Fated Forgiveness (Kindred of Arkadia Book 4)

by Alanea Alder

  "I was thinking about just relaxing today. How about we drive out to the ranch and visit Rebecca? I know you two have been worried about her." Kent said. Liam stared at him so long he thought maybe they were on to his plan.

  "Let me get this straight. You want to relax and visit Rebecca?" Liam asked. Kent nodded. Everyone in the kitchen started laughing.

  Kent shook his head, chuckling. "Okay, let me rephrase that. Let's visit Rebecca to make sure she is okay. Then we can come home and relax." Kent picked up a pancake with his fingers and took a bite.

  Softly Sebastian said,"Rebecca has serious moments when she's alone. She worries about everyone in town. She takes her role as Alpha mother seriously. I think she feels like she has to do more since she's human. Even on mornings when she had been sick, she was constantly making plans and trying to think of new ways to keep us safe," Everyone quieted down.

  "She needs to take better care of herself! We're shifters, predators. She's tiny and human and pregnant, for goodness' sake!" Rian slammed the frying pan down on the stove. He stood with his back to the room, both hands on either side of the burners, hunched over, breathing hard. Damian walked over and wrapped an arm around his friend. Rian tensed for a second before visibly relaxing into Damian's taller frame.

  "I'm worried about her. To her, we are her family, she loves everyone. It's up to us to watch out for her tweaky little self." Sebastian leaned against Kent.

  Seeing his opening, Kent kissed the back of Sebastian's head and spoke up. "Let's go make sure she's taking it easy. Would that make you feel better, baby?" He asked. Sebastian nodded. Kent looked over to Liam.

  "Is that okay with you?" Kent asked.

  "I'd honestly feel better checking on her too. I don't like that she has lost so much weight." Liam agreed.

  Rian turned back around. "Okay. Liam, eat your alligators so you can head out." Rian chimed in sounding more like himself.

  Rex couldn't help the chuckles that escaped this time. Sebastian ducked his head, smiling. The mood in the kitchen lightened, but Kent could see that the entire pride took Rian's concerns to heart.

  Kent thought it was amazing how much one small human could affect so many shifters. He couldn't wait to spend more time with her.

  Chapter Six

  Kent couldn't wait to get home. They had been at Rebecca's all afternoon and he was exhausted. The petite woman never sat still. She bounced around like a ping pong ball, seemingly jumping from subject to subject as easily as she went from room to room. Sebastian was completely relaxed, as if he were visiting his childhood home.

  Liam watched Rebecca like a hawk, making sure she took it easy and showered her with a brotherly affection. Kent smiled, remembering the exuberant way she had greeted them, hopping around, excited to show them the cake she had made. The worried expression on Liam's face clearly showed that he was afraid she would collapse at any moment, and he had only relaxed when she finally sat down at the table to eat with them.

  Kent looked down at his phone. It was four o'clock in the afternoon, they still had another hour before they could head home. Kent was suddenly unsure if a surprise party was the best idea. He was relatively new to town and had only been with his mates a short while. His earlier excited butterflies were quickly turning to sludge in his stomach.

  "Kent, you don't have to sit by yourself like a lump," Rebecca chided. Kent's attention snapped to the present.

  "Sorry, Alpha Mother, I was just thinking about the dessert you made for us. I'm now an official fan of lemon drop cake," Kent said glibly.

  "I can get you another piece," Rebecca said quickly, her eyes going to the clock on the mantle over the fireplace.

  "Actually, we need get going," Liam said, standing.

  Rebecca gave Kent a panicked look. "You just got here," she countered.

  Liam laughed and shook his head. "We can come back, Becca."

  Kent was about to speak up when he saw Rebecca's eyes fill.

  This should be entertaining

  "You don't love me anymore!" Rebecca howled and threw her head into the couch pillow. Liam stared down at her in shock. Sebastian stood from where he had been sitting next to Liam and went over to Rebecca, giving his mate dirty looks.

  "You've upset her, Liam," Sebastian accused. Liam's mouth opened and closed like a guppy.

  Liam turned to Kent, looking confused. Not one to waste an opportunity, Kent shook his head.

