Welcome to Until The End. We are a moderate Harry Potter role-playing site set in the Marauder's Era. Our plot is generally derived from details in the book, but as an AU site we do take liberties most anywhere we like. Those who died in the books can have a second chance at living, and those who lived are always at risk.
Tom Marvolo Riddle has long since disappeared and in his stead Lord Voldemort has risen, bringing a small army with him. The Ministry of Magic has thus far ignored the growing menace that is the Death Eaters and Albus Dumbledore has taken it upon himself to defend the wizarding community from an evil he knows is building. War is coming. Pick a side!
School's Out For Summer
The Hogwart's Express has pulled up to the station in King's Cross station and the summer holidays have officially begun. What mischeif will you get into in the warm summer sun?
*Coming Soon* - Summer Solstice Carnival
Travel by portkey to the biggest summer celebration in wizard society - The Summer Solstice Carnival! There will be food, games, prizes, fun and more!
Post by Christian Anthony Ward on Jun 15, 2018 21:22:28 GMT -8
The insanity of falling for a woman from one's past, conceiving a child with her, getting married and bonded eternally through obscure and ancient ritual magic while drugged was just dramatic enough that were Christian in the habit of watching muggle soap operas he would have thrown his arms up in the air, rolled his eyes, and bemoaned at the unrealistic series of events that he had just witnessed. To have experienced it for himself, while simultaneously tracking down a number of wealthy, dangerous men who intended to kill his wife and risk the safety of the missing teenage daughter he had only learned about a year ago would have been quite overwhelming if it weren't for the fact that Christian remembered hardly any of it. There were small bits and pieces, mostly gleaned by having been fed his own history from the woman in question herself, but thanks to Diana's hastily cast memory charm, the greater picture was a mystery to him. The lack of control he had over the situation angered him and he was easily convinced of his wife's nefarious motives when one of his men delivered to him a comprehensive file containing documents that detailed Diana's evil deeds in the past, including the recent past. Bound by magic and upheld by manufactured love, Christian was forced to ensure that Diana remained alive, as her death would result in his own death and Christian Ward intended on staying alive, but he was not required to put up with her bullshit day in and day out. Locking her away like a prisoner in the house that she had come to know as her home over the last eight months, Christian left Diana under the watchful eye of two of his most trusted men, while Christian himself indulged in a much needed break at a flat just outside of London where he could get a few moments of peace and quiet without little reminders that he was bound to a psychotic mad woman who fought like the devil and fucked like an angel.
Christian was receiving daily reports on Diana's wellbeing, and the wellbeing of his unborn son, from one of his men. They ensured she was fed and were under the guise that Diana wanted to be in the house. They were none the wiser to Christian's dastardly actions in which he used one of the side effects of the Life Bond, Diana's inability to disobey his commands, to compel her to not leave the house until he told her otherwise. Christian intended to keep her safe until his son was born, then he would free himself of this infernal Life Bond once and for all by dismantling the bond in the only way that would guarantee Christian survived untethered to the woman who had drugged him and manipulated him into a marriage and fathering of not one, but two children - he would kill her.
Diana had been a prisoner for nearly two weeks now, and Christian had remained busy during this time, though to be fair a lot of his time was spent drinking. He couldn’t get rid of a nagging feeling he had in the pit of his stomach but he chalked it up to worries about his place in the Dark Lord’s ranks. Diana's little stunt had placed doubt in Lord Voldemort's mind about Christian's loyalty, and as the Dark Lord's top hit wizard, Christian knew all too well what fate could befall someone who displeased their master. Christian tried to ignore any lingering feelings of softness towards Diana but he continued to insist to himself that they would resolve themselves in time. He just needed to get back to his old life, and he had. Christian had spent the last two weeks running the family business out of a flat that Derek had procured from them as a safe house - the tosser apparently owned the whole building and several more around the country. Christian was content that Diana was not being much of a bother as his men reported back daily on her. He didn’t love the manipulative bitch as she had tried so desperately to make him, but her life was connected to his and she carried his baby inside of her. As much as Christian never saw himself as a family man before, and still didn’t, he felt compelled to ensure that child would be safe. Well, as safe as he could be with a witch like Diana as his mum.
