by Montana Ash
Max thought back over the last few months and everything her paladins had found out about the man. She hadn’t wanted to believe he was on their side or that he had been working tirelessly behind the scenes for half a century to try and aid the chades. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to like him, it was that she was afraid to. But on the eve of battle, holding onto her fears and her resentment seemed like such a waste of energy. Taking a deep breath, she asked;
“Do you want to be?”
Mordecai looked startled, “I’m sorry, what?”
She kept looking straight ahead – her courage only went so far, “You said you were not a father. But if you could be, would you want that?”
Mordecai coughed and cleared his throat, making no move to look at her either, and for some reason, that made her smile. Perhaps they had more in common than she thought.
“I cannot think of anything in this world I want more.”
The words, spoken with strength, rang with truth and Max felt her body flush with warmth as she accepted for the very first time that the black-haired man sitting next to her on the beach was her father. And that meant … “Holy shit! I’m half Scottish!”
Her outburst caused Mordecai to collapse into a fit of spontaneous laughter and she couldn’t help chuckling along with him. She thought, as far as fathers went, hers was pretty dashing. Although, all the comments Diana and Cali made about how good looking he was and how they bet he was a wizard between the sheets, now made Max gag.
“So, you really didn’t know about me, huh?” Max asked, at length.
“I knew you’d been made – of course,” came Mordecai’s quiet admission. “But I had no idea where you were. Your mother – Dana – never returned to me, no matter how much I cursed, begged, bribed, or cried.”
“But you searched for me?” She pressed. Now that they had acknowledged each other, she felt desperate to know she had been wanted. She had always believed she had been dumped like a piece of unwanted trash. But then, what was she supposed to think? She had been a teenager with no memory and no name.
“I searched for you, Max. For years and years, I searched night and day for you. There was nothing. No proof you ever existed. But I knew you must, somewhere or in some time, you must exist. The look on Dana’s face that morning …” Mordecai’s hand shook as he covered his mouth. “We both knew what we’d done. But still – no proof.”
Mordecai turned to face her, his green eyes earnest, “No proof, until eleven months ago when a surly life paladin contacted his local warden council to declare that a lost warden had been found. But not just any warden, no, a female life warden. A combination so precious and rare that we only have two in society now. I can’t say for sure why the mention of you caught my interest, other than the strange circumstances of your past, but I pressed Garrett for more details immediately. One look at the lodgement form Ryker had completed and dutifully reported to us at the IDC had my heart stopping in my chest.”
His eyes roved her face keenly as he continued, “You look so much like your mother with that heart-shaped face and wild red hair. Your hair is darker of course and your eyes such an otherworldly turquoise, where hers were a unique blend of blue, green, and grey. Despite those differences, I knew I was looking at the face of my daughter for the very first time. I mean – I’m sorry – I didn’t mean to call you my – I know I don’t have that right –”
Max raised her hand to cut off his stuttered apology, “It’s okay. Didn’t we just go over this? I think it’s time we cut each other some slack, don’t you?”
Mordecai hesitated but Max knew it wasn’t because of anything to do with her. No, the guilt and regret he carried around was like a heavy cloak on his shoulders. She had deliberately never looked at him before – all those insecurities of hers had not allowed for it. But she had limited time now and seeing his soul was a handy little shortcut to getting to know the man behind the Scottish accent.
Opening up her second sight, or third sight, or whatever the hell it was, she was immediately greeted by an almost pure gold version of Mordecai. It was see-through but did not waver, flicker, or flash in and out like many of the other elemental souls did. Probably because death was such an inevitable and permanent part of the world. The figure that smiled at her was in no way expressionless or impassive as the man often portrayed himself. It was happy and handsome and filled with life of all things. But what really had her gasping was the almost solid gold thread, interspersed with colours, leading directly to her.
