Life was strange for Violet Parker.

Over the past month, a lot of revelations had come out. Her entire world had tipped upside down. The young witch had discovered that her parents weren’t her parents, and now she needed to discover the whole truth. Her birth mother had reached out to her and offered to give her all of the answers, attached to the letter was an invitation to the handover ceremony. Packing her bags with a variety of clothes and tidbits, Violet made her way to the airport. She didn’t even have to book a hotel, her birth mother had offered to house her for as long as she needed to get to the truth.

It was a long trip from Florida to Seattle. The entire trip Violet couldn’t help but think about her birth mother. The small conversations they had on the phone were light on details regarding Tanner, and her parents confirmed the story was true, but also were pretty light on the details. What led her to be given up for adoption, and why couldn’t Violet remember any of it? Was it Violet’s fault she was put up for adoption? So many questions rattled around in the young woman’s head. Arriving in Seattle, a pre-booked Uber was waiting for her to take her out of the city and into the foothills of Tanner. Violet spent all of her time looking at all of the trees and all of the surroundings. Compared to hot and swampy Florida, Washington state was a different world. While in the back of the vehicle, Violet looked over the original letter she had received, looking at the name over and over again. She then began to wonder how Tanner differed from her coven back at home. She knew that Tanner was important, but hadn’t really bothered to dig into how important it was. Her coven back home was fairly chill. They gave you some basic and simple lessons but left you to explore magic in the safer of the grounds. She imagined given the importance of Tanner Coven, the rules might be a little stricter.

She watched as the car pulled into Tanner. She looked in awe of the small town vibe the place had, nestled all around by ranches and tall pine trees. As the car pulled away off the main street, she got her first glimpse of the Coven household. It was such an ornate building. It looked like something out of an old movie or a TV show. She also noted how busy it was, and how the poor girl had heavily underestimated how formal the event was. She was sorely underdressed for the occasion. No matter. She thanked the driver and got out of the car, heading to the trunk to pull out her suitcases as people mulled into the building. She showed her invitation at the door, which caused the person greeting everyone to simply give her a confused expression. Once inside proper, Violet placed her suitcases in a quiet corner, before pulling out the letter and looking at the name. She began to quietly walk around the party, being careful not to touch anyone or bump into them, looking for someone she thought looked trustworthy to ask about where her birth mother was. She eventually found what looked like someone who lived here as opposed to being a guest.

”Excuse me… I am looking for Amanda Aston.”

October had rolled around soon enough. The last few weeks Aurora and Daniel had grown closer. Being around him, and thinking of him gave her butterflies in her stomach. Most of her work projects were almost finished, for the time being; which gave her some free time to spend time with Daniel and focus on coven duties between their dates. Their first date had been a fun one. Daniel had taken her out bowling. At that time, it was something she hadn’t done in a long while, and it didn’t take long for either of them to get playfully competitive.

With an important coven Party, Aurora had spent days picking out her outfit. With it being a formal event, everyone needed to look their best. Even though she was attending with Daniel, as his date for the evening, her nerves had been building up. Mainly due to the fact that her family members were also attending. Trying not to think about that; Aurora finished getting dressed in her silver dress. Just as she was starting to style her hair into light curls; she heard her phone beep.

Daniel had put on his dad's old suit for the occasion, his lack of nice clothes also applied to formal wear. But his dad's suit fit well and honestly it made him happy, almost like his dad would still be there to see in the new coven leadership with him. His mom almost cried, saying he looked just like his dad. She gave him a hug and said he could take the car to pick up his date, she would get a ride with some other friends.

Daniel texted Aurora letting her know he was on his way, it would only be a couple of minutes driving. Instead of a podcast he just had his Spotify playlist going. He and Aurora had spent enough time together for her to learn his music taste was all over the place, mostly seated in the early 2000s.

He arrived at her house and parked on the street. He got out of the car and walked to her front door, knocking with his right hand and holding a small box in his left.

Picking up her phone, Aurora smiled at the text. ‘See you soon.’ she texted back. Finishing getting ready, soon her hair was styled to her liking. Not going heavy on the make-up either. Keeping it simple; her best scented perfume and some light eye-shadow and some light lip-gloss. Simple, yet appealing.

From a young age; Aurora was used to having nice clothes and formal wear. Her parents had dragged her to a few formal coven events growing up. It taught her to be prepared later in life, for events such as this. Hearing the sound of a familiar car, pull up outside of her home. Aurora made her way downstairs with her small bag. Her phone tucked safely inside with a few necessities should she need them.

As she opened the door, she was met by a cute sight. Daniel in a suit bearing a small gift. From knowing Daniel, she didn’t strike him as a suit type of guy. But it was a look that suited him rather well. “Wow, you look great.” Complimenting his attire.

Daniel knew it was silly to think, but he almost felt underdressed compared to Aurora. "Wow yourself, you look like a supermodel. And before I forget, this is for you," he opened the box to reveal a simple wrist corsage of white and red roses. He took it out and waited for her to put her hand out so he could put it on. Daniel was glad he went with a wrist corsage because he was nowhere near comfortable enough to be putting it on Aurora's chest at this point in their relationship.

Once the corsage was on Daniel would take the opportunity to kiss Aurora's hand, "if you're ready to depart our chariot awaits. Daniel offered his arm for Aurora to take, leading her down to the car, opening and closing her door for her before taking his spot in the driver's seat.

Her cheeks flushed bright pink at his compliment. “Oh, far from it.” Aurora didn’t think she looked that fancy. Still she was flattered by his comment. Looking curious as to what he got for her, she smiled seeing the wrist corsage. “Aww, how sweet. I love it, thank you.” It was beautiful. As he slid it around her wrist, it fitted perfectly around her slender wrist.

“I am all good to go, Just need to lock up.” With that, Aurora locked the door, before putting her home keys in a small purse that she had on her. Her arm linked with his, following him to the car. As he opened the car door for her, she thanked him with a soft smile, sliding into the car careful not to trap her dress in the door. Buckling up.

“I should probably warn you, my family is coming to this party.” Not wanting to make him feel nervous, but she also didn’t want him to be surprised if they’d run into her parents or grand-father. It was a Coven event after all. It’s not like she could tell them not to come; everyone was expected to turn up for the naming of the new coven leadership. Hopefully there’d be enough people mingling at the coven house, that they wouldn’t bump into her parents.

”Thanks for the heads up,” Daniel said as he started driving them to the event. His music was on quietly, current Avril Lavigne was playing. Dan hadn’t met Aurora’s family yet, she had told him about how there was some tension there. Hopefully he could make a good impression if they happened to run into each other.

The drive to the coven was relatively short, Daniel sang along to his music as they went. He was comfortable enough around Aurora at this point to reveal he was a big dork who loved to sing along to songs. ”Oh we have to do karaoke at some point, I love karaoke, as you’ve probably guessed.” As Daniel approached the coven house he saw the street was getting pretty full, luckily he found a spot not too far from the house, only a couple minutes walk. He put the car in park and said to Aurora, ”don’t open your door, allow me, I insist.” He exited the car and made his way to Aurora’s side, opening the door and offering his hand to help her out.

His calmness at the news was something she had needed. Appreciating it almost in a new way. If he had freaked out, it would have made her more nervous. “Thanks for being so calm about it.” her hand reached out, giving his a soft squeeze of gratitude. Aurora had always felt comfortable around Daniel, maybe even more so in the last few weeks; so she was always honest with him. Especially when it came to her relatives. Not wanting there to be any secrets, should he run into them.

But she tried not to worry herself. She wanted to enjoy the evening with him and their friends. Smiling to herself as Daniel sang along to a song. His cheeriness did always put her in a better mood. “I could have guessed. You have a nice voice.” Aurora smiled at his suggestion. “I don’t think I did karaoke since I was a kid.” Thinking back if she could remember the last time she did. It’s been a long while. As they arrived, Aurora saw the amount of cars parked already; Spotting a familiar car in the near distance. Her parents and grand-father were already here; must have arrived shortly before herself and Daniel. Before she could say something, he was out of the car and by her door.

“Such a gentleman.” she beamed with a warm smile. Not that he needed to open the door for her, but it was still sweet. Getting out of the car with his help. Aurora shut the car door behind her, before her arm wrapped around his. It was a slightly breezy evening. Her blonde curls swaying back and forth in the light wind.

”Well it’s a formal event, this feels like the appropriate time to crank up the charm,” Daniel said as they walked to the house. They got to the entrance and Daniel noticed Carlisle had Mary at his side, not Amanda. Though given how his mother could be it wasn’t the most surprising thing. Speaking of Amanda, she was leaned against a wall, seemingly knocked out. ”Well it looks like we missed some excitement. Carlisle, Mary, good to see you’re both doing well,” Daniel greeted the two politely. Aurora did the same before they made their way further into the house so they weren’t blocking the entrance. ”How about I get us some drinks? Then we can theorise on what exactly we missed before we got here.”

In her eyes, he didn’t need to try so hard. As his charms seemed to come naturally when he relaxed.

The sight at the front door was an interesting one. She rose a slight eyebrow at Amanda’s predicament. “Looks like the party has already kicked off in high gear.” she mused lightly. Turning her attention to Mary and Carlisle, she greeted them both with a warm smile. Miles’s mother had always been more of a kinder woman, so no wonder she was here greeting everyone. It just made more sense. No one felt welcomed by Amanda’s coldness in comparison. After exchanging a few pleasantries with the pair at the front door, she and Daniel found herself further in the coven house.

“Wine would be wonderful.” Aurora said, at the mention of drinks. “My best guess, Amanda’s bitchy mode had turned on rather quickly already.” Only guessing what they might have missed, before their arrival. Having arrived a few moments after Amanda’s outburst.

"Red or white?"

"Red."

"As you wish," Daniel went off to the refreshment table and grabbed himself and Aurora both a glass of red wine, before finding her in the room once again. "You know, some people swear by the health benefits of drinking a glass of wine everyday," Daniel said as he gave Aurora her glass. "I'm not much of a wine drinker myself, but it's interesting to think about how alcohol, which is technically a poison, can still be good for us in certain quantities."

As Daniel went to grab them their refreshments, her eyes scanned the room. For a second she had to do a double take when she spotted a familiar woman mingling in the crowd. It took Aurora a few seconds of squinting to make out the features to realise that it indeed was Claire Montgomery. How was she alive? Aurora might have not seen Liliths mother in years but she recognised her clear as day.

Finding herself a little distracted when Daniel came back with their drinks. "Oh yes, something about the tannin count in wine." She spoke once she snapped out of her shock. Thanking him for the refreshment. Taking a sip or two, trying to wash off her shock.

Aurora seemed surprised by something, Daniel glanced over to where she seemed to be looking before he got back. Daniel wasn't the most observant when it came to spotting someone in a crowd so whoever or whatever had caught Aurora's eye went unnoticed to him. "Well done on knowing your wine trivia, 10 points," Daniel said jokingly, "now back to what happened with Amanda, I wonder what it was she did that got her in that state? I'm hoping we didn't miss anything too exciting."

Starring Miles Prices and Mary Price

---

Fresh off the heels of her conversation with Lilith, Mary beelined back to the main hall for her next target. She made sure to give her best friend at the drinks table a nod of recognition before gesturing to tell her she'd be there in a bit. She then looked around the room to see Miles not too far from the drinks table, himself engaged in conversation with Kolby. She walked across the room to her son and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Milo," she calls out, placing a hand on his shoulder. This causes the man to whip around in response, becoming face to face with his mother. "Can I steal you for a moment. Please?"

Miles goes to tell her to give him a moment to finish his conversation but meeting her eyes he could only see the panic and urgency behind them. Miles wasn't used to seeing those emotions their. His mother seemed to always be calm and collected, even in times she shouldn't be so seeing the worry behind those eyes almost scared the man. He gave a simple nod before turning to Kolby.

”The Matriarch calls. I'll see you later, man," He says, sharing a fist bump with the man before allowing his mother to take him away with a huff at his nickname for her.

Mary leads him back up the stairs and to the room she had just talked to Lilith in. With every step her stomach seemed to sink deeper as she thought about everything she needed to tell the boy. She could only hope he could forgive her for all of it. Miles, on the other hand, seemed to feel less nervous about what was about to transpire but more curious. Did he do something wrong? Did something happen to Carlisle? Was Lilith ok? All questions he pondered as his mother ushered him into an empty room and closed the door.

Miles enters far enough into the room to allow her to close the door but keeping his eyes fixated on her. Her slow movements, the wringing of hands and almost unnerving silence she commanded over the room. Was his mother scared? Mary Price was never scared. Well, in his age Miles recognised that wasn't true, that even his pillar of strength that was his mother had tasted fear itself. Likely more times than he could count but she never showed it, not as apparent as this. ”Ma?" he utters quizzically.

At her son's voice Mary was snapped back to Earth. She gave him a forced smile before taking a seat on the edge of bed. "Come sit down, Hurricane. You're gonna need a seat for this one,"

Miles raises his pierced brow but followed through with his mother's commands, sitting at her left also on the edge of the bed. ”Did I do something wrong?'

"Not you, not this time, Hurricane," Mary replies looking at her son. Since when did he get so old? She could still clearly remember the days she'd have to chase his little toddler body around the house to wrestle a nappy onto him after he pulled his off or how he'd shove all his favourite toys into a suitcase and drag it into whatever room Mary was in to announce he was going to "go back to visit LiLi" days after they returned from their trips with the Montgomerys. Since when did time go so fast? It almost brought a tear to her eyes thinking about how her little boy had become a man, possibly a father even. "No, Miles, this one's on me," she responds with a sigh.

"I, uh, learnt some things about your father today." She couldn't help but feel the temptation to lie to him, tell him she always thought his dad was a warlock, she never noticed the black dot on his back that became a full mark later in life, that she was fully was fully convinced that he did get that 'tattoo' the way she claimed but she owed her boy the truth. "But we should probably start with this things I know." She glances back up at her son, awaiting his reaction.

Miles' eyes remained on his mother's face as he struggled to shake the uneasiness she was making him feel. At her words he cocked his head in curiosity, tapping his fingers on the side of his legs.

"Miles, your father was a magi. And it turns out you probably are as well," Mary says, looking into her son's eyes.

