"It appears so," Devin replied, not surprised by that fact. Devin sat at the window and appeared to relax a bit, but nothing was really relaxed. He was ready to pounce at a moment's notice. Two fully-transformed, purebred baku were in the backyard having a showdown. Nowhere was safe at the moment.

Andrew shook his head in disbelief that his past was a lie, and even more so that Devin knew more than he did. Andrew looked closer at the man across the room. Devin was poised perfection, a perfectly-molded soldier. He was relaxed, yet attentive. He never missed a beat, and was ready for a fight at a moment's notice. Randolph had done well picking and training Devin. Andrew had no doubt Devin spoke the truth and had more access to information than Andrew ever did.

"Your uncle and father turned your brother when he was only twelve. He went crazy. Lit the house on fire. It killed your father, mother, and sister, but Lucan and you got out. When Lucan went back in, he found your brother and brought him out as well. Knowing that the kid was crazy, and there was nothing he could do to fix that, he chained him in the bas.e.m.e.nt."

Mental pictures flooded Arianna of the bas.e.m.e.nt in Lucan's house and the thick chains to the wall. Arianna looked up at Devin, but he was as closed off as ever. She turned back to Andrew. The hands she saw in the memory were right in front of her. Arianna reached over to his hands and took them in hers as she examined them closer. They were the hands in the chains. In Andrew's mind, the hands balled into fists and pulled against the chains. There was pain, and desperation to be free. Andrew reflexively did the same, pulling his hands from Arianna.

"He chains you up too," she whispered. Andrew didn't reply. Turner returned and threw two packs of blood at Andrew. Arianna looked up and noticed the same thing as Devin already saw: that Andrew, while fed, definitely needed more blood.

"I figured Lucan did that to you too when I saw you earlier. You still had the lines around your wrists until you changed. Is that why you're here?" Devin asked, knowing there was more than the need to get away from Lucan that brought Andrew to them.

"I'm here for the same reason all three of you are." Andrew bit into the blood pack and guzzled it. "Arianna is special and needs as many on her side as she can get. I will protect Arianna with every cell in my body." He ripped open the second pack and finished them both in less than two minutes.

"Have any more?" Andrew asked. Devin turned to Arianna. She nodded, and Turner left again. "If you doubt me, ask her. Ari can now read people's thoughts. I can lie all I want, but anything that I think, she can see if she tries." Devin nodded as if he already knew. "But you know everything now, don't you." Devin smiled. Andrew stared over at Devin. How could he be so perceptive and still be just a day human?

Arianna yawned, ending the conversation. "Are they going to take much longer?" Arianna nodded to the window and the tent below in the yard. Power levels were finally steady as each man reached their peak. Gabriel was, by far, the stronger baku, but Lucan wasn't backing down.

"They are still flexing their power. It will start soon, but nothing will change. Uncle can't stand up to Gabriel. He'll use as many tricks as he can and then disappear." Andrew tipped back and closed his eyes; now that he was actually fed, he was sleepy too. "He's been waiting years to challenge Gabriel, but it won't make a difference."

"Does he have a plan in place?" Devin asked nonchalantly.

"Me," Andrew replied chuckling. "And I don't think that's going to work now. I'm guessing from here on out he's winging it."

"Maybe I should go out there. What if something happens to Gabriel?" Arianna asked, standing and walking a few steps toward the door.

"No," all three men in the room replied in unison. Andrew reached up and took her hand. Electricity zinged through it, even though they were in their human forms. The momentary distraction allowed Andrew to pull Arianna away from the door.

"Let's just rest a little." Andrew pulled Arianna back down to the couch. Turner returned with two more packs of blood.

"I'm a bit tired," Arianna added as she sat. Andrew moved her hand from his and placed it on his knee as he took the blood from Turner.

"Then sleep," Andrew replied, opening the blood. Arianna wrinkled her nose at the smell. This time, Devin didn't protest at his suggestion. Something pa.s.sed between Andrew and Devin, and they now didn't want to kill each other.

