Claiming Family

by Desi Lin

  I sauntered over, making sure to shake the ass he so badly wanted to rub. I batted my eyelashes, smiled coyly, and ran a finger over his chest. I leaned in, pressing my palm against him and heating it, not enough to hurt him but enough to be uncomfortable.

  “Dream on,” I murmured as his eyes widened, and I shoved hard.

  He fell to his ass, hand rubbing the spot on his chest my hand just heated.

  Turning on my heel, I left without another thought, making my way home to my boys.

  Before stepping into the house, I took a deep breath. I wanted to talk to the guys. Before I could think about entering, the door flew open. Souta dashed out, screeching to a halt when he saw me standing there, dark eyes wide and wild, the slightly too long locks of his brown-black hair flying into his face.

  “Sera!” He reached out, lifting me off my feet and spinning me around as he clutched me against his chest. “Where were you?” He set me on my feet again but hung on when I swayed.

  “Nowhere important,” I answered. “I need to talk to you. Are Brooks and JJ here?”

  “Yeah, inside. Come on.” Souta leaned in to peck my cheek before we walked back inside.

  Brooks and JJ sat in the family room, concern on their faces.

  “I’m sorry,” I started after Souta curled up in Brooks’ lap. “I shouldn’t have snuck out.”

  Golden eyes watched me crossed the room as JJ shrugged. “We understand, firefly. At least, we think we do.”

  I wasn’t so sure they did. “I needed time to think, by myself,” I admitted. I perched on the edge of the couch, spine stiff, hands clutched tight between my knees. “Honestly? I realized we never talked about… what happened on my birthday or our Genus, or well, much of anything, actually, and my brain’s starting to dredge up a lot of worries.”

  I expected their faces to fall, to see disappointment or anger, but only openness and concern crossed their faces.

  “This has been a big change for me, and it’s all happening at once. It’s—” I stopped quickly as the realization hit me that I was babbling to ease the guilt churning my gut. “It’s overwhelming.”

  Standing, I picked at my nails and started to pace. Would they hate me for wanting to figure things out? I couldn’t seem to wait for things to happen on their own. My mind would latch on to the stray thoughts and worries, churning them up until they took over.

  Brooks patted Souta’s thigh, and he slid off him. He stood and crossed the room, wrapping his hands around mine to stop my fidgeting. I nearly pulled away but managed to stop myself at the last minute. Blue eyes like the ocean calmly gazed into mine, we stood still as he caressed my hands with his thumbs until I felt my nerves settle.

  Souta patted the couch next to him. “C’mon, hot stuff. Sit down and talk to us.” Gently I withdrew my hands from Brooks, shooting him a smile as I made my way to the couch and settled in. I drew my legs up, resting my arms on my knees, and breathed in deeply.

  “You had some concerns, firefly?” JJ moved to sit on the floor in front of me, charcoal stained fingers grazing my bare foot.

  I nodded. “Things happened so fast on my birthday and afterward, everything with Aguirre, me moving in with Souta, then we became hyper-focused on the search for my father.” I stumbled to a halt, unsure what the point I wanted to make was, or how to say what I wanted to. Fingers grazed my foot again, another set running up my jean-clad calf.

  “It’s okay, beautiful. We’re here. Whatever it is.” Brooks’ soft murmur in my ear washed over me, sending with it a shot of the confidence I needed so badly right then. I squeaked when Souta grabbed my hips, lifted me, and promptly deposited me on his lap. His fingers played in the short strands of my hair. I squirmed, the idea of sitting in a lap still a bit odd.

  A light swat to my thigh stilled me. “Cut it out, hot stuff, please.” Souta choked the words out, the compact muscles under me tensing. I almost smacked myself as his meaning sunk in. Shooting him a grin, I wiggled one more time. He swatted my thigh again, grunting, “Gonna kill me.”

  Gentle pressure on my foot sent shivers through me, “We want this to work.” JJ brought my attention back to the matter at hand. “And talking about how we’re feeling is going to be a big part of that, especially if we want to avoid Foederis.”

