The Second Covenant

I took the baby back to the kitchen and Molly’s mother took him from me to sit and feed him his bottle. His greedy slurping was a sweet sound. Molly smiled softly where she was very carefully melting down the chocolate, adding the cream every so often, for our chocolate cream pie. It must be so hard for her. I stood next to her and mixed the pumpkin pie up, spread the good smelling stuff in an empty pie shell. It seemed like much longer, but by one in the afternoon, we were done cooking, or most everything was in the oven or waiting to be in the oven. We went to my mothers sitting room, in the back of the house, away from the roaring of the men and we put our feet up to watch a marathon of Dexter re-runs. “I love this show, it is so morbidly fascinating.” Janet told us, and juggled Max.

It was the one where a nurse was drugging Dexter’s foster father. His first kill. We were half into the show when Druex, Mr. Evers, Mike, and my father strolled in. “Hi honey.” My mom said distractedly, avidly intent on the TV show. “Sorry to bug you girls, Sara, where’s my turkey?”
“Garage fridge, it’s stripped and ready to go. Think it’ll be done in six hours?”
“Yes ma’am.”

Dad left, but Mike and Druex stayed to watch our show. I shifted so Druex could slide down behind me on the chaise I’d claimed. He watched the show with us, behaving himself. “How can you watch this? it’ll give you nightmares.” I turned and kissed his jaw. “Or ideas.” I whispered and he laughed. “Better be joking.” I bumped him with my nose. “Maybe. Shush.”

We watched until my mother’s watch went off and it was time to rotate things in the oven. Mike had baby Max lying on his tummy, in the seam of his closed legs. Mike was patting the baby’s back gently, a rhythmic thump, thump that drew a he-uge burp out of the kid. It made everybody laugh. Mike grinned proudly. “Good one Max.” He said and the baby kicked his feet with a squeal. He kept on squealing until Dax poked his head in and frowned at the baby. Janet was bouncing him and Molly was sitting on a couch, nibbling on her fingernail nervously. “He’s just fussy.” Janet assured Dax but the big wolf prowled across the room and asked to try.

As soon as Dax took the small human child, he stopped screaming, grabbed two tiny fist full’s of Dax’s t-shirt, pulled his feet up so he looked like a little frog in his green romper and went back to sleep. Janet blinked from Dax to Molly and Molly just swallowed thickly. “Well, he sure knows who he wants to sleep on.” Mike said and Dax did another of those blast your socks off smiles. “I’ve been a pillow before. I’ve got lots of younger brothers and sisters.” Druex nodded his agreement. “Hordes. He’s good big brother.”

Dax picked the most un-girly chair in the room and sprawled down in it. “What are you watching?” He asked and Aunt Kate answered. “Dexter re-runs.” Dax perked up his brows. “Love that show.” Druex sighed behind me, wearily. “Bloodthirsty savage.” he muttered and I elbowed him gently. “Just cause you can’t take the gore…”
“Makes me less of a woman than you.” He finished and Aunt Paige laughed. “So Dax, is that your full name?” Mike asked and Dax shook his head. “Daxos, mom likes Greek history. We’re all Trengereid’s, cousins.” He pointed at Druex. “And that wimp is one year younger than me.” Really? And yet Druex was the more powerful? The one Dax took bullets for? Why?
“Just because I don’t like watching people get dismembered and frozen in ice blocks, does not make me a wimp.” Druex said with a glare for his cousin. Janet smiled at Druex but Dax went on. “No, it’s the fainting at the sight of blood that makes you a wimp.”
Druex grumbled an impossible suggestion under his breath but sighed. “I was six for crying out loud. And the bone in your leg was poking out of the skin.” I felt him shudder. “He broke it trying to fly off the garage roof.”

My mom came back with a tray of snacks, carrot sticks, cucumber, celery, little tomatoes, bread, mayo and cream cheese, sprouts or lettuce for little finger sandwiches. Dax made a face. “Gross, girl food.” I threw a tomato with deadly accuracy at his forehead. “You’re in the girl room, what’d you expect?” I shook my head at him witheringly and made myself a sandwich. Wheat bread, cream cheese, sprouts, cucumbers and the thicker, sun-dried tomatoes I loved. “What the hell is that?” Druex asked behind me and I bit into the yummy food. “Delicious.”

