However, soft cries caught my attention and turned my focus toward the crib.

As if a switch and been turned off, all the anger and fear washed away from me, and quickly I made my way towards Pollux, picking him up. "It's okay, don't cry."

"Ivy, how long has this been going on?" Priscilla asked from where she was standing.

"I have never seen that before..."

It wasn't a lie. I had never done that before, but it didn't matter. My baby needed me, and the time to visit was over.

"Ivy, this is important. It's clear to everyone that things are not well with you right now. Your emotions are all over the place. You're changing... not eating right " James replied.

I knew he was right. I didn't understand my feelings, and deep down I felt something inside me growing that was different from before.

"Something's wrong with me, but I'll be fine. We need to find Damian."

Turning my back to them, I was done with the conversation. There was nothing else to say, and even though I knew I needed to take care of myself, I refused to think about be right now.

I could only think about making our family whole and getting revenge on those who had harmed us. No one could deny what happened to Damian.

I had felt his pain, and as the darkness deep inside me slowly grew, I found a new determination. One that would lead me on a path of war if it must.

I would kill anyone who betrayed me, and I would protect everyone I loved.