Ch.63

Paige had to learn to live without orbing and using magic for a while so Phoebe and I picked up the pace while Paige made potions and caught up on the book of shadows reading. Witch wars never came to be because I'd slaughtered the demons involved a while back and had the whole collection of power sucking athames. Gideon went to make a portal through time after they declined my offer to open one to send Chris back to the future.

To be fair, I meant to send him into the movie Back to the Future because it had been just too good to pass up and I brought him back. Still, he didn't find it funny like Phoebe and I did so they declined on account of me being a bit of a prankster. In the end Chris and Leo entered an alternate reality and their alternate evil selves came through on our end. I stopped them from leaving and their eyes went wide seeing me before kneeling.

I frowned and Leo said I was the Source of all evil in their world. I scoffed. "With all the powers I possess, the Source is all my evil half amounted to? That's both disappointing and relieving."

Leo shook his head saying. "You aren't just the Source, you destroyed the essence of the Source and took it's place and power. You rule the heavens and earth, leaving the only place for good to thrive in the underworld and even there they're hunted."

I raised an eyebrow and Paige asked why they were kneeling if they knew I was good here. Evil Chris spoke. "You've no idea the power he possesses. You weren't there when he wiped out the elders in my time and laid waste to the angels of destiny, destroyed the returned old ones and brutally murdered the first witch and her mate. Even here and now his power is more than enough to prevent us from escaping."

I quirked an eyebrow and shrugged to Phoebe. "I take no credit for what I did in an alternate evil reality's future. I'm not that person and I haven't done it there yet either. I swear, you people think prophecy and visions are fact. Well, the fact is there are an infinite number of alternate realities out there with an infinite number of possibilities. Seeing visions and prophecies only speak of one possibility apiece in any number of outcomes. The defining factor to them could depend on how you react to the knowledge of said visions and prophecies."

I grumbled and waved a hand. "Just because it happened in your future doesn't mean it'll happen in this one or the other world because the very fact that you came back in time to change things. While it's still a possibility, it isn't any more possible than Wyatt growing up to be a space cowboy or a dorky science geek or me destroying both sides of hood and evil so that witches can rule their own destinies not dictated by stuffy feather asses or dumb prophecies."

My little rant had them all stunned while I turned to see Gideon had gone. Shit started up, my evil half came through with Chris, Bianca and Leo and I saved our Bianca and Chris from dying before Leo destroyed Gideon. Because I saved Chris, I had to commit an act of evil to balance the scales as well so my dark half sealed his evil and sent it through with his dark Leo.

They watched as I fused the painted worlds and the inhabitants inside who were the same only having been stuck inside because my evil half couldn't use them. He brought out two swords like my own and we fought in a storm of blades, one versus two until I ran him through. His power doubled my own and I took his soul ring, adding it to my own. I put the swords away and repaired the magic school we'd damaged in our god level fight to the death.

Phoebe asked if I'd won and I shook my head. "No, he let me win. He gave in all the way and his soul was extinguished entirely. The ring and painted world were sealed up because they had no soul to join with and since evil couldn't love, he didn't even have you over there. He wanted to die because he could remember what it felt like to love and he knew he'd never have it again."

She looked worried and I tapped my head. "Memories. I got all of his when I killed him."

I took the less ornate wedding ring off of his body and incinerated it. He hadn't had long anyways without a soul to inhabit his body so he was screwed regardless. The ring contained everything he'd gathered from the evil world as if on instinct. Magical items of all sorts. I sent the ring to Claudia and my other self to sort through and store in the warehouse.

In the meantime, with Gideon dead, Leo chased after Barbas while I sent Chris and Bianca back to the future for real this time and loaded with spells and a necklace that Phoebe once wore that made them immune to the power of witches alongside an amulet two witches of my coven possessed halves of. Together they made the wearer invincible like Phoebe and myself. That and a ring full of hundreds of power stripping potions sort of evened the playing field.

With my power doubled, I ascended on my own beyond the grand design like the avatars did as a collective. This in turn made sure my presence no longer effected the grand design unless I changed or actively sought to do so. The balance of the world was set to rights and Piper gave birth to baby Chris. A month later Leo and Piper attended a Hindu wedding while I took over magic school in Gideon's place.

