by Susi Hawke
“We ran straight here, as soon as I saw them, Alpha. It's definitely Fremont and his crew. I counted about seven adults, but one of them is his omega mate, and three are beta wolves. We can handle them, but we do need to get the weaker members of the pack to safety.” Daniel said, with a voice of authority.
“Then let's do it.” I said, “You and Owen get the word out to everyone that I want them to meet up in my room upstairs, I'm going to tell Kai.”
As the other alphas strode off, Ivan went back outside to take up a post in the trees and I went in search of my mate.
“Promise me that you'll be okay,” Kai whispered, as I hugged him against me. “Don't take any chances, please. I need you, Jake. Our babies need you.”
“Don't worry, Kai. I know how to fight, and I will be the Alpha standing when the battle is over, trust me on that. But I can't fight if I'm worried that you're not safe. Promise me that you'll not leave this room until you hear it's safe or I come for you?”
“I promise.” He said reluctantly. “If you hadn't knocked me up, I would never make such a vow. I just want you to know that.”
“I know, baby. But, as much as I love having you by my side, this isn't the time or place for that. I can't fight for us and worry about protecting you at the same time, you know?”
“I know,” he sighed. “I get it. Besides, I need to watch over the younger ones, and make sure they don't sneak off and try to be heroes.”
“Exactly, and you need to help Sy protect Brianne too. Ollie is going to stand guard over you omegas while the rest of us stand and fight.”
“Okay, Jake.” He kissed me then, desperately worried but trying to be a strong first-mate, for my sake.
“Alright, boys! Break it up!” Aunt Cat cackled as she stepped into our room with Sy's daughter nestled in her arms. The other omegas trailed in behind her, with Ollie bringing up the rear. I gave Kai one last kiss on the forehead, and after stopping to kiss my auntie's cheek, I turned to Jenny who was standing sadly near the door.
“Jake. I need to tell you something privately. It will only take a second,” she said quietly, her eyes looking down at the floor, when I tried to give her a hug on my way past her.
I took her by the arm, and led her out of the room, closing the door behind me. We stepped a little further down the hall where the advanced hearing of our pack's shifter ears wouldn't be able to eavesdrop.
“What is it, Jenny? I only have a minute, but it's all yours, sis. Is there something I need to know?” I asked, already knowing that my sister would never have pulled me aside before a major battle, if it wasn't important.
“Jake,” she said, finally looking up at me. “I don't know how to tell you this, so I'm just going to say it.”
I nodded silently, as I reached up with both of my thumbs to wipe away the tears that were streaking down over her rosy cheeks.
“Alpha Fremont sired a pup by me.” She looked off to the side, unwilling to hold eye contact, as I gasped in horror. Before I could speak, she held up a hand to stop me, and continued to talk.
“He took her from me. Right after she was born, he took her away. Her name is Erin, and she will six months old on the twentieth. He and that shrew mate of his have my daughter, Jake. Your niece. Don't kill him before finding out where she is, if you can help it. I'll understand if you don't have a choice, but if there's a chance, please make him tell you. That's all I ask, Jake.”
I reached out and pulled her into my arms, hugging her tightly as we both cried together for what she'd suffered. I stepped back after a minute, realizing that time was running out and I needed to go now.
“I'm so sorry that happened to you, Jenny. You never should have had to suffer his touch, let alone whelp a pup only to have her stolen from your arms. I give you my vow that no matter what happens today, I will find your little Erin. And when I do, I vow she will have only the happiest of life from that point on.”
“Thank you, Jake. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about her sooner,” she said as she wiped away her tears and fought to regain her control. “I just didn't know how to tell you, and there wasn't much that could be done before now anyway.”
“That doesn't matter, Jenny. I know now, and that's enough. Now, and go be safe so that I can make this right, okay?”
