Page 78 of Home to the Hollow

Hell, I’m old enough to have watched supes evolve from literal and figurative witch hunts to where we are today.

The Society was started in the dark times—the purges—and has worked tirelessly to protect and care for those whose parents couldn’t or wouldn’t raise them as their own. Children of interspecies mating no longer suffer as they once did, but some supe communities are less progressive than others.

It’s easy to judge the parents who turn their progeny over to the Society, but if your choice is to be exterminated, shunned, or sent to a freak show, you’d be surprised how that changes perspective.

The other reason hybrids are sent to the enclaves to be adopted by childless supes is they’re abandoned. The official term is ‘enrolled’ if you ask, but some supes are so infamous or powerful that even the hint of a child with their powers mixed with another’s puts them on hit lists. Most hybrids only have two donors in their genetic or magical lineage, but occasionally, a third emerges. These kids are powerful and if a mother believes it’s a possibility, she might protect her child by keeping their heritage secret.

Yeah, some very naughty deities, high Fae or alpha shifters use the enclaves like a baby laundering service, especially if the kids aren’t a result of their mate bonds or marriages. Enter me; that’s how I started as a kid at Swallowtail. (Mind you, they’d barely opened it when I matriculated through, but I attended just the same.)

My mother and my unnamed father had a lovely brief affair and dumped me there as a toddler. I met my dear auntie later, but I’ve never had contact with my father’s side. Hell, I don’t even know who he is, save his species, but that alone tells me why my mother fell for him. Their powers compliment one another, and they had some lively encounters—much like the one I had this evening.

My Tíogair took off like a bat out of Hades once we came to, and I can’t say I blame her. The parts of her trying to claw their way through the suppression spell are getting stronger, and she seems to collect us like a miniature army as they push the bounds of the magic. Much like my favorite frenemy, Boone, I can only assume my lass has a complicated parentage once we peel the layers of her adoption away.

She’s not quite ready to hear that her dead parents weren’t her parents at all.

That’s an assumption, but it’s likely the truth. Her parents aren’t some penny ante wolf and wizard combo or even a mix of a rare supe and a common. There’s power lurking under that milky skin, and I’m going to find out everything I can to help protect her. I might even tap that insufferable self-sacrificing git that works at her school. Hugo’s kind doesn't reveal much because their powers are both a gift and curse to bear—one that has been forbidden from sharing their knowledge with anyone but one ancient one who spawned their line.

Fortunately for me, I have a bit of sway in that arena.

Sighing, I stomp the remnants of the smoke on the ground and inhale the scents of our couplings from earlier. I wish she’d been brave enough to stay, but I know the part of her that believes she’s human feels like she’s done something wrong. She had to process it and make amends to those she thought she’s betrayed. I could have told her she didn’t have to worry about it, but it would have involved things she’s not aware of.

Her boys will understand, and though it’ll be a helluva fun time figuring out how I fit into that dynamic, she won’t be disparaged for our playtime.

At least, she'd better not be. I’ll show her wee young-uns what it feels like to incur the wrath of a demigod.

That I can guarantee.

I Did A Bad Thing

The thundering of paws and a screech wake me as the entire cadre of animals comes bounding into the bedroom, trampling over us as the dogs chase the cats and the eagle swoops behind them with a scream of fury. Multiple boob crushing stomps force me to pry my eyes open, looking around with a grunt of anger. I’m about to howl with anger when another intruder comes crashing in.

“Holy feck, ye bloody fools, you’re going to wake up the entire…” Seer’s snicker is followed by snort, and within moments, she’s lost it.

This isnothow I wanted to start my morning.

“Seer!” I hiss-whisper. “What in the hell are you doing and when did you get back?” I pinch the bridge of my nose as she continues to cackle. Teddy shifts on my left, his face buried in my neck, and Prez grumbles something sleepy in my right ear. I don’t bother asking why she feels the need to come barging into my room without knocking all the time. The boys have begrudgingly gotten used to her doing it, and none of us are shy.

“I got back last night, and I came over to play with the kiddos. No one was up, so I did the food and exercise thing, but they were so hyped up when I opened the door…”

Uh-huh. Shedefinitelyunleashed the beasts, hoping they’d wake us all up. I know my friend better than that. “We don’t have a kitchen full of strangers, do we?”

Rolling her eyes, Seer shakes her long ponytails like an anime character. “No, Peanut. Julia and the guys are at my place. I don’t think we’re comfortable enough as a pair of polycules to wake up in the same place.”

Wolfie’s head pops up from under the cover when I groan. “If you’re going to make her sound like that, we’ll need an hour before we join you. And you, pumpkin, will need to evacuate the premises.”

My eyes open and I glare down at him. “I think she buried the lead here, my darling boy. She saidpairof polycules. Since when is she shacking up with the trio of doom versus letting them stink up her space?”

“Aw, sugarplum, I didn’t miss it. I think it’s cute. We’ve got groupies.”

His adorable smile defeats my dislike for the interlopers. Wolfie has known them for a long time, and he seems happy. I should be glad because it means Julia won’t be triggering my Trevor-based insecurities, right? But it also means those idiots aren’t going away soon, and they’ll move to monopolizing Seer.

Teddy leans in and nips my ear, proving once again that he has some sort of Vulcan mind meld with my insecurities. Every time I feel bothered or an old wound aches, he seems to know almost simultaneously that he should distract me. It’s freaky.

“Well, I suppose we are pretty fucking cool,” I mutter. Prez chuckles softly, his arm snaking across the puppy pile to pull us all closer. The warmth draws a soft sigh of satisfaction from me, and I feel all the sharp edges of irritation that were spiking inside of me fade.

“Ahem!”

Teddy lifts his head, propping himself up on one arm as he glares over at my bestie. “O’Flanagan, I’m going to count to five and if you aren’t gone by the time I finish, you’d better be okay with my bare ass. I have to piss, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to hold it while you act like a five-year-old.”

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