Heroes [tw]

Location | Nigel & Irina's house
Date | June 15th 2022
Time | Midday
Attire | Link
Topic for | @Nigel (and who might join as we go)
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She had managed to get little Archie down for his second nap few moments ago, which meant while Mila was at school, her and Nigel had the house completely quite for a while. Just a while, not that she complained at all, things in the house were running fairly smoothly - with all the adjustments it needed when you had a baby in the home. It was the world outside the house that felt like a minefield at the moment, where they had to prioritize their family. But as Irina now once again could transform into her werewolf shape, the wolf had longed to be out on at least the full moons, which she had enjoyed. Running with that part of her family.

Irina had for days, thought about calling her mother. A thing she hadn't done since when she had gotten Mila - which was a long time ago by now. But Maxim had pretty much cut Irina out of the family, so she hadn't had any means to call or thought she was wanted. Natasha had convinced her. Well, and if it hadn't been Maxim picking up the phone. Now, had she been back in Russia, back in what environment of repressing she had lived in there, she would possibly have let him get away with everything. First and foremost he hadn't even let her mother take her own goddamn phone. Irina had walked just outside the doors outside so she could yell and curse at Maxim to a point where neighbors possibly would have thought she was sending down an assassination or plan a war - which she possibly was.

One thing was letting Maxim do what he had done when she had lived back, and she knew what type of man he was. She had taken enough hits to tell the story herself, and she didn't even like to think about what hardships her mother had endured afterwards. Natasha hadn't said much. Just that it wasn't good. But talking to the man now, just reminded her off all the bad things he had done, and possibly done afterwards. So, she almost threw the phone when she had hung up, but didn't. Instead she took a controlled breath in and exhaled. Now she could do something, she had the means and the resources. Irina had to do something. So, she returned inside and let out a sigh as her eyes met with Nigel's. "He didn't even let her take the call," she shook her head not having expected any less, which just meant things weren't getting better at all. "I'm going after him," not because she wanted to brutally kill him, well, a part of her wanted to, but one thing was sure, she wanted to rescue her mother from him. If that meant breaking a few bones in the guy, it would be her pleasure - and a nice repay. "Or you know, I want to get her out of there -" Irina clicked her tongue and shook her head a bit in frustration.

Nigel was mindlessly moving the small baby bassinet with his foot while he sipped at a cup of coffee; it felt like he didn’t sleep these days, which had been fine when he had been younger, be he could feel how the years started to creep up on him, especially with all the beatings that he had gotten throughout the time.
When Irina came back inside, he looked up, but before he could ask how it had gone, her face told him all he needed to know. “Irina,” he said in a low but warning tone as she suddenly told him he was going after him; his tongue ran over his lips “Call Zoe; she might have an idea or two of what to do; it is her daughter, after all, just, don’t do this on your own” he was already settled with the idea that this time it was his job to stay back and look after everyone, and that included the baby Archibald lying in the bassinet sleeping peacefully not knowing what was going on around him, and for the better of it at least. At least he knew better than to tell her not to go, even though it was rather tempting, but yes, he knew better. Mostly because he wouldn’t want her to tell him not to go, if it had been one of his family members he held dear.

Irina exhaled a little bit, licking her lips slightly. Calling Zoe would also meaning telling her about just how bad it was, and Irina had tried to spear Zoe a bit from the guilt of it, and perhaps herself for knowing she felt it too. But Irina had also learned she couldn't have done anything about Maxim, and the times she had tried, she had failed. Irina placed her hand against Nigel's cheek, "I won't go alone - I'm much wiser than that by now, you should know that," she teased a little bit trying to pull just a little spark of light into this very dark part of her life. On the next exhale she pulled her hand back. "I will call Zoe and tell her to meet me at the mansion, might need to pull a favor from Elias to make a door back to Russia," she took a sharper breath in realizing just how long it had been since she had been back in Russia. Irina hadn't even seen her mother since back towards the beginning of 2014, 8 years. 8 fucking years. Irina picked up her phone sending Zoe that text she had just told about, then sending Elias a text if he could open a door for her. Letting out a sigh putting the phone on the counter just looking at it for a moment before lifting her gaze towards where their son was sleeping, taking in another breath. "My mother hasn't even met nor seen Mila, sure she knows she exists, but ever since I ran and Maxim cut me off - what if he has messed up so much that she doesn't even want to see me?" If it wasn't typical Irina starting to overthink the worst possible outcomes out of something once she got too much time to think in. And now she was just waiting for those two texts back for a go. Enough time for her mind to spiral.

