‘You must send your youngest child away. The harpies return soon and if the babe remains here, he will bring about the demise of the Gilmore-Montero child and himself.’
Then the spirit or beast or whatever it was vanished. I’ve seen spirits a lot in my life. It’s a family gift or curse depending on how you look at it. I’ve never seen anything like it before. I have to send him away. We can’t afford to move, but I can send Max off to have a better life somewhere he’s safe. That way both of our babies are safe.”
My heart fell into my stomach. Gloria and Luc were right. Someone else definitely knew about the prophecy, but why would they think Baby Max was a danger to my unborn baby?
“Bullshit!” I slapped the table. “You’re not getting rid of your baby! We don’t even know who that was. Nothing can ever be written in stone. No! We’re getting to the bottom of this tonight!”
Baby Max broke out in a wail. I swallowed hard and apologized for waking the little guy up. A second later, the rest of the adults sprinted into the kitchen. Except Luc, he ported in with his arms extended ready to fight. A crack ran along the table where I slapped it.
“Aidan?” Luc looked around.
“I’m okay, Alpha,” I said and wrapped my arms around him.
A few hours ago, we ate and decorated the biggest Yule tree I ever saw. Now the world was upside down. Someone thought Baby Max could endanger my baby. They threatened Scott and Harvey.
The latter walked into the kitchen looking sour and disappointed.
“I don’t want to give him up. At least now the truth is out in the open.”
Luc told the servants to make coffee and we all moved into the living room. I planted myself on Luc’s lap and pressed my forehead against his.
“What do we do now?” Gloria asked. “I don’t recall ever reading about a spirit who looks like that anywhere. Grandma Rosa might know something, but it’s too soon to call her out.”
“I wish they would’ve said how it happens,” Barric said. “Why didn’t you guys tell me? We wasted all this time! We could’ve figured out what’s really going on by now!”
He was growly, but we all were. Some spirit prophesied the demise of two babies without giving the details.
“We didn’t want to worry you,” Scott sniffed and held Baby Max closer to his chest.
“We didn’t want to endanger you,” Harvey added.
“Did the spirit threaten you?” Barric asked.
“No, but you’re here a lot. If something bad were to happen to the baby you might be here too,” Harvey said.
Zera sat stiffly next to him. She stared straight ahead at the tree. The lights twinkled bright in contrast to the heavy tension hanging in the room. She sniffed once and Barric entwined his fingers through hers. Then the tears came.
“Nothing’s happening to the babies,” I assured her and everyone else. “They have all of us to protect them.”
“It was me! I was the spirit!” Zera stood up and walked into the kitchen.
I looked from her to Luc speechless. Luc opened his mouth to speak, but his words were drowned out by a growl.
“Come back here, you winged bitch!” Gloria yelled. “You don’t get to threaten my niece or nephew and walk away.”
She snatched at Zera’s wing but came away with only a hand full of feathers.
“Stop, Gloria!” I sprung to my feet. “Zera, what’s going on? What do you mean it was you?”
Gloria snatched at Zera again. She turned on her heels and snarled. I slid between them with my arms outstretched.
“If you’re going to fight each other you have to go through me and Baby Edgar first!”
“Me and Max too!” Scott squeezed in front of me.
“STOP IT!” Luc growled.
His eyes glowed black with the magic pumping through his veins. His scent was all territory, magic, and cave-Alpha.
Harvey was on his feet pulling his mate and infant son away from the chaos. Scott dug his heels in and reached out for my arm. I had more in common with him as a father-to-be than I did his eldest son. In that split second, it made sense why omegas formed tightknit groups. It was about the children and keeping peace in families. It was about someone understanding how you feel and being there even when you’re stuck between an angry she-wolf and a snarling harpy.
“You will not come into my den and bring this drama. We are all adults here and will handle this as such! Prophecy or not there will be no fighting! Have you two not stopped to think maybe it’s your fighting that does both children in?” Luc growled.
