Chapter Twenty-Five

Lexa stood and faced Olyna as the woman approached with a serious gaze. She looked to be forty, which probably meant she was sixty or more. Her white hair was up in a loose twist, a few strands of silver touched it, and her body was draped in jewels and pearls over her dress.

The older omega looked her up and down, walked up to her, and cupped her face. “Welcome to the family, daughter.”

Olyna kissed her softly, and Lexa felt the trickle of power across her lips. She widened her eyes, and the older woman pulled back with a wink. “You have a lot of power, Lexa Adders.”

“You, too, Lady Olyna.”

Grigory’s mother grinned. “Are you ready to be stripped in public?”

“I would rather do it myself. I just need someone to hold the clothing and jewellery.”

“That I can provide.”

Rya stepped up. “I will assist.”

A tall alpha had a dress over his arms. “For you, daughter.”

“Vrenko?”

He grinned. “I am. I see Grigory has shown you a picture of me.”

“No, but you are about twenty years younger than everyone in your pack. Everyone who speaks of you refers to your age when you seduced and spirited Olyna away.”

He grinned. “Her eldest child was older than me when I saw her, and her soul called to mine. Getting her away from her mates was tricky, but when Grigory was born, it was obvious that the match was true, and I was grudgingly invited to join them.”

She chuckled. “That matches what others have been saying.”

“Natasha has provided this dress for the evening. You will have to change into it here as an exhibition of acceptance.”

Lexa smiled. “Exhibition being the operative word. Well, Rya, are you ready to start catching?”

Illyana stepped up. “I will assist as well.”

Other women from the families got together and offered to help, including Lady Fen. Olyna took the dress from Vrenko, and she smiled. “I’ve got this.”

Lexa was surrounded by women, and they grinned. The jewellery was removed, the trousers dropped, shoes came off, and the dress and underwear came off last. There was a disappointed groan from the crowd when Illyana put her hand skyward with the dress in her fist. Olyna smiled and handed her the dress, helping her get it into place with Natasha fussing with the folds. It concealed a lot more than Lexa had anticipated. Pleated chiffon crisscrossed her torso, and a skirt swirled around her legs, short in the front, long in the back, with a slit up to her left thigh.

The crimson of the dress was surprising, but then, she wasn’t a virgin sacrifice; she was a mate through her first heat. The red was suddenly making more sense.

With the dress in place, the crowd of women parted, and Olyna reached to her own head and pulled a tiara of pearls from behind the larger coronet she wore. She set the tiara on Lexa’s head and fussed with her hair before kissing her cheek and saying, “Welcome to the family. Brace yourself. It’s going to be a long weekend.”

She slid a ring off her finger and gave it to Lexa. Kissing her finger and holding their hands together in the air. A roar of a cheer went up, and Olyna soothed Lexa’s instinctive flinch. A line formed, and Olyna kept her mates and brood in line as they brought jewels, ropes of pearls, and strands of rubies, draping it over her until the dress was barely visible and her arms and neck were covered. Her fingers were heavy with rings; her ears were glad she only had one piercing in each ear as the triple strands of gemstones were pretty heavy.

She was finally able to join the party, covered from brow to knees.

Olyna linked arms with her and led her to one of the tables while Olivia walked up.

“Holy smokes, Lexa. You look amazing. That was so cool.”

Lexa chuckled. “I look heavy, but it is really warm. Olivia, this is Grigory’s mother, Olyna, Lady Olyna; this is my friend Olivia, another omega. Ford is also an omega. I saw him around here earlier.” She chuckled. “Also a friend.”

Olyna chuckled and extended her hand. “Pleased to meet you, Olivia. I must confess, omegas being friends is a strange idea to me.”

Olivia smiled. “I believe it has something to do with Lexa having a very specific type, as do I. Ford also has a type, but it is mostly me.”

Lexa filled in. “Olivia has a feline alpha affinity. She has four mates who all have strong feline characteristics.”

Olyna nodded. “Ah. I understand. And Lexa likes bears, so there is no overlap between desire in your mates.”

