We were back at school the Monday after the incident with the Chimera Syndicate since Headmistress Collins assured Mom, Pandora, and Calliope that the new protective wards on the school would be in place by then. Well, I guess not all of us were back at school. Delilah wasn’t there, but after the incident, I had a feeling that it would be a while before we saw her again, if ever.

Without the school’s Queen Bee and main antagonist there, things were quiet, and even a little boring for a while. Some of the toadies… err girls in her social circle tried to fill the void her absence left and take her place for themselves, but none of them had Delilah’s presence or influence, so they all fizzled out into social obscurity. Unlike Delilah, none of them were much of a problem for me and my circle of friends.

Sure, they tried, but none of them were really all that intimidating, nor did they have the clout that Delilah did. They also couldn’t tell the difference between me and Jess so they tried to put us both in our place to secure their coveted social position. That didn’t work out well for any of them, and my sister and I always got our vengeance in creative ways. Yeah, it was probably a bit petty of us, but they should know better than to mess with the Fey, and we tried not to go too far after the way things turned out with Delilah.

We had semi-regular hangout sessions on Sunday with our friends from school, while we were all free. Other than that, whenever we weren’t in school, working, or spending family time, Jess and I tried to spend some quality time with our respective girlfriends. I was still head over heels for Melody and it looked like things were getting serious between Jess and Rose too. Those two couldn’t keep their hands off each other, horny little bunnies.

Yes, I know, people who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, or something like that. What the hell does that even mean? Old people quotes are stupid. Who would want to live in a house made of glass, anyway?

Completely aside from the fact that such a house would be extremely breakable, which probably has something to do with the lesson behind the quote, I can think of several other reasons why living in one would be a horrible idea. They would be expensive to heat in the winter, and the cleaning… not just the walls, but how annoying would it be to look up at the ceiling, expecting to see a nice blue sky and there’s a bit glob of bird shit above you? And that’s not even taking into account the privacy factor. I might not have a sense of modesty, but even I would think twice about getting freaky with Melody when people, especially children, could just walk up the wall and watch. Maybe old people are just prudes and didn’t think of that.

Anyway, where was I? Having sex with Melody? No, wait, I was going to talk about relationships. There may be a lot of sex involved, but that’s far from all there is to my relationship with Melody. Like I said, I was still head over heels for her, and I was pretty sure she felt the same about me.

Unfortunately, our time together was usually limited between school, our jobs, and Melody’s training with Aunt Merry. Melody still felt like she had failed us when Jess, Mallory, and I were kidnapped, and she was determined to train harder to be a better bodyguard so that would never happen again. Sometimes, they trained after the club was closed, while me and some of the other entertainers were providing extra services to club patrons, and I would have to get her to stop and cuddle with me in bed so we could sleep together. We were both usually too tired from our previous exertion for more than that.

As I half expected, both Sophia and Garnet chose to stay with us and join the Pandora’s Box family. Garnet was learning the ropes to be an entertainer, alongside Calliope, and she was a fast learner who was eager to start dancing and providing services to the Club’s patrons. As for Sophia, she had some experience with fashion and sewing, so she became Lana’s assistant costume master. It was a good thing too, because Lana gave birth to a baby girl around three weeks after the kidnapping and needed all the help she could get with designing and making stage costumes for both Mallory’s mother and Garnet. Little Abby was hella adorable though.

Sophia and Carmilla were probably away as much as they were at the club though. Both of the Vampires were determined to take down the Chimera Syndicate for good. After they cleaned out the Caverns, they started following up on Sophia’s leads, which allowed them to take down a few more cells and free some more Paranormal slaves. Some of those slaves were eager to get their lives back, but there were more who were determined to join Carmilla and Sophia on their quest to make the Syndicate pay, and they were getting organized.

Some cells were like the one we had taken down, hidden from the sight of the normies in places like the Caverns and protected with wards. These seemed to be the ones that did the majority of Paranormal slave trafficking. Others were small operations, buying and selling goods and information. They preferred to stay under the radar by using abandoned buildings and such, with no wards or even spells to turn normies away to give away their presence.

Each time they hit a location; they got a little more information to go on and when there were captives or slaves involved, their numbers grew as well. My magic teacher often joined them on their night raids to the locations that had wards, to take them down like my mother had that first time. She was even more powerful with Divine magic than Mom, and while Mom applauded their efforts, she wisely chose not to get involved further and risk exposing herself as a Muse. She was a lover, not a fighter.

