The Carpenter's Destiny_Family Secrets

by Noah Harris

  Mikael set a plate of food before Dean, sitting down next to him and taking his hand, “Whoa, your hand is freezing… and shaking. Dean, are you sure you’re okay?”

  Dean could only shrug, “Better than I was about ten minutes ago, that’s for sure. I just keep hearing the voice in my head, even though I know it’s gone.”

  “Do you think it’s Nox?”

  He winced, “There’s a cheerful thought. He’s dead Mikael, you made sure of that.”

  “His ghost?”

  “Are ghosts a thing?”

  Mikael shrugged, “I’ve heard it said that sometimes the souls of our ancestors can visit werewolves that are worthy, why not the soul of an evil one coming after the guy he wanted so badly?”

  “Like werewolves, druids, and shamans weren’t enough, now there’s ghosts? Great.”

  Despite the foreboding nature of the new revelation, he gave it some thought as he picked up a piece of bacon to nibble on. If there was anyone that Nox would have come after once he was dead and able to come back, Dean suspected that he would be pretty high on that list. Probably higher than Mikael, who Nox had foolishly dismissed until his head left his body. Nox had been after him, not anyone else, so it would be conceivable that he’d want to keep trying for him, even after his physical self was long gone.

  Still, Dean shook his head, “It didn’t feel like anything that had been alive before. Or at least it hadn’t been alive for a long time. Plus, I got a pretty good feel for Nox when I was having my hocus pocus battle with him, remember? This thing… unless Nox somehow got really changed by whatever he was connected to after dying, it wasn’t him.”

  Mikael’s hand hadn’t left Dean’s, “Then what? Was it a warning? Or did you just like, tap into some other frequency somehow and hear something you probably wouldn’t hear any other time?”

  Dean was left to do everything one-handed, but he didn’t mind as he thought about Mikael’s query. It was possible, he might have unveiled something else after the battle with Nox. He still didn’t know what kind of effects it could have on him, since they were operating on a level that Dean hadn’t come to fully understand yet. Perhaps, he had somehow become attuned enough to something that when he touched it, he caught a glimpse of what lay ahead.

  “Maybe it’s just a druid thing? I mean, I only just learned what I was, and there’s still plenty that we don’t know about it. I might have tuned in to “evil radio”, or maybe it was a warning. Don’t know which I’d prefer, to be honest. I don’t relish the idea of occasionally dipping my brain into whatever that was, but I don’t like the idea of it being a warning either, because that means some bad shit is coming our way.”

  Mikael picked up Dean’s hand, kissing the now-warm knuckles softly, “Well, just stay out of the basement from now on. I’ll go down there if we need anything, I don’t want to risk it being something worse next time, okay?”

  Dean smiled as he picked up his coffee mug, feeling the last of his tension evaporate, “That works for me. I’ll make you a deal, you go sweep up the glass from the broken bulbs downstairs and I’ll get the bacon grease you dripped all over the floor.”

  The look of confused surprise on Mikael’s face made him laugh, banishing the last of the cold darkness from his mind. It was hard to think of horrible voices whispering in the dark when Mikael made himself seem a decade younger. Dean leaned across the small distance between them, and kissed Mikael with a low chuckle, loving that he had this source of warmth near him at all times.

  The winter night seemed utterly peaceful when experienced from the confines of the warm and dimly lit greenhouse. Dean knew that looks were thoroughly deceiving though. There had been another snowstorm that had blown through; enough that well over a foot of snow had been added to the considerable pile already built up from before. It had done nothing to alleviate the bitter cold, and it also meant having to trudge through more snow than before.

  Yet from the other side of the glass, in a warm and well-lit building, it looked positively beautiful. The moon hung high and full in the sky, the light cascading in a glimmering sheet over the untouched snow. Even the trees in the distance seemed beautiful and almost ethereal, with their thin, bare branches covered in glittering snow.