For whatever reason, Max could not see her own body-double. Nor could she see the life-threads that bound her to people, places, and things like she could with everyone else. She could see the link her paladins had to her, and the exquisite white and violet thread that came from Ryker and followed her wherever she went. But she was never the place of origin. Seeing the pretty gold and rainbow rope linking her and Mordecai together, proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that this man was her father – had always considered himself her father – and had very likely loved her from the moment he knew she had been created.
“Well, fuck me dead,” she murmured.
“Excuse me?!”
Mordecai’s shocked voice penetrated her daze and she felt herself blushing for the first time in years. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to say that out loud. It’s just – your soul …”
Mordecai raised his eyebrows and glanced next to him where Max was looking, “You’re looking at my soul?”
Max held up her thumb and forefinger, “Maybe just a little.”
“That’s kind of weird,” he admitted, shifted a little uncomfortably.
Max laughed, the man having surprised her. “It is weird! Thank you! That’s what I think too!”
Mordecai smiled, looking relieved that he hadn’t offended her. “So, is there anything else you’d like to ask me?”
She thought about that for a moment, knowing her questions were limitless but that their time was not. So she asked the one question she was most curious about; “What was she like? Mother Nature?”
Mordecai leaned forward, his arms resting on his bent knees. “She was funny, smart, beautiful. You favour her.”
Max sighed, “I’ll have to take your word for it. I don’t remember her. Well, I don’t remember anything before I woke on the streets.”
Mordecai nodded, “I’m not surprised. I think you must have no memory of your childhood because you weren’t here for it – on Earth I mean,” he clarified. “I think you must have been raised in Otherworld by your mother.”
“Huh?” Max asked, a little stupidly.
“I had a lot of time to think about it and it makes the most sense. I believe your mother had you in her world and raised you there for the first few years of your life. And then when you were old enough, you were brought here,” Mordecai offered an explanation for Max’s lack of memory and also existence before she woke up on the streets.
“So what? I turn sweet sixteen and she dumps me on Earth with nothing but a comfy tracksuit? That’s pretty shitty.” Max stated.
Mordecai chuckled but the sound held no mirth, “It is pretty shitty. And so was the reason you were made.”
Max could see the guilt on Mordecai’s face. In fact, she could taste it, it was so intense and bitter. But she knew it wasn’t his fault. She didn’t even blame her mother. Fate sometimes just was. “I’m sorry, Mordecai. I’ve been a real bitch to you.”
Mordecai was already shaking his head. “No –”
“Yes. I have. I’m not saying I wasn’t entitled to, mind you. I think you’ve earned a little bitchiness. But right now, on the eve of a literal war, I really wish I had taken the time to get to know you. Not as a warden, not as an ally. But as a father.”
Mordecai’s eyes turned a little misty, “I wish that too. But there will be plenty of time for that after this mess gets taken care of.”
Max felt her gut clench but she didn’t dispute his words. Instead she asked, “Will you do something for me?”
>
“Of course,” he immediately answered. “Anything.”
“After today, will you stay here?”
He looked confused by her request. “Stay here?”
Max avoided his penetrating eyes, looking back toward the ocean, “Yes. Stay right here, with your paladins, in my home.”
“For how long?” Mordecai was frowning.
“For as long as it takes,” she told him, not offering any more information. “Max …”
His voice sounded worried but she steeled herself against it. “Just promise me you’ll stay with them. Don’t ask any more questions. Just promise.”
“I promise.”
Max blew out a breath at the softly spoken words. She knew he meant them and she felt one small burden lift from her shoulders. Now, she just had one more promise to eke out. She just hoped the person she needed to talk to was no longer getting her brains screwed out.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Cali was getting her brains screwed out, she thought, as Dex powered into her. She was lying on the edge of their bed, with Dex standing next to it, holding her hips as he tortured her with his amazing body. She had to admit, it was the perfect position for her to be able to be flat on her back and yet still be able to wrap her legs around his waist like she loved to do.
“Damn,” Dex’s soft hiss, had Cali clenching once more.
