by Jana Leigh
Teagan looked at her with a worried expression; she knew that she was sending off some serious vibes to her mate. But the more she thought about the situation, the more she became convinced what she was thinking was important.
“Alpha Quin, can I ask you something?” Cloe said and paused trying to figure out the best way to word what she wanted to say. Cloe was not good at political things, she tended to speak in short phrases and expect people to understand her. Her Pack understood this, they just grew accustom to the way she spoke. Oh well, she had nothing to lose.
“Of course, I want all the Council to feel free to express their feelings and opinions.” Quin said looking a little wary of what she was going to say.
“The purpose of this New Council is to bring the shifter world together and live with the humans in peace, right? Of course, I think I am simplifying things, but that is the endgame.” Cloe said and paused to see that both Quin and Jaden were nodding their heads. “Okay, then I would like to point out that our town is already like that. We have different shifters and humans who know about our Pack and even are members. This Pack is what you are striving for, why should I leave it now? As far as I can see, we are doing what the Gods wanted here in Milliken, which is good enough for me. I am sorry that I do not hold much faith in the New Council. I have heard the kind of damage that was done when the Old Council did not believe in its members.” Cloe said calmly. She hoped she had not offended the Alpha but he needed to know that she did not want to risk her future on a whim.
Quin frowned at her and looked at her father who was smiling proudly at her. He always said the measure of an Alpha was whether he could take criticism or questioning about his Pack. That was one of Oliver"s problems; he refused to accept that he was not all-knowing. It made the Pack weak when you did not take the members opinions in to account.
“I would also like to add, that yes, I did mate with your brother Darien. We have not discussed this in any way, but right now I am inclined to encourage him to move here and be the co-Beta of my father"s Pack.” Cloe said quietly.
“Well, shit.” Quin said and leaned back in his chair and looked at the people in the room. “I would have to say that I would agree that this Pack is everything that we want accomplish. However, I have to state the obvious. Your Pack is small, and relatively unprotected out here. If we had not come to help, the Rogues would have taken you all, your Pack and family killed. The Denver Pack is growing; we have security and a nice chunk of land. Plus we own more land in the mountains so we can run when we want to.
We decided Denver was the base for the New Council. The reasons are extensive and well thought out, but the major one was that I was not going to abandon my Pack for the Council. I think they can work together to be strong.” Cloe sat for a few moments and then said, “While I understand your thoughts, isn"t that actually a weakness for the Denver Pack? I mean, with the Council Pack being there also, the Denver Pack will lose your focus. I know the New Council is important, but there are a lot of people involved in this. Thirteen seats on the New Council and that does not even count the spouses of each of them. Why should all of us have to leave the Packs, that we are a vital part of, to come, and sit on the Council? I am sure it would be okay for some of the Chosen; I really do not know any of them or their situations. But for me, I have no desire to leave here. I would be more than happy to help the Denver Pack and travel to see your spouse, other than that though, nope.” Bryan spoke up and said, “Can I interrupt here for a minute? I want to point out something to you. The Old Council Pack was close but not in the same place as Oliver"s Pack. He was the Alpha of both Packs, you can ask him, but if I remember correctly, he just split his time. Oliver did not have the strength to pull this off. Looking at the two of you, I would say that you could. Jaden, you are the Alpha of the Denver Pack, and Quin, you are the Council, right? Well, if you separated your Packs by only a few miles, like say forty, I would venture to guess there would be no issues that you could not handle. I am sure all the logistics would make sense if you mapped them out. Think about it, right now, you are so busy trying sort out who is who and what is what, you are losing sight of the obvious. Each of your Packs has a different goal and need. Throw it all out on the table and see what makes sense.”
Quin and Jaden looked at each other and grinned. “So, what you are saying is that we could have the New Council Pack say, here in Milliken? Would you be willing to step down?” Quin asked.
