44. Wyatt
FORTY-FOUR
WYATT
I used to think that running through the woods at top speed, silently hurdling downed logs, and using tree branches like an Olympic gymnast on a high bar, was the best feeling in the world. I was wrong. Waking up with Harper in my bed was the best feeling in the word. I pulled her body close to mine and rested my hand on her belly. Gloria had been feeding Harper well, and while most women would’ve hated losing their washboard abs, Harper’s new softer stomach was sexy as hell. She was solid, feminine, and mine.
Rare November sunlight streamed in through the window. I kissed Harper on the cheek. She murmured and wriggled closer to me, but soon her breath returned to its sleepy rhythm. As tempting as it was to wake her up and take care of my massive erection, I had places to go and people to see.
The cold shower didn’t alleviate the throbbing, so I gripped my shaft and imagined all the mornings I’d get to be inside of my soulmate. Until the end of… her life. Luckily, the somber thought arrived after I shot my load at the tile.
Together, Harper and I had discovered true love. And if I only had it for the next sixty or seventy years of her life, it would be better than not having it at all.
Once dressed, I slipped into the frosty morning. Steam billowed out of the greenhouse door as I stepped inside.
“Good Morning, Wyatt,” Tim shouted from behind a row of plants. I rubbed the leaf of one of them between my fingers.
“Morning, Tim. What time did you get here?” There were already three empty coffee mugs next to a plate covered in crumbs from toast.
“I haven’t left, Boss.” Tim chugged his coffee. “I’ve put together the rest of the samples for you.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a pill bottle, shook it, then handed it to me. The lone pill that was in the pocket of my jacket had been the only one of its kind. I had planned to be Tim’s guinea pig, but Harper had stopped me. Now, we had a supply that we could use for experiments.
“I feel weird about this. Up until now, whenever we’ve had a new experiment, we’ve tested on ourselves. Is it wrong to try this formulation on the hybrids?” I rolled the bottle in my hand, mesmerized by the pills jangling around inside.
“A better question might be whether it’s humane to let them live in the state they’re in.” Tim’s lips drew into a line.
He was right. The hybrids were already an experiment, albeit a failed one. They were neither human, nor one of us. “You’re right as usual, Tim. It would be cruel to leave them as empty creatures.”
“And they’ll work.” Tim shrugged. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Sure, like any new drug, there may be side effects down the road. But as they are, those hybrids might as well be dead.”
I put the bottle in my pocket. “I wish I had your confidence.” It had taken years for us to get the dosage right on the red and white moss. I still wondered if there might be side effects in a hundred years. But we’d been taking the moss for at least fifty years without incident, so I knew that I needed to let go and trust Tim.
“I saw it work with my own eyes.” Tim took off his glasses and polished them with the corner of his lab coat.
“How is that possible?” I had just come from the wing where we had the hybrids tied up. They were all accounted for.
“Turn around.” Tim smiled.
The door to the greenhouse slid open, and a man who appeared to be in his fifties or early sixties smiled at me. He had brown hair that was graying at the temples, and an average human build. He looked fit, and his skin was tanned to a golden brown. It didn’t register who he was until his eyes met mine. I knew them well. They were the same as Harper’s.
“Joe?” I whispered.
The man rubbed his clean-shaven jaw. “It’s me.”
“You look completely…” My voice trailed off.
“Human?” Joe smiled. “I’m the ideal test subject. After the party last night, I came in here and made Tim give me one of your new pills. It didn’t take long to kick in. My body felt like it was fizzing, kind of like a balloon slowly deflating.”
“You look great.” His eye sockets no longer looked hollowed, and his skin wasn’t wrinkled and covered in scraggly hair. He was smaller, but he still looked fit. Wiry, even.
Joe rubbed the back of his neck, his cheeks flushed. “It’s been a long time since I’ve received a compliment. Thank you, Wyatt.” His eyes shimmered and he wrapped his arms around me in a hug.
I patted his back. Like Joe with compliments, I still wasn’t great with affection – with anyone that wasn’t Harper.
