Fated Forgiveness [Kindred of Arkadia 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour ManLove) (10 page)

dropped. Around them everyone started whispering. Liam knew that in becoming Lachlan’s sole heir, his

father had been disowned and he was next in line for the council seat.

When he looked up, he stared into his grandfather’s eyes. He saw sadness, which he knew came from

having to turn his back on his only child, but there was more than sadness. There was a look of immense

love in the old man’s gaze, that maybe being older and mated, he finally recognized.

“I am honored to be your heir, though I don’t think I am worthy of it.” Liam said stepping out of his

mates’ embrace to stand tall.

“You’re not getting out of the council seat that easily, you lazy cat. I happen to know that one of your

mates can shift into a cat larger than you, I can always get him to help me keep you in line,” his grandfather

said drolly, winking at Sebastian. Everyone started to laugh.

“Hurry up!” Rian said to Bran and Caleb who seemed to be struggling to carry the largest cake Liam had

ever seen. They placed it on the empty table that was set up next to other tables laden with food.

In bold blue icing the message read,

Congratulations, Sebastian and Kent!! Thank you for taking care of our Alpha. Welcome Home!

Congratulations on your mating, Alpha! From your family, with love.

Liam heard sniffles and saw that both mates were crying. He pulled them into a three way hug.

“See, you have your family, my love. They were there the entire time,” Kent whispered.

“Love?” Sebastian squeaked. Kent blushed in their little huddle and nodded.

“I love you both so much!” Sebastian threw his arms around Kent and practically attacked his face,

giving him a passionate kiss before grabbing Liam.

“What did I say about molesting your mates? Save it for later.” Rian grinned and pulled Liam out of

their arms, giving him a huge hug.

“You can’t do this to me when I’m pregnant!” Rebecca said tearfully as she tried to wrap her arms

around Rian and Liam, failing miserably.

“How do I know these tears are real, you little actress?” Liam joked. Rebecca looked up and her eyes

narrowed before she deliberately wiped her nose down Liam’s shirt sleeve.

“There’s snot when I cry for real,” she said looking up. Liam stared down at his sleeve in horror.

“Ugh that’s disgusting!” He bellowed. Hearing laughter, he looked up to see Aleks bent over, holding his

stomach.

“You should have known better than to ask,” Aleks guffawed.

“Might as well take it off anyway, Liam, this is a pool party!” Rebecca yelled.

“Whoo hoo! Take it off, Alpha!” She heard another female voice yell, and Liam and Rebecca turned to

see Kate waving at them as Bran and Caleb frowned, holding the boys.

Laughing, Liam winked at his mates. He took a step forward and slowly he began to peel off his snotty

shirt. He turned so that he could watch his mates’ expressions. As his arms lifted he made sure to tighten his

abs, displaying his eight-pack to its fullest advantage. He pulled the shirt off over his head and strutted

around, shaking his ass at Kate. He saw Kent swallow hard and Sebastian whimper.

“You’re a sexy bitch, Liam!” Kate yelled, pushing her growling mates away, rolling her eyes. In their

arms Landon and Lucas giggled and waved.

“I take back all the mean things I said about you after the council met with that asshole wolf Alpha,”

Rebecca said, hugging his grandfather around the waist when he walked up. Lachlan looked down at

Rebecca, an amused expression on his face.

“Thank you, my dear. You really can’t shoot everyone that aggravates you, trust me, there wouldn’t be

many people left.” He dropped a kiss on her cheek and she blushed, which had Aleks growling. Rebecca

began to fan her heated face.

“Kent, Sebastian, you are lucky. If Liam takes after his grandfather you know he’ll look hot when he

gets older. I mean, damn,” Rebecca said, grinning.

“I second that. Elder Lachlan, you are definite eye candy.” Kate said, walking up with Landon in her

arms, her mates and Lucas behind her.

