“Great, thanks!” Night answers.
“Enjoying it,” Lyre says.
“Dinner was delicious!” I add, meaning it.
“We’re going to cut the cake soon.” I notice she’s holding her bouquet of flowers. They’re mainly sunflowers. Bright and happy. “I just wanted to find out how your last appointment went.” She glances at Lyre.
“Blobby isn’t blobby anymore,” I chuckle.
“Nope, Blobby looks like a baby…arms, legs, the whole nine yards,” Night says. I can hear the excitement in his voice.
“Everything looks great,” Lyre pitches in.
“The little one is slightly bigger than average at this stage,” I elaborate, lowering my voice. “We’re not sure if that means things are progressing more quickly, or if it means I’m having a bigger baby than the average.” I look at Night. “Which wouldn’t be a reach, considering how big the guys are.”
“Beanie is also bigger than average,” Ava reassures me. “I think it’s the size of the guys.”
“I’m slightly anemic, but otherwise, the bloodwork was normal. I just have to take a supplement. Thankfully my nausea around meat has eased. I still can’t eat fish or steak, but apart from that, I’m good to go.”
“And cravings?” Ava asks. “I’m addicted to grilled cheese sandwiches with ketchup.”
“Ketchup?” I laugh.
“Yes! You?”
“No, nothing like that. Fruit…especially more tart types of fruit like raspberries and kiwis.”
Forge arrives. “I’m going to have to steal my lovely wife from you guys,” he says, squeezing her shoulders lightly.
Wife.
I can’t wait to be called that.
I must be patient, though.
I glance at Bolt. He’s looking at us. There is something in his eyes. A longing, perhaps. I could be very wrong. A longing for what? What we have? His friendship with Night? Something else? I smile at him when he notices me looking. He nods his head, then turns back to Stephan. The moment is gone.
“I’ll talk to you later,” Ava says, getting up. “Oh—” She pauses as she’s leaving and tosses the bouquet to me.
On instinct, I snatch it out of the air.
“You’re next!” she says, smiling. “No sense in having a song and dance about who’s going to catch the bouquet.” She looks down at the flowers in my hand.
I smile back at her. “Thanks.”
“Your attention, please!” Forge announces. He and Ava stand side-by-side at the cake. It’s an impressive five tiers but very simply decorated, iced purely in white frosting.
“We’re going to cut the cake!” Ava projects her voice. She’s holding a knife.
Everyone stops what they are doing and turns their attention to the couple.
“This is also a ‘gender reveal’,” Forge says, causing the crowd to murmur amongst themselves.
“As in…” Night turns to me, frowning, “they’re going to tell us what they’re having?”
“Yes.” I nod. “Looks like it. They’ve stuck to their guns about not revealing the sex of their baby. No one here knows.”
The room quiets down. “If the cake is pink, then it’s a girl.” Ava beams.
“And if it’s blue,” Forge continues, “then we’re having a boy.”
“How cute.” I smile at Night, who rolls his eyes. “It’s cheesy,” he whispers, but I can tell he doesn’t really think so at all.
“Like those cherry blossoms on your neck.”
“Just like that.” He touches his lips to mine for a second.
“Ready?” Ava asks. I notice that she has started to make the first slice. Forge has his hand over hers.
People are yelling ‘yes’. Forge’s family is standing up. Others are inching closer.
They make a second cut, and then Ava pulls out the slice. It’s…blue.
“We’re having a boy!” Forge yells. His yell is quickly stifled when Ava shoves cake into his mouth and all over his face.
Forge chuckles around the cake, taking a swipe of the buttercream icing, which he wipes on Ava’s cheek. She shrieks with laughter.
A boy.
Night and I look at one another. His eyes are gleaming, and so are mine. We’re both wondering wildly whether we’re having a boy or a girl. “I still think we should wait to find out,” I murmur.
“Me too,” he agrees.
I only hope we don’t have to hold off too long on the not getting married part of the equation.
