by Grey, Aspen
“Nothing,” I replied.
“Come on,” he pressed. “What is it? You look like you were just thinking about the end of the world or something.”
“I was just—I was just thinking about how neither of us really has a clue how to be parents,” I admitted. “Your dad’s nuts, no offense, and I never knew my parents. What are we going to do?”
“There are books on it,” Billy chuckled, squeezing my knee. “But I mean…I think it just comes down to love, don’t you? If we really love our children, which of course we will, how could we possibly do a bad job? We already know what not to do.”
“That’s for sure,” I replied, thinking about the two of us with two little children in our arms. “Maybe you’re right.”
“Of course I am,” he said with a smile. “We’ll love our children and we’ll take care of them and that’s all there is to it. We won’t abandon them, we won’t get hooked on drugs and we won’t abuse them. They’ll never end up on the streets and they’ll have the lives we never had.”
“I’m excited,” I told him. “How long do you think it’s going to be before we start to show?”
“God, I hope it’s soon!” Billy giggled. “I want to see what Garrett thinks of our new bodies.”
“More curves for him,” I speculated. “I can’t imagine he doesn’t love it.”
“Hah!” Billy blurted out. “I knew this straight guy once—I think his name was Frankie—and he loved pregnant women. I mean, I don’t care what she looked like. If she was pregnant, he wanted to fuck her and that was that.”
“I can see that,” I said. “It’s that whole fertility thing.”
“Yeah, but it’s not like he could knock her up again!” Billy snorted.
“I’m not even showing and I’m ready for Garrett to knock me up again,” I joked (sort of).
“Can you believe he didn’t know he was an alpha?” Billy asked.
“His parents must have done a number on him,” I replied sadly. “I can’t even imagine. He’s so spectacular. How could he not have known?”
“Crime against humanity,” Billy said as he shook his head. “But hey—at least we helped him understand who he truly is.”
“The most spectacular alpha I’ve ever met,” I mused. “I guess all it took was a couple of good omegas for him to realize what he was.”
“Kind of makes you proud, doesn’t it?” Billy asked.
“Finally gives me something to be proud of besides my fucking blowjob skills,” I grimaced. “Or how popular I was when the bars let out.”
We both laughed, and I think I was finally able to because I knew my days of being on the streets were behind me now. I was a family man, working with my mates to forge a future. We wouldn’t be in this apartment forever. We’d move on. Garrett’s business would be a success and we’d continue through life together. I knew it just as surely as I knew how much I loved them both.
Chapter Nineteen
Garrett
I couldn’t have been happier as I watched Sawyer, Elijah and Max, as well as their three children finish off their meal. As far as nontraditional relationships went, these boys had one for the books. Sawyer was the alpha, Elijah was a beta and Max was the omega. He’d given the family three children, Johnny, Alexander and Leonard. Everyone was smiling.
“Wow, that was fantastic, Garrett,” Elijah remarked as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.
“Really good,” Max added. “I’d be a customer.”
“That’s what we like to hear!” Sawyer said enthusiastically, throwing a triumphant fist in the air.
This is someone I could be in business with!
“Boys?” Elijah asked the kids. All three of the nodded in unison. “There’s the real seal of approval, Garrett. If you can get the kids on board, they’ll guilt-trip their parents into taking them to your truck every day.”
“Won’t they ever!” Sawyer laughed. “Garrett, why don’t you and I chat in the other room? You boys gonna help your dads clean up?”
All three boys replied in unison. “Yes, dad!”
“Good boys,” Sawyer smiled. We got up from the table and made our way into the living room. I was starting to feel less anxious but a lot more excited. My vision was starting to come to fruition. The first step, impressing Sawyer and his family, was complete. Now, all that was left to do was actually start and run a successful business!
Easy, right!?
I was smirking to myself as I took a seat. Sawyer noticed.
“What’s up?”
“Oh, nothing,” I shrugged. “Just thinking about all this.”
“Exciting, right?”
“It is! But it seems like a strange business for you to get into,” I remarked. “I mean—are you tired of being a lawyer?”
Sawyer puffed out his lips and made a so-so motion with his left hand. “I wouldn’t say tired…but there’s nothing wrong with a bit of diversity in your life, right?”
“Right,” I replied. I didn’t really know what he was talking about, as I was still struggling to get my life’s foundation built, but I pretended I understood.
“Besides, not everyone knows about my law firm,” he smiled. “But everyone would know about my successful taco truck business!”
“True,” I smirked. “But I’m going to be the celebrity chef.”
“As long as you don’t leave me for a reality TV show,” Sawyer roared with laughter. “Then we’re good.”
He extended a hand and I felt as though a rocket booster had just been strapped to my life and I was headed for the moon.
The only way is up!
* * *
Four Months later…
“One fish, two beef, one chicken!” Billy called out from the window.
“Got it!” I called back as he handed the ticket to Tommy who slid it up beside Sid and me who were working hard at the stove. Sid was a sous-chef we’d picked up to help out at the truck. He was an alpha, twenty-two years old and one of the hardest workers I’d ever met in my life, which was good because it was Friday evening in Pacific Beach and people were hungry.
