by Alanea Alder
“Sebastian said he would give us some of the chocolate from the pride order. Ashby introduced us to the stuff, now we’re addicted.” David explained.
“Why don’t you just go in and get some?” Liam looked from David to Daniel. The twins shook their heads.
“Mr. Gilberton is really mean. He said if we came into his store again he would call the sheriff. We’re new in town and didn’t want to cause trouble,” Daniel said, and Liam nodded.
“Well let me go see what is taking so long. Hang tight.” Liam turned and walked into the colorful candy store. He walked up to the counter where Gilberton was doing paperwork.
“Gilberton, have you seen Kent and Sebastian? They were supposed to come and pick up the chocolate order for the pride.” Liam ground his teeth in an effort to be civil.
“You cock-loving fags have come and gone. Good thing too, I didn’t want them in my store any longer than it took to get the chocolate, which was taking up valuable inventory space, I’ll have you know,” Gilberton sneered. Liam took deep breaths to keep from punching the old man in the face.
“Good day, then,” Liam said, and walked back out of the store. When he got back outside he saw David and Daniel jump up and walk over to him.
“I must have missed them. He said that they have come and gone already. Maybe they’ve gone to the pride house already,” Liam wondered out loud. David and Daniel exchanged concerned looks.
“Liam, Sebastian never left. We arrived the same time he did and we waited right outside the door for him to come out. He hasn’t come out yet,” David explained. Liam could feel a rising panic enter his body like jet fuel.
“David, run back to the diner and tell Aleks exactly what you just told me. Daniel, you’re with me,” Liam said, turning to head back up the steps into Bobbles and Things.
He swung open the door so hard he heard the glass panes crack.
“What is the meaning of this!” Gilberton demanded, coming around the counter. He saw Daniel and hissed.
“Out of my store, you undead abomination!” he screamed.
Daniel turned to Liam, his normally green eyes glowing bright red.
“I smell blood, Liam.”
That one short sentence had Liam’s world imploding. Liam reached forward and grabbed Gilberton by the throat and easily hefted the heavier man off the floor.
“Where. Are. My. Mates?” he asked his voice surprisingly cold and evenly toned.
“I don’t know what you are talking about!” Gilberton protested. Daniel walked past Liam and Gilberton, following his nose.
“The smell is stronger down there,” Daniel said, pointing to a door.
“You’re coming with me,” Liam said, throwing Gilberton against the wall next to the door. With two quick strides he was at the doorway heading downstairs. He grabbed the older man’s long, white hair and started to drag him down the roughhewn wooden stairs. Halfway down, Liam heard something break on the old man.
Once down the stairs, Liam froze. Crumpled in a corner, not moving, was Kent’s prone figure. Laying next to Kent was Sebastian. Both had pools of blood fanning out from their heads. Liam threw Gilberton at Daniel and roared out his anger. He ran over and pulled both of his mates into his lap, crying.
“Please don’t leave me! Please, my loves!” Liam yelled out, rocking their bodies.
“Liam!” Voices called out from upstairs. Liam heard footsteps on the wooden floor above.
“We’re down here!” Daniel yelled. He easily held onto the thrashing Gilberton. Seconds later Aleks, Caleb, Bran and Gabriel came rushing down the rickety steps.
“What in the hell happened?” Aleks asked, taking Gilberton by the arm.
“That crazy bastard hit me in the back of the head,” Kent’s voice sounded pained. Liam looked down at his mate to see Kent blinking his eyes and trying to sit up. Kent looked over, saw Sebastian’s still form in Liam’s arms, and his hands shifted to claws.
“I had to do it! We can’t have a queer on the council, he is an abomination!” Gilberton screamed, foam forming at the corners of his mouth. Aleks snarled down at the man.
Liam handed Sebastian over to Kent, who retracted his claws to hold their mate.
“Give him to me, Aleks,” Liam demanded. Aleks shook his head, his eyes pained.
“I can’t, Liam. He was taken alive, he has to go on trial for what he’s done, if you kill him now it will be in cold blood and you can be tried for murder. After what we just went through yesterday, don’t waste the chance you have been given to be with your mates,” Aleks said calmly.
