Healing The Alpha Collection

by Jessica Ryan

  "There's going to be three turkeys and two hams!" she said. "That's not enough?"

  "What's everyone else going to eat?" he asked, giving her a sarcastic smile.

  "I hope this baby doesn't inherit your damn sense of humor," she said. "I can't deal with two ornery men in my life."

  "So you're sure it's a boy?" he asked.

  "It has to be," she said.

  "Why does it have to be?"

  "Because it just does," she said, rubbing her stomach and smiling. "I feel it, it's a boy."

  "You're carrying it," he said as they began to make their way across the rocks back to shore. "I'll take your word for it."

  Rain walked beside the love of her life back to their newly rebuilt cabin. She sighed and rubbed her stomach as she felt the baby strongly kicking inside. It was her little miracle. She'd never wanted children and had been told repeatedly by everyone she assumed was smarter than her that two different-species shifters could not bear a child.

  The first morning she had woken up and rushed to the toilet to expel the contents of her stomach she had immediately known they were all wrong. It was an unlikely situation, but it had happened to them.

  At first she had been broken up over it, but the light in Beorn's eyes when he'd found out he would be having a child had made her do a complete one-eighty. He was so excited, in a way that she had never seen. The only time Beorn let himself be vulnerable was around her, but this was even stranger than usual. He'd dropped to his knees, put his face against her stomach and wept as he promised to never, ever leave his child alone.

  It was the way of the bear to leave his child alone when they became a teenager. Beorn's parents had done it to him and he had always assumed he would do it to his own child. It was the main reason Beorn had never wanted children. But in that moment he had obviously decided he would break the mold and do what he needed to, to be the father he had never had. It had touched Rain so much that she began to blubber and cry too. It was probably the most beautiful moment of their relationship and they'd shared it alone, in their new cabin with their growing child.

  "So, Dad," she said, poking Beorn in the side. She loved to see his reaction when she called him that. "Aren't you excited to see everyone again?"

  "I suppose," he said. "I could go my whole life without seeing them again, though, to be truthful. Bears don't get attached."

  "You're attached to me, aren't you?"

  "Only you."

  "And our son?"

  "Okay, only you and my unborn son."

  "Our unborn son."

  "Mine."

  Rain smiled and rolled her eyes before playfully punching Beorn in the ribs. At first it had bothered her when he referred to the child as his, but eventually she had gotten used to it and wrote it off as another one of Beorn's crazy quirks. He was already pretty possessive of her, but he was possessive over the child in a way she hadn't thought was possible. He constantly monitored her rest, what she ate and what she breathed. Once he had been barbequing meat behind the cabin and had flipped out when she walked through the smoke, insisting on laying her down and doing CPR to expel any possible smoke from her lungs. Luckily she thought it was all sweet, otherwise she might have killed him by now.

  "Do I have to wear pants for this?" Beorn asked.

  "Yes," she said sullenly. "It's been requested that we wear clothes."

  "Dammit."

  "My thoughts exactly."

  The only time Rain ever put clothes on was when they drove into Bucklin to gather supplies, but those drives were becoming fewer and farther between as their farm and hunting operation became more and more self-sufficient.

  They didn't need weapons to hunt, they were weapons, and Rain had become quite the gardener when it came to fixing up rabbit food. Beorn had even learned how to make soap out of the fat of the animals they killed so they could bathe in the river together. The cold of winter didn't bother Rain anymore and she spent a lot of time lying about in her wolf form.

  The only thing they needed from Bucklin was a good doctor when the baby came. Beorn refused to allow the child to be born without proper care; he was unwavering about that. Rain had pointed out that plenty of women had had children before modern medicine, and wolves did it all the time on their own, but one look at his stern jawline and she knew it wasn't a battle she could win.

  Luckily Aster and Leena had a doctor who came to deliver all of their children and had highly recommended her to Rain the one time she had seen them in the last five years. She hadn't meant to run into them, but she had wandered too far out of her territory and ended up surrounded by angry, snarling wolves. Luckily Leena bounded between them and her and shut the entire pack up.

