Chapter Twenty-Three

Drin had just gotten her knees together when Varun and Niseth arrived. They looked surprised to see them all, and that was fine. Drin was shocked to see them.

Varun looked at her sitting in the curve of Ekron’s arm, and he scowled. “Drin, I need to speak with you in private.”

“No. You have to do it in front of my family. If you are talking about what I think you are talking about, they know already.”

“They know that Vaken is your son?”

She frowned. “He isn’t my son. He’s my nephew. He’s Shisha’s son. She wanted him, she carried him, felt him kick, and she bore him.”

Niseth leaned against her husband. “He’s your son.”

“I gave Vaka and Shisha an egg. A single cell. They did the rest.”

Niseth frowned. “Why?”

“Shisha was sterile, but they wanted a baby, and they both asked me.” She smiled. “I asked the eggs, and they weren’t doing anything interesting, so I went through the injections, and they harvested me, and here he is.”

Varun looked surprised. “You were just the egg donor?”

“Correct. I was never in a position to raise a child. So, since his other parent was gone, I helped out where I could.”

He coloured. “Ah. Right. I am sorry about that. After the extraction, can you have children?”

Drin snorted. “Greedy for more grandchildren?”

Niseth looked wheedling. “Yes. Can you?”

Vikor said, “Her activation status that comes with her changed appearance has a side effect that may make an incubator a necessity, but there are plans.”

Varun raised his brows. “Plural?”

Drin twirled her finger to cover the other guys with them. “We are going to have to figure out the schedule for which one will arrive first, but having siblings with different fathers is going to make for some weird parent-teacher meetings.”

The guys laughed.

She bit her lip. “Yeah, I can’t see that getting weird.”

Varun looked around. “All of them?”

She looked at him with her hand on her chest. “Not at the same time. I am a lady.”

Vikor grinned. “Well, there was that night in Hell.”

She stared. “Shut up, Vikor, or my days of dangling from your horns are over.”

He laughed, and his parents were startled. The other four were smiling.

Techor chuckled. “That’s a memory I will treasure.”

Remark grinned. “That’s the story that I am going to be telling on long missions, over and over.”

Drin gasped. “Don’t you dare.”

Vikor chuckled. “How do you think word of the BDC spreads? Stories told in groups of actives. Out of ten told, one of them gets accepted as a patron, and word of mouth keeps demand high.”

There was a knock on the wall, and a feminine voice called out, “Hello? Wow. This is quite the gathering.”

Ekron kept his arm around Drin. “Hey, Mom.”

“Hello, my son. Drin, where did you get that dress?”

“Uh, hello, Evali. Ekron picked it.”

“Thanks for throwing me under the bus.” He squeezed her and pulled her onto his lap.

“Wait, am I some kind of shield now?”

He hugged her. “You are very useful. Mom, I got the dress from Morkithel.”

Evali gasped. “My own son would drive a dagger to my heart by shopping at my enemy’s salon?”

“Yeah. She needs clothing that has laces. He specializes in lacing.”

Evali turned to Varun and Niseth, and she nodded. “So, the boys are sharing a mate now. Looks like our families will continue to collide. I have already put in a bid for the first grandkid.”

Drin leaned back and murmured to her chair, “If the kids were passing through my uterus, I would be seriously nervous by now.”

Evali held up the garment bag she was carrying. “This is the dress for the award ceremony. I will trade it for a guarantee that Ekron’s baby will be in the incubator by the end of the year.”

Drin smiled. “We don’t have enough room. Well, barely enough. We need more space.”

“There are twelve bedrooms here plus the large bedroom.”

“Five of them, one of me. That’s six rooms accounted for, plus two guestrooms for Shisha and Vaken. That makes eight. Then we need at least one nursery and two nannies. So that takes us to eleven. No room for more than one doting grandparent, and something tells me that there will be at least three decanted together. It depends on where my frozen eggs are right now and how many incubators we are allowed to buy. And then when the kids are eighteen months old, they are going to need their own rooms.”

Evali grinned. “I stand corrected. Ekron, feel free to use my contractor. You are going to need another wing if you are going to be hosting the link and having babies. I will also offer my decorator to you for the renovation.” She gave her son a direct look. “As long as my grandkid is in the first batch.”

Ekron snorted. “We know that Vikor’s is first, but after that, who knows? If we arm wrestle for it, I am next.”

