“You are the only family I need. Fuck!” Liam exclaimed suddenly. Kent and Sebastian looked at him, surprised.
“We need to let my grandfather know that Lamar is going to try and stir up trouble. You guys go ahead back outside. Since I threw my cell in the pool I’ll call my grandfather from the office, I’ll be out in a few minutes.” He smiled at their worried expressions.
“Go on, I’m fine, really. After we eat we’ll head to town so we can all get cell phones. Don’t think I hadn’t noticed that neither of you had one.” Liam wagged a finger at them. Kent shrugged.
“I never had anyone to call,” he said.
“Me either.” Sebastian agreed.
“Well, I don’t like that you’re not able to call me in an emergency. We’ll hit Johnny Five’s then maybe get some ice cream. I know a certain kitten who loves Butter Pecan.” Liam leaned forward and kissed Sebastian’s forehead, who blushed at the simple kiss before Liam turned his face to Kent, kissing him gently on the lips.
“Don’t be long.” Kent said, and he and Sebastian left the bedroom. Liam took a deep breath before heading to the office. He walked in and shut the door. He sat at his desk and marveled at the difference between his work area and Kent’s. His was littered with candy wrappers and snack foods. Papers were piled carelessly, precariously balanced in haphazard stacks. His filing cabinet was filled with food and there was a weird stain on the corner of his desk. Kent’s desk was immaculate. He had a beautifully organized work area, where the papers were stacked neatly in letter trays in color-coded folders. His filing cabinets held actual papers and there weren’t any strange, foul smelling stains on his desk. Yup, Fate knew what she was doing with this mating. Shaking his head, he reached for the phone and dialed his grandfather’s number.
“Lewenhart,” a gruff voice answered.
“Grandfather.”
“Liam, you wouldn’t happen to be calling because of your idiot father, would you?” Lachlan drawled. Liam sighed.
“He said he was going to return to Arkadia and take back the pride.” He pushed an empty candy bar wrapper around his desk with the tip of his finger.
“He’s blowing smoke. It’s against our laws to issue a challenge after you have already lost a dominance fight. What did you say to him?” Lachlan asked.
“That if he came down here and threatened my pride I would kill him and send his body in pieces back to Daphne in a cooler.” Liam mumbled. A short bark of laughter came through the phone.
“Liam, never ever doubt you are my grandson. I don’t know what went wrong with your father, but you are more than making up for it.”
“Even though I have two male mates?” Liam asked quietly.
“Wait, two? I heard about Sebastian, but nothing so far about a second mate.”
“I just recently found out. Kent is also my mate.” Liam found himself holding his breath as he waited for his grandfather’s reaction. He was not prepared for the gales of laughter from the other end of the phone. After a couple minutes, he started to get offended.
“Grandfather!” Liam yelled to get his attention.
“I’m sorry, Liam. It’s just that he is perfect for you. He’s your complete opposite when it comes to logistics. Now I know your reports and paperwork will be on time. That man is meticulous when it comes to his work.” Liam was shocked to hear pride in the old man’s voice.
“You don’t mind that I’m gay?”
“Liam, I could care less what you do in bed. You have turned the Lewenhart pride into a shining example of what it means to be a lion. I couldn’t be prouder. Now, enough of this emotional stuff. I told your young man Kent that I needed your stance on pride-to-pride transfers. Now I know he told you my message, which means you are behind in your work again. I need it by tomorrow morning, Liam.” Lachlan growled. Liam rolled his eyes as he smiled.
“I’ll get it to you by morning.”
“Good. Talk to you later.”
“Good-bye, Grandfather.” Liam replied.
“Bye, son.” Was the gruff response. Liam teared up as he put the phone down. Kent and Sebastian were right. He had his own family.
* * * *
“Liam, seriously? This is like your fourth phone this year. It’s only June! What are you doing? Eating them or something?” The small, dark-haired man exclaimed.
“Sorry, Johnny, my temper got the better of me, the latest phone is lying at the bottom of my pool. Whatcha got that’s new?” Liam asked, looking over the cases.
“Not much since last month. Did you want to stay with an iPhone?” Johnny asked. Liam nodded.
