by Lynn Stark
He sucked in a sharp breath when there was a response.
I hear you. There was sobbing, incoherent pleas, sounds so heart wrenching Larson could barely withstand the pain he experienced. Larson, please come get me. I don’t know how much longer I can…
Pebin’s voice was gone without giving any answers as to what had happened and where he was being kept. Larson tried several times to contact Pebin, but there was no answer. Again, he was filled with a fear he could not control. Cain and Chance tried to comfort him, but it was of little use. They were hurting as much as he was, and it was all they could do to continue to hold out hope.
Cain called Ian. He and Malcolm hurried to the house. It was Ian who had a suggestion that made sense. They grasped onto it, their fading hope flaring to life. Pebin had been gone for almost ten days. So had Fred and his family. Coincidence?
“Everything that was taken would appeal more to a child than an adult,” he said, explaining his reasoning behind his suspicions. “From what I know about young trolls, they are about the age when they would establish their own underground dwellings.”
“Can you call Fred? Can we ask him to speak to his children?” Chance asked, desperation in his voice.
“Yes, Ian, we need to find out if there’s another direction we need to concentrate on.”
Ian nodded. He turned to Malcolm. “Go ahead. He responds to your voice better.”
Malcolm snorted. “That’s because you’re always yelling at him.”
Fred certainly did make things lively on the farm. There was never a dull moment with the troll around. There was the possibility his youngest children had been watching him a little too closely.
“Fred, return to the farm please.”
Larson stared. That was it? Malcolm just spoke and Fred was supposed to simply appear out of thin air? He blinked and jumped back, when that was exactly what happened.
“How the hell?” Chance shouted, obviously as shocked as he was.
Cain didn’t seem surprised. But he had lived for centuries and probably knew the ways of many different creatures.
“What’s up, folks?” Fred asked, glancing around. He was wearing a neon-green hooded sweatshirt and black shorts that allowed his hair-covered legs to show. Larson could have gone a lifetime without seeing that. The guy was creepily hairy. “The kids and I were fishing.”
“It’s your kids we need to speak to you about. Pebin is missing and has been since around the time you and your family left on vacation,” Ian explained in careful tones.
Larson could understand their caution. Despite Fred’s good nature, he was still a troll. He could go berserk with little provocation. He suspected Ian was trying not to insult Fred or his children.
“Are you saying you think my children are thieves and kidnappers?” Fred asked, his gravelly voice low and tight.
“This isn’t the time, Fred,” Cain said. “We need our mate back. We can’t locate him. Can you just try to do so? If your children have their own cave, he could be there.”
Not looking pleased, Fred nodded. “I’ll do that. But I think you’re all wrong.” In less than a blink of an eye, Fred disappeared. He was gone several minutes. When he returned, he was cradling Pebin gently in his arms. “I’m sorry. They never said a word, which is unusual, because none of them has ever been able to keep a secret.”
Chance hurried forward to take Pebin from Fred’s arms. “Thank you, Fred.”
Fred nodded, appearing shattered. He stared at Pebin, who was unconscious. His skin was gray, and his cheeks and eyes were sunken. The bones in his wrists were pressing through the skin, as he’d obviously lost a great deal of weight while trapped.
“Again, I’m sorry. You were right about the stolen items, too. They’re in the cave. I’ll retrieve everything later, after I’ve returned to Norway for my family.” Then he was gone, leaving them to care for Pebin.
Chance was already heading toward Cain’s car parked in front of the house, Larson and Cain followed. “I’ll call Dr. Gray and have him meet you at the clinic,” Ian told them.
Dr. Gray was one of the farm’s doctors. He had extensive knowledge in caring for the different races. Cain could have taken them in his weird, vampire way, but knew how disorientated Chance and Larson became when he did that. Chance had actually passed out once. So they got in Cain’s car, and he drove as fast as he could along the lane that wound around the hill and over a ravine, until they reached the original part of the farm. All the while Chance held Pebin close. Larson had his mate’s delicate hand, dismayed by how cold it was.
