It’s a nightmare to deal with the fallouts of our own prejudices mixed with magical DNA.
“Why on earth did you think it’d be a good idea to bring a helpless infant into a circle of alphas?” I snap.
Emit groans as he devours yet another hamburger from one of the twenty bags he has.
Arion’s head falls back, and I can’t help but find it amusing that this psychotic son of a bitch is working so hard to keep his temper and frustration levels in check. His eyes haven’t even turned black yet.
Must be a nightmare for a bloodthirsty, murderous fiend such as himself.
I derive a lot of joy from that. Enough to make the headache bearable.
With his brow still drawn down in concentration, Damien says, “I’m still stuck on the part where he’s an impossible mix of a vampire and a shift—”
“I’ll believe anything at this point,” Emit interrupts, working on his next burger. “Was this pointless meeting about the kid? If so, I need to get back to Violet. I want to share a bed with her for something other than sex, so that she doesn’t misread my intentions. The omegas have filled her in by now, and I want to see what she has to say about it. Hopefully, they’ve sold her on it, because they’re damn good at silver linings and romanticism.”
“Cheater,” Damien mutters.
“Says the prick who tasked his desperate beta-prospect to get you laid,” Emit volleys.
“I thought I was making progress all on my own, before you assholes got jealous and interrupted our moment,” Damien adds on a bitter note.
Rolling my eyes, I pop more of the useless pills. This headache is growing more tedious by the second.
“Jasper isn’t the reason I’m here,” Arion says in distraction, as he reads something off his phone. To himself, he mutters, “Pacifier. Pacifier. What the bloody hell is a pacifier?”
Damien leans over, lifting the oddly shaped thing, and plugs it into the intimidated babe’s mouth. The child isn’t going to stop that wailing when he’s stuck in a room with alphas that painfully enlist his instincts to—
The crying ceases immediately, and the intriguing young thing actually stares up at Arion with wide, fearless eyes now that he’s been left content.
The wee lad got what he wanted.
“She’s spoiled the little crier. He apparently screams until you do what he says, and he hasn’t even learned to speak yet,” Emit states in observation.
My headache only marginally eases.
I’m not sure why we’re all staring at the baby like it’s going to burst into flames or something.
“It’s scary having this sort of responsibility. Anything at all—big or small—happens to that baby on our watch, and Violet will definitely be angry for many, many centuries, depending on the severity of the infraction,” Damien points out. “Take it back. It’s too much trouble.”
“The vampire is more nurturing than the fucking Morpheous. Why do I bother trying to make sense of things anymore? I think that’s the reason for the increasingly frequent migraines,” I confess on a tired sigh.
I massage my temples to punctuate the point, suppressing a groan.
“Fuck’s sake, Arion. Get him out of that contraption,” Emit growls as he goes to unstrap Jasper from the weird chest strappings. “Babies need connection when they’re held.”
The small lad almost disappears into the massive trunks Emit calls arms.
“The kid is going to suffocate between those rock walls you’re so proud of,” Damien gripes, as he goes to snatch the baby away, showing far more knowledge of proper care than any of us should know.
He even goes so far as to rattle off a few instructions about head, neck, and body support.
It’s a little eerie to find Arion’s eyes on me when I glance away from the weird sight of Emit and Damien arguing about who knows more about kids.
“I called this meeting, because we’re Pandora’s Box,” Arion states very randomly, eyes not leaving mine. “We’re all very fucking stupid.”
Emit and Damien cease arguing to arch an eyebrow at him. “And you thought that was the perfect thing to say right now because…?” I prompt, urging the vampire along so I can get everyone out of my house and get some rest.
Maybe I’ll sneak over to Sanctuary and see if Violet would be opposed to sharing a bed with me instead of the rough and jagged wolf. I’m not quite sure how to get out of trouble. Idun always chased me. I never did much chasing.
In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever had to chase a woman very much at all. Violet is impossibly taxing to a man with no practice in this department. I’m simply unsure how to proceed. I’ve reached a low level, because I’ve decided to go to Anna for advice, even though I should probably slay her instead of listening to anything that ludicrous ghost may spew.
“Pandora’s name wasn’t so famous back when Idun introduced her as her new best friend,” Damien points out in a confused tone. “We were there too. We know what magic we dabbled in. Hindsight is a wretched thing. Why bring it up at all?”
Arion flicks his gaze over to Jasper. “Violet started Sanctuary. It’s effectively drawn everyone’s attention. She’s an anomaly, and because she’s essentially getting her way about everything and shaking things up, unique creations, such as Jasper are popping up. I highly doubt he’s the first. He’s just the first who’s had a safe option of hiding out with a very accepting monster, who will take the lashings for an unknown, unregistered shifter, while making a mockery of Idun in front of the entire nation of immortals,” the vampire continues.