Chapter Thirty-Four
CHEV
VANESSA HATES IT when I do this.
I stare at her face, ensuring she’s in a deep sleep before gently pulling back the covers and crawling out from under her. She gets scared when she wakes to me getting out of bed, my large body sending her brain into a momentary spiral, and I do my best not to disturb her as I place my feet on the floor.
Moving as slowly as my muscles can, I inch off the bed and pull the covers back up her body.
That was smooth.
Vanessa’s still asleep, my beautiful mate none the wiser as I tie up my leathers and head into the living room where the Wrath children are sleeping. I agreed to watch them for one weekend in exchange for using Silas as a vehicle, but that was months ago and now it feels like they’re always here.
I don’t mind, especially since it allows me to teach them the skills their parents have failed to do.
Valeria is already awake and staring at the ceiling, and I whistle to get her attention before jerking my head toward the door. The mini fate frightens me, but I’m reminded she’s just a child as she grins and scampers outside.
Cassia is hard to wake, and I poke at her with my toe until her eyes blink open. She looks at me with pure hatred, the young wrath not happy about being woken up, but she doesn’t make a fuss as I help her to her feet.
She tried to bite me the last time she spent the night here, so I’ll count this as progress.
“Go outside,” I whisper, keeping my voice low so we don’t disturb Vanessa.
She drags her feet across the ground, but she listens nonetheless as she joins her sister outside.
David is the easiest to wake, clinging to my leg within seconds. He still likes being carried, and I hold him on my hip as I lead all three kids to my back shed.
Vanessa thinks this is unnecessary, but I disagree. These children may not be shifters, but I’m still their uncle. I have to teach them these essential life skills. Aziel sure isn’t going to do it. He’s a useless father, and I make sure to tell him that every time I see him. He’s lucky I’m here to help.
I keep three child-sized axes in the back of my shed. Cassia and Valeria squeal when they see them. David wiggles in my arms, and I set him down so he can grab his axe and join his sisters.
“It’s time you learn how to chop down trees,” I say. “We’ll begin building your first home today.”
Cassia lets out a war cry, and I laugh. She’s Aziel’s biological child, and it shows. David is clingy like Gray, and Valeria is weird like Silas.
I grab the lunch I packed yesterday evening and lead the three into the woods. This is good practice for when Vanessa decides she’s ready to give me a child. She’s been living with me for exactly four months and seventeen days, and I think she’s getting comfortable with the idea.
We’ve had penetrative sex six more times since our first, and I can tell she’s enjoying it more and more. She lets me lick her whenever I want now, and I can’t even count the number of times I’ve gotten to feel her warm cunt on my tongue.
“Come on,” I say, leading the tiny demons to a small cluster of young trees.
It will break Vanessa’s heart to learn I’ve encouraged the kids to chop down nature, but it must be done. They need to learn how to build a home for their future mates, and most shifter children are taught at this age.
“Cassia’s wandering off!”
I can always count on David to keep his siblings in line.
Valeria begins lecturing David about squealing while I look for the disappearing wrath. My heart skips a beat when I spot her, and I let out a loud huff before running after her. She’s on her hands and knees peering into a hole, and I wrap an arm around her waist and snatch her up before the snake that lives in it grows angry.
Stupid child.
She screams and kicks, and I grab her axe with my free hand before carrying her back to her siblings. David laughs at her, only furthering her anger.
“Down!” she shouts, kicking at my stomach. “Down!”
The trees here are young, planted with the sole purpose of being cut by children, and I put Cassia in front of the one I want her to take her aggression out on.
“Have any of you swung an axe before?” I ask.
Cassia throws herself onto the ground, but I ignore her. Her parents always run to her when she throws her tantrums, but she’ll quickly learn she won’t get the same reaction from me.
“No,” Valeria says, spinning around with her axe.
She’s going to lose a limb.
David sits on the ground and plays with the blade of his, dragging his finger along the sharp edge. It takes about half a second for him to cut himself, and his eyes fill with tears as he stares at the blood.
“Ow,” he whispers.
He doesn’t come to me for comfort, and I wait patiently for his finger to heal before continuing.
“I’ll show you,” I say.
