CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Long moments later, after Ray had gotten a handle on his emotions somewhat, they broke apart. Josh’s eyes were wet, too, and his smile was just as shaky as Ray’s. It looked like his son was just as uncomfortable with the mushy stuff, as Evie would call it, as Ray was.
“Your magic is really wild and free, isn’t it?” Ray observed, shaking his head as his grin became steadier.
“It was even worse before,” Josh admitted, also seeming to regain some of his composure as time rolled on. “Deena has been a huge help there.”
“Your mother tells me the fey magic just came upon you suddenly a few months back. I’m sorrier than I can say that you had to deal with that all on your own. It must’ve been quite the surprise.”
“Yeah, you could say that.” Josh shot a teasing look at his mother. “Especially considering Mom never mentioned that my father was fey.”
“She what?” Ray looked at Evie, truly surprised.
“I, uh…” Evie began, looking a bit sheepish—which was hard for a werewolf. “I found it really difficult to talk about you, Ray.”
Ray’s heart contracted a bit, realizing the depth of the pain his absence must have caused her. Had she been so deep in grief that she couldn’t even tell their son about his father?
When he considered the fact that many shifters didn’t survive the loss of a mate, he guessed he shouldn’t have been surprised. In fact, Evie had done remarkably well to raise their son all on her own and continue to live her life—even when she thought her mate was gone from this world.
He knew that many shifters chose to follow their mates into death, regardless of the circumstances or who they left behind. If Evie had chosen that route, not only might Josh never have been born, but Ray wouldn’t have been on the other side of the veil, waiting for her. He’d been trapped in faerie, not dead.
Something deep inside Evie had known that he wasn’t really dead all along. Some instinct had kept her alive and allowed their son to be born and grow into a formidable man.
Ray drew Evie close once again and hugged her to his side. “It’s okay, Evie. I understand.” He would forgive her anything. Absolutely anything. All that mattered was that they were together again now. The past was over, as she’d said. Now was all that mattered.
“I didn’t,” Josh admitted. “Not really.” He looked significantly at Deena. “Not until I found my own mate and realized what it must’ve cost you to even think about my father.” He was talking directly to his mother now, with Ray and Deena as witnesses. “I get it, Mom. I do.”
Tears were running down Evie’s cheeks as she left Ray’s side to hug their son. Josh was a head taller than his mother, his bulk making Evie look small and delicate by contrast. That their son was a behemoth like his father warmed Ray’s heart, though he would’ve been happy no matter what Josh looked like. The fact that Ray had a child of any kind was still sort of mind-blowing.
Ray watched mother and son, thinking again about how much he’d missed. He glanced over at Deena and found her watching him with compassion in her sparkling eyes. She had a kind spirit that shone clear in her aura. A woman of immense power, she was also one with a generous heart. Josh had been blessed with such a mate, and Ray looked forward to getting to know his new daughter-in-law better as time marched on. If the Goddess allowed.
Though, after so many years away from his family, he prayed the Mother of All would see fit to let him be here for them now. He’d missed so much.
“Shall we go back to the house? It’s warmer inside,” Deena invited as Josh and Evie broke apart.
“It’s balmy here compared to where we just left,” Ray assured her, glad to leave the emotional stuff behind for a few minutes and think about more mundane things.
Evie walked with Josh as they headed back toward the farmhouse. She understood that it would take time for father and son to be comfortable around one another. It was both painful and joyful to watch them trying to figure out where they stood with each other so early in this new relationship. She’d always wanted Josh to know his father but had never really thought it possible.
This—seeing them together, finally—was a dream come true for Evie. She sent a little prayer skyward that their relationship would only improve and grow deeper the longer they knew each other.
Deena told Ray about the farm as they approached the big white house. Evie could feel the joy in the structure. Some houses just felt happy, and this one definitely had that vibe going on. Due, she was sure, to the happy couple who now lived there.
The fact that Josh had, in essence, moved to Pennsylvania permanently to be with his mate was something Evie was still trying to sort out in her own mind. She understood why it would be much harder for Deena to relocate than Josh. It only made sense that Josh be the one to change locations. Deena was, after all, a priestess given watch over a sacred site.
The standing stones they had just left might not be as tall or impressive as the monoliths in North Dakota, but they were every bit as powerful and needful of protection. Deena watched over these stones as Fred was the caretaker of the striped stone circle in his territory. Such caretakers didn’t just up and move when the mood struck them.
Also, Deena had to be near the stones and within the safety of the borders and wards of her farm because of her link with the Goddess. She was a strong priestess with a special gift that needed to be protected, which is why she didn’t get out much, and couldn’t stray far from her home.
