One-way Ticket

[Maira]

Olivia had been back in the US for maybe three months when she came home from a walk to find her twin in her room packing up her things. "What are you doing with my stuff Shay?" When she got no answer she barged into her room, hands on her hips, and demanded irritably, "Shay, what do you think you're doing?"

Shay shoved a loose strand of her black hair behind her ear, paused in her packing and answered with a grin, "Something came for you in the mail today."

Livvy's irritation faltered in the face of her twin's obvious delight and she must have looked as confused as she felt because Shay actually giggled before she grabbed an envelope off the bed, where it had been hidden by a suitcase, and quickly stepped around the bed to hand it to her. The fact that the envelope was already open annoyed Livvy but as soon as she saw the envelope had an airline logo on it she knew why Shay had opened it. She would have wanted to make sure that Livvy wasn't running away again. As she went to open it herself, Livvy felt her hands start to shake. Shay was actually bouncing as Livvy pulled out the ticket and other papers inside. She only glanced at the ticket long enough to check the destination, and note that it was one-way, before she dug through the papers for the receipt. By the way her twin was smiling and bouncing she had a strong feeling she knew who's name would be listed under "purchased by".

Having a strong feeling about who's name she would see on the receipt and actually seeing Logan's name listed as having been the person to pay for her one-way ticket turned Livvy's shaking hands into whole body shakiness. Before she even realized she was falling, Shay had her arms around Livvy's waist hugging her tight as she eased Livvy to sit on the edge of her bed. "It's okay Liv, he wants you to come home. He wants you to come home to him and Seth!" At Shay's words, especially when she mentioned Seth, Livvy felt tears burning in her eyes and she noticed her vision blurring.

Through the shock, it took Livvy a moment to realize she didn't know when she was leaving. Blinking back the tears so she could see properly, Livvy quickly shuffled through the papers in her hands to find the ticket again. Once she found it, Livvie dropped everything else and gawked. "I leave tonight?!" she blurted in surprise.

"Yep! That's why I was helping you pack. You need to be at the airport in four hours." Shay, now that the news was delivered and Livvy was properly shocked, had started packing up Livvy's clothes again.

*****

She was nervous. Twenty minutes before her flight had taken off she'd gotten a text from Logan that read: "I'm hoping to see you in the morning but if you didn't get the ticket, or decided not to use it, please let me know so I don't drive out to the airport." Her answer had simply been to tell him that her plane was boarding soon and then she had turned her phone off. During her layover she turned her phone back on long enough to see another message from Logan explaining that he'd be in the cell phone waiting lot when she arrived and to just let him know when she was ready to be picked up.

She was now standing on the curb, luggage in tow, waiting. She had sent him a text as soon as she had snagged her last bag off the carousel, he had answered and now she was waiting. It had been almost a year since she had last seen Logan and she wasn't exactly sure what to expect. She hoped that the fact that the ticket was one-way meant what she thought it did, but she couldn't help but worry that he would be cold and standoffish with her anyway.

Rescuing her from worrying too much more, Shay chose that moment to call. She was checking to make sure that Livvy's flight had gone well and to find out when she was going to see Logan. A little beep right in front of her caused Livvy to jump, squeak, and drop her phone onto the pavement at her feet. After scrambling to rescue her phone before it slipped off the curb and under the car that had beeped at her, Livvy looked at the driver who was now climbing out of the car and quickly answered Shay, "Um, now. Gotta go!" before hanging up on her twin. Stuffing her phone in her pocket as she stood, Livvy swallowed the lump in her throat and, barely loud enough to be heard over the traffic and the crowd said, "Hey Logan." She knew she was shaking but she didn't even bother to hide it.

[Demeter]

Logan wondered if he was doing the right thing, asking Livvy to come back. She'd obviously been through something but had stubbornly remained quiet about. While she'd been in the air, Shay had called and told him all about it. What pissed him off the most was that she hadn't had enough confidence in him to not only protect her and Seth. 

And what Shay had told him of her behavior worries him. Now that he had full custody of his son, he worried about her around him. He'd made arrangements for her to stay with Lily and Shay. 

When he picked her up from the airport. "Hey, Olivia. Good flight? I hope you don't mind but you'll have to stay with Lily and Shay for a bit. I don't have room with Seth's stuff taking over my apartment."

[Maira]

She wasn't sure whether to feel happiness at hearing what sounded like confirmation that Logan had gotten full custody of Seth, or if she should be hurt and sad that she wasn't actually going home. Not wanting to make him feel guilty, she did the best to keep the hurt off her face as she answered, "That's fine, really." Unfortunately her voice, if one knew what to listen for, gave her away. Instead of dwelling on it, Livvy just put her bags in the trunk and then climbed into the passenger seat.

The first part of the ride was quiet, Livvy didn't know what to say. She couldn't figure out why Logan would have sent a ticket to have her come home and then make arrangements for her to stay with Lily and Shay, and Shay was still in Cedar Valley so that meant she'd just be with Lily.

As they rode, Livvy looked out the windows and took in all the familiar sights. She was finally starting to relax a little bit, was even thinking about trying to talk to Logan, when the car stopped at a harmless looking intersection, a bus stop a short distance away from the stoplight with a narrow band of forest behind the bus stop. It wasn't the stop she'd been taken at, but it looked similar enough that her mind couldn't distinguish and instantly she shut down, her hands clenched in her lap and her eyes closed tight. She tried not to let her breathing get fast and ragged but she knew she was failing when she heard Logan ask if she was okay.

Maybe this had been the wrong thing to do, maybe she would have been better off losing everything she loved but not having to see her attackers around every corner. When Logan made to stop and pull over to check on her, Livvy begged him, "Just go, get me away from here please. Just go!" Tears were falling now too, even with her eyes closed. She needed Shay, but Shay wasn't here. Logan was driving and didn't really want her anyway, and he'd want her even less if he knew what she'd done. She'd never tell him that Seth was in danger because of her, she just needed to keep Seth safe. If that meant losing him and losing Logan then so be it. She loved them both too much to see them get hurt.