With a soft kiss to my cheek, Jenny gave me a tremulous smile and went back to my room where the other omegas were waiting. I went downstairs, fighting the urge to punch a wall, knowing that soon I would take out my rage on Fremont. His ass was mine now, and I was going to collect it in blood. I blocked my mental link to Kai, and went to take my pound of flesh.
“Daniel!” I growled when I got downstairs and stalked out to the porch where the other alphas were lined up, waiting. “You said that Fremont brought Helga with him?”
“Yes, Alpha.” He answered with a concerned expression, but didn't even question why I was asking.
I turned to Maxx and Seth, “Helga is your aunt, and I am sure that you don't want her hurt. I need for one of you to keep an eye on her. Just don't let her get away or be injured if at all possible. I have questions for her when we're done here today. Important questions. But be aware, Fremont will not be leaving this property today. Not alive anyway.”
Seth eyed me calmly before responding. “Do what you will to Fremont, and although neither of us have any love lost for our aunt, I promise that we will do our best to protect her, if that is your wish.”
“It is,” I said firmly. “Have one of the bears watch her if you need to join the fight, but don't let anything happen to her.”
Before we could say anything else, two black sedans pulled into the drive, and pulled up to brazenly park right in front of my lodge.
Chapter 14
Jake
Doors opened, and a bunch of shifters spilled out into my parking lot, with Fremont being the last to step out. They all stood back, cocky enough to think that I would be too cowed by my former Alpha to fight back. I walked forward, meeting him halfway.
He held out a hand, as if to offer a handshake and said: “Jake, my boy. Imagine my surprise when I found out that you've been hiding all the way up north here with my omegas that you stole from me.”
I ignored his outstretched hand. instead, I looked him in the eye and stood my ground, saying: “I'm not hiding anywhere, Alpha Fremont. I've been right here the whole time. And I didn't steal anybody. You can't steal a living being, because living beings are not property.”
He snorted at me, and took his hand back. Eyes narrowed, he said: “I see we differ on opinion then, son. Because omegas are most certainly property, and I bought and paid for most of those omegas that you took, fair and square. That alone makes them my property.”
“First,” I scoffed at him, turning my head to spit on the ground near his feet. “I'm not your son. I'm the Alpha of this pack, and you will respect that when you're on my land. Second, I don't care who you say you paid, omegas are not property. And third? Let's talk about my sister, Jenny, and the male omega, Sy. Both of them were members of your own pack, that went missing. I don't know about Sy, but I'm pretty sure that nobody sold him to you. And I know damned well that I didn't sell my sister to you.”
He looked at me contemptuously as he replied: “I told you a year ago that I didn't have anything to do with taking your sister from her home.”
“Funny,” I replied, “I never mentioned where she was taken from, not in any of our conversations. I only ever said that she had gone missing while I was on guard duty for the pack. Imagine my surprise when I found her being held in a cabin owned by you, along with several other omegas, one of which was quite pregnant with a baby that now smells like you. Explain that one, Fremont.”
“I'm done talking!” He snarled at me, “Give me my child and my omegas, and everyone walks away from this. Deny me, and you will die here today.”
I growled in the back of my throat and said: “Leave now, and do not return. Trust me when I say that it will not be my blood spilled
here if you do not listen to me and get out of here. I will not give any child or omega into your custody, so get the fuck off my property.”
Without giving a response, he instead threw himself into a shift, clothes ripping and flying as he turned. I shifted at the same time, and I heard my alphas behind me shifting but I only had eyes for Fremont.
We circled each other, low growls vibrating in our throats. Spittle dripped from his yellow canines, and pure hate gleamed in his eyes. With a roar, he pounced, and tried to tackle me, but I went low and caught him by a hind leg while he was mid-jump. I spun around and then threw him to the ground, six feet or so away, grinning to myself as I heard his whimper of pain.
We were surrounded by a tangle of snarls, growls, and barks as our guards fought each other, both sides trying valiantly to defend their Alphas. Fremont caught his breath, as I stalked around him in a circle, daring him to move. He went for an underhanded belly bite, but before he could sink his fangs in, I flipped him over easily.
