Chapter 13 - Byron

This is my nightmare, and I tug at the collar of my sweatshirt, glancing around the room. It's total chaos, with kids running around wildly, throwing toys, and squealing with delight. The kitchen is loud with laughter and the sound of clacking pots, and the guys in the living room are shouting at the TV, though I haven't known a single one of them to talk about football outside of this holiday.

My hand itched for my laptop, but when I got there, Linnea had put her hand on my arm, willing me to be present. Be present for what?

"Uncle Byron!" I glance down to see a gaggle of kids staring up at me. Kaila, the oldest, Araya, just younger than her; and Bubba, with his mop of blonde curls, a full head shorter than the two of them. Kaila is still tan from her trip to California with Rosa and Bigby, and Araya has her copper hair in two thick braids. I don't envy Linnea for having to brush through it every morning.

"Yes?" I ask, taking a sip of the drink in my hand—it's some sort of spiced cider, and while the alcohol feels nice, I almost wish it was an energy drink.

"Can you fix this?"

When Kaila holds a Nerf gun up to me, something thrums in my veins, and the memories rush in—my brother and I, running through the hallways, screaming, that satisfying feeling when the trigger squeezed, and the dart went flying, yet to strike its target.

"Let me see what I can do," I cough, finally, reaching into my laptop bag and taking out my tool kit. It's full of tiny screwdrivers and magnetic adjusters, so it's the perfect choice for fixing a gun like this. I found the problem—jammed gear- and managed to fix it in less than a minute.

When I refocus my attention on the kids, and find them still staring up at me, their eyes wide, my throat goes dry.

"Here," I say, going to hand them the gun back, then something comes over me, and I flip it around, standing and moving to the side while training it on them. "Put ‘em up!"

They squeal and take off running, each of them grabbing their own guns. Moments later, Bubba and I are hunkered down behind a cushion in the playroom while Araya and Kaila tell us to come out, that we're surrounded, and to put our hands up.

"Wow," Aris says, appearing in the doorway with his own cup of spiced cider. "I thought I trained you better than this, Byron."

"Clearly," I say, fingers fumbling as I try to reload my Nerf gun, "Araya and Kaila have been getting lessons!"

"Save me, Daddy!" Bubba shouts, throwing his gun down, and Aris makes a big show of running through no-man's-land to get to him, throwing him over his shoulder and hauling him back to the doorway.

"Mom says it's time to eat!" Aris says over his shoulder, "Standoff is over!"

"We win!" Kaila exclaims, and she and Araya high-five as I roll out of my hiding spot.

"It's okay, Uncle Byron," Araya says, sweetly, "you can't win them all."

"I can't even win one ," I say, just as I turn the corner and bump into Olivia. She's stunning, in ruby red lipstick and a sweater the color of a toasted marshmallow. Her hair is braided on the sides, pulled back into delicate curls. I want to reach out and touch one, run it through my hands, but she's giving me a strange look.

"What?" I gasp, hand coming to my chest. I realize that Kaila and Araya are already running toward the dining room, leaving Olivia and me alone in the hall, and my body is equally delighted and frustrated by this fact.

I've heard Aris refer to "the wolf inside him" and always thought it was a bit cringey until now. Now I understand what he means, because I feel that motherfucker clawing around, howling for Olivia.

"Nothing," she breathes, after a moment, her eyes dark, her throat working. "I just—it's time to eat."

"Right," I say, nodding and stepping past her, choked, "got it."

***

The food is amazing.

"It's the magic," Triste says; at the same time, Linnea says, "it's the love."

"It can be both," Maisie says, holding up her glass. "A toast to magic and love."

I watch as Rosa leans her head on Bigby's shoulder, Percy takes Veronica's hand, and Aris shares a knowing smile with Linnea. It takes every ounce of willpower in my body not to glance at Olivia, so instead, I raise my glass and stare directly at my food until the moment passes.

When the meal has passed, we're all sitting together in the family room with several large couches and armchairs. Rosa has been trying to rouse everyone into a board game, but we're all so tuckered out from the meal that her efforts have been fruitless. Olivia is next to her, and laughs each time she brings out a different game, thinking it's the choice that's uninteresting, and not the prospect of a game itself.