Zera was the first to lower her taloned fingers. Barric stared at her in disbelief. Gloria wrapped an arm around me, but I pushed her away. Zera wasn’t some evil spirit from beyond the veil. If she gave that warning, there was a real reason behind it. I opened my mouth to say something, but Scott spoke first.
“Is it true? How does it happen?” He asked.
“I read something in the Book of Possibilities,” Zera said after taking a deep breath. “They could die together in an accident as teenagers. If they’re not friends that can’t happen. If one of them are on the other side of the world that can’t happen. Barric,” she moved away from us and towards him. “I didn’t know you then. I didn’t show up to hurt anyone. I just wanted to protect Aidan’s baby and Max too.”
Luc and Harvey exchanged a look I couldn’t read.
“Let’s all sit down,” Luc said.
Everyone did except for Barric and Zera. They stood in front of the tree staring at each other. Gloria grumbled under her breath about being left out of the loop. That’s why she never liked Zera. She overreacted to everything.
“No, she didn’t! I told her I didn’t want to know what she found out, but she couldn’t sit back and let it happen! Zera, I know you and Barric need to talk, but how is it supposed to happen?”
“A car accident during a blizzard. They snuck into the liquor cabinet,” she said without looking at either of us.
“Where?” I asked her.
“At Scott and Harvey’s,” she whispered.
“Then we get rid of the liquor cabinet,” Harvey said. “We don’t let them drive.”
“I’ll recheck the book later,” Zera sniffed.
“Don’t,” I shook my head. “Those of us on this side of the door aren’t supposed to know what might happen. We see visions. We get gut feelings and hunches. That has to be enough. That’s the choice we make when we decide not to live in the Other World. Thank you for trying to save our babies. We’ll take precautions, but nothing is written in stone. That’s why it’s called the Book of Possibilities.”
“We’re keeping Max,” Scott squared his shoulders and looked at Harvey.
“Yes, we are,” Harvey pulled his mate a little closer.
“Let’s go to bed and give them some time to talk,” Luc stood up taking me with him.
Luc didn’t leave the living room until everyone else was gone.
“Zera, in the future try to resist the temptation of knowing the future. More than one mage has brought around his own defeat by trying to prevent it. Even the Greeks wrote of it.”
She didn’t say anything as Luc carried me upstairs.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Luc
My wolf growled deep inside my chest as I waved an elbow to swing the bedroom door open. It wasn’t Zera’s unorthodox way of passing a message on from the Other World that crawled under my skin and boiled me alive. It was the look in Gloria’s eyes as she charged after the younger Alpha. The look that remained there even when her pregnant brother, my pregnant mate, stepped in between them. I needed a shot of something strong to calm him down. For better or worse, Gloria was my sister-in-law. In the language of the wild she may as well have been my own sister. Female Alphas were just as strong as their male counterparts, but as a general rule I abhorred violence. Violence only begot more of the same and I didn’t want it in my house. My wolf on the other hand was a true creature of the wild. His world was eaten or b
e eaten. I sat Aidan down on the bed and swung open the minifridge.
“Alpha?” He looked up at me.
The further his pregnancy progressed the more he used the term. I didn’t mind, but tonight the confusion and pain in his eyes pulled at primal parts of my soul. I was against mindless violence, but to protect him I’d slay any who stood against us. Only tonight, no one stood against us.
“Yes, mate?”
“Zera wasn’t trying to cause trouble.”
“I’m not mad at her. You’ve known Zera almost her whole life. You understand that growing up and living in the Other World means living by a different set of rules. She’s more what humans would call spirit than earthling. She wanted to protect our baby and I can’t fault her for that. I wish she’d went about it differently, but what’s done is done.”
I picked up the airplane bottle of whisky and then put it away. Many Alphas used alcohol to soothe their inner beasts. I never thought twice about it until the news tonight. Sure, the possible future didn’t happen here, but it could have.
