Dark Lycan (Dark #24)(71)
Author: Christine Feehan

Raven nodded. "They’ve already established a bond. Gregori’s a little worried about it. It isn’t a normal child’s bond, but the Daratrazanoff/Dubrinsky bond. As far as we know, no woman has ever been second to the prince. Anastashia has already shown very early signs of being a natural healer like Gregori. If anyone gets so much as a bump she rushes over and takes care of it. Even the older children go to her. Anya is Gregori all over again. She’s exactly like him right down to her fierce protectiveness of Alexandru. Anastashia actually is equally protective but in a far gentler way.

"Alexandru is already thoughtful, like Mikhail. He seems to think problems through before he makes a move," Raven said. "He’s serious most of the time."

"And who is the little boy who looks so much like him?" Fen asked.

"That’s Jacques and Shea’s son, Stefan. He’s only about nine months older but he definitely thinks he has to watch out for the others. He’s a little jokester, although he takes his job of protecting the twins and Alexandru seriously," Mikhail said. "He’s like Jacques was when he was young. I suspect he’ll be playing pranks on all of us in a couple of years. No one will be safe."

Raven laughed. "He’ll definitely enlist the aid of the twins and they’ll be happy to help."

A small, curvy woman who looked a lot like Raven approached them. Mikhail held out his hand to her and pulled her to his side. "This is my daughter, Savannah. I don’t know if you had the chance to meet Tatijana yet, but she is Dragonseeker, Razvan and Natalya’s aunt."

"It’s such an honor to finally meet you," Savannah said instantly, taking Tatijana’s outstretched hand. "Gregori and my father think so highly of you."

"She saved several of our warriors nasty wounds with her quick thinking," Mikhail said.

"I think everyone was helping out," Tatijana said.

"And this is Fenris Dalka, Dimitri’s older brother," Mikhail continued with the introductions. "No doubt Gregori has spoken of him as well." His tone turned droll.

Fen couldn’t help but laugh. "No doubt."

Savannah joined in Fen’s laughter. "Actually he has spoken of you at great length," she admitted, "but it was all good. My father replayed the entire battle for him and Gregori was very impressed with your skills. I’m so glad you’re here. Sara and Falcon’s children"-she indicated the small group of older children gathered together to listen to the storyteller-"are all human with psychic abilities. They were living in sewers when Sara found them. They’d already banded together and formed a family, working together for survival before she found them and brought them here."

"Who takes care of them during the daylight hours?" Fen asked. "How would something like that work?"

"Gabriel and Francesca also adopted a human child," Mikhail pointed out. "Young Skyler, and they’ve done quite well."

"Aidan and Alexandria are raising Alexandria’s younger brother, Josh," Savannah added.

"Colby and Rafael De La Cruz have Paul and Ginny," Raven said. "It can be done with a little help and being creative about the hours you spend with them. Sara and Falcon rise as early as possible and the children sleep in and start their day later so they can stay up later."

"Who watches them?" Fen persisted. More than once he’d run across a child he would have liked to help, but it was necessary to go to ground. Who would ensure their protection when he was immersed in the soil as if dead?

Tatijana brushed his mind with love. You are so compassionate, Fen. Few men think of taking in a child when they live a lifestyle like yours.

Sadly, vampires, rogue packs and the Sange rau leave behind a number of orphans. He looked down at her. If we can’t have our own children, would you consider a family such as Sara’s?

Even if we have biological children, I would love to incorporate other children who need us into our family, she assured.

Even if they are human or Lycan?

I would expect that they would be human or Lycan as Carpathians have so few children.

Tatijana’s voice was so loving it took discipline not to lean down and kiss her. Instead, he brushed a kiss over her mouth in his mind.

"Sara and Falcon have a few people who help them out during the daylight hours when they can’t be there. There’s Maria, who is their full-time nanny. Slavica and her daughter both help as well. Slavica and her husband, Mirko, own the local inn and she’s very busy as a rule, but when there’s need, she comes. If there’s trouble during the afternoons, we have Jubal and Gary and Slavica’s husband to guard them," Savannah explained.

"The oldest boy, Travis, is eleven now. He’s the oldest of the seven," Mikhail said. "He’s Falcon’s shadow and he’s already learning how to fight. Falcon and the other adults work with all the children. They have to know our enemies, just as all of us were taught. Travis looks out for the others. The little girl he has his arm around is Emma. She’s the youngest girl."

Fen could see the boy was older beyond his years. Even while he seemed to be taking in every detail of the story, he was watching his siblings. When two of the boys began punching each other and then knocked into one of the girls, he pinned them with a very adult look and both stopped their antics immediately. One whispered an apology to the girl seated beside him.

He indicated the byplay with his chin. "He definitely has their attention."

"That’s Peter and Lucas. They’re both ten and a handful. Jase, the youngest boy, is sitting very close to him and keeps scooting closer," Raven told them with a little laugh.

As the story progressed, Fen could see the littlest boy with a mop of blond hair inch closer and closer to Travis. "Chrissy is the one Lucas bumped into and Blythe is sitting beside her. They’re all human, but the psychic talents they possess are extraordinary."

"Where in the world did Sara find them?" Tatijana asked.

"She read an article in a magazine about children living in the sewers because they had nowhere else to go. These children are all throwaways. They had to scavenge for food. There were much older children who also lived in family units or gangs, whatever you prefer to call it, and they robbed this group often. It was Travis who protected them and stole most of the food for them," Savannah explained. "They’re extremely loyal to him."

"Travis is still a little shy around me," Mikhail admitted. "A couple of years ago, he was used by a vampire to spy on us."

"Worse," Raven said, "he was possessed. The vampire used him to try to kill Mikhail. He blamed himself when there was nothing he could have done."