Incest/Taboo Akeldama

"I see, and you believe this will work?" Conner asked, peering up at him.

"I honestly can't say, Conner. It isn't like I run into legends every day," Giovani said with a shrug of his shoulders. "However, if this does work," nodding down to the amulet, "then the incantation to banish her should work as well."

"I see," Conner mumbled low, knowing if it did, then it would take a lot of strength to banish his mother from her kingdom. He wasn't about to fail now. No. First, he had to ensure the amulet worked, then he would move forward with his plan. "Salvatore," he spoke in a firm tone. A tone he had used for many years when he was rallying his troops.

"Yes, my lord?" Salvatore replied, knowing that tone from anywhere.

"Coordinate with Giovani, muster what forces you can, and have them ready when I call upon you. Patience, I need you to poke your nose around at the manor to see which of the nobles that didn't side with my imprisonment would be willing to take my side when the time comes. Nico, I need you to sabotage the manor's security, so when the time comes, my forces will not be hindered by whatever my mother has in place," Conner said, giving out his orders, preparing himself for the battle to come.

"What about me, Conner?" Giovani asked, peering down at him through his violet sunglasses. A little hurt that Conner would leave him out.

"You have the hardest of tasks. Are you sure you can handle it?" Conner asked in a serious tone.

"I'm eager to be of assistance, my Prince," Giovani stated, not enjoying the smile that appeared on Conner's lips.

"I was hoping you would say that," Conner said, noting how the other three were trying not to laugh at the predicament Giovani found himself in.

"And what will I be doing?" Giovani asked, knowing he was going to hate it, yet couldn't back out of it now.

"Seeing how you have your own House and not a part of my mother's. I need you to contact the other rogue Houses that you think would side with me when I oust my mother from her throne."

"Why?" Giovani asked for clarification.

"Because a new Council will be needed, and I was thinking it will consist of half of the nobles that side with me and half of the rebel Houses, where you will be the ring leader. As with the rest of you forming your own houses and sitting on the Council," Conner said, shocking the four of them.

"Conner, you want us to sit on the Council?!" Patience uttered in a mixture of awe and nervousness.

"You four are old enough to run your own Houses; you have the strength due to my blood to ensure that you raise powerful vampires. Plus, I need people on it that I know I can trust, or are you saying you'd rather stay in my shadow," Conner teased. Smirking when he heard her low whisper of: 'Yeah, how else am I going to stare at your ass.'

"Sire, the Council isn't just going to give up their power freely," Salvatore stated when he inched to the edge of his seat.

"I know, but the old Council will be sundered, and a new one must fill its place," Conner said darkly. He couldn't wait to make those that had a hand in his wife's death pay for their crime against him. "My new fledgling has made a case to ease the suffering of those the old guard deems ill fit in their eyes. So I want you three to visit these clubs around the city and see if those that are unbound are willing to join your new House. Worry not, my children, although you will stand on your own, you will always be of House Ambrose. Also, begin teaching them blood arts; it seems my mother has grown lax in foregoing such learning. It will be a boon for us when the time comes to make my move."

"Sire, not to be rude in your praise that we can handle the task of running our own House," Nico said, growing bashful under Conner's gaze. "Yet it takes money, a lot of money to operate one." Unsure why Conner had a smile on his lips.

"Giovani, if you would," Conner said, gesturing to him to hand them the bank cards he had Giovani get due to how Giovani had spirited away the fortune Conner had amassed in his long life. Having Giovani liquidate some of it so his children would have the seed to grow their Houses. "Use what means you need to gather what forces you may. Seeing how she most likely has eyes on me and every move I make, I can't be seen moving against her, at least not yet. If she learns a hint of this, we all will be dead before the rising of the sun. Given the ones I have seen, they will likely need a steady stream of blood to regain their strength. Only in private you may tell them you're Houses are a part of mine."

"Here, seeing how we all can't be seen meeting like this all the time. I went and got us all burner phones. I've preprogrammed our numbers into each one, so if we need to talk to one another, do it by text unless you are sure your conversations aren't going to be overheard," Giovani said, handing each and every one a phone. Showing Conner how to access the contact list and how to text and what a text was.

