SWNOVELS Chapter 48: Language!
The annoying beeping woke him up, he silently cursed it, as he went to shut it off. Dax was curled in a ball on his chest, still sleeping. He hated to wake her up when she looked so peaceful, but they needed to get ready. Kane gently moved his hands up and down her body trying to rouse her awake. She stirred, but didn’t want to open her eyes.
“Come on baby, time to get up” she moaned and shook her head.
“Yes, we have dinner to go to and we need to get ready” he kissed her head, she grumbled some more but eventually lifted her head up.
“Ok, I’m up” she was groggy and her voice was hoarse and laced with sleep when she spoke. She crawled off of him and laid back down in the bed.
“Hey, that’s not getting up,” he said, kissing her neck, letting his hand travel down her body.
“But the bed is so soft and inviting, just 5 more minutes” She said snuggling into the covers.
“No, more minutes, up now” He smacked her bottom, causing her to squeak. Her head popped up and she looked at him.
“Not nice!” She huffed, he pressed his lips to hers.
“We have dinner! We can’t be late.” He said,
“You could stay with me” she rolled over onto her back raising her arms over her head allowing the crop top to rise up exposing more of her midsection. He followed the movement of the shirt watching it get higher and higher.
“Now who’s not nice!” He grinned, as he continued to watch the fabric expose more of her to him.
“It could be later now” she said as she unbuttoned her shirt one button at a time. He watched her cleavage slowly come more into view. The black lace bra she was wearing showed more and more. Another button and another. He licked his bottom lip as he watched. Holy fuck did she know how to rile him up. His hand slid over her waist, but she stopped him and sat up pushing his hand away.
“We have dinner, don’t want to be late” she went to get out of the bed but didn’t get very far before he threw her back into it.
“Don’t you start with me” he crashed his lips onto hers as he finished unbuttoning her shirt and pulled it off. He moved down to her pants undoing the button and the zipper in one motion. He pushed the suspenders off her shoulder and slid them down.
“Those aren’t the red ones” he said when he saw her panties, running his hands over the soft fabric. Black lace boy shorts with red ribbon running down the sides and tied into a bow at the bottom. A smile played on her lips as she shook her head.
Dax sat up and lifted his shirt off, she unbuttoned his jeans and slid the zipper down he helped her take them off then she straddled his waist. His hands ran over her back and down her bottom. She pressed her lips to his as she started to move her hips in a slow circle at first but picked up speed. She felt him beneath her hard and ready. He moved his lips down her neck and when she rocked into him he released a growl that caused a shiver to ripple through her. He unhooked her bra and slid it off her shoulders kissing the flesh as he exposed it. His hands slid up her waist as she repeated the same movements as before, slow circles picking up speed then rocking into him. Over and over until he couldn’t take it anymore. Losing her panties and his briefs in one movement he had her on her back thrusting into her. She wrapped her legs around his waist allowing for deeper thrusts. He moaned, moving faster, pushing deeper into her. Wave after wave of pleasure brought them higher and higher until they were swept away in a sea of ecstasy. She arched high under him, tightening around him, she moaned out her body shivering in satisfaction, he collapsed on top of her, his body vibrating from the enjoyment of his own release. He kissed her lips, her jaw and down to her neck.
“My little temptation, this was supposed to happen much later” he nuzzled her neck,
“It was later” she smiled, her body heating up again from the kisses he was placing on her neck.
“We are going to be late for dinner” he whispered as he kissed down to her collar bone, his teeth grazing her skin. His body responded to her body. When he kissed her mark, she moaned and tightened around him again. He scooped her up with her legs wrapped around him.
“I need a shower, and you just kicked off round two” he moved them to the bathroom kicking the door closed behind them.
They had to rush when they came out of the bathroom. She was trying to dry her hair as best as possible, without wrecking it even more. She walked into the closet grabbing the blue dress, a pair of clean panties and a bra. Slipping on the panties and the bottom half of her dress, she used her towel to cover her top half so Kane could redress her wounds. He stood by the desk wearing dark denim jeans but had not put a shirt on yet.
“What colour are you wearing now?” He asked, a devilish grin on his face.
“Hmmm, I don’t remember!” She replied, turning around for him.
“Guess I’ll have to find out” he whispered in her ear as his hands travelled to her hips pulling her back into him.
