Chapter Thirteen

Venka looked at Noh and chuckled. "She's out."

He smiled. "I know. That was unexpected."

"It was. You didn't have it in you to say no?"

"Absolutely not. If she was in the mood to celebrate our connection, who was I to argue with our little omega."

"She isn't that little."

He grinned. "I am thankful for it. No guilt. She is very definitely a woman. Oh, have you heard from your mother?"

"Oh, yes. She's afraid of our Lya. She is going to offer her the respect of our den's omega, but there aren't going to be a lot of visits from her." Venka smoothed Lya's snowy hair. "She might change her mind when I present her with a granddaughter."

Lya mumbled, "Delun mentioned. I say okay." She rubbed her cheek against Noh.

Venka chuckled. "So, it looks like I get my daughter and an alpha at that."

"What did Tamara think?"

"When I told her that it would make it easier for me to interact with her school, her sports, and her other training, as well as give her access to my enormous family, she was all for it."

Noh chuckled. "She heard about the birthday parties?"

"She did. Something about twenty cousins and more second cousins, who are mostly alphas, is also appealing. It hurts to know they have been on their own for so long."

"They had Lya's mother until two years ago."

Venka sighed. "Do you think the Stronghold really destroyed him?"

"No, but I know that he is dead."

"How do you know that?"

"Because I killed him last night." Noh smiled. "He had no tolerance for venom. We might want to work on that with Tamara."

She smiled. "We will work on it under medical supervision. Iris has a healer, doesn't she?"

"Yes, Oren is very good at it. Do you want to get den photos when she has completely recovered?"

"Absolutely. It is the least my brother's beta can do." She smiled.

"We have to plan a party." Noh smiled.

"We have to get her some jewellery. That's how the omegas in my family show dominance." Venka chuckled softly.

They discussed plans for the birthday on the following Monday. Venka was going to invite her side of the family, and Noh would contact his side and their omegas and betas. Hopefully, a few could make it.

* * * *

When Lya was showered, dressed, and watching the snakes, she let a tear trickle from her eye. Listening and not reacting had taken superhuman effort. She had suspected that the bastard was still alive. Her soul relaxed knowing she would never have to face that monster again, and Tamara wouldn't meet him either.

She smiled at the confirmation that the Omega Centre had been behind her broken arm. Apparently, that fellow had two arms to match her one and a concussion from chatting with Allor.

Lya wiped the tear and went to check on Smudge. She opened the enclosure and lifted the log that Smudge was under. There they were. Eight fat, white, round eggs shaped in a pyramid and wrapped in a snake.

"Aw, sweetie, you have done so well. I will get Allor or Noh. They know where all the stuff is."

She put the log back over the snake and closed the enclosure. Humming, she headed downstairs and found everyone in the living room.

The image of her shoving her ultralight off a cliff and climbing in as it fell had them all silent. The engine roared to life, and she flew toward the final gate while others were taking the water route. Six had started, five were finishing, and they were all aiming for the same goal. The music was tense, loud, and full of energy.

"Uh, I made it through the show if anyone wonders." Lya smiled. "And Smudge has finished laying, so she needs help with her eggs."

Four stunned faces turned toward her, and she paused. "Is there an issue with the blessed event?"

Allor got up and turned her to face the hall as he walked her out of the room and murmured, "I have everything ready for the arrival. They are digesting some of the clips that Ford offered to Venka. More in detail than the commercial spots."

"Oh, that dark blue blabbermouth is going to pay."

Allor laughed. "You are a bit more of a daredevil than your mild-mannered exterior would indicate."

"I have been sedated since I started hanging out with you."

His eyes were wide. "Holy shit. You are right."

"I am also worried, hungry, insecure, and a bunch of other stuff." She flexed her fingers on her broken arm at him. "And I am hobbled."

"Oh, geez. I think we need an assistant or an omega wrangler."

"Funny."

"Not joking. Venka has some family, nephews or nieces, that may be available to be housekeepers and bodyguards."

She wrinkled her nose. "Well, if I actually get some tools and a garage to wreak havoc in, I won't have to run around. I will be more than content to stay here and putter around car engines and play with snakes."

He chuckled. "I will make sure that Noh and Venka are aware. I must say, watching those clips gave me a heart attack."

