"Mm," I mewled, scooting away from the nearly oppressive heat. I was so hot. "Cool breeze..."

Cool air tickled my toes and I curled them back under the sheets. A soft chuckle rumbled above me. I giggled when I saw Gavin's dark blue eyes, and squirmed above the covers to peck his lips.

Everyone was in my bed or on top of it, so it was really warm under the covers. I had managed to reach the edge of the bed to get to that cool air. Gavin was laying on top of the bed, cupping my face and kissing my cheeks. My tail was whacking into Zaire next to me, and he turned over with a soft grunt. He curled deeper, but scooted closer to me and wrapped his arms around my thighs, his head on my back.

"Mm, sleepy." mumbled Zaire, nuzzling my side. "Ann, you're so cute."

I blushed, and Gavin smirked at my expression. I locked our fingers together, kissing his knuckles. I watched the tiger rise in him, and stripes appeared on his face.

"Anwyll, I want a taste..." he purred, pressing his lips to mine.

I mewled when his tongue delved deeply into my mouth. His ears flicked towards me, and then to the side when a soft groan rang out. We looked over and Waltz was staring at us with a hungry expression, although I know it was directed at me.

"Annie, are you thirsty?"

I swallowed thickly, my cheeks burning under the multiple heated gazes now trained on my face after Waltz's question.

"U-um..."

"C'mon now, Waltz. He's too shy." chuckled Angel, ruffling Waltz's ash-blond waves.

Waltz pouted, but crawled closer and leaned over Zaire to peck my lips. "Aw, I know, but I wanna play with Annie."

"Y-you can," I whispered, pursing my lips with a blush.

Angel's eyebrows shot up. "Is that an open offer?"

"Um, y-yes?"

Zaire slid his fingers under my shirt, dipping along my waist. I gasped softly, blushing when Gavin crawled backwards to tug down the blankets. A deeper groan rumbled when Dian sat up, his deep brown eyes even darker with desire as Zaire's hand slid up my shirt.

Blaine rested his head on Angel's shoulder, his green and brown eyes sparkling with excitement. As soon as my first moan came out, his irises turned bright red, and black covered the whites of his eyes as fangs dropped down. I blushed when Blaine's wings and tail unfurled. Waltz's wings were already out, and Dian's wings were emerging as I looked around.

Suddenly, the door burst open and Daddy stood there with an irritated expression on his handsome face. "This is not the time, everyone. Damon has gone missing."

Blaine's posture stiffened as his body went back to normal. "The tracker?"

"Snuffed out. My guess is that he was taken by one of the clan members to be used as bait. I need Anwyll to get him back."

"You're going to trade him?" growled Gavin, his claw-tipped nails growing sharper.

I calmed him with a gentle peck as I sat up. "Daddy wouldn't do that. I'm sure he has something else is mind."

Daddy dipped his head. "I will take him to my clan, but my baby is stronger than they know, so any magic they try to restrain him with will be neutralized. Drugs have no affects on him, too. That will save some time for me to find Damon."

"And what if you can't?" asked Blaine. "What then? Anwyll and Damon will be stuck there!"

Daddy sighed, rubbing his temples. "I will call on my siblings for help."

Angel closed his eyes for a moment. "It's a shoddy plan, Alexandre, but I know you have seen and experienced what it was like to live in such a horrible environment. Damon wouldn't survive for too long with his mind intact, but our little sweetheart is definitely stronger than they know."

I grinned, my tail whipping back and forth. "I want to save Day!"

Waltz groaned and hugged my shoulders. "Stay safe, Annie." he murmured, pecking my lips.

I got similar treatment from everyone, then Daddy whisked me away. In an instant I was dressed, and he handed me a croissant to peel and eat while he prepared a few things. I was in mid-bite of the deliciously buttery baked good when Daddy walked through space to get to a fairly dense wooded area.

I kept munching, and Daddy chuckled. He kissed my cheeks, firmly hugging my body to his torso. I giggled and pecked his neck, then felt the air shift as Daddy walked through something. I turned my head a bit and saw a city-like place with a castle far atop a hill. Daddy's wings emerged and he took to the sky, flapping hard and fast to get to the castle.

I felt a bit weird with how fast things were moving—both literally and figuratively—and I was worried about Damon. I hope he's okay.

Daddy kissed my head as we landed at the massive wrought iron gate. It seemed a bit silly to have a gate when people could just fly over it. The guards in full metal armor moved forward, but stepped back and opened the gate when Daddy gave them a furious glare.

"Welcome back, Young Master."

"If you call me that again, I will string you up by your precious genitals!"

The guards winced and turned their heads as Daddy stepped past the gate. I peered over his shoulders to wave with an apologetic smile. The guards just stared in shock when I kissed my daddy's cheek. He chuckled and petted my hair, but he was still tense.

I was just licking my fingertips when the grand double doors swung inwards. Daddy stepped onto the uneven stone floor and proceeded inside. I watched with a bit of concern as robed people began to appear from the hallways lining the main entryway. The robed people kept their heads down, and two opened the next set of tall metal double-doors. They weren't smooth, and they had a rather beaten and war-hewn look to them.