There was so much fear in Larson’s heart, he didn’t know if he would be able to survive it. His chest was tight, his breathing harsh and shallow. Pebin appeared so small and near death. He didn’t move or make any sounds. Twice Larson placed his hand near Pebin’s mouth so he could feel for breaths. The fairy was breathing, but it was barely discernable, increasing his fear.
The doctor and several others were waiting at the clinic when they arrived. Larson, Cain, and Chance were left standing there by the entrance when Pebin was whisked away through a pair of nearby doors.
Cain turned and pulled them both against his, hugging them. It helped to ease his fear. Larson wrapped his arms around his mates, seeking the comfort they offered. Not one of them was emotionally stronger than the other. They loved their smallest mate deeply. He was their glue, something that Pebin thought hilarious, when Larson had told him that once. When he’d finished laughing, he had kissed each of them, telling them how much he loved them. Then Pebin had picked up Tobias from the floor and cuddled with the gigantic frog on the couch while he watched TV.
Chance and Larson were waiting anxiously when Cain returned with Pebin’s family. No one had come out to give them any information about Pebin’s condition. Pebin’s normally rowdy brothers sat quietly in chairs around the room. His parents spoke with them, reassuring them that their brother would be fine, before turning their attention to Larson, Chance, and Cain.
“How did he look? Has anyone come to speak with you yet?”
“Not yet, but didn’t look well,” Larson told them carefully. “He appeared dehydrated, and he’s lost a lot of weight.”
Pebin’s mother, Marta, frowned. “Why was our son taken? We don’t understand.”
“It was the troll children,” Cain told them. “They took him. But we don’t have any details. I’m certain we will learn them, as soon as Pebin wakes up or when Fred returns from Norway and can give us answers.”
Fred’s children were very young. Larson doubted they would understand the gravity of what they did. Hopefully they would be supervised more closely in the future.
The door opened, and Dr. Gray walked into the waiting room. Relief and dread clenched around Larson’s heart like a fist.
“It will take time for Pebin to recover, but he should be fine. The baby is doing well. Maybe better than his father. Pebin was awake long enough to tell me that he found a trickle of water coming into the cave and there was half a box of chocolate chip cookies, so he did have some nourishment while he was trapped.”
“Can we see him?” Chance asked, already moving toward the door.
“Yes. He’s in room six.”
“Thanks, doctor.” Larson shook the vampire’s hand, relief filling him.
Pebin’s mother and father hugged Dr. Gray, while his brothers crowded around to pat him on the back. They left the others, hurrying to Pebin’s room. Larson was surprised to see that Pebin was awake, the head of the bed elevated so he was sitting up. He was sucking on a tube filled with clear amber liquid. Taking a break, he lowered it and smiled. The male nurse attending Pebin stepped back out of the way, so they could approach the bed.
“Hi, guys,” he greeted them, his voice weak and raspy. “They gave me something yummy to eat.” He lifted the tube. “This is chicken broth and honey.”
“Sounds good.”
“Want some?” Pebin offered the tube to Chance.
Shaking h
is head, Chance leaned over the fairy to press a kiss to his forehead. “We’re glad to have you back, pest.”
After he stepped away, Cain also kissed Pebin and stroked his tangled hair. Their mate needed to be cleaned up, but that wasn’t as critical as getting nourishment in him, to benefit him and the baby growing in him.
“How are you, darling?” Cain asked when he straightened.
Pebin looked down. He toyed with the tube he held, eating obviously forgotten for the moment. “I’m not as scared as I was,” he admitted. He laughed without humor. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep without the lights on for a while.”
Larson had noticed that the lights were perhaps brighter than the normally would be for someone living in darkness for several days. Pebin had obviously requested that they be on and bright, which was completely understandable.
“I had candles,” he continued. “And I found a flashlight. But I had to limit how long I used them.” He took a deep breath and then released it, as he hung his head. “I didn’t like being in the dark.” His thin fingers plucked at the blanket covering him. The door opened, and his mother and father came in, followed by his brothers. “Ma! Da! And Dumbasses!”
