“Rhys, I can…” Moe started. Rhys shook his head.
“Can we just hook up the Xbox first, for Peyton?” Daniel asked with puppy dog eyes.
“No, because then that will turn into getting it hooked up to the internet, then getting his account set up. By that time Moe will have everything done. No. Help clean up first, then play.”
The twins exhaled.
“Yes, Rhys.” They sighed and trudged inside.
“And don’t think for a second that you’re using my profile for Peyton to learn on, my stats are better than yours,” Rhys called after them.
“Awww man!” The twins groaned. Rhys chuckled. He knew what they had been up to. Trying to let Peyton use his profile to lower his kill count? He didn’t think so.
“Come on, let’s go take a nap while the boys clean up.” Moe yawned. Rhys tried to hold back a yawn and failed. He too was normally asleep this time of day. Both of them had sacrificed sleep to help Rebecca and his prince.
“Sounds good.” Hand in hand they stepped past the wolf-dented door and headed upstairs.
* * * *
“I’ve never seen the twins so angry before.” Rhys kicked off his shoes and flung himself on the bed.
“Never?” Moe asked, also toeing off his shoes and climbing onto the bed next to Rhys.
“In the coven, they are like everyone’s little brothers, there was always someone bigger, stronger, faster or older to defend them. Since you’re my mate, you are considered a member of the coven. They view Peyton as your family so Peyton has become a coven member too. I think when David and Daniel saw Peyton being abused, suddenly they were the older brothers.” Rhys smiled. It was nice to know that they had learned how to be big brothers from him and the rest of the coven.
“They didn’t do anything I wouldn’t have done. In fact it may have been a blessing they got to him first. I would have killed him.”
Rhys laid a hand on his mate’s broad chest. He was growling and it rumbled under his fingers.
“He’s gone now and can’t hurt us or try and influence the council anymore.” Rhys let out a relieved sigh.
“Maybe now our lives can calm down.” Moe yawned. Rhys snuggled close to Moe’s warmth. Somehow he didn’t think that calm would ever be a word to describe their lives, not in Arkadia, anyway.
* * * *
Rhys dried a shot glass as he watched David and Daniel yell and bounce around Peyton. They had set up the Xbox on the largest sports TV in the bar. Moe had just shrugged and started to stock the bar for the night. His mate was such a softie. At first Duncan and Emmett had grumbled since their favorite football team was playing, but before Rhys knew it they had grabbed controllers and joined in the fun.
Peyton had blown David and Daniel away. He was a natural. His tiny fingers manipulated the controller with the skill of a lifetime gamer. Rhys had caught Daniel looking at Peyton from the corner of his eye, as if he were trying to determine if the smaller man was hustling them. But the radiant joy on Peyton’s face was too genuine to fake.
“Peyton, over there, you take the boarded window!” Emmett yelled.
“Got it!” Peyton bounced in his chair, moving his arms around as if he were the one shooting the gun.
They were playing zombie mode. Rhys was surprised that the zombies hadn’t freaked Peyton out. So far he looked like he was having the time of his life.
“And that is how you do that!” Emmett jumped up, faked spiking his controller, and did a victory dance. Peyton hopped up and started dancing too imitating Emmett.
“So this is what it’s like to have a little brother?” Emmett smiled at Peyton, who halted his dance and looked up at the bear, surprised.
“Don’t you have two little brothers?” he asked. Duncan snorted.
“They don’t count. Finn has always been a fifty-year-old man, such a serious bookworm. Gavin was born a sarcastic, introverted little shit. I love my brothers, don’t get me wrong, I would kill for them, but they aren’t adorable, awesome gamers like you. You listen when I give you advice and know how to have fun.” Duncan ruffled Peyton’s hair.
“Let’s adopt him!” Emmett said suddenly.
“No way! We have first dibs.” David shook his finger at Emmett.
“Come on.” Duncan pouted.
“You all can be my brothers,” Peyton said shyly, then looked over to where Moe was putting bottles on the top shelf.
“After Moe,” he whispered, as if he was afraid of Moe’s reaction. Moe looked over at Peyton and winked.