For spring break, we closed down the club and went for a week-long trip to a ski resort in the French Alps that was hidden from normies and geared toward Paranormals. We didn’t even have to spend a long plane trip to get there since Grundle took us there along his back roads. It was nice to have a week to spend with my daughter, Jess, Melody, Mom, and the rest of our strange family, and all that snow was heavenly.

Seriously, skiing was the most fun I ever had with my clothes on, or at least while not taking them off. Jess seemed to enjoy it as much as I did, once she stopped falling, and it was a nice new experience for Selina as well, though I think she was happy just to get to spend so much time with her momma and Aunt Jess. Though it was often me just me and Selina, Jess skied and hung out with Rose as much as she did us, not that I blamed her for spending quality time with her girlfriend.

Unfortunately, Melody and skiing did not mix. My lover actually broke her leg, and it took three days for her Demon regeneration to heal it. While we were on the slopes, she hung out with Carmen and Lou, who were almost as bad at skiing as she was, both hosting several bumps and bruises. We tried to spend some time with the others between runs and Melody and I made up for lost time together by making love in our room or by snuggling in front of a fire in the lodge while sipping hot cocoa and talking, sometimes with a worn-out Selina snoozing across our laps.

Mallory and her mom didn’t do much skiing, as Calliope was taking advantage of some of the resort’s facilities and its remoteness to teach her daughter how to control her flames. Not just how much she was releasing at once, but how to manipulate them as well as any Fire Mage could. She was also trying to teach her to use the heat she generated, and those flaming wings of theirs, to fly. Mallory was sporting as many bumps and bruises from those attempts as Lou and Carmen were from skiing, but I couldn’t blame them for not enjoying the slopes with us when Mallory could learn something as cool as flying.

We weren’t only there for skiing anyway; Mom and Pandora were tying the knot. The ceremony was fairly small and private, and nothing too extravagant. They were simple women after all, and what was important to them was the act of getting married, not the fancy trappings. The guest list was small, just our big, crazy family and a few family friends like Grundle, Jimmy, Rose, and her aunt.

Carmilla officiated the ceremony, Sorcha made the most adorable little flower girl, and Selina, Jess, and I acted as Mom’s bridesmaids. Pandora’s side of the bridal party was rounded out by Rhissa (Jess’s and my soon to be sister), Genevieve, and Nadia, while Lou acted as the ringbearer. The ceremony might have been simple, but it was beautiful, everyone who mattered was there, and there were a lot of teary eyes when it was over, including mine. I only hoped that Melody and I could have as wonderful a wedding whenever we decided to get married. For now, I had her promise ring, and that was enough for me.

We returned to school after a very relaxing week to find that Delilah had returned, but she wasn’t the same person she once was. This Delilah was quiet, withdrawn, timid, and mostly kept to herself. She avoided her old ‘friends’ and seemed unnaturally focused on schoolwork rather than socializing. So, it surprised us when Delilah came to our table at lunch a week after her return.

“Ummm… hey,” she began awkwardly as she stood there, her lunch tray shaking from her trembling hands.

“What do you want, princess?” Bella snapped, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. None of us had told our friends about Delilah’s involvement in our kidnapping or how she had suffered at the hands of the Chimera Syndicate.

“I… I came to apologize… for everything I’ve put you all through. So, all of you… I’m sorry.” Delilah said, barely audibly. “I... I’ve been working up the nerve to do that for a week now. Mallory, Jessica, and Crystal, I’m especially sorry to you and I wanted to… thank you. If it wasn’t for you, I would have… you know…”

~No, we don’t know,~ Nikki said bitterly.

“Y-you didn’t tell them?” Delilah asked in surprise, her eyes darting between me, Mallory, Jess, Melody, and Carmen.

I shook my head as I replied for all of us, “It wasn’t our place to tell them, or anyone else, what happened to you. Besides, Mallory was worried about you when you didn’t come back to school. Well, maybe we all were… a little.”

Delilah’s downcast eyes widened in surprise. “I… thank you again, but I… don’t deserve it. You should. Tell them, I mean.”

Mallory’s eyebrows lifted as she asked, “Del, are you sure?”

“Y-yeah, you shouldn’t be hiding things from your friends to protect me,” she replied in a tremulous voice. “Just… please don’t spread it around the rest of the school.”

I could understand why she wouldn’t want that. Not only would it further her humiliation if it got out to the rest of the school, but there were enough rumors going around about her long absence already, some of them uncomfortably close to the truth, given the timing of her disappearance and our kidnapping. Finally, I nodded and offered, “I can’t speak for our friends, but nobody else will hear about it from me.”

“I promise the same,” Jess added a moment later, and Carmen, Melody, and Mallory quickly agreed.