"Very wise, Gio," Conner said, testing out the nickname Iyana had given him. Hearing Patience snort when she heard it.

"My lord, don't you start with that, too," Giovani stated as he crossed his arms.

"But it just rolls off the tongue," Conner mused, pocketing the card that contained the rest of his fortune that Giovani had converted into modern-day USD. "Nico," rising to his feet, knowing he couldn't stay any longer without drawing too much suspicion from his mother, "do try and not create a harem of female vampires; I don't think Regan would be too pleased with that," he joked, noticing how Salvatore looked away as his shoulders lifted as he silently laughed.

"You best not hurt my new sister, or I'll string you up like I did back in the 1800s and leave you like that for a decade," Patience warned in a deathly tone, seeing the blood draining from Nico's face.

"I'll leave them in your care, Giovani," Conner stated, peering over at him.

"I shall try, my lord," Giovani nodded, knowing how stubborn Salvatore could be when he couldn't understand the logic he was using. Praying that Conner knew what he was doing as he watched how his maker slipped out the door.

"Hey?" Iyana's voice called to him as she appeared at his back. "Can we talk for a minute before you take off, alone? It's about what I am."

"Oh? Has Giovani not informed you of what you are?" Conner asked with an arched eyebrow when he turned to gaze at her.

"He has but not very well," Iyana said in frustration.

"Ah, he must have gone into that technical speak he normally does," Conner stated, seeing her nod. "And where was it that you wish to discuss this?"

"Follow me," Iyana said with a wave. "Okay, what exactly is a Crusnik, and how are we different than normal vampires?" she asked once she had turned around after closing and locking her bedroom door.

"Other than our duel set of fangs, we are able to survive off of other vampires where they are not," Conner stated factually, seeing the confusion in her eyes. "Have you not felt them?" Seeing Iyana shaking her head in response to his question. Jabbing his fingernail into the tip of his finger, allowing his blood to well up on the pad of it. Holding it out as a lure to draw out her second set of fangs when her eyes were glued to it. Sticking his finger into his mouth when Iyana's hand went to her mouth.

"Why now, they feel so weird," Iyana uttered, running her tongue along them, feeling the curvature of them.

"Because this is the first time one of us has offered their blood to you. So you hadn't needed to use them. The reason we have dual fangs, unlike my mother's children. It is because to feed on a vampire, one must be able to get through their skin and hold onto them while you feed. Hence why your second set of fangs is curved. Trust me, a vampire isn't going to simply stand there while you drain him or her. Unless you aren't like me and only take a pint or two from them. But once they know what you are, they aren't likely to let you go, so it would be best just to drink them dry. Have you not heard the tales of what normal vampires call those of us?"

"Yeah, who hasn't?" Iyana answered.

"Well, those tales were originally about me. I had fun in my youth and took delight in the hunt. You'd be surprised the looks on their faces when the hunter becomes the hunted," Conner said with a cruel smile. "Other than that, not much of a difference between the two of us. We still suffer from the sun. We still must sleep during the day. Yet, unlike them, if you're ever in a pinch or failed in luring a human to your embrace, you may take solace in the fact you may extend your life on vampiric blood. Although I should warn you, vampire blood has a little more kick to it than normal human blood."

"Thanks for speaking with me; I know you're busy," Iyana said in a kind tone as she saw him to the hidden door. "Maybe, when you're not too busy, you'll come back and show this old girl some of those tricks you've learned over the centuries," she purred in a lustful tone. Seeing that sinful smile of his gracing his lips when she uttered those words.

"I don't know, Lady Iyana, if I did, I don't think you could go back to what you've experienced before," Conner said in a cocky tone.

"You never know, but remember, I am very flexible," Iyana said, wiggling her eyebrows at him as she held the door open for him. "Until next time we see each other," she spoke, running her eyes down his body, mentally undressing him in her mind.

Slipping into the shadows once Iyana had shut the door. It wasn't the first time he's felt eyes on him when he has done this. More so when he was alone. His eyes darted about, feeling that presence drawing nearer.

"You weren't this guarded for the past hundred years, li'l immortal," came a silky disembodied voice from all around him. Conner spun around, his unnatural eyesight peering around the dark, twisted landscape that was in-between the land of the living and the land of the dead. It wasn't a place he hadn't seen before; after all, he had wandered that place for years.