I ended it quicker than he deserved, it just took a fatal bite to his jugular, and the fight was done. He died instantly, his blood spilling out on my ground just like I'd promised him it would. Before I could turn around to see what was happening behind me, another wolf tackled me and knocked me to the ground, taking me by surprise.
I twisted and went to get up, but the other wolf held onto me like a tick. I stood, trying to shake the wolf off my back, but it's teeth were sunk into the back of my neck as it held on to me, snarling and growling, as it tried to rip it's teeth into my flesh.
Out of nowhere, I smelled my sister as Jenny came flying over and knocked the other wolf off me. She pinned it to the ground, on its back, and I realized that the wolf was another omega. It's stringy body and gray streaked fur could only belong to Helga. It both amused and saddened me that she would want to defend her mate to the end, despite how he'd treated her.
Helga and Jenny rolled around, first one had control, then the other. I was amazed that the former first-mate was so strong, given her advanced age, but then I realized that she was driven by pure adrenaline right now. I was trying to put a stop to it, but I couldn't find a way to get in between them, and didn't want to hurt my sister in the process.
Suddenly, before I could stop her, Helga flipped Jenny over again, and went in for a kill bite. She ripped her fangs into Jenny's soft belly, eviscerating her on the spot. Another wolf jumped out of nowhere, and ripped out Helga's jugular before she ever had a chance to gloat at her win.
I shifted, and fell to my knees next to my twin's body, screaming out my sister's name as tears flooded over my face. I smelled Kai sometime later, as he came running up behind me. He leaned against me and wrapped his arms around my neck from behind, holding me tight as he whispered in my ear: “Let it out, Jake. I'm here for you, mate. Just let it out, I've got you. I'm here.”
Turning my face to bury it into his arm, I cried for my sister, totally bereft and at a loss as to how I was supposed to live my life without my twin in it. Kai held me there, for Fenris only knows how long. I leaned on the strength of my Omega, because I was completely lost at that time. We knelt there, next to my sister, our tears mingling as we mourned.
Sometime later, when my tears had dried, I slowly became aware of the world around me. Sitting there, in a wide circle, was my pack and our new friends, the bears. Alphas and omegas alike, they sat there, grieving right along with me for the tremendous loss that we all shared.
Jenny's body had shifted back as her body cooled, as our bodies always do in death. Somebody had closed her eyes, and covered her bloody body with a blanket, so that only her beautiful face was showing. It was as if she were lying there asleep, covered up and tucked in for the night. This was the image that I would carry with me, I decided, rather than the moment of her death.
The pack had removed all of the other bodies, at some point while I was out of my mind and lost to the grief. I didn't know or care right now where they had taken them, I would ask Daniel later. It's not like he hadn't been the one who had organized the clean-up anyway. I well knew this to be true, and was grateful all over again to have him as my second.
Chapter 15
Kai
Days went by, but we were all grieving and barely noticed the passage of time. My baby bump had become a swollen mound, and I was having a harder time getting up and down. The simplest actions, like bending over to pick something off the floor or even tying my shoes, were simply not possible with a huge gut that filled up with twins.
Jake told me about Jenny's daughter, Erin, and we had been making calls to try to track her down. Seth and Maxx were ashamed of the damage caused to our family by their aunt, and felt guilty that she had managed to get past them while they were defending themselves from an attack by a couple of the betas.
Jake told them not to worry about it, it wasn't their fault. And although it was a shame that Helga had died before giving us the information about Erin's whereabouts, we were all glad that Jenny's death had been avenged.
The shocking part was the morning after, when Sy had come up to our room, and asked to speak with us privately. That was when we had finally learned that he was the wolf that had attacked Helga after she killed Jenny.
Apparently, Helga had actually stood there and watched passively while Fremont had forced himself on Sy. While Sy was absolutely in love with his daughter, he had gone on full attack mode when he saw Helga kill Jenny. It's too bad that he hadn't gotten the memo that Helga wasn't to be killed until Jake talked to her, but my mate understood and forgave him.
