Fated Healing [Kindred of Arcadia 5] (Siren Publishing Classic ManLove) (2 page)

“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