"How can you drink that stuff?" she asked, leaning over and taking a closer whiff. It smelled just as bad close up. Arianna pulled back and wrinkled her nose in disgust. Andrew laughed.

"Um, we're night humans; that's what we do," Andrew replied and drank the first bag all in one gulp. "Relax and get some sleep." Andrew patted his lap, offering her himself as a pillow again.

"I don't need Devin skewering you while I'm trying to get some rest." Arianna yawned again. She snuggled into him and felt his warmth around her. His warmth was different than Devin's or Turner's, but Arianna was too tired to ponder it further.

'Is he safe?' Devin asked to be sure.

Arianna reached up and touched Andrew's face. He let all the images in his head fall freely for her to pick through. Arianna smiled as she saw some from his childhood, and then she was fast-forwarded to the first time he met her. Arianna watched through his eyes as he saw her lying on Turner in the choir room getting some rest that she'd desperately needed. Arianna had opened her eyes to stare at him, and he was. .h.i.t with an incredible desire to just scoop her into his arms and run away. His feelings were overwhelming, and she had to break the connection. He loved her more than anyone she had ever met. Arianna nodded to Devin as she slid closer to Andrew to rest on his bare chest. Turner and Thomas left the room and Arianna was alone with Devin and Andrew. She hesitated slightly, hoping that it wasn't a set up so that they could finally kill each other. Arianna looked from Devin to Andrew. Neither held a bit of violence between them, but that could always change.

"Ari, get some sleep, please," Devin begged. Arianna looked back at him and tried again to crack his silent exterior. There was nothing. Devin had complete control of his emotions, as always. Arianna nestled closer to Andrew and closed her eyes. This new warmth overwhelmed her, and she couldn't remain conscious for long.

TWELVE.

Words floated through Arianna's mind. She felt the warmth of Andrew beneath her, but the words floated in nonetheless. In a half-dreamlike state, Arianna lay and listened to Devin and Andrew talk. Andrew's words were a bit m.u.f.fled as she lay against his chest, but she heard them, waking her a bit.

"Did my brother really live for two years without me knowing?" Andrew asked Devin as Arianna snuggled into his lap to get comfortable. Andrew shifted his arms as she moved, and didn't look down at her.

"Yes. From what Gabriel has uncovered, Lucan rescued him from the fire. Lucan had the choice of who to save in your family as your father was unconscious. He could have taken any of you-you, your mother, your father, your sister. He chose your brother."

"And me."

"No, not you," Devin replied, shuffling papers working on endless paperwork.

"But he saved me. That's the only way I got out of there." Andrew was confused. When the fire first started, he was in bed. He woke to the smoke and crawled downstairs. Maggie's door was already open as he pa.s.sed, and he a.s.sumed she was gone as he didn't feel any life in the room. Andrew wondered why no one came up to get him when they got his sister since there was no feeling of life in her room. After he was rescued, he found out that Maggie was already dead and that's why he didn't feel any life in the room. Andrew didn't have any memories beyond looking for Maggie. He woke days later in the hospital to find that his family was all dead. The nurses told him that Lucan had saved him.

"No. Turns out you got out on your own, probably because you were smaller and the smoke didn't reach you as quickly. Lucan's men found you outside the house and a.s.sumed he saved you first and went back in. Turns out he didn't. He only saved your brother." Devin had read Lucan's personal account of the fire from the stolen diary Randolph found years ago.

Andrew reached down and stroked Arianna's head, twirling her hair between his fingers as he thought. Andrew didn't doubt that his uncle had been lying to him. A man who saw fit to chain his nephew to the bas.e.m.e.nt wall was capable of anything. Andrew's hands through her hair relaxed Arianna, but she was still awake. Arianna didn't overhear and intrude on his thoughts, though she wanted to. Andrew mindlessly rubbed his sore wrists. They wouldn't heal completely until he changed again with the new blood in him.

