Kitten Me Twice: Paranormal SEAL Surprise Baby Romance (Shifter Squad Nine Book 2)

by Anya Nowlan

  “Watch it,” Ryker growled, taking two long steps forward before Rio could do the same, putting himself between Price and Kayla. “Or I’m going to show you how you can be turned into some mail-order cunt via quick and dirty engineering. I don’t think you’d like that, puppy.”

  “Whoa there, gentlemen. Cool your engines. The fun is only beginning,” Spade said, in time with Dice stepping in the middle of the two and separating them.

  Both Ryker and Prowler looked like they’d enjoy nothing more than to go ten rounds with one another and Rio was confident that he and Price would have backed their twins up at the drop of a hat. It wouldn’t be the first time that would happen. Brawls were, unsurprisingly, something that tended to come about in Shifter Squad Nine.

  Most of them were for completely plausible reasons. Like who would get the better room, or who was dumb enough to bring the other guy’s mother into the conversation.

  Admittedly, the Tyrens were a bit more touchy about the last one than the others might have been.

  “Come on, quit it,” Dice growled, shoving Ryker and Prowler apart and remaining where he had stepped, tossing glares at both sides. “Prowler, you shut the fuck up. Ryker, you best admit that the boy has a point. How about we direct our aggression somewhere it belongs, huh?”

  The pointed look he gave Spade was pretty much clearly indicative of who Dice thought should be receiving of that particular honor.

  Rio squeezed Kayla’s hand, his enhanced hearing picking up how her heart was beating harder now that she was in the same room with Spade again and watching Ryker get so worked up over her. This was all normal to them, but to an outsider, the ridiculous amount of machismo and testosterone being tossed around in the room might have been a little bit too much.

  “So what is it this time?” Thor asked, leaning against a rickety table with a dark look in his eyes.

  The rest of the squad had slept and washed and looked pretty much human. It was only Rio and Ryker who still stank of carnage, and now copious amounts of sex. Rio didn’t mind one bit.

  “I have a mission for you in the United States. Figured you boys might be glad to go back home for a bit.”

  There was a round of grumbling from the Squad Nine guys. Only Dice really had something to go back to, the rest of them couldn’t give a shit, really. Especially now, with Kayla there, Rio wasn’t even opposed to the shitty Polish weather anymore. If braving some rain and sleet and wind would give him time to spend with his mate then hell, bring it on.

  “What is it?” Dice asked, his voice as commanding as ever.

  Though there was still plenty of tension in the squad, they’d all come to begrudgingly respect Dice, especially after the lengths he had gone to secure the fate of his mate and child. Though hell would freeze over before any of them admitted it, Rio got the feeling that every shifter in the group still had at least a bit of their humanity squarely intact. No man would risk their lives for someone else’s kid without it.

  “There’s a compound in Nevada, held by The Arctics as usual. A friend of mine has had his child abducted and we need him back,” Spade said, his intonation clear and concise, his expression unreadable.

  It was probably because he knew what would follow.

  “Wait. What the fuck? A friend of yours?” Price barked, moving forward a step.

  “We agreed to be your lapdogs for Arctics work, not for returning favors to some fat cat investors,” Prowler added.

  “This isn’t right, Spade,” Dice added as well, with Thor and the lions remaining quiet. “We’re supposed to be working for The Firm, not just you.”

  “Too bad. We’ve discussed this, gentlemen. As long as I want you, you’re mine to keep. If you no longer want to be a part of this game, then you know where the door is and I’ll make sure The Firm knows that your employment should be terminated.”

  Spade shrugged and it was the most nonchalant motion Rio had ever seen. The hand not holding Kayla’s balled into a fist and he could see from the faces of the men around him that he was not the only one inching to pummel Spade’s pretty face into the depths of his skull. But before any of them could make any decisions that they’d regret, Spade raised his hand to quiet the growing grumble of rebellion.

  “But, to show you that I am a benevolent overlord, I have something to sweeten the pot this time.”

