Chapter Four

With his mate safely dropped off at the diner and food for the two expecting pains in the ass, Kalen made his way home.

He was still amazed he had set out for breakfast with Quinton this morning, thinking it would be just another ordinary day, only to meet his mate within five minutes of sitting down.

Delta was absolutely breathtaking.

Already he missed his mate, and they'd only been apart twenty minutes. Never before had Kalen felt such intense pleasure from simply spending time with someone, just enjoying each other's company.

At times, Kalen had to restrain himself from reaching out and pulling the slender man onto his lap, just so he could run his hands through his soft hair and shower him with kisses.

The combination of Delta's scent mixed with the aroma of the banana nut muffin and the natural surroundings only amplified Kalen's arousal. But it wasn't just physical desire that drove him. He could have spent the entire day and night talking to Delta.

They'd made plans to go on a ride as soon as his mate's shift was over, and Kalen couldn't wait to spend even more time with him.

Which left him with roughly four hours to handle whatever business he needed to, then shower and head back to the diner.

No sooner had he pulled into the driveway and parked than Damon burst out of the house with his belly leading the way. Elvine was following close behind, struggling to keep up.

As much as Kalen loved his son, he was still having a difficult time reconciling Damon's image with the swollen stomach in front of him.

Despite knowing men could become pregnant in their world, it was still a bizarre sight.

"How could you leave us starving?"

she whined as if there wasn't a scrap of food in the house. Just a few days ago, Kalen and Jaytee had gone grocery shopping and stocked the kitchen with plenty of food.

It just wasn't anything these two wanted right now.

While Kalen was excited to become a grandfather, he couldn't wait for them to have their pups already. He couldn't remember his wife being this whiny or irritable during either of her pregnancies.

"How were you starving?"

Damon scowled at her. "You ate the breakfast Jax made and an entire plate of fruit Arion painstakingly cut for you."

"And you devoured all the leftovers from last night's dinner, along with the five-course breakfast Casimir sweated on for you earlier,"

she fired back.

"Sweated over ."

Damon slapped the back of his right hand onto his left palm. "Waddle your tiny butt back inside and I'll bring the food in."

Kalen turned and grabbed the two bags of Styrofoam containers from one of his saddlebags, ready to shoot himself in the head if he had to listen to one more second of their bickering. He was a laid-back guy who was hard to ruffle, but Damon and Elvine were testing his patience to the limit.

"What took you so long?"

Damon asked in a more civil tone, eyeing the bags in Kalen's hands.

"Last I checked, I was neither married to you nor had I become your child,"

he said testily. "Now, if you two would be so kind as to scootch your bellies out of my way, I can get inside the house."

Kalen was taken aback when Elvine's eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "Damon ate my peanut butter cookies."

Jesus. Damon and Elvine were the ones pregnant, yet it felt as if Kalen was the one suffering from the end results.

"You left them on the kitchen table, brat,"

Damon said evenly. "My pup wanted them."

"And mine wanted them, too."

She slapped his arm.

With a sigh, Kalen turned and headed back to his motorcycle as the two continued to argue. Pulling out his phone, he sent a group text to Casimir and Jax, telling them to come get their mates before he blew a gasket.

Then he reached into his other saddlebag and retrieved the grocery bag containing three mega packs of peanut butter cookies and a pound of gummy bears.

That should tie Damon over for the rest of the day, but it might take Elvine until tomorrow morning to eat through this new stash, which was no longer designated as a stash.

"Are those cookies?"

Elvine licked her lips, and her meadow-green eyes lit up, her beautiful fairy wings fluttering.

Jax walked onto the porch and scooped her up into his arms, careful of her wings. "What have I told you about bickering with Damon, ma petite ?"

"He ate all my cookies!"

she grumbled loudly. "Our little pup/fae/vampire wanted those!"

Any time Jax called her ma petite , Kalen's heart pinched a little. It was what their mother used to called them when the boys were mere pups. It felt good to hear the term used in their home again.

"Is everything okay?"

Jax asked as Elvine extended her arms, greedily reaching for the bags in Kalen's hands.

"Yeah. Why?"

Kalen handed Elvine the bags with her food and cookies then turned and handed Damon his as Jaytee, Damon's twin, walked outside.

"Casimir asked me to wrangle you inside,"

Jaytee said to Damon, snatching the bag with the gummy bears from his twin. "Sweet. I was hoping you got some more of these."

Damon glared at him. " You're the one who's been eating them,"

he snarled. "I crawled all over Casimir last night when I found the last bag was empty!"

"One, crawling all over him is what got you knocked up in the first place."

Jaytee grinned, taking a step back with the plastic bag in hand. "Two, if you want them, wobble your ass over here and get them."

Kalen looked between the twins, the contrast between them never more noticeable than now. It was like looking at the "before pregnancy"

image of Damon and the "currently pregnant"

version of his son. He kept glancing between the two. Flat stomach, swollen belly. Flat stomach, swollen belly.

Kalen wasn't sure if he was simply having fun with the differences or if he was trying to merge the two versions in his mind like some strange optics to play with.

"Dad?"

His name sounded like a simple question on his son's lips.

