Heya!

Thank you everyone for fanning and commenting! I know I haven't yet replied to each and everyone of you but I really will as soon as I got time ;) Trying to finish writing another chapter for another story first though.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

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Love,

Robin

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Carrying Hayden in my arms I made my way up the stairs, flanked by Missy and Deidre who were still softly talking to each other. I heard Missy point out which door was Jake's before they wished me good night and each disappeared into their own rooms.

The door to our room was open a crack I noticed and when I nudged it open I saw Nathaniel seated on the bed, a scattering of papers around him and a frown on his face. When he saw me his eyes widened a fraction before he flashed over to me so quick that I didn't even see him move.

'Is he hurt? What happened?' he asked as he took the sleeping Hayden from my arms and hurried to the bed where he gently put him down. The papers stacking themselves neatly without a hand touching them and shifting to an ordered pile on the nightstand.

'Nothing, he's just sleeping,' I replied. 'But he wanted to sleep here tonight and I said yes, are you okay with that?'

His eyes darkened and then I saw his nostrils flare as he breathed in deeply through his nose. 'Ams, then why are you covered in Deidre's blood?'

'Because she was crying Nathaniel... and I comforted her,' I replied as I watched Nathaniel rake his eyes over Hayden as if checking for injuries. One hand he reached out to gently move some strands of hair out of Hayden's face.

'I told you to keep your distance a ghrá mo chroí and I told you to keep those daggers within reach! Damn it,' Nathaniel whisper yelled as he pointedly glared at the belt of daggers I had dangling in my hand. It was obvious I'd taken it off against his wishes.

'She's no danger to me or Hay and especially not Jake Nathaniel,' I whispered back as I shrugged out of Nathaniel's white shirt, stained crimson from Deidre's tears. I threw it in the hamper and quickly washed up in the bathroom where I tugged on proper PJ's.

Nathaniel didn't follow me and he switched to talking with his mind so he wouldn't wake Hayden, 'Ams you don't know what she did to Jake, you don't know what happened! So you can't know for sure if she's a threat or not. It's because of her Thornten is threatening all of you now!'

I shot him a glare, 'I do know what happened. That's why it took so long, it's what the three of us have been talking about ALL night Nathaniel! Besides from what I've heard of that Thornten, he would have used ANY excuse to go after your territory. This is just very convenient...'

Since I was done in the bathroom I made my way over to the bed where I saw that Nathaniel had already changed Hayden into his Spiderman PJ's and tucked him in. Smack in the middle of the bed.

'I know but that doesn't mean she's trustworthy Ams,' Nathaniel reached out a hand to cup my face gently. 'I love you a ghrá mo chroí.'

'I love you too but now you're trying to change the subject! Deidre is Jake's soulmate Nathaniel. You can't deny them being together, it's a part of the reason Jake appears to have no powers.' I folded back the blanket and slid in beside Hay.

Nathaniel froze in place and stared at me as if struck by lightning, 'You are sure about this a ghrá mo chroí? He spoke out loud but his voice was very soft as he knelt beside me on the floor, taking one of my hands in his.

'I saw her mark Nathaniel and it's unmistakeably Jake's, they mated,' I send him a mental image of the mark I'd seen on Deidre along with my words.

Nathaniel nodded as he stroked his thumb over my hand, it appeared as if he was concentrating hard on that motion but I knew he was thinking. Planning. He had to figure out what to do about Deidre, knowing that she was Jake's mate was changing the entire situation.

He knew now that he didn't just have to protect Deidre because I wanted it so but that she was now his family. If she died then so would Jake, because they had mated.

'I will talk to Jake,' he said.

Standing up he gently kissed my forehead, 'Sleep well a ghrá mo chroí. I will be back as soon as possible, forgive me but work and duty call.'

I nodded, 'Take care Nathaniel.'

He had already disappeared out the door, the door whispering close without so much as a sound. Turning I realized he'd forgotten his stacks of folders and papers which he'd been looking over when he entered. Then right before my eyes they simply vanished.

Yes, they vanished in thin air.

'What the?' I started to mutter but I heard a low chuckle echo in my mind and then Nathaniel's mental voice: 'Yes I just moved the stack of papers a ghrá mo chroí. Don't wait up for me.'