  “What?” Ryker asked, lighting his cigar and taking a deep huff from it.

  “Her,” Spade said simply, pointing to Kayla.

  Seven

  Rio

  “What?” Kayla and Rio asked in unison, Ryker only stopped from doing so because of the cigar in his mouth.

  “What kind of fucking game are you playing this time, Spade?” Dice asked.

  “Come now, you couldn’t believe that I just brought her here so you could enjoy a casual fuck after a mission, did you?” Spade asked mirthfully, a snake-like smirk running over his lips.

  Rio looked to Kayla and her face paled. Either she knew what Spade had to say or simply being in the presence of the devilish man was enough to shake the usually unflappable little hellion of a woman. Rio squeezed her hand again to reassure her.

  “So come on, spill it,” Ryker said, his brows furrowed.

  “If you insist. I think this should be interesting to you as well, Kayla, so listen up. I believe one of your sons is being held in the compound as well.”

  The room went deathly silent in the blink of an eye and everyone’s attention turned to Kayla, most importantly that of Rio and Ryker.

  “Your… son?” Rio asked, feeling a cold clump form in the pit of her stomach.

  No fucking way.

  She glanced to both him and Ryker before squaring her shoulders and standing up a bit taller, because she’d obviously sunk a few inches when being stared down by the nine men currently in the room.

  “Which one? And only one? Are you sure?” she asked, as if they were discussing something completely normal.

  “Rylen, I believe is the boy’s name,” Spade said, and it was at that moment that Rio and Ryker looked at one another and the full extent of the situation became violently clear to both of them.

  Our brother’s name. So they must be…

  “You motherfucker,” Ryker roared, spitting out his cigar and making a beeline for Spade. “You knew all this time and you didn’t fucking tell us!?”

  Before his fist could contact Spade’s jaw, the intelligence operative had dodged and weaved behind him, shoving him forward with a booted foot. Ryker snarled and spun around, grabbing the extended leg just in time and tugging Spade closer. Like he was moving faster than time itself, Spade lifted himself from the ground and slammed his other foot in Ryker’s chest, flipping back and landing on his two feet again, hands held up in a defensive position while Ryker was grabbed by Spade’s two guards.

  He headbutted the first one and was halfway through choking the life out of the second when Dice and Prowler made it to him, peeling him off the guard before the engineer could kill him. This must have looked far too familiar to Dice.

  Rio stood perfectly still throughout it, digesting the news in the only way that he could, and Thor simply chuckled at the sight of mayhem unfurling before him. That asshole.

  “So my presumptions were correct, Kayla. You hadn’t told them,” Spade said lightly, turning to face her as Ryker was contained.

  “He’s not fucking worth it, Ryker,” Dice growled through gritted teeth, having a hell of a time of keeping Ryker from tossing both him and the werewolf clinging to his other side off.

  “I’m going to rip his fucking head off,” Ryker howled, showing a side of himself that no one had ever seen, including Rio.

  His brother, who was always the epitome of calm and collected under the most stressful times, was blowing up like one of Rio’s displays. At the same time, Rio was almost paralyzed by the calm that suddenly enveloped him, taking him completely and holding him tight.

  “They’re right, Ryker,” he said, his voice clear and
stern. “He’s not worth it. And we need him.”

  “Like a bullet to the head,” Ryker said.

  “No one’s arguing that,” Price said, his own lack of affection for the self-entitled overlord of Shifter Squad Nine perfectly visible in the hateful looks that he threw.

  “I’m sorry,” Kayla said, interjecting before the argument could get any louder. “And no, I hadn’t told them, as you knew. As you can see. But can we talk about that later, like after we get my boys back?”

  “You mean our boys,” Rio said.

  He had almost forgotten that he was still holding her hand, but the flash of pain that seemed to go through her when he said that shot up his arm as well. It was uncanny, almost. Her guilt was so palpable that he could actually sense how his words, not even meant in anger, pained her like a knife to her side.

