Mated to the Alpha: The Complete Collection (27 page)

"I agree," Keith said quietly. "I love you, little Jay."

Jay turned his face to his father and smiled momentarily before his face screwed up, and he started to cry. Melanie chuckled and held out her arms. "I agree, Jay. Daddy is very good at holding you, but you're hungry and sleepy. I think Mommy works best for that."

"You look tired too," Edward said. "Would you like to get some sleep?"

"Maybe a bit," Melanie said. "You guys don't have to go though. It's nice having my family here."

Keith, Edward and Kimberly sat quietly, and within ten minutes both mother and baby had fallen asleep, Jay nestled against his mother's left breast, listening to her heartbeat. The nurse, who until then had been a ghost in the background, came forward. "I'm sorry Lord Lockwood, but it really would be best if you let Lady Melanie sleep a while. I suggest you go get some dinner, it's past seven in the evening."

Keith nodded and stood up, gathering Edward and Kimberly with him. "So where are we getting food?"

"Delivery," Kimberly replied almost instantaneously. "We're staying here for the next few hours at least. I just want to make sure she's okay."

"I can do that," Edward said. "But I could use a stretch. Would you guys mind if I ran down the street to get something from the fried chicken place down the block instead?"

Keith nodded, and pulled out his cash clip. "You need any money?"

Edward patted his pockets, and shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. I figure I have enough for forty pieces with sides. We'll be good."

Keith chuckled. "Forty pieces. I might need to increase our agricultural investments faster than just for your child, Edward."

Edward chuckled and left, leaving Keith and Kimberly alone in the waiting room. Kim came over and hugged her brother. "Congratulations, Keith. He really is awesome."

"You know he's as much yours as mine," Keith replied, hugging his sister back. He shuddered, and let loose the fear that had been in him. "There was so much blood Kim, so much blood."

"It's okay," Kimberly replied. "Melanie's fine, we can still feel her now. Jay too, I bet. You can feel him?"

"Yeah," Keith replied, shivering as the last of his fear left him. He pulled back, and tilted his head, looking down at his sister. "Kim, is there something you want to tell me?"

Kimberly shook her head, confused. "No, why?"

Keith blinked and touched his sister's belly. "Just.... something seemed different about your Link with me. You sure you're feeling okay?"

"Yeah, just fine. Now, don't get over excited just because your Mate just had a baby. I doubt Edward and I are in line just yet."

Keith cocked his eyebrow, but nodded. "Okay. So, what's on TV?"

"
Little House on the Prairie."

Keith rolled his eyes and plopped down on the seat behind him.

"
C
ongratulations
on the birth of Jay," Akiko said over the video link as she adjusted her camera. "My only regret was that I could not have been there for his birth."

"You were quite busy, from what Keith tells me," Melanie replied as she held Jay in her arms. "Apparently you've made some progress on repairing the Great Rift?"

"I have," Akiko replied. "It's a tenuous bridge, but I think so. I had to go through my brother in Japan, who has trading partners in Europe. Using those connections and a few of the other traditional Thornblood allies, I’ve been able to talk to some of the Alpha Females in a few of the European houses."

"Akiko, explain this Great Rift to me please. I understand it has something to do with the American Revolution, but it would seem in all the years since then that the Rift would have healed. After all, if Britain and the USA can be allies again, why not the North American and the European Clans?"

"Houses, my Sister. Only in Scotland and Ireland to the Lycans refer to themselves as Clans. We adopted that system in America because of the strength of the Irish and Scottish Clans that settled here first. As for the Great Rift, basically it comes down to most of the European Houses were supporters of the status quo in Europe circa seventeen seventy six. Despite the fact that North America was settled by what was more or less the leftover refuse of the European Houses, they thought that the Clans would support their point of view, which was Loyalist to the British Crown. When most of the Clans, including yours I might add, joined instead with the Colonials, it tipped the balance of power in favor of the Colonists. Lycan warriors slaughtered Redcoats on a massive scale, especially every time time the British left their strongholds of Boston or New York. Of course the history gives credit to Colonial sharpshooters, but most were actually Lycans."

"Okay, so I get why the British Houses might have cause for being pissed off two hundred years ago, but that doesn't explain now."

