Chapter Six –
Fun to be had all round…
The day before Christmas Eve.
Axel and Ace - Ace’s POV
“T his is gonna be a slaughter,” I muttered.
The Hellions were sitting nicely for now, but for how long? We were in the dining room, which Phoe said we could use with half the Hellions with us. The other lot were in the kitchen with Rock, Gunner, and Apache. I’d begged Artemis to join us, but she’d laughed in my face and disappeared like fuckin’ Harry Houdini. Bitch!
“Nah, they’re gonna love this,” Axel boomed and beamed at his many adopted grandkids.
Yeah, they might. I wasn’t going to, though. Not when I saw my group, not only had Eddie, but Dante too. What had I done to deserve this shit?
Axel sent me a dirty glare and then tapped the table. The kids all shut up their bickering and looked up. Eddie already had an expression on her face that made me want to lock her up.
“You all got several ornaments to decorate. Get stuck in and holler if you need help,” he boomed and stepped back. There was a scrabble for items, and within ten seconds, my six-year-old daughter was crying from where her twin brother Nashoba had elbowed her.
Before I could comfort her, Nokomis’s temper kicked in, and she smashed Nashoba’s head into the table. She dried her tears on his favourite Thor tee-shirt and dumped glue on his head. Yup, shit storm coming up. Axel boomed with laughter as I scooped Nashoba up and headed for the door.
“Wash his hair,” I said, handing Nashoba to the prospect. Cody sighed but took my son and marched away. Nashoba was muttering threats as he disappeared.
When I turned back, Nokomis was smiling innocently and helping four-year-old Halona stick glitter to a cut-out Christmas tree. Halona was already covered in glitter, and I grinned as I realised her father was going to have a real mess on his hands. And Dad hated that shit.
I quickly stopped Fish’s daughter, Julianna, from gluing her twin brother’s lips together. Dammit, why did the girls always get one up on the boys? I scooped Hawk up with a dark glare at Julianna, who gazed at me wide-eyed. The next thing, tears trickled down Julianna’s cheeks, and I sighed.
“Decorate the ornaments,” I warned.
Julianna’s bottom lip trembled, and guilt flooded me.
“Carry on, kid,” I muttered in a nicer tone.
She dipped her chin.
Eddie nodded with approval, and I realised I just got played. Especially when Julianna sent Hawk a triumphant stare. Shaking my head, I dumped Hawk in Christian’s arms.
“Julianna glued his lips together. You better get Phoe for that one,” I said, and Christian snorted.
When I returned, I caught Dante about to squeeze an entire tube of paint over Eddie and snatched it from him. Axel looked amused.
“You gonna help?” I demanded. “Oh no, you don’t!” I grabbed the scissors that Robin, Jett’s five-year-old boy, had in hand to cut his three-year-old sister’s hair off. Shit, Sin would kill us, as Lexie had cute blond ringlets, and Sin loved them.
“You’re doing fine,” Axel boomed, handing Davy some paint.
I scanned the children, looking for mischief, and wondered how the hell I’d missed Eddie, Amelia, and Aria flattening Dante. Aria had a huge D on her forehead, and I groaned. The three girls had pinned Dante to the floor, and by the time I got them off him, Dante was fucked. He had pink eyelids, purple eyebrows, red, rosy cheeks and green lips. And one of them had drawn a dick in the middle of his head.
Judging by Aria’s smug expression, it had been her. I grabbed Dante by the scruff of his neck and eyed Aria. “You finished?”
“Not yet, Uncle Ace, please, hold him steady,” Aria said politely.
Well, hell, the kids were at least polite. Before I could stop her, Aria had drawn another dick on his cheek and written Aria’s bitch on the other with a yellow star.
Axel boomed with laughter as I stared in horror at the squirming child in my hand. Aria gave me a hug, kissed my chin, and returned to decorating.
Eddie produced some wet wipes and began scrubbing at Aria’s head. Jesus, Gunner was going to freak out if that D didn’t come off. I opened the door and looked for Cody or Christian. Instead, I found the future jailbird’s dad.
Drake gazed at Dante, and his lips twitched. He scowled at Drake in return, and I hid a grin. Dante was the fuckin’ image of his father.