  "You were really kinda harsh, Liam. Sebastian, is she okay?" Kent stepped forward, turning his attention to Rebecca, who was giving a world-class performance. When he looked back over to Liam he had to quickly turn away or give the whole thing up. The look on his Alpha's face was priceless. Liam quickly crossed the room wedging his large frame between the couch and the coffee table.

  "Becca, honey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you." Liam tried to pull the pillow away but Rebecca, keeping her face buried, jerked out it of his grasp.

  "Rebecca, we can stay a little longer," Sebastian cooed, rubbing her back.

  "I'm so lonely, no one cares about me anymore! Ashby is mated and you're mated. Liam is being a meanie! I still have your favorite mousey!" Rebecca wailed, burying her head under the pillow. Kent could see her shoulders moving up and down. He knew she had to be fighting back gales of laughter under that pillow. Sebastian looked at Liam and Kent, empathy welling up in his eyes. Liam looked at Kent helplessly.

  "We can stay a little longer, right?" Sebastian asked, his hand still rubbing Rebecca's back.

  "Of course we can stay." Liam quickly agreed.

  Rebecca's head popped up and she sniffed once.

  "Really?" she asked, her voice wobbly.

  "Try to get rid of us," Sebastian cajoled playfully and sat back, pulling Rebecca back into a seated position. He snuggled into Rebecca's side, letting a purr escape. Liam scooted on the other side of Rebecca, pulling her under his arm. Rebecca looked up at Kent, who could have sworn he saw a flash of victory before she gave him a covert wink.

  "Okay, if you guys insist," she said, wiggling around between them, getting comfortable.

  Kent inclined his head in a respectful gesture. He knew he was looking at a master. She grinned impishly up at him.

  For the next thirty minutes Rebecca and Sebastian curled up next to each other and watched one of the episodes of their favorite show. Liam sat next to Sebastian and had somehow managed to wrap an arm around both their mate and Rebecca.

  Kent jumped a mile when, out of nowhere, music began to play.

  "Is that Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2?" Liam asked. Kent stared at his mate in astonishment. Liam did not seem like the type who would know classical music.

  "Yes, it's a favorite of mine," Kent said, meeting Liam's eyes.

  "Mine too." Liam agreed.

  Yup, it was official, he had the world's most perfect mates. He would have to show them later after the party how grateful he was. Kent felt himself starting to harden.

  "Why is it coming from your crotch?" Rebecca asked, her head tilted.

  "What is?" Kent asked, his voice breaking slightly.

  Liam began to laugh. "I think it's your phone, sweetheart."

  "Oh. Oh!" Kent scrambled and pulled his phone out. "Hello?" he asked.

  "Chello! We're bored, come home. Toodles."

  "That was Rian. He said the lions are bored and to come home," Kent conveyed.

  Liam paled slightly and turned to Rebecca. "Becca, honey, you know I love you, but we really do have to leave. The last time the pride got bored and I wasn't there, they dumped a thousand boxes of Jell-O into the pool in an effort to play Jell-O volleyball. It took months and thousands of dollars to clean that up," Liam recalled, looking slightly ill.

  Rebecca patted his arm. "Then you have to go and make sure they stay out of trouble. But you have to promise that we can visit another time." She pulled his head down and kissed his cheek.

  "Really? You're okay? Really?" Liam asked, standing. She nodded brightly.

&nbs
p; "We'll come back real soon. I promise," Sebastian said, getting up and moving to stand by Liam.

  "Sounds like a plan. See you soon," she said meeting Kent's eye.

  "See you soon." Kent snickered.

  * * *

  Liam walked through the front door, holding it open for his mates. He felt his blood pressure begin to rise when he heard music and laughter coming from the back of the house.

  "They couldn't get a thousand boxes of Jell-O in Arkadia, could they? I mean, there couldn't be that much Jell-O in town, right?" he asked, striding towards the back door. He looked over his shoulder to find his mates were right behind him. Sebastian also looked worried, but Kent was just smiling. Liam opened the back door and stepped onto the back deck before stopping abruptly.

