Lifting the Veil (attn: Lily, Nikhila, Hammer)

'We need to talk.'

Hammer leaned up against the door frame of his Den apartment and gave Lily a rare, and nervous, smile when she uttered those words. Raising his eyebrows, he cleared the way for her to step through the doorway when she insisted he accompany her elsewhere. He had been her shadow for ten long years; her bodyguard, companion, and eventually her lover. Any request by her had always been seen to by Hammer, so he blindly accepted this one with almost no thought as to the reason why they couldn't talk in his apartment.

He followed quietly just slightly behind Lily as they walked down the corridors of the Den apartments until they reached Xeph's quarters. Hammer wondered why, with anyone else, the subject of Lily made the feelings of betrayal that much more tangible, but when with her, Hammer was relaxed and more of the man he felt he knew himself to be. She brought out the gentle nature that he discovered in himself so many years ago. Still, his curiosity had peaked as they stopped in front of the Alpha's door.

"Is something wrong?" Xeph asked.

With a slight shrug of his shoulders, Hammer turned to Lily for the answer.

Lily stepped into Aidan's home, smiling and greeting Nikhila, waiting for Iov to enter behind her. The sight of her son's mate made her warm with happiness for them. For a moment, though, she felt alone herself, until Iov moved further into the room, standing at her back.

It was a position he'd taken many times, quietly present, witness to many things she would have preferred to forget about. But he had never thought any less of her for it. Not that it had shown, at any rate.

She breathed deeply, still certain that this was the right thing to do, sorry she hadn't said anything earlier. It had been necessary to hide though. The consequences would have been unthinkable otherwise.

"I wanted Iov to know the news," she said to Aidan and Nikhila with a soft smile. "I thought it was important to tell him as well."

She looked expectantly to Nikhila, waiting for the mother-to-be to enlighten Iov. Surely she would see the reasons behind it; she would need extra protection from the Pipers as well as the rest of the Pack when they finally all knew about it. For now though Nikhila must understand that they were going to do everything they could to keep their Alpha's mate safe and comfortable.

The knock at the door brought Nikhila out of a semi doze, apparently fatigue was normal but she wasn't used to, in fact, she hadn't even noticed that she had been half nodding. Smiling some what sheepishly at Xeph she resettled herself on the sofa while he answered the door. If it was business she'd make a convenient excuse to leave if necessary. In fact, at this hour it was probably it was business.

When Lily appeared Nikhila did stand to greet her, Hammer's appearance was a bit more perplexing. Not unwelcome of course, but it did lead her to believe it was a business situation. Yet the shrug of his shoulders seemed to indicate he had no idea why he was here. It would all get sorted out soon enough.

"Maybe we should all sit down first?"Â?

Somehow that seemed relevant and important. Waiting for everyone to get settled and comfortable, or as much as they were going to, she found herself smiling at Hammer.

"We're going to have a baby."Â?

The news wasn't exactly public yet. Nikhila hadn't told anyone other than Xeph and Lily just yet, but of course Hammer should know. Although she did think it was a bit odd Lily should be the one to want share the news with Adian's Beta. Surely Adian would have said something himself when the time was right. Odd or not, Nikhila hadn't questioned the request though and was happy to share the news.

Xeph immediately felt a little guilty for not having delivered the news to Hammer himself. Lily, always Hammer's good friend, must have seen fit to remind him of that in her subtle way and he was glad she'd brought him tonight. Xeph and Nikhila had told Lily over dinner just recently, and he had to admit it had almost felt like something was missing.

Xeph didn't delude himself; in the absence of a reliable father figure, Hammer had certainly filled that role over the many years of his life. He should have had the sense to include him at dinner the other night. It would have been right.

That said, it was very little guilt. Hammer knew now, and Xeph didn't even try to keep the grin off his face as he settled back on the couch with Nikhila and nodded.

When he looked at his mother again though, his smile began to fade, for although her expressions was one of happiness, it was still reserved. With his funny intuition, Xeph realized she still had some talking yet to do.

"There's something else," he stated, his smile not dimished but his curiosity plain.

With a blank expression, Hammer followed the three of them back to the Alpha's couch and they settled down, but in his case, hesitantly. Comfortable and relaxed discussions were not commonplace in Hammer's world. He almost felt more at ease in the Piper's Situation room, but with his recent snapped reaction toward Brig regarding Lily, he had not been there as of late. No, this situation was becoming more and more uncomfortable the more everyone tried to make it comfortable. Hammer was the last to finally settle down in his seat and Xeph's mate did not waste time with frivolous talk.

"We're going to have a baby."Â?

