[ { * - ( ( M e m o r i e s ) ) - * } ]

Victoria felt better. Better than she thought she would have. Sure the thought and the smell of the meat had made her feel sicker than the wound had already made her feel, but once she had sucked it up and eaten the raw meat, the feelings that were overwhelming her had died down significantly. Now she felt calmer, her senses calming and returning to normal, though slowly. But the one sense that wasn't dying was the fact that Nicholas was there with her. She could feel everything. His presence, his breathing, the coolness of his skin. It calmed her, made all of this so much easier. Victoria couldn't remember the last time she had felt so much pain in one sitting, besides the night that she had given birth to Keith..... Keith. He was there... he had shown himself from hiding. He had come to her side. But how is it that he had known that she had become endangered? How had he sensed such things when she knew he had been so far away? She couldn't find the strength to voice her questions let alone open her eyes at the moment, but she made herself a mental note that as soon as she had her energy back she would talk to her son. For now though she could only lay there and concentrate on her breathing, trying to keep it as stable as possible so that Nicholas, who she could feel hoovering over her, wouldn't worry any more than he already was.

Tristan stared at Nicholas, but he didn't get the normal protective stance he would have over Lauralei. Sure, this complete stranger caught him off guard, but he could sense the safety that he brought with him. This male that was standing at the foot of their bed, staring so cautiously at Lauralei wasn't there to hurt either one of them... He was there to protect them. "I never thought..." Keith started to say slowly before shaking his head and taking a few steps backwards. Keith scratched his head and looked at Tristan. "So this is what everyone's been so feverishly trying to hide the past few weeks. Another cross breed." Tristan blinked a few times and sighed, looking down at Lauralei. "Yes, Keith. It's another one like you." Tristan sat up and pulled Lauralei up to him. "Lauralei... There's going to be a lot of questions... but you know of Nicholas, Alexander's twin brother, correct?" Tristan waited a few moments before looking at Keith. "Well this is Keith. Nicholas and Victoria's only son."

Nicholas relaxed when he didn't hear or sense any sudden commotion upstairs, knowing Keith had invaded their privacy. He knew Lauralei was still nervous; uneasy, but Tristan... he sensed nothing off the male that would indicate any sort of fight, or even a bicker. That was enough to let him relax next to Victoria, closing his eyes and stuffing half of his face into one of the throw pillows.

Lauralei was still nervous, leaning into Tristan's chest when he pulled her to him. With the information Tristan provided, long eyelashes gently brushed against her cheeks, shutting her eyes. She was still slightly tense, but for the most part, relaxed against Tristan's chest, making him lean back a bit so she was more comfortable. Anything was a danger to their child right now. Keith's coming there would only mean that Lucian and the others would probably come there again. The vampiress was tired; exausted, really. Tristan's beautiful abuse to her body earlier had worn her out, and even now, in the gentle silence of the room, the infant within her stretched out, thrashing softly, then settling again. Lauralei's hand moved to her stomach almost every time the child moved. This time, though, she knew it was because Keith was standing there. She didn't know how she knew... but she did. "If you'd be so kind..." Her eyes opened less than halfway, gentle purple hues shifting towards the other male in the room. "I'm very tired." It was hint, to leave the room; at least until the next night when they could all sit down and talk.

ooc: I kinda figured you popped by now. xD And I re-did my post, didn't like the last one. Hope you and the new little one are doing fantastic =]

Victoria heard the footsteps walking across the floor on the floor above her, but after she heard that there was no commotion coming from the sudden intrusion that Keith had given Lauralei and Tristan, she relaxed. Keith was uneasy, and he was quick to jump. It was as if he was wild, a monster raised in the woods for a lifetime of anger and revenge. The vampires had taken him away from her, they had taken the only two things that she loved in life away. For years she had wanted vengeance for her pain, but it wasn't long before that anger turned into a numbing pain. She lived the past years as a shell of who she had once been, someone that she had grown to dislike even more that the vampires. She hated who she had become, a pawn in Lucian's game. Someone that was just there to do the dirty work. Victoria sighed in content though now, feeling Nicholas move beside her, burying his face into a pillow. A half of a smile spread across her lips as she felt his coolness again her own body heat. It was something that had always been an instant calm for her. Victoria opened her own eyes and looked over at Nicholas, the half smile becoming more full. It was the smile that she had thought that she had lost many years ago when her loves were taken from her. The pain was finally gone from Victoria's body, and though she had only slept for a little while, she felt worlds better than she had previously. She shifted slightly, wrapping a single arm around Nicholas's shoulders, burying her own face into the small part of his neck that was showing. She breathed in his smell, closing her eyes to the comfort and happiness she found there, shutting her mind out to everything around him and her.