The fact that Sir Duncan had been coming to the farm to train Josh in the ways of Knighthood was telling. If such a powerful and important personage as a fey Knight of the Light was adjusting his schedule to be in rural Pennsylvania, then Deena’s need to be here trumped the usual arrangement of the student traveling to meet the teacher and not vice versa.
The house welcomed them as it had the first time Evie had seen it. She imagined that the house that had been mostly empty until now was rejoicing in all the new people and relationships under its protective roof. If homes had a personality—which Evie believed they did—this one was definitely happy. And getting happier with each new person it sheltered under its roof.
There were still a few days until the Winter Solstice, which meant that Evie and Ray still had a day or two with Josh and Deena before Deena’s relatives started arriving to celebrate the holiday with her. That was another telling thing. Deena’s family traveled to her—and apparently did so all the time. Evie hadn’t once heard Deena talk about going to visit her family. Only of them coming to see her.
“I can introduce you to the animals tomorrow, if you like,” Deena told Ray. “They’re as much part of my family as the rest of the tribe that’s due to arrive in a couple of days. I hope you won’t be overwhelmed by them.” Deena laughed, and Evie noticed Ray looking slightly uncomfortable.
She’d always known him to be a social animal, but he’d been out of circulation for a long time. Evie supposed Ray would take a bit of time to get used to being around people again, but luckily, the members of Deena’s family were well acquainted with magic and the need for secrecy.
They also knew about fey. After all, Deena’s great-grandmother many times over was fey.
“Isn’t your great-grandmother coming for the holiday?” Evie asked. She hadn’t wanted to pry for particulars before, but now that Ray was back, it seemed less rude somehow to ask for more detail.
Deena shrugged as she invited them to sit by gesturing toward the couch in the large living room. “I’m never sure if she’ll be able to make it or not, but she said she’d try. She wants to meet Josh.”
Deena’s smile for Josh was full of love, and Evie was happy to see it. She knew her son was fully committed to the young priestess, and it was good to know that, even if Deena wasn’t were and therefore might not feel the same deep bond that Evie and Josh felt when their wolves saw their mates, Deena was nonetheless deeply in love with Josh. It shone in her eyes and her words every time she spoke of Josh, which warmed Evie’s heart.
Evie sat on the couch, Ray beside her. She took his hand and placed their entwined fingers on his knee. “I only ask because I was wondering if Ray would have some fey company or if he’d be the odd man out.”
“Oh! Don’t worry about that. My family is all half-fey, and some manifest the fey magic more than others. There are a few married-in shifters and human mages, of course, but all my blood relations carry fey magic. You won’t stand out too much, Sir Rayburne.”
“Just Ray, please, or Dad, if you prefer.” Ray gave a quirky smile as he seemed to try out the term. “I’ll have to get used to that, but I really do like the sound of it,” he mused.
“I suspect Duncan will be along tomorrow or the next day,” Josh put in after a moment’s silence had passed, charged with emotion on Ray’s part. “He had something to do in New York but promised he’d be back as soon as he could,” Josh told Ray.
“That’s good,” Ray said. “I’d enjoy a chance to talk more with him. Everything has changed so much since I was last here. It’s good to have a few touchstones to remind me that I’m not a stranger in a strange land.” Ray squeezed Evie’s hand and smiled at her.
“Everything else may change,” she whispered to him, leaning in to kiss his cheek, “but my love remains constant.”
He returned her kiss with one of his own. “Same here,” he told her before withdrawing. “But let’s not embarrass the younger generation.” He chuckled, and they all laughed.
They ate together as a family that night. Deena had prepared a delicious meal, which Josh helped with by firing up what looked like a new grill on the back porch. Werewolves were carnivores, and Evie was glad of the rare steaks her son grilled for them, though Deena didn’t partake, and Ray only ate a human-sized portion.
Evie and Ray shared the guest room that night, and she was happy to have access to her suitcases once again. Finally, she could get to her new clothes—not the discards she’d relegated to the cabin. They’d have to do some shopping for Ray, but for now, he was getting by with Josh’s old stuff that had been at the cabin.
The next morning, Evie slept in. Ray was long gone by the time she woke up, and after a quick shower and change into one of the nice outfits she’d brought for her trip, she went to look for him. She found him in the farmyard with Josh, doing some kind of martial art with sticks in their hands.
No. Not sticks. Swords. Sticks that represented swords, at least. They weren’t practicing with live steel or the magical glowing swords Evie had seen Ray wield during the battle, but she recognized some of the moves. Ray was teaching Josh a sword form in slow motion.
Evie just stood quietly and watched the moment of bonding between father and son.
Until a car drove up the gravel driveway.
As the dust cloud blew away, a man emerged from the sleek silver car. It was Duncan, Knight of the Light and brother in arms to Ray, and now Josh. Evie held her breath, wondering what would happen next.