Sorell kept trying to pull his hand away and it was annoying him. Was Sorell not proud to be his mate? Was he trying to make this situation easier for Felix? Felix didn't know and he didn't care. The fact was, this was all easier because of Sorell's presence.
"Frannie, it's okay. Of course Mom is going to be shocked," Felix said, happy at how calm he sounded. "I can understand your confusion, Mom, but let me clear a few things up. First, Sorell is not a child. He is twenty-three. I understand there is an age difference, but I trust Sorell to make his own choices and luckily one of those choices was to be with me. Second, I've never tapped into this part of myself before but I guess you could call me bi-sexual, I have enjoyed relationships with women in the past and now I have Sorell." There was nothing else Felix could say. He watched his mother's face, taking in the look of shock that he had never seen on her face when looking in his direction. She always had such adoration for him, the oldest, a doctor for the less privileged, no doubt she expected a very different partner for him.
She rose up to her full height and Felix could already tell what she was about to say would not be kind. "But, Felix, he's so young!"
Of all the people to defend them, Felix did not expect Pippen to glide in. "Sorell is younger than him, but he is smart and kind. And if you don't think your son is lucky for having him then you aren't the mother I thought you were," he said with his soft, high voice and then swept out of the room into the kitchen. Conner followed behind him but Frannie remained in no man's land. She seemed torn between comforting their mother, who had gasped and clutched at the front of her shirt at Pippen's words, and Felix, who stood stock-still fighting every urge to take his mate away from this emotional danger.
At least Sorell had stopped trying to pull away. His palm was sweaty and he breathed rapidly, but he stayed beside him.
Felix could have left at that moment and just resigned to a life of awkward Thanksgivings and stiff Christmases but his mother and his mate deserved better than that. "Mom, I know this is a lot. Why not just give yourself time? Enjoy dinner tonight, watch us, heck, pull out a piece of paper and take notes on our behavior because I can assure you, you will see love." Felix couldn't believe the first time he'd said the L-word in regards to his mate was to his mother. It made sense. She was not the enemy, she only needed educating. "Can you agree to that much?"
His mother regarded him with an expression that made him feel like she was seeing him as a kid. That was the bane of mothers, they looked at their children and saw every version of them. His mother had seen him through his best times and also in his darkest times.
"Yes." She nodded stiffly. "I can do that much."
If that was all he would get tonight, it would be enough. With a reassuring squeeze, Felix led Sorell from the entryway—they hadn't even made it past that point yet—and further into the living room. They sat down on the couch. Finn brought Serena Ann out and she immediately reached for Sorell. She held onto him and looked up at his face with a wide smile. She stuck out her tongue and made a noise that sounded very much like a bark.
"What have you been teaching her?" Luke asked from behind Finn.
Sorell brought the baby in for a hug. "Nothing she wouldn't learn on the streets eventually."
Felix let go of a breath he'd been holding. Seeing Luke brought back their last argument and reminded him of the way he'd ordered Sorell around. He had been on edge waiting for it to happen again and that was when he remembered something he'd let himself forget. These people were Sorell's family as much as they were Felix's. They cared and yes, sometimes things got dicey, but ultimately every person in the house cared for the two of them. Felix let his body relax, knowing that he didn't have to be so on edge. This was one place that Sorell would be protected.
***
Sorell couldn't remember laughing so hard in his life. Daryl had shown up a little late and Sorell forgot how much he missed the man. He was rough around the edges, rougher than even Luke during social interactions, but he could tell a good story. It had been one of the reasons Frannie had liked Luke's father so much in the first place. As a writer, she could enjoy a good story. In fact, Sorell knew her latest release was loosely based off of Daryl and Luke's mother's relationship only, "with bigger penises and a man that won't stop," according to Frannie. She swore that was the key to writing shifter romances.
Sorell looked at Felix sitting beside him, on Felix's other side was his mother and Felix laughed at some story she had just shared about their other brother, Farley. It had something to do with Farley as a late teen and a bottle of hot sauce. She got to the punch line and Felix roared with laughter. Sorell laughed too, but mostly because of his mate's mirth. He looked good with a smile. They had gathered around the patio in the back yard, despite the cool weather, because it was bigger and there was more space for people to sit.
