Fated Healing [Kindred of Arcadia 5] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove)

Kindred of Arcadia 5

Fated Healing

Felix Kilpatrick survived years of hell in a mad Alpha’s cage and has finally made it to the safety of Arkadia. To make things even better,
his best friend Sebastian has also found his way to Arkadia and offered to let him live with the Arkadian lion’s pride. He is living it up
when he meets his mate. One overly neat, OCD, fastidious doctor.

Dr. Maddox Claybourne is content with his life in Arkadia. He tends to the occasional broken bone or contusion that is commonplace in a
shifter only town. He is not prepared for a redheaded mate that wrecks his clinic, ignores his orders, and tries to serve him microwavable
pizza!

It will take every ounce of skill between Felix and Claybourne to combat a mysterious illness that threatens to steal away the lives of
those most precious in Arkadia. No one is safe when people begin to fall ill. Can Felix and Claybourne discover a cure in time? And
when they can’t, can they live with the deaths this virus will leave in its wake?

Note: This book is written in one point of view.

Genre:

Alternative (M/M or F/F), Contemporary, Paranormal, Shape-shifter

Length:

45,051 words

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Prologue

“You’ve done what?” The gentleman asked again, unsure if he understood correctly. There was

no way the man before him was that stupid.

“I have made arrangements for something deadly to be unleashed in Arkadia,” Salsiby said,

taking a step back, realizing maybe his life might be in danger.

“Did I or did I not express interest in this Alpha Mother?” the gentleman asked from behind his

desk.

“You did,” Salsiby replied.
“And where does the Alpha Mother live?” the gentleman asked in a singsong voice. Salsiby

paled.

“Come on old boy, I know you know the answer. Where does the Alpha Mother live?” the

gentleman asked again, standing.

“A-A-Arkadia,” Salsiby answered, shrinking back.
“Did you think I would be happy to hear about your plans?” The gentleman asked. Salsiby began

to shake and stepped back only to bump into a tall figure.

“Ah Payne, you old devil you. Always anticipating me. Can you please make sure that this man

is tortured to within an inch of his life from now until the second I am sure that the Alpha Mother has
survived his little assault?” the gentleman asked. Payne nodded wordlessly.

“No, please. No!” Salsiby screamed as he was pulled from the room.
The gentleman stared at his expensive hardwood floor. He debated how involved it would be to

install a trapdoor that led directly to the dungeon. That way Payne wouldn’t have to keep manhandling
idiots out of his office. The gentleman sighed and smiled softly. Then again, Payne may enjoy that
aspect of his job. Oh well, something to think about.

Chapter 1

Liam sighed, letting his head fall to his desk with a thump. Kent looked up from his computer

and smiled at his lover.

“Why don’t you take a break and get something to eat? You get grumpy when you get hungry.”
Liam raised his head and leered at his mate.
“I know what I want to eat.” He licked his lips. Kent swallowed hard.
“Food first or you will whine and complain later when you’re too worn out to get up and get

something. Besides, your grandfather needs these reports in by today. He said, and I quote, ‘You don’t
get to slack off just because I’m not there.’” Kent pointed to his computer. Liam frowned but nodded.
His mate knew him too well, and they hadn’t been mated for very long. He was just a lucky bastard.
He felt a dopey smile spread across his face.

“I love you too, now go get something to eat.” Liam’s head snapped around to Kent, who was

chuckling. Damn, was he that easy to read? He shrugged, probably. He stood up and stretched his
legs. Walking past his mate, he dropped a kiss on his soft lips before heading out of their shared
office toward the kitchen. He attacked the kitchen’s supply of cold cuts to make the biggest sandwich
he could. He frowned, unsure of how he was going to bite into the thing. Grabbing a knife he cut it in
half. He really should leave the cooking to Sebastian. His little kitten was a genius when it came to
the kitchen.

He picked up his plate and was wandering back to the office when he heard a loud,

reverberating thump. The walls shook. He lifted his foot and set it down. As he took another step, a
second  reverberation  shook  the  house.  Eyes  wide,  he  lifted  his  foot  and  looked  around  to  see  if
anyone could see him looking ridiculous, standing on one foot, holding a plate in his own hallway. He
waited a second before he chanced to put his foot down and another thump resounded. Shaken, he was
about  to  call  for  Kent  when  a  familiar,  heart-stopping  roar  echoed  throughout  the  house.  Sebastian!
Where was his mate? He sprinted to the den and stopped in his tracks as another roar assaulted his
ears.  In  front  of  him  Sebastian,  Felix,  and  Rebecca  were  sitting  inches  from  his  seventy-inch  LED
HDTV watching Jurassic Park. He watched curiously as Rebecca rewound and replayed the scene of
the  Tyrannosaurus  rex  approaching  the  hapless  human  children’s  car.  Liam  watched  in  morbid
fascination  as  she  rewound  it  twice  more  to  play  the  scene  and  Felix  and  Sebastian  practically
smooshed their faces to the screen. He cleared his throat and the three of them swung around to look
at him guiltily.

“What are you three up to?”
“Nothing,” the three of them chimed in unison. He narrowed his eyes before nodding and

walking back to his office. He couldn’t imagine what they could be up to. He opened the study door
and walked in, setting his sandwich down at his desk. He sat down and stared at his sandwich,
thinking about the movie.

“What’s all the noise?” Kent asked.
“Bas, Felix and Becca are watching a movie,” he said absently. They were up to something, he

could feel it.

“Are you done eating?” The question was asked huskily, and Liam’s eyes flew to his mate. Kent

had removed his glasses and was practically stalking him from across the room. With no regard to
how he was going to get air into his lungs, he shoved one half of the sandwich in his mouth and

chewed as fast as he could before downing the other half. Gasping for air, he grinned up at his mate,
who was looking down at him, his mouth twitching.

“You could have finished eating,” he said, laughter in his voice. Liam shook his head.
“Now I’m ready for dessert.” Liam crooked his finger at his mate. Kent’s eyes darkened as he

sat on Liam’s desk, facing his mate. All thoughts of what Sebastian and Felix could possibly be up to
flew from his mind as Kent reminded him again that doing paperwork could be fun.

* * * *

“I love that movie!” Felix exclaimed. Sitting back on the sofa, he picked up one the many

fashion magazines lying around.

“Me too! I like the second one, that one has a baby Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was so cute!” Rebecca

gushed. She grabbed another handful of popcorn.

“I need to go shopping! All I have are other people’s clothes. I wish I could go to New York to

shop.” Felix threw the magazine down in frustration.

“You sound like Rian now.” Sebastian picked up the magazine and started to look at the Post-it

Notes and comments that Rian had left behind.

“I love that man, he’s the older brother I’ve always wanted. His fashion sense is impeccable.”

Felix sighed.

“Love you too, runt!” Rian said, breezing through the den on the way to the front door.
“Where are you off to, RiRi?” Rebecca asked.
“Damian and I are still going through that old bastard’s stock at Bobbles and Things. In a final

‘fuck you’ I’m giving away all of the chocolate from the order he tried to kidnap Kent and Sebastian
with. Then we’re heading over to the school to help with Field Day.” Rian straightened his athletic
wear jacket.

“Vampires are going to be there, aren’t they?” Sebastian teased. Rian blushed.
“We’d help out anyway. Doc Claybourne will need someone to help him in the nurse’s tent. You

know shifter kids, they play hard. Toodles mes enfants.” He made kissy faces at them as they walked
out.

“Maybe I should go help out at the nurse’s tent. I’d like to get a job and help support myself,

even if it means working for that OCD doctor.” Felix shuddered.

“You haven’t even met the man. He’s really nice to me,” Rebecca said, scarfing down more

popcorn. Through their bond all five members of the Inner Court were experiencing mood swings,
morning sickness, and odd cravings. With three of the five members pregnant, everything was
amplified.

“Everyone is nice to you, Becca.” Sebastian smiled and Felix snickered.
“Yeah, because they’re afraid she’ll go all sweet psycho on their asses,” Felix joked. Rebecca

looked over at him, concern on her face.

“Idiot,” Sebastian muttered.
“No one is really afraid of me, right?” she asked, her eyes shining. Felix looked up, and behind

Rebecca, Sebastian was steadily shaking his head no.

“Of course not, Pint-Size. They love you,” Felix said, messing up her hair. “Is that coming from

you?” she asked, turning to look at Sebastian. A funny look crossed her face as her cheeks turned pink.

Sebastian was blushing so hard he was nearly purple.

“It’s Kent and Liam, in the office,” Sebastian choked out. Felix snickered and was thankful that

he wasn’t looped in on the Inner Court bond. He could imagine it produced more awkward situations
than this.

“On that note, I’m outta here. Felix, do you want to come with me to the school? I’m helping out

at the bake sale,” Rebecca offered, practically running to the front door. Felix took in Sebastian’s
dilated pupils and nodded.

“That might not be such a bad idea.” Felix grabbed his man bag and waved to Sebastian, who

was already walking toward the office. Felix shut the door, looked at Rebecca, and both of them
started giggling.

Felix got into Rebecca’s tiny blue smart car and was surprised by how much room he had.

Rebecca caught him looking around and smiled.

“It’s my little blue box and it’s bigger on the inside.” She giggled. Felix rolled his eyes. She was

such a geek.

“How do you like living with the pride?” she asked. He shrugged.
“It sure as hell beats living in a cage and shitting in a corner, that’s for sure,” Felix said. The car

swerved. He looked over and she was looking from him to the road to him and back again.

“You okay?” he asked. She nodded, not saying anything.
“Lachlan left a few days ago, so Liam has been kinda bummed. Lachlan has been spoiling Liam

horribly by ordering baby stuff. It was funny trying to watch Liam carry in the crib box. It’s a good
thing shifters can’t get hernias.” Felix laughed.

“He’s going to be an amazing father. Maybe he’ll stop teasing Aleks about this baby being his,”

she said, pointing to her rounded belly. Felix looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. She sighed.

“Yeah I didn’t think so either.” She shook her head then pointed ahead.
“There’s the school. Holy crap, I think the entire town is in here. Where are we going to park?”

she asked.

“Any damn where. One, this thing is the size of a matchbox, you could probably park it on the

sidewalk, and two, you’re the Alpha Mother. That should at least come with preferred parking,” Felix
said.

“Oh how about there?” she asked as she put her blinker on to take the spot of someone pulling

out of a parking space between the ice cream stand and the nurse’s test. She threw her hands up.

“Score!” She wiggle-danced in her seat before grabbing her purse and getting out. Felix,

grabbing his man bag, was right behind her. “I’m going to see what David and Daniel are up to before
checking in with Ma at the bake sale stand. Where will you be?” she asked. Felix nodded to the
nurse’s tent.

“I’m going to go meet the hyperorganized doctor and see if he needs any help,” Felix said,

adjusting his bag.

“Okay, you know where to find me,” she said and headed to the ice cream stand. Felix took a

deep breath and almost followed her. The smell of fresh waffle cones filled the air. He shook his head
as he walked between the stand and the tent, making his way to the entrance.

When he walked in the tent, it was empty except for a tall, well-groomed man organizing the

supply table. Felix’s eyes didn’t miss a thing from his designer glasses to his custom leather shoes.
His carefree hairstyle was cut in such a way to give the appearance that the sexy man had just rolled

out of bed. That casual look probably cost him somewhere around one hundred dollars. His features
gave him a noble appearance, from his square jaw to his patrician nose. Felix caught himself staring
at the man’s full, sensual lips, imagining the wicked things he could do to his lean, muscled body. His
clothes, like his haircut, were chosen to look everyday, but to someone like Felix, who lived on high
fashion, they screamed of money. The simple white button-down shirt and khaki slacks were of the
highest quality fabric and were tailored professionally. The man before him spent a lot of money
trying to fit in, in his own way.

“If you’re not injured, please leave,” the cultured voice spoke. It reminded Felix of smooth Irish

whiskey being rolled around in a glass.

“I’ve come to help,” Felix said, taking a step forward. The man’s neck tensed as he turned to

face him. Felix could see exasperation in the man’s crystalline-blue eyes.

“I’ve already kicked out two well-meaning helpers. I’ll tell you the same thing I told them. I

don’t need any assistance, thank you.” He turned back to his task, dismissing Felix with a wave of his
hand.

Looks like Rian and Damian had been dismissed. Felix narrowed his eyes, pulled his

shoulders back and took another step forward to tell the freakishly OCD man what he could do with
his tongue depressors when he caught the man’s scent. He inhaled deeply, trying to get as much of the
scent in his lungs as possible. He took a couple more tentative steps forward. This overly organized
asshole was his mate! He breathed in and his body shuddered at the smell of musk and summer rain.
His body now moved on its own toward his mate. After another step he saw the man’s body freeze
then shiver. His head snapped up to look up at him, confusion on his face.

“We’re mates,” Felix said, choking the words out. Behind him the sound of raised male voices

grew closer before two men assisting two teenagers made their way inside the tent. His dark-haired
god of a man immediately diverted his attention to the two young men being helped onto two of the
cots.

“What do we have here?” his mate asked, walking up to the men.
“Hey, Doc Claybourne, Kyle and Steven collided on the football field,” Kaden said, standing

next to Kyle.

“That young man shouldn’t be playing with the kids that actually go to school,” the older man

said, standing next to the other boy. Kyle flushed and looked down. Felix walked up to stand beside
Kyle. He met the younger lion shortly after moving into the pride house. He was impressed with the
way the teenager studied to get his GED, since he was unable to handle crowds for any duration of
time. It made attending the local high school impossible. The fact that he attended Field Day spoke
volumes. Felix sighed dramatically, drawing their attention.

“I know, right! He has college courses he should be studying for. It’s too bad Arkadia doesn’t

have an accelerated curriculum. I had to practically kick him out of the house this morning to get him
to take a break,” Felix lied boldfacedly to the older man and his son, whose sneer disappeared and
was exchanged for a look of disbelief.

“Now, Steven, where are you hurt?” Felix asked, turning to the boy. His father looked from

Felix to Dr. Claybourne.

“Who the hell are you?” the older man asked, blustering. Felix waved his hand around.
“I’m so sorry. I’m Felix, I’m a registered nurse and I’ll be assisting Dr. Claybourne from now

on.”

“We don’t need help. Come on, Steve,” the man said, pulling the boy up. Felix’s demeanor

shifted almost immediately as he leveled his stare at the father.

“Shifters may heal quickly, but why deny your son treatment if it could help him heal faster?”

Felix asked coldly. The older man simply turned to Dr. Claybourne.

“You need to reevaluate who you hire, Dr. Claybourne. I would hate for your well-earned

reputation to be ruined by an air-headed twink.” He turned and pulled his son out of the tent. Felix’s
mouth dropped.

“It’s true I am young and gorgeous, but seriously. I have depth.” Felix turned his attention to

Kyle who was staring at him with his eyes bugging out.

“It’s okay, sweetie, I know that secretly, I scare heterosexual men. It’s because they want me.

Now, where did you get hurt?” he asked. Kaden snort-laughed and Kyle broke out into a shy smile.

“You didn’t have to lie for me, about being smart,” Kyle whispered. Felix patted the young lion

on the shoulder.

“Honey, you have taught yourself the entire high school curriculum. I bet you start that college

workload in the next month or two. Besides, a tiny white lie here or there is worth cutting down
asshole bullies like that. Now where are the boo-boos?” Felix asked again. Kyle shook his head and
lifted his T-shirt. Felix whistled.

“Damn, boy, what were you doing out there?” Felix prodded the tender flesh, making Kyle jump

a few times.

“I’d recommend some ibuprofen and a shift. Take it easy at home for a few days. Would you like

to take a look, Doctor?” Felix asked, turning to his mate.

“So nice of you to remember I was in the room, since I’m the one who went through eight years

of higher education for this sort of thing,” Claybourne said dryly.

“I went through higher education too, but was smart enough to stop before I got a stick stuck up

my ass,” Felix snarked back. Claybourne glared at him then looked over at Kyle.

“As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right. A shift and some rest will do wonders,” Claybourne

agreed.

“Get used to saying that ‘he’s right’ part,” Felix said. Kaden looked back and forth between the

two of them, his face burning with curiosity.

“Thanks, Felix, Doc. I’m going to head home, I have some reading to do anyway,” Kyle said,

easing off the cot.

“Come on, kid, I’ll drive you,” Kaden walked out with the teenager.
Claybourne opened his mouth to speak when a little girl was carried into the tent crying. Felix

instinctively turned to the upset child.

“Oh my goodness! What is wrong, princess?” Felix said, rushing over to where the harried-

looking father set the girl down on the cot.

She looked up, sucking on her lower lip. Tears continued to spill over her eyes on to her cheeks.
“I fell down,” she said. A large gash became apparent as she held up her hand.
“Doctor,” Felix said urgently as soon as he saw the wound. He felt Claybourne move quickly to

his side, his body heat scorching him through their clothes.

“Hello, Bethany. Can I see your hand?” he asked. The little girl shook her head and pulled her

hand back to her blood-covered chest. Claybourne looked to Felix. Felix nodded, understanding that
his mate wanted him to distract the girl.

“Bethany, I simply love your name! If I were a girl, I would want to be called Bethany,” Felix

said, spinning around dramatically. Her big blue eyes followed his movements.

“Really?” she asked.
“Oh yes, I love that name. But I’m a boy so my name is Felix,” he said, sticking out his hand.

She responded by offering up her wounded hand. He gently took it in his.

“You did a really good job with this cut. Simply amazing. I don’t think I have ever seen a cut this

gorgeous. Dr. Claybourne, you have to look at this marvelous cut.” Felix was rolling his r’s, making
the girl giggle. Claybourne leaned in and looked over Felix’s shoulder.

“Mmmm yes, I have to agree, this is the most super-duper cut I have ever seen.” Claybourne’s

vernacular sounded stiff and forced, but Felix’s heart melted a bit at his mate’s attempt to sound more
approachable.

“She managed to fall on the only piece of broken glass on the school grounds,” her father said,

rubbing a hand over his daughter’s hair.

“Ben, that seems to be the way with children,” Claybourne said to the father before turning to

look at Bethany.

“I have just the thing for that cut, too. We’re going to put butterfly bandages on it,” Claybourne

said, heading to his supply table.

“Butterflies?” the little girl asked excitedly.
“Yes, it will help hold your cut closed so it can heal.” Claybourne walked back with the

supplies in hand and the little girl allowed him to clean the cut and put the butterfly bandages on. She
looked down at the bandages critically.

“They don’t look like butterflies,” she said, frowning. Felix looked down and nodded.
“You’re right. Hold on,” he said, reaching into his man bag and pulling out a ballpoint pen.

Carefully he doodled antennas and larger wings on one of the bandages. She smiled and reached up
for him. He leaned down and she kissed him on the cheek.

“Bethany, you’re going to get me in trouble with my mate,” Felix said, whispering to the little

girl. Her innocent eyes widened and she looked up at Claybourne.

“Sorry,. I think he’s really pretty and nice,” she said, ducking her head. Claybourne chuckled.
“He’s not too bad,” he said, looking Felix up and down, making him blush.
“He’s an amazing nurse,. You really lucked out with getting him as a mate. He’s a looker too,”

the man said, winking. The little girl looked up and eyed her father.

“I’m telling Mama,” she said. The father laughed and picked her up.
“Thanks, Felix, Doc,” Ben said, then walked out of the tent.
“You wouldn’t be too bad yourself, if you weren’t obsessed with your freakishly organized

world order,” Felix said. Claybourne gave him a look before turning his back to throw away the used
cotton swabs and gauze.

Felix was about to say something to his rude mate when Rebecca popped into the tent.
“Hey, Doc, do you have any human blood?” she asked. Claybourne nodded.
“I’ve been keeping a stock of it since it’s neutral to shifters and vampires,” he said, putting the

bandage rolls into a neat row.

“Can I have a bag of it?” she asked. He nodded again and pointed to the small portable medical

mini fridge. She went over, grabbed a bag, and left. Felix watched the entire thing in gross
fascination.

“You didn’t even ask why she needed it,” he said, watching as his mate started organizing the

bandages into three rows of four instead of four rows of three.

“It’s Rebecca, sometimes it’s better not to ask,” he said, sounding distracted. Felix walked over

and bent his head slightly to stare at his mate’s ass. Feeling slightly mischievous, he reached out and
grabbed a solid handful of his mate’s round, muscular cheek. Claybourne gave an undignified yelp
and turned to face Felix. He was about to say something when Rebecca raced back in.

“Hey, Doc, can a human ingest small, diluted amounts of human blood?” she asked, She gawked

at Claybourne’s flushed face before looking over to Felix.

“Yes.” Claybourne’s voice broke and he cleared his throat. “Yes, in small amounts human blood

is safe to ingest,” he said, his voice returning to its normal lower octave.

“Yes!” she said as she raced back out. Claybourne watched her leave, and a thoughtful look

came over his face.

“Okay I have to admit, I’m intrigued,” he said, facing Felix, wearing the first real smile Felix

had seen since walking into the tent. Felix could feel his inner animal morph into a tiger. He was
reacting to being close to Claybourne.

“Tell me you feel it too,” Felix said quietly. A shocked look appeared on Claybourne’s face.
“Of course I do. All I can think about is getting you on the closest flat surface, but seeing as how

you and I are the only medically trained people in town, we cannot disappear on Field Day of all
days,” Claybourne said as his breathing became shallower. His eyes shifted from his normal
crystalline blue to a light sky blue.

“I thought you were a tiger?” Felix asked, feeling his body respond to his mate’s growing need.
“I am. I’m a white Bengal tiger. My eyes are blue, not the normal orange of a regular Bengal,”

Claybourne explained.

“I’m a hybrid,” Felix said. He looked down, unsure how his mate would react.
“I think that hybrids are the very best that shifters can be,” Claybourne said. Felix felt tears

prick his eyes. Being a hybrid had opened him up to scorn before, and he was relieved that his mate
accepted him as he was.

“And of course, your genetics and physiology are fascinating,” Claybourne said, turning back to

his table. Felix was looking around for something to hit his mate with when David and Daniel came
running into the tent, Roman hot on their heels. The twins ducked behind Claybourne, trying to use him
as a shield.

“You do know I won’t help you, right?” he said dispassionately.
“Yeah, but if Roman does to us what he is threatening to do, we want you close by,” Daniel

quipped. Seconds later an annoyed Gabriel glided into the tent. He stood next to Roman, who was
glaring at the twins.

“Ah, it’s the sarcastic doctor. You didn’t by chance give Daniel and David blood did you?”

Gabriel asked. “Of course not. I gave the blood to Rebecca,” Claybourne said reasonably. Gabriel
pinched the bridge of his nose.

“It’s actually not bad,” Rebecca said, licking an ice cream cone as she walked into the tent.
“Wait, is there blood in the ice cream?” Felix asked as he watched Rebecca lick the cold treat.

She nodded.

“Yup. I saw that some ice cream parlor out on the west coast has been using animal blood in ice

cream. I thought that since this is a shifter town that might not be a good idea, so we used human

blood for the vampires. It’s actually pretty good,” she said, looking at her ice cream cone, then she
looked at Gabriel. Standing on tiptoe she pushed it onto his lips. He simply stared down at her with
an eyebrow raised, the smear of ice cream on his face taking away from his normally regal
appearance. Reluctantly he licked his lips and a surprised expression came over his face.

“You two made this?” he asked. The twins nodded.
“I’ll have to call Ms. Brayburn back and apologize for the shock she had when she saw the

twins pouring blood from a medical bag into the ice cream machine. She called Ashby to complain
about wanting her chocolate ice cream, who then in turn called me since he knew I was here on the
vampire panel we created to answer questions from the townspeople. I’ll also have to buy Ashby new
equipment for the shop,” Gabriel said, glaring at the twins before reaching for Rebecca’s ice cream
cone and taking a bite.

“That way we can keep the equipment you used today at the coven house to make more. This is

truly decadent.” Gabriel held the ice cream cone in one hand and with the other offered the crook of
his elbow to Rebecca, who took it daintily. Rebecca winked at the twins before they both walked out.
David and Daniel exhaled loudly.

“I saw my life flash before my eyes,” David said.
“You two aren’t off the hook yet. You have to thoroughly clean the ice cream equipment at the

tent and start breaking it down. I doubt anyone will want ice cream now. Then you have to store the
equipment at the coven house and order more for Prince Ashby. Tonight, gentlemen. And they better
offer expedited processing,” Roman said, taking out his phone planner. The twins groaned as Roman
walked them out of the tent. Felix watched them as they marched out. Claybourne shrugged.

“Never a dull moment,” he said, walking across the tent to pull more supplies out of a large

duffel bag. Felix watched him for a few minutes.

“How many injuries are you expecting?” he asked after Claybourne had emptied the duffel bag

and completely stocked the two long folding tables.

“It’s a completely shifter town on a day where we are encouraging competition and sports

activities.” Claybourne smirked at his mate.

“You have a point,” he said when Emmett Arkadion walked in, holding his hand.
“Got it caught when we were collapsing the bleachers in the gym,” he said, grimacing.
“You were competing with Duncan, weren’t you?” Claybourne turned his hand over gently.
“Maybe,” he said, then gasped in pain when Claybourne rotated his hand more.
“Broken, but nothing that won’t heal after a shift. I’ll wrap it so that it will stay aligned while

you head home. You should be okay by tomorrow evening,” he said, picking up the Ace Bandages and
wrapping the bear’s hand tightly.

“Thanks, Doc. I’ll let Ma know that I’m heading home. She was still yelling at Duncan when I

left to come here. He was making her late for a chocolate-eating contest she had.” He tried to flex his
hand and winced.

“Don’t move that hand until after your shift,” Claybourne warned firmly.
“Yes, Doc,” Emmett said, staring down at his hand as he walked out of the tent.
“We need to work on your bedside manner,” Felix drolled. Claybourne turned to him, his eyes

taking in every inch of Felix’s body.

“There is nothing wrong with my bedside manner,” he said, blatant sexual need in his voice.

Felix shivered.

“I’ll be the judge of that,” Felix said, running his hands down his chest before stopping just

above his hips. Claybourne swallowed hard.

“That you most definitely will.”

* * * *

The rest of the day Felix tortured and was tortured by his mate. If Claybourne accidentally ran

his hand over his ass again he was going to scream. As they were finishing packing up the medical
supplies, Rebecca came back into the tent.

“Ready to go, Felix?” she asked as she rubbed her stomach. Claybourne frowned.
“Are you okay?” he asked, walking over. She waved a hand at him.
“I stuffed myself silly eating from all the vendors. Everyone wanted me to try what they made.

But I’m only human, literally. I didn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings though, so I kept eating. The food
was amazing though.” She hummed her appreciation. Claybourne looked to Felix guiltily.

“You never got to go out and grab anything. I kept you in here,” he said, frowning. Felix walked

over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder.

“I was exactly where I wanted to be,” he said, grinning happily.
“Oh, my, goodness! You’re mates, aren’t you?” Rebecca asked, rocking back and forth on the

balls of her feet. Felix nodded. Rebecca squealed and launched herself at Felix. “I’m so happy for
you both! Felix, when are you going to get pregnant?” Rebecca blurted out. Behind him Felix heard
the sound of a box dropping and a man cursing.

“Oh dear, didn’t he know?” Rebecca asked, both hands flying to her mouth as if she were trying

to call back the words.

“Sebastian hadn’t made an appointment yet to explain. He was going to bring me along to

explain some of the biology of it, we just haven’t gotten that far yet.” Felix shrugged.

“What!” Claybourne bellowed.
“Sebastian is preggers. Since he’s a hybrid he can get pregnant. But he keeps his penis and

doesn’t get a vagina until he gives birth, but then shifts back. Felix is a hybrid so he can get pregnant,
too,” Rebecca explained. Felix slammed his palm to his forehead as he heard his mate begin to
hyperventilate.

“I’m okay, Rebecca, I’ll be helping Claybourne for a while. You can head home,” Felix said,

turning to stare at Claybourne who was trying to slow his breathing as he kept a death grip on the side
of one of the tables.

“Are you sure?” Rebecca asked.
“I’m very sure. Goodnight, Becca,” He waved at her as she walked out.
He walked over to his mate, who had a hand to his chest.
“That is not possible. It is simply not physically possible!” Claybourne argued. Felix could tell

that this information scrambled his mate’s well-ordered world.

“Don’t try and process this right now. Let’s finish packing up the tent then head to your place.

I’ll microwave us some food and do my best to distract you.” Felix moved his hand so that it
massaged his mate’s firm ass. He had been right. The slacks hid what had to be the most perfect male
ass in the world.

Claybourne dropped his head back and sighed.

“It’s been so damn long,” he whispered. Felix could see the muscles in his neck straining. Yup,

his mate definitely needed some relaxing and he was just the man to do it.

“Come on, let’s blow this Popsicle stand. We can stop at the store on the way to your house,

because I have a feeling you do not have microwaveable food at your house,” Felix said, unable to
tear his hand away as it repeatedly smoothed over the mouthwatering contours.