His lips pursed as she told him that she was much wiser “hmm, not sure I see it”, he winked before looking back at their son sleeping away, his foot still rocking the bassinet back and forth. He nodded when she explained what she would do, not really thinking much of it, as he saw how she started texting the different people out of the corner of his eye. He took another sip of his coffee. When she spoke again, turning his attention fully back to her, he lifted a brow, giving her a sad smile before standing up and walking over to where she was standing by the counter. He placed a hand on her shoulder, gently pulling her so she faced him. “Right, that might be the case, but then at least you can say that you tried, and then if she doesn’t want your help, there isn’t much you can do about that” he pushed some hair behind her ear, knowing it was hard to accept the fact that someone you loved didn’t want the help you were offering. “You just have to try and then accept it if she pushes you away” he leaned in and placed a soft kiss against her forehead. He heard how the phone buzzed; nodding to it, he smiled at her. “I’ll make sure things are running smoothly here, so go”, he whispered before letting his forehead rest against hers before he gave her a short kiss, only to be interrupted by Archie crying “, Well, seems like I’ll have my hands full” he laughed, before walking over to the bassinet and got his son out. “There we are; what seems to be the matter” he hummed in a low voice, and as he started bouncing around with Archie on his shoulder, he quickly stopped crying again.

It had been rather easy just living in a world where she knew her family wasn't allowed to speak to her, but having those walls break down by Natasha suddenly had dropped by, then Stefanja - learning about her entire family history, it was hard to put the puzzles into a new frame without having to adjust them a little bit, which Irina tried to do with her best ability. So, she exhaled, knowing there wouldn't be much she could do if her mother didn't want her help. Irina exhaled a little bit. Relaxing a bit more as he placed his lips against her forehead, humming a little in agreement, then hearing the phone buzzing, looking slowly to the side to pick it up. Elias texting her to be by the door within the next minute. Irina took a deeper breath in, and placed the phone in her back pocket of her trousers. Closing her eyes shortly feeling Nigel's forehead against hers. Archie interrupted their short kiss, making her chuckle a little bit. At least there would be a good while till he would be hungry, she held around herself looking over at Nigel walking over to lift their son out of the bassinet, once again she exhaled. She could do this. Walking over to place a short kiss on Archie's head, then on Nigel's cheek. "If there is anything, you call okay? I Love you," she pulled slowly away from them. Before heading over to where she could hear the front door open and Elias and Zoe waiting for her, to walk through, entering the Radclyffee mansion. Exhaling a little bit as the door closed, it never got much easier to get out the door, even if she was getting better at it: it was easy to get lost in that little bobble.

Irina walked over to greet her grandmother with a hug, taking notice of the figure next to her that looked very much like her grandfather as she remembered him. "Okay before I explain why I texted you all, can someone please explain me what is going on here?" She wondered looking mostly at her grandmother for answers, since Elias just stood leaned against the wall, curious about what was going on.

Zoe gave her granddaughter a sad smile before she pulled her into a hug and then turned and looked over at Sergei; folding her lips, she let out a small sigh as the inevitable was about to happen. Her hand glided through her hair as she looked towards her husband and gave him a small smile before looking back at Irina. “I’m not sure if you remember meeting him, but this is your grandfather, Sergei”, she introduced them, taking a small step to the side so they could probably meet, even if she would much rather get going and she could give her daughters husband a piece of her mind. Whereas Nigel clearly had been the better man, there wouldn’t be any help to find when she got her hands on that bastard. If she had only known how bad it had gotten, she never indented any of this to happen, and much like she blamed herself for never telling her about who she was to Sergei, she couldn’t help but feel guilty that her daughter was going through this, on her own; and what the children of Daniela hadn’t gone through as well. What a mess all of this was.

