A/N: NOT EDITED.

Chapter 19 - The Past, Passing Knowledge (Kaden POV)

"Is this like pretend?" Sawyer asked her eyes larger than normal, her tone unsure, confused, "I like playing pretend," she added. "John can you come up to Myles' room please," I shouted keeping my eyes on the kids. "It's not pretend because Pops made his face change," Tristan my thinker added.

"Is it magic like a trick?" Sawyer continued after Tristan, trying to figure out just what Etta and I were trying to say. "Not everyone turns into a wolf, some people can turn into large cats, or bears, daddy's face changes and then he gets really strong and can hear further away," Etta told the kids, Sawyer and Tristan shooting her definite looks of disbelief while Vivian and Myles seemed bored already knowing all of this.

"Momma and Pops aren't lying, John can turn into a big wolf, and David too, and they give horsey rides," Vivian told the twins. "But - but they are different colors, right Myles?" he nodded.

As John came to the door, "Hello all," he waved, already knowing what I was calling him for, "can you shift please?" I turned to meet his eyes, wondering if we were doing the right thing and telling Sawyer and Tristan all this now. I didn't know, I was fairly shocked when even Ree and Morgan according to Etta sorta understood that she was different and so were David and John. 'I want them to know who they can trust, there aren't many of us here, those are the ones I know they can trust,' Etta told me month's back.

"Do you think you two could handle seeing John shift into a wolf?" Etta asked Sawyer and Tristan, "It's okay if you're afraid, I just want you to know that anyone we bring around you, you can trust them, they won't hurt you guys," Etta moved in closer to them, trying to give any support she could right now.

"Is - is it like 'little red riding hood?' Is he going to change to a bad wolf?" Sawyer asked on top of all her fables and Disney tales apparently. "No little miss, I'm going to turn into a wolf, but I won't hurt you or your brother... the only time I would ever get growly is when someone is going to hurt the people I love."

With wide eyes Sawyer and Tristan nodded, "And do you know who I love?" John asked his voice softer than I had ever heard it. When both twins shake their heads a nice gentle smile grows on his lips.

"I love your mom, dad, Ree, Morgan, Vivian, Myles.... I love my son David and his babies, and Rascal, Marco, Graham and their mom and dad... and you want to know who else?" again his tone just luring the twins in like he has some big secret.

"I love you Sawyer, and Tristan you as well... the only time I would get wolfy and eat someone is if they were hurting the people I love, only then."

"You love us too?" Tristan asked with disbelief.

"Of course, buddy." I smiled, knowing and so damn grateful that Etta had John while I was missing, while I had forgotten. If I wasn't around for Etta, my heart calmed when I thought that she would have John. I would prefer I hadn't missed anything but I knew that with John on her side, Etta would be safe - not because she had a man by her side but because she was so strong on her own, John was just extra padding. To my right Etta's face beamed at me, hearing my thoughts, thank you for having that faith in me, she tells me her smile so damn contagious.

"So are you guys ready?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" Myles jumped his wild blonde brown curls flying around, "Its so cool Tristan!" he told the child sitting. Waiting for them to reply, to give him the go ahead, standing back once he gets it their approval, he slowly shifts, his feet and hands turning to paws, his body hair growing until not a single patch of skin is visible. Black thick fur, covering every inch of his body and his teeth elongate out, sharp, white teeth, deadly when needed. Their hearts racing stunned silent Sawyer and Tristan gasped, a small whimper comes out from them and from behind us, Vivian and Myles clap like they've seen the best trick, their laughs loud and happy.

Lowering himself, John falls to his stomach, and Vivian and Myles rush over to pet him, "He's so soft!" Vivian says giggling. Sawyer turns to Tristan; when I was younger, I would watch my siblings, Jace and Addy, do exactly what my twins were doing now. A silent conversation between the two of them, had with just their eyes until finally they looked away from one another and back towards John in wolf form on Myles' bedroom floor.

"He won't bite?" Sawyer asked me her voice smaller than normal. "Wolfy wolfy wolfy," Ree and Morgan chanted as Kate and Cedrick placed them down outside of the door. Just throwing themselves at John on the ground, making sounds, and barking inbetween their happy squeals, was exactly what Sawyer and Tristan needed to make a move to approach my friend in wolf form. Slowly with shaky hands they pet him, pulling away just as their hands make contact, as though they expected him to bite them, doing it again and again, until repeatedly their hands are petting him in long strokes.

