Jonny accepted it. He expected bad news at every front anymore. There hadn't been good news in … well, forever.
D & D want to meet. Now. Our beach, Xander had typed.
"Fuck me," Jonny muttered. "The last thing I need right now is those assholes in my business."
"Valon's vamps wiped out another forty humans today. We can expect him to retaliate tomorrow for the warehouse."
"I know, Charles. I get it. I need to go to Damian. It's my duty to deal with him," Jonny said unhappily. "I hate them judging me. I hate admitting something's outside my control to people who already expect me to fail. I wanted the mess with the Others to be the last time I had to work with them."
"Ikir, the expectations of another have no influence over us unless we let them."
"I know." Jonny rubbed his face. His glance went towards the fridge. "I gotta deliver some bad news anyway."
"I'll let you know if we have any emergencies." Charles said.
Jonny Traveled to the beach where he routinely met Xander, expecting his audience to be waiting. Blond haired Damian and his older brother Darian had identical golden eyes, but that was where their similarities ended. Confident, alpha, blond-haired Damian was thick and muscular whereas brunet Darian's frame was whip like and his temperament erratic at best.
Xander stood a short distance from the two brothers, arms folded across his chest.
Jonny stilled his emotions and approached. Charles was right. He had long since considered these men his equals - even if they weren't on the same page yet.
"Gentlemen," he greeted them. "How can I help you?"
Darian started to smile. Of the two brothers, he was Jonny's preferred. The Grey God was in a position of balance, though his loyalty lay strictly with Damian. He had spent ten thousand years as a slave to the previous Black God and yet, he was much closer to neutral on the topic of vamps living in harmony with humans than the White God.
Damian, however, wasn't happy. His gold gaze held intelligence and a shrewdness Jonny knew to expect after their interactions.
"Been cleaning up your messes," Damian started, not one to beat around the bush. "Xander's encouraged me to hear you out when I want nothing more than to send in my Guardians and wipe out your fucking vamps. Want to tell me what the fuck is going on?"
Jonny knew instinctively Damian would probably never admit it if they found his hackers in the database, but he doubted this was how Damian would lead off if so.
"I have a rogue problem," he started smoothly. "A few of my vamps don't agree with my leadership direction and decided to act out."