"Who are you?" Conner asked, his voice echoing along the dark landscape.

"Come now, I'm a little hurt you don't remember me. You are using the gift I gave you to travel through my domain. A place I know for certain you made yourself at home in." Conner arched an eyebrow when that chuckle had a feminine feel to it.

"Then please forgive my feeble mind for not holding on to all the years I was here," Conner spoke, wondering where this speaker was. "May I have your name once again."

"Erebus." As the name was whispered on what that realm considered wind, Instantly, the realm seemed to reorder itself before consolidating into a towering hundred-foot tall being that his eyes couldn't properly distinguish where her body began and her realm started. If he had to guess, and it would be accurate, she and it were one in the same. "Be at ease, my li'l vampire." Conner really wished he could remember what exactly had happened when he was stuck in that place as her chuckle filled the air. "I didn't reveal myself to you for payment for my gift. I've grown to enjoy the conversations we held here. So I seek to renew them. When, of course, your mind isn't preoccupied with thoughts of war."

"You know what happens outside of this place?"

"I'm a primal being; there is no power that can keep me from seeking to encroach upon the realms of man and gods." Conner felt her power bearing down on him as she spoke those words. Turning his head to the right when he felt the exit back to the mortal realm opening, knowing full well where it would lead him. "Your destiny awaits, young immortal. Until we meet again." Looking down when those very shadows that made up that realm crawled up his feet. Those tiny immaterial fingers crept up his legs as it sought to encase him in its embrace. He has been wondering why it always felt like a woman's touch when he shadow walked.

"Conner!" Regan exclaimed the moment he materialized into the guest room he had been using. She didn't know why, yet whenever he did that, she couldn't feel him like she had been able to ever since he turned her. Pressing the left side of her face against his chest when she hugged him hard.

"Hello, Regan," Conner said, peering down at her, lightly patting her back. He knew he was going to have to ponder on this newfound information. In all his years, he never thought beings like that existed. Then again, if his mother was real, why not them? "Have you fed again since you've returned?" Seeing how she looked off to the side when he asked that, knowing what her answer would be. "Lady Harland, I see the night hasn't stolen the beauty that you command," Conner greeted, seeing the number of blood bags on the small round table that sat between the two wing back chairs.

"Charmer," Mary spoke with a soft smile on her lips. "I'm happy to see you too, Conner. Please, come, sit," she said, gesturing to the chair.

Conner arched an eyebrow when Regan scurried over to where her hand grip exerciser lay. Watching how she was using it to gauge her strength.

"I got it for her on the way back," Mary whispered with a smile on her lips as she watched Regan progress in learning how to control her superhuman strength.

"I hope you got more than one of those; also, what is it?" Conner asked, leaning across the gap. Nodding when Mary whispered what it was into his ear. Feeling the tips of her fingers running down his left cheek. His eyes glanced over when he heard the ping of metal as its spring snapped when the metal couldn't withstand the strain Regan had placed it under. "How many is that?"

"That was her third one; she's getting better," Mary reassured him. "Now, how did your talk go?"

"Well, but things will need to be kept..."

"I understand," Mary said with a nod. "I'll be sure to keep Regan out of her sight."

"Okay, I wasn't going to ask, but what the hell is her deal?" Regan inquired, peering over at him. "It's like she acts like she's the source or some nonsense."

"Because she is the source of us," Conner said factually.

"No way, she couldn't..." Regan's words stilled in her throat as Conner nodded.

"It is wise to keep whatever you have on your mind to yourself. She wouldn't hesitate to dispatch you even if you're my child," Conner stated in deathly undertones.

"You're not joking, are you," Regan uttered in a fearful tone.

"No, I am not, not when it comes to her. So, don't ever be alone with her. If you must speak with her, either have Mary or me with you, at least then she wouldn't do something drastic... I think."

"Regan, do you think you can behave yourself for an hour?" Mary asked, getting to her feet.

"Yeah, I am twenty-four, you know?" Regan huffed.

"Good, Conner, come along; we have some rust to remove," Mary stated, swaying her hips, causing her ass to shake as she approached the room's door.

