I stopped him before he could let go of me. “I believe you. And no matter what, I’m here. We’ll figure it out.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-SEVEN
Mitchel met them at the gates to Buffalo Gap. “I don’t know if I should let you in.”
“So you’ve heard about it.” Abel leaned against the front of the van.
“I imagine everyone’s heard by now. Montana Border’s in fits.” He frowned over at Bax. “Why did you never tell me? We could have found you a mate elsewhere, maybe even this one first time out.”
Bax set Fan down on the ground beside the van and stood straight. “I didn’t know,” he said. “Not until Mercy Hills. Patrick kept me pregnant all the time.”
“Well, that’s what you’re for, isn’t it? I’m surprised you didn’t at least suspect.”
Abel stepped forward before Mitchel could say anything that might tempt Bax into some unwary comment that would make the entire visit unpleasant. “It was an interesting surprise. Come here, Fan.”
Fan ran forward and Abel swept him up into his arms. “You remember Uncle Mitchel, right?” Fan nodded solemnly. “Uncle Mitchel is going to take us out to run tonight, just for fun. After we visit your Meema.”
“Okay,” Fan said, in that tone that Abel had come to recognize as acquiescence, but not enthusiasm. Fan had been quiet since the night at Montana Border, suspicious of everyone who wasn’t Mercy Hills. Abel hoped he’d get over it once he had a chance to hang out with his family. He really wanted to maintain a congenial relationship with Buffalo Gap, so Bax wouldn’t lose his family over this.
Bax set Teca on the ground and sent her to Abel as well, then handed Beatrice to Mac and picked Noah up himself. Abel couldn’t help a swell of pride at the sight of his family, so beautiful and smart. The group of them together was overwhelming, and they had turned a lot of heads in human territory before people noticed their tabs. Even after, he’d noticed more than a few appreciative glances coming their way. Not that their looks had anything to do with him, but he was glad they were his.
Teca hopped over to Abel, the clips in her hair sparkling in the sunshine. “Pap, can I see the gegos?”
Abel gestured at Mitchel. “Your Uncle Mitchel is the one who knows how to find them. Go ask him.”
“Okay,” she sang, and hopped over to Mitchel. “Uncle Mitchel, can I see the gegos?”
Her charm melted the anger right out the Buffalo Gap Alpha. “Of course. And what’s your name?”
“I’m Teca,” she said, and grabbed his hand. “Where are the gegos?”
“I think there’s a gecko living over here under the stoop,” he said bemusedly, and immediately found himself dragged in the direction he’d indicated.
Behind him, Abel heard Bax’s chuckle. He turned around to find Bax smiling fondly after Teca. “She’s going to a terror when she hits puberty.”
“I’ll just lock her in her bedroom until she’s thirty,” Abel said comfortably, and slung his arm over Bax’s shoulders.
Bax sent him an amused look. “Not if she tells you no.” He leaned against Abel’s side. “I should go in and try to make something edible for supper.”
“Your cooking is getting much better,” Abel said with a twinkle in his eye.
Bax leaned away to glare at him suspiciously. “Are you picking on me? Because if you are, I might just have a relapse.”
“No, never picking on you.” Abel kissed his cheek contritely, just in case. Not that Bax couldn’t cook, but he tended toward plain things that were hard to ruin. Until Holland had moved to Mercy Hills, anyway, and Bax had corralled his cousin into giving him cooking lessons. Now Abel never knew what he was going to get for supper, though the total disasters were growing to be fewer and farther between.
“Good,” Bax said. “We’ve only got a couple of days here. I don’t want you to spend it with food poisoning.” He stood on tiptoe to drop a quick kiss on Abel’s lips, then headed for the front step, talking with Noah the whole time. The door closed behind him and their silly chatter faded into the background.
Mac came up to him, dragging his suitcase. “If you’ll take her, I’ll start bringing the cases in.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to go home? We can stay an extra day and you can send someone back to get us.” They’d come up with that idea the night before, while staying at the White River enclave in Colorado. He’d also spoken to the Alpha there, looking to garner support before the council came calling, but he’d left Colorado no more certain of the man than when he’d arrived.