I tossed two more portions of beef onto the stove, along with the countless others already going, a chicken, and let Sid handle the beef.
“Is this Wendell’s order?” Tommy asked, pointing to an order that was ready to roll.
“Yup!” I called out. Tommy took the order to the window and called the ticket. “Here you go, buddy!”
“You’re gonna be calling me soon!” Wendell joked as he took his food. “Look at you!”
Wendell was a doctor we’d met while running the truck. He was a bit of a hippie, and you’d never guess he was in the medical field by looking at him, but he was also a shifter and had experience with at-home births.
“Any day now,” Tommy replied. “I hope you’re ready.”
“Easy-peasy,” Wendell smirked. “You’ve got my number.”
“Thanks, Wendell!” I called over my shoulder. We were super busy and I’d gotten a bit backed up with orders. The wait had been a little longer than normal, as a drunk idiot had thrown up in front of the truck a half an hour ago, causing not only a huge mess that we had to clean up, but also drawing the attention of the police.
“Only three more in line,” Tommy whispered as Billy took orders. He kissed my ear gently. “You’re doing great.”
“By the time those three are gone,” I said. “There will be three more!”
“Isn’t that what you wanted?” he replied. “A nice busy taco truck in San Diego?”
“Of course it is,” I smiled. “But a break would be nice. Speaking of which, what do I have to do to get you two to stay at home and rest? You’re about to pop!”
Both of my mates were basically at full-term. Shifter pregnancies were faster than humans’, and both of them were expecting any day now. I’d done everything I could to try to keep them at home, but they weren’t having any of it.
“We’re working until we can’t anymore!” That’s what
both of them had told me, presenting a united front. What could I do but let them help?
Taco-Gasms had been a huge success from the start. Sawyer had worked some kind of magic with a marketing budget and gotten the word out. Word of mouth had traveled quickly and we hadn’t had a single down day since we’d opened. The only time we had off was when our supplier screwed up a delivery and we’d run out of rice and tacos. We’d all needed a break, so rather than head to Von’s and pick everything up for retail prices, we’d closed up shop and collapsed at home on the couches.
Our new couches in our new place in a great apartment in Hillcrest in a great building. It was a two-bedroom, one of which we’d converted to a nursery, and a large living room where we spent most of our time. And the view was to die for.
“We’re here until the kids come,” Billy called back from the window. “Two beef, two fish!”
Chapter Twenty
Billy
What a long way you’ve come, I thought as I stepped out the side door of the truck and took a seat out back on a milk crate, taking a much deserved break. The line had thinned out and it was mostly just stragglers trickling in one by one. Tommy said he would handle things for a few minutes and then I’d cover for him so he could take his break.
I leaned back against the truck and placed a hand over my baby bump. I’d never been more proud of anything in my entire life. Taco-Gasms was an achievement, of course, but it was mostly Garrett’s. Tommy and I were just helping out. But the baby? The cub growing inside of me? That was my doing.
Well, not all of it…
But the little bundle of joy that was growing inside of me was all my doing. I was the little furnace, the little pressure cooker, the oven for the little life that was going to, one day soon, come into the world. It was hard to believe, and didn’t even seem real until I forced myself to actually think about it.
I’d grown so accustomed to being pregnant that there wasn’t really anything different about it anymore. I was bigger, of course. My sense of smell seemed to have tripled in strength, and I was having strange cravings for ice cream and chocolate. Occasionally, I also had a random lust for cheese, which had led me to making some really intense grilled cheese sandwiches some evenings.
Garrett had shown me a technique where you take bread, butter both sides and then toast it in a pan, add three different shaved cheeses and then toast it in the pan until it was melted. They were absolutely delicious. Sometimes I’d even add avocado if I wanted to treat myself.
What a long way we’ve come, I thought as I looked out at the streets of Hillcrest—the streets I’d once roamed with Tommy, doing what we had to do to survive—now we were part of our own business, servicing the evening crowds in a completely different way. I was proud now of what we were doing. I no longer felt ashamed of my life. I no longer felt a sense of hopelessness. I had a future, represented by the baby bump I now carried with me wherever I went.
For a second there, I started to zone out as I pictured how our lives were going to change once the babies came, but then a scent wafted over me that sent goose bumps across my skin and a surge of adrenaline through my veins. My fangs extended and I rocketed to my feet, my nose working overtime to find the source of the intrusion.
Pablo!
I turned and looked up the street, but all I saw were groups of boys milling around looking for a good time. I spun around, looked past the truck, but he wasn’t there either.
“Billy Boy!” His voice cut through the night like a knife slicing through flesh. I spun around and saw him walking up the back alley towards me, melting out of the darkness like Michael Myers, his crimson velvet suit like blood pouring from a vein, a smile on his face you might expect from an old friend.
“Garrett!” I hissed, slapping the truck with our pattern that meant danger. Instantly, I heard scuffling from inside and the door burst open. Garrett spilled out into the alley on high alert, his body tense and an instant away from shifting.
“Tommy, stay inside!” he shouted as he leapt in front of me, putting himself between me and the evil bastard making his way towards us.
