Once Upon A Midnight

by Stephanie Rowe

  As she hops on the balls of her feet, I can’t help but smile. While she is strong and maybe to some scary, she’s just adorable to me. I want to let her win, but that’s not how I roll. Have to take down my sister once again.

  “Well, bring it, Rebekah. Don’t leave me waiting,” I tease her, and she grins. An evil grin that should scare a man, but it only makes me laugh.

  “All right, Osh. Let’s go.”

  She takes a step just as I do, my hands coming out for her. But unfortunately, she’s faster, batting my hands away and swinging her leg into my ribs. I don’t even feel it, though. Her hits are like nothing more than an itch, and I know that frustrates her. She wants to take me down, she wants me to feel the pain she does when I hit her, but I don’t—and I won’t.

  The joys of not really being able to feel much of your body, since a lot of it isn’t even mine.

  We dance for a second, and when she gets too close, I see my chance, backhanding her. She doesn’t even flinch, throwing her leg into my ribs, and I know she wants me to grab it. She wants an easy takedown, but I won’t give it to her. Instead, I swing at her, but she dodges me, slamming her fist into my chest and then my jaw. Quick little shit, and while I want to laugh, I can’t because soon we are battling. While I’m fast, she’s faster, using her size as an advantage. But when my fist lands another hit to her face, I see the tears and then she is backing away.

  I know if I coddle her, she’ll kick me in the balls, so I laugh. “Aw, did that hurt?”

  I kind of wish I had coddled her because within seconds, her face turns red and then she is running at me, her foot coming toward my face. Reaching out, I take her foot, ready to flip her upside down, but she quickly flips up, wrapping her other leg around my neck. Panicking because I see the takedown coming, I let go of her leg to throw her off me, but she wraps the other one around me quickly, using the force of her upper body to flip me over onto the mat. Next thing I know, I’m landing hard against the mat as my brothers and JJ holler out in surprise.

  I would say I’m impressed, but that will have to be later. Now, I have to show this girl who is boss. I take her by the ankles, knowing she isn’t strong enough to hold them together tightly, and I easily separate them as I sit up and her eyes widen in shock. She thought she had me. Throwing her body to the mat, I dig my knee into her throat. Breathless, I say, “Done.”

  “No!” she yells defiantly as she swings at me, unable to reach me. Her face is turning red, and I want her to give in, but I won’t.

  Out of the corner of my eye, I see JJ come off the wall, his voice filling the room. “Oceanus, that’s enough.”

  I don’t let up, though. I wait, my eyes pleading with her as her face starts to turn redder and redder. Finally, she taps my knee, and I go up to my feet with ease before lifting her up. Kissing her temple, I say, “Almost had me. Surprised me, for sure.”

  She’s pouting as she gasps for breath, but she does smile a little. “I wanted to beat you.”

  “Yeah, but you won’t,” I remind her and she rolls her eyes. “But you could easily take out Jonas and Cyrus.”

  “Hey!” they complain, and I just smile, kissing her once more.

  “Proud of you.”

  She beams up at me, and I can tell that made her happy. She hates losing to me, but knowing I’m proud keeps her coming at me. I love that about her. Before she can speak, though, our father’s voice fills the room.

  “Your legs are still weak. Give it time, and you can take him down. But those hits are lacking. Maybe we should look into a new pair of arms? Bigger ones. Like Oceanus or Jonas.”

  All four of us turn, and I hear Rebekah sigh in annoyance as Cyrus complains, “Or better yet, can I get some arms since I’m so weak and all?”

  “You have good arms, you need to work them. She is weak,” Father says, pointing to Rebekah, and now I’m the one sighing in annoyance. She’s perfect the way she is. She just needs a formula that works. “She needs the extra pieces.”

  “I’m not weak, and I’m fine,” she spits back before I can.

  “Ah, we shall see. But enough for today. We have a meeting.”

  “A meeting?” she asks and, crap, I thought she knew. This won’t be good.

  As I reach for my shirt, I feel her eyes on me as she asks, “What meeting?”

  “Not you, my love. You go rest.”