“I also need to get my mates phones. Johnny, this is Sebastian Wakefield and Kent Fieldings,” Liam said, smiling at his mates who were drooling over the phone case.
“Nice to meet you guys. If you ever need anything electronic, I’m your man.” Johnny grinned, blowing his long bangs out of his eyes.
“Sounds like you stay busy.” Kent chuckled.
“Shifter males with tempers and no patience, yeah, they don’t mix well with technology.” Johnny rolled his eyes.
“Can I get an iPhone, too?” Sebastian looked at Liam hopefully.
“Let’s all get the same phone,” Kent suggested.
“Okay, Johnny, three iPhones it is.” Liam took Sebastian and Kent’s hands.
“Okay, give me about an hour to activate these for you. Will that be okay?” Johnny’s green eyes blinked up at Liam.
“Yeah, that’s cool. We’re heading to Ashby’s anyway to grab some ice cream.”
“Great, have fun.” Johnny grabbed three small phone boxes and headed over to his computer. Liam led his men out the door and down the street towards Sweet Nothings. As they walked in he heard an irate female voice above the larger-than-usual crowd.
“I don’t want a vampire serving me!”
“Miranda, please. Look around, I need the help. All they are doing is scooping the ice cream,” Ashby pleaded, pointing to David and Daniel, who both wore crushed expressions on their faces. It seemed that David and Daniel’s foray back into town wasn’t going well. Liam looked at Kent and Sebastian. Both wore concerned expressions. He let go of their hands and stepped forward, walking to stand right next to Miranda at the counter.
“Sweet! David and Daniel are working the counter, now I know my sundae is going to be awesome. Mix it up crazy like you did last time,” Liam said in a playful, relaxed voice.
“You know them, Alpha?” Miranda asked. Most of the customers looked on, curious.
“David and Daniel? Of course I do. These two are not only fabulous at mixing up new combinations, but they are super smart IT guys. I’m thinking about getting them to do a pride website,” Liam said looking at a surprised Miranda. He leaned down and acted like he was about to tell her a secret.
“Miranda, I know you like to be up on the news. David and Daniel are the hottest thing in Arkadia right now. If you want, I can drop a hint or two to them about the online store front you’ve been looking to do,” he said in a conspiratorial whisper. She looked at the red-headed twins as if seeing them for the first time. She nodded to Liam.
“That may not be a bad idea. Thank you, Alpha.” She turned to David.
“What do you recommend in chocolate?” David’s eyes widened and he practically stumbled over his words he was so excited.
“I would do the Belgian milk chocolate ice cream and mix in the Death By Chocolate cake and then drizzle the entire thing in raspberry syrup,” David offered. Miranda licked her lips.
“One of those please, that sounds heavenly.”
“What do you recommend for caramel?” the gentleman to her left asked Daniel. Liam stepped out of line as Daniel rattled off his concoction. Liam looked up and caught Ashby’s grateful smile as he mouthed the words “Thank You.” Liam nodded and headed back to his mates. Kent was shaking his head and chuckling.
“You are an amazing man, Liam Lewenhart. It’s no small wonder that you are Alpha.” Kent grabbed the back of Lia
m’s head and kissed him passionately. When they broke apart, Sebastian immediately went on tip toe and gave him another heated kiss.
“I can’t wait to get you two home,” Liam said, giving them smoldering looks. Sebastian pouted.
“Can we go home now?” he begged, rubbing his body against Liam, who groaned at the sensation of a full body rub.
“We still have time to kill before the phones are ready,” Liam reminded his mate.
Sebastian sighed, then perked up. “I guess it’s worth the wait to get that phone. Do you know all the stuff you can do with that thing?” Sebastian asked excitedly.
“Liam can you wait with Sebastian to get his Butter Pecan? I’m heading to the diner to see if they have Ma’s cherry pie,” Kent asked.
“Sure. Grab me a slice, too?”
“Absolutely, see you in a bit.” Kent blew kisses to his mates and walked out of the ice cream parlor. He had an idea, and if he was lucky, the people he needed would be in the diner.
Luck was on his side. As he walked into the diner he could see Rebecca and her mate, with Kate and her mates frowning at what Rian was telling them. He watched as Aleks’s face kept getting darker and darker. He walked up to their already full table, pulled a seat over, and sat next to Rian.
