Family Harmony

by J. J. Massa

  “Come on back here and let’s have a look. I wasn’t really sure why you two were here. I’m glad I can help. Lakon have a seat.” She led the couple into an examining room.

  To Mya, she said, “Go ahead and change into that gown young lady. We’ll just check on your pup while we’re at it.”

  Both Lakon and Mya froze. “Pup?” asked Mya.

  Lakon grabbed her by the upper arms and began sniffing at her throat and between her breasts. Suddenly, he sat down hard on the chair by the door.

  “Lakon? What…” She had her head tilted slightly. She thought she knew but she needed confirmation.

  Anita grinned. “This almost never happens! I almost never get to surprise new parents! This is great!”

  “Parents?” Mya turned to look at the doctor and took a step closer to Lakon. “Lakon? We’re going to be parents?” her eyes filled with tears. “A baby?” she whispered.

  Dazed, Lakon looked up at her. “Twins run in my family.” he choked.

  “Mine, too!” she grinned.

  “Oh, Baby! A baby!” he began to laugh. Standing, he put his arms around her. “I should have known but we’d been apart and you just smelled so good and—a pup, Mya! A baby!”

  “Promise me you want this baby, Lakon. Promise!” Mya said fiercely, gripping the front of his shirt in her fists.

  “Oh my God Mya! A baby! A pup! I want this pup so much. So much!” He cupped her face. “I love you, Mya and I’m going to be the best husband and father, I promise.”

  He dipped his head and his mouth covered hers in a blaze of passion and joy. Mya lost all track of time until Anita came in chattering.

  “I had to call Beauford, I just HAD to! Let’s get a look at that shoulder so we can go celebrate the new alpha or beta your mate is carrying.” She was all business as she gently disengaged Mya from Lakon’s arms.

  Mya knew she had tears running down her face. She’d never ever expected to have children. After what had happened with Lakon, she’d thought she’d never have love in her life again.

  Even before he’d found her, she’d accepted that she wouldn’t be complete without him. His being there with her and being willing to talk about what had happened between them had helped her tremendously.

  She knew it wasn’t all better though. She knew without a doubt that she would have real trouble dealing with his temper. They’d talked about it a lot but they both understood that damage had been done.

  A BABY!! I’m going to be a mommy! I’m going to try to be the best mommy on the planet.

  “Lakon, I’m going to take a few c.c.’s of your blood and inject it into Mya. She should be able to tolerate it with the pup and all. That may help the healing process. I have some steroids I could inject but I don’t want to risk…”

  “No nothing like that! Nothing that could hurt the baby!” Mya was adamant.

  “Don’t worry, young lady, I’m going to look out for your little pup.” Anita approached Lakon and began withdrawing blood. “Your shoulder muscle was damaged, Mya and it’s never going to be as good as new. With the injection of Lakon’s stronger blood to that area with his healing factors, hopefully, the pain and the swelling will go away faster.”

  Mya and Lakon decided to spend the night at Beauford and Anita’s house celebrating and calling their families.

  * * * *

  Room of Myles Brooks

  Duke University Medical Center

  “Yeah?” Myles answered the phone.

  “Is Mik there with you? Do you have a speaker on your phone?” Mya asked him.

  “Mya? Is that you, Pet? Yeah, Mik’s right here, I’ll hit the speaker switch! How’s tricks Luvvie?”

  “Dad?” That was Lakon.

  “Yeah son?” Mik answered.

  “First, welcome to the family, baby brother!” Lakon said to Myles.

  “You know I’ve got to kick your arse, right?” Myles answered. “I have to.”

  “Yeah, sure, okay, brother. But wait, okay? You’ve got to wait.” Myles could hear him smiling and grinning through the phone. He heard Mya giggle.

  “Wait for what?” he growled.

  “Wait till after our pup is born!” Lakon crowed.

  “I’m going to have a baby, Myles! A baby!” She burst into tears.

  Myles looked over at Mik. He was surprised to see tears filling the deep yellow eyes of the big wolf. Mik waved a paw at Myles. With a start, he felt a tear splash on his own hand.

  “Oh, Luv…” he said.

  “Son,” rumbled Mik, “Honey…” He sniffed.

  “I’m an uncle!” Myles yelled. “My lovely baby sister is having a baby!”