“Down boy, we have to go to dinner,” she purred,
“But I’m hungry now” his hands travelled up her waist as he released a low sensual growl in her ear, she gasped as her body shivered against him from the sound. “And you make it unbearably hard to keep my hands off of you”
“You’ll have to try harder,” she whispered,
“I am trying, stop being so fucking sexy” his mouth claimed hers again, but before he could continue a loud pounding came to the door.
“I’m going to kill whoever that is….WHAT?” He bellowed,
“We have ten minutes, move your asses” Johnny yelled back laughing,
“Fuck! Guess I’ll find out later” he kissed her cheek giving her bottom one last caress before he bandaged her back up. She put on her bra and slipped the rest of her dress on while he was finding a shirt in the closet. She put on her feather earrings and a pair of flats with one last look in the bathroom mirror. She was ready to go.
“How am I supposed to keep my hands off of you when you look like that” he wrapped his arms around her pulling her into his chest. She smiled up at him, her eyes dancing. “Goddess you’re so beautiful” he cupped her face letting his thumb trace her right cheekbone.
“How did you get so lucky?” She teased as his lips touched hers.
“I ask myself that everyday” he watched the flush spread across her face holding her tighter to him, she could see in his eyes that he meant what he said.
“We should go, before we don’t” he kissed her one more time before he led them to the door. Walking down the stairs with their fingers entwined, they were greeted by Damon and Lydia.
“You two match outfits now?” Damon asked, pointing out that Kane’s blue shirt matched her dress.
“Not intentionally” Kane said looking down at his shirt then her dress.
“Don’t get me wrong brother, it’s fucking adorable” Damon said laughing,
“We don’t have time for this, where’s Johnny and Lacey?” Kane asked, sighing,
“They left already something about not wanting to wait or be late, wasn’t really paying attention” Damon shrugged,
“Lacey said you guys were taking too long and she didn’t want to be late” Lydia said,
“Of course they were taking too long. They were coordinating outfits” Damon defended them laughing.
“Damon don’t tease them” Lydia smacked his arm,
“You guys should get matching hats” Damon laughed harder.
“He’s a funny man” Kane shook his head,
“No, he’s a jealous man, no one wants to match shirts with him. It’s ok Damon, maybe you can convince Lydia to get matching shirts with you, you just might want to step up your wardrobe a bit first before you ask though” Dax said, pulling a laughing Kane out the door.
“Ouch feisty pants for the burn” Damon laughed “You kids have fun now”
“Private function, packs only” Kane called over his shoulder, Dax looked over her shoulder at the wide grin on Damon’s face and then up at Kane quizzically. He just smiled at her, and said she would have to trust him.
They arrived at Edward’s and Martina’s and before they could even knock Johnny opened the door for them.
“Bout time you two showed up” He laughed,
“We’re three minutes late, give me a break. Get the fuck outta the way” Kane pushed him inside so they could enter the house.
“Language!” Martina called,
“Sorry!” Kane called back,
“Hello darling, you look beautiful” Johnny smiled at her,
“Thank you, you don’t look so bad yourself.” She returned his smile.
“You two coordinate your outfits?” Johnny cracked up,
“No, happy accident” Kane pulled her to his side,
“To fucking cute” Johnny said laughing,
“Language!” Martina called from the kitchen.
“Sorry!” Johnny called back a sheepish grin on his face “You’ll hear that a lot tonight”
“Where’s Lacey?” She asked, a big smile on her face.
“She’s in the living room” Edward answered as he came to greet them at the door.
“Hello son,” he pulled Kane into a hug.
“Hello Edward, how are you?” Kane asked,
“Good, how are you my dear?” Edward asked her,
“Good, thank you sir.” She replied,
“Sir! That’s very formal” Edward laughed,
“Better than some of the things that come out of her mouth” Kane said, she elbowed him in the side.
“Ow! I’m sorry baby, but some of the things you say” Kane started, Johnny cracked up laughing.
“She has a mouth on her does she?” Edward asked laughing,
“Sailors would blush,” Johnny added.
“That’s bullshit! I’m not that bad!” She blurted out before she could stop herself proving their point. Oops! Well that’s my first impression! No take backs now, brightside they’ll remember you and your potty mouth! Not helping! Not trying! It shows!
“Language!” Martina called again,
“Sorry!” She called back her face reddening “Sometimes it just comes out” Kane, Johnny and Edward just erupted into laughter.
“She’ll fit in here” Edward said laughing as they moved further into the house.
The walls were lined with a lifetime of memories, birthday parties, family gatherings, smiling, laughing, happy faces adorned almost every picture. She saw a picture of Kane, Johnny and Damon. They were maybe 15-17 but it was the background that caught her attention. She saw a young Lacey maybe 13-14, Johnny was looking at her, but she was looking at Damon.
