by Lisa Oliver
“NO!” Aphrodite swirled, moving like the wind to loom over the cringing Himeros. “You had the audacity to produce a child to Poseidon?” With a thwack, Himeros was making another hole in the plaster wall. “You gave birth and you never told me. Never presented your child to me. You denied your precious offspring half of his birthright, his entire life? How could you be so cruel?”
Himeros fell out of the wall and onto his knees. “My gracious goddess, please,” he cried, clasping his hands together as if praying. “Having that child made me fat and I couldn’t care for him when my only loyalty, the only goddess I care for is your blessed person.”
“I notice you only mentioned being loyal to a goddess, not a god,” Baby called out. “What about your obsession with Poseidon? Messing with him, making plans to break his true mating when for the first time in his life he’s happy with new twins of his own.”
“I sent a gift for that mating.” Aphrodite whirled to face Baby. “I sent Himeros with a tree that will never die, to wish him good fortune, and blessings on his mating and his new children. I was so pleased for them both. Poseidon never had the benefit of companions such as mine.”
“Your companion is doing dirty work, my lady,” Baby said respectfully. “He seeks to plot to remove Claude from the fabric of life, so he might take Poseidon as his own mate.”
“I never said mate,” Himeros yelled.
“You fucking did,” Baby stepped out from Owen’s arms, but he let his mate go, because nothing was more beautiful than Baby’s justifiable anger. “You told me you’d make the perfect mate for Sei, which is why you tried to rope me into your insidious schemes. What was it you said? Oh yes, you couldn’t be seen to actually do away with Claude yourself because then Poseidon wouldn’t turn to you for a shoulder to cry on. You even had the gall to suggest the twins were nothing, because you’d already had a child to Sei once and could do it again if you absolutely had to. Although why would you have more kids, when the moment I was born I was shoved into Poseidon’s hands and I didn’t see you again for over eight hundred years?”
“Oh, Baby.” Owen watched as Baby was swallowed in a cloud of gauze and summer breeze. “My precious child, you did not deserve to be shunned or treated in such a callous manner. My chest aches that your heartbreak was caused by one of my own. Can you ever forgive me?”
“You truly didn’t know of my existence?” Owen could see hope warring with disbelief in his mate’s aura. “I have been to your domain many times over the past hundred years.”
“You are my grandson,” Aphrodite said gently. “I would never be so cruel as to ignore your existence, while celebrating the birth of Poseidon’s new twins. Someone has just done a very good job of hiding you, among other things.”
“Aphrodite, if you don’t mind?” Owen held out his arms and seconds later they were filled with a sobbing Baby. “My mate is understandably overwhelmed. It was only two days ago we celebrated the potential new life of our own that Baby carries under his heart. Himeros’ actions have been deliberately cruel, and that’s without using his powers on a roomful of unsuspecting humans. He must be punished.”
“Yes, indeed.” Aphrodite had a thoughtful air for a moment. “You took his powers from him?”
“Suppressed them. Himeros was in danger of causing a very ugly situation.”
“Which is not what the power of desire is meant to do. Desire combined with love, is the most wondrous thing, no matter which beings experience it’s effects.”
Owen said nothing, preferring to stroke Baby’s hair. His mate was hugging him so tightly and Owen cursed that Himeros ever had a part in his mate’s existence.
“Himeros’ powers will remain suppressed,” Aphrodite said firmly, ignoring the man in question’s horrified gasp. “We are immortal. Time passing has no consequence for us. But as a reference point, the powers will remain suppressed until your new little one walks into my open arms. Will that suffice?”
Baby lifted his head and sniffed. “Won’t that stop the population feeling desire for their loved ones? Only, that wouldn’t be fair.”
“No, my precious child. The erotes are three for now, they can be two for a while and still fulfill their purpose. One would hope, seeing Himeros’ punishment might temper some of their own excesses and remind them why we came into being. The many facets of love, desire and commitment are a beautiful thing when well crafted.”
