by Susi Hawke
“Speak for yourself, Jenny girl!” He said with a smile at Sy, “How are you, buddy? I'm sorry that I didn't know you'd been taken any sooner, or we would've been looking for you long before now.”
Sy looked up at him with a grin of recognition, as he stepped forward to give the newcomer an awkward hug, “Maxi-pad! I am so happy to see you! Hey, is that your brother Seth that I see over there too?”
A nearly identical blonde, who was obviously related to the guy, stepped over from the couch and reached out to greet Sy with a huge hug of his own. “Sy! Well, praise be to Fenris almighty! It's is so good to see you again.” He frowned then, pointing at Sy's pregnant belly. “Dare I ask?”
Sy looked down at his belly with a blush of embarrassment saying: “Ah, Seth. Please, please don't ask me about this and how it happened. You have to know it wasn't by choice.” He looked up at the other man with pleading eyes, making the one called Seth flush with a mixture of anger and embarrassment.
“No, Sy, no. Don't go there, please.” He reached out to take Sy's hands and touched foreheads with him as he gently said: “I would never think that of you. I'm just so ashamed to be even remotely related to an alpha that would do that to you by force, let alone the head Alpha.” He shook his head regretfully as his brother reached out to put a hand on Sy's shoulder.
The two brother's wrapped their arms around Sy, and held him for a long moment, until Jake broke it up saying: “Okay, I hear Daniel pulling up with the van. I don't want to rush you guys, but we need to beat feet if we're going to make a smooth getaway. I mean, we are literally stealing your uncle's omega's, guys! We seriously need to get gone.”
We quickly grabbed our bags and headed for the door, as Seth easily just picked Sy up and carried him out. I watched from the doorway as Jake stopped to double check Stanley's bound hands and feet before he followed us out, closing the door behind him.
Chapter 3
Jake
I had a hard time focusing on the rescue, thanks to Kai's alluring smell that was making my wolf pace inside my chest. Ever since I had grabbed him earlier, my wolf had been desperately demanding I make my claim. The minute I got a whiff of his caramel and pecan scent, I was a goner. My wolf screamed “MATE” insistently inside my head, while all I could think was “MINE”.
I couldn't think about that right now though, first I had to get us all safely through this impromptu omega rescue mission, and then I needed to get my new pack on the road north. Once we got to safety, then I would try to stake my claim. But first, I had to make sure that Alpha Fremont hadn't traumatized or hurt him. I won't rush things if my mate needs time to heal.
I growled at the thought of my mate being hurt, making Daniel look over at me in silent confusion. “Everything okay, Jake? Anything else we need to worry about right now?”
“No,” I said quickly, embarrassed at having brought attention to myself. “I was just thinking about the danger these guys were in and how fast we can get them to safety.”
Daniel sighed, knowing full well the danger we all were in until we got free from this territory. “Well, I know we need to stop by our place and grab our gear. How long you think we can stay there? Long enough to get some sleep?”
Shaking my head, I said: “No, I don't feel good about that. We rented it furnished, so let's just pack our gear and leave the key and a note in the landlord's mailbox on our way out of town. If you're tired, I'll drive first while you sleep and we can trade off later if you want.”
Daniel knew that I had slept all day anyway, thanks to having worked the night shift last night at the human owned condom factory here in town. It was where we all had been employed since leaving the pack. It was a mindless job, but it paid the bills and kept us fed.
“That sounds good, dude. I'm wiped out, to be honest, and you know I trust you to drive my rust-bucket. Just don't let Owen get his hands on the wheel, okay?”
I snorted in agreement. It was never a good idea to let Owen anywhere near anything mechanical as a rule, but especially a motor vehicle. Owen is a great guy, and a trustworthy wolf. He is also, unfortunately, a klutzy daydreamer who forgets to watch the road. It's a cause for concern, no lie.
“Hey, I heard my name! You girls gossiping about me up here?” Owen leaned forward and popped his head between our seats.
