[star478]

"Damn it," Leo said with a sigh when he had finally calmed down. "So I am just being hormonal then."

Leo approached Brayden and the Beastiary as Brayden told his tale. It did sound horrifying. To go to sleep one night and, in the morning, wake up to find your friend/loved one dead, torn to pieces possibly beyond recognition, or even missing? Horrifying. Absolutely horrifying. As for the one person left...

"That person that was left somewhat unscathed," Leo began thoughtfully. "Was it Damian or someone else entirely?"

Leo sighed again and sat on the bed next to Brayden.

"Do you know who might want to cause harm to me, the babies, you, your pack, and even Trevor? Like my mother said, what happened is a mistake that should never have happened. Maybe I should just finish the job the witch had Trevor try to do and put an end to this whole fray..."

The last sentence had a hint of bitterness and sadness in Leo's voice.

[SRuiz]

"Damian is one of the King's children. He was around for ages in..." His leniency traced to Ancient Greece as far as Brayden could tell. "The survivor was me. I'm partially to blame about that theory of a good God-driven man becoming cursed. I've been around for centuries though I've only become recognized as Beta recently."

A lot of elder wolves would have reason to want to kill Leo and Trevor. It was an abomination to them, the figures caught up in olden times that they've yet to accept some changes.

"It's a wild guess at this point, but..." He held Leo's hand firmly. "Don't you dare think about killing yourself and him. It's selfish to you and selfish to...me..." He held Leo, bringing his eyes to his. "I'm here to protect you now and maybe this all happened for a reason." He kissed Leo's forehead.

[star478]

"It's not entirely your fault," Leo whispered. "You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Like Trevor and I were."

Leo's heart practically skipped a beat whe Brayden held his hand and looked into Brayden's eyes.

"I'm sorry for even thinking about it," Leo whispered again, blushing as Brayden kissed his forehead. "You think the reason this happened is to dispell the hatred my family has to werewolves and other such creatures? If that is the case, it isn't working all that well that's for sure. Probably never will work if I'm interpreting my family's words/actions correctly."

Leo sighed and unthinkingly leaned his head against Brayden's shoulder.

"What should I do? I don't know if I can last the rest of the pregnancy without you--thank you hormones--and my family hates you because of what you are and what happened. I don't know if they still even view me as a part of their family anymore. I'm at a loss Brayden. I don't know what I should do anymore," Leo said and started to cry at the end thanks to the new hormones from the pregnancy raging throughout his body.

[SRuiz]

"Maybe you're right. It's happened so long ago though that I barely reminisce on it." He focused back to Leo after shrugging away the thought. "At any case, you have a lot to live for...they have a lot to live for. If your family didn't like you, why are you still free to do what you will other than being told to stay inside?"

It was their form of protection. He was certain they loved him, but were uncertain how to handle the situation. Brayden simply smiled as Leo laid into him, prompting him to lay back on the bed further and embrace him.

"It's alright, really." His mind traced back to the moon cycle, thinking on how he could turn the events around. "You aren't the first this has happened to. If I can find something to get them to calm down, I'm certain they'll lighten the case on you. The thing you need to know is you're not going through this alone. You have me, the pack and you have Trevor."

[star478]

"I guess you do have a point," Leo said with a sniffle and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He then sighs. "Damn hormones. And I bet it's only going to get worse the further along the pregnancy gets."

Leo then looked at Brayden and gave a small smile.

"Seems like you're taking a liking to me as well," Leo said playfully. "But anyway, we should probably try and smooth things over with my family. They're going to have additional members come the next full moon. If that's when I give birth that is."

[SRuiz]

"Maybe" he chuckled before wiping the tears off of Leo. "I'll be certain to avoid you when you get cranky for no reason."

Had he really grown to like the male? There was no reason for him not to if he searched deep within his heart. Leo was in a strange situation like he was centuries ago. Whereas some only gave him advice on how to survive, he was offering to be there and protect him. Would that make him his true mate after all?

