Tristan

Chaos leans her head against Arlo’s bicep, and from this angle, he can’t see that she’s crying. I don’t want to call her on it, and if the others notice, none of them have mentioned it either. It aches deep in my chest when I see her cry. A place that didn’t even exist before Wilder came into our lives, and the other six were born.

I thought I’d be shitty at this, given what a raging asshole my father was. I didn’t know what being a good father even looked like. Thankfully, I have ten other men to help me figure it out.

Moon’s father, Arlo’s, and even Fenrick’s dads were alright examples as well. Arlo’s dad most of all. That man fucking adores Arlo and his grandchildren. We spent several months in the Orc realm so the kids could get to know them.

I wonder if my kids even know what a wonderful thing it is that they have so much family surrounding them.

Not just Moon and their other fathers, but all the rest of them too.

There's Moon’s Grams, Mom and Dad. Kili, Crow, and Warrior’s sister Evie. Daire’s sister. Fen’s dad. And then Arlo’s dad, and our mother. On the outside, that might not sound like a lot, but when you grew up alone, it’s a fucking stampede.

A crowd, really.

Chaos stops crying and gets herself together quickly, but all through dinner I can tell she’s upset. She keeps glancing between all of her fathers and Moon with this heartbroken look in her eyes.

I can’t take it.

“So, my little miscreants…did your mom tell you we’ll be visiting your fourth weekend at the Academy? There’s going to be a family day. I hear there’s a talent show. What are you six going to do as a talent? Yodel?” I wiggle my brows at them, and Chaos sits up straight as a board in her chair.

“Please no,” she begs, eyes wide. “You’re messing with us, right? Not about visiting, but the talent show? Please tell me you’re fucking with us.”

“Yes, Chaos. He’s just fucking with you,” Moonlight sighs, shooting me a stern mom look. I shrug. It worked. Chaos is no longer looking between the twelve of us like we’re all going to die tonight or something.

“Rude.” She glares daggers at me but smiles. I wink back, as is our way. I antagonize them, and they can focus on something other than whatever’s happening in their heads.

“No, I think she’s wrong. The email must have mentioned a talent show.” I shrug.

“There was no email,” Moon huffs.

“Ah, my mistake then. Anyway, who wants cake?” I stand, wiggling my brows, before sprinting out of the room to retrieve the chocolate dessert.

When I return, Chaos is doing a happy dance in her seat when she sees the cake. It’s massive, so there’s plenty for all of us.

“Where did you get that?” Moon asks, and I pretend I’m zipping my lips. Honestly, I asked the palace chef to make it for the kids. I knew they’d love it.

They help me serve everyone, and when I take my first bite my eyes fall shut. “Okay, damn. This is good.” I glance over at Moon. She must see the look in my eyes, because she glares and shakes her head. As if that’ll stop me. “Totally gonna see what sides taste best with this.” I wink at her, and she pauses. The kids are all so distracted enjoying their cake that they pay me no mind.

Moon rolls her eyes and sticks her tongue out at me.

“Solid plan,” Crow leans in close to whisper.

“I know.”

Moon

I keep my eyes on my kids the entire day. From the moment I wake up, I’m going from room to room, just watching them. My parents stop by with Grams to say their goodbyes, and I have to leave so I don’t start sobbing.

I hate this. I tried to fucking kill people I know nothing about just to prevent this.

Am I the most stable? Probably not.

I wish I could pry the fucking truth out of my kid’s heads, but they’re locked down tighter than a bank vault. I’ve asked Love if her kids have said anything, but they’re just as stubborn as my kids are.

Frustrating little brats.

“Can I talk to you five, please?” I ask my boys once I catch them all together in Mayhem’s room.

“Always, Mom.” Havoc nods as he stands, offering me his seat, but I shake my head. I want to stay standing so I can see all of them.

“I love you. More than you can possibly understand. Each of you is like a piece of my soul, and one look at you makes my heart burst.” I smile, but keep going. I raised my boys to never shy away from feelings or emotions. “There isn’t anything I wouldn't do for each of you, but I swear on my life, if you don’t take care of yourselves and keep safe, I will have you locked up in a bubble.” I close my eyes, taking a deep breath. “Obviously, I won’t do that, but I just need you to understand that if anything happens to any of you seven, I won’t survive it, okay? So, please be smart. I beg you.”

“Mom, everything is going to be fine.” Wolf stands so he can hug me, and I fight like hell to hold my tears in. The last thing any of them needs is me crying like a baby in their arms.

“We love you too,” Stone adds, hugging me next. “We’ll be okay.”

“And if it’s not, we’ll just unleash Chaos in her Dragon form on them,” Mayhem teases when it’s his turn for a hug. I scoff because that's what got them into this situation.

“Or Havoc’s snakes,” Stone adds.

“I can always shift and chuck someone over a cliff,” Pierce says with a grin as he hugs me. I love all their hugs, but Pierce isn’t fully aware of his strength and always squeezes me a little too hard. It’s oddly very comforting.

“Mayhem could leave a shadow behind, and I could leave a few snakes?” Havoc asks as he stands closer, not hugging me just yet. I shake my head and hug him before he can protest my rejection.

“No. You should be at full strength.” Neither of them would admit that giving up a piece of themselves would weaken them, even if it wasn’t by a lot.

“I’ve got feathers to spare, you know I regenerate in ways Dad can’t,” Stone says, and I nod in understanding.

“Heart feathers are for mates and dire circumstances, Stone. Use the weaker feathers first, always. Promise me,” I demand, making him look me in the eyes.

“I promise.”

We take promises in this family very seriously.

“I love the absolute fuck out of you five. Be safe, be smart, and be kind.” I kiss each of their cheeks and step into the hall. When the door shuts behind me I let out the sob I’ve been holding in. It takes me a moment to get my shit together, and when I swipe the tears away, I look up to find Chaos staring right at me.

