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Chapter Quote:
"I only love two people in this world and you're not one of them."
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Chapter 25

Kiara

"I know of Tabitha Devereaux. Our line of work aligns with each other," I said with a smile, wondering whether or not Amanda knew of Dark Hunters, or at least that things that go bump in the night were real.

"So you hunt the undead as well? If my husband hadn't been in the exact same business as her, except much deeper into it, then I would think she and all her other friends are crazy."

"I'm much deeper into it than Tabitha as well, and I deal with more than just the undead."

"You're a Dark Hunter?" Amanda queried with wide eyes. "Because if so, I've never met a female one."

I laughed. "No, no, no, I couldn't work for that goddess. I'd probably end up killing her. Or at least trying to. I work for Ares. I'm an elite soldier."

"She's the best of the best," Nick chimed in. "I've seen her fight. She's lethal."

"Speaking of lethal, so is your mom and she might kill me if you stay out any longer. Get home Nick. I'll walk you to your car."

"Kiara, I'm five doors down. I think I can get there without anything happening," he pointed out, his voice tinged with amusement.

"I know but I worry about you. Please be careful okay?"

"I will. I'll see you soon. Let me know if you need anything. Amanda, it was nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you too, Nick," she answered with a kind smile. My friend left, meaning I was all alone with my newcomer. I'll admit, I tried to read her mind because I was getting a strange vibe from her, but for some reason her mind was blocked to me.

"Are you from New Orleans? Or from some faraway place?" Amanda asked in an attempt to make casual conversation.

"Greece originally, but I've lived all over. What about you?"

"New Orleans my whole life. My husband has been all over though. Speaking of, I think this might be him now." We glanced out the window to see a pair of headlights belonging to a black Ferrari pulling up into my driveway. A tall, lean but muscular man exited the car, walking up to the front door. Amanda opened it before he could knock.

"Hey sweetie!" she exclaimed, giving him a hug. He wrapped his arms around her and I couldn't help but notice the height difference because he basically swallowed her in a hug.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thanks to Kiara." Amanda pulled away and turned to me. "Honey, this is Kiara Castellanos. Kiara, this is my husband, Killian Dark."

His green eyes met mine and my world stopped. I knew I must be freaking both of them out by my reaction but I didn't care. This was impossible, unfathomable. There was no mistaking. This was one part of my memories which had been crystal clear.

I was jarred back to my sense when Killian stammered out, "M-mom?"
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Acheron

I'd gotten a tip from Talon that a certain Dark Hunter was making brash decisions in their Daimon hunting, going after too large of groups, going after the elites without backup, and just doing stupid things I'd warned my Dark Hunters not to do.

I walked down Bourbon street; people instantly moved out of my way when they saw me. The perks of being six-foot-eight I guess, although it might've been the all-black ensemble I was wearing, or the fact that I was wearing sunglasses at night. It could've been a lot of things.

But I ignored the people ogling me as I passed because at that moment, I saw my target slip into an alleyway. I followed to find Kyrian up against eight Daimons. When they saw me they started panicking. My Dark Hunter took advantage of the distraction and killed two at the same time before chucking a ninja star deep into another's chest. The five remaining Daimons started gathering their wits again, going in for an attack but Kyrian was ready for them, as was I. While he handled the three closest to him, I attacked the remaining two. It was an easy kill. All I had to do was feint to the right and spin around them, slicing my sword through the back of one before stabbing the other through the heart as he turned around. When I was finished with them, I turned around to help Kyrian, but he'd already finished them off.

"What are you doing here?" He asked gruffly, shoving his sword into a hidden pocket in his jacket.

"Checking in on you. Someone reported that you were being reckless and judging by the looks of this most recent endeavor of yours, I'm going to have to agree. What were you thinking taking on eight Daimons?"

"I was thinking that I could handle it because I know I could've. I've dealt with eight before. I've dealt with more than eight before. I'm fine."

"So if you're fine, then explain to me that rip in your shirt, the cut on your head, the gash on your hand, and the limp you've given yourself from injuring your left foot."

"So I didn't get out completely unscathed. Most Dark Hunters don't get through a night without some form of an injury, major or minor."