I took over the protections hiding and powering it, reinforcing them far more than the elders ever did. Soon the school was far safer than it had ever been, the students were learning many new and old things they never thought possible and hundreds of new students from the painted world with teachers came to help. Magic school was bustling with activity and not just for witches and the like. All manners of magical creatures were invited to learn the true history of magic, expand their knowledge on it and learn how to control their abilities better.

It was a true magic school as it was a school of magic, not just for one type of magical being. From centaurs to leprechauns and nymphs, all manner of magical creatures came and learned all things both magical and mundane. The elders didn't approve and I told them to send their new whitelighters which I guaranteed would learn more about their powers in a month than they'd learn in decades working as a whitelighter. The elders defied me to prove it and I did just that.

I taught them all the powers I taught Chris to master and more before giving them a bottle of pills in a magical ring that could cure darklighter poison and they left. In the meantime Leo killed another elder so he was distraught, but an old flame of mine was conjured from a book while the elders were reviewing magic school and the whitelighters I'd taught. Odin, the lead elder, said there was some improvement, but I scoffed. "There was more than some, you're just reluctant to say so because it'd mean you were wrong about me. Now, I'm going to continue running and teaching here at magic school regardless of whether you lot agree."

A kid shot a spitball at me and it ricocheted, hitting him on the nose and leaving him in a full body binding spell. I turned to the kid next to him. "Show him Gravlok's book on hexes and counter spells. If he can't break the binding before lunch time he can have detention with miss Brooks for the next week. If he can then his only punishment will be the ridicule of looking like a fool for a few hours."

The kid went to get the book as a second conjured Lady Godiva. I turned and froze Godiva with the demon, lord Dyson. I turned back to Odin. "The only real question is whether your whitelighters attend magic school for advanced knowledge along with how to best help and understand their powers and charges. I don't care one way or the other whether you allow them to attend this establishment. I've already taken over and changed the locks as it were. Magic school will continue and endure whether the elders agree or not regardless of your decisions."

I unfroze the class and told the kid that summoned her. "You have an hour to find out how and send her and the demon spirit you conjured back to the book so as not to effect the timeline. Don't say you can't. If you have the power to conjure them then you have the power to send them back, you just lack the knowledge how. Miss Crane will teach you the spell, off you go."

He hesitated and left quickly. I turned to the others. "Off to your next class unless you'd like to join the jokester on the ground trying to undo a body binding spell. The choice is as always, yours."

They scattered quickly and the elders agreed that the whitelighters could stay and learn a thing or two. I shrugged and left it to them, continuing my work. When Penny put a spell on the sisters and refused to break it, I summoned Patty who did so telling Penny that as cute as my wife was, I didn't marry a child and I wouldn't have her stuck like that just because she didn't want anyone magical to challenge her decisions about her grandchildren. She scowled at me and Victor looked smug while Patty appeared and agreed with me.

She undid the spell and Penny left back up to the heavens while Patty stuck around to help with things. My heart warmed when Patience and Parker saw Patty and yelled. "Gam'ma!"

They ran to her and gave her a hug before Wyatt had his issues. He orbed away and they followed him upstairs where he was taken by a black cloaked Leo who took him to the underworld. They followed while I stayed with the other kids and my fifteen year old son who needed the talk. I told him it was alright to like anyone he did so long as he had safe sex.

I told him that he could be with a male anything or a female anything as long as he didn't knock up said females because I'm not ready to be a grandfather just yet. He'd been having a rough time with his sexuality and I hugged him, telling him that his mother and I don't care about who he dates, so long as it isn't a demon and they make him happy. He hugged me back and thanked me before I listened and ruffled his hair as he explained that he thinks he's gay. I snorted lightly and told him that it didn't matter to me or his mother and he could always talk to us.

I told him that if anyone gives him problems I'd kick their asses for him if he didn't do it himself. He smiled and I sighed, telling him my origins and how I'd been turned evil, how the cruelest things imaginable were unleashed upon me because the Source needed a dog of war so he had to break me. I told him that I learned a very valuable lesson back then, the only ones that can break you are the ones you let do so and if you break yourself by faltering in your faith of yourself, they win regardless.

