Barry
I beat Xenos home from work and that was good timing on my behalf. Otherwise, the pot roast would’ve scorched to the bottom of the pan. Preston had bought us a Moonscale ‘flash cooker’ for Yule but besides setting a few slices of bread on fire trying to make toast, neither Xenos nor I messed with it much. We had atsilv ko to set things on fire if we wanted flaming bread. So now the damned thing only got used when Preston came over and insisted on making dinner for us all. It made him happy. So, we let him get on with it.
“I think I figured something out,” Xenos announced walking into the kitchen about ten minutes later as I set up our youngest daughter in the highchair. She squashed her carrots and potatoes in her little fist before the plate was even out of my hand.
“That we should’ve named Stephie ‘Squashie’ instead?” I chuckled.
“No! Well, maybe,” he grinned at her and my wolf wagged his tail inside his inner sanctum. I could spend a million lifetimes with that bear and that would never be enough. We shared a quick hello kiss and Xenos sniffed around to ensure none of the older kids were eavesdropping.
“They’re all down at the square for kids’ night. That was your best idea ever,” I grinned.
“Good! I think I know who Mori’s mate is!”
“As long as you don’t say one of Finn’s boys, we’ll be okay,” I said, turning to plate our food too.
“Alpha!” Xenos scolded me. “Be nice! They didn’t get to pick their sire! They grew up to be good guys. Well, as far as I know anyway. They are all still single, though. Hmmm…” I glanced over my shoulder when he paused like that.
“Nope. Whatever you’re thinking no. My genes have enough crazy in them for ten generations. None of our kids need to have cubs or pups or elflings with those men.”
“If they’re true-mates there would be no stopping it,” Xenos put his hands on his hips in that way that always made him look sassy. I grinned despite meaning what I said about preferring our kids not to marry into that sort of crazy.
“Stop it!” Xenos shook his finger at me and a second later Stephie shook her squashed carrot covered hand at Xenos, whacking bits of carrot everywhere – including all over her carrier.
“See, Stephie’s on my side.”
“Side! Side! Side!” she chanted and then bared her teeth. “Side!”
“Side of what?” I teased her and passed Xenos a towel.
“Grr! Rose!”
“Rose? I don’t see no flowers,” I said, putting on my Raven Hollow Wolf Pack Accent. “We eat flowers around here. Nothing pretty can grow.”
“Alpha!” Xenos scolded me again as I gave the baby more roast chopped up into tiny bits. She was a bear cub and prone to sticking large amounts of food in her mouth given the chance and I wasn’t in the mood to do the Heimlich today.
“What? It’s good for her to know her history,” I told him.
“What’s gotten into you today?” he asked me.
“Just that I don’t want our kids marrying into anyone from my birth pack, okay? I know things are different now, but old visions die hard, huh?” I asked, taking his hand and entwining our fingers together. “I can handle them running off on spirit quests with potions and astral projecting to Jupiter and…”
“Who astral projected to Jupiter?” Xenos blinked and tightened his grip on my hand.
“Oh, it’s a club in London now and Gaia did that. She swears she danced with a Beetle Jug or something.”
“Beetle Jug?” he arced a brow and bit his lip. “Alpha, I can’t even think of a band that sounds sort of like that. Either I’m really old or you still hate boybands.”
“Yes and yes and before you take that as an insult, I’m old too,” I told him. “We’re old because we were smart enough to stay alive.”
“OH, Alpha,” he flashed me a sad smile. “This isn’t about Finn or the Ravens. This is about Mori. You get like this anytime anyone mentions one of those boys meeting their true-mates. I hate to tell you, but they’re already grown. Like really grown and they’re not V-I-R-G-I-N-S either.”
“I know that,” I rolled my eyes. “Both of those things.” I pulled away and grabbed our plates. “Here, eat. You might’ve had dessert first but you still need to eat dinner.”
“Bossy!”
“I am a cave-elf!” I nodded, pulling out his chair for him.
“Grrr! Elf! Side!” Stephie chimed in and I tore her off a chunk of my pot roast.
