Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

A/N: So, the good news is I didn't have to have surgery after all. Yet. But I still have to have a biopsy on a small mass found in my abdomen, and the course of treatment could include surgery, or maybe just more chemo. Won't know until we get the results of the biopsy back. Anyhoo, back home and working on this sequel to The Birth. Tell me if you like it. -DL

He stood in the shadows facing the old woman. She was a gnarled old crone with a face like a rumpled bed sheet. He felt great distaste, but somehow forced himself to remain standing in front of her. “Tell me what I want to know, old woman,” he growled. “Or your family will pay the price.”

She looked up at him out of hazed old eyes. Her toothless mouth stretched into a sly smile. “I will tell you,” she replied in a crackling voice. “Much as you will come to wish that I hadn’t.”

“Enough of that,” he said impatiently. “Just tell me what I want to know.”

“I do not know the location of the Well,” she began, her gnarled old hands shaking as she spoke.

He snarled: “I’m warning you, old woman, if you’re lying to me…!”

“I am not lying,” she replied sharply. “There may be only one being who knows of its location anymore. He is an old creature, and wise; he has seen much in his very long life. If anyone exists who might know its location, it would be him.”

“Who is this person?” he asked suspiciously.

Her lips quavered into a wicked smile. “Not a person.” She cackled. “Not a man. A spirit, yes. A spirit.”

“Have you gone senile?!” he demanded incredulously. “I’m supposed to believe in spirits now?!”

“You believe in the existence of the Well,” she pointed out coolly. “And if you choose not to believe in this spirit, then you will never find it. So make your choice.”

He glared at her impotently, but it seemed that she was speaking the truth. He held the lives of her family in his hands. She would not lie to him with their fates on the line. “Very well. Who is this spirit, and where may I find him?” he asked tightly.

“He is of the ancient race known as Kamis. He is called Sofu D, the scion of a small but powerful family of spirits. As to where he resides now – I have heard that he lives in the West, in the United States. In the state called California, in the city of Los Angeles. Seek him there, in Chinatown. And may your fate be what you deserve,” she went on enigmatically.

He wasn’t listening to this last utterance. “I will go there and seek out this spirit,” he said. “He WILL tell me where the Well is. Or he will wish he had.” He turned and strode out of the tiny house without a backward glance. He chose to ignore the rusty laughter that trailed after him as he went. The woman was very old, and probably senile as well. He would confront this so-called ‘spirit’ of hers, and she had better hope that she had told him the truth.

Los Angeles, California, at the heart of Chinatown.

It was early afternoon in a certain pet shop, and the place was pretty much empty. Being a weekday in mid-winter(or what passed for winter here in California), most of the potential customers were working. D was in the back with his sibling Chun Lian, attending to the various animals’ needs. Sofu D and his son Lord D were in the sitting room, with Chris and T-chan. The eldest Kami was cross-legged on the floor, while his tiny son Maoh D lay on a blanket in front of him. While the baby was still very small by human standards, he was six months old. He had enough head control now to lift it in a wobbly fashion, and the fascinated blonde boy perched next to Sofu was nearly holding his breath, as the baby looked up at them out of the enormous amber eyes he’d inherited from his human father Daniel White Horse.

Lord D was also intently watching his tiny sibling. One slim hand rested on his swelling abdomen, for he was pregnant by his human bond mate Stephen Caldwell. He couldn’t wait for his own child to be born. The baby would have a built-in playmate in his only slightly older uncle. He could imagine sweet laughter and the sound of running feet already, for while Kami were spirits their children played just as human children did. He tried to suppress a pang of regret over the fact that he’d never seen his son Count D play or romp when he was a child. As Stephen liked to tell him, brooding over what was done was silly. He couldn’t go back and change it, and all he’d do was end up depressing himself for no reason. D wasn’t angry over the fact that his father had not been able to raise him; and besides, his own father had been a very good surrogate parent to the young Kami. Just as he had been to Lord D himself, and now to little Fox, as well.

Maoh was making gabbling sounds that would soon translate into spoken words. Daniel was hoping for “Dada,” as his first word, although Sofu had teased him by asking him just which of his parents the Kami child was going to be speaking to if he said that. Sofu reached out and ran a finger lovingly down his little son’s cheek. “You’re getting very strong, my son,” he told that baby. “Soon you’ll be crawling about, getting underfoot, and driving us all mad. A trait which you inherited from Daniel,” he added, his golden eyes sparkling with laughter.

Lord D made a chuffing noise in the back of his throat, which made his father look up at him. The purple eyes were amused. “Come now, Father, please admit that Daniel is the responsible, serious one in your bond,” he teased. “There is only one place that Fox could have gotten this lively nature of his, and you know it.”

Sofu pretended to be insulted. “Really, my son, what a thing to imply about your parent. I am not some wild, irresponsible, and foolish cub.”

“Well, you’re not a cub, anyway,” Lord D replied, still teasingly. Sofu lifted an arched brow at him haughtily.

“Yes, I am definitely insulted,” he mused.

“Oh come, Father, you know that you do anything you wish to, whenever the mood seizes you. I am not saying that you’d carelessly endanger any of us, but you’ve always been a very independent and – dare I say it – rather wild person.”

Sofu sighed over the foibles of his child. He fluffed his glossy hair with one hand. “I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he replied, making Lord D chuckle.

“Of course you don’t,” the younger Kami said.

“Humph. All I can hope is that someday your children will lecture you on your behavior, when you reach my advanced years.”

Lord D laughed outright. “Chun Lian will not because he is worse than you are, Father,” he said in amusement. "He ‘hasn’t a leg to stand on’, as the humans say. D perhaps, but he doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who would do so. But this one coming…” he patted the tiny bulge of his belly, “Might. It is the parental curse, yes? May you have one just like you, so that you know what I went through,” his purple eyes sparkled.

Sofu ended up laughing as well, reaching out to smooth the glossy cap of hair atop Maoh’s wobbly head. “Very true,” he replied merrily. He was very happy that his son was relaxing more and more as time went on, a condition partially brought on by the steadfast love of his human mate Stephen Caldwell and partially because of his advancing pregnancy. He was just so happy to be gravid that he glowed. His son deserved true happiness, and it was such a relief to Sofu that he was finally getting it.

Of course he should have known that any peaceful state in their turbulent lives was destined to not last very long….

F.B.I Agent Garreth Cooper frowned at the piece of paper in his hand. It was a fax sent over from Interpol, telling the U.S. Government that a particularly dangerous Chinese criminal might even now be on American soil. This man, whose name was Liu Shen Wei, was a high-ranking member of a brutal tong sect. What he wanted in the Unites States was unclear; he had to come here in a roundabout fashion, since there was no way a guy like this would be allowed through Customs after 9/11. Homeland Security agents would have stopped him the moment he tried to enter the country. He’d have ended up in a jail cell awaiting interrogation. But there were always other ways to come quietly into a country, even one as paranoid as the U.S. had become. And apparently there was some reason for this guy Wei to do so. Whatever it was had to be big. He wouldn’t risk being arrested and deported back to a Chinese prison cell otherwise.

Garreth frowned as he tapped a finger on his desk top thoughtfully. The Interpol sheet also said that Wei might arrive on a freighter bound for Los Angeles. Were they just a starting point on his journey, or was his business in the City of Angels? If it was then he’d head straight for Chinatown. There were factions of his tong sect here in America as well, and they’d be able to help hide him while he did whatever he meant to. Unfortunately neither the police nor the F.B.I had any contacts in Chinatown. The place might as well be back in mainland China for all the help and cooperation they could get out of the supposedly American citizens who lived there.

But, whether it was a coincidence or not, Garreth just happened to be dating a lovely homicide detective whose partner, Leon Orcot, was living with a guy who owned a pet shop at the heart of Chinatown. He thought of Jill with a slight smile. He’d met her on a case about six months ago, and she’d been pretty nasty to him the first time they’d come face-to-face. But at yet another crime scene, she’d actually apologized to him and given him her phone number. He wasn’t an idiot - of course he’d called her. They’d started dating, and after a month or so sleeping together. He was seriously considering asking her to move in with him, and if that worked out as well as he thought it might, proposing to her a few months later. For now, though, he thought that her friend at the pet shop might be able to help him keep an eye out for this Wei bastard. Surely someone who was living with one cop and friend to another would be more helpful than the average run-of-the-mill citizen down in Chinatown?

He stood up from his desk decisively. He’d go and talk to that Dee character right away. He supposed he should run it by Jill first, but he was pretty sure that she wouldn’t care if he just asked the pet shop owner for a bit of help. He went out the door of his office, telling one of the other agents where he was going. It was always wise to do so, just in case something bad happened to you while you were on the job.

Garreth pulled up in front of the pet shop. He’d only been here twice before this, although he’d met most of its inhabitants either here or elsewhere. At a police department picnic that Jill had taken him to, he’d met the four brothers who lived in the shop. They could have been quadruplets, but Jill had said that they weren’t when he’d asked. He’d also met the other guys who lived with two of the other brothers, namely Daniel White Horse and Stephen Caldwell. It had surprised him at first that the entire family seemed to be gay, until he’d thought about just how pretty and in some ways feminine all of these Chinese guys looked. He pushed through the door, hearing the bell ring above it. But there was no one in the outer shop, and he remembered the sitting room where he’d had tea couple of times before. He walked over to the beads and pushed through them, to see if anyone was in there.

Someone was. Several some ones, in fact. The golden-eyed brother, Sofu, was sitting on the floor with a baby on a blanket in front of him. Babysitting for yet another family member? Garreth wondered. A blonde boy was beside him, as well as a goat. He blinked at the goat, but it WAS a pet shop – then he looked at the person sitting on the couch, and froze. He knew this man - MAN – he’d met him at that picnic. Apparently his name was Lord, which was weird, but you never knew with parents these days. But at that function, something had been missing that was there now. That would be the visible bulge under the silky-looking robe the man was wearing. So, unless this guy had a HUGE tumor under there, there was only one other explanation for such a distinctive-looking bulge. Either he was going crazy - or this Chinese man was pregnant!

Chapter Text

Staring up at the stunned human frozen in the doorway of the sitting room, Sofu acted in his usual swift and decisive manner. “Agent Cooper,” he said, rising to his feet. “Won’t you sit down so that we can talk? My son – would you leave us for a moment and take the boys into the back to play?” he nodded at Chris and T-chan significantly.

Lord D rose to his feet. “Of course, Father,” he replied, glancing in concern at Jill’s boyfriend. The man looked like someone had hit him on the forehead with a tack hammer. “Come Christopher, T-chan,” he added to the two boys, who leapt to their feet to go with him. The Kami walked past the human, who stared at his protruding abdomen as he went by. But Garreth still had not moved, so Sofu walked over to him and gently steered the shell-shocked man to the empty couch. He pushed Garreth down on it.

“Would you like some tea?” he asked, and now that Lord D was out of the room the F.B.I. Agent shook off some of his daze as he looked up at Sofu.

“Err…no thank you,” he blurted. “Your brother…he was…no, that can’t be right…” he muttered, running a hand over his short dark-blonde hair distractedly.

Sofu sighed, as he leaned down to pick up his tiny son and settle Maoh on his hip. He took his own seat across from the bewildered F.B.I. Agent. “He is not my brother,” he remarked calmly. “As you may or may not have heard, I referred to him as ‘my son’ just now. That is because he IS my son, not my brother. And this is his brother,” he added, touching Fox’s head. “I gave birth to him six months ago.”

Garreth’s eyes practically bugged out of his head. “Did you just say…that YOU gave birth to him?!” he yelped, staring at the baby as though expected Maoh to turn into a ravening monster at any moment.

Sofu nodded. “That is correct. Just as my older son is about to have his third child, as you saw. In only seven months time, he will have a brother or sister for his two sons. You’ve met them of course – Chun Lian and Count D are my son’s sons.”

Silence. Garreth looked like he was waiting for this hallucination to be over, so that he could be checked out by a good doctor for the inevitable brain tumor. Sofu waited patiently, his golden eyes fixed on the human’s face. “This is a great deal for you to take in, I know,” Sofu went on remorselessly. “But since Jill is a good friend of ours, it was inevitable that you discover our true nature eventually. Now one of two things can happen,” he went on, making the human blink at him, “I can erase these memories, and you can leave this place none the wiser than you were before - or I can tell you about myself and my family, and you can accept or reject what you hear as you choose. It is up to you.”

“Erase…what do you mean?” Garreth asked weakly.

Sofu kissed the top of his baby’s head. “My people, who are known as Kami, have certain magical abilities,” he began. “One of the things I can do is go into your mind and remove the memories that will trouble you. You will forget that you ever saw my pregnant son, or that you heard any of the things that I have just told you. And you will not be harmed by my actions, I promise you. It is an easy out for you, Agent Cooper. And it is your choice.” He waited to see what the man would say.

Garreth’s brows lowered, as his brain started to work again and he turned over Sofu’s offer in his head. Finally, he said slowly: “Let me get this straight – you want to take my memories of this last twenty minutes or so? And I’ll never remember anything of what I saw or heard here?”

“That is correct,” Sofu replied with a touch of sadness in his voice. Humans could be so inflexible sometimes….

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Garreth replied firmly, taking him by surprise. “All people are are our memories. If I let you take mine, even a few of them, you make me a lesser man.”

Sofu gave him a look of respect. He should have known that any man who could attract and keep Jill’s attention and affections would have to be far more than a normal man. “Very well. Then let me tell you about our people, so that you can understand what you saw today,” Sofu began to speak, telling Garreth a bit about the history and biology of Kami. The human listened attentively, now that he’d recovered somewhat from his shock. It was hard to tell what he thought of this recitation, but when Sofu was finally done, he sighed and shrugged.

“I’d think that you were nuttier than a Stuckey’s log,” he said, rather puzzling Sofu, “Except that I saw that guy you call your son. And if he wasn’t pregnant, then I’m a monkey’s uncle. This is all really weird and improbable, but…”

“But, yes,” Sofu agreed. “It is also true. For example, did you think that we all wore heavy make-up when you saw us last?” he asked.

Garreth nodded. “Yeah, of course. I mean…” he waved a hand at Sofu, who smiled slightly.

“Indeed. But what parent would cover their young child in make-up?” he swiped a finger down his baby’s cheek, making Fox babble at him, and pat him with one small hand. Then the Kami ran a fingertip over the boy’s lips and showed its pristine white surface to the F.B.I. Agent. “It is not lipstick,” he said, “As you can see. It is simply a Kami’s natural coloring. And these,” he lifted his son’s tiny hand and showed Garreth the long, dark nails. “These are natural, as well. He was born with them. And one last thing…” he used one of his own long nails to make a cut in his wrist. He showed the human the red blood trickling down his wrist. Then he wiped the blood away, and Garreth could see that the cut was gone completely. “As I told you, we heal very rapidly,” he said.

“Yeah,” Garreth shook his head. “Unless I’ve gone suddenly and completely crazy, I really have to believe you. This is so weird. And you say that Jill has known about this for some time?”

“Yes. I suspect she guessed about my grandson long before his bond mate Leon Orcot did. She is a very perceptive and open-minded human. I am pleased that she is a friend of my family. She helped me to realize that not all humans are evil or stupid or blind. And now you know about us, as well. What will you do, Agent Cooper? You seem to care a great deal about Jill. Will you be able to accept her friends, even the otherworldly ones?” he gazed steadily at the human’s face as he asked this.

“Well, I really have no choice, do I? Jill really likes you guys; it wouldn’t be fair to ask her to stay away from you. And I don’t have the right to do that, anyway. You’re important to her – and if I want to be important to her, as well, I guess I’ll have to just accept all of this even if I feel like I’ve drunk an entire bottle of Everclear in one sitting.”

Sofu looked pleased. But before he could say any more, the front door jingled and then Jill herself pushed through the beads. Lord D had called her to warn her that her boyfriend had unexpectedly dropped by the shop, and had gotten an eyeful. She looked anxious. “Garreth, are you okay?” she asked him as she entered the room.

His face softened out of its tense lines as he smiled faintly at her. “I don’t know about that just yet,” he replied dryly. “You’ve got some really strange friends here, Jill. Weirder by far even than I thought when I met them at that picnic.”

“I know,” she said. “But are you…”

He held out a hand to her. “It’s all right. Mr. Sofu here was just telling me all about his people, and he gave me pretty good proof that he’s not just a nut job. I’ll be able to handle it, I guess,” he added as he drew her down to sit beside him on the couch. “In time. Right now I’m sort of out of it…”

She hugged him from the side. “I don’t blame you. Nobody should have to get all of this dumped on them at once. I’m sorry, Garreth. But why did you come here in the first place?” she asked in puzzlement.

He stroked her hair, and then seemed to recall himself. “Actually, I came here to talk to your friends about helping me out. This came into the office…” he fished out the fax and handed it to her. “I was going to ask them to keep an eye out for this guy, or at least ask around if they could. This shop is in the middle of Chinatown, and I figured that they might be able to give me some leads.”

Jill scanned the document as Sofu stared at her curiously. “Oh,” she said. “And you think this guy is in Chinatown?”

“It makes sense if he’s still in L.A.,” Garreth remarked. “He has contacts here in Chinatown, people who can help him lay low until he does whatever it is he came to the States to do. And as you know, Jill, the people in Chinatown are notorious for keeping their mouths closed, and not talking to the cops. But then I thought about those guys you know, who lived right in the middle of Chinatown and who owned that pet shop…”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Sofu? Do you think you can help him?” she carried the fax over and handed it to him across the coffee table.

The Kami took it and perused it. “Hmm. This man Liu Shen Wei sounds like a very nasty human. I’m afraid that I have no connections per se here in Chinatown that could help. But…” he went on as Garreth began to look rather glum. They both concentrated on the elder Kami as he stroked his fingertips over Maoh’s glossy hair thoughtfully. “Perhaps there is someone else who can. Jill, would you go into the back and fetch Chun Lian for me? He might be able to help you even if I cannot.”

She rose to her feet again. “Okay. I’ll be back in a minute,” she told her boyfriend, leaving quickly.

He glanced at Sofu. “Chun Lian? One of your grandsons, you said? How can he help if you can’t?”

“We shall see,” Sofu replied enigmatically. “Let us just say that my grandson has ‘connections’ in this place that I do not…” his golden eyes gleamed with amusement, which puzzled Garreth.

Jill returned, with another Kami in tow. Chun Lian’s purple-and-gold eyes sought out his grandfather’s. “What is this about, Grandfather? Jill told me that you needed me,” he added.

“Yes. Child, Agent Cooper knows about us now, as he walked in while your father was taking tea. He, of course, couldn’t miss the evidence of how we are different than humans…”

“Ahh,” Chun Lian replied, looking faintly amused. “But what has that to do with me?”

“His original intentions for coming here are because the F.B.I. is seeking a dangerous criminal. He hoped that we would have connections here in Chinatown that would help him find this man,” he handed the fax to Chun Lian, who read it.

“I see,” he remarked after a moment. “And you are implying that I have those connections, are you not, Grandfather?” he asked as he looked up at his elder relative.

Sofu nodded. “Yes. Could you not ask Kazuhari-san about this man?”

Chun Lian shook his head. “No. He has gone back to Japan for six weeks on business. Besides, he and his people are not exactly welcome here in Chinatown. But there is one other person I could ask,” he went on, making them all look at him.