‘Who are you mad at then?” Aidan slid to the edge of the bed.
“I’m angry in the abstract.”
Aidan arched a brow. My thoughts were closed tight to our mate link. He adored Gloria as much as Zera and I didn’t want to start an argument with my pregnant mate about his sister.
“Gloria shouldn’t have handled it like that,” I said using the most level voice I could handle.
“Gloria feels vindicated about Zera now. She’s not the oldest living Gilmore witch, but she is the only one who stayed at our home fort. She’s more or less inherited Grandma Rosa’s job and she feels she’s shit at it. I’m the only one who stayed close to home at all. She’s on her own now at home. She’s starting to see Barric as her own student and in her eyes Zera fucked with everyone she cares about. Gloria doesn’t care about more people in a solid way. Sure, she’d kick ass over one of our clients, but they’re just that: clients. We’re her family and because you choose him as your apprentice so is Barric and his family,” Aidan said.
“What about Zera?” I asked.
My wolf stopped growling to listen to Aidan talk. He was irritated and his fur stood on edge, but even he knew better than to eat your own.
“Zera’s a wildcard in Gloria’s book. She doesn’t play by the rules.”
“Is Zera even aware of the rules? I mean, there are no rules in hard and fast ways. There are societal norms and what we consider the best way to handle things, but that’s different in the Other World. That’s why even seers and shamans have a hard time figuring out what visions mean and if they’ll actually come to pass or are just warnings.”
“I’m working with her,” Aidan flopped onto his back.
I crawled in bed next to him and kissed his forehead. He looked exhausted. The clock read just after three AM. I pulled him close and he snuggled into my chest. My wolf settled down and decided if there was to be a fight it could wait till morning. Everything could wait till morning.
“Do you think Scott and Harvey are mad at her?”
“I don’t know about Harvey, but Scott was right there by your side.”
“Good. I don’t want them to think harpies shouldn’t come back. If our baby is harpy, we don’t need people acting like bigots.”
“People will always misunderstand those who are different until they take the time to understand those differences.”
I took his hands in my face and pressed my forehead against his before I spoke again.
“Bigots and idiots will come and go, but I will never allow anyone to harm you or our baby. We’re a small group, but we all have deep magical roots. You’re safe. Baby Edgar is safe.”
“I love you, Alpha. I love you so much. I know we haven’t known each other long here, but it feels like forever. It feels like this is where I’ve always belonged. Everyone here tonight feels like family. I’d never met Scott before, but feel like I know him because of Max.”
“I love you too, Aidan,” I said and gave him a long slow goodnight kiss.
Aidan fell asleep with his legs and feet hanging off the bed. When I was sure he was sound asleep I pulled him up onto his pillows and took a long sniff of the house. Almost everyone was asleep. I heard faint whispers of Barric and Zera’s voices. They had a lot to work out if Aidan was right about the nature of their relationship. Baby Max’s scent was as calm as I ever smelled him. Harvey’s irritation and Scott’s fear were gone too. Gloria was close by. Really close by.
I tucked Aidan in and moved my pillow to support his ever-growing belly. I made a mental note to order more pillows. With Aidan around too many were never enough. Then I scooted out of bed and peeked out into the hall. Gloria set crossed legged on the floor across from our bedroom door. She didn’t’ look at me when I peeked out. I grabbed a few of the airplane bottles from the minifridge and joined her in the hall. Sure, I didn’t approve of how she handled the situation tonight, but I couldn’t leave Aidan’s sister sitting up in the hall all night.
“Hey,” I said and tossed her an airplane bottle.