"Keep doing that and work on your hypnosis," Conner spoke in a teacherly tone, jamming the amulet that Giovani had given him between the wall and the top molding of the door before following Mary out.

"You wanted to see me?" Conner spoke in a monotone voice as he stood in her fore-chamber, where she greeted many of her little sycophants. It had been three days since they talked to one another. Three days he could genuinely say were pleasant without hearing her voice in his ear. Repeating Mary's words in his head as he stared indifferently at his mother.

"Yes, have you addressed this anger of yours?" Helen asked, slyly studying her son. Something seemed off with him as she didn't notice that anger she had seen that day. She knew it couldn't have been dealt with so quickly. Anger like that simply didn't go away overnight.

"I have," Conner answered, keeping to his indifferent tone, something that was extremely hard for him to do. When all he wanted to do was lunge forward and rip out his mother's throat.

"I see," not believing a word he spoke, "tell me, son, why that girl or any of them?"

"Be specific."

"Why turn those former humans into what you are? Come now, did you believe I didn't know what you are?" Helen asked with a coy smile. "You are my child; I know everything about you as a mother should." Waiting for Conner to utter some witty retort to that, and yet nothing emanated from his mouth. Which unnerved her a tad bit; she knew he wouldn't've wasted such an opportunity to run off on some tangent.

"My reasons are my own," Conner said offhandedly.

"Were you lonely? Is that why those five carry your blood? Conner, if that was the case, I could have made you friends," Helen said in a motherly voice. Noticing how that still didn't get any kind of response from her son.

"Is that all?"

"Of course not," Helen said, rather hurt that her son would rather be somewhere else than by her side like in the days of old. Lifting herself out of her throne, wondering what was brewing in that mind of his. "Walk with me, Conner. It's been too long since you and I have surveilled our kingdom together," she uttered in a warm tone. Seeing that twitch on his cheek as small and fleeting as it was as she looped her arm around his, telling her no matter how much he hid it. He couldn't hide all of it from her eyes. She was his mother; after all, she knew her son.

"Do you remember when you were just a boy," waving to one of her favorite nobles at the time as they passed her, "how we would do this in that castle in Transoxiana?" Helen said fondly, recounting how she created the jingshi before moving into the region where she and her children terrorized the Seljuq Turks when they waged war with the Ghaznavids before they moved on westward.

"No," Conner lied.

"Shame," Helen sighed in a little pout. "Well, I do; you would always hold my hand as we wandered the ramparts thinking you would fly away whenever a gust of wind came along," she said, giggling at the memory. Noting how the eyes of the nobles were on them as they moved about the manor. She was doing this for a reason, to show them her son was still one of them. That their House was as strong as ever. Bringing her son to a stop as she chatted away with one of the many noble men that sat on the Council. Ignoring how the shadows grew long as they were drawn to Conner as they continued chatting away. Wondering what else her lover had bestowed upon him while he was at death's door. For whom else would gift her son such gifts?

"Do you remember when we reached Constantinople in the 1100s? How we had a run of the place," Helen sighed in longing. "I do miss that city; it wasn't the same when the Turks took it over," she uttered in nostalgia.

"No," Conner lied once again. He wasn't going to give her any ounce of pleasure.

"I know you do, Conner, you're just being difficult," Helen said, patting her son's arm. If she knew killing that woman would cause her son to become like this and seek shelter away from her bosom, she would have allowed him to marry the woman. Then again, her son was never going to marry a daughter of Adam, not if she could help it. Hence why she wanted him to marry Lynn, at least then she knew while turned she was corrupted. Just like she planned on doing to the rest of Adam's offspring. Although, they were spreading around the world like a plague. "Maybe a culling is in order," Helen mused to herself.

"See, that wasn't so bad now, was it, son?" Helen said once they had returned to her private chambers.

"I think you think you're being all motherly, yet it's rather creepy," Conner said in a monotone voice. He was so eager to return to his room; at least then, he could control who he was around. Moreover, he had seen how his mother had shied away from the area near his door where he had placed the amulet over it. Pondering if it was its influence or who was in his room at the time. He would have to test that some more before he made his move. This was one fight he couldn't rush haphazardly into.