"I remember very faintly, but yeah, I used to look at old pictures. And you haven't aged a day, can't say I'm surprised by now," she chuckled a little bit. Even if it had taken Irina a bit longer than Nigel to get used to their on the go lives with one strange event followed by another, she had by now gotten very used to it. So, this didn't surprise or scare her. She held her hand out, to at least be polite and Sergei took her hand, greeted his granddaughter in a half hug. Wishing it had been a better time. Then taking a step back wanting to give Irina the room to explain just what was going on, he only knew very little after all. Uhm - so, after my father died, my mum got herself entangled with his guy Maxim. Wanting to control anything, and everyone. He is an abusive asshole to say it like it is, and - I'm afraid it's getting worse, so - Elias, please, can you just open the door," she exhaled a little bit frustrated. Sergei held his breath for a moment, regret hit him in the gut - much like guilt for not having been there. For needing to show back up in his daughter's life after having mourned him when he had died. Making him feeling like a terrible father, but that guilt trip could wait for now. Because right now, it was time to help his daughter, hoping to make up for just some of the times where he couldn't. Elias looked towards Zoe, not wanting to open the door before she thought it was the moment to do so, even if it perhaps was Irina that knew the house the best. It was Zoe's daughter, which throughout Elias' eyes gave her the first call. "You want me to come with?" He asked Zoe then, in case things got ugly, he didn't mind taking the blood on his hands, she already had plenty on hers.

It was a lot to take in; she would lie if she said anything different. And when situations like these came up, Zoe did as she always did; she thought things through. Primarily because of her massive temper, that would only get the better of her if she didn’t take at least a minute to close her eyes, breathe and then rethink how she would go around the task at hand. This time she was remembering to herself that it wouldn’t help if she came barging in and kicked the hell out of this Maxim guy. If anything, it would probably just make things worse. It would only turn their daughter against him if she weren’t ready to face the truth about who her husband really was.
“Yes, I’m coming with, of course, I’m coming with”, she growled but then let out a shaky breath, nodding, waiting for them to stop by. As the door opened, a scream was heard, a scream in anger and someone hammering against a hard surface, another door perhaps?
Then sobs, and someone begging for it to stop. What on earth was going on here. “Daniela?” she called, waiting for someone to come down, and greet her, but all she heard was heavy, angry steps that came toward them; she steeled herself for this husband of her daughter’s. Putting a leash on herself, hoping she wouldn’t just fly off the rails when she saw his ugly face.

Elias let out a sigh, but didn't correct Zoe in not hearing his question like he asked it. Because in situations like this he also knew better than to do just that. But he made the choice to go with them either way. Getting inside Elias didn't like it. It was so cold. Irina stepped into the house feeling her heart hammer against her chest by the sobs and beggings, giving her the most uncomfortable flashbacks. She wasn't blind to the steps coming towards them, the sound of the heel of his boots colliding with the wood floors gave her cold shivers down the spine. Irina for now controlled herself. But as Maxim turned the corner her eyes began to glow, making Elias grab her shoulder.

One who wasn't going to hold himself in a leash, and it wasn't like he couldn't control this burning rage, it was the fact he didn't want to. Because somewhere down the line he knew he hadn't been able to save his daughter from this, the way Irina responded to it all, he assumed this guy wasn't really going to throw around good tales of being the gentle and good stepfather or husband. So, the moment he saw Maxim, with an incredible speed he was already in front of the guy and grabbed around his collar lifting him up making him gasp for air as his feet no longer touch the ground. Now, Sergei had explained to Zoe that he wasn't a normal human, but this was showing just what he meant rather well. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't just end you right this moment," Sergei snarled almost flashing his teeth as his claws longed to dig into the flesh of the thin human flesh.