[Demeter]

When Livvie told him to just go, he would have loved to but he couldn't. He was stopped at a red light with a cop behind him. With an obviously distressed young woman in his passenger seat and the duffel bag full of murderous implements in his back seat, he couldn't afford to get pulled over. Instead of running the light, he reached over and gave Livvie's hand a squeeze. "It's all right," he murmured, "no one is going to get you while I'm around."

While he waited for the light to turn green, Logan stroked a thumb over Livvie's knuckles in a attempt to keep her calm. It was a battle to keep himself calm when all he wanted was to find the men who'd done this and rip them apart. It was a full time job to keep that anger from boiling over. If he ever got names or even just descriptions out of her, he'd hunt the bastards down. Only fools messed with the mate of a hunter. 

They drove to Lily and Shay's place in silence. What be'd said about not having the space for Livvie was true - heck, he didn't even know where his couch was and the babysitter slept on a cot in Seth's room. Having only been awarded full custody of his son a few weeks ago, the boy's stuff had taken over. Between that and having just moved into a new place over the weekend, Logan was lucky to even be wearing clean jockey shorts right now. As much as he wanted to have Livvie in his own home, where he could protect her, he didn't want to overwhelm the woman. Couldn't very well haul her home, toss her into the packing box filled living room and leave her to go to work. Yeah, that would make a good impression; "here ya go, Livvie, home sweet home. Seth's buried in there somewhere, as is his baby sitter. I've got to go work now, feel free to dig through the boxes. You may encounter the secret stash of porn but that's all right." He just didn't think it was a good idea. As it was, he was sure that his babysitter/housekeeper/cook/go-for lady had already found the porn while she attempted to tame the moving mess. She'd given him A Look that afternoon. 

So, when the light turned green, Logan navigated his Jeep to Lily's building. It wasn't the best option but the security here was good. With one grandchild, two great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild (not to mention the unborn ones) living in the same building, Darius Delorme had not only beefed up the security but bought the building. He'd hired Sebastian to renovate the first floor into storefronts. After parking the jeep at the curb, he glanced at Livvie and wondered if Shay had told her that both Sebastian and Rowan were living here now. And about the madcap plan of procreation...

Lily and Shay, along with River and Sebastian were planning to have children. Heck, they were already trying - Lily was five month's along with Sebastian's kids. He'd already agreed that when the time was right, he'd donate his genetic material to the cause. He just hoped that his genes would temper Shay's wild ones. But had anyone told Livvie that she'd be an Auntie soon? He'd find out soon enough since Lily's pregnant belly was huge. 

He keyed them into the building, telling Livvie that there'd been a recent security upgrade and that Lily would give her the key and code so that she didn't have to be buzzed in every time she visited. He led the way to the elevator. This too had been upgraded but still kept the old freight style and look. He had to step over a tool box once they reached the top floor. "You'll have to excuse the mess; there's some renovations going on," he said while flipping through his keys for the spare to Lily's place. 

He'd just found it when the door opened. "How?" He asked his sister. 

"Tovah. She has new spy cameras. She put them in the elevators and called to say you were on your way. She also told me to tell you to haul ass cause the rouge will be living its den soon and she doesn't want to play chase tonight."

Grumbling about his tracker partner, Logan hauled the bags into the apartment. Tovah did the tracking while he did the hard part of subduing whatever rouge or feral they were after. Tovah could be bossy, especially after a fight with Rowan...which happened often. "Are they still fighting?" He asked, trying not to whine. 

"She was throwing steak knives at him today while he ran down the hall. She was yelling something about biting her in inappropriate places. I didn't ask."

Logan groaned. A cranky Tovah meant a long night of hunting. 

"Uh, Logan, is Livvie okay?"

He blinked and turned to see Livvie still standing in the door way, eyes wide and jaw dropped as she stared at Lily. His sister may no attempt to hide the obvious pregnant with twins five month bump she sported. She liked showing the bump off. Right now, she wore leggings and a old tank top that hugged the bulge. "Ah, guessed right. She didn't say anything to me so I'm assuming that Shay didn't tell her about Thing 1 and Thing 2."

Lily rolled her eyes. "Of course she didn't. She was probably too focused on Livvie and forgot to mention it. Go and change, Logan, before Tovah comes charging in, and I'll explain to Livvie."

Grumbling, Logan hefted his bag and went down the hall. Lily waited until she heard a door close before approaching Livvie and taking the woman's limp hands in hers. She placed those hands on her belly. "They are mostly active at night," she said while walking backwards, drawing Livvie into the apartment. As if cued, the twins took the chance and started bumping each other. "If it makes you feel better, your mother doesn't know yet either. Shay is supposed to be telling her while she's out there. We haven't told anyone besides the people here, and Lady Genesis because she's the one that made this all possible, yet because we wanted to make sure that everything was going well first. I'm twenty weeks along with Sebastian's twins and all three of us are healthy as horses. Shay is supposed to be telling Mom but I suppose I'll have to remind her to do so. Your sister can be singleminded and forget to do stuff; it frustrates me at times but one of the things I love about her."

Keeping Livvie's hands clamped to her belly, where the twins were still beating on each other, Lily drew her sister-in-law down to the couch. "This is the first of four planned pregnancies. The order is me and Seb, me and River, then Shay and Logan, Tovah and Seb. Tovah has agreed to donate some eggs so that there can be a kid for Seb and River using the same genes as River, since, you know, men can't breed without the invention of gods and "just cause" isn't a good enough reason."

Lily bounced a little. "Shay is going to be a mommy! You're going to be an aunty again!"

