Tiberius collapses back onto his hip as the light snow trickles down from the heavens. A tremble runs through my body as Verando struggles to get his breath in my lap. I can only hug him tighter, ignoring the grunt of discomfort as I bury my face in his hair. It was the first time I'd trigger my wolf over attempting to use magic, did that mean I was finally accepting this side of myself?

The siren's thick black hair falls all around his face, golden eyes broad and disturbed, we were all frightened. 

"We need to get Landon inside before he freezes."

It's Verando who thaws us both out, I jump at his voice, glancing towards Tiberius with a stiff shift of my eyes. The man nods, getting up on stilted legs as he treads over to pick up the young man and bring him inside. K rushes to us as I help Verando through the broken door, cursing that I hadn't managed to protect our house. 

With a flip of my hand, it startles me how easily I build a solid ice wall to protect the open space. My time with Rowan must be finally starting to pay off, as Tiberius helps K carry Landon to one of the guest rooms to rest, and to tell Helen we had all come out of this, I direct Verando to the couch. "Let me get you some clothes." 

Without receiving his answer, I race upstairs to grab him simple items. A long sleeve, some jeans, and boxer briefs, my fingers and hands struggle to grip anything at the thought that I almost lost him. That I might have chosen to remain here while he burned in the underworld because my children needed me. That was the correct thought, it was what must be done, but it didn't cease to break me for even considering it. 

Coming back down the stairs, he's gone and I nearly implode from the panic. "Randy?!" I plead, rushing into the living space to catch a glimpse of him in the kitchen. Using a cloth to scrub the blood from his body in slow, deliberate movements. My body moves before I can think, I appear in the kitchen and I grip his wrist in command to not irritate the wounds. 

Yet, looking him over, his body had mostly healed. The bruising on his neck might never leave, but the cuts and slices of the chains vanished. Where the sword had stabbed him barely remained as more than a slice that seemed to get smaller by the moment. It didn't even scar, the bruising from the impact of fighting with a god had mostly lightened and he seemed no worse for wear. If nothing else, he was only exhausted. 

The dark circles under his eyes, the pale skin from being drained of all his energy and blood loss, he was still out of breath but he was himself. 

Placing my hand over the place where the bullet pierced his chest, the space felt cold but there was hardly a mark remaining. "I-" The words don't come out, empathy for my struggle in the last hour crosses his expression. 

"I'm alright." He manages, his voice rough and hoarse, probably from the chain constricting his throat. 

Throwing my arms around him, I hug him as tightly as I can manage, enough to produce a flinch that I will myself to ignore. "I thought you were gone."

"I was." he admits. "Everything went black, it felt like a dream, but more permanent. Alpha pulled me out." 

Would I have rathered him lie to me? Horrified, my gaze meets his and the fear there matches my own. Neither of us was prepared for a relapse, that seeing Tyr would trigger an invasion into his person. We had thought that the seal and the chain would lock Fenrir away but it would appear that it had only suppressed his ability to gain his full form. It did not keep him from attempting to take over Verando's body just as he had with Caspian. 

"Tyr wanted to take you," I whisper, my voice hardly audible, I couldn't even allow myself to consider it. "We don't give Alpha enough credit... he saves us time and time again."

Sometimes I wonder how heroic my husband would be if his wolf side didn't have such high morals, if the bond wasn't so strong and if the obsession with me didn't trump all else. Alpha, over all, had picked me over everything else. Alpha loved me, without question and without fail, for that was what these wolves were designed to do. The loyalty was unquestioned, now that I was a lycan too, the bond could not be broken. 

Verando's index finger slips under my chin, tilting my head up to catch my eyes with his own. Seeing the darkening roots of his hair fade into the gray, I feel my breath catch in the smallest resistance of a sob. "You saved me." he insists, because the truth was, there would have been nothing we could do to stop the god from imposing his will. 

Tyr's nature and love for humans were what spared us. 

I don't want to think about it anymore as I take the cloth and help him rid his body of as much blood as we could remove. The sound of our children approaching encourages him to put on his boxer briefs and step into his jeans. They enter the room as he does up the zipper and button, Tyler following behind them with Helen. 

"So Tyr is gone?" He asks, frowning, looking only mildly startled by the physique of my husband. Our group had hardly gotten to see him in his new prime, I quietly allow him to observe for it was how I'd originally known him. The more 'modern' look he'd held for the last year had been a recent development. 

"Tyr claims that he will not be allowed to return after this final act," I repeat, handing Verando his shirt. "There is unsettling news that other gods are coming to this plain. Why, I'm not sure. I'm not well versed in the lore." I sigh, running a hand through my hair in frustration. 

Tyler shudders, "I've only known one god... ain't never expected to have so many propping up."

Verando ignores the comment as he pulls the long sleeve over his head, the v-neck was satisfying with the way it accents his collar bone. "Did I hear correctly, Anubus was the name of the one they saw in the desert? Isn't that Egyptian?"

Blinking away my own distraction, I nod. "I believe so. We're going to have to talk to Ron and see if the government is aware of any of this, perhaps call Marcello and ask him if they've heard anything. I can give Lotta a call, or she might rather speak to you."

Reluctance crosses his face, "And do what? Nic, I don't want to get involved."

Staring at him, I'm shocked at the sternness of his tone, I would have thought after such a display he might be hungry to prevent anyone else from going through this. "Randy, if there are other gods then they will be looking for other vessels... claiming territory or worse, you know as well as I do a deity is the whole reason werewolves exist in the first place. We have to at least investigate it, we owe it to Darrius to make sure we know where and who these people are."

Gritting his teeth, he pinches the bridge of his nose as Darrius runs up to him. "Me? What people?" He asks excitedly, earning a softer expression from the warlord. Wrapping his arms around Verando's leg, he cuddles his cheek into the man's hip as Verando gently ruffles his hair. "Daddy, why are you mad?"