Christian was on the balcony, overlooking the city from seven stories up. He had a cigar and his fourth – no, fifth glass of scotch for the evening in his hands. The uneasy feelings were especially strong tonight so he was self-medicating with drink and a sort of zen that could only be brought on by either fucking or staring out into the abyss until he passed out. As it was, his dick was cursed to only work for one woman - another, less appealing, side effect of the Life Bond he had made with Diana, and he wasn’t planning on seeing her in the immediate future so when taking care of himself didn’t settle his mind, he retreated to the isolated oasis of the elevated patio, which he had cleverly enchanted to be as cool as an early spring's eve instead of the sweltering heat the rest of the city was experiencing. There was a knock at the front door but Christian didn't hear it.
Post by Derek Auberon Burke on Jun 15, 2018 21:59:55 GMT -8
It had been two and half weeks since Derek left the temporary flat he had housed Christian and Diana at. He hadn’t meant to be gone so long, but he didn’t always control his time - a common trait between himself and Christian, as well as any other that had joined the uprising.
Now, after two weeks of intelligence gathering, he had a few more answers for the deadly couple, at least he hoped they were a couple again, they were far too irritating when separated. The back and forth relationship between the pair was dizzying and more often than not, there was always some element of chaos. They obsessed over one another ad nauseum, whether they were in a good place or bad, but bad was even worse, and recently - it had been bad.
Between Diana's emotional outbursts and well-executed, if not entirely irresponsible, seduction and Christian's sulking and bottomless boozing, Derek had had enough. He couldn't chastise Diana - it chafed against his gentleman-like sensibilities (she was also damned good with a knife and almost 8 months pregnant) - but Christian was fair game. Of course Christian was reputed to be one of the most dangerous, if not the most dangerous, assassin in Europe - he also hit like a freight train, but those were his options.
Derek's face would be swollen for a while, but he was quick to put Christian's jealousies to rest.
There was a foundation for those jealousies. Derek could deny his attraction and interest (and he would because Christian hit like a freight train), but it was written on the man's face. The only thing more apparent than Derek's feelings for Diana, were Diana's for Christian. Christian remained obtuse. He'd have to be an absolute moron to not recognize the love-struck expression that Diana wore when the man was around.
But Derek was man enough to step down. He didn't think Christian was the better man - Christian was a fucking mess - but so was Diana. Derek was definitely the better man, but not for her, and he was man enough to accept that. He could only hope they could get their shit together before Liam was born.
His musings about the couple carried him to their door and gently rapped his knuckles against it. No answer.
He knocked again. “Hurry up you two, and for fuck's sake put some clothes on before you open the door.”
Nothing.
Derek sighed, being the landlord, he had the perk of a master key, but there was a high risk of accidental nudity involved. He wouldn't have minded Diana's, but he could go the rest of his life without seeing Christian in any state of undress.
There was nothing for it, Derek would just have to close his eyes or something. He entered the flat reluctantly, but as he didn't hear the tell tale signs of passion - and he had heard their tell tale signs, he had also received a complaint from another tenant - he felt it was safe to open his eyes. He took the time to glance around the house, it was quiet - too quiet for the couple. Heaven knew they only went so long without screaming at each other or just screaming in general.
Unease settled in the pit of his stomach and he gripped his wand just in case. His steps were lighter, but to be safe he cast a silencing spell on his movements so he could maneuver the house without alerting anyone to his presence should there be something ill at work.
The tension had spread throughout his body and his gut coiled ready to attack, but everything deflated rather quickly once he saw Christian on the balcony drinking, relaxing, and looking like a man without a care in the world.
"You know, for a man with a wife who has a noose around her neck, you're mighty casual this evening." Derek said leaning against the wall.
Post by Christian Anthony Ward on Jun 15, 2018 22:30:55 GMT -8
The evening was relatively silent. The hustle of the city below was muted somewhat from this height and the noise of commute traffic and people leaving their nine to five, hum drum jobs had already died out. This time tomorrow there would be more commotion - the weekend always brought with it a charged energy and it wouldn't be the first time Christian looked down to the streets below and admired a scantily clad group of women teetering from one pub to the next. He couldn't do anything with them, besides the fact that he was cursed to be faithful to his "loving wife", those girls were far too young for him. Admiring them was one thing, acting on his urges with someone half his age was simply not his style. That seemed like something Burke would do, though.