“Give him to me!” Liam screamed until his throat felt raw, his eyes and hands shifting.
“Liam?” The weak voice was barely heard over Liam’s rage. Liam swung his head around to see Sebastian watching him from Kent’s lap.
“Kitten? Are you okay?” Liam asked going to his mates and dropping to his knees.
“My head hurts, but other than that I’m fine.” Sebastian reached up and pulled Liam into his arms. Kent reached up and held them both.
“You’re sick! You’re going to hell. Freaks, deviants!” Gilberton’s steady stream of hate was cut short when Aleks reared back and punched him right between the eyes, effectively shutting the old man up. Liam raised an eyebrow. Aleks shrugged.
“He’s still alive.” Aleks frowned down at the man dangling from his grasp and shook him. “I think.” He shook Gilberton again until a moan was heard. Aleks sighed in relief.
“Aleks, let’s get Sebastian and Kent to the diner. Claybourne is out of town at a convention, so Ma will have to look them over,” Bran said. Liam stood and scooped Sebastian up in his arms. Bran and Caleb helped Kent to stand. Each man supported the large shifter under each arm and slowly made their way up the stairs. Aleks dragged Gilberton behind him, followed by Daniel, who kept smacking Gilberton in the face when Aleks’s back was turned. Once upstairs, Kent was steady on his feet, and everyone filed out of the candy store to head to the diner where Ma, Rebecca, Kate, Ashby and Nic waited out front on the sidewalk. Lachlan, on his cell phone, came rushing towards them from his parked car.
“Are they okay?” Lachlan asked Liam, breathless. Liam nodded and nuzzled the top of Sebastian’s head. Kent rested his head on Liam’s shoulder. Lachlan looked to where Aleks stood, still holding Gilberton by the back of the neck.
“Is he alive?” Lachlan asked.
Aleks nodded. “Kinda.” He shook Gilberton until he groaned, waking up. When his eyes opened, he looked around at the crowd and hissed.
“Thank God! Yes, Ora, they managed to take him alive. Yes, I’d like to arrange the trial immediately,” Lachlan said. Liam watched as Rebecca made her way over to Aleks. At first he thought that she was going to her husband, but instead she leaned in and whispered something so softly to Gilberton that he couldn’t hear what she said. She stood back and smiled sweetly at him.
Seconds later Gilberton began to thrash around trying to escape.
“Gilberton, stop resisting, you’re only making this harder on yourself,” Lachlan yelled. Bran and Caleb stood in front of Kate, Gabriel pushed Ashby behind him, and Ma pulled Rebecca into her arms. Liam slowly backed away with Sebastian and Kent.
“You won’t infect me! Deviants! Sinners!” Gilberton screeched.
Gilberton broke free from Aleks and lunged at Liam. Without thinking twice Liam shifted his hand and gutted him before Gilberton could reach his mates. Liam watched, completely detached, as the older man fell to his knees and kneeled over, blood pooling around him. The wound was so severe that even the accelerated healing powers of a shifter couldn’t save him.
“Ora, that trial won’t be necessary after all. Gilberton broke free from Aleksander Arkadion and made another attempt at Sebastian and Kent. Liam had no choice but to kill him. Yes, please contact the next of kin. That would be an enormous help. Good-bye, talk to you soon.” Lachlan ended the call, looked at the body, and sighed.
“Cleaning up dead bodies is so damn messy.”
He shook his head.
“Luckily Aleks has some experience with that,” Ma said, pushing her son forward. Aleks pointed to his chest.
“How did I get stuck with body detail again?” He demanded. Ma just pointed to where Liam stood between his two mates, looking pale. Heaving a sigh of his own, he nodded.
“Fine, but if I kill someone, one of y’all will have to deal with the body,” he grumbled, walking over to the body, kicking it so that it lay flat. Ma rolled her eyes.
“Liam, let’s get you boys inside. I have some hot soup that will be just the thing to set you to rights.” She herded everyone inside.
Hours later, most of the pride had shown up and stayed close to their Alpha and their Alpha’s mates.
“Are you sure he’s dead?” Rian asked for the tenth time. Finally, Ma’s patience snapped.
“Did you want to help Aleks with clean up? Why do you keep asking?” She demanded. Rian gave a catlike half shrug.