She snatched it out of the air without looking at me. I sat down next to her and leaned back against the wall. She sipped the bottle. Neither of us said anything for a long time. You needed to tread carefully with Gilmore Witches. They’d come from a long line of fighting oppression and kicking the ass of anyone who thought they were less than for being female Alphas. I didn’t really think gender should be factored into anything except maybe who you crawl into bed with and even then, that was a fuzzy line for me. I’d love Aidan just as much if he showed up as a woman, because I couldn’t imagine loving anyone else the way I loved him. I wanted to tell Gloria that I thought Rosa would be pretty damn proud that any of her grandchildren stuck around to carry on the family legacy. That each generation of every family had to figure out how they wanted to do things and not everyone would follow suit. Instead, I chose to address the topic at hand.
“Zera would never hurt Aidan or Baby Edgar.”
“That baby could be a girl,” she said and ignored what I said about the other woman.
“Do you want it to be a girl? Does it matter?” I asked.
“To me? No. I just don’t want Aidan to get his hopes up. He doesn’t do well with disappointment. I thought he was going to follow Grandma into the Other World until he started his business. In some ways, Aidan needs protected from himself.”
“That was a long time ago. I think he’s grown up a lot since then.”
“I know, but he’s still my baby brother.”
“And nothing will change that,” I nodded. “He believes in his heart that our baby is a boy. I trust his gut feelings.”
“What was she thinking?” Gloria sighed and leaned her head back against the wall.
I opened my mouth to tell her what I told Aidan in the bedroom. Gloria was old enough to know the difference between those who grew up here on Earth and those who didn’t. So, I spared her the lecture.
“She was likely trying to follow in the footsteps of her family too. She wanted to deliver a message while respecting Aidan’s wishes.”
“She’s his harpy,” she rolled her eyes.
“What does that mean exactly?” I asked her.
“It’s like some spiritual bestie bullshit.”
“You don’t have one?” I asked her.
“Not really. I don’t believe in putting harpies to work for us. Sure, if war came, I could summon some, but in everyday life I think we should handle our own bullshit.”
“I think Zera and Aidan see things differently than older people. I think they view themselves as friends, maybe even family. She was trying to help in the only way she knew how.’
“She should know better than to meddle in people’s lives.”
“Should she? Who taught her that? I spent two years in the Other World before I met Aidan. That’s a big part of what folks in the Other World do. They meddle and try to improve things. It doesn’t always work, but their
intentions are usually good.”
“How do we prevent her from doing it again?” Gloria finally looked at me.
“We try to teach her. I think Barric means a lot to her. She really upset him. Sometimes those fucked experiences are the best teachers.”
“They’re such a weird couple. He’s clumsy and airheaded at times. She’s quick-witted, but naive. He wouldn’t know what to do in a battle if I handed him a playbook and by nature, she could wreak havoc or justice.”
“So, they’re an item?”
“If the sounds coming from the attic are to be believed I’d say so,” Gloria laughed. “She makes it hard to teach him too. She doesn’t wait around for him to draw his own conclusions. The minute I leave the room she walks in and tells him how it works. How’s he ever going to come up with his own spells that way?”
“Not every mage or witch does,” I shrugged. “Some are happy to use the paths paved by those who have gone before.”
“Barric is better than that or would be if he put some effort into it.”
“He does. When he’s left to his own devices. Besides, knowing how our spells work doesn’t really screw anything up.”
“I know. He just needs to stretch his brain a bit,” Gloria laughed.
In a rare moment, Gloria let down her walls. She leaned her head against my shoulder. I wrapped a brotherly arm around her, and we sat in silence for a longtime. In many ways we were on the same ship full of holes. We were leading two ancient families who were quickly dwindling out of existence. We needed to change that while protecting the parts of tradition that made us who we were. The non-violence pact I made with Rosa Gilmore before her death still held, but we needed something more. Aidan and I weren’t ending our relationship anytime soon. Numbers on both sides were low. If there was ever a time to come together officially it was now.
“We should bring Barric and his family into the folds,” Gloria broke the silence.
“We should.”
“Which one of us, though?” Gloria asked.
“Is there really a difference at this point?”
Mated for the Holidays: A Holiday Mpreg Romance in the Hemlock Mpreg Universe Page 17