by Grey, Aspen
“Stone-cold assassins?” I repeated, blurting out laughing.
“I don’t know!” Perry giggled. “Aren’t those characters always like wounded and come from dark pasts or something?”
“I guess,” I chuckled as I began to slice the garlic. Perry, still thinking, simply passed me the onion, assuming I’d be the one doing the chopping. I didn’t mind and took it from him. “But I get what you are saying. You know I wake up sometimes thinking about it?”
“Really? Is that why you toss and turn so much?”
I gave him a quick jab in the ribs and he laughed and jumped back. It was a running joke about how bad of a sleeper I was, and if I wasn’t perfectly positioned on my side of Jedrik, I’d toss and turn for a long time before falling asleep.
“No, that’s not why and you know it,” I told him. “I just find myself thinking about things like that before I go to bed—how things could have gone and how we could have gone another way—”
“And become dark assassins from our tortured pasts!”
“Something like that,” I laughed. “Or just not finding each other to begin with. Not finding Jedrik. I mean—we met him because we decided to go to a frigging swingers party. How crazy is that?”
“I know!” Perry agreed. “Our eyes didn’t meet over a cup of coffee or at a cooking class. We didn’t accidentally run into each other on the street. We met him at a frigging orgy!”
“Thank God we met him before we actually got into things,” I speculated as I began to slice the onion. “Can you imagine if we’d decided to like…get it on with another alpha and then Jedrik walked in?”
“Oh, God, that would have been so embarrassing!” Perry grimaced. “But I think he still would have gone for us. Don’t you?”
“Well, we are fated mates,” I replied. “So, I’d sure hope so. But I wouldn’t want his first image of us to be some alpha giving us a deep dicking or something like that.”
Perry burst out laughing and leaned against my shoulder. He reached beneath my shirt and ran his hand up my back, stroking me gently. I thought about when it was just us two together, wondering what we would do without our horrible job serving coffee to rude customers, and thought about how lucky we were now living with Jedrik and being in a beautiful relationship.
It was nontraditional, that much was for sure. I couldn’t even think of anyone I knew who’d even considered doing something like having a three-way relationship. When we told people about it, we got some strange glances, but it didn’t bother me. I wasn’t involved with Jedrik and Perry to impress other people—I was involved with them because they made me happy—because we were meant to be together.
And how many people could say that? How many people could say they knew they were with the person (or people) they were meant to be with? That was something remarkable in my life and one of the things that gave me the courage I needed to look forward to my life, to be optimistic and to be absolutely sure that the two children we were both about to bring into the world would have lives that the rest of us had never been able to have.
Jedrik had lost his parents and of course our lives had been filled with turmoil, but we were going to provide a nice stable life for our children—however many we decided to have. Two was a great start, but I had a feeling that baby fever would come over me again and I’d be throwing myself at Jedrik in no time.
We were going to give him a boy and a girl. I knew it. I don’t know how I knew but I did, and I was convinced that there was a girl inside me. Maybe I was crazy, but I was just getting that energy from my belly. Of course only time would tell, but I was pretty sure we were both about to pop like a couple of overinflated balloons. And I couldn’t wait.
“Okay, slacker,” I told Perry who was lost in a daydream beside me. “Grab a knife and help me with the peppers.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jedrik
I took a step back and looked at the table.
Almost finished.
The cherry wood was gorgeous and had planed out nice and flat, and I’d spent a lot of time sanding it smooth with smaller and smaller grits of sandpaper until it was as smooth as glass. Despite having applied the shellac countless times before, I was always still slightly nervous before doing a new application. Just a few random drips or a brush that was too full and I’d have to sand it off and start again. Thankfully, this time had gone just perfect.
And that was just how our life had been for the last four months: perfect.
Sasha was apparently scared off and hadn’t shown his face, and the pregnancies had continued without issue. Our lives at home were incredible. We got along perfectly and basically never fought, and when we did have a slight disagreement over something small, it was resolved in no time.
The omegas’ ever-changing bodies turned me on more than I’d anticipated. It was something about knowing that I was the reason behind it and as they grew, I saw their nurturing side and it made me think about how I was going to be a father soon.
I told myself I was ready—but was I? In a way, woodworking was like being a father. You took something from its untouched natural state, nurtured it and helped guide it into something new. My children would be like the raw planks that made this table: pure, ready to be taught how to survive in the world. I’d show them how to live, help them grow into strong adults that could survive on their own. And I’d be proud.
I’d been hoping for a boy and a girl—one of each—but I knew I’d be happy with whatever fate decided to give me. Besides, who said we had to stop at two? Why not three or four? Or more?
Relax, you’re getting ahead of yourself!
I guess I had a bit of baby fever, if that was even a thing for an alpha to have—maybe breeding fever?
I thumbed the lights down in my shop and stepped into the hallway.
“Final step tomorrow,” I thought, envisioning the many coats of lacquer I’d apply to seal the wood and protect the shellac finish from the countless cups, plates, bowls and silverware that it would hold. It made me happy to think of how many meals would be shared over the table that I’d created—how many happy memories would be made (hopefully).
