Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Sawyer
I’m a little worried about what Ares is going to show me. We follow him over to where his family is and the Nikolaidises are there too.
“Okay, so we’ve decided to let you in on our secret. Emerson has told us how he feels about you and River. And for us as a family, this is a big thing. Our secrets are kept within our families and no one speaks of it outside,” Zeus Athanasiou says.
“Are you sure you want me to know this secret? I mean, really sure? It sounds like something more than learning about the Mancinis and the Bastianinis.”
“Are you serious about being with Emerson?”
“Yes.”
“Then yes. I’m sure about this.”
“Okay. First, please don’t yell or scream. It’s scary when people do that,” Eros says as everyone laughs.
“We’re all going to go over there for a minute, and we’ll come right back,” Apollo says.
“What’s going on? And why is Sebastiano recording me?” I whisper to Emerson.
“You’ll see,” is all Emerson will say. I squint at him and he laughs more.
What the hell is going on? I’m so confused. Everyone is staring at me. All of a sudden, I see a fuzzy face look around the corner of the wall. It looks like a fucking polar bear. We’re all going to die.
Emerson
We watch the two families walk over to the structure they made for this purpose. Because they’re shifters, most of us don’t bat an eye if they’re naked and shifting, newcomers don’t usually feel the same.
We see one of the polar bears poke his or her head around the wall. The look on Sawyer’s face is priceless.
“Why are we still standing here? Polar bears are vicious, man-eating animals. We need to back away slowly. How the fuck did it get back there? Are the families okay? Are they dead?”
Sawyer’s still babbling as the rest of the Athanasiou family comes out. Then we see the Nikolaidis’ white tigers, the Minamoto’s red pandas and the Crawford’s taipan snakes. At this point, Sawyer’s trying to climb me like I’m a tree that will save her from the animals. And I can’t stop laughing.
“Why are you fucking laughing?”
She’s almost on my shoulders as one of the polar bears sits in front of us and smiles. Or at least I think he’s smiling.
“DON’T EAT ME. I promise, I taste like rotten meat. You won’t like the taste of me!” she screams at him.
The polar bear starts laughing and falls over.
“Wait. Is it laughing at me? What in the fuck? Polar bears don’t laugh, do they?”
Since Sawyer’s only paying attention to the polar bear in front of us, she doesn’t realize there’s a snake slithering up my leg. I think it’s Seraphina, Apollo’s wife. And she better not nibble me. Finally, the snake is eye level to Sawyer.
“WHAT IS GOING ON?”
Sawyer screams as she leans back and almost falls off me. I catch her in my arms and the snake lands in her lap.
“I don’t wanna dieeeee.”
“Baby, you’re not going to die. I promise you.”
“How can you say that? Do you not see the snake that’s hissing at me?”
To be fair, the snake isn’t hissing. It’s just got it’s mouth open like it’s silently screaming.
Which it probably is because Seraphina likes to mess with us when she’s in her snake form.
She’s always threatening to bite Apollo, but she calls it nibbling.
I’ve seen her bite animals and humans. It’s definitely not nibbling.
The snake decides to rub herself on Sawyer and now she’s got her mouth open in a silent scream. I think it’s time to explain things to her.
“Sawyer? Please look at me,” I say as I look at her.
It takes a minute for her to tear her eyes away from the snake and the polar bear. We watch the snake slowly make her way to the ground and over to one of the polar bears.
“So. First of all, that snake? That’s Seraphina.”
“Wait. What the hell are you talking about? That’s a snake.”
“Yes, that’s Seraphina in her animal form. And the polar bear she’s wrapped around? I’m pretty sure that’s Apollo.” As I’m saying this, Apollo-bear waves.
“You’re fucking with me. You have to be. There’s no such thing as a shifter. That’s in movies, not real life.”
“I promise, I’m not fucking with you.”
“He’s not.” Giovanna chuckles.
“Oh trust me, I thought they were all fucking with me when I found out.” Gabriela laughs.
“You guys are serious?” Sawyer frowns as she looks at everyone. And then she looks at the animals.
One of the red pandas comes over and sits in front of Sawyer.
“Oh my god. Now this one’s adorable. It’s a red panda!”
