Chapter Five
Jane settled at the hotel and stroked Terro’s back. The night he had been conceived had been a riot of broken images, but it had been exhausting and delightful.
The moment that she woke up with the strange man next to her, she had wished to be somewhere else and was across the city in her own hotel room.
Andreux Tenec was the name she had been missing. When she saw his face again, the rest of the memories had snapped into place. All the gentle touches and soft moments had been lost in the frenzy of her memories.
Terro’s golden mask on his face now made perfect sense. His father’s mask was distinct, and it was no wonder that everyone who saw Terro knew his origins.
The soft knock on her door told her that he was there. She got to her feet and walked to answer it. She opened the door and pressed a finger to her lips. “He’s napping.”
Andreux nodded and lifted a huge bouquet of flowers to her. “I think if I grovel enough, I might be able to convince you it wasn’t on purpose.”
“He’s a delightful accident, and I had friends who knew what to do so that he made it here without too much trouble.”
She thanked him and took the flowers, snagging a crystal vase from the ether and filling it with water. She tucked them into the receptacle and smiled. “Very pretty.”
He was standing, and she finally said, “Can I get you something to eat or drink?”
“No. I was going to ask you to go out with me, but can I see the video that was mentioned?”
She looked at him and nodded. “They pulled snippets together, but the labour and delivery videos are there. Nora and Luna really pulled me through.”
She gestured for him to take the larger seat, but he settled on the couch instead. She cast the video to the television, and he leaned forward to watch every minute of it.
It started with a picture of the stick. The two blue lines were unmistakable.
She had done a voiceover that explained the situation. “Coming back from a conference with a bit of swag that I don’t remember acquiring.”
Andreux chuckled.
They saw her selfies outside of clinics. The first internal scans of the tiny bubble that would be their son.
At the end of the first trimester, she had issues. This is where the book club entered the video, and from then on, it was women giving her energy, even if some of it was stolen from Elite.
“What are they doing?”
She said gently, “Your job. Giving me extra energy to keep growing the little guy without him taking all I had.”
“Ah. I am sorry I wasn’t there.”
“Don’t worry. I will bring the ladies here, and you can pay them and their families back with a few good meals.”
He smiled. “You are planning to stay?”
“I work for Serin, so yes.”
“How soon can I propose?”
She blinked and laughed as the images progressed to her being near-term.
“Now we get to the labour and delivery.” She felt something against her hand, and his fingers sought her out, squeezing her hand gently as a few minutes of every hour were captured from her checking in to her standing and rocking on Luna with Nora rubbing her back.
A contact from her other side heralded Terro’s arrival, and she sniff-checked him before letting him climb on her lap. So, they all sat connected as they watched her moaning in pain before gritting her teeth while Nora encouraged and Luna caught.
Tenec shifted as he saw her holding their son with his little mask from the day he came into the world.
“Oh. You look so tired.”
She chuckled. “I was, but the rest of the draining part could be shared with others, and I had plenty of friends to help. Orla is amazing with him.”
The rest of the videos were the baby shower, holidays, and first birthday party.
Terro crawled over to Tenec and sat on his lap. He sighed and curled against his father. Tenec looked to Jane. “Does he do this a lot?”
“He’s very scent-driven right now. He recognized you.” She smiled.
Her son looked so small against his father. The video continued to play.
“So, you made it without me.”
Jane nodded. “I did, but I didn’t think the mask was a birthmark. That would have made it so much easier.”
He smiled. “It runs in the family. We keep to the islands for a reason. Here, we are just part of the background. Out there, we are freaks.”
“My boy is not a freak. He’s unique, charming, cheerful, and mine.”
“And mine.” He stroked Terro’s head. “I can’t believe I have a son.”
“A tiny terror, but everyone loves him so far.” She smiled. “So, you remembered more than I did?”
Tenec nodded. “Yes, but I had no idea how to find you.”
“My looks are rather generic, and there was no record of me leaving the hotel.”
He grimaced. “And there was no image of you coming into the hotel. I was blocking every angle. We checked.”
“We?”
“My security team. I couldn’t remember every detail, but brown hair and brown eyes is a difficult demographic to sort.”
She smiled. “It is. Blending in has always been easy. Having Terro with me makes me stand out. It might be all the yelling and chasing.”
“So, do you want to become mates?”
She glanced at him. “I am content on my own if you don’t want to. Terro and I have a rhythm, and I guess visitation can be worked out.”