I cut it in half and let him eat off the bit I’d already had. He made a face. “That’s actually pretty good. Dax cover the kid’s ears so I can shout for Donovan.” Lisa rolled her eyes. “Men, there is an intercom system in this mausoleum.” She pushed the button by the door and it beeped. “Yes ladies?” Riley drawled. “Have Donovan come back to the solar hon.”
“Yes mommy dearest.”
“You’d better hope a wire hanger is all I take to your backside.”
“Mom!”

She chuckled and flipped of the intercom. “Gets him every time.” She sighed. Donovan appeared shortly and I held out the sandwich to him. “Perhaps I can entice you to have this on the café menu.” He lifted a brow, lips quirking slightly as he took the half and bit in. He frowned pensively while he chewed. “Mm-hm. Maybe some salt, watercress, but it’s good.” He batted his lashes at me. “Make me one?” I laughed but made him a sandwich. “How’s the fight going?” Mike wanted to know and Donovan shrugged. “The last preliminary fight is almost over…” There was a loud cry of disbelief from the men’s side of the house. “It IS over,” Donovan amended, “And the main show should start any minute.”

Mike kissed his wife’s cheek. “Girls gonna survive in here on that green stuff?” Molly laughed as I showed her how to make the cream cheese concoction. “Yeah dad, we’ll manage somehow.” He cleared his throat. “Then I’m off.” He left and I half expected Druex to leave, but he was quite content to be my pillow. As Dax was very content to have a three month old baby sleeping on him. “So Dax, how many is a horde, of siblings?” Janet asked.

Janet seemed to be a natural in social situations, Molly was not. Understandably but Dax was noticing something off, I only hoped he didn’t ask me things I couldn’t tell him. “Ten at last count. My father has remarried a few times.” Tactful. “And do you work with Druex?” Paige asked, the other moms were very curious about how my wolves all cohabitated as dominants. “I’m security, Daire too.”
“Family business is usually rather…dramatic.” Lisa said carefully and Druex laughed behind me. “You have no idea. But we manage. I separated Declan and Donovan, their twins,” He told Janet. “And everything is an argument there. Declan’s on the bar downstairs and Donovan takes KP up in the café. Dominic is the DJ, and Daire is at the front checking ID’s with Dax. And I handle all the complaints.” He said with a plastic smile.
“And you can’t forget Cherish, she pulled beer like a pro on opening night.” My mother said dryly. I just smiled and ate my little sammy. “She made almost three hundred in tips too.” Druex informed her. “She’s good for business.” I snorted but shifted and snuggled my side along Druex’s stomach. Only I heard the low rumble of his growl, the rubbing of his beast along mine affectionately.

One by one, the cousins came in and asked for a special Cherish style sandwich. “Going to the Dark side.” Dax said disparagingly, and patted Max’s little butt with his big hand gently. “I’ll protect you, not one sprout will ever come near your mouth.” He told the snoozing baby, and there was a little flicker of interest in Molly’s eyes. Then I just started making the sandwiches in bulk, so that when the rest of them men came in, all I had to do was tell them to take the plate.

Molly snagged one last sandwich, waving it at Dax temptingly. “Sure you don’t want to try it?” He shook his head and she shrugged, nipping off a corner and licking the bit of cream cheese off the corner of her lips. I hid my smile by turning my face to Druex’s shirt. Dax was not watching the show like everyone else. He was watching Molly. It was almost comical.

Until I saw the flash of raw, protective need in Dax’s eyes. I felt the roll of his beast, his frustration, wondering how to approach Molly without spooking her more than she already was. I thought the baby was a big step. Dax looked over at me, through hooded eyes and I nodded solemnly. I might not understand what was going on yet, but it mattered to Dax, so I’d try to help.

