Marriage is Murder

Steven woke all warm his arm around Cassidy as she seem to still be sleeping one hand holding his as she did every night as if she used him to stave off any night mares she might have. Gently sliding from her grasp so he could go and train the others then shower he was going to let her sleep this day. Walking out in his gym gear he met Jack who smiled at him. " Morning " he said and jack returned the greeting as he moved down to the gym to stretch out his muscles. Jess was already there working out, Jack joined her after his stretches. After a moment Steven moved to the mats and began his slow routine.

After about an hour he sped up till his moves seem to flow then he stopped. He faced a mirror and breathed hard , slowly he moved to pick up his towel and wipe down his face. Seeing Jack looking at him he chuckled " I use to move better than that that was when I was younger " he said as he sat down.

Brian woke and looked to see what time it was. It was nearly 8 am. Khaat was in a sound sleep beside him. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept this late. That just wasn't like him. He reached over and checked Khaat. She was certainly stronger than she was the night before, but not like he wanted her to be. He added some of his strength to hers. Then he looked around. Angus had delivered a coffee tray with a pot of french roast hours ago. He got up and flicked his wand at the coffee pot to reheat it. Then he showered and shaved and dressed. Work jeans, a blue denim shirt and his boots.

By then, Khaat was starting to wake, smelling the coffee. "Pour some of that for me too please?" she asked.

"Of course," he smiled, pouring it for her. He poured himself some as well.

"We missed breakfast," she frowned, looking at the clock.

"Angus won't let us go hungry," he smiled. "I'll send him a message." He scribbled a note and sent it as a paper bird down to the kitchen. "So, how are you feeling?"

"I dreamed of Remus last night," she said softly, looking out the large floor to ceiling windows at the sunshine on the snow.

"I'm not surprised. He's never far from you."

"He's sorry he drained me so badly," she said. "But I"m not. It was necessary. He warned me. James is out, isn't he?"

"Yes. He escaped. I didn't want to worry you, my darling."

"We'll have to gear up," she said. "Remus believes he will do something drastic to draw us out. James doesn't know where we are right now, and he wants me. Badly. Remus believes he'll go to whatever extent he needs to, in order to draw me out. He's told me he may have to come again to help us fight James. James has been working with Fenrir in order to boost his power."

"God. We don't need him having more power than he's got already," Brian sighed.

"He's defeatable," Khaat said. "Remus says he has an idea."

"What idea would that be?"

"He didn't say."

"Well, that's helpful," Brian said sarcastically.

"He'll show up when we need him."

"No. I'm not letting him do this to you again," he said protectively.

"Brian," she frowned, "do you honestly beleive he'd hurt me?"

"Not consciously, no. But this is too costly for you."

"I am a Lupin," she told him fiercely. "I was born to be a fighter. I will fight. When it comes, I wont' back down. I will fight. Its who we are. Its just what we do."

"And what about our kids?" he asked

"I am not planning on losing. You knew who I was when you married me. Its who you are too. Our kids will never be alone. Never. " She got up, aggravated with him. She got clothes out of her closet and headed for the shower. When Angus arrived with the breakfast trays, he found Brian still fuming.

"Trouble in paradise, Mate?" Angus asked.

"She can be so difficult!" Brian sighed.

"She is her father's daughter," he laughed. "At least she has to be feeling better in order to be difficult. Anyway, get her to eat. And, Robert put her tonics and potions in her juice. The cranberry is hers. The orange is yours. Dont get them mixed up."

"Tell Robert and Jack and Steven that we'll meet them in the small conference room in a bit."

"You want Jess and Cassidy there?"

"I want them looking after the kids for now, please."

"You're anxious, arent' you?"

"Yes."

"You want me there?"

"No, I want you running the estate. This wont' take long. We'll have a larger meeting some time later today where we can include everyone."

"Sounds good." Angus agreed and left, going down to find Robert, Steven, and Jack.