“I… thanks again, and I’m sorry for being such a bitch to all of you. I’ll… umm… go now and leave you alone.” Before any of us could say anymore, Delilah rushed away from our table to find an empty table to sit at alone.

Mallory, Jess, and I ended up telling the others the full story of our kidnapping and what happened with the Syndicate on our private Discord server, save for the involvement of Salamanders and Divine magic. Jess came up with a clever fib about how I had damaged my collar by lashing out with Ice magic and making the metal brittle while it was being put on me. The others had all suspected that Delilah was somehow involved, of course, and there was anger, but that was dulled once we told them about the condition that Delilah was in when she was thrown into our cell, what had happened afterward, and how she helped us escape by using Mallory’s flames.

They all promised not to spread the story any further than our group, even Bella, who was the most hot-tempered of us all. We all also agreed that Delilah shouldn’t be alone, even if she seemed to be purposely doing it to herself. She had been through enough already, and all of the girls in Auto Shop knew what being a social pariah was like enough to not wish it on someone who was already suffering.

With Mallory’s help, we coaxed her into our social circle. Mallory still valued the friendship the pair once had, and it seemed that Delilah did too. It would take a while for Delilah to earn our trust and any real friendship, but we all decided to at least give her the chance to prove herself.

Time passed quickly, and Delilah eventually proved her worth. The only times I ever saw that fire that Delilah used to have was when she was standing up for one of us. The first time that happened was with Nova, and Delilah laid into the girl who was harassing the poor Nereid without mercy. Bella was about to do the very same thing and was a little stunned when Delilah beat her to the punch.

Other than school, my life was mostly dominated by work and spending what time I could with friends and loved ones. Mom and Pandora even let up on me and Melody needing someone watching over us on our rare dates once Aunt Merry announced that my girlfriend could protect me as well as my Fey aunt herself could. Carmilla and Sophie also gave us regular updates on their war against the Chimera Syndicate.

At the beginning of May, both the Night Queen and Vlad had joined their crusade after Carmilla showed them that the criminal organization had cells on their turf and that some missing Paranormals under their respective care had been taken by the Syndicate, sometimes with the help of Vampires who Vlad himself had turned acting as hired muscle. That would turn out to be the final nail in the Chimera Syndicate’s coffin. After the two of them got involved, the Syndicate’s Vampire muscle started to realize what very deep shit they could be in with not just Carmilla, but Vlad and the Maker of them all involved and going after their employers.

Vampires began selling out syndicate cells left and right for leniency and joined the crusade, a few of them providing vital information on those at the very top of the Syndicate hierarchy, including the man that Carmilla had seen in the enchanted mirror. After that, it was all over and cells all over the globe were being hit by not only those freed from their clutches but almost every Vampire worldwide. They were going after the Chimera Syndicate from the top down and if anyone with ties to the organization survived the slaughter that followed, they would have to be deep in hiding.

So, it looked like the Syndicate’s days were coming to an end. It would be decades before they could recover from this, if ever, by the time Carmilla’s crusade was finished with them. There were still Paranormals missing who had been thought taken by the Syndicate and they didn’t exactly keep records of what they sold, or where, but a lot had been freed by their actions and more were being freed with every raid. Carmilla was hoping that the organization would be completely destroyed worldwide by the end of the summer.

Before we knew it, Graduation Day was upon us. Our project cars were all finished, and I was in love with my Supra almost as much as the Charger. Melody would always be my first love though. As much as Jess rolled her eyes and complained about the white Volkswagen Rabbit that Clarice had handed her the keys for, I knew my sister well enough to know that she secretly liked it. We were all really happy with our finished projects, even those who couldn’t legally drive yet. Carmen would be getting her driver’s license next month though and promised to drive Selina to school next year in her sporty little blue Kia Optima SX Turbo.

Me, Jess, Melody, Mallory, Rose, Trixie, Clarice, and Delilah were all officially done with high school now, and that Sunday, we all had a little celebration with our other friends at the club. We were all just chilling and relaxing and eventually the topic of the future came up as Clarice looked at Selina, Nova, Carmen, and Bella and said, “Well, I guess we’ll be leaving you all in Alison and Nikki’s care next year.”

“We’ll take good care of them, and you too, Sis,” Alison promised with a look at her sister, Phoebe, who would be starting next year with Selina as a freshman. “It’s not like we’ll never see each other again though; we can all still hang out if you graduates can make time for us.”

~Yeah,~ Nikki agreed. ~So, what do you all have planned now anyway?~

“No surprises here,” I answered first without even thinking about it. “Me and Mel plan to keep working at the club for a long time to come. I do have a kid to support after all, and I love my job.”