  When I look back at her, she’s glaring, her shoulders back taut, the frustration coming off her in a tidal wave. She isn’t allowed to go to the family meetings. She’s too young, according to my father. But, really, he just wants to keep her in the dark because he feels it’s all too much for her. The fact that she can’t be immortal like us is enough for her to handle, no reason to give her the rest of the problems of the Patchwork. Plus, he feels she’ll get scared, and he can’t have that happen to his baby. He wants her to feel safe at all times, and I do too. But I truly believe knowledge is power, and the more she knows, the stronger she’ll be.

  Squeezing her fist, she tips her chin up. “But I want to go to the meeting. What’s the meeting about?”

  “You’re too young,” Father says, giving life to my previous thought, but I know that’s not enough for her.

  Sliding my feet into my tennis shoes, I meet her heated gaze. “It’s not a big deal. Just a matter we have to address. Stupid shifter shit,” I explain, my green eyes drilling into hers. I want her to be quiet, I don’t want her causing a fight, but even I know that is a pointless request.

  “But I want to know. When do I get to know?”

  “When you’re older,” my father says dismissively as he starts for the door, but she’s right on his heels, her hands going up in the air.

  “But Cyrus gets to go? He’s one year older than me! Plus, I’m way smarter than him, you’ve said it yourself.”

  I scoff, looking back at Cyrus, who is pulling his head out of his shirt and glaring. “Hey!”

  She isn’t lying, though, she’s a very smart girl, Cyrus…well, he’s good at other things. That’s why we’ve always said, “Thank God Cyrus is pretty.”

  Before I can razz him any, my father is speaking again, and I look up as Rebekah’s body flushes with exasperation. “It’s nothing that concerns you. The boys, yes, because they fight for this family—”

  “Then let me fight!” she yells, and I shake my head. I appreciate her tenacity, I do, but I need her to be immortal before she fights. She could take down armies of people, I know she can, but one stick of a blade in her heart and it’s over. Her heart beats loudly, ours don’t. Until her heart matches ours, she can’t fight for this family. No matter how much she wants to.

  “So you can die? No, I love you more than that. Now, go on.”

  “No! I want to be involved. I want to feel included. I’m always locked away, I never get to do anything. Be a part of anything. Father, let me be a part of this family,” she implores, and while I agree it’s not fair, I don’t understand how she doesn’t get that we are trying to protect her.

  “You are,” he stresses, and I can see the pain on his face. He loves us epically, but especially her. I know he feels like a failure when it comes to the baby of this family. He feels he should be able to save her, and he hasn’t been able to yet and it weighs heavy on his heart. I’ve offered to take over everything so he can focus on just her, but Father won’t budge.

  And while my offer may be for my own selfish reasons, I also want my sister to be immortal like us. I hate seeing her struggling.

  “But we have to protect you,” he reminds her, and I suck in a deep breath. She doesn’t like being babied.

  “No, you don’t. I can protect myself. I am a part of this family, yes? I’m an adult. Let me be involved.” She crosses her arms over her chest as his gaze holds hers. “You don’t let me do anything. I don’t go to meetings, I don’t get to go out, and it’s not right. Especially when the boys get to do whatever they want.”

  She has a point, but again, it is pointless. He won’t
let her go until she is immortal. It’s that simple. Coming up behind her, I place my hand on the small of her back. She flinches a little, ready for the fight, until she sees it’s me. She then calms a bit, her eyes hopeful as I meet my father’s annoyed gaze. “Father, if I may, I feel she’s at the age where she can handle everything. She’s smarter than all of us and just as strong. I feel it may be time to allow her in on some things.”

  She beams at me while Jonas nods. “And let’s be honest, she’ll get in there and get bored. So really, let’s just entertain her.

  She glares back at Jonas as he wraps his arm around her, kissing her temple.

  Clearing his throat, Cyrus adds, “She’s part of this family, and since she is part of the threat, she needs to know.”

  “Threat?” Rebekah asks, concern bubbling in her voice, and my eyes drift shut. This is what we wanted to protect her from. All the bad in the world. Our world. Well, maybe not the whole world, just the damn Kelleys, the shifter clan. “What threat?”

