Reconciliation by Lisa Oliver
Chapter Twenty
Seth knew he had one thing going for him as he translocated himself and Luka to Ra’s new home in Montana – the fact that Ra had mated an alpha wolf, and Luka was an omega. Back in the days when omegas were common, before the Fates intervened, the alpha wolves fell into two camps – those that hated omegas because they were considered weak, and those whose protective instincts flared around someone they deemed needing attention. Based on how Ra’s wolf reacted around Luka the last time they met, Seth had to believe he was in the protective category.
That was Seth’s ace in the hole. Luka couldn’t be persuaded that Ra didn’t give a shit, but Seth knew. He’d stood by his father more centuries than he could count, and while Ra was ninety nine percent pleasant and easy to be around, the god just did not care enough to make a stand about anything. Except his mates, an annoying thought would not be silenced but Seth preferred to believe Ra fought him, over his mates, because he was showing off for the wolf and vamp. Ra would already have known he would win because his power levels were the highest in the pantheon.
He refused to feel nervous, and Seth was damn sure he wasn’t going to share his agitation with his mate. He deposited them right outside of Ra’s front door and knocked loudly. Inside he could hear a baby crying. Aziza.
“That little miss doesn’t sound happy,” Luka said, looking around. “Perhaps we should’ve called first.”
Seth was just about to answer when the door flew open and a demented looking vampire answered the door. His hair was a mess, his eyes were red rimmed, and there were claws scratching the immaculate wood on the door.
“Praise the Fates,” the vamp panted. “You, you’re a doctor, yes? I’m sure Ra said you were. He wanted to call you. Please. She hasn’t stopped crying in three days. Come in. Come in.”
Seth quirked his eyebrow and rubbed a hand over his chin, but Luka had no hesitation, following the vampire inside. He’s got no sense of self preservation. But there was a hint of pride Seth couldn’t ignore. Ra needs my mate.
Following more slowly, because it was impossible for a child of a god to be seriously ill, Seth wandered in, looking around, his eyes getting wider as he followed his mate. There were bags strewn across the hall as if a grocery delivery had been interrupted. Going into the living room, Seth was shocked to see piles of clothes on the floor, what looked like a bin full of used diapers against the coffee table, and brightly colored toys of all descriptions scattered all over the furniture and rugs. Ra was famous for being ordered in all things.
But the biggest change was in the man himself. Ra was pale, his hair looked as if it hadn’t been washed in a week and his clothes were rumpled. He was cuddling a bundle – at least the blanket covering her was clean, but fuck, Seth had never seen Ra look so awful.
“I don’t know how you knew we needed you but thank you so much for coming.” Ra was close to tears and that shocked Seth more than anything else. “We’re at our wits end. She’s fed and clean, and… I don’t know what to do.”
“When was the last time you ate, slept or showered?” Luka hurried over to the couch, holding out his hands. Ra was reluctant, Seth could tell, but he handed over Aziza, wrapping his arm around his middle as the vampire wrapped himself around Ra.
“Oh, you poor little beauty,” Luka crooned. “Look at you getting yourself all upset and agitated. Let’s get you out of this blanket, shall we? Oh, yes, you’re so hot and flushed.” He quickly managed to get the blanket out from around the baby, without dropping her, which Seth thought was amazing.
“Seth, babe, can you zap me up a cool washcloth, please?” Luka moved Aziza up onto his shoulder and was gently rubbing her back. “She’s gotten far too hot for a start, and no one can relax when that happens.”
“Where’s your wolf?” Seth asked, as he clicked up a cloth, handing it to his mate. “Shouldn’t he be helping?”
“Arvyn?” Ra shook his head even as he watched Luka like a hawk. “Kirill forced him to go for a run in his wolf form. The screaming was so hard on his ears and nothing we were doing was working. He won’t be far away.”
Aziza’s crying had turned more into soft hiccup sobs and Luka was gently bathing her flushed face. “The room is plenty warm enough,” Luka said keeping his voice low and calm. “Aziza doesn’t need the blanket if you keep the house steady at this temperature.”
“I thought being swaddled was soothing for babies,” Kirill said gruffly.
