8. Patrick

Chapter 8

Patrick

S omething woke me from the first peaceful and deep sleep I'd had in a while. I lay awake in bed, wondering what had disturbed me, but nothing seemed amiss. I had just relaxed again next to Arthur when I heard a noise. The same noise that now registered that was what had woken me.

I was about to sit up and go investigate when Arthur's arm shot out and held me to the bed. I would have been concerned if not for the fact that Arthur was always protective of me and had become more so since I'd given birth to William.

"Stay with William. I'll go see who is in the outer room," he told me through our bond.

"Please be careful."

"I will, but I don't see it being much of an issue."

He was right, of course. We were both warlocks, as were the others here on the coven property. But if travelers had started to drop in asking for a room in the inn, it wasn't unheard of for them to go snooping around the place when they were told there wasn't any vacancy. It could be frustrating for us, but we all knew we had to do what we could in order to be as safe as possible.

Arthur left our bedchamber, and almost immediately, I heard a commotion in the outer room, then shouting. That had me out of bed, and I was scooping William up into my arms and was about to use magic to pop us over to the main inn when William started crying at the sudden disturbance. There was another shout of pain and then much more quiet talking. Unfortunately, I couldn't quite make out what was being said because of William's loud wails. I did everything I could to quiet our son.

I heard footsteps and rushed from the bedchamber and into the bathing room. There was no exit, something that I both understood but also wanted to argue with Arthur about. I was effectively trapped in the bathing room with our baby. I was trying to calm myself enough to magick myself and William to the main inn when I heard Arthur's voice.

"Patrick?"

My One's form came into view, and he was holding a candle in his hand.

"Arthur," I said, rushing over to him. Immediately, I wrapped my free arm around my One, holding on tightly. "Did you dispatch whoever it was?"

"I sure hope not," another voice said.

My body stiffened, and I pulled away from Arthur to look over his shoulder at a man I'd not seen in close to a decade.

"George?"

My brother-in-law's eyes widened. "Patrick? What are you doing here?"

"Give me the baby," Arthur said as he carefully took our son from me and hugged him close to his chest. He started bouncing him gently up and down, and like usual, William quickly quieted. Arthur turned, and after wrapping his arm around my shoulders, he faced his younger brother. "Patrick is my One, George. And this is our son, William."

George's eyes traced from his brother to me, then back to Arthur, where William was now settled in his sire's arm.

"Your One," George said. "You're saying that little Patrick is your One?"

I flinched, immediately feeling inadequate to be the fated one to a man such as Arthur.

"Yes, but he's not so little any longer. But you will do well to remember that I am no longer single, and you cannot simply use magic to make your way into my place as it is no longer my own." Arthur looked over at me, our height difference only being a small amount, which meant he didn't have to look down at me. "I was visited by the goddess, and she sent me to Patrick. It was the absolutely best day of my life when I found him in that tavern. That is until he gifted me with our son." Arthur looked up at his brother. "This is our son, William. He's just over a month old now."

George's gaze continued to move from Arthur to me and back. "You're mated?" he finally asked.

"Yes. For almost half of a year now."

George looked directly at me. "To Patrick."

I tried to smile.

"You always avoided him before. When he was younger."

"Yes. For two reasons," Arthur said. "You know how his parents were. But it didn't help that I continually found myself drawn to him. He was much too young then."

George shook his head. "You have a baby now."

Arthur chuckled. "That happens when we find our One, George. You claim one another, other things happen—quite enjoyable things. Then what do you know, a baby happens several months later."

George looked like he didn't know if he should smile or shake his head.

"It's good to see you again, George," I finally said. "I'm glad you finally returned to the inn. We've missed you." I didn't know what else to say, really. I was obviously quite a bit younger than both Arthur and George and hadn't been close to either of them when I had lived here with my parents.

George nodded before he looked at Arthur. "Patrick. You're mated to Patrick."

"I am. And this is our son, William."

George looked down at the baby in Arthur's arms. "You had a baby?"

"I did, actually," I said. It wasn't that I didn't feel as if we both had a baby. I wouldn't have William without Arthur. But I was the one who had carried the baby, and it was me who had been cut open to actually deliver the baby.