Logan watched from the hallway as Lily gushed about her upcoming adventures with being a mommy. He was dressed in all black and was fixing the light weight body armor he used in place. His hair was pulled back tightly and he had carious weapons placed all over his body. 
Buckling the spiked arm guards into place, he stepped into the apartment's living room. "I'm off to go hunting. Now, remember to -"

"Stay indoors at night until this rouge is caught," Lily finished for her brother. She turned to face Livvie. "There's a rouge with a nasty habit of kidnapping college girls. Logan and Tovah have been hunting him for weeks. Hopefully tonight is the end of it," she said. 

Logan ruffled his sister's hair. "If Tovah is grumpy enough, she may just take care of it for me. Good night, Ladies. Lily, I'll be back in the morning to take you to your appointment. Be good," he said before kissing her forehead. He stopped by Livvie and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Relax, Olivia, you are safe here."

Lily watched her brother leave and she smirked when she heard Tovah ask him what the hell was taking so long it wasn't like he had to be pretty to kill a rouge. Shaking her head, Lily turned to look at Livvie. She looked so lost and confused. "You know what sucks about twins? I can't drive myself anywhere anymore. Can't reach the pedals anymore cause of how far the seat is back to accommodate the beasts. Hey, Livvie, how do you feel about online baby stuff shopping?" 

[Maira]

The rest of the ride, once Logan pulled away from that bus stop, was relatively painless. Getting into Lily and Shay's building was interesting, but okay. Being greeted by Lily's huge pregnant belly left poor Livvy shocked and speechless. It wasn't until Lily shooed Logan away and placed Livvy's hands on the large baby bump and lead her inside that Livvy started to come around. She listened and tried not to gawk as Lily chatted happily about the multiple planned pregnancies for herself and Shay, and River and Seb. When the other woman asked how she felt about shopping for baby stuff online, it took Livvy a moment to catch up to the subject change and she finally answered, "Sounds fun I guess."

The look on Lily's face made it clear that the answer she'd given wasn't the one that was expected and Livvy cringed inwardly. There was something she needed to tell Logan, something she had even managed to leave out of her story to Shay, that would explain her sudden lack of enthusiasm for baby shopping and all things baby. To try and cover the sudden awkwardness in the room, Livvy plead jet-lag and asked where she'd be sleeping. Lily frowned at her but then led her to the guest room and Livvy thanked her as she shut the door behind her. After she'd heard Lily make her way back down the hall, Livvy locked the door and went and burrowed under the blankets to attempt to sleep so she could hide from the memories and the heartache.

*****

When she woke, it was to a knock on her door. The door knob jiggled and a muffled curse came from the other side followed by another, louder, knock. "Olivia Dion, open this door right now or I will go get Rowan!" Her older half brother's voice was familiar, and at the moment quite grating. Muttering under her breath as she flung the covers off, Livvy hurried to the door and unlocked it. The last thing she needed was her cousin eyeing her funny, trying to figure out what was wrong with her. He was strangely intuitive at times and she didn't want him near her.

When she opened the door, Livvy was greeted by a stern looking Sebastian. With a soft groan, Livvy opened the door further and turned and walked back to plop on the edge of her bed. As she sat, she asked, "What do you want Seb?"

[Demeter]

Sebastian gave his sister a look. She goes off for several months after some very strange behavior and wants to know what he wants? "I would think that would be obvious. Shay called this morning. Told me to keep an eye on you and make sure that you were, what were the words she used? Oh yeah, not do a runner and disappear again?"

Sebastian shut the door before sitting next to Olivia. "She wouldn't tell me anything else, which is strange for her. Now, why would you be planning an runner and no excuses. I'm not Gareth; I don't go ballistic."

Perhaps Livvy might have gotten to speak but Lily's shocked scream had them both jumping. Sebastian had the door open in seconds and both of them were in the hallway in time to hear Lily's next scream of "oh my god, what the hell happened to you, Logan!"

[Maira]

She had been asleep for a while, probably quite a while if her rested body was any indication, but having been asleep for that long left Livvy a little slow to put together Sebastian's question. She had just about figured out how much she wanted to tell him when Lily screamed from the livingroom. She wasn't sure who moved first or faster but as both she and Sebastian made it to the hallway, Lily screamed again and Livvy bolted toward the terrified sound.

The sight of Logan, slightly bent over and breathing hard while grabbing his side, elicited and stream of curses from Livvy that would make her twin blush. It took her no time at all to reach him and slip her arm carefully around him. "Damn it Logan," she muttered as she helped him over to the nearest dining room chair.

Just as she was getting Logan situated, Livvy heard Tovah grumble from the doorway, "Moron, you should have stayed out of the way! I had a shot at him but you just had to act the hero and keep him from getting too close." Then the other woman stomped over to look at her partner. When Livvy was unceremoniously shoved out of the way by the female hunter, she yelped and gawked.

"I was handling it, Tovah," Livvy bristled. When the other woman ignored her, Livvy's temper flared and she tried to return the favor and shove Tovah away.

All that she accomplished, however, was to piss off Tovah and the woman turned and snarled at her, "You lost the right to 'handle it' when you abandoned him, Liv, now fuck off!"

Snarling in return, Livvy informed Tovah, "Genesis took me on as her apprentice and wound care was one of the first and most intensive things we covered. Unless you're qualified to give him the stitches that he might very well need, get the fuck out of my way!"

Having never been told off, let alone cursed at, by Livvy, Tovah just blinked in surprise for a moment before backing away from Logan silently, giving Livvy space to look at Logan's wound. The battle of wills settled for the moment, Livvy approached Logan and went to work removing his ruined body armor and shirt so she could take a look at the damage. Luckily the wound didn't look like it was deep enough to cause any internal injuries, but it certainly needed stitches. Turning to Tovah, she instructed her in a professional manner, "Hold his shirt over that while I get my kit." When Tovah was in place Livvy hurried off to her room and her luggage.