We heard the minor explosion and everyone jumped. Except Dax, who was bunched and ready to spring, but had his hands covering Max. He stood up slowly and handed the boy to Molly. “What was that?” She said and took Max, standing almost instinctively into the reassuring strength and shelter of Dax’s body. “We’ll find out. Stay here okay?” Molly didn’t flinch away when Dax rubbed his hand back and forth over her shoulders. Before anyone could even leave the room, Tristan was in the doorway with a sheepish look in his face. “It’s fine, everything’s fine. The um, smoker blew up.” Followed by Riley’s arrival.

He grinned at my mom. “Sorry Aunt Sara, there’s turkey all over the back of the house, guts and everything. It was awesome.” His mother glared at him and he swallowed that grin. “So um, Dad’s going to the store for some steak.” He cleared his throat and waved as he left. Lisa sighed and shared a look with Paige and Kate. “They did it.” She said, but I was still watching Dax rubbing Molly’s shoulders, she’d half turned into him, I don’t know if she realized it or not, but her mother did and the fearful hope I saw in her expression made me lean on Druex. He put his lips to my ear. “You okay?” I shook my head. “Later.” I murmured back. “They did what?” Janet asked and Molly seemed to realize what she was doing. What Dax was doing, and he was the one to back off a little, still close to Molly, but giving her room to be comfortable.

Lisa looked at Janet and grinned. “Riley told us, when he was ten, he wanted to be a pyrotechnic expert. He took some serious chemistry classes and loves blowing things up. I’ll bet you he talked Tristan into helping him dose the smoker with some freaky explosive, just to see how high it would blow.” Janet laughed. “Are you serious?” Lisa gave a put upon sigh. “Unfortunately, my son is a bit to much like his father. I doubt he‘ll confess.” Janet made no move or had no alteration to her scent to tell me that affected her. But Molly paled a little and held Max closer to her chest.

I had to get out of there. “I’ll make him sing like a canary.” I said and blew the room a kiss. “RILEY GARWIN!” I shouted but the blonde was not in the house. He was outside, surveying the damage. “Hey Cherish, man look at how high that blew. I wonder how it happened.” But I saw right through that innocent look. “You psychotic pyro!” I accused and he scoffed. “Me? Sorry, I don’t do fire.” I glowered at him. “No, you do explosions. That was a birthday present.” He blinked at me. “The explosion?” My lips twitched, god he was good at that golden innocence in his tone. “Idiot, there’s a baby in my house.”

He did have a moment where he looked abashed. “Well, no harm no foul.” He said with a chipper grin. I glared at him hard and he almost waffled. “My chem teacher said sometimes additives get put in the wood chips, accidentally of course, and coupled with the charcoal and sulfur,” He made a exploding motion with his hands. “Go boom.” I poked him in the chest with my finger. “How are we going to play touch tag with turkey guts all over the yard?”

Riley gave an exaggerated wave of his arms. “What guts?” the grass was clean of any guts. The sneaky prick. “You’re buying my dad a new smoker. That was mean.” I said and put a little tremble to my bottom lip. He cracked like an egg. “Aw don’t do that Cherish, I didn’t mean to make it blow, it was an accident, honest.” I pounced on him and, mindful of my superior strength, tackled him over the deck and onto the grass. We rolled around, shrieking, laughing until for once, I pinned Riley. The guy was an eel, but I got him. “Alright, I’m a delinquent and I blow stuff up. I’ll replace it. Get off!” I laughed and got up. “Not exactly the method I thought you’d use hon, but effective.” Lisa said from the porch, along with most of the family.

I danced out of range of Riley’s long arms and did a spin of victory. “I got him. Ha, lost to a girl.” I jeered and Druex came down off the porch to toss me up over his shoulder. “Give the guy some shred of dignity, geeze Cherish, who taught you to wrestle?”
“We did.” Tristan said proudly, poking his finger in my ribs, right in the tickle spot. I screamed in laughter and wiggled hard enough that Druex had to grip my thrashing body with both arms. “And then she taught us Karate and some Kempo. She’s good. For a girl.”
“Put me down Druex, I’ll show him good.”
“No fighting until after dinner.” My mother said firmly and I sighed, pouting at her. “Aw mom, come on, just a little?”

No go. It was Dexter or nothing.