"Maybe..." He teased before coming back to some form of reality. "There are plenty of hunters already here, though that won't be an issue. The concern is our own pack and the witch that was hired. There's no telling what he or she is capable of. She could cast an eternal night for all I know, making it very dangerous on both ends."

[star478]

"Dangerous how?" Leo asked and looked at Trevor's unconscious form. If it was to get worse than it already has, it might be best to remain as far away from any big cities, places with lots of people, until this whole thing blows over, which won't be until he gives birth successfully...maybe. "Will it affect Trevor and I any? Will it affect you? Will it affect my family? If so, how badly?"

Leo then sighed once again.

"This would be so much easier and less worrisome if I had stayed home," Leo said, hormones kicking in slightly once again. "That or if I hadn't killed your girlfriend in order to set this whole thing in motion....."

[SRuiz]

"If a moon like that is cast, we could only withstand it for so long. Learning to control uncontrollable shifts under a full moon every few months or so is a hard practice. Not even Damien would be able to resist the urges. It's also risky on you and him both because it could accelerate the pregnancy. The final moon of the month signifies the end of the cycle and of course your pregnancy. If we had an eternal night cast, I'd be some form of mindless and you would be without someone to help you through it. Trevor, without me or his mate behind this all, would probably die from the birth."

Brayden chuckled as he glanced at Leo, before sighing softly. "You and me both. Something compelled me to stay, but as second in command, I really had no choice other than to come." He rubbed the male's swollen belly. "Besides, in some twisted way, maybe it was for the better?"

[star478]

"Oh. I see," Leo said then sighed. Great. Just what he needed. He then looked over at Trevor. "Don't tell Trevor, but even with you here, he may not survive the birth. Just a gut feeling I have."

Leo then smiled as Brayden rubbed his belly.

"How was it for the better?" Leo asked.

[SRuiz]

Brayden shrugged. "Keyword was maybe. I dunno." He glanced over at the sleeping figure, thinking of Leo's guess on if the other male was going to live or not. "He's been through a lot like you have. It would be a shame for him to die, though I have no control over it. Maybe I could cut them out or something."

He left Leo for a few to go examine the unconscious male. He rolled his hoodie up, exposing the round belly where he placed his ear on. As the male drew breath in and out, the sound of seven heartbeats greeted Brayden's ears.

"I don't know about you, but I am certainly not looking forward to raising seven more mouths if your hunch is correct..." He climbed back in the bed, thinking on how that was too big of a number for the human male. Maybe Leo was right. His chances on surviving even for the sturdy frame and size his body had, seemed slim. Why he had not undergone any changes like Leo yet was also a mystery. "Let's try not to think of the future too soon though. Let's try to handle the rest of the night as is."

[star478]

Seven babies? Good grief. Leo almost felt bad for Trevor when it got later on in Trevor's pregnancy. Leo placed a hand on his own slightly swollen belly. How many was he having? How did Brayden know how many Trevor is having without using an ultra sound and why couldn't Leo? At least not yet?

"That's basically all we can do right at the moment," Leo said with a sigh and removed his hand from his belly. Might be best to wait till closer to the birth to find out how many. Just before he removed his hand from his belly though, it rumbled, signaling him and the babies are hungry. "Speaking of the rest of the night, the babies an I are famished after all of the...'excitement' from earlier."

[SRuiz]

Brayden merely smiled as Leo's stomach growled.

"Go get something. Your family should be down there to keep you safe." He stared over at Trevor "And someone needs to get him in his bed other than yours. Mind bringing me back something to drink though?" He lifted the sleeping male up into his arms, keeping a comment about how Leo was managing to cause a lot of changes around his family and friends to himself as it would have been more of a joke, but in light of what has been happening, it would be the truth. He opened Trevor's room door on the other side and laid him on the bed gently before returning to Leo's room. He would hide out in the closet once more until his mate returned and the room door was locked to preserve their privacy.