She knew she was pushing him to the brink of his control – and she loved it. Dex had spent half the night worshiping her body, taking her to the edge of release, only to pull back. He would calm her pounding pulse and quivering muscles with soft words and soothing strokes, only to start his erotic torture all over again. Two hours. It had been two hours before he had allowed her to finally come. She had pretty much passed out after that, only to wake up satisfied but in no way satiated.
Hence, their current bout of love-making. Dex reached down to pluck at her sensitive nipples, making her gasp and arch. Since the pregnancy, everything had become more sensitive – a fact Dex was well and truly taking advantage of. Cali flexed her hips, feeling her ankles dig into Dex’s fabulous arse, and felt a flush start to take over her body. Cali knew it wouldn’t be long for her now and she wanted her man right there with her. Reaching a hand down between their bodies took some manoeuvring considering the small obstacle in her way, but she managed it. On Dex’s next retreat, she gripped his slick cock and squeezed.
Dex yelled Cali’s name so loud, she wondered if the Great Mother had heard him in Otherworld. He then slammed into her, his hips losing their usual perfect rhythm as he sought his release. All smug thoughts of a job well done fled, as Cali was forced to surrender to her own body’s pleasure.
Several breathless minutes followed, before Dex hiked Cali back up the bed. She rolled onto her side, unconcerned with her nakedness, as she admired her chaden. She loved the way his arse flexed as he walked and she found herself entranced by the divots in his butt cheeks when he twisted his body to search for some clean clothes.
“Are you fucking me with your eyes again?” he asked her, mildly, not looking in her direction.
“You bet I am,” she confirmed, putting her fingers between her teeth and releasing a loud wolf-whistle.
Dex laughed at her, his irises lightening almost to the original hazel they were before he became ill. “You’re so damn pretty.”
Dex snorted, sitting on the side of the bed, “You’re the pretty one. All round and beautiful, growing our child.”
Dex bent down to press a soft kiss against her abdomen and Cali blinked back the tears in her eyes. “I love you so much,” she told him.
“I know. I love you too,” Dex replied, kissing her on her lips this time, but with equal gentleness. When he pulled back, Cali could see worry in his eyes.
“Cali, I wanted to talk to you about tomorrow,” he began.
Cali felt her loose muscles tense up. She knew where this conversation was headed. “Dex. We agreed on this,” she remined him.
“I understand your dedication to your liege. Trust me, I do. And I know Max is your priority. She’s my priority too. But she’s no longer the only one,” Dex said, firmly.
Cali placed her hands over her stomach, feeling Hitch kick happily. “I know,” she responded. “I’ll talk to her,” Cali promised.
As it turned out, she didn’t need to go in search of her liege, because after a much-needed shower, Max was waiting at their bedroom door.
“Have you two stopped fucking yet?” Max asked, smirking at Dex and Cali, where Dex had been giving Cali a goodbye kiss on the way out.
Cali pushed Dex out the rest of the way and dragged her friend inside instead. “Yes. We’ve finished. Not like you and the Captain weren’t trying to break some land-speed records yourself this morning,” Cali muttered.
Max laughed, not bothering to deny it, and eyed the bed dubiously, “I’ll sit over here, I think.”
Cali laughed as Max made her way over to the rocking chair in the corner. With only a couple of months left before Hitch made his appearance, they had begun to buy things and set up the nursery. Poor Axel had once again been forced to move rooms, as Cali and Dex claimed Darius’s old suite on the top floor. The room was large with an attached study that was perfect for the baby. It would also afford them all some privacy so when the baby cried half the night, the rest of the house wouldn’t be disturbed.
Hitch chose that moment to make himself known, “Easy there, my little man,” Cali crooned, running a soothing hand over the thumping fists and knees inside her. Max bounced up and placed her hands on Cali’s tummy, smiling with love and adoration as she felt the precious bumps. The kicks and jabs eventually tapered off and Cali smiled, thinking her baby was the best behaved baby in the whole world; he already listened to his mum. She knew it was total crap of course. If the little tyke turned out anything like her, they were all going to be screwed.