Instantly Hammer sat back forward and looked at the Alpha, then at Nikhila.

A grandchild and certainly a most loved and revered likely heir for the pack. Despite the unemotional way of the Hammerthynns, Hammer felt his chest swell with almost fatherly pride. Xeph was his Alpha, but growing up Hammer was fortunate enough to train the boy who grew into a fine man. Xeph was, thankfully, his mother's son - if only his father could have appreciated the man sitting before Hammer today. Hammer would do his best to be proud for the both of them.

He had barely begun to form congratulatory words when the Alpha spoke again.

"There's something else.'

The confusion crept back again as Hammer looked back at Xeph and followed his gaze to his mother. Lily sat with her demure smile but it almost looked forced. Certainly she was happy that there would be an addition to the Xephier family and the Kadzait pack.

Hammer did his best not to betray his feelings, but he gently prodded Xeph's mother with his words.

'A grandchild - this is certainly a wonderful development.' He paused and added, 'I'm sure his father would have been proud.'

Nikhila was hard pressed not to giggle. She honestly didn't know what to do with Xeph he was more than slightly happy about this. Of course, she was very excited and happy as well, but some how Aidan made her smile. He would be a good father, she knew it.

Sensitive to both his reaction and Lily's expression though she kept her own enthusiasm mild, her smile was soft. If Xeph said there was something else, there was. And as Lily had been the one to lead Hammer here.... What could Lily have to say that would relate to the four, five really, of them?

That was an unusual choice of words. Of course, Aidan must have thought about his father since finding out; thought about, but not discussed. Nikhila knew full well that Aidan and Liam's relationship had not been easy to say the least. Absently she put a hand over her still flat stomach and hoped that they would always have a good relationship with this child. She would undoubtedly need both parents as she grew.

As Hammer's words seemed more directed to Lily or possibly Xeph she didn't feel it would be necessary to say much.

"We're very happy, to say the least."Â?

She turned her own steady, calm, yet curious gaze on Lily. What else was there?

Lily hadn't thought this part out. Did she explain first, explain later? What was the right course? Finally, with three expectant pairs of eyes upon her, she decided she needed to tell them. All of them.

She started with Iov. Turning to face him, she offered him a regretful smile. He was the one who would likely feel this the hardest, and she wished she could have spared him the coming pain.

"His father is proud," she said pointedly. Fixing her green eyes upon Iov, the only person who had been there for her her entire life, even after she'd sent him away, she said gently, "You're going to be a grandfather."

She sat and waited, for the questions were going to fly and Lily was the only one who had all of the answers.

Xeph felt the smile disappear from his face entirely. Lily was just playing a joke. Right? He could almost have talked himself into that if she had ever been the joking type, but she wasn't. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

He looked at Hammer. Then back at Lily, who was also looking at Hammer. Only, there was tenderness in her expression, regret, and sorrow. She wasn't lying.

Xeph turned slowly to Nikhila and blinked. Numbness settled over him, like he was watching a reality show or something. This didn't happen to him, it happened to other people.

"Are you serious?"

His voice was definitely unsteady. Was it really true? Liam, the man he'd both loved and despised; the man who he'd tried to be like and then spent every waking moment trying not to be like; the man who had Gifted him... wasn't his father? How could that be?

"How could you let me believe...?"

That Liam was his father? When his real father was alive and well, and more of a father than the false one had ever been? Xeph just sat and stared, processing.

Hammer wanted to be able to say that he knew, he always knew, that when Lily had finally become pregnant, that it wasn't by Liam...but by him. He wanted to be able to say that, but his Hammerthynn blood refused to let him.

Hammerthynns didn't rule. They didn't aspire to the greatness above their station. They didn't greet the birth of their inevitable son with love and warmth. They certainly did not trespass on what was so clearly not theirs. Hammerthynns protected the Kadzait Alphas. Period. They did not feel, want or desire. They did the job they were bred for, but they certainly did not love their best friend's wife and father a child with her - even if it was in the name of the pack.

But Iov Hammerthynn apparently had.

He felt the twinge of guilt that burned inside him for so many decades evolve into a full blown panic. It was anger, betrayal, and ironically, intense love that suddenly pushed the animal in him to frantic levels. What would the pack say? What would Xeph do now, the apparent bastard son of the Beta? Dear God...

What would his father say?

Vigo Hammerthynn lived for the pack possibly more than any of their kind would and he had so clearly been on Liam's side when Xeph had forced his hand and taken over the pack. Vigo was everything to Hammer as a leader for their family, but was never a father, not the kind of father Hammer swore he'd be to his own son. But Hammerthynns do not break tradition. They weren't bred for it.