I kissed his hair and rubbed patted his back, standing up. "So don't let them win, be they the bullies that come or the doubts in your mind. You're my son and no matter what you do or how you see yourself, that'll never change. The Source didn't break me, I broke myself back then and I won't ever let that happen again. It's ok to falter and stumble, but so long as you get back up, you're never truly beaten.

He nodded and thanked me so I patted his shoulder. "I know it's not what you imagined. Hell, it's not what I imagined this talk would be like. All I can say is that so long as you're true to yourself, the rest won't matter. So if you like guys, then like them and if not, that's fine as well. Just no demons, darklighters or warlocks. They can't really love and they always want to corrupt your soul for their own purposes. I don't want to see you fall down that path because I know where it leads and it isn't a nice place."

He smiled and agreed before thanking me and scampering off to magic school. I stopped him and told him to take his brother and sister. He scowled and I chuckled. "Just take them to the entertainment hall and let Miss Black know they're there."

He sighed and agreed, telling the two youngsters. "Come on rugrats, I want to go hang with my friends."

They orbed into his arms and I shrugged as I was left with Patty and baby Chris until the others returned with Wyatt. When they did, I turned to Leo. "You've been to see my Ex, the Seer. Do be careful, the power she amassed during our time together could see her on the throne of the underworld if that's what she wanted. Snuffing out an elder would be child's play for her so be careful. She wants something from you, odds are that's the only reason she'd put up with an elder like you."

Phoebe asked what and I shrugged. "I don't know, I just know that he's threatened her and he still lives so it's something she wants badly enough to put up with him and his petty threats. A seer of her magnitude is rare. Good only has one of her potential and I'm married to her."

I pulled Phoebe into my arms and kissed her before telling her our kids were at magic school and I had the day off. She practically whisked me away while Leo and the others were a bit frazzled. When Phoebe and Piper wanted to break into a museum and steal a chalice to save Paige, I followed them and watched invisible as they dealt with the pirates. I took the fountain of youth and the golden chalice along with all the treasure the pirates had gathered and the cursed athame.

They gave Phoebe water from the fountain of youth after an FBI agent stunned Sheridan. I didn't care since he clearly knew about them being witches. Soon enough Paige cast a protection spell on an innocent, a really bad day started and Piper had to play Death for a day. They still stopped the demon and everyone survived, barely.

If only because when the Angel of Death tried to take Phoebe, I was there and glaring murderously at him with my hand on the hilt of my sword. He agreed to the exchange and the halfbreed demon asswipe was taken instead of Phoebe. I ended up saving a whitelighter from the sisters who turned into wolf-like creatures surrounding the blue moon. Said whitelighter was there with me when the sisters woke up in a crystal cage.

I showed them an illusion of what they'd been before and told them. "The blue moon and the days surrounding it seem to be effecting the power of three like a negative side effect of all that concentrated hood magic. Super PMS if you will. Since Danny here was meant to take over as your whitelighter and being a star student of mine at magic school, I stepped in, I'm going to assume your animal sides want to target anyone that isn't family like Leo and I are."

I waved a hand and clothes appeared on them while I removed the crystal. Danny asked me not to let them out in case I was wrong, but I snorted. "If they wanted you dead as witches this cage wouldn't hold them. Paige can move the crystals even while inside. Relax and go meditate or whatever you feather asses do when you're not standing around looking like you have cancer of the puppy."

He huffed and went to see the elders while I warned the sisters that the conjured clothes would fade in about ten minutes so they needed to go change. They scurried off and I made breakfast before warning them they'd change two more times if I'm right. A possessor demon went after Leo and caused some issues with the elders when he was possessed. Still, I stepped in and captured the demon, showing it to them before destroying it. The sisters shifted for their last time and attacked the elders but the elders attacked back and knocked them out.

Then came the accusations until I told them how the second elder died because Barbas got into Leo's head and drove him to the bring of insanity and rage while he was possessed by Shiva, the father of all creation with Shakti and way above their pay grade. I told them as a god of destruction, not even they could resist his influence if he chose to possess them and with the demon of fear messing with his human host's mind, the loss of a single elder is something they should be grateful for because he could've literally ended all life and there's not a damn thing any of them could've done to stop him.

