Chapter Five
Buck
The cold wind whipped at my feathers and fur like it hadn’t in years. Every movement I made a silent streak in the night, not invisible to the prying eye but unobservable. Some may see a helicopter or anything. Persuasion and delusions of normality were strong forces to be had.
Carefully I clenched a leg, checking on my passengers, getting a tense pat on my leg and a bunnyish bark in response. I echoed the sentiment every few minutes to make sure the thin air didn’t put my passengers to sleep.
I flitted through some of River’s territory, receiving a blessing to pass in a mere sensation. We were at peace with one another, so our presences didn’t set off an alarm. I sent him, in response, a kind thought and a wish of luck for him and his trials. I prayed to our mother he and his mate would bear a child soon. He deserved something happy in his life, unlike me. The lives he took were not intentional, and he paid respect for their souls.
I bathed in blood, not knowing better. I continued to accept blood long after I suspected. I consumed my own followers until the Spaniards came. Until they brought new gods, ones of disease and prayers with beads and the like. I couldn’t compete. Their gods were bloodless.
From two mountains colliding, I formed and tumbled free, given blood and blessing, until I was a man of the earth. I still was.
A twang of sour energy hovered in the air like sunburns and long mornings. Sleep-riddled eyes squinting into the burning flames of dawn. Grim.
A pluck of danger reverberated in the air, and I careened downward, desperate to land before he found me, before we fought or his anger flared. I tilted my wings, braced my passenger, and let the wind glide me down.
“Grim Dawn!” I called, screeching into the sky as Eve disembarked, coddling the odd hare.
I bore my greater form as light burst before us and coalesced.
As I had taken the form of my ancient beast, the feathered serpent, he too took form of his beast, a whirring thing with a firestorm of feathers, much reminiscent of a hummingbird in structure. “Buckling Stone!”
“Huitzilopochtli,” I said, staring him down as his eyes darkened and he shifted to his more human form, a beast of a man as tall as I ever wanted to be, broad-shouldered and dark eyed. Blood stained his face in a painted mask purposefully. “You reek of sacrifice.”
“And you reek of poverty.” Grim Dawn lifted his sharp chin and peered at me, upper lip curling. “A shared people with thunder, of all things?”
“I am happy though. There is a lot to be said for happiness.”
“And weak!”
I shifted into my preferred form, lifting my chin as a scent tickled my nostrils, one that reminded me of Rayne and made my beast inside bristle. The great buck within me rose, the many-legged form tearing at my insides. “I’m here for… Here for…” I shook my head. Heat tested my resolve, an omega for certain. Cliff.
I stumbled back, returning to human form as Eve marched forward, pushing the bag with the hare in it into my hands. “Listen here, asshole!”
“Eve!” I reached out, but she’d invaded Grim’s space too quickly. My cervine form held greater sway over my mind, and when I reared back, a loud crack silenced our squabble and sent Grim reeling back at a stumble.
With a sharp twist of her form and a flying fist, Eve went for Grim once more, sending him back to fall on his ass, staring up in utter bewilderment.
“Where is my brother? What did you do to Cliff?” She sneered down at Grim, who could breathe fire, who could discorporate her form, if so he chose. Any inkling of anger he’d had before melted away.
“Safe. Unharmed.” If I wasn’t mistaken, a shaking note of awe filled the old bloodletter’s voice. As stricken as any mortal by her fist, he sat in the dirt staring up at us.
She shook her fist out and turned her back on him, hands on her hips, every inch of her lovely caramel skin gleaming in the morning sunrise, the undertones of red in her so much more prominent as she swept her short locks of pixie-cut hair back from her forehead. “Good. Let’s go get him. Point the way, birdy boy.” With a rude gesture toward Grim, she waited for him to stumble to his feet, dust caked over his legs as he brushed himself off halfheartedly.
“Of course.” Despite his usual violent nature, he shifted into his beastlike form, some part panther, the other part eagle, a gryphon of sorts with fur as golden hued as his skin, and knelt for her. Without hesitation, she climbed onto his back, her toned thighs locking over his hackles and clearing his wingbases.
“Follow me, please.” His growling voice near purred as he said so and took off, eliciting a whoop from Eve, far too smug for what strangeness had just happened. So, when they took off, I shifted, clutching Jacque in my talons. The creature, for having been dropped by a bird of prey, seemed to enjoy flying. He stuck his head out, sniffing at the morning air until an errant bird streaked past us. Oddly enough, he barked at it territorially, as if to say that it was his sky! If it weren’t for Eve’s oncoming mortal peril, I might have taken a moment to enjoy it. Nevertheless, it was the one bright spot in the whole thing.