Vigo...

Hammer closed his one eye and felt a wince ripple across the bridge of his nose. With a long sigh, he leaned back against the couch, resting his arm around Lily's shoulders. His large, calloused hand reached out and gently took Lily's small, delicate one and he squeezed it.

'Lily,' he started and he immediately heard his voice catch with familiar emotion that had only been for her.

'I....'

His quiet demeanor wasn't due to not having anything to say. On the contrary, Hammer had decided early on in life that people didn't like what he had to say, which was the stark truth, so his cold logic thought it was best to keep it simple. However this time, cold logic gave way to more emotion than Hammer had felt in years and he choked on whatever he was trying to say and waited for Lily...for anyone...to say something.

'Is' Nikhila might be more of a scientist than an English teacher, but 'is' was present tense. Fortunately Lily didn't leave them questioning grammar or anything else for much longer.

Oddly enough, or perhaps not oddly at all, Nikhila remembered something Lily had said to her a while ago. It was something she'd heard and half questioned, but at the time she'd been to perplexed by her relationship (or lack there of) with Xeph to peruse it. Lily had said something about remaining loyal to her mate when her heart would have lead her elsewhere.

Her heart went out to Lily, this was an inconceivable secret and burden that she'd been living with. The two men, Nikhila didn't even know how to feel for them. How did one react to the fact that their father wasn't their father and that the other now suddenly had a son?

Apparently, neither of them knew how to react, or form complete sentences. Of course, it would be quite, well judging from the look on their faces, it was both shocking and confusing to say the least. She quietly placed a hand on Aidan's knee, to offer any support he needed and remind him she was there. None of this changed the fact that he was her mate and she loved him.

Eventually, some one was going to have to say something, but she left that to Lily. She was, after all, the only one who knew the whole story.

Lily clasped Iov's big hand in both of her own, rubbing it gently. She turned back to Aidan though, at his question.

"I had to let you believe," she answered his fragmented request. "Liam was growing worse," she said in her quiet, muted accent. "For ten years we were married and he kept me very nearly locked up. At the beginning I knew it was just his innate protectiveness and I didn't mind. I didn't see where it was going. As he aged, he grew more and more protective, territorial, possessive."

She didn't want to elaborate on the rest, but Aidan needed to hear it. Iov needed to hear it as well; it would remind him.

"Liam's visits were brief. When he was there, sometimes a week at a time, maybe as long as a month, but rarely any longer, he would be driven. The need inside for a child of his own, and the need to prove I was still his... they were very strong. He would forget himself."

She swallowed, unsure of how to voice the rest delicately. "He was very rough. There was no longer any romance left in him, no gentleness, very little human. He took what he wanted even though it would have been freely given."

How many nights had she emerged disheveled from the room they shared, sore and bruised far more deeply than skin and muscle? "It wasn't pleasant," she said softly. "But Iov and I did what we could to keep him functioning."

She held Iov's hand between hers. "The Pack was more important than any two people, we knew that. But I was isolated and alone, and Liam trusted no one else to watch over me in his absence. One can only take so much of it. Over the years Iov and I grew to understand each other."

She watched the expressions of everyone around her. Nikhila looked sympathetic; Aidan looked frozen; Iov just looked shattered. But once begun, this scenario had to be played out.

"I learned to love him. And he, me. He gave me something I desperately needed, gentleness, companionship, a port in a storm."

Lily smiled, and the sadness fell away. Of all the regrets in her life, Aidan had never been one of them. "Who knew, the fault was with Liam, not with me? When you came along things were better, for everyone. Liam was happy, I was happy... we had you, Aidan, and it didn't matter how you got there. The fact that Liam wasn't your father is trivial. You were raised to be the Alpha, and you were born of love. I wouldn't change it."

Xeph sat and listened - that was part of his job, right? As an Alpha, as a son - to listen to people who brought their troubles to him. He tried to see it from Lily's perspective but it was difficult. He couldn't fathom acting on his baser instincts. He couldn't in a thousand yeas imagine himself raising a hand to Nikhila, even when feeling particularly wolfish. Their animal sides were rougher, more primitive, sure, but only in a very few cases were they violent.

What his mother said at the end, though, struck a nerve.

"It isn't trivial." His voice sounded rough, hoarse. "I grew up wanting his love, wanting him to approve of me, wanting to be him. Wishing my father were," he flicked his mismatched eyes to Hammer, and then ground out, "someone else."

He shook his head. "And all that time, finally realizing how wrong he was, facing him down, taking everything away from him... was everything I fought for for nothing?"