Miles' brow furrows as he shakes his head. The magi world was something Miles knew very little of, only gleaning some information from Ty when he decided to talk about it but he knew one piece of information about them for sure. ”Don't magi have a birthmark?" he asks.

Mary took a shaky breath, this was the question she was dreading most, the only part of this conversation that may make her son mad at her. Her eyes struggled to meet his but she didn't let up her gaze. "I always expected that mole you were born with may have actually been a magi related mark but it wasn't a proper mark. I figured it may have just been an indictor of magi heritage or somethin'. When your powers started showin' they were more warlock like in nature. That was a relief, Miles. I know warlocks, I can train warlocks so I just raised you as a warlock. Woulda caused issue in the coven havin' a magi next in line for coven member, especially with Amanda at the forefront. Didn't want that woman makin' your life any harder than she was. Then you came home that day and asked about the mark on your back-"

”I got the mole tattooed over, remember? That was my first one. We had a fight about it and everything!" Miles argues, unsure what to make of his mothers words. In return she flashes him an apologetic smile.

"When you came home askin' 'bout that mark I was scared Miles, I didn't know what to do. I don't know how to train magi. We already had you down to take my spot in the coven and you and Lilith were together, Junie and Ty got enough flack when it was revealed Ty was a magi and I didn't want you kids sufferin' through somethin' like that. So I did the only thing I could think of." Mary took another shaky breath as she swallowed the lump forming in her throat. "I convinced you it was the result of one of your drunken benders and enchanted you to believe it... I'm sorry, Miles,"

Miles didn't know what to think. Hell, he didn't know what to feel. He and his mother didn't keep secrets. He knew she told little lies for him not to worry; she wasn't struggling, she wasn't tired, he wasn't getting on her nerves; but this? This was far different. Miles didn't know whether to be mad or indifferent. Mary reaches for his hand to give it a squeeze and he withdraws it.

"Yeah, I deserve that," Mary mutters in response. She looks back at her son, recognising the hurt in his eyes. "I'm sorry, kid. I know I hurt you but I was just trying to protect you. I was never certain myself until tonight..."

”Couldn't you have just asked your divination if I was magi? It's not that hard," he snaps, recoiling slightly a his words. He didn't mean for them to come out so harsh.

"Why would I? If the answer was yes what was I to do? Raise you know I'll never know how to properly train you for who you are or protect you from what the magi face? Live day to day knowing a diviner would pick it up? It's not like we go around asking people or our divination if they're magi and powers like Lil's are only gonna pick up on an issue if you know, or at least think, you're magi. If you're convinced you're a warlock no one's just gonna pick up on it unless they pry."

Miles looks back at his mother with a sigh. This was too much for a conversation that could have happened at home but he couldn't help but soften at the pain and worry painted on her face. He was mad that she lied to him with magic, sure, but he understood that was her trying her best. She always was when it came to him. ”Is that all?" he asks, his voice gentle.

At the gentling of his voice and the softening of his gaze Mary couldn't help but give a small smile. She knew he wasn't pleased but knowing he wasn't completely enraged was comforting. "That's all I knew but there's something more I found out today. I was talking to Salem and she's very convinced that your father may actually be Aloysius Leighton."

Miles' brow furrows once more. ”That name means nothing to me, ma," he replies, picking at a loose thread on his pants.

"Aloysius Leighton tried to head up the downfall of the guild back in the day, say 2 or 3 years before you were born? I don't know too much about it myself but I know he tried to take down the guild- and failed. I recently learnt he hid here for a while after. I also know he’s the eldest son of a great magi family.”

At her words Miles sucks in a breath. ”Well, no wonder Salem seemed uneasy around me…” he comments with a sigh. ”What do I do with this, ma?”

"Look, kid, you're big enough for this to be your responsibility. If you want to keep being a ‘warlock’ then do it, if you want to try and learn to be a magi so be it. I just thought you’d want to hear all this before Salem comes at you.” She purses her lips as she watches as Miles gives a solemn nod. "You need to know, Miles, being a descendant of the Leightons is gonna pit a lot of people against your relationship with Lilith. Two major bloodlines, especially witch and magi, shouldn’t really be mixin’.”

Miles bites his lower lip at his mother’s final statement. Him and Lilith were finally together again. It was good, very good. And here she was saying it was about to be harder, maybe damn near impossible, to keep them together? He finally had her and he didn’t want to lose her again but was it worth it for Salem to put the whole coven on the line?

”So, we just need to not have kids, right? No merging of the bloodlines if there no kids merging it,” Miles concludes, wringing his hands. He doesn’t notice as his mother tenses slightly at his words. She doesn’t say anything, it’s not her news to share.

"We should get back out there, if anyone asks I was telling you off for whatever your latest hijinx was,” she jokes with a light chuckle, making her way to the door. "Take as long as you need to process. And Miles, honey.” She turns back to her son, a small warm smile painted on her face. "I’m proud of you, kid.”

The speech was over and it seemed that everything was okay. People didn't seem to react badly to the speech, so that was a weight off Carlisle's back. He looked out to the crowd as he walked off the stage. His eyes settled on Miles standing at the back of the crowd. He couldn't quite see from where he was standing how Miles was looking. While before he had decided to leave Miles and Lilith alone until after talking to Salem he supposed it wouldn't hurt to check in with Miles and just see how things were going in his world. Carlisle entered the crowd and grabbed a small glass of wine as he walked past a waiter. He shifted through the crowd eager not to make a scene before arriving at Miles.

"Hey buddy… How you doin???" Carlisle asked, his voice getting slightly higher pitched at the end as he didn't know what was going on.

Miles barely moved when Carlisle started his speech. It was a good speech, at least the parts he could make out in his shocked state was good. In a way the boy was stuck in his own world, still trying to process everything he had learnt. That was when Carlisle join him. At the rising of his voice Miles couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Did Carlisle have more news for him too? "I'm fine," he replies cautiously. "What'd your voice do that for?"

Caelilsie's eyes looked away as Miles questioned him. It seemed that Miles was out of the loop possibly. Carlisle certainly didn't want to make Miles problems worse. "No reason. Just you know… After speech nerves" Carlisle replied with a nervous chuckle.

Miles cocked his head, unconvinced of the man's words but he wasn’t sure if he wanted to push this more. Maybe Carlisle just knew about Miles' dad? Miles pushed his situation and gave Carlisle a nod. "Well, you did good Car," Miles responds, clapping the man on the shoulder.

"So what's the boy wonder doing over here? Shouldn’t you be mingling with the big names of magic?"

"I just wanted to check in on you" Carlisle replied. Being honest, but realising he may have stepped into it. "Like, stuff kicked off at the entrance with my mother, Salem and Mary. Amanda is in my head currently so she can't cause any more trouble. Turns out I found out about your father, and just wanted to you know check in and see how you are doing" Carlsie scratched the back of his head. He wasn't lying. He was just being slightly liberal with the definition of the truth.

"Sides, the big names tend to be boring. It's all monotone stuff. Salem comes later and that is going to be a difficult conversation with the whole…" Carlsie realised he almost spoke out again. He paused his sentence to think for a second before finishing Amanda situation"

Miles couldn't help but notice the way Carlisle was treading eggshells when it came to his words. Miles wasn't privy to what had earlier transpired at the entrance and wanted to ask Carlisle what had happened but that thought was interrupted by Carlisle mentioning Miles' dad.

Did Carlisle know about his dad before Miles? And did he know Miles knew? Were Carlisle and Miles' mother in cahoots? How much did his friend know? Miles was stuck as to whether he asked Carlisle what he knew or how he knew it as Carlise said his piece. Him pointing out the Amanda problem made him more suspicious. Why did he hesitate before that word?

"And the my father situation," he mutters under his breath before looking Carlisle up and down. "Is that what this is about?"

Carlisle realised that screwed up in revealing he knew about Miles' father's true identity. Still better to reveal that than what else he had worked out. "Yeah… That's what it was. Salem could see the resemblance in you and wanted to speak to Amanda about it. Turns out my mother was responsible for alot of what happened before we were born" It shouldn't have shocked Carlisle that his mother had acted like that. But it still hurt. "She wanted to have your father to herself. And when she found out you had been conceived, she alerted Salem who came to get him and take him back to the Guild"

Miles reeled back slightly at Carlisle’s words. How had he known more about his father than Miles. "What actually happened with this situation with Salem and our mas outside?” he asks his friend curiously. A more dangerous question played on his tongue but he held it back.

Carlisle choked slightly as he tried to figure out exactly how to word his response "Well. Salem saw you and she thought you had an uncanny resemblance to your father. She went to ask Amanda and Mary about it, and well. Things did not go well. It was revealed that Amanda had been the one to call Salem about your father purely out of spite and jealousy. Eventually Amanda got punched in the throat and everyone stormed off." There. He had told enough of the truth and simply omitted the parts about the pregnancy. " I also found out that the only reason I was conceived was to get revenge over the fact That Mary was Pregnant" Carlisle let out a soft sigh. He had suspected it for a while, but this pretty much confirmed it.

Miles stood still for a moment as he processed all the information he’d been given. It seemed Carlisle and his lives were more interconnected than he would have ever thought. A quiet "Well…” was all he could say for a good few minutes. "I need a drink.” was all he could muster as he turned back to the drinks table to grab another whiskey. His hands shook slightly as he grasped the bottle to pour the honey liquor into the cup.

It wasn’t until the bottle was safely back on the table that Miles spoke up once more. "Salem’s gonna kill me, ain’t she?”

" No… " Carlisle replied back right away. The couple of minutes of silence had been awkward, but Carlisle could see Miles shaking. He was struggling to hold it together. Has someone told him about Lilith? The fact he didn't blurt it out upon meeting Carlisle, told him otherwise. "I won't let her touch you. Magi or Witch, you are a part of this Coven and from Salem's point of view you are off limits. She will have to go through me first" Carlisle gave a slightly nervous chuckle. He didn't want it to come to that. But he was sincere in his promise.

"What if this Aloysius guy just isn’t my dad? I mean, the only proof we’re working off is feelings, right?” Miles asks. He knew it was a lost cause but he was desperately searching for some hope that maybe everyone was wrong. He wasn’t really ready for his whole life to be turned upside down. At Carlisle’s statement Miles gives the man a small smile. "Thanks, bud. But you don’t have to do that.”

" As leader it is my responsibility to protect the coven from outside threats. But I wouldn't be doing it for the coven. I would be doing it because you are my best friend" Carlisle smiled back at Miles, he could see that Miles was trying to claw at denial. Not a good sign. "Listen. I know it's alot to take in. The fact you are a Magi and your father is a terrible person. At least from Salem's point of view. I don't know enough about Magi history to be able to comment"

"My dad’s a war criminal, my ma’s been lying to me and Salem’s been looking at me as if I’m an adversary from her past. What is going on, Car?” Miles sighs, taking a large gulp of the whiskey in his cup.

"Look, you need to speak to Lilith. I ain't gunna say. It's not my place. Don't worry about your father or Salem. I will deal with it all. It's the least I can do." As if on instinct, Carlisle wrapped his arms around Miles to pull him into a hug to try and signal that it was going to be okay.

Miles couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh as his best friend pulled him into an embrace. Then he brought up Lilith. "Lilith? Why do I need to talk to Li?" he quizzes, his brow furrowing. She didn't have more bombshells to drop, did she? That was the last thing he needed tonight.

After having received no response from anyone regarding Amanda Aston, Violet had found her way to the drink table and poured herself a glass of red wine. She swirled the contents slowly in her glass as the speech had begun, her eyes traveling around everywhere to find anyone who resembled the person she was trying to find. At the mention of Amanda’s name in the man’s speech, she blinked and raised a brow before turning her attention fully to him. She looked him over and rose a brow. Her curiosity had been piqued.

Sipping slowly at her drink as she continued to listen to the speech, the young woman started to put everything together. This Carlisle was Amanda Aston’s son, and he was apparently a wizard who had been shunned from his family. Not only that, but he was to be the new Coven leader? Violet downed her wine in one gulp before setting the glass down on a passing waiter’s tray, grabbing a glass of champagne with her other hand. She waited for the man to be finished, her eyes trailing his every movement. She waited a moment as he approached another man and started a conversation with him. Her blood started to boil as she continued to study him.

She had enough of watching. Taking a small sip from her glass, she made her way over to the two men, her eyes never leaving Carlisle. Violet stepped up to his side and sneered as she looked him over. ”So. You’re the chosen one.”

Carlisle could feel Miles starting to fall apart. He was about to speak when all of the sudden an unknown woman walked upto him and suddenly started sneering at him. Carlisle wanted to sneer back, but that was something his mother would do. He was better than that. He would move to the side of Miles and look over the mysterious woman. ”Apparently so. For better or for worse. But I am sorry, I don’t know who you are?”

”Mmm. How convenient.” She rolled her eyes and looked him over once more. How could this puny little thing have her crown? Sure, she had only just known that the Aston’s were going to rule the Coven, but already she knew the title of leader should be hers. Besides, he had admitted that he was a warlock. A witch deserved to be in that spot.

Violet merely gave the other man a glimpse before returning her full attention to Carlisle. She tilted her head as she not so subtlety looked him over, her head shaking with disapproval. ”Seems as though mother dearest gave up the wrong child.” Her eyes once more landed on his face as she took another sip of her champagne. ”Name’s Violet. Unfortunately, it seems as though you’re my brother.”

Carlisle’s heart sank when he heard the words coming out of the woman's mouth. He had a sister? And where was this aggression coming from? Carlisle took a moment to clear his throat ”My sister? I have never had a sister. What the hell are you on about?”

Rolling her eyes, she looked around the room as she resumed speaking with the man. ”Twenty five years ago, Amanda Aston gave up a daughter who she thought had no magical qualities. She found no use for the seemingly mortal little girl.” She shrugged her shoulders before looking back at him. ”Unbeknownst to her, the little thing just happened to be a late bloomer. And grew to be an exceptionally talented witch.”

Violet sipped once more at her glass, finishing the champagne. ”I received an invitation to be here tonight from my birth mother, as well as all expenses paid. Now, where is she?”