My head filled itself with his lullaby and images of the beautiful Irish countryside. I guessed they were memories of places Nathaniel himself had been. Curled up protectively around my little brother I was soon fast asleep.

*

When I woke up that morning I was cocooned in warmth, Hayden was still fast asleep curled up in my arms with his back pressed against me, his head cradled on my arm. Nathaniel lay behind me with one male thigh pressed up between my legs and his arm thrown over my waist to hold both me and Hayden.

'Morning a ghrá mo chroí,' he breathed softly in my hair, shifting just the tiniest bit to press his chest closer against my back.

'Morning Nathaniel, was everything okay? Did you talk with Jake?' I asked, I was anxious to know what had gone on while I slept last night.

A chuckle soft and low, his chest vibrating against me the way it always gave me shivers. 'The mark was there yes, the exact same mark as the one you showed me Deidre has. Jake... Jake said he didn't tell us because he knew it would change things for me. He didn't want me to feel responsible for Deidre and he didn't want me push him into making amends.'

The silence that followed told me just how hurt Nathaniel was over the fact that Jake hadn't told him this. I knew he'd never admit it out loud but it was obvious. I rubbed my fingers over his arm in an effort to show him I was there for him.

'What's next?'

'We get up and fix you and Hayden breakfast Ams,' Nathaniel replied with a hint of teasing. 'Seratin and Jaden have already left on assignment's I set for them and I brought in one of my other Taoiseach Dílseachta to run security here.

Since no one is going to school at the moment we can do with one and I have some of my people working on arranging homeschooling for Hayden. Besides that... I have to run reports and place some visits to other Taoiseach whom I trust less. Sammuel reported some disturbances in several States that need checking.'

My mind was sort of buzzing with that information because pretty much the only thing I understood from all of that was that Hayden was getting homeschooling now. Taoiseach? What the hell were those?

Another chuckle and then Nathaniel whispered: 'Taoiseach is Gaelic for Chieftain a ghrá mo chroí, it is the tittle given to the ones who rule a section of my territory for me. It is split up along the State-lines as you know them for the most part. Although some territories include several States.'

He paused before continuing his explanation: 'Taoiseach Dílseachta means something like true chieftains or loyal chieftains. Jaden, Sammuel and Seratin each carry that rank because I trust them implicitly. They do not rule pieces of my territory, rather they supervise EVERYTHING for me...'

'And there are more Taoiseach Dílseachta?' I asked, wondering how many people over the years had earned his trust so implicitly even though he'd had to fight so incredibly hard for his survival and that of his siblings.

Nathaniel didn't trust easily, that I knew.

'There's several more yes, you'll get to meet Lysander shortly. He's very competent with security details and will run the operation here smoothly even though he's the youngest of my Taoiseach Dílseachta. Being only three hundred years old.'

'Only three hundred,' I mimicked Nathaniel with a laugh.

He ignored it, 'I'm afraid I'll be away all day, I have to hurry if I want to visit seven Taoiseach. Elliot is going to be run ragged with all the Teleporting he'll have to do for me.'

'Elliot can Teleport?' Hayden suddenly exclaimed, 'That's so cool!'

Nathaniel laughed, 'Morning a chumann. Most witches can Teleport a little, Elliot is particularly good at it though...' He tightened his hold for a short moment, hugging the both of us close to him before he let go and slid out of bed. When I turned to look at him he was already completely dressed, not a hair out of place.

'Hey Nathaniel, since you have witch blood in you... Does that mean you can Teleport as well? Is that what you did with the papers last night?' I wondered.

'Yes a ghrá mo chroí, unfortunately for Elliot I cannot Teleport myself or large objects. Now come we need to get started with the day, Lysander will train with you today and I thought maybe Hay would like to learn too?'

'I can be a ninja!' Hayden exclaimed rushing out of bed to show off his moves to Nathaniel.

*

In the kitchen I ate a quick breakfast with Hay and Elliot after which I had to say goodbye to Nathaniel. He left with a kiss on my forehead and a softly muttered warning that I should still be careful around Deidre. She might be Jake's mate but that didn't mean she wouldn't betray us to keep him alive or something.