  Letting out an annoyed breath, Father shakes his head. “To my office.”

  With that and the winning grin on my sister’s face, I know she has won.

  Which means I guess it’s time to let her in on the dealings of the Patchwork.

  I just hope she can handle it.

  Chapter Four

  My father’s office always reminds me of the office from The Godfather.

  Sometimes I feel like I’ll walk in here and see Don Vito Corleone behind the desk, that’s how much it reminds me of the film. It’s very old and rustic. Full of all the treasures my father has collected over the many years of his life. It’s almost like stepping back in time, and while my siblings might like it, I don’t. I like the modern look more, or maybe it’s because this room just reminds me of the old rules, the old way, and I’m ready for the new way. I’m ready for a new Patchwork.

  One I’ll run.

  But alas, I haven’t found the Godfather behind the desk, only my father, someone who instills fear in almost everyone he meets. Mostly because he looks like he has one foot in the grave. He’s ancient, looks almost mummified. Very Tales of the Crypt, which is why everyone is scared to talk to him. Not me, though. I’m not scared of him. Not as a person. But his power…that’s a whole other story.

  While I’m scared of it, I want it. I want to be the king he isn’t, and I will be. I’m just not sure when since I was actually already supposed to be in command. When my name day came—we call it the Ceremony of the Patchwork—it was said I would take over command on my twenty-fifth birthday. Father figured by then he would be ready to retire. To my dismay, he also had put in the contract in very small print that it was up to him if he was ready to step down. No one else. Just him, and because of that, I just celebrated my twenty-sixth birthday, and I’m still not in command.

  Bullshit.

  I sit down first around the round table that is positioned to the left of my father’s desk in his big office. While the office is old, it’s not small. There are three rooms connected as one. To the left of the round table is also a large library, then his actual office, and then his sitting room for when he needs to think. I don’t want this office when I take over, but that’s something I’ll worry about when it’s time.

  Cyrus and Jonas sit first, with JJ and then Rebekah right behind them. She positions herself beside me with an almost scared look on her face. She’s probably tormenting herself about the threat thing, and I hate that Cyrus said something. I wish she wasn’t even here, but then no one would get any peace. The poor girl is always locked away; she needs to be involved, no matter how much that scares me.

  As I watch my father sit, he doesn’t do so smoothly. His movements are jerky before he folds his old, leathery hands together and his eyes scan the room. The scars are very prominent on his face and hands. All the experiments he did on himself are visible, along with the scar tissue that is ancient and freakish on him. While his eyes are bright, from the new pair he just obtained, he looks like death. And tired. Very tired.

  Clearing his throat, he lets his gaze fall on me, and I meet it head on.

  “I had a meeting with Kurt Conner.”

  Kurt Conner.

  The pack leader of the wolves.

  My love’s father.

  Clearing my throat, I sit up straighter as my forearms lay against the cool top of the old oak table. Before I can comment, though, he is going on. “He needed a loan for the wedding of Taegan.”

  What?

  My world stops.

  I feel all eyes on me. My father is staring at me, waiting for a response, but I don’t have one.

  Because what the actual fuck is going on?

  Did I hear him wrong?

  “A wedding?”

  “Yeah, she is marrying some other pack leader’s son—you know how those wolves are. Wanting to unite families with arranged marriage and all that wolfish nonsense, I don’t know. But I didn’t give him the money until—”

  “Until?” I gasp, my heart in my throat, my stomach on the ground, and every piece of me feeling as if I am falling into the fiery depths of hell because surely I am hearing my father wrong.

  Taegan is to marry me.

  “He offered up some information on Frank Kelley—”

  “He hasn’t died yet?” Jonas asks, and I know it’s to give me time. To let me think, to let me process, but I can’t. Taegan is to marry someone else? She didn’t even tell me. We were together last night! Had she known? Was she playing me? Damn it, what the hell? How could she allow me to find out this way? I mean, I knew my time was running out, but hell, did she keep this from me? I’ve never experienced heartache or true heartbreak, but I’m pretty sure this feeling of my chest caving in and blowing up is just that.

