by Dakota Brown
"It's good," Ed finally answered. "There are a lot of deer up here. Especially on Doc's land. Do you like hunting?"
Dad nodded. "I try to get away during hunting season. I've never hunted in Colorado before. Thought about giving it a try."
Ed and Allan traded another glance before they shrugged. "We could take you next season. I think Doc knows some good areas to get tags for."
They glanced at Doc who nodded. "I've led hunting parties before. One of the many things I've done with my life."
Dad looked surprised. "That would be good."
For a while Doc and my dad fell into a conversation about different areas to hunt and how to go about getting the correct tags.
Mom and I traded an amused glance. We enjoyed game meat, so we never minded when Dad actually made it out, but it was often hard for him to get away and he'd given his game tags to friends more often than he'd actually made it out for his own hunts. Maybe we could change that next year.
By the time that conversation wound down, it sounded like they had agreed to give it a try next fall.
I supposed if that finally got him to accept the others, I was all for it.
Between the werewolves, guests, and Nikolai, we polished off the food. I couldn't remember a time when we'd actually had leftovers.
Ed and Allan left the cleanup to Nikolai and Doc and the rest of us went out into the living room.
Ed and Allan traded uneasy glances before Allan finally spoke. "We need to go, uh, run. It was nice to see both of you," he said to my parents.
"Nice to see you, too, Ed and Allan. I'm sure we'll see you again before our visit is over."
"Yes, we're hoping you'll join us for Christmas dinner." Ed shoved his hands in his pockets, looking nervous.
We were? I was touched that the guys wanted to include my parents, but it also surprised me.
"We would love to," Mom answered. "Are your parents joining us?"
"Uh, they're dead. So, no. Hopefully not." Ed bounced on his toes.
Mom put her hand over her mouth. "I'm so sorry."
Ed shrugged. "It was a few years ago. Werewolves attacked our family camping trip. Allan and I survived. Parents didn't. We like being werewolves, so it's mostly not a big deal. We miss them, but it's almost like it was a different lifetime. So much has changed since then."
Mom, probably overcome by some sort of parent instinct, went over to Ed and gave him a hug. Then she hugged Allan, too.
"Go run. We'll see you later." She smiled as she watched them head down toward their bedrooms. They could leave out the backdoor unless they really wanted to see how my folks were handling me hanging out with werewolves.
"I had no idea," Mom said when they were out of normal human hearing range.
"They handled it pretty well," Doc said. He didn't go into details and Mom didn't ask.
Nikolai waved his hand at the fire after putting a fresh log on. Blue magic sank into the wood and flames sprang up.
"Anyone want to play cards?" We hadn't replaced any of the electronics yet, so we didn't have a TV or video games or anything yet. We had spent a lot of time learning various card games.
"Yes!" Nikolai particularly liked playing cards.
Mom and Dad did, too, so we settled in by the fire with a couple of decks of cards.
We had to play on the floor since we didn't have a table for the living room yet and I sat between Doc and Nikolai, my knees brushing against theirs.
Mom gave me another contemplative look especially when Nikolai treated me to one of his random casual touches that he liked so much.
I just focused on the game, trying not to squirm under her scrutiny. We might just have to have that conversation, but I wasn't ready to do that now. Maybe Monday. Victoria would help. I hoped. This really was complicated. Worth it, but complicated.
Chapter 18
Sofia
We took Dad's truck down to meet Victoria and left the guys at the mercy of my dad. Or maybe it was the other way around. I wasn't quite sure. Doc and Nikolai were going to take him shooting. As long as no one killed each other I supposed it wouldn't go too badly.
Mom and I talked about easy things on the way down the mountain. It was a long drive but nice to spend some time alone with her.
Victoria decided to meet us in Estes so we didn't have to drive all the way down to Denver and by the time we arrived, both Mom and I were ready for lunch.
"It is beautiful here." Mom looked around as we walked toward the café Victoria wanted to meet us at. "I can see why you like it here."