I closed the shop door and moved to head upstairs, but that’s when it happened. A smell that shouldn’t have been there, a smell that I’d been certain I would never smell again, assaulted my senses, bursting through my nostrils like a tropical storm and sending my emotions spinning.
Sasha? It can’t be!
Without thinking, I shouldered the door open to the outside and stepped out into the night to see two alphas, one with fiery red hair and the other with a long black mane that hung down to his ass, standing in front of a thick, mobster-looking bastard in a red velvet suit standing behind them, his thick fingers dwarfing the cigar in his hand and making it look like a tiny pencil.
My eyes moved quickly over the group, but I didn’t see Sasha anywhere. But his scent was there—clear as day. As I looked and smelled, I saw that the scent was coming from one of the alphas who must have taken an item of Sasha’s, one filled with his smell, and knowing I would smell it and come running, used it to lure me outside.
“Lookie, lookie here,” the obvious boss chuckled. “If it isn’t the boy who thinks he’s got evidence on my crew!”
Instantly, I glanced around the alley, checking for any other alphas that might be hiding, pheromone-blocked, ready to leap out of the shadows and attack. But thankfully, it appeared as though the only alphas were the ones in front of me.
Don’t come out here, I thought, wishing my mates could read my mind. Don’t!
“What do you think, boys?” he asked, stepping forward, his body sloshing like raw ground beef stuffed into a Ziploc bag. “Should we just kill him and take the shit? Or should we let him live?”
“I dunno, boss,” one of them replied, his voice low and threatening. “He did piss off your boy pretty bad.”
“Yeah, Sasha was real upset,” the other alpha agreed. “I don’t think he’s going to get
over this guy…”
“He’d have no choice if he was gone,” the other suggested. “Ya know—completely out of the picture?”
“That’s true,” the boss agreed, blowing a funnel of smoke into the air. “That would make my little chicken nugget a bit sweeter.”
Chicken nugget? I thought. Did he really just say that?
“Well, boss,” the red-headed alpha laughed, stepping forward. “That’s all I needed to hear.”
He leapt forward, shifting in midair, taking shape as a crimson furred panther with furious eyes. I dodged left and shifted, then slashed out with a claw as he flew through the air, tearing into his side as he gnashed his teeth hopelessly in my direction. His cry echoed throughout the alley as the second alpha shifted, bursting out of his clothes and taking shape as a jet black panther, his fur oily and glistening beneath the dim bulbs of the street lamps.
“Get ‘em!” the boss snarled.
The black-haired alpha dove in my direction, but before he had time to attack, I vaulted towards him with my head down. I drove my skull into his and felt the pain reverberate all the way down my spine to my feet, but the impact was enough to send him spinning away from me. He crashed into a dumpster but was back on his feet in an instant. I spun around to face him, but it was too late—he was on me.
His claws caught my shoulders and slammed me down against the ground, slapping my chest against the concrete. I yelped and twisted, narrowly avoiding his gnashing teeth as they tried to find the flesh of my neck.
“Come on, you pansies!” the boss shouted. I threw myself out of the way, anticipating the other alpha’s attack, and just managed to get clear as he cut through the air beside me. “Get him! He’s only one guy!”
Something crashed behind me and I whipped around to see Eric, already shifted and snarling, come scrambling around the corner, his fangs extended and eyes filled with fury. He raced towards the red-haired alpha, who was bleeding from his side where my claws had found his flesh, and threw the full weight of his shoulder into his already wounded side. I jumped towards him, but a set of teeth clamped down on my ankle, holding me back. I hit the ground hard and spun around, struggling to get loose of the oily omega’s jaws.
“Finish them off, boys!” the boss yelled. “And then we’ll go upstairs and take care of his bitches!”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Perry
“Hey, I think I’m getting the hang of this,” I chuckled as I moved the blade of the chef’s knife faster on the jalapeno pepper, doing my best to dice it as thin as possible without cutting off the tip of my finger.
“You’re getting there,” Roberto smiled, not even looking at me as his knife moved at light speed as he sliced the garlic into impossibly thin segments that would dissolve into the meal when cooked.
“Okay, showoff,” I replied, sticking out my tongue. Something banged outside and I rolled my eyes. “Think that’s Geoffrey again?”
Geoffrey was our resident homeless guy, who was mostly harmless, but liked to poke around the garbage for random items—not even food—just whatever he felt like picking out that night. We helped him out with leftovers, and I’d even gone so far as to bake him some protein donuts once, but he still liked digging around for things, almost like it was his hobby.
“Probably,” Roberto shrugged. “Let’s ignore him?”
“Sounds good to me,” I laughed, repositioning my blade for another cut. But as I did, I felt something inside me move. Something splashed on my feet, and I looked down to see a puddle on the tile beneath me. My eyes went wide and I glanced over at Roberto to see the same expression on his face.
“Did your—?” I began.
“Water just break?” he finished, a massive smile on his lips.
“Uh huh!”
“Holy shit!” he gasped. “It’s time!”
“Oh my God!” I clapped happily. But my little burst of joy was interrupted as a contraction slapped my insides like a flock of wild birds going crazy, beating their wings like they were trying to churn cream into butter.