George's eyes widened. "You're a sire, then," he asked Arthur.

"Yes. I was a bit surprised about that as well. But yes, Patrick was the one that carried our son."

George shook his head. "I think…I'm going to go to my rooms, and I'll see you in the morning. If that is all right."

George started to walk away, and Arthur and I both quickly followed.

"You don't have to go," Arthur said.

George stopped and turned. "Yes, I do. Congratulations to the both of you. I never would have rushed in like this if I had known."

"It's all right. You frightened me, and that put Arthur on alert. He's quite protective of me and William."

George smiled. "I can understand that. Whether I am to be a sire or carrier, I would be protective of my One and children as well. Again, I do apologize for disturbing you both. I hope we can get together tomorrow after the morning meal?"

"Of course," Arthur said. "Are you sure you don't need to talk to me now? You came here, after all."

George shook his head. "No. It can wait. I simply wished to share my experiences with you. That is all. You were quite a bit more successful than I, and I won't deny being envious. I am truly happy for the two of you though. Both for finding one another and for the baby." George paused before he gestured his head toward me. "Have a good night." With that, he was simply gone.

"Is he all right?" I asked, suddenly concerned. "Did you two tussle?"

"Only a bit. He was in the outer room and was on his way here to the bedchamber when I grabbed him. It didn't take but a moment for me to realize it was George."

I couldn't help but feel bad for him. "Do you think he is upset? He said he was envious. What can—"

Arthur stopped me with a finger on my mouth. "This is how things are. It could have just as easily been he who found his One first. In fact, you could have been fated for George and not me. We never know who fate will choose for us."

I shook my head. The thought of me being paired with George felt wrong. I was Arthur's. He was William's other father.

"We've done nothing wrong," Arthur said. He glanced down at William, who was sucking on his fist. "Since he's going to want to be fed in a short time anyway, how about we take care of that now and then return to bed. William should be good until morning at this point."

I nodded. "I'll get the milk."

I started to walk away, but Arthur stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. I looked at my One, the love I felt for him unable to be masked.

"I love you, Patrick. More than I know how to say. You and William are my entire world. Please don't let George's return upset you."

I shook my head. "I'm not upset. I am happy your brother has returned. Sad he didn't find his One. I cannot imagine what it is like to have to go as long as the two of you have without having someone to share your life with. I am eternally grateful that I was paired with you so young." That was the truth. I was incredibly young for having found my One. My years hadn't even hit thirty yet, and already, I had Arthur and our first son. Would we have more? I wanted as many as we were to be gifted. I didn't know how many that would be, but if William was to be our only child, I would be happy and love him dearly.

William started to fuss in earnest, and I nodded before I left to go to the outer room to get the milk. It was because of our magic that we all had the ability to keep such things in our individual homes. I had the milk prepared for William by the time Arthur had him cleaned up and his cloth changed. My heart fluttered when I reentered our bedchamber and saw Arthur sitting up in our bed, holding a fussy baby. I hurried to hand him the milk, and that was all it took for William's fussiness to end. He started drinking loudly, making me wonder if he was hungry before and simply hadn't woken up yet.

I joined Arthur in our bed, carefully laying my head down on Arthur's lap and sighing. When I felt his fingers thread through my hair, I turned my head enough to look up in wonder. I shouldn't have been surprised to see a gold glow around the milk, holding it in the perfect position for the baby to drink.

"I love you," Arthur said again.

"I love you too," I whispered back. I sighed as Arthur continued to run his fingers through my hair. "Do you think we will have more children?" I blurted out, letting my thoughts from earlier escape.

"That is my hope. Do you not wish for more children?"

I nodded my head before I turned back onto my side completely and sighed again. "I do. I would like very much to give you more children. I am, of course, pleased with William," I told him. "And if he is all we are ever blessed with, so be it."

"We will have more children," Arthur said matter-of-factly. "I know we will. You were made to be a father. You are so amazing with William."

"Not nearly as wonderful as you are."

Arthur chuckled. "I was already fully grown when George was born. Just a bit younger than you are now, but I vividly remember holding my minutes-old brother. I wasn't ready for my own child just then, but I've done a lot of growing since."