“Wow!” Phoe exclaimed from behind us. She studied Dante. “You will never learn, son, until it’s too late. You’ll drive Aria away! Drake, you can deal with that. What did he do to her?”
“He drew a huge D on her head,” I replied.
“Then he got what he deserved,” Phoe said and rushed off.
I handed the sulking child over to his father and walked back to see what mayhem the Hellions could create next.
Rock, Gunner and Apache - Gunner’s POV
I was thanking God I didn’t have the ornament decorating to deal with. I could only imagine the carnage they’d get up in there. At least here, we’d make cookies and stick them in the oven to bake and then decorate. Weren’t much that could go wrong with that scenario? Not like making ornaments.
I could see Rock, and Apache were thinking the same as me.
Until we started.
Everything was fine until Garrett dropped his mix on Amelia’s lap.
Amelia let out a high-pitched scream and scooped the batter up and smashed it straight into Garrett’s face. Immediately Garrett’s twin, Jake, took offence and collected up a handful and slammed it back into Amelia’s. I winced as Rock grabbed Amelia, who promptly threw a bag of flour over both boys.
Apache caught the twins, and we marched them out of the kitchen to where Harley and Grey waited. “Clean them up.”
Harley and Grey looked horrified.
“Give me them, I’ll chuck them in the shower fully clothed,” Harley said. “You can just wash Amelia’s hands and face and wipe down her dress.”
“I love this outfit,” Amelia hissed at Garrett, who blanched. “You’re going to pay when the Princesses are back together!”
I hid a laugh as Garrett looked up at his brother, and Harley shrugged.
“You kids don’t fuckin’ learn,” Harley said.
I entered the room and scooped Peyton, Drake’s kid, and Isla, Savage’s daughter (both aged six) up. The girls faced off against Elijah, Lowrider’s six-year-old son, and Apache’s twin sons (also the same age), Kite and Eagle. Judging by the looks, the boys were about to get their asses kicked.
Isla picked up a deformed snowman as I carried her past a tray, and she launched it at Kite.
“That was perfect until you touched it,” she hissed with sheer venom in her voice.
I dumped Isla on her feet but wasn’t quick enough to restrain Peyton as she grabbed a tube of icing and sprayed all three boys. I stepped back as I guessed exactly where this was going.
Rock did the same, but Apache went barrelling in to stop his sons. Too late. Bags of flour flew, followed by eggs and chocolate chips. Butter was scooped up and smeared over faces and into hair, and I saw dainty little Everleigh, Lex’s triplet daughter (aged two), shove Maverick’s face into a bowl.
“Catch that fucker!” I roared as Mav stood up roaring. I reached for the one child we all feared as much as Eddie, but Mav had geared up. Fish’s five-year-old terror let rip, and dough balls splattered everywhere. It was sheer chaos. Screams, squeals, shrieks erupted from the kitchen, which must have been heard throughout the house. But nobody came to our rescue. Clearly, the old ladies were leaving us to it.
“Enough!” Mrs Ames roared, and the children froze on the spot, some in mid-motion. “How dare you treat my kitchen like that?”
Kids immediately looked to the adults, but we kept our mouths shut.
“All of you will scrub this place before sorting yourselves. I’m utterly disappointed with you all. How disrespectful you are!” Mrs Ames continued.
She disappeared into the corridor and came back with armfuls of cleaning stuff.
“You three are in charge of making sure they clean this from top to bottom. Meanwhile, I will supervise. Should you do a proper job, I may make you cookies for tomorrow. Otherwise, no cookies!” Mrs Ames threatened.
Wow. That woman was a goddess, I decided.
The kids moved, even the toddlers, and soon, the kitchen was sparkling.
“They are not traipsing through my rooms like that. Take them down to the man cave and use the bathrooms there. Luckily, their mothers prepared for this disaster, and they all have a couple of changes of clothes. Fetch their backpacks from the cloakroom,” Mrs Ames ordered Grey and Harley.
“Aww, we missed a food fight,” Garrett complained.
Mrs Ames sent him a dire glare, and Garrett wisely stopped talking.
I opened the door, and my mouth flapped like a fish. It took me several seconds to understand what was on my girl’s head.