  Beautiful as it was, it also meant he would have to go stomping through more layers of snow to get back to the house. It hadn’t been terrible when he’d come out, with the sun still warm in the sky. Yet he’d spent hours out her,e among the plants and warm soil, and knew full well it wasn’t going to be a fun return trip. Considering his habit of taking the long way around the house, the only real path he could take was the same way back around. It was better than trying to wade through almost two feet of snow, but it was still further than he would have liked.

  Knowing that the longer he delayed, the worse it would be, he began to dress. It was always warm enough in here that he was comfortable in just a shirt and a pair of shorts, which was precisely what he wore under layers of winter gear and warmer clothes. It meant pulling each layer back on, and then usually receiving a smirk from Mikael when he saw the dirt smudges on Dean’s bare feet once he was back in the house and had stripped down to cooler clothes once again.

  Stepping out into the cold, he hissed as the bite of the wind blew across his face. He shut the door quickly to keep the heat in, then turned and faced into the cold. He’d hoped that his time outside was helpful to Mikael. The man had been antsy all day long, tense even, which wasn’t unusual when the full moon was up. Mikael never got aggressive or mean, but he could get so filled with energy that he could be a bit much to deal with at times. Dean hadn’t taken that into account with the growing cold, and though Mikael could have gone out to burn some of his energy off, he’d opted to stay in the house.

  Even Apollo had seemed restless in comparison to his normally patient and calming presence. Between Mikael constantly checking up on him, chatting him up, and Apollo’s pacing, Dean had felt like he was about to climb the walls and had to get out of the house. Hoping that the two of them would annoy each other into exhaustion, Dean had retreated to the greenhouse. He hadn’t meant to stay out there till well past dark, but as he mounted the stairs he silently hoped that it had been long enough for the two of them to have chilled out.

  Dean shoved the front door open, stomping into the house to knock off the snow on the front rug. He kicked the door closed behind him, pulling his boots off, then froze when he spotted Mikael standing in the hallway. Mikael, too, seemed surprised to see him as he froze, eyes wide and with a half-eaten slice of pizza in his mouth. Dean’s brow rose as he soaked in the sight of Mikael’s bare chest above a pair of snug jeans. Not that he minded the view, and it was certainly a nice sight for when he first came in from the cold, but Mikael usually kept himself well clothed when Apollo was around. They were both conscious of their new housemate, not so much from a sense of modesty, but more to do with not tempting Dean any more than he already did.

  “Um, you okay?” Dean asked.

  “Uhh, yeah, I’m good, wasn’t expecting you to come in the house is all,” Mikael looked awkward as he pulled the slice of pizza away from his mouth without finishing his bite. His eyes flicked to the doorway next to him, leading into the living room. He looked deeply embarrassed. Dean leaned to the side to see what he was looking at, but could only see the corner of the couch from his angle.

  “Why is it so dark in here?” Dean asked as he unwound the scarf from his neck, stuffing it and his gloves into the hat. The whole house was dark, save for the flickering light coming from the living room which told him that the fire was lit and going strong. It was the only light that he could see on the main floor and it illuminated the almost awkward expression on Mikael’s face.

  “Just, uh, had a fire going was all. How do you do that quiet thing so well? I didn’t even hear you come up the stairs.”

  Dean squinted as he hung his coat up, kicking his boots back toward the door to keep them on the rug, “I don’t know? Wasn’
t trying to be sneaky. Why are you acting weird?”

  “Just surprised me is all,” Mikael shrugged and then Dean noticed the glimmer in his other hand. Cocking his head, he contemplated the two glasses that Mikael had apparently brought with him along with the pizza.

  “You and Apollo having a party without me? What’s that smell?” Dean asked as he stepped forward to peer into the living room. Which appeared empty so unless Apollo was lying on the floor, he wasn’t in there. Which only left the bedroom that had become his for now, and it was too early for him to have gone to bed. Dean didn’t hear the customary music coming down from upstairs whenever Apollo sealed himself away in his room, though. A strange earthy scent filled the hallway despite Mikael having a fresh piece of pizza in his hand and it wasn’t a food smell, it was something rich and deep.

