Page 53 of Manix
“I can’t.”
Cooper leaned forward, his eyes imploring me. “I promise, if it’s because you aren’t interested in us, it would just be Darius. We’d wine you and dine you and I swear, that’s all we need from you. If there was a way to do it without the act, we would. The next heat, you guys will be loaded down with cubs already, it would be such a waste...” I was still shaking my head, because I was devastated for them, I was. But I wasn’t an egg machine, and the implication that I was wasting my eggs since they were such a rare commodity made me feel all sorts of weird.
“I know, I do. But I can’t. It’s not in me to just make children and leave them. Plus, like, if you guys have a litter of cubs each, won’t that really fuck with the next generation? They’ll all be like half siblings or something.” I winced. “I’m sorry, but I promised to let the physicians study me and see if they can’t work out a way to give you what you need.”
Beckett snorted. “Sure, if these fuckers ever let you off their damn mountain.”
“Fuck off, Beckett,” Gatlin growled, but it was friendly, if cursing someone out could be considered friendly.
I really didn’t know what to say. They were obviously desperate, but they were strangers, and I could only impregnate one set of hot strangers in my lifetime. “I really… I’m sorry.”
Darius reached over and squeezed my hand, looking between me and Seven. “I understand. These guys will just have to put up with my ass when I go through the yearning. It won’t kill them, theoretically.” He winked.
Dammit, I liked Darius, and I felt all sorts of guilt, which was ridiculous. “Do you guys want to stay for dinner?” I asked quietly, and it was the fire-haired Corvin that answered.
“We’d love that, thank you.”
35
Ellar
After the visit from the WFR Pack, Naja had been adamant that we take her down to Maxton to fulfill her obligations. That sent everyone into freakout mode, and it had taken us all nearly a week to figure out logistics.
Seven and Gatlin were staying with Raiden and Luisa at the Pack house. I tried not to grin at the level of trust Naja now had in us that she was happy for us to watch the most important person in her life. Trusted us to keep her young safe. I’d never felt so proud of my Pack.
She leaned her head on my shoulder now we were off the rockier mountain trails and on the well-worn road to Maxton. “What’s to stop hikers just wandering into Maxton? I mean, you must be able to see it on a satellite.”
I shrugged, and rested my cheek against the crown of her head. “Combination of things. We are so small and uninteresting that people don’t really make it here unless they’re hiking. We get the occasional hiker, but the folks who live in Maxton are naturally private and a little suspicious, so it's never very comfortable for outsiders.” Didn’t I know that one from personal experience. “If someone wants to stay, then there is no real estate for sale, no houses for rent, no rooms for boarding. We once had a guy try and wait out the winter in a tent, but eventually the cold and unfriendliness of the people chased him out.” I shook my head.
“If there are people with more malicious intentions, they are kept out by the wards,” Finlo added. “We had it constructed to keep out murderous Packs of shifters, but it works for all people who know what we are and have an intent to do someone within the wards harm. Gatlin is negotiating with the witches to send someone out and strengthen the wards. They should be here in a couple of weeks.”
Witches gave me the creeps, but I’d put aside my prejudices to ensure the safety of my Pack. Still, one day soon, we’d have to do something about the fucker still haunting the edges of our territory. He’d recently constructed a cross, and added a shrine, right on the banks of the river. I wanted to find him and drown him in those crystal clear waters.
I ignored the curious gazes of the people out and about in town, doing whatever it was that people did on a day-to-day basis. I’d been here nearly a decade and it was still a mystery to me. It might have been different if my father had given an actual shit about me, but he hadn’t.
My Pack filled in the gaps of my knowledge wherever they could, and we would do the same for Naja.
We pulled up in front of the small demountable building that was the office of the town doctor. Doc was a nice old guy, very unusual in the Manix community because he didn’t have a Pack or family. He was a lifelong bachelor, and I personally thought it might be partially due to his pickled body part collection that he kept in the waiting room. That shit was creepy as hell if you didn’t know the man. He’d lived a really long time too; he’d been around when the last female Alpha had died of old age decades ago. But Doc stayed up-to-date with all the current medical practices and technologies, played a mean game of chess, and had a wit so acerbic he could use it to cut instead of a scalpel. I predicted he’d be on his best behavior today though because what Naja giveth, Naja could taketh away.
“What the hell…?” Naja breathed, and I knew she’d just seen the jars. You see, the Doc didn’t collect hearts or lungs or spleens. No, he collected weird reproductive systems. Which made sense considering how unique ours was, but there were dicks from almost every species you would find in the area. He never said where he got them, but he’d assured us they were all dead before he’d lopped off their dick, which was vaguely reassuring.
“Does that jar say ‘mouse penis’ or do I need glasses?” she asked Finlo, who just laughed.
Before he could answer, Doc appeared. He suited his name; he kind of looked like a stereotypical little old man. He just happened to like collecting cock. Everyone needed a hobby.
He smiled wide, his cheeks dimpling. Naja stared at him, then back at the dicks in a jar, then back to the Doc. “That’s a lot of D.”
Doc grinned. “Same could be said for you, Naja.” He gave a pointed look between me and Finlo, and I laughed. Naja gaped before she laughed too.
“Touché, Santa. Let’s get this show on the road.”
“Come on back,” Doc offered, and both Finlo and I stuttered. Did we go with her? Would she even want us with her? Did we actually trust Doc?
Probably, considering he’d delivered both Finlo and Raiden. Finlo and I stood awkwardly around the waiting room, until Naja looked over her shoulder. “Are you guys coming?”
I grinned because that was the second huge step of the day. She wanted us in there, with her, during a medical procedure. We made her feel safe.
Doc led us back to an examination room that hadn’t really been updated since the sixties, but the medical equipment was all state-of-the-art. Doc loved his techno-toys.
