Death's Mate

by C. W. Gray

  My perfect assistant, he thought and waved him in. “Of course. Come on in.”

  Lorry slid inside and shut the door behind him. “I’ve been trying to find a few moments alone with you at home, but you keep dodging me.”

  Death’s smile faded, and his eyes shifted away from the young man. “I’m sorry.”

  Lorry huffed out a laugh. “Why are you afraid of me? You’re almost as bad as Dad with Sandra.”

  Death scowled. “That’s impossible. You were at dinner last night when he dumped the drink on me so we would have to leave, and he wouldn’t have to talk to her, right?”

  Lorry chuckled. “Yeah. Okay, maybe you’re not as bad as Dad.”

  “I’ll admit you make me nervous.” Death pressed his lips together for a moment and thought. “I don’t know what you think about your Dad and me, and I know Val loves you.”

  Lorry groaned, looking relieved. “That’s it? I thought you’d seen something weird in my soul or something and didn’t want to talk to me. Shit, you don’t know how worried I’ve been. I thought I was secretly a serial killer or something and didn’t realize it.”

  Death blinked a few times, head cocked. “Wouldn’t know if you were killing people?”

  Lorry shrugged. “Not if I was doing it in my sleep.”

  He fought back a smile. “No, Lorry. Your soul is as beautiful as your father’s.”

  A bright smile lit up the young Betonize’s face. “Good to know. Now, as for you and Dad, you make him happy, so you’re ours now. You, Wyatt, all your grandkids. Everyone. That’s just how it is.”

  Death shifted in his chair. “There are some who don’t care for me, Lorry. Are you sure?”

  Lorry rolled his eyes. “Those people are dumbasses. Dad trusts you, so I trust you. Plus, I’ve seen you with your grandkids. I don’t see a monster when I look at you. I see someone who wants to make his family happy, even when he’s uncomfortable.”

  “Thank you.”

  Lorry went back to the door. “Glad we had this talk. I don’t remember Mom much. She died when I was really little. I’m looking forward to another dad.”

  He shut the door behind him, and Death stared at it, heart beating fast. “Edgar, I have another son. Worrying about Wyatt is stressful enough, but now I need to watch over Lorry too.”

  He picked his tablet up and sent a message to Dr. Manning. She ran the medical staff, and he wanted Lorry with him permanently. His son would graduate soon and needed a permanent job with benefits.

  Death looked up when Edgar squawked.

  Wyatt opened the door connecting their offices. He looked distinctly uncomfortable as he waddled to Death’s desk and handed him his tablet. “So, that favor you asked me for.”

  Death took the tablet, then stood and helped Wyatt sit down in the seat across from his desk. “Yes?”

  Edgar flew from his perch to land on the back of Wyatt’s chair. He made a gurgling, croaking noise and nuzzled his beak through Wyatt’s hair.

  “Dr. Manning and I took a look at the baby’s DNA.” Wyatt reached up and rubbed a hand over Edgar’s head. “We did as many tests as we could with the technology we have, and we came to the same conclusion you did.”

  Death’s eyes fell to the report pulled up on the tablet and stared at the results. On screen, it appeared to be a jumble of nucleotides and other scientific jargon, but in his mind, his child started to take form.

  “Your baby is a mixture of Val and you in every sense. We can tell the biological sex and some of the physical characteristics. We don’t know enough about your Crellic Elemental genealogy to know if the baby will inherit some or all of your gifts.”

  Death fell back into his chair and ran his hands over his flat abdomen. He was two months along, and there were only small signs that he carried a child within him. “I’ve hesitated to look closely myself.” A conflicting whirl of emotions filled him, and he almost wished for the frozen numbness of his first cycle. He looked back at the report. “A boy with Val’s hair and skin tone, likely his size as well. He’ll have fangs like the Betonize, but he won’t have their claws.”

  Wyatt leaned forward as far as he could. “He’ll have your eyes. I wish we knew more about what he’ll inherit from you, but that’s all we can tell.”

  Death looked away from the report and stared at the wall light, picturing a tiny Valentine Philbert with fully black eyes, running around their new backyard.

  He blinked away tears. “He’ll look like my Val.”

