A Season of War: M/M Wolf Shifter Mpreg Paranormal Romance (The Last Omega Book 3)

by Apollo Surge

  "It need not be so," Nicholas said. "You know my true name. You gave it to me. With it you will command me. The first order given with the power of a true name is stronger than any magic that binds me. But only the first."

  Sawyer could see what he was suggesting.

  "Could I order you to destroy the mountain?" Sawyer asked. "Without killing anyone?"

  Nicholas shook his head.

  "I do not have the power alone," he replied. "I will need all the Unseelie army beside me. You must order me to protect you, to protect everyone here, and then open the wards to us."

  Sawyer flinched, a seed of suspicion starting in his heart. He shook his head.

  "Can I have time to think about it?" he asked.

  Nicholas nodded.

  "Speak my name and I will return to you," Nicholas said. "Always. Even if all else is lost and the fires of Seelie victory burn on the horizon. Call my name, and I will bend heaven and earth to save you."

  Again with the dizzying declarations. Sawyer had been through too much tonight to hear that kind of thing.

  "Goodnight, Nicholas," he said instead, backing away from the wards.

  Nicholas said nothing only stood watching him, as though he could not bear to take his eyes away a second before he needed to, until Sawyer vanished back into the house.

  Chapter Twenty

  Sawyer returned to bed, but slept poorly. He had what he wanted- a way to stop the world from ending. But now he couldn't choose. None of the choices were good. Even Nicholas's offer, the most tempting certainly, was potentially a trap. Save the world at unspeakable personal cost to him and an innocent child. Run away and doom everyone, but save himself and his baby. Or run away, and on the way out the door, do something that could, potentially, save everyone. Or just ensure Unseelie victory instead. Alternatively, do nothing and die with everyone else, knowing he had the power to change things and didn't.

  Such thoughts didn't make for restful sleep.

  The next day was hectic as they worked on last preparations for the full moon, made more stressful by the discovery that the deer shifters had left. For a minute Sawyer thought it might trigger an exodus of others fleeing the camp. But it seemed like most people considered it too risky to leave right before the full moon.

  Sawyer spent his day finishing the pens in the basement for the bull gators, wolf-proofing the dining room where the pack intended to spend the night (since it was too dangerous to run through the state park as they usually did on full moons) and preparing the barn where it had been decided the gator children and females would stay. He hadn't mentioned what had happened last night to anyone yet. He was afraid of their anger and shame when they learned there was a way he could save them and he was too cowardly to do it. He dwelled on it alone instead, turning the options over and over in his mind, looking for some way to save both himself and everyone else. The others noticed how quiet and troubled he clearly was, but he dodged their questions and eventually Jacob presumably pulled them aside to let them know what had happened with Elliot, because they let him be.

  Elliot himself was avoiding Sawyer. He was around, helping to get things ready. But Sawyer never saw him for more than a second before he found a reason to leave the room.

  Which was great, honestly, because Sawyer didn’t want to think about all that anyway.

  It was easier to worry about the end of the world then think about what was happening between him and Elliot.

  One thing he did make time for, amid all the chaos, was to keep his promise to Jagger. Rita and Mike found him as he was gathering supplies in the kitchen, frowning at a canister of oatmeal as he tried to remember what Serena's notes had said about the preferences of haltija…

  "What are you doing?" Rita asked, catching him by surprise and nearly making him dump oatmeal all over the counter.

  "Uh, nothing," he said, not sure how to explain. "Dumb Fae stuff."

  "Are you going to fight them again?" Rita asked, clearly excited.

  "You won't get hurt this time will you?" Mike followed, looking worried.

  "I'm not fighting them this time," Sawyer said with a sigh. "I'm…"

  He thought about it for a minute and decided, why not? It was probably a good thing for them to know how to do.

  "I'm feeding them," he explained. "Not the bad ones. The little ones that live in the house."

  "There are Fae in here?" Mike whispered, looking white as a sheet.

  "They're not like the bad ones," Sawyer said quickly. "Remember, we talked about how there were helpful Fae too? There are three that live here, I think. A brownie or domovoi in the house, a stable haltija in the barn, and, uh, and something in the well that I think might be a kind of minor god? I haven't quite figured that one out yet."

