The Seasons

Chapter 24

“Slaine!” He groaned, stuffing his head under the pillow, trying to mute Jasper. “Slaine! Wake up. You’re late. Rex Superno is already here and Neo’s going to kill you.”

When he didn’t reply, Jasper yanked the blankets off of him. He thought it was Jasper, but Kevin was holding the sheets when he turned to glare at them. “Get your lazy ass up.”

Slaine glared at the mer-man. “I liked you better when you couldn’t talk.”

Jasper, Kevin and Atticus dragged him out of bed before shoving him into the bathroom. After showering and changing into a sweatshirt and some jeans, he surely thought they would have left, but he was proven wrong when he found the three sitting on the couch watching Scandal.

Jasper turned the TV off when he saw him, and his smile turned into a frown. “You’re not wearing that are you?”

He eyed their suits and scoffed. “I would rather choke then wear a suit.”

“You’re meeting the king of the supernatural creatures.”

“I don’t care.”

“He can’t change now,” Atticus said. “It’s late.”

Jasper groaned but ushered everyone out, and they made their way to The Seasons; the summer sun was shining down brightly at the end of June, and Slaine hated it. They stopped in front and eyed the sign lit by the purple neon lights, which said ‘closed for personal reasons’. Slaine ignored it and went inside to see the room quieten at their appearance.

Slaine’s eyes landed on Rex Superno, and his undead heart skipped a beat. The man had to be 6’5 or taller, with dark skin that stretched over toned muscles. His suit had to be custom-made to fit over all those muscles, and it did not look like the suit was hanging on by a thread, and he had the darkest eyes Slaine had ever seen, with dark hair slicked into a perfect hairstyle.

“And this is Slaine,” Cairo said. “Neo explained he was turned by a vampire who was turned by a purebred.”

“Yeah, hi,” he said. Jasper elbowed him, and Slaine turned to glare at him before looking back at Rex Superno. “I mean, yes, hello? I’m going to the bathroom.” Slaine pushed past everyone, ignoring Blue as he slipped into the toilet. He walked over to the sink and stared at his reflection where Chaos was standing beside him. “You left yesterday.”

“I know. I’m sorry, something came up. But Slaine, do not go near that man. Avoid him with everything in you.”

He frowned a little. “What, why? I mean, that was the plan anyway, but why?”

Chaos didn’t reply for a minute. “I don’t like that man. Stay away from him, okay?”

Slaine scoffed. “You’re a god. Aren’t you meant to like everyone?”

“No. Hate ironically hates a vampire called Mary, with a passion. You bring up Mary and he goes of on a tangent about why he hates the vampire.”

“Hate?” Slaine asked, confused.

“Yes, well he does go by Odium now, which is ridiculous, its hate in Latin, anyway I am getting off topic, but please do not interact with that man. Did you bring a handheld mirror with you.”

“No, I didn’t get a chance to pick it up.”

“If you need me, come into the bathroom, Slaine. I will be beside you for the entire night.”

Slaine stared at them drolly. “You sure about that?”

“Slaine.”

He sighed. “Fine, yes, yes I heard you. Avoid the big scary man.”

“Are you constipated, Slaine? Is that why you’re taking twenty million years,” Jasper snapped as he walked into the bathroom with an irritated scowl. He paused when he saw Slaine standing in front of the mirror. “What are you doing?”

“Washing my hands.”

“But they’re dry.”

“Haven't washed them yet. Come, let’s shake hands.”

Jasper stared at him in horror. “Keep your grubby hands away from me. Wash your hands, you rat.”

Slaine snorted as he washed his hands and followed Jasper out of the bathroom; he saw Cairo speaking to Rex Superno with Wing standing next to Thorne, both eyeing the King. Micah was talking to Alexander as he complained about his feet hurting, and Alexander smiled as he led him to sit before sitting down next to him, placing the omega’s legs in his lap and giving them a rub.

Slaine’s eyes landed on Blue, who was already looking at him, and he looked away, his hand moving to hold the vial of red in his hand. He followed Jasper over to Kevin, Aether and Atticus, and the three talked.

“Slaine,” Aether said, his long black hair tied up in a messy bun as he smiled at him. Slaine smiled back as he eyed the mer-man’s attire. A plain black cropped sweater with black jeans with chains hanging off the belt loop and ankle boots with chains.

“Do you not know any either colour than black?” he asked, with an eyebrow raised.

“I took inspiration from you.”

“Aren’t you sweet.”

“It’s nice, right? I like the air my stomach gets from these shorter shirts.”

“Yes, Aether, you look nice.”

Aether smiled, his black eyes twinkling. “Do you think Win-” He was interrupted as the door slammed open, and Winter appeared, his almost white hair a mess as his blue eyes darted around; a few seconds in, the smell of s*x wafted in through the room.

“Sorry I am late,” he said, through breaths, “I lost track of time.”

Neo walked over, smiling as he not so subtly grabbed Winter by the arm and dragged him to the back room. Slaine snorted. Winter was in so much trouble. He turned to look at Aether, whose smile had turned into a frown. “That scent, it is of s*x, right? The sweet smell?”

Slaine turned to stare at Jasper. “He’s your brother-in-law, you tell him.”

Jasper turned to Atticus. “My love, he’s your brother-in-law, you tell him.”

All eyes landed on Kevin, who was staring at everyone blankly. “Kev, he’s your brother,” Atticus said, patting the mer-man on his arm.

Kevin sighed as he stared at his brother. “Yes, brother. Winter smells of s*x, and he clearly didn’t shower before he came here.”

“Ah, I see.” Aether cleared his throat before excusing himself. Slaine watched the mer-prince go to the bar and mix himself a drink.

He turned around to stare at the trio. “What the hell did I just witness?”

“Oh, my god, right. You don’t know. So, Winter’s last heat, right, Aether lost his s**t. And I mean, lost it. He acted like Alexander with Micah before they mated. Swear down, it was so weird. And Winter’s an odd one so he’s been ignoring Aether who keeps following him around.”

Slaine let the words sink in. What the f**k? How the f**k? Huh? “But, Aether’s a mer-man, and a prince to boot. Sure, he can like Winter, but to react to his pheremones? That’s not possible.”

“That’s what I am saying!” Jasper said, throwing his hands in the air. “So, something is clearly up with that. But Kevin won’t tell me s**t about Luna and Aether. I know everything about his other fifteen siblings, like Bane, who is the oldest and he likes dragons for some reason, or Emelia is obsessed with shiny things or that Xana hates their other sibling Maeve, and Maeve is Calliope’s shadow essentially. But Aether and Luna, I know f**k all about.”

All eyes landed on Kevin again, and he started back with a blank expression. Jasper groaned, “That's the look we get when we ask.”

Slaine stared at Aether; his long ink-black hair was tied up, his pale skin seemed to glow under the soft lights of the bar, and a question wandered through his mind. Was Aether just a mer-prince?

~*~