by Sumida, Amy
“Grandma,” I patted her, “telling a young girl that God is going to take all the good Christians up to Heaven next month and leave all of us horrid sinners behind to suffer numerous tortures, is not reassuring right now. Let’s hold off on that conversation, okay?”
Grandma grimaced at me and broke into a fresh wave of tears. Brilliant Vervain, just brilliant. Sometimes I wished I had a filter.
Chapter Twelve
My house was overflowing with flowers.
How had the entire God Realm found out about my grandfather in less than eight hours? And why hadn’t an arrangement arrived from Trevor… a card, a note, a telegram, a carrier pigeon, something? The large bouquet from Fenrir and “your Froekn family” didn’t count. Fenrir had delivered it in person and was actually still camped out on my sofa… along with Odin, Vidar, Vali, Blue, Persephone, Hades, Ull, Pan, Finn, Teharon, Mr.T, Mrs. E, Thor, and even Horus. But no Trevor.
Kirill was in the kitchen trying to make party trays of the food that people had been dropping off by the truckload. Why does everyone try to feed you when they know food is the last thing you want? They should drop off bottles of alcohol and lots of mint candies because you need alcohol when you're sad and whether I'm drinking or not, my stomach just felt like it was on the verge of throwing up all the time and mint helped with that.
Everyone was scrupulously avoiding Trevor as a subject of conversation. It was starting to annoy me. When you lost someone you loved, whether it be to death or their own stupidity(yes, I’d decided that it was Trevor’s fault because it was easier that way. Give me a break, I was in mourning) you didn’t want to be surrounded by sympathetic eyes and ears. I wanted to curl up in bed and sleep until everything had returned to normal, or as normal as my life could be.
The only bright spark in my darkness to look forward to was the arrival of my mother. She was getting in at 11am. She was getting a rental car and going to Grandma’s to actually help and comfort my grandmother unlike my other relatives who would be staying at a friend’s house, using their van, and hardly seeing Grandma at all even though her money paid for their vacation… oh, I mean their bereavement visit.
I edged into the kitchen and rooted through the liquor cabinet until I found the tequila. I uncapped it, took a long pull, gasped for air, took another swallow, then capped and replaced it. Kirill said nothing, pretended to not even notice. Now that was the kind of company I needed… although it would’ve been even better with just the two of us in the bedroom.
Horrible I know, but any psychiatrist will tell you that when confronted with death, the natural instinct is to try to reaffirm life. I needed some serious affirmation but even the thought of it started to turn my stomach again when I realized I had my lover and husband from a previous life, our sons, my ex-boyfriend, my ex-potential boyfriend (don’t ask), and my possible future ex-boyfriend’s father all in my living room along with my best goddess friend, her husband, and Anubis' cousin.
“Do you vant me to ask zem to leave?” Kirill, as always, knew exactly what I needed.
“No,” I kissed him gently. “I’ll do it. I need to go meet Mom soon anyway.”
I walked into the living room to start my speech but a knock at the door interrupted me. Now what? I almost groaned as I headed to the front door. Nick went with me to approve or disapprove of the next visitor before they stepped foot in his house. I opened the door to find my mother standing there.
“Mom,” I said, stunned. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit. Mom knew I was a witch of course but the whole godhunting business I'd never bothered to mention. Could I play off all these people as normal?
“Are you going to give me a hug and invite me in?” Her dark eyes twinkled a little but there were also new lines of grief around them.
“Of course,” I launched myself at her.
It had been a year since I’d seen her. She’d married a great guy and they’d moved to California years ago, for him to do his residency. He was now an excellent anesthesiologist and they had two children, my sister Kaitlin and my brother Daniel. When my aunt had got pregnant with her tenth child, my step-dad’s response had been that Uncle Harvey should “Be a man and get snipped.” Richard's held a special place in my heart ever since and I was really happy my mom had such a good man.
The hug ended and Mom bent down to give the kitty loving before turning to the rest of the room. She looked at me with a raised brow, then back at the gods. I started forward but Kirill came up first.
