CHAPTER 16
MACINTOSH
AILA POV
There's a knock on the door and it has me jerking up from my spot on the shower floor. I start to shiver as I reach out and shut off the now cold water. I'm stepping out when the door opens and Dallas slides into the room, closing the door behind him. I clutch the towel to my chest as his eyes look me up and down.
"Aila?" I feel tears threaten again as I speak in a choked whisper.
"Am I not your little one anymore? Did the blood sliding down my face disgust you?" His arms are around me before I can blink. I look up and meet his eyes to see pride and sorrow.
"I was 14 when my father died. My Uncle betrayed us to rogues because he wanted to be Alpha. I killed him. Shot him until the bullets were gone from the gun. Yesterday I found out that the man that looks like your Dad isn't your Dad. It's my Uncle." I see the truth in his eyes and from the stiffness in his shoulders his anger.
"How?" Dallas laughs bitterly as he looks down at me.
"How isn't the question you should ask little one. Do I disgust you is the question you should ask." I shake my head.
"That isn't a question because you already know the answer." He smiles and leans down to kiss the top of me head.
"Exactly little one. Now get dressed. Someone wants to see you." I look at him and want to ask how someone can look like Daddy but not be Daddy but I can see he's hurting and I need to ease him up to it so I nod and get dressed.
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When I open the bathroom door I see my mates talking with someone that has their back to me. As I step closer they whirl around. I have time to see a bright green eyes before he drops to his knees in front of me and lowers his head so it's almost to the floor.
"Thank you for saving Juliet. Thank..." Shocked at the man's completely submissive pose I drop to my knees in front of him. He looks up in surprise and I see Juliet in his upturned nose and pitch black hair. They even have the same delicate body builds. If it wasn't for his bed head haircut and guy clothes they would be identical. I take a deep breath as he continues to stare at me.
"You must be Romeo, Juliet's twin brother?" His eyes are wary as he nods slowly. Leaning back on my heels I eye Romeo up and down, taking note of the hunched in features and slumped shoulders.
"Your were-lions aren't you?" He flinches and nods as I reach forward and ruffle his hair. He freezes as I continue to rub his head as I speak.
"It's not your fault that lion males are submissive. And it's not your fault or Juliet's that she isn't a dominant. Hell I'm dominant and submissive imagine how confusing that is." Slowly I stop rubbing his head and rise to my feet, holding out a hand. He takes it and I pull him to his feet as I speak.
"Let's go find you mom and see those new siblings of yours then we'll talk some more okay?" Romeo nods and leads us out of the room.
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We enter a sunroom to the sounds of laughter. Juliet's hair shines in the light as she looks up from one of the babies that are clutching at Alpha's fur as he licks it. Her eyes drop as Lea looks up and grins at me.
"Aila, I've been looking for you. I need a favor." I eye her curiously as she continues. "My mates and I have discussed it and we want you to give the cubs their first names." My eyes widen in surprise as I recall how sacred baby names are to shifters. Usually the Goddess is the one who blesses them in the naming ceremony.
"Are you sure?" She nods as one of the babies squeal with laughter. I look over to see it grab at its other sibling, who is trying to raise up off the floor in a crawl. It pushes the one who is attempting to crawl so it rolls over into Tuck. I chuckle.
"That one's Trouble." She nods and I watch the sibling at Tuck and attempt to growl. Unfazed Tuck eyes him a minute before licking its face. The baby huffs at him. "Hex and it looks like Lore by the way." I turn as the third cub by Juliet grabs onto Alpha's tail so Alpha can slide it gently back and forth on the floor. "Trix." Lea grins as Lore walks into the room with the scarred man.
"Lore, Duke. She named them Trouble, Trix and Hex. And Trouble is the only girl by the way." Lore grins and we all sit down to play with the babies.
