The alpha 8 protect proc.., p.6
The Alpha 8: Protect. Procreate. Prevail., page 6
All of a sudden, I heard three pairs of feet running from the master bedroom as my omegas raced to get downstairs.
“You can’t do this to a pregnant woman, Jesse!” Nikita shouted out.
“What am I missing?” Benji called out from his room. “Where’s the fire?”
I refused to say a word as my omegas and Benji joined us in the living area, and Benji had been in such a rush that he came downstairs in just a pair of black shorts. My three omegas’ hair was all in a mess while their eyes were puffy with sleep, and I could tell they’d just pulled on whatever random clothes they could find the fastest. So basically, they were all in my boxers and t-shirts from the hamper.
Everyone looked at me eagerly, and it appeared as if Nikita was about to explode if I didn’t spill the news there and then.
“What car did you want me to buy you if we killed Theo?” I asked.
“A customized Rolls-Royce.” Benji nodded his head with a grin. “Fuck yeah…”
“He was talking to me, dummy,” Nikita laughed. “And I’m pretty sure I said an Aston Martin. Which has been at the top of my list for many, many years… Like, sooooo many years, oh my god…”
“Well…” I smirked as I turned the file over. “Would an Aston Martin DB11 do it for you?”
“Aaah!” Nikita screamed as she held onto her pregnant stomach. “Jesse… No fucking way!”
“Slate gray, black alloys… and it’s all yours,” I replied.
The werecat ran around the side of the couch to gently throw herself into my arms, and she continued to scream and thank me as she pressed her face into my shoulder.
“I can’t believe it, I can’t believe it!” Nikita repeated over and over. “This is mine? Mine?”
“It’s yours,” I laughed. “And Blair and Arielle, there are a few more motorcycles on here if you’d like them?”
“If we’d like them?” Blair snorted. “Of course, we’d like them!”
“I can start up my lessons again!” Arielle squealed. “Even if they won’t be for very long.”
Nikita pulled away in order to sit beside me, and she was quick to grab the file from my hands to take a closer look at the list of vehicles.
“Oooh, these are nice!” she commented as her messy hair tumbled in front of her face.
“And Hailey, I can’t see any Volkswagen Beetles, but there’s an Audi Q3 if you’d like it?” I asked.
“Me?” Hailey pointed to herself. “You’re offering me a car?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” I laughed. “Everyone gets a car.”
“Oh, my goodness, thank you!” Hailey cried. “In that case, I’ll need to learn how to drive.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll teach you.” Nikita winked.
“What about me, bro?” Benji asked. “Anything on there that you might… y’know, want to pass over to me? Just… bro to bro.”
“I’m sure I can find something for everyone,” I replied. “From what I can see, Theo had ten cars that he just kept for himself, and the rest of the pack have their own cars and boats to travel around in. So, take your pick!”
Benji happily chose a Mercedes-AMG, and despite saying that she didn’t want one, Aunt Eva ended up picking a red Jaguar F-Pace.
“You’re going to look so badass driving that around,” Benji chuckled.
“That’s partly why I picked it.” Eva grinned. “The whole pack seems to be moving up in the world, I may as well look the part.”
After that had been sorted, Mordaine asked me whether or not I wanted to keep everything on the list, and it didn’t take me long to decide on an answer. Last time this had happened, when we’d discussed Amber and Jonathan Jansen’s properties, I had to pick and choose what I wanted to keep. It would have been too risky for me to keep everything, especially since the Jansens had a lot of friends who would have quickly realized I had been the one to murder the entire family.
But when it came to Theo, his only friends and family were his pack, so I didn’t have to worry about anything, which made the process easier.
I also wanted to make sure each group of betas received a decent amount of money every month. Farrah told me that Theo gave them enough money to live on, but I wanted to continue supporting them as much as I could. Arthur agreed, and he said he’d set up separate accounts for each group to access whenever they needed to.
Then, before the meeting ended, there was one last thing I needed to discuss with Mordaine.
