“Well, he’s no match for my Aaron. He’ll be shouldering your boy to the outskirts within the week, you mark my words.”
“And mine, Rhoda,” Aaron said with a shake of his head. “C’mon, we may as well get this over and done with.”
“Well, look at her, pretty as a peach she is!” an older woman in a long green dress said. “Much better presented than that last girl from the outside. What was her name?”
“Do you mean Carissa? I thought she was very fetching.”
“Because she took your Rafe as part of her pack. No, no, she looks just fine. Her name started with an H...” another matriarch said, leaning forward on her knees.
“Hazel?”
“Gods, yes, Hazel! That horrible magenta monstrosity she was wearing at the spring do.”
“Um...Nanas?” Aaron said.
That was evidently the wrong move. Seven pairs of eyes instantly landed on the three of us, the power within them immediately evident. I took a step backwards without even thinking about it, only Slade’s hand on my arm stopped me from retreating farther.
“Don’t show weakness in the face of the old ducks,” he hissed. “They’ll be baying for your blood.”
It was then I remembered what was going on underneath all of this civilised facade. We were strange paranormal creatures, surviving on our wits, our instincts, and a distinct pecking order. I squared my jaw, strengthened my stance, and then stared the old biddies down.
Which resulted in them all immediately bursting out laughing.
“What?” I asked, looking at Slade, then Aaron.
Aaron shrugged. “The Nanas, they’re a whole other thing. I dunno if anyone understands them.”
“Rhoda,” the woman in the green dress said, stepping forward and holding out a hand. She had similar light brown hair and hazel eyes as Aaron, though not the same build. Her grip was strong however, but not too much, like she had nothing to prove whatsoever. If an older woman could rock big dick energy, she had it in spades. “My Aaron will be an asset when you accept him. He is strong, big...” Her eyes flicked to him for a second and then back to me. “All of his grandfathers were.”
I looked into those hazel eyes and just smiled politely, not sure what the fuck to say. Is she talking about his dick? She’s got to be talking about his dick. Why is she talking to me about his dick?
“You will make big, healthy babies together. I can smell it.”
What the actual fuck? While I pondered what kind of alternate crazy world I’d stepped into—where grandmothers talked about cock size and could smell fertility—another woman came forward. She had a long fall of unruly red hair and was smoking from an honest to goodness clay pipe. Her blue eyes crinkled when she stepped closer.
“She’ll be having them with my boy first. You swelled withi
n her?” She shot a sharp-eyed look at Slade.
“Nana...”
“Don’t Nana me, boy! I patted your bottom when you were a puling child! Did you lock within the girl or not?”
“Um... what the fuck?”
The words had been on high repeat in my mind the whole time, but this time, they came out before I had a chance to stop them. But seriously, I stood by them. These weird old ladies—that looked like the residents of a Stevie Knicks inspired aged care home—were asking questions even my gynaecologist would have balked at. The eyes all returned to me, but this time I was ready for it.
“With all due respect to you, ladies, what the fuck are you talking about?”
“Did you?” his Nan insisted.
“Of course, I did, but Jules—”
“Excellent, then the deed may well already be done. Your grandson will need to fight to be second.”
Slade sighed, “Nana, Jules is new to all of this. With her illness—”
“That was an ugly business. How did one of those bastards get through, Aaron?” Rhoda said.