Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty-One

CALVIN

That was the question of the century, and one Runa refused to answer, even when Aiden got so angry I thought I might throw up. It freaked the kids out enough that Andrew made him walk away, but he demanded Runa go with him and explain herself. Even from out here, I could feel that weird vibrating sensation in the air. It was freaky and made me worried that he'd turn into his dragon in the house or something.

Kiara didn't stay mad for long. I realized pretty quickly once Runa started screaming at us that it was a stupid idea to go out there. They told me to stay away from her place. Honestly, I'd completely forgotten about the wards. I still wasn't used to magic being real, and no one told me Runa was a dangerous witch. Whenever she was around me, she mostly said mysterious shit and left right away. I'd never seen her use magic before.

"Did you know Runa's eyes glow when she's pissed off?" I murmured. I was still wrapped around Kiara and I wasn't letting go any time soon. Her holding me was the first time I felt safe since the explosion. Whatever was going on with Aiden and Runa made me uneasy, and I was considering stealing a car to get the kids out of here when Kiara showed up.

"Yeah. They glow when she's using magic, too." She turned without releasing me, looking over her shoulder. "We should get them out of here."

"Probably. I'm gonna go get Christian first," Rhea said with a frown. "He shouldn't have to be caught in the middle of all this and Jack will tear me a new one if he gets home from work and finds out his mate was nearby when Aiden and Runa were close to losing it."

"Bring Andrew too," Kiara demanded. "He won't want to go, but he's human. He shouldn't be near Runa while she's pissed."

Rhea agreed and stalked off, the sounds of the shouting voices going up as she stepped into Aiden's office before the door closed behind her. Lifting my head off Kiara's shoulder, I grimaced.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to do something stupid."

She shook her head. "No, you aren't that reckless on your own. You just make shitty decisions when you're panicked. We need to work on that. Let's get in the car. We're gonna need two to get us all there. Looks like you finally get to meet the Blackridge crew."

Well, that sounded fun. Kiara and the rest of the people here had told me all about the crew who lived one mountain over. They sounded like an interesting bunch, and the only reason we hadn't gone to visit sooner was because we were waiting for Aiden to have the time to go with me. With Andrew coming along, Aiden wouldn't be far behind. He didn't like being away from his mate.

Rhea came out with the other two, and surprisingly, Aiden followed her with a deep scowl. He gave Andrew a quick kiss and stood off to the side as we pulled away. It was me, Kiara, Talia, and the kids in one car, Rhea, Christian, and Andrew in another, so I didn't know what was happening until Kiara's phone rang and she answered it with the button on her steering wheel.

"What?"

"If you see a shadow overhead, don't panic. Aiden's irritated enough that he needed to go for a shift. He's just passing by."

The trees were thick and tall, so we couldn't see much above us, but we felt it when he passed over. The force of it rattled the car, and the trees swayed almost dangerously. I gaped, leaning to see him better. It was still awesome that dragons were real.

He didn't pass overhead again, though Rhea warned he'd follow us until his mate was safely in Blackridge. I barely got a glimpse of him when we parked before his shadow disappeared in the night. It was dark enough now that this far away from the lights of town, no one would be able to see him unless they had night vision goggles or something.

Javi was out of the car first, darting away to where his parents waited. The entire crew was outside waiting for us, and one of them, with vibrant purple hair, took a few minutes to introduce me with a game that included a weird fact about each of them. Her crew seemed annoyed, but they didn't stop her.

"So, that's us. Your turn," she prompted, hands on her hips.

I frowned. "I don't have a cool animal. Do I get a turn?"

She waved a hand at Javi's mom, Carmen. "She's human too, and she got a turn. Go on."

"Alright…" I pursed my lips thoughtfully. "I'm Cal. I'm human. And… Oh! I can speak several languages, including Elvish."

"Not a real language," Kiara groaned, shaking her head.

"You hush," a wolf shifter named Lily argued. "That's cool."

I shot Kiara a smug look, and she rolled her eyes.

Liv, the one who started this game, flicked her gaze between us. "Is Kiara your mate?"

