Whiskers, Mane, and a Biter [Unmated at Midnight] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove)

by Joyee Flynn

  I agreed with Gavin that they’d find their way and we needed to be patient. Things would work out and settle down, but the disruption for the time being was exhausting.

  But not today. Today I was happy and didn’t care.

  There was a knock at Gavin’s door as I headed from his study to the kitchen. I swung over there and opened it up, raising an eyebrow when I saw a very pregnant woman standing there. And by the smell of her, she was a vampire.

  “Hi, I’m looking for Ramses Davis,” she said with a shy smile as she rubbed her stomach. “He wasn’t home and I heard he was working for the pride.”

  “Um, he is. Can I ask who you are and what your business is with him?”

  “I’m Hilary Sweeney and it’s personal,” she snapped, losing the cutesy, shy demeanor in a flash. Wow, that set off warning bells in my head. “I don’t have to answer to you, lion.”

  “You do when you show up to the pride’s house, lady. I’m second-in-command and I don’t care who you are, but you will state why you’re here if you think I’m letting you in this house and any closer to my Alpha.” I bared my teeth at her. “Or near my boyfriend Ramses.”

  “He’d never date someone like you.” She narrowed her eyes at me, checking me out before giving a snort. “He’s the father of my baby. He’s straight.”

  “I know he’s not,” I replied and then froze. “Baby?”

  “Yes!” she screeched. “I’m done talking to you. I want to see my Ramses!”

  “I’ll take you to him if you get your shit together. I won’t let a risk to my Alpha in his house,” I said calmly. I was proud of myself for that because I felt as if my insides were dying.

  “Right, okay, sorry. It’s all the hormones.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, flashing me that smile again… Which I could now see was fake.

  “Follow me,” I said as I gestured her in the house. “Hormones or not, you freak out around Gavin and I will end you. I don’t care that you’re pregnant.”

  “You can’t hurt a pregnant woman from an ally coven.”

  “If I think you’re a threat to our pride, don’t count on it, sister.” I slammed the front door and stormed into the kitchen, pissed, upset, and all of it swirling inside of me. What the fuck was going on?

  Fuck. This was going to kill Brad.

  “Who was at the door, James?” Ant asked me as I walked into the kitchen. I didn’t even get a chance to answer.

  “Ramses!” Hilary screeched as she waddled over to him. “There you are, sweetie.”

  “Sweetie?” Ramses and Brad exclaimed together, Brad’s more of a squeak.

  “What’s going on and who is this chick?” Gavin asked, his face going dark.

  “Apparently Ramses is straight and Hilary here calls him her Ramses,” I bit out as I moved closer to Brad.

  “Hilary, what have you told him?” Ramses asked as he tried to push the woman away.

  “That I was looking for you to tell you the good news,” she answered, blinking up at him innocently. “We’re pregnant.”

  “What?” pretty much everyone exclaimed as Brad’s eyes rolled up in his head. I caught him just in time and lifted him into my arms.

  “That’s not possible,” Ramses whispered in horror, telling me that it completely was possible. I sighed and turned to leave to lay Brad down somewhere. “James, wait, please.”

  “I’ll be right back. You handle your baby daddy drama shit,” I said in a short voice. I heard him call after me but ignored him. I went into the closest sitting room and laid Brad on the couch, kissing his forehead gently. This was going to crush him. I gave him another one for good measure as I ran my fingers through his hair before turning and leaving.

  “And you’re sure it’s mine? We had drunken sex once, Hilary. And I know I was wearing a condom.”

  “Are you saying I wasn’t faithful to you?” she snapped, narrowing her eyes at him.

  “Faithful? We’re not dating! We never have,” he yelled. “And why show up here and tell me this now? How far along are you?”

  “I heard there was some mouse who was trying to steal you away,” she snarled, letting her fangs pop out. “I won’t let that happen, Ramses. I’ll eat the—”

  “Bitch, I’ll cut your throat before you even get near him,” I roared as I let my hands shift into claws.

