“Is this?” he asked. He briefly remembered Goldy asking him what he wanted to get Tierney, Jax and Sami.
Goldy smiled at him.
“But—how?” Thaniel fought to hold back the tears as Goldy pulled him into a hug. “We’ve all got your back,” she whispered into his ear.
When Goldy let him go, Tierney took his place. “I know this is hard for you, that your dad left you at Christmas, if this is too much, just say so.”
Thaniel held onto her and breathed her scent of wildflowers in. “Why are you all so good to me?” he whispered.
Tierney squeezed him a little tighter. “Because we love you.”
“I love you too,” he said and sniffed back the tears, then he pulled away and turned to the boxes of gifts. “Okay, I’m fine.”
Together, they got all the presents under the tree, Tierney and Goldy directing Thaniel so that he didn’t see any of the gifts that were for him, while the rest of the men brought the stuff in from the barn. Thaniel’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw what they were bringing inside, and a grin slowly lit his face.
When they were done, they turned all the lights off except those on the tree, and went back to their rooms.
***
GENNA SLIPPED OUT INTO THE GREAT ROOM, thinking she’d heard some noise, and paused at the sight in front of her. “Who the bloody hell moved the furniture?” she muttered and then she sucked in a deep breath.
With a perplexed frown, she surveyed all the bulging stockings hanging over the fireplace. Her frown turned into a deep scowl when she scanned the rest of the room. Hurriedly, she rushed around the couches and chairs that were now in a semi-circle, and over to the mountains of shiny wrapped gifts all around and under the funny-looking Christmas tree.
She’d never had a Christmas before. She hadn’t even known what it was until Caden explained it to her.
“That’s why Jax dragged the forest inside,” she had said and Caden smiled. Genna didn’t think he had ever had a Christmas either but if it bothered him, he didn’t let it show. He always seemed to take everything in stride.
She inspected the tree, the shiny decorations, and multicolored lights that she had come to love. Then her eyes landed on all the prettily wrapped gifts. Taking a closer look, she sucked in a breath and had to blink back the water that welled up in her eyes. Some of them had her name on them. A moment later, she disappeared.
When she reappeared, it was outside on the balcony. Stomach clenching, she clutched the railing and stared out into the night. A light snow was falling from the sky and white covered the ground. A single tear slipped out of her eye, and exasperated, she quickly wiped it away.
Chapter Seventy-One
Christmas
TIERNEY GROANED when Lilly’s loud shrieks of delight woke them up the next morning. Once again, they quickly dressed and hurried downstairs.
Seeing them, Lilly’s eyes lit up. “You were right, Santa did come!” she said, and spun around, waving her arms at all the gifts. Then she paused and quickly raced over and launched herself at Jax. “Happy Chrismiss!” she squealed.
After wishing her a happy Christmas as well, they all chuckled and Jax set Lilly back on her feet as everyone began to drift into the room.
“I started the coffee and hot chocolate,” Sami said, walking in from the kitchen and over to Dimitina who appeared so tiny and frail sitting in one of the big stuffed chairs. Sami handed the silent girl a mug, and then seeing Hellfire walking over to him in her pajamas, he grinned. “Decaf and juice for the pregnant ladies?”
“I want some hot chocolate!” Lilly said, turning to Sami and fluttering her lashes.
“It’s all made,” Sami said with a big grin for the little girl.
“Lilly, manners!” Chloe said, having followed Sami in from the kitchen.
“Sorry,” Lilly huffed then turned to Sami. “Please, may I have some hot chocolate?”
“Of course you may. Let’s go pick out a mug for you,” he said and led the little girl into the kitchen.
Tierney walked over and patted Chloe’s arm. “Sorry, but she is going to be completely spoiled here.”
Chloe blew out a breath and grinned. “Yes, I can see that.”
Tierney noticed Thaniel hanging behind her a bit. “Hey, love.” She waited for him to move up close, then wrapped her arm around him and pulled him against her while Jax slung his arm around Thaniel’s shoulders. That earned them a couple curious glances, but no one said a word.