  “Yes, I mean our boys,” she added, now quieter.

  “No, I don’t think that would be the best way to deal with this at all,” Spade said with a sing-songy voice, grinning like this was the best way he could have hoped all of this to play out. “I think the best way to do this would be to give you time now to deal with your angry kittens and get them in line before I tell any of you another word. And, of course, to give you time to all fall in like you’re fucking supposed to when you get an order.”

  He looked around at the expectant faces around him. Only Thor seemed to be enjoying the charade for what it was, other than Spade himself. Rio felt like he could walk on water if he needed to and by the looks of his brother, Ryker could have brought down the heavens with his fury alone.

  The wolves seemed conflicted and Dice thoroughly disgusted by Spade’s actions as usual. It was completely his modus operandi, of course, to take something fragile and tragic and use it for his own good. None of them should have expected any less, but the general consensus was that perhaps they would have expected a bit more?

  He’ll never stop using our weaknesses against us, Rio thought, the realization stark and chilling.

  “You hear me? I expect to see every last one of you in the transports in five minutes, your gear stowed away and not a fucking word from any of you. Serge, get Anton. We’re done here,” Spade commanded, with his remaining conscious guard scooping up the prone body of the second and throwing him over his wide shoulders.

  Like a dog following its master, Serge trotted out after Spade, who was given a wide berth by Kayla.

  “So what are we going to do?” Prowler asked when the door fell shut behind Spade.

  “What do you mean what do we do?” Dice echoed. “We’re getting our fucking gear and getting on those goddamn cars. Move out.”

  Kayla looked at Rio and then Ryker, who was being finally released from the iron grips of his squadmates now that Spade had left, and Rio could read the fear of the world in her gaze. But it wasn’t because she was afraid of them, or their reaction. No, it was because she was afraid for her sons.

  My sons.

  He was beginning to hate Poland again.

  Eight

  Kayla

  Kayla wasn’t sure how, but this unexpected and unasked for trip to Poland was turning into the most bittersweet thing she’d ever done.

  For a moment, she’d been given back all the shaky happiness she’d felt so many years ago, when the lion twins had given her hope for one fleeting summer that maybe, just maybe, someone like her could be happy as well. As fucked up in the head as she was back then, they were right there with her, broken and on the verge of insanity, but clinging to one another like they were the last survivors and the first one to let go would bring them all tumbling down.

  She’d been the first one to let go, choosing the easier way out instead of sticking that crazy ride out and seeing where it went. It was a decision she had regretted ever since.

  Now, feeling like just the blink of an eye later, all that joy she had been allowed to feel again had been ripped out of her hands and she was left to face the men she loved, the men she adored, with guilt consuming her heart.

  Shoved into the back of one of three transport vehicles, she sat opposite of both Rio and Ryker. Ryker was avoiding her gaze, his hands entwined into one giant fist and his knuckles white with barely held self-control. She didn’t think he wanted to hurt her, but she was pretty sure he’d bash Spade’s face in if he was given the slightest of chances.

  And Rio? Rio just looked at her like she was the most confusing mystery that could have been sent to him. Yet there was a kind of serenity to him that she had never seen before. In fact, the Tyren twins were acting like the opposites of one another, with Rio the calm and collected one and Ryker the one who seemed to be losing his head in all of this. It was unnerving, in a way.

  “Talk,” Ryker finally said, spitting the word out like it ailed him to keep it in him.

  They’d gathered their gear in a few minutes, Rio not allowing Kayla to stray a step further from him, and they’d been on the transports in four minutes flat. No one had tried to get on the same vehicle as them. Kayla figured it was more self-preservation than it was any respect for their privacy.

  “Where do I start?” Kayla asked, the question more for herself than the werelions.

  “From the beginning,” Rio said, giving her a nod that was probably supposed to instill some confidence in her.

  It helped, but the words were still difficult to get out of her mouth. The vehicle rattled forward, jumping over the potholes on the backwoods roads of Poland, making the whole car rattle and shake every now and then. It didn’t do much to mask the loud beating of her thrumming heart, though.