  “I’m worried about how you guys will feel. I know you talked about it and said jealousy wasn’t an issue, but how can you be sure?” I shifted in Souta’s lap to meet JJ’s golden gaze better. My breath caught for a moment, still stunned by his good looks, “Especially you JJ. You’ve been the most, um, determined to date me. Now, I’ll be dating you, but I’ll also be spending time with Souta and Brooks. You and I won’t be together as often because of that. Won’t you be bothered by that?”

  He reached up, grabbing my hand, and pressed his lips to the back. “Firefly, why should it bother me? You’ll come back to me, right back home, in my arms, where you belong. I know that. Even when you’re with them, you’re still mine, as much as you are theirs. I know when you’re with me, I’ll be your focus, and I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, the four of us will make this work.”

  I wanted half the confidence his voice held.

  “And I think we’re a little past just dating, firefly. Nothing I feel for you is casual. As far I’m concerned, you’re my girlfriend, and I’m pretty sure Brooks and Souta feel the same.”

  One of my worries eased as he easily defined our relationship. Hopefully, I could manage to live up to their expectations. A soft ding broke into the silence. JJ pulled his phone from his pocket, frowning as he checked it.

  “I need to go. Sophie collapsed.” The air seemed to get sucked out of the room with his words. “They’re rushing her to the hospital.”

  “Want us to come with?” Brooks asked.

  He shook his head, black hair waving with the motion, and shrugged. “No. Mom is freaking out right now, and we don’t know what’s going on.”

  He stood and tugged my hand, pulling me to my feet. Wrapping my arms around him, I squeezed tight, my pulse racing as I wondered what was going on with his sister.

  He dropped a kiss on my forehead. “Keep talking. I’ll call you later, and you can let me know what you talked about.”

  “Keep us updated,” Souta called as he strode out.

  JJ waved an acknowledgment as he caught Shiro’s attention in the foyer and asked for a ride to the hospital. I wanted to chase after him, insist he let me come with him, but I wasn’t family, so it wasn’t my place, right? Instead, I tried to set my worry aside and focus on the rest of the conversation I needed to have.

  Souta snagged my jeans and pulled me back into his lap. I couldn’t help my eye roll. The way they kept tugging me around made me feel like a rag doll. But as tempting as it was to harass them for their behavior, this wasn’t the time.

  “I’ll be honest, hot stuff.” Souta ran his fingers up and down my arm. I fought against the desire to slide off his lap, wanting a little space, but I was learning that Souta tended to be tactile when things got serious. “I’m apparently a bit possessive, like I told you before. Right now, I’m fine with the idea. If that will hold true as we go forward? I don’t know, but I won’t let it hurt us.”

  I nodded, wondering if there was a story behind discovering his possessiveness. I’d have to ask later. I swiveled to look at Brooks who’d taken a seat next to us on the couch. He smiled softly, blue eyes shining with fondness as they roamed over us.

  “Your happiness is all I want.” His finger slid down my cheek, then farther down between Souta and me. Gently, he tugged me off Souta’s lap and into the space between them on the couch.

  I blew out a breath, shooting him a grateful glance.

  He leaned over, blond curls brushing against my cheeks and breath ghosting across my ear as he whispered, “Don’t be afraid to tell us you’re uncomfortable.”

  Needing a bit more space, I slid to the hardwood floor, laying down and tucking my hands behind my head. “This is another thing
. How do we handle things with the three of us? I mean, you two already have an established relationship. Bringing me in is going to throw a monkey wrench into those works.”

  “Beautiful, how long, exactly, do you think Souta and I have been together?” Brooks rumbled softly.

  I’d never thought about it. They seemed so settled in their relationship and all of them in their Genus, that I figured they’d been together for a while.

  “I don’t know. Five, six months at least?” I toyed with a loose gold thread on the couch.

  Souta chuckled. “You are too cute, hot stuff.” He shifted, laying his head in Brooks’ lap and turning so he faced me. “We’ve only been together for about two months. Brooks moved to town just a couple weeks before my eighteenth birthday. JJ joined us about a month ago, but we’ve been friends for years.”