“I take it Rian has filled you in on what Liam’s father said?” Kent asked. Rebecca and Kate nodded, both of them quiet and looking pissed off.
“Good. Because I have an idea. Liam is acting like he’s over what was said, but I know that it’s eating at him. He never really had his family support him and Sebastian was betrayed by the Alpha that was sworn to protect him. So I was trying to think of a way to show them both how loved they are. Any ideas?” Kent asked and the table went silent.
“That is the most I have ever heard you say at once,” Rebecca said.
Kent shrugged. “I never really had anything important to say until now.”
Rian winced, and said, “Liam also got upset when the pride asked him to bond with Rebecca, so that we could be protected from dominance challenges like the pack. It backfired, though. He thought it meant the pride didn’t trust him to protect us.” Rebecca frowned, then an excited look crossed her face and she clapped her hands.
“I know! Let’s do a pool party! It will be the We Love Liam, We Love Sebastian and Congratulations on your Mating pool party!” Aleks, Caleb and Bran growled.
“Rebecca, don’t use this as an excuse to get your pool party so you can ogle pride and pack members,” Aleks chastised. Rebecca’s eyes narrowed at her mate.
“I’m not! I’m thinking of Liam. He’s most relaxed out by his pool. Even when it was too cold to go in, he prefers to be outside in the sun on his lounger. We could do a huge backyard bash. Rian, what do you think? Can you pull it off by tomorrow?” Rian thought about it for a second, tapping his fingers to his chin before nodding.
“It’s totally doable. I’ll get started now.” Rian stood and kissed Rebecca on the cheek.
“Marvelous idea, babes. I’ll call you with details later. Bye, Bee!” he hurried out the door.
“You three stop with the growling, this is for Liam.” Rebecca swatted her mate’s arm. Kate gave Caleb and Bran the evil eye.
“I can’t thank you enough. Those two really need the support right now.” Kent smiled as he stood.
“Ma, can I get a cherry pie to go?” he yelled across the diner.
“Sure thing,” was the warm reply.
“What about you, Kent, how are you doing?” Rebecca asked. Kent smiled.
“If we can get those two to realize their worth, I’ll be just fine.” He winked at Rebecca and took the pie that Ma had walked over to him.
“You’re a good man, Kent Fieldings.” Ma smiled. He inclined his head.
“It might not be a bad idea to invite just a couple of vampires. There was a scene that Liam diffused at Sweet Nothings. The more we show them support, the better for the town I think.” Kent said looking at Bran, Caleb and Aleks. They nodded.
“We were talking about that earlier. We knew there would be some resistance, but we never thought the town would balk this badly. We’ll continue our efforts, though.” Bran spoke up.
“Okay, gotta run, I was only supposed to come for pie.” Kent waved as he headed out of the diner, feeling really good about the upcoming plans.
* * * *
“Is it just me, or is Rian more high-strung than usual?” Liam watched the small man pace back and forth on the back deck, waving his hands and yelling into his phone. Kent watched on, thankful that they were far enough away in the kitchen that Rian’s plans couldn’t be heard.
“I don’t know, that seems pretty typical for him, but you know him better.” Sebastian munched on his sandwich and chips. They had decided to have sandwiches for dinner since it was quick and easy. Liam watched his friend for a minute more, then looked at Sebastian.
“Is he using your phone?” Liam took a bite of potato salad and moaned. He loved Ma’s potato salad, he always ordered big batches of it to keep at home. When he looked up, Sebastian and Kent were giving him heated glances. Sebastian shook his head as if to clear it. Kent could only imagine the dirty thoughts their little kitten had been thinking, mostly because he was thinking them too.
“Yup. He begged me to borrow it. I couldn’t say no.” Sebastian blushed. Liam cackled.
“He pulled the big, sad Puss in Boots eyes, didn’t he? He’s the only one I know who can do that,” Liam said, smiling. Sebastian nodded.
“He said he would show me how it worked later.” Sebastian eyed his plate and popped the last chip in his mouth.
Rian sashayed into the kitchen. He walked up to Sebastian, handed him his phone and kissed him on his cheek.
