Slate's Mistake

by Tigertalez

  Slate was rubbing her back when he talked to the doctor. She wasn’t surprised with how protective and concerned for her that he was, but hearing this caused her more emotions, worry and fear. Did her cancer come back? Or another form of it?

  Seamus chuckled. Katie would have been upset if he was any other doctor, but she had confidence that he probably knew what the smell was and wasn’t worried. “I was going to ask to run tests, if you wouldn’t mind, Katie. But I can assure you it isn’t cancer.”

  She would have thought Slate would have relaxed, but instead, he was getting angry. “What’s so fucking funny?” he snapped. “If you know, damn it, tell me! What’s wrong with her?”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Slate felt Katie’s delicate hand rubbing his chest and her warm soft lips pressed against his cheek trying to calm him. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his nose in her neck, breathing in her scent, further calming himself. He had smelt the unusual scent briefly this morning but was going to finish up his meeting before talking with the doctor. His emotions were flared and near out of control with worry, and then the attack happened. He was proud of himself for not going lion on anyone’s ass.

  “Katie doesn’t have any disease, Slate. If I am correct, she’s pregnant,” Seamus stated very matter-of-factly.

  Both their heads whipped up, facing the doctor. “What?” A flutter spirited through his belly.

  “Yeah, what?” Katie reiterated her mate’s response.

  Seamus chuckled again. “I would like to run some tests though, just to positively confirm and to make sure it’s going to be healthy.”

  Slate let out a celebratory whoop. Laughing out loud, he lifted her up and swung her around in a circle. Katie squeaked, and her arms gripped around him. He smashed his lips against hers. Then pulling back, he carefully placed her back on the exam bed.

  Katie looked at the doctor, confused. “How can you already tell? We have only been together for a week.”

  Seamus answered her while gathering some items to collect blood samples. “Paranormals gestate much faster than humans. About five months. It’s rather remarkable really, that you two have become pregnant so soon. Because of the long lives we paranormals live, it is harder for us to create offspring. However, when we do, they develop quite fast until after puberty, when our aging slows dramatically.”

  After far more tests than Slate thought were necessary were completed, they were done. He was overprotective, sure, but he quietly questioned why so many tests had to be run. Perhaps Sea suspects something is wrong. He was lost in thought, and worry, when they were leaving the garage, so he was slightly startled when Katie squealed with obvious excitement. He looked up as a car and truck pulled up. Inside them were her dad and sister. She raced around the car and twirled her sister around, then ran to her dad, and he twirled her around.

  “I thought you would be longer.” Her voice was muffled in her dad’s collar.

  “Your friend you gave your apartment to orchestrated a huge group to help pack us up as a thank you, and things were going smoothly so we were sent on our way.” Henry gave her a curious look. Slate guessed he was reacting to her new scent.

  Katie’s sister took on a look of concern. “Uh, Katie, what’s going on? Alphy said you were better, but you smell different.”

  Katie beamed at them and nodded vigorously. “I am better.”

  Sara’s face scrunched in confusion. “I don’t understand. What am I smelling?”

  “Katie, are you pregnant?” Henry asked.

  Several other pack members started making their way out onto the deck to see who had driven in and what the commotion was. Slate walked up behind his mate and stood behind her for support as she excitedly told them the news.

  “Yes! I’m pregnant. We just found out.”

  Those who were nearby heard her. Everyone gave a hearty congratulated exclamation of one kind or other as they trotted forward and surrounded them. Slate didn’t feel at all threatened like he was before. He stood back and watched with benevolence as she excitedly shared their news. Pats on the back and handshakes were what kept him busy for the next several minutes. He had made sure to gather his mate and tuck her in his arm before she was swept away by the cackling females. He didn’t want her to disappear with them just yet.

  Alphy made his way down to him, giving him an opened mouthed grin while Gale was already hugging Katie. “Congratulations, man! I’m happy for you. So I guess this is what the unusual scent was that you wanted checked out?”