"It seemed appropriate at the time. If you will note, I had much better muscle tone and body fat ratios during the filming."

"Noted again."

In the solarium, he moved to a cupboard and brought out the materials, a container, and pearlite. "Will you take her to the sink and rinse her off?"

"Yup. I will take Smudge; you take the eggs. Do you have anything for her in the freezer?"

"Yes. Well, I thawed it when we saw the eggs."

She smiled, and they got to it. She sighed with relief when she had Smudge in her arms. She walked with her to the kitchen sink, ran the water to mildly warm, and rinsed off the egg smell. If they didn't do it, Smudge would keep guarding her eggs, even if they weren't there. She wouldn't eat and would lose even more body condition than laying had left her in.

He had set the eggs to one side and quickly removed the substrate from the laying site. He replaced it, and Lya was able to ease her scaly friend into the enclosure. There were a few tongue flicks, and she glided right in.

Allor smiled. "We will deal with the eggs and get them in the incubator. Are you good at dividing them?"

She smiled and carefully palmed an egg, pulling it gently from its brethren. He slid the container of damp pearlite next to her. She nestled the egg in and got to work, being careful to keep them lay-side up.

It took ten minutes to get the eggs situated with marks on the top so that they would know if it rolled over. He marked the container and set the eggs in the incubator. "There we go. The next generation is on the way."

She smiled. "They should be here before the end of summer."

"They should be. We will candle them in a week or two. You checked her for retained eggs?"

"Yes. She's clear. No eggs left behind."

"Great. Now, let's go back and see what kind of a reckless lunatic I have shackled myself to."

Lya frowned. "I am not reckless. I am calculating. The alpha who broke his leg was reckless. The rest of us just tried to win."

"Have you made an ultralight before?" he muttered as they walked back to the living room.

"Three."

He paused. "What?"

"I have built three. All custom builds and all passed by the inspectors."

"I... oh." He paused. "That rather changes things."

"Yeah. When I am at my normal, I am very competent and quite strong."

He nodded. "I look forward to examining your body at regular intervals."

She smiled. "You are welcome to do so."

He took her hand and pulled her to him. "I request the honour of a night with you."

"After dinner? I mean, I am planning to pig out. Could be awkward."

He grinned. "I can wait."

"Tomorrow, Tamara goes to school, but I will be by myself here." She smiled.

"I will be here with you."

"So, does it have to be an evening?"

He laughed and hugged her. "Noh works from home a lot."

"I stand warned."

"You might have more than me to contend with." He stroked her back.

She chuckled and whispered, "Do you bite?"

His lids fluttered, and he swallowed. "I haven't, but I can. Why?"

"How venomous?"

"Extremely."

She shivered and pressed into him. "Good."

"Noh will have to be there."

"Why?"

"He can neutralize my venom if necessary."

"Oh. Handy."

Noh's voice rumbled. "I am not necessary. Venka latched on and stayed on for fifteen minutes. What were you feeling with that, Lya?"

"Oh, uh, a lot." She felt her cheeks pink. "It was like I was dunked in hot honey from the inside out."

Noh muttered, "I can attest to the honey."

Lya blinked and remembered how slick she had been. "Oh. Right."

Allor smiled. "I look forward to experimenting with you."

There was anticipation in his gaze, and she glanced over her shoulder. "Oh, cool. This is where I fall off a cliff."

Their heads whipped toward the screen in the living room, and she was lifted and settled in Allor's lap. Tamara barely glanced over. She was busy staring at Lya clawing her way up a rock face on the screen.

The video focused on her arm slamming down on solid ground, covered with cuts and gouges, but her grin was triumphant as she hauled herself back onto solid ground.

Noh cleared his throat. "How did you learn to climb like that?"

"I improvised. There weren't a lot of options. The alpha drove at me, and I dropped off the cliff, and then I came back up and got to work."

Noh hissed. "If I catch that bastard, I am going to let him know about close calls."

Lya rubbed her forehead. "No, you will not. We were competing, and I wasn't your omega then. I was just a woman who was trying to get a charity some funding. I used the pure rush of it to work through some of the guilt about my mother's death. I wished I had been able to do more, and this particular situation gave me a chance to work some shit out."