  "Surprise!" a myriad of voices yelled. He heard a gasp and saw Sebastian's eyes widen as he stepped forward to stand beside him. Kent stood somewhat apart, grinning at them. That sly…he had planned all this! He looked around to see Rian and Damian giving each other high fives from across the pool.

  "Yay! Surprise!" A bright but breathless voice chirped above the crowd. He looked to his left, and standing near the backyard gate were Rebecca and Aleks. Aleks was chuckling, and Rebecca was jumping up and down trying to see them.

  "You!" he exclaimed, pointing to Kent, who shrugged and spread his hands. He whipped around back to Rebecca, who was now standing in front of the crowd beaming at him. "You!" He pointed to the tiny female, recalling her dramatic scene at her house not thirty minutes ago.

  She was laughing so hard she was wiping tears off her cheeks. Everyone was laughing and clapping. Rian walked up and kissed her on the top of her head.

  "Okay, everyone settle down." Rian said holding up his hands for quiet. The large backyard barely contained the entire pride, Bran's entire pack, the townspeople, and a couple vampires. Everyone had turned out for this party.

  "Liam, we can tell from your expression that our efforts to have a surprise party worked beautifully. But, you're probably wondering why." Rian looked at Liam, who simply nodded.

  "Your wonderful mate confided that you and Sebastian needed a little boost. Everyone has things from their past that haunt them. He wanted to celebrate the strength of his mates, who have overcome so much to make your mating work," Rian said, pointing to Kent, who was turning molten shades of red. Liam and Sebastian went to their mate and wrapped themselves around him.

  Never in his life had anyone ever done something so wonderful for him, not even his parents.

  "Before you molest him, we have a toast planned." Rian grinned as people chuckled. Then his smiling face became somber. Damian joined Rian and stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

  "Fifteen-years ago Damian and I had a long conversation in our dorm room about what we would do after graduation. Both of us agreed that we didn't want to hide who we were anymore. When we came out of the closet to our families and your father started a motion to ban us, I had never been more scared in my life. Arkadia was the only home we had ever known." Rian looked up, tears in his eyes.

  "And out of nowhere, you jumped in front of us and stood up to your own father." Rian's voice shook, he tried to keep talking but couldn't. Damian grabbed his hand and took over.

  "You shouted him down and said that being gay was not a good enough reason to be kicked out of a pride. That this was our home too. You challenged him, your own father. Watching that fight was the hardest thing we have ever had to do. We felt every gouge, every bite as if it were happening on our own bodies. In the end you won, but it cost you your family. The next day everyone we had ever known and loved left the pride to avoid living with gay lions."

  Liam felt the knot in his throat threaten to cut off his air, all he could do was keep swallowing hard in an effort to keep his tears from falling.

  "Rian and I made a solemn vow that night that we would defend and take care of you, our Alpha, for the rest of our lives, even if it was just the three of us." Damian's grin was shaky.

  "But it wasn't the three of us for long," Rian said, taking over the story. "You started looking at a picture bigger than Arkadia. You began to think of every other displaced lion living alone because they were strong enough to embrace who they were, and you opened up the pride to them," Rian said, gesturing to a young man who stepped forward.

  Kyle drew in a shaky breath. "I was only in seventh grade when my dad caught me kissing the Alpha's son. He said I was evil and I was trying to spread my wickedness. He turned me over to the Alpha personally. That night every male in the pride took turns beating me and humiliating me." He paused trying to keep his composure. Ma stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. He looked up and flashed her a sad smile before continuing.

  "The next morning, I was barely breathing when my older sister snuck outside to tend my wounds. She helped me get dressed and gave me all the money she had, two-hundred dollars, which for a sixteen-year-old was a lot. She told me to run. That she had overheard our father yelling on the phone about the Lewenhart pride taking in gays. She told me to run to Arkadia and never look back." The young man took a deep breath.

  "It took me eight days to get to Arkadia. I'll never forget…" the man looked up, and tears were streaming down his cheeks.

