“Hmmm I don’t know, it feels like a purr to me,” Rebecca said innocently.
“It’s a growl.”
“A purr could sound like a growl,” Kaden added.
“Especially from her tummy like that,” Rex chimed in with a straight face.
Rebecca looked around and realized most of the pride was in the diner.
“It’s a growl, dammit!”
“It’s okay, Aloisius, daddy loves you no matter what, even if you purr.” Rebecca made kissy noises to her stomach.
“He is not going to be Aloisius!” Aleks roared.
“You said I got to pick the first name since you picked the middle name,” Rebecca reminded him.
“That was because of a family tradition,” Aleks protested.
“Not my problem. Oh!” Rebecca rubbed her stomach and looked over to Sebastian who had also grabbed his midsection.
Liam, Kent, and Aleks jumped up and went to their mates.
“What is it?” Aleks ran a gentle hand over Rebecca’s stomach.
“Are you okay, kitten?” Liam asked.
“That felt funny,” Sebastian said, frowning.
“I feel fine now,” Rebecca said, tilting her head back for a kiss. No matter what was going on Aleks had a way of making time stop every time their lips touched. He didn’t disappoint. He delved into her mouth and nibbled on her lips. When they broke apart she sighed happily. Aleks didn’t return to the barstool, he grabbed a chair and sat close to her, taking her hand in his.
Liam and Kent sat back down on either side of Sebastian, looking worried.
“You both let us know if you feel it again, we’ll run get Doc,” Liam said. Kent nodded.
“Hey Liam, why is most of the pride here, except for Rian and Damian? Are y’all fumigating or something?” Rebecca asked.
Liam winced and the pride members all looked away. Her eyes narrowed. “What?” she demanded.
“Rian is going on somewhat of a rampage,” Kent started.
“The pride house was chosen to be featured in the Council’s holiday newsletter that will come out in January. Rian wants everything to be perfect for the photo shoot,” Sebastian continued.
“Christmas has always been a tough time for Rian.” Liam sighed and leaned back in his chair. Sebastian wrapped an arm around him, showing his support.
Liam smiled down at his lover. “The first Christmas after the pride left was a lonely one for us. We didn’t have many newpride members at that point. Rian called his parents and asked if they would come home to visit. They led him on, letting him think that they were coming, and then cancelled on Christmas Eve. Rian had gone out of his way to dig out old decorations and make the place homey. The following year he invited them again. He really missed his little sister. Again, they made it sound like they were coming back and cancelled last minute. Rian has been waiting every year for the past fifteen years for his family to come back, and they never do. He wants this photo shoot to be perfect, because in his mind, if his family sees how amazing the pride house looks now they will want to come visit.” Liam shook his head. “They will never go against my father though.”
“So, we’ll sleep on the front lawn if we have to, so the house will be exactly as he wants it for the newsletter,” Rex added.
“With the bulbs exactly six inches apart on the tree,” Kaden said, smiling.
“And the candles burned down exactly one inch which shows they have been used, but not too much.” Talon grinned.
“I think that you all are amazing men. Rian is very lucky to have you.” Rebecca wanted to kiss all of them, but knew Aleks would get mad.
“We’ll just spend more time at the diner.” Kent laughed.
Sebastian scowled.
