Vanilla Moon: Acrimony

by Airiel Hawkins

  "Aww, we're all gonna be pregnant together," Ceres said with a chuckle. Sophia also laughed and Luke and I exchanged looks of fear.

  I turned to Ceres. "I vow to get you whatever you're craving, no matter what time of day or night it is," I said. "Just please don't kill me."

  She laughed. "I can't control the hormones."

  The door opened again. I looked over and saw Riley and Selena walk in with Caleb. I glanced at my watch. They were back sooner than I expected. They must have gotten to Riley's parents', picked up Caleb, and then turned around and came back without wasting any time.

  "That was fast," Luke said.

  Riley nodded before he looked at his son. "Why don't you go sit down," he said, urging his son to the chair in the living room. "I'll make some dinner in a little bit."

  Caleb nodded and started walking to the chair. He clutched a teddy bear in his arms. He stopped and turned back around to look at Riley. "Dad, can I have a drink?" he asked.

  Riley nodded. "Coming right up, buddy," he said.

  I stood up and followed Riley into the kitchen. "You didn't hang around very long," I said.

  Riley shook his head. "I wasn't welcome," he replied.

  "Your mom?" I asked. Riley nodded. I sighed and put my hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, man," I said. "What can I help you with?"

  Riley opened the fridge and stared inside. We had beer, soda, ginger ale, and milk. He shook his head before he grabbed the milk and a glass from the cupboard. He looked at me. "I'm not sure he understands that his mother isn't coming back," he said. "He was happy to see me when I came to pick him up, but I'm not sure he realizes that this is a forever thing."

  I looked through the window to the living room. Caleb sat on the chair looking at everyone. His eyes were wide. They were the same color as Riley's. He had his knees pulled up, his feet on the seat of the chair, and the teddy bear clutched tight. "I think he might understand more than you think he does," I said.

  Riley glanced at me and then looked at Caleb. "You think?" he asked.

  I nodded. "Look at him," I said. "He knows he isn't going home. He knows everything's changed. The only thing he doesn't know is how long he's going to be here before you die too."

  Riley sighed. "Yeah," he whispered. He shook his head before he walked back to the living room and gave Caleb the glass of milk. "You need anything else, buddy?" he asked.

  Caleb shook his head. "What happened to Mommy?" he asked.

  Riley sighed. He glanced at Selena before looking back at his son. "Your mom came out here to help us," he said. "She was protecting some very important people to our pack and the bad guys killed her because of it."

  "Will I ever see her again?"

  Riley shook his head. "No, son," he said. "Her body was burned like all of our bodies are burned. Your uncle, Uncle Rodney, took her ashes home. There isn't anything left of her to see."

  "What's gonna happen to me now?" Caleb asked.

  "You're gonna live with me and Lena," Riley said. "We're getting married soon, so she's going to be your stepmother. She's also pregnant right now, so you're going to have a little brother or sister soon."

  "Where am I going to sleep?"

  "Tonight, you'll sleep on the couch," Riley said. "We'll get something better for you soon, okay?"

  Caleb nodded. I looked at Selena. She looked torn. She caught Ceres and Sophia's attention before she nodded toward the bedrooms. The three of them got up and walked away while I sat down in the living room. Luke watched Sophia walk away before he sighed and moved to the couch.

  "Do you want to meet everyone?" Riley asked.

  Caleb looked at Luke and me before he nodded. "Okay," he said.

  Riley pointed to Luke. "This is your Uncle Luke," he said. "He's one of my best friends and his mate is Sophia, who is Lena's twin sister."

  "Hi, Uncle Luke," Caleb said.

  Luke smiled at him. "Hey, little buddy," he said.

  Riley then pointed to me. "This is Uncle Wolfgang," he said. "Wolfgang is my cousin and my best friend. He's more like a brother to me than a cousin. You have another cousin, Mira, who is about your age too," he added.

  "I have a cousin?"

  "Technically, I have a cousin who is your age, but she's your cousin too."

  "Oh."

  "And you have more cousins coming. Sophia and Ceres will have babies too. Those babies will be your cousins. You have a lot of family here, bud. Everyone already loves you. I know you're going to miss your mom a whole lot. Any time you do, I'm here for you."

