The Vampire's Bat (3 page)

Ryker started to snicker. “Uh,
Alphy
?”
he asked as he kept his sights on the screen of his laptop.

“Yes, Rye?”

“Our cute little delivery guy from last week is back.
He’s just now getting out of his van.”

“You mean the one who gave Enzo flowers?”
Kace
asked, eagerly.

“Yep.
Looks like he has another bouquet.
Oh, and they are lovely.”

Everyone heard the doorbell ring. “
So
, is there anything else?”
Alphy
asked, looking around the room. Hearing nothing,
Alphy
dismissed them.

Seamus followed e
veryone
to the lobby. Tom was at the door when they arrived. He turned around.
“Oh good.
Enzo, looks like you got another delivery.”

Enzo swung the door open wider and stared at the
beaming deliveryman, Dylan, if the name on his shirt was correct.

“Hi, Mr. Boyce.
I’ve got another delivery for you.” He held up the
arrangement in his hands. “These are camellias, and they mean admiration to a
man. The pink ones mean ‘longing for you’ and the white ones mean ‘you’re
adorable’.”

Seamus watched
Enzo
take
the offered arrangement and
blindly
reach into his pocket, not looking at what
bill he grabbed, and hand it to the man. “I don’t suppose you can tell me who’s
sending these?”

“No, sir.
Have a great day.” Dylan turned and trotted back to his vehicle and started
back down the driveway, disappearing into the tree line.

“Now what am I going to do with these?” Enzo groused
irritably.

“Why don’t you leave them here by the door on the
little table? It’s a beautiful arrangement to greet everyone as they arrive
today,” Betty offered. Enzo
nodded at
the
suggestion but took the card before heading outside.
Seamus couldn’t help but be amused.

Throughout the day, as more members of the pack
arrived, the sounds of laughter and the smell of the meat on the grill filled
the air. The day was indeed hot, but Seamus watched as everyone was staying
hydrated. Just after noon, Gavin approached him.

“Hey, Doc.
I don’t know if you wanted to know, but I’m heading out to switch shifts with
Henry. My animal may not be as fast as Henry’s, but everyone knows not to mess
with us badgers, so she’ll be safe on my watch.”

“Oh, thank you, Gavin. I have never seen your badger.
What breed is it?”

“European.
He’s a cute little guy.” Gavin playfully winked over his wide grin, provoking a
laugh out of Seamus. “I’ll see you later this evening. I’ve got orders not to
leave until she wakes, so no telling the exact time that will be.” Gavin turned
and trotted towards the tree line. Seamus watched until Gavin was completely
out of sight. He was entirely tempted to follow to see the bat, but restrained
himself. Instead, he made his way over to the new play set.

He carefully watched the kids as he approached. There
were several minors of all ages, including Reese and Paul, who were playing
with the kids, on the large redwood stained cedar set. The arrangement was
large and had many features. It had a swing set, slide, monkey bars, a rock
wall, rope ladder, a play deck with a swinging tire underneath, and a green
vinyl canopy over the top of the play deck. Currently, Reese was hanging upside
down on the monkey bars, making faces at a girl who, if Seamus remembered
right, was about six years old. She was making faces right back. Seamus
chuckled.

“Hi, Seamus.”

Sea looked to his right and saw Paul trot up to him.
“Hi, Paul.
Everyone looks like they’re having a pretty good
time. How are you doing?”

“I’m doing great. I’m almost back to my old self.
Still hurts to breathe too heavy though, and my arm doesn’t want to hold much
weight, but
Alphy
says he’ll train me so I can gain
my strength in my arms back.”

“Good. I know I can trust
Alphy
to push you to your limit without going over it. Have you been playing on this
equipment? I know you’re sixteen, but it is plenty large enough
,
and the use of the monkey bars, rock wall
,
and rope ladder are great at building strength and
coordination.”

“Yeah, a little bit. The kids are fun to tease and
chase.”

