“Holy crap!” Rebecca exclaimed.
They heard a soft chuckle from the phone. “Indeed, little one. Mon ange, you have brought to my attention a problem I didn’t know existed. You may have saved many vampires by alerting me. Has my assistance possibly put me in a more favorable light with you?” he asked, his voice deepening.
Ashby shivered. “Yes,” was the whispered response.
“Good. Until you call again, my angel, I will be doing what I can to minimize the devastation this drug can cause,” Gabriel said and hung up.
“Lord have mercy, I bet that man can fuck!” Rebecca said, the words exploding from her. Aleks snarled.
“Language,” Ma said, trying to hide her smile.
Rebecca grinned at Ashby, who was still blushing. He passed his phone to Dr. Claybourne so he could get him the specifications he needed from Ashby’s email.
“There is a risk, but with what he provided, it’s minimal. Ethan is young and a shifter. I’m confident I can do this,” Doc said, looking at the room, especially Beverly.
“I want to do this. It’s my fault they can come in. I want to fix it,” Ethan said with determination.
“You’re very brave, son. I’m proud to have you in my pack,” Bran said, clapping Ethan on the shoulder.
Ethan tried to stand even straighter. Kate could see that the boy idolized Bran.
“Doc, it’s in your hands,” Beverly said, kissing Ethan on the top of the head.
Ethan blushed. “Aunt Bev! The Alpha is right there,” Ethan complained.
Bran’s mouth twitched. “A good man knows when to accept the love of the women around him.” Bran winked at Ethan.
Ethan seemed to think about it for a second then winked back.
Caleb stepped forward, ruffling the boy’s hair. “Pretty soon this pup will be out running patrols.”
Kate could tell he was trying to boost the boy’s confidence. Ethan puffed out his chest.
“Ethan, if you would head back here with me, it’s time for me to kill you.” Doc grinned and gave a mad scientist laugh. He looked around the room. Everyone was staring at him.
“Too soon?” he asked.
Ethan started giggling, which made the adults smile. Doc took his hand and led him down the hall to the last room on the right. He closed the door behind him.
* * * *
It seemed like it took forever when, in actuality, the entire procedure took about two and half hours. Doc emerged from the room, wiping his forehead.
“He’s doing fine. Came through like a champ. I kept his heart stopped for three minutes before reviving him. Anything over five minutes and there are risks for brain damage,” Doc explained.
“Can I see him?” Beverly asked.
Doc nodded. “He’s asleep now but should be waking up soon and from what I know about shifter physiology and twelve-year-old boys, he’ll be starving when he wakes up,” Doc said smiling tiredly.
Ma smiled. “You don’t have to tell me about that. I had seven of them. For the longest time I thought it would easier to feed them if they just stayed bears and hunted.” She grimaced and shook her head at the memory. “I’ll head to the diner and whip something up.” She and Pa left to head to the diner.
Aleks looked around the room. “We did hunt. Poor Ma could barely keep up with us. Pa took us out hunting after our second dinners.”
“I’m going to call Riley and tell him to meet us at the Wade house to start patrols. We need to find out if this worked and the perimeter is sealed.” Bran took out his cell phone and walked outside.
Kate turned and walked to Caleb, sliding her arms around his waist and laying her head on his chest.
“I wish this was over. I wish we were snuggled in bed with the boys watching cartoons and eating Ma’s breakfast take-out,” Kate whispered.
Caleb’s arms tightened around her. “I miss them so much. I feel like I haven’t seen them in weeks. But I’d rather miss them and have them be safe than have them with us right now. But can I say how scary it is that breakfast take-out figures into your fantasy?” Caleb rubbed Kate’s back.
“No one at the Pack house can cook, so we all take turns driving to town for trays.” She shrugged.
“You guys can’t even make an omelet?” Caleb asked, incredulous.
“That requires more than two ingredients and you have to do the flip thing,” Kate said, looking up at him.
“Good grief, you’re serious,” Caleb said staring down at his mate.
“I always thought we had trays because, with all the problems we were having, no one had the time to shop or cook. That is every day?”
Kate nodded.
“Then I’ll be taking over the kitchen. I like being able to cook for the twins,” Caleb said.