Elliot made a show of grimacing when he grabbed on to Nathaniel's shoulder before bowing elegantly. Then with a wink they both disappeared from the room.

Hayden clapped and bounced in his chair, 'Do you think I can learn to do that?'

'Don't know, we're not witches Giant but we have an Angel for a grandfather and a Demon as a Dad so I'm sure we can do something special.' I winked at him as I took his hand to lead him to the training room.

In the hall we met up with Deidre and Missy, both wearing simple loose clothing fit for training. 'Did Nate order you two to train as well?' I asked them.

They nodded and Deidre flipped her red hair over her shoulder, 'I can fight alright, I've had to fight all my life. Your Mate is one pushy guy...'

'Oh I know, let's go okay I wanna know who this Lysander is,' I said.

Missy groaned, 'Not Lysander!'

'That bad?' I pushed open the door to the training room and stepped inside scanning the wide open space for this 'young' Taoiseach. The room was empty however so I shrugged and made my way over to the mat's already in place on the floor.

The door swung open behind us to admit Jake, wearing just a pair of training pants he strode into the room on bare feet. Looking at him I realized that he was pretty damn muscular as well, but his build was much slighter then Nathaniel and the way he always slouched when he walked hid that.

He strode over to the mats but didn't look at Deidre whatsoever, as he turned his back to us however I had a clear view of the mating mark that covered his left shoulder blade.

Hayden leaned over to tug Deidre to his level and when she did he pressed a kiss to her cheek and then patted her hand. After that he ran over to Jake to hug his leg, 'Jakey! Are we gonna play the Wii again today? Are you gonna teach me to be a ninja?'

Jake's posture immediately softened. 'Of course we can play Wii kid and I'll teach you some ninja moves any time. Come here.' He took Hayden to the mats and started demonstrating how to stand and kick and even punch...

I wasn't sure how I felt about my baby brother learning to fight but on the other hand... I knew he wasn't the kind to hurt innocents and it was good if he could protect himself somewhat.

Jake wasn't a rookie either, he didn't have the speed that Nathaniel or Seratin possessed when they fought but the techniques were all there. There was a look of determination on his face when he practiced and I could see him think through strategies.

We were all watching when a voice suddenly barked: 'Attention please ladies!'

Behind us stood a darkly handsome man, he didn't look any younger than Jaden or Nathaniel. Any human would have estimated him to be about twenty-five to twenty-eight years old but looks obviously were deceiving.

His hair was such a dark shade of brown that it appeared almost black and his face was aristocratic. His skin a beautiful olive tone that implied a Mediterranean heritage just like his eyes that were so dark beneath his sculptured eyebrows that they too appeared black.

He was dressed in flowing black pants that looked both stylish and easy to move in and a black shirt that bared his underarms and flowed over his chest. It showed clearly how he too was muscular to a fault but hey all these men were warriors so it wasn't that strange.

His clothes all appeared to be tailor made to fit him like a glove and it spoke volumes, this man considered himself well bred. Like royalty.

The way he stood with his chin slightly raised gave me the feeling he was looking down on us with a hint of contempt. I had thought the Nordic Sammuel was an arrogant son of a bitch and Jaden a close second with his teasing comments but this guy... Pfew it was a wonder he'd managed to get through the door.

'I see what you mean Missy,' I told her with a wink.

'Lord Nathaniel has charged me with training you in the art of self-defense and as your instructor I demand your completely attention. I do not tolerate unnecessary talking and especially not complaining,' the infamous Lysander said. A melodic accent filtering through his voice that sounded faintly Greek.

After that he set us to go through a series of exercises so he could evaluate each of our skills. Deidre soon proved to be quite adequate and before Lysander could get her started on brushing up her skills Jake jumped in saying that he'd train her.

Lysander looked at Jake with more contempt than he did to Deidre and Missy, obviously not impressed but he nodded and pretended he didn't know they were even there. I suppose being the brother of the man he swore allegiance to he felt like he couldn't really object.

After that he put Missy through her moves and gave her exercises so she could improve what little skills she had. Missy moved like a graceful dancer but it was clear that she had hardly any knowledge of fighting and especially that she had no desire to learn either.