  Shock ran through me. Two months? And they’d only known each other for a couple weeks before they did what they did? Even still, I worried about being the third wheel. Would my relationship with each of them always come secondary to their relationship with each other? The knowledge of how short a time they’d been together led to another question. Dropping the thread, I traced the golden design against the deep crimson, debating exactly how to ask what I wanted to know.

  “Um. I don’t quite know how to ask this, but what about, um, physical stuff? You’ve been, well, active, right?” I cursed myself for stumbling over such a straightforward question. I’d never been shy, so why the hell was I tripping over my words? Red crawled up Brooks’ neck and over his cheeks.

  “No,” he murmured.

  No? But they’d said at Souta’s they had? Huh?

  “After what happened on my birthday, we decided to backtrack a bit.” Souta rubbed his cheek against Brooks’ jeans, one hand dropping over the side of the couch and grazing my stomach. “We hadn’t known each other long, hot stuff. It was way too fast, and neither of us would have gotten physical in such a short time if Iunctura hadn’t been driving us. We haven’t been together like that since.”

  That was not the impression I’d gotten that first day, or heck, that first week. That day in the kitchen, he’d said he wouldn’t have said anything to me if not for Iunctura. I thought it was because of how devoted he was to Brooks, had I been wrong?

  “But the day we met?” I didn’t know how to word the question. Thankfully, they caught on to my question.

  “I’m still young, hot stuff. I’m horny as hell. Just because we agreed to slow the hell down doesn’t mean I don’t want to jump him all the fucking time.” Souta poked his head over the side of the couch, gaze boring into mine. “Or you.”

  Was it hot in here or was it just me? My breath caught, and I squirmed.

  “Besides, it felt… like something was missing,” Brooks spoke up.

  Souta nodded, then put his head back on Brooks’ lap.

  One incredibly horny boyfriend? Check.

  Still confused? Also, check.

  “And the day of our Iunctura, when you said you wouldn’t have said anything—”

  Souta exploded to his feet, hands on his hips and face as tight as his stance. “Because I wouldn’t disrespect my best friend like that! And it wouldn’t have been right without Brooks! I’m no cheater!”

  As he stormed out of the room, I sat up slowly, trying to figure out what the heck just happened.

  “What did I do?” I turned to Brooks, but his face mirrored my confusion.

  “I don’t know.” Brooks’ eyes came back to meet mine. “Implied he would cheat, somehow, I guess. He has a real issue with that.”

  Well, fuck. Had I just screwed up before we even got going?

  Unsure what to say, we sat in silence.

  Five minutes later, a calmer Souta returned slightly disheveled with his hair standing on end in places from being tugged on. He plopped down onto the couch before deliberately tipping over to smoosh his angular face back against Brooks’ solid, jean-clad thigh.

  “I’m sorry,” he said to both of us. “Can we forget that happened, please?”

  “Yeah,” Brooks and I spoke in unison.

  Brooks ran his fingers through Souta’s silky hair, and I reached up to skate mine over his well-muscled arm.

  After another moment of silence, Souta broke the tension. “I checked in with JJ. They found out Sophie is diabetic.”

  The abrupt subject change startled me, but the news sent my heart racing. I didn’t know much about diabetes, and I couldn’t imagine getting news like that. Cell phone in hand, I dialed JJ, needing to talk to him, to check on him.

  A tap on my shoulder made me glance back at Souta. “Put it on speaker, hot stuff.”

  I nodded and hit the button as JJ picked up. “Hey, firefly.”

  Damn, he sounded rough. The desire to reach through the phone and hold him raced through me. “Souta told us.” The words sounded flat and useless to me. Obviously, Souta told us, or we wouldn’t be calling. “I don’t—” Unable to find the words, I stopped abruptly.

  “Is there anything we can do?” Brooks rumbled, hand resting on the back of my neck, thumb stroking.

  I leaned into the comfort of his touch.

  “We’re just trying to wrap our heads around it, right now.” Exhaustion laced JJ’s voice. “And Mom is beating herself up for not noticing the signs.”

  “JJ, I—” Words failed me again as I tried to express my feelings.