They both their tongues as I explained how things went and how they were ultimately responsible for it all by screwing with destiny and making dumb ass prophecies. I told them if they wanted someone to blame they need look more further than the mirror. "You set all this up, you allowed Gideon to attack Wyatt and still some of you believe he should be dead yet you all claim to be pinnacles of good. You're no different than demons with bigger egos and a far larger superiority complexes in my book. Prancing about like the world owes you for being asshats and screwing with free will all because you think you have the right to do so. Dictating who should be with whom and screwing with witches lives because you say they should battle demons instead of getting off your lazy self absorbed feathered asses and doing it your damned selves."

Fire sparked and burned in the air above me like a miniature sun as I growled. "I should end you all here and now or shove you in the underworld like your kind did the first witch. Maybe you'll lose some of that superiority complex when demons run a train on your asses from now until the end of time like the feathered bitches you are!"

Leo got between us and stopped me, helping me calm down. I snorted and doused the fire before growling. "You all aren't worth my time. Fucking hypocrites."

I sat with the wolf beast I knew to be Phoebe and held her in the cage I set up while she and the other two woke up as wolves. They didn't attack me and Phoebe just huffed after failing to get out and laid her head in my lap. I stroked her fur and when she changed back with her sisters, I conjured clothes for them again. I explained what happened and Piper looked to Leo who just looked solemn.

I moved the crystals and told them that was the last night of the blue moon so they wouldn't change anymore and the next blue moon was sixty odd years away so there wouldn't be any issues there. I opened a door home and they left to change, taking Leo with them. They vanquished Barbas next and he mentioned someone else watching. Soon there was a whole guardian angel issue with agent Brody and Paige.

It ended in Leo becoming an avatar and resurrecting Paige and Piper. I explained what Leo did and what the avatars were. I told them they were like me, beyond good or evil only they had their own agenda of wanting to turn the world into a Utopia. I explained what it would mean and how it would effect free will, how every infraction would be measured and if anyone argues or fights as is the nature of those who don't wish to have their life's dictated, they'd be killed, regardless of whether they were good or evil or simply human.

I told them that conflict was the enemy of peace and while the peace can be and feel good, it removes free will away from the hands of the individual humans. I shrugged saying. "It's no different than what the elders and angels of destiny do to good witches, but this effects regular humans as well. Even children can be taken and killed if they kick up too much of a fuss and personally I won't live that lie. I'd rather retreat to the painted world and leave the battle of good and evil behind if it comes to changing the world for the whims of those who can. I don't like the current grand design as they call it, but I won't live in a utopia that takes away my free will, not after all I've been through to get it back after so long."

Paige asked. "So they're evil then?"

I shook my head. "No, they're just different. They mean well, but they'd do anything to maintain utopia once it begins, even kill their own. They tried several thousand years ago when I was young and a wizard named Anubis created a vanquishing potion to stop them. When I ascended to invincibility after taking in the power of the titans they tried to get me to join them before and I read their minds so my demonic self destroyed those that offered until the rest fled. It seems now with the power of three and a former elder they believe they can succeed this time."

I turned to Leo and back to the sisters after reading Leo's mind. "Scratch that, Leo's not saying something."

He sighed. "The others think that once the sisters know what they want, they'll agree and with them, you'd join us and lend your own power. Being an avatar now I can feel what the collective has stored and what power you have. Frankly I'm surprised someone as powerful as you could exist and not change the world."

I snorted lightly. "I never cared about power. It's too easy to obtain and besides, I change the world in my own way. Armor Tech helps humans and nature, witches and all magical beings while I teach the kids at school, helping them to learn, grow and understand their powers. I help them to understand that there is a choice beyond good and evil so they can choose to serve nature, staying out of the path of demons and whitelighters and helping their fellow man or woman. Neither too good or too evil, just walking the fine line between them so they don't have to answer to the elders or anyone but their own conscience."

Leo snorted. "Yeah, but you could do a lot of good with the power you hold."

I shrugged. "And a lot of evil. Sometimes it's better not to use magic at all to change things. You're an avatar and one of many no doubt, but just because you're barely powerful enough to feel my power now doesn't mean your wise enough to use it or even know how it should or could be used properly. Stay an avatar and tell the others whatever the sisters decide after they meet them. I'm sure they'd like to hear both sides before they make an informed decision on whether or not to help the others, either way you're safer as an avatar than as an elder or a human."