  “Alright. The beginning,” Kayla said, nodding to herself.

  Her gaze flicked down to her hands, binding them together similarly as Ryker’s. It was easier not to look at them when she was talking.

  “I left the two of you when I got word of my brother’s death. Colin had overdosed. Coke, as far as we know. He went quickly, they told me. I got the phone call and I didn’t know what to do with myself. I remember standing in the middle of the apartment – you were both at work – and staring at the phone in my hand and the pile of drugs on the kitchen desk that I was going through. It felt so ridiculous. I put my bag together and left.”

  She swallowed dryly, the visions of those times far too clear. She felt like she was still in that room, her hands shaking and her vision blurry with tears.

  “I didn’t take any of the stuff, but I took some money, which you probably figured out. Anyway, I went to my mom’s and I helped with the funeral. She’s a nice lady you know, far too good to have two good for nothing kids. We laid Colin to rest and I kept meaning to come back but… Well, I’d failed him, you know? He was my baby brother and I knew he was fucked in the head, similar to how I was. I couldn’t keep him out of the grade and you two…”

  “We were fucked up as hell too,” Rio said solemnly, bringing a slight smirk to all their faces.

  “You can say that again,” Ryker confirmed.

  Their past was one of booze, drugs, tattoos, fights and petty theft. That went for all three of them. They were running from their demons and kept finding one another, which made it easier to ignore the demons, but a damn bit harder to become anything more than what they were back then.

  Though the Tyren twins seemed better now, Kayla recognized the lost looks in their eyes far too well. Nothing had changed, they’d just exchanged one addiction for another. A much more dangerous one, considering the blood on their clothes.

  “I knew you wanted to change, to become better and when you told me about the whole mate thing, I thought maybe that could be it, you know? My way out, your way out. But the other side of the coin seemed a lot more likely – that I’d drag you down with me into whatever darkness I was heading for back then. I actually didn’t touch a single mind-numbing thing since I got that call, but it wasn’t because I didn’t want to.”

  “What was it then?” Rio asked, quirking a brow.

  “My pregnancy,” Kayla said, and her voice almost
broke as she spoke the words.

  Silence filled the vehicle for a moment, the only sound between them the rattling of wheels across pavement and dirt.

  “I found out about a month after I was gone. I was cooped up at my mom’s place, living in my old room and helping her cope, when the morning sickness started. These shifter babies, they really don’t wanna stay in, you know? Five months was all it took, and then I had them. I kept deluding myself into thinking that it couldn’t be happening, that it was all a dream I was going to wake up from. But when I held them in my arms, I knew it was all true and they were going to be my reason to become a better person.”

  “You had twins?” Ryker asked, his voice trembling as hard as Kayla’s.

  He knew the answer, of course, because all shifter Alpha twin pairs would have twin sons first, but Kayla understood his need for confirmation. She nodded.

  “I did. Rylen and Rhamos, after your brother and-“

  “Father,” Rio finished, nodding appreciatively.

  “I figured you’d appreciate it,” Kayla said with a sad smile. “I did come looking for you. Several times, after I’d had them. But you’d both disappeared off the face of the earth about a month before I got there. Nobody knew where you went, none of our friends. And I didn’t find the stash in the apartment either so I figured you’d taken it and flown the coop.”

  “We joined the Navy,” Ryker said, the words sounding like they were physically hurting him to say out loud. “We would have never… If we’d known…”

  “I figured, now that I saw you two and the SEAL tattoos. There was no way you could have known.”

  “There was,” Rio interjected, sitting back and slamming the back of his head against the hard wall with a thud. “I found your mother’s phone number. I called her. Three times, at least. She kept insisting that you weren’t there, that you’d never come after Colin’s death and that she didn’t know where you were. She told me that if I heard anything from you to call her so she’d know that you were safe. That woman’s a hell of an actress.”