  “I know, firefly. I know.” Even through his exhaustion, I heard the conviction of his words. “I need to go. I’ll call you later, okay?”

  “Yeah, okay.” Hanging up never felt so hard before.

  I just wanted to take away his worry and fear, but I didn’t know how. Instead, I took comfort in Souta and Brooks, JJ never far from my thoughts or my heart.

  Five

  Two days later, I found myself sitting in a hole in the wall restaurant, my stomach churning, though I refused to show it. Despite its size, the inside was beautiful. Deep gray walls and slate flooring paired with light pine tables and chairs padded in the same deep gray to provide a sense of elegance. Large windows and a myriad of tiny sconces provided light and warmth. A waterfall feature in the front tinkled merrily. The place felt far too fancy to take your newly discovered daughter to. Would I even know anything on the menu?

  At least I wasn’t underdressed. Sitting across from me, Michael’s broad frame, dressed in a dark-green, button-down and black slacks, drew more than one appreciative gaze. While I wore my black leather jacket and boots, I’d opted for a simple burgundy dress for dinner, one of the only outfits I owned appropriate for any kind of dressy event. Most of the others seated around us wore equally casual-dressy clothes.

  “I know it feels fancy.” Michael smiled as if he understood my discomfort. “But you’ll love the food here, I hope. It’s simple fare, well done and plentiful. And the best part?” Michael pointed to the front window.

  I squinted to see what he was pointing at. In a corner of the window sat the compass symbol used by Elementum run establishments, symbolizing a safe zone.

  No wonder the place was a hole in a wall. Truly safe places, ones where we didn’t need to worry about our powers or watch what we said, were hard to establish in any city. The only way to truly keep it safe was to have a Sage hide it from human eyes. It made sense, though, to seek out an Elementum safe place for our first dinner. We wouldn’t need to watch our words here.

  “Hi!” a perky waitress in simple black pants and shirt greeted us. “I’m Marie. I’ll be your waitress. What can I get you?”

  Michael ordered coffee then tried to change my mind when I ordered water with lemon.

  I shook my head. “I’m not big on coffee or sugary drinks, but thanks.”

  When the waitress left to get our drinks, I sighed quietly. Everything felt so awkward around him. Why did it have to be so hard to forge a relationship?

  “Let’s get this out of the way shall we?” Michael slid an envelope across the table. Stomach flipping, I pick
ed it up, noting that someone opened it already. I knew what it was but not what it would say. “DNA results. You are most definitely my daughter.”

  My eyes scanned the words several times before they registered the truth of his statement. Right there in black-and-white, confirmation that the man in front of me was, in fact, my father. Would I be a good daughter for him? Did I know how to be a daughter? Butterflies turned into bullets in my stomach as I set the paper down.

  “So, your mother,” Michael broke the uncomfortable silence. “What did you want to know?”

  “I don’t know where to start.” I unrolled my napkin, fiddling with the silverware. “I have more questions now than before.”

  Needing a moment, I looked over the menu, pleased to find food I understood. The waitress came back with our drinks then took our order, giving me a few more minutes to figure things out. A light breeze brushed me as she floated the menus back toward the hostess station. Once she left, I didn’t get a chance to ask anything.

  “I should explain about Ash.” Voice soft and low, Michael looked at the table, regret filling the brown eyes that matched my own.

  “You don’t have to,” I said quickly.

  Honestly, I just wanted to know more about my mother, right now, and how they’d met. Thinking about Ash and his rejection made nausea rise in my stomach.

  “Actually, explaining Ash means telling you about your mom and me.” Michael arranged his napkin and silverware as he spoke. The light from the sconces glinted off the silver. “I won’t lie to you, and I don’t want you to have any illusions. Some things may be hard to hear.”

  My hand fisted in the napkin, a hard knot forming in my stomach. While unsure what to expect or what I wanted to hear, I needed the truth. “I’m not fond of fiction.” I lifted my head and met his eyes, not allowing my feelings to take over. “I don’t need illusions, just the truth, no matter how hard.”

  Michael smiled fondly, his eyes shining but unfocused like he was lost in thought. “You’ve got steel in you, just like your mother.”