I opened my mouth to agree, but she covered it with her hand and growled out a firm, "No. He's a stupid human who pissed off a dragon and I've been keeping an eye on him." She lowered her voice to grumble with me. "Unless you want me to hurt you, you'll keep Runa's prediction to yourself."

Waiting until she released me, I rushed out, "Not yet, but I'll win her over eventually."

Technically, I didn't say anything about Runa. I just made my intentions clear to the entire group. It still irritated the hell out of her, and I ducked out of range with a laugh when she swiped at me. She never did permanent damage, but when she whacked me on the back of the head, that shit stung. Seriously, shifter strength was no joke.

Liv cackled, leaning against her giant mate. "I like him. He's going to drive you nuts."

"He already does," Kiara growled. "We bought pizza for dinner, but it's probably not enough for the whole crew."

The leader, a stoic bear shifter named Jackson, waved away Kiara's concern. "I've already got the grill going. You can add it to the table if you're willing to share. Tell me what happened with Aiden."

While Kiara stopped to talk to the more serious members of the group about what happened with Runa and Aiden, Javi popped up beside me and dragged me away.

"I've got a baby brother. You have to meet him."

"Uh…"

Kids were fine, I guess, but I didn't know anything about babies and they made me uncomfortable. I didn't see babies in my future. I couldn't imagine Kiara slowing down long enough to sit through a pregnancy, and I was too immature to raise any myself.

Javi didn't notice my discomfort and dragged me over to where Carmen and Jackson's mate, Esme, were sitting by the fire, babies wrapped in blankets in their arms. I was killer at the name game, and a single introduction was all I needed to remember them. It was an odd skill, but it worked in my favor at conventions and stuff.

"Mama. I want Cal to meet Emiliano."

Carmen looked like she was fighting a smile, raising her eyebrows at her son. "Mijo, you don't have to show off your hermanito to everyone you meet."

Javi made a face at her. "Yes, I do. He's my brother." He pointed at the baby, looking up at me. "He looks a little like an old man, but mama says he'll stop being so wrinkly after a while."

Carmen rolled her eyes but didn't comment on her son's observation. He kind of had a point. New babies were wrinkly. I wasn't sure how long it'd take for him to plump up, but Emiliano looked like a scrunchy little old man for now. To be polite, I figured I should ask some questions. Parents loved talking about their kids.

"How old is he?"

"Almost a week old now."

Yikes. Super fresh. Which also meant super fragile. So when Javi asked if I wanted to hold him, I shook my head immediately.

"I'm good."

Carmen didn't look offended, which was good for me because there wasn't a chance in hell I was going to hold a baby. I shot a look over my shoulder, hoping Kiara would come rescue me, but she was too deep in her conversation to notice. It was Liv who smirked and gripped my shoulder, steering me away from the woman.

"Come on, newbie. I want to hear more about how you pissed off a dragon. She wasn't talking about Aiden, was she?"

Relief flooded through me, and my shoulders dropped as we headed farther back to where a few guys were playing horseshoes.

"You looked like you wanted to flee screaming," Liv snickered when we were far enough away not to be overheard. "You don't like kids?"

I shrugged. "Kids are fine, I guess. I had fun with Javi and Leo. Babies freak me out, though. No offense."

Her belly was rounded, and she was obviously pregnant, but she didn't seem bothered by my statement. One of the guys playing horseshoes snorted, shaking his head.

"She's not going to get offended. Liv's just as uncomfortable with babies as you. That kid is for Derek, not for her."

"Shut up, Ethan. I can handle a baby. Maybe." She frowned. "I'm not really the maternal type, but I've got a whole crew to help me out, so whatever."

Ethan just smirked at her, and she abandoned my side to get him in a headlock. My eyebrows shot up when they both snarled at each other, but Corey, the one with the man bun, just shook his head.

"Don't mind them. They're all bark right now. Liv can't shift and Ethan's wolf doesn't hurt cubs. Even cubs who haven't been born yet. Just ignore it."

Sure. Ignore the sounds of wild animals coming out of people's mouths. Liv said what animal everyone had. There were apex predators around here. And I was a measly human. Lame.

"So, do you have to be born a shifter, or are there spells for that stuff?"

Liv snorted, dropping her hold on Ethan. "You want an animal, you're going to have to talk to your mate."