Chapter Nineteen
Fred
Lotus’s heats always ran long. I didn’t allow myself to dwell on those memories too long but that night as we all fell asleep a tangle of limbs and pleasure, I knew we were in for the long run, even if a few days had already passed. Maybe I was crazy. Maybe I’d picked up some seer shit somewhere along the way but I wasn’t wrong about that being something Nelum carried into his current life.
Our lives settled into a heated rhythm of napping, talking, eating, and romping, of course. We lost hours and days to giving into the ebbs and flows of Nelum’s heat. With our mating link wide open to the three of us we might’ve sank into our own world and never ventured out if it wasn’t for our egg and Minter. Any time we walked past the nesting room, we polished the egg and spent some time with it. Then we’d remember that people outside of the house hadn’t forgotten about us. Elio and I took turns going to visit Teddy and Minter. That was the great thing about being a polycule. Did three qualify for that? Maybe. I wasn’t sure anymore. We were definitely a closed polycule, though. At least for now. Who knew what the future would bring?
One afternoon, I woke up from a post-romp nap with both of my mates resting their heads on my chest. They were out cold and wiggling away from them felt like a crime against humanity. Still, I needed a shower, a snack, and to go check on the egg brats. I kissed both of them on the forehead and neither of them stirred in their sleep. Nelum was still warm to the touch, but no longer scorching. I couldn’t remember the last time he slept longer than a few days. I wasn’t even sure what day it was.
After grabbing a shower and heading into the kitchen, I popped one of those pre-cooked meals that the flight sent over into the microwave and grabbed my phone to see how long I’d been lost to my mates. Ten days. Not the longest time I’d spent lost to the magic of true-mateship. Sure, things weren’t over yet, but they were definitely starting to calm down.
After eating I scribbled a note letting my guys know I was just across the way at Teddy’s if they needed me. So much had happened since Elio laid our egg that I hadn’t spent much time checking in with Teddy about how he felt about everything. He and Lotus were close. He adored his carrier and losing a good parent is something you never get over. Sometimes I missed mine too. They were still alive and that felt like a throat punch every time I thought about it. Those jackasses lived on while my Lotus died. I didn’t miss them. I missed who I needed them to be when I was a hatchling. I missed the people who never were. At least, Teddy didn’t miss phantoms. Lotus was real and solid and one of the kindest people I ever had the honor of knowing.
As usual, the front door was unlocked. Minter lay on his belly on the carpet with a coloring book scribbling away at making an oversized cartoon dotter a neon green color while Teddy scrolled through his phone on the sofa. Minter, his brows screwed up in concentration way older than his years, didn’t look up when I came into the house. Teddy waved but didn’t look up from his phone.
“Any news?” I asked the elder of the boys.
“Not really. Daliah’s sort of pissed that Seq hasn’t come home yet. I talked to him. He’s loving his way through the tourists of some tropical island somewhere. Not loving the hurricanes but he’s finding ways to survive,” Teddy smirked.
“I bet he is,” I laughed, sitting down in the armchair nearby. “Daliah should be more worried about Rosemary and her egg.”
“She was. I think that’s why Seq took a vacation. His whole life changed too when Daliah met Rosemary. She seems nice enough from the few times I spoke to her. Daliah wants to put something together so that we’re all back on the same planet for a day at least. She might even try roping you into paying for another wedding for them so that everyone could be there.”
“I would. She knows it too. I’ve been thinking about how to get everyone back together too, honestly, egg brat, but I needed to talk to you first. How are you holding up?”
“I’m upright,” Teddy shrugged. “Well, proverbially, anyway.”
“Yeah, you look pretty flat right now,” I gestured to the sofa.
“Yeah. We’re chilling out today. Minter’s determined to murder that green crayon down to a nub. I’m his cheerleader,” Teddy grinned.
“How are you dealing with everything?” I tried again.
“I don’t know,” he shrugged, sitting up. “I really don’t. I keep thinking about going to stay with Sunny and Laken for a while but part of me feels like that’s just running away.”
“Do you need to run away?” I asked him.
“Maybe. I don’t know. I thought I had it all worked out. Then I’m calling some strange dude ‘mum.’ It was all instinct. I have nothing against Nelum. How could I?” It was a rhetorical question but I wished I had something to say to him but nothing came to mind that might actually give him some comfort. “I don’t think it’s fair that he has to deal with my baggage from back then.”
“Your mum left videos and letters for him to have. I think she wanted things to pick up and carry on where we left off.”
“But he doesn’t.”
“He wants to be part of the family. He can’t be her, kiddo, but he wants to be part of the family,” I said.
“I wish I could be like Daliah and Duke. Seq won’t talk about Nelum at all but Daliah and Duke are so bloody relieved that Nelum’s here because it means ‘mum’ is okay.”
“It does mean that but you can feel that way and still miss your mum. You can feel that way and not know how to handle everything. Though, you’re handling it well. You kept Nelum here and safe. I thank you for that.”
“He’s mum. What else could I do? I figured even if he never remembered being her that he’d want to meet his true-mates. Most people do.”
“Look, if going to Sunny’s for however long makes you feel better I think you should go.”
“Not until you guys are ready,” Teddy shook his head. “Minter should be with family. I know Marsin could watch him but last time Minter got on his working computer and nearly launched one of Marsin’s drones straight at Hush’s house.”
“That would’ve been funny,” I laughed, and he laughed too.
“My brother, the rebel,” Teddy said. “Look, I’ll go to whatever family reunion. I miss them too and we have to figure out what’s going on with Seq. I know he’s never been one for big family things, but he and Dal were practically sewn together. I don’t want him off alone and pissed at the world. That’s not a great place for dragons to be.”
“Yet almost all of us end up there at one time or another,” I frowned.
“Are you happy?” Teddy asked, taking me off guard with the question. “I mean, now that he’s back.”
“Yeah. It’s a mindfuck, kiddo. I miss your mum but she’s right there. I love Nelum but he’s not Lotus while being her. It’s crazy. Sometimes it makes me feel crazy.”
“Let’s not make him feel crazy, though,” Teddy said carefully. “Make sure he doesn’t find her hair or anything like that. I doubt he’ll plunder around my house, but he might around yours.”
“It’s his home now too,” I said.
“Exactly,” Teddy nodded. “Sounds like neither of us know what we’re going to do.”
“I know what I’m going to do,” I sat back in the chair and stretched out my legs. “I’m gonna live, kiddo. I’m gonna take life by the horns and do my best with it every day. It’s all I’ve ever done and all any of us can do. Eventually we all get gored but what a f-ing journey it is.”
“F PIG!” Minter bellowed. “F PIG!”
Teddy cracked up and I did too. I couldn’t help it. He’d never known a hostile police force in his life but it was in his blood to shout that.