"Where's your backup? Where's Kiara?"

"Probably searching for her husband, I don't know," he snapped.

"What's gotten into you?" I demanded.

"Nothing you need concern yourself with because whether I tell you or not, it won't change anything."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do actually."

I sighed. "Look, I know you're upset about Kiara-"

"So she told you?"

"Told me what? I was going to say you were upset about her condition but what are you talking about?" I inquired, wondering what on earth he meant.

"She had this insane idea in her head that I'm her long-lost husband. We got into a fight about it and she left."

"Did she have any proof?"

"Besides her sketchy memories? No, none."

"When did this happen?"

"Last night."

"She's by herself? In her condition?"

"Zarek is with her according to Nick," he answered rather bitterly. "She's fine as long as she has him."

"There's nothing going on between them."

"Sure."

"He's her bodyguard. I've seen those memories. Her husband is someone completely different. When do you see her next?"

"I'm not. I don't want to see her and she doesn't want to see me."

"I don't believe that, on either side."

"Well it's the truth. She left some stuff at my house and didn't want to come pick it up until I was out because she told Nick she didn't want to see me."

"I'm sure she'll come around."

"I don't want to see her either. I'm the one that sent her packing in the first place."

"Why did you do that?" I groaned.

"Hey, you're the one that didn't want us getting too close."

"You're right, I didn't, because I didn't want to see either of you hurt. The way I gauged your relationship was that that wasn't going to happen. I trusted you not to hurt her and vice versa."

"Why are you so protective of her when she's not even a Dark Hunter? Why is she mingling with our kind when all other immortal groups barely do?"

"Watch where you step Kyrian," I warned. "She and I go way back, much farther than you two do. And whenever I need help or I need someone to help my Dark Hunters, she's always the first to volunteer. She's smart, cunning, kind, and reckless. And she would do whatever it took to take care of the people she loves. I'm on that list, Zarek is on that list, you were on that list, probably still are whether she wants to admit it or not. So yes, I'm going to be protective of her because she's part of the Dark Hunter family, whether she is one or not. So watch what you say about her. Now go home and clean yourself up. You're not fighting for the rest of the night and I'll evaluate you tomorrow before you go out hunting."

"Ash I'm-"

"Don't you dare say you're fine!" I snapped at him. "You're not fine and I'll be damned if you I let you die because you were taking your frustration out from your current situation in the form of reckless behaviour. You're one of my best Hunters and I will not lose you. Now I'm going to walk you to your car to make sure you get in and I'm going to call Nick to have him stay at your house tonight to make sure you stay there. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," Kyrian replied with a not-so-little amount of sarcasm in his voice, but he listened to me and that's all that mattered. We walked in silence to his car which was parked about a mile away. We received a few stares but our intimidating presence kept questions (and worse) at bay. Kyrian got in his car and drove off while I called Nick to hurry over to his boss's house. He didn't need a long explanation. Apparently he saw this coming after his encounter with Kyrian earlier. He suggested having Julian talk to Kyrian about everything since they were 'brothers from another mother' (as he put it). If his boss was going to open up about everything to anyone, it'd be his brother. I agreed with him and told him to talk to Julian at the earliest possible convenience.

I was just about to head into the city again when my phone buzzed with a message from Kiara. All it said was: Can you come over?

Something about the message struck me as odd. Usually she would give a brief explanation as to why she needed me to come over but not this time. I told her I'd be right over and I was. My hand had barely lifted to ring her doorbell when the door was thrown open. Kiara, with tear streaks down her face, practically yanked me into the foyer, hastily shut the door, and led me into the living room. I recognized the two people in there all too well.

"Killian, Amanda, it's nice to see you again," I greeted. "What's going on?"

"Hey Ash," Killian replied. It took me a couple seconds to notice that his face was flushed and that his eyes were slightly puffy as if he'd been crying.

"What's going on here?"

"Ash, I still don't know who my husband is," Kiara began. "But I found something, or someone, just as equally important to me."

"Who would that be?"

Kiara placed her hand on Killian's shoulder, a proud smile on her face as she declared, "My son."
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