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“Not really. Everything—literally everything—has been about the magic. It’s just—I’m not very good at keeping it under control. My mom helped, but it’s still hard.”

“Well. I’ll help as well. Have a cookie.”

Da twisted his hand, and suddenly there was a cookie. Not an illusory cookie, but a real cookie.

“It’s okay?” he whispered to Orion.

“It’ll be fine. Da’s cookies are legendary.” Orion said.Kind of literally.

“This is veryAlice of Wonderland.” But he took the cookie, and he ate it. It tingled all through him, and he swayed for a second. “Whoa.”

“When the magic starts becoming problematic again, just come have a cookie,” Father said in his deep rumble of a voice. “We’ll visit for a while, and we’ll help settle it. You’re not used to glade energy inside you, but you will become that way.”

Cullen concentrated, built a flower and handed it over, so tickled to have things work again.

When Da took the white rose, it became bright blue and then pink before settling into a deep purple. “Thank you, dear. Now let’s have lunch. No one can do anything on an empty stomach.”

ChapterFourteen

“So you fixed Cullen, man,” Corbin said. “That’s pretty cool.”

“What do you mean I fixed him?” Orion pruned back the grapevine as Corbin had shown him. They were cleaning up the yard outside Corbin’s house before late summer turned to fall, which would then turn off super cold. The roses needed pruning, the bulbs digging and saving, the vegetables that had gone to seed needed drying and the onions needed hanging.

Corbin was quite the gardener. He really ought to introduce the guy to his da.

“He’s not flinging out random illusions anymore unless you say something really sweet. Then it’s the hearts.”

“Ah.” Orion scoffed a bit. “That was Da. His cookies are magical.”

“And no one brought me any?”

“You’re not pregnant,” Orion pointed out.

A fat, happy beaver waddled by, heading for the stream. He’d never seen Yarrow look so ready for winter.

Corbin watched him too. “You think he’s an omega?”

“Why?” He gave Corbin a sly grin. “You always wanted to try a little beaver?”

“Oh, you suck.” Corbin threatened him with the clippers. “Be good.”

“Eh. Good is boring.” He winked broadly before going back to the grapes. Corbin had explained that one trimmed leaves off in the spring so there was room for the grapes, but in the fall, you trimmed back the dead parts of the vines.

“Yeah, but aren’t you like, the epitome of purity.”

“What, I can’t be pure evil?”

“Corbin!” The voice thundered from an upstairs window. “We need you!”

“That was Hawk.” They sprinted inside, Orion on Corbin’s heels, though really, if Corbin went inside without him, Orion would just be transported inside the house. Boom.

They sprinted up the stairs, meeting Hawk on the way down. “What is it?” Corbin asked.

“Come down to the main parlor.” Hawk led the way down to the parlor, where Cullen was already sitting, his baby bump really growing some.

The sight never failed to make him smile, his heart beating faster.

“Hey, babe.” He plopped down next to Cullen.