Aria scowled at me as she rubbed the faint mark.
“Dante, you bastard! I’m coming for you, boy!” I roared as I snatched Aria up and held her tight. Her little arms wrapped around me. “I am gonna whoop his ass,” I promised my baby.
“Daddy, he marked me,” Aria said with a trembling lip and tears in her eyes.
That kid had better run. He’d made my girl cry.
I missed the triumphant look Aria offered as she snuggled into me. Dante was a dead child walking.
Drake
I was grinning as I preened in front of the stables. Phoe and all the old ladies stood there, surprised and awestruck.
“Great, ain’t they?” I asked.
“Yeah, who’s looking after them?” Phoe demanded.
“They come with a dude.”
“Drake?” Phoe was not amused.
“Yes, I paid for a stable hand for them,” I answered.
“Okay, that’s not so bad then,” Phoe said, approaching and holding out a carrot. The reindeer snatched it off her and began chomping happily. “How cute!”
“This one seems feisty,” Vivie exclaimed as a reindeer followed her around the fence.
“A little bit,” the guy in charge of the reindeers replied as he approached. “I’m Rudy.”
I smirked as the women exchanged glances, and Artemis opened her mouth. Yup, I knew what was coming. “Why don’t you fetch the kids? They’ve all eaten lunch and need to burn some energy off. Especially after this morning.”
I had to avoid Gunner for the rest of the day, or until Aria’s mark wore off. Sadly, despite Dante’s face being washed several times, the marks weren’t washing off. Mrs Ames had banned everyone from her kitchen and was baking dozens of cookies the kids could decorate later in the dining room under stern supervision and in smaller groups. Her orders had been one adult to a child, and she didn’t care if it took to Christmas Eve for every youngster to decorate a cookie.
It wasn’t worth upsetting the woman who was in charge of my stomach’s demands. In pure revenge, Mrs Ames might make salads or some other horrific food, like liver and bacon with mash. What the fuck were the English thinking of when they decided that was a meal?
I looked up as Hellions raced towards us, and I grinned. This would be fun.
The kids surrounded the reindeer in sheer happiness, all cooing and asking Rudy questions.
Everything was perfect until the feisty one, named Blitzen, spotted Vivie and began stalking her.
“He likes her.” Rudy chuckled.
I thought Vivie felt a bit different as the reindeer made dopey eyes at her.
Vivie eyed it with a great deal of wariness.
A split second, that’s all it took. I turned my back to hoist Halona and Blue up, and there was a scream. I spun around and saw Blitzen had jumped the fence. Rudy leapt after it as the reindeer stalked towards Vivie.
“Don’t run,” Rudy warned.
Vivie sent him a dubious look.
“Seriously, Blitzen will give chase. He’s fallen in love with you,” Rudy said, and the reindeer strode closer to Vivie.
Vivie didn’t hesitate. She dragged the closest person in front of her, Mina, who squealed and then took to her heels. Blitzen snorted and ran.
Vivie made it up the steps to the porch in record time as the animal paced them, trying to figure them out.
“Yeah! Let’s get him!” Eddie yelled, and I cringed as every child shot off screaming. I hoped Rudy could outrun them, or Blitzen was about to be the most wanted reindeer in North America.
“Great! Escaping reindeer. What’s your encore?” Phoe demanded.
I winced.
Eddie
That had been fun. We finally wore Blitzen down, and he was back in the pen. He was going to behave from now on in, I’d given him a stern talking to. Blitzen had listened and agreed to be good because he didn’t want to frighten the younger children.
I turned around and spotted Dante, the paint on his face still glowing. Serves him right. I might be four years older than Aria, but she was my girl. Dante was a brat.
Dante may be seven to my twelve, but he always pushed the boundaries, as Mama Phoe was fond of saying. Not that I didn’t, too, but I was a kid. That was expected.
Now, we were heading out to build snowmen. Snowmen were good fun. We could also have a snowball fight and pummel the Legacies. They liked to think they were big and bad, but they’d nothing on me. I was like a movie character, the super supreme baddie. I had my side kicks and my girl gang, and I owned the world. There was no stopping me.