Their arrival had been the most awkward moment he'd experienced and for the first half of dinner Sorell wished he could run and hide. Felix had kept him strong and by his side and it had turned out all right. His mother had stared at them blatantly throughout dinner but as the night continued, she relaxed. Maybe it was just as Felix had said and she simply needed time. Sorell sat back and smiled. Every issue he had, every worry, Felix seemed more than happy to attack head on. He was fearless and he was his. Sorell had caught a few sour glances from Pippen but knew even those would clear as soon as he became used to the idea.
Too soon, Felix's mother stood, saying it was far later than she had thought and that she needed to get back home. They all said their goodbyes and when she hugged Sorell, it felt like she held on for a little bit longer, though she didn't say anything to him.
When she was gone from the backyard, the group fell into a silence. Frannie moved to refill everyone's glasses and then sat back down. Sorell noticed her wince when she did and frowned. She shouldn't still be hurting.
"So," Finn said, coming back out from laying Serena Ann down.
"Sorell is my mate," Felix announced to the pack.
Sorell almost thought to be embarrassed at such a bold statement but Felix spoke with such pride that he sat a little bit taller. No one said anything and then, Luke smiled and strode forward, clapping Felix on the back like it was some sort of alpha male secret handshake. "Great news," he said and he sounded like he meant it. The rest of his pack mates followed, congratulating them except for Pippen, who at least wasn't frowning any more.
No one questioned Felix being a human or what that meant for the politics of the pack. At that moment, there was only happiness and acceptance.
And then there were explosions.
Sorell felt the stone of the patio press against his front and felt Felix at his back. "What is that?" he managed to ask.
"Gunfire," Felix said, his voice tight. They were both most likely wondering and hoping for the same thing, that his mother had gotten in her car and far away before whoever was out there started shooting up their house.
Another series of pops, punctuated by flying debris as the house was hit again. For the most part, they were safe, the house shielded them, but if anyone was inside—
Luke shifted, followed by the rest of the pack. Sorell followed them, his bones and muscles seamlessly realigning into that of a wolf as they ran quickly to Finn's room, where Serena Ann had been sleeping. He honed in on his shifter senses, a little rusty after not using them much, but heard Serena Ann's cries right away. More importantly, he didn't smell any blood, just the burnt sulfur of gun powder residue. Finn ran past them, fear making him almost as nimble as the wolves he sped by. He scooped the baby in his arms and moved to the back of the house escorted by the pack.
Back in the yard, Frannie was on the phone with what sounded like the police. Finn handed the baby to Felix to examine. "Sorell," he said but then shook his head as if thinking better of it. "Conner, can you go out to my car? I have my bag for house calls in the trunk."
Sorell growled while Conner spun around still in shifter form. Felix was ab
out to ask him, but then didn't. Did he not trust him to grab a bag? Sorell turned and followed Conner out of the front of the house, ignoring Felix's order to stay. He wasn't his pet.
Sorell found Conner, naked as baby, hunched over inside the trunk presumably reaching for the bag. In that position there was no way he could see the black Range Rover with tinted windows speeding back toward them. Sorell burst forward and bit down on Conner's leg, dragging him back just as the black SUV squealed past, the back window rolling down just far enough for the barrel of a semi-automatic to poke out. Sharp bursts of light punctuated by fast explosions surrounded the two of them as they huddled behind Felix's car. Conner shifted back into wolf form and pressed his body flat against the pavement beside him.
The next thing Sorell knew the front door of the pack house flung open and Felix charged outside, checking first to make sure Sorell was okay before emptying a clip at the back of the SUV. There was a pop and then another explosion, but this one sounded like metal being torn apart forcefully. Sorell popped up and peered over Felix's car to see the SUV had slammed into an electrical pole. The pole looked to be in bad shape as well. The transformer rained down a sheet of sparks before exploding in fire, bathing the neighborhood in darkness.