He'd rocked the beliefs of his entire Pack, helped bring about revolution, and in part because he was fighting not to be Liam. Not to be the man who came before him.

Xeph felt Nikhila's hand on his knee, covered it with one of his own, and gritted his teeth together to avoid saying anything further for the moment.

Hammer reached up with the hand behind Lily and touched his lips, pinching them softly as Xeph spoke with unrestrained emotion. It took everything not to completely pull away and leave. The ramifications of what they had done so many years ago would cause a ripple effect that the pack did not need. Xeph's hold on the pack was not tenuous, but it would definitely call into question everything Hammer had ever done, and how could it not be a reflection on his son.

He paled at that last thought. His son. His son was hurting, questioning all his decisions. What does a father say to his son when he's in need? How could Hammer know, it was never the Hammerthynn way. So, he did the one thing he was good at doing.

Damage control.

Pulling his hand away from Lily, Hammer turned to Xeph but could not meet his eyes.

'The pack does not need to know. No one ever has to know. Your legacy will remain intact.'

If she hadn't been sympathetic to Lily's situation, she would be now. Her own family life before meeting Xeph had been troubled. She was not unfamiliar with the consequences of abuse. She, however, had run. Lily had stayed and faced it and tried to make it work. That was hard to comprehend.

Nikhila, however, worried for Xeph. Even with out Aidan's peculiar intuition she could imagine the hurt and conflict this must be causing him. While both men deserved to know, she wished she could take some of the pain away.

"No."Â? She said softly, so as to not distract from what else was being said. "It still matters, it still needed to be done and you had to do it."Â?

She blinked once at Hammer's suggestion. It wasn't something she even would have thought of. Yes, she could see where it might be important to control the information, it would be possible for some one to get it in their head that Xeph shouldn't be leading the pack. However, Alpha status was not inherited, he had earned it on his own merits.

Was it fair thought, to ask them to keep the secret? Wouldn't it come out some how, somewhere? Maybe now wasn't the right time or place but it might be better too address this head on. She wasn't sure though, it needed more consideration.

Nothing roused Lily to action more than defense of those she loved, and those people were mostly all in the room with her right now. She felt the familiar burn of passion in her chest as she heard Aidan's voice.

"No, Aidan. Never say you fought for nothing. Maybe you did it to be different from Liam, but you also did it because of what you believe is right."

Lily gave Nikhila a grateful glance. Aidan's mate was a good match for him. Supportive, thoughtful, and correct. It was Iov Lily turned on, her green eyes blazing.

"Never say that, Iov," she chided, her voice gentle but firm. "You should have more faith in your son," she emphasized the last two words softly.

Lily looked back at Aidan. "You lead this Pack, Aidan, not Liam's memory, not anyone's legacy. They look to you. No matter who your father is, no matter who you acknowledge. You have no need to hide anything. If there is shame to be had it is mine."

She shook her head, her brow furrowing. "But I won't feel it. I did what was needed, what our Pack needed. And Iov kept me standing, kept Liam standing. With Liam gone, I will not lie about it."

She took them both in. "God knows I love you both." She gripped Iov's hand in hers. "I never stopped."

Xeph wondered if he had known, deep inside. If Hammer had known, either. He couldn't reconcile the relief he felt with the guilt that relief spawned. Liam had been a monster for most of Xeph's life. Since his teen years he'd felt nothing but resentment for the man he'd called "father," and he had turned away. The one who had always been there was Hammer. The one who'd trained him, taught him much of what he knew, that was Hammer.

Hammer wouldn't even meet his eyes right now. Xeph took a deep breath and looked at his mother and... and, father.

"The Pack is strong. And it will be all the stronger having a unified family in place to lead it."

Xeph looked at Lily again, really looked at her, intuition at its finest, and he knew she told the truth. That she needed him to believe her. And how could he not? He'd seen the effects of the sort of relationship she described.

Turning to Hammer, Xeph stood, squeezing Nikhila's hand and letting it drop away as he extended his to the man he'd always secretly wished was his father.

"Thank you," he said simply, "for being there for my mother. And for being there for me."

He made his decision then, whether he would come to regret it or not. Hammer - Iov - was his father. Liam was not. But it was Aidan, not Liam, not Iov, who led the Kadzait. Who his father was was... well, it was interesting but not vitally important. Lily was right. Maybe it wasn't trivial, but it didn't change who Aidan was. He wouldn't let it. He'd fought harder fights.