“She had a thing for Damon when she was younger. Damon was 16 about to be 17 so he knew that Lacey wasn’t his mate, and she was my sister so in his eyes she was off limits unless she was his mate. Johnny had just turned 16 and discovered that Lacey was his mate, so Damon being Damon, did what Damon does, he made her hate him. Damon takes family seriously, that’s something not even he messes with. At one time he looked at Lacey like a sister but sacrificed that relationship so Johnny wouldn’t have to watch her pine after some other guy. Lost a sister, gained a brother for life. She carries that grudge today.” Kane said to her “You’re the first person that has ever caught that. Come on!” He took her by the hand and led her down the hallway, but before they joined the others he took the opportunity to kiss her.
“Don’t be shocked if next Sunday we come back and there’s a picture of us on that wall.” He said “They’ll find a way to get one” He added when he saw the look on her face. They walked into the main room where they overheard Johnny and his dad talking.
“Now you understand why you were an only child” Edward was saying, causing Kane to laugh when they joined them.
“Why are you laughing? Your mom tried to run your dad over” Johnny broke out laughing,
“She tried to hit him with a car?” Kane asked,
“Oh she hit him, but then she tried to drive over top of him” Edward explained. “It was pretty entertaining, I might have laughed, with Lacey she just threw things at him, couldn’t aim to save her soul, so he was pretty safe” Johnny just laughed harder,
“Oh fuck, yours has aim” He choked out,
“Language!”
“Sorry mama!” Johnny said, still laughing.
“We better go say hi, before I catch shit for not” Kane said, leading her towards the kitchen.
“Language!”
“Sorry mama!” Kane said with a grin as they rounded the corner into the kitchen. Martina looked up at them and a big smile crossed her face.
“Oh my darlings come here” Martina said, Kane bent down, gave her a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Then she turned her attention to Dax.
“Let me look at you” she pulled Dax towards her, looking over her cheek, hand and forehead.
“Martina used to be a nurse,” Kane said, seeing the alarmed look on her face. She pulled Dax into a hug and kissed her head, she only hesitated slightly this time before she hugged her back.
“Hey, we’re heading to the workshop” Johnny said as he walked into the kitchen “Dad says grab the whiskey”
“That’s where they go to swear so I can’t call them on their language” Martina scoffed,
“One or two,” Kane said as he reached into the cupboard.
“Just one, last time you had more than that you were smashed” Johnny howled,
“That was by myself, and I still ended up where I wanted to be” Kane defended himself, the blush spread across Dax’s face.
“Your drunk ass gave her a fucking hickey the size of Texas” Johnny laughed harder,
“Language Johnny!”
“Sorry mama!” He stopped laughing after Martina glared at him.
“You….you knew about that?” Her eyes were wide and her blush deepened, she instinctively touched her neck.
“Oh darling, you could see it from space” Johnny stifled his laughter. Dax glared at Kane.
“Baby I’m sorry” Kane looked at her, a sheepish grin on his face.
“Yeah, practise those words brother, you’ll be saying them a lot more later” Kane broke out laughing, so did she.
“Let’s get the fuck outta here before I end up in the dog house with you” Kane kissed her cheek and him and Johnny hit the back door running.
“Watch your language Kane” Martina called after him.
“Sorry mama!” Kane called over his shoulder.
“Grown men, but they act like boys every Sunday, it’s good for them really.” Martina shook her head and smiled. “It’s a fine line balancing who you are with who you have to be. It was something you learned with time and age, but they never got the chance, they were young, too young. Most Alpha’s pass the pack on when the boy reaches 21. When we started doing family dinner, it was to give them a chance to be who they are for at least a moment, and not who they had to be. But I am seeing more of Kane for who he is and you have a lot to do with that. You bring out the best in him and in Ky. Lacey is in the living room why don’t you go say hi and have a chat with her, she seems not quite herself tonight”
“Ok” Dax nodded her head and went to find Lacey.
Lacey was sitting on the couch with her earbuds in, Dax hesitated in approaching her, she could only hope Lacey still wasn’t mad at her for earlier. She was moving her head to whatever music was playing, but she stopped when she saw Dax. She turned her music off and took her earbuds out as Dax sat down on the edge of the couch. The tension in the room was thick and neither said anything for a long moment.
“Hi Lacey, you look nice” Dax complimented her, Lacey just nodded her head and offered her a polite smile, the look on her face though told Dax she didn’t want to talk to her.