  Slate gave him a sheepish grin. “Yeah, well, after that cancer scare, and then the attack today, I just overreacted I guess.”

  “I would have done the same thing.” Alphy gave his shoulder a squeeze.

  Slate appreciated his alpha’s understanding. He looked around the gathered crowed and noticed Katie’s dad, Henry, with a peculiar look on his face. His eyes followed the direction he was looking and saw his mother slowly making her way towards them. “Fuck!” he mumbled.

  Alphy was still near and turned to give him a questioning look. He nodded towards Henry. Slate didn’t even need to finish the explanation. The look on Henry’s face pretty much said it all. He saw Henry start toward Beverly with a purposeful stride, but Alphy stepped forward, and Slate went with him. With the direction of the wind, he was sure Beverly hadn’t smelt him yet.

  Alphy spoke barely audibly. “That look on your face, I must ask, is she your mate?”

  Slate could see the barely contained rage at being kept from his mate. Oh how Slate could relate! “Yes!” Henry said through clenched teeth.

  “That’s Slate’s mother.” Alphy didn’t need to say more. Henry knew all about what had happened and to whom. Alphy told Slate that he had informed Henry in detail what had happened that caused him to return back to the pack so soon.

  Slate saw him grow pale. He wanted to help ease his worries. “She’s going to make a full recovery, and she’s going to be ok.”

  Henry let out a relieved breath and relaxed a bit. “Is there any other reason you’re keeping me from her?”

  When Alphy shook his head, he and Slate stepped aside and watched Henry approach his destiny.

  Slate was curious how his mother would handle it, whether she would be happy, especially with the horror she had just experienced, or whether she would react badly, for the same reason. He was also curious how his mate and sister would handle it. He, himself, was ecstatic for his mother. He felt she needed this and hoped that she took it well.

  Slate knew when his mother scented Henry. Her spine stiffened, and her eyes got big. He held his breath, unsure what she would do. Everyone around them must have scented something, because everyone grew silent and turned to stare. Some even backed away, and that worried him. What did they smell?

  Nothing happened at first. She just stood there looking at Henry, and he seemed to not to want to push her, but Slate saw his lips moving. Henry was talking too quietly to be heard from where he stood. His mother’s chest heaved, and after tense moments, she threw her arms around Henry. Henry didn’t hesitate. His arms wrapped securely around her, and Slate took in a deep breath of relief. He would have thought it would have been weird to see his mother with another man, but the sight only gave him a sense of rightness.

  Katie walked over and wrapped her arms around him and looked up at him. “Your mom and my dad, who woulda thunk it?”

  Chuckling, he led his mate into the house.

  Just a few hours later, Slate tuned out the fast fluttered tapping of Ryker’s keystrokes next to him as he read over the list of things he needed to discuss in this meeting. He rolled a pen between two fingers while he sat in his seat waiting for everyone to arrive. They were still waiting for Dultyn to come from his roost. That gave Slate time to organize his thoughts and notes. He took his job seriously, but with the news that he was going to be a daddy, his protective instincts suddenly seemed to kick into overdrive. Wow, a daddy. I’m going to be a daddy. As he looked over his notes, h
e grimaced at how lacking everything was. Mentally squaring his shoulders, he made a silent vow. I’ll keep them safe if I have to sacrifice a week’s worth of sleep in the process.

  Everyone looked up as Dultyn entered. After the round of greetings, Alphy started them off. “To begin, I would like to formally offer Dultyn the rank of tracker. Do you accept?”

  Everyone turned to look at the clearly shocked gargoyle.

  Dultyn had remained standing when he arrived, but now he stood taller. “I am honored and accept. Thank you.”

  “Good. Our pack is growing, but so, too, is the threat from others. I want more effort put into security even if we have to pull the building crews off their builds and place them on sentry duty until we can get more help. Nix was able to see the numbers on the plates. After running them, we discovered it was rented by Damon Miller, the missing beta from the herd. It seems as though he really does have a rich relative, although why this relative would help him, or know what he’s doing with the money is still a mystery.

