Page 58 of Manix
Finlo slapped his back. “Yours included.”
Seven frowned. “Mine especially.”
If I ever met Seven’s parents, I had a mental note to thank them for bringing such an amazing person into the world, and then I was going to junk punch them both.
I could hear the sound of voices and laughter from what seemed to be the back of the house. Finlo grinned at me, and I could tell he was happy to be here. I felt a little guilty then. It was because of me he’d been trapped up at the Pack house. He wrapped his long arm around my shoulders. “Come on, pretty girl. Let’s go meet the madness.”
Seven groaned, looking down at a wide-eyed Luisa. “Save me, Little Bit!”
She planted a big kiss on his cheek and I saw the surly Beta melt. Then she pointed at the house. “Hot dogs, please.”
Finlo laughed, ushering us all through the front door. Raiden had mentioned that they'd probably have hot dogs at the barbecue and she’d been insanely excited about these tubes of processed meat. It was a kid thing.
I barely had an opportunity to take in the beautiful foyer with its polished stone floors and high ceiling, as Finlo led us straight through and then out the back door. There must have been two dozen people back there, and every head turned toward us.
Selena quickly made her way over, her face alight with joy. Behind her was a younger woman who looked so much like her that she could only have been a daughter. Selena wrapped me up into a hug as soon as she was in grabbing distance. “Naja, it’s so good to see you. Thank you for coming!”
The other woman, however, made a beeline for Finlo. When she was close, instead of hugging him, she punched him in the pec. “Hey, Shithead, would it have killed you to pick up the phone and say, oh hey, I knocked up Raiden and found a pretty Omega who is way too good for me?” She turned to me. “I can already tell you are way too good for this ragtag bunch of assholes.”
Finlo held up both his hands. “Terra, it's not like you check in with me every time you and your mates get pregnant.” Terra hit him again, and he whined, “Mom, make her stop hitting me.”
Selena rolled her eyes at me. “Terra, stop hitting your brother.”
Terra crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, tell him to stop making false equivalencies. Me having another baby, and you finding the last damn female Omega and having the first male Omega pregnancy in a century are different goddamn levels of importance.” She smiled at me. “I’m Terra, by the way. Nice to meet you.”
I waved lightly, and Finlo rolled his eyes. “Sosorry I didn’t call my sister and inform her of my sex life, I’ll do better. Like this morning, Ellar gave me a blow—”
Selena snapped her fingers. “That’s quite enough from the both of you. Terra, have you met my new grand-cub, Luisa? She’s almost the same age as Leisel, maybe a year or so younger?”
Terra’s face morphed into one of pure joy when she saw Luisa in Seven’s arms. “Hey Sev,” she said to my grinning Beta, before looking down at Luisa. “Hello, Angel! You want to come and meet my baby, Leisel? She’s about your age, and likes fairies and brawling.”
I snorted, and Terra winked at me. Seven looked to me for permission, which I loved about him entirely, and when I nodded, he allowed Luisa to shift into the waiting arms of Terra. I didn’t know what it was about the Manix, or if her animal just knew she was safe now, but my baby had really come out of her shell these last few weeks.
You would never know of the rough start that she’d had, or the violence she’d witnessed. As Finlo pulled me along to meet more of his family, Seven reassuringly bringing up the rear, I realized that my shoulders weren’t tense anymore. I wasn’t coiled and ready to run or fight at any moment. I staggered a step at the realization that it wasn’t just Luisa who felt safe and happy here. I did too.
38
Finlo
Seeing Naja with my family did something to my chest. She talked with my brothers and brothers-in-laws easily. Terra was a whirlwind in herself and it was hard not to like her, but they got on like two peas in a pod once Naja relaxed around all the people. I hovered over her and Seven took up guard over near Luisa. My niece Leisel was basically a miniature version of Terra, but with a shorter fuse. She’d be brawling and throwing fists at the boys if they so much as insulted her Barbie, let alone her new friend Luisa. She was going to be a handful in her teenage years, and judging by the way Luisa hovered behind her, she was going to take our new cub with her into mischief.
I rested my hand gently on Naja’s hip and she leaned into me as she spoke to my brother Jock about gardening. Jock was the head horticulturist in town, employed by the Legion to keep the parks and gardens Pleasantville-perfect. He had a natural green thumb, and I was a little jealous that he could relate with her about one of her passions. I made a mental note to myself to look into planting a garden at the Pack house. Or maybe a glasshouse so she could still do something she enjoyed in the winter. Oh, or a solarium off the back of the house. Perfect.
I was mentally constructing plans, occasionally kissing the top of Naja’s head in case she forgot I was there, when the rest of my Pack walked in, plus Raiden’s dad. Their faces gave nothing away but when Gatlin met my eyes, he gave a slight nod. I let out a relieved breath, but I was guessing it hadn’t been as simple as a ‘Yeah, sure. Take down the wards and drain the Legion coffers of a hefty chunk of funds, son’ conversation.
The party died down again, everyone turning to look as Gatlin, Raiden and Ellar entered the party. No, scratch that—they were all looking at Raiden and his stomach.
My mother swooped to the rescue one more time. “Come in! It’s food time so you guys are right on schedule. Raiden, sweet child, look at you! You look absolutely the picture of contentment.” She wrapped her arms around him, whispering something in his ear that made him chuckle and blush a little. God knows what it was. She went and kissed Ellar and then Gatlin’s cheek too, and ushered them all over to where we were standing. Each of them came up and kissed our girl, and she smiled up at them softly, her cheeks flushed. I guess she probably wasn’t used to the idea of polyamorous relationships; it was probably awkward as hell in a group of strangers. But the Manix had been a polyamorous society by necessity for a century, and no one here would judge her for being with more than one of us. They would applaud it, especially being who she was.
A whirlwind of terror came barreling up from the garden. Leisel, with Luisa close behind her, was tearing through the crowd of legs. “Uncle Raiden!” Leisel screamed, and I winced. Yeah, Raiden was the favorite, even though I was her flesh and blood.
Raiden squatted down and caught the little girl, peppering her cheeks with kisses. “How's my girl?”
“I’m good. I have a new cousin. Have you met her? She’s great. She doesn’t talk much but that's okay because she's a bit younger than me and I can look after her.”
He scruffed her hair. “I’ve met Luisa. She’s staying with us up in the Pack house. She’s my other favoritest girl.”
Leisel frowned. “So I’m not your favorite anymore.”