"You think that now, Conner, yet in a few years that woman will not be on your mind," Helen said, waving off his statement as she stood before her bookshelf. "After all, from what I'm told by Lord Harland, you and his daughter are getting along nicely. I suspect a proper wedding will be in order soon. It's a shame, though; Lynn will be so devastated," she uttered in a sigh.

"She'll find some other noble to suit her fancy," Conner said in a dry tone. "Now, was that all?"

"Why are you so eager to leave my side?" Helen asked, peering over at her son.

"Do you need to ask?"

"Very well, Conner, I release you, go do whatever it is you'd rather do than learn the means of running this kingdom," Helen sighed.

"I've learned that long ago; you have nothing left to teach me," Conner said before exiting the room.

"Oh, that is where you are wrong, son, very wrong," Helen said in a wicked tone, watching the door close behind him.

Conner stood there in the doorway of his room, watching Regan shaking her ass without a care in the world with her music blasting away. It wasn't lost to him that there was a little bump to her stomach, nor how her hunger had grown over the past few days. He was also starting to sense something else, something pure, something like himself. If he was beginning to sense it, his mother would have no trouble doing the same. There was no telling what she would do if she knew Regan was carrying his child. He knew he would have to get her out of the manor before she started to show even more than what she was at the moment.

"Well, don't just stand there like a goof, come watch or join me," Regan said, her mirth lacing her words, noting how Mary was flashing him that smile of hers from the chair she was sitting in. "What're ya doing?" she asked, a little taken aback when Conner placed his hand on her stomach.

"Yes, I thought as much," Conner muttered as he opened his eyes. "You are carrying my child." Seeing the shock playing along her face and the gasp from Mary.

"What're ya talking about? I can't be pregnant?!"

"You can, and you are," Conner said in deathly undertones.

"Conner, how can that be? You're a..."

"A pure blood," Conner cut in when he peered over at Mary. "I'm different than the others; you cannot equate what you know about our kind with what I am," he stated, pulling out his burner phone that Giovani had given him. Texting Patience and Nico to come to his room. Knowing Regan had to be protected until the child was born. Even then, Regan would have to be kept in hiding until his dealings with his mother and the Council were over.

"Then what are we going to do?" Mary asked in a worrying tone. She knew enough about the Queen to know she would do whatever it took to get her hands on the child.

"We? Nothing, we can't disappear from this manor given the time it will take for the child to come to term. I'm sorry, Regan, but you must go into hiding for the time being," Conner said, placing a hand on her right shoulder.

"But... but... what about my training?" Regan uttered; a tinge of fear crept into her voice.

"Worry not, I've sent for a few that can help you until you're able to return to my side," Conner said in a reassuring voice. "Pack your things; I suspect you will not be returning until my dealings with my mother are over. We cannot allow her to learn of our child," he spoke in all seriousness.

"You mean she would take him or her from me?" Regan asked, her hands shooting down to her stomach.

"Only after you've given birth then she would have no need to keep you around," Conner said in a dark tone.

"The hell she's going to get our child!" Mary growled, seeing Conner arching an eyebrow at the venom in her words. "I may not be able to carry a child any longer, yet that child is just as much mine as it is yours," she stated in a firm tone. "After all, we are to be wedded soon, are we not?" Seeing Conner turning his head when a knock came upon the door. Watching how he inched the door open and peered through the gap.

"We came as soon as we got your text," Patience said low as she and Nico slipped into the room.

"What's this about, sire?" Nico asked, nodding to Mary, who greeted him with a wave and flashed Regan a smile.

"I need the two of you to spirit Regan away from this place and to some place safe. Call Giovani; he might know of a safe house where Regan can come to term," Conner said, startling the two of them.

"Come again? Are you saying Regan here is with child?" Patience muttered in astonishment.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," Conner nodded.

"Who's the..." Nico's words died in his throat at the smirk on Conner's lips. Glancing over at Patience when she huffed and crossed her arms.

"It's not fair," Patience pouted. "How is it she can be carrying your child and not I when I know for a fact you and I have done the act a great many times?" she quired as she glared hard at Conner.

"Because she was human when we had sex," Conner stated factually.

"Wait?!" Regan's back instantly straightened up from her hurried packing. "You telling me that one time was enough?!"

