Chapter Twenty-Six
Cliff
I stood on a jobsite, arms crossed. Nobody would let me lift a finger and I wanted to hurt someone badly . The septic system had been laid out in advance, the permits notoriously hard to secure in that county. Though, Ransom had some skills and finesse in getting things approved fast.
A backhoe moved around, leveling soil in a way I knew I could do on my own, but there was a fine line between things that needed to be done by god powers and things that I should pay people to do. Admittedly, the cycle of blessings and favors depended on having followers that were blessed. Nothing was more blessed in the world than having a stable, well-paying job.
Unlike my brother, I didn’t suffer the side effects of pregnancy, the experience quite easy on me, as if the universe was apologizing for my inconvenience. Even so, it didn’t stop me from shoving my hand into my hooded sweatshirt’s pockets to palm my belly. The low swell had me self-conscious, but the gentle flutter that responded to my touch had me caught somewhere between amused and freaked out.
I should tell Buck. My mind drifted to my mate and his voice whispered in my ear, as if he were right there, a thing that took time to adjust to.
Tell me what? A worrying note permeated his thought.
I feel it moving. I sent the thought along as I walked along a ditch being dug and subtly used my gift in an inconsequential way, packing the soil tighter.
Them, he, or she. It sounds like you’re resentful. Are you sure you’re okay with this? His words soothed me as I sighed.
I don’t mean to be. I just can’t wrap my head around the concept of being pregnant. Like, I grew up really not expecting this, dude.
A chuckle ran through me, from Buck to my soul. It warmed me beyond what my jacket offered. More than anything.
He remained silent for a while as I continued my trek. The others on the jobsite were on lunch and I couldn’t help myself. I felt like I needed to prove myself. Like I was worth the investment Rayne had put into the whole thing for me. I felt like every day I wasn’t returning his money was another day I’d failed.
When my phone rang, it drew me out of my thoughts, Ransom on the line. I pulled the call up and held it to my ear. “Yo.”
“Good news or bad news first?” The jovial tone in his voice told me nothing needed to be worried over too much.
“Good news.”
“So, this yuppie rich guy who owns a bunch of business retreats wants to invest in like a dozen of these and is putting in a preorder. He even had land surveys and grading in hand.” The conspiratorial chuckle made my heart skip a beat. “We have to tweak the designs from the standard kit we pitched, but it’s very doable.”
“He put 15 percent down?” Promises meant little without capital.
“Twenty.”
“Niiiiice.” I suppressed the grin that wanted to twist my face. “Okay, and the bad news?”
“Your mom’s here in the office. Rayne. Lost. His. Shit. Also, dude, you look a lot like her. Kinda uncanny.” He snorted, and I swore under my breath.
“On my way.” I hung up and sighed.
Before I could make my way to the truck, the ground around me hummed with life, alerting me to Buck. I paused and turned around just in time to bump into him.
No hello; no greeting. He cupped my face and grinned, letting that familiar earthy scent take me away. Despite the chill outside, my entire body tingled for him in a rush of heat. Just like any other time he handled me so passionately, I melted into him. And I couldn’t be bothered to care who saw. “Hey, man. Thought you had Vida.” I placed my hands on his chest, fingers brushing the thin flannel of the shirt he manifested, insubstantial for the cold, but he didn’t feel it like that any longer. Same as me, it existed but didn’t hurt anymore. Likely, the birth of my child would be the last pain I ever registered in a human way.
An impossibly warm hand slipped underneath my hoodie for a gentle palm to the swell there. Since I’d felt the flutters on and off for a few weeks, the bigger sensation earlier was novel in that I knew someone would be able to feel it besides me. As if on cue, thinking about the little one or our closeness made them kick, a limb of some variety slapping against Buck’s hand.
“She’s in the truck. Seat’s already in. I called Lincoln this morning and requested a visit. He’ll come stay when you’re near.” Buck placated my rush of surliness with a kiss. “Not up for discussion.”