Mac shook his head. “Jason’s okay, Quin and Duke are looking after him. You need someone at your back after Montana Border, even here. Just in case.”
Abel would have liked to have argued, because the longing in Mac’s voice was impossible to miss, but Mac was right. Abel could look after himself, but with Bax and the pups along, he’d be in trouble if anything physical happened. He reached out and took Beatrice. “You go ahead. I think we’re going to go look for geckos.”
Mac grinned and headed back for the van, and Abel followed Mitchel over to the side of the long front porch.
Teca saw him and came running. “Dabi, look, gegos!”
He let Fan down to run over beside Mitchel. “Where, sweetie?”
“Here,” she shouted, and dragged him by his free hand.
Fan stomped his foot. “You scared it! Go away!”
“Easy there, Fan. I’m sure it’ll come back. And there’s lots more. I bet this isn’t the only one in the enclave.”
Mitchel gave him an assessing look. “You should smarten your mate up if he’s leaving the child care to you. He got away with a lot, as pretty as he is, but it’s time he settled into his responsibilities.”
“He’s fine.” Abel touched Fan’s shoulder. “Let’s look farther along the foundation,” he said, and pointed to a likely crack about halfway down. As Fan clambered along the side of the house, Teca right behind him, Abel turned to Mitchel. “I’m only going to say this once. I’m entirely pleased with Bax. He’s an excellent parent and a supportive partner in the family and in running the pack. The pack itself has taken well to him, and if I’m not around, they’ll go to him with issues to be solved. And he does it. So let’s not hear more about how you’re certain I’m disappointed in him. I’m not, and you’re not going to make friends with me by talking about him like that.”
The look of astonishment on Mitchel’s face was satisfying, even if Abel knew he might be risking any support the other Alpha would lend in the future.
But Mitchel had a surprise in store for him.
“I’m glad you feel that way about our Bax. As frustrating as he was—and he tested every limit he could find—he was my favorite of that year’s crop of pups. Patrick was pretty set on him as soon as he laid eyes on the boy, and I’d hoped that he was old enough to deal with Bax’s hijinks while the boy finished growing up. I thought the responsibility might settle Bax some, too. If I’d known how it would be, I’d never have agreed to mate him to Patrick, but would have tried to talk him into Holland or someone calmer. Once it was done, though, there was little I could say in the matter. He was Patrick’s. And I don’t think he was poorly cared for.”
“No,” Abel agreed. “He was fed, and had a roof over his head, but outside of those physical needs, I don’t think Patrick much cared if he was happy or not.”
“And you do.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement.
Abel hefted Beatrice in his arm and pulled out a handkerchief to wipe the drool from her chin. “Yes, I do.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-EIGHT
I was staring in wistful bafflement at the supplies in the pantry when a voice interrupted me.
“Hello, darling.”
I spun. My mother stood in the doorway, smiling at me, her arms open wide. I ran into them.
“Mam!” We hugged, tears falling down both our faces. I got my leaky eyes from her, as well as my coloring, though I took after my father’s side of the family in my
face and figure. “I’m so happy to see you! I’m sorry I missed you back in January.”
“Oh, darling, you were so sick! But that man of yours.” She smiled approvingly. “I’m glad you got to pick this one for yourself. I always knew you’d do a good job of it, no matter what your father and uncle thought.”
“He’s definitely a keeper. He even adopted the pups from Jackson-Jellystone.”
“Oh, that must be such a relief.”
“It is.” We paused, staring at each other with goofy smiles on our faces, then I said, “I need to feed everyone, but there’s not much here.” I sighed. “I’m still not much of a cook.”
“You never needed it.”
“Maybe. But I want it now.” I turned back to the shelves.
“Well, I stopped by the warehouse and brought some fresh meat—steak, though it’s not the best kind. But it’s quick, and we’ll fix it up fancy.”