“You will have to move to the islands. Will that be a problem?”
She smiled. “The move is already underway. I was going to be staying with Serin, but then, Deno manifested, and now, I am going to hang out here until I can sort lodgings. I work from home most of the time, so my laptop is set up, and I have edited a lot of work already.”
“You are a video editor?”
“Yeah. Very glad about it when he came along. I was doing commercial cuts for video games when he happened.” She stroked Terro’s cheek.
“Did you mind?”
“Once I figured out that you and I happened to sync up by chance, I couldn’t be mad and just dealt with the fading marks and widening midsection.”
“I marked you?” He blinked.
Jane blushed. “I was covered in hickeys from my earlobes to the back of my knees. There were a few marks around my hips and waist. Luna explained exactly how those marks were made, and then, she laughed at my expression.”
His expression indicated he had caught on. “I would apologize, but I would very much like to try that again.”
She chuckled. “Not with Terro around. Children. Nature’s birth control.”
He looked down at Terro, and the toddler stretched. “I see your point.”
“All of his usual babysitters who are in the islands are newly mated, and I don’t want to disrupt them for this sort of thing.”
He looked at her for a moment. “My parents live near me in the Blackridge chain. Would you care to go visit so they can meet their grandson?”
“Oh. Shoot. Um. I guess so? Wait, do they know about me?”
“Yes. I told them last night. They were very interested in you.”
“Positively?”
“Positively. They mentioned the gold digger aspect, but then I told them that you had no idea who I was and certainly hadn’t come to me during your pregnancy or afterward.”
“Yeah, I couldn’t find you, and then, he was here, and it didn’t really matter.” She looked at their son as he looked between them and made his fascinated noise.
“What is that?”
“When he just goes ‘ooooo’? He’s fascinated and thinks it’s neat. To be honest, he does the same thing with airplanes.”
Tenec grinned. “I will take it. Shall we go now?”
“Sure.”
He stood up. “Step in and hold tight.”
“Holding tight is your job,” she muttered. His arm wrapped around her, and she held him across Terro and the other arm around his back.
The world spun around her and then settled. He kept her close to him, and she felt the pressure of his lips on her temple. Terro squirmed, and they backed away.
“Andreux! Are these they?” The woman’s voice was excited. There was a heaviness in her accent that seemed familiar.
Andreux opened his arms, and Jane stepped away. Terro launched at her, and she wore her sleepy boy around her neck.
The woman had gold hair and bright blue eyes, looking to be in her mid-fifties. She paused and waited for Tenec to answer her, but when Terro looked at her, she gasped.
“Oh, baby. Come to Grandmama.”
Terro turned and buried his face in Jane’s shoulder. “He’s just waking up from a nap. He will be running around like a loon in just a few minutes. I will introduce you then.”
Andreux said, “Mother, this is Jane. Jane, this is Monique. My mother has been very excited about Terro. I believe seeing him has eased her mind.”
“Right. Is there a yard or a beach for him to run?”
Andreux nodded. “My mother’s gardens are this way. It’s enclosed.”
Monique heard them and nodded, walking along a path and opening a large wooden door in a stone wall. Terro saw the bright colours and flowers, and he squirmed down and began to run along the crushed gravel, giggling madly.
Jane sighed. When he paused to squat, she waited until the behaviour was finished for a minute and then waved her hand, and he paused and then ran away giggling again.
Andreux asked, “What did you do?”
“Changed his diaper on the run. I didn’t think to grab the bag, but my adaptation as a sea witch lets me take what I need. In this case, I take it from the hotel room, and the diaper is in a disposal system designed by nature”
“So, you move things.”
“Yes. I don’t create out of nothing. I transport. I have very fine control.”
Terro thudded into her and grinned up with his baby teeth gleaming. “Mommy, run?”
“Oh, shoot.” She glanced at Andreux and Monique. “He wants to play tag with me, but I don’t want it misconstrued as flirting.”
Monique smiled. “I am sure my son has self-control. He has gotten a child off you, and his interest is slaked.”
Andreux snorted. “Mom, you don’t know what you are talking about.”
Terro was pushing hard. Jane picked up the edge of her skirt and darted into the gardens with a giggle following her. Jane skidded on the gravel and looked at her little one barreling toward her. She darted down another path and then switched back around and around until she was lost with Terro’s footsteps silent. “Mama?”
“Yes, baby.”
“Mama gone!”
“No, honey, I am still here.”