After they had all gotten their respective drinks, Tierney watched Bastien go and sit near Dimitina. “Merry Christmas,” he said, but the girl didn’t so much as blink.
Then Zander was carried out and settled into a chair, a blanket tucked tightly around him. The rest of them found spots to sit as well, then Jax went forward and picked up a large box. “This one is for Lilly, from Santa,” he said, handing the gift to Lilly who squealed again and then promptly sat on the floor and began to rip at the paper.
Together, Jax and Sami handed out the stockings and gifts, and Tierney grinned at the surprise and smiles on everyone’s faces. She kept her arm around Thaniel, feeling how overwhelmed he was as he was handed his own gifts.
When Mark stood up and slipped away, she watched him for a moment, then caught Jax’s eyes and nodded. Tierney felt eyes on her and smiled at her dad who sat with tears bright in his eyes. “I’ll be right back,” she said to Thaniel, then got up and walked over to her dad. Careful not to hurt him, she wrapped her arms around him.
“I’m so glad you all figured things out,” he said, meaning Thaniel and she nodded.
“Yes, thank you for setting me straight. I love you, Dad. I know this has been hard for you, but I’m really glad you are here.” For a short while, she hadn’t thought they’d ever find her father.
“I love you too, baby girl, and I am so proud of you.”
Tierney sniffed and then laughed. With a kiss on her dad’s cheek, she turned to go back to Thaniel, when Mark came back inside. She smiled when she saw what he was carrying, and then turned to her newest mate. “Thaniel.”
His head was down, hair covering his face and at his name being called, he looked up. Mark stopped a few feet away from him and set what he was carrying down on the floor. The room suddenly got really quiet until Lilly spoke.
“What is that?”
Thaniel sniffed the air, then she saw him tense up and glance at what Mark brought in. Tierney and Jax both moved over closer to Thaniel as he suddenly dropped to his knees, and hand shaking, he reached out and opened the latch.
“Meow,” They all heard as Thaniel sucked in a breath.
“Peanut?” He reached into the small cat carrier and pulled out his long-lost cat. “Peanut.” Tears ran down his face, to match the ones on Tierney’s and Jax’s face as he pulled his friend close and snuggled the little guy.
It was a moment before he finally composed himself enough to look up at them. “How?”
Jax smiled and put an arm around Thaniel. “Elianna said something and I had Sami go talk to her, she told him about your cat and where to find him.”
“Yeah, and this little critter is a quick little thing,” Hellfire said, walking up and rubbing Peanut under the chin as she smiled at Thaniel.
After that, they continued with the gifts and Tierney turned to Hellfire. “Are your older brother and sister coming for dinner?”
Hellfire nodded. “Yeah, they should be here by this afternoon. I haven’t told them about Nix yet,” she said nervously as she glanced over at Sami and then her twin. Brimstone, was nicely trying to keep Xeata off of him. The woman, who wasn’t really a woman, but rather a Svrite, had captured Isoul and used his power to find Brimstone here on Earth. Now none of them, Brimstone included, knew what to do with her.
Tierney focused back on Sami’s mate. She didn’t envy Hellfire telling her older siblings about how she’d lost their sister. Nix had been pulled through a portal into a locked Nightwalker realm, while rescuing a group of
wolves from Tyranny.
A commotion had them all looking up at Genna as she past Caden, leaving him holding a half-opened gift as she hurried outside onto the balcony. Caden got up to follow her, but Jax stopped him. “I’ll go talk to her.”
Caden stared at Jax for a moment and then nodded. “Oh, all right, thanks … I—” Looking defeated, he sat back down.
“Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,” Jax said, trying to reassure the guy.
Caden just swallowed and nodded.
With a little smile at Tierney and Thaniel, showing his love, Jax walked over to the French doors and out onto the balcony where Genna stood.