“I’ve been watching you and Reese since I’ve arrived
here. You two are very similar in that you both are very social and great with
kids.”

“I like kids. When I get old enough, I want some of my
own. What about you? Do you want kids?”

Seamus looked back over the playground of laughing
jovial faces and snickered. “Yes. I just hope the woman fate destines me for
will, too.”

“Why wouldn’t she? Everything I’ve learned about fate
says that they are your perfect other half. If you want kids, I would think
that is a pretty big thing to match.”

“Sometimes.
But the thing with fate is
,
she provides what is right
for you, but some fight fate. When they do that, they hurt themselves and
everyone around them whom they love.”

Seamus was patching up the knee on one of the younger
kids, a four-year-old boy, when Seamus spotted Henry returning after being
relieved from Gavin. Seamus smiled at the young boy, who had little muddy
streaks where his tears mixed with the dirt on his face. “There you go, all
better now.”

“Thank you, doctor,” the little boy’s innocent voice
said cheerfully, and he trotted back to the playground.

Seamus looked up as Henry approached.
“Hi, Henry
.
”

“Hi, Sea.
That looked like Aden. Is he all right?”

“Oh, he was fine, just fell and scraped his knee.
Shifters his age may not need the Band-Aid because they heal just as fast as
their parents, but they still want that caring attention like any other child
their age. It’s about healing the shock and fear, not the boo-boo.”

Henry snorted out. “Yes, true. I admit I was far more
overprotective of Katie when she got any bump or scrape, but Sara had a few and
always wanted me to kiss it better.”

Seamus watched as Henry walked away and sought out his
mate, Beverly, who was Slate’s mother. He watched with some bit of envy as
Henry wrapped his arms around his mate and kissed her as if his next breath
depended on it. Seamus wanted that with his own beloved. He really hoped
Maysa
was the one.

The day grew hotter the closer it came to sunset.
Seamus couldn’t help but keep a critical eye out for anyone getting dehydrated
or overheated. But after a bit, Seamus got hungry and found his way over to the
tables. He surveyed all the delicious foods that were laid out on them, buffet
style. They had two tables for each type of food, salads, sides, entrées
,
and desserts. Along the porch, there were many
camping water coolers in many different colors, offering many different drinks.
The kegs, however, were over by the grill, where the adults could keep an eye
on who tapped them. Inside the house, were many women, busy keeping the food on
the
tables.
Shifters were big eaters. He couldn’t
remember the last time he saw so much food.

Instead of thinking of his own hunger, he thought of
Maysa
. Not wanting her to miss out on all these treats, he
decided to load plates full of a little of everything, so she could decide what
she wanted.
If she can’t be here to
celebrate, at least she can still taste a part of it.
He took his first two
plates up to the medical office. After placing them on the table, he returned
to the tables to repeat his process.

“Hey
,
Seamus, want help?”

Seamus looked up to see Gale smiling at him. Standing
quietly next to her was the new girl, Isa.

“You’re picking things out for your beloved, right? We
can help.” Without waiting for a response, Gale turned to Isa. “Isa, would you
like to gather some desserts?” Isa nodded and immediately headed for a dessert
table. Gale turned back to Seamus. “I’ll gather some side dishes. I think she
might especially enjoy the baked beans. Betty made them, and
ohhh
, she knows what she’s doing.” Gale trotted over to the
tables she mentioned, leaving Seamus still stunned at what was going on.

With the girls’ help, his table in the infirmary was
filled with full plates of every kind of food. The two women surveyed the
bounty with him. “Thank you, ladies. She definitely has some options now. I
don’t want the bugs to swarm, so I’ll sneak up here right before we leave, to
open the window for her so she can enter while we’re out.”

“We’ll get her won over in no time,” Gale said smugly.
Seamus followed the girls back down the stairs, and they rejoined the happy
event.

