“Now about your mate. That poor man needs you. Stop being such a drama king and go get him. You’ve made him suffer long enough. You’re not exactly showing him how trustworthy and reliable you are by ignoring him and hurting him further. Now go get him!” Rian pointed to the gate.
“You’re wearing my…” Liam started.
“Now!” Rian screeched, and Liam jumped up and headed for the gate leading to the driveway. It wasn’t until he was in his car that he realized that he just let his “beta” order him around. He scratched his head. He was the Alpha, dammit. He started the car and grumbled the entire drive into town.
* * * *
“He’ll never forgive me!” Sebastian lay his head down over his crossed arms on the table. Rebecca and Kate each leaned in and wrapped their arms around the shaking man. All three sat at their usual table in the diner. It was just after the breakfast rush and the diner was mostly empty.
“Of course he will. Liam is one of the most wonderful men we know. He’s just had a bit of a shock, that’s all.” Rebecca rubbed Sebastian’s back soothingly.
“Rebecca’s right. Liam has the emotional depth of a teaspoon. It won’t take him long to bounce back from this,” Kate offered. Sebastian looked up hopefully.
“Do you really think so?”
Rebecca and Kate both nodded.
“Pretty soon he’ll be driving you nuts the way our mates drive us crazy.” Rebecca giggled.
“You have to admit it’s sexy when they get possessive and growly,” Kate countered. Rebecca nodded.
“I wish Liam felt that way,” Sebastian said sadly. He couldn’t blame his lion for ignoring him. In his mind he knew that he could trust the man, but his heart feared the Alpha in him. Every single instance dealing with men in power had resulted in pain and horror, and he couldn’t bear it if his own mate treated him the same way. But even as he came to realize that Liam wouldn’t hurt him, he started to fear his mate’s reaction for deceiving him. It was a vicious cycle that continued until he had shifted to save his best friend. He could still hear Liam’s accusing words.
“You knew! You had to know!”
Sebastian looked up to see one set of anxious violet eyes and one set of worried blue eyes watching him. His heart turned over. He had wonderful people as friends, people who cared about him, he couldn’t let them worry about him so much. He reached up and patted each woman on the shoulder. They unwrapped their arms and sat back in their chairs, looking at him.
“I…” he was about to say he would be all right when Liam walked into the diner. Liam’s eyes searched the room until they fell on their table. Sebastian couldn’t help but stare. The man was simply divine. He was tall, but not as bulky as Rebecca’s bear, for which he was grateful. He liked the way he could see Liam’s muscles as they moved under his skin. He subconsciously licked his lips, and Liam’s eyes widened. A slow smile crossed his lion’s features. When he took a step forward and started coming towards them, it was with a definite swagger in his step. Was his lion showing off for him?
Liam walked up to the table, grabbed a chair and sat down between his mate and Rebecca. He smiled at Sebastian, reached over and took his hand. Sebastian looked to Rebecca, then Kate, who were grinning like idiots at him.
“Hi,” Sebastian mumbled, staring down at the table where their hands were joined.
“Hi, kitten.” Liam lifted Sebastian’s hand to his cheek and rubbed his face across it.
“You’re not mad anymore?” Sebastian asked. Liam shook his head.
“I was hurt you didn’t come to me, but I never gave you a chance to explain why. I’ve been walking around out of sorts and snapping at everyone in my pride. We’ll have a long talk later, but you’re my mate and I’ll support you. I’m going to stop acting like a grumpy-ass bear, because they are freaking annoying, and give you the chance to get comfortable with being with me, so I can understand your story. Besides, my lion is dying to mark you. He’s been snarling at me for the past two weeks to be near you.” Liam kissed Sebastian’s hand.
“Yes! Yes, yes!” Rebecca was pumping both small fists in the air and kicking her feet, laughing happily. Sebastian looked around the table and everyone was smiling at them.
Liam turned to Kate and Rebecca.
“Good morning, my luscious ladies. And how is my baby boy doing today?” he asked, making kissing noises at Rebecca’s stomach, sounding like his normal self. Rebecca beamed up at Liam, obviously relieved at his familiar, laid-back persona.
“Aleks said the next time you referred to his son as your boy he was going to choke the life out of you.” Rebecca looked around, snatched up Kate’s coffee cup and took a healthy swig.
