Pack
Chapter twenty-nine
Dex
At the base of the grand rampcase, Cya’s parents faced off with Hemersyn, Toni, and Quin. A sixth person hovered in the background, a nervous looking Rhopa, his wings fluttering anxiously behind him. Dex had never seen him before, but he assumed he was to the Vysovs what Hemersyn was to Cya.
“It would shock you the things I’m leaving behind,” they said bitterly. “Oh, Dex, all my rocks.”
“We’ll get you more rocks,” he promised, and they pouted.
“I won’t be able to afford them,” they muttered under their breath as they followed him and Toni down the ramp, dragging a wheelie bag behind them.
“Then we’ll rent a moving truck and come back for them,” he said, and their expression brightened marginally.
“Cylene, you don’t have to do this, darling,” their mother said, slithering forward, hands outstretched as if to embrace them. “Whatever they’ve got you mixed up in, we can help. You know we have connections. You don’t have to be scared of consequences. We have money.
“Is it drugs?” she asked, wringing her hands as Cya blinked at her. “Did they hook you on the crack-cocaine? That’s okay, sweetheart. There’s rehab for that, and it’s really quite nice. Like an extended spa stay, and very discreet.”
Recoiling from their mother, Cya scowled. “No, Mother, I’m not on crack-cocaine.”
“Dear gods,” she breathed, clutching her ruby necklace, “you’re pregnant.”
“That’s impossible. I don’t even have a uterus!” they cried, and Mrs. Vysov reared back.
“Keep your voice down! Do you want the neighbors to hear?”
“For fuck’s sake.” Shoving past her, Cya stalked toward the front door, only slowing when their father cleared his throat.
He didn’t block their exit, but he did move into their line of sight. They met his gaze, jutting their chin stubbornly, but Dex saw the quiver in their bottom lip. Still, they didn’t look away as their father scrutinized them harshly.
“I imagine you foresee us footing the bill for your new… lifestyle,” he said.
It wasn’t a question, but Cya answered it like it was. “No, I can foot the bill myself, thank you.”
“How do you expect to do that?”
A snarky smirk curved their mouth. “I have a job.”
Mr. Vysov’s eyebrows rose half an inch in surprise as his wife shrieked in dismay, hands steepling in front of her mouth. “A job?” She spat the word like a curse. “Please, tell me it’s at least a prestigious internship.”
Head held high, Cya grinned fully, and it was sharp and cutting and beautiful. “I’m a barista. At a coffee shop. In Purgatory.”
Wailing forlornly, Mrs. Vysov threw herself into her husband’s startled arms. “Ah, Róbyr, the service industry! Where did we go so wrong?”
“Good grief.” Quin rubbed the space between her eyes, and Toni patted her shoulder in consolation.
“You getting hella triggered, right now?” the Elas whisper-shouted, staring at Cya’s mom with wide, horrified eyes. “Because I am having flashbacks, and they are not pretty.”
“I need a Xanax,” Mrs. Vysov half-sobbed into her husband’s chest, voice sharpening as she barked, “Jorge! Where’s my Xanax?”
The Rhopa shuffled forward, a pill bottle already in his top right hand, and Cya’s father transferred her into Jorge’s other arms before the Sypent smoothed the wrinkles she’d caused in his tunic.
Facing Cya once more, he worked his jaw stiffly. “A… barista?”
“Yes,” they said without a hint of shame.
Dex knocked their elbow to get their attention. “Caffeinator percolator.”
They snorted. “Macchiatah killah.”
“Thought that didn’t rhyme?” he teased, and they wiggled their head haughtily.
“It does when you say it right.”
“Alright, alright,” he said, planting a sloppy kiss to their cheek, right on their dimple.
A rattle shook at their display of affection, and Dex caught the curl to Mr. Vysov’s upper lip. “You understand what this will mean, Cylene? For you. For your future.”
“For us?” their mother sobbed obnoxiously.
Cya’s smile faded as they faced their father again. “Yes, I think I do.”
“There will be ramifications.”
It wasn’t a threat, per se. Just a statement of fact, an acknowledgement of the reality Cya was choosing.
They swallowed heavily and wet their lips. “I understand, Father.”
“Do you?” He shot Dex a scathing glare. “You think he can take care of you? Provide you with a life like this?” Waving at the marble and luxury surrounding them, he shook his head in disapproval. “You really believe you’ll be satisfied being some dock worker’s wife?”
“I’m studying to be a sports therapist,” Dex grumbled defensively.
With fondness creasing the skin around their eyes, Cya took his hand and twined their fingers with his.
“I don’t know if Dex and I will be together forever, but I know I want to be with him now.
” Dex squeezed their hand and winked, and they squeezed back before they turned back to their father.