Cassia’s tantrum stops as I begin demonstrating how to use an axe, and within minutes, the three children are all copying me. They aren’t very good, but most children aren’t. It’ll take years for them to learn, which is why we like to start young.
David figures it out quickly. He has good aim, and he follows my directions perfectly. Valeria struggles to swing, but she’s getting the hang of it. Cassia isn’t making much progress. I gave her a smaller axe because she’s younger than David and Valeria, and I suck my cheeks into my mouth to prevent myself from laughing as she storms up to David and steals his. He doesn’t seem to care, and he happily switches with his younger sister before moving to his next tree.
Valeria’s hard at work, hacking away at the base of her chosen tree.
Their demon blood makes them stronger than most shifter children, and once they learn the motion and technique, they begin making good progress. I’ll bring them to larger trees next time.
“Try not to swing so wildly,” I say when Valeria misses her trunk. “An intentional hit is better than a hard one.”
She misses again, and I help adjust her stance. I keep an eye on Cassia and David while I work with Valeria, ensuring they don’t hurt themselves. I’m a good instructor.
David is next to get help, but he needs the opposite instruction. “You need to swing harder,” I say, crouching to his left. “Put your muscles into it.”
He turns and shoots me one of his rare dirty looks before widening his legs and swinging again. It’s much better. I shift my attention to Cassia. David’s axe is clearly too heavy for her, but I let her have a few minutes before switching her back to her smaller one. Immediately, both she and David improve.
Having a good axe—one appropriately weighted and sized—is key.
“You’re doing great,” I say, continuing to make my rounds between the three children.
I’ll have each one chop down four trees before showing them how to remove the branches. Then, they’ll pick where they want to build their home. I’m very excited.
David screams as a tree falls and almost lands on him, and I bark out a laugh before showing him how to direct the direction of the fall. Silas will kill me if I let one of his children get crushed. They’ll live, and I personally think it will teach them a valuable lesson on safety, but I doubt Silas will see it that way.
Useless male.
Two hours pass before each child has their four trees, and I pull out the food I packed for lunch. The bloodhounds smell it and come running over, their axes swinging dangerously around their legs. Valeria and David set down their axes to eat, but Cassia holds on to hers. I fear it will be hard to get it back from her at the end of the day.
“I packed ucka and juice,” I say, pulling the food out of my backpack.
All three little demons dive in, sticking their fingers into the ucka meat and ripping off large chunks. They eat like wild animals, and I love it.
I originally planned to eat with them, but as I watch Valeria practically pounce over David to get an especially juicy-looking piece of meat, I realize I underestimated their appetites. I lie on my back and listen to them eat instead, specifically Cassia.
She chokes sometimes.
Twenty minutes pass before they collapse next to me, their faces covered in grease and their eyes sleepy. There’s not much ucka left, but I pick apart the few chunks of meat they didn’t get to and eat while they nap. I often fall asleep after a big meal, so I know exactly how they feel.
It’s not long before they’re up and moving around again, and I show them how to clean their trees. I’ve already picked out and cleared the general area where they’ll build their house, and I hold their axes while they work together to carry their logs to the spot.
The shifter children around their age have been building homes closer to the pack’s center, but I chose a spot on the outskirts of the pack, closer to my house. Shifters love kids, but I know the demon blood makes them wary.
“Here we are,” I say as we reach the area I cleared for them. “Look around and decide where you want your home to go. You can’t change it once you’ve started.”
Valeria and David immediately begin to fight, and I lean against a tree while waiting for them to work it out. They eventually settle on a spot, mainly because Cassia throws herself onto the ground and begins screaming. David concedes to stop the arguing, letting Valeria pick the spot.
I peer through the trees, happy when I notice my kitchen window is just barely visible from where I stand. My excitement falls when I catch sight of my mate glaring at me through the glass, though. She told me very specifically not to give the children axes.
I pretend not to notice her as I show the children how to begin laying down the framework. Their first house will be small, but it’s for practice. We’ll discuss more permanent options once they’re large enough to chop down real trees.
My heart pounds when I eventually take them back to my home.
Vanessa’s going to yell at me.
She’s full of smiles when the four of us come sauntering inside, but I know it’s a lie. I can feel her anger through our bond, and it’s confirmed when I walk into the living room and see she’s brought the bird figurines out.