Coming back, her kit in hand, Livvy caught a strange look from Sebastian. She figured it probably had to do with her change in personality and she cringed a little inside. Nobody in her family or circle of friends had ever witnessed her acting the way she just had with Tovah. She knew she'd have to answer Seb's questions later but right now she needed to stitch up Logan.

[Demeter]

Lily quietly knocked on the bedroom door. She need to speak to Livvy about the woman who was coming for a visit. Thera Ravenswood was Logan's mentor and had been summoned by the council. They wanted to know why two of her trainees had failed to capture a rouge after nearly a month of hunting. Thera, Lily had learned from Tovah, was not pleased about their failure and had taken over the hunt. Tovah was to accompany her but Logan had been granted a reprieve due to his injuries.

At least as far as the hunt went. Thera still wished to speak to him. Tovah had called to say that the woman was already on her way from the council headquarters and Lily wanted to warn Livvy about Thera.

The woman was...unsettling, Lily though as she softly rapped her knuckles on the door. There was just something about her that cowed even Shay into submission. The first time Thera had come to visit, Shay had pressed herself into a corner of the couch and been unnaturally quiet and calm. And then there was that one time when Thera had encounter Shay's Great-Grandfather in the hall. She's called him by another named and he'd bent at the waist and addressed her as Lady Thera.

There was just something odd about her.

When Livvy cracked open the door, Lily smiled. "Just checking in. Also, if you can wake him, do so. His mentor is coming and wants answers. I bet being woken by you would be better then being woken by her."

***

Thera sipped at her decaffeinated iced coffee, making a face each time she sucked on the straw. Coffee was one of her vices; normally she opted for a quadruple shot espresso but, for the baby, she was willing to deal with allowing herself one stingy cup in the mornings. She may not have looked it but Thera had just entered her sixth month of pregnancy. She'd always carried well, she thought as she languished in the back of the council's hired town car. They were stuck in traffic.

While annoying, it gave her time to ponder the unsuccessful hunt of her two best students. Even before she'd spoken to Tovah, she'd known the problem. She'd been distracted by some issue with her on/off partner Rowan. It wasn't the first time Rowan had distracted the woman during hunt and Thera doubted it would be the last. But Logan?

He'd been her best student and had been graced with the talent, ability and drive to been a success. So what had distracted him?

When the car finally reached the apartment building where Logan was holed up, Thera tipped the driver and headed in. She was distracted by Lily's belly went the young woman opened the door. Tovah had told her that Shay's mate was pregnant with twins but seeing is always believing. "Oh, babies! Can I?" She asked while holding her hands above the bump.

Rolling her eyes, Lily nodded and leaned against the door frame while Thera petted The Bump. It never failed to amuse that the terrifying and awesome Thera went to goo around babies and pregnant women.

"When are you due?"

"Three more months."

Thera squealed and started bouncing in her heels. "Me too!" she said before grabbing Lily's hands and slapping them on her belly.

Lily gaped at the hard belly beneath her hands. "Well, that's just not fair," she muttered. And it really wasn't. Thera was Amazonian tall, had dark, thick auburn hair and bright, electric green eyes and she barely showed when pregnant.

Thera grinned. "I always carry well. Now, where is your idiot brother?"

Lily pointed over her shoulder. "Down the hall, second door on the left."

Thera thanked Lily as she trotted down the hall. When she reached the door, she didn't bother to knock. She just pushed open the door to find Logan sitting up in bed and a wide eyed red head staring at her. She recognized the woman from photographs Logan had showed her. This must be the mysterious Olivia.

"The pieces are starting to fall into place," Thera said while pushing the closed.

[Maira]

Livvy had been happily dozing back to sleep in the oversized chair next to her bed, feet up on a fluffy ottoman, and a quilt she had a feeling that Shay had made tucked around her when there was a gentle knock at the door. She'd spent the night in the chair while Logan was in the bed she'd been give, and when the sun had come up it had roused her and she was reminded just why she was sleeping in the chair instead of a bed. She'd taken the time to check Logan's wounds while he slept and she was pleased at how they looked so eventually she had been able to settle back in the chair for some more rest.

The gentle knocking came again and Livvy knew she hadn't been dreaming it so she climbed out of her warm squishy nest and answered the door. Seeing her pregnant sister-in-law on the other side, Livvy smiled sleepily at her by way of good morning greeting, but the smile quickly slid from her face as Lily spoke. Lily's warning about Logan's mentor had been cryptic and a bit unsettling. Just the anxious look on Lily's face had set Livvy's mental alarm bells ringing. As it was, as soon as the bedroom door shut again, Livvy stared longingly at the chair for only a moment before going to sit beside Logan on the bed, brushing her hand down his arm to wake him.

When his eyes finally fluttered open, she passed along Lily's message about the impending visit from his mentor. She was a little surprised when he moaned at the news, but didn't question it. If Lily and Logan both were anxious about this woman coming for a visit, Livvy wasn't sure she wanted to know why...

Shortly after she'd gotten him upright, the bedroom door opened and Livvy turned, expecting to see Lily again. Only, the amazon that marched through the door was certainly not Lily. Instinct took over and Livvy gulped and eyed Logan nervously before turning her gaze back to Thera. She wanted to run from the room and hide behind Lily, but Logan was hurt and if this woman stressed him out too much his healing would be impared. If nothing else, she had to stay and make sure the woman didn't do anything detrimental to Logan's health. She was speechless for the moment, but she listened intently as the woman and Logan talked.

[Demeter]

While she spoke with Logan, learning his version of events, Thera kept an eye on Olivia. Logan had spoken of her during his time as her student and had described a gentle, caring woman. The tale she'd heard from Tovah over this woman snapping at her over patching Logan up backed up his description. It also added a secondary layer of strength to the girl.

Olivia had a backbone that her preliminary visions of the girl hadn't suggested.

