by I. T. Lucas
Imagining them living together in a remote cabin somewhere, kind of like the one they’d stayed in before, Vivian smiled. She would homeschool Parker while Magnus would teach him how to hunt and how to fish, and later, when Gorchenco was no longer a threat, they could move back into the city.
There were two big problems with that fantasy, though. One was that she would age while Magnus wouldn’t, and the second one was that he would be breaking one of his clan’s most important laws to be with her.
A frightening thought entered her mind. “What if Kian replaces you with someone else? He might not have thought about it when you talked to him, but at some point, he’ll realize that what he said about the village was also true in regards to you. I’ll have too many memories of you to erase, and so will Parker.”
“Damn. I didn’t think of that. I hope he doesn't either.”
Vivian cuddled closer to Magnus. The thought of losing him was unbearable. Maybe after they got Ella back, the four of them could run away and hide somewhere, not only from Gorchenco, but also from Kian.
Except, that wouldn’t solve the aging problem.
“I think it’s all nonsense,” Magnus said. “First of all, even though it feels as if we’ve been together for months, it’s only been a couple of weeks. That’s not too many memories. Secondly, I’m sure that you are a Dormant. The Fates wouldn’t have gone to all this trouble to bring us together if we weren’t meant to be.”
It was hard to believe that she’d fallen in love with Magnus in such a short time, but when it was meant to be, it was meant to be. Except, was she willing to risk Parker and Ella’s futures based on a belief in fate?
“I think it is best we stay here a little longer. I feel safe in the underground.”
“What about when we get Ella? Do we bring her here as well? From one restrictive environment to another? At least in the village she’ll have room to breathe.”
“What do you think we should do?”
“I say let's move into the village, and as soon as we have Ella, we’ll attempt your transition. Waiting for her to do it first will just put an unfair pressure on her to enter a relationship before she’s ready.”
“But what if something happens to me? Who will take care of Parker?”
“Ella and everyone else in the village. If you’re not a Dormant, the induction will not harm you. The only way something might happen to you is if you enter transition and your body can’t take it. But even on the super-remote chance that this happens, it will mean that Ella and Parker are Dormants for sure, and they will become part of the clan.”
“How? They are not related to you.”
“I’ll adopt them. I wanted to do that in any case. Only if they were willing, of course.”
Vivian’s eyes misted with tears. “Oh, Magnus. That’s so sweet of you. I don’t know what to say.”
He pulled her onto his lap and wrapped both arms around her. “I love you, and I want to spend the rest of my immortal life with you. Parker already feels like a son to me, and I’m sure once I get to know Ella, she will feel like a daughter to me too. I just hope she likes me back.”
“Why wouldn’t she? You’re awesome.”
“She might not share your opinion.”
“She will.”
He arched a brow. “How can you be so sure? What if she thinks I’m too European, and not rugged enough? And what if she has an aversion to my Scottish accent and cringes every time she hears it?”
Vivian laughed. “Of all the silly things you could’ve come up with you found the two things I’m absolutely positive she’s going to love.” She nuzzled his neck. “Your accent is so sexy. I get all tingly just from listening to you talk. Ella is going to think that I scored myself a major hottie.”
“Then it’s settled. The moment they agree, I’m adopting both of your kids.”
“Don’t you want to get married first?”
“In my mind, I’m already mated. But, sure.”
5
Magnus
When Vivian sniffled, Magnus wasn’t certain whether those were happy tears or sad.
“Does it upset you? If you’re not sure about it, I’ll understand. And Parker and Ella don’t need to change their last names either. I know you want them to remember their real father. I’m perfectly fine with them keeping it. You too. My last name is fake anyway. I just chose one that I liked. I don’t mind changing it to Takala.”
Shaking her head, Vivian wrapped her arms around his neck. “I’m emotional, not sad.” She kissed his cheek. “And thank you for offering to take on Josh’s last name. I can’t think of any man who would’ve been willing to do that. But all this talk is a bit premature, don’t you think?”
“Right. Move to the village, get Ella back, induce your transition, and then a wedding. Not the other way around. But we can move to the village only on the condition that you attempt transition as soon as possible after Ella’s rescue. I know you’ll need to be there for her and help her settle in, but the sooner you do it, the better. Age is a factor.” He kissed her forehead. “I want you to have the best chance of success possible.”
She nodded. “I agree. I’m scared, but that’s not an excuse. I’m sure it will be just as scary for Ella even with all the reassurances that at her age it’s safe.”
He kissed the top of her head. “You’re a gutsy lady who doesn’t back away from a challenge. One of the many reasons I fell in love with you.”
Vivian put her head on his chest. “There is one more thing that we need to do before all of that.”
“What is it?”
“Tell Parker.”
“Right. Do you want to do it now?”
“Sure.” Vivian laughed. “He’s going to freak out, in a good way.” She untangled herself from Magnus’s arms and rose to her feet. “I can’t wait to see his reaction to your story.”
Magnus grimaced. “Maybe you should tell him? I didn’t do such a good job with you. I was all over the place.”
