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Chapter 24 Paul stared at his phone, waiting for another update. He barely recalled the Share-Ride to the hotel. He couldn’t stay at Dietrich’s gym, and he couldn’t go to anyone he knew, so a hotel had felt like the safest thing. He’d told the driver to take him to an affordable one and let them drive. There had been one call from the hospital letting him know they’d checked her in and that her insurance was in order. Then one, as he stepped into the room, informing him they were starting the tests. With the latest, only a few minutes before, they’d informed him that she hadn’t had a heart attack. She’d fainted and, as best as they could tell, had given herself a mild concussion when she fell. They were keeping her overnight, and they’d call him if something happened. And now he sat alone, relieved his mother was okay and terrified that the next call would be to let him know things had taken a turn for the worse. He needed to do something other than sit here and wait. He wanted to go to a friend and have them distract him, but the problem was that all the guys he knew and liked enough to want to be with, he was interested in, and none of the women he’d befriended during his classes knew anything about magic. So it was either have his aura force him to fight off sexual advances so he could vent, or read in one of his mundane friend into the magical world. And he didn’t want either of those things. Fuck. What he wanted was for his mother to hug him and tell him everything was going to be okay. How old had he been the last time he’d felt like this? The knock had him up and at the door with irrational belief she was here, here to comfort him. He pulled it open as the realization it could be one of his friends hit him, but it was too late now. The rat standing on the other side of the door looked him up and down. “You’ve looked better,” Judith said. Paul reflexively moved out of the way instead of being bowled over by a Hertz woman, and she stepped inside. “How are you here?” Paul asked once the door was closed. “Really?” she tilted an ear, looking the small room over. “Who else was Thomas going to call to check in on you?” “Madoc?” “Maybe. You were at that gym when you vanished.” “What I want to know is how you found out where I am.” Paul didn’t even know that at this point. The smile she gave him had caused men to walk into walls. Paul had witnessed it, twice. “You are so sweet when you can’t think.” “I can think—” his ears plastered themselves against his skull in embarrassment. “Trevor.” “And the innumerable ways he has to find out stuff through Royal Security.” She looked him over again. “I’d have never guessed.” He looked down at himself. “Guessed what?” “That you’re an Orr.” His shoulders sagged. “Yeah. I—” “Oh no, you don’t.” She was in his space, and he was forced to step back. “I so did not come here to witness a pity party.” “I know,” Paul said defensively. “You’re here to check-in on me so you can tell the others how I’m doing.” She motioned to him. “And what? You want me to tell them you’re a miserable mess?” She shook her head. “I do that and they’re going to be kicking in that door, then your new power kicks in and makes all of them was to bang you and—” she paused, her expression becoming speculative. “You know, that might be fun to watch.” She shook herself before Paul could object. “No, Judith Hertz, you are here to cheer Paul up not get an eyeful of amazingly hot guy fuck.” “And how are you planning on doing that?” He asked suspiciously. It was never a good sign when Judith Hertz picked anything over sex. Thomas still didn’t believe there wasn’t a connection between the women in his family and the female version of the Society. Once he’d learned about the Convent, he’d been certain that explained why the Hertz women were so sexual. “Why?” She gave him another of her intellect-shattering smiles. “I’m taking you shopping.” * * * * * How had he let this happen? Paul had grown up watching the Hertz women pull men along with their smiles and beauties, getting them to help with errands no sane man wanted to take part in. First, Thomas’s mother. Not only with her husband, but with any man who passed by when she needed assistance. Then Judith, once she was old enough to realize the power she had. Paul knew better than to let any of them rope him into anything. Then why did he now have to juggle a bag filled with kid’s clothing, a box of toys and more boy’s outfit piled over his shoulder as he followed Judith into a baby furniture store? He started as she stopped to study a displayed crib and searched for the boxed version. There was no way she expected him to carry that on top of everything else already filling his arms. And why would she even want him to carry a crib? Why was she looking at cribs? “Oh, my God,” he exclaimed. She grinned at him. He looked at the clothing he carried, just to be sure. He hadn’t paid attention as she piled them on. They seemed small for Ryan, and orange was definitely not his color. Ryan was all reds. “Really?” She squealed and jumped in place as she nodded. He went to hug her and was reminded of everything he held. “We’re going to need someplace I can put these down.” * * * * * Paul looked at the boxed crib on the floor by the table and still couldn’t believe the ease with which Judith had gotten a man walking by to carry it to the food court for her. Paul’s Chow-mein was untouched as he still processed the news while she ate for… Well, two, he had to guess. “How did it take so long?” he asked. “I mean, sure, Trevor has guys to work off his horniness on, but neither of you are