God, he was going to miss her.

He loved her so f**king much. Why the hell hadn’t he kissed her or made love to her one last time? Because it would have made leaving her so much harder to do. He didn’t know how he was going to make it through the night without her in his arms. His heart ached for her as his body screamed for him to run, to go after her and join her and say to hell with everything else, but he couldn’t.

He could never leave his family.

“We’re not asking, mutt,” the demon spat out the derogatory name for a shifter without a pack. “He’s coming with us.”

“I’m afraid that will be impossible.”

Everyone looked towards the door and sniffed the air. A few of them frowned, but most of them snickered as his father continued to come towards them.

A female demon turned her sneer on him. “This is your backup? A human?”

Chris shoved away every useless wish and thought. It didn’t matter what he wanted or needed. Izzy was gone.

“They don’t cost much to feed,” he said with a lazy shrug.

He knew the second the group realized his father wasn’t human. They tilted their heads back again and inhaled deeply. A few growled while others tried to make a run for it.

“It’s a Pyte!” one of the demons roared as he launched himself towards Ephraim.

While a few of the demons were focused on his father the few that weren’t making a run for it were coming after him. He raised his gun and began to fire as a hollow emptiness that would probably never go away filled him.

********

“Why the f**k did you let them put her in a cell?” Eric demanded, more pissed at himself for not leaving clearer instructions than at the young man by his side.

“I was needed elsewhere and at least I knew she’d be safe,” Joshua said, stepping aside so that Eric could press the code into the security pad. He hit the elevator call button with a little more force than necessary as he prayed for patience.

If Ephraim or Chris ever found out that Izzy had been placed in a cell they’d kill him. Then again if Madison found out, she’d rip his throat out, slowly. He cringed at the reminder that the hormonally imbalanced female Pyte was currently residing in the maximum security wing. If she started crying again he was making a f**king run for it, war going on or not, he couldn’t stand to see her cry.

Part of him understood why he allowed her to be locked up. She was a sneaky little thing after all. He was still embarrassed that he’d fallen for the PMS routine.

Common sense should have kicked him in the ass and reminded him that Sentinel females didn’t have PMS

or any of the human female problems, but he’d been a little stunned when she pulled that shit over him that he hadn’t been able to think clearly.

“Uncle Eric!” The excited voice had them both cursing as they turned around. He barely had his arms out before the little boy was launching himself into his arms.

“Hey, buddy,” he said, holding the little boy tightly in his arms. In his last century a lot of children had come into his life, but none of them as special as this little boy. Although he loved Joshua and Jill as if they were truly his niece and nephew and Chris like a brother, it was this little boy that he loved as if he were his own.

As much as he would have loved to have a child it just hadn’t been in the cards for him and his mate. Barely one year into their mating she was attacked by a Seneai demon, a demon known for mutilating its victims and left for dead. Although she healed to the point that she could once again work, she was unable to conceive.

After one last squeeze he put the little boy down.

Joshua butted fists with the little boy before putting his arm around Marc’s shoulders.

“Did you hear what happened, Uncle Eric?” he asked excitedly, shifting from foot to foot.

“I sure did, buddy,” Eric said, kneeling to put himself at eye level with the little boy. “And I’m very sorry that you had to leave your home,” he said, sorrier than he could ever express. He’d wanted Marc and his brothers to have a safe, happy childhood and in one night that hope had been destroyed.

“It’s okay,” Marc mumbled. “I just wish Grandma came with us.”

He did too. The damn woman was too damn stubborn for her own good and refused to leave the family home no matter how many times any of them explained to her that her family could never return there. It was too dangerous now that Marc’s existence had been discovered and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind about that since the attack had been focused on the little boy.

They were all beyond lucky that Chris had taught the boy how to defend himself. If he hadn’t…….

He didn’t even want to think of what could have happened if Marc hadn’t fought the attack off. His eyes strayed to the dark angry scab lines that marred the little boy’s neck and he had to force himself to calm the hell down before he scared the little boy. Marc didn’t need to know how angry or frightened he was that this happened.

“Mom said we’d meet Grandma for vacations at Disneyworld and stuff, but I’d rather have Grandma with me every day,” Marc mumbled as he looked down at his sneakers and Eric wished he could fix it, but Mrs.

Buckman had made it very clear that she was not letting some shifter run her out of her home. He suspected that it had more to do with her age and not wanting to hold back her family, but she’d never admit that.

“It will be fine, Marc. We’ll find a new home, maybe travel, it will be great,” Joshua said, putting on a smile for his little brother when they both knew they wouldn’t be traveling anywhere for quite some time or finding a new home, at least not with this war going on.

“I miss Chris. When is he coming back?” Marc asked and Eric wasn’t surprised. Chris was the boy’s best friend.

It was just another reminder of how foolish Chris was acting. He didn’t know the reasons behind it, but he wasn’t going to allow Chris to f**k up and ruin his life.

After everything Chris had gone through he deserved a little happiness. Now if he could just figure out a way to make sure that he got it without every Sentinel on earth paying the price that would be great.

“Joshua and I have to go do something. Can you go back to your mom and sister and look after them, please?”

Marc opened his mouth to argue when the shouting started.

“MARC CHRISTOPER WILLIAMS, you get your behind up here right now!”

Everyone in the large foyer stilled as all eyes landed on the red faced little boy who was doing his best to sneak past his brother and probably go hide, but it was pointless since his mother could hunt him down in matter of seconds.

“You weren’t supposed to leave the apartment, were you?” Joshua asked, smirking as grabbed his brother by the arm and turned him around, giving him a gentle shove in the direction of his doom.

Marc noticeably swallowed as he headed towards the back staircase. “Yeah, and I may have accidentally eaten all her chocolate,” the boy admitted, making them both wince.

“Tell your mother I’m sending out for more and whatever else she needs,” Eric said, making a mental note to do that quickly.

The last thing any of them needed was a pregnant Pyte in need of a chocolate fix. He sure as hell wouldn’t survive having her here unless she had an unlimited supply of chocolate. He still remembered when she was pregnant with Marc and he stopped by to check on her and Chris. How she guilted him into making a three am drive to the Wal-Mart an hour away during a snowstorm he would never know, but it had been better than sitting there listening to her describe all her pregnancy complications in detail.