She looked at Noh. "You know, like you were afraid for the me of a few months ago who obviously came out of things just fine. It was life here that was dangerous."

Noh opened his mouth and then closed it with a snap. He muttered, "How was Smudge?"

"No retained eggs and glad for the bath. She's owed a warmed rat."

He laughed. "I will attend to it."

Tamara smiled. "That is the part of the snakes I didn't miss."

Lya sighed. "I never made you feed them."

"No, but it was weird to watch."

Noh got up, and Allor said, "It's set up near the incubator."

"Thanks. Don't get up."

"Oh, I won't." Allor chuckled. He wrapped his arms around her hips and buried his face in her hair.

Tamara gasped. "Did you just send Noh to feed your snake?"

Lya looked at the screen and muttered, "Technically, he is feeding his own snake."

Allor murmured in her ear, "I have been doing that for a few days."

Lya elbowed him. "Keep things PG13."

He laughed, turned her head, and kissed her. "So, what are you going to wear to school tomorrow?"

"Me or Tamara? Tamara has a uniform."

Venka smiled. "You will be coming along with us and introducing yourself to the staff. The principal is Delun's sister. After that, I am going to take you for that day of pampering my mother insisted on."

Lya looked at her hands and then at Allor. "Oops. Forgot."

He smiled. "It isn't a problem. There will be other days, other nights."

Lya cocked her head. "What are we having for dinner? If it is takeout, it should be Tamara's choice."

Allor smiled. "Sure. Whatever she wants."

Tamara ticked things off on her fingers. "Fried chicken from Buckies, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, salad, and cherry soda. Mom wants the fried fish from there."

Venka grinned. "I haven't eaten at Buckies in years."

"It's been just over two months for me and Mom." Tamara asked, "So, can we?"

Venka nodded. "We can."

It was settled, and when the wait was ninety minutes, Allor picked Lya up and said, "That's enough time to get a start. Noh is close enough for assistance if it is needed."

Tamara asked, "Where are you going?"

Allor called, "To work up an appetite."

"Ew!"

Lya covered her eyes as Allor moved swiftly through the house. When they were in his room, he sighed. "Sorry to sweep you away, but privacy is going to be scarce in the den. The door isn't locked if you are worried."

"No, not worried. Very glad to be finalizing things with all three den mates on the same day."

His fingers opened the tie of the dress. "Getting things solidified is usually wise."

"Can we try the venom before we get too far along?"

His eyes looked hot. "Of course."

He carefully leaned in and scraped his teeth along her shoulder. She felt a shivering heat moving from the scrapes to her limbs and jumped him. She heard his startled laugh before things went molten hot, and then she stopped listening.

Lya's body was humming and throbbing pleasantly, and she was back in the living room with damp hair and Allor under her in the chair.

Tamara looked at the files that were on the tablet Ford had sent. "What is this one? Biography?"

"Oh. Don't watch that one," Lya sat up and murmured.

Tamara set it up and played it.

Lya watched a biography of her that included the alpha attack, news clippings, and shots of her in physiotherapy learning to move her broken limbs again. Tamara was mentioned as the child was born thirty-eight weeks after the attack.

Lya looked at Tamara and was stricken. "I never meant for you to be part of that."

Tamara cleared her throat. "I used your phone and called him. He edited me in. I don't want you hiding who you are anymore. It's stress you don't need, and I know Grandma was worried about what the neighbours would think, but I don't care. Noh, Venka, and Allor don't care, so we are all good. You can be in the light, Mom. And I am not a secret anymore."

Lya inhaled and exhaled slowly. "If you are sure, I am not hiding you."

Tamara got up and hugged her. "I know. So, new starts all around."

"How old are you? Thirty?"

"Nearly thirteen, Mom. You should remember. You were there."

Lya laughed. "I was, indeed."

Allor hugged her and said, "You went to mechanic's classes in high school?"

"Yes. I am very good. It helped me keep a day job to support the household. Things got more complicated when my mother got sick, but we managed until she died."

The coverage of her circus training was fun, and then, there was Zelle. They flipped, contorted, and did some flying work.

Tamara gasped. "Is that a friend of yours?"

"Yes. That's Zelle."