Akiko shrugged. "The American Revolution was the domino that tipped over the European system as well. The French Revolution was just the beginning. Houses that had stood powerfully in the shadows, and sometimes not in the shadows even, for hundreds of years, dating back to the time of Charlemagne or even the Caesars, found themselves destitute and hunted by the emboldened
kinbushi
. Losing that amount of wealth and power, and turning House against House in the wars of the upcoming century and a half was quite the blow. Add in that most of the European Houses make Clan Thornblood look like raging liberals, and you get the problem."

"Which made you the perfect person to start and heal that rift. Non-American Alpha Female originally from an Asian Clan, once considered very conservative. Impressive. So what have you been able to discern from them?"

"They’re willing to meet with Keith and Kimberly, as they see them as the leaders of this war on the American side. But they will only do it at Thornblood Hall. In the meantime, their agents within Interpol have agreed to share what information they have with you. Be glad the House in charge of Interpol infiltration and information gathering is French. Their Alpha was moved by the romance of your situation. I don’t want to repeat what some of the British and Russian Houses said about things."

"I bet," Melanie deadpanned. "But I don't care about that, I care about results. Thank you Akiko. I’ll have Kimberly connect our systems to set up the transfer tonight. Can you have Owen Tchernova assist on your end?"

"He's already set things up," Akiko said. "He’ll send you detailed instructions, you can probably do it yourself if you want. Owen's quite good at simplifying instructions for people like me, who grew up in the non-Internet generation. You'd get along easily."

"That sounds fine then, link him in when we are done talking," Melanie replied. "Kimberly and Edward are busy right now anyway."

"Oh?" Akiko commented, arching a regal eyebrow.

Melanie read her meaning and laughed. "Not that. Keith had a weird feeling right after Jay was born through his Link with her, and wanted Kim to go in for a checkup and everything. Edward is along for the ride, although I think they also planned to do some shopping before the appointment. Edward's getting his workout equipment soon. Keith and I decided to clear out a very large space in one of the Lockwood owned buildings and making it into a space for all Lockwoods, but especially him, to use as they wish."

"I hope they reinforced the floor of the basement," Akiko joked. "Kimberly told me some of the numbers Edward claims. It might have been easier to just have him pick up cars for fun."

"Actually, if I remember right some of the parts are coming from a foundry, using some sort of high strength alloy that is used in building skyscrapers or something like that. Edward started geeking out about it, quoting me A99-this and maraging that, but I kind of tuned it out. He just sounded like a kid in a candy store when he was talking about it this morning at breakfast, I couldn't bear to tell him I had no idea what the hell he was talking about."

Akiko laughed. "I can see his point. Some of the younger Lycans in Clan Thornblood often complain to the elders that they want more challenge and that exercise equipment is too expensive. We at least are able to use commercially produced equipment, we just have to order a lot of it. I wonder what he did in Canada?"

"Apparently dragged trees through the woods and snow," Melanie replied. "I'd hate to think of the amount of power it would take to drag a thirty or forty foot long tree through deep snow."

Akiko shook her head, not knowing either. "Well, I hope he enjoys it. But I don't want to hear about him, I would like to hear about my little Jay. How’s he doing?"

“He's doing great. He's very energetic, but he sleeps well at night. Seriously, I'm getting five or more continuous hours of sleep a night. With Keith agreeing to take care of him for diaper changes and stuff like that half the time, I'm actually sleeping more than I was before I had him. Even feeding him is easy."

"Oh, what do you do?" Akiko asked. "I brought Kensuke to bed with me and Nioclas for the first year he was alive. When he needed milk, it was right there for him."

Melanie chuckled and nodded. "Me and Keith too. The baby room is mostly for storing his clothes and things like that right now. By the way, I love the little outfit you sent. A
jinbei
, right? It's great, Jay loves it. And of course the red, black and brown work so well together."

"I'm glad. You’re still using the kimonos I sent you, I hope?"

Melanie nodded. "I plan on wearing the formal one when I come and visit you at Thornblood Hall. Tell me, when do these European Alphas wish to meet?"

Akiko's smiled faded, and she shook her head. "Ideally they would like to meet within a week. I doubt that you or Jay would be ready for such a strenuous journey so quickly. Two weeks post-birth is not the best time to travel a thousand miles, no matter how it’s done."

Melanie sighed and nodded. "You're probably right. Well, until then, I'll still be there via video conference, and I'm getting myself back into shape too. When Jay and I can come to visit, I promise you I'll be only half the size I was the last time you saw me."