I smiled at Selina and ruffled her hair, making her squirm in her seat as she complained, “Not the hair, Momma.”

Melody leaned over to kiss me and agreed, “I never thought I’d finish high school. I’m happy with that and Merry finally has me trained as a proper bouncer, so I can’t leave now. Besides, I get to watch my hot fiancée perform every night and throw anyone who bothers her out on their ass, what’s not to love about that job?”

“I’ll keep working here as a bartender while going to school, but I’m really looking forward to taking the Performing Arts program at Concordia University. Hopefully, someday I’ll land a big role and make it big though, now that I can control my shapeshifting,” Jess contributed.

“Same here,” Rose agreed. My sister’s girlfriend looked like a normal human, thanks to the shapeshifting teacher at the school and some help from Jess. “I’ll keep working at my aunt’s store while going to Concordia. Though I’m looking to go into makeup artistry.”

Mallory spoke up next. “I thought of going to a Culinary Arts school, but Brock and Cindy offered to take me on as an apprentice and promised to teach me everything I would learn there. I kinda want to stay here with Mom and everybody anyway.”

“I don’t have any big plans, but I’ll probably take over Mom and Dad’s café someday,” Clarice said with a shrug. “I’d love to work on cars, but I can always do that in my spare time as a hobby. Me, Trixie, and Crystal can be car buddies when we’re not too busy.”

“Sounds good to me,” Trixie agreed with a grin. “I know just the place we can work too. My dad bought me a hell of a graduation gift. There’s this little garage that recently went out of business and it’s all mine now. I’ll need to get Divine Mage to hide it from the normies, fix it up a bit, and take some college classes but I’m thinking of opening it up someday as an auto shop for Paranormals. We can work on our own rides there and if any of you want to help out there once in a while when you have time once it’s opened, I’d pay you. Fun and money, what do you think?”

Of course, every gearhead amongst us was thrilled with that idea. I wouldn’t mind getting to tinker with cars and making a little cash once in a while, even if it wasn’t my full-time job. That just left Delilah, the quietest among us. It was a slow process, but it felt like she was starting to get some of her confidence back, just without the arrogance and quick temper that used to go with it. None of us, except possibly Mallory, who was once again her BFF, really knew if she had any plans for the future, except maybe taking over her father’s company one day.

So, it surprised us all when Bella asked about her plans, and she responded quietly with, “I want to go to college too. I’ve been thinking about this since my therapist helped me come to terms with what happened… you know, with the Syndicate. I want to be a therapist and specialize in helping Paranormals who have been through major trauma. A lot of us can’t afford therapists except the basic counseling that the PDA offers and even if they could, they couldn’t reveal anything important to normie therapists.”

If anything showed how much Delilah had turned around in the past months, it was that statement. The old Delilah wouldn’t have thought of others at all, let alone realize that things like therapists are usually too expensive for people who aren’t stinking rich. It cemented the decision that I had been waffling on for a few days now.

“That sounds like a great idea, Del. I know that Selina could have used a therapist when we first took her in. Could you come with me for a sec? There’s something that I want to show you,” I said before turning to the others to assure them, “We’ll be back in a few minutes. Don’t break out the ice cream until we get back.”

Delilah seemed confused, or maybe concerned, but she did follow me to the elevator, where I pushed the button for the garage. “We’re going to the garage? Is this a car thing, Crystal? You know I’m not a gearhead like most of you.”

“It’s not a car thing, it’s more like a possible graduation gift,” I quickly assured her on our way down. “Cinder, can you come out sweetie?”

~Okay, Momma. I can see what you’re thinking, are you sure it’s a good idea?~ my Salamander bodymate replied before erupting from my upper arm in a flare of fire. For some reason, she had taken to calling me ‘Momma’ like Selina did. Not that I minded, she would always be my sweet baby.

“I think so, but the final decision will be Ashe’s,” I assured her.

~I will tell her we’re coming,~ Cinder offered as she swooped in to affectionately nuzzle my cheek.

Delilah gasped, staring at the nearly full-grown Salamander in awe. “W-what is that? Your tattoo…”

“Isn’t a tattoo,” I finished for her as we reached the garage, and the elevator doors slid open. “This is Cinder, she’s a Salamander. They’re symbiotic and bond with other living creatures. She shares my body, and she’s sort of like a child, a friend, and a protector all in one. Most people can’t bond with them without spontaneously combusting, only people who are aligned to Fire, Divine, or Death. I’m sorta a special case.”