She heard Andreux. “We will find her, Terro.”
Crunching footfalls began, and as they got closer, the urge to run was becoming hard to suppress.
She took a few steps, and Andreux’s voice was stern. “Jane, Terro is really upset.”
She stayed put, and when they rounded the corner, it was all flailing arms and legs while he made his dad set him down. The gravel flew as he lunged at her legs, sobbing and sniffling. “Aw, honey. I am fine, you are fine.”
He stopped crying and wiped his nose on her dress. “Yeah, thanks for marking your territory, bud.”
He looked at her, blinked, and then beamed. “Caught!”
“You cheated. You cried so Daddy would come and help.”
Terro scrunched his shoulders and giggled.
Andreux blinked. “He played me?”
“Oh, yeah. Other alphas have fallen for it, too. Somewhere in him is the manipulation gene. So, your mom or your dad?” She eased Terro to the ground.
He blinked. “Oh, Mom. Definitely.”
She smiled. “Mystery solved.”
Terro looked around. “Mommy, run.”
“No more. We are going to talk with your grandmama and then maybe your grandfather, and then, we can head back to the hotel.”
“Or maybe not.” Andreux smiled.
“I will call for a ride back to Wonder.”
“How? You left your phone behind.”
She looked at him and gestured to the snot mark that Terro had left. It disappeared.
Andreux put his arm around her and led her out of the maze, with Terro running away and coming back to them.
Monique had food and drink on a wide table on a stone patio. “Please come and have something while we wait for Eonic.”
Andreux held a chair for Jane, and she kept a distance between herself and the table. As soon as she settled, Terro climbed onto her lap, and she looked at Monique. “May I have something?”
Terro looked at her. “Pweeze?”
Monique smiled. “Of course, little one.”
Jane brought out some wet ones and cleaned her son’s hands and then her own. She offered a clean wipe to Andreux, and he cleaned his hands with a bemused expression.
“Trust me, this little dude is a disease vector and likes to feed adults.”
She began the procedure of putting fruit in front of him and kept him busy while she got some tarts and broke them into pieces he could manage.
Monique smiled as she watched him eat and laughed when he pulled Jane’s mouth open and put some grapes inside. It started her meal.
One hour later, she was eating and watching Terro stuff food in Andreux’s mouth.
Monique asked, “He is two?”
“He is. Just a few weeks ago. We had a big party.”
“Why haven’t you contacted my son?” The deep voice came from the dark figure with the tell-tale marks on his face.
“I didn’t know who he was. I was in a flash heat, he had a flash rut, and we were both at the same event. I woke up and returned home, not having collected any information from him.”
“But you collected a child.”
“I got some sperm. It was my efforts that turned that into a child. I had friends who helped me through the pregnancy, and now, I have a son. Well, we have a son. As soon as I got him to the islands, everyone knew who his father was for some reason.”
Terro’s grandfather grinned. “He is a stunning little lad.”
Monique said softly, “Could he have siblings?”
Andreux frowned. “I hadn’t thought of that. One is the usual with alpha-beta pairings.”
“Oh, I can have as many as I want. The OB confirmed that I suffered no damage and am in great shape for it. No issue there.” She looked at them all blandly. “But I have been a single parent once, and I don’t think I can manage Terro and another on my own, so it will be a possibility I won’t exercise.”
Andreux finished chewing on the meat-fruit-cookie mix that had just been wedged in his jaws. “What if you had help?”
“Well, I am used to working, and being kept or a gold digger has no appeal.”
His parents flinched.
“So, maybe if I have another heat and happen to have your number, I could call you if you aren’t busy? But this time, wear protection.”
Eonic asked, “You don’t want our son?”
“I didn’t realize he was up for grabs. Sure. Wrap him up and put a bow on him.”
Eonic darkened. “You are mocking us.”
“No, I just require more than ‘you make cute kids’ as a come-on line.” She calmly cleaned Terro’s hands, and he wiggled down and ran off to the garden again. The door was still open, and he giggled as he ran inside.
Andreux smiled. “I am trying.”
“With Terro, it is going to be impossible.” She smiled.
“Mama! Run!”
She got to her feet. “Please excuse me. My master’s voice summons me.”
She turned and headed to the garden to play tag with her son.
* * * *
Andreux looked at his parents. “So, any tips on how to court a woman who has already had your child, but you just learned his and her names yesterday?”
His father cocked his head. “It looks like you need babysitters.”