  “Did you call your mother yet, son?” Mik asked.

  “No, Dad, we had to call Myles first. We hoped you’d be there but… well, Myles had to be the first to know.” Lakon sniffed unashamedly. “I’m going to be a father. I don’t deserve it and I’m not sure how it happened, but…”

  “If you don’t know how it happened, mate, get the hell away from my sister!” Myles laughed.

  “You’re happy, right My?” Mya asked him. “You’ve forgiven Lakon?”

  “Oh, Pet. I’m mad at Lakon for hurting you, of course I am. We’ll get past that. I just want you to be happy, Sweet. I love you. I love your baby. I guess I can love your lousy, flea bitten, mangy…”

  “Hey, boy!” Mik barked. “That same blood is running in your veins, too!”

  “All right, I take the mangy part back. It’s okay Mya. Lakon and I are fine, right old boy?”

  “I’ll let him kick my ass, we’ll name the pup after him and then…”

  “Lakon!” squealed Mya. “Let’s call the baby Mykle! That way he’s named after everybody! Mik and Myles and Riker!”

  “I like it,” rumbled Mik. “Elke fits in there too. She’ll love that. So you know it’s a male pup?”

  “Anita told us right away,” Lakon agreed. “Our little baby boy is already a month old in there.”

  “We thought it could be twins but one is just plenty!” Mya smiled.

  “We couldn’t be happier for you. I’m so glad Honey. Lakon, son, I’m really glad.” Mik congratulated them.

  “I’m so pleased for you Mya. You too Lake, really. Hey, Riker and Bet were going to be at Elke’s tonight. I’m sure they have speakerphones right old boy?” Mik grunted affirmatively. “I’ll see you, when?” he asked. Myles had almost forgotten that part.

  “We’ll be here for three or so more weeks, maybe four. Anita said the pup could come early so we may not have more than four more months. Take my house, Myles. We’ll meet you there. Build on if you want.”

  “I think I’ll build my own, Lake. Not that I don’t want to change nappies in the middle of the night, mind you…”

  Laughing, Lakon told him, “We’d better go. We’re here at Anita’s and Beauford’s and we want to call Riker, Bet, and Mom—no idea where Tav is.”

  “Don’t forget Yancey!” Mya called out.

  “Yancey’s right after, I promise.”

  “Bye Myles! Bye Mik!” Mya called out.

  “Bye Dad! Bye Baby Brother!” Lakon hung up before Myles could swear at him.

  * * * *

  Home of Elke and Mik Montgomery

  Franklin, NC

  “Hello?” Bethany answered the phone since Elke was happily playing a board game with the boys.

  “Bet?” Did that voice have an English accent?

  “Mya?” she whispered. The entire house seemed to screech to a halt. She should have realized that whispering didn’t make a difference in a house full of werewolves.

  “Yeah!” Mya giggled, “It’s me. Speakerphone, speakerphone!”

  Bethany gasped. “Oh my God! Are you?” She squealed.

  “Yes!” squealed Mya in return.

  “Everybody! Get in here!”

  Bethany hit the speaker button in time for the whole family to hear Lakon growl, “How did she know? Do women have a secret code or something? I swear you didn’t sa
y…”

  “Lakon? What’s going on?” Elke was confused but then Bethany made eye contact. “Oh son! Oh Mya! I’m going to cry!”

  “Riker?”

  “Lake?”

  “Would you like to know what all these women are crying about?” Lakon asked his brother.

  “Yes, please” Riker responded.

  “Oh good, I finally get to say it out loud.” He sounded a tad grouchy Bethany thought, but that went away pretty quick. “We’re going to have a pup! Mya’s pregnant!” Lakon shouted.

  Bethany could hear the deep barrel timbre of Beauford Montgomery laughing in the background.

  “Damn,” Riker sighed.

  “Another grandbaby! Lakon’s first! Boy or girl?”

  “It’s a boy, Mom,” Lakon told her.

  “I’m a month along. He’ll be just a little younger than yours, right Bethany?” Mya asked.

  “They still can’t tell if this little one is a boy or girl but we only have two months left.” Bethany confirmed.

  “We’re going to call him Mykle. He’ll be named after Myles, Mik, Elke, and Riker.” Bethany could listen to Mya’s soft voice all day. She loved her accent.