  "I had passed out just inside the perimeter. When I woke up there was this gorgeous guy smiling down at me. He said that I would be safe now and that he would protect me no matter what. He paid for my medical expenses, got me clothes and got me a tutor to help me catch up on my studies. He never once asked me for a single thing. I never thought my future Alpha would be my savior." The young man looked Liam in the eye, and Liam was shocked at the depth of fierceness he saw. "I would gladly give my life for you, Alpha, because without you I wouldn't have one."

  Liam wanted to go to Kyle so badly. He knew how hard it was for him to be center of attention, and for him to do this made Liam realize how much he himself had underestimated his own pride.

  Rex and Talon stepped forward. Talon laid a hand on Kyle's other shoulder. Rex took a deep breath and started.

  "Our old Alpha knew what would happen if we were kicked from the pride. He knew that we would come here. He didn't want us to be happy, so he had the pride males challenge us every night to prove that we were strong enough to defend the pride. Old pride law states that any lion who isn't strong enough to defend the pride could be killed without reprisal. Only one challenge could be issued per night, so every other night, Talon and I fought for our lives. Every night we would fight someone new, while our day-old wounds were still healing. It was a slow way to die," Rex's eyes were dark.

  Talon turned to face his Alpha. "Then one day the pride was getting ready for a routine visit from our Elder. Rex and I knew he supported his grandson's views, so we took a chance in approaching him for a transfer out of our pride." Talon grinned as an older version of Liam stepped forward between the two men.

  "It seemed to be my fate to collect gay men on that trip, because in the pride visit after that I discovered a wonderfully serious young man with an immeasurable capacity for love. I never thought I would be sending my grandson one of his mates." He nodded to Kent smiling.

  Lachlan stood next to Rex and Talon, who were two massive warriors, and though his build was smaller, Lachlan seemed to take over and dominate the very space where they stood.

  To Liam, his grandfather was the epitome of being a lion. To see him standing before him, with his pride, saying these things, was too much for Liam. He turned and bent his head so that his cheek lay flush against Kent's chest and he pulled Sebastian into his arms and under his chin.

  "It is my honor and pleasure to announce that the council has passed a law that stipulates that any shifter can petition to leave their group if they are in fear for their lives. They no longer need to have their group leader approve their request. The petition will go straight to the council. We have also eliminated the waiting period for transfer. Men and women can leave their group without fear of reprisal or fear of
rejection from another group," Lachlan announced to the stunned crowd.

  "We are calling it Liam's Law," Lachlan said. Liam's head swung around and he stared at his grandfather.

  "I have never been more proud than I am at this very moment. No one has ever deserved the name Lewenhart more than you, Liam. I have no regrets in announcing you as my sole heir." Liam's mouth dropped. Around them everyone started whispering. Liam knew that in becoming Lachlan's sole heir, his father had been disowned and he was next in line for the council seat.

  When he looked up, he stared into his grandfather's eyes. He saw sadness, which he knew came from having to turn his back on his only child, but there was more than sadness. There was a look of immense love in the old man's gaze, that maybe being older and mated, he finally recognized.

  "I am honored to be your heir, though I don't think I am worthy of it." Liam said stepping out of his mates' embrace to stand tall.

  "You're not getting out of the council seat that easily, you lazy bum. I happen to know that one of your mates can shift into a cat larger than you, I can always get him to help me keep you in line," his grandfather said drolly, winking at Sebastian. Everyone started to laugh.

  "Hurry up!" Rian said to Bran and Caleb who seemed to be struggling to carry the largest cake Liam had ever seen. They placed it on the empty table that was set up next to other tables laden with food.

  In bold blue icing the message read,

  Congratulations Sebastian and Kent!! Thank you for taking care of our Alpha. Welcome Home!

  Congratulations on your mating, Alpha! From your family, with love.

  Liam heard sniffles and saw that both mates were crying. He pulled them into a three way hug.

  "See, you have your family, my love. They were there the entire time," Kent whispered.

  "Love?" Sebastian squeaked. Kent blushed in their little huddle and nodded.

  "I love you both so much!" Sebastian threw his arms around Kent and practically attacked his face, giving him a passionate kiss before grabbing Liam.