10
Forge
Two months later…
Ava pulls on the seatbelt, repositioning it lower on her growing stomach. “He didn’t say anything about why he’s called a meeting? He didn’t give any reasons?”
I shake my head. “No.” I’m trying hard not to panic. “I’m sure it’s nothing.” I sound calmer than I feel.
“I think I should be there,” Ava says, for the third time since we got in the car. She works her lip between her teeth. Her brow is creased with concern.
“You can come with us. I wouldn’t stop you, but I honestly think it’s nothing to be concerned about. You’re getting bigger.” I glance at her belly, then put my hand across and caress her there. “Stay with Shannon. The two of you can…bond some more. You’re becoming friends, aren’t you? Let me handle this, I’ll fill you in later.”
Ava smiles. “Yes, we are becoming friends.”
“You like talking about your pregnancies and…I don’t know…about…woman stuff?”
“We do, and I enjoy Shannon’s company very much. I just have a bad feeling about this. I can’t help it.”
I do too.
I don’t say it, though.
“Well then, hang out with her. I’ll go to this meeting. I’ll find out what’s up, and then I’ll come and pick you up and tell you all about it,” I repeat, keeping my tone reassuring.
“You’re right.” She rubs her hand over her belly.
Lyre has called a meeting before…just once. The last time was to tell us that he wouldn’t be coming home after college. He wouldn’t be returning to shifter lands. He was going to live amongst the humans. He urged us to consider doing the same so that we could make our own way in the world. It wasn’t like we ever felt completely welcome with the shifters anyway. We could live there, but we were never entirely accepted by them. We still feel like outsiders to some degree. We always will. He called that meeting eleven or twelve years ago.
That’s a long time.
Something is up.
I think it has to do with Ava’s pregnancy because he called me up specifically to make sure I would be at the meeting. I’m scared shitless. I force my hands to unclench on the steering wheel. I force myself to breathe normally. I need to get a grip. Maybe it isn’t too serious. Maybe it has nothing to do with my precious wife and our unborn child. I have to hold onto that hope.
I park in front of Night and Shannons’ place. “Wait here a moment,” I instruct my woman, kissing her softly on the forehead.
Then I jump out and run around to her side so that I can help her out. I fucking love how pregnant she is getting. I can’t keep my hands off of her. I have to act natural…so I wrap my arms around her and grab a handful of her ass. She laughs and kisses me. It’s short and sweet. Her eyes narrow on mine. “You’ll tell me exactly what goes down?”
“Of course.” I nod.
“You won’t keep anything from me?”
“Not a word…I swear.”
She smiles and nods once. “Okay, then.” We make our way to the house. The door opens before we get there.
Both Night and Shannon are behind the door. “Hi!” Shannon greets us warmly. A dog barks from down the hallway, while another winds its way between our legs. His tail is wagging, and he’s clearly happy to see us. “Hello,” I reply and then, “Hey, Cody.” I scratch him behind the ear.
We exchange niceties for about half a minute. Then I’m kissing Ava goodbye, and Night and I are climbing into my car.<
br />
“Any idea what this is about?” Night asks.
“Not a clue.”
I smile and wave. Night does the same. We both have the same fake smiles plastered on our faces. Better that than scaring our women. “Did Lyre call you?” I ask.
“Yes. He told me I needed to be at the meeting.”
“Same,” I push out. Fuck! This is bad.
“I’m crapping myself,” Night admits.
“Let’s wait and see what he has to say before drawing any conclusions.”
“Good idea.”
We drive in silence for a couple of miles. The meeting is being held at Lyre’s beach condo. It’s a short drive away. About twenty, maybe twenty-five minutes.
“How are things with Bolt?” I ask as I brake for a red light.
I glance at Night, and he seems to deflate in front of me. “Okay…I guess. I’ve been to visit him a couple of times.”
“On your own?”
“Yeah.” He nods. “I have a drink or two and leave. It’s stilted, but…it’s something.”
“He hasn’t been to your place since Shannon moved in?” I pull off when the light turns green.