“What’s a poor old man like me to do? All of you delectable young women are mated. It just breaks this

old man’s heart.” Lachlan pouted and both women crooned “aw,” before leaning in at the same time to kiss

him on either side of his face. The old man patted their butts familiarly as their mates snarled behind them.

Liam’s cheeks were starting to ache from smiling so much. He had never seen this playful side to his

grandfather before. Maybe he did take after him more than he thought. Kate and Rebecca were giggling

outrageously at something Lachlan had said, Liam shook his head.

“Elder, a word?” a familiar gravelly voice demanded. Everyone turned around, and from the shocked

expressions Liam knew he wasn’t the only one surprised to see Mr. Gilberton at the party. Lachlan

straightened his shoulders and stepped back from the two women, who glared at Gilberton.

“Of course, Frances. Ladies, I will be right back.” Lachlan winked and stepped away from the crowd

with Gilberton to a corner of the backyard.

“I’m surprised he’s here,” Liam said, staring at his grandfather.

“I’m not. That old man loves you to distraction. I think you have projected the way your father always

treated you on to him,” Rian said, eating a piece of cake.

“He’s dreamy,” Kate sighed.

“He’s just so…you know?” Rebecca asked. Rian and Kate nodded. Aleks, Caleb and Bran shook their

heads, not understanding.

“It’s not his position, he just wears his power around him. Like Gabriel. Super hot,” Rian added,

sipping the punch.

“Thank you, I think,” Gabriel said, stepping into their circle with Ashby.

“My man is super hot, though.” Ashby smiled.

“We need to find me one,” Nic said.

“Mee ruu,” Rian said with a mouthful of cake. He quickly chewed. “Me too!” he repeated.

“Gabriel, thanks for coming. Did you bring anyone from your coven?” Liam asked.

Gabriel was just about to answer when a gut-vibrating roar echoed through the back yard, followed by

complete silence. Liam looked over and his grandfather stood toe-to-toe with Gilberton. His long, thick,

grey hair billowed about his head and shoulders like a full mane. Liam couldn’t stop the answering roar

from erupting from his own throat, which was echoed by his pride.

“I will not discuss this with you or anyone else again. Get out of my sight!” Lachlan roared. Gilberton,

seemingly against his will by the way his body moved in jerks, bared his throat before turning and quickly

walked away. The gate shut behind him and utter silence floated like a miasma amongst the party goers.

Out of nowhere a tiny roar was heard, echoed by a second one, both from little throats. Kate and Caleb

stared down at Landon and Lucas. Both boys released teeny roars again. A booming and rolling laugh

erupted from Lachlan. Everywhere people began to chuckle and laugh as the tension dissipated.

Lachlan walked over and simply plucked Landon from Kate’s arms.

“Who is this little fellow?” He asked.

“This is Landon, and that is his brother Lucas. They belong to Caleb, Kate and Bran,” Liam supplied.

Lachlan tickled the boy, evoking squeals.

“Babies are a blessing. You have a beautiful family,” Lachlan said, handing the boy back to Kate.

“Thank you, Elder,” Kate replied, blushing.

“Snow leopard, if this old nose can be trusted. So few of them are left. They are true treasures.” Lachlan

sighed.

“Lions may soon join them in facing extinction, so few females are being born. That’s why prides like

this are important. With fewer females, traditional prides are just not working anymore. When I was

travelling and visiting different prides, I was approached by another cat group who was completely

comprised of gay males. They were all different types of cats, that had come together to keep each other

safe. They came to me to ask my advice about finding mates.” Lachlan smiled.

“I told them to find a local witch to see if she can help locate their mates. I hope it works out for them,

they were good men.” Lachlan shook his head.

“You should have brought them here! I’m never going to find a mate!” Rian lamented. Liam chuckled.

He knew that wouldn’t stop the man from going through all the frogs to find his prince.

“Rian, why don’t you and Damian head to Johnny’s tomorrow and get new phones, my treat, for

arranging this amazing party,” Liam offered. Rian’s eyes went wide. The man squealed and threw himself

into Liam’s arms.