“You’re right, I don’t. But when we get to my house you have to explain this concept of male

pregnancy to me. I need as much information as I can get to help Sebastian. Even the shifter
physicians I trained with don’t know about this,” he said, looking down at Felix who shrugged.

“We’re raised not to say anything. Being here in Arkadia is a bit different. Everyone would see

Sebastian nearly every day, there’s no hiding a pregnancy in a small town. Out amongst humans it’s
easier to drop out of sight for a while. Not many male hybrids choose to get pregnant,” Felix said
reluctantly, moving his hand away.

“I can imagine why.” Claybourne looked around the nearly empty tent. “Let’s grab these last two

boxes, drop them off at the clinic and then you can try to kill me with junk food.” Claybourne sounded
more like himself.

“Great! Let’s go.” They grabbed the remaining boxes and walked to Claybourne’s truck. Felix

couldn’t wait to unwrap the present that Fate had given him.

Chapter 2

When they drove up to a large, rustic-looking cabin, Felix had to admit he was surprised. He

was expecting glass and chrome or something more modern. The cabin was on pride lands on the
Arkadion border, so that it was almost right smack-dab in the middle of both group houses.

The landscaping was simple but neat. Everything about the house looked extremely well

maintained.  Felix  was  about  to  follow  Claybourne  into  the  house  when  he  caught  the  scent  of
something  familiar.  He  set  the  grocery  bags  down  on  the  wraparound  porch  and  followed  his  nose
around  the  side  of  the  house  to  the  backyard.  When  he  rounded  the  corner  he  could  only  stare.
Claybourne had created one of the most beautiful gardens he had ever seen. He was dying to shift into
a smaller animal and frolic. His body was practically vibrating. He took a step forward as the scent
of herb after herb washed over him.

“I see you found my dirty little secret,” Claybourne said, walking up behind him. Felix turned to

him.

“This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen. This shouldn’t be a secret,” Felix said as a

low purr bubbled up from his chest. Claybourne looked at him, surprised.

“You’re reacting to the catnip. I grow all my own medicinal herbs here, as well as vegetables

and fruit. We are shifters after all, I’m not always that busy at the clinic.” Felix watched as
Claybourne reached out, hesitating. Felix closed the gap between the two of them. He turned so his
back was to his mate, and pulled the man’s arms around his waist. Felix could feel the happy purr
vibrating through him.

“Everything is so perfect, it’s almost like you don’t have room for me,” Felix admitted, looking

at the small piece of paradise in front of him. He felt Claybourne squeeze him.

“I’m not going to lie, Felix, I am a hard man to live with. I haven’t lived with anyone since I

turned sixteen and left home to go to college. I like things in a certain order and done in a certain way.
If  I  say  or  do  something  that  hurts  your  feelings,  tell  me  immediately.  I  won’t  get  better  at  this
relationship  thing  without  your  help,”  Claybourne  said,  resting  his  chin  on  the  top  of  Felix’s  head.
Felix  decided  he  now  had  a  thing  for  older  men.  He  felt  his  heart  turn  over  at  his  mate’s  sincere
words. He could only imagine what it cost to warn him.

“I’m pretty sure we won’t kill each other. Anything else we can work on?” Felix shrugged.

Claybourne laughed behind him.

“So long as we’re not trying to kill each other, you’re good?” he asked.
Felix nodded. “When I was locked up in that cage, all I could think about was that I would never

find my mate. I was sad because I would never know him, but what almost broke me was the thought
that because of that asshole Alpha, my mate would go his entire life unfulfilled. That’s what kept me
fighting. So, yeah, as long as we’re not literally at each other’s throats, I’m happy.” Felix leaned
against Claybourne.

“You’re amazing. I heard of Sebastian’s story, I never thought my own mate would also be as

courageous,” Claybourne whispered. Felix turned his head so he could look up at his mate.

“I know. Now, let’s introduce you to the many tantalizing joys of frozen pizza.” Felix grabbed

Claybourne’s hand to walk back to the porch. Claybourne picked up the forgotten bags as they walked
into the house.

* * * *

“I swear it’s like Sleeping with the Enemy in there.” Felix shuddered as he remembered how

organized the pantry had been. Everything was turned so that the labels were facing outward.

“I’m not going to have to fake my death am I?” Felix asked as they ate their pizza on the sofa in

front of the TV.

Claybourne gave him a wry expression. “You keep it up and you won’t have to fake it,” he

grumbled and Felix laughed. Claybourne went to stand and Felix pulled him back down. “I’m going to
clean up the kitchen,” Claybourne said, looking confused.

Felix shook his head. “I’m going to get you to relax. Leave the mess. The world won’t end, I

promise you.” Felix took their plates and put them on the coffee table. Claybourne stared at them. His
right eye began to twitch slightly. He turned to Felix.

“The kitchen is dirty.” He rubbed his hands on his pant legs. Felix boldly reached over to cup

his mate’s crotch.

“Dirty is good. Want to make me dirty?” Felix asked, dropping his voice down to a whisper. He

almost did a cartwheel when he saw his mate’s eyes fade to a light blue. His tiger’s eyes were
coming out. Claybourne pushed Felix back and crawled over him. Felix had barely a moment to take a
breath before Claybourne’s mouth was on his and taking away his sanity. Their tongues dueled and
twined around each other. Felix had to pull back, and he reached down and adjusted his jeans, which
had become painfully tight.

“Let’s go to the bedroom, I don’t want you damaged,” Claybourne said, grinning. Felix nodded

and they both scrambled off the couch. Felix raced after Claybourne, grabbing his ass the entire way
down  the  hall.  When  they  cleared  the  door  they  both  began  stripping  their  clothes.  Felix  knew  that
Claybourne  must  be  out  of  his  mind  with  lust  since  he  was  tossing  his  clothes  around  the  room.
Claybourne, naked, turned to him, his prick jutting out from his body, already leaking copious amounts
of pre-cum down the hard length. In the two years that he was trapped in his captor’s cage, Felix had
plenty of time to fantasize about his future mate. He had imagined everything from large bulky bears to
lean lions, but nothing prepared him for the perfection of his tiger. The man stood nearly a foot over
his own five-foot-five height, and every inch of his body was covered in lean, tone muscles. His chest
was dusted with dark hair that trailed downward and divided his six-pack beautifully. Felix’s mouth
began to water. The man had the body of a god. Claybourne walked around the bed to the nightstand,
and  pulled  out  a  small  bottle  of  lube.  Claybourne  threw  the  bottle  to  him.  He  caught  it  easily  and
waited until his mate was standing in front of him again.

“Can I taste you?” he asked. Claybourne whimpered and nodded.
“You never, ever have to ask that question. Forever and ever amen, the answer is yes.”

Claybourne grabbed the base of his shaft. Felix gave a sultry smile and began to sway his hips as he
stalked forward before dropping to his knees before his mate.

“Good, because I love to suck cock,” Felix admitted before swallowing his mate’s impressive

length down. Above his head Felix heard an unintelligible chant of promises and curses. While
holding the base of his mate’s cock in one hand, he flicked open the bottle of lube with the other and
began to work his fingers into his own hole, stretching himself. He groaned at the sensation of having
his mate’s cock in his mouth as he played with his own ass. Felix reveled in the taste of his mate. He
ran his tongue up and down the soft skin of the long shaft. He loved every line, tracing the thick heavy

vein. He swirled his tongue around the spongy head before dipping his tongue into the slit. He
hummed his satisfaction. His mate tasted like nectar.

“Please stop, much more and I’ll come,” Claybourne begged, trying to catch his breath.
Felix stood. “It’s a good thing I’m all stretched and ready for you. I don’t think I can wait

another second to have this gorgeous cock in my ass.” Felix climbed onto the bed, and made sure he
wiggled his ass every chance he got. Claybourne let out a loud rumble and pounced on him.

“Turn over, my mate, I need to see you when I take you,” Claybourne said, his voice deep. Felix

shivered when he saw that his mate’s canines were out. Felix rolled over onto his back and pulled his
knees to his chest before spreading his legs wide. Claybourne stared down at him.

“You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” he whispered.
“Please don’t make me wait, my mate, please pound that cock into me,” Felix practically

begged. Claybourne gave only a short nod then did exactly what Felix wanted. Felix couldn’t seem to
breathe as his mate pushed inside of him only to withdraw again. He felt his mate’s cock fill him,
grazing every hot spot inside his body.

“It’s never been like this,” Claybourne said. Felix looked up and saw an almost pained

expression in his face.

“Good?” he asked, unsure. Claybourne looked down before giving him a feral grin.
“You are my own ecstasy. I am going to get addicted to you.”
“Wait until you feel my cock pounding into you, then you really will be hooked. Gingers are sex

gods.” Felix grinned up at his mate.

Claybourne moaned. “Yes, next time fuck me,” he said, snapping his hips.
“You like the idea of that don’t you, baby? The idea of me fucking you hard,” Felix said, testing

to see if his mate liked dirty talk. He wasn’t surprised when he had to reach out and grab the
headboard to keep from getting plowed into the thing. His man was a damn machine.

“I’m there.” His mate gasped and suddenly Felix was too. Claybourne leaned in and buried his

teeth deep into the tissue between his neck and shoulder. Felix’s own tiger roared to the surface. Felix
felt his canines punch through his gums and he turned his head and bit down into his mate’s muscled
tendons.

Felix felt his soul lift up and swirl with his mate’s. When they combined he felt another climax

explode through him. He heard Claybourne shout and felt jets of hot seed fill him. As wave after
wave of euphoria washed through them, their combined soul split and faded back into their bodies.
He could feel his mate now. His mate’s unadulterated joy was the last thing that registered before his
world went dark.

Chapter 3

When Felix woke the next morning, he stretched lazily and smiled. He was mated. Just twenty-

four hours ago he was still trying to figure out what he was going to do. Now he had a mate, a home,
and more than likely, a job. He pushed up and looked around the room. He bit back a laugh.
Claybourne’s clothes had been picked up and put away, and his were neatly folded and waiting for
him on the dresser. He jumped out of bed and swung his arms around, getting his blood moving. Once
he was feeling more awake he walked over and put on his clothes.

He left the room and headed toward the den. Shaking his head, he saw that the plates were gone,

the crumbs swept up and the pillows were fluffed and placed in the exact spot he had seen them in
last night when he walked in the house.

He found his mate in the kitchen, dressed again in slacks and a button-down, sipping a cup of

coffee.

“Good morning, my mate,” Felix said, ducking the coffee mug to rub noses with Claybourne. He

bounced over to the refrigerator.

“Oh my god, you’re a morning person.” Claybourne shuddered.
“I love mornings. Fresh start to each day,” Felix said before returning his attention to the opened

refrigerator.

“Don’t you have any food?” Felix whined. Claybourne’s brows knitted.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“What I mean is you have no food in here. How do you live?” Felix waved his hand at the

shelves. Claybourne raised an eyebrow and set his coffee mug down. Felix took a step back. Maybe
making his mate set his coffee down so early in the morning wasn’t the best of ideas.

Claybourne steered Felix so that he was in front of the open refrigerator and stood behind him.
“Tell me what you see,” his mate said, nodding to the shelves.
Felix looked back at him, confused. “Nothing, no food,” Felix repeated.
“That’s strange because I see scrambled eggs with cheese, turkey bacon and made-from-scratch

cinnamon rolls.”

Felix’s head swung back to the fridge. “Where? I don’t see anything,” Felix said, looking from

top to bottom.

“Right there. A dozen eggs, a package of bacon, a block of cheese, yeast, milk, and butter.”

Claybourne’s voice was tinged with humor.

“That’s not funny! You made me even hungrier.” Felix pouted. Claybourne kissed his pouted lip

and shut the refrigerator door.

“Make me something,” Felix begged. Claybourne shook his head.
“You’re a big boy, make yourself breakfast,” he said as his cell phone rang.
“I’m going to starve!” Felix wailed. Laughing, Claybourne answered the phone.
“No, I don’t mind at all. I’ll be there in about twenty minutes,” he said before hanging up.
“Who was that?” Felix asked.
“That was Ms. Tully. Ms. Brayburn isn’t feeling well and they are waiting for me at the clinic,”

he said, walking to the family room. Felix followed.

“I thought you had Saturdays off,” Felix asked, looking around for his man bag. He grabbed it off

the floor.

“I do, but I go in if someone needs me. Ms. Brayburn is getting up there in years, even for a

shifter, so I like to keep an eye on her. Ms. Tully has taken it on herself to keep checking in on her,
though she’s not much younger herself.” Claybourne located his keys and looked up. Felix was
waiting for him by the door.

“It could be something she ate, raccoons are not picky eaters. Face it, you need me, Doc. Your

bedside manner needs work,” Felix said haughtily.

Claybourne rolled his eyes and dropped a kiss on Felix’s lips. “Liar. You just want a ride into

town so you can go beg Ma for breakfast.” Felix laughed when his mate busted him.

“That woman can cook,” He sighed happily, thinking about her muffins.
“Come on, patients are waiting, we’ll grab something after I see to Ms. Brayburn.” Claybourne

held the door open for Felix.

“Thank god!” Felix said.

* * * *

“I’m so sorry to call you in here like this, Doc. I just can’t seem to wake up today. I feel so weak

and tired,” Ms. Brayburn said. Felix had to admit she looked as weak as a kitten. Ms. Tully sat next to
her friend, looking concerned.

“How much running around did you do at Field Day yesterday?” Claybourne asked.
“Quite a bit actually. I probably overextended myself,” she said.
Claybourne nodded. “Go home, drink lots of water, and catch up on your soaps,” he said,

winking.

“Oh, Doc, you know all my secrets.” The older woman giggled like a school girl and flirted

with his mate. Felix thought it was adorable, especially since she was old, gray, and female, and in no
way a threat to his mating.

“It’s my job as the town doctor to know everyone’s secrets,” Claybourne flirted back, wagging

his eyebrows. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead.

“Oh my.” Both Ms. Tully and Ms. Brayburn blushed.
“Off with you two now, and rest the entire day. Doctor’s orders,” he said, winking.
“Thank you, Doctor,” Ms. Tully said, patting his hand.
When they left Felix looked at his mate suspiciously.
“You don’t always have a terrible bedside manner. You were wonderful with them and with

little Bethany yesterday. What gives?” he asked.

Claybourne shrugged. “Being a shifter doctor is different than being a regular physician. Our

patients rarely get ill or suffer from the normal physical maladies that strike down the human
population. I do more damage control than healing. We live in a town of nothing but shifters that don’t
have to hide who they are. I can’t tell you the number of broken bones and wounds I’ve had to tend
due to short tempers and stupidity.” He shook his head.

“So you have selective assholiness, good to know.” Felix nodded his head sagely.
“That’s funny, because I could have sworn you wanted food.” Claybourne eyed his mate.
Felix immediately capitulated. “You are the most perfect man in the entire world and the way

you use your cock is ballad worthy,” Felix exclaimed, clasping his hands in front of him as if begging
for forgiveness.

“Dude, TMI.” Damian laughed from the door. Felix blushed.
“What brings you to my humble abode?” Claybourne asked.
“Doc, you are many things but humble isn’t one of them,” Damian quipped.
“You’re right, I am a genius and I know it, now what can I do for you?” Claybourne rephrased

his question.

“Got anything for sunburn? It has me completely wiped today.” Damian asked.
“Let me see how bad the burn is.” Claybourne reached for his gloves.
“Umm, Doc, it’s kinda below the belt. Isn’t there like a cream or something you can give me?”

Damian asked. Felix gawked.

“No. I’m not even going to ask.” Claybourne shook his head.
“Well I am. What in the hell were you up to?” Felix asked, curiosity eating him alive.
“Most of the pride was in town for Field Day, so after Rian and I left there we went to Bobbles

and Things for a while, before we decided to head back to the pride house to work on our no-line tans
and fell asleep. Rian was lucky. The way the sun moved throughout the day he was in the shade for the
later half of the afternoon. I wasn’t so lucky.” Damian winced.

“You poor thing.” Felix sympathized.
“I heard you got mated, runt. Who is the lucky guy?” Damian asked. Felix nodded his head to

where Claybourne was packaging the healing salve.

Damian’s eyes bugged out. “Holy shit! Wait until I tell Rian. Our untouchable and unattainable

teenage crush has finally gotten mated,” He shook his head laughing.

“Yes, wait, what?” Felix asked.
Claybourne walked over, grinning. “Rian and Damian would injure themselves on a regular

basis to visit me. I was always flattered when they came in.” Claybourne handed Damian the cream.

“Don’t rub it in too much. Drink lots of water to rehydrate and you should lose that tired

feeling,” Claybourne advised.

“Thanks, Doc,” Damian said. He waved the cream and walked out.
“How in the hell old are you anyway?” Felix demanded. He knew that he was a doctor, so that

meant years studying, but his mate barely looked a day over thirty. Claybourne looked at him,
surprised.

“Forty-five,” Claybourne responded.
“Oh. You do like younger men right?” Felix asked.
Claybourne nodded. “It seems I have a certain affinity for loud, boisterous, and zany hybrid

shifters in particular.” Claybourne turned back to his cabinet and secured the lock.

“I’m not loud,” Felix grumbled.
“You were last night,” Claybourne said under his breath.
“Ha ha. Old man has jokes.”
“Come on, youngster. Let’s get some food into you and see if you become civil after that.”

Claybourne grabbed his hand as they left the clinic.

When they walked into the diner, Felix was surprised by how empty it was. Claybourne looked

surprised too, so Felix knew it wasn’t just him.

“Grab a seat wherever, guys,” Connor yelled from behind the counter.
“Where is everyone?” Felix yelled back. Claybourne just stared at him. Okay so maybe he was

a bit loud.

“No idea. I thought today would be easy, with none of our regular customers in. But half our

normal staff is out too. I think everyone is tired from Field Day.” Connor laughed.

“Take a seat, boys,” Ma said, smiling and walking up from the kitchen.
“I’m about to get food. Yummy food to go in muh face,” Felix sung happily to himself. His mate

laughed and took his hand.

“It’s like you breathe joy,” Claybourne said.
“You better watch out, Maddox. You keep smiling like that and your reputation will be shot,”

Ma teased.

Felix looked at him confused. “Who’s Maddox?” he asked. In the kitchen they heard Connor bust

out laughing.

Claybourne grimaced. “That’s my first name,” he admitted. Felix felt embarrassment wash

through him. Claybourne tugged on his hand.

“None of that. It’s my fault, what kind of man am I that I didn’t bother to give you my first

name?” Claybourne sounded thoroughly disgusted with himself. Felix squeezed his hand, feeling
Claybourne’s emotion this time through their bond.

“The kind of man that mates someone who didn’t give him their last name. We did get kinda

distracted yesterday.” Felix smiled.

Claybourne’s eyes lightened. “In that case. Hello, my name is Dr. Maddox Claybourne. Nice to

meet you,” he said, kissing Felix’s fingertips.

“It’s nice to meet you, Dr. Maddox Claybourne. I’m registered nurse Felix Kilpatrick.” Felix

pulled their joined hands to his lips and kissed Claybourne’s hand.

“Ma! The muffins!” Connor yelled. Ma, who was standing at the counter, shook her head as if to

clear it and raced back to the kitchen as a black smoke wafted toward them. Felix stared in horror at
the smoke, imagining all of the yummy muffins as charcoal bricks. He was about to make a joke when
he looked over at Claybourne. He was frowning deeply and overwhelming concern was coming
through their bond.

“Claybourne, what is it?” Felix asked.
“I’ve known Ma since I moved to town over twenty years ago. She has never, ever burned

anything,” he said, watching the kitchen door.

“It happens, I mean I burn shit all the time. It’s like what you do in the kitchen.” Felix shrugged.
“I don’t think you understand. She remembered to turn the oven off before she left the diner to

fight hyenas when we were attacked a couple months ago. When the fight was over she had a full
dinner ready for everyone. That woman is a goddess in the kitchen.” Claybourne sighed and stood.
“I’m going to check on her,” he said.

“I’ll go with you.” Felix didn’t like his mate looking so worried.
When they walked into the kitchen it was a sobering sight. Ma was sitting in a chair with Connor

kneeled down on the floor at her feet trying to comfort her. She was crying into her apron. Over in the
sink a batch of what used to be muffins was turning the sink black.

“There, there, Margaret. It was just a couple muffins. Everything is okay,” Claybourne said as he

gently nudged Connor to one side. Connor looked like he was about to argue when Felix shook his
head. Connor nodded and stepped away, reaching for his cell phone.

Ma looked up, her eyes red. “I have never burnt anything in a kitchen in all my life. I don’t know

what’s wrong with me. I’m just so tired. We have so much going on with the council and the vampires

moving to town. Rebecca is pregnant and I’m trying to help out as much as I can with the Alpha
Mother duties and baby planning. She’s so small!” Ma started to weep again into her apron.
Claybourne reach over and took her wrist between his forefinger and thumb and looked at his watch.

“Margaret, how much water have you had to drink today?” he asked. She shrugged, wiping her

eyes with the corner of the apron.

“Margaret! Darlin, what’s wrong?” Pa demanded, storming into the kitchen, glaring at the burnt

muffins like an avenging angel.

“Oh, Aaron!” Ma wailed. Claybourne stood so that Pa could scoot close to his mate.
“What’s wrong with her, Doc?” Pa asked, frantic. Felix heard a noise and suddenly behind them

six of the Arkadion boys stood, looking like they were about to kill someone. They had to have moved
at breakneck speeds to get to their mother.

“Did someone hurt Ma?” Benedict asked.
Claybourne shook his head. “She burned a pan of muffins,” he said and gasps filled the kitchen.

At first Felix thought they were being silly, but everyone was staring at the muffins, shocked.

“Ma never burns anything. Never,” Finn said.
“Come on, Ma. Let’s get you home. Rebecca is fixing up the couch for you. She’s put a pot of

jasmine tea and is making your favorite apple cake,” Connor said, hanging up with Aleks then putting
his cell phone away. He nodded to Pa who helped Ma to stand.

“Don’t worry about the diner, Ma. Connor and I will stay and help,” Benedict said.
“Emmett and I will look after the garage, Pa. You go home with her,” Duncan said.
“Aleks has even promised to let you have the remote,” Connor said, winking at his Ma. She

sniffed and tried smiling up at him. Her eyes widened before tearing up again.

“I can’t leave. I have the council health inspector coming today,” she whimpered.
Gavin stepped forward. “Leave that to me.” He gave her a feral smile.
“I have such good boys.” She wiped her fresh tears and kissed each of her sons.
“Force a lot of fluids today, Margaret. A sports-type drink would be best. Stay off your feet and

rest,” Claybourne advised, moving to stand next to Felix. She nodded and walked out with Pa.

Connor turned to Claybourne. “Is she really okay, Doc?” he asked.
Claybourne nodded slowly as if still thinking about the answer. “A lot of people overdid it in

the summer sun yesterday. She is more dehydrated than I would like to see. If she can get the fluids in
she should be fine.” Connor breathed out a sigh of relief.

Felix could understand their fear. He had been in high school when his mother had been killed

for being a half-breed. No matter your age, he didn’t think anyone would ever be prepared for the
death of a parent. He looked over to the sink and sighed.

Claybourne looked down at him. “Really?” he asked.
Felix winced. “I’m sorry. But you didn’t feed me this morning and I was counting on Ma’s super

muffins to pick me up.” He felt his shoulders sag.

“Don’t worry, Felix, those were just the batch to restock, I have some in the fridge you can

have.” Connor patted Felix on the head. He handed a flaxseed muffin to Claybourne and a blueberry
muffin to Felix. Felix didn’t wait. He pulled back the paper and tried to stuff the entire thing in his
mouth. He wriggled about and moaned. This was what he had been waiting for. When he opened his
eyes, Claybourne and the Arkadions were staring at him. “What? I’m hungry,” Felix protested. Connor
eyed him carefully.

“You didn’t knock him up did you, Doc?” Connor asked. Claybourne immediately began to

choke.

“Shit!” Felix began to whack him on the back. After a few seconds Claybourne began to nod that

he was okay. Claybourne stared down at Felix, a milky white color.

“Are you? Could you be?” he stuttered. Felix shook his head.
“No way. I have to shift my insides for that to happen. It takes conscious effort to do, so there is

no way to knock me up, so to speak,” Felix confirmed.

“Thank goodness!” Claybourne exclaimed.
Felix narrowed his eyes. “Don’t you want our baby someday?” he demanded.
“Tread lightly, Doc,” Connor whispered.
“Of course I do, I would just feel wretched for not feeding you if you were pregnant,” he said.
“Oh. That’s okay then,” Felix said and turned back to Connor.
“Can I please have another one?” He batted his eyelashes. Connor laughed and handed over

another muffin.

“Come on, hun, let’s leave these men to it,” Claybourne said, walking through the kitchen door

back out to the diner to leave.

Felix wrapped his muffin in a napkin and stuck it in his man bag. Connor watched, confused.

Felix put on a big-eyed, pitiful look and sniffled. “He doesn’t have any food in the house. He starves
me.” Felix sniffed again. Connor’s eyes filled with sympathy. He handed Felix two more muffins.
Felix smiled up at the bear and was in the process of putting the napkin-wrapped muffins in his man
bag when an arm wrapped around his waist and he was flipped over his mate’s shoulder.

“Stop telling people I don’t have any food. Just because you don’t know what to do with raw

ingredients does not mean there is no food in the house, and I am not starving you!” Claybourne
smacked him across the ass. Felix could feel the burn travel from his ass cheeks right into his cock.
He knew the second Claybourne realized he had gotten hard.

“Well, gentlemen, uh. Good luck with the diner today,” Claybourne said and hurried to the door.
“You’re the one who needs the luck with that one, Doc,” Emmett yelled out, laughing.
Once outside Felix began to squirm. Claybourne put him down and Felix immediately put his

muffins in his bag. He looked up at his mate.

“I’m hungry,” he complained. Claybourne palmed his face.
“We just left the diner.” Claybourne pointed to the door.
Felix shrugged. “I want sweets.” He kicked his toe on the sidewalk.
“You are so fucking adorable.” His mate pulled him off of his feet and kissed him before setting

him back on the sidewalk.

“Get me sweets and later I can be so adorably fucking you,” Felix said.
“Deal. Okay, off to Bobbles and Things.” Claybourne grabbed Felix’s hand as they walked

across the street to the candy store.

“Is it true that the old man who worked here tried to kill Sebastian?” Felix asked. Claybourne

nodded.

“I’m glad he’s dead then,” Felix said.
Claybourne looked at him funny. “What’s the deal between you and Sebastian? If I didn’t know

otherwise I would say you were lovers,” Claybourne asked. His voice sounded a bit frosty. Felix
stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and stared at his mate.

“You’re jealous,” he whispered, smiling like an idiot.
“No I’m not.”
“You have nothing to be worried about, my little Tigger. Sebastian and I were kind of like cell

mates when we were in captivity. He and I were the only ones placed on the top shelf. We kept each
other going. He’s like my best friend and brother. I would do anything for him,” Felix said.
Claybourne let out a deep breath.

“One, don’t ever call me Tigger again. And two, I’m sorry I forgot about you being held captive.

All I could think about was the emotion in your voice when you spoke of him and it clouded my
thinking. I apologize most sincerely,” Claybourne said. He ran his hand over Felix’s hair.

“I love your fancy way of saying you’re sorry, though I don’t think I appreciate that the directive

to not call you Tigger was the first thing you mentioned.” Felix blew his mate kisses.

“You’re right. I’ll have to get you something extra special inside.” Claybourne nodded to the

entrance down the street to Bobbles and Things.

“You’re so good to me,” Felix said and they walked into the store.
“Congratulations you two!” A happy voice called out. Felix looked up and saw Rian beaming at

them from behind the counter.

“Thanks, Rian. Wow, this place looks different. You’ve done a great job.” Claybourne turned

around to stare at the store.

Felix had only been in the store once before Rian and Damian began running the place, but he

had to admit it did look marvelous. Before, it had been slightly dark and dingy, the only color coming
from the brightest candy containers. But Rian had used the different-colored candies to create a
childhood fantasy. Felix felt his mouth watering.

“So, gentleman, what will it be? We only have one more box of ‘Screw You’ chocolate, Damian

and I sent the rest of it to Ashby to be used for ice cream toppings. He was so excited. Gilberton
never allowed him in the store so this is the first time he’s able to offer gourmet chocolate at the
parlor,” Rian said breezily.

“What is ‘Screw You’ chocolate?” Claybourne asked.
Felix turned to his mate. “It was the order that Gilberton used to lure Kent and Sebastian

downstairs. Rian returned the money to the pride and decided to give away the chocolate. I hope that
old bastard is spinning in his grave.”

“I go out there once a week to sprinkle rainbow-colored glitter on his grave,” Rian said. Both

Felix and Claybourne turned to Rian.

“That bastard gave me a hard time for years. It should say something when your own family

doesn’t claim your body. He was buried in a generic plot in the town cemetery since no one wanted to
pay for the burial.”

“Rian, that can’t be healthy,” Claybourne said, sounding concerned.
Rian waved him off. “I’m only doing it throughout Gay Pride month, I’m not obsessed or

anything. I could honestly be spending my time doing scandalous things up at Purgatory instead,” he
said, sighing.