She stood her ground, watching the man come closer, but before she could speak, Sergei had already grabbed his collar and lifted him up in the air—even though Sergei had told her that he wasn’t a normal human, it was still surprising to see him like this. Just like she would imagine, it would be unreal to see her transform into a werewolf, or if she died, she would come back to life as her family was cursed to do. She agreed with Sergei, in the way that she too would very much like to end this poor excuse of a man’s life—but it wasn’t the way to go around it; if Daniela weren’t ready, this would possibly just end up pushing her father away from the family.
And just as her daughter's name had crossed her mind, the small woman emerged into view. Beaten, bruised with blood dripping down from her brow.
“Put him down”, Daniela growled; of course, she knew none of this was right. But she didn’t dare think about the consequences if someone killed Maxin, what it would mean for her children and family. Why else would most of her children not live at home anymore? Why had she sent Stefanja to Gaia to be with her older sisters? Maybe it had seemed like she didn’t care, but when you were scared, you did so many things that couldn’t be explained, just like trying to protect your husband after he had beaten you to the point where you could hardly stand on your own two feet.
Luckily she healed relatively quickly, which meant this might be the worst Irina had ever seen her mother.

Put him down, the words echoed in Sergei's ears, but he didn't let go, not yet. He knew it could mean that Daniela never forgave him, but for a moment he knew he had went away once, and he could do so again if it meant that she was safe. If his family was safe, he would give a damn about theme pushing him away for it. Irina froze completely looking at her mother' how beaten and bruised she looked, but the frozen bones soon melted with an anger that started to boil as she saw the smirk on Maxim's lips, even if there still was a hint of fear in his eyes as he could feel the air slowly leave him. Even so Sergei finally let the guy down, not really taking his hands off him, but more so let him have his feet on the ground.

But the second that Sergei let go of Maxim, Maxim took advantage of the situation to elbow Sergei. Maxim's elbow collided with Sergei's jaw, making the Sergei stumble back a few steps, before Maxim hammered him against the wall and placed his forearm across Sergei's chest to try keep him against the wall. "Get out of my home," Maxim yelled in Russian, then pointing at Irina, "how dare you show up here, and bring these people, it's pathetic," he mocked with a snort. Now, Sergei could easily remove Maxim from him, but he almost felt sorry for the idiot that he didn't know better. Also, it gave Zoe a chance to get closer to Daniela if she wanted. Irina took a sharper breath in and licked her lips. Then she started to take slow movements over towards her mother, not that Maxim liked this, even if his senses weren't supernatural he still was able to detect the movement and reached his other hand out in an attempt to get a grip on his step-daughter and his hand locked tightly around her wrist pulling her closer towards him. "Okay, enough of this," Maxim snarled. "Funny, that was just what I was going to say," Irina let a more threatening growl escape her lips, knowing Maxim didn't know about the supernatural. "Get your hands of us, before you lose them," she kept her eyes locked with Maxim's  giving him the chance before she would just break his arm like a stick. Honestly she would love nothing more. Maxim let go of Sergei slowly not taking eyes off Irina, narrowing his eyes a little bit while observing her. Then letting go, for now at least. Irina didn't dare take her eyes of him, knowing just what he was capable off.

”Stop! Maxim!” now, the anger that had been before quickly disappeared, almost like the new morning dew as the sun hit the leaves it had been nestling on. It was replaced with fear, and the last she wanted was Maxim to hurt anyone else—she had tried to take the most beatings and protect her children, even though it hadn’t always been possible for her—but she had tried.
“Stop! Please!” she ran towards him and tried to get his hands off her daughter and what looked very much like her father; what was going on here? How had they even managed to come here?
“Maxim”, her voice was pleading, and her strength to keep herself on her feet was slowly fading. She had to be strong; she had to.

On the other hand, Zoe just stood there, frozen, completely shocked with how her daughter looked—the begging in her voice and how it was clear she had been beaten into submission, over and over. She wanted to do something, she really would—but no matter how loud she yelled at herself internally, her feet wouldn’t move, as if they had frozen solid to the ground. How were you supposed to react when the man your daughter had married beat her senseless?

Okay Elias was done now, he couldn't just stand much longer looking and let things unfold, not when he could feel how angry Maxim was. "Maxim," the low threatening but otherwise calm voice made way through the grew hollow hallway they were in. Maxim turned his attention to the almost luring voice forcing him to look up, "it's time you stop - let go of them and step aside," Elias used his ability to simply compel people by speaking. And Maxim let go of Irina's hand and took a step back as told, looking oddly confused about what had happened.