Drin frowned. “Why are the babies so important? Vaka was obsessed as well.”

Vikor looked at her. “You don’t have an urge to have more little actives?”

She gave him a long look. “I just got over my fear of not having enough to eat, losing my apartment, or not being able to provide for Vaken. I am dressed in clothing I wasn’t able to afford and probably still can’t. My job hangs in the balance, and my future isn’t something that is taking shape for me. If I can keep my balance in the present, it’s a miracle. I also just finished a secondary activation. My long-range plans don’t exist yet. My current situation is a little head spinning. I should be ready when the babies show up, but I am glad I am not going to be physically pregnant. I think that might drive me insane at this point.”

Everyone looked at her soberly. She thought it was finally sinking in. She eased away from Ekron, kissed Vikor on the cheek, and headed into the house.

She walked into the kitchen, and Stella apologized again. Drin told her it was no problem and got herself a glass of water. “Stella, is there a way into the back yard that doesn’t go through the main patio area?”

“Oh, of course. Come with me.” Stella smiled and led her to a study that had a glass door. There was a stand of trees not too far off.

Drin smiled. “Thanks. They need to talk about stuff and don’t need me there for it.”

“Will they be worried?”

“Techor knows where I am.”

Stella smiled. “Hope you find some peace and quiet.”

“This place is getting loud and about to get louder. How do you like kids?”

Stella grinned. “I love them.”

“Good. The guys want a bunch.”

“What do you want?”

“A solid night’s sleep and some peace and quiet to think about my future or my present or just to think.”

“I will only mention your location if they ask.”

Drin patted her on the shoulder and looked toward the patio as she dashed into the woods and found a tree with suitable branches, and she climbed up twenty feet high and settled into a small ball in the tree. She felt Techor move across her thoughts, but he left her alone. She relaxed in the cradle of the tree and went to sleep.

* * * *

Techor murmured, “She’s asleep.”

Remark frowned. “Is she upset?”

Vikor grunted. “She’s just tired. While we have been taking turns, she is the centre of attention and is not used to it.”

Evali nodded. “She’s very self-contained.”

Vikor nodded. “She hasn’t had any resources, and human women are actively aggressive to her. She’s been exhausted and hunted for six years. She’s only been in the BDC for eight months and at Z-Tech for a year. She has few friends outside of those two businesses. She is about to step out and meet the world again, and it might not welcome her. She knows it. She needs some peace and quiet.”

Ekron asked, “You are going to let her sleep in a tree all night?”

“Fuck no, but I will leave her there while we chat.”

His parents were there. Ekron’s mother was there, and his father was across the world working for a different active team. It was where he got his heavy-hitter gene.

Klauz’s family worked with Drin. Vikor had no idea about Techor’s family, but he and Klauz were the eldest. Remark had to surrender his family relations when he joined a team. If they wanted to keep a connection to him, they would have an opinion on these matters.

“Right, so is there anyone here who doesn’t want one of Drin’s kids?”

The guys looked at each other.

“So, who wants to go first?” All hands rose up.

Evali scowled. “Wait. You want five children at the same time? I might kill you for that.”

Vikor looked at his parents. “What would we need for that many kids at one time?”

Niseth smiled and started to rattle off the logistics of what would be required. She was a master of logistics and probabilities, which had only ever been blinded when her youngest child had died. That day, her senses went blind.

Vikor smiled. Seeing his mother return to her true self again was nice, but the sheer amount of items was astonishing.

Niseth smiled and held her husband’s hand. “We will help. We owe her a lot, and more grandkids is an excellent thing.”

Evali laughed. “You aren’t the only grandmother involved. And of course, there are the other three families.”

Techor shrugged. “I was an only child, and my parents have passed.”

Remark smiled slightly. “My parents cut me off, as per capitol protocol, but then, I was invited to Aksalla, so we are still trying to find ways to reconnect.”

Klauz shrugged. “My family just wants more family.”

Vikor nodded. “Right. So kids for us and keeping the stress off Drin. Gentlemen, we have a challenge.”

Evali smiled. “One decanting every six weeks, so the children’s birthdays aren’t too close. Avoid the school holidays for deliveries. Birthdays during the summer suck. Imvari has her birthday in the middle of summer, and getting people to her birthdays was always a chore. Stick to the school year for birthdays. If you can choose, choose. Get the eggs, make the embryos, and then mark the calendar. Drin is resilient, but she will participate if you give her something to plan for. By the time the first baby is born, she will have been looking to the future for forty weeks. It should be the toe-hold on the future that she needs.”