Steven saw Angus leaving Brian and Khaat's bedroom and saw the look on his face his towel was still over his shoulder " problem? " he asked as Jack moved up beside him " I'm getting the feeling there's trouble brewing am I right" he asked but he could see just buy the look on Angus's face there was and he knew just who was causing it , so could Jack who he heard say one name.

" James " he said softly and his hands clenched tight his back straitened " I thought Gelding was taking care of him but I guess not , now its down to us " he said looking at Steven then at Angus. Steven sighed and looked at Angus.

" whens the meeting and should I tell Cassidy?" he asked.

"Brian seems to be just very cautious right now," Angus said. "He only wants you two and Robert to join him--in a few minutes. He wants the women to guard the kids. It seems that he and Khaat are having a difference of opinion about this somehow. So maybe she knows something we don't. Brian said he'll have a meeting with all of us later on today. I think this is just a short briefing. He sent me to get you two and Robert. So if Robert doesn't know, my guess is that either Brian got an owl or Khaat saw something somehow. I don't know. I just took them their breakfast,so give them a few minutes and then they'll be ready. He asked you both to meet him in the small conference room. I'll go bring up some coffee for you all." He disappeared back downstairs to prepare a tray for the meeting and to find Robert.

Steven looked at Jack and moved to his room to shower and change he told Cassidy what was going on and she moved to the nursery where she found Jess already there having sensed something wasn't right when she woke. Steven washed up and changed then headed down to the small conference room where on opening the door he saw Jack pacing back and forth . " don't wear a hole in the carpet nothing we can do till we know for sure he is the reason for this call " he said and saw Jack stop pacing and sit.

" hes got to be I just know it " he said and looked at Steven " I can feel it if that makes any sense" he said glancing behind him at the door as they both waited for Robert and Brian to appear.

Robert got word that Brian was calling a meeting in the small conference room. He immediately got up from the stool in the kitchen he'd been sitting on in order to heal a chef from a burn on his hand, finished the job quickly and went upstairs with Angus. Angus put the coffee tray on the sideboard in the conference room.

"Thank you," Robert said seriously. "Tell Kate to go help with the children, please."

"Will do," Angus said, leaving. Robert silently went over and poured himself coffee. Then he turned to Jack and Steven.

"Coffee?" he asked. Brian never called these meetings unless they were important. Robert knew something like this would come but he didn't know when. It seemed it had come earlier than Robert had thought it would. He took his place at the head of the table.

Khaat had dressed in jeans and a coral colored cotton shirt and her boots. Brian had to shrink her clothes a bit for them to fit, but less so than he had to do in the past few weeks. Whatever they were doing was working. He waited until she finished dressing and doing her makeup and her hair in loose full graceful curls, all pulled around in a ponytail that hung over onto the front of her right shoulder. Brian stopped and looked at her.

"You are just too beautiful to lose again," he said softly.

"When did you lose me before?" she asked. He stopped and looked at her. He hadn't lost her. It had just felt like it, but she had never truly been gone. He got her point. He reached for her hand.

"They need to know." he told her.

"I know," she said. She went with him to the conference room They were all gathered as he had asked. Robert saw Brian enter with Khaat and he merely looked at her. She'd seen something somehow.

"Come sit," he said to her. She obeyed, and Brian closed the door and got coffee for himself and for Khaat. He took his place at the other end of the table.

"Good morning," he said to them all. "Thank you for coming."

Steven looked at Robert as he walked in and pored some coffee. He shook his head at the offer of coffee " I think we'd both like to know what this is about, though we both can give a good guess " he said and lent back on the table while Jack just sat quiet. they both saw Khaat and Brian entered Jack stood up with Steven and waited till they sat down before he and jack did. Both sitting back in their chairs as they waited for an explanation from them both though Steven could see by the look on their faces that it was serious.