He glanced at Jax, thankful his eldest boy had forced Kalen's gaze to stop ping-ponging between the twins.

Since all three of his sons stood there, Kalen announced, "I was late because I spent the morning with my mate."

Damon and Jaytee fell silent as everyone on the porch stared wide-eyed at him. Even Elvine stopped trying to rip open a pack of her cookies. Her lips parted, and she blinked several times.

"Did you just say your mate ?"

Jax asked.

Kalen was getting a kick out of their shocked expressions and decided to have a bit of fun with them. "Or it could've been just some hot little number I was trying to reel into my bed."

He ran his fingers over his long beard, acting as if he had to think hard. "Now which one was it?"

Elvine squealed and jerked around in Jax's arms until he set her on her feet. She flew on her wings at Kalen and hugged him, her swollen belly pressing into his gut. "Who is he?"

she asked excitedly as she pulled back to look at him. "Or is your mate a woman?"

Kalen grinned so wide his cheeks strained. "A male."

Her eyes sparkled. " What's his name? What species is he? Just how hot is he? I wanna meet Daddy Frost. Why isn't he with you?"

She pressed her nose against his, her tone switching from excitement to a tiny growl. "Is he good enough for you, or do we have our work carved out for us?"

Damon didn't even correct her, which told Kalen how shocked his son was.

No one said a word, like they were waiting for him to answer her questions.

"Sweetest thing."

Kalen stopped himself from sounding dreamily. "Prettiest green-gray eyes."

She growled. "I need more details, Kalen. You can't just blurt out you found your mate and leave us…"

"Hanging,"

he provided.

"Who is he?"

Jaytee asked.

"What species?"

Jax chimed in.

Damon opened the screen door. "Casimir, get your ass out here. My dad found his mate!"

he shouted, his tone laced with excitement.

It was Raidh, Jaytee's mate, who ran outside, appearing shocked as he looked all around Kalen. "Where is she?"

Since Kalen had been married to a woman and had kids, it was only natural to assume his mate would also be female.

" He ,"

Elvine corrected as she took Raidh's hands and let out another squeal.

Raidh chuckled at his best friend then glanced at Kalen. "Why isn't he with you?"

"What's his name?"

Elvine asked again.

Filled with pride, Kalen replied, "Delta, and he's human."

Elvine's smile faltered, but she wasn't the only one taken aback by this news. Everyone's expression became uneasy as they stared at him.

"Human?"

Jax frowned. "Does he know about—"

He circled his finger to encompass everyone. "Us?"

"If he doesn't, man, is he going to freak the fuck out."

Damon grinned while pointing to his belly. He opened the door again and shouted, "Casimir, we need to stock up on liquor and smelling salts! Where in the hell are you? Get out here. You're missing this."

"So is Arion,"

Jax pointed out. "Can we take this inside so he can share in the good…or not so good, news?"

The small vampire had a special place in Kalen's heart. When Jax discovered he had two mates, one was an emaciated vampire who had been tortured for decades, constantly denied feedings.

It had been Kalen's pleasure to kill the son of a bitch who'd kept Arion as a "pet"

and allowed his own son to physically and mentally abuse the small vampire.

Thankfully, Arion had been slowly putting on some weight over the past two months. Kalen hadn't asked why he w asn't putting the weight on faster, because it was none of his business.

Jax knew what was best for his own mate, and Kalen trusted his son's and Elvine's judgments.

Which made him think of the conversation he'd overheard in the bakery. Throughout their time in the park, Delta hadn't spoken a word about it, and Kalen wanted to know what kind of trouble his mate was in.

Casimir finally joined them, appearing frazzled while holding a stick in each hand. "Assembling a changing table shouldn't be this difficult. I've fought battles less complicated than the instructions that came with it."

Kalen wanted to offer his help, but he understood there were some tasks an expecting father wanted to do on their own.

He just hoped the fae warrior got it right. Kalen didn't want his grandchild to be placed on something unsafe. Once the table was finished, Kalen would discreetly double-check to make sure everything was put together properly and all the bolts were secure.

The morning everyone had been in the kitchen and discovered Damon was pregnant, Kalen had known right away he wanted to build a crib for his grandchild, just like he had done for his own pups when they were born.

However, he hadn't directly asked Damon to let him build it, because he didn't want his son to feel obligated.

Instead, he'd subtly hinted at it and was pleased when Damon proudly agreed. But he wasn't going to present the cribs until both were completely finished.

Kalen had already completed one crib, which he had personally built by hand, and was nearly finished with the second one.

"The table can wait,"

Damon said. "My dad found his mate."

Casimir glanced at Kalen. "Since he isn't here with you, I can assume you're also facing your own complications?"

"He's human,"

Jax chimed in.

"I'm so sorry,"

Casimir replied nonchalantly, as if they were discussing a minor inconvenience like rain ruining a picnic.

Damon grabbed the changing table legs out of Casimir's hands. "Stop being stuck on the table and focus. Delta is human. My pumpkin seed has grown into an actual pumpkin in my temporary oven. How are we going to explain that or the fact three of you have wings and pointy ears, and two people in the house have fangs and drink blood?"

