by Kim Faulks
Movement at my side drew my gaze. A tiny hand slipped into mine.
“Ander,” Shelly called as she grasped my finger.
I dropped to my knee and held open my arms. “Not Ander, Victor.”
“Water,” she answered and smiled, and then raised her head to the sparkling night sky. “Water.”
She was warm and soft, smelled like summer rain and fresh grass. She grasped my arm and heaved her tiny body onto the end of my knee, balancing with gangly legs and a bony ass that found all the tender points on my thigh.
“Water,” she demanded.
I couldn’t help but smile and pointed to the sky. “No clouds, only stars.”
But there was no appeasing the little shifter. “Water.”
I closed my eyes and searched the heavens. I’d made it snow for Odessa, enough to cover our tracks and keep her safe. But the Tormentor was no magician.
Still I sent out the call.
The least we can do is give them snow.
The low growl echoed through my head, and I waited. The breeze came from nowhere, whipping her curls into the air. I dropped my head and whispered. “Looks like the Dragon heard you.”
Her eyes were alight, lips parted for a second before the smile took hold. “Water,” she murmured and turned her face to the wind.
I held her gently under her arms and stood. She wrapped her arms around my waist and held on as the wind howled through the mountain…with an icy bite. The first flakes of sleet hit her cheek. She reached up and wiped the half-frozen flake and whispered. “Water.”
I carried her into the house and lowered her feet to the floor as I entered the lounge room. She took off with a squeal, skipping to where the other kids yanked low branches of the pine tree, casting fine green needles everywhere.
She held out her finger…but the barely frozen flake was gone. One little boy craned his neck to stare, and then returned to the destruction a second later.
Still the magic remained. She turned, giving me her perfect smile and I couldn’t help but feel I was the one who’d received the gift.
“Have you seen Abrial and Odessa?” Marcus growled and scanned the room.
I shook my head and then remembered. “Odessa said something about Gunny wiring lights for the tree. I’m sure they’re all together.”
Marcus’s brow narrowed, and a nerve twitched at the corner of his eye. “They seem to be spending a lot of time together, even Xael’s taken a shine to the human.”
“I dunno if you’ve noticed a change in Gunny, or your brother. But I think you’ll find that she’s now anything but human.”
He flinched and wrenched his gaze toward me. “What do you mean?”
“Are you telling me you’ve been so consumed with pack business that you’ve lost sight of your own brothers? Look at him, look at her. She isn’t just a human, Marcus. She’s Evander’s mate, she’s part of his power.”
He stared at me with an empty gaze, and for the first time I saw the strain in his eyes. “You’re taking on too much. Share the load, let us help you.”
His shoulders slumped with a ragged exhale.
One slow nod answered for me. I clapped him on the shoulder. “Let’s go find these women, I bet the damn lights are tangled and they can’t find the end.”
We left behind the kids and the racket and headed for the hallway. The study door was closed, music played inside, but that wasn’t where we were heading.
I wrapped my knuckles on the wooden door of Xael’s room and turned the handle.
Gunny, Abrial, Odessa, and Maddy sat crossed legged on the ground in a circle. Through the gaps, I caught sight of the tangle of blue and yellow wires. I knew it…knew they needed us to help.
Gunny raised her head as we entered. Still she never turned. She never stopped speaking. “It’s coated the material, so it’s less sensitive to shock and heat. You can see it’s very pliable, so you can mold it into any shape you need. You can even slice bits off and use it that way.”
The grin wavered on my face. I took a step closer…slice bits off?
“So this is connected with your detonation device here and your housing component, here. It’s really all you need to set off a nice explosion. It’s safe to handle like this when they’re separate, but you need to be careful once you’ve wired them all up.”
My step stilled, and the ground seemed to fall away. I heard Gunny talk about wiring something up…I tried to swallow.
Wiring something up? It wasn’t lights, and these women didn’t need us at all.
“You mind? Get out of the freaking way, Victor.”