  “I like that,” rumbled Riker. “Mykle.”

  “Are you okay, Mya?” asked Bethany.

  “Dr. Anita gave me some of Lakon’s blood for my shoulder. She says it won’t ever be perfect, but this will help. A baby, Bethany! We’re going to be parents!”

  “Mya, you have to come and let me look after you, young lady!” Elke scolded. She really didn’t sound all that stern, Bethany thought.

  “Congratulations,” murmured Riker. Bethany looked at him quizzically.

  “Thanks,” Lakon replied. “We need to call Yancey and let him know. We’ll be home in about three weeks or so. We’ll see you then!”

  “Mya!” Bethany called before they hung up.

  “You too!” Mya called out. They were gone.

  Turning to Riker, Bethany studied his face. “What is it, Riker?” she asked. Something was really bothering him.

  “I guess I can’t really talk about it yet, Bet.” He kissed her and walked away.

  *

  Riker didn’t know if he’d ever really be able to talk to Bethany about what was on his mind. He hadn’t sorted it all out himself.

  He was proud for his brother. More than proud, he was excited and relieved. Lakon deserved happiness. Mya would make him happy. The pup would make him happy.

  Riker did know that both he and his brother were even more primal, if that were possible, than full blood werewolves. They had an extra helping of wolf genes, after all. Mik was brilliant, insightful, sensitive, and downright deadly when it was called for.

  His father had overturned countless pack challenges. Riker had no doubt that his father could beat him in a pack challenge if he wanted to. The fact was that the Livingston pack and the Montgomery pack separately were big enough for several Alphas. The combined pack was enormous.

  Still, Lakon and Riker had been born to the Alpha position. Even though Lakon was called the Beta, everyone knew he was co-Alpha with Riker. Few knew how savage he could be under all that jovial charm.

  Riker knew though. That’s what was bothering him. Not that his brother was savage—he was pretty badass himself. Lakon was an Alpha the same as Riker. They were twins.

  When Riker had put his arms around Mya at the Alltel Pavilion, for one primitive moment, all he knew was that he held a woman who could be his mate. Now he knew that she’d been in heat.

  The fact that she’d been in heat must have been what put him over the edge. He could smell his brother’s scent on her—almost the same as his own. He’d wanted to imprint his own scent there. He’d run his lips and tongue over Lakon’s mark.

  He’d challenged his brother and they both knew it. It was his fault that Lakon had hurt Mya.

  * * * *

  Right Lane, Coliseum Dr, Winston-Salem, NC

  Yancey thought he’d wreck the car when his cell phone rang. That must be why they have laws about talking on the phone in the car now.

  “Hello?” he answered, hitting his horn when he got cut off in traffic. “Hang on a second!” he told his unknown caller. “Okay, hello?” he said finally.

  “Yance, its Lake. Pull over, buddy, I need to tell you something.”

  He pulled the car to the shoulder of the road right away. “Lake, is it Mya? Is she okay? You heard about Myles, right?”

  “I’m fine Yancey. Just fine,” Mya chirped. She sounded like she was fine.

  “What’s up, you guys? You’re back together! I’m so happy about that!”

  “Then you’re gonna love this one, buddy!” Lakon boomed.

  “You’re scaring me, Lake. What’s going on?” Yancey was uneasy now.

  “I’m pregnant, Yancey.” Mya said quietly.

  “Oh my God! Mya! Lake!” Yancey was shouting and bouncing in his seat.

  He almost didn’t hear the tapping on his window. The officer motioned for Yancey to roll down the car window.

  “Sir!” Officer Montgomery barked, “Is there a problem here?”

  “You’re a Montgomery, Officer?” Yancey could smell that he was a Were.

  “So?” growled the officer.

  Yancey’s face split in a grin. “Your Beta’s mate is gonna have a pup! Boy or girl, Lake?”

  The officer’s face went slack with shock. “Lakon Montgomery?”

  “It’s a boy, Yancey. His name will be Mykle Montgomery.” He could hear Mya’s smile.

  “Let your old man tell that to the officer here so I don’t get a ticket. Here he is.” Yancey knew he was grinning like a fool.

  Yancey handed the officer the phone. He could hear what Lakon was saying anyway.