“My lady, please,” Himeros begged. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
Aphrodite’s aura turned cold. “No, the sad thing is, you probably didn’t, and that includes giving birth to your beautiful son. I can only imagine what a whining sod you were while you were pregnant. Your lack of thought and compassion for others is a sickening disease. One will hope that your time spent serving me manually, will bring you the humility you should show in your position.” She twirled in a graceful curtsey. “Owen, please take very special care of my grandson. Baby, precious man, I promise we will see each other soon. Blessings on your mating and the new life you carry.”
With a swirl of fabrics, Aphrodite and Himeros were gone. Baby looked up – it was amazing to Owen how the caress of eyes he couldn’t see could be felt so strongly. “What’s going to happen to all these statues?” He whispered, looking around.
“Come, let me show you.” Owen led Baby back to his chair, moving the solid form of the bartender back behind the bar and the waitress a respectful distance from the table. Picking up Suzy’s iPad and pen, he tucked them into her hands and then took his own seat. With a flick of his hand, everything was as it was before – customers in their own seat, the holes in the plaster repaired, and the music playing as though it hadn’t stopped. “Hi, my name is Suzy,” Suzy said, her pen poised against her tablet. “Wow, you do have lovely eyes. Are you ready to order?”
“That is freaking amazing,” Baby said softly. “Freaking amazing.”
“My partner will have the…”
Chapter Twenty-One
Baby hummed to himself softly as he swiped his paintbrush up and down the sanded window frame. Owen and the hardware man had both warned him paint wasn’t likely to dry well, given the chill in the air and the snow on the ground. But Thurso was enjoying one of those rare days when the sun shone its pale glow on the compacted snow and Baby wanted the chance to spend part of the day outside.
Owen was off in his polar bear form. He wanted to check the river flow, although Baby thought he was probably looking to see if he could find any fish. Given the river was likely frozen, it wasn’t overly deep, Baby had been tempted to tag along. Seeing Owen’s furry form smash through ice in a fish hunt might be fun. But he was equally concerned about fresh wood being exposed to the damp air, and as another storm was due within the week, he decided the soothing art of painting was a better way to spend his time.
Painting, and spending time alone also gave him time to think. Baby was rarely alone anymore, and while he used to think the only way he could find happiness was to be surrounded by countless people, Baby found he truly appreciated how genuine companionship and love from a special person could make him feel whole.
Although his baby bump was only just starting to show, Owen still made him feel like he was the one who was important. They talked about the baby, like couples did, but not to the exclusion of anything else. The only thing Owen had insisted on, was being allowed to prepare the nursery and surprise of surprises, Aphrodite was helping him. Baby hadn’t been allowed to peek.
Now, suspended in the air on a scaffolding contraption Owen finally deemed safe enough to sit on, Baby swung his legs, chewing the side of his lip as he cut the paint into the side of the frame. His stomach was making noises, letting him know it would soon be time for lunch, but Baby was happy to wait for Owen. He knew his mate wouldn’t be far away.
A ding rang through the atmosphere and Baby felt the presence of a god before he heard a voice he was familiar with. “I must say, this is unexpected.”
“Poseidon.�
� He kept his eyes focused on the half-painted frame. “It’s not like you to be so far away from Claude and your offspring.”
“Hello, Baby,” said another familiar voice.
Damn. Baby chewed his lip to hide his wince. “Claude, it’s not like you to be in these parts either. Isn’t it a little bit chilly to be making random visits?”
“We wanted to talk to you. I wanted to apologize, and Sei has a few things he would like to say as well.” Claude sounded as though he meant it, and with a sigh, Baby smeared the last of the paint from the brush on the frame, before setting the brush down over the top of the paint tin. Swinging his legs around the plank he was sitting on, he braced himself using his hands on the side of the wood and tilted his head slightly.
In his human form, Poseidon was a lot shorter than Claude. Both men were bundled up in thick coats, holding each other’s hand. Baby was happy to see Poseidon, but the hurt from his last altercation with Himeros was still fresh and he felt safer sitting on his scaffolding. “What, pray tell, do you think you’ve done you need to apologize to me about? We haven’t seen each other in ages.”
