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“Just rumors,” Zander said. “Aaron, Apollonius, and Mordecai are on it. If the group is still experimenting with skinning humans, they’re doing it so no one finds the bodies.”
“Which is what they should’ve done from the beginning,” Kendra said, “but it’s good they didn’t, so we have an idea of what they’re up to.”
“Marco will be here shortly,” Zander said, “He may know more than we do, since he’s local to Aaron and Nathan, but I’m betting Nick is kept up to date by his king.”
“He is,” Nick told them, “but it never hurts to check in with others to be certain.”
“I miss having Aaron close at hand,” Zander said. “We’ve lived in the same city so long, it’s hard not having him next door.”
“They bought the land your house was on and expanded their home,” Lauren told them. “Nine kids in one house is a lot.”
“I think I might miss seeing the kids grow up as much as I miss my friend. He’s wanted kids for so long, and I’m so damned happy for him.”
“Me too,” Kendra said, and she looked at Gavin. “Speaking of kids, how are you going to feel about the possibility of your lion one day giving Lauren kids?”
Lauren wasn’t surprised Kendra was poking her nose in where it didn’t belong, but she didn’t mind. She also knew what Gavin would tell the other vampire, because the threesome had talked about it. Raising a puppy together had brought up all kinds of conversations she hadn’t expected.
“Lauren wants kids eventually,” Gavin told Kendra. “We’ve talked about it, and I’m looking forward to pampering Lauren and taking care of her while she’s pregnant, and then raising kids with her and Nick. We’ve done fine with Dandy; I think we’ll be okay with little lion shifters running around.”
“Wow. Gavin as a dad?” Kendra said. “I’m still shocked just watching you with the dog.”
“Dandy,” Gavin said, “I need a hug.”
Dandy came to him, jumped up so his feet were on the arms of Gavin’s chair, put one foot on Gavin’s shoulder, then the other foot on his other shoulder, and leaned in. Gavin put his arms around the dog, nuzzled his cheek into Dandy’s face, and softly said, “Thanks, buddy. You’re thebestboy. Yes you are.”
Dandy gave a soft woof, jumped down, curled up at Gavin’s feet, and Gavin looked to Kendra. “He’s part of my family. I don’t know any better way to explain it.”
“I’m truly happy for you. Shocked all the way to my toenails, but happy for you.”
He grinned at her, because he knew how to make her happy in a completely different way. “I have a wolf in my dungeon who gets tortured every second or third day. Want a go at him?” Jason brought in close to ten thousand dollars a week, and Dax only rented him out in three-hour sessions, every couple of days. The rest of his time, he was a slave to Dax, crawling around like the dog he was, begging for food scraps, pissing and shitting in the same yard area they’d created on the roof for Dandy to potty in. Jason turned into quite the pet, and Dax, who’d once been known as Vlad the Impaler, was a harsh master.
Gavin had already cleared it with him so the wolf would be available for Gavin to offer him to Kendra for free.
Kendra’s smile went from ear to ear and even creeped Gavin out a little. He never wanted to give this particular vampire a reason to want to torture him.
“Is this the wolf who threw Lauren off the roof? I’dloveto have a go at him.”
* * * *
Nick dove into the pool and sliced through the water towards Lauren, who could swim underwater for hours if she wanted, with the help of her axolotl.
Lauren was playing with Aaron and Sophia’s triplets, while the baby swanlings swam around the pool in their swan forms. Truth be told, they were easier to manage as swans than toddlers.
Little Emmie, now a budding teenager, did a round-off back-handspring off the diving board, and a few minutes later, Lauren followed with a round-off and then a full flip in the air before she cleanly dove into the water. Sapphire jumped high into the air, tucked, and did a forward flip and a half to land in a dive, and Hunter followed with a cannonball that turned the water into a wave pool.
“Enough,” Sophia told them, and she pointed at Lauren. “You’re old enough to know better than to encourage them.”
Lauren laughed and pointed to the swanlings, happily riding the waves. “They’re fine, Aunt Sophia, but we’ll chill.” She turned to the triplets. “We have a court marked for volleyball and half-court basketball, or ya’ll can ride the go-karts a few blocks away.” She looked at Aaron, their father. “Assuming you go with them, of course. Also, we can provide a convertible sixties boat-of-a-car, so you can drive them up and down the strip, while ya’ll are out exploring.”
Thirty minutes later, the kids and their father were gone with the triplets and the sextuplets, now in human form and fully dressed, along with Cora and the nanny to help wrangle them all, and their personal security guards to make sure everyone was safe. They were likely safe with just Aaron and Cora, but Lauren understood they would be focused on the kids and not their surroundings.
Sophia, relaxed on a float in the pool, accepted a slushie margarita from Lauren once they were gone. “Thank you. I adore my kids, but a few hours in a pool without them feels a bit like a vacation. They aresoexcited about the fireworks tonight. Thanks so much for inviting us.”
Lauren levitated up and onto another float, and sipped her strawberry daiquiri. “I’m glad you came, and I can’tbelievehow big the kids are getting.”
“I know,” Lauren’s mom agreed, and told Sophia, “you’ll blink three times and the next thing you know, your daughter will be in a threesome with a vampire and a lion, inviting you to spend the Fourth with her in her Vegas home.”
Sophia’s eyes grew wide at the thought, and she shook her head. “Aaron just might kill any vampire who dares look at any of our kids as a bed partner, so that part isn’t going to happen, but I can remember when Lauren wasn’t much older than the triplets, and it doesn’t seem that long ago.”