"She's stunning." Tamara was staring at the paused image of Zelle and Lya leaning against each other, eating ice cream cones.

Lya laughed. "I know. She's completely oblivious to it unless she's feeling frisky. In that case, she has a very specific type."

Venka looked at her and then back at the screen. "You have attractive friends."

"Yes, and she is just as sweet in person. Wait. You met her."

Tamara paused. "Oh, shit. That was her? She looked kind of greeny-grey."

"Just goes to show you that even in an adult woman, pregnancy can be hard on you."

Noh hissed in disapproval. "It's even worse when you have an alpha who would solve the problem."

Lya cocked her head. "Well, he caused it."

"She dodged him for over two months."

Lya sniffed. "She had stuff to do."

Tamara blinked. "You had a friend staying over the garage before you got hurt."

"Yes, I do recall that."

"Was it Zelle?"

"It could have been. I got her in touch with the book club, and she found a better setting for a bit more time. I am guessing that that place was compromised."

Venka keyed into something that no one else had. "How did she find you?"

"She has always been able to find me. We're cousins."

"Wait. You are in the book club?"

Lya nodded. "Yes, I was given information by hospital staff, and I started going once a week, and they helped me get stronger. And everyone loved Tamara. When I got older, my mom took care of her that night. That was when we got into physical training, and they suggested the job of mechanic for me. I was always good with my hands, and I didn't mind getting dirty. The circus training was one of the confidence-building classes we got to take."

Tamara blinked. "Why didn't I know this?"

"It revolved around the incident, and this was something that I started when I was three years older than you are now. If you want to take circus classes, we would have to agree on it. It's a bit dangerous but tons of fun."

Noh looked at her. "That is hardly playing it down."

"Well, if she messes up a drop or catch, she will be off the roster for soccer, so she has to start making decisions."

Tamara blinked. "That isn't fair."

"What isn't fair? That we can spend the next few months getting you limber enough to take the beginner's class over the summer, or that I made you make a choice?"

Tamara opened her mouth and closed it with a snap. "The second one, I guess. I can do both?"

Venka chuckled. "Only if I can do it, too. It looks like fun."

Allor nodded. "Do they do family classes?"

Lya blinked. "Yeah. It just costs a bit extra. Why?"

Noh smiled. "It would be an excellent team-building experience."

She looked at him and blushed. "Um, right. Well, I can give you the number to call. If you want to make it more than just family, you could ask Denel and Bennet and their family to come along."

Tamara paused. "Um, no. I would like it just to be us."

The alphas and Allor all looked happy.

Venka checked the time. "I am going to grab the dinner. I will be back in fifteen."

Tamara scrambled to her feet. "I'm coming, too, please."

Venka smiled. "Ask your mom."

Tamara smiled. "Can I go with her?"

"Yes, but Venka, no matter how much she begs, don't let her drive."

Venka grinned and walked over to give Lya a kiss. "I won't."

"She's a gear head in the making. This is just the nymph stage." She winked.

The two alphas sprinted out of the house, laughing.

Lya turned to Allor. "Thank you for not being an alpha. I am still outnumbered, but it isn't as absolute. And yes, I know that a delta is nearly the same."

Noh asked, "Why didn't you mention you had family?"

"Ah. Zelle. She was put in custody when she was an infant for profound neglect. Her parents drank themselves into a stupor, and Zelle nearly died." She sighed. "My mom wanted to take her in, but she was a single mother herself, and they didn't want to give her another baby to deal with."

"When did you meet?"

"She was adopted by a family with an alpha and his beta. They gave her an excellent upbringing. She ran into a grabby alpha when she was fifteen, and we ended up at the book club on Thursday nights and then again at circus training. One of the alphas pointed out that we smelled the same, so since she knew she was adopted, she asked her parents and found her records. Cousins."

She looked at Noh and shrugged. "She's a crafter of the highest order. That is why she was tapped for the show. We hugged when we saw each other, but they didn't know we were related until we told them. Then it became a hidden joke."

She looked at the screen. "You might want to release the pause because you don't want us burned into the television."

Noh smiled. "Who says?"

Allor turned her head and kissed her, stroking her tongue with his.

Noh laughed, and they sat kissing and cuddling until the chicken arrived. She was holding out for fish.