Irina stood so close to her mother, able to smell her blood, see the fresh and old wounds covering the olive skin like some abstract painting. She took a sharper breath in feeling her heart dropping with a speed where she for a little second thought it could hit the floor and shatter in front of her feet. Everything in Irina wanted to reach out and touch her mother's arm, letting her know it was okay - she was safe now, they would get her out of here. But she knew better than to just simply touch a victim of such brutality. "Mama," she let the word call out over her lips, surprised it didn't come out as more than a whispered beg for her to look at her. Swallowing how much it hurt to see her mother like this.

Daniela tensed in her entire body as she heard a man, she had no idea who was, speak. More so when the man could make Maxim stop as simple as just saying a couple of words strung together. She was frightened, frightened of what Maxim would do to her, to her children. That was the only reason she had stayed for so long, because he had threatened her, threatened what he could make others do, Nayden and Stefanja.
So, she just stood there, with her bruises, the cuts and the blood gliding from the corner of her mouth after her teeth had clammed together over her tongue. It wasn’t the worst she had gone through; she had been hospitalised with a collapsed lung earlier this year, and the doctors were still in awe of how she had recovered from it. She, herself, included, but she mainly had just seen it as a cruel joke that she had to go back to more beatings and pain.

She finally looked up as Irina spoke to her, her eyes slightly glazed over as if she wasn’t really there. “I can’t leave; what if he finds us? He’ll kill you”, she whispered, not looking at her mother or father, not wanting to believe they were actually here. Maybe she had made them up to make it easier than Irina had come here with some man she didn’t know.

It took all Irina's strength to slowly sit herself down on eye level with her mother, to look past the bruises, cuts and all the damage. But like always Irina had learned to perfectly regulate, and she needed that power right now more than she ever had thought she did. "Yes you can," she breathed slowly out keeping her eyes on her mother's. "He won't hurt me. Not anymore, and he won't hurt anyone ever again, I promise you that," if she had to kill Maxim herself to make sure of it, Irina would do so. "But right now, I need you to believe in yourself, and if that is to hard, then believe in me, okay?" It had been a while since Irina had stepped into the mundane world's terrors, for a brief moment forgetting that Zoe and Sergei, her grandparents were supposed to be dead in this world. "This is my friend Elias, here is here to help," it was here she realized she couldn't explain the others yet. And perhaps it was more up to Sergei and Zoe to do so once they had helped Irina's mother to the nearest hospital.

There was no way she was going to let Maxim just get away or leave him under compulsion even if it was strongly forced from Elias. If Maxim were just a bit worse than Matthew, Irina had lived that tale and didn't want to see that history repeat. But she had gotten away, so she believed her mother could as well.

Sometimes people did the most irrational things. Even though Daniela had inherited her mother's strong will, she had been broken down to nothing in the last many years. The rules that had been enforced, how he had belittled her when she had done something wrong; either had bought something he didn’t like or if she had given Naydeen and Stefanja a free pass to go to a party. She had always seen herself as a good mother. Still, she was even starting to question that because now that all of her kids had left home, it was only her to take all the rage that Maxim harboured in her; even if she had tried to take all the hits that he had tried to give her children, it still hadn’t been enough, and sometimes she hadn’t even been home—so why hadn’t she left? Fear and manipulation were a strong tool to control someone, and there was something so broken in her that she thought she might not deserve anything better than this; and if not her, who would take her place?
“No, no, I can’t”, she shook her head and tried to back away “please leave; I would very much like you all to leave”, she whispered; she didn’t know these people. She couldn’t have Irina take this responsibility—besides, she had been away for so long, she didn’t realise this had just been a very bad day; not all days were like this.

"You should listen to your mother," Maxim managed to hiss, making Elias growl a little lower, not that it was easily heard. Irina looked back at her mother. There was no way she would leave her alone here with Maxim. She knew the instinct, to push people out the door because you were so terrified of what would happen if the bomb blew. When you were alone with your tormenter, at least you knew who would take the damage, and Irina knew her mother feared most of all this that Maxim suddenly would lash out at them, and throw his hate on Irina. Same reason why Irina had done everything to keep Matthew from Mila, afraid of what could happen in the future. "I have someone back home that I'm looking forward for you to meet - Mila just turned eight in April, overly happy she wasn't going to share her birthday with her new brother. That was why I called earlier, I wanted to tell you that I miss you," if she was going to go. There were things like that she wanted to say to her mother. That she missed her, there was so many other things she had longed to talk to her mother about for over eight years - it was a long time being shut out from your family. Her mother hadn't even met Mila, never seen her - which on its own broke Irina's heart a little.