  "And you're feeding them?" Rita said, tilting her head in confusion.

  "When they're well taken care of, they protect the house and everyone in it," Sawyer explained. "Plus, they're living things. They're just as freaked out by everything that's been going on as we are. This is my way of telling them they don't need to worry, we'll look out for them."

  Rita and Mike both looked doubtful, but they followed him into the living room as he set up gifts for the domovoi on top of the fireplace mantle. The internet had said just cream was usually enough, but he figured they'd been neglected a while and deserved a little more. He put the cream out in a small ceramic dish, along with a little bread and wine. It seemed like all spirits liked bread and booze. He also put out a square of chocolate, just because. He was mostly winging it with this.

  "Now this is important," Sawyer said as he laid the treats out. "You never say thank you to the Fae. Especially not a house spirit like the domovoi. The nice fae hate it. To them, it feels like you're trying to repay all their hard work with nothing but words. They'd rather you repay them with actions. Like leaving them offerings like this. And the bad fae will take it as you saying that they did you a favor, in which case you owe them, and they can force you to do pretty much anything."

  He turned around to see how they were taking that, and realized there were three more kids behind Rita and Mike now, watching curiously. By the time he reached the barn it was a whole gaggle.

  "A haltija is a Finnish spirit, and they come in a bunch of different kinds," he explained as he circled the barn, looking for a good, sheltered spot. "This one is a barn haltija. It likes taking care of horses."

  "Don't you only have goats?" one of the kids pointed out. Another one eagerly dragged Sawyer toward a likely spot they'd found for the offering.

  "Maybe they used to have horses?" Sawyer said with a shrug. "Or maybe it just prefers goats. Either way, Serena's books said they like things that horses like."

  He spread out a cloth on a post just under a crossbeam and carefully set down an apple and a bowl full of oats and honey.

  "Last one," he said, leading them back toward the well at the far edge of the yard. "Whatever this well thing is. I had a hard time figuring out what it would like, since I can't even figure out what it is, but I think I have a good guess."

  The well was ancient, made of real stone and covered in moss. It had a heavy wooden cover which Sawyer pulled aside. Then he reached into his pocket, removing three big silver dollars.

  "I've had these for years," he explained. "My last resort. I figure the well thing will appreciate them."

  "Oh, it's a wishing well!" One of the kids exclaimed as Sawyer threw the coins in. "Can we do it too?"

  "Sure," Sawyer said with a shrug. "Just don't wish for anything crazy, all right? We're trying to thank the spirit, not make it work for us."

  Some of the kids had their own pennies. Sawyer dug out some pocket change for the ones that didn't, listening to their wishes as they threw the coins in. He peered in after them, hoping the spirit appreciated this silliness. He saw a brief flash of silver in the dark, like a fish leaping, and quickly retreated.

  As the evening grew later Casey and Liam helped herd all the children into the barn. S
awyer had cleared the furniture out of the common area, put down tarps, and filled two kiddie pools, one of which had a big aquarium tank heater keeping it lukewarm. There was a big heat lamp in one corner and a pile of hard rubber dog toys which would hopefully not be destroyed by the kid's teeth. Jacob had even frozen a bunch of shrimp into a huge ice block, which they thought the kids would have a great time with. There wasn't much else he could think of to make them comfortable.

  "I'd say you've done a stellar job," Liam said as the kids splashed in the pools, several of them shifting early to enjoy the water. "Almost wish I could stay in here with them! Looks a good sight more enjoyable than the basement."

  "Sorry about that," Sawyer said. "I wish we could have done more."

  "Don't worry about it!" Liam said with a laugh, clapping him on the back. "We won't be conscious for most of the evening at any rate. So long as everyone is safe, that's all that matters."

  "Maybe next month we could-" Sawyer started to suggest, then stopped himself, remembering that there might not be a next month.

  "Yeah, next month," Liam encouraged him. "Though I suppose we'll probably all have gone home by then!"