Tim handed Joe a bottle with one pill inside. “As promised.”
Joe quickly pocketed the bottle, but I could tell that I had witnessed something I wasn’t supposed to see. I looked between Joe and Tim, scowling. “What’s going on?”
Joe stepped defensively in front of Tim. “I made him do it.”
“Do what?” I crossed my arms.
Tim stepped out from behind Joe. “It’s in the early stages but… I think that I found an antidote that works on humans. Joe confirmed that it worked early this morning.”
Tilting my head, I tried to decipher what the two men were trying to tell me.
Zipping up his jacket, Joe smiled. “I tested a few things this morning. I thought you’d have realized by now… I’d do anything for my family. See you later, Wyatt.” Joe shook my hand and walked around me toward the greenhouse doors.
I was too stunned to stop him. The implications of the two new compounds and the impact they could have on our community had started to register in my brain. “Wait. Where are you going?”
Joe smiled. He was missing some teeth and would need to see a dentist. “I’m going to go get my girl.”
“She’s sleeping,” I said, my mind running to Harper still wrapped up in my sheets.
The yellow-toothed smile was back. “The other one.” He winked, and then human Joe was gone.
I turned and shook my finger at our community’s top scientist.
Tim gulped. “He made me do it.”
“I can’t be mad at you if you saved Harper’s parents,” I sighed. “Hell, you might end up saving a whole lot of people with your foolishness. But Tim…” I paused. “Don’t you dare be testing any of this stuff on yourself.”
Tim’s eyes grew wider than his round glasses. “Never.”
I stayed at the greenhouse for another hour, discussing the results of Tim’s experiments. When I’d left that morning, it had been quiet, save for the snores rumbling from all corners of the mansion. When I returned, pans were being dropped in the kitchen, Yeti were walking around eating frozen fish like popsicles, and the South Americans were slowly emerging from the carriage house, bee-lining for the espresso machine.
One of Valentina’s guys, Luiz, rubbed his eyes and yawned.
“What are you doing up so early? I swear I heard samba music still blasting at five a.m.,” I said.
Luiz drank his espresso. “The pilot called. He wants to take off before some bad weather rolls in. Valentina’s already left for the airport. She said to tell you that she’ll be back next month to discuss the future of the Northern and Southern alliance.”
Having the Yeti in Seattle was a monumental occasion, and Valentina was surely threatened by our immediate collaboration with our distant white-haired relatives. Together, there was no way she could overthrow our leadership. And she knew it. She would have to play nice for the next little while. “Have a safe flight.” I patted the guy on the back.
The South Americans had helped us beat the Carders, but Valentina would always be a threat. It was a goodbye and a good riddance wrapped into one.
“Wyatt.” Gloria padded out of the kitchen with a tray of pancakes. “For Harper.”
I took the tray and headed upstairs to my bedroom. Harper was sitting on the edge of the bed, her elbows resting on her knees.
“Harper.” I set the tray on the dresser and skidded to my knees in front of her. “Are you okay?”
She looked up at me, her face pale and her eyes bloodshot. “What did we eat last night? I think I’ve got food poisoning.”
She pushed me out of the way and retching sounds echoed from the bathroom. I knew from movies that women liked to have their hair held while they threw up, but when I opened the door to help her she threw a box of tissues at me. “Stay out.” She sounded possessed.
The corner of the box hit the side of my head where the chip had been attached. Tears of pain sprigged in my eyes and I rubbed the spot on my head. My hair had already grown back, but my skin was still tender where the Carders had attached the mind-controlling device.
I sat on the bed and picked up a pancake with my fingers, rolling it into a tube and dipping it in the syrup, before eating it in two bites. While I waited, I tried to remember what we’d eaten the night before that could’ve given Harper food poisoning.
“Maybe it was the shrimp,” I shouted.
