Our Home is Our Hearts

Chapter Seven: Returning Home

After they had made it to the town and were stopped in a parking lot, the adults started their discussion while Peter had fallen asleep in Berwald's lap. What Mathias had suggested was absolutely absurd, but Lukas and Emil were afraid that they had to agree, it was their only safe option. And with Lukas so close to labour, and the other three swearing it would be ok, they were back on the road. They were going home.

Lukas hadn't seen Litt Haven in a very long time, and it had definitely evolved quite a lot since he last saw it. The streets had nice lamp posts and new pavement was laid. Everyone was so surprised to see that a city filled with immortal beings was still evolving alongside them. But the group was still nervous about what was to come from this. There was no guarantee that Mathias' plan would work, but they had to try. They were hardly discreet as they pulled up to the gates in front of a large lot filled with connected apartments, and the three wolves took deep breaths as they looked into the little booth by the side, and out came a young woman, very tired by the look of it. Mathias pulled out a card from the glovebox and handed it to her. Without looking, she used the card to open the gate and then gave it back, returning to the back. Mathias smirked and drove in, parking in the way back and then getting out, telling Tino to go with him and the others that they need to stay until further notice.

The two took deep breaths before knocking on the door to the second floor house, Tino looking up at the stars behind them. A few seconds later, the door opened, and a younger looking woman was standing in the door, and suddenly her face lit up as she jumped into Mathias' arms.

"I missed you! I thought you had left for good!"

"No, no, I'm not here to beg to come back, Erika, sorry. We really need to talk to Ludwig though, is he home?"

"Yes! Come in!" She said, pulling the two inside as she shut the door behind them and ran off to go and fetch her companion. And Ludwig was quick to come out at the mention of two runaways in his living room.

"You came back?"

"Ludwig, we need to ask you a big favour, it's a personal emergency. I mean.. We aren't coming back just yet but there's a lot we need to say first, so please stick through and listen."

When it was all done and explained, Ludwig was stunned. He hadn't expected this of all things to be why his old friends came back. Ludwig cleared his throat and frowned. "So, you want me to open your old apartment, because you decided to run away with vampires, and a hundred years later, got found out, and had your house burned down because you went and knocked up a vampire, who, from what I've heard, is almost ready to give birth?" Ludwig pinched the brink of his nose. "Mathias.."

"Please! It'll only be until we can find somewhere far far away from here! It'll be safe for you because the vampires won't even think to look here!" Please! I would do anything to make sure my kid is born safe, and once they are, we'll be gone, promise!"

"Nobody said you couldn't stay, you Berwald and Tino, just that the vampires can't. And, Tino, did you say Berwald has a human child?"
"Yes, sir, we adopted him. But Peter is no trouble at all! Really as long as he's occupied he'll be fine. He goes to school and he's been around us for his whole life, so he knows about wolves! Never once has he told anyone, and if he did, people don't believe him if they're an adult, they believe their children are living in a fantasy world."

Ludwig had to take a moment to think about it. "After this ends, I'll give you a week. Then they're gone. You three are free to stay if you'd like, but the other two absolutely cannot. We won't be harbouring vampires. But your child can come and go as they please, being half of our kind, they have the right, just as my brother, or any of the other hybrids out there do. But the other parent isn't to live here, spend even a night here, it goes against who we are. They will come on business only, do you understand?"