Waving a dismissive hand, she knocked on the bedroom door. “You did fine. Besides, it’s your story to tell.”
Parker opened it and looked up at her with a puzzled expression on his face. “You knocked?”
She ruffled his hair. “When a bedroom door is closed, you’re supposed to knock. I wish you’d remember that when you barge into my room in the morning. But never mind that. Magnus needs to talk to you.”
The puzzled expression turned into worried. “What is it? What did I do? Whatever it was, I didn’t mean it.”
Magnus chuckled. “You did nothing wrong. Come sit with me.” He patted the spot next to him on the couch.
As Vivian pulled out a dining chair and sat across from them, Magnus thought about the best way to start his story. “Remember how fast I swam in the pool?”
Parker lifted a brow. “What about it?”
“You said that I could win any competition, and you were right. I could win, but there is a very good reason why I don’t enter any. It would be unfair to the human swimmers.”
Parker chuckled. “And what are you, an alien?”
“Kind of. I didn’t come from another planet, but maybe my ancestors did. I’m an immortal.”
“What do you mean, immortal? You cannot die?”
“I can, but it’s hard to do. I don’t age, and my body has remarkable repairing ability. So unless I sustain injuries it cannot fix, like having my head cut off, or my heart cut out, or getting blown to pieces, I won’t die.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Parker narrowed his eyes at Magnus. “Prove it.”
“Why, you don’t believe me?”
The kid sighed and uncrossed his arms. “I kind of do, but then I love stuff like that, and you know it.” He glanced at his mother. “Do you believe him?”
She nodded. “I do. He proved it to me last night. Magnus can manipulate human minds. He turned himself into a cute little dragon for me. Not for real, but he made me see him as a dragon.”
Magn
us frowned. “It wasn’t cute. Just small. I didn’t want to scare you.”
“Can you show it to me?” Parker asked.
“Sure.” Concentrating, Magnus brought up the same image of a small, unthreatening dragon.
The kid started laughing. “It looks like Barney.”
Magnus dropped the shroud. “Who’s Barney?”
“A cartoon for kids,” Parker said. “A cute one.”
Great. He was telling the kid a secret that should have him enthralled with its scope and magnificence, but instead of being awed, Parker was making fun of his illusion.
“I’m sorry,” Parker laughed. “Don’t look so offended. But you were asking for it with the face you made when Mom called your dragon cute. I just couldn’t miss an opportunity like that to poke fun at you. Please go on.”
“No more interruptions.”
After making the zipping motion with his fingers, Parker listened to the rest of the story with eyes that kept getting wider and a jaw that kept dropping lower, but without saying a word.
The kid managed to keep his mouth shut until Magnus reached the part about him being a possible Dormant.
“No way! I can become immortal?”
“You might. It’s not a sure thing, but I believe the probability is high because of the strong telepathic ability your mom and sister have. If they are Dormants, so are you.”
“When will I know?”
When Magnus glanced at Vivian to get her approval, she nodded. Naturally, he wasn’t going to explain the process of inducing a female Dormant. If the kid asked, they would have to come up with something evasive.
“One of you needs to attempt the transition, and your mom volunteered to go first. But only after we get Ella back. If your mother is a Dormant, and we will know that only when she starts transitioning into immortality, then we will know for sure that you and your sister are too. The genes pass from the mother.”
“Why can’t she do it now?”
“Because the transition is difficult for older Dormants, and some of them go into a coma for days. We need your mom to communicate with Ella.”
Parker lifted his hands. “Then I should go first.”
“You’re not thirteen yet.”
“I will be in six months. Does it have to be exactly on my birthday?”
“That’s the tradition, but it’s not an exact thing. I know several guys who weren’t ready by thirteen and had to wait until they were older. It has to do more with being at the right stage of puberty.”
“The nurse at my school said that puberty can start at nine for boys. I’m pretty sure mine started a long time ago.”
Magnus and Vivian exchanged glances again.
This could be the simplest solution. If Parker transitioned, then there would be no more doubt about Vivian being a Dormant, and they could move into the village with Kian’s blessing. Vivian wouldn’t need to rush into it, and Ella wouldn’t be pressured into a relationship.
“We can ask Bridget. If she says you’re ready, then you can go first. Provided your mother agrees.” He looked at Vivian.
“Are there any risks for boys Parker’s age?”
“In all of our history, there wasn’t even one case of a boy having trouble transitioning. A few needed more than one bite, but once the transition started, it continued smoothly with no complications. Other than the pain of growing fangs, that is. That was pretty bad. But today there are pain medications to take care of that. When I transitioned, all we had were numbing ointments that tasted so bad I preferred the pain.”
Parker lifted a hand. “Hold on one sec. Did you say bite? What kind of a bite?”
Right. Magnus hadn’t explained the other function of the fangs. All he had said was that immortal males had them and used them to fight.
“As I explained before, our fangs deliver venom. In large doses, it can be deadly, but a small dose induces a Dormant’s transition.”
“Oh.”