Choking on laughter, Larson walked to one of the many chairs in the large room. It was set up to accommodate the families visiting a patient. Unlike human hospitals, paranormal doctors encouraged large numbers of visitors, feeling that their energy was necessary for the patient to recover more quickly.
Marta scolded Pebin for not being nice to his brothers, but then hugged him until he squeaked in protest. The close family bond was something Larson enjoyed with his own family. They were planning to visit at Christmastime. He couldn’t wait. Their baby would be here by then, and he would be able to show the child off. Cain’s mother was also planning a visit. Unfortunately, Chance had no family to share the life-changing events of his life.
It wasn’t long before Pebin fell asleep. His mother smacked one of his brothers on the back of the head, when he tried to put a dead fly in Pebin’s mouth. Where the fly had come from, he had no idea. Chance snickered, obviously reverting back to the old Chance for a moment, the one who took sadistic delight in tormenting Pebin. Well, to be honest, the pair had seemed to take a lot of enjoyment in tormenting each other. They still did, but they were nicer about it now.
It was nearly a week before the doctor would release Pebin from the clinic. They had taken turns sitting with him. Larson had been there when Fred brought his children in, to let them see that someone had been hurt by their mischief. The triplets had apologized profusely to Pebin, as only small children could do. Pebin forgave them instantly. It would take someone with a heart made of stone to not do so. He hugged each child and then let them go off with their father.
“Did you bring Tobias’ stroller?” Pebin asked. The frog had stayed with Pebin the past two days. Because no one would carry the thing, he’d gotten a secondhand stroller for his beloved pet. Of course he had painted it and glued shiny objects over it. He’d also replaced the old fabric with new.
Larson chuckled. Tobias stared at him with huge eyes, one of which he licked with his long, sticky tongue. Gross. “I did. It’s outside in the hall. Several people wanted to look at it. On the way over, four people offered to buy it from me. I was tempted. The offers were pretty good. You might have another business starting up soon. Not only will you help people decorate their houses, you can decorate items for them.”
Pebin leaned forward eagerly. “Do you think so? I would love to do that. Then I can earn money, too, like you guys do. I want to be a contributing member of our family.”
As Larson listened to Pebin’s ideas, he thought again how grateful he was that his mate had been found in time. Despite not wanting to do so, they had begun to lose hope. The pain had begun. It was something Larson never wanted to experience again. Of course he knew that there would be an eventual end to their lives, but he prayed it would be in the far distant future. Paranormals lived an incredibly long time. He was counting on that.
Pebin’s small, animated hands went in all directions as he told Larson about the nursey he’d planned in his head while he was trapped in the cave. He never stopped describing it, even as the doctor came and went, releasing him from the clinic. Pebin smiled and nodded at the man. Then he was hopping out of the bed and reaching for the stack of neatly folded clothes his mother had prepared for him. Larson laughed when he got tangled in his shirt. He crossed the room and helped his mate with his sleeve. The days were beginning to get a lot cooler. Fall had definitely arrived.
The door opened, and Cain entered, pushing the stroller ahead of him as he did so. Larson managed not to laugh. Cain was one of the most dignified beings he’d ever encountered. Making fun of him seemed like the wrong thing to do. Pebin, however, had no such qualms. He burst out laughing, startling Tobias into jumping off the bed, to land with a solid splat when his feet hit the floor. Grinning, Cain bent to pick up the frog and placed him in the stroller, sending Pebin into a second round of uncontrolled giggles.
While Pebin finished dressing, Larson emptied the drawers on the bedside table and checked the closet for any personal items. During his stay, and as he grew stronger, Pebin had quite a list of things he couldn’t do without. There was his phone and wireless earbuds, two pairs of alpaca fiber socks someone had made for him, a robe, pajamas, slippers, crafting boxes filled with everything from beads, string, and glue. If that wasn’t enough, there was the spray bottle filled with a special liquid he used to dampen Tobias’s skin twice a day, as well as the frog’s toys. Yes, the creature actually played fetch with Pebin, something that never failed to amaze the fairy’s mates.
