Liam started for the stairs that led to the basement. It was where Logan’s room was located, but Eli touched his shoulder.
“Once he’s up, I’ll tell him what happened. Go find Lucas,” Eli said. “You can’t waste any more precious time.”
Liam studied his Omega. Eli was biting down on his lower lip, which told him his mate was worried about Lucas as well. They’d all been pushing themselves to the limits over the past two weeks.
After Eli launched the new website, all of them were surprised to receive a few bookings. Some guests even paid in advance.
Eli did a good job with the site but everyone pulled their weight. Liam and his brothers scrambled with the renovations. Eli even helped with less physically demanding tasks.
They all wanted to get the lodge in tip-top condition. It wasn’t an easy feat, given everything was falling apart. Liam and his brothers had snarled and brawled with each other on more than one occasion. None of them had gotten much sleep. All of them were cranky, worn out.
What if Lucas encountered something big and nasty in the woods and he wasn’t in the best mental state for a battle?
“Okay.” He took a deep breath.
Panicking when he didn’t have all the details yet wasn’t productive. Liam had to be smart about this. Liam had no other choice. His brother needed him. Eli was right. His Omega would be fine here with Logan for the company.
A month had passed since he mated Eli. They hadn’t spotted any signs of Steve or Eli’s family. They only went to town whenever Eli had a doctor’s appointment.
Before he could leave Eli, he walked to the reception area. He grabbed his father’s old hunting gun from a drawer and handed it to Eli. Eli widened his eyes but he didn’t argue.
Liam had taken his mate outside to practice shooting a couple of times. Eli knew how to handle a gun if the situation called for it.
“Stay safe,” he said.
Before Liam exited the lodge, he left a kiss on Eli’s mouth. Liam headed outside. He stripped out of his clothes and reached for his bear.
The change came swiftly. His grizzly understood the urgency of the situation. Once Liam had fully shifted to grizzly form, he charged into the woods. Liam went in search of Lucas’ trail.
Eli
“Are you hungry? I can make you something to eat.” Eli offered.
He wasn’t surprised Logan spun and glared at him. Eli didn’t even flinch when Logan showed him a mouth full of sharp teeth and snarled at him.
Logan immediately took a few steps back, as if he regretted his actions. The Alpha opened his mouth, looked ready to apologize but he closed it.
Eli wasn’t mad. He was a little amused. Among the Griffin brothers, he noticed Logan had a hard time expressing himself.
“I can’t think about food right now,” Logan muttered.
The Alpha began pacing back and forth the kitchen again. Eli didn’t need to be a mind reader. Logan probably wanted to join Liam in his search for Lucas.
The silence stretched between them. Eli made himself a cup of tea and poured Logan coffee in his favorite mug. Logan grunted, snatched the cup and drank it slowly.
“You know,” Eli began. “I’ll be fine right here. I’m not completely helpless.”
Logan stared at him. His gaze drifted immediately to Eli’s stomach. Logan narrowed his gaze.
“No,” Logan simply said. “I can’t leave a pregnant Omega here all alone.”
“It’s not like I’m in immediate danger,” Eli said with a snort. “Besides, I’ll only give birth in a couple of weeks.”
Eli was dead certain that no matter how much Logan wanted to join Liam, he’d stick around. The entire town might paint the Griffin brothers as monsters but to Eli, they were protectors to the core. Even Logan who looked pissed off all the time was a softie underneath.
“No?” Logan sounded more curious now than angry.
Maybe talking about his pregnancy would help keep Logan’s mind off his brothers.
“Dr. Lee said I’ll be due in two or three weeks,” Eli said.
Logan hesitated. “Can I touch your stomach? Is that a rude thing to ask?”
Eli remembered Logan occasionally stealing glances at him and Liam when they sitting in front of the fireplace. Liam would often rest his head on his belly. His growly and sexy were-ear sometimes even sung to their twins.
Lucas had no reservations about asking Eli if he could touch his stomach. Logan was different, more reserved.
“Go ahead,” he said.
Surprise registered on Logan’s features as Eli lifted his shirt. Eli shouldn’t be amused by the way Logan apprehensively approached him. He grabbed Logan’s big hand and directed it to his belly. Logan let out a deep breath. Eli watched Logan furrow his brows.
“I can hear their heartbeats,” Logan said in wonder.
Logan looked embarrassed as he pulled his hand away.
“Thank you.” Logan added.
“No problem.”
Eli paused and decided now was the perfect time to have their talk. Logan and he never traded more than a couple of sentences.
He continued, “Logan, I know you weren’t happy when your brother mated me.”
Logan crossed his arms and looked at him, expression unreadable.
“Liam’s amazing. He’s more than I deserve. No other shifter would take in a pregnant Omega who’s carrying someone else’s child. I want you to know that I didn’t plan this. I wasn’t looking for a protector. I fell hard and fast for your brother.”
Eli delivered those words from the bottom of his heart.
“I know,” Logan finally said. “It took me a long time to accept you. I don’t like change. The three of us were doing fine on our own until you arrived.”
Those last few words almost sounded like an accusation but Eli listened with an open mind. Besides, Logan was finally opening up to him.
Eli never thought the tight-lipped and angry grizzly shifter would ever let Eli inside his tightly erected shields. Eli was now a vital part of Liam’s life. Logan and Lucas were important to Liam, so they