I tilted my head. "Still, I'd you choose to become an elder again, I suggest you fall from grace and become a human to avoid more manipulation on their part. I'm sure they'd want to drag you back into the fold and erase your memories of being with Piper and your children to start fresh or worse, erase all your memories and make you a blank slate they can mold to their whims. They do so love to screw with people's minds and free will after all."

I turned to Phoebe. "I've got papers to grade and an advanced class on astral projection to teach so I'll be back in a couple hours. I love you."

She smiled and kissed me before saying the three words I loved to hear back to me. I left it to Leo and the rest to decide what to do about the avatars. For now, I dealt with a book, pulling an old student out of it and handing him the book after I broke the spell on it. "Your creation killed your brother. It's been several years so you may want to check with your parents. And do try not to charm more books back to life."

He stood there stunned and saw the door sign that said I was was the headmaster of magic school. He thanked me and I nodded, telling him to ask any teacher he sees to open a door home and back if he wishes to return. I graded papers and taught my classes like usual, making sure the school was well maintained and safe. Soon a demon turf war broke out and the sisters vanquished both sets of demons, followed by the Seer being brought to the house for protection against the few remaining upper level demons serving Zankou.

The elders found out Leo was an avatar and I ended up watching Phoebe and Kyra become friends after a fashion. Kyra said my demonic self wasn't all that pleasant, mostly sex oriented and enjoyed killing the demons that screwed with us while we were together for a few millennia. She gave the sisters the skinny on all the remaining demons I didn't destroy in the great purge after the last Source fell.

Meanwhile she helped Phoebe and Darryl find inspector Sheridan whom agent Brody kept in a medically induced coma. Kyra shared her vision with Phoebe and through her, I helped share it with all the sisters before Phoebe shared it with Odin and told him to get the spell ready to turn Kyra human. Kyra herself transferred all her powers into a lantern I held for her which guaranteed my protection from Zankou fro her. When Zankou came in pretending to be Phoebe, I blasted him on his ass hard and wounded him.

I wagged a finger at him and he shimmered away after turning back into himself. Kyra thanked me and I waved her off while lazing about. The real Phoebe and Leo came back just before Leo was outed, Kyra was made human and given all she'd wanted including my old mansion. She thanked the sisters and kissed my cheek saying she knew from the first time we'd met that I could change her future for the better.

I waved her off and remote orbed her to her new mansion where a whole new life awaited her. Phoebe said that was one woman she wouldn't mind sharing a bed with. I gave her a droll stare and she shrugged saying she just understood why my demon self chose her to spend so long with. I growled and pulled her into my arms before whirling to our bed.

Leo had his problems next and the elders learned the full truth from Leo himself before he rejoined them as an elder and fell from grace. They were more shocked by his fall then him having been an avatar. Still, he came home and Wyatt healed him to his surprise. I held Phoebe in my arms and sighed, telling Leo that Wyatt had been a quick study and a good student.

Wyatt giggled and I smiled before releasing Phoebe to go bring our kids home from magic school. I soon hired Drake to be the magic music teacher and dealt with the sorcerer he'd made a deal with, altering the contract and giving him a human lifetime to live. He thanked me and I nodded, telling him not to waste it or fall back on darker methods. I told him to tell Cole I'd find a way for him to return someday if I can.

The avatars had backed off declaring the world wasn't ready for them and Darryl arrested agent Brody with several other cops only for him to choose death by cop. Kyle Brody ended up becoming a whitelighter while the avatar vanquishing potion was added to the Halliwell book of shadows. I dealt with a time looped ghostly scenario with Phoebe and freed all the souls trapped inside the loop. In the meantime, Piper got poisoned by a spike demon and met Cole until Wyatt healed her as well.

As for the elders, they decided a hands off approach was best and left the sisters alone. One evening while I and the kids were at magic school, Zankou lured the sisters out of the house except Piper and Leo whom Wyatt shrank. A tangle with the nexus later and Zankou fled while his demons were destroyed. From Pandora's box to sorceress's spells and imaginary invisible demon friends, the sisters handled it all.

