Chapter 10
WREN
L ying against Nate’s chest in front of the television, I could almost fool myself that nothing had changed today. Nate’s arm was banded tightly under my breasts, like he was worried I’d run from him, now that I knew he wasn’t a virgin when I’d met him. I wasn’t that delusional.
Sure, Nate’s ex-wife was beautiful. Scary as fuck, but gorgeous in a way I couldn’t even imagine, let alone envy. She held herself like she knew she was the baddest person in the room, and while Nate might protest, I wasn’t sure any of the guys could take her one-on-one. Her power felt more like Demke’s than Nate’s. The Godliness of her made my eyes sting.
We’d all suffered through the world’s most awkward sitdown meeting, with Nate glaring at both Morrigan and Clio in equal measure, as they delivered bad news after bad news. Apparently, I’d split the world, which seemed to delight Morrigan endlessly, which in turn was terrifying. The infighting was already becoming bloody, like everyone had just been waiting for an excuse to turn on each other.
Clio had told us that Boston became the epicenter for a time, as monsters tracked me to my hometown. They’d even begun circling Java Llama, scaring the shit out of my former boss. The idea of Bob pissing his pants in front of his beat-down Nova made me sadistically happy.
Nate had asked about Mrs. Byrne’s house—which was our house now, I guess—and my stomach had soured at the thought of the place being destroyed.
Fortunately, Clio had given us one little piece of good news on that front. “Someone bolstered the wards. I’m not sure anyone but Wren and the Dalai Lama could get in now.”
“Do you know who did it?”
Shaking her head, she’d told us she hadn’t recognized the signature of the wards’ magic, but knew they weren’t Celtic in origin.
I didn’t know if that was reassuring, or even more terrifying. Who would do that? It seemed almost… personal.
Had I been around more Mythics all these years and never known?
I rolled my head to look up at Nate. “Mrs. B wasn’t a Mythic, was she?” If she had been, surely she wouldn’t have died.
Nate nuzzled his cheek against the top of my head. “No. She was human. The best of them, at that.”
I frowned. “Did she know about you, and all this?” I tried to imagine devoutly Catholic Mrs. B, who’d gone to church twice a week and lit candles, holding onto that faith, knowing Gods like Nate and Demke existed.
Nate chuckled. “Oh yeah, she knew all right. Didn’t stop her from ordering me around like she was my elder, as if I didn’t have shirts older than she was. It was part of her charm. She treated me not as someone to be worshiped, but just as someone who mattered, who needed to be kept anchored to the world.” He sighed. “I’ll miss her.”
A tear rolled down my cheek, dripping down to land on his bicep. “Me too.” I sighed, snuggling closer to his chest, even though the heat made everything sweaty and sticky. “If we were having a girl, I would’ve called her Zelda.”
He huffed a little laugh. “Next time?”
The noise I made could’ve been mistaken for a laugh, if you ignored the slightly hysterical undertones. “I think we’ll be a little busy for a while, don’t you think?”
He growled, rolling me easily so I was straddling his hips. He was clad only in thin swim shorts, and they provided very little barrier to the bulge beneath. “Maybe a little busy, but I’m still going to imagine pumping you so full of my release that you can’t help but get big and round with my baby every time we make love. Practice makes perfect.”
I groaned. Teron had suggested no sex until the babies were born, but man, that felt like an eternity when Nate’s hard cock was right there , nudging my clit. I moaned a little as I wriggled my hips, trying to get some relief.
“Are we too old to dry hump?” I whispered conspiratorially, catching his lips with my own. His hands landed on my hips, dragging me against him as he fucked my mouth with his tongue. When he finally pulled away, I was gasping for air, my whole body on fire.
He grinned at me, a smug smirk that was full of male pride. “You’re never too old to grind on my cock, mo stóirín. ”
He thrust up against me, and I moaned against his lips. It wasn’t quite what I wanted, but it was enough. Grinding on him, I threw my head back as his hands wandered higher, cupping my full breasts.
Until someone cleared their throat.
The low rumble of annoyance in Nate’s throat might have been more terrifying if I didn’t know him so well. Looking over my shoulder, I took in Cy’s grinning face.
“If I were you, I’d run,” I teased, but Cy just grinned wider.
Beside him were two dogs—one big and bulky, and if I wasn’t wrong, the very pregnant mama dog who now looked a little less pregnant. I blinked in surprise, then noticed the basket in Cy’s arms.
“You had your pups,” I squealed, climbing off an irritated Nate’s lap. Before, I might’ve run over and looked in the basket, but I was beginning to realize that dogs were a lot more empathetic than humans gave them credit for. Stopping a few feet away, I looked at the dogs on guard at Cy’s feet. “Congratulations on your litter. I’m sure it’s a relief not to be pregnant anymore.” I stroked my own rounded stomach, unsure if they could understand me, but I trusted that Cy would translate later for me if they couldn’t. I bowed my head in their direction, trying to remember what the dog whisperer on TV had said about body language and eye contact. “Thank you for coming to my aid.”