“What are you listening to?” Dax was trying, at least Lacey was acknowledging her, well sort of.
“Music” Lacey replied dryly, they fell into another uncomfortable silence.
“Lacey about this morning, I-“ Dax started
“It’s fine, I don’t want to talk” Lacey cut her off and shot her down at the same time.
“Oh, um….o-ok” Dax nodded and bit her lip. So much for her getting over it! Her subconscious grumbled. She stood up and moved away from the couch, when she heard Lacey sigh. It’s ok she doesn’t want to talk! She doesn’t want to talk or she doesn’t want to talk to you? Dax couldn’t answer that, she didn’t know.
“Look….” Dax held up her hands to stop her.
“It’s-it’s ok, it’s-it’s fine. I-I’m sorry I bothered you” she moved farther away from the couch and Lacey. She didn’t want to wreck this night for Kane, after hearing how much he needed them. She stepped into the hallway taking several deep breaths to get control of herself. Don’t feel it, don’t show it, push it down, don’t feel it, don’t show it, push it down! She’s being a bitch! She knew she shouldn’t have come, she would wreck everything. Don’t feel it, don’t show it, push it down! Repeating this over and over with every breath she took. She was in a house and only knew three people, one didn’t want to talk to her and the other two were having swear time in the workshop. I could use some fucking swear time right now! She thought. She looked towards the front door, and thought briefly about making a run back to the house. He would be so upset if you did that, we’re family he said so! Family! She repeated that word over and over. Looking back towards the front door….family. We deserve to be here too! She had her doubts about that one, but she would stick it out, she would try her best, to just keep her head down and fly under the radar. She would try and keep her stupid mouth shut. A few more deep breaths and she fixed her smile back on her face, and headed towards the kitchen.
“Lacey doesn’t feel like talking right now. Do you need a hand with anything?” She asked Martina.
“Oh that woul…..is that a joke?” Martina turned around and then looked at her hands, one bandaged with stitches and the other in a cast.
“Apparently I’m quite funny, I’ve had people in stitches all day” Dax replied with a smile.
“Oh my darling child,” Martina laughed. “You can frost the cake and then start on the gravy.” She handed her a spatula and the chocolate frosting for the cake, Dax looked at it and her mouth started watering. Behave! But it’s chocolate frosting! Don’t do it girl! But it’s oh so tempting! What kind of impression would that make? I already said bullshit in front of Johnny’s dad and got called out for it and I wasn’t even in the door for 5 minutes. Pretty sure the good first impression ship has sailed! You got a point! Just one taste, it looks so good! I don’t think that’s a good idea! Quality control purposes! I don’t know! It’s just one! Ok, just one, but if you get caught I don’t know you!
With another look over her shoulder to see Martina busy Dax took a little scoop with the spatula and placed it on her finger. One more quick look over her shoulder and she placed it in her mouth. The delicious chocolate melted on her tongue and she had to suppress a moan. So good! So very good!
“Is it good?” Martina asked without even turning around. How did she know?
“So good! But how….he ratted me out didn’t he?” She laughed. Fucker!
“Kane might have mentioned something” Dax could hear the laughter in her voice.
Laughter could be heard coming from the workshop as the men all told stories and drank.
“She knocked her out with a napkin dispenser?” Edward laughed, “Hold on, hold on, let me see if I have this right. Five werewolves in the office and one tiny human wearing a unicorn hospital gown and slipper socks gets by all of you. Steals your phone, your truck, walks into a bar and knocks some blonde tart out with a napkin dispenser. You should put a bell on that girl” Edward howled,
“That’s what Damon keeps saying” Johnny laughed,
“It wasn’t our finest moment” Kane laughed,
“We have had quite a few with her, the fucking paper weights still get me. I will never look at another one the same way again” Johnny said.
“She wasn’t even throwing them at you. Someone says paper weight I look around for her and get the urge to duck” Kane laughing alongside him,
“Paper weights? This I have to hear” Edward was laughing already,
“What was it, the third encounter with her?” Johnny asked,
“Yeah” Kane replied, already laughing he’s lived that moment a few times in his head.
“He pissed her off, I mean she was hella fucking mad, and she’s throwing paper weights at him across a warehouse, with dead eye accuracy. He had to hide behind a desk to stop from being hit” Johnny explained,
“She still hit me with a few, but your brave boy here took off running before she even started throwing them.” Kane howled rubbing his shin where the weight hit.