"I'm sure you’ll be as beautiful as ever. I'll let you in on a secret that your Mate might not know. Since you share his life force, you’ll also find that your body will bounce back from your pregnancy quickly. I've helped a few of the Thornblood non-Lycan women, and they all reported that to me. No stretch marks either."

Jay squirmed in his mother's arms, opening his eyes to blink up at her calmly before turning his head towards the sound of the video. Melanie looked down and smiled at her son.
Hey little guy. Good nap?

Love and agreement poured back over the Link, and Melanie smiled. She could sense the question in his thoughts, and she picked him up to look at the screen. She had read he was still too young to be able to focus, but it couldn't hurt.
That's your Aunt Akiko.

Taking Jay's little hand in hers, she mimicked the baby waving, and was rewarded by seeing Akiko's smile widen and her eyes glisten. "
Kawaii
, Sister. He's adorable. I look forward to visiting soon."

“I look forward to it. I'll pass along the information to Keith, and I'll be ready to get the data link setup with Owen as soon as he wants."

"Of course. Just remember, Sister, your number one job is that little bundle in your arms right now."

"That's what all this is for, isn't it?"

"
L
ady Lockwood
?"

Kimberly was sitting in a standard examination room of the Lockwood clinic, Edward standing next to her, after he had figured out he was far too large for the chair in the room. The doctor, an older human male who wasn't mated to a Lycan but was still a trusted confidant, adjusted his glasses and smiled. "Sorry it took so long."

"I'm sure you had a reason, Doc. So what did you find?" Edward said, holding Kimberly's hand. She had been feeling a bit ill since coming into the exam room, and her skin was slightly pale.
You sure you’re okay?

Just the smell, I promise. Let's find out what's up.

"Well, we had to say your description of symptoms was pretty vague, although since it was your twin brother who had the feeling, I had to give it some weight. Sorry that involved so many pokings and proddings, I know gathering all the samples was a bit painful at times. In any case, the labs have come back, and you’re in perfect health. Even better than perfect, in fact."

Kimberly shook her head. "What do you mean, better than perfect?"

The doctor smiled and handed her the clipboard. "Congratulations, Lady Lockwood. It seems like you’re not that far behind your brother in terms of having a child."

Kimberly and Edward looked at the printout, where the doctor had circled a section on the paper. The words were clear and highlighted in pink. "Really?" Kimberly asked. "But there's been no morning sickness, no feelings of change, none of the signs...."

"I think that may be to the unique circumstances of your pregnancy," the doctor replied. "Lord Stormstout...."

"Hold on," Edward interrupted. "I'm nobody's Lord. Edward, okay? God, I feel like I should be wearing an ascot or something with half the people I see calling me Lord Stormstout. Don't you jump in on it too, you're not even Lycan. Edward, okay?"

The doctor nodded. "Okay Edward. In any case, due to the unique circumstances of your Mating with Lady.... sorry, I guess I'll just keep it simple, with Kimberly, things are progressing differently. If I may ask, your people, the Arklak?"

"Aklark, but go ahead," Edward corrected. "What about us?"

"Well, the Aklark live near another Lycan Clan, the Kenai, if my notes on your background are correct. You've lived in peace for two generations. In that amount of time, has there ever been another hybrid Lycan and Aklark?"

"No," Edward replied. "While there was peace, the Kenai and Aklark aren't exactly super social. We each tend to keep to ourselves. Ah, Kimberly's kind of special that way."

"You seem to be as well, Edward. In any case, I can say for certain you are pregnant Kimberly, but without further tests, I can’t say exactly how far along. You said your last menstrual flow was nearly one month ago, so it could be just a few weeks, or even more than a month. Some women, regular human women that is, have a false flow for a month or two even. They call it spotting. If you don't mind, I'd like to have you come in for a checkup in two or three weeks. By then I should be able to get an ultrasound and give you a better estimate of how far along you are, and an estimate of a date of birth. But since we are dealing with a hybrid, it's only going to be a guess. You could be ready early like Lady Melanie, or you could take longer."

Kimberly nodded. "Then it seems my work must get done faster. I'm not bringing a child into a war."

"Our work," Edward said, sweeping Kimberly up in a hug. "Our work, my love. Come on, let's tell the family. Or are you already?"

Kimberly blinked, surprised. She hadn't even thought of it. "I don't know. It might be more fun to surprise them. Doctor, can you keep this a secret from Keith for a few hours?"