“If I’m this crazy god creature, why do I need a doctor?” I groaned and Buck tilted his hand to rub back against the kick I’d felt.
“Because we owe it to River. He can help you learn, as much as he can learn, himself.” He placed a soft kiss over my lips, reminding me, with heavy guilt, of what River had done for us. The sacrifice he’d made.
Buck had gone to visit Brook a few times in the prior weeks, watching River stand by the bank of his tributary, trudging the mires of the shallows. His mournful rattling cry I’d heard when Buck called me made me cry. Not that I’d admit it.
“Come on. My mom showed up at the office and Rayne is losing his damn mind.” I pushed Buck back gently and gave him what I hoped was a half smile.
“I look forward to the shit show.” His smile made all the dread in my body float away, because nothing she said or did would ever matter to me as much as Buck.
***
Buck was right. It was a shit show.
When I pulled up to Rayne’s new offices that we shared space with, I eyed the economical rental car out front. The half-bare walls and mismatched furniture became more cohesive by the day, but it still looked barren, one of those retail spaces that was eternally empty save for the Halloween store days.
I got out of the truck I’d bought off a pack member at Rayne’s insistence and I could hear the shouting from outside. Mostly Rayne’s. I busied myself getting Vida out of her seat before heading in.
“How was I supposed to know?” My mom’s nasally voice dug into my brain like an ice pick when I stepped inside, flinching away by habit. That particular pitch of anger usually came with a side of shoe. As if on cue, a practical flat came sailing across the office and I dodged, Buck throwing an arm out defensively.
“Uh, I don’t know? Have someone that could tell come give us a sniff? Just tossing us out into the wild and hoping we didn’t find out anything disturbing was a shitty thing to do, Ma!” Another shoe flew and this time, it wasn’t her throwing it.
Rayne.
She barely managed to dodge his sneaker but shrieked when the second one landed, bouncing off her shoulder. “You ungrateful little—”
“No! We don’t get to play that game, Ma. You had one job, to raise us and make sure we made it to adulthood prepared for what was ahead and you failed .” Rayne’s eyes had that spark of fire in them from his gift, and I turned Vida closer to my chest and gave her a gentle bounce so she didn’t startle from the screaming. Her face already had twisted up, lips pursed and ready to cry.
“Shh,” I said, trying to stave off the eruption, but it came regardless, a shrill whimper of unhappiness revealing her single tooth barely poking from the gums.
Rayne swiveled his head and the fire in his eyes went placid and faded away, his attention focused on his little one.
“Easy with the shoe chucking, Mom. Precious cargo and all that.” I rolled my eyes and met Rayne halfway to pass Vida off to him before glaring at Mom.
“Cliff… Honey, you—” Her eyes widened and drifted down. “Oh, my god! Both of you? Not even married.”
“Hi, Mom. Nice to see you too, Mom. Congrats on being a grandmother, Mom.” I rattled through my sarcasm, having to get it out somehow.
“And now you sound like Rayne. Jesus, Cliff. I expected this out of Rayne, honestly, but you?” She gestured at me, and I closed my eyes, counting to ten. For the most part, I was a calm and collected person, but Mother could rankle my peace by breathing at times.
“Hey!” Rayne sneered and Mother ran her hand through her thick brown curls, pushing them off her forehead with a hiss of a sigh.
“Maybe if someone gave me the talk like a parent should have, I’d not be in this situation?” I shrugged.
“Dude. You had warning.” Rayne gave me a sneer.
“Yeah, but like—not for what we did.” I gestured toward Buck, who managed to turn his polite half smile into something sleazier than Pecker could have managed had he a human form.
“Dammit, asshole. Still! You’re mated and monogamous and have a house and graduated and all that. It counts.” Rayne turned toward Mom and cupped Vida to his chest, making me very thankful the shoe-flinging had stopped. Both of them were barefoot anyway.
