"Listen, you get in and you get out." Set had both hands on Eva's shoulders. The nervousness evident in his tone. I smirked knowing that everyone had grown close to our little troublemaker since they first met her.
"I know. I won't be long at all. I'm just going to the main house we visit and then I'm leaving." She repeated the plan once more to Set who had been pestering her all morning.
"If anything happens you know how to get in touch with us. Do not hesitate. If I find out that you tried to be a big bad witch I promise I'll punish you myself." He warned.
"W-What?" She stammered not used to the big bad Set paying this close attention to her. He pulled her in close and wrapped one arm around her protectively.
"It seems I've grown accustomed to your face little one." He sighed as if it was some great burden on him.
"I think...I think it's time for me to leave. Declan!" She called out to me in panic.
"Set, stop traumatizing her." I laughed as I pulled her from his grasp. Owen quickly took up residence at his side as soon as she was gone. He nuzzled his face into his side as he stood there watching us. He had already hugged Eva so tight that Nicky had to pry him off her. Everyone was worried that something would happen but out of all of us she was probably the best to go in there.
Not only did the wolves already know her because she's been delivering clean goods to them but she could mask her scent easily so that none of Reynolds's wolves would know she was there. It was the only reason we were able to successfully accompany her during her night trips. Unfortunately she would need all her focus for this one since it was during the day. There would be more wolves around to detect her and a greater chance of her being found out.
"I wasn't. I was simply letting her know how much she would be missed." He shrugged his shoulders as if I didn't already know my mate and know how he acted.
"Uh huh. I'm sure that's all it was. Now let's go, we need to get you there and back quickly. When you're ready to leave just cal-"
"Yes, I know. Just call you and you'll bring me back. We've done this before Declan." She sighed heavily as if my concern was taxing on her. I looked down at the little spitfire and before she had a chance to object I pulled her in for a tight hug. Sure she had been trouble at the beginning but now she was as much a part of our family as any other shifter here.
"St-Stop!" She stuttered as she pulled away from me. Immediately she fixed her hair and smoothed out her clothes before staring up at me. "What is wrong with you beasts?" She shouted exasperated.
"We grow attached quite easily it would seem." I laughed at her.
"Let's go before your dads return. I don't need any more hugs from Damien. He's like a huge puppy..."
"I tell him that all the time." I laughed as I motioned for us to step outside where it would be easier to transport her.
"And Daddy number two never listens." Owen piped up as him and Set followed closely behind.
Although it was Set's power that we would be using for this I would be the one doing it. Since I discovered that we could tap into his powers via the mating bond I had been steadily practicing more and more with it. Moving from one place to another was the skill that I most excelled at but I could do other things with Set's help; like creating mini sand tornadoes
Owen seemed a little more reluctant to train using the powers because he shied away from being in any type of fight. I knew that if our little wolf put his mind to it he would be just as powerful as I was but I couldn't bring myself to damage such a delicate and pure creature with the sight of war. He was already exposed to enough of it in our childhood.
We stepped outside in the open behind the house. The morning's sun shone down on us warming our skin and beckoning to the wolves inside us; teasing us with the promise of a beautiful day to run. I pushed back Xerxes and reminded him what was at stake. With a deep breath I focused on the earth around Eva's feet and then on the more than peculiar bond that we shared. I looked up at her for a second, silently asking her if she was ready before sending her to Reynolds's territory.
The sand swirled around her, swallowing her up in a great sandstorm before it left just as quickly as it came. We would wait out her for her until she called me to bring her back. There was no reason to go anywhere else and we didn't want to relax until we knew without a shadow of a doubt that she was alright.
"So what now?" Owen questioned.
"We wait. Well, I can wait if you guys want to head back to bed." I answered.
"That sounds gre-"
"No. We'll stay with you." Owen replied cutting Set off mid sentence. His frown was adorable even for a centuries old god.
"But sleep..." Set whined stomping his foot on the ground like a petulant child.
"If I can be up at the absolute crack of dawn in this god forsaken sun, then so can you." Rue hissed from behind us. The laughter exploded from my lips just as I turned around to greet the three mates. She had on the largest, black wide brimmed sun hat imaginable, sunglasses and an umbrella over her head. If there was ever a stereotypical look for a demon hiding from the world she had it down pack.