A different scent caught her nose, making her press her brows together. Even Elias seemed confused and perhaps enough for him to lose the hold on Maxim. Enough time for Maxim to launch towards the Irina and Daniela, if it hadn't been for someone else suddenly throwing Maxim across the room with a speed of light that made Irina blink in pure shock. the two brothers fought. "Wasn't enough that you got me killed huh?" he yelled before Maxim hammered Michail down with a fist towards his jaw. But Michail got right back up and jumped at Maxim. Irina trying to figure out if her mind was playing tricks on her or not.

It twisted violently in her stomach as Irina told her that there was someone back home that she wanted to meet, that Mila had turned eight, just made it much worse. Because then, it was eight years since she had lost her daughter completely. Silently suffering when Maxim turned everyone against her oldest daughter. Because she hadn’t dared to say anything, which had just made her a part of the problem, but when you were scared, frightened and beaten down—there wasn’t much you could do really, other than hope that one day you might not wake up again.
Her lips started to quiver; it was getting harder for her to see, both because of the swelling of her left eye and the tears that began to glide down her cheeks.
Zoe was just about to say something when something happened that made everyone turn their attention to the door instead of having it on Maxim. Only Daniela acted and made sure to push her between her daughter and her husband—not that it had been necessary when something else threw Maxim away. Or rather. Someone.

For a moment, she stood there, stunned, not knowing what was up or down anymore. “Stop, stop!” she ran toward the fighting brothers, not wanting to believe it was actually Michail. Even though she could both hear and smell that it was him, she managed to push herself between the two of them, hoping that she might be able to get them to calm down. She turned her back to Maxim, which was possible the stupidest thing she could have done, but she needed to see Michail with her own eyes. “Michail?” she whispered, just long enough before a firm grip yanked her back. Long nails split open her throat where her hands instinctively grabbed around it, falling to the ground as soft gurgling sounds left her as blood ran into her lungs.

Michail stopped. He just looked and scanned Daniela, how broken and beaten she looked, it completely tore him apart and only added towards the anger he felt to his brother. He had heard some stories from Irina, it wasn't hard once he had learned his daughter roamed around close to where he liked to stay at Juniper's place. But this was far worse than anything he could possibly had imagined. "It's me," he only just managed to say before.
"No!" He yelled as Maxim got a grab on her, Irina focused her energy managing to before the next strike create a force field between her mother and Maxim. Which made Sergei this time take Maxim by the neck, trusting that there was more than plenty of people in the room that could help his daughter, while he made sure the bastard didn't go anywhere. Irina then froze, "Zoe, get her. We need to get her back to the mansion, now," Elias moved closer to the nearest door and unlocked it. Irina this time the one frozen. "Irina, I need you to go call for the healers, go, now Irina," he raised his voice a little, enough to wake Irina up form her shocked state and up on her feet to run inside to get some help.

Michail kept his eyes on Daniela, used his hands trying to help cover the ruin. He had lost count on the times he had whispered how sorry he was, because he was. Sorry for not having found a way back sooner, sorry for everything that possibly had happened, things he didn't want to imagine.

It all happened so fast; Zoe followed Sergei, making sure that the man who had just tried to kill their daughter would never be able to threaten her or any of her family members.
Daniela wanted to tell him how happy she was to see him again, how much she had missed him, but there were no words that would be able to leave her lips even if she wished them to. And even though the pain was almost paralysing, almost in a way making it bearable because her body was starting to move into a state of shock because of everything that had happened at once. If she had to be honest, she might even think she had gone to heaven, that she was finally reunited with the love of her life. All the pain and hardship she had gone through. It was finally over.

Her eyes drifted shut, not hearing the endless apologies that left Michail, how her daughter was yelling after someone to come help them. She didn’t realise that she was moved to another country, leaving the world that she had built for herself in Russia behind.
Maybe this was all for the better, even though she would have wished to meet her grandchildren again. Say goodbye to her daughters, her sons. All of which she hadn’t spoken with in what felt like ages. Maybe one could go so far and say that she hadn’t spoken with them since Michail’s death.