I was shoved from behind, and stumbled against the wall as Xael shouldered her way through. “Sorry I’m late…I…”
I raised my gaze with the sting of anger on my tongue, and then saw what had happened to my Scorpio sister.
All heads turned. The room fell silent. Red sparkling streamers were woven through the strands of her midnight hair. A green garland hung around her neck. Tiny snowmen hung from her ears, one flickered, alight from the inside. A faint buzz and the smell of burning plastic followed.
“You look fucking ridiculous.”
My stomach dropped like a rock. I died a little inside. I shifted my gaze to where Gunny massaged a nice healthy chunk of C-4 and grinned up at my sister.
They didn’t need us…they didn’t need us at all.
My feet wouldn't move, weighed down by the fear of detonation that would surely come. I dragged one foot behind me, and followed with the other, until I hit a wall. I turned and stared at my brother’s frozen gaze staring at the bomb.
“Leave,” I growled as desperation took flight. “Move, Marcus. Move!”
I barged and shoved my eldest brother toward the doorway.
Five very capable women and explosives weren’t a good combination in anyone’s damn book.
5
Christmas Eve
The kids were slow to wake. The adults even slower. I stalked around the icy mansion with its crumbling walls and overflowing rooms and took in the magnitude of what we had. Bodies lay spread-eagle on the lounge room floor, some curled up to another for warmth.
Faint orange embers glowed from the dying fire. I stepped over arms and legs to get to the hearth and smelled the frigid touch of snow in the air. I stoked the fire and blew the embers into a flame, making sure the wood was alight before adding more.
Movement at the corner of the room caught my focus. I turned as Shelly stumbled, rubbing her eyes with sleep. I held out my arms. She bounded and stumbled like a young gazelle finding its feet until I captured her and lifted.
“You know what?” I whispered and took a step toward the plywood door. “I think I know what’s outside.”
The cold seeped through the gaps, biting my fingers as I reached for the handle. I gripped the door, shoved, and blinked into the glare of white. A squeal tore from the toddler in my arms to pierce the air.
I smiled and glanced over my shoulders to where the others tossed and moaned before yanking the door closed behind me. Snow came in slanted drifts from the sky, blocking out the sun, blocking out everything but the first one hundred feet of trees.
“Water,” Shelly cried and kicked her legs desperate to get down.
I held her tight, riding the hurricane as she thrashed in my arms. “It’s too cold. You’ll freeze your little feet. Look, it’s coming to you.” I held out my palm and watched a flake hit my skin.
She followed, lifting her chubby palm to the sky. Cold kissed the tips of her fingers, stealing her breath. But delight ignited in her eyes as she turned to me with a breathless whisper. “Water.”
The door opened with a creak. A familiar touch skirted my waist and kissed my back. I lifted my arm and Odessa snuggled in tight right where she belonged.
“It’s beautiful, Victor. Thank you…and on Christmas Eve too.”
Snowflakes soaked perfect curls. I swiped the trickle from Shelly’s face. “Come on, you. That’s enough for now. We’l
l get you rugged up and you can go out later with the others.”
We headed inside where the fire crackled and warm bodies sat up bleary-eyed and filled with questions.
One of the boys stared at Shelly as her feet hit the floor. “What’s going on?”
“It’s snowing,” Odessa whispered. “Lots and lots of snow ready for Christmas.”
His eyes widened, sleep was shoved to the side. “Really?”
She smiled and nodded. “Yes really. And look at all the presents under the tree.”
I glanced to the ground. White snowmen wrapping paper peeked from under the green. The sparse presents were scattered in an attempt to fill the space. But none of that mattered. Not to him, and not to Shelly.
She squatted in front, legs splayed, staring at the boxes while the others woke around her. I backed away leaving them to wake, wonder and smile.
“We’re going to have a feast tomorrow,” Abrial stepped around to watch the children. “We’ve got more than enough to last us for the next few days. Gunny’s team’s on their way. In fact, they should be almost here and they’re bringing Zadoc and Joslyn with them.”