“I wanted to maul him a little. But it’s no good now the bastard is dead and wouldn’t feel it,” Rian explained.
“He’s in a body bag at the station’s morgue if you want to have a go,” Aleks offered. Rian shook his head.
“I have a question, why didn’t we feel anything through our bonds? I should have felt something since we’re bonded. Liam too,” Rebecca asked the group.
“I think it’s because we were hit from behind. There was no chance to get scared or generate panic. Just a tiny second of pain and then blackness. I bet he was planning on taking our bodies outside of the perimeter to kill us so that he wouldn’t lose Arkadian protection,” Kent explained.
“He was a cruel old bastard. I’m glad he’s gone,” Liam said, still looking a bit pale from almost losing both of his mates.
“Now we really won’t have any chocolate,” Kate said, and everyone turned to look at her.
“What?” she asked.
“You just saw a man get gutted and you’re worried about chocolate?” Kent asked. Kate looked at him, confused. Rebecca, seeing the dilemma, spoke up.
“He thinks because we’re women that we’re emotional. Personally, I’m glad that hateful bigot is dead. He meant to kill two people close to me, so he deserved to die. I hope he is rotting in hell…” Her attention wavered as her eyes drifted over the menu.
“Yes! You made lasagna for dinner. I love you, Ma,” Rebecca said. Her words so contradicted her voice and small stature that Liam wasn’t the only one staring at their Alpha Mother.
“Rebecca, sweetheart, can I ask you a question?” Lachlan asked, having heard the entire conversation. Liam watched Rebecca’s head pop up.
“Sure, Lachlan,” she said, smiling. Liam knew that smile. That was Rebecca’s I-did-something-clever-and-I-got-caught smile.
“What did you whisper to Gilberton right before he tried to go after Sebastian and Kent again?” Lachlan asked. Liam leaned forward. He was dying to know, too.
“Oh that,” she said.
“I simply advised him that it was poetic justice that he would be going to jail to enjoy lots of butt sex considering how much he hated homosexuals.”
“You twisted little genius,” Liam said. In that instant he knew that he would do anything for the pint-sized human who had taken steps to ensure his mate’s safety. Aleks buried his face in his hands. Lachlan’s mouth opened, then closed. The corner of his mouth twitched before he began to laugh. It was contagious, because soon everyone was laughing.
“Rebecca, you really do have a violent streak,” he said, wiping his eyes. In a rare serious moment, she looked up at Lachlan.
“I will do anything in my power to keep my family safe,” she said, looking at Liam, then Kate and then Aleks.
“Try not to break any laws,” Lachlan said, shaking his head. Her face brightened into the sunny smile that Liam was familiar with.
“I have memorized all the laws now,” she said. Liam could just hear the unfinished sentence.
So I know how to work around them.
“I need a drink,” Lachlan announced, and stood. “You are the most dangerous person in this damn town, human or not,” Lachlan said and walked out of the diner.
“Duh!” Rian drew out, rolling his eyes.
“Damn right! That’s why she’s our Alpha Mother,” Kate said.
Liam smiled at the sound of Sebastian’s giggle. His eyes met Kent’s. When Kent’s eyes darted down to Sebastian’s stomach, he felt ice cold.
“Kitten, how do you feel?” Liam asked. Sebastian stopped his giggles and looked up at Liam.
“I feel fine,” Sebastian said, placing his hands over Liam’s.
“When the doctor gets back in town we’ll have him check you both out,” Liam said. Kent nodded.
“Whatever you think.” Sebastian snuggled closer to Liam.
“Let’s head home,” Liam said. Sebastian looked up, and a broad smile stretched across his face.
“I like the sound of that. Let’s go home.”
Chapter 11
“Y’all are here too?” Sebastian asked, walking into the diner.
“Yeah, Aleks got a call from Gabriel at six o’clock this morning, something about a public works meeting. I stayed in bed and told him I would catch up to him later. You guys, too?” Rebecca asked. Sebastian nodded.
“Liam, Kent and most of the pride left this morning, too.” Sebastian yawned. His mates had been treating him like a precious, fragile gift. They were going to drive him crazy if he was pregnant. But he could definitely get used to some of the pampering. He sat down next to Kate and turned to Felix, who had left with the pride that morning.