“In that case. I owe my mate some treats. Before we go home for cooking lessons.” Claybourne

looked around the shop. Felix gasped and clutched his chest. Claybourne ignored him.

Felix stumbled back against the counter before turning dramatically to Rian. “My mate hates me.

First, he tries to starve me, now, torture!” He collapsed his upper body over the counter into his arms.

“Oh you poor thing!” Rian comforted Felix who continued a litany of injustices.
“I don’t know how he’s going to teach me to cook. There’s no food in the house.” Felix stood up,

pretending to wipe his eyes.

“What about this one? It’s a variety pack?” Claybourne asked, pointing to the last box of the

‘Screw You’ chocolate, having completely ignored Felix’s high drama.

Immediately Felix stopped his dramatic act and sidled up to his mate. “Yup, that would be

perfect. Can you feed them to me in bed?” he asked coyly.

“You are such a brat.” Claybourne clucked his tongue and walked past him to the checkout. Felix

did not like being ignored. Not one bit.

When the transaction was complete Claybourne nodded to Rian and started walking toward the

door.

“Don’t forget we need to go to the clinic to pick up your Niagara pills before going home.”

Felix turned to Rian who was staring at him. He dropped his voice to a conspiratorial whisper.

“Shifter Viagra. He’s getting older, you know. Bye now.” He waved to Rian and waltzed right

past his mate who was staring at him in shocked horror. He wasn’t thirty seconds outside the door
before he was flipped over his mate’s shoulder again. This time he was being marched with purpose
toward the clinic.

“You know if you take me to the clinic it will only reinforce the rumor you need Niagara,” he

said in a singsong voice.

“You are the most impossible man I have ever met!” Claybourne fumed as he carried him back

to the car. He set him down and pointed to the car door, his neck muscles tight.

“Get in.” Claybourne walked over to his side. He thrust the candy at Felix who put it in his man

bag.

The drive home was a quiet one. Claybourne stormed through the front door and headed to the

bedroom.

“What about my cooking lessons?” Felix asked.
“Starve!” Claybourne yelled before slamming the door. Felix sighed. Okay, maybe it wasn’t as

funny as he thought. He sighed and walked to the bedroom and opened the door.

“Not now, Felix,” Claybourne said through clenched teeth.
“Are you killing me? I don’t see your hands wrapped around my throat. So that means we can

talk about this,” Felix said as he hopped up on the bed.

Claybourne stopped his pacing and looked at his mate, confused. “If I choke you, will you leave

me alone?” he asked, sounding less mad and more curious.

“No.” Felix shook his head.
Claybourne sighed. “I’m sorry for getting so mad.” He walked over and sat on the edge of the

bed.

“You want to tell me why? And there is no choice in the matter, I just thought asking was more

polite,” Felix informed him. He felt better when he saw a ghost of a smile on his mate’s lips.

“The short version is my dad used to publically humiliate me as a form of punishment. It’s why

I’m so obsessed over the small details. I tried never to give him any reason to start on me,” he said
and lay back on the bed, his arm stretched wide.

“My dad would ignore me,” Felix said in a small voice.
“Which is what I was doing in the store, which is why you like being so grandiose about things.”

Claybourne pulled Felix down to lay next to him.

“You try everything you can not to become the center of attention, and I do everything I can to be

the center of attention. We are perfectly matched aren’t we?” Felix rubbed his nose against
Claybourne’s side.

“I’m sorry I humiliated you,” Felix whispered.
“I’m sorry I ignored you,” Claybourne said in return.
“First fight over?” Felix asked. Claybourne nodded.
“Yes! Now it’s time for make-up sex!” Felix sat up and stripped off his shirt and pants.
Claybourne quickly followed his example and began pulling off his clothes, though he hesitated

before dropping them to the floor. Felix smiled and waved his finger at him.

“Remember, dirty is good.” Felix licked his lips while keeping eye contact with his mate.

Claybourne dropped the clothes on the floor.

“I think I will reward you every time you’re dirty.” Felix leaned over his mate’s body.
“Could you…could you take me this time?” Claybourne asked in a rush. Felix paused, tongue

out as he leaned down to lick his mate.

“Lube. We need lube, like now,” Felix said, practically spinning in circles on the bed trying to

remember which dresser had the lube. Claybourne reached under the pillow and waved the tube at
him.

“No wonder you’re a doctor, so damn smart.” Felix grabbed the tube and coated his fingers.
Claybourne went to turn on his stomach but Felix stopped him.
“I’d like to see your face, just try not to squeeze me with these delicious thighs of yours.” Felix

ran his tongue from kneecap to groin. Claybourne moaned and pulled his knees to his chest.

“How long has it been, my mate?” Felix asked, touching the small pink star with his lubed

fingers. He gently teased the opening, pausing randomly to apply pressure to the center, causing his
mate to squirm.

“I haven’t been taken since medical school and even then it was a quick affair, just a way to

release stress,” Claybourne admitted.

“Good, I’ll be the only one to love on you.” Felix inserted a single finger and began to push

against the silken sides of his mate, stretching him slowly.

“God! I may come from just that, what are you doing to me?” Claybourne asked, gasping.
“Loving you,” Felix said quietly before adding another finger, but keeping up the same slow

pace.

“Please, Felix, I need more, this teasing is killing me.” Claybourne thrashed but was careful not

to squeeze his thighs together.

“Soon,” Felix said and continued his measured assault. By the time his mate was easily taking

three fingers and bucking his upper body, Felix was sure that he was ready.

He removed his fingers and Claybourne let out a growl. Felix grinned to himself.
Pushy bottom. Felix shook his head, grabbing the base of his leaking prick and easing the

swollen head into his mate’s tight hole. He pushed so that he was just inside the first ring of muscles
and withdrew before doing it again. He repeated this a few more times, watching his mate carefully to
make sure he was enjoying the slow torture. When Claybourne looked up at him with desperation in
his eyes, he pulled back and slammed forward. Claybourne went wild under him. He kept up the
ruthless pace, never changing speeds, just enjoying every second that he was buried in his mate to the

hilt.

Felix felt himself getting close so he reached down and began stroking his mate in time to his

thrusts. It didn’t take long before Claybourne roared and came, lifting them both off the bed when he
lifted his hips. The sight and smell of his mate’s seed had him coming, and he buried himself as
deeply as he could, filling his mate so that the smell of their pleasure filled the room.

“After our claiming, I thought it would never get as good as that, but this, this was just as

amazing,” Claybourne gasped, trying to draw air into his lungs. Felix had collapsed to lie on his mate,
still buried deep in his body. He felt Claybourne roll their bodies so that they were on their sides.
Slowly he pulled away from Felix, causing both of them to moan in pleasure.

“I…told…you. Gingers are sex gods.” Felix stuck his tongue out. Claybourne chuckled and

eased himself off the bed before going to the bathroom. Felix closed his eyes and enjoyed a moment
of total relaxation. A minute later he felt himself being turned over and wiped clean. He opened one
eye and smiled down at his mate.

“I should be doing that, the fact that you can still move must mean I didn’t do as good of a job as

I thought.” Felix propped himself up on both elbows. He watched his mate handle his cock with care.
Claybourne kissed the head of his cock before throwing the washcloth into the bathroom and climbing
back into bed.

“I take that back, you just threw a dirty washcloth on the bathroom floor. I am back to god

status.” Felix relaxed and allowed Claybourne to pull him into his arms.

“Sleep. I’ll make you waffles when we get up,” Claybourne promised.
Felix congratulated himself on a job well done.

Chapter 4

It was still dark when he heard Claybourne’s cell phone ringing. He picked up the phone and

looked at the time. It was only eleven o’clock. He answered the phone before it woke up his mate.

“Hello?”
“Doctor, no wait, is this Felix?” A familiar female voice asked.
“Yes, this is Felix, who is this?”
“Oh I’m sorry dear, this is Ms. Tully. Can you please get the doctor? Ms. Brayburn is so much

worse,” she sounded panicked. Felix flipped over and began to shake his mate.

“Claybourne, Claybourne!” Felix shoved his shoulder.
“Go back to bed, waffles in the morning,” Claybourne muttered before pulling the sheet over his

head.

“Your phone rang. Ms. Brayburn is worse,” Felix said. Claybourne immediately flipped the

sheet off and reached for the phone.

“Ms. Tully? Yes…yes. I understand. Take her to the clinic, we’ll be there in twenty minutes,”

Claybourne said and ended the call.

Felix reached for his wrinkled clothes and pulled them back on.
“Don’t you have any other clothes?” Claybourne sounded snarky. Felix knew it was because he

was worried, but he was going to nip this in the bud now.

“Yes I do, though not many since I was held against my will for over two years and have only

been free a couple weeks. The clothes that I do have were bought by my friends or donated by
strangers. My entire wardrobe, no matter how meager, however, is currently at the pride house. You
haven’t really thought much about me moving in have you?” Felix stood at the foot of the bed in his
now three-day-old clothes.

Claybourne thumped his head against the bathroom doorjamb before dropping his clothes and

walking over to Felix, pulling him into his arms.

“Please forgive me. I’m worried about Ms. Brayburn, but that is no excuse to treat you like shit.

Thank you for calling me on it, and for pointing out what a terrible mate I have been, ignoring your
needs like this. As soon as I know Ms. Brayburn is doing better we’ll get your things from the pride
house and go shopping. I’ll do anything I can to make this your home too.” Claybourne held him
tightly.

“Then let’s get moving, slowpoke,” Felix said, pushing him back and kissing him on the lips.
“I’ll be waiting by the door.”
“Okay, baby, be right there,” Claybourne promised.
Felix smiled all the way to the front door. His mate had called him baby.

* * * *

Ms. Tully was standing outside her car in front of the clinic when they pulled up. Claybourne

parked and jumped out of the car. He tossed his keys to Felix to unlock the doors and headed over to
Ms. Tully’s car to help Ms. Brayburn out of the passenger seat.

Felix held the door open as Claybourne rushed past him carrying Ms. Brayburn and heading to

the treatment area. Felix was shocked at the way the older woman looked. She was thinner than this

morning, her complexion now a waxy gray color. He quickly followed behind Claybourne.

“Felix, get an IV started, also an antipyretic,” Claybourne said as he started to examine his

patient. Felix went to the cabinets and pulled out the IV needles, a bag of fluid and some Tylenol.

“She hasn’t been awake for nearly two hours, I don’t think you’re going to get her to swallow

those. I tried to get her to shift but it’s like she can’t. She’s too weak,” Ms. Tully pointed out when he
pulled out the pills. He nodded before putting them back.

“Claybourne, I need your keys to the medicine storage, she’s going to need an injection for the

Tylenol,” Felix said, wrapping the rubber band around the frail arm to get the IV started.

He carefully felt around for a vein and gently inserted the needle. He got the bag started and

stepped away. Claybourne reached into his pocket and absently handed him the keys. Felix ran to the
storage  room  that  held  the  drugs  and  unlocked  the  door.  He  quickly  found  the  medical-grade
antipyretic  and  raced  back  into  the  examination  room.  He  carefully  measured  out  the  dosage  and
walked  back  over  to  Ms.  Brayburn.  He  gently  inserted  the  needle  into  the  IV  port  and  began  to
administer the Tylenol.

Thirty seconds later her body began to convulse.
“What in the hell did you give her?” Claybourne demanded.
“Fucking Tylenol, like you asked. Why is she having this reaction?” Felix said as both he and

Claybourne lay across the older woman in an effort to keep her from harming herself. Claybourne
reached behind him and grabbed a bite guard which he put between the older woman’s teeth to keep
her from biting her tongue.

After about a minute the convulsions stopped and her body was still.
“Is she?” Ms. Tully asked crying. Claybourne shook his head.
“She’s fine for now. We’ll let the fluids and Tylenol do their job. Hopefully her fever will

break. I’ve never heard of an illness that affected a person’s ability to shift. Ms. Tully, can you go
over the past couple days to see if we can figure out what led up to this?” Claybourne asked.

“Of course, Doctor. We went home just like you said to do. She changed into her pajamas and

we settled in front of the television. She dozed off and on for hours. I kept giving her water every time
she was awake. I helped her to bed, but then. Then about an hour ago, I heard her moaning in her
sleep. I went into her bedroom and she was burning with fever. That’s when I called. She hasn’t
woken up at all, even when I was calling her name.” Ms. Tully wiped her eyes.

“That’s strange, she wasn’t running a fever before,” Claybourne said, pacing the room.
“Let’s—” Felix began when Claybourne’s phone began to ring. He answered it immediately.
“Liam? Yes, actually I’m already at the clinic. Bring him in immediately.” Claybourne ended the

call and looked over to Felix.

“That was Liam, Damian is out of his mind with fever. They are bringing him in now.”

Claybourne looked around the room.

“Felix, get other beds ready. I want IVs and Tylenol ready at each station. Pull back the curtains,

we don’t need private examining areas, this will be triage,” Claybourne said, pulling the dividing
curtains back.

“You’re acting like there will be more,” Felix whispered. Claybourne turned to him, fear in his

eyes.

“Maybe if we’re prepared, nothing will happen.” Claybourne turned back to arranging the

gurneys in the room.

* * * *

Fifteen minutes later Liam came striding in carrying Damian in his arms. Immediately behind

him were Rian and Kent. Felix directed him to the back where they had a bed prepared. Liam put him
down gently and stepped back to stand beside the bed. Kent immediately moved to his side.

“What’s wrong with him, Doc? He’s so weak and can’t shift,” Liam asked as Kent wrapped an

arm around his mate. Rian moved to stand at Damian’s side. Felix looked around for Sebastian. Kent
saw him looking.

“We left him at home in our bed. We don’t know if it’s contagious, we couldn’t risk him getting

sick, not with him being pregnant,” Kent explained, shooting a look to Claybourne.

Felix nodded. “I told him about hybrid pregnancies already,” he confirmed. Kent breathed out a

sigh of relief.

“Doc, you have this room set up to receive more patients. Do you know something I don’t?”

Liam asked.

“No, I just have this horrible feeling that this will get worse before it gets better. Shifters don’t

get sick. Period. Now I have two shifters in here, dehydrated and running high fevers. Call me a
pessimistic bastard, but yeah, I have a feeling this is just the tip of the iceberg,” Claybourne said.

Felix rolled up Damian’s sleeve and got the IV started. When he administered the Tylenol,

Damian bucked and convulsed the same way that Ms. Brayburn did. Felix and Claybourne
immediately lay across his body to hold him down to prevent him from injuring himself. When
Damian calmed down Claybourne and Felix backed away.

“Liam you need to call the other leaders, we need to see how many people are infected. I pray

that this is it, but I don’t think so,” Claybourne said. Liam nodded and reached for his phone when it
started to ring. Frowning, he answered.

“What! Bring her in. Claybourne is here already. Bran, she isn’t the only one, there are more.

Okay see you soon.” Liam stared at his phone.

“Liam? Liam! Snap out of it, what did Bran say?” Claybourne demanded.
“Kate is sick. She has passed out and won’t wake up,” Liam whispered.
“Get with Gabriel and Aleks, go door to door if you have to. We need to see how many people

are sick.” Claybourne ran to the cabinets. He tossed empty vials to Felix.

“Get blood samples. We need to figure out what in the hell is going on.” Claybourne was about

to turn to Liam when his cell phone began to ring. He fumbled, trying to answer it quickly.

“Hello? Fuck! Yes, bring her in. Aaron, we need you and your sons in town, it’s widespread. I

need help down here. Yes. Thanks.” Claybourne hung his head. Felix went to his mate and wrapped
his arms around him.

“Ma is sick. They’re bringing her to the clinic,” Claybourne whispered. He looked over to

Liam.

“You need to hurry,” he said and Liam paled. The lion Alpha nodded and headed out the door

with Kent. Rian stayed next to Damian.

“Doc, I can go door to door in town. Everyone knows me,” Ms. Tully offered. Claybourne

nodded.

“That would be appreciated, Ms. Tully.” Claybourne squeezed Felix’s hand and stepped away

from the embrace.

“I need those blood samples, Felix. We need to be sure they are labeled and kept organized as

more people come in,” Claybourne explained.

“It’s going to be a long night,” Claybourne whispered.
“Then it’s a good thing we got a nap then isn’t it.” Felix stood on tiptoe and kissed his mate.
“If you start to feel weak or tired you let me know right away,” Claybourne said intently. Felix

nodded.

“You do the same.” Felix gave his mate one last hug and turned to get the blood sample he

needed.

* * * *

Felix was storing the blood when he heard raised voices. Someone was yelling at his mate? Oh,

hell no.

“We’re not leaving, Doc,” Caleb said, his feet spread wide. Claybourne shook his head,

sympathy on his face.

“I understand you’re a ménage mating, I respect that. But it’s one visitor per patient,”

Claybourne said. Arguments erupted all around them, all aimed at his mate. He saw Claybourne’s
shoulders start to slump.

Anger flooded him. He opened his mouth and a thundering roar echoed through the small waiting

room. He pushed his way past the Arkadions to stand between Bran and Claybourne.

“Back the fuck off, wolf. Look around you. This is bigger than you, so stow your shit or I will

personally escort both of you the fuck out of here. You’re out here distracting my mate with bullshit
when he needs to be in there treating the sick, which now includes your mate, and trying to figure out
what is wrong. Open your fucking eyes Alpha, we don’t have the room! We’re getting more patients
by the hour…” He looked up at Claybourne and both had a moment of realization.

“We don’t have the room,” Claybourne whispered.
Caleb and Bran took deep breaths and released them, though both of their eyes were shifted to

wolf.

“You’re right, Felix. Claybourne, I’m sorry, but she’s pregnant. Our wolves are riding us hard,

because they can barely sense her wolf anymore. There is no enemy here to fight and kill. We’re not
doing so well being helpless. We had to leave the boys at home,” Bran said and Caleb wrapped an
arm around him.

“We need Ma,” Connor said brokenly. All the Arkadion boys dropped their heads.
“Or Rebecca, I bet she could help figure this out,” Felix said. Aleks growled.
“Until we know this isn’t contagious, she is staying home.” Aleks shook his head.
Felix stared at him. “She’s home, now, alone?” Felix asked. Aleks nodded. “She spent all day

with Ma, didn’t she? What if she gets sick but no one is there to help?” he asked. Aleks turned white,
looked to his brothers then glanced at the examination rooms where Pa sat with his Ma.

“Go! Go, Aleks, stay with Rebecca. We’ll take care of Ma and Pa. I’ll call you the second we

have an update I swear,” Benedict promised, pushing his brother toward the door.

“You’re second eldest. You’re in charge.” Aleks clapped him on the back then left at a run to

head back to the Arkadion ranch.

“What can we do, Doc?” Connor asked.
“We need help,” Claybourne said, shaking his head.
“I’m not afraid to admit I am out of my depth. This is a CDC type of situation. We need council

help,” Doc said.

“I’ll call my grandfather. We’ll have council support by morning,” Liam promised. He walked

out with Kent, passing Gabriel and Roman as they were walking in.

“What can we do to help?” the elegant prince asked.
“Are any of your coven members medically trained?” Claybourne asked. Gabriel nodded.
“A few. After a few hundred years you get bored. Some got trained as field medics so they could

assist in human wars,” Gabriel explained.

“Thank god! Can you get them down here? Only Felix and I know how to put in an IV or

administer drugs,” Claybourne said.

“Don’t forget me, Doc. I normally treat animals, but the method is the same.” Gavin spoke up.
“ “Good man!” Claybourne nodded.
“The school gym,” Felix blurted out.
Everyone turned to stare at him.
“The school, it’s a central location everyone knows. It’s large enough to hold a lot of people and

supplies. There’s a kitchen and plenty of showers. It would be perfect.” Felix listed all his reasons
for choosing the school.

Claybourne stared at him for a second before walking over and kissing him soundly on the lips.
“I love you,” he admitted. Felix’s eyes watered.
“I love you, too. And don’t think you’re not in trouble for admitting it when we can’t reclaim

each other,” Felix pouted. Claybourne swiped his bottom lip with his tongue.

“All right, gentleman, you heard my gorgeous mate. We’re transferring the sick to the school and

establishing it as the central location,” Claybourne said loudly.

“Gabriel, call in some of your coven members. So far this illness seems to only be affecting

shifters, but we may need some of your coven members who aren’t medically trained to help treat the
sick. Arkadions, you’re on moving detail with the exception of Connor. I need you to head to the
school and start large batches of chicken broth for the sick. Nearly everyone who has come down
with this gets extremely dehydrated.” The Arkadions nodded.

“What about us?” Bran asked pointing to himself and Liam, who had walked back in with Kent.
“Work with Ms. Tully and check in with every single townsperson to make sure the sick are

brought to the school. I would like to try to get to some of the sick before they are unconscious so I
can ask them questions to try and determine where this illness came from and how it’s spreading,”
Claybourne said.

“You got it, Doc. What about Kate?” Bran swallowed hard.
“I will look after her and Damian personally,” Felix assured him. Bran stared at him for a long

moment.

“I’m going to hold you to that. Keep her safe.” Bran and Caleb left the clinic. Felix could hear

them shouting orders to the wolves who had accompanied them and had waited outside.

“Doc, I have the keys to the school. We can start the move whenever you’re ready,” Finn said,

holding up his eyes. Felix had forgotten that Finn taught at the school.

“Okay, let’s do this.” Claybourne rolled up his sleeves.

Chapter 5

By the next afternoon nearly all the pride members except Rian, Sebastian, Liam, and Kent were

on cots in the gym. In addition to the lions were a handful of wolves, more townspeople, and to
everyone’s dismay, children were starting to come in.

Liam came running up to Claybourne. Felix stood up from where he had been seated next to Kate

and walked over to his mate. Rian, seeing his Alpha, stood from Damian’s cot to get the latest news.

“They can’t get in! The damn perimeter has the town on a lock down, like a quarantine.

Grandfather didn’t even know it could do that. We have support, but they can’t get into town.” Liam
kicked an empty box, sending it across the gym.

“We’ll just have to do the best we can,” Claybourne said.
“I mean it, Aleks, move!” A familiar piping voice was heard from outside the gym doors.
Liam sighed, reached into his wallet to hand Rian a five dollar bill.
The door opened and Rebecca came in with Aleks directly behind her trying in vain to put a

mask over her face. She swatted his hands away.

“It’s obviously not airborne or everyone in here would be sick. Where do we stand,

gentleman?” She placed her hands on her hips which only accentuated her bulging belly.

“Rebecca, maybe you should have stayed at home. You need rest,” Claybourne started. She

glared at him so long that he just sighed before giving her the rundown.

“From the time the symptoms first appear to when the fever starts has varied, but on average it’s

about twenty-four hours. After that every patient becomes non-responsive and spikes a high fever. So
far fluids and antipyretics have been able to slow down the fever and keep patients from getting non-
responsive if we can catch it in time. Going door to door has helped. This thing is so innocuous at
first, people have been just assuming they are tired. By the time the twenty-four-hour mark came they
were too far gone,” Claybourne explained.

Felix stepped forward. “We ran out of room at the clinic and moved everyone here early this

morning. Liam called his grandfather for council help, but our perimeter is acting like a quarantine
lockdown. They can’t get in, I’m willing to bet we can’t get out,” he said sighing. Claybourne took his
hand and turned to Rebecca.

“The elderly and the young are being hit the hardest, just like when humans get ill. Right now we

have ten children here, they are doing worse than the adults, and there isn’t much I can do for the
elderly like Ms. Brayburn.” Claybourne ran his hands over his face.

“What do the tests results look like?” Rebecca asked.
Claybourne shook his head. “We’ve been trying to keep our heads above water, I haven’t had a

chance to get into the lab.” Claybourne looked out at the gym floor where over twenty-five patients
waited for him to figure this out.

“Then it’s a good thing I am here,” Rebecca said brightly.
“Absolutely not! You are not playing nursemaid to those people, Rebecca, you are pregnant.”

Aleks growled.

Rebecca glared at him. “This thing seems to be only affecting shifters so I’m safe. That being

said, you should know that I would never endanger our baby. For the record, I suck at being a nurse,
more power to you Felix, I hate it. But I am kick-ass in a lab. It’s why the US government banned me
from studying any field of science in college. I swear, one tiny nuclear explosion at a science fair and

you’re labeled for life. Are the samples at the clinic?” Rebecca asked. Felix fought the urge to cross
himself. One, he wasn’t Catholic and two, it would hurt her feelings. Claybourne recovered first.

“Yes, Rebecca, Felix has been labeling them, name, age, animal, date, and time admitted.” He

dug into his pants and handed her the keys. Aleks stared at his wife.

“Thanks Doc, I won’t let you down.” She turned and started walking out.
“What do you mean they banned you? Why didn’t I know about this? Rebecca? Becca, baby?”

Aleks followed behind Rebecca and they disappeared behind the gym double doors.

“I love Rebecca, but can I say how glad I am that she’s on our side?” Felix asked, shaking his

head. The entire group nodded.

“At least the tests are getting done. That should help immensely.” Claybourne smiled down at

his mate.

“Let’s start asking questions while they’re awake for lunch. Maybe we can figure out what is

causing this,” Felix said.

“Good idea,” Claybourne said.
He and Felix walked around and spoke to the patients who were awake enough to answer

questions. Felix watched the gentle way that Claybourne would speak to and handle the patients,
especially the children, and wondered if he would want one of his own one day. Felix shook his head
and walked to the next cot. Felix made faces at the man who grinned up at them. It was Rex, the one
who made him feel welcome his first night at the pride house by flirting with him outrageously.
Claybourne asked him questions while Felix kept him entertained.

“Thank you, Rex. Try to get some more broth down, Believe it or not, it will make you feel

better,” Claybourne insisted.

Rex smiled weakly. “How about your hot mate gives me a sponge bath?” he whispered, his lips

dry. Claybourne chuckled.

“You’re lucky you’re sick,” his mate said. Rex grinned.
“Why do you think I said it?” Rex blew kisses at Felix who blew them back.
“Doc! Hurry!” A voice yelled out and Claybourne and Felix ran over to where Ms. Tully sat

with Ms. Brayburn. The older woman had gone into convulsions again.

“Let’s move her!” Claybourne yelled.
They wheeled Brayburn into the adjoining smaller gym set up for the sickest of patients. He

wheeled her to one of the stations and began to administer more Tylenol. The machines continued to
beep wildly around them. When her breathing became labored, Claybourne intubated her to get air
into her lungs. When the convulsions stopped her heartbeat was barely there and the respirator was
breathing for her.

“Ms. Tully, I can try giving her an injection of epinephrine. It will induce a fight or flight

reaction, which I am hoping will trigger a shift. I have been hesitant due to her age, but considering
how much she has deteriorated…” Claybourne left the statement hanging.

Ms. Tully nodded. “Do it. We both know that she probably won’t make if we do nothing. If there

is a slight probability it may work, we have to try,” she concluded. Claybourne immediately turned to
the small table and pulled out a syringe. He injected the drug, stood back and waited. He watched the
monitors. As the seconds turned into minutes his frown got deeper.

“There should have been some reaction. I gave her a high enough dosage to affect her animal,

much higher than a human dosage. There’s no reaction. Nothing.” He sounded bewildered.

Ms. Tully patted his arm. “You’ve done everything you can,” she said, wiping her eyes.
Claybourne checked on Brayburn’s vitals. He turned and without saying another word walked

out of the room. Felix followed him to the men’s bathroom. His mate stood bent over the sink, his
hands braced on either side. When he looked up to Felix, his eyes were full to overflowing with tears.

“I can’t save her. I have no idea what is causing this. We don’t have the personnel we need. That

poor woman, and god only knows how many more, are going to die because of me.”

Felix had his arms wrapped around his mate within seconds. “You are not God, Claybourne.

None of this is your fault. You are doing everything you can to keep these people alive while we
investigate what’s causing this. There’s nothing more you can do,” Felix said, holding his mate tightly.
Claybourne turned and pulled Felix in his arms, burying his face in his neck. Felix squeezed tighter.

“You’re right. I have always complained that I’m simply a bone setter, not a real doctor,

practicing here in a shifter town. But I think I’ve taken it for granted that my patients don’t get sick and
die. I’m not used to losing people, Felix, not like this.” Claybourne stood straight and kissed Felix on
the forehead.

“We’ll get through this,” Felix said. Claybourne nodded and turned back to the sink. He ran

water to wash his face. Felix reached over, pulled down a few paper towels and passed them to his
mate. Claybourne smiled his thanks, wiping his face.

“Okay. Let’s go see Ms. Tully,” Claybourne said. Felix grabbed his hand and they walked back

to the smaller gym where Ms. Tully stood by her friend’s side.

“Ms. Tully, I’m sorry for leaving so abruptly. Ms. Brayburn…” Claybourne started.
“Edith. Her name is Edith. My friend is dying isn’t she, Maddox?” Ms. Tully asked.
Claybourne nodded. “She was one of the first infected, and she just doesn’t have the strength to

fight much longer,” Claybourne admitted.

