Chapter Twenty-Three

In the library after dinner, she was seated on Arthur’s lap, and he kept one hand around the inside of her thigh, his fingers pressed against her.

“So, first day of negotiations, and I was right. Mother wants a gag order and is willing to pay to keep things away from the press. The selected gag order has been offered, and they rejected it out of hand. So, we laid out our terms, and her council thinks that it is generous... considering the enormous stack of documents you had been able to provide. Thanks for that, by the way. Oh, and Terrance is representing you, and Delun’s niece Reedah Mellus has offered to help represent Hailey as Delun has to resume his normal work.”

“Okay. If there is anything I need to do, I will show up.”

Delun smiled. “We are saving you to drive her insane near the end of negotiations. She really doesn’t like you. You never gave in and ran.”

She shrugged. “You know my record with running when I shouldn’t and staying put when I should run. She wanted me gone, but this was where my few family members were until they passed away.”

Arthur stroked her inner thigh. “She mentioned that you should have taken an offer, and none of this would have had to happen. What offer?”

She frowned, and then, her eyes widened, “Oh. She wanted me to become Arnold’s mistress, and we would pass Hailey off as our own. I gave that a hard pass. His eyes were way too... focused. I wasn’t going to let that viper near me.”

Arthur’s hand tightened on her inner thigh.

“Ow!” Lexa growled at him. “I told you I said no. Actually, I said fuck off, and he can choke on his own dick, but I was young and impetuous.”

“Sorry. They never mentioned that until today. When did they make you an offer?”

“When the Omega Centre let them into my room, about three weeks after the attack.”

Delun nodded. “That makes sense. You were getting custody of Hailey, you look like her, and Maia was obviously just as striking. It would have tied everything up and kept you under her thumb.”

Arthur paused. “Wait. So, they came to you at the Omega Centre?”

“Yeah.”

“That means that they knew all along or at least since the attack that you are an omega. Sneaky bastards. That is going to bite them in the ass. Do you have any documents about their visit?”

“No, but I do have a photograph that is clearly from the Omega Centre with them in it. I took the picture after they left my room.” She narrowed her eyes. “File A, page ten.”

Delun nodded. “Got it. Now, for the important topic...”

Arthur murmured, “How long have you known about shifters?”

“Well, everybody knows about them. Strong, usually alphas, and fairly successful. They can take on the beast form that most alphas only get flickers of. The actual animals.”

Delun murmured, “How long have you known we were shifters?”

She pointed to Arthur, “Five years.” Pointed to Delun, “Eleven days.” Pointed to Grigory, “Three days.”

She looked around. “You all slip in different ways during sex. For Arthur, it is claws, Delun, his muzzle and tongue... not that I am complaining, and Grigory gets fuzzy in waves.”

Arthur blinked. “Claws?”

“Yeah, since you prefer me facing away, you tend to grip me and hold me where you want me. The claws appear when you are inside me and after the knot is in.”

He shivered, and his fingers flexed. The claws slid smoothly against her skin. “Like that?”

She looked at the furry hand-paw thing. “Yeah.” Her voice squeaked.

She heard an animal sound and turned to see Delun’s head completely taken over by his bear with the sun bear bands visible in the open neckline of his shirt.

Fabric started tearing. “You guys are wrecking your clothing.”

Arthur murmured, “If you don’t want yours removed by teeth, I would get undressed.”

She saw a huge paw patting her leg, and she took the hint. She got off Arthur’s lap and quickly stripped down in the most efficient way she could manage. She was in a room, wearing jewellery and high heels with three bears.

Grigory was actual polar-bear sized, and it was terrifying. She backed away from him, and he quickly flopped to his belly and whined. She slowly walked toward him, and he snuffled her breasts. “Yeah, you are definitely Grigory.”

He huffed, and his long tongue started licking.

She pressed to his fur, and it was thick, clearly with different layers, and there was a lot of it. “Dude, you are huge.”

He huffed in amusement.

She turned and took in Arthur. He was broad, a bit smaller than Grigory, and a dozen shades of brown with a blond ruff. She walked up to his wide head and rubbed the cute round ears. He waggled them, and she laughed. “I like the ears. The ears are cute.”

A wet nose nudged her in the waist, and she looked to Delun. “Wow. Your fur is so shiny.”

She rubbed his silky head and then scratched Arthur. Grigory sat down behind her, and she took the hint and sat on him. He let out a happy rumble, Delun laid his head in her lap, and Arthur leaned against her shoulder, his tongue licking at her skin.

They stayed in their cuddle for a few minutes until they started to get other ideas. Delun’s muzzle parted her thighs, and his tongue licked at her. Arthur made a move on her breasts and belly, and she started to push the wide heads away. “Oh, no. No bestiality. That is too freaky even for me.”

Delun resumed a more conventional appearance, but when he applied his tongue to her, it reached far deeper than it had any right to.