"Yeah. The mountains already feel like home. Even with everything crazy that has happened."
"I'm glad, honey. You've found yourself some nice boys."
Nearly tripping over a curb, I sucked in a breath and tried to calm my heart. She didn't seem to notice me trip, gaze fixed on the river while we meandered through the light crowd. Though a lot of smaller shops were closed on Monday, enough were open that I thought I could find something for everyone.
"Christmas shopping this year is complicated." I studied a glassblower's display as we walked past.
"Oh?"
"I don't know what to get everyone."
"How about things you can do as a group. Games? You like cards. I bet there are a lot of other games you could get, too. You'll have plenty of snowy days stuck in the cabin."
"That's a great idea. I could just get a whole bunch of games for all of us to play. You're a genius."
"I would also like to get something for the guys," Mom said. "Maybe your dad and I could get something for the cabin since you don't have much right now."
"A nice table to play games on in the living room?"
She grinned. "Great idea."
We found the café. Rich buttery pastry smells curled around us. I focused on the sugar and sweetness and the hint of bergamot and tried to ignore the heavier coffee smell, though, as time passed it bothered me less. Maybe once we'd finally defeated Alex I would celebrate with a latte. Or at least attempt to celebrate with one.
"Victoria!" I hugged my friend when I found her waiting inside.
"Sofia! Mrs. Collins! It's so good to see both of you." She hugged Mom after me.
We grabbed a table, ordered, and fell into a discussion about Christmas plans.
The food lived up to the smell, and I groaned as I stuffed the last bit into my mouth. "So good."
"Hey, how's the new cabin?" Victoria asked once the plates were cleared away and we sipped our tea.
"Great. Not much in it yet, but we're really happy with what we have already accomplished."
"I was thinking of a housewarming style gift for you all for the holiday. What do you need?"
"Um. Wow, that's a really good question." I ran through all the things I eventually wanted, but they weren't something to ask a friend for. "Maybe something for the kitchen?"
"I'll think about it," Victoria said. "You let me know if anything comes up while we're wandering around."
"Deal."
We paid and left, intent on taking advantage of the warm afternoon sunlight while we shopped.
All of us had bags by the time we made it back to the parking lot where we had left the truck. Victoria's car wasn't far away, and we put our purchases in the vehicles so we could grab an early dinner before everyone headed home.
I slipped a small box I'd managed to buy without Victoria noticing into her hand. "Merry Christmas."
She blushed and handed me something, too. "Open it when you open the rest of your gifts."
"You, too."
We stashed those boxes in our vehicles and headed back to the pizza joint we'd seen. Victoria claimed that it was almost as good as our normal spot.
The skin crawled on my arms and I looked around, wondering what had caught my attention.
Was that? A familiar head of blond curls bobbed in the crowd, but then it was gone.
"Sofia?" Victoria scanned the crowd.
"I thought I saw someone I recognized. Sorry. It's
not important."
She studied me while we went inside but didn't pressure me to tell her what was wrong.
"It was probably nothing." I insisted when we sat, though I did put my back to the wall and carefully cast a concealment around us. The magic would hide us from casual notice.
Victoria noticed, but Mom didn't.
Instead she plunged into the topic I had been dreading for a while now. At least she had waited to ask until Victoria was around.
"You're dating Doc, right?"
"Yeah."
"He seems awfully comfortable with the way you act around the rest of them."
"Act how?"
"You all touch. All the time."
I lowered my voice. "It's, um, well, at least partially a werewolf thing. Touch is very important to Ed and Allan."
"But what about Nikolai, who, by the way, is interested in your boyfriend if you hadn't noticed." Her tone stayed mild.
"Um." I cast a desperate glance at Victoria, who shrugged. Lot of help she was.
"Yeah, uh, Nikolai likes Doc. It's fine. He's fine with me and, um, all the guys. Touching, I guess. He's used to living with werewolves."