“Yes, but Orla is newly mated, and she is his favourite person.”
“Who is Orla?”
“She’s mated to Ligo and a doctor from Emerald named Iro.” Andreux sighed. “Their sounds are getting further, so I had better rescue Jane again.” He headed for the garden.
His mother blinked. “Avenar must be thrilled. Oh, dear. I should pop in to say hello. Avenar is obsessed with her son.”
Eonic snorted. “Not like anyone else I know.”
“Oh, hush. I like Jane. She’s strong.”
“Really? You can tell that?”
“She had and raised a son to this stage without her mate. She had to be strong. I had you, and Andreux was still a handful and exhausting.”
She looked toward the garden, where the shrieks and giggles were still coming. “A grandson. I thought Andreux was going to sit behind his computers forever.”
Eonic smiled. “Obviously, the trade show was a good move for him.”
“Oh. That was it. Wasn’t it? Right. He came back so strange and hostile.”
“And sad. He was sad.”
Monique smiled at him. “He isn’t sad anymore, but now, he needs to get some privacy.”
“Do you think that Terro will trust us to watch him?”
“We will have to arrange things with Jane. Since Andreux’s house is nearby, we may be considered suitable temporary guardians.”
There was a wail from the gardens. Andreux carried Terro out, and Jane smiled and walked behind, saying, “Put him on the table.”
Andreux sat Terro down, and his knee had scuffed fabric and blood on it. He frowned. “I can transport him to a medical centre.”
Jane kissed her son’s forehead and crooned, “You can’t run in two directions at the same time.”
He sniffed, and his face was heartbreaking. “Ouch, Mama.”
She nodded and moved her fingers over the wound. A brightness occurred at her fingertips, and the skin glowed and knit together. The trousers were cleaned up and repaired the same way. Jane looked at Andreux. “That I do myself.”
He stared and smiled. “Wow, Terro. Your mom is really good.”
Jane kissed the spot where the injury had been, and her son wrapped his arms around her neck, placing a big smacking kiss on her cheek. “Tank, Mama.”
“You are welcome, Terro.”
Monique stared. “You are a healer?”
“Among other things. Mostly a video editor and account specialist.”
Monique looked at the sniffling face of her grandson. He hid his face in her neck, but then, he peeped out at Monique and grinned. Jane chuckled. “You remember Grandmama.”
“Gamama!” He reached out and lunged.
Monique caught him and held the warm, little, squirming mass. “Grandmama.”
Terro smiled. “Gamama.”
Eonic laughed. “Hello, I am Grandpa.”
Terro cocked his head. “Gampa?”
“Absolutely, little Terro.” He held his hand toward Terro, and the little one raised his hand.
Jane smiled. “He is very into the high five.”
Eonic changed the angle, and the tiny hand collided with his, followed by a riot of giggles. The repetitive slapping made Eonic laugh.
Jane smiled. “It’s his favourite adult interaction.”
Andreux chuckled. “He’s still going.”
Eonic grinned and pulled his hands away, holding his out in an offer to take the child.
Terro lunged over.
Jane grinned. “Now that is his second favourite thing. Alpha climbing.”
Terro was sitting on Eonic’s head and shrieking with excitement.
Monique smiled. “Andreux used to do the same thing. Less volume though.”
“Oh, he gets his volume from me.” Jane smiled.
Eonic kept his hands bracketing the little one and grinned.
Monique watched, and Jane suddenly shifted her stance, and Terro came launching at her. Jane caught him, and Eonic gasped.
“I am sorry. I didn’t know he was going to...”
Andreux said, “He phased through your hands. You couldn’t have held him if you wanted to.”
Terro yawned and cuddled against Jane. “That was a bit of a surprise at eighteen months. He’s going to need a nap. That always takes it out of him.”
Andreux smiled. “We can go to my place and discuss things a little more.”
Jane smiled. “Great. It was nice to meet you two.”
As they walked away and Andreux put his arm around Jane and Terro, Monique looked to her mate. “I think he might be able to convince her to stay.”
Eonic put his arm around her. “If she doesn’t stay for attraction, she might stay for his computer setup. Finally, a reason for all of that equipment.”
Monique chuckled and then sighed. “Terro is amazing. Interesting name, though.”
“We will have a chance to ask. I am certain of that.” He smiled. “We have a grandson.”
Their hug was long, and then, they headed into the house and began to plan for a future that suddenly had a lot more in it than a son they were proud of and friends for poker night.