"Khaat has a message for us from Remus," Brian said seriously. "As my first string security officers for Khaat, you two needed to know first."

"Remus?" Robert frowned. "So he's still on this, is he?"

"Apparently so," Brian said.

"What did he tell you?" Robert looked at Khaat

"He is positive James will be back," she said. "Positive. He said we're safe here for now because James can't find us here--at least not yet. But...and here is where it gets a bit darker. He's been spending his time under Fenrir's mentoring. He'll be coming back with more power, more control over his werewolf abilities, more magic, and a lot more followers."

"What about Gelding?" Robert asked.

"Gelding is not enough of a threat to James yet. Not yet. Its only been less that 48 hours. Gelding needs time to rally forces and mount an attack," Brian said. "That's what we're going to have to wait for now. He's lost his base of operations, his money, a large part of his followers, he's lost everything. He has to re-establish himself."

"Well, if he can't find us here, then it seems we need to stay here awhile," Robert said.

"James has changed his name," Brian said. "I've had our men looking into that. It would appear that he has dropped his birth name, and the papers have been filed to change the names of his mother and sister. James is legally now being called James Vladimir Blood."

"Well, that is a rather grim moniker," Robert sighed.

"His sister has filed to be changed to Anastasia Sasha Blood, and their mother is renaming herself Natalia Irina Blood. My apologies, Jack, but it does appear they are doing everything under their power legally to separate themselves from their biological heritage," Brian said. "Don't let it get to you. You do have a family, and we will stand."

"Indeed," Robert said. "Any more from Remus, Khaat?"

"He's looking for revenge on the Lupin family. And he's decided Gelding's original plan to strike out against me is his best plan," Khaat said. "I seem to be the pivot point, at least in their minds, that will make this whole family come apart."

"Well, first of all, that's not true," Robert said. "You are important to us, but so is every other member of this family. No one is a pivot point. But let them go on believing that. So long as they only thing they have one target to zero in on, it makes our jobs considerably easier."

Steven sat listening he looked over at Jack and saw the look of disappointment on his face but he said nothing then after a moment he did " Robert you sure its the name and not me their dissociating with." Jack looked at them his name was all he had and he'd thought it linked him to his mother. But now she'd changed it and his name now meant nothing any more. He just sat listening to them his arms crossed over his chest but his eyes closed for a moment but as he opened them he saw Robert ,Khaat , Brian and Steven and he sighed Robert was right even if his name meant nothing to them it did to these people, his family.

Khaat picked up on Jack. He still needed to be one of them. The very people who were out to kill her. It angered her and offended her. She got up suddenly and looked at her father and Brian. "I am presuming you can handle this. You don't need me anymore. You know everything I know." She left quickly, angrily. She didn't want to be around anyone who needed to align with someone who was solely dedicated to killing her, her husband, her parents, and her children. She was done with this. Done. She went back to her room quickly and drew her wand and flicked it, issueing a packing spell. The children were safe here according to Remus. She would not put them in danger by taking them along. But..she was the source of the danger and division. If James wanted her, or Gelding, then so be it. Maybe then Jack could have his blessed, all important family. She was not going to open her mouth and say all the nasty things that were going through her head. She got her coat, put it on, and opened her dresser drawer and shoved every portkey she had in her coat pocket.

Brian felt her sudden surge of rage. He hadn't felt her moods before. He had just known her well enough to know how to finish her sentences. He knew what had rubbed her the wrong way and why. But now, for some odd reason, he was feeling almost boundless rage. And it was rare for Khaat. He'd seen her angry before, but not like this. He glanced at Robert. Robert had shifted very slightly in his conference room chair. His face had become more stonelike. A sure sign that he was feeling pressure. Brian believed Robert had definitely felt her mood.

"Should I go?" Brian asked him softly.

"Probably. Take your coat," Robert said.

"Excuse me a moment," Brian said, getting up and leaving. His steps turned from a walk into a run the instant he left the conference room.