“You all can borrow Peyton when you need little brother time, but he’s my little brother.” Moe’s voice was neutral but firm. He let the others know that Peyton was under his protection.
Rhys heard a sniffle to his right. Rian and Damian were dabbing at their eyes.
“That was just beautiful.” Damian blew his nose.
“They make the perfect big brother, little brother combination.” Rian sighed.
Peyton was beaming at the room. Rhys was pretty sure that this was probably the most affection the small man had ever seen. As they others returned to their game. Rhys turned to Rian and Damian.
“If I didn’t know you two better, I would say you were alcoholics. What are you doing back here?” Rian shuddered and looked up at him.
“Liam and Kent lost their damn minds when Sebastian passed out at Kate’s. Liam was a grouchy asshole and Kent just kept pacing back and forth. I had to kick them out. Once they left with Beau and Kaden, the house seemed kinda empty so we came here to hang out with Peyton and check up on him.” Rian looked over the drink menu. Rhys rolled his eyes and plucked the menu from his hand and placed it on the bar. He turned to mix up a Tom Collins for Rian, and he started an Amaretto Sour for Damian. When he was done he slid the glasses over to them. They smiled and picked up their drinks. After the first sips both men looked pleasantly surprised.
“How did you know what I wanted?” Rian asked. “I didn’t even know what I wanted.”
Rhys smiled. “I’ve been a bartender for a very, very long time.”
“This is amazing, I have never even had one of these, what is it?” Damian taking another drink.
“Amaretto Sour. You both like sweet things, but you never get sweet tea or milkshakes. So I figured sour drinks would suit you better.” Rhys shrugged.
“Pure genius.” Rian sighed happily.
“Hey Rhys, what would I be?” Emmett asked.
“Guinness.” Emmett looked surprised.
“Me?” Duncan pointed to his chest.
“Boilermaker, because you always have to outdo your younger twin.” Rhys laughed at Duncan’s shocked expression.
“Us?” David and Daniel looked eager to hear his response.
“Shirley Temples. I know better than to give you two alcohol.” They laughed.
“Me?” Peyton asked quietly.
“Pina Colada. Something tropical and sweet.”
“Wow, that sounds good.” Peyton nodded.
“How about me, my mate?” Moe whispered from behind him. Rhys shivered.
“Single-malt scotch.” Rhys swallowed hard at the heated look Moe was giving him.
“Someone hose these two off, lord have mercy.” Rian whistled using the drink menu to fan them. Rhys’s felt his cheeks catch fire. He shook his head. He hadn’t blushed as much in the last two centuries as he had in the past couple days with his mate. Moe chuckled and moved on to continue stocking.
“What about us, Rhys?” Gina called from the table where she sat with Cecelia.
Rhys brought his hand to his chin and looked the two young women over.
“Gina, you’re a dry white wine. I think people expect you to be sweet because you’re so cute, but you have a dry sense of humor.” Cecelia giggled and nodded at her friend. Rhys looked at the quieter of the two and shook his head surprised.
“Cecelia, darling, you’re a Blue Motherfucker.” Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at the woman.
“What o
n earth is that?” Gina asked.
“It’s super sweet and tangy. Blue Curacao, 7 Up and Sweet and Sour mix is like candy in your mouth. It’s so sweet you’re not expecting what happens next.” Rhys paused for dramatic effect. Everyone leaned forward a bit.
“Then wham! The vodka, gin, rum and tequila sneak up and fuck you up. Yup darling, that is most definitely you. Sweetness personified, but I would never want to get on your bad side.” Rhys winked. Cecelia was blushing furiously.
“Okay, I feel better with you going out of town after hearing that. I mean I know you can take care of yourself, but it’s nice to hear that someone else can see it too.” Gina breathed a sigh of relief.
“Where you going, Cecelia?” Rian asked.
“Brighton. My friend Connie is celebrating her mating. They have chosen to combine their celebration with the Community party. Because of the Drainers, Brighton has elected an Alpha, and everyone is moving in closer together to form like a neighborhood watch. They have purchased an old turn-of-the-century apartment building that they are renovating. She showed me pictures. The architecture is gorgeous, but it needs a lot of work.” Cecelia’s voice was quiet but clear.