"I'm not mad darling. I'm very tired." He exhales, shooting me a warning glance. Our time to talk about this was nonexistent with children running around. Darrius was too old not to pick up on even our slightest concern, despite the morning being in shambles, it was our job not to frighten out children. "Helen is going to take you to see Gary for a while today, the door is broken and we must fix it before tonight."

Wide eyed, Darrius leaves with Xavier close behind him to look at the door. "Woah! What happened?" He asks, successfully distracted from his questioning. "That noise was scary!"

"We did hear a bang, we were wondering what it was." Helen adds to lighten the mood. "We went and hid in the back room but nobody came looking for us."

"Tata is bad at hide and seek." Darrius giggles. 

"You're just too good at it." I challenge, picking up Xaiver as the timid boy lifts his hands. While Darrius could be distracted, Xaiver was in the living space watching TV when Helen grabbed him. I could only imagine what his tiny body experienced in those few short seconds. Maybe Verando was right, maybe it was a poor time to start adding to our already overflowing cup of responsibilities.

We were already pushing our children off again to do repairs when Verando was scheduled to leave in a few short days, we hadn't even decided if I would stay or go, and arranging care for our children was feeling more and more painful. While everyone was willing to watch them, I struggled to leave them over and over again at such a crucial point in their lives. 

Darrius shifts back and forth, swaying curiously. "I don't want to go to Gary's. I want to stay here." He manages, our dynamic was different and it wasn't often he got to be with both of us. Listening to me was a challenge, I lacked the quiet promise of death my husband was able to produce. "Why do I have to go?"

"Honey it's too cold to stay here and your daddy and I will be in and out. Remember your Daddy has to leave in a few days with Tiberius." I sigh, catching the tired look on Verando's face. After our experience this morning, we all needed a moment for our nerves to settle and it would appear he was running on empty with the fight for his mental state. 

I regret the words as soon as they come out of my mouth, Darrius crosses his arms over his chest, shaking his head. "No! I won't go!"

"Dare." Verando exhales, flinching at the sound of his own voice. "It's only for the day, you'll come back tonight."

"I don't want to!" He shouts, the house shivers, and I give Verando a cautious glance, almost considering asking if he could just stay. Squaring his shoulders, the warlord meets the gaze of the small boy.

"No more. You can be upset, but you can't carry on like this. Knock it off."

Stomping his foot, the boy narrows his eyes with a grunt of frustration. A glass shatters on the table, "You're mean!"

"Usually," Verando responds shortly. "Go to your room until it's time to go."

"I don't like you anymore!" Darrius shouts back, the ice shatters from the door, startling Xaiver who clings to me with a shriek. 

"Darrius, stop!" I nearly plead. Verando crosses the space and for a moment my instincts which to protect the boy. I'm unsure of what he'll do, given how he was parented, my fear is he'd strike the coming four-year-old.

"Go. Now." Verando points up the stairs, and the boy gives a harsh sniffle, wiping at his nose roughly. His tone is firm, short, lacking emotion much like when he commanded his army. Running up the stairs, the boy slams the door and my warlord grumbles in irritation. "Wonder where he gets that from..." Eyeing me, I only can rock Xaiver as I attempt to settle him down. 

"Are you blaming me?!" I demand. 

"Absolutely." He grumbles, slumping into a seat at the table as Tyler reseals the door. 

Helen scoffs, sitting on the edge of the table. "I honestly didn't expect you to be good with kids, it always surprises me."

With a shove, Verando pushes her off the edge, and with a squeal of shock, Helen lands sharply on her ass on the tile floor. "That's for plotting against me, ya twat."

"Hey! I tried really hard to help!" But the shame is clear on her face. "They made valid points and they weren't entirely wrong."

I still wanted to talk about the seriousness of his blaming this newfound attitude on me. "Why would it be my fault?" I redirect back to my own concern, the surprise crosses his expression along with practical offense. 

"So.. you're worried that I think you caused Darrius's stubborn streak but the fact that my grand daughter arranged a coup isn't a concern to you?"

Shrugging, I kiss Xaive's cheek. "I expect nothing from Helen, you should be used to this by now. I was raised as a prince, in a very strict household, so yes I take offense to you thinking our child is disrespectful because of me!" It didn't make any sense, while Darrius did argue with me more, I felt like we worked through a lot of solutions. 

Tyler scoffs and Helen punches him in the arm as she stands, making him flinch. "That's not what history says.." he mumbles, earning a scowl as I freeze his feet to the floor.

Xaiver giggles and claps. "Fall down! Freeze!" He chirps. 

Verando can only laugh, while he's exhausted, apparently, I'm also hysterical. He's laughing hard enough that I can hardly get an answer as I tap my foot impatiently. "You? Disciplined? You're a total brat!"

Narrowing my eyes, I set my jaw in frustration. "I don't quite like you anymore, either."

"I rest my case." He retorts, wiping at his eye, "Well, that was a good laugh for an absolutely shitty morning."

"Shit!" Xaiver giggles.

I pull my lips into a thin line. "Hmm. Nice. Parent of the year. Xaiver, we don't talk like that. Bad words." 

The gray-haired boy growls back at me before giggling again, kicking his legs to try and escape. 

Helen turns her attention to Tyler, "This is why I don't want kids."

"Oh with your genetics, sorry sister, you'll have them if you want them or not." I grumble, earning a collective Mercer scowl from Verando and Helen. Tyler scoffs, amused, only to grunt as she elbows him. Putting up his hands, he steps out of her way as Helen collects Xaiver. 

"Let's get out of here before we start another family war. I think we've had enough excitement for one day." She murmurs, sending Tyler upstairs to get Darrius.