“Nope,” I said with a smirk. “Just agreeing that you shouldn't be the one to drive us anywhere, let alone all the way up north.”
“Shee-it,” Owen scoffed. “Get in one or two little fender benders and all of sudden nobody wants to ride in a car with you.”
I turned to him and raised my brow with a smirk as I questioned: “One or two little fender benders? Is that what you're going with, Owen? Seriously? Dude. You totally wrecked at least four cars and one motorcycle. And don't even get me started on your history with bicycles.”
Owen muttered under his breath as the rest of us started laughing. Jenny came up beside him and rested her head on his shoulder and said: “Don't worry, Owen. You're good at lots of other manly stuff, who cares if you can drive...or, well, peddle a bicycle.”
She giggled as he playfully glared at her saying: “Watch it, girlie! Before tell big bro up there who wrecked one of those four cars, and more than one of those bikes.”
Jenny shut up really quick then, as I bit back a sigh and shook my head, not really wanting to hear about any dangerous escapades these two had been up to in the past when I wasn't around.
The guys all joked around the rest of the way back to town, teasing each other while the omega's watched and listened. My little mate was sitting off to the side behind Daniel, talking quietly with his arms wrapped around the two younger boys, who I noticed, were both curled up on each side of him for comfort. I was glad he was sitting where I could see him, it eased my wolf a bit when we had him in our line of sight. It also totally filled my heart to see him being so sweet to them, Fenris knows they needed it.
Daniel pulled up in front of our rental house and I looked back at everyone and said: “I want the omega's to all stay in the van while Daniel, Owen, and I go grab our gear. We'll be packed up and back out here within ten minutes.”
The pregnant one spoke up and said: “But, can I come in and go to the bathroom? I hate to be a pain, but I can't help it.”
I nodded at him and said, “Yes, but you have to be carried. I don't want your scent trail here for the Alpha or his Beta to find. The longer it takes for him to figure out that I'm the one who took you guys, the safer it will be and give us the time we need to get away.”
Seth volunteered quickly to take him, so I let them deal with that while we went in to pack our gear while everyone else waited. In less than ten, we were loading the rest of the stuff into the van and heading for the highway after making a quick stop for Seth and Maxx to retrieve their own vehicle. They opted to follow us, with Sy and Aries riding in their back seat, making ours a little less crowded for the rest of us.
Two days, seven tanks of gas, and an untold amount of pregnant bladder bathroom stops later, both of our vehicles pulled up in the parking area in front of my Auntie Catherine's lodge. It was actually a large, modern style villa to be honest. There was nothing small about it, with it's soaring, two story high wall of glass that faced the mountain we had just driven over.
I could see inside that the three other walls inside were decorated with wood to look like a log cabin. There were several smaller cabins dotting the length of the long driveway the went past this main lodge, which I knew that my aunt often rented out to vacationers in the summer months and on holidays.
This would be a good place for my new pack to set down roots. I was just fortunate that my aunt had extended the invitation to us, immediately including the omega's when Jenny had spoken to her on the phone and told her about all that had happened.
Before we could all get out of the van, my aunt came flying out like a little whirling dervish and was busily hugging her way through my pack, saving me for last. I looked down at her
affectionately, my crazy little aunt. She stood no higher than 4'11, although she claimed to be an even 5' tall. She probably weighed ninety pounds soaking wet, and her head of graying brown curls was just like my own mam's had been.
“Get over here, Jake! I need a hug,” my tiny little aunt commanded me with an impish grin and a sparkle in her gray eyes that were also so much like my mam's had been. Fenris above, but it was good to see the woman.
“Hey, Aunt Cat! How are you doing up here all by yourself? We've missed you, haven't we, Jenny?” I bent over almost to waist level to hug my aunt while Jenny stood there, happily soaking in the moment.
“Oh, Aunt Cat, I can't tell you how good it is to see you.” Jenny put her arm around my aunt's shoulders as they walked toward the lodge.