Tristan could sense how nervous Lauralei was and held her close to his chest. He watched her carefully and ran his fingers through her hair, studying her for just a moment longer before looking back up at Keith. Tristan's free hand met hers when she moved it to her own stomach, and he smiled gently as he watched her. Tristan nodded at Lauralei's words. "We will talk when night falls again Keith. Just please, stay out of trouble. We are trying to not draw more attention to ourselves than we already have." Keith nodded slightly and after watching Lauralei for a moment longer, taking in one more breath of the all to familiar scent in the air, he turned and left the room, leaving Tristan to move slightly so that Lauralei was laying even more comfortably, allowing her to rest in peace finally.

Keith walked from the bedroom. After making his way downstairs he stopped at the bottom step and looked around. He didn't know what it was he was supposed to do. His mother and... father... were laying in a lover's grasp on the couch. He saw that the other vampire, Alexander was it, was sleeping in a chair across the room. "Well... this looks fun." He said sarcastically with a sigh before finding a nice wall to lean on. How could everybody sleep at a time like this? There was some very pissed off werewolves obviously, and he was willing to bet that the Vampires weren't much happier. Keith sighed and put his weight on the wall behind him. He would stay awake for them, watching, protecting...

Nicholas stirred a little when Victoria had rested her face against the small part of his neck that was showing, unburying his face from the pillow to gently kiss her forehead. Keith and the others were still upstairs, though he could feel Lauralei's tension at first, then utter tiredness. He fell asleep once more, arms wrapped around Victoria in a way that she wasn't caged if she wanted to get up. In a sense, it was hard to sleep knowing what was out there, what the species wanted done to destroy the other. Raphael wasn't happy, but he wasn't going to go as far as killing Tristan or Lauralei. With Keith having showed up, that was a different story. It honestly frightened him slightly.

Raphael, back then, was cold and cruel to anything that stood in the way of him winning an argument. There was no mercy. There were screams heard daily. And Raphael's sapphire hues seemed to grow only colder, until he met Jaylen, the beautiful vampiress that currently stands her place as his wife. He fell into the delicate weavings of love and understanding; the very thing that had turned him cold to begin with, when his former lover was taken away from him. His punishment to the world was to make sure that they felt the pain he did, even if it was something small. As soon as Jaylen stepped, crippled, into his life, he changed completely. Never before had the mansion seen him act so tenderly towards anyone, and after so many years, she began to change him.

Nicholas remembered the hard times, even in his sleep. He remembered the screaming, the fearful glances everyone shot Raphael as he walked through the mansion halls. He remembered how nearly no one came to the mansion for help, because Raphael almost always turned it against them and ended up punishing them for it. If it was a woman, he'd strip them of their power as a vampire. It completely drained them, and they usually begged for death afterwards anyway. If it were male... that was a completely other story, one filled with much more suffernig than many could imagine.

Lauralei didn't relax right away when Keith left. It took a few minutes, and eventually, she nestled down and lay molded to Tristan's side, trailing her fingers along his chest. Her body was still buzzing slightly from earlier, and she was glad. It provided a relaxing sensation to finally float over her, until the mental exauhstion took over and she fell heavily into sleep. If Tristan moved, however, she'd most likely wake, such as if he left the bed for a little more than a few minutes. The heat radiating off of him warmed her already warmer-than-usual skin, but it still felt chilly in the room. Perhaps it was because of how nervous she'd been when Keith stepped inside.

