Page 64 of Our Haunted Omegas
“Teal, love, I survived the Wildlands before you were born. This is pup’s play. So, take your blue undertone highlights and take a big step back. Your carrier will kill me if I come home without one of you three,” Uncle Nicky said, squatting down to be eye level with Guardie.
“He’ll kill us if we come home without you and you’re pregnant,” Teal pointed out.
“That’s exactly why you’re going to give me space to work. The sooner you all let me do this, the sooner the guards can look at the camera footage and we can go back to Moonscale Manor and eat. I’m ravenous. Ravenous enough that if this guy were alive instead of dancing in the breeze as ash and bone shards, I’d eat the motherfucker, okay? So, be a good pup, back up and let me work.”
I held my breath as Nicky took the arm from Guardie. The murder dog didn’t budge from his spot as Uncle Nicky removed the grenade from the clenched hand and one of the Moonscale guards brought over an explosion-proof box for it. Uncle Nicky took a deep breath and glared at the guard before relenting control of the explosive.
“In the limo now!” Cade said, his tone on the edge of a bellow. “I don’t want to hear how old anyone is or anything about ice cream or snacks or the truck. I want everyone in this family to put their behinds in the damn limo right now before I throw you all in the dungeon when we get back to Moonscale Manor for safekeeping! No arguments go!”
Indigo picked me up before I had time to locate the limo. He carried me across the parking lot toward the shiny, black stretch limo waiting for us.
“You too, pup,” he said, and a second later dog paws padded toward the limo.
“I’ll get your pill,” Uncle Nicky said from the middle of the group as Cade brought up the rear.
“What pill?” Teal asked.
“The pill that’s going to keep me from burning down every journalist in the city before the guards have time to question anyone,” Cade said, as the driver opened the door and Indigo put me inside.
I scooted over so that he had room to slide beside me. Next came Odie and Guardie. Then Teal and Cobalt. Finally Nicky climbed inside rummaging through a tiny bag hanging from his hip I hadn’t seen before.
“I didn’t know Uncle Nicky carried sedatives,” Teal said a moment later and Cade shot him a dirty look before laughing.
“I wish,” Cade said, holding out his hand to Nicky and then swallowing a little pink pill whole.
Cade Moonscale was doing his best not to have a panic attack. Sure, his panic attacks seemed to make him tear things apart from his own reporting, but Cade Moonscale was trying not to have a panic attack. I glanced at Odie who seemed entranced by his father-in-law. I hoped this cleared up any of his worries about being a good parent.
“These only happen when my kids get themselves into deep shit,” Cade said, leaning his head back against the seat as the driver closed the door behind us.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Indigo
My carrier crashed into Dad as soon as he stepped out of the limo. He counted us over Dad’s shoulder as he was picked up and squeezed tight. Manny nearly knocked both of them over to get to Uncle Nicky. None of us moved until our grandcarrier waved us out. The feast was put on hold of course and Medwin led us all down to what Dad called the dungeon. It was the safest place on the grounds of Moonscale Manor and built to be a bomb shelter. It was where we’d all meet up if danger broke loose of its cage again.
Somehow, Medwin already had a doctor waiting. I thought it might be one of Teal’s medical school friends but it was an old she-bear wearing halfmoon spectacles who introduced herself as Dolores. She had salt and pepper hair and even a few wrinkles. She was really old because shifters only greyed out at the far reaches of their life cycles.
None of us argued as she looked us up and down and then announced she’d see the pregnant men one at a time. Before she disappeared behind the curtain with Uncle Nicky, she ordered our sire to sit down and have as much food as he could manage. Food sometimes calmed an enraged dragon.
“Your grandfather will be here as soon as he can,” Medwin announced. “Nem and Cedar are out with him. They’ll be fine. There is every reason to believe this was an isolated incident. While we are yet to ascertain why the journalist wanted to blow up the petrol station…”
“Dad,” my dad said. “It’s okay. We’re okay. No one was hurt. He was crazy. That’s why he wanted to blow the place up.”
“He might’ve too,” Grandpa said.
“No,” Odie shook his head. “Guardie was there. He knows how all that works. He was born from war.”
Medwin looked down at the dog and let out a long, slow breath. He wasn’t the biggest fan of pets but working animals had long been a part of shifter culture. He squatted down and patted Guardie on the head awkwardly and thanked him for his service. Then handed him off a ham and cheese sandwich, which Guardie promptly gulped down.
I was ready for Dolores to object to Ambry and Odie going behind the curtain together, but she put up no resistance against all four of us following her. She put her glasses up on the top of her head and looked both of the pregnant omegas up and down as if she had x-ray vision.
“You’re more nervous,” she nodded to Odie. “So you go first. You don’t smell injured, but we’ll swing a sonogram just to ensure baby isn’t stressed out about this. Up onto the table you go. Which one of you fine, upstanding young men are his mate?”
“Me,” Cobalt said.
“I am not afraid of you. If you bite me, I’ll bite you back. I understand that you’re undergoing a tremendously stressful time, but I will not tolerate you making it more stressful for any of the omegas here. I will see to their wellbeing and then they will eat. Do you all understand me?”
We nodded and a second later Odie pulled off his shirt over his head and Cobalt helped him climb up onto the exam table. All the equipment had been moved down here in case someone needed emergency medical care during a battle or siege. My thoughts chased their own tails through my brain. Who would want to attack us? It wasn’t like Odie or Ambry had enemies.