“I am Kirill,” his clipped Russian accent was softened by the sweetness in his eyes as boyfriend #2 met my mother for the first time.
“Uh, Mom,” I interrupted as she took his hand. “This is my boyfriend, the one who lives with me.”
“Oh,” she used his hand to pull him into a hug instead, “Very nice to meet you, Kirill.” She gave me an approving look over her shoulder.
“And this is Odin,” I paused over the introduction but he smoothly stood and took over.
“I’m the next in line if Kirill ever gets the boot,” he joked and winked at her with his one good eye. “Thank you for raising such a wonderful woman, we’re all very lucky to count her as a friend.”
He stared at her a little strangely, and then I realized that this would be the first time he'd seen her since he'd put my soul into her body when she was sixteen years old. It must have been an odd feeling for him. He had lost her after the transfer and spent all this time searching for her, never finding her. Now, here she was.
“Well,” my mom actually started to blush a little. I hadn’t seen her turn red like that since she’d had a glass of wine back when I was six. “I’m glad she has such wonderful… friends to support her through this.”
“We all love her very much,” Odin nodded, then gestured to Vidar and Vali. “These are my sons, Thor, Vidar and Vali.”
Thor stepped forward and kissed my mom on the cheek, muttering something about it being nice to meet her. He must've felt awkward, meeting my mom after we had broken up.
Vidar came forward and mimicked his brother, giving his grandmother a polite peck on the cheek, even though she had no idea this was her grandson. He started to choke up and turned away suddenly. Vali covered for him, taking Mom's hand and shaking it enthusiastically, but I could see that Vidar was still disappointed. I couldn’t watch it anymore. There was enough misery going around, I wasn’t about to heap some on my son.
“Um, Mom,” I took Vidar’s hand and urged him back over. “There’s a little more to this and if anyone can understand, it’ll be you.”
“Okay,” she looked back and forth between me and Vidar, with who knows what going through her brain.
“I’ve recently discovered… no, that’s a lie. Uh, a few years ago I was attacked and I found out that the gods are really the surviving inhabitants of Atlantis. They used their advancements to prolong their lives and enhance their magic to become god-like.”
“Excuse me?” She blinked a couple of times.
“I’m not making a joke, just bear with me here,” I took another deep breath. “To sum it up really quickly, I started hunting gods because I believed they were all tricksters, bent on causing war so they could suck up the power human death brought. Then I met Thor,” I waved a hand at Thor and he nodded his head at my dumbstruck mother.
The poor woman was completely surrounded by gorgeous towering gods and her knees started to buckle a little, so I led her over to a chair. Nick jumped into her lap to lend his purring support and she distractedly started stroking him.
“So you’re saying that these Atlanteans have been causing wars so they can use the energy of all that destruction? They’ve been using us like batteries, like some kinda Matrix movie?” Her eyes had gotten pretty wide and I started having second thoughts of confessing. Maybe this wasn’t the best time for a tell-all but I took a deep breath, nodded, and continued.
“Thor showed me there were good gods too,” I still held Vidar’s hand, so I used the other to gesture at everyone
else. “We joined forces and we’ve been basically doing what we can to protect humanity. Surprise! Your little girl is Wonder Woman!”
“Vervain,” her stern look got me back on track.
“Catwoman? No, she was bad. Uh, Elektra? Yeah, she had a sword even. Okay, not the time for jokes,” I looked at Odin and there was a brightness to his eye that was threatening to overflow. “I’ve met some incredible people, a couple I’ve known before, in a past life,” I looked back at Mom, trying to gauge if she was following okay. She was, she was a little stunned but she was following. “I began to remember things, like a husband and children. The memories are vivid and shared, there’s no doubt of their accuracy. Then Odin confessed to me, we were married once and I died. He decided to bring me back, gave up his eye to do it, and put my soul in you to be born. You're kinda like the Virgin Mary, except you weren't a virgin and your name's not Mary. Oh, and you're not a Christian. Although, was Mary considered Christian when she was the one who bore Christ? Okay, I digress.” I smiled but she still wasn't in the mood for jokes so I got serious. “I'm still your daughter, I just also happen to be his wife and mother to Vidar and Vali.”