"Get inside the house," Felix ordered, cold, detached, and angry.
Sorell didn't think to disobey this time. His wolf knew they'd done wrong and he slunk back inside, confident Felix would be fine as Luke and Conner joined him.
Inside, Pippen, Frannie, and Finn, with a crying Serena Ann, were in the living room. Pippen lit the last of the candles for light. He held a camping lantern and set it down in the middle of the room. He disappeared, coming back with a broom and dustpan. Sorell left them to shift in his room and pull on a pair of sweats.
He rejoined them. Finn had gotten the baby to quiet down with a bottle. Frannie sat on the other couch, still on the phone, but this time it sounded like she was talking to her mother. Sorell grabbed another broom and started helping clean up.
"Love you, too. No, don't come back. You can pick up the cake later. Bye," Frannie said before hanging up the phone. "Well, now you have to make my mother a cake, Pippen. After learning she was okay she wanted to know why I'd called. I panicked and said you'd made her a special cake for the occasion."
Pippen grunted and continued sweeping. Police sirens grew louder and soon Sorell saw the red and blue of their lights glow through the front window. Sorell stopped sweeping and peeked out, hoping the rest of the pack wasn't in the middle of doing anything very illegal. Like losing control and kicking their asses, his wolf reminded him of Felix's plea. Sorell felt like shit for disobeying him and if Felix did anything he would regret...
"He's a grown man," Frannie said, looking at his tortured expression. "You aren't responsible for his emotions," she said sounding almost angry. Sorell wondered what the rest of that story was.
"I'm going to finish her bottle in my room," Finn said before Sorell could ask Frannie about what she'd meant.
A loud knock sounded and Sorell slunk back with Pippen to the doorway to the kitchen. Historically, cops weren't their friends. Sorell didn't have a long list, but he'd been arrested before while doing work for his old pack. He dropped the broom, cursing his own stupidity. The police would think they were destroying evidence or something. Frannie answered the door and let the cops inside. Two officers stood in the doorway squinting as their eyes adjusted to the dim lighting. One was thin with mouse-brown hair and a weak chin, the other was taller and built like a bulldozer. She invited them to sit and told them that a separate unit had located the crash and was arresting those inside. Then, they began questioning her. Like Sorell had expected, they thought something was going on in the house that would cause the shooting.
"Look, this is a good area, I can't even remember the last drive- by. And now two in one night," mouse-brown-hair cop said.
"Technically I think it is one drive-by, with two rounds," Frannie said with more sarcasm than Sorell would ever use with a cop who wasn't already arresting him. The thin cop wrote something down on his note pad while the other one was suspiciously silent. He looked around the room, his eyes falling on the feminine touches that were pure Frannie and then sliding over to where Pippen and Sorell hovered.
"Roommates?" he asked with a low voice.
"Yeah," Frannie snapped.
Felix stepped in then. He didn't look at Sorell but mumbled something about going to check on the baby and Finn.
"How many roommates do you have?" the bulldozer cop asked. He had one of those permanent dimples in his cheek.
"Is that relevant?"
Sorell wanted to go to Felix but would have to pass the cops and things already seemed tense. He wasn't sure how well he would be received anyway. He wondered where Conner and Luke were now that the cops had the shooters. They had been in wolf form, he realized, and their clothes were in the backyard. Most likely, they were coming around through the back.
"How much could your mortgage be that you need so many incomes?" the bulldozer cop asked.
Frannie sat up straight and pushed a curl out of her eyes. "Are you my accountant?" she snapped.
Sorell swayed back, bumping into Pippen. Even Pippen looked amazed at how short she was being.
Luckily, the cop just smiled. Not the mouse-hair one, though. No, he continued to scribble on his pad with a frown.
"Was anyone injured?" the cop asked.
"It's a little late to be asking that, don't you think?" Frannie replied. This time Sorell was sure she'd gone too far.
Luke padded down the hallway at that exact moment, confirming Sorell's guess that he'd snuck in through the back of the house. "No one here was injured. My infant daughter was the only one inside at the time of the shooting," Luke said and his anger was obvious.