“How do you elect an Alpha?” Damian asked confusion on his face. Cecelia shrugged.
“She said that the group dominants couldn’t agree on whom to put in charge. The wolves wanted their Alpha, the lions wanted theirs. It was chaos until a large biker group stopped in town. They showed up at the council room to ask for permission to stay a few days and walked into an argument of epic proportions.”
“The biker group is evidently a mixed bag, shifters of all kinds and their Alpha is a hybrid. He walked in, shouted everyone down, took charge of the meeting so he could get permission for his group. The Alphas right then and there offered him the position. As a hybrid he owed no group any allegiance or favor. So the man walked in asking for a place to stay a few nights and walked out the Alpha of the largest community of shifters outside of Arkadia.”
“Connie steers clear of them. Her mate is beta to the town’s wolf Alpha. He has butt heads with the biker Alpha. Connie thinks it’s male posturing, she says that the hybrid Alpha has taken protecting everyone very seriously. He said that if he is responsible for their safety then he wants everyone under one roof.” She shook her head at the thought.
“Lions and tigers and bears oh my,” Duncan quipped.
“I don’t see that working.” Emmett shook his head.
Peyton frowned.
“Why not? We do it here.” Everyone stopped and thought about it.
“You’re right, Peyton. We do, don’t we?” Rian smiled.
“I think that they are modeling themselves after Arkadia and what our Alpha Mother has created,” Cecelia offered.
“They don’t have a Rebecca though,” Damian said.
“Thank god for that. Can you imagine two of them?” Rian laughed.
The bar door opened and two unfamiliar women walked in. They looked around hesitantly before walking up to Rian and Damian.
“Oh my goodness, you haven’t changed at all.” The dark-haired girl covered her mouth with both hands, her eyes watering as she stared at Rian. The other young woman bore a striking resemblance to Damian. Her auburn hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
Rian and Damian just stared at the two women.
“Rian, I didn’t know you swung that way,” David said.
“Rian, are you the baby daddy?” Peyton asked, staring at him. Rian turned to Peyton, his mouth dropping.
“What? No!” he turned back around to the woman.
“Do I know you?” he demanded.
“Ri?” she whispered.
“Oh my god, Asling?” Rhys watched as dawning recognition filled Rian’s eyes before he jumped down and swung the woman in his arms.
“Bethany?” Damian whispered. The auburn-haired girl collapsed against Damian, crying her eyes out.
“Are you two okay? Are you hurt? What are you doing here?” Rian ran his hands over the woman’s hair.
Everyone stood around dumbfounded.
“Okay, boys, let’s get these pretty girls a seat. It looks like they need it.” Moe’s warm voice carried over the sound of the girl’s tears. Almost relieved with a clear direction in which to follow, Duncan, Emmett, David and Daniel helped move the four of them to a table. The girls clung desperately to Rian and Damian.
“Why are you here? Is everything okay?” Damian asked. He had pulled the woman onto his lap and was rubbing her back soothingly.
“We saw the council newsletter, w–w–we hoped we could come home.” The woman Damian had called Bethany sobbed.
“We’ve been driving since yesterday. We went to the pride house first and they told us you were here. We had a huge fight with Mom and Dad. They lied to us, Riri, they told all the kids that you didn’t want us here, that we weren’t welcome because you, Damian, and Liam wanted a carefree life.” The dark-haired girl wiped her eyes dry and she sniffled loudly. She took a deep breath and looked up at Rian, whose eyes were still streaming tears. She used her sleeve to dry his eyes.
“I’ve missed you so much, big brother,” she whispered. Rian just pulled her into his arms and started rocking them side to side.
“I waited. Every year I waited for you all to come home.” Rian cried.
“We know now. We saw our stockings, those silly stockings you helped us to make. I knew the second that I saw them that Mom and Dad had lied. You never forgot about us. I knew you wouldn’t, I just knew you wouldn’t.” Asling buried her face into her brother’s chest.
“They are your sisters?” Rhys asked, though now looking at the women, he could clearly see the family resemblance.