“I saw that! No more caffeine for you, Rebecca Arkadion, doctor’s orders,” Connor yelled across the diner. Rebecca winced and set the cup down, grumbling about stupid doctors and what do they know.
Sebastian removed his hand from Liam’s, winked at his mate before sucking up all the soda in his cup. Under the table he popped off the lid, then he reached across the table, grabbing Kate’s mug. When Connor’s back was turned, he carefully poured Kate’s coffee into his soda cup and put the lid back on. He handed it to Rebecca, who started bouncing excitedly in her seat. She accepted the cup and held it in front of her.
“Sebastian, you are the bestest!” She was about to take a sip when a large hand swooped in and grabbed the cup.
“And no soda either. That has caffeine, too,” Connor said, before taking the cup to the kitchen sink and pouring it out. Sebastian’s eyes widened as he saw Rebecca’s face turn to a mask of horror before her bottom lip started to quiver.
“Oh no,” Kate said, looking around for another cup of coffee.
“Connor hates me and Doc hates me!” Rebecca ranted.
Sebastian looked over to Liam pleadingly. Liam smiled and nodded. He stood up and scooped Rebecca up in his arms before sitting down and settling her on his lap.
“Okay, baby girl, why did they take you off caffeine?” He asked gently. Sebastian’s heart was melting. His mate had to be the kindest man he had ever met, how could he have ever doubted him? Rebecca had to be one of the most exasperating, but amazing women he had ever met. Living with her he’d had some of the best times of his life. Liam seemed to have infinite patience when it came to the tiny human.
“They think I’m too excitable, that I’m all over the place and expending too much energy. I tried to tell them that this is au naturel”—she pointed to herself—“but they didn’t believe me. All because I’ve lost a pound or two.” She sniffled, looking at Liam pitifully. Sebastian’s ears perked up and he saw Kate lean forward.
“What do you mean, ‘a pound or two,’ Rebecca?” Kate asked sternly.
“It was only two pounds and ninety-six ounces,” she mumbled. Liam frowned. Sebastian looked at Kate, who was frowning down at her fingers.
“You’ve lost eight pounds? Since when?” Sebastian asked, putting them both out of their mathematical misery.
“Since last week.” Rebecca sighed and stared down at her lap.
“Rebecca!” Sebastian gasped. Liam saw the shocked expression on his mate’s face before turning to stare with concern at his friend.
“Is that a lot?” Liam asked, looking from Sebastian to Kate and back.
“In addition to what she lost in the first trimester due to morning sickness, it’s drastic,” Ma said, coming from behind the counter. She held out a tall frosted glass with what looked like a milkshake to Rebecca.
“What’s that?” She eyed the glass with a colorful swirly straw sticking out of the whip cream suspiciously. She took the glass and scrunched her nose. Ashby and Gabriel walked into the diner.
“That is my newest concoction. I made it especially for my Alpha Mother. I gave Ma the recipe last week and made sure we had all of the ingredients here.”
“Is it a milkshake?” Rebecca asked, perking up. Ashby winked at Ma.
“Something like that. Try it.” He sat down next
to Kate as Gabriel took the last empty seat filling the table. Rebecca took a small sip from the glass and her face brightened.
“It tastes like coffee!” She attacked the straw and inhaled half the cup. Ashby winked at Sebastian and nodded to Rebecca, who was sucking up the last of the concoction through the straw, trying to get the whipped cream off the side of the glass.
“What was that?” Sebastian asked curiously, leaning forward and taking a sniff.
“It’s a mochachino-flavored protein shake that I doctored up. Not only does it taste like coffee with no caffeine, it’s filled with all her daily vitamins, and also acts as a meal replacement, which will hopefully help her gain weight.” Ashby looked extremely proud of himself. Rebecca looked at Ashby, her eyes wide.
“But it didn’t taste bad.” She frowned down at the empty glass.
“That’s the point. It should help satisfy your coffee cravings too. Ma and I have been worried about how much weight you’ve lost, so I thought this would be the closest thing to coffee you can get. Don’t you like it?” he asked, looking dejected. Rebecca quickly backpedaled.