As I wrapped a scarf around my neck, I checked out of my bedroom window. The snow was coming down heavily, and it would be great.
I bounced down the stairs and saw movement from the morning room. We weren’t really allowed in there, but I spotted Davy and headed towards her.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I think we’ve seen a yeti or big foot,” Davy hissed.
Bonnie, Alyssa, and Aria all stood beside her, peering through the window and nodding.
“What? They don’t exist!” I exclaimed.
“No? Then get your skinny ass here,” Davy snapped, and I laughed. Her attitude was coming along perfectly.
I crept up and peered through, praying Mama Phoe didn’t catch me here. This was her special room for guests.
“Look!” Daisy squealed, and Amelia pointed out the window.
Outside in the trees, something huge moved, and my eyes went wide.
“What the hell?” I muttered, leaning closer.
“A yeti!” Amelia hissed.
“No. Yeti’s live in the mountains, that’s a big foot. He lives in the forests,” Bonnie argued.
My gaze swept the area, and my stomach sank. The little kids were piling outside to play, and there was a dangerous creature near them. No! I had to save them.
“Go and collect the youngsters. Tell the moms!” I cried as I dashed towards a room I wasn’t allowed in. But this was a life and death situation. I was the leader of the Princesses, and they were all under my protection.
Rock
I hated Christmas. The snow, the lights, and the fuss. Everything was over the top, and I liked it small and minimalistic. However, my woman loved this season, which is why I was out here traipsing back from the Rivendell Village, where I’d just helped her decorate the tree. So, what if we got a little bit of loving in? Carly was happy, and so was I.
Or I had been until a fuckin’ tree dumped a shitload of snow on me and smothered me head to toe. I had a change of clothes at the Hall. Most of us did nowadays, which was lucky. The snow had run down my neck and was even in my boots. Now, I was stomping and trying to shed it, but it clung to me like a magnet.
I saw the Hellions piling out the door and paused to watch them play. It was rare they played nicely, so I wanted to remember this. I pulled out my phone and snapped several shots as the women got involved. The laughter and fun took away from the darkness in our lives, and I needed this one single moment.
The older Princesses spilled from the Hall, all yelling and shoving the younger children behind them. Just as I stepped forward, another tree dumped a load on me. I didn’t have time to brush it off. The girls were in a panic and pulling at their mothers.
Something was wrong.
“Big foot!” Bonnie screeched at the top of her lungs.
Carly straightened and frowned as I trudged forward.
“What do you mean, Big Foot?” Carly’s words faintly floated back towards me.
“There!” Amelia screamed, shoving Sin around to face me.
The front door of the Hall burst open, and I stared, frozen on the spot, as Eddie blasted through it.
Holding a fuckin’ shot gun.
My stomach clenched as it was aimed at me.
“Kill it!” Davy yelled as she shoved the younger children through the doors.
Eddie held the shotgun up as the old ladies froze.
Carly met my eyes, and her mouth opened in a scream.
“No!”
Too late.
Eddie pulled back, and a boom roared through the area. I stood spellbound as Eddie was lifted off her feet and blasted backwards into the Hall. She dropped the gun as the power of the shot knocked her flying.
Carly was moving, screaming my name as I searched my body for pain. My feet stung like mad, my nose was frozen, my gut was still twisted, and I think I might have pissed myself a little. But nothing frightened me more than seeing Eddie sit up like something possessed and reach for the shotgun again. And this time, Carly was in the way.
“Carly, move!” I roared and raced towards her.
“Aunt Carly’s in trouble! The Big Foot is going to eat her!” Davy screamed.
Eddie climbed to her feet, and I knew I wouldn’t make Carly in time. Eddie notched the shotgun and fired.
Once more, Eddie was thrown onto her back as the shotgun echoed.
My brothers began appearing as the old ladies covered the younger children. Carly kept running towards me, screaming my name, and I spotted Drake yanking the shotgun away from Eddie. Who clearly had held onto the trigger as it boomed a third time, and everyone inside the entrance hall ducked.
“He is going to eat Aunt Carly!” Amelia yelled. “Get him! He’s a Big Foot! Daddy! You gotta save Aunt Carly!”