Michail watched her eyes drifted shut, and he worried that he would have to let her go. But no, it wasn't going to be like this, not by the hands of his brother. So, he lifted Daniela up in his arms, carried her through the door Irina had run through, he followed the sound of her daughter's yelling, hoping that soon enough someone would come and guide him and Daniela to somewhere else. Now, he knew just where he was based on gossip from the beyond, but now wasn't really the time where he let his mind wander onto that. And finally it seemed like some of the healers finally came running and requested for them to place Daniela in one of the rooms where they could tend her wounds. Despite Michail's wish he was send out of the room, giving the nurses and healers the time they and Daniela needed. Which left him out front of the door with his destressed daughter that just paced forth and back. Irina looked at him, so many questions and yet - by now - was she even surprised? No, it didn't mean she understood a single thing that happened. But she had seen his ghost and it made the process far easier to accept as he opened his arms and held her tight. None of them knowing just what was going to happen.

Maxim laughed in their face, knowing if this was the end he at least had gotten the final hit. Not that he knew that Daniela had supernatural healing, nor what sort of family she had her roots in. Not that he really had a lot in saying that as his neck snapped by the hands of Sergei, thinking this would at least kill a human. "You need to take the head," Michail and Irina returned to the open door and looked at the scene. Sergei looked from Michail to Maxim, "and then we need to bury it somewhere far away making sure the two never get a chance to reanimate again, or simply burn it" he exhaled. Michail had learned a lot about what sort of monster he had been and now again was while he was dead. There were plenty of truth to the term of death knowing all.

Irina blinked a little looking towards his father, just what was her father's side of the family? Then she looked towards Maxim. "You don't have to stay around for this," his eyes met with his daughter's, knowing she had already watched too much brutality in her life, and he felt guilty over not having been able to prevent just that from stopping. Luckily Irina knew when to take a step back and stay at the mansion, walking a few steps outside and picked up her phone. She dragged in a deeper breath and texted Nigel that they had gotten her mother out, and if he would call her when possible. She could push her own needs away on this for now. So, she just sat herself down on the bench, waiting it was all she really could do. Finally letting a few tears escape her eyes as she took a sharper breath in.

Sergei managed to find something to decapitate Maxim's with, just too scared of the blood. Because if it meant Maxim never getting his hands on making any of his other threats possible, he would do just about what it took. Elias closed the door and opened another one to a house across the world where he was sure they could bury or burn the head, quickly getting the head buried deep down, then heading back to Russia to Zoe, Sergei and Michail. "I will take care of the mess, you go be with your daughter and granddaughter," Elias said to Zoe and Sergei, "go be with them," he then looked towards Michail with a small nod before sending them back through the door. Elias could take care of this mess.

Everything had just happened so fast. IT wasn’t that Zoe wasn’t used to things going at a certain pace, but this was at a speed that she couldn’t even follow. One thing was coming back to Athena. Another thing was being reunited with most of the family, even though there would always be some family out there that they either didn’t know anything about or just didn’t want anything to do with them. Which, given the circumstances of today, she understood. Zoe stood there watching how Michiel and Sergei started working on making sure that Maxim wouldn’t come back. Something told her that it wouldn’t be the last they saw of him, but she had luckily been wrong before. But as she stood there, waiting, letting her eyes follow her granddaughter as she stepped outside to text what Zoe assumed would be her man waiting at home with their children.