“Welcome home, Bethy,” Gina said, wiping her eyes. Cecelia’s eyes were bright with unshed tears.
“We can stay can’t we? We can’t go back, we can’t!” Bethy said, sounding close to hysterical.
“What happened, Bethy?” Damian’s voice was gentle but his eyes had hardened.
“When we confronted Mom and Dad, the car was still packed from coming home from school. We both graduated from LSU this December. We didn’t really want to move back into the family home and was debating getting our own apartment, so we hadn’t unpacked yet. Mr. Prescott tried to keep Bethy from returning. There was talk about an arranged marriage. He may get use of his arm back. Eventually.” Asling sniffed.
“That’s my girl.” Rian smiled and kissed her forehead.
“They still have Dylan. They won’t let him out of the house for fear that he would return to Arkadia.” Bethy wiped her eyes with one of the bar’s napkins.
“We need Liam,” Damian said, looking over at Rian desperation in his eyes.
“I’ll call him.” Rian pulled out his phone, stood up, and let Asling take his seat.
“They’ve joined NOAH, Damian, the entire pride. I swear they are all fucking nuts,” Asling said.
“Asling, language,” Rian said, pulling the phone away.
“Sorry, Riri.” She smiled at him, he smiled back. His attention was diverted when a familiar voice came on the line.
“Hey, what’s up?” Liam greeted him.
“They fucking lied! They fucking lied to all the kids and they kept my baby sister from me! I’ll kill them, I swear I will Liam,” Rian ranted. Damian sighed. Bethy stared and Asling giggled. Rian began to pace.
“Rian, who?” Liam asked before Rian interrupted him.
“They told them we didn’t want them. All of those years lost because of those bigoted fucks! They joined NOAH and they’re probably brainwashing all the other kids too!”
“Rian…”
“They saw the newsletter, Liam. They saw their stockings and knew that we still thought of them. They’ve come home!” Rian started sniffling.
“Rian, I swear to all that is holy if you don’t tell me what the fuck is going on I’m going to have Sebastian bite your ass! Now calm down and make some damn sense,” Liam roared into the ph
one.
“Our asshole parents told our brothers and sisters we didn’t want them living in the Lewenhart pride because they would infringe on our carefree lifestyle. They have joined NOAH and they are holding Dylan hostage!” Rian shouted.
Rhys looked over. Peyton was watching the entire scene while his hand dipped into the table’s bowl of chips. He looked as though he were watching one of his soap operas. Duncan was on his cell phone talking quickly. Rhys would bet money that it was with his ma.
“They have Dylan? He wants to come home?” Liam asked sharply.
“Yes, Liam. We were already packed, we couldn’t get him out,” Bethy said.
“Bethy, is that you?” Liam asked, his voice softening.
“It’s me, LeeLee,” she said.
“God, I forgot that you used to call me that. Don’t worry about your brother. We are bringing him home. If he wants to transfer prides there isn’t a damn thing they can do about it,” Liam said, his voice sounding harsh.
“We knew you would help us,” Asling whispered.
“Of course, baby doll. You, Bethy and Dylan were our little shadows.” Liam laughed.
“We hoped, but we didn’t know if you really wanted us here.” Bethy sighed, exhausted from crying. She laid her head on her brother’s shoulder.
“I’m hanging up and calling Lachlan now. Girls, no more talk about not being welcome, or I’ll put you over my knee,” Liam threatened, though everyone listening knew it was an empty threat. It was proved two seconds later when both women giggled.
“I am Alpha you know.” They giggled again.
“I get absolutely no respect,” Liam said, but Rhys could hear the smile in his voice.
“See you girls in the morning.” Liam hung up.
“Now, let’s head home. I have so much to show you,” Rian said, sounding excited.
The four got up and waved good night. When the door shut. Emmett let out a deep breath.
“Damn those girls grew up pretty.” He was still smiling when Rian popped his head back in.
“I heard that. Paws off, bear.” Rian hissed and left again. Emmett gulped.
“Rian is going to have his hands full. Those two women are lovely,” Rhys said, grinning.