Her research into Logan's connections when she'd first taken him on as a student had included Olivia, though she hadn't looked very deeply at her. No doubt any deep looked at any of DeLorme's family would cause red flags. What had learned was that Olivia was a quiet spot among her loud, exuberant siblings.

After speaking with Logan, she assured him that as this was the first incident like this on his record, it would be overlooked. Tovah, on the other hand, knew better and had been ordered to settle things with Rowan. She would also be hunting alongside Thera tonight.

***
The dawn saw a successful hunt. Thera left an exhausted and filthy Tovah at her door with orders to sort things out with Rowan or else. She happily trotted up to the next floor to where Logan was. There was also coffee up there.

And one Olivia. She'd come to a conclusion about the girl while she'd watched Tovah chase the rouge around a abandoned warehouse. Truthfully, she was curious. Reportedly, when she'd disappeared the year before, Olivia had been the very definition of meek and mild. Between then and now, she'd found her backbone.

Admittedly, it was still a weak backbone; the girl, for all her bravado while stitching Logan up, had been tense and ready to bolt yesterday. Thera itched to strengthen that spine.

She'd had 'Fael do some research. His contacts had fed her information about Olivia's time abroad. And she intended to use that information to lure the girl to Ravenswood Manor.

After pouncing on Lily and her wonderful Kurig machine, Thera wandered down to the guest room. After amusing herself over the way Shay, freshly returned from the west coast, hissed and slunk away from her, Thera let herself into Logan's room. Some, like Shay, could tell that she was more then a simple mutari-hunter. Others, like Logan, were blind and deaf to it. Thera suspected that Olivia was like her sister and she made the hybrid uneasy.

"Logan, the rouge has been taken into custody. The council is permitting you a month off to heal and organize. Olivia, I heard of your life saving measures in the repair of my student and would like to extend an invitation, independent of the Mutari council, to be student of mine at my home, Ravenswood Manor."

[Maira]

When Thera had left, the wave of relief that crashed over Livvy had been intense. She eyed Logan suspiciously and wondered just how he was able to function so normally around her. The rest of the day had been spent tending to, and catching up with, Logan. She even got his permission to go to his apartment and relieve Seth's nanny and bring the boy with her back to Lily and Shay's apartment.

The squeal of delight that came bursting from Seth when she entered the apartment he shared with his dad, brought tears to Livvy's eyes. His running, flying, full-body hug had her outright sobbing. Only his kisses peppered all over her cheeks and whispered declarations of love finally got Livvy to smile and laugh instead of cry. She packed an overnight bag of toys and clothes for the boy, that was really more like a week's worth of things, and then she and Seth left the apartment and made their way back to Logan at Lily and Shay's place.

Upon returning to her twin's apartment, she discovered her bubbly other half by being on the receiving end of another flying full-body hug. This time she stumbled and fell in a heap with her twin, both of them laughing happily as Seth and Lily watched on, smiling at the girls' antics. Once she was helped up from the floor by Shay, Livvy kissed her sister's cheek and then walked with Seth down the hallway to the room that Logan was resting in.

After the boy had time to talk with his dad, of which a good chunk of time included talking about how excited he was that Mama (Livvy) was home, Livvy and Seth left Logan to sleep and they spent the afternoon with Shay at the local zoo and getting ice cream before coming home and making Seth's favorite dinner. Once Seth was settled in on the couch with a movie, Livvy left and checked on Logan. Now it was her turn to talk with him, relaying her day with her twin and with Seth, she did this while checking his wound and dressing so as to keep herself busy in case Logan decided he didn't want her around Seth after all.

*****

The following morning, after taking Seth to school, Livvy had come home to freshly brewed coffee. She doctored up two mugs the way that she and Logan liked them and then took them back to the bedroom to wake him up. Livvy had only just sat on the edge of the bed when she heard Shay hissing at something in the other room. Almost immediately after her twin's hissing, the bedroom door opened and Livvy understood. While it didn't reassure her that Shay was also bothered by Thera, at least she knew that her instincts were still good after living in a very different life for so long. Once again she stayed seated near Logan as Thera spoke with her pupil, determined to make the woman behave herself if need be.

Only, instead of leaving when she was finished talking to Logan, like she had the day before, this time Thera turned her words to Livvy. Before she could stop herself, a low feline rumble started in her chest, the cat inside her protesting Thera's attentions. She quickly coughed, hoping to cover it at least a little, but wasn't surprised when a single eyebrow raised on Thera's face as the woman continued with her offer.

When Thera finished and looked at her expectantly, Livvy cleared her throat and answered simply, "I need to talk with my family about this before I can answer." She knew nothing of the woman aside from the fact that she was Logan and Tovah's mentor and that she totally wigged out both her and Shay. She needed to find out more.

[Demeter]

Thera watched Olivia from over her cup of coffee. "Of course. Why don't you call your Great-Grandfather and ask him about Lady Thera Ravenswood. He'll be able to offer you a good review of me. I would truly like to be your mentor, Olivia, and ensure that the events that led to your time oversees would never happen again."

Giving Olivia one last smile, Thera took her leave and headed back to her hotel to wait for an answer. While it was true that she itched to train Olivia as a hunter; she didn't want the girl as a hunter for the North American Council. No, she thought that one like Olivia would be better suited to being a hunter for the Mutari Council of Haven.

Of the original twenty four Mutari, only twelve had survived the eons and those dozen lived within the settlement of Haven. They operated outside of the six other continental councils, acting as a ruling body that had power over the others. Thera and her eleven demi-deity companions were their parents windows to the world outside of Haven. They operated as the enforcers of this ruling council, going where they were needed.

She and 'Fael were, essentially, on loan to the North American Council, this decade, and acted as trainers for the hunting force. She also had her duties to the Haven Council and those consisted of subduing feral mutari and recruiting ones who would do well as Hunters for the council.