“Who?” Sofu asked.

“A man named Eddie Chang. He is the head of another tong sect, and one who owes me a debt. I will not go into details here,” he added, not wanting to tell them that Eddie owed him a favor because he’d talked his lover Kazuhari Seiichi into releasing the tong leader’s kidnapped wife, whom the yakuza boss had taken to get concessions from Chang, “But I can ask him if he knows anything about the whereabouts of this man. Especially since they are most likely from rival sects. I will go and speak to him tomorrow, and if I learn anything I will be sure to convey it you, Agent Cooper.”

Garreth looked grateful that his wild trip down here had not been for nothing. “Thanks. I…umm…think I’ll go now…” he got to his feet hurriedly, and Jill stepped to his side.

“I’ll go with you to your office,” she said. “Then I’ll head back to work.”

“Thanks,” he said, taking her hand.

She smiled at the Kamis. “See you later, guys,” she said as she left with her boyfriend.

Chun Lian looked at his grandfather. “So, it’s been a far more exciting afternoon than you expected, eh, Grandfather?” he remarked.

Sofu sighed. “Yes. But all in all it worked out better than I expected it to.” He glanced down at his son, whose tiny head was jerking as he fell asleep against his parent’s shoulder. “I’ll just put Maoh down and we can start dinner,” he remarked to his grandchild. Chun Lian nodded.

As they left the sitting room together, Sofu glanced at his oldest grandson. “You did not tell me that Kazuhari-san had gone back to Japan,” he remarked quietly.

Chun Lian shrugged. “It isn’t that important. Although I admit I do rather miss him in my bed,” he went on dryly.

“And nowhere else?” The older Kami asked shrewdly.

“Where else would I miss him? He’s a good lover - and that’s about all I can say about him.”

Sofu tssked. “I think that you exaggerate, child,” he said rather severely. “I don’t believe that you feel nothing for a human whose bed you have shared for a full six months. That might be a record for you, mightn’t it?”

“I said he was a good lover,” Chun Lian replied coolly. “Why should I not keep someone around who pleases me in bed?”

Sofu gave him an exasperated look. “Honestly, child,” he commented. “While I do not expect you to wear your heart on your sleeve, it would be nice if you showed a little more of what you are feeling once in awhile.”

Chun Lian lifted a brow as he opened the bedroom door for his grandfather so that Sofu could carry Maoh over to his cradle and lay him down in it. “And who says that I feel anything for him? Besides lust, that is?”

Sofu pulled a blanket over the sleeping baby and caressing his cheek before straightening up again. He turned to look at his grandson, and his golden eyes were steady as they met slightly shuttered purple-and-gold ones. “You may pretend all you like around others, child,” he said softly. “But I know you too well. Never forget that.”

Chun Lian returned him stare-for-stare, but after a moment slowly nodded. “I will not, Grandfather,” he replied tersely. “You may be sure of that.”

Chapter Text

Lord D came to the door of his father’s room in time to see his son and his parent staring at each other intensely. He hesitated, wondering if he should say anything to break up the atmosphere. But at last Chun Lian stirred and sighed. “I will go and help D to finish taking care of the animals,” he remarked. He turned to his parent, who was watching him rather anxiously. He smiled slightly to reassure the pregnant Kami.

“Grandfather is just putting Maoh down,” he told Lord D. “And Jill departed with Garreth, who seems to have recovered a bit from his shock. Don’t worry, Father,” he said, touching the older Kami’s arm. “Everything is well,” he took himself off without another word, as Sofu came to the door of his bedroom to look at his son.

“What was that about, Father?” Lord D asked, as one hand cradled his belly protectively.

Sofu shook his head. “I was merely attempting to get Chun Lian to admit that he might have more feelings for his lover than just simple desire. He is very reluctant to make such a concession,” he added with a shrug.

“Oh. That is understandable, Father,” Lord D said. When his parent looked questioningly at him, he spread his hands out in front of him. “It is his first time being in love,” Lord D explained. “Can you remember what that’s like? It’s never easy, but it’s even less easy for someone like Chun Lian. Being a solitary creature, it disturbs him to even think about the fact that he might need or want someone else. He is afraid,” Lord D went on. “Something I can understand very well. Stephen frightened me very much when I first met him. I just KNEW that he was going to change my life profoundly and for good. And I was right,” he added with a contented smile, one of his slim hands patting his bulging belly tenderly.

Sofu smiled as well. “I believe that you are right, my son,” he noted. “In that case, I will not interfere. I will simply let nature take its course. And whatever happens, happens,” he added enigmatically.

When Lord D gave him a puzzled look, the elder Kami hesitated. Then he said slowly: “I have a theory about our mating bonds,” he began. “Has it ever occurred to you, my son, that it is extremely odd that we all found bondmates so close together? Especially since I had gone over ten thousand years without one, and you were so damaged mentally and emotionally that it does not seem that it should have been possible for you to mate with anyone. And yet, within the space of two years, we all bonded to humans living in this city. That should be impossible.”

Lord D’s brows knit. “You’re right,” he said. “I never thought about it, Father, but you are correct. You say you have a theory as to why this happened?”

Sofu nodded. “Our bondings are rare,” he said thoughtfully. “But it occurred to me that one of the reasons that they ARE so rare is because when it happens to one of us, it is usually in solitary circumstances.”

Lord D looked bewildered. “I don’t understand,” he replied.

Sofu’s golden eyes were shuttered as he followed his thoughts to their conclusion. “What I mean is that of all the bonds that I know of, none have taken place where there are more than one – or if the bond mate is another Kami – two of our people in close proximity to one another. And yet when your youngest son bonded with Leon Orcot, I was living with him. During that intense beginning of their bond, in which the two of them were putting off waves of energy of a very high rate of vibration, I was there. And I believe that it affected me, made me more open to bonding myself. In other words...I’m beginning to believe that – at least at first - our mating bond is…contagious.”

Lord D’s narrow brows shot up. “That is a…startling theory, Father,” he remarked.

Sofu nodded. “But it does explain a great deal. You showed up at the shop after your son had passed his ‘contagious’ stage, but I myself had only been bonded to Daniel for a few months. Therefore, I acted upon you, making you more open to both bonding and finding a person who was a suitable bondmate for you. There is more than one potential bondmate for each Kami, but we bond with the first one who shows up when we’re vulnerable to forming that bond. And if my theory is correct, your oldest son has been subjected to you and Stephen’s bond for over six months now. You both should pass out of the ‘contagious’ stage soon, so if Chun Lian’s body is preparing to form a bond, it will do so within the next few weeks or months. That is one of the reasons why I pushed him over his feelings for Kazuhari-san – if the Japanese man is a potential mate, then Chun Lian will begin to feel the pressing demands of the bond very soon.”

Lord D gaped at him. “Oh! And if he is not?” the Kami asked. “What then?”

“Then Chun Lian may not form a bond at all. Or he may bond with someone more suitable, if such a person appears. I cannot know until the symptoms of the bond start to manifest in him – if they do.”

“I see,” his son said. “What you say makes sense, Father. It really is straining credibility that it was just a coincidence that the three of us formed mating bonds within a period of two years of each other. Especially when both you and I had gone without them for centuries.”

“Indeed,” Sofu agreed. “But for now all we can do is keep an eye on Chun Lian, to see if he will fall ‘victim’ to this ‘malady’.” He grinned. “I must admit to being very interested in seeing my grandson succumb to this inevitable condition. To have something occur to him that he cannot control or deny? It should be fascinating.”

Lord D couldn’t help but smile as well. “Yes, I agree,” He said. “Especially since he will find, like the rest of us, that this bond is the best thing that has ever happened to him – even if it happens with someone like Kazuhari-san,” his voice didn’t hold any distaste, but was simply neutral.

Sofu’s lips twitched. “Someone like Kazuhari-san may be the only kind of person that could hold onto our wild Chun Lian,” he replied.

Lord D nodded. “Yes. This should be very interesting, Father, if you’re right,” he added.

Sofu’s golden eyes gleamed. “We can but wait and see,” he noted.

Stephen Caldwell wandered into the pet shop later in the afternoon. He was feeling more than a bit tired, as he’d just come from a backbreaking landscaping job. He’d planted dozens of trees, and digging the holes had made even his somewhat callused hands ache. His body was tired and he had dirt on his clothes and under his fingernails. All he wanted was a bath and to hold his beautiful mate. His raven Buddy sidled along his shoulder, nibbling at his human’s short sandy-brown hair (Lord D had talked him into letting the hair dye fade back to his natural color). He croaked lovingly, making the human chuckle a bit as he reached up to run his fingers along the black bird’s breastbone.

His mate appeared from the back, the gorgeous purple eyes lighting up at the sight of him. “Hello, Stephen. My, you look tired,” the Kami said in concern.

“Yeah,” he said. “I had a hard job today and I’m just about beat. I really need a bath and a nap.”

“Come along then and let me draw you a bath,” the Kami replied, walking up and taking his mate’s arm. Stephen put a hand at the slender being’s waist. They went together down the hallway toward their bedroom. “We had a bit of excitement today,” the Kami remarked.

“Huh? What kind?” Stephen asked idly.

“Agent Cooper came today to talk to us and he walked into the sitting room and saw me. Then he 'freaked out’ as you humans say, because he knew I was a male and yet I am so obviously pregnant. So Father told him about us and he handled surprisingly well. Father offered to wipe his memories, but he refused. I’m very glad that Jill has someone so open-minded.”

“Yeah,” Stephen agreed. “Wow. It would really freak ME out if I weren’t prepared to see something like this,” he patted the bulge of their child tenderly with his free hand, making Lord D smile.

“No, it would not. You saw that my father was pregnant, yet it didn’t faze you much at all. You just made that joke about baby showers,” the Kami pointed out.

“Oh, yeah. It was pretty weird that this guy was pregnant, I gotta admit. But I figured it was just par for the course where Spirits are concerned. You guys aren’t quite like humans in a lot of ways. The fact that you live for thousands of years for one. Or that you never age. Which makes me laugh, since I look older than you and you’re…what? About five thousand years old or so?”

“A little over, yes,” Lord D replied.

“See, that’s weird. And the fact that you guys all look like you wear make-up. You could be Chinese cross dressers rather than Spirits,” Stephen teased.

“Humph. Here and I thought that you found me to be attractive this way,” Lord D said, eyeing him.

The tall young human laughed as he hugged his mate close. “I don’t think you’re attractive,” he said, making the Kami give him a narrow-eyed look, “I find you to be stunningly beautiful. Gorgeous. Amazing. And a lot of other adjectives as well,” he added as they went into their room together.

Lord D shook his head. He went into the bathroom that adjoined the bedroom to start a hot bath for his tired mate. But internally he was quite pleased by the admiration in Stephen’s voice. His mate adored him and thought him the most exquisite thing ever born. It was good for one’s ego to be considered so by someone you loved. He turned the water on as hot as Stephen could stand it, and then added some exotically scented bath salts that the young human had taken a liking to. He heard Stephen taking off his clothes in the bedroom, moving slowly because he was so tired. The Kami smiled a little to himself as he reached up to begin removing his own cheongsam and the undersheath as well. Lastly he stepped out of his slim silk pants and the embroidered slippers on his feet, and then padded naked into the next room.

Stephen looked up when he entered the bedroom, and those teal blue eyes lit up at the sight of the naked Kami. His eyes devoured all of that porcelain beauty, lingering on the little mound of Lord D’s belly. He walked over and knelt down so that he could press his face against it, his hands cradling the curve of the mound lovingly. “Hey, Sprout, how are you today?” he asked the baby, as Lord D touched the top of his head gently.

“He is very well, Stephen,” the Kami said. “Come and See,” he drew his mate down into his womb so that Stephen could See their child. The baby was already well-formed and would begin moving any day now. He knew that his human was eager for that event to take place. He had to admit that he was excited by the thought as well. “Come and get into the bath, Stephen,” he remarked to his mate. “You can have a good long soak so that your muscles relax. Then I will give you a massage.”

“You shouldn’t do that,” the human chided. He got to his feet, towering over his tiny mate. “You’re pregnant.”

The Kami laughed. “You make it sound like I have a deadly disease,” he said in
amusement. “I am with child, not ill. Come along now,” he towed his amiable giant into the bathroom like a tugboat guiding an ocean liner. Stephen looked amused but let his mate get him settled into the bath. The water was just the right temperature, and he settled back in it with a happy sigh. Buddy flew into the room and perched on the towel rack. Lord D sat on the edge of the tub, handing his mate a sponge to clean himself with. He wouldn’t get into the bath just yet, as the water was a little too warm for the baby. When it had cooled a bit he’d join his mate in the tub so that they could soak together.

Stephen began to scrub himself to clean the dirt and sweat off of his body. “Ahh, I love this time of the day,” he remarked happily.

Lord D laughed softly. “I enjoy it as well,” he agreed.

Stephen gave him a decidedly lustful look, because once they’d both soaked in the tub they often retired to the bedroom to couple together rather frantically. Lord D’s hormones were in overdrive because of his pregnancy, and he often worked his mate long and hard in the evenings. But he’d try to be gentler today since Stephen was already pretty tired. Exhausting his mate completely would mean that he would have to go without sex for a few days while the human recovered his stamina and energy. And he wouldn’t like that, not at all…

A hand settled on his knee and rubbed at it. “The water’s a bit cooler,” Stephen said enticingly. “Come on in, babe.”

Lord D stepped gracefully into the tub and settled himself into his favorite position between Stephen’s long legs. His back rested against the human’s chest and a pair of long arms came around to close over his slender form possessively. Stephen’s chin came to rest on his glossy head. He sighed in pleasure as his hands cupped Lord D’s belly and rubbed over it. “Do you think that he knows when we’re…ummm…doing it together?” the Kami heard his mate ask after a moment.

He chuckled. “I sincerely doubt it, Stephen. Although being YOUR child, I’m sure that he’s very intelligent already. And very silly as well,” he teased.

Stephen humphed in mock outrage. “Sheesh! What a thing to say about our Sprout,” he remarked.

Lord D shook his head. “I can say it about you, but not your child?” he asked.

“That’s right. Heck, I know I’m silly. But he’s not gonna be,” he patted the mound of Lord D’s belly tenderly.

“I see. But Stephen, I rather enjoy your silliness. Perhaps I wouldn’t mind having a child who was a bit silly.” The Kami replied simply.

“Oh. Well, I guess it’d be okay if he were a bit silly then. But only a bit,” he added.

A soft laugh. “Better he be silly than anxious like I am,” the Kami said dryly.

Arms tightened around him. “Hey, babe, don’t be denigrating yourself like that,” Stephen chided him. "You have good reasons to be anxious. And look at it this way – even if he turns out to be that way, you’ll always know how it feels so you won’t look down on him.”

The Kami blinked. “I never thought about it that way,” he said. “But you’re right.”

Stephen kissed the top of his head. “Of course I am,” he replied smugly, making the Kami roll his eyes even as he smiled.

Chapter Text

Chun Lian frowned to himself, as he walked into his bedroom after finishing in the back. His grandfather’s words were taunting him, and no matter how much he tried to push them away, they would not be banished. Uneasiness ran through him. He sat down on his bed, his fingers moving to pull his braid forward over his shoulder, so that he could fiddle with it. He often did this when he was thinking hard about something. Lord D would have instantly recognized this little habit, and would have wondered just what his son was contemplating with such seriousness.

He was thinking about Kazuhari Seiichi, his human lover. The yakuza boss had some qualities that had drawn Chun Lian to him in the first place – he was strong, sexy, and surprisingly intelligent. Also, he had an edge of violence to him that for some reason really got the Kami off. But were any of those qualities enough to make him interesting to Chun Lian for any length of time? That was the question that was disturbing him greatly at the moment. Sofu’s words had pointed out to him that he’d been with Kazuhari now for over six months – a miraculous thing in his long life, as none of his other lovers had lasted for more than a few months. Why was he still with the yakuza boss? And moreover, why was he still as attracted (at least physically) as ever? He wasn’t considering getting rid of Kazuhari and looking for someone else – and, moreover, if truth be told he rather missed the human now that he was in Japan.

This was not good at all. His uneasiness was blossoming into something resembling panic. The Kami's slender fingers tightened on his braid. He should do it now – cut ties with Kazuhari ruthlessly, get rid of the human, once and for all. But the thing that frightened him the most was that while that might be what he should do, it wasn’t what he wanted to do. What had happened? Why was he so different where this particular lover was concerned? And what should he do now?

The Kami would have paced his room desperately, but he felt too tired and drained to do so. Of late he had not been feeling very well – he was often tired, listless, his appetite minimal. He would have thought that he was ill, except for the fact that Kami never got sick because of their phenomenal healing powers. He’d thought about asking his grandfather about this odd malaise, but something inside of him didn’t want to know what Sofu would say. While it infuriated him that he was acting in such a cowardly fashion, he just couldn’t bring himself to speak to Sofu about his condition.

He closed his eyes, his body slumping. Weariness lashed through him. Chun Lian decided to take a nap, and hopefully shake off some of this tiredness. He lay down on the bed without bothering to remove his clothing, sighing as he stretched out. Behind his closed eyes, he was seeing the strongly handsome face of his human lover. The pewter eyes seemed to be boring into his very soul. That face accompanied him into sleep, and his dreams were troubled.

He awoke covered in sweat, sitting up quickly. The Kami groaned at the pain stabbing through his abdomen when he did so. Chun Lian curled forward over himself, his slender hands grabbing his stomach. This was new…these pains hadn’t appeared before this. He groaned, his mouth twisting. Much as he hated to admit it, he would have to talk to his grandfather about this. He could barely move, but somehow he crawled off of his bed, and staggered toward the door. Agony lanced through his mid-section, and he bent over as he crab-walked toward the door. His breath panted in his chest, and his vision was blurring. What was wrong with him? He gritted his teeth, as he managed to make it through the door, and moved toward the front of the shop slowly.

“Brother!” he heard a shocked voice exclaim. He lifted his head and saw D’s concerned face as the other Kami hurried toward him. “What’s wrong?” the younger Kami cried as he leaned over Chun Lian.

“I don’t…know,” his brother rasped, still clutching at his abdomen.

D caught him by one shoulder, and used his supernatural strength to help his brother stagger to the sitting room. “Your stomach hurts?” he asked worriedly.

Chun Lian nodded slightly. “Although ‘hurts’ does not begin to cover this amount of pain,” he groaned.

“Oh my,” something in his brother’s voice made Chun Lian lift his head a bit to peer at D’s profile. The younger Kami looked startled but not shocked.

“What is it?” he rasped hoarsely. “D? Do you know what this is?”

“Yes,” the other Kami replied. “Come, brother; you need to talk to Grandfather NOW,” he practically dragged his sibling into the sitting room, without giving him time to protest or demand answers.

Inside the room he saw that Sofu was occupying one of the couches with his mate Daniel White Horse. Maoh was being bounced on his father’s knee, and was squealing happily. Lord D was sitting with his own mate Stephen Caldwell on the other one, the young human’s arm around the Kami’s shoulders. His raven Buddy was perched on the back of the couch. All of them looked up, startled, as D half-dragged his wilting brother into the room. “Child!” Sofu exclaimed, rising swiftly to his feet. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“He has pains in his abdomen, Grandfather,” D said significantly to the older Kami, who gasped.

