Chapter 23
CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE
Saber
Last night, I pronounced the wheelchair man deceased. Not what I wanted to be doing the night before my wedding, but I’m glad Wrecker got some form of vengeance. The man, Gerard McIntosh was just as vile and despicable as Jiovanni was. My cousin was his master and Gerard was in training. His disciple. And the more information he exposed gave us locations and names of those who were involved in the bidding of kidnapped women and children. As soon as I leave for my mini honeymoon this evening, a few of my brothers from Cedar Creek will be riding out. We need to know what happened to the individuals they purchased at the auction.
It’s an entirely different entity and culture than the Fundamentalists Communion pussies we’ve been working on tracking down, but these assholes are just as disgraceful and condemnable as those fucktards are. But that’s tomorrow’s problem. Today, I’m claiming the woman I love with all of my heart and soul in front of my brothers, their women, and our kids.
When I place that ring on her finger, I’ll be letting the world know that she’s a taken woman. To some, it’s only a piece of paper, to me however, it’s a sign of our unshakable commitment. One that’s not as important as placing a ‘property of’ cut over an old lady's shoulders, but it’s what citizens recognize.
Dragon agreed to lead the ceremony, and since he’s legal in the eyes of the government, it’ll all be legit when we present it to the courts and Mrs. Tremain, Canyon and Egypt’s social worker.
Since my wedding attire consists of a new pair of black jeans, a black button down dress shirt, freshly shined boots, and my cut, I’m ready within minutes for one of the biggest days of my life. When I noticed Canyon walking around, kicking rocks, I left my brothers and went over to him to see if I could find out what had him so restless.
“Take a walk with me,” I state, reaching out and tossing my arm over his shoulder as I guide him toward the fishing dock. Not knowing how to begin this conversation seeing as I’ve never been responsible for a teenager's well-being, nor do I have a lot of experience when it comes to getting them to open up, I blurt out the first thing that pops into my head. “It’s a nice day for a wedding, huh?”
I nearly roll my eyes when Billy Idol’s White Wedding starts running on a loop in my head. Hopefully, I remember to tell Foxy later because I know she’ll get a huge kick out of it. I mean, it’s taking everything in me not to burst out laughing because I suspect my son is hurting, and I don’t want my mental musings having him think I don’t give a fuck about him.
“Yeah. Sure,” he replies, looking out at the water, inhaling deeply.
We could stand here all day, taking in the scenery and ignoring the issue that brought us here in the first place, or I could just get the ball rolling by asking the question floating around in my brain.
“What’s on your mind, son?”
“I’ve been thinking,” he says, blowing out a frustrated breath.
If this was Foxy saying this shit to me, I’d be worried because whenever a statement such as that leaves your woman’s mouth, you need to prepare yourself for war. It could mean so many different things, but most of them mean your world is fixing to tilt on its axis. But when it comes from a teenage boy, I have no idea if I should be running for the hills or taking him out on a camping trip so he can work out his frustrations while traipsing through the wilderness and communing with wild animals.
“What’cha been thinking about?” I ask, pressing him to continue.
“I killed my parents, Saber.” His voice is almost monotone when he says this, and my heart breaks that he feels he has that kind of control. Unless he was driving the car, he was no more responsible than the man on the moon.
“You’ve said this before but you’ve never explained why you think so, Canyon.”
“Something strange happened that day we crashed. I’m a freak, Saber. I need to be locked up and kept away from the general population.”
“I’m going to need you to explain that,” I demand, reigning in my temper. I can’t stand the idea of him blaming himself for the loss of his family. It’s not like he reached out and physically yanked on the steering wheel, veering them off the road, and forcing the car to pummel down the incline where it then met a tree.
His powers awoke, Wrecker advises me, butting into the conversation. But this time, I’m glad he did. Go easy on him, brother, he doesn’t understand our ways or what happened to him.
“Fuck,” I hiss underneath my breath as my heart starts racing. I remember when it happened to me and how confused I was. Hell, I just did tell Roxy about what I’m able to do.
How do I go about explaining his lineage to him in a way he’ll grasp it? Especially when I don’t know it myself. I don’t know my biological parents, and even if I did, I’m not sure I’d reach out to seek any answers from them.
“There’s a lot I need to explain to you, Canyon. But I want to assure you that the accident was in no way your fault. There’s not a lot of time for explanations, but later, before Foxy and I head out for the weekend, you and I will sit down and hash this out, okay?”