  "Why did you and mommy hate each other?" Caleb asked.

  Riley sighed. "We made a lot of bad decisions before you were born," he explained. "Sometimes people just don't work together. Your mom and I were like that. We just didn't work together. That's why I stayed away. That's why you and I spent time together through the webcam. It was the only way that I could hang out with you and not have problems with your mom."

  "Grandma wasn't happy to see you either," Caleb said.

  Riley sighed. "No, she wasn't," he agreed. "Grandma doesn't like me a whole lot. Grandpa and I are still friends, but Grandma and I don't get along. That's why I moved here after you were born. Remember?" he asked. Caleb nodded. Riley had only been here a few years. Caleb was young enough that he probably remembered Riley for the first few years of his life.

  "Are you hungry?" I asked him.

  Caleb looked at me and then at Riley before he nodded.

  "What do you want to eat?" I asked. "We can make anything."

  He whispered his answer so quietly that I almost didn't catch it. He wanted macaroni and cheese with dinosaur chicken nuggets. While we didn't have those here at the house, the grocery store was still open.

  "I'll go get the stuff and then we'll have a feast," I offered before Riley could veto Caleb's choice of meal.

  Luke and Sophia were gone by the time I returned. Ceres, Selena, and Riley sat in the living room. Riley had Caleb sitting with him on the couch. The poor kid was half asleep. It was late enough in the evening that he probably should be in bed. We'd have to figure out what to do for him soon. Even a temporary bedroom in place of our dining room wouldn't be enough for him. Too many lights and sounds would likely keep him awake until we went to bed later in the night.

  When I finished making dinner, we ate in the living room. Riley put on a cartoon for Caleb to watch. It didn't take us long to realize that this apartment was far too small now. A few months ago, it was just Riley and me. We didn't have anyone else here. Then Ceres moved in. Then Selena. Now Caleb. We either needed to get a bigger place for everyone, or we needed to split up.

  In theory, the five of us staying here was a good idea. In practice, there were seven of us, with Ceres and Selena being pregnant. We'd need at least four bedrooms for everyone to be comfortable.

  I looked at Riley and I knew he was thinking the same things I was.

  Ceres helped me clean up dinner while Riley tucked Caleb in on the couch. We retreated to our room when we finished. As soon as I shut our door, she looked at me. "We can't stay here, all of us," she said. "There's not enough room."

  I nodded. "I agree," I said. "Especially not with you and Lena both being pregnant."

  "So, what do we do?" Ceres asked.

  I shrugged. "There are a few options open to us," I said. "We can all get a place together, give them the apartment, keep it for ourselves, or just all move out. This isn't just something for you and me to discuss."

  "Perhaps not, but we should at least be on the same page in regard to what we want before we talk to them about it," Ceres said. "I don't really want to move away from them, and I don't want them to move away from us, but logically, there aren't many options for us. You and I will eventually take over your parents' house. It's the pack house. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense for you and me to get invested in our own house just to turn around and move into your parents' house because we've ascended the pack."

  "Do you have a plan in mind?"
/>   "Give them Alan's house," Ceres said.

  I stared at her, eyes wide. "You've got to be joking," I said.

  "Abigail is dead, even if she's still alive," Ceres said. "That makes me Alan's only surviving relative. That means that his house is now my house. Obviously, I don't want to leave it standing. Abigail could be using it for whatever she wants. But if we demolish the house and build a new one there, it's a wash. All their magic is gone. Abigail can't use it as a safe haven. You and I can both relax knowing that this place that's been so traumatic for both of us is just gone now. Rebuild it and give it to Riley and Selena. Hell, hire Declan as the damn contractor."

  "What about the other property?" I asked. "They had two."

  "Why not give that one to Declan and Daphne?" Ceres asked. "Most of it burned down, so obviously we'll have to give them somewhere to stay temporarily while it gets rebuilt. That takes care of those two houses. You and I can just stay here in the apartment until we either have too many kids or we move into your parents' house."

  "Sounds like you've got it all figured out," I said.

  "You know me," she sighed. "I'm always thinking fifteen steps ahead."

