Trouble

Cub

"What?" I winced as the thing I called a brother shouted next to me from the passenger seat.

"Seriously, I'm right here." I huffed from my seat behind the wheel.

I decided to pull over a couple blocks from the house and tell Gabriel everything he wanted to know. From the looks of it he wasn't taking the news as well as I did. Shock and guilt played on his face before anger took over.

"I heard in the news when his son died and I didn't feel anything or care much. Our cousin died and they didn't even have the decency to tell us then, even when we were forced to go to his funeral." as he spoke his eyes began to water and he looked as if it was getting harder to breath.

"At least you went, I skipped out on it halfway through the ceremony." I sighed trying to give a little comfort as I leaned back in my seat.

"And what about you being a shifter, how does this affect the rest of us? Are we also shifters or do we have to be bitten or something?" He looked over at me with awkward curiosity.

"The only ones who will be affected by this is Marina and our child along with Maxwell and our father. Since they want me to leave Marina and take a woman like me. You don't have to worry about becoming one from a bite or anything like that. If you have the gene it will eventually be activated by the elders but until then you'll still be regular old you." I shrugged looking at the familiar road that led to my mate.

"So our sisters don't know anything and neither does Stella, so where do we go from here?" Gabriel asked with a worried tone as he sat up straight.

"I go to my mate and marry her as planned and we live together with our child. And you continue whatever it is that you do." I started the car and pulled into traffic.

"What about Maxwell and dad?" He was too worried about everything.

"Ignore them, they can't make me do anything I don't want to." I was so sure of it, especially since they needed me to take after this unknown clan of Leopard shifters.

"How can you be so sure, what if he does something drastic like-" Gabriel began before a sinister voice spoke in my head.

"Cub, I suggest you secure your position as my successor or risk me killing your cub and mate." Maxwell spoke calmly.

"You wouldn't dare lay a hand on what is mine unless you plan to challenge me." I replied pulling in to the driveway and hopping out of the car with the key still in the ignition, leaving Gabriel behind.

"Marina!" I shouted bursting into the house rushing around until I found her, our mothers along with my three sisters and Stella staring at me as if I were a mad man.

***

"The fuck is wrong with you, I'm in a fragile state and you want to give me a heart attack?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"I'm sorry, it's just that Maxwell-" he cut himself off as he looked around at the women surrounding me.

"They all know about it, we had a long talk." I shrugged cupping my large belly as I stared at my mate and fiance.

"Then I'll assume they already know about father and Maxwell's trick to get me to step up as the heir.

"Yup." Brandy replied crossing her arms.

"Kevin, what the hell?" Gabriel came in behind Kevin stopping as he noticed the standoff we were having. "What did I miss?"

"They know everything I just told you in the car." Kevin replied walking toward me before laying his hands on my stomach and muttering apologies.