Alpha's Lover

"Hey, what are you doing?" Another man wearing a T-shirt and sweatpants walked into the living room. His hair was messed up in places, like he had just gotten out of bed, and his eyes were dark brown, like he was tired. All of the Lycans in the room, except Ellen and Rio, tensed up when they saw that he was definitely a human.

"Doris," Ellen greeted, her voice turning tender. "Sorry, did we wake you?"

He yawned and said, "It's okay, Ellen." "Hi, everyone! My name is Doris." He gave everyone a smile and then turned to Carl. "Hey, man, are you ok? Happy to see you up and about! Looks like Rio's sweats fit you ok. I wasn't sure, but I hoped that when I got them, they would."

"Thanks, Doris," Carl said with a nod. "And thanks for helping. I mean all of your help."

He looked around. "Cool, well..." He yawned again. "It looks like you guys are talking about important Lycan stuff," he said. "I'm going to let you do it. Good night, Ellen, and Rio. I'll see you in the morning. Before I go to work, I have to go home and take a shower." He did a U-turn and left.

"Who were they?" Nancy spoke up. "Is he a person?"

Ellen smiled at everyone and said, "Sorry." "That's Doris, my sister. I mean half-brother."

"Brother?" Dr. Brennan's eyebrows drew together. He looked back at Rio. "You are also her brother, right?"

He nodded.

"Donald, do you have two brothers?" Knox asked in an interested way.

Ellen shook her head and said, "No." "I have four siblings. Rio, Doris, his twin sister Katie, and Joan, who is our youngest. Except for me and Rio, all of them are human because their dad is human.

"Four of you...five of you?" Dr. Brennan seemed surprised. "That's.fascinating!"

"Why?" Rio inquired.

"Well, I'm sure you know...

Even when they are with humans, most Lycans don't have more than one child, if any at all. Your mother had five, though." Dr. Brennan gave a reason.

Ellen shrugged. "That's always been the case with us. Ma had five children, and her mother had four, but our mother was the only one who turned out to be a Lycan. Grandfather died soon after the family moved from Italy to the U.S.

"Still." Dr. Brennan took a break. "I'm sorry, Donald. As a man with a background in medicine and science, I do know that there are always people who are different from the norm. I just don't understand why we never hear about you or why the Lycan High Council didn't think it was important that you showed up

Ellen shrugged and said, "Don't worry about it." "Our clan isn't very big, and it's not even close to being as big as Pretoria. It's mostly made up of my family members and two or three families who moved here from other states, usually so their kids could go to better schools. We do what we have to do to keep the Lycan High Council informed about our numbers and any problems, but that's about it."

"How did you figure out to call Nancy?" Knox asked.

"Oh! I know the answer!" Nancy's eyes were shining. She was proud to say, "Ellen threatened to rip out another girl's throat when she insulted my mother in the bathroom at my welcome ball."

Ellen laughed. "

"You've met before?" Carl looked at his sister and then asked.

"Yes. "It was at the ball," Nancy said. "I hid in the bathroom stall. Carl, you did see her there, right? "She's the green-dressed woman!"

Carl said to Ellen, "I didn't see your face." "Unfortunately, my Liaison handles things like invitations and such."

"I didn't want to go, but Rio told me I had to," said the Donald. "To get along with the people next door."

"Well, I'm glad you went!" Nancy spoke up. "Carl did find his way to you. Who knows what would have happened if he had moved and gone somewhere else, like your neighbor's house?

Ellen's forehead wrinkled. "By the way, what happened? Did you get kidnapped or something?"

He gave a head shake. "I'm not sure. but it could be something going on inside."

"When we find out more, Donald, we'll let the High Council know," Dr. Brennan promised her.

"Of course," she replied with a shrug.

Nancy yawned and stood up, saying, "We should get going." The rest of the Pretoria Lycans agreed with her, citing the late hour.

"Hey Ellen, I got your number. Don't be a stranger, okay?" As they walked out onto the front porch, Nancy said.

Ellen smiled. "Of course. You should go to the restaurant. Maybe when you have your little one, you look like you're ready to pop!"

"I really hope so!" Nancy laughed and rubbed her stomach. "I'm ready to give this one a notice to leave! I just feel fat and out of place..."

"You look so pretty, honey," Knox put his arm around his wife and put his hand on her stomach.

Ellen said, "Well, I hope you have a safe birth and can't wait to meet the new member of your family."

Knox bowed and said, "Thank you, Donald." "We accept your blessing and wish happiness and good health to your clan."

Carl watched as his sister and Ellen talked and joked with each other so easily. He was glad that Ellen wasn't married or mated to another Carl, but he was surprised that she was the head of her clan. Not that he didn't think women could be Carls.

He was also surprised to find out that he had been so close to her at the ball all those months ago, even though they didn't get to meet.

"Carl?" Again, Dr. Brennan got his attention. "We should turn around. It's nearly 2 a.m."

He turned to Rio and Ellen and said, "Right." "Thank you, Carl and Rio, for being Katieros. Our clan owes you, so if you need help, don't be afraid to ask."

Ellen nodded. "Thank you very much, Carl," she said in a formal tone, avoiding his eyes.

Rio added, "We're glad we could help and that you're safe."

Ellen hugged Nancy. "I'll talk to you soon. You can always come to the restaurant."

"For sure! I'm so excited to try all of your food!"

The Pretoria Lycans said goodbye, and then they went back to their cars. Knox drove Dr. Brennan back in his car, and Carl got in the town car to go with Nancy. The driver opened the door, and Carl helped his sister get into the back seat and then sat down next to her. When the car door shut, Nancy crawled next to him.