“I heard the rumors, but I didn’t think they were true,” Pablo mused, rubbing his hands together like he was kneading dough. “Little Billy has been knocked up! And I guess you must be his new John?”
“I’m not a John,” Garrett snarled as Pablo walked up to us. “I’m his mate, and I’m giving you one chance to get the fuck out of here.”
“Or what?” Pablo interrupted, cocking his head to the side.
“Or else I’ll make you—” but Garrett couldn’t even finish his sentence before the alphas hit him.
Two panthers, shifted and ferocious, leapt on my magnificent mate, teeth gnashing and claws searching for his flesh.
“NO!” I screamed as they tumbled over one another into the shadows. I wanted to shift. Everything inside me told me to, but there was one thing stopping me: I was pregnant. I couldn’t risk the baby, and shifting and leaping into battle would be potential catastrophe.
I heard the sounds of confused customers out in front of the truck. If they saw what was happening, if humans saw a group of panthers fighting in the alley, that would be terrible. Our secret would be out, and part of surviving as a shifter among human society was making sure the humans weren’t onto us. I was stuck in the middle of a terrible dilemma and I had no idea what to do.
Tommy burst outside, followed by Sid. When he saw what was happening, he cried out.
“Garrett!” And then, when he saw Pablo— “You son of a bitch!”
Sid didn’t hesitate. He was young, not pregnant, and an alpha. He shifted, tearing out of his cook’s uniform, and leapt into battle.
He slammed into the first alpha and sent him spinning away. He slammed into the wall at an awkward angle and lay still.
Garrett cried out as the second alpha clamped down on his leg with all of his force.
“No!” I shouted again, doing my best to keep my voice down and keep from attracting the attention of the humans, but my heart was racing and panic was flooding my body. As Garrett twisted, fighting against the alpha’s grip, I felt a pain in my stomach that dropped me to my knees.
No, not now! I thought as I pressed a protective hand over my baby bump. I felt Tommy’s hand on my shoulder as he bent down beside me.
“Is it coming?” he asked. “The baby?”
“Yes!” I grimaced. “I—I think so!”
“Shit,” he snarled, snatching his phone from his pocket and dialing.
It was like watching a horror movie as Sid and Garrett fought in front of me. Garrett had managed to escape the jaws of the alpha who had latched onto him, but was bleeding badly and his face was twisted with pain.
I felt powerless as I watched Pablo shift as well, morphing into a hideous panther with oily fur and evil eyes fixed on my mate. He dashed forward and I cried out.
“Garrett, look out!”
A contraction hit me, throwing me further to the ground. Beside me, Tommy gasped and fell onto one knee. I glanced over and saw his face racked with pain. We were both going into labor at the exact wrong time.
Chapter Twenty-One
Garrett
Panic. Adrenaline. Pain.
My mind was racing. My body was on high alert as I faced off with Pablo and his alpha companion. I was terrified, but not for myself, for my mates.
I could see them beyond the battle, both on their knees, their faces overcome with the pains of labor. They were going to give birth soon, and if I didn’t do something immediately, Pablo and his goon would turn on them.
No!
I leapt aside, getting out of the way just in time to escape his vicious teeth. His jaw snapped shut just inches from my neck, and I slashed out with my claw, connecting with his exposed side. I felt my nails rake across the bones of his ribs and snarled as he yelped with pain and staggered away from me. But my own attack had left me open, and I looked up to see the second alpha launching through the air to
wards me.
Sid leapt between us, braced himself and drove his skull into the attacker’s gut. I heard the cough as the air escaped his lungs and the satisfying thud and scrape as the goon hit the dirty ground of the alley and skidded away. I took the opportunity and leapt on top of him. My teeth found the soft flesh of his neck and I tore, slashing the veins. I tasted blood and heard the groan of despair that signaled to me that his end was near.
I spun as Pablo hit me. He was big and sent me spiraling backwards. I heard my mates both cry out and another dose of adrenaline shot through my body.
I have to help them!
I looked up as Pablo kept his momentum and rushed past me and leapt on Sid with both claws, tearing the flesh from his shoulders. Sid yelped and struggled to get free, but Pablo was significantly bigger than him. I watched as blood spilled onto the street.
Someone was shouting—Tommy. He was on the phone.
Billy was crying.
Sid was yelping in pain.
I scrambled to my feet and dashed forward, hurling myself recklessly towards Pablo, my heart boiling over with rage like a furnace stoked to its melting point. Sid cried out again as Pablo tore at him, and I threw myself with absolutely no regard onto both of them. I heard and felt someone’s limb crack beneath me and prayed it wasn’t Sid’s.
I rolled, a searing pain in my shoulder, then found my footing again and looked up to see Pablo’s neck, vulnerable and exposed in front of me.
This is it!
My teeth found his flesh and I bit down with everything I had. He gurgled and coughed as I pierced his skin and tore through veins and arteries. I felt a surge of strength as he struggled and slashed out at me in a last, desperate attempt to harm me, but it was over. I’d won.
I held onto the bastard as his blood sprayed across my tongue, my chest heaving as I panted with the pain and exhaustion of battle. My mates needed me, but I wasn’t going to let go of Pablo until I was absolutely sure he was no longer a threat.