”Hang on. What. Mother sent you away” Carlisle was struggling to comprehend what was going on. How was the violet girl related to him? Why? ”My mother has caused no end of trouble tonight. So I have locked her away in a mental prison until after the service”

Before Carlisle could give Miles his answer they were interrupted by a blonde woman he didn't recognise. She was quick to state her piece. It seemed Carlisle's night was shaping up to be as mind boggling as his. At her speech about Amanda giving her up Miles raises an eyebrow. "And your way of getting back at her is continuing her line in the coven?" he questions, looking the woman up and down. "I feel like if my dad who abandoned me at birth was in some position of power the last thing I'd want is to continue his line's work." It seemed an understatement with what he had learnt earlier but he was still coming to terms with his father's status.

”You did what?” Her brows furrowed in annoyance at her pathetic excuse for a brother. She was about to speak further when the other man in the group opened his mouth. Raising a brow, she glanced at him and looked him over. He looked mildly interesting. Violet rolled her eyes and placed her free hand on her hip. [color=violet]”One, who the hell are you? This is a conversation between family. And two- did you not hear me earlier? I was invited.” She looked back over to Carlisle and snarled her lip. ”Let her out. I need to have a talk with our darling mommy.”

”Yeah, I ain’t doing that. I don’t trust her not to get up to no good, and I don’t trust you to somehow get involved” Carlisle snipped back, clearly getting more annoyed. ”Don’t talk to my best friend like that either.”

"Miles Price. Displeasure to make your acquaintance," Miles answers her first question, raising his whiskey to take another swig. "As for your second question, if you paid attention to your brother's speech you'd know someone else was more of a mother to him than his own, that was my ma. Essentially makes us brothers which makes us…there you go, family," he continues, throwing an arm across Carlisle's shoulders. He so desperately wanted to pull his attention away from this conversation and ask him about why he needed to talk to Lilith but he restrained himself.

Her lip snarled farther as she looked between the two men. ”Ew.” Violet rolled her eyes before looking back at Carlisle. She huffed out a breath of annoyance as she raised a brow. ”Amanda Aston sent me a letter stating that I would find out the truth about all of..” She paused to wave her hand at the room. ”This. I’m to stay here at the Coven while finding out said truth. Which means you’re stuck with me.”

Setting her glass down on a passing waiter’s tray, she looked back at her brother. ”So until further notice, I’m now your problem. I’m not leaving until I see our mother.”

At the woman's demand Miles snorts a laugh, slipping his arm off his friend and takes another mouthful of whiskey. "Look Vi, can I call you Vi? Actually, I don't care. Y'know how they say never meet your heroes? That very much applies to your ma too. Trust me, she's a vile monster set on just ruining everyone's lives. Don't fall for her traps. She might eat you if she's hungry enough. I say you stay for the booze then leave in the morning. Trust me, you don't wanna meet her."

Her eyes moved back to the other man and she let out a small breath. Why was she even bothering with this one? He had nothing to offer her besides raising her blood pressure. Rolling her eyes, she looked back at Carlisle and folded her arms across her chest. [color=violet]”I’m staying until I meet Amanda Aston. And trust me,” she paused to eye Miles before looking back at her brother. ”It sounds as if the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree. What do they say? Like mother, like daughter.”

She glanced back at Miles and rose a brow. ”Now shoo. The actual blood family needs to have a chat.”

”Listen… Violet was it? I am going to say this once, and once only. So I want you to listen very well…” Carlisle leaned his head in close to Violet ”Fuck off! I don’t care if you are my sister, this is my coven now and I have decided I don't want you here. So crawl back from whatever hole you crawled out of.”

Her eyes darkened as a wicked smirk spread across her face. She lowered her voice before tilting her head at the man. ”As far as I can see it, this Coven belongs in the hands of the first born Aston. That would be me. So, you really want me out of here?” Violet growled from her chest. ”Make me.”

Miles was taken aback slightly at the woman's words. He gave an impressed whistle, looking over at Carlisle. "Oof, good luck with that one, bud," he says, clapping the man's shoulder. He chugs the rest of his cup before continuing. "I'll leave you with it, apparently I have a girlfriend to find." He turns on his heel before quietly calling out "Oh Lilith." Considering she wasn't in his line of sight chances are she couldn't hear him. He didn't mind. The call out was for dramatic effect more than anything else. He then wanders off.

Carlisle watched as Miles seemed to excuse himself, leaving Carlisle alone with Violet. With no offensive magic, there was no way he could make Violet leave on his own. He had kind of hoped that Miles would have at least stayed and used his enchantment magics. ”I am not letting my mother out so she can ruin this party.”

Her smirk broadened as she watched Miles walk off, then returned her sights back on her brother. She let out a bored sigh and rolled her eyes, grabbing another champagne flute from a waiter. ”Well. Looks like we have plenty of time to catch up then, don’t we?” Violet kept her eyes on him as she sipped her drink.

”Well sadly, I have alot of important things to do. So i won’t be able to spend any time for you.” Carlisle said with a catty smirk. ”I am sure you can find some people to annoy”

”That’s fine.” She glanced about the room and smirked, noticing some very important looking people. ”I’m sure there are plenty of people who’d be interested to know that there was another Aston out there.” Violet sipped at her glass as she continued to look around. ”And I’m sure even your scrawny self must have a girlfriend somewhere. I’ll make sure to have a nice long chat with her as well.”

Carlisle stopped when she mentioned Willow. ”Fuck you.” Carlisle growled. ”Keep pushing it and I will send you into the fucking void like mother.”

Her smirk widened as she found the right button to push. She looked back at him and raised a brow. ”Oooh, touchy, brother.” Shrugging her shoulders, she finished her drink in one gulp. ”But that would also mean that mother dearest and I will be together. Isn’t that what you don’t want to happen?”

”I can keep you in separate voids” Carlisle growled as he looked over at her, watching the sheer amount of alcohol that she was drinking [color=00FFFFF]”Keep drinking like that and you will be out like a light in no time”[/color]

She gave a small laughing scoff and rolled her eyes. ”Oh, please. I can handle my alcohol.” Violet returned her attention back to the crowd and noticed a brunette looking their way. Looking the girl over, she scrunched her nose and let out a disapproving click of her tongue. ”Really, brother? Her? I know you’re…you, but you really can’t do any better?”

Shaking her head, she sighed and returned her attention fully back to him. ”I’ll find my own room. Once your little party is over, have mother come find me.”

"You are not staying in my coven. You can go sleep on the streets for all I care" Carlisle scoffed back as she looked away from Willow. He had become extremely defensive now, this woman. His sister it seemed, was a much more dangerous threat than his actual mother.

Violet grinned at him and tilted her head. ”But if I’m not here, how will you keep an eye on me? You’ll let me find just any place to sleep?” She looked back at Willow and shrugged. ”She looks the accommodating type. She is dating you, after all, right? I’m sure she wouldn’t mind Carlisle’s poor innocent sister spending the night. Especially after she found out that you won’t let me sleep in our coven.”

Carlisle stepped forward and growled loudly as she mentioned Willow again. "Right that is it. I have had enough of you" Carlisle focused carefully as he then performed the mental prison spell on Violet and cast hr into his mind. He wasn't able to split the spell properly however and ended up sending her to the same void as his mother. Carlisle would take a few deep breaths, clearly exhausted from having to cast the spell and now maintain it twice.

Stumbling slightly, Violet looked around at her surroundings and growled under her breath. ”Damn idiot man.” She sensed someone else’s presence and she slowly turned, noticing a brunette woman standing behind her. Looking the woman over, she let out a shaky breath as she raised her brow in question. ”Amanda Aston, I presume?”

”You look lovely, my sweet,”

Catherine, mascara wand in hand, turned her attention from the bathroom mirror before her to the figure of her mother in the doorway. ”Thanks, mum.” she replies with a small smile before turning back to the mirror. She couldn’t help but notice the shaking of her hands. She’d been a member of the coven for a month now, joining occasional outings and scouting missions, and all had been fine but this brought all the generations of coven members. This included the generation who fought against her father. She could only hope none recognised who she was descended from but considering her uncle was handing over to her she wasn’t hopeful.

”Are you sure you don’t want to come?” she asks her mother, eyes still fixated on her visage in the mirror as she dragged the mascara wand over her eyelashes. ”Your name was on the invitation too.”

Cat couldn’t help but notice the small sigh that escaped the older woman’s lips. ”It’s not my world. I think I’m better off staying as far from it as possible, especially with that Aston woman there. You and I both know my name was only on the invitation in the name of diplomacy.”

Catherine gave a somewhat solemn nod. She wished her mother would come along regardless but she had a good point. Ever since she found out about her magical heritage there seemed to be a weird distance between Catherine and her mother. Not that they had grown apart but there was that mutual understanding there was this whole world Catherine was a part of that Melanie Heirich could never truly understand. Her mother seemed to almost avoid magic all together. Cat didn’t blame her, until she started training her magic her mother’s last run in with it was escaping the destruction being caused by her ex.

After admiring the finishing touches of her make-up Catherine turns back to her mother. ”I should go but I’ll see you later tonight,” she says with a small smile before placing a kiss on her mother’s cheek. She starts heading toward the front door.

”Have fun. And say hi to your uncle for me,” her mother calls after her.

”I will! Love you,” Cat calls back.

---

Catherine made her way to the coven house, even after a month it was so impressive in her eyes. As she walked to the entrance she couldn’t help but notice Miles’ mother was at the door with Carlisle rather than his own mother. Catherine’s mum had mentioned she used to work in the diner with Mary Price back in the day, long before she knew of the magical community or that her colleague was part of it. She handed them her invitation and shared some quick pleasantries before entering the house.

She wandered through the open rooms of the house exchanging short pleasantries with her generation of coven members until Carlisle gave his speech. After the man had returned back to the crowd, Catherine turned to continue her conversation hoping to find herself face to face with Zachery Carter.

Zach had no idea why he was here in all honesty. He could have easily stayed at home. This was all some kind of pompous bullshit that he could do without. So yeah. They are going to crown a new leader. Whoop de doo. Carlisle was a spineless little shit either way. Zach had taken him down a couple of times. In fact the only reasons Miles and Zach had ever fought, was over Carlisle. He stood there with a whisky in hand as Cat turned around to see him. With a small smirk on his face he raised his glass.

"Wanna take a picture? Might last a bit longer"

Catherine didn’t know Zach all that well. She didn’t need to, his reputation preceded him and that reputation was enough to know she wanted to be as far away as possible. She scoffed at his comment, rolling her eyes slightly. ”Why? Do you need one that bad?”

”Well, It would be nice to look at myself for a bit. Be the only interesting thing in this hellscape of a party” Zach uttered with a small sigh. He really didn’t know why he was even bothering. With a small swig of his whiskey he let out a small sigh. ”I have never seen you around here. You new? Or have you been so plain that you blended into the background my whole life?”

”Bit of both,” the young woman shrugs. ”I also have better things to do with my time than jumping house party to house party.” Catherine didn’t give the man any of her information, she wasn’t sure if she really wanted him knowing who she was. Part of her called to just move on and find someone more agreeable to talk to but she pushed it away.

”Nothing wrong with house parties so long as Carlisle isn’t there to waste your time” Zach said with a grumble, bringing back memories of college and all the house parties that had been ruined. ”Sides, Tanner is a boring old place, Not exactly many parties going on, and having only a couple of bars really limits your options you know? So here I am, standing in a gaggle of pompous wasters, having some whiskey”

”What would Carlisle being there have to do with anything?” Catherine asks, cocking her head. Carlisle was another character she barely knew, the man seemed to distance himself from her somewhat, but he didn’t seem like a particularly bad person.

Zach gave off a deeper sigh ”Because Carlisle and Miles would always be together. People seem to forget that me and Miles are friends too. Miles would spend the whole party trying to get Carlisle come out of his awkward little shell and that was just boring as hell. And once Miles had finally got drunk enough to have some real fun, Carlisle would try to whisk him home like some kind overzealous mother. He was such a kiljoy” Zach had started to grip the whiskey glass in his hand a little tighter only realising when he looked down at the white skin of his fingers.

Cat became relatively still in place. The last thing she had planned was to become part of an impromptu therapy session. She seemed to be good at getting herself into those. She wasn’t quite sure what to make of the man acting almost like a jealous girlfriend and he hardly seemed the type to take good advice. ”Maybe Miles is just closer to Carlisle,” the woman muses gently with a sigh.

”Yeah, but who would want to be friends with that loser. Miles stands up for him as well, that is the sad thing. He can’t see what a dead weight that guy is. Still. Maybe I am just defensive because I don’t have any other guys to hang out with in Tanner. Me and Kolby don’t get along, and Rowan is always in his own little state of mind.” Zach began to fidget, he didn’t quite like the fact that he basically admitted weakness in front of someone, yet alone someone who he hardly knew.

”Right,” Cat replies, her voice trailing off. Honestly she never took Zach as a vulnerable type. It was nearly uncomfortable, not so much the vulnerability itself but that in contrast to how she perceived that man. Her eyes fixated on the glass in the man’s hands for a moment as he spoke. ”I mean, Tanner’s small but it’s not that small. I’m sure there’s someone at these house parties you’d get along with,”

”There is that. Last time I was at one of these parties I ended up getting a whiskey bottle in the side of the head. I had a concussion for three days afterwards. I have too much history with Tanner, everyone knows me and my business. It's not like college where the campus is so big, and there are so many people that you just blend in.” Leaning his head back he necked the rest of his glass in one, feeling the burning liquid light up his chest, causing Zach to cough lightly for a second. ”Thing is, many people just assume I am this hyper flirt that will sleep with anything with a pulse. And to a degree they aren’t wrong. But no one ever asks how I am, or what I am doing. It is always ‘Stay away from him’ or ‘urgh’ I do actually have complexities, but no one wants to listen or stay close enough to find out”

Catherine choked down the temptation to reply to his comment about what people think about him with an ‘aren’t you?’ but instead remained silent as he ranted. ”And how are you?” she echoes cautiously, not quite sure how those words came out of her mouth. She was quite visibly taken aback by the sudden 180 this conversation had taken, even if she was trying not to show it.