I let that sink in.
“Excuse me?” She shot up as she deposited Nick on the sofa, and glared at me.
“Mom, I’m sorry, I thought you’d understand,” I stammered. I’d never seen her so angry. “I know it’s a lot to take in but trust me, I’m not crazy. I can show you things that would blow your mind.”
“Oh, I understand alright, little girl,” she pointed an accusatory finger at me. “You just told me I’m a grandmother! I just lost my Daddy and now you tell me I'm a Grandma? A grandmother… I can’t be a grandma, I’m not old enough to be a grandma.”
“Mom,” I laughed, “technically you’re not a grandma but spiritually, I guess you’re related in a way.”
“Damn it, Vervain,” she swore and wrapped Vidar up in a big hug before moving on to Vali. To them she added, “Just don’t call me grandma.”
“Okay,” Vidar mumbled as a tear fell and I had to look away as my family was finally made whole.
“Thanks, Mom,” I cleared my throat. “You don’t know what a relief it is to tell you.”
“You could’ve told me sooner,” she eyed Odin. “So you’re not married now?”
“No, but I’ve remained faithful to her,” Odin looked so proud of his chastity that I had to suppress a giggle. “She’s still my wife in my heart and that’s all that matters to me.”
I lost the case of giggles to the shivers and my mom proved to not be immune to Odin’s romantic side either. She looked over at me, then at Kirill, and back to Odin. She shook her head like she didn’t envy me my choices.
“Why don’t you come meet Persephone.” I steered my mom over to Sephy and Hades.
My sweet spring goddess friend, wrapped my mom in an embrace like she was her own mother. If only she was, Sephy's life might have been better. The hope she always exuded, encircled Mom as well and I saw Mom's shoulders relax as she pulled back.
“This is my husband, Hades,” Sephy pulled the rather average looking man over and he shook my mom's hand with a polite smile. Thankfully he was wearing his glasses so Mom didn't have to get over the shock of seeing the fires raging behind the dark windows of his irises.
“And this is Blue,” I quickly urged my mom past the God of the Underworld.
Blue bowed gallantly over her hand and she smiled up into his jade eyes. Who could resist a tall, dark, and handsome man with green eyes? Not my mother.
“I’m Huitzilopochtli,” he grinned back at her, “but your daughter calls me Blue and I’d be pleased if you would as well.”
“Why Blue?” Mom looked back at me but Blue was the one to answer.
“It’s the way she’s left me,” he smiled mischievously at my red face. When I’d first given Blue the nickname, I told him it was the condition his balls would be in if he kept pursuing me. “I’m forever Blue without her.”
I groaned as my mother raised her eyebrows higher. “It’s a shortening of his English name, Mom.”
“Did you date him too?”
“No… well, we kind of had... I mean, oh crap,” I rolled my eyes.
“It’s a long story,” Blue drew her toward Fenrir. “Let’s just say your daughter is hard to forget. This is Fenrir, his son is currently on the outs with Vervain but they’re still bonded and normally he’d be living here as well.”
“Vervain?” Now her tone was edging toward disapproving.
“Mom, this is Fenrir,” I took her firmly away from Blue. “Fenrir, my mom, Darlyne. Mom, Fenrir’s the Wolf God of the Vikings and Trevor's his oldest son.”
“It’s a great pleasure to meet you,” Fenrir’s eyes sparkled as he looked over my mother.
“She’s married, Dad, back off,” I growled and Fenrir held up his hands with a chuckle.
“I’m sorry,” my Mom’s face looked like it didn’t know whether to be pleased by the compliment or just plain confused over the whole situation. “Did you just call him Dad?”
“Oh hell, Mom, just sit down and let me tell you all of it.”
Chapter Thirteen
Moonshine was still closed for the day but that didn’t matter when you were part owner. I unlocked the front door and led my mom in, Kirill coming up behind us. She’d insisted on meeting Trevor and seeing our club, even though Trevor wasn’t going to be too thrilled to meet her.
