Navigating Sanctuary

by Flynn Eire

  He hugged me tighter. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Your dad didn’t even warn your mom about the trap?” Tristan whispered in horror. “Oh my gawd, does that cross the line of rat bastard into psycho asshole.”

  “They weren’t mates, and our father treated her very much as a bitch to bear his whelps and not much else,” Gerald explained. “We thought… Shit happens, you know? We thought something went wrong and never thought about it because we didn’t know. Hales never retired and… We didn’t know.”

  “I’m sorry,” Dublin muttered, sounding like he didn’t know what else to say.

  Yeah, we didn’t either, as we’d just put the pieces of that one together when we’d found out. It was a hard, hard pill to swallow, and we’d swallowed a lot of them over the years.

  “Dub, the empanadas are done,” Barry blurted, obviously hoping for a topic change.

  “Yummy,” he chuckled, letting me go but then taking my hand and pulling me over there.

  “Something I should know about you and empanadas?” I teased, loving how excited he got.

  “There’s an addiction, but don’t you dare ask me to join a group. I always make sure to do extra workouts. I’ll need one especially after this party.”

  “Do you need to? Do you really need to?” I challenged, glad when he smirked at me, understanding I meant I gave him enough of a workout. Well, doing me did. “So is it a bad addiction, like nothing you like better?”

  “One thing,” he muttered under his breath. “Though if I could do that while eating empanadas, that might be my version of heaven.”

  “I’ll feed them to you,” I promised, smiling that he meant sex with me.

  He laughed so hard I thought he might fall over. “That’s perfect. That’s better than Barry betting his suitemate bullies I could eat more than they could and if I did, they couldn’t so much as look at him for a whole month.”

  “I had nothing but faith in you,” Barry confirmed. “Especially when they were serving blueberry and cherry ones. I knew they were toast. Tacking on an extra week for each one you ate over them was genius.”

  “It was something because I got so sick I thought I might have ruined empanadas forever.”

  “Don’t even joke about that,” Barry gasped, hurrying over to the plate on the table and pretending to cover their mythical ears. “They might hear you and cry all night.”

  I burst out laughing along with my siblings. “I can see why you were such close friends. You guys are like Moe and Curly, but you just needed a Larry.”

  “We’re funny enough for all three,” Barry said easily, smirking at the way we laughed.

  “Okay, so how many did you end up eating?” Ashton asked, the bottomless pit of our litter.

  “Twenty-two,” Dublin groaned, shaking his head. “I got so, so sick.”

  I looked at the plate and back to my mate. “You ate twenty-two of those? I’m not sure I could eat twenty-two anything.”

  “I’ve eaten twenty hotdogs just because I was hungry,” Ashton argued, shrugging when we all shot him a crazy look. “I’m a growing boy.”

  My mate didn’t have twenty-two, but he did have five, eating them like a kid, smiling happily with his treat as we goofed around with the others and drank a bit too much.

  “Could we hire your services?” Gerald asked Daniel when he went to pick up a batch of chicken tenders as the man was circling back towards dinner food, there were so many of us and still eating.

  “Depends on what you’re wanting to hire me for?” Daniel clarified, raising an eyebrow at my brother.

  Gerald didn’t get offended, rolling his eyes. “This. To do this. Fry food and be in charge of it. I was thinking this would be hysterical for the kids at the schools to do. I mean, can you imagine some of the wittle munchkins loading the slingshot and laughing as we all trip over each other to get the food? That sounds like something they’d have a blast doing.”

  “My little brothers would,” Dublin agreed. “Even just feeding you guys and getting a chance to play with puppies since there are none here or cats or any animals. It’s healthy for children to have that sort of affection.”

  “He’s suggesting it to break the ice between us and the kids who don’t know us,” I explained.