  Mikael fumbled for words behind him and Dean frowned as he stepped forward to lean over the couch to see if Apollo was, in fact, on the floor. Instead, he saw that all the comfortable pillows from the couch had been spread on the floor before the fire, on top of a soft, thick blanket that had been spread out over the rug. A small incense burner sat on the nearby table and Dean realized the smell he’d noticed was coming from the small ribbons of smoke that spiralled up from it. An unlabeled bottle of what appeared to be an amber liquid of some sort sat next to a potted plant that he couldn’t identify from this distance.

  “Mikael, what…” he began as he turned around, only to face an even more sheepish Mikael. Dean’s eyes traveled to the empty glasses in his hand and the creeping red flush on his face. His bewilderment crumbled as realization hit him, and he felt heat rush to his cheeks.

  “Well, ya weren’t supposed to find me with a pizza slice in my mouth,” Mikael explained, edging into the room and making his way slowly around Dean and the couch. “Was supposed to be a surprise for you, not me.”

  “Consider me surprised,” Dean muttered as he took in the comfy looking scene. Feeling self-conscious for having bullied his way in, he shuffled around the other side of the couch. It didn’t help that he’d spent the day exasperated with Mikael for acting so strange, when in reality he had probably been trying to find a way to set this up.

  “Don’t have to look at it like it’ll bite,” Mikael told him, sounding almost ashamed.

  “Oh! Sorry,” Dean winced, and flopped down with less grace than he would have wished. Sighing inwardly at himself, he glanced up, “Apollo asleep?”

  “He left a couple of hours ago, before it got dark. Said it was about time that he went back and reported in at The Grove for a little while, and probably tell them what we’ve been up to.”

  “Oh,” Dean glanced down, scooting himself forward more comfortably onto a nearby pillow and reaching for the plant. It wasn’t very large, the leaves broad though tapering to a point, were ragged around the edges. Stems, of a sort, were growing from the small collection of leaves, with small buds that told him it would eventually flower. “What’s this? It looks familiar but I can’t place the name of it.”

  “Dunno what the latin name for it is or whatever, but they told me it’s apparently called the Serbian Phoenix Flower. Even if it’s completely dehydrated, it’ll come back to life when it’s watered. I had to dig up the list of different plants and seeds you’d ordered to make sure you didn’t have one already. Thought it was a neat thing to add to the greenhouse if you wanted.”

  Dean smiled wide at that, “Ramonda serbica, now I remember. It’s a plant my mom had when I was small. She was terrible with plants, she even managed to kill a cactus by not watering it enough.”

  “How… how do you kill a cactus by not watering it enough… it’s a cactus?”

  Dean laughed, “She managed it. So Dad scoured all these different places, consulted a couple of botanists and ended up ordering these for her. It had always depressed her that she kept killing plants, since growing plants reminded her of Grandpa. She still had that thing when I left for school; kept giving cuttings of it to other people in the neighborhood. Wonder if one of them ended up with the original after she passed?”

  “Didn’t get your green thumb from her, huh?”

  He smiled fondly at Mikael as he set the plant carefully away from them onto the nearby table. His eyes lingered on it, thinking of his mother and the utter joy that plant had brought her for years. The fact that Mikael had accidentally come across the very same plant in such a meticulous way warmed him. He let his fingers stroke one of the leaves before turning back to Mikael with a wide smile.

  “No, I didn’t, which is a good thing. She would have laughed, thinking about someone buying basically an invincible plant for me, when, even as a kid, I could grow just about anything she brought in. Had a whole garden and some window planters that she let me grow things in. Always said that I took after Grandpa, and then sometimes would wonder how she managed to keep a kid alive all that time when she couldn’t even keep a cactus.”

  Mikael laughed softly, leaning forward to set the glasses down, “Well at least she had a sense of humor about it.”

  “She did about a lot of things. Dad was more serious than her, but she always knew how to make him laugh. I wish you could have met them. I think they would have loved you.”

  “Even though…”

  Dean’s lip quirked, wiping the melancholy that had threatened away, “They knew already, Mikael. Unless you mean the werewolf thing. Don’t know if I would have ever told them that. Did… did my grandfather know?”