  Wyatt nodded, his own eyes watering. “Dad, I can’t tell you how happy I am for you. I’m jealous, too, because my little brother will have a part of you that I never did. Hell, I’m even jealous of Lorry because you already have plans to be at his graduation, and I know you’re going to offer him a permanent job as your personal assistant.”

  Death winced, at a loss for words, as he recalled the message he had just sent. “I don’t know how to fix this, son. I’m sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me. I love you so much, and I wish I had known what to do when it actually mattered. I shouldn’t have chosen work over you and Sandra.”

  Wyatt sighed. “That’s over and done with. I understand what happened. I know you’ve always loved me, even if you didn’t know how to show it. You’re here now, and that’s what’s important. I can, however, admit I’m jealous, but there’s no way I could be angry with either Lorry or the new baby. Lorry is just as sweet a person as Val is, and I’m proud to call him brother. As for the baby, I can’t wait to meet him.”

  Death reached across his desk and took his son’s hands. “I love you so much, Wyatt. All I’ve ever wanted was for you to be safe and happy, whether that was with me or not. I want the same for Lorry and this one.” He settled a hand on his abdomen. “Sometimes, it’s hard to say what I want, but please know that I will always love you.”

  Wyatt’s smile was a bit watery. “More than all the stardust in the galaxy, right?”

  “Right.” Death squeezed Wyatt’s hand one more time, then sat back. “Now that we’re finished with the Pleuli Feciose project, what are you going to do? I would love to have your assistance with whatever I work on next, but you’re not a fan of research.”

  Edgar rubbed his head against Wyatt’s and made a strange chuffing sound.

  Wyatt pet the Fyreling again. “Research isn’t my favorite part of being a doctor, that’s for sure. Leti actually talked me into helping out with the university he’s opening. A friend of his led a medical program on Vextonar before she had to leave with the other refugees. She’s agreed to start one here, on Charybdis Station, and I’ll teach a few courses when it’s ready to open. Until then, I’m going to spend a lot of time with the refugees in the medical center.”

  Death smiled proudly. “You help so many people. Leti’s university is lucky to have you. So is the medical center.”

  Wyatt flushed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know you think I’m brilliant–” His words cut off when he winced and stroked a hand over his stomach. “Okay, the cramps are getting worse. I may be in labor soon, or it may just be that breakfast isn’t agreeing with me.”

  Death stood up and quickly grabbed his scanner from his desk drawer. He checked Wyatt’s vitals and then did a few more in-depth scans. “I believe the baby is ready to come. Let’s get you to the birthing center. Fortunately, it’s just a few buildings over.”

  Edgar cawed loudly and flew off the back of Wyatt’s chair to circle above them.

  The door opened, and Lorry stuck his head in. “Edgar’s making a lot of noise. Is everything okay?”

  “Wyatt’s in labor,” Death said calmly, holding his arm out for Wyatt as they left the office.

  “Labor?” Lorry paled and swayed a moment. “Shit, fuck, damn.”

  Wyatt winced. “He’s one of those, isn’t he?”

  Death sighed. “I fear my Val will be too. Lorry, please call Morgan and Sandra to let them know we’re going to the birthing center. Then, call Rune. He’s Wyatt’s best friend, so he�
��ll want him there.”

  “Okay,” Lorry said weakly, falling into his chair. “I can do that.”

  “Thanks, Lorry,” Wyatt said, chuckling. “Don’t forget to come by once the baby is born. He’ll be your nephew, you know.”

  A wide grin spread across Lorry’s face. “I didn’t even think of that. Estella and the twins are my nieces. I have nieces!”

  “Edgar, stay here.” Death waited until his raven Fyreling landed on the back of Lorry’s chair. “Lorry, don’t forget to eat lunch and go ahead and close down the office after you make the calls. I’ll see you at home tonight.”

  Lorry gave him a sweet look. “Okay, Dad.”

  Death swallowed the lump that formed in his throat. “I’ll message Val.”

  Wyatt leaned against Death as they left Lorry’s office. “It really is impossible to be mad at Lorry when he does sweet things like that. It’s hard to believe my ears when I hear him yelling at King Xaran to leave you alone. I’m telling you, I don’t understand how he can go into fierce protector mode when he’s guarding your office.”