Chapter Seventy-Two
Crazy Genna
JAX TOOK A DEEP BREATH of the biting winter air and exhaled. “You want me to kill him?” he asked, referring to Caden as he eased up beside Genna and gazed out over the lake.
“No, I don’t want you to kill him.” Genna wiped her face and looked up at him. “I want to kill him—make him crispy, like I did the bad guys.”
Jax gaped at her. He had expected her to huff and say no, like any normal person, but he’d forgotten that his newfound sister was anything but normal.
“Why do you want to kill him?” He frowned, trying to understand. Genna had her own logic that while messed up to everyone else, made perfect sense to her.
With a shrug, she turned and gazed back over the lake. “Because he’s always so maple-syrup nicey to me. I wished upon a star for him to just one time be a meany to me.” Then she stuck her tongue out to collect snowflakes.
Jax gazed up at the fluffy white stuff floating lazily to the ground, then back at his sister. “Is being nice such a bad thing?”
“Only cuz he feels sorry for me, cuz his mother, lord of all the ass-rats, kept me her prisoner. I try, but he don’t even get mad when I do bad stuff to make him mad. Why? You have not one bit of trouble being nasty-mean to me!”
“Ah—” Jax winced, though he thought maybe he was beginning to understand. “What about everyone else, do they make you mad when they are nice to you, or do you want to kill them too?” He needed to make sure where her head was.
“Well—”
“Genna!” he growled.
“Fine! No. They don’t usually make me want to make them crispy, well, except maybe bird-boy.”
Jax didn’t know if she was joking or not. “You know, if you hurt anyone here, you will have to leave, right?” he asked, wanting to confirm that she understood the rule Tierney had given her when she first arrived.
“Ugh!” She threw up her arms. “I know already. Why do you think bird-boy is still alive?” she asked, talking about Brimstone. Then she cocked her head and smiled. “Although, I kinda like his new girlfriend.”
“I think Brimstone would disagree that she’s his girlfriend,” Jax said with a smirk as he thought about the tiny fluttering Tinkerbell with sharp teeth, and a wicked right hook. A being with the ability to turn into a luscious, full-grown woman, and who, to Brimstone’s horror, had attached herself to him.
“Yeah, she be wicked cool, kinda like me!” Genna said, eyes lit up as she held up her hands. A moment later sparks danced across her palms, then her shoulders slumped and the fire died out. Genna dropped her hands.
Jax frowned. “How long have you known Caden?”
“Since the Master’s ass-rat bastard guard killed my nurse and my protector, captured me—I be only six, you know! They brings me to this world and dump me like garbage in the cold and dark. Why?”
Jax sucked in a deep breath. “You’ve been their prisoner all these years?” Suddenly he felt sick. Sure, he hadn’t even known about Genna until just recently, but she was his sister and he couldn’t help feel responsible. And she was right. He hadn’t really talked to her much, or been very nice, even if she often rubbed everyone the wrong way.
“I cried. Caden, he brings me stupid teddy bear. I don’t cry no more. Ever, but—” with a sniffle, Genna wiped the tears leaking from her eyes.
Jax let out the breath he’d been holding and sighed. Shit! He really hadn’t wanted to care, but that seemed to be a losing deal. “You said Caden’s mother, the master of the Ilyium, was horrible to him, right? That she had him tortured all the time. Does he have any other friends or family?”
Genna wrinkled her nose. “Princess be-otch,” she said and Jax frowned. He knew that was what she called Serena, the crazy witch that had messed with him not so long ago, and who had also tried to kill Tierney.
“But they don’t have nuthin’ to do with each other. The master got to raise Caden herself, with Lyle the torturer, and Val Jean got to raise Serena. Why?”
Jax stared at her, stunned. They had known Caden was the master’s son, but hadn’t known he was the brother of Serena, or that Val Jean, the Nightwalker king, was Caden’s father.
“Shh, you can’t be telling him, he not know,” Genna hissed and Jax scowled.
“How on Earth can he not know?” Then Jax shook his head. “How do you know?”
