Forging Ties (Ties, Book 3) | ✓

Chapter 12

As they left the 'visiter' building and made their way across the fields, Hamish had stitched together a harness so that the egg could be carried against someone's body without the use of their hands. Hamish was taking the first shift carrying the egg.

"What kinds of animals lay eggs, anyway?" Hamish asked as they reached the edge of the farmland and entered the forest. "Birds, reptiles... fish, I guess?"

"Ain't really any kind of rules when the fae make things," Slone pointed out. "Gotta be prepared for anything."

"I guess I just have to embrace the fatherly spirit of loving my child no matter what kind of monster it turns out to be."

"Speaking of dads, Duran, you gonna try and track down your parents now that things are changing?" Slone asked.

Duran shrugged. "Is it bad that I don't see the point? I was created as part of a breeding program. My parents never wanted me and I was taken from my mother at birth. They probably both have multiple other offspring. I wouldn't want to place the expectation of being parents to a son they never asked for on them."

"Might be they want that kid they never got the chance to know back," Slone suggested. "Can't say I know what it's like to have a baby taken from you, 'specially not in a situation like that, but I bet it's rough."

"Maybe," Duran said with a noncommittal shrug.

"What about you, Hamish?" Slone asked. "You gonna go visit your folks?"

"I probably should. Let them know I'm not dead. I'm not sure how they'll feel about... well... a lot of things, really, but I'm also not sure I actually care that much. At this point in my life, they're not that high on the list of people whose opinions I care about."

"Well, hopefully you being alive is enough for 'em, but I know it don't always work out that way."

"What about your dad?" Hamish asked. "I know your mums, of course, but I've never met your dad."

"Ah, yeah, I see him sometimes. Stayed with him some of the time when I was growing up, and that was fine. Y'know, he has kids and they're my half siblings, but Yore's the only one I've ever called my brother even though he ain't at all by blood. Used to think it was because we had a special connection even though I didn't get to spend as much time with him as my dad's other kids, but then when I grew up I realised, nah, it was just because nobody else ever called 'em my brothers and sister. Maybe my mums did sometimes, I dunno, but nobody at my dad's ever did. I was my dad's son, but I wasn't part of that family."

Hamish gave him a sympathetic frown. "That sucks. I'm sorry they excluded you like that."

"Nah. It's fine, really. Werewolves do families in lots of different ways, and the way we did things sometimes just means that one parent's not really your parent, y'know? He was only a part of things because my mums couldn't just have a kid together. I had lots of people who cared about me, so you won't hear me complaining."

"You can be the egg's dad too, if you want," Hamish said. "Both of you. The more dads the better, I say."

Slone laughed. "All right. We'll love the little bastard, whatever's in there."

#

As the sun began to set, they found a clearing in the forest and set up camp for the night. Hamish was starting to get shivery without his coat, but they'd have a fire started soon enough and then they'd cuddle down in their sleeping bags and he should stay warm enough. Probably, anyway. Duran didn't feel the cold, so he was hardly the best judge of such things.

Hamish had just started the fire and was blowing on it to encourage the embers when Cookie came over and flopped down in front of it. Her tongue snaked out of her mouth and idly flicked around in the dirt.