Ms. Tully nodded. “I will miss my friend. Can you leave us alone for a while, Doctor? I’d like

to say my good-byes,” Ms. Tully asked softly.

“Of course.” Claybourne kissed the older woman on the cheek and stood back. He held out his

hand. Felix walked over and took it. Together they walked back to the others.

* * * *

Benedict intercepted them in the hallway before they could get to the larger gym.
“Ms. Brayburn, she’s not going to make it, is she?” Benedict asked. Claybourne shook his head.

All the blood drained from Benedict’s face.

“Ma got sick right after Ms. Brayburn. Doc, what are we going to do?” he asked desperately.
“Actually, it was Damian then your ma. Both have youth on their side. Ms. Brayburn is old, even

for a shifter. We’ll figure something out, Benedict, you’ll see,” Claybourne said.

“We can’t lose her, Doc, we just can’t.” Benedict shook his head.
“You and your brothers should take turns sitting with her. That always helps,” Claybourne

suggested. Benedict nodded and headed to the cafeteria. Felix tugged on his mate’s hand, leading him
down the side hallway away from the gym until they came to the teacher’s lounge.

“What are you doing?” Claybourne asked. Felix pushed him on to the sofa.
“You need to eat and rest,” Felix said. Claybourne went to stand and Felix pushed him back

down.

“Just a quick bite. Put your feet up and close your eyes, rest. I’ll grab us some sandwiches and

be right back,” Felix pleaded. Claybourne capitulated, removed his glasses and closed his eyes.

“Just for a minute,” he said and then nodded off. Felix smiled. His mate hadn’t rested at all

through the night and the emotional burden he was shouldering was heavy. He needed this. Now. Time
to find some grub.

Felix opened the cafeteria door to see Benedict speaking to all of his brothers, including Aleks.

Bran and Liam sat with them. He walked over to Connor.

“Hey, Connor, got anything for Claybourne? I’d give him soup but he needs something more

substantial,” Felix asked. Connor nodded and headed to the kitchen.

“Where is Doc?” Finn asked.
“He’s taking a nap in the teacher’s lounge,” Felix said. He watched as Finn’s face grew dark.
“Why in the hell is he napping? People are dying, my ma is dying, and he’s taking a fucking

nap!” Finn slammed both hands down on the table. Everyone looked angry.

“Kate is getting worse. What has he done to stop this thing?” Bran asked.
“Nearly every member of my pride is in the gym fighting for their lives. He doesn’t have time to

take a nap,” Liam argued.

“You know what. Fuck you all. Claybourne has been working around the clock for close to two

days now. He hasn’t slept or eaten. Want to know what he’s been doing? Look in the fucking gym.
There are over twenty people lying there fairly comfortable, being treated because of him. He’s not a
miracle worker. He’s a physician in a shifter-only town. He doesn’t have the equipment to deal with
this type of outbreak. He hasn’t had enough time to sit down and go through our interview notes to see
if we can determine the cause. But instead of helping out, you all are in here bitching and feeling sorry
for yourselves. Before you dare to breathe another one of those accusations to anyone else about what
Claybourne is or isn’t doing, ask yourself this. What would happen to those twenty or more people
including Ma, Kate, and the pride members if Claybourne got sick?” Felix yelled his last question,
breathing hard.

“He’s right. Again. Sorry, Felix. I don’t know how humans deal with this. If someone was

attacking Ma, I’d rip their fucking throats out, but this quiet, drawn-out waiting. This helplessness as
you watch someone you love die slowly? I don’t know how they do it.” Finn shook his head then put
it down on the table. Benedict wrapped an arm around his brother.

“Here you go, Felix. Lots of soup and sandwiches. Take some time with Doc. We’ll work the

gym to make sure everyone is taken care of.” Connor handed up a cooler.

“Thanks, Connor.” Felix turned to leave but couldn’t leave things as they were. He turned back

around.

“Hey guys, we’ll get through this okay? We’ll have a huge party and celebrate kicking this

thing’s ass.” Felix forced a smile.

“Go on, take care of your mate. After everyone has recovered we have a party to plan,” Bran

said, smiling at Felix. Felix smiled back and turned to walk out.

“I’m gonna get so fucked up,” he whispered to himself.
“Heard that!” Emmett called out.
“Busted!” Duncan yelled. Felix smiled a genuine smile and flipped them both off, causing them

to laugh. Feeling better than he had in a few days, he went to feed his man.

* * * *

“You shouldn’t have let me sleep so long,” Claybourne complained. Though he had to admit he

did feel better. Felix rolled his eyes.

“Oh no, you slept a whole four and a half hours! Gasp! Eat your sandwich,” Felix ordered.
“What about the patients?” Claybourne asked, sipping on the soup.
“The Arkadions, Bran, and Liam are walking the gym. They know what to do. Sandwich. Now.

While we eat lets go over some of our notes. We’ll be productive and eating at the same time.” Felix
handed Claybourne his notebook. Claybourne rubbed his eyes and looked down at his notes.

“You’re the best, Felix. All right then, let’s look at what we know,” Claybourne began.
“It’s a short list,” Felix grumbled.
“Okay, we know that Brayburn was the first case,” Claybourne said. Felix stopped him.
“Technically we don’t know that she was the first case, she was the first case we saw. We can’t

use that to establish a timeline,” Felix said. Claybourne’s mouth dropped. He had never considered
the possibility that she wasn’t the first case.

“You know, if you keep giving me looks like that, you’re going to give me low self-esteem. I’m

smart, I went to college and nursing school. Give me some credit.” Felix glared at his mate.

“Sorry, you were just so hot right then my brain got stuck,” Claybourne admitted.
“Well when you put it like that, entirely okay.” Felix leaned in and kissed his mate.
“Okay, so Brayburn was the first reported case. Then Damian, then Ma. They all were sick

enough to search me out on the same day. Brayburn is worse off due to her age. Whatever this is, it
zaps your strength and she didn’t have a lot to begin with. It affects only shifters, regardless of animal
group, not humans or vampires. Epinephrine has no effect at all. We tested on Brayburn and then later
on Damian. It didn’t even increase the heart rate, which is a physical impossibility.” Claybourne read
from his list.

“It has an incubation time between twenty-four and forty-eight hours. It hits hard and fast, like it

means to kill,” Felix said. Claybourne looked up sharply. His small mate’s keen perceptions always
seemed to contradict his sometimes spastic behavior. But he had to admit that his mate was truly
brilliant. Felix simply didn’t care what people thought about him and said whatever popped into his
head.

“Why do you say that?” he asked. Felix put his notes down.
“Most illnesses don’t hit this quick. The way this one affects the host. Makes it weak and tired.

Not many people would go to the doctor for that, they would just go to bed. Once in bed this thing has
eight to twelve hours to really spread. When they wake up and still aren’t feeling well they may go to
the doctor, but there are no visible symptoms. You examined all three and came up with the same
diagnosis that I would have. Dehydrated and run down. So we advise them to go home and get more
rest. This thing has another eight to twelve hours to spread, but this time with a fever to further
weaken the body. By the time we begin to administer more fluids and Tylenol, this thing has a solid
foothold. But by then it’s too late, they are too weak to fight this off.” Felix shook his head. “I’m just
guessing,” he said.

“No, that’s good. It’s really good. But we caught it, we had three people come down with it at

the exact same time, which put us on alert. That alone may have saved the town.” Claybourne put his
notebook down.

“Where did it come from though?” Felix asked.
“Field Day. Everyone started to get sick after Field Day,” Claybourne said, slapping his

notebook. He just knew it had to be something at Field Day.

“What could have infected such a wide range of people?” Felix thought out loud.
Claybourne looked down at his empty plate.
“The food. I bet it was something in the food at Field Day,” Claybourne said excitedly.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone.
“Benedict, I need you to do something. See if you can track down any of the food served at Field

Day if there is any left. Bag it, label it, and leave it in the fridge at the clinic. Yeah, thanks.”
Claybourne ended the call.

“Do you think they’ll find something?” Felix asked.
“I don’t know but it’s a start.” Claybourne finished eating his sandwich and stood to throw his

plate away. Felix handed him his empty plate too.

“There you are. I’ve been looking everywhere for you,” Rebecca said, walking into the lounge.
“What did you find?” Claybourne asked.
“It’s a virus. A really nasty virus. But there’s something weird about it. It doesn’t act right.

Normally, a virus hits the body and goes out to conquer, converting or reproducing using everything in
its path. Under the microscope I swear I saw the virus wait for a large group of white blood cells to
drift by then attack. It actually looked like it attacked.” She collapsed onto the couch, rubbing her
back. Claybourne immediately went to her side.

“You overdid it. Please tell me you weren’t on that microscope all day?” he begged, rubbing her

back for her.

She let out a happy sigh. “Off and on, yes. But I had to. Ma is sick, and the more we know about

this thing the faster she can get better.” She looked at Claybourne, who had stopped rubbing her back,
and turned to Felix.

“What? What’s that look for?” she demanded. Claybourne sat up and took Rebecca’s hand. He

began to explain about Brayburn. Claybourne’s heart broke as he watched her put all of the pieces
together.

“Ma is dying, isn’t she?” she asked, crying brokenly into his shoulder.
“Not yet. With what you have discovered plus our theories, we made real strides today in trying

to track down what this thing is,” Claybourne reassured her. There was a knock at the door and Ms.
Tully walked in with red eyes.

“Doctor, I think it’s time,” she said softly.
“Oh no. No!” Rebecca cried. Ms. Tully went to the younger woman and held her close.
“Do what you have to do, Doc, I’ve said my good-byes. She’s no longer there, it’s just a shell

now. She’s finally going to be able to see her mate again. Let’s not keep them apart any longer,” Ms.
Tully said, comforting the crying Alpha Mother. Claybourne could only imagine how overwhelmed
with grief and fear the small human was. She loved Aleks’s Ma like a second mother.

Claybourne stood and straightened his shoulders. He headed out the door to the small gym. Felix

followed behind him. Claybourne gently began to unhook everything. He explained in a soft voice to a
patient that could no longer hear him what he was doing. Claybourne leaned in and kissed the
woman’s forehead in the same gesture that he had done not two days ago. He heard a soft click and
the respirator stopped. The steady beep of the heart rate monitor was cut short when Claybourne

Chapter 6

That night news of Ms. Brayburn’s death hung in the gym like a foreboding miasma. Everyone

was  quiet,  some  huddled  together,  crying  for  the  friend  they  had  lost.  More  patients  were  being
brought  in  which  meant  that  their  theory  about  the  twenty-four  hour  to  forty-eight  hour  incubation
period  was  wrong.  Claybourne  made  his  rounds,  administered  more  Tylenol,  and  checked  to  make
sure those who were getting weaker weren’t exhibiting new symptoms.

Felix did what he could to help, but it was like pouring water through a sieve. Without knowing

the cause, they were just fighting against time.

“Doc! Doc! Please help!” Liam’s voice shouted as he carried Sebastian in, Kent frantic beside

him.

“What happened?” Claybourne demanded, running up and directing them to one of the cots.
“He said he was tired and went to bed early last night. Everything has been so crazy and he

hadn’t shown any symptoms before, we didn’t think anything of it. This morning he was still sleeping
so Kent and I snuck downstairs for a conference call with Grandfather, and when we went back
upstairs he was still asleep, he hadn’t moved. He is in and out of it,” Liam explained, tears dripping
from his chin.

“This is all my fault!” Kent exclaimed. Liam turned to his other mate and pulled him into his

arms.

“No it’s not! We both missed it.” Liam’s voice broke.
“It’s not your fault, stop blaming yourselves,” Sebastian said from the cot. Liam and Kent were

instantly on their knees beside their mate.

“We won’t, but you have to get better,” Liam tried to bargain. Felix felt himself begin to shake.

He couldn’t lose Sebastian, he was his only family.

“Tylenol, IV, blankets! I’ll…I’ll get them, hold on!” he yelled. He ran over to the supply station

and stared in shock at how little they had. He grabbed what he needed and turned around to race back
to Sebastian when he ran into Claybourne’s chest. Claybourne reached out, took the supplies from his
hands, and put them back on the table.

“It’s okay, Felix,” Claybourne said.
“No, he’s my friend. He needs me. I can’t lose my shit now,” Felix said and couldn’t stop the

sobs.

“No! I don’t have time for this.” Felix struggled in Claybourne’s arms, trying to get back to

Sebastian.

“Shuush. Baptista is setting up his IV. Love, look at your hands, you wouldn’t be able to stick

him without hurting him. You have been there for everyone, let us handle this for you,” Claybourne
whispered. Felix sagged against his mate.

“I can’t lose him, I can’t,” Felix whispered over and over again. Claybourne rubbed his back.
“Come on, let’s go see him. He’s worried about you.” Claybourne pulled his mate back over to

where Sebastian lay looking small and weak.

“I hope you don’t think you’re to try getting a needle in me, Felix, your hands are shaking,”

Sebastian joked, opening one eye to look at his friend. Felix shook his head and sniffed loudly. If his
Sebastian could be brave, so could he.

“Pul-lease, having two mates I’d thought you’d welcome more holes,” Felix rebuffed.

Sebastian’s mouth dropped before he began to laugh softly.

“Oh my god! I can’t believe you said that.” Sebastian grinned up at him. Felix winked.
“We’re giving you extra fluids since you’re pregnant, evidently.” Claybourne raised an eyebrow.

Sebastian winced.

“We were going to tell you…” Sebastian started.
“How can I help?” Nic asked, running over. He had been bouncing between Kate and Damian,

helping to care for them since the temporary clinic was set up.

“Make sure that you keep refreshing his fluid bag, just like Kate’s. It’s important for them to stay

hydrated with them both being pregnant,” Felix explained.

Nic pushed his curly bangs out of his eyes, exhausted.
“Nic, you need to make sure you take the time to rest. It won’t do them any good if you

collapse,” Felix admonished. Nic nodded.

“Claybourne!” A majestic voice shouted, and waves of power and panic drifted through the

gym. Baptista dropped the blanket he was holding for Sebastian and sprinted over to his prince,
directing him over to an empty cot.

“Oh my god, that’s Ashby!” Felix gasped. All of the blood drained from Nic’s face before he ran

over to his best friend.

“Go, go help him,” Sebastian insisted. Felix felt torn as he watched his mate race over to the

vampire prince.

“He’s not awake, Felix, he’ll need you more.” Sebastian yawned.
“You stay awake, fight this, Sebastian. You’re all I have,” Felix whispered and hugged his friend

fiercely.

“I will. Go.” he pushed him toward Ashby. Felix ran over to see Baptista taking deep breaths

before attempting an IV. Carefully he took the bag and needle from him.

“You did the same for me. I’ve got this. See?” Felix said, showing him steady hands. Baptista

nodded and swallowed hard.

“Hang on, Ashby!” Nic wept and held his friend’s hand tightly. Felix watched as Nic became

unglued. After the IV was in, he went to the locked supply closet they had brought in. He unlocked and
opened the door and pulled out the small glass bottle he was looking for. He took out a syringe and
measured the dosage he wanted. When he got back to Ashby’s cot, Nic was incoherent.

“He’s my family! I can’t lose my brother, oh please don’t be sick, don’t leave me!” Nic

screamed. Claybourne stepped forward and Felix, standing behind Nic, held up the syringe and
pointed to Nic. Claybourne and Gabriel grabbed the shifter’s arms as Felix jumped forward and stuck
Nic in the leg and pushed the plunger.

“What…?” Nic asked before his eyes fluttered shut. Baptista lifted the smaller man and lay him

close to Ashby. In their sleep the two men turned to one another. Gabriel sighed.

“How did he get sick? He’s been at the coven house the entire time,” Gabriel demanded.
“I don’t know! We know so little about this virus,” Claybourne said, reaching over to check

Ashby’s vitals.

“I missed the signs. I thought that he wouldn’t be affected. We don’t live with any shifters. Hell,

he didn’t even go to Field Day.” Gabriel paced in front of Ashby’s cot. Felix pulled the blanket up
over the two men and froze as his words sunk in.

“What did you say?” he asked in a horrified whisper.

“He wasn’t exposed to other shifters.” Gabriel looked confused. Claybourne looked over to

Felix, fear and impotent frustration flooding their mating bond.

“Prince Gabriel, we have set your mate up like the others, with extra fluids and a low dosage of

Tylenol. That is the most effective treatment that we have at the moment. Please excuse me.”
Claybourne barely managed to get the clipped words out. With clenched fists he walked away from
the cot before going over to the supply table. With a roar of frustration he flipped the table, spilling
everything across the gym floor. Everyone stared at the normally composed doctor in shock.

“Goddammit!” he yelled, then kicked the gym door off its hinges before leaving.
“What is it, Felix? You know, don’t you, why he’s so upset?” Gabriel asked.
“After days of treating this thing, we were going on the theory that this virus had a twenty-four to

forty-eight hour incubation period and that the source was something at Field Day. With Sebastian and
now Ashby coming in, the incubation period and the Field Day theories are out the window. We’re
back to square one, which is with no answers and people dying.” Felix ran a hand over Ashby’s soft
blond curls.

“Go to him, Felix. We need him. Ashby needs him functioning,” Gabriel ordered.
Felix stepped back and his eyes met the prince’s. He hadn’t seen hopelessness like that in a

man’s eyes since he had been stuck in that cage.

“Lots of fluids. Don’t hesitate to come get me.” Felix ran after his mate.

* * * *

When he entered the teacher’s lounge, Claybourne was breathing hard and staring out the

window.

“Meredith Wade slipped into a coma today,” Claybourne said quietly, not bothering to turn

around.

“I know,” Felix said and stood behind his mate. He reached out one hand and placed it in the

center of his mate’s back.

“I was the one who delivered her. I delivered most of the children,” Claybourne whispered.
“It has to be Field Day.” Claybourne shook his head.
“Not everything fits into neat little boxes, my mate. You know it can’t be Field Day, not with

Ashby and Sebastian getting sick. You’re too intelligent to continue beating your head against that
wall.” Felix felt his mate’s back muscles flex as he took in a deep, ragged breath.

“It has to be, Felix, because otherwise I don’t think I can save them. All the time we spent

gathering samples cannot be for nothing.” He continued to stare out the window.

“It hasn’t been for nothing. Every time we test something, we eliminate a source. That is a lot of

work done. It’s not for nothing.” Felix leaned forward and placed his forehead against his mate’s
back.

“I acted like an idiot,” Claybourne admitted.
“No, you acted like a man who has the weight of the world bearing down on him. We’ve all had

so much to deal with today, you more than others. No one is blaming you in the least.” Felix wrapped
his arms around his mate and held him tight so that his chest was flush with the hard contours of his
mate’s body.

“Remind me to light a candle for Fate. She knew what she was doing when she brought you to

me. I don’t think I could have gotten this far alone.” Claybourne turned so that Felix was staring up
into his eyes.

“Having a nurse around was a help too, huh?” Felix smiled. Claybourne shook his head.
“Not just any nurse. You, my love. I have come to lean on you so much, so fast. It’s because it’s

you.” Claybourne hugged Felix tightly. Felix closed his eyes and buried his face in Claybourne’s
chest, breathing in the smell of his man. No matter what happened, he would find a way to protect
this. This gentle and amazing man.

A knock sounded at the door. A sheep-faced Emmett stood there.
“I really hate to interrupt, but Pint-Size has called a meeting. She is calling all the leaders in and

we need you, Doc,” Emmett explained.

“I’ll be right there. Where are we meeting?” he asked. Emmett sighed.
“The principal’s conference room.” He shook his head and shut the door.
“Is Rebecca seriously calling all the leaders to the principal’s office at two o’clock in the

morning?” Felix asked. Claybourne shook his head.

“Thank whatever gods that are listening for that small woman. Come on, Felix, one thing I have

learned about Rebecca, is that you never, ever want to piss her off.” Claybourne wrapped his arm
around his mate’s waist as they headed to the principal’s office.

* * * *

“All right, gentlemen. Sit down. Let’s get started,” Rebecca said when they walked in. Felix and

Claybourne quickly found seats around the long table where the town’s leaders sat. Aleks, Caleb,
Bran, Liam, Kent and Gabriel, along with all of Aleks’s brothers, Baptista, Roman and Riley.

“My ma and every single member of my Inner Court is laid out in that gym. What do we know?”

Rebecca started.

Everyone looked to Claybourne. Rebecca spoke up.
“I want answers and observations from everyone. Claybourne can explain some of the medical

symptoms, but he’s been up to his eyeballs in treating people. You gentlemen have been out in town,
talking with people and helping to gather data. Everyone needs to speak up,” Rebecca said. Felix
wanted to do a fist pump. Pint-sized or not, Rebecca knew the score.

“None of the vampires are infected. Not one. Ashby managed to contract this illness with no

contact with any other shifter. I think that is a huge piece of the puzzle,” Roman pointed out.

“Excellent. Next,” Rebecca ordered.
“Did anyone bring anything back from Field Day for Ashby to try?” Claybourne asked. Felix

gave him a look.

“I’m not trying to fit things into neat boxes, but the timing is too close to be coincidental and

easily discard,” Claybourne explained. Rebecca nodded and turned to Gabriel.

“He tried the ice cream the twins made and some other things. I’m afraid I don’t know

everything he tried.” Gabriel ran a hand over his face sadly.

“David and Daniel would know,” Roman said.
“Call them in,” Rebecca said. Roman got out his cell phone and all but threatened bodily harm

to get the twins to come. Rebecca sighed.

“I should’ve called them.”

A few minutes later a timorous knock sounded on the door.
“Come in,” Rebecca called out.
“You needed to see us?” Daniel asked.
“Yes, can you recall what foods Ashby tried from Field Day?” Rebecca asked. Daniel

brightened.

“Yes. He had some of the ice cream we made, though he was still kinda mad we used his

equipment,” Daniel started.

“He calmed down when Gabriel offered him new equipment for the shop.” David smiled.
“Yup, then he tried Ma’s apple pie. Man, that was good.” Daniel sighed.
“Oh and he tried those meat skewers that Beau did, though he only got half because piggy over

there ate most of them.” David jerked a thumb to his twin.

“Oh yeah, well you ate most of the cotton candy we brought home for him to try,” Daniel

retorted.

“That was good too.”
“It was.”
“Let’s see, he also tried the funnel cake, the lamb burger, the shifter footlong. We had fun with

that one.” David leered.

“Also roasted peanuts, the candied apples, the hot-beef sundae, the chocolate-covered bacon,

and the fried green tomatoes,” David said. Everyone stared at them, waiting for them to continue.

“Oh, that’s it,” Daniel clarified.
“God, that’s enough.” Rebecca looked green.
“With you, Sebastian, and Kate pregnant, he’s been getting cravings.” David shrugged.
“Thank you, you can go now.” Rebecca turned back to the group when they left.
“It was like he was at Field Day with all the food he tried,” she admitted. Liam shook his head.
“Sebastian didn’t eat any of that stuff. His stomach is really delicate right now.” His face grew

pained. Kent grabbed his mate’s hand and held on tight.

“Felix has the theory that this virus was engineered. He may be right.” Claybourne went on to

explain Felix’s reasoning.

“Well if it was meant to cripple this town, it’s doing a horrible job,” Baptista said. Everyone

turned to the large vampire, who quickly started to backpedal.

“What I meant to say is that if it was designed to take out Arkadia, then how come none of the

leaders are infected? You all are still able to meet and lead,” he said and pointed to everyone around
the table.

“Unless they wanted to torture us, since our mates are infected,” Liam whispered.
“I feel like we’re missing something obvious,” Rebecca stomped her foot.
“Not to add to the list of shit going wrong, but we’re nearly out of supplies. In fact, the only

reason we’ve made it this long is my mate’s tendency to overplan,” Felix said grimly.

“We have a ton of supplies right outside the perimeter. My grandfather and council support team

have been camping just outside of town, they just can’t get to us,” Liam said, sounding frustrated.

“You didn’t read the Arkadian Gazette, did you?” Rebecca eyed her friend.
“Becca, I can’t see how that has anything to do with this,” Liam countered.
She looked around and got blank expressions.
“In volume one, issue one of the town’s newsletter, I wrote a safety reminder about hyenas and

our Hyena Watch,” she said. She still got blank expressions.

“In the warning I said to be careful, because although the hyenas would slam against the

perimeter, their bullets could come through with no problems,” she said, staring at them expectantly.

“Oh, come on!” she exclaimed, throwing her hands up. The lightbulb went off for Felix.
“The perimeter is only keeping animate objects in or out. If the council team got a long pole,

they could try pushing supplies through,” Felix said. Rebecca beamed at him.

“How did we get along without you?” Liam asked. Rebecca sniffed.
“I wonder on some days.” She stuck her tongue out at them.
The sound of running feet had them all tensing and turning to the door. The door flew open and

Rian burst through.

“Aleks, it’s your ma.” Those were the only words he managed to get out before Aleks, followed

by his brothers, ran for the gym, the room’s occupants quickly following them.

Chapter 7

Felix ran with Claybourne to help with Ma. The woman’s breathing had slowed and her fever

had spiked.

“Connor, run get some ice packs. We have some prepared in the cooler!” Felix yelled.
Connor and Benedict returned with handfuls of ice packs. Claybourne immediately began

packing them at her groin and under her arms. The group worked in tandem, replacing ice packs as
they melted and wiping her down. Finally, about an hour later her fever lowered. Claybourne shooed
the boys away. Felix helped his mate strip the town matriarch and dress her in dry clothing, having
already changed the bedding.

Exhausted, Claybourne pushed aside the privacy screen so that the Arkadions could be near

their ma. Felix walked the soiled bedding and clothes over to where a vampire waited next to a large
wheeled cart.

“Kurt, isn’t it?” Felix asked. The large man nodded.
“My prince has asked that I help with keeping the laundry done up. I’m not that good dealing

with people.” The man looked embarrassed. Felix dropped the bedding and clothes in the bin.

“Not everyone is, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. You couldn’t get me to do this laundry for

love nor money. So I thank you from the bottom of my dainty heart,” Felix cajoled, getting a smile
from the shy vampire.

Liam came back into the gym smiling and holding a large box. Felix clapped his hands and ran

over to see what was inside.

“While you guys were taking care of Ma, I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. So I took Riley

and a bunch of wolves to the perimeter to speak to my grandfather. He was just as disgusted with
himself as I was that we didn’t think of the solution sooner. We now have a steady stream of supplies
coming in, including stronger fever reducers.” Liam handed the box to Felix. Felix took the box to the
supply table, nearly weeping for joy. They were finally getting the supplies they needed.

“Grandfather said that there is plenty more where that came from, and not to worry about having

enough. If you get me a list, he can try to get whatever you need.” Liam watched Felix’s excitement.

“This will help Sebastian, right?” Liam asked, sounding anxious. Felix nodded.
“I’ll get him started on the new medicine right away,” he promised. Liam looking relieved and

headed back over to his mate, sitting down next to Kent.

Claybourne nearly sagged in relief when Felix showed him the new supplies. Felix watched as

Claybourne did what he could to slow the virus. He added a second bag of fluid to everyone’s IV, and
with the new supplies coming in he was able to start everyone on a broad-spectrum antiviral
medication. But despite the new medicines, Ma was still getting worse. Pa hadn’t spoken in days. He
had shifted and was stretched out at the foot of his mate’s cot. Felix had never seen a more
heartbreaking sight.

Everyone spent the entire day helping those who were sick. No one was getting better, no one

was turning the corner. Everyone was simply getting weaker. Rebecca had locked herself in the lab.
Hours later Aleks came in, looking harried. He asked for Felix to check on Rebecca. Aleks said that
she refused to come out of the lab and he was worried about her. Felix advised Aleks to check on his
ma and assured him he would take care of Rebecca. He walked to the clinic and stood outside the lab
door. Seconds later he heard frustrated shouts, the sounds of glass hitting the walls, and crying.

Felix couldn’t let the tiny human face her pain alone. He waited until the sounds of crying

subsided, knocked on the door, and announced that it was him. When the door opened he held his
arms open and Rebecca launched herself at him.

“Aleks must hate me,” Rebecca cried. Felix looked down at her, confused.
“Why would he hate you?” he asked gently.
“I haven’t been able to find the source. We’re going to lose Ma.” She buried her face in his

chest. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her.

“That man loves you, honey. Trust me. I would have strangled your crazy ass a long time ago.”

Felix tickled her side. She looked up at him and wiped her eyes.

“You’re probably right. He didn’t even roar when I explained about the bomb I made when I

was twelve. Then again, he does have a lot on his mind right now.” Rebecca sniffed loudly, rubbing
her nose.

“That man is a damn saint,” Felix said to the ceiling. Rebecca poked him in the stomach.
“Ow! Come on, Pint-Size, let’s head back. We have new supplies now, thanks to your common

sense. Things are looking up.” Felix steered her to the door. Rebecca snuggled up under his arm as
they walked back to the school. When they reached the gym, Rebecca stood on tiptoe to kiss his
cheek.