Hunting rouges and criminals was one thing but feral Mutari was something else. She and the others, thanks to her demi-deity nature has unique ways of handling feral ones but there were others in this world who had the gift as well.

Olivia, with her mixed heritage of Mutari, Alati and Shifter was just what the Council was looking for. Often, it was some poor sap who's hereditary nature didn't agree with a turning that went feral. Olivia and others like her were perfect for hunting those ones.

***

Darius could only blink at his cell phone. Olivia, one of his great-grandchildren had just called, asking about Lady Thera Ravenswood. It seemed that the Lady had invited Olivia to be her student. Not a novice hunter hired by the council to be educated by a trainer but to be the apprentice of Lady Thera only.

Darius could only advise Olivia to accept the offer.

[Maira]

At Thera's suggestion to call her great-grandfather to find out more about her, Livvy couldn't help but wonder just how far in over her head she was going to be with this woman if Darius already knew of her. After all, he was a very powerful man with connections all over the world. If he knew who she was, that meant she too was likely incredibly powerful or at the very least in very high standing somewhere on the planet. When Thera finally left, Olivia turned to Logan, questions swimming in her eyes.

*****

After getting off the phone with her great-grandfather Darius, Olivia wanted to throw her phone across the room. Since when was he so darn mum on any topic? The man was a chatterbox 95 percent of the time, why did he have to choose now to mince his words? He didn't give her any details about Thera, just recommended that she take the offer to train with her. He didn't even tell her -why- she should take the offer just that she should.

Instead of throwing the expensive technology, she shoved it in her pocket instead and left the apartment in a bit of a huff. She needed to think and going for a walk seemed like the best idea since Logan was sleeping, Shay was working, and Lily was baking.

Unfortunately for Livvy's thinking process, her walk was cut short by a sudden clap of thunder and the instant downpour that followed it. She had only made it three blocks from the apartment when the sky opened up and dumped water on her head, but in the time it took her to find some stoop to hide on she was drenched to the skin. Muttering to herself about bad luck and troublesome grandfathers, Livvy glared into the storm and fumed. Why hadn't he told her more? She had asked for details about the women, mentioned that she freaked out both Shay and her, and all he had said (repeatedly) was that she should take Lady Thera up on her offer. -Lady- Thera. Why did Lord Darius refer to her as Lady Thera? Was she otherworld nobility like he was?

Not willing to let those questions drop, Livvy fished out her phone again and sent a message to her cousin Rowan. He was good at digging up information about people and since he was already semi-connected to Thera via Tovah, he had probably already gathered all the information she was looking for. Message sent to Rowan, she sent another to Thera: "I'd call, but I'm stuck on a stoop hiding from a thunderstorm. Its too loud and wet. I want to talk please." That done, Livvy replaced her phone in her pocket and bolted back into the rain and headed for home.

[Demeter]

Thera met up with Olivia that night at a coffee house around the corner from Lily’s apartment. The rain was still coming down in sheets and while the short jog from apartment to café had Olivia resembling a drowned rat, Thera looked like a sleek, if damp, hound. While the men in the crowed café were shooting her admiring looks, most of the women were glaring. If only they knew that it was her fancy divine powers that had kept the pouring rain from completely soaking her.

She smiled at Olivia, paid for the other woman’s coffee and stuck her tongue out at her bottle of water. Only twelve more hours till her next cup of coffee, Thera silently thought as they waited for the barista to finish the coffee. Once Olivia had her mug, Thera led the way to a small table in the corner of the café. “So, ask your questions.”
She listened as Olivia ticked off her concerns. “I could be considered otherworld nobility. I mean, I am a Demi-Goddess after all.”

Thera chuckled at the expression on Olivia’s face. “As for why I want you as a hunter, I have my reasons. My main function for the Mutari Council of Haven is to track down and subdue feral Mutari. There are another eleven like me who do this function as well. Problem is, there’s only twelve of us and we are spread out over the continents. Your unique heritage is desirable in dealing with the poor Shifter bastards who go feral after a Mutari turning.

“As a huntress for the Council of Haven, you’d have rank over the other hunters, even Logan and Tovah as they are working for the American Council. The Council of Haven operates separately from the others and acts as a ruling party, as the Council of Haven is staffed by twelve of the original Mutari.

“I see a talented future ahead of you, Olivia, if you agree to do this. We need people like you, Olivia. Hunting Feral Mutari is not like the hunting of Rouges. We don’t seek to kill unless there is no other choice. Feral Mutari can be tamed; you just need to have the right skill set in order to do this. I will only pass on how those skills are obtained if you agree. You would need to come to my home, Ravenswood Manor, in Newport for training. And a trip to Haven to be interviewed by the council.”

Thera sipped at her water. The way Thera would pass on her divinely given ability to subdue a feral would be to form a blood-bond with Olivia. She currently maintained a dozen such bonds with the other hunters she’d trained for the Haven Council. “I can give you a week to make your choice and then I am returning to Ravenswood Manor.”

[Maira]

When Olivia returned to the apartment from her meeting with Thera, she was shivering from the multiple drenchings she'd gotten that day. She went straight to the bathroom, stripped out of her cold wet clothes, and climbed in a nice hot shower. She stayed in the warm water for what seemed like forever, but eventually the hot water started to lose its edge and she didn't want to wind up in cold water again so she turned it off. Only once she pulled back the shower curtain did she realize there were no towels in the bathroom. Cursing her luck, Livvy rang the water out of her hair as best she could and then used her hand like a squeegee to get most of the water off her skin. Once she was sure she wouldn't soak the hallway on her way to her bedroom. Quietly so as not to attract any attention or bother anybody else in the apartment, Olivia padded to her bedroom and slipped in.

Once the shower had warmed her sufficiently, Olivia's brain had gone back to what she and Thera had been talking about at the coffee shop, and now back in her bedroom her mind was still running that conversation on repeat. Thoroughly distracted with these thoughts she somehow managed to forget that Logan was laying in her bed. As she paced around the room muttering to herself and gathering up some dry clothes, she also completely missed the fact that Logan was wide awake and watching her.