I was particularly impressed with future Wyatt who scared the hell out of some demons. Soon enough the dead rose and the nexus was destroyed in order to vanquish Zankou. The sisters faked their deaths and I was left with the children and Victor, a grieving widow. When demons came looking to force me to sell the house, I began a rampage after following them back to the underworld and slaughtering the new group of upper level demons.

None survived my wrath and soon the underworld knew I was no longer held back by my wife. Demons fled and hid like children as I destroyed half the underworld physically leaving ruins and slaughtered demons. None that remained wanted to enrage such a being further. I returned and took the golden belt of Gaea from homeland security's lockup, sending it to the warehouse before settling down with Phoebe and our kids.

I didn't comment on their decision and instead focused on us, our kids and work. I only helped when asked and didn't even bother with Leo and Piper's issues or Paige's new boyfriend, Henry. Life went on and shit happened, but we got passed it. When Billie, the sister's new protégé, met up with her triad trained sister Christy, I didn't stop it until they began influencing the magical community and I heard about it at the school.

I told the magicals that asked what was going on and how the Triad was manipulating the two sisters, setting up scenarios so they could save the magicals and make the sisters look bad by distracting them with more shit. Word spread and Billie learned the truth the hard way when Christy went off her rocker and tried to attack Parker, my son, with her pyrokinesis. Parker laughed to her surprise before burning her instead.

She screamed and Billie barely managed to put out the fire and save her with a pill. I appeared and spoke coldly. "Tell your evil sister that my children are all fire proof and any more attack on them will result in both of your deaths. I know she's given in to the Triad's brainwashing, but I don't suffer fools who attack those I care about, ever."

She asked who the triad were and I told her all she wanted to know before warning her that they serve absolute evil and the revival of the old ones so I won't tolerate any more of her sister's shit or them if this continues. When Billie and Christy went up against the sisters after taking Wyatt's powers, I stopped the battle and stripped Billie and Christy of their powers and memories and sending them away to a mental facility. As I gave Wyatt's powers back to him and the angel of destiny said I shouldn't have interfered, but it was a better outcome than she'd seen before.

I disappeared and dealt with the triad using the ancient athame to extinguish their souls. I stored it away and thanked Cole for his blood and advice. I managed to call him forth from the void and rebuild his body using Balthazar's blood, his father's bones and an image of him with his soul. Once he was while again, I stripped him of his demon half and he parted ways saying he understood he never stood a chance with Phoebe.

Life went on and Paige married Henry who learned about the supernatural stuff and was cool with it mostly. Neena crawled out of the pit once the Triad was no longer using her to fuel their eternal reviving abilities. A year later the Source was revived and the sisters destroyed him for hood with a spell and Excalibur. Neena led an army of demons to conquer the heavens and lost barely, forcing the angels of destiny to bind her powers and the few remaining elders that survived to agree to a three month a year visitation from her lover in the magical nexus of the all.

Pure reunited with her sisters as the power of four having been fully revived by me. She held Parker and cried for a good long while as he'd grown so much since she'd been alive. I showed her the videos of everything she missed so she could be right there with him for good and the bad. She thanked me and I nodded, saying I'd intended to go to the beyond and show her but this was better.

A darklighter named Rennek caused issues and I ended him before expelling the last of the elders from the heavens and giving the heavens to the witches after emptying the vaults. I fused the heavens and the underworld causing a bit of chaos below but the coven helped settle things as witches took over, making a council for each state and a grand council for each country, full of magical beings as representatives of each race. The demons, warlocks and evil creatures were exterminated entirely in the underworld and left nowhere to hide on earth so they formed a singular dark faction and joined the councils as well.

As for Neena, I put her in charge of the heavens and promised that when it was time she and her lover would be welcomed in the immortal world with all others that weren't inherently evil while the all would be taken by me, leaving enough magic so that the world and the mortals could go on without it as a fundamental law. She agreed and I told her six months in and six months out. I returned to earth and soon Armor Tech released a five hundred year life expanding gene therapy.

A century later the kids and grandchildren had grown while many had entered the immortal world Phoebe and I decided it was time and so all magicals in all the realms joined us while the dark faction was wiped out entirely. The cupids remained as one of two sources of magic in the world once I took the all. The witches that remained were the other, pulling magic from nature and making it a growing cycle. Soon I split off from my Titan self and died as a clone on earth.