“Thank you,” she whispered and walked over to where Aleks sat with his ma.
Felix watched as she put her own pain aside, heading to her mate. At her approach Aleks turned

in his chair and buried his face in her chest. Felix and Rebecca’s eyes met and she nodded. Felix
understood. Mates came first, even before your own suffering.

The day transitioned into evening and it was almost too peaceful. Everyone barely spoke, afraid

to break the silence. It was like the eerie, surreal calm before the storm. Felix wanted to scream and
yell for people not to give up. It seemed like everyone had just accepted that their loved ones would
die. Without a cure, they would.

A few hours after midnight on the fifth day, Ma, Kate, and Damian slipped into comas. Felix

couldn’t help but think of what Baptista had said about the leaders being able to lead. He was wrong.
If these men lost their mates, there would be no leadership needed because there would be no
Arkadia.

He felt hot tears of frustration run down his face. He had only been in Arkadia for a short time,

but he had come to love it here. It was the first place where he felt like he had a real home, and not
just because he met Claybourne. He had come to care about the people in the pride and in town. He
couldn’t just stand by and do nothing while this special town was destroyed from the inside out.

“The antiviral is slowing the progress. I’ve been on conference calls with a board of assembled

doctors explaining the symptoms. We’re not as alone as we think we are.” Claybourne came up
behind Felix and held his mate.

“How can you bear it? You’ve been here so much longer.” Felix wiped his eyes.
“You’re right. I delivered nearly all of the children lying in these cots. I’ve attended mating

parties, birthday parties, and school plays. I bear it because they need me. Because if I can’t bear it,
and collapse, they really don’t stand a chance,” Claybourne admitted.

“Have I told you lately how amazing you are?” Felix asked.
“No, not today,” Claybourne whispered.
“You are, you are the most amazing man I have ever met,” Felix said. Claybourne squeezed him

then stepped away.

“It’s time for my morning rounds,” he said.
“You need to take a real break. Get some sleep,” Felix protested. Claybourne shook his head.
“Soon. I will soon,” he promised. Felix snorted. He didn’t believe him for a minute.
“I’ll grab you some breakfast,” he offered. Claybourne grinned.
“And coffee,” he requested.
“And your sludge coffee,” Felix said. He walked through to the cafeteria, which was mostly

empty. Connor had chosen to stay near his family, so for kitchen duty he simply put out boxes of
cereal, milk, and fruit. The coffee pots on the folding table by the door had seen too much use and
were being run constantly.

“The Lucky Charms are stale, yet they strangely taste okay,” Rebecca said, looking up from her

breakfast.

“I wonder how hard it is to cook.” Felix eyed the kitchen. His man deserved a hot meal.
“If they have to evacuate everyone because of smoke from your cooking attempts, Claybourne

will skin you alive, mate or no mate,” Rebecca said. Felix sighed.

“You’re right. Let’s see. Healthy and boring, or sugar overload? Hmmm I think I’ll go with sugar

overload. He needs the extra energy.” Felix poured two bowls of Lucky Charms.

“He’ll hate…” Rebecca started and a funny look crossed her face. She dropped her spoon and

grabbed her midsection. When she looked up she had a look of stark terror on her face.

“Felix. My baby! Something is wrong with my baby!” she said before curling in on herself.

Felix dropped both bowls and ran over to her.

“Breathe, honey. It will be okay,” Felix said, easily lifting her. He jogged through the hallways,

hitting the gym door at a run. He leaned back and kicked it open, sending the thing flying into the wall.

Felix watched as Claybourne’s head came around and saw who he was carrying. Dropping his

clipboard he ran over.

“No! Becca, baby, no! Why, Doc? Why is she sick? She’s not a shifter!” Aleks, who had already

been halfway across the gym, heading for the door, grabbed Claybourne by the upper arms and was
shaking the man.

Felix gently eased Rebecca on the cot. He looked up.
“Liam, Benedict, grab him!” he yelled.
Liam and Benedict pried Aleks’s hands off Claybourne, allowing his mate to turn to Rebecca. In

the background they could hear Aleks roar and thrash. Liam and Benedict tried their best to subdue
Aleks. Pa jumped off Ma’s bed, stood on his hind legs, and roared. Immediately Aleks froze and
dropped to his knees. The large older bear padded over to his son. Aleks grabbed Rebecca’s hand
and lay his head next to hers.

“Aleks is being loud again, isn’t he?” Rebecca asked weakly, then gasped as another wave of

pain hit her.

“Is it contractions?” Felix asked. He attached blood pressure cuffs, heart rate monitors, and fetal

monitors to Rebecca.

“I don’t think so. The baby is in distress.” Claybourne wheeled an ultrasound machine around

and lifted Rebecca’s shirt before smearing her belly with the clear gel. Expertly he traced the wand
over her stomach.

Felix watched in fascination as the little life force appeared.

“Surprise, it’s a boy,” Claybourne said. Rebecca snorted.
“We knew that, Doc.” She dug her fingers into the mattress and gasped again.
“There. See, the baby is moving about,” Claybourne said.
“Like he is in convulsions,” Felix whispered. Claybourne stopped and stared at his mate.
“That’s him? That’s my son?” Aleks asked, staring into the screen. Pa licked the side of Aleks’s

tear-streaked face before he sat back and shifted.

“That’s my grandson. I wish Margaret could see this,” he said, his voice breaking.
Connor threw some scrubs at his pa, who pulled them on while staring at the monitor.
“The baby is reacting the same way in the womb as any other shifter,” Claybourne said

thoughtfully.

“My son is sick? Not Rebecca?” Aleks asked, kneeling by the bed, holding his mate’s hand.
Claybourne nodded.
“I’m starting Rebecca on the antiviral and a low dosage of Tylenol, which should help with the

pain and calm junior down. Aleks, I want you monitoring her. If you have to leave, have one of your
brothers sit with her. Someone needs to stay with her at all times. If this monitor changes get either
Felix or myself immediately. It’s the fetal monitor. It will let you know if the baby gets worse. I’m
going to go call the council doctors and see if they have ever run across a situation like this before,”
Claybourne said.

“Come on Aleks, let’s move Rebecca over next to Ma. I bet Ma would love to hear the sound of

this little guy’s heartbeat,” Connor said. Aleks nodded blankly. The Arkadions circled around
Rebecca and eased the bed closer to Ma.

Claybourne and Felix left the gym, running to the principal’s office where David and Daniel had

helped to set up a mini conference area. Claybourne dialed the number he was given and Lachlan
appeared on the screen.

“Doctor, how are my grandson and great-grandchild?” the Elder asked at once.
“There has been no change in Sebastian’s condition. The reason I called is because Rebecca

Arkadion has contracted the illness, or I should say her unborn son has.” Claybourne sat down.
Lachlan’s face shut down.

“She must live. That child must live. That family has ruled Arkadia for thousands of years.

There have always been Arkadions to rule,” the old man said adamantly.

“Elder, unless you have been withholding a cure, I don’t know what to do. I can give her the

antiviral, hoping it will pass from mother to son, and a low dosage of Tylenol, but that’s all I can do.
I’ve tried giving different patients epinephrine to kick-start a shift but it’s not working. I am reduced
to handing out fucking Tylenol. It’s the only thing that seems to be working,” Claybourne growled,
sounding frustrated.

“I’ll check with the doctors here to see if they have anything new. But, Claybourne, it’s new to

them too. No one has ever seen a virus like this in shifters. I hate to admit this out loud, but we may
have to consider this as an attack on Arkadia,” Lachlan said grimly.

“Keep everyone calm, Elder. Call me back if you have any new information from the board,”

Claybourne said, disconnecting the call.

“If they declare this a war on Arkadia then they will blame the vampires,” Felix whispered.
“He’s right about one thing. Rebecca and her son must live. There is something he’s not telling

us, but I can read between the lines. If she dies, there will be catastrophic consequences,” Claybourne

said.

“But we don’t know how she got it,” Felix countered.
“But I bet she can tell us. Unlike the other patients, she is far removed from the original

contagion and coherent since this is affecting the baby and not her. We may be able to pinpoint the
cause,” Claybourne said, standing quickly.

“Let’s go then,” Felix said.

* * * *

“Okay, Rebecca, we’re going to see if we can figure out how you got infected,” Claybourne

started.

“What were you doing when you first started to feel pain?” Claybourne asked.
“I was eating Lucky Charms,” she said. Claybourne wrinkled his nose.
“Told you he would hate them,” Rebecca said, smiling weakly. Felix rolled his eyes.
“Did you eat or drink anything leftover from Field Day?” Felix asked.
She shook her head. “I’m not stupid, guys, I wouldn’t eat that stuff when we don’t know for sure

it was the cause,” she retorted.

“When you were in the lab, did you spill any of the virus on bare skin?” Claybourne asked.
Rebecca shook her head.
“I took every precaution, I know my way around a lab.”
“What about the broken glass?” Felix asked.
“Snitch!”
Claybourne and Aleks looked from Rebecca to Felix and back.
She sighed. “I was overwhelmed and just a little bit upset earlier, so I may have thrown an

empty beaker or two,” Rebecca admitted.

“Just empty beakers? Nothing with the virus in it?” Claybourne asked. She shook her head and

yawned.

“Thanks, Rebecca, you get some rest. We’ll be back in a few hours. If you think of anything let

me know,” Claybourne said and patted her hand. Rebecca stuck her tongue out at Felix who stuck his
tongue out in return. She giggled and yawned again. Felix followed Claybourne out of the gym back to
the teacher’s lounge. Once inside Claybourne wheeled on him.

“I just don’t get it. I don’t get it! She was fine not twenty-four hours ago.”
“There has to be a common thread we’re not seeing,” Felix agreed.
“There are too many variables.” Claybourne collapsed on the small sofa.
“Which means the cause is still out there. Any one of us could get it.” Felix sat next to his mate.
“I’m still convinced this started on Field Day.” Claybourne shook his head.
“It’s not in the air or water. We’ve all been exposed to both. So far with our extensive testing we

have eliminated most of the Field Day foods. What about the diner?” Felix asked.

“Ma closed the diner down on Field Day. She was running the bake sale booth, most people ate

at the school anyway,” Claybourne said.

“I can’t think right now. I feel like my head is wrapped in cotton,” Felix said, trying to blink his

vision clear.

“I’ll set my phone for a few hours. Let’s try to get some sleep. Maybe we’ll think clearer when

we wake up.” Claybourne pulled Felix close.

“Good idea,” Felix whispered. He closed his eyes, and immediately fell asleep.

* * * *

Three hours later, Felix stood next to the supply table making sure the IV bags of fluids were

neatly stacked and taking an inventory of their antiviral medicine. All around them, Gabriel’s
vampires moved quietly and efficiently around the gym, helping the very people who had been afraid
of them.

Felix shook his head. His eyes kept going to Aleks Arkadion. The tall, proud Alpha sat in a

chair between two cots. On one side his ma was struggling for every breath, and on the other side his
mate curled around her stomach as if trying to protect their weakening unborn child.

Gone was the vibrant Alpha bear. The virus was stealing away his heart and soul, leaving a

shattered man behind in its wake. The Arkadion brothers stood around both beds like royal guards,
but there was nothing for them to fight.

Pa sat on his mate’s other side, holding her hand gently. Felix knew if the man could, he would

take his mate’s place in a heartbeat. He was that selfless.

Shaking his head, Felix let his eyes drift to where Caleb and Bran sat on either side of Kate,

each holding on to one of her hands. Across her body, they gripped each other’s hands desperately
and cradled her nearly flat abdomen. Felix had only recently heard how long Kate had desired a baby.
He couldn’t accept that these two good men would not only lose their mate but also the baby all three
of them had longed for.

Unable to watch their pain, he looked around the gym and saw a similar scene with Liam and

Kent. They cradled their mate between them, whispering to each other and to Sebastian, who dozed
off and on, his face starting to flush with the beginning of a fever. Felix wiped his tears. Sebastian had
finally escaped their living hell, stuck in a madman’s cage, to find his happily ever after, only to face
the prospect of having to say good-bye.

Clenching his teeth, he turned his head to watch Prince Gabriel sit quietly with his small mate.

He sat beside his mate with no emotions on his face, as still and as cold as a statue. It was as if the
prince  were  a  force  of  nature,  quietly  waiting  to  see  what  would  happen  before  he  would  wreak
havoc  on  those  around  him.  Baptista  and  Roman  stood  beside  their  prince,  unwavering  in  their
support. Felix knew that despite the lack of visible reaction, there was a war raging deep within him.
The  prince  had  locked  down  his  emotions,  not  only  to  be  able  to  make  decisions,  but  also  to  keep
those around him safe. Felix truly feared for them all if something happened to the fox shifter. One of
the  things  that  made  him  such  an  excellent  nurse  was  his  ability  to  read  people,  and  right  now  his
instincts were telling him Gabriel was the most dangerous man in the room.

Finally, he caught himself staring at Rian and Damian. Rian had not left the man’s side since he

was admitted. His quiet devotion for his best friend was Felix’s undoing. Mates were easy to
understand, but Rian’s love for his friend left him open to this pain and the man took it on gladly.
Felix remembered a hundred glances between the two men, their easy camaraderie, and sobs shook
his frame. Wiping his eyes, he turned back to the table. He couldn’t bear to look at Rian’s pain.

Suddenly, he needed to do something for the man who had become like an older brother to him.

He wondered if he could sneak over to Bobbles and Things for some chocolate for Rian. Felix froze.

He felt his body wash cold as the adrenaline began to push through his body. His eyes went to where
the pride members lay on their cots.

Claybourne looked up from where he was examining Meredith Wade, a puzzled expression on

his face. His mate could feel the way his heart was beginning to race. Felix started walking on
wobbly feet toward Rebecca. He picked up the pace and began a full run across the gym. He slid to a
stop next to the cot and literally dragged Rebecca up in the bed.

“Felix, what in the hell?” Aleks demanded. Felix ignored him.
“Rebecca! Rebecca, wake up!” Felix said, lightly tapping the small human on each cheek.

Behind him he could hear people approaching at a run.

“Is she okay?” Claybourne asked. Felix could not lose his train of thought as pieces of the puzzle

began to come together.

“Come on, Becca, wake up!” he shook her.
“Felix!” Claybourne exclaimed. Felix ignored him.
“Bitch, did you slap me?” Rebecca demanded sleepily.
“Love taps only, I swear! Listen, I need you to answer some questions. Did you eat anything out

of the ordinary in the past two days? Something maybe you hadn’t had in a while?” Felix asked.

Rebecca shook her head. “Nothing I hadn’t had before,” she said, frowning up at him.
“Rebecca, I’m going to ask you a question and you need to be really honest with me. Did you

have any chocolate?” Felix asked.

Rebecca’s eyes went wide. “The caffeine is killing my baby? I knew I shouldn’t have had that

chocolate!” Rebecca sobbed, turning to Aleks.

Felix caught her and pulled her back upright. “Focus! What chocolate did you have? Was it the

‘Screw You’ chocolate?” he demanded. Behind him he heard several intakes of breath. Rebecca
nodded.

Felix looked up at Pa. “Did Ma have that chocolate?” he asked. Pa shook his head.
“I don’t know,” he admitted.
“She did! Ma and Damian had a chocolate-eating contest at Field Day!” Rian said excitedly.
“What about Brayburn?” Felix asked. Rian nodded.
“I know she did, she came by Bobbles and Things mad as a wet hen that she didn’t get any

chocolate ice cream from the ice cream stand since David and Daniel used blood in the machine. She
snagged five pounds of the stuff!” Rian gasped and covered his mouth, realizing what he said.

Felix turned to Rian, confused. “Why aren’t you sick? Don’t you love chocolate?” If Rian had

the chocolate and wasn’t sick, his theory was toast.

“I don’t like milk chocolate. I only eat white chocolate!” Rian wailed and collapsed on the floor

as the enormity of what he had inadvertently done overwhelmed him. Felix looked up to Bran, Liam,
and Gabriel.

“Did your mates have the chocolate?” he asked desperately. They all nodded, looking shell-

shocked.

“It makes perfect sense, why it hit Brayburn first. She left Field Day to go to Bobbles and

Things, when you take the time of day she got it and factor in her age, and the amount she ate, it fits. It
also supports why Kate, Ma, and Damian were the next to get hit hardest. Ma and Damian had the
chocolate-eating contest, and Kate has been living off of chocolate since finding out she was pregnant.
They’re probably the town’s biggest chocolate eaters,” Felix explained quickly, trying to get it all out.

Bran and Caleb looked ill.
“We gave it to her. Three pounds of it, for the pregnancy,” Caleb said, his voice breaking.
“It’s why the pride was hit harder than any other group. My lions live off of chocolate.” Liam

looked out at the gym.

“It also explains why Sebastian and Ashby got it later. They probably reached for it to deal with

the stress of everything that was going on, like a lot of other townspeople who got sick once things
began to get bad. It explains why people were getting sick at different times,” Felix continued.

“Rebecca?” Aleks asked.
“I was so ti–ti–tired looking at the slides, my eyes were fuzzy. I didn’t think a small bit of

caffeine would hurt. I didn’t know!” She covered her face with her hands. Aleks kneeled down and
wrapped both of his large arms around his mate in a muscled cocoon.

Claybourne and Felix stared at each other before standing.
“Attention everyone! Does anyone have any uneaten portion of the ‘Screw You’ chocolate that

Bobbles and Things was giving away on Field Day?” Felix shouted. He deliberately avoided using
Rian or Damian’s names. It wasn’t their fault, after all.

Several hands went up and Felix raced around the gym with Claybourne collecting samples.

Claybourne hesitated before leaving the gym.

“Go! See if this is the cause. It may be the break we need to save everyone,” Gabriel urged.
“We got this, Doc,” Bran said. “Don’t worry about us!” one of the newer patients shouted. It

was as if this small fragment of hope was enough to breathe life back into the townspeople. Felix
grabbed his mate’s hand and they raced to the lab, eager to see what they would find.

Chapter 8

“Nothing! There’s not a damn thing in this chocolate but chocolate! There’s no trace of the

virus.” Claybourne scooted away from the microscope, disgusted. He removed his glasses and
carefully set them on the counter. He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

“That can’t be right, it fits! Everything fits!” Felix shouted.
“There’s no trace in the chocolate, love,” Claybourne whispered. Felix screamed wordlessly in

frustration. Claybourne was up in a second, pulling him into his arms.

“It has to be there, it has to be.” Felix clung to Claybourne as if the man were his lifeline.
“I’m so sorry, my love. I wanted it to be there, too.” Claybourne stroked Felix’s hair.
“What do we tell them? I can’t go in there and tell them we still haven’t found the cause,

Claybourne, I just can’t. This will surely kill them.” Felix cried until he felt like he had no more tears.
He pulled back to see Claybourne silently weeping with him. Together they collapsed to the floor in
the clinic holding on to one another.

“What do we do?” Felix whispered.
“We’ll call the leaders in first to tell them, and we’ll continue to fight this.” Claybourne kissed

the top of Felix’s head.

“Ma doesn’t have much time left,” Felix said.
“I know,” Claybourne admitted.
“Call them. We’ll meet with them in your office. I’ll pull in chairs from the waiting room.” Felix

pulled away.

“Thank god you don’t eat that much chocolate,” Claybourne said. Felix’s eyes went wide as he

remembered their shopping trip at Bobbles and Things.

“I do, actually, you bought me the last box of the ‘Screw You’ chocolate, remember,” Felix said.

Claybourne swallowed hard and pulled Felix into his arms.

“I would take you right now, but I don’t want to hurt the others by having them smell sex on us

when their mates lay ill,” Claybourne admitted.

“There will be plenty of time later,” Felix kissed his mate gently. Claybourne stared at his mate.
“Come on, let’s call them. The sooner we do this the better,” Felix said. Claybourne nodded and

stood. He reached down and helped his mate to stand.

* * * *

The men sat in stunned silence, crowded around Claybourne’s desk.
“If it’s not the chocolate, I can’t think of anything else it could be,” Bran said, closing his eyes

and leaning back in his chair.

“I hate to ask, but are you sure?” Liam said as he leaned over on his knees, his face buried in his

hands.

“I’m afraid so. I tested it five times, I was so sure I had missed something,” Claybourne

admitted.

“Why are we trying so hard to find the cause, why aren’t we looking for a cure?” Kent asked

logically. Felix shook his head.

“We have tried treating this with epinephrine. It has no effect. We know nothing about this virus.

We plain lucked out that the antiviral has slowed this to a crawl, but that is all that it was. Luck.
Without understanding how this virus works, anything we may give a patient as a cure could end up
killing them. It may reduce the time they have left from days to hours, we can’t risk it,” Claybourne
explained.

“They are dying anyway!” Kent exploded.
“If it were Sebastian, would you want to give him an experimental treatment that may or may not

work if you knew there was a possibility that it could kill him? Right now he has days, maybe longer
for us to find the source. If we act rashly and without more information we could end up killing a lot
of people,” Felix said. Kent pounded his fists on the arms of the chair.

“What do we tell the people?” Gabriel asked.
“The truth. That we are still working on it,” Claybourne said.
“That is a half-truth,” Gabriel countered.
“You saw those people, Gabriel. With just a glimmer of hope, that entire place became stronger.

I’m afraid to take that away from them now, at this point in the game, it may be the very thing that
breaks them,” Claybourne said quietly.

“Okay at this point we all know what to do to treat the sick. You and Felix work on identifying

the source so we can see what this virus is designed to do. If someone gets worse we’ll come get
you,” Gabriel said. The men around the office nodded. Gabriel’s eyes softened when he looked at
Aleks who was staring off into space.

“Aleks, why don’t you keep Rebecca company? We don’t want her getting bored,” Gabriel said

with a sad smile on his face. Aleks looked over to Gabriel and nodded absently.

“Come on, Felix, we have some more foods we can test,” Claybourne said, standing. He turned

to the town’s leaders. “Thank you,” he said simply.

“Good luck,” Kent said. Felix nodded and followed Claybourne back to the lab. They would

need every ounce of luck they could get.

* * * *

Felix sat back and rubbed his eyes. They had been staring into the bright lights of their

microscopes for the past five hours. It was time to take a break.

“Claybourne, break time,” Felix said, hopping down off of his lab stool.
“One more slide.” Claybourne stared down into his eyepiece. Felix simply reached over and

unplugged the microscope. Claybourne looked up, about to argue, and then slumped forward.

“Okay, a quick break,” he said and groaning as he rolled his shoulders.
They made their way back to the school and to the cafeteria. When they walked in, the men

stopped their conversations.

“Any luck, Doc?” Benedict asked. Claybourne shook his head. Everyone stared down into their

food.

Felix couldn’t shake the feeling that they were wrong about the chocolate. It all lined up too

perfectly. All the samples they had collected were mixed with different testing agents and on slides.
He wished he could just get his hands on another untouched sample. Felix froze. He did have a
sample. In fact he had a whole box of samples. Felix took a deep breath. He cleared his mind of his
intentions and calmed his emotions. He wouldn’t get far if Claybourne caught on. He leaned over to

Claybourne.

“Be right back,” he whispered. Claybourne reached up and kissed his hand. Felix kissed his

mate tenderly and stood up. He walked into the gym to find his man bag. He knelt down and flipped it
open. With shaking hands he pulled out the box of ‘Screw You’ chocolate that Claybourne had bought
for him. He opened the box, staring down at the contents. He reached in and grabbed a couple pieces.
Before he could change his mind, he popped the pieces in his mouth and chewed. His eyes filled with
tears as he resisted the urge to spit it out. He swallowed hard, scared by what he may have done. He
replaced the lid and walked back into the cafeteria. Silently he sat back down next to his mate,
placing the box of chocolates on the table.

Claybourne was talking with Liam about getting more supplies into town when Rian noticed the

tears on Felix’s face. Kent, Gabriel, Caleb, and Aleks were absent, sitting with their mates, while the
others took time out of nursing to regroup and plan.

“Felix?” Rian asked. Felix looked up at his friend before glancing down at the box.
“No!” Rian yelled, swiping his hand across the table, sending it flying to the floor. Rian raced

around the end of the table to sit next to Felix.

“You said it was safe. It was safe right?” Rian begged, looking at Claybourne.
When Felix looked up into his lover’s eyes, he saw the dawning realization of what he had done

blossom in Claybourne’s aquamarine eyes. Seconds later he saw them shift to a pale sky blue and he
knew that Claybourne was fighting his tiger. That was when Felix lost his composure and began to
sob into his hands, terrified.

“Baby, no! What have you done?” Claybourne pulled Felix away from Rian and began to rock

him in his arms.

“If you’re right and it’s not the chocolate then I am safe. If you’re wrong and I get sick, we’ll

have concrete evidence that it is the chocolate and we’ll be one step closer to the cure. We’re out of
time, Claybourne. The people of this town are out of time,” Felix said, burying his face in his mate’s
strong shoulder.

The other men wiped their eyes, thinking of their own sick mates.
“It wasn’t the chocolate. It wasn’t.” Claybourne held Felix tight, refusing to let go. Felix pulled

away as he grabbed a napkin to wipe his eyes.

“Come on, we have twelve- to twenty-four hours before any symptoms appear. Let’s go through

more samples today,” Felix said, sniffing. Claybourne stood and scooped Felix up in his arms.

“If you gentlemen will excuse us?” Claybourne carried his mate through the school. He walked

slowly through the deserted town to the clinic. Once inside he bypassed the lab and went directly to
his private quarters.

* * * *

Claybourne lay him down on his narrow bed gently before stretching out beside him, pulling him

close to his body.

“Do I mean so little to you that you would risk your life?” Claybourne whispered. Felix shook

his head.

“We have to know for sure. I couldn’t ask anyone else to do this, and I sure as hell wasn’t going

to let you do it. Maybe we’ll luck out and you’ll be right,” Felix said, new tears streaming down his

face. Claybourne looked at him Felix could tell he was fighting back tears of his own.

“Didn’t you tell me when we first met, you were always right?” Claybourne blinked and Felix

felt his tears hit his cheek.

“Now you listen.” Felix’s smile was wobbly.
“I need you, my mate.” Claybourne leaned in and kissed him gently.
“Yes! I need you, Claybourne. I need you inside of me, I need to feel you so deep that I know

we’ll never be apart, even if….” Felix sobbed the last word, unable to think about leaving his mate,
not after just finding him. They had barely enjoyed any time together.

Claybourne eased off the bed and began to slowly strip off his clothes. Felix went to remove

his, but Claybourne shook his head. Felix settled back on the narrow bed. Piece by piece, Claybourne
removed his clothing. He folded each piece neatly, watching Felix the entire time.

Felix felt himself start to harden. As each piece was removed, that much more of his mate was

revealed. That chocolate may have had the virus, but he wasn’t sick yet. He wanted his mate more
than he wanted his next breath. Shifting his hips on the bed, he reached down to ease the tightness of
his pants and Claybourne shook his head. Felix moved his arms so that his wrists lay crossed over his
head. Claybourne’s lips teased a hint of a smile. Lord help him, his mate was going to kill him!

Without saying a word Claybourne stripped down and stood next to the bed, looking down at his

mate. Felix could see how aroused his mate was. His lover’s cock was leaving smears of pre-cum
across his stomach. But Claybourne made no efforts to rush. Felix lifted his hips off the bed entirely,
trying to ease the pressure of his own prick. Claybourne raised a single eyebrow. Felix settled his
lower body back down on the bed.

“Please,” Felix asked in a strangled whisper.
Claybourne eased off Felix’s shoes one at a time. He rubbed each foot’s arch and removed his

socks. Next he undid his jeans and pulled the zipper down slowly. Carefully he eased the jeans down
over his hips and down his legs. A ghost of a smile appeared when Claybourne looked down at
Felix’s underwear-covered prick. The evidence of his arousal was soaking the front of his boxer
briefs. Claybourne leaned down and licked the moist spot on the fabric. Felix shuddered and fought
his body’s desire to push his cock closer to his mate’s mouth. He strained to stay very still.

“Good,” Claybourne whispered and stood up, walking to the head of the bed. He pulled Felix’s

T-shirt up over his abdomen. He leaned in and licked his belly button. Felix couldn’t hold back the
moan. Claybourne eased the shirt up and with Felix’s assistance pulled it over his head. Wearing only
his boxer briefs, Felix felt more naked than his bare mate.

Claybourne, with a single finger, traced his body from collarbone to navel, along the rigid

outline of his cock and down the crease of his ass. Felix began to pant, unable to keep air in his lungs.
His mate had only touched him with a single finger, yet set fire to his entire body.

Claybourne grabbed the top of the briefs and pulled them down and off in one fluid yank. He

walked over to the small, utilitarian night stand and retrieved a small tube of lube. He returned to the
foot of the bed and crawled between Felix’s legs. He gently lifted his legs and opened them wide,
exposing Felix’s pink hole to him.

Felix watched Claybourne’s every deliberate move and felt himself start to shake. Never had he

been taken like this, possessed in every single way. He loved it and would crave it again.

Gently, Claybourne eased a finger into his dark channel. Felix threw his head back and bit his

lip to keep from yelling out. Each touch was magnified a thousand times due to the slow pace.