“You are the bestest Alpha ever, I lurves you!” he said before immediately detaching to go over and tell

Damian the good news.

“Prince Gabriel, it’s good to see you. How do you like life in Arkadia?” Lachlan asked.

“My vampires are more relaxed than I have ever seen them. I never realized how much they worried

about my safety. I’d be more comfortable if the townspeople warmed up to us more. I only brought Daniel

and David tonight since they are the least threatening and they seem to have made some headway with the

people already,” Gabriel admitted.

“It will take time. All our lives we were told that the perimeter was put into place to keep us safe from

vampires. To others it may seem like they aren’t safe here in Arkadia anymore. People don’t react well

when their sense of well-being is threatened,” Liam offered.

“Well said, grandson. Yet another reason why you are my choice as heir, you aren’t held back by

preconceived notions from our past. You look at a problem from all angles before making a decision. You

have never followed any train of thought simply because that is the way things have always been,” Lachlan

said proudly.

“Actually, the perimeter was only supposed to keep out humans. That was the original intention,”

Gabriel said. Everyone turned to stare.

“You were there, weren’t you?” Kent asked excitedly. Rebecca also leaned forward a light in her eyes.

“We have been combing through the town’s archives for months trying to find more information about

the perimeter, and we have practically an expert right here!” Kent exclaimed, slapping his forehead.

Rebecca shook her head.

“I didn’t think about it either, so don’t beat yourself up about it.” She turned to Gabriel. “What can you

tell us about the perimeter? There is nothing, absolutely nothing in the history books prior to the town being

founded,” Rebecca asked breathlessly.

Gabriel smiled softly and sighed. He pointed to a nearby picnic table. Everyone took a seat as Caleb

went to find Ma and Pa. Sebastian was practically vibrating in his seat next to Liam. He looked up and

caught Liam staring at him. He grinned sheepishly.

“I love stories,” he admitted.

“You are so adorable.” Liam leaned in and kissed his mate. Both mates looked on the other side of Liam

where Kent sat, his elbows on his knees, a rapt expression in his face as he waited for Gabriel to begin.

Sebastian and Liam smiled at each other.

Ma and Pa arrived, walking quickly. They sat down and Gabriel launched into his story.

“Thousands of years ago, shifters were not organized the way they are now. They lived amongst

humans openly. Some thought them to be demigods, and they were treated well. Some humans thought that

shifters were from the Underworld and were to be destroyed. The minds of men were fickle, and their

attitudes were based on how well the crops were doing and how prosperous the village was. I miss the

simple life that ancient Greece offered.” Gabriel looked lost in thought for a moment before he continued.

“The original council members numbered fourteen.”

“But there are only thirteen now,” Rebecca interrupted.

“I’ll get to that.” Gabriel smiled gently at Rebecca, who blushed.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. He patted her knee.

“Originally there were fourteen council member seats. Seven seats were held by the Arkadions. They

were thought to be the first shifter family, descended from Arcas, son of Callisto. Callisto was said to have

been turned into a bear by the jealous mother goddess Hera, creating the first form of shifters.

“The Arkadions held seven seats, one for each son. The other seven were held by Elders of each major

animal group. Wolf, Lion, Hyena, Eagle, Badger, Horse and Whale. The Wolf spoke for all canines, the Lion

for all felines, the Hyena for all scavengers, the Eagle for those who flew the skies, the Badger for the forest

animals, the Horse for the herd animals, and the Whale spoke for all water creatures.

“Each group wanted to create whole cities and communities to keep their people safe. They approached

the Alpha Mother at the time, Selena, the only human until Rebecca to be mated to an Arkadion. Her best

friend Celeste was the most powerful witch in the world. Selena asked Celeste to help create a perimeter for

the shifter communities to keep out humans and keep them hidden. These towns would be home to all

paranormals.” Gabriel sighed.

“Something bad happened, didn’t it?” Rebecca asked. Gabriel nodded.