I didn’t think I was being scammed.

Gideon had just been pulled from the colony only a few months ago, and I met him very shortly after that – there just wasn’t enough time for him to hook up with a group that could pull off something like this. Besides that, Gideon wasn’t given anything expensive other than a two month stay at a nice hotel and a few gifts, gifts that he could resell, but not for much.

So no, I didn’t think it was a scam.

Roy wasn’t convinced, and Willow was just as confused as I was, but I insisted that Mabel have her eldest sister, the current FAN of the city, put out a missing person’s alert for Gideon, and it didn’t take long to find out that the Trinity peacekeeper had immediately taken him back on his motorcycle back to Trinity.

Gideon’s advocate, Morgana – who I had gotten to know well enough over the past two months -was just as confused and frightened as I was, but since tensions were high between East and West Campora, she couldn’t get her matriarch to do anything about it, leaving me and my family on their own.

After several panicked days, Mabel and I decided to go to Trinity ourselves and ask around the peacekeepers to see if they knew what was going on. We agreed that Mabel would not intervene if I had to fight the other novus for Gideon, and if it came down to a death match, she would leave to protect herself.

We also decided not to tell Roy, since he would object to Mabel going since this was a dangerous mission – a Liliport peacekeeper going into Trinity territory – and instead just said we were going to East Campora to speak with the matchmakers there.

We borrowed the family van and made the long drive up to Trinity, taking nearly thirty hours to get from Liliport in the south to Trinity in the north. We drove in the automated lane that allowed the van to do a lot of the driving so we could sleep, but as we neared we switched to manual.

When we arrived in Trinity, we went straight to the peacekeepers district to check in and make it know why we were here.

They immediately directed us to the male peacekeepers quarters, saying Gideon had been brought there, but wouldn’t name the novus that had taken him. They did stay, however, that he was still there with Gideon, and that the peacekeeper had taken a vacation in order to spend time with him to ‘bond’.

And it was then that it all sunk in and I began to panic.

What had the novus been doing to Gideon? Was Gideon scared? Surely the other novus had lured him away, and I worried what he had said. Had he told him he knew me? Gideon knew that Mabel and her sisters were peacekeepers, perhaps he thought I knew the male peacekeeper from Trinity?

By the time we pulled up to the quarters, kept behind a twenty foot stone wall like most everything else in Trinity. We parked in the parking structure underneath it and came up to a lush courtyard were a male peacekeeper was meditating by a koi fish pond, Mabel exchanging a look with him as they sized each other up like peacekeepers did.

At the entrance to the one story building – the other floors surely underground – we went to where there was an intercom on the wall. I pressed the button, tucking my hands into my pockets as I listened to the buzzer continue for several long seconds.

‘Name?’ A female asked through the intercom.

“Lawrence Earnest Deatherage.” I said slowly. “From Victoria, Liliport.”

There was a long pause before “You’re here for Gideon Amberchurch?”

“Yes, that’s right.” I said quickly, Mabel relaxing next to me. I placed a hand on her back as she turned to press her forehead to my arm, shaking her head a little with a sharp exhale.

The gate buzzed and we both straightened, watching as the massive gate to the building slowly started to slid into the wall. We entered the building and looked to where there was a female type A novus sitting at a desk. “Outside peacekeepers aren’t allowed in here.” The woman said simply, “Your female cousin can wait out in the courtyard.”

I frowned and look to Mabel, exchanging glanced before I nodded to her. She nodded as well, taking out her comm as she walk away.

Once she was gone, the door closed, and I looked back to the female. She handed me a slip of paper with a room number on it and I thanked her before I went to the stairs.

I went down to the third floor, the hair on the back of my neck standing up from the scent of all the type A males.

Surely, the novus that had taken Gideon was compatible to him, and I feared what he might be doing to him. Gideon was sharp and wild, but he was vulnerable, and so innocent to my world.

And Trinity was a land of civilized uncivilized, folk that were willing to do anything to ensure their own survival and dominance.

Mabel and her sisters had spent a short about of time here before they came down to Victoria, where they were quickly snatched up after Mabel proved her worth at thirteen as the second greatest tracker in the Americas.

And Mabel and her sisters had nothing good to say about this place.

On the third floor, I found out that each living quarter was set up like a long term holding facility. There was a door and then a wall next to the door that had a grated wall, the wall made out of a material that was difficult for even the strongest of novus to smash through, small holes in the design of the popular fleur-de-lis that was used in the largest clan in Trinity. Beyond the wall was a sitting room, just like in a holding facility, and beyond that I was sure there was a kitchen, bathroom and a bedroom.

I could smell Gideon easily, his scent mingling with one that was almost familiar, though I couldn’t place it in the time it took me to walk down the hall – because running would draw attention – to where Gideon was.