We arrived at what must have been an old school at some point, a compound full of expansive buildings headed by an ostentatious stone home that stood out in ghastly contrast to it all. Even the grass around the home held greater stature and care than the dust-laden surroundings inundated with the scent of boar.
Down I swept until the ground neared my feet, and I shifted in such a way as to have Jacque in my arms when feet touched ground. The bunny barked from the opening of the bag and struggled out, thumping around in a dust patch for a moment excitedly. With a sharp bark, he shook himself off and forged forward, standing up on his hind legs expectantly as he approached Eve and Grim. The god regarded him with apprehension before canting his head. “The thing is flawed.”
“Jacque is special .” Eve bent down to give him an affectionate pat that threw him off-balance enough to fall. After, with a quick shake and stumble to his feet, he returned to me, pawing at my leg to be picked up once more.
Smart little guy.
Even disabled, muted, and set back, he managed to get his point across. I picked him up as Grim ignored my presence and marched Eve through the front of the building. “I believe there has been somewhat of a misunderstanding—”
“Misunderstanding? You kidnapped my brother!” Eve glared at the god who backed down near instantaneously. “That’s not a misunderstanding!”
“Had I known he was an aspect—”
“A what?” I snarled, the first scents of sweet earth, sunbaked stone, and high altitude hitting my senses. An aspect. Mine. The territorial rage that boiled in me made my beast rear and drew from me a horrid noise through a human throat that couldn’t contain it.
“Brother! A mistake! I didn’t—” Grim held his hands up placatively but earned a swat to the side of his head from Eve, sending his dark, silken locks scattering over his back and shoulders.
“Take me to him!” I pushed forward, following the maddening scent. I’d mocked Storm for his lack of control around Rayne, but the scent that clawed at my nostrils and tore its way through my body was—“ Mine. ”
“What the hell?” Eve asked, her question met with whispered placations from Grim. She no longer mattered. Grim no longer mattered.
I approached a doorway locked from the outside and marked with the scent of boar. I reached for the knob, intent on destroying whatever stood between me and the scent. My mate, mine .
Grim reached forward and unlocked the door, and what lay within gutted me.
He was beautiful, all strong, lean lines. Cut muscles sculpted hips that would make shifters jealous, the aforementioned doll joints that Rayne had once mentioned he disliked.
More for me.
Dark hair with a slight texture lay mussed over a mostly bare scalp. Sweat drenched skin as pretty as Rayne’s, a soft sort of warm taupe, gently haired over his chest. So, I dared to gaze lower and take in the sight of a fine trail of hair starting at his navel going down, obscured by a hand buried in half-removed boxers. Unashamed, he threw his firm jaw back, neck standing in sharp relief as he swallowed, jerking himself off shamelessly. Jeans hung from one ankle.
Heat. My nostrils flared and Jacque struggled in my arms until I released him. As if understanding his master’s struggles, he stood on his hind legs and sniffed before tottering back to my side, keeping at my heel.
Grim whispered something to Eve and kept her back before I shut the door out of politeness and turned, body shaking more than I thought possible for a god. “He’s my aspect.”
“Brother in blood. I—” Grim’s wretched face twisted into genuine apology.
“What has been done to him?” I pushed into Grim’s personal space, snarling. Though he stood a good six inches above me, he slouched and did something a breath less than cower. He conceded.
Shaking his head, he gestured toward the door. “They sensed omega and dosed him with an estrus stimulant, thinking that an appropriate way to bridge the gap of life.”
“By rape? By—” The words didn’t come to my lips.
Grim sneered. “Not. My. Decision. I requested the vet tech get a vial of megestrol to help, but he’s not responsive to it.”
“Who has touched him?”
“Does he look like an omega that’s been touched? I spoke with him. I’ve kept his door locked. I only allowed females near him, if not for myself.” Grim rested his hands on my shoulders, eyes drifting toward Eve. I glanced over to catch her pretty hazel eyes glaring at us. Something became immediately clear to me—Eve was an aspect. The touch calmed me. “He is not my aspect.”
Unsaid words. She is.
Eve would be hard to convince.
Jacque barked from my ankle and nipped at the hem of my jeans, tugging. Mama!
