Chapter 14
Jace
By the time I dropped Popo off, my heart was near to bursting. I went straight for clan lands and parked on Anthony’s property to shift.
I hadn’t expected Hayden. All that she was and the way she just made me want to protect her, to love her, to be everything she could need.
Kids, who knew they would affect me so easily? So deeply. How in the hell was my father able to look at his children and walk away from them?
The thought made my chest burn something fierce. Even after all these years, it hurt. Not just for me but for my brother.
Hayden wasn’t even mine, but I couldn’t imagine walking away from her and hurting her that way. It was a revelation I didn’t expect to feel, or at least not so soon. I’d gotten attached quickly.
After a long flight under cover of the dark, I returned home and was surprised to find Sammy sitting in my living room. She’d been MIA for a while, and she looked damn tired.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She waved off my concern. “It’s just the shift of the retrograde. It’s bouncing off my magic and making me angsty.”
I didn’t know what in the world that meant, but I knew better than to ask.
“So, to what do I owe the pleasure?”
She grinned. “I can’t stop by to see a friend?”
I raised a brow, which made her laugh and relax a little.
At least she was resting now. I didn’t know what she’d been doing, but she needed a break. It couldn’t have been easy being a clan’s witch, especially with the unknown amount of power that Sammy possessed.
“Take a seat. Lots to talk about.” She shifted around and got more comfortable on my couch. “I have to tell you something. I made a necklace for Hayden.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I’m sure she’ll love that. I noticed she was wearing one today.”
“A dragon?” Sammy asked.
I narrowed my eyes and nodded.
“That’s the one I made her. I had a vision of Damon, but it was shrouded. Unclear, but it was enough for me to know the kid needed some extra protection.”
Her news put me on edge and angered me, both because Sammy hadn’t told me yet, and because that meant Bri’s asshole ex wasn’t out of the picture.
She held up her hands. “I didn’t want to say anything until it was clearer to me, but I gave the necklace to Hayden as a precaution. The vision grew clearer today. That’s why I’m here now. Damon is coming for Hayden.”
My dragon thrashed inside me as rage spiked.
“Now, calm down. I’m here and not there protecting her because he’s coming for her legally. I sense some evil spirits around him, helping him build a case to try and get custody of Hayden. Bri is going to need you, because it may get ugly. You’ve got to be strong enough and ready to take that on.”
“I’m not going anywhere, and I have absolutely no intention of letting anyone take Hayden away from her mother.”
Sammy smiled and her eyes closed for a moment as if she was lost in thought. When she opened her eyes again, she looked relieved.
“My visions are incredibly tricky. One simple act or decision can shift an entire vision’s ending.” She patted me on the shoulder. “You’re doing the right thing. Try not to worry.” She then tilted her head and grunted, staring off at my living room wall.
“What’s that noise about?”
She jerked her gaze toward me. “Isn’t it funny how people enter our lives when we least expect it?”
I gave her a confused look. I didn’t know if I was supposed to understand what that meant.
She smiled and patted my arm again. “Tell Porter to stick around. You’re going to need him, and I have a feeling that he needs to be here as well.”
I didn't have the first clue how to approach the situation with Damon to Bri. It wasn’t like I could just pop up and say my clan’s witch told me Briana’s ex-husband was coming to try and take her kid.
So instead, I called my newfound brother up the next afternoon to see if he had time to meet me.
Porter readily agreed to come over to my place for lunch.
When he arrived, I told him everything I knew about Damon, then what Sammy had told me.
Porter nodded. “I had this funny feeling there was more reason for me to be there than to just meet you, but I couldn’t explain it. Meeting you was big enough, but I just knew there was something else. I’ll look into some things and ask around to see what we can do.”
“Thank you.” I meant my thanks from the bottom of my heart.
Porter and I exchanged a look before he spoke. “What are big brothers for?” Well, that explained that. He was older and my mother and I were the other family. Damn.
But at least Porter was sincere. Genuine. It was nice to feel I could trust him.
“So,” Porter said, drumming his fingers on the table. “A human?”
I shrugged. “Man, I don’t know. First it was Anthony. He met Skye and they were meant to be. Now me. I’m beginning to think someone is making this happen, but I can’t complain.”
We discussed the chances of two of us finding human mates and how likely it was that someone was influencing events, and when Porter left a while later, I was restless. The hiring I’d done meant I had less hands-on work to do at the bar and more admin, which was quick and easy.
I decided to call Bri. I’d been missing her and Hayden. I smiled as I pressed her name in my phone directory. My girls.
Bri answered on the second ring. “Hey,” she said softly. “How’s your day going?”
I hadn’t wanted to intrude. That’s why I called. But as soon as I heard her voice, I wished I’d gone over there.
“I was missing my girls,” I said with a smile on my face. I wanted to call them that all the time. “How are you?”
She sighed.
“What is it?” I was afraid I already knew thanks to Sammy. “I hope you’ll always feel comfortable telling me anything.”
“Why don’t you come over for dinner?”
My hope and excitement spiked. Going over to Briana’s for dinner hadn’t been an expected invitation but it was definitely a welcome one. “I’d love to.”
“Hayden was asking about you.” She chuckled. “I might like to see you, too.”
“I guess I missed you a little bit.” I couldn’t help but laugh with her. It had been more like being away from her was nearly torture.
“Seven?” Bri asked.
“See you then.” I hung up and jumped in the shower. I couldn’t wait for seven to get here.
Hayden was a ball of energy when I got there. We sat in the living room while she told me about a book she’d gotten from a friend for her birthday. “It’s all about pandas,” she said excitedly.
I listened intently as she shot off facts about pandas and asked me if I knew this and that. And that and this.
Bri eventually came in. “Hayden,” she said with a laugh. “You’re going to make his ears fall off.”
Hayden dissolved into giggles and Bri gave me a warm look. “It’s ready.”
Having dinner with just the three of us felt right.
I didn’t want it to be over. Just a few weeks ago I would’ve run screaming from this.
But now I knew it was real. I’d seen the vision that it could and would feel this good for the rest of my life.
Maybe even better. My heart was full, and my tattoo’s stinging faded.
Like it was telling me that this is the way it should be.
My bond with both my girls sealed deeper into my bones.
After dinner and dishes, which I’d insisted on doing, but my girls helped with, Bri sent Hayden to brush her teeth. I stood to leave. “Stick around,” Bri said. “Help me put her to bed?”
I felt like the Grinch when his heart grew. Could I continue to progress as my affection for them increased?
I even sat in on a bedtime story, reading all the parts of the big bad wolf. By the end of the night, I was a bundle of emotions I’d never had before.
Bri and I sat down in the living room, and my need for her was tangible. It nearly hurt. I didn’t warn her, I just put my hand on her cheek and leaned forward until our lips met. Then I proceeded to kiss the hell out of her in the living room.
I felt more animal than man. I allowed myself to lick and nip at the skin of her neck to satisfy a bit of my need to claim her. Controlling myself was hard but I did the best I could. Pulling away, I panted and stared at my mate.
She was similarly affected. Her gaze strayed upward. “Can you come back Friday? Hayden will be at her grandparents’.”
My body buzzed with the need to claim her. “I hope you’re ready for me because I’m about to give you everything.”
She didn’t realize just how deeply I meant it.