Chapter 5

Chapter

Five

" A re you going to get in trouble for bringing me here?"

"Hmm?" Lars grinned over at him from where he was chopping some sort of vegetable. Samuel wasn't sure what kind, but whatever Lars was cooking smelled really nice.

"I know that that someone, what did you say his name was? Jake? Was very concerned about me being here. The one who's coming to dinner. Are you going to get in trouble?"

"Oh no. No, I never get in trouble for what I do. I just sort of figure it's better to ask for forgiveness rather than permission. But that's okay. Jake will get over it." Lars waved his knife around airily.

"Are you sure? I don't wanna be trouble." Samuel had been there now for three days at Lars's house, and the snow had finally let up enough to allow this Jake guy to come over for dinner tonight.

Samuel was a little freaked out. Maybe he should just see if his little car would go back to Albuquerque, and he could just tell his dad that the baby was gone. Like just disappeared or something. He wouldn't say the baby was dead because that would be very bad as far as karma or something, but…

He could just pretend, right? He could be a good actor. Really, he couldn't. He couldn't lie to his dad; he never had been able to. So he guessed he had to stay and try to do what he was there to do.

He wasn't sure how he was supposed to go about that, but he would try. Maybe he would talk to Lars about it at dinner. Maybe this Jake person would have some insight about his sister. He just wasn't sure.

Things were so complicated. And the snow, well, it had insulated everything and made him feel safe and happy while they watched movies and had hot chocolate. But he knew that had to come to an end at some point.

"Maybe you should be trouble." Lars made the best sounds, this one sort of a nasally snort. "You know, honestly, the world doesn't have enough trouble. Not like terrible trouble, but, you know, good trouble."

Samuel smiled because there was very little choice. Lars was just joyful. He was so jealous. He wanted to be joyful and brave at the same time; he just couldn't figure out how.

"How is your brother?" Changing the subject seemed to be the most logical answer right now until they could figure out what to say about this whole rule-breaking question.

"Oh, Logan? He's fine. The babies have colic, and they're both very grumpy. It'll pass." Lars offered him a wicked grin. "I ordered a swing set for them, and it totally worked. Until it broke. And then didn't work because, you know, that's sort of the definition of broken, but I ordered him another one. It should be coming soon, and things should get better."

That grin got wider as Lars went on. "I have not heard from him, his Dakota, or Simon, though. Which means that they may have taken Logan, tied him up, and put him in the basement."

Samuel blinked. That sounded like a joke, so he chuckled. But what if it wasn't?

"Does that happen a lot around here? People being tied up in the basement."

"Less often than you'd think. As a rule, we seem to have a genuine lack of basement bondage."

Now Samuel knew it was a joke, and he laughed good and hard. He had read more than his fair share of books about bondage in all of its forms, from sexual to spiritual to physical to psychological to environmental.

This he understood. In theory, if not in practice.

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Well, I don't know, Samuel, is there anything you can do to help? Can you cook?" Lars raised a silvery eyebrow.

"Can is a big word. I mean, I have… I can… There are certain things. Maybe. Like I can make mustard sandwiches. And I can heat up soup. And I can chop things without cutting off my fingers."

"Oh." Lars nodded as if that made total sense, of course. "Come here and crush these tomatoes for me. That is something that you can do. It's fun, it's splashy, it's messy, and you can't screw it up."

"That last bit is my favorite," he said. He started helping out, and he had to admit, he was having fun.

Lars was a good teacher, and he was elbow deep in kneading pasta dough when lights flashed in the drive.

"Your company is here."

"Excellent. You keep it up. I'm gonna run out and meet them."

"Them?" He'd noticed that little slip.

"Well, I know for sure that it's Jake and the baby. It wouldn't surprise me at all to hear that he picked up another couple on the way."

Butterflies filled his stomach. He wasn't sure if he was ready to meet more than just one or two people. And there was a baby. What kind of baby? Well, it had to be a dragon baby, didn't it?

But somehow his intuition started to twitch. Samuel wrapped the pasta dough in cling wrap like Lars had told him to, and then he just sort of stood there, waiting, his hands covered in flour.

Lars came back inside, leading a man who had a baby strapped to his chest. And that seemed to be their only guest. There wasn't anyone else.

Samuel stared, because the man was stunningly beautiful. He had dark hair and coppery brown eyes that looked almost metallic in the kitchen light. He was broad-shouldered and incredibly masculine and just…glorious. Samuel knew he was staring, but he couldn't stop.

"Samuel, this is Jake Lothe. Jake, this is Samuel. We're all going to have dinner together. Samuel's been helping me make pasta. I know you like pasta." Lars seemed perfectly at ease. Unlike him.