  “That being said, I have gotten word from our shifter council. They spread the word as we asked, and we have heard from several who wish to join. Ryker is still doing background checks on them, and there are more than a few. Add to that, the American councilman who is friends with Tyler, was able to secretly contact us asking if we could take in a couple of shifters he’s trying to keep safe. Ryker, can you tell us more?”

  The fluttered tapping noise stopped as the bright red headed man looked up and around the room. “Huh? Oh, right, yeah, uh.” Ryker picked up a tablet and looked down at what was written on it. “One hundred forty-five year old, wood bison shifter Neto Locklear, and his one hundred thirteen year old sister Isa are coming from the Yukon. They were the offspring of Alpha Hosa Locklear, who leads a large herd from Wyoming. What happened isn’t clear, but they fled the herd. Our secret councilman has been trying to keep them safe ever since as they are witnesses in a major case against another councilman.”

  “Do we know who our friend is on the American council?” Nix asked.

  Ryker looked at Alphy. Alphy nodded his head, so Ryker continued. “American councilman Taima Black. He’s a bald eagle shifter. In the information he sent, he said that Neto had found some documents that incriminated his father, and others, in embezzling, money-laundering as well as drug dealing, and alerted Taima.”

  “So Neto was the next in line for the herd? If he’s an alpha, how would that work here?” Enzo looked at Alphy as he asked.

  Alphy shrugged. “I’ve been assured he knows he isn’t up for any rank, that he would have to answer to those who are, and that he understands and agrees to this. We don’t know for sure how strong he is, but they have been without a herd for almost twenty-five years. It won’t be easy for them to settle into a pack culture, but I’m sure at the same time, they will be thankful for it. I’ve said it before, I want this to be a refuge for people who, for one reason or another, have been forced from their communities. It’s hard on most of us, but harder on the ones whose animals crave the communal pack structure. We won’t know until they get here, but I think they are eager to belong someplace again. Although, I believe it goes without saying that we could probably expect bumps along the way. They have been on their own for a long time, so they may need time to adjust.”

  Slate placed his pen on his paper and looked at his alpha. “What’s their ETA?”

  “Ryker?” Alphy looked to the little vampire for the answer.

  “Uh…” Ryker tapped on his keyboard and looked up. “Depending on how fast he drives, which route he takes, any unforeseeable things like roadblocks, and how much time he takes to rest, he could be here anywhere between Friday and Tuesday.”

  Slate scribbled the note down as Alphy spoke. “All right, on to other matters. Slate has been working on our security issues. Slate, fill us in.”

  Slate took a steady look around the room. “I’ve been working with Ryker and Matteo on obtaining security equipment. The few pieces we have right now aren’t working well with our systems, and when Ryker tested them, he was easily able to tap into them, meaning anyone who knew how, would be able to tap into the feed and view us. And in this day and age, the numbers of people who can do that are rising.

  “Thanks to Matteo’s contacts, we are going to be getting some of the highest government grade security cameras. However, they aren’t coming all at once, so we need to be strategic where we put them when we get them, and the system is going to be something new for us to learn. We should be getting the first shipment tomorrow. In the meantime, I was entertaining another idea. I found a place online that is very reputable that sells German Shepherds that are trained to protect and guard but still be family friendly. The only catch is we would need to be trained to handle the dogs when we purchase them. To do that, they need someone to bond them to.”

  “What about Finn?” Everyone turned to look at Nix.

  “He’s still in the military on active duty,” Alphy answered.

  “Who’s Finn?” Ryker asked.

  “Staff Sergeant Finn North. He’s a military war dog handler,” Alphy answered. “He’s a shifter. His animal is an African Wild Dog. We met last year and formed a bond, but he already has a pack.”

  “Couldn’t we offer him a job here?” Nix pressed his argument.

  “I’ll think about it. I’ll contact him and see what he’s willing to offer.” Alphy’s tone wasn’t chastising, but it brooked no further argument on the subject. Nix looked like he was satisfied with the alpha’s answer.

