Chapter 1
Dorian.
“The dangerous beast crouched… waiting… the prey approached, innocent and unprepared for the inevitable… strike….”
I held back a laugh as I caught the whispered narration. The little monster had gotten obsessed with nature documentaries a few months ago and while it seemed innocent enough at first, the results spoke for themselves.
I kept moving but paused just before crossing the threshold to the next room and the pounce that should have taken out my knees ended with an indignant ten year old girl glaring at me from the floor. “HEY! You stopped!”
I scooped her up into a tight hug and chuckled. The feeling of my heart about to burst with joy would never get old and every time I looked at my mischievous daughter, brilliant son, or my miracle of a wife it became almost overwhelming. “The prey remains unprepared if they can’t hear you announcing your plans, Tessa. Make sure you’re only saying that in your head for a proper ambush.”
“You just have magic ears. I was being really quiet!” She huffed but returned the hug, dropping her head onto my shoulder in a painfully cute pout.
I smiled and rested my chin on her head. “It was a good ambush, though. Perfect aim.”
“Yeah?” I could hear the smile creeping back into her voice after the initial upset.
It wasn’t uncommon for her to try things like this and her victory dance if she took down ‘large prey’ was unquestionably one of the most adorable things I’d ever seen. Some time in the last few years she had decided she wanted to be scary but nice like her Dad.
I didn’t want to burst that particular bubble and I went to great pains to let her believe I really am nice. While I’d gotten a better grip on the asshole side of myself, she’d never seen the beast and I hoped she never would. It did concern me what she might step into if she followed too close in my footsteps but there was time to worry about that later. She was just a kid who was interpreting her hopes and dreams the best she could and it often left me confounded.
I still vividly remembered the night I went to tuck her in and found her sobbing into her pillow. I bit back the panic and held her until she’d calmed down enough to explain what was upsetting her. I’d been worried about bullies at school or an injury she hadn’t admitted to.
No.
Of fucking course not.
She was inconsolably tormented by the fact that no one thought she was terrifying. She’d tried to intimidate someone and they just called her cute.
It had taken every bit of my willpower not to laugh in that moment but the relief had been palpable. Solving that problem hadn’t been easy, though. Some fake fangs from a costume store and a shopping trip with Macy had helped right until Cecelia got home and saw the new wardrobe.
Apparently gothic and punk fashion was frowned upon for that age range. Macy was only a couple years older than that when she was dressing that way so I didn’t see the harm but she wouldn’t budge on the issue.
Compromises had been necessary and I’d had to talk to Tessa about disguises and camouflage. That had been the start of the nature documentaries. It made it possible for her to see all kinds of cute animals that were secretly dangerous. She was excited about her natural camouflage after that and only wore the counterculture outfits when she needed a boost of confidence on the weekends or while home.
Reluctantly, I set her back on the ground and questioned the plan again as she darted off. I wasn’t ready.
“When do you have to leave?” The quiet, calm voice of our son came from behind me and I damn near jumped out of my skin. As hard as Tessa tried, Paul was a significantly better stalker. He’d learned to walk silently by the time he was six simply because he didn’t like the way the floor creaked in the old apartment.
I missed that old place but it got too crowded and we’d had to surrender it in favor of a larger house in the suburbs. No one was more thrilled than Porthos since Cecilia had managed to arrange for him and Mithura to move in next door. That was a mixed blessing to say the least.
“Soon.” I admitted, smirking as I heard a yelp and Cecelia shout over cackling laughter.
“QUINTESSA TEMPERANCE DEGASTE how many times have I told you to stop ambushing people?! Let Porthos up!”
“It’s only a few days, right?” Paul pressed quietly. It was hard to read the level of concern. This kid would be a formidable poker player some day. He looked every bit as angelic as his mother with blonde hair and eyes the color of the ocean but he was dangerously observant.
I’m absolutely not fucking ready to be away that long. “It’ll be fine. Just a few days and we’ll be back.”
We’d never been away from the kids for so long. This could be up to five days depending on how the job went. I was hoping we’d be able to wrap it up and get home by the third day but Cecilia had pointed out some unquestionable benefits of a five day cruise with the privacy that might offer. There hadn’t been much of that since the kids were born. I couldn’t argue a potential honeymoon since we hadn’t had time for one after our second round of marriage started.
Surely Porthos could handle five days?
Paul nodded and glanced in the direction of the slowly fading laughter. “I’m sure Big Bro can handle it.”
Now and then I worried the kid was a psychic or otherwise able to read minds because he hit it on the nose way too often.
We’d given up on correcting Porthos’ claims of being their Big Brother early on. He acted the part with unwavering enthusiasm and somehow never complained when Tessa decided he was the prey to be hunted for the day. He had earned his place as an honorary family member by the time both kids were walking.
I followed Paul into the living room where Tessa did her unapologetic victory dance while Porthos remained on the floor playing a corpse and giggling. With the curly blonde hair she was probably pretending he was a sheep.
Cecilia gave me an exasperated smile. “I think I have everything we need. Anything else we should be able to pick up along the way.”
“Maybe we should double check.” I suggested, tempted to find reasons to miss the boat. The job paid well, though, and there were missing people to locate.
“Help me carry everything to the car.” She suggested with a smile and if she kept swinging her hips like that I’d follow her anywhere.