Everyone in the pack had arrived long before sunset
and was clearly having a great time. About an hour before sundown,
Alphy
ordered the hayride set up and readied. They started
hooking up the tractor and trailer, and loaded pump thermoses of hot apple
cider and hot chocolate. They were also bringing cookies and other finger
desserts.

Just as the sun started to set, Seamus saw Gavin had
returned and was talking to
Alphy
. Concerned, he made
his way over there.

Alphy
looked up at his approach. Seamus tried to appear relaxed as he asked them, “Is
everything all right?”

Gavin answered him. “She’s fine. I was just telling
Alphy
that after she bathed in a creek, she flew off,
heading this way.”

Jealously raged through Seamus’s body.
His eyes turned a bit red, indicating his anger.
Gavin’s eyes widened. “She was in her bat form, Sea. I didn’t see anything
other than her bat form.”

“Sea!
Calm down,”
Alphy
ordered.

Seamus closed his eyes and took a slow deep breath.
After he opened them, he was calmer.
“My apologies.
It’s not often I lose my self-control.”

Alphy
had the audacity to chuckle. “That would be the mate-pull. I don’t know even
one paranormal who didn’t lose control in one way or other when it came to
their destined mate. Remember my parents? They were together for decades, and
my father was just as possessive and jealous in regards to my mother as he was
when they first got together, or so he had told me. I never understood how much
restraint he actually had until I met Gale. All those things he said to me make
perfect sense to me now. But you’re going to have to find a way to manage it,
because if she’s watching us right now, you don’t want her to think you’re some
raging psycho.”

“Yes, you’re right. She’s already scared of me enough
to not approach.”

“I don’t think it’s really you that she might be
afraid of, Sea,” Gavin said. “What if it’s someone else she’s afraid of? She
could be afraid of bringing that danger to you, or she just could be so hurt by
others, she just needs time to trust. She knew I was there, and even though she
looked ready to bolt, she didn’t. I made myself look as unthreatening as I
could. She might have even understood I was there to protect her.”

Seamus appreciated Gavin’s encouragement. And as
jealous as he was that Gavin had that time with her, he enjoyed learning more
about her.
The more I think about her,
the more I believe she really is my beloved. Would I really have been that
jealous of someone who wasn’t my intended?

Gale approached and reached out her arm, curling
around
Alphy’s
waist and accepting a quick kiss as
greeting. “Hey, Honey-bear,” his low voice rumbled softly.
“You
about ready to go on the run?”

“Yes, I can’t wait. I’m looking forward to some hot
chocolate and a hayride
.
”

Alphy
turned to Gavin. “Start gathering everyone for the run. I’m going to make a
little speech first so don’t put them on the wagon just yet.”

“Yes, Alpha,” Gavin said and took off.

By the time the sun finally finished setting, and the
final two pack-members joined them,
Alphy
leapt onto
the back of the wagon. Everyone quieted and turned their attention to him. “I
hope everyone has had a fun day.” Everyone cheered. “Good. You all deserve it.
One month doesn’t seem that long, but within that month we have started this
pack and have grown to fifty-eight members.” Everyone applauded. “We have
endured rival challenges, abductions, and several attacks. But, at the same
time, we have been blessed with alliances, financial stability, destined
matings
, and a growing number of young ones.

“I know we aren’t an ordinary pack. We are a mix of
different kinds of paranormals as well as humans.
That alone
supplies challenges that will take patience and hard work to overcome.
But as I lead us on our first pack run, I invite all of you to join. The more
we stick together, the closer our bond, and with that, comes a stronger pack.
That bond, that strength, will give us what we need to meet every challenge and
claim victory over it.” Another cheer rose up from the crowd. “For those who
don’t want to, or can’t, shift, the hayride will offer you the ability to still
accompany us as part of the pack. For those who are shifting, you can put your
clothes on the trailer.
Any questions?”
No answer.
“Good, let’s go.”