I gulp.

“I need to talk to you.”

“Okay.” I pull myself away from the wall and head to her bedroom. I remain quiet as I enter, refusing to look around the empty room. She packed everything she owned except the furniture.

The Academy is twenty-four consecutive months. I’m sure she’s already counting down the days before she’s free again.

I wait standing by her door, watching her take a seat on her empty bed. She pats the spot beside her without looking up at me. Her long dusty rose hair is gathered in a messy bun, little pieces falling into her face.

She’s so beautiful that it often steals my breath to look at her. I love her so fucking much, it rewires my fucking brain. Motherhood is so fucking hard and scary, but worth every second. Without thinking better of it, I pat my lap.

I use my other hand to pull her until she’s resting her head on my thigh. She hasn’t let me do this in three years. I won’t mention that now, though. Instead, I take her hair out of the bun and run my fingers through the soft strands.

“Sweet Girl will be going with you,” I murmur after a moment, and she gasps, twisting in my lap to look up at me. Her blue eyes are rimmed red as tears spill down her cheeks. Seeing her cry makes the instinct to fix, to help, to soothe, kick in. I don’t want her to be sad anymore.

“How the fuck did you get them to agree to that?” She stares at me.

I smile gently, moving her hair so I can keep running my fingers through it as we talk.

“I explained that the Mungus was not going to take no for an answer. I tried to explain the situation, and Sweet Girl stomped at me. I think we all know that means fuck your rules and fuck theirs twice as hard. You know, she’s been twice as sassy since becoming a mom? When we met, she was a lot less demanding,” I chuckle, and Chaos scoffs.

“I can’t imagine Sweet Girl any other way,” she murmurs, and I nod.

“French Fry is already with Wilder. He followed him three years ago. No one fucking told me for three days!” I shake my head. “Tried to get the little fucker back, but he tried to chomp my arm,” I sigh, and this time, Chaos giggles.

“Like mother, like daughter.” The words hang heavy in the air, and I nod. “I know you didn’t send him away. Dad told me,” she fesses up, and if I didn’t already know this, I might have been more suspicious of her wanting to talk to me to begin with.

“I know.”

“Wilder…did you know?”

“What he is? Yes.”

“Why doesn’t he shift? I’ve never seen him–”

“He might tell you one day, my love, but that’s not my story to tell, baby.” I caress her forehead, before running my fingers through her hair again. “He lived two years before joining us. Two years is a long time…”

“I wish he’d tell us. I wish he’d talk to us!” She rolls back onto her side, and the damp feeling on my thigh tells me she’s crying again. That, and the sniffles I can hear.

“Give him time, everything will work out in the end. You just need to be the kind, confident, and loving girl you’ve always been.”

“I don’t want to go.” Her whisper breaks my heart.

“I don’t want you to go either.”

Chaos

“We’ll be fine,” Wolf says, and I huff. Why does everyone keep saying that to me?

Because of the portal in my grandmother’s castle where we grew up located in the Fae Realm, we arrived here in seconds. Right on the front steps of hell.

I shake it off, heading up the stairs, carrying two of my bags. They’re heavy, but I don’t feel the weight. The fact that I’m half Dragon shifter makes it an easy task. Still, my brothers are each carrying an additional bag for me as well. Seven bags might be excessive, but if you ask me, the fact that my brothers brought one bag and a backpack each is insane. They left everything behind, and I…did not.

“Is that French Fry?” Havoc asks, and my head snaps up. I don’t spot the Mungus, who’s my age, and Sweet Girl’s son. My dad Kili named him after Sweet Girl’s number one pregnancy demand. French Fries from the human realm.

Sweet Girl is currently invisible, as is French Fry, but Havoc can see through their magic. My Dragon eyes can see them too, so I shift my eyes and watch as they reunite. Sweet girl charges French Fry, but stops just before him, looking over every inch of the smaller Mungus.

They’ve been separated for three years, but all I can think about is the fact that seeing French Fry can only mean one thing.

“No fucking way,” Mayhem snaps, and before he can charge forward and cause, well, mayhem…I grab his arm. He never uses his powers or strength against me outside of training, so it’s easy enough to pull him back.

“He made his choice. Clearly,” I say, as I try to hold back my tears. My throat aches, and I shake my head at Wilder. He’s leaning against a set of lockers, smiling and laughing with enemy number fucking one. That goddess-damned prince!

The second his eyes meet mine the smile is wiped off his face. He looks away. Those blue eyes that used to be so familiar are now the eyes of a traitor. My heart hurts.

The prince senses this and snaps his gaze up to meet mine. I glare right back. The urge to shift and roast the fucker is strong. Unfortunately, the riddles are harder to resist.

“What’s black, blue, and red all over? A man that’s deader than a four-leaf clover,” I hiss, making Havoc stupidly snort, turning away from Wilder to laugh at me.

“That makes no damn sense. That joke is about reading a newspaper…and four-leaf clovers are green,” My annoying little brother explains, as if I’m stupid.

“I will shift and literally bite your head off,” I threaten him, and he snorts again.

“Alright, big sis, calm down.” Havoc throws his hands up, backing away.

“You stay away from him or I’ll make your life hell,” the prince, Kalix, snaps from beside me. I was so busy threatening my brother that I didn’t notice the asshole approaching.

I lift my chin, meeting his intense glare toe to toe. If he wants a fight, he’s got one.

Kalix thinks he can take me on? I have two years to make him wish he’d never fucking met me.

“I’m already in hell, bitch. Bring it on.” With a flip of my long hair over my shoulder, I turn and walk away from the prince. “Welcome to Reform School, brothers. Let's fuck shit up.”