A Deadly Game

[Sojourn]

Paloma Sandoval & Sean Bryson



Brussels, Belgium

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Mommy! Happy birthday to you!"

Sean Bryson and his young grandson, Duncan, sang to Paloma Sandoval as she sat at the table in front of a birthday cake. She couldn't eat the cake, not like her adopted father and son could. Sean was a human and Duncan was a Lycan. She was a Hybrid and could only enjoy blood for her birthday meal. Still, the idea of celebrating with a birthday cake was still fun. Even if all she could do was blow out the candles and let Sean and Duncan eat it. It was a normal part of a birthday celebration, something she wanted Duncan to experience. Especially, when there was so many things he couldn't experience. Like going to school, having friends...Being with the rest of his family. Thanks to the humans destroying their home and the Immortals having to go into the hiding, there wasn't too many normal things Duncan could do. It made Paloma sad, since until a few years ago, she had been a human herself. There was so many things she had done in her childhood she wished that Duncan could do. Things that he couldn't, just because he was a Lycan. Sean had to be remind her that Duncan was happy, because he didn't know what he was missing. Sean had been a teacher and was homeschooling the little Lycan.

"Make a wish!"

Duncan cheered and Paloma blew out the candles as he and Sean clapped. She closed her eyes and wished for the same thing she wished for every year. For her family to be back together. To be with her sister, Sean's biological daughter, again and to be with her husband, Dipak. It had been four years since the attack on their home, since they had all been separated. She and Sean had escaped with Duncan, who had been a baby. Dipak had went back to find Jacinta...They hadn't seen them since that day. She and Sean held onto the hope that they were both still alive. One more year was when the community had agreed to meet up again. One more year was all they had left to know the fate of their family. Not knowing....that was the hardest part of all.

"What did you wish for?"

Duncan asked innocently and Paloma replied with a smile.

"Silly, I can't tell you that. If I do, it won't come true."

The wish she had made was something she definitely wanted to come true. Duncan nodded his head and Sean whispered to him he should go get his present for his mother. Duncan nodded and ran to his room. Paloma was going to help Sean with the cake, when he told her.

"No, I got it, birthday girl. Here, drink your special birthday drink."

Sean said, offering her a glass of blood. The only nourishment a Hybrid could have. Paloma took the drink as he cut himself and Duncan a piece of cake. Sometimes she envied them both so much, being able to still eat normal food. The cake smelled delicious.

"Thanks, Dad, but what's so special about it?"

She said as she took a drink.

'Well, I think the guy who donated that blood drank like five chocolate lattes before hand. Maybe it'll have a chocolate taste to it."

Sean replied with a smile.

"Maybe."

She replied back with a smile of her own although she doubted it. Sean sat across from her with two small pieces of cake. One for him and Duncan, she looked at it wistfully. Yeah...She did miss eating cake on her birthday. Duncan returned with his hands behind his back.

"Mommy, close eyes."

He told her and she covered her eyes with her hands. After a moment, Duncan told his mother.

"Okay, open."

Paloma opened her eyes and smiled at the picture he held out to her. It was the little four year old boy's drawing of his family.

"Did you make this all by yourself?"

She asked him and he nodded his head.

"Yup. Grandpa only help a little. Do you like it?"

"I do, very much. Thank you, sweetie. It's beautiful."

Paloma said, giving Duncan a hug and kissing the top of his head. Duncan sat down next to Paloma and she saw where Sean had helped Duncan with the picture. Duncan was starting to learn how to write and he wanted the names of the drawing to look perfect, so he had asked Sean to write them. He had drawn himself, Paloma, and Sean, of course. His birth mother, Amira, who had died in childbirth him was an angel in the picture. Paloma had been with her when she died and had promised Amira she would raise Duncan as her own son but also make sure he knew about her. A promise she had always kept. Amira was an angel watching over them. Another angel with Amira was Delilah. She had been Paloma's mother and the love of Sean's life. Their affair had resulted in Jacinta's birth. It had taken time but Paloma had learned to forgive her mother for the affair, her own father had not been a good man. Perhaps, in another life, Delilah and Sean would have been happy together. But it wasn't meant to be in this lifetime. Delilah was too afraid to leave Benito and she had broken up with Sean. Until Jacinta had searched for him, he had no idea he even had a daughter. Thankfully, Sean had been thrilled to learn he had a daughter and become a father to Paloma in the process as well. He and Paloma was certain Delilah would be happy to know her daughters had been as a father in their life.

Duncan had also drawn the two missing members of their family, his father and his aunt Jacinta. He knew of them both, just like he knew of Amira and Delilah. The only difference was the hope that someday they would all be together again. It made Paloma want to cry because she truly hoped that someday that Dipak and Jacinta wouldn't just be stories to Duncan. She hoped her birthday wish would come true and Duncan's picture would be a reality for them next year.

[Sojourn]

Jacinta Sandoval, Rolan Perov, & Elias Kruger



Tervuren, Belgium

Jacinta Sandoval sighed as she looked at pictures on her cellphone as she on a chair by the window in the hostel room she was sharing with her boyfriend, Rolan Perov, and their friend, Elias Kruger. All three were Lycans, with Jacinta and Rolan being survivors from the human's attack on New Haven four years ago. It had been just the two of them since that day, four years ago, until they found Elias last year. He had been the sole survivor of his Pack that had been attacked by humans. A part of them that day, thought they should have minded their own business but then Jacinta and Rolan remembered all too well what it was like to be all alone and needing help. New Haven had helped them at their darkest hour, they knew they couldn't leave Elias behind. They helped him and made a good friend in the process. Then it became the three of them, just three young adults traveling across Europe. Staying in hostels and never staying in one city very long. People didn't pay them much mind, lots of people their ages backpacked across the continent. They had enough money to make it happen. The last thing Jacinta had received from New Haven before all communication was cut off was a very large bank deposit into a bank account for her. She assumed it was from Paloma, half the money Paloma had inherited from Benito Reyes' will. It was more then enough for her and her friends to survive off of since they were living simply.