With canvas bags stuffed to overflowing, they headed for the door, Pebin pushing Tobias out into the hallway in the stroller.
“We’ll have to get a double stroller soon,” Chance commented as they walked along the path to the lane.
Pebin laughed. It was slightly wicked, causing the hair on the back of Larson’s neck to stand up. “Make that one to carry three. Dr. Gray told me I’m pregnant with twins.” That was a shock, but no one expected Chance to hit the ground in a dead faint. Stopping, Pebin stared down at him before looking up at Cain and him. “Uh, maybe I should have broken the news more gently?”
Larson chuckled and leaned down to wrap his fingers around Chance’s wrist. Pulling, he soon had the werewolf up and over his shoulder, in a fireman’s carry. “Yeah, that might have been wise. But not as funny. We’ll be able to razz him about this for years.” He looked at Cain. “You good?”
Cain grinned and nodded. “I’m good. Let’s get home. We can put him to bed, and then you and I can show Pebin how happy we are that he’s home.”
“I’ll let you guys play with my magic wand.”
“I didn’t know you had a magic wand,” Cain said casually as they continued on.
“Neither did I. What can it do?”
“It does amazing things. I can’t demonstrate them, though, until we get home and get naked.”
Naked sounded like a good plan to Larson. Then he would do some demonstrating of his own. He planned to show Pebin how much he loved him, the man carrying their two children. Two. Shaking his head, he grinned. The moment for not being prepared to be fathers had passed. The man draped over his shoulder would be making formula and changing diapers before he knew it.
“Is Chance going to be okay?” Pebin asked when Chance hadn’t recovered by the time they were home. “I didn’t mean to break him. Do you think he’s unhappy about two babies?”
They went into the house. Tobias jumped out of the carriage, hopping along the hallway toward the rear of the house. Larson put Chance on the sofa and patted his cheek.
“He’s not broken. His brain is doing an update. When he wakes up, he’ll be all set to be a father to twins.”
Chapter Twelve
Leaning over Chance, Pebin pushed up an eyelid, revealing a hazel eye. Chance suddenly took a deep breath, bli
nked and shook his head, and then sat up. He put a hand to his head for a moment. Then he dropped his hand and looked around.
“What the fuck happened?”
Pebin shook a finger in his face. “Oooh, no swearing! Do you want our babies to say words like that?”
“Of course not. I promise I’ll do better. Now, come here. Let me kiss those babies.”
Chance reached out to grab Pebin. He pulled him close and lifted his T-shirt and pushed down the waist of his stretchy leggings. Then Chance was spreading kisses over the growing bump of his stomach. Pebin laughed at first. After a few seconds, however, his mind began to drift toward not so innocent thoughts.
While he’d been trapped in the cave, Pebin had thought a lot about his mates and how much he loved them. Then he had thought about what he wanted for them and him in the future, what they would do with their children. It had all helped Pebin to keep his mind from snapping. He’d been terrified from the moment he had been taken by the triplets. There hadn’t been even a second when he hadn’t feared that he would never be found. Yet, he had managed to hold on to hope, as slight as it had been.
It had been thoughts of the men he loved that had kept him going. That and the trickle of water Pebin had found near the small hole at one end of the cave. When he found a cup, one of the many things stolen by the troll children, he placed it under the drip, collecting the water he would need to survive. Unfortunately, Pebin had an active imagination. Whenever he went to check on the water, he would imagine a long, gray tentacle reaching through the hole to grasp his wrist and pull him through and into a salivating, gaping maw.
Shivering, Pebin shoved those thoughts away as he pushed his leggings down over his hips, wriggling around so Chance could continue with kissing his stomach. He liked that a lot. When his leggings were at his knees, someone behind him pushed them all the way to his feet. Twisting, he saw that it was Larson. There was no sign of Cain, and he frowned. He thought this was a group effort. When Cain came into the living room, having just come down the stairs, Pebin saw that there was a bottle of lube in his hand. They grinned at each other.