"How long has he been holding you in the bas.e.m.e.nt?" Devin asked. Andrew's head snapped up, and he considered not answering.

'Trust him,' Arianna said sleepily. 'If you trust him, maybe he can trust you.' Andrew kissed a lock of her hair that he held in his fingers. She wanted peace between them. He would do anything for her, including befriending the Randolph dog if she asked.

"About a year now. He finally figured out that I actually have been a baku longer than he thought. He's a bit p.i.s.sed and greatly afraid. He suspects that I have more power than I let on, but there's no way for him to know for sure. I've been hiding my strength my whole life, and am very good at it." Andrew already knew Arianna was awake, but didn't tell Devin. Though he might not need to; Devin knew Arianna better than anyone.

"And why don't you just leave?" Devin asked, not returning to his papers.

"And go where? Anyone that found me half-starved would send me back to Lucan. And on top of that, what would I do to get blood? Attack innocent people? As much as you want to think I'm my brother, I'm not." Arianna felt anger course through Andrew, though it was directed at his uncle rather than Devin.

"Did you truly not know your brother was alive?" Devin finally asked.

Andrew shook his head no. "If I'd known, I'd have done something. Monster or not, he was still my brother." Andrew remembered his older brother. His broad shoulders and wavy blond hair were so much more like his father and the Lucan family than Andrew ever was. Andrew's own dark curls were completely from his mother's side. Alex was the future of the family, and they had so many hopes riding on him. Lucan and Andrew's own father suspected Alex would one day rule the clan. Plans were always made for Alex, and Andrew was left forgotten.

"There was nothing left of your brother after he set the fire. He was completely crazed, and it didn't help that Lucan kept him locked away and underfed." Devin looked over and watched Andrew rub his wrists more. They had done surveillance of the bas.e.m.e.nt chamber during a mission in the baku territory. After Alex attacked his family, Devin was granted full access to the data, and he had watched all the tapes they had acquired.

"The notes on the night my family died are lost, but from what Gabriel and Randolph could tell, your brother broke free of his bonds and tried to run. Alex was too lost in his hunger when he stopped by my neighbor's house and killed both of them. He wasn't satisfied and came to my house. He killed my father, who was downstairs asleep in front of the TV, first. We were day humans and had no idea about this other world of night. Then he went upstairs and killed my mother and older sister. Randolph found him when he was killing my sister, but didn't act since he didn't want to start a war over a dead child. She was already gone. When Randolph realized I was still in the house, he went up to my room to confront Alex. Your brother had tried to bite me while I laid there, awake. It was this that probably saved my life. Your brother was equal in power to Randolph when he was fully fed. He couldn't feed on me because I was awake. Alex was a tough match for Randolph, and fought evenly with him until Gabriel arrived. Gabriel and Randolph together took him out as they tried to subdue him. Your brother wouldn't let them, probably for the same reason you wouldn't run. They found me next. I was bitten but unharmed. Randolph took me in."

"And why not live with Gabriel? Then you could have stayed here," Andrew wondered. He relaxed and began to play with Arianna's hair again. It was good to finally get the truth, but even better to be holding onto her as he was told. Arianna calmed him like nothing in his life. Andrew could never deny the pull between them.

"And live with a giant, white monster that was just like what killed my family? I was only five at the time, but I still knew. Gabriel was one of them." Devin laughed a bit, remembering his fear of Gabriel. He looked so much like the other monster. Devin hung onto Randolph and wouldn't let go. Now he knew that he clung desperately to one of the most ruthless leaders the dearg-dul ever had. Devin was a mere fly to the man; yet, Devin didn't know that on that day.

"Instead, you were raised to kill the kind that killed your family?" Andrew asked, amused at the irony of the situation. Devin stared at Andrew, waiting for Andrew to understand. Gabriel wasn't the enemy. Devin always knew that. "No, I get it," Andrew said, understanding. Devin wasn't raised to kill baku. Now Andrew could see the truth, Devin was raised to kill one baku in particular: Edward Lucan. Devin wasn't his enemy, but his savior and comrade in the same quest.