“Which is my fault.” Claude exchanged glances with Poseidon, who looked at him with so much love, Baby’s heart ached just seeing it. But the man who looked back up at Baby was the same proud alpha Baby knew Claude to be. “I wasn’t fair on you, when we first met. I’d heard stories about you. I spent time with the wolves who brought you to our doorstep, and I formed an opinion without bothering to get to know you as a person.”
“That sort of thing happens to me all the time. Is that all?” The daylight hours were short in Thurso in the middle of winter and Baby still had half a frame to paint before Owen got home.
“Baby, now you’re the one not being fair,” Poseidon warned. “We made a genuine effort to come all this way. The least you could do is talk to us.”
“Why?” Baby cast a longing look at the frame and then huffed a sigh as he jumped from the scaffold. If they wanted to talk, he’d give them something to talk about – he’d stop all this crap about his upbringing and apologies that didn’t mean anything once and for all. His ankle twinged as he hit the solid ground, but he wasn’t going to let that bother him.
Raising his arms, he yelled, “What is there to talk about? Is talking going to erase the pain I felt at being shunned by an entire pack because Claude didn’t trust me with his oversexed wolves? Is talking going to take away the hurt I felt from being barely acknowledged by the one father I had at the time I was growing up? No. Talking’s shit. It doesn’t achieve anything. A person should be judged by the actions they take, and the actions shown against me by the pair of you sucked big time. That’s all I have to say on the matter. There.”
“I could paint your house for you,” Poseidon offered, raising his hand.
“Don’t you lift a finger.” Baby shook his finger in Poseidon’s face. “Don’t you go waving around your powers as though you think they can fix everything. If I wanted to do that, I would have done it myself. Don’t you get it? For the first time in my life, I have a project, a project Owen and I enjoy working on together. I’ve got callouses – look!” He pointed at the offending rough skin. “Actual callouses caused through hard manual labor and a lot of YouTube learning, but I’m having fun. I’m creating a home, for me and my mate and my new little one when he or she arrives.”
“You’re pregnant? Oh, my stars, Baby, I’m so happy for you.” To Baby’s shock, he was picked up off his feet, by Claude, and hugged within an inch of his life. Before he’d had a chance to catch his breath, he was put down, and then Poseidon was there, holding him tight, slapping his back and smiling wide enough to rival the sun.
“I’m so proud of you, son.” Poseidon actually looked as though he was trying to hold back his tears.
“What can we do to help? There must be something,” Claude asked, staring at Baby’s house. “This is an incredible old place. Did you know, I did all the renovation work in the club with my own two hands when I first got it? I bet I still know my way around a hammer and a paintbrush.”
“You want to help?” Baby was still stunned by the reaction to his pregnancy news. He couldn’t remember anytime someone being pleased with news from him, especially from his father.
“You said actions speak louder than words,” Poseidon said quietly. “I was a crap dad when you were growing up, and I fully accept that. It wasn’t until I had the twins, I realized just how much I’d missed out on, not being around when you were younger, or how much it had impacted you in particular, being the youngest. I can’t change what happened in the past, but I can make changes now, to how we relate to each other. If you’ll let me, if we can move on from that?”
“And me, I was an ass, and I freely admit it,” Claude chimed in with a casual shrug. “I can’t tell you why, because I don’t know the true reason myself. You’re just so damn gorgeous, completely other-worldly and I just knew my wolves wouldn’t behave themselves around you. Face it, when it’s all said and done, for all their intelligence and family bonds, wolves are simple creatures who rely on their instincts. From the moment you stepped into my club you were like the tastiest steak bone in the middle of a pack of starving wolves. I’m truly sorry for not being fair to you or getting to know you before making a snap judgement about you.”