“You said there’s always a trust fund in place for when my child is born, right?” I asked casually.
“There is.” Arthur nodded as he gave Nikita a smile. “Don’t you worry, Jesse. I have it all sorted.”
“Okay, but you’ll need to sort out another one.” I smirked and then pointed toward Arielle.
“What?” the avian lawyer gasped. “My, my, my, congratulations!”
“Thank you,” Arielle giggled. “We’re extremely excited and stupidly proud. I woke up this morning… and I felt the sudden urge to just strut around like a peacock, I was so proud. Is that weird?”
“Yes,” Benji snorted.
“Not at all,” Nikita said at the same time.
I just grinned like a dope and stared at my coyote omega.
Everything still felt like a dream to me, and if accepting my new wealth was difficult, then it was even harder to process Arielle’s pregnancy. But it was very, very real, and we couldn’t have been happier.
“Yeah… we’re pretty proud,” I finally managed.
“I bet you are!” Arthur threw his hands in the air. “So much is happening in such a short amount of time!”
“Trust me, I know,” I snorted.
“And may I just say that Arthur is a wonderful name, should it be a boy.” Mordaine fell back in his chair as the laughter rippled through him. “I jest, I jest. But, oh! I feel positively giddy with delight! I think I need a strong drink! Where’s the winterberry tea?”
“You really are one of a kind, Mordaine,” Benji chuckled.
Once Mordaine had left, and Arielle had offered him one of her cupcakes with a random letter “I” on it, the seven of us put the last few things into our suitcases as we prepared to leave. We had just under an hour before Rhett and Duncan, two of the werewolves who’d gone rogue with Hailey, were going to collect us from the house, and that time seemed to whizz past exceedingly quickly.
The previously-rogue werewolves were some of the betas staying behind to keep an eye on the area, so it made more sense that those flying to California were given a lift to the airport.
Apart from the betas who had already driven down to California, Raina, Seth, Gemma, Harry, Thalia, and Caleb were going to fly with us today for protection. Everyone knew to take anosmiacs to mask our scents, and they also knew to make it seem as though no one knew each other.
Jack Nolan had informed me that a few other musicians were going to be on the same flight, so I didn’t want them to see me traveling with an entire entourage of people.
That would be beyond fucking weird for a supposedly quiet and totally normal college student.
“Okay, is everyone ready?” I asked as Rhett and Duncan pulled up outside.
“I just need to find my toothbrush!” Benji yelled from somewhere upstairs.
“My phone and wireless headphones are charged, so I’m good to go,” Blair replied.
“I have fresh batteries in my Game Boy.” Hailey smiled.
“And the fridge has been emptied and cleaned for when we return,” Aunt Eva added. “There’s nothing worse than arriving home to a dirty house.”
“I couldn’t have put it better myself,” Arielle agreed.
“Well, I’ve downloaded several episodes of Seinfeld to watch on the plane.” Nikita grinned. “So I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
“There might be inflight entertainment.” Hailey shrugged. “But would they show Seinfeld…?”
“That’s exactly my point,” Nikita replied.
We were traveling from Portland to Eureka, California, where the tour was going to begin. It wasn’t going to take us overly long to get there, but we had to fly to San Francisco and then get a connecting flight, so that’s where the time started to add up. And those hours could have felt like days if we just had to sit there with nothing but our thoughts and the hundreds of scents and heartbeats we could sense swirling around us.
Once Benji had found his missing toothbrush, Rhett and Duncan helped us load all of our suitcases into the back of the Jeeps. Somehow, Aunt Eva had managed to fit a month’s worth of clothes into just one suitcase. But that might have been because she only had three pairs of shoes with her, unlike the omegas, who had at least double that.
“Here you go,” Arielle said sweetly as she handed out the last two cupcakes to the werewolves.
“Amazing, thank you,” Rhett replied as he peeled back the paper casing.
“Are you sure we can have these?” Duncan asked. “Don’t you want to enjoy the last one?”