I glanced over at Ransom, who peeked over the edge of his desk, a shoe in hand, ready to participate in orthopedic warfare. I gestured for him to stop and relaxed when he sank back down behind the wood where it was safe.
“We done flinging chanclas, Ma? Rayne?” I glared at them both and earned a sneer from Rayne and a sheepish glance from Mother.
“Yeah. For now, anyway.” Rayne huffed and quieted Vida as I paced up and offered Mother a one-armed hug. On a whole, it was as much affection as we swapped on a good day. Small victories, I guessed.
“Now, where the hell have you been? You said you were on your way months ago and nothing! No returned phone calls—” I started, but she cut me off.
“I’ve been busy.” She diverted her gaze sheepishly and it was only then I noticed a taller figure behind her, staying out of it as if he had no place in it either, our father.
He met my gaze with a flat and almost-disappointed stare before looking away. I’d heard enough bigoted locker room talk from him to last me a lifetime. “Nice to see you’ve got something to say.”
He tensed his shoulders, his right arm flexing as if he had the urge to draw back on me, like he did when we were kids.
Stop crying or I’ll give you something to cry about, pussy. Those words echoed around in my head, and I shook them off. I was just grateful Dad spent more time on top of Mom and out of country than he ever did trying to parent.
“So why did you two even show up if you were just going to act like assholes?” I thrusted my hands in my pockets, staring them down.
“Well, we were busy and w—” Mom started and stopped when my dad gave her a warning grunt.
He stepped closer toward her and folded his arms, eyes not meeting either of ours as he stared above our heads, trying to play the good guy. “We never thought Rayne would manifest, and we honestly thought you were full latent. After this came to light, we started asking questions to see if we were in trouble, which we are. My home pack took your siblings in and we’ve been there while they’re being helped. And yes, they’re all demi.”
“Well, Dad. This is my mate, the Buckling Stone. Buck, this is Dad, Hendrick.” I waved a hand at my father who didn’t offer a hand to shake. He pursed his lips in such a way that made his bottom lip poke out churlishly. He’d always been an overgrown manchild, the definition of weaponized incompetence and the stereotype of husbands everywhere. I’d remembered thinking, as a little boy, that I wanted to be a better father. That I’d play with my kids, talk to them, and love them.
Maybe I was meant to have children. I certainly knew better than my own parents, or I thought I did.
I took a deep breath, turned to Buck, and stared him down, sending my thoughts to him. Don’t ever let me turn out like that.
Understood. He smiled at me and I found the strength to face my father as he shoved his hands in his pockets, giving Buck a half nod.
“So, if you didn’t have any plans on making things easier for us, communicating or explaining, why did you even bother showing up?” Rayne glared. “Because I died. I died , Ma.”
“I got kidnapped, drugged, nearly assaulted, and one hell of an awakening.” I gave Rayne a commiserating nod.
“Yeah, he nearly got the struggle snuggle , Ma!” Rayne glanced at his feet as if he were looking for another shoe.
“Okay, I get it. I fucked up. I’m here now.” She held up her hands.
“The boars are gone, so we don’t have to hide or anything.” My dad shrugged and hooked his thumbs over the hems of his pockets, rocking on his feet.
“If I may intervene?” Buck slid from my side and strode forward, blocking my vision of my mother and father. He rose to his full height, that hat he wore shadowing what little of his face I could see. His god powers swarmed him and my parents cowered slightly. “Rather than come to us, your lack of communication with us and the discussion with others caused us grief. Your rumors cost lives because I doubt that witch would have taken that contract or died for what she did if she hadn’t gone looking for the boars.”
My father’s face hardened. “I was protecting our family.”
“Yet you conveniently forgot these two are your family, and had the protection of gods. They are gods. Rayne is lightning. Cliff is his namesake, the highest peaks. A landslide waiting to happen. We have power in spades to protect what is ours.” Buck shook his head. “Hendrick? I’d like to speak to you a moment. In private, if you would.”
