by Alanea Alder
"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 cheered.
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 softly.
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," the older lion 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 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 chuckled 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 Eleven
"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.
"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 th
e 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 asked.
"I bet he is really good with patients, though," Nic said.
"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.
"Okay, why did you want to get rid of Ma?" Felix asked when Ma was out of earshot.
"I need to know if I'm pregnant," Sebastian admitted quietly.
Felix's head came up. "Seriously? I mean I knew it was possible for us, but you're only like the second guy I've known to try it among hybrids," Felix said. He looked around and then stood up. "Let's go to the examination room. I bet they have testing kits in there," Felix said, pointing to the back.
Sebastian hopped up on the paper-covered table.
Felix came back with a needle. "I would have you pee on a stick, but it's probably too soon to tell from your urine. However, shifter pregnancies are detectable almost immediately after conception with a blood test. When you average in the different type of animal's gestation period with a human one, the average shifter pregnancy is about six months. Because the gestation is so much shorter, changes pop up that much sooner. Things happen at a rapid rate. Now, hold still," Felix said, wrapping the elastic band around his arm.
Sebastian barely felt the tiny pinch and seconds later Felix held a couple vials of blood.
"Okay, let me find his testing equipment. Be right back." Felix walked away and Sebastian lay back on the paper.
Would having a baby change things with his mates? Everything had been so crazy over the past few weeks. He sighed. Maybe this is exactly what they needed. Proof of their love and a tie to hold them all together. He felt himself smile. He could just imagine a crazy blond-haired menace running around or a dark-haired, studious scholar. Suddenly, he couldn't wait to find out. He wanted to be pregnant so he could hurry up and meet their children.
"Congratulations, your men know how to lay down the pipe. You are preggers! Good thing shifter nurses are also trained as lab techs, huh?" Felix said, about twenty minutes later.
Sebastian smiled and then began to cry.
"Oh honey, don't cry, this is happy news. I'll be the best uncle in the whole world," Felix promised, holding Sebastian tight.
"You always did take care of me. I'll never be able to repay that. You took the hits for so many of us," Sebastian said, wiping his eyes.
Felix just shrugged. "Someone had to take care of you all. I didn't do anything special," Felix said, looking away, embarrassed.
"I know what you did, and I won't ever forget. You not only kept us alive, but your craziness kept us smiling, kept us sane in those damn cages." Sebastian looked up at Felix, stark terror running through him.
"What if Alpha Devon finds out and takes my baby?" Sebastian whispered.
Felix growled. "That will never happen! I will learn how to shift into the scariest shit on earth and eat that fucker if he comes near us!" Felix promised.
Seconds later Sebastian's phone began to ring.
"Kitten, are you okay? Where did you go?" Liam demanded.
Shit!
Sebastian had forgotten about the mating bond. No wonder Liam sounded frantic.
"I'm fine. I'm with Felix in the clinic, he just scared me with the skeleton model, that's all," Sebastian said, lying his ass off. He could hear a relieved sigh from Liam.
"Tell him not to scare us like that. Especially after the other day," Liam grumbled.
"Okay, baby, have fun breaking stuff," Sebastian said. Liam laughed and ended the call.
"Come on, honey, let's head back. You picked the best town to hide in. These people are crazier than we are." Felix picked up the medical supplies he had gathered for his makeshift first-aid kit and they both walked out, locking the door behind them.
When they got back to the diner they saw that the others had moved some tables outside to keep an eyed on the men.
Rebecca noticed Sebastian's red rimmed eyes. "What's wrong?" She rushed over and hugged him.
"He was just worried about Alpha Devon getting to us," Felix said in a half truth. Sebastian shot him a grateful look.
"Don't worry Sebastian, that asshole wolf can't get you." Rebecca hugged his arm to her. He looked down at his best friend, which was saying something, because at five-foot-six he wasn't used to looking down at many people.
"Thanks for being my friend," he said and licked her cheek, the same way he did as a cat. She giggled and wiped her face.
