There was little drama for the rest of our walk through the car show. We had some cotton candy – well Alex ate most of it I did eat some. But it’s too sweet for me. The price for not eating sweets. But I had fun feeding my share to Alex. He didn’t seem to mind too much.
He stopped at a few more cars to chat about them. And those guys from before never bothered us. They actually saw us once in the crowd and high tailed it out of there. They didn’t look battered or bruised from a distance so Ant must not have beat them down too much. He was a scary big guy vampire or not.
As we walked towards the beach house hand in hand we could smell cooking – steaks on a grill. Both of our stomachs rumbled and we laughed. “I guess we should have eaten.”
“Fuck no – that’s steak. It might be Ryan cooking but he’s almost better than you.” Alex grinned at me.
Ryan stood at the grill by the pool putting another steak on the grill. He said, “Good you can take over.” He handed me the flipper. “Rider started cooking, but then he ran off into the bathroom.” He glanced at me, “Feeling alright?”
I shrugged. “Why are you looking at me?”
“You are the only human one among us.” And then he grinned at Alex. “How often you been sick?”
“Hardly ever, actually.”
“My point.” Ryan grinned.
Alex frowned. “Are you saying he’s more human than I am?”
Ant growled. “No, and yes.”
Ryan’s grin was wide. “You take all our strengths and weakness to an extreme. The Cesari skills are over to top. Your empathy is strong, you are reading people with ease. You heal extraordinarily fast, yet you get sick all the time.”
“Dorian said it was because even though Venatori don’t get sick, they carry it around and because I’m not exposed to it everyday like a human I get sick.”
“He is right, but you shouldn’t get sick Nox. You aren’t killed by nepenthe. So why do you catch the common cold, the stomach bug, and common regular human things?”
I shrugged. “I don’t have an answer.”
“Your strengths and weaknesses are exaggerations of the parts of you.”
“So a common cold could kill me?”
Ryan snickered. “Not now, but I expect that you’ll still get sick. And sooner than anyone else.”
“So I’m your gage to Rider’s plight?”
Alex snickered. “He could be pregnant.”
“Men in any world can’t do that.” I rolled my eyes.
“He’d be rich,” Alex said as he lifted the lid to the grill to look.
I pushed it back down, “You are letting all the heat out. If men could get pregnant there would be no doubt which of us would be carrying our children.”
Alex laughed. “Such a bottom.”
Ant groaned as I handed Ryan the flipper again. “I’m going to check on Rider.” Alex followed me inside.
I found my brother behind the bathroom door. He was puking his guts out. “Alex says you might be pregnant.”
Rider pulled the door open and stared at me incredulously. He had paled even more at my statement I was sure of it.
“It’s not possible,” I said and he relaxed but another wave of nausea passed over him and he didn’t hesitate to let it all go, drying heaving until it was done. “At least that I know of.”
“I hate you.” He growled at me. It wasn’t a human growl.
“Rider…”
He looked up at me with amber eyes. “Well fuck!” I grabbed my brother’s hand and pulled him along. “Don’t sick up all over the floor.”
I burst into the room with the other twin and he was curled up in a ball whimpering. Alex read my mind, “I’ll go find Fae. Anyone else?”
I shook my head. “No, just bring him back here. Matt, make sure everyone stays away, we don’t know what’s going to happen.”
“Nox. Tell me what’s going on.” Matt begged.
Alex looked at me with the same confusion. “They are transitioning.” I said.
“But they aren’t even twenty.” Matt countered but then he growled and his hand went to his face as he realized it was probably my fucking magic taking hold.
Alex chuckled, “Think before you speak.”
Matt sighed, “I’ll keep everyone else away.”
I nodded. Alex left to get Fae and I sat down with my brothers on the floor. They curled around each other instinctively. They were both in pain, but they both wanted to comfort the other. I wondered what that twin connection felt like. But I would never know that feeling – like I knew someone without trying.
Alex shut the door with Faelen scurrying past me and piling in with the other boys. His eyes were amber as he looked up at me. Their power was radiating to him, and he was already in the midst of the change. “It’s a bit early for them all to change now.” I said.
“Tomorrows the full moon.” Alex said. “What do you need me to do?”
“Watch them for now. Don’t sit too close we don’t want them to bite you.”
“They won’t bite me.” Alex said. “What are you doing?” He sad looking at me as I stared at the door.
I put a contain magic run on the door and a locking rune on the door knob. I hoped that would keep us all in and everyone else out in case of an accidental attack or mishap otherwise. I came back to Alex who was still staring at me, “You think that’s a good idea, locking us in here?”
“Like you said, they won’t hurt us.”
Faelen was almost already transformed into his wolf. He was syphoning off the twins power and soon they’d be in the agony of the change. “I can force them into wolf form now that the change has started.”
Alex looked at me and shrugged, “They want to know if it’ll hurt less?”
I looked at Faelen but he was mostly gone. Alex chuckled, “It’s harder to understand him in wolf form, but he feels less is better.”
I ran my fingers through Faelen’s fur and nodded, “Alright. Ask them if it’s okay?”
“They both agree.” Alex said. “How can I help?”
“Just come sit with us.” I said. And the five us were all nearly on top of each other, the boys were curled around each other on the floor. I put a hand on Laker’s hip and the other on Alex. He mimicked me with Rider and Faelen bridged them on the other side. It was an imperfect circle but the minute we were all touching the surge of magic coursed through my veins. Alex winched next to me and squeezed my leg as the magic poured through him too.
I didn’t have to pull hard to push the pack magic into my brothers. Rider resisted at first but then he seemed to realize that he could control it too and he pulled at the magic as well as pushed it at the rest of us.
Both of the boys screamed and I immediately let go of the pulsing magic but the magic surged instead of waned as Rider forced it through us all. I let out a low growl as my brothers transformed. Alex was squeezing my hand as he felt the imagery of my brother’s shifting in their heads. I could almost hear their agony, I think Alex was keeping it from me.
It felt like an eternity in the middle of bones popping and skin shifting. Fur pouring over their bodies. It was almost hypnotizing if it wasn’t so painful.
But only moments had passed before two very large wolves were shaking themselves off and rubbing against each other, and us including Faelen in there attentions too.
“You three need to hunt. We have to get you to Adrian so you can join them.”
Rider’s big black wolf shook his head.
Alex grinned, “He is so much more clear than Faelen, or even Laker. He says, run with you. And Steak – raw.”
“The last was an interpretation, all I saw was bloody dripping steaks hanging from a fork.” Alex laughed. Rider’s wolf pushed up against Alex and gave him a big slobbery lick then shook his head.
“He thinks that’s funny. Don’t need a translator for that one.”
Alex and I cuddled and petted our new furry members of our family. There was no going back to Colorado for them now. Not away from pack.
The Mind of Nox 