  “Officer Montgomery? Congratulate Mya, my mate and me. We’re going to have a pup. A boy. I hope you won’t write my cousin there a ticket.”

  “No sir. Congratulations Mr.—Congratulations, Lakon! Congratulations Mya Montgomery. The whole pack will want to celebrate.” He handed the phone back to Yancey.

  Yancey knew there’d be a howl-out tonight. All the Montgomery’s and Livingston’s would know by morning. Both Riker and Lakon were having a pup at the same time!

  * * * *

  Cherokee National Forest

  One mile south of Mya’s cabin

  Auggie and Roland, along with Gil, his sister Cherese and another Were, Billy, all settled in to wait. Their camp was less than a mile from Mya’s cabin but they didn’t want to be seen or smelled. He wondered if he and Roland had even been missed yet.

  The escape had gone like clockwork. Auggie had gone to the bathroom and changed clothes with the imposter Were. That man had shuffled into the library and Auggie had strolled into the visitor’s area.

  Roland had changed clothes with the other Were. When visiting hours were over, Auggie and Roland calmly left the facility, getting into the car the other two Weres had left.

  That night, Gil, Cherese, and Billy joined them and they made their way to Lakon’s house in Franklin, North Carolina. It was Montgomery territory so Auggie and Roland were more than a little nervous.

  Lakon’s trail was old but it became easier to follow once they got out of town. Just as Auggie had thought, they were able to follow that arrogant pretty boy’s scent almost straight to their den.

  They’d gotten hung up at a wide stream, but finally they were able to find the trail again. Now, Auggie and Roland were preparing to sneak down to the cabin and see what they could see.

  “It’s raining,” complained Gil, “They won’t get my scent. I don’t see why I can’t go.”

  “They already know that Roland and I are out to get them. If they spot any of you, we lose the element of surprise when there are five of us,” growled Auggie.

  Auggie and Roland transformed and made their way down to the cabin. When they reached it, they transformed again.

  Mya had her back to the window and Lakon was pulling off her shirt. “Is
it still painful, Baby?” they heard Lakon ask her.

  “It feels good when you rub it,” Auggie heard her mumble.

  When Lakon moved away to pick up a tube of cream, Auggie got a look at what must have been a painful muscle injury. Wait a minute… That looks like a bite. If it is a bite, it’s pretty bad.

  “I’m so sorry I hurt you this way, Mya. So sorry, Baby.” Lakon was rubbing the cream into her shoulder. “Riker feels miserable about his part in it, too. He felt bad even before Dad wiped the floor with us.”

  Perfect! Lakon Montgomery had abused and injured his human mate. Somehow the Alpha had abused her, too. And Mik Montgomery is involved! All I have to do is let everyone see it. The Montgomery’s will be out for sure.

  Auggie signaled to Roland and the two men transformed. Meeting back at the hill, Auggie rubbed his hands together gleefully. He didn’t bother to get dressed again.

  “Cherese, if you want to be mated to the next Alpha,” he sauntered up to her and pinched her nipple through her shirt, “get naked right now!”

  “Hey!” growled Gil.

  “I stand to take over the pack!” Auggie snarled. “Do you want to be a lower Gamma or do you want to be Roland’s Beta?”

  Gil dropped his eyes. “Gil?” whimpered Cherese as Auggie transformed into half-were form.

  He grabbed Cherese and pulled her into the trees. “Go ahead and struggle, I like a fight!” Auggie rumbled.

  Cherese transformed into half-were form too, but she was no match for Auggie. Bestial grunts and snarls could be heard as he pounded into her. With a groan, he found his release.

  * * * *

  Cabin North of Blowing Rock, NC and South of Johnson City, TN

  Lakon lifted a nearly boneless Mya and carried her to their bed. Gently, he removed her sweats—her jeans had become too tight for her. Soon, her sweatpants would be too small. She could wear his sweatpants. He’d gotten more clothes weeks ago when they’d visited Anita.

  “How’s my baby doing?” he asked, rubbing her tummy. He could feel the slight curve.

  “Which one?” she mumbled sleepily.

  He couldn’t resist taking a puckered nipple into his mouth. All she wore was a pair of panties—she’d need some of those in a larger size soon, too.