“Child, have you felt ill before this? Tired, sluggish?” he caught up Chun Lian’s slim hands in his own, and met the purple and gold gaze, “Tell me! Have you? And for how long?”

“A while now,” Chun Lian replied, wavering in D’s grasp.

“Oh, Child, why didn’t you tell me?!” Sofu cried, catching him up on the other side and helping him to one of the couches. “Make him some of that tea that I made for you,” he said to D, who nodded and hurried out of the sitting room.

“What’s going on?” Stephen asked in bewilderment.

Sofu replied as he eased Chun Lian back on one of the couches. “He is in the last stages of a Bonding,” he told Stephen, who gasped.

“Huh? But Lord D never did that!” he said, waving a hand at the panting Kami.

“That is because my son’s bonding with you was a bit abnormal,” Sofu explained as he rested a hand on Chun Lian’s forehead. Hot. He groaned a bit himself, in worry. “And you accepted it before it got this far, anyway,” he added to Stephen.

“Oh,” Stephen took his mate’s hand, for Lord D was trembling with worry. The Kami clung to him, as Sofu slapped his grandson’s cheek lightly.

“Chun Lian! Listen to me! I need to know where I can contact Kazuhari-san! This is important! If you do not tell me, you will die!”

Startled gold-rimmed eyes flickered open and focused on him. “Die? What?” he said weakly.

“You are in the last stages of a mating bond,” Sofu hissed, his gold eyes boring into Chun Lian’s. “Your body is beginning to consume itself, because the bond has not formed. I need to speak to Kazuhari-san NOW.”

“Oh,” the younger Kami breathed. “I…there is a number…in the bedside table…in my room. It is his cell phone number,” he managed to say, weakly.

“I’ll get it,” Daniel said, getting to his feet. He set Maoh on his hip and hurried out of the room.

“Father?” Lord D said, the fear in his voice reaching his parent.

He turned to look over his shoulder at his son. “We only have a few days,” he told Lord D. “It was so with your youngest son, as well. He wasted away in but a short time, as his body refused nourishment of any kind, once the thwarted bond began to assert itself. We need to contact Kazuhari-san, and tell him everything. And we need to hope,” he added with a harsh sigh, “That he cares enough for your son to be willing to go along with this bond.”

Far away in Japan, Kazuhari Seiichi’s cell phone rang. The yakuza boss picked it up off his desk, and smiled slightly when he saw that the call was from the United States. While his business associates sometimes called him, he knew that this one was from his Kami lover. This was rare; Chun Lian seldom called him when he was away on business. He flipped the phone open and spoke into it. “Moshi-Moshi, this is Kazuhari,” he rumbled.

“Kazuhari-san,” a voice that sounded somewhat like Chun Lian’s said out of the phone. “This is Sofu D, Chun Lian’s grandfather. Surely he had told you something about me?”

“Aaa,” Kazuhari replied, for the Kami was speaking Japanese. “Why have you called me, Kami-sama? Is there something wrong?” he asked, worry creeping into his tones.

“Yes,” that voice replied somberly. “I’m afraid that my grandson is…dying, Kazuhari-san.”

“Dying!” yelped the yakuza boss in disbelief. “How can he be dying?! I thought that you spirits lived for thousands of years!”

“Yes, we do,” Sofu D replied. “But perhaps he has told you of our mating bonds?”

“He did,” Kazuhari replied. “But what does that have to do…” he trailed off for a moment, then went on: “Is it a bond? Between myself and him? Is that it?”

Startled silence on the other end, indicating that he’d shocked the Kami with his razor-sharp observation. “Yes, it is,” Sofu replied. “He didn’t tell me about the fact that he was beginning to suffer the symptoms of a forming bond, so it has reached a crisis stage now. If you do not bond with him, and willingly, in the next few days, he will die. Believe me when I say this, Kazuhari-san. My youngest grandson nearly succumbed to it when his bond was thwarted. He faded away in only three days, and would have died if the person he was meant to mate with hadn’t accepted it at the last moment.”

“I see,” Kazuhari replied. He was silent for a moment, and could almost hear the anxiety on the other end of the phone. Then he said: “I will schedule a flight to LAX as soon as possible, Kami-sama.”

“Wonderful,” the Kami sighed, relief reverberating in his voice. At any other time it would have made Kazuhari laugh a little. But now he merely hung up his phone and barked: “Genji! Get in here!” when the big man appeared in the doorway, he growled: “I’m going back to Los Angeles on unexpected but urgent business. Pack some of my things and have them ready to go. I’m calling the airport now,” he picked up the handset of the phone on his desk, and when his man hesitated rapped out: “Do it! And do not ask any questions! Now!”

His command made the big man disappear from the doorway. Kazuhari cursed under his breath, as he called the airport to make arrangements to fly to L.A. Damn that stupid creature! Irritating, frustrating Kami. If he could have he would have broken off their relationship months ago. Chun Lian was just so impossible! But something about the Kami had prevented him from doing so. Some attraction so strong that it could not be denied. Perhaps this was it, this mating bond. He frowned at this thought, but the truth was that he couldn’t simply walk away, and let Chun Lian die. Which meant he’d be driven crazy by the creature for centuries, if the Kami was to be believed…he sighed, but there was nothing to be done but accept it.

Sofu hung up the phone and turned to his waiting son. “He is coming,” he told Lord D, and the younger Kami sagged into Stephen’s embrace in relief.

“Oh, Father,” he choked.

“I know,” Sofu replied. “Our task now is to keep him alive until Kazuhari-san arrives.” He added.

Lord D lifted his chin. “We will,” he declared with that strength of spirit that he seldom showed but was always there under the surface. “We will.”

Chun Lian came back to himself an indeterminate time later. He felt horribly weak, and his body was burning. His eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds as he lifted them. He saw that his father was sitting beside his bed, watching over him.

“Welcome back, my son,” Lord D said softly to him.

Chun Lian stirred and then moaned as pain shot through him. “Wha…” he said in a hoarse voice.

Lord D picked up a cup of tea and bent over him. He helped Chun Lian to sip at it. “Drink as much as you can, it will help with the abdominal cramps,” The older Kami told him.

“What is…happening, Father?” Chun Lian asked when he’d managed to choke down some of the tea.

Lord D sat back down in his chair. “You are suffering from a thwarted mating bond,” he told his son gravely. “With Kazuhari-san. Your body has been adjusting to mating with him for several months now. I can only presume that he has felt it, too, but only the beginning phase, because he left for Japan almost two months ago. So it has been only your body that has been going through the strongest of the changes, preparing you to bond with him. If only you had told Father what you were experiencing!” he cried, anxiety resonating in his voice.

“Yes. I’m sorry, Father,” Chun Lian replied weakly. “I just had no idea…that this was the precursor…to a mating bond.”

“I know.” Lord D caught up one of his hands and held it.

“Am I…going to…die, Father?” the younger Kami asked quietly.

“I hope not,” Lord D replied. “If Kazuhari-san can get back here in time…”

“He’s coming?” Chun Lian said in astonishment.

“Yes. Father called him and told him of your condition. He said that he would fly back here right away.”

“Amazing,” Chun Lian closed his eyes. He would never have imagined that the yakuza boss would go through with someone as intense and permanent as a Kami mating bond. It looked as though he had completely underestimated his lover. And the man would probably never let him forget that fact either.

“He is sleeping again,” Lord D told his father when Sofu entered Chun Lian’s room.

“That is just as well,” the older Kami said. “He will not eat, and all the time he’s awake he’ll be in pain. It is best that he sleeps for now.”

“Do you really believe that Kazuhari-san will arrive in time, Father?” Lord D asked tightly.

The older Kami rested his hand on his son’s shoulder. “Yes,” he replied. “And you must as well. Have faith, my son.”

“It is…hard,” Lord D replied wearily.

“I know. The universe has not been kind to you at times. But we must still believe,” Sofu said quietly.

There was a tense atmosphere in the shop. It was the second day, and the Kamis were becoming grim. Their human mates felt powerless to help or console them, and that made it even worse. Especially since they still had to go to work and school, although the Kamis had closed the shop for the last few days. It wasn’t easy to do your job when you kept getting waves of anxiety and fear from your mate. So when he arrived home that second day, Leon was feeling all out-of-sorts and extremely tense. As he got out of his car wearily, he saw another car driving swiftly down the street. It was black, with tinted windows. As he stared, it screeched up to the curb, and disgorged a large Japanese man in a dark suit with a grim expression on his face. He dashed toward the shop, pushing the door open and disappearing inside. Leon shuddered faintly, and leaned against his car for a moment. “Thank God,” he breathed. “Thank God.”

Chapter Text

Chun Lian floated in a place without time. He rather liked it here; he thought he’d stay, rather than returning to that other world. The one where he was in constant pain, as his body revolted against him because of something he hadn’t done…he couldn’t remember what, anymore. Nor did he care. This place was good enough for him. He’d stay here. He drifted along, not thinking about anything, just happy to float…then he heard a distant sound. His interest was pricked a bit. He tried to concentrate on that sound, although not very hard. Hmm. Voices? Someone speaking very far away? No, more than one someone. And the loudest and most insistent of them all was saying something very sharply.

He would have continued to ignore those voices, in spite of their familiarity, if he hadn’t felt a painful sting from somewhere far away. That voice roared out, as though someone were screaming in the ear of his physical body: “Kami-sama! Wake up, you wretched creature, or I will beat you!”

Annoyed now, Chun Lian turned toward that pain and the voice. He was irritated enough that he wanted to be able to yell at whoever was disturbing him. Besides, he had distant memories of being infuriated by whoever this was yelling at him. He swam determinedly back into his body, his purple-and-gold eyes slowly flickering open, so that he could glare feebly up at the big man bending over his bed. “Really, Seiichi, do you have to yell?” he croaked. “And did you HIT me just now?!”

The yakuza boss glowered down at him. “Yes, I did,” he snapped. “I had to rouse you.” He bent over even more, his pewter eyes boring into the Kami’s. “You are going to bond with me now, Kami-sama.” He barked.

Chun Lian frowned resentfully at him, despite the fact that he was aware that his body was weak and in pain because of a thwarted bond between himself and this human. “What if I don’t want to?” he said petulantly.

Kazuhari sighed. “Then you will die,” he said flatly. “Choose your destiny, Kami-sama. Bond with me, or die.”

“Neither of those are very good choices,” Chun Lian sniped, making the yakuza boss shake his head in disgust.

“I came all the way from Japan as fast as I possibly could,” he remarked to the air, “To save you. And you’re still treating me like this. Perhaps I should just go back there, and forget about you. I’ll burn incense for your soul, Kami-sama,” he remarked, starting to turn away from the bed.

“Wait,” much as he hated to say it, much as it choked him to do so, Chun Lian didn’t want to die. Moreover, no matter how many times he poked at and tormented Kazuhari Seiichi, the human had somehow become important to him. While he did not want to share his life so intimately with anyone, if he had no choice(and he did not, in this case), he realized that spending those centuries with this exasperating, overbearing man somehow didn’t seem such a bad proposition at all.

Kazuhari turned back to him and waited, with his arms folded over his chest. The Kami struggled against his own nature, and finally said as politely as he could: “I can stand being bonded to you, Seiichi,” he told the human.

A delicate snort. “How romantic,” the yakuza boss commented dryly. “Still, that’s the best I can expect from you. Very well,” he leaned over and caught a hold of Chun Lian’s pointed chin. He looked deep into the gold-rimmed eyes. “Bond with me, Kami-sama. Let’s get it over with,” he added in resignation.

The Kami made a sound of disgust in the back of his throat, but tried to concentrate on bonding with the human. But nothing happened. He frowned faintly. “Why isn’t it happening?” he remarked to the air.

“I think it’s because you’re not accepting Kazuhari-san, Child,” he heard Sofu’s light voice chide from somewhere nearby. “You must be prepared to bond with him, just as much as he accepts it. If you cannot…” his voice turned ominous.

Chun Lian sighed. To accept this bond was to bind himself to this human for the rest of his long life. He, who had always been a solitary creature, could barely contemplate such a fate. It wasn’t easy to open himself, to choose to accept something that went so much against his nature. But he really had no choice at all. If he wanted to live he had to give in. Being stubborn in this case would get him nothing but death. So he sighed and closed his eyes, trying to open himself to the bond which wanted to form between himself and Kazuhari.

At first it seemed that nothing was going to happen at all. Then he felt an upwelling of something enormous, and his eyes flew open as he gasped. Tendrils of energy shot from his too-thin body, and surged upward into Kazuhari’s. The yakuza boss made a low sound, as his body stiffened and the cords in his neck stood out. The Kami’s back arched, as an audible snap rang in his ears, and he knew that it was done. He fell back on the bed, panting, and his eyes wide from that amazingly powerful thing that had just happened between them.

Suddenly he felt wonderful. All of the pain was gone, as was the weakness that had plagued him. Energy roiled inside of him, and it felt like his body was glowing with it. Moreover - he could see Kazuhari’s very soul, a darkly powerful, burning light that was what he imagined that it would look like if velvet could burn without being reduced to ashes. Emotions that were not his flowed into him. Cool, powerful emotions, that washed over him like deep water flowing. He panted a bit, looking up into those pewter eyes, knowing now without pretense just how the human felt about him. And he knew that the yakuza boss could now feel just how HE felt about Kazuhari in return. There would be no more hiding behind sarcasm, teasing, or outright lies. He felt exposed in a way that he never had been before, his soul laid bare before this man’s intense gaze.

Those sensual lips turned up very slightly. “Kami-sama,” he said softly, and his tone of voice was faintly caressing. But also rather triumphant, and Chun Lian felt irritation spurt through him.

“Don’t think,” he said lowly in return, “That this means that I’m going to bow to you, Seiichi."

A shake of the head. “Of course not,” the yakuza boss replied dryly. “I would never expect that from you. But you cannot blame me for enjoying this,” he made a subtle movement of his fingers, and Chun Lian knew exactly what he was talking about. He glowered, but the human’s smile only widened a bit. Oh, he was going to get Kazuhari for this!

“Child,” he heard Sofu’s voice again, and realized that his three relatives were standing nearby, looking pleased and relieved. “We’ll go and get you something to eat,” Sofu said, touching his son’s arm. Lord D shook himself out of his delighted haze and nodded. D smiled at his brother, before leaving with his father and grandfather discreetly. Silence fell for a moment when they found themselves alone together, as the Kami became suddenly interested in the covers laying over his legs.

He felt a weight on the bed beside him. Fingers curled around his chin again, and he found himself gazing into those pewter eyes once more. “This is a strange thing, Kami-sama,” the yakuza boss remarked to him. “But I find that I rather like it. Perhaps living so many centuries with you will not be so bad, after all.”

Chun Lian snorted. “Says you,” he replied, making the human laugh.

“Yes, I do,” he said, before he leaned forward and covered the Kami’s mouth with his own.

The kiss started out soft, but didn’t stay that way. Lust surged up inside of both of them, as the bond made its mating imperative known to them sharply. Kazuhari grabbed a hold of Chun Lian’s long braid and feasted on his mouth, fairly growling in the back of his throat as he plundered its sweetness. Chun Lian was giving as good as he got, and the desire they both felt was echoed inside of each of them, as the human and the Kami tried to climb into each other. Throwing his slim arms around Kazuhari, Chun Lian climbed into his lap, and straddled him as they continued to kiss wildly. He rubbed himself against the hardness he felt at the human’s groin, and heard a groan, and a felt a surge of lust at the same time. He shuddered, needing the other man inside of him NOW. His hands went to Kazuhari’s belt buckle and fumbled at it, as the human slid his cheongsam up to his waist and pulled at the silk pants until he was nearly tearing the fabric.

Chun Lian finally managed to free his new mate’s erection from its confinement. He stroked it, and took in the moan the human emitted into his own mouth. Then Kazuhari’s deft fingers were freeing him from his pants as well, pushing them down to his thighs before he groped at Chun Lian’s ass. The Kami swayed over him, making small sounds of desire, and then cried out into the yakuza boss’s mouth as a finger rubbed insistently over his anus.

He pushed backward, not caring that the finger was going in dry. But Kazuhari yanked his hair to pull his head back, and when Chun Lian glared at him the human merely smirked and lifted his hand to the Kami’s red mouth. He felt a desire to bite those fingers, but he knew if he did that then he wouldn’t get what he needed so desperately. So he growled, silently promising retribution later, and took in two of Kazuhari’s fingers to suck at them. He coated them with saliva, his tongue licking over them teasingly, as the human groaned and finally pulled them free. He quickly reached down to shove one into Chun Lian, and the Kami gasped and moved backward to get more. He wasn’t interested in fingers anyway – he wanted more! He bucked up and down demandingly. One of his hands curled over the human’s cock and squeezed almost hard enough to cause pain. Kazuhari made a low sound and shoved his finger into the Kami’s slender body even deeper.

“Seiichi, fuck me now,” Chun Lian snarled before biting the human’s ear sharply with his small white teeth.

Kazuhari was very happy to comply. But he was going to protest the lack of lube if Chun Lian hadn’t slid off of his lap and closed that red mouth over him, instead. The Kami did for his cock what he’d already done to the yakuza boss’s fingers, coating it with saliva as he drove down into it. Kazuhari cried out hoarsely at the feel of the mouth on him – and the weird sensation of experiencing the Kami’s desire and satisfaction at the same time. He grabbed at his mate’s waist, as Chun Lian came back onto his lap in a sinuous movement. The Kami used one hand to grab him and position him just where the lovely being wanted him, then he began to sink down. His head went back, showing the arch of that long white neck, as he was breeched. Kazuhari groaned at both the feel of the tightness closing over him, and also the mingled pain and pleasure of penetration. He, who had never yearned after the position of uke, began to experience the peculiar pleasure of it, as Chun Lian took him into his body. His hands tightened on the silk of the Kami’s cheongsam, as the delicious creature began to ride him with short, sharp movements.

He leaned forward and began to bite at that column of a neck, leaving marks along its length. He let the Kami set the pace of their pleasure, and their cries filled the room as they coupled in the savage, swift manner dictated by the newly formed bond between them. As a mouth closed over his ear, Chun Lian picked up his rising and falling in Kazuhari’s lap. Oh, yes! He remembered this – what it was like being the seme, to drive into a tight body and make that other person cry out in ecstasy from his cock. But at the same time he was being filled by that thick hardness, and it was striking that special place inside of him on each downward push. He jinked his hips from side-to-side, and then rocked forward and backward. He heard his human groan against his neck, and the hands at his waist spasmed. “Oh, Gods!” he cried, feeling unstoppable ecstasy rushing through him as he rose toward his climax, spurred on by the feel of Kazuhari’s approaching orgasm as well.

His hands grabbed at Kazuhari’s shoulders to hold onto something, and his nails dug into the man’s flesh through the fabric of his coat and shirt both. The human gasped at the pain and it drove him over the edge. Chun Lian heard a sound rising from his throat that he never had before – a scream of pure pleasure, torn from him without any say on his part. He shuddered in the yakuza boss’s lap, coming and coming and coming…for an eternity it seemed. And he could feel the human’s orgasm as well, rushing through him to double his pleasure. The intensity of it was almost too much for him, and he wilted over Kazuhari’s body and sat unmoving while his chest heaved with his wild attempts for breath. His head came to rest on the human’s broad shoulder and he could feel Kazuhari’s own panting as neither of them moved at all.

