“It’s coming together quickly,” Eduard said. His griffin was obviously pleased with the progress.
“Yeah,” Nick said. “Thanks for pulling strings for us.”
The shriek of a child’s laughter filled the air, as well as a fake roar from an adult. Nick grinned and looked that direction.
Eduard’s phone rang, and he sighed before stepping away from them to answer.
“There’s a lot going on all the time,” Nick said.
“Nick,” Sawyer said. “I wondered if you’d let my guardians do their thing. Andvari and Loch are security specialists. Henry, as you know, can assist with wards. But only if you’d like them to take a look.”
Nick crossed his arms over his chest. “Henry’d have to talk to Zaire first, but yeah. That’s fine. And I’d appreciate the look around by your sword guys. We don’t… I mean, I don’t exactly know what I’m doing with all this. Just instincts, you know?”
“The children are well secured,” Andvari said.
“Yeah, but more is better when you’re up against…” Nick waved his hand in the air and they all nodded. They were well aware of exactly what they were up against.
Sawyer feared thathewould come after Nick and the kids. He’d wanted their magic, and if he still wanted it, Sawyer wasn’t entirely sure all the wards in the world would stop him. It certainly hadn’t stopped him from getting to him.
“I’d like to see Zaire,” Henry said. “Can I borrow Saeward?”
“Of course,” Sawyer said.
Nick pointed the way and Henry jumped on Saeward’s back. They went down the main road to the large white house at the end.
“I can show Andvari and Loch around,” Keziah offered.
Andvari glanced his way, and Sawyer nodded.
Draco and Eduard would stay with him, and with Jedrek there, they could portal out quickly if they needed to.
They spent the next half hour with his brother showing off his pack. Sawyer couldn’t believe how at ease his brother was, especially being constantly surrounded by kids. Some of them were in their shifted form, lion and tiger cubs growling at Nick playfully, and then bounding away when he pretended to chase after them. Others were in their human form, running to show Nick some little thing they’d done or found. A little girl with a shiny rock. A boy with a small flower he carried so gently as to not destroy it.
He’d not seen this side of his brother before, at least not that he remembered. Nick had always looked out for him, but this tenderness hadn’t been there. Teenaged Nick had been haunted. Tormented by a past he didn’t remember. Angry at the world, even though he tried to hide it. He’d never treated them badly, but Sawyer’d known how much he was hurting. He’d tried so hard to help, but he couldn’t fight the demons locked away in his brother’s memories.
They completed a circle of the area, with Jedrek explaining their ideas to Eduard as they went. His mate made copious notes in his phone as they walked.
“We gotta have you guys over sometime so you can shift and show the cubs,” Nick said. “They’d get a kick out of a dragon and a griffin. And what was the big guy again?”
“Hippocamp.”
“I still don’t know what that is. Jed, remind me to look it up on the internet.”
“Yes, dear,” Jedrek said with a smirk.
Their discussion was interrupted once more by the ringing of Eduard’s cell phone. “Excuse me for a moment,” Eduard said. He stepped away and put the call to his ear.
Sawyer turned his attention back to Nick. “You’re doing an amazing job here. I’m really proud of you.”
Nick shrugged like it was no big deal and let out a yawn. “Think it’s nap time.” He grinned and gave Sawyer a hug, then started stripping out of his clothes.
“What the—”
“Just watch,” Jedrek said. He was grinning, too.
Nick shifted a moment later, and Sawyer saw his brother in lion form for the first time. It stole his breath. “Holy lion, Batman.”
Nick chuffed and sauntered forward until he butted his head into Sawyer’s chest.