“I took a hit to the throat, I was good” Johnny defended himself
“What?” Edward had tears streaming down his cheeks, he was laughing so hard.
“I scared her, it was a complete accident, and she reacted by punching me in the throat. It fucking hurt too, she bruised me. She hits hard! Tiny little human, hard fucking hit!” Johnny rubbed his throat remembering how it felt.
“There’s apparently a tally running at the local diner she goes to on how many people she’s punched.” Kane laughed trying to dry his own eyes.
“Sunshine and rainbows, until she’s a tornado in a fucking hurricane” Johnny said, causing them all to laugh again.
“That has to be the best and most accurate description I have ever heard of her. Damon?” Kane choked out,
“Damon!” Johnny nodded grinning,
“Speaking of Damon. Heard a rumour this morning, tell me if it’s true!” Edward said after the laughter settled “Damon is now the third in command!” looking between Kane and Johnny.
“It’s true!” Johnny said,
“Should have always been him,” Kane added,
“Yes it should have” Edward agreed “What Chester did was a pure power play, the fucking prick, but Charles never should have accepted the position” he added taking a drink. It was 8 years ago, but it still didn’t sit well with Edward. The day it happened Johnny had to pull his dad off of Charles’s dad. He took a wild swing from Chester which resulted in Johnny breaking his arm and Edward breaking Chester’s neck. They all remember that day grimly, it was the day Kane’s parents died.
“To the fallen” Edward raised his glass.
“Ad mortuos! (to the dead)” Kane and Johnny spoke in unison, raising their glasses as well. After their mourning period, Edward spoke again.
“And what happened to Charles, that he is no longer the Gamma?” He arched an eyebrow in Kane’s direction. It was no secret that Kane disliked Charles from the very beginning, he also did nothing to try and hide it.
“Kane shipped him off to become the new lieutenant of the New York faction.” Johnny replied. This piqued Edward’s interest.
“Kenneth?” He asked,
“Will come here and run Hillcrest” Kane answered,
“Oh good, I always liked that boy, he fits better with this crowd. I assume his second is coming with him, so who will be replacing him?” Edward inquired.
“Hillcrest’s Beta! Kane and him had a go around. He’s quite thrilled about leaving” Johnny replied laughing,
“It’s not like I broke him.” Kane said shrugging,
“Except you tried to pop his head off and you did break three doors and trashed your fucking office.” Johnny said grinning,
“There were circumstances behind that.” Kane defended.
“Yeah your second encounter with feisty pants” Johnny howled,
“She makes your blood heat up that much huh?” Kane could feel his cheeks burning.
“She made some part of him heat up that day” Johnny howled harder the redder Kane’s face got.
“You fucker! I should snap your neck. How I haven’t yet is beyond me” Kane wiped his hand over his now very red face. Edward erupted with laughter as he listened to them talk to each other.
“Because you’ll have to deal with your sister and your feisty mate all by yourself” Johnny laughed,
“Fuck! One is more than enough crazy for me, thanks.” Kane said, shaking his head.
“Speaking of Lacey, she seems a little quiet today, what’s going on there?” Edward asked as he poured another round of drinks.
“What’s going on? That’s a loaded question, where to begin?” Johnny said, rubbing his face. “Saturday Kane and I left for New York, she was upset, not really much new, she always gets upset if I have to leave town, but she gets over it. Dax pulled off a girls night for her so she would have something to take her mind off of it and it did. We came back early this morning on a redeye and we were having breakfast in the office. Let’s face it, since Dax came home the pack house is always packed at meal time, the cooks love to bake treats for her. I think she was on a first name basis with all of them by the second day.” Kane laughed, that sounds about right.
“Anyway we were sitting in the office eating” Johnny said,
“Who’s we?” Edward asked, he wanted all the information before he weighed in on anything.
“Kane, Dax, Lacey, myself, Damon and Lydia” Johnny answered.
“Lydia?” Edward raised his eyebrow.
“Damon’s mate” Kane replied, Edward just nodded then motioned for Johnny to continue.
“Lacey made a comment about soft underwear and me liking them and Dax said we know I won’t stop poking her, it was funny as hell, the whole office cracked up, and under normal circumstances Lacey would have laughed as well, but she didn’t think it was funny. She thinks it’s my fault, but it’s not. She let it slip out earlier when Dax was trying to get out of the hospital bed and Lacey had a death grip on her. Now she’s ignoring Dax, who feels guilty as hell and has apologized like four times already” Johnny explained.