“Kami-sama,” the human croaked in wonder. “Is that…typical?”

“I don’t know,” he replied languidly, "Since this is my first bond,” he added in amusement. He heard a huff of sound under him, and shrugged slightly. “I can only presume that it is typical, seeing the way my father, brother and grandfather look each morning when they emerge from their bedrooms after a night spent with their mates.”

“I see. So perhaps going through this bond was worthwhile for me after all,” the yakuza boss remarked thoughtfully.

Chun Lian reared back and gave him the look such a statement deserved. The human’s lips twitched and his hand caressed the Kami’s waist a bit. “I have never enjoyed anything more in my entire life,” he went on.

The Kami had to agree, although he wasn’t going to say it aloud. But before he had to formulate something sarcastic to say, there was a discrete knock at the door. “Child?” Sofu called through it. “I have some food for you.”

Chun Lian scrambled off of Kazuhari’s lap and began to put himself to rights. He was starving, his too-thin body demanding nutrients. Especially after that short but intense bout of sex he and his mate had just gone through together. The yakuza boss got himself back into his pants, and when they were both ‘decent’ Chun Lian called: “Please come in,
Grandfather.”

The door swung open and Sofu walked in followed by Lord D. The elder Kami carried a tray full of sweets, the sight of which made his grandson’s eyes light up. Both his father and grandfather looked faintly amused but understanding when they saw how disheveled both the younger Kami and the human looked. Sofu set the tray on Chun Lian’s lap, and he tore into the food without too many manners at the moment. He was so hungry that he felt hollow. Kazuhari looked from him to the older Kamis, and Sofu explained to him softly: “He needs nourishment. He did not eat for almost two days, and we wither away quickly if we do not eat rich enough foods.”

The yakuza boss looked at his new mate, seeing how thin Chun Lian was under his cheongsam. “He will be well now?” he asked with a touch of anxiety in his voice.

Sofu nodded, looking pleased by his concern. “Yes. Now that your bond is established, as long as he eats every few hours he will regain the weight he lost within a week. You are most welcome to stay here with him, Kazuhari-san, now that you are his mate,” he added.

The yakuza boss thought about this offer, and then remarked: “I will stay until he is back to his former self, then I will decide. But thank you for your hospitality, Kami-sama,” he went on to Sofu.

“You are most welcome, Kazuhari-san,” Sofu glanced at his grandson, who was still devouring the food on the tray down to the past crumb. “And thank you as well,” he added with true gratitude in his voice.

Chapter Text

Sofu walked into the sitting room, finding himself under several sets of anxious eyes. He smiled serenely. “Chun Lian has bonded,” he told the humans and D. There was a long sigh of relief, from many throats.

“He’s gonna be all right?” Chris said softly. He’d recently started talking aloud again, much to his family’s delight.

“Yes,” Sofu replied with a smile for the blonde boy. “He will be very well, I think.”

“So, this guy he’s bonded with,” Leon said rather suspiciously from his place beside D on one of the couches. “Who is he?”

Sofu’s lips twitched, as he joined his own mate and child on the other couch. “He is a Japanese businessman, Leon,” he said.

The detective snorted. “Suuurree he is,” Leon replied dryly. “Funny business, I’ll bet,” he muttered, making D give him a puzzled look.

Daniel chuckled. “What Leon means is that if that guy isn’t a yakuza, we will be very, very surprised.”

Lord D entered the room just then, hearing the tail end of this statement. He looked rather anxiously at his father, his face plainly saying that he worried what two police officers would think of his son mating with a yakuza. Sofu merely smiled reassuringly at him, and replied calmly: “You are quite correct, Leon. Kazuhari-san is, indeed, a yakuza. He is, in fact, the head of an entire clan or organization. A very powerful man.”

“Yeah, and a highly criminal one,” the blonde said scornfully.

Sofu cocked his head to the side. “For the longest time you thought that about your own mate,” he pointed out, making the detective rather scowl at him. “And besides, if my understanding of yakuza are correct, they are only somewhat criminal. They have many legitimate businesses in Japan, unlike your Mafia in this country. And it would surprise me very much if Kazuhari-san is wanted, either in this country, or in Japan, either.”

“That’s just because he hasn’t ever gotten caught,” Leon replied grumpily.

D touched his knee gently. “Leon, does it matter? Would you be able to arrest Chun Lian’s mate even if he WERE wanted? Could you really do that?” he asked anxiously.

Leon looked at his mate, and then sighed as he threaded his fingers through D’s slim ones. “No, of course not,” he said. “You know that I wouldn’t do that, D, honey. I‘m just not sure how happy I am about all of this.”

“I can understand your qualms, Leon,” Sofu said. “Which is why Chun Lian has never told you much about Kazuhari-san, since he knew you would not react well. But now that they are mated…” his shoulders lifted under his cheongsam.

Daniel put an arm around him, while holding Maou in the crook of his other one. “Don’t sweat it, Sof,” he said. “Leon’ll get used to the idea. It’ll just take him some time,” he teased, glancing at his fellow human. “Because we all know how resistant he is to change.”

“Oh, ha ha,” the detective replied. “Very funny. Just because it doesn’t bother you that Chun Lian is mated to a criminal…”

“One,” Daniel replied calmly, “We have no proof that he’s a criminal. As Sof said, I’ll bet he’s not wanted in either country. Two, this has nothing to do with what he is, and everything to do with the fact that he’s now Chun Lian’s mate. We have to accept him if we can, for Chun Lian’s sake. Fighting with the guy will only cause tension and stress around here. And do we need any more of that?” he asked, reminding the blonde of the things they’d all gone through in the last few years.

Leon had to concede that he was right. “Fine,” he said grumpily. “I won’t start anything.”

“Thank you, Leon,” D said gratefully, moving in for a kiss. The detective was thoroughly distracted, so he didn’t see the beads part, and Kazuhari appear in the doorway.

Until Sofu said: “Hello, Kazuhari-san. How is Chun Lian?”

“Sleeping,” the yakuza boss rumbled. “I thought it wise to let him do so.”

“Indeed,” Sofu said. “Please come in and let me introduce you. Kazuhari Seiichi, this is my mate Commander Daniel White Horse, my grandson Count D, his mate Detective Leon Orcot, Leon’s brother Christopher Orcot, and T-chan.” His finger moved to each person as he made the introductions.

“Hello,” Kazuhari said gravely. His English was very good, Leon noted; he barely mangled the L sounds at all. “It is good to meet you all. Chun Lian has told me much about all of you.”

“He never mentioned you, however,” Leon said rather snarkily.

The Japanese man’s lips twitched a bit. “This does not surprise me. Kami-sama told me that two of you were policemen. He thought it politic not to mention me to you.”

“Because you’re yakuza?” the blonde went on, making Sofu sigh. So much for not fighting with Kazuhari...

But to his surprise, the yakuza boss merely shrugged. “Yes, that is correct,” he replied, making Leon blink. “I never hide what I am,” he added in explanation. “That would mean that I was ashamed of my affiliation with my clan. That is not so.”

“Huh,” Leon said thoughtfully, eyeing him. “How’d you and Chun Lian meet, anyway?” he asked.

Kazuhari’s mouth quirked up on one side. “That is an odd story…” he began, but just then he was interrupted by the entrance of an energetic giant into the room.

“Hey, guys, how’s Chun Lian?” Stephen asked anxiously. “Is he okay? Hi!” he went on as he saw the yakuza boss. “Hey, you’re the guy that Sofu called! And you’re here…” the wheels obviously turned in his head, and he grinned sunnily at Kazuhari. “So you got here in time! Man am I glad!” he said fervently. Then he bowed slightly, and to everyone’s astonishment he said something to Kazuhari in Japanese. The bigger man looked startled, then pleased. He replied to whatever Stephen had said smoothly. The younger man’s grin widened. “Cool,” he remarked in English.

Becoming aware that everyone was staring at him, Stephen looked rather sheepish and rubbed the back of his neck. “I did not know that you spoke Japanese, Stephen,” Lord D said as he got slowly to his feet to go and greet his mate.

“Oh, I only speak a bit,” the human replied.

“Is that so?” Lord D said. “I thought the question you asked him about whether he has a traditional Japanese garden at home to be a rather complex one in the language.”

Stephen smiled, as he pulled his pregnant mate close. “I’m not at all surprised that YOU speak Japanese, babe,” he said as he bent down to kiss Lord D’s red lips tenderly. His hands rubbed over his mate’s rounding belly.

“As you can see, Kazuhari-san, this is my son’s mate,” Sofu remarked in faint amusement. “Kazuhari Seiichi, this is Stephen Caldwell.”

“Hey, nice to meet you,” Stephen said earnestly, as he turned away from Lord D to look at the Japanese man. “Sorry about asking you about your garden right away instead of introducing myself – it’s just that I work as a part-time landscaper, and I just got off of work. So, I have gardens on my mind at the moment.”

“I understand,” the yakuza boss replied, also looking faintly amused. Stephen just had that affect on people. His good-natured enthusiasm was infectious.

“Why don’t we all sit down and have some tea?” Sofu said firmly. “And we can talk. Get to know one another better, since Kazuhari-san will be staying here at least until Chun Lian feels well again,” he went on with a Look at all of the people in the room. He seldom showed his patriarchal tendencies, but at the moment he was making it clear who was the oldest and most powerful creature in the room. Even Leon felt the affect of that stare; he squirmed a bit on the couch under it, feeling like a misbehaving schoolboy.

Everyone got settled, Stephen cuddling his mate happily. Kazuhari opted for one of the single chairs, looking rather imperious himself as he sat back in it. The man exuded power, Leon thought. And Chun Lian was mated to this guy? That said something about the Kami. He accepted a cup of tea from D’s hand, sipping at it as he continued to eye Kazuhari rather warily over the rim. Everyone was making small talk, since the atmosphere in the shop was still a bit uncomfortable at the moment. It was weird to try to accept a complete stranger into their midst – and a criminal at that. It helped that Kazuhari himself was calm and collected, not reacting to the tension in the air at all. He was polite to his fellow humans, slightly deferential to the Kamis, and kind to Chris when the boy ventured to actually say something to him. Finally, Sofu rose to his feet. “We must begin to prepare dinner,” he remarked.

“I’ll help,” Daniel replied promptly, getting to his feet with Maou in his arms.

“And I’ve gotta take a bath. I kinda stink,” Stephen said with grimace as he got to his feet. Lord D went with him to ‘help’, which everyone understood to mean that he and his mate would indulge in one or more bouts of ‘afternoon delight’. Kazuhari also got up from his chair.

“I will go and check on Chun Lian,” he said.

“Come to the kitchen first and get some food for him, Kazuhari-san,” Sofu said as he bustled away with D to start dinner. “He has to eat every few hours.”

“Very well,” the Japanese man walked out after them, leaving Leon with his brother and T-chan in the sitting room. Leon sighed as he sat back on the couch, and frowned at the far wall. He still wasn’t totally happy about this Kazuhari guy, although there was nothing he could do about it. He certainly wasn’t going to try to arrest Chun Lian’s mate, or turn him over to the FBI, either. It’s just that his cop instincts were squalling at him to DO something, and he didn’t like having to ignore them. Still…he ran a hand over his hair. He’d turned a blind eye to his mate’s activities over the years; he no longer asked questions about the creatures that were sold out of the back room of the shop. He’d just have to learn to do the same with Chun Lian’s mate, will he or nil he.

Kazuhari carried a tray of food into Chun Lian‘s room. The beautiful creature was still asleep, one hand curled near his porcelain cheek. He was exquisite when he slept - far more so than when he was awake, and kept opening his mouth to say cutting, derisive, or teasing things to the Japanese man at every opportunity. Not that he wasn’t getting used to that…and he liked how spirited (both literally and figuratively) that Chun Lian was. He certainly hadn’t been used to anyone either defying him, or tormenting him without fear, until he’d met the Kami. His life had been far more interesting since the day his men had brought him a lovely Chinese ‘woman’ by mistake. More irritating, too, but you couldn’t have everything…

He sighed and took the tray over to the bed. He set it on the table and bent down to lightly tickle one small ear with his finger. Chun Lian grumbled in his sleep, and swatted at the finger. Kazuhari’s pewter eyes gleamed as he then ran his finger along the sensitive rim of the Kami’s ear, making the Spirit jerk and come awake. The vivid purple-and-gold eyes flew open, and he blinked as he took in who was leaning over him. Then he glowered at his mate. “I should have known,” he growled. “There is no fly as annoying as you, Seiichi.”

The yakuza boss chuckled. “Indeed,” he agreed. “But it's time for you to eat, Kami-sama. Your grandfather sent a tray in with me,” he waved a hand at the food.

Those amazing eyes lot up from within, glowing in a manner that ignited a hunger in the Japanese man that had nothing to do with food. “Give it here,” Chun Lian said, sitting up as he made grabbing motions with his hands.

Kazuhari picked up the tray and positioned it over his lap. The quicker that Chun Lian ate, the faster that they could indulge that other hunger of his. He settled down beside the Kami as Chun Lian began to devour the food on the tray like a starving wolf. “Your family is quite interesting, Kami-sama,” he remarked after a short while of silence.

Chun Lian looked up at him through those long, thick lashes of his. “Hmm? And what do they think of YOU?” he asked dryly.

The yakuza boss’s lips lifted slightly at the corners. “I think that they do not know quite what to make of me. It does not help that Detective Orcot would love to arrest me, I think.”

“Yes,” Chun Lian agreed. “Which is why I never told him about you before this. He is a very enthusiastic officer,” he added.

Kazuhari stared at him. “And what do you think about what I am, Kami-sama?” he asked curiously.

Chun Lian snorted inelegantly as he chewed on a bite of pastry. “I think that you’re a savage,” he replied acerbically. “But as for your criminal tendencies - I couldn’t care less,” he replied. “Human laws do not apply to my people, after all. So I have no reason to follow them, or care about who breaks them.”

Kazuhari shook his head. “You are arrogant, Kami-sama,” he said.

The purple-and-gold eyes flashed to his. “As if you’re NOT?” Chun Lian said.

“Hmm. Perhaps that explains why we have been drawn together. We are much alike, whether we would admit it or no,” the yakuza boss said meditatively.

“Huh. And perhaps that’s why we annoy each other so, as well. No one wants to see a reflection of themselves right in front of them all the time,” Chun Lian remarked dryly.

“Well, it seems that we must stay in front of each other all the time now, whether or not we wish to,” Kazuhari replied.

“Yes. The Gods are cruel,” the Kami noted sardonically.

“Indeed they are. If they had not been my men would have found and taken Li Yan Chang without incident, rather than snatching a person that they thought was her off the streets of Chinatown,” the yakuza boss said drolly. “And my life would only be dangerous right now, instead of completely irritating,” but his tone of voice belied his words, and his eyes had a look in them as he stared at Chun Lian that made the Kami’s stomach muscles flutter and tighten. And the emotions that flowed through him from their newly-formed bond rather took his breath away. Much as he might not have wanted to admit it, he couldn’t help but see that he loved this man. When or where that had happened he had no clue – it seemed to have crept up on him without his noticing. Ah, well. He had no choice now but to accept it. Although for some reason that wasn’t much of a hardship at all…

Chapter Text

A few days after his successful bonding Chun Lian remembered his promise to Garreth Cooper. Now that he was feeling better, the Kami decided to keep that promise at last. He went to see Eddie Chang, although he disgruntled his new mate by pointing out dryly that it wouldn’t be wise for Kazuhari to accompany him to speak with a rival of the yakuza boss’s. While he accepted this fact(reluctantly), Kazuhari insisted on driving him to the Chinese tong leader’s office because he didn’t want Chun Lian to make the long walk on foot. It amused the Kami that the Japanese man was still treating him as though he were fragile, even though he was perfectly healthy now that he had bonded(although still a bit thin). To be pampered by someone like Kazuhari was rather hysterical. So Chun Lian went along with it for now, trying not to laugh at his new mate outright.

He stepped out of the black car and made his way to the door of the building that housed Eddie Chang’s office. It was clear that the man who opened the door remembered him, but the tong member stared suspiciously at the car with the tinted windows idling at the curb. “I must speak with Mr. Chang,” Chun Lian told him patiently. “It is important. Please remind him, if you would, that he owes me a favor.”

The man went to talk to his leader while the Kami waited on the doorstep. When he returned the Chinese man beckoned the Kami inside. He went after the human to the door of Eddie Chang’s office. It was open and the tong leader rose from behind his desk to greet Chun Lian with enthusiasm. He had never forgotten the fact that the spirit had gotten his wife released when Kazuhari had been holding her hostage. He bowed deeply to Chun Lian. “Please sit down,” he said. “And tell me what it is you need.”

Chun Lian sat gracefully in a chair and crossed one leg over the other. He set his hands in his lap. “I have come to ask you about a man who might be a rival tong leader,” he said. “He just arrived from China recently and his name is Liu Shen Wei. What can you tell me about him?”

Eddie Chang had stiffened, his face going blank. “How do you know that name?” he hissed.

Chun Lian lifted a brow. “Is that important?” he asked politely. “I simply need to know what you can tell me about him.”

Eddie Chang shook his head. “Please, whatever you do, do not get involved with that man,” he told the Kami urgently. “He is very, very dangerous. Even other tongs are afraid of him and his men. He is a violent, savage animal, capable of any kind of atrocity. I have no idea what he’s doing in this country, and I’ll be happy when he leaves. Very, very happy. All of us will breathe a sigh of relief when he departs back to China.”

“I see,” Chun Lian remarked thoughtfully. “And you have no idea of his whereabouts here in Chinatown either?”

Eddie Chang shook his head. “No, nor do I want to try to find out. I know that I owe you for what you did for me and my wife, but I don’t want to repay you like this.”

The Kami could see that the tong leader was genuinely afraid of this Liu Shen Wei. He got to his feet. “Very well, then. I will not ask it of you, as the matter is not that important. Thank you for seeing me today,” he smiled slightly at the look of gratitude that flashed over the human’s face.

“Please come again if you need anything from me,” he said fervently. “I am still in your debt.”

The Kami shrugged. “As you wish. I will take my leave now. Goodbye, Mr. Chang,” he left the tong leader’s office, walking back outside to the car that waited for him.

“Did he tell you anything?” Kazuhari asked when he had gotten back into the car. The Kami shook his head.

“Not very much. Certainly nothing that Agent Copper can use. He just said that this Liu Shen Wei is a very dangerous, violent man who is to be avoided at all costs. He has no idea of this man’s whereabouts or his plans here in America.”

Kazuhari frowned. “That is not good. This man must be very dangerous if rival tongs are keeping an eye on him. I wonder what he is actually doing in this country?”

“I have no idea,” Chun Lian replied. “And I doubt we’ll ever know.”

But he was wrong. Sofu was behind the counter in the shop the next day, keeping one eye on the baby in the very useful device that Daniel had bought that was called a ‘play pen’. It rather amused him that humans caged their young like animals, but it was a very useful thing to corral a child that was starting to crawl about. He looked up when the bell over the door rang, signaling a customer. A Chinese man walked into the shop, looking around with a pair of eyes that reminded Sofu of a serpent’s - flat, cold, and somewhat inhuman. All of his danger signals began to ring, and he watched this human warily as the man approached the counter.