“Oh, Mam.” I hugged her again, and we went back out to the kitchen.
Noah was still hiding under the table chewing on his sheep when we came out. He was having a grand time, and I warned Mam to pretend she couldn’t see him under there.
“Oh, no,” she cried in mock sadness. “I came out here to see my grandson and he’s gone!”
A tiny giggle came out from under the table.
Mam winked at me. “When do I get to meet the rest of them?”
“They’re outside looking for geckos with their Pap.” I found the steak on the counter and pondered what I could do with it. “I’ll call them once I’ve something to feed them that won’t poison them.”
“Oh, you were never that bad. You just didn’t pay attention. Too busy thinking about alphas.” She patted my cheek and moved past me to the refrigerator.
Noise came from the front of the house, and then I saw Mac going past the kitchen to the stairs with what looked like all our bags hanging from him.
“I should probably help with that.”
“Don’t you worry,” Mam said. “Looks like he’s doing fine.”
Thumping came from upstairs and then a few moments later, Mac barreled down the stairs again. “I put you guys in the same room as before. You want me to take Noah? Oh, hello ma’am. You must be Bax’s bearer.”
Mam and I glanced at each other, and I realized it was now my responsibility to perform the introductions. “Yes. Mam, this is Mac. He’s mated to my best friend at Mercy Hills and he’s the head of Security there. Mac, this is my mother, Denise.”
“Hello, Denise.” Mac nodded to her, a dip of his head that looked as if it should have been accompanied by a hat. It was obvious she was a gamma, so the extra politeness was sweet of him.
“Good evening, Mac Mercy Hills.” Mam tilted her head to the side, the human equivalent of lowered head and tail in wolf form.
Mac being Mac, as soon as the formalities were done, he started looking for Noah.
I glanced under the table. “I think he’s fine. Does Abel want me to look after the rest of them?”
Mac shook his head. “No, they’re having a ball out there. Literally. Fan found one under the step and now they’re playing fetch.” He glanced under the table and blew a raspberry at Noah. “I kind of miss having one hanging off me. But I can see he’s well occupied.”
I shook my head and laughed. “Okay. Tell Abel we’re going to have steak of some sort, and Mam’s here to keep me from giving anyone indigestion.”
Mac grinned. “I liked the pork pie you made the other day. I think I’ll take my chances.” He left, and Mam and I turned back to figure out supper.
When everyone came back, we had the steak cubed and simmering in a sauce made of honey and garlic and cayenne, rice spiced with parsley and sweet peppers from Mam’s garden, and tiny new carrots steamed tender. It was a good meal, and I was glad I hadn’t screwed anything up, here in front of Uncle Mitchel’s judgmental gaze. He still seemed to blame me for this trouble with Montana Border, though he was careful not to say anything directly to me, merely planning for possible outcomes with Abel over our meal. I pressed my knee against Abel’s under the table and he glanced at me. I smiled and kept eating, but he got the message and the tension in his shoulders slowly faded, though it never went away entirely.
After everyone was done, I cleared away the dishes and began heating water to wash them. The sun had warmed the barrel out back, and the water coming out of that tap was almost hot enough on its own, but I didn’t want to put the dishes away greasy.
Abel scooped Noah up into his arms. “Oh, you’re a smelly pup, aren’t you?”
I went to take him, but Abel held him out of my reach. “You finish up here. I’ll clean him up and we’ll go play ball again.” He dropped a kiss on my mouth, then left the kitchen, a line of pups trailing behind him.
Mam began sorting the dishes for washing. “He’s a good father.”
“He is.” I stuck my finger in the pot on the stove, then jerked it out again. “I think this is good.”
As I poured it into the sink, I caught a misty expression on Mam’s face. “What?”
She shook her head. “You’ve grown up so well, I can’t believe.” She hugged me. “I’m glad you got the mate you deserve. Not everyone manages that.”