“Do you know what’s going on?” Felix shook his head.
“No, I wasn’t really interested. I wanted some of Ma’s fresh-out-of-the-oven muffins this morning so I bummed a ride. Thanks for the clothes, by the way, I found out all of my stuff was thrown out the second my rent was overdue. I’m still trying to get new ID and bank cards. This is taking being kidnapped to a whole new level of suck,” Felix complained.
Sebastian nodded. He was in the same boat. Thank goodness Liam had money, because his was tied up. Since he wasn’t able to step forward when his parents were murdered, their family lawyer had put the entire estate in probate. His only stroke of luck was that because both he and his parents had still been in the process of moving in, most of their belongings were in storage. Their estate lawyer had moved the contents of the house into the storage units and set up payments from escrow. As soon as the paperwork went through, he’d be a very rich hybrid.
“We need a lawyer,” he said out loud. Everyone blinked at him.
“We don’t have one here in town. I have a feeling that what happened with the council is just the tip of the iceberg. If more hybrids show up in Arkadia, they will need a lawyer that can help them get their lives back together,” Sebastian explained. Rebecca nodded and looked over to Ma.
“I’ll ask around and see if anyone knows of someone who would like to move here,” Ma said.
“Who wouldn’t want to live in Arkadia?” Rebecca asked, confused. Felix snorted.
“I love Arkadia, I do. Especially since this town kept my skinny ass out of that crazy wolf’s cage. But it can be a little too Mayberry. I’m used to a bigger city with shops and restaurants and God! Shopping!” Felix moaned.
“I like the small-town feel. There aren’t many places like this anymore,” Sebastian said. Felix nodded.
“It’s real homey and I love that. I just miss the shopping, I guess.” Felix said.
“But then you wouldn’t have my muffins,” Ma said, bringing over a plate of assorted muffins. Everyone around the table took in deep breaths and sighed happily.
“Kate, who has the boys?” Sebastian asked, biting into his cinnamon apple muffin.
“Gina and Ethan. I think the Wade children have pretty much adopted Landon and Lucas.” Kate took out a chocolate and lemon muffin and set them aside. Sebastian watched her. She looked over and smiled.
&n
bsp; “You know Rian and Damian will be here any minute demanding to know what’s going on,” she explained.
“So true.” Rebecca nodded.
The diner door opened and Nic walked in, yawning.
“Why are all the men in the street outside?” he asked. Everyone looked at each other before they jumped up and raced past a confused Nic to go outside.
Sebastian stepped next to Rebecca in an attempt to figure out what the men were doing. Most of the pack, pride, and sloth’s men were there arguing over heavy machinery. Rebecca tilted her head, trying to figure out what they were doing. Just then the smell of tar reached them.
“Are they going to try and repave the road? By themselves? Do any of them know anything about construction?” Sebastian asked, getting worried. He saw Liam trying to hit Aleks with an orange traffic cone and Kent looked like he was reading them directions out of a book. Felix sighed.
“Ma, do you have keys to the clinic?” he asked. She nodded.
“Good idea.” She quickly untied her apron and grabbed a set of keys. Everyone turned to look at Felix.
“I’m a registered nurse,” he admitted.
“Good thing, too, with Dr. Claybourne out of town,” Ma said as she and Felix headed across the street to the clinic.
“Not to sound mean, but isn’t he kinda spazzy to be a nurse?” Kate said. Rebecca nodded.
“I bet he is really good with patients, though,” Nic said. Kate nodded.
“He was always taking care of us when we were able to get out of the cages. I think it’s second nature for him to nurture,” Sebastian said quietly. Then an idea came to him.
“Be right back.” He rushed to meet up with Felix and Ma at the clinic.
“God lord, this man needs to get laid. I mean really, who makes sure all the tongue depressors face the same direction? This is scary organized,” Felix complained as he dug through Dr. Claybourne’s supplies.
“You can head back, Ma, I’ll help Felix,” Sebastian said, smiling. Ma nodded and handed the keys over to Sebastian.
“Make sure you boys lock up,” she reminded them, and walked out.