  That was how Rain had found out about Thanksgiving dinner and how she and Beorn had discovered their friends all over again. 'Friends' was probably too strong a term for what Beorn considered them, but Rain was downright giddy about seeing her surrogate fathers again. Leena had promised to keep Rain's pregnancy a secret from Aster, and hopefully she had followed through with it.

  "Why are you smiling?" Beorn asked.

  "I'm just happy, is all," Rain said.

  "Yeah," Beorn said, grinning down at her. "Me too."

  "I'm glad your grumpy ass is happy."

  "My grumpy ass has been happy since the day I met you," Beorn said, smiling down at her as he put an arm around her and placed his giant hand on the small of her back. "Not a day has passed that I wasn't happy."

  "Good," she said as she leaned in for another kiss. She tried not to giggle as his bushy beard rubbed against her face, but it was hard to stifle her mirth.

  Without warning Beorn jumped back and looked down at her stomach, a look of shock and awe on his face. "I felt it again! He kicked, and what a kick! I think he bruised my ribs. He's definitely a bear."

  "If you say so," Rain said, giggling. Everything in life was perfect.

  Chapter 26

  Aster opened his eyes to find the afternoon sunlight nearly blinding him as it shot in through the crack in the cave wall he called a window. A chilly breeze was shooting through as well, forcing him to snuggle up to Leena underneath the blankets.

  His back was stiff from the hunt he had led the night before, but it wasn't the only thing that was growing stiff. He instinctively pushed his erect member against Leena's tight, beautiful ass. She yelped and slapped at him, trying to go back to sleep. His hand snaked between her body and her arm, finding its way to one of her breasts. He began to jostle it lightly in his hand before squeezing it and then teasing the nipple between his thumb and forefinger. As he did so he began to nibble on Leena's neck, forcing her to finally acknowledge what he was doing.

  "It's so early," Leena whispered.

  "I know," he whispered back. "But we have somewhere to be this evening. What better way to wake up?"

  "Again?" she asked, reaching behind herself and squeezing his cock. "Wow. You are ready."

  "It's because of you," he whispered as his tongue darted out of his mouth and across her ear. She moaned as he did so and began to grind her ass against his swollen manhood. He could feel his balls growing tight as she teased him and aroused him.

  Aster reached under the furs and fisted his cock, getting ready to slide it into his love's waiting, inviting sheath. She lifted one leg, letting him know it would be okay as he slid into her slowly. In rhythm they began to move under the furs as he slid in and out of her.

  "Oh, Aster," she whispered as he lightly nibbled on her neck while his cock pumped her.

  "Oh, Lee…" Aster started to say. But his extreme pleasure and fun was quickly replaced with sheer terror as he heard the pitter-patter of little footsteps outside the deer skin that covered his doorway. "Shit."

  "Finish," Leena begged, but Aster knew the moment was gone. Any second the pelt would be pushed aside as three little wolves ran in to jump on their parents and demand they wake up.

  "I can't," Aster said, pulling b
ack. "We've been caught."

  Leena looked back at him with a pouty face. "At least my dad never busted us."

  "We never had sex before you were taken," Aster reminded.

  "We did other stuff," she said, blowing him a kiss. "These kids, they're worse than a parent."

  Aster slid out of his beautiful mate and sat up, looking around the room. He groaned as he saw the jeans and flannel shirt Leena had picked out for him hanging over a chair in the corner of the room. He hadn't worn clothes in at least a month; they were so constricting and irritating. But here he was, being forced to dress up for this Thanksgiving dinner.

  "Do I have to wear those?" he asked Leena, pointing across the room.

  "Yes," she said, turning back towards him. "It won't be all wolves, plus Hawk and Ciara don't walk around naked."