“I just wanted to find someone special for me.” Baby looked between the two men. The pride on Sei’s face was something he’d never seen before. “Dad found it in you, Claude, and it wasn’t too much of a stretch thinking maybe my special someone was at Tulsa too. I never ever intended on causing trouble anywhere I went. It just happened around me sometimes.”
“And I didn’t give you a chance to look, although you found your special someone anyway.” Claude’s hand on his shoulder was heavy. “Believe me, Sei has shown me a few home truths this last month or so. I know I was wrong, and I’ll always be sorry for that. Can we shake on it, and move on?”
Looking out over the snow-covered fields and heather, Baby thought back on the loneliness that had plagued his life from his first memory. He thought about the derision, the lack of respect, and even the neglect he went through at different times, knowing it was because he wasn’t ever considered someone important. He remembered the longing he had for a true family, one who accepted him the way he was, and as he saw Owen’s lumbering white form, sprinting over the rise, coming towards him, Baby smiled and held out his hand to Claude. I have that family now.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Owen wasn’t sure what to expect when he felt the vibrations of Baby’s anger and headed back to the house. In typical bear fashion, he’d gotten distracted and wandered further away than he meant to. He’d been a solitary creature for so long, it was nice to get out and just wander around, safe from curious eyes. Not that he didn’t love being around Baby, because he did. But sometimes he had to get outside and just be.
And he felt it was just typical that the one time he left Baby alone, working quietly on their house, Poseidon and Claude showed up. But, by the time he’d panted his way to Baby’s side, Baby and his parent and step-parent were getting along as though everything was fine – something Owen respected, but didn’t trust.
And he was right to trust his instincts rather than Poseidon or Claude. Lunch had come and gone, enjoyed by all. Claude was upstairs in one of the spare rooms with Baby showing him how to sand the wooden floors. Owen was enjoying the mundane but pleasurable task of washing the lunch dishes in the deep sink they had in the kitchen.
“You know, I’m not a hundred percent certain you haven’t twisted my son’s mind against me in some way.” Owen stiffened at the accusation in Poseidon’s voice. “He’s never yelled at me like he did earlier, ever. The thing I can’t understand is what you get out of it.”
Owen pulled his hands out of the soapy water and reached for a towel. Gloves off time. He turned to find Poseidon leaning against the breakfast bar, his aura a shimmer of blues and greens from the seas he loved.
“Do you truly believe you’re that perfect, Sei, that you’re immune to being yelled at? Can you honestly stand there with a straight face and tell me you didn’t deserve your youngest son yelling at you?”
“I’m not saying that. I told Baby I’d made mistakes and apologized for them. I was a shit dad with all my sons, to the point it’s getting damned annoying being constantly reminded of it. The past is the past. I’m a new person now, who is a good father, and I’m not getting any credit for that.”
Despite the fact he was angry, Owen chuckled. “Even now, it’s all about you and how you feel. You’re annoyed because Baby yelled at you. It doesn’t matter that it’s taken him a thousand years to get the confidence to feel he can yell; that now he’s going to be a father of his own child, he’s learning to stand up for himself.” Owen changed tact. “Have you heard from Himeros?”
There was a wary edge to Poseidon’s aura. “No, but I didn’t expect to. After your warning, I put wards up around the club so Claude wouldn’t be hassled by the annoying twerp.”
“The annoying twerp won’t be hassling you anymore, and that’s all because of Baby. Himeros tried to interfere in our mating. Did you know Aphrodite didn’t even know of Baby’s existence?”
“I thought everyone knew. I take it she does now?”
“She definitely does now, and Himeros has got his powers suppressed until well after our little one is born. That was the agreement between me and Aphrodite, as restitution for the damage Himeros tried to cause. But the one thing Baby asked for, when meeting the goddess – the only thing he insisted on – was that Himeros be made to leave you and Claude alone. Permanently.”
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Poseidon whistled and shook his head. “I truly thought that boy hated me and was jealous of what I had with Claude. I’d get him to babysit the twins sometimes, and Baby never seemed happy about doing it.”
