Kitten blinked at Bonnie, and I got it. Bonnie was like a warm hug after a life of grayness. It was her super power, I think. Look who she’d managed to snag as a Pack.
“It’s nice to meet you too. Darius says only nice things about you.”
Bonnie grinned, handing her a baby. Kitten took it—this tiny, fragile being—like she was holding a bomb, and I stifled a laugh.
“Darius says only wonderful things about you too. You have a fan.” Bonnie looked at me sternly. “He was a little less impressed with his Alphas for a hot minute though.”
I shrugged. “Had to be done, Bon.”
She harrumphed, reaching out to fix Kitten’s hold on the baby absentmindedly. “They aren’t as breakable as you think. Hold him here and here.” She placed Kitten’s hands in the proper position. “There you go—you’re both happy now.” She turned back to me. “I trust that you’re taking care of her? Giving her choices and not being all caveman now that she’s an Omega? Showing her she has options other than your Pack?”
I flushed. “Of course,” I said in a strangled voice. Bonnie and Radic had always been a good team, and were a great couple. They believed in what was right, and stood their ground to get it. “I’m glad you and Radic finally made it official. I know the Alpha General is in charge, but he looks like a man who listens to his Pack. You two will be good for this town.”
She gave me a narrow-eyed look that told me she knew I’d changed the subject on purpose. “Courtland is what’s best for the Manix and for Maxton. I know it deep in my soul. Doc did too.”
I watched her eyes shine, and pulled her into a hug. Well, at least I did until Courtland, the Alpha General, appeared.
“Corvin,” he said curtly, dragging Bonnie back to his side and dropping a proprietary arm around her shoulders. It made me grin. He bowed low at Kitten. “Omega. It is good to meet you.”
Kitten blinked big brown eyes up at the Alpha General, and she looked skittish. Swallowing hard, she nodded her head back. “Alpha General.”
I understood though—Courtland De Léon radiated power. It made my own Alpha wanna lie down on the floor and bare his belly. Luckily for us, subjugating us didn’t seem big on Courtland’s agenda.
“You seem to be holding my cub, Omega. Do you have a name?”
“Uh, my name is Kitten. Sorry. Here,” she mumbled, thrusting the baby in his direction like she was offloading drugs during a drop. And if rumor was true, it wouldn’t be the first time Courtland had been at the receiving end of a drug drop.
He smirked, taking the baby easily. “Kitten. Interesting. Maybe I should introduce you to my Beta, Dominic, one day.”
I frowned at the amusement in his eyes, which was reflected in Bonnie’s. An inside joke then, but hopefully not one at Kitten’s expense.
The Alpha General cleared his throat. “Actually, while you are both here, I would like you to meet Tanner.” Courtland pulled Bonnie closer to his side, like he was shoring her up for something, and his next words confirmed it. “Tanner is here to act as temporary town doctor until another one can be trained up. Tanner?” He said the words softly, but suddenly there was a vampire in our small circle, right in front of my Omega. A low growl bubbled in my throat but I pushed it down. Now was not the time.
The vampire was big and blond, with a goofy, yet perfectly white and straight smile. Except for, you know, the fangs. “You rang?”
Courtland nodded. “This is Kitten. Kitten, this is Tanner. I’ve tasked him with chasing down the lineage of all the new Omegas and their Packs, just to ensure when the next generation is grown and ready to start Packs of their own, no one is accidentally mating their cousin.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Not to ensure the purity of the Manix bloodlines?” It was a short, sharp fall from protecting the health of the Pack to using lineage to control who should get a Pack and an Omega.
“Corvin, I couldn’t give a flying fuck about lineage. I just don’t want the Manix to perish because in three generations’ time cubs are being born with an extra head.”
Kitten coughed, or maybe it was a snort. “I’m not sure what I could tell him, Alpha General. I was found in the woods. I have less knowledge of my lineage than a feral kitten born in a barn.”
Bonnie frowned. “Sometimes, who your parents are isn’t as important as who your family will be.” She shifted her eyes to me. “You’ve chosen well, if this is who you've chosen.”
Bonnie had a pretty shitty childhood. She was a little older than us, only by a couple of years, but when you’re a kid, that may as well be a century. I knew enough to know she’d been bullied for being rejected by her Manix parents. Defective. Pushed from the nest.
Such was the deep-rooted prejudices of the Manix people. Yes, Courtland was definitely needed as the Alpha General.
Tanner smiled. “Honestly, a DNA test will sort it out. This is the Manix; there's only like six degrees of Kevin Bacon.”
I blinked. “What?”
Bonnie rolled her eyes. “He means that there aren't very many of us, so bloodlines aren’t hard to trace. Maybe you’ll come out of this experience with some answers.”
Yeah, but sometimes answers weren’t a good thing. I’d leave it up to Kitten, not pushing her in one way or the other. She was silent for a moment, and then nodded. “I think that would be fine?”
Tanner grinned. “Excellent. I’ve done most of the other Omegas, but Radic said to give you guys extra time because you might be busy. Don’t know what you guys do that you can’t give me ten minutes to draw some blood, but hey, Radic knows best, am I right?”