Jake just sort of stared at him. Then nodded, though he didn't look particularly thrilled. And Samuel wasn't sure what to do in this situation when someone was rather rude. He was used to the very formal manners of a wing being observed at all times.

"Is there anything else you wanted me to do?" he asked Lars, and Lars shook his head.

"No, sweetie. We're just going to have to wait for half an hour for the dough to rest."

He nodded and then scrambled off to wash his hands, feeling completely and utterly unsure of himself.

"Who the hell is that?" he heard Jake growl. "What is he doing here?"

"He's looking for information about his sister, Susan, who passed away. They just found out about the passing. I suggest you be kind, or I shall be very put out." Samuel had never heard Lars sound quite so stern. Then again, he hadn't known Lars for very long, and he'd never given Lars a reason to be stern. "Are we clear, dear?"

"What are you on about?"

The baby began to cry, tearing at Samuel's heartstrings.

"Now now, little one. All is well." Lars sounded so calm.

"How can everything be well?"

Samuel stepped back into the room where they all stood and said, "I assume that this means you knew my sister Susan. I don't know what happened, but I heard there was a baby and I'm here to help."

Wait, those weren't the words that were supposed to come out of his mouth. He was here to take the baby. He was here to take the baby home.

"I don't need any help," Jake snapped.

Samuel stood taller, drawing all of the haughtiness and surety that he had learned from his parents. "Pardon me? Perhaps the baby does. My sister's child."

"This is my child," the man shot back, and the earth beneath the house began to shudder. "You're not welcome here."

"What?"

"You are not welcome here." The shaking became more pronounced.

Samuel glanced at Lars, who seemed utterly panicked. He wasn't prepared for this. Not yet. But he would be.

Samuel shifted, his form sleek and made of almost pure light. He streaked out of the door, taking off toward the mountains, so that he could plan.

He wasn't prepared for this yet, but he would be, and then there would be no more arguing about who was welcome where.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Lars snapped, getting right up in Jake's face. "That was my houseguest, not yours."

"Why? Why on earth would you let him in the wing!" Jake had taken just about all he was going to take from the whole fucking wing. "He was here for my kid!"

"No." Lars poked his chest. "You heard him. He was here to help. Do you really think he wants to take a baby back to that dreadful place?"

"What dreadful place?" Jake felt as if he was being smacked around by the gods. His head hurt, and he made shushing noises, bouncing Grant while he avoided Lars's poking finger. Damn, that hurt.

"His wing, of course. Why do you think Susan left? It sounds incredibly unfun. Hidebound. Setting the dragon world back a hundred years single-handedly. And now you've scared him off into the snow."

Jake gaped at Lars. "What the hell, man? Why am I the bad guy here?" He was just reeling a little. "I mean, I didn't intend to run him off, but?—"

"But you did." Lars sighed. "I really ought to go find him before he gets hurt."

Jake blinked. There was a random dragon loose inside the wing. "Shit. He can't just be wandering around out there."

"No. No, he might get hurt." Lars shook his head. "I'm disappointed."

"Disappointed!" Jake roared it, trying not to let Grant get utterly freaked out. "How do you think I feel? Everyone just assumes I know what I'm doing, so no one will tell me anything! I'm not on the damn Facebook groups or whatever! I'm supposed to be a guardian, but I get in trouble if I try to go guard things!"

He was so tired of feeling like he was fumbling in the dark.

Lars just stared at him, blinked. Then stared some more. "Feel better?"

"Not really."

"No? Good, because I don't either. It's not like there's a training program." Lars shook his head. "We're just making do. We do the best we can."

That wasn't the answer he was looking for, to be honest. He wanted sympathy, empathy, answers, something.

"If we'd known that something was going to happen to Susan and Jolie, if we'd had any idea about the baby needing you full time, no one would have asked you to be a guardian, but it's not like we can just take the responsibility from you. After all, Jason is leaving, which means that we'd have to find two, and that takes time."

"Take the responsibility. What the fuck? Nobody said I wasn't going to do it. I said I needed help." All he wanted was someone to guide him on what he was supposed to do and let him know he was doing a decent job of it, for fuck's sake.

A huge whomp rang in his ears—the unmistakable sound of another dragon landing.

Logan.

It had to be Logan.

Lars always called Logan.

Just like he would have called Jolie.

Fuck, he was mad.

"So what? You had to call in reinforcements?" All his pain and fury lived in his words.

"Excuse me?" Lars's eyes flashed, the gray going pure silver. "I don't believe you remember quite who you're speaking to."

He didn't have any reason to allow his dragon to surge to the forefront, but it sure tried. "I'm speaking to the man who brought a stranger into our homes and allowed him out into the wing. Someone that we didn't know, and who acts as if he is free to roam about. Like he belongs."