The bulldozer cop stood quickly. He looked from Frannie back to Luke with the first frown Sorell had seen. Finn followed behind Luke, holding Serena Ann. When the bulldozer cop spotted Finn and the baby he coughed and held out his hand to Luke. "I think we have enough here," he said shaking Luke's hand and practically herding his partner out.
"But we haven't gotten any of the information," the mouse-haired cop protested.
"I can come back, Jeffries. We have enough paperwork as it is. Thank you," he said to Luke and Finn. "Ma'am," he nodded respectfully in Frannie's direction. It could have been Sorell's imagination but it seemed like the cop's voice got lower, huskier, when addressing Frannie.
"Thanks for all your help," she said dryly as they left.
Pippen let out a low whistle once the door was shut. "Balls of steel on you, Francesca."
Frannie just shook her head. "I didn't like that guy. Ugh, look at this place."
"I called Christian," Finn said. "They are still in Louisiana and he demanded we stay over there while we patch this place up."
"Shouldn't take long," Luke said, surveying the damage. "They had bad aim."
"Or they weren't trying to shoot anyone," Felix said then from the middle of the hallway.
Frannie cleared her throat. "So everyone is in agreement that this was another fun time with Isaac?"
Sorell felt his face burn. Frannie stepped back and bumped into him deliberately as if to express that she didn't blame him. It didn't matter, he still blamed himself.
"I didn't recognize the driver or shooter, but I think it is safe to assume that, Fran," Luke said. "I say we take it in shifts. We'll fix Frannie's house and protect it from more damage while staying at Christian's. Who wants first go here tonight?"
"We'll take it," Felix said. "I doubt my car will start right now, anyway. Might as well stay here and do some good."
Everyone nodded in agreement and packed an overnight bag. Sorell remained frozen against the wall by Felix's dark stare. Yes, he was still angry and judging from his nearly black eyes, he was planning on making sure Sorell knew just how much trouble he'd gotten into.
Chapter Eleven
At least Felix
waited for the last pack member to leave for Christian's house next door before turning to Sorell. With every advancing step he took, Sorell took one step back until his back hit the wall with a soft thud. He wasn't afraid of Felix. He did feel guilty though about disobeying, especially after he'd promised he would.
But guilt wasn't even the only thing he felt. No, his cock was so hard it pushed against the fabric of his pants, anticipating the punishment about to come. His breath came quickly through parted lips as he watched Felix approach. He deserved whatever he was about to get.
"I'm just happy my aim is so bad," Felix said. Sorell cocked his head to the side. Felix had hit a tire on the SUV, that had been why it had gone out of control. "When I heard those gunshots, I couldn't think, Sorell. It felt just like...exactly the same as..."
He didn't have to finish. Sorell knew what he meant to say and felt even more horrible.
"I was simply trying to stay sane, by asking you to remain beside me. That was why I asked Conner to retrieve the bag instead."
Sorell leaned against the wall, feeling the coolness of it against his back and the heat of Felix's body at his front.
"But, you being there, probably saved Conner's life." Felix almost smiled when he looked at Sorell. "Yes, he told me how it happened and his bite wound will be fine. Minor punctures. Providing you've been vaccinated."
That was so close to a joke that Sorell wondered if he was going to be punished at all. Part of him was disappointed by that. The other part of him screamed, you idiot!
Felix stepped back and down the hall to Sorell's room. Sorell stood there stunned. Did he follow? Or was he expected to sleep on the couch. Was that his punishment? Felix pushed open Sorell's door and stood, with his profile to Sorell in the dark hallway.
"Get on the bed, on your knees," he said so quietly and calmly Sorell wondered if he'd imagined it.
Sorell sailed down the hallway, past Felix and leapt onto the bed. He looked over at Felix who simply stared, expectantly. After a minute, Sorell got the point and slid out of his pants and shirt, resuming his position on the bed again, but this time, stark naked. A single candle lit Felix's face making him look eerie, otherworldly.
Wolf's Mate Mpreg Romance Box Set Page 43