  “Do you know who my parents are?” Wow, did she have another volume besides fucking annoying and psychotic? “Let’s go, Ramses. Fuck these shifters and let’s get back to the coven so we can talk.”

  “Don’t you dare talk to my boyfriend that way. And I love that mouse so watch your mouth, Hilary. Gods, you are always such drama. There’s no way this is my baby.”

  “Okay, let’s all take a deep breath and sit down,” Ant said calmly. “I’ll put on some tea.”

  “Are you going to let some mouse order me around?” Hilary asked Ramses in that shrill voice.

  “Yes. He’s my boss and you’re in his house!” I saw anger flare in his eyes instead of just shock now.

  “Right, sorry, hormones,” she mumbled and sat down at the table. I shared a glance with Gavin. We were definitely on the same page. Pregnancy hormones didn’t make someone an elitist. A little crazy at times maybe but this was a whole new level of nuts that I didn’t think anyone could blame on being pregnant.

  “We should call Gigi,” Ant suggested. “One pregnant woman talking to another might help.”

  “I don’t need to be placated,” she sniffled.

  “Gigi’s in the study,” Gavin answered his mate, ignoring the crazy bitch. He pulled out his phone and sent a text. “Her mate was coming to bring her something she was craving for lunch. So another vampire here might be good too.”

  “We don’t need people involved in our personal business,” Hilary replied as Ramses plopped down on a chair at the kitchen table.

  “This isn’t happening,” he whispered and I felt my heart break for him. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around him from behind.

  “We’ll figure it out, okay?”

  “Get your hands off my Ramses. He’s not gay!” I was so tired of that woman’s voice.

  “I might have had a few experiences on the other side of the fence, Hilary,” Ramses said firmly as he wrapped his arms around mine. “So maybe that makes me bisexual, but you know I like men mostly.”

  “And I can tell you that he very much enjoys men,” I added, narrowing my eyes at the woman as if daring her to call me a liar.

  “Someone rang?” Gigi asked as she walked into the kitchen. She glanced around at all the unhappy faces and then focused on the pissed-off pregnant woman. “I’m Gigi, lioness of the pride.”

  “Hilary Sweeney, nice to meet you.”

  “Did these rude boys introduce themselves or offer you something to drink? You must be six months along! Guys, she shouldn’t be standing around when she can rest.”

  “No they didn’t,” Hilary answered with a smirk as if we were all in trouble.

  “Gavin, pull a chair for the woman!” Gigi gave us a wink the crazy vampire couldn’t see so I knew Gavin tipped her off as to what was going on.

  “Right, sorry.” Gavin did as he was told, nodding to the woman when she sat. “I’m Gavin Ashby and this is my mate Ant Marino. You’ve met my second James Westbrook and the little guy who he carried out of here earlier was Brad Hercules.”

  “A pleasure. Funny how the twerp trying to steal my man has such a big name like Hercules.”

  “Stop it, Hilary. Just stop being mean,” Ramses said in a disgusted tone. “I care for everyone here and you will respect that.”

  “Whatever you want, sugarplum.” She batted her eyelashes at him and I wanted to toss up my breakfast. Really? Sugarplum? Gag me.

  “So how far along are you?” Gigi asked innocently as she handed Hilary a bottle of water. Knowing Gigi, it was anything but innocent though.

  “You were very close. I’m seven months along.” She smiled brightly at Gigi but
the rest of us looked at Ramses. I sat down next to him and patted his leg when the man went so pale that I knew he realized that put him in the running to be the baby’s father.

  “How come you waited so long to tell Ramses the good news?” she asked, ignoring the fact that none of us were sure it really was Ramses’s baby.

  “I miscarried once a few centuries ago and I wanted to make sure that it looked like I could carry the baby to full term before getting his hopes up that he’d be a daddy. When I heard there was a mouse staying overnight at his house I knew I had to tell him right away. He can’t have a boyfriend while we’re mated of course.”

  “You’re mating her?” Brad whispered from the doorway.