Carly threw herself into my arms, and I barely caught her as she patted me down and cupped my face before sobbing.
“You’re alive!”
“I think so,” I replied as Carly began climbing me and wrapping herself around me.
There was chaos coming from the Hall, and I heard a bellow.
“Charge!” Eddie yelled. “Save Aunt Carly!”
Oh God, what now?
I turned to place Carly safely behind me when the first kid hit me hard. I stumbled and had just caught my balance when the second and third girl landed. They tackled my legs and took my knees out. Another child barrelled into me, and my legs gave out. Two more jumped on my back, and one shoved me face-first into the snow.
“Run, Aunt Carly, we’ll save you!” Eddie yelled shrilly in my ear.
I yelped in pain. That kid needed her vocal cords yanking out.
I tried throwing one of the children off my leg, but the little fucker bit me hard.
“He tastes like jeans,” I swear Aria exclaimed.
“Big Foot wears jeans?” Alyssa asked.
Someone smacked my head into the snow several times as they wound their hands into my hair.
“No, he’s hairy! Look!” Bonnie cried as she yanked my head up by my hair. I howled in pain.
“Get off him,” Carly ordered, and it sounded like she was laughing.
“Aunt Carly, run. We got this,” Eddie said and rapped me on my head.
“Here, hit him with this rock!” Davy suggested, and I bucked upwards. I could hear people approaching, and Carly began pulling the girls off me.
“That’s Uncle Rock!” she kept saying.
“If that’s Uncle Rock, why didn’t he identify himself?” Eddie retorted.
“Probably because you shot at him!” Carly responded sharply.
“He looked like a Yeti,” Eddie snapped.
“Big Foot!” Bonnie corrected.
I flipped onto my back and gazed up at Carly’s concerned face.
“Did she hit you?” she murmured, cupping my cheeks.
“No. I think I’m alive, but I can’t feel shit from the snow,” I replied. Hands reached down, and I was patted down by Drake and then Klutz. Both heaved sighs of relief.
“What were you thinking? How the hell did you get into the gun cupboard, and how dare you shoot a weapon near the children?” Drake roared at Eddie.
Shockingly, the damn child rolled her eyes.
“Please. I’ve known the combination since I was five. And I didn’t fire a shotgun around the kids,” she retorted.
“What the fuck is this?” Drake yelled, shaking the gun at her.
“That’s the rubber bullet one. I wasn’t going to shoot live ammo with the babies around. But I had to protect them from the Yeti,” Eddie replied.
“Rubber bullet?” Drake shouted, but he looked down at the gun, and his shoulders relaxed.
“You shot at me!” I bellowed at Eddie.
“Do you want Big Foot to eat your children?” she snapped.
“What? No,” I answered.
“Then a thank you for saving them would be nice,” Eddie continued.
I swapped glances with everyone, unable to believe the bare cheek of her.
“How about I don’t paddle your backside for shooting at me? I do not give a fuck if they were rubber bullets,” I snarled.
“The good news is you all know I’ll defend the kids. And so will my girls. A thanks wouldn’t be amiss,” Eddie stated sulkily. Around her, her girls pouted.
“I was shot at,” I exclaimed in disbelief.
Carly patted my arm. “You did look a lot like a Yeti. But it is all fine. You’re all safe.”
“It’s okay now?” Drake asked as if he did not believe what Carly had just said. “Eddie can get into the safe. She fired at Rock. She could have killed him.”
“But she didn’t, and I have to say I am proud of her for defending the younger children,” Phoe stated as she approached. “Rock, come and get dry and warm. Kids go back to playing. Eddie, your dad will talk to you about gun safety and explain why this could have all gone wrong.”
“I know; why do you think I grabbed the rubber bullet one?” Eddie replied.
“Well, let your father lecture you so he feels better, and then come and make some snowmen,” Phoe said.
Eddie thought about it and nodded before moving away.
“How did she end up the hero?” I demanded of Drake and my brothers.
They all shrugged.
“No idea, but Eddie always does!” Drake complained. “She’ll be the death of me. But luckily, not you!”
“Thanks, brother,” I grumbled and stomped towards the house.
A fuckin’ Yeti!