The city was quiet, but it wasn’t silent enough, however, that he shouldn’t have heard Derek making his way through the flat and out the spacious balcony. Of course, if the prick had used a silencing spell for some Gods forsaken reason then Christian could hardly be faulted for being surprised. At the sound of the man’s voice, Christian drew his wand and spun around to face the door, rising out of his chair with lightning quick speed. “For f*ck’s sake, Burke!” Christian’s wand was trained on the wizard who was casually leaning against the wall. It was too casual a stance for someone who could have been dead within moments of startling the infamous assassin. Slowly, Christian lowered his wand and instead brought his other hand up which held his glass of scotch, his cigar having falling to the ground as he reached inside his coat pocket for his wand. “What the f*ck are you sneaking up on me for? I could have blasted your sodding head off.”
Post by Derek Auberon Burke on Jun 15, 2018 22:37:13 GMT -8
"To be honest?" he asked with slight surprise, "I couldn't resist." he teased the man who easily could have ended him.
"It's not every day you can get one over on Christian Ward..." he paused, "I may have to write about this in my journal." he said more amused at the picture in front of him. He made a flighty hand gesture and batted his eyes to let his friend know he was indeed teasing the man.
There was a semblance of good-natured ribbing that Derek gave easily once his concern for the couple's welfare was relieved by Christian's nonchalance. He noticed the patio was cool, which was probably Christian's doing. Smart man, Derek should have thought to do the same rather than walk in the sweltering heat, but he was too preoccupied with the new intel.
"Is Diana asleep?" he asked. The woman kept odd hours with her pregnancy, the only time Derek didn't see Diana with Christian was when she was sleeping or when she was pouting, again he hoped for the former.
Post by Christian Anthony Ward on Jun 15, 2018 22:49:43 GMT -8
“Write it in your fucking diary, you little witch,” Christian said with a slight hint of a very mild chuckle in his tone. It wasn't often that Christian joked with people, and certainly not with people he didn't care about. He had to be comfortable with a person, and consider them a friend or close family, if they were to ever see the dry wit that was Christian Ward's sense of humor. Insulting people, however, that was a whole other quidditch match, and despite now considering Derek a close mate, Burke was still Christian's favorite person to take the piss out. He just made it so easy, what with the man's clear obsession with Christian's wife. Derek wouldn't be pleased to learn that Christian had plans to murder Diana once Liam was born, and Christian was smart enough to keep that bit of information to himself. Derek was no match for Christian, but he could hold his own long enough that Christian might actually break a sweat and there was no sense in putting in that much effort when he could easily keep mum on his plans.
Derek had already brought up Diana once, and Christian knew it wouldn’t be long before the blond man asked about her again. He was infatuated with the sultry brunette and if allowed to go on, he'd probably ask after her all night, and take him longer than would be dignified before he realized the little apartment held no other occupants besides the men on the balcony. They were partners in crime, Derek and Diana, but even Derek didn’t know what Christian did. Derek didn’t know the sorts of crimes Diana was pulling over on him, on both of them.
It wasn’t long before Christian’s “wife” was brought up and before providing an answer to Derek’s question, Christian took a swig of his drink. “Probably,” he answered nonchalantly. “Not here though. I’ve got my men keeping an eye on her at my place. Let's go inside, mate. We’ve got a few things to go over.” Derek didn't know all the details Christian's men had uncovered on Diana's past, but Christian actually gave half a shit about Derek and for that he felt he owed the man an explanation. He also didn't want Derek getting in the way and cocking up his plans because he thought Diana to be a martyr of some kind.
Post by Derek Auberon Burke on Jun 15, 2018 22:59:15 GMT -8
Derek's smirk was firmly in place. He was glad Christian was amused. Christian Ward was not an easy man nor easy friend. This was the second time Derek had earned his friendship, and both times it had nearly cost Derek his life.
It was dark, but Derek went white when Christian said Diana was at his place.
"Shit!"
At once he sprung into action. He didn't question why Diana was staying at Christian's house, Lord knew the pair could argue til the walls came down. Though it was the first time in his experience, where Diana ran from the problem, rather than toward Christian. Even after the woman had taken Christian's memories, she couldn't leave him alone. That's what got them into this mess the second time around. Actually, that was Christian's fault for not coming clean sooner. If he had they wouldn't have taken out Copperbottom. Sure the pair might have argued and killed one another, but they wouldn't have a trail of assassins coming after Diana, and therefore endangering both Christian, and their child.
But who knew? If the couple hadn't reconciled, then maybe some space was doing them good.