  "This is ridiculous," Aster said. "I'm a goddamn alpha wolf. We don't wear clothes around here!"

  "Well, we're expected to show up and be civilized," she said, annoyance evident in her voice. "Besides, we haven't seen any of these people in a long time."

  "What about the kids?" he asked, looking back towards the door.

  "What about them?"

  "Well, I'm not going to try and get them dressed. You do that."

  Leena rolled her eyes and sighed. Getting their children to wear clothes was harder than anything Aster had ever done in life. They were born in the wild and they wanted to stay in the wild. They were from hearty stock, though, and took to the wilderness like a newborn wolf should.

  Aster looked back towards the skin that hung over the door and let out a deep sigh himself. "I know you're out there. You can come in."

  Within seconds both Aster and Leena were overrun by three tiny wolves jumping on them and licking their faces.

  "We're already shifted, are we?" Leena asked.

  Quickly the three children shifted back to their human form and sat cross-legged at the foot of their parents' makeshift bed.

  "Are we going to the city today?" Richmond, the middle child and older boy, asked.

  "No, stupid," Ashland, the only girl and oldest of all the children, said. "We're going to some cabin at the edge of our territory."

  "Why does Daddy let them live on our land?" Conner, the youngest child, asked.

  "Because they have a deal with Daddy," Ashland said. "Daddy loves them."

  "Daddy doesn't love anyone," Richmond said. "He's a tough alpha. Everyone fears him."

  "Where did you get that from?" Aster asked, looking at all the children. "Have the betas been grumbling again?"

  Richmond looked at the ground and nodded.

  "I'll show them no love," Aster said, starting to stand up.

  "Whoa," Leena said, grabbing him by the arm and forcefully pulling him back to his rear. "Down, boy. Daddy loves me and he loves you. Isn't that what's important?"

  All three children vigorously nodded their heads.

  "Who is it we're going to see, anyway?" Ashland asked.

  "Mommy's brother," Leena said. "He wants to have us all over for dinner."

  "I'm still full from daddy's deer," Conner said. "My tummy feels like it'll burst!"

  "Maybe you should go poop," Leena said bluntly.

  "Maybe," Conner said, scratching his three-year-old head like he was thinking really hard about it.

  Aster sighed and looked away. When they'd first moved out here, Leena had spent the first three years constantly pregnant as she had all three children in a row. But it had been two years since Aster had given her a child and he was beginning to wonder if this was all they were going to have. Two sons and a daughter to carry on his legacy wasn't bad, but he had always hoped to have at least five children.

  He glanced over at Leena, who was now tickling the children and laughing. She was a great mother and cared about the children in a way he had never seen before. Plus raising the children had helped her to forget about the past. She was still young and able to bear children. He just shook his head and stood up, knowing the others would come when the time was right. Maybe it would be a good idea to let the children they already had grow up a little before dealing with another infant. Then again, the pack did a lot to help raise the children.

  Aster tousled each of the children's hair before walking out of his bedroom and into the complex network of tunnels that would lead to the main den where most of the pack slept. As he walked in he noted that most of his subjects were shifted and lying about in the sun's rays that were poking through the roof and the cave walls.

  A lot of the males who had joined him after the big Bucklin walkout had moved on to other parts of the woods or even farther away to start their own packs. The ones who remained had fought hard for top beta and enforcer roles while the females all hoped he would decide to diversify the pack and plant his seed in them as well. He hadn't. He was only true to one woman, the only woman he had ever loved. He allowed his betas to mate, but thus far no other children had been produced but his own. The females in the pack did a great job helping to raise his children and he was grateful to them.

  As he walked into the room several wolves opened their eyes and looked at him, shifting as he made his way to the front of the room.

  "We're leaving today, pack," he said. "Leena, myself and the children will be gone today and maybe most of tomorrow."

  "We will wait for your return, alpha," one of the females said.

  "I expect you all to hunt and find food while I'm gone," he said. "Timber will be in charge while I'm out."