“Adele and I have talked about this for a longtime. We never wanted to be Pack Alphas forever; we just did what we needed to do in order to protect Cloe. Retiring now seems like it may be a good idea.” Bryan smiled.
Cloe sat back stunned that her father had found a way to get around her. He knew she was going to say she wanted to stay in Milliken. Damn him, she was actually impressed that he had figured this all out. He must have been planning this since Darien came into town.
“I am going to call the rest of the Council, have them drive up here and we are going to sit and get this all decided. Bryan, do you have place for us all to stay until we can get this figured out?” Quin said and stood up.
“Yep, Adele and I will get it all set up. By the way, I should tell you that we own all the land around here. There is about forty acres just to the north of town that would make a wonderful place for a Council house.” Bryan said slyly.
Chapter 8
Cloe and Teagan stayed seated as the rest of the group left. She was exhausted. She wanted to go to bed for a week, but one of her mates was still in the clinic recovering, and the other one was trying to hold her together.
“Let"s go check on Darien.” Teagan said and took her hand and pulled her up. She felt like she could sink into the floor in a puddle of goo.
“"Kay, let"s go. I hope he is awake finally. We just need to sit and talk about things, we need to make a few decisions, and it doesn"t feel right without him.” Cloe said. They walked hand in hand to the door where their mate was laying. Cloe looked in and smiled in relief to see him sitting up, looking more than a little pissed off.
“Where the hell have you two been?” He growled at them.
“Well Mr. Grumpy pants, we were in a meeting with Quin and Jaden. We just got done.
How are you feeling?” Cloe asked stepping forward to look at his medical chart.
Nodding to herself, she saw that Darien had improved over the last few hours steadily.
His wounds had all but healed and though he suffered some blood loss, he was looking better. “Well it looks like your fever has broken; I think that you are on the mend, sir.”
“Duh, I already knew that when I woke up.” Darien said and stuck out his tongue.
Teagan laughed at his mates. “Seriously?”
“Hey, I felt like we needed an icebreaker. When you walked into the room, I thought that maybe I had died from the look on your faces.” Darien shrugged. “What"s up?”
“Apparently, my father has decided that he is going to retire and give the Pack to your Alphas. The New Council is on their way up here as we speak to make sense of this mess.” Cloe said.
“Why don"t you seem happier?” Darien said.
Cloe sighed and sat on the side of the bed and pulled Teagan down with her. They sat in silence for a few moments while she tried to gather her thoughts. Teagan rubbed her back and Darien just held her hand. It felt good to have her mates be so supportive.
They had only known each other for a short time but so much had happened. First Cloe was injured and now Darien, if it kept going the way it had been Teagan was going to lose a limb. She must have said it out loud because both of her men laughed.
“I certainly hope not, I like all of my limbs right where they are, thank you.” Teagan rumbled behind her.
“Me too.” Darien said with a grin.
Cloe had no choice but to laugh. “You know what I mean. Listen, I am so confused, the only thing that makes sense is you two. Since I was a child, my father told me what a mess the Council was.
When I was in college and away from this Pack, if it had not been for Teagan, I would have gone nuts. This is my home. This is my family. I never thought I would ever be a part of the Council or a Prophesy. I just never thought I would have to deal with all of this shit. Do you know what the Seer said about me? I am supposed to be the Medical guru. That"s a lot of shit, what if I screw it up? And sitting on the Council, hell, I have no desire to be political. Look at me. I live in black jeans and shirts; I don"t look like the typical Chosen.”
“True, but you are sexy nonetheless. Listen honey; let"s take this one step at a time. You don"t even know what is going to happen. I say you check me out of this popsicle stand, and then we go play doctor at Teagan"s place. I have a pain somewhere only you can handle.” Darien said and raised his eyebrow suggestively. “We can deal with the rest of this later.”
Teagan nodded and pulled her up. Together they settled everything in the office that needed done and gave specific orders to the nurses that were remaining to watch the patients. The other doctors had gone to rest a just a little bit ago.