Zach was expecting some kind of brush off response. Something along the lines of ‘oh well, you are a whore aren't you? So what's the point in talking?’ But to his surprise, Catherine came up with something entirely different. Zach didn’t answer for a moment, trying to think of the right sentence to say. Normally he would deflect the question, become aggressive or hyper flirty. ”Honestly? Lonely” He muttered out, he kept his voice low, so that no one who was passing by could overhear him. ”I always knew adjusting back to Tanner would be hard, but not this hard. Living on my own, trying to work and get some money, and then trying to be sociable in a small town where everyone knows everyone's business. It’s hard” Zach looked down in shame, his eyes fixated on the now empty whiskey glass.

Cat knew how it felt to have others know your business and be judging you off of it. Sure, their specific situations were vastly different but she knew the feeling of everyone in a room thinking they knew exactly who you are. ”Yeah, I get that,” she responds with a sigh. ”People just acting like you’re one thing you’re not, or at least not completely.” The young woman fidgets with her rings as she talks before looking up at the man. ”So prove them wrong. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

”It's a bit hard when most people won’t give me the time of day anymore. It wouldn’t shock me if after this conversation, someone leans in and warns you to stay away from me, because they are trying to be helpful.” Zach noticed by looking upwards that Cat seemed to be just as uncomfortable at the moment. Raising his head back up he tried to give off a weak smile. ”I suppose I ought to go get a drink and get out of here, before the dance starts.”

At his first statement Cat couldn’t help but chuckle. ”Honestly? Someone will probably say the same thing to you about me,” she replies, her eyes floating around the room. Were those weary looks real? Were they pointed and her or Zach? Or were they all figments of her imagination and insecurity. ”You like parties, this is a party. Not gonna show ‘em too great if you run away now, Especially before the actual handover.”

”I don’t really think that Dancing is my thing. Well. Not the dancing they have in mind. Side’s I don’t have anyone to dance with. I wasn’t planning on leaving, just standing on the outskirts and hiding as many drink bottles as I can find incase I bump back into Erin” He said with a slight chuckle, trying to deflect his insecurities.

”Neither do I,” the woman replies with a shrug. ”What’d you do so bad to get everyone whispering anyway?”

”Be aggressive, push people away, and try to sleep with anyone who would be near me. Worked for a while, but now my reputation is so infamous that most people who live in Tanner give me a wide berth. How about you?”

”Less of what I did and more of what I come from,” Catherine sighs, tucking a loose lock of hair behind her ear. It seemed odd that she was finding camaraderie and empathy in Zach Carter but here she was. ”Very long story short my dad sought out Tanner for refuge then a couple of years later betrayed the coven by leading an attack against them. Obviously they didn’t succeed but judging by what people have said they were very close.”

”And by association you must be bad too. I see. Well people suck.” Zach said with a soft laugh as he rolled her shoulders. ”Well, I am going to get some more drinks. You are more than welcome to come and hang around while everyone makes fools of themselves dancing” He asked softly, running a hand through his hair to make sure his fringe was nice and messy.

”I’ll think about it,” Cat replies with a gentle smile. ”I’ll see you around, Zach,”

Zach turned around and began to walk off ”Offer is always there, Just look for the sulking guy in the corner” He laughed as he went towards the drinks table.

Getting ready for events was always an interesting event for Lucas. Especially formal ones. Given that formal clothing was normally tighter than the looser fitting clothes he used, he had to request help from his mother to be able to get his trousers on. It didn't help that his golden retriever Blu had decided that watching Lucas struggle to put clothes on was some kind of game. Eventually clothes were put on, admittedly covered in dog hair. So an extra 15 minutes was taken using a lint roller to get rid of the hairs.

Lucas was excited to be able to go and meet everyone again. He had September getting used to Tanner once more, remembering the sounds and then sensations that helped him navigate around. Carlisle had been a little afraid to invite Lucas to the ceremony. Not because he wasn’t welcome, but for the fact that there was going to be an awful lot of people around. It was agreed that Lucas would arrive later on in the evening once the main entrance was clear. Lucas’s final step was to get his mother to put a dog waistcoat onto Blu. It was a formal occasion afterall.

Finally arriving at the ceremony, His mother helped Lucas and Blu out of the car. She had elected not to come to the ceremony and instead was going to stay in the people carrier in the parking lot and catch up on some netflix on the TV inside. Kissing Lucas on the forehead as goodbye, Blu guided Lucas towards the Coven entrance. Once inside, Lucas felt suddenly overwhelmed. Noise was everywhere. Normally he would use sounds to help ordinate and guide himself as he moved, however there were so many people talking and moving around that his hearing was overwhelmed and his brain was struggling to isolate the sounds and figure out where everyone was.

”Blu, Find food” Lucas commanded to his friend. With a soft acknowledging bark, Blu began to guide Lucas around the household, weaving and turning around various groups of people talking. He kept doing so until he eventually found a table with food on it, sitting down, signaling to Lucas they had arrived. Lucas placed his hand forward, feeling the edge of the table. Then there was a deep sigh as Lucas realized that he couldn’t actually work out what food was on the table without touching it, which was faux pas at a party. Casting true vision on himself, he looked around, seeing the outlines of everything on the table. He was able to make out some of the foods based purely on shape. Settling on what looked like party sausages, Lucas took an empty plate and took some sausages and put them on. He also took one and made sure to feed it to Blu for his good work.

He had arrived just in time to hear the start of Carlisle’s speech. Arriving at the back of the crowd, Lucas listened to the speech. He could tell that Carlisle was nervous, his speech pattern gave it away. However, Lucas would be lying if he didn’t enjoy the quiet that had come across the household as everyone listened. Once the speech was over, Lucas gave a little clap, as he found himself a chair out on the veranda and sat himself down, making sure that Blu had enough space to lie down himself. With them safely in a chair, Lucas deactivated his true seeing and took a deep breath. He would never be able to get over just how exhausting it was to maintain concentration on the spell while navigating. He did note however, that Carlisle seemed to have some sort of strange energy coming off him, and it also seemed to be linked to someone else at the party who Lucas couldn’t make out. He put a pin in his mind to ask Carlisle about it later on. For now he wanted to listen to the party vibe.

After her discussion with Al Mary stormed back toward the drinks table. She didn’t have to look to see if Claire was there, she knew she was. She didn’t understand why her ex had to come back. Why now? Why ever? She had gotten on perfectly fine raising their son. Well, maybe not perfectly but their family of 2 was more than enough, the last thing they needed was someone else encroaching on their space as if they belonged the whole time.

Mary didn’t bother fixing herself up, or more accurately she forgot that she probably should. Mascara stained tears looked more heavy on the skin than they felt. Instead she beelined for her friend and took whatever drink she was holding out of her hands. She instantly raises it to her lips, bottoming it with one mouthful before slamming the glass on the table. "I made it,” she croaks, throat still burning from whatever Claire Montgomery’s most recent drink of choice was.

The events with Mary, Carlisle, Salem and Amanda had left Claire a little shaken - even if she didn’t show it. It probably wasn’t a good idea to get totally smashed so early into the night, but it seemed as if people would have more important things to dwell on in the morning. All in all, was trying to not focus too hard on the fact that Lilith might be pregnant. She had already missed out on so much of her child's life, and potentially being thrown right back in to it at one of the most important times —

Downing another shot, Claire did her best to focus on Carlisle’s speech. She unfortunately knew all too well what he was talking about at every moment. Using Carlisle as a way back through the Astral Plane came with an unfortunate side effect of having all of his memories - right down to the things he mentioned about Amanda being a bitch and Mary being an angel. Then again, what else was new?

Ready to storm off to find her best friend, Claire was taken aback as Mary walked up and snatched her glass from her. Mary had never been the heaviest drinker, so seeing her down it all in one go had definitely earned her a wide eyed, curious expression. Claire Montgomery may have been stuck in the Astral Plane for the last ten years - but she wasn’t stupid, or out of the loop when it came to reading the body language of those closest to her. Grabbing a spare napkin off of the table, Claire began fussing over Mary while gently wiping the other woman's face clean.

”What the hell happened to you,” she asked, her voice stern.

"I’m fine,” Mary grunts, extremely unconvincingly, letting her best friend fix her up. She couldn’t help but notice the irony of her seeming like the grumpy teen in the pair of them for once. She wasn’t quite sure how to approach the issue of her baby daddy with Claire. Less of fear she might pummel the man, she’d likely do that regardless if she wanted to, but there were secrets she kept even from Claire there. Most notably both his and Miles’ magi status. She was never sure why she never said anything. She supposed it just didn’t seem relevant to be blurting out to people when she found out the man she thought was Johnathan Park was a magi. At that time Claire was back in North Carolina, leaving their communication to be in regularly scheduled phone calls and frequent visits. Even when Mary finally put together enough for a computer there was only so much that could be done over AOL messenger, even though their late night messages as they both tried to soothe their awoken babies kept her sane.

"I’m sorry Claire. I didn’t-” The woman choked on her words. Even if she knew that Miles’ father was Aloysius Leighton she wouldn’t have put 2 and 2 together on what that would mean for magickind when her son and best friend’s daughter got together. She gave a shaky sigh, hesitating slightly on whether or not she should tell her friend of the man’s arrival but she knew Claire would recognise his face, she’d met him before when she visited Tanner around Christmastime ‘98. She swiped a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, downing that one in one go as well. She let the liquid courage fill her before looking back up at her friend. "He’s back,” she says simply.

Continuing to dry Mary's face, Claire gave her friend the time that she needed to collect her thoughts. Unfortunately, Claire didn’t have too many thoughts of her own to dwell on, and instead focused on removing all of the mascara from Mary’s face. Once she had finished, Claire turned to make herself another drink. Brows furrowing as she pressed the glass to her lips, all she could manage to respond was ”Who?”

Mary hitches a breath, withholding the temptation to let out a delirious laugh. "Johnathon, Aloysius,” she lets out a frustrated sigh at correcting herself. Knowing a name she’d cursed many times was the wrong one was a hard pill to swallow, not even to mention how she knew so little of his life, from the man himself at least. She threw her hands in the air in frustration. “Miles’ father, whatever the hell his name is.”

Meanwhile, on the other side of the reception room, Aloysius was busy trying to pour himself another drink from another drinks bottle. His previous engagement had not exactly gone according to plan, but at least Mary didn’t entirely kick him out. He just had to hold on and wait and see what happened next. After pouring his drink, he kept his eyes peeled looking for Salem.

Listening as Mary spoke her peace, Claire couldn’t help but sigh. She had grown up hearing stories and myths of the magi war. Aloysius Leighton was a name mentioned right along that of Salem de Silva for what seemed like the longest time. The fact that Mary was admitting that he was Miles’s father shook Claire to her core.

As soon as Mary spoke the words, Claire downed the rest of her drink before placing her glass back on the table - perhaps a bit too forcefully. ”Well,” she remarked, straightening her shoulders. ”It’s that just fuckin’ peachy.” Looking around the room for either of their children, Claire’s gaze focused on the features of a man she had kept her eyes peeled for for nearly three decades. Pursing her lips, the woman marched right up to the near stranger before swinging a punch aimed at his nose.
Aloysius had just finished pouring himself a drink: A small shot of whiskey, when he suddenly turned back around and was met with a flying fist. Letting out a soft grunt, Aloysius's head turned to the side and he proceeded to drop the glass, the sound of glass shattering echoing a little in the reception hall. Bringing his hand up to nurse his now red cheek, Aloysius groaned "Does anyone in Tanner know how to say Hello? Or is punching how you greet people here now?" He raised his eyes to look at the one who assaulted him, they didn't exactly look familiar to Aloysius at all.

”Oh cut the fucking charmin’ act, city boy,” Claire spat. ”I don’t know who the hell you think you are, or even what name you go by - but I don’t give a good goddamn. You don’t deserve to be breathing, much less a ‘hello’.”

"Names Aloysius Leighton. I am guessing you must be one of Mary's friends after that kind of greeting" Aloysius adjusted himself and stood back up straight once more.

Before Mary could protest, Claire was halfway across the room, preparing her arm for a swing. Mary did try calling after her but it was little use. All she could do was watch as Claire planted a punch on her ex-lover’s face. She cringed slightly at the sound of broken glass shattering on the ground. “Alright,” she intervenes, placing a hand on Claire’s shoulder. In all honesty, part of her didn’t mind the thought of seeing Al pummeled to the ground but this was not the time or place. “The man’s face is painted red enough.” She then turns to Aloysius, her eyes narrowing at the man. Even if she was defending him at this moment it was far from no longer feeling the bitterness and anger his face brought.

Crossing her arms, Claire glared daggers at Aloysius before sighing in defeat. ”He deserves way more than what I gave, and if I wasn’t herded in here like some sort of pony at the rodeo, he’d be begging for mercy.”

Aloysius straightened his coat, a little taken aback by the fact that Mary actually stepped in. "Look, I ain't exactly proud of how everything happened, alright. Just like everything else in my life, the situation was extremely complicated and I made a bad judgment call." He knew this was going to fall on deaf ears, but he wouldn't feel right if he didn't say his piece.

“Oh, so that’s what that was? Just a bad judgement call?” Mary snaps, looking the man over. She should have known following Claire over was a bad idea. She was done with the serious talks. With the anger and the bitterness but being in his presence just resparked it all. Even she knew there was likely none the man could say that wouldn’t dig a deeper hole.

"Not in the sense you are thinking about Mary. It was bad judgment not to tell you sooner. In all honesty it was a bad judgment to ever speak to Amanda. If she hadn't started getting all jealous over me and you, things would have been different" Aloysius let out a sigh. He couldn't help but feel that he was going in circles. He was being judged for actions that weren't entirely of his making.

If there were three things in this world that Claire Montgomery couldn’t stand, it was liars, shitty whiskey, and people who didn’t know how to accept responsibility for their own actions. Aloysius checked two of those boxes. In a perfect world, the man would have been allowed to collect his third strike - but a perfect world wasn’t one that included Claire, or her odd sense of twisted justice. Taking a quick step forward, Claire punched Aloysius in his gut before grabbing him by the hair at the nape of his neck, forcing him to look at Mary. ”You’re goin’ to make up for the lack of respect from the last twenty-five years, like it or not,” she growled. ”Now apologize to her.”

Aloysius let out a pained and exasperated groan as he was punched in the gut, folding over like a piece of paper as Claire expertly grabbed him by the hair and forced him to look at Mary. "I have already told Mary I am sorry. We had a whole conversation about this while you weren't around" Aloysius coughed, he wasn't about to start groveling because someone demanded it. He had said his piece to Mary.