I'm next to Percy and Veronica on the sofa, and I have Bits in my lap. She's small and pink, and pleasant to pet. I'm starting to like her more than a dog—which isn't hard. I've never really been a dog person. Maybe I'm a pig person.

My computer at home is waiting for me. I wonder how late I'll have to stay not to be rude.

"I'm just saying," Bigby says, his glass looking comically small in his hand. "That our alliance with the California packs will be more significant than you think."

"I thought we said no work talk!" Percy says, leaning forward, his hands on Veronica's stomach like he's covering his kid's ears.

"Who said that?" Aris asks, raising his eyebrows and taking a drink, his arm casually slung over the back of the couch behind Linnea. "While we figure it out, let me say that I truly hope you're right. But I don't want to over-depend on it for influence. I think we need to network East, as well."

"Right," Bigby says, his eyes knowing, "the East."

I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. I've not been a huge fan of our recent vampire-related missions. Since Percy returned from that wolfsbane field last year, everything has been vamp-centered, and it's almost too much.

It's pretty well known that as far as the U.S. goes, the shifter population is higher in the West and Midwest, with vampires swarming on the East Coast. It works because nobody questions an ancient old man puttering around Boston or New York City, while he looks out of place among the golden bodies of the West Coast.

Up here in Minnesota, there's plenty of space for running. Once you cross the Mississippi, things open up a bit, giving shifters more room to breathe. Vampires prefer the close quarters of cities and highly populated areas—gives them more chances to get their fangs in a human.

As though she can sense my thoughts, Veronica shifts and her eyes cut to me. She offers me a smile, and I swallow, offering her one back.

It's still strange to me that my best friend is married to a vampire. Having a vampire kid. Vampire-shifter kid.

I finish off my cider and stand, hoping everyone assumes I just want to refill my glass, and not that I need a break from the vampire talk.

After the kids are full of food, they calm down a bit, but as soon as each of them has a piece of pie, they're back to full-force play, and when I come back into the living room, I see that Rosa has finally roped a few people into a game. Across the room, Olivia is holding Bubba on her hip, hoisting him up in the air and making faces with him.

"Do me!" Araya says, and Olivia smiles at her, breathing hard as she sets Bubba on the ground.

"Honey," she says, breathing hard, "I'm strong, but you're a big girl now! It's harder to lift you up."

"Oh," Araya says, hanging her head, and before I know what I'm doing, I'm in front of her, crouching so she can leap onto my back. She squeals with delight, and Kaila drags Bigby over, forcing him to hoist her up, too. Soon, we will have a train of kids and adults, who will be traipsing around.

When I pretend I'm going to drop Araya, she screams with laughter, and Aris chuckles from the other side of the room, shaking his head.

"You're cheating!" Rosa says, pointing her finger at Triste.

"How is it cheating if magic is my natural ability?"

"I told you!"

"You just admitted it? That easy?" Percy laughs.

"That's—"

Aris is cut off when there's a knock at the door. He raises an eyebrow at Linnea, sets his drink on the coffee table, and walks over to the foyer, his voice rumbling through the hall. A moment later, he returns with Rafael, who looks rugged and wind-swept.

"Hi, everyone," he says, standing in the doorway for a moment, holding up a bottle of wine. "Sorry, I'm late."

The room is quiet, then immediately erupts into chaos, with Rosa telling him about Triste's cheating, Aris thanking him for the wine, Linnea thanking him for coming, and Bigby and Kaila nearly bowling him over as they come around the corner.

"Wow," he says, his hand to his head to keep his hat on. "Part is really in full swing, huh?"

I glance at the clock, realizing I'd lost track of the time while playing with the kids. After letting Araya slide to the ground, I glance up, accidentally catching Olivia's eyes.

Immediately, I knew she saw me with Araya and wanted that. But I can't give it to her.

"Oh, Gods ," Rafael says, his hand in front of his mouth as he chews a cream puff. "Who brought these?"

"I did," Ado says from his spot on an armchair, and we all break into laughter.