Page 2 of Waste (Legendary Shifters #4)

Drew/Ghoul

H e didn’t understand this. What seemed strange and unusual… was. Sure, those surrounding him were, for better or worse, his family. One could almost call them his siblings as they were born in the same manner and had grown up together. But this?

Drew looked down at the wriggling creature in his arms. He was more than aware it had tentacles and would slap his face should Drew lift it close enough. Balius, Jase and Willow’s eldest child, stared at him with a narrowed gaze. Should babies this young even be able to narrow their eyes?

Drew felt mystified by the baby boy, who seemed as puzzled as Drew. He pursed his lips and jolted back as Balius slapped a tentacle at him.

“Oh no, has he shifted again?” Willow asked, approaching. Drew quickly handed Balius to her and watched.

Jase appeared, his arms full, carrying two further babies. That would be Duris and Raisa. Four weeks ago, Willow had given birth to triplets. Two boys and a girl. The girl, Raisa, was a quiet little thing compared to her rowdy brothers, but somehow Drew knew she’d hold her own.

Their father being Poseidon, King of the Oceans and Seas, and a triple shape shifter, the children had inherited his abilities.

Jase held three shifted forms —human, merman and uber-merman, which was essentially a merman on steroids.

Balius seemed to prefer his own tiny, uber-merman form.

Willow constantly had her hands full trying to make Balius shift to a human baby.

Drew allowed a smile to cross his face. Jase and Willow hadn’t yet been able to take the babies out in public. They couldn’t risk the triplets shifting into any of their other forms.

Much like the last time Vladimir had taken his daughter Amari out; she’d bitten some nasty old lady. Lilith had to wipe the victim’s mind. In Amari’s defence, the elderly woman had been incredibly rude to Emmaline, Amari’s mother.

Drew looked at the most hot-tempered man he knew, who presently hummed a lullaby and rocked the babies. Nope, Drew didn’t understand parenting and children at all.

He moved silently away, leaving the happy couple to their bundles of… joy? Trouble? Whatever you wanted to call it.

As he quietly left the Great Hall, he nodded at Noah Rogers, who held the Sin of Cunning, and shifted into Rumpelstiltskin. Noah appeared just as confused as Drew did.

“I don’t understand it,” Noah said as they fell into step together.

“Which part?” Drew asked.

“They’re doolally over each other and those smelly bundles,” Noah replied, and Drew snorted in laughter.

Trust Noah to phrase it like that.

“Jase used to be the last one standing when we had a blowout. He’d try to out-drink anyone. Now he’s all baby bottles and burping. It’s the death of a badass,” Noah continued mournfully.

“I don’t know. Can you imagine how Poseidon would react if someone threatened his children?” Drew mused.

“Poseidon? Yup, total badass. Jase? That guy is a sap,” Noah retorted.

“Say that to his face,” Manfred Mathews teased as he exited a doorway. The man who carried the Sins of Elder Abuse and Assassination, and turned into the infamous Mummy, grinned.

“Yeah, I might give that one a miss. Don’t want to hurt his feelings and make Jase cry. He’s in touch with his feminine side these days,” Noah replied, and we all laughed. “I don’t carry tissues around with me for when he starts crying.”

“I can’t wait until you find your mate,” Manfred warned, and Noah looked horrified.

“What?” he gasped, his hand going to his heart.

“Yeah. You’re bound to have one, and I bet she’s a right ball-buster,” Manfred continued.

Drew watched, amused, as Noah shook his head violently.

“No way. She’ll be sweet and demure and adorable. Her sole aim in life will be to dote on me and make me happy,” Noah retorted.

“He’s about to get a battle-axe,” Drew said with a laugh.

“Ain’t he just,” Manfred agreed.

Drew sobered up and looked between his two brothers. “Do you believe mates exist for all of us?”

“Yes, something big is happening. I don’t know what, but I think we’re all going to find our mates. There’s a reason why, but God only knows what that is,” Manfred replied, mouth tight.

“Screw that,” Noah responded abrasively. “If turning into Jase and Vladmir is what happens, then I’ll pass.”

“And Lanie and Mac?” Drew prodded, seeing someone behind Noah. He bit back a smile as the figure stiffened and looked in their direction.

“He’s a sap, too. Have you seen the way he bows down? Mac lost his balls, Lanie carries them in her purse,” Noah said. Yup, you could always count on Noah to say the wrong thing.

A large hand clamped down on Noah’s shoulder, and Noah spun around.

“Ah, nuts!” he complained as he saw Mac glowering at him.