I watched the doors swing open again and a black carpet had been rolled out from the throne to the doors. There was a short flight of steps cut into the stone, and the wooden throne sat with skulls strapped down onto it with thin leather bands. I wasn't terribly impressed, just somewhat sad at the thought of who could have been the clan's victims.

As I raised my gaze to the figure sitting on the throne, I spotted a woman in an elaborate silver-colored floor-length dress standing next to the throne, and on the other side was a soldier. At his feet was a battered and bruised Damon, who was scarily quiet.

"Welcome, dear Alexandre. It was such a lucky break that one of your misfits left the property boundaries. We caught him, as you can see."

Daddy bristled. "Father, you bastard!"

Grandfather Alexios tamped down the obvious irritation, and turned his gaze to mine. "And so, you decided to abandon your beloved son once more for the sake of one forsaken, useless piece of garbage? How does that make him feel?"

My tail puffed out and I felt that tingly sensation as anger fueled some aura shift. "How does that make me feel? How does that make Day feel? You're the real garbage here! You prejudiced, pretentious piece of crap! How dare you steal my Day!"

Damon shifted slightly, his head lifting slightly to reveal teary ice blue eyes. His swollen bottom lip trembled, but he said nothing in response. He was probably scared to get hit again. I could completely understand that feeling.

My grandfather smirked, leaning back in his throne. "You have a smart mouth, but do you have intelligence? You are in my barrier and your hostage is in my hands. I can do anything here."

I clenched my jaw, a snarl pulling at my lips. "Don't touch him!"

"Touch him? I don't have to lift a finger."

Damon whimpered as his head snapped sideways. Blood dribbled from his lips, and a furious growl tore from my throat. Daddy set me down and hopped away as I felt the shift take place. It felt fluid.

My head very nearly touched thirty-foot ceiling, and my grandfather was clearly in shock as I lowered my head and roared at him. I felt heat burst from my throat and watched a violet flame burst out. I could sense the barrier around his body was starting to crack. I glanced over to Daddy, and he already had Damon in his arms. I was relieved, so I snapped my jaws shut and cut off the stream of flame.

Grandfather staggered and fell to his knees, and his hair was singed from my flames. I lifted one talon and slammed it down next to him, growling deeply as I got within eating range of him.

"Don't you touch any of my beloveds again, or I do much worse than just a few singed hairs. You deserve the worst, you bastard!"

I blew a puff of smoke in his face and moved my head away. I felt a tickle on my side and whipped around, throwing my grandmother off my haunches, where she was climbing up using my fur. I growled at her, snapping my teeth at her.

"I hope I never see you again. I would have been willing to love you and call you family before this if you had chosen to change, but it's clear to me that you never will. If you ever intrude on our life again, I will make sure you regret it. ."

I turned all the way around and lowered my body. Daddy flew up onto my back, setting Damon in front of him. I sat back on my haunches and readied myself to launch. I opened my wings and flapped downwards, launching upwards with a powerful push. I burst through the roof and flew further up, breaching the barrier over the town.

Daddy's amazed laughter reached me in my mind as he directed my head towards home. I chuffed with a happy laughter. I pumped my wings, pushing faster than Daddy when he flew. It felt amazing. The wind over my body and through my fur felt divine.

"Is Day okay?"

"He's sleeping now. It seems as though he has several broken bones and a multitude of bruises."

"I should have burned them both." I growled, then roared my pent-up anger into the sky. The air waves trembled with the force of it

Daddy petted my neck. "You both scared and shocked them. I have never seen anything like it. You did well, baby. And look at you! You're so strong. I knew you could do it."

I giggled in my mine, happy to receive the praise. "Have you ever seen violet-colored fire, Daddy?"

"Certainly not, and there was a concentrated beam of silver fire that was breaking my father's famously impenetrable barrier. I think that is what scared him the most—that you, someone he insulted, ridiculed, and baited could actually injure him."

"Hmph, he should have known that someone would be able to do that. He became too complacent as a clan leader. Someone needs to keep him on his toes."

"Like you?" snorted Daddy, so I giggled in our mind-link.

"Maybe not now. I just want to focus on my family; the ones I actually love and care about."

Daddy seemed to be smiling, so I continued towards home.

__________________________

I shifted back into my clothes on the grass in the backyard, and quickly collapsed into Daddy's embrace. I couldn't lift my arms. They felt like lead and they ached if I tried to move anything.

Daddy scooped my limp form up and I was tossed over his shoulder while he carried Damon. I yawned as he space-shifted into Damon's bedroom. Most of the angel's injuries had been healed by my licks in dragon form, and Daddy was stunned to see it. I had assumed that all dragons had that useful trait, since Ambrose had healing saliva, too.

"Sleep with him, baby."

I yawned again and helped Daddy tuck in Damon, then lay down on top of the covers behind him. Daddy kissed my head and left the room, and I was left to my thoughts.

It felt like things had moved way too fast, but it was astonishing to be in a fantasy-like place with a historic-looking castle atop a cliff, overlooking a town with cobblestone pathways.

Even so, I was so happy that Damon was safe and home with us again.

My Father's Killer