Kieran bent down, opening the bag wider, then reached in and, one by one, removed winter coats and sweaters before lifting the other baby nessies out of their warm nest. Within moments of gaining his freedom, Tobias soared up, shooting out small bursts of fire as he flew over the crowd watching him. Then, letting out a tiny roar, he landed on Angus’s shoulder.
Chuckling, Angus reached up and petted Tobias’ head, saying, “Ay, yer a strong lad, aren’t ye? A warriur, tae be sure.”
Chirping, Lukas shot upwards, flying over to Angus and landing on his other shoulder. Then, he ran with his long, forked tongue up Angus’s cheek before settling down contentedly, his bright green eyes sparkling in merriment.
“Yer the spittin’ image of yer da!” Angus said softly, running his finger down Lukas’ green scales. “Yer gonna be a grand nessie.”
Balancing on the edge of the travel bag, Georgias studied the area, looking for water, but finding none, he took off, gracefully flying around and through everyone standing around his fathers, before slowly descending onto Angus’ outstretched left arm. Then, looking at the Scottish Wolf, he piped up, “I’m Georgias.”
“Ay, guardian o’ the briney deep.”
“Ay, that’s me,” Georgias said, his sapphire scales shimmering in the firelight.
Christos waited until each of his brothers had found a spot on the Scottish Wolf before he flapped his wings and slowly lifted off the now empty bag. Taking his time, he flew high into the night sky until he had a bird’s-eye view of the gathering below him before gliding downward in ever smaller circles until he landed on Angus’s chest, his claws grabbing hold of the bare skin there.
Grunting, Angus wrapped his right arm around the rainbow-colored nessie, holding him tight. “Och, ye must be Christos! Me heard a fair bit aboot ye!”
Nodding, Christos curled up and closed his eyes, enjoying the heat radiating from Angus’ body.
“Well, that settles the question of whether our nessies like Angus,” Reif murmured.
“Did ye really hae any doots?” Angus asked, grinning.
“I didn’t,” Kieran said, giggling. “I knew they would love their Uncle Angus as soon as they saw you.”
“Me tae,” Brian said, and then seeing the drooping eyelids of his sons, added, “Shaman, it’s time fur the nessies tae get tae their beds.”
“Ay,” Angus said, standing still as Kieran carefully took a sleeping Christos from his arms, before handing the other nessies one by one to Brian and Reif. Once they were back in the warmth of the traveling bag, he lifted it up and said, “Come wi’ me…there’s wee cottages waitin’ fur everyone.”
~/~/~/~/~
After Angus had left them alone in a cozy cottage, Reif helped dress the baby nessies in the warm sweaters and coats and covered each of their heads with the knitted hats. Then, wrapping them up in their blankets, he tenderly placed each on a giant down pillow in front of the fire. “Do you think they’ll be warm enough?” he whispered to his mate, who was sitting on a small loveseat.
“Ay,” Brian murmured, “but I canna be wi’out ye.”
Grinning, Reif picked up the heavy quilt from the bed and handed it to his mate. Then, removing the dirk from its sheath, he sat down next to Brian, placing the knife on a small table next to his seat. Tucking the comforter around both of them, he leaned over, running his tongue over the sensitive spot behind Brian’s ear before kissing it. “Love you, Nessie…with my whole heart,” he crooned softly, before closing his eyes.
Brian choked up, and it took him a moment before he replied, his voice rough with emotion. “Ah, I love ye as well, ma sea dragon.” Turning his head slightly, Brian lightly kissed Reif’s cheek before adding, “Off tae sleep, ma brave warriur…the morn’ll come early.”
Chapter 18
Walking back to his study, Jackson was deep in thought, pondering the new information about Theo’s decision to go with the bounty hunter. That Theo had even thought about it was worrying, but he could understand what prompted him, based on what Smokey and Norm had said about their mate’s efforts to contact his parents.
“Hey Jackson, wait up,” Zane called.
Stopping, Jackson turned around and saw his brother jogging over to him. “How’s David?” he asked, noticing a frown on his brother’s face.
“My mate?” Zane repeated. “Fine, why?”
Shrugging, Jackson murmured, “Just wondering why you’re frowning.”
“Oh…that’s just frustration. I haven’t been able to track down any proof regarding the threat against Theo and Norm.”
“Unfortunately, it’s real.”
“Fucking hell!”
“Yeah…that’s why I called this meeting with you and Dylon. C’mon, he should be waiting for us in my study.”