Mary watched as Claire made a move against the man, she wasn’t particularly caught off-guard, part of her was surprised Claire didn’t go for something more violent the first time. As Aloysius claimed to apologise, Mary muttered “I mean you didn’t really apologise, just kinda justified yourself,” to herself more than anything else.

In all honesty, Claire hadn’t planned to come out tonight and make a scene. One of the things that she remembered most from her time before her not-actual-death was the fact that trouble seemed to follow her everywhere she went. She had hoped that that would change, but it seemed as if the universe still wasn’t quite on her side. While she had no problem taking up for her friend, Claire also didn’t want to push things any further than she already had.

She slapped him in the face anyway.

”You ain’t gotta make things harder than they have to be,” she quipped. ”Apologize to the lady, or I’m draggin’ you out back with the rest of the garbage.”

Aloysius was getting a little self conscious. He took the slap and didn't complain, just adding a little extra new shade of darker red to his already reddened face. But he was conscious about making a scene. If Salem was around then he needed to blend in, having this kind of attention drawn to yourself was not a good idea. "Look, I am sorry alright. Really sorry. I never wanted any of this to happen. I just wanted to have a happy life with you Mary. It's all I wanted. And I know I fucked up. I know that everything went wrong. And it hurts me, and it fucking kills me…" Aloysius struggled slightly in Claire's grip, trying to stand up right again as he pleaded with Mary, his voice shaking slightly as he tried to hold back his emotions "... fucking kills me knowing that I never got to watch my son grow up. That I missed so much of his life. That I put you through so much pain and suffering. I tried to correct everything, even after getting captured. But even that was in vain"

Mary gives a shaky sigh at the image of the man. This wasn’t quite how she wanted their next confrontation to go but with Claire she should have expected it. The woman gives a shaky breath before turning to her friend and nodding her head. “Let ‘im go, Claire. Boy’s done enough sufferin’ for one night,” she says monotonously, barely offering Al a glance.

Still not entirely satisfied, Claire let go of Aloysius with a slight shove to the back of his head. ”Not nearly as much as you,” she remarked, walking back over to her friend. Turning to face the man, she crossed her arms once again. ”I can let the situation with Mary rest for the moment. What you’ve done to my godson - what you’ve done to my daughter —” Cutting herself short as she realized she was nearly yelling, she took a deep breath before continuing on. ”If there’s a place worse than Hell, well buddy I sure look forward to meeting you there.”

Being released, Aloysius stood back up straight, fixing his coat and wiping his finger along his eye. Listening to Claire talk, Aloysius let out a soft sigh "I am sorry, I don't even know who your daughter is… So how can I have done something to her?" Aloysius said in a confused tone. However in the back of his mind, parts of the conversation with Mary from before were starting to replay, gears were turning.

At Aloysius’ words Mary gave a frustrated sigh. She wanted so hard to keep Miles’ business private from his father, none was her story to tell but he seemed to not have any way of understanding how much his lies had impacted the family. “Jo-Aloysius, I would’ve thought you might remember my best friend Claire Montgomery. Her daughter is currently carryin’ our grandchild,” Mary replies. She hoped Al knew enough about coven council families and was smart enough to put 2 and 2 together.

"What…" Aloysius remarked. At first it didn't click, and he stood there looking confused. Then it hit him like a truck. Montgomery. Aloysius froze. Saying nothing for a minute as he looked pensive. "Has Salem figured it out? I for one am quite happy for them. They love each other yes?"

”Happy for them?” Claire hissed. ”Yes Salem knows - she’s the one who figured it out. They’ve barely been back together for a month or so now. Lilly doesn’t even know yet. Neither does Miles. And of course they love each other,” she continued, flying off the handle and answering all of his questions. ”They’re quite literally each others fate, but none of that matters now because you had to fuck everything up.”

Aloysius let out a small growl at Claire's final words. He wasn't going to be the groups punching bag forever "If it was fated then I couldn't have fucked it up, as it was fate." Al then recomposed himself before continuing "I hope that Salem will be okay with it all. She might sympathise I guess. In our past, me and Salem went through a similar thing but it was stopped by the powers that be, mixing family bloods was too risky in creating a super strong bloodline. I can see her using this as an excuse for the Guild to start taking control of Coven matter however"

At Claire’s statements of Lilith not knowing Mary could feel her face grow hot, she didn’t think about the fact it might have been news Lil’s own mother may have wanted to share. She leaned into her friend’s ear and covered the side of their mouth with her hand. “She knows,” Mary whispers, light enough so Al wouldn’t be able to hear. She then turns to the man. She gives a deep, pitying sigh at the bruised man. Why was he just incapable of seeing all the issues this causes? “The problem ain’t the them havin’ kids,, it’s that they weren’t aware of the consequences, none of us were. Don’t act like Salem won’t level Tanner in a second over somethin’ like this. If we knew we coulda worked around things or at least been prepared. This ain’t some bloodline strengthenin’ that’s happenin’ here but magi and witch blood. You might not be attached to this place or to those kids, Aloysius, but this is our home and our kids. Salem’s bein’ here risks their very lives, a risk we coulda been at least ready for.”

"No, I know. I am trying not to trivialise it. Look, if needs be I can throw myself at Salem. She probably still hates my guts enough that between me and babies, she might pick me" Aloysius shrugged his shoulders, he couldn't really see how he could be much help here but be a diversion. He did want to help. Afterall, everyone here had gone through hell to get here, and Mary was right, everyone was blindsided by all this. But Aloysius wondered if Miles and Lilith would have been allowed to be together if everyone knew the truth beforehand.

“From what I’ve been hearin’, Salem could easily take you out then have Lilith and the bubs for dessert,” Mary responds with a sigh. She pinches the bridge of her nose before continuing. “We can’t be dwellin’ no more. What’s done is done,” she then huffs.

”Fated for them to be together, you shit for brains. Not start a war by doing so.” Claire stood there listening to the short exchange between Mary and Aloysius with her arms crossed. It was taking nearly every ounce of will in her body not to kill the man right where he stood. How could he walk right back into their lives, acting as if he belonged there? It may have been selfish, but Claire was the most focused on Lilith being in danger. Miles was a very close second. Salem's temper was on the list, but that fact was definitely being shoved to the back of her mind at the moment. It was comforting to know that Lilith already knew what was going on. The blonde gave a simple nod at her friend's words.

”I agree,” she began, her eyes flashing to Mary for a brief moment. ”The thing about problems is that you can always count on them to still be around tomorrow.” As her gaze fell once more on Aloysius frame, her eyes hardened. ”First off - let me make something clear. From where I stand, that is not your grandchild. If a single hair goes missing off either Miles or Lilith head, I’ll make the shit that Salem’s done to you look like childs play.”

"I get that. I have to earn that trust. And trust me, I don't want anything to happen to Lilith and Miles either. And if I have to put myself in the way to do so, then I will" At the end of Aloysius's sentence his voice was shaking slightly as his eyes gave away a small flicker of fear he was trying to suppress. "I know that you have no reason to want to include me. But I want to try and fix some parts of life I fucked up in"

Suddenly becoming conscious of the open space filled with people around them, Mary did a quick sweep of the room. Luckily they had somehow managed to not draw any attention, or at least not captivate any of it. “I reckon we got some ground rules to set,” Mary drawls, running a hand through her hair. “Claire’s right, as it stands that ain’t your grandbaby but that ain’t our decision to make, it’s the kids’. They gotta bring it to you though, you can’t go talkin’ ‘bout this whole… situation to ‘em until they tell you. An’ if Miles doesn’t want you in the kid’s life you’re gonna be okay with that.”

Listening to Mary's words, Aloysius nodded. Naturally it wasn't what he wanted to hear. But given everything that has gone on today, it was probably the best outcome he could ask for. "I get it. I get it. Suppose I better go into hiding and make sure Salem doesn't find me and things get worse" Aloysius ran his hand through his hair, looking a little dejected.

As if on cue, an angry looking Salem marched across the room. She did the best that she could to keep her emotions manageable, knowing full well that if she got too angry she’d accidentally fry the state's power grid. It didn’t take long for her to find her intended target. Walking right past Claire and Mary, Salem slapped Aloysius right across his face with an electrical charge. Unlike the one she had used with Amanda earlier, this one left a perfect mark in the shape of her handprint on the man's face.

”Twenty-five years,” she growled. ”You had twenty-five years and you said nothing?!”

Aloysius let out a sharp gasp, his breath cutting for a moment as the electric charge shocked him. He had gotten way too used to that over the years. He took a step back, mostly so he could see Salem's hands. "Hello to you too" He replied as he rubbed his face, still feeling the shock in his face "Of course I wasn't going to tell you. You made it perfectly clear you wanted to see the bloodline end with me. So I wasn't exactly going to admit that I had someone pregnant. I didn't want to put Mary or Tanner in danger"

”Get bent, you piece of fucking dog shit,” she replied to his greeting, her voice dripping with malice. ”It’s different once the child has already been conceived. I would have tried to talk her into an abortion, and if that didn’t work, well dammit, I’d have brought her to New York with me. Mary seems like a great catch, truly. If I wasn’t sure of your stupidity before, I am now. It takes an absolute fucking idiot to lose a woman like that.”

In her head, Salem kept counting over and over to ten, but it did nothing to help her boiling anger. Instead, she turned to pour herself a shot. ”Now - instead - we have a great magi with no training, who’s run off and procreated with a Montgomery, of all things.” Downing the shot, Salem returned to glaring at Al. ”I can’t believe that I am seriously the only person in this place that has the ability to think ahead.”

As Salem talked Mary couldn’t help the wave of anger that came across her. She was sick of this, sick of her son being talked about as if he was some commodity rather than a person. The day had been emotional, almost too emotional. She was glad Lilith wasn’t there to read her thoughts. As a burning fire seemed to form behind her eyes Mary’s mind resorted back to an almost default state where she nearly readied herself to attack the magi woman in front of her. At this point the Prices, if not all of Tanner were already in bad standing anyway so what was one more reason for Salem to hate them really going to do? Before she could make a move though her eyes met those of Claire Montgomery, it gave a very clear message. Back down.

With a frustrated sigh the woman complied, making herself smaller. That anger still burned but she knew Claire had a much better idea of what Salem De Silva was capable of than Mary would ever know… hopefully. The woman wasn’t that stupid. Instead she distracted herself by honing into the conversation. Honestly if things really went the options Salem described Mary wasn’t sure if things would outcome much better. She knew moving to New York wouldn’t have sat well with her and she wouldn’t have been so easily convinced to abort her son. She didn’t even know if her following Salem would end with her alive. Instead she grasped onto the least dangerous response for her. “So what you’re tellin’ me is he really didn’t have to go no contact?” she growls.

"Don't listen to her Mary" Aloysius said with a soft groan. "Salem will say whatever she wants to make me look like an idiot. She made it very clear all these years ago that she didn't want me to have kids" Aloysius knew that the people of Tanner didn't seem that keen on Salem, maybe he could use that to his advantage "Look Salem, do you really wanna cause a scene here? In the middle of the handover ceremony of the Coven. Cause that will do a real good for relations between Magi and Witches"

”I will do what I please, with whom I please, where I please. I don’t have to make you look like an idiot. You do that just fine on your own. This may be witch land - but this is magi business. I don’t see why me turning you to a pile of ashes would offend anyone here, honestly.” The Guild leader shrugged her shoulders. ”It’s honestly about time that I remind them what I’m capable of.”

With a sigh, Salem brushed some loose hair behind her ear. ”Killing you here would be too easy. Scene or no scene - you know me better than that.” Tilting her head slightly to the right, she seemed to study the man further. ”But make no mistake. Your time will come. Maybe on a street corner, perhaps at the hands of someone you trust. Perhaps I’ll just have you choke on a spoonful of peanut butter,” she quipped.

Aloysius let out a soft sigh, posting himself between Mary and Salem, in an oddly protective stance. "Listen. No one here knew anything. And at the risk of striking your ire, it isn't Magi business. It's Magi and Witch business. So you are going to have to work with whoever is in charge around here to come up with a solution. But I won't let you touch a hand in anyone here" Aloysius raised his arms defensively ready to cast at a moment's notice.

"What happened to you Salem? When we were in high school together you weren't like this at all. I get that we didn't work out, and I didn't handle the Guild interfering well. And yes. The war. But even then. You weren't this bad."

As her brow furrowed, Salems eyes began to spark with energy once more. ”I’m not talking about that girl's womb, you imbecile. I’m referring to killing you. That is magi business. There’s not a single cell in my body that wants to harm anyone except for you. You are to blame for all of this, Aloysius, and you damned well know it. Don’t you dare try to call my character into question because you think you’re going to make yourself look better.”

Closing the small distance between the two of them, Salem looked into Al’s eyes as she spoke again. ”I’ve always made it very clear that I intend to make your life as drawn out and as painful as possible. There’s no reason to stand here and play stupid. Why am I this bad?” she mocked him. Reaching out to grab his chin, Salem forced him to look at her. ”I should have convinced you to kill yourself years ago. You stupid, pathetic, piece of shit boy” the brunette spat. ”You aren’t worth the air I breathe - but you will feel the repercussions of your actions.”

Letting her hand fall back to her side, Salem gave a quick once over to the small group in front of her. ”I have no intentions of harming you or your children,” she spoke in Claire and Marys direction. ”All that I ask is that you leave this between him and I.”

Hearing that everyone else was going to be okay, Aloysius seemed to visibly relax. Even if Salem was forcing him to look into her eyes. Hearing her words hurt him in a strange kind of way. The pair had a bizarre relationship at times and Aloysius had differing opinions of her throughout time. Yes, he had declared war on the Guild to take control for his own family. But that wasn't new. The De Silivas did that back in the early 1900s to depose the Leightons. But this just seemed different. Lowering his arms, and his guard, Aloysius looked back down, somewhat defeated.

"If you were so adamant you were going to make me suffer so much, why did you let me go? You could have just kept me under house arrest and keep sending me around to do dangerous jobs." Aloysius drew a long sigh of resignation, his voice lowered as he continued on. " I have a chance to build something here. And it's going to take alot of work. I have alot of damage to try and fix. But sure. Take it away from me, do what you want. You always do"

The Guild Leader couldn’t help but roll her eyes. ”Freedom is a very subjective thing. ‘Means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Who’s to say you’re not on an assignment right now, hm?” Letting her words settle into the air, Salem sighed. ”I’ve said what I needed to say. Try not to fuck anything else up tonight.”

