Spring

  Winter break had been a whirlwind for their Nest. Miza met Tyler’s parents officially. It was such an interesting experience for her. She spent Christmas with them since the nest didn’t celebrate it. Tyler expressed to the Nest that it was important to him that his parents got to meet her and got to know her a much as possible.

  Ty was a huge mama’s boy, and though his parents worked a lot, they and his extended family were close and valued their time together. He wanted to soak up as much of it as he could over the next few years in case he wouldn’t be able to see them as often. Tyler hoped that despite their fairly traditionally monogamous and heteronormative values, once Miza was established in his family as part of his future, they would find a way to get them to accept the Nest, even if it wasn’t explicitly stated as such. So Miza spent both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and then New Year’s with his whole family after he snuck an invitation into the raucous chatter of the Carlisle household Christmas Day.

  Of course, they had concerns about the deep bond and love the two teens showed each other, to which Tyler simply informed them that he had liked her from the moment he saw her on the first day of school; nothing had come of it, though, until recently. His parents were soothed by the fact that they had been table partners for months in one of his highest-scoring classes.

  To his parents, the fact that he had been mooning over this girl while still keeping his grades up was remarkable. It showed that, at the very least, she was not a distraction. Not to mention that Ty had mentioned looking into a spring sport to branch out some before college. That itself was a shock to his father, who had been an athlete and never could persuade Tyler to participate in anything more than hiking. Tyler was not an active boy, as he preferred to hunker down with a book. He’d hike while listening to podcasts, but they had never found a sports interest for him, and they had tried many since he was small.

  His mother also noticed the subtle differences with her son. He never cared much about his appearance. His head had always been in his books. She saw his eating habits had changed, his body looked fitter, and he looked less tired. He looked, dare she say, happy. Not that he wasn’t a happy child, but the way it poured off of him. He talked more about school and typical teen interests instead of just school and wanting to work with his father's Public Relations firm.

  They loved her and loved how much Tyler loved her.

  When they returned to school after the break, the gossip mills were fanatical. Their little group was the highlight of conversation after Tyler pulled into the student parking lot with Sara Harison in his car and then walked into the school with an arm casually slung across her shoulder as they chatted and walked down the quiet main hall as if no one was staring at them. That was only given more weight by the fact that less than two minutes later, Justin came in laughing and joking with two new kids, one who looked just like a taller, more masculine version of Sara, and an older guy dressed in a nice suit.

  Everyone wanted to know what was going on, and the school's biggest gossips were striving to speculate. Only to find out that Sara Harison had more family that finally got their visas finalized so that they could join the rest of the Harison brood in Prarie View. It was a shock to Prairie View Prep that there were more Harisons, but the biggest concern was how much more competition they would bring to the campus.

  That all died down, though, seeing as the two new students were pretty low-key and quiet, and the adult ended up being a new teacher. While he was a fun teacher, his classes were arduous despite the stimulating subject matter. He taught two sections of Literary History, one section of Philosophical History, and one of Literary Theory classes. He was no joke, though definitely eye candy for a good portion of the student body.

  People just did not understand how the Harisons were “so damn fine” or how Tyler Carlisle snatched the coveted Harsion girl from under everyone’s nose. But he did, and then he managed to get on the soccer team with Chris.

  Tyler’s popularity skyrocketed, though he surprisingly stayed humble. He had no interest in any of the girls who were starting to show interest and would show up whenever Sara was absent for choir performances. While everyone else was focused on his supposed glow-up, to him, he was still the same Tyler he had always been. Cute and well-spoken but always with his head in a book and rarely interested in the latest drama or parties. He knew that meeting his new family had changed his life, but none of them had really done anything special. It was just that Miza made them want to better, do better for themselves and everyone else. But when he would think about it, should that be what a goddess does? Shouldn’t a ruler inspire their people? People just started taking notice of you when you were in her orbit.

  Now that spring break was upon them, everyone was excited. Over the last three months, the entire Nest had been busy with making plans, and that was on top of the work from their day “jobs.” With more people around to protect Miza, Valon and Donte had spent more time traveling, reconnecting in secret meetings with old business partners and new connections.