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A while later I feel my mates enter the room as well as several other people. I turn on my knees to see Mace is sitting on the couch with Pan and Dallas on either side of him. It's only when I feel Mace's distress that I realize that more people have entered the room and they all smell similar to Mace. Tilting my head to the side I regard my mates and the tension in their shoulders. And the tension in the air is what gives it away. I scoop Trouble into my arms and walk over to Mace as she tugs at my hair. It's weird but I know that she's worried about Mace. As I get closer I lean down and kiss Dally on the lips before sitting down in Mace's lap. I glance over at Pan and his ruffled white hair and he grins at me before leaning forward and pecking me on the lips. Then I look at Mace but he refuses to meet my eyes. Trouble whimpers in my arms and I pat her on the back as I speak.
"Your twin was an idiot." The tension in the room hikes up as Mace jerks his head up to meet my eyes. I see that same broken look in his eyes that I had seen before as I place a hand on his cheek. "There is nothing wrong with being an omega Macey. I swear on our bond that even if the whole of your family were to reject you for it Pan, Dally and I NEVER would. We love you no matter what. Stop hiding my mate your upsetting your niece." His eyes widen and he glances at the baby in my arms instantly knowing that she is the one that had been in distress earlier and the one we had been trying to save. His hand reaches out and he touches her cheek. She blinks her bright silver eyes at him before she starts to purr. I grin in amusement as Mace lets his powers loose. Immediately the tension in the room ceases as his Omega powers soothe the upset beasts. Trouble purrs louder as Mace makes a face at her before leaning down and kissing her head. When he looks up at me I see his eyes have calmed.
"Sorry baby." I shrug and he grins and me before leaning forward and kissing me. When he pulls back he pulls me sideways into his chest so I can place my feet in Dally's lap as an older woman who has Macey's eyes speaks.
"Macintosh, you have found your mates." Macintosh? I touch my neck then gasp as I look up at Macey.
"Your name is Macintosh." Several people in the room snicker as he mock glares at me.
"It is and some people better quit laughing at me or I'll start telling their full names....right Devil?" A man sitting by the window stops laughing to scowl as Mace looks over at him. My eyes travel from him to Juliet and I see she has scooted into a corner when all of Mace's family showed up. I clear my throat and meet Lea's eyes as I speak.
"I was thinking Lea since you just had cubs that maybe Juliet and Romeo could come visit with us for a few weeks and give you, Lore, and Duke some bonding time with the cubs. I'm hoping they can help me convince Dallas that I need to go to school." I feel my mates probing at my mind and I open up so they can see how worried I am about Juliet. Lea looks at me quizzically and I glance over at Juliet. She glances over and the soft smile on her face fades as she looks at her daughter's position. Lore squeezes her shoulder and Duke glances at me. His dark eyes probe mine before he nods as Lea speaks.
"I think that would be a great idea but I won't see you at school til next week since my mates are being overprotective of me at the moment. Duke will be acting principal til I return." I blink at the scarred man and can't suppress a grin as I speak.
"I think dear sister in law that you will have the best behaved male students in history but I have a feeling the females will be getting into more trouble." Duke frowns at me not seeming to get how hot he was with or without the scars but Lea laughs because she gets it all too well.
MACE POV
I stare at my beautiful mates in awe. How did I get this lucky? Aila manages to make everything okay with my Omega powers in five seconds. Dallas gets all the hard issues and Pan can make me laugh whenever I'm sad. How did I get not one but all three of them. I thought after Mack died that my life was over. I didn't think anything could fill the hole in my chest but these three side swiped me and here I am.
I watch as Aila gets off my lap and takes Trouble over to Lea as Dallas throws his arm around me and Pan lays his head in my lap. The warmth that fills me has nothing to do with temperature and everything to do with love.
"She's something else isn't she?" I nod as I cut my eyes at Dallas.
"Yea she is and I was thinking we could take her on date tonight before we go back. I want to tell her my secrets. She's given so much to me it's only right. I want her to know everything about me. I want all of you to know everything." Dallas lays his head on my shoulder before he speaks.
"I know what you mean Mace cause I have them same feeling."
"What's a date?" I look down at Pan as Dallas laughs.