Grant began to cry, and Lars reached for him. Jake snarled, teeth snapping. "Don't touch him."

"Get out." There was a flash of lightning, a blinding crack outside that sounded so vast that the entire world stopped for a moment. "You are not welcome in my house."

A sudden ice wrapped around his heart as Grant sobbed.

The door opened, and there stood Logan, the huge alpha dragon almost glowing gold. "Enough!" Pure silence landed in the room. "Enough, brother. Don't do something that you would regret because your feelings are hurt. And you?" Logan's golden gaze landed on Jake. "Do not disrespect my brother or his home."

"Fine." Jake grabbed Grant's little chair, allowing anger to pour through him. "Don't touch my child, and you keep all of these strangers away from him. If you don't, then I will, and if Lars isn't capable of telling when others are dangerous, maybe he ought to step down!"

"Get out!" Another flash of lightning hit the ground, ozone making him nauseated.

"Stop!" The utter command in Logan's voice stopped them both still, and even the baby quit crying. Logan glanced at Lars. "Please go get our wing's guest and bring him back. Also extend my apologies."

Then that hard gaze turned to Jake. "You and I are going to have a talk."

Logan went over to little Grant, taking the chair from Jake's boneless grip. One finger came to rest on Grant's forehead. "Rest, baby doll. Everything will be all right. Uncle Logan has this."

Grant's eyes closed, the little body relaxing with a hum.

He desperately wanted to ask why Logan could do this to his son and the son of a bitch couldn't manage it with his twins, but he figured Logan might just burn him to a crisp.

Some things weren't worth trying, no matter what the temptation.

Instead, he inclined his head as Lars left the room. "What would you like to talk about, Logan?"

"Sit down, Jake." Logan waved at the kitchen table.

Jake sat, putting Grant down. "I'm not going to apologize."

"To me? No, you don't owe me one." Logan raised one golden brow. "But Lars is pretty peeved." Logan sat opposite him.

"I don't understand why it's okay that he brought that dragon into the wing?" Jake raised his hands to shoulder level, then sort of flailed with them.

"That's because for the first time, you perceive someone as a threat. People have been coming and going from the wing ever since you moved up as guardian."

"Are you kidding? That little dragon is no threat to me." Even as he said it, something in his brain whispered that it was a lie. Something about his sister's mate's brother made him itch.

"Not physically, perhaps, but he has a claim to Grant, and that has to make you a little nuts."

"I don't want him here." That sounded so petty, and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"How do you know? He's decided he wants to stay and help. Why not let him and see how it goes?"

"I cannot fucking believe this," he growled, not really sure how this was happening. "I cannot believe that my son's safety means so little to you. That you would bring him into this situation with a stranger without even considering his well- being, just assuming that he is going to be fine, that Susan didn't leave for a reason?"

Logan's response was whip quick and left the air singed. "Is that a challenge?"

"What?"

"I said, is that a challenge? Are you suggesting for one second I do not care for the most vulnerable in our wing? Are you suggesting for a moment that I would allow one of our children to be harmed?" Logan's gaze was deadly still, but those eyes weren't gold, not anymore.

They blazed a bright red, the flames licking inside them, and Jake could feel the heat coming off of them. "If you are, then I suggest that we immediately call the council of the guardians together and we hold a quorum."

That calm was terrifying, because Jake was smart enough to understand what it meant. He'd overstepped. And he offended Logan, who was the best dragon that he knew.

He shook his head.

"No. Of course not. I'm hurt, and I'm confused and angry. I'm also sorry. That was stupid. I just… I just don't understand why we're allowing him in, why you're welcoming him. He wants to take Grant."

"He's been tasked by the other wing to help raise Grant, as far as I'm concerned, at any rate." Logan sat, staring at him. "By our laws, that wing has equal claim to Grant, and as far as I see it, we have a few choices. We can welcome this Samuel into our wing and allow him to become one of us. He would have access to Grant and be able to help you. Thereby fulfilling the law. Alternatively, we can agree to share time. But that does mean fifty-fifty. You have had Grant for a year. Are you willing to give him up for a year now? Or say you keep him for six years. Are you willing to keep him until he's six, and then wait until he's twelve before you see him again?"

Jake stared over. "You're not serious."

"It is the law." Logan's lips twisted. "However. Samuel is here. Lars says he feels as if Samuel may not be happy at home and may be willing to stay here and help with Grant. So he raises Grant with you, you have an extra hand. We fulfilled our legal requirements, and Grant is here where he belongs."

Logan paused, looking at Jake. "Of course it's up to you. You can say no. It's also up to Samuel, who apparently has said ‘no' kind of clearly. And I don't know what you're going to do about apologizing to Lars."