"How the heck am I on assignment?" Aloysius asked out of curiosity. He was always afraid that Salem had let him go, only to pull the rug from under his feet. Not that he would get an answer as Salem had already walked off away from him. Typical. " Well that went just about as well I could have hoped for it to go" Aloysius said with a sigh. "I should probably leave you to it" Aloysius smiled and looked over to Mary.

Mary huffs, looking over the man in front of her. She didn't know what to make of the past little chunk of time but she knew that, somehow, her respect for the man dropped. “1pm, the same house, don't expect pleasantries." The woman huffs, turning away. “I can not handle any more of you tonight." With that, Mary angrily stomps off to the balcony. Leaving Al and Claire alone.

Miles could only hope the things Lilith had to say to him right now was something along the lines of You’re hot, I’m stressed, let’s find an empty room and hide away from everyone else for a little while but he had a very strong suspicion that was far from the case. Tonight seemed to be bombshell after bombshell, not to mention his father reappearing from nowhere as if he had just gone out to get milk. After pushing away from that whole mess he scanned the room around him. Where was Lilith? She seemed to have disappeared, hidden herself away somewhere. Eventually he spotted the back of her head.

Miles wandered over to her and leant down toward her so his face was closer to his much shorter girlfriend’s ear. "You won’t believe what I’m learning about myself today,” he muses, his voice a hushed whisper to avoid being overheard by those around them. "Not to mention who decided to show up.”

After the Handover Ceremony, Lilith had done her best to make herself as small as she could. Plenty of people were walking up to congratulate the woman on her ascension to the Coven Council. With each passing moment she grew more and more tense, expecting Salem to grab her from somewhere out of the crowd at any moment. Feeling someone's breath brushing against her ear, the brunette woman stopped dead in her tracks. Thankfully it had only taken her a brief moment to identify Miles’s voice.

”I could say the same.” His words made the brunette chuckle, a small smile appearing on her face. Miles’s tone alone was enough to tell her that he was tense, and her divination powers only solidified that suspicion. Turning on her heel, she met the young man face to face before planting a soft kiss on his cheek. ”Let’s find somewhere a little more private and you can tell me all about it.”

"Please,” the man groans, slipping his hand into Lilith’s and giving it a small squeeze. "Imma need a drink for the road. Want anything?”

”I’m okay,” she responded almost too quickly. ”The last thing I want people talking about tomorrow morning is how wasted I was.”

At Lilith’s response Miles cocked his head slightly. Any Montgomery turning down liquor was an odd occurrence but at her explanation he chalked it down to her nerves. He gives a shrug, giving her hand another squeeze before making his way to the drinks table with his girlfriend in tow. He pours himself another whiskey. He was unsure what number this was for the night but by far it wasn’t enough for everything this evening had brought. Now with the comfort of a drink in his hand he returns to Lilith’s side, forcing a smile. "Got any ideas on where to?”

Walking alongside Miles, Lilith focused on keeping her head held high as they walked through the crowd. If Salem, Amanda, or any one else was watching, Lilith wasn’t about to show them any signs of weakness. She had no idea how she was about to break the news to Miles, and she most definitely wasn’t sure of what was about to come after. The young woman watched as Miles poured himself a drink, silently cursing at the gods for taking away her ability to drink as she did so.

Forcing a smile of her own, Lilith did a quick once over of their surroundings before shrugging her shoulders. ”Maybe down by the garden? I don’t think to many people would be down there right now.”

Miles took a sip of his drink, as he brought the cup to his mouth he realised his hands were shaking quite a bit. He wasn’t sure if it was the new wounds of the day hitting, nerves of telling Lilith all these things about his heritage that could affect her or the heavy feeling that hung in the air of the coven house. "Sounds good,” he replies softly. He once again squeezes Lilith’s hand, this time for stability more than anything else. He brings his eyes to hers and forces yet another smile before starting the journey to the garden.

The further out the pair walked the more the crowds began to thin. Miles couldn’t help but feel the weight of curious pairs of eyes on his back. Did they all know too? Or were their eyes settling on Lilith in her new position? As the collection of people grew further and further away, Miles felt a slight weight on his shoulders lift. He still felt jumpy but at least they didn’t have the crowd to watch. He nods toward a seat in the distance a good stretch away from anyone else. "Over there?”

As they walked, Lilith kept her fingers intertwined with Miles’s. The knot in her throat seemed to grow minute by minute, her anxiety right along with it. Lilith focused on putting one foot in front of the other, each step weighing her down more and more. She wanted to turn around and go back into the Coven House - back to where everything was still relatively safe and all of their secrets were stored away. The fact that her whole world was about to change was a hard one for the young woman to wrap her head around.

Rubbing the back of his hand with her thumb, Lilith took a deep breath in through her nose. ”Perfect,” she replied, unable to muster much more. Once they had finished their walk, Lilith took her seat beside Miles on the bench. ”So how’s the start of the night treating you?” she questioned, somewhat beating around the bush. Lilith didn’t want to push him into talking or dealing with anything that he didn’t want to.

Miles couldn’t help but feel the heaviness of the air around the pair of them. Was that his anxiety getting in the way? Or was it possible his emotions were impacting Lilith’s? It would be far from the first time they had. As the duo took their seats Miles couldn’t stop his leg bouncing in place, not an uncommon occurrence but he was sure it never moved so violently. Fear and anxiety was simply something Miles didn’t do, Lilith had enough of that for the both of them, but currently he was suffocated by these unfamiliar emotions.

As Lilith spoke, Miles gave the meekest of smiles. He didn’t know where to start, or how to say them. He took another sip of his whiskey with his free hand before replying. "I- uh- I don’t really know what to make of the night honestly,” he replies meekly. The urge to stand up and pace around the seat washed over him but he remained in place, leg bouncing rhythmically. "My pa decided to show up today, acted as if he always belonged.” The male grits his teeth a moment as he thought through his next words. Somehow the appearance of his estranged father was the least dangerous news. He downed the last of his whiskey, his eyes fixating on the garden in front of them. In the distance he could make out the figures of people going about their day, likely completely oblivious to the turmoil he was going through.

Miles takes a shaky breath before continuing on. "Turns out he’s Aloysius Leighton. And that ‘drunken first tattoo’ on my back? Not a tat.” He hoped Lilith would pick up what he was putting down, unaware she had been handed just as much of the story as him earlier that night. His eyes refused to meet hers, nervous of her response.

Miles’s anxiety accompanied with her own was starting to make her feel nauseous, and his words were doing nothing to help that fact. Her time with Salem and John in the Alchemy Lab had left her shaken. Hearing Miles reinforce the fact that Aloysius was his father made her want to march right down to the Underworld and square up with the Fates themselves. Lilith kept her eyes focused on the various plants before her, careful not to make eye contact with Miles. She knew that the second she looked at him her whole act would come crumbling down.

Lilith nodded her head in recognition. ”I assume you know what all of this means,” she asked gently.

Miles was slightly taken back by her words, it was almost as if she already knew all this, but how? He gives a sigh "Someone already told you, didn’t they?” he asks softly, looking at her. He let silence fall between the two of them for a moment, thinking through her question before responding.

"I mean- they just don’t want us merging the bloodlines, right? You never wanted kids and made it clear the Montgomerys’ end now anyway. I was always indifferent and the only person who really cares ‘bout the Price line is my ma so we just not have kids, right? I’ll get the snip or something. We’ve done this before without a pregnancy, I’m sure we can do it again,” he says softly, eyes turning to his shoes.

At his first question, Lilith had nodded her head once again, silently. Her gaze stayed glued on one of the rose bushes, but she couldn’t help as her face grew hot. She had always had a weird sixth sense for knowing when Miles was looking at her, and that seemed to be one more thing that time couldn’t change. The lump in her throat was now becoming unbearable as she fought back tears.

Listening to him speak, the young woman was dragged through an emotional roller coaster. The fact that his first thought wasn’t for them to split up was comforting, but his mention of children only made her tense up even more. She had made her peace years ago with being the last of the Montgomerys. Sure, the thought of a somewhat lonely future made her sad from time to time, but it was something that she just had to accept. He seemed so sure of himself - of them. How was she supposed to explain everything to him?

Taking a deep breath, Lilith crossed her legs on the bench. She did the only thing she knew that she could do, and that was to start with the beginning.

”Salem pulled gramps and I aside and had me cast a spell to see if Aloysius was your father.” She paused for a moment, expecting him to be upset. ”I didn’t want to, but it was either that, or watch her go on a warpath - which I’m not sure we’ve avoided quite yet. I saw her in one of my visions, and let’s just say she wasn’t exactly the happiest person. I wanted to avoid that at all costs, so I did as she asked.”

Hands knotted together in her lap, Lilith took a deep breath before continuing. ”Miles…” she began, now looking over at him. Not quite sure how to force the next words out, it seemed as if they fell from her mouth before she even had time to think them through. ”Salem seems to think I’m pregnant, and she seems just as sure about it as she was about Aloysius being your father.”

A sigh elicited itself from Miles as Lilith mentioned the spell she cast but before he could process any questions to ask she continued on with her reasoning. Miles knew very little of Salem, Magi 101 wasn’t really relevant to him growing up. Well, at least he thought it wasn’t. A small part of Miles was hoping that everyone was just wrong, it was all one happy coincidence. His father truly was some random magi from across the world and his heritage would have no effect on his and Lil’s future but he couldn’t deny Lilith’s divination magic. A lump formed in the man’s throat, his mind in overdrive. Suddenly, it all felt truly real.

That was when Lilith called his name, calling him back into the real world. It would have been a much welcomed interruption if it weren’t for all the nervousness in those words. He watched her, studying her face as he awaited her next line. His eyes widen in shock as the man leans back into the chair slightly. A strained "Pregnant?” was all he could draw from his mouth. It took moments for him to collect his thoughts. Sure, the man had envisioned a future with Lil, moreso since their reunion but with Lil making it clear she didn’t want kids from even their early teen years they weren’t even a consideration for the man. He’d visioned traveling the world, quiet Sunday mornings intertwined together in bed and late night banters. Far from the bedtimes and early morning school dropoffs. "But… how? We only- Are you sure-,” Miles struggles to pick a coherent sentence from the many swarming in that head of his. "Is there a chance she could be wrong? I mean, she’s not a divination magi if I remember right.”

Her heart only continued to sink as Miles tried to piece everything together. ”I’m not sure,” she replied, doing her best to keep her voice steady. ”But Salem is. I still need to take a test. The De Silvas are one of the most ancient bloodlines there is - witch or warlock. All magi’s have this thing where they can sort of… feel other magi’s. The De Silvas are known for kind of having a sixth sense for feeling them in utero.”
With another sigh, Lilith gave up her last piece of information. ”Not only does she think I’m pregnant - she thinks I’m having triplets.”

"Triplets,” was all Miles could echo back. His leg seemed to bounce more furiously as he tried to form some form of substantial thought. Did he want to be a dad? Even if Lil wanted to be a mum would she want to go through all the pregnancy and childbirth for 3 kids? He expels a breath before muttering "Okay, okay, okay, okay,” to himself, a way to refocus. "Well, I guess firstly- do you want to have these kids?”

Now staring at her feet, Lilith wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes. She took another second to collect her thoughts. ”I don’t think I have much of a choice,” she sighed. ”I’ve always had actual dreams of being a mom, even a couple of visions about it here and there - but I didn’t really think they were true for some reason. I honestly really thought that I was infertile up until this point. ‘Think it’d be a little stupid to continue trying to fight Fate and all that.”

Pursing her lips, the young woman's brow furrowed in concentration as she spoke once more. ”Just because it’s my fate doesn’t mean it has to be yours though,” she nearly whispered.

Miles looks his girlfriend up and down, a gentle expression on his face. "Lil, I watched both our mas struggle to raise us alone, I’m not leaving you to do that,” he replies, his voice shaky. He was truly unsure if kids was something he wanted out of life, he never thought it through knowing it wasn’t what Lilith wanted, but he couldn’t bring himself to watch her struggle like either of their parents did.

Lilith’s whole body was practically shaking at this point. She was glad that he wanted to be there, but she wasn’t sure he knew exactly what he was signing up for. ”I can’t ask you to do that though, all because of some images in my head and a bunch of other shit I can’t find words for. You have a whole career, and a life. Friends you care about and things you want to do. Places you want to go see. I can’t ask you to give that all up, Kane,” she tried to explain, her voice breaking. ”And we’re potentially talking about starting a magical World War on top of it all.”

"Hey,” Miles muses softly. He willed as much of the fear and anxiety in his body to dissipate as possible and tried to hide what remained. Sure, Lilith would still feel it but maybe less overwhelmingly. He swivels himself around to kneel in front of her, prying one of her hands out of the others’ grasp and taking it in his. He places his other hand on her thigh and brings his eyes to meet hers. "And now I have a family. Besides, my ma will kill me if I left you alone with this,” he jokes, forcing a chuckle in a lame attempt to lighten the mood.

"Seriously though, Li. My career will still be there, turns out businesses like family men. Those places and things ain’t moving, we got time and those friends will be just fine. If my kid’s starting a war they’re gonna need all the help they can get.” With another sigh the man stands up. He was always good with flowery language but he never thought he’d one day use it to talk his girlfriend into not pushing him away from fathering their kids. Honestly, Miles didn’t know what was going on in his life anymore. He wraps his arms around Lilith, pulling her into a tight embrace. "You’re the biggest thing in my life, LiLi. You know that, right? I want to be here for all of it. Sure, this may not have been the future we planned or pictured together but we’ll make it work. Besides, if them kids are anything like I was, you're gonna need all the help you can get.”

