He didn't make any grand promises or swear he would fix me. He met me where I was, in an assless exterminator's suit.
"Okay, Wyatt. I'll try."
I ate a little more before Wyatt moved the tray to his dresser and laid down beside me. He held me tightly, his palm roaming over my body like he was double-checking that I was there, all of me. When his fingers found my cock, half-erect, he squeezed.
He pumped me once and then again, drawing a hiss from between my lips.
"I should've told you before," he whispered as he played with my body. "I love you, Kansas. I'm over the moon about you being pregnant. I know we have more questions than answers right now, but it won't always be like this."
That was what I was worried about, but with Wyatt's hand on my dick, I found I didn't have enough energy to keep worrying. Not when I hurtled so quickly to ecstasy. Bringing me pleasure was effortless to him, and while I still didn't know what tomorrow would bring, I knew who I'd be laying next to when it came.
Chapter Thirteen
Wyatt
Kansas sat back down at the small kitchen table we used for regular meals. Most mornings, the whole house wasn't up and eating at the same exact time. Phineas and Riley sat at the table with him, each feeding a child while Branson, Nash, and Aver stood around the island.
Kansas was still coming to terms with his new state. We'd taken a few more tests to be sure. Each had come back positive, and it was as if finding out he was pregnant had unleashed a host of symptoms he should've already been experiencing. Frequent bathroom trips was one of those symptoms.
He sat down in front of his nearly untouched bowl of oatmeal, and Phineas nudged Kansas's spoon as a gentle reminder. He grabbed it and scooped the oats onto his spoon. I'd packed the bowl with raisins, brown sugar, and milk, since Kansas also didn't seem to want to eat anything with any nutritional value.
I flipped the bacon I was making for the rest of us and for his second course and turned back around, balancing my hip on the counter as I watched Kansas. He looked so cute in his borrowed suit. When Riley had told him he could wear it for today's ceremony, Kansas had had tears in his eyes. He wasn't used to kindness, that was clear. And that would change.
"What else should I remember?" he asked, not directing his question to one of us in particular. "I know to call your great-grandfather Alpha, and I can't look at him or touch him. No trouble there." His eyes widened. "Do you think they're still mad about…" He pursed his lips together and made a loud sucking noise.
"They'll be cautious about that. Nana said she didn't tell them what you'd told us, so they don't know completely what the extent of your abilities are," Aver said, looking pointedly from Kansas to his bowl of oatmeal.
Kansas sat a little straighter and grabbed his spoon again. He abruptly turned to me, knocking his bowl off the table in the process.
Branson dove for it, managing to catch the bowl, inches from the floor, without spilling the contents.
"I'm sorry," Kansas said quickly. "I had a thought, though. Since they're all wolves… they aren't… anti-cat, right?"
"No more than the rest of us," I said with my back turned. Someone, I imagined maybe Riley, threw a napkin at the back of my head.
"You aren't helping," Riley scolded me. "These are a lot of the same questions I had, Kansas. These pack functions are daunting, but I've been to a few now, and as long as you stay close to us, everything will be fine. I won't let you put your foot in your mouth."
"I wish you would put something in your mouth, though." I lifted the bacon from the pan and set it on a stack of paper towels to drain.
None of us minded Kansas's questions, and we all understood his nerves. Once again, my brother and cousins were being dragged back into pack business, kicking and screaming. Only this time, we needed to buy ourselves more time.
I portioned out the bacon and cracked a few eggs into the same pan, leaving them to sizzle as I went around the kitchen island and grabbed Kansas's spoon. I fed him while he continued to ask Riley what would be expected of him.
"Most of the rules won't apply to you because you aren't a shifter," Riley said.
Kansas frowned but then smiled. Every emotion he felt was televised on his face. "I can be grateful for that at least."
I passed him his spoon and went back to the stove, turning off the heat from the pan. When I turned back around, Kansas was asking Riley another question while Nash fed him like I just had.
Phineas smiled, laughing as I stomped over and yanked the spoon from Nash. "That's my job."
Nash just laughed while Kansas looked shocked that the wrong twin had been feeding him.
"Eat up," I grunted to the others, handing them each a plate. "We leave in an hour."
***
Normally, pack ceremonies took place in the field. Alpha Walker had requested we begin our period of observation in the shadow of the mansion he'd grown up in. A fire had recently made the majority of the large home unfit for living, but construction had begun immediately after the destruction had been cleared away.
To the gentle sounds of whirring electric saws and pounding hammers, we stood side by side, shoulder to shoulder in the muddy expanse that used to be a lawn.
Behind us, a small group formed, not nearly as many who had come out for Tyrone and his family's loyalty pledging ceremony. It certainly seemed like the pack as a whole was as excited for the small role we assumed today as we were.
The representatives from the other packs were there, all but Darren, who I hadn't seen since Tyrone had flattened him for disrespecting Nana.
Tyrone stood to the side of the main group with Paul, Nana, and Mom. That was another thing I didn't like. My father's face had gone red the moment he spotted his soon-to-be-ex-wife, and he hadn't looked away for more than a few seconds. I wasn't fooled into believing there was any love there. Not real love, anyway. John loved a person for as long as they did what he wanted. My mom had made him look weak when she'd left. And he wouldn't sit for that for very much longer.
I believed every threat he wagered her way.
"A cautious wolf lives another day," Alpha Walker said to the crowd. He stood facing us with the elders on either side of him. "Joining a new pack is a decision that should not be made rashly or under duress."
I nearly snorted at that.
"Which is why we offer this time of observation to the discerning wolf. I will not ask for your pledges at this time but will reward you with limited amnesty, during which you are expected to immerse yourself in our ways."
Delia's satisfied smirk only grew tighter by the moment. At least Aver's parents looked appropriately bored, but their faces always looked that way.
There hadn't been a lot of conversation between the four of us cousins about what we would do during this, other than get it over with. We knew why we were here, what the end goal was, and what we absolutely had no intention of doing.
Aver had called this a means to an end. I just hoped it wasn't the means to our end.
"Remembering this, we do not punish caution but reward it. Stand forward and bow, Branson Walker."
When Branson didn't move, I looked down the line of us to him. Aver and Nash did the same.