AMIDST THE CATS' CRADLE - 13

C H A PT E R T H I R T E E N - - - - G W E N

The boys sometimes murmured a word or two, shocking their dads with their extensive vocabulary at an age when other shifter kids said only one word, if that. The majority of the voyage to headquarters was spent in quiet. As they silently performed the arithmetic to determine why the boys on their laps appeared to be nearly three times their actual age, she could see the frowns on Jordan's and Mitch's faces. They were going to be completely shocked by the truth.

It wasn't until they all returned to Squad Six's room that the tension began to ease a little. The kids had slept off throughout the journey, and now that there was no one else around, Gwen decided it was time to express her mind. She knew she'd be drowning in explanations in no time, and that the worst talk she could ever have was on its way her way as well—Ace had to have heard about this already.

"They did make me hide the boys from you, yeah," she said, standing as Mitch and Jordan sat, the kids sleeping on one of the cots between them. "However, there's more."

"Begin at the beginning," Mitch urged, his voice almost solemn.

They both glanced at her, tired and puzzled, but calm. Far calmer than she expected to be if the tables were reversed and she discovered that something of such great importance was being kept from her by a person or individuals she felt were devoted to her.

"Take your time," Jordan said as he nodded.

"All right," Gwen sighed, resting on the room's solitary windowsill, which overlooked a dark and deserted courtyard. "I never returned to the Corps.  That assignment was never accomplished by me. I became pregnant."

She was silent for a minute, glancing over the chat she'd had with Ace, not wanting to recall how he'd dominated her in an instant. And that was certainly not something she should tell the twins, lest they go and shoot the intelligence officer right there. Ace, knowing Ace, had just returned from the grave to torment them.

"Ace hired me shortly after the assignment. We had a position for individuals like me, he said, but I subsequently realized why he wanted me. It was due of that gas, the fact that I'd consumed it, and the fact that I was human. Honestly, I believe he was the one who put me on that plane in the first place, but he'd never confess it."

She sighed, scraping her bottom lip with her teeth. Mitch's palm was resting lightly on Duncan's abdomen, and Dawson flipped himself over on his front, his precious little face serene. When he was awake, he was a hellion, thus the transition always delighted Gwen.

"I went through basic training with The Firm and was booted out three days in when the blood tests came back positive. Ace warned me not to inform anybody about my pregnancy, especially you two, when you hadn't even returned on your next assignment. He didn't make me swear, but he warned me that if I did, I'd come to regret it. He casually spoke all of my siblings' names, as if he had weapons focused on their heads."

At that, Jordan hissed inaudibly in a voice she could plainly make out. Ace was a dangerous man with risky objectives. He was perfectly capable of making a mother conceal a pregnancy from the fathers of her children.

"I was placed in this strange stasis-like state. I did some work for The Firm, but their primary concern was the pregnancy. It moved quickly. Really quick. Too quickly. And the boys were considerably more developed than they should have been when I had them. It is still happening on today. They're stronger than they should be, and they're developing so quickly... the doctors believe it's because I breathed in the gas, but not too much of it. As they say, just the proper amount. It altered something in me, allowing me to have shifter children who are... better."

"Fuck," Mitch mumbled, his face expressionless. "That's... I have no idea what that is." The Arctics have done some crazy stuff, but I never thought they'd get this far. On this scale, genetic engineering? But how about the boys? I mean, are they... fit? ”

The genuine worry on his face warmed her heart. That was always her primary concern.

"They are fine." Better than good. They are flawless in every aspect. The Firm, on the other hand, does not believe The Arctics have achieved similar outcomes. I have a suspicion The Firm has been testing as well, but I don't know because I don't have any proof. Duncan and Dawson are currently unique. We assumed The Arctics knew nothing about them, which is why I could live off the complex. I just wanted to offer them a regular existence. "However, after today..."

Something chilly gripped her heart as she drifted off. The prospect of losing her children terrified her.

"You won't be out of our sight after today," Jordan remarked forcefully, his expression taut. "Neither will the boys."

She let a faint grin come over her lips, a beautiful touch of warmth pooling in her gut as well. She'd been struggling with mixed feelings since coming into them not long before, trying to make sense of what she truly felt. Yes, there is excitement and lots of passion. But the time apart had made her cherish the few stolen minutes she'd spent with the Allens back in that bunker, the memories keeping her safe while everything around her was crashing down around her.

So, could she appreciate it again now that they were genuinely surrounding her and wanted to be there? She had to be afraid that life might get in the way again, as it had in the past.

"You have missions," she whispered gently, her cheeks flushed with excitement.

"These are our children. We can't leave if we believe they're in danger," Mitch remarked, his voice firm.

"The scenario isn't great," Jordan stated calmly, earning Mitch's smile. "But that's exactly what it is. We'll figure it out. If The Arctics are aware of Duncan and Dawson's existence, we can be certain that they will go to any length to capture them. So you won't be secure until someone stands guard, someone keeps an eye on your six. You are aware of this, correct? ”

"I do," she said, fidgeting slightly.

Of course they’re doing it for the kids! she told herself, though a burst of something went through her. Maybe a smidge of pain? You barely know them. It’s not like they were going to get down on their knees and ask you to marry them.

The moment she thought of it, she blushed even harder. What the hell was getting in her head that she came up with those silly thoughts at all?! Must have been the hormones, she concluded.

Weariness gripped her and she was only aware of it when she yawned slightly, cupping her hand over her mouth. It had been a long day and her body and mind still weren’t completely sure whether what was happening was madness or the best outcome she could have hoped for. Probably a bit of both.

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen the way it did,” she admitted finally, feeling the need to confess, even though the looks on Mitch’s and Jordan’s faces told her that there really wasn’t any need.

That they understood.

“Life happens when you’re busy making other plans,” Jordan said with a chuckle.

“I think things are working out pretty damn well, actually,” Mitch said, a glimmer in his eyes, promising mischief as usual.

“Yeah? How do you figure?” Gwen asked, not really capable of holding herself back from challenging him where she could.

“Well, I distinctly remember that you still owed us for that stuff on the airplane. I mean, you brought it down, sure, but we beat up a whole lot of people so you could do it. So I think we still have some favors to call in,” Mitch said, his tongue darting over his lips for a second.

Gwen snorted in a fit of laughter, crossing her arms over her chest. They’d gone from deathly serious to playful again and it was a change so fast that she was struggling to keep up with the mischievous cougar. Damn them for knowing how to keep her on her toes. It should have been illegal for them to read her as well as they were now!

“Please, I think we’re pretty damn even after that perfect landing,” she scoffed, though she would have been lying if she said that the possibility of playing a bit of catch-up with the Allens was something that she wouldn’t thoroughly enjoy.

“We’ll see about that, sugar,” Jordan said.

The way he said it made her almost throb with expectation, the sultry tone and the way he looked at her rooting her to the spot as her breath caught in her lungs. But it was only a second before she could get that deer-in-the-headlights look out of her eyes and grab another breath, shaking her head with a grin.

“Sure. Whatever you say, Jordan.”

“That’s the spirit,” he replied, smirking.

This was not going to be easy company to keep, that much was clear. But honestly, Gwen couldn’t wait to get into more trouble with them. And there would be plenty of trouble with or without the Allens, but she got the distinct feeling that trouble that included them would be a hell of a lot more fun than without them.

God help me. They’ll mess with my mind and I won’t even care.