“May I help you?” he said politely to the Chinese man.

A face that could have been carved from rough wood, all planes and angles, swung toward him. “I hope so,” the man replied in Chinese. “Are you the man called Sofu D?”

Sofu stiffened slightly. “Perhaps,” he conceded. “And might I ask who you are?”

“I am Liu Shen Wei,” the man said, making the Kami start a bit. He remembered this man’s name from Garreth Cooper’s report and moreover what Chun Lian had told him that Eddie Chang had said about this person. His golden eyes narrowed slightly.

“Why are you looking for Sofu D?” he asked coolly, folding his hands on the countertop while looking completely calm and unruffled.

“I was directed to him by an old woman in China. She said that he might know the whereabouts of a certain place that I very much wish to find,” the Chinese man said, looking the tiny spirit over. His eyes were frightening; the Kami didn’t think that he’d ever seen a more dangerous-looking human in his long life.

“Which place might this be?” he asked.

The Chinese man shook his head. “I will only talk to this Sofu D,” he said harshly. “If you are not he, then go and get him for me.”

Sofu’s red lips tightened. “I am Sofu D,” he said.

Liu Shen Wei’s eyes narrowed in satisfaction. “Very well. The place I wish to find is said to be a myth – but I know that it exists. I want to know the location of the Well of Eternity.”

The Kami stiffened further, his face closing into a porcelain mask. “I see,” he said in arctic tones. “And what makes you think that I would know its location?”

“The old woman said that you would. And since I held the lives of her entire family in my hands, I do not believe that she was lying to me,” the tong leader hissed. He leaned over the counter, his face nearly in Sofu’s. “You will tell me how to find it,” he said. “Or the consequences to you will be dire.”

“Threatening me is not wise,” the Kami replied calmly. “It is not wise at all. I would recommend that you leave now and never return to this shop. I will never tell you the location of the Well of Eternity. There is no possibility that I will do that.”

Anger rose up in the human’s face. His eyes burned with it. “Everyone has a lever,” he remarked in a deceptively casual tone of voice. “I’m sure that there is some way that I could ‘persuade’ you to tell me.”

Sofu shook his head. “Absolutely not. Do not be a fool. Leave now if you value your life.”

Liu Shen Wei reared back. “Are you threatening me?” he asked, his face a mask of rage. One cheek ticked a bit under those savage eyes.

Sofu lifted his shoulders. “Why would I do that? I have no need to threaten you, do I, Liu Shen Wei?” his golden eyes, full of the power of a Kami, met the tong leader’s fearlessly and directly. “I am simply giving you some advice. Leave and do not return. It would be wisest.”

The human squared his shoulders slowly. “I see,” he said, his voice flat. “So there is no way that I could convince you to tell me, eh?”

“None whatsoever,” Sofu replied implacably.

“Yes. I’m sorry for having taken up your time then, Sofu D,” the Chinese man said before he turned on his heel and strode out of the shop. Sofu stared after his retreating back, the Kami’s hands curling into fists on the countertop. He was absolutely sure that he hadn’t seen the last of this man Liu Shen Wei.

A raging Liu Shen Wei strode into the building that housed many of his men. He picked up a chair and hurled it at the wall, making it splinter into fragments as the gathered tong members flinched at their leader’s anger. “He dared not only to defy me, he THREATENED me?!” Liu Shen Wei screamed at them. “That is intolerable! He will be forced to tell me what I want to know. And I will make sure that he suffers at the same time!”

“What do you want us to do?” one of his men asked.

Liu Shen Wei whirled on him. “Watch that shop,” he hissed. “Mingle with the crowds, appear to be nothing more than harmless citizens of Chinatown. See who comes, who goes, who lives there. Find out everything. And one more thing,” his eyes narrowed, “There was a baby on the floor of the shop, a baby who strongly resembled that man Sofu D. I especially want to know if that child is his and who its mother is. Find that out for me –or do not come back,” he added menacingly.

“Yes, Sir!” the men cried and scattered. When Liu Shen Wei was in this kind of mood, it was best to stay out of his way entirely.

The tong leader took a deep breath. His rage subsided only a bit, enough that he wasn’t feeling quite as psychotic at the moment. He would find the Well, he would not be stopped in his quest – and no one and nothing was going to stand in his way. As this creature Sofu D would discover to his detriment if he continued to refuse to give Liu Shen Wei the location of the Well of Eternity…

Leon found his family in a tizzy when he returned home from work that night. When he walked into the sitting room he found Sofu pacing while being watched by his children and mate with concern. The eldest Kami was muttering a little to himself and he looked extremely agitated. “What’s going on?” the blonde whispered to D as he went over to his mate.

“Leon. Grandfather was visited by a particularly dangerous tong leader today! The man threatened him after he refused to tell this human something that he wanted to know.”

Leon’s brows shot up. “Who is this guy? And what did he want to know?” he asked.

D shook his head. “We know that his name is Liu Shen Wei, but Chun Lian wasn’t able to find anything else about him from another tong leader. And Grandfather has refused to tell us what he wanted so far.”

Leon looked around, but it was clear that nobody else wanted to approach the eldest Kami when he was in this mood. The blonde decided to take the bull by the horns. “Granddad! What did this guy want to know?” he said loudly, making everybody flinch.

Sofu whirled around to glare at Leon. But the detective stood his ground, even though he wanted to cringe under that golden gaze. But at last the Kami sighed and lifted his shoulders. “He wished to know the location of a certain place, Leon,” he said coolly.

“What place?” the blonde asked as everyone gazed at Sofu.

The eldest Kami took a deep breath. “He wanted to know where the Well of Eternity is,” he replied.

“The what?” Leon asked. All of the humans in the room looked puzzled, as did the two youngest Kamis. Lord D turned rather pale, however, and made a low sound like a moan. “What is the Well of Eternity?” Leon demanded.

Sofu looked at him. “I believe that you humans had a legend of the fountain of youth,” he said. “One of your explorers came here looking for it in fact.”

“Yeah, Ponce De Leon came to Florida looking for a fountain of youth that was said to be there,” Stephen said from beside Lord D.

“To drink from this fountain’s waters was to become immortal,” Sofu went on crisply.

“Yeah, so?” Leon said. “What’s the connection?”

The eldest Kami sighed and shook his head. “Do you not see? There IS a fountain of youth on this planet, Leon. Only it is not a fountain at all, it is a well – the Well of Eternity. To drink from its waters grants a person eternal life.”

Shocked silence as Leon gaped at him. “You have got to be shitting me!” he yelped.

“I very much wish that I were,” Sofu replied acerbically. “Unfortunately I am not. This Well does exist – and I am one of the few people who knows of its whereabouts. But I vowed to never tell anyone where it is – least of all such a dangerous, violent human as this Liu Shen Wei. Can you imagine such a person gaining eternal life? I believe that the phrase ‘Hell on Earth’ would be appropriate to describe the outcome of such a thing.”

“Is that why you guys live so long? Because you drank from this Well?” Stephen asked in fascination.

Sofu shook his head. “No. There is no way that I could be persuaded to drink from its waters. Our lives are long by your human standards, but we DO die. And I prefer to keep it that way. I can imagine no worse torture than to be able to live forever. Moreover, to gain immortality is to lose touch with the cycles of life completely. For one thing those who live forever have no need for replacements. If I were immortal I would not have had my children.”

“Oh,” Stephen said. “That makes sense. But how come you know where it is if you never want to drink from it?”

“I was made one of its Guardians long ago,” Sofu replied. “For exactly that reason. All of the Guardians of the Well have vowed to never drink from it or reveal its location. It is a dangerous temptation, especially to humans whose lives are so short. They do not think through the consequences of their actions. They know only that they do not wish to die. When I was made a Guardian, part of my vow included an oath that I would never reveal its location no matter what. And I will keep that vow...come what may.”

Chapter Text

“And you say that this Liu She Wei contacted you?!” Garreth Cooper yelped, staring at Sofu in disbelief.

The Kami nodded, shifting Maou in his arms. The baby was squirming energetically. “He came here yesterday. I cannot tell you why he wished to talk to me,” he added, “For it was a personal matter. But I will say that he may have threatened me and my family.”

The FBI agent frowned. “That’s not good,” he replied seriously. “This guy is dangerous. Are you sure you can’t tell me what he wanted from you?”

Sofu shook his head. “I’m afraid that I can’t. But I did inform my family, as I thought it wise for them to know the danger they might be in. And as both Daniel and Leon are police officers…”

“Yes, that will help,” Garreth conceded. “But I’m still not happy about this. If you could give me a good reason, I could have an FBI detail guarding you 24/7.”

“Agent Cooper, I doubt that I could give you a reason that your superiors would believe,” the Kami replied wryly.

Garreth sighed. “Well, thanks for the heads up, anyway,” he said. “And I don’t think that I need to tell you to be careful.”

“No, you do not need to tell me that,” Sofu agreed. “And I shall be wary, I assure you.”

“Okay. If you see Liu Shen Wei again, call my office. We can arrest him for illegally being in this country.”

“I will not hesitate to do so,” the Kami replied. “You have my word on that.”

After the FBI agent had departed the shop, Sofu sat on the couch feeding Maou. His fingers stroked his tiny son’s hair as the baby sucked at his breast. He was worried enough about the threat that this Chinese tong leader represented that he’d done something he wouldn’t normally have done, calling in Jill’s boyfriend to tell him of this situation. He knew that the FBI were on the look-out for this man, after all; they might be able to take care of him before he could do anything to Sofu or his family. The Kami was willing to do anything necessary to protect those he loved. Anything at all.

Men wandered casually past a certain pet shop in Chinatown, their eyes carefully watching the place. They were all dressed as normal citizens, and they never stayed for long. Nor did the same men walk past more than once or twice a day, so that the inhabitants of the shop would not realize who might be watching them. But Liu Shen Wei’s entire tong was keeping an eye on the pet shop, seeing who came and went, and taking pictures with digital cameras and picture phones of every person who entered the shop. It didn’t take them long to realize who actually lived there, versus customers – and even the mob knew how to use computers. Soon they knew the names of the four men who seemed to live with the four nearly identical spirits at the shop. And they also had several pictures of the infant that Liu Shen Wei had seen that first day.

Liu Shen Wei stood in a room, while his men reported their findings to him. He was looking at a screen, where crystal-clear pictures of the inhabitants of the shop were being projected. “This is Detective Leon Orcot, an L.A. homicide detective,” one of his men said. “He seems to live with the one who has the shortest hair of this group,” he added, switching to a picture of one of the Kamis. “The one with a gold eye and a purple one, as well.”

The tong leader nodded. He hadn’t told his men that these nearly identical ‘men’ were actually spirits. They just seemed to think that the Kamis were brothers. “The one with the longest hair seems to be with this Japanese man – Kazuhari Seiichi. He is the leader of an influential yakuza group.”

Liu Shen Wei looked surprised. “An American police officer and a yakuza boss? That’s an odd combination.”

“It gets odder, Boss,” the man replied. “For the person we believe to be living with this Sofu D is this man,” the picture changed once more, to a stocky man with short cut dark hair. “This man is Commander Daniel White Horse, leader of a SWAT team for the LAPD. So there are not one, but two policemen living in the same shop as a yakuza leader.”

“So this is the man who lives with Sofu D,” Liu Shen Wei said, staring hard at Daniel’s face. “There is something…” he began. “What about that baby I saw? Who is its mother?”

“We do not know,” his man replied, shaking his head. “There don’t appear to be any women living at this shop, at all. Perhaps the baby belongs to a relative?”

“Perhaps,” Liu Shen Wei replied. He was looking at a photo of the baby being held in the arms of Sofu D. “Can you blow this picture up?” he said abruptly, an odd tone in his voice. “I want to see something.”

The tong member hurried to do just that. He enhanced the digital photo until it was huge. The tong leader stared at it, his eyes narrowed. What had caught his attention?

Then he looked at the baby’s eyes and gasped. That was it! The enormous orbs were not golden, like the spirit who held him. They were a brown-gold instead, amber-colored. “Go back to that picture of this Daniel White Horse!” he barked, and the picture changed.

Liu Shen Wei stared at the photo and then a cold smile slid over his lips. He was staring at the SWAT leader’s eyes. Amber eyes, the same color as the baby’s. While his men might not understand, he did. Sofu D was a spirit, after all; not a human being. The laws that governed the nature of human beings did not apply to him. So, while a human man could not have had a baby, obviously he could. And had with this human male. Here, here was his leverage to make Sofu D tell him the location of the Well of Eternity. This human male, and the baby, were the things he could use to make the Kami tell him what he needed to know.

“I want you to put out a rumor that I have left the country,” he remarked. “Then have Cho go back to China in my place, as he is the one who looks most like me. After that, we’ll wait a few days before making our move. I want them to become complacent, to believe that I have departed and that they are safe.”

“Yes, Boss,” his man replied. “Everything will be done as you say.”

“Excellent,” Liu Shen Wei replied, not looking away from the picture on the screen. A cold, savage smile spread over his lips.

“Eddie Chang sent word to me that Liu Shen Wei left for China yesterday, Grandfather,” Chun Lian told the older Kami. “He was seen boarding a ship. I wonder why he left?”

Sofu frowned. It was evening, and all the members of his family were gathered in the sitting room together. “Odd,” he remarked. “It does not seem possible that he has actually left. Not when he wishes to know the location of the Well. He did not strike me as a human who would give up once he’d decided to do something. And since I know where the Well is…” he trailed off as a thought occurred to him. “Perhaps,” he said as they all looked at him, “It is because he has located another of the Guardians. One of them DOES live in China after all. Oh, dear. I shall have to send her a warning to keep on the look-out for Liu Shen Wei.”

“He might be back,” Daniel noted thoughtfully. “If he can’t find this other Guardian, or she won’t tell him where the Well is either. We’ll still have to be careful.”

“I agree,” Leon said. “A guy this dangerous and persistent isn’t just going to give up.”

“I shall ask Eddie Chang to keep an eye out for him should he return,” Chun Lian said.

“And I will have my men do the same,” Kazuhari said from beside his mate. “We will know very quickly if he tries to reenter the country.”

Sofu felt relief at the news that the tong leader had left the country. While he was aware that Liu Shen Wei might return, for now he could relax a bit. He had not liked his family being in danger because of him and his oath to never tell anyone the location of the Well of Eternity.

Sofu sent a message to the Chinese Guardian that evening, informing her that she might expect a visit from a nasty and dangerous Chinese man named Liu Shen Wei, very soon. Life returned to normal at the shop, with the Kamis selling both regular pets and the more dangerous variety out of the back of the shop, occasionally. Lord D, now that he did not have to worry for his father and brother’s safety, was back to gliding peacefully through life, as he anticipated the eventual birth of his third child. The Kamis’ human mates were learning to get along, although Leon was still getting used to the yakuza leader’s presence. Chun Lian was also getting used to the idea of having a mate, although he and Kazuhari still rubbed along together like two pieces of sandpaper.

Days passed. On Thursday, which was one of Daniel’s days off, the SWAT commander suggested to his mate that they take the kids somewhere fun, like the beach or the park. The Kami agreed that that would be a good idea, especially since Leon had made sure that Thursdays were one of his days off, as well. Stephen was going to skip his classes for once, and come with them, so they were going to make it a real family outing. Chun Lian had agreed to watch the shop for them, and Kazuhari was going to ‘help’ him. Everyone was really looking forward to the outing, and the Kamis were in the kitchen packing a basketful of food, when Daniel appeared in the doorway with Maoh in his arms.

“Hey, Sof, me and the biddle here are going to walk down the street to that candy shop and snag you guys some treats to take with us,” he informed his mate cheerfully.

“Very well, Daniel. Would you get some of those truffle candies?” Sofu asked hopefully.

Lord D laughed, as Daniel grinned at the puppy dog eyes. “Sure thing,” he replied. “Any other specific requests?” he asked the other Kamis.

“I would like some raspberry chocolate drops,” D said from the refrigerator. “If you would please, Daniel.”

“Gotcha. And you, Lord D? I’m sure that a preggers Kami has to lust after something sweet – especially when I remember how Sofu was, when he was pregnant with Fox, here.”

Lord D thought about it. “I would very much like some praline,” he said. “I seem to be having a craving for it lately.”

“Done,” Daniel replied. “We’ll hit the road, when Maoh and I get back. See you in a bit,” he walked away with the baby gabbling in his arms.

“You have a remarkable mate there, Father,” Lord D noted.

Sofu smiled. “Yes, I do. Although I believe that all of us have gotten lucky in that department.”

“Hah,” Chun Lian snorted. “Maybe you all have, but look what I got stuck with.”

The rest of them laughed at him, which did not improve his mood. It annoyed and irritated him to have to admit, even to himself, that he really liked and also loved his new mate. Even under the pain of torture, there was no way that Chun Lian would ever admit that aloud to anyone else. But the rest of his family could clearly see how he felt, which made him very disgruntled. So he was scowling, not admitting that he was looking forward to spending some quality time alone with Kazuhari, while the rest of them were gone today…

Daniel strolled along the sidewalk toward the candy shop, which fortunately was only a few blocks from the shop. It was one of the places that he and his fellow humans used to keep their mates in sweet things. Maoh rode in the crook of his arm, the baby smiling widely and toothlessly at him whenever Daniel looked at his tiny son. As he often did the SWAT Commander reflected on his amazing luck. To have mated with someone as astonishing and wonderful as Sofu D, and to have gotten a ready-made family in the form of Leon and D…then Lord D had shown up, and that hadn’t turned out as badly as he and Leon had thought it would. Chun Lian had showed up just before Fox was born, and his family had grown again. Now Lord D was going to have a playmate for Maoh. Things couldn’t get any better, not in his opinion. Although, perhaps if Leon and D decided to have a kid, too…But otherwise, everything was great.

In a movie or on t.v. such thoughts would have made the watching audience cringe. It was like a cop talking about retiring, and that it was his last day on the job. Or a man showing off photos of his beautiful family…As though the universe had been waiting for such musings, men came sliding through the crowds cluttering the sidewalks, and converged on Daniel silently. Their eyes weren’t fixed on the adult male – but on the baby he carried in his arms. Before he could realize what was happening, Daniel was surrounded. Hands grabbed at Fox, who screamed as he was pulled out of his father’s arms. “Hey!” Daniel yelled, lunging at the man who’d pulled Maoh away from him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?! Give him back!”

“I don’t think so,” a voice hissed in accented English. Daniel whirled to see a man with a sharply-planed face standing nearby. His eyes were riveted on the gun the Chinese man was holding in one hand. “I’m afraid that you don’t interest me, Officer White Horse,” he said coldly, “Since your son is all I need. Therefore…” he lifted the gun and pointed it at Daniel’s heart.