“It is, or perhaps I should say it can be,” Luka agreed. Aziza gave a loud burp and then nuzzled her head into Luka’s neck. Luka handed the cloth back to Seth, who flicked it into the ether. “Some babies hate it and feel too confined.”
“What’s wrong with her?” Ra rubbed at his face and tried to smooth back his hair. “I mean it’s great, you’ve stopped her crying, but how long will that last? Why was she crying in the first place?”
“There’s nothing wrong with her that a decent sleep won’t cure.” Luka was gently swaying to music only he could hear. “I am guessing she started crying, for whatever reason, and then she retained some air in her guts which will make any baby cry harder – burping her after feeding is so important. Then… look, you did nothing wrong, but seriously, when was the last time you slept, ate, or had a shower?”
“I don’t remember?” Ra looked up at Kirill. “I ate, was it yesterday?”
“None of us have slept for at least forty-eight hours, although I imagine Arvyn has fallen asleep in the grounds.” Kirill sighed. “I never realized how precious silence was. Gods, it’s incredible.”
“There is a possibility your sweet Aziza is starting to cut her first tooth, although it is a little early. But then I guess with small godly persons they don’t fit the development norms.” Luka’s smile was soft as he scrunched his head to the side to watch Aziza’s sleeping face.
“Wind, being too hot, surely that’s not enough to keep her crying all this time? Even when she was completely exhausted, she was still whimpering and then she’d wake herself up wailing again.”
“She was picking up on your mood,” Luka said simply. “You were upset and so she was too. It’s a common problem with babies.”
“And that will be why she’s fallen asleep on you.” Ra looked ready to cry again. “You’re not agitated or worried sick that something’s wrong with her.”
Seth could see Ra and Kirill were completely shattered – brought down by an infant. But he wasn’t mean enough to mention it. Instead, he said, “Seeing as Aziza is asleep, why don’t you two go and shower, eat, and get a few hours sleep. Luka and I…” Fuck, I can’t believe I’m offering this. “Luka and I will tidy things up a bit and look after Aziza for you.”
“I couldn’t…” Ra started to say, but Kirill stood up, and pulled Ra off the couch.
“Your generosity won’t be forgotten,” Kirill said formally. He even bowed – slight, but a definite sign of respect. “Please let Arvyn know we’re in the bedroom if he comes in.”
Seth nodded. Luka had taken Ra’s seat, still rubbing Aziza’s back. Seth waited until Kirill and Ra disappeared down the hallway and then immediately waved his hand, putting the living room back to rights. Tiny clothes, now clean and folded on the coffee table, the bucket of diapers relegated to the laundry. Another wave of his hand and a roast meal appeared in the oven, kept on a low temperature so it would stay warm. Somewhere in the depths of the house, Seth could hear water running and figured the two disheveled dads were taking advantage of time to shower.
“Why didn’t Ra just use his powers to clean the house and get them food, etcetera?” Luka asked. “I gotta say, after last time, I didn’t expect to walk into this.”
“Ra hasn’t had to cope with many emergencies, nor has he had many situations where he’s so emotionally invested in a conflicting situation. He may have worried about using magic around the baby…”
“That’s a good point.” Luka patted the seat beside him and eyeing his sister warily, Seth sat down as carefully as he could. “It might also be a mating thing. Maybe Ra didn’t want to make his mates feel bad if he did stuff with magic, when they couldn’t.”
“You don’t feel like that, do you?” Shit, did Seth have something else to worry about? But Luka laughed.
“I love that you can do magic. My life has never been so cruisy, and you spoil me beautifully. The only power I wish I could have, and believe me, I know how ironic it sounds seeing as it still makes me dizzy, is the power to translocate. That’s purely because then I wouldn’t have to wait for you to rescue me next time Osiris gets bored.”
Seth looked at the soft mass of black hair on Aziza’s head. There was something so trusting about a sleeping baby. Her little fists were curled in Luka’s shirt, her face looking less like a demon and more like a sweet child. “I hate that it’s my fault Osiris is fixated on you. But he seriously couldn’t stand it if I had anything that he didn’t have.”