  The once-young boy was now a fully grown adult who had filled out nicely. He nodded and turned back towards the pack, giving them a stern look. He didn't take any shit from anyone and Aster liked that. Seeing your father killed by another alpha would probably do that to you, but he had never shown any grudge towards Hawk or anyone else his pack had opposed during the war five years ago.

  "You will return, will you not, alpha?" another female asked.

  "Of course," he said with indignation. "What makes you think I won't?"

  "I saw Leena putting out clothes for you," she admitted. "I was afraid you might get another taste of human life and decide to go back."

  "Don't worry," Aster said, laughing. "That'll never happen, ever again. I was born a wolf and I'll die a wolf, just like the rest of you."

  He smiled confidently as a cheer rose up from his pack. He'd tried human life once, but it just wasn't for him. He was an alpha wolf and he was king of his pack. He had once been broken, but the love of his mate had healed him. Aster was complete now and forever.

  Chapter 27

  Rowan's footsteps reverberated through the house as he walked out of his bedroom and into the open kitchen. He loved the sound his boots made on his solid oak floors and made sure to stomp around in them any chance he got. Of course no sound from his boots could ever replace the wonderful sound of his paws crushing through the dried leaves as he had prepared to bring down Thanksgiving dinner—or at least part of Thanksgiving dinner.

  While hunting yesterday Rowan had found the most delicious-looking wild hog. The big black creature had been rooting around in the dirt with its gleaming white tusks. Rowan knew he had to avoid those tusks, but as he crouched down he could feel his mouth watering as he thought about what he could cook up to feed his friends the next evening.

  The boar never knew what happened. One minute it was rooting about and the next, death had descended upon it, burying its teeth in the creature's soft neck flesh and twisting until Rowan heard a satisfying snap from its bones. It had been heavy, but he had easily dragged it back to the house and quickly set about cleaning it and preparing it for dinner.

  Now he looked at the remains of his kill sitting on the counter in front of him: ham, bacon strips and sausages, all laid out and ready to be cooked.

  I've still got it, he thought as he smiled and looked at his handiwork. I'm the apex predator of this damn forest. Aster can kiss my ass. He has to hunt with a party. I hu
nt alone.

  Rowan turned and looked at the big house he lived in. The ceiling was high and the living room was open to the dining room and kitchen. It was so big and so empty. He rubbed his arms as he almost felt a chill making its way through the house. That was absurd, though; this house had better insulation than most in the city. Still, it gave him the chills when he thought about how empty it was.

  He turned back to the counter and began to make a mental checklist of what he needed to do to get all this meat cooked when he heard the front door fly open behind him. It happened so suddenly that he jumped, spinning around and expecting the worst to be coming through the door.

  "Can you help me with some of this stuff?" Eva demanded, her arms full of grocery bags. "And have you checked on the turkeys?"

  "Of course I can help, beautiful," Rowan said, rushing forward and pulling the bags out of her arms. "Are there more?"

  "Just one more," she said.

  "Then I'll get it too," he said, leaning over and kissing her quickly on the lips. "The turkeys are fine. I was just getting ready to start on the boar."

  "Sounds wonderful," Eva said. "I still need to get the table set up and ready."

  "Well, I'll help with that too," he said, still smiling at her. "This was a wonderful idea, beautiful. I can't wait to see everyone."

  "Me either," she said. "I just hope they come with clothes on."

  Rowan rolled his eyes. "I told them all."

  * * *

  Eva looked around at everyone who had joined them for dinner and felt her heart swell with love. Everyone who had played such an integral part in her life changing for the better was present and accounted for. It took everything she had not to cry as she took her knife and clanged it against her glass to get everyone’s attention.

  Everyone looked up from their food expectantly as Eva stood and straightened the beautiful red and black dress she was adorned in. She opened her mouth to speak but no sound came out.

  “Go ahead, dear,” Rowan said, patting her on the back of the leg.