I yawned. The late hour, combined with Arthur's calming voice and the rhythmic gesture of him threading his fingers through my hair, had completely put me at ease. When Arthur patted me on the shoulder, I looked up at my One.

"Let me up so I can put William in his cradle."

I moved, getting myself situated on my pillow while Arthur slid from the bed. He bent, placing our son in the cradle and moments later was back in bed beside me. He threw the room into darkness by blowing out the candles with magic. It only took moments after he wrapped his arm around me and pulled my head onto his chest for me to fall back asleep.

I woke hours later, alone in our bed. I raised my head, glancing around, and found that I was alone in our bedchamber. The door was pulled mostly closed, but I could still hear Arthur in the other room. It sounded like he was talking to William.

I quickly slid from our bed and went to the bathing area to take care of my morning routine. I was dressed and ready to join my One in just minutes. I found him in the outer room, most certainly talking to our son. I couldn't help the quickening of my heartbeat and breath at seeing Arthur in nothing but his hose while feeding our son.

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"You needed to sleep. You do too much. Your body has been through so much in the past several months. It is nothing for me to get up and take care of this precious bundle while you get your rest."

I moved over to where Arthur was sitting and wrapped my arms around his shoulders from behind. I bent down and placed a kiss on his cheek. "You seriously spoil me so. It is not any issue for me to wake with our son. I didn't even hear him."

"I was up and woke him before he made a peep."

Immediately, I was concerned. I moved to the side and knelt beside my love. "What is wrong? Is it George's return? Are you worried?"

"There isn't a thing wrong. I simply was up and brought the baby with me so he wouldn't wake you. I am a bit concerned about George, but it is nothing more than what I would usually feel. He and I have always met and discussed our travels upon our return. Not having discussed anything with him as of yet, I cannot say if he returned just then or if he had already been here for a bit. This was the first time he's ever come to my place in the middle of the night though, which tells me that something might be amiss."

That was my concern as well. George was a warlock. The second born to the created warlock. He was powerful. If he'd been thinking clearly, he would have been able to sense the auras of two others in what he thought was just Arthur's house. Was he distracted? Had there been something important that he needed to discuss with his brother?

"Why don't you go find him?" I asked as I stood. "I can finish up with William, and then when he is finished eating and I've changed him, I can bring him to the main house, and we can all have a visit. If you aren't there because George needed to discuss something in private, I can simply visit with Oliver."

Arthur looked like he wanted to take me up on the offer. I tried to help him make his decision by reaching down and taking William from him. Our son continued to drink his milk like he'd not just switched from one father to the other.

"Are you certain?" Arthur stood.

"Of course I am. Go talk to your brother. He came here for a reason last night. Go see how important it was. I'll be along shortly. It will be nice to have a meal and a chat with Oliver anyway." I smiled. "You have been saying I should get out more now that William is a bit older. Besides, it will keep Dad from having to come here to steal time with this little guy," I said as I looked down at our son. Wallace loved children. He always had. I'd seen how he was with Frederick and Oliver's children when I'd been here before. That hadn't changed.

Now, we had provided him with his firstborn grandchild. Wallace held the baby every opportunity he could. Edison had held William a few times, but like before, he had a lot more responsibilities with regards to the coven. He often spent his days with the others, helping them with issues and working with them to be the best warlocks they could. Arthur often helped, but he'd stepped back in recent months in order to focus on us and then my pregnancy. Now we had William, and Arthur had been helping me with the baby.

"I will only be a thought away," Arthur said as he leaned in and kissed me. I returned the gesture, and when he pulled away, it was to see him smiling at me. "I love you. You are amazing." Arthur glanced down at William in my arms.

"You go. I am more than capable of spending time caring for our son alone. I understand your innate need to do it all, but that's not necessary."

Arthur looked at me for a long moment before he nodded. "I know. You are an amazing father. I know William is completely safe with you. I will let you know how things are once I find my brother."

I grinned. Arthur kissed me again and then turned and left. I sighed as I looked down at our son. He had almost finished his milk and had slowed considerably. I sat in the chair Arthur had been in just moments ago and closed my eyes. My life was incredible, and I was thankful for that each and every day.