“Last night Dax wasn’t able to really participate in any of the night’s festivities. So I took her out to get pampered, she deserves to feel important as well, and she needed clothes she could actually get into while she heals instead of wearing my shirts all the time. Damon and I took Dax and Lydia to the mall. I took the girls to get their hair and nails done when Johnny and Lacey showed up. We said we would meet them in the food court when we were finished. I guess they were taking too long because Johnny met us at the salon and Lacey was waiting in the truck.” Kane said,
“And then Damon drove her home, apparently he had some things to say, and who the fuck knows what they were, but he assured me he feels better” Kane added.
“I know one of the things he said to her. He said that she was lucky she was your sister and my mate or he would dump her ass on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere and leave her there” Johnny said after he took a swallow of his drink, causing Edward to choke on his.
“That sounds like Damon, he generally means what he says. So if he said something to her, then something happened that pissed him off, and the only time he gets pissed off is when someone does something to a member of who he considers his family. Garrett’s kid who used to pick on Carter when you boys were younger, Damon put him in the medical ward twice” Edward commented. “What are you not telling me?”
“Dax had an….incident last night, after girls night was over and she ended up back in the medical ward, it’s what brought us back early. Damon tried to get a hold of Lacey but he couldn’t get through on the link and he didn’t want to leave Dax alone” Johnny replied,
“Ok so if I’m understanding correctly, Lacey’s foul mood started because of a comment made by her over underwear and a comment Dax made about you poking her. She apologized for it, but Lacey is ignoring her. You took Dax on a day of pampering and punished Lacey for the way she treated Dax by making her wait, then Damon laid into her because something happened to Dax that landed her back in the medical ward and when he tried to get a hold of Lacey he couldn’t and that didn’t sit right with him. And Johnny’s in the dog house cause all this is his fault” Edward summed up everything he was just told
“Pretty much, yup” Johnny nodded his head.
“Well that’s a hell of a predicament you boys are in” Edward leaned back in his chair grinning as he took a drink from his glass. “Lacey’s jealous nature is showing. Jealousy and pregnancy are not a winning combination. Lacey is spoiled and is used to getting her way and being in the spotlight all the time. You bring in someone else, who let’s face it everyone fusses over, and I get it, it’s hard not to. The stories I’ve heard, makes me damn proud to call her my Luna and the bullshit comment alone at the door is reason enough to love her. Life handed that girl a nasty hand and she hasn’t folded yet. But the spotlight shifted from Lacey to her and it wasn’t a gradual shift, it was an instant one. Lacey is no longer the center of your world. Truthfully she never should have been, I understand why she was, but it never should have been her place. She’s still a part of your world just not where she’s used to being nor where she wants to be and she’s having issues adjusting to her new role in your life.” Edward said more to Kane.
“She’s acting out like a petulant child seeking attention, and when she doesn’t get it from you she yells at Johnny, who she knows will give it to her. But his attention isn’t the same, she wants yours. Martina will kill me, but I say give it to her, start world war three and give her all your attention. You take a lot of shit from your sister son, time to unload some of it. It’s time she grows up and realizes she’s not the most important person in the world. These two are about to be parents and she needs to act like an adult now.” Edward then turned to Johnny “You might want to spend the night here son, less chance of her killing you in your sleep. Sheets are clean on your bed”
“Well that’s fantastic!” Johnny said nodding “I’m a dead man and I still didn’t do anything wrong” a round of laughter broke out in the workshop.
“So if Damon is being protective of her then he views her as family” Edward remarked,
“Says he doesn’t understand why but every bone in his body tells him that she is” Kane responded “He apparently isn’t the only one. Carter, Marco, Kenneth, even Johnny feel the same” Edward looked over at Johnny who just nodded.
“There’s just something about her. I can’t help it and I don’t know why but since I met her I don’t feel like somethings missing anymore” Johnny said, shrugging his shoulders.
“I can’t speak for Kenneth or Marco but Carter and Johnny don’t have any hidden siblings. I can’t say the same for Damon.” Edward said.
“We’ve all heard those rumours though. That’s all they are” Johnny remarked.
“Rumours like legends and myths have a shred of truth to them” Edward looked down at his drink before he took a swallow. Johnny and Kane exchanged a look before they both sat up straight.
“Eliza really got pregnant with some other wolf’s child?” Johnny asked. Edward shook his head.
“What are you talking about?” Kane asked,
“I’m talking about your father’s biggest and only regret. You remember Damon’s father Bruno?” They both nodded waiting for him to continue.