He reacted instinctively, darting backward and ducking so as to present the smallest target possible. The gun went off, and Daniel grunted as a round took him in the chest. But not through his heart…then two more followed, and he fell to his knees. Blood spilled onto the ground. He was hurt bad, but not as badly as they would assume since they didn’t know about his ability to heal himself. But they had Fox! He couldn’t let them take his son! He could hear the baby screaming still, somewhere nearby. Somehow he forced himself to move, to lunge at the man holding the baby. But his reflexes were slowed from his injuries. He didn’t make it. The gun came down on his head, as that cold voice hissed: “You have courage, but it does not matter. We are taking the baby.” Then darkness crashed over him, and Daniel White Horse knew no more. As unconsciousness took him, his last despairing thought was of his son.

Chapter Text

“Grandfather!” D cried in horror. The younger Kami had turned away from the refrigerator, to see Sofu gasp and fall to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut. His call made the other two Kamis whirl around, as well.

Lord D gasped: “Father!” and knelt down awkwardly next to his parent, taking up one of Sofu’s slim hands in his own. “Father? Can you hear me?” he said urgently.

“What happened?” Chun Lian asked his brother.

D shook his head. “I don’t know. He just fell down like that.”

“He is unconscious,” Lord D said, looking up at his children with distressed eyes.

“That can mean only one thing,” Chun Lian said grimly.

D stared at him. “Daniel!” he gasped in sudden, horrified understanding.

Chun Lian nodded. D ran out the door of the kitchen and bolted for the sitting room. There he found his mate, and Stephen, with Christopher, and T-chan. “Leon!” he cried, pushing through the beads. “Grandfather collapsed in the kitchen just now! Something must have happened to Daniel! He left to go to that candy shop down the street to get us something for the trip. And Leon,” he went on as the cop gaped at him, “He had Fox with him!”

“Christ!” Leon yelped. His hand went for the gun at his waist. He started to dart away alone, but Stephen ran after him. “Go back inside,” the blonde told him grimly, but Stephen shook his head.

“No. If Daniel’s hurt, you’ll need help.”

Leon didn’t have time to argue, so he let it drop. The two of them ran out of the shop, and down the street. They saw a small crowd near the end of the block, gathered around a still form lying on the sidewalk. Leon cursed again as he pushed his way through. “Let me by!” he yelled. “Police!”

This magic word made the crowd dissipate discreetly. No one wanted to get involved. Leon knelt down next to Daniel, turning him over. He groaned when he saw three bullet holes in the front of the SWAT Commander’s shirt. He put his fingers to Daniel’s neck, feeling for a pulse. “He’s alive,” the blonde reported to Stephen, who looked relieved. Leon’s free hand scrabbled at the front of the shirt, baring Daniel’s torso. Both of them could see that the bullet wounds were already closing. Leon thanked anything that might be listening for the Kami mating bond.

Then he heard Stephen ask in an apprehensive voice: “Leon? Where’s Maoh?”

Leon looked around wildly, but there was no sign of the baby. And any potential witnesses to what had gone down were already gone. “Fuck!” he screamed in frustrated fury. “Stephen, we’ll have to carry him back to the shop,” he told the younger man, who nodded.

Leon stuck his gun in his belt and the two of them hoisted Daniel’s stocky body between them. Fortunate they both had the augmented strength brought on by the Kami mating bond, so they were able to carry their friend down the sidewalk toward the pet shop by themselves. Stephen’s teal-blue eyes were anxious. “Who could have done this, Leon?” he asked. “And why would they take the baby?”

Leon’s mouth was a slash. “I think that the answer to both of those questions is Liu Shen Wei, Stephen,” he replied tightly.

“But I thought…he left?” the younger man gasped.

Leon shook his head. “Obviously not. He wants Granddad to tell him where this Well is, and the best way to do that would be to get a hold of someone or something that would make him tell. And let’s face it – what better thing than Fox? What parent wouldn’t do anything to get their kid back? I don’t know who went to China, but it obviously wasn’t this Wei guy.”

Stephen groaned. “Hell,” he said. “What do we do now?”

“Nothing. We can’t do anything until Sofu regains consciousness and we can ask him what he wants to do. After all, its only speculation that Wei is still here, and that he took Fox. It could have been a mugging gone very wrong or something,” he added.

Stephen looked skeptical. “That doesn’t sound very probable,” he remarked.

“I never said it was. I’m just saying that we can’t go running around looking for this guy until we know more. I don’t like it any more than you do,” he went on when he saw Stephen’s expression, “But we have no choice but to be patient at this point.” They had reached the door of the shop, which flew open. They carried the unconscious Daniel inside as D exclaimed in horror at his condition.

“Somebody shot him, D,” Leon said to his mate grimly, “And they…took Fox.”

The Kami’s hands rose to cover his mouth. “Oh, no!” he cried. “Oh, Leon!”

“It’ll be okay, honey,” the cop said soothingly. He and Stephen began to carry Daniel down toward his room and the blonde spoke over his shoulder. “I promise,” he said, although he wasn’t sure how he was going to carry this particular promise out. But somehow he would. Somehow.

Sofu’s eyes flickered open slowly. He found that he was lying on one of the couches in the sitting room, with his head on Lord D’s thigh. His child was staring down at him anxiously, a stricken expression on his face. “What…happened?” the elder Kami asked in puzzlement.

“Oh, Father,” Lord D said in anguish. “You collapsed in the kitchen. B-Because…someone…shot Daniel,” he went on, barely able to speak coherently.

Sofu felt panic and horror race through him. He sat up abruptly, not caring about any residual weakness. “Who? Why would someone…” his mind began to work, and he said in a voice that rang with understanding and horror: “Liu Shen Wei.”

Lord D nodded. “We think so,” he said. “And Father….he took Maoh,” The younger Kami said.

Silence. Sofu’s face was an expressionless mask at this news. “I see,” he remarked as coolly as though they were discussing the weather.

“Father?” the worry and puzzlement in Lord D’s voice made the elder Kami reach out to touch his arm reassuringly. “It will be all right, my son,” he said, in a voice of steel. “I assure you.”

Lord D stared at his father as though he feared the elder Kami had taken leave of his senses under the multiple shocks he’d just gone through. “How is Daniel now?" Sofu asked as he began to rise to his feet rather shakily.

He is healing, Father, but still unconscious,” Lord D replied. “Leon and Kazuhari-san went out to canvass the neighborhood and see if they could find witnesses to what happened, and my sons are with Daniel. Stephen is calling Agent Cooper and Jill to tell them what happened.”

“I expect that Liu Shen Wei will be contacting me soon,” Sofu remarked, still in that disturbingly calm voice. “To make a deal with me. A trade – the location of the Well of Eternity for my son’s life.” His face could have been carved from marble, and Lord D’s stomach churned as his anxiety ratcheted up even higher.

“Will you tell him, Father? Where the Well is?” Lord D asked.

Sofu’s head turned, and his golden eyes met his son‘s wide purple ones.“No,” he replied in a clipped tone of voice. “I will not.”

Leon and the yakuza boss returned to the shop a bit later, both frustrated by their lack of success. They found everyone except for Sofu upset and agitated – the older Kami had apparently told Lord D that he would not reveal the location of the Well even to get his son back. Lord D was in tears, while his mate tried vainly to comfort him. Jill and Garreth Cooper had arrived, both anxious over Fox’s fate. Chun Lian and D were trying to reason with a coolly composed Sofu, but the elder Kami had dug in his heels and refused to listen to them. All he’d say was: “I made an oath, I will abide by it,” when people tried to talk to him.

D got up and came over to his mate, when Leon walked into the sitting room. “Oh, Leon, I don’t know what to do,” he said softly. “Grandfather is being stubborn, and moreover I’ve never seen him act quite like this before. I’m afraid for Maoh…” he trailed off, biting at his lower lip a little in his distress.

The blonde pulled him into his arms. “I’m sure that Granddad knows what he’s doing, D,” he said stoutly. “Besides, bargaining with a guy like this Wei is a bad idea anyway. If we give him what he wants he has no reason to return Fox. He might just decide that the baby’s dispensable at that point…” seeing the anguish on D’s face at his words, he hugged the distressed Kami again. “Trust him, D,” he said softly into a shell-like ear. “I’m sure that he has something up his sleeve.”

Sofu was sitting very still on one of the couches, his hands folded in his lap. While Leon said those things to reassure D, that expressionless mask-like face creeped him out. What was Sofu thinking? What was going on behind those golden eyes? The canny old spirit HAD to be planning something, didn’t he? Or was this the Kami version of extreme shock? He could only pray that it was the former and not the latter, or they were completely screwed.

Before he could say anything else, the bell on the shop door went. Everyone turned toward the sound, their bodies stiffening. Chun Lian rose to his feet and glided through the beads, followed by his mate. But the yakuza boss came back into the room quickly. “It is simply a customer,” he reported.

Silence fell in the room. It was a heavy, tight silence and Leon was glad that the boys had been sent into the back by Chun Lian. Christopher was so sensitive that he’d be bound to be badly affected by this atmosphere. And he didn’t want the boy to know about Daniel or Maoh until he had no choice but to tell his little brother something. Hopefully it wouldn’t come to that…

More time passed. Nobody knew quite what to say. Stephen dragged his distressed mate off and forced him to lie down, fearing for the baby if Lord D continued to be this stressed. Garreth Cooper reported to Leon that he’d called and told the F.B.I that Liu Shen Wei had not left the country after all, and they were to be on the look-out for him. Not that this would do much good since the guy was most likely still in Chinatown…Still, he’d be able to call in back-up if he needed it. Leon was grateful to hear this. He never thought he’d be happy to hear that the F.B.I was getting involved in his personal life, but in this case he’d take all the help he could get.

Several more customers came and went. Chun Lian manned the front shop, with Kazuhari at his back each time. The yakuza boss didn’t want to leave his new mate alone with someone as dangerous as this Liu Shen Wei, should the tong boss come to the shop to bargain with Sofu. Everyone got more and more tense as time passed and there was no sign of the Chinese criminal. What if he didn’t intend to come at all? Why had he taken Maoh then? What if…? Nobody wanted to think that last thought, but it hovered in the backs of their brains anyway.

Suddenly, the door opened, and a man with a sharply-planed face strode confidently into the shop. “Hello,” he remarked in Mandarin to Chun Lian, who had stiffened behind the counter. “I’d like to speak to Sofu D.” his arrogant confidence made the Kami’s hackles rise, and his mouth tightened as he struggled not to say something sharp to the tong leader.

“I will get him,” he said coldly, gliding away toward the sitting room. Liu Shen Wei eyes the silent Japanese man standing near the counter, but chose to say nothing to him. He felt that he was holding all of the cards here. He wasn’t concerned about the yakuza boss because of that fact.

Sofu appeared in the doorway of the sitting room. “Liu Shen Wei,” he said in that calm, cold voice he’d been using since he’d woken up.

“Sofu D,” the tong leader replied in a triumphant voice. “You know why I’ve come.”

“Yes,” Sofu replied. “Please come in here and I will speak with you,” he went back into the sitting room, telling everyone gathered there to leave. He wished to speak with Liu Shen Wei alone.

Several people would have protested this, but Sofu merely looked at them. Somehow they just couldn’t disobey the elder Kami, not when he was like this. Everyone, human and Kami alike, reluctantly left the sitting room. Liu Shen Wei smirked at them as they passed, and Leon snarled silently, and had to force himself not to pull his gun and pop the sadistic bastard here and now. The tong leader pushed through the beads, leaving everyone else standing out in the shop, wondering vainly what was going to go on between man and Kami in the sitting room.

Sofu turned to look at Liu Shen Wei, his hands folded together in front of him. “You took my son,” he said in a voice that dripped icicles.

The tong leader smirked. “Yes, I did,” he replied. “And I killed your lover so that you would know that I’m serious about this. Tell me where the Well is, Spirit, or I swear that your baby will not survive the day.”

Sofu’s lids fell over his eyes, and he surprised Liu Shen Wei by sighing quietly. “Humans,” the Kami remarked. “They always believe that violence is the answer to everything, and that they can take what they want without consequences. An erroneous belief, actually. Especially in this case,” his voice had taken on a strange quality that made the hairs prickle on the back of the tong leader’s neck. “You should not have shot my mate nor taken my son, Liu Shen Wei,” the Kami went on, lifting his lids so that his golden eyes could meet the tong leader’s. “That was your last mistake.”

Those eyes – they were BURNING. A cold, ferocious, golden fire poured out of them as Liu Shen Wei found himself pinned in place. He couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak – he could only stand there with his mouth gaping open as the Kami said: “Now you will realize too late how very dangerous it is to anger a Spirit, Liu Shen Wei. You will tell me where my son is.”

He might have protested that he’d do no such thing – but he couldn’t speak. And something was happening, something was sweeping over him – he was drowning in molten gold, it was sweeping him away…and that was when the pain started. Agony such as he had never known flooded through him as an alien energy swept through his brain like a hurricane. It sorted callously through his thoughts, his memories, everything that he was, and he could do nothing to stop it. Even if he hadn’t been silently writhing in agony, he wouldn’t have been able to prevent the Kami from raping his mind. Then the energy found what it was looking for, plucking the memory out of his brain neatly.

'Even though you deserve it, my kind are not killers, Liu Shen Wei,' the alien power in his skull commented coolly. 'But I will make it so that you will never harm anyone again as long as you live,' then claws sank into his brain, and reduced it to so much mush, while the tong leader screamed and screamed inside of his own head…

“Leon!” the blonde responded to Sofu’s imperious call, darting into the sitting room. The sight that met his eyes made him come to an abrupt halt. Sofu was standing there looking completely calm and unruffled – and the tong leader was lying on the floor, his eyes open and a line of drool trickling from his mouth.

“Granddad, what did you DO?!” the cop yelped.

Sofu looked at him. “I merely asked him where my son was,” he said. “He of course chose not to answer me, so I extracted that knowledge from his brain.”

“Uh…” the blonde didn’t know quite what to say. “What’s wrong with him?” He asked, casting a weirded-out glance at the man lying on the floor.

“I’m afraid that he has a good deal of brain damage,” Sofu said serenely, “From which he will never recover. Do with him what you will, Leon.” Then he lifted his voice again. “Kazuhari-san!” the yakuza boss appeared in the doorway.

“Kami-sama?” he said.

“I have an address for you.” He told Kazuhari. He gave the yakuza leader an address in Chinatown, then added: “My son is being held in a room on the second floor, fourth door from the left. Please take your men and go and retrieve him if you would,” Sofu said it as though he were asking Kazuhari to stay for tea.

The yazuka boss glanced down briefly at the prostrate Liu Shen Wei. “As you wish, Kami-sama,” he said with a slight bow. He left the room hurriedly, to carry out his task.

Sofu looked at Leon. “I am going to go and check on my mate,” he told the cop. “Do what you wish with him,” he glanced down at Liu Shen Wei, then glided from the room.

Leon shook himself out of his trance. Oh, man. Sometimes he forgot just what kind of a being he was mated to. It was only at times like this that he was reminded of just how powerful and otherworldly Kamis were. And Lord was he grateful that they had no reason to dislike him…

Chapter Text

Kazuhari looked at the men riding in the back of the car with him. They were all screwing silencers onto the guns they held. The yakuza boss nodded. “When we go in,” he rumbled, “We MUST not alert those upstairs. They might harm or kill the baby if they know that we’re coming to the rescue. Which means you either subdue or kill everyone on the ground floor. Subdue them if you can, but if anyone looks like they might make any loud sounds, kill them. If any of you allow someone to get off a warning, I will personally deal out your punishment, is that clear?”

They all looked scared at his words, and their heads nodded quickly. They weren’t half as frightened of the tong members as they were of Kazuhari’s temper; for while their boss might actually be a fairly calm person most of the time, when he got angry it was time to run away as fast as you could. Although that probably wouldn’t be fast enough to keep him from hunting you down. Which was why all of his clan were in awe of Chun Lian, for the small, delicate-looking, creature wasn’t the least afraid of Kazuhari no matter what mood he was in. They had even seen the Kami deliberately bait their boss over and over again. They were all convinced that the Chinese man was either crazy, or even scarier than Kazuhari – a thought which made the hairs rise on the backs of their necks whenever they had it.

The car pulled up in front of the address that Sofu had given Kazuhari. It was a three-story building with an herbalist’s shop on the first floor. The yakuza leader looked grimly satisfied when he saw that. It meant that people would be able to simply walk in without setting off alarm bells in the men upstairs. He jerked his head at his men, and they all got smoothly out of the car and approached the shop. The silenced pistols had disappeared inside suit jackets for now. Kazuhari was in the lead, and he pushed the door open and entered the shop within. It was dark and rather dank, and smelled odd because of the bunches of roots and dried herbs that hung from the ceiling. His nose wrinkled slightly as an old Chinese man appeared from the back and approached them. “May I help you gentlemen?” he asked, his rheumy old eyes looking them over with puzzlement. No doubt he wondered why a bunch of Japanese men in dark suits had entered his establishment.

Kazuhari replied in Mandarin, a language he’d learned because of his many dealings with Chinese tongs in the past. He didn’t like his allies/perhaps future enemies saying things in front of him that he couldn’t understand. “Yes, Elder,” he said respectfully. “You can help me,” he stepped a bit closer, towering over the old man. Suddenly, the ancient dark eyes widened when he felt the muzzle of a gun pressed to his sternum. “You can quickly and quietly take me to the stairs that lead to the second floor,” Kazuhari told him softly. “Or I can kill you here and now, and find them myself. And if you try anything duplicitous, you will only live to regret it for a few seconds.”

The old man looked up at him. “Why are the Japanese yakuza involving themselves in tong business?” he asked, sounding not at all scared.

Kazuhari shook his head. “Perhaps you are not aware of this, but a certain pet shop is under our protection. Any tong foolish enough to try to retaliate against it or its inhabitants, because of what happened to Liu Shen Wei, will find themselves in a world of hurt.”

Startlement flashed over the wizened features. “What happened to Liu Shen Wei?” the old man demanded.

Kazuhari’s mouth lifted slightly at the corner. “He encountered someone more dangerous than himself,” the yazuka boss replied. “And he paid the price for it.”

“I see,” the shopkeeper sighed. He shook his head. “I always knew he’d come to no good,” he muttered, making Kazuhari stare at him in surprise. “When his father died, I took it upon myself to raise my grandson. But he was always headstrong, selfish, and prone to violence at the drop of a hat. I couldn’t control him. Eventually he took over my organization, when I got too old to run it anymore. I greatly feared for its future under his rule. Now you tell me he has encountered fate – and I can’t say that I am terribly grief-stricken about it.”

Staring into the now shrewd dark eyes, Kazuhari was suddenly reminded of Sofu D. He decided to be candid about their reason for being here. “We have come to retrieve the baby,” he said. “The child that Liu Shen Wei shouldn’t have taken in the first place. Will you give him back to us, or must we take him by force?”

The old man sighed. “I will be glad to get the child off of my hands,” he commented tiredly, shuffling away. “Come with me,” he added over his shoulder.

Kazuhari went with him toward a narrow staircase that led upward. “He’s cried from the moment that my no-good grandson brought him here and dumped him on us. It’s awful. I have a terrible headache by now. Please take him back to his parents with my blessing,” he said dryly as they mounted the stairs slowly to accommodate the old man’s pace.

Kazuhari followed him to the door that was fourth on the left. The old man knocked briskly on it. “Open up!” he called.