[star478]

"Alright," Leo said with a hint of disappointment before turning and leaving, heading downstairs. About half way down the stairs, he could smell the food that was cooking and his mouth began to water, moving faster in his hunger.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, he made a beeline for the kitchen where the food was being cooked.

"What's cooking?" Leo asked the cook. "Can you hurry up? The babies and I are famished."

[SRuiz]

Leo found his mother downstairs cooking rather than his aunt.

"That depends. I'm no master wiz at cooking like your aunt, though I can manage a jambalaya just well" she merely said all while pouring in the Cajun seasoning. "You can wait a little while longer. Almost every woman on this trip has been on the same route you're currently on..." She moved away from the stove, opening the freezer for some ice cream and whatever else Leo could have had a craving for. If it was meat, he would get plenty of it from the main course. "I gave it some thought. Your grandfather feels we're being a bit harsh from Bradley's mistake, so if you want to invite your...not sure what he is, over and maybe we can try to be civil."

[star478]

Leo just stared at his mother as he took the ice cream and other foods in his shock-limp hands. Did she just say what he thinks she said?

"He's my mate mother," Leo said with heart racing. He then smiled. "And I would love that."

Leo then grabbed any silverware he might need (a spoon for the ice cream as well a fork and knife as a just in case) and turned back to the stairs.

"Holler when the main course is ready," he said over his shoulder. "I'll be in my room while waiting and eating my...uh, appetizers."

He then began making his way back up to his room with his food, already starting to munch on the ice cream.

[SRuiz]

Brayden found himself stepping out the closet when Leo had returned.

"Someone wasn't joking about being hungry" he chuckled as he sat back on the bed. "I heard what your mother said though. My ears have a way of hearing things a lot farther than most, such as the kids inside Trevor to how we were able to whisper from a distance and still hear each other." While the idea seemed great, he was a bit concerned. "What brought the sudden change?"

[star478]

"Yeah yeah," Leo said as he sat on the bed beside Brayden while continuing to munch on the ice cream. "As for the sudden turn around, I dunno. Maybe my gradfather talked some sense into everyone while we were somewhere where we couldn't hear them? I have no idea. I don't even know why he'd even try talking sense into Uncle Brad when he is as stubborn as a mule."

Leo leaned his head on Brayden's shoulders as he ate his "appetizers."

"I'm glad they're inviting you for dinner tonight...and hopefully more often," Leo said. "I hope you like jambalaya because that's what my mom's making."

[SRuiz]

Brayden merely shrugged at the idea. It was a complete and total mystery as to how his mother was allowing him to come over. Furthermore, it just made his actions on getting rid of the seals a bit reductive...

"Let's see how it goes then and no idea what that is..." His nose inhaled deeply, smelling past the scent of Leo and his food to the kitchen, where he smelled sausage and shrimp cooking with something else fill his nostrils. "But it smells great." He placed his hand on Leo's belly. "I suppose we have time for another lesson while you're eating away. Want me to teach you how to hear your children?"

[star478]

"You'll love it," Leo said.

He then blushed when Brayden placed a hand on his belly and took a rather big bite of his ice cream in order to prevent himself from talking for a bit. And giving himself a brain freeze in the process.

"I-I would love that," Leo said as his brain freeze lifted. "Tell/show me what I need to do."

[SRuiz]

Brayden nodded.

"It's a bit simple, well at least for me" he smiled before placing a hand to his ears. "The same way we are able to communicate by whispering lowly with even just our lips barely moving, it's virtually the same way." For Brayden however, he could hear it directly by resting his ears on the belly, hearing through the womb's thick walls. For Leo, he would have to hear it through silence. "You know how you hear your own heart beat when you lay a certain way?"

That was the similar method. When Leo was done snacking, he would motion for him to lie down a bit to where his left ear was resting in between his chest and arm. If there was enough silence, Leo would be well on his way to hearing the heartbeats of his children inside.