“Ugh…” Roberto groaned, bracing himself on the counter beside me. “Ooooh, oooh, oooh, oooh. That hurts.”
“Yup,” I replied, almost feeling groggy as the first pangs of labor made themselves known to my body.
Another crash came from outside—louder this time, and as I gripped the counter and closed my eyes against the strength of a second contraction, I heard a yelp and recognized it immediately.
“Jedrik!”
Roberto heard it too and his eyes snapped to mine with concern as another contraction hit him.
“What’s happening!?” I shouted, panic filling my mind like it was being pumped into my skull with a garden hose.
“It’s Sasha!” Roberto cried out. “It has to be!”
“What do we do!?”
“Nothing!” I heard a shout from the hall. It was Eric’s voice. “Stay inside!”
I glanced back at Roberto with terror as the back door slammed open and more snarls and sounds of battle rang out through the night.
“We have to—ahhhh!”
The contraction took my legs out from under me, and I would have fallen if it weren’t for Roberto taking me by the arm and holding me up. He guided me to the couch where we both slumped down. Luckily, I’d left my phone on the side table and snatched it up and immediately dialed Wendell.
“Come on…” I muttered as it rang. Outside, someone—not Jedrik—howled in pain. “Answer!”
Finally, Wendell picked up the call. “Hello?”
“Wendell!” I shouted.
“Get over here, buddy!” Roberto cried out. “We need ya!”
“We’re in labor!”
“Oh, shit!” he gasped. “How long?”
“Like two minutes!” I stammered. “And—don’t go out back! Something’s happening!”
“What do you mean?”
“Someone’s fighting!” Another contraction tore my voice from my lips.
“Jedrik! Sasha!” Roberto called out, twisting on the couch beside me.
“Okay, I’ll be right there!”
I didn’t have time to respond. Wendell hung up. I dropped the phone and clutched Roberto’s hand with such force that I thought I might hurt him, but he replied with just as much strength of his own. I stared at him as the sounds of the fight from outside battered against the windows to our apartment.
“He’s got Eric, baby,” I told Roberto, trying to calm him down, despite the fact that I wanted to race out there and help him out like we’d done before.
“But, we—”
“Are about to have his babies!” I replied. “We can’t even stand, let alone shift and go out there to fight!”
“Fuck!” he bellowed. “Why is this happening now?”
“He’ll be okay, baby,” I assured him. “You have to relax. We can’t bring these babies into the world surrounded by anger and negativity. We have to be strong for them. Eric and Jedrik can handle whoever’s out there.”
Another cry rang out, hitting me in the stomach like one of my contractions, but I did my best to stay strong and not focus on it. There was nothing we could do now. Eric was out there helping Jedrik, and I had to believe they could handle things. I had to.
“How are you doing, baby?” I asked Roberto. His eyes were twisted shut and sweat was beginning to form on his brow. I leaned over and kissed him, doing my best to ignore my own pains. Just like when Chad had fired us, and countless other times before, I did my best to keep Roberto calm—that was the way it had always been and the way it would always be. It was the balance we brought to each other.
But suddenly, a new thought occurred to me. With the strength that Jedrik brought to our relationship, we’d be unstoppable. All three of us were like the corners of a triangle, an unbreakable shape that would stand against anything, and the children we were about to bring into the world would be beneficiaries of that strength.
“It hurts,” Roberto said, his mouth clenched tigh
t. Outside, another cry, and as though in response, the baby inside me moved as another contraction came over me.
“Where is Wendell!?” he shouted.
“He’s coming, baby,” I told him as he leaned his head against my shoulder, nuzzling into the corner of my neck. “Don’t worry. Everything’s going to be all right.”
If you believe it, it will be true…
“How can you be so sure?” he asked me. “You’re always so sure about things.”
“You know I’m right, baby,” I reassured him, using the back of my hand to wipe his forehead clean of the sweat that had formed there. “Just look into yourself and you will feel it. We’re going to be okay.”
If you believe it, it will be true.
“If they hurt him—I’ll kill them!” he shouted. “GET AWAY FROM HIM!”
Jedrik’s roar filled the air. It was strong and filled with fury, not pain. To my ears, he and Eric were winning. I could just picture him coming back in the door, naked and glorious, a few scratches on his beautiful, towering physique, but nothing serious. He’d come over to us as we gave birth, and hold his newborn children in his arms, and the world would be exactly where it needed to be.
If you believe it, it will be true!
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jedrik
Something’s happening upstairs!
I don’t know how I knew it, but I did. Maybe I’d heard something—a cry or a shout—lost amidst the thrashing sounds of battle, or maybe I smelled something different in the air, or maybe there was just a connection now between me and my mates, but I knew that something was going on in my apartment, and there was only one thing that it could be.
The realization was like a strong wind filling my sails, sending me racing forward towards the alpha who had fallen after Eric slammed into him. His neck was exposed to me, and I sank my fangs true and deep, finding the jugular vein and severing it with one quick jerk. His cry was lost in the sound of the boss howling in anger.