“But, what I don't understand,” my Jake had said in full Alpha mode. “Is why you omegas were even outside in the first place. You promised to stay in our room.”
“Yes,” I replied, “you did make me promise, and I didn't leave until Ollie told us that it was over. Jenny and Sy were talking alone in the nursery. They must have gone out through there, because I didn't even know they were gone until later.”
Sy had said then: “Jenny and I slipped downstairs to watch, we were worried about all of you. When she saw Helga sneaking up behind you to attack after Fremont went down, Jenny took off flying out the door and shifted to help and defend you.”
Jake shook his head at the memory of his sister with her protective heart. “I would like to say that she would still be alive if she'd just have stayed where I put her, but chances are that Helga might have gotten a lucky bite on me at that point. I was running low from my Alpha battle, and she was running on pure venom and adrenaline, you know? Jenny probably saved my life, to be honest.”
“Now it's our turn to save her daughter's,” I had said firmly. I don't when or how, but we will find that child, and I will help my mate to raise her with the happy childhood that Jake had promised her mother.
“Baby,” I said, frantically shaking Jake to wake him up. “I need Ollie. I think it's time! Jake, wake up!”
Jake immediately woke up and checked on me through our link, before jumping up and pulling on a pair of pants. He went across the hall and knocked on Ollie's door. Thankfully, he hadn't moved back to his cabin yet, but was still staying here in the lodge with the rest of us. We had all been staying pretty close to each other in the month since Jenny had died.
Ollie came bustling in a few moments later, coming around to examine me. “How long ago did your water break, Kai?”
“I don't know, Doc. I woke up with a cramping pain, and I had a puddle in the bed underneath me.”
“That's fair, and how long ago was that?”
“About five min-aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh!” I screamed, mid sentence as another wave of tremendous fucking pain rocked my body. Jake immediately came and started to hover over me, looking visibly disturbed by my pain.
“Okay, that answers that,” Doc said calmly, talking to himself. “The contractions are about five minutes apart. Okay, I can work with that.”
He turned to Jake and began giving orders. Right now, Jake wasn't his Alpha, but instead, a new father
whose mate was in labor.
“Alpha. I need you to go away. No offense, but it's best if you aren't in here, it will upset your wolf to see your mate in pain, and I can't help Kai if I have to defend myself against an irate wolf.”
Jake looked like he was about to argue, but Aunt Cat swept in and took him by the hand, dragging him out of the room behind her. “Now, you listen here, Jake!” I could hear her admonishing him as they walked away, “You let Ollie do his job, and Kai do his. You will have plenty to help with, when those babies are here, trust me on that.”
My heart melted as I suddenly realized that when I made it through the pain, I would be meeting my children. That alone made it worth going through this awful, seventh level of hell amount of pain. And I'm only getting started? Oh, fuck, this is going to be a long night.
Five hours later, which Doc assured me is practically a speed record for a male omega delivery, I held my babies in my arms. Aries and Sy had come in to help. They had carefully cleaned the babies, while Doc took care of me post delivery. We were now in a guest room across the hall, on the other side of Aunt Cat's room, while the guys changed my linens and cleaned up from the delivery.
The door to the room suddenly flew open, banging back against the wall, and Jake stood in the doorway. His chest heaving, he looked around the room wildly until he finally laid eyes on me and the pups. I smiled at him and said: “Uggh, Fenris save me from Alphas gone caveman! Get your ass over here and calm your shit. It's time to meet your children.”
With a smile so sweet, it could cause a diabetic to go into insulin shock, Jake walked over and sat down on the bed beside me. I passed him a baby, and he took it, cradling it like a football in his arms. Yeah, Sy's baby had really been a big help. With Brianne around, we had all gotten comfortable with babies. Not just holding them, but changing their diapers and calming their cries.