“Correct.”

“Interesting. I would actually enjoy meeting another omega socially.”

A voice behind them said, “As would I. It is a good thing to find others of our nature and share revelations and information.”

Lexa smiled and walked toward the other woman, “I wholeheartedly agree, Lady Fen, but as our males are of such different natures, our information would be vital to a new generation of omegas.”

Lady Fen extended her hand, and Lexa bowed.

Olyna snorted. “Why make her bow, Fen? She’s mated a month and carrying twins. She blows us both out of the water.”

Lexa looked between the two women and slowly backed away. The evening was beginning, lights were coming on around the property, and she was about to grab Olivia and find a sandwich when two of Delun’s nephews arrived. “Auntie, we have a present to give you.”

She blinked, and Olivia shrugged, and together, they followed the men to where there was a large gathering around a large object wrapped in a tarp. Delun and Grigory were standing there, looking like they had been arguing. Arthur arrived, and he had her motorcycle boots in his hand. “You are going to need these.”

She blinked, and when one of her new nephews took her by the hand, he led her to the tarp.

“We believe this might keep you busy, Auntie.”

The other young man whipped the tarp off the item beneath it, and she gasped and started a happy squealing sound that she didn’t recognize as her own. The Ducati Diavel 1260 was sitting there, and she walked up to touch it. One of her nephews tossed her the keys. “It is yours, Auntie.”

She might have tackled him and covered his face with small kisses like an overexcited puppy. The other nephew got the same treatment, then she went and pulled on her boots, grabbed the jacket that a laughing Arthur handed to her, and she straddled the bike, starting it, and a lot of the semi-mocking laughter faded. Arthur removed her tiara, kissed her and put her helmet into her hands.

She revved it and then gestured for a little room. When the crowd parted, she pulled up her skirt and shot through the opening, heading to the front of the house where the pavement would let her have some real fun. She drove down to Olivia’s place and back again before she returned to the party and put the bike back where she got it. She parked, unzipped her jacket, and draped it over the bike. Then her boots were unzipped, and she pulled her feet free. Lastly, she removed her helmet.

She looked at Arthur, and he tossed her the tiara. She set it back in place and got off the bike. She yelled out, “Thank you!”

There was raucous laughter and congratulations as she walked away from her present and back to the party. Delun offered her his arm. “You know that you have gotten them tremendous credibility in the family now, as well as setting the bar for finding things that you really enjoy.”

She wrapped her hand around his elbow, and she leaned up, saying, “How did they know I like motorcycles?”

“They must have been listening to the party.”

“I feel bad about how much they spent.”

“Don’t. Lorian Chen sells motorcycles. He owns a dealership. Don’t be surprised if he asks you to model with some of his bikes. His father is Zhang, my eldest brother. Lorian’s brother Jin does the finances.”

“So, how many videos of my drive through the party are there?”

“Sixteen at last count.”

She chuckled. “How’s my makeup?”

“Perfect. You are perfect, petal.”

Music was playing near the house, and she looked up when the huge projection screen showed Ford’s elegant features.

“Ladies and gentlemen, as this is a special night for Lexa, I thought to show you a little of what she is capable of aside from riding motorcycles wearing a king’s ransom. I present her newest song.”

She closed her mouth with a snap, and Hailey ran toward her and wrapped her arms around her waist. “Ford said I should watch with you.”

Delun was feeding her gleeful joy. Her mouth opened again when she saw her own image from the recording session in the bottom corner, and then, the song started belting out with her own voice singing. That was surreal. When the video of the three princesses going in search of their own princes began, she just stared. She watched Olivia as Cinderella, dancing with her four mates before racing back to the castle where the princesses began. Lexa started as Rapunzel, rappelling down the castle wall before cutting her hair and turning into Goldilocks, searching for the three bears. She rummaged through their home, dodged their grasp, and ran out into the woods, returning to the castle. Alita rode her horse through the countryside, pulled a sword out of a stone and then fought and taunted a dragon before racing home on horseback with a silhouette following her.