"They're all so nice. I just hate to see any problems come up because of misunderstandings."
I wasn't exactly saved by the arrival of our pizza, but it gave me a few minutes to think. I really just needed to tell her. What else could I do? Victoria gave me a subtle thumbs up.
"Yeah, about that. I guess, I'm just dating all of them. One big happy pack."
To her credit, Mom didn't choke on her pizza. She managed to swallow and take a big drink without too much trouble.
"I see."
"They're really all pretty adorable," Victoria said.
"And they're all okay with it?"
"Yeah."
"Does all of them include Ash?"
My cheeks heated and I stared at my hands. "Um. Yeah."
"Oh, got the demon, too! You go girl." Victoria gave me another thumbs up.
"Demon?"
If Mom hadn't know before, she knew now so there was no point in denying it. I really couldn't remember if I had mentioned what Ash was before.
"Yeah, demon."
She shook her head. "How did you manage to get so lucky?"
She didn't sound mad, so I risked a glance. "Lucky?"
"It's hard enough to find one compatible person, let alone five. Especially ones willing to share."
"I don't know. I'm glad I did though, or I'd be dead. Alex found me before Ed and Allan did."
Mom's eyes widened and she nodded. Perhaps that was why she didn't seem to be having as hard of a time with this as I had expected. She really did like them all, and they had saved my life. That counted for a lot.
"Let's not tell your father." She took a sip of her drink, as if that settled things.
I shared a wide-eyed glance with Victoria before I nodded acceptance. "Yeah, that's probably best. He finally seems to have gotten over some of his dislike of Doc."
"He just wants the best for you."
"I'd say Sofia hit gold there," Victoria replied. "They all love her."
"I still think Nikolai is after your boyfriend." Mom sounded like she couldn't decide if the idea should bother her or not. She really liked the mage.
Clearing my throat, I shrugged. "Yeah, they're into each other. It's fine. There is only one of me."
Mom's eyebrows rose. "I guess I didn't really see Doc as the type."
"Honestly, I think he's just into Nikolai. They kind of clicked." Mom really didn't need to know that everyone but Ed was into Doc to some degree or another and that he was willing to reciprocate. That he could pretty much light up a person's entire body without even touching them didn't hurt. Vampire powers were intense. I knew a lot of it was just Doc, though.
If we were going to help this group of Adriana's Doc might have to get more comfortable using his powers. There had to be a balance between hardly using them and going so far that he would have issues with sunlight on a regular basis.
We also had to figure out how to deal with the issue of it just not being safe to know that Doc was even partially a vampire. Of course, there was also a pretty good chance they already knew. I couldn't imagine Alex keeping his mouth shut about that.
"You're thinking hard about something." Victoria interrupted my musings. "Smoke is coming out of your ears."
"Sorry." I put the problems out of my mind. Those were issues for another day.
"So, are you all having sex?"
I snorted my drink through my nose.
Mom's tone conveyed mild curiosity, but I wasn't sure I wanted to have that conversation with her ever.
"I…" I choked.
"Just be careful, honey. I want to be a grandmother, just not yet." She smiled at me.
"IUD" I managed to gasp out. "Remember?"
She gave me a serene look.
"Also, Nikolai taught me a bunch of useful spells. I'm good."
"I can't imagine you're bored."
"The possibilities are endless with them," I managed to get out.
Victoria laughed.
"So, Nikolai knows all the mage spells. Doc doesn't seem like he knows as much as Nikolai, though I'd swear he's older."
"Nikolai grew up in the past. Doc grew up having to hide."
"Good point. I'm still getting the idea there's a lot about him you're not telling me."
"Pack secrets, I guess."
"I suppose I can accept that as long as you know everything."
I nodded.
"Maybe you should get some toys."
There went my drink through my nose again.
Victoria cackled.
"Mom…" I finally managed to gasp out when I stopped choking. "There's five of them. What could I possibly need toys for?"