Judging by Christian's drinking Derek doubted it. Still, it wasn't his relationship and he had put his two cents in far too often. If the pair couldn't make it work, he wasn't a fucking couple's counselor.
And yet, with the new intel Derek was privy to, he knew that Christian's place wasn't safe.
All pretense of easygoing banter was gone and Derek was serious, "Alright we have to go." he said moving toward the front of the house so he could apparate to Christian's flat.
Post by Christian Anthony Ward on Jun 15, 2018 23:05:44 GMT -8
Christian was all ready to pour Derek a glass, and refill his own, then sit and go over the copious amounts of horrible atrocities his wife had committed, convincing Derek of Diana's insanity and cruelty. It would ring especially true to know that a hired killer thought Diana's actions deplorable. Christian was about to head inside when Derek turned and headed inside the flat in a decidedly rushed manner. “What the f*ck is up your arse?” he called after Derek but the man’s figure quickly disappeared into the dark apartment and Christian was left standing alone with his wand in his hand. “For f*ck’s sake,” he groaned to himself. He finished off his scotch quicker than he would have liked, hardly tasting the fire or wood that he normally enjoyed savoring. He wasn't about to fucking waste alcohol because Derek had a bug up his arse.
He caught up with Derek easily enough and demanded a basic answer. “Where?” Diana and the baby were safe at Christian’s home. Peters had brought Christian a report only a few hours ago. It was quiet there and Diana was sulking with a sandwich for tea. But Derek had been away for weeks gathering intel, so he clearly knew something Christian didn’t. Christian knew a lot of things that Derek was in the dark for. Tit for tat, apparently.
Post by Derek Auberon Burke on Jun 15, 2018 23:11:04 GMT -8
Derek didn't pause in his stride, he was anxious to get to Diana.
"They know about your flat Christian, and they tripled the reward." he answered shortly.
"They've been watching the construction on your house, but since you both were here I wasn't concerned. I never thought she'd go back there yet or frankly that you'd let her leave your side."
Christian hadn't left Diana's side since the start of all of this. He didn't know Diana had been staying at Christian's for the past two weeks. Rather he assumed they had a minor spat and she left, most likely in a huff, and most likely without thinking - that was her way when it came to Christian.
They had to get there before the assassins moved in. Maybe it was even too late, but he knew at the very least Diana could handle herself for a little while - enough until back up came or she could escape.
Post by Christian Anthony Ward on Jun 15, 2018 23:18:19 GMT -8
Diana didn’t have much of a choice in whether she returned to Christian’s newly reconstructed Tudor home, nor whether she would be able to remain at Christian’s side. He didn’t want her around and if there was one good sodding thing that came out of this fucking Life Bond ordeal, it was that he had the power to make Diana follow orders, and he had ordered her to be a prisoner. It wasn’t as though he was abusing her or neglecting her in any way. His men were on it; they fed her and made sure she remained healthy and compliant. Christian himself had seen to it that she had free reign of the majority of the top floor, including his master bedroom. There were no concerns that she would get her hands on any weapons or potions, as he hadn’t restocked anything after the battle that had originally demolished his charming little two-story home.
“She’s fine. I’ve got my men on her,” he said reassuringly, though he continued on at Derek’s side until they were both beyond the property line and free to disapparate. If Diana was found out, Christian would be forced to protect her, if only to protect himself. Without another word, the two men disappeared from the sidewalk outside of the inconspicuous apartment building, a ringing ‘pop’ sound fading into the night.
Post by Derek Auberon Burke on Jun 15, 2018 23:21:00 GMT -8
Derek gave a sideways glance for how much he thought of Christian’s “men”. It wasn’t that he didn’t think them capable as the next lot, but these were trained men and women coming to collect on the largest bounty this side of Christendom. If the amount had been high before, the triple rate just went to show how desperate the final board member was. It was an offer too good to pass up.
Derek would be more at ease once they got to Diana. He apparated a bit away from the house in case there was an attack he didn’t want to appear right in the middle of it. He needn’t have worried.
As he made his way closer to the house fear gripped inside of his chest. Recently remodeled homes did not have broken windows, nor did they have a front door blasted off its hinges. But the house was quiet, whatever had happened wasn’t still happening. They were too late. They were about to find out that they were almost two weeks too late.
Derek’s worry pushed him forward, his wand at the ready, but he wasn’t prepared for the sight that greeted him or the smell that assailed his senses.
