In the Arms of the Beast

by K. A. Merikan

  “No,” Elliot said, sitting next to Knight. “It’s ours. Whatever burden you carry, I will be there for you. Not that Xavier is a burden. You know what I mean.” He would sooner take a dozen children crying all night than remove himself from Knight’s bed. If he vacated his spot, soon enough, some single yummy mummy would start hovering around his man. He wasn’t letting that happen. “You’re always there for me. I don’t think of it as a one way street.” he said and kissed Knight’s shoulder.

  Knight smiled at him, even though there was sadness in his eyes. “I’ll have to make that bastard sign him off into my care. Or make him disappear if he’s not compliant.”

  “The father?”

  Knight hummed in agreement. “More like sperm donor. But yeah, he needs to be dealt with. We’ll see what the club does about Joker.”

  Elliot entwined their fingers. “What choice did you have?”

  Knight shook his head, rubbing Elliot’s hand with his warm thumb. “We were friends for so long. Why would he just… shoot her like that right in front of me?” He cleared his throat. “But I killed a member. We will see.”

  Elliot only squeezed Knight’s hand more firmly. “How are you… coping with that? I know you were friends, but the situation was impossible.”

  Knight leaned into Elliot, so his long hair fell on Elliot’s shoulder and tickled his neck. “I never felt like this, even after I killed someone for the first time. It’s like it didn’t really happen. I know it did, but not all of me has caught up with it yet.”

  “Remember I’m here for you whenever you need me. And I know nothing about kids, but I’ll learn and do my best. You won’t be alone with this.” He kissed Knight’s cheek. He’d never had to be Knight’s rock before—in fact it had always been the opposite in their relationship, but he was finding that it didn’t scare him.

  Knight squeezed Elliot’s hand with more force. “I’m so glad you made all those dumb videos. I wouldn’t have met you if you hadn’t.”

  Elliot snorted. “I love you too. And you will be a fantastic foster dad, even if it’s not what we planned.”

  Knight pressed his lips to Elliot’s. It was as if the universe was in balance again.

  Epilogue 2 – Vars & Jake

  Much had changed in the two years since the world narrowly avoided annihilation. With Magpie gone, the club’s most lucrative business had dried out, but bills to pay grew each day and a certain lifestyle needed to be upheld so the show went on. For Vars, that meant creative accounting and rare opportunities for actual time off.

  He’d noticed at some point that he didn’t need to sleep when he drank fresh blood, so when push came to shove, he could always do that. The club wasn’t ready for a complete overhaul of its business model, and having eight toddlers on the premises and running amok didn’t make things easier.

  The cataclysmic event that had put an end to Baal’s plans left the clubhouse ruined, but they’d taken their time dividing what was left structurally sound into two areas. One more suited for the members and hangarounds doing their thing, the other—family-friendly. Money remained a constant issue because of the high cost of necessary repairs, so instead of investing in new sets of leather sofas and other flashy furniture, the club relied on what was available secondhand, recycled, gifted, in a mix of colors that didn’t work together. All the locals were still struggling with the aftermath of Baal’s attack anyway, so it wasn’t an issue.

  Since so much still needed to be done, Vars sometimes had to force Jake to take time off, because his boy’s sense of responsibility hardly left any room for fun. Since he’d become a member, he’d gotten proficient at not only taking orders, but organizing the work of others. Concerts always brought a spike of cash, and Jake made sure plenty of watered-down beer was sold to intoxicated guests. With the way things were going though, the Kings’ profits from small-scale meth production were growing. Vars didn’t love it, but they were scraping the bottom of the barrel at this point.

  Everyone did their share. Shadow and Gray organized occasional heists, Fox and Nick opened a repair shop that operated in the gray area when it came to taxes, and the club also owned a car wash. Maybe once their living situation improved, the club could allow itself to make money for real, but at this point it was still more about survival.

  Still, even when surviving, a man had his needs, so Vars enjoyed his leisure time, especially when that time involved Jake massaging his feet. He lay in a deck chair, lounging in the July heat with a cold beer in hand. Perhaps it was time to follow Gray’s footsteps and move out of the main building for some privacy, but the area behind a ruined side wall that remained standing was secluded enough for what they were doing.