“I’ve had quite a few,” Arielle giggled. “Please, enjoy it.”
“I’m already enjoying it!” Rhett said through a mouthful of vanilla sponge. “That frosting is incredible.”
“Thank you.” Arielle smiled.
“Why does mine have the letter N on it?” Duncan mumbled as crumbs flew from his mouth, and we all chuckled as Arielle blushed all over with pride.
Aunt Eva double-checked that the cabin was locked and secured, and then we all piled into the two Jeeps. Blair, Benji, Nikita, and I were in a car with Rhett, and Hailey, Aunt Eva, and Arielle were with Duncan.
I had my violin perched safely on my lap, and I tapped away at the rigid material of the case as my anxiety began to rise.
“So, does everyone know what to do while I’m away?” I asked as we drove through Monroe.
“We sure do.” Rhett nodded, and his curly black hair bounced with the movement. “Patrol groups have been sorted out, everyone knows what to do and where to go, and we even have a planner written out to keep everyone in check.”
“Okay, good,” I sighed.
“Don’t worry, man,” he said confidently. “Enjoy your trip, have fun with Jack Nolan, and we’ll see you when you get back.”
“Just remember to call us if anything happens,” I replied. “I won’t have my phone on during performances, but that’s it, and you’ll be able to get in touch with everyone else. So if you’re at all suspicious of anything, even if it’s just a scent in the wind, don’t hesitate to give us a call.”
I even gave them the numbers for Willow and Ramiro, the beta captains up in Canada, even though it would take them the same amount of time to reach Monroe. But I wanted to make sure I had everything covered.
“Honestly, Jesse, we know what we’re doing.” Rhett smiled.
“You’re sounding like a protective parent,” Benji chuckled. “Are you going to warn them about keeping the stove on, too?”
“That’s a warning we’d have to give to you,” Blair retorted. “Remember that time you–”
“Okay!” Benji shouted. “Thank you, Blair… Rhett doesn’t need to know about the toaster disaster.”
“I do now that you’ve said it,” the werewolf laughed. “C’mon, tell me. What happened with the toaster?”
“Nothing,” Benji mumbled.
“No, nothing happened,” Nikita giggled. “It certainly didn’t involve Benji setting fire to a roll of paper towels, and he certainly didn’t place the roll on top of the toaster while he was using it. Oh, he also didn’t run around the cabin crying and screaming as he begged for help. Nope, none of that happened.”
“Like Nikita said.” I shrugged. “Absolutely nothing happened.”
Benji groaned as the rest of us burst into laughter, but then he ended up laughing along with us.
“Fortunately, Raina came up with a rule that we’re only allowed in the kitchen if we actually know what we’re doing,” Rhett chuckled. “And I fear her too much to disobey those rules, even when she’s in another state.”
“That makes sense.” I nodded. “Raina can be terrifying when she wants to be.”
“When she wants to be?” Rhett repeated with a snort. “Dude, she’s terrifying every day. I swear she even has a scowl on her face when she’s blissfully asleep.”
“And that’s why I love her,” Blair cackled.
It only took a couple of hours to reach Portland International Airport, and once Benji had recovered from our ridicule, the five of us spent the rest of the drive talking about the orchestra and everything Mordaine showed me that morning.
The peaceful atmosphere allowed my nerves and tension to simmer down slightly, but that all reappeared as my family and I walked toward the check-in desks.
I was about to leave more than half my pack behind as I jetted off to California, and it wasn’t until the airline assistant wished us a good flight that everything began to feel very real.
I didn’t want to think about the negatives, or the potential issues my betas could face, but I couldn’t help myself. I constantly asked myself if I was doing the right thing, and I knew the feelings would settle once the first few days had passed. But until then, I knew I would constantly check my phone every two minutes.
Has everyone checked in? I asked in an attempt to distract my mind.
I did, Gemma responded.
Raina and I are already waiting in line for security, Thalia replied.