"It appears so," Conner nodded.

"What do you have in there, super sperm?!" Regan uttered, gesturing to Conner's manhood. Smiling when that got a chuckle out of him, she was going to miss that sound while she was gone.

"You need to stock up on blood; she goes through quite a bit in a day," Conner stated, walking over to the door and taking the amulet down. If it was keeping his mother at bay, Regan needed it the most. "Keep this on your person at all times," he said, placing the amulet in the palm of Regan's right hand. "Hopefully, it will keep her unaware of you and our child as it grows. I promise you, you will see me again," Conner uttered in a soft tone, caressing Regan's left cheek.

"I better be, I still have a lot to learn, and there is still the ninety-nine plus years we still have together," Regan spoke in a firm tone.

"I swear, I will not leave her side," Nico said with conviction. Knowing if word got out and the Queen learned that Conner could sire children, he didn't even want to think of what she would do.

"Patience, I leave her tutelage in your care for the time being," Conner directed in an authoritative tone.

"Of course, sire, I'll see that she learns everything you've taught me," Patience said with a nod. "Come, dear, we should leave quickly before you draw too much attention." Not letting on she saw how her belly increased slightly while they were standing there. Wondering if it would be long before the child was actually born.

"Keep your wits about you, my lord. This will be a dangerous time for you," Nico voiced his warning.

"I know," Conner nodded, knowing with the two of them watching over Regan, he would be on his own when the time came. He couldn't risk Mary in the battle. Not against other vampires that were older and stronger than she was. Hopefully, if his plan went off without a hitch, then they wouldn't see it coming until it was far too late to stop him. Watching how Mary and Regan hugged for a long time before Nico stuck his head out into the hallway, looking for anyone that would likely run off to tell the Queen for a chance to earn her favor.

"Come," Nico whispered with a wave of his hand, telling them the coast was clear for the moment.

"Keep your bag in front of you," Patience spoke low, casting Conner a look silently, telling him he could trust her with Regan's safety. "We don't want anyone catching sight of your bump." Seeing Regan nod in understanding.

"Now, what are we going to do?" Mary asked once Conner shut the door. "Come now, did you think you could go about this all on your own?" she stated with a coy smile at his befuddled look.

"It will be..."

"Dangerous? I know that Conner, I've known that the moment I brought you here. So don't you think for one second you're going to get rid of me because of the danger we face," Mary stated, stepping up to him. "What kind of wife would I be if I ran at the first sign of trouble, hmm?" she asked in a warm tone as she stared up at him. "I wouldn't be a very good Queen if I didn't stay by my King's side, now would I?"

"I see someone's been fitting herself for her crown," Conner teased, wrapping his arms around Mary's waist.

"Mmmhmm," Mary hummed, rising to the tips of her toes. Her fingers moved along his cheeks, weaving through his hair as she brought Conner down to her lips.

"What's going to happen to Conner?" Regan asked in a worried tone as the manor grew smaller as they sped away.

"For now, nothing, I don't think. If the Queen was going to do something, she would have done so by now. Conner is just going to have to suck up his anger for a bit to hoodwink his mother," Patience said, her eyes darted about ensuring they didn't have a shadow tailing them.

"We're going to ditch this car," Nico said, slowing down and turning onto a side street.

"Why?" Regan asked, turning back around in her seat.

"They have their vehicles low jacked, so they'll be able to track us wherever we go," Nico said, peering at Regan in the rearview mirror.

"Oh," Regan uttered.

"Don't worry, Regan, I always keep a few of my toys hidden from the prying eyes of the Houses. So, we won't be hoofing it for too long," Nico said, trying to lift her mood with a smile.

"Don't go falling for that charm of his; he's a scoundrel," Patience warned, smirking when Nico shot her a look.

"Now that's uncalled for Patience," Nico intoned. "I'll have you know I..."

"Haven't given up the thieving life when you know full well that's what got you caught in Conner's web," Patience cut in, knowing full well he was very interested in Regan given the looks she had seen that he had levied at her.

"Really?! You were a thief?" Regan asked in a curious tone.

