Chapter 14

"Eret, what in Thor's wedding dress are you doing out of prison?!" Astrid had uttered with such shock one would have expected it to be raining hot men.

"Parole babe," Eret answered as if it was obvious. "Can't a guy visit his soulmate after getting out of the slammer?"

"Not when you tried to kill me!" Astrid hissed out as she grabbed Hiccup's hand and squeezed. Hiccup knew it meant that his partner was getting very uncomfortable.

"I think you need to leave... now," Hiccup uttered which finally caused Eret to acknowledge him.

"You, hush up. Can't you see I'm trying to talk to my woman?" Eret shot back dismissively and Astrid grounded out "I.Am.Not.Your.Woman!"

"Of course you are. We're soulmates." He said matter-of-factly. "I came to take you back with me babe. My parents will forgive me when they see us together again." This only caused Astrid to gape.

"Is that all you're interested in? Money?" Astrid questioned. "Your parents might have not been the best inlaws but at least they had the decency to cut you out of their will when you got convicted. Let me guess, now you want to play happy family so you can get back into their good graces."

"That money and you are mine," Eret declared as his eyes narrowed. "It's what I'm owed!"

"I don't owe you anything and neither do your parents. For Thor's sake, how did I ever get paired with such a spoiled toxic and entitled soulmate?!" She questioned aloud. "My current partner is better than you in every way."

"Then why haven't you married him, huh?" Eret shot back which caused Astrid's eyes to widen. "Yeah, I know all about you two. Your mom filled me in on all the details. This common law thing is bullcrap, isn't it?! You just can't marry someone that isn't your soulmate. Face it, Astrid, you need me and not some sugar daddy over there," Eret gestured with his chin to Hiccup who looked ready to punch him into the next century though Astrid's hand in his was all that was holding him back right now.

"Who else is going to put up with your horrible cooking?!" Eret continued. "You really think that guy your banging is going to stick around? I'm the only one that could stomach that Astrid! THE ONLY ONE!" Eret gestured to his chest as the crowd around them started to get thicker. "And you think he's going to keep you around now that he has an heir? You're only good for free childcare at this point 'till you're kicked to the curb and come crawling back to me!"

No one saw it coming, least of all Astrid. Eret fell to the ground as a fist connected to his jaw in a spectacular uppercut. Eret scrambled slightly up and looked incredulously at Hiccup who had stepped in between Astrid and him. "That's the mother of my children you're talking about!" Hiccup growled, knuckles red. "She doesn't need you and never will," He uttered before steering both Astrid and the kids towards the exit while Eret was still sprawled on the ground flabbergasted.

"Hiccup what..." Astrid was shocked as Hiccup's arm around her waist steered her and the stroller towards the nearest exit. When they got to the parking lot they made a beeline for the car, not knowing if Eret was still dazed or following them. With the kids securely strapped in the duo got into the front seats and Hiccup drove out of there quickly.

"Let's go to my parent's place. It's closer than the tower." He suggested and Astrid could only nod, numb by the events that had transpired.

"How did he get out?" She whispered more to herself. "And how did he find us?" That seemed to be the real mystery. Hiccup pondered this as well. The fair had been a spur-of-the-moment trip. No one knew they were heading there, clear across town too. Eret hadn't been at that place to enjoy himself. It was as if he knew that Astrid was going to be there.

"It's been about four years," Hiccup pondered aloud. "Him being on parole is possible." The lawyers couldn't make the attempted murder charge stick but they got him on reckless endangerment and a slew of other charges. Considering the crowded prison system it made sense that, if Eret was a model prisoner, he'd be granted parole.

Astrid was looking ready to freak out more. She was biting her finger and looking out of the window worriedly while Hiccup was driving. Thankfully the drive was short, approximately 20-ish minutes, as his parents lived in an affluent gated community not so far from the marina.

He swiped his keycard at the gate and drove towards the house. To say the community was simply affluent was an understatement. Huge sprawling lawns and driveways littered most of the area. Though his parents were very wealthy they did not own the biggest house on the block. Hiccup turned into the winding driveway that revealed a very geometrically-shaped house sporting an expansive bank of windows and what appeared to be a third-level rooftop deck.

Stoick saw Hiccup's car from the large windows in the living room and walked out towards his driveway looking worried as Hiccup normally called when he came to visit. "Son, what's going on?" Stoick asked as he saw Astrid carefully climb out of the passenger seat, still in her Medieval dress.

"It's quite the story Dad. I'll tell you once we get the kids inside and Astrid's calmed down." Hiccup spoke while opening the backdoor to unbuckle Zephyr and Nuffink. He had lost sight of Astrid for a moment as she chose to bend down for some reason.

"Hiccup...," He heard her call as she sounded like she sucked in a breath. "I think I know how Eret found us,"

Hiccup, leaving a giggling Zephyr in his father's arms, walked around the car to see Astrid reaching for something inside the wheel well. She tugged it out to reveal a small black box that had been attached to the car with duct tape. Hiccup blinked, shocked. "Is that a GPS device?" He asked as he stared incredulously.

Astrid however wasted no time and dropped it on the driveway before promptly stepping on it with her heels, again... and again... and again. "Why that good-for-nothing-slug-licking-goat-assed-man!" She swore as she continued to stomp the device into smithereens. "I should gather up all these pointy pieces and shove it up his ass!" Wisely Hiccup kept his mouth shut as his partner swore to Hellheim and back. If he took one or two steps back for his own safety, well surely no one would notice.