Harry, Seth, and I are all sorted, too, Caleb said.
That’s great. I smiled. Then we’ll see you at the gate.
Benji ran ahead as we neared security, but Aunt Eva stayed with me and the omegas. According to the message from Jack Nolan, I was going to meet the other musicians at the gate before we boarded, so it made sense for Benji to travel over first instead of all of us turning up together.
Jack knew I was bringing some family with me, but he didn’t know I had four girlfriends and a shitload of security, so we tried to limit the number of people around me.
“Airports always remind me of Toy Story 2,” Hailey giggled as we collected our belongings from the security conveyor belt. “Do you know which scene I mean?”
“When Buzz and Bullseye are trying to save Woody and Jessie from the plane?” Arielle asked. “That was always my favorite part.”
“Close, but no,” Hailey replied. “It’s the part where Stinky Pete is put in the little girl’s backpack, and then Barbie’s like, ‘you’ll like Amy. She’s an artist!’”
“You’re so cute.” I smiled.
“I haven’t seen that movie in so long,” Blair said as she slipped her feet into her Checkerboard Vans. “Jessie is badass.”
“I know.” I smirked.
Blair rolled her eyes dramatically, but she couldn’t fight off the smile that curled across her lips.
Fortunately, luck was on our side, and the assigned gate wasn’t too far from security. We still had an hour before boarding started, so my omegas and I used that time to get some drinks and snacks for the plane before we met with the other musicians.
There were four of them in total, all male, and they all appeared to be pleasant enough. One of the men, Kyle, commented on how lucky I was to be flying first class, so I had to make up a random white lie on the spot. I basically said that it was the family’s first vacation in many years, so we decided to treat ourselves.
The men just nodded like they understood, so at least I didn’t have to go into further detail.
It would have been better if we could have used your private jet, Blair mumbled as she searched around in her bag for something.
I know, but that would have been even harder to explain, I replied.
The musicians were also traveling with some of their families, too, so once the introductions were out the way, they wandered in separate directions to sit with their partners.
I casually scanned the area to make sure everyone was there, which they were, and then I sat back as I waited for boarding to start.
Hey, Jess, Benji said a few minutes later. This might be nothing, but there are a few people acting really weird around here…
Who? I asked as a sense of tension began to build inside me.
A group of three guys standing near the men’s restroom, my half-brother replied. They keep looking in your direction, and they were in the store with you guys, too.
Are they following me? I rubbed the frown between my eyebrows.
That’s what it looks like, Benji said. But they might just be other random passengers. After all, we’re not the only ones boarding that plane.
Is one of them wearing a red t-shirt? Harry asked. And there’s another with a black hoodie?
That’s them, Benji confirmed.
Okay, I see them, the werewolf beta replied. They’re behind you, Jesse, so don’t turn around or make it obvious. I need to use the restroom anyway, so I’ll get a closer look.
Thanks, I said as I let out a tired sigh.
I subtly sniffed the air around us, but all I could smell was the coffee a guy was drinking a few seats away from me. I couldn’t tell if those men were shifters or not, and I really hoped that wasn’t the case, because it wasn’t like we could have gone anywhere, or done anything about them.
Then, just to see what these guys did, I found an empty candy wrapper in my pocket, wandered toward the nearest trash can to throw it away, and then returned to my seat.
Alright, yeah, they’re watching you like a fucking hawk, Jesse, Benji said only seconds later. They’ve literally taken a seat not that far away from you, and all three of them watched you throw that trash away.
Great. I slipped down in my seat as I tried to hide my groan.
Are they shifters? Seth asked from the other side of the gate. Because I don’t recall seeing these guys before.
I don’t know, Benji replied. It’s hard for me to tell. But I’m getting a bad vibe, so let’s just pray they’re not.
We couldn’t fight off a threat, and we certainly couldn’t shift, so all we could do was hope these guys didn’t start anything.
But my group and I had taken anosmiacs, so even if they were shifters, it would have been hard for them to tell that we were, too.