  "So, where does sleep fall on the list?" I asked.

  "Here?" she asked, moving toward the bed.

  "I fully support that."

  She stopped walking and stared at the bed for a moment. "What is it?" I asked.

  "I want to talk to Mandy," she whispered.

  "Why?" I asked.

  She turned and looked at me. "She was my friend once," she said. "She has babies at home. She just had one maybe a month ago. Now she's in prison in a place she doesn't know. Eventually, Todd will come looking for her. She's going to bring more Witches whether actively or not. I want to talk to her. I want to know if there's a way that I can convince her to stop more of them from coming."

  I sighed. Dad wouldn't like this, but she did have a point. She knew Mandy in ways that none of us ever would. If anyone could keep more Witches from coming, she would be the one who could do it. We certainly wouldn't survive another attack. I nodded. "I'll see what I can do," I promised.

  Chapter 30 ~Ceres~

  Wolfgang opened the door to the cell. Inside, it was dark. There was a cot in the corner and a bucket for waste. Mandy sat on the cot, her head hanging. Her hair hung in greasy ropes around her head. She looked up at the sound of the door opening. Her eyes widened at the sight of me. She probably hadn't seen anyone except for meals.

  I walked over to the cot and sat down. Wolfgang followed me in and shut the door. He would be the buffer between Mandy and I if it came to that.

  For a moment, we stared at each other. Mandy cleared her throat. "You want to make sure I won't bring more Witches back with me if you let me go," she said.

  "We would prefer not to have to kill anyone else for a while," I confirmed. I didn't want her to know how badly hurt we were as a pack.

  "How do you know more aren't already here?"

  "Because no one new has come into town since you," I replied. "We're watching the borders closely."

  Mandy nodded. "Considering Todd doesn't care about me, he probably hasn't even noticed that I haven't checked in," she said. She rubbed her eyes. We stared at each other again. We looked so alike that we could have been sisters. Just like Abigail and me. I wondered if she was another of Alan's children. Nothing would surprise me anymore.

  "He obviously cares enough about you to have kids with you," I said. "You just had one, didn't you? I heard you were pregnant again."

  Mandy nodded. "Matthew," she said. "He's about six weeks old now. And Todd isn't knocking me up because he cares about me, he's doing it to make sure his line continues. I could die tomorrow, and he wouldn't care unless he suddenly decided that he wanted another kid. I am a pale imitation of you. He latched on to me because he thought we were sisters."

  "Don't tell me…" I sighed. "Alan is your father?"

  "Uncle, actually," she said. "But Todd doesn't know that."

  I nodded. "He's still caught up over me, huh?" I asked.

  Mandy laughed. "Like you wouldn't fucking believe," she whispered. "He calls me Ceres when he fucks me. I learned a long time ago not to take it personally."

  "Why did you marry him?" I asked, genuinely curious.

  "Because I was ordered to," Mandy said with a shrug. "The coven decided that since Todd was doing a spectacularly shitty job of recruiting you that it was time for him to settle with someone who was actually a part of the coven. He didn't want to. That's why he kept seeing you while he was sleeping with me. It's also why we were married before you actually broke up with him."

  I laughed. "What a guy," I said.

  Mandy nodded. "If I don't go home, he'll pretend he's coming here for me," she said. "He'll come alone, and he'll come for you. He doesn't believe you're Lycan. He refuses to acknowledge it. He's fucking crazy, Ceres."

  "If I can convince them to let you go, will you keep the coven away?" I asked. "Is that something you can do?"

  Mandy sighed. "I can try," she said. "Brenda was pretty important to the coven, but she was also pretty radical. Most of the other Witches didn't really like what she was doing. Her coming here was all her, it wasn't a coven decision. She picked her most loyal people and dragged them across the country for this tiny town that means jack shit to the rest of us in New York. Once Alan moved back here, we didn't care about him. We moved on. Brenda didn't because she missed Alan. She was his New York nookie." We both chuckled. She shook her head. "I can't promise anything, Ceres," she said. "But if you can get me home to my boys, I'll be in your debt and I'll bend over backward to do what I can to keep everyone away from Adamsville."