“He loves me, for all that I am and all that I’m not.
And I love him the same. Maybe it won’t last, but he makes me happy. I think I’m finally ready to be happy.”
“You’re being foolish, but I can see there’s no point in reasoning with you. So go on.” He gesticulated sharply at the front doors. “We’ll see how long you last.”
“I think they’re gonna surprise you,” Dex said confidently. “They have multiples and layers and a gooey center that’s just the best. They’re a cake, like me, and just because you don’t like cake, doesn’t mean other people won’t. Lots of people like cake!”
The longer he spoke, the more confused Cya—and their dad—became, and Dex frowned. “Damn, I think I lost the plot. Willow said it better, but that was months ago, so I kinda forgot the specifics. The important thing is, Cya’s gonna be great, and you’re gonna regret not being there to see it.”
Exhaling on a shudder, Cya pressed their mouth to his shoulder. “Oh, Dex, how I adore you.”
He puffed out his chest smugly, ignoring Mr. Vysov’s glower. “I am pretty adorable.”
“Shall we, my dear?” Hemersyn opened the front door, and Cya took a fortifying breath, then nodded.
Hemersyn’s black sedan was waiting at the front, and Toni and Dex loaded Cya’s baggage into the trunk as Quin settled in the front seat. Shutting the door for her, Hemersyn spun the car keys around his index talon and called up to Cya’s parents who watched from the doorway.
“I’ll return the car in the morning, along with my letter of resignation.”
Mr. Vysov didn’t bother responding, golden eyes locked on Cya.
They stood beside the open door to the back seat, staring back at him, sadness and determination warring on their face.
Dex tucked a chunk of hair behind their ear and patted their hip.
They tore their gaze away from their father to meet Dex’s.
Neither of them said anything, but after several seconds, Cya dipped their chin. Just once. Without a backward glance, they folded themself into the back seat beside Toni.
Dex followed them, Hemersyn shutting the door behind him.
They all buckled up, and once the Avia was behind the wheel, the engine purred to life.
Gravel spat under the wheels as the car lurched forward.
Cya took Dex’s hand in both of theirs, sniffling softly.
The moment the car pulled out of the driveway, their armor crumbled, and they tucked themself under his arm and burst into tears.
As they fell apart, Dex held them, and Toni reached out and placed a comforting hand on their head.
Hemersyn chirped sadly, glancing back in the rearview mirror every now and then.
Since Quin couldn’t move all that easily with her round tummy, she reached back once to pat Cya’s tail, then faced forward again.
After several tense minutes, Dex asked, “Hey, how did you get to us so fast?”
Toni shot Quin a stern look. “Quin teleported.”
“Quin!” Dex scowled at her as she sighed and hooked her head around the front seat again. “Isn’t that dangerous?”
“Doctors advise against everything when you’re pregnant,” she grumbled dismissively.
“It’s still a risk,” Toni said.
“No riskier than the chances of getting in a car accident,” she snapped, smoke wafting from her nostrils. “Shall I vacate the vehicle too?”
Both Dex and Toni withered under her glare.
“I was just saying…” The Elas drifted off when the smoke turned from a waft to a billow.
“I just want your baby to be okay,” Dex said, and Quin’s irritation decreased minutely.
“The baby’s fine.” She rubbed her forehead and sighed. “I’m just tired is all.”
“Well, thanks for coming for us,” he said
Toni squeezed Dex’s arm. “That’s what family does, right?”
“We’re here when you need us,” Quin agreed, and warmth bloomed in Dex’s chest.
“Thanks,” he repeated, before voicing a question that had been nagging in the back of his brain. “How did you know, though? I texted Toni, not you.”
Toni replied before Quin could. “Figured it would be handy to have someone with more clout, given where we were going and who we were dealing with, you know? No one messes with the Dubois, even an ex-communicated one.”
At his claim, Quin splayed her hands and shrugged. “He’s not wrong. I may not like being a Duboi, but it comes in handy sometimes.”
“Yeah, and hitting ’em with a Maryno and a Duboi?” Toni winked at Quin, and the Daemon rolled her eyes. “Ain’t nobody stopping us.”
They all chuckled quietly, but the temporary levity faded as Cya heaved a deep breath, wiping at their cheeks with the heel of their hand. Loosening his arm around their shoulders in case they wanted to sit up, Dex drew their hair over their shoulder so it wasn’t falling in their face.
“Thank you,” they said, clearing their throat and saying it louder for the others to hear. “All of you, thank you. I never wanted this, and I’m sorry you had to—”
“Hey, none of that,” Toni interrupted them, rubbing their shoulder. “You’re one of us now, and we got each other’s backs. Always.”
That instigated another flood of tears, and Cya nodded, curling tighter into Dex’s chest. “Thank you.”