When everyone started talking at once, Kalen headed upstairs. All he'd done was announce he'd found his mate. It was everyone else who wanted to panic.

But Casimir hadn't been far off the mark. Kalen's gut told him there were complications, aside from explaining everything to Delta about the preternatural world and their connection to each other. Something was going on with his mate, and Kalen was determined to get to the bottom of Delta's problems.

* * * *

As everyone brainstormed ways to help Delta cope with the preternatural world, Jax watched his father walk upstairs. A nagging feeling tugged at his gut, telling him something was troubling his dad.

For as long as Jax could remember, his father had been a pillar of strength and support for their family, sacrificing so much without asking for anything in return. And when each of his sons found their mates, Kalen had been there for them every step of the way. If there was anything bothering his dad, Jax wanted to offer his support and whatever else Kalen might need.

He followed his dad, rapped lightly on the door, and waited.

When it opened, Kalen stood there with a half-smile. "Not really looking for advice, son."

Jax stepped inside as his dad headed toward his dresser. "Not here to give you any,"

he replied, closing the door behind him and leaning against it with crossed arms. "But I know you too well, Dad. Something's weighing on your mind."

Kalen glanced at him before turning back to his dresser and opening one of the drawers. "So, you're here as an investigative reporter then?"

His entire life Jax had always admired and respected Kalen, looked up to him and wanted to be just like him. While other boys idolized wrestlers or movie stars, Jax and his brothers idolized their father.

Kalen was the epitome of strength and resilience, rarely asking for help but always willing to lend a hand to others. Jax had been old enough when his mother was killed to remember how Kalen had buried his own grief in order to help his sons through theirs.

But at night, when everyone else was asleep, Kalen had allowed himself to grieve. Many nights Jax would lie in bed and hear his father quietly crying from his own room.

It was then that he understood the depth of the man's pain and knew he missed their mother just as much as they did.

And it only made Jax admire and love him even more.

"We're a close-knit family who support each other. We don't push everyone away when things get tough."

Jax recited the words Jaytee had said when Damon was going through some life-altering bullshit and kept everyone at arm's length. "Pretending something isn't wrong is not how our family works."

"I don't think I've told you lately how proud I am of you, son."

Kalen turned toward him, a pair of socks in his hand. Socks? Oh yeah, his dad's mind was definitely distracted. "You've grown into an amazing man."

"And you've grown into a secretive one,"

Jax countered. "Don't try to distract me with compliments."

Though he was preening on the inside at his dad's praise. "I'm hip to what you're doing, old man."

"Jax, I'm not being secretive,"

his dad replied. "I have a suspicion something is going on with Delta, but no concrete proof."

"What made you suspect a problem in the first place?"

He listened as his dad told him about the conversation he'd overheard at the bakery when his mate was in the bathroom.

Jax ran his fingers through his beard. "So, he was dragged into something he didn't want to be dragged into, had his arm physically twisted, and is adamant about not going back somewhere."

"That about sums it up."

Kalen tossed the socks back into the drawer. "And what do you think everyone downstairs would have done if I'd mentioned the conversation to them?"

That was a no-brainer. The twins would have argued that Delta needed to be kidnapped and brought home so he could be protected, even if the human didn't want to be rescued. Casimir would hunt down whoever Leo was and run his blade through him, while Raidh and Elvine would put some kind of hex on the offender.

Honestly, he wasn't sure what Arion would have done. His mate was doing much better since he was no longer under Ozel's and Akai's thumbs, but the little vampire still had a long way to go.

Even after two months, it was hard to get Arion to feed regularly because he'd been so used to starving.

"Chaos,"

Jax answered.

Kalen gave a firm nod. "I promise, if I need help, I'll ask for it."

All Jax could do was trust his dad at his word and pray they weren't about to go through more shit now that another mate was found.

* * * *

When Thane had given him that bitter-ass concoction to drink, Leo had seriously doubted it would work. In fact, he would have bet his last dollar it would kill him instead.

But, so far, Whichello hadn't found him, so the concoction must have really masked Leo's whereabouts. It was just unfortunate Whichello had found Thane and ripped him apart. The dumb fuck should have drunk some of his own potion.

If Thane had been that stupid, he'd deserved to die. The only reason Leo was pissed was because he hadn't had a chance to get more of that potion or whatever it was called.

Originally, there had been six of them, including Leo, who had been the only human. Thane had been a demon—his body parts were more than likely floating in that black river in the demon realm—another demon, a vampire, a hyena shifter, and… Leo had never been able to figure out what the last guy had been, and no one would tell him.

The ugly bastard's skin had held a tint of gray, and his eyes had been so off-putting that Leo tried his best to never glance his way.

Now, out of the six, only Leo remained, Whichello picking them off one by one for robbing him of three million dollars. Every last one in Leo's group had been screwed over by Whichello in one form or the other, and had agreed to rob the demon.

But Leo had a plan that might save his life. He just needed his bitch of a nephew to bring his ass home. If the boy had wised up and taken off, Leo would have no other choice but to track him down and drag his ass, kicking and screaming, back to the demon realm.