Chapter 19 – Welcome to the Family
Juniper
I exhale a long, big breath but do my best to conceal it, letting the air slip out from between my lips and ignoring my stupid sister and cousin so that I can focus on the scene ahead of me. I meet dad’s eyes as he continues to frown, doing my best not to give anything away.
But the way dad moves his eyes over me, and then back to Anton, and then back to me lets me know that…
Yeah.
He’s onto us.
“Shit,” I whisper, low enough that I hope only Jesse and Ariel can hear. “I wanted…more time.”
Mom sniffs and we all immediately shift our eyes to her. Because if mom’s crying…
“Oh geeze,” Ariel says, seeing mom stepping forward, reaching for Anton. “Mom! No touching!”
Dad snaps his gaze back to the scene before him as mom stops herself just before she grabs Anton into the hug from which he would maybe never escape. Marigold looks interestedly between mom, dad, and Anton – totally confused but clearly happy to be in the mix of all the drama.
A true Sinclair already.
“Sorry,” Anton says, leaning back and grimacing a little, looking awkwardly between his King and Queen. “This is…not at all personal. I just go all fuzzy like bad cell reception when I’m touched in this world –“
“But not in the Underworld?” Dad asks, his voice rumbling and low.
I can feel – fucking feel – Jesse and Ariel burst into twin grins, even if I don’t look at them.
“I – I just –“ mom says, continuing to stare up into Anton’s lovely blue face. “Tony, I’m so grateful,” she says, her voice all high and tight as tears start on her cheeks. Dad sighs and wraps an arm around mom’s waist, letting her lean against him when she can’t hug the young man who is responsible for keeping half of her kids alive. “We can never repay you – but if there’s anything at all we can ever do – anything –“
“Hmm,” Jesse says, curling a finger around his chin, watching the scene with interest. “Looks like Tony has reached a Jackson-level status of heroism in Ella’s eyes. Does mom have a new favorite?”
I perk up at the idea, thinking Anton certainly deserves it. Not that Jacks isn’t lovely.
But Ariel just laughs, smug. “Not until he gives her three grandbabies she doesn’t.”
Jesse laughs too but I just blush – god damn it, all this blushing – and scowl as I turn my attention back to Anton.
“Oh, it’s okay,” Anton says, bashful, rubbing a hand awkwardly at the back of his neck as mom continues to lay out her effusive gratitude. “Happy to do it, happy to serve. If I could just go back to being your least impressive student in magic class, that would be more than enough for me.”
Mom laughs, shaking her head as she wipes her tears away. Marigold reaches up, whispering “sad,” helping her out. Sufficiently distracted, mom gives Marigold about six dozen kisses, all one after another, making her shriek with laughter.
Dad gives Anton another nod – sharp, but not unkind – before he steps away, heading right for me.
Jesse and Ariel graciously step away, giving me a minute alone, and I swallow hard as my dad approaches.
“Dad,” I say, starting to shake my head. “I can expla-“
But he just snarls and snatches me up into his arms, spinning me in a slow circle as he holds me tight. My gasp turns into a peel of laughter as I wrap my arms around his neck, letting my dad hug me close, warmth and happiness radiating through me. My smile threatens to crack my cheeks as I lay my cheek against my dad’s shoulder, loving him a great, great deal.
“Junie,” dad murmurs, his voice all low and sonorous, echoing in his chest in the way I remember from when I was a little girl and wouldn’t ever let him put me down. “My little Juniper. We’ve been so worried for you.”
“I’m okay,” I whisper, nodding. “I made it.”
He laughs. “You more than made it, from what I hear.”
I grimace a little and pull back, looking dad in the eyes, which are level with mine – a very rare experience, considering he’s gigantic and I’m annoyingly small. “Yeah,” I say, shrugging casually, not really sure how to…broach the subject of my new reign.
“You took over a planet?” he asks, quirking an eyebrow at me, trying to stay stern but struggling to keep the entertained look from his face.
“Well,” I say with a pouty, petulant sigh that I know will make him laugh. I drop my eyes and idly play with his collar to have something to do with my hand. “Not the whole planet. Yet.”
Dad roars with laughter, his head tilting back, and I laugh too, looking up at him, kind of…shocked that I’m not getting scolded.
I mean, I wasn’t even allowed out without a chaperone before my eighteenth birthday. And here I go conquering the Underworld and he’s…fine with it?
Dad holds me close again and I sigh, letting my eyes fall shut, resting against him – letting my dad take some of my strain for a little bit. As he’s always done. As he’s always been happy to do. “I missed you, pops,” I whisper.
“We missed you too, baby,” dad says, stroking his hand up and down my back. “I’m so glad you’re all right.”
I nod, glad too. Glad to be back together, grateful for this moment.