"It's not funny." She pouted. "This sun is so irritating. As the byproduct of a demon love affair just coming into her powers I was told that there would be certain times when I would crave going back to the Underworld. This is one of those times."
"Wait. So you're a vampire too?" Owen questioned quietly eyeing our sister as if had just seen her for the first time.
"Ah! So cute you are!" Rue cooed in delight as she quickly skipped over to Owen, pinching his cheeks. "No dear brother. I'm not a vampire but by nature demons don't live in incredibly bright places."
"Makes sense." He replied nodding his head and slapping her hand away from his bright red cheeks. Kaya and Amun greeted us as the further their approach to us. We stood there for a while simply discussing things that we knew about Alpha Reynolds and the possible outcome of this situation.
"Ah, before I forget. The pack doctor says that the young lady that was barely hanging on by a thread has now made a full recover now that her wolf is back. Once the effects of the wolfs bane had completely cleared her system she began to heal rapidly. We've already questioned her and she only knew enough to confirm our suspicions." Amun informed us.
"That's great. We need to send someone over there to keep an eye on her in case anything should come back to her. We need to know everything we can about this man if we are to beat him."
"Look at us." Rue sighed loudly once I had finished talking. "Would you believe that months ago we were still acting like the immature brats our fathers thought we were?"
"Hey!" Owen cried out in protest. "They only thought you two were like that." He replied pointing at Rue and I.
"That's not the point." Rue answered sticking her tongue out for emphasis. "Look at us now though. I finally know what I am, I have two wonderful mates, you two have another mate, and we're getting ready to fight off a big bad Alpha wolf. Did you ever in your wildest dreams think that we would be here, right now?" She questioned.
"No, I guess not. Fate has a way of throwing us for a loop it seems." I laughed.
"I am glad that fate brought you my way. For whatever reason you decided to visit my part of the Underworld and I can say that I've never felt so many different emotions in my lifetime as I have since I found you two. I have never loved anyone as greatly as I love you two. You're my light and my life and I could never be without you." Set spoke up catching mine and Owen's attention.
Owen stared up at him, his bright blue eyes wide with awe as I simply smiled knowing that he had practically stolen the words right out of my mouth. Clearly we were meant to find him that day. The one day that Owen had readily accepted our invitation to getting out of doing our duties to go somewhere else. It should have been as clear as day but for whatever reason we didn't see it before.
We were meant to meet him at that time and we were meant to be together forever. Had we not gone who knows what would have happened to any of us. Rue and Kaya would have never met Amun either and our pack would never have known the danger that lurked in a neighboring pack. It's safe to say that everything happens for a reason.
"She's calling me." I reported, interrupting any further heartfelt speeches I'm sure were to come after Set's.
"Well hurry up and bring her back." Owen squeaked.
"Yes dear." I mocked and then smirked at the red hue of his cheeks.
I reached out and felt for our connection before using the power that now belonged to the three of us to pull her back to our territory. A small whirlwind of sand formed in front of us, at our feet and when I was sure that she had come back completely I dropped the sand.
"We may have a problem." Was the first thing to pass her lips.
"Because we certainly don't have enough of those." Amun sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"I was informed that the Alpha plans on having a large dinner tonight where he plans on announcing something important. I know for a fact that he doesn't trust the pack enough to have a proper dinner with them which means that this is some sort of trap. Woods, who is the man that I just met with, believes that he plans on further poisoning the wolves and announcing his plan of attack tonight. If they don't eat the food he serves then Reynolds will know that something's wrong but if they do eat it all of our hard work would have been for nothing." She was pacing as she recounted everything and it was obvious that she had been plagued with what would happen next.
"I say we go speak to your fathers before making any hasty decisions since their pack is the one that will be providing assistance in this fight." Set spoke up before I could even open my mouth to say anything. I'm sure he knew that I was going to make a decision right then and there. I was trying hard not to rush into things and make up decisions on the fly. It would take a little more time to get that down pack though.
"Alright let's get going then." Eva sprinted past us and back into the house.
We made our way into the house after her hastily only to find my father's right there in the kitchen munching on some breakfast food and drinking coffee. Imani clearly was still asleep as he was the only one who wasn't eating and his head was resting on Damien's shoulder as the big Alpha male kept as still as possible while eating his bagel.