Inside, Kazuhari could distinctly hear the screaming of an unhappy baby. It was loud and almost yowling, as Maou gave vent to his unhappiness over his present circumstances. The old man winced as the door swung open, and a harassed and pinch-faced tong member appeared in it. “Please give the child to this man,” he told the tong member. “He is going to take the baby back with him.”

When the man looked like he might argue, the old man drew himself up to his full height (which wasn’t that great) and looked down his nose at the tong member. “My grandson is dead,” he said. Kazuhari chose not to rectify this misapprehension on his part. The man’s eyes widened. “So there is no reason now to keep the child. And if we harm it, this man here assures me that we’ll feel the full might of his entire yakuza organization. Do you really wish to bring that upon us – especially now that our leader is dead – over the life of one insignificant baby?”

The man stared at him then at Kazuhari. Putting on his most forbidding face, the yakuza leader waited. The man gulped and nodded, turning away into the room. He spoke quickly to someone inside, and then the loud sound of crying drew closer. The man appeared holding Fox gingerly as though the baby might explode in his hands. The Kami child’s face was dark red and he writhed in the man’s arms so much that it was a wonder the tong member didn’t drop him. He thrust the baby out toward Kazuhari desperately.

“Take him!” he cried loudly (he had to be loud, to be heard over Fox), “Please!”

Kazuhari reached out to take the baby, grimacing himself as the outraged squalling became even louder. It felt like a dental drill was being held close to his ear. He held on to the wailing, squirming Maoh and looked down at the old man. “My thanks,” he said loudly.

The Chinese man shook his head. “No, you have our thanks,” he looked at the baby as he said this. “We will make no moves against you for this,” he added. “I will see to that.”

Kazuhari nodded again and moved toward the stairs. He hung onto Fox tightly, although it wasn’t easy. The child was amazingly strong. And pissed! Most definitely. His screaming was astonishingly loud, considering that he had to have been doing it for hours now. The yakuza leader hurried down the stairs and toward the front of the shop where his men waited. Their eyes widened to see their boss carrying a furious, purple-faced child in his arms. “Let’s go!” he practically yelled above the noise. They all departed the shop, although all of his men looked very unhappy to have to get into the car with the shrieking baby.

Kazuhari liberated his cell phone with one hand, as his driver sped as fast as he safely could through the streets back to the pet shop. His head rang with the noise, and the baby seemed as slippery as though he’d been coated with oil. He opened the phone one-handed, then set it on his knee and dialed the number of the pet shop. “Pick up,” he muttered desperately as it rang.

Finally, he heard his mate’s voice (although only dimly) over the phone. “Hello?” Chun Lian said, and then gasped when he heard the loud crying coming over the phone.

“This is Kazuhari,” the yakuza leader barked. “I have the baby, and I’m bringing him back. Please have Sofu D outside ready to take him!”

Silence, then he heard Chun Lian snicker distinctly at the desperation in his voice. Kazuhari’s eyes narrowed, and he vowed to get his mate back in the future for his amusement at the yakuza leader’s plight. “I’ll tell him,” Chun Lian said when he could speak again.

Kazuhari frowned at the phone and the sound of amusement still ringing in his mate’s voice. But he hung up for now, hoping that his driver would get them to their destination soon. Otherwise he was going to go mad from the sheer VOLUME of the baby’s outraged crying in the tight confines of the car.

Sofu sat on the side of the bed and touched his mate’s face gently. Daniel stirred, but didn’t wake up yet. His wounds were closing well, so he should be waking up soon. “I’m so sorry to have involved you in this, Daniel,” the Kami said softly. “Your job is dangerous enough, without you having to fear getting shot because of me.”

“Grandfather,” he heard a voice say from the doorway. He looked up at Chun Lian. “Seiichi says that he’s bringing Maoh home, and he wishes you to be outside to take him. I could hear him crying over the phone - he sounds very upset. I’d feel sorry for Seiichi, but…” he shrugged, his gold-rimmed purple eyes twinkling.

Sofu’s lips twitched. “I see,” he said, getting to his feet smoothly. He left his room and went down the hallway to the front of the shop. Chun Lian followed him and the two Kamis stood on the sidewalk waiting for Kazuhari to arrive. Soon enough a black car turned the corner rather recklessly and dashed up to the curb. Both of them could hear a loud wailing even before the door opened. “Oh, dear,” Sofu murmured as Kazuhari erupted from the back, holding Maoh out in front of him as though the furious baby were a hand grenade.

“Kami-sama,” he called, looking utterly relieved. He hurried to Sofu to hand the unhappy child to him.

The Kami took his son in his arms. “Thank you, Kazuhari-san,” he said, cradling the loudly crying child in his arms. “Little one, shh, shh,” he crooned into Maoh’s ear. “It’s me, your parent. It’s all right, my son. There, there.” He rocked Fox, whose amber eyes had flown open when he heard Sofu’s beloved voice speaking to him. He turned those huge wet eyes on his parent, sniffling miserably as his crying died away. He began to hiccup as he finally stopped crying and Sofu cupped the back of his head tenderly. “My poor little one,” he said. “Shh.”

Fox’s little hands clutched at the front of his parent’s cheongsam. He made gabbling noises, his big eyes meeting Sofu’s golden ones. “I’ll take him inside and feed him,” Sofu remarked. “He must be starving by now. Even if they tried to feed him, Kami children cannot drink human formula. They can only have their parent’s breast milk.”

He carried his baby inside and Chun Lian looked at his mate with a devilish light in his eyes. “Truly I cannot imagine why you had a vasectomy, Seiichi,” he teased wickedly. “You are SO good with children.”

The yakuza leader eyes him coldly. “Laugh as you will, Kami-sama,” he growled. “I will have my revenge, you may believe it.”

Chun Lian tossed his head. “I’ll be looking forward to it,” he replied.

“I very much doubt that,” Kazuhari remarked harshly. “I very much doubt that.”

Sofu went into the sitting room and sat down on one of the couches. He used one slim hand to open the fastenings on the front of his cheongsam. Maoh cuddled close to him, and stared up at him out of those enormous amber eyes. One of his small hands was stuffed into his red mouth, and he gnawed on it hungrily. “I know,” Sofu said, finally opening the front of his cheongsam and offering his small breast to the baby. “Eat, little love.”

Maoh was happy to do so. He latched onto Sofu’s nipple ferociously, sucking hard enough to cause the Kami some pain. But he endured it, knowing how hungry his child was. And besides, feeling that pull meant that his son was back where he belonged, suckling at Sofu’s breast. He closed his eyes, shuddering in relief as he kissed the top of the glossy little head. Not that he had shown it, but fear had been a raging tiger in his breast. Fear that Liu Shen Wei would just automatically kill his son even before he made the deal with Sofu, since the Kami had no way of knowing whether his baby was still alive or not. He rocked Fox a little, beginning to sing a soft song in the ancient tongue of his people.

Maoh’s suckling had lessened in force now. His eyes had closed, and his tear-stained face was relaxing as he began to nod off with his mouth still around Sofu’s nipple. The Kami smiled, as he gently pulled the nipple free of his child’s mouth. Maoh made sucking motions with his red mouth, but didn’t wake up. He was exhausted from screaming for so long. Sofu merely held the baby as he slipped into slumber. Soon enough, he’d take his son to see Daniel so that his mate would know that their child was safe when he woke up. But for now he simply held his child and rejoiced in his return. Not since the day that Lord D had turned up on his doorstep after escaping from his captivity had the Kami felt such a lifting of fear from his shoulders. Although this outcome was better since Maoh had not been permanently hurt or scarred by his experience, unlike his poor elder son.

Chapter Text

Sofu looked up when the beads hanging over the sitting room door parted. D appeared in the opening, acute relief crossing his face when he saw the baby sleeping in Sofu’s arms. “He is well, Grandfather?” the younger Kami asked anxiously.

Sofu nodded. “Yes, very much so. Tired from crying, though.” He stroked his fingertips over the baby’s head, causing Fox to murmur in his sleep but not wake up. “Is Leon back yet?” the elder Kami asked, looking up at his grandson.

D shook his head. “No. he and Jill and Agent Cooper took Liu Shen Wei somewhere. They haven’t come back yet.”

Sofu shrugged. He didn’t care in the least what became of that wretched human whose brain he’d toasted. They could toss the brain-dead body over a cliff for all he cared. “Grandfather?” he looked up to see his grandchild still looking anxious.

“What is it, Child?” he asked in concern.

“It’s Father. He’s very anxious – he was panicking when you told him you weren’t going to tell Liu Shen Wei anything about the Well. Stephen took him to their room to make him lay down, but I’m still worried about him…”

“Oh, dear,” Sofu said with more than a touch of anxiety of his own. In his concern over one child he’d completely forgotten about his other son. Poor Lord D must be in a state by now. He leapt to his feet, carefully because of the sleeping baby in his arms, and hurried out of the sitting room. D was at his heels as he made his way to his son’s room. He knocked on the door urgently and heard Stephen’s voice say: “Come in.”

The sight that met his eyes when he opened the door one-handed made his stomach twist. Lord D was curled up in a near fetal ball on the bed with his head in Stephen’s lap. Clearly he’d been weeping, perhaps for a long time. Now his eyes were closed, his face drawn and tight with anxiety and distress. Stephen’s fingers were stroking through his hair, and the human’s face was a mask of worry and more than a touch of fear. After all his mate was over six months pregnant. If he became too stressed, he might lose the baby…and there was no saying what that would do to the still somewhat fragile Lord D.

Stephen looked up at them. His eyes widened when he saw the baby being held in Sofu’s arms. “Fox? Oh man, babe, wake up!” he cried, shaking his mate’s shoulder vigorously. “Come on, please! Your brother’s here!”

Lord D’s purple eyes opened, looking vague and unfocused at first. But then Stephen’s words registered and he sat up so quickly that it must have made his head spin, considering the way he clutched it as he peered at his father with swollen eyes. “Maoh?” he whispered, staring at the baby. “Is it really…?”

“Yes, my son,” Sofu replied, coming over to the bed. “And I am so very sorry that I could not explain myself to you earlier. I had to prepare myself for my confrontation with Liu Shen Wei so that I could get Fox’s location from his mind. But I should have thought of you as well as my other child,” he held out his free hand to Lord D, who clutched at it desperately as though he feared this were some wonderful dream.

“Of course you feared that something terrible would happen,” Sofu crooned, stroking his son’s fingers tenderly. “Because every time you’ve been happy before your world fell apart. And since you’ve never been happier than you are now, you must have expected something spectacularly horrible…”

“Yes,” Lord D nearly whimpered, closing his aching eyes. Stephen’s arms closed around him from behind, and he seemed to take comfort from his mate’s stalwart strength. “Oh, Father….”

“It’s all right, my son,” the older Kami said soothingly. “Your brother is fine. Kazuhari-san brought him back a short time ago. He is unharmed,” he leaned over so that Lord D could look at the still sleeping baby more closely.

Lord D took a shuddering breath and reached out to touch his brother’s face. The baby mumbled a soft sound, but still didn’t wake up. “Oh, thank the Gods,” the pregnant Kami said. “Oh, Stephen…” he turned away into his mate’s embrace, burying his face in the human’s chest.

“There, there, babe,” Stephen murmured, stroking his hair once again. He shot Sofu and D a grateful look. “It’s okay now. You should get some rest,” he added anxiously.

Lord D nodded. “I’m sorry for upsetting you, Stephen,” he said, pulling away at last.

The human traced one of the tear tracks down his porcelain cheek. “I understand completely, babe,” he said, kissing his mate on the end of his elegant nose, then on his forehead. “I was scared too,” he added truthfully. “But it’s all right now. Lay down and sleep,” he urged the Kami, and the now utterly weary and worn out Lord D allowed himself to be settled under the covers by his attentive mate. Stephen kissed him softly on the mouth as he fell into sleep, then got off the bed carefully and came over to the watching Kamis. “He’s really all right?” He asked Sofu softly, looking the baby over.

Sofu smiled. “He’s fine, Stephen,” he said. “Just fine. Are you all right?” he asked in turn, seeing the dark circles under the human’s teal blue eyes.

Stephen sighed, rubbing at his soft sandy-brown hair with his hand. “Yeah, I am now,” he replied. He glanced back at his now sleeping mate. “Man, I was scared…” he began, shuddering a little.

“I don’t blame you. My son is still so fragile in some ways…” Sofu said compassionately. “But I think he’ll be all right now. Perhaps even a little better, since his world didn’t fall apart again as he was expecting it to do. He didn’t lose anyone or anything he loves this time,” he looked up at the human, who had relaxed a good deal since they’d entered the room. “Perhaps you should take a nap with him, Stephen,” he said quietly. “You look worn out too.”

The human nodded. “I will. But I think I’ll take a long hot soak first. My muscles hurt,” he added with a grimace.

“Understandable,” Sofu replied, knowing just how much muscles could ache after they’d been tensed for a long time. “We will go and leave you to your rest now. Sleep well, both of you.”

“We will,” Stephen replied. “And I’m really glad that Maoh’s back,” he said earnestly.

Sofu smiled slightly. “So am I Stephen.” he said as he began to carry his son toward the door. “So am I.”

The elder Kami parted with his relieved grandson at the door of his room. He entered it, carrying Maoh over to the bed. Daniel was lying on his back, still out of it, but he was stirring a bit more now. His head rolled on the pillow and he murmured in his unconscious state. Sofu went over to the bed and sat down upon it. “Daniel,” he said, reaching out with his free hand. “Wake up, my love. Wake up and see our son.”

Daniel jerked at the sound of his voice and his touch, and after a moment the amber eyes slowly opened. He stared at his mate in puzzlement. “Sof?” he croaked. “Wha-?”

“You were shot Daniel, in the street. Do you remember?” the Kami said.

“Yeah, I…Fox and I were going to the store to get you guys some sweets…” then his eyes widened, and he sat up with a groan of pain for his healing wounds. “Fox!” he cried.

“It’s all right, Daniel,” Sofu replied. “He’s right here,” he turned so that the human could more clearly see the baby sleeping in his arms.

Daniel stared at his son, relief making him slump forward. “So…they didn’t take him?” he rubbed at his face to try to clear his mind.

Sofu sighed. “No, they did take him. It was Liu Shen Wei who shot you. He wanted Maoh to make me tell him the location of the Well. But when he came here to make a bargain with me – Fox’s life for my knowledge – I refused to tell him.”

“Then how did you get him back?” Daniel asked, staring at his slumbering son and then his mate.

The golden eyes gleamed. “I’m afraid that I took exception to his having shot you and taken our son,” the Kami replied triumphantly. “So I displayed a peculiar ability of mine to him. I took the information of Fox’s whereabouts from his mind by force, then I…destroyed him.”

Silence as Daniel gaped at him. “Destroyed him? What does that mean? Did you kill him?” the human said, startled. He knew that Kamis did not like to kill if they could help it.

Sofu shook his head. “I merely…pureed his brain,” he said, making Daniel gasp.

“Did you? Sof, you are remarkable,” the human said, looking at his mate admiringly.

The Kami preened a bit. “Yes, well, I couldn’t allow him to hurt anyone else ever again,” he said. “This seemed the best way to make sure that that never happened. Liu Shen Wei will continue to breathe, but I’m afraid he’ll never regain any higher brain functions.”

“Wow, you’re amazing,” Daniel said in awe, reaching out to touch their baby. “And how did you get Fox back?”

“I sent Kazuhari-san and his men over to retrieve him. He brought Maoh back a short time ago,” Sofu explained.

Daniel shook his head carefully, wary of the slight concussion he still had from the blow to the back of it from Liu Shen Wei’s gun. “I never thought that I’d be indebted to a yakuza boss,” he muttered. “It’s been a strange day all around.”

“I agree,” Sofu said. “Although it was a bit amusing to see him emerge from his car with Fox since the baby was crying very loudly. The poor man looked like he was developing a migraine.”

Daniel chuckled, then groaned again as this pulled at his mending wounds. “So this whole thing is over?” he asked the Kami.

“I believe so, unless someone else also knows about the Well. I will simply have to look into that to make sure that more criminals do not appear at my door,” Sofu noted calmly. “Although I am considering giving up my Guardianship of the Well, at least until this little one is old enough to protect himself,” he added, rocking the sleeping baby a little meditatively. “It might be wisest, considering what happened. I can always take up the mantle again when he’s older.”

“That’d be good. Having him taken was the scariest thing that’s ever happened to me,” Daniel remarked.

“I agree with that as well,” Sofu sighed. “To be unable to do anything about such a frightening situation – it is intolerable. It was like…” he looked away, his jaw tightening, “When I could not protect my older son from that human who violated him.”

“Hey, that wasn’t your fault,” Daniel said, his hand running down Sofu’s arm caressingly. “And you did something about THIS situation, didn’t you?” he added.

“Yes,” Sofu sighed, cuddling his child.

Suddenly the baby in his arms jerked and came awake. He’d heard Daniel’s familiar voice speaking, and the amber eyes he’d inherited from his father blinked as he yawned and turned his head to trace where that sound was coming from. “Ba?” he said, and Daniel grinned as he scooped up a tiny hand and held it.

“Hey, little biddle,” he said to the baby. “Glad to have you back, buddy.”

The baby’s eyes lit up when he saw Daniel’s face. He held out both of his hands demandingly. He gabbled at his parent as he strained in Sofu’s hold, wanting to go to his other parent. The Kami smiled as he held the squirming child out to his mate. Daniel took the baby, settling him on his chest so that their faces were almost touching. Maoh grinned, showing off his still toothless gums. He patted at his father’s face happily. Daniel kissed his cheeks, making the baby squirm again – but this time in a fit of energetic joy.

“Hey, Fox. Daddy’s sure glad that your ‘Momma’ got you back,” the s.w.a.t. commander said in relief, stroking the baby’s glossy hair with his fingers. Maoh babbled at him some more.

Sofu watched his small family in pleasure. So he saw the expression of stunned delight in Daniel’s amber eyes when the baby patted his face again and gabbled: “Da Da! Da Da!”

Daniel stared rather wildly at his son, then at his mate. Sofu chuckled. “Well, at least we know who he’s talking about,” the Kami noted in amusement.

Daniel laughed, hugging the baby, “Yep, I’m your Da Da, Fox,” he said. “That’s me.”

Having accomplished this great task the baby suddenly got tired again. His head fell to Daniel’s chest and his eyes began to close. One of his small hands reached up to his mouth, and he sucked at it contentedly as he began to fall asleep atop Daniel. Sofu reached out to take him, but his mate shook his head. “Let him lie there. I don’t mind at all,” he said, waving away the slight pain he felt when the baby’s small form pressed on his healing wounds. He never wanted to be parted from his tiny son again, not even to have the baby in his cradle near the bed.

Sofu understood. He felt the same way after all. He stepped out of his slippers and climbed onto the bed, moving over to curl up beside his mate with his head resting on Daniel’s shoulder. He reached out to touch the sleeping baby’s cheek. “Never have I felt so blessed,” he remarked softly to his mate. “Soon I shall have another grandson to be a playmate for Maoh, and the shop will be filled with the sound of children’s laughter. There is no sweeter sound in the world in my opinion.”

“Yeah,” Daniel said. He chuckled a bit, his chest moving enough that Fox sort of undulated up and down. “It’s just weird to think that I’ll sort of be a grandfather as well. A step-grandfather, I guess?”