  He shrugged. “Still a good idea for multiple reasons. I’ve heard some kids talk about the hounds being here in case they misbehave and have to go to Hell.” He waved his hand to keep us quiet when we all opened our mouths to object. “Kids don’t have the mental capacity yet to get all the complicated nuances of life. To them, a lot of whom don’t have parents here to set them straight or they were the people who sold their souls, they don’t get all of this.

  “And they pick up this or that from one conversation or another and put together a picture from that, which a normal adult wouldn’t make the jump. People talk about the imagination of a child’s mind because of that or their hope of things to be real. Mark and Luke were so, so bummed the angels wouldn’t make unicorns like everyone voted for. But as adults we understand that because they would make creatures just to kill them.

  “It was like the dinosaurs one too. They would have to die at the end of the fun because they’re not supposed to be here. Now as someone in between child or real adult, my answer for the unicorns was to bring horses here that they made fake horns on, because that’s no worse than us older students playing Santa for the kids. But then they wouldn’t get why no dinosaurs. It’s a balancing act, and kids don’t understand it all.”

  “We get that, but what I was going to say is I hope people take the time to try and explain that’s not what we’re here for,” Ashton worried.

  “Most do; I do,” Dublin clarified. “The problem is some of the parents worry about that too. Some people think they’re not blameless in all of this if they didn’t know their spouse sold their child’s soul.” Several people winced, and he shrugged. “I’m not saying I agreed with that. I don’t. I think some might have missed some signs, but hindsight is twenty/twenty, and no one is perfect. That’s not a reason to be dragged to Hell. People are just scared.”

  “Life is scary no matter who you are, and if you’re not scared, you’re not paying attention,” I muttered, my heart hurting as I knew my siblings did as well. “It was something our mother told us when we got upset we had to work for Hell or over our part in all of this, scared of demons and the Devil. She used to tell us that and to remember never to say anything to Father or his siblings that we were scared.”

  “Am I the only one who’s thought about going home and ending them?” Ashton asked quietly. He flinched when Gerald got to his feet and walked off. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

  “We’ve been drinking,” I comforted. “He’s heir. It’s—we all saw how much harder life was for him. He’s got a deep pool of pain that I hope his mate can help one day. He just has to hang on to find him.”

  Dublin hugged me, and we dropped the heavy, not wanting to tank the party with reality. Reality would come, no matter how long the time out, but sometimes it was just nice to get a break from it. We needed that.

  Fuck, I so needed that.

  8 ~ Dublin

  “Am I dressed okay? Is the collared shirt too much?” Trevor asked me, fidgeting with his shirt as he glanced at me.

  It was hard not to laugh. He was so fucking cute and completely serious, which was why I swallowed down my amusement. “You’re not meeting the Queen of England. You’re meeting two little boys. I had to meet eleven siblings. Instead, you get two eleven year olds, okay? It’s going to be fine and chill.”

  Oh, how wrong I was.

  “What are your intentions for our brother?” Mark demanded the moment we all sat down. I’d introduced them when we’d met up but then hurried to make sure they ate before saying more. Apparently that was what they chose to start with.

  “And do you come with a dowry?” Luke added.

  “Luke,” I gasped, blinking at him.

  He squirmed a bit
and glanced at his twin for backup. “Isn’t that like an old thing? And he’s old. I heard one of the hounds say they sort of missed dowries and giving family gifts or whatever because it said loudly how serious they were.”

  “Well, glad that’s what you were thinking because it sounded like you were being greedy,” I explained, nodding when they both went pale. “I get that some cultures did it like that, but to a lot it was the purchase price of a good quality and pure woman. Or a bribe to take a woman from a family that didn’t have clout. It depended on rank and whatnot too. I come from nothing, so I would need the dowry for him to accept me. You paying it?”

  “No, sorry, we though…” Luke glanced at Mark who was more the ringleader for the two of them.

  “He wouldn’t be mean to you if he was willing to put his money where his mouth is,” Mark said after a moment. “Like it made him serious and he wouldn’t hurt you.”

  “I am serious, but I can’t promise not to hurt him since I’m not perfect,” Trevor replied. “And my intentions are I want Dublin as my mate, officially. I care for him very, very much, and I’d like to mate him. With your permission, of course.”