"Still am; I'm just more picky in what I want to take these days," Nico said with a coy grin as he pulled into the parking lot of the local Dairy Queen. "Patience, wipe everything down; I don't want them getting a scent of us in the car," he stated in a firm tone.

"Wait, you're telling me vampires can track us by scent?" Regan asked in a confused tone.

"Hunters can," Patience said as she and Nico went to work, ensuring that their scent was eliminated from the interior of the car.

"How can they?"

"They're made differently than the rest of us," Nico said once they had finished. "Well, different from the normal vampires, you know, not like us. We're a different breed of vampire," he said with a cocky grin as he tossed the keys into the car and locked the doors. He didn't care if it was stolen; if it was it would just provide more cover for them.

"I know, we're Crusniks," Regan stated factually.

"Do you think you'll be able to keep up with us?" Patience asked in a caring tone; she didn't want to put undue stress on her or the baby.

"Here, hand me your bag," Nico said after tossing the rags away, smelling the cleaning solution on his hands. "Patience, you keep in step with her; I'll make sure the path ahead is clear," he stated, shouldering Regan's bag, seeing Patience nodding in agreement.

"I know this is going to be counterintuitive to the lessons you've been doing in controlling your strength. Yet, when we run, don't hold yourself back, alright?" Patience said in a sisterly tone as she ran her hand down Regan's right arm. "If at any point you feel off, or something is wrong with your... baby," hating having to say that word, "we'll stop and rest for a bit, okay?" Smiling at Regan when she nodded along.

"Holy crap!" Regan said in awe; she had no idea she could move that fast. Ever since Conner had saved her life, she's been holding back her strength for fear that she would accidentally harm someone, namely her friends. Looking down at her hands, knowing if she wasn't careful, she could truly become addicted to the power that was stored in her body. Knowing that any human would have been hard-pressed to run the three and a half miles in under four minutes. Her jaw snapped closed when Patience held up her hand as she peered around the corner of the building as they stood in the alley.

"Come, quickly." Was all Patience said before taking off in a blur once again.

Regan wondered if this was how Conner always moved like before the invention of the car. Wondering if he found that means of transportation slow given how fast he can move. She knew she wasn't going to look at a car the same way ever again. Taking enjoyment out of watching the world around her appearing as if it was standing still as she ran behind Patience to where? She couldn't say. All she could hope for was that Conner knew what he was doing and prayed that they would see one another again.

"Quickly, inside," Nico said, holding the grey metal fire door open. Which, in truth, was just a prop to make the human populace think it was a normal everyday building. When it was Nico's safe house should he wish not to return to the manor before the sun rises. "We can't stay here long. A few know about this place. We'll get what we need and head southward," Nico said, locking the door when Regan slipped inside. "Like it?" he asked with a cocky grin on his lips as Regan stared slack jawed at the black, with a white stripe down the center of it, 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO. "If you ask real sweet-like, I'll take you for a spin in it," Nico said, reverting to the southern drawl he had picked up when he spent a few decades in the Deep South. Watching how her cheeks heated as he lightly ran his hand down her back.

"Enough of that, Nico," Patience said, snatching his hand away before it could reach Regan's ass. A place she knew he was going for. "We don't have time for this, and I doubt she would want to go for a ride in a stolen car."

"God, you're such a wet blanket," Nico bemoaned. "I have to wonder why Conner even bother..." What Nico was going to say next, no one would ever know as Patience sent him flying across the room with a powerful backhanded slap.

"You forget your place, Nico. Conner took an interest in you when you tried and failed to steal from the wrong man. I, however, have no interest in your thieving ways," Patience said darkly as she stalked towards him. Watching how Nico scurried backward along the floor, knowing full well, he was at a disadvantage when facing off with her. "Unlike you, I took to my studies; why else did you think he chose me to watch over her?" she hissed, hearing his rasping voice as she took him by the neck and lifted him off the floor. "Be very careful, Nico, I'm highly tempted in feeding on one of my own kind." Her duel fangs gleamed in the light as she stared wickedly at him as he tried to break her hold on his neck. Yet, due to his age, Nico would never be able to do such a thing. "So get your mind out of the gutter. Our maker, our Prince, has chosen us for this task. A task, I might remind you, could very well end in our deaths. So, get your head on straight. If we survive this, then woo the woman, not before, understood?" Patience asked in a stern tone.