Genna raised her eyebrows. “You do know I have wicked abilities, right?”
Jax studied his five-foot-nothing sister, whose wild blue-black hair was always a mess, and who most of the time seemed bat shit crazy, and shook his head. “I do know that, but I don’t know how you know what you do.”
Genna grinned. “I told you. I like to teleport places. Plus, I be a good listener, even when the noise is in the head.” Like that explained everything, and maybe it did.
“So, do you know where Val Jean lives? Where Kyrian’s missing son Toren might be?” he asked, knowing the group of Raizarch wolves that Hellfire’s sister had recently freed, would be arriving any day now.
Genna shook her head. “No, but I might-could find out if you want?”
“Yeah, that would be great,” he said, not willing to get his hopes up.
“But what about Caden?” she asked, staring up at him, before looking away.
“Judging from what you told me, he’s been your only friend for years, right?”
Genna nodded.
“Well, I think it works both ways. I think you were his only friend too.”
Genna frowned as she thought it over. “What do you know? You tried to run away from Tierney!”
Jax winced again at the awful reminder. “Yeah, you’re right. I did, but I like to think I learned something from it.” Besides, Genna was his sister and it sure seemed like she was doing the same thing he had.
“What you learn that can help me?” she asked.
“I think that Caden is afraid to lose you. And you’re trying to drive him away. But trust me, you don’t want to do that.” He only wished someone had kicked some sense into him a whole lot earlier.
“Well, if I’d a known you earlier, I woulda done it,” Genna said, reminding him that even with his shields up, she could get into his head.
They didn’t say anything for a bit.
“So, what if I lose control of my power and hurt him?” she asked, looking lost and worried, which was not her usual look.
“You won’t.”
“But I be afraid,” she said quietly.
“Trust me, you won’t physically hurt him, you care about him too much.”
“You thinks?” she asked, staring up at him.
“Yeah, I think so,” he said and slung an arm around her shoulders.
“Fine. Can we go rip more pretty papers now?”
Chapter Seventy-Three
New Memories
TIERNEY SMILED when she saw Jax walk back inside with his arm around Genna, until Kyrian’s voice filled her head. ‘“Tierney, the caterers just pulled up in a large white van.”
“Oh good, I’ll be right there”
She turned and smiled at Thaniel. “I know you like to cook, but since we’re cooking up a whack of food for dinner, we decided to hire some caterers, I hope you don’t mind?”
“No, that’s fine,” Thaniel said with a shy smile, then he ducked his head and snuggled Peanut aga
in before looking up at her. “Thank you for this.” He had already thanked Sami and Hellfire.
Tierney smiled. “Of course, love.” Thaniel hadn’t let the cat go since he pulled him out of the carrier.
Feeling eyes on her, she turned to see Dimitina watching them. She smiled at the girl, but got no reaction. Dimitina had opened the gifts given to her, and then set each down beside her right after. Tierney sighed, not sure how to care for the girl.
Thaniel glanced over at Dimitina. “I’ll be right back.”
Tierney nodded and watched him go over and crouch beside Dimitina’s chair. Then he held Peanut out. Tierney thought the girl was just going to ignore him, like she had everyone else, when her hand tentatively reached out and cautiously pet the cat. A moment later, Thaniel set Peanut in her lap.
He stood up and smiled as he made his way back to Tierney.
“That was awfully nice,” she said and Thaniel shrugged.
“She seemed so sad and lonely, thought she could use a little company.”
Hugging him, Tierney ran a hand over his hair before leaning in and kissing him. When she pulled back, his eyes shone as he gazed lost to the love in hers.
“I will never get tired of that. I love you.”
“I love you too,” she said, smiling at him as Jax walked up and wrapped them both in a huge hug.
***
THANIEL SAT BETWEEN TIERNEY AND JAX a few hours later while they played a board game with Bastien and Lilly at one of the coffee tables. They had just finished, and were cleaning up, when a tingle shivered down his spine and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end. Next, a familiar scent invaded his nostrils.
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