Only as she turned to walk towards the bed so she could sit and pull on her pajama pants did Livvy notice Logan's open eyes and ever so slightly flushed cheeks. Her own cheeks, almost instantly, flushed nearly the same shade of red as her hair and her eyes dropped to the floor. It wasn't like Logan hadn't seen her naked before, he had quite often in fact,just not since the kidnapping. It wasn't that she was embarassed or ashamed that he was seeing her now, it was just that her body was different than the last time he'd seen it. The scars from the attack, burns and cuts mostly, were plain to see and it made her nervous that he'd think she'd been even more reckless in Paris than he probably already thought. Hurrying to head those thoughts off she explained, "These aren't from Paris, they are why I wouldn't get undressed around you before I left..." As she faced him, her color slowly fading back to normal, Livvy felt her breaths quicken as she anticipated what might come next.

[Demeter]

(Fast forwarded by three months)

Thera stood on the grand landing of the Manor's front stairs and watched as a black town car puttered down the drive. Normally she would have greeted her new student alone but this day was hardly going to plan. 'Fael stood to her right and Marissa, the council healer assigned to the Manor, stood to her left. Both were ready to support her when the next contraction hit.

Her student was seconds away from arriving, a doozy of a Nor'easter was blowing in and she was having contractions every 15 minutes. Proof that she didn't just breeze through life. Marissa wasn't pleased that she was outside. 'Fael was under the mistaken impression that he wouldn't be involved in the delivery. Given that her current state of being was at least half his fault, he was going to be right there next to her.

Olivia popped out of the town car the same moment a contraction hit. After the longest ninety seconds of her life, Thera looked up to see both Olivia and Logan staring at her. "Welcome to the manor. Logan, wasn't expecting you but it seems to be a day of unexpected guests. I'd show you to your room but I'm a little busy at the moment."

A maid came to show the couple to Olivia's room. The same maid showed up near midnight and politely requested that Olivia accompany her to het mistress' chambers.

The second Olivia stepped into the suite, Marissa grabbed her arm and pushed her to the bed. "Need your help. Thera said you had some medical training. Thera's bleeding badly. I need you to take care of the baby. 'Fael is holding Thera's life here."

And Marissa shoved the girl towards the screaming infant.

[Maira]

Life after returning to the east coast had been awkward at first, but slowly she had eased back into place almost as if she hadn't left in the first place. Almost. She and Logan still had their rough patches, mostly centered around her reluctance still to talk about what had happened when she'd been kidnapped. Or her scars from the same incident. The first time Logan had seen her scars had been terrifying for Livvy and she had wound up running from him and hiding in her twin's arms and bedroom. Since then Logan had seen her scars again and while the shock was no longer there, his anger still clearly boiled.

Livvy still wasn't sure if she had accepted Thera's offer as a way to escape the awkward questions that Logan asked about her scars, but when he declared he was at the very least travelling with her to Thera's home to see her settled, she felt a little guilty for running away from him again. As the town car, provided by Grandpa Darius to see his newest little hunter safely to Lady Thera's house, pulled to a stop in front of Ravenswood Manor Livvy just gawked. "What am I doing?" she muttered quietly to herself before climbing out before she could lose her nerve.

Thera's greeting was both professional and informal, if possible, because she was clearly in labor. Even without her grandmother Genesis's specific ability with pregnancy and childbirth, the empathic part of her ability reacted to Thera's contractions and she knew that the baby would becoming that night. After that, she and Logan were shown to Livvy's room and left to their own devices for the rest of the evening. The maid only checked in around dinner time to let them know about the evening meal in the dining room.

Despite her best intentions, and her fatigue from travelling, Livvy was not able to fall asleep when Logan did. He looked quite comfortable snoring softly beside her on the fluffy, down-covered, king size bed and she was more than a little envious. She had just crawled from bed to pace the bedroom once again when an urgent knock sounded on the bedroom door. A quick look at the bed to make sure that Logan hadn't woken, Livvy then hurried to the door and slipped outside before the same made from earlier requested she follow her to Thera's rooms.

Before they even arrived, Olivia could feel that something wasn't quite right with Thera and the training from her grandmother kicked in unbidden. When she was ushered into Thera's room and Marissa practically pounced on her and shoved her at the newborn, Livvy didn't bat an eye. Lost in the moment and her training, Livvy whisked the squalling infant out of the way so that Marissa and 'Fael could do what they needed to without any distractions.

After getting the infant clean and doing her first baby check, which she passed with flying colors, Livvy settled in with the infant on her chest on a couch in the sitting room attached to Thera's bedroom. Livvy had taken the baby to her mother a few times to let her nurse, but Thera had still been very groggy and Livvy had to help the tiny girl latch on. After each feeding and diaper change, they had settled back on the couch and it was there that Thera found them the following morning.

[Demeter]

Thera supposed it was a grand thing that 'Fael could conduct the first days of Livvy's (as the girl was demanding be called) training. As it was, right now they were just running her through the paces to see where she was, physically. Half the job of a hunter was running after the hunted, after all.

'Fael was a qualified teacher; his own apprentice, Jonas, having just passed his first examination by the council. As most of Jonas' training was now theory based, 'Fael had plenty of spare time.

She could sit on the couch she'd made the men ('Fael, Jonas, and Logan) haul into the basement training facility and direct Livvy's PT. To be honest, that was all she had the energy for. Isolde's birth had taken a lot out of her, Thera thought, casting an eye down at the baby snoozing in her bassinet, what with the tear in her uterus. Marissa had patched her up, told her she'd be fine and no more babies for several decades. The know-it-all had even said she'd be right as rain in a few days.