  I wanted to roll my eyes. That was like waving a red flag in front of a bull, giving the twins too much power when they were a bit evil at times.

  “Have you given him flowers?” Luke asked after a moment.

  “I have not yet.”

  “He has to get flowers at least,” Mark said firmly. “Barry said real men give flowers, and he’s given lots to Tristan and Tristan to him.”

  “I understand, and I will rectify such an egregious mistake,” Trevor muttered, bobbing his head. “Does he have a favorite flower? I think he’s too unique for roses which everyone gives, yes?”

  “True,” Mark agreed, glancing at Luke who nodded, one of their silent discussions that cracked me up. “He likes different. Go with something different. Like a rare rose or those crazy cool flowers, but don’t get lilies or we can’t see them. Lilies give us a headache.”

  “So you demand he give me flowers but only certain kinds so you can enjoy them too?” I checked, trying not to laugh.

  Luke gave me a completely serious glance. “How can we say he did good or not if we can’t be around them?”

  Oh right, okay then. Damn, they were adorable.

  “Do you have a sorting plan?” Mark asked Trevor in between bites of food.

  I blinked between the twins. “Sorting…”

  Trevor’s lips twitched. “I have yet to form a courting plan, as we just reconciled, but I could use lots of input.”

  “We make Dublin laugh all the time, so have dates with us there and it will go well,” Luke blurted, blushing like he knew he’d be busted that it was an excuse to spend time with us.

  “Of course.”

  “Are you going to build a castle like the Lundbergs?” Mark blurted, finally getting to the good stuff.

  “I forgot to ask,” I admitted, shrugging. Hey, there had been a lot going on, and confirming rumors hadn’t been at the top of my list.

  Before Trevor could even answer, Luke started rambling all of the rumors about the Hales, including the castle one and it was going to be bigger as there were more Hales than Lundbergs… Completely ignoring the fact that it wasn’t the quantity of Lundbergs that the castle ended up being so big but there was training going on there.

  “So much for your intro breakfast not being as scary as what Dublin had to go through,” Ashton drawled from behind us. He smirked at me when I glanced over my shoulder. “Of course we came. He’s our baby brother.”

  “But he’s of the older litter?” Mark challenged, glancing at all the Hales without any worry. “How can you have two baby brothers?”

  “I’ve asked that several times,” Trevor drawled. “It’s our way of saying ‘runt’ as that’s not acceptable to say around humans without raising questions.”

  “That and there’s something special about the youngest of a litter, so we still use the term lovingly,” Gerald added. “We’re joining.”

  “You weren’t unwelcome,” I clarified, wondering why they were acting like it was a big deal to crash.

  “I was nervous,” Trevor admitted with a slight shrug. “Apparently I had reason to be.” He glanced at Gerald. “Do I come with a dowry?”

  “We could give one as soon as we get our stuff,” he answered, trying not to laugh from the look on his face. He squinted between the twins. “What would you ask for? If you’re going old school like us, it used to be a certain amount of cattle. But our brother could be the main provider for the couple, so I believe you owe us a few cows to accept your brother into our family.”

  “I could give you my cow so Dublin could be happy,” Luke whispered, looking like he might cry, Mark nodding as well.

  I waved off the others as they didn’t understand. “Guys, he wasn’t asking for the stuffed animals your grandparents gave you, I promise. He was saying what I did and showing the practice is outdated and you don’t get it as you thought. He could have said pig or llama. He didn’t know about your precious toys. And I love you for being willing to give them up for my happiness, but it’s so, so not needed, okay?”

  “Okay because I miss them all the time, and Cow helps,” Mark admitted, sniffling.

  “I know. I know you do,” I comforted, reaching over and taking each of their hands in mine. “They were good people, and of course you miss them.”

  “I could ask Ariel to check on them,” Trevor offered, and I shot him a nasty look that he flinched on. “What? Chamuel did it with his mate’s parents. Ariel has done it for others.”