It was funny to watch how every time Lysander turned his back on her she would go through dance exercises instead. He knew of course but again, he didn't say anything.

When he turned his dark eyes on me I swallowed once convulsively before reminding myself that I was in fact Nathaniel's mate. Deidre behaved submissive to me as if I was her leader and if Nathaniel was Lysander's Lord then I was his Lady wasn't I?

Yet with the faint sneer on his handsome face as he looked at me... The contempt oozing out of him as he assessed my posture. It was hard not to feel as tiny as a mouse.

Hours later I felt like I had been strung up for a beating, my muscles were each screaming in agony and my throat felt so dry that I couldn't have been thirstier had I walked through a dessert all day. With shaking legs I forced myself to go through the exercises Lysander had set for me again.

I wasn't going to back down, he wouldn't have the pleasure of seeing me give up. Never!

Missy had long since disappeared, flitting out of the room like a butterfly and Lysander hadn't said a word about it. Just looking after her with a frown on his face, he was dying to give her a piece of his mind yet he swallowed the words.

He didn't hesitate to scold me or Hayden about all the things we did wrong though...

At some point Deidre looked at me and then at Hayden who was still bravely struggling through his own exercises. There was a curious look on his face, determination and something else. Every time he looked at the Greek slave-driver his eyes would narrow as if he was concentrating and then he'd renew his exercises with vigor. As if he was trying to prove something to the Taoiseach.

Deidre intervened when I nodded, excusing herself with Hayden because he had schoolwork to do, much to my brother's disgust. Jake followed them out the room without a word but having seen him spar with Deidre had shown me he was nearly ready to forgive her.

That left me alone with the arrogant Greek man and deciding to put an end to this right away I swiveled to look at him with a glare. 'I don't know WHAT your problem is with me but you can spit it out right now and we'll settle this. I won't have you staring down at me with contempt when I have no clue what I did to deserve it.'

His sneer intensified, 'You are human, little girl.'

Even though it wasn't even true, I was part Demon and part Angel I didn't deny it. If he looked down on human's then he sure as hell didn't deserve my respect.

'And what are you to make you think you're so much better?' I spat as I placed my hands on my hips staring at him while I imagined that HE was the mouse instead of me.

His dark eyes sparkled for a moment before he sauntered over to me, an arrogant smirk on his face. 'What I am little girl? I am a Drakos and I have every right to look down on puny little humans.'

His eyes blazed red for a short second as if fire danced behind his pupils, then it was gone and I wondered if I'd imagined it. The way he loomed over me, his stance intimidating and arrogant, it had my heart beating wildly in my throat.

My instincts telling me that this man was the most dangerous predator of all.

'So you're a shapeshifter that can change into a dragon?' I asked and my voice sounded just the slightest bit hoarse as fear made my throat constrict.

Lysander nodded his head just a fraction before he spoke again, 'I am Drakos, consider us the royalty among shifters. Like the Lion is the king of the savannah.'

'Cool,' I said, 'I need a shapeshifter to practice this one skill I have.'

Before he could object or ask what I was talking about I pulled a dagger from that holster, which I'd faithfully worn all day for Nathaniel. I slammed it down into his thigh without hesitation.

Since he didn't yell out or start fluctuating between shapes I pulled the dagger out and stabbed his other leg too. I tell you, I wasn't a violent person at all but with his high and mighty attitude I was pissed off enough for it. I knew he wouldn't die from it anyway...

An ear piercing roar resounded through the room, echoing against the walls and I was forced to let go of the dagger, still embedded in his leg and stumble backwards. Lysander's eyes were definitely engulfed with flames now...

Before me he started growing until all I could see was a black scaly body, supple and lean with muscle. Huge claws that made furrows in the hardwood floor and a set off incredibly large black wings shot through with silver.

The dragon's head was both the scariest thing I'd ever seen and at the same time hauntingly beautiful. Dark horned ridges and tall twisted horns with silver scales in a symmetrical pattern, his eyes like furnaces.

One claw he raised and swept down to grab me but instead of terrified that he'd hurt me I stood still. Calm enveloped me...