  “About what we were? I don’t know, actually. Father never said and I didn’t really talk to your grandfather very much. I know Father said your grandfather became an honorary member of the pack over time, but that doesn’t mean he actually told him anything. You could always ask.”

  “True.” Dean leaned forward to grab the bottle and pull out the stopper which made a pleasing popping noise. A rich smoky aroma wafted out from the bottleneck and Dean held it aloft with a raised brow, “Whiskey?”

  Mikael turned pink again, reaching forward to take the bottle, “It’s aged whiskey, thank you very much. Used to be a family thing. My dad gave it to me since he doesn’t drink. We don’t have wine and I wouldn’t know what you drank when it came to that anyway.”

  Dean grinned at that, “White for the record, sweet but not overly so. Something fruity. I’m sure someone can help beyond that. You?”

  “Beer or whiskey, please.”

  Dean laughed at that, taking the offered glass and holding it aloft as Mikael poured him a healthy measure. He had to smile at the fact that Mikael had dug through the cabinets to find the far nicer crystal glasses that Dean kept shoved on a top shelf out of the way. The smell of the whiskey hit his nose as Mikael pulled the bottle back to pour his own and Dean breathed it in deeply. He wasn’t much of a whiskey drinker, but it didn’t smell like typical whiskey to him either. The smell was smooth and rich, though he bet it still had one hell of a kick to it.

  Mikael raised his glass and Dean followed suit. No toast seemed appropriate for this moment, and it didn’t look as if Mikael had one in mind anyway. Smiling, Dean took a drink, hoping that it tasted as good as it smelled. His eyes widened as the smooth liquor slid over his tongue and down his throat. He’d had whiskey before, but this was nothing like the harsh, acerbic whiskeys he was used to. The actual taste of alcohol was mellow and low, lost beneath the rich and appreciable woodsy taste that permeated the spirit.

  He eyed the glass in wonder, feeling the familiar warmth of alcohol hit his stomach. “Holy shit, that’s really good, Mikael! Wow! Is that what whiskey should taste like?”

  Mikael’s glass was empty and he looked relieved that Dean was enjoying his drink. “That’s what I’ve always been told. This wasn’t made by a well-known distillery though, so that probably has a lot to do with it. Don’t even want to think about how much money both of us probably just drank.”

  That gave Dean pause, so for the rest of the drink he made sure to taste it fully and savor it slowly. The warmth of the
liquor was spreading through him as surely as the heat of the fire was warming his skin. The bite of cold from the winter night had all but vanished between this and the contentment that filled him alongside the alcohol. Even Mikael seemed to have calmed down a little from his earlier embarrassment, though he was still subtly eyeing Dean with a look of trepidation on his face.

  “This is really nice, Mikael; you didn’t have to try to be all romantic with me,” Dean told him with a faint smile on his lips. Considering their conversation the other day, he had a good idea what this was all about. Dean didn’t need all of this to make the moment special, though, at least not in his mind. Neither of them were ones for grand gestures, even something like this. Yet, he loved that Mikael was doing everything he could to make the moment as special as possible.

  “I’ve just… never done anything like this for you. I realized it when we talked about kids and like, the mating. All this stuff that’s happened, and I’ve never even bought you a flower, or made you a candlelit dinner.”

  Dean cocked his head, reaching out to take Mikael’s free arm, “That’s true. You’ve never bought me chocolates either, or taken me on a moonlit stroll through the forest.”

  Mikael’s face fell at that, muttering, “Yeah.”

  Dean squeezed Mikael’s hand gently, catching his gaze with his own. “But you know what? You’ve fought your family multiple times for me. You even tried to take on a guy with some really messed up, not to mention evil, powers. You studied how to build a greenhouse so I could have one of my own. You stood with me while you worked through your own demons. Every morning that you make it out of bed before me you make my coffee, and you love to cook me breakfast. You let me be who I am, even when I was just this little weak human.”

  Mikael blinked rapidly in surprise, laughing slightly. “Like I told Mrs. Williams, you're not weak, you’re actually pretty scary Dean. At least when you’re pissed off and charging into something.”