Page 59 of Manix
Oops. I didn’t know how Raiden was going to talk himself out of this one. But then I remembered my brilliant Omega handled us four with ease every single day.
“You are still my favorite, but we have big hearts and I have the room in there for lots of favorites. Like your Mommy loves all your Daddys and I love all your uncles. Love isn’t a competition, Lees. There’s plenty to go around, because it's endless.”
Leisel thought about it. Then she wrapped her arm around Luisa’s shoulders, which made the little girl freeze. “We can share. Luisa needs me.”
She said it with such conviction that I paused, but then Leisel was talking about how she had to punch one of the boys, and Gatlin was trying not to laugh. Ellar bent down and rescued a wide-eyed Luisa, hefting her into his arms. “Having fun, Little Bit?”
She nodded. “Leez. Friend.” Well, she said a bunch of other stuff, but I was still learning toddler speak. I could see she was a little awed, and I wondered if she’d ever had one before—a friend, I mean.
Ellar nodded and kissed the top of her head. “You’re lucky then. You’ll never have a more loyal or ferocious friend than Leisel.” He put her back down on the ground and she ran away after her new friend. Naja’s eyes were big and a little shiny, so I held her closer. I wanted to tell her that they both had family now. A family that was just as loyal and ferocious.
Instead, dinner was served and everyone dived for the food. Nothing like a Manix barbecue to bring out the Beast in us all. It was a bit of a feeding frenzy, but Gatlin threw his Alpha power around like a dick and came back with two plates piled high, one for Raiden and one for Naja. Ellar had dived in to get a hot dog for Luisa, and was currently smothering it in a small pool of ketchup at her request.
As Gatlin went back to get his own plate, I walked with him. “What did the Legion Alpha say?” I said in a low voice, and Gatlin gave me a fiery look that never meant good things. “Is he still alive?”
He rolled his eyes but nodded. “Barely. If the other Legion Generals hadn’t stepped in and outvoted him, he would have sent us packing happily, rubbing his hands with glee at the thought of finally being rid of me.” He grabbed us both a beer from the cooler. “But it is hard for them to look at Raiden and not do something to safeguard our future. Plus they were a little disturbed by the ease of the witch’s entrance onto Manix lands. There were the expected protests about trusting a witch we didn’t know, and the cost, but in the end, they all saw the necessity to update the wards and pay the money, not just to protect Naja but to protect us all. All of them except my father, I mean.”
I slapped him on the back in a supportive way. “Doesn’t matter what that cockhole thinks, Gat. We got what we needed to keep our girl safe. We’ll message the witch and get her back here ASAP.” I paused and lowered my voice a fraction more. What I was about to say was a group decision, but I wanted to see where Gatlin stood first. “I want her to be our mate. Officially.”
Gatlin’s whole head swivelled to mine, and he did that thing with his bottomless gray eyes where he searched your entire soul. “Why?”
I groaned, but I should have expected he wouldn’t make it easy. Gatlin had never made anythingeasy,but he always made everything worth it. “She fits. No, that's not even right. She isn’t like a round peg we’ve stuffed into a square hole. She more than fits. It's like the hole has always been Naja-shaped. She was meant to be there, and we’ve been waiting for her without even knowing it.”
Gatlin was silent, piling salads on his plate, though judging by the mound of potato salad he wasn’t actually focused on it. Finally, he dropped the spoon and looked at me. “I agree. I don’t think she's ready to mate into the Pack for life yet though. That kind of commitment will make her run.”
I shrugged. “So we get her the equivalent of a human engagement ring. Something so she knows that we are serious and willing to wait for her, forever if need be.”
He nodded. “After we tighten the wards, and deal with her problem, then we’ll… propose?”
I nodded because it was such a weird idea. Manix didn’t propose. We usually lived together as a Pack, and within the Pack some of the members mated, or they all mated, or none did. There was no promise of mating in the future. It was a natural progression, a short sprint from point A to point B. But Naja wasn’t raised by Manix, and I had to trust the Beast she had inside her to lead her right, to let her know that we were perfect for her, just as mine knew she was perfect for us.
When I got back to the long table we were all sitting at, I didn’t trust the gleam in my sister’s eye. She’d had one too many wines and that usually meant she lost the last of her social niceties.
But I was too slow to head her off.
“So, Raiden, how many babies are you having and will you name one of them after me?”
That set off an absolute barrage of questions that Raiden fielded, some that Gatlin shut down, and some that put Naja under an insane amount of scrutiny. She stammered over her answers, trying to dodge questions that were way too personal, even for my family. By the end, even Terra looked a little guilty.
Finally, it got too much for even me. “That’s enough. I know everyone is excited, and you all have questions, but it's as much of a mystery to us as it is to you. Now, stop stressing out my Omegas,” I growled, more Beast than man for a moment.
Raiden looked more amused than anxious, but Naja twined her fingers with mine and squeezed. “Thank you, Alpha,” she whispered in my ear. My whole body shivered at the feel of her breath on my neck. Yeah, it was definitely time to go.
“Thanks for the food, Parentals. Terra, you’re a dick. We’re out.”
I reached down and hoisted Naja into my arms, putting her over my shoulder and striding out of the backyard. I vaguely heard Ellar thanking my parents for having us, and Gatlin doing all the polite things. Seven, though? He was right on my heels. I paused near the door, spinning to look over my shoulder, checking where everyone was. Has someone grabbed Luisa? We weren’t used to having a cub. Naja punched me in the asscheek, and I swear she corked the muscle.
“The blood is rushing to my head, you Neanderthal.” I stepped out onto the front step, dropping her to her feet as Seven shut the door behind us. He was laughing.
Pain was still shooting down my thigh. “Holy fuck, that hurts!”
She grinned, and I was definitely fucking that pretty mouth later on; we’d see who’d be laughing then. I ushered her to the ATV just in time to see Gatlin exiting the house with Luisa in his arms, Raiden and Ellar behind them.
“Let’s go!” I shouted at them. “Naja punched me in the ass and I intend to make her kiss it better.”
39
Seven