  Jake looked up at Vars with big blue eyes Vars would never tire of. Jake was the answer to all his needs and in the three years of their relationship, had offered Vars more tenderness than he’d received in his entire life. There wasn’t a submissive sweeter and more pliant than Jake.

  “Nick had this idea to attach some ropes to me when I turn into Azog. We could pretend the gargoyle is a machine. It could work in the dark. Would be a really cool thing at a party. What do you think?”

  Vars chuckled and invited Jake closer with a gesture. He pressed the bottle to Jake’s lips and let him drink. It was only an excuse to pull at his warm ears and rub his nape, but Vars enjoyed seeing him smile at the taste of the beverage. “We’d have to disguise you anyway. Can’t have people looking too closely or trying to rent you out. I’m not pimping out my gargoyle boy.”

  Jake snorted and looked up at Vars with a bright gaze. “So you like the idea in general?” Some things never changed, and one of those things was Jake’s eagerness for Vars’s approval, even if he had toughened up to the other guys.

  Vars gave him a short but intense kiss before returning to his relaxed position and pushing his feet at Jake’s chest. The massage wasn’t over yet after all. “Only if I can ride that machine once it’s done with all the hard jobs.”

  Jake rubbed the soles of Vars’s feet with his thumbs. “You know I’m yours in every way.”

  Vars smirked. “Sometimes, I think you forget who your master really is,” he teased, watching the golden sheen of blond hair on Jake’s tanned chest. When Vars had first risen from the dead, revived by Mr. Magpie’s secret powers, the prospect of forever had felt daunting, but the fact that he had Jake with him, and that they shared this strange fate made immortality yet another fact of life. They would both see friends pass on, they would have to move to hide their agelessness, but they would have each other to rely on.

  Jake bowed his head and kissed Vars’s toes. “Never.”

  “Are you decent?” Laurent yelled from afar.

  Peace had been nice while it lasted.

  Vars shut his eyes and slid his feet out of Jake’s hands. “Yes.” Sadly.

  A hum of voices came from behind the building, so it wasn’t a surprise when Laurent emerged with a whole herd of toddlers on leashes attached to colorful harnesses.

  “A godsend, truly,” Laurent said, slapping away the hand of one boy reaching to take another’s flower crown. “I only ask for an hour of your time. It’s sunny, they’ll run around with a ball, and I will be back in no time.”

  Vars had been dubious of a twenty-year old’s ability to take care of seven kids, even with the support of a husband. It was a full time job for four people. But Laurent had taken it on like a challenge, and had proved himself capable. With Xavier also in the clubhouse, all the children had meals together, so it was eight toddlers not seven. Laurent ran the whole operation as if he were the general of a small army, and had only once suffered a nervous breakdown when he’d lost the notebook where he’d kept the carefully planned schedule.

  Malachite, Magpie’s former bodyguard-turned-nanny, trailed behind Laurent like a shadow. At least his presence meant Jake and Vars wouldn’t be the only ones keeping an eye on a pack of wide-eyed kids ready to scatter as soon as their papa disappeared from sight.<
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  “Are you going into town?” Vars asked, sliding his bare feet into the fresh grass. He wasn’t a fan of having his peace disturbed, but they were all sweet kids, and he supposed Laurent would have done the same for him. He stood and pulled Jasper into his arms, causing Malachite to calcify in displeasure. The guy tolerated the boys’ fathers touching him, but he would have to eventually learn his place in the pack.

  “Yes, it’s a big shopping trip, so I’m taking one of the prospects to help me carry it all back.” He sighed and rubbed his face. Without much time to himself, Laurent rarely wore his hair in the lush waves he used to favor before the children were born, and instead kept them out of his face in a bun. It was a testament to his tiredness. But as Laurent approached in his favorite T-shirt and leather vest, his face brightened. “Do you know how many things you can get for free if you collect the right combination of coupons?”

  Jake groaned. “Oh, no… I hate trying to work out this kind of stuff.”

  “I actually find it very stimulating,” Laurent said. “It’s a puzzle that brings real life rewards when solved.”