  “No, baby. If it’s really mine, I’ll be a good dad to the child and in his life, but it’s not her I want to be with,” he answered quickly.

  “You made a baby with her, Ramses. You need to take responsibility for that and I’ll only get in the way,” Brad said sadly before turning and leaving.

  “Give him some space,” I mumbled and put my hand on Ramses’s shoulder when he went to stand. “One issue at a time.”

  “Right, yeah, sure.” Ramses’s eyes filled with tears. “I can’t lose him.”

  “Let him settle, and we’ll get some answers now and go talk to him.” He nodded again and I focused on Hilary. “We need to get a paternity test done.”

  “No we don’t,” she hissed, her fangs popping back out.

  “Of course you do,” Gigi chuckled. “If you’re not mating and Ramses wants to be a part of the baby’s life, then he needs to fill out those nonmarriage forms and get on record as the father. You’ll want that too so there’s no problems later about him supporting you guys.”

  “No, we’ll be mating. Father says it has to happen before I deliver otherwise the family will be disgraced. Mother’s already started planning the wedding.”

  “No,” Ramses whispered and started to shake.

  “Of course it will be last minute, but she’ll make sure everything is still perfect. Father already contacted Ramses’s brother and got permission from our coven leader to mate.”

  “No,” Ramses tried again. I sighed, knowing there was going to be a big blowup soon.

  “And we’ll need to have a shower and get the nursery ready at Ramses’s house. My belongings are being packed for the move.”

  “No!” he shouted as he slammed his hands on the table. “No, Hilary. We’re not mating, marrying, moving in together, or anything of the sort. I’m dating James and Brad and I would never do that to them! I want a paternity test. I wasn’t the only person you slept with about seven months ago and we both know it. I was drunk and lonely, but you were drunk and nursing a broken heart before you started seeing someone else the next day.”

  “Ramses! Are you calling the mother of your child a liar?” Hilary gasped as her eyes filled up with tears.

  “No, I’m saying I want proof. Even I know that it’s a range you get when they confirm you’re with child. Either way, I’m not mating you. We both said it was just that night. I will support you and be a good father to the baby if it’s mine, but that doesn’t change things between us.”

  “Oh no, Father won’t stand for that,” she sniffled.

  “I don’t care,” he growled. “This has nothing to do with your parents and I won’t mate just to make your parents happy.”

  “This isn’t over, Ramses,” she snarled as she got to her feet, knocking the chair over when she jumped up. “You’ll get on board with the plan or bad things will happen.”

  She turned on her heel and stormed out of the kitchen as well as anyone as pregnant as she was could. A few moments later we heard the front door open and then slam shut. Everyone was quiet, no one knowing what to say.

  “I’m five months pregnant and I can say that no amount of hormones makes someone that fucking psychotic,” Gigi blurted out. Well, that was one way to go. “That’s a crazy woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants.”

  “Yeah, she’s always been nuts,” Ramses sighed. “I was drunk and lonely. I had the insane idea that maybe things would be better if I could find a woman as if being gay was the reason I couldn’t find someone who wanted me. She was drunk and suggested we see if we had anything together.”

  “Did you?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know the answer but needing to.

  “The mechanics worked, if that’s what you mean. We were able to have sex, but no, I didn’t enjoy it and I’m pretty sure she wasn’t feeling it either. We decided to pretend it never happened.”

  “So you’ve not talked to her since it happened?” Gigi asked.

  “No. I don’t even socialize with my coven very often. Most of them are good people but there’s too many like Hilary that think they’re so much better than all other paranormals and humans. It’s all about money and power to them and given my brother is the head of the Chicago coven, they want to be near that kind of power. It’s just stupid to me.”

  “Sweetie, you’re looking a little pale there,” she said gently. I glanced to Ramses and saw it as well.

  “I’m going to be sick,” he whimpered. Gavin was quick as a flash, handing him the kitchen garbage can just in time for him to throw up his guts. I rubbed his back as he cried and kept tossing his cookies. “This can’t be happening. I don’t even like her and she’s nuts. I didn’t really know that until after we slept together. I told a few friends and they told me her nickname was Crazy Easy.”