"Are you here to be free, or here to be with Arianna?" Devin asked, avoiding the subject that Andrew already seemed to get. Arianna, on the other hand, was still confused, but she wanted to learn more. She refused to open her eyes and ask.

"I am, and will always be, here for Arianna. I will protect Arianna with my life. Freedom from Lucan is just a bonus. I was actually going to ask Arianna after dinner if I could be her keeper, but it seemed like I'd need to get my question out quicker the way things were going. I got the idea that we wouldn't be making it to the meal." Andrew held back from kissing her sleeping forehead again as he talked. Devin may be letting her sleep in his arms now, but if he made any move, Devin could be across the room faster than humanly possible. Andrew felt the tension lessening in Devin, but he was still cautious.

"If you're serious, you need to be willing to follow one rule: Arianna's safety comes before everything else," Devin replied.

"Meaning?" Andrew looked up, and then around the room. Thomas and Turner were back and also following the conversation.

"Lose the baku you have protecting you," Devin said. "They are standing outside the house right now trying to find a way in. You can't be protecting her if there are people following you around sworn to protect you. No one here is allowed to be around her unless she comes first. To them, you come first."

Andrew waved a hand of dismissal, but the three men watching him were quietly a.n.a.lyzing him. "Not a problem. I didn't plan to keep them around anyway. Send them away as soon as you want. Do whatever you please with them. They're only trying to get in here to drug me and take me back."

"So, you know that?" Thomas asked in surprise, not being able to keep his mouth shut. Andrew was by far the strongest baku around, next to Arianna and Gabriel. It wouldn't be hard for him to just get rid of the measly followers. In fact, even Thomas could get rid of them.

"How dense do you think I am? I've always known that. It's just now you guys know too. Did Ari tell you?" Andrew asked, looking over at Devin for an answer.

"No. How would she know?" Devin replied. They had been tracking Andrew since his first encounter with Arianna over a year ago.

"I'm sure she heard them talking silently. She was a bit concerned before, so I a.s.sumed she might have told you." Andrew shrugged and smiled down at her. Arianna was frozen at her name again, bringing her closer to consciousness, and no longer wading in the warmth of her pillow.

"In their heads?" Thomas asked, trying to a.n.a.lyze how Arianna could be changing again. He had been meticulous, over the last year, to report every little change he observed back to Devin. Arianna was still young, and it could take up to five years for her powers to stabilize.

"Yeah, she can hear that now," Andrew replied. It would have been a great secret in any other case, but these three men all knew Arianna better than he did himself.

Devin was amazed and sat silent as he comprehended the growth of her power. He suspected something was different, but he wasn't sure. Little changes were often happening, and were expected, but this was greater than anything he could fathom. Being able to hear thoughts not directed at her? This could help keep her safe.

"Since when?" Thomas asked.

"Tonight." Andrew tenderly stroked the side of her face. She was back in deep sleep on his chest. "How much has changed this past year?"

"A bit here and there. Nothing to worry about yet," Devin replied. Devin was worried that things could progress too fast and affect her more than just physically.

"And now?" Andrew asked. Andrew couldn't help but also worry that her power would take off too quickly and consume her as it did his brother. Andrew didn't know his brother survived the fire, but he knew the state his brother was in to start it. Andrew secretly watched his uncle and father turn his brother. It had changed Alex. Everything happened too fast, and the kind, loving brother Andrew remembered disappeared. Devin, of all people, knew what could happen if someone grew too fast in their night human powers.

"She is stable," Thomas replied as he looked over her aura. Thomas studied her until he saw something new but quickly found his composure without being able to look across the room. Devin nodded at Turner and sighed. Andrew looked down at his arm wrapped around the deeply sleeping Arianna. He saw what Thomas had been looking at and nodded. Andrew's night human essence intertwined with Arianna's essence.