  Sawyer knew he just didn't want to talk about the potential end of the world in front of the kids. All the adults knew by now. He was fairly certain some of the older kids did as well. Which meant the younger ones would find out eventually. But there was no point in rushing it. At least let them enjoy the full moon first. Some were already curled up under the heat lamps, looking content to sleep through the evening.

  "Sawyer!"

  He turned as someone called him to see Rita, waving and hanging over the side of one of the pools. Mike sat near her, wearing a t-shirt long enough to nearly cover his swim shorts. Rita's swimsuit appeared to be jean shorts and a t-shirt as well. They both seemed to be in their usual excitable mood. Clearly the news hadn't made it to them yet.

  "How are you guys doing?" Sawyer asked them, trying to seem less down for their sake. "Do you need anything?"

  "Yeah!" Rita said at once. "We need you to tell us about that fairy you fought the other day!"

  Sawyer rolled his eyes and sat down next to the pool, glad for the distraction, and the chance to rest. He'd been running around all day and his back and feet were killing him.

  "It wasn't that exciting," he told her. "There weren't any sword fights."

  "I'd still like to hear it," Mike said. Several of the other kids were leaning in as well.

  "All right, I guess you guys deserve a bed time story," Sawyer said, leaning back onto his hands. "Do any of you know what a Nuckelavee is?"

  "A knuckle what?"

  "Great. Also if you get nightmares it's not my fault."

  He changed the story pretty liberally as he told it, removing some of the more personal elements and making the truth for truth bit more of a battle of wits (there were audible gasps when the Nuckelavee tricked him by using his question from earlier in the conversation) and in the end claiming he'd outsmarted the Nuckelavee to get away, offering to lead it to the source of the power in the mountain, only to lure it close to the stream so that he could jump across.

  In the process of telling that one, he mentioned his first encounter with Goldenrod, so he told that one too, leaving out the sexual stuff, though he did admit he was naked, which the kids seemed to think was hilarious. After that he just started making things up, retelling other fairy stories he knew with himself as the main character. By the time he was starting to run out of ideas, Mike was curled up against his side, dozing off, Ruby was asleep in his lap, and even Rita was starting to look sleepy. Checking the time, he wasn't surprised. Still, he was tempted to keep going, to just stay here. But he glanced at the time again and knew he couldn't.

  "All right, I think that's enough," he whispered, gently nudging Mike off and standing up, carrying Ruby over to where Casey and Liam were sitting.

  "No, one more!" Rita demanded, words broken by a yawn.

  "It'll be time to shift soon," Sawyer said. "And wolves don’t tell good bed time stories."

  "I think you tell great bed time stories," Mike said, rubbing at his eyes, and Sawyer snorted.

  "I'll tell you more next time," Sawyer promised.

  He passed Ruby to her mom, who smiled at him gratefully.

  "You're really great with them," she said fondly, which made a diffuse warmth blossom in Sawyer's chest. "Maybe leave the flayed horses out next time though?"

  Sawyer laughed a little, embarrassed. "Right, sorry."

  "Don't apologize," she reassured him. "You've really meant the world to them during all of this. They were too scared to even sleep before the trip here. Any mention of the Fae at all would make half of them burst into tears. Knowing you're around makes them feel safe enough to be kids again."

  "The stories are pretty exaggerated," Sawyer said quietly, looking away. "I haven't really done anything."

  "It's not about what you've done," Casey replied. "They know you're making most of it up, they aren't dumb. But you're willing to come down to their level and talk to them about it. You aren't condescending, and you don't act like they're wasting your time. You really want to protect them, and they can tell. That means everything."

  Sawyer mumbled his gratitude, but couldn't say much more. Too many instinctive objections bubbled up within him at once. The instinct to say it was a fluke, that he was actually terrible, that they shouldn't trust him because he was bound to screw up eventually, was too strong. He resisted the urge to contradict her with a litany of his failures, instead simply saying goodnight and excusing himself. As he stood in the door of the barn, he looked back at the kids, watching Casey gently wake them all up to guide them through a controlled shift before the compulsory shift arrived. He watched them, sleeping or playing, even throwing a tantrum as one toddler was, pissed at being woken up, and knew he'd never be able to accept Nicholas's offer. He couldn't run away and refuse the chance to save them. He put a hand to his stomach, feeling sick. At the same time, how could he accept Goldenrod's offer at the cost of his own child? It was one thing to think it might simply end before it had been born, but to live, to grow up in the Fae Court, most likely alone whatever Goldenrod's promises... It was an impossible decision.

