My parents knew he, Ed, and Allan had saved me. She liked Doc a lot more than my dad did, so at least one of my parents didn't hate my boyfriend. Of course, if they knew I had three more, they'd flip. It might not be an issue for much longer, anyway. If Nikolai didn't save me, no one would be left to care.
Doc moved away from the oven, and Mom took over. Shortly, the smells of bacon had the rest of the house stirring.
I cradled my Earl Grey at the table while Doc leaned against the wall, out of the way, like he did most every morning and sipped his tea.
The storm raged outside. The house shuddered now and again with some of the stronger gusts. George and Rick were talking about the cows when they found their way into the kitchen. Rick glanced at Doc, noting his presence but otherwise not paying much attention to him. George glared.
Doc ignored him.
The weather was more pressing than my boyfriend though, and pretty soon, they were back to discussing contingency plans for the snow. The forecast was steadily deteriorating as the front pulled moisture out of another storm system that had unexpectedly worsened. Nebraska, Wyoming, and the Front Range in Colorado, along with parts of Kansas, were getting battered by fifty plus mile an hour winds and varying amounts of snow.
Matt and Eric came in and sat at the table. Rick got the kids food and helped Mom until Donna arrived. She sank down in Rick's chair when he pulled it out for her, and he served her, too. She looked exhausted. Being in someone else's house with three kids, especially over the holidays, had to be grueling.
I shoved food in my mouth once it was on the table, and Doc made me another cup of tea without me even having to ask.
Dad showed up after a while, and we rotated seats so everyone could eat. He made Mom eat before he did.
George didn't take his eyes off of Doc for more than a few minutes at a time, but my boyfriend continued holding up the wall in the corner and staying out of the way.
"Where's Bobby?" I had expected him to join us before long, but Matt and Eric had been put to work cleaning up, and the younger kid hadn't come to eat yet.
"He said he was coming," Matt grumbled.
Even I could hear the lie in his voice. I glanced over at Doc. He frowned at the kids.
"Rick, go get Bobby and get him in here," Donna sighed. "Please."
He patted her shoulders and left the kitchen, only to return a minute later frowning.
"Matt, Eric, where is Bobby?"
"Maybe the bathroom?"
"I checked, son. Where's your brother?"
"We don't know. He said he was coming," Matt whined.
Donna buried her face in her hands. "What did you say to him?"
"Nothing," Eric bit out.
"You two have got to be nice to your brother, or at least not mean to him. Picking on him is not helping anything."
"We didn't do anything!" Matt crossed his arms and sat down in one of the chairs, lips pursed.
George, Rick, and Dad left the kitchen while the boys pouted.
"Finish cleaning up!" Donna snapped and left the kitchen.
Mom gestured to me, and I followed her into the living room. Doc trailed along behind us.
"What's going on with the boys?" Mom sat down next to Donna and put her arm around the other woman's shoulders.
"They caught him playing dolls with the neighbor's girl a month ago. They have said everything and anything they possibly can to him since then to push him around. I don't know why. They played with dolls with neighbor girls at that age, too." She sank back into the couch and wiped at her eyes. "I'd like to strangle both of them."
Dad and his friends stomped back into the living room. "He's not in the house."
"What!" Donna bolted up. "Where is he?"
I heard Doc sigh. I glanced at him. He had his eyes shut and brow furrowed. After a quick moment, he blinked a couple of times, before looking up. I guessed he had used his vampire senses to look for Bobby and didn't want anyone to see his eyes darken, though it wasn't real easy to tell unless you were close, since they were already so dark.
George went to the door and looked outside before shaking his head. "I'll go look, but I'm not going to find him by scent."
"I'll find him." Doc squeezed my shoulder before leaving my side and heading for the door. I followed.
He slipped on his boots while the others stared at him.
"How exactly are you going to do that?" George blocked his way, arms crossed.
Doc ignored him, pulling on a jacket.
George grabbed for Doc's arm.
Even though I was expecting it, I jumped when Doc slammed George's face into a wall. George struggled for a moment, but Doc had twisted the man's arm up behind his back in an arm lock, and he did it faster than anyone could have seen.
He leaned close, pressing against George's back, and I could imagine that the other man's heart raced. Even if George wasn't actually scared, the wolf in him would probably react to another predator that close.
"Stay here. I'll find him." Doc's voice was low, dangerous. I shivered, and I trusted the man with my life.
George nodded, face pinched in pain.
Doc released George and stepped back, keeping his eye on the werewolf. George rolled his shoulder, glaring at Doc.
The demon purred, enjoying the violence amongst us. I tried to ignore her.
"Hey," I called before Doc could leave the house.
He glanced at me, lips curled slightly into a smile. He'd enjoyed that.
"Be careful."
"I will. Not my first blizzard." He leaned down and kissed me chastely before heading out into the storm.
The chill he left behind was only partially due to the blast of cold air when he opened the front door.
"I don't care what anyone says, that is not a mage," George growled,