She moaned and then fell back into Grigory’s arms as he twisted to catch her with a bright laugh. Arthur moved and grabbed her hands, bending her back over Grigory’s body. Delun’s tongue was reaching all the spots he had learned over the last few weeks. Arthur bent forward and teased her nipples while Grigory leaned back and watched it all.

When she screamed, they all laughed and kept teasing her until she was limp and draped over her largest mate.

She mumbled. “I am guessing that you are really happy that I didn’t try and scream and run for it.”

Arthur kissed her belly. “You could say that. At least, we don’t have to hide our shifting around you now. It has been awkward.”

Delun grinned. “My beast is better behaved. As long as the sex was accessible, he was content.”

She sat up.

Grigory chuckled. “We are dealing with different instincts. You want to curl up with her. I want to sweep her off into the hills and barricade her in a cave until she has passed a heat with me.”

“Same here,” Arthur murmured.

Her eyes widened, and he winked.

“Nope. I am not going to get near a cave with any one of you. I am also never going to fuck any of you in beast form because I like my lady parts below my sternum.”

Delun laughed. “They won’t try it. They like how amenable you are.”

“Amenable?”

Arthur kissed her shoulder. “You like sex. Our beasts appreciate that on the basest level. They like not having to wait for you to be in season.”

She frowned and then got it. “Oh. Right. Humans do it anytime.”

Grigory nodded. “As opposed to once a year.”

She asked Delun, “Am I still pregnant?”

He laughed. “Yes.”

She sighed in relief. “Good.”

She went to put her clothes on, but Grigory grabbed her and put her behind his body a moment before there was a knock on the door. Delun walked forward and grabbed the robes. “Thanks, Yorgi.”

Arthur chuckled. “He sent the text before we shifted to give Yorgi time to collect them all.”

“Do the families know about the fur and fangs?” She had to ask.

Grigory chuckled. “It is a mark of pride. The more shifters a family has, the more social standing amongst the other alpha clans.”

Delun smiled. “My family has two.”

Grigory grinned. “Mine has three.”

Arthur chuckled. “One and only.”

She contributed. “Um... none.”

She took the robe Delun handed her, and she slid on the black and gold silk. “Where did this come from?”

He chuckled. “It was in one of the boxes you need to go through. A gift from my father.”

She looked at the cuffs, and sun bears were worked into the heavy border. “Subtle.”

“I like you wrapped in me.” He smiled.

She pulled her hair out of the robe and flicked it down her back. “Okay, it’s been a bit of a day. I have my doctor’s follow-up tomorrow, so I need to turn in early.”

Delun asked, “Who is going with you to that?”

“It’s just a follow-up, and it’s already healed. I should be able to get in and out with just the bodyguards.” She smiled. “Plus, we have already delayed it once. I just want to get it over so his office stops calling. Yorgi doesn’t like getting the messages.”

Delun chuckled. “Then, he shouldn’t pick up my forwarded calls when I am in meetings. Grigory, can you arrange an escort for her?”

He smiled. “I can take her. It is an early appointment, right?”

“Seven thirty. He is coming in for it.” She grimaced. “We would have to leave before six forty-five.”

“I will come with you, treasure.”

She smiled brightly. “Then I should probably have you with me tonight.”

Delun smiled. “Let’s escort you to the nest and discuss it there.”

She picked up her suit and heels and walked with them through the house, past a few members of the household who grinned as their group headed up the steps.

When they were inside the nest, the robes were hung up, and she crawled into bed and pulled fuzzy throws over her. “I am going to set my alarm and get some rest. No sex tonight.”

To her surprise, three bears crawled into bed with her, nudging her until she was in contact with all of them. It wasn’t what she had in mind, but it wasn’t sex, so she got comfortable and slept.

Two days later, she had gotten a lot accomplished. The lawsuit against the Omega Centre had caused the organization to send in replacement staff and removed nearly a dozen managers, representatives, and counsellors from active duty. The astonished surgeon had been confronted with her healed scars and new bond marks. He congratulated her and closed her case.

Olivia invited her over on behalf of Ford, who had been working all night on the song she had sent to him.

They had stopped, and Grigory had left her to attend some of his own errands. Her guards glared at Ford’s guards, and she went in to do a quick recording of the lyrics she had put down in Ford’s studio.

After six versions of the song, he grinned and nodded, they had lunch, and then, she headed home to a house getting ready for the arrivals beginning the following morning. The circus was coming to town, and she was related to it.

She stayed in her office until there was a knock on her door, and she looked up from her notepad to smiled at Rya. “Hi?”

“Lexa, dinner is ready.”

“Okay.” She set her notepad down and was humming softly.

“What were you doing?”

“Oh, Ford liked some of the lyrics I wrote for Leora, so he’s asked me for a few more songs.”

Rya paused. “You wrote lyrics for Leora’s songs?”

“Just three of them.”

“How is it that you are broke?”

“Oh, I have had to get paid under the table for them, or Arthur’s mom sues me for all the funds, but I did use the money to buy my last house.” She smiled as they headed to the dining room.