exactly shy about telling us how often you go at it.” “Magic,” she answered before slurping her peanut butter milkshake. “Isn’t that how they usually make sure kids happen?” Thomas had given him the five-second rundown of how men as gay as the Society went about ensuring they had kids. In the same breath, he’d said he didn’t know if he liked the method. “Knowing how to make sure it happens helps make sure it doesn’t.” She bit into her burger. “Okay. Why the three year wait? You two were overjoyed when Ryan arrived, and you both love raising him. We figured there was going to be an even dozen before the year was done.” “Just seven,” she replied, before popping an onion ring in her mouth. That was an oddly specific number. But before he could ask about it, she went on. “Trevor didn’t want us to have them one after the other like machines. That’s too much like what that old elder of his is doing. So he decided we’d wait a couple of years between each.” “Then, with wanting seven, you two are going to want to…” Red for Ryan, Orange for who was coming next. The oddly specific number of seven for the total. He groaned. “Please tell me you are not seriously going to saddle your kids with being a rainbow.” She grinned at him, dunking a fry in the strawberry milkshake. He chucked. “They are going to hate you so much by the time they’re teens.” She shrugged. “They can go to their father for comfort.” “Still, you’re going to want to pick up the pace if you don’t want to be old before the last one comes out.” The smile she gave him before taking another bite of her burger told him she was already working on that. After all, she said that Trevor had decided to take their time. “Has Thomas talked about kids?” she asked before putting the blueberry turnover to her mouth. “Not recently. It’s how I know they use magic for that. He wasn’t impressed.” “Really?” she gave him a look as she slurped on the peanut butter milk shake. “Why?” “He and dad were talking a few days ago. He was asking dad about what it was like raising him and Roland. You know, the baby and toddler years. I asked him afterward, but he just evaded, saying he had to find the right person first.” “That…seems reasonable to me,” Paul answered, and she raised an eyebrow. “You want me to pry and get him to spill whatever you feel he didn’t tell you.” “There’s the smart tiger I know and love. You’re going to make your family proud.” “Proud, sure.” He stared at his plate of chow-mein and tried to force his appetite back. “Have you spoken with Vic recently? Do you know where he stands on him or his sons officially joining the Society?” “He shouldn’t bother,” someone said. “Bunch of assholes, the lot of them.” The tiger stepped to the table and looked them over. Behind him were two men; a bison and a deer. The two were dressed casually, but carried themselves in a way that reminded Paul of the Chamber people that had been in the camp where they’d found Wassa. “First off,” Adam said as Paul opened his mouth to ask what he was doing here. “What the fuck were you thinking going to that hole of a place to stay? You do know we own hotels actually worth setting foot in, right? Second,” he cut Paul off, about to point out it was a place he could afford, unlike whatever the tiger meant. “If you’re going to hide somewhere, fucking be there when I go to pick you up.” Paul waited. “Well? What do you have to say for yourself?” Adam demanded. “You could have called.” “And watch you make a run for the state line?” he snorted. “No thanks. You have no idea how lucky you are that Dietrich called to tell us you were at his club, because Arnie and Aaron were fighting over who was going to lead the team hunting you down.” Judith snickered. “You have a problem?” Adam demanded of her. She shook her head. “I’m just amused that drama’s a family trait.” “And who the fuck are you?” Adam demanded. “Are you implying I’m dramatic?” Paul asked. She ignored him in favor of Adam, smiling. “I’m Trevor’s wife.” “Am I supposed to know who that is?” Her smile brightened. “He works at Royal Security.” “What does where he works…” he narrowed his eyes. “Are you fucking comparing me to Aaron? I am nothing like him. He takes a side glance and turns it into an attack on his honor. That’s dramatic.” He straightened. “I’m efficient, and I don’t like wasting my time. There’s nothing dramatic about that.” “If you say so.” She plonked the straw into the strawberry milkshake and slurped loudly. Paul stared at her. He knew the Hertz women were a force to be reckoned with, but he hadn’t known they had balls large enough to take on an Orr. “You should go with him,” she told Paul. “He wouldn’t be in such a tizzy if it wasn’t important. “I am not in a tizzy,” Adam snapped. “Oh, then Paul can stay?” “No fucking way. Arnold’s going to rip my balls and ship them to those women if I don’t get back with him.” “See, tizzy.” She smiled. “You better go, Paul.” “Are you sure? What about these?” “Oh, don’t worry about them.” She turned the smile on the two security men. “I’m sure one of those strong and virile men will be happy to help me carry all of this, won’t you?” “I’ll do it,” the bison said, raising a hand, then hurried to lower it as Adam glared at him. “Just who do you work for?” the tiger demanded, and Judith chuckled. “You know what? Fuck it. I have better things to do than question your manliness right now.” He looked at the deer. “What about you? Feel like helping her too?” “No, sir. With all due respect to the lady, I don’t carry people’s packages.” “She ain’t no lady,” Adam grumbled as he walked away. Paul had to agree, following him. Judith was no lady. She was a Hertz Woman.