“I want the twins to meet their mates. I really do. I just want them to be Nightshade Bears or one of Iggy’s kids.”
“Ignatius Hemlock has been many years gone from Earthside, alpha,” Xenos sighed. “You know that, right? He’s not popping out puppy seed or adopting orphans anymore.”
“You don’t know that,” I crossed my arms and pretended to be offended.
“Maybe not, but he’s not doing it anywhere our kids could marry his pups anymore. He did a good job with your nephew and it’s true, he makes an excellent chosen mate for Colton. We just can’t rely on him for it anymore.”
“May he rest in bourbon,” I laughed.
“Stop that!” he said and playfully slapped my thigh under the table where Stephie couldn’t see him do it.
“Look, I just don’t want to have to W-R-I-N-G anyone’s N-E-C-K because they fucked with the kids, alright?”
“Why did you spell neck too?” Xenos laughed.
“I don’t even know anymore,” I sighed, and we fell quiet while we both managed to eat a few bites of our food while Stephie waved her mush-covered hands around in the air.
“Who do you think it is and why do you think it’s them?” I asked, pushing my chair away from the table to get up and refill Stephie’s chocolate milk sippy cup.
“Teddy Moonscale.”
“Is Crystal’s Theodore still an option?” I arched a brow. “He went by Teddy when I saved his life.”
“Not anymore he doesn’t,” Xenos shook his head. “Besides, there’s nothing wrong with Fred.”
“Fred? The dragon who showed up to kidnap Duke while Blake was in a coma?” I huffed, handing the baby her sippy cup. She copied my huff before taking a sip of her milk.
“Don’t teach her to huff like that. It’s not nice,” Xenos rubbed the bridge of his nose. “Fred grew up eventually and Lotus was a good person. It’s not like Fred just laid his own eggs, alpha.”
“Doesn’t mean I have to like the idea. Did Finn tell you this?” I asked, sitting back down at the table.
“No. He was just confused again but Mori and Ni have been invited to the Appalachian Wolf Pack Territory. Actually, Dern is sort of insisting on it.”
“How is Dern doing by the way?” I asked.
“Apparently, he’s in an old folks home because he shot Teddy Moonscale.”
“See, he’s bad news,” I laughed.
“Don’t laugh!” Xenos shook his finger at me again. “And don’t tell the kids I know Dern either. Mori is always complaining that he can’t talk to anyone magical that I don’t already know.”
“Is this about Ormund then?” I asked.
“Probably,” I shrugged. “Mori wanted to stay out of it…”
“Maybe we should let him do that.”
“Will you let me finish or are we teenagers competing for airspace, alpha?” Xenos asked and I flashed him a sheepish, apologetic grin.
“I love to hear you talk but would rather it not be about Teddy shagging our kids.”
“Ewww! That’s not what this is about,” Xenos shook his head. “But this is how it happens a lot. You follow a lead – doing a good deed or something and stumble right into meeting your true-mate. Besides, Star is a Moonscale, and you like him with Zeke.”
“That’s a dirty play. Of course, I like Star. He knows how to fight. He’s good with the kids. Hell, he’s good with our kids. He didn’t grow up looking up to Fred ‘Glitter’ Moonscale. Plus, Zeke loves him so much that he’d punt me all the way to visit Iggy if I didn’t love him.”
“Mori will be the same whenever he meets his mate.”
“Ugh! We should’ve talked about this before we had kids,” I mocked melting down into my chair and Stephie copied me until she slid right out of her highchair. I caught her and blew bubbles on her belly until she giggled with so much delight that she whomped me with a carrot mush covered hand.
“I’m gonna clean her up before we have our dessert.”
“What?” Xenos frowned at me. “Don’t I get dessert?”
“You had yours,” I teased him. “But we’re sharing a protein bar. You can have one too, if you want. That is unless you’re in the mood to make something else. I was thinking an early B-E-D-T-I-M-E and some T-I-M-E for U-S, though.”
“I think you just like spelling stuff out,” Xenos laughed.
“Sometimes I do,” I nodded and carried Stephie off to the sink.