Easy for her to say, Thera thought, but as was well and she still hadn't thanked Livvy for her part in the delivery and aftercare. When a weight caused the cushions to dip brought Thera out of her musings, she turned to see Logan sitting next to her. His coat and bag were next to his feet. "You out of here?" She asked.

He nodded. "Yup, vacation's over. You'll take care of her, won't you?"

"I won't go easy on her but I'll make sure she stays in one piece."

"Good. She won't talk about it; what happened to her before she left. I've seen the scars."

Thera nodded, well aware that there was something in her past. "I won't force it out of her, Logan. If she wants to keep it private, that's her choice. If she wants to talk, I'll listen."

When Isolde started fussing, Thera leaned down and picked her up. "And you're fine with Livvy being my apprentice and working for the council of Haven. You've seen the others and you know about the deep bond that will form between me and her should she pass the tests and agree to further training."

Logan swallowed. He'd seen the intimate relationships between these elite hunters and their demi-god trainers. If Livvy went through with all of this, she'd no longer be just his. "If it helps Livvy, I'm fine with it. At least its you and not someone else."

Thera smirked before calling Livvy over. "Logan's on his way out. I thought you should take a break and see him out."

[Maira]

After that first night snuggled up on the couch with the baby girl, who Thera named Isolde, she had been drawn to the baby and her needs like nothing she had ever felt before. She had been tempted to call her grandmother Genesis to find out if she had any idea what the hell was going on with her, but after the third day of Isolde's life she had it figured out. Her empathic abilities were basically on overdrive. If Thera overdid things, Livvy would get twinges of pain in her lower abdomen. If the baby was hungry, Livvy's breasts would ache like she had heard a new mother's did when the milk let down. Why her abilities were so tuned into Thera, she had no idea but it was almost enough to drive her to distraction. When Thera was finally well enough to order the men to bring a couch down to the training room and she and Isolde had become a permanant feature of her training sessions with 'Fael, Livvy taken a hard punch to the gut because her body reacted so strongly to the baby crying to be fed.

After a week at Thera's manor, she was mid-way yet another practice session with her mentor looking on from her couch, when Thera called a halt to the session so Livvy could say goodbye to Logan. The redhead ducked one last swing from 'Fael as she blinked in surprise at the pair sitting on the couch. Isolde had been fussing again and Livvy had been so focussed on ignoring her body and concentrating on 'Fael that she hadn't even seen Logan come into the basement. The sight of his bag and coat at his feet left a lump in her throat and Livvy tried to swallow it as she left the sparring floor.

Fighting not to look at Isolde snuggled up against her mama, Livvy wiped the sweat from her forehead and reached down to give him a hand up off the couch. She was glad he had come with her to the Manor, it had given them some much needed alone time, and her worries about why she had taken Thera up on her offer of training and a job were much less now. She wasn't running from Logan and Seth, she wasn't running from her family or her past, she was running toward a future that would leave her feeling strong and full of purpose like she had once felt. Once Logan was up and had shouldered his bag, she twined her fingers in his and followed as he led her up the stairs to the main level and out onto the front steps. A town car similar to the one that had dropped them off was waiting and she couldn't help but sigh heavily at the sight of it.

The week at Thera's manor with only her training as a distraction had given Livvy time to build a little confidence again, and as Logan stood awkwardly beside her she finally gave in to what she'd been wanting to do for weeks and kissed the man. His shock at her actions was clear, his body stiffening beside her momentarily, but it didn't take long for him to relax into her and wrap her in his arms.

The return kiss was sweet and tender but Livvy could feel the stronger urges coming from Logan, the ones that begged him to tangle his fingers in her hair and not let go until they tumbled into bed and both of them had been satisfied to exhaustion. She wanted to encourage those feelings but it wouldn't be fair to either of them. The town car was waiting at the bottom of the stairs for him, and 'Fael and Thera were waiting in the basement for her. Life went on and they both needed to get back to it.

She reluctantly untangled her fingers from Logan's and backed away from him. "See you in a month," she whispered softly, doing her damndest to try and figure out if the roiling feeling in her stomach was actually her own or Logan's. After the door of the town car closed and the black car slipped away down the drive, Livvy wiped the tears off her cheeks and took a few deep breaths before heading back inside.

Back in the basement, Livvy purposely strode back onto the sparring floor and did her best to shut both Thera and Isolde out of her body and mind. She went at 'Fael with a vigor she hadn't yet managed to muster. After a while, 'Fael stopped unexpectedly and looked oddly at her. Only then did Livvy realize she was crying again, so was Isolde, and she could hear Thera shushing the baby girl as she put her to her breast. "Fuck it!" she snarled before bolting from the basement and up to her room where she shut and locked the door behind her before crawling into bed and burying her face in the pillow that Logan had used. Eventually Logan's scent, coupled with exhaustion from crying and fighting her empathic abilities, Livvy was able to drift off to sleep.

[Demeter]

There was a bug up her apprentice's butt and Thera had had just about enough of Livvy's dramatics. Oh, she knew that Livvy had a whole mess of issues to sort out but she'd had enough if the attitude Livvy had been throwing out over the last few weeks. And she had the mist excellent way of handling it.

Isolde was a colicky baby.

Thera cackled as she rolled the baby's bassinet down the hall to Livvy's rooms. At the moment, the baby girl was more interested by her mother's odd behavior and noises then screaming her discomfort but Thera knew the peace wouldn't last. She knocked on Livvy's door and, when it opened, pushed the bassinet right in and parked it next to the bed.

She gave Livvy a grin. "You've been avoiding us. She's colicky and likes you and I need sleep. Enjoy."

Thera bounced out of the room, shutting the door just as Isolde started screaming again. There was nothing like a little hard work to loosen up a prickly apprentice

***
Late the next morning, Thera retrieved her now peacefully sleeping child from an obviously frazzled Livvy. "Are you ready to talk about what's bothering you or shall you continue babysitting?"