  Only feeling more conflicted and deeply tired on top of it, Sawyer locked up the barn and headed toward the house.

  Inside, Jacob and Mateo were getting the bull alligators settled in the basement. Alicia and Paul were already camped out in the dining room, contemplating Jacob's homemade dog treats with some suspicion.

  "Have you seen Elliot?" Alicia asked when Sawyer appeared, and huffed when he shook his head. "He's been missing all evening. We're about to lock up for the night. There's less than a half hour until the full moon."

  "I'll go find him," Sawyer said, already guessing where the other man was. "I'll be back in a minute."

  He headed outside again, tired and annoyed. It was one thing for Elliot to avoid him. It was another for him to dodge work helping everyone get ready for the full moon and then try to avoid even being with them during the shift.

  He headed for the travel trailers, knowing one of them had been left empty during the room shuffle and Elliot had been sleeping there while he was avoiding Sawyer. Sure enough, he saw a light on as he approached it across the dark yard.

  He didn't bother knocking, finding the door unlocked. As he'd expected, Elliot was sitting on the bed inside. What he hadn't expected was the half-finished six pack on the bed beside him.

  "What the fuck, Elliot?" he said loudly, the force of his own sudden anger surprising him, banishing the apathetic numbness he thought had settled in permanently. Elliot, who had looked up in surprise as Sawyer burst in, turned away in shame now.

  "You should go back to the house," he said. "I'm fine here."

  "What the fuck are you doing?" Sawyer demanded, grabbing the plastic ring from which three beers still hung and shaking it in Elliot's face. "Are you trying to kill yourself?"

&n
bsp; "No, I'm fine," Elliot insisted, trying not to look at them, or Sawyer. "I had them a while ago, they'll have worn off before I shift. I have time-"

  "No, you don't!" Sawyer replied, furiously shoving his watch under Elliot's nose. "You've got like fifteen minutes!"

  "Shit," Elliot muttered, rubbing at his face. "I just- I was trying to relax-"

  "Why aren't you in the house with everyone else?" Sawyer said. "Is being around me really that fucking unbearable that you can't put up with it for one night?"

  "It's not like that," Elliot tried to explain. "You don't understand-"

  "You're fucking right I don't!" Sawyer shouted. "Maybe if you'd actually talk to me about it instead of just sulking by yourself!"

  "Hey," Elliot said, brow furrowing with his own slow anger. "Don't talk to me about not talking about things. You're the one who-"

  "Do you want to end up like Duncan?" Sawyer demanded, shaking the stupid beer again. One slipped loose of the plastic and rolled away under the bed. "I refuse to fucking go through that again!"

  "Well then I guess it's a good thing the fucking world is ending!" Elliot roared, getting to his feet. "So you won't have to deal with it much longer! Excuse me for getting a little fucking emotional about the God damn apocalypse!"

  "News flash, asshole!" Sawyer snapped, throwing the remaining two cans into Elliot's chest, who caught them fumbling. "We're all dealing with the same fucking thing! Nobody else is fucking around getting drunk by themselves!"

  "All the more reason I should stay away!" Elliot said, throwing the beer back toward the bed. "Since they're clearly so much better off without me!"

  "Would you fucking get over yourself?" Sawyer shouted back. "Jesus Christ! Did you think we'd be completely useless without an Alpha? Did you want us to fall apart?"

  "No!" Elliot threw his hands in the air. "Yes! I don't know!"

  "Figure it out and get your shit together!" Sawyer demanded, leaning into Elliot's face. "We're all fucking tired of trying to manage this down a man, and I'm fucking tired of worrying about your dumb ass!"

  "Then stop!" Elliot said, matching him. "Stop caring about me! You've been pulling away since fucking New Years! Just cut it off already and stop making me feel like there's a chance!"