"What's up?" Mateus questioned as he watched us all file into the kitchen.
Eva recounted what she found out after visiting Reynolds' territory as they sat and listened. Even Imani opened one eye to show that he too was listening to what was happening and was ready to add any input if necessary. They listened closely to what she had to say before asking any questions.
"So pup, what have you decided to do?" Damien questioned as soon as she was done. I narrowed my eyes at him to show my disapproval at the name but he wasn't even looking in my direction. He was trying to feed Imani some of his bagel as he waited on me to answer him.
"Well I haven't discussed it with my mates or anyone else yet and I would rather hear what everyone else has to say before actually coming up with any conclusions." I responded and he nodded his head.
"Good. A great leader should never just jump to conclusions without hearing everything." Damien agreed.
"We have enough shifters to take them on whenever we need to but it would have to happen soon. If he plans on drugging them tonight then we have to move quickly." Mateus spoke up.
"If we wait till night fall we would certainly have the cover of darkness on our side however if what you're saying is true then we don't have that kind of time. If we attack now we'll certainly still maintain the element of surp- Stop that you mutt!" Imani shouted at Damien as he tried to shove the half eaten bagel at his face again.
"You need to eat. Clearly we're about to have an all out war and you need you energy." Damien replied not bothering to listen to Imani's objections. Imani hissed and batted his hand away but nothing would deter my dad.
"I think we need to first gather all the shifters that can fight on our end. Eva we'll send you back over to Reynolds's territory to let them know what's happening and then you need to come right back. Meanwhile everyone else needs to get ready for this fight because it's happening today regardless if we're ready or not." Nicholai spoke up finally.
******
"When this is over we need to go find a nice little beach somewhere to go lie on all day and do nothing but sleep, drink Mai Tais and sleep some more." Set sighed as he gathered his clothes off the floor. Instead of tossing them in the hamper like he was asked to do it threw them in the closet and closed the door. I stared at him in disbelief and he simply shrugged his shoulders at me. "What Owen doesn't know won't hurt him." He laughed.
"Unfortunately for you I plan on being a tattle tale today." I laughed just as Owen came back into the room. He was holding a tray of breakfast food for us that he promised to make himself if we cleaned up the room a little.
"Wow, you guys are doing a great job." Owen chirped as he walked further into the room, setting down the tray on one of the bedside tables. I looked over to Set with a wide grin on my face and Set narrowed his eyes at me as Owen set about inspecting our handy work.
'Don't you dare!' Set shouted in my mind.
'Give me a good enough reason not to.' I teased.
'I can give you several. All of them involving being tied to a bed.' He all but growled over our link.
"Yeah, you know Set is really good at cleaning up and everything." I managed to squeak out as I felt my cheeks heat up.
"See I knew you weren't the spoiled little god they say you are." Owen smiled brightly.
"Wait..What? Who said that? Who would dare say something like that about me?" Set demanded.
"Our dads." Owen giggled.
"Of course they did. I doubt they'll ever like me enough to not threaten or insult me in any way." He groaned.
"If you think they're bad just be glad you haven't met the rest of the family yet. Our uncle's Aiden, Bythos and Aphros are ten times worse than our dads." I laughed.
"Wonderful." He groaned.
"Don't worry. I'm sure they like you just fine." Owen replied as he wrapped his arms around Set's waist.
"Well as long as my mates love me I don't care who else likes me." He answered as he wrapped Owen up tight in his arms. That moment just solidified my love for the both of them. Just standing there watching them I knew that I was the luckiest man in the world.
"Now that we got that out of the way..." Set began releasing Owen from his grasp and pushing him towards the bed. "Time for something tasty." He finished grinning mischievously.
Owen looked up at him with wide eyes and red cheeks. His plump lips were slightly parted in anticipation of what was about to happen next. He pushed himself halfway up on the bed so that he was resting on his elbows, eyes locked on Set's next move.
"Now where's that food?" Set questioned spinning around. I couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up inside me at the sheer look of disappointment on Owen's face as Set took a huge bite out of one of the pieces of toast that were on the plate. He dropped back down on the bead with a loud groan.
"Wha?" He questioned with a mouth full.
"Nothing. You just go on and enjoy your meal." I laughed as I waved it off. Walking over to the bed I laid down next to Owen who simply turned his head to look at me. I placed a quick small kiss on his forehead before wrapping my arms around him and pulling him closer to me.