Derek had dealt with dead bodies before, but they were often dealt with immediately either by spell or by burial. He was not accustomed to the stench of decay that permeated the air, nor was he used to the sight of severely decomposed bodies. He had pressed into the room and regretted the decision immediately rushing back out to the fresh air.
Post by Christian Anthony Ward on Jun 15, 2018 23:53:53 GMT -8
Unlike Derek, who had no reason to trust anyone he did not directly hire, Christian trusted his men not to flip for a pretty price tag. There was more than just a paycheck on the line for anyone employed by the Ward family business, and while he didn’t particularly enjoy threatening innocent wives, children, and elderly parents, it wasn’t something out of the realm of possibility. He had a business to be run after all. Threats of violence and personal “insurance policies” aside, Christian, like his father before him, only hired the most competent and capable of men for any position. Had anything happened since Peters’ report, Christian would have been notified immediately. There had been no notification, and nothing concerning reported at the last check in a few hours ago. Christian was certain there would be no problems…until he appeared on the street in front of his house.
The panes of the ground floor windows had been shattered in both the living room and the dining room. Glass still riddled the hedges and roses beneath. The door was barely attached to the doorframe, only the bottom hinge was still somewhat attached but it was twisted in a wonky sort of fashion and in no better shape than the top hinge which had broken clean off the frame. The door rested cockeyed in the small foyer, leaning backwards so that Derek needn’t touch it to get inside. Christian’s brow furrowed and he gave a quick glance up and down the street. There were no sounds of sirens or concerned neighbors. No one seemed to notice anything was out of the ordinary on the street at all, but his house had clearly been smashed in. A few steps backwards into the street allowed Christian to see the façade that the neighbors had been viewing. Christian’s home stood tall, newly constructed and in pristine condition. The garden was well cared for without a speck of broken glass in sight. The front door was shut. Stepping back toward the house, he crossed from the pavement to the walkway and the crime scene came back into view. Someone had broken in. Derek was right, and he also looked like he was about to get sick all over the porch.
“Diana!” Christian hollered out to her as he rushed past Derek, inhaling the scent of death as he cried out for her, coughing and gagging as he pressed on into the foyer. Christian held his wand steady as he moved cautiously into his house. There was a lifeless body slumped over the dining table, a pool of dried blood on the floor below him. In the living room was another body, the man’s head was at a strange angle and it took Christian a moment to realize that his neck had been snapped and was turned much farther than would have been possible of a living person. “Fuck!” he muttered to himself as he reached the bottom of the stairs only to find the body of Walter Nash contorted and grey on the steps. There was no need to check for a pulse or to get his longtime employee to hospital, rigor mortis had set in and the body was bloated. Nash was dead.
Christian took the stairs two at a time and the sight that he was met with startled him. He aimed his wand on Peters who was standing outside of Christian’s bedroom, the door shut. His hands were folded in front of him and his chin was raised. He was on guard. “What happened?” Christian roared, the scent of decaying bodies once again coating his throat and making his cough. “What the bloody hell happened, Peters?!” He approached the man, holding his wand to the guard’s throat and using his free hand to grip the man’s shirt tightly.
Peters looked straight ahead for a moment, then slowly his eyes traveled over to meet Christian’s fiery gaze. “Evenin’, sir. Ms Crawford’s doing just fine. Seems to have given up trying to argue her way out of the house. I gave her a sandwich and some crisps for tea. Didn’t complain much about it.”
“Where is she?” Christian roared, but Peters didn’t seem to register that there was anything wrong with the scene around him. He just started repeating his little report on Diana’s wellbeing, though the details were different this time, as if he was making them up. Peters was of no use. Christian pushed the man aside and wrenched open the door to the master bedroom. It was empty. He growled in frustration as he turned and made to open the guestroom door, only to see the little room had been thrown upside down. The mattress was hanging off the bed, and the dresser had been pulled away from the wall, as if someone had been attempting to barricade the door shut and failed. Shattered dishes and scraps of rotting food littered the floor, dinner had been interrupted. “Where is she?!” he roared again, rushing from the bedroom and pulling his arm back as he came at Peters who didn’t move to block the punch that slammed full force into the side of his head. “Where the fuck is she?!”