Holding on to Miles’ hand as he spoke, it didn’t take much for Lilith to realize how sincere he was being. She wasn’t trying to push him away, but she really did want to make sure that they both understood the whole picture. A small laugh escaped the young woman's lips as memories of a teenage Miles danced through her mind. The potential of having a little Miles running barefoot in the yard was a comforting thought, but a miniature version of herself? That was something that nearly made her blood run cold.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, Lilith buried her face in Miles' chest as she returned his embrace. It was a dumb thing to wish, but if Lilith had had the ability to freeze time, she would have done so right then and there. Unfortunately, she’d still had to face her problems one way or another. ”Well, I do now,” she sighed. ”I definitely don’t trust the combination of my brains, your magnetism for trouble, and our generational alcoholism, but hopefully we’ll survive.”

Miles chuckles, slipping himself back onto the bench. "You never know," he muses, pulling Lilith closer by the shoulders and resting his chin on the top of her head. He slides his hand across her waist, unable to stop it from lingering on her abdomen a short while as if his body was trying to make sense of what his mind was trying to understand. His mind was a mess of emotions, some of which he couldn’t identify. From fear to anxiety to maybe even a little bit of joy. Eventually he manages to grab the other side of her waist and pull her in closer. "Maybe they’ll have your loyalty and my… uh… charm?”

Miles gives a soft sigh, burying his face in her hair a moment, her familiar scent of vanilla and weed dancing in his nose. That was something Miles’ hadn’t thought about yet, Lilith having to give up alcohol and marijuana was going to prove interesting. "I guess we have some habits to kick,” he mumbles, closing his eyes. "Can’t really have you smoking dope in this state, can we?”

It seemed that the heavier parts of this conversation were over. Miles wasn’t trying to run away, or blame her for not being more careful. In fact, Lilith could only recall a few other times where Miles had ever been as level headed as he seemed now. She’d nearly forgotten how easy he was to rely on. ”Hopefully we’ll get lucky,” she replied with a laugh of her own.
Pulling her legs up on the bench, Lilith resituated herself to get as close to Miles as she could. Resting her head on his shoulder, all of her worries seemed to melt away. Lost in some sort of trance, Miles’s words pulled her back into reality. The young woman sighed. ”Your mom kinda beat you to that whole speech,” she attempted to joke.

Miles stays silent for a moment as his mother came up. He should have figured she would have known too. "Sounds like her,” he mumbles, readjusting himself in his seat. How many people knew long before him? Is this the reason Carlisle wanted him to find her? A small sigh elicits itself from his lips. "How many people know, LiLi?” he asks, his voice low.

As Miles spoke, Lilith’s heart dropped again. Was that disappointment she was picking up on? ”As far as I know… Mary, Salem, gramps and now you. I didn’t tell any of them, tonight’s just been a weird one. I promise I tried to find you as soon as I could, but then Salem pulled me aside and —” With a deep sigh, Lilith fought back tears for the second time tonight. ”It’s just one big ol’ mess. I’m sorry, Miles. You should have known first, but it was literally impossible.”

"I should’ve,” Miles huffs in response, letting his words hang in the air for a while before giving a sigh. "But I guess you couldn’t help it. There’s too many damn diviners in this place. Doesn’t help the two people who are gonna hate me the most for it know.” He toyed with telling Lilith his suspicions that Carlisle also knew but chose against it. Lilith’s friendship with him was rocky enough and there were only so many more times that poor boy’s nose could be broken. Instead he played with a lock of Lilith’s hair, twirling it around his fingers. "Did Salem say anything? About the babies I mean. She can’t be too impressed by all this I guess.”

At his response, Lilith’s brow furrowed. There was nothing that either of them could do to change the situation, but that did nothing to change the fact that this wasn’t how any of this was supposed to go. If by some miracle she had ever found herself pregnant, Lilith had always planned to tell the child's father in some sort of cheesy way - not have him find out after the rest of the town. She hated that saying sorry was all that she could do.

”She honestly seemed more preoccupied with the fact that Aloysius was in town, but she definitely wasn’t pleased. Told me that we’d talk specifics and deal with my ‘issue’ later.” Pursing her lips, she sighed again. ”An issue. What an odd thing to call a pregnancy.”

At the mention of his father's name Miles couldn't help the tensing of his shoulders, his hands stopped, his fingers remaining suspended in chocolate locks of Lilith's hair. Miles honestly couldn’t care less what Salem wanted to do with his father, Aloysius was his father in blood alone anyway, but that unfortunately didn’t seal him away from the consequences of his great magi ancestry. At her words he let out a simple "Hmm,” in agreement. Whilst he didn’t care what Salem did to Aloysius he did care about what she did to Lilith. He could only hope her rage only went so far.

"Well,” he announces, piercing the silence he created, "When you and Salem have your little talk I’m going with you. Worst comes, I show her what a real issue is.”

The anxiety and fear that had lifted from Lilith’s shoulders seemed to be resettling there as she took in the sincerity of Miles’ words. Why was everyone around her convinced that their only way out of this was by force? Her body tensed, wrestling with the thoughts of it all.

”Miles no,” she forced out as sternly as she could. ”That woman will turn you to ash right where you sit, and I’ll have no choice but to follow the same Fate, because she’ll have hell to pay before I go.” Her words sounded more like a plea than anything now. ”I wish I would have known all this before tonight - before the seal was broken. I’d just find a way to create a parallel universe and run away, I swear.”

"And what am I meant to do?” Miles snaps back, removing his fingers from her hair. "Just stand by idly as she threatens your life? Threatens the life of our-” Miles found himself unable to finish his sentence. After years of being so sure that both the Price and Montgomery bloodlines stopped with Lilith and him, the concept of having children felt so foreign on his tongue. He wasn’t quite sure if his mind had quite caught up. "I just don’t want anything to happen to you,” he finished, his voice lowering as he turns his face to the bench.

Knowing full well that the moment was ruined, Lilith sat up straight so that she was no longer laying on Miles' chest. It seemed that everyone was mad at her for one reason or another. Carlisle because she apparently broke his heart, John because she was having Miles’s children, Salem because of the same. ”Miles please,” she began, her face hot. ”I can’t handle you being mad at me too.”

"I’m not mad, I’m just-” as he notices how sharp his tone has become Miles stops himself for a moment. He sighs, leaning forward on the bench. He wrings his hands together nervously, as much as having all this new information out in the open was good it didn’t seem to ease his anxiety. "I’m just concerned. Look, I don’t know much about Salem or how she works or whatever. All I know is she seems to want me and everyone around me dead. I can’t just let her have that.”

”I get that,” she replied, her voice still small. Lilith knew that Miles was concerned for her, but couldn’t he see that she shared the same feeling for him? With a deep sigh she blinked the tears from her eyes. ”I wasn’t trying to say that you couldn’t be there… just that maybe violence isn’t the best course of action. I don’t want to see anything happen to you or our families either - but I really don’t know what to do about all of this.”

Miles sighs, his eyes moving to Lilith and taking her in. In truth he had no clue what to do either but what a pathetic answer I don’t know would be. Yet he had little else to offer so he remained silent instead. He could very much understand Lil’s desire to run away into another plane of existence. A baby should be good news, even if Miles and Lilith never expected to have children there should have been some upside that made them feel better but this just seemed to mark a turning point in their lives, a full 180 from the contented life Miles wished he could live.

His eyes couldn’t help but become fixated on the woman’s stomach, his mind still unable to fathom the fact she had triplets growing inside of her. His triplets. He was over all the Salem talk, all it led to was doom and gloom. So Miles did what he did best and changed the subject. "Did you suspect anything? Before whoever told you told you?” He could only hope it was a distracting enough question to drag the conversation away from Salem, or any magi in that regard.

With her attention once again focused on the rose bushes, Lilith took another moment to collect her thoughts before speaking. ”Not really. I mean… some of my pants haven’t been fitting right, but I thought that was just bloating or something. My period’s late, but honestly it’s never been on a regular schedule anyway.” Leaning back against the bench, she sighed again while crossing her arms across her chest. ”I think I kind of knew,” she admitted. ”Like deep down, in a way. But I didn’t know for sure, and I wanted a confirmation before I said anything and —” Lilith shook her head. ”It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”

"I know,” Miles sighs, patting her leg. "Then again, it’s us. Since when did anything go the way it’s supposed to? I guess it’s more… us for it to go like this,” he muses, forcing a smile. "We’ll make it through, we always do.” If Miles was being honest, he wasn’t sure how much faith he had in that line but he knew he didn’t really have any other option than to try and have hope it would all work out. "Just promise me you’ll try and talk your paw paw out of killing me for this.”

Grabbing Miles’ hand, she chuckled. ”I don’t think you have to worry about guns anymore, but I’d invest in a nice pair of boots if I was you.”

"I’ll get the kind with the spurs, and a good ole cowboy hat. If you’re not careful I might climb my way up to John’s favourite,” he jokes, squeezing Lilith’s hand.

”Very doubtful,” she laughed. ”Just because you’ll be helping bale hay and herd cattle doesn’t mean he’s gonna forget that you got me pregnant.” Looking back up towards the Coven house, the young woman was unfortunately reminded of her responsibilities once more. ”As much as I hate it, I reckon we better head back in there before people think we’ve made a run for it or something.”

"Hey now, it takes two to tango, you're just as guilty here as I am," Miles jokeningly scoffs, a jovial smirk spreading across his face.

As Lilith suggested going back to the house Miles couldn't help the sigh that escaped him. "Making a run for it," he muses. "Probably predictable of us. I guess you have council things to do." With another sigh he stands up before offering Lilith both his hands and helping her off the bench. Running away sounded all the more tempting now. Away from Salem and all the responsibilities of being a coven member. Instead he slipped an arm over Lilith’s shoulder, using it to pull her in. "Let's go,"

With a gentle kiss on the forehead, Miles parted ways with Lil, allowing her to do whatever bureaucratic undertakings her role as a council leader called for. Instead he made his way to the drinks table once again. The further away from Lil he got, the more Miles seemed to disassociate. He couldn’t pinpoint if it was the alcohol, the end of all the new info being told or no longer feeling he had to put on a brave face for Lil's sake but something had allowed him to hold his head up high and it was dissipating fast. By the time he got back to the drinks table Miles seemed to almost look like a deer in headlights, his thoughts racing so fast that it was becoming white noise. He silently and robotically reaches for a glass and the whiskey, his arms in autopilot mode.

As Rowan and her parted ways for the party, Delaney went off in search of her friends. Not finding Erin, as she was typically late to these things, she tried to find Miles through the swarm of people. After several moments she gave up and decided on another drink instead. Seeing Miles, she grinned to herself and shook her head. Of course. She should have just stayed at the drink table. Moving up beside him, she grabbed the rum and poured herself another glass. A bright smile was on her face before she turned to her friend and noticed his expression. Her grin immediately faltered and she put her free hand on the man’s shoulder. ”Miles? You okay?” She quickly looked him over before shaking her head. ”Dude. You need to breathe. Talk to me.”

As Delaney’s hand touches the man’s shoulder Miles seems to be transported back to Earth with a snap. He blinks a few times before placing the bottle of whiskey back on the table. He then turns to his friend, attempting to shoot her one of his signature mischievous smiles but he seemed to barely have the energy to do that, resulting in a pathetic attempt at best. At her first question Miles gave a deep sigh. "It’s just… it’s been a long night,” he forces out, taking a sip of his whiskey. That was when she prompted him to open up to her. Miles’ voice seemed to drop to barely a whisper as he muttered "Not here, not near so many people.” A lot of the colour seemed to have drained from the young man’s skin but it was slowly being replaced by pink as he started drinking again.

Oh, now she was doubly interested. With a slight nod of her head, she brought her glass to her lips and quickly downed the rum she had poured herself. This was going to be a doozy. Setting the glass on the table, her hand slid down his arm and she grabbed onto his hand. Delaney looked around the room before leading him to the alchemy room. The room in which seemed to bring out both of their emotional vulnerabilities. She closed the door behind them and nodded to the man. ”Alright. Spill.”

Before he knew it Delaney was leading Miles away from the crowds, back into what was quickly becoming their spot. Miles couldn’t help but notice that his body seemed to be overtaken by the shaking once more. With a sigh, the man placed his cup on one of the many workbenches and sat next to it. Where did he even start? He wrings his hands as another nervous breath escapes him. Before he could review what he wanted to say the words seemed to just release themselves. "Li’s pregnant,” he says quietly, his voice still barely above a whisper despite being locked away from the rest of the coven. His eyes remained fixated on the floor, although he was curious how his friend would respond he barely had the energy right now.

Delaney didn’t understand why the man was so nervous, he hardly ever took anything as serious as he was taking this moment right now. Then, she heard his confession. It was so mumbled and quiet that she felt like she didn’t hear him correctly, but his body language spoke volumes. Her eyes widened a bit and her face turned ashen. She didn’t exactly know how to respond. At their age, some people were starting families. Then again, she knew her best friend. Knew he wasn’t at all ready for that stage in his life. Clearing her throat, she nodded slightly and folded her arms across her chest. She didn’t know what to do, what to say.

Letting out a huffed breath, she shook her head. No matter the fact that she didn’t know what to say, she immediately knew what her friend needed. Delaney rushed forward and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. ”It’ll be okay.”

Miles seemed to not respond to her embrace, not physically at least. It was a welcome comfort but everything seemed to take up too much energy right now. Now all the adrenaline, rage and confusion of the past hour or so had faded Miles was finally realizing how run down it was all making him. He couldn’t help but wonder how this talk would have gone if anything was different. If he wasn’t a descendant of the Leighton family or even if he knew he was. If the thought of having kids was something him and Lil ever at least entertained rather than writing it off altogether. There was so much more to tell her, more that seemed to make the situation more and more complex. Instead he decided to stay on the current train of thought.

"Triplets,” he mutters simply under his breath. "She’s pregnant with triplets. How are we meant to keep 3 babies alive?”

She felt nauseous herself at his comment. Delaney blinked once before taking a step back, keeping the man at arms’ length. She tilted her head and just studied his face. He was completely serious. Letting out a breath, she shook her head. ”What the fuck, man.”

Letting out another breath, she shook her head and moved away from him. She turned and grabbed the glass he had set down earlier and realized it was still halfway full. Delaney turned back to him and handed him the glass. ”Dude. Drink. Just- we need more alcohol. Stay here.” Grabbing onto the bottom of her dress to keep it free of her heels, she hurried back out to the party, keeping her eyes open to anyone looking her way. She pushed past a couple of older partygoers and hurried to the drink table. Grabbing the rum and whiskey, she made her way back to the alchemy room.