  “I didn’t know that,” I admitted, easing down. “I’m sorry. I thought you were…”

  “Making up some bullshit so I could lie and tell children their grandparents are happy in Heaven?” he asked, frowning.

  “Not mean like that, but it is something adults could say to kids like sending their dogs to farms far away instead of admitting they died.”

  “We figured out a while ago our dog didn’t go to a farm,” Luke muttered, and I winced internally, not having known they’d had a dog or I could have stepped in it there. Wow, being around kids was difficult sometimes.

  “Building a place of our own actually sounds like a good idea,” Ashton said, changing the flow of the conversation. “We hadn’t thought about that because we weren’t sure if we were staying. I mean, could you imagine staying here forever when no one accepted us?”

  “You’re staying now, right? I can’t leave,” I blurted, glancing at Trevor who smiled brightly that I got so worried. He nodded, moving his hand to my leg in comfort and not just because of my reaction but swallowing down I’d had such a big reaction. I mean, that was a bit much given yesterday I wasn’t sure I could reconcile with him.

  “And he can’t leave us,” Mark yelled, not having kept up with Trevor’s nonverbal answer.

  “I have absolutely no intention to take your brother from you,” Trevor said gently. “I’d like all of us to become family.”

  He opened his mouth but then closed it, glancing at Luke before trying again. “Even Sebastian? He was fun to play with.”

  “Yes, even me,” Sebastian chuckled. “Hi, I’m the one you were giving hugs and kisses to.”

  “Time out,” I called when the twins went to reply. “Okay, let’s start this over.” I waited until the twins nodded. “Trevor, these are my well behaved little brothers Mark and Luke. How about you introduce all your brothers and we can get to know each other?”

  “Were we bad?” Luke interrupted, giving me a worried look.

  “No,” I told them firmly as I went back to my own meal. “You tried to act like big brothers, which I think now you know you have to grow up a bit more first, right? I appreciate the love and desire to protect me, but just be you and I’ll be happy.”

  “Okay, because I was scared to threaten him,” Mark admitted, looking relived. “One of the dads we know said real family who love each other th
reatens anyone dating their family.”

  “Is his child by chance a girl?” Ashton drawled, realizing where they’d gotten a lot of their faulty information. He sighed when Mark and Luke nodded. “Yes, dads are notorious for threatening the men who come to date their daughters. However, you are not the parent, and they’re both men here.”

  “Right, but it would be sexist to only care if it’s a girl,” Luke muttered, frowning as he realized he’d sort of gone into circular logic there.

  “No one’s all that rational when it comes to family,” I offered. “Good family. Like your grandparents. Not like your parents or mine.”

  “It was both of their parents?” Trevor checked, probably having guessed they were both out of the picture.

  “Mom sold us to get revenge on the whore who Dad was cheating with and then they became…” Luke started but then trailed off, glancing to me.

  “Born again Christians,” I filled in for him, knowing they tripped over that and didn’t fully understand it. Castillo and Kellan had been smart to not tell all the kids what their deals were when they were too young or didn’t have the right support system in place. That had been part of the good the chore program had done as we who “adopted” younger siblings could help them.

  “Right, those, and then named us Mark and Luke thinking if we had apostle names, we wouldn’t go to Hell.”

  Mark snorted. “Or they wouldn’t. They didn’t care about us. Everything they did was for show and praise at that stupid church that they were awesome parents. They were all jerks.”

  “I’m sorry,” Trevor whispered, his voice heartbroken. “We understand having a horrible parent. Our mother was wonderful, but our father is horrible. Was horrible to her and us.”

  “And you had to work for Hell,” Luke muttered, sounding just as sad. “But not anymore, and now you have Dublin. He’s awesome. You can’t be sad around him, and he’s super strong so he tosses us all around to play.”

  “Do you want to help us with chores too?” Mark added. “It’s fun. It will make you smile.”