  Death hummed under his breath for a moment as they left the building. “Have you and Morgan settled on a name for this little one? Last I heard, Morgan Junior was your mate’s choice.”

  “We settled on Riley Morgan Morrick,” Wyatt said, rolling his eyes. “I had to agree to let Morgan name our next child or pet anything he wanted.”

  “When are you getting a new pet?”

  Wyatt snickered. “As soon as possible so it’s not hanging over my head.”

  “You can always take Scythe back and rename him.” Death hid his smile. He wouldn’t give his stupid dog away now that he knew Scythe was his, but he loved teasing Morgan and Wyatt about it.

  “Nope. Scythe is all yours.” Wyatt gave him a mischievous look. “He’s a family dog.”

  Several hours later, Death sat beside Val in the waiting room of the birthing center. Wyatt and Morgan’s friends surrounded them. Sebastian and Alois were watching most of the neighborhood children so their parents could be there for Wyatt and Morgan.

  Even Fasi and his wife sat beside Death, waiting with the rest of them.

  Val was stiff in his chair, face pale and nervous. Death wasn’t sure why his mate always got that way around Fasi or Sandra, but he did. Now that he thought about it, Val tended to freeze up around any of Death’s friends that were higher ranking.

  Draif, the vice admiral of the station, paced in front of them, his own young child in his arms. Several months ago, Draif had given birth to his first child, a little girl named Gretchen. “Did it take this long when I had Gretchen? It didn’t seem like it.”

  “You weren’t the one waiting then,” Lucas, Draif’s mate, said with a smile.

  Death leaned into Val and watched his mate’s pale face. “Why are you so worried?” he whispered. “Wyatt is in good health and has the best doctors with him.”

  “Sandra’s staring at me,” Val said from the corner of his mouth.

  Death muffled his laugh against Val’s shoulder. “I’ll protect you from her.”

  “I feel like she’s trying to dissect me.”

  Death looked up, determined to reassure Val, but the shimmering light of two familiar spirits caught his eye. There you two are. I haven’t seen you in a few days.

  He tilted his head and eyed them.

  “Are you trying to cross your eyes? Is that supposed to scare Sandra away?” Val leaned closer. “It’s not working. She’s coming over here.”

  “Those two spirits I told you about are back,” he whispered.

  Val looked around, as if he’d suddenly be able to see them. “At least there aren’t any rocks nearby.”

  “What are you two doing?” Sandra asked. She stood in front of their seats, arms crossed.

  “A spirit threw a rock at Veri,” Val blurted out. “I don’t know why.”

  Renee leaned around Fasi. “Is this something I need to be concerned with? Will spirits try to harm Charybdis Station citizens?”

  The spirits flitted away, and Death sighed. “No, Renee. I just have a couple of ghostly stalkers.”

  “I’ll tell Sebastian,” she said, looking around for the shaman. “We’ll put a guard on you.”

  Death rolled his eyes. “What could a guard do against spirits that I couldn’t?”

  “Don’t argue with the security captain, Verion,” Sandra said, frowning. “Now, I need a straight answer from you. Are you and Val mates?”

  Val slid down in his seat, looking petrified. “I’m sorry, Sandra, but you can’t have him back. He’s mine.”

  Death’s ex-wife tried to hide her smile but couldn’t quite manage it. “I just need that answer. Mates or not?”

  “Mates,” Death said, voice firm. “What are you up to?”

  Sandra ignored him and spun around, raising her hands in the air. “Verion and Val admitted they’re mates today. I win the bet. You can send your credits to my account.”

  Draif scowled. “Not fair. You asked them. That has to discredit your win.”

  “Rules didn’t say we couldn’t ask them, did they?” Sandra said, hands on her hips.

  Fasi sighed. “I had next week. Why couldn’t you have waited just a little longer, Morrick?”

  Val gave the Lord Admiral an amazed look. “You bet on our love life?”

  Fasi blinked for a moment, then shrugged. “It’s what we do, Val. We’ve also made a bet on how you handle Verion giving birth, so chin up there, engineer. I predicted you’d last through the labor before fainting. Do me proud.”

