The Devil's Wolf

"Shit, dad," as much as Ashlynn wanted to run into her father's arms after such a long time apart, she hesitated to do so, knowing that she presented a physical barrier between him and Cael, and that her grip on Cael's wrist, tenuous as it was, was all that prevented the winged man from flying off again. "Please... just be nice."

"Good evening, Raiden," Elior was smug, his prediction that Raiden would be distracted by Cael playing out before him. Ashlynn, however, knew her father well enough to know that once Raiden had addressed the more pressing threat, he would refocus on the vampire.

"Elior," Raiden angled his head in greeting without taking his eyes off of Cael. "Thank you for bringing Ashlynn back to the pack."

The front yard was suddenly full of vampires as Elior's children arrived, their speed making it seem as if they appeared from thin air, though Ashlynn's hair lifted with their movement. Cael shifted trying to free Ashlynn's grip on him. Raiden's Other flashed, and he growled, whether at the new arrivals, or as a result of Cael's movement, Ashlynn was not certain.

"They are mine, Raiden," Elior assured him from the porch. "Nate and Rebecca you know. This is Jacinta, my eldest child. I don't believe you have met; she was elsewhere for much of our acquaintance."

Jacinta inclined her head imperiously.

"Release me," Cael closed his hand over Ashlynn's, and he growled the words. "Or I will break your fingers in making you do so."

Raiden's lip curled, and his snarl was all alpha wolf, the Other dominating his eyes, and his nails clawing at his side as he prepared to shift.

"Dad," Ashlynn murmured in caution. "Chill."

"You are not helping yourself," Elior observed coolly to Cael. "Raiden, Cael is... socially awkward. If you will calm, we may be able to persuade him inside, which is where we should all be, and that would make your daughter very happy as she had been trying to persuade Cael to join us for some time."

"I am not..." Cael started at the same time as Raiden snarled: "He is not..."

They broke off and glowered at each other.

Cael's lip curled with a hint of humor, and he retracted his wings, shaking off the discomfort as if it were water. "On second thought, I should stay with the slave who claims she is my mate," he announced vindictively, enjoying Raiden's objection.

"Thank you, Cael," Ashlynn said quickly sensing the winged man had more to say, cutting him off before he riled her father up further. She felt the tension release. Of course, her winged mate's contrariness would have him seeking entry just to spite her father. "Dad." She gestured towards the front door with her eyes and head. "He is my mate."

Raiden ran his hands through his hair. "Fine," he decided. "Inside. We will discuss this further, however," he added darkly.

Elior waited for Raiden to enter the house before following. His vampire children fell in behind him, leaving Cael and Ashlynn alone in the front garden. Ashlynn drew Cael by her grip on his wrist, towing him along behind her as she climbed the porch steps.

"You can release me," he commented twisting his wrist in her grasp. "I am going to enter the house willingly."

"No." She did not want to risk him flying away again. "Not until you are inside." She closed and locked the front door behind her but did not release the man. He heaved a sigh and subsided his efforts to escape. He did not mind the contact, she thought, despite his protestations. His loneliness and craving for touch was winning him over as much as the mate bond, she just had to keep touching him, and he would stay.

They followed Raiden towards the back of the house where the passage opened into a luxurious kitchen and living area. Cecelia exclaimed as they entered and threw her arms around Ashlynn, holding her tightly. "Oh, Ash," she said into her daughter's hair. "We have been so worried."

"Hi mum," Ashlynn rubbed her back with her free hand. "It is good to be home."

"It is so good to see you," Cecelia framed her face with her hands, her eyes searching Ashlynn's. "So good. You are too thin and have shadows beneath your eyes. You need to eat and sleep." She released her and looked up at Cael. "Cael," was said with reservation and confusion. "It is good to see you too," her tone was not as certain as her words.

The winged man sneered with deliberate provocation. "Is this where you live, now, Cecelia? It is nicer than the hovel where I almost f-ked you on the kitchen floor. I have f-ked your daughter, you know," his words were spitefully chosen to shock. and hurt, the winged man revelling in the power his relationship with Ashlynn gave him to do so.

Cecelia paled, and Raiden snarled, giving him exactly the reaction he sought, and he basked in it, his wings flicking against the instinct to preen and his face split by his malicious grin.

"Ahem," Elior cleared his throat. He was suppressing his laughter, Ashlynn noted. The vampire enjoyed the winged man's orneriness, and Raiden's instinctual aggression as the werewolf responded to the threat to his mate and cub. "Cael, as conversation openers go, that was not a good one. Raiden," he said in a valiant effort to distract the werewolf. "What is the situation locally?"

"I am regretting not killing you," Raiden said through his teeth to Cael but allowed the vampire to distract him from further response. "The local situation is pretty much as one would expect," he said with a edge of sharpness. "As we saw when vampires last caused havoc, people have begun to use it as an excuse for violence. The humans are responding by increasing military presence on the streets, concentrating it in Vampire Square. The suburbs are yet to experience too much disruption, but it is only a matter of time. Shops and businesses are already closing, predicting violence and chaos."

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"You almost f-ked my mother?" Ashlynn hissed at Cael and saw Elior's eyes flick to her, and Cecelia put a hand to her face in dismay. "No one ever told me that."

"At least twice," Cael enjoyed her reaction, his eyes lighting with devilish relish, enjoying her outrage and Cecelia's embarrassment. His words jerked Raiden's eyes back to him. "She was not as easy as you were." Ashlynn stamped on his instep, and he exclaimed in pain. Raiden smirked. "F-k it, Ashlynn, if you are going to be petty, you can release me," he shook his wrist trying to free himself from her grip.

She clung on, stubbornly. "No. Stop it," she grabbed the front of his shirt and snarled up at him. He froze in surprise. "We are going to have a conversation, you and I, and find a way to work this out. I am grubby, cold, in borrowed clothing, and exhausted, and I've just about had it with your mouth, so shut it and behave yourself." She shook him. "Alright?"

"As you wish," he muttered, petulantly, staring at the floor.

When he remained subdued, she released her grip on his shirt and turned back to her parents. Raiden was openly grinning, enjoying Cael's submission. "I think I will take him upstairs and have a shower and nap," she decided before her father could stir the winged man back up again, or vice versa. "I am no use to anyone this tired. Elior?" She looked at her vampire.

"As much as I would like to join you," he said regretfully. "I have to speak with your father first. I will be up when the opportunity presents itself."

"Alright," she stepped forward and the vampire brushed his lips over hers. "Come on Cael," she took the winged man's hand and tugged him along behind her. He didn't argue but sulked along obediently behind her.

She heard her father's voice, toned low, as she started down the hallway, and Elior's laughter, bright with amusement, but her hearing was not werewolf or vampire keen, and she could not make out the words.

"He said that he is glad to see that you have me on a leash," Cael muttered resentfully. "I am not on a leash. I am not a dog."

"Do you hear yourself right now?" She replied as they went down the hall to her bedroom. "Men, I swear it, never grow up!"