"The bad people made it so you can't be like John?" Tristan asks after a good ten minutes.

I shake my head, "They took me and changed me, and so instead of turning into a wolf, I can change my face into someone new. So even though I was born Kaden, with a wolf like John, when they took me, they did things to me that made my wolf go away."

Leaving one hand on John, stilled, "Will I turn into a wolf?" and that was the thing I didn't quiet know, yet. "Do you remember when you were back in New York and they took blood tests and they also put the cotton swab in your mouth? Both you and Sawyer?"

"Yeah, the needle..." he muttered.

"Well we are testing that blood to see what will happen... you each have Fae, human and wolf blood, so we aren't sure just yet what's going to happen... do you understand?"

He shook his head, blinking innocently.

"Your aunt Gemma had a baby right? Just recently?" Etta took over.

"Ya, and - and she named her Stella, both of our names start with S," Sawyer chirped.

"Well did you guys know what the baby was going to look like before she came out of your aunts Belly? Did you know if she was going to have hair or be bald? Have a pointy nose or a flat nose? If she would be a big baby or a tiny tiny baby?" they twins shook their head again.

"Well that's just like this, we can see that you have my blood, wolf blood, and human blood inside you, but we won't know until it's time for those differences to show if you will turn into wolves or if you'll be like me and can fly..."

"When will it be time?"

"When we turn fourteen," Sawyer answered her brother, making us blink.

"Another dream? Did you see yourself changing?" I probed softly. But she just shook her head, "No, I saw me saying fourteen," she shrugged.

"Sawyer, does this happen often? You having day dreams?"

"Not all the times," my daughter replied distracted.

Glancing at Etta, I knew we had to talk about what was happening with Sawyer, she was already showing signs of both Fae and Were... While Tristan only had hearing and olfactory enhancement.

"Sawyer, Tristan," I called them, waiting until they were both looking at me, "You can't tell anyone about us, or yourself, you can't tell anyone that smells like your mom and dad. And even if they smell like John, your ma and I, you can't talk about it. I know that it's hard but unless you're around us, inside this house, you can't bring up anything about Fairy's, werewolf, or my face changing, or you getting daydreams Sawyer. We aren't like humans, but we live around them, do you guys understand?" they nodded blinking at us, and I just knew that we would have to keep reminding them until it was like Vivian and Myles.

I didn't want Sawyer and Tristan to think that there was something wrong with who they were, when there wasn't but with such dangers in the world... I knew that they needed to learn whom they could trust, and who was someone that shouldn't be clued into what we were. It was a bit tricky, but I wanted them to be free to be who they were while being somewhere safe to be that person especially when they had so many different facets just inside them.

Were-blood, Fae blood and human as well.

I knew of those that secluded themselves that they lost touch of reality, they weren't able to acclimate themselves in the human world. I didn't want that for any of my children, but I also knew that with so many different options, living in New York or anywhere overly populated wouldn't be in their best interest.

"Do you think that's why mom and dad had us, because Aunt Margo had a friend that smelled like Rascal and Marco, and Graham?" Sawyers' words pull me back to the room, even John in wolf form turned so he could see her face.

"Your aunt had a friend that smelt like Rascal and Marco?" - "What do they smell like to you?" Etta and I asked at the same time, startling the little girl but she blinked and turned thoughtful for a moment, her head to the side.

"They smell like the products under the sink, like - like it makes your eyes burn and like sticks-" Tristan giggled, "She means cinnamon, like cinnamon sticks - like my grandma uses to make tea." My stomach turned and flipped repeatedly, and I'm sure the smile of encouragement I had on my face was more so a grimace.

"Yeah like that but this one he smelled like that but he was wearing a lot of the face perfume daddy used, it kept making me sneeze," Sawyer said exaggerated, her hands waving in front of her little nose, that scrunched up cutely in annoyance. "She had another friend but he smells like baby powder, like cleaning stuff and baby powder." Sawyer rambled on, not really counting out anything but more or less saying what came to her mind as she remembered.

Immediately my mind was re-evaluating Margo's already unsettling personality and passive aggressive behavior towards us the few times we interacted.