She smiled. "I'll give you some ideas on the drive back up the mountain. It will keep us occupied."
"Okay." I wasn't sure I wanted to have that conversation either, but apparently, she was more adventurous than I had thought. Not completely comfortable with that insight into my mother's life, but glad for her, I struggled between curiosity and not wanting to know.
Her eyes twinkled with amusement. "I really am happy for you. I just want to make sure you get the most out of your somewhat unusual situation."
"Thanks," I blurted, though I was also relieved. If it ever came up with my dad, at least my mom would be on my side.
"It's getting late. As much as I hate to break up our afternoon, we all have long drives and darkness comes early."
"It was great to see you, Mrs. Collins." We stood and Victoria insisted on paying.
Though I kept my eyes open for any signs of Alex, I didn't see any and by the time we made it to the truck I had convinced myself I had imagined seeing his blond curls. I couldn't be too careful, so I cast spells on both of the vehicles checking for tracking spells or anything more nefarious. Not finding anything only made me feel a little better but the vehicles started normally and we headed out, Victoria heading back to Denver, and me and Mom back to Sunnyglade.
Chapter 19
Sofia
"We wanted to help you decorate," Mom said as she came into the cabin a few days later. "If you don't mind?"
"Decorate?" Nikolai looked up from the tablet. He still had a lot to catch up on. Until we had heard the diesel coming up the driveway, I had been cuddling with him in the recliner he and Doc had turned up with the other day. I had shared with the guys that Mom now knew for sure I was dating all of them, but that we all agreed it was best if Dad didn't know.
Now I was sprawled on the couch, using Doc's thigh as a pillow, both of us reading.
"Yes, holiday lights for the house, some decorations for a tree, that sort of thing."
Ash, Ed, and Allan came in from outside in time to overhear.
Dad followed her inside with a few shopping bags full of stuff.
"That's great."
Ed and Allan shared a glance before looking at my mo
m. They both looked stunned. "We haven't decorated in, well, years. We usually get a tree, but, well, we felt bad cutting one down this year after they did so much by helping us rebuild."
Dad frowned. "What?"
"Uh, the land, uh, helped." Ed scuffed his feet.
Dad looked at me and I shrugged. "It likes us here."
"I see."
"If you want a tree," Ash said quietly, "I can help with that."
"Sure!" I beamed at him.
Ash nodded and went over to the open space in front of the big windows that overlooked the valley. My skin tingled as he called his magic. It wasn't the same intensity as with Doc and Nikolai, but it still affected me.
He folded his amber colored magic until it hovered in a tight square in front of him, then slowly expanded and grew, shifting through the space in front of him and changing shape until it resembled a tall pine composed of amber magic.
Ash blew across his palm and more amber magic joined the tree shape. Slowly it coalesced into a solid amber pine tree. Another hit of magic and the colors altered until the needles were vibrant green and the bark a rich brown. Pine scent, always somewhat present, filled the room.
Jumping off the couch, I took a deep breath and ran over to the tree, brushing my hands across the prickly needles.
He'd gone so far as to craft it into a Christmas tree holder and wound a red skirt bordered with running wolves around the bottom. One for each of us, though they were all white.
"It's perfect, Ash."
He ducked his head, cheeks red, lips curled in a bit of a smile. Deciding I needed to hug Ash more than I needed to hide from Dad, I wrapped my arms around the demon.
Hesitantly, he hugged me back.
"Time to decorate!" I declared. Dad handed over one of the laden shopping bags.
"This means we need Christmas cookies." Ed bounced on his toes.
"I'll bake, you decorate," Ash ordered.
"Deal." Ed took the bag from me and I got another from Dad.
Nikolai joined us while Doc watched and pretty soon the living room looked like a bunch of kids had just opened their gifts. Packaging was everywhere as we pulled out strings of house lights, packs of ornaments., and a few other odds and ends to lend a Christmassy touch to the cabin.