  She’s marrying someone else?

  She isn’t waiting for me?

  Gasping for breath as I try to push the bile back down my throat, I watch as my father shakes his head. “Not yet. And apparently, they are wanting to attack us in one more attempt to get the formula for him. They think they can kidnap Rebekah and use her as leverage.”

  I feel Rebekah move as she squeaks. “Me?”

  “You. So we are on high alert. Keep your eyes open, and, Rebekah, I don’t want you working at the bar until this is taken care of. I have a meeting with Frank Kelley on Friday.”

  “Father, I’m fine at the bar. It’s owned by our family, most of our family is there, along with JJ. The Kelleys don’t even come that much.”

  “Yes, but other families come to the bar, and that makes me uncomfortable.”

  “I’m fine, I can take care of myself.”

  He leans on his desk, and I don’t care about their melodrama. I can’t. Even though I know I should intervene, calm both sides—because my father is right, we need to keep Rebekah underground while this goes on—I can’t help but think of the fact that my love is marrying another. Someone other than me. How in the world is this fair? Why didn’t she fight them? She told me she was mine, and I was hers. Why didn’t she wait for me?

  And then it’s like I’m being slapped back into reality.

  She didn’t wait for me because we can’t.

  We can’t be selfish and love each other because we have commitments to our families. Yes, we love each other. Yes, she is my world, and I’ll love only her. But just like I have to, she has to protect her family. I’m sure there is something more to this, and while I wish she had told me, I know I can’t be upset. I have to respect the process of our families.

  Being the eldest, we have no choice.

  We don’t get to be greedy.

  Wow, I don’t even believe I’m trying to convince myself.

  How could she?

  Clearing my throat free of the emotion that wants to escape, I look up and pray I don’t look affected as I say, “Maybe we should take turns on her shifts to be there, help JJ out. Not that he needs the help,” I add when JJ scoffs at me. “She loves working, Father. She can’t be locked up, and w
e also can’t have the Kelleys knowing that we know of their plans. You know it’s unwise for them to know the wolves are working with us.”

  I feel Rebekah staring at me, along with my brothers, but my eyes are trained on my father’s. I won’t seem weak in front of him. Love makes you weak, and though I want to succumb to it, I can’t. I will lead this family, this community, and I’ll do it with fucking grace. I wanted Taegan by my side, but that isn’t attainable now. She has betrayed me, and that’s fine. I’ll move on.

  Or try to, at least.

  Who the hell am I kidding?

  Leaning back in his chair, Father watches me as I clear my throat, and I quickly form a plan in my head. My father has always complimented me on the way I can make a plan on the fly. It’s who I am, a quick thinker, and while I don’t want to deal with all this, I know I have to. I have to protect my family.

  No matter if my heart is slowly but surely breaking in my chest.

  “You take Rebekah out from behind the bar, everyone will know something is wrong. It will bring attention. It would be best to leave things as they are. We’ll be there, won’t we?” I say then to Cyrus and Jonas.

  They both agree as Father slowly draws in a breath. “Always fighting for her.”

  And I will until my last day. Whenever that is. I nod. “I love her.”

  “We all do, which is why nothing will happen to her,” Jonas adds. I don’t doubt that everyone loves Rebekah, or each other, but for some reason, I can’t appreciate that right now. As much as I wish it weren’t, my mind is still revolving around the issue of Taegan and her father asking mine for money for her wedding. Her father wants to take my love from me and then expect my family to pay for it.

  What a douche.

  “Did you give Conner the money?”

  Meeting my gaze, my father nods. “Yes.”

  My stomach just collapses on itself as I croak out, “Taegan is to marry, then?”

  The silence is so thick in the room as my father’s gaze bores into mine. I can feel the tension, especially Rebekah’s. Her heart is breaking for me. I don’t want her sympathy, nor anyone else’s. I will get through this; I’ll just be fucking pissed and heartbroken. Not that anyone else will know. No. No one will know. “I guess, but why that matters is beyond me. This infatuation you have with her is not to be given light. It would never work.”