The princesses high-fived raised a glass, and then sat on their thrones as the silhouettes of their targets fell across them. The song ended, and the words Music and Lyrics by Lexa Adders. Performed by Lexa Adders. Starring Olivia Haven, Lexa Adders, and Alita Wills.

The gathering exploded in applause, and Lexa’s face got hot. She was going to kill him.

The next hour was spent with the video playing on a loop and Lexa getting effusively complimented on her creative work, and Grigory getting congratulated on such a talented mate.

Delun was laughing, and Arthur was snickering. This was what they had planned with Ford. “You sneaky assholes.”

Delun grinned. “We like surprising you. Your mouth makes this perfect little O when you are shocked.”

Vrenko came by, and he smiled. “Did you sing your daughter to sleep?”

Hailey was nearby, and she leaned against Lexa’s leg in her code for please pick me up. Lexa picked her up, and she smiled. “Did I sing to you?”

“Every night. When you were in the shower when you were cooking. You only stopped when you went to work at the place with the shiny clothes.” She looked at Vrenko. “You are my grandpa now, right?”

Vrenko chuckled. “Yes, I suppose I am.”

She stuck out her hand. “I am Hailey. Pleased to meet you, Grandpa Vrenko.”

Lexa smiled as he took her daughter’s hand.

“Pleased to meet you, tiny treasure.” He chuckled as she seriously shook his hand. “Thank you for the greeting, Hailey.”

He raised his eyes. “Thank you for the granddaughter, Lexa.”

“You are welcome. You are a bit behind, but you got a late start.”

Hailey leaned on her shoulder, and her breathing got heavy. “I have to take her inside.”

She walked toward the house where the family room had been covered with pallets for the children to sleep on. One of the cousins was watching over the children, and she smiled when Lexa brought Hailey in. When the party was slowing down, Illyana or Rya would come and carry her to her room. If they didn’t. Lexa would or Delun. Regardless, before they slept, Hailey would be in her own bed.

Lexa returned to the party, and a dark voice murmured behind her, “Alita Wills? She is the one you were talking about.”

Lexa jumped and then sighed. “Hello, Nikolai. Yeah, she’s the one. She’s not set for standard alphas, but there is something in her that is really specific. She’s fought through a lot of stuff, though.”

“Like what?” He was curious.

“Not my story to tell.” Lexa shrugged.

He growled, and she growled back baring teeth. He blinked and stepped back. “Huh.”

“Yeah, knock it off, younger brother. You have no right to intimidate me. Ask Ford and try growling for him. He might like it.” She frowned. “Don’t try it with Olivia unless you want your face clawed off.”

“Her alphas?”

“Sure. Think that she won’t do it, and don’t think for a moment that Alita doesn’t know how to use that sword in the video.” She huffed and turned as his jaw dropped.

The party continued into the night, but Lexa was done after one in the morning. She said good night to the folks who had become friends. Thanked those who had offered her kind words and compliments on Hailey and stroked her marks gently before heading for bed.

She collected Hailey from the sleeping pads and carried her to the steps with more effort than she thought it should take. It was like she was weighted down by an extra thirty pounds or something.

She made it to the stairs, and Delun arrived to take Hailey. Lexa surrendered her with a sigh. Arthur picked her up and carried her up while Grigory moved ahead of them to open doors. Hailey was set in her bed, and Illyana came in and got her dressed for bed. Their little gathering moved down the hall to Grigory’s room, where the bed seemed to have gained an extra three feet in width. She wasn’t complaining.

They removed the pearls and rubies and gold chains, carefully undid the dress Natasha had crafted, and then, she was swept off her feet and into their arms until just before dawn.

It was surreal to have breakfast on the terrace while the next round of frolicking was getting ready to happen. Hailey was still asleep, but Misha had brought her kittens out to sit next to Lexa.

Grigory grinned. “Today is less formal. It is a celebration of our sloth. We are the focus as a group.”

Lexa sipped at her coffee, stroked a kitten, and said. “Please, let it involve baby photos of the three of you.”