“Damon is Bruno’s bastard child. Not Eliza’s” Edward said, both Kane and Johnny looked at each other.
“What? What does that have to do with my dad?” Kane asked,
“Odin had just turned 21 and had taken over the pack. Bruno, I and your father went out to celebrate. Bruno disappeared for a few hours, he had just met his mate and we didn’t think anything of it. About 4 and a half months later we were celebrating our first successful pack merger when this woman showed up with a child maybe a few days old and dumped the child in Bruno’s arms and said this is yours and walked away. Bruno swore up and down the child wasn’t his and that he had never seen the woman in his life. Of course I believed him, why would he lie? Your dad had doubts and told him to get a paternity test. Damon was his. Your father was pissed. Not only did Bruno break pack law, he lied about it, but instead of exhiling him, he stripped him of his rank and gave it to Chester on the grounds that when Damon came of age he would be the third in command. Of course Chester agreed. He told Bruno that he was to take care of his responsibility and raise the child. He was a Howler after all and innocent.” Edward paused to take a drink.
“So Damon’s Gamma by blood? No wonder the only way Charles could take him was by jumping him from behind.” Johnny asked, Edward nodded as he swallowed the whiskey.
“Did Charles know?” Kane asked,
“Of course he did. Which is why he never should have taken the position, it wasn’t rightfully his.” A low rumble echoed through the workshop, both Johnny and Edward looked at Kane.
“Simmer down son!” Edward waited for Kane to control himself before he continued.
“A few years had passed and your father began to realize he made a mistake. Bruno and Eliza had no interest in caring for Damon. Half the time they had no idea where he was or what he was doing. They didn’t care. According to Eliza, Damon was a mistake and not her son so why should she care? And to Bruno, he was the reason he lost his rank and the respect that came with it. They both hated him. Odin told me he should have taken and raised the boy himself. It was his biggest regret and was pretty much the reason Damon lived with both of our families.” Edward finished his glass and set it down on the table beside him.
“Why did my dad doubt Bruno? How did he know?” Kane asked,
“I asked him once, he said there was something in the way Bruno looked at that woman. He recognized her. Sad part is if Bruno would have fessed up your dad might have been lenient on him. So if Damon says that’s his sister he might not be wrong. We never did find the woman and who’s to say if Bruno remained faithful, he would disappear for days sometimes weeks at a time” Edward replied,
“Well holy fuck!” Kane just nodded agreeing with Johnny’s sentiments.
“Does Damon know?” Kane asked,
“Not about being the rightful Gamma, it wasn’t something we thought we needed to worry about. You three had it all planned. Odin told him about his father when he was 15, he took it pretty well, said his dad wasn’t his dad either, he was just the donor. Fools make babies, men raise children. I guess he felt between mama and I and your parents, he wasn’t missing anything. Which I guess he was right he was either at our house or yours. We made sure he had a place to stay, food to eat. You three were inseparable and trouble followed you boys everywhere” Edward said shaking his head. Johnny and Kane just grinned.
“The church and the sacramental wine” Kane said “I still regret that one, to this day. Fuck! I never felt so sick in my life, never touched wine since either” He could feel his stomach turn queasy just at the memory.
“The tractor and the barn. That farmer was fucking pissed, and we had to rebuild it, it took a whole summer” Johnny laughed,
“The bar and the school took a month to clean both,” Kane added,
“The pool” they cracked up laughing at the one.
“There were blue people running around the town and the pack house for weeks” Edward laughed,
“Damon took the blame for all of it though.” Johnny commented when the laughter died down.
“Of course he did, he was protecting you both” Edward smiled.
“I still confessed.” Kane said,
“So did I.” Johnny added,
“Why do you think his punishments were never that bad, and you boys got hour long lectures,” Edward replied.
“The only one we could never figure out was the police cruiser. I know Kane took the heat for that one, but neither Odin nor I thought it was him, but none of you boys were talking” Edward scratched his chin.
“That one was Damon, he was the only one that could drive….well sort of and we thought he had the parking brake on. Hell he thought it was on, we didn’t mean to sink it in the lake. By the time we realized it wasn’t on, it was too late. It was already halfway down the embankment and picking up speed. Kane pulled the bumper off trying to stop it and landed on his ass in the mud.” Johnny was crying, he was laughing so hard.