The doctor mock frowned. "Lord Lockwood is the Alpha Male of this Clan, but that doesn’t entitle him to medical information about all the Lockwoods. But I wouldn’t be surprised if one of the assistants let it slip, so I’d suggest you not dilly dally. If you do wait too long, you’re liable to come home to a large banner strung across the lobby of the Tower."

"We understand. Thank you, doctor," Kimberly said. She took Edward's hand and they exited the clinic, walking out onto the busy sidewalks. Foot traffic swirled around them, and the couple looked at each other.

"We did it," Kimberly said softly, putting her arms around Edward's neck and pulling him in for a kiss. Their lips caressed each other, growing deeper and deeper until one of the passersby whistled in appreciation.

"Nice job homey," the stranger said to Edward. "You're definitely hitting above your weight class there."

The stranger moved on before Edward or Kimberly could reply, leaving them smiling in giddy happiness. "Did that guy see how big you are?" Kimberly asked. "Hitting above your weight, ha."

"Come on, let's get home. Keith should be there soon, he wanted to wrap up his business early to get home for Jay," Kimberly said. "He's going to be so excited."

They both started walking back to Lockwood Tower, but within a block found themselves almost running in pure excitement. Despite his size, Edward was remarkably fast compared to a normal human, and more than once caused onlookers to stop and do a double take as the giant spun neatly around a pedestrian or bicycle that was in his way. Running inside the Tower, both of them were laughing and smiling, coming to a stop as they entered the lobby.

"Ahem, I guess it's time for us to start acting serious again," Kimberly said before breaking out in another round of giggles. "Come on, I'm laughing so damn much I'm having to really clamp down on my Link with Keith not to let him know."

Thankfully for Kimberly and Edward, Melanie was so distracted by Jay and the information that the Thornbloods had given her, she didn't notice the glances or small smiles that Kimberly and Edward kept exchanging. Instead, the couple let Melanie give them a full briefing on the information Clan Thornblood had gotten from the European Houses.

"So when you and Keith go up to Thornblood Hall next week, I think you can really make things work and maybe be able to take the fight to the Hunters worldwide. From what we have here, they are headquartered somewhere in Liechtenstein, which somewhat makes sense. The middle of Europe, Germanic but relatively close to Rome, they would be in an ideal place to operate as a shadow element of the Catholic church when they were sanctioned. The country is still highly Catholic, mountainous, and wealthy. If I were to headquarter a group like the Silver Bringers, I'd put it there."

"A trip to Thornblood Hall, huh?" Kimberly said, glancing at Edward. "That's not going to be easy, us being apart."

Melanie glanced over. "What are you talking about? Edward's going with you, you can take the Ka-62, just set up the back better."

"And who’s going to be here to take care of you and Jay?" Kimberly asked, causing Melanie to laugh. "What?"

"Here, hold your nephew for a moment," Melanie said, handing Jay over. Kimberly took the tiny bundle in her arms, so enraptured by the little face that was staring up at her with obvious recognition, if not of the sight of Kimberly then from smell and the similarity to Keith's presence. He snuggled against her chest and sighed happily, and Kimberly leaned over, giving him a little kiss on the forehead.

"I love you too, little Jay," she whispered. "I can't wait until I can Link with you, even if it is through Mommy or Daddy."

Kimberly was distracted by a familiar
snick-clack
sound behind her, and turned her head to see Melanie standing in the entryway area, her Glock in hand. "I may have had a baby, but I still know how to use this, and I'm already working on getting back in shape. Anyone who wants to screw with me or Jay is going to find a fight on their hands. So Edward, you're going to Thornblood Hall."

Edward looked at Kimberly, amused. "She has a point. A Tower full of Lycans, and I bet you guys can get some more firearms in here if you wanted. That’s going to be one well protected baby."

Kimberly was tempted to use her authority as Alpha Female to override Melanie's wishes, but knew that her Sister was right. Sighing, she kissed Jay on the soft curve of his forehead again, and hugged him. "I guess. Still, I wish you could come with us, both of you. I don't feel comfortable unless one of us is with you."

Melanie popped the clip out of her Glock and cleared the weapon, making sure it was totally safe before she set it down on a wooden table nearby. Coming over, she sat down next to Kimberly and took her free hand. "I know. And you have to admit, part of that is because of the kidnapping. But you guys rescued me then, I'm safe now, and I can't think of a place safer than this penthouse. Besides, it's only for two days or so, and I'll be there with video for a lot of it anyway. Heck, maybe we can strap a wireless camera to Edward, and I can watch the whole damn thing streaming video. Just one thing."