My father froze and tensed up a bit, the green in his eyes flinty and dull as he glared. All the same, he approached Buck and sulked out, chest puffed, and jaw steeled. His foul attitude would never work against a god.
“Well, Ma. This is Vida, your granddaughter.” Rayne tilted his arms to show her Vida. Cautiously, Mom approached with a wary expression that melted a little.
She glanced from Vida to me, waiting for an explanation or introduction that I didn’t give.
“And we don’t know what Cliff’s having, but we’re just hoping it’s humanoid at this point—considering.” Rayne smirked, and I hissed for him to shut up.
“Dude!”
Mom snorted a half laugh. “You didn’t think you could get pregnant while shifted?”
“I don’t think he was thinking at all.” Rayne stuck out his tongue and my cheeks burned.
“Fuck off, man.” I shrugged and averted my gaze.
“Am I clear to come out, or am I going to get hit with a shoe?” Ransom peered over his desk and I choked on a laugh.
As if only relaxing for the first time in ages, I sank against a wall and closed my eyes. “I think we ended up where we needed to be, all things considered. Mom, you suck. Like, really suck. I hope Hunter, Lily, and Ember get the help they need. Is Eve back in town yet?”
Rayne shook his head. “Nah. Her and Grim went up north for a bit to see to some other lands. They have a black bear Sloth up yonder who asked him to come. He’s not a fan of the cold, but they’re earnest. I think they want the Adamant Eve more than the Grim Dawn.”
I nodded halfheartedly. “Yeah. I suppose once things calm down a bit we’ll go visit?”
Rayne stared down at Vida for a moment. “Yeah. Soon.”
“So, what is Vida’s name for?” My mother’s voice broke the silence, and Rayne sneered.
“Vidalia—”
“Mama Vy?” The fact my mother knew that name pissed me off. That she knew the pack better than I did. Thunder Acres had become my people.
“Yes… How do you know?”
“Great auntie. You found your people, yeah?” Her face twisted into something hard.
“So we’re from here?” I sighed heavily. Of course.
“Well, not really. My mom was a latent, my dad a demi. I was full latent and—we never were around here. I met Mama Vy a few times.” Mom stared at Vida with a twist of her lips. “Mama Vy was that good to you?”
Rayne nodded once. “She helped me learn what I am, accept it. I didn’t get the luxury of learning what I was, young. I felt like I had real family.”
The way Rayne said it, delivered pointedly at Mom—it seemed to sting as she glanced away, guilt plain on her face. “You don’t know what it’s like being surrounded by magic and shifters and long lives and being told you’re just human . I didn’t want you to know about all this in case it made you feel like I felt.”
“But you kinda knew, didn’t you? Knew enough to suspect Eve was witching it out. Knew enough to ask the right people we’d have been around. Knew enough to suspect me being an omega? Mom, you know what happens when an alpha asshole finds a demi omega who has no clue what he is?” Rayne glared at her.
She had the decency to shy away, turning her head with a twist of shame still plain. “Yeah. But you can’t know what it’s like. You have all that power now. More, even.”
“I’m sure I can’t understand. But that doesn’t mean we should pay for your hangups.” Rayne glanced over at me, his expression lost, but the bitterness still plain. “And you’ve another grandbaby on the way. And I don’t think either of us want you in our babies’ lives if you’re not going to be around. There’s plenty of others waiting in line to be grandparents.”
The anger that flashed over Mom’s face came before the hurt, and that said all I wanted to know. I sighed heavily and took a chair to sit down. My little one had gone still from exhaustion or fear, I wasn’t sure, but I rubbed the dome of my belly through my hoodie pocket. I’d been self-conscious of the gesture.
“Now, do you want to come down and see the pack or not?” Rayne sneered and Mom nodded.
And deep down?
I didn’t think she’d be back.
And that was okay.
The family Rayne started—we were finishing.
Bound by land, not blood.