Varun asked, “How do you know that?”

Evali smiled. “I wasn’t ready. When Iron planted this big twit, I was not ready in any way for a boy, but he’s here now, and while things were scary for a while, I got through it with help and remembering that he was going to turn into an adult with his own hopes and dreams and plans.” She smirked. “But if I had known he was going to join a link with a very nice young lady at the centre, I might have worked harder on his manners with the ladies.”

Ekron chuckled. “I have always done fine with the ladies.”

“You have always done well with women, son. Not ladies. Drin is definitely a lady. Five guys or not.”

Vikor tilted his head. “How can you tell?”

“When she cuddles up to you, are you worried about her picking your pocket or selling an image to the tabloids?”

Vikor frowned. “Of course not.”

“That is how you can tell.” Evali smiled. She looked around at the guys. “Any of you worried she will use you to her advantage?”

They all shrugged and shook their heads.

“That is how you know you found a good woman. Hell, she won’t even ask for help. Not even when Varun had her dumped in a cell, and the bitches in there tried to take her face off.”

Varun paled and ran his hand over his face. “I had forgotten about that. I am going to have to apologize.”

Vikor stiffened. “What the fuck happened? I know she was shaken up when I saw her... but you ordered her beaten up?”

“I didn’t order it. I just asked the duty officer not to intervene if there was an issue in the cells, at least not right away. She was pale and thin in court.”

Techor sipped at his drink. “She was beaten by the human population, so she used her activation to inspire the actives in the cell. They defended her, but it cost her a lot of energy.”

Evali nodded. “And that would also make it difficult for her to carry to term. One hostile incursion and her body would defend itself first and her offspring second.”

Niseth was staring at Varun. “What did you have them do to her?”

He flinched. “You said you didn’t want her near our family.”

She slapped him on the chest, and he staggered back. “That was when we learned what happened to Vaka, and we saw all his personal effects, and every image had her in it. Seeing her was like seeing part of our son mourning his loss. It hurt, but that was six years ago. Six years of grieving in silence. If I had been forced to the light earlier, we might have met our grandson before he felt it necessary to call us ma’am and sir. We might have been there for his first steps, his first day at school. I asked you to give me time, and you gave me all of it and left me there.” She was crying.

Vikor watched his father embrace his mother, whispering apologies. “It has been an emotional reunion for everybody.”

Evali nodded. “It has, and I expect a full house for this year’s memorial. I have a special outfit planned for Drin.”

Vikor felt a lump in his throat. “It will be the first one she can attend and the first one Shisha and Vaken can attend.”

Niseth made a fist and punched her husband.

Vikor smiled. His father had treated his mother like she was made of cracked porcelain. Apparently, her cracks had healed, or she was willing to risk sharper edges. Either way, his mother was showing signs of the woman he remembered.

Evali brought out a tablet and showed the group the outfits she had designed for Drin. She made notes, and Remark smiled. “Can you do something in orange and green instead of endless shades of blue?”

Ekron snorted. “I like blue, and my mom knows it. Plus, aside from sprints into Hell, I will be the one most often seen with her. My like of the colour blue is well-known.”

Vikor grinned. “And he is footing the bill for the wardrobe.”

Techor chuckled. “I have ordered a few things for her.”

Vikor laughed. “Me, too. What did you get?”

“A gold chain overlay to put over some of the more fitted gowns. It will be a nice accent piece to the bands and collar.”

Vikor raised his brows. “Where are you getting it?”

“Tomorrow Jewellers. I also have an order in for filigree greaves and vambraces for when we go to the symphony. I know she likes music.”

They continued to discuss Drin into the night, and when she sent Techor a request, he shared it with Remark, and their flier went to get their little bird out of a tree.

Vikor looked at his sleepy darling as Remark settled in a chair with Drin in his arms. Her hair was tousled, and Remark carefully plucked leaves out of it.

The more she was fussed over, the more she glowed. It was nice to see her accept that she could be happy, and it showed when she was happy.

Vikor felt a nudge at his elbow. His mother was staring at his face. “You are happy when you see her.”