“Nope.” There is a pause. My eyes are on the road. “Not that he ever came over much before,” he defends Bolt. “I mostly went to him. Although…” He sighs. “I keep inviting him, and he keeps ignoring the invitations.”
“He’s still set against being your best man, I’m going to assume?”
“He’s not against being best man.” I hear him scratch his face because his stubble catches. “Not exactly. He just needs time. I guess.”
“What for?”
“I’m fucked if I know. He’s not ready. He’s urged me to go ahead and to marry Shannon.”
“Good of him,” I snort. What the hell is wrong with that asshole? Maybe I need to pull him aside. Enough already!
“Death finally got permission from our father to attend. Bolt has urged me to make him the best man instead of groomsman, but…it doesn’t feel right. I’m glad my brother will be there, but Bolt and I have been tight for as long as I can remember.”
“I wish I could tell you what’s crawled up his ass. Do you want me to go over there and talk some sense into him?”
I glance at Night. He’s looking at me with this wry expression on his face. We both laugh. “Point taken,” I admit. “I guess I’m generally not the best guy to have a heart-to-heart with.”
“You did help me with Shannon and the marriage proposal.”
“That was a one-time thing, and it was only because I had experience in the matter. What if I go over there and beat some sense into him?”
Night chuckles. “Don’t tempt me.” He makes a noise of defeat. “If I thought it would help, I might beat him myself.” He sighs. “I’ll figure it out. I’m sure Bolt will get over himself at some point…hopefully soon.”
Night and Bolt have been best friends forever. I never thought I would see the day they didn’t see eye-to-eye. What if Tri had acted this way?
Then he smiles. “Shan finally has a little bump. She’s been excited to start showing. We’ve felt the baby kick and move. We’re so fucking excited…” I watch him deflate all over again. “I want to share all of this with Bolt. I want him to be my best man at our wedding. I want him to be the godfather of the baby. I want him in our lives. Hell, I want the same for him. I thought he would have moved on by now. That he would have forgiven me.”
“There is nothing to forgive,” I say as I pull up to Lyre’s house. “You fell in love. That’s amazing. Love is never wrong. Never! Don’t beat yourself up.”
I see him thinking it over. “You’re absolutely right! I did say something similar to Bolt when I saw him last.” He raises his brows. “I’m going to give it a little more time. Shannon keeps saying she doesn’t mind.”
“She loves you and wants you to be happy. Just don’t make her wait too long.”
“I won’t,” he’s quick to respond.
“Good! Let’s do this.”
He nods, and we get out of the car, making our way inside. The front door is standing open. The air smells salty. There is a cool breeze blowing. Lyre’s house is set in such a way that the bedrooms and bathrooms are downstairs with a small lounge. The entertainment area is upstairs to take advantage of the sea view.
We go up the stairs. I can hear that everyone else is here already. I walk into the room, a greeting on my lips, then take a step back as I catch Lyre’s face. There are worry lines etched into his features. He doesn’t look like he slept much last night. His normally bronzed skin is pale. “That bad?” I ask him.
Lyre pushes a breath out through his nose and nods. His eyes are haunted.
“Fuck!” Night growls. “Is everyone here?” he asks, looking around the room.
Even Samuel is in attendance; he yawns, bleary-eyed. Jarrod and Stephanus are sipping espressos. Bolt is dressed in a three-piece suit. He looks at his watch. “Can we get started?” he asks. “I have somewhere I need to be right now.”
Rage strolls in behind us. He grabs a muffin and sits at the long dining-room table.
“We’re still waiting on Trident,” Lyre says. “Why don’t you grab a couple of coffees?” Lyre is trying to look relaxed.
The last thing I want is a coffee. I want to know what the hell has Lyre so rattled. This is not like him at all.
I hear Night grind his teeth. When I look over at him, his eyes are blazing. He’s buzzing with nervous energy. It takes a full ten minutes before Trident arrives. By then, we are all on edge. Night is practically climbing the walls. No one says anything.