“All the family together at last,” Odessa said and reached out to touch her newfound sister. “I never thought I’d have this…you.”
Abrial moved closer, wrapping her arms around the lone wolf. Separated at birth, it’d taken the death of their blood father to bring them together, now nothing would tear them apart.
Breakfast was slow, midmorning came. The only ones buzzing were the kids. No one mentioned the drive last night. We ate, drank, and talked while the kids dressed in layers and played out in the snow.
The day passed without so much as a whisper, until the wind died down and the faint traces of night closed in.
The slam of a door turned Abrial’s head. Outside, the black hole of nothing swarmed to fill the space. There was nothing around him. No life I could feel. The darkness that’d followed him from the demon world consumed everything and everyone, and left Zadoc with nothing more than a shell.
Footsteps sounded. Gunny came into view, striding for the front door. The lock snapped. Wood scraped as she wrenched the handle. “Jesus, what the fuck, Alpha?”
“What are you bitching about already? I brought a seven course meal.”
I turned my head as the thick chested Marine strode through. His hard eyes missed nothing. A curt nod followed. I echoed the same sentiment back as the rest of Gunny’s team followed him inside. In his hand was a six-pack of beer, and in the other a half-consumed burger.
“A seven course meal, huh?” she growled.
He raised the beer, and then the mess in his hand. “A six-pack and a burger, seven course meal.”
“You’re pathetic, you know that.” She shook her head, her lips curving at the edges. “You’re gonna turn into a damn cat lady if you keep this shit up. Ace, Irwin, couldn’t you talk some sense into him?”
Ace moved slow, hobbling into the room, one slow hitch at a time. His body was covered with scrapes and bandages; the side of his face was mottled with deep purple bruises. The faint spark of agony was seared into his eyes. I’d seen that look before…in my own kin when Zadoc was taken. “Don’t look to me. I got enough problems with Martha fucking Stewart here.”
Shopping bags beat against the wall as Irwin burst in, arms laden. He stopped, craned his head toward Gunny. There was a moment of pure terror in his eyes, until she stepped forward and grabbed the Marine in an awkward embrace and took the bags from one hand.
“Merry Christmas, Gunny,” Irwin murmured.
She eased backwards. “You too, Martha.”
“Alpha.” Evander strode forward, arms out. Hard chests hit with a brunt, a slap followed.
“Brother, it’s good to see you,” the former Marine growled.
“This is my brother Victor, and Odessa his mate.” Evander beamed as he made the introductions.
Gunny followed Irwin into the kitchen, and there was nothing but a clear run outside.
I moved to the doorway, drawn by something bigger and darker than the hole in the center of my chest. Car doors slammed, low voices echoed. I stepped out and searched the cars. He slunk out from the rear of the Jeep, head down, long hair now shaven close to his scalp.
He never raised his head, never looked me in the eye—only waited while Joslyn followed him with tense shoulders and clenched fists.
She grazed his arm and then slid her hand into his, defusing the walking, ticking bomb that’d become my brother.
I took a step closer as he neared. “Zadoc. It’s good to see you brother.”
He raised his head. Cold, obsidian eyes met mine. There was no life, there was no recognition, only an emptiness that reached down to the bowels of his soul.
“We’re not having a good day today.” Joslyn gripped his arm and leaned in to kiss his shoulder. “But that’s okay, because we’re here and this is our family.”
Her detached words held little truth. They were here in body, but in spirit, they were trapped back in the demon world with nothing but pain and terror waiting for them.
“I’m glad you’re here. Everyone’s wait—”
“Joslyn.”
I turned my head catching the young deputy stumble toward her. The warning growl that echoed from my brother made Goulding freeze. He stared at Zadoc, and then at his sister. “I’m not going to hurt her. She’s my sister.”
Joslyn rubbed my brother’s arm. “It’s okay, Finn’s not going to hurt me.”