Even magic school had been taken so I had to die in the old mansion Kyra had owned before she and Cole went into the immortal world together. Cole's father's soul had been freed entirely long ago and the old ones had been eternally destroyed by Phoebe and myself using the swords. All four of which now had dark black pommels that sparked with red electricity and the promise of power.

They were deemed too dangerous and locked in the warehouse for safe keeping in the end. As my body faded and my soul passed on, a life of peace washed over me after the kids had grown up and taken charge. Sure they'd come on occasion for advice, but more often than not they handled things themselves. My next life was insane even for me.

I was born the bastard son of a werewolf pack alpha named Connor and twin brother of Cayden only I was raised by Connor. When I turned thirteen, I went half rabid and killed several of the pack before challenging Connor. I nearly killed him as well but for us both coming out torn up in a draw. He was proud of the beast he'd made and yet I couldn't seem to care. Seven years later Angelina and I were mated in the hardest and fiercest matings ever.

She'd hated me for being his son while loving me for being different and I both resented and loved her for both reasons. We found out the hard way when our wolves tore at each other and locked into place when she submitted that we were inseparable. She carried my scent always and I carried hers. It was complicated, but when Angelina asked me to, I slaughtered the pack of half-breeds Connor made and nearly killed him to.

I told told him to quit his shit and leave or stay and die by my claws. Unlike my brother, I matched him inch for inch in height. He forced my hand and I killed him right there in the bar. Before he died, I told him I had a twin brother out there somewhere away from all this shit.

He said he knew and he didn't rape my mother which I nodded to. He passed away and I turned to John, my uncle of sorts on my mother's sides. "He wasn't lying. Your brother threatened to kill her and abort the pregnancy so Connor killed him and most of those that followed him, chasing off Wild Joe because like your brother, the inbreeding had driven him mad."

I kicked a dead half breed and and grunted. "These were because he couldn't take being without Lucinda and being forced to be alone. His wolf's way of over compensating for the loss and madness that comes with losing a mate."

I turned to Angelina before dragging the bodies outside to toss in my truck. The town wolves helped me bury them and both Angelina left town with me the day Cayden came. I dropped a notebook in front of Cayden at the bar and left with a copy of the four bloodline family trees, patting Cayden's shoulder. "It's a long story little brother, but it's our past. Now write your own."

I nodded to John and left with my arm around Angelina's waist. We left and I spotted wild Joe watching us so I flipped him the bird and left in my car I traded in. We went to see the world, from big cities to small towns, we saw it all and even met a few of the other pack lines. We spent almost a decade traveling the globe, tracing our lines until we returned home because Angelina was pregnant.

I built us a cabin, hunted deer and boar and visited Cayden who stayed on John's farm as a hand. He and Gail, Angelina's sister, had mated and she sobered up once she had her first kid. As it was they had seven children by the time we'd returned. Cayden told me he'd killed wild Joe for killing his adoptive family and I sighed, telling him I'd killed the Savage pack and and our father because he'd become too wild and savage, eating our own kind.

I told him of all the pure blood wolves we'd met and where, telling him the more wolf and wild we become, the slower we age. Angelina and I still looked to be in our early twenties and he asked just how wild we were. I huffed and told him. "The wild is in us all. We just bathe in the moonlight each night and let our wolves out. It keeps us young and strong without the need for killing. Though we do hunt hog and deer from time to sate our wolves and for extra food now that Angelina's pregnant."

He grunted saying he could see that. He asked how long we were going to stay in town and Angel shook her head. "Just until the baby is born. John's agreed to raise it and we'll be moving on afterwards to where only eternity awaits us in the wild hunt. I can't say more because it's a secret, but we wanted to leave a part of us behind to continue the bloodlines."

I slid an old journal of mine over and he looked it over, seeing the origins of our species go all the way back to Romulus and Remus. It showed the names of all those we knew were dead, all those alive and a far more extensive pedigree for everyone extending the family trees to hundreds more alive and dead beyond the original one. A week later Angelina gave birth and healed fast after running with me.

Our daughter was raised by Cayden and Gail after John passed and married a human. We watched from afar as they were happy and normal before heading into the painted world. A clone died minutes later and it was off to the next life.