“Even if you fall ill and die, I will follow,” Claybourne said, breaking the quiet.
“I could not bear to walk this Earth without you.” Claybourne eased in a second finger and

began a slow sawing in and out of Felix’s body. Slow, measured, deliberate. It was as if his lover
was savoring every single second they had together.

“I love you, Maddox,” Felix said, watching his mate’s face. Claybourne’s movements stilled

when Felix used his first name.

“Say it again,” he asked.
“Maddox. My Maddox,” Felix said. Claybourne scissored his fingers wide before pulling them

free to replace them with the head of his cock. Gradually he pushed his engorged head past the first
ring of inner muscles until he was fully seated inside his mate. Felix sighed in relief. His mate was
where he belonged. Inside him, possessing him. Owning him.

“I love you, Felix. I love your zest for life and the way you always say what you think. I love the

way you always put others first and take care of me even when I fight you about it.” Claybourne
wrapped Felix’s legs around his waist and leaned down until he rested on his elbows on either side
of Felix.

Felix pulled his lover closer to him, trying to send him deeper inside of him. Claybourne rested

his forehead on Felix’s. Kissing him tenderly, his mate made love to him. Each slow thrust started
new fires of urgency in his body until he was insane with the need for completion. Crying out his
intense pleasure, he begged Claybourne to go faster. Claybourne had left enough space between their
bodies that there was little friction to his prick. With tears in his eyes Claybourne shook his head.

“I want this to last forever.” He continued his methodical onslaught. Just when Felix thought he

couldn’t take anymore, his orgasm caught him by surprise. He clamped his ass muscles down,
squeezing his mate’s thick cock. Above him Claybourne yelled his release. Jet after hot jet filled his
ass until it started to drip down his crease.

Claybourne collapsed on top of him, burying his face into his shoulder. Alone in the utter silence

of his room, they both wept and comforted each other. Felix knew that they would have to return to
reality soon, but he wanted this one moment to last with his mate forever.

* * * *

Felix crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at his mate as Claybourne glanced over at him

for the twentieth time.

“If I start to feel tired I will let you know, though after what you put me through in your private

quarters, I’m not sure I’ll be able to tell the difference between the virus and afterglow.” Felix leered
at his mate.

“You tell me the second you feel any different,” Claybourne made him promise again. Rolling

his eyes, he crossed his heart and held up his hand, swearing.

Claybourne wouldn’t let him help at the microscope anymore. He had graciously agreed to let

Felix keep him company in the lab while he worked, but only if he was wrapped in a blanket and
drinking water.

“Felix. Felix.” He heard Claybourne’s voice.
“I told you I would let you know if I got tired.” Felix grumbled.
“Baby, you were asleep,” Claybourne said quietly. Felix opened his eyes and looked at his mate

surprised. He grimaced when he went to move his arms under the blanket.

“I’m achy and feel weak. Shit! I hate being right all the time,” Felix joked. With serious eyes

Claybourne immediately got the syringe and took a sample of his blood. Felix watched, detached, as
Claybourne placed the blood-filled slide under the microscope. Minutes later, Claybourne stood back
and turned to Felix, a bewildered look on his face.

“How? I checked that chocolate dozens of times since you ate some, and there wasn’t anything

there. But now you’re sick, and it’s showing up under the microscope. It’s like it appeared out of
nowhere.” Claybourne ran his hands through his hair frustrated. Felix struggled to stand.

“Let’s try a high dose of epinephrine.” Claybourne turned, making his way to the locked storage

closet. He returned with a syringe and bottle. Carefully he measured out a dose and looked to Felix.

“This will.” His words died when he saw Felix giving him a wry expression.
“Right, guess you would know. Here we go then.” Claybourne injected the needle into his mate’s

thigh and depressed the plunger.

“This didn’t work on Brayburn or Damian,” Felix said.
“The virus had already had a chance to take root. You’re barely infected, it should work to

trigger your shift. Anything?” he asked. Felix shook his head.

“I got a little warm, but that’s it. I can tell you without a machine my blood pressure and heart

rate are normal.” Felix headed over to the microscope.

“Let me see.” He peered into the tiny eyepiece.
“Baby, I think you should be in bed, we need to get you hooked up to an IV.”
Felix ignored him. When he looked down, sure enough there was the virus swimming around,

attacking all his poor innocent cells. Wait. What? Felix stood up and rubbed his eyes. He looked
down again. He watched as the virus swam directly toward a cluster of red blood cells and started to
attach itself. Felix stood back. Turning to Claybourne, he opened his mouth then shut it. Frowning, he
turned back to the microscope and looked again.

“What is it?” Claybourne asked. Felix stood back again and turned to face his mate. Feeling

lightheaded, he sat down on the lab stool.

“Do you remember when I said that this virus was acting like it was designed to kill? Rebecca

had said she saw it doing things that were out of the ordinary, things no other virus should be able to
do, like target cells. I know this is going to sound crazy, but what could make that happen?” Felix
asked.

“We have nanotechnology now,” Claybourne started. Felix shook his head.
“Where in the hell would Gilberton get nanotechnology? There are whole countries trying to

develop and or steal that kind of technology. There’s no way one old shifter could get his hands on it.
It must be something else.” Felix hopped off the stool and began to move around in an effort to stay
alert.

“We need to go to Bobbles and Things and go through Gilberton’s things. Now that we know it

was the chocolate we need to trace it back and find out where that chocolate came from and who
supplied it to Gilberton.” Felix threw off his blanket.

“You need to be in bed,” Claybourne argued.
“You need me. If we can track down the source we could have a cure by tomorrow. Then it

won’t matter if I’m in bed,” Felix countered.

“You help out at Gilberton’s for an hour, that’s it. Then you go to bed,” Claybourne said,

crossing his arms.

“You’re so sexy when you go all dominant.” Felix purred.
“Come on, trouble. Let’s head over there now.” Claybourne took Felix’s hand and they quickly

headed to Bobbles and Things.

* * * *

“How in the hell did he stay in business? There’s no computer, no central filing system or

invoices! It’s complete chaos in here.” Felix watched as his mate spun around in horror. Felix
chuckled.

“We’re not here to clean and organize, Claybourne. I know you’re dying to put this place in

order, but try to stay focused.” Felix began to pull down old and dusty cardboard boxes from the
bookshelf. Once the box was on the desk, he had to take a moment to catch his breath. This virus was
no joke. He had worked in human hospitals before and had seen plenty of flu victims. If this was a
fraction of how they felt he had a new admiration for the sheer strength of will that humans possessed.

They searched for what seemed like hours to Felix, but he knew it was probably about forty-five

minutes when Claybourne straightened.

“I think I found something.” He walked over to show Felix a packing slip with a handwritten

note.

“That was delivered a couple days before Gilberton went apeshit. This matches the size and

weight of the order of ‘Screw You’ chocolate. Why does it have the warning about keeping it cold? It
looks like it was kept in a mobile refrigeration unit,” Felix asked. Claybourne shrugged.

“Because chocolate melts?”
“Maybe. But how did Gilberton get a virus into Arkadia? The perimeter is on lockdown, I doubt

it would allow the virus to cross its borders even if it was in a refrigeration unit,” Felix said.
Claybourne shouted and pumped his fist before he swung Felix around in the air.

“Okay, what did your beautiful mind figure out?” Felix asked. His mate was practically

vibrating with excitement.

“Okay so we tested the chocolate right? No virus. Boring old chocolate. You eat some and then

bam! Virus. What changed?” Claybourne asked. Felix shook his head. He didn’t want to admit it, but
his thinking was starting to get foggy.

“You ate it. You digested it. Your body’s internal temperature is slightly above ninety-eight-

point-six degrees. The virus must lay dormant until it reaches ninety-eight-point-six or body
temperature, and then comes to life. Which is why there are handwritten warnings about keeping the
chocolate cold for delivery, it’s how he snuck the chocolate past the perimeter and into Arkadia,”
Claybourne explained.

“We have to get back to the lab,” Felix said. Claybourne nodded. Felix got as far as the second

stair heading up out of the basement when he had to stop to catch his breath. Claybourne was
immediately at his side.

“It’s getting worse, isn’t it?” he asked worriedly. Felix nodded.
“Let’s get back to the lab and test our theory. From there we can use pure, heated samples to

work on a cure,” Felix said. Claybourne stooped and picked him up.

As Claybourne carried him down the street back to the clinic, Felix started to laugh.

“What is it?” his mate asked.
“Remember why you carried me out of Bobbles and Things last time?” Felix giggled.
Claybourne groaned. “You and your Niagara. I should still spank you for that.” Claybourne

growled playfully.

“Hey, don’t threaten me with a good time.” Felix made kissy noises up at Claybourne.
Once back in the lab Claybourne set him back in his comfy chair with a blanket and he insisted

on starting an IV. Felix glared at his IV.

“You’re one of the healthcare professionals who make impossible patients, aren’t you?”

Claybourne asked when he batted Felix’s hand away from his IV tape. Felix flipped him off and stuck
out his tongue.

“Later,” Claybourne promised and Felix smiled.
Claybourne got busy setting up a chocolate-melting station at a Bunsen burner and readied his

slides. Felix relaxed into the chair, sighing as the smell of melted chocolate filled the lab.

“I want chocolate now.” Felix pouted. Claybourne stopped mid-stir and looked over to Felix.
“You have got to be joking. I’m never looking at this stuff again.” Claybourne shuddered.
“Hey, you can’t blame all chocolate for this. It provides so much love and comfort to those in

need.” Felix sighed.

“There’s something wrong with you.” Claybourne turned his attention back to the heated

chocolate.

“Felix, it’s there now! We did it! We figured out the source,” Claybourne said, and Felix

yawned.

“I knew you could do it,” Felix said.
“Come on, we need to have a meeting with the others.” Claybourne walked over and unhooked

his IV bag before placing it in his lap. He scooped him up again and headed to the school. Instead of
going to the gym, he walked straight to the principal’s office, setting Felix down in the high-back
leather chair. He walked out of the room, and seconds later Felix heard his mate’s voice over the
school’s PA system.

“Could Liam, Kent, Aleks, Bran, Caleb, and Gabriel please report to the principal’s office?

Allons-y, gentleman.” Claybourne walked back into the conference room and started the dial out to
Lachlan.

“I never would have pegged you for a Doctor Who fan,” Felix said, chuckling.
Claybourne looked over and winked. “Sadly enough it was one of the reasons I became a

doctor. My upper-crust parents thought that I was doing the family proud. But the tiny rebellious side
that I had just wanted to be called Doctor. I’ll show you my sonic screwdriver later.”

“Promises, promises.” Felix yawned again.
“Doctor, do you have any news?” Lachlan said when his image appeared on screen. Claybourne

looked over to Felix, grinning, and he nodded to the monitor.

Felix rolled his eyes. “Geek,” he said.
“Can you tell us why Rebecca and Sebastian are laughing like lunatics? They seemed excited,”

Bran said as he Liam, Aleks, and Gabriel walked into the office and sat down. Claybourne shrugged.

“Maybe they could hear the excitement in my voice. Thanks to my mate, we have determined that

the chocolate is indeed the source of the virus. After tearing Gilberton’s office apart we located a
packing slip for the chocolate that he tried to deliver to the pride. It specified very carefully that the

chocolate was to be kept cool. When we heated the chocolate above ninety-eight-point-six degrees,
the virus activated. It’s how Gilberton was able to get the virus over the perimeter. Technically it was
inactive, or dormant. It would not have been blocked or triggered a lock down,” Claybourne
explained.

“God, Claybourne, that means Felix is sick, doesn’t it?” Bran whispered. Felix nodded and held

up his IV bag.

“I don’t understand. If he had this chocolate, why try to kill Kent and Sebastian?” Lachlan asked.
“You know, I never thought about it that way,” Claybourne admitted.
“I think I know why. That day when I went to pick up the chocolate, he said he hoped I choked

on it. I told him that I wasn’t a sweets eater. I think he wanted to hurt Liam more than he wanted to
take out the pride. Me being there in the basement must have proved to be too big of an opportunity
for him to pass up, especially when Sebastian was the one to check on me later. He didn’t want to
leave it to chance that we wouldn’t eat the chocolate. He must have really hated you, Liam,” Kent
explained, very pale.

“If it had gone straight to the pride, they all would have eaten the chocolate and lain around for

days. No one would have suspected a thing. They would have just curled up together in kitty piles and
died.” Liam covered his face with his hands.

“All because you were mated to men. All of this pain and suffering because of one old man’s

closed-minded hatred.” Lachlan growled fiercely.

“So what happens now?” Aleks leaned forward.
“Now I subject the virus in its purest form to a battery of treatments and see what reactions I

get.” Claybourne turned to Lachlan.

“I need some testing kits that contain shifter tissue samples from different parts of the body,

kidneys, lung, and heart. We’ll take a page out of Gilberton’s book and freeze the samples so they can
cross the perimeter. I need them as soon as you can get them, Lachlan,” Claybourne said.

“Consider it done. I’ll call Liam when we’re ready for a delivery.” Lachlan’s screen went dark.
Claybourne turned to the men in the room. “Gentlemen, go back into the gym smiling and upbeat.

Let’s give the people some hope. Let them know we’re finally actively working on a cure. You’d be
amazed at how large a part a positive attitude can play in trying to combat an illness,” Claybourne
said.

“Will you have a cure ready in time to save my ma?” Aleks asked.
“I will work as fast as I can. But knowing your ma, she’s hanging on by the tips of her

fingernails to hold her grandbaby,” Claybourne said.

Aleks gave a faint smile. “Then we won’t hold you up any longer. Because her grandbaby needs

the cure as well,” he said, standing. The other leaders stood and they left the conference room.

“Baby, I want you to rest in the gym,” Claybourne knelt beside his mate.
“No way. Whether you want to admit it or not, you need me. I’ll sit in my chair and be your

moral support.”

“The second that you start to lose consciousness I’m admitting you to the gym,” Claybourne

compromised.

“Deal. Now carry me back to the lab. Chop-chop,” Felix said, imperiously clapping his hands.
“You’re pushing it.” Claybourne laughed. Felix was glad to see a genuine smile back on his

mate’s face.

Chapter 9

“I think Rebecca was right. This virus doesn’t act normal. Where in the hell did that hateful

bastard get an engineered bioweapon! This level of technology would be impossible to get. If it isn’t
technology what in the hell could do this?” Claybourne exclaimed.

“Magic,” Felix said sarcastically. Claybourne snorted and then froze.
“What did you say?
“Magic. What? You can’t be serious. Witches are like the nuns of the paranormal world. Do

good. Be good. Spread happiness. Yadda-yadda. Though I guess no one group is perfect.” Felix sat up
straighter.

“What do you mean, baby?” Claybourne asked.
“There have been bad nuns in this world just as I’m sure there are bad witches. I completely

forgot about magic. It makes more sense that Gilberton would have dealings with a lone witch than
international black market weapons of mass-destruction dealers.” Claybourne scooped up Felix.

“We need to talk to Lachlan. This is beyond me,” Claybourne said, heading back to the school.
“Maybe you should get one of those papoose things so you can just carry me around,” Felix said,

laughing.

“Smartass.” Claybourne walked into the school and went directly to the principal’s office,

which to Felix’s surprise was already in use. Claybourne walked in on a discussion between Liam
and his grandfather.

“Sorry to interrupt, actually no I’m not. Lachlan I need some information. What do you know

about witches?” Claybourne settled Felix in a chair.

“I take it this is in regards to the virus?” Lachlan asked.
“Yes, between my own and Rebecca’s observations, I don’t think this virus is natural. It’s

definitely engineered. There’s no way Gilberton would have access to that level of technology to go
the science route, but what about magic?” Claybourne explained. “I’ve seen magic do more
impossible things than this in my lifetime.” Lachlan ran a hand over his closely cropped beard.

“Sir, we need to confirm if there is a magical element to this virus. That could change

everything,” Claybourne said quietly.

“Meet us at the pickup point at the town border. When we couldn’t get past the perimeter, I

called the leader of the witches, the High Priestess of the Triple Goddess Temple. She presides over
their version of a council, only they call it the High Coven. She’s here studying the barrier. If you can
freeze a sample and get it across the border, I bet she could tell us if there is magic in it,” Lachlan
said.

“We’re leaving now,” Claybourne said. Lachlan nodded and his monitor went dark when he

ended the connection.

Claybourne picked up Felix and followed Liam into the hallway.
“I’ll grab some samples from the clinic, you let the others know that we’re heading to the

perimeter,” Claybourne said to Liam. Liam was about to respond when Claybourne’s phone began to
ring. Handing Felix to Liam, he answered his phone.

“Hello?”
“Doc, come quick! It’s Ma, she’s in convulsions, we don’t know what to do!” Benedict’s frantic

voice yelled. Liam and Claybourne started running.

“Wheel her into the adjoining gym, be there in under a minute.”
Felix watched from Liam’s arms as Benedict and Finn raced toward them, wheeling Ma down

the hallway. At the halfway point they turned and went into the small gym. Claybourne and Liam
following.

Once inside Liam set Felix down and ran over to insert a bit in Ma’s mouth to keep her from

biting her tongue. Suddenly the heart rate monitor flatlined. Claybourne pulled open Ma’s hospital
gown and charged the defibrillator paddles.

“Clear!” he screamed and shocked Ma’s still body. There was no response. He tried twice more

before he got back a faint heartbeat. Moving quickly, he intubated her and turned on the respirator.
The Arkadion brothers were collapsed against their Pa. All eight men were slumped against the wall,
weeping.

Wiping his eyes, he walked over to the group and knelt beside them.
“We’re heading to the perimeter now. We’re so close to understanding this thing. I swear to you

I’m doing everything I can.” Claybourne’s voice broke. Felix went to his mate, kneeling at his side.

“We know you’re doing everything you can, Claybourne. Do whatever you have to do to find a

cure. Whatever you have to do, son.” Pa looked Claybourne in the eye. Felix watched as Claybourne
nodded and picked him up. He turned to Gavin.

“Are you okay to watch over her? I can call Baptista in here,” Claybourne offered.
Gavin shook his head. “I can take care of my own ma,” he said vehemently. Claybourne turned

to Liam.

“Let’s go.”

* * * *

Felix watched as his mate packed a single piece of chocolate in ice and packed it in a small

medical cooler.

“How much time does she have, Doc?” Liam asked.
“Hours. Once Brayburn went into respiratory failure, she only had hours left,” Claybourne said

quietly.

“We can’t lose her, Doc, the town wouldn’t be the same without her,” Liam said, picking up the

cooler.

“Then we better hurry.” Claybourne went to Felix.
“You should stay here.”
“Who thought of the chocolate?” Felix asked.
“You.”
“Who proved that it was the chocolate?”
“You.”
“Who thought to search Gilberton’s things which led to finding the packing slip and uncovering

how the virus was hidden in the chocolate?”

“You.”
“Who thought of magic, even if I was kidding?”
“You.”
“Who is the most handsome and amazing man in the world.”

“Me,” Claybourne immediately said, grinning. Felix grinned back.
“Absolutely right. Face it, Doc, you need me,” Felix said. Claybourne simply picked him up and

followed Liam to the car.

The drive to the perimeter seemed longer to Felix. He could tell that Claybourne and Liam were

lost in their own thoughts. Liam was right. If they lost Ma, nothing would be the same. The car rolled
to a stop. Along the perimeter Bran’s wolves coordinated with the council support team in getting
boxes through the perimeter.

Liam grabbed the cooler as Claybourne easily lifted Felix, helping him out of the car.
“I can walk, you know,” Felix grumbled. He hated feeling weak.
“We’re short on time. It would take you at least twenty minutes to reach the perimeter from here

with you in this condition. You’re as weak as a newborn,” Claybourne reminded him.

“I hate this damn virus.” Felix sighed and waved at Riley who was staring at them in shock.
“Liam, it’s good to see you, Grandson,” Lachlan smiled at Liam.
“We need to hurry, grandfather, Ma doesn’t have much longer,” Liam said, placing the cooler on

the ground.

“Then let’s begin, gentlemen, for there are few women in the world as kind as Margaret

Arkadion.” A figure in a long forest-green cloak stepped forward. Slender arms pushed back the hood
to reveal a beautiful older woman. Her face still hinted at the great beauty she had been in her youth,
age only adding character. Her white hair was arranged in a braided crown on her head.

“Liam, I have the honor of introducing the High Priestess of the Triple Goddess Temple. Celeste

Dilys. Celeste, this is my grandson Liam Lewenhart, Alpha of the Lewenhart pride. Beside him is
Maddox Claybourne and Felix Kilpatrick, they’re the ones who have been working night and day to
eradicate this virus,” Lachlan said with a half bow. Felix felt Claybourne’s upper body incline and
looked over to see Liam giving a bow as well.

“It is a pleasure to meet you. It is rare that I see such honor and compassion in the modern

world, yet it seems to be growing in Arkadia exponentially.” The priestess’s eyes crinkled and her
mouth twitched.

“Rebecca,” All three men said at the same time, looking at each other.
“You fear her?” Celeste asked, raising a single brow. Felix noticed he wasn’t the only one who

hesitated to answer.

“Does anyone fear their mother?” Claybourne asked. The woman threw her head back and

laughed.

“Yes. Absolutely. If she’s doing a proper job in raising her children. That she has this effect on

grown, educated, and powerful men, tells me she’s doing a wonderful job. You all love her and
attribute the positive changes in Arkadia to her efforts. I look forward to meeting her.” Celeste
smiled. Felix suddenly wanted to jump from his mate’s arms and into hers. He suddenly missed his
mother.

The woman’s eyes grew moist. She looked right at Felix and gave him a gentle, knowing smile.
“I would if I could, young hybrid, for if there was anyone who needed a mother’s love right

now, it’s you. The sacrifice you have made to get this far is astounding.” Felix dashed his tears and
snuggled in closer to his mate.

“Not to be rude, but wasn’t Celeste the name of the witch who created the perimeter?” Liam

asked.

Celeste nodded. “When a priestess is revealed to be the next ruler, she takes the name Celeste

when she assumes the role of High Priestess. We have honored her memory every generation since the
beginning,” she explained. “Now then, the sample?”

Liam nodded and took the long pole from Riley, who had been standing to the side watching.

Slowly Liam pushed the cooler through the perimeter and to the priestess.

“Holy hell, dark magic much!” A voice from behind Lachlan exclaimed.
Felix watched as two men joined Lachlan and Celeste.
“Liam, Maddox, Felix. These two gentleman are Nathaniel Hamilton and Ronan Evans.

Nathanial is a medic and has healing gifts, and Ronan is a true Omega, or heart of his pack. Coming
up behind them are Conall York, their Beta, and of course Eirik Lyall, the Alpha of the Lyall pack. I
called them in to assist before I knew the perimeter was locked down. They have stayed to assist in
any way they can,” Lachlan explained.

“As if we could leave. Do you know how much work I put into keeping little Ashby alive when

he first arrived at Purgatory? We all kinda took to the little guy. If there’s anything we can do to help
him, we will,” Nathaniel said.

“You’re a ginger, so you have to be amazing,” Felix said weakly from Claybourne’s arms.
“Gingers are amazing.” Nathaniel grinned before his face turned serious.
“I wish I could help you. This damn perimeter won’t let us even get a toe across,” Nathaniel

said, sounding frustrated.

“You boys are right, there is dark magic at work.” Celeste knelt beside the cooler, running her

hand lightly over the lid.

“But how would they know? They are wolves, not witches,” Claybourne asked.
“Our pack is unique. I got healing abilities from my mother’s side of the family. Ronan was just

born weird,” Nathaniel said before Ronan punched his arm.

“They have witches in their familial line, as Nathaniel explained more than likely through their

mothers. They are just more shifter than they are witch, so they ended up as wolves with a few
special traits. It’s not unheard of,” Celeste said absently, her attention focused solely on the cooler.

“What she said.” Ronan shrugged. Felix watched as the priestess opened the cooler and all

blood drained from her face. She swayed slightly and Lachlan stepped forward to steady her.

“So much hate. So much hate and evil went into this spell. His blood, his intent. But her will and

power. There are only a few in this world that could perform such a spell. I consider all of them my
closest of friends, like sisters. To think that one of them could do such a thing.” Celeste reached into
the cooler and picked up the piece of chocolate. Before anyone could stop her, she popped it in her
mouth. Felix stared in disbelief.

“Celeste!” Lachlan yelled and started thumping her on the back. Celeste stepped away from him,

chewing, an annoyed look on her face.

“I am not a choking toddler, Lachlan, honestly. Now, yes. Where was I?” She tilted her head

back closing her eyes and continued to chew.

“I was right. The one who requested the spell donated his blood, and with it gave his hate,

malice,  and  desire  for  death.  I  can  see  his  intent  that  is  guiding  the  virus.  It  was  born  to  kill,
specifically  shifters.  It  would  not  have  any  effect  on  anyone  else,  because  his  intent  did  not  cover
those  groups.  This  virus  was  created  to  weaken  its  victim,  preventing  them  from  shifting,  and  thus
destroying the virus. There is a stasis spell here that would keep the virus dormant until it reached a

certain temperature. It was engineered to come alive in a living body. Oh Goddess! It was designed to
resist any known cures and medicines.” She stopped abruptly before opening her eyes. Two steady
streams of tears made their way down her cheeks.

“There is no cure. He made sure that no medicine would be effective. I’m so sorry!” She buried

her face in her hands. Felix felt his mate begin to shake.

“No! You can’t tell me there is no cure. I cannot stand by and watch my mate die. The

townspeople are counting on me!” Claybourne screamed.

“My mate is pregnant! We cannot lose him, or our child,” Liam whispered right before his knees

gave out and he collapsed to the ground. Riley and the wolves surrounded Liam and Claybourne
reaching out and touched them for comfort and support.

On the other side of the perimeter, Celeste turned and leaned into Lachlan for comfort and

support.

“Magic created this virus, so let magic create a cure! There has to be something you can do!”

Claybourne yelled at the older woman. She shook her head.

“It’s impossible to uncreate something another witch has created. This witch, whoever she is,

took the sacred act of creation and turned it into something dark and twisted. I’m sorry, Doctor, there
is nothing that I can do,” she explained, tears in her eyes.

Felix looked at Lyall’s wolves standing a bit apart from Lachlan and Celeste. Felix met Eirik’s

gaze. The man tilted his head back and a heartbreaking howl lifted from his throat. Ronan, Nathaniel,
and Conall joined their Alpha as the timeless soul-wrenching melody floated through the air up to the
sky.

Riley and the Arkadian wolves dropped their heads back and joined in a wordless song of loss

and sorrow. They were mourning for their Alpha, who back in town lay sick and dying. Felix looked
to  Claybourne.  His  mate  looked  beaten,  broken.  Liam  was  no  better,  sitting  on  the  ground  with  his
arms wrapped around his knees. If there was one thing he learned trapped in a cage too small for his
body, it was to never give up. If he had given up, he wouldn’t have been around to escape or meet
Claybourne.  He  refused  to  believe  that  Fate  had  brought  him  all  of  this  way  simply  to  die.  Angrier
than  he  had  been  in  a  long  time,  he  began  to  thrash  around.  Confused,  Claybourne  set  him  down.
Leaning back, he balled up his fist and punched his mate as hard as he could in the stomach. Shocked,
Claybourne grunted and grabbed his midsection.

“Felix! What in the hell was that for?” Claybourne demanded.
“Eww. You mean I ate that old fucker’s blood? Ewwww.” Felix, using his hands, wiped his

tongue repeatedly before looking at his mate, giving him the evil eye.

“I hit you for giving up. We’re not dead yet. There is always hope as long as you’re alive.” Felix

looked to Claybourne.

“If we are truly meant to die now, I’m going to die with every medicine and treatment we can

think of running through my veins, and my mate’s cock in my ass!” Felix yelled.

Claybourne grinned. “My amazing nurse mate with no brain-to-mouth filter. As always you’re

right. I won’t give up as long as you draw breath,” Claybourne promised and looked to Liam.

“We’re not giving up. I don’t know about witches, but I know history. As long as good men were

willing to fight, they were able to overcome the darkness of men’s hearts and the evil it can bring. I
say we listen to my mate and head back to Arkadia to fight this thing with everything we have,”
Claybourne said.

“Well said! Liam, son, hold on. Don’t give up hope yet. You have a baby on the way, keep

fighting for that little one.” Lachlan turned to Claybourne.

“What medicines will you need?” he asked.
“Epinephrine and steroids. All you have. The High Priestess said it herself. The virus was

designed in such a way that if the patient shifted, the virus would be burned off in the process. We just
have to figure out the right dosage to induce a shift,” Claybourne explained.

“You tried that with me already. It didn’t work.”
“I only had small amounts to work with, and no steroids. I’m going to give you enough to send

an elephant into cardiac arrest.” Claybourne kissed the top of Felix’s head.

“Here you go! Good luck!” Nathaniel said, pushing the box through. Liam picked up the box and

turned to Riley.

“Round up your men and head to town. We’ll know in the next couple hours what will happen. If

it doesn’t go well, your Alphas will need you,” Liam said. Riley nodded and began shouting orders to
the men to pack up.