An hour later, they were in Teagan"s apartment, quickly pulling together something to eat before they forgot about everything but each other. Cloe smiled when she noticed how in sync they were, even making food. They needed to talk, but she could not think of anything but curling up with her men and reconnecting with them. But obviously, Teagan was not going to let things go.
“So baby, what are you thinking?” He said and took a bite of the sandwich they had just made.
Cloe sighed and looked down at her food. “I think that when the others get here, I won"t really have a choice. I mean, my father has all but stepped down and told Quin that he could take the Pack. So, when the time comes, I will do what I have to do.” Darien frowned and said, “I know this is big, it is a big decision to make, but we will do it together.”
“Yeah, well I suppose you are right. I just want to be with my mates right now and screw the rest of it.” Cloe said.
Teagan nodded and stood up. “Me too.” He held out his hand, pulled her up out of her chair, and embraced her. Leaning into the comfort of his arms, Cloe felt at peace.
Darien stood and wrapped his arms around both of them, thinking that they may look like bad asses, but his mates were just softies.
Cloe pulled back and grinned, then pulled Teagan down to kiss her. They took their time exploring each other"s mouth and she felt Darien run his hands over her back and around to her front, cupping her breasts. She sighed into Teagan"s mouth and deepened the kiss. Soon it was not enough.
“Clothes, naked now.” She said and pulled her shirt over her head before they could say another word. Teagan laughed and followed, and soon all of them were naked and wrapped around each other again.
Not wanting to take time to go to the bedroom, Darien cleared the table with a sweep of his arm. Thank the Gods for hard wood floors. He pushed Teagan until he was sitting on the table and then lifted Cloe to straddle him.
“I am gonna take this ass, baby.” He growled and looked around for something to use for lube.
“Drawer.” Teagan moaned they broke from their kiss.
“Can't wait honey, this is gonna be hard and fast.” Darien said and rummaged through the drawer until he found what he was looking for.
Teagan was sucking on Cloe's breast, driving her passion up. He came back and reached around her, finding her clit, he rubbed it gently. It did not take long to bring her arousal up to where he wanted it.
Popping the lid on the lube, he made sure he had enough before tracing a finger down her ass. Finding her small entrance, he used both hands, one to stimulate her clit while the other pushed one finger in her rim.
“That"s it baby, you can take me. Soon we are both going to fill you up with cock.” He whispered in her ear.
“Yes.” She cried when she felt his finger slip all the way inside. Teagan continued the assault on her nipples, pinching and pulling them to peaks.
Teagan reached between them, put his cock at her entrance, and lowered her down until she was fully seated on him. He could feel Dairen"s finger stretching and moving in the back entrance. It was an amazing sensation. Anticipation made him want to move, but he waited.
Darien pulled his finger out and Cloe groaned at the loss she felt. She wanted this, she wanted to feel her mates inside her together, and then fill her up. She felt like this was right, this was where she belonged, between her mates. If nothing else, this was perfect.
Cloe felt Darien push two fingers in her and move them around, scissoring them so they stretched her, getting her ready for his cock. He quickly added a third finger, getting impatient. “You ready for me, baby?”
She moaned and nodded, not wanting to rely on her voice to help. She did not think she would be able to talk. The sensations were overwhelming her. She tensed a little when she felt the tip of his cock at her entrance. He slowly pushed in, inch by inch.
“Shit, I can feel you.” Teagan said. “It is like you are fucking me too.” Darien smiled and continued to push until his length slid in right along Teagan"s. It was incredible that they could feel each other. “Baby, you feel so good, like a warm glove. So tight. I am not going to last. Gotta move.”
Teagan grasped her hips and moved her up while Darien stood still. His cock running along his length as it pulled out. Darien groaned and then readied himself. He pulled out while Teagan pushed back in; creating a friction on the thin membrane that separated them. Hell, he could almost feel the sparks of electricity in her pussy.