He inclined his head. “I always was. My fascination with her is not new. Since I first came home from college and she was studying with Vaka, I knew she was mine.”

“Are you sure about that? You were seen with a different female every week after that.” His mother chided him.

“The pheromones that I put out are for her only now. They have changed. My managers have commented on the subdued effect over the last few days. I don’t need it anymore. I have her.”

Niseth stared at him. “You are serious? You will be content with her?”

He chuckled. “The part of me that was scrambling around has calmed. Ekron is the same, as is Klauz and Techor. Remark is slightly younger, but he still is calm and his eyes bright. The energy Drin outputs now is specifically for us and is very beneficial.”

“This is the same power that helped Vaka?”

“It is, but it is tempered with age and support. Vaka loved her, but he wanted to take from her, and that taking left her weak.” Vikor squeezed his mother’s hand. “Across all of us, we are trying to heal the damage that her activation and the years of struggle have caused.”

His mother asked, “Do you think you can?”

“Her past is trauma; her present is stress. We are trying to architect a future with joy and enjoyment.”

On the other side of the patio, Remark ran his fingers slowly through Drin’s hair, kissing her softly and whispering to her.

Techor crouched next to them and stroked her cheek, pressing his forehead to hers.

Vikor turned to his mother. “We have made a pretty good start and have learned what she needs. Now we just have to avoid overdosing her with affection.”

“I don’t think you could.”

“Mom, there are five of us.”

She covered her mouth and giggled. “Oh, dear. How do you deal with the wet spot?”

He winced and pinched the bridge of his nose. “As part of her activation, she directly absorbs contributions from her male partners. You remember how she was always hungry?”

“Yeah.”

“She isn’t hungry nearly as often now.” He grinned, showing all of his teeth.

His mother looked shocked, and then, she started laughing. “Well, that does ease a concern that you would wear her out.”

“She might wear us out, so we will have to continue to be inventive.”

“Why is she wearing the bands?”

Vikor chuckled. “To remind us that she’s ours and that we don’t need to prove it to her. The moment they were on, we all felt better.”

“Didn’t need to prove it?”

“Didn’t need to push too hard. We all have more accelerated sex drives, so we don’t want to cause injury or discomfort. The bands slow us down. They remind us there isn’t a rush.”

Niseth chuckled. “Ah, and that is why she can’t have children.”

“Yes. Her body absorbs all traces.”

“Probably better for her in the long run.” She chuckled. “That could be terribly messy.”

“It is part of what she is, and we are good with it.”

Niseth looked at him curiously. “You really knew it was her back then?”

He didn’t tell her how far the instinct for Drin went, but he said, “Yes. I couldn’t say anything because Vaka would have blown a gasket. He was very protective of his friend. Getting any idea of how much I wanted her would have wrecked familial relations for decades. She was the only bright point in my time at home in those days. Ekron’s too, though he and I fought over it one or two times, dreaming of the day when Vaka would have a mate, and we could make our move on Drin. Then, eight months ago, when the Blind Date Corp opened up in Aksalla, we each compared notes on the escort that had been matched to our needs, and we had the same one. Curvy brunette, low throaty voice, and a shy smile. We had been seeing her for months and never noticed that we never had sex. It took her being in Hell doing the vocal combat for her sister-in-law’s team against Ekron for me to figure out who she was.”

His mother chuckled. “How badly did she lose?”

“Oh, she won. Her presence when performing is impressive.”

Klauz brought food out of the kitchen, and Ekron picked up his guitar, and he began to play as he often did for friends and family. Vikor watched Drin’s head whip toward the music. She loved music.

The music spilled out, and Ekron sang the song that was up for a best single award. It was something he had written and put out after he had started seeing his escort. The energy that spurred creativity had helped him to write a song that everyone in town was humming.

Drin squirmed out of Remark’s lap and ran her fingers through Techor’s hair as she swayed toward Ekron as he played. His voice rolled through the gathering, and Drin walked behind him and wrapped her arms around him as he sang, pressing her palms to his chest. She pressed her face to his neck, and he sang until the notes faded. He turned to face her, and she kissed him, expressing her appreciation in a very basic way.

When Drin lifted her head, Vikor was surprised to hear his mother say, “Drin, dearest. You have such a lovely voice. Do you still play?”

Vikor tensed. He was hoping that the answer was yes.