“My balls are in Lanie’s purse?” Mac demanded.

“In for a penny, in for a pound,” Noah muttered. “Yes, you’re pussy-whipped!”

Mac’s muscles flexed, and Drew and Manfred smirked. Mac shoved his face into Noah’s and shouted, “You and me in the ring tonight. We can fight in human or in our shifted forms. Take your pick!”

Mac grinned evilly and went away.

“Oh yeah, in our shifted forms. Has he seen mine? It’s a three-foot midget that Mac would eat for dinner in his lamia form,” Noah complained.

“One day, brother, you’ll learn to filter your thoughts,” Drew said and left. He’d find Manfred later and place a bet on Mac. He’d no doubt that Manfred would open a book. Although Rumpelstiltskin was little, he could fight. This would be a good match, Drew decided and headed for his quarters.

◆◆◆

Rumpelstiltskin came out on top, but barely.

Rumpelstiltskin choked him after darting under Mac’s arm and climbing his back.

Until then, Mac had been winning. But as Mac blacked out, he tipped backwards and crushed Rumpelstiltskin under his weight.

Mac was still getting used to his lamia form, which had also given Rumpelstiltskin an advantage.

But it had been a good match, and Drew had won a huge pot.

Only he and Maeve, aka Baba Yaga, bet on Rumpelstiltskin.

“Seems dinner’s on you,” Vladimir teased, and Drew shook his head.

“Not a chance, mate. I’ll enjoy spending your money,” Drew replied, and Vladimir laughed. Drew noted how Vladimir’s eyes searched for Emmaline, and when he found her, Vladimir relaxed.

“Is it always that way?” Drew asked.

“Like what?” Vladimir seemed confused.

“As if you can’t breathe unless you are aware of her location. That Emmaline’s your entire world, and if she left you, you’d break.”

“I would. Should anything happen to her or Amari, I’d burn the world down. They are my reason for living,” Vladimir replied.

“I don’t understand feeling that strongly about someone,” Drew said.

“One day, brother, you will. And I’ll remind you of this conversation,” Vladimir said and smiled as Emmaline approached.

“Did you expect that? Well, you did, Drew!” she exclaimed.

“Rumpelstiltskin may be a coward, but he’s always been a sneaky bugger,” Drew replied, and with a smile, he made his escape.

He headed for his rooms, having had enough of crowds today.

Even though they were his siblings, Drew enjoyed being alone.

It wasn’t rudeness, just a need for quiet and time to gather his thoughts.

Archere was very much the same, although Archere was incredibly wise, and everyone sought him out for advice.

Drew opened his door and entered his suite of rooms. It amazed him how the castle had transformed over the decades to accommodate them all.

It had been Vladimir’s main abode for hundreds of years, and he’d kindly opened it to his siblings to give them a home too.

The four main walls that had contained a square building now boasted towers and turrets.

Additional wings had been added, and different levels seemingly appeared from nowhere.

Bridges high in the sky ran between towers, the higher floors, and the entire thing was a confusing maze.

It was a weird mix of Hogwarts, Bran Castle, and Castlevania. Vladimir hadn’t given them all bedrooms. Instead, he’d insisted on them having their own private suites, although they were more apartments than anything else. However, some suites were in an entire tower.

Each suite contained three bedrooms, a small kitchen, a bathroom, a half bath, and a lounge.

Having three bedrooms never made sense until now, as children had begun appearing.

Drew wondered whether Vladimir had merely been hopeful or if something had urged him to build this way.

There was also an extra room for whatever they wanted to use it for.

The living room was central, and the other rooms came off of it.

Each room was very spacious. Drew had turned his spare room into a display showcase.

Drew loved making wooden models. The harder, the better.

He got great satisfaction from watching them come together and knowing his hands had crafted them.

Drew remained too unsettled to work on a model now, which had been his plan.

He was off, almost antsy, like someone was coming for him.

Similar to when he’d fled the Hunters. But there wasn’t an impending feeling of death.

No, this felt more like excitement. Agitated, Drew looked around his apartment.

Some of his siblings would head for Marie’s tower, also known as Mary Worth’s tower, aka Bloody Mary. They’d need to hunt for their Sins.

However, Waste stayed silent. It had eaten a week ago and wouldn’t require feeding for another three weeks.

So, what troubled him? Drew poured himself a finger of whiskey from his globe bar and settled in an oversized armchair.

His suite was full of classy yet comfortable furniture.

Drew enjoyed luxury and made no bones about it.

After living so many years roughly, he owed himself this.