Will had avoided this talk for this very reason. It was hard hearing that his child wanted to take control of Earth and its inhabitants. How had they missed this plan of hers?
“I’m sorry, Annika, but you sound like Dracul.”
“Because he was right. His only flaw was that, as a drone, it was never his place to do the work of a Queen. He should have waited for me. I came eventually, did I not?” She smiled brightly at him.
Damien groaned. “God, this isn’t going well. Remember what we agreed? Be firm.”
Annika turned her head to glance at Damien before blinking at Will. “What does he mean, Papa?”
“He means that as your parents, we have decided on your punishment.”
“Punishment? You keep using this word. I don’t understand what you mean.”
Dear God, she is really and truly confused.
“Yes, what you did was wrong and you need to be taught a lesson.”
“But I am Queen!”
He strove for patience, ignoring Damien’s snort. “Yes, but you’re also my little girl. Mostly little girl,” he amended because, while she wasn’t yet a full-grown Queen, she was maturing rapidly.
“I am not.” She was indignant. “I am old enough to breed.”
Damien choked and had to get up and get some water, leaving Will alone with this mess.
“There will be none of that, either. Until you are fully mature, I’m in charge. Me and Damien, actually, because we are your parents and there is no other queen to guide you. We may be stumbling around here, but we’re trying our best and it’s for your own good. Damien is right, honey. Humans are dangerous. The more of them that believe you’re real and try to locate you, the riskier it is.
“Don’t worry, though,” he was quick to reassure her. “We won’t let anything happen to you.”
“That’s right.” Damien returned and, sitting again, he patted her on the back. “We love you. Please remember this in the coming days.”
Annika looked from one to the other with a mulish expression. “What are going to do?”
Will lowered the boom. “Take away all of your screen time—no computer, no television, no movies, no video games.” With each thing he listed, her eyes got wider and wider.
She jumped to her feet, sending Babette scrambling. “B-but that’s not fair! You can’t take all of that away from me.”
“Sorry. We are.”
“For how long?”
“Six months.” Her shriek was loud enough to make him wince. He wasn’t going to back down, though. Not only did she need the lesson, but he also wanted her far away from discovering any of the attention she’d garnered.
“What am I supposed to do all that time?”
“Read. Study, actually. We’ve been neglecting your schoolwork.”
“Because I already know everything,” she wailed.
“I’ll teach you how to cook,” Damien offered.
That didn’t get met with any kind of enthusiasm. “I am Queen!”
Will stood. “Yup, got that. Now, if you can’t keep a civil tone, you may as well go to your room. The TV in there has been disabled,” he added. His conscience pricked a little when her lower lip quivered. He held fast, because this was the most important job he had now that Dracul was dead—raising his Queen to be a good ruler. Heaven help them all if he failed.
With a grunt and a stamp of her foot, she scooped up Babette and flounced over to her room. “I am going to rule this world one day,” she said at the doorway. “I would suggest you get busy making me my sisters so that they can help.” With that, she lifted her chin and slammed the door behind her.
Damien winced. “Gee, that went well.”
Will put his head in his hands, exhausted by the whole thing. Damien wrapped warm, strong arms around him in a comforting hug. “You were great. All kids are mad when grounded. She’ll come around.”
Will lifted his head. “You think so? I don’t know. She is right about being Queen, and her full maturity is just around the corner. God, what will we do when she starts having young of her own?”
“Deal with it, like all parents do when their kids grow up. We can’t keep her our little girl forever.”
“I know… I swear, though, that if I find Merlin sniffing around her skirts before I think she’s ready, I’ll cut off his dick.”
Damien kissed his shoulder. “Don’t worry. I know for a fact that Alun and Craig have got that kid on a short leash. I think Craig said something about a monastery.”
Will laughed, then did what he always wanted to do when Damien’s mouth was this close. He kissed him…and kissed him. Eventually he was on his back and Damien was grinding his hard dick against Will’s.
“Let’s take this to our bedroom,” his lovely human whispered in his ear. “We need to get started on that sister for Annika.”
Will hoisted them both to a standing position and carried Damien to their bed to give him everything he wanted.
* * * *
Alun, Craig and Merlin
“That was lovely and so joyous. I loved the singing in particular.”
Craig flicked on his sunglasses as he and Alun stepped hand-in-hand into the bright sunshine. “I’m glad you liked it. My family’s way of worshipping is different than yours, I know. I wanted you to experience what it’s like. We tend to make absolutely sure God can hear us.”
Alun grinned. “Indeed.”
Deliriously happy, Craig took his lover’s hand, ignoring a few askance looks from the other parishioners. This was something that both churches had in common. Two men making a life together wasn’t accepted the way he would like. It didn’t matter. His family was welcoming toward the idea and that was what counted. His mother flashed him a smile from where she stood talking to the pastor. Craig knew that no one would dare say or do anything untoward for fear of feeling her wrath.
“The best is yet to come. I can smell Mama’s roast chicken from here.”
“The law of physics says otherwise.” Merlin stepped up beside them, tugging at his tie. “Can I take this thing off now?”
Alun looked at Craig to deal with the question. “You can loosen it now and take it off entirely once we’re at my mama’s.” He didn’t mind being the disciplinarian. Since their return from Syria, Alun had been working hard to forge a better relationship with his son. From what Craig could tell, Merlin was making a similar effort. Keeping that going was all to the good. Let Merlin resent him instead. Not that the kid was giving them a lot of trouble. He was surprisingly docile, from all accounts.
Tugging at the knot, Merlin groused, “I don’t get why we have to put on the glad rags anyway. It’s just church. What’s the big deal?”
“It is for the folks who come here every Sunday. Dressing nicely shows that you respect them and their beliefs.”
“Whatever.” The boy might have matured during his time in Syria, but he was still a teenager, with all the sullenness and contempt for older generations that was standard for the age group.
Craig didn’t add, though, that he was proud to show them off. Alun and Merlin were wearing clothing and shoes that probably cost as much as his car. The shades Merlin was taking out of his pocket were easily a few hundred dollars. These aliens had money to burn and that was one issue that gave him pause. On a cop’s salary, he had far less to offer them. Although, if he and Alun made it permanent—something he was determined to make happen—the man came with a dowry. That was the only way to really explain it. Alex had pulled him aside shortly after their return and had explained to him how he was ‘settling’ some money on Alun for his future, as if Alun was some medieval princess or something. Weirder still, when Craig had asked Alex why he was telling him, he’d appeared surprised.