"What's that?" Kimberly asked, sighing as she reluctantly agreed with Melanie's logic.

"You guys make sure you turn the camera off before you two get all kissy-kissy," Melanie replied with a smirk, causing Kimberly to laugh.

"Okay, no kissy-kissy on video," she said, leaning over and giving Melanie a hug. Jay, now sandwiched between the two women in the world who loved him most, gurgled happily before burping and cooing.

The rest of the briefing went well until Keith got home, and he was quickly brought up to speed on what had happened. "Sounds good. Our other activities are doing well, profits are going well on the construction front, and Edward you'll be happy to note that I've just initiated the first step in a partnership with an agricultural corporation. They're looking at organic grass-fed beef and lamb being their base, and we get to use our supermarket connections as a launching pad for their products. Of course, if we just happen to get some shipments off the top, well, it happens."

Edward chuckled and looked at Kimberly. "Not a moment too soon love, eh?"

"Did you just use the word eh?" Melanie joked, trying not to laugh too loudly. Jay had dropped off to sleep, and she had set him aside on the crook of the couch, surrounded by rolled blankets. She didn't want to wake him and interrupt their time with cries and screams of indignation. "How Canadian of you."

Edward rolled his eyes, giving Melanie a reproachful look. "At least I don't use
aboot
, and I have yet to call anyone a
hoser
. But, we wanted to talk to you guys about something serious."

Keith and Melanie immediately sobered, Keith's face clouding in worry. "Oh no, something's wrong," he said, sitting down on the sofa. "What?"

"Well, you guys know I went to the clinic today. Doctor Leavitt did a lot of tests, and he got some results," Kimberly said, reaching into her hip pocket and pulling out the folded piece of paper from the clinic. She almost felt bad seeing the expression on Keith's face, he looked like his heart was breaking and he was about to puke at the same time.

"Is that why your Link has been down all afternoon?" he whispered, trying to keep a brave face forward. "What is it?"

"Here," Kimberly said, handing him the paper and lowering her hands, staring down. She put a concerned look on her face, while on the inside she was trying not to laugh.

She heard Keith unfold the report, glancing over it before his eyes found the circled words. She couldn't contain her mirth any more as she glanced up to see her brother staring, his mouth hanging open in surprise as the report slipped from his fingers to flutter to the carpet.

"You little stinker," he said, looking at her and grinning as he caught the smile on her face and in her eyes. "You got me all worked up, worried that you were sick, and instead you're pregnant?"

Keith got up off the couch, his smile wide, and Kimberly scrambled up and over the back of the sofa, laughing. "Hey, come on, you don't want to do that. Edward, aren't you going to help?"

Edward looked at Keith, then Melanie, who just shrugged and shook her head. Edward replied by stretching out his legs and lacing his hands behind his head. "Hey, you're the one who wanted to surprise them. I wanted to tell them both right away over the Link. I say that as long as Mel doesn't get mad you wake up Jay, it's nothing I need to get involved with."

Edward and Melanie watched in amusement as the two Lycan twins, proceeded to race around the penthouse, Keith pursuing his sister like they were two children. From the sounds of it, he caught her somewhere near the guest room, or maybe the workout room. Melanie looked over at Edward, smirking. "What are we going to do with them?"

"I don't know. It's hard enough with two kids and a baby, imagine what two babies is going to be like," he said with a grin. "So what's your opinion on this?"

"I'm so glad I'm still stunned. It's like I just figured out I'm in a dream, and I don't want to wake up, ever," Melanie replied. She looked down at the sleeping Jay, then at Edward. "Who knows, maybe Jay will have a little Brother to grow up with."

Edward shook his head. "I'm hoping for Sister. It would be fitting, I think."

An explosion of laughter from the back caused the two to look back, and Melanie got up off the sofa. "Come on, I don't want those two to have all the fun without us. First one to get either of those two to make a snot bubble from laughing too hard gets first dibs on dessert tonight."

Edward leapt to his feet and hopped the couch. "You're on. You sure Jay is okay?"

"For sure. He's wrapped up nice and tight. He's good."

"Good, because I want that first dibs," Edward replied, taking off for the back. Melanie was close on his heels, and soon the entire back of the penthouse was filled with the sounds of laughing, giggling adults. Jay, who woke up during the height of the laughter, listened for a moment before wiggling and going back to sleep. He knew things were all right, his diaper was dry, and he was warm. All was right with the world.