“Morning, morning!” Trident chimes as he jogs into the room. He frowns. “I’m not late, am I? Great…pastries!” He grabs a plate which he piles high. Then he pours himself a glass of orange juice. I usually admire Trident’s relaxed demeanor. Right now, it’s pissing me the hell off. I hold it inside because Trident didn’t cause whatever it is that Lyre’s about to tell us. He’s just being his usual self.
Plate in one hand and juice in the other Trident turns around. “Did I miss something?” His eyes narrow.
“Take a seat,” Lyre commands.
Thankfully, Trident does as he is told. Normally, he would crack a joke. I think he is picking up on the tension. “Are you okay, bro?” he asks Lyre.
“No.” Lyre shakes his head. He stays, still standing. The rest of us are sitting around the table. “I’m not okay at all.” He runs a hand through his hair and paces away. Then he spins around to face us. “I lost my power.”
It takes a few seconds for me to register what he just said. “What do you mean you lost your power?” I ask.
“I mean, it’s gone.” His eyes look agonized.
“Your power can’t just be gone,” Bolt says.
“It is. I’ve checked it several times over the last few days. I nearly lost a patient a few days ago during a routine surgery that went amiss…” He sighs. “All I know is when I try to summon it…I get nothing. I’ve tried twice – just to test myself – and…nothing.” He shakes his head. “My power’s gone. There’s absolutely nothing there.”
“That doesn’t make any sense.” I shake my head.
Lyre gets this sheepish look as he paces away again. His body is tense and bristling.
“What happened?” I ask. “Something must have happened to cause this.”
“I don’t know.” He shakes his head.
“Come on,” Night snaps. “There has to be something. What did you do? What happened?”
Bolt stands up. “You called us to an emergency meeting for this?”
“It’s a big fucking deal!” I growl.
“It’s bad, but I wouldn’t say it’s an emergency,” Bolt replies. “Surely, it could have waited until the weekend. You could have texted us in the meanwhile.”
“It’s a fuck-up,” Night says. “Firstly, Bolt, you could be next. How would you like to lose your power?”
Bolt shrugs. “I’ve used it
a handful of times. I don’t see how my ability to shoot lightning from my hands will help anyone, least of all myself. If anything, it’s a hazard. I might lose out on a fifty-million-dollar deal because this couldn’t wait.” He’s scrolling on his phone, which he puts down on the table to glare at Night.
“Not everything is about you,” Night barks. “Lyre is supposed to help Ava and Shannon with their pregnancies. He’s supposed to be their safety net if something goes wrong…which it might.”
“Then he should have called this little meeting with the two of you,” Bolt bites back, deadpan. “The rest of us didn’t need to be here. I’m sorry about your powers, Lyre, but I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.”
“Don’t be such a fucking prick!” Night snarls.
“Hold up.” I stand. “Lyre is clearly upset about this. Night’s right, it is troubling. Some of us rely on our powers.”
“You?” Bolt snorts. “You didn’t even know you had a power until recently and, correct me if I’m wrong, you haven’t been able to use it again since saving your girlfriend.”
“My mate! We’re married, asshole!” Bolt is beginning to work on my last nerve. “I’m not talking about myself here. It’s not always about number one.”
Samuel yawns loudly as he stands. “This bickering is irritating.” He waves his hand in Bolt’s direction.
Bolt’s eyes widen. “Don’t you dare! Don’t you—” Before he can finish, he falls to the floor in a heap. He’s fast asleep, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.
“Thank you.” Rage rubs his temples. His right eye twitches.
“What the hell is up with him?” Jarrod points at Bolt. He doesn’t wait for an explanation. It was clearly a rhetorical question.
“I happen to like my power,” Rage rasps. “I, for one, wouldn’t want to lose it. We would be weaker as a brotherhood. More susceptible. There must be an explanation, Lyre. Tell us your theory. I’m sure you have one.” So Rage picked up on that too. Lyre knows more.
We all turn to look at him.
Lyre pushes out a breath. “There is only one thing that I can think of that might have affected my powers.”
Little Lords (The Dragon Demigods Book 3) Page 9