As Parker started scratching his head, Magnus tensed. The kid’s next question would probably be about inducing females.
“So if the doctor says I’m ready, are you going to bite me?”
Magnus shook his head. “In order for a male to produce venom, he needs to get aggressive, which is why a ritual fight is staged between the Dormant and his initiator. Usually, the initiator is close to the Dormant in age.”
“I don’t want some strange dude biting me. I want you to do it.”
“There is no way I can summon aggression toward you.”
Parker frowned. “Why not? Because you’re big, and I’m no match for you?
Now it was Magnus’s turn to scratch his head. “That too, but mostly because I kind of think of you as my son.”
Parker opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “Is it because of what’s going on between Mom and you? Are you guys going to get married or something?”
So the kid wasn’t as clueless as Vivian had thought.
“I love your mother, that’s true. And if everything goes well, and if she’ll have me, I would like to marry her and for us to be a family. If you’ll have me, that is. It’s your decision as much as it is hers.”
6
Vivian
Magnus spilling the beans about the two of them being in love had not been part of the plan. It was too much for Parker to absorb all at once, and given the confused expression on his face, he was going into overload.
This should have been handled more delicately, but after insisting on Magnus telling the story to Parker, she couldn’t blame him for messing it up. He’d warned her that he might not do a good job of it.
“I’d like that too,” Parker said quietly, and then stunned her by leaning over and giving Magnus a hug.
The big guy wrapped his arms around her son and then kissed the top of his head. “Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me.”
Now, if that wasn’t a Hallmark moment, Vivian didn’t know what was. As the scene before her started to waver, it took her a moment to realize that her stupid eyes were filling with tears.
“I wish I could film this,” she sniffled loudly.
She could reach for her phone and do it, but then it would turn her into an observer instead of a participant. Joining in the hug was a much better idea. The moment she knelt next to them on the floor and tried to wrap her arms around her two guys, Magnus pulled her up and into his embrace, holding her and Parker together.
After a moment, Parker pushed away. “Okay, that’s enough mushiness.” He glanced at Vivian. “Why are you crying?”
She wiped the tears with the back of her hands. “I’m just so happy.”
“And that makes you cry?” He rolled his eyes. “Girls are weird.”
Magnus grinned. “But we love them anyway.”
“Already you’re ganging up on me? Sheesh. At least wait until Ella is back, so we’re evenly matched.”
“I should call Bridget.” Magnus pulled out his phone.
Talking to the doctor in front of Parker wasn’t a good idea. Bridget might start asking questions about the two of them and Vivian’s transition. “Perhaps it’d be better if you do it from your place,” she suggested.
“I get it.” Parker pushed to his feet. “You don’t want to talk to her with me here. I’ll go to the bedroom. You can tell me later what she said.”
When the door closed behind Parker, Magnus smirked. “That kid of yours knows much more than he lets on.”
“I keep thinking of him as my little boy, and the scoundrel plays along with it when it’s convenient for him.” Vivian sighed and leaned back against the couch cushions. “The truth is that he’s far from innocent, and he is much more mature than I’ve given him credit for.”
“We weren’t exactly discreet with our affection for each other, and he’s not a little kid. Maybe he was just embarrassed about saying anything, or didn’t know how to respond. If my mother started dating someone seriously, I don’t think I would’ve been comfortable ackno
wledging it until she said something about it. And I’m a grownup.”
It was sweet the way Magnus was trying to protect Parker, but there was no need. Vivian thought the world of her son. “The failing was mine, not his. I couldn't be prouder of Parker.”
Nodding, he took her hand. “He’s a great kid. I'm looking forward to watching him grow into a man.”
“He looks up to you. You’d better be a good role model, or we will have words.” She pretended to scowl.
“I’ll do my best.”
“I know you will. I was just teasing. You don’t even have to try hard. Just be yourself. You’re awesome.”
Her praise seemed to embarrass him, and he tried to hide it by turning his attention to his phone.
“Let’s call Bridget.” Magnus scrolled through his contact list until he found the doctor’s number, clicked on it, and put the call on speaker so Vivian could participate.
Bridget answered right away. “Magnus? Is anything wrong?”
“Everything is fine.”
“Oh, thank the Fates. I was afraid Vivian had gone into transition.”
“Vivian is fine, and she’s right here with me. This is about Parker and whether he’s ready to transition or not.”
“Hi, Bridget,” Vivian said.
“Hello, Vivian. I’ll need to give him a checkup to see how far along he is. What’s the rush, though?”
“I want to move him and Vivian into the village, but Kian prefers to verify that they are Dormants first. Vivian can’t attempt the transition because we need her to communicate with Ella. So Parker, being the smart kid that he is, offered to go first.”
“I see. This is a good solution. I can’t come today because the teams are leaving for New York this evening, and I’m busy with preparing everything for their departure, but I can stop by tomorrow.”
“That would be great. Thank you.”
“Sure thing. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As Magnus clicked the phone off and was about to put it back in his pocket, Vivian put a hand on his arm. “Maybe you should call Kian as well, and tell him of the new plan.”