Delaney closed the door back behind her and set the bottles on the table. She huffed out a breath. ”We are going to drink, okay? Forget everything else. Everyone else. We are going to drink, and then we’re going to deal with this.”

At her initial response Miles attempts to force another smile, the left corner of his lips upturning for only a second before dropping back down. "Guess we’re just hyperfertile or something,” he attempts at a joke, his voice coming off low and monotonous still. As Delaney placed the cup in his hand she didn’t have to tell him twice to drink. The man downs the rest of the glass, giving a small coughing spell at the end of what had to be at least 3 good shots worth of whiskey. Before he could object to Delaney’s departure she was already out the door. Not that he was against more alcohol but there was so much more, more that he was unsure if he could get out with much more liquor in his system. Yet he followed her instructions and stayed, tapping his fingers against the glass.

"That’s not really the last of it,” he says gently as he reaches straight for the whiskey bottle. With the alcohol starting to rise to his head, Miles swayed slightly but it seemed to do none for his anxiety or the fact he was pale as a ghost. Although there was more at hand, Lilith's pregnancy took up the most of his mind right now. "We only- y’know- like-” Miles counts on his hands for a moment before continuing, "Three times. That’s like a baby for everytime LiLi woke up in my bed,” he muses, more trying to come to terms with the situation himself but Delaney was a welcomed listener regardless.

As she listened to Miles, she realized she had forgotten a glass for herself back at the table. She shrugged and brought the rum bottle to her lips, taking in a large shot. Delaney coughed a bit as she listened to her best friend speak. She couldn’t help a roll of her eyes before she shook her head. ”Miles. Dude. It literally only takes one time.” As she spoke, she thought about her and Rowan and tried to think about if she remembered to take her birth control on time. She definitely was not ready for an unexpected little bundle.

Taking another swig from the bottle, she cleared her throat. She studied her friend and noticed he was holding back. Delaney tilted her head at him. ”What else is there? You’re not telling me everything, I can tell.”

"And I’ve had hundreds of ‘one times’. Hell, Li and I have had a handful of ‘one times’ and it never-” Miles takes a shaky breath, forgoing his cup for the whiskey bottle and taking a swig out of it. As Delaney prodded for more the last of the colour seemed to drain from MIles’ face. "Honestly, the kids are whatever, I guess. Terrifying, sure. Completely against the plans we’d made almost 10 years ago, true. We weren’t even gonna have any-”, He takes another sip out of the bottle in an attempt to calm himself.

"Turns out I’m magi but not just any magi. Turns out my pa’s Aloysius Leighton, the guy who ran the rebellion against Salem in the 90s. That makes me part of a great magi family and there’s nothing the magical community would hate more than “Merging the bloodlines” as they call it. He also turned up today, my pa,” At the end of dumping pretty much all the important parts of the conversation he takes another swig of whiskey.

Her brows furrowed in question when he brought up the fact that he was a magi. Delaney really didn’t know much about the different types of wizards and warlocks out there; she really should have paid more attention in her studies. Though, she did know that magi were of the highest of their kind out there. And Miles was part of that? She huffed out a breath and tilted her head as she took another swig from her bottle. Delaney remembered something about the Salem rebellion but it was all kinds of foggy.

She did however know that Miles’ father showing up was a big deal. Her face dropped a bit as she nodded her head in thought. Delaney cleared her throat and raised a brow at her best friend, her body immediately getting into offense mode. ”He still here?” She gripped tightly to the bottle in her hands, her violent streak coming to the surface.

"Dunno, don't care," Miles replies brashly, taking another swig of alcohol. Part of him called to slow down, knowing at some point he'd be facing Salem at Lil's side in the near future but bringing a Whiskey bottle to his mouth was almost an automatic action at this point. "Ma's already had a swing at him. I think I saw Claire have one too." Miles hiccups before placing the bottle back on the bench.

Delaney nodded shortly. If Mary and Claire took a swing at Miles’ dad, did that mean that she shouldn’t? No, absolutely not. Miles was her best friend and she couldn’t just let this information slide over her. Was she willing to go up against a grown ass man just because he walked out on his son? Yes. Indefinitely yes. Huffing out a breath, she took another large drink from her bottle. ”Well. Guess it’s my turn now.”

At Delaney's response Miles leveled his eyes to her. "Yeah? What's new with you?" he asks. "You better not tell me you're pregnant too,"

She eyed the man before rolling her eyes. ”No. Gods, no. One of us knows how to use protection.” Delaney shook her head before taking another large drink. The information she was going to give him wasn’t as big as his, but it felt huge to her. She bit the inside of her cheek as she looked at the ground. She didn’t know if she could say it out loud, but she needed to get it off her chest. Letting out a slow breath, she nodded slightly before looking back up at Miles. ”You know me. I don’t get incredibly close to people. You and Erin are my exceptions.” With another shrug of her shoulders, she sighed. ”I think I’m in love with Rowan.”

A small smile spread across the young man’s face as he took another sip of whiskey. This conversation felt almost reminiscent of the one they had a month ago in the same place. "I know," he replies softly. "I guess we both got what we wanted."

”Did we, though?” She shook her head and looked away from him, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. Delaney took a large gulp of her drink. ”You have three babies on the way. You’re going to be a father in about eight months.” She took another drink. ”And I’m in love with the most amazing man I’ve ever met, and yet I’m still waiting for the other shoe to drop.” Shaking her head, she looked back over at her best friend. ”This shit is terrifying, man.”

You’re going to be a father those were words Miles never expected to hear about himself. Even as Lilith and him talked about their situation the titles of mother and father never really came up. It almost seemed to make the situation more real. Miles gave a sigh, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, maybe not what we expected but-" he gives a shrug, sipping his drink once more.

"I don't really hate the idea of being a father. I guess it's just all kinda left field, y'know?" he takes another swig of his drink before turning his attention back to Delaney's concerns. "And what are you waiting to go wrong exactly?"

She scoffed as she held up the rum bottle before taking a drink. ”This, for starters. Rowan is going to realize that he doesn’t want to be with an alcoholic who picks fights all the time.” Delaney shook her head and lowered the bottle. She scrunched her nose as she looked down at it, her fingers running over the label. ”He’s going to see that I don’t deserve someone as great as him. He’s going to realize that I’m too much to handle.”

"I'd think if he thought that he woulda dipped by now," Miles replies with a shrug, taking another sip of whiskey. "Maybe, and just hear me out, maybe he wants someone just like you," he reasons, pointing the neck of the bottle his friend's way before taking another sip.

Snorting, her free hand quickly went to her mouth as she laughed. The drink was definitely starting to get to her. Delaney shook her head. ”Then there’s definitely something wrong with him if he wants a short ass, loud mouth, alcoholic blonde who goes toe to toe with grown ass men.” She snorted again and laughed more. ”And you’re going to be a father to three babies. All at once! And Lil- oh, Gods…Lilith is going to be a mother.” With another snort, she shook her head and downed another gulp of rum. ”We’re all a little bit fucked.”

"Rowan likes a challenge," Miles half jokes, swirling the bottle around, his eyes becoming fixated on the whirling vortex of the remaining liquor. At Delaney's processing he couldn’t help but chuckle himself. "Speak for yourself, 3 Lilith-Me hybrids sounds like a breeze," he responds sarcastically, taking another swig. "Let's be honest, though, we'll make some good-looking kids. I wonder if Salem will take that as an excuse to not attack."

Delaney rolled her eyes at the mention of the children, but immediately hardened at the thought of Salem. She let out a snort, this one of a challenge, before taking another shot of rum. ”She better fucking not. Those are my nieces and or nephews in that belly. I won’t hesitate to hit an old lady.”

"Ha! Not til I get one in. Those are my babies in there," Miles replies without skipping a beat. With a sigh he leans back, using his hands behind him to hold himself up. "Li seemed pretty set on me not fighting Salem. She probably has a point but if she threatens those kids' lives. Hell, if she threatens Lil's life… I don't know what I would do," Miles' voice softens at the end of his sentence, another deep sigh escaping him.

If he was being honest, Miles felt relatively powerless at this moment. His family seemed to weigh in the hands of Lilith and Salem more than anyone else. He didn't want to think about that. Instead he gave his best friend a mischievous smile. "At when will you be carrying my nieces or nephews?" he jokes.

Delaney shook her head at his earlier statement. ”Of course you know what to do, Mi. You’re a magi, dude. And I’m your amplifier. We’re going to obliterate that woman if she even thinks about laying a hand on Lil or the babies.” She nodded her head in resolute. In all fairness, she didn’t know if she could help him take on the woman. But she damn sure was going to try. Nobody hurt her family. That family also now included three babies and their mama.

At his question, her nose scrunched up and she quickly shook her head. She put her free hand on her belly and scoffed. ”I just admitted I’m in love with the guy. Let’s not put that juju on me, you ass.” She let out a breath before a small grin tugged at the corners of her lips. ”Though a mini Rowan would be absolutely adorable.”

At Delaney’s first comment about Miles being Magi the boy scoffs, "I sure don’t feel like a magi,” he mutters under his breath. Honestly, it was the piece of information that seemed to be the most unbelievable when all was said and done. "I don’t really know what being magi means honestly. Despite my parents both being liars.”

When Delaney mentioned a mini Rowan Miles chuckles, rolling his eyes. "You just wait. Lil will have those babies, Rowan will go absolutely clucky and beg you to be next,” he teases. "If it doesn’t accidentally happen to you first, I bet you’re no better than me.”

She groaned inwardly and closed her eyes. Delaney could totally see Rowan going crazy over some newborn babies. Shaking her head, she huffed out a breath and opened her eyes before pointing her index finger at her friend. ”Like I said- I am seriously using protection. There’s going to be nothing accidental about me getting pregnant.” She played with a loose strand of hair before scrunching her nose. ”Let’s just work on me getting up the nerve to tell him how I feel first, okay?” Taking another gulp of her drink, she huffed. ”And I have no idea what being a magi means either. But, I wasn’t always attending lessons or actually awake during them. So.”

"Oh and so was I,” Miles retorts, a small smile playing on his lips at his friend’s responses. "You could just, I don’t know, say the words? It’s really not that hard. Or are you scared of it too or something?” he asks, taking another sip of whiskey. Another small smile played on his lips as he thought about Lilith’s way of working around her words to avoid saying what she called ‘the L word’. He couldn't help but wonder how that was going to fly with the kids.

”Oh, like you and Lil are so perfect and can easily say those words to each other,” she scoffed. Delaney grumbled before taking another large swig of her drink, but found that the bottle was now empty. She scrunched her nose and groaned as she tried to look into the bottle. ”Damnit. I’m all out.” Shaking her head, she looked up at him. ”I’m not scared of anything, you prat.”

"Ha!” the man scoffs, "Pigs will fly the day Lilith says those exact words to me.” Miles never truly understood why so many were scared of using what was essentially a string of words. He didn’t find himself taking that string of words all that seriously at all. Sure, there was more sincerity and emotion by times he said to Lilith but the words had seemed to fall out of his mouth so easily with so many women in his past. At Delaney complaining about her empty bottle he holds the last of his whiskey out to her, only a couple of mouthfuls at best but that was better than nothing.

"Prove it. Tonight. There’s dancing at some point, you can make things all romantic if you want,”

Scrunching her nose at the idea of drinking whiskey, she rolled her eyes and grabbed the bottle from him. She downed a gulp and coughed before handing it back. No way in hell was she drinking more of that piss. Once she recovered, she huffed out a breath and eyed the man for a moment. She soon gave in and rolled her eyes. ”Fine. I’ll say it tonight. But I get to be at the hospital or whatever when Lil has your babies.”

"How about I pass you for a next day visit. Lil will kill me herself if I start inviting people the day of,” Miles responds, taking back his bottle back and draining the rest of its contents in one sip.

She could work with that. ”Deal. But I get to be the cool aunt. And I get to spoil the hell out of them and take them on wild adventures whenever I want.” Delaney grinned at him before reaching over and pushing him lightly on the shoulder. ”Congratulations, Mi. Truly. You’re going to be an amazing dad.”

"I don’t know about amazing but, y’know… As long as I can keep them alive right?” Miles responds, giving his friend a small smile. "Thanks though, D. Just- uh- if you're taking them on wild adventures no drinking,” Miles chuckles slightly, the hypocrisy of that statement not escaping him with the cleared Whiskey bottle in his hand. "And if we have little girls, no boys. I don’t know how Lilith and I could handle 3 kids of our blood who’ve discovered alcohol and kissing.”

Delaney eyed the man for a moment before giving in and rolling her eyes. ”Fine, fine. No alcohol, no boys. Just take all the fun out of things.” She gave him a playful grin before looking him over. A small hiccup escaped her and she laughed. ”Feeling any better?”

Miles bobbed his head a few times, the smile on his face growing. He felt lucky to have a friend to process things with. As much as processing with Lilith was necessary and comforting it was good to have someone without such an intense personal stake in his going ons. "Yeah. Thanks D.” he responds. His eyes float to the door of the alchemy room as he gives a sigh. Normally Miles was the most extroverted of extroverts but this evening, possibly for the first time in his life, there’s nothing Miles wanted more than some time distanced from the crowds, alone to process the evening he’d had. Yet there was a party before him, and a conversation with Salem to be had. "We should go before people start thinking we’re making mischief.”

”What’s wrong with a little mischief?” Delaney smirked at him before pushing herself up off the seat, her arms going out to steady herself. She gave a hiccuped laugh before shaking her head. ”Okay. I have to sober up some if I’m going to tell Rowan the ‘L’ word.” Once she was steady on her feet, she reached over and grabbed his hand, squeezing it. ”I’m always here for you. No matter what. Got that?”

"Haven’t you heard, I’m going to be a dad. I’m not allowed mischief anymore,” Miles jokes with a wink, pushing himself forward on the bench before sliding back to solid ground. He found himself needing to stumble a few steps before finding his footing. "And I got you,” Miles responds to Delaney’s final statement, squeezing her hand in return

”Good.” Nodding her head shortly, she looked at the door and blew out a breath. ”Alright. Back to partying. If you need me for anything, come get me. Especially if there’s going to be a fight.” She smirked and winked at him before leaning over to kiss his cheek. ”Love you, typhoon.”