  “You all are worse than Clyde and Poppy,” Val said, looking around at the people in the room. Sandra was currently arguing with Draif over the rules of their bet, and Leti was chattering away to a very bored Beol.

  Sandra’s husband, Jordan, did his best to occupy their two young sons so they didn’t join in the chaos of the adults around them, while Lorry and Sai played with their nieces, much to the delight of Pela and Kiki. Estella still wasn’t sure about them. Verion’s eldest granddaughter took time to warm up to people, though she liked Val quite a bit.

  “Are you okay, Val?” Fire sat beside Val and leaned his head on the larger man’s shoulder. “Are you upset that they’re mean? They really are, you know. They make bets and forget to bring snacks so that poor, innocent Elements starve to death.”

  Val pulled a pack of peanut butter cookies out of his pocket. “Here ya go, buddy.”

  “Thanks, Val.” Fire kissed his cheek, then grabbed the cookies and ran.

  Val pulled Death into his arms. “Your friends are something else.”

  Fasi frowned. “Your friends? Are you saying I’m not your friend too, Val?”

  “That would be really mean,” Renee said, voice stern even though her eyes were alight with amusement.

  Val sputtered. “No, of course you’re my friends. I’m so sorry, Lord Admiral and Security Chief Juren.”

  “Good,” Fasi said, looking smug. “We’ll be over for dinner tomorrow night. Invite Poppy and Clyde, would you? I’d like to get to know them better.”

  “Yes, sir,” Val croaked. “No problem.”

  Death curled into Val’s side and ignored the people around him as he sensed the lovely, pure soul coming into the world. He had a new grandbaby to greet.

  7

  Val hummed in pleasure as he sipped his morning coffee. His belly felt pleasantly full from his breakfast of eggs, bacon, and fruit, and bright light filtered in through the windows of the kitchen. Perfect morning.

  Midge and Scythe curled up together under the table, patiently waiting for Verion or Lorry to slip some bacon to them. Edgar swooped around the room, collecting the shiny bits and pieces that Val had hidden for him to find the night before.

  More importantly, Lorry and Verion sat at the table with him, taking a moment to talk over the upcoming workday.

  “I’ll be working with Sebastian and his apprentice this morning, then I’ll do a few rounds in one of the clinics af
ter lunch. I should be back to the office before Dr. Manning arrives for our meeting,” Verion said, shoveling strawberries into his mouth.

  “I cleared your schedule yesterday, but I’ll message you if anything important comes in. He keeps calling you and asking weird questions,” Lorry said, voice concerned. “Somehow he heard you were mated and expecting a child. He wanted me to tell him about your mate.”

  Val scowled. “Who keeps calling Veri?”

  Verion rolled his eyes and grabbed another few strawberries from the fruit tray. “King Xaran. The man has the vaccine and a treatment plan, and he knows we have a team working on a cure. It’s not high priority anymore since the disease only affects a small portion of Dramiads and we can treat the symptoms.”

  Lorry made a face. “He wants you on Dramacus.”

  Verion’s pale brows rose. “He said that?”

  “No, but he’s made it clear in every way but words.” Lorry grabbed another piece of bacon and stuffed it in his mouth. “I would bet you anything that as soon as he gets you on the vid-screen, he’ll offer you some obscene amount of money to come work for him.”

  Val snorted. “I don’t think there’s any amount of money that would make Veri leave Wyatt and go work for that turd-faced jackass.”

  Verion tilted his head. “Of course, there’s not, but I wouldn’t want to leave Lorry either. Now that I’m not scared of him, we get along well.”

  Lorry chuckled. “What did you think I was going to do? Fight for my dad’s honor or something?”

  Val looked down at his empty plate. Verion hadn’t mentioned missing him.

  “You would try to fight me to keep your dad here,” Verion said, squeezing Val’s knee under the table. “Since he would be going with me to Dramacus and have to deal with the turd-faced jackass as well.”

  Val looked up quickly, meeting Verion’s eyes. His mate gave him a knowing look.

  Lorry scooped a few more eggs on Verion’s plate. “Yeah, I kinda like him.”

  “You better more than kinda like me,” Val said. “I still haven’t given you your graduation present.”