“Of course I like it. I love it! I’m just surprised I like it.” Rebecca rubbed her small belly.
“I’m full,” she said, and yawned. Sebastian had the urge to shift and curl in her lap. He had been looking after her for months, and it was hard to let old habits die.
“Aww, is my baby boy purring? Yes he is! He liked the new milkshake,” Liam said, making baby noises at Rebecca and rubbing her stomach. Sebastian and Ashby laughed.
“Put my mate down so I can beat you to death.” A low grumble filled the diner.
“Look, Rebecca, it’s your grumpy bear. Be careful or he might find out about our torrid affair. Shush,” Liam said in a mock whisper. Sebastian rolled his eyes. Gently, Aleks lifted Rebecca out of Liam’s lap. He pulled over a chair from another table and sat down with Rebecca snuggled against him.
“As if she would touch your mangy ass. And the baby isn’t purring, he’s growling. He doesn’t like you.” Aleks grunted. Rebecca thumped his shoulder.
“Don’t say that. The baby loves his Uncle Liam.” She yawned again. Liam pouted and looked down at his empty lap.
“Now my lap is empty.” He looked up at Sebastian meaningfully. Sebastian stared at him for a moment, shyly stood up and walked over to Liam, who grabbed him around the waist, pulling him into his lap.
“Come on, Becca, time for your appointment. We get the test results back about your vitamin levels today,” Aleks said, putting Rebecca on her feet before standing.
“Thanks for my magic shake, Ashers. I can’t wait to have another one for lunch.” Rebecca leaned down and kissed his cheek. He smiled up at her.
“I have to watch out for my godson,” Ashby replied.
“I’m out too. Caleb and Bran have a surprise picnic waiting for me,” Kate announced.
“If it’s a surprise how do you know about it?” Sebastian asked. Kate winked.
“I have my ways. Later guys.” She waved and headed out behind Rebecca and Aleks.
“I hate to ruin what is obviously a much-needed tender moment, but I was wondering if I might discuss something with you, Liam?” Gabriel asked.
Sebastian thought that the elegantly dressed prince seemed out of place at the diner. The way the vampire kept looking at Ashby, he could see that Gabriel wouldn’t let the beautiful man out of his sight for long, even if it meant hanging out in the diner.
“Sure, what’s up?” Liam asked.
“The townspeople haven’t warmed up to my coven yet, in particular a Mr. Gilberton, the proprietor of Bobbles and Things.” Gabriel’s melodic voice soothed Sebastian’s frayed nerves. He felt himself relaxing into Liam, who tightened his hold.
“Gilberton is a nasty old bastard who hates everyone. What has he done this time?” Liam sighed. He had grown up in Arkadia, and everyone knew that he and Mr. Gilberton had bumped heads on more than one occasion. The old man usually backed down because he believed that Liam would one day inherit his grandfather’s council seat and become an Elder.
“He said some particularly nasty things to David and Daniel. Now they don’t want to leave the house. They were the only ones willing to venture into town, and I’m afraid the entire coven is now suffering from their boredom.” Gabriel sighed, and Sebastian peeked over to Ashby, who was rolling his eyes. Sebastian had to agree with Gabriel, though. The twins were a handful.
“I’ll speak with him today. I’m not saying he’ll listen, but I’ll warn him about the potential negative side effects on his business, if he were to piss off my pride. I swear they eat their weight in chocolate on a weekly basis.” Liam shook his head.
“Actually, I have a favor to ask regarding the pride,” Ashby said, twisting a napkin in his hands. Liam looked at Ashby’s nervous gesture and raised an eyebrow.
“Ashby, relax. You’re my friend. Now, what can my crazy bunch of lions do for you?” he asked, as his hand started to rub up and down Sebastian’s back. Without conscious thought, Sebastian arched his back and began to purr. When he realized what he was doing, his head snapped down and he looked at Liam, Ashby and Gabriel, embarrassment flooding him. Liam leaned in and whispered, “Never be embarrassed by how I make you feel. I think that purring is the sexiest shit I have ever heard.” Liam nipped Sebastian’s ear. Gabriel cleared his throat and Ashby elbowed his mate, his cheeks turning pink.