“People too?” Luka shuffled around until he was leaning on Seth’s shoulder. “He’s your older brother, isn’t he?”
“Yes, and he’s always thought he was better than the rest of us.” Seth sighed, but somehow with the crackle of the fire the only sound in the room, and the smell of roast filling the air and giving it a comforting feel, he found himself wanting to say more. “There were four of us originally – me and Osiris, Isis and Nephthys. Osiris and Isis paired up as was the way of royals at the time and so Nephthys and I were paired as well. Things were fine for the longest time, but Osiris always wanted Nephthys, even though Isis was devoted to him. He got her eventually, but only because Nephthys wanted a child, and I felt our relationship was too frosty to bed her.”
“Osiris seems inclined to bed anyone willing.” Luka snuggled in closer, and Seth found his hand resting on Aziza’s shoulder.
“He was, and while he stuck to women of the court, I wasn’t concerned. People always say it was because he slept with Nephthys that I killed him, for the want of a better word. It was his interference in my relationship with Malacai that pissed me off.”
“Was Malacai the wolf you loved?” Luka looked up and smiled. “Tell me about him. I bet he was special.”
Seth hesitated. He hadn’t mentioned Malacai to anyone in centuries. But he could sense Luka wasn’t concerned, just encouraging him to share a happy memory. “Malacai stood out, I suppose,” Seth said slowly. “Most shifters at the time were in packs, but Malacai was running his own boat along the Nile. He stood out from everyone. Big, strong, and with a laugh you could hear a mile away.”
He looked down to see Luka still smiling. “The men and women at the court in those days were all trying to emulate Ra – decked out in jeweled robes, with head pieces and masses of jewels over their skin. Malacai wore the linen pants I favored, sandals and was barely ever seen with his chest covered.”
“Hot stuff.” Luka chuckled. “And good taste in pants, too. They’re so comfortable.”
“It was more than looks.” Seth looked over at the flames. “He was like the fire – fierce, strong, and so vibrant. He never took anything seriously… not even me.”
“Here, you need a baby to hold,” Luka said suddenly, and before Seth knew what happened, Aziza was lying on his arm, Luka curled around his side. “Keep going.”
“We were together for years. Damn, the fights we’d have.” Seth chuckled, softly stroking Aziza’s chubby arm. “He never believed in being tied down, and sometimes he’d just disappear for days, and then turn up like things were fine between us. It was hard for me, but I got used to it over time…” Seth trailed off. “I truly believed we’d be together forever.”
“Did he find his fated mate?”
“Yeah, in a way.” Seth nodded, biting his bottom lip. “He… er… he never was into fidelity but he knew how important it was to me. So, I guess he had his flings, but he never encouraged anyone around me. I… I guessed at one point he had someone. He wasn’t happy anymore, and anytime I tried to get close to him, he’d have some excuse. The fights got worse. I didn’t know. I didn’t know about fated mates then. It was only after…”
Seth wasn’t sure he could go on. But there was something about Luka’s calmness, the softness of the baby in his arms… “About six months after our last fight, I was grieving, sure he would come back, but you know, getting that horrible pit in my stomach as each day passed with no word. Osiris was at the palace, really getting on my nerves. He said I needed to get laid, and I said something about how I was waiting on Malacai to get back. He laughed; the fucking bastard laughed at me.”
“Did he know Malacai?”
“Intimately, so he took great pains to tell me in excruciating detail. But you know, I would’ve accepted that too even though it gutted me at the time. I could’ve accepted anything if Malacai had just come back – I loved him so much, he was my life and Osiris knew it. But it was Osiris who told me he’d never come back to me. After that final fight, Malacai had crossed paths with Osiris again and apparently trusted him enough to break down and cry in his arms, knowing he would have to leave me as he’d met his mate. He didn’t know how to tell me because apparently he truly did love me too. Instead of offering him comfort, Osiris spelled him, violated him, and then sent him to his mate’s pack before dawn broke. And that’s why I fucking killed him.”
Luka gasped, but it was the “Oh, Seth, I wish you’d told me,” coming from the door that had Seth looking up. Ra was standing there, his face white.
