Fire and Ice

“Impossible,” I muttered, pushing through the forest the Wolfes had created for Delia. “Fucking impossible. No way. He’s not my father. My father’s dead. Not possible.”

I reached the stream and glared at the water, breathing heavily. My mind was overwhelmed with the knowledge I had just received and I fell to my knees. I gripped my hair and screamed, releasing all of my emotions. I slammed my fist into the ground and it sank a little.

I smelled her before I even heard her. She sat beside me and nudged me with her head.

“It’s been a lie,” I choked. “My whole life.”

Delia licked my face and nuzzled my neck. I shut my eyes. Her presence as a wolf did more to calm me than if she were a human right now. She licked me again and I let her lick my tears.

“What do I do now, Delia?” I whispered, stroking her soft fur. “What can I do? If all of that is true, shouldn’t I be a werewolf?”

She transformed back into a human, her head on my shoulder. She held my hand and kissed it.

“I was born a wolf,” she whispered, “even though my mom was a human. Your father is a vampire. It could be you were born his race instead of hers.”

I shut my eyes. “This can’t be true.”

“Why not?” she asked.

“Because I don’t know who I am,” I whispered. “I don’t know what I am.”

“I do,” she said and I looked at her. She smiled and put her chin on my shoulder, looking into my eyes. “You’re my mate. You’re the one person I want to spend the rest of my life with.”

I smiled and sniffed, caressing her cheek.

“But if Tiberius is my true father, then what does that make me?”

She shrugged. “André,” she said simply. “Not André Lebeau. Just André.”

I closed my eyes again. “I feel… lost,” I said. “Lost and deceived.”

“Lay back,” she whispered. I hesitated but obeyed. She curled up beside me and put her head on my chest. She then placed her right hand over my heart. “Feel that?”

“My heart?”

She nodded. “That heart holds more love and warmth than anyone I’ve ever met,” she said. “After everything Louis did to you, you came out such a compassionate man. Timid and a little scared, but loving and gentle. You will find your home, André. You just have to hold out like you did all these years.”

I closed my eyes and put my hand over hers. She didn’t say anything else. The air was filled with the sounds of the wildlife and the stream trickling by us. I must have fallen asleep because, when I next opened my eyes, it was dawn. Delia was still with me, though. I sensed her discomfort and my heart swelled with love when I realized she hadn’t moved at all. She never left me.

I sat up stiffly and she smiled. I leaned forward and kissed her, running my hand into her hair.

“I think I know where my home is,” I whispered and she wrapped her arms around my waist.

“Where?” she asked. “We can go visit if you want.”

I smiled. “We don’t need to visit anywhere,” I said. “My home is in my arms.”

She looked up, shocked, and I smiled more. She kissed me and I held her close.

“L-Let’s go talk to my father,” I whispered, biting my lip.

We walked back to the manor, holding hands, and I hesitated.

“I’m here, André,” she said, squeezing my hand. “I’m here and I’m never leaving.”

I nodded and led the way inside. I looked around, trying to think of where he could be. My feet automatically took me upstairs to Logan’s office. Before I could knock, the door opened. Logan smiled and stepped to the side, letting Delia and I walk in. Tiberius stood by the desk, his face a little nervous.

I stared at him for a few minutes. I saw my eyebrows, my jaw. I saw the strange way my nose turned up at the end. I saw my sharp cheekbones. I saw… my father.

“I know you are upset with me,” he said. “If I had told you sooner, terrible things would have happened. It was-”

“Was Fate,” I interrupted and he nodded solemnly. “That’s why I was so excited to see you yesterday.” He just nodded again. “How do I fit in with today?”

I let go of Delia’s hand as Logan put her in his chair. She looked terrified and he kissed her forehead.

“Don’t look so scared, little cub,” Logan said. “Tiberius has given me permission to advise you.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” she groaned, her shoulders relaxing and I smiled at her.

“Would you sit beside me?” Tiberius asked me and I nodded.

The usual chairs had been replaced with a couch and I sat stiffly. I was still uncertain about how I felt now that I knew Tiberius was my father, but more important things were now in front of us.

“Where do we start?” Delia asked, accepting the pen and paper from her father with shaking hands.

“You need to begin with writing down everyone who is here,” Tiberius instructed and she obeyed. “Put down the time and date, as well. That will be important later on.”

“Okay,” she said in a small voice. “Er… what’s your last name?”

“I do not have one,” he said.

“Neither do I,” I said and everyone looked at me but I kept my eyes on Delia.

She smiled a little and scratched something out.

“Follow your instincts,” Logan said, putting an arm around her shoulders. “What do you think we should talk about first?”

“Why we’re here in the first place,” she said. “Was it really Pierre’s blood lust that was the catalyst for this?”

“You don’t think it was?” I asked.

“No,” she said. “No, I think there’s more to it.”

“And you might be right,” Tiberius said. He leaned forward. “What else could drive a wedge between the vampires and the wolves?”

She thought for a while as did I. The only thing I could think of was-

“The humans,” we both said.