“Hm?” Zoe looked up, knowing she had been miles away when Elias had spoken to her. She slowly nodded and let her tongue glide over her lips “yeah, I’ll, I’ll do that,” she whispered and then stepped toward the door, following all of the others inside, but before they could get too far, she grabbed Sergei’s arm, “we need to talk, it’s important” she gestured him to follow her outside, not that she didn’t want Irina to hear, but she needed to break this news to Sergei on their own, and if she had to be honest with everything that had gone on she had forgotten all about the last months after Sergei’s death and she had to leave Russia in haste.
Maybe that was also the reason why she had been so angry at Adonis because he had taken so much from her. Far more than he had taken from anyone else. She had a theory that it was because she had the potential to be an alpha; it was in her blood. Even if her father had gotten the title because he had taken over another pack, she had always felt left out or like she had to challenge everyone in her way.
With a soft breath, she looked at him when they got outside. “I have a confession to make”, she said as a small smile curled over her lips, even though it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“When you ‘died’, I was pregnant again” she felt how her heart started hammering in her chest; for a moment, she tried to figure out how to string the words together in the best way possible, but it seemed like nothing would make this easy. “We have a son, I had to put him up for adoption, a couple that already had a child, and then I had to leave him and everyone behind” she finally managed to get out, even though it hurt her throat and chest just thinking about that there might be a son of hers that she would never be able to meet because of circumstances that she couldn’t control. But there was nothing she could have done back in the day; running away with an infant son would have been too dangerous not only for her but for their son as well. Not a day had gone by in those nineteen years when she hadn’t thought about him—always wondering if he was okay and what kind of man he had grown into. And it tore her apart thinking about the fact that she might never be able to see it with her own two eyes.

Sergei took a sharper breath in, he had no idea how to deal with a creature like that. But he followed Michail’ instructions till Elias told them to go, he walked out the door. Watching Michail walk up towards where he had put Daniela moments ago, just waiting outside.

Sergei barely got to do much before that Zoe pulled him along with her. A slight confusion spread out his body by the words of it being important. At this moment it could be just anything really. Coming outside he faced her, pressing his brows a bit further together by the mention of a confession. Then raising his brows by the news, had he known: he wouldn’t have faked his death. On the other hand, he could have put them all in more danger by waiting. A confusing life indeed. Sergei counted in his head, their boy would be 19 today. He moved his hand through his hair and took a sharper breath in, it was some hard pill to swallow not that he blamed Zoe. He fully understood. So, he took her hands and gave them a small squeeze: “ You did what you had to. I don’t blame you, and I’m so sorry I left you alone in that time.” He took a sharper breath in. It surely hurt not knowing how their son looked, who he had become. Or anything the like. They could track him maybe find out, unless it was a closed adoption. Even then their family had a way of coming together.

He placed his hands to cup her head and let his thumbs caress her cheeks before leaning in to kiss her forehead. “She will be alright. We will be alright. She will rest up and we take it all step by step,” Sergei didn’t know if he was comforting her, himself or them both - most likely them both. No one wanted to see their child in such state. No one should have to.

She could feel how her tears started to sting. How they almost begged to let herself cry and break down. But she didn’t. She hadn’t cried since she had walked out of Ethan’s door. And even since before that, it had always been a tricky thing for her to do. Even if she knew just how much her body was begging for her body to get the release.
With a deep breath, feeling how her chest expanded by the pressure from the lungs as they pressed against the ribs. Then she let it go; even if she tried to regain the control she felt like she had lost, it felt like she was just making things worse for her. Her eyes trailed to their intertwined hands. Giving herself a moment to recollect her thoughts and mind. Not that her eyes were there for a long time, as he removed his hands to place them on her cheeks instead, almost forcing her to look up and into his eyes. A small smile crept over her lips, tugging in the left sigh, and another shaky breath left her.
“Yeah, we’ll be all right”, she whispered, nodding along with the words; she just hoped he was right. Sometimes she wondered if anyone in this family would ever get their happy ending.

It took a second, perhaps because of the events or just everything in between, till he realized he wasn't allowed to stand this closely to her - or not in this way, he wasn't sure she wanted him to comfort her. Even if there was nothing he wanted to do more than that. To be there. Sergei hadn't been able to think about anything or anyone but her since he had dropped her off at this boyfriend's house. Still, he had come here when Zoe had called, he would always show up. Even if she changed her mind or made the choice not to have him in his life - he would still show up. He would still caress her cheeks, and he would still love her no matter what. But Sergei believed in down the line there was something beautiful waiting for them all, that they could find happiness even on the most cloudy and gloomy day - you just had to look a little harder, but there was always one thing if not to you could be thankful for. "Come here," he mumbled a little before pulling her into his embrace and held her there for a few deep breaths calming them down. Till he saw Irina pace back and furth out in the big hall, clearly not knowing what to do with herself in this mess. That he could understand.