“What Ashby was going to say, is that we would like to extend an invitation to the lions to visit us at the coven house. Of all the groups here in Arkadia, your pride has been the most welcoming, especially Rian and Talon. We’d like to foster as many friendships as possible.” Gabriel explained.
Sebastian knew that Rian and Damian had already been to the coven house a few times. He didn’t know about the rest of the pride.
“They were probably looking to get laid,” Liam said bluntly. Sebastian’s mouth dropped and he slapped Liam’s chest. He looked down, confused.
“What?” he asked, and Sebastian could tell he had no idea at all why he was being hit. He palmed his forehead with his hand and shook his head. He heard a snort. When he looked up Ashby, was trying to contain his giggles.
“I’ll explain later,” Sebastian whispered, and Liam shrugged.
“That’s cool, Gabriel. Just let me know what you’d like to do and I’ll let my guys know.”
Gabriel and Ashby stood.
“Excellent, I’ll get Roman to organize an event. We have to do something, it makes me uneasy that the people are still nervous around us. Nervous people sometimes react in fear.” Gabriel’s eyes changed from a deep blue to an impenetrable black before turning back to blue. Sebastian and Liam stared up at him, unblinking.
“Cool,” Liam said. Gabriel raised a single dark brow, his eyes twinkling.
“I’m glad to see that the two of you have found your way to each other. May your mating be a happy one.” Gabriel inclined his head before he and Ashby walked out of the diner.
“I’m glad we found our way, too,” Sebastian said quietly.
“Let’s go chat with Gilberton and then head to the pride house so we can relax and talk, would that be ok?” Liam asked
“I’d really like that,” Sebastian said, getting choked up. Liam pulled him down and kissed him on the top of his head.
“Come on, kitten, we’ll walk to Bobbles and Things then head home.” Sebastian hopped down and Liam stood. Sebastian prayed to every single deity he had ever heard of that what Liam said would be true and that the pride house would become his home.
* * * *
“Mr. Gilberton, I just had an interesting conversation with Prince Gabriel,” Liam began as he and Sebastian walked through the door. Gilberton looked at Liam through thick, gray, bushy eyebrows and muttered.
“What did the fag bloodsucker want?”
Sebastian’s eyes widened as he edged behind Liam, trying to make himself as small as possible.
“To discuss your atti
tude and blatant contempt towards not only vampires but also homosexuals, who, by the way, make up a large percentage of your clientele,” Liam said, crossing his arms over his broad chest, widening his stance as he stood in front of the counter. Sebastian saw that Lucy, the store’s only employee, had backed away from the old man to stand closer to one of the display cases. The red panda clearly did not want to be associated with Gilberton.
“I see the rumors about you mating with that little fag are true. Your parents would be ashamed to call you their son, Liam Lewenhart,” Gilberton spat venomously.
Sebastian felt Liam tense at the mention of his parents. He placed his hand against Liam’s muscled back in a show of support.
“Mr. Gilberton, my parents are as closed-minded as you are. Evidently you don’t need pride business or fag money. Come on Sebastian, let’s head home,” Liam said, firmly wrapping an arm around his small mate.
“Don’t threaten me, cub! Your father was a thousand times the Alpha you will ever be. I’m sure he’ll be interested to know his only son is a cocksucking queer!” Gilberton shouted.
Liam heard the bells on the door chime. He and Sebastian turned to see Kate, Caleb and Bran standing in the doorway. The men held the twins. Kate’s mouth was open and she appeared to be speechless.
The small, dark-haired boy in Caleb’s arms leaned forward and began to growl at the old man. The other twin mimicked his brother and alternated between growling and hissing.
“I’m not craving chocolate for our picnic anymore,” Kate announced as she turned and left the store, her mates right behind her.
“You are costing me business!” Gilberton shouted.
“No, the hate that you spew is doing that. Come on, Sebastian.” Liam led Sebastian out of the store. Kate, Caleb and Bran were waiting for them on the wide sidewalk outside of the shop. Kate’s face was pinched in anger.
“I had no idea he was treating people like that. If I hadn’t met up with my boys coming out of the grocery store and decided I wanted chocolate, I would never have heard that crap. If he says those types of horrible things to you as the lions’ Alpha, what must he be saying to others?” She shook her head.