Hammer kept his eyes low as Lily and Xeph acknowledged, and seemed to accept, the betrayal that he tried so hard to hide. He just could not see beyond the stink of it. Yes, he still loved Lily - from the first time he had laid his lone, solitary eye on her, he loved her; balls to bones. But he could not help but stiffen at her touch, reminding him of the shame of what they did, what he did to a man that had led their pack for years, but had privately butchered his wife. Of course Hammer knew what Liam had become...and it made what they did that much easier. He had seen the distant, pained look in her eyes after Liam would return, and it took everything not to kill him where he stood for hurting her.

Hammer closed his eye again and swallowed hard as Xeph stood and thanked him. Thanked him. He had hoped that they would see the logic in keeping the secret, but they seemed intent on embracing it. Hammer just could not bear it, despite gaining a truly wonderful son, and the promise of his lineage continuing on, every fiber of his being was railing against accepting the inevitable.

'Don't, Xeph.' Hammer rested his elbows on his knees and ran his fingers up into his short graying hair. The pride he felt began to suffocate him, choking the breath out of his chest.

'Please don't...thank me.'

Xeph's hand was extended, waiting for Hammer to accept it, but the overwhelming emotion he was feeling was crippling. He wanted more than anything to stand proudly next to Xeph, to call him his son, and be there for the pack and for him, as the Beta, but he could not fight against what had been practically written in his genetic code. Instead, Hammer reached up and tried to take Xeph's hand to pull him back down since standing on his own two feet right then was impossible, even for him.

She was slightly relived when Lily agreed with what she had said and that Aidan didn't fight it. If she'd had to Nikhila would have tossed a dozen arguments at him, but that didn't seem necessary just now.

While she was both pleased and proud that he'd made this decision Nikhila suspected there would be some ramifications, probably minor. Perhaps if Aidan had been a different man, a different leader they might be more serious, regardless it would be easier to face them together.

It worried her somewhat that Hammer didn't seem able to accept this turn of events, not easily at any rate. Certainly, he could see the wisdom in presenting a united front. She didn't know the Beta terribly well, so she really couldn't offer much comfort to him or even wisdom. Both would have to be supplied by Lily and Xeph. She did, however, wish he could simply accept this.

Father or friend he had always been there for both of them. Thanks were do. She knew that was true. She knew he'd always been there, for them heaven's sake one of the first people Xeph had told her about when he agreed to take him with her was Hammer. Nikhila very distinctly remembered having difficulty with his name, Hammerthynn didn't flow well with her accent, and even then, years ago, it had been obvious the regard Aidan held the man in. Obviously, that hadn't changed, nor should it. All she could do was hope Hammer would see that. It would hardly do for son to acknowledge father, if father refused to acknowledge son.

Lily closed her eyes briefly, willed them to dry, as her son acknowledged his father for the first time. He waited, hand outstretched, standing tall and proud. She said nothing; these next few moments were for Iov and Aidan. What they said, what they did now, would shape the future for all of them.

No matter which direction they moved, there was one that was impossible, and the was back. The words could never be unspoken, the deed could never be undone. It was high time it came out.

She knew Aidan hadn't entirely come to terms with it yet, but he was a doer, not a thinker. Action came first to him, consideration later. He would sit and think later, when this night was over, but he had made his decision and would stand by it.

It was Iov she worried about. Lily didn't have any illusions that the two of them would somehow live happily ever after. It wasn't in Iov's blood to do what he'd nonetheless done. He was shamed, not proud, or at least the pride was buried so deeply it might never show. She didn't know, exactly, how to help him. She would figure it out, but the news she had spoken of tonight had not been intended to leave him broken and incomplete.

In Lily's eyes, it was Iov, not Liam, who had ever truly been her mate. Duty had torn them apart but love had kept them together even when separated by distance. This would be made right, eventually.

Xeph gripped Hammer's hand in his, noting for the first time how alike they were in the way they held themselves, the way their arms were shaped... the clues were there. Their faces even had certain similarities, when you looked beyond the obvious attraction of Hammer's missing eye.

Hammer pulled at him, but Xeph had leverage, his feet spread, standing before Hammer. He pulled back.

"Look at me," he said almost forcefully, not the tone of a son to a father but one of the Alpha to a subordinate.

To refuse would be to Challenge, and Xeph would not lose that battle.

"No matter what happens, you will always have my thanks."

No one had been as important to him growing up as his mother had been. Even after he and Liam had broken apart, she had written him as often as she could. And if Lily said it was Iov who had kept her going, if it was his love that had kept her strong, then Xeph could do nothing but thank him.

Betrayal wasn't on his list of accusations. He knew Hammer, knew what had to be going through his mind, but the situation was hardly normal. And knowing what he knew about a certain outside influence that couldn't be spoken of, Xeph wondered how much of that had impacted Liam's life as well.