"J? You okay?"

Rolan asked her and Jacinta nodded her head, sadly.

"Yeah...I just need a few minutes, guys."

"Okay, come on, Elias. Let's go grab some dinner."

Rolan suggested to their friend, who nodded his head. Once they were out of Jacinta's earshot, Elias asked.

"Is she really okay?"

"Well...today's her sister's birthday."

Rolan told him and Elias nodded his head in understanding.

"Ah. She misses her a lot."

"Yeah, they're really close."

Rolan agreed. Elias had never met Jacinta's family but she talked of them all often. She talked of her sister, her brother-in-law, her nephew, and her dad. Elias had never met these people but knew they were good people from the way she talked. A good family, one that she hadn't seen in her years and could not contact.

"It must be hard to not know what happened to your family."

Elias added as the two male Lycans hit the street, they were heading to a local pizza shop to get some meat lovers pizzas that was near the hostel. He missed his own Pack very much but at least he knew they were gone. He was able to mourn them. For Jacinta, though...She didn't know what had become of her loved ones. They could be alive or they could have died four years. She wouldn't know until next year. She and Rolan had both told him that their community's leaders had forbidden any contact or attempt to find people until five years had passed.

"Yeah, sometimes I don't know how she handles it. I lost my mom a long time ago...I can't imagine not knowing, I think that would be worst."

Rolan said sadly, he didn't have any immediate family left. He had been raised as a slave for the Markov Vampire family. Trained by the time he had hit puberty to be a fighter in a Immortal Death Club. The only survivor of his immediate family. His mother had been a breeder, who probably shouldn't have been getting pregnant. Pregnancy never agreed with her and sadly his poor mother had been pregnant most of her life. She often miscarried or her babies didn't live long. It would often anger Vladimir and Dashia would call her weak and defective. She could get pregnant easily but the babies didn't survive. They would let her barely heal and recover before they forced a pregnancy on her again. Rolan realized when he came to the community and started school that his mother was high risk and would have needed constant medical care during her pregnancies. Something the Markovs would never provide their slaves. He had been her only child to make it past the infant stage and she had sadly died in childbirth, along with his infant sister. He would never forget the day he found out, he had been ten and Dashia had said well at least it was a girl not a boy that had died with her. He had hated the Markovs so much. After the day his mother died and he had been told he was going to fight for Dashia, all he dreamed about was killing Dashia and her brother. He hadn't gotten old enough to make that dream come true, New Haven saved them all from the Markovs before he had ever had to fight.

Elias nodded his head.

"I hope next year we find them."

"Me too."

Rolan agreed. He had Jacinta had been friends before the attack. She had been tutoring him, he had no education before he was rescued, the day of the attack. Mutual feelings had grown as they got to know each other after the attack. He knew how much Jacinta wanted to be with her family again. How she couldn't imagine the idea of them being gone. If they were...He was sure it would devastate her. The Lycans ordered three extra large pizzas with lots of meat. After they got their order and drinks, they headed back to the hostel. The sun had set and the moon was coming out. Rolan sighed.

"We're going to find somewhere to go before the full moon."

Elias nodded his head. As nice as the hostel they found in Tervuren was, they couldn't stay there forever. Once the full moon came out...Rolan, Elias, and Jacinta wouldn't be able to hide what they were from the other hostel guests anymore.

"I agree, we should talk to J about it."

Rolan agreed, since the three of them starting traveling together, they had agreed to make decisions where to go next together. The goal was to never leave Europe though, because Jacinta didn't want to travel too far when her old cellphone finally re-activated again she could find her family again.

"Happy birthday, Paloma. I can't wait to see you next year."

Jacinta quietly told her sister's picture on her cellphone. It was a happy picture of her and her sister. It had been taken by Sean, her birth father. He had taken it just to take it, for no special reason. They, Duncan, and Dipak had been having a family picnic and Sean took their picture, for no other reason then he thought they both looked beautiful the way the light had hit them and the flowers near them. He said it was a good picture and sent it to everyone's phones. Sean reminded him how her mother used to snap random pictures all the time. Benito had always hated when Delilah had done that, but Jacinta was grateful for those pictures now. It was just a fun picture, it was of her and Paloma laughing. Jacinta heard Rolan and Elias come back and wiped her cheeks to make sure the few tears she had were gone. She smiled at them.

"Hmmm...smells delicious."

She said as she sat down at the table with them, all three Lycans had their own pizza.

"Yours has extra pepperoni."

Rolan said she replied her thanks. As they ate, Elias said.

"J, the full moon is coming. We can't stay here."

She nodded her head, Jacinta liked it here. The hostel was nice. The owner was a wonderful elderly woman. She seemed to enjoy their company, but they never could stay here when the full moon hit. They were all Lycans and...Well, she doubted the owner would be so kind to them when the change happened and they destroyed their rooms.

"You're right, where should we go?"

Elias pulled out a map.

"It's November and getting colder, we should probably start heading South."

Rolan nodded his head and suggested.

"How about we make our way to Spain? Wait out Winter on the Mediterranean."

Winter was coming and they couldn't exactly camp out in the middle of winter. Granted they would survive it but...It would raise questions with humans they didn't want to answer.

"Sounds good to me. Let's find a place in the woods to hide out for the full moon and then make our to Spain through France."

Jacinta said and both Rolan and Elias agreed. They decided they would head out tomorrow. That would give them enough time to find a safe place in the Belgium woods to wait out the full moon. Hopefully far away from human civilization.