“Thanks for letting me borrow the phone. Mine’s so old I might as well be tapping away on stone. Kent, can I talk to you for a second about that invoice you needed?” Rian asked ruffling Sebastian’s hair. Sebastian batted at Rian’s hand playfully. Kent stood, threw his empty plate away, and nodded.
“Sure we can go to the office. Be right back.” He smiled at his mates and walked with Rian into the office before closing the door.
“You never turn in invoices even when I threaten you, so what did you really want to talk about?” Kent asked, leaning against the desk.
“You need to get Liam and Sebastian out of the house tomorrow.” Rian sat cross legged on the leather chair across from Kent’s desk.
“How am I supposed to do that?” Kent asked, running a hand through his hair.
“I don’t know, offer them blow jobs in the woods or something,” Rian offered casually. Kent stared at Rian, thoughts of seducing his mates in the woods filling his mind.
“Focus!” Rian said, standing and snapping his fingers in front of Kent’s face.
“Don’t say stuff like that and expect me not to lose focus,” Kent complained. Rian sighed and rubbed his face with both hands.
“Take them to Rebecca’s. They both have to be worried about her. Tell Rebecca she’s not allowed to let them leave until 5pm.” Rian turned around and started walking out of the office.
“What if she can’t stall them?” Kent asked. Rian turned around looked at him, started chuckling, then turned back around and walked out.
Okay then. Kent walked back out to the kitchen.
“Get it all straightened out?” Liam asked as he and Sebastian shared a pint of ice cream. Their trip to Ashby’s hadn’t satisfied their sweets cravings.
“Yes, I gave him the correct forms to fill out, so he should be set.” Kent said sitting down on the barstool next to Liam. Sebastian put his spoon down and rubbed his distended stomach.
“I can’t eat anymore,” he groaned. Liam put his spoon down, replaced the lid on the ice cream, and put it back in the freezer. Sebastian lay his head down on his arm which stretched across the counter. Kent watched as Liam tried to hold back a yawn and failed. It proved contagious as Kent found himself fighting back a yawn.
“Are
you guys ready for bed?” Kent asked. Sebastian raised his head and he blinked sleepily. He nodded and rubbed at his eyes with his fists. Kent felt his heart melting for their littlest mate. He turned and saw that Liam was also watching Sebastian with love in his eyes. When Sebastian looked up and saw Kent and Liam looking at him, he smiled and blew them kisses. Kent grinned.
“I can’t believe I’m about to say this, and if you ever tell anyone I’ll deny it, but I’m not really feeling like sex tonight.” Liam walked back to stand between Sebastian and Kent.
“Thank goodness! I didn’t want to deny my mates, but I can barely keep my eyes open,” Sebastian admitted.
“I think we’ve all had a really long day.” Kent felt giddy at the thought of sleeping with his two mates.
“Let’s go to bed then, um, Liam’s room?” Sebastian asked, turning pink. Kent looked to Liam, who nodded.
“I have the largest bed. Come on, my mates, let’s go get snuggled in.” Liam stepped forward and swung Sebastian in his arms. Kent chuckled at the tiny yelp their mate gave, and wrapped his arm around Liam’s waist as the three made their way upstairs to spend their first night together as a mated triad.
Chapter 5
Liam was having the most perfect dream. He and his mates were stranded alone on a deserted island. All of their clothes had been lost at sea and they were forced to walk around naked. Liam felt himself harden as he watched his two mates brush against each other, laughing as they attempted to get in a hammock. He took a step forward and tripped over a large log. But suddenly it wasn’t a log. In horror he ran his hand along the hard ridges and realized it was an alligator. It opened its large mouth, revealing jagged teeth. He looked around for his mates and couldn’t find them. In a panicked state, he woke.
Dripping sweat and tangled in sheets, Liam sat up in bed. Breathing hard, he clutched his hand to his chest. He took a deep breath in and out, trying to slow his frantic heart. Shaking his head, he lay back down. Instinctively he rolled over on his side and reached to pull Sebastian close when his hand landed on a hard, rigid surface. He froze as he felt ice water flood his veins. He pulled back the sheet, and lying where his little mate had been was a fifteen foot alligator.