Aunt Cat looked back at us and said: “Now, you boys get in here, you can unload later when we decide where you're all going. And for the love of Fenris, can one of you please help that poor pregnant man before he falls down?”
We all looked over to see Sy, blushing in embarrassment as he was trying to get out of the van unassisted. Unsurprisingly, to me anyway, Seth went right over to assist him and escort him inside. I tucked that information nugget away in the back of my head and made sure that everyone else was heading indoors.
I saw my little mate standing off to the side, looking everyone one over and basically doing the same thing I was, which made me smile proudly. I walked over to where Kai stood at the rear of the van, admiring his short, brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. His small form was surprisingly muscular for an omega. I was filled with pride at the strength of my mate, even as I ogled him.
I stood next to him, close enough to smell that rich, nutty, caramel essence that just about made me want to roll over and present my belly for a rub. Among other pertinent parts, but I didn't want to rush things with him.
Smiling down at him, I looked at his full, soft lips as I asked: “How are you feeling after that trip, Kai? I bet you can't wait for a hot meal and a soft bed after these past couple days, huh?
Chapter 4
Kai
I stared up at the majestic creature beside me, and was completely and totally stunned into silence when I caught my first real whiff of his nutty, coffee scent. I was trying to place the nut, maybe pecans? I wasn't sure what it was, but I was definitely sure that I wanted to knock him down and lick him all over and then get down on all fours and present myself to him like a hungry slut.
My wolf was racing around inside me, trying to get out, screaming “MATE” and I was pushing him back while thinking “MINE”. He was asking me about the trip and food, but all my brain latched onto, was when I heard him say the words “soft bed”. Oh, dayum. I'm a goner already, and he hasn't even kissed me. Yet.
I smiled up at him through my lashes and stepped a little closer toward his scent. I could feel the warmth coming off his body as he looked down at me with the same lust in his eyes that I knew was shining from mine.
I'm not sure if it's because my natural shyness and innate fear of Alpha's disappeared in the presence of my true mate, or if my internal editor took off for lunch, or even if maybe I was just a little too twitterpated to think straight, but I suddenly blurted out: “Do you know that we're mates? Or am I the only one feeling this way? You smell so good!”
His sweet grin slowly spread into a mega-watt, all encompassing smile that made me feel warm and fuzzy all over from the sheer radiance of it. With a sparkle in his honey colored eyes, he leaned over and sniffed my neck deeply, right at the juncture of where the neck meets shoulder and where my scent pheromones are the strongest from the gland there.
“Oh, Kai,” he said on an exhale, making my toes curl just from the sound of my name on his tongue. “Sweetheart, I've known since the second I met you. I couldn't miss your delicious fragrance anywhere. I just haven't had time to act on it yet. I mean, we've been a little busy, you know?”
He stood up tall, and wrapped his arm around me, tucking me into his side as we walked slowly towards the house where the others were waiting for him.
I blushed, and replied: “Why didn't I smell you that night too? I feel like an idiot that it took me so long to catch your scent.”
He stopped and put his free hand under my chin, gently cupping my jaw as he tilted my face up to look into my eyes. “You're not an idiot, Kai. Don't ever think that, please. I was wearing pheromone blockers that night, so that anyone standing guard over that cabin wouldn't smell me coming. We all were. It's just taken time to wear off, and then we've been crowded into a van with five other pack members. It's a wonder we can still smell ourselves at all after being around that many scents in one enclosed area.”
I shuddered, remembering the long trip we had just finished. I looked up at him, and my eyes focused in on his firm looking lips. I just wanted to lick them, and then run my tongue along his jawline as I slowly made my way to his scent gland. I could lose myself all day, I think, just licking him all over.
Jake's eyes glazed over as he smirked at me knowingly and whispered: “Let's table this for later, before things get a little too indecent out here, what with my aunt and those young Omega's present.”
I blushed, as I realized all at once that he was smelling the aroma of wanton desire coming off of me, because I could smell the arousal wafting back from him. Sometimes, it sucks being a wolf. You can't keep any secrets when your scent gives everything away!