Harper emerged from the bathroom, wiping her mouth with a hand towel. “Even the toothpaste smells gross.” She tossed the towel on the bed. “Mmm. But those pancakes smell incredible.” She took the tray from my lap and cut a piece with the side of her fork, folding it into her mouth. A moan escaped from her lips.
“Do I need to be jealous of a pancake?” I laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever made you moan like that.”
She smiled while she chewed and pushed me aside.
“I had plans to come up here and wake you up.” I winked. “But it looks like I need to take care of you in other ways instead. Do you want some tea? Maybe some of Gloria’s homemade chicken soup?”
Harper swallowed her giant bite of pancake. “I feel better already.”
She did look better. The grayish-green tint was gone from her face, and her eyes sparkled. “I’m happy, hungry, and…” she took a bite of her pancake and then sipped the orange juice. “Horny.” She shoved the tray aside and pushed me down on the bed, straddling me like a crocodile wrestler.
“You are freakishly strong.” I didn’t resist.
Harper pulled down my pants and my cock slapped my abdomen. I was harder than I’d been this morning. She pulled off her striped pajama pants and tossed them on the floor.
“Commando?” I raised my eyebrows.
“I picked that up from you.” She grinned and positioned my cock at her warmth.
“Easy, girl.” I held onto her hips. I always controlled the first thrust. Harper was handling my massive dick better than expected, but I still hadn’t pushed it with her. I always held back.
“Don’t tell me what to do.” Her voice rasped and she dropped her body weight, taking my entire shaft hard and fast.
I gasped. It was fucking intense.
Harper began to ride my cock like a cowboy at a rodeo. We’d had soft and sweet, and rough and fun, but this… this was new. She was almost fucking like… I didn’t want to think about it. A sasquatch.
As I filled her, which didn’t take long, she threw her head back and hurled a loud scream. Her body stiffened as she came, and then she collapsed on top of me, panting like a hound dog on a hot porch.
“Wow.” I stroked her hair. “Who are you?”
She rested her chin on my chest. “I’m yours. That’s who.” She crawled up my body to kiss me and then rolled onto the bed beside me.
“The South Americans are gone.” I didn’t know why I felt compelled to tell her at that moment, but I knew that she would appreciate the fact that Valentina wasn’t around.
“Good,” she smiled. “Although I owe you an apology.”
“Oh, do you? What for?” I propped myself up on my elbow.
“I understand why you lied to me about Valentina. Don’t get me wrong.” She put her index finger on my chest. “You shouldn’t have lied. But I also shouldn’t have asked you about her in the first place. That’s your past. And what you did before you and I got together is none of my business.”
I’d already apologized for lying. “I still feel shitty about that. But I am telling you the truth. You’re the only woman who has ever meant anything to me. Ever. And I’ll love you until the day…”
“I die?” She raised her eyebrows.
“Yes,” I whispered. “Until the day you…” I wasn’t ready to go there.
My phone buzzed on the nightstand. Harper read the screen. “It’s Jax.”
Had it been anyone else, I would’ve let it go to voicemail. “What is it?” I said into the phone. Nodding, I listened to Jax speak, then hung up the call, a grin stretching my face. “How quickly can you get dressed?”
“Why?” Her eyes were wide. “Can’t we have just one day to ourselves without a rogue sasquatch, or werewolves, or an evil corporation ruining it?”
I got up and tugged her from the bed. “The day is only going to get better.”
“Better than this?” She shimmied to the edge of the bed and planted a kiss on the base of my dick, which was already semi-hard and ready to go again.
“Later,” I laughed. “Go get ready.”
“Oh, God.” Harper clamped her hand to her mouth. “I feel sick again.” She froze, but then relaxed. “It passed.”
“Are you sure?” I sat and rubbed her back in circular strokes.
She nodded and we both got dressed. “Now, what are we hurrying for?” she asked.
“Come with me.” I held her hand and led her down the hall to her library.
“Is it a first edition of Jane Austen?”
“Even better.” I opened the door and gestured for Harper to walk in ahead of me.