Of all the static, and muteness that came from the hare’s mind, that one word stood out loud and clear. Jacque was infantilized and had formed a maternal bond with Cliff.
“Jacque? Bunny boy?” A rustling of sheets changed from fevered masturbation to hasty dressing. Cliff stumbled free, his voice nothing like Rayne’s, all husky and rough. Without a few days of razor and the exhaustion of untouched heat, he called to me, a precipice. My Cliff. Made of me and for me. As I came from the mountainside, there he was, too.
Jacque stomped his back foot and barked before scrambling over to let Cliff pick him up, all while frantically whimpering.
“Oh, lil bunny boy baby dumpster muffin…” A crack of tears inundated his voice, and the two snuggled, the hare lapping tears from his cheeks as they formed. “Daddy’s here. I promise… You’re okay.”
His voice soothed the hare amid pricked thoughts of scared, mama, happy, and more. He healed the hare with his presence. “I know, I missed you, too. I’m sick, buddy. It’ll be okay.”
“You’re in heat,” I said, unable to keep the rasp from my voice.
“Yeah, genius. Grim already explained all that shit,” he said, his words gruff and breathless.
I approached a step then two before Jacque barked and struggled in his arms, leaping just close enough to me so that I could catch. Not mama! Good!
Cliff scrutinized me, eyes trailing me from head to toe. Resignation rested plain on his face while Jacque rubbed his face all over my chest and neck affectionately. The calm, cool, and collected composure I wanted to show for my mate all but slipped away.
“Jacque likes you.” He stared at the hare for a moment before his gaze flicked back to mine.
Not knowing what to say, I nodded once. A hundred words lay on the tip of my tongue, a million more to be left unsaid. The stare we shared spanned the thousands of years I’d been alive, sweet like honey, as hypnotic as that of the mountain bees feeding off rhododendron nectar. Colder than the summit top. But even in the face of gods, he didn’t cower or bow. He had no ignorance to share, as Grim had told him all. “And what aspect are you, my Cliff?”
“Weathering,” Grim said. His hoarse voice behind me seemed muted, and I barely gave him a glance. Eve still stood at his side, arms crossed.
“As your Eve is Adamant.” If he was going about giving my aspect his moniker, I’d push hers, too.
“A life for a life paid. I’ve chosen my compensation.” Grim turned to Eve, his face melting under her sneer. A raw arousal whipped about in the air. Not just from Cliff.
“Oh. Hell. Naw. No, sir. Nobody’s picking me as their com—” She silenced when Grim knelt and bent his head forward.
“I pay the debt myself. My life is yours, my aspect, my Adamant Eve.” Grim’s voice shivered, and a sob clenched free of his throat.
“So, do we fuck now or—” Cliff offered me a wan smile, and I froze, my cock pulsing in my pants so hard that I felt the beast within me rise to fuel it.
“Do not soil him, brother. He is not at peace with his nature.” Grim kept his head bowed as Eve stared him down.
When I met Cliff’s eyes, the reservation remained. He reminded me of Rayne the day he discovered his power, hesitant and determined. “How have you managed so far?”
“I think you saw how.” Cliff’s upper lip curled as he shuffled back to the wall to lean in. He tilted his flattened palm in the air a little. “I got two more days of it, but you’re the first I’d let in on it. Grimmy wouldn’t touch me, but he only felt kinda right.”
“Grimmy?” I raised a brow and glanced at my cowering brother.
With words unsaid, Grim nodded, shoulders hunched up. “Hurakan… Tlaloc.”
I nodded sagely. Our brother’s names, a god of storms.
“Does any of him live on in Tempest?” Grim had never given the god of storms consideration before, always animosity, regarding Storm as an inferior substitute for his companion.
“If you believe in reincarnation of gods, then believe he’s there. And believe that he found rain, and in his water lay Chalchiuhtlicue . I think this is why the Drowning River loves him so. They both swim in dark waters,” I said. If he would bring up our fallen brother’s name and assume that our Storm had been reborn from him—I’d assume that his lover’s element of life-giving water, who died before her power had been actualized, had found home in Rayne. But what confounded me far more than the surreptitious representation was the three aspects being found in siblings with otherwise unremarkable parentage. Three siblings for three brothers.
Beyond my range of sight, the door to the house opened from some annex, bringing with it a pulse of air, the rank scent of boar, and a creak of sound. “Grim! I’m here to see if you’d reconsider my—”
An aged familiar scent wafted by me, drawing a snarl from my throat. The demi that I’d witnessed while Storm cradled the dying body of his mate bore a scent so close to this male. Likely family.