"All right, sexy people. I have bandages and burn ointment. If any injury needs more than that we can take them to the clinic," Felix said as he handed over the clinic keys to Ma. He set down a bag of supplies on a nearby table.
"Is that Rian and Damian?" Kate asked, shielding her eyes, looking down the street.
Sebastian turned and had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. Rian and Damian were shirtless in baggy pants and suspenders. Both had rainbow colored hard hats on. They came sauntering over.
"Hey Rian, do the Village People know you stole their look?" Felix asked, blowing kisses.
"Hey squirt, and ha ha very funny. I figured with all the men in one place I could show off my attributes," Rian winked.
"Some of the vampires are coming, aren't they?" Rebecca asked. Rian and Damian nodded, wagging their eyebrows.
"I thought you didn't fool around with anyone in town, RiRi," Kate said.
"I don't, but that doesn't mean I don't flirt my ass off." Rian shook his ass from side to side.
"I see the two of you came prepared for today," a deep voice resonated through the morning air. Everyone sighed as the vampire prince approached.
"Some days I just hate you, Ashby," Rian said, pouting.
"Don't be a hater, Rian. As amazing as you are I wouldn't be surprised if Fate had three men waiting for you," Ashby said, kissing Rian's cheek. Sebastian watched as Rian's face instantly brightened.
"You really think so?"
"Yup, you deserve three hot men to cater to you, Rian," Rebecca agreed.
Everyone jumped as a loud noise boomed down the street. Smoke billowed out from the machinery for a few seconds before trailing off. Men's curses rang out. Gabriel smiled.
"What in the hell are they thinking?" Rebecca asked as she watched Aleks pick up a large orange cone and hit Liam in the back of the head with it, sending him sprawling into a water barrel. Liam stood up, stripped off his shirt, dipped it into the water, then wrapped it around Aleks's head before jumping on his back.
"Holy shit! Is Liam waterboarding Aleks?" Rian asked.
A loud roar filled the street and Aleks ripped the clo
th away from his face. He was about to throw Liam into their tiny patch of freshly poured tar when Kent grabbed Liam and dragged him away. Aleks pulled his now wet shirt away from his skin before he removed it as well.
"Come on boys, it's almost summer and hot outside today. The sun is up and…there we go," Gabriel said, as a few more men followed Aleks's example removing their shirts.
Rebecca turned and stared at Gabriel, an evil grin forming on her face. "You didn't! How?" she asked.
Gabriel winked and pointed to the newly installed cameras perched on top of the town's buildings lining the street. He waved and they watched as the cameras bobbed up and down.
"David and Daniel," Rebecca whispered, before launching herself into Gabriel's arms, peppering his face with kisses.
"You are amazing!" she exclaimed.
Gabriel set her down and Sebastian watched, confused, as she did a little victory dance.
"The calendar you wanted," Kate whispered, her hand going over her mouth.
Rebecca was jumping up and down. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" Her excitement was contagious. When Sebastian looked around everyone was smiling gently at Rebecca.
Gabriel looked at Rian and Damian.
"Free copies of the calendar if you can egg them on," Gabriel said.
Rian and Damien snapped to attention and gave a salute. "We are humbled by the genius before us. We will serve our leaders well. Come, my brother," Rian said, straightening his rainbow hard hat as he and Damian made their way over to where the men were arguing.
"I almost feel sorry for the men. Almost," Kate said as they watched in fascination as Rian and Damian somehow must have started a T-shirt ripping contest, which of course led to the men competing in muscle-flexing poses.
"You paid for the roads to be redone simply to get the men together and shirtless?" Sebastian asked, putting the pieces together.
"They are going to ruin the road," Ma said practically, and winced when Emmett crashed into Duncan as he fell off of the large dump truck wheel well, where he had been posing.
"I not only paid for their efforts for today, but for an actual shifter crew to come out tomorrow to fix the damage they cause and repave the roads properly," Gabriel explained, and looked at Rebecca.