Then he goes and knocks my socks off and leaves me speechless when he says, “I think I should sit this wedding out, Saber. It’ll be better for you and Roxy.”
“No,” I deny. “It won’t.”
Wrecker comes strolling down the dock, and states, “I’ve got this, Saber. Why don’t you go over and take your place? The wedding will be starting soon and it can’t happen without the groom.”
I’m conflicted because I don’t want to leave my boy, even in my brother's capable hands, while he’s feeling so damn distraught. I guess I hesitate too long because he irksomely sighs. I’ve got this, brother, Wrecker’s voice says, invading my thoughts. Right now, I’m the only one who can help him shuffle through his confused feelings and prioritize them.
“Go on, Saber. We’ll be there soon,” Wrecker deadpans.
An arm is slung over my shoulder which has me turning around with my fists raised in a defensive pose. “Come on, Saber. Put your fists away, nobody's here to attack you. Trust your brothers to take care of your boy,” Dragon says, all but dragging me toward the center of the yard where I’m going to be meeting my Foxy Roxy in a few minutes.
My feet drag and my head turns on my shoulders, not wanting to leave or take my eyes off of Canyon. “He needs me, Dragon,” I argue as I try to stop so I can go back.
“Canyon will need you for many things throughout his life, Saber, but for this, it’s better if we let Wrecker handle it. He’s going to help ease his fears and will put a protective shield over Canyon’s astral gifts until he’s ready to use them.”
“Astral? Does that mean—” my words drop as the reality of Canyon’s situation hits me in the solar plexus.
“He’s a time jumper, Saber. And when his gifts awoke, it shocked the shit out of him and he astroprojected. Butcher’s going to work with him on that so that it doesn’t happen again.”
“Dear God,” I stammer. “That’s dangerous, Dragon.” If he’s not careful and doesn’t lasso his gifts and telepathically tie them down, he could die. Now, more than before, I want to go back to him and wrap him in the thickest bubble wrap I can get my hands on.
Dragon pats my shoulder in commiseration before telling me, “Wrecker and Butcher are going to spend some time with him over the weekend after you explain things to him. They’ll help him learn how to stay grounded.”
“He’s going to need an anchor to this realm, Dragon. Wrecker has Harper and Butcher has Laney, but Canyon doesn’t have anyone.”
“He has his mother,” Dragon states. “Whether she was with him or not, she’s always been his lifeline. She’ll understand her role when it presents itself.”
“For fuck’s sake,” I moan. “It’s always something.”
“That’s life, Saber. I have a feeling your boy is going to surprise us all.”
“That’s what I’m worried about, Dragon.”
“I know, Saber. You wouldn’t be a good father if you weren’t scared. Being a dad is the hardest job any man could have.”
“How do I help him through this, Dragon?”
“One step at a time, brother,” he tells me as we make it to the center of the aisle where I take my place at the altar. “And trust your brothers to help you and him through it.”
“Foxy’s going to flip,” I grumble. “I’ve explained some things to her, but how do you tell the woman you love, the mother of your son and future children, that her boy is one of the strongest, most powerful beings to exist on the planet? She’ll never want to have more babies with me knowing that.”
Dragon snorts before saying, “He’s not Superman, Saber. His powers are manageable once he has some intensive training. Learning to control himself will be his kryptonite. Yes, he’ll be able to do some unfathomable and extraordinary things… things that’ll boggle your mind and scare the ever-loving fuck outta you, but he has fierce men and women around him that can, and will, help him find his way.”
“I know you’re right, but that doesn’t make learning this any easier, Dragon.”
My head’s spinning wildly, especially when I run what Dragon said back through my mind to process things. What did he mean that his mother was his lifeline? Does that mean Roxy has abilities she’s unaware of? I mean, it would make sense since so many of the brothers from Cedar Creek have old ladies with varying gifts.
“No, it doesn’t but at least now, you have a direction to follow. The only thing you can do for now is give him a listening ear and help him through his struggles. He’s got this, Saber. We won’t let him fail.”
“No,” I say, squaring my shoulders. “We won’t.”
Only a few seconds later, I watch with less burden than a moment ago, as Wrecker walks a smiling Canyon to his seat. Wrecker shoots me two thumbs up and Canyon gives me a tilted smile.
“See?” Dragon expresses. “We’ve got your back, brother. Always.” Thank fuck for the brotherhood because without them, I’m not sure I’d make it to the other side with all of my brain cells still intact. With that said, he takes his place where the officiant stands as the music begins to play and the audience stands.