CHAPTER TWENTY
Wess
Nightshade Bear Territory
Over the next few days, I couldn’t convince Preston to sit still much less to relax.
His thoughts raced ahead of him, and he chased after his to-do list like he was running down a cub snatcher in the forest. On the other hand, Mori didn’t get out of bed often as Yuletide approached.
So, I alternated between taking the convalescing bear his meals and trying to convince Preston that sitting still for more than a few minutes at a time wouldn’t end the world.
Only he kept on going like a bear eating up everything in sight to get ready for a long hibernation.
Drone deliveries came in droves. Everything a baby might ever want or need, arrived at our house, along with more snacks than we’d ever finish in a lifetime.
Their parents were in and out of the house along with Colton and Lero.
The latter of which was still acting strange, but I didn’t have the time to chase after three omegas.
Two was my newly discovered but strict limit.
Baby Andy trailed behind me or Preston in his bear cub form playing and chewing on everything in sight.
Just when it felt like the preparations would never end, Yuletide Eve rolled into our laps and everything fell silent.
For the first time since his twin-revealing ultrasound, Preston didn’t rush out of bed in the morning.
He lounged around with me and the baby, talking about how we’d open gifts at his parents’ place tonight and then here in the morning for the baby before going to Yuletide dinner in the village square.
Now that the nursery was stocked to the brim and ready for an army of newborns, some of the tension had left my mate.
“Thanks for helping with Mori and Andy---” I put my hand over his mouth.
“Don’t think me for doing stuff. We’re in this together,” I laughed and he licked my hand.
If the baby hadn’t been in bed with us, I’d have a lot to say about what he could lick.
Instead, I stole away the blanket and pushed up his shirt to reveal the smooth plain of his belly which was no longer completely flat.
At its utmost bottom the smallest baby bump was visible.
I placed my hand over it and tried to imagine our children growing inside.
A tiny knock on the door told us Mori was awake and he’d finally gotten out of bed.
“Come in!” Preston called without getting up because he was enjoying his belly rub.
Mori climbed into bed on the other side of his brother and sighed. He didn’t look thrilled to seize the day but at least he’d come out of his bedroom.
“I think I’m sad because I keep playing out this alternative timeline in my head of what my life would be like if I hadn’t messed up at the bar when I dumped the drink on Alvis by accident,” Mori whispered.
“Time for a cleansing ceremony,” Preston sighed.
“It’s Yuletide Eve!” Mori laughed.
“Exactly. You need to ground yourself and let go of the b-u-l-l-s-h-i-t that’s no longer serving you. I’ll start the fire.”
“Uh…. Are we going to burn down Mori?” I arched a brow.
“No, we’re going to make a fire and write down everything that has been holding us down and everything that we don’t want to carry with us anymore and ---”
“And it’s all going to fit into the fire?” I blinked at him. “I mean Sharon isn’t even here and…”
Mori laughed first, realizing that I was making a bad joke. Preston laughed too but pinched my leg playfully as he stole a kiss.
“I’ll start the fire at the fire pit. You get to writing, Sigmore,” Preston said, using the full length of his twin’s name. “You…” he looked at me. “Feed the baby.”
“Bay,” Baby Andy said between us. “Bay!”
“Yes, you’re our baby,” Preston said and leaned over to kiss his little forehead while tickling his belly. “Also, if it’s not too much trouble— Ouch! Don’t pinch my butt!”
Baby Andy and Mori broke out into laughter.
“It’s never too much trouble,” I reminded him. “You’re never too much trouble.”
“One day I’m going to ask for someone’s heart or head or something and you’re going to regret saying that,” Preston said, sitting up.
“Will that be on a silver or gold platter?” I asked him.
“Just feed the baby and get him dressed without putting him on a platter, please,” he laughed. “Also, no snow ice cream for breakfast for him. Just because it has raspberries in it doesn’t mean it’s healthy.”
“Rapbey! Brrr! Rapbey!” Baby Andy said as I scooped him.
“I mean it, Wess! No ice cream for breakfast!” Preston called after us as I carried him toward the kitchen.
“Just one bite of ice cream and then we have to eat eggs,” I whispered. “One little bite don’t tell on me, okay?”
“OOO-key!” he said.
An hour later, we were all outside at the firepit.
I had considered bringing marshmallows but wasn’t sure if the smoke from the burning lists would only mean we were eating our problems back if we roasted marshmallows over the banishing fire.
Baby Andy sat in his little furry bear cub form on the ground between my legs and Preston’s.
He stared into the fire as if watching a show or movie.
The twins scribbled away under the bright, early morning sunlight.
I had written a few things on my list, but they were all names that I wondered if I should put into a frozen creek rather than a fire.
Unless Sharon Claudis was going to burst into flames when I tossed in her name, it didn’t seem very practical to put her into the fire.
I was tempted to peek at the others’ lists but minded my manners as I tapped my pen against the notebook.
Outside of threats to the family and Mori’s depression, nothing really bothered me.
Perhaps I hadn’t lived away from the mountain long enough to have too many problems.
When we had all finished writing, Preston made a show of collecting the papers and standing on the other side of the firepit before he spoke.
“Today, on the last day before winter sinks its literal teeth into the wheel of the year, we gather here as a family, to banish the things that have plagued us for too long. We are releasing the energies that bind these to us and sending them away on the smoke of this fire. We’re letting go and moving forward.
As the leaves of the trees have died, so shall the worries and nuisance written on these sheets.
We thank the trees that were felled to make the paper and the hands and minds that made the pens and notebooks and everything else that went into it.
We remember how we built this firepit with our sire and our brother Colton and know that their energy is here too helping to burn away these issues and help us carry on to a merrier Yuletide. ”
One by one my mate dropped the papers into the fire, and they burnt to ash almost instantly.
The fire was hungry because the cold breeze licked it back.
It gobbled up the trees turned paper until they were nothing but ash.
We sat and watched the fire burn for a long time.
The old bear from next door walked over through the connected backyards, trekking through the snow, and dropped in his own list. He winked at us before disappearing back into his own space.
“I’m ready for breakfast,” Preston said.
Little did he know but breakfast was ready for him too.
I’d sent a text to Barry to tell him we had run into some magical cleansing to be done, and I was sure the twins would be starving by the time it was all wrapped up.
So, we walked back into an empty kitchen, but a table filled with dishes of biscuits and gravy, bacon and sausage, fried potatoes, eggs, and more.
Preston shot me a knowing look but sat down to dig in anyway.
Sometimes you had to ask for help. Besides, it was Yuletide Eve, and it was supposed to be magical.