The cut outs weren’t wide enough for me to fit more than three fingers, but I could very clearly see Gideon, and he looked well – excited, and happy, even. He was sitting at a table quietly in the unit’s sitting room, looking at what I thought might be a chess set before he looked down to what might be a small photo album.

He didn’t look distressed, or frightened. He didn’t look like he was trying to escape.

He looked very relaxed and content.

My stomach tightened.

Well, at least he was safe.

“Gideon?” I said gently.

He jolted, a big grin stretching across his face as he whipped his head around to look at me. He leapt up from where he had been at the table and rushed over. “Laurie!” he said in an excited tone, “My baby brother is here!”

I paused, “I-Ilan? I thought he died as a baby?”

That was the scent.

It was a novus, but it was familiar because it was a close relative of Gideon’s, the familiar scent hidden under the heavy scent of Trinity.

“Turns out he was born a novus and they stole him from us! He’s been in Trinity this whole time!!!” Gideon grinned, grabbing onto the grates of the wall between us to give it a little shake. “He’s alive!”

“He’s a novus.” I said in awe. “He was the novus that came and took you away.” I said, a smile twitching on my face. His brother had surely come to save his big brother, and I couldn’t help but be incredibly understanding of that. Had it been Roy, I would have done the same.

“YES! He heard I got kicked out of the colony and he had been looking for me since day one – no one told him I was in Liliport because I guess he as a reputation here or something – I don’t know, he was vague - but he drove through the night on his MOTORCYCLE to come and get me, and he found me, and then we’re here, and this is his house!” he said all at once, laughing then. “He’s at work – he’s a peacekeeper, he’s a MAN – but he’ll be back really soon! Holy shit, how do I let you in here!? I want to show you his album! He’s so cute!”

“Uh-well-I-I,” I looked around, going to where there was a panel. I blinked hard when I saw it was a touch panel, not one you could put a code into. “Ah,” I laughed as I ran a hand over my hair, “Good for Ilan for finding you. I bet he was so anxious.”

“I’d never know!” Gideon laughed, “He’s JUST like my Dad, holy fucking shit. It’s actually spooky. He doesn’t look like him – he looks more like mom’s parents – but the personality is all Dad. He’s all sullen and grumpy and I just want to squish his cut little face- wait, wait, wait!” He turned and ran off as I placed my hand to the panel by the door, the screen going bright yellow before it faded. It was rejecting my attempt. Of course it wasn’t that easy.

“Turns out that Ilan carves like my – our! - Dad carves, and he makes custom chess sets for people! And when I told him about us, look, look, look!” He ran back over and tried to shove two chess pieces through the openings in the wall, and when they wouldn’t fit, he held them back so I could see. “Look! I had that picture of us at the fountain in my jacket when I came here, and look, look, look! He made a little Giddy and a little Laurie! You’re the queen cuz they’re the most powerful piece and I’m your king!”

I laughed a little when I saw them. They were actually quite good, which I told him and he eagerly agreed.

“He has your smile, look at that!” Gideon grinned brightly, wiggling the piece that looked like me. “Your strained smile, hahah, we need to get a better picture of you when you aren’t thinking I’m trying to fuck other guys.”

I snorted and held onto the grate, meeting his gaze. “I’m so happy you’re okay Gideon, I was so scared.”

His face fell and he leaned forward to press his forehead to the wall. “I knew you would be, but I couldn’t get Annie to

“Annie?”

“I’m not claling him Ilan,” Gideon laughed, “That’s Dad’s name. And everyone called me Little Ilan growing up cuz I looked like him...so he’s Annie.”

“Does he like it?”

“He said anything is better then the nickname others gave him.”

“And what’s that?” I asked as I stroked his cheek.

“Slack.”

I stilled.

“Slack.” I said then, Gideon nodding.

I knew Slack – knew of him, rather. He was a Trinity Type A novus know for having a slack jaw when he hunted. He always placed high during the North American team hunting events, known for his ability to get along very well with other novus. There was a lot of talk about him moving up high in his brotherhood since there were few males that were able to organize others as well as him.

He was a future power.

And now my brother in law.

I smiled. “I look forward to meeting him – and I know he’s very happy to have his brother give him a personal nickname.” I whispered, Gideon’s eyes watering as he grinned. “It’s very special when you have a nickname just between people you love.”

“What’s my nickname?” He asked as he worked his fingers through the holes to stroke mine.

“You’re my Giddy.” I told him.

“Lawrence?” A male’s voice said.

My gaze cut to where a man was coming down the hall with a big fake grin that didn’t reach his eyes and I leaned away from the grated wall. I gave him a polite smile as Gideon poked a finger through the holes in the wall to point at the panel by the door, telling me to try and hold my hand there. “I’m Lawrence, yes -I’m here for my mate.” I gently took hold of Gideon’s finger.

“There’s procedure for that – come with me to my office across the street. I have papers for you to sign – your brother’s mate is in there already, one of the sister FAN’s of Liliport. Impressive that they let her in the city.”