Max was pouting because Hitch had stopped moving and Cali knew her – and the rest of the softies in the house – loved feeling him move. Shifting gears so she wouldn’t become victim to Max poking her in the tummy to get Hitch moving again, Cali asked, “What brings you here?”
Max sighed, “Cali, I need you to do something for me.”
“Of course, Max,” Cali promptly answered her liege.
“Tomorrow, when we bundle ourselves off to war? I need you to stay here.”
“Yeah, right,” she snorted. Cali knew she and Dex had literally just had the same discussion but hearing Max telling her she couldn’t go, had Cali’s soldier instincts kicking in.
“I’m serious, Cali. You’re not coming with us.” Max’s voice suddenly belonged to the liege and not the friend.
“I won’t fight, I promise.” Cali asserted, running a hand lovingly over her sizable baby bump. She had less than ten weeks to go and she wasn’t exactly light on her feet anymore. But there was nothing wrong with her vitality production. And Max and her Order were going to need all the vitality they could get. She had already promised them all she would stay back and stay safe – no fighting whatsoever. But she fully intended to go and provide energy from the sidelines.
“You won’t fight because you’re not going.” Max’s voice was implacable.
Cali frowned, knowing Dex would be happy. But still, “Max –”
“Cali, listen to me.” Max grabbed her hand, her grip so tight she felt the blood cut off almost instantly. “You have to stay here. Do you understand? You have to.”
Cali felt her hand tremble now as she laid it once again over her growing son, “What do you know? Max, what have you seen?”
Max shook her head, lips pressed tightly together for a moment, before she spoke. “Nothing … everything. Too little and too much. Your son – he’ll be safe. I swear to you, he’ll be born healthy and perfect – brave like his father, passionate like his mother, and cheeky like both of you.” She smiled warmly to Cali’s left, as if she could already see the small boy still growing insider her, before facing her once again, her fa
ce sobering. “But you need to stay here. Do you understand me? You must stay here.”
“And he’ll be okay?” Cali trembled.
Max nodded her head, her eyes bright. “I promise.”
Cali nodded, swallowing hard. “Okay. I’ll stay here. I swear.”
Max blew out a relieved breath, shoulders slumping, “Good. That’s settled. It also means you can be here to help Jazz settle in,” Max gave Cali a pat on the shoulder as she headed for the door.
Cali chased after her, “Wait. What? Help Jazz settle in?”
“Oh, did I forget to mention that?” Max snapped her fingers before smiling, “Jazz is moving in.”
“Your human friend, Jazz? The one who stored all your stuff for you?” Cali asked, trying to follow the conversation. Max was clearly having one of her random moments.
“Yep. Jasminka. She’s great. You’ll love her.” Max assured Cali.
“Oo-kaay. And why exactly would your very human, non-warden, non-paladin friend be coming to live with us?”
Max shrugged, negligently, “Because we’re going to need her. She’s a doctor.”
“A doctor?” Cali questioned, feeling more confused by the second.
Max blinked and nodded her head slowly, “Yeah, you know, those people with medical degrees who help heal the sick and injured.”
Cali rolled her eyes, “I know what a doctor is Max. What I don’t know is why we would need a human doctor here. We’re not human. Besides, we have you. If anyone is injured, you can just mojo all the scratches away.”
“True,” Max’s voice was as perky as ever but Cali could have sworn she saw strain in her eyes. “But it never hurts to have extra help. And what if I’m all mojo’d out? Jazz is a surgeon – a truly excellent one. She’ll be a real asset, especially when it comes time to deliver the baby.”
Cali stilled, “What? Deliver the baby? You’re going to have some stranger come in here and deliver my baby?” She knew her voice sounded shrill, but she couldn’t help it.