"Oh gods."

"Indeed. Like I said, ball's in your court, man. We were trying to help."

"Why didn't somebody tell me?" He felt like he was just flailing out here without anyone giving advice. If they'd been telling him what he was supposed to do, what he needed to do, this wouldn't have happened.

"I'm sorry." Logan's words surprised him, but they sounded sincere. "Like I said, I assumed you understood what the laws were in this case."

"How could I?" How often did this happen? "I didn't understand anything. I'm not sure I understand anything right now."

But the one thing he did know was that he'd fucked up, and that he had to stop thinking with his anger and start using his common sense. He had to trust that the other guardians had his back. None of them had ever done anything hurtful to him. No one had ever suggested anything awful. Nothing like that.

And he'd treated Lars like an idiot.

"What do I need to do?"

"I think the smartest thing right this second is just to go to my house. If you would, keep an eye on Dakota, maybe snuggle a baby." Logan rolled his eyes. "They're very grumpy. I'll go find Lars and the new dragon, get them both back here, and then I'll come home, and we'll have a beer. Possibly a steak? In my office with the door closed because it's a very serious guardian-only meeting, fair?"

"Yes, fair. Very serious guardian-only meeting." He stood and held out one hand. "I was out of line. Forgive me."

"You were, but we are family, remember that. Forgiveness is yours. Always." Logan pulled him into a hard, warm hug.

And he wrapped his arms around his friend, squeezing tight in return. "Thank you."

"Yeah, thank me when I find Lars. You can come home and have that beer in my office with the door locked. That would be great."

"Sounds great." He breathed a sigh of relief. He thought, with Logan at least, that he was back on solid ground.

Now he just had to apologize to Lars. And to figure out what it was about this little omega from his sister's mate's wing that made him worry so much. Something about the whole situation just…made him itch.

It wasn't right.

Not at all.

By the time Lars found Samuel, he had allowed the mountain to fill him with ice and snow.

He would not be kind to this rude, classless person. He would not be warm and friendly. He wasn't sure what was wrong with his sister, but whatever it was, he did not approve.

His dragon met Lars's head-on. Not with violence or with anger, of course. But simply with the cold. Calm.

I'm sorry, Lars said. I never thought that he would say something like that. It was terribly rude.

Yes. He supposed it was to be expected. When can I arrange to see the child?

Oh now don't be like that. He's just very tired. He's trying to do all of this on his own, and he's a new guardian, and you showed up. It's all very complicated. Please try to understand.

I understand completely. I appreciate that you allowed me to come into your wing so that I could retrieve the baby. It was very kind of you, but it is obvious that he isn't interested in working with me.

Lars had told him wild, fantastical stories about how he could make a home here, and how this could be a friendly place for him.

Then he could see his nephew every day and help with his raising. He could help with the library here and make it his own.

Their librarian was eager to retire, Lars had told him, and there was going to be a place for him, but it all had been a lie.

This was not a place for him.

He didn't feel Lars was consciously trying to harm him, but obviously these people did not understand him.

And that hurt. Because for a moment, he had thought maybe?—

He tamped all of those feelings into a box tight inside of him.

No.

Ice. Cold. Simple. Strong.

Ice.

Well, no one can make any decisions in this cold. The weather's awful. It's getting late. Come on. Jake is gone. Just come to the house, we'll have a nice supper, and maybe we'll play a game. Just the two of us. Just two friends. No baloney, no politics.

That was incredibly tempting.

And these winds were ruffling his scales something awful.

Unlike Lars, who was oddly enough, the same color and hue that he was—the winds were ruffling him viciously. Where Lars was metallic and sleek and shiny with scales like coins that seemed to tinkle as he moved, his scales were softer, almost feathery, and white. Not in the least metallic. In fact, his scales were made of light.

Everywhere he went, he glowed, which really explained how Lars found him almost immediately. He was sort of a come-shoot-me-now kind of dragon.

There's tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches , Lars tempted. And we still have that huge chocolate cake. And there's whipped cream. We could just… We could just be friends. Have a slumber party.

He'd never had a slumber party.

Can we have movies and popcorn late?

Lars beamed him. Of course we can. Are you kidding? Popcorn and movies are my favorite.

All right, one night. But then tomorrow, I have to… I have to make a plan.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow is a perfect time to make a plan. Come on, follow me. We'll go home. It'll be great.

Samuel nodded, willing to do that.

Also I have to tell you. You are spectacular. All that light is so pretty .

Samuel preened a little bit. No one had ever said that to him before, either. Thank you. Let's go.

He could manage this. One night. A single great memory.

And then tomorrow Samuel would go and speak to that awful, mean dragon and inform him that he was not going to raise that baby to be mean too.

So there.