Devin paused. Arianna felt a hint of some emotion breaking through his calm, collected self, and it woke her from her slumber slightly. "And Ari? Are you serious?"

"Yes," Andrew replied, not missing a beat. "I think I love her." Andrew leaned down and kissed her forehead before murmuring quiet words that sent her deeper into sleep.

THIRTEEN.

Arianna woke from her dream in panic. Nothing felt right. Emotions and words swirled around her and confused her. Everything was jumbled. Terror struck her, making her gasp a bit before finding her breath again. She sat up and rubbed her eyes, discovering herself alone in the living room where Devin and Andrew had just been talking. Taking a deep breath, Arianna attempted to calm down from all the muddled feelings she'd awoke with from the dream. It was just a dream. Her heart beat fast, and she tried to calm down. She tried again to remind herself-just a dream. Looking for security, she easily found all four of her keepers down the hallway in the kitchen. They sat around the table, talking. Arianna scanned the house and found that Molina was sitting just outside the door, vigilant as ever. Everyone was keeping her safe. It should be peaceful, but her heart continued to beat hard. Arianna still felt terrified. Something was wrong.

In an instant, Andrew was sitting beside her on the couch. If she hadn't felt his presence, she would have never even heard him enter the room. Andrew was a silent hunter, and the best of his kind. His stalking had been perfected over the years to avoid his uncle, but it was the best a.s.set a baku could have. Molina didn't even flinch outside the room. She hadn't felt him pa.s.s her. Andrew was more powerful than Gabriel, and could be more deadly if he chose.

"Sorry we left you alone," Andrew said softly, not wanting to startle her. Arianna looked up and reached for him, taking his outstretched hand to calm herself. "We were talking before, after you fell asleep, and it seemed to keep you from reaching deep sleep. Devin said you haven't been resting well, so we didn't want to interrupt you." His words were perfectly chosen. Arianna nodded. She a.s.sumed that Andrew knew more than he was admitting, and he kept it hidden deeply in his mind.

His hand calmed her a bit, but she still felt the panic out there. Someone was in trouble and needed help, but Arianna couldn't tell if it were friend or foe with her new power. All she could tell was that there was pain and sorrow, and it came in waves.

"Where's Gabriel?" Arianna asked, looking past Andrew to the doorway. Could Gabriel be in trouble? The terror came back to her. It wasn't her dream. It was real. She had felt something. In the doorway was a shadow, but the emotion wasn't from him.

"He's still chasing Lucan," Devin replied, remaining in the doorway. His eyes only stayed a second longer than normal on her hands wrapped in Andrew's. His emotions, as always, stayed in check.

Arianna looked back to Andrew and realized he was still in his baku form. He wasn't letting his guard down. Was there danger? Arianna wanted to look around the room and then the house, but Andrew's touch distracted her.

"Gabriel has him cornered at the docks," Andrew added. Devin entered the room and looked toward Andrew in a silent exchange. Somehow, during her nap, they seemed to have gotten on the same side. Arianna could remember only vague parts of their talk while she slept. The blush creeping into her cheeks from Andrew's last words disappeared instantly as another wave of terror swept over her.

"What's wrong?" Devin asked. He didn't need to be a baku to read her face. Something wasn't right. Devin moved closer but didn't touch her. He left her in Andrew's arms for comfort.

"I don't know. I just feel as though something bad has happened." Arianna paused and closed her eyes. Andrew let go of her hand to let her concentrate. She could sense Gabriel in the north. "Gabriel is that direction." Arianna pointed northeast. He was fine. Nothing bad was going on. He wasn't even out of breath. He was silently stalking his prey, actually seeming to be enjoying his hunt a bit.

"And Lucan is slightly more north," Andrew added. "They haven't met up yet."

"Yet?" Arianna asked. She searched and found Lucan. He was also still fine. Nothing of terror from him, just a cold, calculating man hoping to outwit the older baku. He was busy forming a new plan, but even he didn't have any hope behind it.