I’m disappointed when it ends, when dad starts to put me back down on the ground, though I know we have a lot to do before the night is over. I look up at his newly serious face once my feet hit the floor, as he cups my face in his broad hand and tilts it up to look at him. “We’ll have a talk soon, yes? You and I? About your responsibilities as a leader and a Queen?”
I nod eagerly, wanting that very much. And my wolf howls because…I don’t know. I’m eighteen. I just disappeared for a long time, chasing my fiancé, and showed up again declaring that I’ve enacted an insane coup and ascended to a throne I claimed simply because I wanted it and thought I could do a better job than the god who has been running it for thousands of years.
There is…a great deal of space here for a father to scold a daughter for these actions. Hell, he could ground me.
But here he is…offering me political advice.
I beam up at my dad, so happy. Feeling like just…the luckiest girl in the world.
Dad smiles back at me, I think sensing my thoughts. “Anything…you want to tell me?” he asks. His shoulders twitch, almost as if he was going to turn back towards mom and Anton. But he forces himself to stop, to leave it to me. “Nothing…new?”
I open my lips to speak but a sudden fear stops me.
Because honestly, technically…there is nothing new.
My wolf prowls anxiously at the edge of my soul, looking for something.
Looking for it.
But…wait. Where is it?
I mean, Anton’s body is here. And isn’t that how it works? Bodily closeness?
Where…where’s my mating bond?
I frown, suddenly confused, and dad leans away – letting me have my space.
I look around, wanting Anton, wanting to speak with him about this – because is he feeling something different? But he’s not…
“He went into the medical suite,” Ariel says, moving quickly to my side. I frown over at my sister, wondering how she…
But the way she gently loops her arm around mine and gives me a soft smile makes me realize that she’s been watching, and she intuited my next need, and was just standing by – waiting to be helpful.
I scowl at her. I hate it when she’s helpful. Makes her very difficult to dislike.
Ariel laughs at me and tugs my arm, wanting to show me the way.
But dad stops her, petting a hand over her hair. “And you’re all right too?” he asks. “You and the pups?”
“Yes,” she says, beaming up at our dad. “We’re all just hanging out. Precisely the same.”
“What a party,” dad says, smirking. Then he sighs and drops his hands. “All right, you two, go abandon your old dad. I know you’ve got a thousand things to deal with.”
“Love you, papa!” Ari says, grinning and tugging me away.
I smile at dad too and follow her, wanting to go to the medical suite, needing – very much – to see Anton and reassure myself that he’s okay.
Because how did he go in there without me noticing? How did the tether between us grow so long? Or does it…
Does it not work here, in this world?
I swallow, not liking the fact that I seem to have less of a connection with Anton here than I did in the Underworld. Am I…am I growing further apart from him, from what was important to us, now that he’s getting his body back?
My stomach clenches, feeling like a rock has plopped into its depths.
“It’s fine,” Ari whispers to me. “It’s all fine, Junie. Don’t worry.”
I shoot a glare in her direction but she just gives me a squeeze.
We both hesitate when we get to the door of the medical suite, though, turning towards the main door to this reception room as it opens, six new people starting to file in.
“Goldie!” Seraphina shrieks, jumping down from Mark’s arms and dashing across the room to her bestie. Marigold likewise flips out, wiggling excitedly, trying to get out of mom’s arms as fast as possible.
I frown at the people who follow Mark into the room, kind of confused about…why the hell they’re here. One of them is Ben, who I know from Midwinter, but the dark-haired guy and the woman with the baby…
Who the hell are they?
And…
I straighten a little as I look at that tall dark-haired Alpha as he shuts the door behind him because…am I imagining it? Or…that tall frame, straight nose, and firm jaw…
Does he…does he look just like Tony? My eyes move over him once more before I glance in at the corpse in the next room, completely confused.
Ariel hesitates, her face brightening at the group that enters – clearly wanting to go to them –
“It’s okay,” I whisper, nodding to her and unlinking my arm from hers. “I’m good from here.” I tuck my questions away for another time, wanting to know what Cora’s up to.
“Junie,” Ariel whispers, hesitating again, clearly caught between two competing desires.
I laugh at her and shake my head. “I’m good!” I call, waving as I step into the medical suite. “But…maybe come hang out with me once you’re finished saying hello?”
She grins at me, nods, and darts off.
I smile as she moves away – because she’s my big butterfly sister, all color and joy and wanting to say hello to absolutely everyone.
But me? I am used to fading away into the darkness while she takes the limelight. Grateful for her, I step quietly into the medical suite, my eyes locking with Anton’s as he stands at the foot of the hospital bed while Cora bustles around, getting things ready.
Anton reaches out a hand and I move to his side, just as quickly as I can.