“Then it hit the dock and that was it, the dock and the car were both in the lake. And I stood there holding the bumper like an idiot. Do you remember what Damon said when my dad showed up?” Kane asked howling,
“Well that wasn’t supposed to happen!” Johnny choked out,
“Fuck, I am surprised my dad wasn’t bald with how many times he ran his hands through his hair that night. Damon couldn’t take the blame for that one and he tried and it was actually him, but when dad showed up I still had the bumper in my hands. The three of us were sitting on the couch in the office as he paced back and forth with the bumper on the coffee table. Then Damon started laughing, then you started laughing, then I started laughing. The look on my mom’s face when she walked into the office and saw my muddy ass on the couch cracked my dad up. Didn’t think we were ever going to get out of the office that night.” Kane laughed “I think that might have been the first and only lecture Damon had to sit through.” He added.
“Had to pay to have the car towed from the lake and rebuild the dock” Johnny chimed in,
“Damon asked me why I never turned him in, said he was a nobody, they would go easier on him. I told him he couldn’t be a nobody if he was my brother, so he had to choose which he wanted to be, a nobody or my brother. He chose my brother. I said brothers don’t let brothers face the firing squad alone, they stand and face it together.” Kane stated.
“Amen brother!” Johnny nodded,
“First time I ever told him that he was my brother was after he made Lacey hate him. He said it’s what brothers do, he’s been my brother ever since.” Johnny said,
“When you see that boy, you tell him next Sunday his ass better be here” Edward told them. They both nodded.
“I hope dinner’s ready soon, I’m fucking starving” Johnny complained, Kane’s own stomach agreed with Johnny.
“Well let’s go find out shall we.” Edward said.
“Dax sweetheart, when you’re done eating the frosting can you please go to the workshop and tell the boys it’s time for dinner?” Martina asked her “Then you can come back and make the gravy for me”
Dax covered her mouth and moved away from the cake and the bowl. What did you do? One taste, one taste that was all it was supposed to be! It’s so good though! Look what you did! Maybe they won’t notice! Are they blind? Let’s hope! Dax bit her lip as she looked down at the cake. Oops!
“Yes ma’am” She said,
“It’s mama or Martina” She corrected her again for the third time.
“Yes ma’aMartina” Dax stared at her wide eyed, she just smiled and went back to tending supper.
“You better hurry sweetheart, they’re probably starving”
Dax walked out the back door and followed the flagstone path to the workshop. The backyard was big, a tire swing hung off a tree to one side, there was plenty of yard space for kids to run around in while the adults could watch them from the deck. Planter boxes surrounded the deck and a garden to the other side. Some of the photos she saw on the wall played out in front of her as she took in the backyard. She could hear the laughter and the happy screams of the children, the conversations of the adults. She could feel the happiness that surrounded the yard, then a dark cloud moved in as a wave of sadness washed over her. She took a few deep breaths to clear the dark shadows of her past. Keep it together girl! Her subconscious told her. You’re here now! I’m here now! You have a whole future for happy memories! She smiled at that, yes she did. She was looking over her shoulder at the backyard and not where she was going when she walked right into the wall of Kane’s chest as he was heading towards the house.
“Fuck me!” Tumbled out of her mouth when she fell backwards, closing her eyes and bracing herself for the contact with the ground. When it never came, she opened her eyes, finding herself in the safety of Kane’s arms and still on her feet, she smiled up at him. Then she heard the snickering behind him, she went beet red and buried her face in Kane’s chest letting loose a string of curses.
“They can still hear you” Kane whispered, Edward and Johnny broke out laughing.
“Fuck! Martina says it’s time for dinner” she mumbled into his chest, he tightened his hold on her as Johnny and Edward moved past them laughing.
“Impressive. She really fits in here” Edward commented,
“So proud!” Kane told him.
“This mouth has no filter” Kane said to her when it was just the two of them in the backyard.
“Sorry!” He pressed his lips to hers.
“Don’t be, I like this mouth, it was made for me to do this” he pressed his lips to hers harder, this time more demanding. Her mouth moved with his, he cupped the back of her head with one hand while he desperately wanted to travel up and down her body with the other. It took everything in him to keep it in place at her hip. He pulled her closer to him, needing her body touching his. Only when they felt the need to breathe did they break the kiss. He fought to control his breathing, to resist the urge to kiss her swollen lips again, the desire to take her right there.
“I want this body. When this dinner is done, you better run, for when I catch you, I will take you. That my little temptation is not a game I will lose” he said when he was able to speak again. The words sank in and she had to fight the shiver that threatened her or the game would start before dinner. She looked up at him, he could see her excitement dancing in her eyes and a sultry smile played on her perfect dark pink swollen lips. One more kiss and they moved towards the house.