“Wow. You charge that much?”

“No, but if it hits the top ten, I get a bonus, and I promise to write the next one after the bonus is received.” She shrugged. “I have done it a few times, but the caveat is that I don’t get the credit.”

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“It pays the bills. That is all that matters.” She chuckled. “Paid. Paid the bills. The other jobs bought groceries. That kid eats a ton and grows like a weed.”

They entered the dining room, and conversation ground to a halt. “Sorry. I was in a project.”

She sat down, and the food was revealed, and she started laughing. It was takeout night, and fried chicken was ready to be eradicated.

Arthur asked, “What did you get up to once you and Grigory parted ways?”

“I hung out with Olivia and Ford and put a song down as a sample track.”

Delun chuckled. “I thought he had an editing suite.”

“Apparently, he likes to dabble.” She grinned. “And he likes my songs and is trying to get them into the right hands.”

Grigory chuckled. “Is that what he is doing? He isn’t trying to add you to his collection?”

She nearly sprayed the nearest three people with juice. “Um, no. Ford doesn’t do anything for me.” She shrugged. “Too scrawny.”

The table erupted in laughter, and Hailey had to have it explained to her that the men her mother liked were built a little thicker than most men.

Hailey grinned. “Oh, that is why when Olivia asked you about guys at the park, you said they weren’t your type.”

“Yeah, like that.”

“Mom?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Why do Arthur, Delun, and Grigory look funny? Like they are smiling and holding their breath at the same time.”

“Oh, baby. That is called smug. They are looking smug right now.”

Hailey nodded and could be seen filing the information away.

Lexa asked her mates, “So, who is planning something with Ford? He was busy chortling like a fiend all morning. He normally saves that kind of maniacal laugher for early evenings.”

Three hands rose with grins, and a fourth slowly elevated. “You too, Hailey?”

Lexa sighed and tore another piece of chicken to shreds with her teeth. When she paused, she said, “So, Hailey, what did you get up to today?”

“Illyana and Rya took me shopping and got me some clothes for school, as well as some books and a bookbag, so I blend in when I arrive, I will just be able to start.” She smiled. “The headmistress said that I should be able to blend in, and if there is any bullying, I can come and tell her, and she will make things right.”

Delun smiled. “Aya is smitten with her. She’s so adorable. I am sure that Aya would terrify any child who got in Hailey’s way.”

She took his hand and squeezed it.

Delun added, “The cousins are looking forward to coming over to play at the party. Now that the play structure is ready, they are going to give it a workout.”

Grigory grinned. “And we are going to wrestle.”

“Not me. I am not getting in the ring with you guys.”

Arthur grinned, “It’s tradition.”

“It isn’t. That would be insane.”

Delun chuckled. “Perhaps a new tradition.”

“I am not wrestling you.”

Grigory leaned over and nuzzled her neck. “Please? We will be careful.”

“Let’s see how I get along with your mother. If the meeting is like Lady Fen’s, I may be in the mood to hit you.”

Delun winced. “She apologized.”

“After she tried to squash my will.”

“Yeah. That. You stood up to her, though. She wasn’t just expecting you to turn off like that.”

“Fighting my way into families isn’t something I know how to do. I am either accepted or not. I don’t have the energy to fight anymore. I need to keep it for the important stuff and people.”

A giant bowl of banana pudding was set in front of her. “Eat as much or as little as you like.” Yorgi smiled.

She looked at the folks around the table and picked up her spoon. “Thank you.”

The spoon sprang into action, and a large bowl was brought for the rest of the table.

The bowl was about four standard servings, but she crouched over it and growled until it was gone.

Illyana blinked. “That is impressive.”

Hailey daintily used her small spoon. “You are just lucky she didn’t use her hands.”

Lexa chuckled and sat back. “I am going to check on the play structure. Please, excuse me.”

She heaved herself out of the chair and headed for the patio doors. The moment she was outside with the door closed behind her, she let out a thunderous belch, and the folks inside laughed.

Lexa chuckled and went to the kids’ play area, going up and down the slides before she settled on the swing and rocked back and forth. Tomorrow morning Grigory’s big, loud, and boisterous family would descend on them.

“It is far too late to run, treasure.” Grigory was leaning against a post in the shadows.

“Have you ever seen Olivia with another omega?”

He shook his head. “No. None of my siblings or cousins have ever brought one home to meet the family. You don’t understand how rare you are.”

She shrugged. “I know that when I first saw him, Arthur was the first and only guy I had wanted based strictly on his body type. Shallow, but true, so I am guessing at how rare I am.”

He knelt next to her. “Really? You really find us beautiful?”

“Beautiful?” She swung slightly. “Hypnotic, magnetic, those are the words I would use. Once I look at you guys, I just want to get closer.”

“So, if we found another one of our type out there somewhere...”

“As long as it isn’t a koala, I would consider it. Those buggers are riddled with chlamydia.” She smiled.