I flinched at his name and muttered. “Finn, huh? Didn’t even know that was your name.”
“You never asked,” the former deputy shot back. “Is it okay if I give my sister a hug? I only saw her for a few minutes when we…”
“When they found us, Zadoc. Finn was there when they found us. Don’t you remember Marcus and Victor? Do you remember?” she murmured and took a step toward her brother.
The growl continued, never growing in pitch. He wasn’t just warning. He was marking his territory. Joslyn took it all in her stride taking slow steps.
Goulding’s eyes drifted to her stomach. “I can’t get over…it’s only been weeks.”
“Weeks for you. A lifetime for us,” she answered and opened her arms.
Goulding called her his little sister, said she’d been eighteen when she disappeared only a few months pregnant. But this woman looked older, and her belly bigger than the four months of her pregnancy she should’ve been.
For time moved differently in the demon world. Two weeks here, seven months in the demon world.
Goulding wrapped his arms carefully around her shoulders and drew her close keeping one eye on Zadoc. “We’ll get through this. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you safe.”
“Zadoc, Joslyn. I’m so glad you’re here.”
My stomach clenched as Odessa shot past.
“Odessa, no!” I clawed the air and skimmed her shoulder. But she was gone, lost to the towering male.
Dark eyes sought her out. White teeth glistened under the curl of bloodless lips.
“You know me, listen to my voice. You know me Dragon. Search your mind.” Odessa whispered.
The threatening sound tapered off. Zadoc blinked and focused on Odessa.
She nodded and took another step closer. “That’s the way, remember me.”
She touched his arm. He jolted at the connection. The deep draw of a breath was like a gust of wind. And just like that my brother returned.
Odessa moved closer and wrapped her arms around his body. “I’m glad you’re here. It’s important that you come.”
I shuddered, and clenched my fists as Zadoc followed Joslyn and Goulding toward me. I reached out squeezing his shoulder as he walked past, still there was no affection, in this moment we were no more than strangers.
Footsteps echoed, voices fought for space. I stared up at the darkening snow-choked sky. You returned him to us, and for that, I’ll be forever in your debt. But, please Goddess, let him be
okay, give us the brother we need.
The howling wind answered. I waited for more. I needed more. But in this moment there was no more I could do.
I turned and headed for the house, closing the cold outside, and breathed in the warmth of the fire. Laughter broke out, cries of happiness at the sight. Xael tore through the middle, squeezing between wolves and humans to lunge.
She hit Zadoc hard and wrapped her arms around him tight. There was a second when he stood there stunned, until he glanced to Joslyn at his side. She smiled and nodded, and then turned back to Ace as he handed her a glass of juice.
But all eyes were on brother and sister. All breaths silent. Zadoc lifted his hand, thick fingers skimmed her long black hair, still she held on until slowly he wrapped his arms around her and gripped her tight, burying his face in her hair.
“Don’t ever do that again,” she growled. I caught the hitch in her words. “Don’t you ever leave me again.”
And those in the room breathed a sigh of relief.
“Food, drink. It’s Christmas Eve for Christ’s sake,” Alpha growled.
Movement at the edge of the room turned heads. Irwin toppled in carrying a platter with the biggest ham I’d ever seen. Others followed behind him carrying bowls with mashed potatoes and beans.
“What the fuck are you wearing?” Alpha stared at the red and white checkered apron. “Is that lace? Please tell me that’s not fucking lace.”
Heat raced to Irwin’s face. His brow narrowed, still the communications expert never missed a step. “It was the only one I could find. I didn’t want to ruin my clothes.”
“Leave him alone. He looks stunning.” Gunny punched her second in command in his shoulder. “Add a little lipstick and some stockings to cover up all that hair and he’d make someone a lovely wife someday.”
The room broke out with laughter, even the wolves giggled as they milled around the table. Plates banged, cutlery clashed. A steady stream of platters hit the tables. I took my seat next to Odessa and felt her hand slide against my thigh. She smiled and nodded.