She froze in the doorway, and I almost ran into her. I held onto her arms, making sure she didn’t pass out. She whispered that she was alright, but I could feel her shaking. “Mom?” Her voice was barely audible. “Dad?” Her knees started to buckle, but I held her up.
“Sunbeam!” Hope Davis started running across the library.
Harper shook free from my protective hold and flew into her mother’s arms. “Mommy,” she wailed. Hope kissed her daughter’s head and held her while she sobbed. Joe joined them, wrapping his arms around the two of them.
A warm sensation hit my cheek. I touched it and realized that it was wet. I was crying, not from pain, but from emotion. The scene in front of me was beautiful.
Joe smiled and winked at me. “Hope. I want to introduce you to someone. Our future son-in-law.”
It was only then that Hope saw me. She’d been so engrossed with her daughter that Santa and his reindeer themselves could’ve been in the room and she wouldn’t have noticed. Her eyes met mine. “We’ve met.” She stepped away from her daughter and husband, and reached out to touch my face. “Thank you for keeping Harper safe while we couldn’t. Welcome to the family.”
The same weird sensation hit my other cheek, and then more followed.
“Are you sure you’re okay with us being together?” I asked.
Hope shot Joe a look. “You two are meant to be together. We couldn’t stop this magic, even if we tried.”
A knock on the door interrupted us.
“Boss.” Tank stuck his head in the office. “Gloria wants to know if your guests would like to stay for brunch. She’s serving surf and turf.” He was holding a plate and popped a shrimp into his mouth.
“Oh, no.” Harper clapped her hand to her mouth and barely made it to a wastebasket.
“Harper, honey?” Hope held her daughter’s hair and Harper allowed it. “What’s going on?”
“I don’t know.” Harper’s voice echoed in the metal container.
“I think she ate something bad last night,” I offered. “Tank, get that shit out of here.”
Tank disappeared and the heavy door fell shut.
“It can’t be the shrimp.” Harper sat on the hardwood floor, her feet out in front of her. “I didn’t have any last night, but as soon as I smelled it…” She gagged, as though even the memory of the shrimp was enough to make her puke.
Hope looked at Joe. “It’s not possible, is it?”
“What?” Harper was able to get to her feet. “What’s not possible?” she asked.
Joe scratched his head. “I had a feeling it could be. I was experimenting with cryptothelys at the time. Maybe…” Joe’s voice trailed off.
My head shot up. “Cryptothelys,” I muttered. “That would explain why you’ve always felt warmer to me. But…” My head began spinning as I considered the implications of what Joe was saying.
“Can someone please tell me what’s going on?” Harper begged.
Hope smiled. “Harper, honey. When I was pregnant with you, I couldn’t handle the smell of any seafood.”
“I’m not pregnant.” Harper crossed her arms and her chin dropped to her chest. “It’s not possible, between me and Wyatt,” she said sadly.
It was a sore spot for Harper and me, and I moved so I could drape my arm over her shoulder.
“It’s true that it’s never been documented before, between a human and a… a Wyatt. But that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. I was experimenting on myself when you were conceived, and your mom was taking cryptothelys supplements from the lab to prevent another miscarriage.”
“What are you saying, Dad?” Harper’s voice quivered and I squeezed her tightly.
“Yeah, Joe. What exactly are you saying?” I repeated.
“Maybe you should ask Tim if he has any pregnancy tests in the lab.” Joe shrugged, but a wry smile crept across his face.
My world went into slow motion. Harper had seemed bigger and stronger lately, and she’d also been more sensitive. Maybe her softer belly wasn’t just because of Gloria’s pancakes. And the extra heartbeat that I’d heard… It all started rushing to me, like pieces of a puzzle falling into place. How could I not have seen it? How had I ignored all of the signs?
We were told it was impossible. That’s why.
“Harper.” I turned and held her hands in mine. “You know how I can hear your heartbeat? Well, lately I’ve been hearing something else too.” I dropped to my knees and pressed my ear beside her navel. I looked up at her and those damn tears were back. “We’re going to be parents.”
The End