“You humans and your odd views of relationships,” the Kami noted in amusement. He traced Daniel’s lips with his nails. “I love you, Daniel,” he said with all of the intensity he’d felt over this last awful few hours.

The human kissed his fingertips. “And I love you, sweet Sof,” he said in return. “Forever.”

Chapter Text

Leon trailed into the shop with Garreth and Jill. His mate emerged from the sitting room, his parti-colored eyes lighting up at the sight of the blonde. “Leon! I am glad that you’re back. What did you do with…?” The Kami asked.

The detective shrugged. “We dropped him off at a hospital. Garreth’s going to ‘discover’ him in a few days and i.d. him. Then the Chinese government can do what they want with him. I really don’t care what that is,” he added dryly. “So what happened here? Did Kazuhari get Fox back?”

D smiled. “He did. Kazuhari-san brought Maoh back a short while ago. He and Grandfather are with Daniel in their room. My Father is sleeping, as he was very upset about this whole thing. I believe that Stephen is resting with him. My brother and Kazuhari-san also retired to their room – although I think that they don’t intend to sleep much,” the Kami went on, his meaning clear.

Leon snorted, but nodded. “That’s great – that the baby’s back. And he’s okay?”

“Yes. Grandfather said that he was just tired out from crying. Apparently he drove the tong members mad with his endless screaming and they were glad to be rid of him.”

Jill made a humphing noise. “Serves ‘em right,” she said indignantly. “Kidnapping a baby! They got off easy.”

“Technically it was Liu Shen Wei who took Maoh,” Leon pointed out. “And he got EXACTLY what he deserved.”

“True,” his partner agreed with relish. “Damn, but Sofu’s scary. In a good way, though,” she added.

“Yeah. The things you Kamis can do…sometimes I forget, D,” he told his mate.

D shook his glossy head. “I think you are working under a misapprehension, Leon,” he replied gravely. “Neither I nor my brother nor my father can do what Grandfather did to Liu Shen Wei. Grandfather’s ability to enter the mind is a rare gift, one which has not appeared in our immediate family line again, so far. Perhaps Fox will be able to do it, but none of us can.”

“Really. Is there anything that you can do that nobody else can?” Leon asked curiously.

D smiled crookedly. “Actually, yes. Perhaps I will be able to demonstrate it to you soon, Leon,” he said in a faintly sultry tone of voice which made Jill lift her brows, Garreth stare at him, and Leon draw in a deep breath. The Kami gave him a lidded look and then turned his gaze on the other two humans. “You have both been wonderful during this crisis,” he told them gratefully. “We will never forget your help and support Jill, Agent Cooper.”

“Call me Garreth,” the FBI Agent replied. “Since something tells me that I’ll be coming here more often from now on,” he looked at his girlfriend, who grinned and winked at him.

“They suck you in,” she said softly to him. “It’s inevitable.”

D heard her and his smile widened a little. “Garreth, Jill. Thank you so much for your aid,” he said sincerely.

“You bet. We got your backs, D,” Jill replied. “But we should go now that Liu Shen Wei is taken care of and the baby’s back unharmed. Garreth is taking me to dinner – he said there’s something he wants to talk to me about.”

The FBI Agent nodded “Yeah. We need to go get changed if we want to make our reservations. We’ll see you later,” Jill waved as he escorted her out the door of the shop and Leon called a farewell to them before turning to his mate.

“All’s well that ends well, eh, D?” he said as he began to walk toward the Kami. “Everything turned out just fine, although we never got to go anywhere….” He said with a shrug. “But we’ll go another time. So what should we do to celebrate, huh? You have any ideas?” he asked, his voice going a bit throaty.

The Kami shivered at his tone. “I should start dinner and look after the boys, Leon,” he said. “Chris and T-chan will have to be told something about why we never went anywhere today….”

“Okay, we’ll do that together,” the blonde remarked as his hands spanned the Kami’s waist to draw him nearer. “Really soon. But for now,” he kissed D, feasting on that sweet red mouth. The Kami was breathless and faintly flushed when he finally pulled away. “We definitely have to celebrate,” Leon growled, attacking his elegant throat next. “Come on, D. Just a little celebration?” he wheedled.

The Kami gasped. “V-very well, Leon,” he panted. “A small celebration would be in order.”

“Great,” the blonde said, and pulled him eagerly out the door of the sitting room and down the hall toward their bedroom.

Kazuhari looked down at the naked beauty spread out over their bed. His eyes travelled over Chun Lian in satisfaction, especially when he arrived at the white silk ropes tied around the Kami’s wrists and ankles. The Kami gave him a low-lidded, sensual look, enjoying his ‘helpless’ position thoroughly. He was physically strong enough that he could have broken the ropes at any time if he’d wanted to. But at the moment he didn’t want to. He liked feeling as though he couldn’t get away from the dangerous man staring down at him. Even though he knew that Kazuhari had sworn revenge against him for laughing at the yakuza boss over the baby, he still wasn’t worried. He could take anything that the Japanese man could dish out.

Kazuhari slowly crawled onto the bed and sat beside him. “I like you this way, Kami-sama,” he noted. “Perhaps I should leave you like this all the time.”

Chun Lian snorted. “I’m sure you’d love to, Seiichi,” he remarked tauntingly. “Since you can’t control me any other way…”

“That is true,” the yakuza boss conceded with a sigh. “You are a truly impossible creature, Kami-sama. I don’t know what I was thinking by returning here when I could have ignored your plight and been free of you for good.”

Chun Lian lifted his arched brows a bit. “So why did you come?” he asked curiously. “You could have just let me die after all.”

“No, I could not,” Kazuhari reached out to lightly pinch one of his dark pink nipples, making the Kami moan softly and arch his back. “Impossible you may be, Kami-sama, but you are also many other things as well. Attractive, desirable, intelligent, amusing, exciting…the list goes on. While you can irritate me into a frenzy, I find that I am unable to do without you. A strange quandary but there you are.”

He leaned over to kiss Chun Lian’s lips and the Kami opened his mouth to welcome the other man’s tongue. He made a small sound of pleasure as their tongues twined together sensually. When he finally pulled back the Japanese man looked with admiration at the way his mate’s porcelain skin had flushed a pale pink. “You are glorious,” he growled, before he began his assault on the naked body stretched out for his delectation. He took his time, enjoying working Chun Lian up into a near frenzy. The Kami squirmed and arched and bucked against the ropes, but while he moaned and gasped he never begged. He was stubborn; he would not let Kazuhari win. The yazuka boss found every one of his sensitive spots and ruthlessly exploited them. This was a contest of wills and he was interested to see who would win this time.

He was sucking bruises out of the lovely pale skin at the Kami’s thighs, ready and willing to do this for the rest of the night. Not only did he get to feel everything that Chun Lian was feeling, it delighted him that the Kami was beginning to lose his mind with pleasure. The gorgeous creature often made him lose his own mind after all…he was just returning the favor. So while his own desire was acute, Kazuhari tamped it down with all of his iron will and went on teasing and tormenting his mate with a glacial patience.

Chun Lian jerked against the ropes in a near delirium as his mate suckled on each of his testicles one at a time. This was intolerable! It was the human who was supposed to lose his mind, not him. He should just break the ropes and jump on Kazuhari. But if he did that…he would be admitting that he couldn’t handle this. That the yakuza boss had won. And he would never do that. So he went on suffering, his body thrumming as all of his nerve endings seemed on fire. He panted, his chest heaving, sweat shimmering on his skin. Dimly he knew that this was part of his punishment for laughing at Kazuhari and it was the most wonderful, awful punishment that he had ever had in his entire life.

Fingers slid into him, but only moved lightly within his body. They stayed away from his prostate, and the yakuza boss refused to shove them in hard or twist them. Chun Lian made a sound like a whimper in the back of his throat, and then realized what he’d done and bit his own lip to stop himself from doing it again. A tongue danced over the pink tip of his cock, and a deep laugh rumbled out of the big man’s chest. “Is there a problem, Kami-sama?” he asked tauntingly.

Chun Lian glared at him, but it was half-hearted at best. “You are despicable,” he ground out through his teeth.

“Yes,” the Japanese man agreed calmly. “I am. Which is why you are drawn to me, Kami-sama. Like calls to like.” He added with a gleam in his pewter eyes.

Chun Lian only groaned in reply, since Kazuhari let his mouth sink down over the Kami’s quivering erection just after he’d spoken. But still he only sucked lightly at it. Chun Lian was feeling desperate. He needed his mate, needed him now! The mating bond was making the need to couple rise up inside of him, and that combined with the pleasure that he was receiving from the yakuza boss were too much for him to handle together. He writhed in his bonds, the ropes forgotten. Everything but the need to mate was forgotten now. His mouth opened, and he wailed wildly. “Seiichi, please! I need you!”

Kazuhari smirked a little as he sat up. He’d won this round – something that didn’t often happen. He could be generous in victory – he reached out for the drawer that held the lube, and pulled it out. He slicked himself up quickly and then slid between the bound Kami’s legs. Since they’d been tied to either post of the bed, there was plenty of room for him to position himself. He slid his hands underneath Chun Lian’s body and lifted it as far as he could with the ropes holding it down and pushed himself inside of his mate in a single move. Chun Lian screamed, not a sound of pain, as Kazuhari drove into him. Then he did it again as the human began to stroke into him hard, not bothering to give him time to adjust. Not that he needed it after that extended bout of foreplay that the yakuza boss had just subjected him to.

Kazuhari grunted as he fucked the lovely Kami relentlessly, seeing the glazed look in the gold-rimmed purple eyes. Chun Lian was lost in pleasure, feeling both his own and Kazuhari’s. He gripped the Kami’s narrow hips hard enough to bruise as he thrust in again and again. Small sounds poured out of Chun Lian’s throat and his head rolled helplessly as he was submerged in ecstasy. His hands strained at the ropes and his legs jerked against the ones tying his ankles. As Kazuhari drew him up to orgasm, all of his muscles went rigid. The ropes at both wrists and ankles parted and the Kami found himself free. His legs automatically wrapped themselves around Kazuhari’s body, holding him in place as the Kami’s nails sank into the human’s sides. The yakuza boss cried out, partially in pain, but he only moved faster and harder. He was close, so close, and he could feel that Chun Lian was as well…

They came almost together, Chun Lian without even touching his own cock. Kazuhari practically roared as he spurted inside of his mate’s rigid body. Chun Lian’s cry was hoarse, as his throat was overworked. He shuddered and went limp, pleasure washing through him. Kazuhari’s head was bent, and his hands spasmed at the lovely creature’s waist. “Uh,” was all he said.

Silence. Chun Lian knew he’d move eventually. Knew that he’d have to deal with the yakuza boss’s smirking pleasure over the fact that he’d actually managed to make his mate beg for him. He’d never live that down, he knew. But right at this moment he just didn’t care. His body was still throbbing exquisitely. He knew, although he’d never admit it aloud, that he did not regret this mating bond. At all. And it wasn’t just the amazing sex, although that was an incredible bonus. Kazuhari Seiichi had become a part of him; a part he’d never known was missing until it was there. Frustrating, irritating, high handed and arrogant as the human could be, he was the only one that made the Kami’s heart flutter in his chest whenever their eyes met. Even without the bond, Chun Lian suspected strongly that he would have kept the human as his lover for a long time. Maybe even for the rest of Kazuhari’s shorter life span.

But now he didn’t have to fear the human’s aging and dying. Kazuhari would live as long as he did, healthy and vigorous and as cantankerous as ever. And perhaps, sometime after their second century of being mated or so, he might actually admit aloud to Kazuhari just how he felt for the human. Maybe. If he felt like it….

Kazuhari didn’t feel like withdrawing. He knew that they should get cleaned up eventually and perhaps even take a bath together. But for now he was enjoying being buried inside of his mate too much to move. He could hear Chun Lian’s breathing, and he could feel the Kami inside of himself. The lovely creature was feeling quite content at the moment. His lips lifted a little in a faint, arrogantly masculine smile. He liked doing this to his mate. Satisfying the Kami satisfied him as well.

Of course he was feeling pleased about his own victory over the Kami as well. No matter how they felt about each other, both of them liked the sparring they did as much as anything else. Fighting and taunting each other got their juices flowing. No wonder he’d never married before this – he’d never encountered anyone who wasn’t afraid of him, who could give as good as they got. Before Chun Lian he’d never realized that that was what he wanted. No, what he needed. The Kami had neatly pegged him – he was an alpha wolf. And an alpha would could only mate with another alpha. They didn’t want some kowtowing creature as their mate. No, an alpha required an equal. Although he supposed that being a Spirit, technically Chun Lian was somewhat his superior. Not that he’d ever in a million years (or however long their mating bond lasted, anyway) admit that to the Kami. As though they beautiful little irritant didn’t have enough ammunition against him already…

Chapter Text

Leon shuddered as he lay on his back, feeling pulped and drained. “Wow,” he husked. “That was amazing, D. How come you never showed me that before?”

The naked Kami nestled up against him giggled. “Honestly, Leon, I didn’t know that I could do that for a long time. I was just entering puberty when we mated, if you’ll remember. I was like a human youth. I had no experience or knowledge of sexuality.”

“Oh,” the blonde remarked. That made sense. “So when did you learn you could do that?” he asked.

“Lately. I began to suspect I might be able to do it the last few times we…Erm…mated,” he went on, turning faintly pink.

Leon chuckled. “Man, how you can still blush after all the times we’ve done it, D…” he said in amusement.

The Kami sighed, rubbing his cheek against the human’s bare chest. “I cannot help it, Leon,” he said.

The detective stroked his fingers through the glossy head lying on his chest. “Hey, D honey, it’s okay. I like it when you blush. It’s really cute.”

The Kami chuffed but smiled a little. “As you say. We should get up and go make dinner now and talk to the boys as well,” he added.

“Yeah, you’re right. But what about…once more? Please?” the blonde begged hopefully.

D gave him a severe look, but that changed when a big hand slid between his legs and took a hold of his most sensitive body part. “Leoonnn,” he moaned, his hips lifting into the insouciant caress.

“Come on, D,” the blonde said in his ear, and then nibbled at it. The Kami acquiesced, unable to resist his mate when he was like this. He knew in a vague sort of way that Leon just wanted him to display his newfound ability to affect certain bodily functions – i.e., orgasm. He had found that he could affect the pleasure centers in his mate’s brain to either retard his orgasm until it had built up to a near frenzy, or to make it even more explosive than normal(which was saying something, considering their bond and the fact that they could feel each other’s pleasure). Not that he minded displaying this ability again, since he benefited from it too through their bond. He closed his arms over Leon’s back and returned the human’s kiss, winding his legs around his mate’s waist. This time he thought he’d stop Leon from coming until he was nearly mad with it…

Garreth stared at the beautiful woman sitting across the table from him. He smiled as he met Jill’s eyes. “You look great tonight,” he told her sincerely. “Really gorgeous.”

She smiled in return, sipping at her glass of wine. “And you’re handsome as usual, Garreth,” she replied, eyeing him appreciatively. “It’s a good thing I like you in a suit, though,” she teased.

He grinned. “Yes, well, I AM an FBI agent. They don’t call us ‘suits’ for nothing,” he added.

She giggled. “Yeah. So what did you want to talk to me about?” she asked, pouncing on the subject matter she’d been curious about for hours.

He fiddled with his own glass of wine. “Well, I’ve been thinking. Umm…my apartment’s way bigger than yours, and I have a huge closet, and…”

She stared at him. “Are you trying to ask me to move in with you?” she demanded.

He nodded. “Not very coherently, but yes,” he said ruefully. “I’d really love it if you did. Because I really love you, Jill, and I want to spend as much time with you as I can from now on.”

Her eyes filled up with tears. “Oh, Garreth, I think that’s the most romantic thing that anyone’s ever said to me,” she husked as she wiped at her eyes.

“So will you?” he asked hopefully.

She nodded. “Yes, I’d love to. I practically live at your place anyway. We might as well make it official.”

He felt suddenly light hearted and relieved. “All right. That’s great,” he sounded young and boyish and she smiled at him again. But this time there was a more feral quality to it. “So, should we go and celebrate this?” she asked, looking at him from under her lashes.

He gulped a little. “Err…?”

“I think I’m in the mood for ‘dessert’, Garreth,” Jill purred. “How about you?”

His pants suddenly felt too tight at the crotch, because he was absolutely sure that the dessert she was talking about wasn’t the conventional kind. “Yes, that sounds good,” he managed to say.

“Cool. Let’s get out of here then,” she said, rising to her feet. He got a good look at the slinky red dress she was wearing and the gorgeous rounded body inside of it as well. He scrambled to his feet a little awkwardly, in a sudden desperate hurry to pay the check.

Sofu sat with Fox on his lap, reading a letter he’d received with a small frown on his face. Lord D entered the sitting room and paused in the doorway. “Father? Is everything all right?” he asked, still with a touch of anxiety in his voice. It had been less than a week since his baby brother had been kidnapped after all.

Sofu looked up with a blink. “Hmm? Yes, everything is fine, my son. I merely got a letter from the Chinese Guardian today. She tells me that it was SHE who put Liu Shen Wei in my path, and she apologizes profusely. Apparently he had threatened her family as well and since they are only human…”

“Oh,” Lord D said. “That does make sense. She knew that you could take care of yourself.”

“And she had no idea that I had a mate and child, as I have not seen her in something like forty years,” Sofu said. “She is a very old woman by now. So she did not send him to me out of malicious intent at all, she simply knew that I would be then best person to deal with such a dangerous man.”

“Did she say how it was that he came to know of the Well’s existence in the first place?” the younger Kami asked as he glided over to the couch and sat down on it.

“Yes. She thinks he got the knowledge from an ancient text that his tong stole from a museum shipment,” Sofu said, looking back down at the letter. “Normally he would simply have sold it to a collector without bothering to have it translated, but some of the illustrations caught his eye. He was a cunning man and he became curious. He had it translated and while the person that did the translating did not believe what was written in it, Liu Shen Wei did. He became convinced that the Well existed and he began a maniacal campaign to find out where it was. That led him to the human family who have been its Guardians for many centuries and to the family's matriarch. She pretended not to know of its location and sent him to me instead. She did write to me to warn me of his presence here in Los Angeles, but the letter seemed to have gone astray somehow.”

“I see,” Lord D replied. He sighed. “So does this mean that we will not have to fear anyone else trying to find the location of the Well now?”

“I shouldn’t think so, since the ancient text was stolen from the tong by members of her family after Liu Shen Wei left for America. It will never be seen outside of their collection of secret documents again. And since he was a very suspicious, mistrustful person, he never showed it to many of the other members of his tong. Moreover he had the translator killed as a precaution. We are safe, I think.”

“What a terrible man,” Lord D said with a visible shiver.

“Indeed. But now no longer a danger to anyone,” Sofu replied with a vindictive little smile. He kissed the top of his son’s head lovingly.

Lord D’s lips twitched. His father’s sometimes vindictive nature took him by surprise, for Sofu was generally a tender, loving person. But no one with any brains messed with the elder Kami’s family, as that despicable Liu Shen Wei had discovered to his eternal detriment. “So all is well that end’s well, Father?” he said aloud.

“Indeed, my son,” Sofu murmured softly. “Indeed.”

The End