  Vars snorted, lifting and lowering Jasper, who laughed, moving his tiny legs so rapidly Vars needed to make sure he wouldn’t get kicked in the nose. Child or not, it would have hurt.

  “Our brains work very much alike then. That’s how I see club accounts.”

  “I hope an hour with the kids will help your mind unwind from numbers,” Laurent said, but the unspoken truth was that if he was going for a big shopping trip, his absence would last three hours, minimum.

  Laurent listed a few new quirks of the kids they needed to look out for, like Jade being set on ripping the flower crown off Kai’s head, but then was off in a hurry, leaving behind a bag of healthy snacks meant to appease the kids.

  Malachite snatched Jasper from Vars’s arms as soon as Laurent disappeared from sight. “There we go, Master Jasper. You wanted that sparkling water with melon pieces, right?”

  Vars frowned. “You’re not taking him anywhere.”

  He’d seen many odd things in his life, but this guy? The creepiest creature he’d ever encountered. He hadn’t changed a bit since Vars first had offered Magpie his services, but it was the fact that Vars had only heard his voice for the first time two years ago took the cake.

  Malachite squinted but reluctantly put the boy down. “I will bring it here then. But there will be blood if even a single hair falls off his head.”

  Jake laughed and ruffled Jasper’s hair. “Chill, it’s gonna be perfectly fine. Go take a nap.”

  “I don’t need a nap!”

  When Malachite had stormed off, Jake looked at Vars and twirled his finger next to his temple, suggesting what they both thought. The guy was nuts.

  Vars sighed. “I’d have said he’s a creep, but I’m not sure what he is. Wherever this favoritism comes from, Laurent and Beast should really make him stop.”

  The kids were too young to understand the concept of organized play, so the game soon devolved into a frantic chase after a ball that left some crying, while others emerged victorious. It was like gladiatorial games on shrooms.

  Vars’s sense of responsibility beeped wildly when Xavier fell over and scratched his knee, but Jake was the perfect uncle, taking it all in stride and distracting the crying child. Vars wouldn’t say it so that Jake didn’t feel self-conscious, but when Jake rolled around in the grass with the kids, he was like an overgrown Labrador puppy. And maybe they were sharing similar thoughts, because Jake met Vars’s gaze with a sly smile.

  “I know Laurent said not to, but… can Azog come out to play? They’re two years old. They won’t remember any of it.”

  Vars found it adorable that Jake was asking him for permission to turn. He looked around and, when he saw no one around, kneeled next to his lover, catching his throat with one hand and briefly licking the soft lips. “Maybe I should take my good boy for a walk? I can see he can’t wait to come out.”

  “Woof,” Jake whispered, but the kids wouldn’t have understood the double meaning anyway.

  They were at the beginning of a perfect forever.

  Jake got to his feet and Vars called over the boys to make room for him. “But it’s our little secret. You don’t tell Daddy or Papa, okay?”

  Some of the children wanted to follow him, but Jade finally snatching the flower crown off Kai’s head and running with it in a circle proved a welcome distraction. By the time Vars wiped off Kai’s tears, all the kids were focused on the soft roar followed by Jake’s huge winged form crawling into the sunlight as if he were an overgrown dog, not a gargoyle. Hound entered the scene with a yelp and jumped around Jake in an invitation to playtime.

  Marcel seemed a little shy about approaching, and needed encouragement to stop clinging to Vars’s leg but eventually stroked Azog’s muzzle.

  Azog stretched his wings low over the ground, creating a space for the kids to climb under, and Vars laughed when Hound tried to pounce him.

  But fun could only last so long.

  “What are you doing?!” Malachite yelled and dropped the bottle he was carrying before breaking into a frantic sprint.

  When Jasper started jumping on the wing as if it were a trampoline to avoid him, Vars laughed harder.

  Epilogue 3 – Laurent & Beast

  Beast wasn’t sure the children needed to know the Latin names of wild fruit in order to safely recognize which were edible, but whatever floated Laurent’s boat. It didn’t hurt for the kids to know nature-related trivia. But while Marcel wrote down the name rubus idaeus in the leather-bound notebook Laurent had gifted him last Christmas, his brothers raced through the shallow water at the ocean shore, led by Xavier, who, by right of his age was the group’s unofficial leader. After all, he was a very grown-up seven, while their boys were still six.