  I nodded. "I believe you," I said. "I'll do what I can to get you home."

  Tears fell from Mandy's eyes. "Thank you," she whispered.

  I stood up and Wolfgang and I left the cell behind. Once the door was bolted behind us, Wolfgang looked at me. "You really believe her?" he asked.

  I nodded. "I do," I said. I looked back at the cell door. "Mandy may be a Witch and she may have been the other woman in my last relationship, but she's not the bad guy. Right now, she's a mother who is willing to do whatever she has to to get back to her babies. You heard her. Her son is six weeks old." I met Wolfgang's eyes and held them. "Our baby died three weeks ago," I reminded him. "Wouldn't you give anything to see him born and hold him?"

  Wolfgang sighed. "Yeah," he whispered before he pulled me in for a hug. He held me tight for a moment before letting me go. "Come on," he said. "Let's talk to Dad."

  Leon was in the library again. He was always in the library. He looked up when we walked in. He waited for us to approach him and sit down at the desk before he spoke. "What can I do for you?" he asked.

  Wolfgang nodded at me. This was my rodeo. "I want to let Mandy go," I said. "The Witch in the holding cell."

  Leon's eye widened. "Why would you want to let a Witch go?" he asked.

  I sighed. "I've known her most of my life," I said. "I know when she's lying and when she's being genuine. She's married to my ex and has two sons at home. One of them is only six weeks old. I know that if we don't let her go back home, her husband will come here. We can't handle more Witches coming to Adamsville."

  "True," Leon agreed.

  "Mandy has promised me that if we let her go home to her sons, she will do everything in her power to keep the Witches from coming back and seeking revenge for us killing Brenda and the rest of the coven. She says that their coven didn't really care about Brenda's agenda, so it should be relatively easy for her to convince them not to come. It's in our best interest that she goes home. Besides, there's already a fed out here who is sniffing around for missing people. We don't want her name on that list."

  Leon nodded. "Alright, I'm convinced," he said. "I'll make the arrangements to get her home and let you know when she'll be ready for it."

  I smiled. "Thank you," I said before we stood up.

  "You're going to be goo
d for this pack," Leon said. We turned back to look at him. "Both of you. You've demonstrated strong leadership and reasoning skills. You two are going to make this pack thrive again. I'm sorry that I won't be here to see it when you do."

  "It's not the time for that yet," Wolfgang said.

  Leon gave him a patient smile. "Yes, it is, Wolfie," he said. "If I have to force you to fight me, I will."

  Wolfgang stared at his father. "You can't force me to do anything," he said.

  "I can attack you," Leon reminded him. "I can force you to fight. I can make you kill me to save yourself. As your Enkidu, it is my right to challenge any challengers. You are a challenger. I will attack you if you do not attack me first."

  "Why don't you finish healing first and then we'll see where we stand?" Wolfgang suggested.

  Leon stood. "I am not as weak as you think I am," he said. "I am not as injured as I was a week ago. You take care of your sister for me, you take care of this pack, and death will not be the great tragedy you think it will."

  Wolfgang shook his head. "If you attack me before I'm ready, I'll lose," he said.

  "I don't think you will," Leon whispered. "You have far more to live for than I do."

  Wolfgang shook his head before pulling me with him as he fled the library. It wasn't until we were back home at the apartment that he started to relax a little.

  The next day, Leon had everything set up for Mandy to go home. He even allowed her to take a shower before sending her on her way. We didn't escort her. He trusted my judgment enough to allow her the freedom of her own travel, but we did watch her. Wolfgang and I were tasked with following her to make sure she left town.

  She didn't leave immediately. She went to Alan's house and knocked on the door. A few seconds passed before it opened, and we saw Abigail. In the flesh. My blood turned cold in my body. I felt the shock hit me like a ton of bricks. I looked at Wolfgang and saw the same shock mirrored in his eyes.

  Abigail hit Mandy. Mandy fell on the stoop. We were too far to hear any words exchanged between them, so we didn't know what caused this. We also weren't in a position where we could attack Abigail, even though I could feel how much Wolfgang wanted to dive out of the truck and attack her.