  Slate went on. “Also, I thought about organizing the sentry duties into teams with each tracker as the team leader. The tracker can choose any two pack members to be a part of their team.”

  Alphy scratched his chin. “Huh, interesting.”

  “Would these pack members have a rank?” Kace asked.

  “Yes, sentry. It isn’t really flashy, but with your permission, Alphy, I wanted to draw up details for the new rank like privileges and such,” Slate answered.

  Alphy leaned forward and rested on his elbows. “This will free up the tracker on duty if we need him suddenly without compromising too much security. And it will give them back-up on certain occasions without taking one of the other trackers away from their own tasks.”

  “This will give members a sense of purpose in the pack,” Nix added.

  Alphy nodded and sat back again. “Yes, it will. It would also give some of the newer members a connection to the pack. Something to take pride in and boost their spirits. Good thinking, Slate.”

  “Oo, oo, you mean I get my own team?” Ryker bounced in his seat, and Slate couldn’t mistake the bright look of excitement that radiated from his face.

  “Yes. Actually, Ryker,” Slate continued, “this is an ideal thing for you since much of the time you are stuck in here doing who-knows-what on your computers. I figured for each team, two can patrol outside while one stays inside watching the cams, when we get them set up. Which brings me to my final proposal.”

  Slate glanced down at his notes briefly to ensure he didn’t miss anything before he continued. “We need communication all around the property. I’ve been looking into a two-way radio relay station. It doesn’t have to be a large one. I would also suggest a separate jamming station. I was thinking Ryker or even Matteo could come up with an encryption code and a jamming program.”

  “Great, but how would we carry a walkie-talkie when we’re shifted?”

  Slate looked at Nix. “I thought of some ideas for that, but I haven’t had enough time to fully draw any of them up. I’m not an engineer, but I thought we could discuss the idea to get it started. I know what devices are out there. There are different kinds, and we can modify anything. It would vary depending on the paranormal.”

  Alphy grunted as he stared down at the floor. “It’s something we definitely need to look further into.” Sighing heavily, Alphy looked up around the room. “All right, trackers, once you choose your teams, run it by me for final a
pproval. Also, I’ll get in touch with Finn. Oh, and I have some sensitive paperwork the shifter council is waiting for, and some for the vampire council as well. Slate, I’d like for you to run them to Toronto. Matteo can accompany you. Dex is also asking to return home for something, so he and one of his friends will join you. However, the councils are closed until Wednesday. You’ll have to wait until then. All right, everyone, anything else?” After a look around the room and seeing everyone shaking heads, Alphy ended the meeting, and they headed into the dining room for supper.

  ****

  Over the next couple of days, he adjusted to the mindset that he was going to be a daddy. Slate knew he had become overly protective—as if he wasn’t before—but he couldn’t help his instincts. He’d started to get a bit overbearing, and today Seamus wanted to do more testing on Katie. Slate wanted to be there for her and the baby, but Alphy had ordered him to travel to Toronto on some errands. He was absolutely incensed about not being here for the tests, but his alpha had given him an order, so joined by Pierce, Matteo and Dex, he trekked through the cold rain and climbed into the new pack car and headed out.

  They seemed to have sensed his mood, or maybe they even sympathized with him, so as their tires splashed a path down the ON-28, the men enjoyed bantering with him.

  When they approached the city, Slate asked, “So where to first?”

  Dex looked down at the large envelopes. “We have papers to deliver to the Canadian shifters’ council, and papers to deliver to the Canadian vampires’ council. Take your pick which one to go to first.”

  “Let’s just go in that order. We can stop at your house after we’re done. Is that all right?”

  “Yeah, that’d be fine.”

  “You gonna tell us what you’re getting and why?” asked Pierce.

  “Something for Elise, and you don’t need to know anything else.”

  “Ouch, fine, be that way. It’s all good. You all should see his digs. It’s a work of art. At least it used to be. Who knows what it looks like since you got rid of your donor. She did all your work for you.”