Page 34 of Feral
Beckett snorted. “Quit pouting. We all have to go to work.”
I flipped him the bird. “I’m not pouting. Well, only for a kiss.” I made a smoochy face at Kitten, and she kissed me hard until our teeth clacked together, making me laugh. “Brutal, Kitten. Are you looking forward to heading to the Sanctum today? Darius loves that place, and I think he’s pretty excited to introduce you to all the kids. When we were sure we’d never have cubs, he threw all his paternal instincts at them. Which means we basically now have sixteen adopted kids that we co-parent with another Pack. Christmas dinners are intense.”
She gave me a tight smile. “I’m not sure how I’ll be with kids. I’ve never met any, except the baby I held at the Alpha General’s party the other day.” Her face fell. “What if they don’t like me?” She dropped her voice. “Or I don’t like them?”
She looked so fucking worried, and it tugged at my heart. “You aren’t running the Sanctum, sweetheart. No one expects you to love them.” I paused, tilting her face up. “And if you mean our cubs, it's okay to feel nervous. It’s okay to be scared.” I stroked her cheek. “You didn’t ask for this, and if you feel that way after they are born, we’ll figure it out then. But it isn’t a you or them situation, Kitten. You’re stuck with us as long as you’ll have us. Or if Beckett and Corvin are any indication, we’ll probably stalk your ass even after you kick us to the curb.”
“Hey!” Beckett protested, holding a travel mug. “I made you coffee to go but now I don’t think you deserve it.”
“Noooo!” I made grabby hands. “I’m totally thankful that you guys are stalky bastards with no boundaries.” He went to pour the coffee down the sink, and I vaulted the kitchen counter, making a grab for it. “Beckett!”
“Say ‘You were right, Beck. And you’re the most attractive Alpha.’”
I snorted. “Fuck off. Second most attractive, at best.”
He laughed, handing me the travel mug. “Asshole. Lucky I love you.”
I punched him in the arm teasingly, before walking back around to stand in front of a giggling Kitten. “Have a good day today, babe. Don’t overthink it, okay? Maybe tonight we can go for a run.” I leaned closer. “I’ll even shift to my full form.”
She flushed bright red, and Beckett cleared his throat. I bet he was vividly remembering the last time he was in full Manix form, as was Kitten. Good.
I leaned down so my lips were beside her ear. She smelled sinfully good. “Mmm, Kitten. You feel that ache between your thighs? That promise of pleasure? Everytime you rub your thighs together today to ease that feeling, I want you to think of me.” I straightened and grinned at Beckett. “Have a nice day, kids.”
I grabbed an apple and my coffee and left, Beckett’s soft curse following me out the door. As I reached my ATV, I bumped into Corvin coming back from his run.
“Fucking work,” he grumbled. He looked as annoyed as I did about having to restart our lives today. “If I quit, could you bankroll me? I’ll take care of our Omegas all day.”
“Your job pays better. How about I become a stay-at-home Alpha instead?”
He grinned, and it was an expression of pure happiness. If you’d asked me before the frenzy whether Corvin was happy, I would have said absolutely. But now, he looked carefree, and I realized the weight of leaving Kitten had sat across his shoulders for so long, it had become a loss he’d learned to live with. Always there, but he’d managed to be happy despite it.
Now he was like a whole new guy. Still an asshole, but a happy asshole.
“I’ll fight you for it?” he joked, rubbing the sweat from his brow onto his forearm. Corvin was a mechanic for the Legion, which was a pretty relaxed job but the bureaucratic red tape could be killer. It was better now though, under the new Alpha General. And Radic, who’d basically kept the town running under the old Alpha General, was no longer hampered by that old fucker anymore, so real changes were happening.
I slapped him on the shoulder. “Maybe we’ll have to suck it up and both go to work so we can provide the best for our Pack. And our cubs.”
Our cubs. I was still in fucking shock.
Corvin’s face softened. “Yes. You’re right. Cubs are expensive.”
Darius’s scent had changed this week, confirming what we’d all come to accept as the truth anyway. We were pregnant. We’d go and get an ultrasound with Tanner sometime this week, and see how many cubs we were having. I didn’t think any of them would be mine biologically, because I hadn’t been with Darius during that crucial fertilization period, but I didn’t care. They were going to be mine just as much as anyone else's, because we were a Pack.
I said goodbye to Corvin and drove down to the job site. Darius was right; it was pretty close to the Sanctum. We’d demolished a dilapidated old building and were in the process of replacing it with a modern home for a young Pack. With the influx of brand new Omega females, most of the Packs were upping their game in the hope they could woo one to bond with them. I didn’t have to worry about that, since I was the luckiest guy in the world. But hey, it was good for business.
Finlo looked tired when I pulled up. “Hey man, you look like shit.”
“Fuck off, Cooper. Stop being so goddamn happy this early in the morning.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “Sorry, man. The cubs are teething, and I don’t think I’ve had a full night's sleep in a week. I’ll be glad when they all have a full set of chompers.” He smiled, raising an eyebrow. “Lucky they’re cute. But I hear you’ll know about all that soon enough.”
That damn Maxton grapevine. You couldn’t keep a secret here. “Yeah, it was an accident, or maybe a miracle.” I let the goofy grin that had been threatening to crack through all morning finally spread itself across my cheeks. “I can’t wait to be a surly, sleep-deprived bastard, just like you.”
Finlo laughed, pulling me into a hug. We were cousins, but we were a tight-knit extended family. “I’m so happy for you, kid. You guys deserve the miracle.”
20
BECKETT
The work day dragged on, mainly because the kids were feeling restless too. I mean, teenagers in general were a handful, but Manix teenagers coming into their designations, plus the newly returned shifter kids who had arrived with the Alpha General combined to make it worse. Add to that the shifter kids having somehow formed a posse with the Sanctum kids—with Rosa appointing herself avenging angel for them all—and it made for interesting detention breaks.