"We should probably get some of that food." Owen whispers after a few minutes of listening to Set eat it all himself.
"Yeah..." I jump up and snatch the tray from Set.
"Hey!" He whines.
"Your poor neglected mates are over here starving and you sit there and try to eat all the food. Shame on you." Owen chastised him as we began to eat the rest of the food on the tray.
"You're hardly neglected." He laughed as he climbed into the bed beside Owen. He pecks Owen on the cheek as he chews his food while his hand sneaks over to the tray to grab a piece of bacon. Owen smacks his hand without even looking down and snatches the crispy piece of meat and shoves it in his mouth. "Why do you treat me with such cruelty?" Set whined.
"You ate half the food." Owen replied.
"Details...Details..." Set muttered. "So after we're done we go down to meet up with the other wolves?"
"Yeah, we're supposed to be going over what it is that we need to do today. We need to plan everything perfectly so that when we attack we'll have the upper hand."
"I think that regardless of when we attack we'll have the upper hand. He doesn't know that the wolves are getting healthier by the minute and as long as we attack before that dinner we're good." Set replied.
"I just wish that it never came down to this." Owen sighed.
"I know but it's what has to happen." I tried to explain. "Hopefully we can get in and out without too many people being injured."
"I have faith that we will. Besides your fathers have enough experience battling crazy Alphas right?" Set questioned.
"Ah...I see you got sucked into one of Damien's story telling sessions." I laughed at the pained look on his face.
"It just went on and on and on. I had only asked a simple question and yet the stories just kept coming." He replied, staring off into the distance as if remembering that horrid moment. "After almost two hours of stories I had almost given up hope until Imani walked past and caught his attention giving me an instant out, which I took."
Owen and I laughed hysterically knowing how bad it truly was. Although we heard all the stories, countless times Damien would never pass up an opportunity to recount his many adventures as a wolf before we knew him and even some stories that happened after we were adopted by the four of them. Luckily over the years we could tell when a story was about to begin and knew immediately to run away but others weren't always as luck as us.
"Don't worry. You'll get used to it." I laughed.
"NO! I never want to get used to that. What if Imani never walked by? I would just be sitting there forever listening to him go on and on...and on...and on about something." He answered looking even more distraught then before which only caused the laughter that had once died down to come back. Owen and I were rolling on the bed in tears as Set tried to explain to us how serious it was.
A knock on the door interrupted our laughter and brought us back to reality. I took a couple deep breaths, wiped my tears, and got up to answer the door. Standing on the other side was Mateus and Damien.
"Seems like you three are enjoying yourselves. We hate to cut your together time short but we really need to get this show on the road." Damien told us.
"No problem. I'm pretty sure we're ready to go anyways." I answered for the three of us. Looking back at my mates they nodded in agreement as Owen set aside the now empty tray and he and Set both got up off the bed.
"Alright, we're meeting Nicky and Imani downstairs in our office first and then we'll talk with the other shifters once we've formulated a plan of attack." Mateus explained as they moved from the doorway, allowing us to pass them. We walked out the room, closing the door behind us, and down the hallway.
"Daddy number two?" Owen spoke up catching Damien's attention.
"Yes my little pup?" He questioned. In Damien's eyes I doubt we'd ever grow up.
"Set was just telling us that he would love to hear of the time that you defeated that rogue army all by yourself." Owen replied in his cutest voice ever.
"Really now?" Damien's mood seemed to lift exponentially as we walked down the hall. I turned around to look at Set whose eyes were now huge and filled with fear. Damien slowed down and draped an arm around Set's shoulder pulling the young god into his side with a bright smile on his face. "If you wanted to hear my stories all you had to do was ask me."
'How long Owen?' Came Set's distressed voice.
'How long what?' Owen replied in confusion.
'How long have you hated me?' Set shouted over our shared mental link causing me to snort in laughter.
"You two are terrible mates." Mateus chuckled and shook his head at us as we walked a little faster as to not hear the story for the millionth time.
"Long ago when the moon was high and I was but a wee wolf pup..."
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P.S.
I've already asked this question once but I'm looking for more feedback. Would you guys like to see the next installment of the Otherworldly Series as monogamous relationship or a polyamorous one?