I’d been thanking each of the dogs as I came across them. They’d had the most significant losses, and it seemed only right to show my appreciation to the pack.
The mama dog gave a small butt wiggle, and I took that to mean she didn’t find me a threat. Looking at her soft brown eyes, I smiled. “May I see your babies?”
I looked between her and Cy, who I was pretty sure was communicating with them somehow. He gently lowered the basket to the ground before helping me sit down. Not going to lie, with a belly this big, it wasn’t an easy feat. Though as the tiny bodies wiggled around in the mish-mash of clothes, it was worth it.
“They’re just beautiful,” I whispered to the mama dog. The pups squeaked for their mother, and she nuzzled them with her nose. I wanted to reach out and pet them, but knew that would be overstepping. I wasn’t sure how I knew, but I did.
Looking up at Cy, I tilted my head toward the adult dogs. “What are their names?”
“Tsíli and Listís. They’re mates. They haven’t named the pups; they’ll grow into their own names, eventually.” He smiled down at them. “Listís is an excellent warrior.” Tsíli gave him a sharp-eyed expression, making Cy chuckle. “Tsíli wants you to know that she is also an excellent fighter, when she is not mothering a litter of puppies.”
“Mothers are the most ferocious of fighters,” I told her admiringly. “Cy will get you settled somewhere safe and quiet.”
Cy nodded, and the amusement slid from his face. “We need to speak once I get this family settled.” He looked between me and Nate, and I could tell it was serious by the downturned curve of his lips. Cy was usually happy, a golden retriever of a man.
I sighed. Small happinesses. I had to hold onto these fleeting joyful moments, or I might have a complete breakdown and run screaming naked through the streets of Amourgeles. Nodding, I wandered back toward Nate and lay down beside him. “It’s always serious news. Maybe I should move to a tiny, uninhabited island in the middle of the ocean.”
Nate raised an eyebrow at me, but didn’t disagree. “It’s okay to be angry, mo stóirín. You didn’t ask for any of this. Though, selfishly, I’m glad you needed me in some small way. Otherwise, I would have spent decades just watching you from afar and never making a move.”
My lips curled. When Nate had been my neighbor, I’d spent my fair share of time looking at him with goo-goo eyes from across the hall. If it hadn’t been for the babies and how overwhelmed I’d been, I probably would’ve run the other way every time he spoke to me, just as I had for the last five years.
Rubbing my stomach, I leaned up and kissed his chin. “Selfishly, I’m happy too.” One of the babies headbutted me in what felt like a lung, and I coughed. “What about Byrne as a name?” I laid my head on Nate’s chest, and he rubbed my stomach, like he was trying to herd the babies downwards. There really wasn’t that much room in there.
“I like it. Though Byrne means ‘from Bran’ after the king from the area where the name originated. He was a decent king for the time. Bran’s a good solid name, not quite as harsh as Byrne.”
Bran. I tasted the name, and it felt right. “Did we just name our baby?”
He laughed, leaning forward to give me a scorching brand of a kiss. “I think we did. One down, two to go.”
Cy reappeared, and with him came Demke. The enigmatic Minoan God looked at my position against Nate’s chest, and for a moment, I thought I saw a flash of envy on his face, but it was gone just as quickly.
I’d figure that out later. One crisis at a time.
Flopping onto the floor beside me, Cy looked longingly at the end of the couch. Sometimes, he slept behind my knees in his dog form. A totally normal place for a dog to sleep, but if I actually thought about the fact he was a man nuzzled beneath my ass cheeks with his nose pressed into my thighs, I freaked out a little.
He held my gaze, but I got the feeling that his attention was on Demke. “Apollo is on the island.”
Demke’s hiss told me that was a bad thing, but I didn’t need to be a theologian to know that Apollo was part of the Greek Pantheon. “What does he want?”
“There’s been a prophecy.”
The world went quiet. Nate’s chest went rigid beneath me. It was like time stopped, like history was holding its breath.
Demke turned ashy beneath his normal golden tan. Fear flashed across his face, his eyes recounting a moment far away in a time, long before the world as I knew it existed. He was caught in a memory of a different woman, a different prophecy.
I reached out, gripping his hand, anchoring him to this moment with me. He looked down at our fingers, recognition slowly leeching back into his face along with the color of his cheeks. Swallowing hard, he nodded at Cy. “Tell us.”
Not taking his eyes from mine, Cy blew out a long breath. “With the death of the mother, the new weavers will be born into the tapestry, and a new age will begin.”
Icy dread filled my veins. Well, that doesn’t sound good.