Post by Derek Auberon Burke on Jun 15, 2018 23:56:10 GMT -8
It wasn’t that Derek didn’t trust Christian’s men to be loyal, far from it. In the short time – and it really had only been a few months or so – that Derek had gotten to know more about the dangerous death eater, one of the things he had quickly realized was that Christian didn’t suffer fools. All of Christian’s men were well trained and loyal to a fault. As a matter of fact Derek had bonded with Christian’s crew as an outsider on the ever unfolding drama that was Christian and Diana. Loyalty prevented them from speaking out of hand about the boss, but more than one mouth quirked in agreement when Derek mentioned how ridiculous the pair could be.
Nash had been one of those men who smiled. To see him now twisted darkly in Derek’s stomach. The man was capable, moreso than most, and by the other bodies he could tell it was merely a numbers game.
But there was something else. Something odd. Once Derek could breathe again he cast a charm to clear the air and started another charm that would start clearing the bodies. Long dead bodies. Too long. This wasn’t a recent attack. He tried to piece together what happened when he heard Christian yelling. Someone was alive. Someone had answers.
He took the stairs three at a time just to see Christian shove his fist into the other man’s face. Derek was well acquainted with Christian’s mack truck powerblows and if Peters wasn’t dead, he was probably going to be unconscious.
He heard the man groan and Derek called out before Christian could hit him again, “Christ! Wait he’s the only one who knows what went down, and we won’t get any answers out of his corpse. He’s clearly under the imperious.” Which meant there was only one way to wake Peters up, and the man wasn’t going to enjoy it any more than Christian’s fists, but they were running out of time and they needed answers.
Post by Christian Anthony Ward on Jun 15, 2018 23:57:18 GMT -8
But he could sodding well try. Christian pulled his arm back again but Derek’s voice interrupted his rage momentarily. Was it rage, or concern? A bit of both, no doubt, but just who he was concerned about was a whole other question. If Diana was hurt, it put the baby at risk. If Diana died, all three of them could die. Whether Christian was concerned for selfish reasons or reasons beyond his understanding of himself, the fact remained that they needed answers and killing Peters wasn’t going to accomplish that goal. “Well fucking get on with it, then,” he growled at Derek as he shoved Peters into the wall and took a few decently sized steps back. At this point, if Christian tried to remove the curse over his guard, he might overdo it a bit and end up with two dead men and a missing wife. It was safer to let Derek get things started, at the very least.
Post by Derek Auberon Burke on Jun 15, 2018 23:59:44 GMT -8
Derek was suddenly calm in the face of things. He usually gave off a casual air, and he did it to hide the cunning beneath the well-tailored clothing. Between Christian and Diana he often found himself in the supportive role, as well as much needed comic relief, but with Christian on the verge of ripping the house down Derek needed to take the reins – he was flexible like that.
He took a step back from the vacant shell of a man and brought his wand up shoulder level before hurling the curse moderately – he didn’t want to cause more pain than necessary.
“Crucio!”
The curse hit Peters square and the dark hold that had been on his mind gradually receded as pain rippled through his body, but he welcomed it. He welcomed the lucidity that would come as he had been trapped for too long. He had been taught various ways to resist the unforgivable curse, but this time he hadn’t resisted, it was the only way to get Diana’s message to Christian and if nothing else Peters was loyal. But the man had lived in filth and horror for two weeks, with mental scars too deep to recover from. That was saying something in his line of work.
He had been locked in his own mind repeating the events over and over again, while a carefree expression dominated his face. A part of him screamed and beat against his chest with each false report that everything was fine, but he couldn’t escape the haze. Now as his sanity and will power returned the images flashed through his mind again.
Derek pulled the curse back once he saw Peter’s eyes shift and gave the man a moment to collect himself.
“Peters?” Derek asked.
He grunted. His nose was broken, he tasted the metallic bitterness of blood and recalled Christian hitting him. That was fair, it was more than fair. He had failed. He turned then to find the man he admired as a boss and as an assassin. A man who had given him a chance as a young boy to prove his worth, and the regret and remorse was heavy in his face.
