The night was thick and oppressive as the jet soared through the pitch-black sky, its engines humming like a beast lurking just beneath the surface. Kaelen sat quietly, gazing out the window, lost in his thoughts. His mind felt like a whirlpool, dark and unrelenting, as Ravetham drew nearer. The city—his home—was a place he hadn't seen in four long years. Four years of blood, fire, and death. The wars they had fought in space felt like a distant nightmare, but this homecoming had an unfamiliar chill, something deeper and more personal gnawing at the back of his mind.

His squad, the **Nightwatchers**, had stuck by him. They were a ragtag team, hardened by the battles they had survived—an elite group forged in intergalactic hellfire. They could have disbanded, gone their separate ways, but they chose to stay. Their bond, born from fighting across the stars, was stronger than mere camaraderie. They were family now. Even though they had all been freed from the endless grind of war, they followed him back to Ravetham.

In the dimly lit jet cabin, the silence was broken by Draven. The elf had a habit of cutting through tension with blunt words. **"So, what’s waiting for us in Ravetham, boss?"** he asked, leaning back in his seat, eyes flickering with curiosity.

Kaelen shifted in his seat, his voice low and thoughtful. "Family."

The word hung in the air like an anchor, heavy with meaning. He hadn't said much more than that, but the weight of it settled into his chest, squeezing tightly. What kind of family would be waiting for him? Would they recognize him? Would he even recognize them? The implications rattled him more than any war he'd fought.

The jet touched down silently at Ravetham’s private airstrip, the city skyline emerging from the fog like the jagged teeth of some slumbering beast. Kaelen stepped onto the tarmac, the cold night air biting against his skin. He inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the city—a mix of steel, asphalt, and something faintly damp, like the ground had never quite dried from the endless drizzle that seemed to haunt the place. He had to admit, as much as he'd changed, he had missed it.

He reached into his pocket and dialed Rachel’s number. It rang twice before she picked up, her voice breathless with surprise.

"Kaelen?!" she nearly shouted through the phone, a mix of disbelief and relief thick in her tone.

"Yeah, it’s me. I'm back," Kaelen replied, his voice gruffer than he intended.

There was a pause on the line before Rachel began to speak again, her words like sharp daggers of truth cutting through the fog of his absence.

"You’ve missed a lot in four years, Kaelen. A lot."

He could hear the weight of what she wasn’t saying yet, like she was afraid to drop the full brunt of it on him all at once. "Don Cappo’s the mayor of Ravetham now," she started, the words rolling out slow, cautious.

Kaelen’s brow furrowed. That was unexpected. Don Cappo? The ruthless crime lord now running the city as mayor? Ravetham had always been a den of corruption, but this took it to another level. He didn’t have time to dwell on it before Rachel’s next bombshell hit him square in the chest.

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"And, um… Jason—he’s got two kids now. One with Surge and another with Annie."

Kaelen blinked, the world shifting beneath his feet. "Jason? My brother has kids?" His mind tried to reconcile the image of his reckless, wild-card brother with that of a father.

"Yeah, a boy by Surge and a girl by Annie," Rachel continued, her voice steady, almost like she had been rehearsing this conversation for a while. But what came next made his stomach drop.

"And Loren… well, Loren had a son too."

Kaelen’s heart skipped a beat. His mind raced. Loren had a son? "With who?" he demanded, feeling a strange knot tighten in his gut.

Rachel’s laughter came through the line, light and teasing. "With you, moron. Your son is four now."

The words hit him like a tidal wave. He was a father? His son was already four years old? His mind reeled, struggling to process the sudden flood of emotions. But Rachel wasn’t done.

"That’s not all. Apparently, Alyssa, Mira, and Veil also claimed you got them pregnant. Valerian vouched for them, said all the kids were born dhampirs."

Kaelen felt his blood turn cold. His breath caught in his throat. He had one son and three daughters? The idea slammed into him like a freight train. He had gone from a soldier fighting across the stars to the father of four in an instant.

"Their names," Rachel added, her voice softening. "Loren's son is named Arian. Alyssa's daughter is Xyra. Mira’s girl is Celesse, and Veil’s little one is called Selene."

The names washed over him, strange yet familiar, like distant echoes of something he couldn’t quite grasp. But then Rachel dropped the final piece of the puzzle that twisted his insides into knots.

"Arian, though… he’s different. He came out with black hair, dark skin, and these slitted icy-blue eyes. He’s… flamboyant for his age but brilliant. He’s already showing signs of remarkable intelligence."

Kaelen’s mind went blank for a moment. He hadn’t even known Loren was pregnant when he left, and now he had a son—an anomaly, a child that sounded nothing like him yet everything about him. His thoughts spiraled as Rachel continued.

"Seraphis has been busy too. She’s opened a couple of hotels, a skating rink, and bought out the Midnight Mirage Motel. Oh, and she had a mansion built in Ravenwood. It rivals Valerian’s place, and that’s where they’re hosting your welcome-back party. You’ll get to meet your children, and your niece and nephew."

Kaelen’s grip tightened on the phone. He had fought wars, destroyed fleets, survived the vacuum of space, but nothing in the galaxy had prepared him for this. He was a father. The reality sunk in, cold and hard, like the knife of a forgotten enemy twisting in his gut.

He turned, facing his squad. The Nightwatchers were staring at him, giving him these knowing, almost predatory grins.

Vanya was the first to break the silence. "Womanizer," she teased, her lips curling into a wicked smile.

Lira and Kell nodded in silent agreement, their arms crossed.

Draven, leaning casually against the jet’s hull, laughed. "Goddamn, Captain, you got caught in the woman's trap, huh? At just 21 and already a father of four. Guess none of us expected you to be held down."

Before Draven could continue, Vanya slapped the back of his head, her sharp gaze full of disdain. "Idiot."

The group burst into laughter, the tension that had been looming over them since their return breaking like shattered glass. The sound echoed through the foggy night, and for a brief moment, the darkness that hung over Ravetham felt a little less suffocating.

But as the laughter died down, Kaelen's thoughts drifted back to the reality awaiting him. His children. His family. And the fact that, despite everything he had faced in the stars, he was about to face something far more terrifying—being a father in a world that had long since moved on without him.