Slowly, she began to warm to a much more comfortable temperature. When nightfall came, she'd probably sleep in longer than anyone else in the mansion. Even if the hybred downstairs made her nervous, in a way she felt safer. It was strange. But the emotions weren't coming from her.. but something inside of her. It was so strange how the growing, unborn child was affecting her so strongly.

Had there ever really been a time where Lucian wasn't... well... Lucian? Victoria tried so hard to think of one time, one momentary scrap of time where Lucian was kindhearted or acted nice towards anyone. Sure he had spared hers and Keith's life so many years ago, but she had paid the price. She had lost the only two people she ever loved in this wretches world. She had lost everything that she had ever been. And Lucian had replaced it with false hope of a new start. With Killian. And her place in the circle of elders. None of that was worth it to her though. There had never been anyone who made Lucian anything less or anything more than the cold-hearted bastard, the ignorant prick that he had always been. There had never been a single woman for Lucian. There had only ever been flings, women and werewolves that he would take advantage of and have his way with. Werewolf females would flock to him, just to be seen differently under his eyes. He would seek out human women, killing them instantly when he was finished with them. All except for Tristan's mother. Victoria remembered her well. She was beautiful, the most beautiful human she had ever seen. With vivid eyes and deep auburn hair, her skin was pale, like moonlight, but fit her oh so well. To this day Victoria still believed that Lucian had been in love with Lucy, the gypsy girl that he had met one day. Victoria remembered the day like it was yesterday. Lucian, herself, and a few other werewolves had been out hunting. They always tried to travel in packs, even back then. But something had happened and they were all separated. Lucian had run into some hunters, and had been wounded rather deeply by a knife. Even though it wasn't fatal, it had weakened him. Victoria had seen the woman approaching the large wolf that laid motionless on the ground. She was so brave, even as the beast gnarled at her. Victoria had watched from the trees as Lucian's werewolf form faded away, leaving the cold, naked man he truly was laying there in the mud in front of the woman. Victoria had watched as the woman found help, others who spoke her tongue, the deep Irish that Victoria had learned very little of over her many years. It was the last time that she had seen Lucian. The woman, Lucy, and the tow men had carried Lucian off into the night, leaving the clan of werewolves without their leader, and in an uproar of confusing moments.

It was months before they had seen Lucian again, about five as it was. And when he had returned, he was... different. He seemed happier, as if the man they once knew had been stripped away, replaced by someone they didn't know. The next three months were innocent, happy. There was no more random bloodshed. There was no more women running around freely from Lucian's quarters. Everything had changed. It wasn't until Lucian came to Victoria that she fully understood what was going on. It was then that she realized, as Lucian spoke of Lucy who was ripe with his child, that Victoria figured out just why he had been gone for so long. It was then, that Victoria fully hated Lucian. He had done the one thing that she had thought wasn't allowed. He had bred with someone not of their own species. She had been punished for loving the enemy vampires, but had the humans not been their enemy as well? Did they not hunt them for their fur? Just for the game. For the victory of having fallen the greatest beast of the woods? But he had sent her of all people to Lucy's side, as if he knew that she wouldn't make it. And it was then that Victoria became close to a human woman, and it was for the first time then that Victoria had cried over the death of a human. Someone she had called a friend.

Victoria gasped and sat straight up, clutching her stomach in slight pain. She gasped a few times, causing Keith to jump, looking at her with scared eyes. He wouldn't speak though. He could smell what was wrong, could sense it in that strange connection that he had with his mother. Victoria whimpered, placing her face in her hands. She sobbed almost silently into her hands, shaking lightly where she sat. Her hands fell to her lap, and she stared blankly into her hands. Her right hand finally moved, resting lightly on Nicholas's back. She didn't look at him, just closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She hadn't thought he was going to be there when she so suddenly woke up from her quick nap. Keith finally moved and knelt beside the couch that Nicholas and Victoria were on. "Mother... You should eat. It'll calm your nerves." Victoria blinked and looked at Keith, smiling a bit as she looked at him. She simply nodded. "I will. Later. Now is not the time. Lucian is boiling something new in his dark mind. None of us are safe." She said, looking over at Nicholas.