“What guests have you brought?” A rather portly and stout man with dark eyes and piggish features eyed Cliff with pure lust. “And the omega has a few days left of his ripeness. Perfect. We can get started on giving me another son.”
I tensed and gritted my teeth, ready to tear the male to shreds, and allowed the span of time between one beat of my human heart to the next to give Grim the privilege of curbing his follower. But he wasn’t the one that acted first.
Eve did.
Her slender, taut frame snapped like a whip as she rushed forward, arm drawn back. Despite Grim and I having plenty of time and speed to act, her strike rang true, busting straight into the vulnerable tissue of the intruder’s upturned nose. The crunch—fleshy, wet, and satisfying—ended with a squeal and a splatter onto the floor. “Keep your nasty-ass lil’ pecker away from my baby bro. Okay? Now someone tell me what the fuck this porkchop here has to do with all this shit?”
Grim rose and strode sinfully slowly toward the scene, resting reassuring hands over the woman’s shoulders. “He was my follower.”
“Wa-was?” The snorting and hacking man on his knees held his nose and cowered, mealy brown hair laying limp and flat to his scalp. Even his skin was pink and piggish.
“You hinged my honor on your growing bloodline and struck out against the gods themselves in my name. Even still, I backed you, and you went after another god in retribution. Do you know who this boy is?” Grim pulled Eve back, every muscle in his body tightening as if he sought to draw her closer. I felt the same overwhelming urge, demanding I hold Cliff as his glazed eyes focused on her.
“R—Rayne the god-aspect’s brother.” He snorted and spat blood onto the floor.
“An aspect of the Buckling Stone, who bore the blood of a thousand men and women, spilled in anointment over his head.” Grim released Eve as she slipped from his grasp and folded her arms, ready to strike again.
“Strong whelps— Alpha son.” He sneered and glared up, eyes darting toward Cliff.
“That is not life for a life. That is rape . That is something I do not condone. Defiling a lifebringer is unforgiveable. They are to choose who to bestow with legacy.” Grim took a shuddering breath. “I renounce the boars. My power no longer rests with you, nor my blessings and all in your name, Maximillian.”
“You can’t just d—”
“Never tell a god what he can or cannot do, old friend. You shame me far more than the death of your kin.” Grim sneered and gestured for the man to leave, scrambling his way out amid a trail of blood.
“You can do it just like that?” Eve tilted her head.
“Always could, always will if my followers cease to listen to my decree.” Grim hung his head and sighed. “Give me a few days to tie my loose ends up here. I need to sever my ties to his people and hand over assets to those left who do not deserve the curse to come.”
“So, like that, it’s all over?” Eve glanced over at her brother; face twisted into a sad sort of sneer.
“Don’t think I’m not mad at you, sis. Fucken’ knew what I was ’n shit? Knew about all this?” Cliff waved his hand about. “Well, hey, I didn’t know Rayne had a baby, either.”
“Wait, Rayne had a—I thought he was— Oh. He’s the omega thing, too?” Cliff blinked rapidly, fighting off the stupor of lust that had his body. “Does that mean…” He pointed toward me.
I shrugged. “Not at the moment. But I suppose eventually?”
Cliff blanched and glanced from my face to Jacque’s for a moment. “Gods, this shit is messing with my head.”
“Don’t blame us for it.” Grim sighed. “But it is rather unfortunate. What say you, my Adamant Eve? Will you stay at my side?”
Eve huffed and glanced over at Grim, eying him up and down. “Eh, could be worse. I wanna go see my brother and my niece and figure all this shit out. Sibling family reunion!”
“Buckling Stone. May we trespass into your lands? I will send River a gift for crossing his territory.” Grim stared me down, no malice in his eyes.
“She has his aspect’s number. Call ahead and speak to them. My permission is only half of what needs to be there. Storm is the decider.”
Grim nodded. “Then I shall see to our travel while you tend to your mate. My blessings and forgiveness, brother.”
I nodded in return, and Cliff seemed to catch my drift. We approached one another, and like splinters of stone and the rumble of earth, our auras touched, the spirit between us trembling with life. “Anything you wish for, my aspect, my Weathering Cliff.”
“Ew. No. I like you way more than I should. Jacque likes you. Let’s go home. Please.” His upper lip curled, and I swept him into my arms, balancing him with Jacque. We’d fly to the one place in the world I had left. There, I’d make him mine.