“Maybe tonight,” Jake continued as we walked toward the lodge, “we can shift and go for a run together. It will give our wolves a chance to meet.”
“I think that sounds like a great idea,” I said happily, as I cautiously put my arm around his waist and stepped closer to him as we walked.
“Well, well. What have we here?” I looked over at the door to see Jake and Jenny's aunt standing there, looking at us with a maternal smile. “Jake,” she said happily, “ why you didn't tell me that you had met your mate?”
Jenny was right behind her aunt when she said that, and she started to correct her: “Oh, no, Aunt Cat! This is my friend, Kai. He was there with us and,” she stopped suddenly, looking at her brother and me standing there arm in arm.
With a loud squeal of pure joy, she brushed around her aunt and rushed forward to embrace us both in an awkward three way hug.
“I can't believe you guys didn't tell me!” She whined, “I mean, I'm your sister, Jake! Your twin! And Kai! You're supposed to be my friend! Why am I just now finding out about this, especially when we just spent two boring days in that van, traveling together?”
I grinned at her and put a hand on her forehead, shoving her off of us as I laughed and said: “Probably because I just figured it out myself, like about five seconds ago. You are, literally, the first person to know except for your aunt who just figured it out.”
Jake said to his sister and aunt: “Can we just please talk about this later, ladies? Let me and Kai have a chance to maybe figure things out before you two plan our lives, hmm?”
“Oh, shut up, Jake.” His aunt said with a saucy grin, “you don't need to figure anything out. Well, except for how soon you can get your little omega alone and get him locked him on your knot, and you know it!”
“Aunt Catherine!” Jake and Jenny both gasped out at her in a shocked gasp of horror, while I bit down hard on the inside of my cheek to keep from giggling at her crazy lack of boundaries.
I extricated myself from Jake, and swept inside ahead of him, stopping first to give his aunt a kiss on the cheek in greeting. “You're awesome! Does this mean that I get to call you Aunt Cat now, too?”
“Why, of course, you do, pumpkin! What ever else would you call me? You're family now, young man! Now, come along and tell me all about yourself, Kai.” She pulled me by the hand, leading me further into the large house as Jake and Jenny followed along behind us in silent amazement.
The rest of the pack were already sitting and lounging around in different areas of the main room, but Aunt Cat took me right past ever
yone, straight back to the kitchen that was situated on the other side of the wall, located through a wide, arched doorway.
As we stepped into the room, I came to a sudden stop as my jaw dropped in awe. It was the largest, most beautiful kitchen I had ever seen. The floors were the same dark, hardwood planks that ran through the main living area, which contrasted nicely with the granite counter tops and white oak cabinets. The sink was double sided, and deep with nickel plated fixtures.
I looked at the industrial size fridge and stove, hardly daring to dream what culinary masterpieces I could cook up in this room. I took in the little personal touches like the handwoven, braided cloth rugs in front of the sink and stove. The tops of the cabinets were lined with old fashioned tins and decorative cookie jars that made me smile. Tucked into little corners and along the window sills were live plants and potted herbs.
This was a room I could happily live the rest of my life in, if given half a chance. I came out of my stupor to realize that my new family and mate were all watching me drool over the kitchen with amused smiles.
“Hmm, I'm guessing you like to cook, given your reaction to my kitchen, eh? That's good, because I don't really care for it too much myself,” Aunt Cat told me with in a relieved tone of voice. “I was actually worrying about having to cook for a dozen people, so please tell me I'm right?”
I blushed a little at the unasked for attention, but lightly shrugged and said: “I always did the cooking for me and my dad, after I was tall enough to reach the stove. I truly do love to cook, and my favorite hobby is to try to come up with my own recipes.”
“Well, isn't that sweet?” Aunt Cat replied happily, leading me over to sit on the high, leather stools that faced the high counter. “I bet your dad just loved it when you cooked for him. Where are your parents now, or can I ask that?”