  Part of the issue that Miza had with her family is that their dealings in the human realm had taken a criminal undertone. It was part of what had proved to her that the House of Lea had long fallen from their Goddess’s path. Over the centuries they were never caught up like many human associates were, but mostly because they used false identities and could quickly disappear. Donte, being her father's second-in-command for well over a decade before being sent to be Miza’s guardian, was familiar with the ins and outs of that part of the human realm.

  Donte, though, when he started building her presence in the human realm, had focused on keeping her legitimate or atleast semi-legitimate. Aside from the rare need of one of their faction’s crews residing in the human realm needing their Mistress to appear, she kept her hands clean because she was so young. Sometimes, Donte regretted starting a faction for her because of that. Sometimes, he thinks that the decision he made took her childhood from her. But she also wouldn’t have had the protection she needed to get out of Lestania during the coup if not for the Faction. He just didn't know anymore.

  Max’s business partners had been left in a lurch when suddenly there was new “management.” His recent inquiries showed that few were pleased by the man’s disappearance and his son taking over because, as humans, they were not informed about what was happening within the Guardian Realm. Even if he was uninterested in having Miza deal directly in criminal businesses as he had for most of his life, he knew that the human world worked in the shadows; at the very least, they needed to have as many allies as possible.

  Donte had built Miza a portfolio over the years in clubs, restaurants, and real estate. While their faction crews in the realm itself had been recalled for her Rising, they had trusted Unseens, who managed her business in the human realm for the Faction. He had slowly been reaching out to them to access more of their assets. It couldn’t hurt to get some new investors and revisit some of his old friends in the trade while he was at it.

  Their faction had always been small, but the attack had lost them crucial numbers at a time when they needed the numbers. Peter had reported that many of their known allies outside of the Clergy and Parliament had lost their lives. Active crew members who fought to protect the den and their fellow faction members, who they were charged to protect, were slain. They did their jobs and served their Goddess well. But their numbers were low, and if they couldn’t recruit in Lestania, they would have to build an army outside of it. The only way to do that was by tapping into the human underground with its steady supply of soldiers for hire. He knew Miza wouldn’t like it, but the way he saw it was using Venuemaos against itself.

  Her brother was twisted. Twisted might not even be the best way to describe him, but it makes sense that Leana chose now to show up. Mark Anthony, as king, is a disgrace to everything that Lestania stands for.

  Mark Anthony and Miza did not share the same mother, but he did adore the Queen Consort Kathryne. Mark’s mother was Maximillian's first wife. The Queen Consort Erias died when he was twelve. His father was alone for two years, angry and stubborn before he met Kathryne Charlotte at a conference put on by her university in the human realm and immediately brought her home to be his new queen. She happily took on the responsibility of loving Mark Anthony and his younger siblings just as their mother would have. For five years, she doted on them all.

  When they found out she was finally pregnant, Maximillian was excited, and Mark Anthony was grateful because he knew that while Kathryn loved them all, she had wanted a baby of her own. The youngest of her adopted children had been seven years old when she was brought home. She had a very easy pregnancy. The kids, including Mark Anthony, who was a young adult at that time, had done everything to ease the long months on the queen, and her doctors had given nothing but good reports.

  She went into labor a week early, but nothing seemed amiss. Mavrick was planned for and born with little trouble. As Kathryne and Max lay waiting for the baby to have his normal post-delivery checks, they basked in the afterglow with happy tears. While the birth had been fairly easy, she was tired, and the doctor gave her a moment to rest. That was their mistake.

  Suddenly, Kathryne knew something was very wrong. Maximillian watched as she paled, and her body clenched in pain. Then there was the blood and the chaos of Maximillian begging the doctors to save Kathryne as they scrambled to find what was wrong. The doctors realized that they missed a baby. They didn’t know how, but the boy had masked the tiny babe from them, and now she was coming out, but with a price. Kathryne begged them with her dying breath to help her child, not let anything happen to the baby. The doctors manage to deliver the small yet healthy baby girl, but they lost their beloved queen in the process.