  It was a warm autumn day, perfect for an outing for the whole family, though the one figure sitting by a miserably small tent in the distance spoiled the flavor of coffee brewed over the open fire.

  “Maybe we should let him come over for lunch at least?” Beast asked, because the whole thing was too awkward for his liking.

  Laurent groaned. “I told him to take time off. It’s not normal to be hovering that way.” He looked up, eyes wide. “Where’s Jack?”

  Beast smiled and pointed to the tent behind him. “Sleeping.”

  As much as Beast had enjoyed this day so far, he itched for some time alone with Laurent, and he shut Marcel’s notebook. “How about you play with your brothers? I’m gonna show you how to make fire with two pieces of wood later.”

  Marcel sighed in the theatrical way kids thought was discreet. He gave Beast a small box. “But look after my rocks, Daddy.”

  Laurent stroked his hair with a smile, but only spoke when Marcel walked off. “He’s so smart. Knows all the dinosaur names.”

  He was also the spitting image or Laurent, but with pale hair and eyes. He would grow up into a handsome man too, just like his father, who at twenty-six was even more beautiful than when Beast had first met him. Back then, Laurent had been scared for his life and confused, but years in a new world where he could live as he pleased had turned him into a confident young man who still charmed Beast with every single gesture.

  It was a shame Beast couldn’t always treat Laurent to all the clothes or beauty products he liked, but they were still rebuilding and renovating their clubhouse, and his husband never complained about money, always taking adversity in stride.

  “Of course he does. Wants to be just like you.”

  Laurent sat next to Beast and slipped under his arm. “I love watching them play and grow. They’re all so different, have various likes and dislikes. I’m left wondering what paths they will choose in terms of college. If we can afford it, that is,” he quickly added and kissed Beast’s cheek.

  Beast patted the back of Laurent’s head, playing with his long, smooth hair. To this day, he sometimes caught himself wondering what a young, beautiful man like Laurent
saw in a forty-year old biker, but then he remembered what they’d been through together, and it all made perfect sense again. Maybe he was lucky. Maybe this family was the universe’s way of righting all the wrongs Beast had suffered?

  “We’ll see how business goes,” he said, though he didn’t have much hope for being able to actually pay for any kids’ college in full. But there was enough time left to worry. For now, he just wanted to relax before an avalanche of feet came their way. He adored their boys, and their cousin Xavier, but the noise could be a lot to handle. Being in nature made it easier to relax, even with all eight of them around.

  “Handling the elementary school expenses is enough trouble. I wish there was two of me so that I could bring additional income for the household.”

  Beast snorted. As lovely as that idea was, he also found it ridiculous. “What you’re doing is a full-time job. How you manage to still look so fresh at the end of each day is close to freaking me out. Maybe you’re a closet vampire?” Beast teased, swiping hair out of Laurent’s forehead.

  Laurent grinned, and if possible, it made him even prettier. “An hour to myself, whenever possible, is not a luxury but a duty if I am to be a good father and husband. Fortunately, we are blessed with many close friends.”

  Jack crawled out of the tent crying and clung to Laurent’s neck from the back. “Papa, I had a nightmare!”

  Laurent turned around and hugged him. “It’s all right. Just a dream. Look at Dexter over there—” The smile disappeared from Laurent’s face, and he got to his feet at the sight of Dexter pushing Jasper into the waves. “Stop that right now!”

  Dexter looked to them with a scowl. “He said my rain boots are ugly!”

  Laurent shook his head and grabbed the boy’s arm. “I’ve had enough of your behavior! That’s no reason to hit your brother. It’s about time you learned some manners young ma—”

  The waves never appeared large until moments before hitting the shore. When Beast noticed one breaking behind Laurent, there was no time to warn him. The water hit the backs of his knees, and he fell flat on his face with a sharp yelp. By the time Beast ran up to Laurent, the water had rolled over him twice.