Grigory laughed. “It will. That video screen is going to do a lot of work.”

“Ford has also given us the video of you and Hailey at the theme park, and Hailey gave us access to her phone and your family photo albums.” Arthur chuckled. “Ford has been surprisingly helpful. He’s looking forward to watching the female alphas wrestle later in the day, by the way.”

Delun and Grigory laughed at the thought of their sisters and nieces with the dark and elegant-featured Ford.

Lexa smiled. “I am pretty sure that he just likes the athletics of it. He likes women who are physically competent but super-soft. He’s weirdly fussy. Also, the slick is a big thing for him. There is a reason he calls Olivia, honey.”

Grigory spluttered his coffee, and Delun chuckled. “Imagine a name like that, petal.”

She coughed. “Oh. Right. There is that. Gossip mode off.”

Misha’s little ones were stumbling around on little pointed feet. Four fluffy marshmallows and their watchful mom.

Olyna and Vrenko came through the house, smiling. “See, I told you they would be up.”

“Morning, Olyna. Please, have something. The aunts were in the kitchen last night, and they did some amazing drunk baking.”

Olyna laughed. “Yeah, they do that. I see you have opted for fusion today.”

Lexa nodded. “I thought it was a nice compromise. The dress is easy to move in, and the rest of the jewellery is comfortable. And... I just like the tiara.”

Olyna looked at her. “The belt is lovely.”

“Delun’s sister Yelitha brought it. She bought it from the shop that one of Olivia’s mates has. He designs for his family’s jewellery store. I think I have about three pounds of stuff that Dexter designed.” She smiled. “I like it because if I need to do anything, I can tuck my skirt into it and keep it out of the way.”

Vrenko asked, “Will we see you dance tonight?”

“Uhh...” She looked to Grigory and Delun. “Maybe?”

Olyna smiled. “Will you sing? You have an amazing voice. I confess I thought it was someone else singing until that image of you remained steady throughout the video. Is that what you do? As a career?”

“Um, no. I am a courier, a nightclub dancer, a short-order cook...” She shrugged. “I have had a lot of jobs, but few have stuck. Lately, I have been asked to be a model in videos. Olivia is also a fan of the motorcycles, so if I think I can avoid having her play with my new toy, I know I am fooling myself.”

Grigory murmured, “Perhaps they will buy her her own.”

“Doubtful. She still needs to get her cycle license. She was a farm girl and can drive anything but doesn’t have a lot of technical licenses. So, she can definitely drive it back and forth between the two properties.”

Vrenko chuckled and asked, “My son Nikolai mentioned that there was another omega in the vicinity who was unattached and might be amenable to his attentions.”

“I have never said that. Just that there was another omega female in the area. Period. That was it. His weird fantasy life is his own business.” She waved it off.

Vrenko scowled. “You need to tell him where she is.”

“No. She is entitled to privacy. She has a family around her. She isn’t out in the open like I was. If she wants to stay hidden, she has the right to stay hidden. He can cool his jets.”

Olyna said, “He was... excited.”

Lexa glanced at Grigory, and she snorted. “I have no idea what that might entail.”

Grigory reached out and carefully moved her away from Misha, pulling her onto his lap. “What are you saying, treasure?”

“You are rather enthusiastic, Grigory.” She stroked his jaw.

“And yet you take me with no trouble, treasure. We are truly lucky to have answered Arthur’s call when it came time to help a damsel in distress.” He rubbed his nose to hers. “We caused a bit of distress, but we got through it.”

“I just had to breathe through it and relax.” She patted his chest. His parents laughed.

Delun and Arthur laughed.

Misha meowed, and the kittens mewled.

She kissed Grigory, and the kiss swept through her, and she shared her joy with the other two. There was still a day and a half of the party to go, and she knew things were planned that she wasn’t aware of, but she trusted them to keep her and Hailey safe.

They were good guardians, and the group of them would be good parents. They had solid roots, and the future no longer looked hazy.

She was so happy she could hardly bear it.