“Is this because of your dual alignment?” Delilah asked, and this time it was my turn to stare at her in stunned shock. She rolled her eyes, and I saw a brief flash of her old confidence as she smiled, but the smile was warm. “Please, Crystal, I’m not stupid. I suspected something was up with you since we escaped, and you turned that guy to ice. You didn’t freeze him; you changed him completely. I guess the Salamander explains how you got our collars off too.”

“Who have you told?” I asked, almost gasping for air.

Her immediate response was, “Nobody. I didn’t really start piecing things together until I started hanging out with all of you, and I figured that you must have a good reason to keep it a secret. I won’t tell anyone either, I’ll swear a binding oath to that if you want me to. You saved me and gave me a chance when I really didn’t deserve it. I don’t want to be the kind of person who stabs her friends in the back.”

“I… thanks, Del. If you could keep the Salamander thing secret too, I’d appreciate it.” I took a deep breath and led us into the furnace room. “This is where Ashe lives, she’s Cinder’s mother and she provides all our heat and hot water. She also recently had a large clutch of eggs. Everyone who lives at the club and would be compatible with a Salamander has already been given one, including Selina and Mallory, but there’s one left. If Ashe approves, I think you should have it. A Salamander would keep you safe, give you a source of fire when needed, and if you love and cherish them, they can be wonderful companions.”

“I… I don’t know what to say,” she sputtered as I yanked open the door to the ‘furnace’.

“Let’s just see what Ashe says first,” I told her with a faint smile.

Ashe winged her way out of the blaze inside her little home to examine the Fire Mage quizzically. When I encouraged Delilah to give Ashe’s head a rub and she didn’t flinch when they made contact, Ashe’s decision was made. ~She will do nicely, Crystal. I believe that she will be good for my child and that bonding with one of us will be good for her as well.~

The Salamander swooped back inside her steampunk oven furnace thing and returned a moment later with her last egg clutched in her forepaws. She placed it on the floor in front of Delilah and nudged it toward her, just like she once did to me with Cinder’s egg. I smiled and said, “Well, there’s your answer, Del. Welcome to the club. Now pick up that egg and let’s go get Cinder’s old hatching bag so we can put it inside and I can tell you what you have to look forward to.”

Two weeks later…

Melody and I returned home from a wonderful Sunday lunch date to find my sister on one of the couches in the common room with Selina watching TV, while Mom, Pandora, and Rhissa were seated stiffly on the other. Jess looked deep in thought, as did Mom, and I wondered what was up as I sat on the couch to put my arm around my sister and daughter. Melody squeezed onto the couch on my other side to snuggle, and it felt nice to be so close to the people I cared for most.

“What’s up, Sis, family meeting? Is this an intervention? I don’t think I’ve gotten in any trouble recently,” I joked, but I was a little concerned by the sad and generally conflicted expressions on their faces.

It was Mom who answered, and she looked utterly torn. “Jess has been thinking. I got a message from your father’s former boss in Vancouver this morning. He told me that the Demons who put out the hit list with you and your father on it won’t be a problem anymore. Someone on that list made it their business to wipe them out and stop whatever they were planning, and the bounties are now null and void. You and Jess could go home… if you want.”

I was stunned, but I could also see why Jess was so pensive. My sister stood more to gain from going back than I did. She could get back into acting, and now that she could control her shapeshifting better, she wouldn’t be limited to bunny roles. “So, what do you think, Sis?”

“I’m not sure. Do you want to go back?” she asked, looking at me as if afraid that I might make a different decision than her.

“That bounty was for Seth,” I said, not a doubt in my mind about where I wanted to be. “As far as I’m concerned, he died there, I’m not him anymore. I might want to visit someday, maybe visit Dad’s grave, but I wouldn’t want to live there anymore. It stopped being home when Dad died, and we went on the run. Home is where you are, Jess, it always has been. It’s where we have our girlfriends, friends, and this amazing family; two great moms, my daughter, a new sister, everyone else who works at the club, Sorcha, Carmen, and even Lou. I wouldn’t give this up for anything.”

My sister practically collapsed as she let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness. I have a girlfriend here, we’ve got plans to go to college together, and there’s you and everyone here at the club too. I was half afraid you’d go, even though I knew in my heart that you’d feel the same way I do, and I don’t want to be without my sister. Even when I start my acting career, I thought I would be living here between taking roles. Just as you said, home is where our family is, and that’s right here. I love you, Sis.”

“Love you too, Sis, and I always will. I love all of you,” I replied as she, Melody, and Selina all hugged me. In that same moment, Mom, Pandora, and Rhissa practically leaped from their own couch to join in on the group hug and show how much they cared as well. When they were all done crushing me and Jess, Mom and Pandora started talking about planning a party for that night to celebrate our decision to stay and all I could think was, “It’s good to be home.”