  The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

  Mark Anthony lost his mother, again. The only person who saw him as more than their future heir or their hold to power. The only person that he felt loved him just for being him. He blamed Miza for Kathryne’s death, but it wasn’t in the same way that Maximillian knew that his hate and disdain for his daughter came from his heart break that his mate was gone, especially as she got older and looked like Kathryn. It was so rare to find a mate rather than choose a partnership. Mark Anthony realized early that the Goddess did this, and he hated her for it. He knew when his sister was born that she was chosen by Leana.

  At 19, that loss broke him. It broke the last shreds of faith he had in humanity, for them being weak, like his mother and her fragile body, and the gods for being greedy when they could have saved her. So, he used his power not to help the human world but to destroy it.

  Mark Anthony didn’t care about the Gods’ plans. He wanted to let the human world implode on itself, so he began his work in the underground to assist in giving power to those who represented the deepest and dirtiest parts of humanity. In the 13 after Miza’s birth he did a lot of damage in the human world.

  Mark Anthony had power. Miza wasn’t supposed to be the Empress. If they wanted to fight against him, he would make them have to use every weapon at their disposal.

  Donte knew this. He had trained Mark and watched him. He, unfortunately as the second in his father’s faction and knowing Mark to be their heir, had trained him and assisted him with the skills needed to carry out his plans.

  In Donte’s mind, even if her could become comfortable with being one of Miza’s mates, he could never truely forgive himself for the maddess he released into the world. His position in this Nest, the love and joy he felt With Alex, Valon, Miza, and his nest mate should not be his to experience. He’d bear the brunt of the the darkness needed to fight this war, if only for his atonement.

  ~

  Spring Break

  Valon sat in the booth near the back of the first floor of the establishment. He was uncomfortable with this entire situation. His trust in Donte, however, superseded his discomfort.

  They were three days into their tour of the business that Donte was considering for their faction rebuild. Donte was their protector, but this one, this felt dirty. It's not that it wasn’t a nice little club. He just didn’t like what he knew was going on in the background. He saw the people that disappeared in to a back area that was guarded. It wasn’t VIP. He sighed and sipped his drink as he waited, observing. The music was loud, but the DJ seemed to keep the vibe up. The bars were busy. All the downstairs VIP booths were booked, and the upstairs lounge was full of the VIP regulars.

  It was clearly a popular club looking for new investors to take it to the next level, but fuck if he thought this was a good idea. He didn’t know anything about any of this. He was decent enough at real estate and restaurants, but the nightclub scene with all the background business, he knew nothing about. He didn’t even know if he wanted to see this side of things. This side of Donnie. He sensed Don approaching and then felt the bench of the booth dip.

  “Penny for your thoughts.” He heard Don murmur. The booths were well constructed, each with its own design. The Luxury VIP floor booths were almost constructed like tiny private lounges around the large warehouse, while the regular VIP booths were simple circular nooks tucked against the walls. They made hearing each other over the loud music and shouts easier.

  “I’m uncomfortable, Don.”

  He watched the older man run his fingers through his curls, hiding his sigh of frustration. He and Donte had many arguments over the last few months about involving Miza in any of these less than savory business options. In February, they had a Nest huddle where Donte told Miza about his plan.

  In the end, after hours of debates and only because Tyler had to make curfew did they agree to see where this would take them. Mostly because Donte was adamant that they would also be able to help victims of the underground organizations as well. Take power. Set boundaries. They agreed not to work with people moving bodies or drugs, but to keep tabs on them and make small movements where they could. Because Donte said they could help. This was the first time that Donte had experience doubt from them.

  He knew Donte did a lot of less-than-savory activities when he worked for the Emperor, but honestly, he thought that was in the past. But they needed soldiers, and from his past, Don knew that loyalty could be bought in the human realm. Between this and the security company that Valon was running, Donnie believed they could recruit and train enough to do what they needed to go.

  Donte put his hand on the back of Valon’s neck and held him there. The nap was a sensitive place for them. They always felt the awareness and the pull of the tether in that area. The gesture made him feel better, but it didn’t stop the anxiety.

  “It’s fine, babe. We aren’t doing things like Max and Mark. There are a lot of people that get into this life and want out. We can do that and help others along the way.” Donte soothed.

  “How are you gonna keep this clean.” Valon asked peering over at him.

  “No one stays clean even if they are undercover. But I’m the only one that’ll get dirty.” He said mater of factly.