  “Well you said she got around and she’s definitely crazy,” Ant mumbled. “You need to get that paternity test. Are you in tight with the head of your coven? Maybe if you talk to him about not having agreed to the mating and tell him you’re worried she’s trying to trap you he can order her to have one or something. Or just lock her up until she admits she’s a big fat liar.”

  It was a valid point. We weren’t human and our leaders could do something like that. Maybe it wasn’t all that fair in the eyes of some but it skipped the unnecessary step of going to court only to have a judge order it be done.

  “I have to make things right with Brad. You guys can’t dump me. I was happy finally.”

  “We’ll talk to Brad, baby,” I said gently, realizing Ramses was having a breakdown. “I know I’m not going anywhere if you want me around. I’m sure Brad will feel the same.”

  “I do,” Brad squeaked as he rushed into the kitchen. He knelt in front of Ramses and rubbed his knee. “I realized I was adding to your stress and came to apologize. I caught the tail end of what you were saying. I care for you too much already to give you up. If you still want this then I’m your boyfriend.”

  “I do. I want you both. I’ve had so much fun the past couple of days. It’s what I always wanted. Please don’t leave me, even if it is my baby.”

  “No way,” Brad said gently. “You’ll get joint custody or something and we’ll babysit and make sure the little guy doesn’t get his mother’s crazy.”

  “Just like that?” Ramses asked as he wiped his mouth with a napkin and set the garbage off to the side.

  “No, of course it won’t be that easy,” Brad answered with a shrug. “But that doesn’t mean we’re bailing on you. You guys told me that everyone has some type of drama or issues, but you don’t just walk away or decide not to take the chance to be with someone because of it. Besides, I’m selfish. I like you both a ton, maybe even more than I love cheese, so I’m keeping you.”

  “Good. Good,” Ramses sighed as he pulled Brad onto his lap and wrapped an arm around me. “I’m so glad you feel that way. I have everything I want right here and I won’t let it go.”

  I just hoped this new development let him keep that promise.

  Chapter 6

  Ramses

  My whole world was falling apart and I was in a fog. I decided to go home early and James was kind enough to say he would work out with Brad while I got some space. But they both made me swear if I needed them I wouldn’t hesitate to call. I promised, know
ing I’d probably need them later.

  First, I had some things I needed to take care of before Hilary and her parents had me mated. If there was ever a time I needed my older brother Reginald, it was now.

  “Hey, Ramses!” he said excitedly when he answered the phone. “I should be mad you weren’t the one to tell me about your mating, but I’m just too happy for you. I just got the invitation in the mail.”

  “She sent out invitations!” I bellowed as I grabbed the decanter of whiskey off my sideboard.

  “Um, that’s normal procedure for a wedding and mating,” he hedged.

  “Reginald, I just found out this morning that she’s pregnant. I didn’t agree to marry her or mate! Her family has done this all behind my back. I’m not even sure the baby is mine.” I poured myself a full glass of scotch with shaky hands.

  “Seriously?”

  “Yeah, seriously,” I sighed and took a long drink.

  “No, really, seriously?”

  “I’m so not fucking around here, Reginald. I’m serious.”

  “Holy shit, man. You really know how to pick the crazy ones.”

  “Tell me about it,” I chuckled bitterly, tears burning in my eyes. “We had drunken sex once after she broke up with someone.” Then I filled him in on what had happened with Hilary showing up.

  “Get the chopper ready and a security detail. We’re leaving for my brother’s house in twenty minutes. Cancel my appointments for the day,” Reginald told someone before returning to me again. “I’ll be there soon, brother. We’ll fix this.”

  “Thank you. There are two special people in my life I can’t wait for you to meet.”

  “Are they men? I was shocked to hear you settling down with a woman. I mean, you normally swing towards our sex.”

  “Yeah, a stud of a lion shifter and the sexiest little mouse shifter you ever laid eyes on,” I said with a smile. “I don’t want to lose them.”