“They took her boss…I’m…” he couldn’t even say he was sorry. Despite Christian’s harsh orders Peters knew how his boss felt about the woman in question. All the men did. And they liked Diana to boot. They would of course obey whatever demands Christian made, but making meals and seeing to Diana’s comfort wasn’t a hardship. Far from it. They assumed, like most of the couple’s spats, that time would make Christian see reason. They had been spectators in most of this mess since the beginning, not all of them, but some – like Peters – had seen the affair since the first mission. At first the difference in their leader was shocking. Christian Ward was unflappable, dedicated, and ruthless when need be, but a few months into his reunion and the man was someone else, not worse – not by any means, but different. He smiled more. Then he lost it, whatever it was, and was only just starting to get it back before this whole mess. While there were a few on Christian’s team that cared less about the emotional well being of their boss, most had been with him or the senior Ward before him and cared very much. And his failure was crushing.
Derek could see it in Peters’ eyes, the horror and the anguish. They didn’t have time for softness, but Derek’s tone wasn’t hard when he instructed, “Tell us what happened.”
Peters closed his eyes and swallowed. That was it. That was all the emotional reprieve he gave himself before beginning his story.
“It was three days after you left…” he began.
Soon the words began to pour out of him. Diana had been sullen for the first night. She refused to eat or be cajoled. Refused wasn’t the right word, it wasn’t stubbornness that kept her from eating, she was just…lost. By the second day she had composed herself well enough to accept the meals, but she was still moving about as though she were a ghost. She also had trouble sleeping. It was the latter that notified her about the attack. Some of Christian’s men had already been killed, but it wasn’t for lack on their part.
The strike was surgical, as though they had already established the upper hand and knew exactly how Christian’s men were operating. They did, because they had been monitoring the house for weeks and Christian’s men for the past few days.
Diana fought. Lord did she fight. She fought for her life, her son’s life, and touchingly she fought for Christian’s men too.
“They just kept coming.” He said hanging his head in defeat.
Derek listened intently, then hit the wall, “Damn it!” he cursed, “Why didn’t she leave? She always has an exit strategy, why the fuck wouldn’t she just run?!” he yelled to no one in particular.
Peters didn’t know that himself.
“We tried!” he said just as baffled and angry, “She…she wouldn’t leave us behind.” He said thinking that had been the reason she had stayed and not Christian’s order. “She wanted us to run, but we had a job…and…” his failure in the mission broke him and he had gone silent once more.
“Wait…After you left?” Derek asked something suddenly clicking into place. He turned his eyes to Christian then back to Peters, his earlier thought was confirmed this attack wasn’t recent. Things were beginning to take shape, but the idea was too dreadful to have merit.
Instead he asked, “Just how long ago was that? How long has she been gone?!” this time his eyes had moved to Christian’s looking for answers, looking and hoping the man hadn’t actually done the unthinkable. This wasn't because of Christian. He wouldn’t have compelled Diana to stay, knowing that there were men after her. He wouldn’t have left her unable to run, cornered like a fucking deer with the wolves on the prowl. He wouldn't be that fucking stupid. Would he?
Post by Christian Anthony Ward on Jun 16, 2018 0:09:29 GMT -8
He was. Christian’s rage over Diana’s sinister plot to take away his freedom had spurred a rage to do the same thing in return. He had been focused on figuring out how to rid each other of this Merlin forsaken Life Bond that was even now threatening to destroy everything Christian had worked his whole life for. Christian had never intended to settle down and become a family man. Everyone knew it wasn't in the cards, he enjoyed his freedom too much and that included his ability to shag just about any witch he liked. More than screwing and doing as he pleased, Christian had worked hard to get to his station in life. He wasn't rich by any means, but he wasn't poor. He had owned his own home since he was 22, and he had been running the family business - the mob disguised as a security company for hire - for nearly twenty years now. Christian was a man of morals, despite what some might think of a man who willingly contracts to kill people. A man who willingly took up a contract not once but twice on the woman who was now missing, carrying his child, and bonded to him. He had plans for himself, for life, and Diana had gotten in the way of that. Now his plans had changed but he was working to get things back on track. Any ordered hits on Diana’s life had been secondary to the plan to break their mutual curse, but even then Christian had thought to keep her protected. He had tried, at least.
He only half listened as Peters spoke, explaining what had happened. Whoever had taken Diana was smart enough to leave one of Christian’s men alive, to use that trust against him. “Fuck, that was two weeks ago!” Christian’s voice was raised but he was raging at no one in particular. He could blame Peters and Nash for failing to protect Diana. He could blame Derek for waiting so long to relay any intel he had gathered. He could blame himself for compelling her to stay in a house that would become a prison. A panic signaled in his chest, but strangely not for his own life which was also at risk if Diana was harmed by her kidnapper.