“Oh, harder!” Cloe screamed and that was all it took for them to lose control. Darien covered Teagan"s hands on her waist and helped him move her. Up and down, they slammed her on Teagan"s cock while Darien moved in time.
“Fuck!” She cried out when she felt the building of her release. “Now!” Both of her men slammed into to her at the same time and they all cried out as they came together. Her men took the opportunity to sink their teeth in her neck again, one on each side which caused another orgasm to rip through her.
“Maybe we could move this to someplace more comfortable, my ass is chaffing on the table.” Teagan said.
They all laughed and Cloe pulled herself up and off him. They stumbled to the bedroom together and laid down on the bed, Cloe pulling the covers over them. Teagan wrapped around her backside and Darien cuddled to her front. Cloe closed her eyes in satisfaction.
***
Once again, the pounding on the front door woke them up. This was gonna suck if this is what the future held. It was one of the reasons she had moved out, away from town.
Cloe groaned and thought of her burned-out little cabin. She was going to have to take some time, go out there, and see if anything was salvageable. Until then, it looked like they were going to be staying at the apartment again.
“Really? Again?” Teagan groaned.
Darien laughed and said. “I would assume this means the cavalry has arrived. If I know my sister-in-law, she is impatiently waiting for your arrival. She wanted us to find a female shifter doctor for weeks. Cami does not think that men should be allowed to deliver babies.”
Cloe and Teagan laughed and sat up. Her long hair in a tangled mess from the afternoon"s activities, Cloe grimaced when she tried to run her hands through it. “I need a shower before I actually meet anyone.” She said and looked in the mirror across the room. She needed time to herself too. She needed to process things, that was the way she was. Her men let her go; seeming to realize that she needed space.
In the bathroom, Cloe turned on the water and waited until it heated up to a scalding temperature before slipping into the shower. It felt wonderful, holy crap, as the water ran over her she tried to remember the last time she actually did take a shower. It had to be at least a few days. Gods, she must have stunk. She laughed when she saw that Teagan had her old soap still in the corner alongside his. It was as if it had been waiting for her to come home.
She thought about the last few days as s
he washed herself and then her hair. When she was younger, her parents had stressed the fact that she could not trust the Council. Now he was throwing her at them, like she was candy. The abrupt turnaround was not what she had expected. What was she going to do? Not like, she had a big choice, but still, it was her choice. If she wanted to, she could refuse to sit on the Council and just be a doctor in town. Why did she want the headache?
Placing her hands on the shower wall she let the water run over her and knew. She was going to do it, she knew it. Damn it, she just wanted to pretend for a brief moment that she had a choice. Oh well, nothing like your life all mapped out for you. She wondered if they were going to give her medical insurance.
Drying off, she heard Darien and Teagan talking to someone in the other room.
Thankfully, she had taken her clothes in with her. Feeling a little more like normal, Cloe ran a brush through her hair and then looked in the mirror again. What a difference a shower makes, she thought and opened the door. Looking around at the people who had assembled in their living room, she counted two very pregnant ladies, and another female who had that glow about her. Then five extremely large men and her two men also. Wow, a regular party, she thought and stepped fully into the room, causing all the eyes to shift to her.
Darien stood and came to her, kissing her lightly on the lips before turning and saying,
“Cloe this is the members of the New Council. You know Quin and Jaden, that is their mate and my sister-in-law Cami. Next them is Jo and Tey, and over there is Casey, Devon and Sid.”
“Uh, hi.” She said feeling a little stupid.
The small rounded Alpha stood up and laughed when her men tried to help her. She growled at them and then turned to smile at her again. “So, you are the doctor? Can you tell these over bearing idiots that I am fine, and as my doctor, you let me eat my chocolate Hostess cupcakes whenever I want? They seem to think that I can only eat fruits and veggies.”