Felix watched as Liam turned to his grandfather, his jaw clenched in an effort not to cry.
“Call you in the morning,” he said. The older man just nodded. Celeste looked at Liam.
“I swear to you I will find the one who cast this spell. They will pay for what they have done,”

she promised. Liam nodded and turned to face Claybourne.

“Let’s go.”

Chapter 10

“How do you feel?” Claybourne asked as he gently started injecting the liquid into his IV. Felix

scrunched up his nose. He felt a warm wave travel up his arm and through his body. For a split
second he felt his animal before it lay back down again, asleep. He leaned back in the leather chair in
the principal’s office.

“I felt my animal for a split second. I’m warm all over and my head is less foggy. I feel almost

normal.” Felix sounded excited.

“That’s good. We’ll wait five minutes and try another dose,” Claybourne said, carefully

documenting their attempts.

“Doc, you used nearly a quarter of our supplies in that attempt,” Liam said, sounding worried.
“We got a reaction, which is good. Get your grandfather to start scouring for more epinephrine

and steroids. If we have to increase the dosage in order to trigger a shift we’re going to need a hell of
a lot more,” Claybourne informed the lion Alpha.

“I’ll send him a text with an update. Felix, how do you feel now?” Liam asked.
“It’s wearing off. I’m starting to feel sleepy again.”
“I’m going to double the last dosage. Felix, reach for your animal,” Claybourne said before

starting the second injection. Once again a warmth ran through him. He called to his animal, begged it
to come forward, telling it they were in danger. His animal looked at him, yawned and lay back down.
Felix opened his eyes.

“It’s no good. He’s not budging.” Felix took a deep breath.
“You should give the rest to Ma.” Felix panted.
“This would kill her right now, only a full shift could save her. Anything short of that would stop

her heart,” Maddox whispered.

“There’s no cure, is there?” Liam asked softly. Claybourne shook his head.
“I could quadruple the dosage, Felix would run the risk of heart failure and he would only

succeed in getting his animal’s attention. If at the first attempt he had said that his animal began to
pace or get restless, I would keep trying, but all we’re doing is waking it up,” Claybourne explained.

“I’ll call the others,” Liam said.
“There has to be something,” Felix whispered. Claybourne pulled him into his lap and wrapped

his arms around him.

One by one the town’s leaders filed in. Felix saw that the past six days had taken a toll on these

men. They weren’t eating or sleeping properly. They were shadows of their former selves.
Claybourne stood and settled Felix in the chair before standing at the head of the long table.

“You have news?” Bran asked, sitting next to Caleb. Beside them Aleks sat with Benedict. On

Liam’s other side was Kent, then Gabriel and Baptista. Claybourne took a deep breath.

“The High Priestess confirmed that there was magic guiding the virus. It was designed

specifically to target shifters, render their animals helpless to prevent shifting and kill us. Into this
virus Gilberton poured all of his hate and desires to kill you. He made the virus immune to every
known cure and medicine.”

“Dear god, are you telling us there is no cure?” Caleb asked.
Slowly Claybourne nodded. “We have tried high doses of epinephrine and steroid to trigger a

shift so that the virus would be burned off in the process, but the virus breaks down the reaction too

quickly.” Claybourne pointed to Felix’s IV.

“What about magic? More steroids. Something!” Bran shouted.
“If there were anything else, do you think we would have called you in here?” Liam asked

sounding bitter. Bran sat back in his chair, dazed.

“Does Celeste know who the witch was that created the spell?” Gabriel asked, his voice as

cold as the artic. Felix shivered.

“No, she said that she would search them out,” Claybourne advised. Gabriel’s eyes had shifted

from the black they had been for the past couple days to a deep red, his fangs lengthening.

“Baptista. Call Mikhail. He needs to be waiting at the perimeter to come and kill me. I will not

be the man you know when Ashby dies. You will have to restrain me before he takes his last breath
and keep me locked up until Mikhail can come into town. I am appointing him my heir, as my mate
will leave this world before me.” Gabriel’s voice was cold and lifeless. He looked to his most
trusted guard.

“I want you to find the witch who did this. Finding her and making her life a living hell will be

this coven’s sole purpose for existing.” Gabriel stared across the room as if not looking at anything.
Baptista, weeping, bowed to his prince before straightening.

“I will also follow my mate.” Bran looked at Caleb. “I am so sorry, my brother. You have to stay

behind. You have the twins to raise. Riley will help you lead the pack,” Bran turned his face away,
unable to look at Caleb.

“No! No! You both cannot leave me. I’m not that strong!” Caleb buried his face in Bran’s neck

and both men wept, clinging to each other.

“I will not send Kate and our unborn child into the unknown alone. I will be there with them,

and when your time is over on this earth, we will guide you,” Bran said brokenly.

“We just found each other. He’ll be so scared, Liam,” Kent whispered. Liam looked, his face

wet.

“I promised we would always be together. We will follow him and our child. Who knows?

Maybe the powers that be will be kind and we will get to stay with our crazy, misfit lions as well.”
Liam gave a wobbly smile. Kent nodded and simply lay his head on Liam’s shoulder.

“I would like that.”
“Doc, you’re telling me, I have to watch my ma, my mate and unborn child die?” Aleks asked,

his hands shaking. Benedict grabbed his brother’s hand and held on tight.

“I know that you don’t want to hear this right now, there is nothing I can do for Ma. I’m sorry.

But there is a slight chance I can save Rebecca, if…” Claybourne faltered as if he couldn’t speak.

“What, Doc?” Aleks asked.
“I would have to abort your son. He’s the one infected, not Rebecca,” Claybourne whispered.

Every man turned to stare at Aleks.

“No man should ever have to make a choice like this,” Aleks said, sobbing, pounding the table

in impotent rage.

“The end of Arkadia, brought down by one of her own citizens because of his narrow-minded

hate. Whoever gets to the hereafter first, get that son of a bitch!” Liam said angrily.

“If you gentlemen will excuse us?” He stepped close to his mate and lifted him out of the chair.

Felix buried his face in his chest.

“We’ll call you when something changes.” Bran’s voice was devoid of any emotion. Claybourne

nodded and left the room. He found a dark, unused classroom and stepped inside. He sat in the adult
sized teacher’s chair and held Fenix close. “They’re serious aren’t they? We’re going to lose them
all?” Felix wiped his eyes. Claybourne just nodded and tucked Felix’s head under his chin. Felix
reveled in each moment that he passed with his mate, desperately wanting each second last forever.
He didn’t want to say goodbye.

“I don’t want to die,” Felix whispered and Claybourne’s arms tightened around him.
“You won’t be alone, I will be right there with you. When I know that the others have passed

painlessly and peacefully I will follow.”

I’m scared.”
“Don’t be, my love, it’s just the next step that we will take together.”
“Hold me?”
You never have to ask.”

* * * *

Felix soaked up the warmth from his mate’s body and Claybourne sighed.
“I can’t believe that medicine failed me. All my life science has been an infallible constant, but

it deserted me when I needed it most. Felix sniffled. He felt like he didn’t have any tears left.

“It’s too bad there isn’t a drug that speeds up a shifter’s metabolism.” Felix yawned. Claybourne

was mid-nod when he froze.

“Baby, what did you say?” Claybourne pulled away and turned Felix to face him.
“Too bad there isn’t a medicine that…” Felix started. Claybourne shook his head.
“You didn’t say medicine, you said drug. Oh god! It may just work. The spell will

counterbalance its normal side effects. There wouldn’t be any addiction. Oh my god! Baby, you are a
genius!” Claybourne stood, lifted Felix, and raced back to the office where the leaders still sat
making final arrangements. He placed Felix in a chair. Felix watched on, confused.

“You lost me,” Felix said.
“It was before you got here.” Claybourne turned to Gabriel.
“There is one thing that will put a shifter into a hyper, almost manic state. One thing,”

Claybourne said. Gabriel’s eyes widened.

“I was wrong, you aren’t a sardonic asshole, Doctor. You’re a sardonic, genius asshole,

Doctor.” Gabriel stood quickly and reached for his cell phone. Seconds later he was telling Roman to
get all the vampires in the school’s small gym.

“To the non-geniuses in the room, please explain!” Caleb yelled.
“Gentlemen, you will have to put your suicide plans on hold. My mate has given me a brilliant

idea that may just save us all.” Claybourne turned back to Gabriel who was hanging up his phone.

“Aleks, let’s go and try to save your ma,” Claybourne said. Aleks looked at him with such

desperate hope that Felix prayed that his mate was right.

Chapter 11

“Pa, I need your permission to try this treatment on Ma. I don’t know if it will work, if it doesn’t

it may be the thing that kills her, but this sir, is our Hail Mary,” Claybourne explained. Pa nodded.

“Do it. She only has minutes left. Her spirit is fading,” he said, wiping his eyes.
Claybourne turned to Gabriel, who stood with the vampires.
“I need a donor,” he said. Around them, the shifter leaders gasped.
“You are a fucking genius, Doc!” Bran exclaimed.
“To give blood is very sacred to a vampire, and for me to donate moreso, as I am the Prince of

my people. I am willing to donate to three people and three alone. Roman will organize the others.
Please take my blood for Ma, Rebecca, and Felix,” the prince said. Claybourne nodded,
acknowledging the honor.

“Thank you, Prince Gabriel,” Pa whispered.
“That woman has made me feel welcome. She sees me as a son and treats me the same as she

would any of her boys, despite the fact I am old enough to be her ancestor. I treasure that. Rebecca
also looks at me and sees just Gabriel. I could do no less for someone whom both I and my mate love
dearly,” Gabriel explained. Aleks simply walked up and caught him in a bear hug.

“Aleks, move to one side. Let me get some blood from our benevolent donor,” Claybourne said.

Felix’s brain was still stuck on the fact that the prince of all vampires would be willing to donate to
him, a nobody.

“Why me?” he asked. He had to know why. Gabriel simply stared at Felix until he was sure he

was going to melt into the floor.

“Because if this works, young hybrid, then you would have saved us all. You never gave up. Not

once. I will gladly take on a son such as you,” the prince said gently.

“Y’all gotta stop saying stuff like that, I’m dehydrated enough without crying buckets!” Felix

complained, wiping his eyes.

“Okay, I am taking Gabriel’s blood and mixing it with the epinephrine and steroids and see what

we get,” said Claybourne. He looked at Pa one last time. The man straightened and nodded.

“She would want to be the one you test on. In case it didn’t work. That’s just how she is,” Pa

said.

Taking a deep breath, Claybourne injected the syringe into Ma’s IV and stepped back.
“Please work. If anyone out there is listening, please work.” Felix heard his mate pray. After

thirty seconds and no reaction, Felix felt the stirrings of fear, when suddenly Ma’s heart rate monitor
started to go wild.

“Gavin, get the tube out of her. Remove the IVs, she’s going to shift!” Claybourne yelled

excitedly. Gavin rushed forward from where he had been standing with his brothers. They barely had
enough time to remove all of the tubes when Ma’s body shivered and shifted. Seconds later they were
staring at a four-hundred-pound brown bear.

“Yes! Yes! Oh god, yes!” Benedict yelled, jumping around and throwing his arms in the air.

Soon everyone was yelling for joy.

“Wheel her into the gym so we can keep an eye on her. We have some people to shift,”

Claybourne said, his mind going to the other patients they had waiting for him.

Patient after patient shifted until soon the gym was filled with rows and rows of different

animals lying on hospital beds. A large portion of them were lions, as Liam’s pride was the hardest
hit, but there were also raccoons, wolves, foxes, and some that Felix couldn’t even name.

“It looks like Wild Kingdom in here,” Riley joked. Felix nodded. Claybourne, Gavin, and the

medically trained vampires were working the room, from the most critical patient to the least critical.

“Come on, it looks like they are about to treat my Alpha, I want to hear what they’re saying.”

Riley helped Felix across the gym.

“The decision is yours, Bran, you as well Liam. I have no idea what the effects will be on your

unborn children,” Claybourne explained.

“Do it. But Caleb and I have a request. Can we choose the vampire?” Bran asked. Claybourne

shrugged and turned to Gabriel.

“Considering there is a child involved and you are leaders of your groups that can be arranged.

Who would you like to donate?” Gabriel asked, sounding curious. Bran looked at Caleb who nodded.

“We’d like Baptista, if he’s willing. He is strong and patient. It is our hope that he will also act

as guardian to this little one, considering the bond that it may create,” Caleb explained. Gabriel
looked to Baptista.

“I am not requiring anyone over one hundred years old to donate, you know that the older we get

the more potent our blood is. You’re one of my first children, the choice is yours.” Gabriel stepped
back. Baptista looked poleaxed.

“I’d be honored to help look after this little one,” Baptista said, sniffing. Felix grinned. The man

was such a softie.

Claybourne wheeled Sebastian and Kate so they were side by side. He turned to Liam and Kent.

Liam looked at Kent who nodded, smiling.

“We’d like to request David or Daniel. Between Sebastian, Felix, and my lions, I think my child

will need someone who is crazy enough to keep up with them. If they are willing,” Liam said. Daniel
and David bounced forward smiling, tears of joy in their eyes.

“We are up for that challenge,” they said, offering their arms to Claybourne. Quickly Claybourne

mixed the blood and medicines and filled each syringe.

“Okay, Kate first.” Claybourne injected the wolf Alpha and stepped back as Bran, Caleb, and

Riley stepped forward. Kate’s body bowed and thrashed. Seconds later she shuddered and a white
wolf lay gasping on the bed.

“Doc, the baby!” Bran exclaimed. Claybourne stepped forward with his stethoscope and

listened intently to Kate’s belly. His face broke out in a smile.

“Congratulations, you’re having twins. Again!” He smiled at the stunned fathers. To everyone’s

surprise Baptista’s eyes rolled up in the back of his head and he fainted. Roman began to laugh so
hard he had to wipe his eyes. Even Gabriel had a faint smile on his lips.

“That poor man cannot seem to get away from twins!” Roman hooted.
“Okay, now time for Sebastian.” Claybourne looked up and met Felix’s eyes. Without wasting

another second, he injected the syringe and stepped back again. Liam stood on one side as Kent stood
on the other. Sebastian’s head turned from side to side before his body almost shimmered. Felix
smiled. He had an idea what was about to happen.

Sebastian’s body was transitioning through animals the way a corporate executive would flick

through PowerPoint slides. One right after another.

“Okay, ostrich is new. Has he been watching Animal Planet again? I told him he wasn’t allowed

to watch that anymore,” Liam said, then yelped when a fifteen-foot python appeared on the bed. After
three minutes of changing, Sebastian finally settled into the tiny cat form everyone in town was
familiar with. Liam and Kent exhaled.

“Doc? The baby?” they asked together. Claybourne listened in, looking more like a vet that a

human doctor. He looked up, smiling.

“One healthy baby,” he confirmed. Kent sagged against the bed before Liam pulled his lover

over for a passionate kiss.

Claybourne immediately went to Ashby next. He looked at the prince.
“Doesn’t being mated to you negate the effects of your blood in Ashby?” Claybourne asked.

Gabriel nodded, frowning fiercely.

“My Prince, I know that you wish Mikhail were here to perform this honor, but he is out serving

you in tracking down the drug ring. I freely offer up my blood so that Prince Ashby will live,” Roman
said, stepping forward nervously. Gabriel looked at one of his oldest friends.

“It would make me very happy to know that your blood saved my mate.” Gabriel inclined his

head. Roman bowed then straightened, wiping away his tears. He took a wobbly step forward. He
had to clear his throat a few times before he was able to speak.

“I would give my life for your mate, my prince,” Roman said, rolling up his sleeve. Felix

sniffled. He felt like he had been transported back in time. The way the vampires regarded one
another with knightly and princely honor made his modern heart ache at their beauty.

Claybourne administered the infusion and stepped back. Ashby thrashed around as a small cry

escaped his lips. Frowning, Gabriel unconsciously took a step forward. Then Ashby disappeared and
a tiny lump was left in the middle of the cot.

Gabriel jumped forward and dug through the blankets, pulling out a tiny white bundle. The tiny

fennec fox flicked one large ear and then the other. Tears streamed unchecked down the prince’s face.
The other vampires turned away as if the sight of their prince so undone was too beautiful to behold.

“There he is! The little runt. Thank goodness he is okay,” Nic said, sagging down and sitting on

the now empty cot.

Gabriel looked over to Claybourne and held his mate as if he were the most precious thing in the

whole world.

“I will never forget what you and your mate have done for me and mine. If you ever need

anything, do not hesitate to ask. As I have offered my blood to Felix, I now consider you part of my
coven,” Gabriel announced. Roman, Baptista, and the twins broke out into smiles.

“It’s been a long time since we had new members! Doc, you and Felix will have to eat with us

on Sundays when the other coven members from Purgatory come visit for dinner. Ashby is introducing
us to new foods,” Daniel said excitedly.

“It will be an honor,” Claybourne said with a half bow. Felix smiled. Of course his mate would

know the proper response. He just wanted to hug the prince and Ashby, but somehow he didn’t think
that would be the proper thing to do.

Felix watched as Claybourne raced around treating everyone. Nearly everyone in the gym had

been given the treatment, except for two people. Felix looked across the gym to see that Aleks and
Rebecca were waiting for them. Only he and Rebecca were left.

“Claybourne, how are we going to cure Rebecca’s baby? It’s still in utero. We can’t give it an

injection,” Felix said. The jubilant atmosphere evaporated.

“Doc, can’t we just give Rebecca my blood?” Gabriel asked. Claybourne shook his head.
“Your blood would affect Rebecca’s body, not her unborn. She’s not infected, he is,”

Claybourne clarified.

“Doc, how are we going to save Rebecca’s baby?” Liam asked. Claybourne looked at Felix.
“I don’t know,” his mate replied.
Would Fate grant them just one more miracle? Just one more.

* * * *

“Hey, Doc, my turn now?” Rebecca asked, smiling up at him.
“Hey, how’s my favorite pint-sized patient?” Claybourne asked. Rebecca gave him a weak

smile.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, cutting through the niceties.
“The treatment we have accelerates the shifter’s body to force them into a shift so that the

process will burn off the virus,” Claybourne explained.

Rebecca paled. “I don’t have an animal,” she said softly.
“You’ve saved all of us, Doc, you can save her and my grandbaby,” a female voice said from the

door. Ma stood there, her pink flannel robe fastened tightly.

“Margaret, you are a sight for sore eyes,” Claybourne said.
“I hear you have been achieving the impossible while I have been asleep. What can we do for

my daughter?” Ma asked, walking straight to Aleks, who shamelessly wrapped his arms around his
ma’s waist and buried his face in her midsection.

“There, there, baby boy. It will be okay. We’ll figure this out,” Ma said, patting Aleks’s head.
“We almost lost you, Ma!” Rebecca cried, holding up her arms. Aleks peeked out from his ma’s

stomach, and without looking back, reached behind him to pull Rebecca into his embrace so she could
also wrap herself around Ma.

Ma looked at Claybourne expectantly. Felix hobbled over to his mate’s side.
“Why is he still sick?” Ma asked. Claybourne scowled down at his mate.
“He is refusing treatment until everyone is well.”
“I was the last infected so I’m not as critical. Plus, you need me, if I get treated now, no telling

how long I’ll be out.” Felix stared down at Rebecca who had pulled back from Ma to lie back down
on the bed. Aleks too had regained his composure and was sitting a little straighter in his chair. He
looked a lot better now that his ma wasn’t minutes from death.

“Okay, so we can’t give anything directly to the baby, and we can’t give the blood directly to

Rebecca. How do we get the treatment to the baby?” Felix asked, thinking out loud.

“It has to go through Rebecca,” Claybourne said.
“But her body will react to the vampire blood as a human, not as a shifter,” Felix countered.
“But Rebecca doesn’t have an animal,” Claybourne continued.
“But Aleks does,” Felix offered.
“But he wasn’t infected,” Claybourne said, bringing up a valid point.
“No, but Ma was,” Felix said, smiling wide.
“Damn.”
“Admit it,” Felix sang in a trilling voice.

“You’re right.”
“What was that? I’m still infected and my hearing is a bit off?” Felix said, cupping his ear.

Claybourne grinned before snatching up Felix.

“You are always right,” he said and kissed Felix senseless.
“Wow, Felix, you have him trained to say those magic words already. I’m impressed,” Rebecca

said, grinning.

“Now, let me check one thing.” Claybourne picked up the clipboard at the foot of the bed.
“Ma, your blood type is A positive right?” he asked. She nodded.
“Okay, so we have a plan. Ma donates blood and we transfer to Rebecca. Ma’s blood still has

Gabriel’s blood in it. It will also have the chemicals released from her shift, which will enter
Rebecca’s bloodstream and transfer to the baby, helping him burn off the virus. Any questions? No?
Good.” Claybourne moved right along.

“Benedict, if you would be so good as to move an empty bed next to Rebecca, I want to start

treatment on my mate,” Claybourne said while he was setting up Ma on the bed on the other side of
Rebecca. Benedict nodded and wheeled an empty bed over for Felix. When the bed was locked down
he hopped on and watched Claybourne get Ma hooked up.

“Will she be okay?” a female voice asked. Felix looked over to see Kate and Ashby in the arms

of their mates. Damian was leaning heavily on Rian.

“We’re working on it,” Felix said.
“Are we too late for the show?” Liam asked, holding a small kitten.
“Sebastian! Oh, give him here!” Rebecca said, reaching for the tiny cat. Liam, grinning, set the

kitten down gently next to Rebecca.

“We think he’s one of the last ones to shift back since he had to go through so many forms. I

really didn’t want to miss Felix’s shifts,” Liam said. Claybourne grunted.

Felix watched as Rebecca rubbed her face against Sebastian as if she were part cat herself.

Sebastian stretched all four legs, flexing his paws. Seconds later everyone heard the faint sound of
purring.

“I’ve missed my Sebastian,” Rebecca cooed. She looked over to Kate and Liam.
“Your baby?” she asked.
“Evidentially, I’m having twins! According to Doc both are fine,” Kate shared excitedly.
“Oh my gosh, that’s so amazing. Rian, we have to like do twice as much shopping now,”

Rebecca gushed.

“Y’all don’t hate me?” he asked quietly. Everyone turned to stare at the normally vibrant lion.
“Why on earth would we hate you?” Rebecca asked. Rian looked up, crying.
“Because I gave away all the chocolate.” He bowed his head in shame.
“Rian Stafford, you hold your head up high. There is nothing for you to feel bad about. The only

one to blame is that bastard Gilberton and his hateful ways,” Ma said in a firm voice.

“Really?” Rian asked. Everyone nodded.
“In that case. Kate are you going to find out the sexes of your babies in advance? Rebecca’s is

right, we have a lot of shopping to do!” Rian exclaimed.

“We’ll see. I’m just glad they are okay. Oh god, Rebecca, I’m so sorry, I didn’t think,” Kate

said, paling when she realized Rebecca’s baby wasn’t out of the woods yet.

“Don’t ever be sorry your babies are healthy. Claybourne and Felix have saved us all. We just

have one more little one to go,” she said, patting her belly.

“Okay, I’m starting the transfusion now. Rebecca, you need to tell me if you feel anything.

Anything at all,” Claybourne explained.

“Kay-O, Doc. I’m hungry, does that count?” Rebecca asked and Claybourne groaned.
“We’ll get you something to eat after the transfusion,” he promised. He walked over to Felix

with a syringe.

“Ready, my love?” he asked.
“No, let’s do it tomorrow,” Felix said nonchalantly. Claybourne’s mouth dropped. Rebecca

giggled in the background.

“I should inject you in your buttock,” Claybourne joked.
“You just love giving it to me in the ass,” Felix quipped. Claybourne palmed his face and he

looked over to Ma.

“We have this lot, then four more just like them on the way?” he asked, exasperated. Ma raised

her head, smiling.

“You wouldn’t want it any other way,” she said and Claybourne nodded.
“Okay trouble, you want it in the ass, you’ll get it in the ass. Roll over,” Claybourne ordered.

Felix’s eyes went wide.

“I was just kidding, um how about my leg? Nice leg right here,” Felix said, pointing to his thigh.
“Now.” Claybourne’s quiet order had Felix grumbling and turning over. He pulled down one

side of his pajama bottoms, revealing one cheek. The next thing he knew his mate jabbed him as hard
as he could.

“Owwwwwww! Dammit! Owww! Bastard!” Felix yelled.
“Okay turn back over and calm down, baby,” Claybourne said, sitting on the edge of the bed.
Felix turned over and felt fire race through his veins.
“I feel funny,” Felix said, his mouth feeling like it was moving too slow. He waved his hands in

front of his face.

“Wow.” Felix laughed, but then the fire in his body turned to molten lava. He felt his animal look

up and come roaring to the surface.

“You better get off the bed, Doc,” Felix heard Liam warn and then there was darkness.

Chapter 12

“Sebastian does this every night?” Felix heard Claybourne ask. There was deep male laughter.
“Only when he’s stressed. I’ve woken up next to a porcupine and an alligator before. Not fun,”

Liam confided.

“Hey Doc, the butterfly feeling is gone. Is my baby okay?” He heard Rebecca’s voice loudly,

coming from directly above his head. He opened one eye and looked around. He opened a second eye
and stood. He shook his head and saw that he was standing on the hospital bed next to Rebecca.

“He is so damn adorable. Can’t I keep them?” Rebecca asked. Felix felt himself get scooped up.

He tensed for a moment before he was cuddled next to a warm body. When he looked to his left, he
saw Sebastian’s cat form staring at him. He saw one eye wink at him as Sebastian began to purr.

Felix looked around the room and saw that everyone was looking at them smiling, including his

mate.

“I’m afraid that I would miss him too much, Rebecca,” Claybourne said, watching the fetal

monitors. Felix gave a peppy bark. Claybourne smiled.

“Looks like your baby is doing just fine. I would like to do daily checkups on all three of you for

the next week or so, just to be on the safe side.” Claybourne looked at Rebecca and Kate, who
nodded. Sebastian rubbed his head against Felix, purring.

“Liam, I think it’s safe to say you can invite your grandfather into Arkadia now,” Claybourne

said, leaning over to take Felix. Liam grinned, reaching for his phone. He walked a few steps away,
but seconds later Felix could hear the older man’s relieved cries.

Felix felt a soft kiss on the back of his head. He turned around, and feeling mischievous, licked

Rebecca from the bottom of her chin to her hairline. She burst into peals of laughter.

“Ewww, Felix. That was gross.” She giggled. Aleks lay his head down on the arm that was

stretched out next to his mate.

“The answer is no,” he said and yawned. She pouted and looked down at her mate.
“But…”
“No.”
“Please?”
“No. Having a baby will have to be enough,” Aleks said and closed his eyes. Rebecca passed

Felix to Claybourne, who immediately brought him to his chest. Felix looked out at the room.
Everyone was shifting back to human.

Claybourne leaned down to whisper into Felix’s ear.
“I’ve always wanted a dog. You have got to be the most adorable husky puppy I have ever seen.

My tiger is purring, wanting to play.” Claybourne rubbed his cheek against the back of Felix’s head.
Felix had the urge to mark Claybourne too, but as fastidious as the man was, he knew that he would
lose his shit if he peed on him.

“Doc, Benedict and I destroyed all the samples that we had left. We’re also going to arrange for

the entire shop to get emptied just in case Gilberton left any more surprises,” Duncan said, walking
up.

“That was a good idea, Claybourne. We do not want this virus getting into the wrong hands,”

Liam said, ending the call with Lachlan.

“What will the council do now?” Claybourne lightly pet Felix, who ate up the attention.

“They are bringing in the supplies to replenish your clinic and then heading out. Grandfather has

decided to stay for a little while. I can appreciate how helpless he must have felt. You and Felix were
the only ones who were able to do anything,” Liam said, looking over to where Sebastian batted at
Rebecca’s fingers playfully. Liam yawned wide.

“I think everyone should take their loved ones home and get some rest. I’ll be available for

follow-ups starting tomorrow.” Claybourne yawned.

“Good idea, Doc,” Liam said, picking up his mate from Rebecca’s lap before dropping a kiss on

the top of her head.

“Consider it doctor’s orders,” Claybourne said as he waved good-bye to everyone. Feeling that

all was finally safe in his world, Felix closed his eyes and lay his head on his mate’s forearm and fell
asleep.

* * * *

Over the next few days, Felix and Claybourne kept a close eye on Rebecca, Kate, and Sebastian

to make sure there were no lingering side effects that could harm their unborn children. Felix could
tell that even though she was smiling and joking around, Rebecca was still worried about her son.

“Are you sure he’s okay, Doc?” Rebecca asked again when Felix and Claybourne joined

everyone for dinner at the diner. Everyone had agreed to meet at the diner after Ms. Brayburn’s
funeral service. The mood in the diner was a somber one as everyone sat close to their loved ones in
dark colors.