"After the power bravado display, Lucan left and has been running all night from Gabriel. He's now trapped, and it won't be too much longer before Gabriel will find him. My uncle may be good at that game, but Gabriel is the leader for a reason." Andrew seemed indifferent to the outcome of the night. Arianna looked over at him. He truly didn't care about anything for the moment beyond Arianna. Devin had nothing to worry about with Andrew. He would be just as devoted as each of her other keepers, maybe even more so.

"What direction is the bad feeling?" Devin asked, stepping closer, but keeping a bit of a distance from Andrew. His hand was loosely placed over the dagger in his belt, but Arianna knew that expression. Camaraderie and all, Devin was still not comfortable with a completely changed baku. Arianna thought to ask Andrew to change back to his day human, but it wasn't that easy when you felt threatened. Andrew was in full protection mode.

"South," Arianna replied. Andrew closed his eyes and scanned the area. He shook his head no to Devin. Andrew couldn't feel the same feeling of dread Arianna felt.

"Maybe it was just in your dream," Devin suggested, relaxing only a bit.

Arianna shook her head no as well. "I know what I felt. It's only faint now, but it's still there." Arianna reached over to Andrew and took his hand. She ignored the zings that shot through her arm at the touch of his skin. Andrew closed his eyes again and used her sight to scan to the south.

Andrew felt the wave of panic hit. Someone was in trouble and terrified. Someone else was in great pain and maybe even dying. Voices crowded the background and their words jumbled together. They needed help, whoever they were.

When Andrew opened his eyes, he turned back into his day human form and looked straight at Devin. The threat wasn't at their place, but farther south. Arianna was safe, though someone else was not. "She's right. There's someone calling for help in that direction. It's a night human in pain. I don't know the voice, but it's secondhand through Ari, so I'm not sure I'd recognize anyone that way."

"We will send someone to check it out," Devin said as Molina entered behind him. Molina nodded and began talking into her microphone to Mori.

"No," Arianna replied, standing up. "I have to go. This is my home. If someone here is hurt, it's my obligation to help them." The night humans were her responsibility, and if she chose to ignore their calls, she wouldn't be the leader she wanted to be.

"No," Devin answered back. "It's not safe for you to be outside while Lucan is still loose." Devin was firm in his opinion, but Arianna didn't budge.

"It doesn't matter. Someone is hurt. I don't know why, but I feel like it's someone I know. I have to go," Arianna added, moving forward and changing to her night human form. At that rate, Devin wouldn't be able to stop her. She was too fast for day humans, and most night humans, to keep up with. Devin huffed and tried to find a response. Arianna wasn't taking orders this time.

Devin reached down and pinned a tracker on the belt of her dress. She moved too fast to keep accurate track of sometimes, and they needed to be able to follow as quick as they could. Devin reached up and touched her cheek with a sigh. He regretted that he couldn't stop her.

"I'll be fine," Arianna replied to Devin. Devin wanted more of a rea.s.surance than her word, but that would have to do.

"No matter who they might be, do not leave the Grace property," Devin begged.

"I'll be right beside her," Andrew rea.s.sured Devin. "And Thomas can keep up in the air." Thomas nodded from the hallway. "We'll keep her safe." Andrew's promise sounded more like a threat as they disappeared from the house in the direction of the cry for help.

Wind whipped through Arianna's hair as she ran, but she wasn't afraid. Andrew kept up, right beside her. Easily she followed the voice resonating in her head. The call wasn't far from the house after all, and nowhere near the edge of the Grace lands. It was safe ground, but whoever was calling was not safe. Arianna slowed down as she neared the cry for help. She immediately recognized the voice as that of her cousin Patrick, Gabriel's son. He was nearby somewhere. She scanned the area for him and instantly found him. He was on the ground covered in blood. Arianna heard his pleas to his father screaming in her mind now that she was so near him.

'Dad, you have to come quick. Ken is dying,' Patrick called out. Gabriel didn't respond.