Valeria sees them, too, and I’m proud of how well I’ve trained her when she begins to cry. She loves birds, but she knows to act scared when she sees them in my home.
“Oh, no. It’s okay,” I coo, rushing to grab the evil objects and shove them deep into the nearest junk drawer. “I’ll put them away!”
Valeria gasps and wipes her tears, and I avoid looking at my mate as I pull the tiny being into my arms and rub her back. I don’t like fates, but this one’s okay.
“Food’s in the kitchen,” Vanessa says.
Her voice isn’t nearly as angry as I was expecting, and when I work up the courage to meet her gaze, I’m surprised to see she’s looking at me with a soft smile. I don’t trust it.
The kids sprint out of the room at the mention of food, the little goblins already hungry again. I’m going to begin charging Aziel for the food they eat. Maybe I can convince him to hunt me down an ucka in payment.
“I’m sorry,” I mumble when Vanessa and I are alone.
She hums, and I stiffen as she approaches and wraps her arms around my waist. This is an attack I’m unfamiliar with, and I remain rigid as she rises to her toes and kisses my lips.
“Did you teach Valeria to cry when she sees those birds?” she asks.
I clear my throat. “No.”
The bond between us yanks, signaling I’m lying.
“Admit you’re scared of them,” Vanessa taunts.
Over my dead body.
“I love you,” I say instead.
Vanessa cocks her head to the side, the action so cute, I can no longer hold back. I return her hug, holding her against me. I hate making my mate angry, but the children needed to learn sooner rather than later. It’s only a matter of time before they’re teenagers and no longer want to hang out with me.
Besides, it’s hard to kill demons, so it’s not like the axes are a genuine danger to them.
“Gray’s going to be here soon,” Vanessa says.
I huff, annoyed. The kids are screaming bloody murder as they fight over the food Vanessa made, but I still wish they could stay longer. I love our home being filled with loud children, and I find them a great source of entertainment.
Plus, the more I watch them, the more the Wrath trio is indebted to me. I’ll soon be able to ask them for anything I want and they won’t be able to say no. I’ll practically own them. Silas will be my transportation slave.
“Would you like to see my bear?” I ask.
Vanessa flushes, but I know it’s because she’s trying not to laugh at me. Still, she nods, pleasing me with her choice. My bear hasn’t seen her in days, and I’m antsy to feel her fingers brushing through my fur. She’s gentle with it, and because of her, I’m the softest bear in the pack.
Everybody is jealous of me.
Vanessa and I join the children at the table, and by the time Gray comes to pick his spawns up, I’m practically bursting at the seams to shift into my bear. Gray tries to stick around and chat, but I shoo him away before dragging Vanessa outside.
She’s full of giggles, and I join in before shifting into my animal form. My bear is elated, and he circles her legs before plopping onto his butt for pets. I didn’t like her petting me at first, the action emasculating, but now I love it.
“Human bears like to catch fish,” Vanessa says, running her fingers through my fur. “Have you ever done that?”
I dip my head when she snags a knot. Catch fish? Why the fuck would I ever want to catch a fish? They’re small and provide little meat. Charlie has been filling Vanessa’s head with everything that human bears can do, and none of their actions make sense. I’ve concluded that human bears are ridiculous creatures, and I’m amazed they’ve survived this long.
Vanessa meanders into the forest, heading outside my pack lands, and I follow. This is where the biggest trees live, and Vanessa spreads her arms as she runs her fingers along the bark. Eventually, she reaches one she connects with most, and she pauses to admire it.
I plop onto my belly. She’ll be here a while. Vanessa joins me on the ground, her hand still on the tree, and leans against my side.
I’ve been hiding a tree twice this size from her, the largest in the area, and I’ve been working hard to build a home around it. She’s always asking about that Wrath restaurant we went to, and I know she’ll love having a house in the same style.
This home will be large, and I’m making sure to include several extra bedrooms for the many children I’m hoping we someday have.
I curl around her, pleased as my bear begins to purr. When we move into the new home, I will accidentally drop and break her bird figurines.
It’s a sneaky move, but I’m a very sneaky male, so I know I’ll be successful.