“Yes, Rebecca, he is perfectly fine,” Claybourne reassured her. Nodding quietly, she snuggled

down in Aleks’s arms, unusually subdued. Felix watched her frown and rub her belly, and the hairs on
the back of his neck started to rise. He would bet his next microwavable pizza that she was up to
something. Felix looked around the diner. Everyone was too busy with their own mates and friends to
notice Rebecca’s strange behavior. He sighed. He would have to keep an eye on her. They had
worked too damn hard to save her for her to get into trouble now.

“I thought the service was just lovely. Edith would have loved all of those handsome men

gathered in one place, looking so dashing in their suits,” Ms. Tully said, smiling.

“She would have fainted away at Prince Gabriel giving her eulogy.” Ms. Anderson fanned

herself.

“Such a good boy,” Ms. Martin agreed.
Felix looked over to see Gabriel hiding a smile. Ever since receiving the Prince’s blood, Felix

had felt a connection to the vampire. It was a strong connection, like the one he had with his mate.
However, unlike the bond with Claybourne, there were no emotions involved, just a sense of being
part of something more. Gabriel looked over to him and gave a slow wink. Felix grinned back.

“Quit flirting with the mated prince,” Claybourne whispered in his ear. Felix, without even

looking to aim, elbowed his mated solidly in the stomach.

“Oh I’m sorry, baby cakes, I didn’t see you there.” Felix looked up at his mate, making sure his

eyes were wide and full of surprise. Claybourne grunted and rubbed his stomach.

“Don’t call me baby cakes,” Claybourne complained.
“Okay, Tigger,” Felix said, batting his eyelashes. Claybourne just sighed.
“You’re going to have your hands full with that one, Doc,” Emmett said, laughing.

“I knew you liked me. Sorry, Emmett, you’re too late, I’m mated now.” Felix placed a hand over

his heart dramatically. Emmett gave a large, loud, belly laugh.

“If anyone could tempt a straight man it would probably be you, Felix,” Emmett said, grinning.
“Mine!” Claybourne growled and wrapped an arm around Felix’s waist, pulling him into his

lap.

Felix patted Claybourne’s chest.
“Lord have mercy, this caveman thing is sexy as hell. Say it again, big boy.” Felix purred up at

his mate. Claybourne’s face ignited. Around them everyone started chuckling.

“Behave, trouble.” Claybourne kissed the top of his head. Felix settled down in Claybourne’s

lap, feeling happier than he had ever been in his life. Ma brought their dinner over and set it on the
table in front of them. Felix was practically bouncing at the large plate of lasagna in front of him. He
eyed the melty cheese and sighed. Perfect. He was about to dig in when Claybourne’s cell phone
began to ring. Felix froze and looked up sharply to Claybourne.

“I’m starting to hate your phone. It’s never anything good.” Felix eyed the phone with worry.
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Claybourne said good-humoredly until he looked down and saw the

name. He closed his eyes and started muttering. He lifted Felix out of his lap and answered the phone.

“Claybourne here,” he said.
“Since when do you go by Claybourne? Honestly, Maddox,” a crisp female voice said. Felix

perked up one ear and listened in. He saw Sebastian lean forward, along with Ashby and Nic.

“Nice for you to call. Anything wrong?” Claybourne asked lazily. Felix looked up at his mate,

surprised. Claybourne was anything but lazy or laid back. His relaxed tone didn’t sound like him at
all. In fact, the crisp female voice sounded more like Claybourne than he himself did at the moment.

“Anything wrong? Anything wrong! I find out that my baby brother almost died in a shifter

plague and you ask me if anything is wrong!” The angry voice spoke with clipped, staccato-like
words, easily conveying her exasperation without sounding hysterical. Wait. Baby brother? Felix
scooted closer to his mate.

“I’m fine and it wasn’t a plague. It was a carefully altered living virus, manipulated by a witch’s

spell,” Claybourne explained.

“Oh, that makes all the difference, I feel so much better.” Her sarcasm spoke volumes.
“I also felt that you mated. You couldn’t call and warn me? I was in the middle of working on a

case with my team. I was going to wait for you to call me when I found out about your virus.” The
woman’s voice softened a fraction when discussing the mating but then modulated back to anger when
talking about how it affected her.

Claybourne dropped his head back and he sighed.
“Sorry about that, Madison. I forgot that it might affect you. Were you okay?” he said gently. She

snorted.

“Of course, I am the best, after all. It actually added a sense of urgency to my closing remarks,

since I wanted to get home and go to bed. Who is it? A tiger?” she asked. Claybourne looked down at
Felix and Felix stuck his tongue out at him.

“His name is Felix. He’s a disorganized, loud, smart-assed, messy, flame-headed package

wrapped in trouble.” Claybourne smiled gently at Felix. Felix could see the love for him in his mate’s
eyes and couldn’t help the goofy grin on his face. The man just turned him inside out.

“Oh. Oh, Maddox, he sounds perfect.” There was a quiet sniffle before she continued.

“You needed a man like that in your life. I can’t wait to meet him. Did he manage to remove that

large stick from your ass so he could fuck it?” she asked, laughing.

“Mad-i-son!” Claybourne exclaimed. Felix was laughing so hard he had tears running down his

face.

“Oh is that him? Let me talk to him,” the woman ordered. Without introduction, Claybourne

passed the phone to Felix who was still trying to catch his breath.

“Hello,” Felix said finally.
“Hello, Felix, my name is Madison. I hear that you are causing my baby brother some trouble,”

she said evenly.

“I try to,” Felix answered. He heard a light, bell-like laugh and had to smile at it.
“Good. I can’t wait to meet you. I should be there soon for a visit,” she informed him.

Claybourne’s head snapped up.

“You in Arkadia?” Claybourne snorted, knowing she would be able to hear him.
“I know, I know. I said I would never visit your country bumpkin town, but it’s my duty as oldest

to check on you and meet your mate. Felix, be honest with me. There is electricity right? Running
water?” Madison asked. Connor snorted from behind the counter laughing.

“Yes, but little else,” Felix confirmed.
“Oh god, that’s what I thought, I…hold on,” she said before they all heard her yell to someone in

the background.

“I am too going to visit my brother. I don’t care, get someone else to take that case. You know

what, you’re absolutely right. A couple days isn’t enough time away from here. I fucking quit! No. I
don’t care if my name is on the building, I just gave you my resignation, and don’t forget to cut me a
check for my unused vacation time. I believe I have several months’ worth accumulated over the
years. I feel like buying my baby brother a present. The fuck you say? I wrote that contract myself, do
you really think I don’t know I am entitled to vacation payout? I am the best goddamn lawyer on the
east coast and you just pissed me off so much that I quit. Have fun explaining that to the other partners.
Bye-bye now.” The sound of clicking high heels tapping across a hard surface echoed on the phone.

“Okay where was I? Oh yeah, I’m coming down for a few days. I’ll be settling things here

before coming to visit,” she said as new sounds of car horns, people yelling, and street noise were
clearly heard.

“New York?” Felix and Rian gasped at the same time.
“Please, please, please can you pick up some things for us?” Felix pleaded as Rian threw

himself into the chair beside him. The musical laughter was heard again.

“Oh, you poor country babies, of course I’ll shop for you. Shopping is an art that I have

perfected. Text me your sizes and pictures and I’ll surprise you,” she offered. Rian let out a loud
squeal and grabbed the phone from Felix.

“I don’t know you and I’m not into women, but I love you!” he yelled into the phone before Felix

snatched it back.

“Hey, she’s my sister-in-law, I call dibs!” Felix yelled.
“Now I really can’t wait to meet you guys. Bye, Maddox, see you soon,” she said and the call

ended.

Felix turned to Rian.
“Clothes. Clothes from New York!” Felix yelled.

“Actually, it will probably be clothes from Milan and Paris. She has an affinity for European

designers,” Claybourne said between bites of lasagna. Felix and Rian stared at one another before
more squeals filled the diner.

“I didn’t know you had a sister,” Felix said after he and Rian calmed down.
“I have two sisters actually. Madison and Maddie, or Madelyne. We are triplets, Maddie is the

youngest,” Claybourne explained.

“Wow. So you’re a doctor and she’s a high-power lawyer, what is Maddie, like an astronaut?”

Felix asked. Claybourne’s eyes got a little sad.

“According to my parents, Maddie is a disappointment. She’s an artist. She works in multiple

mediums. She’s actually an artistic genius. Madison and I are proud of her, but my parents disowned
her when she refused to study business and keep with the family’s plan for her. Madison and I support
her the best we can though,” Claybourne said.

“Maybe she should come visit, too,” Felix said, wanting to erase the sadness from his mate’s

eyes.

“We lost track of her when she started travelling in Africa to paint the wildlife. Madison has

sent more than one Sentinel group over there to find her, but no such luck. I hope that she is okay no
matter where she is,” Claybourne said, putting his fork down.

“How did your sister manage to send more than one Sentinel group to Africa to search for your

youngest sister? They don’t take orders from anyone,” Gabriel murmured, sounding impressed.

Claybourne gave an evil grin. “No one can compare to my sister when it comes to persuasion

and argument. She wasn’t exaggerating when she said she was the best lawyer on the east coast,
however I think that statement is inaccurate. She is the best lawyer in this hemisphere. She only takes
cases where she can help people, and has never lost. Not even when she first started. Not only was
she able to get the Sentinel commander to agree to send search and rescue teams, but she has it so they
constantly email her status updates. I don’t ask what she does, and she doesn’t tell. Very early in her
career she explained the term plausible deniability. I only asked that she use her super powers for
good.” Claybourne shrugged.

“I have to meet her,” Rebecca said, her eyes blazing with curiosity. Claybourne eyed Rebecca

with trepidation.

“Maybe not the best idea,” he said.
“No,” Liam agreed.
“Definitely not,” Gabriel nodded.
“Hell no,” Aleks said.
“Y’all are mean!” Rebecca crossed her arms over her chest.
“I’d be scared to death at what the two of you could come up with,” Aleks said.
“Maybe she could explain some of the more complicated legal rhetoric to me,” Rebecca said.
“No,” Aleks repeated. Rebecca’s eyes narrowed right before she broke out in a wide smile.
“Okay, I won’t ask her,” she said sweetly. Aleks, Liam, and Bran stared at Rebecca for a

second. Kate laughed.

“Y’all should know better.” Kate shook her head.
“Baby?” Aleks asked.
“Mmm lasagna! Yay! Ma loves me.” Rebecca ignored her mate and dug into the cheesy

goodness. Felix sighed. Yup, he was going to watch her carefully, maybe slip Aleks some Xanax to

steady his nerves.

“So, Doc. How have you been sleeping?” Liam asked, laughing. Sebastian reached under the

table and Liam yelped.

“Perfectly fine. If Felix shifts in his sleep, I must sleep right through it,” Claybourne said,

picking up a breadstick.

“Lucky bastard! I have a hard enough time with the small fuzzy mammals that Sebastian tends to

shift into, like koala bears and marmosets. Watching Felix shift in the gym made me thankful for small
and furry. Felix’s repertoire seems to run along the lines of scary and dangerous.” Liam shuddered.

“I made sure that my other forms were dangerous so that Alpha Devon wouldn’t get any ideas

about hurting me when I was out of my cage.” Felix ate his lasagna and sighed happily. There was
nothing better on earth.

“As bad as we had it, Peyton had it worse than all of us. He was around that asshole twenty-

four-seven. Speaking of Peyton, how did he and Mojo fare during the epidemic?” Sebastian asked
curiously.

“Neither of them eat chocolate, so we sent all the healthy kids to Mojo’s so that their parents

could concentrate on their sick mates or their other sick children. Evidently the kids had a blast,”
Liam reported.

“That man is so damn sexy!” Rebecca sighed. Kate echoed her sigh.
“He is!” Sebastian said. Ashby and Nic nodded.
“We need to find that man a mate.” Aleks growled.
“Why? It won’t make him any less sexy?” Felix asked. Claybourne’s head swung in his

direction.

“Not you too?” he asked. Felix shrugged.
“That man is gorgeous, rocks this bad-boy-in-a-leather-jacket image. It’s like he’s wrapped in

dangerous power and exudes confidence, yet is gentle and loves children. It’s like God took
everything that would make a man desirable and put it in that one package.” Felix couldn’t help the
sigh that escaped. He didn’t feel quite so bad when the other mates sighed with him. Aleks, Caleb,
Liam, Bran, Gabriel, and Claybourne began a low, rumbled growl.

The bells on the diner door chimed as the man in question walked in. He was wearing a tight,

black T-shirt and worn jeans. He looked around the diner and spotted the table they were sitting at
and grinned. He was about to take a step forward when the men at the table growled again. Mojo
stopped in his tracks.

“Uhh hello?” he asked, his deep voice carrying throughout the diner.
“Don’t mind the cavemen over there, sexy. We have just been discussing how mouth-watering

you are, and the men here got a little upset. Come sit next to me,” Rian said, patting the chair next to
him. Mojo walked up, grinning. He winked at Ashby, Kate, and Sebastian before ruffling Rebecca’s
hair, sending her into giggles.

“Y’all need to stop doing that or one of these days they are going to skin my hide. Now. What’s

for dinner?” he asked, sitting down to a beaming Rian.

Felix watched as Mojo reached across the table for a menu, revealing a toned and heavily

muscled arm. Felix smiled at the sight.

“That is it!” Claybourne stood and pulled Felix over his shoulder. He turned to the table.
“Goodnight,” he said simply.

“That man is truly a genius,” Bran said before he scooped up Kate. Felix watched from

Claybourne’s shoulder as the men snatched up their mates. He was laughing as Claybourne left the
diner and headed to their car. Gently Claybourne put him in the passenger seat. Felix watched him
walk around and get in.

“I still think you should get a papoose thing if you insist on carrying me so much,” Felix said,

grabbing Claybourne’s hand on the center console. Claybourne looked over, a grin playing at his lips.

“Quiet, trouble,” he said and kissed his fingers. Felix shivered in anticipation. He loved it when

his mate got bossy.

* * * *

“This place is a mess!” Claybourne yelled when they got into the house. Felix could feel his

anticipation dying a quick and painless death. He watched his mate go to pick up clothes off the den
floor but then reach for an empty plate. It seemed as if his mate didn’t know which he wanted to clean
first. Felix sighed and rubbed his face.

“Is that a water ring?” Claybourne asked, gasping.
Okay, it looked like his mate was heading toward full meltdown. Felix grinned and began to

remove his clothes. He waited until his mate went to the kitchen to put the plate away and threw his
clothes on the sofa. He stood in the foyer naked. When Claybourne returned with rubber gloves on
and Clorox wipes he saw more clothes on the sofa and his eyes began to bug out. He began to look
around for more offending items. When he looked over and saw Felix watching him, naked, he
dropped the Clorox wipes.

“Dirty is good, remember? Didn’t you like making me dirty, my mate?” Felix asked. He stepped

forward and began to twirl his finger down his chest. Claybourne watched the trailing finger with rapt
fascination. He nodded slowly.

“Haven’t you learned by now, that I’m always right?” he asked as he began to stroke his cock,

fisting the head. Claybourne pulled his gloves off and began to pull off his clothing, watching Felix
pleasure himself. Felix felt his mate’s eyes on him. He opened his eyes and saw that his mate was
removing his pants. Not wanting to waste the opportunity, he walked past his mate to the dining room.
He opened the sideboard and held up his hidden tube of slick. Felix had had more than one fantasy of
his mate taking him on this large, dark wood table and tonight he was going to get just that.

“Do you know why I like this table?” Felix asked casually. Claybourne shook his head, his hand

wrapped around the case of his cock.

“It’s the perfect height for me to bend over. The wood is smooth and the cool surface feels

amazing on my hot skin.” Felix demonstrated exactly how well the table was designed for fucking as
he bent over it, the cool wood caressing his chest. He reached behind him and pulled his ass cheeks
apart. He heard his mate’s low growl. Time to move in for the kill. Felix opened the lube and spread
it on his fingers. He reached behind him and began to circle his hole.

“Oh no, I’m getting dirty,” Felix said, turning his head and pouting prettily up at his mate.

Claybourne’s eyes were a sky blue as he stalked closer to his mate. Felix felt his heart begin to beat
wildly. The look in his mate’s eyes meant only one thing. Hold on. Because he was about to get
fucked to within an inch of his life.

“My dirty little baby.” Claybourne moved Felix’s fingers out of the way. He reached and

plucked the lube from Felix’s hands. Felix watched as he slicked up his fingers and then gasped when
not one but two fingers entered him.

“Yes. I’ve been bad and am so dirty,” Felix said, enjoying the dueling sensations from the heat

of his mate’s skin and the cool wood.

“You were bad. You almost left me, my mate,” Claybourne whispered. Felix turned his head

quickly to see tears standing in his mate’s eyes as he gently fingered his hole.

“I’m so sorry,” Felix said quietly. He stood carefully, Claybourne’s fingers still deep inside of

him. When his back was flush against his mate’s naked chest he twisted his head and angled for a kiss.
Claybourne thrust his fingers deeper and with his other hand held the back of Felix’s head so that he
could  mimic  the  thrusts  of  his  fingers  with  his  tongue.  Gasping  for  air,  Felix  relaxed  in  his  mate’s
embrace  and  gave  himself  up  to  his  mate’s  mercy.  Pulling  back  from  his  lips  once  before  returning
savagely,  Claybourne  added  a  third  finger  and  stretched  Felix,  rubbing  deep  inside  of  him.
Claybourne broke the kiss and stared into Felix’s eyes.

“I would have forsaken my oath to heal to follow you in death. I would have left those people to

die to chase your soul into the hereafter.” Claybourne pulled his fingers free and reached between
them to line up his cock.

“No you wouldn’t have. You would have made sure you had done everything you could have

before coming after me. That is the kind of man you are.” Felix gasped as his mate’s thick cock
pushed into his body, grazing every single hot spot. Only his mate could touch him like this.

“You give me too much credit,” Claybourne said, wrapping an arm across Felix’s chest, the

other going around his waist to support him as he thrust again and again into his body.

“You can never leave me!” he yelled, thrusting harder. Knowing that his mate needed this

catharsis, Felix leaned forward out of Claybourne’s embrace and extended his hands over his head as
he lay on the table. With his cheek against the cool wood, he could smell the faint hint of Pledge.

Claybourne’s fingers dug into his hips. Felix felt one hand leave his hips to be placed square in

the middle of his back. Claybourne began a relentless pounding, pushing deeper into him than ever
before.

“Never,” he yelled hoarsely.
“Never, my mate. I will be with you forever,” Felix said, flexing his ass muscles so that they

constricted around his mate’s invading cock.

“I love you, trouble.” Claybourne moved his hands and leaned over his mate, covering him with

his heated body.

“I love you, too, Mr. Clean.” Felix gasped as Claybourne began to peg his sweet spot on every

downstroke.

“Claim me,” Felix whispered. That seemed to be exactly what his mate needed to hear.

Claybourne nudged his neck with his nose before biting down. Feeling his mate’s canines slide
through his skin was too much, Felix exploded and screamed out his pleasure. Behind him Claybourne
roared and thrust one last time, staying as deep as he could, filling him with jet after jet of his seed.
He came so much that Felix could feel it come out of his ass and begin to drip down his leg.

Exhausted, Claybourne pulled Felix off of the table and onto the floor to lay next to him.

Snuggling into his mate’s arms, Felix smiled.

“You know I came on the dining room table right?” he said, smirking. Claybourne’s hands stilled

where they had been lazily caressing his body.

Chapter 13

When Felix woke up the next morning he was cleaned up and in their bed. He stretched and

grinned. He hopped out of bed and went to their closet. It was their closet now, since Claybourne had
made it a point to get his things from the pride house after the virus was cured.

He pulled on his clothes and went in search of his mate. He walked past the dining room table

and his nose picked up the scent of fresh Pledge. Grinning, he found his mate humming to himself
making waffles. Felix watched his mate for a moment, thanking Fate for the man.

“Good, you’re up. I’m making the waffles I promised you,” Claybourne said, smiling at him.

Felix couldn’t help it. He walked over and burrowed under his mate’s arm.

“I love you,” he said. Claybourne stilled.
“I can never hear that enough. I love you too, my mate.” Claybourne leaned down and gave him

a simple kiss.

“Take this plate. I’m cooking the last one now. Then we need to head over to the clinic.

Sebastian and Kate have an appointment today,” Claybourne explained.

Felix devoured every morsel that Claybourne cooked, to the point his stomach was sticking out.
“Come on, trouble, time to go,” Claybourne said from the front door.
“I can’t move. You killed me,” Felix moaned and got up from the sofa. He collapsed there after

breakfast and hadn’t moved an inch the entire time it took Claybourne to clean up after breakfast.

“You didn’t have to eat all of it,” Claybourne said, leaning against the arch that led into the den.
“All your fault. I can’t move,” Felix whimpered.
“Do you want me to carry you?” Claybourne asked. Felix thought about it for a second and

shook his head.

“I need to move to get this digesting.” Felix hobbled to the car and groaned the entire way to

town. Claybourne surprised him by parking at the diner. He looked to his mate questioningly.

“It’s breakfast time and they both have morning appointments. Where do you think they are?” he

asked. Felix nodded and got out of the car. When they opened the diner door, the smell of freshly
baked muffins hit Felix in the face.

“Ma! I’m hungry!” Felix yelled, heading to the table where Sebastian and Kate sat with their

mates. He heard the slap of skin on skin when he turned back. Yep. Mate had his face in his palm.

“You cannot be hungry! You moaned and complained the entire car trip here about how much

you ate at breakfast,” Claybourne said, sitting next to Felix.

Felix turned to his mate, his eyes wide and innocent.
“But that was before I smelled muffins,” he said pouting.
“I am going to have to get a second job just to afford groceries. Where do you put it all?”

Claybourne asked.

“My cock,” Felix quipped and reached into the muffin basket. He looked over and Claybourne’s

mouth had dropped. Kate and Sebastian were laughing. Bran clapped a sympathetic hand on
Claybourne’s shoulder.

“We have men’s night on Saturdays when they get together to watch some medical show about a

doctor. You should come hang out with us. We understand what it’s like to be mated,” Caleb offered.

“Saturday can’t get here quick enough,” Aleks said from the counter.
“How is Rebecca doing? She was unusually quiet last night,” Felix said, digging into his muffin.

“You caught that, huh? Her crazy genius brain is working through something. She called Gabriel

earlier this morning when I was in the shower so I didn’t catch everything that was said. But I get
nervous when she goes to him, because that man can’t seem to tell her no. He spoils her like an
indulgent older brother,” Aleks said, rubbing both hands down his face.

“Speak of the devil,” Liam said as Gabriel and Ashby walked in. Ashby was pale and hurried

over to Kate.

Gabriel looked at Aleks and took a deep breath.
“In my defense, I didn’t know she wanted to drive it herself,” Gabriel began. Aleks went white.
“Where is she?” he demanded.
“Oh Kate, I think she is really mad this time.” Ashby rubbed his chest.
Sebastian and Kate nodded also, rubbing their chests.
“What? What do you guys feel!” Aleks demanded.
“Where is my mate?” he said, walking over to Gabriel.
“She was right behind us,” Gabriel explained patiently. Aleks looked to Ashby who shook his

head and buried his face in Kate’s shoulder. Liam, Caleb, and Bran stood and went to Aleks, who
began to shake in anger.

“If she is in any danger…” he began and the diner door slammed open. Nic stood in the

doorway breathing hard and clutching his chest.

“Why in the hell is Rebecca driving a bulldozer down Market Street?” he asked breathlessly.

Gabriel sighed and closed his eyes.

“What! What! You got her a fucking bulldozer?” Aleks demanded of Gabriel, who shrugged.
“She sounded so sad when she asked for it, I couldn’t say no.” He spread his hands wide. Aleks

looked up to see a determined Rebecca maneuvering the bulldozer past the diner and down the street.
Everyone ran for the door and chased behind the slow-moving bulldozer.

It came to a slow, grinding halt in the cemetery next to a fresh grave. Felix’s heart stopped when

he read the name on the headstone.

Frances Gilberton
Weeping, Rebecca fiddled with the controls.
“How do I use this thing?” she asked, crying. Aleks leapt up to the cab and pulled Rebecca into

his arms before jumping down.

“Baby, sweetheart, don’t cry like that. You know it breaks my heart. What are you doing?” Aleks

asked, his large hands seeming bigger than normal as he wiped her tears gently.

“I don’t want him here. I couldn’t get it out of my mind during Ms. Brayburn’s funeral that he

was so close. I couldn’t sleep last night. I want him gone. He doesn’t deserve to rest peacefully. We
owe Ms. Brayburn. She shouldn’t have to be buried so close to her killer.” Rebecca sobbed into
Aleks’s chest. Felix clenched his jaw and his eyes burned. He looked around and saw that everyone
from town was fighting back tears. This tiny human was willing to do whatever it took to protect her
people, even after their death.

“Don’t worry, Becca, I’ll take care of it,” Duncan said, hopping into the bulldozer. Easily, he

and Emmett maneuvered the large machine to scoop up the glitter-covered earth, and it wasn’t long
before the casket was revealed. The townsmen worked together to pull the casket from the grave.

“Now what?” Felix asked. Everyone stood staring down at the casket.
“My people will take it from here,” Gabriel said and motioned with his hand. A group of

vampires from his coven stepped forward and easily lifted the casket. They pushed it into a waiting
truck. Gabriel walked over to Rebecca and wiped her tears.

“All of these years I thought I knew what it meant to be a leader, a prince. But every day you

show me that there is more to leading people. I stand in awe of your capacity to love.” Gabriel leaned
in and kissed her forehead.

“Don’t be afraid to drop him, you know, a couple times. Maybe lose an arm?” she said, looking

up at Gabriel and sniffling. “You heard the Alpha Mother. Find a place outside the perimeter where
this fiend will know no rest,” he ordered. They bowed to Gabriel and then to Felix’s surprise they
bowed to Rebecca.

“Okay, Rebecca, we have new rules. No lab chemicals. No lab work. No operating heavy

machinery. No going to Gabriel for favors,” Aleks started. Rebecca stomped her foot.

“No way! I am not agreeing to those rules. Okay, maybe the one about the machinery, but not the

others. I have already worked out equations and designs for some perimeter weapons. I will
definitely be in a lab again. I had forgotten the rush you get when you play with the building blocks of
the universe, bending them to your will. And leave Gabriel out of this. He is my family, like Duncan
is your family. It’s not favors if you love someone, right?” she asked, turning her wide violet eyes to
Gabriel and Ashby. Ashby sniffed and wrapped his arms around Rebecca.

“Of course it isn’t!” They snuggled together before looking at their mates. Gabriel looked at

Aleks pointedly.

“Could you say no to that?” he asked. Aleks just started to shake his head.
“One Xanax and a shot of whiskey for the Arkadion,” Felix said. Aleks looked up, his

expression slightly panicked.

“That might not be a bad idea,” he said and turned to Rebecca.
“When you say ‘building blocks of the universe and bending them to your will.’ That was just an

expression, right?” he asked. Rebecca took one look at her mate and stepped away from Ashby.

“I love you, my mate. I would never do anything to hurt you or endanger our baby. We’re safe.”

She jumped into his arms. Felix could see the man practically sag in relief.

“Good. Okay, let’s get you home to rest. You’ve had a hard morning.” Aleks cuddled her close.

She waved at them as they walked away.

Bran, Caleb, Liam, Kent, Sebastian, and Kate stepped up to stand next to Claybourne, Felix,

Gabriel, Ashby, and Nic.

“She didn’t answer him,” Kate said wryly.
“Nope,” Bran said, wincing.
“She totally has a lab, doesn’t she?” Felix asked. Gabriel shook his head.
“Of course not.” Everyone sighed in relief.
“Most of the supplies couldn’t be delivered so soon,” Gabriel added.
“Gabriel, since you seem to be funding this little project of hers. Can I tack on any supplies I

will need to treat things like chemical burns, poisonous gas inhalation, or radiation exposure?”
Claybourne asked casually.

“That might be a good idea,” Gabriel murmured. Felix couldn’t help it. He began to laugh. He

collapsed against his mate, laughing uncontrollably.

“Come on, trouble. And for the record, you stay out of that damn lab,” Claybourne said,

swinging Felix up in his arms.

Epilogue

The gentleman sat back, relieved. The Alpha Mother had somehow survived the deadly shifter

virus his halfwit lawyer had helped create.

“Payne,” he called out.
His manservant appeared from the shadow in the corner. For as long as he could remember

Payne had always been there.

“Have the lawyer moved from the specialty cells below. He can be transferred to the pain

expert in the open dungeon. The Alpha Mother lived. I need him semi-coherent later to create more
havoc for the Arkadians.” The gentleman waved his hand, dismissing the tall warrior. Payne bowed
silently and left the room to carry out his orders.

He walked over and picked up the report he had received earlier that day from one of his many

informants. He did like to keep abreast of the happenings in the world around him. He read the report
and felt a smile on his lips.

Oh this could be entertaining. If he called in a favor, he could be sure to bring this problem

right to Arkadia’s doorstep. He reached for his phone and dialed a number.

“Yes. It’s me. I need you to do something for me. Do you know a Connor Arkadion?”

THE END

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