"Hey Rascal, you think you can take all the kids down to the pool? Or do you guys want to watch a movie instead?" I put up the next activity to a vote, noting that it was the easiest way to go.

"Movie on the big t.v!" Tristan exclaimed jumping to his feet eagerly. Once the room was empty of children, we went back to my office, John changing to his human form, dressing and joining Etta and I. "She brought two vampires around Sawyer and Tristan..." I tried to remain calm and collected but my mind was racing. How close to danger were Sawyer and Tristan? My cruel - but knowledgeable - mind playing out different scenarios of what could have happened had we not taken that trip... had Etta not decided to go to that park... and had Sawyer not saw herself there as well. Would we have lost two children and not know that we had at all?

"I say we keep eyes on her," Etta says and Sean who comes in later, hearing what was said and most likely being told my John nods in agreement. "Do - do you think she knew that Sawyer and Tristan were different?"

"You think that's why she wanted them to stay with Katherine and Donovan?"

I couldn't say exactly, but now, it made me a bit uncomfortable to bring them out to the island, "I can spell the area," Etta said pacing in my office.

"I can - I'll have to keep it up but I can place a circle spell of safety around us," she stopped turning to John looking for his guidance on this. Blinking confused I was a bit out of the loop at the moment but just then Etta turned to me.

"It's a very detailed spell, we mix my blood with ash and I have to create a circle undisturbed around us, what it does is if someone tries to hurt us, or comes here with the intention to hurt us... they become sick."

"Sick?" I asked skeptically.

"Well in humans it displays as intense food poisoning... shifters can't shift and vampires any other potion or spell that allows them to be in the sun, or daylight period is cancelled out, they become very sluggish and their extra abilities are set back to human like abilities."

"Why don't we use this all the time?" I asked glancing between both of them.

"Well because of the amount of blood and the spell itself, we noticed that it tends to bring or call attention... we haven't used it here on the island but when we lived in London, for a bit - well it seems to calls the supernatural to us, but if they come with bad intentions..."

"Do you all think it would have the same effects? I mean we're on an island..."

"Never wanted to take the risk..." John replies.

Going back and forth, sharing ideas we keep coming back to two options, we go back to New York for the twins birthday, or we use Etta's spell and keep it up indefinitely. When the movie Rascal set up for all the kids finishes, Kate come to help Vivian and Sawyer prepare for bed while I help the boys and Etta bathes and dressed Ree and Morgan, reading them a quick story before going to Sawyer and Tristan.

"Can we call mom and dad?" Sawyer asked tired, rubbing at her eyes. Getting the phone, Etta left to check on Vivian and Myles, while I sat on Sawyers bed, my daughter curled up against my side, the phone at her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey mommy," my tired girl greeted with a bit of left over energy.

"Sawyer, oh Don - it's Sawyer," with my eyes closed I listen to the Bradley's questioning a tired Sawyer.

"Well... we fixed our rooms, and then we went swimming and we live on the beach, and - and there is a tennis court, and my room is next to Tristan's and Vivian..." she yawns and though I'm sure the Bradley's know she's almost down and out, they continue speaking, gushing over the small details she gives them.

"Yeah - we are going to go hiking and then we're going to - to see my new school-" the yawns more frequent. "You're coming to see us right? For our birthday? Can you bring my favorite pillow and my blanket too?"

"Yes - we'll bring them for you sweetie..." Katherine says in a whimper, Sawyer so exhausted doesn't catch on to the change of voice. "Okay - thank you - I need to go sleep now," she mumbles, "Love you, night night."

Barely holding on, Katherine returns the sentiments before letting Sawyer end the call.

Tucking Sawyer in, I tap her cheek, "thank you, you did very good about not telling about the wolf talk and our secrets," I told her, knowing that if we encouraged the behavior we wanted... eventually there would come a time where we wouldn't need to tell or remind Sawyer and Tristan not to tell the Bradley's or other humans.

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Hey everyone... so I know some are wondering when I'm going back to the present?? WELL SOON. My plan was to have the first twenty to deal with the past and the next twenty to be the future SO.... that means... after next chapter... we will be in the present.... who is excited?

So who thinks they should go back to New York? and Who thinks Etta should create the ring?? Let me know...

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