I hugged her back, well aware of my luck. “Let’s get these dishes done so we can go play ball with the pups.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-NINE
It was fun running on my old territory that night. I showed the pups all the best places to hunt the little lizards that infested the untamed end of the enclave and we ran wild chasing the zippy little creatures, but not catching many. A few of my cousins came along and by the time we got back, a crowd had gathered in the back yard. I was beginning to think that shifters were actual party animals, given the sheer number of parties I’d been to since I left Jackson-Jellystone.
The pups were completely worn out by then, which had been my plan—I was ready to enjoy some adult conversation tonight. Noah was three-quarters asleep and back in human form, clinging to Mam’s furred back like a little monkey, not a little shifter. Fan and Teca plodded beside me with drooping ears and tails, and Abel carried Beatrice balanced on his back with her little legs hanging down each side of his barrel and her muzzle lodged between his shoulderblades. The pups were hardly in the door before they’d all changed back to human and everyone but Beatrice was asleep before we even made it to the stairs.
It took four of us, though, to put them to bed, but mostly because Da and Mam wouldn’t give up their grandpups, so we all trooped upstairs to tuck our little burdens into their beds.
That night, I had fun. I hung off Abel like I was a teenager again, instead of an old married omega with four-and-a-half pups. He smiled as if he knew what I was thinking, and encouraged my shameless flirting. We even snuck in a few kisses here and there, and Abel grabbed my ass at least once when no one was looking.
We had taken six of Buffalo Gap’s omegas already—I introduced him to another nine. Mostly cousins—not that there were many in the pack that weren’t—but these were close cousins of mine, first and second generally. Only a few were my age. The rest were younger, and we only knew they were omegas because they were male. Abel pursed his lips in silent astonishment and nodded when I raised my eyebrows at him in an ‘I told you so’ gesture.
But in every perfect night there had to be at least one itch you couldn’t scratch. Here, it was my cousin Usher. I’d been older than him, but he’d been my biggest competition when it came to flirting with the alphas. There’d been a bit of bad blood between us for a while, but we were older now, and I was in love with my mate. I needed to put that behind me.
He strolled up to us, wearing brand new clothes from a store, his hips swaying slightly with his walk. It made the firelight glint off the silver buckle on his belt, and drew attention to his shapely legs and what lay between them. Where the hell had he gotten the money for that? I felt my mouth tighten, then I forced myself to relax.
“Howdy, Bax,” Usher d
rawled, putting on an East Texas accent. I knew it wasn’t his native one—he was as twangy as I was when we were younger.
“Good evening, Usher. May I present my mate, Abel Mercy Hills?”
“Hi,” he said, holding out his hand.
Abel shook it, though his eyebrows had risen a fraction of an inch at Usher’s casual manner.
I suppressed a sigh. This was going to be not so much fun. “Usher is my cousin, but a couple of years younger than me.” Cousin on my mother’s side, and a couple of generations back on my Dad’s, though he hadn’t inherited the curls I’d gotten. When I’d been younger, I’d envied the straight sheets of his hair and wished I’d had that instead of the wild curls that bounced around my head. But Abel loved my curls, which had kind of changed my view on them.
Usher grinned. “It’s so good to see you again.” He reached out to hug me and I reluctantly moved out from under Abel’s arm to return the gesture. Usher started as our fronts touched and he leaned back, staring down between us. “I thought it was just rumor and a trick of the light, but you really are pregnant.” His tone was amazed, and something else, some emotion I couldn’t identify. “Well, congratulations.”
Okay, that tone I could identify. He was angry.
I put a hand over my belly and stepped back to Abel’s side. “Yes. It was quite a surprise. The pups are terribly excited about it, except when they want into my lap.” We both laughed dutifully and Abel squeezed my shoulders, his eyes going back and forth between us as he followed the undertones of the conversation.
“I’ll bet they are,” Usher said. He turned his gaze back to Abel in a calculating manner. “I guess I shouldn’t have mated this winter after all. If that runs in the family, I could have gotten out of this rat trap of an enclave.”
Abel's Omega(Gay Paranomal MM Mpreg Romance) (Mercy Hills Pack Book 2) Page 36