I locked the door behind us and escorted her through the foyer and into the main room. She stopped and looked around quietly. I couldn’t help but feel a spark of pride for my wolf… ex-wolf… Trevor. He’d done a good job with the design.
The waterfall was shut off for the day but the pond it flowed into from the second floor was still beautiful, surrounded by rocks for sitting and plants growing wild. The dance floor resembled open woodland, spotted with trees that “grew” up out of the floor and towered to the second story level, which was a wrap around loft that gave a great view of the dance floor.
A security system disguised as a moon hung from a ceiling scattered with blinking lights to resemble stars. The faux heavens normally shone down on faux grass that crept up to the edge of the dance floor, spotted with low boulders for tables and little “hills” to sit on, but the sun lamps were on for the real plants. Bright light filled the warehouse, shining on the amazing length of slate that made up the bar. Bartenders were already there tidying up and preparing for the night as a of couple waitresses ate their lunch while they swiveled on the carved stumps that served as bar stools.
Most clubs lost their magic in the light. They could be sexy and mysterious in the dark but when you turned on the light, the mystery was gone and the club was revealed for what it really was. I've stumbled out of enough clubs at 3am to know that. Moonshine, however, was just as beautiful in the harsh light of day as it was veiled in the mystery of night.
“Vervain!” Ty came bounding up and pulled me into a hug. “It’s going to be okay,” he whispered into my ear. “He loves you, he’s going crazy here without you.”
“Thanks Ty,” I pulled back and led him over to my wandering mother. She was poking at one of the fake hills that people could sit on. “This is my mom. Mom, this is Trevor’s younger brother, Ty.”
“Vervain’s mom?” Ty’s eyes got wide for a second before he swept her up into a hug. “Welcome to the pack, Mama.”
My mom laughed a little as she pulled back. “Thank you, now where’s my daughter’s… wolf… boyfriend… whatever.”
“Prince, actually,” Trevor stepped out of the doorway to his office, behind the bar. He had a guarded look, which let up only fractionally for my mother. “It’s nice to meet you Mrs…?” He gave a rueful bark of laughter. “I don’t even know your last name. How can I not know your mother’s name?” He focused on me, his eyes accusing me of something much worse.
“Trevor,” I looked at my mom and shook my head, “I think we should just go. He’s not himsel
f right now, Mom.”
“Well, no one is when they’ve had their heart stomped on,” she went over to him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “You can call me Mom. It was nice to meet you, Trevor. I’m only here for a week, so I wanted to be sure we had a talk before I left.”
“A talk?” His shocked gaze slid from her, to me, and back.
“I’ve heard about the situation,” she sent me an irritated glance and I threw my hands up in surrender. “People make mistakes, some more than others,” another look at me, “but you know our Vervain and I think you love her, maybe as much as she loves you. So it’s with absolute confidence that I say to you… when you go back to her, be good to my daughter. Because if you don't, I know a spell that can make your dick fall off.” She patted his shoulder, took my arm, and walked us to the door. “It was nice to meet you both,” she said to both Trevor and Ty's dumbstruck expressions before we left. “Your club is beautiful.”
Chapter Fourteen
When I finally crawled into bed that night, I was beyond exhausted. It was so nice to have a family member aware of my real life but catching Mom up on everything had meant long, detailed conversations on things I wasn’t entirely comfortable discussing with my mother. It was a bit of a shock to find her so accepting of my new lifestyle and even more accepting of my choice of men. The only negative thing she had to say on the subject was, “Don’t tell Grandma.” I can’t say I disagreed with her on that one.
“Tima?” Kirill woke up as I crawled under the covers.
“Hey, you,” I slid my hands up the hot skin of his arms, then framed his face for a kiss.
It was nice to have him there. Before Trevor had left, Kirill only shared our bed occasionally. He gave Trevor his space and time alone with me since he was my alpha. In Kirill’s head, being alpha gave Trevor certain inalienable rights. In my head, being alpha gave Trevor issues he’d never had before and turned him into a bit of a prick sometimes. But Kirill respected him and so he’d tried to keep his distance.