Fated to Be Family(29)

“Hyena!” he rumbled. Ma nodded.

“Let’s head home, son. With the added stress, Aleks will be losing his mind and Rebecca will probably be up and close to killing him by now.” Ma walked over and looped her arm with Connor’s. “Bran, you need to find out who the breach is and kill them. It’s the only way to reseal that perimeter. It will be a breach as long as the person who invited the hyenas in with the intent to harm is still alive. We won’t be safe until they are dead.”

Bran nodded.

“I will take care of it personally,” he promised.

“Damian is on his way over and bringing stuff for us to stay a couple days. I’ll let Riley know that he’s expected. I’m going to go take a shower before he gets here. I swear it’ll take me weeks to get the hyena stench off me!” Rian said shuddering.

“There are no words to thank you for what you did. If you ever need anything, anything at all, call me,” Caleb said, stepping forward to crush Rian in a hug.

Rian, who wasn’t used to gratitude outside of the pride, looked up at Caleb and turned bright red.

“I-it’s o-o-kay,” Rian said sounding flustered.

“I don’t care what anyone says. You’re family to us, Rian,” Kate said, smiling.

Rian looked up, his eyes bright. “I can’t wait to play with my nephews tomorrow. I will get an entire lesson plan started and go through their new clothes.” Rian walked out of the room.

“Lesson plans?” Bran looked at Kate.

“Don’t ask. It’s better not to know. Grab a crib. They’re sleeping with us tonight,” Kate said, taking Lucas and Landon from the men.

Both men nodded and carried the wooden crib down the hall to the master bedroom.

Once everyone was showered and changed, no one felt like eating, so they tucked the boys in and went to bed. Kate snuggled between her two mates and fell asleep to the sounds of two men and two tiny boys snoring.





Chapter 8



The next morning Bran and Kate were eating from the breakfast trays that Ma had sent over. Caleb had both boys in highchairs and was attempting to feed them their breakfast of pureed bananas. Rian and Damian were yawning over their coffee. The normally nocturnal lions were having problems staying awake this early. Rian reached for the coffee pot and poured himself another cup.

“You people really wake up this early normally?” Damian asked, yawning.

Kate smiled. “Usually, we like to get a jump on the day.” Kate handed Damian a chocolate chocolate chip muffin, his favorite. His eyes lit up and he smiled. He and Kate shared a chocolate addiction and commiserated with each other often.

“We usually like to get a jump on the night and the men it has to offer,” Rian replied, winking at Kate.

She smiled. “Thank you for doing this. Bran will have interviews for most of the day. He has been Alpha long enough that he should be able to sniff out anyone who is lying.” Kate began working on her second chocolate muffin.

“Caleb, you should sit in on the interviews, too. You don’t have any preconceived ideas about anyone, so you may pick up on things that Bran may miss or discount,” Rian said offhandedly, going through the muffin basket, not caring that he was manhandling the entire basket in his search for a lemon muffin. He grabbed one triumphantly and looked up and saw everyone staring at him.

“What? Just because I don’t participate in Pride politics doesn’t mean I don’t know how it works,” Rian said, pouting.

“You surprise me with how awesome you are almost daily, RiRi,” Kate said, blowing him air kisses.

“You are forgiven then. Especially if you give me details from the other night. I heard it was so good you passed out. I swear if you weren’t one of my best friends I would totally hate you,” he said getting comfortable in the dining room seat before staring at Kate for his story. He reminded her of a child waiting for a bedtime story.

“Well…” Kate began.

“Kate!” Bran and Caleb said, both turning red.

Rapidly, Rian began firing off questions.

“Did you…” Rian started. Kate nodded. “Did they…” he asked and she nodded again. “No issues with…” he asked. She shook her head. “Bigger than…” He giggled. She nodded and giggled. “Any supplies required?” he asked. She nodded. “Did you like…” he asked, his eyes wide. She emphatically nodded. He acted as though he was dabbing a tear from his eye with the napkin. “Welcome to the club, my sister,” he said, patting her hand. He looked up, serious, before they both dissolved into giggles.

Damian was smiling as he ate his muffin.