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Secretly, I might enjoy some of the crazy, but when my best friend springs a Christmas gathering on me with only a few days’ notice, I kind of want to murder her.
My kids are missing. Okay, maybe that’s a bit dramatic. It’s not as if I’ve lost them. They’re adults by fae standards now, but they’re not answering my calls and I have no clue if I’ll find them before we need to leave.
We don’t really do holidays around here, so Christmas wasn’t on our radar until my human-born wolf shifter of a best friend Cait decided to make a big to-do out of this one.
“Finnigan!” I yell across the house. “Have you found your demon spawn?”
He teleports in front of me, earning himself a punch to the stomach, which he unsurprisingly avoids. He’s used to my aggressive ways. I think it’s become a game for him over the years.
“Ourbeautiful children, you mean?” he says with a grin, causing thin lines to form around his silver eyes. “Dominic and Raven are somewhere in Europe with their favorite uncle.”
Of course Victor DuPont would have kidnapped them. Though, what he’s done for my son is more appreciated than I typically express. Well, at least when it’s not an inconvenience to have him helping.
“We’re going to East Texas for a Christmas celebration,” I tell Finn, then tangle one hand in his dark blond hair and run the other one over his chest. “Is there any way you can get a hold of them and get them home?”
My mate frowns and tries to pull away, but I tighten my grip on his blue shirt. “Victor told my sister that he’d be offline, even for her, until Sunday.”
Son of a bitch. If my sister-in-law can’t even get a hold of her mate, there’s no way I’m getting to my kids.
“So, you’re telling me that we have to join our closest friends for a holiday they practically worship without proof of our accomplishments in hand?”
The others will all undoubtedly brag about their children. Theirs, who have mostly stuck close to home and been good little offspring. Unlike mine who disappear as often as possible.
Yes, I’m sour about having created, grown, birthed, and wiped the asses of my precious demon spawn only to be abandoned by them. But I get that right as their mother. Even if I know Dominic needs his freedom to figure out who he is.
With his unique wings, I know the struggles he faces. I had them myself. I just wish I was the person he went to. Instead, his Uncle Victor has been the go-to guy while I remain here at Fae Islands being all responsible and shit.
How is this my life?
Sometimes Raven stays behind, but I know she prefers to be with her brother, making sure he’s safe. It’s a bond I can’t be jealous of—one I wish I’d had growing up.
Finn’s hands squeeze my shoulders as he smiles at me. “I’m sure Cait and Roman will be glad to have us there, even if we can’t bring our grown kids for physical proof that we’ve done something with our lives besides make sure this entire realm hasn’t gone to hell again.”
I roll my eyes, because being diplomatic is my least favorite thing in this world.
“We need to leave tomorrow,” I tell him. “Do you think that’s going to be an issue?”
He reaches for the tablet on the dresser next to us and starts poking around the screen, making weird faces as he types. I don’t know how he keeps track of all that he does, but these islands would have crashed and burned without him long ago.
He finally sets the tablet down and grins. “It’s all set. We can even leave today if you want.”
“I guess if we’re not waiting on the kids…” There’s warmer weather in East Texas this time of year, and it’s been a couple months since I’ve seen Cait.
Finn kisses the pout off my face. “Pack a bag, Lucy. Forget about your worries. Dom and Raven are safe with Victor. Let’s go have some fun with our friends. It’s been too long.”
He’s right, but my worries are about my children. Forgetting about them? Well, that’s impossible.
“Do you really think Dom is safe?” I ask. It’s a conversation we don’t often discuss, but one that is never far from my mind.
Our son has white feathered wings. Wings that had never been seen before his birth. At least that we’ve found over the years. He still hasn’t shown an affinity for a certain power, yet he can do all the normal fae things like flying, teleporting, and conjuring our own kind of magic.
One would think that not having an affinity appear like the rest of us feathered fae would be good, but I sense something within him. Buried deep, as if Dom is keeping it trapped, afraid of what will happen once it’s unleashed.
“He’s going to be fine,” Finn promises me for the millionth time. “Maybe we’re all stressing for no reason. Maybe the lack of color in his wings is a good thing.”
My optimistic mate. I want to believe him, but that isn’t happening. Not right now.
“Let’s go before I change my mind and we end up in Europe tracking down our kids instead,” I say, then turn for the closet to grab a bag. Before I start packing clothes, I swivel back toward Finn, and a wicked grin rises on my face. “I’m bringing the reindeer thong. I hope you’ll…rise to the occasion.”