"Alright, alright, fuck, you're such a school marm." Nico hissed in a horse tone as he rubbed his neck once Patience had dropped him to the floor.

"You still don't understand the danger we're in, do you?" Patience asked, taking hold of Nico's chin. "No, I don't think you do. You will trust me," she uttered in a dark tone, releasing her hold. Recounting the times she had seen the Queen just needlessly killing off one of her subjects on a whim. Something she wasn't planning on ever happening to her. "Prep your Land Rover," Patience directed as she pulled out her phone.

"Patience?" Giovani's voice came over the line.

"Vani, my adorable li'l man..."

"What do you need?" Giovani asked, knowing what that line normally led to.

"I, well, not I per se, need a safe house, a place that the Queen doesn't know about or the Council for that matter," Patience said, feeling her smile forming, reminiscing the years they had been together after they both had left Conner's side.

"And why in the world would you need something like that?" Giovani asked. Patience could hear the curious edge to it.

"I don't, but someone we both know does," Patience said, glancing over at Regan. Seeing how she grew shy the longer Regan was beneath her gaze.

"You want my help, you're going to have to be straight with me, and not this cloak and dagger double speak."

"I can't, love. If I do, I might place you in more danger than you're already in," Patience said in a caring tone.

"I'll risk it. Just give me the basics. I can live with that."

"You know that one thing we always wanted?" Patience asked, reminding him of the nights they shared on the shores of Spain.

"Yeah? What about it?"

"Well... it's happened, but not by who you would think it would," Patience said cryptically.

"Really?! Are you sure?"

"Mmmhmm," Patience hummed. "If I had to guess with how she's showing she's about two-three months along, or if it was a normal human child, that would be the case." Her eyes flickered over as Nico prepped his Land Rover for their exodus southward. Where she couldn't say, they couldn't travel too far given how the sun rise was in four hours.

"He's the father, isn't he?" Referring to Conner without doing so.

"Hence why we need a safe house, his orders."

"Ah. Okay, I do have one, but it's in New Jersey. I know how you never liked that state."

"Can't be helped," Patience sighed, nodding against her phone when Giovani told her how to get to it. Noticing how Nico was hurriedly packing all the blood bags he had into the cooler at his feet. "Oh, and we're going to need a massive blood donation."

"I'll see what I can do. You be safe and keep your head down."

"I will; you do the same; I'd like to see you again sometime this decade," Patience said in a teasing tone. "How do you feel about New Jersey?" she asked, peering at Regan as she pocketed her phone.

"Not all that ecstatic about it; why?" Regan answered and asked. Wondering why that got a smile out of Patience.

"Oh, we are so going to get along!" Patience sighed, hugging Regan against her right side. Ignoring how Regan stared at her in confusion. "We ready?"

"Yeah, I assume you got a place in mind?" Nico asked, walking along the driver's side of his SUV once he had packed the rear of it.

"I do, come, we best get moving before the sun catches us," Patience said in a sisterly tone as her hand lightly rubbed along Regan's right upper arm.

"Okay, so you were a thief, and I take it you tried to steal from Conner?" Regan asked, making small talk as Nico drove across the George Washington bridge.

"I did; some rich snob back in the day hired me to steal some painting that Conner had that he so had to have. Unbeknownst to me at the time, the target was a vampire. I don't know who was more shocked, Conner or me, when he appeared out of nowhere," Nico chuckled, his mind flashing back to that night.

"What happened to the person that hired you?" Regan asked in a curious light.

"Salvatore and I ate him," Patience answered with a wicked tone. "After Conner had his talk with the man, of course."

"You know you're not as innocent as you seem to be," Regan uttered, a little unnerved by how sinister her tone of voice was. Feeling her heart flutter at the sound of Nico's chuckle.

"I know; it's what my Vani loves about me," Patience said, putting on airs.

"So you and Giovani are an item?" Regan asked quizzically.

"Mmmhmm, have been for the past three hundred years," Patience said, the fond years of their romance flashed before her eyes.

"Yet, you're constantly after Conner to bed you," Regan muttered, unable to come to grips with how freely vampires were when dealing with sex.​