The bearcat hisses at her.
“Well then. Grumpy little red panda.”
“That’s cause she doesn’t want to be called a ‘red panda.' They call themselves ‘bearcats.’” Giovanna chuckles.
“Bearcat? That’s even more adorable.”
After the shifters shift back, Sawyer gets to ask them all kids of questions. I think she’s finally believing what she’s seeing. I sigh as I look at the time. We have to start getting ready to meet her mother. I have a feeling she’s not going to be alone.
“Hey, I was wondering, you’re going to need a bodyguard for Sawyer, right?” Georgíos Nikolaidis asks.
“I do want one for her, I was going to ask this weekend about it.”
“I’d like to volunteer to do it.”
“Are you serious?” I smile. “Thank you.”
“I am, I’ve been filling in where I’m needed. But I really would like a permanent part to play in our families.”
I hug Georgíos. “Thank you so much. I really appreciate this.”
“This also means that I’ll watch River as well. But when you’re racing, is River with Sawyer?”
“No, he’s with the other kids. I was going to say, maybe with you there, he can stay in my garage. Sawyer has to be working. But with you there, River won’t be alone. And we can make an area that he can stay in.”
“That would work. That way I can still keep an eye on Sawyer.”
“Are you ready to tell Sawyer?” I chuckle.
“Yup. And I think we should leave soon and get to the bakery a little early.”
We walk over to Sawyer and tell her that Georgíos is going to be hers and River’s bodyguard. She hugs him and thanks him.
“There’s perks for me too. I get to travel with all of you.” He laughs.
We all laugh and get ready to leave. River will be staying with my parents while we deal with this situation. I’m hoping that it’s just her mother trying to be a bitch. But we’ll see.
“I still want Ares, Adonis, Celestino, Sebastiano, Lorenzo and Francesco to go with you,” Zio Enea says.
We all agree and head to the bakery. I can feel the tension in Sawyer, she’s fidgety. I hold her and kiss her head.
“It’s going to be alright. No matter what she says or does, you’re not alone.”
“Thank you. It’s just hard because I haven’t heard from her in so long. So why now?”
“I wish I had an answer for you. All I can say is that I love you, and it’s going to be okay.”
Sawyer’s quiet for the rest of the drive.
When we get to the bakery, we talk to the mamas before we grab some food and a table.
My antín Graínne, Antín Caitríona Bastianini and Tia Rosaura Mancini own Precious Risings Bakery and Cafe.
We’re all watching out the window even though none of us know who we’re looking for.
“There she is. Holy shit. That’s my father and my sisters. I don’t know who those men are. Wait. That can’t be…” she says softly to all of us.
I turn to look at Sawyer and she’s frowning. There are three men with her parents and sisters.
“I think that’s the guy I chose,” she whispers to me.
“You mean River’s donor?”
“Yes. But it can’t be, it was all supposed to be sealed. There’s no way he could’ve found me, right?”
The look of worry on Sawyer’s face is making me angry for her. If that’s who she thinks it is, he better not think he’s going to come in here and try to slide into Sawyer and River’s lives. All the guys stand up as they walk into the bakery. We all make sure they don’t get near Sawyer.
“Where’s my grandson? I told you to bring him, but it looks like you’re still stupid and can’t follow simple instructions,” her mother says as her sisters laugh.
“You have no right to demand anything of me. And my son will never be around you,” Sawyer says as she sits up straighter. I move closer to her as they all look at me.
“That’s where you’re wrong. This is Palmer Beaumont IV, he came to us a few months ago. And to our surprise, he thinks we have something in common. Can you guess what that something is?” Steve smirks at Sawyer.
“I don’t care who you are. But if any of you threaten or say something to put Sawyer down again? This meeting is over,” I say as I look at each of them, one at a time.
“You should stay out of family matters,” Steve says to me.
“Sawyer is my family.”
Steve starts to stand up and my family steps closer to us.
“You need back up?” He laughs. “Maybe you should’ve picked better. Pick someone who can fight their own battles.”
“They’re not here to help me fight, they’re here to make sure I don’t fuck you up too much.”
“Look. We’re not here for this, there’s only one reason we’re here. I want my son,” Palmer says as he looks at Sawyer.