  “ D.” Valon said exasperated as he rolled his eyes turning his body to stare out at the dance floor instead of focusing on his partner.

  “Don’t worry, baby.” He leaned over and gave him a quick kiss. “ I invited the man I met with to the manor.” Valon turned quickly, angrily glaring at Donte.

  “What the fuck, Don.” He snapped.

  “He wants out. He has a lot of kids on his hands, though. They mostly deal in petty shit, but one of his guys got too big for their shit and stirred up trouble. He started dealing again, and it went south. His youngest died. He wants out, but he also cares about his guys. The wrong person can ruin them.” Donte explained.

  “They're a gang, Donte.” Valon warned.

  “And technically, so is the faction system. Just with a fancy name because the Royals run it.” Valon bristled, but he kept calm to not bring any unnecessary attention to them. The music was helpful in keeping their conversation from being overheard, but he still didn’t want to give anyone a specific reason to remember them just yet.

  “Look, the way I see it is that Leana had a whole damn cult at one point in the human world devoted to her. Why not take these kids and use the energy they put into the gangs for something else? We are never going to dismantle the worldwide underground, but we might as well state our presence. Make a claim. We need the forces. There is a cesspool full of people just waiting for the right leader.” Donte attempted to reason.

  “You think a gang is going to just start following you because their boss said so.” Valon retorted as he place his clenched fist on the table in front of him.

  “I think a gang will follow their leader if he steps aside and lets someone else he believes in take command. It will be rough, but doable. I’ve been feeling them out for a few months. His oldest kid starts high school next year. He wants a safe community. We have one that we have a man personally overseeing. We take this city. We have time to build.” Donte replied as if there were not glaring read flags in his plan.

  “You’ll keep this like how we operate in the faction system.” Valon stated.

  “I’ll try to keep it as squeaky as I can. The difference between Leana and Miza is that Miza can’t run from the Venuemaos if she wants the unveiling. You can’t run from the darkest parts of humanity if you want to face the Venuemaos head-on. She can choose to transform it or to let it fester.” Valon sighed deeply. He couldn’t lie that his main concern was that Donte had just missed the power of being the second of his old faction, but he had never steered Miza or him wrong.

  “Alright, let’s do this.” He said hesitantly.

  ~

  Reynaldo Diaz sat in the passenger seat of one of the cars that had picked them up from the airport. He arranged a last-minute flight, and Donte had arranged their transport to the location from the airport. He, Felix, and Raul went on this trip. He left his second Juliana to handle things back home. The three of them were blindfolded when they arrived at the cars and separated. He knew they had been driving for several hours, which meant that they likely had them take a flight to a city near theirs, but far away enough that they wouldn’t be able to be able to guess the location easily.

  “We are almost there.” He heard Donte say.

  “You take security seriously. I like that.”

  “That is because we have something precious to protect.” He heard the man, Valon, he thought his name was, say from beside him. He was sitting in between 2 of Donte’s men, with Donte in the front and another in the passenger seat. He nodded quietly.

  If he was honest with himself he was over this. They were already getting out of drugs when they got pulled into a turf war. All of his captains were supposed to be getting rid of their inventory, but one ineffective captain and a couple of stupid soldiers later were dragged into a war that left his home shot up and his toddler dead.

  He needed out.

  Maddy was destroyed by losing their son, but she was pushing to be the wife and mother she needed to be despite the pain. But she was grieving, and she was scared. This man said he could help. He said he could get all his people on a straighter path. So he would at least meet the person who would be the new boss before they discussed the terms of this merger, as he called it. He felt the car stop.

  “Alright, we are here.” He was led out of the car, and then he heard a door open as he was shuffled through. They stopped, and the blindfold was removed.

  “Holy shit.” He heard Raul curse behind him.

  “It will be another two hours before she’s available. Carrie will show you to the guest rooms so you can rest up. Let her know if you need anything.” Valon said as a small middle-aged woman walked up to them. She bowed slightly and led them up the stairs.

  “Well, one thing we can tell is that they have style.” Raul joked.

  ~

  Approx 3700 words_____________________________________________________________

  The last chapters of OGI are about to be posted on Patreon.